They Come on White Horses: Chapter 5
Requested by: NoVacancyMind and many wonderful others
Sequel to Knights.
Graduated! Really happy :) Only a few more things to wrap up, before my days are completely free to write. :) TO those who were wondering, I am hoping to have Steve and Tony be close when he's little. I imagine there was a time when Tony loved hearing about the great Captain America, before he started growing bitter.
Please enjoy and review!
Disclaimer: Don't own. Never will. So sad.
Bitter
When Tony yawned for the sixth time in ten minutes, Loki confusedly checked the clock. His eyes popped out of his head as he read four fifty in the morning. Just seeing the time confirmed hit him with exhaustion as well. That meant the little ones would be much more tired than he. He should have realized it when the most of the team had wandered off.
"Well, I think it's time for bed. Come. I am sure Jarvis can direct us to suitable rooms for you both." Tony pouted and clung to Steve, who was half asleep on the couch.
"But…I wanna stay with Capt'n Ameri…ca." Loki walked over and scooped the little boy up into his arms easily.
"The Captain has to get rest too, so for now, it would be best if you and Bruce were to go to bed. I bet you're more tired than you think." Tony kept trying to deny it, while Loki went to get Bruce. The six year old was curled up in the corner of an arm chair, almost asleep and fighting desperately to stay awake.
"Bruce. It's time for bed." Bruce popped up immediately, tensing before relaxing seeing that it was just Loki and Tony. The boy then nodded, and got down from the chair. Loki smiled and put a hand on the boy's wild mess of hair.
"Jarvis, is there an available room next to mine?" He wanted to keep them close just in case. Out of all of the grown men and women in the tower, he seemed to be the only one accustomed to taking care of children.
"Yes, Mr. Loki. There is an available room to the right of your own." Loki nodded, and took Bruce's hand and got Tony more securely settled on his hip before going to the elevator. Their rooms were four floors up, and were fully equipped with furniture and toiletries. With Tony now practically drooling on his shoulder, he opened the door to what would be the boys' room. Bringing them into the attached bathroom, he looked to Bruce.
"I trust you can brush your teeth yourself while I look for some sleep ware for you and Anthony?" Bruce nodded sleepily and immediately did as he was told. Loki smiled and set Tony down on the bed. He searched through the drawers first, and was only able to find some large shirts that would work. It was not strange to him, as when he and Thor were children that was essentially what they wore to bed. He turned and found Tony already asleep. Loki smirked at the boy.
"Not tired, indeed." Loki opened the bathroom door and was pleased to find Bruce had finished brushing his teeth. He held out a shirt for him.
"This was all I could find for now. Myself, or one of the others will acquire clothing for you and Anthony soon. Now, get changed and get in bed." Bruce nodded again, and Loki closed the door. Loki spent the next few minutes wrestling a limp Tony out of and into his clothes. The boy was being entirely uncooperative. Finally, he completed the task and settled the boy under the covers, deciding to skip his teeth brushing just for tonight. Bruce came out of the bathroom then, and crawled under the covers beside him. Loki smiled and tucked the two in. Unable to resist, he bent and kissed them each on the forehead. Bruce opened his eyes and looked surprised, before he gave him a sleepy smile. As Loki turned to leave, Tony rolled over and curled into Bruce. The older boy wrapped his arms around the younger and soon they were both out like a light. Loki closed the door as quietly as he could and went into his own.
Finally settled into his bed, Loki gave Jarvis a command before he also passed out.
"Jarvis, alert me if Bruce or Anthony wakes." He lost consciousness before he could hear Jarvis's reply.
Loki was in the midst of a very strange dream about Tony being a prince, Bruce a frightened green puppy and himself dressed as a Midgardian butler, when he was woken by Jarvis.
"Mr. Loki, Mr. Banner and Young Sir are awake and are hungry. Also, Mr. Odinson is wondering if you are alright?" Loki slowly pushed himself up and tried to rub the exhaustion from his eyes. He yawned and blinked at the small nightstand clock and was pleased to see that he and the children were able to get a good eight hours of sleep. It was early afternoon, so he hoped they would still be tired and fall asleep tonight to straighten out their sleep schedules. Being as young as they were, Loki had a feeling that that might not be a problem. He groaned as he climbed out of bed and got changed. Loki found that he rather liked Midgardian clothing. It was much more comfortable than the many layers of Asgardian wear, and he was not afraid of having two young boys ruin a simple t-shirt and jeans. Speaking of clothing,
"Jarvis, have you alerted Ms. Potts to the situation?" They were in for a maelstrom if she hadn't been informed immediately.
"Yes, Mr. Loki. She was informed last night soon after the accident in the lab. She has already done the necessary shopping for clothing and appropriate food items. Ms. Potts has left them in the kitchen and outside of their room. She requested to be informed immediately when they were awake and ready for a visitor." Loki made a note to grovel at the woman's feet if she would allow it. He was not allowed out of the tower without a chaperone, and even then he would be watching the children and too busy to really get any shopping done. All of the Avengers (sans Romanoff, perhaps) would be completely ignorant as to what to buy a child. Ms. Potts was a life saver. He could definitely see why Tony kept her around.
Loki, dressed and groomed, exited his room and went right next-door. There were, as promised, many bags and boxes of children's apparel and shoes beside their door. He knocked and was called in with an excited, and high pitched, 'Come in!' Loki smiled and entered. With the door open, he transferred the bags into their room and settled them near the dresser. When he looked up he saw Bruce sitting calmly on the bed and Tony smiling broadly and bouncing on it excitedly.
"Good afternoon. I trust you two slept well?" They both nodded and Tony declared,
"We're hungry!" Loki put his hands on his hips and gave him a mock glare.
"We use our manners, Mr. Stark. If you are hungry what do you say?" Tony seemed taken aback for a moment, not used to being reprimanded, and seemed to think really hard about it. He started to get frustrated, but then a little light bulb came on over his head.
"Please! Please can we have food!" Tony was very proud of himself, and even Bruce was smiling at Tony's smug little face. Loki laughed and plucked Tony off of the bed.
"It is 'may I', but I think I can let that one go for now. But before we go anywhere out of this room, I think we should go through those bags over there and find something for you to where." Bruce and Tony's eyes got really big when they saw all of the bags and boxes, but were eager to go through them.
"It's like Christmas!" Tony ran forward and was buried in clothing in two seconds flat. Bruce, however, hung back. Loki tilted his heads towards the heaps of clothing.
"Those are for you as well, Bruce. Pepper should have gotten enough for both of you." Bruce raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Really?" Loki's own brows furrowed for a moment, before smoothing into a encouraging smile.
"Yes, of course. Come. I will help you find something that fits." Loki held out his hand, and Bruce very hesitantly took a hold of it. Together, they corralled Tony (getting the underwear off of his head), and separated the clothing into things for Bruce and things for Tony. The two boys picked something to wear, and Loki waited for them to get changed in the bathroom. He sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his temples, an exhaustion headache starting to brew. Having his magic blocked caused a buzzing in his skull, and put his teeth on edge.
"We're ready!" Loki looked up and plastered another smile on his face.
"I can see that. Very well done. Now, I believe you two said something about food?" Tony nodded emphatically and Loki grabbed his hand before he just ran out of the room. Together, they rode the elevator down and walked into the kitchen. Jarvis must have alerted them, because all of the Avengers were there waiting for them, including Ms. Potts.
"Steve!" Tony slipped from Loki's grasp and ran towards the super soldier. Steve picked him up and shot Clint a glare when the man laughed at how enthusiastic Tony was. Loki felt Bruce move closer to his leg, and he laid a hand on his head and patted his hair.
"Bruce, why don't you have a seat at the table, and I will make you something to eat. Is there anything in particular you want?" Bruce shrugged and sat at the table, eyes glued to the clean wood. Before Loki went to make them a late lunch, however, he stopped next to a stunned Pepper Potts.
"I thank you, Lady Potts, for bringing the boys clothing. I don't think bed sheets and overlarge shirts would have sufficed for long." Pepper tore her eyes away from the four-year-old Tony, who was explaining to the Captain all that he had learned about circuit boards and robots from his dad, and turned to Loki.
"Yes, well, I didn't believe Jarvis at first. He had to show me footage…but once I saw it was true, I knew the tower wasn't equipped for two little boys. I guess I should thank you for looking after them. I don't think the others would be able to…handle children." Loki was a little surprised at the sincere gratefulness and trust in her voice, and it must have showed on her face.
"Tony explained to me all about your little mind scramble the night you showed up here. He also showed me some 'Secret SHEILD' footage of you and the little girl, before Thor took you back to Asgard. You handled her well. Do you have children?" Loki got a far away look in his eyes, and he could feel the way the room shifted as the adults strained to hear and act like they weren't. Loki sensed the tension rolling off of Thor as the Thunderer expected the question to set him off in a way. But he only gave a bitter smile and nodded.
"I do." He turned to walk away, and aimed his parting words over his shoulder. "And I miss them terribly."
Why Loki is so good with kids... I don't plan on bringing the kids in as characters, if anything they will only be mentioned.
Please review! :)