Disclaimer: I don't own Marvel.
Claimer: I own Evyn, Grid, and the children.
This chapter is in Evyn's POV, and since he doesn't know that Loki is currently feminine, he and Grid refer to Loki in "he/him/his" pronouns.
Loki and Evyn went out into the city, using the back roads to avoid the crowds. Evyn walked a bit behind, Loki walking with intent towards their destination. Evyn had no idea where they were headed, but he seemed content enough to follow behind.
Loki had a bag slung over his shoulder, full of books and pencils, and even a package of writing paper. They walked into a less crowded area of the city and Evyn glanced around.
"Loki, where are we?" He asked, catching up and falling into step next to his patient.
"This part of town has many names," Loki said. "But it is, in short, Asgard's poorest district. It's called Thieves' Square. It's a misconception, really," he added at Evyn's look of surprise. "The people here are good enough. Some steal in order to make their living. They don't like it," she sighed, "but it does happen."
Loki turned a corner and walked into the main street, pausing at an apple seller's cart. Evyn lingered behind Loki as he bargained with the seller, then paid him and walked off, a few apples in a bag.
"What was that about?" Evyn asked, tilting his head.
"I bought all his apples," Loki said. "And told him to give him away to anyone who wanted one."
"And what about those?" He asked, nodding at Loki's bag. Loki grinned.
"You'll see," she replied.
It wasn't long before they reached a tall brick building, surrounded by a tall gate. Loki walked to the entrance and rang the bell, waiting.
"This is an orphanage,"Evyn noted. Loki smiled.
"Yes, yes it is."
They didn't wait long for someone to come. A woman in a pale grey dress came, her brown hair tied back into a bun. She smiled when she saw Loki and pulled out a key, unlocking the gate and opening it for them.
"Good afternoon, your Highness," she said. "The children were beginning to worry you'd forgotten about them."
"Who, me?" Loki said, pressing a mock-aghast hand to his heart. "Never. This is Evyn," he added with a smile. "He's an acquaintance of mine."
"A pleasure, sir. Call me Grid," the woman said and locked the gate behind them, leading them through the building and into a courtyard. Loki slung his bag of apples and books down and sat on the ground, leaning against one of the few trees there. Evyn stood, somewhere out of the way until a child peered out into the courtyard. A smile broke across her face and she ran back inside shrieking "The prince is here! The prince is here!"
A few minutes later that the yard was filled with children all huddling around Loki, who was smiling and handing out apples. A few of the girls ran back inside, reappearing with hair ties and nail polish, Loki obediently spreading his fingers on the ground for two or three girls to paint, while three others went about braiding his hair. It wasn't long before one of the girls ran up to Evyn.
"Can I do your nails?" She asked, blinking up at him with big brown eyes.
"Of course, sweetness," Evyn said and she took his hand, leading him over to where Loki was sitting and ordering him to sit down. Loki turned to him for a moment, flashing him a quick grin before returning to whatever story he was telling. A few of the younger ones crawling into his lap to listen, while some of the older children found the books, paper, and pencils.
It wasn't long before the children were showing him the pictures they had drawn, others trying to tell him of important events that had happened while he was away.
"...Or maybe it was a wolf!" The boy said, eyes wide as he told Loki of the animal he had seen several nights before. "It was big and had four legs and a big fluffy tail, but it was too dark to see."
"Oh, my," Loki said, eyes also wide. "Where were you that you saw this creature?"
"I was in my room," he said. "I saw it through the window."
Another boy butted in and added "I saw it too!"
"So did I!" Three other boys confirmed, all nodding.
"That must have been very exciting," Loki agreed. "It didn't come through the gate, did it?"
"Nooo," the boys chorused.
"I saw a raccoon come through the gate!" One of the girls said, leaning on Loki's knee to look up at him. "It was thiiiis big," she said and sat back, spreading her arms out.
"That big? My goodness," Loki said, looking impressed. "Were you afraid?"
The little girls crossed her arms, smiling and shaking her head. "No! I threw a stick at it and said go away!"
"And did it go away?" Loki asked.
"No," the girl admitted. "It hissed at me."
"Hmm," Loki said. "Perhaps I should take a look at the gate then and make sure it doesn't come back."
The conversations went on like this, Loki painting the children's nails and telling more stories, until the sky began to grow dark. Loki stood and the children followed him inside, Evyn trailing behind, leaning against the doorframe.
"He's very good with them, isn't he?" Grid said, coming to stand next to Evyn, who smiled and nodded.
"Yes, he is," he agreed. "How long's he been doing this for?"
"Oh, several centuries now, I believe," Grid said, shaking her head. "Since before he was of age, at least. He does a lot for them, too; many of the children here are set up with families or apprenticeships. It is because of him that we have the funds to give the children a firm education until they are of age. And besides that, all of the children simply adore him.
"I can see that," Evyn said, giving a small laugh. "They're all over him."
There was a whine of protest inside and Evyn turned back to see the children trying to hug Loki's middle. Loki smiled and ruffled their hair before turning towards the door.
"Time to go," he said and Evyn nodded, following behind. The children followed them, but waited obediently at the door as Grid let them out. Loki turned and waved back at the children, who were all sad to see him go.
Before long, the orphanage was out of sight. Evyn glanced at Loki to find him looking at the sky, a smile on his face.
"You seem happy," Evyn remarked, smiling. Loki hummed in reply, looking back in front of them.
Loki continued to hum, then turned to Evyn, still smiling. "You know what?" he said. "I am."
Notes:
I am so so sorry! I meant to update sooner, but I have a million writing things to get done for classes and haven't even been able to touch this for a while. Also the deadline for my college apps is coming up and I need to write essays for those as well. Things should let up a little bit once they're all taken care of.
In the meantime, this chapter kept giving me trouble, so I'm at the point where I have to throw up my hands and say GOOD ENOUGH and just post it already. I hope you guys like it! I figured I owed Loki a good day.