Notes: In which we have a friendly interlude. I don't know about you, but I needed it!
Warnings: Long fluffy chapter is long and fluffy, and has very little to do with the actual plot. Avengers family hijinks ahoy!
Chapter Seventeen
Mitchell and George did indeed have to work on Saturday afternoon, and George had plans with Nina on Sunday. Loki was just about to feel very guilty for abandoning Mitchell, when the vampire remarked hopefully that Friday and Saturday nights would be the ideal time for a marathon viewing of the Resident Evil movies. Both George and Mitchell really enjoyed these films, but Annie found them distasteful and Loki upsetting, so they were not generally considered suitable for household movie nights.
George was immediately enthusiastic about the plan, which also involved the consumption of a great many unhealthy snacks (which could naturally do Mitchell no harm, being dead, but- according to what Loki had learned from health lessons at school- should be taken in moderation by any who was not. Loki decided it was not the time to make such arguments, and held his peace.) The two promised to cuddle the kittens, ensure they were not alarmed by the zombies, and play with Scamp. George even offered to go back to the ruin and finally retrieve the rest of Scamp's belongings.
It was, therefore, with a clear conscience, and in a spirit of happy anticipation, that Loki and Annie left for New York late on Friday afternoon. This involved stepping out into the back garden, under a glamour that ensured no neighbours would pay attention to them. They held tightly to each other's hands, and Loki reached out to Yggdrasil.
He customarily traveled alone when he walked between worlds, and almost never carried anything, but Annie and a backpack proved no impediment at all. This sort of travel was a great deal safer and simpler when going from one known point to another, so it had been agreed that Loki and Annie would go to Stark Tower, where they had spent some time the previous summer. The gathering was taking place at Tony's house in a more rural area "upstate," where they had never visited, so it had been agreed that someone would meet them at the Tower and escort them.
"Someone" turned out to be Pepper Potts, all smiles as she stepped out of the penthouse onto the landing site on the roof.
"Hello!" she called cheerfully, taking Loki's hands and reaching up to kiss his cheek. Knowing the trick by which mortals were able to see Annie, Pepper continued to hold one of Loki's hands as she turned to Annie, reaching out with the other in welcome. "It's so good to see you both again!"
"Thank you," Loki replied, "it is extremely kind of you and Tony- " it was a safe assumption the invitation had been tendered by both- "to ask us."
"Tony's been looking for an excuse to get everyone together for months," Pepper replied. "You have no idea how frustrating it is for him, to have so many friends with actual real schedules they can't blow off whenever they feel like it. He was so pleased when Thor told him you were coming. They'd be here to pick you up, but I stayed in the city yesterday anyway, for a videoconference with the offices in Singapore, so it made more sense for you to come with me. Rhodey's traveling with us, too- you remember Rhodey, right?- so we'll have a carful anyway. Besides, I get a lot less frustrated in heavy traffic than Tony, and the city's not exactly easy to drive in right now."
"No, I can imagine," Loki agreed, walking to the edge of the roof to look out over the city. Despite what Loki knew to be energetic efforts on Tony's part, and presumably many others, there was still considerable evidence of the destruction wrought the previous summer by Hydra and the Dire Wraiths. If he was honest, the defenders had also caused considerable damage, though there was little they could have done to avoid it. Loki was unfamiliar with much of the city, and was therefore unable to identify the spot where he and the Deathwing had fought one another.
Probably just as well, that.
Pepper took his arm and retained hold of it as she walked her guests into the penthouse. "We're just waiting for Rhodey, and then we're off," she explained, addressing Annie as well as Loki. "My bags are already in the car, and Rhodey travels just as light as you do," she added with a smile. "I, on the other hand, do not. Loki, can I offer you a drink or anything while we're waiting?"
Lt. Col. James Rhodes gave Loki just enough time to accept an experimental drink of whiskey, and to decide he did not really care for it, before his own arrival. Rhodey, who wore civilian garb, greeted Loki and Annie with great friendliness. He refused a drink, and the four descended by the lift to the underground parking level. Loki found himself going rather tense in these enclosed spaces, but Annie's firm grip on his hand helped considerably.
Despite his distaste for city driving, Tony had brought part of his extensive automobile collection here to the city, so it was not immediately obvious to Loki which car they were looking for. Pepper brought out her keys and, across the garage, indicated a handsome dark blue vehicle. Though not unusually large, it looked quite imposing amid the sports cars.
"We're the Audi wagon," she announced, pressing a button that caused the doors to unlock with an understated click. "Tony tells me I look like a soccer mom in it, but I find the extra space handy. You never know when Tony's going to ask me to transport a prototype for him. Or move a body." Her smile assured them she was joking about the last point. At last, Loki hoped it did.
Loki and Annie occupied the back seat, gazing with interest at the city passing by, while in front Pepper and Rhodey discussed horsepower and cylinders and six-speed manual transmissions. The car was exceedingly comfortable as well as swift, and by the time they left the city behind it was too dark to admire the countryside anyway. Annie drifted off to sleep with her head on Loki's shoulder, and he was not long in following her.
He woke to someone gently shaking his shoulder, and Pepper's voice calling his name.
"We're here," she said, as Annie sat up and stretched. Pepper smiled. "Well, we're at the end of the driveway. I thought you might want to get your bearings before you get out of the car."
Loki blinked at her owlishly, then stretched in his turn as Pepper let off the handbrake, shifted back into first gear, and took her foot off the changing-gears pedal. The drive was long and winding, the headlights illuminating trees that grew close on both sides. This made their way very dark, although it was probably lovely by daylight.
After about five minutes, the car broke out of the tree-lined drive and crunched on a gravel turning before a large brick house. Pepper brought the car to a stop. Before she had the engine turned off the front door flew open, light spilling across the front steps and people spilling out after it. As he pushed open his door, Loki was grateful to Pepper for giving him the chance to properly wake up before facing this.
Even at that, he was practically dragged from the car by Tony Stark, whose exuberance could be practically Asgardian and who, although not unusually strong without his suit, was extremely persistent and difficult to detach. Loki would have stood on his dignity, except that he was having some difficulty standing on his feet with Tony draped around his neck, and anyway it was far too late to bother about that with Tony.
"Loki, welcome, glad you could make it," Tony was saying, patting him on the back of the head as he hugged him. "Great to see you, Annie, you're looking lovely as usual- "
"It is good to see you, too, Tony," Loki replied, embracing the other man and then attempting to extricate himself. Tony, however, kept a firm grip on his elbow, which had the somewhat unfortunate effect of making Loki feel as though he was in custody- again- but was of course simply so that Tony could include Annie in his continuous stream of welcoming and explanatory remarks. "- Your room's at the end of the hall, up the stairs to your left, Coulson and Barton will be arriving sometime early tomorrow, Bruce and Steve are already here, Natasha didn't say when she was coming so she's probably lurking around already, and your brother- "
"Loki!" came a welcome boom, and Thor emerged in the great entry hall from a room beyond the stairwell. He was, unusually, not wearing his armour, was instead clad in jeans and a t-shirt. Tony let go of Loki, who immediately forgot he had any reason to be shy of his brother, and practically threw himself into Thor's embrace as though they had not seen each other in months. It was evident, from his return of the gesture, that whatever had been said between himself and Jane had not reduced Thor's affection for Loki.
Who was just beginning to experience the relief of that knowledge when Thor gently extracted himself, and told him, "You must also say hello to- "
"Hi, Loki," said a voice behind Thor, and Loki found himself looking into the calm eyes of Jane Foster.
~oOo~
There was never a waking moment (and, though he rarely remembered his dreams, probably few sleeping ones) in which Loki was not aware of being grateful for Annie, but that feeling was at least doubled in the next confused moments of greeting. He really did not know what he would have done if she had not been there, holding his hand and reminding him that whatever he had stirred up, there were people still who loved him. Probably all the same people who had done so before he had done the stirring, in fact.
They ended with Thor, Jane, Annie and Loki withdrawing to the room from whence Thor and Jane had come. Tony turned the full force of his welcome on Pepper and Rhodey, but he did enter several times to make general offers of food and drink. Loki, for some reason, felt shy of accepting until Thor and Jane did, but eventually there was a platter of sandwiches on the coffee table before them, everyone was settling onto squashy sofas, and Jane- possibly realizing Loki's case of tongue-tie was not going to resolve without assistance- had commandeered the controls of the enormous flat-screen television for her regular Friday night fare.
"Say Yes To the Dress. You'll love it," she announced. "Even if it isn't a drinking game tonight." As she pressed the appropriate buttons to select the channel, she eyed the seating arrangements thoughtfully. "Loki, squeeze over- this will be a lot more fun if I can hear what Annie has to say about the dresses."
The next thing Loki knew, all four of them were occupying the same large sofa. Annie was halfway in his lap, which was never a hardship, while Jane, cuddled into Thor, had kicked off her shoes and was ensuring one of her feet maintained contact with Loki's thigh. In such a position, it became increasingly difficult to maintain his original level of anxiety concerning Jane's probable feelings toward him.
Anxiety in general was difficult to sustain, really, when the television program began. It was only then that Loki recalled the Skype conversation in which Jane had spoken of the program- which focused on the selection of bridal gowns and was not exactly the first entertainment one would associate with Thor. When Loki peeked at his brother, he found Thor watching the screen with an expression of patient amusement, intermingled with glances of affectionate amusement down at Jane.
"Okay, that one looks like someone did something terrible to a Muppet," she announced, when the first bride on the program appeared in her first candidate gown. The garment was a tight-fitting frock with a skirt flaring from just above the knee, embellished by a great many fluffy tendrils that did not quite look like feathers. Loki had actually been cudgeling his brains to decide what it reminded him of, and- reluctantly- realized Jane was quite right.
"That... is a disturbing thought," he remarked.
Thor eyed the concoction thoughtfully. "Oh, I think it is rather pretty on her. Mind you, the neckline would not suit me at all."
There was a moment of silence, and then both Annie and the red-faced Jane burst into hysterical giggles, while Loki cast a sheepish look at Thor.
"I take it you have begun to read mythology?" he ventured.
"I did far worse than that," Thor replied drily. "I asked Dr. Erik Selvig whether he knew why Jane and Darcy seemed so interested in my opinions on wedding gowns, when so far as I knew neither of them has any immediate interest in matrimony. I am only grateful there were not a dozen SHIELD agents present at the time."
"Busted," Jane sang, as she and Annie dissolved again into laughter. Thor studied his brother's flaming face- really, it was ridiculous for him to feel guilty, when for once Loki had no part in this whatsoever- and then remarked, with cheerful spite,
"There is a second version of this program, brother. One in which the gowns under inspection are intended for bridesmaids. Based on my understanding of that particular myth, it might prove to be of great interest to you."
They were still giggling when Steve and Bruce appeared to offer greetings. That was when Loki noticed another thing that guarded against the return of his anxiety: the room they occupied was quite large, and so the sofa was not set against the wall. Rather, it served to divide the room, and anyone who passed through could easily walk or stand behind it. Which everyone did, and everyone paused to speak.
There had, for many years, been a misconception on Asgard that Loki preferred not to be touched. This was not at all true, at least not when the touch was friendly, and he was very glad the misunderstanding had not followed him to Midgard.
Now, for instance, even after the initial greetings, every one of the people who walked behind the sofa on their way somewhere else reached out to lay a hand on Loki, whether it was Steve putting a friendly hand on his shoulder in passing, or Tony pausing to massage his scalp rather as though he was a cat. (Which was a pleasant enough sensation that Loki now completely understood why Philip and Elizabeth purred so when it was done to them.)
"And here I thought it was just me," Annie remarked, as Rhodey continued on his way after pausing for a few words with his hand on Loki's shoulder.
"Just you what?" Loki asked.
"Just me who can't keep my hands off you," Annie explained, with a wicked little smile.
Loki blinked. "That has nothing to do with me," he replied. Annie raised her eyebrows, and Loki insisted, "Physical contact with me is how they are able to see and converse with you. I admit, nobody is behaving as though touching me is distasteful to them, which I appreciate, but if you were not here, I suspect they would still be stopping to converse, but keeping their hands to themselves." Loki paused and considered. "Except perhaps Tony. You know how Tony is."
Annie looked genuinely startled, and Jane leaned forward to look around Loki.
"He's right," she said. "I mean, I certainly wouldn't be sitting here more or less playing footsy with Loki- no offense, Loki- if I didn't want to talk to you."
And just at that Natasha walked in, leaned over the sofa with a hand on the back of Loki's neck, and said, "Hi, Annie, nice to see you. Are those roast beef sandwiches?"
"All right," Loki grumbled, reaching for the platter to offer it to her, "now I am beginning to feel ignored." Natasha patted him, took two sandwiches, and disappeared down the hallway. Loki watched her go, wondering idly what she would make of Owen (the answer he came up with was also sandwiches), then offered the platter to Jane and Thor and replaced it on the table. "See?" he said to Annie, who bumped him companionably with her shoulder.
"I like that one," she directed everyone's attention back to the television, where another young woman was modeling yet another tight-fitting gown with a skirt that belled out halfway down her legs.
"I preferred the one she had on before this," Loki decided. "Although they kept saying it was a 'princess' dress, and all the pictures I have seen of weddings in the British royal family depict the brides wearing gowns with sleeves."
Jane giggled again. "I'll keep that in mind, if I ever decide to marry into the British royal family."
"That is probably not the royal family you need to think about," Loki said under his breath. Before Jane could ask him to repeat himself, the next dress came swishing out, and he exclaimed, "Wait, wait, I like that one much better."
"All that tulle?" Jane asked, doubtfully.
"Yes," Loki said definitely. The gown had a tight sparkling bodice and then, from the waist, a skirt composed of layer after layer of drifting gauze. He had no difficulty imagining what it would look like on Annie.
Annie ruffled his hair. "I should have known you'd be a ballgown sort of fella," she remarked in amusement.
"Oh, no," Loki replied innocently, "you must be thinking of my brother."
It turned out he was able to transport himself across the room faster than Thor could kick him. Just.
The wedding-gown program got them past the first little stretch of awkwardness. By the time it finished, everyone else had gathered in the big room. Despite his genuine pleasure in seeing the Avengers, particularly Tony and Steve, Loki eventually began to find the cross-talk and rising volume a little oppressive.
Besides, he had not gotten much sleep the night before, what with the haunting, and of course it was several hours later at home. He fought it as well as he could, but eventually Steve caught him stifling a yawn, and suggested quietly that perhaps he might like to be shown to his room. Annie, fortunately, was also ready to say goodnight, which Loki repeated for her rather than suggest a general laying-on-of-hands.
He was in the bathroom next to their assigned room- Annie having no apparent objection to sharing, and possibly, like Loki, preferring to have someone familiar close by in such a large and unknown house- brushing his teeth, when someone tapped on the closed door.
"Yes?" he called, a little muffled through a mouthful of toothpaste.
"Can I talk to you a minute?" Jane asked quietly.
Loki wiped his foamy mouth and opened the door. "Jane? What is it?"
Jane edged through the door, closed it behind her, and asked, "Are we okay?"
Loki put down his toothbrush. "I am not sure- ?"
"When you asked me to talk to Thor, just before you ended that Skype call you got all weird and closed-up. I wasn't quite sure what was going on, but it worried me. And tonight, when you saw me, for just a second you almost looked scared. What's the matter?"
Loki picked up the toothbrush, fidgeted with it, and put it back down. "I was only... I just thought..." He took a deep breath. "I like you, Jane. Very much. And I would like for us to be friends. But... I was rather afraid that if you thought, again, about what I did to Thor, and to you- " He could not go on, and he was trying not to think about how unearthing all those emotions might affect Thor's feelings for him, too.
Jane raised a hand. "Okay, stop. I've already told you that anything Thor says to me is in confidence, and I meant it. But if you're worried that something I hear is going to make me hate you, I can tell you right now that's not going to happen. I was there when the space robot landed, yes. But I also know you took on the Deathwing so Thor wouldn't have to. You've both done a lot of things, and not all of them are bad. I wouldn't want to hate you anyway, just because he loves you so much- and nothing is going to change that- but the fact is I don't. Hate you. Really."
Loki chewed his lower lip. "I told you once that I was sorry I frightened you, and, and caused you such pain. I did mean that."
Jane nodded. "I remember that, and I know you meant it. I also remember Annie telling me there was another side to that story. Don't be worried, okay? I'm sure there are things Annie's heard that have made her really mad at Thor, but she's still his friend. I'm probably going to be mad at you too, sometimes, while we get through this, but I'd also like to be your friend. Okay?"
Loki nodded. "Okay," he whispered.
Jane smiled. "Good. You should probably get some sleep. I have a feeling your brother has all sorts of plans for this weekend, and you want to be able to keep up."
Loki managed to smile, too. "Thank you, Jane." She patted his arm and let herself out of the bathroom.
~oOo~
Apparently, the bathroom was the agreed-upon meeting place for Loki and any who wished to speak to him, because the next morning he was dressing after his shower when there came a cheerful thump on the door and a muted call of, "Brother, are you in there?"
Loki finished pulling a short-sleeved t-shirt over his long-sleeved one, scruffed his still-wet hair out of his eyes, and opened the door. "Yes?" he replied, speaking softly in deference to the fact that no one else seemed to be stirring on this floor. One trait both brothers had in common was the habit of rising early, exacerbated on this occasion by the fact it was mid-morning back in Bristol. Previously, when Loki had been in America, he had mostly been in such a state that the difference in time hardly mattered, but just now he was rather noticing it.
Thor, in the doorway, smiled. "Good morning, Loki. I hope you had a restful night, and I am very glad to see you awake already. I rather hoped you and Annie would like to come on... an expedition... with Jane and myself this morning."
"Certainly," Loki replied immediately, and then, belatedly, thought to ask, "What sort of an expedition?"
Thor smiled again. "You might say- a hunting expedition."
Loki felt his mouth drop open stupidly. "A... hunting- ?" He was about to ask his brother what in the Nine Realms would possess him to think Annie- or Loki, for that matter- would want to go hunting, when Thor withdrew and shut the door. Loki was left wondering rather wildly whether he would be allowed to haunt the house in Bristol if he was in America when Annie killed him.
~oOo~
As it turned out, Loki was not killed that morning. Nor indeed was anyone else: Thor's "hunting expedition" turned out to be a search for the last farmer's market of the season.
Pepper had apparently loaned Jane her car keys and her Audi the night before. Thor made a great production of ensuring he was seated safely within the vehicle before Jane approached it, lest she run him over again. ("It was only once, and you walked into my blind spot!") Apparently, Loki and Annie were considered to be safe, on the grounds that Jane only ever ran over Thor. ("I'll have you know Darcy was driving the first time!")
No one was run over ("It was more knocked down than run over, anyway!") and the late farmer's market, in the parking lot of a local high school, provided them with a bushel of locally-grown apples that put Thor in a high good humour. Loki and Annie could not understand why this was so important to him: Thor refused to answer their questions, and Jane was far too busy concentrating on not putting a dent in the Audi to pay much attention to them.
When they arrived back at Tony's house- technically, it was a house, although by daylight Loki could see it bore about the same relationship to the pink house as did Buckingham Palace- Jane stopped the car to let everyone out, and Thor was too absorbed in retrieving his purchase to even tease Jane about the possibility of her backing over him. Loki and Annie scrambled out of the back seat and entered the house in his wake, following Thor (and his apples) into the kitchen.
"Loki, isn't there something in the myths about apples?" Annie whispered.
"Probably," Loki shrugged. "There seems to be something about apples in all sorts of myths. But I have no idea which ones Thor might be reading."
The kitchen was at the back of the house and was, knowing Tony's domestic skills, probably the province of staff most of the time. Like the kitchen in his Scottish lounge, it was large and functional, with gleaming appliances and many useful counter surfaces. It flowed naturally into an area with a table and chairs, where one could eat a casual meal, and thence to a comfortable sort of sitting room. The whole space looked out over the back grounds through large windows, and double glass doors accessed the terrace, which could also be reached via similar doors in the dining room. Staff space it probably was much of the time, but it had a sense of warmth and welcome.
And also, at this moment, it had Steve, at a centre island, working on a bowl of something that smelled like sage and onions, while on the other side Rhodey and Bruce chopped a variety of vegetables in preparation for the evening's feast. As Loki looked around for some way to make himself useful, a voice from what was probably a butler's pantry said,
"Good morning, Loki."
"Hello, Agent Coulson," Loki greeted him, trying not to be startled, when he emerged holding a jar of seasonings, by the agent's garb of khaki trousers and a blue half-zip fleece. Of course Loki knew the agent did not always wear black suits and starched white shirts... but he had never really believed it. Had he examined his thoughts, Loki might have found a vision of Agent Coulson, in his suit, sleeping with his hands folded across his breast, like Count Dracula in the films. Which was of course ridiculous, considering he knew perfectly well that vampires slept in their undergarments, amid a tangle of blankets and sheets, in sketchily-made beds.
Well, one of them, anyway.
Remembering, Loki said, "I hope your mother is well?"
"She is, thank you for asking," Coulson replied with a smile, shifted the jar to his left hand and extended his right for Loki to shake, glancing around to greet Annie as he did so. Then he crossed to where Steve was mixing together what looked like cubes of toasted bread with a variety of other ingredients, and used a measuring spoon to add a little of the contents of his jar to the bowl.
Steve had just looked up to thank him when Jane came in from parking the car, followed by Tony and Pepper in robes and pajamas, and Natasha and Clint in running clothes.
"Good morning," Pepper greeted everyone generally, looking around at the scene of activity.
"Coffee," Tony uttered, lurching forward. Thor, who had been pouring out a mug of the beverage, immediately handed it over. A deep gulp seemed to render Tony human once more, and he looked with interest at the basket of apples at Thor's feet. "What's this? Another spite pie?"
Thor smiled and replied, "Is there a surface upon which I can work, or should I wait for the rest of you to finish your tasks?"
Steve looked around. "This is probably the best place for you, if you can wait until we're done."
Thor nodded. "Then, since we did not eat before our little adventure, perhaps I will begin preparing breakfast. Is there a place for me to leave these apples in the meantime? Loki and Annie, would you assist me?"
"Of course," Loki agreed for both of them, trying to look as though he had not been twitchy with discomfort at being without something useful to do while the others were busy.
Steve smiled, indicating the alcove whence Agent Coulson had come. "How about in there? And I'm frankly starving, we thought we'd get these little jobs out of the way before breakfast and I'm really beginning to regret it. Breakfast for everyone sounds like a great idea."
Tony muttered something about morning being far too early for breakfast, but drained his first mug and then began to show Thor where to find utensils and pans. The kitchen was designed more for catering than family meals, so it was possible to stay out of each other's way while they worked. Even so, as usual, Tony flinched a little when Annie, who of course he could not see, began cracking eggs into a bowl and whisking them with milk and pepper.
Neither Loki nor Thor had learned to cook in Asgard, of course, but spending significant amounts of time with humans and without servants had led to all sorts of adaptive behaviours. It was true that Loki's idea of breakfast normally encompassed a bowl of cereal and milk, but he was quite hungry by now and fell in happily enough with Thor's apparent plans for sausages and bacon along with the eggs.
Clint and Natasha declined to cook, everyone declared that Pepper was not to lift a finger all weekend, and Tony, despite his knowledge of the layout of the kitchen, admitted to his own general uselessness in domestic matters. However, he remained at Loki's elbow, except when he made more coffee that tasted rather as Loki imagined rocket fuel would, and Loki eventually remembered to ask him something.
"Tony, a moment ago you referred to a 'spite pie.' What is that?"
It seemed an eminently reasonable question, and so Loki did not understand why everyone giggled- except for Steve, whose ears became red.
Tony leaned on the counter, in exactly the right position to be in the way of the most people, and smirked.
"A while back, a magazine did a big story on Steve here. I've got a copy you can read," he added, when Loki visibly perked up with interest. "Anyway, long story short, in describing the good Captain, the writer used an old expression, 'as American as motherhood and apple pie.' And when your brother read that, he was a little offended."
"Anyone would have been," Thor said, not looking in the least offended now, as he turned bacon in a skillet.
"Of course they would," Loki agreed, puzzled and rather annoyed, himself. "I can tell you that British people also- wait, do not all humans have mothers? And not only humans- so too do the Aesir, and numerous other species. I myself could be said to have two- "
"Yes, exactly," Tony nodded hastily. "That was exactly what Thor said. There really isn't any sensible reason for that figure of speech. But when we tried to explain its origins to Thor- "
"None of you seemed to have any idea where it originated," Thor pointed out, peering into one of the ovens to check the progress of the sausages.
"Admitted. I concede," Tony said, raising his hands in mock-surrender. "Long story short, he got mad and decided there probably wasn't anything especially American about apple pie, either- "
"I have certainly eaten it many times in England," Loki said huffily. "It is especially nice with a little cheddar cheese."
"See?" Thor demanded, waving a carving fork at the room in general.
"Not arguing, buddy," Tony reminded him, and turned back to Loki. "And- just for spite- he decided to prove it by baking one of his own."
"Which was delicious," Clint called from the sitting room. "Don't forget the important part."
"And pastry isn't easy to make, at least not really good pastry," agreed Jane, as she refilled her coffee and began to make toast. "I've tried it a few times and it always ended in disaster, all tough and nasty."
"However, unlike me, you can bake a cake without destroying it," Thor pointed out. To Loki, he explained, "I am always banished from the kitchen during the crucial period, as my footfalls are unfortunately heavy and cause the cake to collapse." Loki nodded understanding of this critical point. Carol had told him of a birthday cake destroyed by the cat leaping on top of the stove at the wrong time.
"Anyway," Tony summed up, flinching out of the way as Annie carried the bowl of eggs to the stove he was leaning on and poured them into a skillet Loki had put on to heat for her, "turns out your brother has a secret talent for pastry-making. Who knew?"
"And after breakfast, if you are willing, perhaps you would help prepare the apples," Thor suggested. Loki nodded, and a few minutes later Annie declared the first batch of eggs ready to eat.
~oOo~
When the breakfast dishes, and the detritus from the other preparatory work, had been cleared away, Thor and Loki took over the centre island and the rest of the group began to wander off to their own devices. Jane even asked Tony and Coulson to look over some recent data of hers, and Annie seemed to take that as a cue, because she decided she wished to go upstairs and lie down for a little while.
Thor, as he placed flour and shortening and various other ingredients on the work surface, glanced around and remarked, "One thing I will say for our friends: they really are not subtle."
"No," Loki agreed, settling at a stool across from Thor with a sharp knife and a neat line of apples in need of peeling.
Thor smiled at him as he got to work on his pastry. "I assume Jane and Annie, at least, are giving us a chance to speak privately. Is there something on your mind, brother?" Loki suddenly found himself deeply engaged with the path of his knife across the surface of the apple in his hands, and the strip of peel that followed the blade. Thor pushed a little. "Does it have anything to do with Jane's renewed interest in my state of mind after... the Destroyer incident?"
Loki, carefully concentrating on his hands, finally answered. "It is not so much your mind that concerns us. Really, Thor, I know you have forgiven my actions, but I cannot help but feel- "
"We all know that about you, Loki," Thor interrupted, in a tone of kindly amusement. Loki glanced up in confusion, and Thor repeated gently back, "You cannot help but feel. Has that not been the reason for nearly everything you have ever done, for good or ill? Mostly for good, especially of late, but the point is, you and I are not entirely alike, so your assumptions regarding my state of mind are not warranted. I have told you how I felt in the wake of that... time. It was... unpleasant, and I was upset and very angry, but as I learned of your motivations I began to be able to understand. I do. There is no need to keep asking me how I felt, for I have told you all there is to know."
Loki looked down at his apple again, conscious of having been gently and kindly escorted out of a room in Thor's heart, and the door closed upon him. His old belief that Thor never lied had never felt less like the truth. The problem was, as a result of that curiously naïve assumption, Loki had never learned to recognize his brother's "tells," and he now had no idea of the exact nature of the falsehood. He only knew Thor refused to confide in him, and he certainly could not plead or demand his brother change his mind. Not about this.
He could feel Thor's gaze on his bent head, and then Thor changed the subject. To Loki's relief, his brother's tone was affectionate, as was the subject he chose. It almost felt... like something offered in place of what he had just been refused:
"Do you remember, when I visited you last, I mentioned those memories I had from childhood of mother expecting you? I had not thought of them in years. Is it not funny, how the minds of children make up such things? I suppose my real first memory of you must have been the first time I was allowed to hold you." Loki glanced up again, wondering whether Thor was recalling this to reassure Loki, or himself, that his fondness for his little brother was unchanged. Thor smiled, and went on, "I remember being afraid at first I would drop you, and then for some reason I became fascinated by your hands. They were so tiny, and yet you had little knuckles and fingernails like mine, and when you caught hold of my finger your grip was surprisingly strong." Thor smiled to himself as he sprinkled water onto his pastry mixture and continued to work at it, his own big hands quick and certain.
Loki, peeling the next apple, cast his own mind back. "I think my first memory of you must have been... There was a soft toy animal, I do not remember what it was, but it was out of my reach, and you gave it to me." The soft surface of the toy, and a warm little hand on his. He could go no farther back. And suddenly he heard himself asking: "Do you remember, in the kennels? I am told I shapeshifted- "
Thor laughed. "Yes, into a puppy. It probably should have been frightening, but I only remember being thrilled. And that you were very fluffy. I held you on my lap, and then as soon as the kennel master took the bitch away you changed back, so I suppose it was not long enough to become alarming. Hildr had to dress you again, and I remember how she fussed. Had I known any other children at the time, I probably would have been very boastful about the things my little brother could do."
It was on the tip of Loki's tongue, since they were talking of children, to tell Thor about his half-formed plans for teacher training. Instead, somehow, he was saying,
"Speaking of shapeshifting, the other day, before you visited... I was... experimenting with my other form. The Jotun one." Head still bent over his busy hands, he glanced up at Thor to see his brother's expression. Thor looked interested, and Loki went on, "It turns out the form you saw, that time on Asgard, was a rather incomplete version, and now I am better-acquainted with the people, I look... more Jotun. It was strange- for one thing, I am much larger than I was, although still small for a Jotun, and I look rather like... well, Byleistr and Helblindi, I suppose. Without hair, either. It was... very interesting."
"Not alarming?" Thor asked quietly, as he dusted flour across his work surface and began to roll out his pastry.
"No, not really. Not at all," Loki corrected himself. "It is still rather odd, especially since I had never really looked at myself in that form, but... No, I did not feel afraid."
"That is good," Thor said warmly. "Perhaps, before you leave us, you could show me- ?"
Loki nodded eagerly, relief blooming through him at his brother's expression. Acceptance, affection, more evidence that everything was not in ruins after all. Emboldened, and perhaps wishing to tell himself he was, for once, not the one holding back, Loki went on, "I also had a talk with one of the teachers at my school- "
Loki talked on, about the possibility of a new kind of life for himself on Midgard, and Thor nodded and asked questions, full of interest, until the pies were in one oven and Steve appeared to put the turkeys on to roast in the other.
~oOo~
The pies were set out to cool but the turkeys were still cooking when Tony announced that Pepper was insisting they all go play outside for a while.
"Touch football?" Clint suggested, eyes gleaming. Bruce snorted, and Steve said mildly,
"Not if your definition of 'touch' still includes brass knuckles."
"What is 'touch' football?" Loki asked Annie under his breath.
"No idea," Annie replied. "What Americans call football doesn't work anything like our football, anyway. There seems to be a lot of crashing into each other involved."
"Ah," Loki said.
"You know," Tony offered, his own eyes bright, "I've been working the kinks out of the new suit. Maybe we could test it out. Rhodey, I've got that one of yours, the one I was upgrading the chest repulsor on, out here too."
Rhodey shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
It was just as well Tony owned a great deal of land: the nearest neighbours were still too far away to be alarmed by the sounds of combat on the front lawn. Tony and Rhodey suited up and the Avengers spent a happy couple of hours challenging them with everything from handguns to Captain America's shield to exploding arrows to Mjolnir (which resulted in Rhodey being pinned to the lawn until Thor could stop laughing long enough to free him.) Loki even conjured a few fireballs to throw at them, but it was not difficult to tell his heart was not in it, and neither Tony nor Rhodey had any trouble deflecting them.
"Annie, suppose you try," Loki suggested suddenly, pointing to a stack of firewood piled up near the entrance to the cellar.
"Me?" Annie said doubtfully.
"Why not?" Loki coaxed. Raising his voice, he called, "Tony, Annie has discovered a new power! Watch this!"
Tony turned in the air, waved in Loki's direction, and took up a defensive posture. Annie smiled nervously, which of course Tony could not see, and then turned toward the woodpile.
A moment later the entire cord of hardwood came flying through the air and rained down on Tony, knocking him silly before he could bring his repulsors into play. Annie shrieked an apology, which of course Tony could not hear, but such was the nature of her powers that she was unable to call back the wood once it was unleashed. Rhodey shot up in the air to safety, Steve grabbed Natasha and held his shield over both of them, Thor batted a few stray lengths of firewood away with Mjolnir, and Loki actually had to cast a protective forcefield over himself and Clint, who was laughing too hard to duck.
"I think it's time we checked on the turkey," Steve suggested tactfully, when chunks of wood had finally ceased to rain down.
"Good idea," agreed Coulson, who had not been seen to dodge, and yet was somehow not anywhere near any of the falling wood.
"I think it's time for a drink," Tony announced, landing and wrenching his dented mask open with both hands. "Annie, I am very glad you're on our side."
"I'm so sorry, Tony," Annie said contritely. "Loki, tell him I'm sorry. And stop laughing!"
"Annie says she is very sorry," Loki hiccupped, from his position sitting on the ground next to Clint, both of them giggling too hard to get to their feet.
"No harm done," Tony assured her airily, although he wobbled a little as he walked toward the house.
"I really am sorry," Annie repeated anxiously. "Really, Loki, stop it!"
"I apologize," Loki giggled, then sobered as she set out for the back of the house. "Annie, do not be upset! You know Tony will find it funny as soon as his head stops ringing!"
"Not helpful, Loki," Clint suggested.
"I am aware of that," Loki replied, starting to his feet. Clint followed suit, and when Loki moved to follow Annie, forestalled him.
"You and Annie," the archer said. "You're... a thing."
"Yes," Loki replied, conscious of his face heating up. Clint nodded, then leaned toward him.
"How does it work, with a ghost?" he asked. Loki must have looked blank, because Clint continued, in a tone of genuine curiosity, "You know," and made a rather vivid gesture. Loki knew perfectly well what it meant, but, since he had no desire whatsoever to discuss the subject with Clint- or anyone else for that matter- Loki resorted to assuming an expression of what Tony or Mitchell would surely term clueless innocence, and held it until Clint flushed and muttered, "Never mind."
Loki left him and pursued Annie around the house to the terrace. "Annie, please stop. You did not hurt him. He is not angry at you."
"I know," Annie admitted. "I'm just embarrassed."
Loki uttered another incautious hoot of laughter. "You are embarrassed? Think how Tony feels!" Annie punched him in the chest, and Loki recoiled dramatically, clutching his sternum, before arguing, "Really, we should go indoors. I am cold and it must be nearly time to eat. Come on."
Annie seemed about to agree when she suddenly looked past Loki, her eyes interested. "Is that Bruce over there by the woods?"
Loki turned to look in the direction she indicated. Sure enough, there was Dr. Banner, standing very still near the tree line. "I wonder what he is doing?" Loki said aloud, curiosity welling up. He had not been surprised that Bruce had declined to join the others in the front yard- it would all be fun and games until the Hulk ripped someone's head off- but it seemed more than peculiar for him to be standing all alone like this.
Loki and Annie stepped off the terrace and walked toward Bruce. They were about twenty paces from him when both Loki and Annie realized Bruce was holding out his hands, and small gray-and-black birds were landing on them.
Coming to a halt, Loki called softly, "What are they?"
Bruce looked up, his face serene and friendly. "They're called black-capped chickadees," he replied quietly. "One of the most common songbirds in this part of the world."
"Oh." Loki pulled the zipper of his jacket all the way up to his chin and edged closer. "And how do you persuade them to- ?"
"Surprisingly easily," Bruce smiled. "They're friendly and very curious. And I think the staff must be feeding them anyway. Do you want to try?"
Loki was cold, which he did not like, and hungry. But he found himself wanting very badly for the little birds to sit on his fingers, too. He took another careful step toward Bruce and extended his hand so that the other man could tip a few sunflower seeds into it.
"Now. Just stand still and be patient," Bruce said quietly, and went back to holding his own hand away from his body.
Patience was not exactly one of Loki's not-very-numerous virtues- any who knew him would say so. However, he stood quietly for what seemed a very long time, hand extended, and waited.
The first little bird landed only long enough to pick up a seed and fly away again. The second, however, paused and looked at him for a few seconds, tiny eyes bright in its black and white face. Something small and quick brushed against his consciousness, then the bird took its seed and was gone. Loki blinked, and found himself smiling rather foolishly at his hand as he waited for the next little bird to land.
As it began to get dark, the birds stopped coming, and Tony finally came out on the terrace and yelled at Bruce and Loki to come in for dinner before they froze and everyone starved to death. Bruce tossed the last of the seeds he held into the bushes, and Loki followed suit, and then he and Annie followed them into the house.
~oOo~
The dining room did not look exactly like the feasting halls of Asgard, but that was only because of the presence on the table of fowls instead of boar, and a general lack of picked bones on the floor. (Although Loki thought someone should keep an eye on Clint.) Despite the fact she could not eat, there was a place set for Annie, around the curve of the table from Loki. Loki found his place was between Tony (next to Annie) and Jane (with Coulson on her other hand) while Annie had Thor for her other dining partner.
Loki's first instinct was to ask to trade seats with Thor, but then the rationale for the seating arrangement became clear: if the only way the humans could see and converse with Annie was by physical contact with Loki, then putting Loki between two humans instead of next to Annie effectively gave her an extra person to talk to. And since Coulson was quite matter-of-fact about reaching behind Jane to touch Loki, her social interactions were thus expanded a little further.
Really, Loki had not thought it possible for him to be any fonder of Tony, but it appeared he was wrong- despite the fact he spent the entire meal spilling and dropping things when Tony clutched his right arm unexpectedly. (Jane was a great deal less obtrusive in her contact.)
It should not have been a surprise, when they entered the house, to find Nick Fury had arrived, grumbling profanities about the length of the drive and carrying a bakery box and a bottle of something amber. His presence automatically transformed the foot of the table into the head (although no one said as much to Tony) with Steve on his left and Clint, looking briefly mutinous, on his right. On Steve's other hand was Rhodey, then Bruce, Pepper, Thor, and Annie, while Natasha occupied the seat between Clint and Coulson. One might have thought the seating arrangement would lead to far too much SHIELD shop being talked at that end of the table, but as far as Loki could hear Clint was mostly concerned with football and ice hockey ("Hockey," Natasha the Russian corrected him) and his end of the table seemed quite willing to fall in with sports as a topic of discussion.
When they were not concentrating on the food. It appeared that an American Thanksgiving feast was quite similar to what Loki had heard of British Christmas dinners- his household did not observe Christmas, what with George being Jewish and Mitchell a vampire, but the customs could be seen on television. There were no Brussels sprouts on the table, which was a shame (if he was ever invited back perhaps Loki could make them his contribution) but the carrots, peas, and mashed potatoes and turnip were all very good, especially half-drowned in gravy. Loki was mostly familiar with turkey as a filling in sandwiches, the whole bird being rather too large a prospect for a household of four people (only three of whom could eat), and he had never eaten "dressing" before. It looked rather dubious, to be honest, greyish and composed of bread and onions and what looked like a little sausage, but it smelled so wonderful Loki did not have to be invited twice to try it. The taste fulfilled the promises of its scent, especially with a little clear red cranberry sauce on the same fork.
The dish of something called candied yams was a little less successful, being rather too sweet for Loki's taste (he liked his tea heavily sugared, especially after casting magic, but was otherwise fairly moderate about sweets.) However, Thor enjoyed the dish so much that Loki resolved to learn how to cook it, for future visits by his brother.
Another difference between this meal and the feasts of Asgard was the absence of anyone to wait at table, which resulted in a great deal of passing dishes around, and then back and forth, when anyone wanted seconds. Loki found it most helpful to use his magic to hand things round to those at the far end. Watching everyone else, it began to occur to him that much of the group seemed a little awkward with the niceties of a family-style meal, including- to his surprise- Steve. He had been aware that the Avengers were a mixed bag of, for the most part, orphans and outcasts, but the idea had not really struck him deeply until he realized that he, the formerly banished prince of Asgard, seemed more familiar with such practices than Captain America.
Given his particular set of insecurities he probably would have insisted on helping clear the table regardless, but something about that revelation made Loki especially eager to participate. He, Rhodey, Annie and Steve put the mostly-empty serving dishes on one of the counters (yet one more difference between this feast and those of Asgard was the fairly accurate estimate of how many vegetables would be consumed- turkey and dressing seemed to be another matter altogether, with a remarkable amount left over) and turned their attention to apple pie and the blackberry cheesecake contributed by Nick Fury.
The cheesecake looked very tempting indeed, but with only sufficient appetite left for a single serving of anything, Loki naturally chose the pie. He and Annie served out slices of whichever treat was requested by the others, while Rhodey and Steve carried them to the dining room. Finally, they returned to the table, the three who intended to eat taking their own plates back to their places. As Loki sat down again he was very conscious of his brother trying not to look too obviously interested in Loki's reaction to his first taste of pie.
Loki would have waxed enthusiastic about Thor's apple pie supposing he had needed to cast an anti-vomiting spell upon himself to do so, but the smell of baked apple, cinnamon, and pastry had been so tantalizing that he had only with difficulty restrained himself from tasting in the kitchen. He was glad to have exercised restraint when he took his first bite- whatever expression crossed his face seemed to be exactly the one Thor was hoping for.
"Brother, this is indeed wonderful," he said faintly, exercising all the self-control he possessed to eat slowly, so as to enjoy every flakey morsel. "Should your interest in Avenging wane, you could certainly declare yourself the God of Pastry."
"I would get behind that," Clint agreed, without looking up from his plate, which contained slices of both pie and cheesecake.
When the meal was finally finished, by tacit agreement everyone briefly excused themselves to change into the least restrictive garments they had with them. Gluttony was actually one of the very few vices Loki did not normally possess, but he had eaten enough to satisfy Volstagg, and it was only with difficulty that he restrained himself from falling onto the bed and sleeping like a well-fed python.
"Turkey coma," Tony informed him, when he finally made his way back downstairs to the television room with its squashy sofas. Loki somehow found the energy to raise an eyebrow, and Tony insisted, "It's a thing, okay? Really."
"It's a myth," Bruce argued mildly, leaning back in one of the sofas and staring peacefully at the ceiling. "And you know it, Tony. I'd look up the reference but I'm way too full to think right now."
"It's a thing," Tony insisted, but then let the matter go, which was a relief since all Loki wanted out of life right now was to keep still and gaze at the ceiling himself.
Tony, of course, could not engage in such a quiet pursuit, and insisted that there be a DVD. It was perhaps proof that all things were connected when it turned out what he had in mind, apparently in deference to a partiality recently discovered in Steve, was A Muppet Christmas Carol.
"You might not remember this, Loki," said Tony, which was code for an event that happened immediately after you were abducted and tortured last summer, "but Steve thinks the Muppets are hilarious."
"Everyone thinks the Muppets are hilarious," Jane pointed out.
"And I only discovered them because you have a big stash of Muppet Show DVDs at your place in Scotland," Steve defended himself.
"Yes, well, whatever," Tony shrugged. "And it's officially the holiday season, so- here." He inserted the DVD into the player and gestured for everyone to be quiet.
The film turned out to be much more fun even than the picture book at school, particularly Scrooge, who was played by a human actor who managed to convey his character's ill temper and bad character while simultaneously managing to express traits worthy of salvage, to say nothing of an impression he was having more fun than should really be permissible.
The Muppet film was followed by something chosen by Clint, featuring considerably more firepower, but Loki did not see anything beyond the opening scene, having fallen asleep with his head on Thor's shoulder. At some point he was aware of being shaken gently awake and led upstairs, but he was hardly conscious of who did so. It transpired that turkey coma resulted in peaceful, dreamless sleep.
~oOo~
It was to be expected that no one who participated in the previous evening's repast would wish to eat anything else for at least a week, but when Loki and Annie ventured downstairs at just before noon, they discovered everyone else already awake and in the kitchen, eating turkey-and-dressing sandwiches on toasted bread. Loki was surprised to find himself hungry enough to join in, and the first bite explained to him why there had been such care taken to ensure leftover turkey.
"The dinner's always great," Coulson explained as he handed over cranberry sauce, "but the leftovers are even better." Loki found himself unable to argue the matter.
He was too much occupied with his sandwich to notice who was first to mention Harry Potter, but somehow- perhaps the turkey hangover was to blame- the table-talk turned into a general discussion of which House each member of the group would be Sorted into, should they find themselves at Hogwarts. It was Jane who brought up the Online Sorting Hat, and Tony who provided a laptop and slips of paper to mark down their answers so everyone could take the test at once.
The results were in some ways not surprising: any who knew Bruce and Jane would expect them, with their intelligence, to belong in Ravenclaw. Likewise, Thor being sent to Gryffindor, and Fury, Coulson and Natasha to Slytherin, were no more surprising than Annie once again being Sorted into Hufflepuff.
Tony, however, was not at all pleased to find himself in Slytherin.
"Oh hell no," he protested. "Have you seen the colours of my suit? There's no way I don't belong in Gryffindor."
"Bunch of brave, noble assholes," said Clint, who was apparently shaken by his assignment to that very House, along with Pepper and Rhodey.
"What's Hufflepuff like?" asked Steve, looking at his own results. Loki took his arm and Annie told him happily,
"You'll love it there."
"They value hard work, kindness, and loyalty," Pepper explained.
"Losers," Clint coughed, and Natasha hit him.
"Where are you assigned, Loki?" asked Rhodey, when he had finished commiserating with Clint.
"Also Hufflepuff," Loki replied defiantly, and trying to keep the relief out of his voice: he had feared he might forget the appropriate answers and find himself assigned... somewhere else.
"Hufflepuff," Tony demanded. "Hufflepuff? The God of Mischief? How'd you manage that? And what do you have in mind while you're there?"
"I merely answered the questions," Loki defended himself. "It was the Hat who made the decision."
Tony's eyes lit up. "You gamed it, didn't you? You tricked the Sorting Hat into putting you into the House you wanted. That's a pretty Slytherin stunt, for a Hufflepuff. Seriously, Loki, that's genius. What are you up to?"
"Nothing," Loki insisted. It was ridiculous to feel so defensive over a game, but he could not help it. "I am not up to anything. And if I am assigned to Hufflepuff, I never will be."
Tony looked at him again, eyes glinting, and opened his mouth- then suddenly closed it.
"Okay," he said, with a sudden expression of understanding. "Sure. Hufflepuff it is."
"Glad to have you," Steve smiled, and,
"I'm not at all sure we shouldn't worry about a quarter of the gang being put in Slytherin," Bruce spoke up quickly.
"Better than freaking Gryffindor," argued Clint, although it was not clear whether he was helping to take the focus off Loki or was simply still offended. "That's all we need, charge into a situation all up-front and noble and get our asses handed to us."
"Come now," Thor intervened, "there is more to each House than its cardinal qualities. Is not Hermione Granger a Gryffindor, despite being the brightest witch of her age ever known?" He glanced around as though challenging anyone to argue with him. The others looked far too surprised at the evidence Thor had read the Harry Potter books to do anything of the kind. Loki wondered whether the rest of the group quite understood how strange it was for any of them to be so well-versed.
"Have we missed all the football on this weekend?" Clint asked next, and Coulson suddenly looked alert. Well, more alert than usual.
"Actually, no. I just remembered, it's Grey Cup Sunday. Alouettes versus Stampeders, in Winnipeg. It's on later this afternoon."
Clint narrowed his eyes. "Is that the Canadian Football League?" he demanded.
"Sure," Coulson replied. Clint muttered an oath. "Come on, Barton, it's better than NFL football and you know it." Clint opened his mouth again, and Loki cast a spell of silence over him until he seemed to calm down. Coulson gave him a bland look and then put some more bread in the toaster.
Despite Clint's protests, when the game began everyone was to be found together on the squashy couches. Annie and Loki had no idea what to expect, and the only explanation for the game offered was by Coulson, to Steve, and it was more than incomplete:
"It's a bigger field, with one fewer down, one more man on the field, and no fair catches. There are a few other differences in the rules but those are the most obvious ones." Coulson looked thoughtful, then went on, "And you said one day that you have trouble relating to modern athletes and their huge salaries. Well- "
"Well, then, you'll love the CFL," Clint snickered. "Because those guys are paid nothing."
"Well," Steve said cheerfully, "I'm convinced." Clint groaned.
Despite having no idea what was going on, Loki and Thor decided they would cheer for the Stampeders of Calgary, in their red-and-black uniforms. Steve good-naturedly opted for the Alouettes of Montreal, in their red-white-and-blue. Coulson also supported the Alouettes, although his reasons had less to do with their uniforms than their "quarterback," whatever that was. Regardless, by the time the game began, it was also time for more sandwiches, which held Loki's attention nicely.
And actually, by the time the game was well underway, Loki and Annie were both beginning to understand what was going on. Apparently, the object of the game was to transport the ball from one end of the field to the other, against opposition from defensive players apparently bent upon squashing the ball-carrier into a fine paste on the field.
Such squashing seemed exceedingly likely, based both on the size of the defenders- many of whom bore a truly remarkable resemblance to Volstagg- and also owing to the field being completely frozen. After ten or fifteen minutes of watching the players' breath steam into the air, almost everyone in the group had to put on sweaters.
"Where are they playing?" asked Thor. "Jotunheim?"
"Winnipeg," Coulson replied.
"So: close," Fury added.
Partway through the first half of the game, snow began to fall quite hard on the field and the bundled-up humans in the stands- none of whom seemed at all inclined to leave. Loki found himself wondering whether they were all frozen solid, and also how anyone could hold a ball, let alone throw it, with his hands frozen into claws. The Alouettes' quarterback, a man whose expression of calm competence made it clear why Coulson admired him, seemed to have little difficulty. Indeed, he also showed little fear of the phalanx of Volstaggs bearing down upon him as he squared around to throw the ball. Loki found himself wondering how he could even see what he was throwing at, with his vision so obstructed by large men.
By the halfway point of the game, Loki had quite forgotten which team he was cheering for: he found himself mostly interested in the continued health and welfare of whichever quarterback was currently throwing.
And, in spite of his complaints, by the fourth "quarter" of the game Clint seemed just as interested as anyone, and seemed to have thrown his support behind Coulson's team, who despite their best efforts were trailing by three points. With less than a minute to go, the Alouettes executed something called an "on-side kick" and got the ball back, then the quarterback released a long, high spiraling throw that sailed into the arms of a player running into the "end zone" and the game was effectively over. Loki found himself being embraced by Clint, and Annie would have been crushed between the two of them, if she had not been a ghost.
"See?" Coulson said, coolly triumphant. "Much better football." Clint recovered his dignity and made an obscene gesture at him. Loki, who still did not understand exactly what this game was supposed to be "better than" asked,
"Is it really?"
Coulson very nearly smirked. "No, it just annoys Clint when I say so."
Annie stretched. "Loki, I think it might be time we thought about going home."
"I had just begun to think the same thing," Loki agreed, rather reluctantly. In spite of missing George, and Mitchell, and the kittens and Scamp and his own bed, he found himself wishing the visit could go on for a day or two longer- so long as he was not asked to eat another enormous meal any time soon.
"What, you're going?" asked Tony, when he understood what Loki was saying. "Hang on, though, you have to take some leftovers home to the guys. I'll put a container together for you."
Pepper rose gracefully to her feet. "I'll do that."
"Nope," Tony said cheerfully, "you're not supposed to be lifting a finger, and that definitely counts as finger-lifting. Loki, I'll do that while you pack."
Loki and Annie went upstairs, and while Loki was stuffing his belongings into his backpack, there was a tap at the door. Loki opened it, and Thor was revealed on the other side. Annie took one look at Thor's anxious face and vanished.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked hesitantly.
"Nearly," Loki replied.
Thor twisted his hands together. "Before you leave... you did say you would show me- "
Loki stared at him for a moment, blinking in confusion. And then- "My Jotun form. Yes, of course. I had nearly forgotten." He could have bitten his tongue out when he realized what he had said- My promise to you was not important enough to remember- but for some reason Thor was suddenly smiling.
"You forgot?" he asked. Loki nodded. "Only forgot?"
"Yes," Loki spluttered. "What with... the silly games, and all the food, and... I just forgot." He fidgeted. "I am sorry. It is not that I do not consider it important- "
Thor nodded, still smiling. "Or, apparently, anything to worry about."
Loki blinked. "Apparently not," he said, smiling as well. "I can show you now, if you like." Thor nodded, and Loki reconsidered. "Although... perhaps a bath towel would be preferable to these trousers. As I said, my Jotun form seems much bigger these days. One moment." He stepped into the hall and nearly ran slap into Annie.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I promised to show Thor my Jotun form. Only... " Loki gestured, indicating something much taller and broader than himself. Annie stared at him, Loki tugged at his shirt, and somehow Annie got the message.
"Right. Well. Perhaps I'll leave you to it, then."
A moment later, holding a bath towel around his waist, Loki stepped back into the bedchamber.
"Ready?" he asked Thor, and now he was suddenly nervous. Thor raised his eyebrows, the picture of friendly interest, and nodded. Loki took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and reached for the feeling of cold through his body.
A moment later, he heard a muffled intake of breath and snapped open his eyes.
And looked down into Thor's astonished face.
Astonished, mind. Only astonished. Not horrified, or frightened, or disgusted, or any of the things Loki once would have expected of him. He was only surprised.
And then Thor laughed. Brought his hand to his mouth, and laughed, and said, "My little brother."
Loki looked down at his big brother standing before him, and found himself laughing, too.
~oOo~
George and Mitchell were on the sofa, each with a kitten on his lap and Scamp stretched out on her back between them, when Annie and Loki walked into the house. Loki waved. Annie looked at the pizza boxes and crumpled crisp bags on the floor, raised her eyebrows- and then vanished, presumably upstairs to make sure her room was not in wreckage.
"I would clean that up, if I were you," Loki remarked.
"In good time," Mitchell said lazily.
"Welcome back," said George.
"Good to see you," Loki replied, and looked around the room. The garbage got up and, under the interested eyes of his housemates- to say nothing of Philip, Elizabeth, and Scamp- marched into the kitchen, where it scrambled into the rubbish bin under the sink.
"The question is, why don't we always clean that way?" George asked.
"Because I have professional standards," Loki replied. "And so do you." He reached into one of his inter-dimensional hidey-holes and retrieved two plastic containers.
"What are those?" Mitchell asked, perking up.
"Brussels sprouts," Loki replied, handing him the container of turkey and dressing, and the second of apple pie. "With love from Thor and Tony Stark."