Working Title : Loki & Annie

61 Children Are a Blessing From the Gods

Annie was dressed in her good jeans and a cotton top with flowers on it. Nothing fancy but acceptable for hanging out with friends. She had decided to get dressed before picking out Loki's clothes, that way Thor could get dressed at the same time she did. He had chosen to also wear jeans that he combined with a deep red Asgardian tunic that had sleeves short enough to show off the muscles of his arms. He looked nice. Very nice.

Now they were all in the boy's bedroom, waiting for Annie to finish getting Loki dressed. She had picked out his little pair of jeans and was now holding up two of the turtlenecks. "So which one? The red one?" She shook that one. "Or the blue one?" She waved that one while keeping a close eye on Loki's eyes, she wanted to see if she could tell which one he preferred.

Loki looked quickly at Not-His-Thor. Which one was the right one to choose? Loki swallowed while studying the first one then the other before starting over. He didn't know the answer. Not-His-Thor hadn't liked Loki wanting the blue drying cloths rather than the green ones but there was no green shirt. Perhaps it was just the color blue? Loki really wanted the blue one.

Annie kept the frown from her face as she watched Loki raise his arm to point at the red shirt. She had a feeling that wasn't the shirt he wanted.

"You sure?"

Loki wasn't sure. He wanted the blue shirt. He glanced between Not-His-Thor and Annie. He thought that Annie wanted him to pick the blue shirt but he was sure that Not-His-Thor wanted him to pick the red shirt. Loki swallowed, a tight feeling in his stomach. He looked again between Annie and Not-His-Thor then nodded his head and again pointed to the red shirt. Annie would forgive him. He wasn't sure if Not-His-Thor would.

Annie kept her frown as small as she could, then spoke trying to sound accepting. "Okay, let's get you dressed then." It was obviously going to take time for Loki to feel comfortable making his own choices rather than trying to just please Thor. She wondered what Loki was thinking while deciding.

Thor had stood through this with his arms folded over his chest, he didn't understand why Annie was leaving Loki's choice of clothing to him. She simply needed to decide and then dress his Brother, Loki's thoughts on the clothes should not be a consideration. He sighed soft enough to not gather her attention. He would accept it just as he did all the other curious actions Annie took with Loki. After all, he had no experience with small children other than having been one himself.

"There!" Annie rose from where she had been kneeling in front of Loki after helping him dress. He stood in the red shirt, blue jeans with tennis shoes. He was so freakin' cute. She gave him a crooked smile, "You're a cutie in your new clothes."

Standing in these strange clothes Loki nibbled on his bottom lip while squeezing Hulk and Thor against his chest. He rubbed his chin on their softness. The odd clothes felt stiff and slightly scratchy even though the material was soft enough. He leaned forward to look at the footwear Annie had put on his feet. He had never worn anything like them, he wasn't sure what to think about them. But he could probably like them. He met Annie's eyes. He decided he would like them for her.

"Okay, let's head down. Do you want to walk?"

This answer Loki didn't even have to think about, he held his arms up indicating he wanted her to pick him up.

Thor stepped in, "I will carry him." 

Loki felt disappointment wash into his chest but let Not-His-Thor pick him up without protest.

 Thor lifted the little body that felt frail and all bones, holding Loki close to his chest. The scent of Loki's soap mixed with the faint scent of Loki. The smell of snow and cold mixed with the sharp bite of green ice. Under that faint hint was one slightly bitter. Uncertainty. Fear. Thor pulled Loki tighter to him while rubbing his back as he followed Annie out of the bedroom. Thor could feel all the little knobby bones of his Brother's spine.