Loki and Peter Parker, an unlikely friendship

Unusual Habits

For the next few days, Peter and Loki followed a similar pattern. Every day after Peter returned from school or decathlon practice, he would ask Loki what level he felt that day. If Loki replied with something below a six they would stay in and watch a movie (mostly Star Wars due to Peter making the decision on what to watch). However if Loki replied with a six or above, he would find himself dragged out of the Stark Tower to indulge in new forms of entertainment such as trying different cuisines of New York. One of his favourite's had turned out to be Peter's favourite too at an establishment called "Delmar's Sandwiches" to which he enjoyed a simple yet thrilling meal on the senses.

Loki allowed himself to be influenced by this boy, he smiled more around him, laughed harder with him than he had in years and even felt the warmth in his chest that he had only ever felt with Frigga. She was the only one who he had considered his true family on Asgard, Odin had never been his birth father but Loki couldn't care less after finding out the truth about his heritage. Lied to his entire life and then been raised to hate the very being he was by the man that claimed to have saved him from a worse fate. No. Odin was nothing more than the God that took him from his home world and spoke of 'peace' and 'salvation' as an excuse for his actions. Frigga was always Loki's mother, she always had been, and always will be.

Nevertheless, he remembered how she would comfort him, how she would speak softly in his ear and hold him gently in her arms as he found peace in her presence. When the dark elves had attacked their home on Asgard, Loki had been the cause of his mother's pain. Her suffering. He was the reason she had gotten hurt, her stomach impaled with the blade held by a dark elf. It was her who taught him his abilities, his powers, his strength. But where was he when she needed him. He was to blame and him alone, nothing was going to change his opinion, not Thor, not Heimdall, not. anyone.

Peter had gotten use to life at the tower by now, with May on business trips, he had the opportunity to spend each day with an avenger! Unfortunately there would always be a cloud to block out the sun, and this cloud just so happened to be exams. Boring, long, exams that crept up on Peter before he had a chance to study. Of course he spend half his nights studying already and the other half Spider-manning but if there was one thing he had learnt with his time at the tower was how loud it can get. And when he says loud, he means loud, loud. Like Thor fights at 12:00 am or Mr Stark building something at 2:00 am or how early Captain Rogers got up to run! 

Peter found it difficult to study with so many distractions, his advanced hearing didn't help either and as a result, he was forced to result to...different means of studying.

It was well into the night when Loki was awoken, in fact it was no longer the night and was now extremely early in the morning. In his green pyjamas made of silk, he walked out of his room. He never slept much anyway but something else was keeping him awake this time, not his thoughts. Tiredly trudging through the halls of the tower, he looked for the original of the noise. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, everything was exactly where it had been left the previous day and no lights had been turned on.

Something still didn't seem right, he kept walking, past the rooms of the other avengers until he noticed that Peter's door was slightly open. Peering through the crack of the door, he saw an untouched bed laid empty as well as the rest of the room.

His heart caught in his chest, a breath he tried to exhale stuck as a lump in his throat formed. He tried to push it down but couldn't as he was distracted by how loud his heartbeat thumped in his chest. Talking a few steps into the room, he tried to deny the thoughts forming in the back of his mind. 'Where is he? He was here earlier wasn't he? Why has no one been told of his disappearance yet?' He thought until something clicked in his mind. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y where is Peter." He said, hoping the A.I would know.

"I am not at liberty to divulge that information to you Mr. Odinson." The female voice replied. 

Loki huffed in frustration, he almost felt the need to conjure a dagger to throw at the speakers in the ceiling above but thought better of it.

"Well is he still in the tower?" He asked in frustration and panic. 

"Indeed, he is." She said, Loki's patience with this machine was being tested.

"Why can't you tell me his whereabouts then?" Loki asked trying his best not to scream in anger.

"I have been programmed with a 'do not disturb' protocol for when Peter is studying at a specific location in the tower, it would be a breach of my coding to defy the programme." F.R.I.D.A.Y explained, how Stark had never discovered this part of her programming had been a miracle so far.

Loki sighed, he knew he was getting nowhere with the robot and didn't wish to spend more time trying to trick it into telling him Peter's location when he could be looking for Peter at the same time.

He searched every floor of the tower, he thought it wise not to inform the others as it would only worry them, and he didn't need the stress of the avengers on his chest as well as his own. It was only in the cells where Loki felt a strange presence, he checked every cell but found nothing until he heard the gentle snoring of someone above him. Climbing up to the ceiling using the hand railings of the ramp that lead to the glass cells, he slowly took the grill off the vent  and found (what appeared to be) a sleeping Peter, peacefully resting in the vents for some reason.

 He was surrounded by books, pieces of paper that were stuck to his face as it was lead against the vent floor and pencils still clutched in his hands. It looked like Peter had been writing notes about something but had drifted to sleep before he could leave the vents. Loki was slightly impressed on how he managed to get in there in the first place, it was quite small for someone Peter's size and must have been uncomfortable to sleep in.

Loki chuckled under his breath, he often forgot how young Peter really was. Trying his best not to wake him, Loki slowly pulled Peter out the vents and grabbed the belongings that had been left scattered inside. With Peter's stuff in his backpack and slung across Loki's arm, he decided to carry Peter over his shoulder in the other arm. He could've easily teleported both of them back to Peter's bedroom, but he started to grow drowsy and didn't feel up to using magic at this hour.

"You foolish and stubborn child." Loki muttered to himself.

He carefully lead Peter down in his bed, pulling the covers up to his neck and stared at the child. Loki had  hoped that with all his responsibilities, Peter was still taking care of himself  as well, but obviously he was far from the truth. A child this young had too much weight on his shoulders and was going to need more help to carry it. 

Loki let his hands caress Peter's head, brushing his brunette curls away from his forehead and feeling how soft and warm Peter's skin was. Letting a small smile sneak out his lips, Loki got up to leave. He turned back to see Peter spurring in his sleep slightly, before relaxing again as his chest rose up and down under the covers, taking gentle breaths.

Frigga was the one who had taught Loki how to care when he was young, how to nurture and love. Most of those memories with his mother had sadly dissipated after the years of self torment and hatred towards Odin. He was thankful that he was able to remember them now and took one last look at Peter, he now knew why his mother had been so passionate about caring for something so delicate as a flower or wounded animal. Peter was just a little spider that needed Loki's help just like his mother had shown him in his childhood. 

And with that he left Peter to sleep, making sure that his dreams were filled with magic and peaceful tranquility.