SOKOVIA ✦ marvel oneshots

bittersweet

( agate )

...

LOKI FELT AT PEACE. It was an uncommon feeling, perhaps the first time feeling it. He was so used to jealousy, to anger, to despair, that peace, of all things, was completely foreign to him. Even as a boy, he was constantly striving to prove himself, to earn his father's love, that he was never really at peace.

Now, however, as he stood in the small kitchen, cutting fruits, preparing the dessert, stirring the pots and checking on the bake, he found it peaceful. The acts he was performing were quite stressful --- he couldn't let the roast burn, or put too much salt in the sauce, nor let the soup overboil --- but he enjoyed it, keeping track of everything in perfect precision.

On Asgard, meals were prepared for him, everything he could possibly want. On Earth, with you, meals were had to be cooked. He never imagined he'd like it so much, but considering how good he was at it, he wasn't surprised. It was almost therapeutic.

"Hey, Y/N said you could use some help?" The boy, Peter was his name, wandered into the kitchen, the oak floorboards creaking beneath his weight. He pulled up his sleeves and placed his hands onto the counter, grinning. "Seems like you're overworked. My aunt, May, says I'm really good at slicing things, I can takeover."

Loki's hand stilled slicing ruby red apples, his disinterested gaze meeting Peter's. "If you wish. Wash your hands first, and be careful."

Peter's hand shot up, giving Loki a quick salute before setting off to his task. It had surprised Loki at how quickly the boy had forgiven him. The others were, for good reason, reluctant and weary to accept Thor's homicidal brother back on Earth. Then came this kid, only a handful of years---or maybe more than that, he didn't really care to understand human ages--- calling him "Mr. Loki" or Sir, being helpful and cracking jokes.

It was the boy and you that broke the team's guard. Coaxing them to accepting him, until soon enough, they were coming over for dinners and lunches at yours and his cottage. Just as they were on this day.

"You've done a great job, everything looks so good!" Peter said, excitement coating his voice as he stared at the already cooked meals, each set out on the counter, artfully presented. "Everyone's been dying to eat, you have no idea how much the aroma is getting to us."

"I can only imagine." And imagine he could, because the last time your team bombarded the home, Clint had snuck into the kitchen on multiple occasions to steal bites, sharing with your dog and cat as he did. "They'll have to wait. Such things can't be rushed."

Loki stretched his neck to the side, peering out the large windows onto the deck that overlooked the lake he loved so much. You were sat with Bruce, talking and laughing as Steve and Sam told a story to Clint, Bucky leaning back and listening quietly, nudging Natasha each time he was told of doing something grand, and her rolling her eyes, a small smirk on her painted lips. The sun was setting, casting everyone in a warm glow, and for a brief second, it looked as if the image in front of his eyes was a painting from a story with only the happiest ending possible.