It's the middle of summer. An unusually hot summer. The only person who wanted to be around Steve was Bucky. Nobody needs a human space heater in this heat.
Especially since the air conditioning just broke.
“Stark!!! Why is it so damn hot?!” Bucky snapped.
“Maybe it’s because you’re curled up with Captain Space Heater!!”
“He’s my emotional support Captain.”
“I could replace him with a golden retriever and you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”
“Yes I would.”
“No you wouldn’t.”
“I would. Now why did you break the man-made weather machine?”
“Hey! Don’t blame me, blame Clint’s vent crawling!”
“It’s been an entire week! You. Are. Rich! It should be fixed already!”
“Oh shut it, parent killer.”
“Must you bring that up every single time you are losing an argument?”
“Yes. Yes I must.” Tony sassed before a very blue Loki stumbled into the room.
“Drink a bit too much Elsa?”
“I will throw you from this tower again Stark.”
“Yeah, yeah, just why exactly are you stumbling around all blue?”
“Well Stark if you haven’t noticed I am a creature of the cold. It's too gods-damn hot for me to keep any illusions up let alone function properly.”
“Oh boo-hoo frosty.”
“Are all Midgardians so rude to royalty or is it just you, short one?”
“It’s an American trait.”
Loki’s face scrunches in disgust. “Of course it is. Just fix the air ice box so I may return to my normal state.”
A very disgruntled looking Peter Parker ran through the living room before halting so abruptly at the sight of blue Loki he nearly face planted.
A true blow to his ego.
“Mr. Prince Loki! Why are you blue? Did you get in a fight with the Blue Man Group?”
“The- I- What Child? No. This is just my unfortunate natural state.”
“Oh. It looks cool.” Parker didn’t even realize the god tier pun he just uttered as Loki's heart visibly melted.
He tried to regain some of his cold-hearted dignity with a half-hearted attempt to brush it off, “Of course it is cool, little one. I am a frost giant after all.”
“That- That makes actually. Anyways gotta run!” Peter started to run off before being stopped by one disappointed dad, Tony Stark.
“Kid, where is the fan I gave you? You know you can’t thermoregulate. I don’t want you getting hurt.”
That feeling of dread you get when you disappoint an adult you look up to settled in Peter’s gut, “I uh I um IKindaLostThemWhenITookThenOffOutsideBecuaseItsEmbarrassingThatICantCoolMyselfDownLikeANormalPerson.”
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. “Do you know how long it took me to design those fans? So that they wouldn’t cool you down too much but you wouldn’t overheat?”
“I’m s-“
“I don’t want to hear it. I’m disappointed in you young man. I specifically told you to wear it. You were not to take it off unless in ac, correct?”
Peter’s shoulders slump and he desperately tries to hold back the tears that only form when you are a disappointment.
“Kid. I asked a question.”
“Yes, Mr. Stark.”
“What am I going to do with you kid? The AC here is broken and the soonest the company can get here is tomorrow.”
Peter was inching closer and closer to tears when Loki stepped close and interjected. “Does the boy not have an aunt he can stay with?”
Peter without even knowing it started to lean into the Frost Giant for his natural coolness, which caused Loki to flinch ever so slightly. “May is out of town for the week. So I can’t stay with her.”
Seeing the way Peter reacts to Loki, the genius has an idea. “You know what Frosty? You get to babysit underoos here.”
“What.”
“You heard me, blue boy! You keep saying you want us to trust you more. So I’m trusting you. Keep my child cool and don’t turn him into a villain.”
Loki spluttered, “I- I am a prince! I do not know how to care for a child!”
“He can mostly care for himself. You just have to make sure he doesn’t overheat, stays off patrols, goes to bed at a decent hour, eats a proper dinner, and doesn’t get injured!”
“I can barely make sure I do those things! How do I ensure a child does them!?!”
“You’ll figure it out. I believe in you. Which I know is new for you.”
Loki scowled. “Need I remind you that I am over 1000 and a god. Many people believe in me.”
“Just watch the kid. It’ll be good for you.”
“Whatever.” He mumbled, “An asgardian prince reduced to a common nanny.”
“It could be worse. I could make you go outside and do community service.”
“You don’t get to order me around.”
“I pay for everything. Yes I do.”
During Tony and Loki’s argument, Peter snuck off to try and go on patrol. Something he most certainly should not be doing. He didn’t get very far before Loki snapped his fingers and he was teleported to be sitting in front of him on the floor.
“Mr. Loki! Why did you do that?!”
Tony and Loki gave him the exact same look.
“You heard the tin can. You are not to be patrolling right now. It is to hot and you have not been sleeping enough, minn dor-dígull.”
“I am sleeping just fine, thank you very much.”
Scooping the spider boy up and holding him so he can see just how much the leucomelanous man did not believe that statement.
“The circles under your eyes say differently.”
Pouting at being held up like a cat Peter grumbled. “They aren’t that bad.”
“I could fit an entire pocket dimension in those bags.”
With no retort to that Peter just continued pouting. That was until Loki cradled him to his chest like a toddler. Which his 5’7 spider might as well be in the arms of the 6’2 asgardian.
“I’m not a baby you know. I’m 17!”
“That is barely more than a newborn compared to me, minn dor-dígull.”
“I have no idea what that means but I resent it!”
Loki laughed, a real laugh, one of the rarest sounds on Earth. “Let’s get you dinner so you can go to bed.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Yes you are.” The raven haired man set the teen on the counter to look in the fridge and freezer. He then pulled out a bag of Dino nuggets. “You like these, correct? I’ve seen Stark give them to Morgan so I assume they are a delicacy for midgardian children.”
“They are good I guess.”
“Hm.” Loki put them back and continued searching. “What do you like to eat, dor-dígull”
“I dunno. I’m not hungry.”
“Hm.”
The god snapped his fingers and in a green puff of magic a plate of food appeared.
“What. Is that?”
“Kjøttkaker med brunsaus. My mother would have the staff make this for me whenever I’d get in one of these moods.”
“Oh.”
“Eat. Or I shall feed you as one would a small child.”
“What is it? In English please.”
“It’s…” Loki hesitated, trying to find the words in English. “It is meatballs, with brown gravy and smashed potatoes.”
“Ah.” Peter took a small bite and his pupils immediately dilated.
“You like it spider?”
The boy nodded, quickly eating the rest which caused Loki to grin. As soon as the plate was clean Loki snapped and the plate was gone. Scooping Peter up he began to head towards the bathroom.
“All right now brush your teeth.”
“I can walk, you know.”
“You have little legs and I do not feel like slowing my pace.” Loki was so good at lying he could even do it to himself.
After Peter brushed his teeth Loki deposited him onto his bed.
“Goodnight minn dor-dígull.”
“C-can you stay? At least until I fall asleep?”
Loki froze. He wanted him to stay? Someone wanted him to stay? He was wanted?
“I-I suppose I can.” He sat on the edge of the bed.
“Thanks.” The little Spider shifted to make room for the god to snuggle him.
“What are you doing?”
“Making room for you.”
“Why?”
“I need cuddles to sleep.”
“O-ok.” Loki hesitantly laid down, mind running a million miles per hour. The boy made room for him. The boy needed him. Someone needed him. Needed him to be close. Needed to cuddle him. Needed. Needed. Needed.
The moment Peter snuggled into him his cold, dismissive demeanor practically shattered. He was on the verge of tears.
The child wanted to be close. To be held. He was trusted enough by this one person for them to want to be close. He was wanted. Wanted.
Loki’s voice was more cracked then a prepubescent boy, “Sleep well, minn dor-dígull.”
“You too my Loki.” Peter was asleep moments after he finished his sentence.
Not Loki. No.
Loki was silently sobbing and clinging.
The boy trusted him. The boy wanted him. The boy needed him. The boy didn’t care that he was a villain. The boy didn’t care that he was blue.
The whole of the nine realms may view him as a liar and monster.
But the small child in his arms didn’t.
Maybe that was enough.
Maybe Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, the Rightful King of Jötunheim, God of Mischief, was finally good enough.