Brownies?
Peter was staring at the ceiling and munching on some crackers. Tony and the Avengers had left on a mission that Peter couldn't go on because it got in the way of his finals. So, Peter was bored. He let his hearing loose, picking up on conversations around the compound. Peter rarely used his enhanced hearing to the fullest potential because it could trigger sensory overloads, but Peter was bored. He heard about Mitch, one of the R&D interns, shopping for rings to pop the question to his boyfriend, Levi. Peter listened to a mother argue with a babysitter over what to do when Cindy wouldn't stop crying for almost an hour. Peter assumed Cindy was the child.
Currently, he was listening to Niko, the front person at the lobby, talk to their best friend about the differences in Monster Energy drinks. It was actually entertaining, even though Peter wasn't allowed to drink energy drinks. Niko was talking about the Mango Loco flavor when a loud crash made Peter wince harshly.
"What the hell was that?"
"There was a crash in the guest quarters," FRIDAY supplied.
Peter frowned. As far as he knew, no one actually occupied the guest quarters. Peter put his crackers on the table and got up, heading to the elevator. "The guest quarters, FRIDAY, please."
The elevator started descending, and shortly, the doors opened to reveal the common area to the guest quarters absolutely trashed. Peter walked in, ready to fight, but he was not prepared for what he saw.
Peter had no idea what to say when Loki, God of Mischief, was in the compound and trashing it. Fortunately, Peter didn't have to say anything. Loki must've heard him because he whirled around and threw a dagger. Peter caught it before it hit him, grateful for spider senses and quick reflexes.
Peter let his arm fall, dagger still in hand. "Um, hi? I'm Peter Parker." With a twist of Loki's hand, the knife in Peter's hand disappeared and appeared in Loki's hand.
Loki held the blade up and narrowed his eyes. "I've never seen you before. Why are you here?"
Peter shuffled from foot to foot, scratching the back of his neck. "Um, I sorta live here? I mean, I live here sometimes, but I stay here a lot, so I have a room. Well, so does Happy, and he rarely ever stays here. I'm pretty sure he's only slept over, like, twice in the time I've met him. Tony just likes giving everybody a room."
Loki was still glaring at Peter, and Peter realized he was rambling.
"I'm sorry. It's just you're Loki, and I never thought I would get to meet you, and I guess I'm a little starstruck." Peter huffed out a nervous chuckle in an attempt to clear the tension. "You should've seen me when I met Natasha. I couldn't form coherent sentences for like a good hour."
Loki still wasn't saying anything, but he didn't look ready to slice Peter into pieces, so Peter continued talking, taking a step forward.
"I have so many questions. I mean, I know Wanda got her power from the mind stone, but how did you get your powers? Were you born with them? How long did it take you to perfect your illusions? Did you ever send a fake you to school to ditch and do pranks when you were a child? Wait. Did you even have school? I don't know how things work in Asgard."
Loki straightened, the knife disappearing, and Peter's eyes widened, and he stepped closer to Loki.
"Woah! How'd you do that? Was it an illusion the whole time? Or can you call upon your dagger? Where do they go when you're not using them?"
Loki stared at Peter for a second longer before finally speaking. "You are an interesting child, Peter Parker."
Peter's excitement and curiosity died down, and he frowned, tilting his head. "Is that good or bad? Because there's good interesting and bad interesting."
There was a tug to the corners of Loki's mouth. "Good interesting. I can answer all of your questions, child."
Peter's smile returned. "Great. Just one more question. What are you doing here?"
"Ah," Loki said. "I have been grounded while my brother goes off to wave his hammer with his new friends."
Peter nodded, understanding. "Yeah, same here. I have exams, and Tony didn't want me missing out on them."
Loki raised an eyebrow. "You go along on their missions? You're a child."
"I'm almost an adult." Peter pouted. "And I help out on missions. I'm super strong and really sticky."
Loki still looked skeptical, but he let it go. "Well, what would you like to know first?"
Peter's face split into a large smile and erupted in another rant, this time Loki but in, answering questions or making sarcastic remarks. Peter showed his superstrength by picking up furniture while Loki stood on it, and Loki showed Peter how he summons his weapons. Peter showed Loki how he stuck to things by walking on the ceiling, and Loki showed Peter some neat illusions. Peter talked about how it feels to have heightened senses, and Loki spoke about his mother teaching him magic.
Eventually, Loki looked at Peter, lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. "Why aren't you weary of me?"
Peter hesitated for a second, trying to articulate his response correctly. "I-I know that you weren't in control when you attacked New York, and Thor has told me how you helped him when your sister tried to kill your people." Peter paused, looking at Loki to make sure he hadn't said the wrong thing, but Loki was waiting for Peter to continue. "And I know that Odin hid the fact that you are a frost giant your whole life. You were never a bad guy, Loki. You were lied to and used, and you used what you could to cope with that."
They were both quiet for a long time, and Peter was getting anxious that he did say something wrong, but then a soft smile stretched across Loki's face. He didn't say anything, but Peter knew he was thankful, and so, Peter continued rambling about Asgard's elective courses.
*
Eventually, Tony and the Avengers came back from the mission a few days later, with some scrapes and bruises, but they would survive.
"Where's Peter, Fri? He should be here by now."
"Mini-Boss is in the guest quarters with Loki."
The mug Tony was holding dropped and smashed on the ground. He ran over to the elevators and ordered FRIDAY to take him to the guest quarters. He could already imagine what Loki could be doing to his kid.
When the doors opened, Tony ran inside, ready to blast Loki back to New Asgard, but he slid to a halt at what he saw. Loki was doing pushups while Peter sat on him, criss-cross, and read a book.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Peter looked up and smiled. "Oh, hi, Tony. Loki and I are seeing who can do more pushups with the other sitting on them. I'm at 211, and Loki's at..." Peter let Loki go down and up, then said, "97."
Tony stared at Peter, then at Loki, God of Mischief, who seemed to be struggling to do the 98th push-up.
Tony's mouth dropped. "How...?" He trailed off, not knowing what he exactly wanted to ask.
Peter seemed to know because he closed his book and said, "Oh, I've been keeping Loki company for the past few days. We made brownies earlier. They're still some left on the table if you want any."
"You...brownies?"
"All right! I give, kid!" Loki grunted out, and Peter shot a web to the ceiling and got himself off Loki.
Loki let his arm drop, and he sighed in relief. After a few seconds, Loki got up and approached Peter. Once again, Tony was about to yell at Loki to get away from his kid, but Loki smiled. A genuine smile that he'd only seen once with Thor.
Loki raised his right hand, and a dagger appeared in his hand. "Fair is fair, Peter. Here you go."
Peter excitedly grabbed the handle and gawked at the blade. "Oh my gosh! I can't wait to tell Ned that I have one of Loki's daggers!"
Loki wrapped an arm around Peter's shoulders and turned to give Tony a tight smile. "You've got one strong, kid, Stark."
Tony's anger deflated, though some of his suspicions still lingered, he smiled at Peter. "Yeah, I do."
Only Peter Parker would get the God of Mischief absolutely enamored with him.