Pure Coincidence
Peter
Peter Parker really liked being Spider-Man. He was basically an Avenger, even if all the Avengers were fighting one another. Mr Stark had told him that they would all say sorry and forgive each other, but that was before all the fighting had actually happened. Mr Stark wouldn’t really talk about what happened, but Peter knew that it had probably been pretty bad. Captain America was gone, the Hulk was gone, Black Widow was gone, Vision was gone, Scarlet Witch was gone- a lot of the Avengers were scattered all over the place.
At least Mr Stark was still around. Peter always made sure he was doing his very best to impress him, by being the very best Friendly-Neighbourhood-Spider-Man that he could be. He would take care of the little problems, and report all the big ones to the Avengers. Peter thought he did an okay job, too.
Until he walked face-first into somebody’s chest.
“Oh!” Peter stuttered, dropping his phone on the pavement, the sea of people walking on the busy New York street parting to make room for him and whoever he’d just run into. The figure was still towering above him, too, which made things more awkward. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going, and I just-”
He bent down, hastily picking up his phone and shoving it back into his pocket, before straightening back up to apologise some more. When Peter finally took in who was in front of him, however, he froze, jaw hanging open in his shock.
Standing a whole half foot taller than him, wearing a jet-black suit and an unreadable expression, was Loki. The God of Mischief himself. Thor’s younger brother. And he was supposed to be dead.
“You…” Peter swivelled his head, noticing that they were drawing an awful lot of attention standing in the middle of the pavement, disrupting the flow of people.
Loki’s brows drew together, and he too glanced around at the city’s vast population, clearly apprehensive and uncertain.
“Does Thor know you’re still alive?” He asked, without thinking.
Loki’s eyes snapped back down to him, wide and vividly green. “You know my brother?”
The lowness of his voice was startling, the way it resounded in smooth, rasping notes, with an identical accent to Thor’s- though Peter thought Loki’s sounded a bit more dramatic. Less booming, more… something. He’d heard all about Loki, from Mr Stark’s not very positive opinion to Thor’s sad, miserable, but still hopeful opinion. He’d always liked Thor’s version of things much better than Mr Stark and the general crowd of the Avengers. And even from all he’d heard, seeing the god in person was entirely different.
“Can you… can we move somewhere more quiet first?” Peter leaned in, dropping his voice a little.
Loki stared at him for a long while, scanning him. After some point, it looked like curiosity won over, and he deemed that Peter wasn’t much of a threat. Loki nodded, slowly.
Peter sighed in relief, and (also without thinking) grabbed Loki by the elbow, steering him down the nearest alleyway, down until the street was barely visible and they were well hidden. Peter let go of Loki, who appeared rather surprised at having been touched. He leaned back against the brick wall, opposite of the god, and exhaled loudly, running his hands through his hair. He couldn’t believe this.
There was silence for a few moments, but Loki was the first to break it, repeating, “You know my brother?”
“Yeah,” Peter said, realising that he’d just let the God of Mischief into the ideal place to kill him quietly. “I’ve only met Mr Thor once when he came to visit a few months ago, but mostly he’s been off looking for some… stone things. He told me about you, but I’ve just heard about you from the Avengers, too. And, well- I live here, in New York, so I remember you attacking us, too…”
Loki’s eyes narrowed at him. “The Avengers. You know them?”
“Yeah, I mean…”
“Are you an Avenger?”
“I’m… I’m just Peter Parker.” He swallowed, then figured honesty was crucial when dealing with the most talented liar around. “I’m like an Avenger in training.”
Loki smirked then, darkly, and his voice twisted into a growl. “Aren’t you scared?”
“No, not really,” Peter replied, honestly.
Loki dropped the look and frowned at him, apparently too taken aback to manage words.
“I mean, you’re very impressive and all, and I know I’ve got no chance against you, but…” Peter hesitated, unsure if he should continue.
“But what?”
“Mr Thor thinks you’re good. And so do I. Especially all the stuff I’ve read about the whole New York thing, and the pictures, plus that sceptre- there’s conspiracy theories and stuff...”
Loki was staring again, lips parted slightly. Peter had to force himself to remember that no matter what preformed ideas he had already come up with or what stories Mr Thor had told him- this was still the God of Mischief and he was still supposed to be dead. Thor had told him Loki died as a hero, that he’d really proven himself in the end.
But Loki was alive. And Peter should be telling the Avengers straight away. He rocked back and forth on his heels, thinking hard. He didn’t want to go tattling, though. Maybe Loki had a good explanation- maybe it was really important that he stayed hidden- Peter had no idea. And he couldn’t just blab about it to Mr Stark unless he knew for sure. The Avengers would probably try to kill Loki. Mr Thor might take it badly. There was the potential for World War III. A lot of things could go wrong, and how often was he going to run into another Norse god? Really- what were the odds of Peter finding Loki wandering around in New York?
Loki didn’t look well, either. He seemed tired and tense- not that Peter knew anything about how Loki normally looked- but he reminded him of how he felt during school finals.
“You said you were an Avenger?” Loki confirmed, hoarsely, coughing a bit.
“In training,” Peter added, nodding.
Loki contemplated him for a long time, tipping his head back to rest against the wall. They both studied one another, but Loki was the first to smirk.
“What’s your hero name, then?”
Peter blinked. “Huh?”
“If you’re an Avenger, you’ve got a hero’s name. You’re Midgardian. They all do it.” Loki scoffed, eyes shadowed, and he coughed weakly again. “Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye… you know.”
He probably shouldn’t tell Loki, Peter thought, but as he did so, the words spilt out, all jumbled together. “I’m Spider-Man.”
Loki laughed- lowly, and almost teasingly in a way that made Peter’s cheeks flame red with embarrassment. “I think ‘Spiderling’ would be more fitting. You are only a child, after all.”
Peter scowled but didn’t argue in his own defence. Instead, he decided to risk a jab.
“You know you called Mr Thor your brother, right?” Peter smiled, already knowing the answer. “I thought you’d decided against that awhile ago- at least- that’s what Mr Thor says.”
Loki’s smile dropped, and his cheeks flushed scarlet. “I beg your pardon?”
“Does he know you’re alive? You still haven’t answered my question.”
Loki glared, with the same defensiveness Peter had felt a few moments ago. He considered his tables turned, and felt a surging of pride.
The god lifted a sloping brow. “Why would I tell you anything, Spiderling?”
“You probably don’t have anyone else to tell,” Peter shrugged. “I mean- if he doesn’t know you’re alive and you still care about him, but you won’t actually say anything… plus that whole conspiracy theory that the sceptre was mind-controlling you, too… why else would you come to Earth? It’s not really the smartest choice, is it?”
Loki was back to staring at him again, with an open mouth.
“Maybe,” Peter went on, thoughts racing through his mind. “Maybe you chose to come here because you knew Thor might find out. You know he’d be mad about the fact that you’re alive and you didn’t tell him. But if you got the attention of the Avengers or the police or someone to chase you around, they’d tell Thor, then he’d bring you home, and then he’d know you’re alive without you actually telling him. Right? I mean, that would prove you cared, and you don’t want that-”
Suddenly, he found himself pinned against the wall by a dagger that had appeared in a flash of bright green light, and Loki’s eyes were ablaze with something dangerous. Not anger, but with that knife against his throat, it was pretty easy to assume that.
“Or maybe, I was just bored,” Loki hissed. “What right have you to presume my thoughts? Who’s put you up to this? Was it Thor? The Avengers?”
Peter swallowed, slowly, carefully, extending his wrists to ready his web-shooters. “N- nobody did, Mr Loki. I’m just… I’m just saying that I think I understand. I won’t tell anybody-”
“No, you won’t,” Loki smirked, and the blade pressed harder.
Panicking, he began pleading desperately, determined to convince the god not to kill him without attacking first. “Please, please- I mean it- I’m just saying that you can talk to me. I won’t tell anyone, I just wanna listen-”
“Wait.” Loki stopped, and his gaze was frozen somewhere to Peter’s left. “You said… the sceptre… how did you know about that?”
“Huh?”
“The mind control. How did you know?”
“Um… I just guessed. The eyes were a pretty big giveaway.”
Loki glanced at him, then back at the brick wall again, a series of pretty complicated looking emotions flickering across his face. He didn’t answer again, and Peter was still impressed with himself. He’d managed to get the Silver-Tongued god speechless several times now.
All those nights of deep internet scouring felt totally worth it. “So you were being brainwashed?”
The dagger slowly lowered, and Loki’s elbow stopped digging into his sternum. He still wasn’t meeting his eye, and he still refused to speak. Eventually, Loki backed off of him altogether, the dagger vanishing into thin air again. Loki tightly folded his arms across his chest.
“Wanna go get something at a cafe?” Peter offered, tentatively.
He had a chance, and he didn’t want to let it go to waste. Loki wasn’t evil. He just needed some talking to come around. And if he succeeded, then maybe Mr Thor could get that little brother back, the one he always talked about missing. And Loki could get his big brother back, the one who Peter was almost positive Loki missed, too.
He waited for an answer, until- barely visible, Loki nodded a tiny nod.
“Great!” He jumped off the wall and began walking, looking over his shoulder to make sure the god followed him. “C’mon, Mr Loki, I know the best place.”
Behind him, Loki only yawned widely, sleepily trailing behind him, footsteps stumbling with all the gracelessness of a cat after the vet.