Abandoned

"Do you think she knows she's a-d-o-p-t-e-d?" Loki spelled out the word. "Or should we...have that conversation?" He asked the room at large while absentmindedly sending a laser beam across the room for Fennie to chase. 

He noticed Romanov's sideways stare at Barton. It was as if she thought he were a bit loony for asking. 

"Well I don't want her finding out on her own like I did, now do I? Because we all know what happened next!" 

Bucky began to shake with silent laughter before the rest of the team started to cackle. 

"What is so funny? She deserves to know, doesn't she?" 

"Dude, she's a cat." Stark walked in, shaking his head. 

"Yes, and I'm a monster. But if you think that made any difference, you're wrong. It still hurts when your family lies," Loki muttered. 

Stark wasn't listening. He handed Loki a small gadget that almost resembled one of Fennie's fluffy cat toys. It was still fluffy, but it now had some gears and LED lights. 

"What is this?" Loki wrinkled his nose in confusion. 

Tony pulled a chair over next to the god and sat down the wrong way. His legs were sprawled on either side of the chair back. Evidently, this was very comfortable for Tony, but it drove Loki insane. Why couldn't he just sit the right way?

"It's Fennie's toy. Only better," Stark said haughtily. Loki rolled his eyes. 

"Now it will hide from her. She'll have to find it. And when she does, it will light up. It will reward her!" 

Tony looked so proud of himself, but Loki was skeptical. How did he know for sure that this thing wouldn't hurt her? After all, Stark was famous for making weapons, not cat toys. 

"If you don't mind, I believe I shall be the first to test it." 

Stark looked confused, but only for a second. When he realized what Loki had planned, he started to shake his head. 

"Oh no... no, no, no. I allowed one cat in here. I'm not going to deal with a- a fucking god cat too." 

 Loki laughed, holding his arms out and smirking at Stark. 

"What exactly are you going to do, metal man? Toss me out on the street? Because I would not be opposed to that."

Actually, Loki would be opposed to that now. Now that Fennie was there with him, he couldn't just leave. But none of the so-called heroes believed that Loki cared for anyone or anything besides himself, so his little lie paid off. Tony backed down, and he was able to test the toys before he gave them to Fennie. After all, they wouldn't harm him, but if she walked away with one hair on her body misplaced, Loki would make sure Tony Stark couldn't walk for a month. 

Loki winked at Tony and before anyone knew what had happened, there was a black cat standing in a pile of Loki's discarded clothing. Fennie recognized him immediately; running toward him and rubbing her face all over his body while Loki stood there looking smug. Stark shook his head in mock disdain. On one hand, he was pissed off that he would likely be cleaning up messes all over the tower because of Loki. But on the other hand, he was feeling a bit... jealous. And that pissed him off even more. Why the hell was he jealous of Loki? 

Because it must be so freeing to be able to turn yourself into an animal. Just for a little while. To assume zero responsibility for anything other than yourself. Although, Tony doubted Loki assumed responsibility for anything on a regular basis. That is, until he met Fennie. 

Fennie, who was now chasing after Loki. They were both playing with his enhanced toy. Great. 

As Fennie chased Loki and Loki chased the toy, Stark heard the elevator ping. He smiled to himself, knowing exactly who it was. 

"I had no idea you were a cat person, Tony!" 

Thor's voice boomed through the hall before anyone could get a look at his face. Evidently, he had already seen Loki and Fennie in their wild chase for the toy. 

"Well, you see... one of them isn't really a cat," Stark said with a hint of self-satisfaction. He thought for sure this would settle the Loki-as-a-cat debate. Thor would just put his foot down.

Thor watched the two felines for a moment before realization showed on his face. 

"Wait... you don't mean...Loki!" He bellowed Loki's name, and the larger of the two cats came to a halt, staring up at Thor as if he could claw the big man's eyes out. 

Two seconds later, Loki stood before them- on two feet. 

"Dear Norns, what? I'm just having a little fun with Fennie here. What could possibly be the problem with that?" He rolled his eyes. 

Fennie.

Thor remembered that name. It was the nickname Loki had given Fenrir when he'd been small. Of course, Fenrir had never been tiny like the kitten Loki was playing with now, but his brother had always treated him as if he were an actual baby- something to be protected at all costs. Thor didn't quite understand how Fenrir had come into being, or how Loki always managed to see the vulnerabilities of the beasts he loved so much. Perhaps he saw a bit of himself in them? Thor would never really know, but seeing Loki playing with something so soft and breakable made Thor wonder if he had seen Fenrir in the same way.  

"Loki, is this your cat?" Thor asked incredulously. 

Loki glared at him as if he had asked something much more offensive. 

"Yes. And Stark already said I could keep her, so don't think you can come in here and--" 

Thor held up a hand to stop him. "I am not going to take her from you, brother. It was merely a question. Do they know what happened the last time you turned yourself into an animal?" 

Thor started to laugh, and Loki charged at him with every intention of knocking his brother to the floor. 

"So they don't know about Sleipnir!" Thor guffawed. 

"Shut. Up. Thor." 

"Who's Sleipnir?!" 

Practically everyone in the room yelled at once, and Loki wanted to stab his brother so badly, he had to grind his teeth to stop himself from pulling the hidden dagger from his boot. 

"Odin's eight-legged horse," Thor replied without missing a beat. Though Loki was glaring threateningly at him, he didn't seem to care. 

It took the others a few moments before anyone spoke, but Tony managed to put two and two together. 

"Woah, big guy! Is that... another one of your... offspring?" 

Loki didn't bother saying anything. He simply scooped Fennie up from the floor and stormed off to his room. He had no use for the taunts he knew he would receive. None of them knew the real story anyway- not even his so-called brother. 

Odin had told everyone that his son had "found" Sleipnir and "given" him to the king as a gift, but that was a lie. As it turned out, Odin was almost as good at lying as he was. No one knew that Odin had forcibly taken Sleipnir from Loki the moment he'd returned to Asgard with the foal. The king didn't want anyone to know that his son had given birth to a horse- even though it had been his own fault. 

As he lay there stroking Fennie's fur, he tried to calm himself down, but he could hear the laughter coming from the other room. It wasn't easy being the butt of everyone's jokes. Fennie seemed to feel his tension. She lay perfectly still and gave the sweetest purrs as Loki tried to slow his racing heart. 

All too soon, there was a loud knock on his door and he knew who it was without asking. Thor. 

"Fuck. Off. Thor." 

He came in anyway, as he always did. 

"Why didn't you tell them about him? You told them about the rest of your...offspring," Thor muttered, knowing Loki was beyond pissed. 

Loki's dark emerald stare was almost blank, but Thor knew there was a storm brewing behind those eyes. Loki gently set Fennie on the bed; petting her head once more. Then, whipping his head around to look at his brother, he stood abruptly. 

"The story your father told you is a lie. The one where he asked me to help him find a way to distract the giant, and I decided I just couldn't live without turning myself into a mare and fucking the giant's stallion? Lies. The story about how I returned to Asgard to gift him with a lovely eight-legged foal because I loved him so much? What do you think, Thor?" 

Loki was across the room standing toe-to-toe with his brother. He'd never told Thor the real story. Then again, he'd never told anyone. 

"Lies, Thor. Odin told me that if I didn't find a way to distract that work horse, I was as good as dead. And my intention was not to have sex with it. My intent was to lead it away, confuse it, and possibly use a spell to make sure it was unable to find its way back. Unfortunately for me, your father didn't like the way I distracted the stallion, so he trapped me with the beast. I couldn't get away." 

Thor started to speak, but Loki held his finger to his lips, unable to stand his brother's lame excuses for Odin. 

"He made sure I couldn't get past the wall that led through the forest. I saw him there, laughing as the beast caught up with me. Then, after I had lived as a mare for months; carrying Sleipnir- learning to love him as my own son- Odin was there to take him away from me. He said he didn't want the good people of Asgard finding out about my...deviances."

Loki watched as Thor's mouth moved, but no words came out. He was thankful for that moment. At least he didn't have to listen to the hastily constructed defenses Thor usually threw at him. 

"Do I not have the right to be angry when you walk in here and bring up my son's name without preamble? Knowing you will only make a crude joke at my expense?"

Thor didn't have a chance to answer. Loki had already turned to the bedroom door, but stopped before opening it. 

"Bucky? Have you been eavesdropping?" Loki asked when he saw the soldier's face peeking through the small crack in the door. 

Loki wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of anyone hearing the conversation that had just taken place. Although he was certain Thor had already told his own version of events before walking in the room. Oaf. As he looked at Bucky, he saw a softness in his face that hadn't been there before. 

"Well?" Loki prompted impatiently. 

Without answering, Bucky stepped through the door and wrapped his arms around Loki in an awkward hug. 

"I'm sorry, man. I just...I was walking to my room and... Well, it sounded like you needed a friend."