Early Draft: some random bit in the future

[lokiofsassgaard]

"You know I've never been trick or treating?" Natasha said.

Loki looked over at her, and realised he hadn't either.  "Neither have I," he said.

"Really?" Natasha asked.  "I would have thought that would be right up your alley."

Loki shook his head.  "By the time it became a thing, I was already a too old to get away with it."

He watched the sly smile spread across Natasha's face.  "We should borrow one of Barton's kids," she said, her tone just playful enough for Loki to think she wasn't serious.

But now she'd put the idea into his head.

"I have a nine year old brother," he said, offering her the same sly smile.  "I'm sure Mother wouldn't mind if I liberated him for the evening."

They looked at one another for a long moment, waiting for the other to call their bluff.  When it didn't happen, Natasha stood up.

"Go pick up the little bro, and I'll wrangle up some costumes," she said.

Loki did not have to be told twice.  He was on his feet and back in Asgard before Natasha even left the room.  It wasn't even worth changing for appearances, if his entire goal in the realm was to kidnap his youngest brother and be out before anyone noticed.  Or, almost anyone.  Before seeking out Viðar, Loki found Frigga in her gardens, tending to her many flowers.

"Loki, what in the Nine Skies are you wearing?" she asked when she spotted him.

He looked down at his hoodie, emblazoned with a red, white, and blue shield, and faded blue jeans.  "It's quite fashionable on Midgard right now," he said.

Frigga frowned at him, but stepped close.  "I know you are happy there, but I wish you would spend more time at home," she said, bringing her hand up to touch his face.

Loki bit his lip.  "About that," he said, trying not to wince at the damning look Frigga was already giving him.  "There is a new holiday, for which participation requires the presence of a child."

Frigga's expression turned cold.  "Loki, your father will not approve."

"It will only be for a few hours.  He won't even notice," Loki said.  

When Frigga said nothing, Loki leaned forward to kiss her on the cheek.  "I'll have him home in a few hours," he said.

He left before she could protest further, and headed off to find Viðar.  Unsurprisingly, he was in the nursery, where he spent most of his time.  As soon as Loki let himself in, Viðar got to his feet and ran over.  Before he could make his feeble attempt at a tackle, Loki swept him up from the floor and hoisted the boy over his shoulder.  He ignored the startled cries of the nursemaid, and got Viðar settled onto his back to carry him for the journey.

"Oh.  My lord," the nursemaid said when she was close enough to recognise Loki.  She looked at his clothes with confusion, but said nothing further.

"I'm only borrowing him for a bit," Loki said.

He ran out of the nursery, carrying Viðar on his back through the corridors.  "Would you like to go on an adventure?" he asked.

Loki looked back to see Viðar nodding excitedly.  He had never travelled with the boy before, but had been getting good enough at taking others with him that he felt confident the quick trip would not be too terrible on him.

"Hold your breath and close your eyes," Loki said.

Viðar squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath.  A moment later, Loki stepped from Asgard back to the office.  Part of him half expected to get puked on, but Viðar only opened his eyes to curiously look around at the fluorescent lights and sparse furnishings.  As he picked up a Rubic's cube from one of the shelves and passed it to Viðar, the door opened and Natasha walked in, carrying several stuffed shopping bags.  Her face lit up as she saw him, and she walked over.

"Hi, I'm Natasha.  What's your name?" she asked.

Viðar looked at her, and then down at Loki.

"Viðar," Loki said.

"Hi, Viðar," Natasha said.  When he still didn't respond, she cocked her head and looked back to Loki.  "Shy?"

Loki shook his head, in a quick, short little motion.  He didn't need to say anything at all.  Natasha read everything she needed to from his expression.

"Oh," she said.  Then she smiled again.  "That's okay.  You ready to have some fun tonight?"

Loki let him down to explore, and took the bags from Natasha.  "Did you rob a Spirit store?" he asked, looking at the huge assortment of cheap children's costumes.

"No, but I may have pilfered the evidence room," she said.

Loki dumped all of it onto the sofa to look through it all first.  There was a little bit of everything.  Ninja Turtles, real ninjas, animals, pirates.  Even Captain America.

"Come pick a costume," Loki said.

Viðar walked over and looked at everything critically, taking his time to study each one.  

"I can't help but notice these are all for children," Loki said.

Natasha shrugged.  "Figured we could let him pick, and then go from there."

Viðar looked up at Loki, and then back down at the costumes.  He did this a few times before settling on the Captain America costume.  He held it up to Loki, and then nodded.  Loki turned it over in his hands, reading the label to make sure it would fit.

"Well, if we're going to do this right," he said, putting the costume aside, "why don't I go get my uniform, and you find something to match?"

"Sounds good to me," Natasha said.

Loki crouched down to Viðar's level.  "You stay with Aunt Nat for a few minutes.  I'll be right back, and then we'll go on that adventure."

Viðar nodded, and then looked back up at Natasha.

"Five mintues," Loki said, a moment before leaving again.

This time, he went to his hall to dig through his wardrobe.  His dress uniform was in a garment bag, stuffed in the back to never be worn again.  He dressed quickly, tying his hair up to hide under his hat.  The shoes needed a quick buff after decades in the back of the wardrobe, but he brought them to a good shine quickly.  He took off his bracelets and rings, stuffing them into his pocket, and replaced them with his glasses.  

He hadn't worn the uniform since Italy, and found it a little more snug around the shoulders than he remembered.  But it wasn't impossibly small on him, so he returned again to New York.  Back in the office, he found Natasha showing Viðar how to play with the Rubic's cube Loki had given him.  Natasha looked up at him, her gaze turning critical for a moment.

"I didn't know you were a sergeant," she said.  She got up and walked toward the door, giving Loki another of her sly looks.  "It's a good look on you."

As she left, Loki tore into the costume package and took it out to look at it.  It seemed like it should fit Viðar just fine, and looked every bit as ridiculous as the monstrosity they had made Rogers wear on stage all those years ago.

If only Rogers could see this.

"Let's put your costume on," Loki said.

He helped Viðar change into the ridiculous thing, finding it also came with a flimsy plastic shield that strapped to his arm.  As soon as it was in place, Viðar looked down at it for about two seconds, before pretending to smack Loki in the face with it.  Loki dramatically leaned back, holding his face and putting on a show of being terribly hurt.

"Oh, I think you almost killed me!" he said.

Viðar swung the shield the other way, just missing Loki's face.  Loki turned with it, crying out once more.

"You keep hitting him, and you're going to knock out another tooth," Natasha warned.

Viðar grinned widely at her as Loki stood, taking in the dark pencil skirt suit she'd found.  Loki turned to the unused desk in the corner and opened the drawer of many items and dug through it until he found a comb and a few hair pins.  

"Like this," he said, walking over to her.

He quickly parted her hair and pinned it back, so it all fell behind her ears.  Satisfied, he nodded and stepped back.

"Perfect."  Tossing the comb aside, Loki returned his attention back to Viðar.  "Now.  How about that adventure?"

On the way out of the office, he picked up one of the empty bags, letting Viðar run ahead.  The three of them gathered no shortage of looks as they walked through the building, though nobody seemed quite sure whether they should stop them, or ask questions about the sudden appearance of an nine year old dressed up as an old comic book hero.

"So what's the plan, Sergeant?" Natasha asked as Loki wrangled Viðar into the lift.

Loki hadn't put much thought into it.  "Head to my building and figure it out from there?" he suggested.

"Sounds like a good one to me."   She crouched down to Viðar's level to look at his shield as they rode the elevator down to the ground floor. 

As they reached the bottom, Loki took Viðar's hand in a tight hold.  "Stay very close," he warned.

Viðar nodded, already bouncing up and down as they stepped into the lobby.  Drawing more concerned and confused looks, Loki wondered when Viðar had last been allowed out of the every-present eye of his nursemaids.  Loki had memorised half the palace by the time he was Viðar's age, and suspected that the poor boy had only seen what Loki or Frigga had shown him.  Loki made sure he had a tight hold on him as they stepped out to 7th avenue, pausing when Viðar stopped in his step to gape around the chaos and mayhem of Midtown Manhattan.  Suddenly not trusting him not to get lost, Loki bent to pick him up and carry him on his shoulders.  They could walk at a faster pace through the crowded foot traffic, while Viðar stared at everything around them.

"I may have created a monster," Loki admitted as they walked the few blocks to 39th.

Natasha tried to hide her laugh, and utterly failed.  "What did it all look like when you got here?" she asked.

Loki considered the question for a moment.  "I think I came to Midgard before it was even settled.  But it had already changed its name by the time I made it this far west, I'm sure."  He too looked up at the flashing billboards and chaotic traffic around them.  "It definitely looked nothing like this."

They turned onto 39th, and into the setting sun.  Loki adjusted his cap to shade his eyes, while the other two had to use their hands.  Away from the chaos of 7th, the area quickly fell to a relative calm as they walked past building sites and other people making their way home.  Loki let them into the old brownstone building, only putting Viðar down once the door had locked behind them.  Again he rushed off to explore the small foyer.  Loki let him, taking the time to check his mailbox while he was there.  Finding nothing of value, he locked it back up and began walking toward the first door.

"Get over here," Loki called.

Viðar rushed back over, jumping into place at Loki's side as Natasha knocked on the door.  

"Trick or treat!" she said as the door opened.

While Viðar tried to figure out what was going on, Loki crouched down to show him how to hold his bag open.  The woman on the other side of the door gasped and grinned down at him.

"Isn't that the cutest thing," she said, dropping a few pieces of candy into the bag.

"Thank you," Loki said, watching Viðar peer into the bag for a moment before smiling up at the woman.

He got the hang of the game quickly as they worked their way through the building.  By the time they made it to Verity's door, his bag was already half full with every type of candy available.  Verity laughed at the sight of them, and then shook her head at the bag.

"Oh, no.  That is not an approved trick or treat bag," she said, stepping into her apartment. 

Loki followed her in, leading Viðar and Natasha while Verity disappeared into her bedroom.  A moment later, she returned with a blue and white striped pillowcase and handed it to Loki.

"Have you gone to Chelsea yet?" she asked.

Loki shook his head as he helped Viðar move his candy to the pillow case.  "Should we?"

"Oh, yeah," Verity said, picking up her bowl of giant candy bars.  "That's where all the really good stuff is."

She dropped one of the bars into Viðar's bag, and then handed Loki and Natasha one each as well.

"Chelsea it is," Natasha said.  "Thanks for the tip."

"So whose kid did you kidnap for this?" Verity asked.

"My little brother," Loki said, standing again and handing off the shopping bag to be thrown away, or stuffed into the drawer of countless other shopping bags.  "My father may actually kill me over this, so if you don't see me tomorrow, that's why."

"Cool.  Good luck," Verity said.  "Try not to die."

Loki could never tell if she was serious when she said things like that.  "I'll do my best."

Chelsea was a bit too far to walk, so they walked back out to 7th avenue to catch a cab.  Through the entire brief ride, Viðar stayed glued to the window, watching the city light up around them as the final rays of sun faded.  Verity's tip had been a good one, as they found countless other costumed children running door to door to gather their own sweets.  They had mostly been alone in the building, but now with so many other children, Viðar was completely distracted.  Loki had to guide him from door to door, keeping a constant watch to make sure he didn't run out into the street like a lunatic.  Eventually he figured it out again, and kept a mostly-even pace ahead of them.

"So what's going on with him?" Natasha asked quietly.

Loki shook his head and shrugged.  "I don't know.  He's never made a single noise."

They caught up to him at the top of the next set of stairs as he pounded on the door with his tiny fist.  They said the magic words for him as the door opened, standing back while he collected his loot.

"For all Asgard is concerned, he might as well not exist," Loki continued once they were on the move again.  "Father keeps him locked away out of sight, where he can't embarass anyone."

"Well, he seems pretty smart," Natasha said.  "Is he at least in school, or whatever it is Asgardians do?"

Loki shook his head again.  "I don't believe so.  If he can write his own name, I'd be surprised."  He sighed and turned to face her.  "Why do you think I left?  Asgard is little more than a tribal kingdom, still squabbling with other realms over who has the pointiest sticks."

Natasha looked up at him in silence as they reached the next door.  As soon as Viðar pounded on the door again, they were both back to cheery smiles and excitement, lasting just as long as the door remained open.

"I would have thought a planet with space travel would have these things figured out," Natasha said.  She reached out, placing a hand on Loki's arm.  "But you turned out all right, all things considered.  And he'll probably never forget this."

Loki let himself smile, and then lunged forward, rushing toward Viðar to pick him right up off his feet.  He was getting a little too big for it, but Loki still managed to swing him up onto his shoulders just in time to climb the next set of stairs.

They stayed out until porch lights began to go dark, signalling the end of the of the night.  Loki had promised to take Viðar home after, but he was so energised from a long evening of play that it seemed almost cruel to inflict him upon the nursemaids.

"The party at HQ's probably still swinging," Natasha suggested.  "We can take him back there for a little bit.  Find another bag so you can give your girlfriend her pillow case back."

Loki frowned at her.  "I have a few girlfriends, but she is not one of them," he said.  "And she gets very angry when people assume that she is."

Natasha gave him that familiar wry smile.  "What's the difference?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure she'd castrate me if I even suggested anything," Loki said.

Viðar bounced around on his shoulders as they made their way back to nineh avenue.  Hailing a cab was fairly easy, and soon they were back on their way to HQ.  Natasha scanned them in with her ID, and they rode the elevator back up to their floor.  By then, the party had indeed reached full swing, with some in costumes, and others still in their uniforms or pressed suits.  As soon as they stepped into the crowd, they were approached by Coulson, who had at least shed his jacket somewhere.

"Heard you kidnapped someone's kid," he said, looking right up at Viðar.

"He's my brother," Loki said.  "And I did not kidnap him.  I liberated him."

Coulson nodded slowly.  "Tell me next time.  I need to know these things."

Natasha looked up at Viðar.  "I think big brother's about to get in trouble.  Why don't we go find some snacks?" she said.

Finding himself agreeing with that assessment, Loki put Viðar down so Natasha could take him away.  For a moment both he and Coulson watched them disappear into the crowd.

"I'm serious," Coulson said suddenly.  "I need to know these things.  And I don't think I like you bringing a little kid here.  Not without knowing what he's capable of."

Loki tried to turn that logic around in his mind, taking a long moment to catch Coulson's meaning.  "He's nine," Loki said.  "He's barely capable of dressing himself."

Coulson nodded, though Loki could not tell if he accepted this.  "Tell me next time," he repeated.  "When's he going home?"

"Tonight," Loki said.  "I don't wish to inflict him on the nursemaids until he's ready for bed.  I'm already going to catch Hel at home over this, so I'd like to minimise damage there as much as possible."

"So you did kidnap him?" Coulson asked.

"Liberated," Loki said.  

He offered Coulson a wholly insincere smile and walked past him to find Natasha again.  They'd gained the attention of several other agents, all apparently interested in the little boy with shaggy blond hair.  They had him sat in a chair, feeding him all manner of cookies and other sweets.

"He's your brother?" Sitwell asked.  He looked between Viðar and Loki.  "He doesn't look anything like you."

Loki frowned at him.  "I'm adopted," he said.

Whatever further remarks Sitwell had to offer died as he stumbled over his own tongue.  He turned to Natasha, while pointing at Loki.

"Is he really?" he asked.

Natasha nodded.  "Be a weird thing to lie about," she said.

Loki ignored Sitwell further shoving his foot into his mouth and bent down to Viðar's level.  His plate was loaded with cookies shaped like cats and bats, marshmallow ghosts, and confections shaped like witch hats.  Amongst the absurd amount of sweets were also small sandwich squares and cheeseballs made to look like spiders.

"How was your adventure?" Loki asked.

Viðar nodded as he worked through one of the marshmallow ghosts.

Loki took one of the cookies from the plate.  "Shall we do this again?"

Viðar kept nodding, and stuffed the rest of the marshmallow into hs mouth.

"Cute kid," Sitwell said.  "He doesn't say much, does he?"

"Nope," Loki said, looking up to watch as Sitwell once again tried to figure out how to navigate the situation.

"I'm gonna go somewhere else," Sitwell decided, already turning to leave.

Standing nearby, Blake watched him go with a chuckle.

"Did you have fun out there, champ?" he asked.

Again, Viðar nodded, and then pointed to the stuffed pillowcase on the floor.

"Wow!" Blake said.  He bent to pick up the pillowcase, pretending it was almost too heavy to lift.  "You got all this?"

He put it down and feigned breathlessness, while Viðar grinned at him.  Chuckling at the whole thing, Loki stood and looked around the open room.

"Is there anything I can give him to drink that won't get me shouted at?" he asked.

Loki was fairly certain the fairy piss beer at the party was even weaker than Asgardian small beer, but somehow he didn't feel like pushing it.

Blake looked around as well, taking a deep breath through his teeth.  "I'm sure there must be something."

In the end, they found nothing that hadn't been spiked or messed with in some way, save the water coolers which had all been completely emptied.  Rather than leaving Viðar alone much longer to go searching further afield, Loki grabbed a bottle of whatever garbage was left in the cooler, and poured half of it into a plastic cup.

"You're awfully casual about giving a little kid beer," Blake said as they returned to the table where they'd left Viðar.

Loki handed the cup down to him and shrugged, taking a drink from what was left in the bottle.  "I've been out-drinking my eldest brother since we were six," he said.

Blake nodded, as if he was not sure what to do with this information.  He watched as Viðar picked up the cup and downed half of it.

"All right," Blake said.

Soon Viðar grew restless again, and Loki let him wander and terrorise the other party-goers, while he stood by and kept a close watch on him.  At some point, Natasha had slipped away, and returned with an empty duffel bag to transfer all of Viðar's sweets and the clothes he'd came wearing, so Verity could get her pillowcase back.  When he noticed Viðar starting to yawn, Loki said his goodbyes and gathered Viðar.  By the time he'd returned to their corner to pick up his bag, Viðar was already asleep in Loki's arms.  Loki returned to Asgard, heading straight to the nursery where he found Frigga waiting.  As she looked up at them, he could see a visible wave of relief crash over her.  She stood quickly to take Viðar from Loki, pausing only briefly to look at what they were wearing.

"He's been fed," Loki said, making sure Frigga had a good hold of him before letting go.  He hefted the bag for her to see as well, before putting it down on the floor.  "And this is his.  Not to be shared."

Frigga looked at him and sighed, a confused and exasperated noise.  Loki waited while she put Viðar to bed, careful not to wake him.  She lingered just a few moments, watching him as he slept before turning back to Loki.  As she approached, he gestured to the door, silently asking her to walk with him.  Only once the door closed behind them did she speak again.

"And what do you call this now?" she asked, gesturing to him.

"My uniform.  From the war," Loki said

"You wore this to battle?" Frigga asked.

"Not this one, no.  This one was for ceremony."  

As they walked, he took off his cap and unpinned his hair, letting it fall loose around his shoulders.  With his hair loose, the cap didn't feel right on his head, so he carried it.

"Tell me why you needed to take your brother with you today, Loki," Frigga said finally.

"It's a tradition, and a fairly new one, for children to dress up in costume and beg for sweets," Loki said, watching his mother's reaction.

She did not seem overly pleased.  "You took your brother to another realm to beg for sweets?" she asked.

"I did," Loki said.  "I'd have done it myself, but there's an age limit on it.  All adults must be accompanied by a child."

They walked through dark corridors, making their way to Loki's hall.  The palace was quiet in the late evening, with few lingering about to overhear their conversation.

"And I suppose that's what he's brought with him," Frigga said.  "An absurd amount of sweets."

"Several month's supply, I'm sure," Loki said.  "I'd like to take him next time.  He did rather enjoy it."

Frigga remained unamused.  "Your father will not be happy about it happening once."

"Father doesn't have to know," Loki said.  

He was surprised when Frigga's disapproval turned to something more sour.  He had misstepped, and now she was properly angry.  

"You can pull that stunt with your brothers, but not with me," she said.

"Apologies," Loki said quickly.  "Shan't do it again."

It seemed to placate her enough that Loki did not immediately fear for the safety of his ears.  He rarely managed to drive his mother to such anger, but every time he managed, she always seemed to choose his ears as the preferred method of teaching her lessons.

They walked down the stairs to the level below the throne room, where the palace was almost eerily silent.

"And when will my son return to Asgard for good?" Frigga asked.

Loki shook his head.  As far as he was concerned, returning to Asgard was not on the agenda.  

"I don't know," he said.  He stopped outside his door, wondering when the guards had been dismissed from their post of guarding an empty hall.  "In truth, perhaps never.  I have been stripped of my duties, and only retain my titles because nobody has bothered to formalise anything.  What use is my being here?  On Midgard, I am out of the way, causing problems for no one."

"Except the nursemaids," Frigga said.

Loki meant to make a sharp remark about nursemaids needing a bit of trouble, but it stalled on his tongue.  "About that," he said instead.  "What studies has Viðar been engaged in?  I know I am not here often, but when I am, I seem to always find him in precisely the same place.  Has he no friends he plays with?"

Frigga looked up at Loki, unable to hide the deep sadness in her eyes.  "What would he study, and how would he make friends?"

He had expected an answer like that, but it still hit like venom.  "How indeed?" he asked.  "He's smarter than you take him for.  If you do to him what was done to me, you will lose him too."

Frigga reached out to take Loki's hand.  "Have I lost you, Loki?" she asked.

Loki regretted his words.  He looked down at his mother's hand in his, and then back to her.  "I haven't decided yet."

Frigga pulled Loki into a tight hug, holding him as though she were afraid of what might happen if she let go.  Loki let her, and hugged her back until she was ready to break away.  When she did, it was with tears in her eyes.  Loki regretted that as well.

"Are you loved on Midgard?" Frigga asked.

"I am," Loki said with a brief nod.  "And respected, even by those I occasionally annoy.  Which is why I will not remain in a realm where I am despised by all but a few."

Loki could see her fighting back the urge to cry in earnest.  "What do you do there?  Who is Loki of Midgard?"

He tried not to laugh at her phrasing.  "When I am acting as one of them, I am a stage performer.  I live very comfortably, and enjoy a small amount of fame.  When I am myself, I break a few rules and help steer some of their important people away from threats and poor choices.  They are not a primitive people.  In fact, I believe they are only a few of their years from making contact without my help."

"The humans?" Frigga asked.  Loki could hear the doubt in her voice, even as she held back her tears.

Loki nodded.  "Yes.  And when that happens, we can only pray they do not contact the wrong person.  There is a woman who studies the Bifröst as we speak."

Frigga shook her head, losing her battle.  "If only that will and determination were focused here, Asgard would be a force to be reckoned with."

"Well," Loki said.  "If only I had been allowed to make that choice for myself."

He had misstepped again.  Frigga nodded sadly as tears began to run from her eyes.  The hate Loki felt for himself was hot and sour in his stomach, and all he wanted to do was leave.  He leaned forward to kiss his mother on the cheek, and then bowed before retreating into his hall.  He know Frigga would not follow him there, affording himself the opportunity to silently rage before returning home.