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The walk from school to the library always dragged on when it was snowing. The wind was so cold it felt like little needles. Stupid wintertime. Hasn’t it heard of hypothermia?
So rude.
I was pulling up my hood over my ears when I picked up the smallest of noises. At first, I thought it was snow rustling, but it sounded too consistent. It was almost like footsteps. But they were so light and quiet it was almost a ridiculous thought. Almost.
The faint sound was so small that it almost felt stupid to look around. He resisted for as long as he could. He really tried to keep walking but curiously got the better of him and he looked over his shoulder. There was a cat. It was shivering and looked like it was going to pass out at any second. It was a black cat with big, bright green eyes. Eyes that he was already all too familiar with.
“Loki?”
By now, Peter had gotten used to Loki turning himself into random people and animals. Sometimes he would turn into one of the Avengers as a joke, be a bird and poop on people, or be a rat and run around a restaurant. But today his quest seemed to be to follow Peter for apparently no reason.
Loki and Peter were pretty close. Ever since Loki loved into the compound part-time with his brother Thor, they had always found time to hang out and cause general havoc. Tony at first said Loki was a ‘bad influence’ and it was up to him, he wouldn’t be allowed anywhere near Peter or the compound. But after a long meeting with the shield board members, they decided that the compound would be the safest and most logical place Loki could be on Earth.
The cat just shivered back and kept staring at him. Peter sighed dramatically. It was the middle of winter and the snow was getting heavier by the minute.
Any book that said Loki was a mastermind was clearly wrong
So Peter just casually leaned down and picked Loki up, which was followed by a loud, panicked meow. Peter could practically hear what Loki was thinking.
‘You mortal fool, get your hands off of me before you drop me!’
Peter put a hand under the cat's belly, and the other around the front, onto the side. He held him close, putting him under his jacket slightly to keep the snow off him. Loki purred slightly at the warmth before stopping immediately when he realized what he did and opened his eyes wide. Peter giggled down at him, which earned a snarky look from Loki. The wide eyes shifted into thin, judgemental slits.
Peter picked up the pace, still heading for the library. Loki stopped shivering as much and closed his eyes in Peter's arms. Peter couldn’t help but smile as this cynical, mischievous god in his arms turned to mush at the slightest of touches. He gently stroked his thumb over Loki’s fur whilst Loki continued to drift asleep. Still walking. Once they reached the library entrance, Peter tucked Loki under his jacket to keep him out of sight. which Loki protested. He scratched the inside of the jacket and meowed loudly to resist, but was only met with a myriad of shushes.
“Shhh, Loki, you need to be quiet. No one can find out I brought a cat in. I need to do my school project. It shouldn't take long, I swear,” Loki huffed, but quieted down as Peter walked into the building.
Peter shook his head to shake some of the snow off his curls and sat down in the library's corner and slowly pulled Loki out from inside his jacket.
Loki looked at him and snarled at Peter before licking his wet paws. Peter smiled at him before pulling out his homework.
“I need one to find a book, get some quotes, and explain what they mean, should be easy enough,” Peter said to himself before standing up. “You stay here, Lo-” he said, looking down at the chair only to realize Loki was gone.
Peter let the panic set in and frantically looked around. He looked under tables and shelves, but to no avail. He was looking under a bookshelf when he felt a small tap on his head.
He looked up to see the black cat sitting on top of the books, looking smug.
“Don’t look at me like that, Loki. You scared the crap out of me!”
Loki rolled his eyes before clawing at the Book he was sitting on.
“Do you like this book? Have you read it? Why am I even asking you? You're a cat,” Peter says, flicking briefly through the book.'' Well, I guess I can use this book for my homework if you really want me to. What’s it even called, anyway?” Peter says, flipping the book to the front.
“The sun also rises. Doesn’t seem like your kind of book, Loki. But if this is what you recommend, I’ll try,” Peter explained, which was met with a smug look from the cat.
Tony always said to Peter he would buy him any book or stationery he needed for school. He always told Peter that he could have it delivered to his room in a matter of hours. But Peter liked the library. He liked browsing the shelves and his (usually) alone time.
Peter sat in the corner again with the copy of the 'sun also rises’, his school book, and his mischievous drama queen cat.
Peter started flicking through the book. Tempted to use Google, but he knows Loki would never allow it.
Loki criticized the younger Avengers for relying on Google instead of their knowledge.
You know your life is going well when you don’t do things because you're scared to be judged by a cat that's secretly a powerful god from another planet.
He finally found a quote when a slight weight made its way onto his lap before curling into a ball and closing its eyes.
Peter slowly pet Loki, which earned a slight purr before Loki meowed in protest and pawed his leg slightly, never wanting to show his vulnerable side, before settling back down. Peter just sat up and read more of the book.
“I had the feeling as in a nightmare of it all being something repeated, something I had been through and that now I must go through again.”
Peter was starting to understand why Loki wanted him to read this so badly. It seemed like the type of angst that Loki liked to go on about. The black cat was still in his lap but not yet asleep. He read on.
"That was morality; things that made you disgusted afterwards. No, that must be immorality."
He couldn’t help but try one more time. He reached out and placed his hand gently on Loki’s back. Loki opened his eyes to give him side-eye but quickly closed them again. Peter slowly pets Loki again. Loki slowly purred again and opened his eyes, startled.
“It’s okay Loki,”
And these simple words, Loki gave Peter a bit more side eye but got comfy again on Peter's lap, and let himself be vulnerable. He wasn’t defensive or malicious. He let himself fall into the arms of Peter and he couldn’t help but feel safe with him. He kept reading-
"Please stay by me and see me through this."
Loki was a mystery. Not just mischievously, but also unpredictably. He could be stone-cold and aggressive.
He could be dismissive and petty. Peter had seen Loki be selfish and self-centred. But there were these rare instances where Loki’s fire would fade into a quiet flame, and he would be domestic and loving. They wouldn’t be brought on by anything. There was no knowing when these moments of calm would come over Loki. But Peter secretly treasured them all. The moments Loki would show Clint's kids magic tricks and illusions, the moments where he would teach Natasha how to dance a traditional Asgarian dance, the moments he’d braid Bucky’s hair like he used to do for his Mother and lady Sif.
And of course, moments just like this. Loki seemed small. The roaring fire that caused destruction is nothing but a mellowed-out flame again. He’s a defenseless little cat, laying in the lap of a boy in a public library.
Once Peter was done with his homework, he had a fully passed-out cat in his lap; snoring like he isn’t in a public library. Peter stared down at the curled-up fluff ball. He couldn’t quite wrap his head around how someone with as big of a personality as Loki Laufyson was now a tiny innocent being that was soaking up the warmth and comfort of Peter's lap. Peter gently poked Loki’s nose.
“Loki,” he whispered “Psst, Loki,”
He poked Loki’s nose again, only to get a sleepy glare directed at the finger on his nose. Peter picked up Loki from under his arms and held him up to eye level.
“You, sir, are a menace to productivity. Good thing I thrive under the pressure of Gods the size of a loaf of bread,” Peter joked.
He picked up his bag and walked out with Loki under his jacket again. It was only a short walk to the Tower.
———-
When Peter finally reached his room back at the Tower, he sat Loki on the bed. The god lifted his paw and gave it a few licks. More for dramatic effect than actually cleaning him. Peter tilted his head and raised an eyebrow as if to say, ‘Really?’ But Loki just glared at him.
Those big, charming eyes stayed with Loki in any form he was in. Whether he was human or animal, he always had the same vibrant, alluring eyes that gave away what he thought in a simple movement. Loki was known for using his iconic eye roll too much.
Clint used to joke that his eyes would stay like that if he kept rolling them. To which I said, “That’s such a dad thing to say.” Clint just laughed and shrugged. Whilst Loki had somehow disappeared from the room in 5 seconds, whilst Clint and Peter were distracted.
Loki was now curled into a little ball on Peter's bed.
“Not that this isn’t fun, Loki, but why are you still a cat?” Peter asked whilst kneeling on the floor to be at eye level with Loki.
Loki just took out a tucked-away paw and placed it on Peter's face. Not to scratch him, not to hit him.
“You’re a mystery Loki. You know that?” Peter playfully joked and moved the paw off his face. What Peter wasn’t expecting was Loki’s reaction to his comment.
The immediate reaction from Loki was a tiny little nose scrunch that looked like Loki’s adorable way of saying “I know”. Peter audibly cooed at Loki, who now looked confused why Peter was practically melting at the sight of a self-proclaimed ‘all mighty god’. Peter reached and cuffed Loki’s tiny fluffy face in his hand and scratched Loki’s chin slightly, and gave his scrunched little nose a gentle kiss. He didn't know what he was thinking. The only explanation for why he kissed Loki’s nose would be that he wasn't thinking.
Loki scrunched his face up and gently slapped him with his paw. Peter giggled and kept petting his chin for a few more seconds before Loki rubbed his face against Peter's lips.
“Loki, do you want another kiss on the nose? You realize you’re a literal god, not only that but also a Prince and right now you’re a cat that’s trying to get nose kisses from a human. You realize this?”
They met this with a rather vicious meow, and then Loki walked to the other side of the bed in protest. Peter just lay down on the bed.
After a few minutes of just laying, looking at the ceiling, Peter felt a small dent in the bed next to his chest. Loki decided to just keep soaking up the warmth for a bit longer.
Peter just stared….
Oh what the hell
He pulled Loki onto his chest and booped his nose again.
“Goodnight Loki.”