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“Tony, I’m hoooooome,” Peter sang as he entered the living area of the compound, promptly making himself giggle. When there was no immediate answer, he walked through the floor, trying to find his mentor. Each room was curiously empty.
He was heading back to the living area when his phone rang, lighting up with Tony’s picture.
“Hey, Tony. Where are you?”
“Sorry, kiddo. Running a little late at a meeting with Pepper. I’ll be there in a little while, okay? There should be a surprise landing for you in about...oh...30 seconds.”
“Okay,” Peter said slowly.
“It’s good, I promise. I gotta go, I’ll see you later, okay? Bye, Pete!”
“Bye?” Peter said, but it sounded like a question. Shaking his head, Peter stood in the middle of the living room, wondering what this surprise was that was supposed to come.
He didn’t have to wait very long. A bright light filled the living room, making Peter squint. Then it vanished as quickly as it came, and standing in its place were two familiar faces.
“Peter!” Thor boomed, bounding forward to pick the boy up in a big bear hug.
“Hey Uncle Thor!” He giggled. “It’s good to see you again!”
Once on his own two feet again, he walked over to the other God, who held out a fist for him to bump.
“Hey Uncle Loki. So, what brings you two to our neck of the universe?”
“Well, there was this thing-“ Thor began, scratching his neck and shuffling his feet.
Loki rolled his eyes. “We wanted to see you again,” he interrupted.
“Really?!”
Peter’s face absolutely lit up. He hadn’t seen the two Asgardians since they had “kidnapped” him after school a few months ago. They’d spent a day exploring New York together, and he’d had so much fun. He’d missed them.
“Absolutely,” Thor said kindly, and Loki nodded.
“Well, what do you want to do, then? Tony should be here soon, so maybe we keep it a little closer to home this time and stay in the penthouse?” Peter thought for a moment. “We could play games, or watch a movie. There’s plenty of snacks and blankets-“ suddenly an idea hit him and his eyes got all big and excited. “ooooooh! Blanket fort!”
Loki blinked. “Blanket fort?”
Thor looked equally confused. Peter just grinned.
“Trust me. It’ll be fun! And when we’re done, we can watch a movie in the fort. C’mon! Let’s go get some blankets!”
Without waiting to see if the gods were following him (or to think about the fact that he’d just ordered two gods around) Peter hurried down the hall towards the closet, where he knew all the blankets were kept.
Tony had started stocking that closet ever since Peter started spending more weekends at the compound. The older hero had pretended to be annoyed that his mentee was always complaining about being cold, but soon that closet had been emptied of its previous contents (just random junk, according to Tony) and stocked with all the softest, fluffiest blankets Peter had ever seen. And a massive first aid kit, as well, also courtesy of Peter’s spending more time there.
Once Thor and Loki had made their way to the closet, Peter piled on the blankets and pillows, grabbing a pile himself before heading to the living area and dumping them unceremoniously onto the floor. The other two followed suit, Thor looking amused and excited, and Loki wearing an expression of mild interest.
“So you’ve never heard of a blanket fort before?” Peter asked, mentally taking stock of the room and the best vantage points for hanging and draping the fort walls and ceiling.
“No. We have no such tradition in Asgard. How, exactly, is a blanket a suitable material for a fort? It would offer no protection whatsoever,” Loki asked.
“Well, it’s not for protection,” Peter laughed. “It’s for fun.”
Loki nodded, thoughtfully.
“I like fun,” Thor offered.
“Perfect. Now let’s get started. I need the couch moved over there, and we also need a chair. This fort is gonna be epic!”
The next hour or so, Peter taught the others how to build a blanket fort. He showed them the way Ben had always tied up the top of the fort, explained that said top had to be the lightest blanket, and waxed poetic about the uses of duct tape. The gods listened with rapt attention, and Peter smiled to himself, feeling important as he directed them. He may have even showed off a little by handing from the ceiling when setting up the top of the blanket fort.
Soon, the living room was transformed into a fuzzy kaleidoscope of colors, complete with a floor of equally eclectic pillows. Peter flopped down onto the pile, grinning happily at the ceiling.
“I have to admit that was rather...fun,” Loki said, quietly.
“I thought you might like it!” Peter smiled at the trickster.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself, brother,” Thor said. “Now, we need some food and drink for the movie.”
“Ooooh. Tony keeps a big box of pop tarts in the pantry. And a giant container of hot chocolate mix.”
“Sounds delightful. I’m rather good at hot cocoa,” Loki said. “I can make the drinks.”
“Alright. I’ll grab the pop tarts.” Thor stood and they both headed toward the kitchen.
“I guess I’ll pick the movie,” Peter said to himself. He grabbed the remote and started browsing Tony’s extensive collection. “What about the newest Star Wars?” He called.
“Not sure about Point Break and Reindeer Games, but I’d say you’ve seen that one about 19 times.”
Peter spun around at the new voice. “Tony! You’re back!” He said happily.
“Yeah, I am. Now, why does my living room look like a blanket rainbow just threw up?” Just then, Loki walked in carrying three mugs of steaming hot chocolate. “And why is the god of mischief making cocoa?”
“I was advised that alcoholic drinks were unsuitable for young midgardians, and I make a very nice cocoa. I can change it to something stronger if you like,” Loki said, placing the mugs down on the table inside the fort.
“NO!” Tony nearly shouted. “Cocoa is fine. I’m just very curious about how all this happened.” He gestured towards the colorful masterpiece.
“It was my idea! They’d never made one before,” Peter explained. “And watching a movie is 1000 times more fun inside a blanket fort. Everyone knows that.”
“You’re right,” he said. “And you know what?”
“What?” Peter asked, tipping his head sideways.
“I learned that from you. I never did blanket forts until I met you, either, and they are definitely a must for movie nights.” Peter beamed. “You got enough cocoa for me, Loki?”
Loki snapped his fingers and a fourth cup appeared on the table. Tony eyed it skeptically.
“It’s not poisoned,” Loki rolled his eyes. “I’ll have that one, if you prefer. You can have one of the ones I made earlier.”
Tony grabbed a cup, and Thor walked in with about 20 pop tarts piled onto a plate.
“Wow, uncle Thor. You like pop tarts?” Peter asked, grinning.
Tony groaned. “Kid, you aren’t the only reason I keep, like, 30 Costco-sizes boxes of Strawberry Pop Tarts. Once, we ran out, and Point Break here accidentally fried the electricity, he was so upset!”
“I did apologize,” Thor pouted.
“Yeah, yeah. No harm done, Thor.” Tony patted his arm, and Thor’s smile returned easily.
Peter chuckled lightly to himself, grateful for his crazy, silly family, and pressed play. As words started lighting up the screen, proclaiming news from a galaxy far, far away, Peter found himself stretched out with his head in Tony’s lap and his feet in Thor's. Tony was playing with Peter’s hair and making the boy slowly fall asleep. It was so relaxing, and he was surprised when he felt a set of new hands scratch his scalp. It felt amazing. Loki (Peter swore the asgardian could read his mind) smiled at him knowingly, and the hands returned so there were two sets playing with his curls.
Really, there was no way he could stay awake now.
“Loki, I was here first. You have to wait your turn,” Peter heard Tony say, and felt one of the hands pushed away.
“You can share, tin can. Peter likes it, don’t you, spider?”
Peter smiled. “M’sleeping,” he mumbled, and the others quieted as their hands continued running through his hair. Peter fell asleep with a smile on his face.