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Everything had started from a relatively normal conversation.
They were all piled in Peter's lab. If one could call it "Peter's" anyway, as Harley used it almost as much as he did nowadays. They had been there for hours now and had no plans on stopping as otherwise, they'd find themselves in "adult-Avengers-business" as Shuri so elegantly put it. The whole team was currently present at the tower, many with an avec or two. And so Peter had found himself with a few guests of his own.
If one were to walk into the lab, they wouldn't be able to guess it was occupied by the Young Avengers. Harley sat on a workbench, tinkering with a tiny box with even tinier screwdrivers. Shuri was sprawled on a couch in a manner that it was impossible to guess she was of royalty. Peter was hanging from the ceiling, his black sweatpants had orange stripes where he had tried to wipe off the cheese powder from cheese puffs. Loki was floating in the air, as were all three books he was reading at the same time. A playlist of a mix of game soundtracks was playing in the background.
"How can you read three books at the same time?" Peter asked, bored out of his mind. After their latest... experiment, he had lost his lab privileges for the rest of the week. Loki didn't look up from the books.
"Practice, mostly. That and the fact that they are all about the same phenomenon."
"Huh. So, a curious question. How old are you, anyway?"
"Ah, well... I am now 1050, give or take a few years. I lost the count a little during my... yes:"
"What! That's a lot! How old Thor is?"
"1500."
The silence was deafening.
"I'm sorry, what?" Peter squawked. He definitely had not been expecting that. He had always assumed that the brothers had just a small age gap. They by the very least looked to be the same age.
"Okay, let me get something straight", Harley was just as shocked as Peter was. "How long do Asgardians live?"
Loki stopped reading. His eyebrows knitted together the god seemed to really have to think about the question.
"Our- Thor's father, Odin, was I think around 5000 years old. He was one the oldest Asgardians I know of."
"So if we take the average lifespan of a human, around 80 years, and divide that by your life expectancy... that would make one your year like 0.016 of a human year. So by that logic, you should be around... oh damn. Damn!"
"Darling, not all here are walking calculators."
"Loki is a TowerTeen™️. Literally. What? How? Why didn't you tell us you should be around seventeen if you were human?" the surprised yelps from Harley and Shuri drowned the "Please, Peter, language" from Karen.
"I never really thought of it like that."
"So you're like? Our age, then?" Shuri asked, excited.
"That's the coolest thing ever!"
"Wait a minute", Peter looked up after they had all calmed back down. "So if you're like a teenager and Thor is, what, twenty-something... does that make Doctor Strange your guardian? Like, he's literally looking after an adolescent?"
"Shut up, child!"
"Who are you to speak?"
Peter didn't have any difficulties dodging the book the young god threw at him.
~^~
"So, what you're saying is, that you can't come to our lab and hang because you're... grounded? Again."
"I most certainly am not grounded. A mere mortal does not simply ground a god!" Loki hissed through their teeth. Unlike their brother, Loki was rather well-versed with the technology of their world. They had had no issues whatsoever with calling a video call to Peter.
"Oh, yeah, totally. You're just sticking around for the laugh of it, right? As you said, there's nothing to stop you from coming", Peter raised an amused eyebrow.
"Quit your ridiculing, Anthonyson."
Peter only laughed and ended the call. Ned whistled.
"When you said they were basically a teenager and Strange was their father figure, you really weren't kidding..."
"I know, right? We should go give them a visit. Loki may be grounded but no one told us not to go to them!"
"Why aren't I surprised?" Stephen sighed as he descended the stairs to meet the four teens waiting by the main entrance of the Sanctum.
"Hello!" Peter happily waved. He came over every once in a while and knew not to take the gruffness as an insult. The sorcerer, to put it simply, wasn't the best on social niceties. Not too uncommon with the circles of superheroes, Peter had noted.
"We came to hang with Loki for the day!" Ned announced, excited. He was a big fan of Strange. Just like he was a big fan of any hero with scientific history.
"I don't understand you kids. Out of all the people in the whole universe, you just have to hang out with the literal god of mischief."
"Is that a no, sir?" Harley asked.
"Fine, just don't leave the Sanctuary. And don't call me sir!" and with that, the sorcerer turned around to return to the library.
"Thanks, Stephen!"
"Damn, that sounds weird..."
The TowerTeens found Loki in their room. A room Stephen allegedly had manifested into existence when the god had arrived. A neat trick. They were playing on a ps5. That, Peter suspected, they hadn't gotten from Strange.
"Hi, Loki! What's up?"
"Quiet. I'm speedrunning Minecraft", Loki wore a simple green hoodie, jeans and mismatched socks. To an outsider, they could have been like any other young adult in New York.
"Sorry", Peter whispered and signed to his friends that they could go sit down on the couch to wait. Loki was good. Maybe a little too good, but only a little.
"Are you... cheating?" Ned had caught on too.
"Wouldn't you like to know, chair boy?" they totally were cheating. Loki had an amused glint in their eye and a wide grin on their face.
The run was finished three minutes after they arrived. The timer said 9 minutes and 34 seconds.
"That's a world record, by the way", Loki smirked.
"And you think they're gonna believe that? Speedrunners are like crazy when they're questioning the legitimacy of a run. Especially of a world record run", Ned was rewarded with a condescending look.
"You think I am not aware of this? Oh, my plans have been in motion for over a month, already. You can go and try to find a sign of cheating in that recording all you want."
"Let me guess. You've been making fake speedruns and uploading them to make it seem like you're a bright upstart to gain their trust? And now that you have it, you can upload a speedrun barely faster than the world record to make it seem legit and to have people to back you up?" MJ looked up from her phone.
"I like you. Remind me to invite you to my team for the next prank war."
"Found your account", she smirked. "Yoursaviour? A bit on the nose, don't you think?"
"Maybe. Have anything worthwhile to say, or?"
"When did you have time to upload near hundred runs? That's like a huge overkill. Most here on the leaderboard have like around ten?"
"Shut up, you know how boring it is here sometimes? When it's just me and that Wong guy and Stephen is running around who knows where without telling me anything but to not order thirty pizzas again? It's just waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting for the all-mighty Sorcerer Supreme to return home."
"You see the sanctum as a home?" Peter stopped Loki mid-rant. Their face paled a little.
"What brings you here, exactly?"
"We just wanted to hang. See how you're doing."
Loki was silent for a little moment.
"Ah, well, in that case, let us change the subject. I must show you the absolute treasure I found within these halls! These", Loki pulled out a pair of boots, "are called Seven League Boots. They give their wearer the ability to run up waterfalls and walk on rainbows. To name a few, of course."
"That. Is. SO COOL!" Ned jumped up from the couch to look closer at the pair. "How do they do that?"
"Magic."
"Don't magic us, Loki. Now, tell us how it really works!"
"Hmph, very well. You see, doing magic is like lying to the universe itself..."
~^~
Peter had a newfound appreciation for Thor. He was sitting next to his father in a meeting room, listening to a speech the god of thunder was giving. It was good, in Peter's opinion. But he couldn't stop thinking about how young Thor really was. In human years the god was only around 24. Way too young to be a leader of a whole kingdom of people, some may argue. But young or not, Thor had taken the responsibility and carried it well. His people trusted their king and Peter could see why. He glanced around. Bruce was sitting next to where Thor stood, a proud smile on his face. Valkyrie stood beside Thor, silent but her presence radiated "listen to him or else..." energy.
"You have my gratitude for answering my call, son of Anthony", Thor greeted Peter when the meeting was over.
"No problem, man. I mean, I was in the tower already so I just had to go a few levels down", in his dad's words, Peter had "Finally learned how to talk to the Avengers without making it awkward".
"Yes, I hear that. I nonetheless must apologize for making you sit through the whole meeting. This is no place for children."
"Hey, I'm not that young! I mean, relatively speaking you're not that much older than me, anyway!"
"That may be true, man of spiders, but unlike you, I have my responsibility to be here. You may still live your years of youth free from the burden of... what do you call it? Adults' nonsense?"
Thor must have been the smartest 24-year-old Peter had ever met. He said his thought aloud and was rewarded with an amused laugh.
"Speaking of youth, how does Loki fare? I'm afraid I may have upset him the last time we spoke as I encouraged him to try and bond with the doctor a little."
"Oh! I spoke with Loki this morning! Did you know she has taken up speedrunning? It's driving Stephen crazy when he cannot get her to come out of her room for hours on end!"
"Truly? I never thought of my sister to be the athletic kind? She has always been more of a scholar. How is she faring with the sorcerer?"
"That's not what speed... never mind. I think they're slowly getting along. I mean, they are more similar than they think. Both are a bit awkward assholes who love to one-up one another and know everything there is to know about this universe."
Thor smiled softly. The conference room had emptied while they spoke. Only Bruce and Valkyrie had stayed behind. The pair sat at the other end of the table and were quietly speaking together, giving them a little privacy.
"Good... good. I worry. I fear she feels like I'm pushing her away, that I'm shoving a burden to someone else's hands. What if Loki thinks that we don't wish to have her with us instead of here?"
"Have you told her that? Loki is a lot calmer nowadays than she was when you arrived, you know?"
"Maybe I shall... but only if she wishes to see me."
"She wishes, believe me. Loki has started to talk about you more. If you want, I can come with you! I was supposed to drop by today anyway. Come on! You two can come along if you wish! Let's go see if Stephen left already!"
Thor and Loki had a long talk later that day. Peter put a reminder to his phone to make sure he'd remember to coax Loki to apologize to Stephen for the broken glasses. Also, he noted to never let the siblings "talk" in the kitchen again. Despite the broken dishes, Thor's and Loki's relationship seemed to be a little better after that.
~^~
"Hi, Loki! Please tell me you brought the cookies!"
Peter waved at the approaching god. They were sitting on a pink blanket in the middle of Central Park. They being Peter, Harley and Shuri. MJ and Ned were in Boston, arranging their upcoming move there. Peter had tried to come along, but then the Young Avengers had a sudden team up with the regular Avengers and that left Peter in New York with his other best friends. He'd have to get used to this, he supposed. Ned and MJ would be starting in MIT soon and then they would see each other much less frequently. Sometimes Peter regretted taking a gap year.
"Of course, who do you think I am? A fool?" Loki wore his usual black and green, but he also had a red hoodie tied to his hips. Stephen still wouldn't let the god leave the sanctum without supervision.
"Considering that you were only now released from grounding, I wouldn't be so cocky. Hi, Cloak!" Peter greeted the relic and the sleeve of the hoodie waved at him. Loki huffed.
"For the last time. I. Wasn't. Grounded. How difficult it is for you to wrap your little arachnid head around it?"
"Let me think a moment", Shuri said with an exaggeratedly thoughtful expression on her face. "You broke the rules, the adult looking after you told you not to leave the house for a defined time, you obeying despite having the power to sneak out? To me sounds a lot like being grounded."
"Strange is not an adult looking after me! He's... he's like... a guard. A prison guard. Yes. That's what he is!"
"Whatever helps you sleep at night. Now gimme those cookies!"
After revealing his identity, Peter had been recognized in public every once in a while. Tony had given him a crash course on how to go around unnoticed and his tips usually worked. Even now Peter wore the cap and unassuming clothes and hadn't been bothered at all. Loki had no such issues, as he could alter his appearance. He still looked mostly like himself, but in a weird way, he also looked nothing like himself. It was like looking at an optical illusion. So, instead of looking at the god and getting a headache, Peter laid down and rested his head on Harley's lap.
"So, all-mighty un-groundable god, what have you been up to? We barely have heard from you for a week?" Shuri spoke mouth full, which was the last thing Peter had expected to be the princess' quirk.
"I've been going back and forth between the sanctum and the New Asgard, mostly. Thor has been the most eager to show me around as, according to him, I have missed all the progress they've made."
"You got any pics? Thor refuses to give us a tour as 'it's not finished yet' and I'm dying from curiosity", Peter's impression of Thor made everyone laugh.
"I think I could smuggle you in some time. But not now, it's already evening there and even if the sun never sets there during the summer, it's still better in daylight."
"Spoilsport. I want some ice cream. You want anything?"
Peter stood in the line to an ice cream stall with a little note with everyone's order. For extra anonymity, he had put on a pair of sunglasses.
"Hi, excuse me", someone tapped him on the shoulder. Had he been recognized? The tapper was a middle-aged lady.
"Uh, hi?" what Tony's celebrity survival lessons hadn't included was how to deal with fans. It had been more along the lines of "This is how you don't get recognized nor kidnapped".
"I am so sorry to be bothering you son. It's just... as a mother I had to be sure. Is everything alright? Are you safe?" well, that came out of nowhere.
"I'm sorry, what do you mean?"
"Oh, you see, far too often when you see an adult man come bring cookies to young people like you and your lovely friends... well, you don't tend to see those youngsters again."
She must have meant Loki. Peter glanced at his friends. Loki did look considerably older than the rest of them.
"You must mean Lo- Logan. He's our friend. I guess he just matured... prematurely? You know. But thank you for checking, seriously. I know how dangerous it can sometimes be."
"Oh, that's so good to hear. Here, let me pay for your ice cream", the lady smiled warmly and pulled out her wallet.
"Oh, no, you don't have to, I'm buying for us all and."
"Hush now, I interrupted your day, it's the least I can do", and she shoved a 20 dollar bill into his hand and walked away.
"Next! Can you hear me, boy! Next!"
"So Loki, if you're like a teenager, why do you look like a 40-year-old man? No offence, of course!" Peter handed the god his ice cream. Loki's brows furrowed a little.
"It's a little complicated matter, I am afraid. How so?" it must have been a delicate matter. Loki rarely liked to talk about his outward appearance, except when he was making an effort to mimic someone.
"Oh, sorry for asking. It's just that there was this lady, who stopped me to ask me if we were safe to hang with an adult and it got me thinking. Forget about it", Loki only hummed back.
"Might as well tell you. No harm done. Maybe. So I am sure you have heard how I am adopted?"
It took Loki well over twenty minutes to explain how he had ended up with his current appearance. His true heritage, Odin's glamour, how jötnar actually visibly matured slower than Asgardians as a result of cold environments or something along those lines. Something something bodies need to spread the time used to grow as big as they do to have enough energy to survive. Loki described how Odin most likely tweaked the pace his glamoured body aged and under the stress he had been under after the whole fiasco of Thor's banishment and everything that followed, the ageing was maybe a little wonky.
"I suppose I am now too used to be seen as an adult, that I almost prefer it this way. Does it bother you?"
All three other teens shook their heads. Loki smiled shyly. He didn't remember when had he ever received an acceptance this warm about his heritage. That might be because he had never told this before.
~^~
Despite his previous statement, Peter noticed that Loki looked younger and younger every time they met. Either way, he was very proud of the god, who seemed to finally be able to be who he was.
~^~
"Didn't know you had a kid, wizard", Peter's attention was caught by Hope's comment. She was visiting the first time since the field trip, as she had been very busy handling the western division of the Avengers. Peter turned to look at the, now visibly confused, sorcerer.
"The last time I checked, I don't?" Stephen crossed his arms and by doing that, he perfectly mirrored the stance of Loki, who already looked like he couldn't possibly be over twenty.
"You sure? Dark hair, high cheekbones, sour face, weird clothes. Like two peas in a pod", Hope shrugged and returned back to drinking her afternoon coffee. Peter turned back to look at Loki and Stephen. It was true they looked similar. Loki had ended up fusing Asgardian and Midgardian fashion into something purely himself. He had a long green coat lined with fur and underneath a pair of ripped jeans and a t-shirt. His clothing could be described as "weird" just like Stephen's. Both were also furiously blushing, which only increased the resemblance. Both refused to look at each other. Maybe Peter should save them from the embarrassment.
"Hey Loki, did you bring the magic shoes? Yeah? You wanna race me to the top of the tower?"
~^~
"And what makes you think we would just let a global threat, which already once attacked our planet, roam freely unsupervised? Just because, what? It's suddenly just a kid?" a head figure of some country or another questioned. Peter was snuggled up to Harley, watching the video his dad was, illegally most likely, streaming from his phone to the tower. Tony, Stephen and Thor had been chosen to represent and defend Loki, whose existence had been revealed in order to let him join the Young Avengers. The conversation had stalled like this for over an hour now.
"He wouldn't be left unsupervised. I understand your worry, but we must all understand that Loki's situation is complicated and that he's-" Tony was cut off by the same man who had previously spoken.
"You think we'd fall for your sob story? That demon-spawn should be locked away, if it has to be left alive, that is. What are we going to do when it decides to rebel?"
"HE is under MY protection. Don't you dare talk about him in such manner. I am more than ready and capable to take full responsibility for Loki. What he currently needs is stability and something useful to do, no prison. He has been living under my roof for half a year with no hitch. My job is to protect Earth and I deem him safe. And as I said, I will take full accountability. Give him the chance he deserves."
Angry Stephen was a rare sight. Usually most emotion one got out of the man was annoyance. But now he stood tall with the cloak puffing up behind him, voice stern and so much anger and sadness visible on his face. Loki could be seen sitting in the side of the room. His eyes were wide open and Peter could swear the god's mouth was hanging open.
When after lots of discussions Loki was decided to be given a chance, Strange immediately created a portal to the tower's living room, where Peter and Harley were waiting. Shuri was flooding their phones with messages. Loki's hands visibly shook when he stepped through the portal.
"We did it!" Peter cheered as he stepped forward to give a hug to the god.
"I can't believe your optimism turned out to be true", Loki mumbled as they parted. He turned to Stephen. "Thank you, witch. I guess you aren't so bad, after all."
Stephen chuckled and pressed a hand on Loki's shoulder.
"You aren't so bad, either."
"Not his dad my ass..." Harley whispered to Peter. For once, Loki didn't say anything.
~^~
The news about Loki and his true story shocked the world. The reactions varied, but that was to be expected. Loki ended up dividing his time between New Asgard and the New York sanctum. He claimed to only be there for the library, but Peter would often drop by to find the god and the sorcerer doing and researching magic together or having tea or doing something else weirdly cosy.
However, Loki's return was in the news cycle's spotlight for a little over a week, before it found a new, fresh scoop.
The rogues were returning to the US.