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Chapter Text

The problem with magic users (namely Loki) is that there's no prison on Earth that can keep them contained. And without the Bifrost, Asgard can't intervene either. Which is how they've ended up facing off against the trickster god once again.

Ever since the invasion it’s been a constant cycle of; Loki showing up in some dramatic display, the Avengers kicking his ass, Loki disappearing before they can catch him, and repeat. Which is why when the Avengers alarm goes off at 2AM, Tony is cursing the god's name as he flies to Bleecker Street.

He's not surprised to see Loki standing on top of a building in a blast of green smoke. What is surprising however, is the flying man with the dramatic red cape who's fighting him with glittering golden rings of magic.

'Is he on our side?' Steve asks over the comms as he arrives on his motorbike.

'No idea. Thor you know this one?'

'He is not of Asgard.' Thor replies, spinning his hammer to take flight.

Tony quickly follows, catching the tail end of Loki's latest dramatic monologue.

'You have no idea what you're dealing with.' The caped man spits out, it looks like they've been fighting for a while. His outfit is burnt and torn and there's a bruise blossoming across his face. The man's eyes are firmly fixed on the eye shaped necklace in Loki's hands.

Loki smirks. 'Oh, I know exactly what this is, Mortal. You-'

He's stopped from his gloating as Thor tackles him at the waist, knocking him out of the air.

They hit an ornate building and there's an explosion of dark green energy at the impact.

'The time stone-' The caped man gasps, flying towards the explosion.

Steve and Nat run to the building as Clint calls out that he'll help the civilians out.

'There are some kids stuck under a support beam.' Clint says over the comms.

'Incoming-' Tony says, locking in on Clint's position so he can land next to the man. 'Alright kiddos. Let's get out of here.'

'You will not touch my brother!' One of the boys calls, a panicked edge to his voice that he's fighting to hide. The boy has dark blond hair and is wearing a navy tunic with golden embroidery that makes him look like he's going to a ren faire. Another boy with black hair is trapped under the beam.

'We're here to help, Kid.' Tony promises. 'I'm just going to lift the beam off him so we can get you out of here.'

'We do not need your help.' The blond argues.

Clint's eyes are focused on the trapped child, who's struggling to pull himself free. He tenses up as he recognizes the boy. 'Tony…'

Tony doesn't hear the man, he starts lifting the wooden beam of the boy. The blond scrambles to help his brother up. The black haired boy struggles to his feet, holding his arm to his chest with a pained expression.

Tony frowns as he spots Mjolnir next to the boys. 'Thor?' He calls out, surprised he can't hear the god bickering with his brother.

'How do you know me?' The blond says, snapping around to look at Tony.

'Of course he knows Odin's children.' The other boy huff's. He looks the Iron Man armor up and down. 'What realm are we in?'

Tony blinks, taking off the face-plate of his suit so the kid can see his face. 'What realm? What do you mean kid?'

The boys look at each other, confused.

'This is Midgard.' Clint responds, visible tense.

The boy blinks, visibly confused. 'How…?'

The caped man lands between them, causing the boys to flinch and move backwards.

'Where- … Ah.' He exhales as he scoops the eye shaped necklace from the rubble. He puts it around his neck before turning to examine the boys. '.... Oh.'

Tony raises an eyebrow as he recognizes the man from years of galas and fundraisers. 'Strange?'

'Stark.' The man replies, eyes fixed on the children. The blond is standing in front of his brother, holding a chunk of wood in his hand like a sword.

'... Are you a fucking wizard?' Tony can’t help but ask.

'Language.' Steve chastises as he and Nat walk in.

'I think it's justified.' Tony grumbles as his heart surgeon crouches down in front of the boys. The blond swings his makeshift sword in a warning.

'Where’s Loki?' Steve asks as he moves next to Clint.

'You're looking at him.' Clint whispers back, gesturing to the boys.

'The impact of the time stone must have done this.' Strange muses. 'I might be able to reverse it but it will take some study.'

'Who are you mage?' Thor asks, trying to sound forceful.

'Mage?' Stephen repeats, quirking an eyebrow.

'We're friends.' Natasha tells him, taking control of the situation. 'We're here to escort you back to our base until we receive a message from the king about how to get you home.'

Thor turns to look at Loki, waiting for his approval.

'She's lying.' Loki says quietly. 'Not about being friends, she believes that much. But she doesn't know Father.'

'How did you know that?' Natasha asks with a small tilt of her head.

'My brother can tell lies from truth.' Thor tells them, grinning proudly.

Stephen glances over at Loki who's still holding his arm. 'Can I see your arm?'

Loki glares at him, angling his body away to protect his arm.

Stephen rolls his eyes, looking back at Tony. 'His arm is broken. Can you handle that or do I need to fix that as well?'

'We got it.' Tony replies defensively.

'Alright. I'll see what can be done about reversing the effects of the time stone.' Stephen twists his hand and a glittering portal appears. He steps through it and disappears in the blink of an eye.

'Alright I'm going to freak out about that later.' Tony shakes his head. 'One crisis at a time.' He says, looking back to the kids.

Natasha crouches down in front of them. 'We need to get you both out of here and have someone look at Loki's arm.'

'You have healers?'

'We do. I promise, no one's going to hurt you. We'll keep you safe until we can figure this out.'

Thor glances at Loki again who reluctantly nods his head, looking paler than before. He steps forward but winces as he puts weight on his right foot.

'I'll carry you.' Thor says, holding a hand out.

Loki rolls his eyes but reaches for Thor's hand. The second he makes contact, his body shimmers and he turns into an emerald snake.

The snake twists his way up Thor's arm until he rests across his shoulders. Once he's happy Loki is settled, Thor turns to the others. 'Do you have horses?'

'Something like that.' Natashas says, ushering towards the street where Happy is waiting for them.

'What's this?' Thor says, tilting his head at the vehicle. The snake perks up too, twisting its head to get a better look.

'It's like a carriage but we don't need horses.' Natasha explains ushering him into the car. Steve and Natasha slip in with him while Clint jumps into the passenger seat next to Happy.

'Do I want to know?' Happy asks, looking at the boy using the rear-view mirror.

'No, you do not.' Clint sighs.

Thor looks around the car before looking back at Steve and Natasha. '... I am Thor Odinson, prince of the Nine Realms. This is my brother, Loki Odinson. And you are…?'

'Natasha Romanoff. And this is Steve Rogers.'

Thor nods his head. 'Lady Natasha. Sir Steve.'

The snake winds tighter around Thor's neck, but he doesn't seem bothered by it.

'Is he alright?'

'He doesn't feel pain as much in this form.' Thor says with a small smile. 'He'll turn back when we arrive at the healers.'

'We'll just have to leave the hammer.' Tony tells them over the comms. 'At least we know no one can touch it.'

After a tense ride back to the Tower, Thor is ushered into the Tower and up to the Med bay. 'Midgard is strange…' Thor mutters to himself as he takes in the clinic.

Bruce rushes in. 'Jarvis told me-' His eyes go wide as he looks at the young Thor. 'Huh… Hi Thor. Remember me?'

Thor frowns, shaking his head. 'I have never been to this realm. Are you the healer?'

Bruce glances at Natasha who just nods, silently telling him to go along with it.

'Yes, um… are you hurt?'

'Not me, but-' He carefully unpries the snake from his neck, placing it on a nearby seat. In a flash of magic, Loki reappears, still holding his arm to his chest.

Bruce flinches, trying to hold back his surprise. 'Um… hello. I'm Bruce.'

'Prince Loki, Odinson.' Loki says, teeth clenched in pain.

'Can I have a look at your arm Loki?'

Loki glances at Thor who immediately moves to sit next to him. Once Thor is at his side, Loki reluctantly offers his arm.

Bruce makes the examination quick and before long Loki's arm is in an emerald green cast (Thor insisted on the color) and has a bandage around his twisted ankle.

'It’s late. We should get you kids to bed.' Steve says as he spots Loki yawning.

They set the boys up in one of the guest rooms. Thor has his own floor of the Tower, but given that he doesn't seem to know he's been de-aged the Avengers figure that it'll be best to put them in the guest rooms on Steve's floor where he can keep an eye on them.

They offer the boys separate rooms, but Loki steps closer to Thor and Thor instantly demands that they have the same room so he can guard his injured brother.

Once the boys are settled, the Avengers regather in the living room, Tony instantly opens the liquor cabinet. 'So this is a trick right? Loki has to be fucking with us.'

'The wizard seems pretty confident the magic stone turned them into children.' Natasha replies.

'And that's another thing! Since when are there wizards and why is my heart surgeon one?' Tony huff's as he passes Natasha a bottle of vodka.

'So could this be a trick?' Steve asks, not joining the others in their drink. He wishes he could but the serum burns away the alcohol too quickly for it to have any effect.

'Maybe if it was just Loki…’ Bruce muses. ‘But Thor wouldn't play along too.'

'Maybe he's fucked with Thor's head.' Tony says, doing his best not to glance at Clint.

‘You would all make terrible spies.’ Natasha says as she drains her vodka. ‘You haven’t connected the obvious dots.'

‘Well, do share with the class, Ms Rushman.’ Tony says, rolling his eyes.

‘When Clint was under Loki's control, his eyes were bright blue. Thor's eyes are normal right now but I've already ruled out him being under mind control. The worrying thing is that I thought that Clint's eyes turned blue because Loki's were, but…’ She trails off, with the tone of a teacher trying to lead her students to the right conclusion.

‘But the kid has the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen.’ Steve says with a slow exhale.

‘It might not mean anything.’ Bruce argues. ‘We don’t know anything about alien physiology. They may change color as he grows up.’

‘Just seems suspicious that their eyes were identical during the battle, and Clints only went away when we snapped him out of mind control.'

'You think Loki was being controlled as well…?'

'That's the standing theory.' Natasha shrugs.

Steve frowns at the thought. 'So what do we do?'

'Keep an eye on the kids until the wizard can fix it.' Natasha says as she gets to her feet. 'And get some sleep while we can.'

***
Loki doesn't like the Midgardian clothes they've been given to sleep in. It takes him a long time to get his cast through the sleeve and it seems to have a drawing of a green monster on it. Thor doesn't share his brother's disdain, proudly showing Loki his red and gold clothes that mimic Stark's armor.

'Heimdall?' Loki calls for the tenth time, glaring at the ceiling.

'He's not listening.' Thor shrugs, jumping into the bed.

'He's supposed to always be watching.' Loki scowls. 'What's the point of a watcher if he's not watching?'

'If Father wants to call us home, he will.' Thor shrugs, star-fishing on the bed.

'It is strange that Father would leave us here. I don't understand what he's trying to teach us.'

'I rarely do.'

'That much is obvious.' Loki rolls his eyes.

'Worry not!' Thor pats the bed beside him. 'Rest so you can heal your arm. I'll keep watch.'

Loki sighs as he crawls into bed, shifting into the shape of a cat as he dives under the blanket.

Thor just laughs. 'Goodnight brother.'

Chapter Text

Tony ends up working through the night since he's up anyway. Only leaving his lab when Steve calls him with the promise of pancakes.

He shuffles into the kitchen and nudges Clint out of the way as they both reach for the coffee.

'Nat and I are headed out to a safehouse until this blows over.' Clint says with a yawn.

'What?' Tony blinks blearily.

'Nat doesn't do kids and I don't do Loki.' Clint replies simply.

'Guess that makes sense.' Tony admits. It's no secret that Loki is one of Clint's biggest triggers and having the man in their home must be unsettling.

Clint raises his coffee in a mock salute before heading to the door. 'Call us if the world is ending or if Loki tries to kill everyone.'

When Tony finally gets his coffee, he falls into a seat at the kitchen table. He glances up as Thor, redressed in his Navy tunic, runs into the room. Tony makes a mental note to get the boys some more modern clothes. They only had pyjamas in the kids size because they'd been sent a merchandise package to approve. He's kind of disappointed that the boy didn't come down to breakfast in his pyjamas. 'Morning kid.'

'I followed the spirit here.' Thor tells them, grinning.

'Spirit?' Tony asks with a confused frown.

'That would be me, Sir.' Jarvis responds. 'Master Odinson found the idea of me being a spirit was easier to comprehend than the idea of artificial intelligence.'

'Ah, thanks J. You hungry Sparky? We have pancakes.'

Thor glances at the table full of food. 'Yes, please. But first-' He glances at Bruce. 'Could you come check on my brother, please?'

'Is something wrong?' Bruce asks, putting down his tea.

'If you could …' Thor nods his head towards the elevator, it's the first time any of them have seen the god look anxious.

'Of course.' Bruce nods, getting to his feet.

'I'll come with ya.' Tony says, not wanting to leave Bruce alone with the tiny god of mischief.

When they make it to the room, they find Loki bundled under the blankets.

'My brother doesn't fare well in warm weather.' Thor says, following Bruce to the side of the bed. 'Mother says he has a weak constitution.'

'I am not weak.' Loki grumbles, green eyes peeking over the blankets to glare at his brother.

Bruce places the back of his hand on Loki's forehead, frowning to himself. 'Jarvis could you lower the temperature please?'

Loki sighs in relief as a blast of cold air hits the room.

'Better?'

Loki nods with a small hum. 'Thank you.'

Bruce flashes him a smile. 'Jarvis, can you keep it this temperature in any room Loki is in?' He looks back at Loki, offering to help him up out of the bed. 'Do you feel up to getting some breakfast? You should at least get some water.'

'Alright…' Loki slowly gets up and Thor quickly moves to help his brother move.

'Everything alright?' Steve asks discreetly as Tony sits down next to him.

'Too warm for the baby frost giant.' Tony whispers back. They may not understand everything about alien races, but Thor did give them a brief rundown of how Loki was adopted. Tony can only assume that “Frost Giant” is fairly self explanatory, and that the warm summer they're having is going to be an issue for the tiny giant.

Thor very enthusiastically eats everything they put in front of him. Loki glances down at his plate, holding his uninjured hand out with a small blast of magic.

'Magical seasoning?'

'He's checking for poison.' Natasha says as if it's obvious

Loki glances up. 'I am a prince in a foreign land. It is important to make sure there is not an assassination attempt.'

'If we wanted you dead, we would have killed you by now.' Natasha retorts.

Loki huff's. 'It's also important to make sure we can stomach Midgardian food. You may have ingredients that are poisonous to Asgardians without knowing it.'

'He doesn't seem to be having any problems.' Tony jerks his head towards Thor who's made his way through two plates already.

'Thor could eat gravel and be well.' Loki says, rolling his eyes. He relaxes minutely when Thor laughs.

Tony watches Natasha get to her feet and grab two glasses. She fills them both with water and produces a small bottle from her pocket, dropping a few drops in one. She mixes up the glasses before putting them both in front of Loki and Thor.

'What are you doing?'

'I want to see if he can actually detect poison.'

'Do you always bring poison to breakfast?'

'Hush.' She says watching Loki as he waves his hand over the glasses. He takes a drink from one and puts the other in front of Thor.

Bruce manages to intercept the glass before Thor takes a drink, glaring at Natasha.

'It's just a laxative.' She shrugs.

Loki laughs under his breath. The Avengers freeze, taking in the strange sight of Loki smiling.

Natasha recovers first, finishing her coffee. 'Call us if you need us.' She says, getting to her feet and leaving the kitchen.

‘We’re going to have a talk about why you’re bringing laxatives to breakfast when you get back.’ Tony calls after her.

She only laughs in response, which Tony takes as a win. It’s rare to see Natasha in such a good mood, so he just waves her off and returns his attention to his coffee.

'Are you going to tell us why we're here?' Loki asks once he finishes his water.

'What do you remember?' Steve asks, watching Loki closely.

The boys share a look, Thor's mouth is still full of food so Loki talks.

'It was Thor's birthday party.'

'We were sneaking out.' Thor laughs.

'How old are you Thor?' Bruce asks curiously.

'Five hundred.' Thor says, beaming proudly. 'Loki is only three hundred and seventy.'

Loki rams his elbow into Thor's ribs. Thor laughs, taking it as a sign of affection.

'We were sneaking out of the party, I stepped through the doors of the grand hall and everything went black. Next thing I know I'm trapped in that building.'

'Why were you sneaking out of the party?'

'Loki doesn't like them.' Thor tells them with a shrug.

'They're too loud.' Loki huff's. 'And half those people couldn't care less that it's your birthday. They just want an excuse to drink and charm the Allfather.'

'That sounds familiar.' Tony snorts, thinking about his own childhood.

Loki's eyes flick to Tony. 'How do you know us?'

'What do you mean?'

'Lady Natasha said we were friends.' Loki repeats. 'How do you know us?'

'We uh…' Steve looks to the other Avengers, panicking.

'We know the older version of you kids.' Tony admits, highly aware that Loki will be able to tell when he's lying.

'What magic made us younger?'

'Something called a time stone.'

Both children go still, glancing at each other nervously.

'Midgard has an infinity stone?' Loki asks.

'What's an infinity stone?'

'Items of great power. Does Father know?'

'Wait!' Thor interrupts. 'You know us in the future. Am I king yet?'

'Of course that's the first thing you ask.' Loki rolls his eyes.

'We don't know much about Infinity stones or Asgardian politics.' Steve admits. 'But we're friends and you're safe here until we get you back to your normal adult size.'

'Alright.' Loki nods in assent. 'May we be excused?'

Bruce glances at Loki's still full plate of food but nods, understanding that the boy may still feel ill from the heat. 'We'll call you for lunch and if you need anything just come and find us, okay?'

Loki nods as he gets to his feet. His twisted ankle seems to have mostly healed, which Bruce puts down to quicker Asgardian (or frost giant) healing.

Thor abandons his meal to follow his brother, prodding the other boy in the ribs before running past him to instigate a chase.

Chapter Text

After Clint and Natasha vacate the Tower, it quickly becomes clear that the remaining Avengers have no idea what to do with children.

Tony, Steve and Bruce are all only children with no child raising experience between them. Tony considers calling Pepper for help, but realises she's never been around children either.

Thor is a force of sheer chaos. The tiny god is a bundle of pure energy which they find impossible to wear out. Whereas Loki will get so lost in his reading that it's impossible to get him to take a break to eat anything. Since he can't use his broken arm to hold a book, Tony taught him how to use holo screens and gave him access to any books he might want (with Jarvis carefully excluding any mentions of Norse mythology or the Avengers, just in case). Tony quickly learns why parents are so cautious about screen time. It's impossible to pull Loki away from his studies.

Tony and Bruce are about to tear their hair out but Steve assures them that he has a plan.

As it turns out, Steve's plan is to wait for Bucky to come home.

Since escaping from the grasp of Hydra, Bucky has mostly kept to himself. He lives in the tower but doesn't socialise with anyone other than Steve. Every few months he disappears, only returning once he’s taken down another Hydra cell.

Bucky trudges into the living room of the tower, visible exhausted and clothes stained with blood. He quirks an eyebrow at the sight of Loki on the couch, eyes fixed on the screen in front of him. He turns to look at Thor who is sprinting down the halls.

'There are children.' Bucky grunts.

'Thor and Loki got turned into kids.' Steve states simply as he greets his friend.

Bucky tilts his head, accepting the information without any questions. 'They should be in bed.'

'Thor has too much energy and Loki won't stop researching long enough to negotiate bedtime.' Tony moans.

'I'm learning about Midgards developments.' Loki says without looking up. 'If you won't provide me with a tutor, then I have to take it upon myself to catch up. I can’t waste time and neglect my studies just because we’re stuck here.’

Thor almost runs into Bucky as he re-enters the room. 'Are you a warrior?' He asks as he takes in the metal arm and bloodstained clothes.

'I am.'

'Will you tell us a tale of battle?' Thor asks with wide, excited eyes.

'If you wash up and get in bed in the next ten minutes, I'll tell you a story.'

Thor wastes no time running to the guest room. Loki swipes his hand to dismiss the holoscreen and quickly follows.

Bucky nods to Steve before following them.

Tony and Bruce share a look of utter confusion.

'What the hell was that?'

'Bucky had three sisters. Plus me.' Steve chuckles. 'I was counting on those instincts kicking in.'

'This was your plan?! The Winter Soldier?'

Steve raises an eyebrow. 'You have a better one?'

'.... Winter babysitter it is.' Tony concedes.

***
The next morning, Steve is making a batch of poptarts when Bucky walks in.

Bruce and Tony both glance at each other, confused. Normally Bucky would avoid the communal floors as much as possible. And when the Avengers do see him, he's always been dressed in his tac gear, ready for a fight. But now he's dressed in baggy jeans and a soft blue sweatshirt that he's clearly stolen from Steve. His hair has been brushed and is held back from his face by a loose bun.

He scowls as he spots Steve. 'Absolutely not.'

'What?'

Bucky looks down at the plate pointedly.

'Thor loves them.' Steve argues, knowing he's already lost the argument.

'They need a healthy breakfast. Take that crap to our floor, we'll eat it later.'

'Alright Buck.' Steve smiles, following orders.

'Jarvis. Tell the boys to come down for breakfast.' Bucky says, moving to inspect the contents of the fridge.

'They're on their way, Sergeant Barnes.'

'Thank you Jarvis.'

Tony watches in confused amazement, weirdly surprised. A lot of people take Jarvis for granted, so he's surprised to hear Bucky of all people thanking the AI. Judging from Jarvis' tone when he welcomes the man, the AI approves.

Bucky rolls up his sleeves and cooks up an array of eggs and bacon before the boys arrive in the kitchen.

Thor is carrying a black cat in his arms. Bucky glances at Steve questioningly.

'That’s Loki, he’s a shapeshifter.'

'Hm.' Bucky nods. 'Will he turn back for breakfast?'

'It can be hard to get him to eat.' Thor says with an apologetic smile as he puts the cat on the floor.

'Becca was the same.' Bucky nods understanding. He grabs a bowl and fills it with milk. He puts it on the table, smiling when the cat hops up to drink.

Bucky nods in approval and passes Thor a plate filled with eggs and bacon. 'Eat.'

'My thanks!' Thor beams, eating immediately.

'If Loki's up for it, I'll take a look at his arm after you eat.' Bruce says, watching the cat. 'How… how aware is he of his surroundings like this?'

Thor shrugs. 'He remembers if you're mean to him.' He says with his mouth full. 'But he says a lot is a blur.'

'Huh…'

Thor watches Bruce carefully, ready to defend his brother if the man says anything that offends.

Bruce just smiles. 'Well, as soon as Loki feels like being himself again, I'll check how his arm is healing.'

'Thank you.' Thor smiles, resuming his meal.

***
Loki's arm is mostly healed. He explains to Bruce that he channelled his magic into the bone during the night to heal it faster. Bruce has a thousand questions but he decides against it and takes the cast off. Warning Loki to take it easy to not irritate the injury.

Instead of leaving the brothers to their own devices, Bucky takes the boys to the gym, telling Steve that Thor needs to burn off some energy. Steve has to admit that the man is right and follows them to the gym to help Bucky where he can.

He walks in to find Thor and Loki on the sparring mats. Despite Bruce's warning that Loki be careful with his arm, the pair have found wooden staffs and are fighting in a violent clash of weapons.

'Buck. You sure this is a good idea…?'

Bucky has his arms folded over his chest, watching the boys attack each other. 'They're trained to be warriors.' He says, eyes not leaving the fight. 'It'll wear them both out and stop them from worrying about missing their training.'

'They've been worrying about that?'

'Warrior children are like that. They have duties and routine.' Bucky explains.

'How'd you know that?'

'Red room.' Bucky says simply, he raises his eyebrows as Loki disappears in a puff of smoke and appears behind his brother to sweep his legs. 'They didn't do that in the Red Room though.'

'Yeah, Loki's magic takes some getting used to.' Steve says, exhaling a laugh. 'It's interesting to see it up close without it being used against us.'

Thor sweeps at Loki's leg so the boy falls on top of him. They start giggling, weapons abandoned as they start wrestling.

Steve watches with a fond smile. It's obvious the brothers love each other. And Thor is just as protective over Loki as Bucky used to be with him. Steve can't help but wonder about the full story about the family falling out. No wonder Thor is so heartbroken when they have to fight his super-villain brother.

Loki starts to struggle to breathe, Thor rolls off him immediately and holds Loki's shoulders until the boy manages to catch his breath.

'Let's take a break.' Bucky says, crossing the mats to help Loki to his feet.

'Tonys set up a movie marathon for them.' Steve says. 'We can head to the home cinema room?'

Bucky quirks an eyebrow, obviously unimpressed by the lavish displays of wealth.

'I know.' Steve laughs. 'It's about the size of that theatre we saw Snow White in.'

'Rich boys.' Bucky shakes his head.

'You should see our palace!' Thor grins, happily following the super soldiers.

They set the boys up with a huge bowl of popcorn and set up the first film on Jarvis' playlist. They watch the Disney movie in an awed silence. Steve and Bucky both shudder as the film opens with a song about ice, but they carefully push those feelings down for the sake of the children.

The calm movie marathon is waylaid when they watch the princess in the film play with the older sisters ice powers.

Out of the corner of his eye, Steve spots Thor turn to look at Loki with an expectant grin. Loki rolls his eyes but has a small smile on his face when he holds his hand out. In a small burst of magic, Loki summons a snowball.

Before they know it, the cinema room is covered with frost as Loki chases Thor with blasts of snow.

Steve is struggling being surrounded by ice. But he can see Bucky has gone dangerously still, eyes unfocused. 'Hey Buck, why don't you go warm up? I can watch the kids while you make cocoa?'

Bucky grunts in confirmation, quickly escaping the room.

The kids soon settle down, clearly exhausted by their sparring session. Steve has to admit, Bucky does know what he's doing.

They fall back into their seats to resume watching the movie. Thor frowns to himself as the sisters grow apart to the point where they never see each other.

Thor shuffles closer to Loki. 'That won't happen to us right?'

'Course not.' Loki replies simply, smiling when Thor leans against his shoulder.

Steve bites his lip, trying not to think about the boys future.

Tony walks in with a tray of hot drinks. 'Hey, Bucky-Bear wanted me to bring…. Why is my cinema room an ice palace?'

'We're watching Frozen.'

Tony winces, understanding how the movie might not have been the best choice for the princes. He hands Steve a mug of cocoa. 'I can watch them for a bit. Get yourself out of the ice before you freeze another century.'

Steve rolls his eyes but accepts the offer. 'Call if you need help.'

Tony glances to where the boys are starting to fall asleep. 'I think I can manage.' He chuckles.

Chapter Text

Tony is enjoying a rare moment of peace as he flicks through his emails in the living room of the Tower. As much as it pains him to admit, Bucky has been an absolute godsend with the kids. He’s wrangled them into a routine and even managed to get Loki to eat a few meals with them. It seems to have been good for Bucky's own recovery too. He’s spending more time on the common floors and is looking more like a person and less like a terminator, which has been comforting for everyone around him. Especially Steve, who beams like an idiot at the sight of him

Tony jumps as a spiral of gold sparkles appears in the room, knocking him from his thoughts. He scowls as Dr Strange steps through. 'Can you use the door like everyone else?'

'This is more efficient.' Strange waves him off. 'Where are the patients?'

'They're in the middle of a Disney marathon. Lion King was a total nightmare. I thought they would get a kick out of "I just can't wait to be king" but then Scar threw his brother off a cliff and they both started crying.'

Strange raises an eyebrow as if to say he couldn't care less about the kids cartoons.

'J, call the kids over here?' Tony says, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. 'Have you figured out how to get them back to normal?'

'Yes, it's quite simple. It's just a case of drawing out and reversing the magic of the time stone.'

'I won't pretend to understand that. Let me call the super soldiers. And maybe… bring Thor back first? We're probably going to jump straight into a fight when Loki is back. I'd say let's just keep him as a kid but I don't think Thor would be too happy.'

'If you need a prison for him, I could send him to the mirror dimension?'

'Actually… Nat has a theory that Loki was brainwashed for the whole invasion thing. Is that something you could, you know …?' Tony wiggles his fingers to mime magic.

'I'll see if there are any traces of other magic there.' Strange nods as the boys barrel into the room, swiftly followed by the super soldiers and Bruce.

'You guys remember Doctor Strange?'

'The Midgardian mage.' Loki nods, eyes scanning the necklace around the man's neck and the rings that hold a slim bronze bar on his hand. 'Can I try your sling ring?'

'No. And I'm not a mage, I'm the sorcerer supreme.' Strange corrects.

Loki lifts an eyebrow, unimpressed. Tony has to stop himself from laughing at the sheer sass.

'Regardless.' Strange clicks his tongue. 'I'm here to return you to your adult selves.'

The boys share a look. Sometimes it feels like they can communicate telepathically. With Loki's powers it wouldn't surprise Tony if they could.

'I will go first.' Thor declares.

'Will it hurt him?' Loki asks, obviously concerned.

'No, it will simply revert him to the state he was in before you crashed on top of the time stone.'

'... Alright.' Loki nods, seemingly confident that the man isn't lying to them.

Thor moves to stand in front of Doctor Strange. The man twists his hands and the eye shaped necklace opens to reveal a glowing green stone.

There's a blinding blast of light. When Tony's vision comes back to him, Thor is back in all his adult glory. The man briefly looks down at his hands to confirm that he's back before spinning around to look at Loki.

'You look like Father…' Loki says, with an unimpressed wrinkle of his nose.

Thor laughs. 'It is good to see you little brother. '

'So, are you king then?'

'Not yet. You pointed out that I wasn't ready.' He tells the boy with a sad smile.

Loki hums. 'You mustn't be ready then. I'm always right.'

Thor laughs, closing the distance to hug his brother.

Loki squirms his way out of the hug. 'I wish to be older too.' He says, pushing Thor off of him. He turns to face the Avengers. 'Thank you for helping us.' He says with a small bow. 'We are lucky to have such friends.'

Tony has to bite his lip, pushing down the urge to call this off and keep Loki as a kid permanently.

As Loki steps towards Dr Strange, Steve and Bucky both tense up, preparing for a fight.

The flash of light blinds them all again. When the light recedes, Loki is back in his adult body, dressed in his armour.

'The horns are a bit much.' Stephen tuts. His hand is pressed against Loki's forehead and the prince's eyes are closed. 'Lets see what we're dealing with.'

'What is he doing to my brother?' Thor asks.

'Checking Loki's head for magic.' Tony explains without looking away from the pair.

'You were right. They're far away but the connection is strong…' Stephen says distantly.

'So someone has been controlling him all this time.' Steve says with a frown.

Thor's hands tense into fists at the thought. There's a distant rumble of thunder.

A burst of blue magic sparks from Loki's head which slowly dissipates. Stephen takes a step back as Loki's eyes slowly flicker open. The Avengers relax fractionally when they see that the man's eyes are still emerald green.

Loki's face is blank but a small frown starts to form as he takes in his surroundings.

'Loki?' Thor says cautiously, moving to stand in front of Loki.

'Brother…' Loki exhales, moving in to close the distance between them to wrap his arms around his brother who catches him instantly.

The other Avengers tense up, ready to fight back in case it's a trick.

'What happened?' Thor asks as he pulls back from the hug and plants his hands on Loki's shoulders.

Loki winces. 'My head is quiet for the first time in years, please give me a moment.' He takes off his gold helmet, tossing it aside.

A grin spreads across Thor's face. 'I've missed you brother.'

Loki rolls his eyes but his expression is fond. He takes a shaky step back from Thor, falling onto the couch. He takes a slow breath before looking at Stephen. 'You need to keep a better guard of that stone. The next person the Titan sends won't be actively trying to sabotage his missions.'

'What are you talking about?' Tony asks, tentatively relaxing his grip on the device which would summon his armour.

'Thor was supposed to figure it out ages ago. He almost did at one point.' Loki laughs distantly. '"Who controls the would be king?"'. He says, mimicking Thor's booming voice before sighing. 'I planned for you to find me, capture me, stop me. I sabotage every mission the Black Order sent me on.'

'Why would you do that?' Steve asks, thrown by the whole situation.

Loki considers his response for a moment. 'To prove they didn't break me.' He settles for. 'Speaking of, I believe I have need of your medical suites once more, Doctor.' He says, eyes flicking to Bruce. He gets to his feet but shakes with the effort.

Thor quickly moves in to support him as they make their way to the medical floor.

Dr Strange catches Tony as they follow. 'I'll take my leave, but if you need me-' He hands the man a business card with his address and number before disappearing in a circle of gold sparks.

'So dramatic.' Tony mumbles to himself as he follows the others.

'I do not need assistance.' Loki says as they all follow him into the room. 'Just your supplies.'

'I can help, I just need to know what we're dealing with.' Bruce assures him, using his serious doctor voice.

Loki rolls his eyes, digging through the cabinets. 'Starvation and dehydration are the most pressing matters. It was one of the few ways they could punish me from so far away. And of course there's a lot of the torture wounds they wouldn't allow me to heal to remind me of my place.'

There's an overlapping chorus of questions and Loki quickly snaps.

‘Can everyone who is not related to me please leave the room?' He suddenly goes tense, realising that technically, that leaves no one. '...Thor, will you stay?' He amends, avoiding eye contact.

Thor smiles softly at Loki, quickly gesturing to the others that he can handle it.

The others reluctantly leave and the brothers are finally alone. Loki carefully doesn't acknowledge it and works on removing his armour instead. Thor doesn't comment on how Loki's hands are shaking, or how unusual it is that he isn't simply dismissing the armour with magic.

Thor can't stay quiet when he sees the deep scarring on Loki's chest, or the dark burns across his back. 'I will tear the Black Order limb from limb.' He says as another round of thunder echoes through the sky outside.

'You'll have a hard fight ahead of you.' Loki says with a sad smile. 'They're lead by the Mad Titan.'

'I thought he was a myth…'

'Like how the humans see us as myths?' Loki asks as he applies a cream to the worst of the burns. 'Banish thoughts of the Titan from your mind for now. Focus on helping me with these bandages.'

'Of course Brother.' Thor picks up the bandages and carefully wraps Loki's chest. 'Will you stay?'

'I don't believe I have much of a choice. Your father won't exactly welcome me with open arms. And I can't fight the Titan alone.'

'You'll like the Avengers.' Thor promises. 'I think Tony is almost as sarcastic as you.'

Loki huff's out a laugh. 'I believe that.'

'You're safe here, you know that don't you?' Thor asks as he finishes the bandages.

Loki thinks back to how carefully the Avengers cared for them the past few days. 'I know.'

***
When Clint returns to the Tower, it's the dead of the night.

He sneaks into the kitchen, hoping to steal some left overs before heading to bed. Instead he finds both Bucky and Loki sitting at a table staring into their mugs.

It's a ridiculously tense situation, so Clint does what he does best. He makes a joke out of it

'I bet you're wondering why I gathered you all here today.' He announces as he enters the room.

'You did not gather us.' Loki says quietly, looking up. Clint tries not to shudder as he imagines bright blue eyes instead of Loki's green ones.

'Welcome all-’ Clint continues regardless. ‘To the ex brainwashed assassin support club. We're a small club. Previously the only members were me and Nat, so we've actually doubled in size. Very exciting.' Clint moves to the coffee machine. If he's going to keep up this level of fake enthusiasm, he needs caffeine. 'We also have enough for subsections now. We have those brainwashed by russians-' He gestures to Bucky, holding back a laugh when the man lifts his mug like a toast. 'And those brainwashed by…. Who fucked us up exactly?’ he asks, glancing at Loki.

'The Other. A member of the Black Order.'

'Terrible name, awful branding. Anyway, the important thing about recovering from that kind of bone-deep trauma is-' He digs through the cupboards, pulling out a box . 'Know where all the chocolate is stashed.' He grins, dropping it on the table between them

'Don't eat too much sugar.' Bucky tells Loki who just rolls his eyes.

'I am not a child anymore.’

'Thor said you're roughly one thousand. He was 500 when he was a kid, so that makes you like twenty at best.'

Loki scowls at him and snatches an extra chocolate bar to prove a point.

Clint finishes making his coffee and sits with them.

Loki tenses, struggling to make eye contact with Clint. 'I… I would like to apologise. For taking over your mind.'

Clint raises an eyebrow. 'Did you have a choice?"

'That or kill you.' Loki admits. 'I wanted to keep casualties to a minimum… plus you were invaluable. Without you I wouldn't have been able to band together the avengers to take me down.'

'You're forgiven.' Clint says, suddenly very glad for all his time in therapy. He doesn't think he'd be able to cope with all this if he hadn't spent hours talking through the Invasion with his therapist. 'Just… don't touch me with magic again, okay?"

'You have my word.' Loki nods.

'Alright then.' Clint smiles, moving to knock his mug against Loki's. 'Welcome to the team then.'

Loki glances up, finally making eye contact. The unsure look on his face causes Clint to reevaluate everything he knows about the man. Maybe Bucky was right, despite being over a thousand, Loki seems really young.

'Thank you.' Loki manages to say after a moment.

Natasha walks into the room, eyes flicking over the three of them. 'Please tell me you didn't make the brainwashed assassin club joke.' She says to Clint in Russian.

'Of course he did.' Bucky replies in the same language.

Loki chuckles under his breath, clearly understanding what they're saying.

'Another thing we have in common!' Clint beams. 'We can gossip about the rest of the Avengers in Russian.'

Natasha rolls her eyes before glancing at Loki. 'I'm going to tell you the same thing I told Bucky when he joined. If you turn on us, I will eviscerate you.'

'Understood.' Loki nods.

Natasha flashes him a rare smile. Before Clint can comment on it, the Avengers alarm goes off.

'Alright new recruit.' Clint grins at Loki as they get to their feet. 'Lets see what you got.'