Work Text:
Loki had been cutting through the community garden on the way to the office. He couldn’t believe he left this file and had to come in on a Saturday. He was just about to take the steps up to the breezeway that lead to the office when movement down to his left caught his attention. He saw his niece Astrid with an older girl and Bruce Banner. That made him pause; they seemed to be on some kind of picnic. The two girls were running around with what looked like paper crowns on their heads.
At that moment, Astrid looked up and let out a scream of excitement when she recognized him. "Loki!" she yelled out. At her scream, both the girl and Banner jumped. She waddled toward him, and Banner got up to follow at a distance. "Loki, play," she said when she got near Loki. "Pease."
Bruce decided to step in and help. "Princess Astrid and the queen for the day," he said, pointing to the girl behind him, "are playing some princess game, and then we are going to have a picnic."
Lokie looked at his niece and then at Banner with a raised eyebrow. Banner answered with a brow raise of his own. The young girl came out from behind Banner. "And you are the queen?" Loki asked with a smile.
She looked at Banner, who nodded to her with a smile. "Yes, Queen Amy," she answered quietly.
"Thank you, Astrid, but maybe later," Loki said, then turned to leave.
He heard Astrid start to cry. "Why Loki no play?" she asked Bruce.
"I think maybe Loki is just really busy, sweetheart," Bruce said as he picked up Astrid.
"Maybe later?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes, maybe," he answered as they started to walk toward their picnic spot, but stopped when they heard Loki say, "Wait.
He came back toward them with trepidation. He couldn't believe he made his niece cry. If they wanted him to play, he would, just for a little while. He stopped trying to figure out what to do as all three looked at him with a questioning gaze. Then, he remembered part of a drama class he took back in college and he got a plan.
"Queen Amy, Princess," he bowed, "I am asking forgiveness and am at your service."
Both girls got so excited (Bruce couldn't get Astrid down fast enough), and Loki let them head him toward a patch by the blanket and helped him with their land of make believe. They ordered him around and in return, he climbed the tower (a tree) and saved both the queen and the princess from unseen bad guys. He wasn't allowed to leave until after lunch and a story.
Bruce never mentioned that Loki has a smile on his face the entire time.
*************
A knock on his office door roused Loki from his file research.
"Yes," he barked
His assistant walked in, handing him a small manila envelope. "Sir, this came from Dr. Banner," she said, then turned and left.
Loki opened the top and pulled out a letter:
Loki, I have become a master at Jedi photography with two teenagers and being the husband of Tony Stark. These are the only copies because, again, I am the husband of Tony Stark. I hope you enjoy them. Bruce Banner.
He realized it was various photos from that day. But the last one was a framed photo of himself and Astrid. He placed he photo at the corner of his desk. He looked around and saw that it was the only thing that was personal in here. No random memories he wanted to place on the wall for all to see. No friends or family photos (both his choice). He looked at the photo again then at his stark professional walls. Maybe he needed to make some changes?