64A/N: Well geez... At the end of the last chapter I said you all must hate me, I didn't expect my little break to be so long that it might come true... I had no intentions of leaving this story for so long, I even had the next chapter planned out as well and rough drafts saved for it. But with a combination of battling depression, family drama, my university graduation, and finding a job that doesn't completely deteriorate the little left of my mental health, Lokison got put on the far back burner (not going to mention my hyper fixation on other shows as well). But after reading back on the many wonderful and encouraging reviews, I couldn't leave you all hanging for much longer! As well as putting together a Lady Loki cosplay... I think my motivation is finally back!
Since it's been so long since I last posted, feel free to put this chapter on hold to go read back the last few chapters if you need! I'm not good at doing recaps unfortunately... But when you do get to reading this chapter... I hope you enjoy it!
Peter smiled to himself, watching as Loki and Tony bickered with each other. It was a rare childish moment when the men allowed themselves to be petty and argumentative with each other, throwing playful jabs back and forth to try to get their points across. They were trying to plan the next family outing, and the two were stuck on a zoo or aquarium trip. May and Ben had taken the day off just for the trip, and Thor was coming back to New York. It had been so long since the entire family was together, and Peter was excited.
In a way, he knew that they were doing this for him, that he had complained about not getting to spend enough time with everyone lately. His smile turned much more sentimental as he laid his head on May's shoulder, his eyes closing and his body relaxing into her touch as she began to comb his hair with her fingers.
"You okay, lovebug?" She asked, amusement in her voice.
"Yeah, just kinda tired. And happy. I can't wait for tomorrow."
She chuckled, nodding. "I imagine you are. You should go rest up, it'll be a long day and you'll need your energy."
Peter started to whine, but Loki took that moment to turn from Stark and set his sights on Peter. "She's right. Thor will probably be here some time today, and you know there will be no sleeping when he arrives. You should go sleep while you can."
"But dad..."
"No, no buts. Go on now, don't make me carry you."
Peter pouted as he stood, stretching his arms above his head. He let out a groan, tilting from side to side. As he started to straighten again though, the scene in front of him flickered. It was only for a moment, Loki's living room fading in and out, Peter's family disappearing for a second.
Peter jerked upright, eyes wide as he looked around. Everything was back to normal in the blink of an eye, his family staring at him curiously.
"You alright, kid?" Tony asked, taking a step towards him. "You just went pale."
"You..." Peter looked around, breathing heavy, "You guys didn't see that?"
"See what?"
Peter held eye contact with Loki before giving a sheepish smile. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought... I'm going to go to my room now. I'll see you guys when Uncle Thor gets here."
A chorus of goodbyes were strung from the three people in the room as Peter left, his feet dragging as he started to climb the stairs to his room. Just when he was halfway up though, he heard a voice call his name.
His head shot up, eyebrows pushed together as he looked back at the family room. The voice was very faint... Like it was from far away, it couldn't be...
"Peter...!" The voice called again, this time distinguishable as Loki's. Peter hopped back down the stairs, heading back to the room.
"Yeah?"
All eyes were on him again, curious but with an underline of concern.
"What?"
"You called?" Peter asked hesitantly, his head ducking in his uncertainty as he looked at Loki. "I was halfway up the stairs when I heard you call me?"
Loki glanced back at the others before moving to Peter, a hand reaching out for his shoulder. "I never called for you, child..."
"But... But I heard...?"
"Perhaps I shall help you to bed," Loki gave a gentle push to his shoulder, giving him no choice as he led Peter back up the stairs and to his bed, a supportive hand on his shoulder the whole way. "Have your headaches started to come back?"
Peter swallowed thickly as he sat on his bed, kicking his shoes off.
"Peter, answer me." Loki crouched in front of him, putting himself directly in Peter's view. "You know the rules about hiding these things from me."
A heavy sigh left him, eyes closing before Peter nodded slowly. "It's been building all day... I feel like my head is going to explode."
"Which is why you should tell me these things." Loki chuckled humorlessly as he lifted his hand up to Peter's head, but stopped when the boy leaned back.
"Can't I just take an Aleve and go to sleep? I don't really... like how I feel after you use magic."
Loki stared at him, silent, emotionless, his face a completely unreadable mask. It unnerved Peter, it was unnatural... Loki always went still when he would try to avoid his magic, and the stillness was so- so still that it was almost as if he wasn't even there at all. It was like his eyes told him one thing but his senses said another. There were no vibrations in the air, no heartbeat, no breath, not even the slightest noise from his stomach... If Peter didn't know any better, he'd say that Loki wasn't even there at all.
Peter gave a nervous laugh, looking away. "Joking, I was just joking... Sorry, it wasn't that funny, I think the headache is getting to me."
Loki's demeanor changed almost instantly, a smile spreading across his face as his hand reached up to the back of Peter's head. With a shaky breath, Peter leaned in to his father's hold, pressing their foreheads together. He could feel the magic washing over his body, freezing, numbing everything; he felt lightheaded and sick, his vision blurring as his body began to fall back into his bed.
"Sleep now," A deep voice commanded, and Peter didn't have the strength to fight it. Just before everything faded to black, he could make out Loki's form deteriorating into a cloud of shadows.
LOKISON
An insistent buzzing filled the early morning air, honey-brown eyes snapping open and a young body jumping out of bed. Peter smiled despite himself, throwing clothes on in what he hoped was a matching style before rushing out of his room.
He could smell May's cooking from the kitchen, burnt eggs and... something sweeter? His dad probably took over the breakfast chore. He took the stairs two at a time, eager to see his family all in the same room. When he got to the entryway of the kitchen though, he bumped into a hard chest, his nose stinging a bit from the collision.
"Whoa, Peter...!" The golden, gravelly voice of Thor laughed, large hands going to hold his shoulders to keep him steady instead of ricocheting back to the floor. "Always bouncing somewhere, aren't you? Ever since you were a baby, you had to be going at top speeds!"
Peter's eyes brightened as he looked up at his uncle, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly. "Uncle Thor, you made it! Why didn't you wake me up when you got in?"
"Because I told him not to," Loki commented from the stove. "You were tired and needed rest, I wasn't going to let my mammoth of a brother stop you from that."
"Nonsense, the boy needs his uncle!" Thor's hearty laugh filled the house in a way that Peter had missed dearly... "I've been away long enough, the least I could get is to say hello to my favorite nephew."
"And who's fault is that, Thor?" A feminine voice came from the hall. Peter blinked, pulling away from Thor to see a woman standing there in a robe, her brown hair pulled back and soft eyes smiling at him. "Good morning, honey."
Peter's head tilted, his eyebrows pushing together. "Who're you...?"
She laughed, as well as the other adults around, and Peter couldn't help but feel drawn to her. There was just something about her... He couldn't place it, but she felt... safe.
"You must still be half asleep," She chuckled, walking to him and brushing a hand through his hair, "to not recognize your own mother."
Peter was frozen to the spot as she kissed his forehead before walking into the kitchen, her slender olive arms wrapping around Loki's waist. Loki tilted his head to smile at her, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on her lips before concentrating on the stove again.
Mother? He had a mother? It made sense, everyone had a mother that gave birth to them, but it didn't feel right... As warm and welcoming and safe as she was, he couldn't help but feel that she shouldn't have been there. He wracked his memory for her, maybe he was just sleepy? But no matter where he looked in his mind, the only other women was May- oh. Oh?
A fog seemed to come over his mind, lasting only a few seconds before clearing. When it left, he could see the woman standing there, always smiling, always happy. His mother...
He wasn't sure why, but tears began building up in his eyes. It felt like an emptiness in his chest had been filled, like a long awaited question was finally answered.
He had a mom.
"Peter, did you hear me?" Loki called, breaking through his thoughts. Peter's head snapped up, eyes clearing as he looked over at his parents and gave a sheepish grin.
"Sorry...?"
Loki sighed while his mom laughed, patting Loki's back gently before going to the coffee maker. "I was telling you that we decided to go to the aquarium today, so dress warm. You know it'll get chilly in there."
Peter nodded, glancing down at his double layered shirts. That should be warm enough-
"Bring a jacket."
Brown eyes met green in a stubborn stand-off, neither willing to give in. If Thor hadn't let out a gruff laugh and patted Peter on the back, then the staring would have continued even longer... "Our mom always told you that you'd have a kid exactly like you one day! Looks like she was right!"
"Even I wasn't this bad..."
The room picked up in laughter again, everyone starting to point out how stubborn Loki was. Peter smiled as he listened, grateful to be off the hook from his stare.
"Peter...!"
Peter whipped around, eyes wide. That voice again... A headache began to build behind his eyes again, but he ignored it.
"Peter!"
Glancing back at his family, Peter took in the scene of them in the early morning sun shining through the windows and highlighting their smiles. He swallowed deeply before turning his back to them and following the voice. It sounded so much like his dad's... but there was something different about it, something desperate. It was something that Peter couldn't ignore.
Through trial and error, and an incredibly annoying game of hot and cold, he managed to follow the voice into the back yard. Whatever this voice was coming from, he really wanted to whack it for not just telling him where to go, instead of this stupid game... It didn't help that his headache was growing stronger the more he heard the voice in his head.
But as he stepped out the door and onto the patio, Peter's eyes went wide and all violent thoughts left his mind. The hair on his arms stood up at the pure energy he felt coming from a black hole that was forming in the yard. Wind whipped around him, getting stronger by the second and blowing a lawn chair over; Peter held up a hand to guard his eyes and face while still trying to watch what was happening.
Maybe he shouldn't have listened to the voice...
Everything went deadly still for a moment, the wind stopping, birds going quiet, Peter was pretty sure even the traffic noises stopped as well. But then the black hole caved in on itself in a deafening bang.
Peter dropped to his knees, his hands going up to cover his ears and shield his head. He prepared himself to get hurt, whatever injury could be caused by such a freak phenomenon, but besides another gust of wind, he felt nothing.
"Well done, child. I knew you could do it."
Brown eyes shot open wide, his head turning to see his dad standing in the place the black hole had been- or... He thought it was Loki.
The man standing there was in strange black leather clothes and a cape, tears and burns littering the fabric and showing injured parts of his pale skin, his long hair was tangled and messy, and a large cut was across his cheek and encased with dried blood.
"D-Dad...?" A sharp pain went through Peter's head, almost sending him to the ground as he grabbed at his head.
"Peter? What's wrong?" Loki was by his side in a second, cool hands brushing over his face, but Peter jerked back.
"I don't know who you think you are," He crawled backwards under he was up against the backdoor, "But this isn't funny. And I don't believe you. Nice special effects, but my parents are inside with everyone right now so I know that you're not my dad."
The man seemed genuinely confused, looking at the house then back to Peter and back. But then something changed in his expression, a wounded look taking over his eyes as he stared back down at Peter.
"How many illusions has it put you under...?" The fake Loki knelt in front of him, expression still the same as he slowly stretched out a cautious hand to Peter again. "How many times has it erased and rewritten your memory to fit its stupid little story...? Using you like a doll to keep you distracted... Calling itself the hero when it's doing this to you, a child. I won't let this go," That cool hand was just ghosting Peter's cheek, a feather light touch that he didn't pull away from this time, too captivated by the fake Loki's words. His words and his sounds...
This Loki...
This version of his dad had a heartbeat.
"I promise that I'll restore you."
Hand pressed firmly to Peter's face, the pain in his head became unbearable. He could feel his dad's magic, the cold and numbing feeling that he hated, engulfed his mind and felt as if it was trying to freeze it over. It hurt so badly, like ice was forming on the brain tissue, he couldn't hold back his scream as he pulled on his hair. He could faintly make out Loki calling for him, those cool hands frantically brushing over his head trying to find some way to help. When hot tears began rolling down Peter's cheeks, in contrast with his freezing mind, it was nearly too much. The pain reaching a new level and sending him spiraling down a tunnel to unconsciousness- unconsciousness that wasn't even painless! How rude was that?
Everything stopped.
The pain vanished in an instant, leaving Peter gasping for air and grabbing for purchase on Loki's steady arms. He looked up at the familiar face of his dad, tears still running down his cheeks. He could see the worry in his eyes and hear it in his voice, his heartbeat elevated as well.
His heartbeat...
"Your heart is beating fast..."
Loki blinked, obviously not expecting that kind of response to his many 'are you okay's. "Well... yes. One's heartbeat does tend to beat faster when witnessing their son experience that level of pain."
"But... your heartbeat..."
"Peter? Are you okay?"
Peter swallowed as he looked up at his dad. "The others don't have heartbeats..."
A look of understanding passed over Loki's face, quickly pulling Peter close to him. Close to his heart... "I'm real... I swear, Peter, I'm real and I'm going to get you back home."
Brown eyes closed as he rested against Loki, arms slowly going to wrap around him and hug him tightly. "But my family..."
"They're waiting for you in our world."
"You can't have him!"
Peter jumped, but Loki didn't let him go. They both turned to see the Loki of this world standing in the doorway, staring at them through the glass door.
"That's not for you to decide." Loki pulled Peter up and back with him, away from the other Loki that was- that was slowly turning into a shadow cloud of swirling dark galaxy colors... Something that Peter had seen so many times out of the corner of his eye or just before passing out...
"He will help me carry out my duty to end you, Loki Laufyson." The small galaxy phased through the door, heading toward them. "It is his destiny."
Peter could hear the smirk in his dad voice without even looking. "That's the funny thing about destiny... It hardly ever goes with how you expect it to."
Loki's hand went up to Peter's head, gripping his forehead tightly just as the galaxy lunged for them. His surprised cry was cut off as the scene around him suddenly disappeared, everything fading to black and nothingness.
He could feel a second presence around him though, something cold and ancient. The entity that had possessed him and attacked Loki and the others, that had come so close to killing Loki while in his body.
"You are strong for a human child..." It said, more of a thought than an actual statement.
Peter shrugged in response, "I'm not fully human. And I will do everything in my power to stop you."
"Your father is going to assemble the Tri-Sentinel. If that were to happen, it would lead to ruin-"
"But you destroyed the Sentinels... So that shouldn't really be a problem now, right?" Silence was his only answer, leading Peter to almost pout. Some cosmic entity tries getting him to kill his dad when the reason behind the problem is already solved... Wonderful.
"...He may try again-"
"Just leave. I won't even force you to admit how stupid you sounded just then, I want you gone." His arms crossed, his voice a level of coldness that he hadn't used since Amora. "You possessed me without my consent, tried forcing me to kill my own dad, made me fight my mentor and uncle, and when that didn't work out you locked me in my own head and made me play pretend with you! You claim to have the interest of the world's greater good in mind, but this is no way to go about it! You're just as bad as a villain! Far worse than anything you think Loki's capable of!"
The temperature went down a few degrees, but Peter's Frost Giant blood was back in effect to keep him from feeling uncomfortable.
"I sense..." It finally started, "that I may have been too focused on my judgment, rather than logical thinking. I shall take my leave now, but be warned; I will be keeping a close eye on Loki Laufyson. And if he-"
"If I sense you around again," The darkness turned red in Peter's vision, just able to see where the small shadow of a galaxy was floating at, "I will keep you locked in my head for the rest of our lives, and then I will find a way to keep you there so you can never harm Loki or anyone else ever again."
"There is no need to transform, child."
"There was no need for you to play puppeteer with me and my family."
Peter received no answer in return after that, but he could feel his senses slowly coming back to him. His body ached worse than it had when he fought the Vulture, his ears ringing and skin prickling at every little touch. Sensory overload... Great. He loved waking up to sensory overload.
His body curled in on itself, hands going to grab his ears while also trying to block the light from his eyes. Where was his mask?
"Peter?" A voice asked from his side, but he flinched at the sound, a pitiful whimper bubbling up from his throat. The voice seemed to understand, speaking in a much softer voice. "Friday, activate Peter's 'World Rejection' protocol."
The harsh lights were no longer shining in Peter's eyes, daring him to crack them open. He could make out a blurry Loki shape sitting in the chair next to his bed, his eyes still struggling to adjust. He felt sluggish and tired, like he had just woken up from sleeping for too long...
"H-" His mouth and throat were dry, even swallowing was difficult. But Loki acted quickly, helping Peter sit up and placing a glass of water to his mouth. Peter eagerly grabbed it and tried to chug, but a quiet reprimanding sound came from Loki and he reluctantly relented. The cool water felt great, like a rainstorm finally pouring in the desert, chasing the dryness away. Unfortunately, Loki made sure that Peter wasn't going to choke, so he kept pulling the water away to let him swallow and catch his breath.
When more than half the water was drunk, Peter finally laid back in bed. He stared at the ceiling for a moment, collecting his thoughts before looking back at Loki. "How long... was I asleep?"
Loki glanced away for a moment, and Peter already knew that he wouldn't like the answer. "A week."
A groan built up inside him, his head falling back on his pillow and his eyes closing. "A week...? That's so much homework I have to catch up on..."
Loki chuckled lightly, placing the glass back on the bedside table. "You've been possessed and unconscious for a week and all you care about is the homework..."
"Hey, the American Education System is brutal. If you miss even a day then you're swamped with work, a week is going to be like Mount Everest."
"I'm sure you'll be fine..."
Something in his voice caught Peter's attention, looking closely at his dad. He was paler than usual, his hair messy, and there was a faint hint of a cut across his cheek. His eyes were downcast though, his body seeming like it was deflated.
"How... How long have you been awake?"
"Just a day." Drawing in a deep breath, Loki lifted his shoulders and looked Peter in the eye. "We have to talk..."
Peter's eyes immediately went down to the blanket on his lap, picking at the threads. "I saw mom... In my head. It... Captain Universe or whatever that thing was, it brought mom and uncle Ben to life, I got to spend time with them again. I didn't know who mom was at first, but it rewrote my memories in that place to add her to them. And even though I'm awake now, I can still remember everything that happened. It's nice, even though it was fake, I got to know her a little. It was really weird though because we were all supposed to be humans. Thor was a deep sea fisherman that lived in Norway, Mr. Stark was just an inventor and not Iron Man, and you were a stock worker on Wallstreet. But even though we were all human, you still had magic. And whenever I went to bed at night you would come in and use it to put me to sleep and stop these weird headaches I got. I guess that was Captain Universe putting me deeper in the illusion... But it was a really nice dream. We were all together, and the day that you showed up was when we were planning on going to an aquarium. Thor had made a special trip just for it. And Mr. Stark was married to Ms. Potts and they had a kid and they were going to meet us at the aquarium because Mr. Stark was the one that picked it out and it was going to be this big family day for all of us. And we were all really happy and it was really nice..."
Peter hadn't realized that he was crying until Loki placed a hand on his arm, gently pulling him into a hug. Peter's hands instantly wrapped around him, burying his face into Loki's shoulder as he cried. "They're going to make you go away... aren't they?"
He felt Loki's nod, clutching onto him even tighter as he cried harder. "I'm truly sorry, Peter... I didn't mean for this to happen. I was simply trying to protect you."
"Take me with you...?"
"You have a life here, I won't be the reason you leave it."
"I don't want- want you to go though..."
Loki shifted, moving from the chair to the edge of the bed, holding Peter tightly to him. "It won't be forever, I promise I'll come back someday. Until then though, I want you to keep living like you were before I showed up. Happy, unbearably righteous, safe... Can you do that for me?"
Peter sniffled, nodding, "I can try."
That familiar cool hand was in his hair again, brushing through it gently. "I have a day left before the World Leaders force me out. I won't leave your side until then, alright?"
Wrapped in the comforting arms of his father, Peter drifted back to sleep, the sound of Loki's soothing voice all he needed for a peaceful rest.
True to his word, Loki stayed by Peter's side for the rest of his time left on Earth. Even when Peter awoke again and the other Avengers came in to visit him, the room crowding and becoming almost suffocating.
Peter retold the events of his illusioned dream, everyone laughing for the most part. Through his laugh, Tony decided then was the perfect time to announce that he and Pepper were in fact engaged. His room turned into a small party after that...
Peter could honestly say that in those moments he was truly happy. Seeing his makeshift family around him and smiling, even Loki laughing along with them, it was a good feeling. The partying continued for a while, until midnight or so, when Loki kicked them out of the room under the orders that Peter needed to sleep again.
And though he tried to fight it, a single raised eyebrow from Loki had Peter immediately turning over and going to sleep.
Early the next morning, Peter understood why Loki was so adamant about him going to sleep when he did. If he had been awake any longer the previous night, he probably wouldn't have been able to get up to tell Loki goodbye.
The Avengers, Peter and May all gathered outside the Compound, watching as Loki prepared to leave. Tears were freely falling down Peter's cheeks, and glancing at Thor told him that he was fighting tears as well. Thor had offered to go with Loki, that they could travel the galaxy together. But Loki had declined... He had whispered it, but Peter heard Loki's command to watch over him. That seemed to stop Thor from arguing. And Peter was grateful... He didn't know what he would do if he lost both his dad and uncle at the same time...
All too soon, it was time for Loki to leave... The preparations set and waiting for Loki's action. There was some government liaison standing back behind the group, but still close enough to hear and observe Loki's leaving. He was just doing his job, but Peter couldn't help but feel resentment for them.
Loki lifted a hand to wave goodbye, and Peter lunged. His body crashed into Loki's, his arms wrapping tightly around him. "Please, dad, take me with you."
"I'm sorry..." Strong arms wrapped around him, hugging him tightly. "You'll be safer here."
"I'll miss you." Peter's face buried itself deeper into Loki's chest; he felt Loki shift slightly, leaning down just enough to kiss the top of Peter's head as he whispered.
"I swear that I'll be back for you one day. We won't be apart for forever." Those strong arms moved to Peter's shoulders, pulling him back. "Go stand next to your aunt, Peter."
A shallow nod, Peter stepped away and went back to May and Thor. He watched as Loki gave a quick nod to Tony and lock eyes with Thor, then give one final smile to Peter before his hand raised and he was gone in a flash of green light.
Peter felt cold and alone, despite Thor's warm hand on his shoulder. His dad was gone... The only other person who understood his struggles with his Frost Giant side and teach him how to control it... The only person who stayed up with him on long nights to do nothing but listen to Peter's ramblings... Thor would probably stay up with him if he really wanted it, but it wasn't the same thing.
Each of the Avengers made a point to offer a comforting touch as they slowly left back inside, leaving just Peter, Thor, and the government person.
"Just before he left," The man started, "What did Loki whisper to you?"
Peter looked at him from the corner of his eye before turning around and starting to go inside with his uncle. "How much he was going to miss me."
"Mr. Parker-"
"My name is actually Lokison, thanks." Nephew and uncle continued walking inside, pointedly ignoring the frustrated sigh from the man. He was going to get a lot of backlash from the public, but Peter figured it was time to start embracing his heritage.
A/N: Omg I finished this chapter in three days... It's not as long as my other chapters, and I feel a bit guilty over that, but I hope that you all enjoyed it! I'm not sure if I'll continue this arc right away... Because while I do have the next chapter planned out, a nice little angsty finish to this arc, I also got an idea for a story with Peter from the 3.0 chapter... Asgardian Peter is really fascinating to me now. There may even be a Lokison 4.0 chapter coming soon too!