After all this time, Loki has still not mastered the art of not getting bored. He has, however, mastered the art of surviving boredom with few to no complaints.

That's why he has no problem sitting in bed for a very long time after he wakes up. There's nothing to do, but he's okay with that. He just hugs Mr. Snuffles close and waits for the inevitable to come.

And it does.

The door begins to open, slowly enough that Loki is sure he could pretend to be asleep if he wanted to, but he's not sure it's worth it. They'd probably hear the mattress creak. They'd know he was faking it. They'd probably "wake him up" anyway.

Clint pokes his face in, just enough to look in at Loki. When he sees him, he pushes the door open a bit more. "Oh, you are awake."

Loki just nods. Yes, unfortunately, he is.

"Laura and I kept waiting for you to come out," Clint tells him. "Didn't want to wake you up, but I thought we should probably talk before the kids get home from school."

Loki nods again. He knew this was coming. He could only hide out in his temporary bedroom for so long.

"Wanna talk in the kitchen?" Clint asks.

Loki really doesn't want to talk in the kitchen, but he says, "Sure," anyways.

Loki runs a hand through his hair, and hopefully that's enough to manage the mess it likely became last night. Usually he'd use magic, but that's when nobody else is around. It would doubtlessly look weird if he did it now.

He follows Clint out to the kitchen, where Laura is leaning against the counter, finishing up an apple. She tosses the core in the trash and offers Loki a smile and a small wave while she finishes chewing.

"Hungry?" Clint asks him.

Loki raises his brows. He wasn't expecting to be asked that. He supposes he should have known that they wouldn't rush him out of the house. He's sure that as long as he's gone before the kids come home, it's fine. So, with that in mind, he says, "A little," though, somewhat paradoxically, after such a big meal last night, he's really hungry this morning. (Is it morning? He glances at the clock. No, it's three o'clock in the afternoon.)

"You in a breakfast mood?" Clint asks. "Lunch? Snack?" After a pause, he adds, "But don't you dare say cookies."

Loki cracks a small smile at that. "Breakfast, I suppose? If that's not too much trouble?" He doesn't know much about Midgardian breakfasts, but he's assuming they're not nearly as over-the-top as the ones in the Asgardian Palace. Still, he doesn't want to inconvenience them too much.

"Yeah, sure," Clint says. "You thinkin' something like pancakes and waffles, or something like cereal?"

Loki's had cereal before. It was a bit of trial and error to find what kinds of foods he'd like that he could store and eat at room temperature without preparation, and cereal was not one of his favorites. But pancakes and waffles take so long to cook, and he doesn't want them to go through all that effort just for him. They've already done too much for him.

When Loki hesitates too long, Laura steps in with, "How about we just go with pancakes?"

Well, if they're that okay with making pancakes, he supposes there's no reason for him to decline, so he doesn't.

Clint heads to the freezer and pulls out a bright yellow box. As he's grabbing a plate, Loki gets the chance to look at it. They're frozen pancakes. The pancakes are frozen. That's barely even a pancake at that point.

Oblivious to his internal confusion, Clint lays a few pancakes out on a plate and tosses them in a little glowing box, closing the door behind it. He presses a few buttons, and the box begins to hum. To say Loki is confused would be an understatement, but he doesn't have it in him to ask.

The shift in mood is subtle, but Loki picks up on it immediately. So this is it. Change in mood, change in conversation. This is the end, isn't it?

"You know," Clint says, "SHIELD could really use someone with your powers."

Loki raises an eyebrow. "I suspect your men would just shoot at me again."

"Not if I talked to Fury first," Clint says. "It'll take him a while to warm up to you, but he's not an idiot. He knows a useful asset when he sees one."

Loki's mood darkens. Is that what this has all been about? Clint just wanted to put him to work? All this kindness was to drop his guard, to leave him in his debt so he felt he had to say yes? It hardly feels like a choice. It feels like manipulation. In any other situation, he might respect it, but not this one. Not when Clint knows how broken he already is.

"I'm just saying," Clint says, "it might make you feel better to help some people out, you know? Maybe be a nice distraction, too?"

Loki narrows his eyes. "My entire life, I have been nothing but a pawn in the Allfather's game, locked up until I could be of use to him. I am not doing this again."

"Okay," Clint says quickly. "Okay, nope. No SHIELD. Got it."

Loki cocks his head to the side. "That's it?"

Clint furrows his brows. "What's it?"

"That's the extent of your persuasion?" Loki asks. He'd expected more. He'd expected Clint to put up a bit of a fight; to really try to force him into this role he has no desire to play. That's not happening.

"I'm not trying to persuade you to do anything," Clint says. "I think we've both had enough of that from your scepter."

Loki nods slowly.

"I just thought you might like it," Clint says. "Give you something to do. If that's not your thing, that's fine. I figured you'd say that; thought I'd offer you the chance anyway."

"Oh." Loki clasps his hands in front of him and awkwardly mumbles, "Sorry."

"It's all good," Clint assures him.

The microwaves dings, and Clint pulls the plate out, turns the pancakes around, and puts it back in the microwave. Loki doesn't understand it, but he trusts that they know what they're doing.

"So, what's next for you, then?" Laura asks as he's finishing that up.

Loki shakes his head. "I don't know." Nothing, really. He'll just go back to doing the same thing he's done every day for the last few months: sit outside and do nothing.

"Are you going to be okay?" Laura asks.

Loki gives a small shrug. "I always am."

"You know," Clint says, "there's a difference between 'alive' and 'okay.'"

Loki lowers his gaze to the floor and nods. He does know that, just like he knows he rests firmly in the first category. He's sure they know it, too. At the very least, he's sure Clint's figured it out, especially after last night.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Clint asks.

Loki shakes his head helplessly. "I have to be."

Clint and Laura both look at him uncertainly, then share a glance at each other. Loki doesn't even know where to begin guessing what they're doing, what silent messages they're communicating.

Finally, Laura says, "Clint and I have been talking, and we were wondering... do you just want to stay here?"

Loki's brows shoot up. "I beg your pardon?"

"You have to help out a little," Laura continues. "Pull your weight. As much as I love them, when Clint's working, raising two kids is a lot of work."

Loki just looks at her for a few moments, trying to judge her sincerity, but she really does seem to be telling the truth. He looks at Clint, who gives him a small smile and a nod.

"You're serious," Loki says slowly.

"Dead serious," Clint says.

"I don't want to burden you," Loki says cautiously.

"You won't be a burden," Laura assures him. "I could use the extra hands."

"And it's gotta be better than living on the streets, right?" Clint adds.

Loki nods slowly. "You mean this sincerely? There is not a trick; there is no catch."

"Nope," Clint says.

"Just a warm bed to crawl into every night," Laura adds.

Loki hesitates. This feels too good to be true. It just doesn't make sense. They're not really gaining anything from it. But it seems like a genuine offer, and that's mind-blowing to him. What did he do to deserve that?

After a few moments of deliberation, Loki finally says, "I would like that. Thank you."

The Bartons both beam at that. That just happens to coincide with the microwave going off, so Clint pulls out the plate of pancakes and hands it to Loki. He briefly points out where to find silverware, and as Loki does that, Laura tells him about the variety of drinks they have. They're already acquainting him with their home. He can't believe it.

Finally, Loki gets the chance to sit down at the table and eat his pancakes. He's a little hesitant to try the maple syrup, but he falls in love with it on the first bite. Midgard really does have the best food.

"Oh, hey," Clint adds, "I totally forgot. If you're staying here, I gotta tell Nat."

Loki freezes.

He's going to tell Natasha.

Natasha knows Thor.

That's another person who could let it slip; who could expose him. He can't do that. He can't risk going back to the dungeon. He'd sooner die than suffer through that mind-numbingly lonely torture.

"Nat won't tell anyone, either," Laura assures him.

"She might tell Fury," Clint says, then amends, "We might tell Fury. But only because if he finds out any other way, it won't end well for any of us."

Loki shakes his head. "No," he says. "That's not a risk I can take."

"No one's going to tell Thor," Clint assures him. "Thor doesn't even know I have a family. Nat and Fury are the only ones who do, and they're as tight-lipped as they come. You don't have to worry about them."

"The worst that'll happen, Fury comes down to check you out," Laura adds. "But when he realizes you're not a threat, he'll probably offer you a job, and then he'll leave you alone."

Loki hesitates. "And you're sure about this."

"Positive," Clint says. "Asgard sounds awful. We don't want to send you back there any more than you want to go."

Loki nods slowly, processing that. "Then I suppose you can..." He sighs. "You can tell them both, but that is it. Please."

"Yeah, 'course," Clint says. "I'm definitely not gonna advertise it."

"Thank you," Loki says. "Truly, I cannot thank you enough."

"You might change your mind about that the next time Lila throws a temper tantrum," Laura jokes.

"I grew up with the God of Thunder for a brother," Loki reminds her. "I highly doubt anything your children could do will be worse than what I've seen."

"Okay, you're definitely gonna have to spill some stories," Clint tells him.

"With pleasure," Loki says. Anything to dull the golden boy's shine, even if it's only in the eyes of a small handful of people. It's about damn time he's gotten to do that.

~~~

Loki doesn't get around to telling the Bartons any stories about Thor. Instead, they talk more about the Barton household and how it operates. They talk about how things go while Clnit's here, and how it goes when he's not. Then they lay out the rules that the kids follow, because Loki's now partially in charge of making sure they follow them.

He's pleased to find that there aren't really any rules for him to follow beyond "don't let the kids break their rules," though it does leave him in an awkward place of not quite knowing what he's supposed to do here. He'd like a little more to go off of, but he's sure he'll figure it out as he goes. They do list the general "adult chores" they all share, like dishes and laundry, but there are no hard-and-fasts "you must do this on this day" rules to follow. It seems pretty relaxed, all things considered – and Loki makes a mental note to do them both as often as he can; he's sure it's easier for him with his magic and he really does want to help out.

And then the front door opens, and Lila chatters excitedly as she comes in. Loki has to assume that Cooper is there, too, even if he can't see them. Their parents told him that they go to and return from school together. When they turn the corner, Lila talking a mile a minute, they both immediately turn their attention to their parents, but that changes the moment they notice Loki sitting at the table.

"Loki!" Lila beams. "You're still here!"

"I am still here," Loki agrees.

"I thought you were leaving today," Cooper remarks.

"As did I," Loki says. "It seems we were both mistaken."

"Loki's actually going to be staying around for a while longer," Laura tells them.

Lila beams. "Really?"

"Awesome!" Cooper adds.

Loki can't help but smile. He's not sure he's ever been met with so much excitement just for existing. It's making him excited, too. He never felt this welcome in Asgard. He can already tell he's going to love this.

Lila runs up to him "How long are you staying here?"

"I don't know," Loki says. "A while longer."

"He's kinda joining the family now," Laura tells her.

Lila gasps. "So you're a Barton now, too!"

Loki chuckles. "Yes, I suppose I am." If that's the easiest way for her to understand it, he'll go with that.

"Loki Barton," Clint repeats thoughtfully. "It's not bad."

Loki looks over at him, surprised. He hadn't expected the adults to go with that. He was just humoring Lila when he said it. But Clint just smiles, and Loki has to smile back. He already does kind of feel like part of the family, and he loves that.

"Loki," Cooper says, "are you good at math?"

"Depending on the kind, I would say that I am," Loki says. "Why do you ask?"

"Can you do my homework?" Cooper asks.

Loki fights the urge to laugh. "Do your homework with you? Of course. Do your homework for you? Unfortunately not."

"Dang," Cooper whispers.

"Alright, Loki, you're the new homework helperer," Clint tells him, though it's a lighthearted remark. He's sure he could refuse if he wanted and nobody would think any less of him.

Still, Loki's immediate response is, "I am more than okay with that." He can't complain about spending time with the kids, and he'd be interested to see how Midgardian education differs from Asgard's.

"Do you like writing?" Lila asks.

"I love writing," Loki tells her. "I assume you have writing homework, then?"

She nods. "We have to write an essay." She makes a face at that. "We wrote it and edited it in class and now we have to rewrite the whole thing."

Loki can absolutely understand why that would be annoying, but he tries to hype it up anyway. "Of course you have to rewrite it," he says. "A perfect student like yourself would never turn in a less-than-perfect paper, I'm sure."

Lila pouts. "Being perfect is stupid."

"I imagine it is," Loki says, exaggerating his sympathy. "But unfortunately, it is your burden to bear."

Lila pauses, her eyebrows furrowed. She looks up at him, confused. "I don't know what that means."

Loki chuckles. "Yes, one caveat of me sharing your home is that every day will likely be a vocabulary lesson."

Lila actually looks more confused by that. "What does 'caveat' mean?"

Loki's head falls forward in amused exasperation. A Midgardian child would never last a day in Asgard. It would be like they were speaking a different language.

Clint pats him on the back teasingly. "Alright, Mr. Dictionary. Welcome to the Barton family."

THE END :)