There were definitely many types of role models in Peter's life; he viewed most of the avengers as his uncles. Bruce was the smart uncle, Steve was the strong uncle, Thor was the jock uncle, Rhodey was the funny uncle, Sam... Sam was his annoying cousin. And Natasha was his very dangerous aunt. Tony - whether the man would admit it or not - was most definitely his dad.

And as things turned out, he even got a mom out of this group.

"I told you that it was going to be cold, I even told you to bring a jacket. But did you listen to me? No, because you are the most stubborn child on this planet."

Peter chuckled lightly as Loki complained, trying to hide how funny he found this situation. Of course, looking back at how they were somewhat stranded on the outside of NYC in the middle of winter with snow everywhere, maybe he shouldn't actually be laughing... But it was just the fact that Mr. Stark had the same conversation with him last week that had Peter on the edge of laughing aloud.

"You're even delirious now, laughing at a situation like this. You can freeze to death out here, you know?"

"Don't worry, we'll be back soon enough." Peter grinned as he shoved his hands in his pockets, looking ahead at the distant skyscrapers covered in snow. He was freezing, and it was taking everything in him to hide the shivers that racked through his body, but he wouldn't let Loki see that. The man had already given Peter his jacket, he wouldn't let him give up his scarf and gloves too. If only he had his watch that Mr. Stark made him, he'd be able to have everyone here in minutes with a warm car, or even a jet...

Alas, all of their tech was taken when they accidentally fell through a wormhole into the hideout of a group of enhanced criminals - while they were in civilian clothes. So Peter didn't even have his web-shooters to help him out. Loki's magic was the only reason that they were alive right now, having caused a distraction long enough for them to escape from the criminals and out into the cold. Thankfully they weren't too far away from the city, but it would be a few hours of walking.

In all honestly, Peter was a bit nervous about what could happen to them. They were miles away from any warmth while possibly being chased by a group of enhanced criminals... Loki would probably be fine, Peter knew of his past as a Frost Giant; but he could feel his own body starting to shut down. His hands - shoved deep in his pants pockets - were numb and stiff, he was having trouble walking in a straight line or even staying upright, the shaking of his body was getting very hard to hide, and even he could hear the slurring of his voice. It wasn't looking good for him if they didn't get to somewhere warm soon.

"Peter-"

"Get down!"

Peter grabbed the back of Loki's shirt and pulled him away just as a large tree slammed into the ground where they once were. Peter glanced around, desperately trying to quiet his hard breathing as his hearing was the only thing that was helpful in finding the bad guy now (his spidey-sense had been going off ever since they fell into the wormhole and had just been a huge annoyance this whole time). He turned his head around, listening for any kind of movements that would give the enemy away but finding nothing but harsh wind.

"Peter, you need to calm down."

There!

Peter whipped his head to the side, starting to move towards the sound of crunching snow when a spike of pain shot through his head, making him lose balance and nearly face plant into the ground if it hadn't been for Loki catching him.

"I told you to calm down, child, and I should hope you will listen now." Even with his fogged head, Peter comprehended the stern tone Loki used, knowing that there wasn't any room for him to try and argue now. "This isn't like Russia, even though circumstances are similar. We were prepared for Russia, and you had a suit on that kept you warm. Right now, you are showing signs of hypothermia and if we don't raise your body temperature soon, things can get really dangerous. So you will let me take care of these idiots and you are going to stay right here while I do so. Am I understood?"

Peter nodded slightly, looking away as he sighed. It was for the best... He could barely sit up at the moment, there was no way he'd be able to fight. Not to mention how sluggish his body felt; if he was to try fighting, he would only make matters worse.

Loki set him against the tree with a pat to the head before making his way to the direction the criminals were.

He may not be a healer, but Loki knew that Peter was in serious trouble the second they left the enhanced criminals' base. He wasn't much help to the boy, having not prepared anything with his magic before this that would keep him warm or alert the others to where they were. So he was left with no other choice than to finish this quickly and continuing to walk back to the city.

"There you are." He chuckled lightly as the girl attacking them looked up at him, her eyes wide in shock as she jumped away. Loki reached out and grabbed her arm before she got too far, pulling a knife out of thin air and holding it to her neck. "I need you to take off that jacket, or I will kill you right here."

"You'd kill me in front of that kid? They'd let anyone join the Avengers these days."

"That boy is dying because of your friends and his stupidity. Besides, he can't see us over here." Loki felt his eyes flash a deadly color as the knife pressed harder into her skin. The way she was staring up at him now gave him a small hint of satisfaction, but he couldn't dwell on it for long as he felt her starting to shrug off her jacket.

It was fluffy on the inside with a windbreaker on the out, perfect for Peter now. Loki removed the knife from her neck as he started walking back, "Now leave before I change my mind and kill you anyway."

He didn't have to look to know that she was running away. Though it wouldn't be long before she returned with reinforcements.

"Stand up, child. We need to leave now." Loki commanded as he neared the boy, arranging the jacket in his hands to slip on the boy easily. When he received no answer, Loki turned his gaze to Peter's still form laying on the ground. "Young one, wake up.... Peter?"

An emotion that was foreign to Loki filled his chest as he dropped to his knees next to Peter, quickly checking for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. He hurriedly put the jacket around Peter and lifted him up in his arms, rubbing his back and arms as he started to carry him back to the city.

"You stubborn young fool...!" Loki muttered as he ran, doing his best to fight down the emotions in him that threatened to take over. He was wrong before though, he had felt these things in the past... when he was much younger and smaller and easily scared. It was fear. As a child, he would wake up in the middle of the night screaming of monsters that he thought would attack him. Thor or his mother would always be there soon after to comfort him and calm his nerves, both of them doing what they could to make him feel better. Frigga taught him her magic so he could one day learn to fight with it and protect himself, while Thor promised to never allow anyone to lay a finger on him. How many times had Loki shared Thor's bed as a child when Thor promised him such things?

Why was he dwelling on old memories at a time like this? He should be cursing the young human in his arms rather than strolling down memory lane!

"Your idiocy rivals that of my brother." Much better.

It wasn't long before a small gas station appeared on the side of the road, and Loki wasted no time rushing inside. He thanked whatever higher power there was when a wall of heat greeted him on the other side of the door...

The blankets weren't hard to find and Loki went to work with turning Peter into a fluffy burrito, ignoring the store owner's complaints. He didn't stop until he was sure that every available blanket was being put to good use on the boy, then turned to the owner.

"I need to make a call."

"You're going to pay for all those, right?"

These idiotic humans...

Loki took a deep breath as he stepped closer to the man, smirking at the look of fear that passed over him. "I need to make a call. Let me have your phone."

Less that two seconds later, there was a cell phone in Loki's hand. Peter had showed him how to use these during one of their random talks to calm him down, and Loki had memorized the numbers of all the Avengers in case of an emergency. He was very glad that he did...

He dialed a number and waited a few seconds before a tired voice answered, "This is a private and secure number, tell me how you got it before I ruin your life."

"Stark, Peter is unconscious. We were transported outside of the city by a group of enhanced. You humans don't do too well in this cold and Peter has been exposed to it for too long."

He hadn't even finished speaking when the sound of machinery started whirling in the background.

"I'll be there soon with a jet. How is he?"

Loki glanced at the mop of brown hair sticking out from under the blankets before sighing, "It's not too good. We're in shelter now, but he was under for some time before we got here. The enhanced will most likely be returning as well, neither of us are prepared to fight them."

"ETA is five minutes, hold tight and stay alive."

The call ended with a click, Loki tossing the phone back to the owner before going to sit next to Peter on the ground. He pulled the boy into his lap and started rubbing his back and arms through the blankets, trying to return circulation to him. "You foolish boy, you better not die on me..."

Loki closed his eyes as he leaned his forehead against the back of Peter's head, the panic and terror slowly starting to fade now that things were starting to calm down. Peter was in the warmth and Stark was on his way with a jet. It was going to be okay...

He should have known better.

"Hey, Mister," The store owner called, catching Loki's attention as he looked up from his thoughts. "Thought you might want to know, there's a group of some pretty suspicious people outside now."

Loki suppressed a groan as he slowly put Peter against the ground again, standing up to get a look at what the man was talking about. He peered over the edge of a shelf to look out the glass front to see ten people lining the edge of the road and staring directly inside. Great. Just great.

He could always wait them out, Stark would be here soon and would easily take care of them. Though Loki didn't like the idea of relying on someone else to handle his problems, a small groan from Peter was enough to force his pride down and turn his attention back to the boy.

"Alert me if any of them move closer," Loki instructed to owner as he went to kneel next to Peter again, only to freeze - no pun intended.

Peter's lips were purple. They had shades to them before, but now they were fully purple. It was as if he was still out in the cold, not in a heated store with multiple blankets wrapped around him. Loki reached down to check his pulse again, much weaker than before but still there under the icy cold skin. This wasn't right... something was wrong.

Loki slowly looked up at the owner who was watching them intently, who had been watching Peter since he was brought in - minus a few times that Loki had his attention. He was an older man with tanned skin and white hair, years of work marring his saggy face with wrinkles. His thick glasses magnified his eyes that were an unnatural cyan blue. As they say... The eyes are a window into the soul.

"What are you doing?" Loki asked, slowly standing up to face the man.

"What are you talking about?"

"Release your spell from him, now." The man backed up, his hands raised as he glanced back at Peter before looking at the knife that Loki pulled out again. "I didn't tell you to look at him, I told you to release him. Now do it if you value your life."

"I don't know what you mean, you crazy loon!"

Loki was about to take another step toward him when his body was slammed into the ground, creating a dent in the tile floors.

"It's about time you got here! He called someone earlier, they'll be here soon!"

"Loki's magic was... difficult to overcome." Loki glanced up at the people talking, seeing three newcomers walking in the store. One girl had her hand stretched out towards him, and he guessed that she was the one keeping him pinned against the floor. "Emma is still too scared to come near him. She swears he's a demon or something."

A chuckle left Loki as heard that, a bubble of pride forming in his chest. It had been a while since someone was that scare of him...

"That doesn't matter now, just get the boy and we'll be on our way."

"Touch him and I will end you," Loki growled, all sadistic humor gone as he gazed up at the small group. A stronger weight was added to his back as the floor cracked under him, the others sneering at him.

"Big talk for someone that can't move," The girl holding him down chuckled, her heals clicking across the floor as she walked closer to him. His eyes watched her as she circled around him, her smirk deadly as she passed him and walked over to Peter. "It makes me want to mess around with this little boy..."

"Leave. Him. Alone."

The girl only chuckled as she held her hand out, Peter's body flying upright and right into her hand. Her thin fingers wrapped around his throat, a long thumbnail grazing against his jugular.

Loki's eyes narrowed as his body flickered out of existence. That certainly drew the attention of the enhanced criminals, so none of them saw as his body reappeared on the other side of Peter, wrapping an arm around the boy's waist as his other hand grabbed the woman's and bent it backwards.

Her scream filled the store as she let go of Peter, Loki easily keeping him upright and close. He silently cursed when he felt how cold he was, much worse than before... If they didn't get him to a doctor soon...

"You broke my hand!" The girl screamed, clutching her injury close to her chest, backing away from him as the others stood defensively around her.

"I warned you not to touch him," Loki shrugged, a smirk playing on his lips as Peter's form disappeared in a flash of green.

"I will kill you!"

The glass to the front wall shattered as a metallic voice sounded above the group, "Not if I can help it." Loki looked over, smirking a bit as he saw the familiar red and gold suit hovering at the entrance, repulsors aimed and ready to fire at any one of the criminals that made the wrong move.

"Brother," Thor landed outside, walking in through the hole and towards his younger sibling. Behind him, Loki could see the forms of other team members rounding up the criminals that were there. "I am glad to see that you haven't killed them. Where is the young Peter?"

"In there," Loki nodded his head to the back office, where a heater and flannel blankets were keeping an unconscious spiderling warm. "He needs immediate medical assistance, the old man controls ice and was keeping the child cold while we were here."

Tony's helmet lifted to reveal a very strained and very angry face aimed right at the old store owner. "You trying to kill him or something?"

"No! It's not like that!"

"Seems that way to us."

The man looked between Loki and Tony, panicking as he broke into a cold sweat. His mouth opened and closed multiple times, his eyes glancing around at everyone in the room before creating a wall of ice between them.

Loki, of course, knew that this would happen and had made proper preparations for it. He took satisfaction in the way the man screamed when he saw Loki standing just behind him, more so when his ice wall fell during his shock.

"Really, you humans are so predicable. What do you call it? Fight or flight? It's always one or the other, some day I wish one of you would do something interesting and unexpected..."

"Brother! Stark!" Thor shouted as he came out from the back room, holding Peter in his arms. "Young Peter needs medical treatment now! He won't survive if we wait much longer"

The two Avengers looked over at him, both of their eyes going down to the young boy in Thor's arms. His skin was pale and his lips were blue, his body stiller than it had ever been before... Was he even breathing?

"Peter!" Tony ran forward, nearly ripping himself out of his suit to get to the boy. Once his hands were free, he pressed them against Peter's throat to try and find a pulse. His eyes grew frantic for a second before calling his suit back to him before taking him out of Thor's arms.

"His pulse is way too faint for comfort, I'm going to fly ahead and get him into the med-bay." 

Thor nodded in response, looking over to Loki, "We shall finish things up here and meet you afterwards."

Loki didn't know why his body felt so cold, he was a true blooded Frost Giant that shouldn't be bothered by the cold... But as Stark passed him carrying the limp boy in his arms, it felt as if his body was encased in ice that was slowly suffocating him. There was a good possibility that Peter could die from this cold. Peter could die, and Loki wouldn't be able to do anything to stop it.

Why did that hurt him so badly?

"Brother," Thor called, beckoning him to help with the detainment of the enhanced criminals. Loki did so mutely, his body on autopilot as he none-too-gently loaded them into the jet. The whole time his mind was focusing on what would happen to Peter, if he would live or when he would wake up. Loki did his best to stay away from any ideas that involved mourning the child... Peter would pull through this. He had to.

The man had to hide a growl of annoyance when he realized that they had to travel to that floating jail for enhanced before they would be able to go to the compound. He did his best to hide it from the others, but Loki was anxious to find out what  would become of Peter. And that anxiousness was slowly turning into outward rage; the android and witch doing their best to stay out of his way. However, Thor wasn't quite as smart as them.

"You are worried for him," he started, going to sit next to Loki as the jet's autopilot took them to the compound.

Loki said nothing, simply shooting a sideways glare at his brother. He was in no mood to talk now.

"You and Peter have grown fond of each other since we've come here, I'm glad that you've made a friend with him. He is a good influence on you," Thor chuckled as he nudged Loki's arm, the man sending a stronger glare in return. "He will be alright, brother-"

"How do you know?" Loki snapped, "Humans are weak, and Peter even more so when it comes to the cold! This was nothing like our mission to Russia where we were prepared for the weather and enhanced. I told him to bring a jacket when we went out this morning instead of just the sweater he had on, but refused to listen like the stubborn mule that he is! And now he might die from it!" Loki flinched at his own words. He hadn't meant to say all that aloud, hadn't meant to show all these emotions... But his worry for Peter was stronger than his resolve to hide it, and Thor had just unintentionally caused Loki to think about worst case scenarios.

Peter really could die from this, his body could freeze and kill him. As someone who's heritage is from a frozen wasteland, Loki was absolutely useless to help Peter in any way. Possibly even being near him would cause the boy's health to worsen-

A heavy hand on his should drew Loki's attention back to Thor, a small smile on his brother's face. "He will be alright. Stark sent word while we were unloading the prisoners, Peter is fine and in stable condition."

Loki stared at him for a second before letting out a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping. "That child... I'm going to kill him for making me worry like this." His eyebrow twitched as he sat up straight again, "I am Loki, god of mischief! I don't senselessly worry of small mortal children, and yet he made me because he didn't listen when I told him to put on a damned jacket!"

Thor laughed as he stood, patting Loki's shoulder as he walked back to the cockpit, "Motherhood suits you, brother."

"Shut up!"

Loki's anger level was definitely around a seven right now, and Peter would be getting an earful when they returned.

Damn. He did sound like a mother.

A/N: Wow.... this chapter really got away from it's original purpose. It was just meant to be poking fun at the Mom Friend Loki idea I have, not Peter almost dying and scaring Loki out of his mind.

I also started writing this way back in November... that's why it's cold in this chapter... I wasn't going to post this until later, but I figured I'd better do it now before we got into Summer. Eh heh heh... 

I don't know if my sort of hiatus from college is over yet, but I am trying to get back into writing now that things are slowing down and forming a less hectic schedule... Wish me luck!