Archive of Our Own ^beta

Peter entered her classroom before the warning bell. Classes didn’t start for another twenty minutes, and Loki had been sipping her coffee, lost in thought when she heard him approach her desk. 

“Ah yes, Peter, to what do I owe the pleasure?”

He took off his backpack and pulled out an envelope, handing it to her wordlessly.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “My, what could this be?”

“An invitation. From Mr. Stark. He, uh… Wants to meet you. Since I kept asking when Thor might be around again, he sort of. Um.”

“Got the story out of you. Well, I suppose that is not terribly surprising; from what I’ve heard his genius rivals even yours.”

Peter blinked. “Uh, thank you? Ms… Loki.”

She grinned back at him. “I’ll see you in class later, Peter.”

He nodded and ran out of the room.

Loki chuckled softly as she tore open the envelope, removing the card inside.

To: Loki, daughter of Odin

You are cordially invited to visit Stark Tower at your convenience. 

I hope to hear all sorts of embarrassing stories about young Thor.

Just wave this card at the guards and make your way up to the penthouse.

Yours,

Tony Stark, Man of Iron

P.S. Thanks for taking good care of Petey

P.P.S. If you’re ever considering a career change, I’ve heard great stories about your knife skills.

Loki shook her head. So this was the sort of man her brother spent time with on Midgard, who had taken young Parker under his wing.

…Wait, where did he hear about her knife skills?

Volunteer hours always looked good on a resume, so MJ figured she would take Ms. Odinsdottir up on being her TA— or at least helping out after school. Since her life outside of school was, well, boring, she decided to stay after twice a week, Tuesdays and Fridays. Hell, if Peter was literally freaking Spider-Man then she might as well get to know a Norse goddess, because reality was too weird these days. 

She walked into the classroom a few minutes after the bell to see Loki leaning back in her chair with her feet on the desk, reading through someone’s essay. She had it on a clipboard and scribbled with a fountain pen; the loopy, elegant handwriting that made so much more sense somehow.

She didn’t even spare MJ a glance before pointing at a stack of quizzes.

“Those are all multiple choice; the answer key is on the top. I trust you have an appropriate marking utensil?”

“I have a red pen, yeah.”

“Great, off you go.”

Okay, this wasn’t so bad. The quizzes were for another class, so all she had to do was compare the responses to the key.

Sixty-some quizzes later, she understood why teachers seemed to always be working. It had been an hour and a half.

“Finished?” Loki was still marking essays. 

“Yeah, I think so.”

Loki tossed her a grade book. “Enter the scores in here and then you can head off.” 

MJ sighed but set to the task. This was not nearly as time consuming, but still tedious. When she completed it, she got up to return the book to her teacher.

“Thank you. You have been a great help, Michelle.”

“Yeah, no problem.”

MJ started packing her bag together. 

“Oh, before you go, may I ask you a favour? This is highly irregular and you are certainly within your rights to reject it.”

MJ raised an eyebrow curiously, and she was motioned over to the desk. 

Loki handed her a card. MJ read it; an invitation to Stark Tower? “Should I go? I think it all sounds rather dull, but then I don’t have much else going on to make an excuse.”

MJ was dumbfounded. Brushing off a personal invitation to the home of the Avengers?

“Of course, it would be easier if I weren’t going alone. I have no idea what I can expect to find waiting there.” She seemed to be waiting for something, looking at MJ expectantly.

“Did… Did you want me to go? Doesn’t Peter work… I mean, intern there?”

“And don’t you think we should go check up on our wayward spider? Perhaps Friday?” Loki winked, took the card, and then went back to reading essays from the stack that was only half finished. 

MJ blinked, then grabbed her bag and left.

Peter’s phone kept going to voicemail, which probably meant he was out fighting crime or whatever it was he did. MJ finally gave up and just sent him a text.

What days do you go to Stark Tower for your “internship”?

Was she actually considering this? Going to meet an Avenger with her socials teacher?

Well, considering that dork Peter got to see them all the time… Was doing an “internship” with Tony Stark really any better than what she was considering? Sure, there were rules about what teachers were supposed to do, but somehow there didn’t seem to be any category for what kind of bizarre things happen when you have a teacher like Loki. Somehow even if the school got wind of it, it seemed unlikely she would face any consequences, considering.

Her phone buzzed.

Usually Fridays and Sundays, unless something else comes up. Why?

Yeah, she was doing this.

No reason. See you tomorrow.

MJ was starting to feel a little anxious through her first few classes, waiting for Mythology. She wanted to talk to Loki before she changed her mind again. The more time she had to think, the more time she had to overthink.

As soon as she walked into the room, she made her way to the teacher’s desk.

“I’ll go.”

Loki raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you will? Fantastic. Come prepared when we meet after class for your volunteering. May as well go straightaway.”

MJ nodded and made for her seat.

Ms. Odinsdottir did not have a class the last period, which meant she had time to change and prepare before MJ entered the room on Friday with more than a little trepidation.

Loki had traded in her usual black dress pants and button down shirt for dark jeans and an olive green henley. This was as casual as MJ had ever seen her, and she found herself a bit shocked at how different it made her teacher look. Her wavy, long hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and she was wearing a black baseball cap with a logo MJ didn’t recognize.

“Ready to go? We are taking the subway.”

MJ blinked back her surprise before nodding, then following her out the door.

When they arrived in front of the tower, MJ felt a little nervous, but she was taken aback when she glanced over to see Loki shaking, trying to breathe deeply. 

There was no way to make this less awkward, so MJ put her hand on Loki’s shoulder.

“It’s gonna be fine.”

Loki closed her eyes and let her mouth curl up into a small smile. “Thank you, Michelle. I find I am not prepared for this meeting after all. I apologize for wasting your time.”

“Wait, what? You’re not going in?”

Loki grimaced. “I am a coward after all. I blamed my brother for not looking for me, but I never made that easy. Even after learning he worked with the Avengers, I stayed away. I am afraid that he would not want to see me, given my banishment. I still do not know, as Thor has been away and this invitation is from Stark. If he were to suddenly appear? I do not know what I would do.”

When the school year began, MJ would have guessed that her teacher was in her late 40s or early 50s, given how long she taught there. She always looked a bit younger than that; it was only her seniority that would tell you otherwise. In this moment, MJ wondered if 1000 years for an Asgardian was more like a teenager than an adult. She looked so young, so vulnerable. Whatever the etiquette for this situation was supposed to be, MJ didn’t really care. She grabbed Loki’s hand and practically dragged her to the tower entrance.

“You’re not chickening out now, not when we’ve come all this way. Besides, we have to check up on Peter.”

Loki said nothing, allowing herself to be pulled along. She retrieved the invitation, which had apparently been fitted with some kind of RFID tag that granted them access to the otherwise private elevator leading to the upper floors. The guards moved aside for them, and they walked in, MJ pressing the button for the penthouse. She finally let go and sighed as the doors closed and she leaned against the wall.

Loki looked a bit ashamed. “I should never have involved you.”

MJ smirked. “But then you wouldn’t be here.”

Loki huffed out a laugh. “Are you looking to take over for me? Maybe TA isn’t enough, you need to be my apprentice.”

“Oh, no way, I could never match your level of trolling. It is wasted on high schoolers, to be honest.”

Loki hummed. “Many things are. Still, there are always a few students who are worth it.”

The doors opened to reveal a large room, with seating, a bar, and doors to the balcony. 

“How are we supposed to let them know we’re here?” MJ wondered aloud.

They stepped out to find Tony Stark waiting for them.

“Don’t worry, as soon as you scanned that thing JARVIS let me know. I don’t remember saying you could bring a plus one, though.”

Another set of footsteps followed, only to stop suddenly. 

Peter’s eyes went wide. “MJ? What are you doing here?”

She waved at him.

“Oh, she’s a friend of yours, Petey? That’s fine then.” Stark turned his attention back to Loki. “It is such a pleasure to meet you, Loki. Pikachu just won’t shut up about you.”

Loki cocked her head to the side. “I am not sure what you mean by that - that is one of those Japanese video game monsters, is it not?”

Stark laughed then, brushing away a tear from what he must have thought the funniest thing he’s ever heard. “Pete, you should have told me about her sooner, this is great. She knows the reference but can’t connect the dots.”

Peter avoided eye contact, but explained. “He’s talking about Thor, because they both have lightning powers.”

“Thor… Has mentioned me? Nothing good, I’m sure.” She looked to Peter. “Did you have any idea? Before I gave you the letter?”

Peter squirmed a bit. “I never really thought that much about it. He never described you, just would say things like ‘my sister’ a lot. And since I never used your first name, even him saying Loki didn’t make the connection for me.”

“I see.”

Stark grinned at her again. “Hey, don’t worry Lokes. The big guy thinks the world of you. Dare I say, he misses you, and he knew you were somewhere on this planet, but I guess the guys upstairs wouldn’t tell him where.”

“Heimdall, he must have orders from the All-father.” Loki shook her head. “Do you plan to tell him, when he once again comes to this realm?”

“Is there some reason we shouldn’t?” Stark asked. “I mean, I was hoping you’d be up for meeting some of the others, maybe stay for dinner.” He crossed his arms, tapping his fingers against his sleeve. “Thought it might be nice for you to actually talk about your life for once.”

Loki still seemed a bit nonplussed, so MJ took it upon herself to come to the rescue. “Can I stay for dinner too? Peter accidentally told me he’s Spider-man, so there’s no secrets to be revealed or anything.”

Stark fixed Peter with a Look, before shrugging. “A family affair then. JARVIS, let the gang know, we’re having dinner together tonight, someone they’ll want to meet.”

“On it, sir.”

Loki sighed, and MJ looked at her teacher, wondering whether or not she was doing the right thing.