The Tear of Celeste

Chapter 37: A Day Out

The show at the planetarium was amazing! Even though it was not the real thing, seeing the sky of another world was truly breathtaking. It was Loki's first time in a planetarium, so he was amazed as well.

You were still gushing about it when you went to a hotdog stand just outside the central park. "How accurate was it?" You ask Loki, after all, he was from Asgard.

He looks thoughtful at your question, closing his eyes to think. "Pretty accurate, but it's much prettier seeing it for yourself," he said seriously, looking at you again. "It was kind of looking through a blurry lens," he said a bit disappointed, "but still impressive."

You sigh sadly as you look at the hotdog stand. "Wish I could see it for myself one day." But you had been told that Odin, King of Asgard, was not that fond of Midgardian coming to Asgard. Most of the info the planetarium showed was from the people of Asgard coming here, not the other way around.

Peter and you both ordered food for yourselves and then worked together to make the perfect hotdog for Loki. Him scowling all the while. He would not call himself a picky eater, but the word 'street food' had made his face wrinkle in a very funny way.

"Trust me," you told him as you handed him the hotdog, "it tastes better than it sounds!"

He looked at Peter and you skeptically, but reluctantly took a bite... And then another, his eyes widening in amazement at the flavor, making Peter and you high-fived.

You all ate as you walked through central park, Loki commenting on the bag of peanuts you had brought, but still not opened.

"You'll see," you said as you finished your food, giving him a grin. "I don't imagine it's that much different from my own world."

You walked over to one of the fences and opened up the bag of peanuts. And right away a few squirrels rushed over to you for a treat. One of them was even brave enough to sit in one of your hands while you feed them.

"Wow!" Peter said, looking at you and your new squirrel friends surrounding you. "You look like a Disney princess!" He said, pulling out his phone and taking pictures.

"More like a queen," Loki said in a low voice, watching you too. Peter scoffed at that. "Most queens in Disney are evil," he protested, making Loki raise an eyebrow at him.

"He is not wrong," you told Loki, carefully scratching a squirrel under its chin.

Loki looked back at you and shrugged. "I just thought you looked like much more than a princess," he said, making you blush slightly.

Peter took a picture of that as well.

You are watching over Peter's shoulder as he takes some pictures of a squirrel running around, jumping from tree to tree. "Oh wow! You are really good at that," you tell him, amazed about how clear the pictures are coming out despite the squirrel moving. "You could be a professional photographer."

He grinned at you. "Thank you, but I have enough with school, the Avengers, and stuff like that," he said, looking at his pictures. "This is mostly just a hobby."

Loki rolled his eyes, looking unimpressed. "Is the device not doing most of the work?" He asked, pointing at Peter's phone.

You put your hands on your hips, looking at Loki with narrowed eyes. "There is a lot more to it!" You said in Peter's defense.

Peter just blinked and smiled at Loki. "I can teach you if you want!" To which Loki scuffed a little, glaring down at the boy. "You? Teach me?" He said in a challenging way. Peter just nodded. "We can start with how to take pictures of people," he suggested and then gestured to you. "Do you want to model? It will be fun!"

Suddenly Loki seemed a lot more interested in learning how to take pictures.

༺☆༻

Peter was walking beside Loki, watching you as you just walked around the park. He told you to just go ahead and enjoy yourself while he and Loki would take pictures of you. Something about the best pictures being natural.

"More than a princess huh?" Peter comments, glancing up at the tall man beside him. They had not talked much, and he knew of his past, but he was not scared of him or anything. His senses told him that Loki was okay, and he trusted them.

Loki looked down at Peter, raising an eyebrow at the boy. He was so young, even by Midgard's standard he was barely an adult. He was honestly impressed by the boy, both for how strong he was at such a young age and for how good-hearted he was.

Not that he would ever say that out loud. "Yes, I see her more like a queen or goddess," he said honestly, looking back at you, taking a picture with his phone, and smiling slightly at the result.

Peter looked surprised at that. It was very rare for the two Asgardian gods to use the terms god and goddess lightly. "... You like her don't you!" He said with a surprised gasp.

Peter then quickly jumped to the side when a dagger suddenly threatened to poke his side. His senses told him that even if he had not dodged he would not really have been hurt. "Wow wow! I won't tell!" He said, holding up his hands defensively, "or judge!" He added, looking innocently at Loki.

Loki glared down at the boy. He reminded him of a wolf cub. Cute like a puppy, but strong. He respected that, but he was still but a pup. So with a sigh, he vanished the dagger and looked back at you. "I would appreciate that," he said seriously.

He had not told anyone yet. Not Thor, though the oaf already guessed it, and not Wanda though she probably already knew with her mind reading, and not Pietro... Though honestly Pietro probably had no idea, that man might be a speedster, but mentally not that quick.

Peter looked after you too, fidgeting with his hands as he walked beside Loki "... Are you gonna ask her on a date?" He asked, looking up at the god beside him again, to which Loki frowned. Apparently, the boy still wanted to talk about this.

"I don't know," Loki said honestly. "I never really... Courted anyone before," he said, glancing down at Peter, "I normally am not that fond of others."

"So she's special!" Peter concluded, giving a nod. "You should definitely ask her out then!" He said excitedly. "If you were to ask Mr. Stark I'm sure he could help pick out restaurants and-"

"I don't know if that is a good idea," Loki said, looking at you with a slight frown. "I just... She is so pure," he said in a way that clearly meant he was afraid of corrupting the pureness.

Peter frowned. He knew about Loki's background as a villain, but he also knew he had changed! The whole team knew that, but it seemed like Loki himself didn't know.

"Oh, I..." Peter cleared his throat, "I don't see you as a villain," Peter tried to say, showing Loki that he did not agree with the other teammates' mistrust.

Loki thought about that and then gave a mischievous smile. "Oh, but I am," he said, turning more toward the boy, "in fact, she-" He said, nodding toward you- "convinced me of that"

Peter stopped walking in shock, looking up at Loki with wide eyes. "What?"

Loki stopped too, grinning down at the boy. "A hero would sacrifice you to save the world but a villain would sacrifice the world to save you," he quoted, looking back over at you with a warm smile. "She told me about that quote when I told her about my past, and I had to agree, I do see myself as a villain." He grinned down at Peter. "So be grateful I'm on your side, yes?"

Peter blinked slowly, thinking about that, and decided to nod. "I can see that," he said, looking over at you, "... I don't know how I would react in a situation like that... I like to think of myself as a hero, and I understand their side..." He looked at Loki and grinned. "But that does make me very happy that you are on our side!" He said, holding up a hand to high-five.

Loki looked at it confused and then back to Peter, raising an eyebrow. Peter shuffled awkwardly. "You just..." He high-fived himself to demonstrate and then dropped it. Maybe another time. He went back to taking pictures and helping Loki adjust some settings on his phone's camera.