Of Numbers and Strange Friendships

Chapter 24

The group continued telling stories throughout dinner, and the multitude of desserts that were served to the group. Everyone seemed the most interested in Frigga's stories, as they wanted to know more about young Thor and Loki.

The boys both groaned when she pulled out old stories to tell. She told them about the day the boys accidentally led a stampede of bilgesnipe through the palace and straight to the throne. They had looked about six at the time by Midgardian standards and had stumbled upon a herd when they'd been playing in the royal forest. Both boys had been scared out of their minds and ran straight to their father for help. He was livid at the damage, but had been so relieved that his boys were safe and had at least had the brains to get help before they were trampled by bilgesnipe.

She told them of ten year old Thor coming up with 'get help'.

Loki groaned loudly at that story and buried his head in his hands so he didn't have to relive the story.

He, however, was laughing in delight with the others when Frigga told the story of the creation of 'my apologies'. It was a tactic Loki had come up with and was his equivalent of 'get help'. It consisted of Thor bumbling around like an oaf knocking into things and spilling drinks on people while Loki followed behind him going "My apologies, my brother is so clumsy and such an oaf". By the time they made it through the room they were tricking, the secret scroll, map, or magical item they were after (along with quite a bit of gold or whatever else Loki fancied taking) would be in the brothers' possession with none of the people the wiser until after the pair were long gone.

"That's brilliant!" Peter said approvingly. Loki grinned across the table at his friend.

"I always thought so," he replied with a smirk at Thor.

"It's not," Thor protested. "I hate it, it's humiliating,"

"Not for me, it's not," Loki replied. "And I hate 'get help'. It is way more humiliating as you literally throw me at enemies," Loki growled. He loathed 'get help'.

Thor laughed. "It is not humiliating for me," he replied jovially and it took the fact that Frigga was sitting next to him for Loki not to draw his daggers and stab Thor across the table.

He was mollified quickly when all of the desserts came out.

At least he was until Frigga held her palm up and with a shimmer of magic, showed the group holographic images of her sons growing up. The team loved it. Her sons wanted to crawl under the table and die since they couldn't stop her. The only saving grace was that she didn't pull out naked baby images. It was a close call, though. There was one of a young Thor teaching a younger Loki to walk; the boys sparring as children; them coming back successfully from their first hunt alone dirty and injured, but successful and looking so proud; a teenage Thor in the foreground swinging a sword while Loki sat in the window-seat in the background reading; the brothers as young adults, Thor's arm around Loki's shoulders as the two both laughed over something; the look of exhausted pride when Loki passed his master magician trial; a formal event that had both brothers taking their place on the stairs before the throne of Asgard; the last was a formal portrait of the royal family and they all looked so happy in it.

The team loved seeing that the Asgardians, while royal and literal gods, were also a family and were also just normal people living their lives.

Aunt May returned the favor, showing pictures to Frigga on her phone of Peter growing up. Loki laughed when it was Peter's turn to wish he could crawl under the table and die. "Aunt May~~" he whined, but that didn't stop his aunt from sharing pictures.

Eventually, the massive collection of desserts were eaten (mostly by Loki) and Tony paid the bill, not even cringing at the massive check, though anyone else at the table would have. "Thanks, Mr. Stark. It was a fantastic dinner," Peter enthused as the group was leaving the restaurant.