"Hey kitty!"

It was how Tony greeted Loki every morning.

After many battles, after many negotiations and a smidge bit of begging from Thor, Loki ended up joining with the Avengers. It was a little difficult adjusting to be the good guy, sure, but he did get treated with a lot more respect and he didn't have to cower to some planet if he messed something up. He somewhat enjoyed being an Avenger with his brother and friends (not that he'd ever say it outloud) and it seemed as if they had really warmed up to him. It was difficult at first with Loki being a god with an ego the size of Asgard, especially with Tony having pride to match, but Thor managed to get him to turn down the notches with a little reverse psychology.

"Brother," he whispered to him one morning, "you must not be so prideful when it comes to Midgardians."

"Hmph! And why not? I'm a god and should be treated as such!"

"But...that's...that's exactly why! The midgardians," Thor was making up as he went along, "they are not used to being in the presence of a god like one such as yourself. Try to integrate yourself more to their level."

"Why should I have to stoop myself to their level?!"

"Because...because as you said yourself. You are a god, and a god must be the higher person."

"Hmmmmm…" Loki thought about it, and as much as it burned his brain to think this, his brother was right. Gods are superior beings that simple midgardians could not fully comprehend. Of course he had to be the bigger man in this if they were to ever understand the true power he possessed. He nodded his head in agreement.

"I see. You're right brother, I applaud you for having that figured so early in your travels to here. Fine, I will be the bigger man...god...and play at their level. If only to one day show them what great power they're truly in the presence of."

Thor smiled and patted his brother on the back. "Good. Now, the first thing to do is to figure out what it is each of them does. It'll be really effective in communication."

"What a brilliant idea! Wow brother, it seems like your time spent here on this dirty little planet has actually done you some good." With this Loki walked away to put his plan of integration to work.

His first target was Bruce. He decided that the best course of action was to start with the least prideful and boisterous of the group and work his way up. So he would quietly slip into his lab, sit on a stool or lie in the makeshift bed in the corner and watched Bruce go to work. He never said or did anything in particular, he just observed and analyzed what it was Bruce did. Of course Thor was nice enough to let the group know in advance what Loki was planning, so he just simply went on working, actually grateful that Loki was mindful to not get in the way. He came and went for a week straight and moved on to Clinton. From there it was Natasha, then Steve, and last, but in Loki's mind certainly the most prideful, Tony.

One day he walked into Tony's workshop, sat on a stool across the way from Stark and watched him work. He was tinkering with a bunch of gadgets and upgrades. And the thing that bewildered and amazed Loki most of all was that Stark barely move. He'd sit on the stool for Odin knows how long at a time and would just work. Natasha or Bruce would drop him off lunch, every so often he took a bathroom break, and occasionally went to another part of the workshop, tinkered for 5 minutes, and went back to the stool. Loki noted that those were basically the only times Tony left his precious stool and table. On the third day, pretty comfortable with the idea that Tony doesn't and/or wouldn't move around his room too much, the God of Mischief decided to park his Asgardian tushie on a stool relatively close to Tony. He watched in awe as Tony tinkered with whatever he held in his hand with grace and ease. Loki also noted that Stark left bits and pieces everywhere on his table, so in boredom and curiosity, Loki would start to play with whatever was in reach. He'd roll a shoulder brace around with his fingers, or he'd play a low game of toss with a flat circular ring shaped thing used for who knows what.

At first, Tony would get a little annoyed. He didn't like anyone messing with his things, especially the God of mischief, but at some point he realized that Loki was actually interested in what it was Tony did. Every morning at the same time, Loki would descend down that stairs, sit on the stool close to Tony, rest his elbow on the table, chin in hand, and would just watch. After a while he'd play with something. Sometimes he got sleepy and took a nap on the futon Tony placed in the shop. When he woke, he'd stretch rather gracefully, fix himself, and go right back to the stool to observe. Tony at some point thought how strong Loki might actually be if he mixed together his tech and Loki's magic, but he immediately let that idea slip from his mind.

Since Loki was quite the loner, he's eat dinner before or after the group and would head to his room for the night. One night, they were all giggling at Loki's observe and note plan. Natasha was the one who brought up Loki's time with Tony.

"He seems to like you, "she joked as she took a swig of beer, "it's been over a week and he still goes to your workshop."

"Yeah, and I don't know what it is! My shop is literally like his playroom or something. He watches, naps, sometimes even eats down there. I swear he's like a-"

"A? A what Tony," Steve asked concerned by the abrupt paused.

Tony giggled to himself and started to laugh when trying to explain.

"A cat," he finally managed to say, "the god of mischief is a cat."

Everyone around started to chuckle and laugh, even Thor since he always knew there was something peculiar in the way his brother acted.

"So, you've essentially unintentionally adopted a pet," Bruce joked.

"Oh my god. Ohmygod you're so right! I...I have a pet cat," Tony exclaimed and looked up at Thor. The God of Thunder shrugged his shoulders and plainly said, "he's yours to deal with now," and took a sip of beer.

Ever since that night, every time Loki strolls into the workshop, Tony would greet him with:

"Hey kitty!"

Loki was taken aback the first time Stark said it. He wanted to scream out that he was no one's pet cat but reminded himself of being the bigger man...god. So he straightened himself, cleared his throat, gave a 'morning midgardian' back to Stark, and took his place on his stool. Loki's observations as well as Tony's little morning greet went on for about two weeks.

"Two weeks and he's still going into your shop," Steve said exasperated.

"Like I said, I have a pet cat. And you know how they like their territories."

"Yes but...these are strange actions. Even for one as such as my brother."

"Well," Tony said thoughtfully, "he does seem to have taken an interest in my tech."

"Has he," Thor asked.

"Yeah," Tony replied a little offended but proud, "I don't know if he notices, but I see him almost sort of memorizing what it is I'm doing. I even quizzed him one time."

"Oh," Steve and Bruce perked up in unison.

"How'd he do," Bruce giggled, expecting some sort of horrendous results.

"He doesn't know jack squat about names nor would he be able to say specifically what each piece does, but he has the general idea. He knows, in essence, what tool does what to get something done."

Everyone made a 'huh' face and nodded at each other. In all honesty, no one knew what to expect. Coulson just stepped into the headquarters on day with Loki in tow. Of course at first sight everyone jumped into action, and Steve even slammed him against a wall and held up his shield in attack. But Coulson and Thor stopped everyone and told them to relax. They explained that Loki had very important intel, and that he decided to join the Avengers. Of course everyone was skeptical and kept a close eye on him. And when Thor explained what it was Loki planned on doing in terms of observing them, they all hesitated. But now, if Loki had some sort of plan he probably would've put it into effect by now. So they all just nodded, drank, and continued to talk about their newest teammate.

A couple of days later, Loki woke up feeling horrible. His head hurt, his back burned with a dull pain, and his stomach felt tight and as if it was under pressure. Really, he wanted to lay in bed and have everyone cater to him every whim and need, but he was a big boy...god...now and he didn't need to run to his brother or his friends just because he was achey. So he got ready (albeit very slowly) and decided that watching Stark tinker with his tech would distract his mind from his pains. As usual, he made his way down the stairs and into the workshop. But he was honestly really distracted. He was thinking about something, trying to dull away the pain by not paying attention to it, and then Tony snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Hey kitty! Hey, you ok? You look a little worse for wear."

And then Loki snapped.

"I'M NOT YOUR PET STARK! I'M NOT NOR WILL I EVER BE YOUR KITTY!"

And just to prove his point, he swatted one of the pieces Tony was working on off the table and stormed out.

Tony stared completely flabbergasted, and when Loki was out of hearing range, busted out laughing until he fell off his stool. His sides hurt and tears were crawling down his face. After a minute or two of hysterically laughing he got up, picked up the object Loki swatted and dusted it off.

Chuckling off the leftover laughter Tony said to no one in particular:

"I swear that guy was a cat in a previous life."