Furry Friends
Summary: In which Edgar the cat, draws Loki's attention to a certain creature. Picture above is what Edgar looks like. Enjoy!
“No Edgar!” Loki shouted at his furry friend. Edgar was his black, long-haired cat who he had named after a Midguardian author he’d taken a liking to. Edgar now tried to knead Loki’s bedsheets that had been freshly washed; creating tiny holes and pulls in the string that made his nerves tick. Never mind that he had gotten a giant platform scratcher for the rascal as the adoption agency had recommended.
Loki gently picked Edgar up by the middle and set him in his lap, petting him tenderly. Edgar purred loudly and began to knead the cotton fabric of his shirt. Loki sighed and let him continue, coming to the conclusion that this was a futile battle.
His stomach growled lowly. Loki realized that all of today he hadn’t eaten a thing. He’d been too focused on his work to take care of himself. He scolded himself promising to be better to his body and mind. But he did have good reason for being so engrossed in his work. He had found a passion for investigating old and unusual artifacts. People came by frequently to his shop that was located just below his apartment. He had studied a broad spectrum of artifacts from an ancient coin that had been given to a poor fisherman by mermaids in exchange for his help to towering statues of gods he didn’t even recognize. But today had been a most curious discovery. Tiny houseware, such as pots and pans to scraps of clothing and shoes that couldn't even fit his pinkie finger, donated to him by a withering old woman who claimed to have seen “tiny people.” Researching, he had come across a race known as borrowers. In his long time of life, he’d never known such tiny people existed. Now that he had evidence that they were real, he was mesmerized by the thought of tiny civilizations. Had they been under his nose the entire time? Unseeable to lumbering giants such as himself? Hence to why it was now 7 o’clock and he rose to get off his bed eager to fill his belly.
Lifting Edgar off him, he set him on the floor next to his bare feet and padded to the kitchen. Tying his dark hair back in a low bun, he set to making pasta; a quick and easy solution to his grumbling stomach. Filling a pot with water to boil, he set it on the gas stove and cranked the dial. He didn’t know how to make the homemade sauce so he opted for the store-bought kind in a glass jar and set to heating it. The water bubbled rapidly and he put the dry pasta noodles into cook.
Edgar rubbed at his ankles reminding Loki it was also dinnertime for him. He opened a can of wet food and watched as Edgar dug in happy with his canned meal. Soon his own meal was complete and he sits down in his big, comfy chair picking up an old, beaten Shakespeare novel.
As he turned a page a low growl cut through the silent air. Loki turned around confused and left his empty bowl on the coffee table.
Edgar was hissing at the counter as if something stood up there. Loki ambled closer to get a better look. His breath was taken away from pure astonishment from what he saw.
The tiniest being he’d ever seen was standing by the colander he’d used to drain his noodles.
They were real.
Tiny people were real.
And one was in his house.
He realized they were also looking at him but with fright and not curiosity.
Before he could open his mouth they dashed away faster than he thought anything that small could run. However, they didn’t get far as Edgar jumped onto the counter and blocked their way. Edgar swiped a black, clawed paw at the tiny person. They screamed in terror and tried to back away throwing their small arms over their head. Loki came out of his trance and hastily grabbed the ferocious animal and dropped him to the floor. A thump told him Edgar had landed feet first.
His eyes returned to the small person who shook terribly and held their arm as if it were hurt. Loki stepped forward, partially to see them better and to help. This person was having none of that and scrambled backward, falling onto their backside.
“You’re hurt,” Loki said bluntly.
“And what do you care. You sent your beast after me! I-I’ll be fine.” They said angrily, though their voice shook terribly.
“I didn’t know he was going to do that!” Loki yelled. He regretted it as the small person covered their ears.
“Look… I’m truly sorry for Edgar...er my beast as you called him.” He glanced up to see their expression.
“What is your name?” He asked trying to find some better ground.
They crossed their arms over their chest. Loki tracked the movement, awed by how their arms were smaller than a pencil. Heck, they were even shorter than his thumb!
“It’s Y/n.”
Loki smiled, grateful they had at least given him that much.
“Well Y/n, my name is Loki. And I know you don’t want my help but I offer it anyway. Please I only want to mend your arm and then you can be on your way. Consider it my apology for the previous events.”
He saw their minds turning gears and expected them to say no.
“Fine.” They huffed.
Loki’s eyes widened and he nodded quickly running to grab supplies. He felt like a kid in a toy store whose mother had agreed to buy him a new gadget.
They are a person, he reminded himself. And he would treat them as such, no matter how small they were. Coming back, he bore gauze, scissors, and a small roll of medical tape. Even though it was the smallest one he had, he would still have to cut it inches shorter to fit the diameter of Y/n’s arm.
He saw them eyeing the scissors skeptically and reassured them that it was not for the dismembering of their limbs but to only cut the gauze and tape down to a proper size. Once he had done so he gestured for them to hold out their bleeding arm. His fingers felt like tree trunks next to the twig-sized extremity. He locked eyes with Y/n and saw the hope and trust in them.
This little being was putting their life’s trust in him. A giant.
Loki was humbled.
He took much care as he wrapped the gauze around their arm, checking to be sure it wasn’t too tight or loose. He secured it with tape and patted it gently to signal he was finished.
For a moment they sat there in awkward silence until Y/n spoke.
“Loki?” Their voice was small.
He bent down to be level with their body and widened his eyes.
“Could you help me back to my house?”
“You live here?” He asked amazed.
They nodded and said “You’ve never spotted me. But now I guess I’ll have to go now then.” They hung their head.
“Why do you have to go?” He asked confused, cocking his head.
“When a human sees us we have to leave. It’s the borrower code.”
Loki just smiled, “Well one thing I’m not even human myself. And secondly, I would really like it if you stayed. It gets lonely around here.”
Y/n looked up at him with bright Y/E/C eyes and raised themselves up on tippy toes.
“You truly mean it? You want me to stay?”
“Well of course. I’ll get Edgar to be more situated around you.” As if hearing his name the black cat leaped and perched on the edge of the countertop. Y/n backed away in fear, and to their surprise closer to Loki’s fist. They could’ve sworn it opened slightly ready to save them if the beast pounced.
To both Loki and Y/n’s surprise, the cat looked directly at Y/n and lay down to roll over and expose its belly to them. As if the mighty creature wanted them to rub it. Y/n hesitantly walked forward from the shelter of Loki’s hand and placed a hand in the soft black fur. A vibrating sound came from the animal and sent Y/n scrambling back.
“It’s okay...he’s just purring. That means he likes it.” Loki said softly, he nudged with two fingers at their back to lead them forward.
Y/n continued to pet him again until he rolled over and set his head to rest upon his paws coming eye-to-eye. Setting a hand on the bridge of his nose, he let out another series of purrs earning a smile from Y/n. Loki beamed from the sweet sight.
Y/n yawned, and Loki sobered up and set out a palm to boost them to their quarters. They took it gratefully and relished the lack of energy they had to spend.
“Oh, you can just set me right there.” Y/n pointed to the shelf above his counter. Sure enough, there was a small hole three fingers wide.
“So this is where you’ve been hiding.” He murmured.
Y/n nodded and stepped off his hand. Before they could disappear into the wall Loki called for them to wait.
Confused, they turned around and saw Loki holding out a them-sized portion of spaghetti. They gratefully accepted and retreated into the wall.
“What's on the menu tomorrow?” They turned around to ask Loki in a burst of courage.
Loki crossed his arms and smirked.
“Come back and you’ll find out.”
Oh, they would.