right, so, I’m still working on an actual (very late at this point, obviously) fic for Stoki Week, and I am not doing another one, but consider this for an unpowered AU:
Loki is a volunteer or employee at Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary or a similar rescue group of some kind, because Old Friends is wonderful but I don’t know much about how they operate and I’m not going to do research for an AU headcanon post, okay. the point is Loki spends a lot of time there, in fact he spends a lot more time around dogs than he does around people because dogs are wonderful and they don’t judge and lbr, people kind of suck.
(he doesn’t talk about himself much, or really at all, but everyone else there is at least vaguely aware that he’s estranged from his family because of some kind of unspecified shit that went down a while ago. nobody knows what it was but everybody knows it was bad. last time somebody asked him about it, he just got really, really quiet and then he was distantly polite with everyone except the dogs for like two weeks.)
and there’s this one dog he’s especially bonded with, right? it’s a big shaggy 7-year-old mutt of some kind but there’s definitely some Malamute in there and possibly also some wolf, which is not exactly legal so nobody’s ever done a DNA test. and this dog has some definite History. abuse, possibly dogfighting, nobody knows for sure but by the time this group took him in he had three legs, one eye, and half an ear, and he was skittish as hell. and Loki just like. sat with him. for hours. every day. and now the dog tolerates other people but he’s really only warmed up to Loki. also, the dog’s name is Fenris, because reasons. (Loki named him, possibly after Norse mythology, possibly after Dragon Age II. everybody assumes it’s the former but honestly who knows.)
one day this muscly blond shows up wanting to foster/adopt one of the dogs, and for some damn reason he takes a liking to Fenris--and miracle of miracles, Fenris likes him back. Loki is Not Pleased, partly because muscly blonds always remind him of his brother and he does not think about that, ever, and he definitely does not miss his brother even a little bit, what are you implying. but also like. Fenris was supposed to be safe. he was a beat-up middle-aged dog that nobody wanted and he was not supposed to leave. but that’s something else he’s not thinking about because it’s childish and pathetic and Loki is definitely not childish or pathetic, and also he’s not actually selfish enough to keep Fenris from a home that would be better for him. if it’ll be better for him. because if it’s not, no way.
so Loki insists on conducting the adoption interview and home visit, which is a little unusual mostly because he never ever does either (again: hang out with dogs, avoid most people, it’s a good system and it works for him). he goes in thinking, well, Fenris might like the guy but it still won’t be a good match if he wants a dog that can join him in whatever sports things jocks like to do, because of course the muscly blond has to be a jock, and also Loki doesn’t know much about sports. and he’s...cautiously but pleasantly surprised. the guy’s name is Steve Rogers, he seems genuinely nice, and he’s thoughtful and earnest in answering all of Loki’s questions (Loki has a lot of questions). plus he has a house with a small yard rather than an apartment, which is a point in his favor as far as being a dog parent goes. also he’s cute and he really does have impressive muscles. not that Loki’s thinking about that kind of thing.
he shows up for the home visit still in suspicious/protective mode, although a little less so, and he’s kind of expecting to see like...a lot of weightlifting equipment and sports drinks and shit like that, possibly all in a huge mess. instead the place is small but very well kept and tidy even by Loki’s standards, with books everywhere, and nice prints of classic artwork on the walls. and when Steve offers him coffee and Loki says no thanks, it turns out Steve has a bunch of tea too. loose-leaf tea, even. and he’s an artist, because of course he is.
(Loki is starting to suspect he might have stumbled across a completely different kind of problem than anything he was expecting.)
he approves the adoption/fostering (and when Steve beams at him, Loki definitely, definitely does not start reflexively wondering how he can make that smile show up again) but says, listen, I’ll be in touch to check up on Fenris, make sure everything’s going okay, standard procedure. which it is. asking to come over and check on Fenris personally after maybe a week is not quite as standard, but it’s not weird. turning it into a regular thing every couple weeks and even walking Fenris together is...kind of weird, but he really does miss this dog, and...all right, fine, he wants an excuse to see Steve, who is gentle and unfailingly kind and committed to helping people and easy to talk to and also probably straight, because that’s the kind of luck Loki usually has.
after several weeks of this Steve’s like hey let’s walk this direction instead. oh hey there’s that coffee shop I like, let’s get something, here I bet you’d like this tea, nope I’m paying. and they sit outside with their drinks and talk, and Fenris sort of curls up against Steve and Loki’s not sure which one is making him more jealous. except then Fenris plops his head on Loki’s foot and Steve looks at him with this slightly nervous smile and says that since Loki obviously wasn’t going to ask him out anytime soon, he figured he’d better just go for it.
their meetings get even more regular and frequent after that, because they’re dating. Fenris is thrilled to have Loki around so much again. Loki and Steve are pretty happy with the situation too.
