Who: Neil and Loki!Louis What: Post-memories chat. Where: A coffee shop. When: Sometime after the memories. Warnings/Rating: None.
Neil had no concrete reason to believe that Louis wasn't as 'fine' as he said he was, but there was something bothering him, something he couldn't quite place, that made him want to be sure. Not being able to greet in touch with Sam wore down his patience, especially when coupled with Liam's refusal to divulge her location, and all together it was enough to push for a face to face meeting. If Louis had mysterious other plans, well, fine. If everything was okay, he wouldn't hold him up. If it wasn't, however, or if Neil felt like anything at all was off, things would be a little different. He worried about Louis quite a bit, and after the memory madness, that concern had only increased, especially after what he'd seen.
The coffee shop they were slated to met at was nothing out of the ordinary. Far from suspicious, but not much could be gleaned from one's choice in coffee establishments. He purposely showed up earlier than the time they'd agreed upon and got a table by the window, along with a large coffee, black, and a muffin thrown in at the last second. While he waited, Neil tried to pinpoint where that irritating little feeling was coming from, the one that made him think there was indeed something going on with Louis.
Loki had visited Midgard with relative frequency over the course of his long life. Thus he had a passing familiarity with all one needed to get by in the modern world. Still, there was a learning curve. He had picked up a thing or two keeping an eye on Louis, but some of the systems in place seemed either antiquated or unnecessarily complicated. Addresses, for instance. Names on various roads and landmarks of course made sense, and he understood the basis of the system, but it seemed needlessly specific to number every location on the planet. Apparently that sort of thing was necessary when travel was so slow and communication so indirect. Thus, he offered Neil the name of the cafe rather than its address, since he hadn't bothered to look up where it was, just knew that it was close to the apartment where Louis lived.
This was a formality, essentially. All he needed was to fool Neil that Louis was just fine, and send him on his way. So long as Iris didn't begin spouting mad truths about who he really was, he could buy a few extra days of time to himself, no interference, to work and to enjoy having full control of a body again, no manacles included. He would worry later about when, if ever, Louis might return.
He didn't expect Neil to be there when he arrived, but he'd prepared for it, nonetheless. Even as he walked in, Loki cultivated a look of brotherly affection for Neil when he spotted him (he'd had to feign that emotion often enough), and a touch of exhaustion. If Louis seemed worn at the edges, that would be normal, considering what they'd all just been through. It would also explain any idiosyncrasies in his performance, or small gestures that he couldn't replicate for someone who had known Louis since he was born. Loki only had six months experience to draw on, after all, and Neil had a lifetime to watch for.
Loki gestured to Neil that he’d come over once he’d bought a coffee. He purchased it from the attendant behind the counter, no additional shots of flavor or sweetness to alter it. Coffee he was well familiar with, but the myriad of complications for it that every coffee shop offered seemed unnecessary to him. He took a paper as well, to occupy him later and better orient himself with. He liked information. Operating without it was useless, and one could pick up a surprising amount of useful pieces of cultural cache from local literature.
Loki stepped over to where Neil was sitting, settling in across from him. "Good morning." His coffee was black as well, hot, despite the already growing heat of the day outside. If anything was different about him, it was small alterations in his dress. Loki had found some product lurking in Louis' cupboards and tamed his ridiculous hair some, bringing it under better control and close to the head. It was irritating to not have complete control over his dress, but he picked out a somewhat tolerable blue button down and dark slacks, ironed neat as a pin. "People watching?" he asked, glancing to the window. The accent was just about perfect, Scotland by way of London, where Louis had lost some of the former and picked up some of the latter. Of course it was perfect. It wasn't as if Loki had never masqueraded as someone not himself before.
Sure, Neil could have been subtle in his concern, but that would require energy he didn’t have, and frankly, it was a waste of time. This wasn’t just a friendly visit to play catch-up; he was genuinely worried about Louis, and while a conversation over the journals wasn’t very much to go off of, he had a hard time believing that everything was fine after being blindsided by other people’s memories. His hadn’t been too bad, aside from the one of Sam, but he had no way of knowing what Louis had seen. Knowing who he had in his head didn’t help either; Loki was a force to be reckoned with, he knew that much, and clearly had little regard for just about everyone else-- since a Norse god was unlikely to deem anyone but himself worthy.
He nodded at his brother as he ordered his coffee, and took the opportunity to look for any potential discrepancies. On the surface, at least, he didn’t look any different; tired, maybe, but that was to be expected, and he wondered if he was simply being paranoid as he gulped down his own coffee and waited for Louis to approach. The subtle changes in his appearance were noted, but not nearly enough to indicate that anything was particularly wrong.
“Morning,” he greeted. Lack of sleep seemed to be a trend, but Neil was doing far better than most. “Yeah, you could call it that.” He gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the table. “Thanks for meeting me. I just worry, you know that.” Especially after so many long silences, when he quite frankly had no idea what Louis was doing.
Loki took a sip of his coffee, enjoying the bitter drink for a brief moment before bringing his attention back to Neil. It was something of a rare treat, and he did know how to savor the good, on occasion. “I do,” he said. “You always have.” He leaned back, cup in hand. “Heard from Sam, yet?” Now Sam - she might be a problem, if he met her in person. He intended to avoid her if at all possible, but it would be too strange not to ask after her. And there was the need to keep tabs on her location.
“I don’t know what to say, truthfully,” Loki said, brushing his fingers through his hair. It was all very long-suffering, the tired gestures of a man who’d been through enough lately. “I don’t know how I can convince you that I’m alright if you won’t take me at my word.” Adapting his speech had been an issue he’d thought through before hand. Plenty of abbreviated words and care with his diction ought to do the trick, but one or two slips were bound to be made. One or two might pass Neil by, though.
Mentioning Sam quite honestly went a long way towards lulling Neil into a false sense of security, as he expected Louis to ask after her, and if he hadn’t, it might have made him wonder. At the very least, he would have chalked it up to something being wrong as a result of the memories, and that would have led places Loki probably would have preferred to avoid. "No," he sighed. "Apparently she's safe, but I don't know where she is. Not yet, anyway. I'm looking into it." Money was a powerful motivator, after all. “I’ll let you know when I find out.” The fact that Liam knew still rubbed him the wrong way, and if they were together now, somehow, he really would’ve preferred to know so he could stop making an idiot out of himself. But that wasn’t the topic at hand right now, and he shifted his focus back to Louis.
Okay, so his brother’s weariness was fair enough, and Neil realized that he was being a little irrational. Neil had no concrete reason to believe that Louis wasn't as 'fine' as he said he was, but there was something bothering him, something he couldn't quite place, that made him want to be sure. Not being able to greet in touch with Sam wore down his patience, especially when coupled with Liam's refusal to divulge her location, and all together it was enough to push for a face to face meeting. If Louis had mysterious other plans, well, fine. If everything was okay, he wouldn't hold him up. If it wasn't, however, or if Neil felt like anything at all was off, things would be a little different. He worried about Louis quite a bit, and after the memory madness, that concern had only increased, especially after what he'd seen.
The coffee shop they were slated to met at was nothing out of the ordinary. Far from suspicious, but not much could be gleaned from one's choice in coffee establishments. He purposely showed up earlier than the time they'd agreed upon and got a table by the window, along with a large coffee, black, and a muffin thrown in at the last second. While he waited, Neil tried to pinpoint where that irritating little feeling was coming from, the one that made him think there was indeed something going on with Louis.
Loki had visited Midgard with relative frequency over the course of his long life. Thus he had a passing familiarity with all one needed to get by in the modern world. Still, there was a learning curve. He had picked up a thing or two keeping an eye on Louis, but some of the systems in place seemed either antiquated or unnecessarily complicated. Addresses, for instance. Names on various roads and landmarks of course made sense, and he understood the basis of the system, but it seemed needlessly specific to number every location on the planet. Apparently that sort of thing was necessary when travel was so slow and communication so indirect. Thus, he offered Neil the name of the cafe rather than its address, since he hadn't bothered to look up where it was, just knew that it was close to the apartment where Louis lived.
This was a formality, essentially. All he needed was to fool Neil that Louis was just fine, and send him on his way. So long as Iris didn't begin spouting mad truths about who he really was, he could buy a few extra days of time to himself, no interference, to work and to enjoy having full control of a body again, no manacles included. He would worry later about when, if ever, Louis might return.
He didn't expect Neil to be there when he arrived, but he'd prepared for it, nonetheless. Even as he walked in, Loki cultivated a look of brotherly affection for Neil when he spotted him (he'd had to feign that emotion often enough), and a touch of exhaustion. If Louis seemed worn at the edges, that would be normal, considering what they'd all just been through. It would also explain any idiosyncrasies in his performance, or small gestures that he couldn't replicate for someone who had known Louis since he was born. Loki only had six months experience to draw on, after all, and Neil had a lifetime to watch for.
Loki gestured to Neil that he’d come over once he’d bought a coffee. He purchased it from the attendant behind the counter, no additional shots of flavor or sweetness to alter it. Coffee he was well familiar with, but the myriad of complications for it that every coffee shop offered seemed unnecessary to him. He took a paper as well, to occupy him later and better orient himself with. He liked information. Operating without it was useless, and one could pick up a surprising amount of useful pieces of cultural cache from local literature.
Loki stepped over to where Neil was sitting, settling in across from him. "Good morning." His coffee was black as well, hot, despite the already growing heat of the day outside. If anything was different about him, it was small alterations in his dress. Loki had found some product lurking in Louis' cupboards and tamed his ridiculous hair some, bringing it under better control and close to the head. It was irritating to not have complete control over his dress, but he picked out a somewhat tolerable blue button down and dark slacks, ironed neat as a pin. "People watching?" he asked, glancing to the window. The accent was just about perfect, Scotland by way of London, where Louis had lost some of the former and picked up some of the latter. Of course it was perfect. It wasn't as if Loki had never masqueraded as someone not himself before.
Sure, Neil could have been subtle in his concern, but that would require energy he didn’t have, and frankly, it was a waste of time. This wasn’t just a friendly visit to play catch-up; he was genuinely worried about Louis, and while a conversation over the journals wasn’t very much to go off of, he had a hard time believing that everything was fine after being blindsided by other people’s memories. His hadn’t been too bad, aside from the one of Sam, but he had no way of knowing what Louis had seen. Knowing who he had in his head didn’t help either; Loki was a force to be reckoned with, he knew that much, and clearly had little regard for just about everyone else-- since a Norse god was unlikely to deem anyone but himself worthy.
He nodded at his brother as he ordered his coffee, and took the opportunity to look for any potential discrepancies. On the surface, at least, he didn’t look any different; tired, maybe, but that was to be expected, and he wondered if he was simply being paranoid as he gulped down his own coffee and waited for Louis to approach. The subtle changes in his appearance were noted, but not nearly enough to indicate that anything was particularly wrong.
“Morning,” he greeted. Lack of sleep seemed to be a trend, but Neil was doing far better than most. “Yeah, you could call it that.” He gestured to the seat on the opposite side of the table. “Thanks for meeting me. I just worry, you know that.” Especially after so many long silences, when he quite frankly had no idea what Louis was doing.
Loki took a sip of his coffee, enjoying the bitter drink for a brief moment before bringing his attention back to Neil. It was something of a rare treat, and he did know how to savor the good, on occasion. “I do,” he said. “You always have.” He leaned back, cup in hand. “Heard from Sam, yet?” Now Sam - she might be a problem, if he met her in person. He intended to avoid her if at all possible, but it would be too strange not to ask after her. And there was the need to keep tabs on her location.
“I don’t know what to say, truthfully,” Loki said, brushing his fingers through his hair. It was all very long-suffering, the tired gestures of a man who’d been through enough lately. “I don’t know how I can convince you that I’m alright if you won’t take me at my word.” Adapting his speech had been an issue he’d thought through before hand. Plenty of abbreviated words and care with his diction ought to do the trick, but one or two slips were bound to be made. One or two might pass Neil by, though.
Mentioning Sam quite honestly went a long way towards lulling Neil into a false sense of security, as he expected Louis to ask after her, and if he hadn’t, it might have made him wonder. At the very least, he would have chalked it up to something being wrong as a result of the memories, and that would have led places Loki probably would have preferred to avoid. "No," he sighed. "Apparently she's safe, but I don't know where she is. Not yet, anyway. I'm looking into it." Money was a powerful motivator, after all. “I’ll let you know when I find out.” The fact that Liam knew still rubbed him the wrong way, and if they were together now, somehow, he really would’ve preferred to know so he could stop making an idiot out of himself. But that wasn’t the topic at hand right now, and he shifted his focus back to Louis.
Okay, so his brother’s weariness was fair enough, and Neil realized that he was being a little irrational. He wanted to make sure he was okay, but he wasn’t sure what kind of proof he needed to be sure of that, and it left him feeling more than a little frustrated as he took another sip of his coffee. “Fair enough. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but right now, I think everyone’s claiming to be ‘fine’.” He’d done it often enough himself. He paused, considering. “What kind of things did you see?”
Something was obviously distracting Neil from the subject at hand, which was fine by Loki. Sam, no doubt. “That’s troubling,” he said. “Well, let me know when you hear from her. She must know everyone is worried.” That seemed suitably caring and brotherly. “What kind of things?” How vague the question was. He masked his thought with reticence to give too many details. “I don’t know...one of prison, one from a girl through my door. Several from Thor, I think.” That was stated ever so carefully, almost unblinking. Louis wouldn’t really have feelings on that, he expected. “They were private things, mostly. It felt untoward, being in other people’s heads in that way, knowing their innermost feelings. There were a few others, scattered things.” No, he wouldn’t be telling Neil about Dorian, not today. That was his own private matter, after all. “And you?”
Neil nodded absently. Yeah, she must have known, but apparently that still didn't change things. If she was capable of contacting Liam, why not anyone else? But those were questions only Sam herself could answer, so he left the topic alone. "I'll let you know," he agreed, before focusing on the way Louis answered the question. Nothing terrible, of course, though he hardly expected anything like that to be confessed even if it had been experienced. "Thor, huh?I bet Loki loved that." Erik had seen what he'd seen, after ask, so it made sense to assume the same applied to everyone else. "Yeah, it was a definite invasion of privacy. Not intentional, but still," he said with a shrug. As for what he'd seen, well, only a hint of hesitation preceded his answer. "A couple of Sam's, honestly. Well, one actually belonged to her, and the other was of her. One Erik recognized, one I didn't really get, and..." He paused, torn between honesty and discretion. "Something from you, Louis. Not terrible, but... personal. Which is a given, I know," he added, before falling silent and watching him expectantly.
Loki’s smile went, just for a moment, a little frosty. “I’m sure he did. We don’t really talk.” Best to cut that one off at the pass. No, he had not loved it, not at all. Then Neil went on to cite a memory he’d seen, a memory of Louis’. Hel and back. That might actually be a problem, if there were details of it he ought to know and didn’t. “Really?” he asked, as innocently as possible, with a small crinkling of his brow. “What was it?”
The fact that there was no love lost between Louis and Loki wasn't exactly a secret, but something about that smile threw Neil off regardless. It was probably nothing, he knew, but he was already worried, and the strangest things ruffled him. He didn't push, though, just tilted his head a little and looked at him, before bringing himself back to the question hanging in the air between them. "You finding you you're adopted," he said, after a long pause. "I'm sorry, Louis. Sorry you had to find out like that."
This would be tricky, since it wasn’t something he anticipated, nor something he had more than cursory knowledge about. He nodded, biting his lip in what he assumed was an appropriate show of withheld emotion and reluctance to talk about the subject. Perhaps if he looked reluctant enough, Neil would drop the topic.And there was the small fact that adoption, particularly adoption in which the child was not told where they truly came from, was a sore subject. “Yes,” he said, drawing a long breath. “Well, I had to find out some time. No one was going to tell me,” and there, the edge of bitterness from his own memories, “So I had to trip over it, unfortunately.”
The bitterness was expected. Neil would have been surprised if it hadn’t been there, really. That didn’t make it any easier to hear, of course, but he’d accepted it as reality. “You should have been told,” he admitted, after another gulp of coffee. “It wasn’t right to keep it from you.” He’d disagreed with his parents there, once he found out himself, but they hadn’t cared. His opinion was largely dismissed. “Considering the circumstances, you had enough to deal with, without having to deal with something like that.” His vagueness wasn’t even intentional, really; he simply assumed Louis would know what he was referring to, considering it had happened to him.
Loki shrugged, as if that was all part of the package - whatever it was. “Of course I should have,” he said, offhand, perhaps a little more bluntly than was appropriate, but he had his own biases on the subject. “But parents don’t always see what’s best for their children. Only what makes themselves most comfortable.” He leaned back. “At any rate, that’s in the past, now.” Yes, the past, where they could move on from it and stop discussing something he couldn’t go into in detail.
Neil recalled the feelings that had come with the memory, and he was expecting more bitterness, to be honest, considering how hurt he had been. This wasn't something someone just 'got over', but maybe Louis just wasn't in the mood to discuss it. "You're right," he admitted. What the hell had he expected anyway? They weren't going to have some in-depth conversation about feelings, and aside from a few little nuances, he couldn't find anything wrong with Louis. "I'm more than willing to leave it in the past too. I just want you to know that it doesn't matter to me, you being adopted. You're still my brother, blood or no blood." He normally wasn't one for such declarations, and he looked down at his coffee, swirling it around with a faint aura of awkwardness.
Loki couldn't help it: he scoffed. He covered the derision by looking out the window and pretending nothing had happened. How many times had he heard the same from Thor? They were words, only words. No one could make him Thor's brother just because he had been lied to most of his life, the same way no one could make Louis Neil's brother, however much either of them wanted to. Whatever Neil thought, blood was everything. Everything and nothing, a chasm that divided, and the lies that tried to cover that fact did nothing to change the truth.
"Of course," Loki said, distant as his gaze out the window. What would Louis say, in this instance? Console Neil? Reassure him of the truth of his words? He didn't know. He didn't much care. He had his own feelings on the matter.
Louis’ reaction was like being doused with ice-cold water. Neil had been hoping for something like agreement, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Yeah, being adopted had been bound to shake his world, and of course he would want to track down his real family, but-- well, he’d had some stupid belief that despite it all, Louis would still see him as family. Was it just obligation that kept them speaking now? Were they nothing but acquaintances on the street or something? Part of him felt as though this reaction was wrong, that something was off, but maybe not. Maybe he'd simply been blind this whole time.
“Right,” he managed, downing the rest of his coffee. “So-- I’m glad we got that cleared up. And I’m glad you’re okay.” He couldn’t push much more, and if Louis was secretly falling apart, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it.
Loki glanced back over at him and nodded, offering a small smile. “I am as well,” he said. “And I’m glad you didn’t come out of it all too badly.” That seemed appropriately concerned. He’d more than done his due diligence here, and if Louis had a problem with how he’d handled it, he could go crawling to Neil later, and explain that he’d been behaving strangely because his cowardice had rendered him non-present. He stood. “You’ll let me know when you hear more about Sam?”
The politeness was more than he could take, and Neil simply nodded. "Yeah. I guess we were both lucky." When Louis stood, he stood, his smile giving absolutely nothing away. Maybe this hadn't accomplished much, but at the very least, Louis wasn't likely to try throwing himself off a building or anything like that because of what he'd seen. "I will. Take care of yourself in the meantime." With that, Neil gave another nod of farewell and turned to leave the shop. wanted to make sure he was okay, but he wasn’t sure what kind of proof he needed to be sure of that, and it left him feeling more than a little frustrated as he took another sip of his coffee. “Fair enough. It’s not that I don’t trust you, but right now, I think everyone’s claiming to be ‘fine’.” He’d done it often enough himself. He paused, considering. “What kind of things did you see?”
Something was obviously distracting Neil from the subject at hand, which was fine by Loki. Sam, no doubt. “That’s troubling,” he said. “Well, let me know when you hear from her. She must know everyone is worried.” That seemed suitably caring and brotherly. “What kind of things?” How vague the question was. He masked his thought with reticence to give too many details. “I don’t know...one of prison, one from a girl through my door. Several from Thor, I think.” That was stated ever so carefully, almost unblinking. Louis wouldn’t really have feelings on that, he expected. “They were private things, mostly. It felt untoward, being in other people’s heads in that way, knowing their innermost feelings. There were a few others, scattered things.” No, he wouldn’t be telling Neil about Dorian, not today. That was his own private matter, after all. “And you?”
Neil nodded absently. Yeah, she must have known, but apparently that still didn't change things. If she was capable of contacting Liam, why not anyone else? But those were questions only Sam herself could answer, so he left the topic alone. "I'll let you know," he agreed, before focusing on the way Louis answered the question. Nothing terrible, of course, though he hardly expected anything like that to be confessed even if it had been experienced. "Thor, huh?I bet Loki loved that." Erik had seen what he'd seen, after ask, so it made sense to assume the same applied to everyone else. "Yeah, it was a definite invasion of privacy. Not intentional, but still," he said with a shrug. As for what he'd seen, well, only a hint of hesitation preceded his answer. "A couple of Sam's, honestly. Well, one actually belonged to her, and the other was of her. One Erik recognized, one I didn't really get, and..." He paused, torn between honesty and discretion. "Something from you, Louis. Not terrible, but... personal. Which is a given, I know," he added, before falling silent and watching him expectantly.
Loki’s smile went, just for a moment, a little frosty. “I’m sure he did. We don’t really talk.” Best to cut that one off at the pass. No, he had not loved it, not at all. Then Neil went on to cite a memory he’d seen, a memory of Louis’. Hel and back. That might actually be a problem, if there were details of it he ought to know and didn’t. “Really?” he asked, as innocently as possible, with a small crinkling of his brow. “What was it?”
The fact that there was no love lost between Louis and Loki wasn't exactly a secret, but something about that smile threw Neil off regardless. It was probably nothing, he knew, but he was already worried, and the strangest things ruffled him. He didn't push, though, just tilted his head a little and looked at him, before bringing himself back to the question hanging in the air between them. "You finding you you're adopted," he said, after a long pause. "I'm sorry, Louis. Sorry you had to find out like that."
This would be tricky, since it wasn’t something he anticipated, nor something he had more than cursory knowledge about. He nodded, biting his lip in what he assumed was an appropriate show of withheld emotion and reluctance to talk about the subject. Perhaps if he looked reluctant enough, Neil would drop the topic.And there was the small fact that adoption, particularly adoption in which the child was not told where they truly came from, was a sore subject. “Yes,” he said, drawing a long breath. “Well, I had to find out some time. No one was going to tell me,” and there, the edge of bitterness from his own memories, “So I had to trip over it, unfortunately.”
The bitterness was expected. Neil would have been surprised if it hadn’t been there, really. That didn’t make it any easier to hear, of course, but he’d accepted it as reality. “You should have been told,” he admitted, after another gulp of coffee. “It wasn’t right to keep it from you.” He’d disagreed with his parents there, once he found out himself, but they hadn’t cared. His opinion was largely dismissed. “Considering the circumstances, you had enough to deal with, without having to deal with something like that.” His vagueness wasn’t even intentional, really; he simply assumed Louis would know what he was referring to, considering it had happened to him.
Loki shrugged, as if that was all part of the package - whatever it was. “Of course I should have,” he said, offhand, perhaps a little more bluntly than was appropriate, but he had his own biases on the subject. “But parents don’t always see what’s best for their children. Only what makes themselves most comfortable.” He leaned back. “At any rate, that’s in the past, now.” Yes, the past, where they could move on from it and stop discussing something he couldn’t go into in detail.
Neil recalled the feelings that had come with the memory, and he was expecting more bitterness, to be honest, considering how hurt he had been. This wasn't something someone just 'got over', but maybe Louis just wasn't in the mood to discuss it. "You're right," he admitted. What the hell had he expected anyway? They weren't going to have some in-depth conversation about feelings, and aside from a few little nuances, he couldn't find anything wrong with Louis. "I'm more than willing to leave it in the past too. I just want you to know that it doesn't matter to me, you being adopted. You're still my brother, blood or no blood." He normally wasn't one for such declarations, and he looked down at his coffee, swirling it around with a faint aura of awkwardness.
Loki couldn't help it: he scoffed. He covered the derision by looking out the window and pretending nothing had happened. How many times had he heard the same from Thor? They were words, only words. No one could make him Thor's brother just because he had been lied to most of his life, the same way no one could make Louis Neil's brother, however much either of them wanted to. Whatever Neil thought, blood was everything. Everything and nothing, a chasm that divided, and the lies that tried to cover that fact did nothing to change the truth.
"Of course," Loki said, distant as his gaze out the window. What would Louis say, in this instance? Console Neil? Reassure him of the truth of his words? He didn't know. He didn't much care. He had his own feelings on the matter.
Louis’ reaction was like being doused with ice-cold water. Neil had been hoping for something like agreement, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. Yeah, being adopted had been bound to shake his world, and of course he would want to track down his real family, but-- well, he’d had some stupid belief that despite it all, Louis would still see him as family. Was it just obligation that kept them speaking now? Were they nothing but acquaintances on the street or something? Part of him felt as though this reaction was wrong, that something was off, but maybe not. Maybe he'd simply been blind this whole time.
“Right,” he managed, downing the rest of his coffee. “So-- I’m glad we got that cleared up. And I’m glad you’re okay.” He couldn’t push much more, and if Louis was secretly falling apart, he was doing a damn good job of hiding it.
Loki glanced back over at him and nodded, offering a small smile. “I am as well,” he said. “And I’m glad you didn’t come out of it all too badly.” That seemed appropriately concerned. He’d more than done his due diligence here, and if Louis had a problem with how he’d handled it, he could go crawling to Neil later, and explain that he’d been behaving strangely because his cowardice had rendered him non-present. He stood. “You’ll let me know when you hear more about Sam?”
The politeness was more than he could take, and Neil simply nodded. "Yeah. I guess we were both lucky." When Louis stood, he stood, his smile giving absolutely nothing away. Maybe this hadn't accomplished much, but at the very least, Louis wasn't likely to try throwing himself off a building or anything like that because of what he'd seen. "I will. Take care of yourself in the meantime." With that, Neil gave another nod of farewell and turned to leave the shop.