Who: Thor and Loki (MCU) What: Brother time. When: Wednesday afternoon/early evening. Where: Loki's home Warnings: Minimal. Loki angsts a tad, but Thor drags him along on the semi-healthy brotherly relationship train.
Thor was excited about his brother taking care of a cat. A kitten, even. Sure, Loki had taken care of animals before, but not here on Midgard. Not after he had shown that his delusions of grandeur were gone and he was becoming more humble (at least, that’s what Thor though, since Loki had come back for the Asgardians). Maybe he would learn to like Midgard, maybe he would be less grumpy with something in his life that needed him.
Thor himself didn’t have any pets, and did not think about getting one. Not now, at least. But he took care of the kitten, dangling a string for it whilst Loki shopped for the little one. Now, Thor waited in his brother’s home, waiting for him to return from the vet with news of the gender and health condition.
Upon hearing the door, Thor jumped up from the couch. “Brother! You took so long!”
Loki rolled his eyes at the sight of Thor, and how his elder brother sat in the front room much like an anxious uncle awaiting news from the birthing chamber. “Am I a now a midwife, bringing you news of a new birth in the family?” Loki ribbed, feeling in a good mood despite himself.
The kitten was secured in a carrier that he held in one hand. He’d initially disliked the notion of putting her in a cage to take her somewhere, but the practicality of it had won him over. Loki set the carrier on the couch beside Thor. The kitten ambled out and curled on the other man’s lap, yawning up at Loki as though nothing all was wrong with the world. Loki once again struggled to convince himself that he had not become attached.
“Do not blame me for delays, Brother,” he told Thor. “If humans cannot abide by their own schedules, it is no fault of mine.”
Thor chuckled at Loki’s joke, and was clearly very happy at the sight of his brother looking so well. He had hoped that taking care of something would give him something to do, and something to do takes your mind off of the terrible things.
The kitten crawled into his lap and Thor tenderly pet it’s small head. He could probably scoop the whole thing into his hand if he wanted, but he let it take it’s place on him. “Is it a male or female, Loki? Do not keep me waiting!” He ignored the comment about humans, because he didn’t want to argue with Loki.
After this time, Thor knew he was a god to these people, but he still felt a kinship with them. He felt just as human as they were.
“She,” Loki said, pointedly, “is perfectly hale, according to people who claim to know these things. She has been provided with what I am assured are the usual precautions &mdash treatments to be rid of parasites and the like. I am to return with her in a few weeks’ time for further innoculations against disease and to arrange an appointment to prevent future kittens from overrunning my property.”
As he spoke, Loki dropped into the armchair beside the couch. His home, for all that it seemed to have been based on his chambers in Asgard, possessed somewhat spartan furnishings. Loki liked it that way. Less chance that someone would disturb his peace if he offered them nowhere to sit. He stretched his legs out before him and crossed them at the ankle. At the same time, he released the illusion he had worn in public, Midgardian trousers and shirt giving way to his habitual Asgardian black, green, and gold.
“I’ve no idea why you insist upon doting so. It’s hardly as though I’ve provided you with a niece.”
Thor picked the kitten up and held it high, “She! A lady!” He looked at it with such stupid, pure joy in his eyes. He was barely listening to Loki talk about the medical stuff, but understood that he’d have to return.
He put the kitten back into his lap, hoping she wasn’t too disturbed. A glance over at Loki and his clothing. Thor was chuckling again. He wore Midgardian clothes, and even though Mjolnir could summon his armor at a moment’s notice, he didn’t have it with him. He was comfortable here. It was a nice place to settle. “Is that really more comfortable than what you had on?” He pointed at Loki, “Oh! You’ll have to name her!”
“This is what I had on,” Loki rejoined, in a tone that made it clear he thought Thor was being an idiot. What matter if he preferred his usual raiment? He’d been able to hold onto little else that was his. Loki examined Thor’s clothes and let out a snort of disgust. “Dress like a commoner if you must, but don’t drag me down with you.”
Not, Loki opined silently, that his situation was any better than Thor’s. His new position with the university had only just begun, and for the first time in his life, Loki felt a keen lack of funds. He’d no intention of sharing as much with Thor. The problem would be resolved soon enough, though it galled him to have to consider such a problem at all. Fortunately, his salary was sufficiently generous that he would soon find himself in financial comfort once more. The kitten’s further medical needs would be easily within his means.
“Frigga,” he announced to Thor without ceremony, in response to the demand to name the kitten. “That is her name.”
Thor raised an eyebrow at that, still finding it strange that Loki would use magic when he could just-- change-- clothes-- no, nevermind. He had to use magic. Thor knew he was proud of it. And a little lazy. “My other clothes are armor, there’s no need for that here, brother. There is peace here for the most part. I have even left my hammer at the Avengers’ home, haven’t you noticed?” He was trying to become less attached to the thing, just in case his dream came true.
The Thor that was here before him, the same Thor that he was (it was all very confusing) had left behind some clothes. He wasn’t aware of Loki working at a school just yet, despite his own efforts to work at EPS at Bucky’s side. Thor would probably smack Loki on the back so hard he’d hurt the other man’s spine, if he found out Loki was teaching.
A small smiled brushed over his lips as Loki gave the cat her name. “That’s beautiful. And you call me sentimental.”
“It suits her.” Loki shrugged, his feigned nonchalance less polished than usual. His mother’s absence still cut him, deeply. He woke some nights from dreams he did not recall, save for the sense that a chasm waited behind him if he dared turn around to look, and sought for her, only to find an empty, silent room. Loki never went back to sleep after that. Instead, he would stay awake for as long as he could manage, bury himself in books or some other sort of study to occupy and ultimately exhaust his clever mind.
“You could have garments made,” he reminded Thor. “Something decent instead of &mdash” Loki gestured in Thor’s general direction. “&mdash that.” The words, he hoped, would prevent Thor from latching onto a painful subject. Loki did not need his elder brother to pry into his affairs. He could manage well enough on his own. He had for a number of years, if the memories he and Thor had gained so abruptly were indeed true.
Thor knew that Frigga and Loki had something special. Yes, Frigga loved Thor as a mother would. But part of her was forever embedded in Loki with the magic they shared. When Thor looked at Loki, and when Thor fell for his illusions, and when he fought with Loki-- he was reminded of Frigga. It was one of the reasons he loved him so, even if it was a selfish reason.
He decided to be kind for once, and not push. He let the subject of their mother float on, and turned his attention to clothing. “I do not have the money for that! I went on a stakeout with Bucky-- the other Bucky, and we did not get paid for it. I’m to start at the school soon. Besides, these clothes are soothing.”
Loki scoffed at the revelation. “You are too soft, Thor. If you are owed a due, then you must collect it.” He stalwartly ignored the cost that Thanos had promised, should Loki fail in his conquest of Earth. That gave him proper nightmares that he remembered all too well. “You make a poor mercenary.”
The kitten, bored of Thor’s lap, stood and stretched, digging her needle claws through his pants before she jumped, without any grace whatsoever, to the ground. Really, it was more a controlled tumble. Once there, she made her way to Loki, and would have climbed up his leg as painfully as possible had he not scooped her up and settled her on his knee. She promptly draped herself over his leg and fell back asleep.
“One hopes that you will prove a better teacher, though I understand that humans do not routinely teach their children the art of war as a form of physical exercise.”
“The job was to do something besides watch people. We failed.” Thor said, tilting his head like a confused dog. “And a mercenary I am not.”
The kitten pressed those claws into him to jump and Thor grimaced slightly. It didn’t really hurt, but he didn’t want the kitten to have a low self esteem. As she was handled by Loki and put into his lap now, Thor grinned wide. He dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out his phone. “Say cheese,” and without asking for any permission what so ever, Thor took a quick picture of his brother and the cat.
“Don’t worry, it won’t appear on the network right away.”
The only thing that kept Loki from lunging for Thor and his phone was the kitten that had prompted the picture in the first place. She was small, and fragile, and Loki was not becoming attached, damn it. He ought to have deposited her on the floor or the low table in front of him so that he would be free to exact retribution. Instead, he merely glared.
“That had best not appear on the network at all, Thor.” Loki nearly threatened, I know where you live, but caught himself before he did. The Avengers would send the Hulk for him if they thought he was launching an assault. The very idea made his stomach turn, even if Banner himself was tolerable.
“Your obsession astounds me,” he remarked instead. “One kitten, no matter how stubborn &mdash and that is the only reason she carries the name Frigga &mdash is not going to reform me according to your standards of happiness or good behavior.”
Thor laughed and it was a booming, thunderclap of a laugh. He pocketed the phone (with some difficulty, as he was sitting. Still, easier than armor, no pockets). “We’ll see, brother. Maybe I want to show off your new companion.” Thor watched his brother’s face, knowing full well he wanted to try and scare him with threats. And after his time with Banner on Sakaar, the Hulk would not be deployed against Loki. The man wasn’t a weapon.
“I think this is the new you. Caring and sweet. It looks good on you.”
Loki’s glare morphed into a scowl, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I keep trying to tell you that there is no new me. It’s only that your stubborn skull won’t let any other ideas in. I’m the same source of trouble that I ever was.” Never mind that Loki had been happy, once, and a rather good brother and son besides. He preferred to either ignore that those days had ever existed, or to remind himself of all of the ways his so-called family had been a lie. Loki had no idea anymore if that actually made things easier for him, or if he’d gotten so deep into the habit that he couldn’t break it.
“Turn your back on me long enough, and I’m certain you’ll find a knife buried in it.”
Thor shrugged. That was his outlook on Loki. A shrug. Shit happens, as the Midgardians say. Sure, he finally had enough on Sakaar when Loki let him get locked in a cell. But the thing that stuck with him was that Loki came back for them. It changed his mind completely. There was something to salvage in Loki still.
“I welcome your dagger, dear brother,” he said, holding out his arms. He then laced his fingers behind his head and grinned. “You remember our mother, I think, and you want to be good for her.” He didn’t mean to say it, it just sort of slipped out.
Something lodged in Loki’s throat, a stone on its way to settle in place of his heart, perhaps. This time, he did set Frigga aside, gently settling her small body on his chair after he rose so he could turn his back to Thor. Loki’s steps carried him to the kitchen, which was joined to the living space with no walls to separate it. He drew out a bottle of something from beneath the counter, and two glasses. When he pulled the cork free, the scent of a strong liquor swept through the room.
“Our mother would be terribly disappointed in me.” Like Thor’s own words, the phrase slipped out. Loki hadn’t meant to say it, but the thought had festered in him ever since he had been informed of Frigga’s death.
Thor stood and followed Loki and stood near him as he opened the drink. Again, he tilted his head, this time, listening closely. It wasn’t often Loki showed his hand. “Maybe she would be, but maybe she would look at the things you did for your people and brother. The way I do.” He wouldn’t let go to the scraps, the small threads that held Loki close to him.
“You can do better, you know. Someone told me you have to show you can be good again. And then maybe Barton won’t be aiming a arrow at your head next he sees you.”
Loki scoffed at that, though he still handed Thor a full glass. “I doubt the hawk would see it that way. It is never pleasant, to have something inside of you that should not be there.” And with that cryptic remark, he threw back enough alcohol in a single swallow to give Thor a run for his money. Loki might be a Frost Giant by birth, but he had learned to drink like an Asgardian. He’d keep pace with any one of them.
Thor thought better than to talk more about the Battle of New York and the events surrounding it. He would never know of Loki’s relationship with Thanos or the specifics of Barton’s involvement in it all. He took the full glass and drank it down quickly.
“Have you seen Valkyrie lately?” Changing the subject, you’re welcome, Loki.
And that was the problem, wasn’t it? They never talked about the secret things, in Odin’s family. They never spoke of old wounds or uncomfortable truths, simply set it all behind a veil and prayed that either disaster would not follow its revelation, or that they could keep the devastation to a minimum. So far, the strategy had not worked terribly well.
“No, I haven’t. Perhaps she’s drinking her way through every bar in Texas. I could go outside, conjure up a spell to carry the smell of the current offerings to her, but I’d really rather not. I doubt I have sufficient stores to satisfy her requirements.”
Thor held his glass out for more. No, they wouldn’t talk about it. That was how things worked with them. Loki would stab him, Thor would forgive him without question, and it would continue on like that forever.
“I went drinking with her. And to the ball with her.” He had a dreamy sort of look in his eyes. Thor was enamoured with the valkyrie and it showed. “But since then, I’ve been busy.” Helping the Avengers decorate for Christmas, filling out forms at EPS, and general sitting around with his tablet and getting himself into trouble with the other displaced.
“I’m well aware.” Loki allowed Thor to pull him back into the old pattern. It didn’t help, but it was familiar. He was no better than Valkyrie and her permanent residence inside of a bottle on Sakaar in that respect. “Honestly, Thor. Contracts for sex?” He shuddered. That was a conversation he needn’t have seen. Trust his alternate self to take full advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself.
“Valkyrie will show herself when she’s good and ready, I’m certain. If you have any designs on her besides hero worship, I suggest you cover your recent tracks.”
Thor made a silly face, “I was joking about the contract. Your counterpart can jest with me all day, he is quite entertaining.” He set down the glass and walked back to the couch, clicking his tongue for Frigga.
“Valkyrie will not mind. And I may, but that doesn’t mean I am hers and hers alone at the moment.”
“Spare me,” Loki opined, despite having been the one who brought up the subject in the first place. “Your conquests were bad enough when you were only the Crown Prince of Asgard. Now you’re a movie star.” He rolled his eyes and poured another drink while he considered the cabinets in front of him. Did he want to be bothered to prepare his own meal? Thor would assume an implicit invitation, and that thought did not gall Loki as it once might have.
Frigga paid no mind to either god’s musings. When she heard Thor, she rolled onto her back and batted at the nearest bit of him that she could reach from her place in Loki’s chair. Already, cat hair had accumulated on the upholstery of most of Loki’s furniture. It didn’t show much on the black cushions of the couch and chairs in the living area, but was prominent against the green of the dining chairs and muted gold of Loki’s coverlet in the bedroom. A scattered collection of cat toys could be found in every small, floor-level space &mdash under the television stand, beneath the bed, tucked away in the cramped area between the floorboards and the bottom of Loki’s stove. The only toys that could be readily found were a pair of sticks, one adored with green tassels, the other with black feathers at its end.
“I confess,” Loki added, at length, “that it is refreshing to no longer be the youngest.” He had no intention of outright saying that he liked his alternate self, though it was the truth. To avoid having to look at Thor in the wake of his remark, Loki set to slicing vegetables for something. He had no idea what, yet. He only cooked out of necessity, not for any great love of it.
Thor smiled and shrugged at Loki’s comment. He stopped trying to beckon the cat and slouched against the couch. He didn’t see anything wrong with what he did, he was very open about sexual things. Though he was more of a gentleman when it came to someone he truly liked. Margo was nice, but she wasn’t someone to spend too much time on. Valkyrie was fascinating for many reasons and yes, he might have had a crush on her. He didn’t treat her the same as he treated Jane, because she was a different kind of woman. They were all different, he discovered since his time of being the Prince. Women were people, believe it or not.
“He’s younger than you, is he? I thought you two just had a birthday.” The comment didn’t make much sense, he just wanted to bring up the subject of Loki’s birthday once again. “What are you doing? Making dinner?” Thor sat up and peered towards the kitchen. “Shall I go, brother? I do not wish to intrude.”
Though the second prince, Loki had enjoyed his own adventures in his time, none of which he much cared to regale anyone with, save when doing so served whatever plan he had most recently hatched. His aversion to Thor’s exploits had less to do with sex, and more to do with the knowledge that his brother had had it. In that, Loki was the quintessential younger sibling.
“You will note that I never confirmed it was our birthday,” Loki emphasized, with little hope that Thor would fall for the ruse. He’d already seen through it, most likely. Loki did indeed share the day with his counterpart, or at least the day that Odin and Frigga had chosen to mark the occasion. He wondered, not for the first time, if the day had any significance at all, or if it had been chosen at random. “And the other Loki has the same length of memories as I, but he did not come by them by living in a single body that full time. Did he not speak to you of how he came to be? Father would likely have been beside himself, trying to manage more than one of me.” By now, Loki had an assortment of vegetables cut, and was debating what to do with them. Proper Asgardian fare required meat, and a great deal of it, but he didn’t exactly have a spit, or a pig to roast on it. The steaks in the refrigerator would have to do.
Thor nodded his head, “Yes but you didn’t … not confirm it…” without much conviction in his voice. He knew the other Loki had been reborn, had taken the life of another, younger Loki and became a new, Good Loki. The man of Asgard himself told him the story not too long ago.
“You are right, I suppose he is younger than you. He told me the story, it was an interesting one. It’s what sparked my own message to you on the Network, do you remember?” Their lives were so long, things as small as that were sometimes swept up into the wind.
Thor got down from the couch onto his hands and knees and located a toy for Frigga. He threw it and watched her for a reaction.
Loki sighed and relented. “Fine. It was our birthday, for whatever that was worth.” He set to cooking, two steaks rather than one, in silent answer to Thor’s earlier question. “I cannot decide if would rather have his life or my own. We seemed destined to find ourselves at a disadvantage, regardless of our choices.”
Meanwhile, Frigga had taken to Thor’s game with all the enthusiasm in her tiny body. She was still clumsy, barely old enough to be weaned, according to the veterinarian. Her feet were sometimes more than she could keep track of. She tumbled and rolled and tripped over herself as she tried to keep up with the toy Thor had thrown for her. Once she’d caught it, she took it in her teeth and brought it back to the Asgardian king.
Thor’s smile was all teeth at Frigga. “Yes, good little one! You will be strong…” He realized his brother was talking. Yeah, about that. “Well, then I wish I would have gotten you a present. Something good. I got you a Christmas present, but it is not very thoughtful.” He sounded a little sad.
Thor sat up from his game with Frigga to respond to Loki further. “You can change that, the tree of life has many branches.”
“One has to find the branch before one can climb it.” The steaks hissed when they made contact with the hot skillet. Loki, when he did cook, preferred straightforward meals that required little of his time and focus. He started another skillet for the vegetables, to roast them.
Frigga cheerfully butted up against Thor’s hand, demanding his attention. Loki glanced over his shoulder at them. He did not find their interactions cheering, he told himself, not in the least. And yet, something inside of him loosened enough for him to say, “I will be teaching at a university come January. If you wish to present me with a gift, then you might consider coming to see Frigga on evenings when my presence is required for lectures.”
Thor made a face, resigning to the idea of Loki trying to find his place. Maybe he would find the right path, maybe he’d go down a darker one. Thor could only hope it was the former.
With a manly giggle (very manly), Thor pet Frigga as she demanded, smoothing down her forehead with a few fingers. He toyed with her ears, pressing them down and watching them spring back up. Thor was a simple man.
“What will you teach, brother?” He tried to hide his excitement for both of the things Loki said. “I would be glad to check in on her, she is family now, is she not?”
“She has made herself my responsibility. It is a step down from ruling Asgard, but I expect it will not be as tedious.” Contrary to what others might think, Loki had put effort into ruling the kingdom. He had not done so badly, despite the lies he had told to keep the throne. He’d become almost comfortable, if lonely, and frequently tired from the constant need to remain on guard, his illusion always in place.
“The university had need of someone with a talent for languages and the study of myth. Forging the necessary documents was easy enough.” He’d obtained advanced degrees from the University of Bergen and the University of Oslo, drawn to yet another tie to Norway in spite of himself. “I doubt it will present a great challenge, but there is some appeal.” He thought again that his mother would have been pleased. She’d been a better teacher than Odin, in Loki’s mind, teaching him all she knew of magic and statecraft and the art of subtlety.
Thor let Loki’s’ comment slide. He knew Loki was fond of the cat. If not, the cat would have been foisted upon one of the many other residents that were displaced. He had no idea what it took to rule Asgard, as he was only king for an hour or so, before the memories stopped. Thor and his cohorts caused Ragnarok, so how good of a king was he compared to his brother?
“If you taught at the local school, you would not have had to go through so much trouble.” Thor said idly as he pet Frigga. “All I had to do was sign my name, my real name, and prepare for the time I go in after winter break.” He looked up and smiled. Maybe he was just bragging that it was easier for him. He couldn’t help it.
Another roll of the eyes met Thor’s reply. Loki removed the steaks from the heat and set them aside to rest while he retrieved plates from the cabinet. “If you want to eat, then come serve yourself,” he instructed.
“I’ve no interest in teaching children. Mother’s tendencies did not rub off on me so thoroughly. I’d rather watch the so-called ‘coeds’ weep when they see the tests I put before them each semester.” He smiled his trickster’s smile, clearly delighted at the idea. “You can have the joy of guiding and nurturing the mortals’ young.”
Thor gave Frigga a short pat before rising from the floor. He joined his brother in the kitchen and took the plate from Loki’s hands. “Thank you for the meal, it’s not often you cook for me. Not poisoned, I assume?” He smirked.
As he began to serve himself before Loki, Thor replied to his comment about the young. “Physical Education. I’m not sure what we’ll be teaching, but between Bucky and I, I assume it’ll be grueling. I have never seen the man in action, but if he’s anything like his friend…”
“Poison would be too easy, not to mention counterproductive when I am taking advantage of your emotional attachment to obtain services from you.” Loki did, however, toss the steak knife he retrieved at Thor’s head, knowing full well his brother could easily catch it when the movement was so clearly telegraphed. Thor was a simple man, yes, but not an idiot. If Loki ever implied such, it was largely for effect. He would not have feared his brother’s interference in the past had Thor not had some strategic sense in him. After all, they had both been raised to be kings.
“How can you agree to teach something without any understanding of the knowledge you are to pass along? I doubt the mortals instruct their children as Asgard does. From what I have seen, they go running to their legal system with complaints if someone so much as looks at another person the wrong way. They probably won’t let you put a sword or even a staff in anyone’s hands.”
Thor did in fact catch the steak knife and laughed heartily. “My emotional attachment, is that what you’re calling it now? As long as it’s not a weakness anymore…” Once his plate was full, Thor crossed back into the living room, unsure if Loki allowed food in that room. He’d eat on the couch. Better to watch Frigga.
“I’m sure Bucky will fill me in. And that my instructions will be much more rigorous than that of mere mortals. We do not need sword or staff. And considering the mishaps around here, the children better be well prepared.”
“It’s still a weakness. I’m simply exploiting it in new and interesting ways,” Loki glibly announced. He took a seat at the kitchen table, another thing that still felt strange in this world. He’d been accustomed to feasts in Asgard, save during his imprisonment, and during his exile, meals had been more inconsistent than he’d care to admit. Sitting down with Thor, just the two of them, was at by turns comforting and unsettling.
“I will look forward to hearing tales of your stumbling about the American educational system,” Loki assured his brother.
Thor shook his head as he chewed, and did not comment on the taste of his food. It was good, but he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Just as he wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of a retort to his remark about his position at the school. Instead, he just watched Frigga and enjoyed being in the company of his brother.