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Loki sat across from his eldest and her husband and hoped, prayed to whoever or whatever might be listening, that they were joking.
“You mean to tell me that the whole point of the Chitauri Attack was to gather the Infinity Stones?”
Yasha nodded.
“The man behind the attack is the last of his species,” Lenore explained. “His people died out and he’s convinced himself that if they had just agreed to his plan, they would have survived. Now he’s dedicated his life to carrying that plan out on a universal scale.”
“What was his plan?”
Yasha clenched his teeth as Lenore answered.
“To use the Infinity Gauntlet to wipe out half of all life.”
Loki leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. He took a breath in, out.
“Why Earth, though?” He opened his eyes but didn’t look away from the ceiling. “This isn’t a very advanced planet; you’ve barely reached your own moon.”
He looked to Yasha for answers. The young man had clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them over the table.
“We had both the Time
and
the Space stones.”
Loki opened his mouth to argue that that wasn’t enough to warrant a full-scale invasion, but Yasha continued.
“This is also the central point for a number of interstellar wars.”
Loki furrowed his brow.
“I was unaware that you were at war.”
The redhead shrugged.
“So are all but about half a dozen of us humans.” He tapped the side of his glass. “My own mother trades in information and secrets and has no idea about any of this.”
Loki tapped the table in thought. He bit his lip.
“This planet isn’t safe.”
Lenore agreed.
“The Space stone has been relegated to Asgard, but now we have the Time and
Mind
stones making us a target.” She sighed. “We need allies.”
Loki tried to think of
someone
he might have met in his travels that had the power or connections to stand up to someone with an army like the Chitauri.
He looked up, feeling Yasha studying him in that way that he did sometimes. The younger man raised a brow, asking for his thoughts.
“We need someone of Asgard’s strength, but I don’t know of anyone outside of the Nine Realms with that kind of power.”
Loki watched as the duo were silent for a moment before a glint shone in Yasha’s flesh eye.
“What about in the Realms?” He smiled slyly.
Loki almost laughed. He’d made almost everyone in the Nine angry at some point, except for on-
Wait.
“You can’t be serious.”
A grin broke out on Lenore’s face.
“Yes!” She took Loki’s hand. “Father, they will help us if you just ask.”
Loki’s eyes bounced between the two, trying to understand why they had suddenly lost their minds.
It was one thing to finally come to terms with being a Jotun, (and he
had
; he was completely fine with it… most of the time) but it was an entirely different “can of worms,” to borrow a human expression, to go to the planet where he had been abandoned and left to die and ask for help.
Yasha sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
“Honestly, if anyone else could do it, we’d ask them,” he admitted. “But with the political landmines that pass for relationships between every other realm and Jotunheim, you’re the only option that doesn’t end in all-out war.”
“Thank you. That takes so much of the weight off my shoulders,” Loki said, face and voice deadpan.
Lenore hadn’t let go of his hand and tugged on it to get his attention back.
“I promise it’ll turn out alright.”
Thor always left the door unlocked, it was just one of those things the giant puppy did.
Loki opened the front door without knocking like he always did, calling for his brother.
He adjusted his pack on his shoulder as he looked around.
Thor came around the corner, drying his hands on a towel with a grin on his face. The happiness slipped away quickly when he caught sight of the travel gear, though the smile stayed steadfastly in place.
“Brother?” A tenseness settled between his eyes. “Where are you going?”
Loki looked at his feet and then back at his brother, unsure of how to explain.
“I have learned of a number of threats to this planet,” he stated at last. “Enemies that require an army much larger than any available here.”
Thor turned and lifted his hand to call his hammer.
“No, wait.” Loki halted him just in time. “I know exactly what I’m doing and I know where I need to go, I just…”
He shook his head.
“I can’t go with you.” Thor sounded sad.
“No.”
“Can you at least tell me why?”
Loki sighed.
“The only realm with an army large or strong enough that might be willing to help us is Jotunheim,” he admitted. “And the last time you were there, it didn’t go so well.”
Thor stared at him.
“And you’re willing to go and ask for aid.” He paused before specifying. “From them.”
Loki shrugged.
“My children live here. I have no other choice at this point.”
Thor nodded and walked over to a closet.
Inside was his armor. From a pocket somewhere, he produced a knife and removed his cloak from the shoulders and held it out to Loki.
“Here, give this to Laufey as a token of regret for my actions before.”
Loki hesitated, but accepted the offering, folding it up and placing it neatly in his pack.
“I'll convince the council to return the Casket to them if they agree to help us, as well.”
Loki's head shot up at that and his eyes widened.
“
Thank
you, Thor.”
The larger man pulled him into an embrace.
“Just be careful, little brother.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Loki felt naked.He hadn’t been without a weapon since… Well, not since he had been a small child, and even then he’d had the strange habit of stealing small knives from the kitchens.The snow as he sloughed through it was a new feeling, though.Snow on Asgard was almost nonexistent and though he’d just come from winter in New York, it didn’t compare to the bitter cold of Jotunheim.But rather than the energy-sapping that the others generally complained about when it came to the cold, Loki felt invigorated by the chill. If the snow hadn’t reached above his waist, he may have even run down the mountain. As it was, and as he didn’t want to alarm anyone he may meet on the way, he settled on a small smile while he considered his surroundings.The one and only time he’d been here (as an adult) had been at night where it had been dark and foreboding, and he’d been distracted by the work to be done.But now, the sky was bright, despite the cloud-cover, and the freshly-fallen snow sparkled. A large forest spanned from horizon to horizon on his left, green and ethereal trees reaching for the skies.Loki thought back over the stories he’d heard as a child of this place being a barren wasteland and he couldn’t understand them. How could anyone ever come up with such nonsense, let alone believe them?Well, he had believed them. But children did often believe foolish things adults told them, didn’t they?A twig snapped somewhere around him.He’d wandered into the edge of the treeline, failing to pay attention to his surroundings while he thought. Stupid, Loki. He should’ve known better.Slowly, so as not to startle whoever had been following him, he lowered his pack and raised his hands without turning around.“I come unarmed on a mission for aid,” he called, loud enough for his voice to be heard without being swallowed up by the snow. “I request an audience with your king.”All at once, two giants came from the trees in front of him and he could hear more from behind him.“Why would we help an Asgardian?”Loki grit his teeth. He’d been so careful to not dress in any Aesir armor. He’d wore plain SHIELD-issued field clothes, the only thing standing out from the black being the Avengers stylized “A” on his right shoulder and the SHIELD logo on his left.Regardless, one of them must’ve recognized him from Thor’s assault all those years ago.“I do not speak for Asgard, nor am I a citizen there,” he stated plainly. “I come from Midgard.”The group looked to what seemed to be the leader, who nodded.A piece of fabric was used to gag Loki while another pair of unseen hands secured his behind his back. When the ropes were tight enough that he began to lose feeling in his hands, his captors placed a bag over his head.Loki didn’t struggle, even as they patted him down in search of nonexistent weaponry hard enough to send him sprawling in the snow. Light filtered through the bag and he could make out at least half a dozen shadows and hear about that many voices.The leader, seemingly satisfied with the lack of weapons, hefted Loki’s pack and ordered his men to begin marching to the palace.The group had to slow their gait and outright stop repeatedly when they continuously tripped their captive.Loki ignored their jeers. Most of them seemed to be convinced that he still considered himself a prince of Asgard, which only served to make him laugh, adding to their confusion.Finally, after a few hours of travel, they made it to the palace.Based on the conversation around him, Loki was able to deduce that they had arrived at the throne room where they had been last time.“On your knees.”The owner of the voice shoved him from behind and he stumbled, falling to his knees and landing on the icy ground.Someone took off the sack, blinding him for a moment, and undoing the gag just enough for it to hang around his neck. ( Rather like a noose, he thought morbidly.)Laufey sat on his throne, anger evident in his red eyes.“What do you want, Odinson?”A muscle in Loki’s jaw ticked.“I am no son of Odin’s.”Laufey narrowed his eyes, but Loki didn’t give him the chance to ask another question.“I come from Midgard requesting aid on behalf of the humans.” He angled himself so that his right shoulder could be seen clearly, despite his bound hands. “I am allied with a faction that is in possession of information regarding a threat to the fate of the universe.”The room was silent for a few moments until the king began chuckling.“I don't know what you expect me to do about that, Aesir.” He pointed directly at his prisoner. “Your people took our planet's life force and imprisoned us here. We couldn't protect ourselves, let alone anyone else.”Loki shook his head, looking to the floor in exasperation before meeting Laufey's eyes.“I am not Aesir, and even if I was, it is Odin you have to blame for what happened.” He took a breath before continuing, ignoring the whispers. “I have come with an offer from Thor. In return for your aid, he will ensure the Casket is brought to you.”Laufey was up and in front of Loki in the blink of an eye. The giant hoisted the smaller man up by the front of his shirt.“Does he really think that returning the Casket can make up for all that Odin has done?” His voice was low and words measured, but there was a rage simmering beneath.Loki swallowed his fear, keeping his voice level.“Neither Thor nor I know what else you speak of, but we swear that we will do everything in our power to atone for it.”Laufey lowered him just enough that he could drop him without fear of him being injured.“Put him in a cell until I decide what to do with him.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
They'd taken his bindings off, which was a small mercy. It was almost an hour later and Loki was just now beginning to regain the feeling in the tips of his fingers. He blew into his cupped hands, trying to warm them faster.“Hello.”A man a few years older than him stood on the other side of the bars, raven hair in an elaborate braid down his back. His face was soft and rounder than Loki's, with eyes the shade of a candy apple that Uma had talked her father into trying a few weeks ago. He was much smaller than most of the other Jotnar Loki had seen, closer to Loki's height but still a little taller, and he wore multiple layers to keep out the chill.The thing about him that caught Loki's eye, though, was the semi-circle of ridges on his forehead and the lines along his cheekbones and chin. Exactly like on Laufey and on Loki's true form and those of his children.“Good evening,” he returned.The man held a silver and grey fur cloak between the bars.“I thought you might be cold.”Loki accepted the offering with a nod of thanks. Truth be told, the cold was invigorating, but he wasn't used to it and he'd grown chilly over the past few hours.“I apologize for my father's temperament.”Loki kept his expression carefully blank as the man continued.“Our dealings with Asgard over the years have always ended with the death of someone close to us, and your promise of an end to all of that seems too good to be true.” He shook himself. “I'm Byleistr, Laufey's second son, by the way. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?”“Loki.” He introduced, gesturing for the both of them to sit on the ground.Byleistr produced a pen and paper from inside one of his coats.“Firstly, and please tell me if this is rude,” he insisted. “You said you weren't Aesir, but everything we've ever been told said that you were a son of Odin. So, what are you?”Loki had to respect his straightforwardness.“I was raised in the king's household as his own, but I did not know that I was not born to it nor do I claim it now,” he answered with equal candor. “As for what I am: I know the answer and who I come from, but I would rather keep that to myself for now.”Byleistr nodded.“I only ask because you appear as an Asgardian.”“That's because I am a shapeshifter,” he confessed. “I've been able to take whatever form I wished since I was a baby.”Byleistr continued to take notes.Loki licked his lips.“May I ask you a question?”The prince smiled and nodded.“You said you were the second prince. How many children does Laufey have?”The smile slipped away, a darkness passing over Byleistr's expression for a moment.“There were three of us,” he revealed, staring off into the middle distance.Loki bit his lip, trying and failing not to ask.“Is that what your father meant when he spoke of what Odin had done?”Byleistr nodded.“Father has been…” He shook his head. “Mother died in the battle and Helblindi and I had been sent to hide in the mountain caves where the Aesir couldn't follow. It was too dangerous for Loptr, barely a week old and too sickly to handle the cold; he and I both were at that age. So father sent him to the temple because we all assumed Odin would respect a holy site.”Byleistr leaned his head back against the wall.“He was wrong. Now he blames himself and he blames Odin for causing him to make those choices.”Loki's chest ached. Everything he thought he knew, everything Odin had told him...“What if-” He stopped when his voice cracked, starting again. “What would you do if I told you that your brother was alive and I knew where he was?”Byleistr's eyes widened and he stared.Loki closed his eyes and allowed his natural form through. He'd only ever allowed his children to see him like this, and that was still a little off-putting on occasion, but Loki tried to ignore the nerves the best he could as Byleistr continued to stare.“You-” Byleistr's voice cracked. “This is a trick.”“Oh, I assure you.” He leveled his eyes at his apparent brother, not even trying to hide his sorrow. “If a trick was ever being played, it was on me.”“ How?” Loki smiled angrily.“Apparently, Odin found me and thought I’d be ‘useful.’” He used air-quotes around the word. “I grew up thinking I was like any other Aesir.”He paused, thinking back.“That is, until I followed Thor on one of his quests for glory here and had an, eh, accident .”Byleistr looked hard at him, expression carefully blank. Loki could see there was a storm of emotions beneath, though.“Is that what this is, then?” He paused to clarify. “A quest for glory; Is he forcing you to do this?”Loki blinked. The other man’s voice betrayed a worry that shocked him.“No, everything I said before is true.” He leaned forward, making sure to look Byleistr in the eye. “I really did come here seeking aid of my own volition. Thor was worried and wanted to come, but I asked him to stay behind, so he sent a token of his respect instead; it’s in my pack on top.”Byleistr’s mouth thinned into a flat line. He looked around the prison and Loki’s cell before focusing back on his younger brother.“Let me speak to father about this.”Loki stiffened.“Are you sure that’s a good idea?”Byleistr fixed him with a look.“You want help and we want our family back.” He stood. “Have you eaten anything today?”He shook his head.“Not since before I left Midgard.”“I’ll have the guards bring you something.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Byleistr opened the bag on his father's desk and, sure enough, found the Crown Prince's cloak neatly folded as Loki - Loptr - said it would be.“What are you doing?”Byleistr turned to see his father and brother standing in the doorway.“The guards said you went to see him.”Helblindi was tall, easily as tall as their father, with hair as white as the snow and well-corded muscles, but he was still lean and lithe. (Much like their youngest brother, apparently) He’d failed to shave again, resulting in a day’s worth of stubble on his face.Byleistr held out the cloak.“He said it would be here.”Laufey took the fabric and studied it a moment before holding it for Byleistr to focus on.“This doesn’t mean anything.” His voice was calm, as if he was speaking to a child.Byleistr shook his head.“No, you weren’t there, you didn’t see what I saw.”Helblindi crossed his arms.“The guards were listening and reported the whole conversation.”Byleistr rolled his eyes.“But only because we were worried about you,” Helblindi amended.Their father set the cloak on the table, Helblindi closing the door with a click.“You want to know a man’s true nature?”Byleistr sighed before finishing the saying.“Watch him when he isn’t aware.”The younger man waved his hand, changing the appearance of the study to that of the prison cell.Loki sat against the right wall, his head leaned back and eyes closed with the cloak wrapped around him. He hadn’t changed his appearance back to the way he’d arrived, making Helblindi growl and Laufey tense.“Don’t you see?” Byleistr tried to convince them, but he knew this wasn’t enough.“He’s a shapeshifter,” Helblindi reminded. “Even you couldn’t tell what was true and what wasn’t.”“And I saw him in battle,” Laufey cut in. “He’s a ruthless seiðmadr. He wouldn’t hesitate to use something like this against us.”Byleistr began to defend his stance, when the man in question opened his eyes and sat straight.“If you’re going to spy on me, you might as well say hello.”The three observers stiffened. Byleistr prepared to show himself when a young woman, nearly identical to Loki, appeared in a flash of golden light, mirroring his position on the opposite wall.“So,” she began. “How’s it going?”Loki raised an eyebrow and jerked his head lightly around the room.“Can’t you tell by my wonderful accommodations?”Both fell into a fit of giggles.“It’ll turn out alright,” she reassured when they sobered.Loki shook his head and gestured to the girl.“How are you?” The corner of his mouth turned up. “Did Asmund go to school alright? Uma’s test, did it go well?”The stranger shrugged.“Asmund went fine. A little clingier than usual, but he was alright.” She turned her eyes upward in thought. “Uma thought her test went well enough, though she did struggle with some of the extra credit, but it’s called extra credit so it shouldn’t matter.”Loki narrowed his eyes. The stranger rolled her eyes, smiling. She began drawing images and stick figures in the ice with her bare finger, much the same as Jotun children did.“I’m fine, father.”Byleistr jolted, though he shouldn't have. She did appear to be Jotnar and shared their family's markings.“Yasha and I spent the day training with the others at the compound,” she reassured. “We’ve been very bored without you around.”Loki laughed at that, but the smile didn’t last long.“You should go, little one. Someone might see you.”She frowned, but nodded and disappeared in the same flash of light.Loki returned to his earlier position, eyes closed, and sighed.Byleistr dismissed the image, the study reappearing where it belonged.“Father,” Helblindi began, but Laufey held up a hand.“Let me think.”“Let me speak to him.”Laufey spun on his eldest.“No.”“But, father-”“I said no !” The king sighed, wiping a hand down his face. “I’ll do it.”Byleistr considered his family, his concern mirrored in his brother’s eyes.“We still don’t know if this is a trick of some kind and I don’t want you two to be caught in the middle if it is,” Laufey explained. “Even if it is Loptr, we don’t know if Odin has sent him to garner our trust before betraying us.”Byleistr nodded, understanding the need for caution. Loki opened his eyes as the footsteps neared.Laufey stopped outside the cell, taking a seat in the same place Byleistr had.Loki waited for the man to say something, but when he didn’t, decided to cut some of the tension.“I seem to be very popular today. You’re my third visitor.”“Third?”Loki smirked.“Oh, come now. You don’t really think I didn’t know you had someone spying on me when my daughter visited.”Laufey’s gaze didn’t flicker for a moment.“How did you know that?”The trickster shrugged.“The same way I knew she was there.” He wiggled his fingers in the air. “When someone sends an illusion or spies using some sort of trickery, there’s always some sort of energy left in their wake.”“Is that why Odin sent you?”“Odin didn’t send me.”“You keep saying that, yet you have Thor’s support.” Laufey tossed the cloak through the bars, the red standing out against the greys and blues of everything else.Loki chuckled.“To be quite honest, Thor doesn’t much have Odin’s approval anymore, either.” He tapped his right shoulder and the insignia he bore. “And again, I've come on behalf of Earth, not Asgard.”Laufey narrowed his eyes.“Why would you care for such a place? They are powerless and their lives are short. They have nothing to offer you.”Loki cocked his head to the side.“It’s not power that I hold dear, but family.”Laufey’s eyes softened slightly.“Midgard has been kind to mine and I wish to keep it a safe place for my children to grow up for as long as I can,” Loki continued.Laufey considered his words for a moment.“You said that the universe was in danger and you thought we could help. Why?”Loki tapped his knee as he thought through what he was going to say next.“Have you ever heard of Thanos?”Laufey straightened.“The Mad Titan?”Loki nodded.“A few years ago, he attacked the earth in an attempt to gather two of the Infinity Stones. He intends to gather all of them and use them to wipe out half of all life in the universe.”Laufey froze.“How do I know this isn't some sort of trick?”“How could I possibly use this against you?” Loki spread his hands to either side. “In any case, I have no evidence other than what I have been told and the attack that was foiled.”Laufey squinted.“Where did you get your information?”Loki bit the inside of his cheek.“You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”“Any more than I already have?”He shrugged, giving in.“Time travelers from the future.”Laufey simply blinked.“Apparently, my allies and I were to face Thanos in a war for the fate of all life and we were destined to fail.” He swallowed. “Those of us who survived found some miraculous way of undoing what Thanos had done, what the survivors had called the Snap .”Laufey leaned forward with his chin on his clasped hands in thought.“Two decades later, another catastrophe occurred, this time something that couldn't be undone so easily, and so we sent our children back using the Time Stone to warn us and to save them.”Laufey gestured to the wall Lenore had projected herself on.“So the girl…”Loki nodded slowly.“Travelled through time. She and the others have only been here two months now.”“If you have prior knowledge and the combined might of multiple realms, why do you need our help?”Loki twisted the tie on his cloak.“Odin still rules Asgard and refuses to provide aid for anything I am a part of due to our... disagreements, and Midgardians, as you have said, are not powerful for the most part.” He made a face.”Thanos’ army is massive and the Avengers could barely hold back his foot soldiers alone.”Laufey tapped his knee in thought.“We will allow you to leave your cell.” He leveled his gaze with Loki's. “If Thor brings the Casket within three days, we will help you. If not, there is nothing we can do and you will return to Midgard.”Loki tried not to collapse in relief.“ Thank you.”
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Two guards escorted him from his cell through the palace halls.
The throne room was apparently
meant
to be intimidating and not at all inviting, because the rest of the palace appeared to be comfortable and safe.
Tapestries hung on the walls detailing the history of Jotunheim, a history full of peace and prosperity and joy. There were a few arras of darker stories, wars and famine and the like, but every society had its grim moments.
Outside a door stood Byleistr and another man, this one much taller with his lips pulled down into a frown, that Loki assumed was Helblindi. The latter nodded for the guards to leave and lead Loki into the room.
“Hello, little brother.” Byleistr grinned.
“Hello.” Loki smiled, removing the fur cloak he had been given and handing it back.
“Oh. No, keep it.” Byleistr pressed it back into his hands. “Consider it a welcome home present.”
Loki thanked him.
Byleistr led him over to a table where the three of them sat.
“Oh, father told us how you knew I was watching you.” His grin grew. “I would very much like to know how you knew how to do that.”
Loki cocked his head to the side.
“You can't see it?”
Byleistr shook his head and when Loki looked to Helblindi, he appeared even more confused.
“I just sort of…” He gestured vaguely. “
Look
.”
Helblindi squinted.
“Your eyes were closed.”
Loki laughed and pointed to Byleistr.
“He's a blood relative, which means his seiðr's energy is similar to mine, and I trained my daughter which makes hers doubly so.” He brought a flame to life in his open palm and extinguished it just as quickly. “Because of that, I can sense and draw off of it with little to no effort at all.”
Byleistr wavered in his seat, shaking his head a little.
Loki frowned.
“I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that without asking.”
Byleistr waved him off while Helblindi's eyes widened.
Loki considered his brother for a moment.
“Have you never had someone draw energy from you before?” Loki felt a dark feeling roll around in his gut.
“Seiðr is very rare here,” Helblindi explained. “Until you, he was the only one for thousands of miles.”
Loki's eyes widened.
“I am so sorry, I didn't realize.” He put his hand on Byleistr's arm and sent more than enough to make up for the energy he'd borrowed for the flame.
It wasn't a lot, just enough that Loki would, for sure, get a good night's sleep and Byleistr wouldn't feel so dizzy, but the elder man jolted as if he'd been shocked.
“How did you do that?”
Loki squinted.
“You keep asking me that and yet the answer is always the same: I just do it.”
“Do your children have the same gifts as you?” Helblindi had steepled his fingers and placed his chin on them.
“Lenore, my eldest, does and so does Asmund, but he is still learning.” Loki smiled. “Uma's seiðr is extremely volatile and more focused on a certain element.”
Byleistr crossed his arms on the table and laid his chin on them.
“Tell us about them.”
Loki smiled, fondly remembering some interesting moments in the past few weeks, when he saw his pack on a small table by the wall.
He stood and opened it, pulling out the hologram projector and the communicator he'd brought with him and placed the projector on the table, taking a moment to relay Laufey's demands to Thor.
“How about I introduce you to my family
and
my friends all at once?”
His brothers’ eyes lit up.
Tapping a few buttons, holographic photographs of the Avengers appeared in the air. Mostly, they were press releases, but there were a few personal photos in the mix.
And he began to tell his brothers about his extended family, the ones who had taken him in without knowing a thing about him. The ones who had shown him love when no one else but Thor and Frigga would.
Laufey wanted to believe that the man spoke the truth. He wanted to believe that his son had survived and come home.
But he'd spent the past centuries in guilt and anger, watching his eldest two grow up without their mother and wondering what the youngest might have been like at that age.
As the years had passed, his vague wonderings had given way to the anger and he'd left behind the hopes and dreams for his children to take comfort in.
Now, this boy came here claiming to be Loptr and… He had no evidence, but Laufey could believe Odin would do such a thing. He'd honestly expect something like that from the man.
It still made him angry for some reason that he couldn't quite name.
The boy came here, looking just like his mother, and offering to bring back the planet's life force, their people's only hope for survival. And all he asked for in return was an ally in a war they were all going to have to fight or die in eventually, anyway.
Laufey looked up from his seat on the roof, the stars shining like gemstones as they always had, in search of an answer. Weren't kings supposed to have the answers to these kinds of things already?
Someone cleared their throat behind him.
“I don't mean to intrude.” Loki (
Loptr,
his mind supplied.) held his hands politely in front of him. “But I contacted Thor and informed him of your request.”
Laufey bit his tongue to keep from correcting “request” to “demand.” He was petty that way, but the boy was obviously trying to win his favor.
“And?”
“He said to let you know that he would be here tomorrow, unless you wished for someone else to bring the Casket.”
Laufey shook his head before turning back to the sky.
The two men remained in silence for a moment before Laufey cleared his throat.
“It is not with you that my anger lies.” It wasn't an apology, but it was the best he could muster at present.
The younger man sat on the ground beside him and pulled the silver cloak tightly around himself.
“So Helblindi told me.” He looked off into the skies. “But, if there is one thing I have learned in this life, it is that anger harms no one but the person harboring it and that your energy is better spent elsewhere.”
Laufey turned to his youngest, considering him.
“And where is it that you have spent yours?”
A small smile came over the man's face as he pointed to a far off star, one of Laufey's favorites though he didn't have any idea what it was.
“First I went there, where there is a planet with libraries so large they make up whole cities.” He pointed to a glowing orange speck. “Then I met a merchant that lives in a nebula there with the most amazing medicines, able to heal anything.”
Laufey gaped.
“How did you get to these places? I can’t imagine Odin allowing you to leave, let alone giving you a means of transportation.”
He shrugged.
“Mother- Frigga,” he amended. “She helped me pack my bags and leave while he was in the Odinsleep. I knew of secret paths that not even Heimdall was aware of and had traveled them before in secret. It’s actually how I arrived here without using the Bifrost.”
Farbauti’s paths
, Laufey remembered. Loptr had found them on his own when no one else could.
He continued to point out directions in the night sky, constellations and empty places where planets existed but couldn't be seen, speaking of places he'd explored and people he'd befriended.
Laufey listened as his son spoke of a life well-lived and smiled.
Maybe hope wasn't for children after all.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Laufey stood with his younger two sons by the gates.
The Bifrost had landed and Helblindi had gone off to greet their visitor.
Byleistr rocked on his heels, excitement in his eyes. He’d been just a boy when the planet had last been at its former glory and the Casket had rested safely in its place at the heart of the capital. It had been so long that he probably barely remembered the true beauty of their home.
Laufey shook his head. Dredging up ancient memories wouldn’t bring anything back. It was best to just focus on what was here and now.
Loptr had borrowed a pair of Byleistr’s leather clothes, fur-lined, for the warmth. He’d said that the SHIELD-issued clothing he’d worn here was
supposed
to be made for some of the earth’s coldest climes, and Loptr
was
Jotnar, but he and Byleistr were both smaller and not as well-suited as most of their people to the cold.
Laufey had grumbled at SHIELD’s carelessness. They should’ve known it would’ve been colder here than on their home planet.
He was distracted from his wandering thoughts by Helblindi marching over the horizon with an amused grin on his face, Thor marching behind him.
“I forgot how cold it was here,” the younger man grumbled when they got close enough.
Loptr laughed and took the Casket, handing it off to a guard to store until it could be taken to its proper place.
Thor focused on Laufey and straightened, holding his hands behind his back. Laufey raised an eyebrow in Loptr’s direction as the Aesir began an obviously well-rehearsed speech.
“I have come to personally express remorse for my previous behaviour.” He bowed his head. “They were the actions of a foolish child and I have no excuse.”
Laufey bowed his head in understanding.
“If Loptr says you’ve changed, then I choose to believe him.” He turned to go inside, but not before seeing Thor mouth Loptr’s name like a question.
“It’s my name, Thor,” he whispered back as they went inside.
Laufey smiled when Thor asked if he was supposed to stop calling him Loki. He sounded so worried that he’d upset his brother.
Loptr just smiled and shook his head.
“You can call me whatever you wish, brother. You’ve always called me Loki, so that’s fine.”
Thor beamed as they entered Laufey’s study.
Byleistr flicked his wrist, causing flames to spring to life in the fireplace surrounded by chairs. The group took their seats.
“Out of curiosity,” Laufey began. “How did you get the Casket back here so quickly?”
He still half expected it all to be a trick. The idea of it being this easy for things to, not go back to the way they were, but to become better? It would be laughable if the consequences weren't so painful.
Thor, who had been smiling, froze in his seat and his lips thinned.
Loptr grinned.
“You threatened to sic Uma on the council again, didn’t you?” He brought his hand to his forehead as he fought back tears of laughter.
“I wasn't sure if you'd mentioned them,” Thor admitted. Of course, he still thought Loptr might not feel safe here.
Laufey's youngest waved his brother off before turning to the others to explain.
“They thought she was going to eat Odin alive last time.”
Helblindi barked out a surprised laugh and pointed to Loptr.
“Story. Now.”
Loptr got comfortable in his seat.
"Well, I wasn't actually in the room, but-"
Loki adjusted the clasp on his cloak. He’d changed back into his SHIELD-issued Avengers uniform, but the cloak had… sentimental value to it. It was the first gift from his brother.
He smiled when he thought about how far they’d come in just a few days.
“Loki, we need to go.”
He took a deep breath of the cold, mountain air before turning back to his family.
They stood near the entrance to one of the paths, the nearest one that lead to earth.
Helblindi shoved Thor playfully, sending the shorter man flying face-first into the snow.
Loki shook his head. What was it with older brothers?
“Thank you again,” he whispered as he embraced his father.
“Come and visit soon.”
“Of course.”
He moved on to Byleistr.
“I expect you to come visit my family in New York?”
His brother smiled.
“As long as you promise to introduce me to your inventor friends.”
Helblindi wrapped his arms around Loki before he could even turn to him and then pulled back, looking him directly in the eyes.
“Remember, little brother. You are always welcome and
loved
here.”
Loki nodded and turned to Thor.
He clasped his arm, his brother holding back.
“Ready?”
“Ready.”
And they were off, onto the path and on their way home.