For Old Times' Sake

[Thor]

Unrealistic as it may have been, Thor had been toying with the notion of riding down to Helheim to thank Steve Jobs for quite some time. This "iPhone" truly was a wonder all its own. He never could have imagined a tiny game where the objective is to slice the most fruit simultaneously that one could find possible. He was getting very good at it.

The bell above the door jingled, and Thor looked up from his coffee. There was always that split second when he wondered if it'd be quite that easy, to just watch the redhead saunter in the door as though he owned the place, order a mocha something or other with eighteen words that sounded much more complicated than it needed to be, and sit himself down across the table from Thor and start talking like old times.

It wasn't. It was a brunette girl with a laptop bag slung over her shoulder and three notebooks dangling from her hands. She ordered quickly, passed exact change over the counter, and took a seat near the door. Thor turned his attention back to his game.

Maybe it seemed needy, but he had felt like they'd been the best of friends. What had happened? It wasn't as though Thor had any control over what his father had done to Loki's children, over what anyone had done but himself. If Loki never forgave him for the hand he'd had in his binding, Thor would understand that. He just wanted to be able to apologize and then move on with his life. He'd hang around Midgard for a few more years, then go back to Asgard and wait for Naglfar to come sailing up on their shores and bring down the wrath of angry giants on their heads.

It sounded depressing when he thought it like that, but it wasn't as though anyone was doing much of anything except waiting for Ragnarok to come, not anymore.

The bell jingled again, and Thor looked up, like he always did.

-----

words {{ 338 }}
notes {{ thor is a simple man and does not need a fancy template also if i tried to make one i'd probably die }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ this might take a bit but i'll get it eventually }}
mood {{ melancholy }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 622 ] MOOD [ scared ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Promise to the Moon by Jason Weebly ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ loki: [internal screaming] ]

Loki had found himself a very nice blonde German boy named Christian while he was in London. The other man had been gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide, but he had been wary of Loki, as so many men often were. It hadn't mattered, though, because it hadn't been long before the god had gotten his number and then proceeded to get in between his sheets, worming his way into Christian's life in a way that made refusal of him nigh impossible. Christian was smitten, and Loki could tell, and he soaked in the attention like a sponge. That morning, they had woken up only slightly hung over from the night before. After taking the precious time to untangle themselves from each other's arms, exchanging tender little kisses as they did, they had both agreed to go to the nearest cafe for their breakfast. Christian badly needed to fill his fridge, Loki noted. He made a mental reminder to do that for the man sometime this week. He wasn't all too sure that the blonde could afford to feed himself regularly. The two exchanged japes and sweet nothings in German as they made their way to the shop, and they stumbled into the door half-way in each other's arms, giggling and laughing as they did. Loki purred and nipped at the other man's lips before murmuring, again in German, “Don't be an ass,” in reply to something his new friend had said. He then untangled himself from the blonde, sauntering up to the counter like he owned the place and giving the barista that crooked, tattered grin of his. “I will have, um...” The god glanced up at the menu, mulling it over for a moment. His bangles jangled against each other as he rested his elbow on the counter. His voice had a very slight Scandinavian accent to it, a minor tilt to his words that set them apart from the English accents of everyone else around him. “I will have a mocha cappuccino, extra shot of espresso, two pumps of caramel, with whipped cream, if that is alright? Oh, and a chocolate Danish, please. And my good friend will have...?” Loki glanced back to question Christian on his choice of breakfast, and that's when he glanced, out of the corner of his eye, someone he'd sincerely hoped he wouldn't run into so soon. He stiffened, his knuckles turning white as his hands clenched into fists. He should have known the moment he walked in, he knew he should have. If he had been paying any sort of attention, he would have known five blocks away from the establishment. That sort of raw power wasn't something that came from just anything. That sort of power could only be from another god. Thor. His old, dear friend. His “little” nephew with his precious hammer that Loki had half watched grown up. The man who had helped to tie him down with the entrails of his own slaughtered son. Thor was here, just sitting at a table and fiddling with an iPhone. The image would have been comical, of Loki hadn't been so afraid. “Dear one?” Christian's voice was soft and very clearly concerned. “What's wrong?” “I... nothing.” Loki swallowed, tearing his gaze away from the other god. He could feel his heart beating like a frightened rabbit's, could tell he was breathing far faster than was healthy. “Tell the woman what you would like, sweetling.” Don't get up. Don't you dare get up, don't come near me. Loki repeated those words over and over again in his own head, knowing full well that Thor was probably going to do the exact opposite. post template by Tony

[Thor]

He'd glanced up and had to fix his eyes back down firmly upon his game. He would've dropped the expensive phone then and there if he hadn't, and he didn't want to lose this game. He was doing fairly well.

Thor had noticed, before tearing his eyes back down to his technology with shaky fingers, that Loki had a man on his arm that he wasn't familiar with. Not that this was news. Loki did get around quite frequently. He just... maybe hadn't thought so soon after he'd gotten free. That maybe he would have wanted to enjoy some actual time with Sigyn.

Or, maybe he just wanted to forget the whole ordeal and didn't want to be around her for a while. Thor didn't blame him. The more he thought about it, the less he believed the actions they'd taken were warranted given the situation. He had to tell Loki that he felt horrible about what had happened. He still missed Baldr, sure, and the god of light had been entertaining, but not quite so entertaining as Odin's blood brother.

He was pretty sure he was thinking things through too much. He was Thor, god of strength and Taking Action. But he was also fairly certain that if they got into a fight, they'd blow up half the block, and that was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to handle the situation, given that smashing things wasn't really an option, but he had an idea of what he thought Loki might prefer. Sure, it wasn't the way he normally handled situations, but at this point he was desperate enough to try it. Leaving his cup of mostly-empty coffee on the table, Thor rummaged around in his bag for a felt-tip pen he knew he'd packed. He pulled out a napkin from the dispenser and wrote a hasty message on it, knowing that Loki would probably run at the first possible opportunity.

Thor took his cup up to the counter where Loki stood, leaving his backpack (weighed down on the inside by Mjolnir) in his seat, then feigned a trip and spilled the rest of the contents of his lukewarm coffee on the counter directly in front of the other redhead and his beau. "Sorry about that," he said, his voice a low rumble as he put the napkin down on the spill and wiped it up, leaving the soggy note in front of Loki before he disappeared into the area behind the counter where the bathrooms were.

What was legible of the note read:

"ery sorry"

"he table with the backp"

"sit" "talk"

"won't hurt you or your fr"

"You know my word is good. Please humor me.

--Thor"

-----

words {{ 456 }}
notes {{ thor: [internal screaming] }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ pretty much just a hoodie and jeans tbh }}
mood {{ how 2 deal }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 453 ] MOOD [ rollin my eyes ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Rat A Tat by FoB ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ big dumb idjit ]

The closer Thor got, the faster and harder Loki's heart beat, until the god of mischief was sure he would die of cardiac arrest before Ragnarok was even close to starting. Stop. Stop. Don't come near me, don't-- But it was too late. Loki flinched as Thor got right up next to him, awaiting a blow, a kick, a hand grabbing him and flinging him into orbit... anything. He knew how hot-tempered Thor was, and he knew that right now, he was meant to be writhing and screaming hundreds of miles below Midgard. The other Norse were not going to take kindly to his freedom; that was exactly why he'd tried to hide himself away. But no blow came. No unnaturally huge hand crushed his skull with its punch; no kick broke his shins and shattered his pelvis. There was no pain at all. Just coffee spilled very unsubtly all over the damned counter. Christian cursed in German. The barista sighed to herself the sort of half-dead, uncaring sigh of the public service career, where they knew they could not change the difficulty of their life so did not bother trying to complain. Loki sighed his own exasperated sigh, picking up the soggy napkin when no one was noticing it and letting Christian take his order before picking the two of them out a table. The fear had fled him, now replaced with mild apprehension and the kind of emotion he'd grown so used to back when times were easier, something that could only be summed up with the words, “Oh, Thor.” He chatted Christian up for a moment or two, then pulled out the napkin. The thing was nearly completely illegible, but the gist of it was... kind of clear, if you squinted hard enough. The trickster couldn't help but roll his eyes at it. This time, he actually muttered his feelings out loud: “Oh, Thor.” “What?” Christian laughed, cocking his head quizzically, not unlike a dog. Unsurprising. The man was a werefox. Loki gave the him a smile, reaching across the table to ruffle his hair. “Nothing, sweet one,” He purred. “Just... an old friend of mine, not quite thinking things through. As per usual.” He hesitated, glancing in the direction of the table he thought Thor had indicated. “I... allow me one second with him. I will not be long, I promise.” Loki didn't wait for Christian to protest. He pushed himself out of his chair, grabbing his danish as he did, and made his way over to “he table with the backp”. There he sat, tapping his fingers on the surface of it, nibbling his pastry impatiently as he awaited Thor's return. post template by Tony

[Thor]

Thor returned several minutes after his disappearance, not long after Loki sat down at the table, and took a seat next to his backpack. The first words out of his mouth would have seemed uncharacteristic if one hadn't been following his adventures over the past century or so, but it didn't really cross Thor's mind how long it had truly been.

"I'm sorry. For what I did to you, the part I had in... things." His expression was somber. "I didn't understand how bad it was until I'd spent time on Midgard. How... bigoted we were, and unseeing. If you never forgive me for what I've done, I'll understand. I just... wanted you to know." He looked up, trying to meet Loki's eyes for a moment, then sighed, propping his head up on one of his hands. "Much has changed. I felt it, when you broke out. I've been looking for you ever since, trying to apologize. I want things to be like they used to. You know I can't deal with the complex politics that Odin brings with him, and... things were simple then."

Things had been so much simpler then. Thor knew Loki could conjure up the same memories he could. The trek through Jotunheim in women's clothing in order to retrieve Mjolnir, the contests in Utgard where they'd both been soundly outclassed by illusions... these memories were times Thor held close to his heart, and he hoped that perhaps Loki was remembering the same thing in the silence he'd brought. After a slow breath to get his thoughts in order, Thor continued.

"I want them to be simple now. I'm not in contact with most of Asgard for reasons I'd rather not say at this time or place, but... I'd like to try being friends again. To recognize that you won't forgive the loss of your children and that I won't forgive the loss of my brother, but that we'll move past these things and enjoy one another's company anyway. If that's alright with you. If it's not, again, I understand, and I won't bother you again. You can leave now, if you want. That's all I had to say if you don't want to stay and talk."

Then he sat quietly and waited for what Loki had to say. Thor wasn't usually the verbose one, so this, too, was a bit out of place for him, but there were too many years worth of things that needed to be said, and he'd needed to say them. He felt like the weight of Mjolnir had lifted off his chest, having spoken to his old friend for what may be the last time. There was closure in this experience that he hadn't expected, and he hoped that the trickster would at least give him a word in response.

He knew Loki would know that'd be the greatest insult of all, though, so he wasn't holding his breath. He wanted to trust Loki not to hurt him on purpose, but that wasn't a luxury he could afford in a tense moment like this. Thor braced himself for silence, and waited.

-----

words {{ 521 }}
notes {{ this is sort of heartbreaking to write }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ pretty much just a hoodie and jeans tbh }}
mood {{ he would beg but he's not the begging sort so he'll just wait }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 443 ] MOOD [ tender ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Brass Goggles by SPG ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ ow my heart ow my soul ]

He had been expecting anything but that. Loki almost did leave without saying anything. Not out of spite, or malice, or anything of the sort. Only because his heart had currently wormed its way into his throat, his eyes were looking a touch more blurry than they normally were, and he genuinely felt like he was about to choke out a sob. He couldn't even let out a quip for a long moment; he was stunned speechless by the sincerity and the softness in his old friend's voice. And Loki did remember. Truly, he'd never forgotten. Truly, he... he lived those memories over and over again, every single day of his life. All the good times... and all the bad, as well. He missed the old days, when Asgard and the worlds outside of his little village had seemed so full of wonder, before all the consequences of just being around those sorts of people had come crashing down upon his shoulders. When he'd left his brothers behind, he had never considered the ramifications, the differences of culture, the idea of living as a total outsider in a place that should have, by rights, been his welcoming home. At first, things had been so easy to blow off. But as they had started to pile up, and as his children had been cast out or killed, he couldn't handle it any longer. It was his own fault, in part. But that didn't make it okay. And it didn't make it hurt any less. A part of him wanted, desperately, to tell Thor the truth about what had happened. It would only give his old friend one more reason to cast the rest of Asgard aside; it would give him one more reason to stick with Loki. But he knew he couldn't. Not just because it might seem like a lie, another breach of trust, but because, physically, he couldn't. No one would ever know the truth but himself and his blood brother. Odin had made sure of that. The trickster swallowed, taking a sudden interest in the indents in the table where people's pencils had pressed down on paper before. “I...” He was still somewhat lost for words. Finally, he managed, “...do you remember that one time, with Skadi, and the goat?” It was too hard for him to go into some deep, heartwarming spiel, as much as he wanted to. He was the tender sort, true, but he didn't think he could find the right words. Not for this. He hoped Thor would read what he did say as an agreement: That he'd like that. He'd like that very much. post template by Tony

[Thor]

The deep rumble of a chuckle that came from Thor's throat in response almost sounded like thunder all on its own. "How could I forget? Your storytelling style was... quite unique." No one else would have the--ahem--balls to tell a story quite like that one, not for a thousand years. Thor sighed, giving Loki a melancholy smile, and grabbed another napkin with one hand and his marker with the other.

"I'll let you get back to your... friend, there," he said, snorting as he shook his head, "but call me if you need anything. Or text. Or tweet. I check it frequently enough that you'll have no problem talking to me. Even if you don't need anything." He passed the napkin dictating his phone number over to his friend, grinning. "If you want to hang out. Go to lunch. Go on an adventure. Ask me about what I've been doing. Answer me when I ask what you're up to. Anything."

He put the pen back in his bag, then let his happiness dim into a smile again. "When you're ready, I have some... important business I'd like to discuss with you, but now isn't the time or place. You've got a boy to get back to, and we're in the middle of a coffee shop." He gestured around vaguely with a beefy hand. "Not to mention I'd like to go somewhere that my father is less likely to see. It's... that sort of thing." He knew that Loki and Odin had been close, once upon a time, but he assumed that the bond between them had been worn down with time and distance and bitterness just as it had between himself and the trickster. Baldr had been the favorite, after all. He didn't know how much he could trust Loki, but he was going to make a conscious decision to do it anyway, in spite of all evidence that it might be a bad idea.

That was what he did. He trusted people, and it was rarer than one might expect that they disappointed him, at least in the long run. He wanted to make sure it was clear, though, so he said it aloud: "I trust you, Loki," his voice lower than before and as close to a whisper as he could manage. "And I know you understand what will happen if you abuse my trust too many times." A veiled threat, perhaps, but by this point Loki was certainly used to them coming from Thor. Violence was practically a promise for people who betrayed him, and close friends were no different. But for Loki, he could take this leap of faith, even when he'd been burned in the past.

"But I trust that you will not." A smile, then, "Go drink your coffee. I'll be around," as he wiggled his phone for emphasis. "Keep in touch."

-----

words {{ 474 }}
notes {{ this is going to get interesting fast }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ hoodie and jeans }}
mood {{ chipper, a bit more energetic, more like himself }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 502 ] MOOD [ giddier than usual ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ I'm Not Calling You A Liar by Florence + The Machine ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ n/a ]

Loki grinned, knowing that his meaning was understood. He gladly took the napkin from Thor, tucking it in his breast pocket. After a moment's hesitation, he chuckled, saying, “You know, it is... It is kind of funny, imagining you on Twitter, of all places. Don't tell me you have a Tumblr, as well.” Thor had clearly changed since they'd last seen each other. He seemed a lot less boisterous, for one, a lot more calm. Hell, just the fact that he'd wanted to talk and not bash Loki's brains in was enough evidence that he wasn't quite the same man he had been. The trickster wondered what had set off that change in him; he half wished he had been there to see it. His smile became fond, and he reached across the table, clapping Thor on the shoulder. “Tonight. Christian is having, um... He is going to a party, with a few of his friends. I'm not invited, they do not know me. We should go out, nephew. Drinking, if you'd like, or whatever else. We should do something.” Damn. When was the last time he'd called Thor “nephew” out loud? The Trickster smiled, and for once in a long, long time, it was innocent and sweet. “I have... I have missed you. You and this.” "I trust you, Loki, And I know you understand what will happen if you abuse my trust too many times. But I trust that you will not." Loki's smile faltered. He should have known something like that was coming. He wasn't trustworthy, his years of ever-more-dangerous pranks had seen to that, as had the actions that had led to all this. But he still hated hearing a man he had considered one of his closest friends say that out loud. His gaze dropped. He crossed his arms over his chest. Then he shook his head. No. After what had happened, he shouldn't be the one that felt guilty. After everything he had been through, from being ripped from his lover's arms and watching his children flung to the far corners of the realms, to watching his youngest son be slaughtered while he could do nothing as punishment for a crime he had been asked to commit, to being tied down for what was meant to be eternity with said son's entrails, to having acid dripped right in his eyes... he was not the one that needed to earn trust. And he was not going to let himself think that he was. Loki stood, walking around the table to Thor's side. He rested his hand on the thunder god's shoulder, leaning down to murmur so only they could hear: “It is not you that is trusting me. It is me that is trusting you.” Then he stood back up. The smile returned, as if no slight had ever happened. “I will text you tonight, nephew. We will make plans, yes? Believe me, you do not want me to be bored.” post template by Tony

[Thor]

"As a matter of fact, I do have a Tumblr," Thor had admitted. "I don't use it as much, though. After a while, so many pictures of Chris Hemsworth get... weird."

He stopped for a moment, listening to Loki talk, relishing the idea that they were finally at a point where they could talk again. "I've missed this too, more than you know. We should do something. Finding a bar or something shouldn't be too difficult."

After he'd mentioned where his trust lay, he noticed Loki's change in posture, suddenly defensive. Thor blinked, wondering what he could have said wrong, and then--

“It is not you that is trusting me. It is me that is trusting you.”

Thor bristled slightly, his shoulders tensing. After all that had happened, after everything he'd suffered because of Loki's betrayals of trust--and now the Trickster, the Liesmith, had the gall to imply that he was untrustworthy? He opened his mouth, then it hit him. This was it. This was why Loki was the one giving trust to Thor--he was trusting that he wouldn't spread his whereabouts to the Aesir, trusting that he wouldn't smash his skull to pieces for a disagreement. He was trusting Thor that if something went wrong, he wasn't going to end up tortured or bound again. It hadn't been so long ago that the Thunderer had betrayed his trust in the most monumental of ways, after all. So he forced himself to breathe, then nodded his agreement. "Yes. And I'm sorry it became that way to begin with." He rolled his shoulders and tried to relax, and it became much less difficult to do so when Loki's cheery manner returned.

"That sounds good. We have much to talk about, and new adventures to have. Wouldn't want to spend all our time reminiscing on the past instead of creating an enjoyable present and future." He smiled, giving Loki a brief and soft pat on the back (at least, soft for him--he knew Loki wasn't as fragile as the humans, but he'd still rather not take his chances) as he grabbed his backpack. "I'll see you later tonight."

-----

words {{ 356 }}
notes {{ THESE NORSE GUYS ARE KILLING ME }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ hoodie and jeans }}
mood {{ in good spirits }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 763 ] MOOD [ pleasant ] OUTFIT [ click! it changed! ] MUSIC [ Sarah Smiles by P!atD ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ this is my longest post on record ]

Loki couldn't help but let out a laugh. “Oh, Chris Hemsworth... Him and that Tom man, I would have the both of them if I could. I really was disappointed with the way I was portrayed, though. I can't imagine why it attracted so many fans.” He hesitated tilting his head in thought, then shrugged. “But, Hel, that will not stop me from taking advantage of it, or reveling in the attention.” He watched Thor begin to bristle, and the Trickster tensed again. He began to feel more and more like a rabbit again. He shouldn't have let that slip out, he shouldn't have. Now he'd pissed Thor off, now the great Thunderer was going to– Thor calmed once more. "Yes. And I'm sorry it became that way to begin with." Loki slowly relaxed, breathing a soft sigh of relief. He patted Thor's shoulder, giving the younger but larger man a gentle smile. Good. This was... this was good. To tell the truth, he had no illusion that things were ever going to be exactly the same as they were. He didn't even have the illusion that they'd be better – though that wasn't to say he thought they would be worse. He knew there was bad blood between him and Thor now, just as much as there was between him and the rest of the Aesir. He knew, too, that Thor was trying to be forgiving. But he was experienced in this kind of thing, and most people could never quite completely forgive for anything he'd done. On top of that, he could never quite completely forgive people for things they'd done to him. He would try, yes, but there would always be a hint of bitterness in him. Maybe if the punishment had not been so bad, maybe if it had not involved his youngest sons... maybe then, he would have softened his heart completely. But Vali and Narfi were dead, and Loki had been beneath Midgard for centuries. Sometimes he still woke up in a cold sweat, screaming the names of his sons and shaking like a leaf, his face burning like it had been struck with a hot brand. On those nights, only Sigyn's gentle hands and gentler words could calm him, because she was the only one who had truly felt the same pain he had. He would try and forgive Thor, because he missed Thor. Certainly, he would still be friends with the big oaf. He would still laugh, and joke, and play little, safe tricks. It was only a matter of time, however, until it would be over with; they both knew exactly how this would end, and once the end began, they would only be puppets, unable to help or change their fate. “We have much to talk about, and new adventures to have. Wouldn't want to spend all our time reminiscing on the past instead of creating an enjoyable present and future." Loki couldn't help but snort. True enough. The Thunderer had a fair point. The redhead nodded, rolling his shoulders and stepping back, towards the table he and Christian shared. “Tonight,” he agreed. While Christian prepared for his party, Loki got himself ready for his two-man one. He put on a white shirt, a black vest, black pants, and a gold bow tie. A pair of spiked bracelets, some bangles, flame nails, a pair of Converse, and an Yggdrasil necklace later, he was ready. He didn't change his earrings or his hair. Loki's boy toy had already left by the time Loki texted Thor the address of the bar and grill they would be going to. It was a nice place. Not too crowded, but certainly not too empty, either. They had good food, live music... Loki, though he was getting better, was still adjusting to life in the modern world, but he did love what humans had done with their realm. All the lights and sounds and actions, especially of a city like this, made him feel so excited. All the diversity and the comparative openness in which it was displayed put a warm glow within him. There were so many more people he could call his children. He actually felt happy, here. He felt like he was home. Loki picked out a booth, sliding into it and picking up the menu from the corner of the table. He let the rock music the band played slide over him, bobbing his head to it as he read over the food items and waited for his old friend. post template by Tony

[Thor]

It didn't take Thor as long as he had expected to find the place Loki had chosen, and he had to give him kudos for his taste. It looked like it had amazing food, and seemed fairly popular in hours other than the one they'd chosen--it was pleasantly full now, but not so much that it would've been hard to find a seat. Or, in Thor's case, to find a certain other Norse god looking at a menu. He'd changed his outfit to a flat-color light grey button-up and black slacks just so he wouldn't look completely out of place in a nicer establishment, but after wearing armor for centuries Thor had absolutely had it with restrictive clothing.

It didn't take him as long as he'd expected to find his friend, and compared to other people in the place, Loki seemed to fit in. Sure, his fashion style was on the eccentric side, but he was less noticeable than a brick of a man wearing a loose button-up. Thor wasn't usually self-conscious, and he wasn't ashamed, but he did feel like he got at least one strange look as he walked over and sat across from Loki, taking a menu for himself.

He hadn't had steak in a while. Maybe he'd get a steak.

Then Thor remembered something he'd been meaning to talk about with Loki, and given the slightly more private manner of the restaurant, he decided that now was as good a time as any to bring up his idea, his plan he'd been working on ever since he'd known Loki was free and maybe even slightly beforehand. This could be a bad idea. This could be a very bad idea. But he spoke anyway.

"Loki," he started, a touch of uncertainty in his voice, "I know you haven't been here long, but have you seen the movie Pacific Rim?"

-----

words {{ 312 }}
notes {{ oh boy. here we go }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ grey button-up, black slacks }}
mood {{ in a good mood, slightly uncertain }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 344 ] MOOD [ curious ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Portal 2 soundtrack ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ i don't even know if they have fried pickle chips in london. i know they have them here. that's all that matters. if they don't usually have them this is a niche bar the end. ]

Loki could feel when Thor got into the neighborhood, and the tingle he got increased exponentially when the other god entered the building, letting him know to look up, to watch for his friend. Now that he knew what he was sensing for – and that he was supposed to be sensing it – it was not hard at all to find Thor's aura. It wasn't like any sort of other supernatural being's. It sizzled and popped and hummed with pure, unfiltered power, muffling everything else around it with just how large it was. And, for Loki at the very least, it was familiar. As soon as Thor saw him, Loki gave him a grin and a wink, beckoning him over. “I have to admit, you look nice, nephew,” he said, grinning crookedly. “Although, I didn't see you as a button-up type. Or, really, anything but a casual dress type.” The Jotun shrugged. “But it suits you. I like it.” And that time, he wasn't even teasing, pulling Thor's leg, or just plain outright lying. Thor looked like the kind of man that could attract suitors of every shape and size and from every walk of life. Hell, if there hadn't been a familial bond there, Loki himself would have been attracted. His nephew's next words caught him just a bit off-guard. "Loki, I know you haven't been here long, but have you seen the movie Pacific Rim?" Loki opened his mouth to respond, but it was at that moment that their waiter arrived to take their drink orders. The God of Junk Food ordered himself some fried pickle chips along with his strawberry vodka and water; hoping his companion didn't mind. He felt in the mood for something deep fried that probably should not have been deep fried. As soon as the waiter was gone, he cocked a brow and replied, “Thor, I don't know exactly where you're going with this, but if you're about to suggest giant robots as the solution to our troubles... the answer is no.” post template by Tony

[Thor]

Thor paused as the waiter took their drink orders, and Thor denied an appetizer even as his stomach growled. He was going to be ordering quite a bit for the main course and didn't want to fill up on small things.

"Actually," he began once the waiter had left, "it was more because of a quote I'm very fond of from that movie. Though, er, I do actually have several sketches of what things could look like if we used giant robots. I enjoyed it thoroughly." "Anyway. I was actually referring to the quote, 'Tonight we are cancelling the apocalypse.'" He let it hang in the air for a few moments, letting Loki process exactly what he'd meant by that.

"Obviously I don't actually mean tonight," he added just after the waiter brought Loki's appetizer and their drinks. "But... I have some plans." He stared at the table, sneaking one of Loki's pickle chips into his mouth. "Big plans. I'm the defender of Midgard, and I think I'd be a bad defender if I didn't save it from... this." With a sigh, Thor gestured vaguely in an attempt to convey what exactly "this" entailed. "It starts with a lot of apologies and ends with me trying to convince Odin of some things. If I've done all I can and it fails... well, I..." His voice lowered to the quietest he'd ever been, and on the barest breath he muttered, "This is why I didn't want my father to be listening. If I go through all this effort to make the sides compromise and then my father refuses, I will not side with the Aesir when the end comes."

This was quite a lot to lay on his friend all at once, so he sat back in his seat, waiting for a variety of responses. He might accuse Thor of insanity. He might walk out on him then and there. But what he hoped for was that Loki would think about it and start formulating some ideas himself. Loki had always been a better planner than him.

-----

words {{ 346 }}
notes {{ The laugh overed quickly, though. }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ grey button-up, black slacks }}
mood {{ serious }}

[Loki Laufeyjarson]

WORD COUNT [ 328 ] MOOD [ dangerously hopeful ] OUTFIT [ click! ] MUSIC [ Skyrim soundtrack ] TAG [ Thor ] NOTES [ it's been a long time coming ]

Loki took a minute to say anything at all. Again, Thor had completely thrown him for a loop – for the second time that day, no less, which was surprising, as it had rarely ever happened before. Thor wanted... peace. Real, honest-to-Frigg peace, not just a temporary truce and friendship that would last until the inevitable came. Which, yes, was insane. And stupid. And insanely stupid. “Honey, at least you're cute,” Loki sighed, taking a pickle chip, dipping it in the ranch, and popping it in his mouth. His gaze dropped, then raised again. His brow furrowed. “It won't... it won't work. You know it won't. It couldn't. You can't fight fate.” He'd tried. He'd tried so hard to fight it before. Being stuck in a box was something the Trickster hated more than anything else in the nine realms, and of course he had tried to break free from the constrictions that had been placed on his life. But it had just left him the broken one, the one who knew full well he wouldn't be able to pick up all the shattered pieces of his long life and put them back together before the end came. If there was anything that he could resign to, it was that. But Thor's words gave him the most dangerous and painful thing possible: hope. They gave him actual hope. And there was no mistaking that; Loki's eyes glimmered with it, and his fingers trembled at the very thought that they might be able to put an end to Ragnarok before it even began. He hungered for that, so finally, reluctantly, he said: “At... At best, we could stave it off, for a few years, a few centuries... And my children, they won't be easy to calm, especially not Fenrir. But I... I'll help you. I'll try and help you. “It is an incredibly stupid plan, though.” Loki gave a small, teasing, but almost sad-looking smile. post template by Tony

[Thor]

Thor shook his head as Loki spoke. "No, Loki. I don't know that. I've never tried before. None of my lot have tried before because we thought we wasn't even worth the effort. But given that we're talking civilly and having dinner? I'd say it's working out pretty well so far." With a shrug, he continued. "Though it's possible that you can't fight fate if you're doing it alone. You were the only one fighting before, and, well, with some brawn on your side, maybe it's doable."

The Thunderer pulled a pen out of his pocket, grabbing a napkin and starting to scribble on it absently. "I appreciate that you want to cooperate and help me work it out, though. It, um, it means a lot to me." He concentrated harder on his doodles, his face contorting into strange expressions as he did. "I won't claim it's perfect or foolproof. Wouldn't even go as far as to say it's likely to work. But I figured that you're the brains between us, and that you'd probably be able to come up with something a little better than "try to befriend everyone." I think it's a good start, though. There's a lot of bad blood in the Nine, and I hope to come in and be the cleanup crew instead of the one making the mess, for once."

He pushed away the napkin, which featured Thor, Loki, and Tyr as stick figures with labels hanging above their heads. "Hanging out on Midgard has made me think more than I've ever thought before. Still wouldn't call myself an intellectual, but I like to think I'm wiser than I used to be. I think we should start with Tyr if we can, as far as the Aesir go, and Fenrir among your children. I think with how attached Tyr became... and to be frank, still is to an extent, it'll be easier to get him to sympathize. We'll need to get whoever we can, though."

Three thin lines of script at the bottom of the napkin read:

In the next few weeks I'm considering going back to Asgard for a short period of time and retrieving Slepinir.

Tap twice on the table if you want me to go ahead with that plan.

You've rubbed off on me too much, uncle.

-----

words {{ 386 }}
notes {{ THOR U LIL SHIT }}
tagged {{ Loki Laufeyjarson }}
outfit {{ grey button-up, black slacks }}
mood {{ a little devious, pretty chipper }}