Family
When Loki wandered into the living room the next morning, he was surprised to find Ash perched on the edge of the sofa with an open cardboard box at her feet, fingering a Christmas card and thinking hard. He was surprised, given how merry she had been the night before, although he suspected that that had probably been down to the alcohol. He had been somewhat merry himself, although of course he would never admit that to anyone else, even her.
“Hey,” he said, gently touching her shoulder.
Ash glanced up, sharply and then relaxed her features into a smile. “Hey,” she replied, “didn’t know you were up.”
“Are you alright?” Loki asked.
Ash sighed and held the card out to him. “Late Christmas card, from my Mum. Read it and weep.”
With a frown, Loki opened the card and read the short message inside.
“Dear Ashlynn, I know you’re probably intent on spending Christmas and New Year on your own, again, but I just thought I’d let you know that you’re still welcome to come back home and spend them with us. We all miss you. Love Mum xxx Ps, I hope you like the present.”
Loki looked up as Ash showed him the contents of the box at her feet. It contained a large dark green pottery vase with what looked like barnacles decorating the sides. “A shop back home does these,” she explained, looking it over. “I guess she remembered that I liked the design.”
Loki turned the card about and then glanced at it again. “Your real name’s Ashlynn?”
“Don’t go spreading it around,” Ash sighed.
“Are you going to go?” Loki asked, holding the card out to her.
She shrugged and took it with another sigh. “Dunno. I mean, I feel like I ought to because I missed spending Christmas with them, but on the other hand...” She shook her head. “I don’t know, I just can’t bring myself to.”
Loki sat down beside her. “They are your family,” he pointed out.
“Yeah, I know, but-”
“Ash,” Loki interrupted, with a sigh of his own. It was time to face up to the truth. “Do you know what I felt when Odin told me that I was adopted? Shock, yes, but suddenly it was like everything made sense; why I’d always felt like an outsider even though everyone swore to me that I was one of them. And no matter how many times Frigga insisted that I was still their son, I couldn’t believe her. I still don’t.” He offered her a shrug. “And much as I hate to admit it, I miss them. Don’t let your family slip through your fingers like I did with mine.”
Ash raised her eyebrows. “Well, when you put it like that...” she began slowly, and then she got to her feet. “I’ll call Mum.” Loki smiled as she turned to him. “How did you get to be so wise?”
Loki shrugged. “Something to do with reading, I think.”
“Well, will you come with me?” Ash asked, folding her arms.
“Why; do you need help with the numbers?” Loki teased with a smirk.
Ash smiled. “No, I mean to Dorset, for New Year.”
Loki looked at her in surprise. “You want me to meet your family?”
“No, I want you there for emotional support,” Ash replied, “but that would involve meeting the family, so...” She made a dismissive gesture and shrugged. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to-”
“I’d be honoured to accompany you,” Loki interrupted with a smile.
Ash returned it with a “Great,” and then made her way out of the room. A few minutes later, Loki heard her say tentatively “Hello, Mum, it’s me.” Not wishing to eavesdrop on her conversation, he busied himself with clearing the table of the food wrappers and empty glasses from the night before and general tidying before Ash came back into the room.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“Surprisingly well,” Ash replied, and then to his surprise, she gave him a hug. “Thanks for that.”
“For what?” Loki asked.
“For the pep-talk,” Ash smiled, moving past him to make the tea.
Loki shook his head. “I’ll never get used to your Midgardian terms,” he muttered.
So it was that a few days later, the two of them found themselves bound for Paddington Station, with the few belongings both had decided to take with them to Dorset, not that Loki had many, mind, since most things he needed he could just conjure with magic, but he decided to take his Shakespeare book for the journey. The whole place was bustling and Loki stuck doggedly close to Ash as she ordered two open return tickets to Bournemouth.
“I thought you lived in Dorset?” Loki said as she handed him his ticket.
“Bournemouth’s in Dorset,” Ash replied, flicking her hair out of her eyes.
“Ah.” Loki decided that he was probably never going to get used to this realm. There were so many names and so many places, and how the Hel the humans remembered them all was beyond him. Still, he followed her towards the train. He was beginning to get used to their various modes of transport by now, although sometimes he did find himself wishing for a good old-fashioned horse or carriage to take them from place to place. It was strange how there were some thing in Asgard he missed and others that he rarely thought about anymore.
“So glad we don’t have to change trains,” Ash sighed, sliding into her seat. “It’s always such a hassle doing that.”
“How long will this take?” Loki asked, sitting down opposite her. If Thor was here, he reflected, he would take time to take in his surroundings, but personally he would rather just read.
“Two hours, thereabouts,” Ash replied, opening her own book.
For the rest of the journey they were both silent, concentrating on their reading, and only looking up when the ticket inspector came around, or the man with the food trolley. When their station was finally announced, Loki looked up to a completely unfamiliar backdrop staring back at them from beyond the window. He was surprised as they hopped off the train, the place was a lot less crowded and quieter than London. “This is it?” he checked with her.
“This is it,” Ash confirmed, turning towards the door marked Exit. “Follow me.”
Loki did so, trusting her to know her way around this new place better than he did. It was definitely smaller than London, he observed, a town rather than a city, and more spacious, more open, there wasn’t the feeling of isolation and smog that hung around the city they had just left. He stopped for a second, looking around, taking it all in. How odd to think that a journey of only a few hours had taken them into a completely new setting. Back on Asgard such a journey would take several days at least.
Ash turned around and grinned at him. “Come on, stop being such a tourist!”
“It’s alright for you,” Loki pointed out, walking up to her. “You’re used to it.”
They made their way across several roads and down into the heart of the town. “Whereabouts do your family live?” Loki asked, presently.
“Just over the other side of the park,” Ash replied, gesturing. “But we don’t have to be there for a while yet; fancy a drink?”
Loki did, and he was surprised by the name of the tavern. “The Mary Shelley?”
“Oh, yes, I forgot you’d read Frankenstein,” Ash smiled, as they made their way inside and found a table. She unwound the scarf he had given her for Christmas from around her neck and shrugged off her coat. “Was it any good, by the way? I’ve never read it.”
“You’ve never read it?” Loki repeated, incredulously.
She shrugged. “No, just kind of passed me by, I’m afraid.”
“You need to read it,” Loki insisted. “It’s amazing.”
“I’ve seen bits of the film,” Ash ventured. “When I was younger.”
“They’ve made a film of it?”
“Oh, yeah, several times. I guess they just like experimenting with the whole Frankenstein Monster idea.”
“He wasn’t a monster, though,” Loki said, with feeling. “He was just different.”
Ash gave him a sympathetic look. “Well, the best people usually are.”
Loki smiled at her, feeling cheered already. The book had got to him because he had seen a lot of himself in Adam, Frankenstein’s creation; that creature endlessly searching for some purpose, their place in the world, and above all, the love and affection they had been denied by those who were meant to love them. He had enjoyed it regardless, though, it had been an interesting story, even if the ending hadn’t exactly been happy.
Would his own story be like that?
He watched Ash carefully as she ordered drinks for the pair of them. If he were to spill his feelings for her, because he knew for certain now that this was not just some silly crush like he might develop on one of the servants at Asgard, it was the real thing, like Thor felt for that Midgard maiden of his, would she feel the same way? Would she break his heart? Would she be flattered but not wish to make things awkward between them? Damn it, why didn’t life come with a handbook for this sort of thing?
Whatever the case, he decided, now was probably neither the time nor the place to blurt out his feelings for her, and anyway he had already planned to send her a subtle hint of his affections towards her on Valentine’s Day. So, he sat back and relaxed as they shared a very enjoyable drink together before moving outside again into glorious sunshine and cool air to make their way to the house Ash’s parents lived in.
“If anyone asks, just tell them you’re local to London but your parents are from Scandinavia,” Ash said, vaulting over the gate rather than opening it. “It’ll explain why you’re not wrapped up against the cold, and why there are things here you’ve not heard of.”
“Scandinavia,” Loki muttered with a nod. “Got it.”
The door was opened by a tall girl with blonde hair swept back in a mussed ponytail. She looked startled and then pulled Ash into a wordless hug, which Ash returned, although Loki noticed it was rather half-heartedly done.
“I didn’t think you’d show,” the girl said.
Ash just gave a small shrug. “Yeah, well...” She let the sentence tail off and turned to her flatmate. “Loki, this is my sister Kate. Kate, this is my friend Loki.”
“Hi,” Kate smiled, a rather flirtatious smile, Loki noted. Was every woman in this realm apart from the one he actually wanted going to start flirting with him?
“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied, politely shaking her hand.
“And you,” Kate replied, ushering them both inside the house. Loki looked around. From what he could see it looked typical of a Midgardian family home, a bit like those he and Ash had seen in films they had watched together, cosy. As they were shown into a hallway, an older woman emerged from a doorway, her face crumpling into a beaming smile as she pulled Ash into a tight hug. This time, Loki noted, Ash returned it with a little more enthusiasm. So, she got on better with her parents than her siblings. Interesting.
“Hello, love,” her Mother smiled, releasing her and then turning to Loki. “And you must be..?”
“This is my flatmate, Loki,” Ash put in.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Loki,” the woman smiled. “Please call me Mary. I’m sure you two would like to unpack in your room before we get dinner started, your Dad’s in the lounge,” she added to Ash, turning to make back into the kitchen again.
Ash grabbed her arm. “Wait; room?”
“Yes, love, your old room,” Mary replied, smiling. “Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t throw anything out,” she added, misinterpreting the startled look on her youngest child’s face entirely before making her way back into the kitchen.
Ash looked somewhat despairing as motioned for Loki to follow her up the stairs and into the first room they came to. She sighed. “Typical! I tell my Mother that I’m bringing a friend with me and she immediately assumes that we’re together!” Glancing at the bed she added “Sorry, it looks like we’re sharing again.”
“Do you hear me complaining?” Loki teased, which finally brought a smile to her face. They both left their things on the bed and made their way back down the stairs and into the living room.
“Hi, Dad,” Ash smiled as the man got to his feet and hugged her.
“You’re speaking to us now then?” he grunted, and then, with a glance at Loki, added “New boyfriend?”
Before Ash could say anything, Loki cut in “We’re just flatmates.”
“This is Loki,” Ash said to her Father.
“Pleasure,” he replied, shaking Loki’s hand. “The name’s Paul and I don’t mind telling you that I’m glad she’s not brought another boyfriend along. Too many heartbreaks there.”
Loki glanced at Ash, who just shrugged as if to confirm that this was true but it didn’t really bother her that she had had her heart broken before. “Well, she hasn’t actually had one since I moved in with her, so perhaps I scare them off,” he joked and Paul laughed.
They were surprisingly easy people to get along with, Loki realised. Ash’s brother, Collin, turned up right before dinner and he seemed a pleasant enough sort, easy-going, a bit like Thor, but also somewhat hyperactive and a joker, but luckily not too annoying. He stuck rigidly to the story he and Ash had decided on, often having to wing it when called up on it, but he had always been a skilled liar and Ash knew to back him up in order to keep up the charade.
“Mum, why did you put us in the same room?” Ash hissed to Mary whilst they were washing up together. Loki and the rest of her family were in the living room, with drinks; he was rapidly learning that in the sense of celebration, Asgardians and humans weren’t that different after all.
Mary blinked at her, realising. “Oh...was I not meant to?”
“Mum, we’re just friends, that’s all,” Ash replied, not adding that she and Loki had shared a bed before, so that in itself wasn’t a problem. It was just that she felt it could be awkward to fall back into them doing so together after sleeping apart, even if it was only for one night.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, darling, when you mentioned he was a “friend,” I assumed-”
“That’s alright, we’ll manage.”
“And I mean with the way you keep looking at him,” Mary added, drying the casserole dish.
Ash looked up at her, sharply. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“No need to get so defensive, dear,” her Mother replied. “I mean, you obviously like him.”
“Well, of course I do; he’s my best friend,” Ash insisted.
Her Mother put her head on one side. “If you say so, love.”
Ash didn’t have enough time to dwell on what her Mother had said because all too soon they were all back in the living room with the News on to count down the seconds until midnight, glasses in hands, and soon she was feeling a little, well, tiddly again.
“Don’t let me have any more,” she whispered to Loki after her third glass.
“You can count on me,” Loki whispered back with a grin.
And then all too soon came the inevitable countdown and Ash prepared herself as the family joined in “Ten, nine, eight...”
Then, to her surprise, Loki reached out and squeezed her hand. She looked up and met his gaze, his green eyes focusing on hers intently, even as they looked slightly intoxicated. “Thank you for inviting me to this,” he said, softly. “It’s been nice.”
Ash managed a smile and returned his squeeze as suddenly with a “Three, two, one...” It was New Year. She leaned forward and kissed his cheek with a whisper of “Happy New Year, Loki.”
“I hope it will be,” Loki smiled, kissing her cheek in return.
A sound like gunshots filled the room and everyone turned to watch the fireworks display on the television, showing the Thames all lit up a rainbow of exploding colours until finally the last rocket burst and a round of applause went up from those watching.
There was general bidding of “Happy New Year” amongst the other family members as they all made their separate ways to their rooms. Ash smiled as she fished her pyjamas out from her hold-all. “Just like old times,” she pointed out. “Sharing a bed.”
“Well, I’ll try not to throw you off it this time,” Loki smiled, and she laughed, before he quickly turned his back to allow her to change. Magicking himself into his own sleep clothes he crawled in beside her and they both lay for a minute in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling.
“So, how did you find your first New Year’s Eve on Earth?” Ash asked, presently.
Loki grinned. “I liked it. Much less annoying than all our fancy Asgard celebrations.”
“Did you ever celebrate new years there?”
“Oh, yes but our celebrations were much more frivolous. I suppose here you’d call them primitive. This was nice, much more relaxed.”
Ash stretched with a yawn. “You know, it’s traditional to make resolutions here; you know, things you’ll do or not do this year.”
“I know,” Loki smiled. “We had those on Asgard too.”
“Any thoughts on yours for this year?” Ash asked, rolling over to face him.
“Be the best flatmate in the world so you won’t kick me out,” Loki suggested and she giggled. “Also, I’m wondering about finding something better to do with myself than just wait around for you to be done with work day in and day out, it gets a little annoying after a while.”
“Such as?” Ash asked.
Loki shrugged. “I could find a job.”
Ash almost laughed again. “You know if you’d said that when we first met, I would have thought I was hearing things.”
“I’m serious,” Loki replied. “And, well, it’s not really fair for you to work so hard, pay the rent and let me live there for free. I should at least give something back to you.”
She smiled. “I think you’re starting your first resolution already, Loki.” Then, flipping over so that her back was to him, she added “Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Goodnight, Ash,” Loki replied, settling himself to sleep and smiling at the outline of her in the darkness. Yes, he would do that. He would be a better flatmate. He would find work, a thought which had always repelled him before but which now seemed much more appealing. And he would also do whatever it took to win her heart.
Starting Valentine’s Day; suddenly he couldn’t wait.