A Secret Shared
Chapter 12: A Secret Shared:
A slightly rushed, but still very good breakfast was enjoyed by the three of them and Loki was about to call for a cab to meet them when Mobius held up a set of keys for a rental he had gotten while they were out yesterday afternoon.
Loki tucked one of the key cards for the room in his wallet and the other he gave to Mobius for his wallet and made sure the door shut tightly before Sean lead the way to the parking lot.
"He looks very good in the cream colored blazer. Did you pick that out or did he?" Loki asked. One of his hands fingers entwined with Mobius's as they walked together.
Mobius laughed. "He picked it out. He had a hard time choosing between an orange one and that one, but ultimately he liked that one more."
Loki frowned at the mention of the color orange. "I got enough orange for a lifetime there."
"It wasn't that bad."
Loki gave him a withering look. "It was hideous Mobi."
"What was hideous?" Sean asked curiously from where he stood by the back passenger door of the car. Waiting for Mobius to unlock it.
"Just a color for the carpet that your father was trying to talk me into for the bedroom. I think with you going off to college he might be going through one of those mid-life crisis."
Sean tried his best to hide his snickering.
"Very funny." Mobius grumbled as he unlocked the car.
Loki chuckled a little as he climbed in and leaned over to peck him on the cheek. "I still love you."
"I know."
***
They got to NYU's campus with about ten minutes to spare which reception appreiciated because it gave them a little extra time to get them all checked in. Which entailed singing the guest book, showing ID's and collecting visitor's badges and a meal ticket for the cafeteria.
They were told their guide would come and collect them soon and they could have a seat if they wanted. Sean was eager to wander around the lobby looking at some of the plaques talking about the schools history and the people that had a hand in founding the school throughout it's years of operation.
Loki took this time to remind himself to breathe. That everything was fine. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass Sean in front of his peers before he even had a chance to start his classes. As much as this felt like a bad idea he would never intentionally sabotage his sons oppurtunities. The thumb rubbing soothing circles subtly into the back of his hand helped a lot.
"You three must be the Mobius's."
Loki looked over to see a young woman, probably early twenties, so probably one of the students further along in her studies. Which was good. That meant she would know a lot more about the school and be able to answer most of their questions. He stood as she drew closer and offered a polite smile and Mobius did as well as he held out his hand. "Yes. I'm Lyle, this is my husband Mobius." He said as he gestured to him then rested his free hand on Sean's shoulder who had come to stand in front of them. "And this is our son Sean. He's obviously the one who will be attending so he'll probably be asking most of the
questions. We're just here for moral support."
She shook hands with both of them in turn and once they had introduced themselves she returned the favor. "My names Hailey. I'm in my fourth year here. I'm pursuing a Bachelor's in Science and Technology studies. It said on your application you're thinking about something in our science department so I'm probably gonna be able to answer your questions the best."
Sean's eyes were twinkling. "Do you have a Stark Internship?"
Hailey laughed as she shook her head. "No, I'm lucky enough to be able to afford my own way through so I didn't need one. I have gotten to meet Mr. Stark before though."
"Seriously? Oh wow what was he like?"
"I'll tell you after the tour at lunch. We only have so long to show you around."
Loki let out a small breath. Everything was okay. As Hailey lead them down one of the halls and started talking about some of the history as well and some of her own experiences in her time here.
It was a rather pretty spread of grounds. Lots of trees. A good blend between historical architecture and more modern. Ocassionally he and Mobius would chime in with questions of their own. Loki less so, but just asking questions about security and how prepared they were for certain things. Not enough to sound paranoid or overbearing, but enough to show that he cared for his child's wellbeing.
They were lead from building to building and while at first he had been tense and anxious as time went by and nothing really happened and his little world didn't fall to pieces around him he slowly started to relax and really was able to focus more on the present instead of the constant what ifs.
He was even able to a laugh a little with some of the jokes that were cracked and he could see the proud look Mobius sent him. Mixed with a tiny bit of 'told you everything would be okay'.
Towards the end of the tour much to Sean's excitement she did recount her meeting with one Tony Stark. Loki had excused himself to a nearby restroom to steal a couple minutes to gather his nerves. He was doing wonderfully so far and everything was fine.
No arrows from out of nowhere. No booming voice shouting brother backed by rolling thunder. No men in nameless black tactical garb coming to haul him away. Feeling ready enough to get through the rest of this outing he rejoined them. "So where do we go from here?"
"We're going to go to the dining hall for lunch, she's gonna meet up with us after. She said the Dean has some time after and always likes to meet a new a student and welcome them when he can."
Loki nodded before he looked down to Sean as he wrapped his arms around Mobius's arm. "Remember the way to the dining hall?"
"Yep. I think..." Sean said as he looked around a little.
Loki chuckled. Remembering how often he got lost in the halls of the TVA when he had first started working there. "Try and lead the way. I remember so if you get lost I'll help you out."
"Awesome! I do know we go this way to start." Sean said as he started down another hall to lead to the exit of the building there were currently in.
"So what do you think? Talking with her give you a better idea of what you want to do?" Mobius asked as they followed along.
Sean nodded. "Yeah. I want to do both. I want to go into Biochem as a major and graphic design as a minor...ooo maybe double major in robotics."
"That's a lot of work Sean. I don't doubt that you can do it, but do you want to take on that much of a commitment?"
"I think I do. Then I'll have options for what I want to do as a career. I would be able to bounce around."
Loki smiled over to Mobius. "He's exceptional. Just like you."
***
Lunch had been going rather well. Kevin had helped himself to the Nacho bar. Mobius went for a delicious looking cold cut sandwich and Loki was feeling a salad and was pleased to see there was a salad bar as well. They had all just about finished, but when Sean reached for another napkin he accidentally knocked over his glass of soda, which happened to be Dr. Pepper. "No!" He scrambled for some napkins and started trying to wipe it off his clothes, but the dark soda was already staining his blazer.
"Sean don't wipe at it blot it it's okay. Here." Mobius who was sitting next to him reached for a lot more napkins as well and handed him some while he tried to blot it out of the material as well.
It was futile though. Sean's elbows hit the table and he laid his head in hands with a small groan. "I can't meet the Dean of the school looking like this."
"I'm sure he would understand. Accidents happen sometimes. It's not even that noticable anymore." Moibus said although that was clearly a lie. He was trying though.
Sean just shook his head. "If I don't meet with him though it might be taken as rude and I don't just want to blow him off."
Loki bit his lip before he looked across the table to Mobius. They had a whole silent conversation through the flicker of a couple expressions before he pushed himself up. He gathered up some of their garbage on his tray. "Sean clear your place if you're done eating and then come with me."
"But Hailey-"
"Can be stalled by Mobius for a couple minutes. Your father is excellent at buying time."
Sean sighed, but he figured he didn't have anything to lose at this point so he gathered up his garbage and tray as well. Once their trays and dishes had been taken care of Loki lead the way to the restroom and waited until everyone else had left the bathroom before he reached up and locked it. "Sean...I can help with your blazer. I...I wasn't going to trust you with this secret until you were just a little older, but you're very smart. I trust you to know that I'm serious when I say you cannot tell anyone about this."
"Lyle? What are you talking about?"
Loki slipped off one of the silver bracelets around his wrist and took in a small breath as he felt his Seidr wash through him momentarily. Once he opened his eyes again he let a few faint whisps of green magic dance around his hand for a couple seconds.
Sean's eyes were impossibly big. "You're a mutant?"
Loki nodded. "Born with magic." He waved a hand over Sean and then immediately after snapped the bracelet back on. "I really hope that wasn't picked up anywhere." He muttered as Sean ran a hand over his blazer, shirt and pants.
"It's clean. Oh wow! It's like new! That's amazing! Wait so-"
"Not here." Loki said as he unlocked the door. "Later." He held the door open for him and stepped out after him. Trying to hide the way his hands were shaking just a little.
As soon as they were back in the dining hall he latched himself to Mobius's arm. Holding to him just a little tighter than he was before as Hailey lead the way to the Dean's office. The tension in his shoulders was back again. He found himself praying to any God who would listen aside from his brother to please, please let that little burst of magic go. That it was only for the sake of his son.