Closer to Home
Chapter 44: Closer to Home
Loki went over the whole of his adventures through the TVA once more, but for once. It wasn't so bad to talk about. There was something different about going over it with his brother than there was with others. Except Mobius because they had lived through it together.
When he was younger he had used to draw strength from him. Before he had had no choice, but to find his own strength to draw from. For the first time in so long he allowed himself to pull from that same strength now and get through it. He even laughed a little as he looked back at the more ridiculous parts of the journey. Like a floating retro clock with a southern accent almost being his demise.
Thor listened along and asked questions. Tried his best to keep up with his brothers tale. A lot of the details didn't make sense to him still. He would need to speak with Stark to maybe get a better understanding of things. Him and the spider child both had a way of explaining things to him that sense. One thing he still couldn't quite get over was how his brother had met this Midgardian.
"Brother...he....he manipulated you and bound your powers. He-"
"Thor I am going to stop you right there." Loki said with a gentle firmness. "No he did not manipulate me intentionally. He was only doing what he had been taught was right at the time. When he found out everything he had ever believed in and been told was a lie, just like me, he lashed out in his own way at first. The way I told him also could have been better. Timing probably could have been better to, but time wasn't a luxury I had. When everything came to light no one fought harder with me and Sylvie, stuck by my side, more than he did."
Thor just frowned further. "Then why does he make you wear a glamour? Why does he make you wear the cuffs that suppress your magic and go by a different name?"
Loki shook his head. "Those weren't his decisions." He said quietly. "Those were mine. When we settled down on the timeline most everything about the invasion had been contained to the East coast so...news about it was quickly forgotten about to the rest of the world and SHIELD had done a good job of keeping things quiet. I let my boys call me Loki at home and I wear my own face, but I just wanted to be Loki. Their second father and Mobius's husband. It...was all I had the energy to be at the time Thor. I was a mess. I still am. So to the rest of our little town and public I am Lyle Mobius. The cuffs were a more recent development."
Thor tilted his head a little. "How do you mean?"
"One of the main rules that we had when the boys were growing up was that we never came to New York, but...I guess when Sean was looking at what colleges he wanted to go to he decided he was coming to New York and I had no choice, but to let him go. I was so terrified Thor."
Thor moved a little and put a hand around his shoulder. "Why were so scared Brother? I told my friends of the bravery you showed on the ship and on Asgard. I told them of the...the sacrifice you made for the greater good."
"Yes Thor." Loki said quietly. "All things I never did. If they found out I was alive...if you found out I was alive after suffering for so long...I never would have gotten a chance to explain. It would just look like I had faked my death again. I was in no state to try and take that chace."
"Would you have....ever told me?" Thor asked quietly.
Loki stayed quietly and he couldn't quite meet his brother's eyes. The answer, now that he had seen how easily Thor had accepted things, but the truth is before..."I...I don't if I could have Thor." He said quietly as he wrapped his arms around himself as tears started to come again. "I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry I stayed away for so long. I know what you have been going through, but you have to know...you of all people should know that the Norns were never kind to me growing up. And...and I...I had been through so much. I just wanted this small happiness. I wanted my small little life in Ohio with my kindhearted jetski obessessed pie loving Midgardian and those two precious boys. I was afriad to ever ask for more."
Thor moved closer and wrapped both his arms around him again. "I know brother." Thor said quietly. "You are right the Norns have rarely shown you kindness. I do...understand...to an extent I do. I just wish you hadn't felt like you had to hide from me."
"I...I had...still have bad nightmares sometimes. Horrible nightmares of the others finding me. Of you finding me. Of my boys being taken...or worse. Those dreams were almost enough to shatter me completely I couldn't take them ever coming true Thor. I'm so sorry. Deep down I know...I know you would never be so cruel, but I just couldn't...take that risk."
Thor just hugged him a little tighter. "Brother it's alright. All that matters if you have found your way back to me. And if you speak so highly of this Midgardian's character and swear to me you are happy, then I look forward to getting to know him as well."
Loki sniffled as he finally pulled away from Thor a little and pulled a hankerchief out of one of his pocket dimensions to wipe at his tears.
"And the children...are they?"
Loki shook his head and took a moment to get a grip on himself. "No." He said once he trusted himself to speak. "I mean, I will claim them as mine until the day they pass, they are mine in every other sense of the word, but no. I did not carry them. Mobius had them with his first wife. She left them and then shortly after that he was kidnapped by the TVA. We took up the place on the timeline shortly after he disappeared so we would be able to explain away my presence easily enough and they just kind of accepted me. I've raised them for around twelve years now." Loki couldn't help the little smile on his face as he thought about his boys. "This place isn't actually mine. This is my oldest son, Sean's home. We're just here visiting."
Thor's smile was blinding. "I am an Uncle!" He cheered proudly. "Brother I have nephews?! I cannot wait to meet them."
Loki cringed a little as he cleaned and dried the hankerchief with a flick of his wrist and then wrung it between his hands nervously. "They...don't know about my magic or...well...no Sean knows I have some form of powers, but he thinks I'm just a mutant. They don't know I'm a God, just that I'm named after one. I...wasn't planning on telling them any of this until they were both a little older. So just for now I have to ask you hold off on meeting them. Please. I'm not ready to tell them yet."
Thor was a little disheartened to hear that he would have to wait longer still before he could meet his nephews, but he supposed if he could have Loki in his life at all it would be a good start. And he could always keep an eye on the boys from a far. So he nodded. "Aye brother...just don't make me wait forever."
"Loki shook his head. Not...not forever. Just maybe until their both out of college."
"How long will that take?"
"Probably five or six years. Maybe a little longer than that."
Thor nodded. "If that is what you wish brother. Then I will follow along."
Loki chuckled a little. "My youngest, Kevin, he actually wants to follow in his brother's footsteps and go to the same college here that Sean is. New York University."
Thor perked up almost immediately. "Then you and Mobius must move to the city."
"What?" Loki said as his head snapped over to Thor. "We can't Thor."
"Can't do what sweetheart?" Mobius said from by the door as he toed off his shoes by the door and hung up his coat and Dregnr's leash. Dregnr gave Thor a suspicious wide birth and then positioned herself protectively against Loki's legs.
Loki reached down and gave her some comforting pets and cooed to her for a moment or two until she seemed to pick up on the fact that Thor was no longer posing a threat to her person so she relaxed and instead laid down at his feet.
Mobius settled down on the couch on the other side of Loki and Loki immediately curled into his side a little. "Thor said we could move to the city since Kevin wants to go to school here, but I was telling him we can't."
Mobius gave him a thoughtful look. "Why couldn't we?"
Loki gave him panicked look. "Well I mean...your job for one. We can't up and leave when you have work there and I mean...we can't leave that house. That's...that's our house. Mobi, why would we leave it?" Loki asked with a hint of despearation in his voice.
Mobius rubbed his back a little. "Peter, Tony and Thor three of the people you were most worried about finding out about you know you are alive and come here to this city now Loki. And they've all accepted you. I don't think you have to be so scared anymore."
"Mobius...what...what are you saying?"
Mobius rubbed the back of his neck. "I...I wasn't going to say anything at the time, because I figured this would never be something I could talk you into, but after..." He looked over to Thor before he looked back to Loki. "My boss is wanting to expand and one of the places he's thinking about opening up shop was New York. And...he asked me if I would be interested in being the manager of the New York store. This is all about two to three years down the road. About the time Kev would be getting into college."
Loki looked at Mobius wide eyed. "What? Mobius...I don't know. This city is so dangerous and just...just because they have-"
"Brother please. Give me a little credit. I finally have you back. If anyone comes after you or your love or my nephews, if any of them threaten your happiness, I will have words with them and I will defend you. I give you my word. Please...please move to the city. It would give me a reason to be here more instead of lurking around a Kingdom that truly does not need me much anymore."
Loki looked between the both of them and fully prepared himself to tell Thor no, but one look at the amount of hope and desperation to have him close again and he couldn't find the words. He forced himself to swallow down all his worries. "O-okay." He said quietly. "N-not...not in Manhattan though. At least not right away."
Mobius nodded. "That's completely fine Lokes we'll work up to that, but think about how happy Sean and Kevin would be to have us closer by." He murmured as he pressed a kiss to his head.
Thor watched the two of them with a small smile on his face. "Mr. Mobius I...I admit I am still a little unsure of you after having been told of the way you came to meet my brother, but he speaks very highly of you and I cna tell that there is a genuine love and happiness about him that has not been there in a long time and I have you to thank for drawing that out again. I know it's a bit late and it doesn't really matter because Loki has always done what he has wanted, but you have my approval. You two should come and visit me in New Asgard sometime. Let me show you around our new home. I think...I think you would like it brother. Very dramatic...it always reminded me of you."
"I will think about it." Loki said before he looked to Mobius. "Would you want to go?"
"You know I will always follow where you go. As long as it is what you want."
Loki was quiet for a couple minutes before he looked to Thor. "Kevin will have summer camp next year once school gets out. It gives Mobi and I a chance to have a couple weeks to ourself once a year. Maybe we could come visit for a couple days then."
"I look forward to it Brother."
Loki was quiet again for several minutes before he gave Thor a hesitant look. "Do you think mother would be proud of me?"
Thor gave Loki a very knowing and sad smile, but a smile nonetheless. "I don't think she ever had it in her to not be proud of you brother."
Loki didn't trust himself to speak right then so he just nodded.
***
The three of them talked for another hour or so. Thor getting to know Mobius and reconnecting with his brother. Sharing some of the tales of what he had been up to lately.
Eventually it was Mobius who had checked the time and looked to Thor. "The boys will be back soon. They haven't told either of us they are going to stay with Peter. So they are most likely coming back here."
Thor knew that was his cue to leave, but as he stood he couldn't help giving Loki an anxious look. "I feel like if I leave you're going to disappear. That this all will not have been real."
Loki pursed his lips before he looked to Thor. "Tony has gifted you a cell phone I would assume?"
Thor nodded as he fished it out of his pocket. "Aye. He has."
"Let me in. I will put my phone number in. That way you can contact me...alright?"
Thor did as he was asked and then handed his phone over to Loki who was quick to put his own number in under Lyle. Just to be safe. He handed it back afterwards.
Thor gave him some last goodbyes and squeezed both Mobi and Loki in a hug together before he finally took his leave.
Loki rubbed at his head. "I...I have to go lay down...that was a lot."
Mobius rubbed his shoulders a little. "I'll wait up for the boys, I understand. I'll be there soon sweetheart."
Loki thanked him and made his way to their room.
***
Later that evening as he laid in a bed not really able to sleep just yet he looked over as his phone started to ring on the nightstand and he was quick to answer it. "Hello?"
Thor gave a sigh of relief on the other end of the phone. "Forgive me brother, I know it's late...I just...I had to be sure."
Norns knew Loki knew what that was like. Something being to good to be true. Waiting for it to disappear or waiting for the other shoe to drop. "It's okay Thor. It was real. I'm here. Now go get some sleep. Alright?"
"Yes Brother." Thor said before he hung up the phone.
Loki set the phone down on the nightstand and rolled over to wrap his arms around Mobius and pull him close. Dregnr down at the bottom of the bed curled up and sleeping away. Sean down the hall safely tucked in his room and Kevin fast asleep on the comfy couch. For the first time as he told himself everything would be alright, he found himself thinking he could actually believe it. If only a little.