MR. BLUE SKY
“HEY, MOM,” OLIVIA PIPES UP, PROMPTING HER MOM TO LOOK UP FROM HER BOOK WITH KEEN INTEREST. She finds her daughter leaning against the doorway of her room.
“Hey hon,” she greets, with a light (if slightly confused) smile. “What’s up?” Olivia glances behind her, to make sure Bruce isn’t hanging around. Last she checked, he was taking a nap (or looting his old room for stuff he left behind— hard to tell with the door shut), but just to be sure.
“Could I talk to you about something?” she inquires. Her mother nods at once, putting her book to the side and sitting up fully to pat the spot in front of her. Olivia steps into the room, closing the door behind her, and plops down onto the end of her mom’s bed.
“What’s on your mind sweetheart?” the older woman hums, offering up a reassuring smile and a friendly pat to Olivia’s leg. She sighs thoughtfully, prepping herself for a long discussion.
“So,” she starts, tucking her legs more comfortably beneath her, “what if I told you that, uh… I met my soulmate. Hypothetically.” Her mom perks up, smiling brightly.
“Well, then I would say that’s great and I’m so excited to meet him!” she replies without hesitation. Olivia glances up, but redirects her gaze to the walls with a small frown.
“Okay,” she hums. “What if I— again, hypothetically— told you he was, uh… not a great guy?” The other’s expression falters a little.
“Well,” she reasons slowly, “I’d ask what you meant by that. Did he do something bad, or is he— is he bad to you?” Olivia, noticing her mother’s concern, is quick to backtrack.
“No, no, good to me. Really good to me, actually— better than most. But he… did some bad things to someone else. Or a lot of someone elses,” she elaborates. Her mother sighs deeply, considering that for a minute.
“I don’t honestly know, sweetie,” she admits. “There’s a lot of things that go into this; like… what did he do? Did he have a good reason? Is there any chance he’s going to do it again?” Olivia considers that.
“Well,” she starts, but her mother cuts her off.
“Ah ah ah,” she vocalizes, holding up a finger to stop her daughter. “I’m not done. I was going to say that what matters most to me is if you trust him. If you trust him, then I’ll try too. I trust your judgement.” Olivia looks away, sucking in a deep breath and letting it out.
“I don’t know if trust is the right word,” she confesses, “but I don’t think he’d hurt me— or you. Bruce is… Bruce is a hard maybe, but he won’t really have much opportunity anyways since he’s in space jail.”
“Woah woah woah,” her mother interjects, eyebrows raised. “Space jail? Back up a little there, hon; I think I missed some stuff.” Olivia smiles awkwardly.
“Good a time as any,” she breathes quietly to herself. She turns her attention back to her mom. “Uh, so you remember that big fight me and Bruce were in, back in June?” Her mother nods, her expression increasingly more concerned. “You remember that guy we were fighting, Loki? Well, uh…” she trails off, and her mother’s face goes blank.
“I’m not going to freak out,” she decides suddenly, with some force. “I’m not. So, um, why don’t you… explain? In detail, please.”
Olivia grimaces a little, but launches into the tale of the last 6 months, omitting certain details for her and Loki’s privacy. Her mother still doesn’t know about her history with crime, and she’d like to keep it that way.
“…okay,” her mother sighs when she’s done. “Does your brother know about this?” Olivia shakes her head at once.
“No,” she denies firmly, “and you can’t tell him. He’d freak out.” A frown forms on the older woman’s face, but she nods.
“Okay,” she repeats, more exhausted this time. She rubs her face a little. “Well, if he ever… I don’t know, gets out of space jail… he’s welcome to come for Christmas.” She holds up one finger. “On one condition: no crime while he’s staying in my house. And if he does commit any more crime, I don’t wanna know about it.” Olivia nods at once.
“Sure, yes, absolutely,” she agrees. “He’s welcome as long as you’re not an accomplice. That works. I’ll let him know.” Then, a slightly amused smile forms on her face. “I don’t think he’s getting out of space jail any time soon, though.” Her mother groans, pressing her palm to her forehead.
“Get out of my room,” she requests, trying to pretend she’s not smiling a little. Olivia laughs, raising her hands in surrender.
“Okay, okay,” she acquiesces. “I’m going.” With that, she takes her leave, and her mother’s bedroom door clicks shut behind her.
***
“She invited me to Christmas?” Loki repeats, blinking in disbelief. Olivia can physically see the migraine coming on.
“As long as you don’t make her an accomplice,” she confirms, reclining on her couch.
“…your entire family is insane,” he decides, shaking his head. Olivia considers that for a moment. Then, she tilts her head, as if to concede the point to him.
“Fair enough,” she shrugs, nodding. “In my defense, though, you kind of have to be a little insane to survive growing up with Bruce.” Loki snorts.
“I can imagine,” he agrees readily. “Thor is much the same way.” She groans.
“Oh my god, I can’t even imagine,” she complains at the mere thought. “Having to wake up every morning and deal with that level of noise? Please tell me he's not a morning person. He seems like a morning person, but tell me I’m wrong.”
“I’d be lying,” Loki replies, earning himself a sympathetic laugh from Olivia.
“Honestly, I can’t even blame you for trying to kill him. I would too if I had to live with him for that long,” she snorts. An amused smile forms on his face.
“You know, most wouldn’t even think that,” he remarks, “much less say it.” She shrugs.
“Guess that’s proof that soulmates aren’t chosen at random,” she dismisses. “But anyways, yeah, if you ever get out of jail and need a place to stay, you can always come crash at mine.” He crinkles up his nose.
“If I ever get out, Midgard will most certainly not be my destination of choice,” he denies, sounding disgusted at the very prospect. Olivia rolls her eyes.
“Hey, Earth isn’t that bad,” she scoffs. He sends her a flat, unimpressed look.
“Isn’t it?” he prompts. She sighs reluctantly, crossing her arms.
“Okay; well, you can always get a place in the middle of nowhere and never look at another human being again,” she huffs at him, a little childishly. “Then, even you have to admit that Earth isn’t that bad.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” he reminds her. “And it’s truly sad that the only way you can think of to make Midgard sound decent is taking great lengths to avoid its inhabitants.” She rolls her eyes.
“You like me, and I live here,” she reminds him. He pauses for a long minute.
“…one good apple does not make a sick tree healthy,” he scoffs. A grin spreads across her face.
“Aw~,” she coos teasingly, “you like me!” He glares at her.
“I take it back,” he decides flatly, “there’s nothing salvageable on Midgard, just eradicate the whole planet.”