Chapter 37
Thor showed up at the Tower a few days later to meet with Loki before they would go to talk at a coffee shop.
“I brought you some candy, Brother,” Thor said, looking extremely proud of himself. In his arms, he held out a bowl filled with tiny circular pieces of brightly colored candy.
“Leave it on the table,” Loki waved to him, “I’ll have some when we get back.”
“Try some first?” Thor suggested.
“What kind of candy is this?” Loki asked, suddenly suspicious.
“Midgardian candy. It’s very popular,” Thor beamed, “The blue ones are my favorite.”
Loki tossed a few in his mouth.
It tasted . . . interesting, to say the least.
Not good, but, not bad, either.
He shrugged, and he could just see the disappointment in Thor’s demeanor.
“Well,” Thor quickly brightened again, “Just share them with Steve and Bucky, then. They’ll love it.”
“They’ll probably just eat ‘em anyway,” Loki responded, ushering his brother out the door and closing it behind them, “Let’s go.”
Loki ordered for them both while Thor chose a spot to sit by the window.
“Brother, you would not believe,” Thor immediately started talking about how crazy it had been taking care of the new baby.
Loki paid attention as best he could while simultaneously trying not to freak out at the idea of having to take care of his own baby.
Steve and Bucky seemed excited, but Loki still had doubts.
So many responsibilities, so many things to go wrong.
By the sound of it, Thor already had his hands full.
“He just doesn’t seem to want to sleep,” Thor lamented as the barista set down their drinks, “What do I do?”
“How should I know?”
“You’re a sorcerer, right? Do you have any potions or spells?”
“To make a baby sleep? You wish.”
“You don’t?”
Loki shook his head.
Thor sighed, his elbows hitting the table with a thump as he rested his chin on his hand, “I don’t think I can do this, Brother.”
Loki laughed, a quiet scoff on his lips.
“Thor,” he said, taking a tentative sip of his coffee, “You’ve fought battles, killed dragons, and conquered realms. I think you can handle a baby.”
“But Jane--“
“Do you truly love them?” Loki asked.
“Of course,” Thor answered without hesitation, “I would give the world for them, if I only knew how.”
“Then the best thing you can do is be there for them,” Loki said.
“I know,” Thor said, looking disheartened, “I just wish I could do more.”
Loki hummed, thinking.
What would Frigga have done?
“Do you remember Mother’s lullaby?”
“How’d it go with Thor today?”
“Pretty good,” Loki answered honestly, then remembered, “Oh! He left some candy for us, by the way. I didn’t really like them, so you guys can have ‘em.”
Steve squinted at the bowl of candy, “You don’t like M&Ms?”
Loki shrugged.
“Ooo M&Ms!” Bucky exclaimed, grabbing a big handful. He tossed them into his mouth.
Immediately, his face screwed up. He nearly spat the candy out, his mouth half open.
“Ugh!—” A few swear words.
“Language,” Steve scolded, “You won’t be able to say things like that around the baby.”
“Well it’s not here yet,” Bucky growled, but rephrased his wording.
“What the heck was that?!” He demanded, “Those were not M&Ms.”
“I don’t know what they are,” Loki answered, confused, “Thor brought them in. He said you guys would love ‘em.”
That’s when Steve started laughing.
“Buck, it’s April 1st.”
Bucky blinked, and glared at Steve.
Loki glanced between the two, “So?”
“April fools,” Steve explained once his laughing had settled into a manageable smirk, “It’s a tradition here on Midgard to play pranks on each other on April 1st.”
“Someone must’ve told him about it,” Bucky grumbled, picking carefully between the pieces in the bowl.
He started sorting them into two distinctive piles.
“These are M&Ms,” Bucky stated, pointing to one of the piles, “I don’t know what those are, but they are awful.”
“Alright, Buck,” Steve said.