Chapter 4
Loki was gone for three and a half hours. By the time he came home Leo and I had already finished an art project and settled in to watch a movie. I heard him come in, but didn't acknowledge him. I don't know if it was because I was subconsciously annoyed with him or just because I was too enthralled in the movie to spare a glance. It didn't matter anyways, because as soon as Leo heard his footsteps he was up and ready to do anything his papa wanted, which meant I would have little choice but to look.
"How was your day?" I questioned softly, patting the space next to me. Leo wiggled in his papa's arms as Loki brought him back to the couch and sat with me.
"Successful." He murmured, looking at the movie screen. "What--"
"It's called Cars." I explained, hitting pause. "Leo, wanna show papa what we've done today?" I watched on as the excited toddler wriggled from his papa's lap to run and get his project. I smiled softly, leaning my head on Loki's shoulder.
"Thea, there's something--"
"Look papa!" Leo exclaimed, running back in. "Papa look! Look! It's a... oh! A SHARK!" He grinned, pushing the art project in his father's face.
"My, what a fierce shark it is!" Loki gasped, taking Leo in his lap once more. "What a good job you've done Leo." I smiled, watching Leo's face light up as his papa complimented him.
"Mama taught me about sharks today. She said they're really cool! Can we see one papa?" Leo begged. I sighed, waiting for the classic answer. It would be something along the lines of 'later'. Leo was three years old and he had never left the tower. Neither of us had since coming here.
"We'll see about that." Loki said, setting Leo on the floor. "Why don't you go find the book mama used to teach you about sharks and ask Chef about them?" At this point in the conversation it was very clear that Loki was trying to get Leo to go do something else, so I nodded in agreeance.
"Oh Leo, Chef would LOVE to hear about sharks! You know who else would? Allison. Why don't you go show them what we've learned today?" Leo nodded at me, taking off in the opposite direction. As soon as he left the room I unsettled from Loki's side and faced him.
"What is it?"
"How would you like to leave the tower?" He asked, eyes bearing into mine. My heart skipped a beat.
"W-what?"
"I'm going to Brooklyn tomorrow morning. Would you like to come?" For a moment, it felt like a cruel joke. In four years Loki had not once allowed me to leave the tower. Not even to see my family in whatever safe place he'd stuck them.
"Why?" I asked suspiciously.
"I'm offering you the chance to see a place you love and you would question me?" Loki raised an eyebrow.
"No, I just... yes I would love to go. Thank you." Loki smiled, leaning in to kiss my temple. For a moment we were silent, me leaning into his embrace and him holding tight. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why he would be doing this, but I did know that if I wanted to go I couldn't question him anymore.
---
The next morning I woke before Loki did. I didn't try to stay still like I normally would, instead opting to face him with my wide eyes, staring at his calm face. Still, he couldn't stay asleep for long with my unwavering gaze upon him.
"My, little one, you're up early." He mused, reaching out and brushing a lock of hair behind one of my ears.
"When do we leave for Brooklyn?" I wondered, excitement clear in my voice. Loki chuckled, dragging a hand down his face in an attempt to further wake up. "Soon. Get up and ready. We'll leave after breakfast." He promised. Grinning, I leaned in and pecked his cheek.
"Thank you for taking me out today." I said sincerely.
"Go." He nudged softly, sitting up and stretching. I did as I was told, scurrying off to take a shower and get dressed. When I came back to the room, Loki was dressed to impress in his full King get up, and Leo was jumping on the bed, watching his father write whatever it was he was writing at his desk.
"Mama!" Leo exclaimed happily, jumping up and down with more and more enthusiasm.
"Leo!" I laughed, making my way to the bed. In his excitement, Leo jumped once more, this time towards me. I wasn't ready, or really anywhere near him at the time, but luckily I was able to surge forward and catch him. "Leonidas Filip Lokison! You could have gotten seriously hurt!" I scolded, letting the boy onto the floor. He glanced to my feet.
"Sorry mama." He murmured. Rolling my eyes, I glanced to Loki, who was tucking the letter in the inner pocket of his jacket.
"It's alright. Go on then, tell Chef we're ready for breakfast." Leo nodded, taking off in the direction of the kitchen. Loki came behind me, reaching down for my hand.
"He doesn't even know the meaning of fear." I muttered, interlocking my fingers with his.
"He doesn't need to." Loki said, leading us out of the bedroom.
"Of course he needs to." I responded, letting out hands hang between us. "Not to the extent that everyone else needs to, of course. But he can't think there's no danger of ever getting hurt when there is." I continued, watching as Loki swayed two steps in front of me.
"He needn't worry while I'm around. And neither should you, little one." I sighed, deciding then and there to drop the subject for the time being. I knew it was something I'd want to discuss later, but I wasn't about to get in an argument and ruin my chances of going to my borough. We reached the dining room to see Leo gobbling up a pancake, and Chef standing by his side.
"Thank you, Chef." I smiled at Danny, moving with Loki to take my seat. As soon as we were seated, we unclasped our hands.
"My pleasure, Lady Thea." Danny entered his deep bow before backing out of the room and returning with plates for Loki and I. Leo spoke the entire breakfast about his plans for the day. I reminded him he would be spending the day with Chef learning how to do fun things in the kitchen, which immediately gave him that much more to talk about. By the time we were finished, Leo hadn't even reached lunch time in his schedule.
"Well, you'll have to tell me all about it when we get home." I said, standing from my chair. I went to Leo's place and dropped a kiss on his head.
"Mama, are you leaving?" He wondered.
"Just for the day." I promised, kneeling next to him. Though getting to see the world outside again was something I'd dreamed about for years, leaving without my son was bittersweet. I knew it would only be for a few hours, but in the three years that Leo had been alive I had never spent a moment apart from him. We'd always been together, and leaving him felt foreign.
"Can I come?" He wondered, his face lighting up.
"No, sweetheart. Not today."
"But I wanna go!" He complained.
"Leo," Loki said warningly, giving him the look. Leo looked down at his plate immediately, ashamed he'd made his father cross.
"I'll miss you." He whined softly.
"I'll miss you more." I murmured, pulling him towards me and landing another gentle kiss on his cheek. "Be good for Chef."
"Yes, mama."
"I love you so, so much."
"I love you too." He replied softly.
"Thea," Loki called from his place at the table. I nodded, kissing my son one last time before standing straight.
"Bye sweetheart!" I called, reaching for Loki's outstretched hand.
"Goodbye, Leo. Be very good." Loki said, giving our son a meaningful look before leading the way from the dining room.
---
I'd never much enjoyed limos.
I thought they were a little much, always.
But when Loki and I entered the limo that would take us to Brooklyn, I was overjoyed.
"Thank you for bringing me." I said happily as we settled in.
"You've already thanked me, little one."
"I know. But I mean it. Thank you."
"You've earned a trip." Loki said, his signature smirk firmly placed on his face. Looking past the smirk, I thought I saw admiration in his eyes, though I couldn't be sure.
"I haven't left that tower in years." I sighed, wiggling towards the window. "And now I'm going home."
"You've been home." Loki chastised.
"I know that. But there's home, and then there's home. Like how this is your home, but before this you lived on a whole other planet and that was your home." I explained. My heart beat quickly in my chest as we made our ascent from the garage and onto the street.
"Thea, I don't want you getting the wrong idea about this. We're not on a day trip. I have business to attend to, and you will accompany me as my queen." I nodded.
"I know." His words were slowly killing my hopes for the trip, but as soon as I saw New York on a pedestrian level I was instantly heartened.
"Come sit." Loki commanded after I'd been staring out the window for five minutes. Though I knew that the streets weren't always a destroyed war zone, it amazed me just how normal they looked. People scurried around, cars honked, and vendors vied for attention. The only difference was the armed guards interspersed throughout the crowd. I did as I was told, moving back towards Loki. I didn't want to annoy him, because I knew he'd just send me back home and my outing would be over before it started, but I wanted to know more about our day.
"What are we doing in Brooklyn?" I questioned.
"Addressing some issues." Loki replied.
"What issues?" I asked.
"Thea," He tone told me that this was my first warning.
"If I'm to be accompanying you as your queen, shouldn't I at least know what I'm walking into?" I pointed out. Loki sighed, signaling that I would be receiving an answer.
"Some gangs have risen since the battle. There are two in particular that have been wrecking havoc. We'll be speaking with people in the borough to decide the best course of action." Loki explained. My heart stopped.
"Which gangs?"
"The Vipers and the Geminis."
---
"I'm glad you've decided on nursing." Alex grinned, picking up my scrub top and holding it in out in front of him. "We can always use more nurses."
"I chose nursing because of that. You guys are constantly needing medical care." I chided, snatching the top from his hands and tossing it back on the couch. "What are you here for anyways?"
"Frankie and I are supposed to go do some things tonight." Alex replied, taking a seat on the arm of the couch.
"What sorta things?"
"Things you don't need to know about right now. You seen your brother or not?"
"Not. I think he's out with Monica. Could be wrong though.Have you texted him?"
"A dozen times." Alex responded. "Would you text Mon?" I nodded, pulling out my cell phone and doing as was asked of me.
"What sorta things?" I asked again. "
The Vipes gotta pay for what they did to Emillio's girlfriend." He responded after what felt like an eternity.
"You'll be safe, right?"
"When are we not? We'll be fine. 'Sides, Gemini's are stronger than any Viper any day. Luckier, too."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Come on, The. Smile. You're a Gemini girl. You got nothing to worry about except school and getting Monica to text you back."
---
"Are you going to answer me?"
"Huh?" I looked up, shaking my head to clear the memory.
"Ray's. Have you heard of it?" I nodded almost absentmindedly.
"Oh, yeah. I used to work there. When I was younger." I replied softly.
"Were you aware of any gang ties in this area before the battle?" Loki asked. My heart squeezed.
"Yeah." I whispered.
"And?"
"And?"
"Which caused the most trouble?"
---
"What do you mean you don't know what happened to them?!" My voice shook as it began to climb octaves.
"They went to take care of a few Vipes, and we haven't had contact since."
"Well where was this happening?"
"The city." Jonathan replied, his face hard.
"Oh my god, Jon, they could have been nabbed! They could be on trial right now and we wouldn't even know it!" I exclaimed, my breath restricting.
"Calm down Thea, we don't know that."
"Well we don't not know it! We have to go check on them." I insisted.
"Thea, it's too dangerous. We need to wait a little longer before we enter No Man's Land, or else we'll get our asses nabbed too."
"TOO? I knew it. I knew it. Jon, we gotta go. We gotta."
"I'm not risking any more lives." Jonathan said firmly, crossing his arms.
"If you won't authorize a mission, I'll go alone." I threatened.
"No, you won't." Jon grit his teeth, staring me down.
"I will. Either you authorize me to go with a group or I'm going in alone. I'm going to the city, I'm gonna find my brother and Alex." Jonathan groaned, swiping a hand over his face.
"You get Lawrence and Hasim. That's it, Thea. A small group." I nodded, my lips pulled into a hard line.
"Thank you."
"Well, go on. Be careful. I want a report as soon as you have a lead." I nodded.
"Okay."
---
"Thea," Loki said warningly. I knew he was getting annoyed with me, but I couldn't help it. Memories were rushing at me at a breakneck pace and I couldn't stop them.
"Vipers." I finally responded. "Vipers are the most trouble."
"And why do you say that?"
"Gemini's are committed to helping their community prosper. Vipers just terrorize the people around them." I recited.
"I hope you don't show an obvious favor." Loki mused, putting a hand on my knee. I glanced down for a moment before looking up to meet his gaze.
"I won't." I whispered. Loki gave me a smirk before leaning in. I met him in the middle, pecking his lips as the limo lurched to a stop. We sat tight as the driver came around to the side and opened Loki's door for him. Loki got out, turning back to the car and holding out his hand. I took it, inching towards the exit. He pressed his lips to my knuckles, bowing his head as I stood from the car. Looking around at the familiar neighborhood, I couldn't help but feel a pang of longing and nostalgia.
"Come, my queen." Loki said, gripping my hand in his as he lead me to the front door of Ray's.
This was going to be one hell of an outing.