Today was a very important day.
For today was the anniversary of Loki's birth.
The date isn't important. It will never be important.
All that Loki cared about was spending time with his loved ones…if he had any.
He gazed around the empty table, his eyes glazed over with years of disappointment and sadness. This was just like the last couple of years since his exile from Asgard.
No one showed up to his birthday parties anymore. No one ever will.
He tapped his fingers against the old wooden table he was sitting at, the sound being all too loud in the empty room. He couldn't say he was surprised he had no one to share this day with.
He shook his head slowly, swallowing the sour lump in his throat. Tears threatened to poke their way from the corner of his eyes. His gaze traveled around himself. The chairs seated around the table were empty and gathering dust. The table was dirty, empty as well.
His gaze dropped to his lap, and he fiddled his thumbs around on his thighs, humming to himself. The sound from his throat was sickly heartbroken, it shook and stuttered and choked in his throat as he tried to stay calm.
Suddenly, he heard something shift across the table, and he snapped his gaze up to find Thor there. His eyes were shining, there was a smile on his face, and he had before him a rather large tray of cupcakes. They were decorated with black, green, gold, and tinted blue…just how Loki liked it.
"Brother!" He exclaimed, the voice causing his heart to clench again.
"Hello Thor…" Loki murmured, his voice broken. He didn't care anymore. Thor was just another clone he had conjured up in his loneliness, and it wasn't as good as the real thing. A chair pulled out next to the blond, and Tony sat there, his face illuminated by the glowing light in his chest. "Hey, Reindeer Games, why are you sitting in here? It's so gloomy."
Loki felt tears come up in his eyes again, but a smile formed anyway. "I guess I'm more of a night person, Stark." Loki responded, keeping his hands folded in his lap and his homesickness pushed down.
Soon, even Captain America entered. Bruce entered. Natasha, Clint, Son of Coul, even Nick Fury entered. They were all sitting around the table, their expressions cheery or sentimental, or maybe even uncomfortable.
Thor's smile never faltered as he pushed a cupcake toward Loki, and slowly passed them out. "I would like to wish my dear brother a wonderful birthday!" Thor announced as he placed the cupcake in the God's hand. Loki felt his heart sink as his hand connected, and then passed through, Thor's hand.
He didn't grab the cupcake, but watched as everyone in the room got their share. He gulped and cast his eyes over to Stark. The man looked back with a sarcastic smirk on his face. "So, Reindeer Games, how old ya turning? 1000? 1264? Come on, dish!" He picked up his treat and bit into the green frosting.
Natasha sent a glare to Tony a moment. "Come on, Tony, be polite and wait until Loki has the first bite!"
Everyone turned to Loki, but the God only shook his head, putting a hand up. "It is quite alright." He murmured, his voice quiet so the others couldn't hear his disheartened tone. "You all dig in."
Thor bit into his cupcake, as Tony concentrated on getting all of the beautiful frosting from his. The Captain stared at his treat, peeling away the paper. Coulson sat closely next to the Captain, watching the Captain fumble with the paper. He then volunteered to help the soldier of time's situation, not that Loki was surprised.
Thor stood up, awkwardly shifting on his feet. "Brother…we…we did not get you anything for your birthday…"
Loki felt a tear slip down his cheek and a heartbroken smile broke out over his face. "Brother. I do not need extravagant gifts to know that you care about me. This is…this is good enough." His voice cracked again, and he felt the urge to puke. He didn't need this, yet he clung to the apparitions of his enemies and friends as much as he could…
He bowed his head as he stood up. "Thank you for coming." He murmured, and suddenly he felt the ghostly arms of Stark wrap around his body from behind. "Stop being such a downer, Frosty. Come on. It's your birthday for Christ's sake!"
The feeling was not there, but he could see Tony practically squeezing him. He felt more empty than before, and he soon found Thor was hugging him as well. The others started to stand up, crowd around Loki and congratulate him for another great birthday.
The God closed his eyes, and soon the voices faded into the back of his mind, the ghostly presence of the bodies started to disappear, and soon he was alone again. More alone than he was.
He felt his heart and soul suddenly shatter, and he fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face.
Today was a very important day.
But no one seemed to remember why…