Chapter Four:

The ride to the airport was one filled with silence. Thor drove, his hands gripping the wheel with anxiety as he anticipated his father's reaction to his new fiancé. There was no scenario too wild in Thor's mind and the longer he thought on it the more fidgety and uneasy he became. Jane sat in the passenger seat, mostly staring out the window and watching suburbia pass her by. The depressing silence weighed on her however and eventually she turned the radio on just so the other occupants wouldn't seem so tense.

And Loki sat in the back.

Quiet.

Dead quiet.

What would dad do when he saw them? Would he hug them? No. That was utterly absurd. He'd probably march right up to the car, stick his suitcase in the trunk, climb into the front seat—which Jane would have by then vacated—and they'd all drive home with little banal banter between them. The truth be told, Loki felt almost sick at the prospect of seeing his father again for the first time in a year. Odin was his father but… Loki hadn't felt any love for the man for years. His father was still telling Thor that he loved him and was proud of him, even to this day, but the old man hadn't said anything along those lines since Loki was still a child. Odin didn't love him. That much was as clear as day. There wasn't a neon sign in the world that blinked brighter than this knowledge to Loki. If he could, Odin would probably tattoo the message to his forehead when Loki was in company. If he could wind back time, he would. Plainly, all three of them were nervous about whom they'd encounter and what he'd be like.

"Nearly there," announced Thor, his voice unusually shaky as he indicated and pulled off the exit-way to the right. "We'll see Dad in no time." He continued, correcting the tremor in his voice and throwing the meant-to-be-positive comment over his shoulder.

Loki tried to swallow the hard lump in his throat and felt himself becoming light-headed. If only Thor knew how much this trip meant. For Loki it was the decider of the game. Odin reacting positive meant that he scored the final goal. Negative and, well, he lost. The whole season would have been for nothing and he was out in the final few minutes.

"Loki, are you all right?"

The young man jerked his blank stare up from his trembling hands and with a startled look and he found he was met with the concerned and caring eyes of his brother's fiancé, who'd twisted around in her seat and was frowning at him with worry glistening in her eyes.

"Mm," he nodded, clearing his mind of random, mixed sports analogies before ridding the croak from his throat and adding to his vocalised hum. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me, Jane. I'm fine, really." He rubbed his hands together and pulled his arms in closer to his body. Jane was far more observant than his brother and Loki had let his uncaring, aloof façade slip since his mother had passed away. In many ways, Loki found it nice having someone around with similar qualities to Frigga, but at other times―like now―he was reminded of how vacant he'd become when interacting with the world. He had to step up his game, fix his shield of indifference before Jane learned to read him like an open book.

"Are you sure," she pressed, her eyes staring into his with a firm gaze, as if she were prying open the windows to his soul like a trained professional. "You're quite pale and you certainly don't look very well."

Thor, by now, had tuned into the conversation and Loki noticed the sudden alarm in his posture at the mention of his wellness. The older Odinson's gaze kept flicking up into the rear-view mirror, trying to see his younger brother and check if he was alright.

"Should we stop the car for a bit?" Jane asked, her own concern perturbing Thor, who looked back at him, eyes removed from the road far too often than could be considered safe.

Loki had just been about to answer with a firm 'no' when a small thought quickly sparked his mind. If they stopped for a bit it would delay their meeting with Odin and Loki couldn't think of anything he wanted more than to delay such an encounter.

"… pulling over for a while couldn't hurt." He admitted, wrapping his arms around himself half for show and half to keep his horrific nerves contained. He was positively shaking but he couldn't let Jane see him like this. Or Thor, for that matter.

Thor gave a short, swift nod and indicated before swerving off the road and into a street car-park that bordered with some old industrial craft works. After pulling into the spot and making sure he was within the lines, Thor yanked up the handbrake, stuck the car in neutral and killed the engine before turning around in the drivers seat and facing his little brother with disquieted consternation, observing silently the pallor shade of pale white he was becoming.

"Loki?" he quavered questioningly, a near full minute of silence inside the car being broken.

Loki jumped at Thor's sudden interruption of the quiet and almost immediately looked down to his lap where his hand fidgeting had increased tenfold. Thor gripped the back of his headrest and frowned deeply, needing to get the bottom of this issue quickly so that their father wouldn't be left waiting at the airport.

"Hey, what's wrong? What's the problem?" Thor queried. "You don't get car sick…"

"It's nothing, Thor! I just… I need some fresh air." Loki declared, hastily swinging his door open and jumping out onto the street. The young man stalked over to the pavement after slamming the car door and sat down along the curb, putting his head in his hands and letting his hair flop over.

Thor suddenly panicked and reached for his door handle. How could he have made Loki angry? He wasn't like his little brother at all, he showed no sensitivity to the moment, though he had no idea how his concern had set Loki off anyway. It didn't matter really, he just had to fix this. He didn't like Loki being angry towards him. Perhaps it was his fear that Loki would do something rash or maybe he had a brother complex, Thor didn't know. Just as he was about to open the door he felt a hand over his own and whipped his head around in surprise.

"Don't Thor," Jane commented before he could ask why she was holding him here. "Give him a moment."

Thor's grip on the door slackened, but he eyed Jane with confusion and curiosity.

"I don't understand," Thor eventually croaked when Jane did not elaborate. "Does he not want my help?"

"Thor," Jane clucked with a sigh and a tiny shake of her head. "He doesn't want you to see him like this."

"What do you mean?" He probed, still baffled by his fiancé's words.

Jane rolled her eyes and sighed again before taking Thor's hand and giving it a squeeze. Jane truly was far more observant than anyone could have given her credit for, but perhaps this was why she meshed so well with the occasionally thick-headed man that was Thor. When they'd been dating, Jane recalled many a time when Thor had received a text or a call from his brother and instantly worn a look of worry and fear. Jane knew such a look wouldn't come from anything other than genuine concern so when Thor had always told her that he needed to leave to check on his ward, Jane had never held him back. For a while it had unnerved her that Thor was constantly choosing his brother over her, but when Thor told her one night of his own volition why he had to keep a good eye out for his brother, Jane had felt lashings of guilt at her petty self-interests. Eventually, when she'd finally come to live with the pair, she truly realised what Thor meant when he said Loki was fragile. On top of that, Jane had also proved to have a very maternal protectiveness that she'd unknowingly cloaked over her fiancé's younger sibling. Loki needed a loving family and, if Jane could in anyway provide, she would.

"Don't you get it? This is embarrassingfor him. He doesn't want you to see him like this! Thor, he's shaking like a leaf―he's clearly nervous about seeing your father again."

"Why would he be so nervous?" Thor jerked, taken back by such bizarre words and a strange concept. "Odin is our father, Loki has no need..."

Though, even as Thor trailed off on the words, he knew what Jane said was true and what he said wasn't. Loki had every right to be nervous. Thor knew that better than anyone. The words Loki had said about their father the other day should have clued him in but for some reason the connection just hadn't been made until now. With a huff, Thor puffed out a breath of anxiety and acknowledged that Jane was right.

"Don't worry," she comforted, rubbing his shoulder gently. "I'm sure things will smooth out once your father settles in back home."

"I hope so―" Thor began, only to be interrupted by the car door being yanked open and it's previous occupant clambering back inside.

"Okay," Loki cut in, Jane giving him a reassuring smile and Thor exhaling his agitation, calmed by the sigh of Loki's face re-imbibed with some colour. "I'm better now. Let's go pick Dad up from the airport."

"Yessir!" Thor exclaimed, half a laugh―or possibly another sigh of relief―coming out on the end of the words as he turned the key and the engine roared to life once again. "To the airport then."

The remainder of the drive was far more relaxed and almost quite pleasant, Thor commenting on common everyday things with Jane and Loki pitching in once in a while with proper, intelligent remarks. Most of the drive was through more suburbs and some industrial area but as they neared their final destination―a giant monster of a building that could be seen from miles away with planes landing and leaving every minute or so―the buildings gave way to developed marshland which had been drained many years ago. Just like the environmental transition, the conversation eventually died away too and the three of them found themselves talking less and less as they got closer, though the heavy atmosphere from before never did return.

"This exit, Thor." Said Loki, leaning forward and pointing to the lane furthest to the left.

Thor nodded and simply followed Loki's directions which eventually led them to a short-term parking lot where Thor pulled in and shut off the engine before the three of them climbed out.

"Right… now we have go to the… A.B. lounge in the… middle section of the front… I think..." Thor read, pulling his phone out of his pocket and scrolling down the message from his father.

Jane shrugged when Thor's confused attentions were diverted to her and she stated that she'd never needed to pick anyone up from the airport before so she would be no help. Loki, on the other hand, looked at the pair and took the lead.

"Well, we're not going to get anywhere standing in the parking lot. Come on, I saw an elevator that looked like it goes up so you can cross a glass bridge which leads to the main section."

"Alright," Thor huffed, even more confused and simply allowing his little brother to take the wheel. "After you then, Loki."

With Loki at the front of the party and Jane and Thor holding hands as they followed, the three of them marched forward, taking the elevator and traversing across the enclosed glass bridge which did indeed lead them to the bigger, main section of the airport. Upon reaching the larger section, the crowd of people surrounding them grew noticeably larger and Loki spied the bag check in and a sign that located the various lounges scattered around the modern airport.

"Thor, Jane, over here!" He waved at them, beckoning them to come closer as he made his way to the sign. To the couple, it appeared that Loki's attitude had brightened somewhat since the stop during the car ride, but it was all really for show. The closer they got, the more chipper he became. It was a mask, a disguise for his fears that threatened to burst through the gate and let loose the terror he felt.

"Oh, hey look," Jane exclaimed lightly, "The A.B. lounge is just over here―looks like it's the furthest one though."

Loki bit down hard on the inside of his cheek, telling himself that now was no time to turn back. He couldn't anyway. He was stuck here now. He reminded himself that the only way to get through this was to greet his father like nothing had ever happened between them.

The group continued onwards, up and down escalators and one lift, passing several lounges which grew grander the further they pressed on. By the time they reached the A.B. lounge, none of them were surprised to see that it was the most prestigious lounge out of the lot. The group entered through the glass sliding-doors and a helpful "hello" from the lady at the front desk stole their attention from the chandelier in the hall.

"How can I help you today?" the woman asked, her brunette hair pulled back into a ponytail and slicked down, her hands folded neatly at her waist. She was wearing a crisp, white shirt without so much as a stain and it was tucked into a black, waist-high skirt. She wore plain black heels, sheer black stockings, around her neck was a red scarf and attached to her shirt was a name badge that read 'Marion'.

In the end it was Thor who approached the desk and he flashed his award-winning smile in her direction which clearly caused her to become slightly flustered before spying the ring on his left finger and the 'wife' behind him.

"Hi," Thor greeted, giving her more of his toothy smile. "We're looking for a man named Odin? He's my father and we're here to pick him up."

"Alright," replied the woman, pushing her unprofessional demeanour back into the box whence it came and typing on the computer in front of her. "Odin, you say? Could you give me a last name?"

"Ah, Allfather." Thor stated, somewhat awkwardly.

"Oh yes," the woman nodded, looking back up from her screen after punching in a few more digits. "He should be here momentarily, someone is bringing him up."

Thor returned to his family who waited by the door and true to the woman's word Odin arrived in the company of a nervous bellboy who wheeled the old man's suitcase behind him.

"Thor!" Odin boomed upon spying his eldest son. The old man marched right up to him and encompassed his hand with his own, giving Thor a rigorous handshake. Thor was startled to say the least. What had happened to that bitter old man whom he'd spoken to only a few days ago over the phone? Well, he'd couldn't complain for now, he didn't want to upset the balance.

"And you must be Jane," Odin released Thor's hand and turned to the woman on Thor's right, completely ignoring his youngest son, which didn't go unnoticed by Loki who shrank in on himself at the disregard he was shown. "It is so wonderful to finally meet the woman my son is to marry. Honestly my dear, I don't know how my son managed to meet someone so lovely."

Jane blushed as Odin clasped her hand gently and smoothly delivered his lines.

"Well," he continued, his eyes glancing around the group and barely skimming over Loki. "It is great to see and meet you all, but should we head off?"

Thor gave a strong nod and flicked both his wife and father a smile before following up with: "Sounds like a good idea."

And the group left the entranceway to the lounge, Loki tugging his father's luggage behind him as he figured that it would otherwise be left behind as he trailed after the chattering group of his family. It had come as no new surprise that Odin had completely brushed him aside. In many ways, it was probably the best outcome he could've hoped for considering the circumstances. All he could do now was pray that this visit didn't bring up any unwanted secrets that Loki and Odin shared.


A/N:

Hi all, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you did, don't forget to leave me a review. The next chapter I'm sure will be quite a stirring surprise and should be up soon. Again, I hope you're enjoying this and to the reviewer that said a lot of AU's get abandoned, I could not agree more, many of them do (this one may as well have been included in that category for a while). However, do not fear. I have every intention of finishing this story over the semester break that I am on and I've basically devoted my life to this story and working.

Much Love,
Soulhearts