Chapter Six: Backfire

After a long day of work, Thor was bushed. He'd spent another day talking to Loki, however, this time he did most of the sharing and Loki did more listening. They had such chemistry, it was hard to believe they were complete strangers only a couple of days ago. Despite having such an intriguing and fun conversation with Loki, Thor was still exhausted at the end of the day and really didn't feel like doing much else. Still, he'd already promised his friends he'd meet them tonight at Venice Beach tonight. It was rough having a job and having a social life at the same time…

Thor dragged himself to his car on the far side of the parking lot. It was all he could do to not sit in his car and simply fall asleep. Thor opened the door, hopping into his car and slammed the door shut. He scrambled through his coat pocket when the ringing of his phone made him nearly jump out of his skin.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Thor… I was just calling to confirm you'd make it tonight?"

Thor was relieved, it was just Natasha. Thor began to respond, but he heard Clint's voice in the background saying, Ask him where he is! Again, Thor began to sputter out a response, when he heard Natasha growl back, I'm not going to ask him that! You know he's probably at work still! Thor waited a few seconds… The line was almost quiet except for the distant sounds of bustling people walking by. Then, Thor decided it was okay to respond now,

"I'll be there."

"Sounds good. See you then!" Natasha said and the line went dead.

Thor grumbled. He truly loved his friends, but it was really draining on him that they spend so much time together after work on weekdays. While it was true, he didn't have the most stressful job of all of them… (That trophy would probably go to Clint, who was a police officer) He still valued the time he had to himself when he was off work. Thor threw his phone in the passenger seat and buckled himself up. Then, he took off for Venice Beach, where Natasha, Clint, Steve and Tony were waiting.

. . .

"It's about time!" Tony called when Thor stepped into their circle on the boardwalk. "I was beginning to think you'd gotten pulled over or something."

"I'm a great driver, Tony." Thor huffed.

"Yeah, I meant pulled over by the fashion police!"

Thor frowned. Tony's jokes were even less amusing when he was tired and in need of something cheery. None of the other laughed either. Natasha and Clint, who seemed to be very much alike for a couple, both rolled their eyes almost simultaneously. Clint began to walk and the rest of them followed into step without saying anything.

"Hey, don't tease him, Tony, Thor has a life! Unlike some people who just get all of their money from their fathers, Thor works for his bread and butter." Steve interjected. Tony snorted a short:

"Whatever."

"Did I tell you guys about Loki yet?" Thor pulled this question out of the air. Loki was only his conversation these days.

"What haven't you told us about him yet?" Came Natasha's sarcasm.

"Well…" Thor knew this would be an awkward time to admit that he actually invited Loki to come to the boardwalk too to meet his friends, if that was at all possible for Loki. Loki neither confirmed nor denied he'd be there, but Thor was still on the lookout anyway, and Thor also thought it would be fair to give his friends a heads up, if in case, Loki did show. "… Well, do you guys want to meet him?"

"What is this, Thor? Are you trying to tell us tha-"

"Yeah, I invited him."

"You've really had this Loki guy on the brain lately." Steve was the only one who sounded more concerned than anything. "Thor, I mean… He's all you've been talking about. You sound almost like…" Steve couldn't bring himself to say it in front of their friends. To say, 'Almost like you're in love.' Steve was Thor's closest friend; he cared very deeply about Thor. It worried him very much that this near stranger was suddenly becoming so close to Thor. It didn't sound like a healthy obsession, the way Thor seemed to constantly proclaim that he and Loki had a connection was even more worrisome.

Thor avoided Steve's remarks. He just babbled on about the 'connection' he felt to Loki. None of the other friends really listened besides Steve.

"Let's wait here." Thor said as they approached a street performance. Thor wasn't too sure where Loki would be, should be decide to come, but he was positive Loki would stop to watch a street performance. "Just in case." Thor gave Loki his number, should he get lost upon arrival.

The friends stopped, watched, talked and laughed. All the while, Thor's eyes were darting about, looking for Loki.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Thor knew that Loki wasn't going to show up.

. . . .

It was an unwritten rule that Loki had to remain in the hotel while Abhilasha was there. She didn't forbid him from leaving, but he knew it would be better to miss out on fun than to risk his career to meet a friend at Venice Beach. Besides, Loki was awfully shy, he knew he wouldn't fit in with Thor's friends anyway. It was too bad Loki's hotel room phone didn't make outside calls. He'd love to have spent the night talking to Thor instead of being stranded in the hotel with nothing much to do but surf the internet on his laptop or read. He started to think about Hela and how much he missed her. He was really quite excited to Skype with her pretty soon. This weekend… That was when he'd get the chance to see her again. It'd been a long time since they'd Skype'd.

The more Loki sat in the quietness of his room and thought, the more curious Loki became about Thor. Who was he…? Why was he so interested in Loki? Moreover, why was Loki so interested in him? Thor kept talking about there being something between them, something beyond them that he couldn't quite place. Maybe Thor was right? Maybe there really was some divine intervention that was bringing them together… But to what purpose?

Why? Why was fate bringing them together…? And why now of all times?! There were too many questions that needed to be answered that Loki couldn't find the answers to. It bugged Loki to no end and he tossed the ideas around in his head for a while longer until it bugged him so much he had to do something else.

Immediately, he reached for a book and began to read. It wasn't anything special, just a book of Norse myths that his mother had given him as a child. Of course, all of the stories were the most popular. The tale of an ancient god called Allfather and his three god sons who both wreaked havoc and saved Valhalla sometimes at the same time. The stories kept him entertained and kept his mind away from the Thor he knew, who wasn't a god.

Something… strange happened as he read the stories. He could almost picture himself in them. It wasn't like a typical daydream, where one pictures themselves witnessing the story in their mind like watching a movie. No, it felt as though Loki were recalling… memories. Long, lost memories of adventures he'd had himself. He laughed at the tale where the thunder god and his mischievous younger brother crossed a river of menstrual blood that was streaming from a giantess. He laughed, not because it was funny (though he couldn't deny that it was) but he laughed because he could honestly see the giantess on the other side of the river… He could feel his brother's thick neck underneath his arms as his brother swam through the thick menses. He could smell the rotting, fishy smell and he could imagine his brother's frustrated face. It was all strangely familiar.

It made Loki wonder if his name, Thor's name… His daughter's name… If it all had some sort of meaning. Was it fate that his mother chose this name for him? Fate that his… 'fling' chose the name of their daughter that just so happened to coincide with mythology?

The use of overthinking made Loki's head hurt. He closed the book and laid down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Was there a purpose…?

"Nah." And Loki went to bed.

. . . .

Days came and went. Loki spent time with Thor while Abhilasha worked out. But their time together seemed to go faster and faster with each day. They quickly found that they were being interrupted mid-sentence by Abhilasha who would come out and demand Loki to hold something or do something, despite seeing that he was engaged in conversation. She clearly had no home training. Nonetheless, Loki gracefully did whatever she asked, thanked Thor and went on his way.

The weekend came and finally Loki was free to spend it doing things for himself. The only plans he'd made was to talk to Hela on Skype. Of course, he'd woken up early today just to be sure that by the time he called Angrboda it would be the appropriate time, which was early morning his time, and mid-morning in Germany. He'd been looking forward to talking with Hela all week and it was finally here.

Loki checked the time a fourth time. Yes, it was 3:00am in Los Angeles… That meant it was about 10:00am in Frankfurt, Germany. Angrboda and Loki both agreed that Saturday morning would be best. Well, it was the perfect time. Just perfectly in the middle of morning for Hela and Angrboda.

Loki opened his laptop and logged into Skype. The blood was rushing through his veins. He wasn't even tired… He scrolled through his, rather short, list of contacts and found Angrboda's name. He was so excited it seemed as though he were on autopilot as he clicked her name and the classic ringtone of Skype began to play.

It felt like an eternity that he had to wait for Angrboda to pick up. In reality, the wait only lasted about a minute. Angrboda's face appeared on his screen.

"Where's Hela?" Loki asked, clearly uninterested in talking to Angrboda. She made a snobbish face and rolled her eyes. Then her voice crackled through his crappy, laptop speakers…

"She's right here."

"Mommy…? What are you saying to Loki? I don't understand…"

Angrboda turned the camera to face Hela who was sitting in a chair next to her mother. She was clearly too short to see much, however. But when she saw Loki's face, hers lit up.

"Loki!"

"Hello, Hela!" Loki's heart almost stopped when he saw his daughter's face. She had that effect on him, always. He loved hearing her laugh and even through his crappy speakers, her laugh illuminated the hotel room with bright cheer. "I hope you've been good for your mother."

"Yeah, I have. But daddy says-" Angrboda cut Hela off.

"Hela! We talked about this, remember?" Hela looked a little scared,

"Sorry, mommy."

This piqued Loki's interest. What was her father saying? Was it good? Bad? Something about Loki? He knew Svadilfari never liked him, but it was strange that Angrboda would want to shield Loki from whatever it was that he was saying.

"What..? What was she going to say, Angie?"

"Nothing."

But she didn't need to say much else, Svadilfari's drunken voice came through the speakers next…

"Angie! Angie, where are you?! Hela! Hela, get your ass out here!"

Loki had heard and seen Svadilfari while drunk, but he's never sounded this angry before. It scared Loki and his instincts that told him he needed to be there to protect his child were tugging at him with a vengeance. It made him feel helpless that he couldn't be there with them that second.

"Loki, Svadil told us not to talk to you…" Angrboda whispered. "He thinks we're still in love and he swears the next time you visit he'll…"

Loki didn't need that sentence to finish knowing what Angrboda was getting at; he knew clearly that Svadilfari was meaning to kill him. Loki's heart ached at the fear in Hela's face and the tears that started to form in the corners of her eyes as Svadilfari's voice got louder, indicating that he was coming closer. There was a pounding sound and Loki watched in horror as he realized that Angrboda had locked the door.

"Mommy…!"

"Loki, we've got to go, but please, please come back soon if you can!" Angrboda whispered in English.

"Okay-"

The call was ended and it left Loki feeling lost and surreal. Svadilfari was going to murder him should he try to go back to his child, but on what basis? Some drunken jealousy schemed up in his mind while hitting too many Apfelwein bottles? Surely there was more to the story than he was being told… It wasn't like Svadilfari to become violent. Loki thought very deeply about taking the money he'd been given for the trip and using it to buy a one-way ticket to Frankfurt to get Hela out of that home…

It was his only option. But he had trust in Angrboda that she'd protect their child… Somewhat. Loki didn't realize how much he was sweating until the sweat on his shirt cooled and he'd been shivering. No, he couldn't stay in America; he had to help Hela somehow. Loki thought really long and hard about it… If he could get to a phone that would make overseas calls, he could call Angrboda's mother and have her take Hela out of there, or he could call the authorities. But then, what crime is it to get drunk?

Too many thoughts raced through Loki's mind all at once.

. . . .

Thor nearly jumped three feet in the air when he was woken up by his ringtone. He scrambled out of bed and ran across his bedroom to get his phone, answering it quickly with some sleep grog still stuck in his throat.

"Ugh…. Hello?!" Thor looked around, trying to see what time it was. Ah, it was only 4:07am… Wait. "Do you know what fucking time it is?!"

"Thor…?"

Oh, that was Loki's voice. Thor calmed down immediately. He knew Loki to know well enough that Loki wouldn't call unless it was important, and Loki definitely wouldn't call at 4:07 in the morning unless it was really important.

"Thor, I need your help."

Author's Notes:

It's moving pretty fast all of a sudden.

I have more plot in mind right now, and I think I've been pretty good lately about updating in a timely fashion. I feel like I have the middle of the story all planned out, it's just the ending I need to decide.

Anyway, I was thinking that the rating may go up in the next few chapters, but I feel as long as I don't get really graphic, then it can stay at it's current rating. I usually don't get too graphic anyway.

Okay, that's all. I'll try to have the next chapter posted by either tomorrow night or the next day. It appears I've been uploading about one chapter every two days.

Anyway, same as always, R & R. Thanks!

Also, someone last year requested I write some MPREG Thorki? What do you guys think? I love MPREG myself when it makes sense, (and it makes sense for Loki because in Norse mythology Jotuns are intersex) but I've never written MPREG myself. I don't know if it would be any good? Anyway. I'm done.

- Rawiyah