A few more days later Fenrir is playing out in the backyard with the neighbor boy, Peter, and Hogun. They are running and kicking a ball back in forth, laughter fills the air. Hogun chases them with happy barks, the boys screaming in delight.
Fenrir is chasing after the ball when he suddenly hears a tap tap tap on the glass door leading out into the backyard. Loki. It has been three weeks since he has last seen her, and he stops dead in his tracks.
"Fenrir? What's wrong?" asks Peter, who is scratching Hogun on the tummy.
Fenrir abandons his friend and runs to her. Loki throws the door open calling out his name. They crash together in a hug. Loki whispers sweet words into his ears. Apologizing to him repeatedly.
"I'm sorry, Fenrir."
"That's okay. Don't do it again."
"I promise, Fen."
"Are you better now?"
"Starting to be," She strokes his now short hair, her hand carding through every black lock. Then she pushes back her hair to reveal the braid. "See? This is your hair and mine braided together, that way I'll always keep this with me. It will never ever come out of my hair. It reminded me of Bad Tooth, and I knew I could get better. To be just as strong as you are. You saved me, my love. Again."
They sit quietly and placidly a moment. Fenrir reaches for her shirt. "Can I…?"
"I'm sorry. There's none left."
Fenrir contemplates this, but then nods, accepting the new situation He holds her braid again, following it up to where it reaches her scalp. "Okay."
"I'm not a good enough Ma for you, Fenrir."
"But you're my Ma."
"I am," she wraps and arm around him, kissing his head. "I love you Fenrir."
Fenrir pulls away from her and points to the door. "I'm going to play with Peter now. He's my friend. We are playing ball."
Loki nods and hugs him hard before he leaves.
"Fenrir? Do you want to go on a trip with me?"
"Sure. Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise."
It has been about a month since Loki had returned home and she believed that she was on the road to a better life. Fenrir was doing nothing but thriving in this new environment and Loki couldn't be prouder.
The two of them raced to Loki's "new" car, a slightly better than beat up car more like it. She quickly buckled him in and slid into the driver's seat. The drive ahead of them was long, so Loki made sure to time their stops so they could both get out and stretch their legs. Loki herself still had a bit of problems being in enclosed spaces for a long time.
Finally, Loki pulled into a spot. Fenrir was passed out in the backseat.
"Baby, come on, wake up. We are here," Loki smiled and shook his arm, slowly but surely the boy roused.
"What-"
"It's the ocean. I told you I would take you to see it. Come on, you want to touch the water?"
Fenrir nods his head and takes the Loki's hand, together they walk out onto the beach. Fenrir hates the sand at first, but after some coaxing, he finally walks out of it. The beach itself is empty except for a couple farther down the beach.
"It's big."
"I know, it's actually so big that it hasn't been completely explored. Do you want to stick your feet in it? The water feels really good, it might be a bit cold."
Fenrir grins, "Yes, please." Loki bends down and rolls up his pant legs enough so they won't get soaking wet. She does the same to her own pair.
"So, the best way to get into the water is to jump."
"Why?"
"Because it's more fun!" Loki shouts before running towards the water and jumping in, splashing herself a bit when she lands. Fenrir follows and jumps in as well, squealing at the cold. They spend the rest of the day like this, splashing each other. It is well past lunch time when they both collapse laughing on the beach. Loki looks over at Fenrir and wishes time would stop in this moment. When all of their troubles are the farthest, they've ever been.
"Ma, I'm hungry," Fenrir finally speaks.
"Me too. Ready to go?"
"Yeah."
Soon they are back on the highway, singing out loud to the radio when Loki spots a small restaurant on the side of the road.
"We could try this?"
"Okay."
Loki and Fenrir enter the diner, and both immediately take a deep breath in and moan. It smells so, so good. A short, dark haired woman seats them, handing them both menus, which are only one page.
"What sounds good to you Fen?"
Fenrir shrugs.
"You know, since we don't really know what we like, Fenrir. We are going to try everything. How does that sound to you?"
The woman comes back to take their order and gives Loki a look when she asks for one of everything they have, including drinks. Loki reminds herself to leave the woman a large tip. About half an hour later the woman brings them their food.
"Dig in buddy."
Fenrir finds he likes the cheese fries and chicken strips, but his favorite thing is the large soda since the fizzes make his tongue feel funny. Loki is reminded how much she missed the taste of a good burger and groans. Loki laughs at the cheese that is all over their faces when they sit, bellies completely full. Fenrir laughs as well. She hands him a napkin and wipes his face.
"I love you Fenrir."
"I love you, Ma."
"Are you ready to go back home?"
"Yeah. Can we get ice cream?"
"Not full enough?"
Fenrir shakes his head.
"Of course, we can get ice cream and I know just where we can eat it."
They stop at the grocery store and get three giant tubs of ice cream, one of chocolate, one cookie dough, and one mint, which Fenrir insisted on. Ma also puts cones in the cart.
They hurry home and get their ice cream each of them carrying two ice cream cones. They recline in the hammock they put up together a few days ago. Perfect.
"We have so many things to do. Flying in an airplane," Fenrir suggests and Loki nods enthusiastically.
"Definitely. Traveling to different places sounds like fun."
They both sit in comfortable silence, licking at their ice cream as the hammock swings back and forth in the summer breeze.
"Ma?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we go back to Room?"
Loki gulps, concerned. "What?"
"Just for a visit."
"I'm not sure…" Loki hesitates, but Fenrir's look makes her give in. "We'll see what I can do."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Loki?" Thor his voice soft and kind, but a hint of worry is hidden deep in it. Thor shared his concerns that this could cause a relapse in Loki's mental health. The police car he's driving pulls up outside Thanos'. Loki, Fenrir, and Thor get out and all Loki can do is stare at the house.
"I think so," Loki says and ignores the feeling of being sick to her stomach. She wants to go already, but knows that this will be a big steppingstone for her and Fenrir's recovery.
The carport is blocked off by police and the only way to the back is through the house. Loki is surprised how neat the house is, besides the desk that the police ransacked. It's strange how normal it looks, for some reason she suspected it to look like a shithole or full of dead bodies.
She is curious as they make their way to the back door, examining every detail of the house. It's simple, two stories. There is an exercise machine in the living room which Loki finds odd. There are paintings adorning the walls and Loki fights the impulse to rip them down. No more money her ass. Each room paints a better picture in her mind of that psycho and who he was. Luckily or unluckily, she finds no evidence he lived here with anyone. As they enter the kitchen, the grey shed comes into view and there is a giant bulldozer beside it.
"Dylan!" Fenrir shouts and rushes over to touch, but Loki stops him. Her eyes don't leave the shed and Fenrir remembers that they are here because he had asked. The boy confidently leads his mother over and watches as her hands shake as she pulls the door open.
The drawings have been ripped off the walls and furniture shifted: the magic's gone. Fenrir stares and sniffs the air.
"This isn't Room. Has it gotten shrinked? My friends..."
"Taken away for evidence, proof that we were here," she says softly, only a foot inside Room. Fenrir goes around and tracks marks around the bed. He draws an F in the fingerprint powder on the table. Plant is all shriveled. Fenrir strokes it. Under the bed, he finds Eggsnake; touching the needle tongue. He goes back to the doorway, with Ma. He measures his height with his hand: an inch over the 5.
As Fenrir examines the room, Loki can't help but remember the last time she was in Room. Thanos had left with Fenrir. For the first time in five years, Loki found herself totally alone. It was hard to convince herself that Fenrir was safe, that he was going to make it. That Thanos wouldn't notice the boy was alive or had made his escape until it was too late. Her heart jumped into her throat when she heard the tell-tale beeping of the door, she glanced at her watch. It was too early he'd only been gone 15 minutes. She quickly crossed across the room and grabbed one of the knives, yanking as hard as she can to get it dislodged from the wall, just as the door opens it breaks free.
Thanos growled and crashes through the door, a look in his eyes that Loki had never seen before. She quickly eyed the open door behind him, trying to find any possible way to get around him and out.
Her dream was quickly dashed when he slammed the door shut. Thanos ran straight at her and Loki brought the knife up to stab him, but her wrist was caught midair.
"What did you expect to happen with that tiny knife girl?" Thanos asked and twisted her wrist to make her drop the knife with a yelp. "How dare you trick me, Loki. After all I have done for you? Given you shelter and food. You ungrateful slut."
Loki kicked at the man's shins, but he didn't seem to be fazed by her. "I'd do it again, you bastard."
"Your brat kid drew a lot of attention before I could catch him. If there hadn't been people around, I would have killed him right there," Thanos sneers in her face. Loki spits in his face, which causes the man to throw her straight onto the concrete floor. Her head connects with the concrete and causes her world to spin. "You are going to regret this."
Loki groans, but stares up at the man. Her voice is surprisingly steady, "You can go ahead and kill me if you want."
"Oh, I'm not going to kill you. That would be too simple. You and I are going to leave. If you fight me, I will find that boy of yours and kill him."
"Fuck you."
Thanos laughs and gives Loki another kick. He hauls her from the floor by her hair and throws her into the wall. Before she can gather herself, he has her pinned. Loki can smell alcohol on his breath and she almost gags, but his hand wraps around her throat before she can. Loki doesn't remember much after that, however, blacking out and giving into the darkness.
She doesn't know how long, breaking open the door with a crowbar. A flashlight shines on her face and Loki manages to stand with their help. One of them mentions "Fenrir" and "black car out front" and Loki breaks free, stepping out of Room for the first time in seven years.
Loki is staring at the marks around the door frame when Fenrir's voice pulls her from her memory.
"It's because Door's open."
"What?"
"It can't really be Room if Door's open."
"Do you - would you like it closed?" Loki asks, and her voice is shaky.
Fenrir shakes his head.
"I want to go now, love. Is there… anything you need?"
Fenrir looks around at the remains of his childhood, then walks to the wall behind the bed and pats it. "Bye bye wall."
"Fenrir."
Fenrir goes around the room fast, whispering bye byes to everything. "Bye bye chair. Bye Bye Meltedy Spoon. Bye bye."
"Please, Fenrir."
Fenrir Looks up at the skylight, rain running down it. He climbs onto the table. "Bye bye skylight." He climbs down and runs over to Ma, grabbing her hand. "Say bye-bye too Room."
Loki turns, glancing over Room one more time. It will take time, but she nods. "Bye-bye Room. Come Fenrir, time to go."
They both exit, shutting the door behind them. Their hands are linked and swing between them.
They walk away and don't look back.