The cafe turned out not to need any help, but Casey found that the Baskin Robbins she'd worked a summer at once was hiring. The manager seemed to remember her and he told her she could have a job if she wanted it. She took him up on the offer, leaving out telling him that she now had a criminal record. He hadn't asked so she hadn't brought it up. She was set to start work the next day and she already felt ten times better than she had that morning. When she got back to the house - riding on her old bike that now belonged to Alexandria - she came in and nodded to her adopted sister, who was sitting at the kitchen table working on homework.
"You're back already?"
"Yeah, I'm going to be working at Baskin Robbins!" Casey replied enthusiastically, "You wouldn't think that they'd need a lot of help in the winter, but apparently a ton of people just quit."
"Makes sense," Alexandria twirled her pencil over her fingers, "Lots of people are quitting little jobs like that to go back to school and stuff."
"Lots of people around here?"
"Around the world," the teenager said, "After that scare with Sokovia and everything people are trying to make the most of their lives I guess."
"Sokovia? What happened in Sokovia?" Casey froze. She'd known the Avengers were going to attack Strucker's fort there, but she hadn't heard how it had gone.
"The whole thing with that crazy robot? No? Wow, you must have really been off the planet. A crazy robot turned a city in Sokovia into a giant meteor and he was going to drop it from really high up to kill all the humans on Earth. The Avengers stopped him, but it scared a lot of people."
"Whoa."
"Yeah," Alexandria glanced up from her homework, "So how long are you going to be staying here, do you think?"
"Um, just till I can get back on my feet. Get my own place and get out."
"Good. I don't know if you noticed, but you aren't exactly wanted here."
Casey clenched her fists and crossed her arms. She knew that, but she didn't like having some little kid tell her. She just nodded.
"Yeah, I'm aware. They disowned me after all."
"Really?" Alexandria's eyes widened, "What did you do?"
Casey wondered if the girl was afraid that her adoptive parents might toss her out if she wasn't careful. It made the older girl feel a little bit bad. She didn't know what Alexandria had been through, but she was still pretty new to the Elrod family and probably didn't feel quite secure in her place.
"Went to school, got super powers, came home, broke a lot of stuff and nearly killed some people," Casey said, "But I'm got the powers under control now so I won't be hurting anyone."
"You have powers?"
"A few."
"Can you show me?"
"That's probably not a great idea. Mom hates that kind of thing, doesn't she? I don't want to make her mad," she sat down at the table as well, "Maybe some other time."
"What can you do?"
"Well," Casey's hand went to her silver cuff, "I can move stuff with my mind - nothing heavy. And now I'm kind of strong too."
"As strong as Thor?"
"Probably not that strong," Casey laughed, "I mean, have you see the dude's muscles?"
"Yeah," Alexandria sighed a little bit, but realized what she was going and quickly got back to her homework, "You should go. I've got to study."
Casey got up and went to her guest room with a slight smile. She thought this seemed like a good sign. If she could get along with Alexandria she could probably get her mother to like her better. If her mom liked her better then maybe things could go back to almost the way they were. Before powers and aliens and… Loki.
The sudden thought of who she'd left behind made Casey's smile disappear. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed.
Forget him. He'll forget you… if he isn't on his way down to kidnap you. Why do men have to be so fickle? Can't he just be distant or clingy and not both? Casey rolled her eyes and decided to take a nap. She felt that she deserved it after making progress with her adopted sister and finding a job.
Loki had spent the entirety of the day looking through ancient texts to see if there was anything that would help him clear the minds of his subjects. They needed to forget that he was alive and believe that Odin was still on the throne. Or perhaps he could simply clear their minds of the last year since that was when he'd given up his hiding. Although, people might wonder why they had a year long gap in their memories and that would cause some unpleasant inquiries.
It was now late afternoon and the king knew he still had much of the palace to look for if he wanted to find the spell he needed. Tired and irritated, he laid down for a bit , hoping that sleep would quiet his thoughts and help him figure out what he wanted to do.
When he drifted off to sleep he was surprised to find himself back on the rooftop in New York. The roof where he'd met Acacia for the first time and had officially decided that he needed to learn more about Casey. He looked curiously over the edge of the building and raised a brow at the bubbling lava that had replaced the streets. He didn't recall if had been that way last time he'd been here in his subconscious because he'd been too focused on…
"What the heck?"
Her voice caused him to turn around and face her. She wasn't glaring at him as he'd expected her to be. Instead she looked confused and seemed to want answers from him.
"Hello Casey," he said, crossing his arms and resisting the urge to run to her. He'd promised himself he would never again behave like the lovesick fool he'd been when she'd left. It was unbefitting of a king.
"Loki, are you doing this?"
"Not intentionally if I am," he allowed himself one step in her direction and she took one toward him, "I believe it may have something to do with the scepter or your friend's powers."
"Great," she rubbed her forehead tiredly, "That's just wonderful. Any idea how long we're going to have mental connections?"
"Not a clue. Though I doubt it will be forever."
"Good," she smiled a little bit, "Because it's very hard to dump someone if you have a telepathic connection with them."
"How is Earth?" He asked, hoping to stay away from the topic of dumping.
"Earth is Earth," she shrugged, "My parents are letting me stay with them. My father's trying to make peace, I think, but my mom… eh."
"What?"
"She isn't exactly glad to see me, bracelet or no," Casey rolled her eyes, "And apparently they adopted a girl while I was away so now I have a sister. I'm not sure if she's scared of me, hates me, or thinks I'm cool."
"I don't see how anyone could not think you are cool," he grinned a little and she crossed her arms with a scowl.
"Thanks," she grunted, "So are we just… stuck here?"
"I suppose until we wake up we might be."
She pushed past him and he felt his heart jump when her shoulder brushed his. Walking past him and going to the edge she sat down and dangled her legs over the edge. He sat next to her at a respectable distance even though all he wanted was to wrap his arm around her shoulders.
"I do not mean to push the issue, but-"
"No. I'm not coming back to Asgard," she snapped.
"Ever? Perhaps for a special occasion?"
"Nope. Not until you've had a drastic change of heart, buddy."
"I was wrong to try and keep you there," he said, though he wasn't sure that it was true.
"Heck yeah you were," she looked down at the lava and he took the chance to watch her face. It still stung him just how much he adored her features. Even the nose she seemed to dislike so much. There was no part of her face he didn't like and he had to grit his teeth to deny the urge to reach out to her.
"Do you think that you could ever trust me again?"
"Oh I trust you with a lot of things," she sighed, "I trust that you'll protect me. I trust that you will always frustrate me to no ends. And I trust that you will always be a liar."
"Casey-"
"I don't know if I'll ever trust you enough to go back to Asgard and believe that you'll actually let me go again," she looked at him, "But I guess we'll have to see how things go, right?"
"I suppose so," Loki nodded and then smiled, "If it helps at all, I have decided to put Asgard back to its former glory."
"Really?"
"Yes. It shall be a difficult task, but you were right. It is no way to rule a kingdom."
"That's… great!" She gave him a thumbs up, "I'm proud of you. And I'm sure if Thor ever comes home he'll be nicer to you for not completely destroying the place."
"If I have my way he'll never even know that I'm still alive."
"Dude, people are going to talk. You can't just erase the last year from everyone in Asgard's minds."
"Can't I?"
"Wait, can you?" Casey's eyes widened comically, "I legit don't know if that's an option."
"It could be, but it probably isn't the route I'll take. There are more complicated ways that leave people with less questions so I shall research those."
"And you're going back to being Odin?"
"For the foreseeable future," Loki smiled craftily at her, "If there were a queen beside me perhaps not-"
"Nope. We're going to stop that train right there and send it back the way it came," Casey shook her head, "I'm doing stuff too, you know."
"Oh are you?"
"Yes. I got a job and I start tomorrow," she stuck out her chin proudly, "As soon as I save up enough I'm going to see about getting my own place - maybe with a roommate or something. Then I'm planning on going back to school."
"If you just came home it would be so much easier for you. You would not have to struggle to survive or put up with your mother," He saw the look in her eyes and shook his head, "Sorry. I am glad that you have found work. I know you will excel at it and that when you go to school you will become the best at whatever field you decide to go into."
"Thank you," she laughed.
"I feel that I may be waking," Loki looked down at his slowly vanishing hands, "Be safe, Casey."
"Thanks. You too, okay?"
"When am I not?"
He woke up with a slight smile still on his face. If he had this connection with Casey whenever they slept or at least some of the time that they slept, he would have plenty of opportunities to convince her to come back home to him.
A/N: So Infinity Wars. No spoilers but: AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! Okay, I'm done. It briefly made me consider changing how this story is going to go, but I've decided to stick with the ending I decided on, happy or not. I, uh, might possibly make an epilogue or separate one-shot pertaining to some of the things that occur in the movie, depending on how I feel when I get to the end of what I already have planned.
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it! :) Feel free to follow/favorite/review!
