"Sign here please, Mr. Thorson." The check in nurse practically shoved the clipboard at Loki. He inwardly flinched at the name he had chosen for his current persona. Alas, it couldn't be helped. If he wanted to hide his father and successfully take his place, he had to hide him under a name that his brother wouldn't even think of looking for. So, Thorson it was.
"Loki why are you doing this?!" his father demanded, squirming in the wheelchair that he was strapped to. Loki's spell had sapped all his power, but it hadn't taken his memory. At least, not yet.
"Father, it's Larry. Not Loki, Larry." Loki added a note of desperation and wheedling into his tone that seemed to have fully convinced the nurse. Her brow was furrowed with concern, making her big brown eyes look soft and shiny. Loki silently scoffed. Pity was weakness, and weakness was something that he couldn't afford.
"Allan, please calm down" the attendant standing behind the wheelchair gently pleaded. This only caused Odin to struggle more.
"My name is Odin! I am the All-Father!" In addition to the loud exclamation, Odin was now thrashing so wildly in his wheelchair that the attendant had to tranquilize him. Loki winced as the needle sank into his father's arm. As the plunger decompressed, Odin's motions slowed until he was slumped in the wheelchair, hardly able to move at all. Loki suppressed a shudder. He hated needles.
With a sigh he turned back to the intake papers in front of him. It took absolutely no persuasion to convince the staff at the nursing home that his father was demented. Plus, with the new skin he had adopted, nobody would recognize him. Loki had done a complete 180 from dark and brooding to light and boyish. Larry Thorson was still tall and thin, but had slightly tanned skin, rounded features, and a mop of unruly blonde hair, akin to a California surfer. The only thing he had kept the same was his voice. With his appearance looking so different he didn't think it mattered. Plus, he liked how the boorish Americans looked at him when he spoke. They thought he was interesting and exotic. He loved the jealous glares from the men and the flashes of desire from the women. Any mischief he could work was good mischief, even if it was just his voice. He had to try to at least keep a somewhat low profile. Loki scribbled his signature across the bottom of the page of the Consent to Treatment form.
"Is there anything more? I really hate seeing him in this state." This time Loki tinged his voice with despair, and he watched the nurse simply melt in front of him. Too easy.
"Just so we have it on file, do you have the form that indicates power of attorney?" she asked, taking the clipboard back from him. Loki noticed how she deliberately grazed her hand against his. Interesting. Loki studied her features in more detail. Slightly tanned skin, brown hair with blonde highlights pulled up into a bun, big brown eyes, a decent enough figure. She was enticing enough he supposed, though she looked much the same as many of the other humans down here on Midgard. Maybe one of the next times he would let himself indulge, but not today. Today was for business.
"I think I have that right here. One second." Loki patted the pockets of his fitted jeans, pretending to look for the paper she asked for. He checked the outer pockets of his blazer before reaching inside to check in the inner pocket. There, where his hand was hidden from view, he conjured up the paperwork she required. What emerged was a sheaf of papers, giving Larry Thorson the power of attorney over his father, Allan Thorson. "Ah, there we are." He handed the papers over, gently grazing her hand with his own. A small sense of triumph and power rose in him as he watched the blush heat her cheeks. These mortals were too easy, so easy the game almost wasn't fun. Almost.
"Alright, that should be everything" the nurse said, tapping all the papers on the desk so they formed a tight stack. "Do you want to go back with him and see his room?"
"Today has been extremely difficult for me, and very taxing for my father" Loki said sadly and eloquently. The nurse was lapping it up. "I think it may be best if I left and allowed him to rest."
"I understand" the nurse said compassionately, fixing her large eyes on his fake baby blues. Rather than fully changing his eye color, Loki decided to make the color more vibrant. He thought it really brought together the whole British schoolboy gone California surfer look. "Visiting hours are 3 PM-6 PM every weekday. Should we expect to see you?" Loki bit back the smirk that threatened to burst forth at the eagerness in the nurse's voice. She would be much too easy to play. Such easy prey.
"I'll be here every Thursday at 3PM sharp." He threw a dazzling smile her way. He could practically smell the desire rolling off her. A sharp thrill ran through him, but he tamped it down. Sure, it would feel good for a second, but it would hardly be satisfying. It was no fun when the prey was easy.
"See you next week then, Mr. Thorson!" she said chipperly to him as he turned his back on her and strolled out the door of the nursing home. That had been much easier than he thought. The old man had hardly been a fight at all. How disappointing.
Stepping on to the New York sidewalk, he shook back the cuff of his blazer and checked his watch. 3:45 PM. There was still plenty of time to indulge in his secret Midgard pleasure. Strolling down the street at a leisurely pace, he tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans, hooking his thumb on the rough denim. Though he tried to ignore the humans as they passed him, he couldn't fully. He scoffed at how they scuttled about, busy living their short lives. They hardly even stopped to breathe. Humans were either scavenging, killing, or fucking. How like the rats they were, the rodents that they despised. In a strange way he pitied them. They needed a strong leader; someone with a firm hand who could give their short meager lives meaning. He had meant for that leader to be him. In his way he had only wanted to help. He felt his jaw clench slightly as he held back a scowl. Why his stupid brother had to get involved he would never understand. That imbecile didn't have two brain cells to rub together, so why had his father favored his brother over him?
As if responding to that question he felt a chill move through him. Yes, he knew exactly why his father hadn't chosen him. It was because of his ice giant blood. Even though his Asgardian family had been all he had ever known, he still wasn't theirs enough for them to give him the throne. Sometimes he wondered if his mother had even loved him like she claimed. Unfortunately, it was too late to ask her. So that's why he'd had to take charge of Asgard. Plain and simple. When his brother turned down the throne he realized, for the last time he was willing to tolerate, how much of an idiot his brother was. Could Thor not see that Odin was growing weak? Did he not see that without a strong ruler Asgard would fall? So, Loki did the only thing that he could do; he took the power for himself.
It bothered him a little that there was no place now where he could truly be himself. Back on Asgard he was going to have to pretend to be Odin. That couldn't be helped. Here on Midgard he definitely couldn't walk around as himself either. He didn't want any of his brother's friends, the Avengers, to catch wind that he was still alive. That would lead to a lot of questions that he didn't want to answer. So, on Earth he was stuck being Larry. He didn't want to risk travel to any of the other realms. Too risky. Too easy for someone to discover that Odin had gone missing, and the mischievous younger brother was still alive. So, his choices were Larry or his father. Absolutely perfect. He mentally rolled his eyes. It's not like Loki mattered much to anyone anyway. Who would really care if he disappeared?
Having reached the nearest vendor in the vicinity of the nursing home, Loki grasped the metal bar and pushed the door open. A small bell chimed, signaling his entrance.
"Welcome in!" The barista behind the counter grinned at him as he took his place in line. Loki resisted the urge to make all the other patrons vanish and relegated himself to wait like every other mortal in the place. The line moved as slow as a snail. The barista insisted on engaging in small talk with each customer before taking their order. Loki hoped she wouldn't ask him how his day was going. After a couple minutes he had concluded that being a mortal must be terribly boring. They were either running around like rodents or waiting around for something to happen to them. How awful. After what felt like forever, but was probably closer to 10 minutes, Loki was finally able to order.
"Iced coffee. No cream. No flavoring. 6 extra shots of espresso." Loki had recited his order before the barista had even opened her mouth.
"Are you… sure? That's… a lot of espresso" the barista asked him hesitantly.
"Yes Darling, I'm sure" Loki drawled in a tight, lofty tone. It wasn't like he hadn't been clear.
The barista's eyes widened at the condescending and demeaning tone. She had opened her mouth to say something but closed it and thought better of it when she saw his expression. This man was dangerous. Best just to do as he asked.
After paying, Loki sauntered over to the other end of the counter to wait for his extra strong iced coffee, tapping his foot impatiently. Glancing around, he sighed. There were at least four other orders before his. The humans just stood there, eyeing the barista like a puppy waiting for its master to give it a bone. Clearly, it was going to be a little while until he could enjoy what he came for. With a huff he turned away from the counter to go find himself a table. As he wove through the maze of the mid-afternoon rush, he overheard several snippets of conversation.
"And then he told me-"
"Can you believe the gall-"
"I don't think I can have the report ready by-"
"Should you be eating that? I mean with your size and all." Loki froze in his tracks. In his mind's eye he flashed back to his adolescence.
"With your tiny size you should be eating at least twice this much!" Volstagg exclaimed. "Come on Loki, eat!" He shoved a plate brimming with meats and cheeses over to Loki.
"I'm not hungry" he had mumbled. "Leave me alone."
"Come on Loki, it's all in good fun!" Thor chimed in, taking a large bite out of the boar leg in front of him. "You could use some more muscle!"
"I'm really not hungry." Loki insisted, beginning to move away from the table.
"I said, if you want to gain muscle you need to eat, so eat!" Volstagg insisted, picking up a slice of meat and shoving it in Loki's face. Loki tried to squirm away but ended up falling off the bench and onto the cold stone floor instead. Before he could process the fall, Volstagg was sitting on top of him, force feeding him. All his friends had laughed, including his brother. He had vomited for days afterwards.
At the sound of those words, Loki clenched his fists. He absolutely hated it when people commented on size and food. As much as his "friends" had tried to bulk him up, he had remained skinny. Eventually he developed a covering of lean muscle, but it was never comparable to Thor's brawn or Volstagg's bulk.
Loki glanced around for the victim of the verbal abuse. At the bar by the window, a woman sat typing on her laptop. Next to her sat a coffee cup and a muffin with a single bite out of it. Her head was tucked down, and she was staring determinedly at the screen. She had to be the one the voice was talking about, as she was the only larger person around. Loki considered her figure, trying to see what the others saw wrong with it other than the fact that she was slightly larger than them. All he noticed is that she looked sturdier than the others, with wide hips and a narrow waist. This was a woman that could take a little bit of rough handling without him having to treat her like fragile china. Though Loki may be physically weak when compared to his fellow Asgardians, he was stronger than nearly everyone on Midgard. Many humans looked weak to him, like twigs that a strong wind could break in half. However, she looked strong while also being distinctly feminine. Brown hair framed her round face in gentle waves, morphing into an artificial teal color halfway down. Despite the artificial color in her hair her face was natural and without makeup, her skin a pale cream. Her lips were a gentle pink, trapped between her teeth as she tried to focus on her computer screen. He could see absolutely nothing wrong with her. She wasn't even that heavy. Loki was sure that he could pick her up no problem. So what if she was a little sturdier? He rolled his eyes. How he hated humans.
Next, Loki looked around for the source of the insult. A woman no thicker than a streetlight pole with hair so artificially blonde that it nearly glowed was sitting at a table next to the girl in the window, sending a malicious sneer her way. Her companion, a man with muscles so large and bulbous they would give his brother a run for his money, was snickering.
"How about you go eat some grass, cow! Might improve your figure!" he bellowed, causing the woman he was with to smirk.
The woman in the window flinched and bunched up her shoulders higher, as if her back could act as a shield to hold back the insults. With that Loki decided he'd had enough. He may not be a good man, but he wasn't about to let anybody else go through what he'd gone through while he could help it. However, he was still Loki. Rather than fighting with brawn, he was going to fight with wit.
"Hello Gorgeous" he complimented, walking up to the woman in the window and bending down to kiss her cheek. "Play along" he whispered in her ear while he was bent down. He caught an almost imperceptible nod. "Thanks for waiting. I'm sorry I was late. How was your day today, Darling?"
"It was alright. A little stressful. Lots of papers to grade" she answered, licking her lips slightly with the tip of her tongue before meeting his gaze. Her voice was naturally low and sultry, but soft in a way that felt like a caress. He smiled down at her gently, doing his best to make his gaze adoring. It wasn't all that difficult for him to fake the attraction. It came easier to him with her than it did with anyone else. It didn't feel nearly as forced. "How about yours, hon?"
"Same old, same old" he answered with a soft smirk. His eyes flitted to the table that had previously been flinging nasty comments. The blonde was sitting there with a look of utter shock, rage barely concealed underneath. The muscular brute just sat there with his arms crossed, his lips forming a thin line on his face.
"You look lovely today, by the way" Loki added, tucking a strand of her multicolored hair behind her ear. He watched a soft blush creep up her cheeks. "I missed you."
"I missed you too." A soft smile curved her lips. "We're having dinner at my place tonight, right? After coffee?"
Loki's had to steel his expression before his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. This woman was taking "play along" to a whole new level. If she wanted to step up the game, he wasn't about to object. Now it was time to have some real fun.
"That was the plan" he drawled with a smirk. "However, we could always skip dinner and go straight to dessert. I'm in the mood for something…" he slowly raked his eyes up and down her body "sweet."
"Well, if you're in the mood for sweet, I'm not one to say no" she smirked back, resting her elbow on the bar and her chin in her palm. "Though, I was hoping to finish my tea first."
"I suppose I could allow that." She had completely captivated his interest. His earlier flirtation with the nurse forgotten, he was entirely focused on the woman in front of him and the game she was playing. "Heaven forbid my iced coffee gets watered down."
"Black iced coffee with extra espresso" the barista called out from behind the counter.
"Speak of the devil. I'll be right back." He pecked another kiss on her cheek, a real one this time, and sauntered over to the counter. He flashed a triumphant smile at the blonde, who was now fuming in her seat. After grabbing his coffee, he noticed that she and her brute of a companion were leaving. Finally.
"So" he said, setting his drink on the bar, his eyes following the couple out the door. "Can I get your name?"
"No" she said coldly. "Look, I appreciate the help, but my school district requires that grades be submitted tomorrow and I'm way behind."
"So, I'm assuming dinner is out of the question?" he asked, bringing his smirk back. This one was quite interesting. Was all that flirting just for show or was there any real interest under the surface? He desperately wanted to find out.
"Completely" she answered. "You don't have to ask me out just because some rude comments were directed my way. I'm used to it by now. Been this way my whole life. Let's not pretend that you're actually interested."
"Who's to say I'm not actually interested?" he scoffed.
She dragged her eyes away from her computer screen before gesturing to him and then gesturing to herself. Loki was confused. Did she actually think that her being slightly larger was turning him off? If anything, it was doing the opposite. Between her curves, attitude, and wit he was hooked. She had to be the most attractive and interesting Midgard women he'd ever met.
"It's clear you like to play games, and I can play along, but not with my love life. I'm not going to pretend that this was anything more than what it was: one stranger helping out another."
"What if I want it to be more?" Loki asked playfully, almost enjoying the change of pace.
"Are you for real?" she asked him mockingly. "Just because you helped me doesn't mean I owe you a lay, and just because I'm fat doesn't mean I'm easy. Stop playing around about you wanting anything more than that."
This time Loki did let his eyebrows shoot up. This kitten had claws.
"Well, if you're sure, I'll be taking my coffee to go. Have a nice day." Loki stood up gracefully to leave, grabbing his coffee off the bar. "And in case you were wondering, I wasn't playing around."
Loki winced inwardly at the lie. Of course, he couldn't be serious about anyone. With him having to pretend to be Odin and only traveling to Midgard once a week, any attempt at a relationship with a human was doomed to failure. Plus, human women were only good for one thing, and that was slaking his lust. All humans were good for were scavenging, killing, or fucking.