The park had an eerie feel to it at this time of night; far beyond the bed times of any children who would play there. Thor had stopped by the nearest shop on his way here, gathering the obligatory late night snacks and upon arriving at their usual spot he found his brother already there. Loki sat cross legged on the little platform of the jungle gym, book in his lap. Thor expected nothing less.
"They didn't have gummy worms," he explained as he clambered onto the platform. Tossing a soft drink to Loki, he opened a beer for himself, chuckling at the disapproving look he received.
"What are you reading now?"
"The Mastered Arts."
"Sounds fun. Have you mastered them yet?"
Loki snorted, setting the book aside in favour of opening his drink. "It's not an instruction manual, Thor."
"I know," he replied with a laugh. "We read it in class a few months back."
Loki raised his eyebrows in surprise. "You've read it?"
"Yes, Loki. I can read you know."
He threw a chocolate pretzel at him before eating one himself. Loki picked it out of his lap and ate it, staring thoughtfully into space.
"It's pretty dark," Thor commented.
"It is?"
"Mm."
"How's Jane?"
Thor had always been wary of how Loki might react when he introduced him to Jane. He never thought of his brother as fragile but his parents always stressed the importance of making Loki feel a part of the family. They worried Thor would become so distracted by a girlfriend that Loki would start acting out. But Thor had been pleasantly surprised when they hit it off, talking at length about theories and experiments.
"Pretty good. Parents are driving her nuts though."
"Good."
Thor looked reproachful at his brother's gleeful tone. Perhaps there was some friction after all.
"Surely it's the first sign of madness to get along with your parents," he teased and Thor visibly relaxed.
"Hmm, you're probably right."
He stooped as he stood on the little platform, reaching to pull himself onto the monkey bars. With ease he did a few pull ups, sticking his tongue out before jumping down to the soft ground. Loki followed him, resting his drink further away from his book as he kicked off from the platform. Thor was impressed by how long Loki stayed up but some quick tickling soon had him on the ground. Gathering up their things, Thor motioned to Loki.
"Come on, thought you had an exam tomorrow?"
"Eugh, it will be easy as pie," he moaned. "Can't we stay a little bit more?"
"We'll be here all night. Plus you know how father is about you staying out."
Rolling his eyes, Loki followed as they headed home.