Loki was, for lack of a better description, a man of many names, and wore the title proudly.
When Sif, in her younger years, had ever thought of the god, she'd usually thought of him as being a liesmith and a trickster, a deceiver of devious proportions. Her sense of mistrust slowly faded, and the boy she'd known so long ago, the one who could make even the bravest warrior flinch with wariness, had turned into the man she knew now, the one sitting across from her at the table.
Thor slumps in his chair dejectedly beside his dark haired brother, mulling over a recent fight with Jane, as Loki tries to figure out how to use chopsticks, and Sigyn laughs at him as she sits beside Sif, using her chopsticks like an expert. Her husband gives her a withering look before breaking into a muffled grin, eyes shining.
Thor calls Loki 'brother', and 'friend', and 'comrade', and Sigyn calls him 'husband', 'magician', and 'lover'.
Tony and Pepper have long since ditched their own chopstick troubles as they dig into the Oriental dinner with their silverware, and Sif recalls the way Tony calls Loki 'frosty', or 'frostbite', or 'blue's clues', and finds herself smiling despite the slight annoyance of Loki within the memories.
Odin often calls the man 'son', and Frigga once whispered 'love', and the echoes of her voice mingle behind the wall Sif tries to put up around her, and knows that the pain of the woman's death still stings Loki, even now.
The rest of the Avengers are gone, off on a self-proclaimed mission to "find food that isn't gross", and two small boys sit between Sigyn and Loki, shoveling the food into their mouths greedily. One looks up, his dark hair mussed atop his head as he gives his aunt a lazy smile, emerald eyes glistening with childish content, and his brother glances over at him with a laugh, a muffled sound that reaches past his mouthful of noodles, a thing that reaches his silvery eyes and shines brighter than the moon.
Loki gazes down at them proudly, and murmurs to them beneath his breath, gentle words that his mother once murmured to him. The boys call him 'father' and they cling to their parents so dearly, and Thor smiles whenever he sees them, and the despair once so plainly written inside Loki's gaze now lies completely dormant, nearly destroyed by the happiness that overtakes him nowadays.
Most of all, the most shocking thing that Loki's ever been called, the one thing that Sif was surprised to hear herself say after so many years (but now finds that it slides smoothly from her lips), is 'friend'.
And that's the only name that has ever mattered in all of the eons before, the depth of its impact gazing back at her from across plates of sweet and sour chicken.
Please R&R! Feedback of any kind is always appreciated! ;)
There's going to be EVEN MORE Loki in 'Thor 2'! They're adding whole new scenes with him in the movie, and it's just going to be AWESOME. And the trailer... :3
Prompts, ideas, and ships are welcome. ;)
"Say my name!" requested by STARSCREAM RULEZ.