A/N: Painfully long chapter coming up now, took me two nights, this is me making up for the lack of updates. Before I begin with the story, just want to say thanks to those of you who reviewed :) I appreciate it. I'm glad you like the OC, and my portrayal of Loki. I think there's no better explanation of Loki's psychology than the many things Tom Hiddleston has to say about him, so that's my source. Read on!
Don't believe anything anyone tells you. The second time you take a Norse god out to dinner is almost as bad as the first.
"This is madness!" Loki declared, throwing his chopsticks down.
"You picked this place!" I snarled, almost choking on my bean-curd salad.
"Because you can't afford any other!"
"Starve, then!"
"How dare you! I asked to be fed, not to be tested mentally and physically!"
"What-" I demanded acidly, "is so challenging about using two pieces of wood to pick up a dumpling? The Asians have been doing it for centuries!"
I demonstrated, skilfully lifting off a dumpling from his plate and biting into it, "Any idiot could do it!"
"Oh," Loki narrowed his eyes at me, "I know you mean to insult me, Paton, but the only idiot I see here is-"
Just then a waiter in a red head-scarf and black apron ambled towards us with an apologetic expression. He bowed his head to me and whispered, "Madam, is there a problem?"
I shook my head, "No, we're fine, thank you."
"I'm afraid I have to ask you to keep it down, madam, you're scaring the other customers," the waiter winced.
"I am not going to sit around and be told what to do by a servant-boy," Loki muttered.
"Ignore him, he's a tourist from Sweden."
"Svalbard is in Norway."
"If you love it so much why don't you just marry it?" I growled.
The waiter bit his lip, "Madam, I don't want to intrude on your matters with your partner but I-"
"Partner?" Loki and I snarled in unison, putting the waiter in a very uncomfortable position.
"She is not my partner," Loki folded his arms.
"Clearly, I would prefer someone who could maneuver a bloody pair of chopsticks," I rolled my eyes.
I have to hand it to the waiter, he was pretty good at thinking on his feet - he reached over to the next table that was empty, picked up a roll of silverware and placed it at Loki's elbow. Then with a quick bow he said, "Sir, might I suggest using a fork and knife, then?"
Loki surveyed him a moment and then began to work on his dumplings like a well-bread Englishman on a Burmese expedition. The Waiter bowed his way out and returned to the kitchen. The several pairs of watching eyes returned to their respective dinner guests and our relative privacy was returned to us in the corner of the dimly-lit restaurant.
"You should tip him generously, Paton, he's got a better head on his shoulder than yours."
I squished a helpless mushroom with the side of my chopstick. What a god-awful patriarch this one can be sometimes. And a stubborn mule too. I decided to make a truce before the bitterness coagulated between us. I had been on edge ever since my haughty house guest had become wielder of some sort of magical weapon that I didn't want to be at the wrong end of.
"I'm sorry I yelled Loki," I offered. "I suppose the stress of the past few days has been getting to me and I was wrong to take it out on you."
Loki's eyes flickered up at me as he was sawing his way through his dumplings. There was something unreadable in his expression and it terrified me. I thought I had come to know every line and every twitch of his porcelain face. He was suddenly as strange to me now as he was lying sprawled on the road that ran by the game-reserve.
I soldiered on with my apology: "I can't boast of an easy life or lifestyle, but I can appreciate just how difficult it is for you to be stranded here, with customs you don't understand. We're really in the same boat, you know, and I would much rather keep you as a friend than a foe."
Loki chewed silently for a moment and then cleared his throat. "Well, Paton, that was eloquent. I'll give you that."
"Is that all you have to say to me?"
"It doesn't do to discuss these things here, but I will agree with you - I would have you as an ally."
For a brief second, I could see the abyss in his eyes. As odd as it sounds to say it, there was some comfort in that - there was a void in him that was filled paradoxically with humanity. He blinked and looked away and it was gone. I drained my glass of water and called for the bill. Loki was trying to replace the shattered and vulnerable part of his soul with unfeeling nothingness. I decided I wasn't going to let him.
Someone had pushed the truck into the vacant lot behind the laundromat. It was overrun with weeds and the were bend backwards where the obstinate metal body of the vehicle had rolled in. It was probably Hank who'd done it. The bar was closed, like most other places, when I got to it. The truck was out of gas and there wasn't a station this side of town. I sighed and crossed my arms, wondering if a certain god would help me airlift it out of the lot and down to Riverside. Or at least onto the expressway. I'd pushed it down to Riverside if I had to.
"It's in awful condition," Loki observed. "Why don't you just sell it for spares?"
"How would I make a living? Delivering to South Dutton by foot? Maybe you could mate, but we mortals have out limitations."
I kicked the bumper and it came right off, sending a throbbing pain up my toe into my knee.
"Fantastic," I whimpered. "I wish I could get rid of this old thing."
"Would you like some help?" Loki beamed, spinning the sceptre around in his hand.
"No!" I warned. "Isn't there something else you can blow up?"
Loki was too busy examining the sceptre to answer. He was deep in thought while I was trying to unlock the door on the passenger side to get to the glove compartment.
"You know it has an extremely remarkable energy core, this weapon."
"That's great, Loki."
"You don't understand, this thing is so powerful it could wipe out half this town."
I cocked my head up and feigned delight, "Marvelous, we shall have our own little Hiroshima right here in South Dutton!"
"Stand aside," Loki commanded, striding towards the hood of the truck.
"What are you doing?" I froze in panic.
He threw open the hood and peered into the engines, his eyes darting over the grooves and nooks and wires and pipes.
"Loki?" I asked, stepping backwards. "I think you've done enough to this truck in a single week."
"Quiet."
I watched him prodding around with the sceptre, a strange blue glow dancing on his face. The glow became stronger and sharper and I could hear the singing as I was blinded by white light. It all withdrew very quickly and I was left blinking spots from my vision.
"Come, look."
I obeyed the monosyllabic orders, sauntering over to his side as he stared down into the engines. A strange blue glow continued to shimmer against the contours of his face and the ridges of the metal hood alike. I peered into the depths under the hood and found the source of the light. Like the blue core of the sceptre, but in a much smaller measure, energy was pulsing through a small metal sphere among the pipes and bolts.
"You're never going to need a gas-station again," Loki winked, the sceptre shrinking to the size of a ruler in his palms. He pulled open the passenger door and sat down, gesturing for me to follow.
The truck went faster than ever. I felt the breeze whipping my hair around me as we shot down the dark road to Riverside. Exhileration. I could feel the blood course through my veins. It was a heady mix of joy, fear and relief. I eased the truck into the drive and kicked open the door.
"Home sweet home," I said, throwing my arms out at the sight of my permanent-temporary-living-settlement.
"You seem rather happy," Loki observed.
"All thanks to you," I smirked. "Who knew gods were so god at tricking out cars?"
Loki only smiled to himself as we walked up to the porch. "It's a cold night," he observed. "How about a fire?"
There was a generous amount of firewood piled up under the awning outside the kitchen window. I held a stack of old bills and receipts over an old zippo and watched with glee as they caught fire. I used the old reminders of my poverty as a catalyst to start a fire in the back. The sky was cold and clear and silent and you could hear the soft splashes of the river on the banks in the distance. Loki was watching the sky again, a shadow on his face where there should have been starlight. My lips had barely parted when he said:
"I'll spare you the trouble, Paton. I know what you were going to ask me and the answer is no."
"What if they're looking for you?"
"These are matters far beyond the comprehension of a Midgardian, especially one like you."
Ouch, that sounded hurtful. "What if they-"
"If your father landed up on your doorstep this minute, asking for you to come home, would you?"
I paused, dropping my gaze to the fire.
He let go of the sceptre in his hand and stood up, reaching for a bag of marshmallows (it would always mystify me where he procured the goods, I had learned to stop asking.) "Just as I thought."
"So you're going to spend night after night roasting packaged goods, then?"
"Rubbish," he said sternly, prodding his marshmallow. "I have a plan Paton, don't you remember?"
"I'm sorry, I've been preoccupied with car trouble and other issues lately."
"Well, let's refresh your memory, shall we?"
Loki dusted his hands and straightened up, pointing the marshmallow end of his stick to me, "The energy core that has captivated my attention so long is no ordinary battery operated contraption, as you might perceive it, simple minded as you are."
I grimaced and he continued, "I was drawn to it because it was strikingly familiar. You see, the blue core emits the same energy signature as the hypercube known to both Asgard and Jotunheim. A device powerful beyond your imagination."
"And you're after it, obviously."
"Aren't you a keen one."
"What makes you think it's anywhere near here?" I asked, "I mean I've only just discovered there are more realms than one, which means it could be hidden absolutely anywhere."
"Which means it could be right under our noses," he beamed.
"Or halfway across the universe!"
"Don't patronize me like a child. My mind is set on that hypercube, that's all that's important."
"Isn't one dangerous weapon good enough for you?"
"No. You don't understand. I need that cube."
"What for?"
"To get back-"
"You said you wouldn't ever set foot in Asgard!"
"Let me finish, Paton!" He sad testily. "I need that cube to get back what is rightfully mine."
"And what's that?"
Loki had drawn himself to his full height as he spoke - "The throne of Asgard, of course."
It took me a while to digest this.
"You mean to return, then?" I asked. "After you said you wouldn't touch Asgard with a twenty-mile pole!"
"I said no such thing," Loki shook his head, pacing around the fire. "I don't expect you to understand, it's a complicated matter. I only ask for your assistance."
"Oh, you're asking now? Well that's certainly a start. Can I expect a 'please' and 'thank you' as well every now and then?"
"The choice is entirely yours, Paton," he said, locking me with a steely gaze, "I am grateful for the kindness you have extended to me, meagre though it may be. I can understand if this task is too much for a Midgardian, I only hoped to be thanked in some small way after repairing the damage to your vehicle."
Oh no. No no no. He's smooth talking you into a corner Paton! He's literally conning you into an extended slave-agreement. Don't fall for it! You've done enough! You gave everything you had! Your home, your truck, your time, your patience.
"What d'you mean, 'too much for a Midgardian'?" I snapped.
What are you doing, you're letting him poison you!
"I only implied it might be above your ability to-"
"You may be a Norse god with magic and centuries of wealthy lineage, Loki, but I have faced and conquered this world to the best of my abilities!"
"Undoubtedly, Paton."
Paton, shut your pie-hole, don't you know what you're getting into?
"I had nothing and no one when I first came to Riverside, now I have a life and a home, which is more than I can say for-" I thought better of what I was about to utter, "for a lot of Midgardians. Finding a bloody blue cube is no great task, I assure you. It pales in comparison with having to put up with you and your ways for hours at an end, I can tell you that!"
"My my," he smirked at me, crossing his arms over his chest. "I can't decide whether to be thrilled or insulted."
"Be both," I growled. "We start a search in the morning."
"Splendid."
As I was turning around to go, the toe of my boot hit something and I tumbled forward.
What a bloody brilliant exit, Paton. Way to dissolve every formidable ounce of your little speech just now.
I flushed red and dusted my knees, holding up the sceptre that had brought me on all fours twice in one day. The curved metal of the scythe glinted mockingly at me.
I held it out, standing up straight again, "Loki, can't you keep an eye on your damn sce-"
I never got to complete myself, because I was distracted by a sharp singing in my ears and a white hot beam of light that grew in the womb of the core and shot upwards into the clear night sky. It was the most powerful beam of light I had ever seen, brightening the entire town for a brief moment before dissolving like a large pearly column into the blackness of the sky.
"What have you done?" Loki breathed, striding towards me.
"I-I don't know i-it just-" I stuttered, "It j-just went off on it's-on it's own, I swear!"
He snatched the sceptre from his hands, searching the sky with his eyes.
"I don't know what happened," I ran my hands through my hair, following his gaze and then looking back to his face. There was no anger or fear in his eyes. They were hard and unblinking; cold, sharp emeralds that cut and drew blood from prying fingers.
"Marvelous," he said neutrally, still looking upward.
I cast my gaze to the night sky, that was darkest where the light had disappeared. I couldn't hear the sound of a rip, but I was almost certain there was a rip. A tear in the sky itself. Something was welling in the darkness of the night; there was a light, pin-sized but growing, like a star being born, only more powerful. It was as if the sceptre had shot a beacon for help into space, and somebody had answered.
A/N: And this concludes Part Two of the story! I hope y'all liked it. Tell me what you thought of it so far! Likes, dislikes, suggestions. I'll keep it all in mind as I write out Part Three. Wow, I never thought I could achieve a three-part story ever. If I actually manage to finish this, DRINKS ARE ON ME (UNLESS YOU'RE UNDERAGE, BUT THEN AGAIN, SO AM I.)