A/N: So yeah, Christmas is in this story, even though it's April...opps.
To be fair, I had a hard time writing their thoughts while summarizing the movie scenes, which is why it took so long to write. Sorry!
Loki awoke in his new room in Stark, or rather Avengers Tower as it was now called. He blearily remembered that he was presented this chamber as a Yule-Christmas gift from the industrialist on the same floor as Thor. This room had been laid out very much like his one on Asgard; his bed was a four poster mahogany with deep green covers. There was a matching desk at the opposite side of the room and several bookshelves which were filled with books he had yet to read stood on either side of that. There was an electric fireplace insert on the far side of the room, above which stood a television.
It had been a gift along with a StarkTablet from the billionaire. He'd been surprised that he'd been invited to celebrate Christmas with Thor and the few Avengers that were in the tower. He had also been given a digital journal from Bruce that opened only with his fingerprint. Captain Rogers had given him a sketchbook and drawing pencils. And Thor had given him a set of daggers set in gold and inlay with green emerald.
"They were secretly made on Asgard." Thor had said. "Keep up your skills. Just…don't stab anyone with them." The daggers now lay in their box on his desk, gleaming in the electric light. The daggers were like sleeping giants, lying dormant in their box until the moment they would be needed.
He handed Thor a small box, saying that it was a surprise. Thor opened it to find a hammer-shaped necklace. Loki smiled as he watched his brother's face light up with joy and thanked him for the thoughtful gift.
Loki did not immediately get out of bed. He sat, pondering. He had been given this room for his own to use as he wanted if he should visit the tower. Loki had thanked them generously but still felt some apprehension, and thus decided that he would return to Bleeker Street after the turning of the New Year, as Barton and Romanov would surely come back. If they were incensed by his very presence when visiting, what would be their reaction should the master assassins find out he had a permanent room here?
'Running away from your problems again.' His mind thought. Loki had been avoiding dealing with a difficult situation and he knew it. By speaking to himself, he was trying to silence the voice in his head that was pointing out his cowardice and lack of action.
"Shut up." he retorted to his own mind. He slid out of bed and stretched, taking in the snow that covered the streets from his large window. In the back of his mind, Loki remembered the 'homework assignment' he had been given by Xavier to watch another movie and discuss it.
Loki felt an ache of dread at that. While the film he had seen was not unenjoyable, it hit a little too close to home for him. That, he supposed, was the point. He wondered briefly what this one was going to portray about his life.
'Good Morning Mr. Loki.' JARVIS spoke suddenly, making Loki startle a little. 'It is 7:35 am in New York. The temperature is 34 degrees Fahrenheit, with a 60 percent chance of snow. Captain Rogers is currently in the communal kitchen making breakfast if you would like to go downstairs.'
"Damn Stark's A.I." he muttered to himself, then to the machine said, "I will be there momentarily."
The rest of the day, Loki spent in relative quiet, watching the snow fall from the floor to ceiling windows. He had spent some of it playing chess first with Bruce, then with Steve, and surprisingly Tony, who was an extremely good opponent.
He excused himself a little past mid-day and went back up to his room to sketch by the window. For a few minutes he didn't know what to draw, then Loki began to draw a portrait of his mother. His hands flew over the page as he remembered every detail of her dress and curls in her hair. It hadn't taken him very long to finish, his heart clinched. Seeing her now filled him with so many memories. Of the times when she lifted his chin with a delicate hand or carded it through his hair. The many walks they had in her garden talking of many subjects. The pride she had when he began to learn her magic.
Loki hadn't cried since that day in the dungeons, but he could feel the tears beginning to well in his eyes. Loki had accepted that his mother had sacrificed herself to save another; he still felt a deep hole in his heart where his love for her still lingered.
"That's a beautiful picture of Mother, Loki." Thor's deep voice came from behind him.
Loki startled slightly. Loki was startled slightly. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed the presence of someone else in the room. Loki felt a chill run down his spin; he hadn't fully freed himself from the terror of what he had endured after falling into the Void. Clearly, those shadows still followed him.
He took a deep breath but glared at his brother. "Thor! Will you not sneak up behind me, for Norn's sake!"
"Sorry," Thor returned, slightly abashed. He walked around so they were facing each other. "I didn't mean to startle you." He said, a smile on his face. "You weren't answering your door."
"That's because I was hoping to have some privacy, Thor." Loki snapped.
Thor sighed. "I understand, little brother, but I just want to make sure you're okay." Loki nodded.
There was a beat of silence before the God of Thunder spoke again. "I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie. Dr. Xavier suggested it for us."
Loki swung his eyes to him, his face neutral. "Not just yet, Thor.'
Thor looked disappointed but didn't say as much, though Loki could see it in his eyes. "Very well, Loki. Just….don't spend all day here."
Loki nodded as he watched Thor turn and walk away. He was grateful for the time he was allowed to spend at the Tower, for it was the one place that truly felt like home.
After a dinner of rewarmed left-overs from Christmas dinner (Loki admitted tasted just as good as last night), he brought Thor aside. "Let's watch that film, Thor."
Thor nodded and followed him to the living room. They sat down in front of the TV, and he requested that JARVIS begin the Loki's surprise, it was yet another animated feature. Did Xavier think he was a simple Midgardian child?
It began with the sunrise in Egypt in ancient times, times neither Loki or Thor had been alive to know, but understood, nevertheless. Loki and Thor shifted uncomfortably at the sight of the slaves working and dying while building the pyramids. Asgard was the shining beacon of the Nine Worlds, but it lodged an underlying darker world where slavery was common. Those who were captured; men and women were made slaves in the palace or doing the lowest of jobs on the Golden Realm. They and their children were slaves upon their birth to their deaths.
Loki remembered when he was 9, seeing a child being pushed into a wall and kicked by an overseer. The poor wretch had accidently dropped one of the golden plates while cleaning up after dinner. He had been so upset that he had gone to his mother in tears.
"Mother? Why do children have to be slaves? Why do we have slaves?" Loki asked.
His mother looked away and sighed. "It's a difficult thing to explain, my son," she said, stroking his cheek. "But it is the way of the world. Even I as Queen cannot change the laws, Loki." She knelt in front of him. "I can speak to the King about the treatment of the children, however, If you want, son. I am certain he will listen to my words. We can make a difference in their lives and make sure they receive the care they deserve. I will do whatever it takes to make it happen."
Together, they watched the mother place her baby in a basket and cast it into the turbulent river until it had reached the Egyptian royal palace. A woman, the Queen no doubt, had lifted the child from the basket while her son stood by her. Loki wondered how Odin had found him on the Jotunheim. Perhaps the All-Father heard his crying.
"Let's go show Pharoh your new little brother, Moses." The Queen said gently.
Loki wondered how his mother-how Frigga had reacted when he was put into her arms as a babe. He knew she must have loved him fiercely, but he could never truly know what she had felt in that moment. He also knew that she had always seen him as the second child she had desired, no matter what his true nature was.
The movie's timeline shifted to the two brothers' chariot race that roared through the palace, eventually causing damage to the palace grounds, followed by a lecture by their father for said behavior. Thor and Loki had learned the hard way that their actions had consequences, and they had both tried to be better since then. Still, they sometimes couldn't help but get into trouble. They shared a knowing look and sighed in unison. Odin's lecturing became all too familiar to them in their young lives.
In the movie, the brothers bickered over their father's words.
"Tell me this Moses, tell me this, why is it every time you start something, I'm the one who gets into trouble?" Ramses lamented. Meanwhile Moses filled a cask with wine and flung it over the railing, ducking out of sight when it hit the pharaoh's two high priests, who were complaining loudly and threatening to tell their father. Horrified for a moment, Moses reappeared with a basin of wine in his hands. "May as well." Rameses shrugged and dumped it over on the two already sodden with it, followed by more complaints. Thor and Loki looked at each other and laughed. How many times had Loki's antics had caused Thor to get the blame, even if it was fun at the time?
"You worry too much." Moses laughed.
"And you don't at all." Rameses had commented.
"Oh, like…how we're late for the banquet?" Moses replied.
Loki and Thor chuckled as the two raced to the dinner while Moses remarked that they could slip in but were greeted by the Pharaoh and Queen as well as a cheering crowd from behind a curtain.
"No one will even notice?" Rameses seethed to his brother who just shrugged sheepishly.
Loki and Thor looked at each other and pointed. Another thing that they always got into trouble for was being late to important events at the palace time and time again. They had been warned many times, but they still couldn't seem to help themselves. They had a habit of getting distracted and losing track of time. As a result, they were often scolded by their father, the king.
Loki felt a pang as he watched on screen as Moses realized who he truly was; not a prince of Egypt, but a child of one of the enslaved people.
He felt crushed at Moses' words." This is where I belong, with my Father, Mother, Brother, oh so noble oh so strong. Now I am home. Here among my trappings and belongings I belong. And if anybody doubts it. They couldn't be more wrong!"
His mother had tried to comfort him when the truth finally came out. 'He kept the truth from you so you would never feel different.' Frigga had soothed. The Egyptian Queen's words on screen echoed nearly the ones that he heard from her. "This is your home, my son. Here the river brought you. And it's here the river meant to be your home. Now you know the truth, love, now forget and be content. When the gods send you a blessing, you don't ask why it was sent. "
Moses ran away from Egypt, tossing aside his royal trappings, only to build his life again as a peasant, humble, but happy. Loki soon gleamed why Xavier had suggested they watch this; Loki was on the same journey. He perhaps was no longer Prince of Asgard, but a normal human with a humble existence, even if he was living in the tower of a billionaire. Thor had become grounded (in a literal and metaphorical sense) after being exiled to Midgard without his powers. It had finally broken the hubris that Loki feared he would always carry. Would he too learn from his mistakes and be worthy to regain his powers?
Moses pleaded with Rameses to let his people go, only to have the slaves punished by doubling their work.
His true brother, Aaron sneered at him. "Why do you care about us now, Moses? Is it because you found out you're one of us?"
Moses looked downtrodden. "Because I chose not to see."
Loki saw Thor nod his head. Was he agreeing, or just falling asleep?
Several plagues appeared in Egypt, harming many animals and people. Loki suddenly saw himself in Pharaoh. He was so consumed by his own sense of power and rage that he was willing to do whatever it took to get his revenge, even if it hurt those closest to him. He no longer cared about the consequences of his actions or the feelings of others.
The plague of great darkness descended on Egypt. Moses tried to reason with Rameses, the Pharaoh recalled them switching the heads of statues. "But then…you were always there to get me out of trouble." He placed a hand on Moses' shoulder, asking quietly. 'Why can't things be the way they were?' Moses only shook his head and smiled sadly.
Loki glanced over to his brother who was intently engrossed in the movie. Loki considered the idea that, despite the darkness that had descended upon them, they could still forge a new path ahead and develop a stronger bond between them. Unlike the characters on screen, they could be brothers while forging their own paths.
Rameses son appeared, and the Pharaoh's cold, heartless demeanor returned. Loki's stomach turned as he declared that he'd destroy all of Moses' people. Not so long ago, he had tried to erase the people from whom he originated and was subsequently abandoned by...the Jotuns and perhaps gained his father's favor at last. How many were killed by the Bifrost's beam that day? He shuddered to think of the number in his head.
The Asgardians were on the edge of their seats when the final plague descended, a wind that whistled, taking the lives of the first-born Egyptian children. With a heavy silence, Thor and Loki watched in horror as the terrible tragedy unfolded.
The Pharaoh, desperate and broken as he lay his dead son on a funeral table, proclaimed to Moses that the Hebrews that they could leave Egypt. Moses, although feeling sorrow for the Pharaoh, led his people to freedom as the sun rose alongside his wife and siblings.
Loki was surprised that Rameses had followed the populace, still intent on destroying them. Why? Loki wondered. After losing control and his son, surely it would have broken him enough to leave off. He was determined to exact retribution on those he felt had wronged him, regardless of the consequences.
Just as I did with Jotunheim and then Midgard. Loki's heart skipped a beat in his chest. This parallel was hitting a little too close to home. His mind was suddenly flooded with a thousand thoughts, all of them swirling around the idea that he was destined to be the villain of his own story, and nothing more. He shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts and focus on the present.
The sea returned to its original shape after parting, sweeping away the Egyptian soldiers and the Pharaoh himself. Moses turned and could hear his name being called by Ramses. Was it anger or sadness that the last link to his family was gone?
"Goodbye, brother." Moses whispered to the wind, severing his tie with Ramses for the last time. The wedge between the two could not be amended, and Moses had a new role as leader. Loki knew that this was not so now between him and Thor. He now had a newfound appreciation for the importance of family and vowed never to take them for granted again.
The film finally ended, leaving them in quiet contemplation for some moments. It surprised Loki to see Thor deep in thought. Loki broke the tension. "Brother?"
"I have thought about many things while watching that film," Thor said in an uncharacteristically low voice. "
Loki didn't meet his gaze, "As did I, Thor. Perhaps it is time for us to talk." He wanted to make things right with Thor and prove to him that he was a better brother than he had ever been before. He would prove to him that he was capable of change, and that he could be trusted. With this newfound determination, Loki set out to make amends.
They spoke of the past, recalling when they got into trouble much as Moses and Rameses did in the movie. They spoke of their mother and her funeral. "I didn't feel anything but anger, Loki." Thor said. "And the need for revenge. The emptiness came later."
Loki's stories of their mother would bring Thor away from his melancholy. Then he was struck by the idea of asking what Thor planned to do when he became King.
"He was right." Thor said pensively at the now blank screen. "Empires should not be made on the backs of slaves, criminal or otherwise. I will not have that on my conscious. When I am King, I will abolish slavery in our realm, whether the Court likes it or not. "
The Thunder God also decided (much to Loki's dismay) to make him royal advisor upon ascending the Throne. "You are smarter than I, Loki. And more savvy with inter-realm relations and diplomacy. It seems fitting for you to take on the job."
Loki wondered if he would be welcomed back to Asgard, let alone take the second highest royal appointment in the Realm. But he decided that was a rumination for another day. As he started towards his room later, Loki felt a slight pang in his stomach, and which made his head swim slightly. He wasn't sure what was causing it, but he was sure it was something he ate. He decided to take a quick detour to the kitchen to grab a glass of water before heading to his room.
TBC...
TBC...
a/n: It's my birthday this week, so virtual birthday cake for everyone!
Happy Easter and Passover to everyone who celebrates it!
And Ramadan Mubarak!