Working Title : Loki & Annie

71 Pros and Cons

Thor had brought his and Annie's plates to the kitchen, knowing to scrape the uneaten food into the trash. He then washed the few dishes along with drying before setting them in the odd object on the counter that held them before going back to sit in the living room. Watching Loki finish the few more bites of food he wondered when his Brother would lose the look of a starving child. Loki's bones still protruded, he looked frail in his too-large shirt. The turtle neck was meant to conceal the collar however to Thor's eyes it was easily seen beneath the fabric.

Loki finished the food on his plate then his juice, keeping the cup grasped in his hands. He didn't like being here with Not-His-Thor all by himself but he was trying to be brave. He knew he hadn't been behaving as Father would want him to, like a warrior, so he knew he had to try harder. He chewed on the straw as he took little sips, taking peeks at Not-His-Thor to make sure he was staying in his seat over there and not getting up again.

"Would you care for more food, Brother? There is more fruit."

Loki's shoulders pulled up as his head ducked down. He stopped drinking and there was the sound of air bubbles as the juice went back down the straw and into the cup. In the silence of the room, it sounded louder than it should.

Loki shook his head once while he remained hunched. Standing to reach for Loki's empty plate Thor came to a startling halt when he heard a frightened whine from Loki even as his whole body flung itself back against the couch. Holding his hand's palms out Thor spoke gently, "Peace, Loki. I mean you no harm. My apologies for frightening you. I simply meant to remove your plate." Thor watched Loki's little fingers squeeze the cup so tight that they turned white as they shook. Lowering his volume Thor asked, "May I reach over to pick it up?" He knelt next to the coffee table in an effort to put Loki at ease and to also be better able to search his Brother's face.

Loki felt his fear pounding inside of him, it was loud though he had still heard Not-His-Thor's words. He didn't know if it was the truth so he wasn't sure how to answer the question. When he saw Not-His-Thor kneel his eyes jumped over to look at him. Not-His-Thor's face looked sad but Loki knew it could be a trick to make him think it was true. The Liar-Men had pretended to be sad at punishing Loki but then they would laugh when they did it so Loki knew they were Liar-Men. But he was going to be a warrior and warriors were not scared of anything so he couldn't be scared either. 

Thor watched as Loki gave a sharp nod of his head, giving permission but Thor could see how his Brother continued to hold his breath and remaining unnaturally still. It was only after Thor had picked the plate up and gone into the kitchen that Loki relaxed.

Washing the dish Thor contemplated his conversation with Annie, looking back and seeing all the ways he could have done a better job presenting his offer. He had had one chance to make it and he was afraid he had blundered it. He heaved out a breath, Loki was always the one to carry out negotiations and this was exactly the reason. Loki was able to speak with subtle words while Thor simply threw out his demands. He had been taught to be direct and had learned the lesson well. After drying the dish Thor set it with the others then folded his arms as he turned to lean against the counter.

Raising his eyes just enough to peek at Not-His-Thor Loki found they were staring at each other so he ducked his head. Loki was thinking about what Not-His-Thor had spoken to Annie about. Not-His-Thor had asked Annie to take care of him and she had said no. He scratched at his palm as he tried to remember what exactly she had said. He thought that maybe she had said no first then she had said she would think about it but he knew she was going to say no again because she didn't want Loki to listen to her and Not-His-Thor talking about it. Loki knew that when adults didn't want to talk around him it was because they were going to say something that he wasn't going to like. He wanted Annie to stay with him and keep him safe from Not-His-Thor because Loki didn't want to be with Not-His-Thor all by himself.