A New York Secret

Chapter Eighty-Five

The next morning, Loki woke early as normal but laid on the couch until he heard his mother getting up. He got up, used the bathroom, then cleaned himself up the best he could and changed his clothes. All he had was t-shirts and sweats, but he still made himself as presentable as possible. He stayed quiet, able to find nothing to say.

Once in front of Emily's apartment door, his old home, he felt like his anxiety might overcome him. Trying to push past it, he knocked on the door. It felt strange, that this was now a foreign place to him, and that only served to sadden him more.

Steve greeted Loki at the front door and gave him a smile. "It's good to see you up and about. Mary and I are going to an appointment soon, but you're welcome to come in. There's coffee on the counter."

"Could you please let Lady Emily know I am here? She agreed to see me this morning." Loki told Steve. "And thank you, but I think it is best that I wait out here."

"She told us," Steve replied. "She wants to talk in the living room," he added, opening the door wider.

Loki glanced at his mother, seeing that her expression was warning him to not argue. Giving up, he nodded and followed Steve inside and into the living room.

"Do you want coffee?" Steve asked. "Something to eat?"

"Do you have any of that sweet juice my son enjoys?" Frigga asked before Loki could decline, referring to apple juice.

Steve gave Frigga a polite smile. "We do. Mary drinks a lot of it right now. I'll get you some."

"Thank you dear." Frigga said, returning his smile. While waiting, she watched as Loki looked around from where he stood. The apartment was mostly the same, but some furniture had been moved since he last saw it, in addition to his fish tank being gone.

When Steve returned, she took the glass and handed it to Loki. "How is Mary?" She asked, making polite conversation while they waited for Emily.

"She's good, good. Counting down the days," Steve nodded. He turned as Emily left her bedroom in a tank top and shorts, wearing a long-sleeved flannel over top of her shirt.

Frigga nodded knowingly. When she saw Emily, she walked over and greeted her with a hug. "It's so good to see you again. I only wish the circumstances were better." She said truthfully.

Emily hugged Frigga back. "Thank you for being here," she said quietly.

"Of course, dear. Come on, let's sit down. I'm sure you have questions, and my son is prepared to answer them." She said, leading Emily over to the couch, closer to where Loki stood.

Loki stepped forward to face Emily. Ignoring the tears building, he made eye contact with her. "I wanted to come here and speak with you face to face, to tell you how sorry I am. While there is no excuse for my actions, my intention was never to hurt you. I would never deliberately hurt you. I know an apology is not enough to touch the hurt I have caused, but I am taking responsibility for my actions, and I wanted you to know that." He said, ending with a slight bow, which was the best he could manage at the moment.

Emily's brow furrowed as tears filled her own eyes. The look of hurt sat heavily on her face. "I want to know why," she murmured. "Why did you blow up at me, at your mother? Why did you not listen to anything she said? Why did... why did you never let me speak before you left?"

Loki took a deep, steadying breath. "I was only angry with her. If that was misunderstood, I deeply apologize. I was never angry with you." He answered. "My mother knows how I feel about the lack of free will. I suspected the Norns were involved, but I was so happy with you that I was content to remain blissfully unaware." He continued. "I left in such a hurry because I wanted to get to the Norns, fix it, and return to hopefully win your heart for real, as fast as possible. I was hurt too badly to think past that."