Cold.
It was so cold.
The repetitive beep of a monitor penetrated through Loki's drug induced haze, forcing his tired eyes to open.
A long, pitiful groan escaped his lips.
"Welcome back to Earth," an unfamiliar voice chuckled from beside him.
The God of Mischief snapped his eyes to the left to see a gentle looking man with soft brown eyes and salt and pepper curls clearing some equipment from his bedside.
The place was strange and Loki felt panic rise from within him.
"Where's my brother?" he croaked. He must have been a sleep for some time.
The man smiled softly and brushed a reassuring hand across the pale boy's bony shoulders.
"Resting." He gestured towards the huge lump curled at the end of the bed.
Loki glanced at his brother and smiled softly. "You've been knocked out since 5:30pm... It's," he gazed at the clock on the wall. "5 Am. So twelve hours, give or take. I've given your bro some fresh clothes and food that hasn't come from the cafeteria." He faked throwing up and Loki giggled. "So he shouldn't be too worn out. He's worried about you, though. He hasn't left your side."
"Thank you," the young boy smiled, genuinely liking the nurse before him. "What is your name?"
"Nurse Banner." He responded, dimples popping. "But you can call me Bruce."
"Bruce it is," Loki grinned back. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"You too, Luke."
The name rolled off his tongue with ease.
Loki blinked but quickly joined up the dots. Their mother must have had their names changed; possibly figuring 'Thor' and 'Loki' was a little bit too rare to pass in this society.
"Your file tells me that you and your brother Theo moved here from South London just last week," he said, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand.
For the first time, Loki noticed the huge bags that swallowed his cheekbones. The premature wrinkling on his forehead suggested he frowned often but the clear crows feet by his eyes indicated he smiled a lot to.
Yes, Loki admired this man.
"Your mother is Freya Hiddlesworth and your father is Otis Hiddlesworth. They work away in a neighbouring town. You are twelve years of age and your birthday is... today."
Bruce stared at the handsome young boy in shock, scrambling to check the folder again. "Oh no..."
"What?" Loki frowned. "Why, 'oh no'?"
"It's your birthday!" Bruce exclaimed, so loudly it stirred Thor. "And you're thirteen! That doesn't just happen every day, you know!"
Uhh... it actually kinda does for them.
"Its no big deal. I'm in a hospital, so birthdays evidently can't be too great. " he shrugged, peeling back his bed covers. He was dressed in a long blue apron. "Oh Lords. What is this?"
"Hospital Rules, sorry."
"LOK—eee, uhh-LUKE!"
The young boy didn't have chance to turn around before he was swallowed by those huge arms. They snaked around his shoulders like vines and Loki huffed a breathless laugh.
"Theo," It was still strange to use names properly, but he was getting used to it. Referring to each other as 'brother' seemed so odd to people in this era. "I'm okay. I'm alright."
