Coffee and Books 2

Sly fox - part 2

"Thor!"
"Thor is here!"
"That is Thor!"
The kids scream and yell and run to the windows. Outside the coffee shop is a black limousine. Thor just got out, wearing his casual clothes. I'm a little disappointed, I'd hoped he would wear his armour. But the kids recognise him anyway and that's the most important part. Behind him, a figure in black steps out of the car.

"No way! He dressed up too! I never would've thought." Thomas is staring out the window, just like me. I can't believe my eyes. Loki is wearing a black three piece suit with a white frilly shirt and a black cape with blood red lining.
"Girl, that is one hot Dracula!" Thomas voices my thoughts. I can only nodd, my jaw slack.

Thor waves at the kids, who cheer and holler in response. They scream even harder when he balls his fists and lets lightning spark from his hands. Thunder cracks and for a second the king of Asgard is engulfed in a ball of lightning. A little girl dressed like Piglet starts crying. Her father picks her up on his arm, but continues to film the spectacle outside with his phone. Thor comes inside in full armour, billowing red cape included.
Thomas points out all the phones directed at Thor. "That is gonna go viral in no time."

The kids swarm around Thor and he is dealing out high fives all around him. Little Piglet has stopped crying, mostly because she's nibbling on a muffin Lisa gave her.

I put my empty tray down on the counter and turn around to check the room. A cool hand touches my cheek and gently tugs my hair.

"Pigtails, hm? You look cute." Loki leans down for a quick kiss.

"Thank you for coming," I smile at him. "I thought you had other things to do."

Loki shrugs. "It could wait."

"Just admit that you couldn't pass up on playing dress up," I tease.

"He doesn't have to admit that. Everybody knows it already." Thor's booming laugh fills the room.

"What?! I look good in a cape!" Loki smirks.

I shake my head, laughing. Loki has kept a low profile here on Earth, but when he gets the chance to show off, he grabs it with both hands.
When I catch sight of some fox ears I put my hand on Loki's arm. "You know who's here too? Gary."

For a second Loki doesn't know who I'm talking about, but then his head snaps up. "Where?"

"He's with his kid. A bunny police officer. And he's a fox."

Loki's eyes scan the crowd and come to rest on Gary Wilde's back. His face darkens at the sight of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. "What's he doing here?"

"Same as every other parent, having fun with his kid." I tug at Loki's arm to make him look at me. "I have an idea to mess with him, but I need to call Stark. You have his number, right?"

Loki takes out his phone and hands it to me. "What are you gonna do?"

"I'll tell you in a bit."

Inside the little office I scroll through Loki's contacts and press 'Stark'.
"Uncle Scar, what's up?" sounds the voice of Tony Stark after a couple of rings.

"Hello Tony, it's Ylva actually. I need a favour."

Tony doesn't seem fazed. "A favour? Well, what's in it for me?"

We settle the price on a box of muffins before Stark asks what I need from him.
"Do you have access to the personnel files of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Yes..." Stark is suspicious, but when I explain what I want him to do he barks out a laugh. "The God of Mischief's ways rub off on you! But alright, I'll see what I can do. Send me that pic and I'll get back to you."

"Thanks Tony!"

"Don't thank me, just bring me those muffins."

When I get back in the coffee shop Yvonne and Lisa have arranged for some peace and quiet by making the kids sit down around Thor. The king of Asgard sits on a chair in the middle and is answering questions.
A girl dressed as a princess puts up her hand, I think she's about 7 years old. "Is that real electricity in your hands?"

"Yes, it is," Thor says pleasantly.

"Can I see?"

"Sure." Thor waves her over and makes her stand before him. He spreads the fingers of his hand and little sparks jump between his fingers. The girl squeals and is all giddy when she sits down again.

I'm filling up cups with green lemonade while watching Thor and the kids. Loki sits on the other side of the counter, Tova and Astera next to him. Three cups of tea sit steaming on the bar. One of the mini-Thors stands up to ask his big hero a question. "Where is your hammer?"

The God of Thunder is a bit taken aback by the question. By now I have learned the true story of how Hela destroyed the hammer, but that's not common knowledge. As far as the general public knows, Thor always wields a hammer in battle. The little Thors all have their own plastic hammer.

"Uhm... my older sister took it from me," Thor eventually says.

"That is mean!" the princess from before calls out and several other kids join in. "Yeah! She's a meanie!"

"My sister is mean to me too," mini-Thor says. "Well... sometimes."

"Yes, siblings can be mean sometimes," Thor admits with a smile. Loki cocks an eyebrow at that statement.

"Can't you ask it back?" a mini-fireman asks out loud.

Thor shakes his head. "I can't. She broke it." He looks sad when he says it and the kids take pity. The princess comes up to him and gives him a hug. Thor awkwardly puts his big arm around her to pat her back.

"Aww..." Next to me Lisa bites her lip. I have stopped pouring lemonade to watch Thor bonding with the kids. It's like Disney and Pixar all rolled into one, with a little sugar on top. It's too cute!

Mini-Thor walks up to Thor and holds out his plastic hammer. "You can have mine, Mr. Thor."

"Damn it, I'm gonna cry," Lisa mutters under her breath and I grab her hand because I feel exactly the same. In front of me, Tova even sniffles and Astera is also moved by what happens. Only Loki keeps a straight face, but he has over a thousand years of practice.

Thor stares at the kid for a long moment before he folds his big hands around the small hand with the hammer. "That's real nice of you, but you can keep it. I'm not worthy of this mighty weapon right here. You are the only one who can lift it."

The boy walks back to his place with a proud grin and aunt Yvonne announces it's time for the prizegiving. One of the Asgardian boys dressed up as a dog ends in third place. Second place is for the princess and officer Judy Hopps wins first prize.

After that the place slowly empties and we start to clean up. We're closed for lunch today so our regular guests won't have to sit in the mess that our kids party has left behind.
Tova and Astera have taken the kids home, but Thor and Loki stayed to help clean up. Aunt Yvonne has made tomato soup and sandwiches for lunch and we all sit at the large table in the middle of the coffee shop.

After emptying his plate Loki leans back and puts his arm on the back of my chair. "Now, tell me, what did you want from Stark? Why did you need his help to mess with Wilde?"

"Let me check my phone, maybe Stark has already done it." Sure enough, there's a new email in my inbox. It's from Tony Stark. 'For the Goddess of Mischief' it says in the subject box.

I open the attachment and immediately start laughing. Loki takes my phone from me and grins wide when he sees it. Agent Gary Wilde has a new picture on his S.H.I.E.L.D. badge, one with whiskers and fox ears.

Author's note:

Well? What do ya think? :-)