Beyond The Stars (UNDER REVISION)

Adjusting

I stand inside the cliche costume shop with Loki. "What is this holiday?"

"Halloween. Children dress up in fun costumes and go door to door, asking for candy."

"Do adults do this too?"

"I've always dressed up when taking children because it is much more fun. Some adults dress up and go to costume parties."

He narrows his eyes at one of the cliche Jesus costumes. "Parties?" He grabs the costume. "'Holy Man'?" He reads the packaging. "What makes him holy?"

"Yeah. Midgardians always find any excuse to party." I pick up a nice pirate costume. I grab the costume and chuckle. "We also have a ton of different religions. This is the God of one of them." I hang the costume back up.

There are giggles from across the store. I don't pay them any attention, but Loki looks. "Will you be dressed in such a manner?"

I turn, sipping my drink. I choke slightly, "No, no, no." Loki looks at me, confused. "That, my dear Asgardian friend, is what we call sluts. I am not one." He just nods, thinking. "What do you think?" I hold up one of the cheaply made costumes. He scrunches up his nose. "I didn't think so." I notice a cute pair of spiderweb tights out of the corner of my eye. "Ooh!" Grab them and drop them into my basket. I see a stack of Slytherin sweaters. This gives me an idea. I grab one Slytherin sweater that is Loki's size. It is best to not throw him into the tradition. Not finding anything I want, I decide to just do what I did last year. I walk up to the counter.

"Did you find everything okay?" The cashier asks.

"We did. Thank you." Loki speaks before I can. I'm happy he's learning.

I notice the girls beside us whispering about how hot Loki is. The cashier tells us the price and I hand her the credit card. One finished, I smile at the worker. "Have a good day."

Loli pauses for a second. "Good day, sluts!" He smiles at the ladies, bowing. My eyes go wide. Trying not to laugh, I grab Loki's arm and pull him out of the store. I keep running, dragging him behind until we reach my car. I stop to catch my breath before bursting into laughter. "What is so amusing?"

I bend over, trying to collect myself. Once I stop laughing, I stand up straight, only to be thrown into another laughing fit when I see his innocent face. "You can't- you can't say that out loud, Loki." I laugh even harder. I finally stop laughing and climbed into the car. We drive home.

When we get home, I run into mom as she's leaving. "I'm heading to hang out with some friends. Keep an eye on Adam. Remember to help him with his schoolwork and read to him, please. I won't be back until late. You can order takeout. Cash is on the bar. Love you!" I couldn't even get a word in before she leaves.

"Well then, looks like it's just us and Adam." We walk inside. "Adam, I'm home!"

I hear heavy footsteps. "Did you get it?!"

I pull the DVD out of my bag. "The full collection of Saw movies? Uh, yeah, I got it!" He goes to take it from me. "Ah, no. You are not allowed to watch this without an adult. So I don't want you starting this without me." He nods rapidly.

"Thank you!"

I smile softly. "Don't just thank me. I almost forgot, but Loki reminded me."

He looks up at Loki and hugs him tightly, which takes me aback. I've never seen him hug anyone but mom and I. "Thank you, Mr. Loki."

I see a flicker in Loki's emerald green eyes. He smiles softly and hugs him back. "You are welcome, Adam."

"Now go get ready for dinner." Adam runs upstairs. I set down the bags and pull out my phone. I dial the number of the takeout delivery place. I place an order and wait patiently. Soon, the food arrives. We eat and watch the first Saw movie. By the time it ends, it's only 8:30, so I start a fire in the fireplace. I decided to buy Adam a surprise. "Hey, Adam. Why don't you and Loki go upstairs and find a good book? You know where they are." Adam jumps up and runs up the stairs.