Stepbrothers

Part 8

For a wedding, it had been flawless.
Not too much, not too cheap, not too simple, not too cliché... Maybe Larry was starting to look like a lobster in a tux and some guests were a bit loud but otherwise, more than average. It was bittersweet to Loki.
They have been married in the pretty nearby church which neither Loki nor Larry had attended. Loki sadly remembered that sometimes his mother did, just after she's been declared sick... Fran had insisted to go. She wanted the ceremony to be a bit religious because she still had some beliefs. Only Thor and Loki knew the under meaning of that. Thor even murmured to Loki that he didn't understand his mother in that particular matter. Religion was one of the reason she had been sent to hell with Thor's sire, how could she keep some faith after all they went through ? Loki told him to let it go. Thor growled but didn't argue.
Fran wore a beautiful lace and silk cream dress with delicate crimson ribbons, her favorite colors. Indeed, she was a beautiful woman but she looked even younger than usual and twice radiant. Larry looked about to burst, even if the fitted tux was good on him. He was behaving like a kid at Christmas day. Once upon a time, Loki would have silently cursed him for that. That day, he was just smiling and wishing him the best. Sincerely.
Yet, Loki was not a big mushy lump of forgiveness and benevolence, far from it. Deep down he still resented them all for acting as if Francesca Laufeyson had not even existed. He had noticed some of his mother's former girlfriends, mature socialites whose kids Loki grew up with and went to the same schools with, bawling in their handkerchiefs. They had quickly befriended Fran as soon as she had entered Larry's privacy and Francesca was not even mentioned again (though Loki suspected his new stepmother to knew the drill about this mundane, botoxed bunch...). This dramatic display made him mad deep inside. But, hell, why blame Fran for their attitude ? Why blame Larry for wanting to live again ? In the end, Loki himself had to move on...
He didn't look at Thor, he had carefully avoided him the whole ceremony...
Brother dear was another matter.

***

After the little bomb Thor had dropped, things had calmed down between them. It was all too fast, too much and none of them had time to actually think about what they really wanted. Plus, there was the question of their parents. How long could it last? How long till they found out ? And then, what to do ? Thor would have thrown himself head first into the problem if Loki had wanted it. Loki was a lot more cautious. Well, he wasn't even really sure about his feelings either and he didn't like the idea of taking Thor only because there was no one else. That was not a proper commitment to Loki.
So they have both agreed to let things go for now. A little peace was greatly needed after all this trouble.
The countdown till the wedding came to an end. Loki had acted graceful, Thor had behaved perfectly. It was so uneventful their parents wondered what were they up to. If there was to be a big commotion or something... But no, only the normal excitement before a big event.
Until the day their parents told them there was a slight change of plans. Instead of going the week after the ceremony, they had to leave for their honeymoon in the Caribbeans the very next day for some reason Loki and Thor didn't hear clearly. They brutally realized something.

They were going to be alone in the house for 3 weeks.
3 weeks.
With no one else around.

Of course, Manuelita and José would be here to check on them and the house as usual but they had their own house and their own lives. Besides, José had obtained an interesting job uptown and he wouldn't be around as much. Manuelita would be there more often since the boys would be on their own, but they were not children and she also had her own things to take care of. So she wouldn't linger.
Meaning that for 3 weeks they would be on their own... In the big silent house.
Instead of being exhilarated, for some reason, it scared them both to hell.

***

The newlyweds were leaving the church, their two sons behind. Among the global joy, the boys looked sheepish, distant in their nice cream tux with crimson ties, matching the bride's dress. It was a bit cliché but they were too old to be flower children and Fran had no bridesmaids (which was frowned upon as she had indulged neither of her socialite "friends"). They had still not looked at each other. They were officially brothers now, stepbrothers at last, at least. For better or worse.