The Unknown (Loki x OC)

Part Seven

We all stood in front of the steel bolted door getting ready for Loki's release. As Tony unlocked the door we all took a small step back. Loki emerged looking nervous and cautious, likely he was scared of being put back into containment with any misstep. Tony began to tell Loki the rules of his newfound freedom.

"You must wear an ankle monitor and cannot magically tamper with it, you can have outside supervised visits in two weeks, and you must allow Ada to occasionally reassess you." Loki had cautiously stepped out of the room, Bruce bent down to install the ankle monitor on him.

A look of hope appeared on Loki's face, then a large grin followed. "Do I get a room?"

Tony answered quickly. "You'll be in Ada's old room, eventually if you prove you are not a threat in any way, then we will consider moving you to a standard avengers room."

"Avengers room? Does that mean I would be an Avenger?"

"Maybe. But we've got a long way to go before that."

"Of course." Loki looked at me, another large grin on his face.

———————-

"So where are we to go?" Loki asked.

"Im taking you to the first place I went when I came here."

"Which would be......"

"Patience Mr. God."

People we passed on the street had been giving him looks of panic. It was obvious he was hurt by it but he tried not to show it.

"Ice cream?" He asked as we approached the small shop.

"If anyone should know that things aren't always as they seem, it should be you" I chuckled.

We walked in and up to the ice cream front. "I would like to visit the storage room."

The employee led us to a large wall of ice-cream. I made sure to glance over at Loki to see his expressions. The employee opened the hidden door to reveal a speakeasy.

"Ahhh" Loki was surprised. "I thought drinking was legal in the US again?"

"Oh it is, has been for a while, but doesn't make this less fun."

"So like a secret? Secrets can be fun I assume."

"Exactly." I smiled as we went to go sit down inside.

"What are ya having?" The bartender had asked.

"Whatever you recommend" Loki quickly handed over the small menu as the waiter turned to me.

"Ummm" I pursed my lips. "Nothing for me." I chuckled it off, hoping Loki wouldn't question me. I should've been smarter than that.

"No drink?"

I waited to answer until the waiter walked away.

"Nope. I don't drink anymore, 3 years."

"Oh."

"It's not what your thinking, I wasn't an alcoholic or anything." I clarified

He looked deeper into my eyes, waiting for me to go on.

I sighed and let my hands fall into my lap. "My brother died."

"He died 3 years ago. He was 28, same as I am now."

"Oh wow" Loki leaned backwards in his seat.

"There was a party, his friends threw it to celebrate him finishing med school. He wanted to be an oncologist. Funny enough he wasn't even the one drinking. He got in his friends car, we don't think he knew they had been drinking."

Loki didn't break eye contact for even a second.

"Um- they crashed. His friend ran into a traffic light pole. Daniel died, his friend, the driver, had been okay, barely even injured."

I felt tears begin to well in my eyes.

"We- I hated him for a while. But he hated himself more for it. A year ago he was buried too, couldn't take the guilt."

The waiter arrived with Loki's drink, a Long Island iced tea.

"I never drank again, my mother either. We knew if we numbed it we probably wouldn't stop."

Loki looked shocked. "Wow, I'm- I'm so sorry."

"We'll enough with the pity party, you tell me a story now, a happy one."

Loki thought for a moment.

"I don't have many fond memories, darling. But... I do remember when my mother taught me magic. I presume she was fonder of me than Thor, or maybe she was just trying to compensate for my father."

"One day she had taken me into a large bare room and told me she was going to teach me. I told her I thought it was cheating."

Loki began to mimic his mother's voice.

"I'm war, the cheaters live. You don't have the powers Thor has, fighting like him will get you no where. You have cunning, a far greater magic."

I could see him smile at the fond memory.

"We practiced for years, until Odin commanded us to stop. We then moved to doing it in secrecy. She taught me so much, I couldn't have ever repaid her for being such a great mother."

"She sounds amazing." I told him.

"Oh she was, Odin didn't deserve her, she deserved so much more than a throne."

"Is she why you came to us?"

Loki sipped his drink.

"In a way, freedom was the first lie of humanity. Odin was not free from his past, Frigga was not free from expectation, Thor was not free from responsibility, and I was not free from my lineage. Everyone is held back, so if we go out of our way to break our molds, maybe, just maybe, we may have freedom."

My face dropped, his iconic New York quote meant a lot more than we ever had interpreted. In truth, I was not free either, I was bound to a responsibility for humanity, one that I had not asked for. But maybe... we could both be free from our purposes, maybe we could do it together.