ONLY FOR YOU | Loki

CHAPTER 71: WHITE ORNAMENT COOKIES

     COMING TO CHRISTMAS IS ONE THING, BUT LOKI DREW THE LINE AT THE RIDE THERE. Sitting in a cramped car with Bruce Banner for nine hours, having to constantly keep up his disguise and worry that he'll suddenly turn into the Hulk? No. No, he chooses life, thank you.

     "I don't understand why you don't just take a plane," Tony remarked before they set off. That earned him a look from Olivia, though Bruce just sighed.

     "Yeah, y'know, I used to do that," she agreed, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "but my brother has developed this little quirk where sometimes he turns into a green giant? So— and this is the really shocking part— we decided that putting him in a pressurized steel death trap 3,000 feet in the air was, get this, a bad idea."

     "Yeah; I'm sure you remember what happened the last time I was on a plane," Bruce added, hauling a bag over his shoulder. Tony grimaced a little.

     "To be fair," he reasoned, "that was at least mostly Loki's fault— and how do you know he turns green, anyways?" He turned his gaze on Olivia, deflecting. She rolled her eyes.

     "Do you think I'm soul-blind or just blind?" she shot back. "I know how to read, dumbass; it's all over the news." This made Bruce grimace and jump into the conversation.

     "We'd better go; we're gonna be late."

     So here they are, three hours later, driving down I-81 past Enola, Pennsylvania. Pompeii by Bastille is playing on the radio, though it's been tuned down low while Bruce and Olivia chatter.

     "I am not going to tell you what I got her," Olivia snorts, glancing at Bruce with a half-exasperated smile.

     "Come on," he fake-pleads, a grin spread across his face, "just a little hint? I mean, what if we got her the same thing like last year? You've gotta tell me, Liv, Mom does not have the space for two more appliances—"

     "Oh yes she does," Olivia counters, laughing. "And trust me, you definitely didn't get her the same thing I did." Bruce groans.

     "Come on," he complains, "how do you know for sure, huh?" Olivia rolls her eyes, laughing.

     "I am not going to tell you," she reiterates. "You're just going to have to wait! More importantly, what did you get for Leo?"

     "Leo?" Bruce repeats, sounding more than a little confused.

     "Yeah, Leo," she confirms. "I was expecting you to text me about it, but evidently I should have had more faith in your imagination." Bruce blinks slowly.

     "...why... why would I be getting a gift for Leo?" he asks slowly, alarm beginning to creep into his voice. Olivia's face drops.

     "Bruce," she states, glancing at him. "Don't tell me you forgot. Please tell me you didn't forget."

     "Forget what?" Bruce persists, the alarm now fully present. "Is he coming for— since when is he coming for Christmas? Why didn't you tell me?"

     "I did!" Olivia exclaims. "I did, I put it in the group chat, you said okay!" Bruce groans.

     "I don't actually read the group chat, Liv," he complains, as though she should know that already. "I just scan it for numbers and dates!" Olivia grips the steering wheel tightly, taking a deep breath.

     "It's okay," she decides, keeping her voice even. "This is fine. We still have six hours left on the road; we'll just stop somewhere on the way, and wrap it on the side of the road by the ranch. Start looking stuff up."

     Bruce sighs, dropping his head against the headrest, and pulls out his phone.

     It's gonna be a long drive.

***

     Olivia's car pulls up to her mother's house. She kills the engine, a grin already forming on her lips.

     "What are we waiting for?" she calls out, approaching her boyfriend, who rises from the bench on the porch.

      "You," he replies smartly, meeting her with a long kiss.

     From the car, Olivia hears Bruce make a noise of disgust, then the car door close. She pulls away from Loki, dropping her hand to pat him once on the chest as she turns.

     "Come on Bruce," she taunts, "don't tell me you're so much of a shut-in you've never seen people kiss before?" He shoots her a look.

     "Not my little sister, no," he counters. "Come help me unload this stuff." Olivia glances past Loki into the house.

     "Actually," she decides, "you're gonna have to give us a quick second; I wanna introduce Leo to Mom." Bruce whirls to her.

     "What? But half this stuff is yours!"

     Olivia waves his betrayed complaint off. "Relax," she assures him, "we'll be right back. Five minutes."

     She doesn't wait for him to respond before she drags Loki into the house.

     He holds his breath.

     It's a bizarre feeling, to find a place you've never been so nostalgic. But he does— he finds the place familiar. He's seen the echoes of it in all of Olivia's spaces. He's been here before, in dreams.

     He's caught fireflies in the field out back with his lover, he's spent hours riding around the place on a horse he's never met. As he rounds the corner into the kitchen, he recognizes the mug on the counter as one he's used before.

     And yet here he is, seeing it for the very first time with his own eyes.

     Olivia's memories don't do justice to the warmth and love in the atmosphere. It's equal parts beautiful and suffocating. He's not sure if this place should be called home or if it will break his heart within the hour.

     "Mooooom," Olivia grins, drawing the syllable out as she wraps her arms around her mother's neck from behind. For her part, Rebecca jumps, dropping the spatula.

     "Oh— you little goblin," she complains, though when she turns she's grinning. "Welcome home, sweetheart." She takes this opportunity to hug her daughter, and over her shoulder, she spots Loki.

     She stiffens, and Loki tries to take it in stride as she pulls away from Olivia.

     "This must be—," she cuts herself off, glancing out to where Bruce is pouting at the pillows. "Loki," she finishes, in hushed tones.

     "Leo, until we get Bruce out of the house," Olivia hums. "But yeah. This is him." For a moment, everything hangs in stasis.

     Loki feels like he's being picked apart and inspected; he catches himself hoping she doesn't find him lacking. He has to remind himself not to care.

     "Welcome to the family," Rebecca decides, her face splitting into a welcoming smile. "No crime in the house, if you please."

     A jarring reminder that the Banner family is insane, to be certain.

     Regardless, Loki puts on his most winning smile, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend.

     "Of course," he agrees. "Olivia has told me as much."

     "Mm— shit, I gotta go help Bruce before he pulls something," she swears, ducking under his arm towards the door. "Hey babe, you've gotta try one of my mom's cookies, though. Be right back."

     "Language," her mother calls after her. She shakes her head, seeing that her daughter hadn't even heard her. "Ah," she remarks affectionately, "I don't know why I even still try that."

     Loki tries to generate a response through his oddly frayed nerves.

     "Well," she decides, saving him from the silence, "seems like they've got that under control. Cookie?" She pulls a white, ornament-shaped one off the tray, offering it to Loki.

     He hesitates, but takes it.

     "...certainly."