Stepbrothers

Part 2

Loki had long digested the news of his father's newfound paramour. Yet, the regular comings at evening of Francine Odinson and her son Thor was setting his teeth on edge.

His father seemed serious about her and, on her part, she seemed having a cooler head but equally serious. Francine Odinson was a petite, chubby woman who gave her blond hair and blue eyes to her son. Yet, she was not to be underestimated by her size or chubbiness. She was Loki's father's new partner, a rather respected lawyer up there in Houston. Apparently she had to move due to family problems and transfer her only son, her pride and joy. She didn't share much about that and neither did Thor. To Loki, that was grounds for being cautious about those two... Fran was amiable, chatty, everything classy and polite, happily cheering about everything, questioning Loki about his private stuff with a large smile that reached her eyes. She was all cuteness and niceness.

Loki hated her guts.

She was sitting at HIS MOTHER's place. HIS MOTHER's chair. Sipping tea in HIS MOTHER's silver cup. Walking around in HIS MOTHER's boudoir as if she owned the place since she was fucking HIS MOTHER's husband...
Luckily she hadn't touched the precious piano yet. Loki would commit murder if she even just asked who was the musician in the family.

Concerning Thor, he was just the biggest pain in the ass. Following Loki everywhere at school, when they were both free, chatting his mouth off, giving Loki migraines... Luckily they were both busy most of the time and Thor, having been made Mr. Popular Guy, was often surrounded by the rest of the so-called popular crowd and their usual grovelers.
It was more difficult to avoid him at home where he was supposed to be the courteous host (as his father made him very clear, holding his arm to the point of bruises) and make conversations with the unwanted guests. And then Thor was harassing him with a chitchat as annoying as his mother's, following him all around like a puppy, even in Loki's bedroom, his safe haven. Always smiling like an idiot, always making jokes that were not funny, always asking stupid questions that Loki answered by a simple yes or no.

Loki just wanted to scream at him to get lost.

The first evening they were invited, Loki had been very polite but also very distant. It had made the respectable guests a bit unsure and his father to go mad. Loki was too big for a whooping, as people would say, and his father had too high an opinion of himself to stoop to that level. But, as a lawyer, he had a way with words that made Loki almost go insane.
So, Loki yielded for a bit of peace and forced himself to be more companionable. It was simply unbearable each time he had to answer or smile to them... The usurpers, the impostors...
Loki had not much hope. As his father often said, this was his house he had paid for and expected each and everyone living under it to follow his lead or get out. Loki clenched his teeth for there was a hint of truth behind those words. His father was boss and Loki had not many prospects for now. He wouldn't go to university until the end of the year and it was still far away. Not to mention he wasn't sure he was going to go to his desired college either and he refused to settle for less.
He wanted out as soon as possible for there was no way he was going to win this one.
So clenching his teeth until further notice it was...

***

One day the morning routine had been totally messed up and probably for good. Once Loki had been dressed and ready to go down, he realized that his father's office was empty... And his bedroom more than likely closed.
Loki felt nausea coming. Last night, again, Francine and her son had remained for dinner until very late. Loki had went to bed, sick and tired of the lovey-dovey display (in front of her mother's pictures on the dresser...) and Thor's silly chatter.
So neither her, nor her son had gone home apparently.
That explained the presence of Thor in the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear, as if everything was a good joke. He was eating buttered toast, probably made by Manuelita, and drinking coffee out of one of Loki's mother's porcelain cup, the ones she used the most, with a delicate gilded lining.
"Hello there !" He raised the cup to Loki, as if toasting him. " Slept well ?"
Loki's mind went to a various scale of state, from "absolute disbelief" to "engage manslaughter." Several retorts went through his brain, from "The hell do you think you are doing in MY house ?!" to "You are dead meat."
But he chose caution instead. He simply smiled as neutrally as possible and started to sit down in front of Thor for breakfast, hoping that no one would see his shaky legs and his knuckles white with rage.
But Thor might have finally guessed something. For his own grin froze and he looked at Loki as if he was seeing him for the first time.