Chapter Text
The first thing Anna did after returning home was take off her shoes. She was European, duh, she wasn't going to walk around her flat in shoes. The second thing she did was barge into her feverish wife's room and shout you won't believe what just happened at the top of her lungs. Then she grimaced, remembering the headache that must have been plaguing the other woman but when Kyle reached out a hand with a soft smile Anna managed to school her expression into something more sheepish. She murmured an apology and in a much quieter voice began to explain.
“I met Loki today.”
Kyle sat up in her bed so quickly she must have made herself dizzy, “What?”
“Loki, Kyle, Loki.” Anna was grinning like a child who’s just gotten candy.
Kyle frowned, “Honey, maybe you’re the one with a fever.” She said and placed a hand on her forehead.
Anna slapped it away and grabbed her wife by the shoulders, “No, listen.” Kyle stilled, “The trip I took for you. There was a kid. He has an internship at Stark’s and he took Loki along from the Tower.”
“As in Avengers Tower?”
“The one and only.”
“What–” Kyle stuttered, “What is Loki even doing with the Avengers?”
“I have absolutely no idea. But,” her grin widened comically, “I got an invite. I’ll get to pester him. About all the mythological bullshit.” She sighed, “It’s a dream come true.”
Kyle’s brows furrowed, “Wait. You got invited to the Tower. By Loki. For an interview.”
“Yes!”
“Aren't you scared?”
Anna frowned, “Scared? No. Why would I be?”
“Because it’s Loki?” Seeing Anna’s frown harden, she continued, “I know how you feel about him, okay? But I was here when the incident happened. I saw him on the street. My mom was hospitalized. Anna, you read the myths to me. I liked the Loki from there, but the real one might not be what you're expecting.” She sighed heavily, “Are you sure you’re not biased?”
“Kyle. Kyle, it’s Loki. Everyone is biased when it comes to Loki. But I met him today. We talked, had a conversation and he was very pleasant. It was nice. Really nice.”
“But Anna–”
She shook her head, “No, Kyle. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, I’m not going to waste it. Besides, I think he took a liking to me.”
Kyle frowned, “A liking to you.”
“Yeah, it was weird. I felt like a little kid being patted on the head, or something.”
“He. Patted you. On the head.”
“Not literally! Just, the feeling was there.”
Kyle huffed out a laugh at her wife’s antics, “Alright, hon, I believe you.” She huffed, “Doesn't change that I’m scared for you but there's literally nothing I can do to stop you– Is there?”
She shook her head at which Kyle gave one more long suffering sigh, “Fine. At least the Avengers will be there.”
Anna kissed her wife on the forehead and patted out of the room and into the kitchen to make some chicken soup. Kyle's fever wasn't going to miraculously cure itself.
The next day, just after waking up, she messaged Ypsen - the friend from Uppsala University who gave her the copy of the manuscript - and asked her to get a hold of their old research team. There were five people in total. Her, Ypsen - with whom she studied in the same year, Birgit - their promoter, her crazy husband - Mads and their son, Erik, who used to be working on excavation sites the last time she saw him. Anna sometimes envied them. Their whole family was interested in more or less the same branch of research. They understood each other perfectly and she knew for a fact that Erik never got weird looks from his parents when he announced that he was going to dig up stuff of dead people. Anna’s own mother had been quite disgusted by the prospect. She still remembered the older woman shouting at her father that it had been his fault. That it had been him to instill this sick fascination in her. She shuddered briefly to get rid of the memory and opened her laptop to establish an on-line meeting.
She had to take into consideration the time difference. It was about noon in New York, but in Norway it should be more or less six pm already. Ypsen told her they all should be available at this hour, so Anna logged onto her account and checked the status of her friends. Online, all of them. She grinned, dug up their old research group and pressed call.
There was a signal after a short moment Ypsen’s face showed on the screen,
“Hei der.” She said in Norwegian, her voice quiet and deep, and so, so familiar. She missed this voice. They rarely talked, even on the phone. Living in different timezones made messaging much easier. Even now, the quality of the call wasn't the best, but Anna was able to discern the sharp nose and bright ginger hair of her friend. She hasn't changed one bit.
“Blue hair?” Ypsen asked, still in their mother tongue.
Of course she would be using it - Anna reminded herself - she never had to force her thoughts into something different.
“Yes,” she happily rolled with the change and tilted her head a little to show off the back of her scalp, “I’ve been kind of consistent with this colour, mind you.”
“Ah, so I see you’ve finally settled?”
Anna recognised this question for what it really was - concern. Ypsen knew of her mental state before she left what was supposed to be home. The settled wasn't just for the hair. Or was and wasn't, truly, as her drastic appearance changes were rather simultaneous with breakdowns.
Anna smiled softly and nodded in lieu of an answer.
“Good.” Ypsen crossed her arms and leaned back in the chair, “So what was so important you needed all of us on the line?”
Anna sighed, “I’d rather wait for the rest to join.”
Ypsen frowned, “Wait, you can't see them?” Her eyes shifted to the keyboard, “Shit, I forgot to plug in the other camera. Give me a second.”
Her screen turned black momentarily but Anna could hear her friend's muffled string of obscenities. She was sure there was a well placed insult at the computer, implying it was some sort of hellspawn, but after a moment the screen flickered back on and Anna could see the entirety of the space Ypsen was in. With surprise she noticed it was Birgit’s living room and the woman herself was sitting just outside of the previous camera’s seeing range. Standing just behind the two women was Mads smiling crookedly with a mug of steaming chocolate in one hand. He put it in front of Ypsen and the feeling of homesickness hit Anna in the chest with the strength of a train.
She remembered Mad’s hot drinks and Birgit's soft couch. Crashing at their place after particularly bad fights with her parents.
The first time it happened Ypsen picked her up, they sped on the unlit roads until the stars burned themselves into Anna's brain and then stopped in an empty parking lot because they ran out of gas. There was no one around and Ypsen's mother was in the hospital back then, so they called the one person that was the least to judge them. Birgit Ferguson, who turned up fifteen minutes later, took one look at them and simply decided to keep them. She drove them to her place, her husband opened the door, made them hot chocolate with s'mores and set the couch for them. After that they kept showing up and were never turned down. The third time they crashed on that couch they met Erik. He walked through the door, looking like death warmed over and they thought he was some sort of burglar at first. But then he took one look at them and shouted, “Shit mom, can't believe you picked up more strays.” They became fast friends after.
That house was more of a home than her own ever could be.
“Anna?” Birgit's honeyed voice reached her.
She blinked, “I’m here. It's just great to see you.” but one person was missing, "Where's Erik?”
“In Barcelona,” Mads responded in his steady rasp, “he moved there for a job a few weeks ago, so he won't join us here, but I’ll update him if you want.”
Anna snickered, “Well, he would want to be updated.”
They frowned and she smiled a little wider, “If, theoretically, you would be given a chance to interview a god, theoretically, what would your list of questions be?”
They gaped.
After a moment Ypsen spoke up, “You can't be serious. I thought Thor left the planet.”
Anna grimaced, “It's not Thor.”
“Then who?” Birgit piped up, “He was the only Asgardian Earth had contact with, no?”
Ypsen blanched, “No. Anna no.”
She grinned like a little shit, “Anna, yes.”
The young woman at the other end of the screen groaned and Mads laughed heartily at her reaction, apparently also catching the implication of Anna's words.
“Why are you laughing?” Birgit smacked him on the arm.
“Loki, honey. Little chit caught Loki.”
Birgit's eyes lit up immediately.
“Now, now. Tell us everything.”
So they spent the next four hours catching up and thinking of questions. When Anna was more or less satisfied she wished them goodnight, apologised for keeping them up so late and promised to let them know how the meeting went. Then she printed the list, closed her laptop, went through her closet looking for something that would scream casual but professional and tried not to think about meeting the Avengers.
The next day she dressed up, did her make-up, kissed her wife goodbye and left the flat without eating breakfast, afraid she would return it all on her way to the Tower.
Avengers.
Shit.
Anna took a deep breath and locked the door. No going back.
She went down the stairs, already regretting her choice of white heels, but pushed through the tension in the balls of her feet and managed to arrive at the metro without tripping.
11.07
The train arrived just on time. She walked in, found a sitting spot and breathed.
One stop. The second. The third. Two more. Here.
She got out and walked up the stairs cursing her shoes silently. Avengers Tower greeted her the moment she left the tunnel. Its reflective windows let her get one more look at herself and she was more than happy to check her appearance one more time. Copper suit pants and matching vest made her blue hair pop out nicely. She foregoed a blazer, rolled up the sleeves of her white shirt and left her hair loose to make it look a little more casual, while her bag - which was big enough to hold her laptop - made her look like a woman on a mission. It was heavy, though, and her shoulder was already starting to ache.
She sighed and moved forwards in the direction of the door. It opened for her on autopilot and she gulped before entering.
There was a desk in the middle of the hall but no one sat behind it. She approached it anyway.
“Uh, hello?”
“How may I help you?” A disembodied voice spoke from the ceiling. She could swear her heart skipped a beat.
“Jesus.”
“I’m afraid that's incorrect. The correct designation is FRIDAY. I am Mister Stark's personal artificial assistant. He is unable to meet you right now but I can help occupy your time while you wait.”
Oh, what the shit.
“I, um, no, thank you. I am not here for him. Um,” she sighed, “My name is Anna Aland. I am a curator at the New York History Museum and I was invited here by–” she faltered but pushed on, “by Loki.”
There was silence for a moment and she expected some sort of alarm to start blazing, but then, “Yes, he did mention visitors.” Anna exhaled in relief, “Take the lift to the seventieth floor and wait, I will alert Mr. Laufeyson of your arrival.”
Anna looked around until she spotted a lift on the far left wall. She called it down and pressed the number 70. It moved, faster than she was used to and she had to close her eyes to adjust to the sudden feeling of vertigo. It stopped quicker than she expected and she opened her eyes trying to take in what was in front of her.
It looked like a living room. Just a really big one. There were four sofas in the middle of the floor, arranged in a semicircle to face a huge plasma. A coffee table stood in front of them and three bean bags were thrown on the floor, seemingly without any pattern. When she turned around she could spot a kitchenette in the far corner with a bigger table in close range to it. Also more doors to the right, but she wasn't about to go snooping. Instead, Anna turned around to stare out the window and damn. Was it a view.
Anna could see the rooftops of every building in New York and it wasn't even the highest floor. If she strained her eyes hard enough she could swear there was her block of flats flickering in the distance, fighting the murky air. Anna looked up wondering if it would be possible to see the stars from the last floor. Maybe the Tower stood so high it was able to cancel out the light pollution.
“Beautiful, isn't it?” A familiar voice shook her out of her reverie.
Anna jumped and turned around so fast her heel shifted incorrectly making her ankle strain painfully. She hissed, righting her stance and instinctually reaching out a hand to steady herself on something. Something grasped it, or rather someone.
“Well, those things are a safety hazard. How about we take them off?”
She grimaced, “Yes, that would be for the best.”
He snapped his fingers and her shoes morphed into something soft. Anna glanced down. Unicorn slippers. There were unicorn slippers on her feet. She snorted uncontrollably in a manner which was very far from professional. But he didn't seem to mind as his own snicker joined hers.
“Well Mrs. Aland, good to see you again.”
She started to answer “You too–” but when her eyes finally looked up at him, or rather her, she couldn't quite finish her original thought. Her eyes widened and wandered up and down Loki’s form, finally settling on her tits, which, sure as hell, weren't there before.
“My eyes are up here, sweetheart.”
Anna blushed so fiercely she must have turned the colour of a ripe tomato. Her gaze snapped up to Loki’s face.
“Yeah, um, sorry, I, I just wasn't– uh…”
“Don't apologise,” she waved her off, “I am quite used to this being a surprise. But I woke up like this this morning and, since nobody else is here today, I decided not to fight it. FRIDAY won't rat at me and, I figured you wouldn't be bothered by it as you're already familiar with my story. I can change, if that would be easier for you?” There was a question in her voice, a voice that Anna now noticed was a little softer and higher pitched than before, but still so intrinsically Loki. But there was also some sort of uncertainty, spoken easier for you and silent but not for me.
Anna shook her head, “No, don't. This,” she gestured at her, “is quite lovely.”
Loki grinned, “Thank you.” She backed away in the direction of the kitchenette, her hair bouncing with each step, much curlier than in her male form. “Tea or coffee?" She called out from behind her shoulder.
Anna followed, “Coffee, if you wouldn't mind. I was so stressed before coming here that I hadn't had breakfast.”
They approached the cabinets, “Nonsense.” Loki opened one of them and grimaced, closed it and looked through another one, “Why would you be stressed? I haven't put you on edge, have I?”
Anna shook her head, “It's not you. The Avengers are–” she bit her cheek, “well, they're big, so to say. But you said they're not here..?” She trailer off waiting for the other woman to finish.
“No, no. They left yesterday evening. Something cropped up in Sokovia and they were called in. You see, they like to stay up to date with whatever happens there after the last fiasco, so I assume they won't be back for at least a day more.”
“Oh, well, that's a relief.” And didn't that speak much of her mental state? That she was more comfortable with a god and a murderer at that, than with a group of superheroes. She sighed, “But they just left you here?”
“Yes, well, FRIDAY babysits me.” She huffed, “Besides, my existence is very low profile, as you know. I assume it won't be, after what happened at the museum comes to light, but for now I’m still supposed to be very hush hush.” She snickered and then made a little sound of triumph as she finally found what she was looking for. A box of instant Mac & cheese. She shook it in front of Anna’s face and in a questioning voice said, “Fancy some breakfast?”
Anna looked at it with a deadpan expression, “Mac & cheese?”
Loki nodded a little too solemnly, “It's orgasmic.”
And the absurdity of the situation was suddenly so much Anna was left with no other option than to nod dumbly.
“Splendid.”
She turned around, twirled her curls atop of her head and stabbed them with a chopstick to hold them in place. Then she grabbed a pot, filled it with water and Anna was struck with a sudden thought, “This it's your shirt, is it?”
Loki started fiddling with the box and without looking back answered, “Nope.” She tore through the top and threw the contents into the pot where they started to sizzle, “Stole it from Natasha.”
Anna sputtered, “As in, The Black Widow? That Natasha?”
“Yep.” she started to stir.
“You steal clothes from the most dangerous woman on the planet.” And she couldn't believe the redheaded assassin would own something as cute and ridiculous as a galaxy T-shirt with a Nyan cat.
“Well, she regularly steals them from the most dangerous man on this planet, so it would be quite hypocritical if she called me out on it.”
Anna frowned, “The most dangerous man on the planet?”
Loki hummed without stopping her stirring, “Steve Rogers.”
She blanched, “He wouldn't hurt a fly.”
The god halted and turned around to look her in the eye, “Just because he chooses to be gentle does not mean he is harmless. You can tell how dangerous a person is by how quietly they hold their anger inside themselves. And Steve is very quiet.” She turned back to return to the food and Anna stood silently, suddenly scared of Captain America.
Loki tapped the spoon on the edge of the pot gently, then reduced the heat on a burner and faced her again. Propping her elbows on the counter and looking the definition of comfortable but there was something else swimming in her pools of endless green.
“Mrs. Aland,” she sighed, “Anna. I’m going to be honest with you for a second.”
She smirked, “What? No wordplay? That's rather out of character for you.”
“I know. But this–” she ran a hand through her hair destroying the shitty bun in the process, “this, unfortunately, is very serious.”
“But,” Anna frowned, “I thought it was supposed to be an interview. You know, me asking questions, you answering.”
“Yes, it is supposed to be that.” She smiled a little crookedly, “But there is an undertone.”
She nodded, “Isn't there always?”
Loki’s smile flickered on her face as she turned back and killed the heat. She took two bowls from the cupboard and poured the contents of the pot in them. Then she grabbed matching forks from a drawer, stabbed them into the noodles and pushed one bowl into Anna’s chest. She grabbed the thing with stiff fingers and followed the other woman to the couch.
They settled down and Loki dug into her bowl with a hum.
“You really like this so much?”
“It's the best thing your planet has to offer.”
Anna smirked, “Do you know what a kebab is?”
“I can't say I do.”
“Well then, you'll need to try it sometime.”
“Well then, you'll need to introduce us sometime.”
They both snickered but Loki’s earlier words still hung on Anna's mind heavily, “So,” she said in between bites, “What's this really about.”
Loki sighed and put her fork on the edge of her bowl, “I swear, all of you are the same. Unable to enjoy your food without asking difficult questions.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” She grabbed her fork again and stabbed the contents of the bowl at such an angle the utensil was left in an upright position even after she let go of it, “I wanted to talk to you because, as I already said, you are more or less familiar with my story. Much more familiar than the people I came in contact with in the last years seemed to be, at least.” She rubbed her brow and continued from a different angle, “The Avengers don't trust me and I cannot, in good conscience, blame them for it. However, there is something I will need to tell them sooner or later and they will need to believe me. I cannot stress how much I will need them to believe me. This,” she gestured between them, “I want this to prove to them my words can be more than lies and you are the closest thing to an expert on– on myself I was able to find on such a short notice. And Anna,” she sighed again, “you are not afraid of me. You have no idea how much I appreciate that.”
She shrugged, “You haven't given me a reason to be.”
“Child,” she stressed and Anna could swear that this one single word held the weight of a mountain, “I invaded your planet. How is this not enough reason?”
She looked at her. Loki’s features were tight, unseeing eyes gazing forward, her form slouched over the forgotten food with hair spilling around her head like a halo. The fingers clenching the bowl were so tight the tendons started to show. Veins appeared on her forearms and trailed up only to be hidden by the oversized sleeves of Natasha's T-shirt. She looked like someone fighting a hangover, or more specifically a moral hangover, in her case. She aged several decades in front of Anna's eyes.
The blue haired woman snapped her fingers next to Loki’s ear and the god shuddered in surprise.
“Where did you go?” She asked in a quiet voice.
Forest eyes swivelled to her slowly and a soft smile appeared beneath them, “Nowhere.”
Anna frowned at the answer but Loki grabbed her bowl and put it on the table with a clang, disrupting the tension. She stood up with a bounce, bare feet smacking the floor, as if her previous moment of reminiscence never took place. She made a beeline for the audio system, squatted in front of it and fiddled with the thing for a moment until a soft, rhythmic tune started playing. Anna knew the song, she just couldn't think of the title.
Loki flopped on the couch next to her and grabbed the bowl again, “So,” she started in a light tone, “I’m sure you have some questions prepared.”
Anna watched her as she returned to her noodles and scoffed lightly at her instant change of attitude. If Loki didn't want to talk about whatever troubled her - fine. After all, this was supposed to be pleasant for the both of them. If Anna made it serious then none of the parties would enjoy the discussion, even if she was more than a little curious.
She sighed and opened her laptop, “Alright, so to start–” she frowned at the screen, “What's the wi-fi password?”
Loki returned her frown, “The what?”
“Wi-fi. The internet.” The god just blinked, “How did you buy a ticket to the museum if you don't know what the internet is?”
She smiled sheepishly, “I didn't.” Anna stared, so Loko made a swirly gesture with her wrist and a piece of paper materialised in a green light. She made another gesture and it turned into a ticket.
Anna groaned, “Honestly. I shouldn't be surprised.”
The other woman snickered, clenched her wrist and the paper lit itself on fire and burned in the matter of seconds. Anna pointed at it immediately.
“This! Let's start with this.”
“What? Magic? Dear, that's a very broad topic.”
Anna waved her hands in front of her, “No, no, no, no, no. Fire. Let's start with fire.”
Loki made an ah sound and turned to face her, sitting sideways on the couch and tucking one leg underneath herself. Anna fiddled with the computer for a moment longer, but ultimately decided she wasn't going to try and hack into the Avengers’ network, and resigned herself to opening a file with her prewritten questions.
Sorry Ypsen, no live reaction for you.
Anna turned on the recorder.
“Alright.” she started in her best professional voice, “There is an old and ongoing debate as to what exactly you are the god of.” Loki tilted her head in a very bird-like manner, “The most common understanding is that you are the patron of lies. However, throughout various literary works you are also referred to as the god of mischief, trickery, chaos, or also - fire. But as all of those are rather conceptual, it is still unclear what they're supposed to mean. How would you comment on that?”
Loki hummed and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them there was something new in her gaze.
“You know, I think it's up to you to decide.”
Anna blinked in confusion so Loki continued, “You, mortals, worship us. Or at least you did a long time ago.” She sighed and continued after collecting her thoughts, “There is a prevalent question in your theology studies, I believe it goes something like - When god was lonely he created man, or was it the other way around?”
She smiled slightly and continued, “The civilization of Asgard existed long before your ancestors crawled out of the sea, however, Asgardians have never been gods until you said so. Our worlds are connected through the branches of Yggdrasil. How, or why, is not clear, but you do have an influence on what we are. Language and belief are very powerful tools, reality shaping ones.”
Loki frowned again, “But to, at least, try to answer the question of what I am. It’s hard to say where your belief ends and I begin, but,” She hummed, “I held many titles over the centuries and all of them held true. Somewhat. I can't be a god of one exact thing, as my existence in itself is fluid, so being limited to holding patronage over one single entity would be rather counterintuitive. So, if I were to put it in simpler terms, I would say that I am first and foremost the embodiment of change. And as it doesn't have a clear definition, I do not have one either. You must admit, however,” she looked her in the eye and Anna shivered a little, “that there is a common misconception as to the understanding of people who choose not to label themselves, even among your species. It is believed that someone apt to change their mindset, goals, or even something as simple as appearance is unstable, unreliable and likely to stab you in the back at one point or another. It does not come from the place of contempt, mind you, but rather from an honest, unfiltered confusion, and sadly, people fear what they can't understand. It is only natural, but–” she huffed and looked at the ceiling, “trust is a fickle thing and, much like kindness or respect, it tends to work both ways.”
She faced the window again, “When people see me they expect to be deceived. They expect to be lied to or tricked. They expect me to do something unpredictable, chaotic, hence the moniker. No matter whether I am planning something nefarious, or not. And I must admit that surrounded by scowling faces and derogatory whispers it is very tempting to deliver. Which I do, more often than not, as most of my actions are guided by a whim, and well–” she chuckled, “I do not know which came first - the monikers or my actions, however, let's just say the title of the god of mischief stuck to me and I must admit, I am rather fond of it.” She grimaced as if reminded of an unpleasant fact, “At least it isn't as blunt as the god of chaos.”
Anna frowned, “What?”
“What what?”
“Why is the god of chaos blunt? From what you said, and don't get me wrong, it seems much more fitting. You said you act on a whim, change yourself based on the mood, that– ohhh,” she stopped, understanding dawning on her features, “It is blunt because it's true.”
Loki nodded, “Precisely. Chaos is a very vast concept, much more difficult to grasp than mischief, which, by comparison, seems shallow. Chaos defines my existence, it is probably the one unchanging truth about myself and precisely because of it - it's against my very nature.”
“So wait, you are not chaos?”
“No, I am not. I feel it, I answer to it and it tends to guide me, but overall - it's a little more complicated than that.” She sighed, “Chaos defines me, but then again, chaos does not have a definition, therefore, I do not have a definition. It's a paradox.”
“So, you, uh–”
“Anna, don't try to understand this. You’ll only give yourself a headache. The only thing you need to know is that there is order because there is chaos. You cannot have one without the other and you cannot appreciate one without the other. There were entities which tried to get rid of one in the past and the consequences were tragic.”
Anna– Anna was– All of this was way above her competence. Why did she want to do it again? Right, for some childlike need to know. For her childhood fascination. Stupid. Everyone was worried about the physical threat Loki might be, but all of them, including her, completely disregarded the mental damage the god might inflict simply by speaking. After all, silver tongue was synonymous with Loki.
Anna closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
The other woman noticed her discomfort, “We can stop if it's too much.” She spoke softly.
Her eyes snapped open, “No. No way in hell. Are you joking?!” Anna shook, “This is probably the best conversation to ever happen to me, I might have an existential crisis later, but we are not stopping.”
Loki– Loki downright gaped and upon noticing her expression Anna laughed a little hysterically.
“You,” the god started cautiously, “are not entirely sane, are you?”
“Nope.”
She extended a hand, “Welcome to the club.”
They shook on it.
The next part of their talk was much more pleasant. Anna didn’t follow the list she prepared, most of the points were answered without her prompting, as the conversation developed a life of its own. Loki explained that the belief/worship thing worked similarly on the other gods as it did on her with slight differences. Ran her through the list of Asgardians and Vanir classified as gods in the mythology so she was able to confirm that the stories held some merit. The relationships between all the species on the world tree were too long and complicated to cover in, what Loki said was Anna’s lifetime so they skipped that. The real fun, however, began when Anna started asking about stories concerning Loki herself.
“Is it true you made a bride out of Thor to get his hammer back?” Anna asked innocently from the brim on her coffee mug Loki procured from somewhere in the meantime.
The god almost choked on her own drink and with a great deal of amusement answered, “Yes.”
“But how did the giants steal it in the first place? Isn't it enchanted so only Thor can wield it?”
Loki scoffed, “Yes, it is. However, it hadn't been before. Thrym’s theft was actually the main reason behind enchanting it.”
“So the whosever be worthy..?”
She rolled her eyes, “Lies. Utter lies. Mjölnir is keyed to Thor’s seidr signature. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Anna hummed, “Certainly destroyes the mystery.”
“Oh please,” she waved her off, “the only thing it destroys is Thor’s ego.”
“The two of you aren't the best of friends, are you?”
Loki grimaced, “It's complicated.”
Anna waited.
“We–” she huffed, “We don't get along as we used to. He–” a pause, “he is my brother. This is not something I plan to question again. He is my brother and we are family but,” she looked her in the eye, “family isn't always love. Sometimes it's resentment and hatred and death threats. Sometimes it's gilded cages built for you out of care. Sometimes it's too much. It's complicated.” She leaned back on the couch and took a leap into the past.
“We were close when we were younger. We grew up together, we fought together, we trained together, we bled together. We trusted each other– I trusted him. There was a time we’d tell each other everything without fear. Thor understood, as unlikely as it may seem he was–” she pulled her legs up, “the first person to never demand of me to be something I am not. But time passed and he quickly realised that his support of me wasn't something widely accepted. There came a point where he had to choose between encouraging my–” she scoffed, “fancies and winning the king’s favour. And obviously he chose the latter.”
Anna mimicked Loki’s position and prompted quietly, “And what happened after.”
She shrugged, “We talked less, fought more. I know that my unwillingness to fit in was making it harder for him, I know that he didn't want to hurt me, but he also couldn't allow himself to breach the careful relations he’d established with the Thing.” She glanced at her, “It's like a council. Anyway, I– it was the time I would leave Asgard for undefined periods of time. It's when I had Sleipnir and some time later met Angrboda and– you know what became of that. But one thing this myth omitted is that I actually wanted to try with her.” Anna’s eyes widened in shock and Loki laughed at her expression, “Right? Me? Settling.” She huffed, “But yeah, with her I wanted to try. And we made it work for a while, maybe some rough three centuries but then there came a war and since I am royalty, ahh,” she stopped her spiralling thoughts, “Let's just say it ended and Thor played a major part.”
“I’m–” Anna shivered, she didn't know what to say, “I’m sorry.”
Loki's head turned towards her, “You have nothing to be sorry for. It wasn't your fault.”
“Still.”
She nodded, “It's appreciated.”
They sat there in silence for a moment, both of them collecting their thoughts.
“So,” Anna started a little uncertainly, “during those three centuries with Angrdoba. Did you– Have you–” she didn't know how to ask this to not come off as insensitive after all she’s just shared.
Loki spared her the trouble, “You want to know whether we had kids.”
She nodded.
“We did. Three of them, I think your myths are quite consistent when it comes to their fate. I think I confirmed it in the museum?”
“Yes, you did. I just–” she stuttered, “the myths– is it true?”
“Yes.”
“But you said Vali and Narfi weren't yours. So there have to be some differences.”
“Not in this case.” She smiled sadly, “I met Sigyn some time after the war. Her husband belonged to my legion. He died on the battlefield and I guess I felt sort of responsible for it. I went to visit them and I guess, I just, couldn't leave. I don't know if it makes sense.”
“Not really, but that's okay.”
Loki laughed, her previous somber mood disappearing, “How is it that you know what to say?”
Anna shrugged, “I don't. I just– say what I’d wish to hear.”
The god looked at her questioningly, so she huffed and tried to share her piece of the story. It would only be fair after all the talking Loki did, “I’m gay. I have a wife. My family wouldn't accept that. They sorta–” she thought about Loki’s previous words, “they sorta built a gilded cage for me because they wanted me to be normal. And I am normal, just, differently than they’re normal. It took me a while to realise this, though, but when I did I left, and I don’t know if I’ll ever find the strength to come back. I know what you meant when you said family is often hate, but they're still family so it's– it’s–”
“Complicated.” Loki finished for her.
“Yeah.”
The god turned to her fully, “I’m glad I’ve met you Anna Aland. Truly.”
“Oh shut up, I’m gonna tear up.”
They both snickered and Anna managed to glance at her phone.
“Shit. It's past six already.”
“Are you in a hurry?”
“Technically no, but I promised Kyle, that's my wife, to be home before seven. And the train leaves in twenty minutes.”
“Don't worry about it. I can take you back.”
“How?”
She lifted her hands and moved her fingers. Green sparkles appeared and started to dance.
“Duh.”
Anna chuckled, “Alright, I'll be pleased to use the Loki taxi.”
“You're not scared?”
She shrugged, “I mean, yeah, but I’m an adrenaline junkie, so. Figures.” She looked at her laptop, “So. Last question.”
“I’m all ears.”
“What,” she looked her in the eye, "is the deal with that manuscript?”
Loki blinked and then laughed heartily, “Ah, that thing. We wrote it with Ragnar.” Anna blinked confusedly, “Ragnar Lodbrok.”
“What?! He was real?!”
Now it was Loki's turn to be confused, “Well, I remember him very clearly, so unless my memory has been fabricated…”
“You don't understand.” She huffed, “According to literature, Ragnar Lodbrok was one of the greatest kings of Sweden and Denmark. The problem with this is that he is a legendary figure. There's no factual evidence as to his actual existence. He’s a myth, a legend. He is as significant a figure to Scandinavian history as King Arthur is to Anglo-Saxon. The fact that you said he was real is– is–”
“Big?”
“Huge! Oh my god. And he wrote it?”
“I wrote it. The runes are Asgardian, that's why you couldn't decipher it. Ragnar couldn't write, but he did dictate. And let me tell you, it's one of the worst poems I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear.”
“What does it say?”
Loki backtracked, “Mind you, we were very drunk at the time and there was a lot of mushrooms and–”
“What does it say?”
She took a breath and closed her eyes:
My dick has been discarded,
By no female regarded,
So gloomy and forlorn
It was helpless and alone
And thus I say down onto him:
‘My dear penis, please do rise!
Let's together moisturise!’
With which he did not sympathise
And so he says back onto me:
‘Nay I say! Nay, nay, nay!
I will never swing that way!
Horny pussy I must taste
Lest I be a pantywaist!
Hear me owner, hear me now!
I will fuck a bitch somehow!’
Anna stared, and stared, and stared, and then burst out laughing.
“I told you it's bad–” Loki started, but she interrupted her, “Are you kidding? This is tragic! Decades of trying to prove Lodbrok’s existence and this shit is the only proof.” She continued laughing, “The universe has a sick sense of humour.”
“It does.”
She calmed down a little, “This is. Ah, thank you, I– I loved every second of it. Oh my god.”
“Yes, I am. Now,” she stood up and offered her arm, “Shall we?”
Anna blinked, “What?”
“It's almost seven.”
Anna looked at her phone, “Ah shit.” She stood up, gathered her things and grabbed Loki’s arm, “Time to hit the road.”
“What road?”
“It's just a saying.”
“Ah. Alright, close your eyes and think of where you want to go. Try to visualise it in your head.”
“Alright.”
“Now, keep your eyes closed and hang on tight.”
Anna did so and a sudden feeling of vertigo hit her square in the stomach.
“You can open them now.”
They were… in her living room? Anna let go of Loki’s arm and whisper shouted, “What the fuck?”
“Anna?” Kyle’s voice reached them from the bedroom, “Anna are you back? I didn't hear the door open.”
“Yes! I–” she glanced at Loki and whispered, “Thank you for the ride–”
“Anna? Who is that?” Kyle stood in the doorway.
“Ah,” Loki grinned, “I better be going. If you ever need anything, just say a little prayer.” She winked, bowed shallowly and disintegrated into green sparkles.
“What the fuck?” Kyle whispered in shock.
“Yeah so. That was Loki.”
“A woman.”
“For now.”
“Where were her pants?”
Anna groaned.
“And what is that on your feet?!”
Shit.