Chapter Text
Sunday:
After their daily nap, Rebecca asks Billy to take his brothers out to a movie. She not-so-subtly implies he should also take Teddy, but not Loki. Billy immediately understands that she and Jeff want to talk privately with Loki, and doesn’t look happy about it.
Before he can say anything however, Loki slips into the hall and happily offers to help Michael and Josh get ready - it looks like it might rain, you know. Best to make sure they put on their boots and carry an umbrella, just in case.
Billy turns his frown to Loki, and Rebecca goes to tell Michael and Josh to get ready instead of staying and making Billy too uncomfortable to say what he’s thinking. A few minutes later, however, as she goes to get the money needed to pay for Michael and Josh’s tickets and snacks from her purse, she ends up overhearing them anyway.
“…were the one to say they can’t hurt me. ‘It’s physically impossible, and she won’t use her degree against you if you don’t start the minds games first’, you said.” Loki is saying and Rebecca freezes.
“…not what this about…” Billy refutes, but Rebecca can’t hear the rest of what he’s saying over the blood rushing in her ears.
There are many, many ways that Loki’s statement can taken, Rebecca reminds herself. She won’t jump to conclusions. Still, she manages to catch a fraction of a sentence that sounds like ‘not like Freyja’ and wasn’t that what Billy said Loki’s (adoptive) mother was called? She tries to clam herself and focuses on gathering the money she initially came for (she really should stop leaving her purse in the front door hallway): there is only so long one can pretend to grab something.
Michael and Josh come barreling down the hall, gushing and thanking her for letting them to go the theater - they’ve been wanting to see Big Hero Six and neither Rebecca or Jeff has had the time to take them yet, so they’re very pleased to not only see the movie, but see it with their brother, a superhero in his own right.
Teddy’s coming down the hall as well, looking much less worried than Billy about leaving, but there’s a crease right there inbetween his brows that shows he’s not completely behind the idea as well. Whether his concern is for Loki or Billy’s parents she doesn’t know.
Rebecca hands him the money, brushing aside his assertion that it wasn’t necessary to pay for himself and Billy as well. Rebecca turns to say goodbye to Billy and freezes, because at the same moment she turns Loki dips his head down and kisses Billy.
It is shocking, perhaps, because this is the first true show of affection Rebecca has seen the past few days. She doesn’t know how affection Billy and Loki are (or even how affectionate Teddy and Loki are), and she doesn’t know how affectionate Billy likes to be when alone with Teddy; but she does know he’s never shied away from it in public or around family. Holding hands, brushing their foreheads together, or even hugs are commonplace with Billy and Teddy, but Loki hasn’t been on the receiving or initiating end of any of those.
Where they repressing their affection so as not to make Rebecca or Jeff uncomfortable? Rebecca feels shame at the idea: she’s always encouraged Billy to be unashamed of his sexuality, and yet since Loki arrived on Friday Rebecca has not once thought of why the three were not being affectionate, despite the turmoil and uncertainly they must have been feeling, introducing Loki for the first time to them.
Especially Teddy: Rebecca and Jeff were the only parental figures the boy had left; surely he was just as nervous as Billy was at this: Billy at least, had another set of parents to turn to should Rebecca and Jeff not react well. But had Billy even told Vision and Wanda about Loki? Rebecca wondered; they weren’t as easy to contact as Rebecca was, she knew, so Billy didn’t spend as much time with them, and Billy didn’t know Vision as well as he did Wanda…
“Ready to go Billy?” Teddy asks, as they break apart. Teddy leans in and brushes a kiss against Loki’s cheek and Rebecca resolves again to regain her calm.
A calm head is the one thing she’ll need above all else for this.
“Yeah, I’m ready.” Billy answers, and he sends one last glance towards Loki. “Don’t give ‘em too much trouble, huh?” he says and Rebecca isn’t entirely sure he’s talking about Loki. Loki answers anyway.
“I won’t.” Loki promises. “Have fun - I’m sure I will.”
Billy’s lips twitch into a smile and then he suddenly yells out: “Bye Dad! We’ll be back in three hours, max!”
Rebecca turns and sees Jeff silently slip out from the corner - he too, has been listening, she realizes.
The door shuts, and Rebecca feels her heart shudder in fear for a moment. Despite everything she’s seen over the last few days, everything she’s heard from Billy and Teddy and even the other Young Avengers, her mind still remembers Loki first of all as the supervillain he used to be.
And Rebecca isn’t her son; she has no mutant powers or magic to defend herself with. If Loki wanted to hurt Jeff or herself, it would be all too easy for him. Even the strongest superheroes had trouble dealing with Loki - what could Rebecca Kaplan do? As much as she doesn’t want to think about it, Billy, out of anyone in the Kaplan household (even perhaps Teddy) had the best chance of holding Loki off if he wanted to do them harm.
Loki smirks at them and languidly moves into the living room. He slinks down onto the couch and looks expectantly at them.
“Well now… Am I correct in thinking you two wanted to talk?” He asks, and this is it - it’s time to stop pretending she’s completely okay with the norse god being in her home - dating her son and the man she expected to become her son-in-law until a parasite with a fixation for parents was unleashed on Earth - on her son.
Before Rebecca can figure out where she wants to begin, however, Jeff surprises her and speaks up first.
“We do indeed, Loki.” Jeff confirms, and the quiet confidence in which he takes a seat opposite of Loki gives Rebecca strength enough to follow him, settling her hands on her lap.
“There’s much to talk about. About Billy, about Teddy… about yourself.” Jeff begins, and Rebecca lets his calm voice wash over, reminding her that if she trusts her son, there was no reason to fear Loki now. He’s been in her house for two days already. Rebecca would’ve caught some sign if Loki was using Billy or intending to harm her family.
Wouldn’t she?
“It’s difficult to pick a place to begin.” Jeff’s voice brings Rebecca back to the present, and she takes a moment to look at Loki’s carefully open, yet guarded face. “In fact, it was only this weekend that I finally decided where to begin this conversation.”
“Oh?” Loki asks and the faint curiosity in his voice is betrayed by the flat expression on his face.
“Yes.” Jeff confirms, and then pauses before speaking carefully. “Have you ever children, Loki? Specially, any children named Vali or Narfi?”
It was impossible not to notice the way Loki’s teeth clenched at the question, though he maintained an air of friendliness. After a moment in which Loki audibly sucked in a breath of air, he smiled, his eyes glittering.
In anger or something else, Rebecca couldn’t decide.
“You are a brave man.” Loki complimented, noticing the way Rebecca had tensed and relaxing his expression into something calmer, more affable. “Not even Billy has been able to ask me that, not yet, at least.”
“I’m not surprised.” Jeff remained unmoved. “I used to read to him every night, about the stories of your people… though the murder and bloodshed was toned down.”
“Of course.” Loki agreed genially. A pause in which Loki closed his eyes briefly: to gather strength, courage? Or to make up a lie? Rebecca didn’t like how she was completely unable to read Loki.
“The answer is complicated.” Loki began. “I’m sure the cycle of repeating Ragnoraks has managed to trickle down to the public by now, yes?”
Rebecca and Jeff nodded. Even if that had been news originally confined to the meta-human circles, with Billy as their son it had been impossible for the Kaplans to not learn a thing or two from the superhero grapevines.
“Good, this makes this explanation a bit easier - for you see, if you were asking about this particular lifetime, my most recent life, the answer is no: I’ve not the chance to have any children at all.” Loki explained. “But if you were to expand your question to the previous cycle…. The answer would be yes - I’ve had several children. Some mortal, some not… several are still alive right now as adults, completely capable of taking care of themselves… And among the dead are indeed, Narfi and Vali.”
There was a stony silence. Rebecca couldn’t imagine talking so easily of her children’s death, but what she did know of Asgard’s previous Ragnarok cycle and Thor’s superhero exploits she knew that death was a rather different experience to gods than mere mortals like herself. In fact, considering Hela - the ruler of the dead - was supposed to be Loki’s daughter, who was not to say Loki did not manage to see his deceased children rather frequently?
That was a question Rebecca felt she was rather better off not asking.
“They weren’t brought back with the rest of the Asgardians Thor called back?” Jeff asked bravely, his expression slightly softer than before.
“My children have never been considered Asgardians.” Loki revealed darkly. An awkward silence filled the room as they tried to think of a proper response.
“The myths…” Jeff began hesitantly. “Has it ever happened as…”
“Repeatedly. I’ve never been able to prevent their deaths when they’re born.” Loki said shortly. “I tend to only focus on the memoires I have of the last Ragnarok (where they were not born, thankfully), if you please.”
Jeff and Rebecca both nodded easily. This at least is something they can easily agree on - focusing on a defined period of Loki’s long-lived life would make this easier and quicker to go through.
“I would like…” Rebecca started hesitantly, drawing Loki’s gaze away from Jeff and onto her. “I would like you to not restrain yourself as you did last night. Had I known about… I would’ve picked a different movie. Lilo and Stich, Finding Nemo perhaps. Something more cheerful.”
Loki looked at her curiously, more than a little surprised.
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable Loki,” Rebecca continued, “I don’t want you to suffer through whatever something like that brings up instead of speaking up. Regardless of what I think about you, I don’t want you to go through that, especially since I know you’re only trying to make nice with us for Billy.”
“And what makes you think that, Mrs. Kaplan?” Loki asked, instead of addressing the rest of what Rebecca had said. Rebecca decided to let Loki switch topics.
“How polite you’ve been since arriving.” Rebecca named one example. “The person Billy, Teddy and Tommy described to me never sounded as if he bothered to censor what they thought or said. Someone who rather liked to joke and be the center of conversation. But you’ve been rather… reserved. Worried, I think, about making the right impression.”
“Well, considering my reputation, I would think it’s rather hard for me to leave a good impression.” Loki said flippantly, lips twitching into a small smile. “Billy and Teddy both are rather attached to you two, so it would be in my interests to keep you happy, wouldn’t it?”
“I sure it would.” Jeff said reticently, apparently deciding not to comment on the way Loki structured his question. Rebecca thought it was almost as if Loki was trying to make them wary and distrustful of him. “But I think it’s a common reaction to be wary when one’s son brings home an older man. How are old are you, Loki?”
“How old am I? Now that’s a debate and half.” Loki said, waving a hand dismissively. “For now, I’ll just go with what’s written on my ID - twenty-one. Not so much of an age gap between myself and the other two. ”
Billy and Teddy were nineteen when The Mother Incidnet had happened. They were twenty now, so if Loki had truly been twenty-one, Loki’s statement would’ve been accurate. Rebecca knew as god, however, Loki was well over a thousand years old. And that was if Rebecca kept her estimate to the last Ragnarok as Loki had requested. But he had been killed and resurrected recently, and then suddenly aged up to his current form, so Rebecca supposed it was fair of Loki to be so uncaring of this: truly, how would one be able to give Loki an accurate age? She was about to say as much when Jeff spoke.
“Twenty-one. Fair enough, I suppose.” Jeff seemed to agree. “But we all know that’s not true, don’t we Loki?”
Loki raised an eyebrow, still reclining easily into the couch, obviously intrigued and wondering where Jeff was going with this opener. Rebecca thought she knew, and felt a knot of fear rise in her throat.
It turned out she was right.
“You’ve been around for a long time, from the first time costumed super-heroes began stepping up and ‘protecting’ us.” Jeff continued. “And I have to wonder… do you remember everything you’ve done, Loki? Do you remember us?”
There was a long pause, a silence in which Rebecca felt her heart thud against her chest painfully, her palms sweating, and ice-cold fear trickling down her spine. She hadn’t expected Jeff to get into this topic so quickly, but perhaps it was better that he had. Get it over with quickly.
After all, Loki’s response to this question would give Rebecca and Jeff both the knowledge of whether or not they should even bother continuing their questions.
At first, Loki’s expression was blank - and Rebecca felt her heart drop. She wanted this conversation to turn out well, she wanted Loki’s feelings for Billy and Teddy to be real, and not another ploy, and Loki’s apparent apathy seemed to confirm that it was an act. But Rebecca took a second look and realized it seemed as if genuine confusion had taken Loki, but then his expression shifted minutely. A light entered his eyes, and a smile ghosted across his face.
“Ah… yes. I do.” Loki said. “I do happen to remember that day.”
Rebecca finds herself freezing once again, uncertain whether or not she should be relieved or afraid.
It had been a long time ago; Rebecca was willing to admit: back in the early days of the Avengers. Much time had passed, and they had all gone through much in the intervening time. Rebecca knows Billy says Loki has changed, knows Asgardia’s official stance on Loki’s reincarnation and renouncing his former villainy ways. But that day, all those years ago, is the first thing she thought of when Billy told her he was dating Loki, and the first thing she thinks of whenever the topic gets brought up.
It was impossible, after all, to live in New York and not have been caught up in a super-powered brawl one time or another. And that was just if you weren’t personally connected to a superhero or villain.
And then Loki begins to speak, and tells them what Rebecca and Jeff already know. One day, back when the Avegners were still new, while Loki was having a confrontation with the Avengers, he had them utterly fooled by his illusions; leaving Loki free to waltz around downtown unbothered. Explosions rocked buildings, results from attacks by Thor, the Hulk’s rampage and Loki’s illusions… and Rebecca and Jeff were right in the middle of it, having evacuated from a building that had the unfortunate fate of being the Hulk’s crash landing pad.
And Loki was there, leaned against a building, watching the chaos unfold, right in their path. Jeff hadn’t even hesitated, pushing Rebecca behind him and waiting for Loki’s attack.
But the attack never came. Instead there were several long minutes in which Loki (so much older, such a different air about him…) did not even deign to look at their direction, though he clearly knew they were there, and could not risk just running past him to get to safety, yet were too frightened to turn their backs to him and run away.
Rebecca had never been so terrified before, in those moments, wondering what Loki could possibly be planning to do to the mortals who crossed his path.
And then Loki had finally turned to face them, looking amused as could be. “Brave little mortals aren’t you?” He had asked, looking up and down Jeff as he shielded Rebecca with his own body.
“Run along, now. I don’t think you’ll want to be here five minutes from now. I do think they’ve finally realized I’m not fighting them.” And Loki looked as if he wanted to laugh - as if the chaos, destruction all around him was a mere joke, as if Rebecca and Jeff fearing for their lives when confronted with the man - god - responsible for it all was a simple jest.
“Yes, I remember that day. It was a rather unusual reaction, to just stand there and not say anything, not even to beg for your lives.” Loki mused, his voice cold. He looked at their faces curiously, before smiling sharply.
“I’m sure you’re going to ask why. Why I spared you, what I was thinking.” Loki stated, and Jeff nodded calmly, his gaze reminiscent of that day he unflinchingly acted as a shield for Rebecca. She envied Jeff his strength to stare Loki down so easily. “There was a mark, you see. The Norns - fate, destiny, whatever you like to call them - like to make sure reality-warpers don’t meddle too much with things, and there was a mark on you both telling me to leave you alone. So I did.”
How did one respond to that? Rebecca didn’t think it would hubris to think the ‘mark’ Loki spoke of was because of Billy: how random could it be, after all, that the Scarlet Witch’s magic child was placed into their home? A home where parents would support and love him, would follow his birth religion and accept his sexuality?
“I do hope you’re not trying to thank me for letting you go that day” Loki said, narrowing his eyes at the change in their expressions. “I was already amused, you see. It was a whim - if the Avengers were being perhaps the slightest bit less entertaining that day, I would’ve killed you just to see what happened.”
For a moment, Rebecca mind’s goes blank, but she’s heard these sort of statements before, from people just as damaged as Loki. People trying to push others away, all because they didn’t trust them to not bring harm. Didn’t trust that others capable of staying and loving them.
“Would you have?” She whispered hoarsely, and Loki nods. “But you didn’t. And you’re not harming us now. You didn’t harm us back then.”
“She’s right.” Jeff says placidly, before Loki’s darkening expression can progress past narrowed eyes. “It doesn’t seem to fit your profile. Before, when you were a villain… you never involved anyone who wasn’t needed. You ignored or went out of your way to avoid dragging in others into whatever plots you had going on. I don’t think you would’ve done anything even if there hadn’t been a ‘mark’.”
“You never know.” Loki said mildly, but Rebecca could see the anger in his eyes. “I’m rather known for changing my mind with little to no prompting. Perhaps I will change again.”
“The god of chaos.” Jeff agreed, “You’ve earned that title, certainly. Yet you’ve said you’re no longer the old Loki. Perhaps you cannot change your mind so easily about those who care for you any longer.”
For a moment, Loki looked frustrated, as if this wasn’t the way he imagined this conversation going down. But then he huffed, and smiled slightly.
“We’re both full of surprises this weekend, aren’t we?” Loki asks, his head tilted slightly as he gazes at both of them. “I was rather surprised, actually, by how much you managed to get past Billy. Shabbat is supposed to be a time of relaxation, connecting with family… marital enjoyment. You set up this entire weekend like this so you could get the most out of it. How I would react to you, to your children, if I paid attention to Teddy as well as Billy, how I treated Billy’s religion…and so on. And then today, when Billy and Teddy finally dropped their guard, convinced neither of you were going to be hostile towards me, or try to interrogate me endlessly. It’s really rather well put together.”
“Should I be complimented?” Rebecca asked, trying to inject as much levity as she could while still making the question sound serious. “Coming from a ba'alei lashon hara…”
Loki blinked, and for a moment Rebecca wondered if All-Speak did not cover this concept, but a huff of laughter soon assured her that Loki did, in fact, understand what he had been called.
“Lashon hara… yes, I suppose I would be considered a speaker of that, wouldn’t I?” Loki mused, looking thoughtful as he gazed at the ceiling. “Osborn, Doom, a myriad of others… my reputation precedes me.”
“You can see our concerns then.” Rebecca knew it came off as more of question than a statement. “I want to trust that Billy’s right to trust you…”
“Oh no, go right on ahead not trusting me. I’m not offended.” Loki insisted. “In fact, I’m rather pleased. I’d be far more concerned if you trusted me completely, right off the back. A good parent would be rather concerned if their child - or children, in this case - entered a relationship like this and wasn’t worried at all.”
Fighting to think over the rush of warmth after Rebecca realized that Teddy must have, at some point, told Loki that he considered her and Jeff as his family - parents even -for Loki to correct his use of ‘child’, Rebecca took in Loki’s pleased, yet somehow saddened visage. Somehow, Rebecca thought Loki was saying that his own parents would not have bothered with the performance Rebecca set up this weekend.
Come to think of it, had Billy or Teddy ever mentioned Loki’s parent’s reaction to his relationship with them? No, she didn’t think they had. Perhaps, like with Vision and Wanda, this was also something Rebecca should bring up, further along the road.
“A liar I may be…” Loki began, drawing Rebecca’s attention back to him, “But if there is one thing I would have you believe is the honest truth… I don’t want to hurt them. Billy or Teddy, or anyone else. Not again. I don’t like that I had - no, I didn’t have to, but that’s -“ Loki paused, frowned and then shook his head.
“I regret it. I’ll never do it again, if I can help it. They’re probably better off without me, but I’m selfish.” Loki admitted, his head hung and hands clasped in his lap. “They want me, so I’m not going to leave. Not until they tell me, no matter what anyone thinks no matter what you think.”
It shouldn’t have been reassuring to hear this, Rebecca knew, but it was. Because she did, truly, believe that Loki telling the truth. His demeanor was completely unlike the stiff apathy Loki had been cultivating the entire weekend, the polite distance Loki tried to retain between anyone. The emotion in Loki’s voice, hidden all weekend, showed Loki had finally dropped his act, and for the first time, Rebecca could see the insecure, but intelligent and witty person Billy and Teddy had fallen in love with.
“Then perhaps we’ve found our common ground.” Rebecca begins, and Loki’s head shoots up in surprise at her softly spoken words. Jeff’s hand is covering hers - both reassuring and approving. “Just be yourself, Loki, and let us see the person Billy and Teddy fell in love with instead of the person you think we want to see.”
“Yes, well, people don’t tend to like me when I do that.” Loki muttered, but looked pleased all the same. “Your sons are a rare exception.”
“Perhaps.” Rebecca knows it will do no good to contradict Loki at this point - not when they’re still so new to each other, not when Rebecca can’t contradict him with certainty.
“Have you had the shovel talk with Wanda and Vision yet?” Rebecca asks, injecting the needed amount of levity to let Loki they’re moving on from the heaviest part of this conversation.
“Ah…” Loki winces. “No, not yet. I doubt they’ll be put off for much longer. Peitro, however, could not be bothered to wait for an invitation and gave me the shovel talk in record setting time, and then did not have the decency to stick around to see my reaction. I barely understood a word he said, even with All-Speak.”
Rebecca smiled wanly, and Jeff let out a small chuckle. “That sounds like him.” Rebecca agreed.
“We haven’t gone through the checklist, have we?” Jeff asked, and Loki looked warily (but playfully) at him. “Do you intend to make an honest man out of them, Loki? Teddy’s already proposed.”
It was playful, they were all smiling, but Rebecca and Loki knew the question was serious. Rebecca had forgotten, in the throes of emotion the constantly switching topics had brought, that this was also a question that had concerned her, and felt she should’ve realized Jeff would’ve thought of this as well.
Jeff liked to see where things led themselves, and thus Rebecca hadn’t completely sat down with him and gone over everything she wanted to talk to Loki about, but that did not make Jeff any less concerned about Billy or Teddy than she was.
“Well, Asgarida has never concerned itself with making comprehensive and exhaustingly detailed laws like Earth has. The King’s (or Queen, now) word is law, and with our oaths being truly binding there’s never been a need. Loki replied idly. “Asgardia’s had far more important things to worry about than making a law forbidding one to have more than one spouse at a time.”
“I see.” Well, that was more worry put to rest, Rebecca supposed.
--
Rebecca and Jeff spend the remaining amount of time going over superficial things - Loki’s likes and dislikes, favorite movie, bands and the like. Loki, no longer closed off and distant as he had been the previous days, is relaxed and enjoying himself, giving truthful answers as far as they could tell.
Billy and Teddy arrive back not a minute later than the three hour mark, in a flurry of excitement; Michael and Josh high on excitement and a sugar rush.
Billy looks suspicious, and Teddy pleased when they see the laid-back atmosphere, but are quickly more concerned with the boy’s reenactment of their favorite scenes from the movie, insisting Billy use his magic to help them.
Loki, of course, eggs them on.
Rebecca feels the rest of the night is truly the first time they’ve all been relaxed all weekend. She’s more relieved than she expected to be, at the end of the day, and all the more happy for it.
So much so infact, that later that night, when Billy and Teddy sneak into the guest room where Loki is staying, Rebecca says nothing and pretends she hasn’t seen them.
They deserve some time together, Rebecca thinks, and she’s almost completely certain nothing other than platonic comfort and reassurance will be happening anyway.
Monday:
Teddy leaves early in the morning. He has work today, and thus can’t stay to help pack up; but neither Billy or Loki seem to mind. They both seem rather rested, so if anything untoward happened last night, they’re hiding rather well.
Though Billy and Loki stay for breakfast, they’re packed and ready to leave before lunch. Jeff and Rebecca see them off over the whines of the boys, and Rebecca truly feels good about the way the weekend has played out.
“Thanks, Mom.” Billy whispers meaningfully to her as they hug one last time. “For not giving Loki a hard time. He really wanted to make a good impression with you guys.”
There are many things Rebecca could say to this, but there’s only one thing she needs to say to get her feelings across.
“I just want you to be happy, Billy. And he makes you happy, both of you.” Rebecca smiles tearfully at Billy. A little ways beside them, Jeff has clasped Loki’s shoulder and is giving him a similar farewell. “And as long as they continue to do that, I’ll always support you.”
And that’s really the most important thing. As long as their happy, Rebecca doesn’t mind that her sons, Billy and Teddy, are in a confusing and complicated relationship with a Norse god.
And if Loki stays on the path he’s on now, a few years from now, Rebecca might be attending a wedding in Asgardia.