A serious conversation

[st_ratagem]

Nerves were pointless. Realistically there was only one way this conversation was ultimately going to go, it was just a matter of getting there. Which would be awkward and embarrassing at least, but it had to be done.

Rather than go through the knock-on-door-then-enter thing, which would have been minor sandpaper on nerves that wanted to be frayed, Loki opened the door to the room as an invitation to enter. (Thor was the only one he was expecting, anyway.) After that, he took a seat at the little table on the balcony, since the only other choice was pacing like a ninny.

The room was much less tidy and impersonal since Valkyrie had moved in. She hadn’t been exaggerating when she’d said she wasn’t organized, so her things were scattered around, and Loki had relaxed his own tight rein on his things, so a few piles of books and other things had joined the clutter. It looked lived-in, now.

Comments

[st_ormbreaker]

"So you're not going to walk me back."

[st_ratagem]

“Is there a reason you need me to? Are you worried you’ll get lost?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"We haven't exactly," Thor gestures vaguely. "Done much together recently."

[st_ratagem]

Damn it, that was actually touching. A little bit. “And a short walk in company will help?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"It might," Thor says, rolling his shoulders. "But we won't know until we actually give it a shot."

[st_ratagem]

“Fine.” Loki shrugged. “But you carry your box. I’m not your pack mule, brother.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I didn't say you were."

Thor hoists up the box and shifts it in his hands. "You ready?"

[st_ratagem]

“Sure.” Loki stood up and subtly stretched a little, clearing the last of the tension from the beginning of this talk. “Onward, to the short hallway walk.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"You should come visit more often if the walk is that short," Thor says, opening the door as he holds the box in a single hand. "If you're worried about Tony, he's always in his lab."

[st_ratagem]

“I’m not.” Loki followed, slipping through the door and letting it close behind them. “I may prefer to let you have your privacy, though.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I'd welcome the company," Thor says. "I like being disturbed."

In some ways, he and Loki truly were opposites.

[st_ratagem]

In truth, Loki didn’t like being alone, but he’d gotten used to it. “You know i’d Just watch you do whatever you’re doing anyway.” After a moment to strangle down habitual caution about giving out handles on him, he offered, “I do exercise. I don’t think you’d be interested in the balance or flexibility things, but we could spar.” For the minimal good it would do them... up then it would still be exercise. “Or run, or climb things.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I don't mind you watching whatever I'm doing," Thor says, though he's pretty sure he'd find whatever he was doing boring. "But I won't say no to sparring. It'd be just like old times."

[st_ratagem]

“Yes, you beating me into the ground and moving on to an actual challenge.” Loki wasn’t bitter about that anymore, though he’d been extremely bitter when they were young - less about the continual defeat and more about his utter inability to be good enough at anything. He’d learned in the last decade to be satisfied with the skills he had. Maybe not good enough in general, still, but good enough for what he actually wanted.

[st_ormbreaker]

"You might not be the best at physically fighting, but you have abilities you can use to your advantage," Thor says as they make their final approach. "Use them."

[st_ratagem]

“Mmm. You’re not really falling for any of the tricks I’m comfortable using in a practice match.” There were any number of things he could do to his brother’s mind and reflexes, but many of those were... best left for matches not intended to be more or less friendly. “And I think both Stark and Valkyrie would be annoyed if I turned your mind inside-out for a few hours.”

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor grins. "Would they even be notice a difference?"

[st_ratagem]

“I don’t know, do you often spend hours staring into nothing, drooling, and occasionally saying ‘hello’?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I'm sure Tony wouldn't notice as long as you do it during one of his lab days."

[st_ratagem]

“I could put you in his lab after squashing your mind like a grape.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Just make sure it's when he's already distracted." Thor stops at the door and nods at the handle so that Loki can open it.

[st_ratagem]

Loki opened the door - physically, not with magic, since he was right there. “I’ll make us invisible and cover us with illusions, brother, he won’t know you’re there until he slips in your drool puddle.” After a moment, he asked. “Are you feeling neglected, brother? I’d have expected you to get defensive before now.”

[st_ormbreaker]

"Why would I get defensive?" Thor asks defensively.

[st_ratagem]

“And there it is!” Loki pokes Thor in the shoulder. “You realize I like you better when you’re not perfect, don’t you?”

[st_ormbreaker]

"I'm not perfect," Thor grumbles as he steps into the room. Their small table is hardly fit for holding anything substantial, so he sets the box down on the bed until he can figure out what to do with it. Tony's not here, so Thor assumes he's huddled down in the lab. "You'll realize that eventually."