![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
We'll Always Have Paris
It had been a full day and again, Thor had politely and carefully been told that nothing had changed. SHIELD still did not know who the blonde woman that the street urchin Luc had described was, and where she had gone with Loki.
Thor, for his part, was floating above the large warehouse in the outskirts of Paris that SHIELD had set up as a temporary base, as yet another storm, summoned by his grief and frustration, rolled in. Wherever the woman had gone, Loki was now hidden even from Mjolnir and the Odinforce. He despised moments like these, where for all his might he could not help someone. One would think he would be more used to it, he mused darkly, for he had felt it around his younger brother far too often.
“Thor!”
A deep, familiar voice reached him and dragged his mind back to the present. Looking away from the oncoming storm, he saw Steve Rogers standing in the doorway of the Paris police station. Thor’s frown eased slightly as he floated down to the ground.
“I heard what happened.” The blonde man said solemnly. “I came as soon as I could.”
Thor sighed tiredly and walked towards him. “To support me in my time of need, or to chide me for resurrecting Loki?” He stopped in front of him. “For I have heard many whispers, from the agents of SHIELD and my Asgardian brothers-in-arms, that I have gone mad.”
Steve’s lips tightened. “I’m not about to call you crazy for loving your brother; I will, however, make sure that we look at every possible angle.”
Thor looked away.
Steve’s eyes softened and he reached up to clap a hand on Thor’s shoulder. “C’mon, just standing around out here won’t do any good.”
Thor’s lips twitched into a smile. “My thanks, brother. It is good to know I have an ally here.”
“Hey, mister thunder god!”
Thor looked past Steve to see the street urchin, Luc, standing farther down the hall. The boy had been walking towards them, but had stopped when he saw Steve and swayed nervously, his cheeks red.
“Yes?” Thor said, taking a step towards him.
“IwannatalktoyouaboutSerrure.” the boy rushed out, stepping back.
“Right here?”
“Alone.”
Luc was sweating and fidgeting, his eyes darting from Thor to Steve and back again. Thor looked at Steve out of the corner of his eye. Steve smiled and made an aborted wave at him.
“We can talk later. It seems he’s got something to say.” He then left the two of them standing in the brightly-lit hall, staring at each other.
The boy looked away first, digging at the linoleum with the toe of one ragged sneaker and twisting the hem of his shirt. Thor waited patiently.
“W-what did you do to Serrure, really?”
“As I said before,” Thor said, “I merely reminded him of who he was.”
Luc’s lips thinned and turned downward. “No, really, I mean, one minute he’s like, terrified, but the next he’s all ‘let’s run away together’?” He looked back up at Thor and raised an eyebrow. “Nobody just does a one-eighty like that naturally.”
Thor sighed. The urchin still did not believe him. “Is there some place where we might sit down? This will take some explanation.”
They ended up back outside on a bench in front of the station. “You heard of the Siege of Asgard, I presume?”
Luc looked him over carefully before nodding. Thor idly wondered what had happened to him that made him so wary of just answering a question.
“During it, my brother, Loki, died.” Thor closed his eyes briefly at the memory. “He sacrificed himself in a fight against a creature known as the Void. He was torn to shreds, but we were able to defeat the creature thanks to his distraction.” He looked down at his hands, which were clasped in his lap.
“After his death, I found myself missing him, despite his mischief, and so I called his soul back from the void.”
Luc frowned. “Wait, wasn’t the Void what killed him?”
“The void that I speak of is just that, a void; it is where the souls of those who are not claimed by any afterlife go, not the mad animal that killed so many during the siege.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy look away with red cheeks. Mentally chiding himself, he gently placed one of his hands on the boy’s back. “It is an easy mistake to make, Luc; I was not clear in what I was speaking of.”
“As I was saying, I called his soul back from the void. When he did not reappear, I set out and tracked him down to here. His soul called out to Mjolnir.”
“That’s your hammer, right?”
“Yes. I tracked him down here, to Paris, and when he touched Mjolnir, his memories were restored.”
The boy crinkled his nose. “But I’ve seen you two on TV before; you were fighting and he was always screaming stuff about how much he hated you.”
Thor bowed his head. “Loki and I have a…complicated relationship. When we were younger, I was occasionally cruel to him, and I did not always protect him from others as I should have. I did not realize until it was too late how much the taunts of others had affected him.”
Luc looked down at his hands. Thor watched as he fiddled with a hangnail. He had the feeling that the boy wanted to say something, but was holding himself back.
Finally, quietly, the boy asked, “Is there anything left of Serrure?”
Thor felt sympathy fill him. He placed a gentle hand upon Luc’s back, covering most of it. “From what I saw, his personality as Serrure is much the same as his personality as Loki. He simply remembers more now.”
Luc continued to play with his nails. Thor continued to sit beside him. There was no reason to get up and leave. He had extracted an oath from one of the agents that he would be informed straight away when they found any clues as to the whereabouts of Loki.
“What if…” the boy started before trailing off. “What if he was happier being just Serrure?” He looked up into Thor’s eyes. “Cuz I don’t… I don’t think that he likes Loki.”
Thor felt his brow crease. “What makes you say such things?” he asked. Luc looked back down at his hands.
“Some nights, a lot of nights actually, he’d wake up crying or yelling.”
Thor’s heart jumped and he stiffened slightly as the boy continued, sounding like he was forcing the words out. “He’d never tell what it was he was dreaming about when he was awake, but sometimes, when it got real bad, he’d talk in his sleep, yelling about people burning and being torn apart and he’d beg someone to forgive him. Said that he didn’t mean for it to go that far. Some nights, he wouldn’t sleep at all because he was too scared.”
Luc looked up through his lashes at him. “Were those dreams his memories from before?”
It took a few moments before Thor could find his voice again. His little brother had been tormented by visions of his past misdeeds that much? He had not realized it had been so bad.
“Yes, I believe they were,” Thor said gruffly. “But I swore to Loki before I awoke his memories that his past no longer mattered, and that I would protect him.”
Luc stared at the wall across from them and looked thoughtful. “So those dreams, he actually did that stuff? I bet a lot of people are angry with him, then.” The boy’s face twisted into a skeptical expression. “Can you really protect him from everyone?”
“None would dare to harm him while he is under my protection.” Thor assured the boy.
Luc looked like he wanted to say more, but was stopped by a panting SHIELD agent, his glasses askew, appearing at the end of the hallway.
“Mister…Odinson?” the man asked.
Thor’s heart leapt with joy. There was only one reason for an agent to come and speak with him.
“We found the woman that the boy described!”
Thor, for his part, was floating above the large warehouse in the outskirts of Paris that SHIELD had set up as a temporary base, as yet another storm, summoned by his grief and frustration, rolled in. Wherever the woman had gone, Loki was now hidden even from Mjolnir and the Odinforce. He despised moments like these, where for all his might he could not help someone. One would think he would be more used to it, he mused darkly, for he had felt it around his younger brother far too often.
“Thor!”
A deep, familiar voice reached him and dragged his mind back to the present. Looking away from the oncoming storm, he saw Steve Rogers standing in the doorway of the Paris police station. Thor’s frown eased slightly as he floated down to the ground.
“I heard what happened.” The blonde man said solemnly. “I came as soon as I could.”
Thor sighed tiredly and walked towards him. “To support me in my time of need, or to chide me for resurrecting Loki?” He stopped in front of him. “For I have heard many whispers, from the agents of SHIELD and my Asgardian brothers-in-arms, that I have gone mad.”
Steve’s lips tightened. “I’m not about to call you crazy for loving your brother; I will, however, make sure that we look at every possible angle.”
Thor looked away.
Steve’s eyes softened and he reached up to clap a hand on Thor’s shoulder. “C’mon, just standing around out here won’t do any good.”
Thor’s lips twitched into a smile. “My thanks, brother. It is good to know I have an ally here.”
“Hey, mister thunder god!”
Thor looked past Steve to see the street urchin, Luc, standing farther down the hall. The boy had been walking towards them, but had stopped when he saw Steve and swayed nervously, his cheeks red.
“Yes?” Thor said, taking a step towards him.
“IwannatalktoyouaboutSerrure.” the boy rushed out, stepping back.
“Right here?”
“Alone.”
Luc was sweating and fidgeting, his eyes darting from Thor to Steve and back again. Thor looked at Steve out of the corner of his eye. Steve smiled and made an aborted wave at him.
“We can talk later. It seems he’s got something to say.” He then left the two of them standing in the brightly-lit hall, staring at each other.
The boy looked away first, digging at the linoleum with the toe of one ragged sneaker and twisting the hem of his shirt. Thor waited patiently.
“W-what did you do to Serrure, really?”
“As I said before,” Thor said, “I merely reminded him of who he was.”
Luc’s lips thinned and turned downward. “No, really, I mean, one minute he’s like, terrified, but the next he’s all ‘let’s run away together’?” He looked back up at Thor and raised an eyebrow. “Nobody just does a one-eighty like that naturally.”
Thor sighed. The urchin still did not believe him. “Is there some place where we might sit down? This will take some explanation.”
They ended up back outside on a bench in front of the station. “You heard of the Siege of Asgard, I presume?”
Luc looked him over carefully before nodding. Thor idly wondered what had happened to him that made him so wary of just answering a question.
“During it, my brother, Loki, died.” Thor closed his eyes briefly at the memory. “He sacrificed himself in a fight against a creature known as the Void. He was torn to shreds, but we were able to defeat the creature thanks to his distraction.” He looked down at his hands, which were clasped in his lap.
“After his death, I found myself missing him, despite his mischief, and so I called his soul back from the void.”
Luc frowned. “Wait, wasn’t the Void what killed him?”
“The void that I speak of is just that, a void; it is where the souls of those who are not claimed by any afterlife go, not the mad animal that killed so many during the siege.” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the boy look away with red cheeks. Mentally chiding himself, he gently placed one of his hands on the boy’s back. “It is an easy mistake to make, Luc; I was not clear in what I was speaking of.”
“As I was saying, I called his soul back from the void. When he did not reappear, I set out and tracked him down to here. His soul called out to Mjolnir.”
“That’s your hammer, right?”
“Yes. I tracked him down here, to Paris, and when he touched Mjolnir, his memories were restored.”
The boy crinkled his nose. “But I’ve seen you two on TV before; you were fighting and he was always screaming stuff about how much he hated you.”
Thor bowed his head. “Loki and I have a…complicated relationship. When we were younger, I was occasionally cruel to him, and I did not always protect him from others as I should have. I did not realize until it was too late how much the taunts of others had affected him.”
Luc looked down at his hands. Thor watched as he fiddled with a hangnail. He had the feeling that the boy wanted to say something, but was holding himself back.
Finally, quietly, the boy asked, “Is there anything left of Serrure?”
Thor felt sympathy fill him. He placed a gentle hand upon Luc’s back, covering most of it. “From what I saw, his personality as Serrure is much the same as his personality as Loki. He simply remembers more now.”
Luc continued to play with his nails. Thor continued to sit beside him. There was no reason to get up and leave. He had extracted an oath from one of the agents that he would be informed straight away when they found any clues as to the whereabouts of Loki.
“What if…” the boy started before trailing off. “What if he was happier being just Serrure?” He looked up into Thor’s eyes. “Cuz I don’t… I don’t think that he likes Loki.”
Thor felt his brow crease. “What makes you say such things?” he asked. Luc looked back down at his hands.
“Some nights, a lot of nights actually, he’d wake up crying or yelling.”
Thor’s heart jumped and he stiffened slightly as the boy continued, sounding like he was forcing the words out. “He’d never tell what it was he was dreaming about when he was awake, but sometimes, when it got real bad, he’d talk in his sleep, yelling about people burning and being torn apart and he’d beg someone to forgive him. Said that he didn’t mean for it to go that far. Some nights, he wouldn’t sleep at all because he was too scared.”
Luc looked up through his lashes at him. “Were those dreams his memories from before?”
It took a few moments before Thor could find his voice again. His little brother had been tormented by visions of his past misdeeds that much? He had not realized it had been so bad.
“Yes, I believe they were,” Thor said gruffly. “But I swore to Loki before I awoke his memories that his past no longer mattered, and that I would protect him.”
Luc stared at the wall across from them and looked thoughtful. “So those dreams, he actually did that stuff? I bet a lot of people are angry with him, then.” The boy’s face twisted into a skeptical expression. “Can you really protect him from everyone?”
“None would dare to harm him while he is under my protection.” Thor assured the boy.
Luc looked like he wanted to say more, but was stopped by a panting SHIELD agent, his glasses askew, appearing at the end of the hallway.
“Mister…Odinson?” the man asked.
Thor’s heart leapt with joy. There was only one reason for an agent to come and speak with him.
“We found the woman that the boy described!”