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It's a lazy morning. Kai's barely out of bed, and given the sleepy, smug look on his face, he's had quite a night. He's got on pajama bottoms in deference to the open window, and he's in the kitchen pouring milk over a bowl of cereal. No bacon and eggs this morning, alas. He needs to go to the store. Kevin lies asleep in his bed, sacked out. His morning walk, barking at squirrels, it's exhausting stuff.
"Do you want some of this?" Kai calls to Loki. "It's pretty much sugar and milk." He takes down an extra, mismatched bowl just in case.
*
Tall, pale, and wrapped in one of Kai's red, asian-inspired robes, Loki leans against the doorway to the kitchen. His approach in bare feet would have been utterly silent. So, his voice may surprise. Husky, from waking up, and rumbling out of his chest, like a groan, he answers, "Does that say Loki Charms?" A slow smile creeps on his face, his hair a bit tangled and poofier than he'd like it to be.
*
Kai starts at the closeness of the voice, and he laughs. "All I know is I'm after them." His own bedhead is a riot of disheveled curls. He winks at Loki, thoughtlessly flirtatious, and he pours his man a bowl of sugary, marshmallowy goodness. "I was just thinking, these mornings with you, when it's just us, are some of the happiest times I've had in my life."
*
A good thing, that barrier, because the chair is vinyl. Kai sits across the table from Loki, ignoring his cereal for the moment in favor of taking in the fallen prince's features and that inky black hair all rumpled from spending the night. "You'll find ways to make mischief," he says. "I hope it won't be too bad." He bites his lower lip, then adds, "But I love you no matter what."
*
Loki just smiles, and pokes at the marshmellows, thoughtfully. This was back in the day, too, when diamonds were /blue/ and clovers were /green/. and there weren't bullshit swirls and rainbows, but /shooting stars/. Yeah. Back when Lucky Charms didn't need a gimmick to jack up a 4 year old, or to be infused with vitamins to pass a mom-test. "Since there is no help for your friend, right now, do you think you can still slip away from the Avengers to come with my to the Netherlands? Or…shall I form a group of my own?"
*
The good old days. Righteous days when life made sense, damn it. Kai tucks in. Mmm, sugary goodness. "I'm sure they'll let me slip away once this business with the terrorists is over. If it looks like it might take longer than the month or so, I imagine they won't mind me taking a little hiatus." One day of doing dreary paperwork and he's already ready for a vacation. That's dedication. Across the table, he gives Loki the biggest, saddest eyes. "Don't go without me," he says, "I want to be there. I want to help you." He wants to see first hand if Loki will still want him after all those memories and powers return.
*
Yes…absolutely, nothing like experiencing emotional terror first hand, rather than, say, hearing about it with an international phone call. "You should be there. I want you to be there." Loki finally tastes the Lucky Charms and…welllll, kai would know by now that he has a bit of a sweet tooth for chocolate in particular, but little marshmellows fit the bill nicely and he blinks a couple times in surprise. "What is this? What is this stuff?" He tries to grab for the box and look at it quizzically, like it might be…fairy dust or something specifically available only on Midgard, for WHY would Asgard not have such a creation?!
*
"It's Lucky Charms," Kai says. That's all he knows. "Sugar bits and marshmallow bits." He grins as he watches Loki react to yet another reason Midgard isn't so bad after all. "What do you think you're going to do first when it all comes back to you?" Kai asks. There's that chance for emotional gutting, but only a chance! Setting that aside, Kai's excited by the prospect. And worried. Mostly excited.
*
"I know exactly what I will do." Loki answers, distractedly, looking the box over, front and back. "It seems to be…made by some sort of…small fae." He frowns some. "I am going to search for relics. You see…I am in the unique perspective of having been here, a long time ago, when they were lost. Even now, I have inklings of them. There is a boat. A necklace…and a bow."
*
"That's just the mascot," Kai says. "A leprechaun. It's an Irish spirit. I've heard if you catch one, it has to tell you where its pot of gold is hidden at the end of the rainbow." He scoffs down his bowl, himself fond of sugar bombs. "Mrf," he says around a mouthful of cereal, which he swallows and continues, "You're going to go find relics?" That seems more or less harmless. Kai relaxes. "What do they do? These relics?"
*
"That is the best part." Loki whispers, "I do not remember, yet, what the necklace does, or the bow, but I know what the boat does. It starts as a wooden shield with pictures of three boats upon it, and with the right commands, it will /change/ into a small boat, a medium-sized boat, or a large boat, according to your desire." Loki's green eyes fill with wonderment as he explains. "
*
Kai's eyes brighten as he listens, and he lowers his voice as well as he says, "We could go on a romantic boat ride at night, maybe in the reservoir. Or the Hudson!" He sets his empty bowl aside and rests his elbows on the table, chin in his hands as he gazes at Loki. "I want to do everything with you," he says quietly.
*
"You could use it for that, yes. Imagine just being able to carry a boat around on your back…what journeys you could go on, what adventures you could be prepared for. The boat is freedom. It is the ability to be prepared…without preparing." Loki waxes on a bit about it, and then turns to his cereal. "I want you with me always, too."
*
"Even if it means we go back to Asgard," Kai says. "Grandmother would despise this if she knew, you and I, even our friendship." His eyes lid to happy crescents. "It only makes you hotter to me, baby." He nibbles his lower lip, then he says, "I met this girl, Rosemarie. She's nice, and we were talking about poetry today and it reminded me of the last and only other time I've been in love. Knowing you're not fleeting like these humans, I can actually think about what 'always' means."
*
Loki seems curious about that, and he swallows a bite of cereal, then asks, "How long ago was that? Would you tell me?" He must be fairly confident that the person isn't really in the picture, to not seem at all jealous about it.
*
"It was ages ago," Kai says. "After the Revolutionary War, before the Civil. It was before my parents were nabbed, we were living in Scotland. There was this cat, one of the weavers of Paisley. He thought he was a poet." Kai cracks a smile, "but he wasn't very good. He had red hair and freckles, and he was poor as a church mouse, but oh, what a sweetheart he was. I stayed with him until he was middle-aged. He's the one who left me. He said he couldn't stand getting older and uglier while I stayed beautiful." He drops his gaze, his smile fading at the remembered pain.
"Around the time they took us to Asgard, he died in his sleep of old age. I visited his grave every day til it was time to go. When I came back to Midgard…" He shrugs a shoulder. "No use pining. He was right. We never would've worked. It just seemed easier not to get attached at all."
*
"Truly? Mmmm…I mean, obviously, its not going to work long term, but I believe if I loved a mortal, that I could be with him or her…even when they are old. I wonder…" Loki tips his chin down. "I wonder what YOU will be like when those golden hairs turn gray. Or, are you going to eat the apple before that happens?" He grins crookedly.
*
"I never would have left him," Kai says. "I would have been holding his hand the night he died." He wrinkles his nose when gray hair is mentioned. "The apple I have isn't very good for that, I think, but if I could eat one? I would, to be with you." He runs his fingers through his hair. "I would be with you until the end of time. With blond hair."
*
"Best to give it a century before you commit to /that/. I might become in-cred-i-bly dull to be around. God of mischief and all. Or perhaps terribly troublesome." Loki smiles, teasing rather than actually arguing. "Perhaps I'll get you an apple, but wait until you have gray hair to give it to you. I think wrinkles and gray would suit you just fine."
*
Kai laughs as he says, "You couldn't be dull. Troublesome, I'm counting on, but dull?" He shakes his head. Then he takes Loki's hand in his and brings it to his lips. "Never." Then he presses the hand to his cheek and murmurs, "You are truly wicked, playing with my vanity like that." His eyes are all dreamy, so besotted as he watches his lover. "The first time I saw you I knew I should be afraid, but I just fell for you so hard. The heart wants what it wants."
*
Loki leans across the table when his hand is grasped. "I did try…to…keep you at some distance until I could…trust you." He lifts a hand to his chest, and his face looks pained. "Nnnnna…" he exhales swiftly a few times. "Sorry…Kai. Its…happened a few times. Its fine. I think its…related to my destiny…changing." he smiles lightly. "The heart wants what it wants."
*
Kai rises to his feet and comes around the table so he can insinuate himself into Loki's lap. "You've nothing to say sorry for," he murmurs, and he kisses Loki lightly. "I'm glad I fell. I'm glad I can feel that way at all. It's like being reborn. All the things I told myself I would find dull are the best parts of my day now. Breakfast with you, dinner in the evening, walking the dog together, just… being."
*
Loki pushes at the cereal bowl when Kai comes closer and its thankfully well out of the way when the blond sits in his lap. His hands wind around Kai and hold him at the small of his back. Verdant eyes seem glossier than usual. "The more that I remember…the more I know I…need you so much. I have had lovers, but not really…loves. None that could bloom. I do not wish to go to Asgard. Even if they forgive me for everything else, my father would never allow…you and I. But perhaps, in some centuries…" He looks down, tipping his head so that it rests against Kai's chest.
*
Kai gathers Loki closer, curling his fingers through Loki's hair. "If times can change here, maybe they can there. Here, we aren't going to take it much longer, mark my words. Everyone is going to get back the rights that were stolen from them." He kisses Loki's hair, closing his eyes as he takes in the scent of him. His heart beats steadily and strong. "We wouldn't have to be gone from there forever." He rests his cheek against those inky strands. "I would be your secret til the end of time," he murmurs, "even if they never change."
*
Loki kisses Kai's chest softly, affectionately. "Once I have my powers, I can make us appear to others however I choose. We can put on the magical masks and do as we please, in public. You will make a lovely girl." He peeks up at Kai, trolling him again.