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Kai has sketches everywhere, on every flat surface, and he's currently painting from at least some of the sketches, a portrait of a mutant with curved horns drinking a cup of coffee outside some type of community center. The guy just looks so normal, like any guy on any day, drinking any cup of coffee. And that's the poignancy of it. He has horns, but he's just some guy. Kai's got a look of intense focus on his face, driven by some daemon of creativity that urges him on like a man possessed. Kevin meanwhile lays on the floor under one of the chairs, and he looks at his empty food bowl. It's a good hour til doggy dinner time, but never mind that.
Loki has been in and out of the place, today. He's up to things. Maps and books toted here and there. He's coming home from such a trip and he immediately notices Kai painting. And more, painting a mutant. "Still fascinated by the mortal mutations, hmm? Was your…attack art successful, before, that now you have more commissions for such portraits?" He seems…intrigued by Kai's passion about the matter while not actually sharing the same concern.
Now there's a tired assassin coming home from work. Buck's in his usual suit, a little rumpled. Sometimes it's very wearying, pretending to be a real boy - smiling at the customers, being around people, when all Winter's instincts are rousing him to get away from all these strangers and hide. "Damn, Kai," he says, as he shoulders open the door. "YOu've been real busy. Hey, Loki…."
"I'm fascinated by the progression of their rights," Kai says. He smiles up at Loki, a smudge of yellow paint on the side of his nose. "They're just people, and once the rest of the world sees this, the more they'll be accepted and their rights preserved." He grins then, and he adds, "I haven't held the guerilla art show yet, but I will. In SoHo." He adds a few more strokes to his painting. "There," he says. "Done." It's… good. It's damn good. But that's Kai's artistic legacy: he's damn good. "I have an art show to make pieces for," he tells Bucky. "I hope I get arrested."
"Are they? Or, have they been created by experiments by humans on other humans?" Loki asks curiously, playing a bit of devil's advocate. "And do you hope you will get arrested because it would provoke change, or because you want to see Bucky and I rescue you?" He lifts his green eyes to Bucky and nods to the man. "We would, of course."
Caught. Buck looks rueful. "I'd have to do it in a way that cops wouldn' t see me. THough honestly, I've saved up enough I could just post you bail. And even if they were created, they're still people. Not normal humans, maybe, but…still people. I mean, if I'm people, then they're people." He's going into the kitchen - time for coffee.
Kai gets up, stretches, and gathers up his brushes to wash them. He's lackadaisical about everything except his art supplies. The house smells like a gas tank, but damn it, his gear is pristine. "You wouldn't have to rescue me," Kai says. "What can they keep me for? Being an artist? Causing a disturbance? I'd be out on community service the moment the judge saw these baby blues." He bats his eyelashes. Though, he does allow, "You guys would mount an excellent rescue plan, I'm sure."
Loki wets his lips. "Its time to move to the new place. I have the furniture…the bed, decorations. We take these things…and we move." His tone sounds harsh at first, cold, even, but in the next moment, his voice changes, shifting to a kinder lilt, "And then this place," He gestures around, "becomes your very own art studio."
"Ready when you are," Bucky agrees, tone mild. "Got it all set up and redecorated so it's not all green and gold." He can guess at Amora's sense of interior decor. "I'm looking forward to it."
Kai's brows lift when Loki comes off so cold. "…oh! Yes. That'll be grand," he says. Kevin, amidst all this goes over to his bowl, picks it up, and it rattles as he tries to get a good hold on it. Then he brings it over to the nearest sucker-looking one he can find. Bucky! He lays the bowl at Bucky's feet and stares at him. Stares. Kai rubs the paint off his nose and says, "I'm down. Are we going tonight?"
"We could, if you wish to see what I have done. If I said nothing, you would stay here forever and Bucky would be doomed for a couch for all time." Loki moves closer to Kai, then, and reaches up to assist with a bit of paint on his forehead. "You are one of the bohemians…"
"I wanna see it," Buck says, with suddenly childish insistence. He picks up Kevin, even though the dog really wants something else, it's clear.
Kai grins at Loki, as though Loki has just given him the highest of praise. "You married one of the bohemians," he murmurs, then sidles in for a kiss. Sorry, Bucky. At least with a room to escape to, it won't be so bad. He holds up a finger for patience to Bucky, and he kisses Loki thoroughly. Only then does he draw away and say, "All right, I'll pack a bag."
Loki did, indeed, marry one of those bohemians, and he kisses back with vigor and no apology. "Pack a bag of clothes? I suppose. Though…I /may have/ also done some…moderate shopping, for my…precious elf." He winks. "And our Bucky." He glances to the other man with a crooked grin. "How do you feel about leather pants?" He runs his hand down Kai's back, "Also, I wished to tell you that…of course, if you want to celebrate in some specific way…regarding being surprise-married…of course we can."
Poor Bucky. Kai can't help it. He's lost in the throes of marital bliss, now that he realizes he's married. "Oh! Leather pants would look so good!" He gives Loki another quick kiss, then darts into the bedroom. "I'll look for something clean," he says. He's in there for awhile, grabbing clothes, sniffing them, tossing them aside. When's the last time he's done laundry? "We should get a cake!" he calls from the bedroom. "And order in like rich people do."
"You want a cake? Oh…Kai, we will have a grand feast, at some point. Just…not until I am clearly back in favor. One thing at a time, for my father, you know? Right now, I am still working on being accepted again. Though, I do truly believe that he won't mind, since it would only strengthen Thor's claim to the throne if I am married to a male elf. Though, I'm sure he'd have preferred you to be a prince of some sort. Alliances and such." Loki calls as Kai busies himself packing up. "Definitely bring your undergarments. I did not get you new of that."
Kai calls back, "Til we're feasting, let's get McDonald's or something." He paws through his pile of underpants. Okay, he wears these rarely enough most of them are clean, so he shoves them into a bag along with a cache of socks. And the healing apple, which is under the socks. He pokes his head out of the bedroom, hair disheveled, and he says, "I'm the heir to a minor title in Alfheim, like a baron or something. We have a winery."
"An elf Baron, hmmm? Well, perhaps, when the time comes, the All Father might improve your station. Or…he might lock us both up until we come to our senses." The idea seems equally likely, to Loki, but the Prince also doesn't sound worried. Its something he is NOT interested in finding out about right now, that's for sure. He's looking towards a nice home and a honeymoon of sorts in the land that is New York. Plus, his other plans are likely to get him into more trouble than this wedding will. "McDonalds is the garbage food? Hmmm…I suppose Kevin likes it." he admits. Loki, himself, does not seem inclined towards it. Like a food snob, he's actually kind of picky.
This is all too weird. Wait until he tells them about how the Prince of Hell offered to help him unfuck his brain. Bucky has his stuff gathered up in his ruck in moments. He's been living out of it for months how, anyhow. Even paying work has only added a few suits and some books to the total. "Yeah, it's not great," he allows, easily. "But there are diners we can go to, if you want something late and decent."
"Ooh, a diner." Kai slings his bag over his shoulder, and he tucks the stuffed frog under his arm. "Someone get Kev. We'll feed him when we get there." He grins at Loki. "I'm the only heir. Drives my gran nuts because she hates me." Which he says with vindictive pride. "But while my mum and da are in prison, I'm all she's got." He holds up a finger and tells them both, "Don't ever call my milord."
"Of course not, milord." BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY he has to do that. Loki smiles fondly at Kai, then looks to Bucky, "So you wish dinner first? Lead us to your diner, Bucky, and then we will go to the apartment." He bends down to pick up Kevin and then hoists the little guy up into his left arm. He's clearly not concerned about taking the doggie into the restaurant. Maybe he'll just illusion him to be a handbag.
Bucky spreads his hands. "I'm not starving, but sure, yeah. HEll, I'm buying," Ooh, big spender. He hoists the ruck over his shoulder, heads for the door.
Kai eyes Loki, and he wags a finger at him. "I'll get you later," he promises. Since they're going to dinner, Kai stuffs the plush frog into his bag. "It'll have to be somewhere that allows dogs, unless we come back for him. Since nowhere allows dogs. I was hanging out with Elmo the other day and they almost kicked us out because I didn't want to have to tie poor Kevin up outside." The very nerve. But Kai worries. He hates tying Kevin up outside. What if someone stole that fine specimen of dogdom?
Loki makes a humming sound. "There are two options." He offers as he moves to the door. "I am absolutely fine with threatening the establishment, or, I can illusion him to look like your hat, or…a briefcase." He lifts his shoulders, either option perfectly fine with him. "It sounds like your job is going well, Jack."
"Why not just….leave him here for now?" Bucky wonders. "He's been walked recently, he can hold it for a bit. We can come back and get him. Or go there first."
"He needs dinner soon," Kai says. "Why don't we feed him and come back for him?" He sets his sack down, then picks up Kevin's food dish. Well, now it's sealed. Kevin wags his tail and follows Kai to the kitchen, where Kai takes down a bag of kibble, which he pours into the bowl. Kevin dances on little tapping claws as he quivers in anticipation. Dinnertime is the best time. Mmm, tasty kibble. "I don't see how you can eat this stuff," Kai tells the little dog. He puts the bag away, then sets Kevin's bowl down. Kevin picks up a piece of kibble, then trots into the living room so he can eat it under his chair.
Loki sets down the dog before he leaps out of his arm and then nods. Then he watches the odd dinner behavior. "I wonder if he would do that, if he had beef stew." Apparently dogs in Asgard just eat from the table! This kibble thing is weird. Greedy humans keeping their food to themselves. He brushes his hand down his front and then wets his lips, waiting for the others to be settled enough to go.
"What do you feed dogs where you come from?" Bucky wonders. "And yeah. We can do the full move after dinner." He looks around at the little apartment. "I….might miss this place a little."
"He doesn't do it when I 'accidentally' drop lunch meat," Kai says. He comes over to hug Loki, recompense for stealing the dog from him with the promise of food. He gives the Asgardian a swift kiss, then says, "You can still come visit. Come sit for me and I'll paint you. I'm going to keep the bed here to crash when I don't feel like going home or if I'm working on something really big."
"Yes, I fully agree on keeping the place for whatever we wish, but you need space for all this art creation without having to worry that you are…disturbing the whole house. I think this will be very good of an arrangement. Just…you must promise me, that if you do nude posing, Jack, that you will call and let me know. I want to see if either of you can make it through that without turning red as blood." Loki smiles faintly and then heads out the door.
Too late. Already red as blood. Buck's red to the hairline. "Too late," he says. And then adds, hastily, "I don't think I could do nude posing….." A beat, and he glances at Kai, "….did you want to paint me?"
Kai snorts at Loki's suggestion and says, "Like I would leave you out of that. Baby, I'm not that cruel." To Loki. To Bucky is another matter. He then tells Bucky, "Yeah, I want to paint you. You're gorgeous, and there's so much going on with your expressions I want to know what it's like to capture one frozen in time."
Loki turns in the hallway to study Bucky for a moment. "I am curious about where the arm meets the flesh. I imagine there are some interesting scars and patterns there, where the eletrical parts connect, somehow, to your mind."
He's still pink at that, and grinning sheepishly. "I can show you later, if you want…." No, not flirting. EVen sweat at his hairline, as he heads past Loki.
Kai gives Loki a squeeze around the waist, then heads into the hall. "I want pancakes," he says. "I'm having breakfast for dinner and there's no one who can stop me." Which is a bald-faced lie, but surely Loki wouldn't keep an elf from pancakes.
Loki lifts a hand and is about to tell Kai that he can't have breakfast for dinner, but then he tilts his head and squints his eyes, pondering that for a moment. "Of course…you should have whatever you desire at any hour of the day, and these…peasants of Midgard…have no right to deny you."
That has Bucky eyeing Loki sidelong. But he just grins. "Works for me, Kai. I certainly won't try to stop you. I'll make you pancakes at whatever hour you like."
"I like this arrangement," Kai says. He claps each of them on the shoulder. Kevin ferries his kibble from kitchen to under the chair, munching, then repeating the process, leaving them to go without a dog whining to come along. "Bucky, you are the best. I'm so glad we met. My belly appreciates it too, because sometimes I just need a big stack of pancakes. They'd better have pancakes in Asgard."
"Pancakes in Asgard? Do not be absurd. Of course not. This is why I encourage your love of the food. This way, when you come to Asgard, you can make some, and everyone will be so astonished that they will create tapestries of your pancake invention and you will be hailed as a Master Chef…and be named also, honorary royalty of Alfheim." Loki waves his hand with a swirl of his fingertips, like the proclamation has been made, so of course its true.
That idea makes Bucky's eyes sparkle with amusement. "C'mon. You guys have to live on more than roast boar and mead, right?" he says. "I'll be happy to just be James Georgeson there, really." HE's caught on to the naming pattern, at least. "…..do they have sugar maples in Asgard?" he asks, suddenly caught by the idea. They're heading out to the street, though there's that few beats of pause where James scouts their surroundings, as if the street beyond were fraught with danger. But then, to him…before they can stack up behind him like a platoon of Rangers clearing a building, he's out, shaking off that frisson of unease.
Kai's brows lift. "I'm going to have to get better at making pancakes," he says. He walks alongside Loki as they head out toward the diner. "I do need a title, though," he says. "I guess I could use my gran's House. It's just if I go by Hjuki Eyvindrson, they're going to know my da. He's that elvish thief they locked up and threw away the key." He grimaces. "I guess I'd better visit them while we're there."
Loki makes a humming sound as he considers it, "They have bread things, and cakes that are similar. Every place seems to have some sort of…flattish…bread thing. But, we do not have sugar as you do. Your desserts are something very tasty to me, and its not like what we have. Our sugar is honey-based." Makes sense. Not exactly the realm of tropical canes. After the explanation, he considers Hjuki's troubles with a faint exhale. "You could take the name of your grandfather, if you were concerned." And to James' name, he seems to highly approve. "You would be the only Georgeson there."
His grin's smaller, but nonetheless content. "I figure," he says, nodding. "I feel like I should bring some maple syrup. If you guys are too cold to support things like sugar cane and sugar beets….but sugar maples would grow there, I bet." Already planning agricultural imports. "Or maple candy. I love that stuff."
Kai rubs his chin in thought. That's what the beard is for. There's nothing like a beard to let someone have a good ponder. That and the beard spares him from looking like he's fifteen. "Hjuki Magnison isn't so bad." He nods then to Bucky and says, "Ooh, yes, bring maple syrup. They'll love you. Maple candy, too. Maple is reason enough to love Midgard."
"If you truly wish to impress though…you should bring brownies. Now, of /that/…I know we have nothing similar. No…brownies seem to be something entirely Midgardian. The ingredients grow only here…" Sage and /serious/ advice from Loki. If he lacked magical powers, he would surely try to create a revolution with just brownies. "However, we do have delicacies there that are very good in their own right that seem to be entirely lacking, here. Many meats and vegetables, if unleashed upon this world, would prove almost as great a threat as the giants. Like dragons. We have a type of /elm/ that is sentient. Collecting those fruits can be very interesting."
Bucky peers at him for a moment. "…..you guys don't have chocolate in Asgard," His tone is one of infinite pity. He can bring a couple pounds of Hershey's up the Bifrost and end up proclaimed a prince. But he nods at Loki, as he leads the way down the sidewalk. "I'll bet. What do you miss most, in terms of foods from home?"
"Not to mention mac and cheese. There's nothing like that in Asgard, if I recall correctly," Kai says. "With bacon crumbles. Mmm, we've got to get to that diner." He picks up his pace a bit. "Brownies and mac and cheese." He nods then to Bucky and says, "Why do you think I stay here? No chocolate, not very much sugar. Sure people live almost forever, but at what cost?"
"Iiiiiii like the food in Asgard very well. I miss the fae blossoms…the goat meat…the /spice/ of the tree roots." Loki may as well just be going blahblahblahblah Goat. He tucks his hands behind his back to ensure that he keeps them to himself, but when the pace quickens, he gladly matches it.
"Fair enough," Buck concedes. It's not far, a block or two, and he's shouldering through the door. It's a greasy spoon, but a nice one. The tables are clean, the scent of things cooking seems fresh, and the vinyl in the booths isn't cracked or worn. The sign over the door is a neon owl blinking one eye, visible even in the later afternoon light, and the lettering on the biggest window reads 'Nite Owl Cafe: Good Food 24 Hours'.
"Fae blossoms are good," Kai allows. He's still got a place in his heart for mac and cheese. He follows Bucky inside the diner and makes his way toward a booth. When the hostess says, "Please wait to be seated, sir," Kai points at the booth and says, "Can you seat us there, please?" And he gives her a winning smile. She eyes him, then says, "Go on a head, sugar." Kai glances back at Bucky and Loki as if to say 'that's how it's done.' He scores the best booth, with a view of the street but quite a bit of privacy.
Loki slides into the booth, but almost immediately, he finds himself so constricted. How is he supposed to manspread under this table. He figits. Wiggles. Can't seem to quite get settled with those long gangly legs and a package that just doesn't want to be smooshed. "Impressive, Kai. Do you always use your winsome looks?"
It makes Bucky grin at them. "If all you got is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail," he informs Loki, in his sweetest voice. Of course he's got the seat that lets him see all the entrances and exits. No blind spot. Kai's a sweetie to anticipate his paranoia. He edges over - it's one of those roundish corner booths. "All yours, your Highness," he teases the Asgardian.
"I do a lot," Kai admits. "It gets me into places I'd otherwise be turned away. And I talk my way out of tickets and arrests." He doesn't help poor Loki because he sits by him, compact enough the booth is no trouble for him. He eyes Bucky, eyes narrowing, but then he shrugs and says, "Yeah, pretty much." He then takes an offered menu and says, "I can already tell you this is going to be a waffle-heavy endeavor."
Loki eyes Kai when the guy crunches in on his already scarce space. He is about to open his mouth and get the bloody bohemian to move but…fuck…look how cute he looks? A second later and a flash of awareness hits him that he's probably constantly giving the adorable man a pass on pretty much everything. He narrows his eyes. "I am on to you now." A glance to Bucky. "Do not let him get away with /anything/. Treat him as if he were a goblin."
Buck visibly swallows laughter. "Sorry, chief, no can do," he says, with mock seriousness. "You know he's got you wrapped around his ltitle finger," he adds, dropping his voice so no one overhears. "Has for a while now. That's what you get for getting married."
Kai laughs and says, "I'd never take advantage." He says this. To the Lie Smith, as if he's not going to get caught out. Still, his gut reaction comes naturally enough, those big blue eyes widen, the lashes flutter. Treat who like a goblin? Him? He smiles, and there are dimples. He spares nothing and no one. "I love you?" he ventures.
Loki mmmhmmms suspiciously, "Order your waffles and various breakfast foods, and plenty of it so that we can make Bucky make the face when he sees the bill." He arches a brow and then pops the menu up to look at it. "I think I will have salmon…" Then he glances to Kai and says softly, "I love you too."
Buck glances away politely, that gesture towards privacy. NEvermind that he knows their opinion of each other - the walls are thin, you can hardly not hear it. "Consider it a wedding gift," he murmurs, gaze roaming to the street beyond the plate glass window.
Kai's smile broadens, and he shoulder-nudges Loki. It's the closest he can get to a kiss in public without raising brows. "The salmon looks good," he says, "but I'm going to have the Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream." Then he grins at Bucky. "Thank you," he says, "that's so nice. It's like our best man."