When Thanatos left, he didn’t say a word. He only gave a passing glance to Damien before reaching the door.
Loki had escorted him out. Closed the door behind him. Then, turned to Eros with his hands in his pockets. His eyebrows raised, he rocked back and forth on his heels until Eros sighed and rose from the couch. Loki turned and ascended the stairs, and Eros followed.
Loki and Eros turned into their bedroom, and Loki cleared his throat. “Okay. Let me have it.”
Eros’s brow narrowed. “What?”
“Say what you want to say. Then, I’ll say what I want to say, and then we’ll go back downstairs. I don’t want to do this in front of Damien.”
“Alright... When Thanatos offered to pay for the wedding, are you sure he wasn’t referring to your marriage to him?”
Loki laughed at the absurdity. “What?”
“I mean, he’s your actual husband, isn’t he? You’ll do anything for him! Anything.”
“He’s my best friend.”
Eros threw out his hands. “Right, but this is insane! He demanded you take in his son. Without asking. Without discussion! He just drops him off, out of the blue, and you said yes?”
Loki still maintained a humored and good-natured composure. “Imagine if I hadn’t...That would have been awkward and a far worse experience for the boy downstairs!”
“He’s not a boy-”
“But he might as well be.” Loki continued, “He has been through god only knows what, just to find out Thanatos is his father? Poor bastard. You know, I love Thanatos for all that he is-”
“Wow. Unconditional,” Eros said, with baffled jealousy.
“-but I agree with him.” Loki chewed on the side of his lip. “He has no idea what he’s doing. He’s not remotely equipped for this. It’s not in his nature... and this is probably better for Damien.”
Eros stood there with his wide eyes staring back at Loki. “I don’t believe this. Are you saying I am the only one giving Death any credit right now?”
“Yes. Shocking, I know, given how much you hate him, but that is what I’m saying.”
Eros started to form an argument in Thanatos’s favor, but Loki cut him off.
“No. Like you said- He dropped his child off at our doorstep like an anti-stork. If he thinks unloading Damien here is the best solution, then he’s right. He doesn’t need to be taking care of him! But we will. He likes you! And my children and I have been through some shit together... but we did go through it together. Hel still gets me a Yule present every year, albeit a worst father mug, but... that’s just our sense of humor. We just have to do this until Death figures himself out, and if anyone can argue Death’s case to gain sympathy or understanding on Damien’s part, it’s me.”
Eros was quiet for a moment. He let Loki’s words sink in, even though he was still uncomfortable with the situation. He examined Loki’s expectant face and nodded.
Loki flashed him a relieved smile.
Eros asked, “Why are you so loyal to that man?”
“When I had been imprisoned for Baldr’s death, Odin was the one who released Sigyn and I... It was just as much a prison for her as it was for me... Maybe more so,” Loki took an unsteady breath in, “...and then she left me. I don’t blame her. I was awful to her in those years, and she was so-,” he paused, not wanting to discuss that particularly painful moment in his life. “...But, then I was alone in that cave. Odin gone. Sigyn left me. I thought... at that moment- naked, cold, raw...alone-" Loki stopped and fell quiet. His unfocused eyes slipped into a void of memory and feeling. He sounded broken when he said, “I thought I was dying. I prayed for Death, and he came.”
A mess of emotions played on Loki’s face until he smiled and shrugged and said, “He’s my best friend in the universe. And, yes, he can be an insufferable ass, but so can I. And the best part is I don’t owe him a damn thing. I’m loyal to him because I want to be, and you don’t have to like him. I won’t be offended. I’m guessing, seeing how close you are to Hypnos, that you and Thanatos have your own history...” Loki gave Eros a knowing smirk.
Eros smiled beautifully. “Well, we shouldn’t keep our guest downstairs waiting!”
“Uh-huh.” Loki smirked to himself and followed Eros from the room.
***
Damien remained on the couch, staring off into the abyss.
When Eros entered the sitting room from upstairs, he asked, “How about that tea?” He kept moving towards the kitchen, from which came the banshee shrill of the kettle.
But, Damien didn’t respond, so Eros slowed. “Damien?”
Damien still hadn’t noticed Eros, or now Loki, as he too approached. But Loki had no qualms about getting right next to Damien’s ear and clapping very loudly.
Damien started, and Loki only smiled down at him. “Come on. Let’s eat. Are we drunk or hungover?”
Damien shook his head to clear it. “The answer is C - both A and B.”
“Not sure if that’s possible, but in the kitchen we have remedies for both. So-” Loki made dramatic gestures towards the kitchen.
Damien stood and followed them both in.
Eros fetched the tea while Loki sat down at the breakfast table. Loki waved a hand across the tabletop, and it was filled with all the best hangover foods from across the worlds. He gestured for Damien to sit, and he did, while Eros brought over the ginger tea and began pouring it into the cups. “I appreciate it, darling,” Loki said to Eros. Then to Damien, “Help yourself.”
Damien did reluctantly, picking at a bowl of nuts which was near a bowl full of aspirin.
“So... let us begin by going over the house rules,” Loki began.
Damien didn’t look up but could see Loki’s frame take on an arrogant, kingly posture. He bit down hard on his tongue to keep himself from speaking out of turn and to hold back his fear and despair. Another house, another master, another set of rules.
“Rule one, help yourself to anything you like. Nothing is off limits. Two, say anything you like. If you feel like you need to call me a gromless idiot, you’re probably justified in doing so.”
Damien let out a small chuckle and looked up at him.
“Three, go wherever you like. I’m sure neither of us will stop you. Just, please come back. You’re our guest. We want you here. Now, the rules will also apply for Eros and myself, in particular, rule number four, no judgment... Are we understood?”
Damien nodded. He stuck firmly to two old adages- If it’s too good to be true it probably is, and I’ll believe it when I see it. And he asked, “What about magick?”
“Oh. No! Absolutely not!” The food began to float off the table and dance above their heads. Loki sipped from his hovering teacup right as the table and chairs they were sitting in began to float off the floor as well.
Eros smiled and shook his head lovingly at Loki.
Damien actually seemed to be enjoying himself, and Loki grinned. “No magick allowed whatsoever.”
