Episode 5: It Gets Better
Cora and Jane baked late into the night and Jane ended up teaching Cora how to make those delectable lemon cookies, herself, which was a better gift than any sized box of them—although Cora certainly wouldn’t dispute gifts of that nature either. When Thor had begun to doze at the breakfast bar despite trying to listen to their conversations and watch their methods, so Cora had shown him where the guest room was, off the living room. Before he turned in, he set up Erik’s port-a-crib, but left it to Jane to remove the baby from his uncle’s arms whenever she decided to turn in.
“Last batch,” Jane said as she slid the tray in the oven, a mound of sugary yellow cookies stacked up on a plate next to the stove.
“Good, we’re running out of plate space,” Cora remarked as she wedged a spatula gently beneath the latest batch, scooping them onto a new platter so they didn’t have a cookie avalanche if one of them breathed wrong. “Thanks for going to all the trouble. And also thanks for coming to celebrate with us.” She dropped the volume of her voice slightly after glancing toward the couch to be sure Loki was still asleep. “I know it may not seem like it, but it means a lot to him.”
“It means a lot to Thor, too,” Jane confided softly, taking one of the cookies to nibble on and tearing off an edge before popping it into her mouth. “A lot. It’s just frustrating because I don’t know how to help.”
“I know what you mean,” Cora agreed, taking a bite of a cookie as well and letting it melt in her mouth before continuing. “I try at every turn and it’s getting easier, but… It’s hard because I really want to help, but at the same time, I have to back off because it’s ultimately none of my business.”
Jane nodded knowingly before sighing. “I think they’re doing better though. Don’t you?”
Cora nodded back. “I think so. I hope so.” The two women shared a glance for a moment before cleaning up the kitchen and packing away the cookies for the morning, making minimal noise and managing to work around each other with surprising synchronicity.
When they’d finished, the two ventured into the living room and stood near the couch with slightly uncertain expressions. “Does he take well to be woken up?” Jane asked warily.
“Mm, not…terribly…,” Cora murmured before unhelpfully suggesting, “Poke him and step back really fast.”
“I don’t want to poke him, you poke him!”
“There’s no penalty if he throws me on the floor, if he does it to you, he has Thor to worry about, he’ll stop if it’s you,” Cora pointed out.
“I don’t want to get thrown on the floor though, you’re part Asgardian and you’re bigger than me, it’ll hurt you less.”
Cora squinted slightly. “What are you trying to say?”
“She is saying you are an oaf like my brother and neither of you are very quiet,” came a grumble from the couch. Both Cora and Jane looked down at Loki, whose tired eyes were angled up at them with faint traces of exasperation.
Jane smiled embarrassedly and approached to retrieve her son now that the conundrum of waking up the god on the sofa was no longer of issue. Loki released the boy and Jane managed to hoist him up without waking him, whispering, “Thank you for watching him. Goodnight, you two.”
“Goodnight,” Cora replied, looking down as Loki turned over and buried his face against one of the throw pillows. She leaned down and murmured in his ear, “If you don’t go get in bed, Santa won’t come.”
“If anything comes down that chimney, I shall smite it,” came his muffled reply and Cora couldn’t help but laugh. He glanced up at her woefully and suggested, “Carry me.”
“I could try,” Cora laughed, not sure how strong she actually was.
“Don’t bother. You’ll maim yourself before the Yuletide dawn and what kind of festive event would that be,” he mused, though a faint smirk did tug at his mouth. He slowly, stiffly rose and stretched, glancing toward the kitchen. “Those smell wonderful.”
“We’ll dig into them in the morning,” she said, steering him toward the staircase. Cora had decided quite some time ago that Loki was cutest and most compliant when he was tired, which was rather strange. Immediately upon waking, he tended to be a grump and a grump with a vengeance if his waking wasn’t absolutely necessary. However, there was that in-between halfway past waking and before falling back to sleep in which he had his guard down. At least, with her, that was the case.
Loki followed along behind her on the stairs for a few steps before she felt him take her waist and scoop her into his arms, sleepily kissing her cheek and nuzzling her neck as he climbed the rest of the way. Cora smiled and went along for the ride, laughing when he all but fell on her when he put them both in bed. “Are you happy?” she asked quietly as he settled in, his arms around her after he’d tugged the comforter and blankets up over them.
He opened his eyes and looked at her thoughtfully through a sleep-fogged gaze, soon giving one slow and uncertain nod. And then another one that was more sure. “I believe I am.”
Cora smiled and kissed his forehead gently as she felt him exhale and begin to fall back to sleep. “I’m glad,” she whispered gently when she knew he was gone.
-
“This is a terrible story, I thought you said this was happy!” Thor said with some dismay, sitting on the floor with Erik leaning against one of his legs, transfixed on the claymation Rudolph, the Red-Nose Reindeer special playing on the TV, one of Jane’s favorites from when she was young.
“It’s not terrible, it’s a classic!” Jane protested as she leaned out of the kitchen, Cora turning over pieces of French toast in a skillet in the kitchen and listening to the exchange with an amused expression. “How is it terrible?”
“How is it not?” Loki supplied, watching as Erik discovered he could blow spit bubbles and giggled at his own antics. “I do not mind so much though.”
“I mind, they are being so cruel to him,” Thor complained, tousling his son’s hair.
“He gets his moment to shine later, it’s not all bad,” Jane soothed exasperatedly as the Abominable Snow Monster made his first appearance in the film.
Cora glanced over as the film played, listening to the narrator say the familiar lines ominously, “He’s mean, he’s nasty! And he hates everything to do with Christmas!” She looked at Loki through the doorway and she teased, “Oh, hey, look! It’s you!”
Loki rolled his eyes at her as she mimed being a snow-monster, soon returning to the toast so it didn’t burn. “Laugh it up, you will not be when I stomp through your presents.”
“Well, blast your hairy Bumble hide!” she claimed as she brought Thor and Loki heaping plates of French toast, handing one to Jane when she came back from getting Erik’s cereal. Thor chuckled at the banter as he shoveled the sugary treat into his mouth, making a brief sound of approval between forkfuls.
They continued to watch the movie while Cora cleaned up the kitchen (again). Loki was dismayed when the Abominable got his teeth pulled and just as he glanced over toward Cora in the kitchen, she paused and snapped the tongs she was about to put in the dishwasher twice with silent, comical threat. He just squinted at her and went back to watching the film, only to complain at the end when Rudolph helped Santa and all the “intolerant, brainless heathen deer who had mocked him for years prior.” Cora couldn’t say she disagreed. It was a pretty unfair deal and she wasn’t sure she would’ve been so eager to help them either.
“Everyone full?”
“Definitely,” Jane said with a contented sigh. “Thank you.”
Cora smiled. “No problem. Want to do presents?”
“Sure,” Jane answered and Cora noticed both Thor and Loki’s expressions tightened faintly from the topic, especially after they’d distributed everyone’s gifts to their respective recipient. “All right, dig in.”
Loki didn’t touch his yet, just made a few motions to look as though he was doing something; instead he was watching Thor, and warily at that, look over his presents and then pick Loki’s out of the pile first. They accidentally locked eyes when Thor looked over his shoulder at him, his expression guarded surprise. “You procured a gift for me?”
Loki nodded stiffly and then when Thor didn’t move, he urged, “Well, go on, you big oaf, open it.”
Thor looked at the box and tore off the paper and tag, lifting the white lid off to reveal the toolbox and belt and at first appearing slightly bewildered. “It is…”
“For Mjolnir,” Loki finished with a withering sigh, already in the throes of fitful I knew it thoughts and immersed in the regret of buying his brother a gift he would be eternally mocked for.
In the meantime, Thor had taken the wrapping off the box and opened it, peering inside curiously like a child on, well, Christmas. He removed the insert and glanced toward where Mjolnir sat beside the sofa, reaching over to pick it up and setting it inside the deep-welled toolbox, having to angle it a certain way to fit it entirely inside. He closed the lid and tested the latches as Loki pointed out, “By the way, Erik can pick it up. I do not know if you were aware of that fact, but I figure I should warn you ahead of time.”
“He…,” Thor began, but stopped, staring at his toddling son with pride. “Well, this should keep it from him for a while. And this?”
“It’s a belt with loops for your weapons.”
Thor ran his fingertips over the buttery soft leather belt before looking at Loki, who froze at the sight of his older brother’s face. “Do not.”
Thor grinned with tear-glossed eyes and boomed with laughter, snagging Loki into a firm embrace. So firm, he pulled him right off the couch and a few of the God of Mischief’s presents along with him. “Thank you, brother. They are perfect.”
Loki glanced down, but allowed the gesture for a moment before squirming from under Thor’s meaty arm, glancing at one of the presents that had toppled off the cushions. It was from Thor. Loki should not have been so shocked that he got him something, but he was, and he took up the small package in his hands and opened it carefully, tilting his head as he peered down at it. “What is a Kindle?”
Thor opened his mouth to reply, but was at a loss and looked to Jane for help. She smiled and replied in his stead, “It’s a device for reading. There are all kinds of books on there, some you have to pay for and others that are free. You can do other things on it, too. I’m sure Cora can help you use it.”
“Yeah, considering you got me one, too,” Cora laughed as she unwrapped hers. “Thank you.”
“Yes, thank you,” Loki agreed quietly, deeply intrigued by a device for reading that did not look anything like a book or a tome.
“Cora, these are so great!” Jane chimed in with a laugh when she unwrapped her gift from Cora, a pair of sterling silver earrings based off Schrödinger’s Cat that she’d found online. One dangly earring showed a live cat, the other had cartoony x’s over its eyes. Despite her nearly crippling love of animals—particularly cats—Cora had found it hysterical and figured it would appeal to the scientist in her friend. Thor and Loki, on the other hand, were thoroughly confused.
A few sweaters, some toys for Erik, and a couple assorted gift cards later, they’d exhausted the stock of presents beneath the tree. Cora and Loki had saved their presents for one another to open later, just as Thor and Jane had left their gifts to each other at home for their return that afternoon. The majority of the day was spent watching Christmas movies the boys had never seen before and playing games while indulging Erik in snuggles and mostly one-sided conversations. When the family of three headed home that night, Loki and Cora went out and picked up Chinese takeout, which they portioned out in plates and bowls and enjoyed on the couch while watching Home Alone.
After Cora had finished and set her dishes on the coffee table, she glanced at Loki and then picked up two bags hidden at the side of the couch, setting them beside him. “Whenever you’re ready.”
Loki glanced over with interest, but finished his dinner and set down his plate before picking up the first bag, opening it up and rooting through the tissue paper calmly before unearthing book after book stacked in like a jigsaw puzzle, pausing to glance at each one as he pulled them out.
“I admit, I feel a little ridiculous about these now because I didn’t know Jane was going to buy you a Kindle, but…,” Cora began, trailing off when she saw Loki shaking his head.
“I daresay I will always love paper tomes best,” he told her seriously. “And this is more personal than Jane’s gift. She gave me a device that would enable me to choose what I wanted, however you knew specifically what I would like. At least, I assume you went with things I would like.”
“They’re all dollar-store romance novels. All of them.”
“My favorite,” Loki said sarcastically back as Cora laughed. He leaned over and kissed her cheek before neatly stacking the books for later exploration, pleased with his gifts though he had one more. He looked over when Cora nudged the other bag forward and picked it up, taking out a wrapped box inside. Peeling off the paper, Loki opened the black box beneath to reveal a black and silver timepiece with a black faux alligator strap and tiny green accents on the hands. The face was sectioned to show the movement of the clockwork within the watch, which was spinning with life as he held it. “A little clock?”
“Essentially. It’s called a watch.”
“I am immortal, I have little use for a measurement of time,” he reminded her calmly.
“Well, punctuality is appreciated in Midgard and you can’t very well be on-time without having the time. And also I thought it was just a neat mechanism.” She was right and she knew him better than he’d realized; he loved taking things apart and seeing how they worked, in fact he’d been driving her up the wall at times by piecing apart things she didn’t think he’d be able to put back together, but he always did. His memory was impeccable. With this, he could see how it worked just by looking at it. A compromise.
He nodded to himself and thanked her before he took a small black bag from behind one of the throw pillows, setting it on her lap. Cora opened the bag and pushed the tissue paper aside, plucking out a box about the size of her hand and a smaller envelope that looked to be the size for a gift card. She slid that out first and laughed herself to tears when she saw it was to a local bakery. Loki watched her laugh silently, a small smile on his lips even as he watched her open the box, though it became a little sadder then.
“Wow,” Cora breathed, gently lifting the intricate golden necklace from its keep. It was unlike anything she’d ever seen before, except maybe in… “Is this from Asgard?”
He nodded once before saying, after a short pause, “It was my mother’s.” Cora looked at him in surprise and he had to look down to avoid her sympathetic expression and how her brow creased with her own grief. “I want you to have it and it would make her happy that I am giving it to you.”
Cora smiled faintly and nodded. “Thank you. It’s gorgeous.”
After opening up the stockings and laughing over the trinkets they’d gotten each other—puzzles for Loki, chocolates and other fun candies for Cora—they cleaned up their plates and wrapping paper mess together. Once they’d neared finishing, Cora yawned and Loki said quietly, “Go on upstairs, I will finish these.”
“You sure?” When Loki nodded without looking at her, Cora frowned slightly. “Is everything okay?”
Loki looked at her in surprise. “Yes? Everything is fine, why would it not be?”
Cora shrugged. “Just checking. You know I worry.”
He smirked, “Well, stop. I’ll be up shortly.” She nodded and leaned up for a kiss before heading upstairs, stretching along the way and thinking what a nice Christmas it had been. Likely the best she’d ever had. After mulling over the events of the day while she changed into her pajamas, Cora smiled and murmured, “Couldn’t have been better.”
Loki was coming down the hall when she murmured those words and he paused, a faint knit between his brows before he smiled. He’d asked Thor extensively about the process while he’d been there that morning, Jane and Cora in the kitchen. Loki hated asking anyone for advice, anyone at all, but somehow he’d managed to make himself push past that bit of his ego and ask Thor what he had to do. And his brother had been more than helpful, which had probably really been their reunifying moment. At the very least, it was the closest to feeling that they were family again that Loki had come to in quite some time.
It was a good feeling, he decided in the darkened hall, much better than the faint churning in his stomach he was enduring now. However, he’d had the bit of silver and gem for months, he just hadn’t known how to wield it. And because his brother had already made it through that milestone, he’d seemed the most reasonable person to ask. Loki wanted to do this right, in her world’s terms. It was surprisingly the tradition closest in detail between their realms.
Listening to her move around the bedroom as she always restlessly did before getting into bed, Loki reached into his pocket and pulled out a box, much smaller than the one he’d placed in her gift bag. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” he murmured softly in reply to her earlier statement to herself or the universe, his thumb pressing the lid of the box back and allowing the light filtering from the bedroom to illuminate the ring inside.
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For the record, she said "yes." Happy holidays, one and all. xoxo