Hell Is for Children

When we got inside, Thor had made us all hot chocolate, the temperature outside had dropped a lot, so this was a great way to warm up. I sat down on the small couch Thor had in front of a small fire and the brothers sat at the table to my right.

Thor asked a lot of the same questions that Loki had, the ones about my past, and I told him the same things. Thor was very interested, and Loki sat in silence. I still couldn’t believe that I was having a conversation with Thor. Or that I was in Asgard.

“So do you have a plan of action?” Thor asked me after a few hours of talking. Loki had barely spoken a word, he was frozen, looking out the window next to him.

“Well, I want to find the witch,” I said, realizing I had no plan. I came here, hoping that they would figure things out for me. I frowned and pulled my legs into my chest.

“How do you plan to do that?” Thor asked softly, as if he was coaxing a story out of a small child.

“I don’t know. Go to the last place anyone saw her?” It was more of a suggestion, but I had no idea how we were going to find her. “I want to know who my father was too. Is there anyone we could go to for that?”

Thor looked at Loki, who was ignoring us still, and sighed. “I am afraid not, Monroe. Possibly the witch, or another witch. Its hard to find demons here because they are of your world.”

“You don’t have demons here?”

“We do, but he was a spawn of your Devil. How about we get some sleep, and figure out what to do tomorrow?” Thor suggested, standing up. I nodded and stood up as well, and stretched my back. “You can take my bed, I will sleep-”

“I’ll take the couch. I’m smaller than both of you and it’s comfortable to me,” I said sternly, crossing my arms over my chest. Thor pressed his eyebrows together, knowing that I was right, and Loki finally stood.

“Don’t try to fight her, just take your bed Thor,” Loki said, his ice cold blue eyes locked on me. I don’t know what got into him, so I chose to have doubts about what he was telling me, that was normal. I was worried about what this meant, yesterday, he was so nice and sweet, and tonight, he turned into an asshole.

Thor took his brother’s advice and fetched me a pillow and blanket. Loki sulked out of the room and I heard a door shut rather loudly. Thor locked the front door and fed wood to the fire before going to bed. I laid on the couch waiting for sleep to find me. It was hard because I kept thinking about how cold Loki had been.

I contemplated going and seeing if he was alright, but I had no idea which room he was in. I was facing the other way when both of them left. I groaned quietly and rolled on my side, shutting my eyes and letting sleep in.

I woke up to a blinding light. When I finally opened my eyes, I saw that it was the sun coming through the window. I sat up and the blanket fell off of me. I slept in my jeans and v-neck, I groaned at my stupidity. I guess I was too tired to ask for something to sleep in.

“…her in Valhalla. I don’t think she would have moved to Nifflehmeim,” I heard Loki’s soft voice from outside the front door. The door swung open with Thor leading the way.

“I heard she was hiding in Muspelheim,” Thor’s booming voice said. “Ah, good morning Monroe!”

“Good morning,” I said, picking the blanket up off the ground.

“The makes no sense. Odin would have killed her if she went through Asgard, and he would have told us!” Loki insisted, not even looking at me.

Thor walked into the kitchen and set a weird animal on the counter, then I noticed his and Loki’s bloody hands. “Then she went through Jotunheim, brother!”

“What if she went to Hel though?” I stood up and approached the gods slowly.

“Are you talking about the witch?” I asked. Loki finally turned and acknowledged my presence.

“We have no idea where she is, Mon. There are too many different leads,” he said softly. Was this like an I’m-okay-with-you-in-the-morning-but-I‘m-going-to-ignore-you-at-night, thing? That made no sense at all!

I frowned and looked down at my feet. Now what?

“So should we give up?” I asked, hoping that they would say no. We couldn’t give up now!

“I think that we should take you back to Midgard, let us find out her location, and we’ll come back for you,” Thor said sternly. His eyes looked sad, and he had bags under his eyes, like he hadn’t gotten sleep in days.

“What? But I’m here to help!”

“I’m afraid there is nothing for you to do here, Monroe. You don’t know, or remember, anyone here to talk to for answers, and you arent dressed appropriately. Father probably already knows of you being here. Its dangerous,” Thor sighed. I turned to Loki who was looking at the dead animal on the counter that started to stink up the room.

“Loki?” I asked softly.

“I’m afraid he’s right. I’m sorry, Monroe,” Loki’s eyes met mine, he looked sad as well. I could feel my heart pounding loudly in my chest, I was so angry with them! More so with Loki because he brought me here, with promises to look for the witch, now they are going to send me home and look for her without me. Or just forget about me.

“Fine. Take me home,” I demanded. Both of them had shock written all over their faces, probably not expecting me to give up so quickly. I wasn't expecting it either, but I needed to get back to my job, and I had bills to pay, I left is such a hurry I didn't take care of loose ends.

“Is that what you want?” Loki asked quietly. Thor was frozen, watching us.

“Yes,” I said.

An hour later, after Thor had skinned the animal and fed us, we all began our journey back to Bifrost. It seemed to take a lot longer than five hours, but that was probably because I wasn't being carried or asleep.

We only stopped three times, and one of them was for a lunch break. We finally got to the rainbow road and Thor stopped.

“This is as far as I am going to go. I am so happy that you are back in our lives, Monroe. I vow that Loki and I will find that witch and come back for you!” Thor took my hand and kissed it, and then pulled me into a giant hug. Another one that I couldnt get my arms up in time for.

“Thank you Thor,” I said as strongly as I could, and gave him a small smile. He nodded and looked at Loki, who gave him a nod and Thor turned on his heels and walked away.

“Shall we?” Loki asked, and led the way down the bridge. Halfway there, I got the courage to ask him what was going on last night. “Nothing. It’s just Thor is always in the middle of everything, has to be the center of attention. It is hard to get a word in when he is in the room. Besides, he was talking and asking the same things that I was the day before, therefore, I saw no reason to interfere.”

Sibling rivalry, I saw a lot of that in foster homes. I sighed as we made our way to the gatekeeper. He shot us back to a small field outside of Seattle. The same one that we left on. We stood there for a minute. I wasn't sure if I wanted him to come back to my apartment, but I knew that it would be wise, seeing as it was already dark here.

“Will you walk home with me? I don't like being outside at night. Especially since we’re outside of the city. You can stay the night if you want,” I offered. It felt rude to ask him such a big favor and then kick him to the curb.

“Of course,” he said with a smile and we started our journey to my apartment. Loki seemed happier, he had a small smile on his face, and his eyes looked warmer. I almost wanted to grab his hand, but I decided not to. Whether he wants to admit it or not, he was a jerk last night. But I couldnt deny that there was this pull inside of me to hold his hand.