Thor cracked open a beer as his friends watched the Superbowl with him. The halftime show was about to come on and a Budweiser commercial played.
"I wonder what set Elton will do." Fandral said.
"Candle In The Wind is too somber for the game." Thor said.
"Oh! There he is! I like his glasses." Sif said.
"Now there is a proud flaming queen. When are you going to come out to your parents Thor?" Fandral asked.
"Probably right around the time my mother starts pestering me for grandchildren." Thor said. His cellphone rang and he got up to leave the living room to a space that was quieter.
"Hello," he said.
"Is this Thor Odinson?" Came an authoritative voice from the other end.
"Yes."
"This is officer Myers. Son, I have some bad news. Your parents were in a car crash this afternoon. They're dead. I need to you come down to the station to identify their bodies," he said. The oxygen left Thor's lungs and he collapsed in the middle of his hallway. He sobbed, loud and ugly. He caused himself to hiccup. Even with the loud volume of the game, Thor's friends could hear him crying. They appeared behind him, wondering what was wrong.
"Loki…"
"Your little brother is fine. He was at home when it happened. He's at the station right now. Since you brother is still technically a minor, CPS has been notified. If you're unable or unwilling to take over guardianship, he'll be placed into foster care."
"He turns 18 in two months, what would be the point?"
"Those are the rules unfortunately. Will you be able to take care of him?"
"Yes. I'll come get him." Thor hung up.
"Thor. What happened?"
XxXxXxXxXxXx
Thor arrived at the station, mentally prepared to see the mangled bodies of his parents. When he entered the building, he headed for the desk, until he saw Loki.
"Loki!" Thor rushed to him and embraced him, hard. With eyes full of tears, they cried into one another for what felt like a long time.
"Ehem." The desk sergeant cleared his throat. "Sorry to bother you both. Mr. Odinson, there is some paperwork I need you to sign."
"Of course." Thor nodded his head. "I'm ready. Take me to see them."
"That won't be necessary. Your little brother has already identified the bodies."
"What?" Thor turned to Loki. "Why did you let him do that?" He turned back to glare at the cop.
"Thor, I insisted."
"So fucking what?! You're just a kid! You don't need to see that shit. I'm the adult here. It's my responsibility to take care of you," Thor yelled at him. Loki held back the urge to roll his eyes.
"Thor, no. It would've broken you. You were always the sensitive one. Mother…her face." Loki's voice broke and he sobbed again. Thor pulled him back into another protective hug, still scowling at the cop.
Eventually they were taken into an office where Thor was handed over the contents of Frigga's purse and Odin's wallet. As for the cause of the accident, it was both everyone and no one's fault for all involved. There was a motorcycle and someone was following too close. A big rig was also involved. Odin and Frigga had not been the only fatalities. The police officer shoved some papers in front of Thor for him to sign. The cop also informed him that CPS would be by in the morning to do a welfare check.
They left the station, hopping into Thor's jeep and took off for home. It was as they were driving back to mom and dad's that Thor realized that he had so much legal and financial stuff to worry about. The funeral, the mortgage on the house. Is the house paid off yet? Did they have life insurance? What about their bank accounts? Fuck. It was all too much. How in the hell was he supposed to even properly grieve?
"Say something." Loki said.
"I love you." Thor said. They got back to the house and Thor pulled Frigga's keys out of his pocket to unlock the door.
"No need. I have a set." Loki said. He let them in and turned on the lights.
"Are you hungry?" Thor asked.
"No." Loki said. He headed down the hall straight to his parent's bedroom. Thor followed him and found Loki curled up in their bed, smelling Frigga's pillow.
"It'll be gone soon. Her smell." He turned his head and looked at him. In his eyes, the pain was so acute. Thor knew what Loki wanted. He wanted to be held. He wanted his big dumb brother to climb into bed with him and hold him like they were little kids again. But they weren't children anymore. Loki was almost done growing, by the look of him. He was tall and lean, and so very handsome. Thor swallowed hard, and got in. They both curled around the pillow, pretending it was their mother. Their exhaustion from crying took them quickly into sleep.
In the morning, they both awoke with headaches. They were dehydrated from crying and badly needed some water. Loki poured himself a bowl of cereal as he looked through ads for local funeral homes.
"Loki, take the day off from that. I still have to figure out how I'm going to pay for a double funeral on short notice."
"They need to be cremated." Loki said.
"But dad always wanted to be buried."
"No Thor. We can't have open caskets, and if we can't have that why waste the money on it?"
"Oh. Yeah." Thor said. The doorbell rang. "That's probably CPS." Thor said. He was right. A haggard looking woman came in and looked around. Her name was Pepper.
"This is a nice place. Will you be moving back here or will you sell it?"
"I don't know. I currently live in a one bedroom apartment. So either way, I'll have to move. I need check with the bank on the status of the house. I might have to sell it and get something smaller," he said. The social worker nodded and asked a few more questions about Thor's income and living situation. She gave Thor several phone numbers and resources for all the things he needed to do. With Loki so close to legal adulthood, and in such obvious good hands, she made it apparent that she would not be visiting him again.
XxXxXxXxXx
The week flew by. Thor discovered, after obtaining death certificates, that both his parents had life insurance policies totaling $500,000. He and Loki were named beneficiaries on both. In addition, the house only had three years of payments left on it. He'd be able to keep it.
But that posed a new problem. Did he want to? He was not keen on moving back into his childhood bedroom. It was a small space not meant for a grown man over 6ft tall. Only a twin sized bed could fit in there. That meant he'd have to take over his parent's room, and he didn't know if he wanted to, or if Loki would let him.
"Thor." Loki said. Reality came rushing back. Odin's urn was in his hands. It was time to spread the ashes. They were at the beach, on the pier. The sun was setting on the water bathing everything in orange. A gust of wind whipped up from behind them both and together the brothers tipped the urns towards the open sea.
The wake was a draining affair. All of Odin and Frigga's friends were there and they all spoke down to the brothers like they were still children, especially Loki. They all offered condolences and unsolicited advice. By the time the last person left, there was nothing left to say. They were done with words.
They both walked back to their parent's bedroom and fell asleep holding Frigga's pillow, like they'd done every night since their deaths. Tomorrow, Thor would go back to work, Loki would go back to school and together they'd have to figure out how to carry on.