There's Always a Chance...

4/20/13

"Loki!"

The thin man rose from where he was bent over, whipping away the remnants of ketchup and mayonnaise that always seems to end up on restaurant tables. His eyebrows shot toward his hairline as he observed the odd assortment of people, one of which was screaming at him.

"Um... How many?" He asked weakly.

"Brother, do you pretend not to recognize me?" Thor asked, "Please, just come home!"

"I- no," Loki replied, slipping behind the front counter and reaching for the phone, "I think I'd know if I had a brother from Australia, and I'm not going anywhere with you."

"'Australia'?" Thor questioned, "What do you mean?"

"It's the accent," Tony muttered.

"I have no accent, friend Stark!"

"Sir," Loki said firmly, holding the phone up, "I don't want to have to call the police. Please, just leave."

"Seriously, Loki?" Steve said, gesturing to the man's short brown hair, "Did you really think that you could change your hair and act like you weren't you anymore, and we'd buy that?"

"I don't know who you're talking about. My name is Tom."

Thor looked closely at him.

A moment passed in silence.

Finally, Thor sighed, "He is right, my friends. This man may have my brother's face, but he does not have his eyes, nor his heart."

"Really? You're buying this? Isn't this guy the God of Tricks?" Tony reminded.

"Aye, but my brother could take on any appearance he wants. Why would he chose one so close to his own, so that we might find him? It does not make sense."

"He does give off a different... aura than Loki," Steve conceded, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Alright, well... I'll go radio Fury, then... I guess," Tony said awkwardly.

"C'mon, let's go tell Bruce that things are good here," Steve suggested, "Sorry for the trouble, Tom."

"Go ahead, I would like a moment with... Tom."

After Steve and Tony had left, Thor turned to Tom, still tensed with phone in hand.

"I would like to offer you my most sincere apology, Tom. My friends and I jumped to conclusions, I'm afraid."

"Eheh..." Tom laughed weakly, "It's... alright, I suppose. No harm done."

Thor bowed and turned to leave, but Tom spoke again.

"You're looking for your brother?"

"Indeed, I am."

"Is he... lost?" Tom asked curiously, setting the phone back in its cradle.

Thor flopped down in one of the booths, and cradled his head in his hands, "Aye, as lost as a soul can be. Lost in rage and sadness. Lost in his own head. I am afraid that he shall never be found again."

"Well... Life has a way of sending us rain right when we most want the sun to shine," Tom said, "But, sometimes, you find out that the rain was what you needed all along."

A tear rolled down Thor's cheek.

"H-Hey, don't cry!" Tom said in alarm, "Um, um, do you want a drink?"

Thor accepted the soda that Tom offered him, but another tear escaped, "You must forgive me. You say such kind words from lips and with a voice that look and sound so very much like my brother. It makes me long for the days when we could speak as friends."

"Well, I don't have any brothers, but I have two sisters," said Tom, "And I know that siblings tend to... project their anger onto one another. Anger at their parents, the world, and even at themselves gets redirected to them, because they know that even when they're horrible to one another, their family will never abandon them. The fact that you're out here, looking for him... I'm sure that your brother will come around... in time."

"You are a wise man, Tom," said Thor. "Wiser than your... environment would suggest."

"Ah, well," Tom returned to cleaning the table, "That's a good example of the 'life sends us rain' bit. I'm an actor, you see. Came down here for a part playing the young version of a well-known super-villain in a movie. So, I come all the way down here, only to find out that they gave my part away to Michael-fucking-Fassbender."

Thor sipped his soda, not quiet understanding.

"They said I wasn't menacing enough," Tom continued, "I can so be menacing!"

"With my brother's face, I have no doubt."

"Thank you! Unfortunately, I already spent my paycheck. So, here I am, bussing tables in non-refundable designer jeans." He sighed, then brightened, "But, I am confident that something good is going to come out of this. You just wait and see."

Thor laughed. It felt good to laugh. "I will count on it, friend!"

"Thor, where are you?" Steve's voice came through Thor's headset. Thor flinched, forgetting about the device, and Tom frowned at the movement.

"I must go now," Thor said with regret, "But thank you for your great kindness."

"Sure, any time," Tom smiled.

Just as Thor was pushing open the doors of the diner, Tom called after him.

"Remember to keep believing in your brother! As long as you believe in him, there's always a chance he can come home."

"I will remember, my friend! Farewell!"

"Farewell, Thor."

On the quinjet ride back to the Helicarrier, Steve and Tony bantered as they always did. Thor listened with amusement, until a sudden thought occurred to him...

He had never told Tom his name.

Back at the diner, 'Tom' flipped the switch for the fluorescent 'Open' sign in the window to turn off. Slowly, his light brown hair darkened and lengthened. His gray-blue eyes shifted to striking green.

Loki turned his gaze through the window to the sky, where the humans' ridiculous flying machine was making its way back to him. Thor had realized sooner than expected.

A small, but genuine smile tugged at Loki lips, and he repeated quietly, "'There's always a chance he can come home.'"

Then, in a puff of gray-green smoke, he was gone.