Of Two Minds

Chapter 18 Part 2: His New Family

NEW YORK CITY - That night

After Tom's return to London, Fury issued Loki his own quarters at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with the other agents who lived there full-time. Spartan but furnished, the small apartment would be his new home going forward. Loki explored it at a leisurely pace, taking in the living room, kitchenette, bathroom, and bedroom. Once he added a small bookshelf, it would meet his needs.

He pulled his green and gold phone with its charger from his pocket universe. As he had neither used nor charged it in the months since their first team mission in this building, the battery was certain to be depleted by now. Finding a nearby electrical outlet in his living room, he plugged the phone and charger in to rejuvenate the battery.

While the battery charged, Loki retrieved the tea supplies he stored in his pocket universe and began to prepare himself a fresh pot of Darjeeling. He hummed an Asgardian folk song as he worked, as he found the process of steeping tea peaceful and relaxing. Between five and ten minutes later, he brought a full cup to the living room. He did not expect to find much to deal with in the way of any messages on his phone, but after several months' hiatus, he knew he should check.

He barely turned the phone on when it began to buzz relentlessly with notification after notification. Carefully Loki unlocked the phone screen to see what he received.

A number of texts from unfamiliar numbers awaited him, but a quick review revealed they all belonged to friends he made from the movie. One by one he added them to his contacts list and read the messages. Since several months passed before he received these, he wanted to read them all before he replied to any.

Robert's message held an invite to the group chat with instructions on how to download and install the app for his first login. During his absence, the whole team unanimously decided to add him to their group and sent the formal invite to his email.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Loki placed the phone beside him on the couch. Months of tension melted away with the messages of love and encouragement from the cast. He permitted himself a short release of tears. With Toshar out of the picture and the TVA no longer pursuing him, he was finally free to live a normal life however he chose.

After a few minutes, he quickly wiped his face and picked up his phone. A renewed sense of belonging drove him as he installed the app, created a suitable password, and logged in for the first time. A flood of messages between the group filled the app, and he scrolled through all of them to catch up to the present day. Everyone expressed it differently, but all of them looked forward to Tom's restoration and Loki's arrival in the group chat. He took a breath and typed his first message with a degree of hesitation.

[LOKI: Is there still room for one more?

RDJ: Welcome to the club. We were starting to wonder if you forgot about us.

LOKI: Tom had my phone and my body on a different continent. I couldn't use either the last few months while I was working here as an astral projection, but I could never forget any of you.

RUFFALO: You owe us stories from the last few months.

LOKI: Shall I start with the fact that Tom and I are separate individuals again?

JOHANNSON: Yay! You two made a great team, but we're glad you're each doing your own thing again.

RDJ: That's the best news I've heard in a long time, tied only with the news from Tom that you all caught the guy behind everything.

HEMSWORTH: Tom told us you have a permanent spot with the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. Congratulations.

LOKI: Thank you. I noticed in the chat that Tom told you all of my successes, but downplayed his role in the mission, and forgot entirely to mention his commendation from S.H.I.E.L.D. and that the Avengers kept him on their roster as an honorary member.