Finding Home

Chapter 23 - The Party

"Loki! I swear on the Void, if you move that one more time, I will murder you!" Thalia shouted at me from across the room, where she had been watching me adjust and readjust the banner every couple minutes.

"It needs to be perfect!" I shouted back, glaring at her but not adjusting it anymore. An oath on the Void was binding and I did not feel like dying today.

"Kola will love it no matter what you do," Bianca, my best friend, assured me, taking my hand and gently leading me to the center of the room. "Look around, Angel," she said. "Look at the big picture."

I looked around and smiled. She was right; it was perfect. The walls of the common room were lined with golden streamers and balloons. A stack of presents sat on a table, each wrapped neatly. On another table was a feast made of Kola's favorite foods, all surrounding a giant cake. A large banner hung across from the entrance with the words, "Happy 7th Birthday, Kola!" written in large lettering. Golden lanterns hung from the ceiling, and, when the lights were turned off, they cast a warm glow around the room.

It was simple, but I knew that she would love it. She was never one for fancy and elaborate things. I stopped fretting and sighed. "Sorry, Bianca. I guess I'm just nervous. I want this day to be perfect for her."

"She'll say yes," she assured me. "They both will."

I stared at her in shock. How did she know that?

She laughed at my expression and winked. "Protogenos of Family, here," she said. "I know things. They see you as a father, just as you see them as your children."

I sighed in relief. At least I knew they felt the same way. We shut off the lights and I went to meet the two at the front gate, where I knew they would be.

"Loki!" Kola greeted happily when she saw me.

"Hey, Kola! Happy Birthday!"

She grinned. "I'm seven now!"

"Wow, that's amazing! You're growing up so fast!" I said, ruffling her hair. She swatted my hand away and used her magic to french braid her hair. It was one of the first tricks she demanded to learn. "Let's go to the common room for a bit this morning, yeah?" I said. "You can show Percy the new spell you mastered yesterday."

She nodded happily and skipped ahead.

Nolan smiled at me slyly. "So, it's Percy now, huh?"

I blushed lightly. "He asked me to call him that a few days ago, and I said yes."

He laughed. "He's asked you that so many times before. What changed?"

"Nothing!" I defended. I retold the story of how he asked, leaving out the adoption part.

He just looked at me knowingly. "It was his eyes, wasn't it?"

My face turned bright silver. "Shut it!" I hissed, looking around warily. "What if someone heard that?"

He just laughed. "Okay, Dad." Then he paled and tried to stutter out an apology.

"It's alright, Nolan," I assured him, a bright smile on my face.

"Still, I'm sorry, Loki."

I smirked. "Nope. You can't just go back to calling me Loki after that!"

He frowned. "You want me to call you Dad?"

I smiled shyly. "Well, I was actually hoping to adopt you and Kola. I was going to ask later today."

"You're serious right now? You're not messing with me?"

I nodded. "If you're okay with that. You don't actually have to call me Dad if it makes you uncomfortable."

He grinned. "I'd love that!" he said, giving me a big hug. "I'd love for you to be my dad!"

I hugged back, smiling so brightly that even Will wouldn't be able to compare. When we pulled away, I said, "Now, why don't we get to Kola's party, yeah? I can officially ask you two there."

"Sure, Dad," he said before following me to the common room.

When we got there, Kola was waiting outside the doors, which were locked at the moment. "Loki," she whined, "why can't I get in?"

I chuckled and unlocked the door. "There you go, Firefly," I said.

She grinned and ran into the room to find Percy.

"Surprise!" everyone shouted as she bounded into the room. The lanterns turned on, revealing the party.

She squealed happily and ran around giving hugs to everyone. "Thank you guys!"

The first thing we did was eat. Kola chatting away the whole time. She showed everyone the new spells she was learning and they all praised her. Then it was time for games. We played until lunchtime, just having fun together.

Nolan kept calling me Loki, just until I asked them both officially, but Bianca kept glancing over and I knew that she knew that Nolan knew about the adoption.

After we ate lunch, Kola asked if we could do presents now. I pushed down my anxiety and nodded. "Of course, Firefly. Why don't you go pick one out to start."

The first one she chose was from Silena. She opened it and squealed when she saw the brand new cello that she had bought for her. She had been wanting to learn the cello for a while, and Nolan had been saving up to buy her a nice one when Silena told him that she was planning on getting it for her birthday.

Next, she chose Thalia's. Predictably, the commander had given Kola her very own bow and quiver.

She went through all her presents before she got to mine. When she unwrapped the adoption papers, her eyes widened significantly and she looked up at me. Tears filled her eyes and she jumped on me with a big hug. I smiled and hugged her back.

"Is that a yes?" I asked quietly.

She nodded into my shoulder and I grinned.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out together and playing games.

When they left for the day, I informed them that the adoption process would take a while, but it shouldn't take any longer than a few months.

"I can't wait!" Kola said with the large smile that hadn't left her face all day. "You're gonna be our dad!"

I smiled at the thought and nodded. "And you're going to be my kids," I said happily. "Now, you should probably get going so you're back before curfew."

They nodded and set off to their orphanage. 

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Hey, y'all! Sorry for the short chapter.

Prompts/requests for bonus chapters?