With a "click", the door lock lightly sounded, and after Thor pushed the door open, he saw Loki sitting at the bar near the door fussing over a computer.
Hearing the door open, Loki looked up and saw that it was Thor. Thor seemed quite disheveled at the moment, his long hair almost entirely soaked with sweat and draped messily behind his head. His short-sleeved shirt was also covered in sweat, his pants were full of oil stains, and his shoes were filled with mud.
"Why did you only get off work at noon?" Loki casually asked, but Thor didn't answer. Loki leaned over to look at him and found that he had walked directly into the bathroom. Hearing the shower turn on, Loki confusedly got up from his chair and walked to the door. He saw Thor turning on the cold water, dousing his hair.
After making himself look like a drowned rat, Thor shook his head before carelessly drying his hair with a towel and stepping out of the bathroom.
Loki crossed his arms and leaned against the wall opposite the bathroom, saying, "Looks like you've had another major blow, just like before. Once the battle situation is at a stalemate, you start taking cold showers."
While hanging the towel back on the rack, Thor said, "You must know Sif and the others have come over from Asgard? You'd better be careful lately. Sif's been wanting to beat you up for a long time now."
"Did you forget?" Loki let his arms fall and sat down next to the couch. "I'm a god now, if she dares to hit me, Heimdall will have her banished."
Thor stood at the bathroom door, fiddling with the towel rack while poking his head out to ask, "They've been saying you've been running to the Heavenly Palace Warehouse a lot lately, and you also seem to be messing with that big robot called The Destroyer. What are you up to?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Loki raised his voice. "While you were away, the Father of All Gods brought lots of energy and every Asgardian has had their divine power boosted considerably, some even re-enchanted their weapons."
"The Father of All Gods has brought so much energy that I don't have a suitable weapon to store them, so I plan to find a place to store this energy for later use. I think that Robot called The Destroyer would do..."
Thor fell silent, but Loki was a bit shocked. Previously, whenever the topic of divine power or weapons was brought up, Thor would become as heated as an angry bull, steam practically coming out of his nostrils.
This time, Thor said nothing. He just went back to his bedroom, took out his wallet, walked back out, and while fiddling with it he said, "I don't know how to explain it to you, but the situation now is that... I've lost my job..."
Loki turned to look at him, appraised him up and down, and said, "Not surprising. With that brain of yours, it would be weird if you managed to hold a job for a long time."
"Could you order takeout tonight? I still want some of that fried chicken."
"Unfortunately, I have a client to see tonight. We're going to a restaurant in Midtown to have dinner, eating those bland French dishes in a somewhat tasteful restaurant, spending several thousand US dollars on a meal, of course, he's footing the bill..."
Thor continued to fiddle with his wallet at the door, he said, "Okay, but..."
Thor scratched his head, seeming a bit at a loss of how to express himself, he said, "That is ... about this month's rent, I might be a little short... but I'll find a job soon, I ..."
"That's perfect, I don't want to live with you anyway. If you can't live here because you can't pay the rent, I'm sure S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't say anything. You can start packing your bags."
"Hey, don't be like that, Loki, I ..." Thor walked over to the couch, resting his hand on the backrest, "We are brothers, right? We once fought together ..."
"Don't bring up fighting together. You are the bravest warrior of Asgard." Loki picked up a glass of water from the coffee table and drank while speaking, "And I'm just a mage hiding in the back. When you're charging forward, I can't even see your shadow, that's what you said."
"I ... It's different now, we're both on Earth and there's no war to fight." Thor tried to put his brain cells to work, he said, "When we get back to Asgard, I can repay you tenfold, whether it's God's power or money."
"Stop talking nonsense." Loki scornfully pouted his mouth, "Divine Power? I have so much I have to find something else to store it in."
"Money? Your wages from three hundred years ago were squandered long ago. Are you going to ask Heimdall for a loan from your future royal subsidy? Or are you saying, the Father of All Gods is just asleep, and you intend to become the master of Asgard in advance and get money from the kingdom's treasury?"
"I certainly haven't." Thor immediately denied it, scratching his temple with his finger, "Alright, if there is anything I've learned on Earth, it's that you don't spend money recklessly, I swear, next quarter I'll save all my wages properly."
"You said that last quarter, Frigga and I have heard it so much our ears are calloused."
"Enough." Loki interrupted what Thor was about to say, "Order takeout when you have money, go hungry when you don't, stay here when you have money, get lost when you don't, it's that simple. Understand, Thor Odinson?"
Thor glared at him fiercely, gritting his teeth, "Understood, Loki Odinson."
Not long after, Loki took his laptop and left. Thor sat on the sofa, heaving a sigh. He knew Loki would act on his word. If he couldn't afford the rent, Loki would certainly use his divine power to pack his luggage and throw it out.
A little over an hour later, Thor was in the S.H.I.E.L.D. cafeteria, taking a large bite of his hamburger, chewing, and telling Sif, "Loki has always been like this, mischievous since childhood. Even so Frigga always takes his side. Last time he damaged my chariot, I didn't even ask him to compensate. He actually wasn't cool about even ordering takeout food for me."
As he said this, he swallowed the food in his mouth with effort, sighed, and said, "I don't know when he will grow up. Actually, when he was just learning to walk, I liked him a lot, but the older he got, the more troublesome he became."
"Do you really think his horrible pranks are just his mischief?" Sif asked, quite helplessly, "Thor, who exactly needs to grow up?"
"Alright, alright, Sif, I know you two have your grievances. I previously apologized for Loki. He shouldn't have cut your hair short and dyed your golden hair a different color. I swear, after I ascend the throne, I will use the power of the World Tree to change it back, so you don't need to worry, I definitely..."
"That's not what I'm talking about." Sif's tone was always very solemn, just like most of the goddesses in Asgard, a touch of sanctity and solemnity in her voice. She said, "You need to realize that in his increasingly wicked pranks, there might be deep malice hidden, not just brothers' roughhousing. I don't think someone who, even in his childhood, meticulously ruins someone else's favorite things is as naive as you may think."
Thor took another bite of his hamburger and said, "But he is the youngest, the youngest always has privileges. Odin is lenient with him, Frigga always sides with him, and I... you know, I do not like to complain, after all, he is my brother."
"He has been sickly since childhood. If I went to Odin to tattle, Odin wouldn't beat him like he beat me. If Odin really hit him, Frigga would be heartbroken."
Sif sighed deeply. She found that Thor's thought process differed from normal people. She said, "Can't you think about these problems from the perspective of the Crown Prince? Haven't you considered... the battle for the throne?"
"The battle for the throne? You're saying that Loki wants to fight with me for the throne, and might even start a war for it? That seems like a wild imagination."
"He doesn't want the throne. Do you think he really wants to sit on that throne, dealing with so many random things each day, having to lead battles occasionally, charge at the front, attend rewarding banquets after returning, listening to everyone's praises, giving awards, granting lands, praising warriors? He doesn't like doing that kind of thing."
"Given the time, he would rather lock himself in a room and read those idle books."
"Honestly, from a young age, I always thought he wasn't much like an Asgardian. He doesn't like dueling, doesn't like swordplay, shows no interest in fighting, lacks aggressiveness, lacks a sense of honor. He could never be the king of Asgard."
"Then why does he always play those pranks, always trying to outdo you in front of Odin?"
"Perhaps he just wants to prove he's better than me." Thor gulped a large mouthful of juice and said, "But it's normal, look, isn't every household with two brothers like this? Constantly trying to prove that they're better than the other, prove that they're the son their parents love the most."
"Don't you also have two older brothers?" Thor asked Sif, "Don't they compete with each other?"
"Hm..." Sif was taken aback by Thor's question. After thinking for a moment, she said, "It seems they do. My oldest brother likes to drag my second brother to the dueling field to compete. Then at dinner, he brags about how beautifully he attacked, making his brother run all over the place."
"See, I told you, it's normal. Have you ever wondered if you are your parents' favorite child?"
Sif snapped off a piece of her biscuit and shoved it into her mouth, saying, "Of course I know I'm not. Otherwise, why would my parents send me into the army? In Asgard, how many goddesses choose the path of a Valkyrie? Most of them are mages, aren't they?"
"At that time, Loki turned my golden hair into black hair. I was about to go crazy, but my parents didn't side with me at all. They thought I was vain and too concerned about my appearance, so they..."
"Don't be upset, Sif." Thor comforted her, "I've told you, on the day I ascend the throne, I will change your hair back. And maybe, I can persuade Loki to apologize to you. I've noticed that he's been a lot more agreeable recently."
"More agreeable?" Sif looked at Thor and said: "Are you sure? He wouldn't even pay your rent, doesn't even want to order takeout food for you, and even drove you out…"
"If this was in Asgard, he would've tossed me, along with my luggage, into the drainage ditch across the street a long time ago."
Sif put her hand on her forehead, saying, "Isn't your tolerance for him a bit too high? Haven't you ever thought about giving him a good beating?"
Thor finished the last bite of his hamburger, then drank all the juice, wiped his mouth and said: "I've thought about it, but I don't dare do it. In the past, he couldn't even withstand one punch from me. If he gets hurt, Frigga will kill me."
"Honestly, Thor, I don't really agree with Hogun and the others coming down to find you. I followed them here mainly because I was afraid they would stir up trouble."
"But you also know." Sif looked into Thor's eyes and said seriously, "The battle for the Crown Prince, winner takes it all. They and their families have very clearly sided with you. They won't allow Loki any aberration. Even if they personally don't want to do it, their families will definitely force them to keep an eye on you and Loki."
"Perhaps you have been outside waging wars for many years, away from here for too long, and don't understand the current trends in Asgard. But I can tell you, lately, the situation has begun to tense up. Because the Father of All Gods, has really gotten old."