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Chapter Text

‘Who are you?’ 

Mobius’ words are seared into Loki's thoughts.

It’s all too much.

Between Syvlies betrayal and this new timeline, Loki can’t think straight. 

The alternate Mobius is talking to him, but Loki doesn’t hear a single word. His ears ring, his vision blurs and all he can think about is how he needs to escape. 

He swipes the tempad from Hunter B-15’s belt and pulls himself away when she tries to grab at him. Loki doesn’t think, he just stabs in his location, not caring for the year. 

He just needs to get back to Asgard. 

The orange portal opens and Loki sprints through it. Closing it the second he’s through so he can’t be followed. 

Loki squints as the sun blinds him, he frowns as he’s faced with a sparkling blue ocean. 

‘Oh…’ Loki turns to face the coastal city. ‘New Asgard…’ He whispers to himself as he watches a flying ship slowly land on the waters. Frowning to himself, Loki reads ‘ Asgard Tours ’ emblazoned on the side of the ship. 

Curious about Asgards fate, Loki brushes himself down and heads into the town. As he steps onto the main street, he’s swept up in a tour group. Shrugging to himself, Loki follows the group of Midgardians as they’re led through the town. 

The tour guide dramatically recounts a recent attack on the city, where shadow monsters stole the Asgardian children. The children were naturally rescued by Thor and, confusingly, another called the Mighty Thor. 

The tour concludes with a stage show. Loki smiles to himself when he spots some actors he recognises from the shows he would watch with his mother. He folds his arms across his chest as the show unfolds. After a while he realises that one of the actors is supposed to be portraying him. He watches a cheesy, overacted version of what seems to be the death of Odin. Loki scowls as the actor playing Odin talks grandly of a secret sister. ‘Hela…’ He mutters under his breath, remembering reading the name of the report on Asgards destruction. 

The audience erupts into applause and Loki gets up, slipping away from the stage area. As he exits the arena, a woman's voice calls; ‘Odinson!’ 

Loki flinches but turns to find a woman with long braids watching him. She looks a strange mix of furious and amused. 

‘I should have known that you weren’t actually gone.’ She smirks as she storms over to him. ‘You’re like a cockroach.’ 

‘Do I know you?’ He raises an eyebrow. 

‘Is that a joke?’ She scoffs. 

Loki shakes his head. ‘If I met you after 2012 I won’t know you.’ 

‘Did you hit your head or something Odinson?’ 

‘Pulled out of time.’ He tells her simply, too tired to elaborate. 

‘...So you don’t remember Sakaar? Or Ragnarok?’ 

‘I know the broad strokes of the apocalypse. But I wasn’t there personally.’ 

The woman squints, weighing up whether she believes him. ‘I’ll summon your brother.’ 

‘He isn’t here?’ 

‘Of course not, he’s on one of his classic Thor adventures.’ 

‘Then who is ruling Asgard?’ 

The woman smirks, holding out her hand. ‘King Valkyrie, at your service.’ 

Loki blinks, taking in the information, before shaking her hand. His eyes linger on the tattoo on her wrist. ‘A pleasure to meet you, your highness.’ 

She laughs. ‘Yeah, you definitely don’t remember me. Come on, you can stay at my place while we wait for Thor.’ She nods her head, leading him through the town. 

Loki wrinkles his nose when he spots a sign with a replication of the Infinity Gauntlet. ‘Infinity….cones…’ He reads the name of the ice cream shop aloud, voice dripping with disdain. 

Valkyrie gives him an apologetic expression. ‘Asgard relies on Midgardian tourism. It’s the only thing keeping us afloat.’ 

Loki sighs. ‘At least Asgard still exists.’ 

‘Asgard is not a place, it’s a people.’ Valkyrie recites knowingly, just like the actor playing Odin had. 

‘I suppose.’ 

Valkyrie leads him into a small cottage, grabbing a communication device from the counter of the kitchenette. ‘Bathroom is down the hall, guest room is on the right. Knock yourself out.’ She says as she types. 

Loki nods and makes his way to the guest room, collapsing on the bed as soon as the door is closed. Exhaustion takes over. He can’t think of the last time he actually rested. Between jumping through apocalypses, working with Mobius, taking over New York and his time spent with Thanos. It’s been too long since he had a moment to breathe. 

Lying on his back, Loki stares up at the ceiling. He lets the exhaustion wash over him and quickly slips into a deep sleep. 

Hours must pass because when Loki is jolted awake, everything is bathed in darkness. It takes a moment for his eyes to adjust and to remember where exactly he is. 

New Asgard. 

The home of its new King. 

He shakes himself awake, brushing down his crumpled outfit with a flash of green magic. Changing into a tailored black suit and smoothing down his hair. 

Loki yanks back the curtains to look out of the windows, he was awoken by a loud noise which sounded suspiciously like the bifrost. Confirming his suspicion, a large ship has appeared on the field behind the Valkyries home, it sits on a circle of familiar rainbow light. 

Collecting himself, Loki quickly exits the cottage to greet the ship. 

The door lowers painfully slowly, but as Loki approaches it hits the ground with an echoing thud and he finally sees his brother walking down the steps. 

Despite his bone-deep exhaustion, Loki runs to greet him. 

Before he closes the distance, Thor catches him. Both hands land firmly on Loki's shoulders, keeping him an arms length away. 

‘...What trick is this?’ Thor's eyes narrow as he looks his brother up and down. 

‘This is no trick.’ Loki gently places his hands on top of Thors, which reflexively squeeze on his shoulders. ‘Just a long tale to tell.’ 

‘I saw you die.’ Thor says, talking slow and firm. 

‘It’s… difficult to explain. You saw a version of me die, yes. But thanks to your Avengers meddling with time, I did not get that far. After the battle of New York, I made my escape with the tessaract and was apprehended by an agency that polices space and time.’ 

Thor blinks. ‘You did not escape.’ 

‘Not in your time, no I did not. I suppose technically, I am not your brother. Nor you mine. My timeline was destroyed for deviating from the grand plan of the universe. And your timelines version of me was killed by the titan.’ 

‘So you are… Loki, but not of this universe?’ 

‘Something like that.’ Loki gives him a weak smile. ‘Like I said, it is a long story.’ Loki's eyes catch movement at the mouth of the ship and he tilts his head as a small girl catches his eye. ‘I suppose you have stories of your own.’ 

‘Bring him inside so I can say hi!’ The girl yells at Thor. ‘I don’t have shoes on so I can’t come outside.’

Thor looks back at Loki, nodding his head towards the ship in a silent question. Loki nods and follows him up the ramp. 

‘Are you Uncle Loki?’ She asks, bouncing on her heels with excitement. 

‘I…’ Loki's glances at Thor, who gives him a subtle nod. ‘I suppose I am.’ 

Loki follows his brother through the ship, glancing down at the watchful eyes of the little girl who follows at his side. 

‘Why do you dress like a witch?’ She asks bluntly.

Loki chuckles under his breath. ‘I am not a witch. My mother is though.’  Loki stiffens as he remembers what Mobius showed him. ‘At least, she was.’ 

The girl looks over at Thor who gives her a sad smile. Her eyes fall back on Loki. ‘I thought you were supposed to be dead.’ 

He takes a moment, wondering how to explain it to a child. ‘I got better.’ 

It must have been the right answer, she gives him a bright grin. ‘So did I.’ She tells him as Thor leads them to a seating area. 

The inside of the ship looks like a modern midgardian home. Loki idly wonders if any of the decor was inspired by the home of Dr Foster. 

‘So.’ Thor clears his throat. ‘Explain.’ 

Loki glances over at the child. ‘You first. My tale is long and depressing. I think I would rather hear yours first.’ 

‘It's not all that interesting.’

‘Of course it is, she's made of magic.’ Loki looks at the girl who grins, her eyes sparkling purple. 

Loki twists his hand to summon himself a cup of tea as he sits.

‘You know, I would have offered you one as your host.’ Thor tells him, looking like he’s trying not to be amused. 

‘You wouldn't have made it right.’

‘I know how you have your tea brother.’ Thor rolls his eyes. ‘Black with far too much sugar.’ 

Loki tilts his head slightly, acknowledging that Thor is correct. 

Thor pats the girl on the shoulder. ‘You should go back to bed, Love.’ 

‘But I want to stay with my Uncle!’ She pouts. 

‘If he’s still here you can see him in the morning.’ He tells her, ushering her out of the room despite her protests. 

‘Come on then, tell me about her.’ Loki says once they’re alone. 

Thor sighs, settling into the chair opposite Loki. ‘It started with a distress call.’ He says, telling Loki a long story about the God Butcher, the rescue of Asgards children and the resurrection of Love, daughter of Gorr. 

Loki listens quietly and does his best not to criticise the choices Thor made while fighting Gorr. It was unnecessarily reckless, but it would be too hypocritical of Loki to point that out.

Using magic to refill his tea and make an ale appear in Thors hands, Loki settles back, digesting the information. 

‘And what of you?’ Thor asks, sipping from the bottle. 

‘Your Midgaridan friends…. When they went back in time they caused a divergence from the correct timeline.’ His hand tenses and he places the tea cup to one side. ‘What happened to me? After the battle in New York?’ 

Thor blinks in confusion but humours him regardless. ‘We returned to Asgard for you to face trial.’ 

‘I see… In my timeline I used the tessaract to escape. The second I did, I was apprehended by the TVA. They're an agency that monitors timelines, they make sure the universe stays on its set path. The battle was only… it's hard to say, I haven’t slept properly… maybe a week ago for me. Give or take a few days.’ 

‘What…? Loki that was almost fifteen years ago.’

‘I know. It’s … complicated.’  Loki looks away, struggling to keep his thoughts together. He doesn’t know how to begin explaining what happened to him. 

As if sensing Loki's distress, Thor’s voice turns gentle. ‘...Are you staying?’  Thor asks as he stands, pacing a little. 

‘What?’ 

‘In this… timeline? Are you staying?’ 

‘I have… things I need to fix. But… yes. I think I need to stay.’

Thor hums and he falls into the seat next to Loki. ‘That’s good.’ He looks at Loki with a sly smile. ‘Love needs someone to teach her to control her magic. It was never something I excelled in.’

Loki laughs. ‘I’m sure I can teach her a few tricks.’ 

Thor grins, wrapping an arm around Loki and pulling him into a crushing hug. ‘It’s good to have you back, Brother.’

Chapter Text

Loki and Thor have a long, overdue catch up and after a while Loki starts to fall asleep on the couch. Normally, he would never be caught sleeping in front of someone else. It’s too vulnerable a position. But he knows he’s safe with Thor and lets himself rest. 

He’s woken the next morning when Love throws herself on top of him. ‘Uncle Loki, wake up! Breakfast is ready!’ 

Loki pushes down the instinct to attack, gently lifting the young girl off him with magic. She giggles as she floats through the air, so Loki continues to carry her as he heads towards the kitchen to find Thor. 

‘I made tea.’ Thor tells him, proudly pointing to the green teapot in the centre on the table. 

Loki carefully lowers Love back to the ground and flicks his wrist to summon the pot and a bowl of sugar. 

‘Must you use magic for everything?’ Thor rolls his eyes fondly at the display. 

‘Actually yes.’ Loki tells him stubbornly as he pours his tea. ‘Magic was inaccessible in the TVA, it was like… missing a limb. So now, I will be flexing that limb as much as possible. Thank you very much.’

‘No magic.’ Thor repeats slowly. ‘That must have been a nightmare for you.’ 

‘You don't know the half of it.’ Loki says, reflexively glancing down to check the colour of his skin.

‘Ah, you were…’

‘Cold.’ Loki interrupts him before he can say blue. ‘I was … very cold.’ 

‘That must have been terrible…’

‘It had some benefits.’ Loki admits reluctantly. ‘The Hulk may have knocked most of it out of me, but the removal of magical effects meant that my head was my own again at least.’

Thor frowns. ‘What do you mean?’ 

‘...You never figured it out.’ Loki realises, speaking quietly as he stirs his tea. 

‘Figured what out?’

Loki laughs hollowly. ‘You still think I tried to take over Midgard.’ 

‘Did you not?’ Thor asks as he fills Love's plate with pancakes. 

‘You think too little of me.’ Loki scoffs, a defensive tone to his voice. 

‘What was I supposed to think when you showed up with an army?’ Thor asks, dropping into the seat next to Love.

‘You should have looked closer.’ Loki uses a small illusion to turn his eyes an icy shade of blue. ‘I was not in control of myself during the battle.’

Thor blinks owlishly. ‘You-...’

‘I can change my eyes too!’ Love chimes in eagerly, her eyes shining with a glittering purple. 

‘Very impressive little one.’ Loki nods, blinking his eyes back to their usual green. 

‘Loki-’ Thor begins emotionally, but Loki is already standing.

‘I think I’ll take another look around New Asgard.’ He says, not meeting Thor's gaze. ‘Excuse me.’  He swipes a hand to send his teacup to the sink with a flurry of magic before exiting, ignoring Thor's protests. 

As he exits the ship, Loki changes his outfit to a pair of black skinny jeans and an emerald green sweater. He walks towards the town, content to wander aimlessly to get his bearings. After a while he reaches a fountain in the centre of town, reading a long list of lost Asgardian names engraved into the stone. 

‘Oh look Honey!’ An American accent calls out, obviously a tourist. ‘Gosh, look at that exotic skin tone.’ 

Loki quickly glances down to check his hand, still so pale it's almost white. In confusion he looks around to find a krylorian child reading on a bench and a pair of tourists fawning over her bright pink skin. 

‘Quick, quick. Get the camera!’ 

‘I’d appreciate it if you stopped treating our citizens like zoo animals to gawk at.’ Loki scowls as he stalks over. 

The tourists stare at him in confused outrage, but the child's eyes light up in recognition. 

‘Prince Loki!’ 

‘A prince?’ The woman repeats. ‘Oh honey, quick take a picture.’ 

‘If you raise that camera I will toss it into the ocean.’ He almost growls, summoning knives into his hands. 

The pair panic, scampering away. ‘We’ll be leaving a scathing review on trip advisor!’ The woman shrieks as they leave.

Loki watches them disappear, letting the tension slip away before he looks back at the child. 

‘My momma says not to listen to them.’ She tells him knowingly. ‘Midgardians can barely handle their own skin colours, never mind ours.’

‘Your mother is correct. It's still not fair though.’

‘I guess. But everyone who matters is nice about it. Like you.’ She smiles, putting her book away in her worn out backpack.

‘You’re braver than I am.’ He tells her softly as he rolls up his sleeve. For a moment he lets the illusion on his arms slip away, turning his skin its natural blue. 

‘Woah…’ She grins up at him. ‘You’re colourful too!’ 

‘I am.’ He confirms as he covers his illusion back up. 

‘It’s a pretty colour.’ The girl hums. ‘I have to go to Valkyrie training. Will you walk with me so no-one takes pictures?’

‘Of course I will.’ He nods. ‘You’re a Valkyrie?’ 

‘I am! Well, just in training.’ 

‘That’s a very noble pursuit.’ He tells her as she leads him down to the beach. ‘You know I wanted to be a Valkyrie when I was younger. But I was a boy most of the time so I couldn’t.’

‘Oh, anyone is allowed to train now!’ 

‘That’s very good to hear.’ 

The krylorian girl runs ahead to join her class, waving at Loki as she goes. Loki barely sees the wave, he’s frozen in place as he spots Lady Sif watching over the array of children. 

He watches her soft smile drop the second her eyes land on him. She storms over with a scowl. ‘The King told me you had returned. I didn’t believe her.’  

‘I’m sorry.’ Loki blurts out, not thinking about what he’s saying. After seeing Sif over and over again in the memory prison, it's all he can think to say. 

Sif scowls at him, twisting her body so that her missing arm is out of view. ‘I need no sympathy from the likes of you. Trickster.’ 

Loki holds up both of his hands. ‘That’s not what I’m apologising for.’ 

Sifs remaining hand lies on the sword at her hip. ‘Out with it.’ 

‘I’m apologising for how I acted as a child. For cutting your hair. It was… childish, spiteful… I thought it would be funny but it wasn’t. I just… I always craved attention and I found that being drastic was the easiest way to gain it.’ 

Sifs stance relaxes fractionally. ‘...Is this a trick?’ 

‘No I… I’m just sorry.’ 

Sifs lips twist and she takes a step back from Loki. ‘Your brother is here and my class is about to begin. Goodbye Loki.’ 

‘Lady Sif.’ Loki nods, turning just in time to catch Love running to join the class. Thor stands at the entrance of the beach, watching Loki with contemplative frown. 

Loki lets out a small sigh before walking to meet his brother. 

‘Are you ready to talk now?’

‘I just figured I should spare you having that talk in front of Love.’ Loki shrugs. ‘You’ll get too emotional, she shouldn't have to see you like that.’ 

‘How will I get emotional?’

‘Well, I’ll tell you about how Thanos tortured me into submission, and you will-’

Before he finishes the sentence, storm clouds gather, darkening the sky.

‘Yes. That.’  

‘Thor! Get those clouds away from my class!’ Sif yells at the pair. 

‘Let's walk.’ Loki tugs Thor's arm, leading him to the cliffs. 

‘What happened with Thanos?’ Thor asks, hands reflexively tensing into fists.

Loki sighs deeply. ‘After I fell from the Bifrost, I drifted for… I don’t know how long really. It felt like an eternity. It was certainly enough to drastically weaken me. I ended up in the hands of the Black Order. Between the torture and Ebony Maw’s telepathy they broke me more easily than I care to admit.’ Loki summons an umbrella as Thor clouds start to drip rain on them. ‘He was in my head, the whole time I was on Midgard. They sought control of Earth to locate its Infinity Stones.’ 

‘The whole time…’

‘There was nothing you could have done short of getting me to Mother to banish the connection. But, like I said, the Hulk knocked most of it out of me. Albeit more painfully than I would have liked.’ He winces at the memory. 

‘Brother. I-...’

Loki raises hand to stop him. ‘I don’t want pity or apologies Thor. I just.. Wanted to explain.’ 

‘I can’t believe I didn’t know.’ 

‘It’s my fault really.’ Loki tells him. ‘I constantly present a version of myself that is always in control, so that people don’t see the mess I actually am.’ 

Thor looks at his brother with a baffled expression. 

Loki huffs out a small laugh. ‘My time spent at the TVA was filled with a great deal of self reflection. It was terrible.’ He pauses for a moment before looking up at Thor. ‘What happened to Thanos and the Black Order?’

‘The Black Order were killed by the Avengers.’ Thor tells him as the storm whips around them. ‘And as for Thanos… we had to kill him twice. After the Blip, we hunted him down and I cut off his head.’ Thor says, his voice filled with spite and rage. ‘And when we travelled through time for the stones, a younger version of him followed us. Stark sacrificed himself to destroy Thanos and his army.’ 

‘... I’m sorry Brother. I know you were close.’

‘We’ve all lost a great deal in the fight against Thanos. Not many are able to come back from the dead so many times.’ 

Loki gives him a weak smile and they slowly make their way back to the ship. When they return they dry off and Thor sheepishly shows Loki to a guest room. Loki is about to question his brother's odd behaviour until the door is opened and he spots the emerald green and gold decor.

‘It’s all just… what I could find in New Asgard in a few hours.’ Thor explains, obviously nervous that Loki will hate it. ‘If you don’t like it, we can work on collecting more-’

‘It’s fine Thor.’ He stops his brothers rambling. ‘I like it.’ 

‘I’ll have to go collect Love soon. When I’m back we can have dinner and then maybe you could show her some magic?’ 

Loki nods. ‘Of course.’ 

Thor beams. ‘I’ll return shortly.’ He disappears, leaving Loki alone with his thoughts. 

Loki inspects the guest room, softly smiling to himself when he notices features that Thor has tried to replicate from his childhood bedroom. Trying to push down the feeling of being at home, Loki summons a book and starts to read, scouring his magical collection for anything that will occupy his mind and stop him from thinking about the titan.

Chapter Text

Once Love returns from her Valkyrie training (grumbling to Thor about the sudden downpour of rain), Loki sits with her in the sitting room while Thor cooks. He starts her magic training with his favourite trick, holding his hands flat as he conjures miniature fireworks.

‘Wooooah!’ Love's eyes light up excitedly. ‘How do I do that?’

‘We’ll have to start simpler.’ Loki tells her. ‘Fireworks are quite complex in design. We’ll start with trying to conjure light in your hands. Alright?’

Love copies Loki's movement, flattening her hands and picturing light there. There's a sudden flash as the room is filled with a blinding light, startling them both.

‘What was that?’ Thor asks, running into the room.

‘Just Love.’ Loki explains, blinking away the pain from his eyes. ‘She’s a bit like you.’ He teases. ‘Lots of power, but no finesse.’

'I see.' Thor laughs. 'Dinner is ready.' He says, nodding his head towards the kitchen area.

‘What happened to the hammer?’ Loki asks as they pass mjolnir, propped up on a cushion.

‘Hm? Oh, Love thought it needed to be more colourful.’

Loki raises an eyebrow, unimpressed by the answer. ‘I mean the breaks.’

‘Oh, that was our sister.’

Loki scoffs. ‘Your sister maybe.’

‘She looked more like you than me.’ Thor tells him with a half-amused smile. ‘For a moment I thought maybe I was the adopted one.’

Loki laughs. ‘No, you look too much like Odin.’

Thor shakes his head but still chuckles lightly.

Loki's eyes fall on a black band woven into Thor's hair. Love notices him watching and leans in to whisper. ‘You should see his back.’

‘What happened to his back?’ Loki asks, matching the girl's quiet tone.

‘He got tattoos!’ She announces, no longer whispering.

‘Oh. Well, this I must see.’ He looks up. ‘Thor, show me the tattoos.’

Thor's eyes go wide in panic. ‘Absolutely not.’

‘Come on Uncle Thor!’ Love pleads.

‘The two of you are very dangerous together.’ Thor frowns, gesturing to both Loki and Love.

‘I am bonding with my niece.’ Loki flicks a finger and Thor's apron and shirt are blown away.

Thor sighs. ‘You know, Zeus has the same trick. Except he wasn’t as skilled as you, he blew everything off.’

‘Stop stalling and turn around.’

Thor very reluctantly turns to show Loki his back.

'Brother… as much as I appreciate the sentiment…'

'Say it.'

'That is the ugliest tattoo I have ever seen.'

'I think Meek did a great job!'

Loki wrinkles his nose, moving closer to read the list of names on Thor's tattoo. ‘So the Warriors Three survived? I’m surprised I haven't seen them during my tours of New Asgard.’

Thors smile falls briefly. ‘They were killed when Hela took over Asgard.’

Loki looks down in thought. ‘... Ah.’

‘What is it?’ Thor asks, reading his brother easily.

‘I’m just surprised I didn’t know. The TVA showed me all the loses I would face in my life. They didn’t show me that one.’

‘I didn’t think that would affect you so much? You were never terribly fond of the Warriors Three, no matter how many adventures we went on together.’

Loki chuckles quietly. ‘Not the Warriors Three. Just one… ‘

Thor gives Loki a blank expression.

‘You really were blind.’ Loki laughs louder this time. ‘Why did you think Fandral offered me so many private sparring lessons?’

‘Because you needed the assistance in your training?’

‘I needed no such training.’ Loki rolls his eyes.

‘Wait… are you saying you and Fandral…?’

‘Knew you’d get there in the end.’ Loki says with a tired expression. ‘Why aren't they honoured on your tattoo? You certainly knew them longer than the Avengers.’

‘Meek… uh, drew the scroll first then ran out of room for all of the names. So we tattooed their names on my calf instead.’ He explains, lifting the leg of his jeans to show the three names.

Volstagg the Valiant.
Hogun the Grim.
Fandral the Dashing.

‘I’m sorry.’ Loki says quietly. ‘For all of your losses.’

‘And I for yours…’

Loki gives him a weak smile. ‘I think I’ll turn in for the night.’ He says stiffly as he turns to leave, craving privacy.

‘Is he okay?’ Love asks Thor anxiously.

‘Course he is.’ Love says, faking a cheerful tone for Love's benefit. ‘Come on.’ He puts a plate in front of Love. ‘Let’s eat up.’