Chapter Text
🌀
There was a blinding bright light before there was nothing but surrounding darkness. Sleipnir had woken up and was crying loudly, indignant about having been woken roughly. Loki wants to soothe his son but he can't move. He managed to fall on his back, cradling Sleipnir to his chest, but he can't move.
It hurts.
Everything hurts. His entire body hurts. The worst of the pain centering around his lower belly and his pelvis. It's a throbbing pain, one that won't leave him.
He takes deep, gulping, desperate breaths. Trying to gather the strength to move. To sit up, at the very least. He needs to move. Needs to fine some form of relief.
A quick survey confirms that he found his way to Alfheim. His first stop on his list. Next to Asgard, Alfheim has the best know medical treatment specializing in magic. Loki didn't want to come here, didn't want him risking anyone recognizing him and reporting him to the Allfather. How long before Odin and Frigga notice his disappearance? How long until Thor can keep them all occupied? What if Heimdall already spotted something amiss?
But he needed to stop here. He's still so weak. Both his, and more importantly, Sleipnir's survival depends on Loki regaining his strength. He needs to move. He needs to.
🌀
"Daddy!"
Loki let out a rush of air as Sleipnir Jumped onto his bed and landed roughly on his stomach. "Daddy wake up!" Sleipnir shouted as he kept jumping, his tiny hands constantly pushing down on Loki's abdomen. Loki snuck his arms out from under the blankets and wrapped them around Sleipnir and rolled him onto his back, hovering over him for a second before raining kisses onto Sleipnir's face.
The shrill sound of Sleipnir's laughter filled the room as he shouted at his father to stop. Feeling his own face break into a smile nearly as big as Sleipnir's, Loki placed one more kiss on his nose before sitting back. Once he was free, Sleipnir shot back onto his feet, swaying slightly as he tried to balance on Loki's plush bed, and announced to the room, "I'm hungry, daddy."
"Are you now?" Loki responded with a smile, trying to tame back his hair. It always reverted into it's unruly self once Loki woke up and he didn't particularly enjoy having his hair in his face.
"I want pancakes! Pancakes, daddy! Let's have pancakes!" Sleipnir started jumping on the bed again and Loki reached out to stop him.
"Don't jump on the bed so much, Sleipnir." Loki reprimanded him and Sleipnir pouted but settled down to sit next to Loki, snuggling up into his side. Loki wrapped an arm around him and pulled him close to him. "Would you like blueberry pancakes this morning?"
"With lots and lots of syrup?" Sleipnir asked, looking up at Loki with those huge grey eyes of his, a note of pleading in them. Loki couldn't help but laugh as he picked Sleipnir up in his arms and climbed out of bed.
"Maybe not lots and lots of syrup," Loki told him, "but we can still have some syrup.. once we wash up."
Sleipnir started to protest, as he usually did, but didn't fight Loki as he took him to the bathroom and began to prepare the bath for him. As Sleipnir started to undress himself, because he was a big boy and didn't need help, Loki ran the bath water and added a bit of the bubble bath before scooping Sleipnir up and setting him down in the bath. Once Loki was finished washing Sleipnir he lifted him out of bath, using his magic to quickly dry him and carried him back to his room where Sleipnir once again insisted in dressing himself. He did, however, allow Loki to pick out his clothes.
Once Sleipnir was dressed and cleaned for the day Loki sent him to go play while Loki washed up. Sleipnir was still playing and entertaining himself when Loki started making the pancakes for Sleipnir. He also made some sausages for himself and cut up some strawberries and bananas for him and Sleipnir to share. After they finished their breakfast Sleipnir wanted to go to the park.
"After we stop by the office, love. Daddy has to check on something and then you and I have the entire day to ourselves."
"Can we get ice cream?"
Loki gave his son an amused look before saying, "We shall see, now, come along, love." Locking the door behind him, Loki reached for Sleipnir's hand and walked over towards the car he had just called for them and climbed in.
The office that Loki and Sleipnir were headed towards was more of an empire then a simple office and something Loki had worked and build on in all the years that he and Sleipnir had been living here on Midgard. Loki hadn't originally planned on starting any kind of business as he had no need for money as he had brought along a good amount of gold with him when he fled from Asgard. But Loki had needed a way to blend among the mortals, as much as he didn't want to. For a few years he had managed to keep himself and Sleipnir away from the mortals and their countless squabbles and troubles. He remembered those years, watching from afar as the mortals fought among themselves, waging wars, conquering lands, enslaving one another, fighting and struggling through their pandemics.
It had all seemed petty to Loki at the beginning, and at times it still did. But he also could not ignore or disregard their resilience, their desire to learn and grow, and their inability to stay beaten.
Loki was still hesitant to join them but he eventually did, carving out a life for him and Sleipnir that the mortals would not question. Moving when they continued to visibly age and Loki and Sleipnir did not. Loki had traveled throughout Midgard, starting and restarting their lives and letting the mortals come up with what his story was. It wasn't until one of those first big wars that Loki started investing some of his gold into businesses of his own, once simply being from a powerful family name wasn't enough to live the grand life Loki was accustomed to. He had had a few mortal servants and workers throughout his time here that had known who Loki truly was and even had a handful that he trusted to care for Sleipnir when Loki needed them to.
Now, though, Loki had no one employed to help him with Sleipnir or to run his house. Sleipnir had seemed confused at first, he was old enough to remember a few of his favorite nannies and chef's. Those who had played with him and treated him with fondness. But with Loki only being a short year away from reaching maturity Loki didn't want to bring in people to work in their home when they weren't needed. His magic was more then enough and with only him and his son at home he didn't need to hide it.
Even the business empire Loki had begun and grew throughout the years didn't need him as he had stepped back from it years ago. As far as those who had high positions in his business and worked directly under him knew Loki was simply a son that had inherited a family business from his father without any intention to run it. Loki still found the fact that he kept technically inheriting his own business from himself amusing. Later this year, however, Loki would be bestowing the entire business to one of the mortals as he would have no need for it. He'd be leaving for Asgard at the end of the year.
Loki still didn't know what he thought of that, or if he was ready to return.
He missed Thor and his mother, knew that they missed him, and that Thor especially would be missing Sleipnir as well. He also knew that he wanted Sleipnir to know his family, even if they weren't related by blood Loki still considered them his family. But he didn't know what sort of welcome he and Sleipnir will be getting from Odin. Or whether he could really keep Sleipnir safe from Odin.
But Asgard was home and he wanted Sleipnir to know it.