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It had taken Mobius a lot of time to persuade Loki to spend Yule with his family.
“Come on, Loki, Frida deserves to see her uncle and grandparents.” He had pleaded with Loki several times. Loki on the other hand had been adamant that he wouldn’t be welcomed back, that no one wanted to see him.
Mobius knew Loki’s life. He knew it had been hard for him, that he felt betrayed by his parents, well, the ones who had raised him. He also felt that he had burned every bridge he had left with them, but Mobius’ arguments won out in the end.
“You know how much you have changed, that’s the first thing. They also know you were going through a difficult time. You had only just realised they had lied to you all those years. Plus, you from the sacred timeline eventually makes amends. You know that.”
He did know that, but it didn’t make it any easier. It wasn’t him that made amends, he was just the one lucky enough to be pulled out of the timeline and allowed time to grow and change. All of his other variants had been pruned. Loki shuddered at the thought.
So, eventually, Mobius did convince Loki that it would be okay, that he would be at his side the whole way, and that his family would love to meet Frida. That last part Loki knew to be true. They would love to see his sweet little angel.
Still, agreeing to go and then finding himself within the palace that he had once called home was something else. Frida lay bundled in his arms as he walked beside the love of his life into the throne room. All around hung holly and ivy on green and red ribbons. A Yule tree stood in all its glory in the centre of the room, partially blocking their view of the thrones. Small candles lit up the tree and below lay the most absurd amount of presents Loki had ever seen. He couldn’t help the gasp that let loose from his lips.
“Loki,” called a familiar baritone voice, rumbling like thunder. Mobius gripped their joined hands harder before he dragged them to the side of the tree.
That’s when Loki’s breath really left him. When he saw his brother, mother and father, even if they weren’t his real family, and their smiles just for him and his own family. It made tears prick in the corner of his eyes.
There stood his father, dressed in a blue cloak, gold-coloured rope tie around his waist and holly adorning his hood. To his left stood Frigga, who also wore blue and gold in her robes. Her golden hair flowed down her shoulders as usual.
Finally, to Odin’s right stood the bold Thor. He was dressed in his usual red attire. Loki scoffed, obviously Thor didn’t bother with tradition. He was about to say something when he remembered that neither he, nor Mobius, nor Frida were dressed in blue. A flick of his wrists changed that. Mobius just quirked his eyebrows at him but didn’t ask any questions.
“Welcome, my son,” beamed Odin. He beckoned for them to come closer, his arms outstretched to hug his long-lost son. Loki was quickly enveloped in his father’s arms, with Frida stuck in between them. Odin squeaked as he gazed upon his grandchild.
“Her name is Frida,” Loki announced as he lifted her up for Odin to hold. “She is your grandchild, and I am her mother. You know, what with my Jotunn heritage and all.” He tried to laugh it off, but Odin just nodded with a serious look on his face as he held the little bundle in his arms.
“You are and always will be a miracle. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you of your heritage when you were younger.” Odin’s face was a mask of regret and sorrow. “What I thought was right turned out to be wrong. I am so sorry.”
A soft smile played on Loki’s lips. “You know, I don’t think any of that matters today. Let’s focus on celebrating. Do you want to show of Frida to everyone else?”
Odin’s face lit up as he took his small grandchild towards Frigga and Thor. As they cooed over her, Mobius took this moment to ask Loki why the hell Odin was wearing blue.
Loki chuckled. “Well, you know the origins of Santa on Midgard are varied and many. Odin’s blue outfit is just one of them we inherited back from them. It’s kinda an in-joke.”
As Mobius stood there trying to figure out why Odin was in blue rather than red, Thor appeared.
“Brother, it’s great to see you.” Thor bellowed as he pulled Loki in for a rib-breaking hug. Loki groaned, but didn’t complain. It had been a long time since he had received a death-grip hug from Thor.
As he pulled back, Thor looked to Mobius. “Are you going to introduce us?” His tone was light even if he looked serious.
“Yes, brother.” Loki smiled as he gazed at his partner, his lover. “This is Mobius, he is Frida’s father.”
If Loki had expected Thor to look confused at that statement, he didn’t show it. He simply held out his hand to shake Mobius’ and grinned widely. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you too.” Mobius was also grinning, clearly pleased that everything seemed to be going well in this little family get-together.
“So,” Thor leaned closer to Loki conspiratorially. “I didn’t think you would settle down, brother. How did you two meet one another?” His brother was grinning widely and wiggling his eyebrows.
Loki coughed, unclear how to say that he was kidnapped from the sacred timeline, the very one they had returned to just now to show off his little family. His famous silver tongue now failing him as he sought his mind for a reasonable answer, one that would satisfy his big brother.
It was Mobius who provided the answer. “We met while working together at the Time Variance Authority. It’s kinda out of time itself. We monitor the timeline to ensure everything all runs smoothly.”
At this, Thor’s eyebrows rose higher and stayed there. “Is this a joke?”
Loki and Mobius just laughed together. “It’s best if we discuss this later, brother. For now, let’s get on with celebrating.”
It was then that Frigga and Odin called on the brothers to open their presents under the tree. The three of them each receiving a hot glass of mulled mead to keep them going while Odin acted as Father Yule to give out the gifts.
There were so many for little Frida. Since becoming a mother, Loki had realised just how many things small people need and it seems that the same for gifts too. From clothes to special charms for happiness and protection, Frida would want for nothing. Loki had no idea where he and Mobius were going to keep all of these new gifts.
Frigga had also made some special healing salve for chapped nipples and Loki couldn’t have been more grateful. Tears were still in his eyes when Odin handed Frigga his gift. It was all the memories of Frida that he wanted to share with his family. Loki knitting for Frida, Frida in Loki’s arms after he had given birth, Frida growing, playing with toys. Every moment that he would have wanted to share with his family, it was all there for all three of them to experience.
“I wanted you to be there when Frida was born, but I... couldn’t.” Loki swallowed, his throat feeling tight as he tried to explain. Having Frida had healed a lot of his feelings about his family. Yes, there were still issues he had with them, but he knew the value of celebrating small moments now.
“Oh, Loki. This is a wonderful gift. Thank you.” His mother wrapped her arms around him, pulling him tight. It was everything he needed and more. He had longed to feel needed by his family, wanted. A firmer set of hands wrapped around them; Odin and Thor. They all stood hugging for a long moment until Frida let out a small cry.
All eyes turned to look at Frida in Mobius’ arms, her eyes searching the room for what she wanted.
“Um, it’s feeding time. Just let me get her settled.” Loki walked over to take his little bundle of joy in his arms before she became cranky.
“Sit on my throne,” Odin gestured, smiling. Now this was a turn up for the books, something that Loki had never expected. He smiled his thanks as he walked away.
As he settled down, opening his robes to let Frida suckle, his mother approached. In her hands, she clutched a small teddy with a green ribbon.
“This is another small gift for Frida. She probably has a teddy already, but I thought she might like this.” Loki’s heart melted, his face doing complicated things as he tried to smile while tears ran down his cheeks.
“Thank you.” Loki managed to spit out as he frantically rubbed at his face with one hand to wipe away his tears.
Frigga wrapped her arms around him again, perched on an arm of the throne. “Oh, Loki. It’s ok. I didn’t mean to upset you.” Her arms were warm and comforting, just what he needed.
“I’m not upset, just emotional.” Loki sniffed. “It’s been a long time coming, seeing you all and showing you Frida. I’m just a bit overwhelmed.”
His mother just hugged him tighter. “You always were the more emotional one. Your heart more open and vulnerable than your brother.” At that Loki hummed, steadying his frayed nerves. He saw Mobius looking at him, clearly worried, and mouthed back ‘I’m okay’. He was okay, it was just a bit much all of this.
Meanwhile, Frida just kept suckling. It was grounding in a way. Her continual needs were a ticking clock that kept his life going, a reminder that time did exist in a place outside of time. It was comforting.
It also made him feel closer to Frigga, even though she had never birthed him and he never suckled from her breast as a babe. It still brought back happy memories from his childhood, before he grew up and everything fell apart. But now he had this: Mobius and Frida, and a rekindling relationship with his adopted family.
He gazed up at Frigga, a fond and soft smile played on his lips. “I’m glad I came back here for Yule. I’m glad we got to spend Frida’s first Yule together.” And he really was, he realised. He really was happy.