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Chapter Text

Loki was there and then he wasn’t. Sylvie had pulled him into a kiss and then threw him with a force Loki was fairly sure only The Hulk or Thor could have mustered… but then again, maybe he just hadn’t seen it coming. 

He didn’t even consider his surroundings. Not much at least. He saw walls. He knew he was in the heart of civilization. He was in the back of a city alley, that’s all. For all he knew he could be anywhere in the multiverse… and at this point, did he even care? Everything he’d ever loved or cared for, gone. Broken. Just like that. All the “glorious purpose”, and the only two people he could really truly, with full confidence, say he’d ever really loved. Gone. And he’d probably never see them again. 

But that “probably” itched. 

After a moment of contemplation, Loki picked himself up to investigate where he was. Maybe there was a chance he’d be able to find Sylvie and Mobius. 

He briskly walked into the sunlight and found himself in a place he knew better than he had expected. 

Sylvie had sent him to Asgard. 

Loki sighed. Now he’d have to meet another one of himself. That’s exactly what he needed right now, he sarcastically thought to himself. 

He tried to dry his eyes before he set out onto the streets. 

People stared, unsurprisingly. 

The prince was out of the palace, disheveled, in the middle of the day, in strange clothes and covered in dirt and scrapes. 

The poor Loki of this universe was going to hear about this… and probably get locked in his room for a couple of days about it, too. 

The townsfolk whispered to one another as Loki looked for Heimdall. Certainly if Asgard was safe here, Heimdall probably would be as well. He’d understand, perhaps better than anyone. 

He tried to walk normally at first, keeping an air of nonchalance. He was their prince, after all, what were they going to do?

“That’s not the prince, you’re mad,” he heard one townsperson say. 

“No, no, I’m sure, look at those eyes.” 

Two of them stopped, looking at him and talking about it very openly. 

“The prince is a little, does that look like a little to you?”

They weren’t intimidated by his presence at all. 

“Excuse me,” Loki said, “can you take me to Heimdall, please? Is he around today?”

The two citizens looked at each other. 

“Maybe he’s unwell,” the first citizen said.

“He looks unwell by any standards.” 

“A month of being missing from civilization would do that to anyone…”

They didn’t speak to him, but around him as if he didn’t understand, bickering about if he was really himself. 

“I can assure you, I really am the prince, it’s just been a hard few days-- month. Please can you just take me to Heimdall?” Loki tried. 

“Well, if he’s being truthful--”

“The prince can hardly speak!” 

“Yes, but maybe we should just take him to the palace, anyway…”

“Take me to the palace?!” Loki interjected. “That’s not necessary--”

“If he’s not the prince they’ll toss him in the dungeons for impersonation, but if he is they’ll find him a healer… and maybe get us a little reward…”

“How about you take me to the palace after we go see Heimdall. You know, the guy who works the bifrost? I’ll go there, and when I come back, we’ll go to the palace.” Loki proposed. 

The villagers tried to grab him by the wrist! 

Loki twisted away and ran. It made sense why this universe’s Loki had decided to leave if this is how the populace of Asgard behaved in the company of their prince. 

“Guards!” he heard them call. 

Turning back, Loki noticed that the villagers were pointing at him and two big women in armor began to chase after him. 

Loki ran as fast as he could with whatever energy he had left, even turning himself into a dog to avoid more curious glances and in the hopes of outrunning the soldiers. He limped a little as he ran down the side streets, but tried not to let it slow him down too much. 

He scampered up staircases and pulled himself up onto rooftops as the guards followed him. 

Eventually he had to stop, the houses got too far apart even for him to jump and he didn’t have the energy to shapeshift to a bird or more useful form, only to shift back to himself. 

A roof tile slipped from under his feet as he staggered backwards. 

A guard cornered him. 

Loki looked down at the ground two floors below him, only to find the other guard there as well. 

“You’re okay, Loki… Shh, we’re just going to take you back to your mommy and daddy,” the guard on the roof reassured him. “Can you come with us? We’re not going to hurt you, but we have to go back now, okay?”

Loki raised his eyebrows. “How dare you talk to me like that! I’m your prince!” he roared in a last-ditch effort, knowing he had lost. “You should kneel to me!” 

“Okay, big guy, it’s time to go,” she said, still trying to talk down to him like he were a child. 

“I’m not going anywhere!” he yelled, stomping his foot. 

The guard peered over the edge of the roof to her partner and gave her a thumbs up. 

“Stop that!” Loki told her. “I’m not going with you!” 

“C’mere, we need to take you. Don’t you want to see your mommy? Don’t you miss her?”

“She is NOT my mother!” he growled and panickedly threw a roof tile, which only clinked against her armor. 

She picked him up and slung him over her shoulder, even though he was taller than her. 

“Put me down! This is NOT how you treat your prince!” He really tried to fight, kicking and punching and twisting against the armor as she carried him down through the town streets. 

“Ah… that’s definitely the prince,” one of the first townspeople said. 

“Queen Frigga will recognize that fussy cry,” the other responded. 

“Fussy?! I am not fussy! You! Put me down! I am not a child!” Loki screamed. 

A big metal glove pet his back. “You’re okay. We know you’re lost and scared, but we’re just taking you back to your parents,” the other guard, following behind, told him. She was younger and gentler.

“Do none of you have ears?! I am not a child! I’m a full-grown man!”

“It’s okay. They’ll bring you to the healers, you’ll be back to normal just in time for your brother’s coronation. Won’t that be fun?” she cooed softly. 

“No!” Loki screamed. “That ISN’T fun! Let me go!” he whined, starting to cry again. He thought he might hurl; the stress, the pain, being held like this; upside-down, backwards, and slightly shaken with every clank of the armor. This was the worst possible situation he could possibly be in, in the worst possible time. 

“Stop it. You’re just working him up more,” the guard holding him said. 

The younger guard sped up to keep pace with the larger one. She began talking to her directly, instead of Loki. 

“It’s impressive that he’s been able to keep his pants clean this long. Is he even wearing a diaper?” she asked. 

The older guard patted Loki’s bottom. “No, not that I can feel,” she said. 

“Wow… I never remember hearing anything about them starting potty training with him.”

“The royals aren’t entitled to tell us everything about the baby,” the older guard reasoned. “That’s all very personal.” 

“Yes, but I didn’t know his headspace range had increased. That seems like big news. Most people don’t potty train babies who don’t even speak.”

“I am not a baby!” Loki reiterated in a half-awake state, his body going a little limp with exhaustion. 

Chapter Text

Loki was awoken by the clatter of the grand doors of the great hall opening. 

“Your majesty, we’ve found the prince,” the guard holding him said. “But he’s unwell and needs a healer. I fear something terrible has happened to him in the time he’s been missing,” she explained. 

That’s when Loki heard his father’s voice. “Come forward, please.” 

Loki felt her step forward and big arms pull him away from her hot, reflective, metal armor was beginning to burn Loki’s skin. 

He was stuck, frozen, and unable to speak as he was set into another pair of arms. Thor turned him over so he could see Odin and Frigga, cradling him. 

Frigga however took up most of that view rather quickly. “Oh, you poor thing. We were so worried about you!” she cooed. 

A lump formed in Loki’s throat as she peppered his dirty and tear-soaked face with kisses. 

“Nurse!?”  she called to a servant sat at the edge of the mostly empty throne room. Her voice echoed. “Prepare Loki a bath and his room for him. I’ll be in in a minute.” 

“Loki, where have you been?” Thor whispered, playing with his tie. “You’re dressed like a little businessman!” he teased. 

Loki felt less emotional about this, even when he considered what his older self had told him. Missing Thor when he was away was easy… appreciating Thor while he was here was a little more difficult. 

“Are you still grumpy with me?” Thor asked him, sadly. 

Loki wasn’t exactly sure how he should respond, but he didn’t have to. 

“Just set him in the cradle, Thor. He’s had a rough month,” Frigga said, kissing him on the temple. 

“In his dirty clothes?” 

“I’ll have the servants wash the bedding, it’ll be alright.” 

“He’s not even diapered,” Thor worried.

Loki kept his mouth shut for now, even though his brain screamed at him to yell and escape. But there were still guests in the hall. He couldn’t speak, lest he was beaten. That would only add insult to injury at this point. Maybe he could wait it out. 

“They can wash the bedding,” Frigga repeated. “Just give him a bit of space.”

Apparently there were exceptions in this universe. 

Loki felt himself set into a wooden box next to Thor’s throne. It was large enough for him to lay in, but still cramped. He made an involuntary noise as his aching body sunk into the soft mattress on the surface. 

Frigga pet his hair before trying to put something in his mouth. 

Loki reopened his eyes to look at her. 

“Don’t you want your pacifier?” she asked. 

Loki dodged it. 

“Alright, we’ll try it later.” She stood up and presumably walked back to her seat. 

Loki soon heard the palace doors close again, clanking into place. A deal had been struck with the guards to give them and the two townsfolk a hefty sum of money as a reward for the little prince’s return. 

“What is going on here?” Loki asked as he sat up.  

Thor’s eyes went wide. “Father, Loki is talking!” 

“Of course I’m talking!” Loki awkwardly stepped out of the cradle, wary of its high walls and the fact that it rocked as his weight shifted.

“I’m walking, too. May as well give me a medal for the fact I’m not entirely incontinent, either. Now tell me what the hell is going on and where I am because this is NOT the Asgard I know.” 

He was really trying hard not to cry, but this exterior was just not keeping up. He was shaking. 

“I am not going to let you all pretend I’m an incoherent, incompetent toddler who you can just shove out of the way in order to give Thor the throne! I have seen how this story-- not this one, but one like it-- has played out before and I will not be pushed aside again AND humiliated on top of it! I don’t even want the throne, but I want respect! Dignity! I am a grown adult just like all of you!” 

“That is quite a speech,” Odin said. 

Loki paused. He expected some sort of outburst or retaliation from his father. To be sent away without dinner for a few days or locked in some room somewhere.

The old king looked to Frigga and Thor, “We’ll take him to the healers, soon. Ask them to be ready by the morning for him.” 

“I don’t want to go to the healers or be brainwashed in the strange ways all of you seem to be!” 

“Never fond of the healers, were you, Loki?” Frigga asked, kindly. 

Loki struggled for more words. 

“Thor, help your brother find his rooms, won’t you? We’ll talk once he’s washed and has had time to rest.”

Thor began to escort his brother away, pulling on him in a strong grasp that trembled a bit, when Odin leaned in to whisper to his eldest. 

“Don’t be too nervous. He’s hungry and has had a rough few days probably with unfamiliar people, having to repress… he’ll be back to normal little Loki again soon, I’m sure,” he reassured him, patting Thor’s shoulder.

“Thank you, father,” Thor smiled. 

“So you’re locking me in here, I presume,” Loki said as Thor leaned over the bath. 

Thor paused. “No? Mother’s going to be in to give you your bath before your nap. I’m just here to watch you while she gets ready. Would you like to play with your toys while we wait?” 

“No,” Loki answered as he looked over the ledge of the oversized baby crib, its big canopy, and the adjacent toys and changing table. 

“Father said you were… repressing your littleness so you’re acting like an adult.”

“Sure, if that makes you feel better,” Loki said, curiously touching a large wooden rocking horse as he paced. 

He thumbed the curtains and looked through bins of toys, which included pretty much anything a child could ever ask for, and then some. He also peeked in the closet, only to find a number of overalls and rompers, even floor-touching footie pajamas. This room was his, it was in the same part of the palace, with the same peach-colored walls and big pillars, just decorated and prepared for an oversized infant. 

“Always love to stare at that closet, don’t you?” Thor asked, picking Loki up before he could start taking things out for a closer look. 

“Hey! Put me down!” 

“Bring him here,” Frigga said. 

Loki hadn’t even seen her at first. She was wearing a smock-like apron like a servant might and immediately started taking his tie off as well as his button-up shirt. 

Loki tried not to look at her, he did not want to think about any of this. 

“Thor, stop holding him like that, please.”

“He’s going to have a fit if I don’t!” 

“ Oh please, I won’t have a fit,” Loki hissed. 

“So many tricky pieces of clothing,” Frigga commented as she untied Loki’s shoes. “I bet you’ll be happy to be back in something that’s a little easier for mummy to work with.” 

Thor almost lifted him into the tub. 

“I’ll do it myself, thanks,” Loki grumbled, getting in on his own. 

“My, my,” Frigga smiled as she began to scrub at Loki’s wounds with a damp cloth. “We may need to work on those manners.” 

The warm water stung on Loki’s many scrapes and cuts, as well as the toothy nap of the washcloth that Frigga used, even on the parts of him that simply had dirt and grime. 

“Thor, distract him for me?” she requested. 

“What? Distract me from what?” 

“Loki, look at the ducky, do you want it?” Thor asked.

Loki sighed and took it. “Fine.” There were visible bite marks on the toy. “What do I do with it?” he asked tiredly. 

“Thor, can you find him the jingle one?” 

Thor found a colorful baby rattle that he held up to Loki. 

As much as Loki hated to admit it, the noise did distract him, just enough for Frigga to do what she needed to, lifting Loki’s legs to reach his undersides, which Loki gritted his teeth through. 

It began to feel nice as Loki relaxed into the warm water and mother and Thor washed his hair, gently massaging his scalp with sweet smelling baby shampoo. 

“I think this is the best behaved Loki’s been for a bath… maybe ever,” Frigga commented. 

Loki was laying back, trying to imagine that he was just a year or two back, having his hair washed by two servants, with normal adult shampoo in his normal room at home on his normal Asgard. 

“He hasn’t even splashed you yet,” Thor observed. “Do you really think he’ll recover once we take him to the healers?” 

“I’m sure we’ll have our little Loki back soon. Just give it a while.” 

“I resent that,” Loki said. 

“I know you do right now,” Frigga said, “but we’ve been over this with you before, and we all know it’s best to keep you small.” She then turned to Thor, “It might take a few days-- maybe weeks-- but I’m sure he’ll come back around. It’s scary being out there on your own… wherever he was, I can’t imagine it’s been an easy month for him.” She reached into the tub and pulled out the drain. 

“He even kept the water clean,” Thor said. He said it like it was a concern. 

“I wouldn’t bathe in my own wastewater! That’s disgusting!” Loki said, horrified. 

His family ignored him. 

Thor took him out of the tub where Frigga wrapped him in a towel and began drying him off, rubbing down his hair, chest and limbs, working from the top down. 

“Wait!” Thor said, “I know what’ll cheer my little brother back up.”

“Oh please,” Loki rolled his eyes. “Is it you shutting up and leaving me alone?” 

“Loki, don’t talk like that,” Frigga gently reminded him. That sounded a little more like the mother he remembered albeit with an immense amount of more patience. “And Thor, remember he’s fussy, please. He’s not in the mood to play right now. Let’s let him have a nap before dinner.” 

“Let me just try,” he said. Thor took a corner of the towel, “Loki, Loki,” he said in a high, baby-talking tone. 

Loki finally looked over at him, just so he’d stop. 

Thor covered his face with the towel, “Where did Thor go? Can you find me?” 

Loki didn’t really pay attention, and worked on making it as easy as possible for his mother to dry his midsection and legs. 

“Peek-a-boo!” Thor grinned. 

Loki wasn’t looking. 

“Isn’t your brother, funny?” Frigga asked him. 

“Hilarious,” Loki answered coldly. 

Frigga frowned, not purposely it seemed, but she wore just a sad, reserved, expression. “Thor, can you move Loki to his changing pad for me?” she asked. 

Loki snatched the towel and flitted Thor’s hand away. “I have it… I have it,” he grumbled. 

He hopped up onto the changing pad and laid down. “C’mon, let’s just get this over with. Do what you will.” 

It didn’t feel like there was much fighting he could, or should be doing, at this point. For what it was worth, this was a little better than the treatment he received at the TVA. He could tolerate it for a few more minutes and work out some sort of escape plan during the “nap” they talked about. 

Admittedly though, passive compliance was easier said than done when one finds themselves being diapered on a changing table by their own mother at a thousand years old. Loki shut his eyes, even when Thor requested his attention. It felt like maybe this would all just go away if he pretended it wasn’t happening. 

It wasn’t forever though, soon he was sitting up and they were putting clothes on him, a set of green footed pajamas, that may have been a bit warm for the temperate spring weather. “Doesn’t that feel better?” Frigga asked. 

It did, but Loki wasn’t going to say that. 

He was set down into the baby crib that stood in the center of the room, with a great canopy over it, and was handed both a toy wolf and a bottle of warm milk. 

Loki looked at the bottle and propped himself up so he could twist the cap off and drink it, sipping from the sides as if it were any other cup. 

“Keep the lid on,” Frigga chided him, “we don’t want any spills.” 

“I won’t spill,” Loki replied. 

“You will keep the lid on,” she repeated, in a firmer tone this time as she screwed the cap back on. 

Loki lowered his eyebrows and took the bottle back, trying to suckle out of the cap like he was supposed to.

He tried to unscrew it again while she wasn’t looking only to find a charm on it, keeping it stuck. 

The milk tasted good though, sweet and rich, almost like it had been thickened, like warm, melted, ice cream dusted and mixed with spices. 

“I know you missed that,” Frigga laughed, leaning in to pet Loki’s hair as his eyelids grew heavy. It was the first sense of food he had had in… a while; at least a day, if not two. 

“Look at how fast he’s drinking that!” Thor laughed, slightly in awe. “Let’s have him try with an ale!-- He might even be able to beat me!” Thor laughed.

The statement did not amuse Frigga or Loki. 

Frigga wrenched the empty bottle from Loki’s hands and tried to tuck him in. “Rest yourself, child, and try to feel better for us,” she said softly, covering Loki in an emerald green quilt. “I’ll be back before dinner,” she reassured him before turning out the lights. 

Chapter Text

Loki laid alone in the darkened room. Fading afternoon ribbons of sunlight still streamed in behind the curtains, but it was mostly blocked. He knew he should have been formulating a plan, but he told himself he’d be getting to that soon. Instead, he was looking over at a corner and thinking about how Sylvie should walk in any minute now and the kind of lecture he was going to give her. 

“Where the hell did you send me?!” he would ask. 

And Sylvie would have provided some sort of answer, he hoped. 

And then she’d get him out of here and back to… somewhere else, hopefully, maybe not the TVA-- but somewhere! 

Or maybe it would be Mobius, but that thought made him shutter. The idea of Mobius seeing him here, seeing him like this. Sylvie would surely understand the thought process, right? But Mobius? He wasn’t so sure if Mobius would ever look him in the eyes again. That idea haunted him a little. 

I have to get out of here.

Loki stood up and leaned on the crib’s railing as he looked for an escape. Okay, there were the windows. He knew how to get out of those windows, assuming they were the same from Asgard to Asgard. He could work with that, but then what about after he got out? Just change his appearance with a little magic and keep running? 

What if Mobius and Sylvie arrived? Would they know where to find him? Well, surely if they weren’t taken directly to him, they’d probably go to the palace first… 

Loki thought about it more. And what if they didn’t come? What if they left him here forever? Then what? Where? Between Heimdall and father’s ravens surely they’d figure him out even if they hadn’t seemed to figure out where the previous little Loki had gone. 

His mind wandered to usurping the throne just to get rid of the surveillance, he could do a pretty good Odin impression, surely it wouldn’t be too noticeable if he was gone, right? Well mother might think it odd--

“Loki, my boy, you’re not in the mood to sleep?” 

Loki snapped out of his thoughts as he saw his father enter the room. “Em… father, no, I was just… um… thinking.”

“Leave the thinking to us old spirits,” Odin brought down the side of the crib. “I know when my child needs a rest.” 

Loki paused and slowly sat down, watching his father with a healthy dose of curiosity.

“Why don’t I tell you the story about the fair princess Frigga, again?”

Loki paused as Odin sat down on the mattress’ ledge. It was like the old man was waiting for something. 

Hesitantly, Loki tried laying down and making himself comfortable underneath the blankets. 

Odin looked a bit hurt by this, as if he had expected Loki to crawl into his arms. The thought almost made Loki's stomach churn, both parts of it. Such a genuinely hurt expression without its usual blaze of angry fire was so foreign, it seemed wrong, like it needed to be purged from Loki’s system. But the idea of appeasing him, laying like a docile little dog in his lap was equally as revolting. 

Loki stayed put, sitting up at the head of the crib pretending he actually had any interest at all in going to bed. 

“Perhaps a different story. I remember when this day came for Thor and he no longer wanted to be held…”

“I’m not Thor,” Loki said flatly. Okay, maybe this really was Odin. “...Tell me about mother, the princess?” he asked. 

Odin chuckled. “I know you’re not, little one. You are very, very special on your own.” Then, he began the story, “Far away, there was a princess named Frigga, who lived in her palace with her pet cats…”

Loki listened intently, as much as he didn’t want to. Odin’s voice was warm when it wasn’t yelling at him, and the story itself was one Loki remembered from his youth. It was one he hadn’t heard in at least two hundred years. 

Before Loki knew it, his entire body felt as if it were made of lead, and his eyes simply would not open. Not because of any charm or magical spell, but simply because he was so tired and this universe-- as much as it was odd and horrible and unbecoming of a full-grown prince-- was warm and piled with blankets and possibly the softest bed Loki had ever laid on. 

Chapter Text

Loki didn’t know how long he had slept, but apparently it had been a while as the sun had already risen when he was woken up. When he had gone to sleep, it hadn’t even been close to setting.

He rolled over, wrapping himself up in his blanket even though he really had to use the bathroom. 

“Good morning, Loki,” Frigga hummed as she set down the bars of the crib. “Did you sleep well?” 

“Like a brick,” he answered, a bit dreamily. 

She smiled and unfurled his blankets before using a little bit of magic to pick him up. 

The weightless feeling was not one that Loki was used to. “Mother, you’ll have to excuse me, I, um, need to use the restroom before we start the day.”

Frigga’s face fell a bit and she seemed to consider this as if Loki were asking her permission and not telling her. “...Okay,” she said softly, before setting Loki down. 

As he washed his hands, Loki did not dare look at himself in the mirror. It seemed like such a humiliation would be too much. At least Frigga would let him do something on his own. Maybe if he was lucky he might even be able to feed himself, too. 

“Loki? Are you all done? Did you wash your hands?” she asked through the door. 

“Yes, I did.” 

He debated changing his clothes while he was in there, but was unfortunately reminded that despite the fact that he was on Asgard, he no longer was in possession of his regular princely ensemble, and Frigga and Odin would definitely not be fooled by a cheap illusion-- although Thor might be--, so he hesitantly put the pajamas back on and walked back into the nursery, where Frigga put him in new clothes for the day. These weren’t so bad, but they were comparatively infantile and peasentish to his normal clothes, with baggy cotton overalls and a green tunic shirt. He didn’t feel much like a prince in them. 

“Mother?”

“Hm?”

“What will the healers do to me?” 

She smiled slightly. “They’re just going to look at you and heal your scrapes, little one, hide all those bruises, and make them feel all better.”

“Yes but… are they going to do anything to make me…”-- Loki struggled for the right words-- “like this?” he motioned broadly out to the rest of the room. 

“They’re not going to make you,” she said. “But they are going to suggest what we can do to help you. It’s not a procedure nor a spell. They’ll probably just tell us to give our little baby some extra kisses and tickles!” She kissed him on the cheek. 

As much as Loki hated how she patronized him, he had missed her and all the extra attention she gave him. Although, he would have much rather been having tea with her or browsing the library with her instead. This wasn’t the most ideal manner of receiving her affection. 

Frigga took his hand and walked with him to the dining hall. 

Odin leaned back in his chair to smile at them. “There’s my boy!” he opened his arms up like he expected Loki to run in for a hug and was hurt when Loki walked right past him to sit down in a chair and reach for a breakfast pastry on the center of the table. 

“Still fussy. Let him eat first,” Frigga whispered to her husband.

She then took Loki off of the chair and set him into a neighboring one with a little more of that jarring magic. She locked in a tray in front of him. 

Loki scowled at her and took another bite as she set a bowl of green mush on the tray. He finished the sweet and then leaned back in the chair with a huff impatiently. “May I have another?” he tried. 

“I’d like you to eat what’s on the tray and then you can have whatever is on the table.”

Loki hummed. He wanted meat and eggs not whatever this was-- probably pear and spinach judging by the colors. He’d wait them out. 

“Loki, eat,” she said. 

Loki stirred it up. “It’s drugged, isn’t it?” he asked. “You put something in it.” 

“We did not. It’s just nutrients, child.” 

“I know this trick.”

“For Valhalla’s sake, there is no trick!” she told him, losing a little patience. 

“Mother, would you like me to feed him?” Thor asked. 

“No,” she said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s not stress him any more.”

“He’ll eat if I do the chariot!” he offered. 

Loki finally got the bowl to the edge of the tray, dumping it onto the table and shattering the ceramic. 

“Fine, Loki, you win. Feed yourself like a big boy,” she sighed, making him a plate of eggs hard boiled and sunny side up, and toast, and bacon, and sausage, and ham and pancakes. A little of each. 

She sounded so tired, Loki felt a little bad but obviously there was something more sinister happening here. This was a little too perfect-- aside from all the baby stuff-- it couldn’t be real. This was his family to some extent, after all. 

“Mother?” 

“Yes, Loki?” 

“...Can I have out?” 

“I can take him,” Thor suggested. 

“Thank you, Thor. Mommy needs a break.”

Loki could see Odin rubbing her back, reassuringly from his chair. 

Thor frowned at Loki while carrying him away. “I know they said you were ill, brother, but I can’t believe how you spoke back there.” 

Loki didn’t respond. Trying to instead focus on the strange sensation of closeness that came with Thor carrying him. Now, he had time to process it. Boiling hot tears came to his eyes. 

“You’re alright, brother. Whatever happened in the past, you’re safe now.” 

Loki couldn’t help but shake his head and begin to wiggle, getting out of Thor’s arms the second they were back in Loki’s room. “I’m not though! I don’t want to be here!” he sobbed. “I want my friends! And I-- I don’t want to be humiliated again just in innovative new ways to make you look like the stronger big brother! So you look so powerful for the throne! Just so they trust you and not me!” he yelled, stomping his foot. 

“ They ?” Thor asked.

“The people! The citizens! Did you or your family ever think maybe you could just rule without putting me down?! Without taking away all my dignity?!” 

“Loki, I never want to put you down! You’re beloved! Asgard loves you! I understand that you’re still mad about what I said.”

Loki paused.

“I know it’s my fault you left. I never wanted that to happen… I was just… jealous?”

“ Jealous? ” Loki repeated. “Of this?”

“Jealous of being loved unconditionally, no big responsibilities, no one’s ever mad when you mess up… Loki, do you understand that you could fall asleep during a speech and never face any consequence? You can mess your pants in public and no one would bat an eye. You can throw a temper tantrum whenever and it’s just ‘the little prince being fussy’. I can’t do that.”

“Why can’t we swap then?”

“You’re a little. I’m not.” Thor laughed, as if it were so obvious. “Now, which rattle would you like to take?”

“Why am I a little?”

“I don’t know, brother. Ask mother or the healer. Which rattle?”

“The wooden one,” Loki mumbled. “I just don’t think I belong here.”

“You do, brother. You’re practically the cornerstone of the palace. You are the glue of this family. How about a toy?”

“That’s a little negative, don’t you think? I think father and mother look happier than I’ve ever seen them.”

“Because you came home. When you weren’t here it was very different… Even if you don’t see it.” 

“...Can we take the wolf?” 

“Absolutely.” 

When the time of Loki’s appointment came, Frigga entered the room and Thor handed her the bag. 

“You’re not coming?” Loki asked. 

“I’m ruling a kingdom with father, brother. But I wish I could.”

A small pit of despair opened up in Loki’s stomach. He tried to ignore the feeling. 

“Mother?” Loki asked as Frigga took his hand. 

“Yes, Loki?”

“Why are we going to the healer? Why isn’t she coming to us?” 

“Don’t be silly, Loki. Last time we brought her in, you wouldn’t sleep in your room because you were afraid of another inoculation while you were sleeping. You’ll be alright.”  

Loki held onto her hand all the way to the infirmary. He hadn’t been there himself in many years. Guards, soldiers, and even simple members of palace staff laid on sick beds in a hall of a room. Despite having no inner illumination at the moment, the massive windows made the room blindingly bright. 

On the far end was a set of tall, ornate doors, that a little old woman pushed open. Loki immediately recognized her as Eir, the healer. 

This room was smaller, private, and dimmer, lit mostly by candles. There wasn’t much furniture in the room, but the floor had sitting pillows, a bed pad, and a seemingly constant-flowing waterfall spilled into a consistently half-full basin. Beside that was the working tray Loki was used to seeing, with Eir’s mortar and pestle, an open book, presumably from the previous client, and was usually accompanied by a needle at worst and a pot of tea at best. 

Frigga sat down on one of the floor pillows and held Loki in her lap, even though he didn’t comfortably fit. 

One of her arms was pressed firmly around his navel to hold him in place, obviously expecting resistance.

Eir hobbled around her space and picked up the tray of stuff before shuffling toward a wall of shelves and cabinets-- the only furniture in the room-- to clean it off and fill it with more relevant tools and treatments. 

“What brings you and Loki to me, your majesty?” she asked, even though she already obviously knew, as she unscrewed a lid of a jar and emptied some herbs onto a plate.

“Loki came home to us yesterday, but it seems he had a hard time while he was gone. He has some nicks and scrapes I was hoping you could heal up for him… and… he’s been pulled out of his headspace.” 

“The injuries, I can fix.”

“And his headspace?”

“I’m not sure. Tell me more.” 

Loki took this time to reach into the bag looped around Frigga’s shoulders and pull out the wolf plush. Maybe if he started acting a little more like the child they expected, they’d back off. 

Frigga pet his hair, but he didn’t pay it mind, and continued. “He’s been using the potty since he came home and hasn’t made any wet nappies. He’s been talking, and walking, and hasn’t touched his toys until now,” she explained. “It’s been less than 24 hours since we’ve had him but… I just want to make sure he’s okay. Nothing like this has ever happened before.” 

“Before this, when was the last time he spoke?” Eir asked casually. 

“Well, he’s always chattered… but it’s been mostly broken toddler speak since he was a teenager.”

“Loki, if you’re speaking, can you tell me about what’s happening?”

Loki looked back at his mother and then at the old lady before deciding to be honest… at least as honest as he could be. “I woke up in an alley and people started whispering about me. I was tired and hungry and… a bit afraid-- and these guards started to chase me and grabbed me and threw me over their shoulders and took me back to the palace.” He stopped for a breath, shocked by how emotional it had made him. “And um… I panicked because the family was so different from how I remembered and they started treating me like a baby!-- which I’m not! That’s when Thor led me away to my room and he and mother washed me and put me in diapers and put me to bed in the middle of the day and it was all very jarring… and father came in but he wasn’t mad. He sat down when I couldn’t sleep-- even my room felt unfamiliar-- and he told me a story.” 

Loki was rushing through it. This was supposed to all feel so casual, but his palms were getting sweaty and it was like his heart was about to burst through his chest. His fingers were clawing at the fur of the stuffed dog in his hands.

“And when I woke up, mother let me use the bathroom, but still dressed me like an infant and not a grown adult, and they locked me in this weird chair and tried to feed me a disgusting mush. And mother got upset when I tried to tell her I didn’t want it--”

“Loki--” the elder began to say, but Loki continued.

“And I felt really awful so I went and I saw Thor, and told him I wasn’t supposed to be here and I wasn’t a baby or a little or whatever he called it. Then mother came in and she brought me here.” 

“Your majesty,” the healer finally said to the queen. “It is my opinion that you’ll have Loki back soon, no magical herb or supplement I give him will help this process. He’s simply still under stress and processing. Allow him to indulge his adult side, don’t cut it off until it becomes necessary, and try to have him relax for a week or two.” 

Loki breathed a sigh of relief. 

The old woman leaned in to examine him closer, she looked over Loki’s hands and in his mouth and ears while she spoke to Frigga. “I think you’ll find he’s beginning to slip down already. Did you hear his speech-- Its uncoordinated rhythm? And the way he sought out a comfort toy?”  

Loki pushed the stuffed dog away. 

“It’s only a matter of time until you have your baby back.”

Frigga nodded, a smile of relief spreading over her face.

The healer patted the mat on the floor, and beckoned Loki to lie down. 

“There is one thing,” Frigga said, “Thor’s coronation is next Thursday and we’d like Loki to be present,” she admitted. 

“Then that is between you and Loki.”

“I don’t want to,” Loki said as Eir examined him for bruises, scrapes, and wounds. 

` Frigga took a deep breath. “If you want me to treat you like an adult, then I will tell you that you do not have a choice and it’s your duty as a prince. And the citizens are expecting a little.” 

Loki crossed his arms. “Can’t we just say I’m sick?”

“No, we can’t. It’s 2 outings, Loki. If you were really an adult you’d know that sometimes you do things you don’t want to for the sake of the kingdom.”  

That sounded more like the mother Loki remembered. 

“But rest in the time before and after those outings,” Eir told him. “Your majesty, I’d advise that you limit his appearances to those two only . Prioritize them and leave Loki to his own devices in the time between.” 

“I can do that. Thank you, Eir. How are his wounds?” 

“Treatable,” she said. “Nothing infected. Nothing serious. It looks like he got in a tussle though, and fell a few times.” 

Loki winced as she poured an acidic liquid on the tiny gashes Loki hadn’t even been aware of. 

“It’s nothing worth fretting over, your majesty,” she said. 

Frigga nodded sagely as she watched, still holding the diaper bag and the plush wolf. 

The wounds healed by the second, snaking up his arms and legs, and even one particularly nasty gash in one of his ribs with faint blue magic. 

“Sit up, please,” Eir commanded. 

Loki did so as she examined his back and his breathing. 

“High heart rate; Still nervous,” she commented. 

Loki frowned. 

“But, he seems like he’s in alright shape. Time will be the real healer here,” she said. 

Frigga nodded. “Thank you for making sure he’s alright we were just so afraid, Loki’s our only little-- I’m sure you know-- and we’ve never had--”

“I know, he’ll be better soon, your highness,” she agreed, patting Frigga on the back comfortingly. 

It was an awfully bold move for someone who wasn’t nobility, but it was Eir. Even in Loki’s universe she was a crotchety old woman with only a soft spot for the queen. She was like Frigga’s wise old aunt; a long-time confidant. If the woman had so much as a bad feeling, Eir was always around. 

“Thank you,” Frigga repeated as she tried to help Loki off the ground. 

The spell hurt horribly right now, sending searing pain all over his body, as if one had poured alcohol directly into his bloodstream. But he didn’t cry out, merely held some of the worst spots and awkwardly bent over as she led him out of the healer’s chambers. 

As the pain subsided, Loki realized how much he had won. Not that it was a contest, but he had won his dignity and his independence-- mostly, but he was fairly certain he could wiggle out of being the “baby prince” those two times, maybe he’d escape by then, or maybe Sylvie or Mobius would have found him, or maybe, at very worst, he could wear his family down. Maybe Frigga and Odin would get used to him being an adult with his own will…

Chapter Text

Loki slumped out of the most comfortable mattress he had ever slept on, and hopped down off the side of the open crib. He washed up for breakfast, combed out his hair, and tried his best to largely ignore his surroundings-- although, as he’d admit to no one, he had taken quite an interest in the toy chest in the far corner of the room. It was filled entirely with baby toys, but some of them had interesting premises, with clockwork insides and buttons he could press to make panels flip and move. Obviously a lot of craftsmanship had been put into making these designs, and more than a few were most definitely custom made for him. Little or not, perhaps he could still appreciate these often overlooked little pieces of art. 

He put on some of the most adult looking clothes he could find and went downstairs for the morning feast that was breakfast. 

An extra chair had been pushed in for him in place of the highchair. 

“Loki, my boy!” Odin greeted him. 

“Good morning, father,” Loki answered. 

“Are you ready for your big day today?”

“My big da--” Oh… that was today? Loki had sworn his first outing was tomorrow. 

Loki must’ve shown that he was anxious because Thor quickly jumped into the conversation. “It’s not that big,” he said. “Today we just sit in the carriage and are brought around the kingdom, and wave and smile and on Thursday you just sit with mother while I give my speech and we have dinner.”

“Here’s to king Thor,” Loki said, raising up his glass with as much energy as he could muster with it being 5 in the morning and all. He only meant it slightly sarcastically, too. 

“Loki, that does mean you need to at least try to be in your headspace,” Frigga reminded him. 

“Okay,” Loki agreed with a deep breath. He had a little bit of a plan, but he really thought he would have had an extra day to work it all out. 

After breakfast, Frigga took on that sweet tone that Loki had been hearing prior to seeing the healer. “Mommy has to get some things ready, so can you play for a little while?”

Loki considered arguing, but eventually just decided to make this easy, after these two days he could relax back into adulthood if he just made it easy for her-- slightly easier than full defiance-- then he’d have more time to plan something, or at least hope Mobius and Sylvie would arrive for him in that time.  

He opened up the toy bin and began to take a closer look at more of the toys now that he had an excuse, inspecting all the little mechanical intricacies and wooden details.

“Loki? Are you ready?” 

He left the toys on the ground and tried to keep some dignity as he got up onto the changing mat. 

Now came time for the most current plan: As Frigga undressed him, Loki used a little bit of magic to change genders. 

“Oh!” Frigga sounded a little surprised. 

Loki chewed on her thumb, pretending as if she hadn’t noticed. 

“That’s a funny change of plans,” her mother said as she continued to undress and diaper her. 

Loki hoped that this stalling would lead to something. She wasn’t sure quite what she was hoping for, but maybe this Loki wasn’t ever a girl. Maybe they’d have to make her a whole new dress if they had decided on something custom for the event. Maybe they would just leave her here to avoid questioning from the citizens. Maybe they wouldn’t know she could control this. 

But as Loki considered all these possibilities, she was made slightly more anxious as Frigga did not show any worry. 

The woman walked up to the closet and tugged on a rope just inside of the doorway, hidden by the fabrics of all the clothes crammed in there. 

A mechanical whir started up, and Loki propped herself up onto her elbows to take a look. 

The entire contents of the closet had shifted and slid back into place, this time with dresses and skirts galore. 

Loki let herself thud back onto the table as she realized she wasn’t going to get out of this so easily. She chewed on the back of her hand as she awaited whatever cruel and horrible bow-and-ruffle-covered fate awaited her. “You cannot be serious,” she whined. 

“Oh hush, this one’s very cute,” Frigga told her. 

Loki’s hips were lifted as a light green cover was slid on her. “At least the color’s nice,” she mumbled to herself. 

“And it just gets better, be patient, Loki,” Frigga said, rubbing Loki’s tummy as she said it. 

It did feel nice, admittedly, but she couldn’t help but whine a little as she thought about how she’d look. “It just gets better” could only mean it was about to get much worse. 

Loki’s fears were proven valid as Frigga dressed her in a matching green dress that almost didn’t even cover her diaper. It didn’t help that even the frilly little skirt seemed to have been starched to hel and back, crinkling like paper whenever she twisted or dared to make any movement. 

“Can I get up?” Loki asked. 

“Not just yet,” she said, retrieving a pair of little black slip-on shoes from the wardrobe and sliding them onto her feet. 

Given everything, these weren’t awful. 

“Now just the mittens…”

“ Mittens ?” Loki groaned. 

“I thought you were all about illusions…”

Loki grumbled under her breath as two big, bulky mittens were fastened onto her hands, and perhaps to just take away her last remaining shred of dignity, a pacifier was placed into her mouth. 

Frigga helped her up off the table. “Come with mummy as she gets ready?” she asked her, politely taking Loki’s hand. 

Loki couldn’t do anything but groan behind the binkie in her mouth and awkwardly toddle to help her mother collect toys to keep her busy, which was much harder than it looked. She tried to pick up the wolf off her crib mattress-- maybe that would make this go faster, a stuffed animal would take up a lot of room in that bag, surely --, only to find that she couldn’t grip hardly anything with the mittens, taking two hands just to lift it up and eventually settling to crush the toy under her arm. 

She sat down on the side of the crib and waited impatiently for Frigga to work out the rest herself before being taken by the hand and led to her parents’ chambers.

Loki couldn’t remember the last time she had set foot there. It hadn’t been since the last time she had been dressed this way thousands of years ago. The walls were at least twice as tall as the ones in her own room and seemed to stretch on upwards for miles. The bed was also bigger than any she had seen before, probably between 3 or 4 times the size of the crib in her room in width. You could’ve fit probably the whole family on the bed and everyone still would’ve had the space to spread out. 

Frigga sat down at a vanity placed at the wall of the room. Although there weren’t lights in front of her, the floor-to-ceiling windows catching the sunrise on the adjacent wall illuminated her well enough. 

“Loki?” she asked. 

“Yes?” Loki returned, her voice muddled by the pacifier in her mouth. 

“Can you sit on the bed so I can see you, please?”

Loki rolled her eyes. The rest of the room was mostly empty anyway, and she didn’t really want to go through her parent’s wardrobes that much. She climbed up onto the bed. It was nearly as tall as her own-- barely allowing her long legs to touch the floor when sitting down. 

She laid back, and rolled restlessly in the space, it wasn’t like there was much else she could do, as she waited. 

But someone knocked on the door. 

“Come in!” Frigga called. 

Loki didn’t bother to sit up, as she didn’t really care. 

“Is Loki in here?” Thor asked, only hesitantly poking his head through the door.

“She is.”

“ She , today? I wanted to show her the carriage we’d be taking. I know she always likes seeing the ponies,” he teased. 

“She’s on the bed if you’d like to take her. Do you want her bag, too?” 

“I can take that,” Thor said absently as he looked for Loki on the bed. “Hi little sister!” he cooed at her. 

“Hi…” she said behind her pacifier, sitting up to go with him. 

“Are you excited to see the ponies?” 

Loki shrugged. 

“Don’t exhaust her too much, Thor. She has a very big day and she’ll definitely make a fuss if we let her nap through the fair.” 

“I won’t,” Thor called as he took Loki’s hand and led her out of the room. “Either way, I’m sure some fresh air will be much less boring than waiting for mother to get ready,” he whispered. 

Loki smiled a little bit, too. 

The spring air was cool on her face as she stepped out into the overcast morning. It felt a bit wet outside to Loki, like the dew hadn’t quite settled yet. 

Four golden clydesdales were hooked to the carriage and waited on the cobblestone just outside the grand doors, and Loki could already see villagers crowding around the gates of the palace awaiting the grand entrance of their royals. They cheered as her and Thor emerged. 

He led her up to the great towering beasts attached to the carriage, removed her mittens, and encouraged her to feed them carrots and hay provided by the driver. 

As much as Loki hated to admit it, she couldn’t help but be a little charmed at the way they lapped out of the palm of her hand. She crinkled her nose and giggled. 

“And can you pet them, too?” Thor asked. 

Loki raised her eyebrows at him. She may have been enjoying feeding the horses, but she still wasn’t going to stand for such talk, not at least until they were out on the road. 

The horse nuzzled Loki before she could protest. 

But soon it was time to go back inside for the grand royal entrance. Thor needed to adjust his cape and make sure his hair looked presentable, and Loki realized she’d be toddling alongside, holding her mother’s hand. 

The horns blared as the grand doors of the palace flung open, presenting the family to the crowds outside. Loki knew that regardless of how she was costumed, her chin should be held high and her gaze should not trend downward. 

Everyone waved politely, even Thor, as he followed behind with his best attempt at poise and grace as the soon-to-be-king. 

 The carriage could have easily fit four riders, but Loki was still hoisted into Thor’s lap nonetheless as he climbed into the carriage.

Not long into the trip, she began to feel rather green. All the bouncing and rocking along the cobblestone paths never left her tummy well. 

“We’re almost to our stop,” Frigga assured her, petting her knee. 

Loki let her and screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at the rushing scenery out the window. 

“Thor? Hand her to mother, won’t you?” Frigga requested. 

Loki felt herself being lifted off his lap and onto the seat in front of her. Frigga tucked her head over her shoulder, leaving Loki’s long legs to awkwardly drape onto the bench around her, crumpled like those of a baby deer’s. 

“Poor little princess,” Odin hummed, petting her arm gently. 

Loki chewed on the pacifier she had been given as she kept her eyes shut. There was a slight hope that perhaps she could nap through this.

The carriage rolled to a stop a few miles outside the next large city. Here, everyone got out to stretch, and answer nature’s call, far from where they could be disturbed by most of the populace before they made their big appearance at the main festival in the town center. 

Thor lifted the side of Loki’s dress and slid her diaper cover down a little. “Mother!” he called. “Loki’s still all dry.” 

Loki pushed him away. “Stop that!” she complained. 

“Do not worry about her. She’ll go when she needs to,” Odin said.

Loki did need to, and was very much trying her best not to, leaning awkwardly onto the carriage with her knees pressed just slightly together. 

Soon, the carriage rolled into the grand plaza of the city, which was fully decorated with market tents and festival games as far as the eye could see. 

Guards stood in waiting near where the carriage would roll to a stop. Loki could tell by the stepping stool and carpet awaiting them. 

But Loki also knew all this pomp was about to fall away the second Thor got out of the carriage. Although he may have been a near king at this point, and had completed all the traditional steps towards ruling, Thor, and Loki, had never really cared to stick to the act of not mingling with the common folk. 

Odin and Frigga left the carriage first, followed by Thor, who was met with uproarious applause from the crowd. Loki squeezed herself out the tiny carriage door with as much grace as she could before her brother picked her up off the step and set her on his hip. 

“Loki,” Thor whispered to her. “Wave to them, sister.” 

But Loki froze. She couldn’t just keep her chin high and her shoulders back and expect to be alright anymore. Now she was about to go directly into the crowd with her brother and face them directly. This wasn’t a quick thirty second appearance or a long speech where she just had to stand there next to mother and listen-- she was a part of it.

“Sister, are you alright?” Thor asked as he pet her back.

He must’ve felt her breathing quicken. 

Loki tucked her face down and looked away from the crowd. She couldn’t face them like this. Not right now. 

She hadn’t meant to, but a little whine escaped her throat.

As soon as she did, Frigga’s delicate fingers began to pry her off of Thor, easing her back into the magical hold at the edge of the stage. 

Loki made another noise, letting the pacifier drop out of her mouth, but this time because she was feeling another different sensation. 

“I’ll give you right back to him when he’s done with his speech, but you know how loud your brother can be,” Frigga whispered. 

That was all well and good, but Loki wasn’t really thinking about that, as her thoughts rested instead on the fact that her bladder was no longer allowing her to store her liquids as they emptied into the nappy around her lower half. 

Frigga didn’t seem to notice anything, thankfully. 

But Odin did. “Oh, the little one dropped something.” He picked up he-- the pacifier and exchanged it for another in Frigga’s bag, setting the new one in Loki’s mouth. “Isn’t that better?” he asked. 

Loki didn’t think so. She opened her mouth just to let it fall out again, but this time it stayed put as Frigga noticed and enchanted it properly to stay. 

“Dearest, could you take her wolf out of my bag? Big pocket.” 

Loki half-expected Odin to tell her to just give these duties to a servant. That’s what he had always said in Loki’s universe, but of course he didn’t say that here. He got out the toy and stood behind Frigga, where Loki was leaning over her back shoulder and set the puppy on Frigga’s shoulder, moving its head a little and trying to make the tail wag. 

Loki didn’t immediately grab at it with her mitted hands, but she watched with a little bit of curiosity. 

He pretended the wolf was sniffing at her, eventually having the stuffed animal come up and kiss her on the pacifier, at which point Loki snatched it out of his hands. 

She hated the face Odin made after she took it-- the way he cooed at her slightly chilled her spine. She brought the wolf up to hide her face in its fur. 

As applause rang through the plaza, Loki was lifted off her mother’s hip. 

“C’mon, Loki. Why don’t we go for a walk? Bet you’d like to stretch your legs,” Thor suggested. 

Loki looked at the crowd, she might have a chance to slip off if she just changed her form…

Thor took her hand and Loki felt her awkward toddle for the first time, struggling to walk normally as her nappy sagged just slightly. 

“Loki, are you keeping your wolf with you?” Frigga asked. 

Loki shook her head and set it down with her mother before wandering off with Thor. It would make a much more difficult getaway if she also had to carry around a toy dog.

Chapter Text

Loki followed her brother through the market stalls, holding his hand passively as she looked through the crowd for a place she could slip away. 

“What do you want?” Thor asked. 

“Huh?” 

“Would you like a toy? A new dress? A pastry?” 

Loki paused and looked around so she’d have something to actually point at. 

She was tall, so it wasn’t hard to see over most of the crowd, but it was difficult to see as townsfolk tried to get her attention, “Hello princess!” they cooed, occasionally trying to hand her cookies and snacks or kiss the back of her hand. Thor wasn’t doing much better, as babies were held up by parents with the hope of Thor kissing their foreheads and old folks tried to shake his hand, or rub his back and act like an old friend. That made Loki feel slightly better as she watched his cheeks pinched just as much as her own. 

Loki led her brother into the crowd in a determined manner, as if going somewhere important, and waited until they started to really crowd him and maybe grab at him a little bit. 

That’s when Loki changed her form and slipped away, connecting Thor’s hand with someone else next to him. 

She plotted away as a scrappy looking dog and walked behind the market stalls… just in case anyone decided to hand her a little bowl of extra ham. 

At the edge of the plaza stood two guards-- one big and brunette while the other petite and ginger-- Loki recognized them as the guards who brought her to the castle. 

She tried not to look at them, but she could tell they were looking at her. 

“This is something you have to look out for,” the bigger one said. “It doesn’t happen often but… occasionally…” she shrugged to the smaller one. 

Then she addressed Loki, even though Loki was trying really hard to not be seen. 

“Hey princess, I think you’re headed the wrong direction,” she said. She picked Loki up and turned her around back towards the crowd. 

Loki spun back around and tried to run, but the guard stopped her. “Go back to your family, little one,” she hummed. 

Loki tried to bite her. 

“Loki, c’mon we did this last week. Go back to your big brother. Go on,” she shooed her away. 

Loki turned back to her human form and, for maximum effect, put her thumb in her mouth in a big pout. 

“Where’d you think you were going?” 

“Home.” Loki said quietly. 

“Come here, little one. Back to your brother.” 

Loki didn’t bother fighting as she was picked up and once again slung onto the warm metal armor. 

“That’s the little princess I know. I’m so glad she’s making a recovery,” Loki heard her say. 

“How’d you know it was me?” she mumbled.

“You can always tell a Loki. Not many puppies at a royal coronation carnival wear green little bows on their heads and run away from the food stalls.” 

Loki folded her arms and rested her head down on the metal armor as she was brought back into the crowd. 

“King Thor,” the guard began. 

Thor turned towards them after handing a signed tunic back to an adoring citizen. 

“Your sister made a bit of a break for it, sir.”

“And… um,” the shorter, ginger one said, “she needs a change soon.”

“Thank you,” Thor told them. “Such a mischievous little baby, always wandering off, huh?” he asked, half to them and half to Loki. “Thank you again, ladies, for bringing my sister back a second time. You’re practically babysitters at this point,” he joked.

Loki sure hoped they weren’t, kicking and grumbling to herself about it.

She buried her reddened face in her brother’s shoulder as she was handed back to him, embarrassed about the whole ordeal. 

He pat her back and bounced her softly, chatting with the guards until excusing himself. 

“Were you exploring?” he asked Loki. 

Loki decided to answer honestly. “I wanted to go home,” she said. 

“We can’t go home yet. It’s our duty to be social and accessible. To be around and really feel like family to these people! It’s our honor,” he explained. 

Loki had heard this lecture before. 

“But it is tiring,” he admitted. “Do you think you could be with me for a few more moments before I return you to mother?” he asked. 

Loki nodded numbly. 

“Oh look at that!” He pulled her to the side. “Can I buy you one of those?” Thor asked. He pointed at a handmade stuffed bunny with a blanket for a body and wooden teethers attached at the paws.

Loki looked at him curiously. Trying to puzzle out why he thought she would want that of all things. But on Thor’s face, she only found a joyous, childlike excitement about it. “You’re sure you’re not the little here?” she asked. 

Thor laughed at her. “It’s cute!” he smiled. “Come now, you don’t have one like this. Look at the blankie, it…has the fancy holes. Isn’t it pretty?” he asked. 

“It’s crocheted ?” Loki suggested. 

“Yes! That’s the word! And look at those colors!” He showed her the pattern made from soft wool fibers that ran through gorgeous rainbow colors in the star shaped blanket. It was awfully pretty, Loki thought. 

The shopkeeper had already been watching them at this point. “I’ll give it to you for free,” he said. “Take it! Please! It’s my honor to serve the princess!” he bowed to both of them. 

But Thor shook his head. “I insist,” he said. He dug through his pocket bag and set down a handful of gold and silver coins with a few loose buttons he had probably meant to return to the tailor. 

Loki raised her eyebrows a little bit, and so did the shopkeep. Whatever a toy bunny-rabbit-blanket-hybrid was worth was definitely less than this. This was probably more money than the merchant had seen in his life. 

The man’s jaw dropped a little bit, “your highness, I can’t--”

“Keep it,” Thor shrugged, as he picked up the toy and handed it to his sister. 

Loki could have dropped it. She could have thrown it on the ground and thrown a fit about how she didn’t need toys because she wasn’t a child, but she didn’t. Grown-ups didn’t usually have tantrums, after all. It would’ve just counted against her now. So she kept it, holding its paw in the hand that wasn’t holding Thor’s. 

She kept it in the crook of her arm as she played games with Thor, awkwardly trying to play ring toss with the challenge of having mitted hands and trying to throw a ball to hit some glass bottles. She wouldn’t have hit them, these games were always rigged, but it wasn’t anything a little magic couldn’t fix. 

Loki even found herself set down in a rocking dragon-boat ride. Her weight in the little two-person swing sagged it to one side until Thor climbed in on the other. 

“No tears this time around, sister?” he asked. “You’re being very brave.” 

“I’m brave,” Loki argued. “I can handle a children’s ride,” she said. 

The boat began to rock back and forth. 

Loki immediately grabbed the sides bracing herself as she looked down at the ground. 

She tried to hook her feet under the seat just in case it flipped over. Which of course, with Thor here, it did, a couple of times. 

She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed the wooden supports wouldn’t snap. 

As the ride slowed down, Loki’s innards caught up with her. It was worse than the carriage ride. 

Thor got out and then lifted her up into his arms, rubbing and patting her back. “You were so brave! See? Not so bad,” he said, kissing her on the cheek. 

Loki tried not to heave onto his shoulder and eventually agreed to stay with Thor and hold his hand, if she was allowed to walk. 

“Did you have a fun time with your brother?” Frigga asked as Loki walked up to the carriage. 

She nodded numbly. It was the most fun she had had since she had come to this universe, but that wasn’t saying very much. 

“Did Thor buy you a gift?” she also asked, as she lifted Loki’s skirt to check her nappy. 

Loki tried to move away again. “It’s wet. You don’t have to check, you can just ask,” she grumbled. 

“I thought I’d make conversation.” Frigga sighed as she took Loki’s hand. 

“You’re not changing me here, are you?” Loki asked. 

“No,” Frigga chuckled. “We’ll change you in the carriage with the shades drawn. 

“Oh…” Loki said anxiously. 

Frigga laid her down on the long bench of the carriage. “Did you get to see all the fun rides?” she asked as she began to roll up Loki’s skirt. 

Loki struggled to answer, so bright pink she thought she’d pass out right there from embarrassment. She brought her mittens up over her face. 

Frigga smiled. “You’re acting like you did the first time we did this. It’s been at least 600 years of mummy changing you every day. There’s no need to be nervous. I have yet to let you develop a rash,” she cooed. “Do you want your new bunny? Or your wolf?” 

Loki huffed and shook her head. She felt so sick to her stomach. She was hungry and tired and wanted to just go home-- her real home. Somewhere with Mobius and Sylvie and none of this where she wasn’t forced to wet herself for all of Asgard to see. 

And in thinking about all of this, she started to cry. Not a loud cry or a babyish whimper, but tears found their way down her face as her heart rate quickened and she struggled to breathe through her running nose. 

Frigga turned to her and made a pained expression. She stopped sliding the new nappy underneath Loki’s bottom. “It’s a lot so soon, isn’t it?”

Loki nodded and found the plush bunny being slotted into her arms. 

“Once you want to regress again at home, it’ll get easier,” she said. “I’m sorry, child. I understand this was a difficult time to come back home. I know I’ve been hard on you.” 

Loki felt herself being rolled up and held in her mother’s arms. Her tears had mostly dried and the new diaper admittedly felt better than a gross used one. 

One of the doors suddenly opened. “We’re all done here!” Odin told them, squeezing into the other side next to his wife. 

Thor sat down across from them, just like they had been on the way here and reopened the shades

Loki wasn’t sure if her stomach could handle another bumpy ride, but here they were. 

“Thor, did you get her something to eat while you were out?” Frigga asked. 

“Um, no, mother.”

“Do you want to give her her bottle?” 

He glanced at Loki before giving an answer. “Of course.”

Loki glared at him as he took her off her mother’s lap. 

“It’ll make the trip easier for you,” Frigga reminded her. 

Loki felt as though she’d feel sick no matter what happened at this point. 

Thor cradled her upper body and took her pacifier out of her mouth. It gave her teeth a moment’s rest. 

“Open up, sister,” he hummed softly, scratching under her chin. 

“What’s in it?” Loki asked. 

“I believe it’s goat’s milk with ginger, mead, and honey to soothe your stomach. Does that sound enjoyable?” 

“It’s not icky, is it?” she asked. “It has nothing bad in it?” 

Thor struggled to take the lid off with her propped in his lap to demonstrate to her that it wasn’t. 

She frowned knowing that this could be a delayed reaction… but also… why would he be so willing to drink it even if it was? It couldn’t be too bad-- and she was awfully hungry. 

She kicked the walls of the carriage lightly as Thor tried to position the bottle in her mouth. She hadn’t voluntarily opened up for him, but hadn’t fought either. She took it from his hands the second it was placed between her lips.

Yes, it was awful and humiliating to know she was being seen like this and that her own older brother (by adoption) was feeding her a bottle, but the warm milk soothed her upset stomach and filled her up better than any one market stand pastry could have. She was sleepy, but didn’t quite fall asleep to the gentle rocking of the carriage, letting it sway her back and forth to its comfortable horse drawn rhythm. 

“You did drug me!” Loki whined.

Her parents looked at one another. Frigga tried to even stifle a laugh. 

“Loki, it’s nearly dinner time and you had such a big long day and didn’t eat anything and your nap was hardly longer than a half hour, of course you’re tired,” Odin reminded her. 

“It had mead in it,” Thor told her. “I told you that, but maybe it counts as a substance?” 

Loki hesitated and felt her only reasoning crumble apart in her hands. 

“You don’t have to sleep, but it’s a long ride home. I’ll look after you so nothing funny happens,” Thor assured her. 

And for some horrible reason, Loki felt like she had reason to trust him. 

Thor had never been the perfect older brother but he had always made an effort to protect her from their parents. 

She twisted into him and let herself sink into sleep in his lap. 

Chapter Text

Loki had enjoyed his two more brief days of adulthood, and his existence in this universe wasn’t so lonely. If he could just get his family to drop the whole “little” thing, Loki wouldn’t actually mind staying here. If he played his cards right, he figured Odin may have liked him well enough to give him a piece of the kingdom. And how wonderful it would be if Mobius and Sylvie came and got to stay with him, he fantasized as he stared at the swirling mobile above his head. 

 His daydreaming was interrupted as Odin opened up the door. 

“Is it time already?” Loki asked. 

“I believe it is,” Odin said. 

“Why isn’t mother here? Don’t you need to practice or something for the banquet.” 

“My son, this is not my day to shine, it’s Thor’s. And your mother is very busy making sure that everyone knows it,” he explained. 

Odin, unlike his wife and his older son, could not lift Loki out of the crib or onto the changing table. 

It gave Loki the feeling that he had some agency over himself and made him feel  that what he was doing was for his brother and for the favor of this kind-hearted Odin. He still felt a little bit sick about trusting them though. His gut reminded him of the atrocities his Odin had done to him.

Loki still hopped up onto the changing table, and laid down. He allowed his undergarments to be replaced with a thick, bulky, diaper passively, only feeling slightly resentful this time, and letting his father dress him regally in his brother’s colors. It would be a passably grown-up outfit if it wasn’t for the crotch snaps on the pants and pacifier that clipped to the secures his short cape that only came to his knees instead of the traditional ankle height for a grown prince. 

Loki had never liked red on him, it made him look washed out with his pale skin and dark hair. He much preferred the cool colors, so he snapped and made them blue.

Odin smiled at him. “No red for your brother’s big day?”

“Thor likes blue, too.” Loki explained. 

Odin waved it off. “Tricky little one.” 

“M’ not tricky!” Loki argued. He changed the color back to red, this time just darker, a maroon, not so scarlet. 

Odin was almost taken aback. “No, not tricky. That wasn’t the word I wanted. Clever was the one… Clever little one.” 

Loki paused in the same manner. He expected Odin to change his language and nearly apologize as much as Odin expected Loki to be offended by the label of tricky.

“It’s alright, you’re sensitive. I understand.” 

Odin brought him down off the changing table and like every outing, began to gather up Loki’s toys. But he did so differently to mother, having Loki join him, holding his hand, and humming a little note about each toy as he picked it up and showed it to Loki. 

Without mittens today, Loki could actually carry Thor’s bunny with him. 

“You’re bringing the new one?” Odin asked. 

Loki couldn’t help but answer, “It’s Thor’s favorite,” he said. “He picked it.” Loki showed the toy to his father in the same way he had been showing Loki toys. 

Odin nodded. “Good choice in that case. He’ll be happy to see it.” 

Loki tried not to smile proudly at his selection. He should know Odin was only patronizing him. 

“Do you think we’re all ready for your big brother’s big day?” Odin asked as he closed up the bag.

“What’s going to happen?” Loki asked. 

“Not much. Certainly not as much as last time. This is just the formal ceremony. All you need to do is look sweet, maybe even take a nap while your big brother gives a big speech and then we’ll have dinner.”

“Sorry… take a nap?” 

“That’s what babies do, isn’t it? We would rather you nap than be loud and make a fuss.” 

Loki hesitated.”I guess so…” he admitted. “Will I have to be in the cradle, again?”

“Mother could hold you, or you could stand next to her, but it’s a long time child. The cradle would be much more comfortable.” 

Loki took the stuffed wolf out of his father’s bag and held it. The bunny was nice, but the wolf smelled like mother and Thor. His mother and Thor. But now, at this point, Loki was starting to feel that maybe, perhaps, they weren’t so different. Father was, but… that was for the better. Better to have a father who wants to love and spend time with you than one who locks you in a box for days.

“Keeping that one with you?” Odin asked. 

Loki nodded. If he was going to be forced to look and act like a child he may as well enjoy something about it. 

“Good. You’ll have a friend with you.”

Loki frowned but didn’t let it deter him. This was just an animal shaped, fuzzy, pillow, after all, and Loki knew that cradle needed some extra padding. 

Loki didn’t let himself be carried as he entered the throne room with his parents. Instead, he begrudgingly allowed his mother to hold his hand and sat down in the little basket of his cradle on his own terms, bringing his knees up to his chin as he waited for the ceremony to begin. 

Through the fanfare, Loki sat up and watched the appropriate amount. He listened to the loud horns outside as nobles, guards, and high ranking officers, with Thor behind them, approached the grand doors. 

Guards slowly pushed them open, flooding the hall with noise despite the fact that Thor hadn’t even been crowned yet and had only made the magical achievement of greeting his guests and walking through the throne room doors. 

Loki considered covering his ears, but didn’t, this was far too formal of an event for- Oh… mother had put little fuzzy earmuffs on him before he could have even moved, patting the top of his head lightly as she did so before returning to her spot next to father. 

Thor brought up the back of the line. The guards, officers, and noblemen filed into place along the perimeter of the room, eventually leaving only Thor standing in the center, lit from behind by the grand lights of the outside world. 

The music stopped, and so did the cheering. 

Loki wiggled down in his little bed, leaving his upper back against the down pillow behind him, refusing to actually lie down, but not committing to sitting up either. 

Thor approached the throne, somberly peering at his boots.

Odin stood up and began to speak, in a long, meandering monologue about his reign and achievements over the years and the shoes Thor had to fill as the new era began. 

Loki had heard this speech before. He laid back a little further into the cradle. 

“But that’s enough about my reign. My son,” Odin concluded affectionately. “You’ve trained your whole life for this day, haven’t you?”

Thor bowed down. “Yes father, I have.” 

Father’s voice got louder, more dramatic and with bravado, closer to the way Loki remembered it. “Prove it to your people! What is it you’ve done for them?” 

Thor kept his head bowed. “Much, father. I have protected them, from invaders, from famine, from hardship. I have stayed at their sickbeds and helped elders with their carts in the marketplace.”

Loki let out a quick breath. Near a laugh. Thor was still bringing that up? It was one time some, what, 4 hundred years ago?

Odin seemed to accept this. 

“And what shall you do once you rule this country? Iron fist? Or nurturing palm?”

Thor looked up to make eye contact. He stood up. “I shall rule the way you taught me, father. With the even hand. Both with the goal to make peace, but with the ability to fight if we need.”

The fact that he seemed to consider these only in the scope of foreign relations and war spoke volumes to Loki, but this was his brother’s big day, he was only the family “Little” after all, he wasn’t supposed to think about things like that he figured, rolling his eyes. 

A servant ran to Odin with a pillow in hand, set with a golden crown atop it. It wasn’t like Odin’s, and not Loki’s either, but had been made uniquely for Thor, with the little wings over his ears instead of the horns. 

Odin paused, raised an eyebrow at the servant, and silently lifted the crown onto his son’s head and shook his hand. 

Thor slowly began to stand up. He grinned and winked at Loki as he did so. 

Loki felt a flutter. He knew that this wasn’t his day, and perhaps in another world it should’ve been. But it was, in a little bit of a horrible way, a resolution after all this time. He finally got to see his brother crowned the king, the way it should’ve been. The way that it had been planned years and years ago. Loki was much less upset about it happening this time around… even if he had to witness it from such a degrading position. 

Thor turned around to show his people. Firstly, the nobles of the court and the officers and guards. Then, with a thunderous boom of grand doors opening and the rushing wall of applause, the rest of Asgard. 

Wood clicked into place as Loki found himself set into his high chair. It was, however, no longer at the breakfast table, but at the grand feast tables. The gilded paint around the arms was starting to scuff where the wood rubbed together, he noticed. Someone should look into that. 

As mother tied a bib around his neck, seemingly hundreds of plates were set down on the comically long table, but all were repeats of the fifteen or so on his side of the table. 

“Mother?” Thor asked. “Can Loki sit next to me for this meal?” 

Loki smiled slightly as his mother pushed in her chair and swapped them around so that Thor could be close with his brother. 

Loki did not mind this configuration, despite the fact that he was very quickly grabbed to have his hair ruffled. 

“Can you believe it, Loki? I’m finally the king! Aren’t you proud?!” Thor asked with a huge grin. 

Odin nudged him, “Your mother did his hair so nice for this. Don’t ruin it!” 

“Ah, he’s a baby. Babies don’t need nice hair. The ceremony’s over anyway, father. It’s time for festivities! Isn’t that right, Loki?” 

Loki had, in a previous life, been trained for this sort of feast. The well behaved, but cordial one, with all of its high brow attributes. But this was Thor’s day and Thor’s feast for him to make it how he wanted, so Loki nodded.

In front of him was one paltry spork, so if Loki was going to get a chance at the tender, braised lamb, he’d need to be forgetting his manners anyway. 

Thor poured himself a pint of ale. The strongest he could find and knocked it back in a gulp, smashing the mug on the ground. “Another!” he cried. 

Loki grinned. It had been a long time since he had heard that. 

A bottle was set down in front of him, and soon, mother also slid over a small plate full of cut up bits and pieces. Loki inspected it. To him, it seemed that everything was there, but it was a little difficult when the pieces were almost unrecognizable, except a couple of bun pastries on the side.

He tried with the spork first, and then resorted to just using his hands as he struggled to stab little chunks of meat. 

No one talked to Loki, but he didn’t really mind for once. There wasn't much of an expectation to mingle. His parents looked happy, chatting one another up like young lovebirds, and Thor, after knocking back two more pints of ale, had stood up to go speak to his friends instead of resorting to shouting across the table.

He tapped his foot on the step below him and ate slowly despite a ravenous hunger. To eat with his hands and do so without acting like he hated it, felt like a violation of social rules which, sure, he had violated before-- many times before, but here, now? It felt wrong. At a once in a lifetime crowning of a new king, and as a prince himself… he just couldn’t.

“Would you like some help?” his mother asked. 

Loki hesitated. “Uhm…” The food in front of him smelled so good… so warm and given that it was made for a new king, crafted more to perfection than any of the annual holidays and feasts. Eating it so slowly was not his preferred way of enjoying this feast. He had nearly bested literal fire in an eating competition once… at least in his universe he had. “Um… No,” he said. 

He began to pick up his food in little fistfulls. After all, it wasn’t that far off from what his brother was doing in between pints of mead. 

It was messy. He hated how oily and sticky it made his fingers, how it even managed to get underneath his well manicured nails. Occasionally a piece would fall out, or some sauce would slip through his fingers onto his bib, face, or lap. 

It was a little gross. Loki knew that. But at least he didn’t have a beard for it to get caught in. 

Thor slid back across the table to his seat. “Loki!” he laughed. 

His cheeks were rosy. 

“Hm?” Loki asked. 

“You’re a mess!” 

Loki looked down at himself. He was admittedly, a little less clean than Thor. Mashed potatoes were sticking to his fingers and all down his front. 

“He is,” Frigga agreed. “But I think he’s having fun. It’s in the spirit of the feast,” she told her eldest son. 

Thor didn’t acknowledge her. “Are you still eating?” he asked, beginning to wipe Loki’s face with a cloth. 

“I was,” Loki said quietly. 

“Then let me help, won’t you, brother?”

Thor had already taken his plate.

“I’m doing quite alright on my own,” Loki said. “You could really help by getting me a fork.”

“Loki, hush, someone’s going to hear you talking like that.” Thor reminded him. “You haven’t even touched your milk.”

“I don--”

Odin and mother were looking at him across the table.

“Look, this one has some mead in it for you. It’s a celebration.”

Loki took it without another word. Mostly because it was his brother’s big day… but also because oh thank Norns, he could at least enjoy a little bit of alcohol. Maybe if he chugged it fast enough he could actually be enjoying this party.

Thor continued to pick out pieces of food that he knew Loki would like, cut them up like mother had, and then began to stab at them, with an actual fork this time. 

Loki worked on his bottle as if it were just a lidded drink as he watched his brother struggle with a particularly tenacious piece of herring that just kept breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. 

Loki knew in his heart that Thor would have been much more dexterous if he wasn't half-intoxicated. 

“Loki! Loki! Look at me! C'mon, I know that little tummy of yours can take much more than that. Eat up, now, child,“ Thor cooed at him. 

Loki hesitantly set down the bottle. 

”Nyoom! And here comes the chariot! It's racing towards the finish! Here it's coming into the stables!“ 

Loki opened his mouth hesitantly, and let Thor feed him. 

In some odd way that Loki simply could not explain, it tasted better this way. Probably because it was warm and hadn't touched his gross hands... mingling with the other food and who knows what sauces. How did this universe's version of himself get by eating like that? What a pitiful existence.

”Mother, Look, Loki's eating normally again!“ 

Frigga looked up and smiled at them. 

Ah, so that's how this universe's Loki had gotten by. 

He didn't mind it so much. Between the delicious food, half a bottle of a milk-mead mixture that was well over the proportion of mead it probably should have been, and the relief of no longer having to use his hands, this wasn't so bad. Although, it would have been better if Thor wasn't drunk enough to be spilling every other forkful onto him or the tray, anyway. 

At this point, Loki just giggled at the mess. What else could he do about it? Cry? Now that would have really made him look like a baby. 

He hiccupped once. Then again. 

“Thor, you’re going a little fast. He needs time for his food to settle,” father said. 

Thor agreed and left the plate once more to run back to his friends. Apparently, Volstagg had made an incredibly funny joke. 

Hic-- Hic.

Loki chuckled at the hiccups, covering his mouth. He hadn’t gotten a case like this in years. 

HIC-- 

That was a big one. 

Loki wiggled his tail. Oh… a tail now. That wasn’t too comfortable in a nappy…

HIC-- 

and it was gone as quickly as it came… 

Odin and mother stood up quickly. Not enough to fell their chairs, but in that formal sort of way that they had when Loki had gotten a nose bleed during a parade. They didn’t want to make notice. 

Mother wrapped her shawl around Loki. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. He wasn’t small enough to fit into it. Seemed to him it was mostly over his head anyway. The tippy top of his head, over his h--

Oh. Horns. 

“Mother, is Loki alright?” 

Loki was abruptly moved to the side. 

“He’s fine, just fussy from an accident.”

Loki’s cheeks heated up. He almost fought. 

“Shshshh, little one, you’ll be alright.”

“I’m, I’m fine,” he hummed back. 

“Loki, no, you’re not. You’ve turned a horrible shade of blue. It’ll alarm the guests. How’d you even do that?” She sounded genuinely concerned. 

“Mh, not to worry, mother,” Loki began. “I know. The spell broke a few years ago.” 

“Spell? Lo--” 

“No need to pretend,” he said. “When I went with Thor to th--” Loki paused. That hadn’t ever happened in this universe. He had never known he was a frost giant here. He stopped. “Um when I was away… actually.”

Mother cocked an eyebrow. “Sounds like I underestimated how much mead to put in your bottle, hm?” 

“I’m fine, just… Give me a second. It’ll go back to normal!” Loki held his breath but nothing happened. 

“We’ll try again in the morning, Loki. Let’s get you to bed.”

“But-- But Volstagg hasn’t even fallen out of his chair yet! An- and -- hic -- Thor and Fandrall haven’t even started fighting yet!” he whined. 

“Thor and Fandrall won’t fight tonight, little one, you won’t miss a thing--” 

CRASH

Loki tried to peek into the hall again. 

“Loki, look at me, child.” She snapped her fingers to get his attention. “Do you want more food?” 

“I’m done…” he said softly. 

“Let’s get you to bed then. We or you-- or-- I don’t know, somehow, we’ll get you back to normal in the morning.”

“Can I have the--”

“Your father will bring in the rest of your bottle in a few minutes. Come on now, dearest, let’s get you off to bed.”

Chapter Text

“Brother!” Thor yelled with a level of excitement Loki hadn’t heard from him in a very long time. He burst into the room with a tray in his hands. 

“Aren’t you supposed to be ruling the kingdom?” Loki asked sorely. He hugged his plush wolf close to his chest. The curtains were drawn despite the fact that the sun had risen at least a few hours ago.

“Well, yes…” Thor admitted. “But mother was so concerned for you after last night, so she gave me the day off to spend it with my favorite little brother!” His volume made Loki’s head throb. 

“She told you about that ?” he whined.

“She did... Did she tell you ?” 

Loki had no patience to recap the last five years of his life to this Thor right now. “I’ve known for a few years but also, I was drunk off my arse. You know how magic is when one’s like that.”

Thor did not respond. 

“Right… well I know how magic is when one’s like that. It gets tricky to control. Spells go wonky when you know how to break them…” He rattled on.

“But you’re alright? No more weird tails or horns or snouts?”

“Just a headache… and a rest of my body ache.” It had been at least a year since Loki had had more than a couple drops of Asgardian mead at a time-- that bottle must have been at least half booze. The strange taste of the mix with goat's milk still coated his mouth. 

Thor nodded. “Mother figured. She asked me to bring you this.”  He handed Loki the tray with a beige colored mush, not even the rich orange or green the other ones had been-- and a bottle of milk. 

Loki took the bottle. It was just milk this time, but that seemed better than the vomit-textured alternative.

“I really think regressing may help this time,” Thor whispered to him. 

“And how would you know?”

Thor raised his eyebrows.

“Right…” Loki must’ve done so in his past. “What did you have in mind?” he groaned. 

“Well, we could do puzzles and build a fortress-- your room is practically built for that--, and maybe play games?” 

Loki rolled his eyes slightly. Being the family “little” was so exhausting normally, but now hungover, Loki didn’t think he could function. But out of anyone to trust with strange hangover cures, he knew it would be himself.

Thor moved the tray to the side and brought Loki into his arms, cradling him. 

It was, as usual, a heavenly amount of comfort, but especially today, as much as Loki hated to admit it. “Could we stay like this?” he asked softly. 

“For now, I think so,” Thor agreed. 

Thor was warm and supported him just right, the bottle of milk was even held for him, draining right into his mouth. He didn’t even have to lift a finger, being treated by the royalty he was, at last. 

After a few light raps, Loki’s door began to open slowly, creaking on its high hinges. 

Loki sat up slightly.

“No worries, brother,” Thor whispered to him. “Just a servant.”

She tip-toed in with her own tray, here to take the uneaten porridge mixture, and to hand Thor a hot towel that was set over Loki’s face. 

He couldn’t help but groan. 

“Feels nice, doesn’t it, brother?” Thor asked. 

The hot steam proliferated his sinuses and soaked up the sweat on his face, easing his breathing. 

Loki let Thor hug him even closer to his bosom and begin to rock him back and forth, only soothing him further. 

A hand pet his back and sides, and ruffled his hair. 

“Have you or mother had a look at him before I got here?” Thor asked. 

Apparently the nurse was still here. 

“No, your majesty. You are the first one.” 

“Thank you. You are dismissed.” 

The door shut and a hand tapped Loki’s bottom.

Suddenly, he was lifted off his spot. 

He couldn’t help but mumble. 

“You just had a little accident is all. It’ll be fixed in no time.”

Loki must’ve done it during the night. He hadn’t even noticed the wetness until now. “An accident?!” 

“It’s nothing, brother,” Thor hummed. 

“It’s not nothing!” Loki bemoaned. 

He sat up as he was set onto the cold changing table and rubbed his face. “This stupid world is messing with me! My mind! My body! Thor, I don’t know what’s happening!” 

And with that, Loki started to cry. His head hurt and his body hurt and everything was cold! 

“Oh, Loki,” Thor said apologetically. 

He climbed up next to the little and held him in his lap. “Nothing’s happening.” 

“Easy for you to say!” Loki sobbed. 

“Brother you are hungover and you haven’t regressed properly since you got here. It’ll make you feel better!” 

“Thor!” Loki let out a mucusy breath. “You don’t understand! You’d never understand! I’m not-- I don’t--”

“Loki, you do! It’s alright! No one minds it here.” 

“But-- Right… right…” Loki was stuck here. Being warm did feel nice and Thor and his parents were nice. They were great, better than any of the ones he had in his world. “Okay.” He sucked in a deep breath. “Can I regress but just… keep control?”

“‘Keep control?’ Loki, how will I know when you need a nappy change next time?”

“I’ll tell you, I promise.” 

Loki prayed that an “I promise” would somehow be okay for Thor. 

“Just let me have this?!” he pleaded. 

Thor took a deep breath and then nodded. “I think we can do that. But I still need to change you now.” 

“Right, yes… um… can I at least have something else to do?” 

Thor was never good at hiding smiles. It made Loki’s stomach flitter in that silly happy way. He ducked down and rooted around in a basket underneath the changing table before handing Loki a colorful set of toy keys! 

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Loki asked. 

“You chew on them. See the little bumps?” Thor asked. “And look, they make noise, too.” He jingled the keys so they would click together. 

Loki took it and begrudgingly shoved the toy into his mouth as Thor began to do his work, carefully unbuttoning the fabric between Loki’s legs. 

Loki squirmed at first. This was not fun nor distracting. He bit down on the toy as Thor adjusted his legs for him. Knees up and wide seemed to be preferred. 

Regardless, he pretended that chewing on these keys was actually doing something, swapping them out for different dot patterns and textures, and moving his fingers over the crinkly, fabric keychain and tags on the ring holding all the keys together. 

When that didn’t help, he looked elsewhere. Counting, that was something he could do. Loki began to count. How many toys could he see? 

Well there was the wolf on his bed, and the keys in his hand, and the music box on the floor, and the soft--

“All done,” Thor said. 

“That’s it?” Loki asked. 

“That’s it. Not so bad, was it?”

Loki shook his head. 

Thor picked him up. He pet Loki’s hair and hugged him close with some additional light taps on his back, almost bouncing him.

“You seem to like those keys,” he commented.

Loki didn’t even realize he had still been chewing on them, but they did feel nice. 

Thor sat down by Loki’s toy chest. 

A few of the toys had been splayed around. 

“It looks like you’ve begun to explore again, haven’t you?” Thor cooed.

Loki hadn’t realized he had forgotten to put them away yesterday before the ceremony. 

“All the old favorites are back?” 

Loki wasn’t sure if that was a question or an observation. 

Thor turned him around to look at the toys. The music box with its moving chariots, a doll with long black hair, and of course big, toddlerish blocks. 

Loki chose to stay in his brother’s lap. Although it was almost summer, Loki’s room was big, and the closed curtains made it rather chilly when the sunlight couldn’t shine through. 

He didn’t really want to do much with these toys. They weren’t as easy as the keys he still held in his mouth. 

“Would you like to look at other toys, brother?” 

Loki nodded. 

Thor moved him to the side so he could stand up on his knees. 

The toy box was so big , Loki realized. Big enough that Thor had to at least kneel to open it, he couldn’t simply sit and still look through it fully. 

Loki watched him, in a little bit of awe. 

“How are these?” Thor asked. “Oops…” One of many simple baby toys dropped out of the pile in his arms and thumped onto the floor. 

“I’ve got it,” Loki hummed. It was hard to say. It took effort for Loki to produce anything but a phonetic syllable, but that paled into comparison to the interest he had in the toy on the floor. 

Loki picked it up as he kept chewing on the keys. The item was a little wooden cylinder with bars around the sides and a green rolling ball inside of it. 

It clanked against the wooden dowels enclosing it. Loki held it up close to his face to watch as the ball clanked around in its cage. It was a little mesmerizing. 

He enjoyed running his fingers over the pieces, trying to slip them in to touch the ball inside. 

“That’s the winner today, is it?” Thor asked. 

Loki laid down on his back as he examined the toy, still gnawing on his teething keys. 

He held the toy up for Thor to take a look. Maybe he’d see how interesting it was. 

But Thor didn’t bother. Instead, he took out the keys right out of Loki’s mouth and replaced it with a rubbery pacifier. 

Despite his own better judgment, Loki grinned and burbled up at his big brother. 

“Hello little one!” Thor cooed. 

It felt good. Really good. Loki’s head felt less like it was throbbing and more like it had been insulated with a warm fleece blanket. Neither was ideal for functioning normally, but for this? Loki felt absolutely perfect, albeit a little silly. 

Silly felt like a word that wanted to make his stomach churn. It should have. 

But it also made Thor smile. It felt like Loki’s natural state. A primal sort of return to himself. Instinct. 

Loki rolled back and forth on the floor and giggled at each attempt Thor made to poke and tickle him, trying to catch his hands and hold them. 

“Oh Loki, I had missed you!” Thor told him. He picked Loki up and hugged him close. 

Loki agreed. He had missed Thor, and Asgard, and the basic emotion of silliness. It all felt so right. 

He hugged Thor back. 

“Thor?” Loki asked. “Thor fort?” The only way today could be improved in his eyes was being put in a warm little den to play in and rest up. 

“Loki,” Thor laughed, “I don’t know if you’re big enough for a fort!” 

Loki nodded. “I am!” he insisted under his pacifier. 

After a little bit of hemming and hawing,  Thor agreed enthusiastically and began to help Loki take out sheets and blankets, calling a servant to fetch them a few extra linens. 

Thor tied the sheets to the posts of Loki’s crib and to prop them up towards the far reaches of the toy chest with safety pins and the rocking chair before anchoring it to little hooks in the wall. Pillows and cushions made doors and walls. 

Took a blanket off of his crib and bundled himself in it, in the center of the fort as he watched Thor work to attach all the other, less valuable, less plush, less huggable, blankets together around him. 

Unfortunately though, Loki wasn’t sure what to do with his arms. It wasn’t like he could put a thumb in his mouth and his hands were quite awkward like this, just bound up in the blankie. 

He awkwardly flapped his arms, trying to figure it out. 

“I’ll be right there, brother, no need to get restless.”

Loki wriggled more, wrapping himself further into the blanket. It was becoming a silly new game he could play on his own. 

Thor crawled through the door and laughed, “Loki! How ever will I change you?!”

He picked the little up and cradled him.

Loki squealed. He kicked and rolled, trying to wrestle himself out of his brother’s arms but with no success, only meeting the goal of freeing his arms.

He used that to sit up. 

Now insulated by blankets, the little fort had warmed enough for Loki to comfortably move around without totally wrapping himself. 

“This isn’t so bad,” Loki said.

Thor smiled and agreed before pausing. “The regression or the temperature?” 

“All of it,” he hummed. Loki conjured a little light, a little ball of soft, warm, orange, that he kept in his hand as he opened the toy box for himself and took a look inside, immersing almost his whole upper body as he dug through it. 

If any of this surprised Thor, he didn’t mention it. 

“Thor?” Loki poked his head out of the bin. 

“Hm?” 

“We should wead a stowy.” The pacifier made him lisp. As much as that was a bother, it wasn’t enough for Loki to even consider spitting out the device. It sat comfortably on his mouth. 

“Do you have anything in mind, brother?” Thor asked. 

Loki shook his head. 

“Alright…” This seemed to stump Thor or maybe concerned him. Admittedly, Loki did usually have something in mind when he went to the library on his Asgard. Maybe this version of himself was the same way, but today he didn’t care. He just wanted to hear Thor’s voice. That was all that mattered. 

Thor crawled out of the blanket fort, out into the vast, cold, room and returned with a book that was not bound in leather, or even cloth or wood, but cardboard and painted with frogs on a bicycle. 

“Shh,” Thor assured him. “This one must remain a secret between us,” he said. “I got it from Midgard just for you,” he said. “For when you came home.” 

Loki smiled and wiggled into his brother’s lap, snatching up the doll off the floor as he did so. It hadn’t connected with him previously, but he liked the idea of having something to hold this time around, especially when it looked like another, even smaller, him. 

Thor began to read about Frog and Toad. 

Loki was certain he had never heard of this story, and yet it felt so familiar; warm, comfortable, and steeped in love. 

But even then the story, nor its beautiful pictures were as impressive as simply being back here. Thor reading to him, holding him, petting his hair. Nothing would beat this. 

Loki suddenly realized how much, how deeply and crucially he had missed his brother. 

And being regressed wasn’t horrible. For a family that loved him, maybe it was a price Loki wouldn’t mind paying. 

Chapter Text

Loki had his sights on a butterfly. It was a bright, radiant blue and perched right on top of an even more vibrant pink flower. 

He watched it slowly breathe with its wings, oscillating up… down… up…

He crawled in the grass a little closer… then a little more… 

Up… down… up… down…

That’s when Loki pounced. He clapped a mighty loud clap, but the butterfly was too quick and left his grasp. 

He turned back to mama, a few yards behind him, but she didn’t look too disappointed. 

“That was a pretty one, wasn’t it?” she asked. 

Loki nodded. His pacifier was set in his mouth. He had really grown rather attached to the feeling in the past few weeks. 

He had, against his better judgment, grown rather attached to all of this. To mama and papa-- names he had never been allowed to call them as a child-- to Thor, his pacifier, his wolf, -- who was somewhere around here, he was sure. She couldn’t have wandered far… hm… 

Loki flopped down onto his belly to get a more ground-level view, flipping his hair out of his face.

-- He had even managed to grow attached to the one thing that he had hated from the absolute start: his nappies. 

He grimaced a little still as his bladder released again . That part still took a little getting used to.

Aha! There she was! Loki found his plushie under the shady leaves of a maple sapling. 

“Don’t lose her,” Mama reminded him as she sipped her tea. “She’s only a little puppy, like you.” 

Loki grinned. She was right, but it was hard to crawl with a plushie. He stumbled on his knees and set it up on her patio table. She would watch it. 

“Oh!” mama said. “Loki, look at that!” she whispered. 

Loki whipped around. 

“That must be the bunny who’s been eating all of my Midgardian clover!” she told him. 

Loki watched the creature intently. An ashen, lumpy mass of fur awkwardly lopped around the garden and began consuming the pink flowers. 

He set his hands back in the grass.

The rabbit seemed huge at this level. Rationally, he knew it wasn’t that big, but here, it probably reached up to his elbows!

He wiggled closer and closer. 

“Loki, silly boy, are you going to catch it?”

He sprouted a dog tail and wagged it. 

“You’re going to dishevel your nappy like that!” she teased, leaning down to pull his waistband up. 

This didn’t bother Loki though. He was thinking about the bunny. 

He lunged at it. 

The rabbit hopped quite quickly. Faster than Loki could crawl.

He picked himself up, the rabbit gaining distance, and tried to toddle run after it. But it was too little too late. The creature dove into a dirty little burrow below a honeysuckle bush. 

Loki frowned and considered sticking his hand into the pile of dirt. 

“Loki, leave the bunny rabbit alone,” mama told him. 

And Loki, although he didn’t want the rabbit to go-- he wanted so badly to run his fingers through the fur, to bury his nose in it, maybe even keep it as a pet-- he did. He listened to mama, especially since she was beginning to put his wolf under her arm and marking her book pages, getting ready to put it away as well, a tell-tale sign that it was almost time to go back inside for a trip to the library, a story, and a nap, he was certain. At least, that’s how it had gone each morning for the past few weeks and Loki had liked it that way. It was predictable, routine, and more than anything, comfortable. 

Today however, as Mama carried Loki on her back, she turned left instead of right at the hallway!

She walked instead, through the archway leading to the throne room. 

It was not quiet and empty like Loki had hoped. 

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Frigga said.

The conversations stopped. 

“Mother!” Thor smiled at them. “You’re not interrupting at all, please, come join us.” 

The guests quieted. 

Loki turned to look at them. They were diplomats from Alfheim, but Loki hadn’t met these ones before, or so he thought. 

“Your highnesses, it is an honor,” they bowed. 

Frigga set Loki down and held out a hand for a kiss, and Loki copied similarly, giggling when they obliged. He had always wanted to do that. 

He leaned forward to play with one’s bushy mustache. It looked rather silly on an elf. Uncommon for their kind. 

Mama took his hand away with an apologetic laugh and lifted him back into her arms, hugging him. He liked being hugged-- even if it was just to keep him contained.

“The prince looks well,” The mustached elf said, nodding kindly as he did so. “We were worried for him.” 

“They brought him a lovely care package,” Thor added from his throne. “I had a servant bring it up to his nursery already.” 

“Oh, Loki, isn’t that wonderful? Can you say ‘thank you’ to our guests, Milkmane and Aleyah? Aren’t we lucky they’re here?” Mama bounced him up and down.

Loki opened his mouth and struggled. “T-hank you!” he managed. 

“Such a clever boy,” the lady elf smiled. 

Loki blushed. 

“My apologies, but mother,” Thor began, “what brings you here?” 

Frigga bounced Loki up and down. “We wanted to say congratulations on your first full month and give you a goodnight kiss before Loki’s nap-nap,” she told him. 

Thor stood up so that he could give Loki a kiss on the cheek. Loki giggled at it. He liked the scratchy kisses. 

“Goodnight, brother. Enjoy your nap,” Thor added at the end, ruffling Loki’s hair. 

Loki burbled some happy nonsense back as mother took him away, waving to his big brother and their guests. 

Now, life was back on track, Loki knew they’d make a quick stop at the library first, for a reading book, and sure enough they did. 

Mama switched out her grown-up book for another, and Loki was allowed to look through the old faerie tales for himself. Although, he wasn’t sure of exactly what he wanted. He really wanted the book Thor had brought him, but there were no Midgardian books here. Not even Shakespeare, which he had grown quite fond of in recent centuries of his grown-up life, even if it was juvenile. 

He snapped out of that mindset, and turned back to mama, trying to bury his face in her dress. 

“Oh, Loki, there’s no need to cry,” she said. “Would you like me to pick out this naptime’s story?” 

Loki nodded. 

“In that case, I’ll just choose one of my favorites.”

He was okay with that. 

It frightened Loki, frankly, how his mind had done that. How it had lost its cushiness and had hardened back to adulthood so quickly. He wasn’t sure if that was something he liked, but he was pretty sure he didn’t, not one bit. 

Mama sang to Loki, she read to him from the story and gave him a bottle of warm milk to keep him occupied, but Loki couldn’t sleep. He tried to, he pretended his best, but he was preoccupied with other thoughts, his brain was being needled at by his adult self, he could feel it. 

Loki took the special book Thor had given him out from under his pillow and opened it up. 

He didn’t really care about the words this time. He had looked at it enough over the last few weeks that they were starting to look like random squiggles to him. There was something about such a sweet book about a frog and a toad raking some leaves that made Loki sad. Maybe it was that Thor hadn’t spent that much time with him aside from meals and the occasional throne room visit, but Loki’s gut told him it was something else. 

He stared at each of the illustrations, trying to get his eyes to focus in the darkened room and wondering why they were making him feel that way. He started to cry, dripping tears onto the paper, wrinkling it. 

He mumbled to himself in between sobs as he thought about it, in that made-up sort of baby language that he had been learning to use. 

Then, a thought struck him. 

“Em Mobius!” he squeaked. Aha! The story reminded him of Mobius! It was cozy and smelled like the Midgardian hot cocoa they served at the TVA, and the illustrations looked like they were painted with the little stains that his mug left on the files. 

“Loki?” Mother poked her head in the door. “Are you alright? I heard sniffles.” 

Loki stood up. “Mumma!” he cooed. He slid the book back under his pillow quickly. 

He reached out his arms. Up! Up! He wanted to say, bouncing up and down on the tips of his toes. 

“Did you have a little nightmare?” She asked as she set the crib bars down. 

Loki did not answer. He wrapped his arms around her, hiding his face in the crook of her neck as she held him. She didn’t smell like Mobius, or feel quite like him, her neck thin and bony. She smelled like mother though, like home. A very different smell, a very different love, and a very different nostalgia. 

“Shall we finish your nap?” 

Loki shook his head, curling her hair in his fingertips. She sat down with him in the crib, and let him rest with her. 

He loved her so much, the way she was warm and held him. He felt safe, shutting his eyes.

But didn’t you also love Mobius ? In a better way? A more meaningful way? Didn’t you love Sylvie? Don’t you miss them? And you left them.

Loki tried to shoo the thought away. 

You left them and the TVA, when things were already bad, and only getting worse. You disappeared. You refused to help to do what? Run away and play pretend? 

He scrunched up his face. 

“Loki, my dearest, are you alright?” 

Loki hugged her tighter, but he knew no matter how hard he hugged, it wouldn’t bring his friends back. 

“Just try and rest, honey,” she begged. “Maybe another story would help?”

He shook his head. He just wanted to be close, and he wanted his friends back. He wanted them close, too. 

Mama laid down next to him. She was talking and cooing to him, but Loki wasn’t focused on that. It felt good to have her there, to feel like she was close. She told him to breathe, he remembered, but hadn’t listened to anymore, letting the tears flow. 

He was pretty sure he had cried himself back to sleep, even with a soother placed in his mouth, and even with mama right there, holding him. Normally, he would’ve felt a little bad, knowing that he was crying and there was nothing she could do to help, but he was regressed and he just needed her there to cry on. 

“Poor child,” mama hummed as she woke him up. She changed him on the cold changing table as he came to himself.

He murmured around his pacifier, almost as an apology and fidgeted his arms and legs, wiggling and stretching.

“Did the nap make you feel all better?” Mama cooed. Her hair was messy from laying down. Some wrinkles had formed in her dress. 

Loki smiled the best he could at her. It did, but it wasn’t everything. An ache kept a strong grip on his heart. 

“I’m glad.” She didn’t believe him. 

She carried him out to the dining hall where papa was waiting for them. Food hadn’t arrived yet. 

“Did Loki have a nice nap?” he asked. 

“We tried our best,” mama sighed. She set Loki down in his highchair and locked the tray into place. 

Loki watched the both of them patiently, a little sleepily, leaning on the tray top. 

Papa pat his back. “Lunch will be coming soon,” he winked. 

Loki smiled as the pat evolved into being pet. Papa rubbed circles into his shirt. He leaned into it. 

“He looks alright to me,” papa said. “You’re a happy little one, aren’t you, Loki?” he cooed, pinching Loki’s cheek. 

Loki decided not to humor him and pulled away. 

“No?” 

“No,” mama spoke for him. “I bet he’ll be better after a good meal though.” 

Loki hoped so too. He didn’t like the achy feeling he had in his head and his chest.

Lunch was served, and Loki did his best to eat his plate of finger foods, but he really didn’t have an appetite. He picked at it and poked, he sipped from his bottle, but he just couldn’t bear it, despite how hungry he was. 

“Perhaps we may want to step back with solid foods?” papa suggested. 

Loki shook his head. His stomach churned thinking about the mush. 

“Loki, please, let’s try and eat?” mama asked. 

Loki stared down at the plate. 

Papa took a piece of cured meat from it. “Loki, the chariot is racing right towards your mouth!” he cooed. 

Loki didn’t open up for it. He started to push the plate off of his chair’s tray, slowly but surely. 

“Perhaps something else?” mama suggested. 

Loki huffed. 

“If you can eat half that plate, you can have honeyed nuts, or perhaps… grapes?” papa tried to entice him. 

Just the thought overwhelmed and sickened Loki. He could hear Mobius in those words. “Don’t you have candy on Asgard?” He couldn’t bear it right now. 

For a moment there, he actually had a friend, not one, but maybe even two! Two people who saw him for who he was who weren’t mother or father or Thor… And now, he may not ever have that again. 

Mama lifted him out of the chair and tucked his head onto her shoulder. She bounced him up and down so gently. “No food? We’ll just have to try a bottle, hm?” mama asked. 

Loki nodded. He didn’t care though. He just missed them. He missed that life-- not being a grown-up necessarily, just… he missed feeling truly seen. 

Maybe it would feel a little better when he had something in his tummy, but for now, he couldn’t be too sure.

Chapter Text

In the near pitch-black nursery, lit only with the glow of a nightlight near the rocking chair, an orange portal appeared.

Then, another, on the opposite side of the room.

" You ,” a voice hissed. 

" Me ? What did I do?" another whispered. 

"Where the hell did you send him?"

"Where did I send him?!" 

"One of your people opened the portal!"

"That could have been anyone! It sure as hell wasn't me!" 

Mobius and Sylvie paused as Loki grunted in his sleep. 

"Mo-bius 'ND Sylvie, hi…!" Loki dreamily sing-songed in a half-asleep state as he rubbed his eyes. He knew those familiar, comforting voices so well. They visited him in dreams almost every night! But… this felt a little closer than that.

He snapped awake and sat up, dropping his pacifier. This wasn’t a dream.

Loki backed to the bars of his crib blushing bright red and began to hyperventilate. Oh gods, they were looking right at him-- and like this! W hat had he fallen to? All his dignity was stripped, right in front of them.

Sylvie pretended not to notice, browsing the room and snooping through drawers. 

Mobius, however, didn’t shy away. "Loki, shh, it's okay, you're okay. We're here now, everything's alright. Can you breathe for me? Just like we practiced, just like when you're excited, okay? Do you remember? Inhale…"

Loki took a stuttering breath as Mobius approached him, slowly as if approaching a feral animal. 

"...exhale… that's good, can we do it again? Inhale… exhale…"

Mobius took down the bars of the crib and sat down on the mattress. 

Loki scooted away. 

"I'm not going to be mean. It’s not weird. You’re okay," he reassured him. "Just tell me what happened? Can you do that?"

Loki nodded silently but didn't look at him. 

"So what happened?"

It all spilled out before Loki could stop himself; how he got here and had tried to resist, but it had all taken over. He had lost control of all of it.-- “I think this world is brainwashing me. It’s crumpling me up. It’s-- I’m-- I’ve been like this and it’s felt… good! You should get out of here--”

“Woah woah woah,” Mobius said. “Take another breath. That isn’t what’s happening.”

“What the hell do you mean?! It is!” 

“No it isn’t, kiddo… I hate to tell you this, but that’s just you . The timelines are different but they’re all consistent. None of them, as far as I’m aware, have some sort of special mechanic that targets you or other random people into Littles.” 

“‘Littles’! That word! You know it too?!” 

“Yes, Loki. I know what a Little is. I worked at the TVA. We get Littles a lot. But it’s pretty rare to find a whole society that’s so accepting of it.”

“Why am I doing the thing then?!” 

Mobius took a breath. “You’re doing the thing, kiddo, because you’re hard-wired to do the thing. Your dad, YOUR Odin, only got you to stop by practically beating it out of you. You’re good now.”  

Mobius lifted the fallen pacifier back into Loki’s mouth. 

“C’mere,” he whispered, holding out his arms for Loki to hug him, an opportunity that Loki did not hesitate to take. 

Loki paused and took a breath after the initial tension released. “Wait,” he said. “Mama’s comin’.”

“Hide!” 

Sylvie crawled down under the crib’s bed skirt, and Mobius found his way into the closet as Loki tried to busy himself with the noisiest toy he could possibly find. 

Frigga opened the door slowly. “Loki, are you alright?” She stopped at the crib.

“Someone’s figured out how to open these bars up,” she frowned. 

Loki looked up at her, as if just noticing her presence. He kept his pacifier in his mouth and shook the noisy rattle.

“Silly boy, it’s time to rest!” she cooed. 

Loki burbled back to her, happily, and genuinely meant it. He was happy-- mostly-- as well as awake, excited, nervous... He knew Mobius and Sylvie were listening to him, but hopefully they couldn’t see as mama checked his diaper and gave him a little pat on the bottom before cradling him in her lap. 

Loki could tell she was suspicious. She eyed around the room. If Loki fell asleep too quickly or gave her any excuse to get up, she might check the closet or under the bed… but if he didn’t do anything, maybe Mobius would make a noise and throw the whole operation off. 

Loki burbled, he kicked and he cooed, and conjured a little bit of magic for her. Just something simple; little fireworks. 

“You and magic,” mama tsked. “We’ll play with that in the morning, hm?” 

“Yah…” Loki hmphed. He rolled over, after all, mama, he was so sleepy! So tired!

“You’re going to stay put, yes? We’re done with toys and magic tricks for tonight?”

“Mhm,” Loki nodded.

“Alright… goodnight, Loki…” she sounded a little suspicious, but Loki couldn’t show that it made him anxious, that would be worse. 

She closed the crib, and left, clicking the door shut behind her. 

After letting out a heavy sigh of relief, Loki jumped up. He hopped up and down in his crib on his toes. 

Sylvie crawled out and brushed herself off and Mobius stumbled out of the closet. 

Loki tried to shake off the comfortable cotton pillow in his mind that was his regression, putting himself into a coherent, adult mindset with some difficulty. “I have an idea,” he whispered, taking out his pacifier and looping it around his finger. “I know how to keep us all together. Here.” 

“You want to stay here ?” Sylvie asked. 

“If you’re both here… yes.”

Sylvie looked around the room anxiously while Mobius got up on the steps to the crib, to peer over the bar’s edges. He let out a sigh. “Alright, what’ve you got?” 

At the end of it, even Mobius had a mischievous little smile on his face. 

“That’s… a plan at least,” said Sylvie. 

“Is it a bad one?” Loki asked. 

“I don’t know yet,” she considered. 

“We’ll just have to try it then,” said Mobius, “it won’t be that bad.” 

Sylvie didn’t respond. 

“There are some coins I stole from Thor under the mattress,” Loki said. “...Just in case…” 

He lifted up the corner of the sheets and quietly took out 4 large gold coins. “This,” Loki said very seriously to Sylvie particularly. “is a LOT of money. One for each batch of purchases you make will be enough regardless of what you’re buying… unless it’s another palace.” 

“Sounds good,” said Mobius. He put the coins in his pocket. “I’ll see you soon, buddy,” he said. He couldn’t hug Loki very well over the bars, but he sure did try, ruffling Loki’s hair as Loki leaned into him. “Sleep well, kiddo.” 

“Goodnight, Loki,” Sylvie waved. “You better hope this works.”

Loki watched them open up the door to the balcony and begin the climb down to the plaza floor. 

He put his pacifier back in and laid down wondering if tonight had only been a very exciting dream, and feeling incredibly lucky that he knew deep down it wasn’t.  

Chapter Text

Loki bubbled with excitement the next day. He cooed at Mama as she changed him. He didn’t mind it, giggling and chewing on his teething toys. She didn’t know what was coming, just like she didn’t know about the Frog and Toad book underneath his mattress. 

“Oh, someone’s happy? Is it a happy day?” Mama asked, tickling his belly. 

“Hap-py!” Loki repeated, arching his back before mama dressed him. He couldn’t help but wiggle. 

Mama picked him up and carried him to the breakfast hall, singing to him all the way about posie flowers and pretty horses. 

Loki did what he could to hum along. She was such a pretty singer, even in her older years. 

Papa agreed. He got up and gave Loki a great big hug, and even helped feed Loki his breakfast! It was mushy porridge, but today, Loki didn’t mind. He wasn’t in any danger and he knew it. Not with Sylvie and Mobius so close. They were so close that not even the texture bothered Loki this time around. His mind was too busy thinking about them. 

He clapped excitedly the second that a servant came to take the bowl away. 

“Is someone excited for playtime?” 

He really was excited, managing a happy screech of a noise before mama picked him up with her magic. It was a basic spell, but the feeling always impressed him just a little bit. He loved how it cradled him, how warm it was, as if he were pressed right to her, and not just vaguely supported in one arm. 

He flapped his hands without regard to his mama’s space. 

“My dearest,” Odin hesitantly commented. “Would you like me to take him out to the garden? Take a rest for yourself?” 

Mama considered this possibility, “That would be nice,” she agreed.

Loki wondered where she was going and what she would do in that time. 

He watched her leave and wander down the hall as his papa wiped the remaining porridge off his chin, cheeks, and hands and removed his bib. 

“Are you ready to walk, my child?” Odin asked him. 

Loki nodded absently as mama rounded a corner and vanished from sight. 

“I have a feeling she’ll be back soon,” said Odin. “There’s no need to worry.” 

He took Loki’s hand, helping him down from the highchair and led him away, following the typical daily path mama did with Loki out to the garden. 

Loki chewed on a pacifier as he toddled into the mushy grass. 

“Your mother told me that you found a bunny yesterday. Do you remember where his burrow was?” 

Loki nodded, but then paused before he set off in the direction of the honeysuckle plant. “But nice, kay?” he asked. 

Odin nodded, “No harm shall come to the bunny rabbit, I promise you,” he said. But Loki knew how to spot a lie, especially when it came to his father. It would only be a matter of hours between showing him the burrow and seeing it hanging by the feet in Odin’s fingers. 

Loki tried to remind himself that this Odin was not the same one he had grown up with, but showed this one to the chewed Midgardian clover instead of the rabbit’s actual hiding place. 

“I see,” papa said. He bent down the best he could to inspect where the rabbit hole may be. If Loki wasn’t quick, he have may noticed there wasn’t one. 

“Papa!” Loki tried, tugging on his caregiver’s tunic, “chase?!” he asked.

“Just a second Loki,” 

“Odin!” Mama called. “Just chase him, we’ll come back to the bunny problem.” 

Loki hadn’t realized that she had made herself comfortable with a new book at her usual table. 

“You’re supposed to be resting, my dearest!” Odin called back.

She waved him off. “How am I supposed to rest with you badgering me?” she joked. “This sunny courtyard is the nicest resting spot I could ask for.” 

“Papa,” Loki repeated, tugging at Odin’s shirt again. “Chase? Please?” he tried, now he really did want to play. He had to move and run, there was so much pure energy bubbling up inside him.  

Papa stood up and stretched, popping his back. “Oh, Loki, my child,” he said, “I’m not sure about that, what if you stumbled and got hurt?” he asked. 

That was a good point… What if Papa got mad and hurt him? This one didn’t seem like he would, but Loki wasn’t one to take his guard down so easily. “I chase you?” he tried. 

“Loki,” mother interjected. “How about something with a little less running for your papa?” 

“Do you think you could help me find some things around the garden?”

Loki nodded and began looking around before papa even began giving him directions. 

He ran the best he could to each object and brought it over happily. It felt good just to run. 

 Papa had started easy enough: A single snapdragon, a rock, a decorative rock with an etching, a stick, a handful of weeds… A handful of weeds? Loki didn’t see one of those anywhere. 

He ducked down to ground level and searched through the rows of flowers and bushes that way. 

Loki gasped. Hidden under a thick bush of blue flowers were three little brown mushrooms… those were weeds, right? 

He reached into the brush, but they were really in there and Loki couldn’t quite reach. He stood up and stepped further in, trying to trample as few of the blooms as possible. 

“Loki!” mama called. 

Loki reached down and picked up the mushrooms, holding them up triumphantly. 

Mama ran the best she could in her dress and snatched them out of his hands. “Thank you,” she said quickly, and out of breath. 

She did not look happy… 

Loki wondered why. She was supposed to be relaxing, and Loki was just doing what he was asked. He was helping! They were weeds!

Mama tossed the mushrooms onto her table before picking Loki up. “We’re going to do something that doesn’t involve trampling mama’s flowers,” she lightly scolded him and papa. 

She laid out a conjured green blanket-- Loki’s green blanket-- in the grass and miraculously brought a set of wooden toys and fabric books out with it, allowing them to appear as she fluffed the blanket up and out. 

Loki looked up at her curiously as he was set down. He was outside, why were they staying here with the indoor toys?

Papa crouched down by him. “Confined to the play mat…” he sighed. 

Loki nodded in agreement and let mama place a pacifier in his mouth before she pet his hair and wandered back to her seat. He fidgeted, bouncing his criss-crossed legs as he looked for a toy in the pile that would capture his interest. Wheeled boats and dragons weren’t doing much for his imagination today. 

“How about a story?” Papa asked. 

Loki shrugged. Sure, why not a story? But it wasn’t going to keep him totally focused. For that, Loki would need something else to do with his hands. 

He rocked back and forth as papa opened up a fabric, embroidered book and started to read. 

Loki leaned one side to the other, listing to the side, nearly bumping his stacking rings into the grass. He picked up a fistful of grass as he came back up, listening to the rhythmic way his papa spoke the old tales. 

A butterfly flying by papa’s head was the only thing that brought his attention back to the words. 

“Papa!” Loki interrupted. 

It flew closer and closer until Loki had to pounce for it-- he had to show papa the butterfly if he could just catch it! He sprung up to grab it just over his papa’s shoulder. 

Clap!

Uh-oh … Loki lost his balance, and fell right over papa, knocking him on the ground!

“Oof!” papa grunted. 

He sounded like Thor, but Loki was quick to notice, he took much longer to sit back up. 

Odin slowly pushed himself up. “Loki, my goodness you’re getting so strong!” he huffed and puffed. “Where went that little boy who I could carry as easily as a sack of potatoes?” He gripped a section under his left ribs.

“Dearest, are you alright?” mother asked. 

“Yes, dear,” Odin puffed. “I may just need to take a breath…” 

Loki knew Odin was getting older, but he hadn’t realized how frail the old man-- the old warlord-- had become. Loki hadn’t even tackled him that hard! 

He’d really need to be more gentle, he thought to himself, despite knowing it was a thought he’d disregard the second something new captured his attention.

The sun was getting higher and higher in the sky. It was only a matter of time now-- all a waiting game, and Loki spent that time the best he could: regressing as far down as he could make himself go for the sake of giving a good performance when the stage called for him. 

He laid on his back and bit down on a ring of soft, chewy beads. 

“That’s better for you,” papa agreed. 

He rubbed Loki’s tummy, and when Loki rolled over, his back. 

Loki babbled back to him, letting his words sink into gibberish. 

A servant arrived and whispered in mama’s ear. Loki recognized her as Thor’s personal servant.

Whatever she was there for must’ve been important, Loki smiled to himself, trying not to let an obvious smirk curl onto his face.

Mama scooped him up into her arms without a second thought and beckoned papa behind her. 

She walked fast, and with purpose to the throne room. The pillars passed Loki so quickly, it was almost dizzying. 

They burst into the throne room all together; mama, Loki in her arms, and papa, and gracefully meandered onto the podium next to Thor as Mobius’ nervous eyes followed them from his spot on the carpet in front of the throne. 

He looked so small and meek from up here… Sylvie next to him simply looked lost. Their Asgardian clothes fit them well. They were well researched and suited to the story Loki had given them, although it wasn’t perfect. Almost every Asgardian man had a beard and to have such short hair was definitely a misstep for Mobius, although there wasn’t much he could do about it. 

Sylvie had been able to lengthen hers quite a bit and add some braids, which suited her well. 

Then, Loki turned back to Thor as his brother began to speak. The king looked deep in thought. “These commoners are claiming that they know, and cared for, Loki during his absence,” he explained.  

“And you didn’t return him?” Mama asked. “You dressed him and sent him out into the woods back to us without his nappy? Unregressed? Frightened?” she interrogated him. 

Loki hadn’t had time to give them all those details last night… He cringed as he watched Mobius and Sylvie take in this information. 

But Mobius didn’t miss a beat. “We live pretty far away, on the outskirts, by the wall. It’s been a long few days to get here. Loki came to us and we helped him for as long as we could and then one morning, he was gone for us, too! Just like he was gone for you! We would’ve brought him back but the poor kid couldn’t walk, wouldn’t eat, we weren’t sure what else to do besides nurse him back to health.” Mobius sounded so passionate, so distraught about it all, that it really did come off as real. 

“And who is she?” Odin probed. 

“This is Sylvie, my own Little.” 

Sylvie waved awkwardly, looking at the floor. She was not selling it. 

Loki looked at his parent’s skeptical expressions. Thor didn’t exactly seem convinced, either. 

“And what have you come here to seek?” Thor questioned. 

Mobius hesitated. “Well, we had to make sure he got home safe…” he said. 

“He’s very safe, thank you,” mama sternly added. She was not ready to hear the next part… the part which Loki was sure Thor had heard already.

She was not convinced. It was time to bring out the big guns.

“Baba!” Loki babbled, reaching out to Mobius. 

“Hey Mr. majesty!” Mobius replied, waving to them. 

Loki grinned at his mama, “Em Moebus n’ Seevee!” he squealed, pointing at them and kicking his feet, wriggling to be let down. “Baba!” he peeped again to Mobius.

But against Loki’s wishes, mama didn’t let the spell break to set him down. “Down!” he hissed.

Mama didn’t listen. 

“Mama down!” Loki tried again. 

“Mr. Mobius, I don’t believe that’s your only motivation,” she responded, ignoring Loki’s pleading. 

“Mama! Doooowwwwwnnn!” Loki whined. 

This time, he was passed to Thor’s lap, where he was held as he worked himself up into tears, still fighting to be let down. 

“Shh, Loki,” Thor tried. 

“Down!” Loki screamed, his voice echoing in the hall, stopping any possibility that Mobius and mama’s conversation could continue. 

Thor picked him up and took him out of the room. This was worse! This wasn’t supposed to happen! He had just wanted to give Mobius and Sylvie hugs! 

“Tor! down!” Loki shrieked as the doors closed outside behind them.

“I know, little one,” Thor cooed, bouncing him up and down. 

Loki hummed and whined. He was going to miss all the important stuff! He struggled, kicking Thor as he did so. 

“Hush Loki…” Thor said, somehow staying calm. It would be a miracle if Mobius wasn’t already being ripped limb from limb in the dungeons right now… Loki hyperventilated just thinking about it.

Mama and papa exited the throne room in their usual graceful manner, and as the door shut behind them, they immediately started to argue. 

Loki put his thumb in his mouth so he could listen to them. 

“He-- You can’t be serious,” mama insisted. 

“Dear,” Odin managed. “I’m not sure if caring for Loki is going to be a manageable task for us anymore.”

Mama’s face soured. 

“Thor is no longer here to help when we need it… and we are not in the prime of our youth,” he reasoned. “Extra help might be just what we need!” 

“But him? Them? ” 

Thor joined the conversation. “Mother, I understand a male nurse is unorthodox, but you’re not going to get any trained nurse already prepared for Loki’s needs more than this man if that’s what he’s requesting. He must already be aware of Loki’s condition and abilities.” 

Loki nodded in agreement. 

“That is, assuming they’re not lying to us….” Thor added. 

Loki whined again, reaching back towards the door. He could prove they weren’t! Not about that at least.

“The girl is odd,” papa agreed. “She doesn’t act much like a Little.”

“Littles are always odd,” mama reasoned. “She’s nervous…” At least she had some compassion for them…

Papa raised an eyebrow at her. 

“Seevee Liddle,” Loki assured them, even though he highly doubted she’d be happy to pull the act off. And for good measure, he threw in a “Em Mobius baba!” 

“What does that mean, brother?” Thor asked curiously, poking at Loki’s tummy.

Loki put his fingers back in his mouth as he thought about how he could explain it to Thor. 

“Oh, he’s just a baby,” mama argued exasperatedly. “He knows these people as much as we do!” 

Thor scrutinized both of his parents, and then looked to Loki, who continued to wiggle and grip his brother’s shirt. “I’ve made my decision,” he hummed quietly before carrying Loki back into the throne room.

Mama and papa followed them back inside the grand room, and as the doors closed behind them, Thor set Loki down. 

“Mobius,” Thor announced, “You and your little one may stay under the condition that you begin training to become Loki’s nurse. A room shall be made up for you and Sylvie in the servant’s wing… after a final dinner interview tonight.”

Mobius sighed with relief, but Sylvie didn’t seem so sure… and given all of this, how rushed this plan was, how much improvisation needed to be done, Loki didn’t exactly blame her. 

Finally escaping from his brother’s arms, Loki toddle-ran to them and wrapped Mobius into a big hug, inviting Sylvie in as well. He felt so small in their arms, squeezing him with love. Maybe this ridiculous plan would actually work out. 

Chapter Text

Loki hadn’t seen his friends again for most of the day. They had been led away by Thor’s guards and his servant shortly after Loki’s hug with them had broken.

He hoped they were doing okay, perhaps getting a tour of the wider reaches of the palace: all the inner workings where the servants dwelled, the medical wing, and noble social quarters, as a courtesy, of course, not like they’d ever need them.

Loki curiously peeked around corners and into hallways looking for his friends, hoping that maybe he’d have the luck of running into them in between bath time and his nap.

He sat down in his high chair enthusiastically, bouncing up and down at the empty dinner table as mama clicked his tray in and pinched his cheek. 

She ran her fingers through his hair, combing it gently back into place. She stuck a finger in her mouth and scrubbed at a smudge on his face, apparently he was supposed to be princely and presentable. “--so be on your best behavior,” mama had lectured, but Loki hadn’t heard a word up until then. 

He nodded as if he had been listening.

Her hair was in full, done-up fluffy curls, and she had dawned a fine dress, the type reserved for outings and public appearances. They were entertaining new guests, after all, even if said guests’ status was relatively low. 

“Will your little one require a high chair tonight, Mr. Mobius?” A servant asked.

Loki squirmed in his chair, dodging mama to look at his friends again. 

“Uh, no I don’t think that’s necessary,” Mobius answered. 

He sat down across from Loki, and pulled out a chair for Sylvie next to him, as well. 

Mobius smiled at him and waved across the table. 

“Mobius,” Papa began as he took his goblet from a server’s tray. “What experience do you have caring for Littles? Aside from miss… Sylvie was it?” 

Sylvie nodded timidly and inspected her own glass that the server handed her. 

Mobius faked a sip, letting the mead in his cup only brush his mustache. “I’ve been looking after Littles in the area for a good… ah… how long has it been? Probably a good 400 years; Most of my adult life.”

Thor took a big gulp of his beverage. “And what brought you into taking care of Littles? It isn’t traditionally a man’s place.” 

Mobius shrugged. “I dunno it was my wife’s job for a number of years and when she got sick, I stepped up, took over, and learned that it was really rewarding work,” he answered. 

“The short hair…” Thor nodded soberly. “A man in mourning.” 

“Uh… yeah.” 

“Do you have any references?” Mama asked.

Mobius looked to Loki.

Loki nodded back. He could forge a letter or even make up a person. That would be fine. Sylvie could enchant someone to write them one if worse came to worse. 

“Yeah, plenty! Mostly the upper common folk and small lords… no big name royals at the moment,” he smiled. 

“Maybe after this you’d like to write down some names so we can send out a raven,” she suggested, hoping to call his bluff, but if Mobius was concerned with that, he didn’t outwardly show it. 

Mobius, for what it was worth, was doing pretty well in Loki’s mind. He had enough of a grasp of Asgardian customs to sail through this with just his improvisational skills without raising too many eyebrows. He was charismatic, brilliant, and charming, but also a little goofy… All the qualities which had initially drawn Loki to him were the same ones that were making him the ideal caregiver. 

Sylvie however, was struggling. 

Loki noticed that his family’s eyes wandered to her every now and again as she shifted back and forth and tried to sit on her hands, staring down at her reflection on the porcelain plate in front of her. 

“Seevee play?” he asked in his most unintelligible baby babble. 

Sylvie looked up from her plate. 

Mobius smiled. “No, I think were gonna sit down and have dinner now. Maybe we can play after if we’re not too sleepy,” he explained. 

Sylvie nodded, taking note of this and started to slide back into her dissociation. 

“Sylvie,” mama started. “You’ve been very quiet. What is on your mind, child?”

“She’s a little quiet,” Mobius said apologetically. 

“I’d like to hear from the girl, please… Sylvie?” 

Sylvie took a little sip of her water and nodded. “I’m… nervous,” she admitted. 

“What have you to be nervous about?” Frigga asked, her face full of concern.

She turned pink as she thought about all of it and shrugged. Loki knew the truth: she was nervous about meeting this family that she had never had, but she couldn’t say that to Frigga.

“It’s really exciting to meet Loki’s royal family, huh?” Mobius tried. 

Sylvie nodded in agreement, flashing an anxious smile. 

Servants filed out from the kitchen, taking eyes off of Sylvie for a few seconds as platters were set over the table of all sorts of goodies. It wasn’t quite a feast, but it was enough to be impressive to commoners. 

The attention on Sylvie quickly returned as she struggled with her cutlery.

Mobius turned his attention to her. “You want me to cut that up for you?” he asked quietly. It sounded natural, not a part of the act. It was a genuine question to Sylvie, not the Little character she was playing. 

This fact seemed to disturb Sylvie. She shook her head quickly. 

Mama filled up Loki’s plate before Mobius could even be asked to. She sat back down without doing “the chariot” to feed him.

“M…” Loki hummed discontentedly. He dropped his fork from the tray, down onto the table and reached towards Mobius. 

Mobius tapped Sylvie reassuringly on the shoulder and handed her plate back to her before pushing out his chair. “Do you mind if I step in here?” he asked. 

“Not at all,” Thor said. 

Mobius walked around the table to Loki’s high chair and picked up the fork on the table. He smiled at Loki nervously, as if asking permission to continue. 

Although he knew Mama was glaring at them, Loki smiled back and opened his mouth for Mobius to proceed. 

“How did you come into being a caregiver, Mobius?” Papa asked, breaking the silence of dinner. “Unless Sylvie is your biological daughter?” 

“No!” Both Mobius and Sylvie agreed in unison. 

“No, um, Sylvie’s my late wife’s… Little sister,” he improvised. That sounded reasonable to Loki. “We started taking care of her pretty early on. You remember when you got to come home with us that first time?” he asked her. 

“Mhm…” Sylvie said, pressing her mouth together tightly. 

Loki raised his eyebrows at her, encouraging her to continue.

“Mummy and daddy--” it was like she was forcing the titles out-- “uh… made a cake!” she told them, nodding cement that that was the story she wanted. 

“How old are you Sylvie?” papa asked. 

“1,046,” she guessed. 

“That’s awfully close to Loki, isn’t it? What about your headspace range, dearest?” 

“Um… 360 years old,” she said. 

“To?” 

She shrugged. “To seven hundred… eighty… four.” Loki wasn’t sure if she was doing mental math or choosing a random number, but papa seemed convinced regardless.

“Do you like being a sort of older sister to Loki?” 

Sylvie was picking apart the chunks of boar on her plate with her fingers. If she was trying to play as a Little, she was doing a damn good job at it, although Loki was pretty sure that was just how she ate. 

“‘S alright,” she said between bites. “He’s silly...” 

“She’s a good helper,” Mobius interrupted. 

Sylvie nodded as she ravenously ate the boar meat, getting sauce all over her fingers and face. 

Loki raised his eyebrows at her. C’mon! Say something else! He wanted to tell her. 

She met his gaze but only scrunched her nose at him. I don’t care! She was telling him. It probably did help though, to see them interacting even silently across the table.

“Es-Seevee amess!” Loki pointed out, not that he wasn’t also a mess from occasionally missing the fork Mobius was trying to direct into his mouth with the swift turn of the head as he watched his family converse. 

“It’s no worry, really,” said Thor. “We aren’t grading her table manners.”

Sylvie gave a self-satisfied smile back to Thor in a silent Thank you! 

“Sylvie, dearest, how did you help Mobius with caregiving back home?” Mama asked. 

Sylvie looked to Mobius, only to realize he was looking back at her. 

She swallowed her food. “Uh… I worked with the babies a lot,” she said. “Play and stuff when Mo-- my dad-dy,” she spat the words out as if they had come out involuntarily, “is busy… Um…and feeding and stuff like that,” she added, her eyes wandering to Loki’s highchair.

“Very impressive,” Mama said. “And what does your daddy usually do during that time?”

Sylvie was trying very hard to not look uncomfortable with her verbal slip. “He… does the teaching and nappy changes… the hard stuff… Cleaning.” 

Good, good, that sounded good, Loki agreed. Mama and papa would like to hear that , even though Sylvie was now apparently going to be stuck calling Mobius “daddy”. 

If she was trying to sound Little she was doing a good job, but Loki really suspected she was simply not used to talking to people, especially not her family from another life.

“Mobius, before we break and deliberate,” Thor prompted, “Could you tell me about Loki’s more interesting abilities?” 

Thor, probably without even knowing, had just thrown the job to Mobius, and Loki knew it. 

“He’s got a lot of amazing abilities,” Mobius began, knowing that he did not impress anyone with that statement. “The kid’s an incredible magician: the shapeshifting, the double-casting, illusion projections...”

That was a start, but some nobles and friends of the family knew that. 

“And I know, just between us, I’ve gotta be careful letting him get cold or else he turns a little blue…”

Mama’s face flushed white. 

“It’s no big deal to us. Loki’s shown us that he’s such a sweet kiddo, regardless of any quirks like that. Right, Loki?” Mobius smiled at him after scrubbing at Loki’s cheek with a napkin. 

Loki bounced up and down in his high chair, smiling back and grabbed at Mobius’ mustache. 

“You ready to be outta that chair?” Mobius asked him. He looked at Loki’s parents for approval of the action. 

“Out!” Loki repeated, happily. “Uppie out!” 

Sylvie blushed looking at him. He knew she was embarrassed for him, but somehow, right now, he didn’t mind it.

Mobius hesitantly moved Loki’s plate and opened up the tray, but Loki didn’t move. He stretched his arms up, begging Mobius to pick him up. 

Trust me! Loki signaled with raised eyebrows and a nod. 

So Mobius tried. He put his hands under Loki’s arms and lifted. 

Loki made himself light with a little bit of magic and nuzzled into Mobius’ arms. 

This revelation and moment of a quiet, mutual joy was cut sadly short:

“Loki, come with us, please,” mama reminded him. 

Mobius set the Little down as Frigga walked by. 

“Stay close.” She tugged on Loki’s hand, leading him towards the door. 

Loki bit his cheek as he looked between them, but Mobius shooed him onward. It was okay, Loki could be brave. Although, Loki wasn’t so sure. Maybe, if this didn’t work, if they couldn’t stay on Asgard together, they could run away to somewhere else. 

Loki let the door shut behind him, even though he really hadn’t wanted it to. He wanted to know what Mobius and Sylvie would discuss on their side of the door.

“That man,” mama said. “Knows far too much.” Her voice shook in a way Loki had only heard when watching his life back at the TVA. 

“That’s exactly why we should hold onto him,” Thor said. He did not seem as worried. “And after all,” he reasoned. “Another Little that he gets along with is reason enough to keep them around.”

“Just another distraction.” Mama shook her head. 

“Mother,” Thor scolded her. “All my nurses had another child with them! You’re only making reasons to deny care to Loki that we can no longer provide.”

She scowled. Even if Sylvie hadn’t been old enough to remember Frigga in her lifetime, Loki saw the resemblance. 

“You will still get all the time you want with Loki, just with some help to fill in the gaps!-- Think of it this way, mother, Mr. Mobius is here to replace me, not you. I cannot, as king, be in his nursery each and every moment you’re not. We just need someone on hand who can.”

Loki really had considered throwing another fit, making some big, dramatic scene so that he wouldn’t be separated from his friends, but Thor really seemed to be doing much of the work for him. 

“Your mother makes a good point,” papa pointed out. “My boy, you have been taught well, but you lack some wisdom that can only be gained in age.-- That man has a very strange energy. Be wary in this decision,” papa warned. 

“Do you think he’s dangerous?” Thor asked with some concern. 

“Not necessarily, but I do believe he is not telling us the whole truth.” 

“He is nervous, father. Any good candidate would be,” Thor reasoned. 

“Not like that. I do not believe he is one of our people. He is not from Asgard.”

Loki made a sad noise. 

“Send your ravens on him, father. Perch one on his shoulder. We will keep him under close watch, but I simply don’t believe we will find a better match for Loki in such a short period.” 

Mama bit the inside of her cheek. 

“Can’t we try? Just to see how they function? The only thing we had to hide has already been compromised. If you can find a better match, bring him to the dungeons, but let us try and see if he can make life easier for us-- if he can make Loki happy…” 

Loki clung to his mother. He was laying it on thick at this point, just hoping that her and papa would crack and allow this grand experiment to happen… They had to, right?

“One week,” mama said. “And all of the references checked.” 

Thor agreed, and so did Loki. 

That wouldn’t be too hard to make. He could do that. 

And so, Thor opened up the doors once again. “You’ll start at 7 tomorrow morning,” he said.

“Thank you, your highness,” Mobius bowed. 

Sylvie awkwardly curtseyed. She looked back at Loki nervously as she followed Mobius back out to their room. 

Chapter Text

Loki usually waited until around 8 to get up if he had to guess. He wasn’t sure, there wasn’t much of a need for clocks in the little nursery, but he could look at the sun and how it peered through the curtains to make his guess. But today, he was up much earlier, and stayed up, bouncing up and down in his crib as he listened through the door to mama rattling off instructions. He weaved a little spell to eavesdrop as they walked away, throughout the palace. 

Sylvie did not speak, but Loki could hear her exhaustion through the spell. It was too early for her. 

Mobius didn’t seem to be at his best, either, until mama asked him about if he wanted a cup of hot tea. 

He enthusiastically agreed to it, sipping as he listened to each of mama’s instructions for where he could find Loki’s snacks, bottles, and plates, how he should address the kitchen staff, and mealtimes for when Loki should be washed up and brought to the table.

Mama was absolutely meticulous with her explanation, and as much as Loki loved all of them, his attention waned. He waved the spell away, and sat down in a huff. He hadn’t wanted it to come to this on the first day, but he was positive that under different circumstances, mama would’ve been here already to change him, brush his hair, and even snuggle him up in preparation for breakfast. 

He tried his best to make himself cry. He was already pretty good at it, but the action only came easier when he factored in the cold, wet nappy around his hips and how hungry he was. He didn’t feel the need to scream yet, this could be a quiet, hiccupping sob for now-- best not to put off Sylvie more than she already was. 

It was only a few seconds until mama opened up his nursery door. Whether she had heard him, or had just made her way finally to his room, Loki wasn’t sure, but that was okay. They were here now. 

“Sylvie, you can go play while I talk to your daddy,” she said nonchalantly.

Sylvie looked awfully uncomfortable with this request. She nodded silently before walking to the box of toys, and sitting down like she didn’t know what to do with them. 

Loki wondered if he had acted like that when first prompted to play. He set his thumb in his mouth as mama set the crib bars down and lifted him out. 

She held Loki close to her as she talked to Mobius about wake-times and changing times, checking Loki via waistband and leg-hole as she spoke. 

She held Loki close to her, like Thor had as a child, when he had a toy he REALLY did not want Loki to touch and brought him over to the changing table, talking all the way about things Loki didn’t really care about. He was much more distracted by the fact that Mobius was not only obligated to watch, but to later perform this task. 

He tried to hide himself, not to look at either of them or move unless he had to, even after mama handed him some teethers to play with. Maybe this plan hadn’t been as well thought-out as he had hoped. 

Loki felt a comforting pressure on him. He opened his eyes. 

Mobius had a hand pressed into Loki’s hair, running his fingers through in that gentle, reassuring manner that Loki loved. He watched mama’s movements instead, each motion of how she prepared the new diaper for Loki. 

Mama pulled Loki up and scrunched a shirt over his head, pulling pants up over his bottom, talking to Mobius all the while about how to properly dress the Little prince; how his outfits should coordinate and what was considered appropriate for a royal toddler.

”And now he's ready for breakfast,” she said. “We eat every morning at 9. Try not to be late.” 

As she started to walk out, Loki heard his new nurse beckon Sylvie to join them and the following noise of Sylvie scrambling up from the floor. 

Loki was carried with his head over his mama’s shoulder to the dining hall. Mama walked fast and explained that normally they could not be this late, and that today was a special exception with how many explanations were needed for Loki’s care. 

The Little swung his feet excitedly as he was set in his special chair for his meal. The dining hall was empty by now-- Thor and papa had more important work to do than wait around. 

A kitchen maid delivered out Loki and his mother’s breakfasts and utensils on an ornately carved wooden cart. It wasn’t a rarity, Loki often saw the cart on slower mornings like this or when he napped through his lunch.

She handed mama her toast and set Loki’s porridge on his tray. 

Loki leaned back as far as he could in his chair, to check what his nurse was receiving but there was no breakfast for Mobius or Sylvie on the shelf below. 

“Mobius, won’t you be a dear and feed Loki for me?” she asked. 

Loki grinned and babbled, bouncing up and down in his chair. Mobius would get to feed him? That was the only thing Mobius had gotten to do all morning! 

Loki’s curious attention shifted. He loved Mobius dearly, yes, and the porridge wasn’t all that bad, but what was Sylvie doing? She hadn’t been given a snack. Was she just expected to stand around and wait? Anyone who’s ever worked with Littles or been around Sylvie would know that that would not happen. 

“Loki, if you don’t open your mouth, the rocketship can’t land!” Mobius whispered to him. 

The Little opened his mouth just slightly, enough for the spoon to slot in.

Sylvie wandered around the perimeter of the dining room, much like Loki had as an adolescent, with her hands behind her back, as if she were scared to touch any of the pillars or wall decorations in the case that they may just crumble at the slightest touch. She peered out the grand windows, made of crystalline, pearlescent glass that mimicked the colors of a soap bubble. 

She paced around the room as Loki was fed. 

Mobius seemed to notice, too. He looked up every few moments to check on her. Maybe when she was littler she’d be able to join! Or maybe mama would at least give her a broom… Mobius pressed his mouth into a thin, uncomfortable line. 

Loki knew he was thinking about doing this three times a day every day for the foreseeable future… Loki did not want to think about the implications of that right now. It was only day one. Things would surely change. Surely they’d get better. Different. Loki would make sure they were more than servants. They were his nurses and therefore part of the family!

It was almost underwhelming how routine the day was. Mobius and Sylvie could almost never get a word in or a moment with him with mama around policing every action and explaining each and every step of his care-- things that Mobius surely knew from studying Loki and from having basic experience working with Littles. 

Mama had even opted for an indoor playtime today, citing that the gardeners had been delayed this morning. A fact that Loki was certain wasn’t true, but took anyway with a huffy little grunt. Indoor playtime with his friends was better than none at all.

“Dear?” Odin asked, poking his head in through Loki's nursery door. “Don't you think playtime may be something they can handle without too much instruction? Wouldn't you rather take a step back and join me in the library for a few hours?” 

Mama abruptly paused with her instructions on Loki’s favorite games and where to find all of his picture books. She hesitated as she stared at her husband. 

“Would you like me to bring you a book?” he asked.

“That… Would be nice,” she agreed.

Mobius added himself to the conversation. “You don’t need to worry about us, your highness. I think we can handle playtime. Right, you two?”

Loki nodded eagerly, but Sylvie didn’t seem so certain. She nodded a little slower.

That was alright, Loki would show her how to play like a Little. 

He crawled to his toy box and started to take out some wooden toys. They were mostly baby toys, like stacking rings and shape sorting blocks, but there were toys for bigger kids too, like little peg people and wooden animals. 

Mobius sat down between them, lowering himself slowly to the ground. “Wow, check those out,” he hummed.

As Loki started to roll out a wooden pony on wheels, Sylvie also leaned in, picking up a few small toys and setting them back down again, awkwardly. 

 “Hey, Sylvie, what do you think about being my helper with Loki?” Mobius asked, noticing her discomfort. 

She scowled. “Fine,” she said, looking back at Mama… who was her mama, too! Loki wondered if she felt that. It was hard to think she didn’t when she acted so timid in this world, but maybe that was also because the rules of engagement with the world around her had just fundamentally shifted. 

Other than answering the question, Sylvie’s behavior did not change. She continued to touch the toys aimlessly. She was pretending like she hadn’t already taken a look at them when she had broken in just a few nights ago.

That was okay, Loki didn’t need much help right now, anyway. 

“Y’know,” Mobius began, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but maybe we need to try a different game.”

Both littles stared at their caregiver. 

“Maybe we gotta try something more interactive-- something pretend.”

Mobius scooted himself up. Loki already knew where his caregiver was going There was a wooden playstand shoved in the far corner of the room, by the picture book shelf. Loki had explored it a few times. It was quite fun when Thor was around, but since his brother had left for his kingly duties, it had mostly been abandoned for more solitary activities. 

Mobius offered a hand to both of the Littles to help them up. 

Loki was happy to take it.

Mobius did his best to facilitate a game of “shopkeeper” between the two Littles. He let Loki gather items to sell and asked Sylvie what he could buy, encouraging her to play along. 

She did not act like an Asgardian shopkeep, but instead based her actions on the people of Midgard. She tried to “scan” the items and made a beep every time she did. 

Mama smiled up from her book but did not look at Sylvie funny. She must’ve found it some outlandish piece of imagination. 

Loki gathered toys from the toy box in arm fulls and brought them to the shop to be sorted by color and type while Sylvie priced the items and dealt with the customers. 

“Sir, I’ll need to see a government issued ID to sell you that,” she said very seriously. Oh… Loki giggled to himself, she was serious! She wasn’t just pretending to enjoy the game, she really was! She was like him!

“My ID?!” Mobius asked incredulously. “For a wolf?” 

Loki snorted a laugh. 

“Wolves are dangerous animals!” Sylvie reasoned. “We gotta make sure he’s going to a good master.” She was also grinning. 

Mobius patted his pockets, but he had no identification. He didn’t even have a wallet! 

He pretended to hand her a card. 

“Sir! This isn’t an ID! This is a business card for a hairdresser! How dare you!” 

“What? Sorry, there’s a lot of cards in here…” Mobius pretended to flip through his wallet for another card. 

“That’s your frozen yogurt punch card!” 

“No, no I swear it’s in here! Try this one!”

Sylvie feigned a gasp. “Sir! What sort of woman do you take me for?”

“What is it?” Mobius asked nervously. 

“It’s a coupon for a couple’s massage! LOKI! Get this man out of here! He is banned from this establishment!” 

“Wait! Wait! I swear this one is it!” Mobius tried, rustling through his wallet. 

“Nice try! That’s your credit card!” she called as Loki, who was having trouble not giggling through this entire exchange, pushed Mobius out of the pretend walls that were the shop. 

Loki then went back to organizing, although he found himself bitter about the way Sylvie could act out scenes but he couldn’t. 

“Sylvie?” he asked, tugging on her shirt. “Um… pretend I’m opening a restaurant in the shop, okay?”

Sylvie frowned at him. “But then who will sweep the floors for the customers and restock the shelves?” 

“But Mobius didn’t buy anything.” 

“Yes, but he will next time. I promise, okay? So just play it this way.” She hissed at him. 

“Hey, hey, this is a game. Why can’t Loki open up a restaurant in the shop, too? The playstand is wide enough for you both,” Mobius tried to break it up. “Or we could take the table and let Loki set up his restaurant on the other side of the shop,” he suggested. 

“Um, or,” Loki proposed. “Pretend I’m a customer, too. Okay?” 

Sylvie folded her arms as she took her place behind the counter and her invisible cash register and waited for the new scene to play out. 

Loki sprouted his own little tail to aid in his act of pretending to be a puppy.

“We don’t allow animals in here,” Sylvie chided Mobius. 

“He’s a service dog!” Mobius tried to explain as he watched Loki put the “merchandise” in his mouth and drop it on the counter in front of Sylvie.  

Loki thought it was awfully funny. 

“Loki, could you find me the vegetables?” he asked. 

So Loki looked around for the wooden toy vegetables. He picked them up in his mouth and brought them to the counter for Sylvie to ring up. 

Loki barked up at her as Mobius tried once more to pay for his goods but instead of smiling at his silly antics, Sylvie only made a sour scowl. 

“This isn’t working,” she pouted. “No dogs are allowed in the store.” 

Before Loki could defend himself, Mobius stepped in, still getting the money out of his pretend wallet. 

“Sylvie, look, I know you’re really into the game right now, but we gotta make it fun for everyone and that means Loki needs to be included even though he’s Smaller than you.”

Sylvie paused and stared at her caregiver. “I’m not-- I’m not ‘really into it’!” she answered incredulously. She began to go red in the face as she struggled for words “This-- This is dumb!” She whined as she crossed her arms and plopped down onto the floor. 

“Sylvie?” Mobius questioned, breaking the caregiver act. 

She seemed legitimately angry about the ruining of her game as she slumped behind the play-stand’s counter. 

He leaned over to check on her, but before more could be said, mama’s imposing shadow came upon them. 

Loki had forgotten she was still in the room while he was swept up in the game. 

“Oh I have it…” Mama shook her head, but smiled all the same. She picked Sylvie up from behind, set the girl on her hip seemingly effortlessly, and brought her back to her reading chair. 

Sylvie wiggled, not violently, but enough to show that she was very uncomfortable with being in someone’s lap, even if that someone was the last queen of Asgard. 

Mama was not phased. Loki was not only bigger, but probably wigglier when he was fussy.

She bounced her leg, wrapping her arms around Sylvie’s mid-section to hold her steady. It wasn’t intimate by Loki’s standards, but such touch must’ve been a massive violation to poor Sylvie. The girl probably hadn’t even had her hand held in hundreds of years until a few weeks ago. 

Sylvie opened her mouth to speak to Mobius or Loki, but no noise managed to come out. She seemed too shocked. 

“Poor grumpy girl,” mama cooed as if Sylvie were barely old enough to understand her. “It’s been a long few days, hasn’t it?” 

Sylvie was bright red with embarrassment and looked as if she were ready to explode with a violent rage. 

“It’s almost Loki’s naptime, but big girls don’t take naps, do they?” she asked.

Sylvie did not answer.

“Well, if you still would like to be big,” she whispered in Sylvie’s ear, “I have a toy that may interest you while Loki takes his nap. If you promise to be a good girl, I’ll give it to you to play with. Do you think you could do that for me?” she asked quietly. 

Sylvie hesitantly nodded, even though she really was just hoping for escape. Mama used a bit of magic and summoned a toy to her hands. It was an awfully cool model of a dragon, painted to have shimmering scales and all. 

Her eyes widened. “I can!” she answered. 

“That’s a good girl,” said mama, setting the dragon into Sylvie’s hands.

Sylvie’s eyes tracked it and stayed fixed even once mama picked her up and set her back on the ground. 

Loki did not understand! It was a cool toy, but not a far shot cooler than the ones she had only poked at from Loki’s toy box. 

Mama picked Loki up and set him onto the changing station. She placed a pacifier in his mouth before proceeding to verbally give directions for how to set up the room for naptime, which Mobius followed along with. 

Sylvie didn’t really try, as she was busy examining this new toy she had been handed. She tugged on Mobius’ tunic as he fluffed Loki’s pillows and straightened out the bed. 

“Hm?” he hummed to her.

“Daddy, there’s a dragon,” she cooed. 

“I know,” Mobius whispered back. “Isn’t it cool?” he asked with mild amusement. 

Loki watched her eye the toy as Mobius drew the curtains closed. 

“But y’know part of being a good girl like her highness asked you to is being quiet so the baby can nap,” he reminded her. 

Sylvie paused and hugged the toy to her chest. “Oh…” she said. “Right…” 

She wasn’t faking any of this, as far as Loki was aware and if her past performances of being a Little were anything to go by. If she was, she had learned how to do so very quickly. 

It wasn’t long before mama was helping Mobius pick out a book.

Loki sat in his crib with the side down, patiently awaiting his story and bottle. 

“Loki… Would you like to see the dragon?” Sylvie asked. Somehow, she seemed to have much more energy than he did, but he decided to humor her anyway. 

Loki ran his fingers over the rough, but not sharp, textures of the toy’s ridges and scales. It was an ornate creature that he was happy to give her. 

“Now you’ll have lots of dreams about them while you nap!” she hummed happily. 

Mobius soon returned with a book in one hand and a bottle from a servant-- who’s arrival Loki had not noticed-- in the other. He set everything on the small end table next to the rocking chair before cozying Loki into his lap and hanging the Little’s feet over the chair arm. 

Loki was warm pressed against Mobius’ bosom. He wasn’t sure if they had ever been this close before. Despite the new clothes, Mobius still smelled like he always had… like old books and coffee. The consistency brought a smile to Loki as he rolled into his caregiver. In a strange way, he felt more like home than home itself. 

He pet Loki’s hair before reaching for the warm bottle of milk.

Loki squealed and wiggled. His mind felt littler and littler. His fists balled up. 

Although mama stood by his feet, Sylvie sat on a pillow on the floor, hugging the dragon to her chest. 

“Do you read, Sylvie?” Mama asked. 

The question seemed to startle Sylvie. She shrugged nervously.  “I can read…” she answered quietly. 

“Would you like to read to Loki this time or let your daddy do it for you?”

Sylvie pointed at Mobius. 

So Mobius smiled gently at both of them and opened up the book, ready to read. He showed the pictures to Loki and then turned them around for Sylvie. If Loki was tracking, which he wasn’t with his eyelids so heavy, he may have noticed how satisfied mama was with this reading. 

He blinked in and out of consciousness as Mobius read. He felt one kiss on his forehead and felt himself be set into his crib. Then he felt another.

As the caregivers and Sylvie left the room, Loki heard his mother faintly pat Sylvie on the back and tell her. “What a good help you’ve been for your daddy. Loki will be lucky to have a big sister like you around and watching over him.” 

When Loki awoke from his nap, the energy was different. Sylvie’s energy specifically was different. 

She was back to being quiet and anxious again, even though she hugged the dragon toy to her chest. She had been snapped from her Little headspace and the brief flow they had captured was gone. It was back to mama’s rigid routine with lunch and a bath and dinner with only a little bit of time for more play in between… But Loki hadn’t seen the Little spark in Sylvie that he had seen before. It almost zapped him out of his own headspace to see her try and force it. 

Bedtime was much the same as naptime, but the curtains were drawn open for the moonlight to flood in.

Mobius and Sylvie did not leave the room this time. It was just to make sure the baby stayed asleep, they had assured the queen.

Loki did his best to stay awake so he could break her listening spell. 

He knew it would be important to check in with them so he could get started on those reference letters. But instead of starting on jotting down a list of names, Loki was surprised when Sylvie spoke first. Loki couldn’t see well, but he was pretty sure she was still holding the dragon.  

“We should go,” she said. 

“Go? Sylvie, we just got here!” Mobius laughed.

“We got into the palace, got the jobs. Let’s go ,” she insisted. 

“We can’t just leave! Not with things how they are,” Mobius explained. “Do you know how bad that would look? We’d break all the hearts of Asgard, taking their little prince away!” 

“I… I hadn’t actually planned on leaving,” Loki mumbled. 

“ Hadn’t planned on leaving ? We can’t really stay here! I am an adult. I didn’t fight my way this far to throw it all away playing your stupid games, Loki.”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Mobius said quietly. “This is only temporary--”

“You’re just going to be okay with this? Getting treated like a disposable servant? As lesser than the “Little prince”? This is bullshit.” She paused like she was done for a second, but before Mobius could open his mouth or Loki could rebuttal, she continued. “Even with all the horrible, irreconcilable things you’ve done,” she said to Mobius, “You deserve to be back on your timeline, living your life as an average human, having your own free will! Not here waiting on Loki hand and foot! I thought you were better than this. Both of you. I’m ready for the next step, whether you two are or not, because this is not what I signed up for.” 

She slammed the large doors of Loki’s room as hard as she could as she left. 

“She’ll come around. This is probably bringing up a lot of big feelings for her,” Mobius reassured Loki. He stared pensively around the room and in the moonlight of the opened curtains.

 Loki thought he could see a glassy reflection in Mobius’ eyes. 

“Why you sad?” Loki asked.

“I’m not sad, kiddo. Just thinking… I can’t wrap my head around what could’ve happened to that other Loki… The one who’s supposed to be here.”

“Oh…” Loki responded. If he was being honest, he had avoided that subject when thinking about the situation. Wherever that Loki was, he probably wasn’t coming back anytime soon, and there probably wasn’t much Loki or his friends could do about that now. It was better to just fill the void and ease the pain for his family members for now.

“You don’t need to worry about any of that right now, kiddo,” Mobius sighed. He stood up from his spot next to the crib and stretched, forcing a small smile. “It’s something we’ll figure out as we go. This first week, let’s just try to relax and coast through the trial period, alright?” He reached through the crib bars to ruffle Loki’s hair. “I’ll see you in the morning, Champ and don’t worry about that name list.” He handed Loki a piece of paper. “I got it all worked out for you.”  

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

“Hey, good morning,” Mobius whistled as he opened up Loki’s tall nursery doors. 

Loki yawned and stretched, rolling over onto her back and letting the sunlight stream over her. It was so bright, she could barely see her nurse and Sylvie standing over her. 

When her eyes adjusted, she noticed Sylvie scrunching up her nose. 

“What happened to Loki?” she asked. 

“Huh? What do you mean?” Mobius set down the crib bars and inspected Loki, who kicked and giggled as he did so. 

“He’s… a she,” she pointed out curiously. 

Loki, still with her pacifier in her mouth, nodded in agreement as Sylvie stared at her. Loki’s hair was longer and more styled, her body and face had a different shape, and there were the obvious things that would have been noticeable to any caregiver holding her or changing her diapers. 

“You’re a girl today, too?” Sylvie addressed her. 

Loki took out her pacifier. “Syl-vie!” she babbled-- even her voice had changed.

Mobius helped the Little Princess clean up and dressed her fashionably, just as mama had requested before bringing her out to the breakfast table.

Loki sat down in her high chair and watched Sylvie again as she was served her food. “Psst!” she whispered to the older Little. 

When she was sure she had caught Sylvie’s attention she kicked the table and handed Sylvie some of her food. 

“Mother, have Mobius and Sylvie been fed in the servant’s hall?” Thor asked. 

Mama nodded with her mouth full. Such a question did not mean much to her. 

He looked to Mobius. “At dinner, when we gather again, please sit with us,” Thor told him. “Any nurse of Loki’s is part of our family,” he added, shooting a glance to his mother. 

Sylvie tried to tamp down a smile. 

After breakfast, Mama and Mobius returned the girls to the nursery. She was still following him through the day, even if she didn’t lead and explain every step now. 

She supervised as Mobius helped Loki with her bath, which would have looked quite weird to the outsider.

“Alright Sylvie,” Mobius hummed as he wrapped Loki up in a warm towel. “You wanna take yours now?” 

The girl flushed pink and shook her head. “I’ll take my bath tonight…” she argued. And under the assumption Mother held that she was not a toddler, but a girl gaining her independence who could bathe herself, no one fought her about it. 

Loki did long for just a smidge of that independence, she pondered, sucking her thumb with a scowl until she remembered that here, her loved ones doted on her as the center of attention she had always longed to be as a child. Now, Thor wasn’t here to be their golden child and muck it up. She may still have been younger, but she was the golden child now. 

She was happy to also hear that her routine would resume as it normally would today and they’d be going out to the courtyard now that Loki was clean and dry. 

Mobius picked Loki up from the changing table with some trepidation. With a little help from her magic, she weighed little more than a sack of flour to him, but that didn’t stop him from being cautious of hurting his fragile mortal body every time he tried. 

“Loki, hold my hand as we walk please,” said Mama, absently as they walked through the long hallways. But only Sylvie and Mobius walked next to her.

“I’m not Loki!” Sylvie said indignantly. She grabbed the queen’s hand, despite her offense.

The queen glanced down at the girl and chuckled to herself. “My goodness,” she smiled, looking to Mobius and Loki behind them and then once again to Sylvie beside her. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you two are sisters.”

Yes, their hair had different colors and Loki was a full head and shoulders taller than her counterpart, but Mama was right. For some time, Loki had considered Sylvie one of the most different looking variants of herself she had ever seen, but now, the resemblance felt uncanny. 

As they approached the courtyard, Sylvie let go of mama’s hand to run into the sunlight. Perhaps it was as familiar to her as it had been to Loki when he first arrived. The outdoors awakened the childish feeling of adventure in Sylvie as she immediately attempted to climb up one of the knobby, manicured trees. Loki wasn’t so sprightly. She toddled up to the tree’s trunk curiously to watch and plopped down to observe, looking up at Sylvie. 

“Hey there, big girl. Let’s scoot you out of the drop zone here…” Mobius suggested as he lifted her from under the arms. “Sylvie?” he called up the tree once Loki had been moved a few feet back. “Do you think you can come get those wiggles out here on land?”

The young tree bowed under her weight. 

Loki blushed at being called “Big Girl”, grinning. She wasn’t even potty trained! She cooed at Mobius as he stood right next to her. 

Mobius was not a particularly tall man by Asgardian standards, but she liked looking up at him from down here where she could tug at his pant legs as he started to count to three for Sylvie to come down. 

Although he tried to help her down, he forgot in the process that she had not mastered magic quite in the same ways that Loki had. She hopped into his arms and came crashing down onto the grassy ground, knocking her caregiver backward in the process. 

Loki giggled even as Mobius picked himself up to lightly scold the indignant girl. 

“Why don’t you and Loki figure out something a little less destructive? Maybe you can teach the Princess about the plants. Or play a game?”

“Oh, I’m sure Loki would love to try to play ‘chase’, or assist you in a scavenger hunt,” Mama interrupted. 

“Chase?” Sylvie giggled, looking at Loki. “You aren’t running in that nappy!” she teased. 

“I can!” Loki protested, taking her thumb out of her mouth. It wasn’t like Sylvie was much better off. Sure, she had no fabric nappy forcing her to waddle, but her motor skills weren’t perfect. She did not move with the diligent agility of her grown-up self. 

“Prove it! Come get me!” Sylvie yelled. 

She was fast, even with a gait less serious than Loki had come to expect from her, but Loki was not discouraged. She toddled after the older Little, taking the extra challenge of her nappy in stride. She had longer legs than Sylvie and she knew the garden better than anyone! 

Mama and Mobius were talking with one another as she breezed by them. She was starting to breathe hard. This body ached as she ran. She had not been properly dressed for such strenuous activity and her nappy chafed the insides of her legs. Loki couldn’t help it. As much as she wanted to get Sylvie, she decided maybe it would be better to lie down in the grass, instead and let her headspace settle more comfortably. Running had never been her specialty, especially when she knew she was at a disadvantage.

“You’re giving up?!” Sylvie yelled, stopping at the far side of the courtyard. 

Loki nodded as she stretched and tried to catch her breath. 

“Not fair! You’re not even trying!” she yelled. 

“She’s just a baby, kiddo,” Mobius tried to reason with her. 

“Oh, you know she really likes puzzles,” mama proposed, “if you want to play something else.” 

Sylvie groaned and crossed her arms before starting to walk back to Loki. How rude! Loki had tried and had done her best! How entitled that Sylvie seemed to think it wasn’t good enough! Loki would show her! 

She made a small gesture behind her back and right on cue, Sylvie walked right into a rock that had not been there before, tripped, and almost in slow motion fell forward before she could catch herself. 

It was perhaps a little bit mean. Loki knew it. She knew it was wrong, but she simply had to wipe that smug look off the other Little’s face. 

“Oh… Oh no!” Mama yelped, pushing out her chair. 

Mobius was already running to Sylvie’s side. 

It took a second for the Little girl to raise her face from the gravel path, but when she did, she whipped her hair out of her face. Nothing was visibly hurt but her pride, and yet, Mobius petted her back and consoled her with soft words of affirmation.

She looked okay at first, but as he spoke and she listened her face turned red and she winced before opening her mouth and letting out a loud whine. 

Loki had never heard Sylvie make such a noise. Her satisfaction melted away, turning into embarrassment and regret as Mobius tried to scoop the Little girl up, an ability Loki decided to grant him, making her, too, as light as a sack of flour. 

“Shhh shh, I know,” Mobius reassured her. He naturally rocked her back and forth, tucking her head into his shoulder. Her knees weren’t scraped or even bruised, and neither were her hands, and yet she sat here and wept as if she had lost a limb! 

Mobius sat down in a patio chair across from where Mama read with Sylvie in his lap. “Hey princess,” he whispered with a suspicious look as Loki approached. “Miss Sylvie here took a bit of a tumble and I think her headspace is a little wracked.” 

“Sylvie… okay?” Loki managed, wringing her hands. A twinge of guilt crept up in her, especially when she caught a glimpse of the girl who had been acting as her big sister, sucking her thumb to self-soothe. 

“Looks like she’s just slipping a little. I’m gonna take her back to the nursery for a minute.”

Loki bent down to look at the weepy baby in Mobius’ arms. 

“Loki,” Mama called. “You can stay with me while Mr. Mobius gets Miss Sylvie changed and soothed.” She smiled at Mobius to show that there really were no hard feelings for the interruption.

Loki pat Sylvie on the back gently, and weaseled around Mobius’ back to look at the other Little’s face. 

“Oh, it’s so lovely how well they get along. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Loki look at another Little with so much adoration before…” Mama sighed. 

“Yeah, she and Sylvie have something really special,” Mobius replied wistfully. “We’ll be right back,” he assured Loki.

Loki nodded understandingly, but as she watched them walk away, sitting down in the warm spring grass, she could feel her heart starting to beat faster and her palms starting to sweat. She fidgeted with her fingers and glanced up at Mama behind her… Would Mama notice if she followed them? 

“Hello, sweet child,” Mama cooed. “Do you miss your nurse and his Little one already? So soon?” 

Loki didn’t mean to, but as she opened her mouth, the “yeah” she was planning to speak failed her, devolving into a wail. She knew it was silly, but she couldn’t help but worry about where they had gone. What if they were ambushed? Or left? Or started playing toys without her? Then what would Loki do? 

“They’ll be back soon. Your Little friend just needed a short break and she’ll be right out,” Mama assured Loki, patting her daughter on the back. “Shall we set up your blanket while we wait?” she asked. 

Sylvie had looked so small, Loki wasn’t even sure if she’d be able to walk, and for that matter, she wasn’t even sure how well she could even walk herself. The late night letter writing was starting to catch up to her. She nodded as she rubbed her eyes and helped Mama spread out her outdoor blanket, peppering it with outdoor baby toys. 

When Mobius returned, he still carried the baby girl on his hip, cooing at her and bouncing her gently as she chewed on her fingers on one hand and played with her dragon in the other.  

She was quiet now, and pink in the face, but not tearful, as Mobius gently set her down next to Loki on the blanket. 

“Sorry for the interruption your highness, we had a little bit of a slip,” Mobius told the queen as he set Little Sylvie down on the blanket. 

She looked down at the toys in front of her in a flustered state, peeking back at her caregiver behind her. 

Loki plopped down in front of her, watching curiously. Her eyes were wide and glassy from crying. She looked distant and she sucked on her fingers. 

Loki waved at her, leaning forward on her knees to get a closer look at the baby. 

Mobius and Mama didn’t seem alarmed. 

She handed Sylvie a wooden toy, wondering what would happen. 

Sylvie picked it up and shook the toy, rattling it slowly and cautiously before starting to shake it violently. A smile came to her face. 

“Woah! What’d you find, big girl?” Mobius asked. 

Sylvie peered up at him before repeating the motion. “Ah!” she babbled up to him. 

“Wow, is that a rattle?” he asked. “That’s a pretty fun toy,” he said. 

She babbled too? Loki raised an eyebrow at her. This wasn’t like Sylvie. The Sylvie she knew was a Big Girl and did not like Littles very much. She would never wear diapers or babble incoherently! But, then again, that’s exactly what Loki had thought when she had first arrived here. 

“Ah-buh!” Sylvie imitated the word “Rattle” as if she was still learning to use her vocal chords.

“You’re getting real good at that!” Mobius smiled at her.

The Little looked awfully proud of herself, beaming as she shook the rattle again. 

 “And Princess Loki, what’re you playing with today?” Mobius asked. 

The tone of a caregiver had grown to make her heart flutter, especially when such words came from Mobius.

“Muh!” she said, pretending to blow a kiss. She knew she had been addressed, but she had no answer to Mobius’ question. Her main focus had been watching Sylvie. 

Now, broken from her interested trance, she noticed a slight discomfort in her tummy. She grabbed a toy to distract her from the corner of the mat.

She chose a shape sorter. Perhaps it wasn’t as interesting as a rolling rattle, but it would do the trick for now to keep her mind occupied. 

Mobius watched them both from the side of the mat, and, to his credit, made a normally dull session of babyish tummy time, a little bit more bearable, quizzing both girls on shapes and colors of toys and asking Loki which of her blocks would fit in what hole. Loki pretended she didn’t know just to mess with him sometimes, slamming the blocks down on the lid and pretending to be confused when they did not fit as expected. 

The pressure inside Loki’s abdomen did not go away. At this point, as the feeling moved lower, she understood what was coming. She knew she shouldn’t mind it. She had been using her nappies regularly for weeks! And here was Sylvie right in front of her, in her own diapers! Yet, Loki couldn’t help but blush, turning bright pink as she scooted to the edge of the blanket. 

“Hey, princess, whatcha doing?” Mobius asked as he stood over them. 

Loki looked up at him, struggling not to drop her pacifier from her mouth, and scooted back more. 

Sylvie was looking at her too, now. But it didn’t matter, if Sylvie could be this little, it was only a matter of time until she was in this same position. Mobius had already had to wipe drool off her face twice now. That was only a few steps down from messing one’s own nappy in the grand scheme of embarrassing, undignified activities. 

Loki pushed up onto her knees and after a little bit of effort, started to feel her diaper sag as she filled it.  

Yes, it was humiliating, but Mama was always so mellow about the offending action. It was like she expected Loki to mess herself each day. 

Mobius squatted down in between her and Sylvie. “You two are playing together so well. Did you check out this fun toy yet?” he asked Sylvie. It was like he was trying to take her attention away from Loki. He rested a hand on Loki’s back, patting her as a small sign of reassurance. 

Sylvie scooted up, eyeing the teethers that Mobius had pointed out. There was nothing special about them, especially in the grand scheme of Loki’s baby toys. They were simply connected wooden rings with the occasional fabric tag sewn on. Sylvie still picked it up and showed the item to Mobius. Even as a baby, she was skeptical.

When Loki was done, which, for her, took a considerably longer period of time in diapers than it would have on the potty, she resisted the urge to sit down, instead opting to sit on her knees or squat. Despite her best efforts to the contrary, found her lower lip trembling. 

Her heart sank further when Sylvie looked up at her, crinkling her nose up in a look of disgust. 

“I know, I hear you princess,” Mobius reassured her. “Your highness?!” he called. “I think it may be time to bring the girls inside.”

Mama set down her book and came over to look at them. She smiled sweetly. 

“Loki, could you walk with me while mister Mobius gets they play mat cleaned up?” she asked. 

Loki slowly stood up, being careful not to move in a way that would cause any further discomfort. 

“Are you big enough to walk, my dear?” Mama asked Sylvie, who still sat on the blanket. 

Sylvie stared up at her before taking her fingers out of her mouth and nodding seriously. She pushed herself up. The new feeling of a cloth nappy made her toddle, but it paled in comparison to what Loki was feeling. 

While Loki held onto her Mama’s hand out of obligation, Sylvie seemed to delight in clinging to the aging queen. 

“Psst, Sylvie,” Mobius whispered behind them as he carried the bundle of toys. 

Sylvie stared back at him. 

“Can you walk with me instead? Give her highness a break?” 

Sylvie cocked an eyebrow back at him. 

“Oh she’s such a sweet little girl, she is welcome to cling as she pleases,” Mama assured him.  

Loki liked watching her cling to Mama, too. The other Little kept her fingers in her mouth as she watched her mother walking with her, stumbling over her own feet. 

Mama picked Sylvie up after Mobius set down the bundle of outdoor toys. “I can take her while you tend to Loki,” she hummed. 

Sylvie’s eyes widened as Mama sat down and adjusted her in her lap, subtly checking the girl’s nappy as she did so. 

A picture book whizzed to Mama’s hand, which she opened up. “This is one of Loki’s favorites,” she said. 

“You wanna join them when we’re done?” Mobius whispered to Loki as he cleaned her up.

Loki nodded silently, but the view from the changing table was quite alright. She could easily still see Sylvie’s hesitant and metered reactions to being held, and to each word of the story that Mama told her. 

The old woman tickled Sylvie’s belly as she did silly voices, and made sound effects as she spoke. 

Loki didn’t feel like she was missing much of it. Her nurse let her play with a set of teething keys and made quick work of getting her changed into a new nappy. 

When he was done, he lifted her up in his arms, carrying her on his hip so she could see the pictures. And soon, he pressed a pacifier into her mouth and sat down with her on the floor. 

Mama smiled at Mama and Sylvie in the chair as the old caregiver read aloud, one story after another, until Loki was falling asleep in Mobius’ arms. 

With her cue, Mobius lifted Loki into the crib, adjusting her into position for a nap. Then, before he could slide up the side, Sylvie ran up and climbed in next to her! 

Loki burbled at her, excited despite her sleepy intonations. 

“No, Sylvie, c’mon, out here,” Mobius tried to coax her. 

Sylvie did not budge. Instead, she cheekily curled up, taking Loki’s pillow and hiding her face behind it.

Loki scrambled to hide the Midgardian book that Thor gave her. 

“Oh, Littles are such joys,” Mama laughed wistfully. She hadn’t noticed. “I don’t mind if they both want to take their nap in the crib. There’s enough room for both of them.”

They both stuck out their tongues at Mobius playfully. 

“Well…” Mobius sighed as he walked up to give Sylvie her dragon, “Thank you for your assistance, your highness, but I think maybe I’ll stay back and read them another story since I got them so riled up.” 

“Thank you, Mobius,” Mama smiled as she dismissed herself. “Please see me if you need anything.” 

“Likewise your highness!” Mobius called as she left the room. 

As the door clicked shut, Mobius reached through the bars of the crib, rooting around and finding Thor’s gift: Frog and Toad are Friends

“Hey, this is a new one,” Mobius smiled. 

Loki squealed behind her pacifier. 

“Yeah? You like this one? Alright, maybe I should give it a read.”

Chapter Text

The Nursery was quiet today. It seemed like Mobius and his Lokis were all letting out a big sigh of exhausted relief.

After breakfast, Frigga had left to have tea with the ladies of her court, dedicate the opening of a new school, and to spend the day with her husband. She would be out for most of the Littles’ waking hours. 

As much as she was the queen, and a very respected one, Mobius was thankful not to have her breathing down his neck. 

It was probably good for the Lokis, too. Going from never regressing before to full 24/7 tiny time was quite the leap. They’d need a day to relax and reevaluate, even if it was still in Loki’s babyish nursery chambers. 

He had gone on a long walk with Sylvie, even though she had really wanted to go by herself, leaving Loki to his own business “napping” in his chambers. 

It was, over all, a peaceful morning. 

Only one blip interrupted it. 

While searching in the library for books for Loki-- and himself, if he was being totally honest-- Mobius felt his pocket buzz.

Once. Then twice. 

It jolted him upright, leading him to drop his handful of leather bound tomes onto the floor. 

He scrambled to gather the books into a pile-- letting the children’s books and historical texts mingle in the frantic effort to clean up. 

He shuffled in between two rows of shelves, deeper in the library where no one would see, and many probably wouldn’t hear, and opened up his Tempad. 

“Mobius!” Hunter B-15 was on the other side, her face slightly distorted by the primitive Tempad screen. “Where have you been? We’ve been looking all over for you!” 

Mobius fiddled with the volume, lowering it down, just in case anyone was listening. 

“I’m… I don’t know-- I’m on some kind of Asgard. It should be a pretty large branch. We’re several years away from Ragnarok.” He looked for the timeline information-- variance information, branch number, anything that would maybe make this place more identifiable.-- but nothing showed up. Miss Minutes didn’t even show up to say “You’re on the Sacred Timeline” in her cheerful little voice. 

He had been able to track Loki’s temporal aura here, earlier. And yet, it did not show up as having any sort of interference now. 

“I…. I don’t know…” he said. “It’s around 2011 in Midgard’s time…Maybe 2012?”

“Look, Mobius, the timeline is branching everywhere. General Dox is planning to prune all of them. She is amassing her own army and they are looking for every branch they can. My team’s trying to protect what we can, and if we have your branch number, we can keep you safe.”

“I…” Mobius tried again and again to find the branch number or any kind of identifiable information about it for her, only to come back each time with no results found. “I don’t know…” he said. “I’ve got nothing.” He smacked the Tempad against his hand figuring maybe he could shake the glitching out. 

“Keep yourself safe, Mobius. This is a war, and you may be in the TVA’s path,” she said with a sigh. Her call disconnected. 

Mobius took a deep breath, looking at his reflection on the black screen. “Shit…” he whispered to himself. He stood up and moved out from between the shelves, back to his book pile and picked them up. B-15 didn’t need him. She was strong. She had no need for an old analyst. Like she had said, this was a war, and Mobius was no soldier. But… Then again, Loki and Sylvie were. 

He gathered up the stack of books for their delivery to Loki’s quarters more shakily than before. What had been an easy, balanced stack to carry when picking them out, now seemed heavy and uneven. Alone with his thoughts, the nursemaid in his white Asgardian robes left the library not really looking where he was going. Of course this came when all three of them had just found peace living on Asgard, with both Little gods finally getting the loving childhoods they would have never received on their own timelines. Sylvie was just getting comfortable regressing…. And the royal family finally trusted both of them well enough… but surely she’d want to know. B-15 would love her help, and probably Loki’s too for that matter. 

He reentered Loki’s quarters with the great stack of books, only to find the prince sitting criss-cross on the open side of his crib, chatting over a cup of tea with Sylvie. 

They paused briefly as he opened the door, but quickly continued as the doors shut behind him. Mobius breathed a sigh of relief internally knowing that they were not keeping it from him, but from the outside world. 

Loki jumped down from the bed to help him with the stories, placing them on the table and starting to flip through Mobius’ choices as he replied to something Sylvie had asked before Mobius had entered. “It’s been different. You’re not alone. I was here for probably a month before I was able to actually regress… and even then. They’re as much your parents and your Thor as they are mine.” 

“Are they though?” Sylvie asked skeptically. “Because you’re the prince and I’m the maid’s Little.” 

“Nursemaid,” Mobius corrected her. 

Sylvie rolled her eyes. “ You may be doing your best, but this world is not made to allow us to be equals no matter which way you try to spin it. No matter what you say to Frigga. You aren’t the ruler, you’re the royal baby. You’re not going to be the one to overwrite this system.”

“I don’t want to be the king, I just want to be with you! Both of you!” Loki argued. 

Sylvie pinched the bridge of her nose. “You’re not understanding,” she said. 

Mobius rested a hand on Loki’s shoulder. Hear what she has to say , he was telling him silently.

“When I was growing up in apocalypses,” began Sylvie. “I knew that I would never fit in. I did not know their cultures or their customs. Sometimes a stranger taking pity would offer me a hot meal but… what did I care? I knew the next day they’d be gone. It’s all very different here, knowing that it will hurt if I wake up and there is not one of you or one of them near me.” 

Mobius wished he could lighten the mood, but being perfectly honest, there wasn’t much he could say. He had always liked the company of his TVA coworkers, but Loki and now Sylvie were the only people he had ever really loved to such an extent that Sylvie was referring to. The thought of losing them made his stomach twist.  He stayed silent, letting Loki cajole her instead.

 “You’ll find your place. Here, with all of us together,” Loki said. “Surely, at least your magic can help you obtain some more equitable treatment,” he suggested. 

“--And…” Mobius began, his eyes wandering around the room instead of focusing on either of the gods’ expressions, “even if we need to find somewhere else, there are other societies that welcome Littles,” he shrugged. “It won’t be impossible to resettle.” 

Despite his best efforts to remain nonchalant about it, Loki raised an eyebrow at him. “Our parents are here, our brother is here. We’re not really thinking about leaving still, are we?” he asked.

“I am,” said Sylvie. “Do you not realize that your parents and your brother are long gone? That they are never coming back? And neither are mine? The TVA pruned their timeline just like they pruned yours.” 

“Do you not realize that they love us the same as they did back on our timelines? Maybe even more?” 

“ YOU ! They may love YOU more, but had they not been taken from me, mine would have loved me and raised me as their daughter. Not as some… servant playmate to the prince!” Sylvie argued. 

Volumes were being raised, faces were getting red, and Mobius, although he hated to say it, had the card that would end it in his hand. “Look, the TVA may have pruned those timelines. But it might just be in our best interest to keep this one from being pruned,” he asserted loudly as if it were an essay thesis. 

“Sorry?” Loki asked. 

Sylvie had also gone quiet. “ All the timelines branched, Mobius.” she said. “They went every which way when I killed He Who Remains.” 

“Yeah, no, I know. But look, I just got this transmission--” He fumbled through his pocket for the Tempad. 

“Sorry, Transmission ?” Sylvie asked. Her eyes widened as Mobius pulled out the Tempad from his pocket, and even wider when he flipped open the screen and started to look through the call record. “You’ve had that with you this whole time ? Working and ready like that?” she asked. 

“Never travel without a full charge,” Mobius shrugged.

“You’re leading the TVA right to us!” 

“Hunter B-15 called me on it. She’s been searching, but not even she can find us in the thicket of new branches. Not even my Tempad can find us and I’m here.” 

“Not even your--” She didn’t bother finishing the sentence before ripping the Tempad out of his hands and starting to scroll through its settings. “It’s not even jail-broken. There’s no security on this thing!” She scolded him. 

“Well it doesn’t matter!” Mobius reminded her. “Look at the Timeline Data.” 

Loki leaned in with interest as they looked at the Tempad. Where the long string of numbers should have been, there were distorted blocks of randomly lit pixels. Some may have been letters or numbers if you squint hard enough, but looking straight on, there was no discernable message. 

Both of the gods stared at it. 

“Is it broken?” Loki asked. 

“That’s the thing… I don’t know… but what I can tell you is that none of us need to be worried about truly belonging now. That’s the lowest priority until we get this all figured out.” 

Chapter Text

Mobius may have misstated when he said that belonging was the lowest priority. Whether it was for their own selfish needs for validation, or out of a sense of duty to keep this timeline stable, belonging (in a sense of blending in), was still a rather high priority for Loki, Sylvie, and Mobius. 

They continued life as it had been for the time being, but stayed alert. Loki surveyed the crowds at public events for TVA agents while Mobius kept track of news and Sylvie tinkered with the Tempad. All in all, they worked mostly at night independently or together on the days when most of the royal family would be busy, only occasionally needing to enchant a servant or noble person that they really hadn’t seen anyone walking down the hallway, especially not the prince, his nurse, and his play-mate. 

Now, it hadn’t been good timing, but when planning in preparation for invasion, the proximity of holidays isn't often considered. 

The entire palace was preparing for Seiersdag-- the anniversary of Ymir the giant’s defeat to the Asgardian warriors: Odin, Vili, and Ve. The holiday was now a day to celebrate all the victories and moments creation of the year-- and for Mobius and the rest of the palace staff, that meant coordinating with one another to make fantastical clothes for the royal family, prepare a wonderful feast, and keep all the guests entertained throughout the evening. 

As a nurse, Mobius stabilized ladders for the other servants putting up decorations and brought his Littles to try on new clothes with the tailor. As a public-facing servant, he even got a new set of robes for the holiday with small, glittering stones and beautiful moss-green accents that tied him and Sylvie to Loki’s color palette. 

The Little prince himself was also quite joyful. Mobius had watched his past years celebrating Seiersdag, and since Loki had turned… whatever the Asgardian equivalent of ten was-- and was declared “A Man”, he hadn’t enjoyed it. When Loki was small, it was a true festival: full of feasting and storytelling and games… but since he had grown up, it oscillated between an afternoon of good-posture standing around for cordial appearances and an evening of drunken screaming at his brother. 

Today though, despite their responsibilities, both Loki and Sylvie acted as if they could hardly walk on their own, and jabbered mostly in short words and baby babbles. A lot of it was real words, Mobius noticed. Loki would tug on his sleeve and ask “whe’ Bee caw?” with such a mental clicking of the gears in his head and a stutter behind his pacifier that Mobius had to stop and think before realizing it was not just gibberish, but an actual question. 

“In a few hours buddy,” he answered. As much as he wanted to give Loki an actual answer, Mobius wasn’t sure himself. He knew today he was supposed to get an update from B-15, but when, he wasn’t sure. How important or dire it would be was even more vague. 

Perhaps it was for the best that the Littles had both found a low headspace for the day. It would feel natural to the family and friends, afforded Mobius plenty of opportunities to sneak off with them for important business, and, perhaps most importantly, a babyish accent would stop any accidental spillage of private information to anyone but the most seasoned caregivers who could parse out the words-- and even if they could, it was highly unlikely they’d understand the context as anything more than childish fantasies. 

Mobius would also be tempted to add the extra benefit that the Littles were incredibly cute at this age, but having one toddler whining and pulling his sleeve to ask for a piggy back ride while the other was crying because they were being changed out of a dirty diaper convinced him that perhaps they weren’t that cute.

As the two of the Littles napped, their holiday outfits hanging just outside the closet, the bustling in the halls outside became louder and louder. The occasional servant footsteps turned into many which turned into the chatter of party guests arriving early for the festivities. 

Mobius took out the Tempad from his pocket. Typing on these machines was a pain in the butt, but maybe he could convince the hunter that today it would be the best option for an update. He started it up and--... Oh.

Only a little empty battery sign appeared. “You’re Outta Juice!” said Miss Minutes in a voice so loud Mobius worried it would wake the sleeping babies or worse, that it would alert someone outside. 

He looked up at Sylvie. She had been tinkering with it last… but it wasn’t like he could blame her now or even just let her know. She was sleeping, thumb in her mouth, drooling all over the sheets, and naptime was pretty much over.

Now, the only thing he could do was his job. “Okay,” he hummed, setting down the crib side with a click and rubbing the backs and bellies of the two Littles until they awoke. 

“Aba-pa-pa!” Loki burbled quietly. 

“Hey, little prince,” Mobius smiled softly, picking little Loki up in his arms and setting him onto the changing table.

Sylvie slowly pushed herself up to sit on the crib ledge. She hugged her wooden dragon and rubbed her sleepy eyes. The fact that it had not been chipped or broken yet, was a real miracle. 

“And princess,” he added, acknowledging the Little girl. 

Loki always giggled when he said that and Sylvie grinned bashfully. 

The Littles always seemed a little bit younger when just waking or falling asleep, so Mobius kept the room quiet as he helped them get dressed into their festive clothes. 

As much as he didn’t want to disturb their headspaces-- after all, the younger the Littles were, the easier it would be to sneak off-- he wasn’t sure exactly where he could comfortably charge the Tempad without consulting them; Sure there was the Bifrost, that would definitely do it, and perhaps some in the ship dock… There were plenty of power sources on Asgard to recharge this little machine! Just not any in the heart of the palace where Mobius and his Littles needed to be. 

Before he had the time to bring it up to Littles, the door of Loki’s chambers pressed open. 

“Mobius? Is Loki ready yet?” The queen asked sweetly.

“Yes, your highness,” he answered in as neutral a tone as he could muster, adjusting a ribbon he had quickly tied into Loki’s hair and buttoning one more button on the back of Sylvie’s dress. 

The queen took her son’s hand and began to lead him out of the nursery while Mobius followed behind with Sylvie, who pointed and babbled about her brother. At this age, she did not seem to understand that there was any difference in their treatment, and Mobius was sure to keep it that way. 

By this point in the afternoon, which wasn’t “late” by any stretch of the imagination, the grand banquet hall was already set and prepared to be filled with family and friends of the king. 

As they passed it, Mobius and his Littles soon grew to notice that even though this room was empty, it was the exception and not the norm. The main halls of the palace were absolutely bustling and full of people. Nobles, friends, family, and even diplomats from closely allied realms had come to celebrate and had flooded the palace’s courtyard, throne room, and seemingly every inch of common space, talking and mingling with one another in polite little clusters that created a consistent hum of noise. 

“Loki!” a booming voice cheered. It was Thor, the new king himself, coming to see his beloved Little brother. Thor picked Loki up triumphantly and put the toddler on his back before his mother could say a word. And very quickly, Loki and Thor were pulled into the abyss of the crowd. They were easy to see, yes, as Thor was not only tall and crowned, but carried a giggling, giddy, six foot tall toddler on his back. Loki probably had a bird’s eye view of the crowd as Mobius waved to them. 

He felt a yank at his sleeve, and turned expecting for it to be Sylvie pulling, but it was not. In fact, she was on his other side, still holding his hand, and her palms had gotten rather sweaty. 

“Mobius, would you help the other nurses with their Littles in the courtyard?” the queen requested before brushing by him to see her friends. 

Sylvie squeezed his hand harder as they left the crowd, and by the time they entered the courtyard, he was pretty sure she was nearly cutting off his circulation. “You’re okay,” he whispered to her. “Just stay with me. I’ve got you.” 

The other nurses in white stood around as their Littles played. Mobius was the only man amongst them, and more finely ornamented than any others, as both his and Sylvie’s outfits were adorned with shimmering gems. Despite this, the chaos of about thirty Littles was far too loud to make any of the tired caregivers bat an eye at Mobius or Sylvie… at least at first. 

Not long after they had arrived and took a deep breath-- just when Mobius’ thoughts had begun to wander back to the Tempad and how in the world he was going to charge it-- Mobius and Sylvie were approached by another Littles nurse in white.

“Good fellow, won’t you lead the Littles in a song or a game?” she asked nervously. 

Mobius hesitated. “...Yeah, I think I could do that,” he answered. 

Sylvie made a hum of distrust, but he squeezed her hand back and found a spot in the center of the yard on a large rock to address the crowd of Littles. They ranged from babies that suckled at the breast or bottles of their nurses on the outskirts to the tweenagers making colorful thread friendship bracelets in the grass with their friends. A vast majority however, fell between the two extremes, like Sylvie did. 

He introduced himself as Nurse to the Prince and felt probably a hundred eyes fall upon him. He wondered if maybe in another life he had known how to play guitar and had been a counselor at summer camps.  

Sylvie held onto Mobius’ hand as he spoke to the crowd but her grip started to lessen. She didn’t quite know how to feel with that many eyes on her. It was not something she had ever experienced when big, and even less-so while small. Her grip on the nurse’s hand tightened, squeezing him subconsciously as she stared blankly at the Littles and nurses that watched. 

A hand brushed her shoulder and Sylvie jumped, ready to smack the hand away before she remembered where she was. 

“Apologies for startling you, child,” whispered a chubby nurse to her. “Wouldn’t you like to run along and play with the other Littles?” 

During a brief pause, Mobius looked down at her and gave her a nod. She let go of his hand as the older woman shooed her towards the other Littles. 

Sylvie wove her way through the clumps of Littles, looking for a place where she could sit-- alone preferably-- and watch, but each group seemed to be uniformly spaced, even through the many natural obstacles of the courtyard. 

The older Littles making friendship bracelets definitely already knew each other, and the baby Littles were nursing from breasts or being changed along the perimeter. Sylvie felt her face redden looking at them, suddenly aware of her own nappy and feeling very thankful that her dress hid it. The Littles who were around Loki’s age, and probably her age, were gathering around her caregiver at the center. At a loss, she sat down in the grass, a few feet away from the nearest Little, just enough to appear social as she listened to the verbal games that Mobius led. 

Sylvie hated to admit it, but Mobius had really caught her attention. She was rocking back and forth listening to him and the other Littles when she noticed that many of the Littles nearby turned their attention to something else mid-game. 

Loki had wandered up to her and sat down next to her. He waved at Mobius and scooted in, near Sylvie. It felt nice to have a friend near when it seemed like everyone else did. The other Littles weren’t looking at him though-- well a few were-- but many of the younger ones had crowded around his older brother, Thor, who laughed and offered motivational words to the preschoolers who mobbed him. 

Eventually, the new king made his way up to where Mobius stood and patted the nurse on the back, signaling that it was time for him to step down from the rock he had made his stage on. 

Thor clapped with a roar like thunder that made smaller tots cry and older Littles freeze. The yard was almost still as he spoke. “Hello Little guests!” he called.

  Many of the older ones squealed and waved. 

“Dinner shall commence shortly! Please gather with your caretakers in the banquet hall at your convenience!” 

Different instructions were given to Mobius once Thor had fended off the Little ones. He was to report to a different banquet hall-- the one he had reported to many times when helping Loki with his meals.

Thor walked with them, carrying Loki on his back all the way to the hall where the family and close friends would gather. He set Loki down in the fantastic high chair where the Little spent each morning’s breakfast and each evening’s dinner. The one next where Sylvie often sat-- which was a little shabbier, but not by much-- was unmoved, right next to it, awaiting Sylvie, whom Thor quickly picked up for Mobius, setting her in her chair easily. 

The queen pursed her lips anxiously and a couple of the nobles, ones who did not visit often and that Mobius hardly recognized outside of watching Loki’s life at the TVA, gave him and Sylvie confused looks. 

However, their bewilderment dissipated as Thor showed intense and obvious approval of their presence as he welcomed Mobius and Sylvie to dig into the meal surrounded by Asgard’s most decorated warriors, brightest minds, and successful merchants. 

Servants poured ale liberally to most guests, but to Loki and Sylvie, they offered closed-top bottles full of milk. 

Sylvie took a sip and grimaced. 

“You okay, kiddo?” Mobius asked, curiously. He looked to Loki, but the tot didn’t seem to think anything was wrong with his bottle. 

Sylvie nodded and took another sip, it seemed to go down easier this time now that she expected it. 

“Okay, I want to make sure you get some food in you, too, got that?” he asked both of the little ones, before starting to make them servings. 

The time passed rather quickly as Mobius loaded up Loki and Sylvie’s plates full of food over and over again and they all listened closely to hear the new king’s stories. Before Mobius knew it, he saw both the Littles starting to lean over a bit. He smiled thinking that perhaps they were just sleepy, but as Sylvie poked at Loki, and Loki giggled until he started to hiccup, he began to have a feeling that something else was happening. 

Mobius continued to watch the Littles as they playfully babbled to one another. Then, he looked at Thor, and that’s when something clicked. They weren’t just being silly, they were drunk!

Loki had looked forward to this day for good reason. Being around his real family and his chosen family, all together and sharing all the food he could eat while listening to his big brother’s stories was possibly the best night he could have possibly asked for. And now, he was deep into a bottle of Asgardian milk-mead, playing with Sylvie. He loved how her tail wagged! She was so silly! Loki grinned and scrunched his nose. She was such a sneaky girl! Loki would show her, though! He showed off fireworks in his hands and small magic tricks, like making a toad hop from his hands!

But then… of course someone had to go and ruin it… 

Mobius pulled them both aside, tugging the highchairs in a feat of strength that Loki was shocked was at all humanly possible. The wooden chairs probably scraped, but the dinner party was still so loud with chatter, that there was not an eye cast their way.

Mama didn’t react this time, not enough for Loki to notice anyway. 

“Mobius? Is it their bedtime so soon?” Thor asked, standing up from his grand seat at the head of the table. 

“Oh-- ha-- no your highness,” Mobius smiled nervously as he lifted the trays away from the seat, “they just need a couple moments of break. I think I smell a dirty diaper.” He pressed Loki’s head to his shoulder as he lifted the Little out of the high chair with a great heft to hide the Little’s magic. He pushed Sylvie to his side, too, as if she were shy and hiding behind him. 

Thor nodded. “Very well,” he said, “But I wouldn’t want them to miss much on Seiersdag. You know it’s Loki’s favorite.”

“I do, your highness. We’ll be back before you know it.”

As Thor continued a long and rambling story to his friends, Mobius was able to safely drag both tots out of the hall and back to their nursery room. 

“Mo-bi-us!” Loki slurred excitedly as Mobius shut the door, “Papa let us have meade on feasty days!”  

“Yeah, he did,” Mobius agreed, although he didn’t sound as pleased about it as Sylvie was. She giggled at Loki’s antics. “But I don’t think he had expected two little magicians when he did.” He took a deep breath and gave a light smile. “Thank you.”

Loki didn’t quite understand why Mobius was thanking him and Sylvie, but that was okay, he graciously accepted anyway. 

Mobius pet Loki’s back and began to walk. He seemed to start off in a random direction that Loki really didn’t understand, but he didn’t really mind, even if Sylvie did. 

“Where we going?” she asked, tugging at his tunic. 

“I just need a place to charge the Tempad, then we’ll come right back. Just a little walk so you and Loki can get out your wiggles.”

Loki removed his head from Mobius’ shoulder. “I no wiggles!” he argued. 

“Really? You? No wiggles?” 

Loki shook his head. 

“Are you sure? I don’t think that sounds right.” 

He tickled Loki, leading the little to giggle and squirm out of his arms and onto the floor where Mobius, and now Sylvie, only tortured him more. Mobius’ mustache always felt so scratchy on Loki’s neck and Sylvie really knew the spot where he was sensitive right between the ribs. 

But suddenly, Mobius stopped. “Oh, hey,” he said quietly to someone who was not Loki or Sylvie. The Littles suddenly stopped and turned around to look at who the intruder could be. 

Loki’s face turned pale with horror as he recognized Heimdall. Mobius seemed to be on the same track of thinking. 

However, Heimdall did not appear to be angry or even concerned. “I understand you are looking for something,” he said to the caregiver. 

“Yeah…” Mobius squeaked out in reply. 

“And it is of the utmost importance that you find it,” the large Asgardian continued. 

Mobius nodded in a way that Loki might have, intimidated by the large presence. 

Loki wondered why he was not as intimidating. He was the prince after all. 

“Well, follow me then. I believe I can lead you to what you seek.”

With some hesitation, Mobius took the hands of both toddlers and followed. 

Heimdall kept a few feet ahead of them as he began to speak again. It echoed through the quiet hallways. “Your secrets are safe with me,” he said sincerely, sensing Mobius’ anxiety, and probably Loki’s too. “You three are the only ones who can lead us to safety, I fear. And that is not something I’d dare to jeopardize.”

A chill ran up Loki’s spine and he squeezed Mobius’ hand harder than before. 

Loki realized where the god was leading them, as they took corridors downstairs and around the palace toward the artifact hall. He shook a little bit more with each step. He wasn’t sure if he was becoming unregressed as memories flooded through him, or if he was still small and quaking like a kicked puppy. 

There were guards out front, and surely, they wouldn’t let in the outsider caregiver and his two tipsy Littles, even if they were with Heimdall. 

And to their credit, they didn’t… at least, not until Sylvie touched them, of course. She had grown up quite a bit during the walk over, and had managed to shake off a shocking amount of alcohol-- it was as if she had Thor’s constitution. She seemed to understand why she was here and what was needed of her more than Loki did-- although his judgment was quite clouded at the moment with mead and memories at least-- if not also a Little headspace that was not allowing him to let go of his caregiver. 

 Loki wrung his hands as the great doors opened for them and clung onto Mobius’ arm. He had been here so many times, and yet only now did it feel so dangerous-- so frightening. All that power in an infinity stone sat right here, below the palace. Its presence, once invigorating, now felt ominous. 

Heimdall stopped right at it. “The energy of the Tesseract will suffice,” he said, holding out his hand for the Tempad. 

Mobius hesitated to give it to him, fumbling through his pockets for it. 

He opened up the Tempad’s charging port. There was nothing to plug into it, but hopefully, contact with the conductive metal would charge it. 

And, it worked! Perfect! The tesseract’s glow wavered, but not by much, and the Tempad quickly began to charge-- really quickly actually. Loki had thought they would simply plug it in and leave-- maybe leaving Heimdall to watch it-- but it actually filled with power in front of their eyes. One bar, then two, three, and-- oh my goodness, a fourth. The thing was charged before Sylvie could get bored enough to begin touching the artifacts. 

The keeper of the Bifrost handed the object back to Mobius. “Good?” he asked. 

Mobius nodded in agreement as he checked that the device would work, scrolling through it to check if he had any new messages or a missed call from B-15. 

Mobius breathed a deep sigh. Nothing seemed to have changed. No calls from the Hunter, no memos, either. 

“Thank you,” he said politely to Heimdall, the relief in his voice was palpable. “I think we got what we need.” He bowed to the great gate keeper before beckoning the Littles to follow him out. 

“I wish you luck on your quest,” Heimdall nodded as he led them out of the treasure room and sealed the door behind them. 

Loki, despite being very full of food and beverage, felt a pit in his stomach as they began to walk back to the great banquet hall. Now stuck in a liminal space between two and one thousand fifty three, both and neither simultaneously, his mind began to wander. Maybe Hunter B-15 hadn’t called them because she was in trouble. Maybe Mobius’ Tempad’s oddities made it so he didn’t get any message. He clamped onto Mobius’ hand, and set his thumb in his mouth instinctively.

“She’ll get back to us soon. I promise. Things are busy. We aren’t her first priority, right now. We’ll be okay. And when she does reach out, we’ll have this right here and ready, right?” Mobius was trying to be reassuring, but it was obvious he was trying to convince himself, too. 

Loki noticed that Sylvie clung to the other side of him. 

“She’s smart, I promise you. We can rely on her. Now, what do you two think about going back to the party and getting some dessert?” he asked. 

Loki liked that idea. One last taste of normality, just in case he didn’t get much more of it. Sylvie seemed to agree. 

Mobius stopped them in the nursery for a quick diaper change and a few minutes to re-regulate. 

Mobius returned the Littles back to the grand hall in perfect time to hear another one of Thor’s great battle stories. 

Loki ran to his big brother and sat down in his lap, which Thor welcomed with outstretched arms. Loki nuzzled into his chest as Thor started to speak, and Mobius and Sylvie sat down adjacent from them to listen. The Little girl fit into Mobius’ lap snugly, and slowly as Thor spoke, her thumb snuck its way up into her mouth. So did Loki’s.

As the story went on, as Thor tended to do when telling these battle tales -- he was not the god of stories after all-- the little girl’s eyelids drooped. So did Loki’s.

And as Thor finally got to the end, Sylvie rolled into Mobius’ lap, shielding her eyes from the light of the hall. So did Loki. 

So as Thor’s friends begged for another, Mobius stood up and gathered up one very sleepy Sylvie on his hip, and tried his best to sling the exhausted Loki over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. 

Of course, Loki squirmed and giggled as he did so, but he was so sleepy, and his brain so tired from the long day full of food and drink and family and drama that he did not speak save for little babbles. 

Mobius took them both back down the hall to the nursery where he set both of the Little ones on the crib the best he could given their positioning. 

Loki clung to his caregiver as he was dropped down, while Sylvie merely yawned and rubbed her eyes. Mobius couldn’t help but wishing he could do the same. Unfortunately though, he still had one very clingy toddler in his arms, who wanted bounces and kisses before he would settle down for a diaper change and a tuck-in. At least not every Loki variant was so high maintenance. It was hard to believe him and Sylvie were the same person sometimes.  

Or… maybe it wasn’t so hard. The Little girl started to tug on his shirt, whining at him to hurry it up already with her own little mumbles. 

Mobius was soon setting the tots in the crib and starting to turn out the light but… he paused. His body ached after such a long day. 

“Mobius,” Loki whispered. 

“Hm?” 

“Seevee want!” he whispered. 

“Yeah?” he asked, peering over the crib. 

The smaller girl smiled awkwardly. “Dad-dy!” she cooed, with her thumb in her mouth. “Come!” she squeaked. 

“Come!” Loki repeated, reaching out his hands. 

Mobius looked back at the door. He hadn’t washed up or brushed his teeth. He was still in his nurse’s uniform but… 

What did it matter? The crib sheets would be changed tomorrow and there was ample room, after all. 

He set down the bars, and found a cozy spot right there between them, Loki on one side, and Sylvie on the other. He took a deep breath. At this moment, they were safe, all three together. Mobius felt as if nothing would ever break them apart. 

Chapter Text

It was only a matter of time before the call came. They all knew it was coming when they went to bed that night. 

The ring of the Tempad must have startled Sylvie awake, as she kicked Loki right in the shin.

Loki hated the noise even more than he hated the pain. He put his thumb in his mouth and rolled over only to find empty, and still warm space. 

“Yeah. No, thanks for calling. We’ll get right on that.” Mobius sounded like a shopkeep dealing with a complaint from an irate customer in all ways except for his authentic concern. 

Loki sat up only to notice that so had Sylvie. Despite the plush diapers on their bottoms, they both listened, taking in whatever information they could parse out of the call with the utmost gravity. 

There wasn’t too much they could gain from back there in the crib except for the fact that something was wrong. 

Mobius closed the Tempad with a sigh and turned back to them. 

“Is it time?” Sylvie asked. “To… pack up?” 

“I don’t think so,” the caregiver answered absently, looking through the Tempad. “Not yet at least.” 

“Not yet?” Loki repeated. He wasn’t Little anymore but the way that Mobius said it gave him pause. 

“I mean… they’re looking, but they haven’t found us… I think if we just lay low we can keep them off our tails for… I dunno a week? Maybe two?” 

“No,” said Sylvie. “That means it’s time to go.” She hopped down from the ledge where she sat and started to assemble the things she deemed important. 

“Hang on, no, Mobius has a point,” Loki argued. “We need time to plan. We can’t just rush onto the battlefield or into an apocalypse like this !” 

“And what would you know about making plans?” Sylvie asked. 

“Well… I got you both here, didn’t I?” 

“Great job. Now get us out!” She was not swayed. “What does ‘laying low’ as attendants to the prince even mean, anyway? 

“Look,” said Mobius, “We still gotta get to breakfast this morning so maybe… we perform the roles the best we can? Work at night?”

“Now you’re really stalling.” Sylvie rolled her eyes. 

“B-15 didn’t give us all the details. We’re still working that out. The TVA is looking for us and they’ve got some kind of lead, but they’re not here yet and where or when we can attack is not information we have yet.” 

Sylvie crossed her arms. 

“We’ll talk about it tonight. Once bedtime rolls around.”

“And not at naptime?” Sylvie asked.

“You’ll both need the nap, trust me. I heard Queen Frigga wants to take a carriage ride into town this morning.” 

Loki sighed and pressed his body against the nursery doors. They were finally alone again. 

Today hadn’t exactly exemplified the “laying low” they had discussed and knowing what was to come had made both the Littles jumpy and half-regressed, unable to fully slip into their comforting child-like headspaces. 

And now, Loki realized, he would really need to be big. He took a deep breath and tried to clear his head as he sat down on the open crib. 

That night, they planned before they slept, going over where the TVA was most likely searching, who was leading them, and where, by extension, where their best point of attack could be-- or, as Mobius nervously argued, if they even needed to attack. It was a terrible headache of a planning process.

“We need to find a way to save this timeline to the Tempad before we leave so we can come back,” Mobius suggested.  

“So, if we leave now, we can save billions upon billions of lives and if we wait, we can sacrifice all those people but maybe live here as Loki’s servants forever. It really doesn’t sound like a difficult decision,” said Sylvie. 

“Now hang on a second, because it’s a lot more complicated than that,” said Mobius. “They’re looking for us, but more specifically for you . If we head back there without any thought, we’re not gonna be able to do much. Between my humanness and you two not having your powers in the TVA? It’d be suicide throwing ourselves back in there.”

“And would it be any less suicide saving this timeline to the Tempad just so it can be stolen and all of this can be torn to shreds anyway?” 

“Be optimistic!” Mobius sighed. “And what if we succeed? What if a little extra time and planning pays off and we need to find a little spot to settle down? I think we’ve had enough stress for one lifetime…”

“And you’d want to come back here?” Sylvie chuckled. 

“Do you know how hard it is to find timelines where Littles are this common? If this timeline’s Loki is a Little, Earth’s probably gonna have Littles, too!” 

“You’re not curious about your life? Your timeline?” Loki asked. 

“Not really. This is my life! I like you both! I want to spend it with you two!”

“So we’re going to look like we’ve kidnapped the prince and just move to Earth after defeating the TVA?” Sylvie asked. 

Loki wasn’t convinced she was as disgusted by this plan as she tried to make it seem.  “Well, Thor and I were the only two who really hung out down there much, anyway,” he offered. “It isn’t like Mother or Father would be down there searching for us.” 

“And how do you know that?” Sylvie raised an eyebrow. 

Loki opened his mouth to argue but Mobius got to it before he could. “We could always go to a different time, on this same branch. The 90’s are pretty nice,” he shrugged. 

“And how do you propose we even find this branch on the Tempad?”

“You’re the one who jailbroke it, wanna take a look?” 

Loki took a deep breath as they argued and glanced outside, pushing the heavy black-out curtains aside. It had been such a rush yesterday that Mobius had forgotten to shut the balcony doors. Sometimes he kept them open in the evenings to usher in a cool breeze when Loki slept. This morning he had forgotten to shut them. 

A large black bird stared back at him with beady eyes, cocking its head. 

Loki stared back at it, preparing to shut the door.

But as he grabbed the handle the bird cawed and flapped into the room, leaving black feathers as it swooped over the heads of the trio interrupting their conversation. 

And just as quickly as it came, it was gone, sliding back out the door and into the night. 

“Shit…” Mobius swore under his breath. 

“What the hell was that?!” Sylvie asked. 

“That was Odin’s raven.” 

Loki finally shut the door. 

“And it definitely heard us.” 

Loki pursed his lips and nodded silently, preparing for the barrage of angry words Sylvie would surely throw at him, but it never came. 

She made the same expression back at him. A resigned frown. 

“Well,” Mobius sighed. “Maybe you had a point-- we may need to get a move on soon after all.” 

Guards opened the nursery’s door late that night. The sun hadn’t even come up before Loki and his dear friends were dragged out into the palace’s hallways and out to the throne room where Thor and Loki’s parents sat. --They weren’t always up this early, were they? Loki couldn’t help but wonder. 

He was led up to them remembering the video Mobius had shown him back at the TVA. His stomach churned as he tried his best to stick to their plan-- to make this as painless as possible--. 

Thor stared down at him from his throne. His great helmet gleamed against the lit torches of the hall. As the guards shoved Loki down to his knees, he couldn’t help looking up at his big brother and in some ways, seeing a man he barely recognized: Half Thor half Odin half some other king of antiquity. His grim expression told everything. “I don’t know who you are, but you are not the brother I knew,” he said. “And if you are the same Loki, you have made fools of this family. For hundreds of years you have pretended to be a spoiled child--” 

Loki’s chest tightened. Had it really been all pretend? 

“My own brother colluding with spies…” Thor trailed. 

“From where?” Loki spat-- he couldn’t help himself. The idea was so ridiculous. 

Thor didn’t answer. Loki knew he couldn’t. He had no evidence.

“I knew you were an outsider from the moment I met you,” he said to Mobius. “No beard but a mustache? How ridiculous! And your Little, miss Sylvie? She hardly even knows where her headspace range is.” 

Sylvie turned pink but held her tongue. 

Thor spoke with a certain officiality that Loki was not used to hearing in his voice. With only a passage of a few weeks he had gone from Loki’s drunken oaf of a brother to the spitting image of a king. Odin and Frigga each stood at one of his shoulders. They looked grim and old; their faces dark and emotionless. 

Loki looked to his companions. 

Mobius remained silent, even to Thor’s questioning. He breathed deeply through it, taking the abuse as if he had been trained to. Loki knew that look. Keeping anything bubbling below the surface under control. 

Sylvie appeared even more stoic. Trained and conscious of the wall she was putting between the royals and herself. She was trying to hold something back. But Loki wasn’t sure what it could be. Tears? Anger? He could feel the magical energy pooling at her fingertips. 

Loki wasn’t listening to his family, but he could feel there was something final in Thor’s tone. The discussion (or lack thereof) was over. Deep down, he knew it may be the last time he saw them. 

“Goodbye, mother,” he said unsteadily as the great doors opened. He hadn’t lived it himself, but he was reminded of the movie of his destiny Mobius had shown him in the TVA when the guards took him away. 

Frigga tried to keep her face emotionless but Loki could see how pained she was. 

“Thank you for everything.” 

It felt strange coming out of his mouth, but it needed to be said. There was something strangely cathartic about it even as the guards pulled him away. 

Loki sighed. This life was comfortable, but it was never something that would have been sustainable. It’s ruined now anyway… Mobius and Sylvie would never be able to stay now. 

The doors of the throne room shut behind them as a few guards led the trio away in chains towards the dungeon. None of the three bothered to struggle. Loki and Sylvie could feel that these were not any sort of magical chains-- or at least, if they were enchanted, it was only the most mild of incantation and there were only what-- 6 guards? Two for each of them? A piece of cake, Loki thought, hoping that it didn’t show on his face. 

When they were positive that they were safely out of the (direct) sight of the royal family or even any citizens, Loki let out a deep sigh. The fantasy was over. 

He moved quickly to bring the Tempad out of his magical pockets and flicked it over to Mobius like a magician, waving his hands seemingly flippantly as he tossed it. 

Mobius did not look up from the little device, even as the guards lunged at him trying to take it out of his hands. In their excitement, however, they did not notice Sylvie already shaking off the chains as if they were no more than paper and Loki not far behind. 

It was only an instant, but Loki was holding his breath. The guards yelped as they were blasted out of the way with Loki and Sylvie fending them off from Mobius’ task. Their armor clattered as they flew back to the floor. 

The time door opened just as the guards began to recollect themselves, and, in a moment of pure gut reaction, Loki shoved Mobius in as they charged. Sylvie was trying to stand her ground, her knife out and brandished, ready to fight but Loki pulled her into the dimly lit TVA with them, dissolving the glowing orange door just in time for one guard to lose a horn of their helmet. 

The metal loudly clattered to the ground as Loki sat up. He stared at the horn, feeling that Sylvie’s plan had ended too close for comfort. 

A hand softly touched his shoulder and Loki whipped around. Mobius kneeled behind him. “It’s okay,” He reassured Loki. “They won’t even know we’re gone.” 

For some reason, that idea didn’t feel quite as reassuring as it had a few days ago. 

Chapter Text

The TVA felt a bit darker than Loki remembered. It had never exactly been a cheerful place, but the lights were dimmer and the spirits seemed lower here… perhaps the comparison of spending the last few months back at home on Asgard made the distinction more stark. 

The bored-looking TVA desk workers did not seem to notice or care that one of their own and two Loki variants had just tumbled out of a time portal into their offices, but Loki knew that the hunters would not react the same way. 

Mobius helped Loki and Sylvie up and stepped into an elevator. He selected one of the cryptic buttons that Loki could not make sense of. 

Loki resisted the urge to ask where they were going or hold Mobius’ hand. He had to be an adult. He could do it. He knew he had been for a thousand years before this. Why was it starting to feel difficult here? 

Why now?

The elevator doors opened and Loki was shocked to realize that he did know where they were. He had been there before. 

Perhaps sensing Sylvie’s curiosity, Mobius spoke. “These are the archives,” he said. “It’s kind of like a library and an evidence room in one.”

Sylvie scowled, but Mobius paid her discomfort no mind and browsed through the shelves until he reached a drawer reading “L0825 / L1190” 

He unlocked it with a key and opened it, pausing and stepping away to show Sylvie the contents. 

She took a second to stare at what the TVA had physically collected from her over the years. Small and large knives and daggers, a packet of gum, and a pouch with… something inside. 

“What’s in there?” Loki asked. He wasn’t sure what he had expected. Maybe magical herbs or a small fortune in a long forgotten currency. Instead, as she pinched inside, she pulled out a small singular pebble. Surely it was something else-- something more useful or perhaps sinister. 

“Memories,” she smiled. “I collected one little rock from every apocalypse I came across after my money pouch ran dry. I lost it many many years ago.” 

“You dropped it in Pompeii,” Mobius smiled at her. 

Sylvie reattached the baggie to her belt and sheathed the weapons the best she could-- although she hardly had room for any in the Asgardian getup. She handed one of the large knives to Loki with a raised eyebrow, questioning if he’d like to be responsible for it. 

Loki took the weapon from her with a reassuring nod. He could take care of it! He was a grown-up right now! 

Mobius was already on the move though before any verbal confrontation could take place. He slunk back through the shelves to the elevator, gesturing for Loki and Sylvie to keep behind him, much to Sylvie’s chagrin. 

When there was no one else in the elevator, he beckoned both of the gods in behind him and keyed in a new elevator code. 

Loki wanted to ask where they were off to now, but silence felt more appropriate. Perhaps Mobius was trying to stay low. Although, in the TVA, Loki was pretty sure he could scream and smash a computer onto the floor and not a single person would look up from their desk.  

Mobius stepped out into a teal hallway lined with filing cabinets. It was dingy and rather neglected compared to the orange and coffee-colored offices Loki was used to. He scanned the labels finding “Men's - Large” and took out a plastic wrapped set of clothes from one of the wide drawers. Then, he looked for another, “Men's - Large (tall)” and handed the set to Loki. 

“I know it’s not ideal,” Mobius shrugged, “But I’m not sure when you’re gonna get your usual armor back,” he said to Sylvie. 

The poor girl looked conflicted. 

“Do you want to pick out an outfit? There’s quite a few options in here. What do you think? Maybe a women’s medium?” he asked. 

Sylvie lowered her eyebrows, finding his remarks patronizing as she nabbed a seemingly random package and tucked it under her arm. 

With only some of Loki’s more practical tricks-- the type that didn’t involve magic-- the trio found that their clothes fit effortlessly. They looked like any other TVA workers. 

“Okay, okay, regroup,” said Mobius-- he looked exactly the same as he had when Loki had first met him, except his shirt was slightly lighter and his jacket a little less worn. He gathered Loki and Sylvie around. “I need a big favor from you two,” he said. “Some things I think only a couple of gods can help me with--”

“Yes, cut to the chase,” Sylvie hurried him along. 

Mobius took a deep breath, “Can you go up a few floors and meet with B-15 and Casey for me? I’ll be up soon I just need to--” 

“Really? That’s it?” Loki asked. He wasn’t offended, just confused. It felt a little bit below their skill level. 

Mobius paused to look at him. “track down this variant timeline…” he finished. “The future of all these timelines is at stake. You two are the only ones I’d trust to help me save it besides B-15. It seems small but I need you to just work with me here!”

Sylvie punched Loki in the arm. “If it means destroying the TVA, we’ll do it,” she assured Mobius.  

“Great, now I’m gonna give you these,” he opened a drawer of another filing cabinet, this one thinner than the one where the uniforms were kept, and pulled out a few small earpieces and Tempads that clipped onto a belt. He handed one set to Sylvie and fumbled with the other as he explained, “These are how I’m going to lead you through the TVA. Follow my instructions, ok?” he asked. 

“Won’t General Dox be able to easily track us with these?” Loki asked. 

“Not if we do this right,” Mobius answered. 

“It’s going to take me more than five minutes to jail-break these, you know,” said Sylvie. “Your last one took me two hours.” 

“I think I know a guy who can help,” Mobius smiled. Without further explanation, he set off, beckoning Loki and Sylvie to follow him down the corridor and into a large room with linoleum tiled floors. 

“There’s no one here,” Sylvie pointed out. The room was a mess. The overhead fans were on, and paper was strewn about, but the room looked abandoned. Knowing the way that the TVA was in shambles, that was definitely a possibility. 

A shorter, slight man popped up from behind the desk with the momentum of a jack-in-the-box. “Oh hello, Mobius! Great to see you again!” he said, excitedly. 

“Hey!” Mobius said awkwardly. He apparently did not recognize him. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” he asked, anxiously tapping on the desk. 

“Four hundred years to be exact!” the man said. 

“Wow… feels like a thousand,” Mobius trailed. “-- I want to introduce you to Loki and Sylvie. Loki, Sylvie, this is…” he gestured broadly to the man. 

With only a slight delay, the message seemed to be received. “Hi, I’m Ouroboros, but Mobius calls me O.B.. Nice to meet you,” he said to Loki, reaching out to shake his hand. “Hi, I’m Ouroboros, but Mobius calls me O.B.. Nice to meet you,” he repeated to Sylvie. 

“Nice to meet you,” Loki replied politely. 

Sylvie nodded, but her face remained neutral, as if she was scanning O.B.’s soul for any nefarious ideas even if her powers were blunted inside the TVA. 

O.B. pulled away from her with an awkward chuckle before turning back to Mobius.  “What brings you down here?” he asked. 

Mobius put his hands on his hips and composed himself to appear very serious and authoritative. “There’s been a tracking hack on some of the sector B Tempads and some more tech savvy variants have gotten ahold of them-- for maximum security, could you just take the pre-installed stuff off? Y’know Miss Minutes and all that?”

“More like this,” said Sylvie, holding up the already broken Tempad for O.B. to look at. 

“Oh…” O.B. examined the Tempad cautiously as all the group held their breath. “You did a good job with this one,” he finally answered. “Did it take you long?” 

“A few hours,” Sylvie shrugged, a little bit flustered. 

“Hm… I see some rough spots but I think I can get these two to function similarly in…. Five minutes?” 

“ That soon ?” Loki asked incredulously. 

“Oh sure, I designed these things. I can take a look at the servers after and check on that spyware--” 

“--That won’t be necessary” Loki quickly answered. 

“It is!” O.B. argued, “Do you know how many Tempads we have?” he paused for a response. 

“I don’t know,” Mobius answered just to keep him working on the devices. 

“Four hundred, eighty seven thousand, two hundred and three,” O.B. answered. “If there’s any sort of virus-- and it must be very sophisticated because I don’t see anything on here--”

“It’s there,” Mobius reassured him.

“We need to stop it to preserve the core functions of the TVA.” 

“I’m sure.” Sylvie rolled her eyes. “Could you maybe shut down all of the TVA’s tech?”

“Oh no, that’s a little bit harsh for a bug like this….” O.B. reasoned, then quickly changed tones. “Okay all done!” he chirped.  

“That wasn’t even five minutes,” Mobius sputtered. “Are you sure?” 

“Yep! It was pretty basic compared to what I first thought. Just be careful with them and bring them back to me when you’re done,” O.B. explained. “That way, once the bug is fixed, I can reinstall Miss Minutes for you.” 

“Will do, Thanks,” Mobius said politely. “Hope it all works out for you.”

“Come back soon!” O.B. waved. 

Sylvie checked over her own jailbroken Tempad and compared it with the new ones, looking over Mobius’ shoulder at how his was working as they waited in the elevator. She didn’t say anything, so it must’ve been alright. 

“Ready?” Mobius asked, snapping her out of it to hand her and Loki small earpieces. 

“Ready,” Loki agreed. 

Sylvie nodded. 

The doors opened out onto the TVA floor. 

And without another word, Mobius set off in one direction, towards his desk, and the two gods started in the other. 

Every few seconds, Mobius’ voice cut in over the intercoms to give the two directions. “Turn here”, “turn there”, “press this button in the elevator”. Loki wasn’t actually listening that closely, but he caught bits of it. Enough to navigate relatively easily. The keyboard clacking in the background was significantly more distracting than any of the useful information. 

Sylvie suddenly clasped her microphone. “Over here,” she pointed. Mobius hadn’t said anything about turning here but Sylvie had already run off into a conference room. She looked over and under tables, even checking for hidden drawers. Finally she spotted a panel on the wall and began to fiddle with it. 

After a brief pause of static a voice cut in, “Now…” It began slowly monotonously, “onto business item four hundred eighty seven: motion to move beverage machines to areas closer to offices and workspaces…” 

Sylvie didn’t even bother shutting it off. She just left the room and went on to the next… and the next… 

“What are you guys doing?” Mobius asked. 

“We’re looking for General Dox’s stupid plans!” Sylvie snapped back. 

“Casey and B-15 already have them,” he responded patiently, but it was obviously wearing thin, “Can you just stick with the plan instead of snooping around everywhere?” 

Sylvie pressed button after button listening to each recording. 

“You’re going to draw attention to yourselves like that.” 

Loki gritted his teeth and looked behind them for any soldiers but… no one was coming. As a matter of fact, the entire floor had seemed pretty empty. “We’d better go…” he told Sylvie, swiftly grabbing her arm and beginning to pick up the pace. He didn’t know what it was, but something was very wrong here. 

Sylvie matched his pace, but continued pressing buttons on the tape recorders in each room, trying to sniff out General Dox’s voice from each one. Someone she recognized or something about the plans and not some ridiculous issue with variant numbering processes, vending machines, or the request for ergonomic chairs in sector L. 

“Wait, I know we can find something,” said Sylvie. “They’re not that smart, they must’ve left something,” she mused aloud. 

“Just keep going,” Loki told her, “we can look later.” Something about all this felt urgent. 

“Here! Here! Turn here!” Mobius nearly shouted in their ears. 

Loki and Sylvie paused in yet another, nearly identical conference room. Okay, well, admittedly this one was a bit bigger and nicer. It had a carving on one wall of the so-called “Time Keepers”. How gaudy, Loki couldn’t help but think to himself, didn’t they have any subtlety? Any class? Taste? Neither B-15 or Casey seemed to take any note of the imposing figures. 

“Shouldn’t Mobius be with you two?” B-15 asked cautiously. 

“He will be,” Loki answered, trying not to sound nefarious. “He’s looking at the broken timeline we were in.” To really hammer home that he was being serious he spoke into the headset, “Mobius, you are going to get here soon, right?” He also really wanted Mobius here for this. 

“Yeah… yeah… just finishing up. I’ll be up in a second.” 

That didn’t sound promising. 

The hunter must have read his face. “We don’t have time to wait, but I know at least she is looking to save as many lives as possible. Let’s just keep going. We’ll update Mobius when he gets here.” 

As much as Loki wanted to protest, he chose not to. 

B-15 pressed a button on the recorder behind her and let the tape play. General Dox’s voice was on it and… so was her own. Maybe she figured that Sylvie wouldn’t have believed her at her word-- a fair assumption to make. 

“We won’t let the timeline branch,” Dox’s voice thundered through the recorder. “I’m sorry, Hunter.” 

B-15 tried to explain the situation, but was cut off again and again. 

“We CANNOT let it branch. Pruning has kept the timeline in harmony forever. We cannot impulsively jump to trusting that if we stop pruning this will all be okay.”

“ Impulsively? ” B-15 interrupted. “Impulsive is killing billions to make the ‘sacred timeline’ look clean. Impulsive is refusing to take in any of this new information--” 

“It changes nothing!” 

“This changes everything!” 

A third voice broke in with a snap of time passage, as if there had been a cut in the tape. Loki did not recognize her, but from the way she spoke, he guessed she was a judge like Renslayer. “Tell the TVA to stop pruning effective immediately.”

“But!--” Dox’s voice barely cut in before the tape ended. 

“She didn’t take it well,” B-15 explained to Loki and Sylvie. “She’s gone AWOL, but we have an idea of what she’s planning. We just need to act in time.”

“It’s here, I have it right here!” Mobius excitedly burst into the room and he presented his friends with a folder. A thin and small one with only a mere page inside of it. 

Loki and Sylvie gathered close, ready to ask “really? Is that all?” when nothing of much note was inside it.

B-15 looked like she wanted to interrupt but the captivated attention of everyone else the room had dissuaded her. 

Mobius opened it up hesitantly. He picked up the page, reading the standard TVA form jargon and squinting at the poorly printed letters. 

“What does it say? Where is he?” Loki pressed. 

Mobius’ face fell. “Our little guy got pruned.” 

Sylvie and Loki paused. 

“That’s the end then,” Sylvie frowned solemnly. 

Mobius’ gaze shifted downward at the document. There wasn’t even a picture on it. 

“We don’t know if he died,” Loki tried to encourage them. “There were tons of us living in the void!” 

Sylvie and Mobius both looked doubtful. “And you think a child, a permanently regressed, hardly-breaking-two-years-old-headspaced Little is going to be one of the survivors?” Sylvie asked rather coldly. 

“Well…” Mobius shrugged in Loki’s defense. “Maybe…There was an actual kid in there. You guys are like roaches. I bet even the Littlest of you could probably survive a nuclear blast somehow.”

Sylvie’s face was stone cold. Somehow the idea of the other Loki possibly being alive may have made things worse. It then morphed from a blank stare to searing hot rage. “Alive or dead it’s all even more reason to burn this place to the ground,” she grumbled. 

Chapter Text

B-15 drew up a deep breath. “Are you ready?” she asked the four of them. 

Sylvie patted her knives as the hunter opened up her Tempad. Even Casey put on a stoic face and powered up a pruning stick. It looked horribly out of place in his hands.

“What about Mobius?” Loki blurted. 

“My days as a hunter have long passed,” Mobius chuckled, patting Loki on the shoulder dismissively. 

“No, that’s actually a good point. We need all the backup we can get,” the hunter said. She handed Mobius a helmet and a pruning stick. 

He looked a little silly still in his business clothes, but his face, much like Casey’s read pure determination. It was a little cute if Sylvie was being honest. They looked so ready-- so innocent to what laid on the other side of the portal. 

The portal opened and Sylvie bolted forward before the hunters inside could have a moment to react-- and perhaps more importantly, so that no one on her side had a moment to have second thoughts about the whole idea. 

It really was now or never. Sylvie thanked her intuition as she watched TVA agents rigging up the timeline bombs, a few seconds later and they never would have been able to stop this. 

One stood bent over a Tempad. If he wasn’t the operator, he was at very least distracted. Sylvie snatched the device out of his hands and kicked him to the ground. 

She whirled around looking for others. The goal-- B-15 had made sure to reiterate to her and Loki-- was not to kill, they were trying to avoid deaths after all. In fact, it was to not even injure if possible, just to subdue and trap. That was a bold strategy that Sylvie rolled her eyes at. Sometimes force was the only right answer in these scenarios. 

As the hunter she had kicked tried to get up, she kicked him in the jaw. He screamed in a horrible way. She may have knocked a tooth or two loose, but he would surely be subdued for the rest of the fight. 

A hand caught hers and Sylvie whirled around only to find that it was Loki. He raised his eyebrows at her, asking silently if she was ready to use some magic. She did not hesitate to join him, channeling her energy into one deep breath. It was like a silent scream of rage and it came out in a glowing green burst of energy from hers and Loki’s fingertips. 

She could feel his anger, too. Together, they were enough to knock back near a dozen TVA agents and rattle some of the bombs. 

“Our mission is compromised! Set off what you can!” General Dox yelled from her central control panel. 

A dozen or so time doors flicked open and soldiers ran to them-- a few even made it in despite the group’s best efforts to stop them… and then they didn’t. All the orange time doors, with a little blip of a noise, flickered out of existence. Some with TVA agents inside, others undisturbed. 

Sylvie looked over as she heard B-15 sigh with relief. “OB,” the hunter smiled to herself with an air of triumph. Then, she looked back at Sylvie and broke into a grin. 

Here they were, fighting alongside one another as Hunter B-15 called in her own reinforcements. Sylvie never thought she would see the day when the TVA was helping her cause, and yet here they were. 

Sylvie took Loki’s hand as a few rebelling agents charged for them. “Don’t overthink it,” she told him. 

With a blast of green magic, reset charges were knocked out of the hands of hunters and many were blown back, away from any volatile equipment or weapons. 

Only seconds later, as the reinforcement hunters barreled in, the fighting paused. Sylvie and Loki could not tell one side from the other, so they stepped out of the way and let the hunters finish the job… well… mostly. 

With all this adrenaline pumping through her, there was one last piece of business Sylvie had to take care of; for closure’s sake. To make sure that none of this could ever happen again. 

She broke from Loki’s hand and stomped towards Dox, curled up on the floor. The General looked so small now as Sylvie towered over her.

Sylvie kicked her in the stomach, leading the General to double over even further. “Scum,” she muttered as she unsheathed her knife. 

The General gasped for air. “Wait!” she coughed, holding her hands out to pause the attack. Dox’s voice lowered. “I need you to know something--” she began.

But Sylvie did not hesitate.  She plunged her knife deep into Dox’s chest, twisting it between her ribs. “I don’t care what you have to say to me.”  You deserved this for ripping me from my family and killing them and for doing the same for billions of people all for some ridiculous cult. 

“You will never see the end of it…” Dox said in a shaking voice. 

Sylvie took out the knife and plunged it in again.

The General raised her hand up towards Sylvie’s face as if she were going to caress it. “Spilled blood cannot destroy the TVA…” 

Sylvie’s face got hotter. She stabbed the knife in again. Dox needed to feel every ounce of the pain she grew up with. The pain of every person and every timeline she destroyed. 

The woman opened her mouth to speak one last time, but only thick blood trickled out. 

That did not stop Sylvie. 

She heard Mobius yell at her like she heard little puffs of Loki’s magic and the strange electric buzz of a pruning stick; all just background noise.  

Dox’s head already lolled to the side by the time Loki and Mobius pulled Sylvie away. 

She roared in frustration but knew that the moment was gone. How could she not have been sorry in those last dying moments?

Mobius set her down away from the action. “Hey hey,” he said in a calm voice. “You need some water? Maybe a deep breath?” 

Sylvie hadn’t realized how hard she was crying. She shook her head and tried to calm down on her own. 

It was over. They had stopped the TVA from killing billions… and yet it didn’t feel like that. 

B-15 raised her voice to the remaining defecting hunters. “You all now have two options. You’ve already shown your disregard for the lives on these timelines. You can be pruned quickly or you can tell me where you want to go and we will graciously let you blend in on a timeline. The choice is yours but make it quick.” 

Very few chose to be pruned despite not knowing what times they were really from. It was almost heartwarming if you didn’t think about the context of the battle beforehand-- they were all going off to create new homes. B-15 confiscated Tempads and equipment before each hunter entered the door. 

By the time they got back to the TVA, Sylvie couldn’t even process most of what had happened. Dox’s words just kept swimming in her head. She knew she was splashed with blood and dirt more than any of the others and it was Dox’s blood on her. 

“Where are we going now?” she asked Mobius quietly as they left B-15 and Casey’s side. 

“Just back to my apartment,” he answered, matching her near whisper. “Get some shuteye before we work out what to do and where to go next.” 

Sylvie was not reassured. She did not want to sleep here. 

Mobius sighed. “I know it’s not your first choice, but we just need to make sure we leave the TVA as a better, less murderous, organization than we found it, right?”

“Or not an organization at all…” Sylvie mumbled. 

“Or not an organization at all,” Mobius repeated. “But that’s gonna take us a minute so let’s rest up before then, huh?” 

He spoke to her like she was a child, Sylvie recognized. Yet, it felt as if there was a barrier between her thoughts and this outside world and she found that she could not recognize what reaction she should have to those words right now. 

The apartment was so different from the rest of the TVA, Sylvie felt like she could actually breathe in here. She took a moment to process the change in aesthetic. The apartment looked more like a college dorm room than that of an adult man. The walls were covered in posters-- mostly of jetskis-- and the rest of the decor was decidedly simple. There was a kitchenette with a microwave and mini fridge, and a queen sized bed with a table next to it. No windows, but that was okay, just a bright lamp supposed to mimic sunlight that Sylvie remembered seeing on some human colonies off of Earth-- Those never went well. 

“...Sylvie?” 

Mobius was talking to her. 

She looked over at him. 

“The shower’s open for you.”

The blood washed off of Sylvie’s face and down the drain. She took a deep breath, inhaling the steam as she pressed her head against the tiled wall. It felt good to feel the hot water on her greasy hair again. It reminded her of the not-so-far-away memory of taking a bath and having a warm cup of water poured over her head. All that was missing was the sweet smelling soap. All Mobius seemed to have was a basic, unscented white bar.  But it got the smell of battle off. Maybe that weird TVA stink like dust and burnt wiring would wash off, too.  

In some ways, she felt as if the battle hadn’t even happened yet. The wound still felt raw. And in other ways, she knew it had. She had killed so many TVA hunters over the years and in all her memory, she couldn’t remember it feeling so nauseating. Dox’s face as the blood bubbled up, the way her eyes went dim, and her words… those horrible words… kept repeating in her head. 

She dried off and put on the new clothes that Mobius had set out for her. She kicked the other clothes, sprayed with blood to the side of the bathroom as she put on the new outfit from its plastic packaging. It was greyer and drabber-- more prisoner-like than the previous outfit. 

When Loki saw her leave the bathroom, he didn’t have the grin of childish innocence she had become accustomed to. She hadn’t seen it in a few days. She didn’t even see a hint of triumph from winning the battle. What happened to you out there? She dared him to ask. 

He didn’t. 

“How did it feel?”

Sylvie had not been prepared for that question. She sighed. “Bad,” she said honestly, as she sat down on the bed next to him. 

Loki nodded compassionately. “One time I was so angry at my brother that I killed 80 people and held New York City hostage.” 

Sylvie was not impressed. This was entirely different. 

“It doesn’t always feel right, does it? Getting what you wanted?” It would have been so easy to make that sound mocking, especially from Loki, but it didn’t this time. 

“No, it doesn’t,” she admitted, looking at the white sheets beneath her.

“What did she say to you?” he asked. 

“She said we'd never see the end of this. That the TVA was bigger than we knew.” 

Loki looked confused. “That’s all?” he asked. “He Who Remains told us the same thing.” 

Sylvie struggled to explain it but this was different. Dox had fought. Dox had a certain knowing look in her eyes. She was more human and more monster than He Who Remains. Hearing the idea repeated only lent the thought some legitimacy. 

But Loki was right-- a terrible thing to say, but it was true-- He Who Remains had probably just brainwashed her like he had brainwashed everybody else. 

The knot in Sylvie’s stomach did not go away, even as Mobius sat down on the bed next to them in his matching TVA pajamas. The urge to crawl into his lap and sob was almost overwhelming. She wanted her dragon and her own bed back, even if it was a bed for a palace servant. She screwed her eyes shut, nauseated with the overwhelming emotions. 

She could hear Mobius and Loki talking around her, but she didn’t process what they said as everything seemed to swirl like it did when she looked inside someone else’s mind. Knowing it was only her own made it all feel worse. 

A hand lightly touched her knee. 

Sylvie opened her eyes to look at Mobius absently. It felt like she was seeing through a fishbowl. 

“Hey, today was rough. You want me and Loki to look after you for a while while you decompress?” 

Without any of her usual hesitation she fell into her caregiver’s arms. 

“Woah, hey! there’s no magic here, remember? I can’t lift you,” Mobius laughed. 

“But I can,” Loki said lightly, picking Sylvie up as if she didn’t weigh a thing and positioning her next to her grinning caregiver. 

Even in this horrible place at this horrible time, the people who cared still smiled and loved her as if they were still in the palace. 

She took a deep breath and shut her eyes against Mobius’ warm chest. Maybe they could get out of here okay after all. 

After a slow “morning” readjusting to her surroundings, Sylvie took a deep breath and left the cozy apartment after her companions. 

The air of the TVA choked her again as she struggled to retain her composure and heart rate, trying not to let her palms get too sweaty. 

She sat down following Mobius’ lead in one of the conference rooms and focused on looking confident and normal, folding her hands on the table. Her tie felt too tight and this shirt was definitely far too starched but surely there could be worse things to focus on right now. 

All the seats around her were filled with other people in the same drab TVA outfits. A few stood around the perimeter of the room as they listened in. Thank goodness no one was standing behind her. Loki at one side and Mobius at the other, they sat at the far wall of the room next to B-15 and Casey who stood up to present and discuss with their colleagues. 

“...With all this in mind, we propose a new and more transparent system of governance that highlights accountability and cooperation at all levels of decision making throughout the organization,” B-15 continued. “With a strong culture of peaceful resolution and intersectional justice…” 

Gods it just keeps going , Sylvie thought. How long would she need to sit here and listen?

“Because of his demonstration of strong moral compass, bravery, and commitment to bettering the TVA even under a broken system, Mobius M. Mobius, Dangerous Variant Senior Analyst, will help temporarily facilitate this transition until we can find another officer suited to the role…” 

Sylvie whipped around to look at him as the crowd applauded to make sure she had heard right, and sure enough he stood up. At that moment, so did she, and ran the other direction, pushing past TVA agents. She had to get out of here. 

She blew past the doors of the room and outside where even more people were gathered listening with their ears to the door. They must have been newbies as they all stepped out of her way quickly. 

Where was the apartment again? All these conference rooms and all those apartments had looked the same. What was even the sign he had pressed in the elevator? The hallway seemed to stretch on for miles ahead of her but it didn’t matter. Sylvie picked a direction and ran.

This was a nightmare, she was sure of it. Maybe this whole life was and she would wake up happy in Frigga’s arms and roll over and go back to sleep as only a tiny child.

There had to be a Tempad around here somewhere. Ugh, she never should have set hers down in that gods-forsaken apartment. 

She ran until she couldn’t anymore. In an abandoned hallway she was pretty sure Mobius had gotten their clothes from-- although, who knew every hallway here looked the same-- she paused and took a deep breath. She screamed and punched the lockers leaving a dent in them and a bruise on her fist. 

“I’m sorry!” a familiar voice called, “We do not work on chairs, only Tempads and computers!” 

Tempads. She could get a Tempad, here! From that guy! 

Sylvie turned into the room and sure enough, it was the same, cluttered, dusty room she had visited before with big whirling fans overhead and tubes of air pumping repair orders through. 

She walked up confidently and tapped on the counter. “Ouroboros!” she said casually and so normally with her best composure. 

The short man poked his head over the counter top like a prairie dog. 

“I need another Tempad.” 

Ouroboros narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her. “We don’t give those out willy-nilly,” he said. 

“Please?” she tried. 

“Hm, let me see,” he answered in his usual cheerful tone, and ducked back behind his desk again. 

Sylvie peered over the counter to watch as he searched, but it was such a mess back there, that she could not figure out any method to his madness. 

He stood back up. “This one should work,” he smiled as he handed it over. “Just give it a few hours to charge and it should be ready.” 

“A few hours? Do you have one that’s charged now?” Sylvie pleaded. 

“No, you’ll need to go to a charging station. They’re all around the TVA. Does your desk not have one?” 

Sylvie growled in frustration as she set the Tempad down and ran out of the room. Surely she could find another… there had to be some random, stupid charged Tempad here somewhere… 

She began to retrace her steps, not too far, but she thought that she had passed the elevator just a few hallways back. 

“Sylvie!” Loki was running towards her and Mobius wasn’t far behind. 

“I’m sorry I scared you like that!” Mobius apologized as he caught his breath. “There was…” --he took a second to breathe-- “a misunderstanding…”

Loki looked at him, doubled over from running over here and took over. “He didn’t quite understand that saying yes to helping would be taken as volunteering in leadership.” 

Mobius stood back up. “She-- B-15-- Verity-- whatever she’s gonna go by now-- really needed that position anyway. Hunting is a good starting place, but it doesn’t get you too far… especially if there’s no hunting to be done.”

Sylvie paused as she processed this. “She’ll do a good job,” she said with some confidence. She had seen B-15’s mind herself and knew that it was true and brave. Even for such a horrible organization, if anyone could lead it properly, Sylvie was confident it was her. 

“You’d never want to stay here, and look, I really like you, Loki really likes you. We want to stick together and it’s obvious that the TVA just isn’t the place for us three.”

Sylvie smiled. She wanted to stay with them, too… just not here. 

“But we have one last mission before we go,” Mobius warned. “Think you can handle it?” 

Chapter Text

Mobius clicked the pruning stick twice, taking a deep breath as it powered up. He didn’t know how Sylvie had done this before. Getting pruned felt like every atom in your body was made of Pop Rocks. It didn’t hurt, but it definitely wasn’t a comfortable feeling. He tapped his pockets again for the hundredth time to really make sure that his Tempad would stay put. 

He tried to remind himself that this was just another mission: Loki and Sylvie were his team and he was going out to look for one last variant. But this time, he wasn’t going with the goal of bringing this Loki to the TVA’s judgement, but to save his life and his timeline.

Loki and Sylvie had gathered their battle armor. The green and black leathers with their little glints of gold reminded Mobius of their experience on the battlefield. They looked so professional-- so prepared in comparison to him. 

“Ready?” he asked, holding the pruning stick out. 

“Ready,” Loki agreed. He hesitated but still stepped forward and placed his hand at the end of the orange lights. Despite this different approach, Loki still winced. Apparently it didn’t feel any less weird to start with your arm as it did to start with your chest. 

“Alright give me that,” Sylvie smiled gently. She took the pruning stick and touched it to Mobius with a light tap. It was almost a relief to not have to think about it. 

Mobius woke up with a deep breath in a field. It looked like the landscape he had seen the last time he was here. Same rolling hills and blue-green grass. Same sparse and dead-looking trees, but there was a lot less stuff here now. 

No landmarks like great ships, copies of famous memorials, or random vehicles now. They didn’t just fall into the world like they had when the TVA was pruning whole people, places, and things. Resources were about to get much more sparse very soon. 

Mobius tapped on his earpiece. Maybe, with any luck, they’d be able to connect with one another. Tempads, with or without tracking were designed to work even in Precambrian timeline branches, so surely they’d work now. 

“Everyone okay?” he started. 

It felt like an eternity waiting for a response. Please be okay… please be okay.

“Mobius?” The connection was scratchy, but it worked. “Where are you?” Loki asked. He didn’t answer the question which was… a little concerning. 

“It’s kind of hard to say but it sure looks like the same region as last time. I don’t see a path though.” One of the headless birds brushed past him. 

“No landmarks here,” Loki replied with a sigh. 

The second voice-- Sylvie’s voice-- finally cut in. “Do you all see the mountain?” she asked. “That’s the only landmark I can see.”

Mobius looked in all directions but he didn’t see one. “If I turn my microphone off, can either of you hear this?” He turned off his earpiece and cupped his hands to his mouth, before letting out a loud, trilling bird call. Well, to most ears it would sound like a bird call, but the TVA had used it exactly because it was not a perfect mimic of any particular bird throughout time. “How was that?” he asked. “Hear anything?” 

“I did!” Loki piped up. Then he paused. “...Oh you have got to be kidding me,” he sighed. 

That couldn’t be good. 

Mobius searched for another sound. He turned off his earpiece just for a second to listen. The rumble of a motorcycle rang through the empty plains of the void. 

“Do either of you hear a motorcycle?” he asked. He wasn’t sure Loki would be able to reply, but it was worth a shot. 

“Shh!” Sylvie hissed. 

Mobius took her advice as the noise crept closer, looking for where it could be coming from and trying to find a hiding spot in the plains of the void. A car, a shrub… anything. 

The roar got louder and louder until Mobius saw the inevitable. He couldn’t be that shocked or afraid. A band of Lokis-- not the same ones they had encountered earlier-- had gotten ahold of a stockpile of junk and had managed to turn it into some small vehicles. -- The motorcycle of course, being the loudest, most put together, and somehow the most rusty. 

Loki-- his Loki-- had been swept up in the mess again. This group wasn’t nearly as gracious as the last one they had run into and had taken Loki as a rather undignified hostage, cooped in a large dog cage pulled in a wagon with what Mobius could make out as a resigned expression even under a rag gag.  Apparently, they had assumed this Loki to be a spy from another group. And Mobius… well… it seemed they never really knew what to make of him. 

The group drifted up to him on their motorbikes, revving their engines intimidatingly and scrutinized him like they had expected him to run. 

“I think you have my companion,” Mobius said matter-of-factly, pointing at Loki with his arms folded in the tiny cage. 

“Your companion?” The leader spat. He didn’t look much like Loki at all… He was grizzled, round, with a long beard and missing teeth… and yet, he wore the horns. 

“Yeah, we’re travelling together. Looking for the third member of our party. She’s a Loki, too. Actually, we’re looking for two Lokis,” he hoped he didn’t sound as anxious as he felt. This was a big risk. “Actually, have any of you come across a Little?”

The gruff Loki laughed with a big booming laugh-- much like Odin’s. “A little of what?” he asked. 

“An age regressor. A young Loki-- he looks like the one you took captive but with toddler level capabilities.” 

Now, the older Loki lowered his eyebrows suspiciously. “And why are you looking for him?” 

“His family’s really worried about him and we want to just get him home safe. Out of the void. Back to his Thor and Odin and Frigga.” 

“Can’t help you with that one,” the leader sneered. 

“That’s alright can you at least help us find our other friend? We’ve gotten a little bit lost.” he questioned innocently. He knew that Lokis weren’t easy to fool, but if you used the right tone and asked the right questions, some sympathy would eventually come through. They weren’t as tough as they thought they were to a little bit of flattery and a certain kind of pathetic charm. 

The leader turned back to his group and muttered to them. Mobius already knew they were debating whether this was a trap or not. Mobius didn’t blame them. The story of an unpruned timeline and TVA agents coming to take a variant back to his family sounded far too good to be true. But… he looked legit… and after all, what person would try to outsmart a fearsome gang with nothing but the clothes on his back and a weak Loki variant?

If they thought it was a setup, they were definitely convinced it wasn’t a very good one. 

“Alright,” the leader huffed, “but your friend is staying right where he is.” 

“Great!” Mobius smiled with relief. He could feel his Loki scowling at him. “Do you know where there’s a mountain close by? There should be one around here, right?” He climbed into a sidecar of one of the big bikes, even though it was a bit small for him. There was dog hair all over the seat, not that Mobius especially minded. In fact, he found it rather endearing. That definitely explained the dog cage in the wagon, too, even if it had alternative uses like transporting prisoners. 

The group set off in a thunderous roar. Surely, even if they didn’t find Sylvie she would easily be able to track them down. 

In only a matter of minutes, Sylvie’s silhouette came into view on the horizon. She waved her arms tiredly to get the group’s attention. 

“Took you long enough,” she chided Mobius and Loki-- seeming to not even notice Loki’s uncomfortable situation. 

The leader of the group smiled at them. “Great!” he said, “now you two can continue on your way and we’ll get back to ours.” 

“Well hang on,” Sylvie paused. “You did ask them about the Little Loki, right?” 

“He did. We know nothing about him, miss,” the leader shrugged before Mobius could speak. 

Sylvie flicked her gaze between them. She must’ve been thinking the same thing as Mobius.

“If we knew, we’d happily tell you,” the leader said, sitting back down on his bike. “Can’t imagine anyone out here would have much need for a Little of all things.” 

Her eyes narrowed as she stocked up to him, unsheathing her knife and holding it up to his throat with one hand and pressing her hand to his chest with the other. 

The leader’s body stiffened and his gaze stopped focusing on anything in particular as he stared blankly into the distance.

Mobius and his Loki could feel all the other party members tense, ready to pounce on them and attack. 

After a few seconds that passed like a thick sludge, Sylvie pulled her hand away and the leader slumped forward limply. He did not faint like some of Sylvie’s victims. Neither of their eyes glowed especially magically.

Sylvie’s expression was soft, almost pitiful. “Just take us to him,” she pleaded earnestly. “We don’t want to hurt him.” 

The group of about twenty had made their base in a small abandoned roadside motel that looked like it had unceremoniously clattered to the void’s ground many years ago. There was a small office and only five doors into the rooms. Some of the stucco walls were starting to grow with vines while others had cracks from being dropped that had spread and crumbled further over time. Most of the windows were boarded up, but some were just covered in a thick layer of dirt and cobwebs. Plastic lawn chairs and stumps created an open-air meeting space outside with a fire pit. This site, unlike the last one they had visited in the void, seemed quiet and unconcerned with the thought of invaders. 

It was eerily peaceful. 

The leader parked his bike first, glaring at Sylvie a bit bitterly. “Here we are,” he said casually, although with some worry. 

“Thanks for the ride,” said Mobius. “Mind if I let our beast out here?” he joked, gesturing to Loki, still trapped in the dog cage. At this point, Loki had turned himself into a small black cat so he could fit more comfortably. “He’s not any more dangerous than she is. Frankly, you probably could’ve put her in here instead,” he said, gesturing to Sylvie. 

The leader sighed and walked up to them. “You aren’t here to raid our stuff?” he asked the little black cat in the cage. 

Loki shook his head. 

“You’re not here to kill our men?” 

He shook his head again. 

“And you’ll stay with your companions the entire time?” 

He nodded. 

“Alright… Take him out,” said the leader cautiously. “But the second I see any of you three begin to undermine us, you’re all gone. All of you.” 

Mobius gave him a thumbs up. “I’ve got my eyes on them, I promise.” He took the little black cat out of the cage where Loki quickly scampered to the ground.

He turned back into a person and stretched. 

Sylvie’s magic had obviously done a bit of a number on the Loki group’s leader. It was a bit unsettling to see a Loki act so trusting, even if it did make their lives easier. 

“But, I’ll need those weapons,” he said to Loki and Sylvie. “All of them. C’mon.” he said, tapping the ground with his foot. 

Sylvie threw down the few knives that she had elected to take with her and Loki tossed down two matching daggers. 

Mobius was a bit impressed. He realized that that truly was the full amount they had brought with them, probably because the two gods had figured out how much they could rely on their magic. They didn’t need hidden weapons all over them when they were the weapons. 

The leader turned to Mobius, who nodded to confirm that that really was all they had. Then, he turned and led the way into one of the rooms. 

The final room on the end didn’t have windows that were boarded up, but were instead covered by floral curtains-- probably the same ones that had originally come with the motel. The leader had to press himself against the door as it stuck in the frame before unsticking with a pop! . 

A small, sleepy and curious coo met them as they entered the room, but the leader did nothing to greet the Little, waking up from a nap on the floral-covered bed… At least not verbally and that was because, as Mobius realized, the leading Loki was no longer standing in front of them. Instead, in his place, stood a large white dog, wagging his tail. He jogged up to the Little and licked his face excitedly. 

The room was definitely still a musty motel room-- untouched since the 1980s, but it had been fitted with a few small and handmade and found toys and safety features that the TVA had pruned. 

The Little Loki giggled and kicked, trying to hug his friend…? Caregiver? Mobius was at a total loss for how any of this worked. 

Was this dog the one who was changing diapers and giving baths? 

Well, no point in waiting around to find out. It wasn’t like the leader was going to introduce them aside from just glancing back at them every few seconds expectantly. 

Mobius stepped forward first. He could see how Frigga and Odin had gotten this Little and his Loki so easily mixed up. The Lokis looked identical, and when his Loki regressed, they acted almost identically, too. 

“Hey Loki!” he smiled, crouching next to the dog and looking the tot in the eyes. “Your mamma and daddy sent me to come bring you back home to the palace. Would you like that?”

The Little looked at his canine caretaker and then back at Mobius nervously. 

“They’ve really missed having their Little Prince around.” 

Loki shifted uncomfortably behind him and Mobius watched as the prince’s eyes followed him curiously. 

“That’s my friend, Loki. You two have the same name! Isn’t that funny?” 

Loki waved at them awkwardly. 

“And next to him is my friend, Sylvie. They’re both here to help me get you home.”

The Little Loki put his thumb in his mouth and started to babble. 

The caregiver switch in Mobius’ brain must’ve flipped. He immediately tried to scoop the tot up, although it was pretty impossible until his Loki noticed and cast a spell to help out. 

Mobius bounced the Little in his arms. “Your momma and big brother miss you so much!” he cooed. “It’s true! Yes it is!” he smiled, blowing a raspberry on the Little’s tummy. 

“And you know,” he turned to the leader in his dog form, “they’re looking for a new caretaker to help out with the kiddo-- especially at play-time.” 

It wasn’t that this Loki was neglected intentionally. Obviously the leader had done his best, but The Void was a difficult existence even for full-grown adults. Toys, diapers, and peer-socialization were impossible to ask for out here. 

The Little whined slightly and pointed vaguely at the hotel room. 

“I know,” Mobius reassured him. “It’s scary to leave, huh?” He rubbed the Little’s back and even pulled a pacifier case out of his pocket. “But check out what I got. That’s pretty fun, huh? Remember these?”

The Little grabbed at it and Mobius readily handed it over. 

Mobius glanced down at the leader by his feet. “Mind if we talk it out? Maybe let the kiddo get some sunshine?” --not that there was much sunshine out here in the void. “Maybe socialize?”

The leader turned back into his regular, Asgardian self, leaving the toddler in Mobius’ arms clapping in excitement and cooing. Mobius wanted to nuzzle the tot but just because he looked like his Loki, didn’t mean he was. 

The leading Loki took the Little from Mobius with ease. He reminded Mobius of how Thor carried Loki around, and judging by the look on Loki’s face, he saw it too. 

The small group sat down outside around the small cookout area. The leader set the Little down and watched the surrounding wilderness with caution even though hardly anything was going on. Mobius, Loki and Sylvie sat next to him on the stumps and in the brittle lawn chairs. 

Mobius noticed a certain glint in the leader’s eyes. A sort of hopefulness that was rare in a Loki. “Why should I trust you three?” he asked hesitantly, like he really didn’t need too much of a reason… just one that would ensure that the Little was safe. 

Mobius took a deep breath ready to relay the entire story but Sylvie, for the first time since meeting the Little, decided to speak up. “Because,” she began, “The TVA took me from my home on Asgard, too. My timeline, his timeline--” she pointed at (her) Loki-- “probably your timelines are gone. But there was a glitch cataloging his timeline.” She pointed to the Little. “It’s still there. His Odin and Frigga love him and are still looking for him. His Thor misses him.” Her eyes were glassy like she was holding back tears, but he didn’t think most people would know that from looking at her. “There’s still hope for him to get back even if there isn’t any for us.” 

“And--” Mobius butted in, “you can join him if you want. They’re not pruning timelines anymore.” 

The leader considered this for a moment. “And what about them?” He asked, gesturing back at the motel that bustled with Loki variants all on different points in their journeys. 

“Any of them who want to be placed on a new timeline-- accepting that their original timelines are gone-- will be given that option. The TVA’s already working on it," he lied... kind of. He could probably convince B-15 that it was a good idea. She'd listen. "Think of us like the leading lab rats with this one. Because we already know which timeline the kiddo is going to, and that they’re missing their Loki, we can make sure that everything works out safely before opening up these chances to everyone,” Mobius explained. “We already know that the timeline can sustain two Loki variants,” he pointed out, “so there’s little to no risk to you two, if you want to join us… or stay here,” he shrugged. “The choice is yours.” 

Sure it was a little bit manipulative-- Mobius could feel Sylvie’s glare on him-- but they had to work fast here. He didn’t want Alioth to come by or for other Lokis to try to take advantage of the situation. He just needed to get the Little and his caretaker out of here.

The leader leaned forward and slowly stood up. He leaned in to shake Mobius’ hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal,” he said. 

Chapter Text

It was a sunny and warm day as the orange portal opened up in Asgard. Just like it had been a few days ago when Mobius and Loki and Sylvie were all planning for the TVA’s invasion. 

The portal had opened up right at the edge of town. But before anyone could take notice of the strange occurrence, Mobius herded them all into a corner alleyway and huddled them together like some kind of superhero team. 

“Ok so Sylvie and I are going to go with you”-- he gestured to the leader Loki-- “help you get cleaned up and ready. Then we’ll distract the royals by resigning our position and formally recommending you for it.

Loki-- my Loki: I need you to focus up.” 

Ouch , Loki thought. It was still a bit jarring to be around variants of yourself! Especially when they were identical to you but mentally stuck at about one year old! He wondered if that’s what he looked like when regressed to Mobius and Sylvie. He didn’t mean to, but it was difficult to stop staring! 

“I’ve got something really really important I need you to do.” 

“Yeah, alright? What is it?” Loki asked gesturing for him to hurry it up. 

“Get this little guy back to the palace, cleaned up and ready to take your place seamlessly. Can you do that without drawing any attention?” 

Sylvie pressed her mouth shut tightly. 

“I can,” Loki said a bit defensively, but the real question was could he ? Loki sized up the Little, who was curled into the leader’s arms again. Would he be able to navigate Asgard with a lanky, 6 foot 6 toddler attached to him the entire time?  

Mobius checked his watch. “Okay There’s about 30 minutes until anyone comes back into the nursery,” he said. “No servants will disturb the rooms until then. And, if we’re lucky, we can buy a little extra time for our meeting with Thor during that window.” 

“Why are you just droning on? Let’s get this over with! We’re wasting time!” Sylvie pressed, ready to pull Mobius. The palace was far and to even walk there in time would have been a stretch, let alone giving the new Caregiver Loki time to wash up or giving the Little Loki enough time to take his variant’s place flawlessly. 

The leader practically dumped the Little onto Loki… although he did shed a concerned glance back at them. 

It was a strange feeling to meet a seeming clone of yourself let alone to hold them. 

The Little was wearing a rather dirty, tattered version of his palace clothes, at least that would make it easier to change him into something nicer. 

Loki looked out onto the street. Surely there must be some easy, inconspicuous way to transport the Little without raising eyebrows. 

Form first… then speed , he thought, taking a deep breath. He knew this world and this world knew him. 

He turned himself into Mobius with one swift motion.

The Little raised his eyebrows curiously. Loki wasn’t sure if he understood or not but he was pretty sure, from his experience regressing that he did. “It’s still me,” he whispered. “Just play along, ok?” 

The Little did an excellent job of that as he immediately reached out to touch Mobius’ mustache-- an activity that Loki himself was quite fond of with his caregiver. 

Loki, in his new form, exited from the shadows casually. He strode along bouncing the Little and prayed that no one noticed that Sylvie was not with them.

 The Little leaned into Loki’s shoulder and looked around at the shops. Oh, how he wished he had a pram. How did Mobius and Thor put up with this? With every new thing that he noticed, the Little shifted his entire weight around in Loki’s arms, throwing him off balance. At least Sylvie stayed still when he carried her. 

He watched the market stalls intently, looking for some kind of vehicle he could take back to the palace. One servant woman pulled a wagon that she was slowly filling with fruits and vegetables as she shopped around. 

“Can you cry?” Loki whispered to the Little. 

The toddler met Loki’s gaze and then nodded certainly. Of course he could … and it was just as awful as Loki expected. With a few small snuffles and a sob, the Little was suddenly a total mess. His face was beet red and snot ran from his nose. Loki tried to keep himself composed. Mobius wouldn’t shirk at a bit of snot from his Little. 

Loki approached the woman with a wagon. “I’m so sorry,” he said, introducing himself over the racket that was the Little in his arms. “But we had a little incident on our hike.” He really tried to sound as much like Mobius as he could. “He fell and twisted his ankle. I need to get him back to the palace for treatment. Could we borrow your wagon?” he asked.

The woman hesitated looking them up and down for what seemed like an exhaustingly long eternity. 

“Please, he’s hurt! We’ll have the palace staff return it to you as soon as we can.” 

The Little Loki let out a new, loud, and attention gathering bawl at just the perfect moment, and, as the merchants and customers began to stare, the woman began to reluctantly unload her groceries from the wagon. 

“Thank you!” Loki called to her as he set down the Little lovingly, just like his caregiver would, and ran off with it in a hurry. 

Now a wagon wasn’t the most speedy form of transit in Asgard, unless of course, you were Loki. 

He snaked through alleys and backroads that were rarely frequented, casting a projection of Mobius next to him as he ran through the streets, pulling the wagon as a small pony. The type that the dwarves rode when they visited. Mobius’ projection casually jogged along beside them at a rate that probably would have had the real agent huffing and puffing, but each time they reached one of the alleyways or abandoned, awkward backroads, Loki sped from a casual gallop to a canter, letting the projection keep his now unnaturally slow gait for the speed he was moving at.  

The Little had stopped crying just as suddenly as he had started and sat up in the cart, holding onto the front, watching Loki’s tail swish back and forth over the uneven cobblestone roads. 

They arrived in the back of the palace hoping they had beat the real Mobius there. Loki regained the Mobius form, letting the pony disappear quite magically into dust once he was sure that no one was watching. He also made sure that the prince looked significantly neater-- just a quick cloaking spell to avoid questions from the palace guards and servants. 

The door clicked behind them. Loki took a deep breath as he found himself back in the room he had just spent the better part of the last few months and smiled as he watched Little Loki take his thumb out of his mouth and grin. 

As Loki took their spells off, the Little excitedly escaped from his arms and crawled to his play area, excitedly cooing and babbling about being home. 

Loki wanted to feel happy. He wanted to be as joyful and playful as the Little but he couldn’t help but feel some wretched emotion twisting his stomach. Why did Mobius give me this task? To show me what it looked like from the outside? To show me what I’ll be missing? Let’s face it, him and Sylvie want to show me how ridiculous being a Little is. The thoughts flowed like Loki had pulled out the stopper in his mind that blocked them. 

The tot crawled back up to him, handing him a toy block. “Ba!” he cooed. 

Loki tried not to recoil. It struck him like this was his first time here all over again. Oh my gods Mobius and Mother have changed my diapers, they’ve fed me bottles of milk, he cringed, but he pulled on a happy face, anyway. “Thank you!” he said awkwardly. “But… we should get you cleaned up,” he said reluctantly. 

Giving the Little a bath was probably ideal, but Loki checked his watch and noticed there were only a few minutes to spare until the prince’s scheduled naptime was set to end and no word from Mobius or Sylvie. 

He picked up the Little and set him down on the changing table. A quick wipe down and a new outfit would surely suffice for now. 

He unbuttoned the Little’s outfit and realized, to his horror, that the Little’s diaper was not a diaper at all, but a towel shoved into a trash bag with holes cut for the legs. Desperate times in the void called for desperate measures, but the lack of ventilation and awkward movement must have been so uncomfortable for the poor tot. 

I’m doing it because it’s the right thing to do. This Loki deserves a happy life with his friends and family just like I deserve a happy life on a timeline with mine. My family may be gone but my friends are still here. They won’t leave me, Loki reminded himself as his stomach squirmed. He tried to recount the steps of a diaper change to himself as a mechanical and emotionless process, but he had never really thought too much of it before. It was always a quick process done to him. Which cream was it, again?  

As Loki sat his Little self up and began to wipe his face and hands with baby wipes, he regarded the Little as exactly that-- his Little-self, just like him. A Little who was happy, mischievous, and giggly and loved his brother and parents so so much-- but maybe not as much as Loki loved Mobius and Sylvie. This Little did not know the pain his family caused him. He was probably far too small in headspace to even know about his adoption. And it was probably better that way. 

Loki smiled longingly at that innocence. This Loki needed to be here more than he did. “Alright… now, which outfit do you think you’d like today?” he asked, looking at the closet. 

The Little pointed at one excitedly and babbled. 

“Green? How adventurous,” his adult self chuckled. They even had the same great taste. “Now hold still for one second, okay? Let’s see how Mobius does this…”

Mobius was only a little bit nervous… sending off two Lokis together alone wouldn’t be a problem, right? No, he could trust his Loki. His Loki was just as wrapped around his finger as he was wrapped around Loki’s. 

Gosh there were a lot of Lokis to keep track of … at least Sylvie had a different name… that made things easier. Well, it wasn’t like the leader Loki could use that name, too, maybe that was a bonus.  

“Okay so now we need to think of another name for you. What’s something you could go by all day every day? Something you’d respond to?” 

The leader shrugged and thought it over for a second. “I’ve always liked Axel,” he admitted. 

Axel? Really? Mobius thought curiously. Would his Loki have chosen Axel, too?  

Sylvie grinned amicably. Mobius wondered if she was remembering choosing her own name. 

He did look like an “Axel”, with his big black beard and broad-shouldered frame, as if a Loki had grown up to be a Thor. And the name was far more Asgardian than “Mobius” was. 

There wasn’t much time for shopping, but Axel had been in the void far too long for his appearance to be suitable on Asgard and Mobius’ clothes definitely wouldn’t fit. Sure, his unruly black hair and few missing teeth were passable for an ex-warrior, but not his worn and nearly ragged outfit. 

Mobius searched his pockets for the gold coins Loki had given them early in their tenure. There were still two left over, waiting for a moment like this. 

Mobius and Sylvie approached the castle with a nicely groomed warrior-turned-nurse named Axel. They could have used Loki’s help with getting his hair into neat, well-behaved braids, but that was okay. There was only so much the three of them could do in this short amount of time. 

Mobius held his breath that Loki was up in the castle safely, putting the Little back together, as well. He looked up at the balcony of the Little’s nursery as they passed but found the curtains drawn and doors shut. That was probably a good sign. 

They marched past the guards with amicable smiles and waves, and through the gates. Mobius held Sylvie’s hand tightly, hoping to look like he just didn’t want her to run off even though it was more for him than it was for her. 

The doors to the throne room swung open. Guards were stationed along the path to the thrones, but only Thor was sitting inside waiting. 

When he saw them, he stood up from the throne and approached them. “Mobius! What brings you here? You know that my brother’s caregiver may speak with me any time!” he gently chided him. 

“Thank you, your majesty, but this may need to be a more formal meeting.” 

Thor paused, taken aback and sat down on the throne. “Who have you brought with you?” 

“This is Axel, your majesty. We’re proposing him as our replacement here as Loki’s nurse.” 

Thor looked absolutely gob smacked. “Replacement?!” he thundered. 

“Yes, sir. Sylvie and I need to resign our positions.--” 

“And why is that!?” The young king appeared more hurt than angered. 

What could Mobius say? The Loki we’ve been taking care of has been an imposter? We just overthrew the TVA and would like to now settle somewhere on our own terms? None of it would make any sense to Thor. “The palace has been nothing but hospitable and good to us, and the prince deserves nothing short of the best, but Sylvie and I just aren’t the best people for the job. Loki deserves better.” 

And it was true. Axel was this Loki’s caregiver. They were perfect for each other, and not only that, but Axel had a better grasp of living Asgard’s customs than Mobius or Sylvie. 

Thor studied the recommended replacement with scrutiny. 

“Give him an interview, just as you did with Sylvie and I, and please trust our recommendation. He’s a good man. He has the same special abilities as Loki, and has served under yours and your father’s rule in Asgard’s military.” 

Thor raised an eyebrow at Axel and Axel reverently kneeled in front of him. He sighed and stood up once more, approaching them from his raised platform where he loomed over those who came to make requests of the royalty. He gave Mobius a hug. “You will always be welcomed here,” he said. Then he hugged Sylvie, “come play anytime,” he smiled. 

Sylvie smiled too, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide the tears pricking at her eyes as she leaned into her older brother. 

“Axel?” Thor asked after breaking from her. “Walk with me.” Thor beckoned to the caregiver, and Mobius pushed him forward, giving him a smile and an encouraging thumbs up. 

Sylvie sighed as she laid on top of the highest roof-- omitting the palace-- on Asgard. Loki, in the form of a little sparrow sat on her shoulder, determined not to be mistaken for the prince again, and next to him was Mobius. The civilization’s magic college was many things, but perhaps most importantly, its tallest spire was easily visible from the nursery. Mobius, Loki, and Sylvie had all taken their turns, sometimes as inconspicuous animals and other times just with a spy glass, to make sure that Axel and Loki were re-settling in nicely. 

Golden-hour light filtered down through the open nursery curtains and, in the distance, Sylvie could make out the mop of black hair on Loki and his big white dog of a caregiver who nuzzled him into the crib for bed. It had felt so nice when that was her and Loki. When Mobius was there to take care of them like that. She had never liked being a palace nurse’s Little, but it did have its perks. She wished she could be out there again, with her family-- whatever that word even meant to her now-- on a timeline just living a life. It was a taste of something sweet and precious compared to hopping apocalypses and she doubted it was a longing she would ever get rid of. 

Mobius looked through his spyglass and watched the big white dog curl up with a similar wistful look in his eye. “We did it,” he smiled. “That’s the end of the trial period. Thor seems really happy with him.” 

Loki leaned into his caregiver with the same soft sadness Sylvie felt. What did that mean for them now? 

“You did the right thing,” she said quietly, partially to Loki and partially to herself. To leave another Little in their place was something she never had thought they would ever do. After all, she had always thought it was every Loki for themself, something which Loki had also believed. But obviously things didn’t need to stay that way. 

Chapter Text

Loki was there and then he wasn't. 

He wasn’t sure that he’d ever get used to the strange feeling of time portals, of walking through the glowing door and coming out somewhere totally different. 

“How’s this?” Mobius asked. His brown, coffee-and-electricity-scented suit looked more natural on him than the Argardian nurse outfit. It looked more like him. “Casey found it. He said it’s got everything we need.” 

Loki looked up at the suburban house. Midgard was still so foreign to him, and yet it already felt like home. A white for-sale sign swayed outside of it with a “sold” sticker covering it. 

“Look check this out!” Mobius smiled as he ran up the porch steps to open the front door. 

It was, to be safe, the same universe. Minnesota, 1985. A new-ish build home in a nice neighborhood, advertised to caregivers and Littles that boasted big playgrounds and a community pool. A daycare and Littles school was just down the road. 

“Isn’t it just perfect?” Mobius asked spinning around in the large living room.

Sylvie stepped in behind him and immediately began to investigate the empty home, opening each and every closet door and each cabinet. 

How did I get here? Loki wondered. From Asgard to the TVA to here? Would he even be able to adapt to a “normal” life here? 

“Loki, look how big these rooms are!” Sylvie called from upstairs. 

Loki followed her up into the hallway of rooms. There were three and he quite liked them all-- a Master bedroom that took up much of the home’s upstairs footprint, a modest guest bedroom, and a large room at the front of the house lit by a large circular window that looked out onto the street like a great finished attic. 

“I was thinking that this might make a nice little nursery for you two,” Mobius commented. Loki had been so lost in imagining this future that he hadn’t even noticed Mobius come upstairs. 

Sylvie’s eyes lit up with an excitement that was only seen as her mind slipped down into the lulls of regression. 

She was right, this was where they needed to be, what other options did they even have? Mama and daddy were still up there watching over them just a few galaxies away. That was closer than they’d been in many many years. But this was his true home-- right here with the three of them together. Odin and Frigga and Thor had gotten his apology, his closure, and in return, he had gotten the reminder that they did indeed love and care about him… or at least some version of him. 

3 Months Later… 

Mobius sat on a blanket underneath a tree on a warm Autumn day. A Little snuggled up into his arms as he read to her from a picture book that Loki had chosen from the library yesterday. 

Sylvie sipped from a bottle and babbled as he held her. It would be her naptime soon, Mobius could hear it in her voice and see it as she rubbed her eyes. 

She was a very sleepy baby. All those years on the run had worn her out, and all the trauma of the last few decades had brought her headspace down to a mere 6 months in her Little headspace. The Little therapist he had taken both her and Loki to had acknowledged that she’d probably “grow up” a bit as she got used to the new place especially since Mobius had observed her at middle childhood phases before, and since, unlike Asgard’s Little prince Loki, neither she nor Loki permanently regressed. Mobius had taken the official advice to let her process at her own pace, which, frankly, was a really nice transition for him too. 

As he shut the book, he sat her up over his shoulder and patted her back, hoping to get a little burp or some spit-up out of her, but all he got was the feeling of a soggy diaper on his knee that would need to be changed at his next convenience. 

Mobius checked his watch and looked up at the little red school house, connected to the park by a bridge over the duck pond in perfect time to see Loki toddle out with his backpack, waving happily at his caregiver and baby sister. 

Mobius was quick to pick the baby up and fasten her into her stroller with a button pacifier in her mouth as he came up to meet Loki. 

“Papa!” Loki grinned, flapping his hands. “Lookit!” He held up a finger painting of vague blobs. “It's you and me and Sylvie! And over there”-- he pointed to the upper corner of the page-- “is daddy and mama and Thor and the other Lokis!” 

“Woah kiddo,” Mobius squinted at the drawing to try and make out who was who but they were really all just streaks of random colors-- except Loki and Sylvie who were, of course, green. “You’re really becoming a great artist!” he commented. “This one may need to go on the fridge!” 

Loki took the drawing back from him and showed it to Sylvie in her stroller. “Look!” he commanded her. 

Sylvie rolled her eyes.  

“Sylvie, you think you’d wanna make something like that?” Mobius nudged her. 

She didn’t reply. 

“Look!” Loki tried again, this time pointing at specific blobs, “that’s me and this one’s you!” he pointed at the green blobs, a taller and a shorter one next to each other. “I’m taller because I’m the big kid,” he smiled with a certain amount of snark.

Mobius held in a laugh, “Well, I think some big kids may need to have papa check their training pants when we get home.”

Loki scowled at him and tried to walk a bit more normally, with less of a waddle in each step. He kept looking over at Sylvie expectantly. He’d been asking if Sylvie was going to come with him every day they brought him over and every day Mobius picked him up since he started. 

Anticipating this, Mobius broke the news, “Sylvie’ll come with you tomorrow. She just needs a little more time to come out of her shell before full enrollment. Right, kiddo?” 

Sylvie cooed over her pacifier and kicked her legs. Loki couldn’t tell if she was excited or protesting this. 

“You go tomorrow, too!” Loki pointed out. 

“I do!” Mobius agreed. “I’ve been practicing my guitar all week for it!” he grinned. 

The caregivers always helped out the teacher. Loki was very happy that Mobius was finally going to get a turn AND bring Sylvie with him! She had been scared since moving and was a baby a lot more than usual. That was ok though because Loki didn’t need to be, he could be a big kid--and maybe sometimes even a caregiver! Which was very helpful to Mobius, and Loki liked feeling like he was helpful.  

Their home was only a few blocks away, and even with wet training pants, it wasn’t that bad of a walk, especially when he got to tell Mobius about how they began to harvest the tomatoes in the garden today and how he got to feed the ducks outside in the pond, too. 

It was just as much for Mobius as it was for Sylvie. He wanted her to be a little bit jealous , at least enough to come and visit daycare. But when he checked, she was already asleep and napping in her stroller.

Oh well , Loki yawned. His nap was just around the corner, too. Just past a few more of the green, manicured gardens and through the big white door of his new home with his family.