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"Loki, you're..." Thor couldn't even speak.
"Magnificent? A sight for sore eyes?" Loki smirks. "Come now, brother, do your words fail you upon seeing my gorgeous face once more?"
Thor ignores his words and just stands before he surges forward to attack him with a tight hug.
Loki huffs out a surprised breath from the way Thor is squeezing him. Anya watches, and a smile grows on her face. All her worries about Thor soon disappears.
Thor pulls away and Loki stands to face him. The older brother cups Loki's face as tears well in his eyes. Loki's cheeky behavior slowly fades once he sees the look of longingness and love in Thor's familiar eyes.
"Brother, you're alive." Thor grins so wide that the tears in his eyes look more prominent. "How can this be? I watched you d..." he stops and shakes his head. "No matter. It does not matter." Thor says before embracing him again.
A warmth spreads through Loki's body as he hugs his brother back. Thor has never hugged him this way before. It was as if he hasn't seen Loki in thousands of years, which could feel true as it were.
As Thor hugs his brother, Valkyrie glances at her drink and cringes. "What was in this wine?"
Anya rolls her eyes with a smile, shaking her head at Valkyrie. She has always been uncomfortable around familial affection.
Thor grins widely and Loki's worry disappears. For a moment, he forgot about the Multiversal war, or the fact that he is a variant. After believing that he will never see his brother again, Loki is in disbelief to be standing in front of Thor again. And instead of seeing disappointment in Thor's eyes, all he can see is admiration and longingness.
"Good to see you, Lackey."
Loki glances at the King and politely nods. "Your Highness."
Valkyrie raises her drink and gulps it down. "You look shorter than last I saw you."
"Sorry, we know one another?"
Thor gives him an odd look. "You do not recognize Valkyrie? All three of us fought together."
Loki glances at Anya and she sighs. "Thor, this Loki is from a different time. To him, New York was just a week ago."
Thor gapes at him and places a hand on his shoulder. "Then, you do not know what has happened?"
"No worries, brother, I am aware of everything I need to know."
"So, you know about mother?"
Loki averts his eyes and nods. "Yes."
"And father? Asgard? Our sister?"
"Yes. I know."
Thor looks relieved, since he did not have to break any news about all those tragedies. He looks at Anya, and she smiles weakly. "Then... you know about...?"
Loki sighs. "Yes, brother. I am aware of the fact that the other me is in love with this human. Yes."
Anya barely hides the twinge of hurt upon being called human. Valkyrie notices, but doesn't comment.
Thor clasps his hands on both Loki's shoulders. "Your Majesty, I request for you to allow Loki Friggason to our home as crowned Prince of New Asgard, a title of which he shall continue to carry beyond death."
Loki widens his eyes, and they twinkle with glee. Valkyrie chuckles and shakes her head as if to say no. "Alright, Lackey. You're lucky I like you."
"It's Loki."
"I know."
Anya smiles at them, and the two brothers hug one another again. Loki finally has a home, and Anya tries not to look hurt. Loki is leaving, but at least he will be with his people and brother.
Thor looks at Anya and his smile fades a bit. "Only if Anya allows—"
"Oh, no, no! It's fine. I don't really have a say in that," Anya smiles at him. "You deserve a proper home, Loki."
Loki looks back at her and feels somewhat hesitant to leave. Why should he be reluctant? Another version of him may have fallen in love with her, but now that he knows that, Loki feels the need to choose a different path. Why is another part of him dreading to leave her?
Loki gives her a grateful nod and sits back down with Thor to talk to him.
As Thor enthusiastically narrates everything that has happened to them and Asgard, Anya excuses herself to the kitchen to get some more drinks. Once she is alone, Anya exhales and just starts going through the cupboard.
When the door opens from behind her, Anya chuckles quietly. "Came to comfort me?"
Val approaches her and pats her back. "How are you?"
"I'm good, actually." Anya casually says.
"Seeing him again must've been a shock," Valkyrie frowns, taking Anya's hand. "You know you can talk to me, right?"
"Yeah, I know." Anya sighs. "I'm just worried about Wanda. She misses her kids, Val. She even begged Loki to give her a chance to see them again."
"He can do that?"
"How else did he get here?" Anya shrugs. "He can go anywhere at any time, but he wouldn't give Wanda the same opportunity. Which I understand. Loki is a variant. He technically isn't attached to any reality now. It's different with Wanda. She and I belong here, in this reality. I don't think we can go anywhere else without causing any trouble."
Valkyrie frowns. "Wanda isn't just feeling unwell, isn't she?"
"She's devastated," Anya mutters. "I have no idea how to comfort her."
"Let me talk to her," the king says before she squeezes Anya's hand and exiting the kitchen.
Anya sighs, still hearing Thor's excited laughter echo through the house. It makes her smile a bit before going back to the dining area.
"Oh, Anya! Please sit! Loki is just telling me about the female Loki variant he met! She sounds quite amazing."
Anya sits and stares back at how happy Thor is. "Really?"
Loki offers a smile towards his brother. "Her name is Sylvie."
"Not Loki?" Thor tilts his head.
"She denounced that title a long time ago. Calls herself by a different name." Loki clarifies. "Sylvie attempted to take down the TVA all on her own, and nearly succeeded." He stops himself, almost saying that Sylvie did succeed. She caused the Multiversal war, if anything. "She is remarkable."
Thor chuckles. "She truly sounds like someone I know, brother."
Loki gives him an appreciative look. "You would have liked her, brother."
"Of course, I would have! She is still you, isn't she? Only that she prefers another form." Thor smiles. "You know you will always be my brother. Or sister."
Loki rolls his eyes but smiles either way. "Brother, as of now."
Thor grins and clinks his drink to Loki's. "So, this Sylvie... is she better than you?"
Anya bursts out laughing while Loki gapes at his brother. "I beg your pardon?"
"I will have to take that as a yes, brother!" Thor joins Anya's laughter.
Loki rolls his eyes. "I beg to differ. I can overpower her, thank you very much." He pauses before sighing. "Although, I do think that I cannot overpower the Scarlet Witch, if she reaches her true potential. Makes me wonder who paved her to such a great path."
Thor and Anya share a grin, while Loki sips his wine. Anya sighs, delighted. "It's so nice to see you both together again."
Thor claps his hand into Loki's back, making him huff and glare at the blonde god. "I have missed my brother as well, Anya. Whichever time he may have come from."
Hours pass and night comes, Wanda finally joins them. She tries to smile cheerily at Thor, who embraces her. "How are you, Wanda?"
"Not bad, did you bring it?" She tries to lighten the mood.
Thor widens his eyes and laughs. "Oh, yes! I did!" He reaches for the basket that he brought along with them, and pulls out a device. It is one of Jane Foster's devices, one that he asked to borrow.
Wanda takes it and thanks him over and over before plopping on the sofa with a hopeful smile. Anya leans over to the fireplace and throws a lit match into it to start a fire. Upon seeing this, Valkyrie and Thor share a concerned look that Loki noticed.
Loki glances at Wanda before turning to his brother. "What is that for?"
"It is a tracking device for anything astrophysical." Thor points at it with his drink. "Darcy says that it can track the Vision, since the Vision she created planted his memories into its mind."
"Another Vision is out there?" Loki thoughtfully stares at how happy Wanda became, compared to last night.
"Yes. When the Mind Stone was taken from the Vision, his body was still left behind. It was resurrected, and now she searches for him."
"We're close to finding him." Wanda tells them with a small smile.
Loki can see how dedicated Wanda is to find Vision and their children, and it could almost warm his heart. She must love them so much, it reminds Loki of his own mother. The thought of Frigga makes Loki waver.
When it was time for Thor and Valkyrie to leave, Anya made sure that Thor brought back new paintings to New Asgard.
"If Yelena drops by again, don't tell her where I am. I really don't want to handle her right now." Anya mutters as she pulls away from Thor's hug.
"As you wish," Thor says even though he wishes that Anya would at least come see her sister. He moves to Loki and grins, gripping Loki's shoulders. "In two days, I will take you home. We only need to prepare everyone for your arrival. It is not everyday that your supposedly deceased crowned prince returns."
Loki lets out a soft chuckle. "Of course, brother." He moves to hug him, finding it more comfortable to no longer restrain himself from embracing his brother.
"I will come back for you, brother." Thor declares with a smile. Norns, Loki never realized how much he missed Thor.
Loki, Anya and Wanda watch as Thor and Valkyrie get on the Pegasus and fly away.
As soon as they were gone, Wanda goes straight to her room to work on her device and Loki makes his way back to the house as well.
He notices that Anya doesn't follow, and so he stops walking. "Anya?"
She snaps out of her daze and meets his eyes, chuckling nervously. "Yeah?"
"Are you alright?"
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine." She mumbles before walking further away from the house.
Loki curiously watches her. "Where are you going?"
"To the end of the river. Do you want to come?"
Loki barely questions it, and decides to follow her. "Why?"
Anya chuckles. "Come on."
They walk to the end of the river, and find an estuary. Anya sits down near the bank of it and looks up at the view. Loki watches for a moment before sitting next to her.
She smiles at him. "How did it feel to see him again?"
Loki almost groans in complete bliss. "Oh, it was amazing, Anya. Thor is... he is everything I have ever wanted him to be. He is much kinder, and much understanding of me than he was before, and..." he pauses, glancing at the reflection of the moon on the water. "When I looked into his eyes, I could tell that he views me as his equal."
Anya feels her own heart swell. "He's always felt that way for you, Loki. At least now, you got to see it without anything hindering you."
Loki nods, wishing that he has seen it before he even attacked New York. "Perhaps you are right." He says as he meets her eyes. Anya offers another smile and Loki glances at the sky. "This location is peaceful."
"Oh, yeah, it is. Whenever Wanda drives me insane, I just come here." She teases. "To calm myself, I close my eyes and just count down from ten."
Loki gives her a look as if what she said was strange. "What happens when you reach one?"
Anya shrugs. "I keep thinking that something big would happen."
"Like what?"
"A planet crashing into Earth, maybe?"
Loki lets out a surprised chuckle. "Ooh, I've seen enough planets crashing into one another to last my lifetime."
Anya stares at him, finding Loki much more interesting than the sky. "Thor's life here on Earth has been nothing but peaceful. He's happy here."
"Yes, as he said. I don't think I have ever seen him so excited to tell me about his students back in New Asgard. He trains them for combat." Loki smiles. "I can't imagine myself teaching anyone."
Anya tries to hide her smile. "And why is that?"
Loki shrugs. "I think I'm too selfish to share my knowledge about magic. I tend to just keep them to myself, avoid giving others the tactical advantage to overpower me." She stays quiet for a while that Loki had to look at her to see if she was still next to him. "Why did you take me here?"
She shrugs. "You wanted to meet the person who taught Wanda magic."
Loki looks around, but sees that they're alone. "I don't... particularly see anyone else."
Anya crawls to the edge of the bank and motions for him to follow. "Come on."
Loki hesitates, but follows her. Anya gestures to the river and Loki looks into the water. There, he sees his own reflection staring back at him. Loki observes himself for a moment before he slowly realizes what Anya meant. He looks at her with wide eyes, and she only smiles.
"You're the one who taught Wanda magic," Anya tells him with a soft voice. "You're the one who helped her get comfortable with the abilities she was forced to have. Wanda still thinks that you're one of the main reasons why she is the woman that she is now."
Loki blinks and lets out a scoff of amusement. "You're jesting." Anya continues to stare at him with an amused smile, and Loki's own smile fades. "You're being serious? I... I taught the Scarlet Witch how to do magic?"
Anya sees the concealed excitement build in him, and she almost giggles. "You did. Her powers came from your scepter." Anya tilts her head. "Not so selfish after all, God of Mischief."
"Never took you for the dramatic sort of lady. The reflection in the river is a bit much, isn't it?" He smirks.
Anya lets out a loud laugh, and it makes Loki smile wider. "Learned from the best."
Loki sits back down on the grass, and a proud smile forms on his face. "Norns, I never thought I would ever do such a thing. Teaching magic? It does not sound like me. Goodness." If anything, it sounds more like what his mother would do.
She knew that he only taught Wanda because Anya asked him to help her, but Loki ended up enjoying being Wanda's teacher anyway. So, she smiles at how proud he seems. It was as if Loki is realizing that he could experience growth.
Loki takes a deep breath of fresh air, and exhales in relaxation. He has never felt at peace than now. He looks at Anya, who is staring up at the sky with the moonlight over her face.
He softens. "Why don't you start a countdown?" He requests gently.
Anya gives him a surprised look. "Why?"
"You said that is what you do when you come here."
"Do I have to do it while you're here?"
"Don't let me break your habits. I am only a guest here."
Anya bites her lip, but shrugs. "Okay." She closes her eyes and inhales the cold air. "Ten..."
Loki continues to watch her, feeling a sudden rush of emotions he has never felt before. This little human did everything she could to make sure that Loki had the best day with his brother, despite Loki not even knowing her. And from what Thor hinted today, Anya has dealt with so many things and it all led to Loki.
"Nine..." she quietly says. "Eight..."
He remembers what the other variants of him said about Anya. How she is the fire in winter. From the shortest time he spent with her, she can tell that their statement held some truth in it. Loki briefly wonders if the Loki that Anya knew... felt this way too, despite knowing Anya for a short while. Did it happen slowly? Did his views about frail human beings affected things?
"Seven... six... five..."
Loki wonders for a moment if every single Loki is supposed to be attracted to every single Anya. After killing He Who Remains, everyone should have freewill now. He should no longer be tied down to her like how the Sacred Timeline dictated him to be. Loki should be able to choose not to feel this way for Anya. But why is it so difficult?
"Four... three... two..."
He has no idea what he is doing, but Loki finds himself leaning closer towards her. Loki holds his breath, not wanting to startle her as he grows closer towards touching her skin.
Anya opens her eyes and sees how close Loki grew to her, and she couldn't move. She could feel his lips brushing against hers and she was frozen. They observe one another for a moment, before Loki whispers a quiet word. One word that doomed both of them.
"One."
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note: comment your thoughts! it motivates me to write <3