Loki had been in Asgard's high-security prison for months. After all the chaos he had caused on Earth, everyone had given up hope that he could rebuild his future and redeem himself in his father's eyes. But there was one person who had not given up yet: his mother.
Frigg was worried about her son. She may not have carried him in her womb, but he held a very special place in her heart. She still saw goodness in him, and though Thor himself assured her that there was none left, she had vowed to retrieve her beloved son, searching the realms for that small glimmer of hope he so desperately needed.
One day, she finally found it and knew, without a doubt, that it was the first step in her son's recovery: that step was you.
That same night, Frigg returned to the realm of Asgard and went straight to Loki's cell. He found him lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a clear boredom in his expression. Loki noticed her presence but tried to ignore it. However, Frigg approached him and stuck a photograph against the glass separating them; it was your photograph.
Loki looked at the image in surprise and incomprehension. His eyes fell on your smiling face and the expression in your eyes. Frigg broke the silence that hung heavily in the cell.
"This woman is the spark of hope you so desperately need, Loki. There is something inside you that can still be saved and you know it."
"That human?" He sat up to look her in the eyes with that consuming fury. "Please, mother. Your attempts are becoming increasingly pathetic."
"She's not just any human, Loki," she pointed out. "In another life, you two are together."
Loki, surprised and sceptical, frowned. Despite his apparent disbelief, something in his mother's words piqued his interest.
"Do you really think I would be with a being as pitiful as a human?" he snorted.
"I don't think so, son, I know. Multiverses exist, and in many of them, you two are together. She's always the one who ends up changing your life for the better. All you have to do is tell me that you want to open your heart."
The idea of multiverses and the possibility that in some of them, he was related to you in a meaningful way intrigued Loki. Though he remained sceptical, he began to consider his mother's words with curiosity. She wouldn't make something like that up out of thin air, she didn't lie the way he did. What she said was true, but it didn't mean you were the key to his redemption.
"And do you expect me to fall in love with this woman from my cell?"
"No, of course not. But I'm not going to let you out unless you look me in the eye and promise me, you're going to try."
"I'm not interested, I'd rather rot in prison."
He could simply bluff her and say yes, but his mother had fallen for his tricks before and possibly already had something prepared for a possible escape. At the moment, he was in no mood to even try and would prefer to be left alone.
But Frigg was not ready to give up on him.
"I knew you would say that," Loki's mother looked to her left side, and out of the shadows, you emerged with your head down and a nervous smile. "This woman is your wife in one of those realities, Loki."
And with that statement, you left Loki wide-eyed, analysing you from head to toe. How could his mother have such audacity? He didn't want to be in your presence, he wasn't interested in having anything to do with you. Yes, you were terribly beautiful, but having you in front of him only annoyed him.
As Loki watched you with that mixture of annoyance and confusion, Frigg continued:
"You may not believe it yet, but somewhere in your being, in some dimension, you and this woman are destined for love and happiness."
Loki looked at the portrait and then at you, struggling with his emotions. On the one hand, his scepticism and his desire to get away from you were strong, on the other, the idea that there might be one person he loved enough to be within all realities piqued his interest.
"Hello Loki," you interjected, "I know this must be a roller coaster of emotions for you. I just want to tell you, what you are going through will pass. There truly is a future awaiting you where you will have everything you desire and more."
"Silence, human!" he interrupted you, shouting in a way that startled you and you jumped. "I feel nothing at the sight of you. There may be a world in which I feel something for you, but this is not it. My destiny is not the same as that sad, weak version of me you're dating."
Loki, visibly disturbed and angry, was unwilling to accept the idea that there was a future in which you and he shared a deep affection. His contempt for humanity and his anger were still strong, and though his mother's words and your presence had stirred something inside him, he was not ready to admit it.
Frigg looked at his son with compassion and then at you, recognising the tension in the cell. She tried to mediate the conversation.
"Loki, I understand that this is overwhelming. But it is important to remember that change does not happen overnight. The idea of a better future, of redeeming yourself and finding happiness, takes time. We're not asking you to fall in love with this woman right now, just to consider the possibility that change is possible."
"Stop! Don't you understand that what you're doing isn't working? I don't know who this woman is, but I have no feelings for her."
"That's because I'm not your Y/N," you had to intervene. "Don't you understand, Loki? You can't love me, because there's already another version of you that does. My husband and I were made to be together, but you are not my husband, you are a version of him. To me, you are nothing more than a stranger, and I know you look at me the same way."
"So, what are you doing here, then?"
You smiled, pulling another photograph out of your back trouser pocket. It was you, with your version of Loki and a small child in your arms.
"I want you to see what can be. This is my son, Fenrir. You have a family in another universe, you rebuilt your life. You don't have to go down this path you've created for yourself. "
"When the time comes, destiny will bring you together with this woman," Frigg added. "But you can't be with her if you go on like this. You could miss out on all this, you'd be giving up your happiness, is that really what you want?"
Loki looked at the picture of your family in silence, a conflicted expression on his face. For a moment, he seemed to lose his defensiveness and let his mother's words and your story affect him. The prospect of missing out on the possibility of having a family and a more meaningful life began to open a crack in his hardened heart.
"It's impossible for me to have a family, a son..." he muttered, almost as if talking to himself.
"Yes, right now, it is," you agreed with him. "But before long, your Y/N will come into your life, and if you want to be with her, you must leave everything behind. If you won't do it for me, do it for you. Don't let anger and contempt rule your life forever. You don't have to be a prisoner of your past actions."
Although he still struggled with his emotions and resisted the idea of change, he realised that he had a chance to have something he had always considered unattainable: a family, a sense of belonging and a meaningful life.
Loki's gaze drifted from the photograph to Frigg and then to you. His eyes reflected a whirlwind of emotions, from scepticism to doubt and finally a glimmer of hope. But it faded almost instantly.
"All you've wanted all along is to change me," the anger began to well up inside him again. "To hide who I am, to change how I feel and how I behave. Now that I am finally myself, you want me to change under a fantasy and false promises. Well, I'm not interested in your stupid attempt to convince me to become the hero you want me to be. None of that interests me, least of all this human."
Loki, in the midst of his frustration, expressed his feelings with bitter disdain for the situation and for you. The tension in the cell became palpable as his words cut through the air.
Frigg, with tears in her eyes, tried to address the situation again, trying to find a point of connection with her son.
"Loki, we have always loved you, regardless of your actions and choices. We do not ask you to change on a whim; we ask you to consider the possibility of change for yourself. Anger and despair have ruled your life for too long, and you know deep inside that this is not the way. It's not about becoming a hero for us; it's about finding peace within yourself."
"What I want is to be left alone in peace," he said, looking down at the picture of your family with disdain. "What part of that don't you understand? Instead of talking about me and my supposed glorious future, you should mind your own business."
Your heart sank as Loki continued to resist change. As Frigg struggled to find the right words, your mind searched for a way to reach him. You knew you could not force him to change, but you also knew that there was something inside him that desperately wanted to escape his emotional prison.
Finally, you stepped forward, setting your family photograph aside and looking directly into Loki's eyes. Despite his anger and contempt, you saw a spark of vulnerability in his gaze, something he had been hiding for a long time.
"Loki, I know you feel trapped in this cell, but the prison that imprisons you most is the one you have built in your own heart," you said with compassion. "You can continue to resist and hold on to your anger and bitterness, but is that really what you want? Is that what you deserve? Even though you don't know me now and look down on me, who I am and what I mean in your life will change over time. I am willing to be patient and wait because I know that the person you are deep down deserves a chance to redeem himself and be happy."
Loki looked at you silently, his gaze still filled with conflict. It was clear that your words had reached him somehow, but the internal struggle was intense. He was not yet ready to fully accept the possibility of a change in his life, and he watched you leave with an expression almost as disappointed as that of his mother.
Yet, you had definitely awakened something in him, something he could not forget, for that very night, before going to sleep, he recalled the photograph his mother had shown him, and tucked it under his pillow, wondering what it was about you that made you so special as to awaken love in his heart in the entire multiverse.