#very humbly adding this fic to the pile of beautiful post season 2 Lokius reunion fics out there

[insert-witty-user-name-here]

the end is where we start from

Finally finished my post-season two Lokius reunion fic. Huge thank you to @lgwilt for beta reading. This fic had been languishing in my drafts folder for near six months and would have remained forever abandoned without our conversations, your encouragement, and your brilliant beta read of course. Thank you! 💖

Summary: Loki loses himself to the stories of Yggdrasil. Luckily, Mobius and Sylvie are there to bring him back.

Rating: G

Words: 6,027

Pairing: Loki/Mobius M. Mobius

Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki Gets a Hug, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon Fix-It, Reunions, Romantic Confession, Feelings Realization, Protective Mobius M. Mobius (over both Loki and Sylvie because of course he cares for them both), POV Loki, Author waxes on about the meaning of hope and life again and no one is surprised

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It’s cold at the end of time. Not technically. It’s not technically anything at the end of time. It’s not warm, not cold. There’s no day and no night, no changing of seasons. But it feels cold. Loki can’t quite explain why.

It’s a cold that seeps into every fiber of his being until eventually… he’s numb. Which is easier, he supposes, in a way.

Loki sits at the base of Yggdrasil. He’s long since lost sight of his black and gold throne as the timelines have grown. They’re wrapped around his legs, his arms, and are embedded so deep into his palms Loki isn’t sure he can let go of them if he tries. They stem from somewhere deep below—not even Loki knows where—and weave themselves together around him in a tapestry of stories, illuminating the darkness in an ethereal green, humming with life. They’re beautiful. He understands now why Sylvie fought so hard to free them—each thread shimmers with infinite potential. Loki’s heart swells with pride. They did it. Together he, Sylvie, and Mobius unleashed the multiverse and now everyone is free to write their own stories.

Protecting the timelines is a burden as much as it is a glorious purpose. While Loki can step into the timelines, he’s condemned to only ever observe the stories he’s sworn to protect. He can see the ocean but can’t feel the mist in his hair, see the birds floating in the air but can’t feel the wind on his face, see the sun… but he can’t feel its warmth. He will never feel warmth again—never feel anything again except for this bone-chilling numbness that follows him like a shadow in this sunless place. It hurts. More than he can bear. So he resists.

For a time.

Loki isn’t sure how long he lasts—time has simultaneously stretched on without end and stopped indefinitely—before he succumbs to temptation.

And he drifts.

Loki’s mind scatters across the timelines. He sees Thor with his adopted daughter. They make quite the pair. They’re both stubborn and too quick to action, but they’re brave, unrelenting in their fight to protect what matters most in the world: love. He sees his mother thriving in a world where the Dark Elves never rose back to power, a world where she continues her story long beyond that fateful day. He sees a flourishing Asgard. A Nine Realms united in peace. A Nine Realms consumed by war. A Ragnarök averted. A Ragnarök that destroys an entire timeline.

The multiverse is full of so many wondrous, magical, and horrendous things. The timelines grow, branching more and more offshoots until Loki is unable to keep up with the pace.

Until the stories in his mind become so jumbled, he can’t tell which memories are his and which are stories he’s only watched.

Until eventually he forgets his own name.

And then…

“Loki.”

Continue reading on AO3.