Soulmates.
A magic of the universe that boggled all known rules of science that people could come up with. How did the marks know? Was there a biological element to them? Did it have something to do with reproduction? How did they know the fucking name of the person?! Especially when it some cases, those people didn't even exist yet to be named? Most scientists gave up questioning it centuries ago, after too many went insane. That way madness lies, and all that jazz.
Those who understood magic a deeper understanding of the soulmarks that led soulmates to each other. The thing that made the universe, the fabric of it just beneath what the naked eye could see, bound specific individuals together. Not from any biological need or proximity or even just for the hell of it. Nor was it because it was a person's missing half, or the 'one thing that would make them whole'. Nah, these individuals were bound because they were the perfect equal. A union that made sense beyond any sort of reason.
This sometimes gets lost in translation.
For example, at one point in time, Soulmates of the same gender started popping up. It caused a war or five. People in the times would be accused of being witches or the most vile of things, touched by the devil and the like.
The idea of homosexuality was still a taboo topic two thousand years later. Some people hide their marks in those cases.
It got even more complex when- just when the world seemed to settle on the idea of homosexual Soulmates- some people got two. Everyone was freaking out.
Except Loki.
He had known about those developments centuries ago.
==AJBAON==
Loki had woken up one day to find two names on his wrists. He was beyond the Asgardian age of ascension (Midgardians would call this age 'ten winters'), so the marks should've appeared long before. Loki had been nervous that he wouldn't have Soulmates- that what the people were beginning to say about him was true. That his magic made him wrong- vile-weal. The universe was right not to give him Soulmates.
Oh but that morning, Loki could not have been happier.
Because as if to show him they were incorrect, that Loki was more than worthy of Soulmates, he had two.
'Anthony Stark' was proudly showing on his left wrist. Loki could barely tell the word at first- the lettering was vaguely Midgardian, he recalled from the few tomes he had read from that realm. Besides even that, the scrawl was barely legible.
On his other wrist was 'Stephen Strange'. If the first name was barely legible Midgardian, than this Soulmate had barely tried. Loki had to squint at first to read the too close letters, the messy curve of them and the too far slanted-ness of the lines.
But once he did, once Loki read the both of them, he could feel nothing but joy.
Loki rushed to his mother's chambers. For while his brother would be excited at the news as well, Loki wanted to see his mother's face once she knew. His brother could hardly keep a secret besides. If Thor knew, then Thor would tell Mother and Father and every Einjarher in the middle then the whole of Asgard.
Frigga opened the door to her chambers at Loki's incessant knocking. "My, what has you in such spirits this early, my son?"
Loki showed Frigga his two wrists. "I have them, Mother, I have Soulmates!"
Frigga smiled at the joyful tone. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing the two marked wrists, followed by the realization that her son was the one to bear them. "Oh my. That's wonderful, Loki."
"I know, Mother." Loki smiled widely. "It's glorious. I wanted you to see them first. I was going to show Thor but he's-"
"Loki, step inside." Frigga invited. She opened the door to her chambers wider, making room for her son to walk by.
Loki tilted his head.
"Please, my son." Frigga implored. Loki followed. "We have much to discuss."
She closed the door behind Loki.
==AJBAON==
Loki wore leather bracelets on his wrists after that.
They were enchanted to hold to his wrists, except by Loki's own magic. At first he would take them off at night, trace his fingers along the names of his Soulmates while wondering what the men must be like. He kept them on some nights- either too exhausted to remember to take them off, or worried that Thor would come wake him up, or from simply forgetting. After awhile...he made no move to take off the bracelets.
Frigga had explained it to him as an excited boy, too eager at having Soulmates to think about the implications.
A son of Odin, bearing two Soulmates? Well under normal circumstances that would be an honor. However they were both men and by the language, both Midgardian.
Loki feared he would bring shame to the throne.
Frigga feared for her son. She was disgusted by the people who would treat him so cruelly for finally having people for himself- for having two people out there that were meant for him, that would build him up to the king he was born to be.
Loki feared people would call him ergi.
Well they still did.
But it was without warrant, so most of them time it wasn't outright or to his face.
The rare times it was, Thor punched them.
It did nothing to change that fact that Loki had two male Soulmates on his wrists.
It did nothing to stop Loki from wondering what they looked like.
It did nothing to stop him from imagining them with Loki.
Most of all, it did nothing to help Loki without them.
Because he had two.
And yet...for so long...he had neither.
==AJBAON==
Over the centuries, Loki would make the occasional trip to Midgard. Though most of the time he was dragged down there by his brother and his idiot friends.
Loki hadn't cared for these trips- they were too short for him to even attempt finding his Soulmates.
Sometimes he would engage with the mortals. A few times he had his hopes up. They never panned out.
Eventually, Loki stopped going.
==AJBAON==
Everyone in Asgard seemed to get their Soulmarks. Everyone, except Loki (so it seemed). He continued to wear the bracelets that hid Anthony Stark and Stephen Strange from them.
Asgardian would meet. They would wed when their Names matched.
Thor had many suitors try to claim him as theirs. To the endless delight of Thor himself. Loki wanted to stab his brother every time he mocked an attempt. Thor had admitted to Loki ages ago that his Soulmate was of Midgard, with the name to match. He kept it under a bracelet still. If people saw Thor's Mark, many girls would be born with the name.
All the while Loki was mocked for his (seeming) lack of Soulmate(s).
Business as usual, as it were.
==AJBAON==
What happened next could have many factors as to why.
Because Loki was a mage, so his magic allowed him to have a deeper connection to the universe around him. A deeper connection to the magic coupled with Soulmarks.
Because somewhere, far away, someone wanted Loki to have something good.
Or- maybe the universe itself wanted to do something nice for once.
==AJBAON==
Everyone knew what happened when someone lost their Soulmate.
First off: the Names faded. Never again would the Names appear, or would a new one take its place.
Second: the Soulmate left behind would feel that loss on their wrist. The severity usually depended on if they knew their Soulmate, or how painful the death was.
Third: the other Soulmate had to go on. Alone.
Over the years, Loki would occasionally check beneath his bracelets to be sure his Soulmates still lived. There was a fear that one day he'd wake up with a Soulmate gone, and Loki would mourn a person he'd never met.
One day, only a few years away from Thor's coronation to King, Loki collapsed in pain alone in his chambers.
Anthony Stark burned on his wrist.
A few hours later, Stephen Strange burned as well.
==AJBAON==
When Loki awoke the first thing he did was check his bracelets.
The names were still there. Loki groaned in relief, sagging back against the floor.
After a moment to compose himself, change his clothes so he hadn't looked like he'd been sleeping on the floor like a peasant.
Then he ran to Midgard. It seems that something out there was demanding Loki at long last meet his Soulmates.
Once on Midgard, Loki began his search. During his travels around the Nine Realms, he learned to use a disguise. He chose the form of a Midgardian woman, with dull brown hair yet sharp brown eyes.
She would be of no notice to the Midgardians, walking plainly down the street while questioning a beginning space for Loki's search for Tony Stark and-
Wait what.
Loki's head turned towards a building. It was a shop, for primitive Midgardian technology. The mortals on screen were speaking of a Tony Stark that had gone missing in Afghanistan. A place that-according to the screen- was an active warzone.
If Loki were not a prince, he would be grinding his teeth in rage.
If Loki were Thor, he would storm into the shop and demand they release his Soulmate- or something along those lines. Then, when Thor learned his Soulmate wasn't in here but halfway across the realm, he would fly straight there and tear the land apart for Tony Stark.
Loki was smarter than that.
And he had two Soulmates in peril.
He would go research this incident, track down his Soulmate, and then tear apart the realm to get him back.
Once together, the two of them would track down Stephen Strange and save him too.
==AJBAON==
Three months.
Three.
Maddening.
Months.
Chasing his Soulmate down on the thrice damned heat of Afghanistan.
Loki had nearly given up by the time the explosions went off. Then again, he was also hundreds of miles from it.
By the time he made it there, the whole of the encampment was inflamed.
Loki was furious.
He searched the raging inferno for the few survivors left. He found one man, half his face heavily bleeding. Loki snarled in the man's face.
"Where is Anthony Stark?" Loki demanded.
The man only grinned, showing off bloody teeth.
"Where?!" Loki ordered.
"He will die before they find him." The man boasted.
Now while Loki may no be exactly like Thor, they did have a few things in common. They were brothers, after all.
So Loki tossed his opponent into a pit of flames, not even looking back as he walked further into the destroyed camp to search for his Soulmate.
Rasa of the Ten Rings never stood up again.
And the camp?
Well the mountains around it were still there, so that's a positive.
==AJBAON==
Loki went back to America. He was certain that Anthony Stark had returned, after not being able to find him in the entire desert.
(He'd checked)
He used his magic to trace the man to his home, in what the mortals called 'Malibu'. Loki admired the mortal's home, a place that housed his Soulmate before Loki came around.
A part of him wondered, what would happen once Loki revealed himself to his Soulmates? The memories of Midgard were short, as with their lifetimes, but...would his Soulmates know him? Would they hate Loki, on the instinct of his name?
Loki feared they would.
Maybe this was why he went to Anthony Stark's home, rather than to the mortal's side at the press conference he was attending.
"Who are you?" A voice asked.
Loki jumped. There was nobody else in the home- Loki had checked. "Who is there?"
"Apologies. I am JARVIS. I protect this house for Sir." The voice explained.
Loki still could not place him. "Where are you?"
"I am at a loss. Is it not polite to introduce one's self?" The voice asked.
If Frigga knew Loki wasn't being the most perfect gentleman- "It would be, however I am pressed for time. Where would I find Anthony Stark?"
"For what purpose?" The voice asked. "I should warn you, that the authorities could be here in moments. Beyond that I will not hesitate to attack any threat to Sir."
Loki paused. The arm bearing the blotchy letters spelling out Anthony's name flinched. The skin around the bracelet itching, screaming at him to reveal the truth. To admit what he'd kept hidden for centuries.
This voice had claimed to be the protector of Anthony Stark. A guardian of his home, perhaps not unlike Heimdall watched over Asgard. While Loki had no trust for the Watcher perhaps he could owe some dept to the being that protected Anthony so fiercely even now.
He took off his bracelet, holding it out. Loki had no idea where this being was- where to even begin searching- so holding out Anthony Stark seemed the best way to go about it.
"I see." The voice responded. "It seems I should inform Sir that he has an important visitor. Do you perhaps have a second name?"
Loki tensed. After a tense moment, he unbound his other wrist to expose Stephen Strange.
"Then Doctor Strange will be notified as well."
Hope burned in Loki's chest.
He was going to meet them.
==AJBAON==
Loki would not panic.
He wouldn't panic.
That'd be ridiculous, if Loki were to panic.
Truly absurd.
Still...Loki couldn't help constantly fidgeting with the cuffs of his sleeves. While he was still dressed in his Asgardian armor, he felt underdressed for meeting his Soulmates. Should he have added more adornments? Perhaps the helmet? Or should he be dressed more casual, as Midgardians were so in favor of?
But Loki wasn't panicking.
If he wasn't a prince he would scoff at the mere idea.
Should he be sitting down, or standing up?!
The most definitely not panicked inner monologue of Prince Loki of Asgard was paused when the front door to the mansion opened.
Loki froze while footsteps filled the large empty space of the home. He found he couldn't move the closer the steps became. How he managed to keep his expression clear from panic was a miracle of itself.
When the steps brought the man into his sight, Loki was gone for him.
The mortal's dark brown hair was a thousand wild waves on his head, moving about any direction as though the man kept running his hand through it without thought to how it looked. The eyes were sharp, calculating amber, that showed off the strong mind behind. He was short, by Asgardian standards. Or at least a head shorter than Loki. He was dressed up in a Midgardian suit, and his arm bound closer to his body.
Oh yes.
Any idea of the man that Loki had dreamt of for centuries fell flat at the actual sight of Anthony Stark.
"Hello." The man greeted, the face that Loki recognized from the news coverage of him when he'd first come to Midgard.
Loki gave a polite-yet awkward- grin. "You are a hard man to find, Anthony Stark."
The man-Anthony Stark- watched Loki for a long moment. "JARVIS?"
"As I said, Sir, you have a visitor." JARVIS remarked.
He turned back to Loki, who was trying to quell his racing heart. "Yeah okay. I'll bite. Who are you?"
Loki glanced beyond Anthony, nervous.
It would seem JARVIS noticed. "Doctor Stephen Strange has yet to answer his phone. He has been absent since the last surgery on his hands-"
Anthony Stark scoffed. "Right. Absent. Bastard missed my coming home party. We even had cheeseburgers, the asshole."
"I am sure he will arrive soon once he knows." JARVIS continued on to Loki, as though the voice of his master had not come up.
"Hey. Fun idea. Let's tell the guy who actually owns the house why there's a guy from a Ren faire in his living room." Anthony remarked to his ceiling.
Loki chuckled, low in his throat. He noticed how Anthony was purposefully trying to avoid looking at Loki at that.
He held out his wrist, which bore Anthony's name. "Loki Odinson, Prince of Asgard." Loki introduced. "Your second Soulmate."
Anthony's expression was a wince for just a moment. He walked up towards Loki, towards the outstretched hand with his name written across it. If Loki were Thor, he'd be vibrating in excitement over finally connecting with his Soulmate. Half of them, but connecting nonetheless.
And oh what good news, his Soulmates were not like him who waited by idly. The two had met already. Anthony Stark and Doctor Stephen Strange. Two Soulmates, complete to all the world. Keeping a secret only they two knew: they was missing their third.
Their third was here now.
He would not reject them.
He would stay. Even if their lives were a blink to his kind, he would stay.
"Odinson?"
"Yes." Loki answered. "Of Asgard."
Anthony nodded, a slow thing. He kept his amber eyes locked on Loki. "You're parents weren't just into Norse gods from a billion years ago?"
"No. I am the Loki, God of Mischief and Chaos." Loki introduced, forcing his mouth shut to keep himself from rambling. Honestly, he meets half his Soulmates and he blubbers like Volstagg after a night of drinks. "I have your name as a Soulmark, as you have mine. Is there more proof needed-"
"Yeah. About that. I don't have any 'Odinson'." Anthony remarked.
Loki was...very confused now. To say the least. "Beg your pardon?"
"Here." Anthony began adjusting himself, as it seemed the bracelet he wanted to reach was bound. He struggled for a moment. Loki was too unsure about his standing to go over and assist. Still, in the end Anthony was able to untangle the bracelet from him. "Tell you what, got the first name down pat."
He held out his wrist, showing off the lettering there. Loki stared at it, feeling...
Feeling-
Feeling-
"Also, is that what the whole getup's for?" Anthony remarked, which was all going over Loki's head.
Feeling-
Feeling-
"Princes of Asgard gimmick." Anthony gave Loki's armor an appreciative glance, which was also going over his head even though his Soulmate was checking him out so he should be over the moon. "'S nice. Little too Rock of Ages but hey, I get it."
Loki...
"Laufeyson." Loki read off.
==AJBAON==
Loki ran to Asgard.
It couldn't be true.
Soulmarks don't lie.
He was the Son of Odin.
Son of Laufey.
Loki walked into the treasury of Asgard, where all of Odom's relics were hidden.
Except for you
Loki saw the Casket of Ancient Winters.
He was Æsir.
He is Jötunn.
Loki touched the Casket.
It-
There was-
Blue.
"Stop!"
Loki froze.
An apt adjective.
All he could do was stare down at his hands- or what had been his hands- or what his hands were supposed to be-
Because of him.
"Am I cursed?" Loki asked his fa-thief.
"No." Odin answered, walking down some of the steps towards Loki.
"What am I?" Loki asked, turning around so that Odin could see what he'd wrought.
"You're my son." Odin replied.
The audacity.
He dares.
"Do not lie to me."
Soulmarks don't lie.
Loki Laufeyson.
The words hung over his head like an axe.
"The Casket wasn't the only thing, you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?" Loki demanded to know.
Demanded to hear the truth after so long of the lies.
Liesmith.
Silvertongue.
Oh, but it seems it was not I who should hold that title.
"No." Odin answered. "In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the Temple, and I found a baby. Small for a giants offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die."
"Laufeyson." Loki spoke, in time with Odin.
The All-Father seemed surprised by the remark. "Yes."
Loki wanted to laugh.
Wanted to mock the All-Father, who's greatest lie had been betrayed by something as powerful as Soulmarks.
Loki wanted to scream- because all his life he'd known a lie.
He wanted to scream because his Soulmates had known the truth.
He wanted-
He wanted-
Feeling-
Loki Laufeyson
"Why?" Loki asked, becoming more gutted with every syllable. "You were knee-deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?"
"You were an innocent child." Odin answered.
"No." Because for all the lies, Loki could see through Odin's tricks. He always could. Maybe because he was Odin's greatest trick of all. Tricking an Jötunn to thinking itself Æsir. What a feat for the All-Father. "You took me for a purpose, what was it? Tell me!" Loki demanded.
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace, through you." Odin explained.
Which Loki immediately saw through, because they were stupid. "What?"
"But those plans no longer matter." Odin tried to patch over what had been.
"So I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me." Loki raged, ignoring the tears burning in his eyes.
"Why do you twist my words?" Odin asked, looking stricken.
Good.
Good little Jötunn.
Keep going.
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn't you?" Loki demanded to know.
"You are my son."
Laufeyson.
Soulmarks don't lie.
Loki's breath froze.
"I wanted only to protect you from the truth."
"What? Because I...I...I... I'm the monster that parents tell their children about at night?" Loki countered.
I could hurt them.
My Soulmates.
Jötunn skin freezes.
If I ever touch my Soulmates-
-if I were to drop this curse on my flesh-
-I would kill them.
Norns I could kill my Soulmates.
A fresh wave of agony swept through Loki. No, no he couldn't allow that. He would never-He would see to his own end first.
"Don't."
"You know, it all makes sense now!" Loki continued to spit poison at Odin, for simply that the Æsir stood there. Were Loki alone... "Why you favored Thor all these years. Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a Frost Giant, sitting on the Throne of Asgard!"
Odin collapsed.
Loki froze.
Good little Jötunn.
Keep going.
Anthony Stark
Doctor Stephen Strange
He could never see them again.
==AJBAON==
"No, Loki."
Screamed the thief
"LOKI NO!"
Screamed the scorned brother
And so Loki fell.