I got so inspired by today's absolutely wonderful episode of Loki that I wrote the remaining chunk of this chapter in the last few hours. The Loki show is really doing wonders for my motivation, but more on that in the end notes - meaning if you haven't watched episode 3 of Loki yet, don't look at the end notes in this chapter lmao.


Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish

Chapter Forty-Two: When You Wish Upon a Star

A few days after Loki's investigation, he and his family returned to Avengers Tower via the Bifrost. There was a chill in the air, and Loki stood close to his wife, the two of them holding their very sleepy children; the four of them had a distinct lack of energy, from struggling to stay asleep due to nightmares in regards to the children, to struggling to fall asleep in the first place regarding Amelia, while Loki simply hadn't slept at all.

His consistent use of magic to raise protective wards around their room all night long was beginning to drain him, and he walked sluggishly with his wife into the Tower, hoping that he would perhaps feel confident enough in Stark's security to take a few hours to nap that evening. If he didn't find time to recuperate, his magic would become less effective as time went on, which simply wouldn't do.

It was just after midday. They took the elevator up and exited on the communal floor, intending to face the others before receding to their room, and walked into the doorway to see, surprisingly, all five of the building's main occupants gathered in the living room. It wasn't often that all the Avengers were home at the same time, and Loki honestly didn't know if he had the energy to greet them all.

The whole group stood when they stepped into the room, and there was a rather awkward silence as they all stared at each other for several moments before Stark spoke up.

"Hey," he said gently, offering a smile as he came up to Amelia and wrapped her up in a hug, effectively wrapping sleeping Kari up in a hug at the same time, and Amelia, who was forcing herself not to try and speak in an effort to allow her throat to heal more easily, gave a forced smile in return and let her head sink to his shoulder.

The other Avengers filtered over, greeting Amelia similarly and giving Loki a nod, which he acknowledged with one of his own.

"You look terrible," Barton remarked to Loki, clearly aiming to lighten the mood with a little banter, but Loki could hardly find the spirit to retort with a smartass comment like he normally would have.

"I know," he stated bluntly. He had seen himself in the mirror that morning; there was redness in the white of his eyes, eyelids drooping, his face was even paler than usual and the dark circles beneath his eyes were prominent. If Amelia hadn't been refraining from talking too much, she probably would've told him that he looked like a vampire.

Barton shared a look with Romanoff, almost unnerved that Loki hadn't made any effort to counter him.

"No sleep?" Banner inferred, and Loki gave him a weary look that confirmed his supposition. "I guess I can't blame you," the doctor continued to say, sounding apologetic.

Naturally. Having your wife and children violently attacked tended to make a guy a little paranoid, Loki wanted to respond. But again, he just nodded his head.

"Hey," Rogers spoke up, laying a comforting hand on Amelia's shoulder, "you know you're safe here, right?"

Amelia glanced up at him, giving a half-hearted smile, a weak nod, and then lowered her eyes again. Loki couldn't help but notice that everybody was casting intermittent peeks towards the bandages wrapped around Amelia's throat; he wondered if any of them felt guilty for not being able to protect her, even though it happened far away from them and there was no way to predict something like this could happen.

"Listen, I've reworked the security around your's and the kids' room, call it an upgrade," Stark began, hands raised and moving as he spoke, "they're like safe rooms now. I've placed special panels on the outside of the building over the windows so that while you can easily see out from the inside, it doesn't even look like there's windows there from the outside. The entrance to your rooms are linked to your biometric signature, so only you, Loki and the kids can enter or leave without passwords. Nobody unauthorised can even enter this building from any entrance without me knowing about it and personally sanctioning it. Not to mention, the-"

"Stark," Loki sighed, interrupting him, and Tony's mouth snapped shut. "We appreciate it. Perhaps we can go over the details tomorrow when we've gotten some sleep and are actually able to absorb whatever you're saying." Everything Stark had just said had gone in one ear and out the other, but Loki had gotten the gist of what he'd been told. Security was even tighter now. Good.

"Wow, you really are out of it, aren't you?" Natasha said.

Loki looked her in the eyes, unblinking, "I haven't slept in six days."

Stark's expression changed in a way that suggested he was about to say something snarky in jest, but he appeared to reconsider, his eyes falling instead to Amelia, whose imposed quietness left everyone feeling uneasy and upset. Loki understood it all too well, he knew what was going through the minds of the other Avengers - it was heart wrenching to see Amelia anything other than her loud, bubbly and smiley self.

Rogers spoke up, "So, how are the kids?"

"Tired," Loki replied.

"Okay," Stark sighed, "why don't you all go sleep for a solid twenty-four hours and we can talk things through tomorrow when you're lucid?"

Amelia gave another weak smile, looking down at the two children who were practically knocked out in their arms, and then to Loki, before shaking her head gently. Loki nodded to her, glad that he knew his wife well enough that they could often communicate without words.

"We can't go to sleep till the evening," Loki explained, translating his wife's brief glances into words for the others present, "If the kids sleep all day, they won't sleep at all tonight, and then their sleep schedules will be ruined. So, we need to wake them up and find something to do so they aren't grumpy all day."

Loki peered down at Aster, who hadn't stirred in the slightest since they'd arrived, and he gave a sigh, knowing that probably meant the girl was deep enough asleep that it would be impossible to avoid a little tantrum upon waking her. Her brother was much the same, similarly motionless in Amelia's arms.

So what could they do to placate the kids when they inevitably woke them from their much needed sleep?


"Disney movie marathon."

Amelia tilted her head up at Loki, raising an eyebrow at his suggestion. The best way to keep the children happy was to put on a few Disney movies, but would that alone be enough to keep them mentally stimulated for the rest of the afternoon and evening before bedtime came?

Amelia pointed questioningly at Loki, who seemed to understand her unspoken question.

"Yes, I'll sit through the movie marathon too," he answered with a slight shrug, "and they're always glued to the television when it's Disney, you know that." Her doubtful look must've been obvious, and Loki eyed the kids, who had been deposited down on their bean-bag chairs temporarily while Loki and Amelia thought of how best to plan out the afternoon. They were still asleep, all curled up and tiny, yet to be awoken and turned into the little gremlins they had the potential to be.

Amelia frowned, and then signed to her husband, "They're so tired, I don't think it'll be enough."

Loki ran a hand through his hair, desperately picking through his mind for a way to spruce up a Disney marathon even further, which was quite the effort given that his brain wasn't working at full capacity at the present time. He scratched at his chin, glanced around at the wide space in the middle of the room, and then at the large TV on the wall, and a light bulb seemed to illuminate above his head.

"Okay, bear with me," said Loki began, lifting his hands to steeple his fingers, "we build… a fort." He spread his hands, as if to say what do you think?

Amelia squinted at him, confused at what he meant. Build a fort? What exactly did he mean?

Loki frowned under her puzzled scrutiny and shrugged his shoulders, "You know… like, a fort. A… a base?" He took a few steps towards the children's beds and grabbed a pillow, "With these?"

Amelia's eyes widened suddenly, and she experimentally murmured, "Pillow fort?" The rasp in her throat was still very much present, but it hurt considerably less to speak aloud than it had several days prior.

"Yes! Yes, a pillow fort. Like I said." He smiled, looking pleased with himself, "You said you used to build them, and that they were fun." He looked as though he was waiting for approval.

Amelia smiled, finding it all just a little bit adorable that Loki was exuding a childlike buzz as he suggested the construction of a pillow fort for the purpose of watching Disney movies; it was sweet how being a parent seemed to bring out Loki's inner child. With a nod, Amelia agreed to her husband's plan.

"Good. Alright, good. Now we just have to wake them up." Loki hesitated and then sighed, knowing there was no use in delaying the inevitable. He knelt between the two bean bags that were occupied by the two sleepy children and began to gently nudge them.

"Kari, Aster, wake up," he began quietly, "hey, you need to wake up, we're going to have some fun." Apart from a slight stutter in Aster's snoring, they refused to stir. Amelia gave her husband an expectant look and Loki inwardly groaned.

"Okay, up you get," Loki rectified, speaking a little more loudly. He picked Aster up from her comfortable, curled up position, patting on her back to rouse her from her slumber.

Aster whined, squirming in Loki's arms, and tried her darndest to resist being awoken.

"Why is it that when you want them to sleep, they're wide awake, but when you need them to be awake, they decide they're suddenly Sleeping Beauty?" Loki pondered in a grumbling voice. "Come on, you can't sleep all day, it's the afternoon, you've napped for long enough."

Aster's light whines broke into heavier whines when she opened her tired eyes and glared at her father for daring to disturb her sleep. "Noooo…" she cried, pushing away from his chest to try and escape back to her comfy bean bag.

In the commotion Aster was making, Kari woke up and slowly sat upright, rubbing at his eyes with his balled fists before staring on in sleepy bewilderment at the scene.

"Hey, you'll be able to sleep this evening-" Loki said.

"Nooooooo!" Aster wailed, trying to slide out of his firm hold.

"Listen, we have a fun idea planned-"

"I dun' wanna," Aster whimpered.

"We're going to build a pillow fort and watch Disney movies and eat snacks all day," the words tumbled out of Loki's mouth so that he could explain his reason for waking them before he could be interrupted again by a loud cry.

"I wanna go sleep, daddy," Aster grumbled, and then there was a pretty significant pause as she very clearly processed what her father had said, and she lifted her head, looking up at him with watery eyes, "Disney?"

Kari, who had also been sniffling and getting ready to break into tears, blinked at the buzz word, looking to his mother for confirmation, who nodded her head and winked knowingly.

"Yes, Disney," Loki smirked, amused at the childrens' sudden emotional one-eighty, and used his thumb to wipe away the tears on his daughter's cheeks, "do you think you can manage to stay awake to watch a few Disney movies with us?"

Aster sniffled, blinking the sleep out of her eyes, and brushed her slightly askew hair out of her face before nodding with strengthened resolve, "Mmm, okay daddy."

"Good girl," Loki kissed her forehead and then opened his arms for Kari, "what about you, my boy? Are we going to watch Frozen, or are we going to sleep all day?"

Kari jumped up, suddenly renewed with a wave of energy, and flung his arms around his father's neck, "Watch Frozen!" There was no resisting the charm of Elsa and her amazing ice powers.

"Brilliant," Loki gave the kids a smile, "in that case, I have an important task for you both, and for mama." Up until this point, Amelia had been quietly watching her husband wake and calm the children with the promise of a movie marathon, dreamy at his display of expert dad-mode, because any moment in which Loki revealed his natural affinity with their children, it left Amelia feeling warm and fuzzy - and warm and fuzzy was exactly what she needed now.

She tilted her head, ready to receive Loki's task.

"You three need to collect building materials for the fort. Pillows, cushions, blankets, anything soft, and I'll retrieve the snacks. When I get back, we'll start building, alright?" Loki stroked the kids' heads affectionately and gave them an encouraging smile.

It was worth the world to see their eyes properly light up for the first time in days.


Loki paid no mind to Stark or any of the other Avengers as he slipped back in through the communal living room towards the kitchen, where he proceeded to open up all the cupboards in search of something he could grab as a few tasty snacks for his kids. He hoped Stark would have something lying around, as the man did occasionally indulge his sweet tooth, because Loki would rather not leave his family just to head to the store at that moment.

He opened up one of the higher cupboards and paused at the sight of a bag of popcorn. The kids liked popcorn, so that would do nicely. As he pulled the bag out, he happened to notice a purple box behind it, which he recognised as a brand of chocolates; he tentatively pulled the box out slightly, reading over the words on the side of the box - decadent milk chocolates - and licked his lips. Oh yes, they would do perfectly.

Loki's hand tightened on the box as he slowly slipped it from the cupboard, intending to hide the chocolates behind his back and escape to the upper floors with them, but as he turned his head to glance over his shoulder at Stark, he found the man standing just across from him, staring right at him with his hands on his hips. Loki froze. Caught red-handed.

Stark blinked, "Those are mine. They're literally my chocolates. That's also my popcorn."

Loki chewed at the inside of his cheek, staring at the box, deliberating. He supposed he didn't need the chocolates, the kids would be happy enough with popcorn, but Loki happened to know that Amelia really liked this brand of chocolates, and he wanted to see her face light up in delight.

"Can… can I have them? For the kids?" He almost cringed at how meekly his request came out. He was the God of Mischief, he could probably just take them and leave and Tony would just grumble about Loki being a thief, and that was all. He couldn't imagine Stark would try to wrestle them out of his grip.

Just as Loki was planning to turn and walk away with the chocolates in his grasp, Stark sighed and shrugged, "Yeah, take em. If it'll make the kids happy. Take whatever you want."

Loki felt a swell of victory, followed by a hint of gratitude that Stark would part with the chocolates just like that, just because he wanted to treat the kids after the incredibly troubling week they'd had.

"Thanks." Loki tucked the box under his arm and opened the fridge, grabbing a large carton of pineapple juice that he knew the kids liked. From there, he placed the items on the counter, pulled out two sippy cups and a tray, and piled everything upon it to have an easy time carrying it back to Amelia and the kids.

"Loki," said Stark, drawing his attention, "if you, Amelia or the kids need anything, just let me know."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the man curiously, and in Stark's eyes he saw it. Guilt. Heavy guilt. Stark had been the one to call Loki away on that mission, he'd insisted even after Loki tried to skirt around it, and that had led to Amelia and the children being left vulnerable, without him there to protect them.

He didn't blame Stark. Because from what he had discovered during his investigation, the group responsible for sending the assassin would have struck the moment Loki had left his family alone for whatever reason. If it hadn't been during the Avengers mission, it would have happened another time. Loki was just thankful that his family survived.

Loki inclined his head in a nod of acknowledgement, letting the appreciation show on his face rather than in words, and Stark nodded in return before walking away.


Amelia lifted her gaze as Loki walked back into the room holding a tray of goodies, his eyes prowling over the large, messy pile of soft building materials for the fort, flicking searchingly back and forth for Aster and Kari.

"Uh oh, where did the children go?"

Amelia snickered in amusement as the sound of mischievous giggles emanated from the big cushion pile in front of her; Loki eyed the cushions that seemed to wobble in time with the tittering, and hummed aloud as he placed the tray down on the nearby table.

"Strange. I thought they wanted to watch Disney movies. Oh well," he began, putting on the theatrics, "I guess mama and I will just have to eat all this popcorn by ourselves," a few more stray giggles escaped the cushion pile, "-and all these delicious chocolates. They're all ours, Amelia, we get to eat all of these because I guess the kids don't want any!"

Amelia put on a faux excited gasp and whispered, "Yum!"

The mention of chocolate pulled the children from their hiding places with impressive speed.

"I want some!" Kari exclaimed.

"And me!" Aster squeaked.

"Whoa, hey, hey," Loki lifted his hands in a playfully defensive manner, "if you want chocolate, you'll have to help build the pillow fort first."

At once, the kids seemed raring to do just that, looking expectant between their mother and father as they awaited instructions on how to begin the construction process; Loki's eyes flickered to Amelia, the apparent expert of pillow forts, and lifted an eyebrow.

Amelia stood up, rubbed her hands together, and began planning out the fort in her mind before putting everything into motion. They ended up moving some furniture around to create a sort of boundary and began building in the middle, using the stiffer cushions of the sofa seats to erect the walls, and the soft cushions spread across the floor to make a comfy base.

Loki followed Amelia's example and used a thin blanket to hang over each side of the 'walls' to create a sort of roof that offered a cosy feeling of security. The children helped by bringing their favourite plush toys and lining the edges of the fort to make it a bit more homey and crowded.

In the end, the fort looked like an improvised tent, as if they were camping in the middle of the woods with only blankets, pillows and cushions to spare, and they had managed to create something that brought the kids vast excitement. They were raring to sit within their new comfortable fort and watch Disney movies all afternoon.

It was set up nicely. Amelia and Loki cosied up at the back of the fort while the kids sat in their bean bag chairs in front of them on either side, the tray of snacks in the centre. Amelia felt genuinely at ease for the first time since the attack, it was a sweet slice of normality and she was beyond happy that even in the wake of something grave and serious, Loki could still bring his playfulness to the surface to make her and the children happy.

And then the kids asked Amelia to sing along to Elsa's 'Let It Go', and the joy all but drained from her face.

Their wide, innocent and expectant faces gazed back at her, big smiles faltering at her saddened expression. She couldn't sing along like they wanted her to, because her throat was nowhere near fully healed, and they probably didn't fully understand that she just simply couldn't do it.

They always loved to hear her sing to Frozen songs, and the sudden realisation that her voice might not ever be the same as it was before immediately drained any positive emotions she had been experiencing.

Amelia opened her mouth to whisper an apology to her dear children, but Loki surprised everybody present as Elsa began her whimsical song on screen.

"The snow glows white on the mountain tonight, not a footprint to be seen," Loki sang, somewhat tentative, "a kingdom of isolation, and it looks like I'm the queen."

Amelia's jaw practically hit the floor. Loki never sang. Not Disney songs, at least. She'd heard him occasionally hum a tune or sing an Asgardian melody from his childhood, but it was a novelty to hear him putting effort into singing for the sake of the children. Amelia was always the one singing, the kids had never expected it from their father, but here Loki was, delivering when Amelia could not.

"The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside, couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I've tried." His voice was beautiful, and Amelia felt herself melting completely, all her previous nerves instantly forgotten in that one moment. Loki's voice was like rich chocolate, warm and wonderful, permeating the air with surprising gentleness.

His confidence grew when Aster and Kari watched on with the biggest grins on their faces, and he continued on with, his deep tone like a sweet croon, singing along with Elsa on screen, "Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the good girl you always have to be. Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know," he lifted his hands, holding them out in a way that expressed invitation for the children to join in with the chorus, "well now they know-"

"Let it go, let it go!" The kids sang simultaneously, loud and not quite in tune, but it didn't matter because they were so happy to be singing their favourite Disney song with their father, "Can't hold it back anymore! Let it go, let it go! Turn away and slam the door!" In their enthusiasm, they both tumbled back into their bean bags, giggling with utter joy.

"I don't care what they're going to say," Loki sang with the expertise of somebody who was quite the performer, like he'd been singing for years, "let the storm rage on, the cold never bothered me anyway!" He finished with a wild grin, clearly just as elated as Amelia that the kids were laughing and squealing and happy for the first time in days.

"You sing good, daddy," Kari complimented, and Aster vehemently agreed with an enthusiastic nod of her head. Loki leaned forward, brushing Kari's cheek with his thumb and giving them both a winning smile.

"Why thank you. Even better than Elsa?" He inquired roguishly as Elsa continued to belt out her lyrics on the screen.

The kids looked at each other, a clear look of deep consideration on their faces, they made some unsure humming noises, and then Kari gently let his father down, "Mmm, no… Elsa's better."

Loki, ever the master of keeping himself composed even when the children decided to hurt his feelings, responded in a level voice, "Oh, I see. Well, I guess it's difficult to compete with the Ice Queen herself." There was a hint of sarcasm to his tone that made the kids giggle, like the little mischievous scamps knew they had offended him and found it funny.

The kids settled back down rather quickly, all their attention once again on their favourite movie, and Loki subtly smiled, turning back to Amelia. His face fell as he made eye contact with his wife, and it was only in that moment that Amelia felt the tears that had rolled down her cheeks at some point. Her husband's face was filled with concern, and he reached gentle fingers up to brush the tears away, but Amelia hadn't been crying out of sadness. Quite the opposite, in fact.

She clasped his hand in hers and smiled, letting him know she was okay, and grazed her lips across his knuckles; his furrowed brow softened and he gazed at her warmly before leaning in to kiss her. He poured all his love into it, and Amelia received it, nuzzling her nose against him when they drifted apart.

His smile made her feel better.

Then Loki let out an involuntary yawn and he rushed to cover it with his hand, and it was far too cute, but it also reminded Amelia that her husband had not slept since the incident, and he must've been struggling to keep his eyes open. Singing those verses for the children had probably used up all his remaining energy.

Amelia loved this man so much. He had gone to great lengths that week to ensure his family was safe and felt secure, he had dedicated every moment to them and had stayed awake while watching them sleep to make sure they were protected at every moment. Now that they were away from Asgard, and away from whoever wanted to hurt her children, Amelia felt a little more relaxed, especially knowing Tony had bumped up the security to just about its maximum level.

Loki's slow blink revealed the extent of his exhaustion, it was so evident in his eyes, and Amelia felt for him.

She shifted slightly away from him and then guided him down with a firm hand on his shoulder, pushing him to reposition himself and lay his head down in her lap. He looked amused, but allowed her to adjust his arrangement; Amelia felt some of the tension seep from his body once he was lying horizontal within the confines of their pillow fort, and even more tension drifted away from him as she pressed her fingers into his hair and gently grazed her fingertips against his scalp.

It became apparent, after just a few seconds, that the action was encouraging his drowsy state. Amelia kept it up, determined to send her husband into a well deserved sleep, and after just a few minutes of consistent sweeps of her fingers through his hair, Loki's eyes were closed, his lips just slightly parted, and his breathing had evened out.

She didn't stop the gentle movements of her hand, worried that the halting of it would bring him back out of his slumber. He was beautiful when he slept; he'd tried to fight the call of sleep so desperately, but his eyelids had been far too heavy, and now he lay peacefully snoozing in Amelia's lap.

Amelia wondered if the people of Manhattan knew that the man who had once vowed to dominate the Earth so readily sang Disney songs to appease his children and bring smiles to their faces, or that he endeavoured to build amazing pillow forts and bring chocolates to his loved ones, or that he could so easily be lulled into a slumber just by having his hair played with.

Amelia was lucky. Her husband, even though he had many flaws, was perfect to her in every way. She couldn't imagine anybody else going to such lengths to keep their family happy; Loki deserved the world.

She felt truly at ease for the first time since the incident; the children were happy, and Loki was finally getting some much deserved rest.

"I love you all," Amelia managed to whisper, though her words were too quiet to be heard over the sound of the movie, and Loki was out like a light. But it was alright, because Amelia knew that her husband and children knew how much she loved them.


The fucking SINGING in episode 3. I almost cried at how utterly beautiful it was. Tom Hiddleston, my god, your voice is angelic. Also LOKI CONFIRMED AS BISEXUAL IN THE MCU. That actually made me heart soar. I've not been shy delving into Loki's attraction to men in the past in this fic so I'm so freaking happy that it's actually canon to the MCU now, and the fact that Tom had a hand in making it happen - oh, I just love that man.

I'm loving Sylvie and the dynamic between her and Loki. They've got awesome banter-filled interactions and I'm beyond excited for episode 4. I just know I'm gonna watch episode 3 at least three more times before next Wednesday though!

I hope you all loved this chapter! It was heavily inspired by the playfulness of Loki in episode 2, and I had actually already started writing the singing scene BEFORE seeing episode 3 which featured him singing, I feel like I'm beginning to predict canon now at this point xD

Now, just a final thought, I'm a bit concerned that I don't really get reviews on this fic anymore. I update this story here and on AO3 and I've been feeling less and less motivation to actually update here since I don't get any feedback. Please, if you are reading this, I would really really appreciation if you left some sort of review, I'd just like to know that people are taking the time to read when I post a new update. Thank you :)