OHHHHHH! THE PENULTIMATE CHAPTER! I'm excited for your reactions this chapter! I'm happy to say it didn't take me quite as long to get this chapter out as the last chapter did.


Hydrangeas Say Our Family Will Flourish

Chapter Fifty-Three: The Selfish Turns to Selflessness

A little over four years later…

If there was one thing Loki admired about Midgardians, it was just how enthusiastic they could be to get a chance to merely exist in his presence for just a short period of time. The downside, of course, was the volume. Humans could be so desperate for his attention that they would scream their lungs out at him when he stood not five metres away, truly, could they not retain at least a little dignity and be patient?

He surmised it was his own fault for agreeing to attend the charity event at Stark's request, but what was he supposed to do? The event was for the benefit of terminally ill children, Stark had made sure to mention that upwards of eight times in the span of four minutes when initially proposing the idea.

Loki couldn't very well refuse, especially not in front of his own children, he'd seem like a monster if he said no.

So there he was, walking a red carpet in his fine, all-black Gucci suit, signing the photos and posters that were thrust into his face from the hands of humans behind the barrier while absorbing the amplified chant of his name from the horde of people before him. He'd perfected the art of signing his name in less than a second, and thus was able to get through the masses at an exceptional pace as he scrawled his signature on photo prints and magazine covers that featured his face.

He declined photos. That would take far too long.

The humans before him asked him questions while shoving their phone cameras in his face, but he simply ignored them. All of the questions they had to ask were boring anyway, he wasn't going to stop and chat to every single one of them.

"Loki, I love you!"

"Loki, say 'happy birthday' to my sister, please!"

"Loki, are you looking for a wife?"

"Loki, I will HAVE YOUR BABIES!"

Loki almost laughed aloud at that last line, which was spoken by a very vivacious young man who looked to be in his early twenties; he would be lying if he said he was unamused, but he managed to keep a straight face. Perhaps the keen-eyed would have seen the corner of his lips quirk upwards in restrained mirth. Amelia certainly would've noticed, if she had been there.

Of course, she was watching on live television from Avengers Tower, so she might very well have noticed anyway.

The press were close by, he could hear the voices of reporters talking about him just across the carpet, but he was less inclined to talk to them. He'd learned over the years that reporters and journalists were hit or miss, but they more often than not liked to modify footage from interviews to push the narrative that pleased them.

"LOKI, YOU'RE SO FINE!" An anonymous voice screamed from the crowd, and Loki fought the urge to roll his eyes. It seemed humans couldn't help but screech in his presence, but there was only one person he liked to hear screaming his name and she was at home, far away from the throngs of overexcitement.

The woman directly in front of him squealed, "Loki, I shaved for you!" Her hopeful words caused a riff of hysterical laughter from the closest people who had heard it, and Loki gave her a holier-than-thou look and smugly responded in a monotonous voice.

"You'd be lucky."

The group directly in front of him seemed to shriek for no reason other than the fact he had finally responded to one of the purely attention-grabbing lines. The friend of the woman who'd spoken was shaking her shoulder like she'd just won a lottery jackpot, and it was about that time that Loki decided to move along a little faster.

As he turned and continued walking, a mob of reporters beckoned him over with pleading voices, to no avail. Loki simply let out a sigh, wishing he'd rethought his decision to attend the charity event - next time he'd just visit the terminally ill children instead. In a nice quiet hospital. Away from all the crazy people around him.

He glanced up and down the red carpet. He could see the other Avengers dotted along the VIP walkway, all signing and taking photos with varying levels of enthusiasm, and he wondered whether people were chanting their names just as loudly. He couldn't imagine anyone screaming Clint's name and begging to carry his children. The mere thought made him stifle a snort.

As he turned his head to continue moving along, he spotted an oddly familiar face in the crowd that gave him pause. A man stood, still and silent, among a group of squawking individuals, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open as he stared at Loki.

What was it about this man that was so familiar?

It clicked after a moment. He'd seen that face before, at Disney World, dressed up exactly like himself. It was Disney Loki. Except, he of course was not wearing the signature Asgardian battle armour that Loki was most often seen wearing, nor the black wig that had emulated his own hair.

What was his name…?

Christopher. That was it. Christopher stared back at him from the swarm with a look of perpetual stupefaction on his face; Loki recalled the man was incredibly anxious when he realised Loki's true identity years back at Disney World, but then he had been threatening him at the time. Despite the terror Loki had seen in his eyes back then, it was obvious Christopher admired him enough to want to be him at an amusement park, which would also explain why the man was here, probaby hoping for a chance to get his autograph.

Loki weighed the pros and cons of approaching the man briefly in his mind, and then decided he might as well give the man an autograph. Christopher had brought his children a lot of amusement that day at Disney World, so why not?

He walked straight towards the man, whose eyes grew impossibly wider the closer Loki got, till he was standing straight in front of him.

"H-hi." Christopher stammered, waving awkwardly at Loki.

"Hello," Loki responded, holding out his hand to accept the magazine Chris clutched in a white-knuckled grip, "Do you want me to sign that?"

Christopher blinked, lifting his hand to point at himself with incredulity, as if to say 'are you actually talking to me?'

Loki lifted an eyebrow expectantly and Christopher quickly surrendered the magazine to him, which bore an image of Loki, Steve Rogers and Natasha Romanoff on the cover along with a small sub-headline that read 'the top ten hottest superheroes.'

Preparing his pen to write his signature, Loki's gaze flickered back up to Christopher who was still staring with his mouth agape.

"Careful. You'll catch flies," Loki jested, and immediately the man snapped his mouth shut, growing flustered at the remark.

"Sorry. It's just, I'm, uh, I'm a big fan," he spoke, seeming to cringe inwardly at his own cliche line, "I'm actually, um- well…" Christopher trailed off tentatively. He probably wanted to mention his occupation, but Loki recalled Amelia telling him once that Disney employees were forbidden from revealing that they played certain characters at Disney world.

He saved Christopher the trouble by cryptically responding, "I know."

Christopher blinked, his eyes flicking between Loki's hands writing out his signature and Loki's gaze, intense and sharp. "You… know?"

"Yes. I know who you are," Loki smirked. It wasn't as though Christopher would be able to figure out how Loki knew who he was, given he had made sure to erase himself from the man's memory, and the expression on the human's face made his statement completely worth it.

"You… know me?" Christopher squeaked, a finger pointing tentatively at his own chest. The high pitched question was unbecoming of a man who took on the prestigious role of Loki Odinson at a children's amusement park, but Loki let it slide.

"Well, of course," Loki only felt comfortable sharing that piece of information because Christopher was about the only person who could hear him speaking above the raucous noise surrounding them, "we may or may not have met face to face before. You just didn't know it."

Christopher's jaw dropped, his face turning just a little bit red, "Wait… are you seriously talking about… at the park?"

Loki lifted his eyebrow expectantly, silently answering the flustered man's question.

Christopher covered his face with his hands, drowning in embarrassment, "Then you must have seen… me dressed up as…"

"Yes," Loki confirmed bluntly, "do you want a piece of advice?"

Christopher seemed to grow even more abashed, looking everywhere but Loki's eyes, "I… suppose?"

Loki let out a graceful snort, "You could do well to tone down the sass, and come up with some lines that aren't completely cringeworthy when they're coming out of your mouth," he criticised brutally, watching with a shadow of exasperation as Christopher's eyes glazed over in a way that sort of suggested he was going to cry - the way he pursed his lips certainly didn't help either.

"But," Loki added blessedly, "apart from that, you do a good job entertaining people. I suppose I approve."

Christopher's lip quivered, and Loki's eyebrows shot up. Oh no, was he actually going to cry?

"That… means a lot… coming from you," Christopher murmured quietly, almost too quiet that Loki didn't catch it. He offered the human a ghost of a smile and then handed him back the magazine he had signed.

Christopher eagerly peered down at the signature and his eyes skimmed the words Loki had written, 'to Christopher, work on the accent. Loki.' The man's eyes were wide as he absorbed the autograph, and then he looked up and blinked.

"But… I never told you my name?"

Loki gave the human an enigmatic shrug and turned to walk away, delighting in the way Christopher sputtered in confusion, intrigue and shock. The fans around were utterly restless and loud as ever, Loki hoped this event wouldn't permanently damage his hearing, next time he'd have to invest in earplugs.

Oh, who was he kidding? There wasn't going to be a next time. This was the last time he was going to be dragged to this kind of event. A public event that was quiet would be just fine, but this was absurd.

Loki sped up, passing by desperate and hopeful fans for the sake and health of his eardrums; he intended to catch up to Stark so that he had somebody to snap and rage at - with controlled volume, of course, he wasn't going to allow himself to look like a fool in front of ten thousand midgardians - but he was distracted by the sound of a different kind of shouting that seemed to encompass distress, a cry out for help.

He frowned, turning towards the direction this clamour was coming from, and spotted what looked like a scuffle occurring against one of the barriers, and then he spotted it - someone was being pushed into the barrier and crushed by the mob of careless midgardians behind them.

"Tch," Loki let out an angry noise from the back of his throat and marched towards the skirmish. Of course, in doing so, the moronic humans that were causing the problem all cheered at the sight of him closing in - did they not see how pissed off he looked? This event was supposed to be a charity aid for terminally ill children, it wouldn't do well for somebody to be murdered because a few humans got overexcited and brainless in the heat of the moment.

"Oi!" Loki snapped as soon as he was in hearing range, "Take a step back!"

The humans, predictably, ignored his command, all of them reaching out towards him and only adding more trouble to the situation as the human - a young woman, it appeared - was squashed further against the metal barrier.

"I said back up!" Loki shouted, sending a dull wave of magic across the uncaring group of people; the projectile, purposefully 'blunt' in a way that made it almost harmless, was strong enough to push the first few rows of humans back a few feet in order to make room for the distressed woman, but not strong enough to knock them all off their feet.

There was a slew of gasps and cries from the humans who had been pushed back, and the obsessive screaming died down as people realised that there was a problem at hand. Loki was thankful for the likely brief interlude of peace and reached down over the metal barrier, offering a hand to the woman who had been caught in place.

She took his hand, tentative in her movements, and Loki pulled her up to her feet, finally affording him a good look at the woman he had just saved. She was young, probably early twenties, with Asian features; her hair was straight and dark, and she was of average height and quite slim, and was clothed in a modest purple dress. She clutched a rolled up poster to her chest in her other hand and looked thoroughly frazzled after being caught in a frightening situation.

She was shaken up, clearly.

"Are you okay?" Loki asked her carefully.

The woman seemed to notice in that moment just who had saved her from the crowd, and her wide gaze went from his face to her hand, which was still holding tightly onto his; she immediately let go, seemingly startled, and then looked down, anywhere but directly into his eyes. What was it with humans being entirely unable to look him in the eye? He knew he was intimidating, but surely they weren't all terrified of him.

"Are you okay?" Loki repeated when he didn't receive an answer, and the woman visibly jumped once again, looking shocked that he would even speak to her.

"Y-yep! Yes, I mean- I'm fine, totally fine, th-thanks! Thank you." The words fell from her mouth like an avalanche of babbling and her eyes flickered up to meet his gaze for barely a second before darting away again. It was slightly amusing. Loki had yet to meet a human who reacted to his presence in a neutral way - either they were timid like this young woman, or far too bold like everybody standing behind her.

Loki's eyes fell to the poster she was holding, "Do you have something for me to sign?"

The woman looked up, blinking anxiously up at him, "Wha- oh! Yes, I have- yes!" She squeaked, holding out the poster, "I'm sorry, I'm- I'm really nervous to be talking to you. I'm making a fool of myself, aren't I? I'm sorry. Oh, how embarrassing. Sorry! I really didn't expect you to come so close to me, let alone talk to me-" She cut herself off by clapping a hand over her mouth, realising she was rambling. She apologised way too much.

Loki bit the inside of his lip to avoid smirking at her skittish disposition, "Well. Being crushed against a barrier is one way to get my attention," he joked.

The woman let out an apprehensive giggle, "Yeah…"

"What's your name?" Loki asked.

The woman's cheeks turned pink, "You want to know my name?"

Loki stared at her for a drawn out moment, causing her to quickly divert her eyes once again, before telling her, "For the autograph."

"Oh!" Her face grew even more vibrant in colour as she flushed with embarrassment, "Right! That makes total sense. I'm sorry. I'm Olivia. Well- Liv, for short," she stammered.

"Liv," Loki repeated, nodding as he began signing the poster. The crowd of humans he was holding at bay with the use of his magic began whining about the fact Loki was signing this woman's poster rather than any of their items, and Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes at their immature droning. At least the mob would likely learn a lesson from this experience - screaming for his attention wasn't a good way to draw him closer. Being a damsel in distress, on the other hand.

Loki noted in his peripheral that while he had his eyes down on the poster, Liv was very much staring at his face, no longer deterred from the intimidation of his eye contact, though the moment he flickered his eyes up at her, she quickly found the ground or the sky or literally anything else in view far more interesting. He let it go, not interested in embarrassing the woman.

"S-so, Prince Loki-" Liv spoke hesitantly when his gaze was no longer directed at her.

"You can just call me Loki." As much as he appreciated the attempt at showing respect to him, nobody ever called him Prince Loki outside of Asgard, and it seemed unnecessary for it to start now.

"Oh, um, sorry about that-"

"You apologise a lot, you know that?" Loki pointed out with furrowed eyebrows. It reminded him of someone else he knew.

"Oh… yeah, I'm so-"

"Don't apologise for that," Loki ordered, getting a little agitated at just how often the word 'sorry' had fallen from this woman's lips.

Liv snapped her mouth shut, probably to avoid apologising for almost apologising for apologising too much. She gave a very bashful smile and finally spoke a few words that didn't involve an apology, "I guess I need to kick the habit, huh?"

Loki silently agreed.

"I was just wondering, if you don't mind me asking, and- feel free to just not answer, because I'm sure you've got much more important things to do than stand around talking to a fan, but, um- god, I'm such a mess right now, I never thought I'd ever get to meet you, it's really an honour-"

"The question, Liv. What's the question?" Loki pressed, finding the woman's speech patterns highly infuriating but also a tiny bit endearing, in a way.

Liv's face turned red again, "Right. The question. Um, how are you?"

Loki blinked, waiting a beat longer for Liv to say something else, but she didn't. That was literally just her question.

"How am I?" He repeated, baffled.

"Yeah," she responded innocently, "like, how are you doing? Are you happy? I hope you are- you've done a lot for the people of Earth and I think I speak for us all when I say we're so grateful to have you on our side. I just… think you deserve happiness and I want to know if you are happy." She was smiling, bravely holding eye contact even though she looked like she wished she could look away again.

Loki did not recall a time in all his years fighting as an Avenger that he had been asked by a human how he was doing. It was such a mundane and personal question, all things considered, and it was the last thing he'd expected her to ask. He didn't let the puzzlement show on his face.

"I suppose you could say I am happy," he responded neutrally. The answer was, of course, a resounding yes. He was very happy. He had a beautiful wife and two wonderful children who brought him happiness every minute of every day, but he couldn't very well tell that to the woman, not with how precious and important his secret was.

"Oh, good! Good, I'm so glad," Liv's dark eyes shone gleefully at his response. She seemed genuinely delighted to learn that he was happy in his life. What a peculiar human. "I was also wondering," Liv continued, "who's your favourite Avenger? Besides yourself." She giggled at her own question.

Loki hummed, humouring her. He put his thumb and forefinger to his chin, appearing as if he was deep in thought, and then murmured, "I don't know. They're all quite irritating, to be honest," he cast a glance down the red carpet, spotting a few of his teammates signing posters for their own fans.

"Okay, who's your least favourite?" Liv tried.

"Barton," Loki answered, without skipping a beat.

The woman burst out laughing, "You answered that shockingly fast. Do the two of you not get along well then?"

Loki hummed again and gave a subtle shrug, "I suppose not so much anymore…" He trailed off, handing Liv back the poster he had signed; she looked over it with an expression that seemed to be full of adoration and gratitude.

"Thank you so much," Liv spoke, her voice overflowing with emotion. Her eyes seemed to grow a little teary too, which made Loki panic just a little. Crying humans, he never knew how to deal with them.

"Goodbye Liv," he bid her farewell and made to turn away.

"Wait!"

Loki paused, peering back at her with an inquisitive eyebrow raised, and she deflated a bit under his stare, "What?"

"I'm sorry," she apologised again, "I just have so many questions I want to ask you!"

Loki blinked, squinting suspiciously at her, "You're not a reporter, are you?"

"God, no!" She laughed nervously, a high-pitched giggle escaping her, "I just… want to know more about you!"

"Well, I can't answer all your questions, I'm afraid," Loki stated, but then took pity on her, "however, I'm in a generous mood, so I'll allow you to ask me one more question. I have somewhere I need to urgently be after this."

"Oh?" The curious cogs clearly began turning beyond Liv's eyes, "Where do you need to be after this?"

"Is that your one question?"

"No! Um, ah man, only one question? You've put me in a difficult spot, let me think… it'll have to be a good one," Liv began rambling to herself, adopting a thinking pose as she tried hard to pick a significant question as if there wasn't still a horde of jealous fans surrounding her just steps away. She was living the dream of a lot of people and yet she was tapping her chin indecisively, lost in her own little world where it was just her and Loki stood before her.

Loki sighed. "If you can't think of anything, I suppose I'll just have to-"

As he turned to walk away again, she suddenly sprung to life.

"Wait! I have a question! I have one!"

"Well? Out with it," Loki murmured impatiently.

"Okay, here goes… what would you do if you found out you only had 24 hours left alive?"

At once, Loki was metaphorically shot back in time almost 12 years to the day, when he had met Amelia for the first time in the cemetery on a cold November night. She had asked him almost that very same question, the question that had set Amelia and himself off on entwining paths and left their fates forever entangled.

"I know it's a weird question, but…" Liv's voice faded in and out of his mind as he remained silent, reflecting on that very first conversation he'd had with the woman that would become his beloved wife and the mother of his children. What answer had he given Amelia all those many years ago? He couldn't quite recall, but knowing what he'd been like back then, he assumed it was something shallow and callous.

Her answer, though. Dear sweet Amelia, pure and loving and optimistic even in her darkest days. He remembered her answer all too well when he'd turned the question back on her, it was simple and wholesome and he'd scoffed at it back then, like an asshole. He wished he hadn't.

"Um… Loki?"

Pulled back to the present, Loki stared over at Liv who appeared almost worried by his stunned silence. He shook himself out of his contemplative stupor.

"What made you think of that question?" Loki asked tentatively.

Liv blinked, and shrugged, "It just sort of gives a lot of insight to a person, I guess, depending on their answer. And I like to ask unusual questions," another shrug, and a bashful smile.

Loki thought about the question. If he was given twenty-four hours left to live, what would he do? Well, he'd fight tooth and nail to give himself more time so that he wasn't faced with the ultimatum, but if that truly wasn't an option…

"I would find the people I love, and tell them that I love them."

Liv's mouth opened, and closed, then opened again, her eyes grew shiny and her lips seemed to pout, "That's… that's really sweet."

Loki gave a hum, realising he'd allowed himself to become very vulnerable in the presence of a Midgardian, and inwardly cringed at his lapse in aloofness. He hoped the interaction wasn't caught on camera.

He turned to the reporters, to their cameras pointed straight at him, and then he turned back to the throngs of people around who all had their phone cameras glued to him, and hoped the noise from the mob all around had managed to muffle the conversation he'd had with this woman.

Loki cleared his throat, "I need to go."

Liv's face fell, but then quickly reinvigorated with joy, "Thank you for speaking with me… and thank you for saving me!"

Loki walked away from her without another word, acknowledging her thanks with a simple nod, and released the humans behind her from their magical entrapment. As Liv listened to the irritable groans of the unlucky people around her who hadn't had the chance to meet their idol, she looked down and properly read what Loki had written.

'To Liv. Apologise less. Loki.'


Several hours later, after the charity event was over, Loki retired to Avengers Tower to pick up his wife and two children before they were due to head to Asgard to partake in the celebrations. Upon entering the tower, Loki walked into the living quarters to the sound of Aster and Kari screaming at each other for some trivial reason that he couldn't wait to hear about.

Amelia was sat back against the sofa with her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes closed, looking like she'd probably been attempting to diffuse an argument between the twins for quite a long time, unsuccessfully, before he walked in.

"What on Earth is going on?" Loki asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation at the high pitched shrieks coming from both his children.

Aster spun around and immediately started shouting at a hundred miles per hour, "Daddy, Kari stole my green hair scrunchie because I apparently stole his bracelet but I didn't steal his bracelet, and Kari's not giving it back even though I said I didn't take the bracelet but I need it because it's my green scrunchie and I want to wear it at the banquet because it's my favourite scrunchie!"

She ended with laboured breaths and teary eyes, and Loki blinked, turning to Kari with an unamused, unimpressed look.

"Kari, give her back her hair scrunchie, I'm sure she didn't steal your bracelet," Loki said bluntly, and Amelia gave a sardonic snort at his words for some unexplained reason, before Kari stamped his foot against the ground to punctuate his next words.

"She did steal it and she's lying! I'll give back the scrunchie after she gives back my bracelet or I'll wear the scrunchie on my wrist at the banquet later as a bracelet instead!" Kari retracted his arm quickly when Aster made a dive for it, the latter letting out a frustrated scream when she failed to snatch her beloved possession back.

Loki silently turned to Amelia, who still had her eyes shut, with a small smile playing on her lips.

"So I take it this has been going on for a while?"

Amelia's eyes opened, "You have… no idea." She turned to face him, her smile growing genuine as she laid eyes on him, "We were watching you on tv earlier. That was really sweet, what you did for that woman."

Loki shrugged his shoulders slightly, acknowledging the praise but brushing it off quickly, "And when did this little, ah, disagreement begin?"

"About three hours ago. And trust me, I have tried to resolve this, but no matter what I say or do, these two just continue to be at each other's throats." She sighed, casting a glance at her children as they practically tried to wrestle each other. "I tried to take the scrunchie back, but he just used his magic to float it up to the ceiling where nobody could reach it." She pinched the bridge of her nose, looking more than a little fed up.

"Right," Loki murmured and turned to his children, "Enough messing about. Kari, give the scrunchie back. You have plenty of bracelets you can wear, we'll look for your missing one when we return. You two need to get ready now or we'll be late to the banquet - and not just fashionably late. I mean embarrassingly late."

"But dad!" Kari squawked, looking absolutely appalled that he'd taken Aster's side. "That's not fair! I want to wear my purple bracelet, it's the only purple one I have! That's not fair!"

Absurd. The situation was absurd. Ever since the twins had turned eight, they'd started having more than their fair share of skirmishes, and it was always over ridiculously mundane and stupidly childish things. They were now almost ten years old and both had yet to let up on their minor case of hostility towards one another. Amelia had suggested it was just a pre-teen thing, but Stark had once made a remark that implied this was just a prelude to when they became teenagers, at which point their attitudes to each other would grow ten times worse.

Loki mirrored Amelia's impulse to pinch the bridge of her nose and rolled his eyes, "Alright, Aster, don't lie to me. Did you steal the bracelet?" In the corner of his vision, he noticed Amelia quietly cringe at his words, and soon understood why.

Aster immediately burst into tears, "I didn't steal his bracelet! Why doesn't anyone believe me!?"

Amelia looked apologetically up at Loki, "Already asked her that and received the same response."

Loki groaned. Instead, he turned to Kari, "When and where was the last place you saw your bracelet?"

"I had it with me earlier when we were getting ready and the last time I saw it was in her hands as she stole it from me!" The boy snapped, pointing an accusatory finger at his sister.

"Liar!" Aster squealed.

"Quiet!" Loki raised his voice and both kids quickly shut up, looking at him with wide eyes. "Kari, did you take it off at any point?"

Kari glared at his sister and shrugged his shoulders, "Maybe. I don't remember."

"He took it off and lost it himself, that's what happened!" Aster interjected.

"Alright, if neither of you can work on a compromise, we're both leaving you two here and going by ourselves," Loki stated. It was an empty threat, really just an attempt to scare the kids into dropping the argument and picking it up again at a later date, but Amelia shook her head defeatedly.

"Already tried that one," she said, and from the way the kids continued to glower at each other, the threat coming from the mouth of their father did nothing to exaggerate the warning, sadly.

"I'm losing my mind," Loki murmured under his breath and moved around the sofa to plop himself down on the seat in a slump. He wasn't even able to enjoy letting himself down off his feet after such a long day because he sat down on something pointy and grunted, reaching under himself to fish out what he'd sat down on.

When he realised what it was, he stared pointedly at Kari and held up his purple bracelet with a look that embodied the next words that came out of Amelia's mouth.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" His wife whined, staring at the item that had been partially obscured in its place down between the couch cushions the whole time.

"I told you so! I didn't steal your dumb bracelet!" Aster promptly shouted at her brother.

"Oh," Kari murmured, taking the bracelet out of his father's hand, "my bad." With that, he pulled the scrunchie from his wrist and flicked it at his sister, which hit her square in the forehead.

"OW! Daddy, he shot my scrunchie at me!"

"Oh come on, it didn't actually hurt!" Kari exclaimed in his own defence.

"Right! No sweets for either of you later," Loki began, taking in the scandalised faces both his children gave him, "-unless you both apologise for shouting at each other and promise to behave!"

Silence ensued for a few drawn out moments, and then Kari grumbled, "Sorry Aster."

Loki looked pointedly at his daughter, who technically hadn't done anything wrong but had still had the audacity to scream her head off and given her mother grief for the past several hours, and she deflated under his gaze and hissed out a cursory, "Sorry."


After that fiasco, Loki and Amelia prepared and got themselves and their children ready and presentable so that they could arrive in Asgard for the great celebration, a grand event that would honour what had taken place just two days prior. Loki wouldn't admit it out loud, but he was excited. He kept himself composed as his family arrived in Asgard via the Bifrost and made their way promptly towards the banquet hall.

The children were dressed in their royal linens, Loki in his fine princely clothing and Amelia looking absolutely vibrant in a beautiful dress as they traversed the hallways on their way to the celebratory feast. Aster and Kari had made up shortly after the scrunchie and bracelet incident, to their parent's relief. It would've been rather embarrassing if they'd turned up with the kids endlessly squabbling during a time of celebration.

Loki peered down at his wristwatch, "Fashionably late. Acceptable," he remarked.

Amelia chuckled, finding endearment in the way Loki was so eager to arrive in the banquet hall; he'd been practically jumping about for the past two days waiting for Thor to formally announce the gathering they were currently in attendance of.

She could feel keenness grow in her husband the closer they got to their destination by the slightly increased pep in his step, and once the grand hall was in sight, the double doors were opened up wide by the guards.

A small, blonde boy dressed in blue rushed out, looking up and down the corridor before spotting them, and a large smile broke out across his face.

"Unca Loki!" The adorably boisterous child practically zoomed towards them at top speed, specifically towards Loki, with his arms outstretched in anticipation of a hug. Loki swooped the boy up without hesitation and threw him into the air, the squealing child giggling as he achieved quite a bit of airtime. All Amelia could think was that it was a good thing the architecture of the palace allowed for very tall ceilings.

Loki caught the boy with ease, balancing him on his hip as he continued on while Amelia gleefully watched the way her husband interacted with his almost four year old nephew; it was totally reminiscent of how Loki had interacted with the twins when they were much younger, and this was something she had observed ever since Thor's son had been born.

His name was Magni, and he was a darling of a child and absolutely full to the brim with energy. Even just shy of four years old, the boy was already exhibiting hints of great strength he'd inherited from his father.

"How's my dear nephew?" Loki asked, ruffling the boy's long golden hair.

"Good!" Magni exclaimed, "Buh' mama and dada are sleepy."

"Yes, I imagine they are. Too tired to play with you, I expect?" Loki surmised at the sight of the boy's pout.

The child pouted even harder and nodded his head, "Can we play games? And Aster and Kari and Auntie Amelia?"

Loki laughed, peering back at the other three over his shoulder, "I'm sure we can find time to play a game or two."

"Sure! What game do you wanna play?" Aster asked with a big smile, happy to organise a game that all of them could play to appease her little cousin.

"Oh! Hide and seek!" Magni rushed to suggest one of his favourite games - a game he was rather skilled at given his small size - and then he gave Aster a wide grin and pointed to the clothing she wore, "You got a pretty dress!"

"Aww, thank you!" Aster cooed, happy to receive the compliment.

Kari butted in, taking a few quick steps to catch up, and held up his wrist, displaying the bracelet he'd been obsessing over earlier, "Do you like my bracelet, Magni? It's cool, isn't it?"

Magni observed the jewellery with large cerulean eyes, before stating, "Yeah… but it would be cooler if the colour was blue."

Amelia stifled a smile, finding amusement in the innocent but brutal honesty of the young boy; Kari mumbled something under his breath as he slowed back down to his mother's walking pace and she brushed a hand through her son's curly hair.

"It's okay, sweetheart, it is a cool bracelet. I think it's lovely," she assured him cheerfully, but Kari continued to pout. It was obvious he'd wanted to seem like a cool older cousin to Magni, but the little boy had inadvertently insulted his choice in jewellery, and though it was something tiny and insignificant in the grand scheme of things, Kari still probably felt hurt.

Amelia leaned down and spoke quietly to her son so only he could hear her, "Hey. It's not our fault your little cousin doesn't realise yet that purple is the coolest colour there is, huh?" After all, she was also wearing a purple dress, so technically if Magni didn't think the colour of Kari's bracelet was cool, he didn't think Amelia's dress was cool either. "We both know the truth though, and that's what matters," she gave him a wink, and Kari smirked in agreement.

"Magni, where did you- oh! Loki! Amelia, Aster, Kari, welcome!" Thor's voice announced as they entered the banquet hall, full of forced exuberance; it was clear to both Amelia and Loki that Thor's exclamation was tainted with utter exhaustion. Thor smiled regardless of the tired expression on his face, "How are you-"

"Where is he?" Loki demanded at once.

"Wha-"

"My second nephew, where is he?" Loki asked again, eyes narrowed, "I want to meet him."

Thor shook his head, though his smile didn't fade. Before he could open his mouth and answer, Magni beat him to the punch.

"Modi's with mama! She's feeding him right now," the boy helpfully supplied.

"But she'll be bringing him in soon?"

"That's right," Thor confirmed, "so hold your horses, brother. Don't get too eager, I was hoping this could be a-" the King pauses to flop down in his big chair at the head of the long table, "low energy celebration."

"Pft," Loki scoffed, "please, it's been two days since he was born. Two days without sleep is nothing, do you know how long I went without sleep after those two were born?" He jammed a pointed thumb over his shoulder at the twins, who had taken their places at the table and started to pick some snacks to munch on from the vast array of dishes across the table. "A week, Thor." Magni wriggled out of Loki's arms and scrambled up to sit on his father's lap once his uncle put him down.

"Yes, yes," Thor groaned, pulling the boy up to sit comfortably on his lap, "but I didn't get a lot of sleep in the days leading up to the birth, so I'm in the same boat you were, so to speak."

Amelia peered up at Thor, giving him an empathetic look. It was true, Thor had been an anxious ball of nervousness for at least the past three weeks, and it was no secret as to why - Inga's first pregnancy with Magni hadn't gone entirely smoothly, there had been a few complications when she gave birth and there had been a lot of blood, from what Amelia had been told before. It had been Inga who remained entirely calm and directed the other healers on how to tend to her, which ultimately resulted in her making a full recovery.

Thor had been terrified something like that might happen again, clearly. But thankfully, as Heimdall had relayed when the news had finally come, all had gone well and there'd been no complications upon giving birth to their second son.

"Fair point," Loki agreed, and then smiled, "If you and Inga need a day to sleep, we'll watch the kids for you. Just leave us a few bottles of milk and we'll take charge for a while."

Amelia smiled, touching her husband's shoulder endearingly. It was funny how Loki had gone from being abhorred at the idea of babysitting Thor's infant children just four years ago, to being eager to offer his services. Really, the moment Magni had been born, Loki had switched himself up real quick, doting on the boy like Magni was his own. And that wasn't about to change with the newest addition to Thor's family, Modi.

"Muuuuuum, when do we get to see the baby?" Aster inquired, shifting impatiently in her seat.

"Can I hold him first?" Kari quickly asked.

"No, I'm holding him first cause I asked first!" His sister whined.

"Um," Amelia began, raising her voice a bit to show her kids she wasn't impressed by their behaviour, "Thor and Inga will decide who gets to hold the baby first. I don't want to hear either of you arguing anymore today, you've had your fair share of that already, and I don't think Modi is going to appreciate it if his older cousins are snapping at each other while he's trying to sleep."

The twins deflated a bit under the scolding, but Loki took a more amused approach to address his argumentative kids.

"I think the two of you will find that I will be the first one to hold Modi. As his one and only uncle, that right is reserved for me," Loki announced matter-of-factly.

Past Loki's face, Amelia observed as Thor gave him a sardonic look that probably would've had more sass behind it were he feeling a little more alert and awake, but Thor said nothing to protest Loki's words - he probably didn't have the energy to do so anyway.

With perfect timing, Inga entered the room at that moment, carrying a swaddled bundle in her arms with Signy at her side; Thor lit up at the sight of Inga and their newborn, the presence of his beloved wife and the cause for their sleepy states was enough to kick some energy back into him and he stood to put an arm around Inga's shoulder, kissing her cheek lovingly before looking down at his second son.

Inga looked just as tired as Thor, yet she wore it with a tad more grace, smiling at the presence of extended family while Signy wore the largest grin on her face Amelia was sure she had ever seen. Clearly she was excited to be an auntie all over again, a feeling Amelia knew all too well.

Loki spread his arms out, as if to say 'well, bring him over!' and Amelia gave him a light thwack on the shoulder, lightly scolding him, "Honestly, you're just as impatient as the kids."

Thor took the baby from his wife, leaning down to gently press a kiss to the infant's forehead, before walking around the table to where Loki and Amelia were sitting. Loki shifted in his seat, preparing to take the newborn into his arms, but Thor stepped past his brother and lowered the infant to Amelia's arms instead, smirking at the scandalised look Loki gave him in his peripheral vision.

Amelia giggled, happily cradling her new, tiny nephew in her arms with all the gentleness she could muster. Loki sidled up on one side of her, peering down over her shoulder at the swaddled baby while Kari and Aster both squeezed in for a peek on her opposite side.

Modi was oh so small. There was a very fine tuft of golden hair upon his forehead, and although his eyes were closed in a peaceful slumber, Amelia was sure the little one would have bright blue irises like his older brother. Speaking of Magni, the boy clambered up onto the opposite side of the table beside Signy, pointing at the baby in Amelia's arms, and proudly declared, "He's my baby brother. He's so cute!"

"He is, he's a beautiful little thing," Amelia agreed.

"He's so tiny!" Kari gasped, placing his palm upon the swaddled blanket to compare Modi's size to his own hand.

"You and your sister were this small once," Loki told him, running his thumb tenderly over the infant's forehead. Amelia sensed a tone of underlying pining in her husband's voice, but she chalked it up to the fact that his adorable new little nephew was right there in her arms, waiting to be held by him.

She didn't make Loki wait long, Amelia knew he'd been dying for this moment since he'd heard the news of Modi's birth two days prior. So she handed the baby over to Loki, whose eyes shone with glee as he peered down at him, his smile so sweet and genuine that it made Amelia melt.

If she thought that was cute, then she was having to swallow her own squeals some time later when Modi quietly woke up and blinked his big eyes tiredly, looking up at his uncle Loki with a curious gaze.

"Hi," Loki whispered.

Modi let out a little squeak as he yawned.

"Wow, big yawn," Loki remarked. It was clear to Amelia that Loki was completely taken with the newborn, she couldn't stop smiling at the wholesome interactions between them both.

As the evening rolled on, Magni fell asleep in his father's lap and was taken to bed around seven o'clock. The twins were allowed to stay up a little later, until nine o'clock, and both whined when Loki finally surmised it was their bedtime, but they reluctantly went along to bed and did as they were told. A portable cot was brought into the hall so that Modi could sleep in plain view of his parents while the evening rolled into the night and the alcohol was brought to the table.

Amelia herself only drank Midgardian wine, knowing she couldn't stomach the level of alcohol in Asgardian drinks, but Loki began drinking his favourite full-strength wine without any reservation, likely intent on getting tipsy at least. Amelia wasn't planning on drinking enough to get drunk, or even tipsy, just in case one of the kids woke up in the night from a nightmare - she'd rather at least one of them would be alert to comfort the kids if they needed it. Not that she minded, it was rather funny to watch her husband get drunk as he could be quite entertaining after just a few glasses.

"We're planning on having the kids start school after they turn eleven - a Midgardian school," Amelia told her brother-in-law conversationally after the topic of conversation slid over to that of the kids' education and studies, "it was my idea. Loki wasn't fond of it at first, but I think it would be good for them."

Loki still wasn't fond of the idea, if the scoffing sound he made was anything to go by, "I still believe it would be better for them to continue their studies here." He sipped at his wine almost continuously.

"Loki, they can't spend their entire lives isolated from a learning environment that includes other children. They need to be able to make friends and play with kids their own ages," Amelia pointed out. It was her main concern. Most children their age had friends to play with, but the twins had only ever had each other to play with, and if the growing number of disagreements the kids were having increased even more, it was clear they were going to need friends if they wanted someone to turn to when they couldn't turn to each other.

Loki clicked his tongue, "There are children here in Asgard, you know."

Amelia squinted at her husband, "There's like five children in total in the entire kingdom that are around Aster and Kari's age."

"As I said, there are children in Asgard."

Amelia rolled her eyes and turned to Thor and Inga for assurance, "Tell me I'm not the one being unreasonable here."

Thor's eyes widened and he grabbed his tankard of ale, taking a long sip from it in the hopes that Inga would fill the silence with an answer, clearly not wanting to pick sides between Amelia and his brother when it concerned their children.

"I think Amelia has a point," Inga told Loki, who bristled as if he'd been betrayed by the queen's words, "the twins need a larger variety of children their own age to pick friends from. And since your children are half Midgardian, I think it's only right they should experience a Midgardian education."

"Oh," Loki sarcastically began, "and since they're also half Jotun, should we ship them off to Jotunheim for a few years as well? Let them experience Jotun schooling?"

Inga merely lifted her chin at the way Loki challenged her. "A few years? Not necessary, but perhaps an educational excursion to Jotunheim would do them good also. They should learn all there is to learn about their heritage."

Loki scrunched up his nose, "We're not sending them to a Jotun school."

Inga shrugged her shoulders, "What do the children think at the prospect of going to Midgardian school?"

Amelia smiled, "They like the sound of it, and I've been looking at several schools close enough to Avengers Tower. Only the ones with the best reputations and the most successful grades."

Loki grunted, "Can we talk about something else?" His request sounded almost petulant, but Amelia suspected his disdain for the idea of the twins starting Midgardian schooling wasn't simply because he felt they would do better to received an education in Asgard, but was in fact because he didn't like the idea of the kids being too far away from him. He was so attached to them, so used to seeing them throughout the day even when they received their home-schooling, that the idea of them being gone for roughly seven hours of the day was distressing to Loki.

Amelia could read him like an open book.

The conversation drifted, as it usually did when Thor and Loki started drinking together, to the good old days in Asgard when they were young and immature - as opposed to older and immature. Amelia didn't quite recall how they'd gotten onto the subject, but Loki mentioned the toy deer he'd had as a child and accused Thor of being the reason it went missing. Thor vehemently denied all accusations, stating that Loki was always putting that thing down and forgetting to pick it up again.

"Lies. You hid it and claimed to forget where, and then I never found it. And then Surtur destroyed it when he took our home," Loki sounded ever so salty, his brow furrowed in genuine annoyance.

"Oh, come on," Thor regarded his brother with a mocking glance, "If I did hide it, which I'm pretty sure I didn't, that was eight-hundred years ago. Let it go."

"I will not let it go. That was my favourite toy," Loki hissed, pouting in his seat. He was definitely tipsy already. "I had very few comforts as a child and you took something precious away from me. Evil. You're evil."

Amelia had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing. It wasn't funny that Loki lost his favourite childhood toy, but the way he was acting now was ridiculously juvenile.

"Well if you weren't always sneaking around doing things like cutting my hair while I slept and stealing my clothes when I was bathing in rivers during camping trips, I wouldn't have felt the need to retaliate," Thor scolded bluntly.

"That stuff was funny, though," Loki retorted without hesitation.

"No, you know what is actually funny?" Thor asked, grinning suddenly with a look that suggested he was about to embarrass Loki. The dark-haired brother glared at him, warning him with just a look that he should be very careful about his next words. "Amelia, has Loki ever told you about 'Get Help'?"

Loki's jaw clenched, "I hate you."

"Get Help? No, what's that?" Amelia lifted an eyebrow curiously, puzzled by her husband's reaction.

Thor proceeded to tell her about the strategy he and his brother had back in the day when they were faced with an enemy they needed to catch off-guard. How Thor would rush into a room while dragging a seemingly unconscious Loki along beside him screaming for somebody to 'get help' before he would simply launch his brother ragdoll style towards whatever foe they were fighting with.

Loki slumped in his seat, face resting in his arms as he mumbled something about how it was utterly humiliating, but Amelia wasn't paying attention to him, she was too busy clamping a hand over her mouth to avoid laughing out loud and startling little Modi from his sleep.

"Oh- oh my god. You literally would just- just throw him? And that's how you fought some enemies? Like a damn bowling ball knocking down pins? Oh my god," the visualisation her brain supplied made it all the more difficult to keep herself from laughing. It was just too funny.

Loki didn't think it was funny. He murmured something about 'not being drunk enough' and proceeded to down several glasses of Asgardian wine over the next hour.

Within no time at all, he was giggling and laughing again with his brother, the agitation from the fate of his deer toy and the mention of 'get help' completely forgotten. He chortled and told stories with Thor about the time they fought a troll and had to climb a tree to escape its wrath when the beast got a bit too incensed.

Eventually, when Thor and Inga were practically dozing away in their seats, Amelia suggested it was probably time they all turned in for the night. It was late, after all. It was past one o'clock in the morning and Amelia usually wasn't one to stay up so late - she was generally firmly asleep before midnight, but she hadn't wanted to call it quits when her husband had been having such a good time.

Leaving Thor and Inga to turn in for the night, Loki and Amelia retired to their room; the former had drunk so much Asgardian booze that he needed help getting there. If the prince wasn't so drunk, he probably would've been embarrassed that he needed to lean on the shoulder of a guard to walk the entire trip to his and Amelia's bedroom, but alas, he simply laughed and grumbled in half-jibberish the whole way there while Amelia walked at his side, glad to not have to be the one carrying him.

"Do you need help getting him to bed, or…?" The guard asked tentatively when they arrived at their chambers.

Loki scoffed, pushing away from the guard exasperatedly, "I'm not that drunk…" He slurred his words, making it only two steps before tripping over his own feet and falling against the double doors, his hands moving just fast enough to catch him from face-planting the hardwood.

"I think I've got it from here," Amelia spared her husband the embarrassment of needing a guard to help him get to bed and pulled Loki's arm over her shoulder to try and stabilise him as the guard had done. She knew deep down in her heart that if Loki tripped again, he'd take her down with him.

They entered the room, the door closing shut behind them, and Amelia got Loki over to the bed slowly but surely, thankfully without anymore loss of balance. Once he was there, he collapsed forward onto the bed and rubbed his face against the soft sheets while Amelia helpfully removed his shoes.

"You drank more than usual tonight," Amelia spoke jestly, "remember when we first met and I was the alcoholic? How the tables have turned."

"M' not an alcoholic," Loki murmured, rolling over onto his back, "and as I said, m' not that drunk."

"Yeah, right," Amelia snorted, "if that's what you want to believe." In this state, he probably wouldn't remember this interaction the next morning. "You practically needed to be carried to bed, love."

Loki pushed himself up on his elbows, looking down at Amelia as she began stripping him of his trousers. He gave her a suggestive grin, "Hey. You know what would make me really happy right now?"

"Hm?" Amelia hummed as she pulled her husband's pyjamas out of the nearby drawer.

"A blowjob."

Amelia exhaled out of her nose in amusement, though her face remained impressively blank, "Well, I'm not sure where you're gonna find a dick to suck at this time of night," she retorted evenly, and Loki stared at her for a good few moments as he absorbed her witty comeback before whining and letting his head fall back against the bed.

"Nevermind," he sighed.

Amelia chuckled, "Sit up so I can help you get dressed for bed."

"I'll just sleep naked," Loki protested.

"It's a cold night," Amelia argued.

"The cold never bothered me anyway," Loki mumbled in a sing-song tune that vaguely resembled Elsa's song.

Amelia shook her head, hiding a smile, "That may be so, but your body still gets cold which will make it harder for me to cuddle you, so do you really want to forgo pyjamas?"

Loki paused, and then said, "Okay, fine, put me in the pyjamas."

"Sit up then," Amelia reminded him.

"Ugh," Loki sighed, pushing himself up till he was upright but slumped. Amelia ushered him into his night clothes and then encouraged him to get onto his side of the bed below the covers while she changed into her night dress. He ogled her unapologetically as she stripped and redressed, and when she joined him below the warmth of the bedsheets, he let his hands trail over her body and pull her closer.

He kissed her neck and pulled her night dress up her thigh, trailing his fingers across her soft skin as they travelled between her legs.

"Nuh-uh," Amelia stated, grabbing his hand and pulling it away, "you're way too drunk for that."

Amelia could feel him pout against her neck, but he didn't try to deny his current state, nor did he try to bother to convince her. Instead, he sighed and nuzzled his face against Amelia's shoulder, cuddling up to her.

"Goodnight, love," Amelia whispered.

Silence fell for about fifteen minutes, and Amelia was lightly dozing when she suddenly heard Loki's voice again.

"We should have another one."

Amelia blinked the befuddling fog of sleepiness away, trying to figure out what Loki was talking about, "Wha?"

"We should have another baby," Loki clarified, and Amelia felt her heart skip a beat.

For a moment, Amelia thought she might have fallen asleep and was currently listening to the distant voice of her dream-husband rather than the real one, but the feeling of Loki's hot breath against her neck somehow convinced her that she was awake, and he really said what he said.

"You want another baby?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.

She knew there'd been something about the way Loki looked at his newborn nephew, the way he spoke longingly when he mentioned the twins used to be as tiny as the infant in his arms. He missed when the kids were so little that he could cradle them at the same time in each arm, and he yearned for it again. No wonder he was so desperate to hold Thor's son.

Loki hummed in assent, "Yeah. We should make another one right now." He giggled, nose brushing against the spot right below Amelia's ear, though he didn't make any move to start touching her again.

Amelia gave a sudden laugh at her husband's words. Drunk. He was just drunk, that was it. He was too drunk and he was just mumbling empty thoughts that drifted through his head; she had probably just been reading too much into Loki's behaviour.

Or maybe she'd been projecting her own feelings onto him.

"You know what? Tell me that again when you're sober, and maybe I'll take you up on that idea." Amelia told him softly.

Loki said nothing more after that. His breath evened out, evident that he'd slipped into a restful slumber. But Amelia was wide awake and staring at the flowing pieces of fabric hanging from the posters of their bed as she imagined the possibilities that could unfold in the near future.


There's only one chapter of this fic left. ONE CHAPTER. And it's gonna be the fluffiest of them all.

To everyone who might be disappointed that Loki and Amelia's sexcapades in the last chapter didn't lead to a fresh addition to their family, I wanted their next pregnancy to be a planned thing, unlike the first one. It didn't feel right in my head to have what was essentially a drug-fuelled bout of marathon sex be what led to Amelia's next pregnancy - I feel like having them discuss it ahead of time would make it more meaningful.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts. And remember, just cause the next chapter is the last chapter of Hydrangeas, doesn't mean it's the end of Amelia and Loki's adventures. I have two more fics planned in this series that I'll discuss the plans of more at the end of the next chapter ;)

I am intending to have the final chapter out by the beginning of March (or March 6th at the very latest), but there is a video game coming out this Friday that I'm super excited to play (Horizon Forbidden West) so let this be a test of mental strength for me. I mean it when I say I want to get this final chapter out before March begins. I'll probably start working on it asap.

Remember to leave a comment, because that will definitely compel me to finish the final chapter as quick as I can ;)