Summary:
It was difficult to make out anything at all in the tangle of lines and tissue, but then Sylvie saw a small structure in a black cavity..
..and something seemed to be moving inside..
"This is one of the most beautiful moments of my job.."
~~~
When Sylvie stepped out of the changing room, her friends looked at her with mouths wide open.
The sales assistant had tilted her head to one side, her gaze inspired.
"Turn around and see for yourself."
Slowly, the goddess turned and when she saw herself in the mirror, she held her breath.
It was heavenly.
"Hello Miss Laufeydottir"
The doctor came through the door with a smile that lit up the whole room and greeted her with a handshake.
"I'm Dr. Elisabeth Mayfield, nice to meet you."
Sylvie smiled back, but her nervousness didn't go without notice, her hand trembling slightly.
"Sylvie Laufeydottir..this is my fiancé, Loki."
The doctor nodded at the dark-haired man, who, judging by his disheveled hair and facial expressions, was a bit of a nervous wreck, too.
"Welcome and congratulations to you both," she said, taking one of their hands in her own, "the first child is something very special. It's going to be an exciting time, you can look forward to it."
Sylvie raised an eyebrow and gave the gynecologist her most sarcastic smile, "Oh, it's already exciting, I can assure you.."
Dr. Mayfield sat down on a small, rotating chair and pointed to the examination table, "Please take a seat, Miss Laufeydottir."
She pushed Sylvie's top up a little, "Can you feel any changes yet?"
The enchantress laughed, "Yes, gracefully throwing up the moment I open my eyes is just one of them."
"Ah," the doctor began, carefully touching Sylvie's stomach, "morning sickness is a good sign. It means that your hormone balance is changing and adapting to the new being."
"The new being.." Sylvie repeated, "..sounds kind of creepy..also that there's another creature making itself at home in my belly."
She blushed at her own statement and looked at the man standing next to her for support.
But the doctor just smiled with empathy and understanding, "Yes, it is funny, isn't it? Suddenly you're sharing your body with someone else..it's not unusual to find it kind of strange at first. Everything points to the fact that you two are in joyful anticipation. I'd like to do the ultrasound now to confirm this."
Sylvie looked at Loki again, who was standing next to her, holding her hand. It was hard to tell which one of the two chaos gods was more nervous.
"Now it's getting serious," the god remarked, grinning at his blonde fiancée to cover up his own tension.
"This is all your fault," Sylvie murmured quietly, squinting her eyes half seriously and half playfully.
While the doctor got the ultrasound machine ready, she kept glancing over at the two demigods.
"You two make a great couple. How long have you known each other?"
"A year and a half," Loki said and kissed the enchantress on the forehead.
"Oh, so you were quick with the family planning. It's nice that you were in an agreement about this."
"More like the heat of the moment and the divine idiot didn't think about bringing condoms with him again.." Sylvie muttered quietly to herself and received an irritated look from the doctor and a shake of the head from her male counterpart.
Sylvie sighed, but grinned, "Well, Loki was just very persistent and spared no effort to convince me," she added the official version to her statement and stuck her tongue out at the god.
"So that means it wasn't love at first sight?" asked Dr. Mayfield with a grin.
"Let's just say we had.." Sylvie began and was interrupted by Loki.
"..initial differences," he finished her sentence, his eyes sparkling in a way that was reserved for this one woman alone, "but I knew from the very first moment that she was the love of my life."
Sylvie rolled her eyes but couldn't hide the glow in her face, "Dramatic to the bitter end, Laufeyson.."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the doctor stumble briefly at the mention of his surname. Then she turned the screen and picked up the ultrasound probe, "This is going to be a bit chilly, don't be alarmed."
As she ran over Sylvie's stomach with the instrument, a black and white image appeared on the device in front of them, which the two demigods looked at spellbound. Loki began to squeeze Sylvie's hand tighter.
She could feel that his own was slightly damp.
"Look, these are your ovaries, fallopian tubes..it all looks very good and perfectly normal..here you can see the uterus.."
It was difficult to make out anything at all in the tangle of lines and tissue, but then Sylvie saw a small structure in a black cavity..
..and something seemed to be moving inside..
"This is one of the most beautiful moments of my job.." Dr. Mayfield began, her smile stretching from ear to ear.
"What you can see here is your baby's heartbeat."
The eyes of the two gods met and Sylvie saw tears forming in Loki's.
"Here you see the head..here's the body.."
But the two of them were in their own world for a moment.
"We created this," the enchantress whispered in a raspy voice, taking Loki's hand and placing it on her stomach.
"This is incredible.." Loki stated with an equally shaky voice and smiled, "looks like we can cause more than chaos."
Completely overcome by emotions, he took her face between his hands and pressed his forehead to hers, "We're going to be parents.."
"We're going to be parents," Sylvie repeated, looking into his blue eyes.
"I hope you're ready for more chaos, Laufeyson."
Mobius M. Mobius had probably never been so overwhelmed in his entire life.
"Hold this," the woman, bursting with energy, called out to him as she draped another item of clothing on him.
He wondered what it was this time..a T-shirt, a onesie, the fifth hat?
"You do know that there are only seven days in a week and it will be outgrown after three months anyway, right?"
He shouted after the Chaos Queen, who was already two aisles away..again. His voice was so loud that everyone within a radius of ten meters turned around in annoyance.
Mobius grinned apologetically, mumbling an "I'm sorry" and tried to keep up with Sylvie.
When he reached her, already panting a little, she looked at him suspiciously, "More sport, less cake, Mobius," she pointed to her stomach, "I'm the one who's pregnant here."
Actually, there was no need to mention it. Due to her slim figure and despite the fact that her pregnancy had not yet progressed that far, the small baby bump was clearly visible. And every couple of days it also couldn't be overheard..every time she cursed Loki for it.
"This is your fault, Laufeyson. If only I hadn't left the time door open for so long back in the Roxxcart store.."
Most of the time, something would fly around, not directly at him, but for the effect. Sylvie was already a powder keg by nature..and the hormones didn't make it any better.
But as it turned out, it wasn't the best idea to point it out to her.
That was without a doubt the longest and most agonizing hour of Thor's life. Fortunately Mobius was more diplomatic..or simply had the stronger survival instinct.
"Here.."
A pack of pacifiers landed in the analyst's already overburdened arms..soon he would have to grow two more.
"Didn't we buy pacifiers the other day?"
Sylvie looked at him briefly, tempted to put the pack back, but then left it in place.
"If he or she likes to suck on things like its father.." Sylvie began with a grin, but was immediately interrupted by Mobius.
"Wait, stop..what did we say about 'too much information'?" the analyst grumbled, frustrated that he couldn't cover his ears with his arms fully loaded.
Sylvie looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Maybe you should start dating again, Mobius. The TVA files and Casey aren't enough of a distraction.." while she was already a few meters away again, she added, "..you don't necessarily have to take the expression 'married to his work' literally, you realize that, right?"
"Someone has to keep order in the chaos that you.."
When he saw her expression and the small green light in her hand, he quickly corrected himself. Fortunately, he was not only diplomatic, but also extremely adaptable.
Thanks to his strong survival instinct.
"The free will you gave everyone, I mean, of course..and I'm happy to do it, the multiverse is a great place."
It really was.
Just a few days ago he had landed in a universe where people wore their hands on their heads and rode fish.
The strange smell and the unpleasant situation when he asked if the fish could also be eaten should not be mentioned here.
"Now that you remind me.." the goddess began, putting on a thoughtful expression, "..perhaps there is a female version of you out there that you would like?"
The thought alone made the gray-haired man shudder, "No, I don't think I want to find them..not everyone is into chaos like you two. I like things more..orderly."
At that moment, a young saleswoman approached them with a smile.
"Good afternoon, welcome to 'Family's Paradise'," she looked in amazement at the clothes and accessoires that had piled up on Mobius' arms, took everything from him and threw it in a large bag.
"Here," she put the bag around his shoulders and smiled at them both, "you must be carrying enough as a new dad. Congratulations to you both!"
Mobius grinned sheepishly and Sylvie laughed heartily, "Oh, he's not the father.."
Mobius was glad he hadn't said 'thank God' out loud. The saleswoman looked confused for a moment and Sylvie added, "He's sort of..the uncle. The father has something else to do."
That wasn't quite the truth..in fact, Sylvie had thought it was a better idea not to take Loki with her. The last time they'd both came back without baby things, but quite quarreling. Apparently there had been a huge disagreement about whether they wanted to dress the baby in gender-neutral clothes or not.
"Who would have thought that the man would be so kitschy?" she had complained to Mobius afterwards, "we don't even know what it's going to be and he wants to buy everything in purple and pink! Green and yellow are perfect..besides, green is our color..it's out of the question to have fairies all over everything now!"
Luckily, Mobius had kept the receipt for the music box, which could definitely be described as kitsch, with a ballerina spinning in the middle. It would have been very painful if this thing had blown up in his face.
"Ah, it's nice when the uncle gets so involved," the young lady remarked and continued, "if you need any help..or another bag..just let me know, okay?"
With these words, she left.
"I think we've had enough for today, don't you Sylvie?"
But there was no trace of the Chaos Queen.
And so Mobius M. Mobius took a deep breath and mentally prepared himself for another nerve-racking hour in 'Family's Paradise'.
Only that this wasn't exactly how he had pictured paradise.
"She looks nice," Verity said, but both Sylvie and Love commented with a firm "NO" in unison.
The trio sat on Thor's couch and stared at Sylvie's laptop together. Officially, the whole thing was declared as "babysitting" Love..
..unofficially, they were looking for a woman for Mobius.
"Here, let's click on this," Sylvie suggested and got up to get the ice cream that was already eagerly waiting for her in Thor's kitchen.
She came back with a large spoon in her mouth, "And..what did you find?"
"Looks like it's a fan group," Verity said and laughed, "oh, you're not going to like this..it's Lokius."
Sylvie rolled her eyes and pulled the sundae towards her, already noticing Love's greedy look.
"Read what it says, I feel like having fun today," the goddess sank her spoon in-between pieces of brownie and cookie dough.
The black-haired woman read one of the comments out loud, "I really can't understand this..could it be that she has cast a spell on him? You know..maybe it started on Lamentis and now he's under her control..everyone knows Loki actually loves Mobius."
Sylvie let out a snort and had to be careful to keep the ice cream in, "Of course..because I have nothing better to do than navigate through Loki's twisted mind," she fished for a particularly large piece of cookie dough, "no thanks, I'm not interested..I have enough to do with my own mind."
In the meantime, Love had also grabbed a spoon and looked at Sylvie with her familiar, but not very popular, puppy eyes.
Sylvie shook her head, "I'm not your kind-hearted dad...that look doesn't work on me, you little pain in the ass."
"Please, Aunty Sylvie," the girl begged, pushing her lower lip forward, which made the enchantress yield eventually.
She reluctantly held the cup out to her, which Love commented with an exuberant kiss on the goddess' cheek.
Together they poked into the ice while the hunter read on, "Wouldn't be the first time a man realized after an unhappy relationship with a woman that he actually always loved his best mate..we just have to wait, guys..it'll happen!" #Lokiusforever..written with some weird symbol.."
"It's called a hashtag," Love interjected, rolling her eyes, "everyone knows that.."
She had copied Sylvie's dramatic eye rolling to perfection.
Thor wasn't happy about it.
Goddess and hunter looked at each other, "We're really getting old."
Sylvie clicked on the next page and while only a "Ahhh" escaped her lips, Verity had already placed her hand over Love's eyes.
"Hey, why.."
"This isn't meant for the eyes of little girls!"
"I'm not a little girl anymore! What's there, Aunt Sylvie? I want to see!!!"
Sylvie had also put her hand to her face, but peeked through it, "Better not, Love..I'm already trying to forget.." she read the caption out loud.
"Loki and Mobius making tender love between the TVA files.."
It wasn't easy to tell when Verity was blushing, but the look on her face spoke volumes, "Well, they're creative, I'll give them that.."
The goddess grinned, "Save this one..I'll put it on Loki's side of the bed later.." and her grin widened, "..and Mobius on the desk."
After the image had disappeared from the screen again, Sylvie took a deep breath and grabbed the last piece of cookie dough, sticking her tongue out at her niece.
"I think we'd better look elsewhere..there's a new website that finds the perfect partner for you in the whole multiverse.."
She made a few clicks and gave her friend and the girl a mischievous grin.
"I think we'll sign Mobius up for that!"
Sylvie let the delicate fabric glide through her fingers, layer after layer of tulle and silk.
"Would that be something for you?"
The saleswoman's voice, which seemed to come out of nowhere, made her flinch.
"I don't know.." the goddess replied honestly and also a little overwhelmed, "I've never worn anything like this before."
The young woman pulled out the dress and held it up to Sylvie, "I could very well imagine that this would look great on you and your petite figure."
Placing a hand on her stomach, the goddess shook her head, "It won't be like that for much longer.."
"Oh," exclaimed the other woman, "you're pregnant? Congratulations! Wait here..I have a dress that's perfect for pregnant brides."
As she disappeared amongst tons of tulle and glitter, Sylvie turned to her companions. Verity and Alice were engrossed in conversation, both with their champagne glasses in hand.
It wasn't easy for Sylvie to make new friends, people she trusted. But as it turned out, there were some really interesting women among mere mortals.
Although Alice wasn't that normal either.
She came from earth, from an alternative reality, where she ran a coven for young women.
And no one could say exactly how mortal she actually was..not even Alice herself. By human standards, she must have been dead at least twice already..since Sylvie had known her.
"What do you think..does something like this suit me?" the goddess asked the group with an uncertain expression on her face, holding up a dream made of tulle, "or should I wear a traditional Asgardian dress?"
"We'll try both, I'd say. I can't wait to see you in all these dresses!" Verity announced, beaming with joy.
"Yes, absolutely. I've been telling you for a long time that black isn't a color, Sylvie," Alice added, shaking her head.
"Hey, black is the perfect color! It's elegant, slimming and shows everyone at first glance that you're not to be trifled with," the enchantress replied with conviction.
Alice and Verity eyed Sylvie before the younger witch raised her eyebrow, "As if you needed something to make you look slimmer.." and then added with a shrug, "and I don't suppose you want to look scary that day either. Or are you planning on getting into a fight at your own wedding?"
Sylvie put her hand playfully to her chin as if she was thinking, "Hmm, would be worth considering.."
While the three women laughed, the saleswoman came back with a dress that was truly breathtaking.
Instead of massive layers of opulent tulle, it was made of delicate, cream-colored lace. It had half-length sleeves, a narrow belt over the waist and a long, softly flowing skirt.
"Wow," Sylvie exclaimed and her two other women nodded enthusiastically.
"Off to the cabin with you then. I can't wait to see if it looks just as good dressed."
When Sylvie stepped out of the changing room, her friends looked at her with mouths wide open.
The sales assistant had tilted her head to one side, her gaze inspired.
"Turn around and see for yourself."
Slowly, the goddess turned and when she saw herself in the mirror, she held her breath.
It was heavenly.
"You look like an elf," Verity observed through her tears.
"That'll knock Loki's socks off..even without a fight," Alice said.
The enchantress couldn't take her eyes off what she saw in the mirror either.
Sylvie Laufeydottir, the fighter, the wildcat..someone who, despite having her own characteristic style, always chose the practical over the fashionable..
..now dressed in a fairy-like dream of cream-colored lace.
Which now, for whatever reason...
...changed its color at the level of her lower stomach into a strange, unusual red.
And then her head started to spin.
"Sylvie??"
Looking down, the enchantress watched paralyzed, as the dreamlike white fabric slowly got soaked with blood.