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goatmilksoda · 2 years

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All The Lessons I Never Learned

23. Costumes and Candy

Synopsis: Loki takes Thor out costume shopping and then Thor gets to wear his costume to daycare!

Word count: 1728

Stand Alone?: 1/2

Warnings: no warnings apply

Notes: Aside from an upload schedule change, no notes apply

Read it on AO3!

“Woah…” Thor said as they walked through the grocery store.

That wasn’t exactly accurate-- Loki was walking while Thor was sitting in the cart.

“Hm?”

“‘S a lotta Halloween.”

“I guess it is.” Loki had gotten so used to it over these past years in America that he couldn’t help but feel as if it were totally normal.

“Can I trick-or-treat?”

Loki hadn’t really thought about it. “If that’s what you want to do. Do you have a costume?”

“No. I wanna be a big monsta!”

“Like a dragon?”

“No! Something scary!”

“We’ll look at costumes in a moment. What kind of candy should we get?”

“Mm…” Thor hummed as he thought about it. “Chockate.”

“The one with Kitkats or the Reeses?”

“Kvikk Lunsj?”

“So… Kitkats. That’s what they’re called here.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah. This one’s a variety pack so you’ll get to try other ones, too.”

“Okay!” Thor agreed.

“I’ll let you try some when we get home if you’re really good.”

That made the little grin.

“We do need to go downstairs now though, so can you get out of the cart for me?”

With a little bit of effort and help from Loki’s outstretched arm and stabilization of the cart, Thor was able to get out so they could go downstairs and take a look at the home and clothing section of the store, putting the cart on a track next to the escalator.

Thor, of course, couldn’t help but try to reach into the cart and found it extremely interesting, and, against his better judgment, Loki let him, and only gave him a little tap on the shoulder to show him that the escalator ride was over.

“Can I push?”

“You wanna push it?”

“Mhm!”

Thor did push the cart for a second, before trying to step up and ride on it, almost making it tip over, and forcing Loki to weigh down the other end.

There were lots of interesting decorations in the seasonal section for Thor to look at, but he didn’t seem particularly frightened of any, more just intrigued and curious if anything, even though he almost tossed a “haunted” jack-in-the-box toy on the floor after it surprised him.

“Okay costumes… costumes…Ah, here we go, costumes for littles.” Loki sorted through the racks while Thor kept trying to perch on the front of the cart. “Brother, come look with me. I’m not shopping for myself.”

“We should together costume.”

“Hm?”

“Like um, match?”

Loki did give this idea much thought. “...Let’s see what they have first. Oh! Look at this! It’s a monster!” He had pulled out a blue fuzzy costume with horns and googly looking eyes which was definitely a monster, but devoid of being from any one specific brand or property-- extremely generic. “It’s very cute.”

“I don’ wanna be cute!” Thor argued as he sifted through the princess dresses.

“You could wear one of those. I’m sure you’d make a lovely princess.”

“Silly Loki, no! I wanna be scary!”

“Well that certainly narrows it down…” Loki hummed as he tried to find things that weren’t just “baby pumpkin”, “cartoon character”, or “doctor”. “You could be a pirate. Pirates are quite scary. In fact, we might be able to make you a zombie pirate.”

Thor seemed quite intrigued by that idea, but quickly found a better idea. “How bout a skeleton?!” he asked, pulling out one that worked like footie pajamas.

“Ooh, that’s terrifying,” Loki sarcastically commented with a smile as he took it, and checked the size, holding it up to the little, knowing that it could easily be repurposed for everyday sleepwear.

“Yeah!” Thor laughed. “But Mr. Steve sayed no masks.”

“That’s fine. I can paint your face for you.”

“Kay!” Thor grinned as Loki set it into the cart. “What about you?”

“I don’t usually dress up,” Loki admitted.

Thor frowned. “No, you gotta!”

“Okay what should I be…?” Loki asked as he looked through the racks. “I’d make a good pirate.”

That made Thor laugh.

“No? What are you thinking, dear brother?”

“A kitty!”

“Hm… No, that's a bit juvenile for me. Perhaps a vampire?”

“Okay,” Thor agreed, while setting a mysterious third costume into the cart.

“What’ve you got there?”

“Mm… Taco.”

“I thought you were being a skeleton.”

He shrugged. “Skeleton taco.”

Loki raised an eyebrow before shrugging and setting the vampire costume he was looking at in the cart.

“Why aren’t you dressed up?” Thor asked the next morning

“Grown-ups only dress up in the evenings.” Loki stated.

That seemed to make Thor a little sad.

“I’ll dress up when we go out.”

“But we’re GONNA go out!”

“Work has a dress code! It’s not about what you want, child.”

Thor huffed and crossed his arms.

“But, if you sit down I’ll put on your facepaint for you.”

For the next ten minutes or so, Loki painstakingly tried to cover the preschooler’s face in paint, making the black and white illusion of a skull, and making Thor grin.

“Your makeup’s good.” Thor told him after getting up from sitting on the closed toilet lid.

“My makeup?”

“Yeah. It looks good! Scary.”

Loki looked in the mirror and frowned. He hadn’t put on any makeup yet today.

Thor’s daycare was absolutely bustling today. Not that there were more littles than usual, but for 8:30 AM, it wasn’t as sleepy as it normally was. Usually it was quiet, with one or two littles getting excited to play a game with their friends, and an equal number crying and throwing fits that they needed to leave their caregivers, but today Loki and Thor found themselves in an incredibly loud and high energy space almost immediately.

Thor’s eyes widened, but he didn’t seem overwhelmed, happily running in to join the other littles as Loki took note of the sheer amount of care which had gone into decorating the room and making it look nice. It even smelled like pumpkin-flavored frosting.

“Thor!” Sylvie yelled, running up to the skeleton boy. “Lookit my costume!” she bragged. “I’m a vampire!”

“Loki’s a vampire, too.”

Sylvie looked at the caregiver. “Not a good one.”

Thor giggled.

“What’re you sposed to be?”

“Um... a skeleton taco?”

“Like with human pieces?!” she asked.

Thor laughed. “Yeah! For big monsters to eat!”

That gave Loki a moment to give his brother a big hug.

“Don’t get eaten okay?” Loki asked.

Thor nodded as if it were now his mission, and a very serious one he’d have to defend.

“Okay. Well, I love you very much, and I’ll see you later, alright?”

“See you later!” Thor called after him before excitedly joining his teachers and classmates for circle time.

Loki ate his lunch, once again, at the round table in the break room, waiting for his usual companion, only for Mobius to finally show up in a full, bright red, race car driver outfit.

“What are you wearing?” Loki asked, trying to hide his amusement behind his triangularly cut sandwich.

“Pfft. More like what are you not wearing? Where’s your Halloween spirit, man?”

“At home waiting to go trick-or-treating with my little brother.”

“Well you did nail the corporate zombie look.”

“Hey!”

Mobius sat down next to him and opened up his own lunch. “M’ surprised you didn’t put on more of a show.”

“Adults don’t dress up for work.”

“If you got a little you definitely do. Single, littleless, childless, adults don’t dress up for work.”

“Well there’s no use in berating me for it now! Not like I can make it appear out of thin air.”

“You’re right. I’m just playing with you, ruffling your feathers, you know… But um, I do have to tell you, Sylvie was wondering if you and Thor wanna come around for some dinner and trick-or-treating. The usual stuff.”

“Trick-or-treating? In your apartment building?”

“No, I was actually thinking of driving up to Harlem. Those old brownstones give out some good candy and there’s a parade on the way there that Sylvie likes to go watch. Thought maybe Thor would like to come.”

Loki hummed an acknowledgement. “Yeah, we’d probably be able to make that.”

“I haven’t even given you a time yet.”

“Doesn’t matter. We’ll be there.”

“Well I was thinking we could pick you guys up and we could get a fast-food dinner at 6-ish before going to the parade and trick-or-treating?”

“Yeah, that works,” Loki smiled a little bigger than he probably meant to. “Definitely.”

Sylvie did not cut corners with her Halloween spirit. Thor had thought he didn’t, but that was apparently only by Norwegian standards. Sylvie had only ever known American standards.

The daycare day wasn’t exactly a typical one. Not that the littles ever really sat down and had formal lessons, as they were kept to a play-based, preschool standard, but today was still somehow even more game and craft focused than usual, with a shortened circle time that focused mostly on “The Itsy Bitsy Spider”, the standard nap time, and “fall festival” stations set up throughout the classroom with face painting, fall crafts, not-so-fall-themed-crafts and carnival games where littles could earn fruit snacks, raisins, or small bags of chips because, as Mr. Sam had put it, they’d be getting enough candy later that day.

Sylvie had argued that there was no such thing as “enough” candy. She also made a large effort to pull “pranks” on her classmates which ended up being… in line with her mental age of four years old today: “See? I gave you the blue marker, but you asked for the red!” and cue giggles. She also made a lot of fart noises. When she found some plastic bugs, she did her best to scatter them, with Thor’s help, around the classroom-- in the adults’ kitchen space, in the bathroom, on bookshelves, everywhere they could.

Sylvie had also tried to play the “repeating everything someone says” game but ended up getting put in time-out for it.

Even with that small setback, the day was nothing short of wonderful.

They did pumpkin collages with ripped construction paper and read a story about “Spookley the Square Pumpkin” which led to a geometry activity, and Bingo with dot pens. It was all delightful, and before Thor knew it, Loki was walking in through the door to come pick him up and take him on the train to go home.

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leos-regression-cove · 1 year

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All The Lessons I Never Learned

Chapter 28. The "Play"

Synopsis: Loki is going to a local drag show, but he can't bear to tell Mobius that, even though he needs a babysitter. So he lies, and tells his coworker that he's going to a play instead.

Word count: 4,288

Stand Alone?: Context is helpful

Warnings: the "R" slur, swearing, vomit mention, drunkenness/drinking, accidents, notes of internalized trans/homophobia

Notes: This is a harder chapter to read, but I consider it rewarding all the same. Thor and Sylvie are adorable as always, and the Loki-Mobius tension just bubbles in this story.

Read it on AO3!

“Let’s go out tonight,” Loki said.

“Tonight? Really? Loki, it’s the middle of the week,” Verity’s voice scratched on the other end of the line.

“No, I know, but isn’t that why it’s perfect? Won’t be so busy out there. There’s a show at the Barracuda. Only 5 dollars for a ticket, it’ll be great!”

“You don’t even drink anymore!”

“You don’t even get out anymore! Come on, if you’re not going to come with me I’ll just call Lorilei and I think we both know that’s not a good mix with my two month chip. We can dress up! Just like old times?”

“Can’t you take your new boyfriend?”

“Well for one, I don’t even think he’s interested in the gents.”

She laughed “the gents. Oh my god, can’t you keep talking like a normal person until we get there?”

“So you’ll go then?”

“Only if you play designated driver and let me have fun.”

“That works for me. Meet you there at… seven?”

“Seven? Jesus Christ, Loki, how old are you?”

“We both agreed it’s the middle of the week! I’m a caregiver!”

She sighed. “Yeah… Whatever.”

At the office that morning, Loki made sure to run and catch up with Mobius as the man collected reports and physical documents, made some copies, and stapled packets together. “Can I ask you a personal question?”

“That depends…”

“A friend invited me out tonight-- not as a date or anything-- but I was wondering if you could maybe look after Thor for the evening?”

“What time do you want me to take him? Am I picking him up from daycare?”

“No, no. Does six work?”

“So you want me to take Sylvie home and then turn around and come pick him up?”

“The play is at seven.”

“What play is it?”

“Two Gentlemen from Verona,” Loki answered without skipping a beat.

“Really? That’s a good one. Have you seen it before?”

That wasn’t a response Loki had expected.

“It’s my first time,” he lied.

“Good way to spend a well earned night out.”

In the elevator down from Thor’s daycare, Loki explained to the little one that he’d be going over to Sylvie’s this evening. “Do you know what you’re going to pack?”

“Mjollnir… and my big blankie!”

“The big one, hm? And do you know what I need to pack for you? Are you going to try to use the potty tonight? Or is Mobius going to be changing nappies?”

Thor’s face flushed. “I’ll be big! I promise!”

When they got home, Loki made sure to pack both in the bag, just in case, before helping Thor fold up his blanket, prepare his toothbrush, and put together his pacifier in its sanitary pouch.��

Finally, Loki stood up, “So now’s the fun part: I’m going to go start getting ready, and you’re going to pick out some clothes, and some toys you want to share with Sylvie,” he said, with a smile and tone that was less than genuine.

The second he stepped out the door, he dashed back to his own room, shutting the door and frantically began to strip and start his transformation. Or, as he preferred once he got started, her transformation.

She latched her bra after adjusting her chestplate, and took a moment to admire herself in the mirror before slipping on some tights, and a cocktail dress.

She opened her bedroom door just a crack and peeked out of it, just to make sure Thor was still distracted, and then, slithered to the bathroom, locking the door, and took out a zippered bag from underneath the sink.

There was a thump while she was doing her mascara, “Thor?” she called. “Put your luggage in the living room so it’s ready when mr. Mobius gets here!”

A few minutes later, she popped her lips and clipped on some earrings before opening the door again, rezipping her makeup case, and stuffing it back under the sink behind the nappies and towels.

“Thor? You heard me, right?” she asked.

She opened his nursery door. The suitcase was still there, and so was the day bag, blanket and pillow, but there was no Thor.

“Thor?” she asked again. She checked the living room, the kitchen, still no Thor.

She finally came back to her room and there he was, standing next to a very messy open chest of clothes, attempting to put on a pair of sequinned, colorful, bell bottom pants.

“Can I wear these?” he asked, giggling. “They’re really ugly!”

Loki took a breath, trying not to look too mortified. “You have some fun clothes, why not wear your own?”

“I don’t have any sparkles!” he argued.

“I didn’t think you liked looking like a girl.”

“I like looking pretty, like you do!”

“Alright,” she sighed, “we’ll try it soon. But for now, you’re a big strong boy for Mobius and Sylvie, right?”

“Yup! And you’re the bestest big little sister!” He hugged her.

She tilted her head away to avoid smudging her makeup. Then, pulled away. “When Mr. Mobius comes by, what do you tell him?”

“You’re taking a shower and busy,” Thor recited.

“Right and, what else?”

“You’re my bestest brother, not sister.”

“Very good.”

And with that, Loki helped her brother put back on his own clothes, set all his things by the door in a neat little pile, and instructed him to answer the door when the bell rings.

Then, she shut herself in her room and took inventory of the mess that the little one had made, refolding and organizing her clothes more thoughtfully than she ever had before and feeling mighty thankful he hadn’t found it at a time when her breast form or hip pads had been inside.

There was a knock on the door.

Thor pressed his face right against the peephole. “Hello, Sylvie! Hello Mr. Mobius!” he yelled before opening it.

“Hey, Thor! Where’s your brother, buddy?” Mobius asked.

“He’s on the potty.”

“I am NOT!” Loki yelled, muffledly. She could hardly be heard from the living room.

Mobius walked towards the closed bedroom door before knocking on it. “Are you busy?” he asked. “You got time to talk about tonight?”

“I-- I’m about to get into the shower, so you must understand that I’m running very late. Can we text later?”

“How about we don’t and you just tell me what I need to know. Thor’s your little brother, isn’t he? C’mon. At least tell me if he’s got any allergies or medications? And while you’re at it, what time you want to come pick him up, wouldn’t hurt.”

Loki frowned while sitting criss-crossed by the door. “No allergies. No medications. But… you know he’s not potty trained, right?”

“I did catch that earlier. Is it training pants tonight? Do I need to remind him to go?”

“Yes… I think. Try that.”

“Alright and what time are you coming to pick him up?”

Loki didn’t answer.

“Loki, how late am I staying up?”

“I don’t know! Eleven?”

“Thank you,” he said with a little bit of exasperation. “Now go get in your shower and have fun at that show. It’s a good one. Alright?” He slapped the door twice before turning away.

Loki kept her ear pressed to the door.

“You ready to go, bud?” Mobius asked. The rustle of a duffle bag was audible.

“Yeah! Are we gonna go to a restaurant?”

“No,” Sylvie interjected. Her voice had been a constant, humming presence since she had arrived, but like Thor’s, her childish jargon had faded into the background. This was the first time Loki had actually listened. “Papa’s making sloppy joes!”

“What is that?” Thor asked.

“They’re like hamburgers but… wet.”

Mobius laughed. “Yeah… kind of.”

Then, the door slammed and they were gone.

“Hey bud, can you hold my hand while we’re crossing the road?” Mobius asked.

Thor had a thumb in his mouth as he absently watched the world around him.

“Oh no, you’re not a baby today, are you?” Sylvie asked. “Because I’m a big girl and I wanted to have a big girl sleepover.”

“Thor’s not sleeping over,” Mobius informed her.

“And I’m not a baby!” Thor added.

“He’s just a little nervous, hun, it’s scary going somewhere without your caregiver for the first time.”

“Oh…” Sylvie added. She seemed confused by the statement.

“Do you remember the first day I took you to daycare? How much you cr--”

“--Um, Thor, what should we play?” she asked.

“Mh… Theater,” he suggested. “Loki likes theater. That's where sh- he’s going tonight. He taked me to the puppet theater one time.”

A smile immediately burst onto her face and she bubbled with excitement. “Papa, you’ll play with us because you like theater… right?”

“Yeah, of course I will.”

“And you’ll come see the play?” she asked.

“Yeah, if you want me to.”

Upon arriving at the dusty little apartment, Sylvie ran into her room, and Mobius, after setting down Thor’s bags and helping him remove his boots, retreated into the kitchen to start on dinner.

“Thor! C’mon! You take forever!” Sylvie yelled from her room.

Upon being given the invitation, Thor ran and peeked his head in.

The little girl was struggling with a large tub of toys that had been taken out from under her bed and an even bigger, decorated piece of cardboard she had moved from her closet, lugging both into the living room in one trip.

“Lookit this!” she cried out while she set it up.

“Your own theater?!” he asked.

“Yep!” She moved onto the toys in her bin. “I’m going to be the dragon and the kitty, but you can play with these ones:”

Sylvie pointed at a pile of finger puppets, baby puppets, and stage puppets, all the ones that weren’t passable as stuffed animals.

“What about those?” The bin was still nearly half-full.

“We aren’t using those ones.”

“Why not?” Thor pulled a beautiful full-body puppet out, like Sylvie’s kitty and dragon. This one was a wolf.

“Because I said no.”

“Mr. Mobius?!” Thor yelled.

Mobius peeked his head out of the kitchen. “Yeah?”

“Sylvie’s not sharing!”

“Yes I am!”

Mobius stopped what he was doing and came over to take a look for himself. He loomed over the cardboard theater at the piles.

“He has a bigger pile than me! See?”

“Well, Thor, what do you want to play with? What’s the issue?”

“I wanted one of the big ones…” he murmured.

“Well, I know it’s not a puppet, but you can always bring Mjolnir out, he’d be a pretty neat character.”

“But he’s not a puppet!” Sylvie fretted.

“Well, if you wanna give him one of your fancy plushie puppets, he’ll be gentle with it, right, buddy?”

Thor nodded. “I’ll be gentle.”

Sylvie plunged her hand into the bin and pulled out a lumpy looking fox. “You can be this one.”

Thor slipped it onto his hand and experimented with its mouth and human-like arms, checking what he could move. It wasn’t as cool as Sylvie’s other puppets, but it was nice. It would suffice.

“Papa! Papa!” Sylvie shouted the second he had walked away.

This time, Mobius didn’t come back. “Yeah?” he yelled back.

“Come see our show!”

“Can we do the show after dinner?”

“Is it done?!”

“Yep!”

Sylvie dropped her puppets immediately, but gave a pitiful look back, before running to the kitchen.

Thor followed behind.

He curiously watched Mobius scoop a red, meaty substance out of a pot and onto a burger bun.

It smelled fine but… “why does it look like that?”

“It’s a sloppy joe…” Sylvie explained.

It was more of a rhetorical question anyway.

Thor was not the type to turn down a free meal whatever it was.

“It’s American food,” Sylvie told him as she sat down in her chair and patiently waited for Mobius to bring a plate over to her.

Thor copied her actions, but on his way to a chair, he set Mjolnir in her empty highchair before sitting down across from it.

“Papa says no stuffies at the table.”

“He’s not! He’s in a highchair! That’s a different table.”

“We don’t want to risk getting him gross,” Mobius said apologetically. “We’ll just pull it further away tonight.”

“No! You can’t bend the rules for him!”

“You wanna grab Rapunzel?”

Sylvie pushed out her chair and ran to go grab one of her puppets instead. “Rapunzel is busy,” she told her papa, setting the dragon behind the other leg hole.

“She’s not coming out?”

“No. She’s busy until bedtime, but she might sleepover with mr. Puzzles…” She mumbled the name of her other stuffed animal and looked over expectantly as if Thor would make fun of her for it.

After dinner, Mobius helped the littles wash their hands and began doing the dishes.

“Thor, You can run along, buddy. You wanna go rehearse with Sylvie?”

“Yeah but… I should help.”

Mobius smiled and moved over before giving Thor some rubber gloves.

“Thor!? Are you coming?!” Sylvie yelled.

“He’s helping me clean up!” Mobius yelled back. Then, in a whisper he added, “You better get back over there soon. She’s not going to wait forever.”

Thor nodded, thinking his job was done after setting some forks into the dishwasher pockets.

“Come see our play!”

“Yeah, I’m right behind you. Promise.”

Mobius sat down in front of the puppet theater as the two littles giggled and talked behind the cardboard wall, seemingly unaware that their talk could still be heard. Then, Sylvie peeked her head out from behind the screen. “Are you ready?” she asked.

“Yeah… I’m just wondering why you gave me puppets.”

“So you can play, too!” she told him.

“Me?” Mobius asked, as if this was the first time she had done this. It was apparent to Thor that this was a fairly regular occurrence, and that’s just how she played puppet theater.

“Yeah, silly!”

Mobius put a pig on his hand while Sylvie adjusted the curtains.

“Put your head down!” she whispered to Thor loudly while laying on the floor with her hand up toward the stage. It was not an especially comfortable position.

Sylvie began the story. “Once there was a big, meany dragon!”

“And a fox!” Thor tried.

“Not yet, the fox doesn’t come in yet,” Sylvie told him.

Thor put his hand down and glared at her.

“And… um… then… uh… he killed a pig for his dinner!” She took the cartoon-ish baby puppet off Mobius’ hand by clamping her dragon’s jaws around it and violently shook it in the beast’s mouth.

“And while walking home, he met a fox! A tricky fox!” she continued.

“No,” Thor interrupted. “A mighty fox!”

“Just go with it,” Mobius whispered to Sylvie.

“A mighty fox…” Sylvie repeated. “Who was also tricky!”

Thor jumped in. “And he saw the dragon and wanted pig, too!”

“I’m the narrator.”

“We’re all narrators. It’s a collaborative game, hun,” Mobius corrected her.

Sylvie scrunched up her nose under the stage where her papa couldn’t see it.

“But the dragon wouldn’t hand the pig over because dragons have big bellies!”

“But the fox wanted some so he bit the dragon!” Thor was really testing her now.

“But the dragon was mean so he roasted the little fox with his dragon breath!”

“Psst, Thor, The fox is a trickster! C’mon. He needs to do better. What can he do?” Mobius suggested. “How can you trick the big mighty dragon?”

Thor thought… and thought…

Sylvie nudged him. “You take forever! Do something!”

“Give him a chance!” Mobius tried.

But this wasn’t a part Thor was used to playing… or had ever played. Even in childhood, he had always been the dragon, or the princess, or the knight, or the king, or the… anything! But never the fox!

He didn’t know this part of the story.

“Mmh…” Thor whined. He rolled from side to side on his tummy awkwardly. “I don’t want to play anymore…” he said.

“Should we take a break?” Mobius asked.

“But it hasn’t even gotten good yet!” Sylvie complained.

“It’ll just be a couple minutes. We’ll call it intermission.”

Thor stood up. “I’m not playing this game anymore.”

Sylvie didn’t look too happy.

“You’re the big kid here,” Mobius whispered to her. “Be the big girl. We’ll play puppets again soon.” Then he raised his voice so Thor could hear. “Hey, speaking of being a big kid: Thor, remember to go use the bathroom sometime soon, alright? Now’s a good time.”

Thor got up, and took Mobius’ hand.

“Need me to go with you?” the caregiver asked.

“Yesss…” Thor answered nervously.

“Baby,” Sylvie mumbled under her breath.

Mobius shot her a disapproving look. “You gotta go, too? You’re not that much older.”

“I’m four and a half!” she answered.

Mobius opened up his other hand, for her to take, raising an eyebrow.

“No thanks…” she said, shifting from side to side.

“Sylvie?”

She didn’t respond.

“Should I get Thor all set up first and come back for you?”

“Yeah…” She answered quietly, fiddling with some plush animals.

“So, you need a new pull-up before you go in?”

“...No?” Thor said.

“I’m just gonna give you one, and if you need it, just slip it on, alright?” The adult set it on the countertop by the sink.

Thor gave it a glance as he shut the door, slowly, waiting for Mobius to suddenly insist on helping out.

“Sylvie? You wanna use my bathroom?” Mobius asked her.

She puckered her lips.

“Sylvie, I know what’s up. C’mon, roll over.” He took some paper towels and nabbed a spray bottle of cleaner out from under the sink.

The little girl furrowed her eyebrows further and mumbled.

Mobius came around the other side. How Thor hadn’t noticed, he wasn’t sure.

Sylvie rolled slightly away so Mobius could clean up the spot underneath her.

Then, he helped her up. “Alright big girl, tell me if you need the potty next time, okay?”

She humphed and crossed her arms as if it wasn’t her fault she had had an accident.

“Should we keep with the pull-ups and try again? Or do you want to go back to diapers?”

“No?!” Sylvie answered, horrified. “I’m not a baby!”

“No, I know you’re not, but if you’re gonna have an accident without saying anything, especially one like this, maybe we should think about that.”

“Nooo!” she whined. She almost screamed it.

“We don’t have to, but maybe let's try to be a little more aware next time, right?”

Mobius helped her clean up and offered her a new pull-up, to put on herself, but it didn’t really make her feel like a big girl, given the fact that he had still wiped her down and helped her with her pants and found her new ones. Stepping into her own pair of papery training pants really wasn't much, especially since he stabilized her as she did so, anyway.

“Sylvie?”

“We’re in here, Thor!” Mobius called.

Thor poked his head into Sylvie’s bedroom.

“You have different pants!”

The girl’s black leggings had been exchanged for green, pastel sweatpants.

“We’re playing dress-up,” Mobius joked.

“We are?!” Thor asked excitedly. “Loki’s good at that game.”

Loki stood at the edge of the bar. She sipped ginger ale in a champagne glass, splitting her attention between supervising Verity pounding back tequila and the amateur Dolly Parton impersonator “lip synching” on stage to a Kelly Clarkson song.

“You know that bitch up there?” Verity slurred slightly. Then, she motioned Loki closer to her and whispered in her ear. “She doesn’t even know who Dolly Parton is.”

Loki didn’t doubt that for a second.

“Alright, I think you’ve had enough.” Loki commented when she noticed Verity motioning the bartender for her sixth shot in the past hour. “Let’s make this one a glass of water instead and maybe go have a dance?”

“Fuck off, Loki. Loosen up! I’m not your… retarded-- brother, you don’t need to take care of me. I’m an adult.” She smiled as she said it.

“Don’t talk about him like that,” Loki replied, the extended rope of patience she had prepared for the night was already growing taught.

“Come one Loki, you’re not fun anymore.”

“Me? I’m not fun? Verity I invited you out to dance, see a show, and get railed in the bathroom by some strangers and you just want to sit here and drink yourself to death!”

“That’s what we always do!”

“Well, I don’t want to do that anymore. I can’t do that anymore!”

“You said I could have my fun!”

Oh my god she sounded like a drunk, angry Sylvie, not the witty and daring drinking buddy Loki had remembered. “And you know, I thought I meant it.”

Verity opened her mouth to say something as Loki set down her empty glass, and then stopped and covered her mouth.

“You’re going to puke, aren’t you?” Loki sighed.

She nodded, tearing up.

“Fuck, alright.” Loki grabbed her by the hair and dragged her to the bathroom as she stumbled behind, keeping her head down in case she spewed.

She tied Verity’s hair back and stood behind her in the stall, leaning probably too hard against the flimsy walls.

Loki may not have been a human lie detector like his companion, but Verity was a bad liar when she was drunk. Even when she thought she meant every word of it. She was great with littles and always nice about Thor until this unfortunate slip of the tongue, and she apparently did need to be taken care of. Loki tried not to roll her eyes too hard as she thought about it.

“All done?” she asked.

Verity nodded and took a deep breath. “Yeah.”

Loki handed her a paper towel. “Can we get back to the show now?”

Loki watched the clock throughout the night, and did not dance as much as she had hoped to. Instead, they sat at a front-and-center table they stole from a bachelorette party, drinking mocktails as the headliner queens performed, and then, the second that the set was over, she didn’t ask about the attractive women and men surrounding them, nor did she suggest going to another bar. She didn’t even linger. She stood up, put her hand out for Verity to stabilize herself with, and called a cab. If Verity hadn’t been struggling to even walk, she would have considered calling two.

Loki arrived at Mobius’ apartment over an hour earlier than he had promised. His makeup had been wiped in the cab, and his dress had been changed out for a formal tuxedo to keep up the appearance that he had been to a play the second he got home, leaving the glittery dress on the back of the couch, heels kicked under the coffee table, and tights on underneath his dress pants. He knocked on the door with the back of his hand.

Mobius didn’t even say hello when he ushered Loki inside.

Loki began to ask a question but was cut off quickly.

“They’re asleep,” Mobius reassured him, letting Loki take a look at the sleeping littles on the couch. “But… Can I talk to you privately?”

Loki stiffened. “Sure,” he answered, trying not to hold his breath.

Mobius shut the door behind them in his bedroom. It was nice. Roomy compared to the rest of the crowded apartment.

“So, I get it if you don’t want to tell me but… where did you really go?”

“What do you mean? I told you, I went to see a play. Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen from Verona!”

“Loki, I know that play closed two weeks ago!”

“How do you know I didn’t just go to a different theater?”

“Because you just said that.”

“Why is me asking you about your ex-wife weird and creepy but when I go see a play with my dear friend it’s suddenly okay for you to stalk me back?”

“Because that didn’t involve you! I never asked you to do anything. I’m watching your little for free and you felt the need to lie to me. What were you doing?”

“I… I went to a show at a bar with a friend! I didn’t even drink! I was just--”

Mobius suddenly turned on a light and looked at Loki closely, as if inspecting him. Then, he softened. “Oh,” he said again. He smiled, as if it was all very silly. “I know where you went. Can I see the napkin in your pocket?” he asked.

“What?”

“The napkin, balled up in your pocket?”

Loki went bright red and pulled it out. Had it even been visible? Why hadn’t he just tossed it out earlier?

“The Barracuda. On 45th?” Mobius sounded friendly again, and just as fascinated as he had that morning when Loki had told him about Shakespeare. “Did you dress up?”

Loki hesitated.

“Aw, don’t tell me you didn’t dress up! C’mon, Loki! You live in Manhattan, you’re a caregiver, and you’re going to tell me you passed up a free ticket?”

“I dressed up! Just look at the lipstick stains.”

Mobius flipped the napkin over, observing the blots of black.

“You’ve been there before?” Loki asked, trying to fill the silence.

“Yeah. A couple times,” he admitted. “It’s been a while.”

He handed the napkin back to Loki, to stuff into his pocket. “Jeez, sorry I spooked you. I didn’t mean for this to go the way it did…”

“What did you expect?”

“I dunno, I just didn’t like that you lied to me. What else was I supposed to do?”

“Does that mean we’re even now?” Loki asked, letting a small smile begin to shine through.

“...Yeah, we’re even.”

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lokidips · 28 days

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little loki in dresses (the oversized hoodie counts to her) <3 bonus: thor buys them for her.

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kazzy-boo-baby · 2 months

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For @agere-tomhiddleston-imagines ! 🫶🏽

🪄Loki Laufeyson Caregiver Headcannons🪄

🪄-When it comes to bedtime, he'll always make illusions for his little to sleep. He'll make the room covered with stars and planets, then in the morning if he's not by his little's side already, he'll have an illusion of himself waiting for them in the morning

🪄-Loki doesn't mind being called Mommy, Bubba, or Daddy. In fact, he prefers his littles to call him both. Some days he'll want to be called one more than the other.

🪄-When his little gets fussy, he'll always sit them down and talk through it. He does a very good job of being calm and patient when it comes to tantrums. Loki will do his best to help his little calm down in anyway he can.

"We can talk it through darling, when you're ready."

🪄-Loki isn't a fan of giving his little one sweets. He knows how littles can get with too much sugar and frankly he doesn't know how to handle a little when they get a sugar rush. But on rare occasion, he'll let his little have a small cupcake or one piece of candy.

🪄-When he first became a caregiver, he was very hesitant to make any moves. He just wanted to make sure his little one was comfortable enough to trust him.

"Is it okay if I hold you, darling? Or would you like to sit on my lap instead? The choice is yours, baby."

🪄-He sometimes gets jealous when his little get attention from other people. He's very protective and wants to be the only one to make his little one happy. This all rooted from Thor being able to make his little one stop crying in one shot.. let's just say, he wouldn't let his little see Thor for awhile

🪄-He'll take his little to Asgard all the time to play in the garden. But Loki will make sure to keep a good eye on them, the last thing he would ever want is his little getting hurt.

🪄-Loki can't bear it when his little cries. Not because he's annoyed or anything like that, but because his heart feels like it's being crushed into pieces when he sees his little sad or in pain. All he wants to do is make it better for his little, and he's willing to do anything to make it happen.

"Please tell me what's the matter, my love. Dada only wants to make it better."

🪄-Loki loves to tease his little with tricks occasionally. Like making their pacifier disappear for seconds, making himself levitate over his littles head, and his personal favorite, being the "tickle monster."

🪄- Whenever his little is sick, he'll always make teas with the best of the best Asgardian ingredients, just like Frigga used to do for him. And of course, be right by his little's side the whole time until they feel better.

#loki laufeyson #agere caregiver #sfw #sfw agere #agere #marvel #mcu #headcannons #loki #age regression

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agerefandom · 5 months

Note

HIHIHIHI!!! could you do a CG!Loki board with greens and browns and teddy bears? I also wanna say that I see your stuff a lot on Tumblr/Twitter/Pinterest and all your stuff is so cool!! you and snailagere (I think that's their name) are my favorite!!!!!

That's so sweet! Thank you! @snailsagere, aren't they the sweetest?

It's always funny to hear that people know my content from sites where I haven't posted it: I also stumble across my moodboards on pinterest occasionally, mostly while looking for more things for new moodboards, and it makes me laugh.

Anyways, here's your caregiver!Loki moodboard!! Made with love <3

#fandom agere #marvel agere #loki agere #asks #agere moodboard #sfw agere #my moodboards #caregiver moodboard #requests #marvel

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agere-tomhiddleston-imagines · 6 months

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Currently thinking about a cg Mobius being so loving and caring for Loki during bedtime:

Making sure she has a bottle of milk all ready for when it's feeding time

Carefully going through their hair as to not hurt them

Dressing him up in the cosiest of pyjamas

Always having a paci on him incase Loki wants or needs one

Constantly cooing to her to make her giggle or feel good about herself during the process of getting ready for bed

Him letting them sleep on or right by his side whenever they want

Using silly voices when reading or singing softly to him

Just Mobius being an all round amazing cg 🫶

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thetinyblossom · 7 months

Note

Hello! I saw your cg! Bucky age regression board, so I wondered if it's okay to have a cg! Loki regression board? If not that's okay! ^^

Yeah ofc ^^

🐊Cg! Loki (MCU) Agere board🐊

#agere post #agere #agere flip #safe agere #agerespace #age regression #age regressor #sfw regression #agere blog #agere fandom #fandom agere #sfw agere #agere sfw #agere board #agere marvel #marvel agere #loki agere #fictional caregiver #blossom requests

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mamazsposts · 9 months

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Heyy Babes

I'm going to be a blog for age regression fics, imagines, headcanons ects. I'm new to age regression but I'm learning fast and becoming an age regressor.

AGE REGRESSING IS NOT A KINK!!!

please send some requests id be more then happy to take some <3

Who i'll write for

Marvel

Little!loki x cg!reader/ daddy!loki x little!reader

Little!bucky barnes x cg!reader/ daddy!bucky x little!reader

Little!Steve x cg!reader/ daddy!Steve x little!reader

Little!stucky x cg!reader/ daddy!stucky x little!reader

Little!Peter Parker x cg!reader

Daddy!Tony Stark x little!reader

Stranger things

Little!Steve x cg!reader/ daddy!Steve x little!reader

Little!eddie x cg!reader/ daddy!eddie x little!reader

Mommy!robin x little!reader

Harry potter:

Little!draco x cg!reader/ daddy!Draco x little!reader

Obey me shall we date/onemaster to rule them all

little!Lucifer x cg!mc/ daddy!lucifer x little!mc

little!Mammon x cg!mc/ daddy!mammon x little!mc

little!Leviathan x cg!mc

little!Satan x cg!mc/ daddy!Satan x little!mc

little!Asmodeus x cg!mc/ daddy!asmodeus x little!mc

little!Beelzebub x cg!mc/ daddy!beelzebub x little!mc

little!Belphegor x cg!reader/ daddy!belphegor x little!mc

#little!billy hargrove #little!bucky #little!loki #little!peter #little!loki x mommy!reader #little!steve #little!reader #little!steve x mommy!reader #little!draco #obey me headcanons #age regressor #age regression #age re safe space #sfw caregiver #care giver #cg!peter parker #cg!bucky #mommy!reader

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agere-fics · 1 year

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Rainbows

dni: k!nk, anti-agere, agepl4y, or ddlg-esque blogs 🍄 this blog is a safe space for age regressors and age dreamers 🍄

word count: 500

pairing: caregiver!mama!Loki x little!reader

(loki uses she/her here ☺️)

summary: your mama helps you pick out your first ever pacifier.

cws: none that i can think of except for tooth rotting fluff! please let me know if something needs to be listed. /gen

a/n: hi guys! long time no see! i've been reading some neil gaiman books recently and it's been inspiring me.

♡

"Alright darling," Mama gestured to the coffee table in front of her that was absolutely full of pacifiers. "All of your options are right here."

There were greens and blues and purples. Reds, and oranges, pinks and yellows, too. Some of the pacis had polka dots and some were plain. A few had pretty decorations. Some even had rainbow squiggles, too!

It was a wonderful sea of colors that captured your little mind. Nothing else mattered. Just you and Mama and...

THE ARRAY OF PACIFIERS SHE MADE APPEAR OUT OF THIN AIR!

You still couldn't believe it...

How did Mama do that?!

"Spark?"

Your wide eyes moved towards the sound of Mama's voice.

"Honed in on the pacifiers, are we?" Loki chuckled.

"Mhm!"

You liked the sparkle in Mama's eyes. It reminded you of bright, shining stars and the twinkle lights in your bedroom. It meant she was happy, and you liked when your Mama was happy.

"Which of these lovely pacifiers makes you want to squeaaaal in delight?" Your mama suddenly tickled you while she spoke, enunciating her words.

You giggled and giggled.

And giggled and giggled some more.

"I don't-" you stopped and let out a breathy laugh. "Don knoooow, mama! Too hard!"

Your mama finally relented. "Ooh, I understand that. When I ascended the throne to Asgard, I had to choose between allllll of these wonderfully colorful garments and jewelry I-"

You stared at Loki, your lips slightly ajar and your brows furrowed tightly. Your adorable face blatantly had confusion written all over it.

Your mama shook her head softly. "Nevermind that, moving on! Let's see here..." Her eyes scanned the pacifier filled coffee table. "How about this one here, with the cute little turtle on it?"

You shook your head and scrunched your face.

"No? Alright...hmmm." She paused a moment to think. "Oh! How about this one with the-"

You stuck out your tongue. "Blagghhh."

"No problem, darling." Loki threw it swiftly behind her. "Definitely not that one, then- OH!"

Your beautiful eyes were wide and practically glowing. If life was a cartoon, you'd have hearts for eyes.

"OoOooOOO!" you exclaimed in intrigue.

The pacifier with which your eyes were glued on had your favorite animal on it and it was your favorite color! It was so very, very perfect.

"Aha! We've found your match, baby darling." She held it up closer to you. All you could do was stare in amazement.

Finally, a pacifier to call your own. One that'll make you feel content and happy. One that'll make you feel like the most special baby in the whole wide world. No! The universe! A special pacifier for the most special baby in the whole wide universe!

"Mine!" You snatched it and all your Mama could do was grin excitedly.

"Yes, pumpkin, it's all yours."

You quickly slid it into your mouth and slammed your body against Loki, wrapping your arms tightly around her. Your words were less English and more like cute mumbles that Mama just adored. "Thank you, thank you, Mama!"

She laid her head gently atop yours. "Anything for my little one."

♡

#loki x reader #age regression #agere #agere fanfic #little reader #loki x little!reader #agere caregiver #agere marvel #cg!loki #caregiver loki #daddy!loki #daddy!loki x reader #caregiver!loki x little!reader

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aew-kun-age-regression · 1 year

Note

Heyyy can you do a caregiver Loki pleaseee thanks! :D

Hope this was what you were looking for

#agere blog #sfw agere #sfw littlespace #sfw little post #little space #agere little #aewlittlerambles #sfw little community #aewlittlemoodboards #agere marvel #marvel agere #caregiver!loki #caregiver!lokilaufeyson

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fuzzythoughtspup · 4 months

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God of mischief with his little one 🍼❄️

#age regressor #safe agere #sfw agere #sfw little blog #sfw little community #sfw little post #sfw littlespace #sfw regression #agere art #agere community #caregiver Loki #loki agere #loki norse mythology #norse gods

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leos-regression-cove · 1 year

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All The Lessons I Never Learned

26. Green Eyed Monsters

Synopsis: Mobius cancels lunch plans with Loki a few days in a row to hang out with an old friend who’s in town. Loki can't help but find this suspicious and upsetting. Similarly, Thor and Sylvie are close, but when they get into a fight and things get physical, they’re forcibly separated.

Word count: 3,872

Stand Alone?: Sure

Warnings: Physical and verbal conflicts, toy mutilation

Notes: Hey it's been a while but here we are! Hopefully this long chapter will tie y'all over for a couple of weeks while I work on the next one. This chapter was an experiment into parallel plots and conflict, so I'd love some feedback on it.

Read it on AO3!

Loki looked down at his watch and paused his game of solitaire right as the clock changed to read noon.

He made it look like he was doing something, pulling up tabs of spreadsheets, and then scooted his chair away, to walk over to Mobius’ office.

His boss had a guest, a taller, official looking woman with curly hair. None of that deterred Loki, who tapped on the glass door with the back of his finger and then motioned to his watch when Mobius locked eyes with him.

However, instead of letting Loki in, Mobius held up his finger in a “one minute” fashion and then kept talking to the woman.

Loki stood there for a few seconds, assuming Mobius would excuse himself and come chat… but… he never did. He sat there and kept talking. It wasn’t even like this was some serious business discussion either, he wasn’t hiding emotions, but laughing and resting his head in his hands, until he met Loki’s eyes once more and shooed him away.

Utterly offended, Loki found himself taking a short walk to find some cheap lunch from a fast food restaurant across the street, which he brought up to dejectedly eat at an empty breakroom table.

He spent the better part of his lunch break there, sitting on his phone with earbuds in while eating a sub-par $5 sandwich. However, he did notice that among the various coworkers that dipped in and out to grab their lunches or clean up their dishes, Mobius was one of them: he stopped to pour some coffee for two mugs and then left, without even saying a word.

Sylvie sat at the side of the circle rug next to Thor just as she had for the past month, since Thor had started coming to daycare. It was easy, at first, for Sylvie to rationalize to herself that he needed her there to introduce him to the daily process, but now, she simply told herself it was because she had claimed a spot, and that spot was just coincidentally next to Thor.

When they were dismissed, she was quick to run to a bin of toy soldiers and knights, assuming Thor had followed her, which he had.

“So you can play this one,” she said, handing him one of the toys. “And I’ll be the king, okay?”

“I want to be the king!”

“I’ll be the king first and then you can be the king.”

Thor picked up a different doll in the pile. “Or I can be another king and we can go to war!”

This thought intrigued Sylvie. “Okay…”

For a larger chunk of time than was typical for the two troublemakers, Thor and Sylvie played quietly, or at least didn’t get into an argument or get bored enough to bother either of their teachers.

That was, at least until Sylvie’s king decapitated Thor’s with a magical longsword of instant death.

“That’s not fair!”

“Yes it is! It’s super powerful it can kill anyone and it killed you! You’re dead! I win!”

“No! My king’s still alive, he’s just hurt!”

“Okay, then I kill you again!”

“You can’t do that!”

“Yes I can!”

“No! My king’s immortal!”

“No he isn’t!”

“My healer said he is!”

“No, that's not allowed! You’re dead and you lost!” Sylvie pushed him. Not especially hard, but hard enough that he felt it.

Thor, in a moment of rage, hit her with a heavy landing smack that, despite the loud room, seemed to reverberate throughout the walls.

Sylvie took a moment to process the pain before lunging at Thor and trying to tackle him to the ground.

“Hey! Break it up, break it up!” Mr. Steve stepped in and pulled the much more manageably-sized Sylvie away from Thor while Mr. Wilson stepped in to hold the boy down, just for a moment.

“He started it!” Sylvie told her teacher as she was sat in a time-out chair.

“No! Sylvie pushed me!” Thor argued as Mr. Wilson helped him up and set an adjacent chair out as a second time-out.

“You hit me! That’s worse!” she screeched.

Thor picked up the closest possible item, a wooden bridge block that had been left on the floor and flung it at Sylvie.

It was lucky she blocked it before it hit her in the head.

“Thor!” Mr. Steve was rather shocked by this; The little hadn’t acted up so much before.

The teacher stood up, paused and took a breath while Mr. Wilson dealt with other matters and supervised the rest of the littles at play. He seemed genuinely sad that Thor was so riled up about all of this. “Hey buddy, I’m gonna have to send you down to the office, do you think you can walk with me?”

Thor seemed a little bit nervous about it and tried to hide it by kicking his legs and looking away, furrowing his brow as much as he could.

“Just until you can calm down… or I could call Loki to come pick you up, but I really think you’d rather walk, right?”

Loki’s phone started to ring as he sat at his desk begrudgingly filling out his forms. Not the black landline that was possibly older than him, but his cell phone, which reverberated alarmingly in his pocket.

He picked it up.

“Hello?” he asked, reclining in his office chair and brushing through his hair with the eraser of a pencil.

“Mr. Odinson?”

“Yes…?”

“Your little, Thor, is having some behavioral trouble today. We’ll have to ask you to come in so we can have a conversation about his anger and work to amend it in the future so we don’t have further incidents like this. We also request that you’re prepared to pick him up.”

The formality of the message definitely sounded like it had been taken from a script.

“Right… Um… Thank you. I’ll be there soon.” He ended the call and hesitantly pushed out his chair.

Even though Mobius was in his office by the time Loki had prepared his purse and logged out of his computer, he was on a phone call, and looked like he very much did not want to be bothered at the moment. So, Loki wrote down the situation on a sticky note and stuck it on the glass door before clocking out and beginning his walk to Thor’s daycare.

Picking Thor up early

Will finish up at home tonight

Sorry,

-- Loki

“What were you thinking?!” Loki asked his brother, as the little sat on a padded bench in the nurse’s office.

Thor did not answer, but instead curled himself up into the tiniest ball he could with his blonde hair covering most of his face.

“Brother, what do you want from me?! I took you in, got you into a nice, fancy school, I’ve fed you, bathed you, and then you go and get yourself nearly expelled? Almost make me lose my job? Ruin my relationships?” Most of those were… a stretch, to say the least, and much of it wasn’t even remotely Thor’s fault, but Loki was too upset to care and knew Thor wouldn’t correct him.

Thor made a small noise and pressed his face further into his legs, starting to cry.

Loki tisked and rolled his eyes at this reaction before sitting down next to him and resting a hand on his brother’s back.

The little pushed him away.

“Mr. Odinson? Thor? Can I see you in my office?” A woman asked.

“Right… Yes, c’mon, Thor.” Loki tried to pull his brother up.

Loki set down his satchel on the chair once he had shut the door harder than he had meant to. “That was ridiculous.”

Thor looked at the floor and agreed nearly silently, slowly starting to mope over to his room.

“I can’t say you should have hit her, but she should’ve been in that office, too.”

“Yeah?”

“Definitely! ‘Individualized emotional regulation plan’, ‘for the safety of our caretakers’ f-- buzz-off.”

“Um…Brother?”

“Yes?”

“Are you mad?”

Loki slumped onto the couch. “...It’s been a rough day.”

“You need a nap?” the little tried, patting Loki’s arm cautiously.

“That’s the best idea I think I’ve heard all day.”

Not too long after Thor had left, fighting, screaming and crying, Sylvie was informed that she would need to find a new playmate. Mr. Steve even offered to set her up with a lonely little who needed a playmate.

She had already taken her time-out and had a drink of water from the sink by this point.

“Um…” She scanned the room for other littles that she could have possibly been paired with. “I think I need to go downstairs.” she said, in the clearest voice she was capable of.

Mr. Steve nodded, a little bit pityingly, before agreeing to escort her downstairs to where Ms. Maximoff ran her nursery.

“I’ve got one for you!” he called as he opened the door, cautiously making sure it wasn’t story time first.

“Sylvie! Hello!” Ms. Maximoff cooed, helping the rapidly regressing little one with her backpack. She put her hands on her knees, bending down to meet Sylvie’s gaze as the little sat on the floor, both of them ignoring Mr. Steve. “And how old is the little one?”

Sylvie smiled a little bit and let herself open up more than she did with her caregivers that handled bigger ages, begging to be picked up and given attention without answering the question.

“Thank you for bringing her to me,” Ms. Maximoff finally told her coworker, while taking out a stroller for the little one.

“Yeah it’s been a rough day for her. She needs this.”

“She does. Definitely. I know that baby headspace. Don’t I? Don’t I know when baby needs her headspace?”

Sylvie squealed and giggled at the teasing as she was set into a stroller.

“Well, I guess I’ll leave you to it,” Mr. Steve said hesitantly.

“Tony’s doing fine, by the way. It’s okay, you’re allowed to ask about your own little,” she mentioned while buckling the kicky baby into her seat.

“Thanks. He’s--?”

“He’s down for his nap in the back room.”

“Thanks, Wanda. It means a lot.”

“Don’t you have a class to run?”

“I-- Yeah…”

Thor was somewhat acquainted with many of his classmates. He knew their names, had struck up conversations while in line with them, and had been paired with them on occasion during partner projects, but this was the first or second time he had ever actually tried to befriend any of them. He sought out an open seat and chose one at random. “Hullo Bruce!” He sat down without the other little inviting him.

For a few minutes they sat together in silence as Thor did not know how to begin and Bruce Banner was distracted by a plastic tangle toy and a pacifier in his mouth.

“Can I touch your hair?” Thor asked, more as an impulsive last resort than an ice breaker.

Bruce, a rather short little, put his arms over his head, covering his graying, once-black curls. “No?”

“...Oh.” Thor seemed almost taken aback by the rejection. “You can touch mine,” he offered.

Although he moved his hands, Bruce did not take Thor up on this offer, and instead declined again.

“Do you want to draw later? After circle? With me?”

Bruce shrugged. “Maybe,” he answered in a timid voice hardly above a whisper.

“Oh. I like to draw monsters. Do you?”

“Mh--” Bruce shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t really want to be talking to Thor, or anyone for that matter. “A little.”

“What do you like?”

“... Science.”

Thor wrinkled up his nose. “So shapes and things?”

At this point the second little had taken his pacifier out and was beginning to talk a little more. He still wasn’t quite matching Thor in volume, but he definitely sped up. “No, like um elements and the periodic table and the body and stuff. My favorite element’s Neptunium. It’s radioactive and metal but Nitrogen is used in everything and your whole body is Carbon. So it’s really cool. Pencils are all Carbon and so are diamonds! I know all the elements on the whole table...There’s Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Barium…”

Thor hadn’t spoken much to Bruce Banner before and was almost caught off guard by the sheer amount of information suddenly deluged on him and the way that the little stressed words he thought Thor may not have known. In truth though, although Thor had heard them before, Bruce was right: Thor really didn’t understand them. “That’s cool,” he agreed when the second little stopped for a breath.

“Yeah, and then there’s also Vanadium, Chromium…”

That’s around the time Thor locked eyes with Sylvie across the circle.

She crawled over. “Why are you over here?”

“Um… Loki says I should play with someone else today…”

“Your brother? The witch?”

“Yeah…”

Sylvie opened her mouth to say something, but was sorely stopped by Mr. Steve asking her if she could please go to her spot so they could start the circle time.

Reluctantly, and mumbling about it, she did.

After circle time, Sylvie quickly found herself abandoned on the carpet, with the exception of Thor and Bruce, who had asked their teachers if they could play with a molecule kit from one of the upstairs classrooms and were snapping bonds and atoms together, with Banner explaining them all while Thor made cool shapes. So, she did the only rational thing she could and tried to find something else to play with.

This ended up being a bin of dolls. She took them out and began to pretend to play a game even though she had no story line or characters in mind, occasionally looking up to see if Thor was watching her or if someone else was going to come play.

But when no one did, and Thor seemed involved in the plastic models, she set down the bin and kicked it over before picking up one of the plastic dolls, and ripping the head off it.

Mr. Wilson frowned at her while he supervised before breathing a deep sigh and coming over as she tossed the pieces on the floor. “Hey, Sylvie, is something wrong?”

She didn’t look up and continued to pop the plastic heads off the Barbies, slowly escalating from gently rolling or dropping the heads and bodies to throwing them.

“Sylvie, I’m going to give you a few options here because I can’t just let you sit here and throw toys.”

Sylvie looked up at him as if he had just suggested she cut her own arm off and prepared to defend herself.

“You can help me pick these up and fix them, and I’ll find you something else to play with, you can tell me what’s wrong and I’ll fix them for you, or you can go take a few minutes in time out. What’s it going to be?”

She furrowed her brow in a way that was ambiguous as to whether she was pondering or angered by the suggestions.

The teacher leaned on the shelf next to her as she grumbled to herself.

By this point, she had set down the toys, so that was a start.

He squatted down and began picking up some of the further-flung doll heads, returning them to the basket where he began to match them to their bodies.

Sylvie began to sniffle, wipe her eyes, and did a generally poor job hiding that she was beginning to cry.

“Do you want to come step outside?” he asked.

She nodded while wiping her nose on her sleeve and got up to follow him.

Although the classroom did take up most of the floor, there was still a small hallway with bathrooms and drinking fountains outside it.

Sylvie stopped outside the classroom door and took a deep breath after being instructed to take a couple and drink some water after.

“So do you want to talk to me about it?”

She hesitated.

“C’mon, it’s been, what? At least four years now? You can talk to me, Sylvie. I won’t tell anyone else, my job is just to make sure you’re safe and happy.”

“It’s dumb!”

“No, I know it’s not.”

“...Thor won’t play with me.”

“Why not?”

“He’s playing with Bruce!”

“Have you tried asking to join?”

“...No?”

“Why not?”

“Because Thor’s my friend!”

“You can have more than one friend.”

“No!” she argued.

“Think about your papa, does he have more than one friend?”

Sylvie paused and considered for a half second. “No,” she said firmly.

“I have more than one friend,” he tried. “And what about… what tv shows do you like?”

Sylvie stayed quiet for a minute. “...Paw Patrol,” she said, almost as if she were embarrassed to be watching children’s shows at the headspace age of five.

Before Mr. Wilson could tell her to just look at that, she blurted out: “but that’s not real!” Talking dogs didn’t really exist, let alone dogs who helped in performing with emergency services, she tried to explain through increasing tears.

“Sylvie, take another breath, you’re alright.”

She sniffed and tried to breathe only to have some trouble and weakly hiccup.

“Do you want me to talk to Thor so you can play too?”

She nodded.

“Alright, you want to take a couple of more minutes or are you ready?”

She wiped her eyes more fully, leaving red streaking imprints of pressure as she rubbed her face with sticky palms. “I’m ready.”

Mobius and his companion shared a curb lunch outside the main building where Loki could plainly see them and scoff, as he still voluntarily chose to observe while standing in one of his coworker’s cubicles, only pretending to be having a conversation with him, something which Casey, the coworker in question, did not seem to be able to grasp.

“...Because Maureen is bothered by the noise of a mechanical filter, he takes a lot more work than a normal goldfish and I don’t even kn--”

“Wait, wait wait, shh, something’s happening.” Loki interrupted with his fingers sandwiched in the plastic blinds.

He pressed his face nearly against the window, making an audible bump as the blinds crashed against the glass pane.

Outside, Mobius, who was barely recognizable, although extremely easy to spot, with a florescent orange bobble cap on, reached over, and kissed the woman on the cheek. She paused for a minute, leaving Loki holding his breath, and then relaxed her shoulders and not only reciprocated it, but hugged him, which seemed to be mutual… and long. It was nearly 30 seconds until Loki pulled his face away, at which point the two had broken and the woman had walked away in her fancy business suit and high heels that probably made a click clacking on the cement comparable to a carriage horse, leaving Mobius to stand there, watch her go for a minute with a shy and silent wave she hadn’t even seen, and then turn around and walk back inside.

Loki wrinkled up his nose after watching the scene.

“Oh, is the big rat out there again?!” Casey asked, pushing past Loki to get a good look.

Loki walked away before letting his coworker tell him about the big rat. At this point, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to hear about anything that could turn his stomach much more than it was already twisting.

Sylvie followed behind Mr. Wilson at a distance of three or four paces and at a slower walking speed, stood up straight and tried to make her face as blankly expressionless as she could, which just sort of ended up appearing angry.

Mr. Wilson squatted down by Thor and Bruce in that friendly teacher way that guaranteed he was going to apologetically ask the for a favor with the shadow of Sylvie looming over him, her hands stiff at her sides.

“Hey, how are you guys doing?” he politely asked.

Bruce went quiet and did not look up from his model molecules, chewing on his pacifier as he clicked new pieces together, leaving Thor to do the talking.

“We makin’ thingies,” Thor answered, shifting from side to side in a dancey manner and motioning to place one of the creations in Mr. Wilson’s hand.

“That’s pretty cool. -- Hey, do you think Sylvie could join you?”

“...Loki said we should not do that,” he frowned. “Because we fought…”

Mr. Wilson side-eyed back at Sylvie briefly, before attempting to come up with a better solution. “Then why don’t you just share the toys with her?”

Without acceptance, Sylvie grabbed an extra case of molecule models and sat down on the rug about a foot or two away from either Bruce or Thor and slowly opened it.

“Bruce, do you want to tell Sylvie about what we’re all doing? Get her started with it?”

She seemed to have a basic idea, connecting the holes in the round, simplified molecule balls with the rubbery, flexible bond pieces. It was unclear if she understood the symbolism or even cared.

Bruce Banner opened his mouth to speak to her about the orbs, pointing at the nearly sorted colors and getting ready to tell her which ones were carbon, oxygen, sulfur, nitrogen, and hydrogen, but was met with a fussy glare and a simple, clear, “No.”

It was hardly five minutes until Sylvie began to scoot closer to Thor and speak with him again. “Let’s play something else,” she insisted. “This is boring.”

“Yeah, but with Bruce, too. He’s my friend.”

“No, you’re my friend.”

“...I’m everyone’s friend…”

“But--!” she looked over to Mr. Wilson to see if he was watching this.

“We let you play, so you should let Bruce play,” Thor said very sternly.

“Hey, before we have this whole conversation, we do need to put the kits back together for the big kids, okay? Think you can help me sort them?” Mr. Wilson asked, butting in.

“So… who was she?” Loki asked over coffee.

It was a cold afternoon, where rain battered against the windows, with the noise only dampened by the occasional whoosh of the milk frothing machine, blenders, and timer dings. Loki was clutching his ceramic mug with elbows on the table top, trying so desperately to be casual.

“Who? Ravonna?” Mobius asked.

“Yeah. Who was she?” He didn’t mean to sound as harsh as he did.

“My ex-wife. Why do you care, anyway?”

“...I just want to make sure there’s trust between us.”

“Trust? Loki, if you can’t even let me have lunch with my ex-wife for a couple days while she’s in town without snooping-- when we don’t even really know each other-- I don’t know if I should be trusting you.”

Loki pursed his lips and sat back in his seat trying not to look too offended as he thought up a clever retort. “Was she Sylvie’s caregiver?” he tried, hoping maybe the shift would lighten Mobius up. “I-- I’m just curious. She seemed… nice.”

But instead of indulging him, Mobius merely stood up and put on his coat, leaving mocha half-drank on the table. “This conversation’s over. I’ll see you later, Loki.”

“But--”

“Come talk to me when you’re ready to act like an adult.”

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