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"Your horns are sideways, Mr. President."
"They wouldn't be if you could keep your tentacles to yourself."
"Hey I can't help it if they have a mind of their own, and like me all of their minds tend to be focused on you, Prez."
He rolled his eyes at the nickname. Despite there not being many new arrivals since that lovely version of him in a suit and his lady friend wrecked the TVA, there were still too many Lokis to call them all by the same thing. So in a fit of humor, Doctor Strange Supreme jokingly referred to him as Prez, and that's what he's been called ever since.
"You're lucky you're the only version of you I've met, D, or else I might have to start sleeping with better prospects."
D gave him a saucy wink before wrapping his arms around his waist.
"As if there could be anyone better than us."
He leaned down to press their lips together, but stopped halfway when they heard a pair of voices coming up over the hill. Not wanting to be seen, he threw the mirror dimension around himself and his lover so they could observe the newcomers.
************
"Is there a reason this travel purse is so heavy?"
"It's called a backpack,Loki, and it's heavy because I made sure we'd have all the supplies necessary for an extended trip."
"Really," Loki drolled as he shifted the bag from one shoulder to the other," and what, pray tell, did you deem a necessity?"
"Spellbooks, some scrolls, ritual items, the tea set made for traveling....."
" Because Norns forbid you miss tea time Stephen."
"Yeah well who had to have all the chocolates?!"
The glare the mage shot his boyfriend was more glacial than all the frozen lakes of Jötunheim combined.
"Leave my thin mints alone heathen."
***********
Prez and D kept looking from their counterparts to each other and back again with extreme confusion.
"Is that supposed to be us?"
"I wonder what timeline they branched out of..."
"The stupid one,clearly," the dark sorcerer huffed," but considering we usually don't see any of my variants around, he could have something valuable on his person."
"What are you suggesting?"
"Still got that execution block in your pocket dimension?"
"Honestly, you cut one intern's head off in a political stunt gone wrong....."
His lover's raised brow stopped him mid-rant. He sighed and rubbed a hand down his face.
"Fine, yes I still have it....just what exactly are you planning?"
"You'll see."
"That is exactly what I'm afraid of."
*********
"That's it, I can't carry this thing anymore."
Loki threw the backpack onto the ground with a huff. After trudging along Norns knows how many miles with the heavy contraption, he was exhausted.
He wasn't going to tell Stephen that was the reason,however, because then he'd want to know why a God who could normally throw cars was having trouble with a simple bag and well......
They'd have that conversation later....much later.
He went to sit down on a rock next to him, then immediately flew off of it with a yelp.
"Loki what's the matter?"
"I sat down in something and got my blasted pants wet!"
"Really, that's what you're yelling about?"
"This is fine Asgsrðian leather, Stephen, I can't afford to let them get a stain."
Stephen was pretty sure his eyes were going to roll straight out of his head at this point.
"Move you big Norse baby, let me see what it is."
Loki stepped aside so he could examine the boulder. It was square with a large indentation cut out of it. He noticed the red liquid splattering the top felt wet and sticky when he touched it, and smelled an awful lot like......
"Oh hell....."
"What? What is it?"
"Loki, I think we need to ge-"
His words were cut short when several inky black tentacles wrapped around his body and lifted him off the ground.
"Stephen!"
The mage rushed forward to free his lover, but stopped when he saw the offending appendages were attached to....another Stephen?!
"What the fu-"
"Normally, I might be willing but I think my partner might have some objections....will definitely keep you in mind for a threesome though."
"What is this?" Stephen yelled as he struggled against the restraints," Who are you?"
"I'm you, albeit a stronger and decidedly more handsome version of course."
"Oh yes, because the emo look is soo superior...WOAH THAT DOES NOT GO THERE!"
The tentacles had slithered inside of Stephen's robes and were rubbing the Sorcerer Supreme in places even Loki hadn't dared to touch. One of them slipped around his neck and he froze, thinking he was about to be strangled, only to hear the tell-tale snap of metal as the chain broke on the necklace he was wearing.
D pulled the object out of his counterparts robes and was greatly intrigued by what he saw.
"Hello...what do we have here...a time stone that actually works in the Void? How on earth did you manage to create that?"
"It doesn’t matter how I did it...it's of no use to the likes of you....now give it back!"
"No, I don't think I will."
He went to slip it into his own pockets when a sharp, burning sensation caused the appendage holding the Infinity stone to shrivel and fall to the ground. D looked down in shock to see a silver dagger sticking out of the charred limb, courtesy of the other Stephen's Loki.
"I believe my paramour stated that he wished for you to release his Infinity necklace."
Loki made to throw another of his poisoned daggers at the dark Sorcerer's heart, only to have his arm stopped by an abnormally strong grip. He looked to see who had the nerve to lay their hands on him, and could only stare in horror as he came face to face with an alternate version of himself.
"And I believe MY paramour said he didn't want to, so I suggest you drop the dagger if you know what's good for you."
"Took you long enough to show up, what...did you fall asleep in the mirror dimension again?"
"That was one time,D, one time! When are you going to let that go?!"
"Hmm, I don't know Prez, let me ask my third tentacle," D said in a tone that was absolutely dripping in sarcasm, "OH WAIT I CAN'T!"
While the two lovers continued bickering, Loki mouthed a silent 'are you okay' at Stephen, who nodded shakily as he continued to struggle to free himself from the remaining tethers.
The mage noticed that his offbeat twin's grip was starting to slacken, so he took the opportunity presented and tried to get away. Unfortunately, he misjudged the force in which he yanked himself, and both Lokis ended up landing on the ground, but not before the one smacked his head against the execution stone.
"LOKI!"
Both Stephens looked at each other and realized they'd shouted at the same time. D released the hold he had on his variant, letting him drop to the ground before rushing over to where Prez was slowly sitting back up.
"Jesus Prez! Are you okay?!"
"I'm fine, it was just a bit of a —Oh dear...is he dead?"
They looked over and noticed that Loki was lying on the ground, completely unconscious, with a pool of blood forming under his head. Stephen managed to twist his ankle when he plunged to the ground, but it didn't stop him from crawling over to his prone lover. His hands were shaking worse than ever as he brushed back the matted hair and tried to get the wounded mage to answer him.
"Lo, sweetheart, can you get up now? Baby please, I need you to wake up...."
Seeing the other man beg made Prez feel something he hadn't felt in a long time....guilt.
Lokis may be a lot of things: liars, betrayers, backstabbers, even killers. But one thing they were not was inherently evil.
Despite many questionable acts over the centuries, President Loki was not a bad person....and he did not want to sit by and watch the other him die.
During the commotion, D noticed the Time Stone was still laying on the ground with no one paying any attention to it. He quietly slid one of his tentacles over to grab it, but was stopped short when his boyfriend smacked him in the arm.
"Ow! What was that for?!"
"Really?"
"What? It's just laying there! I bet if I grab it now we could....."
"NO STEPHEN!" He shouted loud enough that both Sorcerer Supremes flinched," WE'VE DONE ENOUGH!"
D was struck silent. In all the centuries they'd been together, Prez had never shouted at him, and he rarely, if ever, called him by his name. The fact that he did both just now was rather worrisome.
The enchanter chose to ignore his lover's confusion for the moment and approached the other couple, where Stephen was trying(and failing) to use a healing spell to seal the wound on Loki's head. He raised his arms in surrender when the man stopped and aimed a spell directly at his head.
"Easy...I didn't come here to hurt anyone."
"Then why are you here?"
"Regular healing spells don't work right in the Void," he said as he bent down next to the prone figure,"I know a modified version that does and I'd like to help...if you'll let me."
He saw Stephen hesitate briefly before completely collapsing in defeat, his love for Loki outweighing any sense of pride.
He laid his hand on the wound, a dark purplish glow emerging from his fingertips. It was starting to work when he felt a third energy that didn't belong to either of them, trying to fight him off. Confused, he placed his other hand inside Loki's tunic and ran it down his skin, trying to trace the thing that was attempting to repel him. It was when Prez landed on his abdomen that he found it....a small,almost imperceptible curve and a tiny, rapid heartbeat.
It was no wonder his magic was being thrown off....this Loki was with child.
For the second time that day, Prez was dealing with another emotion he hadn't felt in a long time....longing.
**************
He'd always been fond of children, and had wanted one long before the TVA had obliterated his timeline. When he met and fell in love with D, that want turned into a desire that burned throughout his very core. But time doesn’t exist in the void, which meant his body was unable to go through the necessary cycles to become pregnant.
To know that a variant of his was able to achieve what he could not was both torturous...and miraculous.
He definitely could not let him die now.
He sent a separate strand of magic towards the child so it would understand that he was not trying to harm it's mother. He could feel when the infants energy stopped resisting his, finally allowing the wound on Loki's head to close.
Prez kept going a little longer to ensure there hadn't been any more damage before removing his hands and leaning back.
"He should be alright now, but you best get him out of here. The Void is no place for someone in his condition."
"What condition is that?"
"It's best he tell you."
Stephen nodded and tried to figure out how he was going to carry Loki on a sprained ankle, When a purple mandala surrounded the leg and healed it. He looked up in surprise to see his counterpart standing there, looking rather sheepish.
"I figured Prez here shouldn't be the only one fixing this mess, after all it was my idea to use the execution block as a scare tactic....I really didn't mean for your boyfriend to get his head bashed in."
"Thank you," he said after he retrieved the time stone and scooped his unconscious lover up into his arms," I appreciate your assistance...both of you."
"Coincidentally, why were you two here in the first place? Not exactly a popular vacation spot."
"Ah well, oddly enough, another pair of Lokis came to my world after freeing the multiverse. They said there were other variants trapped here that needed help finding a way out."
"We'd love to leave, but Prez had his timeline pruned by the TVA and I literally disintegrated my own so...where would we go?"
"I think I have an idea," Stephen said before mumbling an incantation that made the gem around his neck flash before a portal appeared in front of them," this will take you to a universe in which neither Stephen Strange nor Loki of Ásgarð ever existed. It's a chance to start fresh for both of you, if you want it."
"What do you say, D? Want to try living on the timeline again?"
"Lead the way, Mr. President."
Prez grabbed one of D's human hands, and together they walked through the passage and into a new life.
*****************
Once their doubles had left, Stephen immediately opened a portal into the Sanctum. He ran upstairs past a confused Wong and laid Loki down onto their bed. It was several harrowing minutes before the mage groaned and his eyes fluttered open.
"....Stephen?"
"Loki! Thank Vishanti you're awake!"
"What happened?"
"You hit your head trying to get away from that other you. Oh sweetheart, you have no idea how worried I've been. There was so much blood, my healing spells weren't working, and that Prez guy mentioned you had some kind of condition....."
"Stephen.....STEPHEN! You can stop rambling now, love, I'm fine," Loki said before taking Stephen's hand and putting it on his abdomen, letting him feel the life force that was a combination of the two of them," we're fine."
"You...you're pregnant?!"
"I am."
Stephen looked at him shocked before his eyes lit up and he gathered his lover into a crushing embrace.
"No wonder you've been eating so many thin mints! Oh this is wonderful news!"
"You're truly happy about this?"
"Of course I am...I love you,Loki."
"I love you,too," Loki murmured before pressing his lips to Stephen's," However, you do realize you'll have to replace my thin mints since you left our pack behind in the Void?"
"For you, baby, I'll buy every chocolate bar in the multiverse."
*************
"A nice cabin, cozy fire....this is getting dangerously domestic, Prez."
The first thing the duo from the Void did when they entered the new timeline was find a place to settle down. Both agreed they did not want to go to the worlds they came from, so they settled in a remote forest on Alfhëim. The people there were welcoming, both of their magic and D's unusual appendages, so it was no hardship to gain some land and build a home. Now they were huddled together in front of a roaring fire, with Prez leaning his head against the Sorcerer's shoulder.
"Domesticity is what I was going for, although there is just one thing missing...."
"And what would that be?"
"A baby."
D turned to his lover in complete bewilderment.
"You want to have kids with me?!"
"Of course, who else would I have them with?"
"But look at me," he said as he shifted into the full demonic form his dark powers cursed him with," I'm a monster."
Prez grabbed his face in his hands and pulled him down for a deep kiss.
"We're all a little monstrous,sometimes, but as long as we try to do good, it'll be all right."
"I'll try,Prez....for you, I'll try."
"Please love, call me Loki."
"Okay Loki," D said as he shifted back to his more human appearance," let's make a baby."
And they spent the rest of the night, doing just that.