"I can't believe I don't get to sleep in my own bedroom," Loki mutters under his breath.

"Well, to be fair," Mobius says, "this is the other you's timeline. He does have more claim to it than you do."

"Okay, but did he have to be so smug about it?" Loki asks.

Mobius rolls his eyes. "Like you wouldn't have done the same."

"I wouldn't have!" Loki insists. "I don't get it! Why does that Loki hate me? Out of all the Loki's we've met, why is it the one we have to live with that hates me the most?"

Mobius shrugs. "Because you're so loud and he's so not." It's pretty obvious. He knew that before he'd even really spoken to Avengers Loki that this was his problem.

Loki finds it less obvious. "What?"

"You keep getting in his way," Mobius says. He can't believe Loki doesn't see that. "We showed up and now everyone wants to talk to us instead of him."

Loki scoffs. "That's not true!"

"Yes, it is," Mobius insists. "He hasn't gotten to talk to either of your parents yet. He's barely even gotten to talk to Thor."

"Then he should go talk to them!" Loki says. "It's not my fault he won't talk to anyone."

Mobius opens his mouth to argue, but decides against it. If anyone should understand, it should be Loki, not just because they're the same person, but because Loki's gone through the same thing with Thor. Thor used to silence him all the time. The phrase "Know your place" has been thrown around quite a few times before. If anyone should know how awful it feels to be pushed aside, it should be Loki. But he also knows Loki enough to know that he won't admit that he's doing the same to the other Loki, so what's the point in arguing about it?

So he changes the subject. "Are you sure you know where we're going?"

"Of course I know where we're going," Loki says indignantly.

"We've been walking around for a long time," Sylvie remarks.

"Because it's a long walk!" Loki says defensively. "I know what I'm doing. I've lived here for a thousand years."

"Yeah, but you've never lived in the guest rooms," Mobius reminds him.

"Why does the palace have so many guest rooms?" Sylvie asks. "Do people stay in the palace overnight often?"

"I have no idea," Loki admits. "I guess we'll see, now that we're staying there."

Another moment or two passes, and Mobius asks, "Are we at least close to the guest rooms yet?"

"Almost there," Loki assures him.

Mobius still isn't fully convinced Loki knows where he's going, but he doesn't mention it again.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" Sylvie asks.

Loki shrugs. "What would you like to do tomorrow?"

"I don't know," Sylvie admits. "What do you usually do in Asgard?"

"Not much, really," Loki says. "I don't know. Thor destroyed the Bifrost last year. I'm sure the Nine Realms are falling apart now." He pauses, then looks at Mobius. "Are the Nine Realms falling apart? You would know that, right?"

Mobius shrugs. "Yeah, but I don't know how bad it is. I just know that's what Thor was up to while you were in the dungeon."

Sylvie looks up at the god with her eyebrows raised. "You were in the dungeon?"

Loki hesitates, then pops his lips. "Moving on," he says. "I guess we could help Thor with that. Fighting with Thor's always kinda fun."

Sylvie shrugs awkwardly. "Sure. That sounds kinda important."

"Yeah, you two have fun with that," Mobius says, as sarcastic as he can be without sounding like an asshole telling his friends not to help protect their homeland (that, to be fair, will be fine without their help). "I'm gonna stay in Asgard and not die."

Loki nods slowly. "Yeah, maybe we shouldn't..."

"Well, I shouldn't," Mobius says. "But if you guys want to defend your realm, don't let me stop you." With that said, he really hopes he stops them.

Sylvie seems to agree. "I've done enough fighting to last a lifetime. I could use a break."

"Yeah," Loki agrees, "I was hoping we could do something together."

Mobius can't help but smile at that. That's what he was hoping for, too. "Yeah, sure. I'm sure we can figure it out tomorrow."

Loki nods. "I'll show you where we eat breakfast in the morning and we can figure it out from there."

"Sounds good to me," Mobius tells him. As long as he doesn't have to figure this all out on his own, because he has no idea what the hell he's doing in Asgard. He needs his guide Loki for that.

"Should we wait for you tomorrow morning, then?" Sylvie asks.

"Yeah, I'll come get you both when it's time," Loki says. "Until then..." He looks at Mobius with a grin. "Enjoy your first night as fake royalty."

"Oh, you know I will," Mobius says, returning that with a grin of his own.

"You know," Sylvie adds, "if you ever get us to our rooms."

Loki lolls his head back, exasperated, and Mobius fights the urge to laugh. This is going to be a lot of fun. He can already tell.

~~~~

Loki has never been more comfortable than he is right now.

The TVA had beds. Of course the TVA had beds. Its workforce is human, after all; they had to sleep sometime, too. But the TVA didn't have these beds, and he didn't know how badly he missed them until now.

It's not the same as sleeping in his own chambers. He loves that bed, and he'd give a lot to have it back. But if that's not in the cards, this is a perfectly fine substitution. He's got his new comfy mattress, not too soft but not too firm. He's got his overabundance of blankets to add and take away as he pleases. He's got more pillows than he could possibly need. There's nothing more he could ask for.

After the hellish year or so he's had, accentuated by his time with the TVA but certainly not beginning with it, he falls into a state of semi-consciousness fairly quickly. He feels like he's asleep, but he must be awake on some level if he's capable of thought. It's a restful kind of waking; a restorative one.

The knocks on the door come quietly, but in the silence of the room, his heart leaps at the sudden noise. He forces himself to sit up and rubs his eyes. "Hello?" Who would be out there this late at night? There's no possible way it could be morning yet. There's no reason for anyone to be trying to speak with him.

"Loki?" The voice on the other side of the door is soft, but he recognizes it immediately.

He furrows his brows. "Sylvie?" That's an interesting surprise.

"Mm," she hums. "Are you awake?"

That's a pretty dumb question, given that he's talking to her right now, but he can hear it in her voice that something's wrong so he doesn't mention it. It doesn't seem important.

"For you? Always," Loki says. "You can come in." He flicks a light on telekinetically — a soft, gentle light, not jarring enough to wake him entirely.

Sylvie slowly pushes the door open and steps inside. His eyes trail her body, taking in the sight before him. He's only ever seen her in the armor she wore when traversing the Sacred Timeline. To see her in Asgardian pajamas is so... strange.

She sighs and hugs her arms around herself. "I know; I look ridiculous," she mutters.

"No," Loki says quickly. "No, no, you look lovely. Really." He gives her a small, soft smile. "Green is certainly your color."

Sylvie smiles sheepishly. She looks down at her green and black nightgown, shockingly fitting for a Loki. He's fairly certain it was never his. He was never big on lace necklines, regardless of his gender presentation. He always found it uncomfortable. It looks nice on her, though. He likes it.

But there are more important things than Sylvie's attire, so he changes the subject.

"Is everything alright?" Loki asks.

Sylvie nods, a small, unconvincing movement. "It's fine," she says. "I just — I can't sleep."

"Oh." He pauses. What's he supposed to say to that? "Do you know why?" Is that a weird question? It might be a weird question.

She shakes her head. "I don't know."

Okay...

"Is there something you'd like me to do?" Loki asks, and he can't hide his confusion.

Sylvie sighs and shakes her head, hugging herself just a little tighter. "No, I... Nevermind. I don't know why I'm here. I'm gonna go back to bed."

"No," Loki says quickly, and she raises her eyebrows. "I mean, you don't have to. If you want to just sit. Or not. It's...?" God, he sucks at this.

Sylvie hesitates. Loki slides over a bit on his bed and pats the spot next to him. Sylvie gives him a small smile and makes her way over to him, shutting the door behind her. She sits down a foot or two away from him and clasps her hands in her lap, her gaze firmly set on them. Loki looks over at her for a few moments, then awkwardly lowers his gaze to his own lap.

"It's strange," she says quietly.

Loki looks over at her. "What's strange?"

"All of this," she says. "Having a home." She hesitantly meets his gaze. "A family."

Loki gives her a small smile for that.

"I'm so used to sleeping on rocks," she says. "Being alone. Waking up every few hours because a full night's sleep was too dangerous."

"You don't have to do that anymore," Loki assures her. "You're safe here. I promise."

"It's not that simple."

Loki lets out a long breath. On some level, he understands that. It wasn't very long ago that he was lost in space, fighting for his life as his sanity slowly whittled away. But for him, it was a year. For her... It must have been much longer — centuries, even. He can't imagine coming back from that in one piece, and certainly not in the soundest of minds.

"What is it that's keeping you awake?" Loki asks gently. "Is it the bed? The room?"

"It's everything," she says. "The bed is too soft. The floor is too hard. It's always either too light or too dark. It's chillingly silent. I just — I can't." Her voice cracks, her eyes welling with tears. "I hate it. I'm sorry. I hate it here. I really, really wanted to love it, but I hate it here."

Loki moves a little closer to her and lays a hand on her leg. She looks up at him, and when she blinks, a tear runs down her cheek.

"If you want to leave, we can leave in the morning," Loki tells her, as much as it pains him to do it. If she asks why he says they have to wait, he'll play it off as though he just wants to let Mobius sleep. In reality, he's hoping the bright glow of Asgard's sunrise will change her mind.

Sylvie swallows hard and nods.

"Will you be alright until then?" Loki asks.

Sylvie just nods.

"Are you sure?" Loki asks, watching her uncertainly. That wasn't an overly convincing response.

Sylvie hesitates, then shakes her head. "I'm not." She chokes out a sob. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm—"

"It's alright," Loki assures her quickly. He moves even closer until they're almost touching, and he puts an arm around her reassuringly. "You don't have to apologize. It's alright."

Sylvie turns to him and buries her face in his chest, and Loki gently rubs her back as she sobs. He's not sure what to do. Sylvie is the last person he would have expected to see this from. He's not sure how to comfort her.

"If you don't want to sleep," Loki says, "I know somewhere else we could go."

Sylvie sniffles and looks up at him. "Where?"

"Just trust me," Loki says. "Can you do that?"

She nods.

"Alright, come on." He stands up and offers her a hand, which she takes without hesitation. Hand in hand, they head for the door, but then she pauses. He looks at her questioningly.

"Can I go out in this?" she asks, awkwardly tugging at her silk nightgown.

"Of course you can," Loki says. "Everyone is asleep. Nobody will notice."

Sylvie gives him a small smile, which he takes as confirmation that it's okay. With that settled, he leads her out of the room. They head down the hall, and Loki keeps an eye out for one of the back doors. He knows there are doors in the palace other than the front one. He just doesn't use them very often.

Fortunately, he manages to find one, and though Sylvie gives him a confused look, she does follow him outside. The night air is cool and crisp, and she shivers at its touch. Never before has Loki wished so badly that he was wearing a jacket of some kind — a cape, even. But he assumes she'll warm up as they walk — and hopefully the same can be said of himself.

"Where are we going?" Sylvie asks after a while.

"To one of my favorite spots in Asgard," Loki says. "Nobody else goes there. It can just be you, me, and the trees."

Sylvie smiles. "I'd like that."

Their walk continues, their hands still clasped together. He almost wants to make a joke about how she never would have let him do this when they first met, but he doesn't want to draw attention to it. He doesn't want it to stop.

When he and Sylvie finally reach his favorite spot by the lake, he pauses. It seems he was right: nobody but him comes here. Unfortunately, there are now three Lokis in Asgard, and it seems they all decided tonight would be a good time to sit by the lake.

Avengers Loki is lying on the ground, his hands folded behind his head in a makeshift pillow. His eyes are closed, and the slow, steady rising and falling of his chest says he's probably asleep.

TVA Loki hesitates. Well, that puts a dent in his plans.

"Maybe we should go back to the palace," Sylvie whispers.

Loki just nods. It doesn't seem they have much of a choice.

They turn to leave, but only a few steps in, he crushes a fallen branch under his foot. Immediately, Avengers Loki bolts upright, his arm raising immediately as he conjures a dagger. Loki and Sylvie freeze where they stand, watching him carefully, and Avengers Loki slowly lowers his hand to the ground, the dagger disappearing.

"Of course it would be you," Avengers Loki mutters to himself. "What do you want?"

"Nothing," TVA Loki says. God, he's so defensive.

"Is this where you wanted to go?" Sylvie asks quietly.

Loki nods. "I guess that's not going to work out."

"No," Avengers Loki says, "it's not."

TVA Loki shoots him a glare. What is his problem? He's fairly certain he was not this arrogant a few days-slash-weeks-slash-months ago. "Why did you want our chambers so badly if you weren't even going to use them?"

"My chambers," Avengers Loki corrects him. "They are not ours. Our shared face does not give you claim to my belongings."

"They're my things, too, you know," TVA Loki tells him irritably.

"No, they are not,'' Avengers Loki snaps. "Your arrogance is astounding."

TVA Loki scoffs. "My arrogance?"

"Yes, your arrogance," Avengers Loki says. "This is my world, not yours. You have no right to steal my life from me."

TVA Loki stares at him in disbelief. "You think I'm—?" He glances at Sylvie incredulously, and she just shrugs. He turns his attention back to the other him. "I'm not taking anything from you. I gave you this second chance."

Avengers Loki rolls his eyes. "And what a wonderful 'second chance' it is," he says sarcastically.

TVA Loki crosses his arms. Part of him wants to argue. He certainly does love to be right. But if he knows himself — and he does — then he knows it would be a waste of time. And he can't forget the reason he's out here to begin with.

He sighs and looks down at Sylvie. "It's a rather large lake. We can find another place to sit, if you want."

Sylvie just nods. "I'd like that."

Loki gently rests his hand on her back and leads her away. Avengers Loki just lies back down, a smug smile on his face that TVA Loki pretends not to notice. It doesn't matter. He wasn't trying to befriend this other him. He would like to get along, but if they don't, that's fine. He has Sylvie and Mobius. He has his parents. Tonight's feast went well enough that he'd like to think the rest of Asgard will forgive him soon enough. He has everything else going for him. What's the opinion of his inferior self compared to that?

Loki and Sylvie quietly continue their trek through the woods, and he glances back periodically to check if Avengers Loki is still in sight. When he's not, Loki gestures for Sylvie to sit, and he does the same by her side.

"It's not as nice of a view, but..." Loki shrugs sheepishly. "This is my lake."

"Your lake?" Sylvie repeats with an eyebrow raised.

"It might as well be," Loki says. "I've never seen anyone else this far out — except, you know..." He gestures vaguely in Avengers Loki's general direction. "It's a nice place to be alone."

Sylvie nods slowly. She looks around, taking a few moments to admire the view. Loki's gaze stays on her, taking in what he thinks is a much more beautiful sight.

When Sylvie notices him looking, she hugs herself awkwardly. It's then that Loki notices the goosebumps on her arms, and now that they're sitting down, he may have a solution for that. He conjures up a blanket, gently curling it around both their shoulders.

Sylvie gives him a small smile. She wraps herself up in it, snuggling with it. "I'm impressed."

"Yeah?" Loki raises his eyebrows. It's not like she's never seen him conjure anything before. It's nowhere near as impressive as her enchantment. It's not even the most impressive skill he has.

"Yeah," she says, a teasing smile on her lips. "It feels like a real blanket this time."

Loki chuckles. "Yeah, no, it is," he says. "No more napkins for us." This is just something he grabbed from his new bedroom, and he's glad he did.

"So it was a napkin!" Sylvie says triumphantly.

Loki can't help but laugh. "Yes, the other one was just a napkin." But, in his defense, that does not make it any less of a blanket.

"Well, I like this one much more."

Sylvie tugs the blanket just a little bit closer and leans in closer. She rests her head on his shoulder, and, after the briefest moment of hesitation, Loki rests his own head on top of hers. Neither of them speak. They don't even look at each other. But he knows even as his eyelids grow heavy and he begins to drift off to sleep that she's content, and right now, nothing could make him happier.