"It's okay... You're safe, Loki, dear. I'm with you! Squeeze my hand, like this. Can you feel it?"
He finally realized where he was. A night light was on in the room. The bed was rumpled, he felt the sheet stick unpleasantly to his sweat-drenched body. He was still shaking, but the nightmare had already retreated and he went limp in Don's arms.
"Let me stroke your palm... Relax. You're home, my dear boy, it's all over. I won't let anyone hurt you."
He felt weak throughout his body, after the fear he'd experienced. But Don stroked his palm and the world regained its shape.
"Hey, baby? You're not alone, I'm here for you. Please, relax... It's okay, sweetie pie."
On the table by their bed lay a badge with the inscription "Vote for Loki!"
God closed his eyes so as not to see this badge and not to think about the past.
He still had nightmares about the Void. He still hadn't gotten used to the fact that his hand was back in place. Phantom pains returned from time to time and only Don could relieve them. The man simply kissed his wrist and gently stroked his palm, whispered something in a cooing voice and the pain retreated.
Strange said that with time it would totally heal, but for now he just had to endure. The spell with which he returned his hand was very complex and during the ritual Strange performed, Loki lost a lot of strength.
"How are you, kid?" The man asked tenderly.
"Better... Damn, I'm going to keep you from getting any sleep again."
"It doesn't matter, baby. Lie down more comfortably? Do you want water or juice?"
"Water," Loki answered quietly. Don took a packet of juice from the table and helped him drink. It was so strange: Don was still giving him drinks, although Loki could already hold objects in his right hand. Sensitivity was returning very quickly.
"I can go to the kitchen, make cocoa..." Don suggested.
"No, please, don't!" Loki answered too quickly.
Apparently, Don understood that the trickster did not want to be alone. The man hugged him tighter, stroked his hair.
"Sorry. I'm not going anywhere. I promise, baby."
Loki was half lying in the man's arms. Don wrapped him in a blanket, gently kissed the damp and cold forehead of his god.
"How do you think, you'll be able to sleep, kitten?"
"I think so. But only if you tell me something. I want to hear a long and boring story."
"Deal, darling." Don smiled.
With one hand Don stroked his hair, with the other he squeezed the trickster's right hand. Their bedroom seemed to Loki the most comfortable and safe place in the universe.
The god slowly fell asleep in the arms of his beloved, and Don was telling him one of his favorite stories in a low voice.
Listening to his voice, Loki remembered their first meeting.
It happened almost a year ago. He woke up in Don's backyard and no one could explain how exactly he got there.
Of everything that happened to him on his last evening in the wasteland, Loki remembered only the cold and the feeling of helplessness. He felt like he was dying. It was painful and lonely, it was so scary. The night was waiting for him, the last night of his life.
He had lost too much blood and his consciousness was starting to fade. He did not expect any help. None of his Variants would come back for him, he was sure of that.
Loki remembered how he closed his eyes, lying in a pool of his own blood, in an abandoned bunker in the middle of the Void at the end of time.
The despair was all-consuming.
The pain rolled in waves. There was no way out of this situation. Having lost his arm and received many bites from his Alligator Variant, Loki lost consciousness. If he had pressed the wound, he would most likely have been able to come to his senses and heal a little. But time was lost and when he came to, he could barely move.
His head was spinning. He suddenly felt very scared. It seemed to him that he screamed, but he wasn't sure. He wanted to go home, but he no longer had a home. He wanted to be where he could feel safe. This desire was so strong...
Thoughts beat in his fading consciousness.
I want to go home.
You don't have a home.
I don't want to be alone.
No one needs you.
He remembered that the world had shrunk to one point, as if he was in many places at once.
And then he opened his eyes. He decided that he was dead. Through the pain and nausea, he saw bright grass and a blue sky.
However, it did not look like heaven or hell: a man dressed in light trousers and a blue vest was hurrying towards him. It was a frightened and confused man with a reddish mustache. He knelt down next to Loki, he was saying something, asking what had happened.
Before losing consciousness, Loki suddenly realized that everything would be fine now. He had no idea where such confidence came from. The very presence of this man seemed calming.
Now, falling asleep in the arms of a man, Loki thought for the umpteenth time about how and why he ended up here, in Midgard.
He felt very bad and he wanted it to stop. He wanted to be home, safe, and his wish would come true.
The only thing he was afraid of: what if all of this could be a dream or a hallucination?
He was afraid that someday he would wake up and find himself there, in the Void, completely alone. There was only one way he could cope with this fear.
"Don?" Loki whispered.
"Yes, kitten?"
"You won't let go?" Loki asked.
"You know I won't let go. You can sleep peacefully, baby. I will hold your hand and I promise, in the morning I will still be here with you. And you will wake up in our bedroom, on your favorite pillow."
"You're my favorite pillow," Loki murmured sleepily.
"It's an honor," Don chuckled. "Now, you'll close your eyes and listen to the rest of my story..."
He kissed Loki on the forehead and added:
"You're home, baby, remember? I always be here for you."