"I love you....I love you in every universe."
Those words haunted Loki over and over again as he sat on the cliffside,watching the waves crash against the rocks.
He'd fled there after seeing that awful vision in Stephen's head. He knew from experience that the things in someone's mind were personal and that he shouldn't have intruded....but the nightmare his lover was having was so great that it was causing their entire bed to shake.
So he put his fingers on the other man's temples and used his magic to enter the dream.
Except it wasn't a dream at all.
What Loki discovered was actually the viewpoint of a Stephen from another timeline. The Mage had heard of dream walking amongst one's alternate selves across the multiverse, but it was something he'd taken great pains to ensure he never experienced.
He had enough nightmares from his own life, he didn't need to witness the failures of another Loki along with it.
In the vision he was looking at, Stephen was in some hellish, twisted version of the Sanctum, talking with Christine.
He had no idea what had led them there, but the next words out of Stephen's mouth made his heart drop to the bottom of his stomach.
"I love you...I love you in every universe."
He should have just disconnected from the dream and ended it right there. But morbid curiosity along with a painful insecurity led him to wander....
Was Christine Palmer the love of Stephen's life in literally every universe?
Most Sorcerer's would have trouble entering the counciousness of multiple minds at once, but for a being as old as Loki it was mere child's play. Soon he was exposed to a plethora of Doctor Stranges. Some were good, some were evil(and one had a disturbing amount of tentacles)....but they all had one thing in common...
They loved Christine.
Over and over again, he encountered the same scenario. Whether they were together or not, Stephen's heart beat for her and only her. It took seeing over one-hundred timelines before he wrenched away and broke the connection.
By the time he came back to himself, his Stephen was sound asleep with no more nightmares in sight. However, the things that he'd seen made the Goð question if the other man was truly his....or did he still belong to that woman?
It was enough to make Loki leave the bed and teleport as far away as possible.
**************
He didn't have a destination in mind when he left, but somehow he once again found himself sitting on the same ledge he'd been at when Óðin died.
Ironic how the site of his father's death would be his only solace.
He was still sitting there, numb to his surroundings, when a portal opened and Stephen came out of it. He sat down next to Loki, waiting several minutes before speaking.
"Why'd you leave?"
"You were dream-walking."
"Really? I didn't realize it was possible to do that unconsciously."
"Not for mortal minds usually," Loki said as he turned to look at him with a small grin," but then again you are no mere mortal."
"Loki Óðinsson paying a compliment? This has to be an alternate reality."
Stephen immediately knew he'd said the wrong thing when the smile left his lover's face.
"Loki, talk to me....did you see something bad inside my head?"
"How do you know I looked?"
At his raised brow, Loki sighed and looked away.
"I saw you...or a version of you at least, with Christine Palmer....you....you said you loved her...in every universe."
"But that's just how one of me feels, surely you don't think...."
"Except it wasn't just one!" The mage shouted as he jumped up and started pacing," every single dimension I looked into there you were, declaring your love and pining after her! I'd be a fool to believe that this world would be any different!"
He turned away to hide the tears that were streaming down his face. A heavy silence permeated the air, with only the sound of the ocean between them. Finally, Stephen stood and came up behind Loki, wrapping his arms around him. The Goð tried to resist, but the Sorcerer Supreme used the cloak for extra leverage.
"Loki, I need you to look at me."
"No."
"Baby please......"
Stephen rarely begged, so he slowly turned to face him. A scarred, shaking hand rose up and wiped away the moisture on his cheek.
"A part of me is always going to care about Christine, that's true, but I am not in love with her, not anymore."
"But, those other Stephens...."
"Clearly never met you, because the love I feel for you eclipses anything else I've experienced before. You know, Christine once told me that the reason our relationship didn't work is because I always have to be the one holding the knife, and she was right, I do. But Lo, you're the only one that's ever bothered to hold it with me. If love was a dagger to the heart, you'd be the only one able to pierce mine."
Loki huffed a laugh before leaning into the crook of his neck.
"Darling, has anyone ever told you that your metaphors are absolutely terrible?"
"You have, many times....I still love you, though."
"I love you too...I'm sorry I ran out on you."
"You have nothing to apologize for," Stephen said as a mischievous grin lit up his face," but if you come home right now I'll think of a few ways you can make it up to me."
"Sounds like an excellent idea."
They teleported back to the Sanctum and spent the next several hours proving that no one could replace the other, in this universe or the next.