Daddy's Little Princess

my little butterfly, please don't go away (not yet)

A/N: Loki is reminiscent over how much Amara has grown up; recalling memories of when she was a baby.

Loki leaned against the kitchen counter, sipping on a cup of Earl Grey, and smiled to himself as he glanced over at Amara, who was currently sitting at the table enjoying her breakfast; a bowl of fruit and a slice of toast, with crunchy peanut butter spread onto it. She looked so beautiful, with her black hair tied back into a ponytail and had on a pretty emerald green dress on, one of her favourite pieces from her wardrobe.

'Where has the time gone? She was just a baby not that long ago and now she's twelve years old,' Loki questioned inwardly, taking another sip of his tea in an attempt to push back his emotions. He had come to fear that when the day come for Amara to leave the nest that she would eventually forget about him, being too busy living her new life. 'No, she couldn't. She loves me and would come to visit me, wouldn't she?' he thought, getting starry eyed, but soon came back to reality when he heard her gentle voice. "Dad, are you alright," Amara queried, placing her dish in the sink and looked at her father with a brow arched up in concern. Loki slowly lowered the cup down and held it in both hands, smiling softly at her. "Yes sweetheart, I am," he nodded in response, trying to keep his tone even; despite it wanting to be shaky. Amara nodded back and grabbed her black cashmere sweater from the closet, pulling it onto herself. Just as she was about to head out the door, Loki called out to her, needing to know what she was doing; being the protective father he is. "Amara, where are you going?" Amara sighed softly and rolled her eyes, keeping a hand on the doorknob as she glanced over at Loki. "I'm just going to Olivia's. We're going to work on our science homework together and then go to the mall," she answered, hoping it would calm her father's anxiety. Loki nodded. "Alright, just be home by ten thirty," he asserted, with Amara nodding in agreement before heading out the door. 

'First it's Olivia's and then the next time she goes out that door it'll be leave home forever.' Loki sighed heavily and trudged into the living room, sitting in silence; it was so odd to him. You and Axel were currently out running errands together, giving him a chance to be able to have some quiet time for himself. For a moment, he stared out into space and then rose up to his feet, walking over to the bookcase to pull out Amara's baby book from the top shelf and sat back down again. Upon opening the book, he could feel tears stinging in his eyes and smiled sweetly at the photo on the front page of him holding her the day she was born. He could honestly say that very day was the happiest day of his life, besides when he had married you and when Axel came along. It changed him for the better and made him realize that there were people out there who truly loved and looked up to him, like this was his purpose in life. As difficult as it was to get used to the sleepless nights and not knowing what was wrong whenever she cried, Loki knew that he would gladly do it all over again; of course he had the chance to do so with Axel.

As he kept flipping through the book, he'd see photos of moments where she got a bit messy when she first tried to feed herself and had mashed peas all over her face, there was a lock of her hair taped to a page, to mark when she had her first haircut and inside the pocket of the following page was a slipper of hers from when she was three months old; silky soft and now much too small for her feet. Loki held onto the slipper and smiled softly, recalling how more often than not, Amara would always find a way to kick them off. She would eventually come to have her way with that and from that point on is when she had started to wear footed onesies to bed. Loki placed the slipper back into the pouch and kept flipping through the book, memory after memory flashing through his mind. The moment she had said her first word, which of course was 'dada', the cute little giggle that would come from her whenever he would blow raspberries on her tummy to cheer her up and the sweet coos that she would make after he had sung her to sleep, listening intently to everything that he was saying while looking sleepily into his eyes.

Loki soon chuckled to himself as he remembered a time that Thor was holding her and Amara thought it would be a good idea to grab onto uncle's beard, pulling as hard as her little arms could. Oh, good times; one that certainly brought a proud smirk to his face. 

Then he had come to recall the day where she began to crawl on her own, impressively making it all the way down the long hall that lead from the living room to the end where the master bedroom and her room were located. She had done just as well with her first steps, despite having a little stumble at first (she quickly shook it off and got back up) she didn't give up and had managed to walk over to Loki, smiling widely as he picked her up and peppered her face with kisses. 

As Loki glanced over at the rocking chair, which was being used for both kids, he remembered when Amara wouldn't fall asleep for you, no matter how much you tried and had volunteered to take over, allowing you to get some much needed rest. It had taken hours for her to finally give in and as you came out to check on them, you were delighted to see that she was fast asleep on Loki's chest, with him sleeping as well; his mouthed parted open slightly and a little drool running down his chin. Of course, you had taken a photo of the moment and as Loki flipped yet another page, there it was taped to the sheet; making him crack a smile.

The tears still pooled in the corners of his eyes and without hesitation, he closed the book, unable to look at anymore photos. Despite knowing he couldn't stop it, he didn't want to lose the little girl that he watched grow before his eyes for so long. Loki would miss the games of hide and seek, the tea parties and the kind of drawings that only a parent would love to receive; she had always drawn herself and Loki going on all kinds of cool adventures, sometimes even drawing him as king of Asgard. He didn't want to eventually be second best the day she found love and hoped that whoever she ended up with would treat her well; he had already sworn that the person would pay if they ever hurt her. It was stressful always having to worry about her, though as a parent that was part of the job description, after all he just wanted to see her smiling and enjoying her life. 

A long sigh escaped from his lips as he pinched the bridge of his nose and glanced over at a baby photo of hers that was hanging on the wall, the single tooth that had come up being flashed in a cheeky grin. He smiled softly and walked over to it, taking it off the wall to hold onto it. 

"My sweet little girl, what happened to you," Loki questioned aloud, a single tear rolling down his cheek. He wished that he could protect her forever but knew the day would come where he'd have to step back just a little, even though in his heart she would always be his little princess.