Work Text:
Rubble tumbles down what had once been a turret of King Loki’s palace as it is quickly engulfed in flames. Hiding behind a smoke monster, King Loki had been the man ruling unseen and pulling the strings at the TVA. Having determined that the only true threat to his power were all other variants of himself, King Loki had ensured for untold millennia that all other Lokis were subjugated or killed to eliminate any threat to his power. Now, thanks to Loki and Sylvie, his domain has been reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes.
As they gaze at the devastation they wrought, Loki reaches for Sylvie’s hand. She turns to look at him. Clearly nervous and unsure of how to proceed, she visibly swallows, eyes wide, but nods indicating she’s willing to try. His gaze is soft with affection and disbelief at their survival. His smile widens as he sees her answer to his unspoken question.
His hand caresses her neck and brings her in to kiss her gently. Once, twice, and then ...it abruptly stops. Just as quickly as it had began, they stop and stand awkward and motionless. They disengage, hands drop to their sides as they stare at each other wide eyed. Horrified expressions mirroring one another.
“That was…”
“...Not.”
“Good.”
“‘Terrible.”
‘Horrible.”
“Wretched.” Sylvie adds.
“Oh come on!” Loki tries to defend, but Sylvie looks at him pointedly,” But. ...Yeah.”
“Yeah, we should not do that…”
“Ever.”
“...Like Ever,” Sylvie’s eyes widened and her arm stretch out wide to emphasize “EVER again.”
“Right!” Loki agrees with vigor.
“Right!” Sylvie replies. They stand there awkwardly for a moment and then turn their gaze to the burning palace. Sylvie hums thoughtfully. “Hmm, I wonder if Mobius is seeing anyone.”
Loki turns back and stares at her horrified, “Don’t you dare. If anyone is going after Mobius, it’s me!” Loki points at himself with dramatic flourish.
“You can’t forbid me to have a go at him if I mention having a go at him first.” Sylvie stands there unimpressed and annoyed.
“Yeah, well you said it yourself, he cares about me.” Loki says smugly, “Besides, I’ve known him longer. We have,” he leans in and looks at her knowingly, and in a soft, self-assured voice, says, “a special connection.”
“He seems to get along all with us Lokis quite well, don’t you think? I think even alligator us was smitten with him.” Sylvie counters. She crosses her arms across her chest and wonders aloud. “Do you think he has some hidden power that gives him the ability to charm where we’re concerned?”
Loki stands with hands on his hips proclaiming, “Yeah! Well that might be the case, but he said I was his favorite.”
Sylvie laughs incredulously, “He was looking at me.”
Loki’s face is a contortion of shock, dismay and disbelief. “You lie! Liar! That’s what we do! Lie! You... Me!”
“What sounds more likely, that I would lie or that Mobius is capable of underhanded shit like that?”
Loki and Sylvie stand there looking at each other thoughtfully.
Sylvie’s smiles, “I guess that’s why we like him.”
Loki smiles with a nod.
Sylvie sighs dramatically, “Fine. Go on then!” Sylvie says mulishly. “Give it a shot. But if you crash and burn, I might give it a go myself and not fail. Because I’d have a plan. I’d have a good, decent, actual working plan to woo him.”
Sylvie smiles and tilts her head to the side with a wondering expression on her face, “Besides B-15 is pretty hot in her armour. Might check to see if she needs any help taking it off.” Sylvie winks as she walks off to wait for their rescue at the shelter they’d occupied earlier.
Loki smiles and calls after her, “In the unlikely event, I need the tiniest bit of help planning my strategy, I’ll know who to ask to ensure my success.”
Sylvie stops and turns, “You know, I don’t remember Thor really all that well. I don’t remember what it’s like to have a brother.” Sylvie pauses. “But I think I would like to know what it's like again.”
Loki smiles wryly, “You know. I actually found out I had a sister on the Sacred Timeline.” Loki adds drolly, “Yes, it turns out that after my nexus event, her return led to the destruction of Asgard and most of its people. It had to be destroyed so she could be stopped from subjugating the nine realms and exterminating untold trillions.”
Loki pretends to ponder for a moment. “I think… in comparison, you’re not so bad.” Loki’s rocks his hand back and forth parallel to the ground to convey she’s so-so at best.
Sylvie rolls her eyes.
Loki looks down, takes a deep breath, looks back up her and with a sincere smile, he replies to her inquiry in earnest, “I’d be honored.”
“Come on, then…. Brother.” Sylvie smiles and then declares, “We’ll get started on that plan then,” and starts her trek back in earnest.
“Must you always have a plan for everything?“ Loki flounces half-heartedly. He takes one last time to look at the burning wreckage. With a small sigh, he turns to walk in the direction Sylvie had gone and sees her moving efficiently across the terrain.
Loki's soft smile widens, his heart full. Whatever the future holds, he’s excited to see where it takes him as he joins Sylvie into the unknown.
The End