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“Okay, get in the car. I’m buying you a drink.”
A drink. Loki nodded. He could use a drink after the whiplash he just experienced. “Okay.”
As Sylvie started the vehicle, Loki sat silently, wracking his brain for what he should say next. Everything he had rehearsed was out the window.
It was a relief that Sylvie knew him, that all their… time together wasn’t lost to the wind. He had put off finding her for last because he wasn’t sure he could bear her forgetting him.
But her nonchalant attitude threw him off even more than her knowing him. The loom and TVA were gone. His friends didn’t know him. And she was going about her day like none of it mattered?
“What was that back there?” She asked once they were on the road.
“What do you mean?” He asked, trying to recall what he had said before he almost slipped away. Almost. He thanked the Norns he had resisted time slipping that time. A new crack marked Loki’s heart with every passing day he had to go on without Sylvie in his life.
“Your whole body contorted like you were being pulled apart,” Sylvie replied, sounding thoroughly horrified. "Has something happened with your magic?”
He glanced over at Sylvie, but her eyes were on the slow car in front of them. He weighed whether or not to go into detail about time slipping. It didn’t seem to matter compared to everything else. And he still hadn’t learned to control it.
“It’s nothing. I’m… I’m working on it,” he said. He wanted her to press him for a better answer, but she only sighed.
At least she wanted to get a drink with him. That was progress.
The car in front came to a stop, and Sylvie was slow to react. She slammed her foot down as she let out a string of curses. The vehicle jerked to a stop, and Loki automatically grabbed for something to hold on either side of his seat.
His left hand tightly gripped Sylvie’s arm until he realized and quickly released her from his grasp.
Sylvie glanced over at him before quickly looking away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “Humans are terrible drivers,” she spat defensively. She pressed down on the wheel, and a loud honking sound emitted from the car. “They get lessons and everything, but they die every day in accidents."
That took a dark turn Loki hadn’t expected. “Well, I destroyed more ships than I could count when learning to pilot,” he admitted, wanting her to feel better. “Although not as many as my brother destroyed,” he added with a chuckle.
The faintest hint of a smile appeared on Sylvie’s lips when she turned to look at him. “I remember looking forward to the first day I could learn to pilot a flying skipper. But what I truly loved was flying on my Mother’s favorite Valkyrie steed. I can remember flashes of soaring through the air, my mother guiding my hands to pull the reigns this way or that. I was going to fly on my own for the first time the same day—” Sylvie frowned and turned back to face the road.
“Finally,” she huffed as the traffic began moving again.
Loki wanted to ask her more about her Mother, but he knew Sylvie could barely remember and it would only hurt her more.
Then he recalled her soft smile when he had showed her fireworks on the Lamentis train. “My brother wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was little, so I did too,” he shared.
“Our mother insisted the Valkyrie steeds wouldn’t even let us get close enough to give them an apple,” he continued. “But I wouldn’t take no for an answer. I shifted into female form and made acquaintances with all the steeds until one, a white beauty named Starshine, let me take her to the skies.”
Sylvie stared ahead with a sad and distant look in her eyes. Or maybe she was just trying to concentrate on driving. Loki resisted the urge to drag his hand down his face. Why couldn’t he ever say the right thing when he was around Sylvie?
“I sometimes think about visiting Asgard on one of the new branches,” Sylvie finally replied, just about a whisper, and Loki felt the weight on his chest lighten as he realized she was still opening up to him. “I could find my family’s variants. Ride a Valkyrie steed. Explore the mountain forests. But it wouldn’t be the same.”
Loki wanted to encourage her to go anyway. He wanted to say they could visit Asgard together. But any day now, variants of He Who Remains could appear and destroy it all. Why wasn’t Sylvie thinking about that?
“No, I suppose it wouldn’t,” he said instead, thinking about how he had been avoiding finding his own brother. Not that he ever had the time.
“Why did you choose this place over anywhere else in the multiverse?” Loki asked as Sylvie turned the truck into a lot filled with other stationary cars and parked in the far corner.
“I didn’t.” Sylvie shifted the stick under her right hand, then turned a key, and the vehicle went still and quiet. Extending her left arm towards Loki, Sylvie rolled her wrist, drawing his attention to the bracelet he knew was a TemPad in disguise. Not just any TemPad, but He Who Remains’ TemPad. And it was far more powerful than any TemPad back at the TVA. “I asked for a quiet, peaceful place where I could find a warm meal. It brought me here.”
That made the corners of Loki’s mouth turn up. “I see. Why do you bother with a car when you have that at your disposal? ” Loki questioned, his eyes still on the animal-print bracelet. It looked like a harmless adornment. But Loki felt an all too familiar ache in his chest as he recalled falling back through the time door Sylvie had quietly summoned behind him in the citadel. It was a moment he revisited in his mind often. He tortured himself with thoughts of everything he could have done differently.
Sylvie shrugged, pulling her arm back. “Not trying to make a scene everywhere I go. I don’t want people asking questions, I just want…” She hesitated. “To blend in. To relax. Eventually, I’d like to travel. It would be something to see the beauty of the multiverse with no worries it’s all about to fall apart,” she said in a wistful voice.
Loki would give anything to travel the multiverse with Sylvie. But it wasn’t safe. Not until he convinced Sylvie to come with him so they could all go back to the TVA and stop the loom from exploding. “That’s why I need you, Sylvie.”
Her eyes, shining with hope, flickered over to him. She searched his face, and Loki felt like he had a chance to convince her. “I need you so we can all return to the TVA and stop the loom from exploding.”
Sylvie narrowed her eyes and threw up her hands in frustration. “Loki, stop with the TVA already. It’s gone. Everyone’s home where they belong. Everyone’s safe. If dangerous variants of He Who Remains show up, we will stop them, okay? But until then, try to live like you’re not waiting for everything to go wrong.” She took in a deep breath before meeting Loki’s gaze again. “There was a time before the TVA, and now there’s a time after.”
“But it still feels like… the world is ending,” he admitted, unable to shake what he had seen at the TVA after the blast, the way everything had spiraled apart into nothingness.
Sylvie’s beautiful blue eyes softened as she placed her hand on his arm. The touch grounded Loki to her comforting presence. “He Who Remains’ world ended. Now, a new, free one exists. Everything will be okay.” She said it like a promise. Like she truly believed it.
Loki wanted to believe her. He wanted to forget all his fears and release the responsibility he felt to fix everything.
It felt almost possible with Sylvie in his reach, with her thumb caressing his arm. Her eyes hadn’t left his. He wanted to dive right into hers. Forget everything else in existence.
Sylvie parted her lips as if to talk but said nothing before closing them. Was she waiting for him to say something? Did she want him to kiss her, or was their close proximity making his head swim? Gods, he wanted to kiss her more than anything.
But he had ruined her life, hadn’t he? She couldn’t possibly want—
“Don’t overthink it,” she said in a low voice, her gaze unmistakably dropping to his lips, then back up, a challenge in her eyes.
A deep, commanding need flared through Loki. He didn’t wait another breath before leaning over and pressing his lips to Sylvie’s, hard and desperate and hungry.
She gasped in response and tightened her grip on his arm. Every cell in Loki’s body ignited with desire as their lips moved against each other in a feverish dance. He felt Sylvie’s fingers in his hair, her nails scraping his scalp. His own hands caressed the side of her face, the supple curve of her neck. He brushed the soft skin over her collarbone with his thumb.
Unable to resist asking for more, Loki ran his tongue over Sylvie’s lips. She seemed to shiver and parted her lips to him. They kissed with tongues tangling, teeth nipping, and hands gripping as if they were each a lifeline for the other.
And Sylvie was his lifeline. Loki had never felt so alive as he did now with her gasping as he slid his lips along her jaw and then sucked at the smooth spot just under her ear. “Loki,” she murmured in a delicious moan that shot straight to Loki’s groin.
Her fingers tightened in Loki’s hair, tugging his lips back to hers. She gripped his shoulder and shifted her body. Next thing he knew, she was climbing into his lap, never breaking their kiss.
Loki held her close, his hands on her waist as she took her own turn to place open-mouth kisses along his jaw. “Sylvie, Sylvie,” he gasped as heat eclipsed his entire body. His cock, already hard, throbbed painfully with need. He wondered if Sylvie felt the same as she grazed the soft flesh of his neck with her teeth, then soothed it over with her tongue.
Sylvie tilted her head back to catch Loki’s gaze as if she could hear his unspoken question. Her chest heaved beautifully as she ghosted a tender finger down the side of Loki’s face, the most gentle either of them had been so far. But gentle wasn’t in the cards for long, not with the feral, electric energy coursing between them. Loki certainly had no complaints as Sylvie crashed her lips on his and swiveled her hips against his groin.
He groaned and sucked on her bottom lip. Slipping one hand under her shirt, Loki palmed one of Sylvie’s breasts. His whole hand covered it easily, perfectly. He moved two fingers in a circling motion and felt her nipple harden under the fabric that covered it.
Loki wanted to rid them of all their clothes, but he knew this wasn’t the time or place for such luxuries.
Still, Sylvie took the time to break their kiss and tug down on her chest covering. Loki rolled her other nipple between his thumb and finger until he drew a moan from Sylvie’s lips. Then he pulled up her shirt enough to duck his head under and capture her breast with his mouth.
Sylvie gasped and squirmed as he swirled one nipple, then the other with his tongue. He placed soft, teasing kisses between her breasts and then down her toned stomach until she pushed him back against the seat and put as much distance between them as possible. He quickly understood her intent when she went for the zipper of his pants between them.
The anticipation alone gave Loki goosebumps. He couldn’t believe this was happening, his lonely, late-at-night fantasies about Sylvie brought to life. Except he didn’t need to feel guilty for thinking about her this way because Sylvie wanted him too.
When she freed his cock and took him in her firm grip, Loki nearly came right then and there. He grunted and grasped her arm, forcing her to be still until he gained some semblance of control.
Sylvie smiled as if pleased with the effect she had on Loki. Her eyes hooded with lust, she slid her hand down and up, then smeared his pre-cum with her thumb. “Sylvie,” he pleaded, trembling under her touch.
“Magic,” she requested, tugging on her trousers. With a wave of his hand, they were gone. He looked to Sylvie for approval, but she was already hovering above him, lining the head of his cock at her entrance.
Her eyes snapped up to meet Loki’s, then she slowly sank down on him. He moaned as Sylvie’s warm, wet cunt enveloped his throbbing cock, sending him to another plane of blissful existence. Gripping her waist, Loki rocked his hips up. Sylvie grunted as he filled her completely.
He lifted her partway off his cock, then slammed her back down with enough force they both cried out. Sylvie tilted her head forward, burying her moans and gasps in Loki’s shoulder as he brought them together over and over again.
With every thrust up and down, in and out of her tight, dripping cunt, Loki released weeks of unbearable, pent-up yearning. At this moment in time, Sylvie was his. All his. And he was hers.
Sylvie started moving her hips to meet Loki’s thrusts, rocking their bodies together in unison. Sitting up, she gripped his shoulders for leverage and took over, riding Loki hard and fast as he whispered her name like a prayer. She was pure divinity atop him, her mouth open as she gasped every time she filled herself to the hilt with his cock.
Loki’s eyes moved down to watch their bodies come together, Sylvie moving at a strong steady pace that pushed him closer and closer to sweet oblivion.
Gods, they fit together perfectly, like they were made for each other, like they were two halves of a whole.
I love you, he wanted to say. I love you, Sylvie. Gods, I love you. I love you more than anything.
But he feared that would be too much, too soon. His confession in the citadel had resulted in a kiss… and heartbreak. They were only just starting to get along again.
But maybe she felt it, he hoped, looking up into her beautiful eyes dark with pleasure as he pounded her sweet, perfect cunt.
Determined to bring her over the edge with him, Loki pressed a thumb to Sylvie’s clit, then moved it in small, repetitive circles on the sensitive nub.
Almost instantly, her muscles tensed, and she scrunched her eyes and nose in adorable concentration. “Loki,” she gasped, her rhythm stuttering as she started curling into herself.
Loki resumed his own movements, rocking hard into Sylvie as her whole body quivered and shook. Her cunt clenched around his cock, and he tumbled into white-hot ecstasy that overrode every nerve, every sense, every thought in Loki’s mind as he emptied spurt after spurt of cum into her until he was spent and boneless.
Still trembling through aftershocks of her own orgasm, Sylvie collapsed against his chest. Loki held her even as the continuing sensation of her walls squeezing his sensitive cock became nearly unbearable. He wanted to hold her forever. He never wanted to let her go from his arms, from his sight, from his heart… The last one would be true always, he knew, no matter what.
When she finally lifted herself off him, Loki felt a sense of loss, even as she settled back into his lap. She sat straighter, and he could see a million thoughts running through her head as she met his gaze. There was a yearning there in her eyes. He wanted to ask her what she wanted, but he was afraid the answer would be the same as it had been ever since he first found her on this damn branch.
“Do you think anyone saw?” He asked instead as his own haze of pleasure receded, and he glanced out the window at the dimly-lit parking lot. They were far from the entrance, and it was a dark night, but they had been anything but quiet.
“I don’t know,” Sylvie said with a shrug as if she didn’t care either way. More hedonistic, she had said, and Loki was starting to believe her. “But can you, umm?” She gestured to her bare legs. With a flash of magic, Loki restored her clothes and cleaned them up as if it had all never happened.
But Sylvie’s chest still heaved as she caught her breath. Pleasure still sizzled through Loki, from his groin out to his fingers and toes. It had happened. Not that he had ever imagined it happening in a cramped vehicle in a public parking lot on Midgard, but he didn’t care since Sylvie clearly didn’t care.
All that mattered was she was still in his lap, holding his hand in hers and playing with his fingers like they were something to marvel at.
“Well, now what?” She asked, looking at him expectantly. A shyness had crept into her voice. She was trying to process what they had just done, he assumed. But there was no doubt in her gaze, no regret. Just uncertainty of what happened next.
“I still want to protect… this,” Loki replied, fumbling with words as he tried to get back on track. He still needed her help to save the loom and protect everyone, including… especially her. Maybe she thought everything would be okay, but he could feel it in his bones that they were still in danger.
Sylvie tilted her head and slowly formed a frown with her brows as if waiting for him to say something else that would assure her. Assure her of what, though, he did not know.
“I… Sylvie, I want to protect… everyone, everything, and I need your help to do it. Then there will be time for—”
“You’re serious?” Sylvie huffed. “You’re still going on about the TVA?” She unlocked the car door and opened it, then slid off Loki’s lap. He felt bereft without her weight on him.
“Wait, Sylvie, let me explain,” Loki said, his chest seizing with panic. Why wasn’t he getting through to her?
Sylvie turned around with a guarded expression on her face. “Sure, Loki. But let’s get that drink, yeah? C’mon,” she said with a turn of her head.
Loki followed, trying to hold together the pieces of his heart. Had it just been another goodbye… like the kiss in the citadel?
No, he wouldn’t accept that. He would fix everything, with or without her help, and then once the multiverse was safe… Once Sylvie and her branch were safe, they could finally talk about everything. They would have more time to figure it out, whatever it was… whatever they could possibly become. He had to hold onto that hope, no matter what.