TW: Brief mention of emotional abuse and unwanted arm grabbing (both in 7th paragraph)


"I won't ask you to trust me, because that's something that's earned. But I hope you'll believe me when I say that I do care for you," Loki said softly. "Mobius may have stuck us with each other at first, but I want to be here with you."

Sylvie shook her head. "I can't promise you anything, Loki. What happened with Thomas…" Sylvie threw her hands up in confusion. "It's over, but I'm not over it yet. And I want to be. I want to be so badly." She hugged her knees to her chest again, making herself small on the couch. "Those texts were from him. That night we almost… they were from him."

Loki thought that might have been the case, but it was still a bit jarring to hear. "Okay."

"He had my grandma's ring." Sylvie pulled a delicate gold chain out from under her sweatshirt attached to a thin gold ring with a small diamond flanked by two smaller emeralds. "In my rush to leave the apartment, I forgot he had it because I wanted him to use it as my wedding ring. He said if I didn't meet up with him that night he was going to pawn it."

Sylvie had gotten visibly upset as she spoke, but her voice remained fairly even by force of will.

"You don't owe me an explanation, Sylvie. You don't owe me anything."

"When I got there, he wouldn't meet me outside with it. Said I had to come get it." Sylvie shook her head and kept going. "He tried to make me kiss him to get it back. I said no, but he grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. He tried to play it off like it was all a joke, but I knew it wasn't because he had done it before." Loki shifted ever so slightly in his seat, but said nothing. "I kneed him in the balls, grabbed my ring, and ran out." Sylvie wiped at her nose with her sweatshirt sleeve. "I gave him three years of my life, Loki. And deep down I knew he wasn't a good person, even without all the cheating. But I think towards the end there I was just so afraid of being alone if I left that I didn't realize how much it was hurting me to stay."

A tear slipped out of Loki's eye and rolled down the side of his nose. "I want to hug you or hold you or do something for you. Though that all just sounds like I want something for me, doesn't it?" Loki said quietly. "I don't want to hurt you. I just want you to be okay."

Sylvie gave him a sad smile, genuinely touched by his want to help her feel better. "I wouldn't mind a bit of a cuddle," she admitted. "Your sweater looks softer than the blanket I've been crying into in my room."

Loki chuckled and scooted to lean against the back of the couch. Sylvie unfolded her knees and shifted so she was curled into Loki's side with her head on his chest. She was right about his sweater.

He went to place his arm around her, but stopped. "May I?" he asked.

Sylvie nodded and hummed her consent, closing her eyes as one lithe arm draped across the back of her sweatshirt and his other arm enveloped her. He felt the tension in her shoulders ease a bit as he held her close to him and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. It felt right—like two pieces of a puzzle nestling perfectly into place.

"You know, I wouldn't have thought this when I first met you, but you are surprisingly snuggly," Sylvie murmured. She smiled when Loki's entire body shook from the laugh that escaped from the depths of his person.

"Thank you?"

"No, it's just that you were so sad and serious when we met. I mean, I was sad too, but you…"

Loki leaned over and whispered in Sylvie's ear, "I'm still sad and serious."

She shivered a bit as his breath danced across her skin. "But you're also kind and fun and own berry-colored pants." Loki laughed again as Sylvie burrowed herself a bit closer into him. "I want to know what makes you tick."

Loki sighed. "To be honest… lately, it's been you. You've made me want to be a better person for my family. For myself. For you. I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And that's not who I am anymore. So thank you for helping me become the kind and fun person you believe me to be."

"Loki, I…" Sylvie said quietly, not knowing how the rest of that sentence should go.

"I won't pretend to know what it's like to come out of a relationship like yours. But I do know about feeling alone. I've felt that way most of my life, even before finding out about being adopted. But when I'm with you, even though I'm still alone, I'm not lonely anymore. If that makes any sense? You have helped me to be more of myself. And if there was anything I could for you to make you feel more like yourself, I—"

Loki stopped talking when Sylvie sat up and looked him in the eye. Afraid he overstepped, he went to apologize, but no words could come out because Sylvie's lips were on his. Her nose smushed his a bit, but he didn't care. His eyes slid shut and he felt both weightless and completely grounded. When she pulled away and he opened his eyes, he was met with Sylvie's shy grin and blazing cheeks.

"I believe your face is the color of my berry pants you seem to fancy," he said softly.

Sylvie sat up and shook Loki's arms off of her, poking him in the side. "Right, well… we'll see if I ever do that again."

"I wouldn't mind if you did," Loki murmured, "do that again, I mean."

Sylvie bit her cheek. "I plan to… a lot, probably." Loki smiled and ducked his head. "I just need a little more time. But, thank you… for being here tonight."

His face softened. "Thank you for letting me stay."

He grabbed the melting pint of Ben & Jerry's off the coaster on the table and one of the spoons and handed them to Sylvie. She took a spoonful out of the container and held it up for Loki. When he went to take the bite, she moved the spoon and some ice cream got on his nose. They both laughed while he wiped it off with the back of his hand. He grabbed the other spoon for himself and they finished off what had turned into a chocolate chip cookie dough gazpacho.

As Sylvie snuggled back into his side post-ice cream dinner, Loki's heart felt full with the possibilities of his future.


When Mobius got home just after 10:30, he was surprised to find his niece and Loki fast asleep on the couch. Loki's socked feet hung over an armrest and one of his arms held onto Sylvie who was an almost comically tiny little spoon. She looked peaceful. They both did.

He put his jacket away and took his shoes off as quietly as he could so as not to wake them up. Mobius grabbed the empty Ben & Jerry's pint and two spoons from the coffee table. The spoons accidentally clinked against each other, causing Sylvie to stir a bit, though her eyes never opened and neither did Loki's. She did roll over to face Loki and she snuggled into his chest. He pulled her close and they each let out a deep breath as they settled in the new position.

Mobius made it to the kitchen without incident and gently put the spoons in the sink. He threw away the empty pint and then opened his freezer to see the entire thing stuffed like a full Tetris grid of different sized containers. He made a note to find out Ravonna's favorite ice cream on their next date. Loki showing up with all of that for Sylvie was such a suave move and Mobius was glad to have an idea like that in his back pocket now.

Making sure his phone was on silent, Mobius snuck back into the living room and took a picture of the sleeping pair. He thought they might someday want a reminder of the first night of whatever it was that was happening. (Or it could always be good blackmail fodder.) Mobius wondered if Sylvie would finally tell him about what was going on with her and if she was on her way out of the rut she had been back in the past couple weeks.

For now, though, she looked content and that was all that mattered. Sylvie deserved to be happy. Loki did too. And if they could be happy together, well… so be it. They were one and the same, but so very different. Mobius smiled as he walked quietly to his room, marveling how two people whose paths were probably never supposed to cross seemed to find each other at the right time. Sure, he had made the introduction, but they could have gone their separate ways at any time.

And maybe they would eventually, Mobius thought. Or maybe they were in it for the long haul.

Because let's be honest—who really knows what the future held?

But at that point, on that night, Loki and Sylvie were together. Scared, but hopeful for whatever came next. Alone, but not lonely.