Loki knew it was over. Whatever chance he'd had with Sylvie was gone. She'd heard what he'd done. She now knew what a horrible person he truly was. He'd tried so hard to be better for her. To be the type of guy that would deserve her, but he'd never escape his true nature. Not really.

There were so many things he could have done to Quill for hurting Thor. He could have reported the bullying to Fury, that would have been the right thing to do. The morally good thing. He could have just told Quill off, have a good screaming match. Not a great option, but better. But no. Instead, he'd ruined Quill's life. He'd taken it too far. And now…he'd pay for it.

He couldn't read the look in her eyes, but he suspected it was disappointment. Of course she'd be disappointed. Finding out someone she thought was her friend was actually a complete monster. She stepped closer to him.

"You really did it? You leaked Gamora's nudes?" Sylvie asked.

Loki couldn't lie to her. Never to her. He just nodded slowly.

"Why?" Sylvie asked. It sounded…non-judgmental, but it couldn't be. Of course she was judging him, and he deserved that guilty sentence.

"He hurt Thor," Loki answered. It wasn't his secret to tell, but he felt it pouring out of him. "Thor is bi-curious or something and asked Quill out. Quill…he called my brother a faggot. He was horrible. I…I had to get back at him. I had to."

"You did this because he hurt Thor?"

"He cried," Loki insisted, as if that somehow justified his actions. "I've never heard my brother cry before."

Loki watched as tears welled up in Sylvie's eyes. Of course. Of course he hurt one of the people he cared about most. He hung his head in shame, trying to fight back his own tears.

"You did all this because he hurt Thor," she muttered, almost inaudibly.

Loki felt her hands grasp onto his shirt. He flinched, awaiting whatever blow was about to punish him for his discretions, as he was yanked forward and…and she kissed him.

Sylvie was kissing him.

Loki gripped her waste, pulling her closer. Whatever sick trick this was, he'd savor it. At least for a moment. Her arms encircled his neck even as he felt her tears drip onto his cheeks. He waited for her to rip herself away, to drive whatever dagger into his back. He couldn't breathe as she slowly pulled away, her eyes fluttering open to look up at him.

"I need to break up with Val," she muttered.

Loki waited for his brain to process the words correctly. He waited for the obvious condemnation. Waited for whatever pain the words were clearly meant to cause. But….he couldn't figure it out. "...What?"

"I need to break up with Val," Sylvie repeated.

He blinked at her, still waiting for the cut. "I don't understand."

"I'm not polyamourous, I don't want to date two people at once," Sylvie explained without answering a single one of the questions running through Loki's mind at the moment.

"Are you saying you-...you want to date….me?" Loki asked, completely baffled.

He couldn't understand the grin that spread across her lips. "I am."

"I…I mean, I can't say I'm not happy about it, but I don't understand. You just found out, well, that. Why do you want anything to do with me?"

"Because not a single person in my whole damn life would fight for me like that, but you would. If someone hurt me, you'd tear them apart at the seams….Wouldn't you?" her voice went up in pitch on the last two words, doubt finally creeping into her eyes.

"Absolutely," Loki said without hesitation. He wanted to squash any last bit of doubt she had. "I will always fight for you. Protect you however I can. I promise."

Sylvie pulled him into another kiss. This time he didn't have to brace himself for pain to come, for a dagger to the back. Instead, he let the kiss be the sigh of relief he needed. Sylvie wanted him, wanted to be with him not in spite of his worst side, but because of it.

How on Earth was he being rewarded for one of the worst things he'd ever done? Karma would make him pay for it later, he was sure, but whatever bad was coming couldn't possibly outweigh the good of this.

That night Loki watched the sunset, sitting on the bit of roof outside his window, sipping from a mug of warm tea. Sylvie had gone home to prepare to break up with Val the next morning, not wanting to interrupt girls' time with Gamora. She'd gone home to think about how to dump her girlfriend so she could be with him instead. He couldn't help but grin every time he thought about it. Wanda was right, maybe he really was a romantic at heart.

Only for Sylvie.

"Hey," Thor's voice said from behind him, through the window.

"Hey," Loki answered as his brother climbed out to sit next to him. There wasn't as much room as there used to be when they were kids.

Thor didn't say anything for a long moment, looking out at the sunset with his brother. There was still a nip in the air, but spring was starting to seep into the neighborhood. Buds were starting to perch themselves onto tree limbs, and Thor could somehow stand to sit outside without a jacket as long as there was at least a little sunlight.

Loki was about to break the silence when Thor beat him to it, "I know you did it."

"Did what?" Loki asked, looking at his brother. To be fair, there were a lot of things Thor could be referring to.

"Leaked Gamora's nudes."

Shit. "What are you talking about?" Deny, deny, deny.

"Don't lie to me," Thor sighed. "Please."

Loki turned his eyes back towards the sunset. "Nebula told you?"

"Yes, but she didn't need to," Thor answered. Loki's eyebrows scrunched together, and he opened his mouth to begin asking, but Thor beat him to it again. "I know you love me too. I also know you don't have the strongest moral compass."

"That's-...fair," he sighed as the protest left him. "I shouldn't have taken it that far."

"You shouldn't have," Thor agreed.

"What are you going to do?"

Thor took the mug from Loki's hand and took a long drink of the hot tea. Then cringed. "That stuff is disgusting," he grumbled.

"You didn't have to steal it," Loki grumbled back.

They sank into a long silence again. The sun was almost set and the wind made it too cold for Loki's taste, but he couldn't bring himself to move.

"I'm not going to turn you in," Thor answered finally. "But only because it was just a matter of time anyway. Quill's been showing Gamora's nudes for a while now, no matter how many times me and Rogers told him to knock it off."

"I thought it would seem in character," Loki tried not to smirk. His plan really had been brilliant after all.

"It did. But never again, understood? I don't care what anyone does to me, you can't do this again."

"Well, obviously," Loki said. Of course he couldn't do this again. He'd have to craft his revenge based on the person.

"Good," Thor smiled at his brother. "I love you, Lokes."

"I…love you too."

"I know," Thor grinned, pulling his brother into a tight hug. Loki let him, and even hugged him back.