Knowing You

"I don't know if I should be angry or grateful that you brought me to this place."

As soon as the words left your mouth you wanted to sink into the ground and never reappear but unfortunately even the TVA didn't have such powers. Loki looked at you with wide eyes and a questioning frown and you dreaded his response.

"I assumed that was the only possible option," he said slowly and you cringed at the way your heart rate increased at his intense gaze. "Why wouldn't you be angry?" You averted your eyes before mumbling quietly "Because I get to see you again." You were blushing furiously at this point and you were too afraid to look up and face him so you kept staring at the papers in front of you. "Pardon?" he asked and you swore his voice sounded less confident than before.

You took a deep breath before loudly declaring "It was nothing, forget I said anything." and thankfully Loki was polite enough not to press the matter. You awkwardly stood up and announced that you needed a drink and briskly walked away, attempting to calm your racing heart in the process.

You spent an unreasonable amount of time hanging around the canteen and you only left when several TVA agents started giving you strange looks. When you arrived back at your shared desk Loki had his head on the table and you almost squealed at how dreamy he looked. His hair was ruffled and he seemed to be smiling in his sleep and you were overcome with the urge to touch him.

You often saw him frown or scrunch his nose in concentration and to be able to experience such a peaceful expression on him made your heart flutter. You were aching with longing for the Loki that you lost and you couldn't help but see him in everything the one in front of you did. You let out a frustrated huff and pushed your unhelpful romantic feelings in the back of your mind where they would hopefully not continue to bother you. A little self-deception never hurt anyone, right?

You gently placed your hand on Loki's shoulder and he woke with a startled yelp that was downright adorable. You suggested taking a break and he blinked a few times before responding in a rough voice "These cases are boring me. Would you like a tour of this grand agency instead?"

You followed Loki along the never ending hallways and you were amazed by the mixture of out of this world technology and the mundane look of an 80s office. You asked Loki why everything in the TVA was that particular shade of beige but he didn't have a good answer besides the Time-Keepers' obvious bad taste.

You enjoyed speaking with him and when you noticed his gaze lingering you realised with surprise that you felt protected rather than studied. Miss Minutes appeared out of thin air to inform you that Agent Mobius wanted to speak with you and she politely ignored the shriek that escaped you at her sudden presence. She led you to one of the offices and you were grateful for her guidance since every corner of the TVA looked completely identical to you.

Mobius greeted you with a wide smile and immediately announced that Judge Renslayer had approved of your stay with the TVA as long as you continued to make yourself useful. You felt as if an entire mountain fell off your chest at the news and when you sighed audibly he chuckled amicably. You glanced at Loki who seemed to be equally relieved and for the first time since your arrival your main emotion was calm rather than anxiety.

"There is someone I would like you to meet," Mobius said and since he was still wearing his soft smile you hoped it would be a pleasant encounter. "This is Hunter B-15, the agent who originally apprehended our resident Variant," he said with an amused twinkle in his eyes and you quickly introduced yourself to the fierce looking woman.

She gave you a warm smile before pointing at Loki with a sneer "He should be pruned for stealing you from the Sacred Timeline." You laughed at her cross expression and immediately asked for details on her dealings with Loki. "I am right here," the demigod in question said indignantly and you couldn't help but snort at the offended look on his face. You smiled widely at him and it didn't go unnoticed that he leaned into your touch when you gently brushed against his arm.

"Yeah but you would never tell me the embarrassing details," you responded with a wink and you watched in real time as his upset faded and made room for affection. Before you could get lost in his eyes you turned back to Hunter B-15 to pay attention to her story.

You listened with rapt attention as she told you all about Loki's initial arrest, the discovery of the Time Twister and the way he managed to trick her before getting caught by Mobius. "He owes his life to that man's good heart. Without him I'd have pruned him ages ago," Hunter B-15 said with a grim nod at her Time Stick. "And I still might if he doesn't behave."

Loki looked genuinely terrified for a second and you tried biting your lip to prevent laughter from escaping. All your efforts were in vain as you hunched over and started cackling and you could feel a month's worth of stress rolling off of you in the process. You couldn't remember the last time you had laughed this hard and you were pleased to see that Mobius and Hunter B-15 were both smiling back at you. You took a glimpse at Loki to see if he was upset about your outburst at his expense and you instinctively gasped at his expression.

He was staring at you with such wonder and amazement that you immediately felt flustered and averted your eyes. You were stunned by the fact that you could read him so easily despite him not being the Loki you used to know and you were uncertain what to do with this realisation.

Hunter B-15 excused herself with a final nod towards you and the promise that you could always reach out to her if you needed support. Mobius decided to call it a day and not long after you found yourself in your allotted room alone with your confusing thoughts. Seeing a Loki who wasn't the one that you had given your heart to was making it difficult to sort through your grief and not knowing his intentions was an added barrier to resolution.

You went to bed feeling strangely empty and heavy and you were not surprised when you woke up only a few hours later after a terrible nightmare. You spent a few moments lying in the dark and staring at the ceiling before jumping up and getting dressed in one of the many brown suits you had been provided with. You had briefly considered staying in your pyjamas but since time was irrelevant here you were bound to bump into TVA agents on a different sleeping schedule and you wanted to avoid an incident. Your legs automatically carried you to the one place that both horrified and excited you: the Time Theatre.