Hidden Desires

You were about to return to your case when Loki suddenly blurted out "My mother…you have met her, haven't you?" You nodded at him and smiled at the memory of the Queen of Asgard and her gentle eyes. You quietly told Loki how much you had enjoyed meeting Frigga and that you had been stunned by the strength and kindness she managed to combine in her whole being. You had been on edge the entire time you spent in the foreign realm and she managed to be the beacon of calm in a sea of anxiety and worry.

Loki's eyes were trained on you as you spoke about his mother and you could see adoration and longing for his lost relationship swimming in them. You knew that his connection with Frigga had been special and when you asked him about their magic lessons his face lit up like a charged Time Stick. You listened to his stories with a warm feeling in your chest and once he finished you gave him your widest smile. "She always loved you," you said softly and Loki looked deep into your eyes before responding with yearning in his voice "I know."

He reached over the table and your heart fluttered when he offered his palm and you carefully rested your hand on his and squeezed lightly. The atmosphere between you was peaceful and content and you felt incredibly at ease and connected with Loki. Your moment was interrupted by Miss Minutes appearing next to you and enquiring if you had made any progress on finding the Variant's hiding place. Both of you spluttered awkwardly since you hadn't exactly been working hard and you reluctantly let go of Loki's hand.

You grabbed the nearest pile of papers and started reading and Miss Minutes left you to your own devices with a final tut. You chuckled to yourself as you sorted through the file in front of you and when you lifted your head to glance over at Loki he seemed to be watching you. You smiled at him and he returned it instantly and the familiar warm feeling appeared in your chest again. You continued working in silence and you realised that you felt much less restless and nervous around him than previously.

Mobius eventually came to get you for a joint dinner and you had a good laugh at his most recent mission that involved way too many monkeys and Hunter B-15 hitting him with his TemPad. Afterwards you decided to call it a day - despite those not really being a thing at the TVA - and you left for your room to get some rest. You tried everything from meditation to muscle relaxation but sleep eluded you so you decided that a quick walk around the premises might help tire you out.

You ended up walking past the Time Theatre and you stopped in your tracks when you heard your own voice through the door that had been left ajar. You took a few careful steps and stuck your head in to see what was going on and if you had potentially made a mistake. You spotted Loki at the table with the projector and to your surprise he seemed to be watching parts of your life on the screen. You stared at the scene for a moment when you noticed that the memories on screen were exclusively romantic moments between you and Loki.

"What the hell?" you exclaimed and Loki immediately jumped up and scrambled to pause the recording before looking at you with an awkward smile on his face. He spread out his arms and said in a voice that sounded like he was trying to come across as confident "It's not what it looks like." You barked out a laugh at how cliché his response was and you crossed your arms in front of your chest as you regarded him with a questioning look.

Before you could voice your disbelief he took a step towards you and started rambling in a high-pitched tone "You're pretending nothing happened and that is of course what I would do and that is the best course of action for our, uh, mutual acquaintanceship but I just kept wondering…" He was helplessly waving his arms around as if that explained everything and you squinted at him while your brain attempted to decipher the meaning of it all. You glanced at the screen behind him that showed you and Loki locked in a tight embrace and you took a deep breath before asking quietly "You want to kiss me?"

Loki let out a huff and gaped at you for a long moment and you watched him take a deep breath and mumble "Straight to the point I see." You uncrossed your arms and raised an eyebrow at him since he hadn't actually answered your question yet. He sighed and the expression on his face turned embarrassed when he solemnly declared "Yes. I do." You had been dreaming about his lips since that one time you had jumped him and you weren't going to let such an opportunity pass you by and you smiled softly at him.

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yeah."

Loki gave you an incredulous look and you figured he had expected more resistance from you but you simply shrugged. He chuckled and turned off the projector, leaving both of you in the dark. He called out for Miss Minutes and when she chirped "Mood lighting coming up" both of you started blushing furiously. You tried telling yourself that this was only about Loki's curiosity and that it wasn't inherently romantic but you could tell that your heart didn't believe you.

Miss Minutes left with a wink and you glanced at Loki who was crossing the room with confident steps until he was right in front of you. You looked up at him and despite wanting it you felt nervousness creep up your spine at the reality of the situation. Loki lifted up his hand to rest it on your cheek and when he started leaning in you instinctively wrapped your arms around his neck to keep him close. His lips met yours in a gentle kiss and you responded eagerly.

His mouth was warm and soft and the anxiety in your gut was immediately replaced by contentment. Loki moved his free hand to your hip and when he pulled you closer you whimpered into his mouth and heat travelled down your body. He deepened the kiss and when he licked against your lips you parted them breathlessly to allow the exploration.

Loki tasted of mint and spices and you relished in the taste that was both familiar and exhilaratingly new at the same time. You let your hands wander into his hair and started gently caressing the back of his head. He growled faintly and let his tongue entangle with yours until you felt like he was touching not only your body but your very soul. His movements were insistent and hungry and you felt like you could happily drown in his need.

You continued kissing like your life depended on it until your lungs started burning due to lack of oxygen. You pulled back with a final nibble on his lower lip and Loki groaned in the back of his throat. He was still holding onto your hip and you were stunned by the open and almost vulnerable look on his face. You had enjoyed the kissing to an extent that felt dangerous to your fragile heart so you took a determined step back to untangle yourself from his embrace.

"Well, there you go," you said in a tone that sounded way more nonchalant than you felt.