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A normal life. That’s what’d she’d always wanted. What she’d given everything for. Free will, justice, and a normal life.
But something was off.
She’d never let herself admit it, of course, she refused to be anything less than content with her life. But, she still felt something was missing, though she was never sure what.
Everyone else was happy with what they were given, was she really this selfish? She’d gotten what she’d asked for, what Loki sacrificed for her, but she still disliked it?
Right after running to save the multiverse, with a brief glance, Loki gave her all the memories he’d lived while she was on repeat. It was important context for rebuilding the TVA, but oh, how she wished she didn’t know it.
He could’ve solved all his problems with a single strike of his sword, but he didn’t. Even when everything was pointing to a singular solution, he wouldn’t—couldn’t do it. He sacrificed his life for hers. All of it was for her.
“For you.”
She hated how he looked at her when he said that, and she hated how she felt now. She should’ve been happy inside that stupid place, serving fries, not reminiscing on Loki’s feelings for her in her truck.
Sylvie watched as a tired couple holding a sleeping toddler walked to their car, gently slipping the little girl into her car seat and buckling her in. The man stared at his wife in a way Sylvie had only seen a few times before, all from the same person.
She turned away from the two, trying to dry her eyes. This was her choice, she chided herself. She’d pushed him away. She’d yelled at him. She’d refused to help him. She got her normal life, but it would never be quite full, she realized. Life was made worth living by those your loved. She wanted that. Sure, she had her friends, Mobius and the like, and she could always meet new people. But, she knew, there was only one person her heart belonged to, and he was impossible far away.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
Loki hummed quietly as he fiddled with some branches of the timeline. He was looking for something— someone specifically. Here, timelines weren’t organized like they were in the tempads, and he just couldnt find where his Sylvie was hiding. He was able to watch her from time to time when she visited the TVA, but those few moments were too few and far between for him. How was she doing? Was she happy? Did she find someone else? He hoped not; he couldnt deal with that just yet.
He let the timelines go, fluttering into the void, standing up from his chair. He preferred to call it a chair, throne felt wrong in so many ways. He’d spent his whole life looking for power, but when he finally decided he didn’t want it, he wanted love, here he was, alone. He should be happy, power is what makes a Loki tick. But, he supposed, that description never fit Sylvie, and he now learned it no longer fit him. His ending was poetic in a way.
Loki decided he didn’t like poems.
He paced his little empire, whispering lyrics to himself of a song he wouldn’t soon forget. His song, for her.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
Sylvie’s finger traced the gilded patterns of He Who Remain’s tempad.
“You’re stalling!” Mobius called.
“I know!” She shot back, stately blankly at the tempad. She spoken with Mobius over her dilemma, and now wished she hadn’t. The teasing was painful, and his dad jokes only worsened since discovered he was, in fact, a dad.
“Hey,” he kneeled down next to where she was sitting— the grass where she and Loki shared a blanket before facing Alioth. “You have nothing to worry about.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I absolutely do! I’ve seen the way he looks at you, that boy is smitten. Now, I don;t now what’s going on inside that head of yours, whether you’re worried you don’t deserve this or you’re scared you’re gonna mess it up. But, I know Loki will know. And he wants to help, okay? I spent years studying Loki’s, well, I know him well enough to know nothing is going to go wrong. Now, go talk to your lover boy, and then come back and give me an update on everything! I want to see my two favorite Loki’s happy again.”
With that, he left her there, her hair flowing in the wind and her choice made.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
She heard him before she saw him. His voice carried over the now not-barren land. It was the song. The song he’d sung on the train. She caught most of the lyrics, but a few were unrecognizable to her, their versions of the Asgardian language not quite the same. It was like a Spanish speaker trying to understand Italian. But, she got enough to understand the bittersweet tone of the love song.
She walked along, noticing what he’d done to the once crumbling excuse for a planet. There was a garden, and a small house with a green roof, lit by green and purple hues and gold decor. She continued towards the voice, only pausing when she noticed a perfect replica of her horns set next to Loki’s above the door frame.
“When she sings, she sings, come home. She-“
“Loki?” She finally gasped.
He immediately turned, his eyes wide as they scanned the area and landed on her frame. He dropped the timelines he’d been holding and rushed to her, placing his land on her cheek.
“Sylvie? What are you doing here?”
The tone of his voice made her feel so vulnerable. She pushed herself into his arms, smashing her face against his chest and wrapping her arms around him.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.” He whispered, causing tears to spill down her cheeks.
“I wasn’t sure you’d want me to come.”
That confession was all they needed. For a while, they stood there, snuggling and crying and confessing their feelings for each other. Eventually, they stumbled inside and made arrangements for their lives. Their lives together.
•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•
Sylvie was curled in Loki’s arms as her alarm went off to get ready for her shift. Not that it mattered, of course, the whole “outside of time” thing made it pretty impossible for her to be late to her shift. But, still, without it se found it hard to leave him, even without his constant complaints for her to give up the “silly job” and stay with him some more. Neither of them really cared, they enjoyed their friendly bickering. She switched it off and turned to face her still-sleeping boyfriend. Maybe it wasn’t really considered a normal life for her to return to her boyfriend outside of reality after every shift. But it was her version of a normal life, and she loved it.
Loki stirred, kissing to top of her forehead.
“What was that for?”
“It was because I love you.”
She snorted, but snuggled up against him regardless. “Love you too, idiot.”