#this random lady doesnt even know how to order food so he just explains to her what they sell there

[sylvies-kablooie]

when sylvie rolls up to a branched timeline during the year 1982 in the middle of oklahoma in a random field, i am torn between the emotional potency of her experiencing a timeline that was destined to be destroyed like her own was, and how fucking weird it must have been for jack, the mcdonalds employee whose only priority is to graduate high school, to have encountered this feral creature rolling up straight from the end of all time. she's still in her battle armor and has open gashes on her face and she's asking for something that isn't a squirrel, possum or a rat, please. he adjusts his tie with a smile and says "okay!" when the woman with a machete asks to try everything. absolute king. customer service is just like that sometimes.

#you guys don't get it it's such a rare event for someone with a british accent to roll up in america #he must have been shocked by that alone #but he seems so unbothered #this random lady doesnt even know how to order food so he just explains to her what they sell there #because you WILL encounter people like that when u interact with customers #and you are also like 17 and only really care about homecoming #anyway jack ur a king i'm glad u got to live in that branched timeline while u did #loki #loki series #loki show #loki tv show #loki tv #sylvie #sylvie laufeydottir #loki s2 #juni analysis

[thiswasinevitableid]

Hello! I hope you’re having a great holiday. I’m not sure if you’re still taking winter prompts, but I have a specific request. Have you ever written a sad/comfort holiday fic? Doesnt even have to be romantic. Maybe Aubrey is alone on Christmas but gets to video chat with Duck who reminds her she’s not alone - idk. Something like that would melt my heart. Thank you, again I hope you’re having a nice winter season!

Here you go, I hope this fits the bill! And thank you, <3

In retrospect, trying to fly back to Kepler early Christmas morning when there’s a snowstorm AND a pandemic was not Aubrey’s best plan.

She’s been visiting her aunt and uncle, her only remaining relatives on her mom’s side. It was in part because, after returning Sylvain home, it’s hurt a little less to think about her mom, so seeing the family wasn’t the painful ordeal it used to be. But it’s also because the memory of Dani reuniting with her family sits fresh and bright in her mind. Dani was cut off from them for years, wanting to see them but forbidden under the terms of her exile. Aubrey teared up when she watched her girlfriend be swamped in hugs by an overyjoyed, vampiric extended family. She’d never been cut off from her extended family that way, and a voice in the back of her head that’s she’s sure (okay, mostly sure) doesn’t belong to anyone but her told her it was time to reconnect. So off she flew.

Dani was supposed to come so she could meet them, but came down with a cold the day before they flew out. It turns out that Poinsettias are bad for vampires, and one snuck through Barclay’s careful monitoring of the Lodge lobby.

On the plus side, it meant Dani could stay with Dr. Harris Bonkers, who was not permitted as a carry-on for MJN Air and also was pretty clearly not a normal rabbit, something Aubrey isn’t ready to explain to her relatives.

The downside is it means she’s well and truly alone, sitting in O’Hare and cursing her luck, the weather, and over-priced salad she bought at a kiosk.

She’s far from the only stranded traveler, but everywhere she looks, she sees people in groups or duos, huddled up under vaguely non-denominational seasonal lights and tinsel or sipping fancy coffee.

There was a dinner at the Lodge tonight; it was probably the bomb, Barclay likes an excuse to bust out the fancy menu and make a hundred different things.

She picks up the book she brought, but can’t focus on it. Has the same problem with the games on her phone, the fidget snake Indrid gave her, or her favorite Youtube magic trick how-to series.

Dani is asleep, Barclay said she’d been out more or less all day, even though she felt way better, and Aubrey doesn’t want to call and wake her up. 

The shitty bucket seats near the gate that she sat down by at random are killing her, no matter how she perches or sprawls on them, so she shoulders her bag and trudges down the shiny concourse, looking for somewhere to sit.

It’s not that she’s never been alone, though even when she first traveled away from home she had Dr. Harris Bonkers. It’s more that she;s gotten so used to being around a bunch of people. First at the Lodge, then in Sylvain.

She’s gotten used to having a family. Being without it, on a day when everyone says you should be near them, reminds her too much of the first Christmas without her mom.

God, if she start crying in an airport, it’ll suck. In part because blowing her nose still sometimes leads to little bursts of fire. Janelle is still stumped by that one.

A sign on a little wooden post says the place she’s stopped in front of is open until 2 am. That’ll work. She glances at the name.

It’s the Bigfoot Bar and Grille.

She laughs a little louder than she means to, but it’s 10:30 P.M in an airport; no one gives her a second glance, all too busy doing their own weird thing in a liminal space.

The place has wi-fi, and she plus her phone in to the courtesy socket by her booth. She orders nachos and a root-beer float, because why the hell not, she’s in an airport, lonely, and hungry.

Her phone flashes, an incoming video call where the only thing in the caller I.D is a duck emoji.

“Hey, Lady Flame.” Duck grins at her from the couch; he’s in a Christmas sweater, and Winnie is whapping a shiny toy just out of frame.

“Hi!” She waves, “Indrid tell you I was bored?”

He shakes his head, “Nah, he’s asleep. Zonked out on a carton of nog and two dozen cookies. Barclay mentioned you got stuck when we were at the Lodge earlier. Thought you might like some company.”

“I really, really would.”

“Even if I don’t got much excitin to report?”

“I’m, like, this close to ripping out the speakers in this terminal; they’re all playing Muzak Christmas Carols.”

Duck grimaces

“I know, right? Frosty the Snowman is bad enough on it’s own.”

“Yeah, never cared much for that one. Always liked ‘Silver Bells.’“ He mumbles a little on the admission.

“Duck, you’ve never lived in a city.”

“So? Kinda fun, imaginin Christmas in a different place.”

“0/10, would not recommend.”

He snickers, says encouragingly, “c’mon, gotta be a song that puts you in the Christmas spirit.”

“I kinda like the ones from the Rudolph movie, the one with the kinda creepy animation. Mom liked to sing them to me when I was little. She’d be, like, decorating the tree and singing to herself and let me help and-”

She sniffs, not noticing the tear until it falls.

“Sorry. I’m still getting used to talking about her like that to people.”

“S’okay. You don’t have to.”

“I...I kinda want to. Even though I did it a bunch this week, I couldn’t talk to my relatives about the whole fire-guilt-surprise you’re a god thing.”

The view shifts, Duck adjusting the laptop so the small Christmas tree is in the background.

“What else did she do?”

And so Aubrey tells him; about the year of the badly burnt cookies that they ate anyway, of her mom reading her the same picture book, even when she got too old for it, because it was a tradition for the two of them. Of her mom wearing the flamebright pendant at Christmas parties and Aubrey always asking if she could wear it this year.

Eventually, the harried waitress puts her food down before dashing off to cover eight other tables.

“Better let you go, don’t want those nachos gettin cold.”

“Yeah. Cold nachos are sad. Thanks for keeping me company.”

“Any time. And Aubrey? Know it feels like, being stuck there tonight, but you ain’t alone. And I don’t mean in some weird, woo-woo way. I mean we’re all thinkin about you, and we’ll all be waitin for you tomorrow. It ain’t like before you came to Kepler, when there wasn’t anyone waitin for you at the next stop, or the one after that. Where there wasn’t really a home. You got a home now, hell, you got two of ‘em, one on each planet.”

Aubrey wipes her thumb under her eye.

You ain’t alone, Lady Flame, you’re just a little further away than usual.”

“Yeah” the words sink in and she smiles, brighter this time, “yeah, you’re right. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“Merry Christmas, Duck.”

“Merry Christmas, Aubrey.”