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peterbarnes · 6 months

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Maybe Season 2: Chapter 2

Summary: You work at the TVA as an analyst. Every day is the same- boring case after boring case- but your entire life changes one day when a new variant shows up.

Word Count: 4k

Catch up on season 1 of the series!

A/N: She's a long one - thanks for your patience. In this chapter, we dig deeper into the reader and Sylvie's unique relationship dynamic. Lowkey proud of the character/relationship development.

The chaos of the world faded away as he held you.

The TVA no longer shook, Mobius wasn’t running around like a madman with O.B., the universe wasn’t collapsing. How could it, when you were holding your universe so tightly you thought you would break his ribs?

You had feared his anger, his resentment - mostly because you knew you deserved it. But Loki didn’t hesitate to gather you in his embrace, arms twisting tightly around you as he buried his face in the crook of your neck.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

“I missed you, too,” you whispered back.

“I’m so sorry,” you both blurted simultaneously.

Loki pulled back from you, chuckling with that mischievous twinkle in his eye.

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he said, caressing your cheek. “You were only doing what you thought was right.”

“So were you.”

“And, about Lamentis -” he started.

You knew what he really wanted to say: ‘About Sylvie.’

“Let’s not talk about that now,” you interrupted.

The image of He Who Remains flashed through your head. The memory of him telling you about the nature of Loki and Sylvie’s relationship. All mere hours after Loki told you he loved you for the first time. You subconsciously rubbed your chest at the heartache.

“We have time,” you continued. “Right, now I’m just happy to be back here.”

Loki’s smile faded to a grimace. You watched as anxiety invaded every inch of his body. He started to bite his nails, but you slapped them away from his face before he could do any damage.

He shot you a look that read: really?

“Bad habit,” you told him.

As a distraction, you slipped your hands into his. He interlaced your fingers before pressing a gentle kiss to the back of your hand.

“We might not have as much time as you think, my dear.”

Suddenly, the ground between you and Loki split open. The two of you shot back in opposite directions. The TVA shook violently underneath your feet. Your home was being destroyed in front of your eyes - monitors falling to the floor, screens cracking, windows shattering.

The TemPad in your pocket shot out bright sparks. You shrieked, racing to grab it from your pocket and throw it aside. As soon as it fell to the TVA floor, it exploded, with pieces of metal flying everywhere. A piece of shrapnel was inches away from your face when it suddenly froze, surrounded by a bright green mist. Your eyes turned toward Loki whose hand was outstretched.

“Nice catch,” you said.

The shrapnel fell to the ground, and Loki rushed over to you. He soothed his hand up and down your forearm, and a chill ran down your spine.

Slowly, the ruckus in the TVA simmered until it eventually stood still.

“I need to show you something,” Loki said softly.

This can’t be good.

- – -

You stared out the glass of the observation room. Dox’s bombs had turned the timeline into a horrifying sight. Pieces of pure time floated away into the ether, the lives of those in it forever lost.

What if one of them was where you were originally from? Before the TVA kidnapped you and wiped your memories. You might’ve lost everything, and you wouldn’t have even known.

“So you need He Who Remains’s aura?” You asked, not taking your eyes off the timeline.

“Yes!” Said the chipper voice of O.B., who stood behind you at one of the computers.

“How are we supposed to find him? He didn’t exactly exist in the normal constraints of time. Is there even a past variant of him to find?” You ran circles in your head through all of the variables, all of the possibilities. Nothing made sense, not anymore.

“Renslayer’s working with him - I heard them,” explained Loki. “Casey’s working to track her TemPad, so wherever - or whenever - we find her, we find him.”

“This is such a mind fuck,” you scoffed in frustration.

“Tell me about it,” Mobius laughed.

You jumped as the doors of the observation room opened, slamming against the wall. Casey ran in frantically, TVA guidebook in one hand, TemPad in the other.

“I found her.”

- – -

“I don’t mind a nice skirt, but this corset is eating me alive,” you wheezed, pulling at the fabric across your stomach.

“I, for one, think you look rather stunning,” Loki flirted, shooting you a wink.

“Charmer,” you teased.

“I can’t take you two anywhere,” Mobius groaned.

The three of you stood in Gilded Age clothing on the streets of Chicago. While the 1800s were hardly your favorite era from the timeline, it was beautiful up close.

Mobius walked ahead, but your and Loki’s steps fell in sync. You linked your arm with his, briefly leaning your head on his shoulder.

“I know you said you didn’t want to talk about it, but -”

“Loki -”

“I need you to know how much you matter to me. You. No one else. Never anyone else,” he hollered loudly. Passerby stared at the two of you, whispering to one another.

“Apologies,” Loki said to them, tipping his tophat.

“I know you care about me Loki, but if you feel the same way for her…” you trailed off, unsure of what you would do. You didn’t even want to think about the possibility of his head turning.

“I don’t,” he exasperated, as if the words pained him to hear. “I thought I was going to die on Lamentis. I’d faced death before, but there was always a way around it. There wasn’t then - I was staring into the face of an inevitable apocalypse. Neither of us were thinking straight and all I did was hold her hand. It was for comfort and reassurance. Not lust, not love, not even affection. All of my affections are reserved for you.”

He put his hand over his heart, his eyes never leaving yours. There was no hesitancy or distraction. The eye contact made you squirm internally, consumed by the bright blue swirls.

“I believe you,” you whispered, softly smiling at him.

Loki’s eyebrows shot up, almost like he was startled.

“Really?” He asked in disbelief.

“Why is that so surprising?” You chuckled, pushing a stray strand of raven hair behind his ear.

“People rarely trust my word,” he said, slowly grabbing your hand from his hair. “God of Mischief and all.”

“I trust you, Mischief,” you said.

I’ve never said that to anyone before.

His eyes glazed over as he smiled at you. He leaned down to kiss your forehead, as he ran his thumb over your knuckles.

“I trust you, too.”

“Hurry the hell up!” You heard Mobius yell from down the block.

You and Loki burst out into laughter. He rarely laughed - it was a beautiful melody to hear.

“Come on then, lover,” you said, pulling on his hand. “We have a fugitive to catch.”

- – -

The three of you had split up, searching the festival for any sign of Renslayer or He Who Remains. Loki and Mobius had wandered off to this magic show by a man named Victor Timely. You, however, decided to walk around the grounds, searching the ins and outs of the crowd.

You smiled at the sighs. Children running freely, laughing with their friends. Families spending quality time together, sharing drinks and popcorn. Couples who got lost in their own little world. You wondered if Loki looked at you the way those men looked at their partners.

Everyone looked so happy. At peace and unaware of the coming war. These were the people you had sworn to protect. It was one thing to watch over them from the prison that is the Citadel, but to see them face-to-face was glorious.

A little girl with blonde hair parted into pigtails ran up to you and crashed into your legs, squeezing them tight.

“Oh!” You startled, looking down at her. “Hello there.”

You bent down to the girl’s height and waved. She waved back with her chubby little fingers.

“Are you alright?”

“She wants to see you,” the little girl said.

“Sorry?”

“She wants to see you,” the little girl repeated. She was so young, her teeth hadn’t even fully grown in. She smiled at you with her gums. “Go to the ferris wheel.”

“Who wants to see me?”

She opened her mouth, as if she was about to answer, but shut it quickly. She giggled before running off into the crowd.

It was like the air had turned cold. Every bone in your body told you not to follow.

Run.

But, before your mind could come to a decision, your legs started to move. You ran after the girl, ducking and dodging between people. The girl ran up the steps of the ferris wheel, disrupting the line of people who were waiting to ride. You ran into a few of them, and could hear their angry calls from behind you.

Once you reached the ferris wheel platform, you went to grab the little girl’s arm to stop her, but your fingers went right through her. You pulled your hand back, before reaching for her again. It wasn’t real - she wasn’t real. Then, she disappeared right between your fingers.

“I know illusions are more Loki’s thing, but I knew you sure as hell wouldn’t have followed me.”

You whipped around to see Sylvie leaning against the rail of the stairs. She looked different than the last time you’d seen her - which, coincidentally, was also when you tried to kill each other. She had grown her hair out into a mullet and ditched her traditional Loki armour for slacks and a long green jacket.

“Well, you’re right about that,” you retorted.

The air was tense between you, but you could tell she wasn’t here to fight. Her eyes held a level of despair and loneliness you knew all too well. She wasn’t even holding a knife, which was a rare occasion.

“I mean you no harm,” she whispered.

“I know,” you started. “Look, I’m sorry. About everything. That wasn’t how I wanted it all to happen.”

Sylvie bit the inside of her cheek as she stared at you. You could’ve sworn you saw tears build up in her eyes, but she never let them fall.

Stubborn girl.

“You don’t have to say it back,” you added. “I know you’re-”

“I’m sorry, too,” she blurted.

“Is that the first time you’ve apologized to someone?” You asked, chuckling.

Sylvie shrugged, unable to hide the smile on her face.

“I mean, I’m not sorry about trying to kill He Who Remains. After everything he did…to everyone, to me. What did you expect me to do - believe him, trust him?” she sighed, trying to contain her frustration. “But I shouldn’t have hurt you. I never meant to hurt you, you must know that.”

“I do,” you whispered, nodded profusely. “I shouldn’t have hurt you either.”

You walked toward the blonde, drawing her into a hug before she could protest. She didn’t hug you back, but she did drop her head onto your shoulder.

I’ll take it.

“I really am sorry about what happened,” Sylvie said, pulling back from the embrace, eyes pleading with you. “And I hope you don’t hate me for what I’m about to do.

“What -”

Suddenly, footsteps boomed up the stairs and screams pierced your ears. A man emerged from the line, tripping over the stairs, and falling onto the platform. He stood up clumsily before rushing over to you and hiding behind your shoulder.

“What are you doing?!” You scolded, shoving the man off you.

“Victor!”

The familiar voice echoed throughout the platform as Loki entered your view. He pushed past people, running over to you and the man, prying him off of you. Loki held the man up by his collar, towering over him.

“Don’t touch her,” Loki threatened. “You’re clearly very good at getting away-”

You caught a glint of emerald in your periphery. Sylvie had drawn a blade from thin air, pointing it at the throat of the clumsy man.

“Sylvie!” You and Loki both shouted.

Loki moved in front of the man, shielding him from his variant. He held his hands up, trying to reason with her.

“Sylvie, no,” he spoke.

“You stay out of this,” she snapped.

Using her magic, she lifted the man and Loki off their feet. She threw them backwards into one of the ferris wheel cars. She marched over to them, with you right on her heels. The car door slammed behind you.

You ran over to Loki, who was lying on the floor, clutching his side. You slipped your arm around his torso, sitting him up.

“Are you okay?” You asked, moving the hair out of his eyes.

He nodded, gripping your waist as he stood.

“Just wait,” he said to Sylvie. “Just wait one second!”

The blonde woman inched toward her prey.

“You’ve done enough,” she spat. “Now, get out of my face and let me finish my job.”

She swung her blade ferosiously toward Loki. Instinctively, you pushed him out of the way. The blade met your shoulder, cutting through your dress and across your skin. You cried out in pain, gripping your shoulder. Blood dribbled down the fabric of your arm, painting it a gruesome red.

Sylvie’s eyes widened, and she stepped back, dropping the blade to her side.

“No, no,” she whispered to herself. “I’m sorry.”

Loki looked at your arm in horror, and in a blind furry, summoned all his magic. With a flash of bright green, Sylvie had flown back into the window. The glass crunched at the impact, slowly cracking as she fell to the floor.

Sylvie growled as she pushed herself to her feet.

“When you showed up out of nowhere to ruin my life,” she yelled at Loki. “You asked me what I would do if one of his variants turned up. And I told you then, I’d kill him.”

Confusion prickled your mind, and you knew you had missed a step. You turned to look at the strange man Sylvie had been trying to kill.

“Oh my god.”

You had been so distracted by the chaos, you’d never looked at him - really looked at him. Behind the glasses and the large hair, it was clear as day. He Who Remains stood before you.

“It’s not him,” Loki said. “[Y/N], my dear, meet Victor Timely.”

The strange man awkwardly adjusted his tailcoat before bowing his head at you.

“Pleasure,” he greeted.

“Uh huh,” you said, frozen in shock.

“Look, Sylvie,” Loki said. “We need him. Without his help, the TVA will be destroyed.”

“Good. Let it burn. Do you care about anything but the TVA?”

“Of course I do!” He shot back, eyes flickering toward you.

“The TVA,” Victor stuttered, grabbing something from inside his coat.

He pulled out a small orange booklet and started flipping through the pages. The TVA guidebook.

“How did you get that?” You asked him.

He didn’t get a chance to answer before Sylvie lunged at him again.

“I know you just want to be left alone to live a life on your branch,” Loki stopped her. “I understand that. But if the loom fails, and the TVA is destroyed, there won’t be a life to go back to. Not for you, not for anyone.”

Sylvie clenched her jaw.

“It’s true,” you chimed in.

Sylvie looked at you and you saw some of the fight disappear from her body.

“We can’t fix this without him,” you continued.

“Stopping that place from being destroyed and fixing it are two very different things,” Sylvie told you. “And working with one of his variants is not going to get you either.”

It was like she was pleading with you, begging you to be on her side. But this wasn’t about sides - it’s life or death.

“Your machete hasn’t solved any problems thus far,” Loki sassed, and you slapped him on the arm.

“Cut it out,” you whispered.

He raised his hands in surrender.

“Do you really think I want to be here?” Sylvie asked you genuinely. “Do you think I’m going to get any joy out of killing this man?”

“Of course not,” you shot back. “You’re doing this because you think you have to, but I’m trying to tell you that you don’t.”

Sylvie summoned the TVA guidebook out of Victor’s hands, holding it out to you.

“Where do you think he got this book?!” She cried out. “If you - the ultimate timekeeper - and the TVA hadn’t messed with him, he’d have remained harmless. But instead, you weaponized him!”

“I didn’t do this,” you asserted. “What are you talking about?”

“Renslayer set him on a path that he wasn’t meant for. And now you are waltzing him right back into the TVA. What, are you trying to get him to replace you? You finally realized you couldn’t hack it?”

“Watch it,” you spat, trying to act like she hadn’t hit a nerve.

“He’s the thief of all free will,” she whispered, her tone cold like ice. “The most dangerous man who ever lived.”

“I’ve never met him in my life!” You screamed at her. “He’s not He Who Remains. Just like you aren’t Loki.”

“You haven’t got a clue.”

Sylvie ran around you, swinging her blade at Loki and Victor. Loki used his magic to move you into the corner of the car, out of harms way.

They were so quick in their movements you could barely see them fight. All you saw was swirls of green magic and wind rushing beneath Sylvie’s blade.

At one point the two shot blasts at each other simultaneously. The intertwined magic exploded like a grenade. The windows shattered and glass rained down on you. You tried to shield your face, but weren’t quick enough to avoid the first few shards. They scraped at your face before falling to the floor.

You heard Loki yell as the force flung him and Victor from the car and down the platform stairs. You quickly ran to the ferris wheel platform, eyes widening in horror at Loki lying still in the dirt.

“Loki!”

You ran toward him, dropping your knees into the dirt beside him. You were so focused on him, you didn’t notice Renslayer creep out of the crowd and run toward Victor.

Bystanders started to surround the four of you, helping Victor and Loki to their feet. Murmurs of questions and concerns rung through the festival.

“Are you alright?” You asked Loki, holding his cheek.

“Where is he?” Loki asked.

“Timely?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure, I-”

A bright light flashed before you, Loki rushed in front of you, pushing you behind him.

“No fucking way.”

A retro-decorated Miss Minutes stood 20 feet tall before you. She laughed manically as the crowd of people screamed and ran from her in horror. She stomped after them, ripping down flags and lights and throwing them to the ground.

“You better run!” She shoutered in that southern accent.

“She has a lot of audacity,” you said to Loki, rolling your eyes.

“Tell me about it.”

Loki was shoved from the back, and you were about to whip around and yell at whoever did it, before Sylvie marched past him, body-checking his shoulder.

“This is your fault,” she said to him before walking away.

“Honestly!” He groaned in frustration. It was like watching two siblings fight.

“Don’t take it personally,” you tried. “She’s like a moody teenager.”

“Loki! [Y/N]!”

Mobius rode around the corner in a idiotically small tricycle. He patted the seat behind him, as if to say hop on.

“Fuck no.”

“Absolutely not.”

- – -

After running around Chicago for an hour to no avail, you had tracked He Who Remains and Renslayer to a small, wooden lab in Michigan. You walked through the orange glow of the TimeDoor to find Renslayer strapped with a pruning gun, as Victor cowered before her.

While Loki and Mobius shouted at her to stop, you had waited far too long to confront Renslayer to merely use words.

You charged at her, tackling her to the ground. The gun went off in the struggle, pruning random items around the room - a chair, an invention, a mannequin.

“Get. Off!” Renslayer grunted below you.

You drew your fist back and punched her right in the face. Renslayer shrieked and clutched her nose, which now had blood flowing from it and onto her cheek.

“You sent me to the void!”

You punched her again.

“You betrayed us!”

And again.

“I actually thought you were my friend!”

Again.

“You tried to kill the man I love!”

Before you could punch Renslayer again, arms wrapped around your waist pulling you off her. You fought against the hold, twisting around to find it was Mobius. Loki simply stood by the door, beaming at you proudly.

“That’s my girl.”

Ravonna lay on the ground, unarmed, slipping in and out of consciousness. She tried to push herself up on her forearms, but failed, falling back to the floor.

“You’ve lost your way, Renslayer,” you spat at her. “And you lost everything because of it.”

“You don’t know what it takes to lead,” Renslayer groaned between spits of blood. “You failed.”

You lunged at her again, but Mobius held you back.

“Think happy thoughts,” he tried to soothe. “Puppies, unicorns…jet skis.”

“I don’t know, Mobius, I think you should let her have another go.”

Sylvie appeared from behind you, drawing her sword from her side. She walked over to Timely who recoiled to a corner of the lab. Her blade scraped across the wood as she dragged it over to his quivering form. Loki went to stop her, but you threw your arm out, blocking him.

“Wait,” you told him.

Something felt different this time.

Sylvie held her blade up at the man’s throat - just close enough to feel like a threat, but not strong enough to pierce skin.

“Please,” Victor begged softly, looking up a Sylvie. “I haven’t done anything.”

“Oh, you will. You’ll do terrible things.”

“That isn’t me. You don’t know the heart I have beating in my chest,” a tear slipped down his face. “I can make my own choices.”

You watched as the words diffused into Sylvie’s mind.

I haven’t done anything.

That isn’t me.

I can make my own choices.

Victor Timely wasn’t He Who Remains. He was simply Victor Timely. And if Sylvie slaughtered him for something he could do, or someone he could become, wouldn’t that make her the same as those she despises? Wouldn’t that directly contradict the free will she preaches?

“Come on, Sylvie,” you whispered to yourself.

Sylvie’s bottom lip quivered and her grip on the sword wavered. She breathed heavily, as if she was at war with herself. Slowly, she turned and looked at you, a tear slipping down her cheek.

“Get him out of here.”

You nodded, retracting your arm and letting Loki rush forward. As him and Mobius gathered Victor, you walked toward the somber woman. You wiped the tear staining her cheek.

“The right things are always the hardest to do,” you spoke. “But we must do them anyway.”

She leaned into your touch and closed her eyes, nodding slightly.

Mobius opened a TimeDoor and instructed Victor to walk through. Loki followed him, glancing back at Sylvie.

“Don’t make me regret this,” she told him.

“I won’t,” he said before disappearing through the door, Mobius tailing after him.

“What are you going to do with Renslayer?” You asked Sylvie, nudging your head to the woman sprawled across the floor.

“I’m going to take her somewhere she can’t hurt anyone.”

A blanket of silence fell over the two of you, and you wondered if you’ve ever shared a moment that wasn’t at least slightly uncomfortable.

“Be safe, Sylvie,” you told her, touching her shoulder.

You walked away. And you didn’t look back.

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