For All Time. Always!

39 - The One with He Who Remains

The Manor

Loki's POV

  I place a gentle kiss on Y/n's hand just before letting it go to my dismay. A portal opens, I assume back to the TVA. I stand back beside Sylvie.

  "I finally did it," I mutter to her in excitement.

  "You didn't do shit," she smirks. Y/n turns back around, making me hopeful for a fraction of a second that maybe, just maybe she would stay, but instead she waves.

  "See you soon," she smiles before heading into the portal. I try to put a smile on my own face, but it's hard. Why does she have to leave just as we're finally together again?

  I shake the thoughts out of my head. I would see her again. I have to remain hopeful, that's all.

  "Now that she's gone," Miss Minutes starts. "We can discuss our deal. Like I said before, the two of you can be put into a timeline where you get what you've always wanted."

  "And what have we always wanted?" I ask.

  "Now, don't play coy with me, mister. You know how you got into this mess."

  "What?"

  "The battle of New York, silly," she says like it's obvious. "You versus those self-righteous Avengers. How would you like... to win? But not just there. You can kill Thanos. You want the infinity gauntlet? Yours. Throne of Asgard? No problem."

  I stare blankly at her. Was she being serious? Could I really have all of that? I weigh my options as she continues.

  "What about you, missy?" she asks Sylvie. "All those years on the run. Desperate. Alone. How would you like to wake up tomorrow with just a lifetime of happy memories?"

  I turn to her, scanning her face for a reaction. Her eyes are glossy, but she's totally calm. Must be thinking, I suppose.

  "What about Y/n?" I ask. "Would she be in my timeline?"

  "Of course. She is what you want, isn't she?"

  My eyes burn. It's all I could ever ask for. But, wait...

  "She would have no recollection of any of these prior events, of course," she states. "And neither would you."

  "What about the memories from before? When she wasn't at the TVA?" We've been through a lot together. I'd hate to lose all of it and start from the beginning again. 

  "That wouldn't fit in with your dream timeline, silly. Don't you remember? You only met after you lost the battle. I thought you wanted to win?"

  I think for a moment. How would this all work?

  "It's fiction." I turn to Sylvie, a bit startled after her quietness. She looks at me with a slight nod before I nod back.

  I turn back to the clock. "We write our own destiny now," I state.

  "Oh, sure you do. Good luck with that," Miss Minutes says before disappearing. I'm starting to understand why Y/n was so scared of her.

  We furrow our brows at her ominous statement. "Come on," I tell Sylvie as we continue on through the manor. We hold up our daggers, just in case.

  "He who remains," I say to ease the tension as we walk.

  "Not for much longer."

  We walk into a large room with four statues in the center, one of them broken and lying on the floor. We investigate the room, looking around for anything. I wipe some dust off of one of the statues with two fingers.