Tom Hiddleston and Loki Imagines - Bk. 1

Loki - Laughter Lines

Your POV

         "Mom, can we keep the window open tonight?"

        Your mother laughs.  "Whatever for?  The AC is already on."

        "I'm getting too cold," you lied through your teeth.  "The window is just right!"  Your mother smiles and makes her way to the window.

        "Alright Goldilocks, but if it gets too warm, you put on your AC."

        It was the middle of summer, and, worse, the area was expecting a heatwave in the next couple days.  Even at eight years old, you knew better than to not have your AC on.  But you knew you weren't getting much sleep tonight; you had other plans.

        You lie in your bed, waiting until you knew that your parents were fast asleep.  At 10:00, you slip out your bed, change into a tee and shorts, slip on your flip flops, and sneak out to the fire escape.  You make your way to the park, only a block away.  A pale boy is already waiting there.

        "What took you so long?"

        "I had to be cautious," you replied, taking the boy's hand.  Not too long ago, he stumbled at your windowsill.  Your window had been open, letting in the cool breeze.  He had waken you, but you instantly became friends, telling each other stories, including how he came to Earth from Asgard, his home, through a hidden portal.

        "What did you want to show me?"

        "It's a surprise."  You lead him further into the park, into the woods, on a barely noticable dirt path, and into a small clearing, a tree stump in the middle.

        "My last time to come here, and you take me to a cut down tree?"  Through your talks, he told you that it was becoming difficult to sneak out.  You didn't want him to be in any trouble, and frankly you were afraid of getting caught as well.

        "It's a special tree," you respond.

        "What makes it special?"

        "It was cut down eighteen years ago."

        "So?"

        "Don't you find it odd that it was in the middle of a cleared woodland floor?  It must've been so important a long time ago."

        "How far back do you think?" the boy asks with genuine curiousity.

        "At least three hundred years."  He gives you a face.

        "How do you know that?"

        "Look at the stump," you answer, pointing to the dead tree.  "The rings tell you."

        Sure enough, there were a multitude of small, brown rings circling the middle of the stump.  Both of you started tracing out the circles, which actually amounted to over three hundred; you had checked one day, but lost count somehwere at three-hundred-seven.

        "One day," you tell him, "we'll meet again.  I know we will.  And you can tell me more stories about Asgard, and I'll tell you mine about Earth."  You knew he would enjoy that.

        "Do you swear by it?"

        "Cross my heart, and hope to die."  He smiles widely, and you solidify it by introducing him to the pinky promise.

        "By the way," he says.  "My name is Loki."  It never occured to you that you didn't know his name.

        "(Y/N)."

Loki's POV

        I make my way down the path, now overgrown with weeds.  It had been seventeen years since I've been here, but I promised myself I would take the time to visit again.

        I decamouflaged myself.  Ever since the incident with the Avengers, I had to keep a low profile, unless I wanted S.H.I.E.L.D., or Asgard, for that matter, locking me up again.  I'm sick of being treated like a criminal.  I was only following the example of Odin.

        I come to the clearing.  The stump was still there, and it was a lot bigger than I remember it to be.  There was a hole at the top, the tree never ceasing to rot.  Moss covered the rest like a lid to a jar.

        Another tree had been planted right next to it.  It angered me slightly.  This tree was special because it was all by itself.  It shouldn't need to share its glory.  I examine the intruder tree, inspecting why someone thought it was a good idea to bring it here.

        As I do so, I hear a twig snap. I turn my head towards the path, and I see her.

        "(Y/N)?"

        "I didn't think you remembered me."

        "How could I forget?"  Actually, she was the one thing that helped me to keep some of my sanity.  Throughout everything, I still had a friend.  Well, at least I hoped to.  In regards to New York, I had a long speech of apology prepared.

        "Look at you!" she exclaims, coming up to me.  She stands on her tiptoes.  "I didn't know Asgardians were this tall!"

        I chuckle to myself.  I'll tell her later.

        She takes my hand and drags me to the stump.  We sit, but you can easily tell that she's excited and bubbly.

        "So what's happened with you?" (Y/N) asks. "And yes, I know about what happened in the city, but to be honest, I don't care.  Everything else besides that."  I looked at her stunned.  In all my preparation for this moment, I never expected her to say those words.

        "I...I..." I stutter, not knowing what to say.

        "How about we both start from when we were last here and go from there?"

        The words come effortlessly after that.  I told her about the things I've learned, the things I've seen, the pranks I've pulled, the adventures, the mystery, everything.  And even the parts I find boring, she still listens intently, her eagerness never waving.  After I'm done, she entertains me with her life story.  I can see in her face the feelings of accomplishment, the pieces of her broken heart that need to be put back in place, and her ever ingraining laugher lines.

        And I don't know why I did it.  Probably because if I did, her happiness would be so contagious, it would rub off on me.  Or maybe to finish putting the fragments of her heart back into place.  But I kissed her, right in the middle of her sentence, right in the middle of her story.  And it surprised me that she kissed me back. And never in my life, not even when I temporary controlled Asgard, had I felt a moment more magical than this.