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Sylvie walks through the front door of the house she shares with Loki, a small bag dangling from her hand. Once she shuts the door behind her, she kicks off her boots and makes her way through the house.
“Honey, I’m home!” she calls sweetly, knowing full well Loki loves when she calls him pet names.
She heads toward the kitchen to put the grocery bag on the counter, but stops in front of the living room as something catches her eye - balloons in the shape of a heart floating around the room. A banner that says “Happy Valentine’s Day” covers the wall. The coffee table in front of their forest green sofa - that was clear when she left an hour ago - is now adorned with a vase of red roses in the center surrounded by a plate of chocolate covered strawberries, a bottle of champagne, and a few heart-shaped boxes with what she assumes are filled with various chocolates. Sylvie also spots a glass serving stand with a chocolate frosted cake encased in it. Lit candles are placed on various surfaces throughout the living room and a fire roars in the fireplace giving the space a cozy atmosphere.
And standing right in front of it all is Loki, her goofball boyfriend, staring at her with a big grin on his face and arms outstretched.
Sylvie’s eyes widen in amusement and a smirk forms on her face as she takes in the scene in front of her. “What’s all this, then?”
Loki walks up to her and gives her a gentle kiss on her forehead. “This, my dear Sylvie, is my way of asking you to be my valentine.”
“I didn’t know you had to ask someone to be your valentine. Sounds a bit foolish if you’re already dating the person,” Sylvie holds up the bag that’s still in her hand. “Is this why you sent me to the store to get ice cream? To get me out of the house so you could set the living room up?”
“Nothing escapes you, my love,” Loki chuckles as he takes the bag from her. “Although ice cream plays a part in all of this, I just neglected to grab some earlier. Let me put this in the freezer for now.” He heads toward the kitchen leaving Sylvie standing by herself.
She walks to a balloon and twirls the string around her finger as she admires his handiwork. She’s never had anyone do something like this just for her, and the fact that Loki is the first person to do so makes her a little teary eyed. The first person she allowed herself to be close to and he hasn’t disappointed her in the year they’ve been in a relationship. Loki makes her feel safe and loved, something she never thought would happen to her.
He had only found out about Valentine’s Day a few weeks ago when Thor had mentioned he needed to get supplies for Love to make cards for the kids at school. Sylvie had heard about the Midgardian holiday while she was on the run, but obviously never had a reason to celebrate. Loki saw it as a way for them to express their love for one another in other ways than the vigorous physical activity they partake in daily - and would definitely indulge in at the end of tonight. She had a feeling he would make a spectacle like this for their first Valentine’s Day as a couple. Maybe something more grand, like a fancy restaurant dinner or a trip to Paris, but a lowkey night at home with her favorite treats is more than great.
She lets out a small squeal as her thoughts are interrupted by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist from behind. That would usually put her into fight or flight mode, but her body knows that Loki is the one holding her and she lets herself melt into his embrace. They stand like that for a few minutes, enjoying the feeling of being close together.
Loki leans in to whisper into her ear. “So, will you be my valentine, Sylvie?”
Sylvie is going to say yes, but to keep him in suspense she hums and pretends to be thinking about her answer. When she feels him tighten his hold on her and hears his breathing pick up, she decides to put him out of his misery.
“Of course I’ll be your valentine, Loki.” She places a kiss on his cheek. “You got chocolate covered strawberries and boxes of chocolate, how could I say no?”
Loki breathes a sigh of relief and rests his chin on the top of her head. “I know the way to your heart, darling.” He closes his eyes and gives her a squeeze while she lets out a content sound, letting Loki sway them gently.
Since living together, they’ve become more attuned to each other. Most of it is because of being two halves of a whole, but also because of the bond that’s been growing since he followed her through the timedoor back at Roxxcart more than a year ago. Sylvie can sense that something is on his mind at this very moment.
“Loki, sweetheart? What’s going on in that pretty little head of yours?” She turns around in his embrace to get a better look at him.
Loki looks at his love and pushes a fallen strand of hair behind her ear. “Nothing bad, just thinking about how all I ever thought I wanted was to be a king but then you entered my life and my purpose changed,” He brings his lips down to hers for a short and sweet kiss. “I never imagined I could be as happy as I am right now, standing here in the living room of a house I share with the love of my life. It’s hard to believe you put up with me,” Loki brings his hand to rest on her cheek and brushes it with his thumb. “And I very much enjoyed you calling me sweetheart just now.”
Sylvie rolls her eyes playfully and gives him a gentle kiss. “You better believe it. I’m as happy as I’ve ever been and feel safe and loved for once in my life. All thanks to you, sweetheart.” They both share a smile with each other.
“I’m very fond of you giving me pet names, darling.” He gives her a peck on the nose. “Would you like to taste all the treats I worked so hard to set up?”
“I thought you’d never ask!” She grabs one of his hands and pulls him to the couch where they sit side by side.
Loki reaches to grab the bottle of champagne and proceeds to pop the top off. Placing the cork on the table, he pours the liquid into two glasses and hands one to Sylvie. He gently sets the bottle down and grabs his own glass.
“To our first Valentine’s day as a couple,” They lift their glasses and bring them together, both taking a sip. “It’s like our first date on the train in Lamentis - 1. Except I’m not the only one drinking and it’s not the end of the world.” Loki smiles, remembering that day fondly.
“That wasn’t a date, Loki. Besides, I hardly trusted you and look what happened afterwards.”
He waves his hand at her. “That’s neither here nor there. The important part is that if none of that happened, we wouldn’t be here together at this very moment. And that sounds truly awful.” He plucks a chocolate covered strawberry from the plate and holds it to Sylvie’s mouth. “Strawberry?”
Sylvie opens her mouth and bites into the piece of fruit. She lets out a moan as she chews it. “You really outdid yourself, Laufeyson.” She reaches for one and holds it up to Loki’s mouth. “Open up.” She pushes it into his open mouth as he bites down on it.
He chews on it thoughtfully, giving his palate time to enjoy the rich flavor of the chocolate and the juices of the strawberry. “You know, I was never one for sweets back on Asgard. Fruits and nuts, yes, but not candy. Until you come along with your appetite for all things sugary.”
A grin slowly appears on Sylvie’s face. “You were missing out, Loki. Although I’m sure I would have been the same way had I grown up as a princess of Asgard,” She lets out a big sigh. “Candy was easier to keep on hand while running through apocalypses. I didn’t have to cook it so it was easily available should I need a little pick me up,” She gets a closer look at the chocolate cake and notices tiny candy hearts with sayings etched in scattered throughout the surface. She plucks one off that says ‘kiss me’ and pops the candy into her mouth. “When did you have time to bake a cake without me knowing?”
Loki gives her his signature mischievous grin and a wink. “Magic, my dear Sylvie. I also have a gift for you.” He holds out his hand and a gold rectangular box appears from his pocket dimension.
Sylvie takes it from his outstretched hand and gently opens the top. Inside lies a gold necklace with a heart shaped pendant attached to it. Etched on the pendant is a dagger in the middle with two pairs of horns on each side of it - Loki’s horns on the left side and hers on the right, broken horn and all. She looks at it in awe as she fingers the pendant to get a closer look at it. Once again, Loki is the first person to give her any sort of gift and she’s grateful that she has him to love.
“I had it custom made. I wanted to give you something to always remind you of the conversation we had on the train where I started to fall in love with you. And my terrible metaphor, as you so lovingly called it.”
“It still is terrible,” Sylvie lets out a laugh and looks up at him. “It’s beautiful, Loki, thank you,” She leans in to place a kiss on his lips. “I got you a little something as well.” Loki has been teaching her how to materialize items from her pocket dimension and she mastered it pretty quickly. A big square black box appears in her hand and she gives it to Loki.
Loki carefully opens the box and lifts the tissue paper that’s covering a silver dagger. He grabs it out of the box and holds it in his hand to properly inspect it. Engraved by the hilt of the dagger is a heart with L + S written inside of it. “Still a terrible metaphor, eh?”
Sylvie rolls her eyes and gives his arm a gentle slap. “Oh, piss off.” Loki chuckles and places a kiss on her lips.
“Sylvie, this is the greatest gift I’ve ever received in all my life,” He traces a finger on the heart with their initials in it. “Seems like we both had love is a dagger on our minds.”
“I’ll be honest, it has been floating around in my brain more now that we’re together. And I know how much you miss having a dagger. And the engraving is there to remind you that I love you.”
“I love you, too,” They lean into each other and share a passionate kiss and pull away before it can get too heated. “I shall keep this dagger close to me at all times. Care to eat more sweets before we move this party to the bedroom?”
Sylvie hums in thought for a few seconds, “Do you know what you’re the king of?”
Loki places the dagger back in the box and starts cutting a piece of the cake for Sylvie. “What am I the king of, darling?”
“The king of my sweet heart.” Now it’s her turn to give him a mischievous grin.
Loki grins back at her. “King Loki of Queen Sylvie’s sweet heart has a nice ring to it. The only thing I could hope to be a king of.”
“Queen Sylvie and her sweetheart, King Loki,” They lean in to share a short but intense kiss. “Let’s eat so we can move to the fun part, yeah?”
They sit side by side on the couch playfully attempting to feed each other cake, feeling safe in the presence of their loved one, the king and queen of each other’s hearts. There’s nowhere else they’d rather be.