August 18 - Settling In (BtVS/Loki
Title: Settling In
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Loki
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,141
Summary: Kid Loki and Buffy adjust to their new life. A lot of sleeping occurs.
He could not sleep.
The same could not be said for his companions; Alligator Loki fell asleep as soon as his little pool was conjured, and Buffy followed soon after, when Wong had shown her the admittedly very comfortable looking bed. An almost identical bed stood across the room, waiting for him to take advantage of the quiet to sleep.
Sleep would not come.
Kid Loki instead found himself blindly paging through a history book of this world, turning pages as quietly as possible to keep from disturbing Buffy. Her senses were even better than his, which was incredibly surprising given his heritage, and he did not want to wake her. She seemed comfortable in this world.
Almost happy, even.
He was not sure what he felt. This was nothing like Asgard, yet clearly it was heads and shoulders above the Void. Yet, the Void had been his home. He had ruled the other Lokis in the Void. After all, he was the first Loki to be banished there, one of the very first inhabitants to divert from the Sacred Timeline. There was a reason so many Lokis ended up in the Void.
They were prone to not following the rules.
Part of him wondered why he decided against traveling with Loki and Sylvia, why he had refused Mobius’ offer to leave the void. After all, escaping with any of them led him more into known territory. Except they weren’t leaving the Void because of their experiences there; no, all of them felt a greater purpose, a greater reason for escaping. Old Loki had sacrificed himself because he believed in their calling, but that did not mean Kid Loki was to follow.
Buffy had lived in the Void.
She knew the way of life there, knew the tricks to staying alive. There was something admirable for a human, even a human with supernatural abilities but a human none-the-less, to last as long as she had. And to have the recognition to accept an escape path when given. And to offer an escape to them. Maybe that was why he took it.
Footsteps pulled his attention out of his thoughts and he quietly closed the book and placed it down, head tilted up slightly as America walked towards him. She offered him a small smile as she sat on the chair opposite his.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey,” he responded, not offering any more. Silence fell between them and he watched as she fidgeted with her hands, rubbing them together as if uncertain about her place here.
His observation was proven correct when she blurted out, “So, I don’t quite know what to say. But…I get feeling out of place. A little discombobulated. I haven’t been stuck somewhere was long as you guys have, but before I came here, I was on the run. Someone was chasing me through the multiverse and I had to keep running, keep hiding, to stay safe. I could never get back to my moms, my real home.”
“But I found this universe,” she continued, gaining confidence as she caught his gaze, keeping his attention, “And there’s something special about Dr. Strange and Wong. I guess…I just want you to know that if you want to stay here, the could help you find a home. It’s just a gut feeling.”
Kid Loki honestly did not know what to say to that, as the concept of home was long forgotten to him. To find a real home was to find a way to trust people and while there were a few he opened up to, he did not know if he could trust the magics of Dr. Strange and Wong. But there was something appealing of America’s open trust, her willingness to put her life in the hands of people she did not know that well.
He kind of liked that about her. And he liked very few people.
And maybe, just maybe, this universe had a living Thor. He knew Old Loki had yearned for years to return to make amends, but in the end, he sacrificed his life for other Lokis to perhaps find their own way. He would never make the amends he sought.
But Kid Loki could.
Maybe this Thor would understand. His Thor’s murder was his nexus event, the reason Kid Loki was banished to the Void. If he could explain to this Thor, he might be able to make peace with his actions.
“What Mr. Silent means to say,” a sleepy voice called from the bed, and both America and Kid Thor jerked their heads to see Buffy slowly sitting up, “Is that he’s down to try. You just need to read between the silence.”
“Speaking for others is just considered rude,” called the electronic device - Giles - from her nightstand.
Buffy patted the device before pulling the covers back over her head and settling back into her cocoon. “Yep, always with the scolding. But sleepy time is now so if you two want to continue your conversation, it would be great if you could go elsewhere. Then we can talk more when I’m more awake.”
That got a smile from America and, standing up, she gestured towards the door. “I know a good place here, if you want to talk a little?”
Kid Loki hesitated before nodding, slowly standing up. “I think I’d like that.”
******
Covering her smile with a hand, Willow tried in vain to keep Buffy from noticing her amusement as the Slayer collapsed onto the couch, falling face first into a pillow. Her actions were in vain, as Buffy grumbled, “I can see you laughing, you know. Next time, you are dealing with Dawn, and I am talking to Giles.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Willow said.
Buffy sat up abruptly, leveling the witch with a glare. “Dawn has been glaring at me for two days straight, ever since I told her she couldn't come. She also made sure to prep the food, so I’ve had the pleasure of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with pickles, onions, and eggs. With errants blueberries.
“Ewww,” Willow gagged, wrinkling her nose.
“Yeah, that,” Buffy agreed with a fervent nod. “So next time, I get the Giles talking and you get the disgusting food combinations.”
“Speaking of which,” Willow said, attempting to move the conversation away from food and to the current issue, “Giles is due to fly in to New York City a day before our flight, so he’s offered to scout out the area. I suppose we should feel lucky, that it took this long before we crossed paths with one of the Avenger-people.”
The Slayer sighed. “I guess. I just don’t like that our first interactions is with the one with magic powers. Couldn’t we get the one with super strength instead? Would have been so much easier.”
Author: GlitterAngelEm
Fandoms: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Loki
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,141
Summary: Kid Loki and Buffy adjust to their new life. A lot of sleeping occurs.
He could not sleep.
The same could not be said for his companions; Alligator Loki fell asleep as soon as his little pool was conjured, and Buffy followed soon after, when Wong had shown her the admittedly very comfortable looking bed. An almost identical bed stood across the room, waiting for him to take advantage of the quiet to sleep.
Sleep would not come.
Kid Loki instead found himself blindly paging through a history book of this world, turning pages as quietly as possible to keep from disturbing Buffy. Her senses were even better than his, which was incredibly surprising given his heritage, and he did not want to wake her. She seemed comfortable in this world.
Almost happy, even.
He was not sure what he felt. This was nothing like Asgard, yet clearly it was heads and shoulders above the Void. Yet, the Void had been his home. He had ruled the other Lokis in the Void. After all, he was the first Loki to be banished there, one of the very first inhabitants to divert from the Sacred Timeline. There was a reason so many Lokis ended up in the Void.
They were prone to not following the rules.
Part of him wondered why he decided against traveling with Loki and Sylvia, why he had refused Mobius’ offer to leave the void. After all, escaping with any of them led him more into known territory. Except they weren’t leaving the Void because of their experiences there; no, all of them felt a greater purpose, a greater reason for escaping. Old Loki had sacrificed himself because he believed in their calling, but that did not mean Kid Loki was to follow.
Buffy had lived in the Void.
She knew the way of life there, knew the tricks to staying alive. There was something admirable for a human, even a human with supernatural abilities but a human none-the-less, to last as long as she had. And to have the recognition to accept an escape path when given. And to offer an escape to them. Maybe that was why he took it.
Footsteps pulled his attention out of his thoughts and he quietly closed the book and placed it down, head tilted up slightly as America walked towards him. She offered him a small smile as she sat on the chair opposite his.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey,” he responded, not offering any more. Silence fell between them and he watched as she fidgeted with her hands, rubbing them together as if uncertain about her place here.
His observation was proven correct when she blurted out, “So, I don’t quite know what to say. But…I get feeling out of place. A little discombobulated. I haven’t been stuck somewhere was long as you guys have, but before I came here, I was on the run. Someone was chasing me through the multiverse and I had to keep running, keep hiding, to stay safe. I could never get back to my moms, my real home.”
“But I found this universe,” she continued, gaining confidence as she caught his gaze, keeping his attention, “And there’s something special about Dr. Strange and Wong. I guess…I just want you to know that if you want to stay here, the could help you find a home. It’s just a gut feeling.”
Kid Loki honestly did not know what to say to that, as the concept of home was long forgotten to him. To find a real home was to find a way to trust people and while there were a few he opened up to, he did not know if he could trust the magics of Dr. Strange and Wong. But there was something appealing of America’s open trust, her willingness to put her life in the hands of people she did not know that well.
He kind of liked that about her. And he liked very few people.
And maybe, just maybe, this universe had a living Thor. He knew Old Loki had yearned for years to return to make amends, but in the end, he sacrificed his life for other Lokis to perhaps find their own way. He would never make the amends he sought.
But Kid Loki could.
Maybe this Thor would understand. His Thor’s murder was his nexus event, the reason Kid Loki was banished to the Void. If he could explain to this Thor, he might be able to make peace with his actions.
“What Mr. Silent means to say,” a sleepy voice called from the bed, and both America and Kid Thor jerked their heads to see Buffy slowly sitting up, “Is that he’s down to try. You just need to read between the silence.”
“Speaking for others is just considered rude,” called the electronic device - Giles - from her nightstand.
Buffy patted the device before pulling the covers back over her head and settling back into her cocoon. “Yep, always with the scolding. But sleepy time is now so if you two want to continue your conversation, it would be great if you could go elsewhere. Then we can talk more when I’m more awake.”
That got a smile from America and, standing up, she gestured towards the door. “I know a good place here, if you want to talk a little?”
Kid Loki hesitated before nodding, slowly standing up. “I think I’d like that.”
******
Covering her smile with a hand, Willow tried in vain to keep Buffy from noticing her amusement as the Slayer collapsed onto the couch, falling face first into a pillow. Her actions were in vain, as Buffy grumbled, “I can see you laughing, you know. Next time, you are dealing with Dawn, and I am talking to Giles.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Willow said.
Buffy sat up abruptly, leveling the witch with a glare. “Dawn has been glaring at me for two days straight, ever since I told her she couldn't come. She also made sure to prep the food, so I’ve had the pleasure of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with pickles, onions, and eggs. With errants blueberries.
“Ewww,” Willow gagged, wrinkling her nose.
“Yeah, that,” Buffy agreed with a fervent nod. “So next time, I get the Giles talking and you get the disgusting food combinations.”
“Speaking of which,” Willow said, attempting to move the conversation away from food and to the current issue, “Giles is due to fly in to New York City a day before our flight, so he’s offered to scout out the area. I suppose we should feel lucky, that it took this long before we crossed paths with one of the Avenger-people.”
The Slayer sighed. “I guess. I just don’t like that our first interactions is with the one with magic powers. Couldn’t we get the one with super strength instead? Would have been so much easier.”