Work Text:
It's all ordinary office talk until Mobius addresses the topic that's being a thorn in his side for the past week.
“And the new associate, huh? What'd you think of her?" Mobius asks him while they put their coats on, ready to leave the office.
“Ugh,” is the only answer Loki gives him. Sylvie. She seems to have made quite an impression in the office. Everyone’s new favourite. And of course, they put her in his high-profile case.
“What, you didn’t like her? I thought she’d be your partner now.”
“Partner?” he asks, in outrage. “Absolutely not. She’s irritating and stubborn. And she’s feral, Mobius. Yesterday, I swear, she looked as if she wanted to bite me.”
“Hmm," Mobius nods. "I thought that would be up your alley.”
“Excuse me!?”
“Nothing, I’m just thinking out loud. Anyway, you two did a pretty good job with the Roxxcart case. Maybe it’s a sign you should work together more often.”
“It went well despite her presence, not because of it. No, I don’t want to work with her ever again. We’re better off out of each other’s ways.”
“Oh. You won’t like what I’m about to say then.”
“What?”
“You’re assigned together on the Lamentis incorporation.”
“But you are with me on Lamentis,” Loki whines.
“An emergency showed up. I’m with Bea until we can clear it up. Ravonna was just telling me she'll put Sylvie with you again.”
“This is torture, Mobius. This woman will get me killed by the end of the week.”
“I’m sure you’ll make this work. You know, I actually think you guys are pretty similar. It makes for a good dynamic.”
“Mobius, you’re supposed to be my best friend, don't offend me like this.”
“I mean that as a compliment. C’mon, let’s get a beer, you can cry over your miserable fate tomorrow.”
~~
Similar, pff.
Sylvie is nothing like him. She’s rude, she eats too much candy, she called him a clown.
And the postman has a crush on her. Which makes absolutely no sense, because, despite her big, pretty eyes and radiant golden curls and sharp tongue and infectious laughter, there’s nothing about Sylvie that warrants a crush.
“Why does he spend so much time here? Doesn’t he have other places to deliver mail to?”
“It’s been less than two minutes, Loki,” Mobius tells him, without looking up from his jet ski magazine. “I’m sure the mail delivery won’t grind to a halt because the guy wants to give his girl a hello.”
His girl? “It’s unprofessional.”
His friend finally puts the magazine down. “Why does that bother you so much?”
“It doesn’t.” Loki shrugs. “I’m not bothered.”
“Right…”
“I’m not!”
Loki ignores Mobius' stare and tries not to look at the reception, where Sylvie is laughing at something the postman just said. After another excruciating ten seconds, he gets up.
“What now?”
“I’m going to go get her. We need to go back to the case or else this Lamentis mess will blow up in our faces.”
“Because Lamentis is so important to you, right?”
“It’s our job, Mobius.”
“Of course.”
Loki rolls his eyes. What does Mobius know? He can assume whatever he wants, but Loki's behaviour is perfectly reasonable. Sylvie really should go back to work. Loki has a nearly perfect success rate and he won't let his so-called partner ruin it by wasting time flirting with postmen.
~~
It’s nearly midnight and Loki and Sylvie are still stuck at the office. Sylvie went through a whole box of sour worms, Loki emptied three cans of energy drinks, and there’s no sign of them finding a solution for the Lamentis case anytime soon.
Sylvie grunts in frustration after skimming through another pointless document.
“This seems to be making you quite emotional,” he says. She shoots daggers at him.
“Sorry, I don’t mean-” he retracts, realizing how he must've sounded. “This wasn’t a misogynistic remark. It’s just… It seems like you’re really upset.”
“I... Yeah, I am.” she takes a deep breath and runs one hand through her hair, messing up her little top knot.
“I used to live there,” she says quietly. “For a while. Growing up I moved around a lot. In and out of foster care and it really sucked. But Lamentis was one of the good places. I have good memories from there. I’d hate to see it torn down.”
“Oh,” Loki whispers, unsure of how to respond to this. He's more than a little surprised. Sylvie never opened up about her past before.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to dump my childhood trauma at you. It’s just… I do care. A lot.”
“No, don’t worry about it, please. I… I’m sorry.”
She shrugs, eyes downcast, and awkward silence follows. Sylvie looks at the papers scattered through the desk as if they've personally offended her, but she also looks on the verge of tears.
“My dad kicked me out of the house when I was nineteen,” Loki says, slowly. “I… I wasn’t homeless or anything like that. My mom and my brother still supported me through everything but I… Well, I know what it's like to lose your sense of home.”
She looks up at him, wide-eyed.
“Since we’re discussing traumas,” he adds.
She gives him a sympathetic smile, momentarily putting the documents aside.
“Why did he do that? If it’s something you want to talk about, of course.”
“Well, obviously because I was a little shit.”
Sylvie snorts, and shakes her head, all the tension gone. “Was?” she asks, opening a mischievous smile.
“You’re one to talk,” he retorts, mirroring her smile.
They both laugh, but after a few seconds, Sylvie puts her hand over his.
“Hey. I’m sorry he did that.”
“It’s uh,” Loki stutters, very aware of how warm and soft her hand feels. “It’s okay. It was a long time ago.”
Sylvie nods and her expression is soft, full of understanding and… care? She snaps out of it after Loki stares into her eyes for a second too long. She shakes her head and pulls her hand away.
“C’mon, let's go back to work. I don’t want to spend the night here doing this.”
~~
“Loki!” Sylvie rushes to him as soon as he enters the office. “We did it! They’re keeping the Lamentis complex intact.”
A wave of relief and joy washes over him. “That's fantastic!”
Sylvie is euphoric, like he's never seen it before. It's clear that this was much more than an ordinary case for her. Loki has a sudden urge to take her in his arms and spin her around. He shakes his head, pushing this thought away. He can't just hug her. She'd probably bite him if he tried.
He really wouldn't mind it though.
He settles on putting a hand on her shoulder. “Well, it was thanks to your dedication. You were amazing.”
Sylvie blinks, her lips part in surprise. Loki lets his arm fall down and Sylvie holds his forearm. “Thanks,” she quickly says. “I mean, you too. You did a great job.”
He looks at where her hand is touching him. Then back at her face. She has an awkward, shy smile that somehow makes her features even more lovely. He smiles back and-
And-
Oh.
It seems like Mobius had a point.
Sylvie squeezes his arm before letting him go and he immediately misses her touch. She turns around and is not even two steps away from him when he calls her back.
“Sylvie!” and if there's a note of desperation in his voice, he pretends he doesn't notice.
She spins on her heels. “Yes?”
“Do you, are you- Do you want to go out? Like for drinks? To celebrate, I mean. If you're free. Are you free? Today?”
Gods, this was a mess.
“Oh.”
Oh. Oh no, he miscalculated. She’s probably seeing the postman and wants nothing to do with him and-
“Yeah, I'd love to go out for drinks,” she says, pulling him out from his frantic train of thought, cheeks flushed.
“That’s great!” he says, too excitedly, too fast. “Ah, see you later today, then,” he adds, trying to sound just a little bit more dignified.
Sylvie doesn’t seem to be aware of any of this. She’s smiling. The biggest smile he's ever seen on her face and... Well. He's enchanted.
“See you, Loki.”
He watches her walk away, grinning from ear to ear.
“Ah, see.” he hears a knowing voice behind him. “I knew you guys would make good partners.”
“Yes, Mobius,” he grunts.
“So she’s your girlfriend now?”
“What is this? High school?”
“Won’t her postman get upset?”
“Mobius…” Loki warns. His friend gives him an affectionate punch on the shoulder.
“I’m happy for you, Loki, really. Call it out from day one.”
Loki looks back to where Sylvie went. He can still see her golden curls in the corridor, hear the faint sound of her voice.
Yeah, he thinks, a warmth spreading on his chest. He’s happy too.