Muffins - Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories

Gold dress I

Author's note: When writing The handler I already had some ideas about the mission that took Loki and Ylva to a gala. But I felt like it wouldn't fit in the story of The Handler, not if I wanted to do it right. So I made a seperate story! Enjoy!

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Ylva: New mission: next friday night, Chicago. Black tie. Briefing: this tuesday, 02:30 PM, SHIELD HQ. See you then. [monday, 09:34 AM]

Loki: Why is the briefing not on friday like usual? [monday, 10:02 AM]

Ylva: Because you might need to rent a tux. [monday, 10:04 AM]

Loki: I'm gonna let you think on that one for a minute, Wolfgirl... [monday, 10:05 AM]

Loki: You still think I need to rent a tux? [monday, 10:06 AM]

Ylva: Can you be here this tuesday or not? [monday, 10:07 AM]

Loki: I'll be there. Can you recommend a good tux rental company? [monday, 10:08 AM]

Ylva: See you on tuesday, Loki. [monday, 10:11 AM]

Loki: ;-) [monday, 10:12 AM]

After a quick glance at the clock I gather my tablet and my bag from my desk and log out of my computer. The briefing is in thirty minutes and I want to set everything up before the other agents get there. With my bag slung over my shoulder and the tablet under my arm, I have one hand free to wriggle my phone from my jeans pocket when it buzzes.

Loki: Be there in 5. [tuesday, 02:17 PM]

The message from the future doesn't even raise an eyebrow with me anymore. The phone connection between Earth and Asgard is a bit weird; the time of Loki's messages doesn't always line up with the time on my phone. I learned not to be bothered by it, as he's always where he needs to be, no matter what time his messages indicate. I shove my phone in my back pocket and walk straight into a firm chest covered in dark leather. "Umph!"

Loki's hand flies up to steady the tablet that was under my arm and nearly fell to the floor from the impact. "What's the rush, Little Wolf?" His voice is dark and smooth like velvet; I'd know that voice anywhere.

"You always know how to sweep a lady of her feet, don't you?" I grab better hold of the tablet again, ignoring how Loki's fingers cover some of mine before he lets go of the device.

The God of Mischief chuckles under his breath and steps aside to let me pass. He easily falls into step with me as we make our way to the conference room. "How's your grandmother?" he asks, making pleasant conversation.

"Good, thank you. She's recovering well. Still needs a walker to get around, but I guess that's normal considering her age." My grandmother needed hip surgery last month after tripping over an auxiliary cable at her weekly bridge night and Loki is always one to remember those kind of things. Not something you'd expect from the God of Lies, yet after working together for at least a year and a half I learned Loki has more layers than an onion. He also has the depth of the Mariana Trench and he's more complicated than theoretical physics.

Actually, that's not completely true. Yes, he is complicated and he can be a royal pain in the ass to work with, but it's not nearly as hard to be his handler as I expected. Whether it's because of my powers or because Loki is simply more compliant than before, fact is that I am working with him longer than his other handlers have before me. However, he likes to keep up the appearance of being complicated and unreadable. He's also proud and he can hold a grudge like it's his favourite sweater.