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The city had been clobbered into frivolity by the meteor shower when Y/N, Sylvie, and Loki finally made out of it.
Y/N was seated on the log at the far end, watching the rocks of the planet above crash down. The words Beulla had spoken to her in the Time Theatre: 'And you Y/N were born to go through, pain, suffering, and death.'
Sure, she knew she'll never have a normal life like other Asgardians, like how she has always wanted. But that didn't hurt any less. A little peacefulness would've been nice.
Sylvie walked over to her side and sat silently, giving her her space. Loki trudged towards the woman with a guilty look plastered on his expressions.
He stared at the gloomy expression in Y/N's face seating himself on her other side, "I'm sorry," he addressed both the women.
Y/N closed her eyes for a few seconds and shook her head at him, not able to speak.
But Sylvie began, "I remember Asgard. Not much, but I remember. My home, my people, my life,"
The warrior piloted her gaze to her, noticing that she was looking straight ahead.
"The universe wants to break free, so it manifests chaos. Like me being born the Goddess of Mischief. And as soon as that created a big enough detour from the Sacred Timeline, the TVA showed up, erased my reality, and took me prisoner," Sylvie carried on, "I was just a child. I escaped. Stole a TemPad and I ran for a long, long time, which really sucked. Everywhere and everywhen I went, it caused a Nexus event. Sent up a smoke flare. Because I'm not supposed to exist. Until, eventually, I figured out where to hide. And so that's where I grew up, the ends of a thousand worlds. Now, that's where I'll die,"
Y/N didn't reply, but exchanged a glance with Loki, turning to the front without budging when a tiny meteor crashed into the water in front of them.
"I used to admire Valkyries, you know," Sylvie told Y/N, "Because they were girls. And much stronger and skilled than the men who were soldiers,"
Y/N grinned, "You're not my first fangirl,"
"Oh really?" she raised an amused eyebrow.
"Nick Fury, Thor Odinson," she replied, "They were the definition of fangirls,"
"You mean that S.H.I.E.L.D director?" Loki asked, perking up at the mention of his brother.
"The one you tried to attack, yeah, " Y/N nodded, "After my fellow Valkyries were massacred, I ran away to Earth. I was alone, with no form of financial and emotional support. I met Nick's grandfather while he was walking back from the building he worked in. He said, 'whatchu doin' out at a time like this?' given that it was the dead of night. I said, My home was very very far away, and that I won't be able to go,"
Loki kept his gaze on her when he heard her voice waver ever so lightly.
"Shortly after, Nick's mom and Nick himself came," Y/N smiled reminiscently, "She was too generous for her own sake. She asked if I wanted to call someone I know, but I declined and told that I lied that I had a lodge to crash in. Nick's grandfather handed me a roll he had for lunch. I managed to get a room in the lodge and eventually I got close to Nick. He told that he was going to enroll for S.H.I.E.L.D and so did I,"
Sylvie stared at the ground, listening to her words.
"He was the only person I knew I could call as family,"
"You miss him, huh?" Loki inquired.
"Of course, I do," Y/N's answer was quick, "He's was one hell of a best friend and a good man,"
"Do you think that what makes Loki a 'Loki' is the fact that we're destined to lose?" Sylvie thought out loud, turning to Loki.
"No," Loki replied, "We may lose. But we don't die. We survive,"
She let his statement sink, inhaling as she adjusted herself in her place to face the warrior, "What makes Y/N a 'Y/N?'"
Y/N scoffed bitterly, "Suppressed trauma, Anger and Daddy issues along with a couple of others, and a little bit of anxiety and depression. No, loads of anxiety and depression," she corrected herself.
When the other two gave her pitying looks, she bit her tongue and changed her answer.
"Well," she furrowed her eyebrows, "While a Loki always survives, a Y/N always sticks with the one she loves and does anything for them," she looked up at Loki, who looked down at his lap with nervous smile, "Even sacrifice his/her/their own life," she recalled how she died in her original timeline on Vormir.
Sylvie grinned at the two and turned ahead, feeling an unfamiliar uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"One thing we have in common is that we all fail," Y/N sighed lowly, "More often than others,"
"Yeah," Loki placed his hands on her knee, trying to offer a wordless comfort.
"At least you stood up against him," Y/N offered, referring to Thanos as she turned to Loki, "I was a coward," she gulped, "I ran away. Unable to face the truth,"
"Don't say that," Loki frowned, his hand instinctively going to lace with hers, "You didn't run away you survived. I don't know what it is like to be through what you have, except for a little bit, but still. I don't think I have your willpower. You're amazing, you know that?" he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles absentmindedly.
"Yeah," Sylvie nudged her shoulder with her own to catch her attention, "You were an inspiration for me, you know. I mean, not everyone gets to work with a Valkyrie in their lifetime, now do they?"
"No, I suppose not," Loki agreed, "And you have a pretty cool dagger. Dragon Fang. But it doesn't beat my weapon though. Sorry to break it to you," he added childishly, in hopes of lifting her spirits.
Chuckling softly, Y/N blinked back the tears at the corner of her eyes, "Thank you," she gave the two a look of acknowledgment, "I really needed to hear that," she then turned forward, watching the meteors hit the ground at the distance.
Sylvie and Loki followed her line of sight, welcoming the doom to take over them, admitting defeat.
The ground shook as the enormous wave raging of dust charged towards them from afar, destroying everything in its way.
Y/N caught both Sylvie's and Loki's arms and they squeezed hers back in turn; given that they were just as scared as her. The three exchanged a nervous smile, trying to each other silently.
Less than a second later, three Time Doors appeared behind them, making the trio get up to their feet in alarm and surprise.
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