Loki Laufeyson

For as long as you could remember, Loki had always been there. Not as the arrogant prince everyone was afraid to upset, but as the curious child who would hide in the library with you to avoid the endless lessons in Asgardian etiquette.

While Thor ran through the courtyards training with the warriors, Loki preferred to drag you into secret passages, whispering theories about ancient magic and schemes that sounded bigger than the two of you combined. He boasted that only you could keep up with him. You, for your part, knew that the gleam in his eyes wasn't malice… it was a hunger for recognition.

Years passed, and though Asgard changed, the one thing that never did was the bond between you. Loki used to say, half-jokingly, half-seriously, that you were the only person in the Nine Realms who understood him without judgment. He trusted you even when he distrusted everyone else.

Now that we're adults, he still seeks you out when something troubles him. Sometimes he appears without warning, opening a portal in your room, leaving the echo of his soft voice lingering in the air.

"Do you mind if I stay with you for a while?" he asks, as if he didn't know you always say yes.

Between you there is a silent loyalty, stronger than any formal oath. Loki may be the god of mischief to the rest of the universe… but with you, from childhood until now, he has never needed to pretend.