DRABBLE: Importance ~ Tom Hiddleston/Loki ~ General

[batsutousai]

Title: Importance
Fandom: Marvel (movie 'verse) & Real Person Fiction
Author: Batsutousai
Rating: General
Pairings: Tom Hiddleston/Loki
Warnings: Fluff
Summary: He'd been thinking about it for almost two years, but it wasn't until Loki left for Asgard for three months that he'd realised how important it was to him.

Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended. The character of Thomas "Tom" Hiddleston is based on a real person, and no offence is intended; this is only for the amusement of myself and other like-minded (read: mentally ill) fans.

A/N: I picked up a challenge on HabitRPG to write some fluff. And then realised I had no idea what to write, on account of my general leaning towards angst. *shifty* It's even odds how this is going to turn out.

I dunno how often I'm going to do this, or how much branching out I'm going to do over my fandoms and pairings. If you've got some fluff you want, feel free to shoot me an ask at my writing tumblr, or leave me a review somewhere, and I'll see what I can do. :)

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He'd been thinking about it for almost two years, but it wasn't until Loki left for Asgard for three months that he'd realised how important it was to him.

He didn't start working on preparations until Loki'd returned, sneaking it in during the shortest breaks in the filming, or over lunch with a friend that Loki wasn't fond of. Chris was his most willing accomplice, considering the whole scheme a great lark. Others of his acquaintance were less willing, but the promise of helping him get one over on the God of Mischief was always difficult to resist.

At last, almost two months after Loki's return, everything was in place.

The first evening, Tom had put his plans off, because Loki's favourite character in one of the programmes he so very loved – and there was something unspeakably adorable about a god being so attached to a mortal television programme – had died. They'd spent the evening over ice cream, Tom smiling as Loki complained about the episode and reminisced about his favourite moments.

The second evening, Tom didn't even bother thinking his plans would happen; he knew Loki would spend the entire day writing fanfiction, because that was something the god did. (But only after Tom informed him, in no uncertain terms, that, no, he couldn't hunt down the writers and torture them until they fixed whatever he thought was wrong. Nor could he simply delete the episode from existence; messing with people's minds was pretty high on the 'List of Things Loki Can't Use His Magic For', after all.)

So it was the third evening when Tom finally got Loki out of the house. He'd talked the god into a dinner jacket and button-down shirt, rather than the insulting t-shirts he seemed to prefer, without letting on what he was planning. Loki was suspicious, certainly, but none the wiser to the reason for the evening.

"An anniversary?" the god asked as the cab dropped them in front of Tom's favourite restaurant. (If Loki had a favourite, he'd never deemed to inform Tom of it, or they would be going there.) "Your birthday? Your sister's birthday?"

"No. For once, you haven't forgotten anything," Tom teased as he slipped his arm through Loki's.

Loki snorted. "I never forget the truly important things."

"Now I feel wanted," Tom returned, not missing a beat.

Loki's smile was smug and nasty and everything he didn't mean for a second.

They were seated immediately, and given no menus because Tom had known what they would order when he made the reservation. Their drinks were brought within minutes, followed quickly by their starters. Loki hummed at his, clearly pleased, and settled in to eat.

Every once in a while, Tom would glance up from his own food and catch Loki watching him, brows furrowed like he was working on a particularly complex puzzle. Which, for him, was quite the puzzle indeed.

Still, it wasn't an uncommon look for him to use on Tom, so he just smiled and returned to his food.

When the main course was whisked away, Tom cleared his throat, then had to pause to take a sip of his water, his throat ridiculously dry. "Loki?"

Loki raised an eyebrow at him, leaning back in his chair and turning his attention from watching for their coffee and pudding. "Thomas."

Oh, God, this was not easy. I shouldn't be this hard.

He took a deep breath and said, "You know I love you."

Loki's brow furrowed, something uncertain darkening his eyes. "You've mentioned it before," he agreed carefully.

Tom silently cursed himself for that line. "I have," he agreed, rubbing his hands against his thighs because, wow, sweaty. "And I will again. And again. Forever, if you'll let me."

"I'm not stopping you," Loki returned into the silence that followed, as Tom tried to figure out where he was going next.

Tom nodded, half to himself, as he sorted out words in his head. "When you... When you left, a few months ago, I was afraid that you wouldn't come back, that you would find something in Asgard that was more...worth your time."

"Thomas, I would nev–" Loki started, eyes widening.

Tom held up a hand. "Hear me out, please."

Loki settled back in his chair, expression twisted with disapproval and hurt.

"I was afraid, too, that you would think the same of me. That I would move on."

Loki's eyes slid away; the god had entertained such thoughts.

"I want to make a promise, both of us, together, that we won't move on. That we'll always be there for the other, no matter what."

Loki's jaw was tight as he looked back at him. "Really," he said, voice hollow, and Tom knew he was remembering the curse of mortality that Tom bore.

He stared Loki down, determined, and said, "No. Matter. What."

Loki snorted and looked away, towards the kitchen.

Tom stood, then, reaching for the tiny box in his pocket. "Loki," he murmured, stepping around the table so he was next to the god. Loki looked up at him, surprise bright in his eyes, and they widened when Tom knelt. "Will you marry me?" he asked, snapping open the box and holding it up to Loki.

Loki stared at him for a long moment, not even looking at the ring. The entire restaurant seemed to hold its breath, hanging on a thread with Tom.

And then Loki slid out of his chair and knelt in front of Tom, pushing the box out of the way so he could kiss him.

The restaurant roared with cheers and congratulations, everyone as aware as Tom that that was a resounding 'YES'.

.