The first time for him is the last time for them.
The Tardis makes an emergency landing in Asgard due to a fault in the tribophysical waveform micro kinetic extrapolator, “Which,” the Doctor claims, cheerfully, “shouldn’t be too difficult to fix; but we might as well take a look around while we’re landed.”
Hannah sticks her head out of the doors and turns to him. “Asgard,” she reports.
The Doctor joins her and then, at the sight of the Einherjar Guards trooping towards them, adds in an undertone “Ah, and it looks like this is the first time we land here, as far as they’re concerned, so play it cool.”
Hannah smiles. She has a feeling that this means Loki must only be about, what, seven, but she can never get used to seeing him at a young age, particularly when their first meeting put him at, well, at least the same age as her. The word “Cougar” suddenly springs to mind and she quashes it down, telling herself it’s ridiculous because she’s still the same age she was when she first met him, and that it’s only the whole time travel bit that makes it all seem so strange.
The Guards lead them, the Doctor quite cheerful, Hannah apprehensive, to the Throne Room, after the Doctor has locked the Tardis doors and explained quite calmly that they are not invaders but travellers from Earth (which Hannah has to admit is partly true, given that the last place they visited was Earth and the fact that she believes the Doctor always thinks of Earth as a second home, so quick is he to always defend it in the threat of danger) and it all seems so familiar and yet strange to see a younger Odin and a younger Frigga looking at them as though they are strangers; which of course, to their minds, they are, but to Doctor and Hannah, the rulers of Asgard are old friends.
Still, the reception they receive is warm and friendly, and after the Doctor has explained that their ship had to do an emergency landing because, in his own words, “we’ve had a break that means we can’t take off until it’s fixed, so if it’s alright with you, we’ll just fix it and be on our way, very sorry for troubling you both.” But Odin interrupts with a “Not at all, but you must stay for dinner; we rarely get visitors from Earth,” and Frigga smiles prettily at Hannah so she relaxes and allows the Queen to show her all the parts of Asgard that are already familiar to her but she has to pretend otherwise.
And then, out of the blue, there they are, three bundle of mischief hurtling into the palace and almost cannon into her. “Thor, Loki!” Frigga reprimands them, sharply, and they all straighten up and quiet down at once. And Hannah can’t help smiling at how little they all look now; a younger Thor without muscles and armour, but still blond, and still with a hint of arrogance in his eyes; a younger Sif in a dress, surprisingly, although it’s all hitched up over her ankles so she can run easily; and a younger Loki, smaller and thinner than she remembers, and quieter too, not so sure of himself as in his later years. Frigga folds her arms and looks quite maternal. “What have I told you two about tearing around the palace like wild things?”
“Not to do it,” Loki reels off, obediently.
Thor steps forward and smiles at Hannah. “Hi. I’m Thor, and this is my friend Sif.”
“Well, hi,” Hannah replies, bending down to their level. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“How come you’re wearing boy’s clothes?” Sif asks, sounding slightly awed as she eyes Hannah’s jeans.
Hannah laughs. “Because I’m from a place where girls can get away with wearing these. In fact, back on Earth, a girl can do anything a boy can do – and we can do it whilst wearing higher shoes.”
“Really?” Sif’s eyes light up at once.
“Really,” Hannah confirms with a smile, and then turns to Loki. “And your name is-?” she asks, politely, even though she already knows.
Loki glances nervously at his mother. She nods, to show him it’s alright; this girl’s a friend. “I’m Loki,” he says in a small voice.
“Well, it’s lovely to meet you too, Loki,” Hannah replies, kindly. “My name’s Hannah.”
“That’s a funny name,” Thor says.
“Thor!” hisses Frigga.
“Well,” Hannah teases, with a wink to show them she’s not serious, “I think Thor’s a funny name too.”
It’s strange seeing Loki so shy. She decides that he must gain more confidence as he grows up. At any rate, his face brightens when she tells him directly that it’s lovely to meet him, mentioning his name specifically when she says it, not like she did with Thor and Sif. He feels that she thinks there’s something special about him.
Dinner passes with not much interesting to note, except the Doctor answering seemingly endless questions about Earth and travelling and the Tardis, fired at him by Odin and Frigga and Thor. Hannah and Loki sit and listen politely, although Loki notes that Thor keeps glancing at Hannah. He doesn’t like the way he’s looking at her. He knows that look.
As the sun begins to set, the Doctor and Hannah find themselves invited to stay the night in Asgard. Of course, the Doctor politely protests but eventually decides that they can fix the Tardis in the morning, as they are “quite tired, and perhaps a rest would be good.” And then has to explain rather quickly to Frigga that, contrary to popular opinion, he and Hannah are “just friends,” so having separate rooms will suit them both just fine.
So, Hannah finds herself wandering out into the grounds that she knows so well to see how much they’ve changed, and of course, they haven’t, but it’s such a lovely place and she does love to see it all lit up like this right before twilight sets in. Then, just as she’s about to go back in, Thor suddenly comes up to her and hands her a flower, a sweet, childish declaration of his sudden crush on her. Hannah smiles, politely, and accepts the gift, giving him thanks and a fond pat on the shoulder, before Thor finds himself called by his mother and races off back into the palace with a grin plastered all over his face.
Hannah turns and starts up the steps when she notices Loki sitting on the third step down, hunched into himself and looking considerably depressed. So, she goes and sits down beside him. “Loki, what’s wrong?”
When he doesn’t answer, she glances in the direction he’s looking and realises that he’s been watching her and Thor, and she remembers things he’s told her in her past and his future. “You know,” she says, kindly, “I’m the youngest in my family too. It’s not easy, is it?” He looks at her and she smiles. “You know, when the parents praise the older ones and kind of forget you’re there and you have to work really hard not to get trodden on and to win their approval, but nothing you ever do seems good enough-”
And then she finds herself cut off as Loki suddenly hugs her tightly. She glances down at him, his thin arms holding onto her as if for dear life, his small face buried against her, clinging like Velcro.
“You understand,” he says in a small voice.
Hannah smiles and then wraps her arms back around him. “You bet I do, kid,” she murmurs, resting her chin atop his black hair.
The next morning, the Doctor sets about reprogramming the extrapolator while Hannah supervises from outside, making sure that the force field still works once the Doctor’s finished playing around with it. Once it’s all fixed, she is surprised to see Loki walking up to her.
“Hello, Loki,” the Doctor grins at him.
“Hello,” Loki returns, nervously, and Hannah doesn’t blame him. The Doctor, in her mind, is manic enough to make anyone nervous. Loki looks at Hannah. “Can we talk?”
“Sure,” Hannah replies, motioning the Doctor to leave them for a moment.
The Doctor rolls his eyes. “I’ll be in here if you need me,” he says, stepping back into the Tardis.
“So, what’s up?” Hannah asks.
Loki fidgets for a moment before asking “What do you think of Thor?”
Hannah’s surprised to say the least. “Why do you ask?”
Loki scowls. “He’s got a crush on you.”
“Oh, he has, has he?” Hannah smiles, teasingly. “Well, just between you and me, I’ve always found darker boys more attractive.”
That certainly puts the light back in Loki’s eyes. “Really?”
“Really,” Hannah replies, ruffling his hair. “And the next time Thor teases you, you just tell him from me that older siblings have to be nice to younger ones because the younger ones are the ones that always do great things.”
And then, just as Thor is coming around the corner, she drops a quick kiss on his forehead; for Loki, the first of many.
***
The second time for him is also the second time for them.
It’s so strange for Hannah, seeing Frigga, Odin and Thor looking quite a bit younger than the first time she met them; Thor especially. Of course, the Doctor just takes it in his stride, casually conversing as if it were only yesterday he saw them and Hannah manages to play along just fine. Travelling with the Doctor so long can have that effect on you.
“You’ve grown since I last saw you,” Hannah says to Thor, not adding that he’s actually grown down rather than up, in her view at any rate.
Thor grins and strikes a pose. He’s now about thirteen. “Yes, well, you know, Prince of Asgard. I am going to be King someday.”
All the while, however, Hannah’s looking around for a smaller version of the Loki she’s already met. How awkward, she wonders, is that going to be, given what happened between them last time. When he does walk into the room, his face visibly lights up at the sight of the Doctor and Hannah as Frigga turns and smiles “Loki, look who’s here,” although it doesn’t convey much else as greetings are exchanged. However as Odin leads the Doctor out of the room, with Frigga and Thor in tow, Loki sidles alongside her and says, in a small voice “I’m glad you came back.”
Hannah glances down at him and smiles at the innocent face framed with dark hair, and suddenly it strikes her that while he was rather good-looking in his older years he is extremely cute as a child. “I’m glad too,” she says, and then, inspiration striking, adds “Though this place looks a little different from the last time I saw it; perhaps you’d care to remind me what the gardens look like?”
She holds out a hand to him and he’s only too happy to take it and lead her out into the grounds. Hannah smiles at the familiar setting. “Oh, yes, I’d forgotten how beautiful they are.”
Loki looks up at her, curiously. He must be about, what, ten, now, she thinks, but he’s probably a little short for his age. His brow furrows. “You don’t look a bit different from the last time,” he says, trying to figure out the reason for this.
Hannah grins at him. “Well, I’m only twenty three; whereas you’ve still got some growing up to do. If you want to be taller than Thor, that is.”
Loki wrinkles his nose. “I don’t want to be taller than him. Just tougher.”
“Good boy,” Hannah grins, glancing up towards the hill a little way off. “You know,” she muses, “there’s something about that hill that makes me want to climb up and then roll back down again.”
Loki glances at her. “Really?”
“Well, why not?”
“I thought that was something for children.”
Hannah smiles. “Well, the Doctor always says there’s no point being grown up if you can’t be childish sometimes; and he would know; he is nine hundred years old.”
Loki blinks. “He is? Seriously?”
“Straight up,” Hannah promised. “So...race you to the top?”
She lets him win, of course, although she’d never tell him that. “Alright, kid, my legs aren’t as young as they used to be!” she teases when he gloats about winning. “Now, race you to the bottom!”
They both roll all the way down the hill, giggling the second they collapse at the bottom. Loki finally looks up at her as they catch their breath; up because she’s lying behind him, the tops of their heads a few inches apart and he has to tilt his head to see her. “Are you staying for longer this time?”
His voice sounds so hopeful that Hannah can’t bear to disappoint him. “Well...we can do. I suppose we’ve got nothing to rush back for.”
Loki nods. “I liked it when you were here last time. You understand stuff.”
Hannah glances at him and then remembers what they talked about last time. With a smile, she looks up at him. “Hey. I know it’s not always easy, feeling like Thor’s the golden child all the time, but it’ll get easier, you know.”
He nods. “I told him what you said last time; about older siblings having to be nice to younger ones because they’ll do great things one day.”
Hannah grins, glad that he explained what she’s going to say to him in the future, and she makes a mental note to remember to do so. “And what did he say to that?”
“He said at first that he doubted that, but when I told him you’d said it, it shut him up.” Loki’s jaw tightens, visibly. “I think he’s still got a crush on you.”
“Well, he’s going to have to shrink his head down a bit first before he goes about trying to court me,” Hannah grins, and then, remembering what happened between them the last time she saw him, realises why Loki is so bitter about Thor having a crush on her. “You know, Loki, just between us, I think you’d make a better ruler than him.”
Loki smiles at the thought. “And you could be my Queen.”
Hannah laughs and he sits up, looking slightly offended. “What’s funny about that?”
“No,” Hannah says, quickly, “I’m not laughing at that. I’m just trying to picture what Asgard would be like if I were ruling it. I think I’d end up ruining it.” Sobering up, she looks him straight in the eye. “No, I wasn’t laughing at you, honest. I’m very flattered.”
Though when she gives him a hug and brief kiss goodbye before stepping back into the Tardis, three days later, she does wonder whether she’s done the right thing in encouraging him like that.
***
The third time for him is the fourth time for them.
Loki is now twelve, though still short for his age, and prone to nightmares, as Hannah finds out when she and the Doctor are once again invited to stay the night. The Doctor can’t get enough of Asgard hospitality, it seems, and he’s always fascinated by conversations with Thor. Hannah finally has enough when they get onto the subject of Frost Giants and allows the teenager sons of Odin to drag her out into the garden for a breath of fresh air.
“You’d better keep up, Loki!” calls Thor, arrogant as ever as they race each other to the fountain. “Or the Dark Elves will snatch you in your sleep!”
Loki scowls, bravely, although Hannah can see that he still looks a little afraid. “Father said that they were all dead.”
Hannah bites her lip. “I don’t think you should scare your brother like that, Thor.”
Thor laughs. “Oh, come on! What’s it going to do? Give him nightmares?”
“I’m not scared of Dark Elves,” Loki snaps to Hannah, annoyed that she can even think such a thing about him.
“Of course not,” she agrees, lightly. “You’re tougher than that.”
Even so, Loki regrets being so sharp with her as he tells her when she comes to visit him before bed. “Hannah, you can keep a secret, right?”
“Of course I can,” she replies.
Loki hesitates before answering. “I am a little bit scared about Dark Elves. I know they’re supposed to be dead, but Father said they were evil and...”
Hannah smiles and pats his arm. “It’s just Thor trying to scare you. Trust me, my siblings used to do that to me all the time. Now you’d best get to sleep.”
However both Hannah and the Doctor find themselves woken by sudden crashing sounds in the night. “That came from Loki’s room,” the Doctor realises, running in that direction. Hannah follows, extremely worried.
Inside, Loki is thrashing in his sleep, inadvertently sending things flying about the room with his magic. Hannah’s breath catches in her throat as she hurries up to the bed, not sure whether to wake him or not – after all it’s always said not to be a good idea to wake sleepwalkers, and this, she supposes, is somewhat similar. Then she remembers a trick that always works for her when she gets scared and she manages to catch his hands without waking him. Loki struggles until she begins to sing softly to him the first song that comes into her head.
“And I’ve lost who I am and I can’t understand why my heart is so broken rejecting your love without, love gone wrong, lifeless words carry on, when I know, all I know, is the end’s beginning, who I am from the start take me home to your heart, let me go and I will run, I will not be silenced; all this time spent in vain, wasted years, wasted gain, all is lost, hope remains and this war’s not over there’s a light, there’s a sun, taking all the shattered ones to the place we belong and His love will conquer all...”
By the time she trails off, Loki is still and fast asleep. The Doctor nods, impressed, and then tucks the boy in with a fatherly affection. “Well done, Han,” he murmurs.
They aren’t woken by anymore nightmares from the young Prince after that.
The next morning, the Doctor takes a cheerful tour of the library, whistling pleasantly to himself as he observes how many books on all manner of subjects the palace has. It’s no wonder Loki’s as clever as he is, he notes to himself.
Turning a corner, he becomes witness to the tail end of a conversation between the young Princes and their friends.
“Come on, Loki, come play with us,” Thor insists.
“Busy,” Loki replies, stubbornly, his head buried in a book.
“Leave him, Thor, if he doesn’t want to come,” Sif says, tugging his arm.
Thor sighs, heavily, but allows her to drag him out of the room. Loki glances up after them, almost longingly, and it’s a look the Doctor knows well, that secret longing stubbornness won’t allow the pleasure of winning in a young mind. The second the library door’s closed, he goes up to Loki and crouches down beside him. Loki looks up at him in surprise but says nothing. Truth be told he’s sometimes felt a little scared of the Doctor because he seems so loud and energetic, but his eyes and smile are kind and gentle so he stops being afraid.
“Now, why aren’t you out playing with your friends, hm?” the Doctor asks, gently.
Loki shrugs his thin shoulders. “They aren’t my friends. They’re Thor’s. They don’t like me.”
“I’m sure that’s not true,” the Doctor begins.
“No, it is,” Loki insists. “They put up with me because I’m Thor’s brother, but they really think I’m weird. Because I’m different.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being different, Loki,” the Doctor smiles. “A lot of wonderful people are different to their peers and they go on to do great things.”
Loki glances up at him and sees no trace of deceit there at all. “Such as?” he asks, hopefully.
“Um...” The Doctor thinks for a minute. “Well, there’s Albert Einstein. He was a wonderful scientist on Earth, er, Midgard,” he corrects himself when Loki looks slightly confused. “When he first came up with the Theory of Relativity, which a very complex theory to those who aren’t as intelligent and imaginative as he was, everyone thought he was weird. But now he’s renowned as one of the greatest men who ever lived.” Loki’s eyes light up at that and the Doctor goes on. “And then there was Queen Thalira of Peladon; everyone thought that she would have no chance of making a great ruler simply because she was a woman. The only reason she was her Father’s heir was because he didn’t have any sons. But she went on to lead her people through the most turbulent of times and now Peladon is flourishing nicely, all thanks to her. And then there was Omega, a man from my home planet, who had the strangest idea about creating time travel technology. But if it weren’t for him, then I wouldn’t have my Tardis and Hannah and I wouldn’t be able to travel through time and space together. We wouldn’t be able to visit you,” he adds as Loki blinks at him in surprise. “And do you know who else is thought to be weird but has done some pretty spectacular things in his time?”
“Who?” Loki asks, eagerly.
“Me,” the Doctor grins. “Even if I do say so myself. I have saved entire races from being taken over. I have met some of the most famous people in Midgard history and lived to tell the tale. I have seen and done so many amazing things that I can barely keep track of them all. And Hannah, too,” he adds, modestly, “she’s been right alongside me. She’s even saved the universe herself a few times.”
Loki is in awe. Suddenly this man is no longer scary, like a monster, but wonderful, like a hero. And yet he doesn’t seem like a typical hero, not like those ones he had read about in books; he didn’t dress in typical hero clothing or act melancholic or big-headed. He’s different. And suddenly different is good.
“I want to be just like you, Doctor,” Loki blurts out.
The Doctor grinned. “I’m flattered, Loki, but what you should really want is to be just like you.” He gives the child a soft prod in the chest. “It’s what’s in here that matters. Great heroes aren’t made of muscles; they’re made of intelligence and good hearts. And you shouldn’t be afraid to be different to anyone else anyway. Different is good, it’s better than good, it’s the best. If you want to read a book, then go ahead and read it. Girls prefer intelligent men anyway, take it from me,” he adds, with a wink that makes Loki chuckle. “And anyway it’s far better to be intelligent than strong, that’s what I always say.”
“Mother says that too,” Loki remembers. “But I never really believed her until now.” He hesitates and then, in a way that reminded the Doctor of the Ood he had met that hadn’t had their hindbrains removed and had showed them to him, clasped delicately in their hands, he leans forwards and says in a quiet voice “Can I show you something?”
“Of course,” the Doctor smiles, encouragingly.
“I learned to do this yesterday,” Loki says, proudly, and with a flick of his hand, he causes some of the patterns on the floor to spiral and swim. They lift from the floor and dance before the Doctor’s eyes and the Doctor has a funny urge to put on those glasses he used to whip out whilst in his last incarnation as he studies the magic before him intently. Well, it’s science, really, but he decides not to quash the boy’s hopes by saying so.
“That is incredible,” the Doctor gushes. “No, that’s more than incredible; it’s fantastic!”
Loki grins. “Thor never has any patience with magic.”
“Well, older brothers never have much patience with anything, Loki,” the Doctor points out. “Trust me; I had six. But this, this is incredible, especially for someone your age. Well done.”
Hannah is surprised when Loki hugs the Doctor too right before they leave.
***
The fourth time for him is the first time for them.
“Oh, this is unusual,” the Doctor says as the Tardis materialises and he checks the scanner.
“What is it, Doctor?” Hannah asks, the ever famous phrase that she knows he never gets tired of hearing.
“Hannah, what do you know about Norse mythology?” the Doctor asks, glancing at her.
“Norse mythology?” Hannah folds her arms as she thinks. “Well, not much; just that there are gods like Odin, who was basically the King, Thor, God of Thunder, Loki, God of Mischief and others whose names I forget and that some of the days of the week are named after them. And that they lived in a place called Asgard and their seat was Valhalla. Why?” The Doctor says nothing, simply grinning at her, and she begins to cotton on. “What are you telling me? That the Norse Gods are real too? Just like the Osirians?”
“Indeed,” the Doctor grins, “and we have landed on Asgard. Funny, I never actually thought about landing here before, but the Tardis must have sensed we’re needed or something.”
“Or could it just be that you set the controls to Random and this is what she picked out?” Hannah asks.
The Doctor scowls. “Where’s the fun in that, Hannah? Shall we take a look around?”
“Yes, please,” Hannah replies, already at the door.
They both step from the Tardis and are immediately overwhelmed and awed by the towering grandeur and golden splendour of the palace. The Doctor whistles. “No wonder it’s home to the Gods!”
“It’s beautiful,” Hannah breathes, glancing all around them.
To their surprise, they’re suddenly met by a couple of Einherjar guards and they both immediately throw their hands up to surrender. To their surprise, however, one of them says, politely, “My Lord Doctor, Lady Hannah, welcome back.”
“Back?” The Doctor repeats, baffled, and then quickly adds “Yes, back, it’s...been a while...since we went away, hasn’t it? Hannah?” he adds, nudging her and she nods, nervously.
“The Allfather will be thrilled to see you again,” the guard replies, professionally, and then he extends an arm, motioning them to go into the palace. The Doctor and Hannah exchange a glance and then the Doctor pulls himself together.
“Of course he will,” he smiles, pulling out the Tardis key. “Just let me lock up here and we’ll be away, Geronimo.”
The guard blinks. “Whatever you say, my Lord.”
Hannah bites back a giggle, and as she and the Doctor fall into step together, she mutters “What’s going on, Doctor? They’re acting like they know us.”
“They probably do,” the Doctor whispers back. “Time machine, remember? Clearly we’ve been here before, or rather we’re going to, in our future but their past.”
Hannah shakes her head. “Time travel. Of course.”
No sooner have they entered the long, winding corridors of the palace they find themselves set upon by a man built like a bear with long blonde hair and a booming laugh as he pulls the Doctor into a tight, brotherly hug. Hannah jumps, visibly, as any protests the Doctor might have made are lost in the man’s muscles and come out as a sudden startled squeak.
“Doctor!” The man laughs, finally holding a rather stunned and somewhat squashed Doctor at arm’s length. Hannah relaxes as the Doctor staggers on his feet, because he seems friendly, whoever he is. “It’s been too long, old friend!”
“Indeed it has!” The Doctor agrees, shaking his head and finally righting himself. “In fact it’s been so long that I can’t actually remember which Asgardian you are.”
The man laughs. “I suppose I have changed a bit.”
Hannah glances at his armour and takes a guess. “Thor.”
She’s right as he grins at her and then pulls her into a hug too. “Hannah. We’ve all been wondering when you two would come back, if ever.”
The Doctor grins. “Well, we do have rather busy schedules, and sometimes the Tardis doesn’t always take us to where we want.”
“Loki’s been missing you,” Thor adds. “I mean, he hasn’t said anything, but I can tell.”
Allfather, Thor, Loki...Hannah feels like she needs to sit down for a second. The Doctor senses this and asks “Well, take us to everybody! We’d love to see them all again!”
Thor leads the way and the Doctor falls into step beside him. They’re rather quick and Hannah finds that she can’t be bothered jogging to keep up, so she walks behind them, losing them as they turn a corner, and when she turns the corner herself, they’re nowhere in sight.
“Right,” she sighs, looking around. There’s a single door to her left and that’s it. Well, she’s no idea if they’ve gone in there or not but it doesn’t hurt to look, right? Taking a deep breath, she pushes open the door and finds herself inside what has to be the biggest library she has ever seen in her life.
“Wow,” Hannah breathes, looking all around her at the magnificent room. Surely the only one that could be bigger than this was that planet the Doctor once told her about; Leifregelvour (pronounced lee-fruh-gell-vawer) or the Library Planet which was filled with every single book to ever exist in the entire universe, and counting. She has yet to see that, however. Running her fingers along a line of books along the shelf, she wracks her brains for more information on Norse mythology; but all she can find is all she’s already got and she curses herself for not taking a class in Classics back in her school days.
“How do you do that?”
With a frown, she whips around to see a lithe, tall young man with black hair, dressed in green and gold clothing that she can only assume is some form of armour, standing behind her.
“How do I do what?” she says, wondering who the Hell he is.
“Manage to stay looking the same as when we first met?” the man elaborates, stepping a bit closer to her. “Is it to do with the time travelling?”
“Time...” She nods. “Yeah, that.”
He gives her a knowing look. “You don’t recognise me, do you?”
Hannah manages an apologetic smile. “No, sorry.”
“That’s alright. I suppose I have shot up since we last met,” the man replies, running a hand through his dark hair. Then, when Hannah looks blank, he adds by way of explanation and introduction, “Loki.”
“Right,” Hannah says, clapping a hand to her forehead, pretending that she knows now who he is. “Sorry.”
Loki’s not fooled, however. “You don’t remember me?”
He looks like a kicked puppy and Hannah feels instantly sorry for him. “No, I do!” she insists. “I think! I mean...” She sighs and decides to explain. “It’s the time travelling. I don’t think I’ve met you yet. I mean, you’ve probably met me in your past, but it’s probably not happened for me yet, in my future, I mean. Does that make sense?”
“Surprisingly, yes,” Loki replies. He looks relieved, Hannah realises, and she offers him another smile.
“I’m sure if I had already met someone like you, I wouldn’t forget it in a hurry,” she says.
“Well, I’ve never forgotten you and the Doctor,” Loki replies, a smile forming on his own face. “You’ve always been there for me when I need it.”
Hannah wondered briefly if that was why the Tardis had brought them here. Perhaps the fact that she hadn’t met Loki yet but he had met her in her future was just her getting her wires crossed or something. “Well, then, perhaps you can tell me a bit about our first meeting,” she says. “That way I can be sure it goes the way it’s meant to and we don’t end up creating some kind of paradox or something.”
“Gladly,” Loki grins back, and Hannah feels like they’re flirting even though she’s sure that they aren’t. “You landed here because your ship had broken something that needed fixing and you ended up becoming good friends to all of us. It was you who told Sif that a woman can do anything a man can do, and who told me that older siblings have to be nice to younger ones because the younger ones are the ones that always do great things.”
Hannah laughs. “That does sound like me. I mean, I am the youngest of-”
“Four, I know,” Loki cuts in with a grin.
Hannah puts her hands on her hips. “Alright, Mister, if you know everything, then-”
“I do know everything,” Loki insists, smugly. “Well, everything about the Nine Realms anyway. The Doctor told me it’s better to be intelligent than strong.”
Hannah smiles. “Well, most girls prefer boys who are clever.”
“I know,” Loki grins.
Hannah rolls her eyes and he laughs at how he’s able to get the better of her. “Well, then, Loki, do you think you could help me find said Doctor, because I really don’t trust him to wander around on his own in this place?”
Loki shrugs. “Can’t think he’ll come to much harm.”
“You don’t know him like I do,” Hannah smiles.
“Maybe, but I do know quite a bit about both of you. I know the Doctor’s a genius and that he’s travelled all over the universe and seen many things. I know you both see the appeal of acting childish sometimes. I know that you like singing.”
Hannah frowns at him. “How? I’ve only ever told the Doctor that.”
“You sang to me once when I had a nightmare,” Loki shrugs, simply. “And,” he adds, sounding slightly mischievous as he says it, “I also know that you favoured me over Thor a little because you always kissed me goodbye but only ever hugged him.”
Hannah glances at him and then, in a movement which Loki certainly isn’t expecting, she grabs the front of his tunic and kisses him. Loki is so startled that the only reaction he can manage is to kiss her back. Releasing him, Hannah leans against the bookcase and thinks for a second before saying “Yes, I think I definitely prefer you to Thor.”
Loki blinks at her. “That...wasn’t quite what I meant,” he manages to say.
“Perhaps not, but I bet you didn’t see it coming,” Hannah points out.
They both begin to laugh. It had been nice, but there had been no spark, no fireworks, and now they can move on and find the Doctor and catch up on old times.
***
The last time for him is the third time for them.
Now Loki knows what to expect as he looks up from his books and sees the Tardis dematerialise in the palace grounds. In three weeks, his brother will be crowned and for the first time in his life, Loki has started to feel the cold, twisted knife of jealousy within his gut. If Loki’s one hundred percent honest, he does love his brother, but years of being overlooked, overshadowed and sometimes just plain forgotten about, put down even, have hardened his feelings, somewhat, blinded him to the truth of what he really wants.
The sight of the Tardis, however, brings a warmth into him for the first time in a long time.
He slams shut the book he was reading and practically collides with Thor as he hastens from the library and into the corridor beyond.
“Whoa!” Thor laughs. “Slow down, Brother, where’s the fire?”
Loki takes that to mean that his brother hasn’t noticed the arrival of the Tardis. Good. Maybe he can have his friends to himself for a while. “No fire,” he answers. “I just suddenly remembered I had to get something from my room.”
Thor shrugs. “Alright,” he says and moves on his way. Loki waits until he’s gone and then hurries down to where the Tardis is sitting. As he approaches, the door flies open and the Doctor emerges, coughing, in a swirl of smoke.
“Under the console!” he calls into the Tardis and a second later, Hannah also emerges, holding some strange brass-coloured canister which she points into the Tardis and it shoots a jet of some strange powdery stuff that stops the smoke from billowing out of the open doors.
“What happened?” Loki asks.
“Loki!” The Doctor exclaims, seizing him in a quick hug. “Nothing to worry about, just a small fire, but it’s all under control, nothing got burned, don’t worry.”
Hannah rolls her eyes and tosses the extinguisher back into the Tardis before turning to Loki with a fond grin and holding out her arms. “Come here, you.”
“Hello, Angel,” Loki grins, hugging her.
“Oh, it’s Angel now, is it?” Hannah laughs. “Actually I think that quite suits me; what do you think, Doctor?”
“Yes,” the Doctor grins. “Just stick a pair of wings on you and cover you in stone and you’d be a Weeping Angel, alright.”
“Thanks a lot,” Hannah retorts, swatting at him.
The three of them laugh and Loki wishes that it could always be like this; he and the only true friends he has ever really known talking and laughing, and maybe even travelling, together. For the first time in a long time, everything feels right.
But they’re quickly interrupted by the arrival of Frigga. “Doctor,” she smiles, regally offering him her hand. “Hannah. Welcome back.”
“It’s good to see you too, Frigga,” the Doctor replies, taking her hand in both of his and kissing it. “You’re looking well.”
Frigga laughs. “I’m looking older than the last time you saw me, Doctor, but it’s very kind of you to say so,” she says, before bestowing a hug on Hannah and then graciously sweeping the three of them into the palace.
The Chitauri are watching as they go, biding their time, waiting to report back to Thanos that soon they will be able to manipulate Loki, make his resentment towards his brother stronger than his love for him, turn him into one of their evil pawns to get rid of Laufey, seize the throne of Asgard and then bring them the power of the Tesseract. They can see into his heart. The Doctor and Hannah won’t be there when they strike; they will do it the second they leave; they will take control of Loki and there won’t be a thing he can do to stop them. The only way to do so is if they die, and that’s never going to happen.
For now, though, Loki remains unaware that the evil forces of the universe have a plan for him; he is content to spend as much time with his friends as possible before they have to leave him again and head out once more into time and space.
Their paths will cross again; just not in Asgard next time.