The Rain, the God, and the Goat

Pairing: Loki/Reader

WC: 1308

Rating: G

You can’t quite put a finger on what exactly makes you so invested in the ongoing struggles of the tall stranger outside the cafe. It’s not like he’s the only poor soul trying to go about his business in the middle of a nasty wintery storm. In fact, seeing everyone else hurrying to and fro only serves to make you more grateful that you didn’t have to actually go into the office today. Remote working, along with a delicious bagel and some hot tea, is infinitely better than listening to your desk-mate melt down over every minute detail of his impending wedding. Here, at least, there’s some variety of meltdowns to watch.

The tall man in the black suit, however, has garnered more than mild curiosity; for one thing, the umbrella he’s been struggling to turn right-side-out looks a little charred. For another, he’s just standing there in the middle of the wind and rain like he hardly even notices it, despite the fact that his pale cheeks are wind-stung and his hair is wild. He finally gives up and hurls the umbrella across the street with such force that you wonder if he might be some errant Olympic javelin-thrower. He looks up at the sky, goes to retrieve the umbrella, then stands for another moment by the intersection - you think he’s glaring at his watch, but the rain’s become so heavy that the details are obscured. He turns his head, like he’s trying to decide where to go, and that’s when impulse kicks in; you shove your laptop into the waterproof pocket in your backpack, toss your nearly-empty cup in the trash, and hurry out of the cafe, your own umbrella unfurling.

“Hey!”

He turns, and now that you have a clear view of his face, your nerve wavers. He’s got the cheekbones of an angel - a very familiar angel, though you can’t quite place—

“Yes?” he asks, voice clipped.