A/N

K, this idea comes from me helping build sets for theatre. I also came up with it during PSAT testing freshman year... So it's been in my head for a bit.

***

~Asgard, Hundreds of Years Prior (physically 18-19)~

Even at midday, the library was mostly devoid of life. A fire burned in the hearth and torches were lit on the walls to light up the massive expanse of the library. Every wall was covered in books, all of varying sizes, colors, and subjects.

At the moment, Olivia sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace with a book in her hand. She scanned the words, barely paying attention to the world around her. That is, until she heard a noise behind her.

"You know, mortals consider the title of that play to be bad luck when they're performing any other show." Loki said.

"Really?" Olivia asked.

"Yes. Anyways, I have something I-" Loki continued, but was cut off as Olivia sighed and smiled. She didn't look back at Loki as she summoned a dagger, lazily pointing it behind her

"Love, what have I said about interrupting me whilst I am reading?" She asked.

"Not to do it unless it's an emergency or I found or did something really interesting, I know. But I-"

"Is it an emergency?"

"No, but-"

"Did you find something interesting?"

"Yes!" Loki said, exhasperated at her constantly interjecting herself. Olivia finally looked back at him.

"Then what is it?" She asked, flipping the book over on the sofa to save her place; she didn't have a bookmark with her.

"Let me show you." Loki replied, gesturing her to follow. Vanishing her dagger, Olivia stood up and wrapped her arms around his left arm as he led her to the back corner of the library. "Have you ever looked back here?"

"Rarely. Not much over here interests me." Olivia replied.

"Have you ever tried to read this book?"

"'Botany of Alfheim Volume 3?'"

"So you haven't?"

"No, of course not. I mean, I'm not saying Alfheim is bad, but I think one volume is plenty. Why?" Olivia asked. Loki smiled and pulled the book out very slightly. There was a few clicking noises before the bookshelf swung open, revealing a brick passageway lit by torches. Olivia's eyes widened. "We have secret passages?"

"Apparently so." Loki replied.

"Why did no one ever tell us?"

"It's said that the people who built this palace were killed after to preserve it's secrets." Loki said, wiggling his fingers and grinning.

"Pfft, I doubt it. That's a little...." She couldn't find the right word.

"The myth still stands." Loki said, leading her inside the tunnel. He pushed the bookcase back into place so it would look flush. "Do you want to explore?"

"How will we know where to come back to?" Olivia asked. Loki smiled and summoned a quill pen with glowing gold ink. He wrote the word 'Library' in runes on the door/wall.

"We might find more doors, so we should mark them as such." He said.

"Okay. Here, hold on." Olivia replied, before summoning a bag of small rocks (like fish tank rocks). "We'll leave a trail back here. I don't want to get lost."

"Smart. Okay, straight, left, or right?" Loki asked.

"Mmm... Right." Olivia decided. She opened the bag and dropped a pebble each few steps they took as the made a right turn. They were met with a left or right turn. "Left." So they made a left.

They made a few more assorted turns until they hit a dead end.

"Is it a door?" Olivia asked. Loki pushed on it until the wall started to move. He peeked around the side.

"It's the armory." He said. Loki shut the door and wrote "Armory" on the door. The next few crossroads they opted to keep going straight. Once they hit a new right turn, they found another dead end. Loki pushed on the wall until it to slid open.

"Kitchens." He reported, writing it on the wall.

"Cool. Now we can find some food late at night for midnight snacks." Olivia said, grinning. Loki smiled warmly back at her.

The next few dead ends they found were doors to more rooms, the next four being "Ballroom," "Dining Area," "West Gardens," and, surprisingly, "Loki's Room."

"Now we just need to find a passage into your room." Loki said.

"Maybe sometime later. I'm running out of rocks." Olivia replied, weighing the bag in her hand.

"Do you want to head back?"

"Yeah. We can look for the passage in my room and start from there later with new rocks. We'll leave this trail behind so we can find it."

"Alright."

They slowly followed their pebble trail back to the library, making mental notes so they might someday memorize the passage connection and not need to use the rocks. Olivia recognised the area they were after a moment, recalling the right turn they made after entering the passages. They were close.

"You know what's nice about these tunnels?" Loki asked.

"What?"

"Only you and I know about them."

"Presumably. But as far as we know, yes." Olivia replied as they came upon the library door.

"Which means Thor doesn't." Loki said, smirking.

"And?" Olivia asked, looking at Loki skeptically. Before she could open the door, Loki directed her over to the wall next to it. Her back hit the wall as he cupped her face in his hands.

"Which means he can't catch us doing this." Loki said, pressing his lips to hers passionately. She melted into it, shutting her eyes and placing her hands on his shoulders to steady herself. She could feel him smirking into the kiss. They briefly broke for air before going right back in. Loki took out Olivia's hairtie and ran his fingers through her hair repeatedly. They broke apart again for a longer breath of air.

"So, are you suggesting we just come here when we want to get away from Thor and his friends?" Olivia asked.

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting." Loki replied, pressing a short kiss on the tip of her nose and one on her forehead. Olivia flushed slighly pink.

"Should we go back?" She asked. "Someone might be looking for us."

"Just a minute more." Loki insisted, peppering feather light kisses on her jawline, causing her to giggle like a small child. They tickled a little. Olivia readjusted his face so she kissed him on the lips again. She tangled her fingers in his hair as his hands found her waist, pulling her closer. They separated again and shared a wide grin. Olivia re-tied her hair as Loki smoothed his out before wrapping his arms back around her. Olivia attempted to slide out from his embrace to get the door, but Loki held her in place, one arm around her waist as he pushed the library door open.

"Is anyone there?" Olivia whispered.

"No, come on." Loki said, pulling her with him as they slipped back into the library, the door closing behind them. Olivia finally broke free from his grasp to retrieve her book still open face down on the sofa. She made a note of the page number and shut it, going back over to the shelf where it usually sat. Loki emerged behind her and hugged her from behind.

"So, if we had to go back out, do either of us look suspicious?" Olivia asked, craning her neck back to look at Loki. He smiled.

"Other than the red in your face, no." He replied. Olivia blushed a deeper red, pressing her face into his chest to hide it. They heard a servant girl come up next to them. Olivia turned her head to look at her.

"The Queen wished for me to inform you that lunch is ready." The girl said.

"Thank you." Olivia said, nodding as the girl turned to leave. She turned back to Loki. "I suppose we do have to go out now."

"I suppose so." Loki replied, leading her to the door.

"How about this... After lunch, we find my secret passage and meet each other at yours at, let's say... Eleven o'clock tonight?" Olivia asked, smirking. Loki let out a short laugh.

"Sure thing." He replied.

***

A/N

A skeletal set looks like a spoopy secret passage if you pass underneath it. Pro-tip :)