Honestly... I've just been seeing the "two people one bed" trope thrown around on TikTok a lot and I convinced myself to write it. I decided it would be the most fun with a Marvel drabble.

Enjoy I guess XD

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"Dear Shelby, what has you so quiet?" Thor asked from the backseat of a janky van, peering at Shelby with curiosity.

Shelby, who was driving the van, could only spare him a spiteful side eye. "I don't want to be here."

"Of course you do! This is a great bonding experience for the three of us!" Thor exclaimed, clasping both Shelby and Loki on the shoulders. "I feel like we haven't been able to hang out in forever!"

"Actually, I feel like I'm around you far too much." Loki muttered.

"We could have done something simple, like a movie night or something. Not a completely unnecessary road trip all the way to Florida to see Tony." Shelby explained.

"What makes the road trip so unnecessary?" Thor demanded.

Shelby's eyes widened in disbelief. "Um. You literally wield the bifrost with your axe. We could have been at Tony's party in two seconds."

Thor laughed. "We don't need to be there in two seconds. His party isn't until tomorrow."

"So we could have waited to go until tomorrow!" Shelby exclaimed, her irises dancing with fire as she fought the urge to turn to yell at Thor. "And it doesn't help that neither of you know how to drive, which leaves me to drive all the way there, and I HATE driving out of state."

"What's the difference?" Loki inquired.

"Well, there's no difference on the highway, but every time we've stopped to eat I have a panic attack because each state has its own road and traffic light set up."

"Humans are so inefficient." Thor stated.

Shelby's knuckles tightened on the wheel. They had been driving all day and they had barely passed into Georgia. They were never gonna make it to Stark's place.

Loki picked up on her frustration as he eyed her from the passenger seat. "Maybe we should call it a day on the trip."

"We'll never make it to Tony's on time if we don't go further." Shelby muttered.

"I thought you wanted to stop?" Loki asked.

"I-" Shelby took a deep breath, "I don't want to be on this trip in the first place. But if we're driving to Tony's, we need to keep going."

"Nonsense- we can stop for the night and figure everything out in the morning." Thor chimed in. "Pull over at the nearest tavern."

"I think a tavern on Asgard and tavern on Earth are two different things." Shelby muttered, more so to herself than the others. She pulled off at the the nearest exit, finding the nearest hotel. Luckily, it seemed to be busy- a good indication that this wasn't a nasty hotel.

"Hopefully, this place has rooms." She stated as she parked the van. The boys grabbed their luggage as Shelby made her way to the lobby.

"Hi! What can I do for you today?" The receptionist asked.

"Hi, I was wondering if you had two rooms available for the night?" Shelby asked, taking out her debit card.

The receptionist checked her computer. "Unfortunately, we only have one room available."

"How many does it sleep?"

"Four people."

"Two beds?"

"Yes, but there's also a couch that pulls out."

"That'll have to work." Shelby stated, handing her the debit card as Thor and Loki entered. They walked up behind her as Shelby gave her information. The receptionist seemed to barely pay any attention to them at first, but Thor seemed to catch her eye and by the end of the transaction, she was staring at Thor with her mouth agape as he waved awkwardly.

"Here's your three room keys." The receptionist muttered, sliding the keys across the counter.

Shelby grabbed them. "Thanks, have a good night." She stated, before beginning away. When they were out of ear shot, Shelby glared at Thor. "I swear, I can't take you anywhere."

Thor sighed. "I should have worn a disguise."

The room was third floor, and quite a ways down the hall. They entered the room completely spent. Shelby paused half way through the room, her eyes wide as she took in her surroundings. Two beds. No promised couch.

"What's wrong?" Thor asked as he set some of the bag on the table, Loki setting the rest on the ground.

"Nothing, just- there was supposed to be a pull-out couch for me to sleep on." Shelby sighed.

"Oh, nonsense! I wouldn't let you sleep on a couch!" Thor exclaimed, pulling his brother into a side hug, jostling him slightly. "Loki and I will share a bed, and you can have the other one!"

Loki grimaced. "I would rather sleep on the floor, honestly."

Shelby shifted uncomfortably. "No, I'm the one who complained 'til we stopped. I'll sleep on the floor."

"No, you won't." Loki stated.

"That's funny, cause I'm not arguing." Shelby countered.

"What if you and Loki shared a bed?" Thor suggested, the smallest of smiles gracing his lips.

Both Loki and Shelby's eyes locked on Thor, Loki's cheeks turning the slightest shade of pink while Shelby's whole face turned red. "No, it's fine. Just, let it be." She stated, avoiding eye contact with Loki as she grabbed her PJs out of her overnight bag and went to change in the bathroom. When she emerged, she put her clothes away and grabbed two of the pillows off of one of the beds, as well as the cover sheet. She took her spot next the wall, covering herself with the blanket and staring at the wall.

Her heart was beating so fast. And she felt so stupid that it was. But just the mere suggestion of sharing a bed with Loki made her nervous. It's not a feeling she often felt- well, she was always anxious, but these nerves were different. These nerves were something foreign to her. Her mind raced as it worked to decipher her emotions. Obviously, this was more than platonic attraction. But given Shelby was somewhere on the asexual spectrum and had no romantic experience, she had no reference on the difference between romantic and sexual attraction.

And besides her own feelings, which had been slowly building since the ball she attended in New Asgard, there was her belief that she just wasn't good enough. Well, really, it wasn't just her belief. She was very aware that many Asgardians carried the belief that Asgardians were inherently superior to humans. She could hear it in the backhanded comments some of the staff at the palace made, she could see it in the eyes of older Asgardians whenever she and one of the brothers went into town. And she was well aware of Loki's past and how he viewed Midguardians- all this weighed heavy on her mind as she drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~

Shelby's mind came out of sleep to the sound of a bed creaking- the grunts told her that it was Thor rolling out of bed. She frowned, grabbing the blanket over her and pulling it closer to her body, not wanting to get up yet. The blanket did a poor job of fending off the cold air that seemed to surround her. The blanket did nothing.

Slowly, she realized that she was not laying on the hard floor. And there was no pillow beneath her head- there was something much harder. Her eyes snapped open as he heart started to race in her chest. She was staring directly at the bare, deep blue chest of Loki. Shelby was so close that her forehead was almost touching his skin- and she knew how cold it was because her head was rested on his arm with his forearm wrapped around her back and holding her close.

She could hardly keep herself from hyperventilating as she looked up and saw Thor standing over them with a sly smile on his face. Shelby felt her face get super hot as she glared. "Did you move me here?" She said so quietly that she practically mouthed it.

Thor shook his head, chuckling to himself as he turned and headed to the bathroom.

Shelby eyes switched to looking at Loki's face. He appeared to be fast asleep. Moving would surely wake him up, and waking Loki up trying to get out of this situation was not something she wanted to deal with. Weighing her options, she decided it was best to put the responsibility of waking up first on Loki.

She closed her eyes, listening the running water of Thor showering in the background. It was rather soothing. Shelby never fell back asleep fully, but she fell into a sort of half-sleep, her mind shutting off for the most part while still staying somewhat aware of her surroundings.

Shelby had no concept of time, but Thor was still showering when she felt Loki stir next to her. It brought her back from her strange nap, but she did not move. She would not open her eyes until he got out of bed.

She felt him shift slightly- the pressure on the bed told her that he had scooted away from her slightly. She was slightly relieved and was expecting the next step to be taking his arm out from underneath her head. Instead, she felt his arm shift and bend, and moments later she felt gentle movement on her hair. Was he..? It felt like he was playing with her hair and stroking it very, very gently, as to not wake her up.

Shelby was frozen in shock. She was going to try and wait it out, but seconds turned to minutes and Loki did not stop or move. As it dragged on she felt her heart beat faster and faster, her breath caught in her chest. She felt her face heat up more and more until eventually she felt Loki freeze.

There was a movement of complete silence as the water in the bathroom turned off. "Are you awake?" Loki asked in a quiet, low voice.

Shelby's teeth clenched as she nodded. She felt Loki's arm drop behind her. Shelby opened one eye tentatively, looking up at Loki's face. He was looking down at her with deep red eyes, his lips pressed together in a thin line. "I... apologize."

"For playing with my hair or moving me last night?" Shelby whispered back.

Loki thought for a second. "Both?"

"There was a reason I took the floor." Shelby muttered.

"Why's that?"

"To avoid situations like this."

Loki frowned. "Come now, am I really that bad?"

Shelby covered her face in exasperation, turning so that she was now facing the ceiling. This was not a conversation she wanted to have this early in the morning. "No, that's not it."

"Then what is it?"

She was lost at what to say. "What happened to the conversation we had after the ball? About taking this slow?" She asked.

"Well, yes, I remember that conversation we had 3 years ago." Loki stated.

Shelby dragged her fingers away from her eyes, glancing at Loki. He was still staring at her with a confused expression and a frown pulling at his lips. "You know how I told you I'm asexual?"

"Yes."

"Do you remember what the means?"

His brows furrowed in thought. "... being able to reproduce without a partner?"

Shelby dropped her hands from her face. "Are you serious?"

Loki's eyes widened. "Was that the wrong definition?"

"Asexual for humans means they don't feel physical attraction. So my feelings for you are extremely complicated and confusing."

Loki raised a brow. "But there are feelings there?"

Shelby groaned, covering her face again. "Obviously." She whispered.

"You don't need to be embarrassed." Loki muttered. "The feelings are mutual."

Shelby peaked through her hands, her eye wide. "What?"

"Goodmorning, family!" Thor chirped as he exited the bathroom, a white hotel towel wrapped around his waist as he brushed his hair with-

Shelby sat up. "Is that my hairbrush?"

"Yeah, I didn't think to bring one. You're very smart." Thor smiled. He glanced between Loki and Shelby, that sly smile pulling at his lips again. "Did I interrupt something?"

Shelby glared as Loki sat up, his skin transforming from a deep blue to his pale Asgardian complexion. "I despise you." She muttered, before pushing herself up. "I'm going to shower." She stated, walking towards the bathroom.

"I'll send Loki to join you." Thor teased. Loki glared at his brother as Shelby stopped in her tracks, looking at her hand as she calculated something in her head.

"What are you doing?" Loki inquired.

"Trying to predict if my hand would break if I punched Thor." She stated.

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So, that was supposed to be a short little drabble that turned into a 2000 word endeavor. Sometimes once I start writing, the chapter starts to write itself and I can't stop it.

I do feel kind of silly posting this. I'm very aware that it is incredibly cringe to write self-inserts... but there's very little that makes me happy in life and no one even reads this book anyways, especially not my Marvel and Mandalorian drabbles. So... oh well I guess.

Final note for the non-existent person who did decide to read this- this Loki is NOT TVA LOKI FROM THE LOKI SHOW. I DO NOT ASSOCIATE WITH THAT LOKI. THESE DRABBLES ARE BASED ON AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE I CREATED WHERE LOKI WAS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE AFTER THE AVENGERS DEFEATED THANOS AT THE END OF INFINITY WAR.

Thank you.