Texting #7: Gwen's Game

Tower Universe - Short

Gwen is sitting on her couch after a long day in the lab. She needs sleep but doesn't want to go to bed just yet.

An idea pops into her head, and with a mischievous smirk, she fires off a text to Loki.

No words, just a photo with no context of her coffee table covered in a mess of paperwork, plants, a book about art history, a half-empty bottle of water, a glass of whiskey, an open bag of chips.

Loki is sprawled lazily in his own personal study, half-watching a Midgardian documentary about... dinosaurs?

He's completely bored with it when his phone buzzes in his hand. He glances down at the new text from Gwen and blinks at the photo.

What was she trying to tell him?

After a moment of confused silence, he types out a simple reply.

"Your coffee table is messy,"

She laughs out loud imagining his confusion. She opens her camera app and snaps a photo and sends it off, once again with no caption. This time it is a blurry and off-center picture of her ceiling fan. Artistic.

Loki frowns at the new photo, even more confused than before. Is she just sending him random pictures now?

He takes a moment to look up from his phone and around the room, as if wondering if he'd somehow missed something. Then, with a roll of his eyes, he types back.

"Your ceiling fan seems functional."

He has no idea what's happening, but it's far more interesting than dinosaur documentaries.

Gwen thinks she may have found a new game to entertain herself for a little while.

Next up, a photo of her hand holding up a spoon.

Loki stares at the spoon photo, his confusion growing—but so is his amusement.

He decides to play along.

"Ah, yes," he texts back. "A spoon. Truly groundbreaking."

Then, after a pause, because he can't resist, he sends his own photo: a blurry, upside-down shot of his boot.

"Your move."

Gwen practically jumps up with excitement that he sent a photo back. Once again, without a single word, she sends back a dark photo under her bed, which may be a little dusty and just as chaotic as her coffee table.

Loki chuckles at the photo of the dust-covered mess under her bed. He's still confused, but he can't deny a tiny thrill at her little game.

In response, he sends a close-up photo of his own bookshelf. It's meticulously organized to perfection, with every book perfectly in place.

"Cleanliness is a virtue," he types back smugly. "Learn it."

Who knew the God of Mischief was so tidy and organized?

Another photo. This time, she sends a close-up of a small potted plant the size of a teacup balanced on her head.

Loki raises an eyebrow, his confusion turning into amusement the more photos she sends. And now she's using plants as props. How...adorable.

He grins at the photo of her with the plant on her head. Even though he'll never admit it, his stomach does a little flip.

He shoots back a quick response. "Impressive plant balance."

He also sends a photo of his perfectly made bed, just to annoy her.

All right, she'll respond with something that makes more sense... a photo of her bed shot at the same angle as his but her bed is an unmade mess of pillows and blankets.

Loki can't help laughing out loud at the image of her messy bed. He should have known that she'd respond with something completely opposite to his own neat and tidy room.

His response is quick and dripping with sarcasm.

"Very classy."

He secretly finds all of this charming, but he'll never tell her that.

She wants to type back actual words, but she is committed to her silent game of random, confusing photos.

Her next photo is of her jacket hanging on the doorknob of her closet.

Loki can't help shaking his head at the photo of her jacket. He's thoroughly puzzled by now, but he's also genuinely amused. This is the most fun he's had in a while, despite having no idea what the point of it is.

He types out a quick response, deciding to play along still:

"A jacket. How enlightening."

Gwen grabs a pen and quickly doodles on her hand a stick figure likeness of Loki complete with a cape and horned helmet. She holds her hand drawing next to her face with a silly grin, snaps a photo, and sends it off.

Loki stares at the photo, first at the crude little doodle of himself (horned helmet and all), then at Gwen's grinning face beside it.

For a moment, he's speechless.

Then, with a slow smirk, he grabs a pen and scribbles his own quick sketch—a stick-figure Gwen with wild plant vines sprouting from her head. He holds it up next to his own face, raising an eyebrow in challenge as he sends it back.

"Your turn."

He's definitely enjoying this.

It's late, it's been a long day, and she knows she should be sleeping, not playing childish games with Loki, but who else would play along with her like this?

Gwen laughs loudly at her next idea. She records a 5-second video of her hand moving, making it appear as though little doodle Loki was dancing.

There. Maybe he'll like that.

Loki watches the video and actually laughs at the absurdity of it.

He immediately records his own video—his hand moving the Gwen doodle in a mock bow, as if acknowledging the dancing Loki stick figure.

Then, because he can’t resist, he adds:

"You’re ridiculous."

He’s smiling. He knows she can tell.

She saves the video.

She shoots off one more photo to him—her smiling face—and adds a caption this time,

"I know. Thanks for playing my game, Loki. Good night."

Loki can't help but smile as he reads her message. He knows she's gone off to bed now, but the image of her grinning face lingers in his mind.

He debates for a second, then types out a quick response.

"Good night, you menace."

And he means it… as much as the mischievous God of Mischief is capable of a sincere sentiment.