I’m using ‘you’ for simplicity. Honestly, these are just my thoughts/headcanons as to what a relationship with Loki would be like in general, so it’s not really specific in terms of who it is in the relationship with him.
Feel free to discuss or give your own opinions/headcanons if you’d like.
This is also gender neutral, I imagine he acts the same with a S/O of any gender. Because Asgard just be like that.
-Whether you’re an enhanced being or not, Loki is very ready and willing to take up arms for you at the first sign of danger. If someone threatens you, he’ll tap them on the shoulder with the scariest expression imaginable, “Would you mind repeating that?” If you get kidnapped, there’s a 60% chance that Loki’s on his way to kick some ass (With a 40% chance that one or more of the Avengers are trying to hold him back so they can assess the situation first.)
-If you know how to fight/are enhanced, you two often end up being a combat duo and honestly make the most effective badass power couple in the Avengers, besides Wanda and Vision, of course.
-Loki, at first, if you’re midgardian, will end up being extremely careful around you. He’ll basically treat you like you’re made of glass, any wrong move he makes might hurt you in his mind seeing as, from his experience, midgardians are so fragile. Regardless of whether you’re enhanced or not. It takes a lot of convincing and reassurance to get him to relax. (This is a hurtle you have to jump before he feels confident in fighting alongside you as well.) This, of course, does not apply if he’s already well aware that you can handle yourself in battle. (For example, you’re an Avenger and you two have fought side-by-side multiple times, or sparred with one another.)
-If you ask to come to Asgard, he might bring you along. Don’t be surprised, however, if he ends up using his magic to make you look like an Asgardian if you’re from Midgard. (Because he was very vocal about judging Thor’s relationship with Jane, and he’d rather not be made fun of for the ironic hypocrisy.) As for the other realms? He may take you to see them depending on which realm we’re talking about. (Alfheim and Vanaheim in particular are ones he likes to visit. Jotunheim on the other hand? Over his dead body.)
-If everyone knows about it, he will gladly show off. He flaunts his relationship with you, and you yourself, to everyone like you’re the finest treasure in the universe. Basically saying ‘They’re my partner, not yours. Jealous?’
-If you’re in a relationship with him, I cannot imagine you haven’t already seen his Jotun form by that point. The biggest hurtle(s) for any relationship with Loki are his secrets, insecurities, and fears. Thus, if he really does love you and trust you, it’s because he knows you accept him wholly and completely. Thus, you’ve seen it. (Note: He’s still not going to take this form often, he just wants to be sure you wouldn’t believe him to be a monster and/or abandon him.)
-Once you break through the above barrier, this man is probably one of the most compassionate people out there. If people prove their fidelity and care for him, he’ll treat that person like gold. Though most of the softer moments happen behind closed doors, as he’s not very into PDA. (Though that’s not to say he’ll stop you-)
-He’s not the kind of person to make you jealous. After all, he’s your partner, you chose one another for a reason. If you try to make him jealous though, he’ll realize what you’re doing and take it very personally. The only time he’d ever make you jealous on purpose is if you attempted it on him, because this man is petty. Though do bear in mind he will confront you about how immature you’re being regardless of if he takes the petty route in that situation or not. hypocrite
-He doesn’t really care about appearances. Sure, having a pretty S/O is nice, but that doesn’t really matter to him when compared to genuine care and compassion. This extends to aliens and mutants with major appearance changes too. Neurodivergence and disabilities are also something that doesn’t bother him generally. Though you’ll probably have to explain some of them to him, as he doesn’t really know that much about modern midgardian terminologies/diagnoses for things like that. Autism? DID? Tourettes? Deafness? Muteness? He doesn’t care.
-What he specifically looks for in a partner is loyalty especially, with compassion, empathy, and a decent sense of humor. (Some impishness is also up there on his list.) Common interests are another plus, and will usually be one of the first things he notices.
-Things that will usually make him nope out of a relationship are actually pretty low-bar standards if I’m being honest: Abuse, General lack of care for him, Extreme entitlement, Insert hate-based group, i:e racists, transphobes, etc.
-I’ve already mentioned before that I headcanon one of his love languages to be physical touch. He’s touch starved, please give him affection. However, at the beginning of a relationship, he’ll find the idea of...actually having a loving relationship to be very hard to get used to, so he probably won’t initiate any physical affection at first regardless of if it’s in private or not. But, gradually over time you’ll notice him being a bit more physically affectionate and bold in regards to touching you. He’ll stand closer to you more often, he’ll put his hand on your shoulder randomly, he might even start kissing you on the temple or forehead on occasion, etc.
-If you cannot fight, he will teach you how to defend yourself. This is non-negotiable. His mother was murdered in his absence and that fact haunts him well into any ‘real’ relationship he forges, friendship or otherwise. So, he’s certainly not going to let you waltz about without knowing how to defend yourself in case something happens when he’s not around. If you already can fight, he’ll train and spar with you.
-He will stick to you as much as possible. He wants to spend a lot of time with you (Another love language), so don’t be surprised if he ends up popping up every so often to check on you, or asking you when you’ll next be free for some quality time together.
-Dates with this man are immaculate. He pays a lot of attention to how you feel and what your interests are. He’ll then take this information and use it to construct a date that he thinks you’d enjoy. You like sci-fi? Well, he knows a beautiful alien planet you two could explore! Gemtones? Oh, you just so happened to stumble upon a crystal cave with him!
-He does a lot of silent admiration from afar. During those moments, there’s a lot that goes on in his mind. Specifically, wondering how you could possibly love him when he’s done so much. New York, Helping Thanos, Attempting to destroy Jotunheim, the multiple attempts on Thor’s life, etc. The fact that you can even accept his Jotun ancestry, something even he himself can’t truly accept, amazes him. He really doesn’t know what he did to deserve someone so accepting and loving in his life.
-It’s not always sunshine and smiles of course. Communication of his own emotions is not his strong suit, but he’s very perceptive of the feelings of others, so he’s very willing to talk to you about your issues or concerns. He’s very good at recognizing when something’s wrong as well, so often, you won’t even need to ask him to talk, he’ll already be sitting next to you, patiently waiting for you to begin the conversation. Meanwhile, he has a habit of pushing his emotions down and thinking that if he ignores them they might go away. He’s also very good at hiding it, so that’s certainly something you two need to figure out. Arguments happen, but rarely last long, as he’s good at recognizing when he made a mistake. “I understand, I’m sorry I made you feel this way. I promise I’ll try to be more thoughtful of you from now on, [Name].”
-He doesn’t really do anniversaries? It’s an Asgard thing, there’s no real ‘milestones’ for relationships, so if you want anniversaries, you’re going to have to explain it to him.
-He really tries his best to be as good a partner to you as possible. He places your needs squarely above his own, especially in dire circumstances.
-Pet names. He will use them, and absolutely melt if you use them too. Call him ‘your prince’, ‘sweetheart’, ‘darling’, ‘luv’, any endearing little name like that, he’ll love it. (He also doesn’t care if you call him those things in public either.)
-He’s such a tease. He’ll flirt with you in hushed tones when nobody is looking, his goal being just to see you turn red. If something ends up happening after as a result? ...That’s just a happy accident.