Another Chance

Film

The common room was empty when they got there. They carried trays of their spoils from the cafeteria: two cupcakes after Sigyn praised the previous week's menu to the head chef, giant glasses of berry juice, and a bowl of ice cream. The ice cream was a last minute addition, when Sigyn congratulated him louder than necessary for his role in the play.

Loki had to admit that watching Sigyn get them extra food from the kitchen staff was amusing. If it wasn't for her complicit smile when they left the cafeteria, he would have thought that everything had been accidental. The most entertaining part was realizing that Sigyn wasn't lying. She didn't need to do it to get away with it. And unlike what usually happened with his, no one seemed willing to believe that his words were dishonest.

He should be upset with that fact. And maybe if she was someone else, he would be. But Sigyn did not boast of the difference between them, and shared the benefits with him. And Loki echoed her chuckle as they climbed into the elevator, as if she'd just pulled a prank instead of just making half a dozen people feel good about their work.

The peace, however, was short-lived.

They had barely sat down and turned on the TV when Jane and Darcy arrived. The girls, who were talking among themselves, fell silent when they saw them. Or to be more exact, when they saw him.

"Did we interrupt something?" Darcy asked, not hiding a hint of hostility.

If Sigyn realized that, or the awkwardness of the situation, she acted as if she hadn't.

"No way. We were about to watch a movie. It doesn't bother you, does it, Loki?"

He turned to her. Sigyn looked at him with the same attention, as if she measured his discomfort. As if she asked his permission. He wanted to tell her that he'd rather they get lost the way they came, but instead he shrugged.

"No. We are in the common room, after all."

Sigyn smiled, and that alone was almost enough to make up for his discomfort and lost appetite. That and the way his hand rested on his arm as she turned again over the back of the couch to look at her friends. A casual gesture, if it weren't for the fact that it was Sigyn. And Loki was beginning to understand that the young woman did few things casually.

"See? Bring you something to drink and come here. I have some chocolate cupcakes to share."

Loki smirked a little at the way she had excluded his food from the common share. Loki looked over his shoulder at them in time to see the shared gaze and mute conversation between the two girls. Finally, and with an annoyed gesture, Darcy gave in. She strode to the kitchen in search of their drinks.

Jane, left alone, hesitantly approached them.

"Come, sit here." Sigyn patted the gap to her right.

The sofa was large, with space for four or five people. And Sigyn was sitting Jane down next to her. Loki glanced at the place to his left and then back at her. Some of the panic inside him must have shown in his eyes even though he tried to keep his expression neutral.

"She's not going to bite you," Sigyn whispered, and smiled at him for a second before Jane sat down next to her.

That didn't reassure him at all.

The last thing he wanted was to antagonize Sigyn's friends. Most of all, he didn't want to get in trouble with them while Sigyn was around. He didn't want to force her to choose between her loyalty to her friends and any hint of friendship she might feel towards him.

Loki knew perfectly well what happened when someone had to choose between him and anything else.

Things with her had been going too well so far, he supposed. And nothing good lasted very long in his life.