Another Chance

Deal

As always, the dining room was packed with students. As Loki weaved between tables and teenagers he did his best to ignore it all. But doing so meant focusing only on Sigyn, and each step toward her usual table was a battle against himself.

When he saw her he was about to turn around and run. Sigyn had her back to him, in her usual seat. She was talking to someone across the table, and the echo of her laugh could be heard even from where he was. Loki froze for a second before regaining control of his body and his expression. He put on the best neutral expression of his, lifted his chin a little more and slowly walked towards her.

Waiting until he could see her alone was perhaps a better idea than meeting her in a public space. But he was unable to keep waiting or the nerves would eat him up inside. Besides, Sigyn was too kind to humiliate him even if she had heard more than he wanted.

He repeated that to himself several times as he closed the space between them.

When he stopped a few steps behind him one of the girls sitting to Sigyn's right looked up at him, and immediately looked down. Sigyn turned almost instantly, a surprised expression on her face. Loki said nothing, waiting for any sign that he was welcome or not. He swallowed hard in an attempt to get rid of the lump that had formed in his throat.

Sigyn smiled then, and moved to the side, making room next to her on the bench. Loki let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding and sat up, resting his forearms on the table. Sigyn said nothing, but she did something that expressed what she thought better than words. She leaned into him, her weight comfortable and welcome against his side, and rested her head on his shoulder.

Loki relaxed a bit, closing his eyes. He wanted to rest his cheek on Sigyn's head and inhale the scent of her hair, and put an arm around her shoulders, hold her closer to him. But he held back, simply enjoying the warmth of her body against his, her presence.

"Are you still mad about inviting him to the greenhouse?" Sigyn asked in a very low voice, slightly trembling.

Loki sighed, shaking his head.

"I can't be mad at you for wanting to help me," he said, pausing before admitting. "I don't think I can be mad at you for anything, actually."

Sigyn laughed a little.

"Never say never."

They were silent for another moment. Loki expected Sigyn to move away at any moment, but the seconds stretched out into minutes. Loki carefully avoided looking at anyone else at the table. So he could pretend that they were alone, and that there weren't hundreds of eyes looking at them. Judging them.

"Your food is going to get cold," he said after a while, when the temptation to hug her became unbearable.

Sigyn sighed and moved away from him. But instead of eating she looked up at him, studying him with the same attention she gave to everything.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked so softly that Loki was about to cry again.

"Not much. But for your peace of mind, we've fixed a few things." he flashed her a weak smile. "It will be necessary to see if that hard head has really learned his lesson, but at least he has managed not to insult me during an entire conversation."

Sigyn laughed a little.

"Real progress."

Loki smiled again before looking down.

"Thank you, Sigyn. Not just for inviting him today. I know you've been talking to him, and probably to Jane."

"Well, someone had to make things clear to both of them," she said with a snort. "And you don't have to thank me for anything. I'm just doing what feels right to me."