In the Closet
Sigyn was wandering the halls of the palace, finding all the hidey-holes and mainly just postponing her return home, when she found Prince Thor hiding in a closet. He blinked up at her, squinting in the sudden light from the hall.
“Umm,” she stared a moment, dumbfounded and completely caught off guard, “Sorry.” She curtsied and shut the door to the closet again.
Only for it to open a moment later.
“Don’t be sorry,” Thor smiled at her, “We’re playing a game. You found me, so now you have to hide with me until the others find us.”
“Others?”
“Sif, Volstagg, Hogun, Fandral, Loki.”
“Oh,” she said. Her insides fluttered, Sif. “I’ll play if you truly don’t mind.”
“Then get in the closet,” The eldest prince pulled her in with him and shut the door.
“What’s the point of this game?” she whispered. She couldn’t see a thing as her eyes hadn’t yet adjusted to the light. She also hadn’t found a place to sit. She kept stumbling over the cleaning supplies that littered the floor.
“The last person to find us loses.” Thor whispered back, lightly shoving her away as she tripped into him. His blue eyes glittered humorously as she knocked her head on a low shelf.
Sigyn finally found herself a spot on the floor. She sat clumsily. “Oh. So you just... wait in here?”she looked around with her newly accustomed eyes. Someone had carved a dirty word into the shelf above her head.
“Pretty much,” he nodded, “In truth, I’m never any good at these games. I get distracted too easily. But Loki likes them, so we play.”
“That’s nice.” she didn’t care one bit what Loki liked.
“You should be quieter when you hide Thor,” a female voice teased, opening the closet door. Sigyn’s heartbeat picked up at the sound of her voice, she could feel the blush coming on the second she saw the older girl’s face.“It helps you stay hidden. Who’s this?” Sif slid into the closet with them and Sigyn moved to make more room. She hit her head again and ended up tripping over a box.
“I’m Sigyn,” she said, cheeks burning with embarrassment from her place sprawled on the ground. She sat up quickly and smoothed her skirts out, keenly aware of the legs she had flashed.
Sif smiled kindly at her and pulled her up, “Nice to meet you, I’m Sif.”
Sigyn nodded, she knew that. She didn’t remind them of the frog incident. It was obvious neither of them remembered her. Her heart was beating furiously and her hand tingled where the lady warrior had grabbed it to pull her up.
Thor shushed them, “You should be quieter Sif,” he teased.
The girl stuck her tongue out at him. She was even prettier up close. And strong. Her arms were visibly muscled. Her chestnut hair was pulled up in a ponytail and swished mesmerizingly with every turn of her head. Sigyn imagined running her fingers through it and quickly scolded herself because she shouldn’t be thinking such things.
They waited so long for the others that Thor began tapping out a drum beat on the ground. Sif hissed at him.
“I have to pee,” Thor whined quietly, “I don’t understand how Loki hides and waits for us for so long.”
“He doesn’t.” Sigyn muttered.
“What?” asked Sif.
Sigyn turned red again at the attention, “He uses magic and walks around still invisible to the rest of you.”
“That little cheat!” Sif exclaimed, “How do you know this?”
“I watch you play a lot. I’ve seen it happen.” Sigyn winced and turned red hearing her words. It sounded like she was stalking them, but she couldn‘t exactly tell them she was magic and able to see through his invisibility. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to be weird.”
They laughed.
“He likes to mess with me,” Sigyn continued, glad she was making them laugh at least. “Well I suppose we mess with each other-” her words became a shriek as Loki appeared right behind her.
“Surprise,” he whispered, “Now shut up.” he seemed to radiate a slight chill.
“I hate you.” she hissed back.
“Good, good, you haven’t forgotten me even while locked in a closet with your true love.”
She glared, but the effect was somewhat negated by her red cheeks. He had no idea. She was definitely locked in a closet with her crush, but it wasn’t Thor. “How could I forget the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen?” she asked him.
“Oooh,” breathed Thor.
“It would certainly be hard with the amount of mirrors you clean everyday.”
“I see you in each one. Are you watching me, or are you staring at your narcissistic self?”
“Oooh,” breathed Sif, her eyes sparkling with cruel pleasure.
Loki laughed, but his voice was lethal when he said “Watch it.”
Sigyn shut up and bowed her head, remembering her mother’s rules and the thin ice she stood on.
Eventually Thor had to abandon ship for a bathroom break and they all crawled out of the closet, laughing and tripping as their eyes readjusted to the light. Thor took off down the hall, colliding with walls on his way to the restroom. His ridiculous red cape didn’t help much with agility.
“You absolutely just shut Loki down! Pretty cool if you ask me,” Sif praised.
“Oh,” squeaked Sigyn, she could feel her cheeks flush, “thank you. He’s a bi- he’s a jerk sometimes. I’m used to it.”
“I’m right here.” The most accurate description of Loki’s expression was a pout.
“She was gonna call you a bitch,” Sif cackled, throwing her head back. Her entire face lit up when she smiled and laughed. Her green eyes sparkled with humor.
“It’s a fairly accurate description, all things considered,” Sigyn said softly, smiling at the ground.
Sif was beside herself with laughter. She fell against the wall as her knees buckled, “I need to pee too!” she giggled, “I’m gonna remember this for the rest of my life,” and she took off down the hall like Thor had, but much more spatially aware. Her ponytail streamed behind her in a mimicry of Thor’s cape.
Sigyn watched her go with a small smile. She was so pretty. And strong. And cool- she remembered where she was at the precise moment Loki coughed to get her attention. Her head snapped up. Her enemy was leaning against the wall with one of his infuriating smug smiles. He had his arms crossed comfortably, the perfect picture of arrogance. His slicked back hair was stupid.
“What?” she asked, immediately nervous and on edge.
“You don’t like Thor, do you?” he guessed.
Panic shot down her spine, chasing away any of the leftover fuzzy warmth from Sif, “I told you that last time.”
“But you do like someone. Someone who was in that closet with you. As attractive as I am, I doubt it was me.”
“Don’t tell anyone Loki, please!” she begged.
He just smiled and shrugged before sauntering down the hall.
What if he told? Her heart pounded fearfully at the thought. What if Sif thought she was disgusting? No, that wasn’t a ‘what if.’ She would definitely think Sigyn was disgusting. Girls weren’t supposed to like other girls, it was unnatural. She had heard her mother say as much in response to hearing about one such relationship. What if he told?