Get help
BOOM.
“Ouch.”
The two gods groaned and sat up slowly. The raven-haired brother looked up and moved his limbs to check for fractures. As he looked around, he found they had fallen in a clearing, but he could see vague lights through the trees, so they couldn’t be far from civilization. “What just happened?”
His brother glared furiously at him. “Have you already forgotten, brother?” Thor spat. “We flew, we fought, we fell, it is not that difficult.”
Loki raised his eyebrows at his brother’s tone. “Hold your horses, geez. I was merely asking because the fall was disconcerting.” He looked at his surroundings again and let out a small noise of triumph. “We’re on earth, don’t you see? All those trees, the grass and the stars, I mean, obviously. It cannot be hard to fool mere Midgardians, we could have done worse.”
Thor laughed derisively. “Get help?”
“I’m not, and I repeat, not, doing ‘get help’,” Loki spat back. “It’s too embarrassing.”
A smirk appeared on Thor’s face. “Not for me, it isn’t.”
Layna grabbed the remote and paused the film.
Almost immediately, her younger sister began to protest. “OI! We were just getting to the exciting part!”
Layna shrugged and stood from the couch. "I've got to pee. Relax, I’ll be back in a minute. Something to drink?”
Sadie pursed her lips and was quiet for a few seconds. Only when Layna had almost reached the door, she spoke up: “Chocolate milk.”
“Hot?”
“Yes, I am. But, yes, duh.”
“With whipped cream?”
“Have you gone insane?”
“Duh.”
No less than ten seconds later, a loud bang suddenly resounded outside and a flash of light made the both of them jump three feet into the air. Sadie sat upright, entirely forgetting the film for the moment, and walked to the window in her Captain America onesie. “What was that?” she asked.
Layna came back from where she was standing in the kitchen and walked over to stand next to her. “No idea, should we go and find out?” Layna asked.
Sadie quirked her eyebrow and stepped back from the window. She folded her arms. “It’s eleven o’clock. And besides, it’s too cold, so nah.”
She walked over to the couch, but Layna knew she could persuade her sister to go after all, especially considering the film they were watching. She smirked. “Would Edmund stay home?” She stepped closer to the couch. “Would Lucy?” she said melodramatically.
Sadie sighed. “No. But they live in Narnia, you punk. And besides, Eustace went with them on a trip, and he turned into a dragon!”
Layna burst out laughing. “Fair enough. My point is, we should take a look. For the sake of mankind.” She stood up straight, solemnly placing her hand on her chest, trying not to laugh again, but failing spectacularly after three seconds.
“Have you lost your marbles?” Sadie sighed again, but stood anyway and grabbed the keys from the table. She put on her shoes and walked to the door. “I thought you said you had to pee…”
Layna shrugged. “Pff, details, I’ll do that afterwards. Come on,” she said cheerily, while she opened the door and stepped outside after grabbing her taser from the cabinet. It was highly unlikely they would encounter something dangerous, but one could never know for sure. It was pitch-dark outside and, indeed, freezing. Sadie folded her arms before her chest and walked briskly through the forest to where the noises had come from. Layna, however, skipped along enthusiastically in her Iron Man onesie, practically jumping up and down. It wasn’t long before they heard voices. The sisters looked at each other. They slowed their pace and hid behind two trees to listen.
“Hold on, brother. I think I just heard something,” they heard someone say. “Do they speak English here?”
“How would I know? Just do it!” another voice answered.
“Please! Someone help us!” the first stranger spoke up.
Layna and Sadie looked at each other.
“Get help,” Layna murmured. She looked at her sister.
“It’s embarrassing,” Sadie whispered.
“Not for me, it isn’t,” Layna finished. They had heard enough. They walked forward and when they pushed away the branches that obscured their view, they saw two men. The muscled one supported the other and walked their way with some difficulty. They hadn’t seen them yet, the sisters were sure of that, but he still managed to walk straight to the bushes they were hiding in.
“Please! Someone help us! My brother is hurt,” he called again. Layna stepped forward first and Sadie follow two seconds later, a bit more wary. Both men looked up at the sounds of breaking branches. The tall man looked at them pleadingly. “Please, we need help! My brother, he-” His voice broke and he helplessly pointed at the other man. He stepped forward and startled Layna, who grabbed her taser. She pointed it at the blond guy. The man let himself drop to the ground and curled up like an armadillo. “No, please, I beg you! No tasers!” Layna was surprised by the reaction.
The black haired man was suddenly able to stand by himself and looked at the other with quirked eyebrows and a smirk firmly plastered across his face. “I thought we were doing ‘get help’,” he said mockingly, lightly pushing the other in the back with his toe.
The girls smirked at each other. Just as we thought, Layna mouthed. Sadie could only barely suppress her laughter. Layna looked at the guy laying on the ground and spoke up. “Oh, you don’t like tasers? And what if I do this?” She waved the taser in his general direction and smirked as the man couldn't suppress a shudder.
The raven haired man full out laughed. “I like them. Can we keep them?”
Sadie huffed indignantly. “Excuse me? We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet and you’re already claiming us like some sort of animals?” She strode over to the man and slapped him lightly in the face. The other man looked up at the sound and burst out laughing at the baffled look on his brother’s face.
Layna whooped, doing a little victory dance for the sake of her sister. “Way to go, girl!” She gave Sadie a high five, who had a smug grin on her face.
The blond guy rose from the ground. “They are indeed likeable. Wait, you speak English?”
“Yep,” Layna said, popping the p.
“Well, that’s convenient. Could you perhaps tell us where we are?”
“Only when you first tell us who you are,” Sadie stated.
Both men grinned at the girls’ cheekiness. “I suppose that’s fair,” the blond man stated. “I’m Thor, God of Thunder, king of Asgard. This is my brother Loki, God of Mischief.”
Looks of recognition crossed the girls’ faces. “Oh, I know you guys, you’re from the Avengers,” Sadie said.
“Man, that’s awesome,” Layna said, jumping on the spot. Sadie pushed on her shoulders, forcing her to calm down.
“Well, one of us is…” Thor said, and Loki clipped him on the head.
Both girls broke out laughing. “I’m Layna, by the way, and this is my sis Sadie. But, to come back to your question, we, gentlemen, are in the glorious country of Belgium. It’s a teeny tiny country, really, even smaller than our home country, the Netherlands. It’s good for stargazing, however, so who cares,” Layna stated dismissively.
“What are you guys doing here in the middle of nowhere anyway?” Sadie asked curiously.
Thor and Loki looked at each other, apparently having a telepathic conversation. “We, uh… we just thought it would be nice to pay earth a visit again. It’s been a long time, with the destruction of the Bifröst and such,” Loki said.
Thor tapped his brother on the shoulder and said, attempting to whisper: “I don’t think they know what the Bifröst is, brother…”
“Yes, we do, we’re not stupid.” The brothers looked at the girls with surprise. Sadie continued. “And besides, we know the Bifröst has been repaired a long time ago. If memory serves correctly, you were both in New York not too long ago, so don’t you dare lie to us again.”
After a few seconds, Loki began to smile. “I definitely like her. Alright then, we were flying away from the destruction Surtur had caused in Asgard, when we got into a fight. However, someone thought it would be funny to open the doors of the spaceship, so when we lost our balance, we kind of… fell.”
“You… fell?” Layna asked disbelievingly. She shrugged. “Well, so much for gods.” Sadie burst out laughing again and the gods soon joined her. “So, what are you going to do now?”
“Uhm.. We... I… well,” Thor stammered and then fell quiet.
“Sounds like a plan,” Layna commented. “You know what, we have extra beds and a sofa, why don’t you sleep at our place for the night?” The men looked surprised, but eagerly agreed. The girls smiled. First at each other, then at the guys before them.
“Come on then,” Sadie said. She led the way back to the house. Loki joined her, while Thor fell in step next to Layna. They walked the few minutes to their house in silence. At some point Layna shuddered, still wearing only a onesie. Thor seemed to hesitate for a second, but eventually wrapped his arm around her shoulders. It startled her a little, but didn’t pull away as a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. When they arrived at the house, Sadie spent way too long looking for her keys. And, of course, when she had finally found them, Loki accidentally brushed his hand against hers, so she dropped them on the ground. They both bent down at the same time and their heads bump into each other’s.
“Ouch,” they both said simultaneously.
Thor and Layna snickered. “That’s exactly something I would do,” Layna said to Thor, soft enough for only him to hear it. He smiled, his teeth flashing white in the night. Loki rubbed his forehead, but soon enough he stepped towards Sadie, asking her if she was hurt.
Her cheeks slowly turned a bright red. “N-no, I uhm… It’s okay,” she stammered. After trying to decide who was going to pick up the keys, Sadie pushed Loki to stand a few feet away and reaches for the keys. She finally managed to get the key in the lock and opened the door. The film was still paused on the TV, so there was a soft light coming from the living room, but otherwise, their house was dark.
“Layna, didn't you have to go to the bathroom?” Sadie asked her.
Layna hit herself on the forehead. “Pfft, I totally forgot, thanks.” She went upstairs, because it would have been entirely too awkward to go downstairs with everyone in the hall. Sadie led the men to the living room. She offered them something to drink and made hot chocolate for herself. When they had all sat down around the TV, Layna called from the first floor. “Hey! If you guys want to see a beautiful sky, you should come and take a look!” Thor and Loki shared a look. After a second or two, Thor nodded firmly and dropped Mjölnir on a stack of books, after which he walked to the staircase. Sadie looked at Loki expectantly, but he didn't move an inch. Her heart began to flutter, but she tried to suppress it. When she looked at him, he smiled.
“Which film is this?” he asked quietly, as if not to startle her by speaking too loudly.
Sadie, clearly glad with the excuse to look away from him, turned away and watched the frame, in which three people were having a conversation. She shrugged. “It's from a series called Narnia. It's like another universe. That's Lucy, and beside her are Edmund and Caspian. Long story short, they kind of have to save the world.” Loki couldn't suppress a smile while he watched her. She looked so… sweet, innocent, but at the same time she was really bold. She was different from any girl or woman he had ever been with. She continued talking, but as soon as she saw him staring, her eyes dropped and with crimson cheeks, her voice faded away.
After a few moments of silence, he decided he had to say something. “So… What are you and Layna doing here?” he asked.
She lifted her head. “We both have two weeks off, so we decided to go on a holiday. It's been a really long time since we've done anything like this. I mean, we're both still students, so we don't have much time to spend together. This is our second house.” She talked on and on, rattling about her study-- apparently she wanted to become an industrial designer, whatever the meaning of that was-- and Loki just listened.
“What about you?” she suddenly asked.
“Hm?”
Sadie giggled. “Well, I know there aren't any films, or TVs for that matter, in Asgard. So… how do you pass the time?”
Loki shrugged. “Reading. Looking at plays. Working out. It sounds boring, doesn't it?”
“To be honest, not really.” When Loki arched an eyebrow, Sadie blushed. “I mean, it sounds perfect. Days doing nothing. Reading, walking through the gardens… If you have any, of course.” She fell silent, looking at him expectantly.
A broad smile appeared on his face. This was going to be fun, describing everything. “I think you would like it there. For me, the gardens are… well… normal. We have waterfalls, huge meadows and forests. We have the most exotic flowers and animals.” He talked on and on, encouraged by the look of wonder on her face.
Every time he mentioned another part of the Asgardian gardens, her eyes grew wider. “You really have dolphins in the lake?” she asked. Before he could answer, however, two pair of footsteps came thundering down the stairs.
Thor walked up two flights past a number of quite chaotic rooms, until he saw Layna’s head sticking out of a hole in the ceiling.
“Come on, you can use the rope ladder to get up.” Her head disappeared again. He grabbed the ladder and quickly climbed on the roof. He dropped down next to Layna and lay down on his back next to her. Her teeth were clattering and her hands looked purple, but she didn’t seem to mind much. Thor, however, did mind, so he took of his cape and wrapped it around her like a blanket. She snuggled into it, pulling the cloth up to her nose.
“Thanks,” she said and she pointed at the stars over her head. “You see those stars over there, the ones forming a saucepan of sorts?” Thor nodded. “That’s Ursa Major. And the w-shaped constellation on the other side of the sky, that’s Cassiopeia. Over there is a group of stars that vaguely looks like a hunter, that’s Orion.” As she continued pointing out constellations and telling the stories behind them, Thor just listened, smiling at her enthusiasm. She was a most charming combination of intelligent, enthusiastic and witty. Even though they had only met around 15 minutes ago, he felt like he could listen to her chatter for hours. “... you?”
When silence fell over them, Thor realised she had asked him a question. “My sincerest apologies, I’m afraid I didn't catch your question just now.”
Layna giggled. “Why are you speaking so formally? It's not like I’m somebody important or anything.” Not yet, he thought, but didn't say anything. “Anyways, I asked what the constellations are like where you come from? Are they different?”
Thor nodded. “Yes, they're entirely different. Asgard is quite a distance away from Midgard, these constellations would look deformed when viewed from Asgard. We wouldn’t consider them constellations, then. Other constellations adorn our skies, though. They fit within our myths and stories, just like yours.”
“Whaaat? You have to tell me everything about them tomorrow. Now, my nose is freezing off, so I’m going inside to get some hot chocolate. Do you want some too?”
“I’d love that.”
Layna tied his cape around her shoulders and they climbed down the ladder. Layna waited on the attic till he had climbed down, but before she could walk down the stairs, he brushed his knuckles over her cheek, making her blush and sprint downstairs, the cape still tightly wound around her. Thor smirked. This was going to be a fun time.
Loki looked up as his brother and Layna tumbled through the door. He blinked and shared a look with Sadie, who only shrugged.
“She’s craaazy,” she stage whispered, which made Layna burst out in uncontrollable laughter.
Loki smirked and shook his head as Thor sat down on a chair next to the couch. “Brother, what are you doing? Did she swipe your cape?”
“I… Err, she...” Thor stammered, trying to explain without too much shining through. He gestured abstractly in Layna’s general direction “Well…”
“Very eloquent,” Loki said, but nodded. He understood completely.
Sadie stood up and dragged her sister to the kitchen, sounds of laughter fading.
Thor quirked up and smirked. “So, were any engaging topics discussed?” he asked with a knowing smirk.
Loki sighed, stretching his legs over the full width of the couch. “You know full well I’m not like that, but I must say she’s intriguing.”
“I agree. Which reminds me of the problem of our eventual inevitable departure. Since we do not possess a mobile phone, nor the device one would apparently require to send digital mail, there is the problem of staying in touch. If they would want to, of course.”
Loki leaned forward on the couch, resting his chin in his hands. “Hm… I guess we’ll just have to convince them to let us stay longer. I mean, how hard can that be? Heimdall is still with our people, so we do not have to find a way to return immediately.”
Thor nodded at his brothers words. “That seems to be the ideal course of action for the time being, brother. Oh, hush, they're coming back.” They struck the most unnatural poses ever and pretended like they hadn't just forged a plan into the girls’ lives. They looked at the brothers with narrowed eyes, but said nothing.
Sadie walked over to the couch and sat down on Loki’s legs. He ‘oomphed’ loudly in protest. “Heavy?” Sadie asked coyly.
He shook his head, a grimace on his face. Sadie smirked and leaned back against the couch to make herself comfortable.
Layna walked over to where Thor was seated. “Scoot over, you,” she said, slapping his shoulder softly with the back of the hand she wasn't holding cocoa in. She squirmed between the arm of the chair and Thor’s leg. “Good thing I’m not fat, huh?”
Sadie looked at her sister. “Layna…” she said insistently, “I actually still want to watch the film.”
“Oooh, you're right.” She looked at Thor. “It's an awesome film about four kids having to save the world.” Thor shrugged. He didn't mind as long as she didn't move to sit somewhere else, not that he would say that out loud, of course. Her face lit up. “Awesomesauce.”
Sadie looked at Loki. “Like I said. Craaazy.” Loki grinned at their antics. Sadie leaned forward to grab the remote, causing Loki to ‘oomph’ again. She pressed play and all that was heard from that moment was the occasional comment from Thor and Loki (and random outbursts from Layna, mixed with laughter from Sadie).
“Eustace! DON’T! Oh, damnit, now you’re a dragon!” (Thor)
“EDMUND!!! NOOOOOO! DON’T DIE!!!” (Layna)
“No no no!! Caspian, don’t go there! You have to rule Narnia!!!” (Loki)
After the movie, Layna dropped her head against the back of the chair and let it roll against Thor’s shoulder. “Well, that was an emotional rollercoaster.”
“For you it was, not for me. I’ve seen it three times. ” Sadie shrugged and couldn’t suppress a yawn. “I think we should get ready for sleep.”
“Pfft, boooring!” Layna jumped up and Thor’s face fell a bit, but she pulled him from the chair and jumped on his back. “Come on! Let’s go outside for a bit!”
“What? You aren’t tired?” Sadie asked.
“Of course not. Thor, what are you waiting for? I’ll show you the telescope in the garden. The door is over there.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and put her chin on his right shoulder, so that her head was besides Thor’s. “Come on,” she whispered in his ear. Thor shuddered and Layna smirked, though he couldn't see it. “You’re slow.”
“Yes, alright, I am going.” Thor walked them to the door at the other end of the living room and turned around so Layna could open it.
“Couldn't you have opened it with your foot or something?” Layna mock-whined, before they disappeared through the door.
“Layna! You lazy pratt!” Sadie yelled from her place on the Loki’s lap.
“And yet you love me!” she yelled back.
“Please, do not yell in my ear!” they heard Thor yelling just as loudly.
“Layna! You’re not delightful, whatever you think you are!” Layna huffed indignantly and the door to the garden closed. Sadie sighed and got up. “So I guess we have to make the beds.” Another sigh. “I hate that. I’m too small to do it properly.”
Loki took his chance. “I’ll help you. Where are the beddings?”
Sadie walked upstairs, trusting him to follow. Then she went to the biggest room, which belonged to Layna. She walked through the room and opened the window. “OI!” she yelled out of the window. “They have to sleep on the floor, right?!” Loki made a sound that was somewhere between dismay and amusement.
“YES! I CLAIM THOR!!!” was shouted back.
Sadie snorted and turned to Loki. “Typical. I guess that means you’ll have to sleep in my room.” She didn't wait for him to answer and went to grab two air mattresses and sleeping bags. She dumped them in Loki’s arms and stepped out into the hallway. “Come on.” Loki smiled and followed her to another room, hers, he assumed. “So, this is my room.” No shit, sherlock, she thought. “Oh wait, I forgot the pump. I’m not going to blow air into that whole damn thing myself.” She stepped out of the room, leaving Loki to take a look around. The first thing he noticed was that books lay everywhere. Everywhere. On the floor, on the bed, on the desk, in the closet. The walls were covered with wallpapers, posters and drawings, which, he assumed, were drawn by her hand. What got his attention were three huge posters on the desk, below a black leather folder and a few thin books. Before he could take a better look, though, sounds of heavy things falling sounded through the house and after a few seconds Sadie screamed for help.
“Loki, little help please!” A short silence, followed by: “I can’t do this! Why can’t I get a stupid pump to work?!” Fake sobbing. “I can’t…” Loki hurried out of the room and saw her lying on the floor, face first and stretched out on the floor, amidst a heap of junk. He felt a wave of fondness for her crash over him and he sank onto the floor next to her. He turned her over and helped her sit up. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I fail at life,” she whimpered. “Nothing goes the way I want it to. I drop things, like all the time…”
“There, there,” Loki said, petting her head. He started to smile when he saw her pouting face and helped her stand up. “Come on, you go and brush your teeth or something and I’ll finish this.” Sadie didn’t say anything else. She put her head on his shoulder for a second before turning around and walking to what Loki presumed was the bathroom. He picked up all the supplies needed to get air in the mattresses and walked back into Sadie’s room. There he put the plug in the socket and inflated the air mattress. It wasn’t perfect, but it would have to do. It wasn’t like she would have to sleep on it, so it was fine. “Good enough,” he grumbled before heading to the other room and doing the same all over again. When he was done, he turned to walk to ‘his’ room. He stopped to see Sadie leaning against the doorframe. She smiled and grabbed the bedding from the floor to put it on Loki’s bed. She gestured for him to follow her and they both laid down on their respective beds.
“Good night,” Sadie said, and Loki heard she almost instantly fell asleep.
“Good night,” he whispered back and turned around so he lay facing the door.