Chapter Text
The next Monday at school, Sif hugged Loki outside of art. She was still shaken from the phone call, but he looked happy.
“Look what I got,” he said, pulling his backpack around to the front.
He pulled out a brand new pack of Prismacolor markers.
“Holy shit, where did you get those?”
Sif was actually jealous. Prismacolors were so expensive, and he had a whole set.
“My dad got me them,” he said. “He was going to save it for Christmas, but he wanted to give it to me now.”
Suddenly, Sif understood. She forced a smile. She knew it was completely fucked up that Odin tried to compensate for hurting Loki with a nice present, but Loki looked so happy about the markers, she couldn’t say anything negative.
“Those are awesome. I can’t wait to see what you make.”
Maybe Loki’s dad really did feel bad about losing his temper. Maybe he never meant to hurt his son like that. Maybe he didn’t know why he did it, either. These thoughts distracted Sif in art class and through the rest of the day. She was glad to see Loki happy, but she couldn’t shake the suspicion that the markers were just Odin’s way of placating Loki into not telling anyone about the other side of their relationship.
Later that day in science, Sif was surprised when Jane sat down in the desk next to her.
“Hey, Sif,” she said.
“Hey?”
“You and Loki should come out to use the telescope tomorrow night!”
“Oh, yeah...when is that?”
“Tomorrow night at 9. We’ll be out in the back parking lot.”
Sif was genuinely flattered to have a personal invitation.
“Okay. Yeah, that sounds cool, I’ll see if he wants to go.”
“Yay!” Jane said, and then she moved when the girl who actually sat there arrived.
So Sif and Loki decided to go to telescope night. Jane and the science teacher were there surrounded by a sizeable crowd. There was a good turnout, which meant they’d have to wait a while in the freezing air for their turn to look. Loki and Sif huddled together for warmth. When it was time to start, Jane spoke to the group. She was in a poofy coat and pink earmuffs.
“Thank you all for coming out tonight! This is so exciting. The sky is really clear. We’re looking at Mars first, and then we’ll reposition for the Ring Nebula. You don’t have to stay for both, but you should, because they’re both awesome.”
Sif smiled. Jane’s enthusiasm was contagious, and she wasn’t annoying anymore. When Sif set aside her dumb jealousy over Jane being equal parts nerdy and girly, she actually seemed like someone she’d want to be friends with.
As people started to take turns at the telescope, Thor arrived with his hands full, but Sif couldn’t tell what he was carrying. It turned out to be much-needed hot chocolate for the group.
Jane waved at them when they got closer to the front of the line. Thor had his arm around her.
“Hey, Loki! Hey, Sif!”
“Hi,” Sif waved back.
“Glad you made it!”
Thor waved, too. It wasn’t weird to see them together anymore. Actually, they were a cute couple, Sif had to admit. And then she wondered if it was weird for Loki, since he knew she’d liked Thor for so long. She held his hand tight and he smiled at her.
“You look so cute in that hat,” he said.
She was wearing an old knit beanie she almost never wore unless conditions reached arctic levels of cold.
“Thanks,” she said with a laugh. “You look cute in your scarf.”
When it was her turn to look at Mars, Sif saw a blurry brown dot. It was cool to think that she was actually looking at the red planet and not just some photo in a book. While they waited for Jane and the teacher to reposition for the nebula, Sif leaned against Loki and he put his arms around her. There were a few other couples doing the same, and she realized how happy she was to be there with him. She was already looking forward to kissing him by the car. When it was finally their turn again, the Ring Nebula looked like a circle of smoke in space. Sif thought it was cooler than Mars.
Loki put his arm around her as they went back to the car. Once there, Sif turned to him and met his lips with hers, pulling him toward her. She wanted him to know how glad she was to be with him and never wanted him to have any doubts. The air was cold and quiet and his lips were hot against hers. Sometimes while they were making out, he made a little sighing noise like he couldn’t get enough of her, and she was instantly putty in his arms.
***
The end of the semester was busy as usual, with another cross country meet, finals, papers, and projects. Sif couldn’t wait for winter break. It was also time to start applying for colleges. She and Sigyn had talked about applying to the same schools so they could be roommates, but now Sif was torn. She had always liked the idea of moving away for college, but things were different now, since Loki wasn’t graduating yet. She hated the idea of being away from him for a whole year, and she couldn’t figure out if that was stupid.
December also meant that Sif should start thinking about her birthday. Sigyn kept telling her she should do something epic for her 18th, but she didn’t feel like having a huge party. She settled on inviting people out to dinner at one of her favorite restaurants. Sigyn and Patrek showed up, as did a few girls from cross country, some other friends she’d known since middle school, and Jane and Thor, who she’d decided to include to be nice, and because she secretly wanted to become friends with Jane. Loki seemed a bit nervous about meeting some of her friends, possibly because he was one of the youngest people there, but they were all cool about it and excited to meet him.
The surprise highlight of the evening was when she opened Loki’s gifts. The first was a rolled piece of paper with a ribbon around it. She found that it was a drawing of Gamora and Peter almost kissing with Gamora wearing his orange headphones—one of her favorite moments. She could tell he had used his new markers, and he’d added lyrics from one of her favorite songs:
Crush my heart into embers
And I will reignite
“Oh my god! Ah! This is amazing!”
Loki just smiled. Sif couldn’t stop looking at the drawing. He knew her so well, and he was so talented. She hugged him and then moved on to his second gift, a small box. Inside, she found a necklace, and looking closer at the pendant, discovered it was a pointed glass vial with a tiny red rose inside. Above the vial, the metal hood of the pendant resembled an antique lampshade.
“This is the coolest necklace I’ve ever seen,” she said, and her friends craned their necks to look.
She handed it off to Sigyn to show the others and then kissed Loki. The necklace was somewhat more feminine that what she usually wore, but she loved it. It was so unique and romantic. When Sigyn handed it back to her, she immediately put it on.
After dinner, Loki, Sigyn, and Patrek came over to Sif’s house to watch a movie. Sif was glad they could hang out, but she was itching to get some alone time with her boyfriend. When they finally left for the night, she walked back to the sofa and plopped down on Loki’s lap and kissed him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi. Did you have a good birthday?”
“Yeah. Thanks for my awesome presents.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
“I love them,” she said, looking into his eyes and stroking his hair.
Her heart fluttered when she decided what she’d say next.
“I love you, Loki.”
He looked like he had when she’d given him the owl painting. He hugged her tight, and then looked up at her again.
“I love you, too,” he said, still wide-eyed. “I love everything about you.”
She kissed him again. Just then, her mom stepped in to say goodnight, so Sif reflexively jumped off Loki’s lap and showed her the necklace. They hugged longer than usual in the driveway that night. Sif never would have believed someone if they told her she’d fall in love with Loki her senior year of high school, but there she was. With him. 18. And never happier.