TW: Homophobia
Loki's head was still spinning the next day at lunch. They'd had to kiss several times throughout rehearsal, and instead of becoming mundane through repetition, each one seemed to have its own particular kind of magic. At this rate, he didn't think he'd ever tire of kissing her. Which was a problem, because it would eventually stop. The show would go on, and afterwards their kisses would be over. Because she liked Val, not him.
Obviously, he could still try to execute his plan. Somehow get her to have feelings for him and crush her heart. Or he could somehow get her to have feelings for him and…just date her? Either way, her feelings for Val didn't have to change anything necessarily, but something about that just didn't feel right to him. He wanted…well, he wanted her to be happy. It was such bullshit.
"Got it that bad for her, huh?" Vis asked, bringing Loki back to Earth.
Loki blinked and shook his head slightly, as if waking up. "What?"
"Sylvie. You were thinking about her. Completely zoned out of it, actually," Vis said.
"No I wasn't," Loki protested automatically.
"Oh really?" Vis raised an eyebrow at him. "Then where's Wanda?"
Loki glanced at where Wanda had been sitting last time he'd checked into reality to find her gone. "Uh, well clearly she…" he muttered. "Fine," he groaned. "But that doesn't prove I was thinking about Sylvie, just that I was zoned out."
"I'd say it's a pretty solid guess though. I used to do that when I first moved here and met Wanda. Especially the way you were looking at her at rehearsal last night. It was so soft and..not like you."
"It's called acting," Loki rolled his eyes.
"When we were packing up?" Vis challenged.
"I wanted to try method acting," he shrugged.
It was Vis' turn to roll his eyes. "Says the guy who went on an hour rant about why Jared Leto is such a shitty actor since 'half the job is snapping out of it after the scene'."
"You're so stupid, stop assuming shit you know nothing about," Loki snapped.
Vis just sighed and shook his head. "You're a real asshole sometimes."
Which just made Loki feel guilty for the rest of the day.
It was a beautiful early fall day as Sylvie found her spot on the bleachers for the home game that afternoon. The sun was shining softly, with only a few clouds in the light blue sky. Some of the leaves on the trees on the other side of the football field were orange and red, but a lot still carried their green hues as they shook in the breeze that made Sylvie glad she wore a sweater instead of a tee-shirt, despite the comfortable temperature. She was there almost an hour early, so only a few other people dotted the stands as cheerleaders and football players alike stretched and warmed up.
Sylvie grinned and waved when she made eye contact with Natasha, who waved back, and then indicated her to Val. Her heart jumped when Val grinned brightly at her and waved as well before both cheerleaders went back to their warm ups. Sylvie opened her backpack and dug out her script, deciding to work on memorizing lines while she waited for her other friends to show up. Other friends. It was weird to think she had so many now.
She didn't have to wait long, as not five minutes later Loki sat down next to her. "A real actress, always working on your lines," he grinned. "Want a sip?" he offered her the unbranded, surly overpriced, soda cup in his hand.
"Thanks," she said, before taking a sip from the paper straw. "What kind of pop is that?"
"Red cream soda," he answered, before taking a sip himself.
"Never even heard of it before–well, red cream soda, I've had normal cream soda of course."
"I can only get it at these stupid games, almost makes it worth it," he answered.
"Isn't the quarterback your brother?" Sylvie raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yep," he answered like that didn't change a single thing he'd said. It didn't.
"He seems nice, from what I've seen of him," she shrugged casually.
She watched as Loki's eyes went right to where Thor was warming up on the field, throwing the football to someone Sylvie didn't know. "He's very nice," Loki agreed, but there was something in his tone she couldn't identify.
Sylvie decided not to ask. "Where's Wanda and Vis?"
"Making out under the bleachers," Loki answered, and then glanced over at her with a slight grin, cuing her in on his teasing. "Not here yet. Why are you here so early, anyway?"
"Didn't leave. I was in the library until it closed, so I came out here," she shrugged.
Before Loki could answer, a warm female voice from behind them said, "Oh Loki, who is this?"
Sylvie turned to see a regal woman with beautiful, long, dirty-blonde hair wearing what looked like a very expensive teal sweater. Settling into the seat next to her was an older man with slick back white hair and a full beard. They both oozed the kind of confidence and regality that signaled old money, but while the man seemed cold and distant, the woman seemed warm and caring. "This is my friend, Sylvie," Loki explained to the woman. "She's in the play too. Sylvie, this is my mom and dad."
"Oh, nice to meet you," Sylvie smiled, feeling a bit awkward. She'd sensed Loki stiffen when the two had settled into the seats behind them; there was a weird dynamic between the family that Sylvie didn't want any part of.
"You as well," Frigga smiled. "Always wonderful to meet Loki's friends. Who are you going to be in the play?" she asked with polite interest.
"Petruchio, the female lead," Sylvie found herself answering proudly.
"Oh, Loki's love interest, how wonderful!"
"At least it's a female love interest," the man next to her, Loki's father, muttered.
Sylvie's back straightened at the words as her gaze snapped over to him. "Excuse me?"
"I said, at least it's a female love interest. His stupid theater is already gay enough without that teacher," the word was dripping with disdain, "having him kiss another boy or some other nonsense," Odin answered, meeting her eyes as if challenging her to say anything. He was clearly the type of man who wasn't used to being challenged, who didn't take it well. Who was used to authority and respect, with everything about his body language making a clear warning for her to bite her tongue.
Unfortunately for him, Sylvie wasn't one to back down when her blood was boiling. Authority be damned. Her shoulders dropped and she held her head high as she looked him in the eyes with complete calm. "What a pathetic man you are."
Loki choked on the soda he was nervously sipping.
It was Odin's turn to say, "Excuse me?!"
"I said, what a pathetic man you are. So afraid of your own son's talent that you try to tear him down so he can't outshine you. Not hard to do, really. You're clearly not only ignorant, but also completely insecure in your own masculinity. So, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to find a different seat." With that, Sylvie got up and stalked down the bleachers, leaving all three of them with their mouths hanging open.
As she moved, Sylvie realized she had too much angry energy left to find another seat and sit down right away, so she decided to head towards the ticket counter, concession booth, and bathrooms to see if maybe Wanda had arrived. When she was about halfway up the path, she heard footsteps running behind her on the gravel and heard Loki calling her name, "Sylvie! Sylvie, wait!"
She stopped and turned to watch him jog up to her, tensing at his reaction. She was sure he was pissed. What she just did would surely make whatever shitty situation with his dad that he was dealing with worse. He was going to yell at her and she deserved it for running her mouth. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I wasn't thinking and–"
"Sylvie…Sylvie," he said multiple times to get her to stop talking. "Can I…buy you a hot dog or something?"
If he'd been into her before, now he was practically ready to get down on one knee. No one in his entire life had ever stood up to his father for him like that. Loki wasn't sure anyone had ever stood up to Odin like that. This girl was truly amazing.
He'd been thinking about buying some snacks for her ever since she told him she hadn't left school, since there was no way she could have eaten if she hadn't gone somewhere, but he hadn't wanted to assume or for the offer to seem weird. At least now it seemed like a thank you gift, and she accepted it (with a little confusion). He bought them both a hot dog, chips, and drinks, getting a refill of his red cream soda, and then went with her to get seats as far from his parents as they could find.
"You didn't have to do that," she said a bit awkwardly as they sat down, looking at the food in her hands.
"Neither did you, but you still did," he smiled softly at her.
"Well…thank you," she gave him a small smile back.
They ate in silence for a while, listening to the pregame ruckus around them. The stands were starting to fill up as students, teachers, and parents alike came to watch the winning football team with the star quarterback. Loki was debating texting Wanda telling her to get off Vis's dick and get to the game already when a particularly strong gust of wind made him shiver. He reached into his backpack and pulled out an emerald green blanket, sliding it around his shoulders since he didn't have a jacket. "Chilly," he muttered to her in explanation.
"Yeah," she nodded in agreement, shivering slightly as another breeze came through.
"Do you want to share?" he asked her, indicating the blanket.
Sylvie bit her lip, looking out over the field as she thought, but another large gust had her shivering again, so Loki didn't wait for an answer and instead draped it over her shoulders.
"Is this a tablecloth?" she asked with a slight sneer when she felt the fabric.
"No, it's a blanket," he chuckled softly.
"It's not very snuggly," she answered. He could tell she was a little uncomfortable with the affection, but also thought maybe she…liked it a little bit? She didn't push the blanket (or him, for that matter) away at least.
Which was how Wanda and Vis found them when they finally showed up, half way through the national anthem. Wanda raised her eyebrows at him and Loki just rolled his eyes. Yeah, he'd be having to dodge so many questions about this later. But feeling her warmth against his side, it was definitely worth it.