Furlough

Prompt: Vacation

Disclaimer: I do not own Thor

He hadn't wanted it, had silently pleaded with her, had done everything in his power to tell her he didn't want to without actually speaking. But she'd still agreed on their behalf.

"I think that's a lovely idea. We'd love to join you." She had smiled at his brother, nodding. He swore she had just wanted him to suffer. It hadn't been until Thor left that she looked at him frowning. "Oh stop scowling. It'll be fun."

And now he is suffering. He walks beside her, arm around her shoulders. Striding four feet ahead of them are Sif and Thor who don't touch at all and navigate around the mortals with relative ease. He's content to walk slower, keep Sigyn close and be amused whenever Sif or Thor find themselves struggling to twist around the people who crowd the sidewalk.

"Come on, Loki," Thor crows, standing beside Sif in front of a shop. Apparently, he thinks, they've decided they have gotten too far ahead.

Sigyn's eyes light up when she sees the place where they've stopped outside of; a cramped little antique shop. And before he can protest, she's out from under his arm and grasping at Sif's hand. "We should go inside."

Sif only nods and follows Sigyn. Thor makes a move to follow but is caught by Loki who fears the damage that he'll cause. "Let's wait for them in there," he points to a used book shop across the street, knowing quite well that Thor will hate it, but feeling that Thor needs to join him in his suffering.

He's not wrong. Two minutes after entering, while he's content and browsing shelves, Thor is following him and complaining about the place, saying that he rather be with the girls. But Loki knows it's safer here. For all of their differences, Sif and Sigyn manage to maintain a friendship that is rather precarious. They can be the best of allies but turn on each other over minor matters in minutes only to have their argument end in laughter. The fact that they could turn on each other makes it better to keep a safe distance when they are together. Loki has learned from experience, Thor has not.

He's setting back a musty old book when Sif enters, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Thor hurries over to her, talking to her rapidly. It's when Sif rolls her eyes at one of Thor's comments that Loki wonders where the speculation that they'll marry comes from.

"Where is Sigyn?" He asks, stepping over towards them.

Sif shrugs and he wonders if they've had an argument that has gone unresolved. He leaves and finds Sigyn where Sif abandoned her, still in the antique shop, running her fingers over a quilt that's been laid out.

"Did you and Sif fight?"

"No," she says, her eyes never leaving the fabric. "She wanted to leave, I told her I was going to stay a bit longer."

"Ah." He watches her step away, her hand resting on the table that displays the quilt. She's always preferred old things, he thinks, always. She preferred the heirlooms, the things that had seen time.

She turns, looking up at him. "I'm ready to go."

He smiles, taking her hand. When she saw what he chose to wear in order to blend in, she'd called him too formal. Dressed in a suit, he clashes with her casual attire, a tank top and a thin skirt that reaches just a little past her ankles.

Outside, Thor and Sif are waiting, Thor wearing a look of impatience. "Come on, Brother." Leading the way, Thor marches forward, the three of them trailing.

Much of the day is spent exploring places that catch Thor's interest and when the girls do not like the place, they leave them, whispering to each other. They're in the process of leaving for the second time, when he swears he can hear Sigyn and Sif gossip as they abandon Thor and Loki in favor of a cafe. He contains a laugh, finding it amusing that a woman who always seeks to stand out as a warrior -she even chooses more masculine mortal clothing, he notes- would participate in such a thing.

It is Thor's idea to spend the night and it is Loki's job to work out the details. They end up staying in a hotel room with Loki securing two rooms. He's prepared to hand Thor one key and keep the other, when Sif takes the key from his hand and calls for Sigyn to follow her.

And he just stands there while Thor takes the second key from his hand. "Come along, Loki."

Thor does most of the talking, going to bed while his brother, resigned to a chair in the corner with a lamp nearby, reads. He can only half-focus on the book, still stewing over how terribly things have gone on his brother's concept of a vacation. He's only turned two pages when an idea strikes him and he begins to use the book simply as a way to appear that he's occupied.

When he's sure that Thor won't wake, he takes the key, slipping it into his pocket, and wanders down the hall. He stops at their door, tapping lightly on the wood, prepared to hide himself if Sif opens the door.

Sigyn appears, smiling. "Hello," she says softly.

"Is Sif awake?"

"No."

"Walk with me?"

"Of course." She disappears for a second returning with the key to her room before shutting the door. Together they roam around the halls, her wearing a tank top and shorts and him in a t-shirt and slacks, both barefoot. They talk quietly, exchanging impressions and stories of the day.

After circling the floor four times, he stops at his door. "Goodnight, Loki," she says but he catches her wrist.

"Thor's asleep. Why don't you come inside?"

"I should get back to Sif."

"Please?"

She sighs, the hint of a smile on her face. "All right."

Sif is pounding on the door and Thor, still half-asleep, goes to open it. "Yes?"

"Thor, Sigyn's gone off somewhere and I can't find her."

"Did you look around?" He rubs sleep from his eyes, swallowing back a yawn, trying to focus on the still hazy woman before him.

"Yes," she hisses. "Wake up, Loki. See if she told him where she was going."

"Fine." The blonde haired man continues to rub at his eyes, going to where he remembers Loki being. "Loki," he says. When he finally focuses, he wants to laugh. Loki lays in the chair with Sigyn against him, his arms wound around her waist, while she has her head on his chest. Smirking, he goes back to where Sif is standing at the door, foot tapping in irritation. "It's okay."

"Where's Sigyn?"

"She and Loki slept together."

And Thor fails to understand why Sif pales at that statement.