Hannah tried not to grow too distracted by the smell of the food cooking outside. Neither of them had bothered to eat before heading over, as Alys always cooked. But it wouldn’t be ready until the next day. She couldn’t survive. “Is there food?”
They looked over, and Hannah promptly pouted. “All right, fine, I’ll go fix something.” Swinging their legs off the coffee table, they left yet again.
“You could’ve asked when they were grabbing the drinks,” Emily said.
Hannah shrugged. “I forgot how hungry I was.”
“How?”
Hannah sighed. The discussion about Loki yesterday still weighed heavily on her, but she couldn’t see Alys as that person at all. There were a few words she could think of to describe them, but “rat bastard” was pretty far from any of them. “I need to get April to cook something for lunch Saturday too.”
“You just like letting people spoil you.”
“Who doesn’t?”
“Well, you are royalty.”
Letting out an ungraceful laugh, Hannah leaned against Emily, resting her hand on those ridiculous abs. “So am I a prince or a princess?”
“Princess,” Alys called from the kitchen.
“You’re in the other room. You can’t hear us,” Emily shouted back.
“You’re not that quiet.”
“Hannah, Princess of Asgard,” she muttered. “Er, Idavollr, I guess.”
“Princess of Portland?” Emily offered.
“I love it. Hannah, Princess of Portland.”
“Sounds like an eighties cartoon,” Alys called.
Emily pulled Hannah closer, resting a hand on her hip. “I’d watch it.”
A loud thump sounded from the other room, followed by a couple expletives. Emily sat up, staring concernedly in the direction of the kitchen.
“I’ll go check,” Hannah said. When she reached the kitchen, nothing seemed amiss. There were no pans scattered on the floor, the oven hadn’t fallen over on top of Alys—so she sadly wouldn’t get to show off her strength—there was nothing. Alys even had a somewhat exaggerated smile on their face, but there was a slight shimmer on their cheek as they tried to shift something away. “Were you just crying?”
“No. Of course not. Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fantastic.” Their smile grew even less convincing as they turned to the fridge. “Anyway, I was thinking, how about tacos?”
“Tacos sound great.” Hannah rested her hand on their shoulder. “But first, I want you to tell me what’s wrong.”
When they turned, Hannah noticed that the outfit didn’t seem to be fitting as well, and it didn’t take her long to see why. The distractions she’d been staring at earlier were gone. It made the clothes loose, but it gave her a decent idea of what the problem must have been.
“Nothing’s wrong. What sort of tortillas do you want?”
Okay, if Alys wasn’t going to take advantage of that taco setup, then clearly something was really getting to them. “I’m your friend, right?”
They nodded. “Yeah. Why?”
“You can be honest with your friends.” They choked back a sob. There went any possibility that Hannah was crazy. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“God, you’re stubborn.”
“Is that a Thor thing or a Hannah thing?”
“Both.” They grumbled but pulled themself onto the counter to sit. “Fine, I’ll talk, just stop giving me that look.”
“What look?” Hannah blinked.
“Never mind. I think that’s just your face.” Was that a good thing or a bad thing? “It was mostly dysphoria,” they said, but it didn’t sound quite honest.
“What’s dysphoria?”
“Right. You’re not used to that. It took Emily a while too. Though, of course, I had an easy fix for my dysphoria that I was hiding that entire time. Because I am such a great friend.” They banged their head against the cabinet but didn’t seem to notice. “I’ve made it pretty clear that my breasts bothered me. Normally, I’m not against using them for more interesting reasons, like messing with people or wooing or having someplace to put my phone if I don’t have pockets, but with you, right now…” They sighed. “It’s not an all-the-time thing. Gender can be fun to play with as a way to express myself. Hell, nothing’s quite as awesome as pulling off a femme look in a masculine body or a masculine look in a feminine body, but I tend to be a lot more comfortable being androgynous. Christ, I hate being honest. Can I just strip instead or something?”
“As fun as that would be, I want you to go on. Please.”
They managed to flash a slight smile, though it still looked incredibly pained. “Emily said my flirting with you was fine if you were into it, and I know you prefer…never mind. I think that part’s obvious.” They sucked on their teeth. It was painfully obvious how much being this open hurt them. They couldn’t even meet Hannah’s eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been being such a creep.”
“You’re not—”
“Oh yeah, I am.” They finally turned back, purple eyes meeting Hannah’s for a moment before they turned away again. “To be honest, I’ve never really had a serious relationship or any friends before. I had Emily for the last eight years, but until a week ago, that was all a lie. And I’ve dated maybe two people for a combined total of two months. Hel is the only person who has ever really known me, and I wasn’t allowed to be honest with anyone else. Now I have this cute girl I’m spending all my time with, who actually knows who I am and is totally my type, and I’ve been making a complete ass of myself.”
“What exactly is your type?” Hannah asked. “I’d always kind of assumed you and Emily had—”
“No, never.” They sounded almost offended. “I like femmes and femininity, no matter what the person’s gender is. Plus, you’re a total badass, and that doesn’t hurt.” They jumped down, using some tendrils that hadn’t been there a moment before. “But that doesn’t excuse how I’ve been acting about you. Just because I’m slightly masc-of-center and guys are total creeps doesn’t mean I should be too. I’m better than that.” Their smile was more genuine as they looked at Hannah, brushing hair out of their eyes. “Ground beef sound good? I have some leftover pork, but I assume you’re kind of sick of it.”
Hannah wrapped an arm around them, pulling them down a few inches until they were finally in range, and leaned in. Alys stiffened but immediately moved into the kiss, their lips meeting. For a long moment, neither of them breathed. It felt so right. It was honestly shocking. It wasn’t the same as it was with Emily—though not better or worse, at least that she could tell without a few dozen more tests—but there was something indefinably different. Maybe because this was a romance that only she had chosen, without any influence from Thor. She could handle that destiny might be the reason she was with Emily, but it felt amazing to know that this one was all her.
“Pork, then,” Alys finally said when they pulled away.
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Or chicken. Or fish. I don’t care.”
“Of course, fish tacos…now you’re trying to set me up for that joke.”
“That really all you have to say?”
They blushed a bright pink and nodded. “I need a minute. I liked it. I want more. I just…Go cuddle with your girlfriend. I’ll have your euphemisms ready in, like, fifteen minutes.”
Hannah started toward the living room but hesitated. “You do know that if your behavior was bothering me, I’d have told you, right?”
“Getting that now.”
Grinning, her own cheeks heating, she grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Use that fancy white Mexican cheese in your fridge, please, not just the taco mix. From April’s experiments back when she ate meat, I can say it goes a lot better with fish.”
She left them there, taking a moment to appreciate the genuine smile adorning their face. If that was all that was bothering Alys, Hannah was glad to have set their mind at ease. And fortunately, telling Emily was surprisingly painless. She barely even blinked. She mostly rolled her
eyes and teased. “Of course my two massive dorks would end up making out.”
Hannah plopped down next to her, sulking anew. “We didn’t even make out.”
Chapter Thirty-two
A dull knock on the front door awakened Hannah and Emily, who had managed to fall back asleep after some early morning fun. “Fuck,” Emily muttered, pulling the sheet away from Hannah.
“Hey!”
“Fine, you can get the door. I needed something to cover myself with.” She tossed the sheets back.
Grumbling, Hannah checked the time on her phone. It was only eleven. They’d invited everyone over for noon. Though she should’ve set an alarm once she’d realized she was gonna take that nap. Her morning workout always seemed to get Emily in the mood. She threw her nightgown back on and ran to the door, throwing it open and grabbing the back door. “Hey, sorry.” As it swung, she found April waiting, her light blond hair pinned up in a fashionable bun.
“Sorry, am I too early?” she asked, glancing at the frilly pink gown.
“A little, but it’s fine. It’s great to see you. Come in.” Hannah’s eyes fell to the bag in her hands. “Please say that’s your hummus.”
Smirking, April replied, “Of course it is.”
“Then absolutely come in. Let me go get dressed. Maybe a shower.”
“Take your time. I was hoping to use your oven. I didn’t get to cook, since, despite there being almost no one there this summer, someone has been hogging the oven all week.”
“You’re kind of one to talk.”
She looked hurt for a moment before conceding the point. “Okay, well, maybe, but I only have two classes right now, and I want to cook to work off the stress. We’re barely into the term, and grad school is already so much more work. I thought I’d get a head start and be able to take it easy later, but no, if I’m in my room, I have to be studying, and—” She paused. “I should let you shower. Suffice to say, it’s been exhausting.”
“I can understand. I’m sure you’re kicking school’s ass though.”
“Well, I do have a god on my side.”
“At least two.” Giving April a smile, she ran down the hallway for a quick shower. After throwing on a blue maxi dress and putting on some light makeup, she found April already hard at work over a boiling pot in the kitchen and Emily leaning against the counter talking to her. As weird as it was to see her two worlds colliding, how could she ever complain about finding her two favorite blondes? “What’s up?” She knew they’d met before, but that was when they thought they were normal humans. How could it not be different having your goddess wife meet the president of your sorority?
“Just telling April every embarrassing thing you’ve ever done.”
“I already know all of that.” April giggled. “I’m far more interested in finding out more about you, Emily. You’ve been stealing my best friend, and I still don’t know near enough about you. I did have Megan run a background check on you, though.”
“Wait, you what?” Her eyes opened wide as she stared, slipping off the counter to take a step toward her.
April turned, biting her lip. “She’s still in academy. She can’t even do that. But I can’t believe I didn’t ask before.” She groaned, obviously kicking herself for the oversight. “You have a record? What was it? Tell me.”
Hannah stared at Emily. Did she? “You do?”
Emily groaned. “I managed to get arrested for having pot when I was like twenty-four. Literally weeks before they voted to legalize it. It was just a slap on the wrist, but it’s still on my record. Misdemeanor.”
“Oh.” April deflated. “The way you looked there, I thought it’d be something worse. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. You’re trying to look after Hannah. I’m the same way. Hell, I…” She turned to Hannah, “Wait, she knows right?”
“Yep.”
“Just a few days ago, I was fighting zombies to protect her. It was literally the coolest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Like, holy shit.”
“Wait. What?” April glared at Hannah. “You were in that kind of danger, days ago, and you didn’t even tell me? What the fuck?”
Hannah’s jaw dropped. How could someone be mad at her for this? She was Thor. Wasn’t she supposed to do that sort of stuff? “But I’m Thor.”
“Yeah, and I’m your friend, and if the living dead are trying to eat my best friend, I deserve to find out as soon as possible, not days later from someone else.”
“She’s fine,” Emily said.
“But she might not have been. When was this?”
“Saturday?” Hannah replied, trying to double-check in her mind.
“An entire week ago? I can’t believe you. I would have come. You could at least tell me. Where was this? How did it happen?”
Emily stepped between them, rescuing Hannah again. “Really? That’s the part that bothers you? Not the zombie thing?”
“If there are gods, I don’t see why there can’t be zombies.”
“I think the word is actually Draugr,” Hannah offered helpfully.
“You better keep her safe.” April took a step, staring at Emily with a fire Hannah had never seen in her eyes. “I can’t believe this.” As she turned back to Hannah, her gaze softened. “You’re sure you’re okay?”
April was really that worried about her? It hadn’t even occurred to her. “I’m kinda unbeatable.”
April punched her.
“Ow!”
“You’re not Superman. Take care of yourself, okay? Please? I don’t know how I’m supposed to focus on my urban studies classes when I’m worried about you being eviscerated off in some magical kingdom.”
“It wasn’t a kingdom, but fine. I promise I’ll tell you, and if you don’t have too much homework, I’ll even let you come.” How hadn’t she thought to mention it? Was she just too used to hiding it? Wow, she really was a bad friend.
“Damn right you will.” She wrapped her arms around Hannah, pulling her into a tight hug. “Please don’t get killed by zombies. Draugr. Whatever.”
Hannah had been so focused on exploring this new part of her that she hadn’t even thought about how it could affect the people close to her. She’d always compared it to being accepted into the queer community and to coming out, but it wasn’t really. Sure, being gay could be dangerous, but people didn’t tend to have to fight actual monsters.
Hannah could hear Emily escaping behind her. “I’m gonna go shower. You crazy kids have fun.”
Sounds came from the stairs. “Damn, you’re here early.” It was Megan’s voice. “The door was unlocked. Hope you don’t mind.”
Hannah pried herself free from April’s grasp only to throw her arms around Megan. “I was worried you wouldn’t come.”
“I told you I wouldn’t miss your quince.” She pulled out the quinceañera dress that Hannah had managed to forget about. “Want to go change?”
Snatching it from her hands, Hannah nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
When she returned in the sparkly red and white dress with a red skirt so poofed out that she could barely fit through the door, Emily had finished her shower and was sitting on the couch with Megan wearing jeans and a sports bra. Hannah couldn’t take her anywhere.
“It’s really all real?” Megan asked. From the sound of it, Emily was still bragging about fighting zombies.
“Of course. I took on three zombies single-handedly. If that doesn’t prove it, I don’t know what does.”
“Single-handedly?” Hannah asked.
Emily grumbled. “Fine. Two single-handedly. Alys took care of the other one.”
“Who’s Alys?” Megan asked.
Hannah hadn’t introduced them yet. And they’d already kissed. April and Megan were gonna flip.
Hannah glanced at the door. “They should be here by now. They’re the one bringing food you’ll actually eat.”
“Wait, you mean if she doesn’t show up—”
“They,” Emily and Hannah both corrected.<
br />
“Then there’s no meat?”
Chuckling, Emily said, “’Fraid so, officer.”
Hannah rolled her eyes. “Like you’re any better.”
“I can put up with not-meat.”
“Sure you can.” Hannah held on to the doorway to the kitchen, leaning in to call to April. “Food almost ready?”
“Yeah. I just finished the pad Thai. I hope that doesn’t clash too much with whatever your other friend is bringing.”
It wasn’t like April would be eating it. “It’s fine. I love your pad Thai, though.”
“Pad Thai isn’t vegan,” Megan called.
April smirked and whispered, “Don’t tell her.”
“Then you’ll love it,” Hannah called back.
The four of them gathered in the living room, Hannah sitting next to Emily and Megan on the couch and April taking the chair. “To the new god of thunder,” April said, holding her beer up.
“Fuck it. Fine,” Megan grumbled.
“And the goddess of…” Hannah faltered, trying to recall. “Grain.”
“Yeah, go me,” Emily muttered. They drank, Emily downing hers.
“Are you going to move to Asgard?” April asked.
“Asgard is gone.” Hannah took a bite. It was even better than the last time. She was just sad that she hadn’t gotten to the hummus yet, but there’d be plenty of time for that. “But we’re not moving to Idavollr. Our lives are here. We’ll be involved over there, but that’s it.”
Megan looked at her in shock. “Really? That’s a relief.”
Was she really that scared of losing her? Hannah studied her. A few weeks ago, it had seemed like Megan didn’t want anything to do with her. “I promise, I’ll never vanish on you. And I’ll keep you informed on anything dangerous I end up involved in. I don’t have any intention of fighting, so you don’t have much to worry about.”
“Seriously? Aren’t you like the god of war?”
“Strength and thunder and also oak trees, but not war. You remember high school. I can’t do that again. Especially now. I could hurt someone too easily, and I’d be giving into my anger. Besides…” She shook her head, flipping her hair dramatically to emphasize the statement. “True strength is in finding another solution.”
Thor: Daughter of Asgard Page 28