Summer shook Piper’s hand quickly. The other girl was young and outrageously cute; it made Summer feel old and worn. She ignored that feeling, though. You were only as old as you let yourself feel, and tonight she intended to feel very, very young.
“Well, my car is ready to go, and I’m ready to take y’all, just as soon as I know where. Sleipnir, you’ve got the backseat, because your legs are longest. Tall people, pff.” She bumped a fist into Sleipnir’s arm.
Sleipnir raised an eyebrow skeptically. “Wouldn’t sitting in the back of your iron horse give me less leg room?” He decided to go along with it though, easily shoving back at Summer as he’d seen Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three do. Only he made it much more gentle.
“Let us be off, then. I trust you won’t get us into too much trouble, Piper.” He opened one of the many glass doors leading out of the building and held it for them.
“Me?” she asked innocently, her grin anything but. “Trouble? Never. Perish the thought, Slep.”
Inwardly, she was grinning. They had no idea. This was going to be great.
“Besides, my aunt would kill me.”
Slapping Slep on the back affectionately, she walked with a spring in her step to the door. “Let’s blow this taco stand!”
In truth, she was really excited. Piper didn’t make friends well or easily; most of the time, she was awkward and shy, and when she wasn’t, her nighttime hobbies made it even more complicated. So this was a real treat for her. Piper couldn’t remember the last time she and some pals just went around town hanging out- if ever.
Piper’s enthusiasm was going to be infectious, Summer could tell. All to the good. Leading the way to the car, she motioned Sleipnir to the backseat. “Normally you’d be right about the leg room, Sleip, but you might have noticed I’m short. Therefore, you sit behind me, where you get all the leg room I don’t need. Piper, are you directing from the back where you can cuddle with Sleip, or from the front? And where are we going? Details, kids.”
Hopefully, a lot of chatter would keep either of them noticing how much she envied them. They were cute, separately and together, and that old familiar jealousy wanted to sneak its way back in. A little verbal distance and a lot of talk would keep that in its place — forgotten, as it should be.
And maybe she could sneak a few hugs out of Sleipnir later.
Taco stand…? Sleipnir was absolutely mystified at what that could be. He decided he would look it up later. It sounded intriguing. He climbed in the backseat of the car, studying it carefully. It seemed comfortable enough. He froze when he heard Summer’s words, however, and immediately began to protest. “Summer, Piper and I are certainly not-what is the word for it? Dating, I do not know why we would cuddle.” His brows furrowed in confusion. “And what is this strange contraption?”
He had picked up the seat belt, eyeing it distrustfully. “What does one do with it? And why does it stretch?” He’d begun to pull it out, to see how far it could go, when he noticed the place where it buckled in, and let go of the stretched out seat belt. “And what is-” He yelped as the seat belt whacked him in the face. He grumbled, rubbing his face. “I do not think your iron horse likes me, Summer. Does it distrust all strangers? Piper, does it get along with you?”
Piper choked on thin air as Slep denied dating her. Of all the-?!
“I, uh, no, we’re not- not like that, I mean, Slep’s a cute human don’t get me wrong, but no offense or anything he’s probably going to turn back into an eight legged horse and that would be really awkward and how did you even get that idea?” she asked, flustered.
Not to mention his dad is Loki. And not the nice Loki. Or maybe both Lokis. Or something. Either way, the Loki I met was… creepy. And evilishy. Lord, Asgardians are confusing!
Slep got in the car. Piper hurriedly took the front seat.
“Yeah, here, see the buckle? It goes in there like this,” she said, showing him helpfully. “The car isn’t alive. It just takes some getting used to. As for where we are headed…”
Her grin returned.
“…We are going to the most wonderful place in New York, where the food is fab and the games are great and the prizes abundant. We,” she declared grandly, “are going to Mr. Gatti’s!”
Summer chuckled. “There’s a place I haven’t been to in ages. Show me the address, will you, hon? Everybody set?” She threw the car in gear and popped out into traffic, flashing the finger to a honking cab driver behind her.
“I’m just teasing about the dating, kids. You know people are going to think that, though, right?”