Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps. [closed]

[storradr]

who: ragnar, sif, thor, and bryn
what: a complete disaster dinner
when: middle of the month sometime. after paintball.
where: a steak house
warnings: possible language, passive aggressiveness, glares, hot bearded australian vikings. will update with more if they come up.


At some point, this had all made sense in Ragnar's head.

He'd wanted to meet Bryn for some time now, so he'd made a perfectly reasonable suggestion to Thor while they were drinking - they should all feast together. They'd settled on a steakhouse after a few suggestions by some other people who had been drinking near them. They'd been told no one had to cook in these places, they could just show up and they would pay for whatever they ate and drank. It sounded perfect.

All fine.

Now, where he went wrong was when he was going to leave the barracks, ready to head to the steakhouse, he'd crossed paths with Sif... and had promptly invited her to 'come eat with him' after asking her if she had any other plans. Honestly, he hadn't put much thought into that particular part. The two of them were good, 'courting', or... doing whatever it was they were doing and Thor was an old friend.

It'd be fine.

"Good. They are already here," He smiled over at Sif and caught her expression. And then he suddenly realized what a horrible mistake he had made.

"So... This is Bryn," His smile looked a little forced, panicked, as he gave her a nod, "Thor has told me much about you. It is... good to finally meet you in person. So... very good."

He was so fucked.

Comments

[fiercestwarrior]

It seemed like a nice enough suggestion. Most of the time (when he wasn't making her want to throw things at his head) being with Ragnar was something Sif tended to look forward to. She had not seen much of him for a few days now, and the truth of it was that she had missed him, though she would not give the smug bastard the satisfaction of telling him so.

Still, she accepted his invitation, thinking that it would be just the two of them. Now, in many cases it wouldn't really have mattered much that this turned out to be a misunderstanding, but of course this being a situation involving Ragnar "If I can fuck it up, I will" Lothbrok, this particular set of added company was possibly the worst one he could have chosen.

For a moment, she just froze. Had Ragnar seriously invited her to have dinner with the man she loved more than life itself, his beloved, and himself? It was almost too absurd to accept as a reality. But this was Ragnar, and he had a singular talent for thinking that things would be fine that a headless chicken could have figured out would be absolutely disastrous.

Before saying anything else, she leaned over so that she could whisper into his ear:

"I am going to kill you."

Then she straightened up, and actually managed to offer Bryn at least a small smile. Thor she was just... going to avoid looking in the eye right this moment.

"It would seem that today is the day we have those drinks together, Bryn. Ragnar did not mention that the two of you would be joining us."

[inlaid]

Having introduced Thor to a fair number of her own friends, she has no objection to meeting some of his. She'd meant to meet more of the Vikings at the bonfire but circumstances being what they are, she'd only been able to make a briefer appearance, socializing little before having to head out early. To make up for that, she'd agreed it was a good idea to go to dinner with Thor and Ragnar.

What woman in her right mind would pass up an opportunity to enjoy a steak dinner with the man she loves and a friend of his? Besides, in light of what she knew about Vikings and the mythology of Earth, or Midgard as Thor called it, what better chance to find out how much of what she read was something they actually believed?

Of course, what she didn't expect was for the man to walk in with a familiar woman. Bryn showed some surprise at seeing Sif walk in with Ragnar, but she wasn't opposed to the added guest. She did, however, turn to Thor with the barest lift of an eyebrow as Sif hissed into Ragnar's ear. A question without words.

Is everything alright? Does she need to run interference at all tonight?

[worldsaway]

Thor is about as out of the loop as Bryn is, in this situation. The only hint he has is that things were not so peachy between Ragnar, Sif and himself a little while ago. As far as he knows, that's resolved, but he knows Sif well enough to know that she could be holding that grudge or upset about something else.

He glances from Sif and Ragnar to Bryn with an equally uncertain look, but he presses forward politely. Thor smiles at the both of them invitingly, gesturing for them to take a seat.

"No, Ragnar didn't tell me you'd be joining us either, but I'm not complaining. The more the merrier." Thor raises a brow at Ragnar, just so the circle of confused faces can be complete, then back to Sif.

"Ragnar hadn't met Bryn before, so we decided to have dinner. I didn't know you two had already met."

[storradr]

Ragnar forced a smile at Sif's whispered threat. Or maybe it was more like a promise. At least he had the decency to look a little sheepish when he realized his mistake, clearing his throat to push past the awkwardness of Sif pointing out that he'd somehow failed to mention that Thor and Bryn would also be there.

Thor saved him. Sort of.

"That was my thought exactly! The more the merrier," He kept the forced smile in place until only Thor was looking at him. He widened his eyes, dramatizing a look of panic.

Before anyone could bail, the host showed up and smiled at them politely, bidding them to follow him to their table. Once he had them situated with menus he let them know their server would be on her way.

[fiercestwarrior]

Alright, deep breaths. She had looked death in the face and laughed, she could get through an awkward dinner. Granted she was a lot better at handling death and death-like things than she was at navigating social situations where everything was not entirely out in the open, because while killing things was certainly her forte, concealment was not.

She rolled her eyes a little at Ragnar, and then just shot Bryn a look that more or less said men.

Once they were seated, Sif answered Thor's question while her fingers worried at the edge of her menu in a way that was likely to tear it sooner or later.

"Bryn and I have only spoken over the network. She was kind enough to explain the confusing clothing items we posted a video about, if you recall."

[inlaid]

Well, this is certainly going to be an interesting dinner. Sif may not be used to navigating social situations, but Bryn's had enough experience with it that perhaps she can manage enough for the table. Certainly, when Sif gives her that meaningful look, she resolves to have Sif's back, however this goes down.

There's obvious tension between Sif and Ragnar, but it's too soon to say just what that might be.

The smile on her face is light, and easy. Not entirely forced since she's glad to see them both, even with the strangeness in getting everyone settled.

"Well, I'm glad to see you Sif. I've heard the food here is incredible and am not about to pass down an opportunity to make good on my offer of drinks," she says, finally speaking up. She looks around them, intending to flag down their server to get drinks started sooner rather than later. "And Ragnar, you too. I'm glad you could make it. Seems only right I get to know Thor's latest partner in crime."

She turns her smile in his direction then, giving him a curious but assessing look.

[worldsaway]

Thor returns Ragnar's look of panic with a slow, easy smile. He lifts a brow, and he thinks that's all he needs to do to assure Ragnar that he will be hearing about this later.

He sweeps his confusion aside, for now. He feels the need to meddle, since Sif is one of his oldest, dearest friends and Ragnar is his estranged brother. He holds no ill will, but he certainly thinks they're both barreling toward disaster with one another.

Mostly because Ragnar is married.

Regardless, he intends to have fun, and he knows Bryn to be the sort of person who can navigate most social situations. When the server approaches, Thor doesn't even need to look at the menu to make his first order.

"I'll have an ale, your strongest and biggest one." He glances toward Ragnar. "He will too." Then Sif. "...and her. Bryn, how about you?"

[storradr]

Oh, good. And here he'd thought Thor might've been on his side. He gave Bryn a pleasant enough smile though.

"It is very good to finally meet you. Thor has had many good things to say about you. And apparently, he has told you a little about me as well if you believe we are partners in crime," He smirked a little.

He's quiet as Thor orders, nodding in agreement, "And keep it coming, yes? There is no reason for any of our glasses to be empty."

He snuck a quick look at Sif from the corner of his eye.

"So. Bryn. You are not from the same world as these two?" He motioned at Sif and Thor, "Your world is more like this one? And what do you do here?"

The three of them were all involved in the perimeter guard, so that was easy.

[fiercestwarrior]

Yes, things would certainly be heading straight for disaster had Sif been in this thing with the usual expectations she has of people she chooses to get involved with. In this case, however, she had adjusted them. Things were still likely to get very rocky every now and then, but she was already braced for impact, so to speak.

"They both have a new partner in crime, and neither of them need the help to be vexing."

Said with a touch of dry humour, even as she bristled slightly at Thor ordering for her. Not because he was wrong, but simply because she was in a bad mood and thus not appreciative of even the smallest of things encroaching of what little control she could exercise in the situation.