Loki barely stepped inside before Thor dropped back onto the couch with a deep sigh.
"Lost," Thor grunted, rubbing his temples."My hammer — gone. Gambled it away."
That got Loki's attention.
He paused halfway into the room, one brow arched like Dove's crumbling ceiling."You what?"
Thor waved a big hand vaguely."Some gods. A bet. Too much mead."
Loki took that in with a slow grin spreading across his face."Oh, Father will love this," he chuckled, moving to sit next to Thor. "The mighty Thunderer, Odin's pride and joy — hammerless."
Thor's scowl deepened like a thundercloud."You could do better than cackling, brother."
"Could," Loki agreed, putting his feet up like he owned the place."But why waste the opportunity?"
That's when Dove finally snapped out of his "I'm in a nightmare" trance.
He stared at the two absurdly-dressed men in his living room — one, apparently Thor; the other apparently Loki — and blurted,"Okay, wait. You're actually Loki? The trickster god? Like, the one who stabs people in myths?"
Both gods paused to look at him.
"Yes," Loki answered smoothly.
"Yes," Thor answered more begrudgingly.
Dove blinked.This was his reality now.
"Right," he muttered, rubbing his face."Cool. Totally normal. Nothing weird about any of this."
And then his phone rang.
He grabbed it like a lifeline, eyes flicking to the screen.And then all the color drained from his face.
"Shit," he hissed.
10:00 AM.His part-time shift at the convenience store had started at 9.
"Oh my god," Dove gasped, shooting up like someone had jabbed him with a cattle prod."I'm so fucking fired!"
That abrupt burst of panic startled both gods —Thor and Loki looking up at him like,"Is this mortal okay?"
"I'm so dead," Dove groaned, already halfway across the room to his tiny closet."My boss is going to skin me alive!"
And with one last horrified glance at the hole in his ceiling — and the two divine freeloaders still camped on his couch — Dove could only scream internally.
Could this day possibly get any worse?