Maya skipped classes today—something she hadn’t done in a while—but she was on a mission. She scoured the university’s perimeter, climbing a dozen staircases until she found Austin on the green rooftop terrace of the communication department.
As a hiking enthusiast, he lounged on a wooden bench to soak himself in the setting sun and evening breeze. Maya, however, was less happy about this place.
“Do you know *pant* how frustrating it was to *pant* find you?” huffed Maya, completely winded. Austin had tried to convince Maya several times to him on his hikes, but she always refused with profound reason. “You do that every time! Why can’t you hide somewhere *pant* less high up?”
Since the incident with Aaron at the gym, Maya had been anxious about seeing Austin again, though she did not appreciate the rooftop hunt he sent her after. He always picked elevated green spaces to be alone and reflect.
“Much to my dismay,” grumbled Maya.
“I miss home,” said Austin. He took a deep breath of fresh air and exhaled slowly. “The air there was fresher, and there were real mountains to hike. The hills here are too flat.”
“Bah,” Maya scoffed. “I went hiking with you once and never again! My legs hurt after the first 10 minutes, and you constantly said we would be there in half an hour, but IT LASTED FOR HALF A DAY!”
Austin cackled. “I remember how you complained the whole way up and nearly cried when we had to go down again.”
“My legs hurt for a week,” Maya whined, crossing her arms with a pout. “I’ll never forgive you for that.”
Austin glanced at her and pointed at her hair. “Your afro is back.”
“Obviously,” said Maya, fluffing up her coils. “I prefer it that way, anyway. And so does Val.” She gestured to the empty spot beside him. “Mind if I join?”
Austin scooted over, and the duo sat in comfortable silence, gazing over the campus. He scratched his knuckles, waiting for her to ask the question he knew was coming, but Maya simply yawned.
“I swear, I barely get any sleep lately,” she yawned again into her fist. “Val drags me to her morning jogs, and I’m simply not a morning person.” Maya shook her head, trying to shake off the drowsiness out of her system. Noticing Austin’s stare, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Don't give me any stupid looks until you shave off that ridiculous goatee. It's not getting any better, you know.”
Austin blinked, processing what was happening. Maya waved and snapped with her fingers in front of his face. “Austin, back to Asgard—helloooooo?”
“I think you meant Midgard.” He snapped out of his stupor. “But don't you want to ask me something?”
“Ask what?”
“The gym?” He inquired incredulously. “About everything!?”
“Oh, right, gym, the gym. The gym I went to. I quit. Toxic place.”
“No, I mean, I— hghmmmmm,” Austin groaned, trying to hold back his frustration as Maya nonchalantly took out a pack of gum.
She popped a bubble and held the pack out to him. “Want some?”
“You're messing with me, aren't you?”
“Always.” Maya popped another bubble and smacked her lips. “Bah, the taste always fades so quickly.” She spat out the gum into her wrapper and threw it into a nearby trashcan. “Listen, Austin, we’re friends. Back at the gym was quite an event. Assuming you know everything there is already, I won’t pry till you are ready. So, are you ready?”
Austin stared blankly at Maya. He was quite taken aback by her calmness. While he waited for her to find him, he went through every possible scenario inside his head. Her demanding answers, not showing up at all, or her being overwhelmed by curiosity.
But here she was, giving him the choice to talk on his own accord when he was ready. Franky, Austin didn’t know where to start.
“How’s Val?” he asked.
Maya shrugged. “I wasn’t aware of how bad her condition was, but she’s recovering. Her wings are back, though, which is great! And our relationship is better than ever.”
Maya blushed and kicked the air a little with her feet.
“And you?” Austin rubbed his knuckles. “How are you handling it all?”
“The fact I was gaslighted, demeaned, and had to deal with an abusive and toxic gym trainer, who went ballistic on me and slugged my girlfriend? Dandy!” Maya declared cheerfully, confusing Austin. “Yesterday, I gave Val a back massage, and we had deep talk. Also, did you know Val doesn’t get the plot of The Lion King? Not a dealbreaker, though. I can fix her.”
Austin chuckled. “‘Fix her’, huh? Wow… but what about everything else? That gym guy, he wasn’t human, and I was there… I feel like I owe you an explanation.”
“Do you want to tell me, goat-man?”
“Please don’t call me that,” Austin groaned.
Maya smirked. “I’ll consider it,” she teased, taking a deep, fresh breath. She could tell Austin was struggling to initiate the topic. “What were you doing at the gym?”
He paused, eyes on the ground. Maya took out her phone to check messages, giving Austin some space until he dropped a bomb on her.
“I stalked you.”
“O-kaaaaay! Right off the bat, huh.” Maya put her phone away inside her shirt and stared blankly at Austin. “Elaborate on that one, goat-man. Because Val’s not going to like that.”
Stolen story; please report.
Austin backtracked. “When you told me about Val, I was sceptical. But when you called for help with the Draugr, I began to shadow you. I stopped after things seemed calm, but when you mentioned that gym trainer… I had to step in and—”
“So it was you who saved me from the Draugr, not Val, wasn’t it?” Maya asked, and Austin nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Rules.”
“Of course,” Maya scoffed. “I read the books from Uncle Rick. What does that make you, then? A Valkyrie?”
“Wha— no!” Austin snapped at Maya, who covered her ears. “Valkyries are an exclusive band of elite female warriors. They are not just phenomenally skilled in combat and powerful, but also valued for their beauty and valour. Many of which are handpicked by the Gods from the ranks of the Einherji, after dying exceptional deaths in battle.”
Maya screwed her face at the detail and decided to store that bit of information away for later. “Then what are you? A god? Oh god, please not, I will not tolerate an Austin with a god complex!”
Now, it was Austin’s time to snort at Maya and shake his head incredulously. “Thank Ymir, no!” He almost doubled over. “That would be terrible.”
“You’re something better than?” Maya pouted angrily.
Austin’s expression turned sombre. “No, I’m just as bad as the Aesir or Vanir Gods.” Austin exhaled deeply. His hands trembled. “I’m not human… I’m a Jörðr, an Earth Giant.”
—ˋˏ✦ˎˊ—
Maya blinked at Austin. A pale shade coloured his usually tawny complexion, and the tremble of his hands even shook the building to its core. “No offence, but you’re not particularly tall.” Maya tried to ease the tension. The quaking subsided. “I figured giants would be, you know, tall. Like a house.”
“Please, we can be much bigger than that.” Austin rolled his eyes. He regarded his hand right hand. “Promise you won't freak out?”
“Nope.” Maya’s blunt reply stumped Austin. “My girlfriend’s a Valkyrie, and my other friend is a witch who commands the dead. How much freakier could you be?”
“Don't say I didn't warn you,” muttered Austin.
He held up his seemingly ordinary hand, which was as dry and freckled as usual. Maya looked closer but didn't find anything of interest—except some dirt under his nails. “Need some moisturiser?”
Austin smirked at the comment. “Hush now.”
He waved his hand in front of her, aligning it with the city’s tallest building. “Watch closely.” As he clenched his fist, the skin transformed—scarred and rugged, the crisscrossed with lines like a cracked puzzle.
“Woah… your hand…” Maya reeled back, eyes wide.
“I know…” grimaced Austin. “But keep watching,” Austin said with a sly grin. He turned his hand and opened his fist. To Maya’s disbelief, the city’s tallest building now rested in his hand, the real one vanishing without a trace.
“How in the— Wha— HUH!?” Maya shot to her feet, frantically scanning the skyline. “Where is it!? Did you just pluck out an entire building from the city— ARE THOSE PEOPLE INSIDE!?”
“Wanna guess?” Almost theatrically, Austin wobbled with his other fist over the building before slamming down on it. Maya squeaked as she witnessed mass murder happen before her eyes. He opened his hand again, and the building was back in its original place unharmed.
“We Giants are masters of illusion magic. We can fool the Aesir or even Vanir with our trickery,” he explained proudly. “They think they’re clever, but it’s hilarious to prove them otherwise.”
“Very cool,” Maya deadpanned, pinching his scarred hand. “Do you hang out with other giants?”
Austin’s breath shuddered. He returned to scrape at his knuckles. “Not anymore. My family… was toxic. I couldn’t stay.”
Maya scooted closer. She noticed his resistance but placed her hand over his, keeping it steady. “Are you okay?”
“No,” he admitted, shaking his head. He tried to pull away his hand, but Maya wouldn’t let him. If Austin had truly wanted to, he could have pushed her away, but he didn’t. He needed her comfort more than he thought.
“Remember how we first met?” he asked, his voice quieter now.
Maya grimaced at the memory but nodded. “My eating disorder acted up during crunch time, and you barged in on me at my lowest.”
“Freshman year was hell,” Austin said with a drained laugh.
“Literally,” Maya sighed. “I didn’t know the freshman fifteen was a real thing until I enrolled.” She squinted at him. “Why bring that up?”
“Because back then—like now—I was thinking about quitting.”
This confession caught Maya off guard. “Why? Don’t you like school?”
“It’s fine,” Austin said, his voice heavy with regret. “But I feel like I’m living a lie. I ran away from my family to live an ‘average’ life, but it makes me anxious how others perceive me. What if others find out I’m not human? Do my clothes look weird? Am I acting normal? It’s exhausting. I don’t feel like I belong. I never have. This isn’t my world.”
“Austin…” Maya pulled Austin into a side hug. “You never looked normal.”
“Excuse me?” He recoiled in offence.
“I mean, you tried so hard to fit in. We all thought you were projecting some issues.”
“I wasn’t that bad,” he mumbled into his hand.
“Austin, buddy.” Maya exhaled dramatically. “You wore a fedora with a silk scarf and spoke with a terrible fake Texan accent. No one believed you were normal in the head for even a second.”
“Argh, great, so I was a weirdo—” Austin tried to pull away again, but Maya held tight. She kept him grounded in this world of hers, no matter how hard he tried to leave.
“You are a weirdo, Austin.” Maya laughed with a strange twinkle in her eyes. “We both are, and I’ll keep you around as long as I can endure you, which has been for a few years, so you’re doing fine. I don’t care what you are. You’re still the same idiot who makes life interesting.”
Austin stifled a sniff. “You mean it?”
“Do you think I’d scale so many stairs just for anyone? You owe me a latte.”
“Pff, fine.” He wiped away a tear, his grin widening. “Lemme get you two.”
“Now we’re talking!” Maya punched his arm playfully before pulling him into a full and honest hug. She rubbed his back. “No matter what anyone says, you’re important to me, Austin. Thanks for being here.”
“Likewise,” he murmured into her shoulder, thinking back to the last time someone in his family hugged him like this. Returning the embrace, he realised how much he needed it. “Though I should let go now—your girlfriend’s giving me death glares.”
Both turned to see Val perched on the rooftop railing, her orange sneakers gleaming in the sunset. She flapped her wings and leapt down to join them.
“Jörðr,” said Val, her voice steady as she fixed Austin with a piercing stare.
Maya jumped up and wrapped her arms around Val’s neck, kissing her cheek. The Valkyrie melted, and her expression softened. “Thank you. For saving. Us. Austin.”
Val extended a hand to Austin—a rare sign of peace from a Valkyrie to a giant.
“Always, friend—” He had hesitated before shaking it and immediately regretted his decision when her grip nearly crushed his hand.
“Don’t. Push. It,” she growled. “We’re. No. Friends… yet.”
“Good to know.” Austin rubbed his broken hand, figuring he had a lot of friendship points left to earn to win the Valykrie’s trust. “Glad someone can take care of our wild Maya, though.”
“Hey, I’m not wild!” Maya protested, glancing at Val. “I’m not wild, right?”
Val looked sheepish. “Not. Wild. Enough,” she mumbled, her cheeks colouring.
“Hush, yoooooooouuuu!” Maya scolded and smacked her lips angrily at Val’s.
Austin gagged. “Do you two lovebirds have any other plans besides making out on my rooftop? I rather like this place and would like to enjoy it without feeling like you’re violating it with your lovey-doveyness.”
“HUSH!” Maya retorted. “And yes, we got dinner plans. Date night! UWAH!!!”
Val scooped Maya up into her arms. “Shall. We?”
“Yes!” Maya said eagerly before Val launched them into the sky. “Bye, Austin! Don’t forget my latte, Austin!”
He waved back, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he sank back onto the bench. He gazed at the horizon, a faint smile on his face. For the first time in a long while, Austin thought the future felt brighter.
One where he thought he would be happier than he thought he would.