valhallan lesson
"So, where to, Val? Following my advice or going on an intergalactic tour?" asked Cora playfully from the passenger seat of the ship, Brunnhilde playing pilot to her left and the other three men hanging on the back having a snack around the Grandmaster's orgy table (not that they needed to know what it was)
"I think i'm gonna go back to Asgard" she confirmed "How am I keeping in touch with you if Odin goes coocoo?" asked the brunette after checking that the other travelers weren't paying attention to their conversation
"Oh yeah, about that, I gave my extra one to Lenora, so I asked her to make some replicas of them to give to my other non-midgardian friends, you know? Heimdall has one, he recently discovered the depths of memes and has been sending them nonstop" spoke Cora while rummaging through her backpack (which she conjured up out of nowhere) and took out a similar looking phone to the one she and her daughter had
"Interesting... 'Stark'?" questioned Brunnhilde while expectioning the phone now on her hands
"Ignore it, it's Earth lingo for annoyingly smart and obnoxious" which earned her a laugh from Bruce, who had decided to step into the pilot cabin with a bowl of something that looked like spaghetti... but definitely wasn't
"Dear, that's deformis limax, which I assure you does not mean 'tasty buttered noodles' or anything of the sort" said Cora softly but trying to hold in her laughter
Just as she was finishing her statement, the scientist had hanging from his mouth the rest of the insect's body and started freaking out once he realized he definitely wasn't eating spaghetti
"LOKI AND THOR COME HERE RIGHT NOW" bellowed the pilot
Like misbehaving children caught in the act, they sheepishly walked towards the two angry women and man
"I can understand that Thor might not have known... but I refuse to believe that you, Loki, saw what poor Brucey here was eating, and didn't know that he was eating disgusting slug" scolded Cora who had fury coming out of her pores, all directing to the frightened trickster god, meanwhile the other god on board had his eyes wide in indignation
"I'm offended, of course I knew it was deformis limax, i'm not stu-" he interrupted himself, knowing that by trying to prove his intellect, he had also proved he had messed with Bruce too, "DAMN IT" cussed Thor, now too fearing for his life as Cora's glare was redirected towards him as well
"From the god of mischief I almost respect it, but from you... you wound me, Thor" said a very disappointed Bruce walking back to the orgy table with his head hung low
"Go and find a way to make him happy again, goldilocks, as for you..." she ordered then turned to the raven haired prince "I don't want you annoying him anymore" she finished with a glower
"Only if you let me stay here, with you, alone" he said eyeing hatefully the valkyrie piloting the ship, clearly still bitter about whatever had happened between them
"Works for me, I need a drink anyways" and with that the brunette warrior got up and walked away, leaving the driver seat empty and the ship with no operator
Cora instantly scurried to the pilots side and leveled up the controls, a sigh of relief escaping from her mouth when she was sure they weren't going to plummet down to their deaths onto a stray moon
"You are so lucky I know my way 'round this pieces of shit" she joked, back to her cheerful ways
It seemed that that was how it worked, by herself, she was her bubbly self, but, whenever she was mixing her friends from Earth (who knew her as an avenger and sorceress), with her friends around the realms (who knew her as royalty), she was always on edge, almost uptight, careful not to make any mistakes that would sell out her upbring. Like kids who don't like birthday parties where they have to bring their different groups of friends together, because they don't know how to act around all of them in a singular group
But now, with the trickster god, who always seemed to be suspicious of whatever she did, who never ceased to flirt his way to find any answers, who still had no problem to change his ways and comfort her, she felt as safe as could be
She has lived over a thousand years, yet she swears that on that freezing dark morning, in the edge of the compound's rooftop, with her left arm brushing against the prince's right one and their eyes locking into each other, like puzzle pieces clicking at last, in those long seconds, she felt more alive than in all her 1639 years put together
And it was driving her insane
"You should go back to your home... I can drive this and take us back to the compound, I reckon you had big plans for the next week or so" offered the god with a cautious yet sweet smile
"No, it's okay, clearly you dumbasses can't survive for longer than breakfast without me, i'll check in to see that the place isn't in flames and everyone is alive, then i'll leave again" assured the woman, flashing the prince next to her a grateful glance
"Are you, uhm, you know..." Cora looked questioningly at the god, who was uncharacteristically stumbling over his words, "is it okay for me to ask about Lenora?" finally asked the man.
'And he just had to get more perfect, didn't he?' thought Cora to herself
"Of course you can" agreed the woman with the most enchanting smirk in the whole galaxy, or at least that's what the prince most definitely thought
And that's how they spent the rest of the trip to Asgard - where they would drop off the valkyrie - talking and sharing anecdotes, she answered every question, from 'what was her first word' to 'what does she have in common with you'. He in return told her happy stories of his childhood, from 'that time I turned Thor into a frog' to 'learning magic with Frigga at night in the gardens, under the biggest and tallest tree'
Through the tornado that were both their minds, if there was something they could both agree on, was the silent prayer of 'please, make this trip never ending'
- - -
I assume you can see me coming, but just in case, we have Brunnhilde, please don't give me away
-Cora x
-Heimdall
Give it a rest, man
-Cora x
"We're here, ladies!" announced Cora as she stopped the ship on the rainbow bridge, right in front of the entrance to Heimdall's workplace
Bruce decided to sit this one out, staying in the ship, Thor and Loki took the lead, behind them walked the rescued Valkyrie and behind the group the grey eyed woman, who had got distracted by staring at the wonders of the golden realm she hadn't properly visited in a long, long time
"Prince Thor, good to see you, Valkyrie Brunnhilde, welcome back, prince Loki, I believe you're still banished from Asgard" was the welcoming the gatekeeper bid the group as soon as they stepped foot in Himinbjorg. The last part of Heimdall's greeting earned him a glare from the woman with purple and enraged eyes
"Yes, well, i'm not here to steal a throne, i'm bringing a lost Valkyrie back to her home, along with my brother and friends, I deeply apologize for such a ruthless crime, good Heimdall" explained the banished prince with sarcasm dripping from each spoken word
"Ah, yes, the friends, I saw one stayed behind, the one they call the hulk" said the bronze eyed man
"He's actually a scientist and hero, who from time to time turns into the hulk" corrected Cora, sour from the lack of respect towards her mischievous friend from her gatekeeper friend
"Yes, I apologize... lady Cora, I must say, from what i've seen you have incredible friends, there's one I find particularly interesting, reminds me of myself" that caused the gods to look confused, Brunnhilde to snicker and roll her eyes and Cora to stifle her own laughter
"Oh, I know who you mean, he is the worst, you've got no idea bow much i regret ever giving him my number" retorted the woman with a teasing smile "don't worry, we're talking about... Alejo" she added to the princes and the Valkyrie, who didn't miss how Loki's eyes darkened at the mention of 'Alejo'
"Right, well, the king and queen wish to speak with prince Thor before his return, and with lady Brunnhilde as well, about her duties" informed the gatekeeper
"I assume you already know, but I'd prefer if you'd pass on to the Allfather and the Allmother that i'm, as of now, working under Valhalla's jurisdiction. I do not serve the asgardian crown anymore, Queen Freyasdottir has put me in charge of training a new legion of elite female warriors" spoke Brunnhilde, repeating the same words she had practiced with Cora beforehand
"Wait, Freyasdottir, as in the daughter of Queen Freya? No asgardian has had contact with her since the departure of my sister, or the fall of the Valkyries, most even think she's a myth" mused the stunned god of thunder
"Yeah, apparently she knows everything that goes around the realms, no idea how, Valhalla's stuff... anyway, she saw me helping you guys, so she contacted me and explained what her idea was, and seeing as Cora had just appeared with an escape plan, I thought, why not?" shrugged the warrior sending a thumbs up towards both the woman and the gatekeeper when the two brothers weren't watching
"Brother, remember how father always used to say I would marry Freyasdottir one day?" beamed the god of thunder with an air of pride, in comparison to Loki who found that reminder very annoying
"Yes, and I remember mother saying she knew her from back when she was still a princess, and in her opinion, she would've been more attracted towards intellect than your brawns" replied huffily Loki
"Wow, you guys are hilarious, fighting over a woman you have never met as if she was a prize, what a lucky lady" exclaimed Brunnhilde amused to the core, glancing at Cora's crimson face
"Queen, Brunn, not 'lucky lady', lucky Queen" remarked Cora teasingly, earning a snicker from Heimdall
"Can we leave, Cora? Apparently not even mother wishes to see me, so I don't wish to unnecessarily prolong this visit, plus, you also have a home to visit" spoke the raven haired prince with false airs of indifference, having moved from bickering with Thor, towards the woman's side
"Of course" she nodded, then turned to her friends "Val, good luck, Heimdall, nice to meet you, Thor, we'll see you later" with that she spun on her heel, grabbed Loki's arm and hooked it with her own, then disappeared in a purple and green cloud, appearing inside of the ship once again
"I'm sure Frigga had no idea you were here, it makes sense, Heimdall shouldn't have let you set foot on Asgard, if the queen knew, the king would too, it could be taken as treason from Heimdall. I promise, I'll help you project, and then you could visit your mother, what do you think?" tried Cora in a comforting tone, giving the prince a side hug and ignoring the curious and confused glances from the man with the 7 PhD's
"It's okay, darling, I deserve it, one day Odin will realize my repentance over my past actions, when that day comes, maybe I'll take you on a walk through the royal gardens, I find them to be the most peaceful place in the kingdom" said the god, slightly leaning into the hug with a melancholic smile
They stood like that for another minute, the prince thinking about his mother, his home and his banishment. The queen reflecting on how she missed those gardens, the memories she had there and how right Frigga was over her previously revealed speculations about her preference of intellect over muscles
"Uhm, guys? Are we leaving... or?" Spoke the forgotten third traveler, breaking the other two out of their daze
- - -
"Friday, explain"
The compound was a mess, empty guns thrown around the floor, stains of paint on every corner, tables and couches were thrown on the side to serve as shields, drapes closed and barely functioning lighting, no sign of life other than Scott's body laying on the ground, attacked by at least 50 shots of red and yellow paint
"Welcome back, Ms Cora and Mr Loki. Captain Rogers and Mr Stark had a fight over a donut, the team is now divided in two and on the middle of a paintball civil war, the captain's team lair is the gym and Stark's team is in the game room"
"Thank you, could you please put me on the speakers system of wherever they all are, to make sure they all hear me?" requested Cora not knowing if she was mad or absolutely dying to join the battle
"Right away, miss"
"You're calling it off, not joining it" whispered the god of mischief, unnecesarily close to her ear, probably recognising the glint in Cora's eyes as they fell on one of the paint charged guns
"Ugh, fine" huffed childishly the woman
"Everyone around the compound can now hear you, miss Cora"
"IF EVERYONE'S ASSES AREN'T IN THE COMMON ROOM IN THE NEXT FIVE SECONDS, I'M GOING TO SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY KILL YOU ALL, COME HERE NOW!" yelled Cora angrily, then turning towards the god with a wide, satisfied smile as she heard the multiple hurried feet that sounded throughout the compound
- - -
"OH BRUCIE I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, LIFE WAS HELL WITHOUT MY SCIENCE BUDDY" that was Tony, a very colourful Tony, running into the scientist's arms as soon as he saw him, completely ignoring Cora's pissed off glare and Loki's eye rolling
"Wait, aren't you in your room? We literally stayed out of your floor so as to not distract you or anything" said Nat, apparently being the least affected by the whole war ordeal, she was playing double agent and played for both teams, obviously
"Yes and no, it's projecting with a twist, I travel in my astral form and when I need it I call on my body, leaving an illusion wherever my body was last, then if I need to travel in my astral form again, I send my physical body back using the illusion as a guide" she explained enthusiastically, and as she saw the confused faces of everyone but Loki and Wanda, her eager demeanor fell slightly "Why do I even bother if you guys suck"
"And what the hell did you do to the kids?" questioned the prince when his eyes fell upon the atrocious state of Peter and Wanda, ignoring Pietro's "hey, what about me?" whining
"Pietro was a coward and hid in the vents with Clint, but the grownups made Peter and I compete, yell at them please" complained the pouting scarlet witch, with her painted finger pointed at Steve and Tony
"My poor babies" cooed Cora running to the both teenagers and cleaning them with a wisp of purple, checking them for any injuries "look at what they did to our little spider and little witch, Loki" exclaimed the woman
"Hey, what about me, i'm only twelve minutes older than her, I want to be babied too" whined the speedster, again, who didn't have a single spot of paint on him
"Sorry, Piet, Clint got you in the divorce, I got Wands" shrugged Cora to the older Maximoff, who just huffed angrily and turned to Clint for comfort
"Witchling, I think now would be an excellent time to try the time out spell we were working on last training session" hinted the god mischievously, and Cora perked up automatically, remembering what the spell was and nodded encouragingly
"You idiots have behaved like children, even more so than the actual children, so like all the misbehaving kids, you get a time out" the woman explained to the frightened group of disheveled heroes, then gestured for the younger Maximoff to do her part
Soon, all the avengers, except for the twins, Peter, Loki, Cora, and Bruce who had already escaped to his room, were trapped inside of individual, floating red bubbles, yelling profanities that the deities and kids couldn't hear thanks to the magical spheres being soundproof
"The spell will wear out as soon as Thor gets back from Asgard" announced the god of mischief while letting out a loud laugh, then patted the young witch's shoulder proudly
"Okay, i'm thinking Brooklyn nine-nine marathon, snacks, milkshakes and a Harry Potter book for Loki, 'cause I know he only pretends to stand the sitcoms because Wanda and I force him to" said Cora giggling, excited to be away of the heroes' tempers and just spend time with the kids and Loki
"I'll handle it" assured Pietro with his heavy accent, then, in a blur of blue, disappeared and came back five seconds later, with five blankets, two bags of varied snacks and the book for Loki
"Wait. Was that a Harry Potter reference?"
"It most definitely was. I started reading them 'cause you love them so much"
"And?"
"You were right. They're incredible"
"Doesn't this remind you of Mr. Loki and Ms. Cora?" Inquired Peter to the two siblings next to him, eyeing the unsuspicious prince, engulfed in his book, and the woman, laughing and awing at the TV show
"How much until they get together?" Asks Pietro taking a crumpled fifty out of his front pocket and slamming it into the coffee table "I say a year"
Wanda conjures up her wallet and adds another, smooth, fifty to the table "a month"
Peter throws two dirty twenty bills and an equally wrinkled 10 note confidently "two months"
"Shush, i'm trying to watch this, dummys" scolded the woman absentmindedly, not taking her eyes from the screen, she was supported by a hum of agreement from the reading god, who wasn't really paying attention, but heard a complaint from the woman, so he just backed her up knowing she was probably right
"Married couple" mumbled hushedly the three at the same time, followed by a silent fit of giggles
The two adults looked at the twins and Peter questioningly, then at each other, and shrugged, carrying on with their own activities, both with intrusive hints of blush and ghosts of fond smiles