The Press Conference
The first couple are aimed at Carol, Tony and Cap as ‘leaders’ of the team about how the threat happened and why we handled it as we did, they all answer calmy and measuring. But it’s not until the fifth question one is aimed my way. Tony selects a tall wiry gently man and he turns to face Val and me. I feel like casting a soundproof dome and screaming.
‘Miss Dawn, please may you give us your view on what happened yesterday-especially during the end of the attack’ he questions looking at me expectantly. I take a deep breath, count to 3 in my head and reply calmly
‘I attend Williamson school, in the class that came for a trip yesterday so you spent the morning going to the museum and around the tower then my pager went off when we were in the café’ I am cut off by the reporter asking quickly
‘and how did you react to the pager’ I carry on again checking my words as I go
‘I ran straight out of the room and got straight onto our communications unit, I knew it must be an emergency as Spiderman, Val and I have only just got out of training so we aren’t used too much. Mr Stark told you the problem, Nat and Val arrived and we tried to get the people on the jets, but as we did the engines were shot out so we had to fight’ I finish slowly but the reporter carries on
‘Then what?’ he questions, Nat looks like she could strangle him with her bare hands (she could very easily though)
‘well Val got shot so I run over to help and… end up coming out to the world on national TV and showing my identity to pretty much everyone.’ I laugh slightly and the reporter finally looks satisfied. But the next targets both of us
‘As the youngest avengers do you ever feel you have been ripped from your family and friends to have a strenuous job like this at an age you should be out with your friends and ‘living your life’’
Val leans in slightly to her mic
‘I personally would call fighting off an alien invasion, being shot and having to have green goop sucked out of you living life’ a few people laugh, and Val sits back, motioning me to answer properly
‘I don’t personally feel I have been ripped from my family especially, I don’t have any siblings except a sister in uni so I wouldn’t see her anyway and in a way we are our own family’ I look around at the others who are smiling ‘We live together train together, eat together laugh together, so in a way we are just an adopted family. And as for having to do a strenuous job, I think we-especially Val, Peter and I could have said no. But we chose to try and help.
As for friends, I’d say Val, Peter and Al are better than I could have had the luck to have anywhere else, we always have each other’s back, especially in a fight’
Tony nods and carries on my point and I zone out again, dreading the time someone would ask about Val and I’s relationship, which comes near the end of the conference. A short dumpy lady puts her hand up just as the questions begin to run out and Tony picks her
‘Valkyrie and Miss Dawn, what do you have to say about yourselves and your relationship’ Nat looks slightly shocked at the directness and mouth to me ‘you don’t have to say anything’ but I do or rumours might spread and break apart the avengers. I look at Val and she nods slightly.
‘Val and I met in training and have been together for about or 7-ish months since the night Ultron stole the sceptre, we-’
But I am cut off my Tony who is looking at his watch
‘That means yesterday was your 7-month anniversary kids’ he says clapping and a few people in the crowd aww
Val continues ‘We’ve been together since, I live here full time and so does Red pretty much, so we see each other often’ she grasps my hand under the table, but another reporter noesis
‘how would you say it’s going then, bearing everything in mind’ Nat glares at him but Val laughs
‘I mean she came to find me after a 7-minute sleep with vitals all-over the place and almost no pulse, so I’d say good’
I nod in agreement looking my girlfriend straight in the eye ‘we’re very good’
***
‘The news is loving you guys, Val and Red’ FRIDAY announces ‘almost 27 articles are now on the web containing you’
We are all slumped on the sofa having ordered takeout and finished taking the mic out of all the different reporters, the news articles are finally starting to stream out and we all have our Stark Laptops out reading as many as we can process and reporting to Stark if any are out of line or need to be taken down) thankfully none so far however FRIDAY guessed only 8% of the coverage coming had been released yet.
Val laughs and shoots me a look ‘We’re famous honey’ she exclaims
‘would you like me to read out the most viewed one-it has had over 1.4 million hits so far’ FRI continues, and we all agree so the AI starts reading.
‘In a press conference this afternoon Avengers Red Dawn and Brunhilde Valkyrie came out after their relationship was revealed to the public after the battle against an intergalactic force on the roof of the well-known Avengers/Stark Tower.
Miss Valkyrie and Dawn have released a few quotes and state that their relationship is going ‘very good’. It has been confirmed by Mr Stark the two met on a training program and have been together 7 months. But ow does this effect the way the public view Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and will Valkyrie and Dawn become icons of the LGBTQ+ community?’
‘Stop thanks FRI’ I say ‘Wow’ I turn to look at Val and wiggle my eyebrows
‘wanna start a joint public Instagram?’ the gang laughs, and Val whips out her phone.
Within minutes we are logged on and gaining followers rapidly. Funnily enough we also manage to convince Nat to join as well and although we had to talk her out of multiple weirdly spooky comments, she also gained popularity quickly.
After we order Pizza to avoid the crowds of reporters outside the doors (‘they’ll be gone by morning мой рассвет don’t worry about school, we’ve got it covered’) Val stand up and grabs the attention of the group
‘Urm, I’d also like to say something, whilst we are all here that is’ Val says slowly and turns to face me. Keeping her eyes locked in mine she reaches slowly over her back and unstraps her Dragon Fang sword
‘This is yours’ she smiles sadly, pushing the ornate case into my hand, I gasp
‘But Val, this is yours, I couldn’t possibly, what will you use’
With this my girlfriend pushes herself of the sofa and walks down the corridor, returning quickly with a matching case, however this one is flecked with gold, a time honoured tradition that Odin blesses the sword of the most noble warrior in the battle
‘It’s Astrid’s isn’t it’ I weep softly as Val places it in her lap and continues, taking my hand
‘Red, this is yours, it was mine but you deserve it, Valkyrie are known to pass on their Swords to those they love, so you deserve this’ I try to give her sword back but she pushes it back into her lap
‘I’ve spent so long trying to forget my past, to ignore losing everyone I loved, but you’ve helped me realise I don’t need to forget them I just need to recognize that they would still love me not matter is I moved on. So, will you become the second Valkyrie in the Galaxy and vow to fight by my side through all the battles we face’
‘Yes’ I say quickly ‘yes, yes, yes it would be the greatest honour’ tears are coming thick and fast now but Val nods
‘You have my sword Elskan, I have ... I have Astrid’s, I think she would have wanted me to use it, to fight to make the world a better place’
‘of course, Cariad, of course she would. And she would love you and will always love you no matter what’