When the signal finally came through to rendezvous at Midgard, Valkyrie almost ignored it. Asgard was destroyed, Loki brought back memories she had tried to drink down the drain, and just when she was foolish enough to think she was safe, Thanos came and blew that safety to shreds, twice within 48 hours.
It had been two weeks since she and the few refugees that had escaped, and then the half of them that managed to escape whatever had turned the other half to dust, had been on the tiny escape pod. Floating aimlessly in space, trying to hold onto some semblance of hope felt harder than any battle Val had ever fought before.
“How much longer?”
“Where’s Thor?”
“Where’s my baby?”
“When are we going back home?”
The surviving Asgardians had looked to her for leadership now that Heimdall was gone and Thor was missing. Korg tried to help, but his constant reassurance started to grate on Val’s nerves like the Asgardians longing for answers. She didn’t know how long they’d be there, she didn’t even know if Thor had survived, which end of the galaxy they were in, and which direction was up. But she couldn’t tell them that. So she would slap on a smile and kind tone, and give them the best answer that she could.
When the signal came through, Val wanted to ignore it, wanted to give into the despair and agony that had been tearing at her flesh for the last twenty-three days. But instead, she opened the message and was met with Thor’s face, looking just as solemn as she had been feeling.
“Your majesty,” she started.
But Thor just shook his head. “Come home Val, please.”
She shut the message and alerted the few Asgardians left that they were going home and that Thor was alive. She should have let herself be washed in the relief that filled the room when she spoke, but instead she was scared. Not of the journey ahead or the uncertainty of what lay ahead for her people, but because of Thor.
Come home Val, please.
There was an attraction between them, that much was clear, but she didn’t need that right now, and neither did he. They needed to lead their people and build their new home. No need to plead for her to come home. There was no time for love in times like these.
When Val saw Bruce, she knew that the five years peace was coming to an end. None of the Avengers had been to New Asgard since they returned from killing Thanos. Natasha had called a few times, trying to rally Val to action, but each time she declined. The people needed her there in New Asgard now that Thor was out of commission. She had wanted to tell them to piss off back to Avengers HQ, neither she, Thor, or the small population of Asgardians were there to fight in their losing battle. But she didn't. She saw that look of concern in Bruce's eyes when she told him how Thor had cut himself off from the rest of the town.
This may have been a call to action, but if there was anyone else who cared for Thor as intensely as Val did, it was Bruce. She led them to his hut and pushed past the urge to wait outside to see what all the fuss was about. Later that day when she saw Bruce, Thor, and Rocket walking back through town, Val chased them down.
“Hey. Hey!” She shouted after them. “What's going on?”
Rocket opened his mouth to speak, but Bruce shot him a look. “We'll be waiting at the dock.” He said before walking off. Whatever this was, it was dangerous.
“Thor,” Val asked cautiously, “what's all this about?”
“Duty calls. It’s-it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Thor had said. Val knew he was hiding something. In his five year depression, his layers had peeled back, and it was hard for him to feign any emotion to drop people’s concern from him.
“Thor,” she pressed more urgently. “What do they need you for? Have they found a way to fix this?”
Thor sighed. He should have known better than to try and lie to Val. She could see through him like glass. “It’s nothing promising.” was all he said.
Val rolled her eyes. “Well it must be something promising if they came all this way.” to pull your butt off the couch. She bit back the comment. She knew that Thor was going through something similar to what she had gone through on Sakaar. Oh how those days of gladiators and scrapping felt like eons ago compared to all that had happened in the last five years. But in those years, she would have killed to have someone like Thor by her side, someone that was by her side like she was to Thor right now.
Thor didn’t say anything, just looked down at her with those sad eyes. Val couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something about this encounter felt final, something was coming to an end soon, but she was too afraid to ponder on what exactly. New Asgard? Her life? Odin forbid Thor’s life? She tried to shake the thought of him dying at the hands of whatever the Avengers were planning out of her head. If Thor could beat a g-dess of death, surely he could beat this depression and whatever Bruce and Rocket had come all the way to tell him.
He looked down at her hands and grabbed one of them gently. “I’ll be back soon. The people don’t need me here right now, they have you.”
But I need you here. Val simply nodded. Thor dropped her hand and went to join Rocket and Bruce at the docks.
Come home, please.
The portal fizzled right next to Val. She had dropped the fishing net she was carrying, something was happening. She reached for the dagger she had strapped to her waist, she hadn’t always carried one with her, but when Thor left with Bruce and Rocket, she went on the defense. If whatever was happening with the Avengers had failed, Val wanted to be ready for whatever fallout came to them.
But when Thor stepped out of the portal, that fear melted away. She rushed to him and wrapped her arms around him before he had a chance to get so much as a single syllable in.
“Thank Odin you’re alive.” she said against his chest.
Thor held her tightly in his arms. For that moment, she didn’t care that there was clearly a wasted battlefield on the other side of the portal, or that there were Asgardians thought to be long gone after the snap suddenly appearing around her. She didn’t care, Thor was alive, whatever the Avengers had done had won, and Thor was home now. Things could go back to normal. But when she pulled back and saw his face, her joy was short lived.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“A little too early for celebration, but I’m glad I’m alive too.” Thor said, smiling weakly.
Val stepped back and took a glance through the portal. An army was forming, dozens of other portals were forming and bringing out their own troops. This was war.
“I’ll rally the troops.” Val said, kicking into action immediately. She felt foolish for thinking that Thor had come back to her so easily. It had barely been a week, did she really think the Avengers had managed to undo Thanos’ work that quickly or easily? She felt even more foolish for allowing herself to feel so weak at the sight of Thor. She was the leader in his absence, and just like those years ago on the ship, this was no time for love.
“I’ll come with you.” Thor rushed, following behind her quick pace.
“No, you go back to the Avengers, they need your help.”
“And I need yours.”
That got her to stop in her tracks. Against the urgency of the situation, she stopped, villagers and troops already running in armor toward the portal, alerted by some silent message just by Thor’s presence. They were ready to fight, so why wasn’t she?
“What?” Val asked.
“I need your help Val. Needed it for the last five years, and I-I hid away. I’m sorry.” Thor’s words dripped with so much sorrow Val could feel the weight pulling her in.
Everything melted away in that moment, the war, the portal, the pegasus flying overhead. She stepped toward him and pulled him into a kiss, her hands pressed tightly on either side of his face. She needed him like water in a desert, and yet she had pushed those feelings down to assume the role of leader. They had both denied each other for their own survival and the survival of New Asgard, and now it was boiling over in the most dire moment.
Val pulled back and pressed her forehead against Thor’s. “Come home, please.” she whispered.
“I will. You need to come home too.” Thor said softly.
The tenderness in his voice was the most gentle thing Val had ever heard. She nodded, gave him one last parting kiss, and went to get her armor.
There was no time for love in times like these, but there would always be a need for it, and Val was finally learning just how bad she had needed it all these years, and was finally ready to let it in.