“My mom said I had to bring him” is the first thing out of Thor’s mouth before Val’s ass is even firmly planted in the passenger seat of his car. She frowns and turns to see Loki, her boyfriend’s little brother, glaring a hole into the headrest Thor’s hair keeps sticking to.
She waves her hand once. “Hi.”
Loki scowls, cheekbones starting to peek through rapidly disappearing baby fat.
“I’m sorry,” Thor says, looking over at her and moping like the world’s biggest puppy dog. Val snorts.
“Is my presence that bad, brother, that you’ve taken to constantly apologizing on my behalf although be it unnecessary?”
Thor sighs. “Could you give the Shakespeare talk a rest for just tonight please?”
Loki sniffs indignantly. “I’m preparing for a very important role, so no.”
He motions for Val to put on her seatbelt before he pinches the bridge of his nose. “Fine.”
“We can still go to the movies?” Val says gently, reaching up to brush her fingertips across her boyfriend’s much bigger hand. “That’s something fun, and you don’t have to talk to us, Loki.”
Loki considers this for a moment before crossing his arms and relaxing back in his seat. “The cinema wouldn’t be horrible, I suppose.”
Valkyrie bites back a laugh. “Good to know. Thor? You interested in going to see the movies?”
He shoots her a grateful look as he puts the car in gear. “That sounds perfect, love. Thank you.” She turns to look away, muffling her dopey smile with the palm of her hand. Thor glances at Loki in the rearview mirror as he pulls off from Val’s house. “Did mom give you money?”
“She gave me enough shillings for ale, yes.”
Valkyrie laughs loud enough to drown out Thor’s irritated threat as they drive to the movie theater.
-
“What about the horror one?”
“It lacks depth.”
“The superhero movie?”
“And watch all sixteen in the franchise to understand what’s going on? I’ll pass.”
“That one’s based off of a book you like, right?”
“That’s based off of a book I wrote fanfiction for, thank you. And no.”
“How did you even- never mind. What about the musical?”
“Not enough gay people.”
Thor glares at his brother, who ignores him to regard the movie posters with little interest. Val leans against him, shoulders shaking silently. He feels her laughing and looks down, mouth open in betrayal. She shrugs. “He has a point with the last one,” she defends. Thor sighs for the eighteenth time that night.
“Loki, will you please choose one,” Thor pleads. He wraps his arm around Valkyrie, and she grunts as her head disappeared under his armpit. “We’re going to miss the beginning if we stand here any longer.”
The younger boy shrugs. “What does it matter which one I choose? You don’t have to go to the same one as me.”
“If we all go together, we’ll all leave at the same time,” Thor reasons. “It’s easier that way.”
Loki glances down at Valkyrie. “I don’t wanna watch you two make out half a foot away from me.”
She rolls her eyes. “That was going to happen anyway,” she shoots back, voice muffled as she speaks into the fabric of Thor’s jacket. “Just pick one.”
He grimaces, then turns back to the posters. “Fine,” he groans. “The superhero one.”
Thor throws a hand up. “I just fucking said that one!”
“I changed my mind!”
“You wanna watch it because Chris Evans is in it.”
“And what about it, brother?”
Thor fishes a rumpled ten out of his front pocket and holds it out to his brother, who takes it delicately with a pinched expression on his face. The blond scowls. “Go get snacks,” he orders through gritted teeth. “I’m going to buy tickets.”
Loki crosses his arms and waits, eyebrows raised.
“Please,” Val finally adds, and barely restrains Thor from strangling his brother as he stalks off towards the concession counter.
“I am so sorry,” Thor says again as he slides the bills under the glass. The girl on the other side eyes him appreciatively, making sure to take her time ringing them up so she can sneak glances after each stab of the button. Me too, girl, Val thinks.
She shrugs and looks up at her oblivious boyfriend, who’s frowning so hard there’s lines forming on his forehead. “You don’t have to keep telling me that, you know,” she reminds him gently, reaching down to lace her fingers with his. She mentally pats herself on the back for initiating contact like that in public. He squeezes her hand, and she knows he’s congratulating her on the same thing. “It’s fine. He’s a fourteen-year-old gay theater kid. It would be concerning if he wasn’t like that.”
Thor takes their tickets, mutters a grateful goodbye, and pulls her towards the podium. Val grins at the girl shooting her two enthusiastic thumbs up as they walk away. Loki is standing a few feet away from the food line, tapping away on his phone and glancing up periodically to watch for his order.
“But I wasn’t that insufferable when I was fourteen,” he laments.
“I know,” she says, taking her stub back from the usher. “You were worse.” Thor looks at her, affronted. “You were! All cocky and brutish and blond. Made me sick.”
“Thank you, dear,” he says sarcastically. Val ignores him.
“And Hela is emo, too, so-”
“Goth, actually.” Thor corrects automatically.
“-you’re technically the anomaly in this family.”
He grins at her as they walk towards Loki. “Are you saying I’m the oddball here?”
Valkyrie smiles. “Absolutely. But that's what I like about you."
Thor leans down to kiss her, and she hopes her cheeks don’t look as hot as they feel. “You're cute."
Loki makes a fake retching noise as they reach him. Thor snatches the popcorn and tosses him his ticket. “That couldn’t wait until the lights were down?”
Val winks as she steals a handful of popcorn. “That was just a warm-up.”
Thor laughs as Loki continues to gag.
-
The movie goes fine. Loki apparently can’t be aloof and watch Chris Evans be shirtless on the screen at the same time.
Those beautiful abs made three appearances, he tells the couple when it’s over. Valkyrie takes his word for it. She couldn’t tell you anything that happened after the first ten minutes.
Thor has the hickes to prove it.
He has to buy Loki’s silence with three scoops of icecream on the way home.
-
“That was fun,” Val says as Thor pulls up to her house. Both of the boys shoot her a doubtful look. She frowns. “It was! I swear.”
“I didn’t die, so it couldn’t have been that bad,” Loki muses from the backseat. “I’m excited to be an uncle.”
“Loki,” Thor warns.
Val snorts.
“Thanks for tonight,” she says quietly, leaning across the console to kiss Thor long and hard. She hears Loki scoff and shuffle around. When they break apart, her boyfriend is smiling like an idiot. “You’re sweet. And my parents are gone all day tomorrow. You can make it up to me then.”
“I will,” he promises lowly, stealing another kiss.
“Did you guys forget I’m still here?” Loki protests.
Val pulls away and sneers. “I would never dream of doing that,” she jokes. “You were fantastic entertainment, by the way. I’m excited to see your theatrics put to work.”
Loki’s face lights up. “Really?” he says excitedly, and then quickly schools his face back into nonchalance and disregard. “I mean, you made a worthy acquaintance this evening, I suppose.”
She rolls her eyes and opens the door to get out. “Bye you two. Text me when you make it home.”
Thor watches her disappear into the house as Loki climbs into the front seat.
“You could have just gotten out, you know,” he informs as the gangly pre-teen clambers from the backseat.
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Thor rolls his eyes and starts to drive.
“I like her,” Loki finally says after a few minutes of silence. He watches his lame older brother perk up like a dog at his comment.
“You do?”
Loki sighs. “Yes, brother, I do. She’s funny and nice to me.”
“You’re not that nice to her.”
“That’s just how we play.”
Thor smiles. “I’m glad you two are getting along. That’s really important to me.”
Because of his brother’s contagious happiness, Loki smiles too. “Of course we’re getting along! She’s texting me ideas for pranks to pull on you right now.”
Thor frowns immediately after hearing that.