Chapter 1
„Did you drink again?“
She looks him in the eyes, raises a dark eyebrow in annoyance. „I think you mean: Are you still drunk? Well…“ She belches in a most unladylike manner and Thor’s face scrunches up. She doesn’t care. It’s not like he wouldn’t do it too.„Guess I am.“
Her companion shakes his head, but then sits down at the seat opposite her. „I thought I told you to stop doing that.“ He stares at her disapprovingly, a strand of his blonde hair falling into his eyes. It has grown back a bit, but it will take a long time to return to the ‚magnificent, sublime locks‘ Thor has told her all about.
She snorts loudly, another inelegant habit she has adopted from the Hulk during their time at the Grandmaster’s.
„Oh really?“, Valkyrie slurs and chuckles. „I forgot.“
„You are going to kill yourself, Val.“, Thor says, snatches the bottle from her hands and stands up quickly, escaping her fist by a hairs breadth. The boy is lucky he is a god.
„Nooooo!!!“, Valkyrie protests, attempting to kick him or grab him, but she just isn’t sober enough to make out which of his arms or legs are real.
She almost topples over, but someone pulls her to her feet before she can fall.
„Easy there!“, Bruce says soothingly. Was he there the entire time? Weirdo.
Valkyrie sways and tries to free herself, after all Thor the King of Haircare still has her bottle, but again, she fails because of her drunkenness.
And then she gets angry. Poor Banner looks really intimidated and she throws insults his way she never used before and knowing that her dead teammates would probably be ashamed. Or maybe she has used them before. She won’t remember this night, anyway.
„I like your green counterpart way better!“, she shouts, and she knows it’s unfair, but unfortunately, she is running out of ideas. „You are just a boring, weak professor! And you have no friends other than your stupid doctor titels!!!“
Bruce sighs. „Let’s get you to bed, ‚kay Val?“
„Over my dead body!“
When she wakes up, she is in her room and somebody has put a blanket over her sleeping form. Huh.
She yawns and sits up, but immediately groans. Her headache is killing her.
Valkyrie blinks, pushing a strand of her dark brown hair from her forehead and out of her mouth. Oh yeah, her mouth. Tastes like something died in there.
Valkyrie falls asleep and wakes up again and falls asleep over the course of four hours.
Somewhere in between Thor attempts to talk to her, but figures out it is useless because all she does is nod and drool all over his shoulder.
He leaves.
Shortly after him, Dr Banner shakes her awake and wants her to tell him how she feels. She frowns at him, murmuring something like she has been drunk before, why should she feel any different from that, and leave me alone.
„Oh. Okay.“, Bruce answers, with something in his kind voice like disappointment and it makes Valkyrie feel bad.
So she pats his arm and smiles her most charming smile, even tough she feels like she has been overrun by Hela’s dumb cur.
„Don’t worry, Dr Banner, I’m fine. And I’m really sorry if I said something that hurt your feelings.“ Good. That almost sounded convincing.
Apparently, it is convincing enough for Bruce, because he grins like a little boy and a blush forms on his cheekbones. Valkyrie remembers him calling her pretty a while ago.
„N-No, it’s okay.“ He coughs awkwardly. „Anyway, I… uh, better look after Thor and Korg, right?“
Valkyrie doesn’t bother to remind him that Korg is an adult too (or whatever you call rocks who have reached maturity) and Thor is their king. Instead she just nods gratefully and closes her eyes.
But almost instantly, something tickles her nose. She sneezes. It is still there.
„What the hell?“, she moans. And looks right into a pair of light blueish- grey eyes.
Of course he would also pay her a visit. Bugger.
„What do you want, Loki?“, Valkyrie mumbles.
Loki smirks his annoying little smirk, and oh, how she would love to slap it off his face if she weren’t so damn disorientated and tired.
„Maybe I just wanted to see my favourite Valkyrie, huh?“, Loki purrs.
She narrows her eyes at the god. „I am the only Valkyrie alive, clownfish.“
He actually grins at that. Irritating.
She stares at him, waiting for him to explain himself.
„You are just here to wreck my nerves, aren’t you?“, she finally says.
Loki chuckles, white teeth shining.
Then a green lightning flashes over his body and suddenly he doesn’t look like Loki anymore, but like herself.
„I don’t know, am I?“, the god of mischief asks in her voice.
„You are creepy.“, Valkyrie barks and throws her pillow at his face. He transforms back to his old self. „Get out!“
Loki pouts, but then slowly walks to the door, opens it and steps out.
„Bye.“, he whispers playfully.
She flips him her middle-finger and burrows her face in her blanket. Why, oh, why can’t she have normal friends?