Chapter 4
Loki hates her. He doesn't say as much, but she sees it in his reproachful pale eyes nonetheless.
She wouldn't really admit it to anyone (especially not Thor, Banner or the irritating something-creature himself), but in a way, it bugs her. Not because Loki hasn't spoken to her since the incident- actually, she quiet enjoys being ignored- but because she can't figure out why he is even mad.
It was just a kiss. A little joke. Loki pranks everyone all the time. And Val didn't throw herself at him and forced him to say I love you. No, it was just a kiss. Simple as that.
Her mind has made up all kinds of theories. Theory number one: He just doesn't like her and therefore he didn't like being kissed by her.
Number two: He is already in love with another person and felt like he was cheating on him or her.
And number three (she is actually pretty proud of that one): The kind of monster he is loathes physical contact and sees it as a weakness to be hugged or kissed.
The last one is probably the one closest to the truth, so Val decides to believe it since not believing anything is stupid. And anyway, she doesn't need his dumb presence in her life. He can go kill himself and she wouldn't mind.
The days pass by and Loki still avoids her. What really angers Valkyrie is that the idiot is super obvious. Thor and Banner have begun to send questioning glances her way and all she can do is to shrug it off.
As long as the two don't annoy her with their need to know everything it is okay for her.
The problem is that, of course, they do.
So one night (or day, since Valkyrie has lost her sense of orientation loooong ago) Thor barges into he room.
"Haven't you heard of an invention named 'knocking'? You should try it!", Valkyrie hisses angrily.
"Val...", Thor begins and settles down at the end of her bed. She eyes him. He looks tired. His blonde hair is messy and his eyes look red and blood-shot. "What is going on between you and Loki?"
"Nothing!!", Valkyrie answers quickly. That is the problem... Wait, what?
Thor glares at her. He must have practiced it. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not!", Valkyrie says. "It's not my fault your idiot of a fake brother is acting like a damn two-year-old!!!"
Thor's eyes widen in surprise. "Repeat that."
She arches one dark eyebrow. "...a damn two-year-old?"
"No, no.", Thor corrects her. "You said my idiot of a fake brother. Why would you say that?"
Oops. "Because...", Valkyrie murmurs. "Because he isn't really your brother, am I right? He hinted as much."
Thor nods slowly.
Valkyrie sighs and runs a hand through her hair. "He said he isn't your real brother. And well, he didn't want to tell me what he was, so I began to get mad. And I was drunk... again. I had a really stupid idea to get the information outta him. So when he showed up the next time, I just went and kissed him. I... I thought that maybe he would tell me. And I was terribly bored.
He enjoyed it, I guess, but as soon as the kiss was over, he got all offended and ran away. Since then, we haven't talked to each other and I don't know why. It was just a little fun, right?"
Thor had gone all silent. He didn't say a word, just stared right at her in deep thought. Finally, he cleared his throat and said: "Val, how do you feel about my brother?"
Valkyrie blinked. "I think he is a massive jerk. He goes around and bugs people just for fun. Sometimes, I wish he had stayed at Sakaar. But since he doesn't talk to me, I kind of hope he would just tell me what I did wrong so we could go back to how it was. Frenemies."
Thor smiled. "You miss him, don't you?"
No!, she wanted to protest. I don't miss him! He could fall down a volcano and I wouldn't miss him. Be eaten by sharks. Return to the grandmaster. But for some reason, she stayed silent. Because it was true. She missed that idiot and his ridiculous hair and green robes. And it scared her.
"Y...Yes. No. Yes."
"Then talk to him, Valkyrie. Only he is able to tell you why he is mad. And if you don't make the first step, you two won't talk to each other until you die. I know for sure that he won't come and pour out his heart to you."