Disclaimer: alien biology means that this is all okay. Obviously, while it would be extremely unhealthy for migardians/terrans/humans to do this, asgardians on the other hand... (in other words, author takes certain alien biology liberties when it comes to Valkyrie's habits)
"You're hovering," she informs him, after she stands and he immediately follows suit. He's not quite crowding her in, but he is standing closer than necessary, his hands raised only slightly like they're ready to wrap around her at a moment's notice should she lean too far from one side to the other.
"Sorry, I'm having flashbacks to when we first met and you fell off a ramp four times my height," Thor tells her dryly, but he does back up a little bit. To be fair, she did just drink a lot of alcohol in one sitting, even for her. He thought it was fair to call her balance into question when she stood up so quickly.
She never really dropped that drinking habit of hers. Which was fine, his wife could drink him out from under the table any day, and she loved to show off during gatherings.
Besides, back when they first met, she was drinking to forget. Now she was drinking because she was happy, with friends, or because she liked the burn of alcohol down her throat.
His mother used to joke that her thirst for mead while she was pregnant with him almost bankrupt the whole kingdom. Apparently it ran in the family. That, or Valkyrie was just using the well known asgardian alcoholic pregnancy cravings as an excuse to sit around and drink all day, claiming it was 'for the baby'. Knowing her, both were just as likely.
And maybe he had gotten a slight bit protective of her the past few months. This wasn't the first time she told him he was hovering.
But apparently she was up all night (again), with several empty bottles, two of which she finished in his presence when he only woke up 15 minutes ago, so he was genuinely concerned she wouldn't be able to walk straight.
"Still saved your life," she mutters under her breath.
"You kidnapped me and literally sold me into slavery," he reminds her. "That hardly counts as saving my life."
"You hear that little guy?" Valkyrie asks her stomach, clearly mocking him. "Daddy's still upset about being sold into slavery one time."
"One time is far too many!"
"Yeah, yeah," she laughs, starting to walk to the kitchen to scrounge around for something good to eat. A few steps in, though, and she stumbles, tripping over something, and oh gods she's falling, and his heart stops.
It all happens so quickly, and Thor barely catches her in time.
He's about to give her a lecture on safety when he notices her quietly snickering in his arms, and he groans, realizing she did it on purpose, because of course she did.
"Are you trying to kill me?" He asks, sounding more tired than anything.
She laughs, positively snuggling up in his arms. He swears, sometimes she was more mischievous than her brother-in-law.
"You know, one of these days, I might not catch you."
"Is that a threat?" She challenges, clearly amused.
"It's a concern."
"Is it? Sounds like a threat. You giving me a warning?"
"If you keep fake falling all the time, yes. Odds are, I'm going to be too late to catch you one time," he repeats her words in the same tone as she used on him earlier. "You just increase the odds of me not catching you in time and you falling for real every time you pull one of these."
"Aw, but I like it when you catch me," Valkyrie pouts, pulling those big brown eyes on him, and she knows exactly what she's doing. How could someone be so cute and such a jerk at the same time?
Suddenly she darts up, giving him a quick peck on the lips, and smiles at him. He just has to smile back. It's exasperated, and he's rolling his eyes too, but it's definitely a real smile.
"Besides," she says after he sets her up on her own two feet, giving her a warning look about fake falling again. "You don't have anything to worry about. I keep craving the weakest cider when I'm up all night. This baby likes spice, apparently," she pats her stomach to emphasize. "I don't think I could even get tipsy off of whole tankards of that stuff."
"Good to know I only have to worry about you pretending to fall," he tells her sarcastically. "Thanks for that."
"You're welcome."
AN: Apparently every time I join a new fandom, the very first fic I write for a new ship has to be a pregnancy fic.
My first fic for Brooklyn Nine Nine? A peraltiago pregnancy one shot.
My first fic for Guardians of the Galaxy? A starmora pregnancy one shot.
My first fic for Thor: Ragnarok? A thorkyrie pregnancy one shot.
I just realized this.
Anyways, I just watched Thor: Ragnarok for the second time, and this ended up happening. Thanks for reading.
