Loki, a resolute young man in his best years, stood alone on the beach, gazing over the turquoise water with his unique olive depths. His starless hair rustled lightly in the ocean breeze. He tried to keep still despite his impatient excitement, resting his cheek against one hand as he discreetly patted at his sheathed dagger. The sun glinted off of his light-colored, tinted with sorrel, shoulders and inky shorts that looked comfortable and easy to wear. His onyx locks brushed against his earlobes, complementing his daring coral-flushed light-colored visage. He stood, awaiting his love.
It must have been fate in a mortal form that brought them together. He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that they were meant to be. From then on, they were inseparable. They shared every part of their life with each other. That was how it was to this very day.
"Loki," Valkyrie said simply with an admiring look-over and a smile on her face. Her black pools complimented her swarthy strands, belying her caring heart. She was dressed in refined garb befitting her station. She had a toned but slender body covered with tanned skin. As Loki drew nearer, he caught a note of her familiar reek of Arrogant Bastard Ale. He smiled to himself. It always reminded him of the time they shared.
"Valkyrie. It's nice of you to show up on time," Loki said, resolute globes flashing.
She accepted it as a compliment and leaned in for a kiss. With that, they began to walk along the beach.
"So, Valkyrie," Loki began, "what's been up lately? Learning to cook yet?"
"It's not exactly one of my priorities," Valkyrie stated.
"Hey, but you can't be all outdoors and martial arts. You've got to have a softer side. For me?" He wrapped his arms around one of hers. "Please? You said I'm your favorite. And I would just love to have one of your piping hot meals."
"It might not taste very good," she remarked.
"Maybe not," he observed. "But I could always move onto the next piping hot dish." He smirked at her.
"All right. I guess I can try." For that, he wrapped his fingers in her pitch-dark hair and pulled her in for a kiss.
"Wait," she interjected. Loki stopped two inches from her face. "Shouldn't you save your appetite for a proper meal?"
"I think I might be rubbing off on you," he murmured before he kissed her.
She smelled of ale and tasted of it too. When they parted, he licked his own lips, inhaled another whiff of her aroma, and said huskily, "Oh, you're so delicious."
"Really? What do I taste like?"
"Better, richer, than a platter of strawberries with vanilla ice cream." He placed a hand on her chest and leaned in to taste it again.
After a few moments, they found themselves walking down the beach again. Something rose to the front of Loki's mind - something he had been trying to beat back all this time. It was so special to him to be with Valkyrie, and he didn't want to pass that time making them both feel horrible. But it just wouldn't leave him alone.
With concern, Valkyrie turned her head toward him. " Loki? What's wrong?"
"Valkyrie... it's..."
And at that moment everything came together, all of the magic and the hurt that had been building that day, and she locked her eyes with his and whispered, "You can tell me."
It was like a floodgate burst, or some barrier of fear had been struck down. loki shook his head and everything came out at once. "It's... it's my parents. My mother, my father... sometimes I can't believe they're gone. It's not just that they're dead, but when it happened, it... changed so much. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if it all went back... I don't even know how I would feel about that. It just... it hurts, Valkyrie, thinking about it. It just hurts."
valkyrie listened silently and solemnly. At last, when all the words had left him and he was at a loss for words, she reached out to him and took a deep breath to whisper back, " Loki ... you're not alone. I know what it's like - it happened to me too. I know that pain. My parents' death... sometimes it still comes back to haunt me. I know it's not easy." Valkyrie placed her hands on Loki's shoulders. loki 's eyes began to burn, and he abruptly pulled her into a fierce embrace. Her spheres widened at first, but then she too felt overwhelmed by emotion and succumbed to the warmth of his touch.
"You," Loki whispered, his breath hot in her ear. "As long as you're here, I'll be all right." They held each other as tears trickled down cheeks and dripped onto the shifting sands to be carried away into the sea. With time and soothing embraces, their pain dissipated into a mist swept out by the ocean breeze and into the setting sun.
They basked in each other's quiet companionship for a few moments.
"Look... it's the sunset."
loki lifted his head at valkyrie's words to behold the dying sun's French vermillion radiance. "How beautiful."
After a moment of silence, she took Loki's hands in hers and said quietly and seriously, "Loki, I need to say something. Without you, I would be the sea without the moon - the moon without the sun - You are irreplaceable to me."
"Valkyrie," he breathed in response. "I can't believe you'd say something so syrupy. For me. But... if I had to tell the truth... I feel the same way about you."
She brought their clasped hands to her lips. "Then... so long as you will it, we will never be parted."
loki sighed with contentment and brought her closer. He gazed at the beautiful aureate rays of the falling sun, thinking about everything that had transpired on this day and all that would pass between them.
"I love you, Valkyrie."
"I love you too, Loki ."
Their lips met, and onyx strands met brunet ones, aflame in the dying light. The sand was their witness and the rumbling ocean their approving audience, and Valkyrie, his eternally faithful lover.