A/N: And I'm back to Lokyrie! Unfortunately, I've only got one more chapter idea before the last chapter... :/ I'll try to think of more, cause man am I gonna miss writing this fic, but I can't guarantee anything, and it's better to go out on a high note, right? (And there might be an epilogue. Maybe.)
Val woke up first. For a while, she was content to keep snuggling with Loki, because even though her fever had broken, she still didn't feel the best, and he was still cold to the touch. She fidgeted with his positioning, trying to make sure his fingers were warm enough.
"How long was he like that?" she asked Thor, who was still sitting in a chair by their bed.
Thor looked up from the report he was reading. "Hours. I almost started to think that we would lose him."
Val sighed, pressing a kiss to Loki's forehead. "He went from one extreme to the other, didn't he?"
Thor nodded, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "He did."
Loki let out a moan, snuggling closer to Val. "Stop talking about me and let me sleep."
An idea popped into her head, and she sat up. "You know what would warm you up? Playing."
Thor arched an eyebrow while Loki peered at her with narrowed eyes. "What?"
She swung off the bed, holding her hand out to Loki. "Hulk gets restless."
Loki's eyes went wide and he shook his head. "No. No no no no no, I am not going near him."
Val furrowed her eyebrows, glancing between Loki and Thor, whose expression was half empathy, half amusement. "Why? He's harmless. To us," she added after a dubious pause.
"Remember what Hulk did to me in the arena? You know, the-" Thor flailed one hand about, making smacking sound effects. "That?"
"Um… yes," Val replied, after working out what Thor was doing. "What does that have to do with- oh."
"Yeah, happened to Loki on Earth," Thor confirmed. "Very traumatic for my baby brother."
Loki glared at his brother. "Need I remind you of the time-"
"Shut up!" Thor interrupted. "Shut up."
Val shook her head in exasperation. "You two are ridiculous."
"Yes, he is," they both answered simultaneously.
Val rolled her eyes and just set to getting Loki out of bed. "Come on, I still want to see Hulk."
Loki ducked under the blankets. "Nope."
Val threw them off, wrapped her arms around his torso, and hauled him out of the bed. "Hey!" he protested, grabbing at the sheets, but she was already setting him down on his feet. When Thor came around and slid between Loki and the bed, he had no option but to just cross his arms in protest. "Really? You're siding with her?"
Thor shrugged. "Who am I to argue?"
"Oh, I don't know, the king?"
"True," Thor allowed, "but she could murder me faster than I could order her not to. Therefore, you are going to hang out with Hulk."
Smirking, Val hugged Loki's arm and tugged him forward. Still grumbling, he walked beside her. Thor was a step behind, probably ready to catch them if one of them collapsed. They only made it a few steps, though, before they were intercepted.
"Whoa there," Eir said, blocking their path to the door. "I didn't give either of you permission to leave."
"We can stay-" Loki started.
"We're fine," Val overrode him.
"Oh? Did you become an experienced healer overnight in order to determine that?" Eir challenged.
"No, but-"
"No, she didn't," Loki agreed. "We should go back to bed, Val."
"The prince is being smart," Eir pointed out. "You may feel better, Valkyrie, but you're not healed."
"I've been worse off and done more strenuous things," Val countered.
Thor edged up to them, draping one arm over Val's shoulder and the other over Loki's. "I'll be watching them, Eir. If necessary, I'll carry them both right back to your tender loving care."
"In your dreams," Val and Loki muttered.
Eir sighed, crossing her arms. "I'll hold you to that, Your Majesty," she warned as she stepped aside.
The trio moved on, Val and Thor still teaming up to urge Loki forward. He cooperated, for the most part, probably because he was still cold and Val and Thor were sticking close to keep him moving. But as they neared Hulk's room, he started to drag his heels.
"Val…"
She paused, recognizing the genuine fear in his voice. "Go on ahead, Thor."
"I can't," he rasped, watching his brother disappear through the massive door of a storage room. They heard Hulk's rough voice happily greeting Thor, soon followed by thuds as the duo started sparring playfully.
"Is it really so bad?" she asked.
He crossed his arms. "Yes. I don't know why – I've been beaten worse – but…"
"You were still recovering from Thanos – maybe that's affected your memories of invading Earth," Val posited, resting a hand on his arm. "Or maybe it's because he's Thor's friend and he beat you up."
Loki shrugged. "Maybe."
"Whatever the reason," Val went on, "things are different now. He won't hurt you."
"Not even if he remembers those good ole days?" he asked bitterly.
"I won't let him," Val promised. "He listens to me. And Thor."
Loki remained doubtfully silent.
Val reached up to squeeze his crossed arms. "Loki, he's my best friend. And you…" She hesitated, biting back the words she'd been about to say. "You're just as important to me. I want you and Hulk to at least tolerate each other, even just a little bit." She looked imploringly at him. "If you really hate it, you never have to do this again. But, please, do it just this once. For me."
He sighed, dropping his arms so they could hold hands. "All right."
She bounced up to kiss him on the cheek, beaming at him. "Thank you, sweetheart."
He held up a finger. "I don't- I don't think that one works."
Val chuckled, pulling him into the room while he was distracted. Aside from Hulk's bed, it was devoid of furniture, and it was wide, and multiple stories tall. "Come on, we both know you're a massive softie beneath all that brooding trickster stuff."
"Then I get to call you angel," he bargained, smirking gleefully.
"What? No! I am not an angel."
He arched an eyebrow. "You wear white and gold armor, and you rode a pegasus. If that's not angelic, I don't know what is."
"I rode that pegasus into battle to murder people," Val shot back.
"Semantics," Loki scoffed.
Val pursed her lips. Part of her wanted to keep resisting, but he was giving her puppy eyes, and it was hard enough to resist their sky blue depths when he wasn't trying to get something he wanted. "Fine, sweetheart. I'm your angel."
He smiled. "Yes, yes you are."
"Little girl!" Hulk called happily.
Val dropped Loki's hands and whirled around, grinning at him. "Hey, big guy!"
Hulk flicked Thor aside, leaving the king to crash into his makeshift bed of assorted soft things, and Val didn't hesitate to leap at him. Hulk caught her, but her momentum bowled him over, and they hit the ground together, laughing. He batted at her, but Val dodged swiftly, only letting him land glancing blows. They tussled playfully for a few minutes, forgetting the world around them, until Val heard Thor.
"I think you lost your girlfriend, Loki."
Val sprang upright, landing on Hulk's back in a crouch and straightening up. Both brothers were watching her in identical stances, their arms crossed and heads tilted slightly. She put her hands on her hips and stared them down. "I'm allowed to wrestle platonically."
"I'm, uh, I'm not saying you can't, I- I just, uh-"
"Thor?"
"Yes, Loki?"
"Stop talking."
"Yes, Loki."
Val gave a sharp nod of satisfaction and hopped off Hulk, moving closer to Loki before turning back to Hulk. "There's someone you need to meet, big guy. Well, re-meet, I guess."
Hulk sat up, scratching his nose. "Who?"
Val stepped to the side, reaching out to invite Loki closer. "This is Loki."
Recognition flared in Hulk's eyes. "Puny god!"
Loki shifted until he was half behind Val. He lifted his hand in an awkward little wave. "Yes… that's me."
Hulk leaned forward, peering down at him. "Smash you."
He tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a nervous squeak. "No, no smashing."
Hulk poked him in the chest, making him stumble backwards. "You bad."
Val moved in between them, gently swiping Hulk's hand away. "Not anymore. Remember? He fought with us on the bridge."
Hulk shrugged. "Hulk in water. Hulk not see puny god."
"Then trust me when I tell you he's good now, all right?"
Hulk watched Loki with narrowed eyes for a moment longer, then nodded. "Puny god not hurt little girl, Hulk not smash puny god."
Loki nodded, relief glowing in his eyes. "Deal. And can we, uh, stop with the puny god?"
"No."
Loki gave a quick thumbs-up, dropping his gaze. "Ok."
While Val patted his shoulder sympathetically, Thor went to the corner of the room and picked up a ball someone had found lying around back when they first boarded. Tossing it between his hands, he asked, "Shall we play a game?"
Loki eyed the ball, glancing between it and Hulk. "What game, exactly?"
Hulk's eyes lit up. "Dodgeball!"
"No," Thor said quickly as panic surged into Loki's expression. "There's not enough of us. How about… basketball? Loki could just make a net on that wall…"
"Um, what's basketball?" Val asked.
"Oh, it's a Midgardian sport…"
As Thor explained the rules, Loki made a net high up on one wall, where even Hulk would have to jump a little to reach it. They paired off, Val and Thor against Loki and Hulk, and both duos set to winning. Loki and Hulk worked together awkwardly at first, but slowly, they found their groove, until Loki trusted him enough to use him as a leaping point to score what Thor called a "slam dunk."
The group played long and hard, happy to leave the ruling to Heimdall for a few hours. Val and Thor eventually let Loki and Hulk win, purely to give them a nice bonding point – but if they got a chance to play again, the young'uns were going down.
Eventually, when they dropped into bed together, Val couldn't stop smiling at Loki.
"What?" he murmured after a while, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.
"Just… thank you," she replied, doing the same for him. He had warmed back up, she noted. "That meant a lot to me."
"Anything for my angel," Loki replied softly.
For a moment, they laid there in silence, hands resting on each other's faces. Then, slowly, Val moved closer, touching her lips to his. He was cool and sweet against her, reminding her of snuggling by the fire watching snow fall outside. She deepened the kiss, encouraged by his arms wrapping around her, pulling her close.
"I could do that all day," she breathed when they broke apart, leaving only the barest breathing room between them.
"Agreed," he said, pulling her back to him. She could feel his heart beating against her, thumping in sync with her own.
"Loki… I think I love you."
His touch was light as a feather as he brushed away the tear slipping from her eye, ignoring the tear falling from his own.
"I love you, too."
