Her eyes are closed while she trains herself, trying to tune her senses back into shape. They've been dulled by so many years of pushing her past behind her. But she wants to be able to defend Asgard as it deserves, especially since Thor and Loki are actually working together to re-build it. At least for now. Valkyrie doesn't know how much she should believe Thor's secret words that she's part of the reason Loki is still there.

A jab into the air and then she breathes out, sensing his presence. It's not hard. He's spent so much time with her lately that the air seems to shift around him. She doesn't falter as her hand connects with solid flesh, his arm that's come up to meet hers. They spar often. Valkyrie does with almost everybody, teaching and being taught in turn.

It's different with him. Even the mighty Thor holds back when confronted with her simply out of some hero's loyalty. Loki doesn't hold back at all. When she blocks, it hurts and when he connects it hurts even worse. His blows are vicious but she's right there to meet him every time, relishing in the sounds of flesh hitting flesh. It's what she was born to do.

Being a Valkyrie is something special, protecting the crown is something she swore she'd do. Protecting him involves hitting him as hard as she can to make sure he's ready when the next person does. At least, that's what she tells herself.

Loki is somebody complicated. She doesn't understand him. Banner, she's starting to understand. Scientist who turns mean when angry, that she gets. Thor, she can pretend to know. King who does what's best for his citizens but sometimes is misguided. Every citizen has their story that she tries to hear. But Loki is somebody that she can never quite get a handle on. Perhaps because he's somebody different every occurrence.

She can never tell whether she's seeing the real him or not, whether he's going to be cruel or nice this instance. This time, he doesn't speak but neither does she. It's too complicated trying to block his hits, trying to get him back into submission. Until Loki laughs.

"You're distracted."

Valkyrie huffs out an annoyed breath, crooking her eyebrows as she spins around, trying to catch him by surprise. "Excuse me?"

Loki blocks her easily, sidestepping and grabbing her wrist to try to overturn her. She wrenches away, smacking him across the face and jumping back. "You're thinking hard about something. You're not usually so docile."

That strikes a nerve and Valkyrie hisses, coming at him with renewed strength, backing him nearly into the corner. It doesn't last long, Loki kicks hard with a foot to her stomach and she barely regains her balance as he cuffs her cheek, making it sting. "I am not docile."

"Sorry, I meant you're not usually so easy to beat," Loki says and Valkyrie gasps as he flips suddenly, knocking her to the ground and pressing a hand tight to her throat.

Valkyrie stares at him because he was right. She doesn't think she's ever been beaten in combat the same way. "How did you-?"

"I've been watching you," Loki tells her, his thumb running lightly along the side of her throat. He doesn't get up, doesn't pull his hand away from her neck, and she feels her heart skip a beat. "You were doing the same move over and over again. An obvious sign of distraction."

A moment of time and then Valkyrie pushes herself up, obviously surprising Loki when his back hits the floor and she holds him down by his shoulders. "I wasn't distracted. I wasn't thinking about anything."

Loki smirks. "I'm not an idiot."

"You could've fooled me."

Loki stares up at her and Valkyrie waits for him to attempt to regain control but he doesn't. It disconcerts her more than an escape attempt would. "You were thinking of me."

The bold statement surprises her and he takes advantage, although he simply pushes her off and stands up, looking down at her on the floor. Her eyes are wide as she looks back up at him. "What a bold statement," she snaps.

"But not an untrue one," Loki says, sounding more confident this time than he had been. Valkyrie wonders whether he'd been guessing before and she curses herself for not denying it. "Just the other day, Thor was telling me about how much you talk about me."

Valkyrie shoots up at that, her cheeks flushing. "I do not!" she says through clenched teeth. She vows that she's going to seriously hurt the king of Asgard next time that she spars with him. She had perhaps spent time discussing Loki with Thor but purely out of concern about the God of Mischief's ideas and ideals. It's hard to believe the man genuinely wants Asgard to succeed.

"I tell him that I don't trust you."

It's possible that Loki's smirk grows wider. "Yes, he's told me that. But that's not all, I know."

Injuring isn't good enough for Thor, Valkyrie decides. She's going to have to kill him. Although, she still doesn't believe that Loki will be good for Asgard as the king. She had been drinking when she had talked to Thor about how much she felt connected to Loki. She had been severely drunk when she'd told Thor how much she cared for Loki. And she had been on the verge of blacking out when she'd raved about how attracted that she was to Loki. Damn him.

"I didn't mean it."

"Didn't mean what?" Loki asks in what could almost be a sing-song voice.

Valkyrie audibly grinds her teeth as she jumps at him. He's prepared, though, blocking every hit that she tries until he's backed against the wall and he grabs both of her wrists.

"Didn't mean what?" Loki asks, harder this time.

"Didn't mean that I cared about you or how attracted I am to you," Valkyrie snaps, anger filling her and in it, she can't even pull away.

She gasps as he moves, pushing her back against the wall and pinning her arms above her head. It occurs to her that she should move. Every instinct is screaming at her to make sure she's not in a vulnerable position. But the other parts of her scream that he's not going to hurt her, at least not physically.

"I see. Thor didn't tell me any of that, you know. He does keep your secrets. But you're very informative," Loki tells her with a grin.

Valkyrie's eyes go wide as she attempts to push out of his hold but Loki reaffirms his strength and, for the first time, she feels how powerful that he really is. "You- you-"

"God of mischief? King of trickery? Dashing, debonair, prince of Asgard?"

"I was going to say bastard," Valkyrie says, her teeth bared, her fingers itching to wrap around his throat.

It makes her even madder that Loki seems to be amused by her anger. "As long as you don't begin to speak ill of my mother," he tells her, manipulating her hands to hold them with one of his own, his other coming down to cup her chin. Valkyrie feels her body growing hot, a feeling that she's only felt with one person before. The memory hurts and she pushes it aside, as she always does when she thinks of the massacre. "So you desire me?"

With only one of Loki's hands holding her own, Valkyrie thinks it's the perfect time to get away. It's beyond her why she doesn't take the opportunity. "I'm busy training."

"Dear, dear, dear. You really are the queen of running away from your problems."

Before Valkyrie can pull away, Loki lets her hand go, cupping her hips and pushing her back against the wall with his body. The heat is getting worse in Valkyrie's chest. "I'm not getting involved with you. You're a liar and undoubtedly you'll be leaving soon."

Loki nods and Valkyrie reaches down to move his hands. Somehow, she finds her fingers tangled with his. She has no idea how it happens. "You seem to have so little faith in me."

"Thor's talked about how he's had faith in you for so long."

Loki raises his eyebrow. "Thor doesn't quite have the charms that you do."

"You need to go," Valkyrie tells him, her body tense. His hands are warm in her own, his grip firm. She can't help but think about the fact that he's powerful, nearly as powerful as she is. Nearly.

A gentle squeeze of her hands and Valkyrie really should pull away. She should pull her hands away but Loki's hands feel so good holding hers. "Or you can stop running for once and confront your feelings head on. You don't see me running, do you?"

"Why would you? I'm a catch. You're a bastard," Valkyrie says but there's no heat in her words. The only heat is the fire that's inside of her, a fire that she had thought she'd permanently extinguished when she'd lost her lover.

Loki laughs and he leans in, pressing his lips to hers. She untangles her hands to push him away but somehow her hands rest on his chest, nails curving into the tight material. It's not something she would have ever done but it's suddenly everything. There's no blur of alcohol right now, it's still early and she hasn't had time to drink much yet. His lips are soft against hers, his arms looping around her waist to pull her closer and she feels like she can't breathe.

When he pulls away, she keeps her eyes closed, feels his warm breath against her lips. Her mind is screaming 'bad idea' but how can she listen to it?

"You need to prove you're not going to leave."

Although she can't see it, she can feel Loki nod. "I know. But I'll prove to you all that I'm worthy of the title of Prince of Asgard," he tells her. There's something deeper in there. It's not just her he's going to prove himself to.

Valkyrie lets out a slow breath that she thinks he can feel against his own lips. He hasn't moved back from her yet and she doesn't think she's in any mood to. It feels good to be against him although she won't admit that out loud.

She doesn't understand Loki. She doesn't know if she ever will. His eyes are gazing into hers, looking every bit a man she thinks she could rely on. Until tomorrow when he's back to simply causing mischief again.

"You're thinking again."

"That's what intelligent people do," she tells him, pushing him away this time but he lets her, stepping backwards. "I'm trying to train."

Loki nods, gazing into her eyes in a way that makes her feel raw. "I'll watch you."

Valkyrie laughs, moving to the side of the room to grab her flask and taking a sharp drink. The heat of the alcohol doesn't burn as much as the heat in her chest from Loki. "Or you could train with me."

"I could do that too," he agrees and steps towards her.