Chapter 164

Valkyrie woke up smiling, tugging Nadia close to her in the warm bad. Light was spilling in through the windows and she could hear cars and chatter outside, making all the more peaceful lying and holding Nadia close, her breasts pressed against Nadia soft back, their legs tied together. Or it was until Nadia started to giggle and wigged out of the bed.

"Hey," Valkyrie complained groggily. "What're you doin'?"

"Teddy!" She giggled maniacally, hugging the giant thing.

Valkyrie huffed and then grinned. "You're adorable. You're acting like a kid, you know that?"

"Yeah!"

"You're turning eighteen, a legal adult. You choose now to be a child?"

"Yeah!"

They both laughed before getting themselves ready for the day. They had decided to do two things that day, starting with visiting the Statue of Liberty. They hadn't paid for any hotel meals, so once they were dressed and had adequate makeup for pictures and put on their lovely winter coats Ghastly had made them perhaps a month prior in preparation for winter, they left the building. It was only around eight-thirty but with all the commuters, the roads were practically at a standstill except every couple of minutes five or six cars could move forwards onto the main road. They headed down, knowing they had a long walk, Nadia researching the statue as they went.

"It's not just a statue, Val, it's a national monument!" Nadia stressed, reading her phone intently. One hand was on the device, the other was wrapped around Valkyrie's left arm for guidance through the streets. Valkyrie's hands were tucked in her pockets. Without the midday sun to warm the air it was bitterly cold. Big gusts of condensation surrounded Nadia's face. "We're also not allowed to bring umbrellas, backpacks, buggies or large backpacks. Do you think they'll search us before we go in?"

"I expect so, they wouldn't want anything happening to their precious lady," Valkyrie muttered, the cold making her ever so slightly resentful. "You do have the map on your phone right?"

"Yeah, it's basically straight all the way down. Where do you want to stop for breakfast?"

"We can go to a café and get black coffee and doughnuts?" Valkyrie suggested.

"Val, we're not on Brooklyn Nine-Nine," Nadia rolled her eyes.

"I'm well aware. It pains me daily."

"We should get croissants."

"Aww, then we will really look like lesbians, out for our brunchies!" Valkyrie grinned mockingly.

"You love brunch?" Nadia said.

"Well, yeah, I'm a lesbian. Come on Nadia, keep up. I really do need coffee though, I'm a tired lesbian," she said, looking around. There was a fog over the city that wasn't set to clear until nearer ten, right when their boat should set off, which was good because their trip might be cancelled if it was foggy. They found a sandwich shop about half an hour into their walk and Valkyrie got a toasty and coffee to eat in, Nadia got a croissant with bacon and sausage inside plus a proper tea, not a herbal tea that Americans seemed intent on insisting was the same thing, and then they got fruit smoothies to sip on for the next forty-five minutes of their walk. It wasn't unpleasant and Valkyrie only had her shoulder bashed by one person and considering the number of people around she didn't think that was too bad.

Once they were at the pier, the weather had cleared nicely although no heat came down from the sun. It was an all go from their captain as the sea seemed calm and the wind wasn't at all bad considering how chilly and dark it still was. December really wasn't Valkyrie's favourite month, although seeing the staff in bright Santa hats attempting to keep them on their heads as they set off on their ride was entertaining.

It was too loud to talk on the way over, but that was good because the closer they got the more nervous Valkyrie became, that ring getting heavy in her coat again. She wasn't scared of the consequences of asking Nadia, she was just nervous of the action, of the idea of rejection. She didn't think Nadia would reject it at the time, so embarrassment was out, but it was still a bad thought to have. What if she thought about it after the fact and told Valkyrie she didn't really want to marry her after all? Plus it was so cold on the sea that Valkyrie would have much rather been in bed which didn't help her emotions at all.

Regardless of what she thought, Nadia was blissfully unaware. She grinned as they got off the boat and almost started jumping with glee.

"It's amazing up close!" Nadia was saying. There were a lot of tourists and they must have been the only ones not taking pictures. "Come on, I want to get to the front!"

Valkyrie had no choice but to follow. There was snow covering the grassy lawns and the trees had lost their leaves. In the pictures she had seen online, she had thought the little island the statue sat upon was much smaller, but in reality, the statue was just ignoramus. Another tourist group was going towards the monument from another direction and it didn't even look like they were first to arrive that morning, but Nadia still finessed their way to the front of the statue.

Personally, Valkyrie wasn't that interested in the thing, and thought it smelt a bit too salty and like something bad she couldn't put her finger on, but she supposed it was cool to be around something she'd seen so many time on television. Nadia was in paradise, a very cold and icy one. She almost tripped and Valkyrie caught her.

"Slow down sweet," Valkyrie whispered, getting her steady. "Do you remember if they're letting people in today?"

It so happened that they were, but only barely. They were allowed on the ground floor but the stairs had been tapped off with a guard keeping the area out of bounds. It was illuminated well and was slightly warmer inside, especially after waiting for half an hour to get in. Nadia took some pictures and Valkyrie took one of the two of them once they were outside with the statue in the background and sent it to the Idiots on their group messaging chat. She didn't wait to see the comments, but they did go and look around the grounds. It got very busy very quickly.

Nadia had also booked them tickets to another nearby island, Ellis Island, with the Immigration Museum. They hopped on a boat going the ten minutes or so over to it. Valkyrie was much more impressed with this place than the big metal lady. It was a brick building with white trims, red metal structure acting as a runway porch leading them in and was massive in size.

It was like any other museum inside but it was still interesting. They chatted quietly, as there weren't many tourists, about the clothes, items and information on offer. It was all mortal so Nadia learnt a little more than Valkyrie seeing as she had a far more mixed education between mortals and mages, but she still learnt something about immigration while she was there. It was hard not to take it with a grain of salt, but at the same time it seemed honest about its past functions. It had been the largest immigration inspection station in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and apparently processed twelve million immigrants. In the World Wars it was then used as a detention centre and was then mostly abandoned until it became a tourist site.

And she would never use that information again.

There was a lot more useless information than that, but Valkyrie became quite hungry so after finishing the main museum they went to a café for lunch which was cheese sandwiches and soup, a combination Valkyrie hadn't tried before but turned out great. They had another hot drink each and went around the grounds of Ellis Island, and the other buildings it had. She grew bored but Nadia didn't so they wandered around, took a guided tour, and then chose to leave.

After the boat back to New York City, they debated what to do. It was three forty-five, so Valkyrie kissed her, held her hand and said they better go towards their next tourist attraction, something she had kept secret.

"I thought we were going to the hotel after this?" She questioned. "It's an hour back to our hotel as it is."

"I know. But, I figured it would be beautiful on top of the Empire State Building when it got dark so I got us evening tickets. We're lucky too because the forecast says there'll be no clouds."

"Really?" Nadia grinned, although more sedately than earlier. "It's so sweet of you to do that."

"Hmm, well I knew you wanted to go so I thought I'd just book our tickets a little differently to how you wanted me to. Don't worry, it doesn't mess up any other plans."

"No, it's perfect, we'll have time to go shopping instead!"

Nadia prattled on a lot about how wonderful an idea it was and how happy she was and all sorts of other things. It was warmer now and the fog was gone but the temperature was set to go down rapidly. It was an hour over to the Empire State Building, yet they were still early for their entry time.

"We should get something to eat," Valkyrie suggested.

"But I'm not really hungry," Nadia said.

"We can get something small before and after," Valkyrie suggested. "We can try out the pizza."

"Ah yeah! Where's the nearest?"

It didn't take a lot of walking to find a small hole in the wall side street pizza shop. The slices were literally the sizes of their heads.

"What can I do for you fine ladies?" The man at the counter grinned. He was smirking like he owned the world and walked with his hips first, swagger in his step. He had an alright face, Valkyrie thought, but his smile was like a worse version of Fletcher with all the cockiness and not as much of the nice, pearly teeth.

"Erm, could I have the pepperoni please?" Nadia asked with a cute smile.

"Aww, what's that accent there, you two are Irish gals?" He grinned, getting a bag out. "Which one do you want? Here, this one's the biggest, you like that?"

Valkyrie felt Nadia hesitate for just a moment and then nodded, smiling up at Valkyrie. Valkyrie couldn't tell if Nadia was actually nervous or putting it on, and she didn't know who for if she was.

"And what do you want, my dark-haired beaut? Gar, you two don't happen to have boyfriends around the corner? You sure are fine to be walking around alone. You can eat in, it's warm," he flirted. Valkyrie was so stuck on the hilarity of being called a 'beaut' she almost didn't notice his offer, or the bad flirting.

"You have tables?" She asked, then looked at Nadia who nodded quickly. She was breathing air into her hands.

"Yeah, of course. I can set you up nice if you like. Just the two of you?" He tried with his version of a 'sexy-smirk' this time. Dexter did it better. So did Tanith, although she actively tried not to think of 'sexy' and 'her sister' too much. It was generally not a good frame of mind she tried to foster.

"Sure I think that's alright. I'll get the plain margarita," she requested. "And no, we don't have boyfriends," she added just to mess with him. Nadia laughed loudly.

"What? Two beautiful ladies like you?" He said in fake horror, his smile widening. Valkyrie cut him off by going through the door to the tiny restaurant area inside. It was packed but true to his word, the man, introducing himself as Christophe, found them bar stools so they could eat right at the counter.

"What are you doing?" Valkyrie whispered to Nadia, trying not to smile.

"Just having fun," she whispered back. "We can tell him at the end."

Valkyrie shook her head, knowing how well that may go, but let Nadia do her thing. It was kind of funny after all and Christophe wasn't that bad, just a quite forward.

"You like the pizza, yeah?" He asked once they were sat and had taken a mouthful. This was a New York-style they were trying. It was like a stone bake, flat with a nice sauce and lots of toppings. This one didn't have any herbs on top which Valkyrie preferred but it was still good in its oily way. She nodded, trying to snap the stringy cheese. "You girls here long then or just a little while?"

"Just this week," Nadia said in her lighter, girlier voice. He leaned against the counter in front of them. "It's a girl's holiday. Our first one together."

"Aw, nice, congratulations!" He grinned. His teeth were strangely white. "You're both Irish then?"

"Yeah," Valkyrie said as Nadia took another bite. "There's less snow here at the moment, but it's just as cold."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Why are you visiting over Christmas, visiting family, graduating school?" He probed.

"It's Nadia's birthday on Thursday," Valkyrie said, snorting a laugh when he gasped dramatically.

"You're a birthday girl?" He said getting way too much attention from the other patrons. He got two cans of coke out from under the counter and slid them over. Valkyrie didn't doubt it would still be on their bill. There was no better combination than pizza and fizzy drinks though, so she popped the tabs for them both. "Are you doing anything special, birthday girl? Going somewhere nice? Going out partying? Maybe, getting it on in your birthday suit, 'eah?"

Valkyrie's eyebrows raised at his bluntness. Nadia burst out laughing. "Oh you know I will!"

The guy didn't seem to expect that response but came back in for more. "Where you gonna be then? I wanna make sure I'm there too, I can bring a friend for your friend if you want."

"I'm going to stay in my hotel, I already have someone on my leash," she grinned, giving Valkyrie a naughty look. The guy didn't catch on while Valkyrie scoffed a laugh.

"Oh no, you had me trailing like a dog and you had someone already?" He moaned, grinned anyway. Valkyrie was glad he took it well. It would be a shame to have to punch him. "Tell me straight. What's he like? What's he got that I don't?"

Nadia giggled Valkyrie's favourite giggle and shook her head, putting a straw in her coke and sipping on it coyly.

"Be still my heart. Fine! Miss, it's a pleasure to meet you," he tried a second time, turning to Valkyrie and making Nadia laugh. "My name is Christophe. Please, be kind. Do you have a lover?"

"Yes," she said rolling her eyes. "She's right here."

"Aww, Val!" Nadia cried, stilling grinning.

"What?!" He shouted, his grin widening. "You both had me!"

"It was her idea," Valkyrie said, leaving her crust on her paper plate and wiping her hands of the grease. Nadia had eaten just over half the pizza and then the crust and left the rest.

"This isn't fair at all," he continued dramatically. "And I tried so hard, too."

"It was never meant to be," Nadia smiled.

It took almost ten minutes for Valkyrie to extract Nadia from the shop, practically pulling her out in the end. It was good pizza and Christophe had been fun company in the end and a good sport, but it was time to see the Empire State Building.

There was a giant line, but as they had prepaid tickets they got into the shorter, faster line. After giggling and kissing just a little in the line, they got to the front, got their passes and jumped into an elevator with a few other people up to the Dare to Dream Exhibit. While it was really good, Valkyrie and Nadia just wanted to see the views so they strolled through it rather quickly, hand in hand, and made their way up to the first observatory.

"Woah Val," Nadia breathed when they got up there. It was inside a room, windowed all the way around. All the lights were on in the buildings now as even at almost six in the evening it was dark from the winter skies, and they twinkled beautifully. Only a few dozen other people were up here with them. They went over to the window, Valkyrie's eyes big as she took in the beautiful view. "It's so amazing."

"It's gorgeous," she agreed. Valkyrie squeezed Nadia's hand, feeling her heart start to race. "Let's walk around."

Eyes stuck to the outside, Nadia and Valkyrie very slowly walked around the room, staring at the twinkling lights and many buildings. They stopped to look at the people below and try to work out what they were looking at, stealing kisses when they could. When they got to the start again, Valkyrie smiled, feeling calmer and more sure of herself, and took Nadia up to the much busier top level out in the freezing open, deftly moving the ring to her outside pocket, prepared for the big moment.

"Oh it's even better here," Nadia grinned, going to the rail. There was a gentle chatter, like a background lull, all around them. They could see for miles around them. The breeze was bitingly cold, but it was still amazing. "It's really romantic too."

"It is," Valkyrie smiled, leaning down for a longer kiss. She started to get ready to put her hand into her pocket, her leg almost buckled as she went to go down and then–

"Get a room," someone shouted, causing a group of men to start laughing.

"Oh Christ!" Some woman said scornfully.

Valkyrie sighed, straightening up and putting her hands at her sides.

"Don't listen to them," Nadia said quietly, putting a gentle hand on her elbow as a stronger, colder breeze flew by. "Why don't we go inside?"

"But we haven't even enjoyed the view," Valkyrie said, putting on a smile.

They both heard as that same woman muttered something horrible under her breath about them, getting herself a few abashed looks and glares. "Let's just leave," Nadia said. "We can get hot chocolate."

Feeling rather let down that her attempt to propose was ruined more so than the actual remarks they overheard, Valkyrie decided they may as well go since Nadia wanted to. On their way out a staff member apologised to them for the comments and promised the couple were being dealt with upstairs but neither of the girls cared or wanted to hear it. They had enjoyed the first observatory.

The hot chocolate they found was good, and they had whipped cream on top too. Nadia made sure to cheer Valkyrie up on the way to the hotel, and when they got there too.

Ooh, did your hearts jump? I bet they did! I'm loving this! Really, it wouldn't be a good fanfic without at least one failed proposal ;) I should say, I've never been to New York City so all the attractions are descriptions from my imagination (such as inside the Statue of Liberty) and from tourist sites online.

Lord Duck the Second: This week-long holiday will be super wholesome, I'm really enjoying uploading these. It's keeping my motivation to write those future chapters going. Cuz trust me, it's pretty heavy what I'm writing over there. These girls really deserve this holiday though, and you readers do too for all the millions of chapters you've already read! Also, I fully expect a 100/100 when these two get engaged, I'll be really disappointed if I don't! I'm confident I'll manage it though, it's adorable.

Demise Rim: Haha, I'm going as fast as I can, there's crazy stuff happening fifteen chapters ahead where I am, but I promise I'm going as fast as I can! You don't have too long to wait, promise ;) Then you can complain about how long the wedding takes because that shit isn't until after the war (which isn't a spoiler, Val already said). I'll write it before the end of the entire fanfiction though, no doubt. Like that wouldn't be included! Did you find a picture of the right alright on Google? Sorry I can't link it. You're welcome to make an account and I'll PM it to you if you like :) x