I do not own Marvel or any of its characters.
Broken
Val frowned as she checked her watch. Time may not pass in the TVA, but analogue watches still functioned, so they used them to tell what time to show up for training. And in this case, that was the equivalent of two hours ago. Veles was late.
"Should we check on him?" Thena asked.
"He probably just needs rest," Daredevil offered. "Between healing our wounds and fending off her weapons, he's probably beat. How did he heal us, anyway?"
"He duplicated your cells," Val said absent-mindedly, thinking of a different reason he might be missing from training.
"Nightmares?" Thena guessed.
Val nodded slowly.
"Let's just start," Daredevil sighed.
Val finally sighed, nodding and turning back to them for training.
Val frowned as she walked into the armory, seeing Veles gearing up. "Is there a Nexus Event?"
"I've got this one handled," Veles said, opening a Timedoor. "It's no one important."
Then, he walked through the door. As Val remained there, thinking, Miss Minutes appeared off to the side.
"He's alright," Miss Minutes said. "He just wants to work alone for a bit as training."
Val frowned but nodded. "Right. Can you let me know when he's back?"
"Sure," Miss Minutes nodded, then vanished again.
Veles grunted as he crashed to the ground, then groaned pitifully as he pulled the spear from his gut.
"Is that it?" Odin scoffed, far younger than Veles had ever known him. "You're weak. Hela, finish him."
Hela smirked, stepping forward and raising her sword, only for Veles to roll, hurling his reset charge into her chest. Hela shouted in surprise and pain as the reset charge detonated, Pruning her and spreading to the ground. Veles opened a Timedoor on the ground as the destruction spread, having only barely finished healing himself before he rolled through and sealed it as he crashed down on his bed. He lay there for a long while, breathing hard before sitting up and picking up the alcohol beside his bed and taking several long swigs. He stared at his wall. He couldn't get rid of it. That burning. That frigid, cold shard of ice in his heart so cold it burned. The pain was unbearable. And every time his mind drifted back, to that one moment of hope, that one, brief instant when his heart had stuttered, had yearned, for someone besides Sif, the pain grew worse. Every time he remembered that one moment when he thought he saw a chance at finally moving beyond his past, the shard of ice grew into a morning star, a ball of spines, a blender shredding his heart over and over again. Because every time, the memory turned to the moment that shard had been driven into him, to Thena stepping into view and proving, in no uncertain terms, that there was no chance.
Veles' arm snapped out, sending the bottle crashing into the wall, shattering it and splattering the wall with the vodka. He took several breaths before picking up another and draining it before lying back down and closing his eyes, sinking into the intimately familiar Hell of his memories.
Veles stared up at the stars in silence, taking a swig of his tequila. Finally, the meteor shower began, followed by beautiful, deadly explosions. He sighed, opening his TemPad and opening a Timedoor below himself and falling through, landing in the same field a dozen hours earlier. He sat back down, finishing the bottle before dropping it through a Timedoor to his room and reaching through for another, coming away with a massive jug of whiskey. His breath caught in his throat for a moment as he saw it was the same type as Val had given him before, but then he was drinking it and staring at the stars again. Eventually, he headed back to the TVA just in time for a Nexus Event alert to pop up on his TemPad. He sighed, heading through a Timedoor and duplicated his armor and weapons once he was there.
Val pushed the door open, staring at the shattered glass and alcohol stains, the empty bottles, the messy, unmade bed, the pile of dirty clothes in the corner. She swallowed hard, then began to gather the empty bottles, throwing them in a nearby garbage chute, along with the broken glass. She scrubbed the alcohol stains free of the walls and floor, washed and made the bed, washed the clothes, and still Veles didn't return. Finally, she sighed, sitting on the bed. She shouldn't have ignored his pain. She should have made Thena wait to talk to Veles. To make sure he was alright.
She sighed, leaving the room, and heading back to hers, finding Thena waiting for her. Thena immediately saw the sadness and worry in her eyes and crossed the room, comforting her innocently for a time before beginning to gently guide Val's focus away from Veles' mental state and toward Thena's company, forcing Val to use Thena as a distraction.
Veles watched as his wounds sealed. He took a long drink of vodka, staring up at the sky again.
"If you ever need anything, I'm here."
Veles grit his teeth as Val's voice echoed in his memories. His vodka bottle shattered against a tree. He was standing in front of her door again, staring at Thena. Staring at the proof of his foolishness. Regretting his moment of weakness.
An alert appeared on his TemPad and he stood, opening a Timedoor and returning to the TVA just long enough to grab a reset charge before heading to the Nexus Event, only to stop, staring at Sif, who was pulling her sword free of the Loki of this timeline. She looked over at him, staring, then down at the Loki at her feet. He didn't have his armor on, but as she looked back at him, she blinked in surprise, staring at the tears running down his cheeks. He dropped the reset charge as the strength left him, and it bounced off of its activation switch before Veles turned, stumbling back through the Timedoor, sealing it just before the reset charge went off.
He fell to his knees in the field, breaking down into sobs instantly, clutching at his shoulders as he cried. Then, a Timedoor opened and Val stepped through, only to gasp and kneel. She didn't ask any question, merely pulling him to her. Veles sobbed into her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her after a moment. For once, he didn't think about Val in her undergarments, or about Thena waiting for her to return to bed, or about the pain of that sight. His mind was dominated by his memories of Sif, and the knowledge that he had now vomited his ultimate sin. That he'd now murdered the woman he loved. And his heart shattered. He cried for hours before finally sinking into the Hell of his memory-stained dreams, and Val sighed, lifting him and carrying him through a Timedoor to his room.
"It was her, right?" Val asked. "You had to Prune Sif?"
Veles remained silent, draining his entire bottle of liquor and hurling it into a tree.
"Veles, talk to me," Val pleaded. "It's been months."
Veles remained silent. Val sighed, taking another drink just as his TemPad beeped. Instead of getting up, he opened first a small Timedoor, retrieving a reset charge, then activated it, opened a Timedoor to the Nexus Event and cast the reset charge through uncaringly before closing the door and opening his next bottle, taking several large swallows. Val stared at the ground in silence, and they remained like that for hours before they had to leave the field. Once back at the TVA, Veles returned to his room in silence. Val raised a hand, opening her mouth to call out to him, only to falter, letting her hand fall and letting him leave.
"Veles, we need your help," Val said into the locked door, knowing he was on the other side only because she'd heard him throw a bottle at the wall. "Please. It's Surtur. He killed Thor."
When she received no response, she sighed, heading to the armory where the others were waiting. They all passed through a Timedoor and found themselves greeted by Surtur's army of fire demons. The army roared and assaulted them instantly, but they tore into them instantly. As they did, Surtur chuckled, reclining in his throne. More and more fire demons charged them, wielding a variety of flaming weapons, quickly forcing the three warriors onto the defensive. There were too many. And then, there was a Fire Dragon. It roared down at them from above, crashing down among the fire demons and pulling its head back, a fiery light gathering in the back of its throat. Then, just as it moved to exhale, Veles landed on it from above, driving Hofung down through its snout to pin its mouth closed before pressing his Time Stick to its head, Pruning it and dropping to the ground as it faded away. The fire demons rushed him instantly, only for a massive blast of emerald green energy to go off, repulsing them all before Veles turned, hurling it Time Stick at Surtur. Surter's hand snapped up, catching the Time Stick safely, only for the activated reset charge tied to it to go off a second later, instantly Pruning Surtur. Veles turned, opening a Timedoor and passing through instantly, the others hurrying after them as a wall of Veles duplicates kept the fire demons from pursuing them.
"Veles!" Val called out, running after him as he headed for his room.
Before she could reach him, he passed through a Timedoor awaiting him in his doorway, leaving her to run into his room alone. She grit her teeth, shouting in annoyance then sat heavily on his bed, which he clearly hadn't slept in since she'd made it for him. After a moment, Thena stepped into the room and sighed.
"He still won't talk to you?" Thena asked.
Val shook her head, wiping her eyes. "I don't get it. Why is he shutting us out?"
Thena thought for a moment before speaking. "Veles has always felt alone, and for a long time, he was alone. After befriending us all, losing one of us scared him that he'd be alone again, and he doesn't know how to handle the pain of losing someone or the fear of losing anyone else. So he'd rather shut us out than risk that pain."
Val let out a shuddering breath, picking up one of his bottles and taking a swig. "He's an idiot if he thinks that's going to make it hurt less."
"Yes, he is," Thena agreed. "But he doesn't know any other way."
Val nodded, taking another drink. Thena sighed, walking over and taking the bottle, taking a drink as well before pulling Val up and kissing her, then led her out of Veles' room, closing the door before guiding her back to her own, holding her, but doing nothing else.
Veles glanced to his right as a Timedoor opened and stood as Val stepped out of it. As he turned to leave, however, Val caught him by the hand, pulling him back and wrapping her arms around him, holding him as she trembled.
"Please, Veles," Val sniffed. "Please, don't shut us out. I know it hurts, but we're here. I'm here. Please don't push us away. Let me help. Let me in."
Veles stood motionless for a long moment before wrapping his arms around her, beginning to break. For the second time, he cried into her shoulder. Val pulled him through the Timedoor with him, guiding him to his own bed and sitting down, continuing to hold him as he cried.
"It's going to hurt, but running from the pain doesn't stop the pain," Val said softly. "It only makes it worse. Please, don't make us lose another friend."
Veles held her tighter, clinging to her, and Val held him equally tight. Finally, he began to calm, and pulled away, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Val said. "You're hurting. But I'm not letting you shut me out again. You're my best friend, Veles."
"Well, second best," Veles smiled dryly, pain lancing through him once again as his memories betrayed him.
"That's different," Val said. "Thena and I are just friends, but she's been letting me use her to distract myself from my pain."
Veles nodded, eyes drooping, only for him to fight off the urge to sleep. He couldn't handle the dreams. Not right now.
Val pressed her hand against his chest lightly but insistently, forcing him to lie down. "Sleep, Veles. You need rest."
"I can't," Veles said, voice cracking. "I can't bear it. When I'm alone...I remember."
"You won't be alone," Val promised. "I'll stay with you tonight."
Veles looked up at her in surprise, and she smiled, nodding, then lay beside him, holding him. Veles swallowed hard as she did, then held her in return, feeling the ice finally beginning to melt, leaving room for fresh tears. It didn't fade entirely, but it was enough. Enough for him to cry again, and enough for him to sleep. And for the first time in longer than he could remember, he didn't dream.
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