"Carol Susan Ship-Killer Dumbass Idiot Motherfucking Danvers." Val's voice chimes from the pad. It's sitting on the porch, propped up by a couple of cans and an old photo album. Carol lowers her sunglasses.
"Wow," she says, flipping to another page. "My whole middle name," and Valkyrie's voice raises. There's a hint of playfulness in her tone.
"Oh, so she's got jokes now," she grumbles, crossing her arms. Her hair is tied back. She's wearing a brown suit, very different from her usual black, and Carol pauses from her book. She points through the screen at the glitter surrounding Val's eyes.
"I'm digging the sparkles. Are you-"
"Get your ass back to New Asgard, and don't try to tell me you can't," Val interrupts. "I know your schedule. You're domestic as hell, gardening every Wednesday and the Community Center on Thursdays. Well, it's Friday and you don't have shit-where to be."
Carol blinks. She closes her book and tosses it to the side. Three whole pages. It was nice while it lasted.
"Oh, and bring Goose. Some of the kids are begging to see her," Val casually adds, an afterthought. "Not that it matters because we literally have like a thousand other Flerkens now."
"What do you-" Carol starts, but then she stops, because she's met with nothing but static. Valkyrie's hung up... asshole. Carol looks down at Goose, who's currently licking the floor and rolls her eyes.
"Sir, Yes-sir."
She picks up the cat and heads inside to change. She refuses to show up wearing pajamas again, regardless of how hilarious Val thinks it was. She tosses her clothes in the dryer, throws on her uniform and picks up an apple. Taking a bite, she speaks as she chews. "C'mon Chicken Little."
Goose settles on her shoulder, nestling against her hair. Carol stretches out her arms, giving the cat a tight-lipped smile as she swallows.
"Let's see how much trouble I'm in this time."
New Asgard is warm, which is surprising. The streets are usually slick with ice, children falling and flailing their tiny arms, attempting to balance themselves. But today, it's only a gentle snow. She's still glad she brought a jacket. It covers her Logo, making her a little more invisible; she'd wear regular clothing, but Val seems more irritable than usual.
Maybe something really is wrong.
A group of kids wave at her, at Goose, probably. Their wooden sticks and knives are tilted in the air, and Carol waves back. It isn't until she's closer that she realizes the toys aren't actually toys; a horde of children are play-fighting with sharp metal and steel
Very dangerous, but very Asgardian. She smiles.
But then a girl in a blue frock comes into view. She's cautious, fearful even, her eyes watching Carol from the side of the street. It takes a minute, but Carol finally recognizes her.
Gal'i
She's blending in, hiding in the background, but the blue of her eyes speaks for itself. A few kids are screaming Carol's name. They're jumping and laughing, "Miss Carol, Miss Carol," but she can't bring herself to smile.
"Are we your favorite planet?"
Gal'i stares at her. Carol stares back. Gal'i's father is dead. Gal'i's planet is gone.
Carol walks faster.
When she reaches the Embassy, she's quickly ushered inside. She nods to the guards, who simply hum at her presence (one gives her a small salute, which is kind of hilarious). Five minutes, two veiled insults, and a stupidly long walk later, she's finally presented with an electronic tablet. That's a lie, Valkyrie practically chunks it at her. The screen is white, black letters jump out at her and Carol furrows her brow.
"What is this? What am I looking at?"
"Oh, you'll see soon enough."
"Ominous."
Carol purses her lip, picks up the pad and starts to skim. At first, she doesn't know what she's reading. There are words describing outlandish places and planets she's never been to, planets she doesn't even think exist. There are over-done adverbs and far too many detailed descriptions of a Princess, a Queen...
A few seconds go by. Carol scans the middle of a sentence:
"Carol Danvers, Queen of Asgard, Savior of…" and catches her breath.
"Holy shit." She stares at Valkyrie, who's staring back, firmness on her face and mild comedy in her eyes. "Wha-" but Val raises her hand, no, and motions for her to keep reading.
Carol looks back at the pad.
"... Kingdom of Asgard. Great danger from Flerken Overlord. King Valkyrie kisses her softly, with great passion," and Carol's already laughing.
Holy mother of-
She can't control herself. The giggles come faster and faster, shooting out of her with no warning. She clutches her chest and peers at Valkyrie, whose mouth is open in kind. She looks like a fish, gaping and squirming, and Carol only laughs harder. "Oh my God, oh this is… this is so-" she gasps for breath.
"Mhmm, okay. So, you knew about this then?" Val is trying to be firm; she's trying to be serious, but Carol's practically heaving.
Tears are streaming out of her eyes, and she doesn't remember the last time she felt this way. Val doesn't either, because instead of a frown, Carol's met with a smile. It starts small, but it grows. It grows and grows until Val is laughing as well. They're both gripping something; Carol's hanging onto the couch for dear life. Val's clutching her chest.
"How many?" Carol is wheezing now.
"Fifty fucking thousand," and Carol howls. This is too much, this is, holy fuck. Val shakes her head and looks at the sky. She's crying now, too, and Carol doesn't want this moment to end. She wants to soak up the moment, live in the ridiculousness that is Kamala Khan's imagination.
Beautiful, insane, batshit crazy Kamala Khan's imagination.
"How did you find this?" she gasps out, finally finding the ability to speak again. She tosses the pad to the side. The tears are drying on her cheeks. Her stomach hurts, but it's the satisfying kind.
"Take a guess."
"Korg."
"Of course it's Korg. Who else has unlimited iPad access and spends all of their time online?"
Carol laughs again. It's more of a hum, more of a sigh. The glee is leaving her, but instead of emptiness, she feels peace. She's content.
It's strange.
It's nice.
She stretches out her hand, wiggles her fingers and Val rolls her eyes. She gets the hint, not much of a hint, and a few seconds later, they're tangled up together, Carol's head on Val's shoulder. Carol plays with her hair.
"So," she says after they've both caught their breath. "On a scale from one to ten, how mad are you about this?"
Val scoffs, "I was like a nine, but then I read some of it, and honest to Odin, Carol Danvers Queen of Asgard is extremely attractive."
"Wow, resounding conclusion."
"The King's hot too. Easily fuckable. The sex scenes are wild."
Carol stutters, "I'm sorry, what?
Sex scenes? Written by Kamala Khan? Kamala Khan who once said, "Fluff is my purpose, being an Avenger is a close second."
Carol had to ask what the fuck fluff meant. The whole conversation was embarrassing. Never again.
Kamala Khan who only curses in extenuating circumstances, who can't write more than a few seconds of romance without shrieking in excitement. Kamala who thinks Carol's some kind of a role model, a hero for the ages. Carol's about to question the validity of Val's statement when she's met with a smirk. Val's eyeshadow is sparkling, honing her lips and accentuating her very unserious eyes.
"Strictly PG, don't worry."
"Pshh, I wasn't," Carol is defensive. She elbows Val in the shoulder, a little harder than necessary.
"Sure, you weren't, Sweetheart."
"It's actually Queen Danvers, if we're being literal."
"Creating more titles for ourselves, are we?" Valkyrie laughs, but for a moment, the world halts. Gal'i and her blue eyes flash through Carol's mind. They're mournful, angry... filled with growing resentment and Carol bristles. There's a small moment of fear; of panic and shame, but she breathes it through.
She pushes the guilt away.
"Always," she murmurs in reply. Val merely smiles, her eyes settle on Carol's lips, then her neck, she gazes at Carol's chest for far too long, and teases, "Wow, you really came dressed for business," and Carol's mind is back.
"Asshole."
"Tis I."
"You gave me absolutely no direction," Carol shrugs. "No direction at all. What happened to 'Oh hey, Carol. Fly on over, nothing big or other worldly. Just a teenage girl and an overwhelming amount of mutual pining,' because that would have been seriously more helpful."
She picks at her suit and slumps her shoulders as Val begins to laugh again. Carol tries to mock offense, but she fails because Val's voice is ethereal. She's smiling, looking at Carol like she's precious: like she's something to want, something worthy of want. Her fingers reach up, caressing Carol's cheek. They delicately sort through half-brushed hair, picking through blonde fly- aways and freckles and it's comforting.
It's kind and sweet. But it isn't enough.
Carol needs more.
She needs something real, right now; something tangible, something to follow and listen to. She grabs Val's hands and squeezes, leaning in closer. With a sharp smile, Valkyrie meets her gaze and searches Carol's eyes. She reaches out for guidance, her head nodding when she finds it.
Then, she's snaking her nails skyward into Carol's hair with a grip both firm and rough. It's demanding, and she pulls hard, pulls fast, forcing Carol into her chest, crashing their lips together in messy, heated kisses. Val is beautiful. Val is good. Val is right. If she's lucky, maybe she'll get to kiss Val forever. Maybe Val will want to kiss her forever.
"Too much thinking-" Val murmurs between breaths. She pushes their heads together, shoots daggers into Carol's eyes and tightens her grip on her hair. "I thought I told you to stop fucking thinking," and Carol obeys. Her brain shuts down. She deepens the kiss, running her fingers along Val's neck and settling them on the edge of her thigh. Heat flashes through her, pooling in her stomach as she kisses her jaw, then trails to her ear.
"Bed?" she whispers.
She can practically hear Valkyrie's eye roll as she's hoisted into strong arms. "Duh," her voice hums through Carol's chest, with electric fingers that know just where to touch. "I didn't call you all the way over here just to bitch about fantasy novels," and Carol smiles into her neck.
She relaxes.
She lets herself feel, to simply be, and when soft lips meet hers over and over again, she focuses on that.
Focuses only on that.
The world falls away, and for a little while, Carol doesn't fall with it.