testing phase

[st_ratagem]

It had been no surprise that Valkyrie was eager to try the first attempt at Asgardian liquor. There wasn't a huge amount - four reused whiskey bottles, two of which had already gone to Thor - but if he'd done it right, two would be more than enough for the moment. Even if it wasn't, it was still likely to score solid points.

The door was unlocked as he'd said, and he'd hauled the little patio table into the room and set both bottles along with a few shot glasses on it.

Then, to amuse himself, he started counting down from twenty.

Comments

[st_allionofdoom]

Her eyes followed his clever fingers as they approached and she tilted her head the slightest of inches towards them as they carded innocently (relatively speaking) through her dark locks. Not too long ago, Valkyrie would have cleaved his arm well off for the attempt. Instead, she opted to return the favor, winding a finger loosely in the ends of his waves.

"Yours isn't at all bad. For the record."

[st_ratagem]

"Thank you," he murmured. It wasn't flattery any more than his comment had been, probably. Loki pulled his hand back then, stealing a light caress along her jaw line on the way. It didn't feel like pushing his luck, although it probably should have. "Did he keep the towel or lose it well before a disguise stopped being a good idea?" He bet on the latter.

[st_allionofdoom]

Not long after, she let his hair bounce back into shape with a tug and release. "I don't even remember. I brought him and Banner to my apartment soon after for a peace offering. Likely fluttered off somewhere along the way."

[st_ratagem]

Thor and Banner, was it? Abruptly, this piece of story matched up with a few pieces of Thor's various stories and Loki had to laugh. "Dare I ask about this peace offering?" He had quite a good idea what it had been. Or rather, who.

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie simply cocked her head, the smile touching her dark eyes as she stared Loki down. "You didn't put up much of a fight to waking up in chains."

[st_ratagem]

Loki laughed again. “No, I wouldn’t. That’s very on brand for me. At least some of the time.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"Probably knew what was coming. That's what I'm attributing your sudden appearance of manners, to." Valkyrie chuckled again, giving his hair another tug.

[st_ratagem]

“Could well be. I appreciate restraint when I’m sure I’ll get out.” Not as much as he appreciatedthe hair-pull but still! Appreciated. And if he’d been unconscious when she’d chained him, that was even more reason to be polite. “And even when I don’t, manners don’t hurt.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"Wonder if I could pull the same stunt this go around without His Majesty asking questions." A permanent grin was etched on Valkyrie's face, thoroughly amused with the prospect.

[st_ratagem]

“Keeping me chained in your room as a peace offering for him, or just the first half of that?” The first half at least was an interesting idea, as well as - yes - an enticing one. Loki didn’t trust, as a rule, but Valkyrie was an exception in at least some ways. In this case, he trusted that she would release him (or arrange/expect for him to release himself) when the game was over or if it went bad. “Why would you need Thor not to ask questions? It seems like an excellent reason to come up with lies for him. Of course, if you want a peace offering, you would have to pick a fight.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"I don't think I'll be doing that. I'll just say I caught you climbing curtains." Valkyrie papped his cheek with a little more force than intended, having to put some more effort into proper coordination.

[st_ratagem]

Loki caught her wrist - not as gracefully as he normally might have, but it worked, so shut up - and turned his head to kiss her palm. “Deal.”

[st_allionofdoom]

Loki's little gestures always managed to be unexpected despite the ongoing nature of their relations, making her blood beat a tick harder. "You're the worst." She lightly flicked his nose as she brought her hand back. "And so am I."

[st_ratagem]

“No wonder we get on.” They did now, anyway, and now was what mattered. He smiled brightly. “Do let me know when you’re ready to conduct this little test.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"I'm somewhat busier than before. Did you know I've a ward?" She cracked another smile, circling the shot glass in her fingers.

[st_ratagem]

“I did not know that.” Projects were good things to have, especially in this place. A truly bored Valkyrie would be... well, probably fun at first, and then very much not. “Do tell.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"Emma. The redhead." Knowing there were two--that pirate seemed to have found the other. Valkyrie made a wide gesture with her wrist, crossing her ankles. "During the snow antics. I had a funnel cake and she asked me to train her. She was earnest enough, so...I accepted."

[st_ratagem]

“She’s a talented seer.” She hadn’t struck Loki as much of a fighter, but everyone started as ‘not a fighter’ so it was hardly a disqualifier. “And she was quite a good sport when I was pretending to sell Thor’s eyeball.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"You what." Valkyrie shook her head, squinting through the inebriated haze.

[st_ratagem]

“Thor drunk both the bars, then annoyed me, then decided that I needed to hold on to his prosthetic eyeball for safekeeping.” Loki grinned in memory. “So I put it up for auction to teach him a lesson about annoying me and also keeping track of his things.”

[st_allionofdoom]

Barking in laughter, Valkyrie smacked the table hard to warp the metal. "Any takers?" She asked eagerly.

[st_ratagem]

“One, but he was ultimately not interested because the eye had no special features and apparently he already had two of those.”Thor, of course, had been annoyed, but that was part of the point. “Most others just tried to convince me to give the eye back.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"None of his comrades put forth a duel for it?" Given that they were all summarily weaker, they likely wouldn't accomplish anything that Thor couldn't, but some of them seemed at least given enough to chivalry.

[st_ratagem]

"None! At most, I think they tried to get me to admit I was being mean." Loki paused as if for thought, then shook his head. "Which of course I was! But it was fun, and the lesson I wanted my brother to learn appears to have stuck, so the whole thing was a win for me."

[st_allionofdoom]

Humming in a low tone of mock-warning, Valkyrie slid up from her seat and rounded to the back of Loki's--palm planted firmly on the top of his head and giving it a nice shake. "Such a troublesome duo I'm tasked with!"