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_ratagem]

"I'm a difficult mark for him. Sometimes he likes a challenge and an excuse to pout." Loki shifted slightly, resettling more comfortably and also sliding his arm more firmly around her waist. "And he gets to do it twice. Once to let him braid it and again when I immediately undo his work."

[st_allionofdoom]

"I'll believe it." More and more, Valkyrie saw glimpses of that relationship the two brothers shared that kept them as cohesive as they were, for all the headbutting.

If that would keep once their prison spat them back out...time would tell.

"Letting the King play with my hair would make me feel like some sort of consort in the making, but it's the least I can do with the whole selling him business."

[st_ratagem]

“If he fetched a good price, I doubt he holds a grudge.” A low price, somehow, would just drive Thor to prove himself worth more than a paltry sum. “But you’re not interested in consort status, I take it?”

[st_allionofdoom]

“Marrying into royalty for its own sake would do nothing for me.” Valkyrie shook her head, her arm settling around Loki’s shoulders. “I’m already positioned to fulfill my reclaimed duties.”

[st_ratagem]

"And Thor has nothing to recommend him other than being king?" That was an amusing, but somehow unbelievable, thought.

[st_allionofdoom]

Somewhat oblivious to the prying tone, Valkyrie simply chuckled. “His qualities as a man don’t interest me in that regard.”

[st_ratagem]

"No?" Really? It was an unbelievable statement on the face of it, but Valkyrie had no real reason to lie, and seemed to have no conception that it could be taken as flattery that Thor didn't interest her as a man, but Loki clearly did. At least to some extent. "Then I agree, there's no real reason to let him at your hair."

[st_allionofdoom]

“Besides a tiny guilty conscience.” Valkyrie sheepishly admitted, leaning towards the table to pour herself another shot.

[st_ratagem]

"Besides that." A quick curl of fingers and twist of magic shifted the bottle closer to Valkyrie's questing hand, mostly to make certain that she didn't overbalance and somehow fall off his lap. Holding her was warm and comfortable, a pleasure not to be cut short by accident. "Don't let him know, though. He'll hold it over you forever even if he doesn't hold a grudge."

[st_allionofdoom]

“Noted.” Valkyrie tousled his hair appreciatively and made the liquor splash into the glass, pressing her hips down in a slow rotation to find that magic nook.

[st_ratagem]

"Unfair." It wasn't a complaint, far from it! Loki appreciated unfairness at times even when it wasn't a beautiful woman squirming in his lap. Valkyrie, even tipsy, was deliberate enough that teasing him was probably an aim even if she actually was just trying to find the most comfortable place to sit. "And after I gave you advice, too."

[st_allionofdoom]

“Shall I move?” Valkyrie asked in a voice smooth as butter, licking her bottom lip free of any traces of spirit.

[st_ratagem]

"That depends entirely on how you'd intend to move." Loki stroked her back, lightly scraping her spine with fingernails, not at all accidentally. "Far be it for me to order you one way or another."

[st_allionofdoom]

Repeating her rough grind, Valkyrie maintained the appearance of it being entirely offhand. “I’m very particular.”

[st_ratagem]

As usual 'who breaks first' was the game. It was a good game, not least because it worked out well no matter which of them actually won. Loki rested his chin on her shoulder, schooling his expression to polite helpfulness, while he shifted one hand blue and ran now-icy fingertips along the base of her spine. "Particular indeed. What options are you considering?"

[st_allionofdoom]

“I’ll know when I get there.” Valkyrie replied with a set jaw, gooseflesh rippling up from her back. Her head was still swimming, but she had her pride. Tossing her weight back into his hand in a reckless display, her left leg shot up and over his head to settle on the other side of his waist.

[st_ratagem]

“Not much for planning ahead, I see.” The leg up and over into a straddle was a strong move, definitely. Loki let the blue go and used the fact that she’d thrown her weight back into his hand to haul her closer, as if overcorrecting to prevent her from falling.

[st_allionofdoom]

As she was pulled in, Valkyrie swiped the bottle and took it with her, crossing her arms around Loki's shoulders. Why not indulge in a few vices at once?

"Promise me you'll keep this project going." She tightened her thighs around his, and none too gently.

[st_ratagem]

Loki suppressed a little groan at the rough squeeze and couldn't resist leaning in enough that his mouth brushed her pulse point when he replied. "Easy enough. I always intended it to be ongoing. It seemed a thing both you and my brother would appreciate." He briefly tightened his grip on her hips, then admitted, "Mostly you." Sad though it might have made Thor to hear, he was a secondary consideration in this.

[st_allionofdoom]

Satisfied with his response, Valkyrie relented and loosened her grip--perhaps it was the effects of the potent liquor, but she felt oddly content with the little give-and-take, simply indulging in the feel of his lips on her throat. She hummed, taking a sip over his shoulder. "Well. Then." She gave an almost-sheepish smirk where he couldn't see--she hadn't fully expected that admission.

[st_ratagem]

"Sucking up is an effective tactic," he all but purred. That wasn't the entirety of the reason, of course - he had been and still was more driven by fondness and affection, a desire to please that had very little to do with colder tactical reasoning, but admitting that out loud any more explicitly seemed... dangerous, somehow.

[st_allionofdoom]

"With the right tools." Valkyrie added, knocking the damp mouth of the bottle back against Loki's head lightly, giving his head a little squeeze between her cheek and her shoulder.

[st_ratagem]

"I manage when I want to." Tools or no, though leverage did make everything easier. Nevertheless, Valkyrie felt... oddly easy, never as fraught or potentially dangerous as most people even though in absolute terms she was probably one of the most potentially dangerous. Somehow, he just... trusted her, and he didn't even trust Thor, not really. It was probably going to bite him eventually. "I'm glad you approve of these particular tools."

[st_allionofdoom]

"I'll return the favor when I'm sober." In the way she took another swig off the bottle, that likely wouldn't be for some time. "...You want any more of this?" She leaned back, waggling it in offering, somehow remembering her manners.

[st_ratagem]

"No." He reached up to stroke her cheek with a thumb. She was more touchy-feely than usual when drunk, it did run to affection and almost clumsy little violences. For anything on the sharper or more intense side, comparative sobriety was required. Fortunately, Loki was more than willing to just enjoy the affection. It hadn't stopped feeling like a rare indulgence yet. "You go ahead."