Fishy drama (Loki and Val)

[st_ratagem]

Goldfish, it turned out, were hypnotic. They swirled around, sometimes in a school and sometimes random, mostly empty fish minds mostly a dull, whispery hum. Despite that, it was easy to see little fish stories unfolding and little cliques forming and breaking up. There were reasons Loki had filched a roomy armchair from elsewhere in the Inn and set it up near the tank: he, Valkyrie, or both together spent enough time fish-watching that comfort was called for.

At present there seemed to be a small cadre of goldfish endlessly circling the same decorative rock, chasing off all the other fish when they approached. It could have been just a gang with territory, but Loki and Valkyrie had decided it was a fishy cult, worshipping the rock as a god. Valkyrie had suggested a small statue of him more than once, to see if the fish cult would abandon their rock. He’d laughed, but he had created their world and provided their food, so... it wasn’t that ridiculous.

Regardless, the fish continued to circle their rock. Holy wars were something to work up to.

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[st_allionofdoom]

Quietly, she lowered her legs to the floor and rose to sit side-by-side with Loki. Clipped Fin circled the hermit’s private rock once before returning to her patrol, and Valkyrie gazed at Loki, lips poised to speak.

[st_ratagem]

They hadn’t discussed the future except in light, brief terms, a reference or quip dropped here and there but not dwelled on. This felt like it would be neither light nor brief, so Loki shifted to face her in the chair, as clear as he could be that his attention was on Valkyrie, not the fish.

[st_allionofdoom]

“You follow your own path.” She began, a host of conflicting emotions playing out all at once on her face. “You’re nothing like Thor. I know that.”

[st_ratagem]

“All true.” Both things, Loki thought, were obvious to anyone who’d actually met both brothers, but a start like that was the tactic of someone who wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding. Or who wished she wasn’t about to say whatever she was going to, perhaps.

Whatever the reason, he reached out to stroke her cheek again. Whether it would be comforting or not, who knew?

[st_allionofdoom]

“...I love it and I hate it.” She knew the words in her head and her heart, but they were fighting all the way up her throat, escaping as a clipped quip and a sheepish adjustment of her bangs.

[st_ratagem]

“The latter alone is the more traditional option,” he noted, watching her carefully. It was true, though; historically speaking, ‘nothing like Thor’ was the same as ‘nothing worthwhile’. That Valkyrie could include the first half made her unusual, but Loki suspected they’d be discussing the more traditional side.

[st_allionofdoom]

"I have a complicated relationship with traditions." Brushing that aside, she continued. "And...this isn't me trying to make this complicated. It already is. It doesn't need my help. But I know myself. And I think I'm getting to know you. The moment I get back, our plans are going to come into conflict when I break the news about the future."

[st_ratagem]

“I’m from before you, it’s likely I’ll already know.” She was getting to know him, better than almost anyone... or at least she got to see things and take liberties he didn’t allow anyone else. Just sitting like they were, piled into one chair, was one thing. “Though I believe I can guess where you think we’ll conflict.”

[st_allionofdoom]

"The part where you throw yourself to the wolves with the Tesseract?" She stated with similar objectivity, though it was forced.

[st_ratagem]

Loki shook his head with a slight, amused smile. "See? Already we conflict, because I would contest that description of events."

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie nodded upwards towards him, signalling her full attention--hopefully with as few tricks in store along the way as possible.

[st_ratagem]

"My brother would have you believe several things about which he's utterly wrong, mostly due to the fact that he is completely unable to conceive of himself as anything but the center of the universe." Loki resisted the urge to reach out to Valkyrie and pull her close, instead picking at his hands just to keep them occupied. "He'd have you believe that I should depart his Statesman when you do, for one. He's completely wrong, and it's because he refuses to understand the fact that Thanos gives, if possible, fewer than zero shits about him. Thanos will be there for me, twice over: once to kill me for failing him, once for the Tesseract. Were I to leave with you, the only thing that would happen is that you and everyone with you would die horribly when Thanos follows."

[st_allionofdoom]

Valkyrie's lips drew back into that thin line in lieu of a retort. He wasn't wrong. But...

"So you see no way out. None."

[st_ratagem]

"It's not like that." Loki sighed. "Listen. I will admit that death sooner rather than later is fine with me, but I hate losing much more than I want to die. There are any number of ways around what I know and what I saw. First and easiest is simply not returning to the Statesman. According to what Thor says, I had the Tesseract, I had a ship, and I have knowledge of where at least one other Infinity Stone is. It would be the easiest thing in the universe for me to use the Tesseract and start either running or collecting. Even that other me who hadn't been here knew that. But I chose to return to the Statesman."

He leaned forward slightly, as if trying to will her to understand. "I must have a reason for that. Thor would have you believe that when Thanos hits the Statesman, I started to scramble and improvise, but that's not what I saw. I saw steps in a much larger plan. Not my plan, of course. Not Thor's, either, I think. I don't know whose plan it is or all the whys here and now, but I have to trust my own judgement. If my judgement is that handing the Stone to Thanos and dying at his hand is the best path, which it clearly was-slash-will-be, then that is my plan. If, when I reach that point, the whys aren't sufficient, I will do something else."

[st_allionofdoom]

Sooner rather than later. Valkyrie said nothing, her gaze steady but sorrowful.

[st_ratagem]

What? What was there to be sad about? This wasn't him being bleak or exercising a death wish... not much, anyway. "I don't really have anything else unless there's a specific point you need to hear about."

[st_allionofdoom]

She simply shook her head, face pointing towards the floor. There was nothing to elucidate upon. He presented his logic, and coldly. Any more probing questions would be met with more of the same.

[st_ratagem]

This time he did reach out, to try and pull her close. If she pulled away, though, he'd let her go. Of course he would. "You'll go to Midgard with Thor, and I expect you'll like it there." They both would. "The only thing for me there is solitary confinement for the rest of my life. Four thousand years, give or take." Maybe longer. He didn't actually know what a Jotunn lifespan was. "And if I survive and run elsewhere, I'm still looking at solitary for millennia. You can't possibly blame me for finding either option intolerable."

[st_allionofdoom]

"That doesn't comfort me as much as you'd hope." Finding a comfortable nook against his tall form was always surprisingly easy, and this time was no different. Her face found a home in the crook of his neck, loosely wrapping one arm around his.

[st_ratagem]

It was a deep relief not to be shoved away, given the tenor of the conversation. Loki tilted his head and slid arms around her to cuddle more effectively. He was apparently still allowed to, and for a wonder he wanted to. "I truly don't know what to tell you."

[st_allionofdoom]

"I don't want to know you for three days for you to die on me." What else could Valkyrie tell him? It was simply the truth.

[st_ratagem]

Technically she'd have known him for two weeks plus the days, but if she wasn't inclined to count Sakaar Loki wasn't inclined to correct her. "I'm in no hurry to get there. I assure you I'll miss this," a brief squeeze and kiss to her hair made it clear what this he was talking about (the affection and closeness), "when it's gone." After a brief pause, he offered, "You know me here?"

[st_allionofdoom]

“I do.” The affectionate touch was enough to bring a small smile out of her, though letting her guard down only gave the grief a larger opening to cut at her. “The Valkyrie of your timeline won’t. She’ll miss out.”

[st_ratagem]

"At least she won't know, either." That also almost certainly wasn't as comforting as it had seemed in his head. "For what it's worth, I think there's a very significant chance that death won't be permanent, one way or another. So three days, then a break, then... I suppose just however many star systems of separation." Loki was horrible at comfort.

[st_allionofdoom]

"Just--" Valkyrie closed a palm slowly over Loki's mouth. "Shut up. For a little bit."