Destiny | Bucky Barnes [2]

28|The Halls of Valhalla

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"Let's go to Valhalla with
the sun on our faces."
~Mark Lawrence
⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Wet strands of brown hair floated in the murky lake water. Seconds ticked by and Freya didn't move. While the other Avengers were talking about Natasha's death, Freya had snuck off and taken a dip in the lake. Usually she would have been sobbing and helping the others, but she couldn't bring herself to.

She needed a quiet place. A place free of all the thoughts.

Underwater wasn't telepathy proof, but it at least lessened the voices.

So there she was, drifting under water, eyes closed in concentration. One of the Soulkeeper's powers after all was free access to the Soul World. Or more specifically the Soulkeeper's part of the Soul World, what Freya had seen as a library and garden.

That was what Asgardians and Wandering Giants called Valhalla. It was the land of the dead.

Up to then, Freya had never been able to enter her part of the Soul World on command, but she had to try. Natasha deserved as much.

Faintly Thor's voice was heard in the back of her head, asking her to surface. She hesitated but let out a defeated breath. Freya pushed herself up to the surface, kicking her legs efficiently.

"Rey, here," Thor said, offering his hand to her. Freya took it and Thor effortlessly pulled her out of the water before offering her a thick cozy towel, which she wrapped around herself. Small droplets fell from Freya's dress and hair.

Thor wanted to ask Freya, to reach out. But he couldn't. No, he should wait until they had brought everyone back.

The two siblings walked into the office where the other Avengers were.

"All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked, looking around. "I'll do it," Thor spoke up, walking up to the gauntlet.

"Excuse me?" Scott interjected. "It's okay," Thor replied, trying to push his way past his friends who protested. "No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey—"

"Wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet," Steve coaxed, letting go of Thor a bit. "I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor snapped back, with a bitter laugh. "We should at least discuss it," Scott whispered.

"No, no, sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay?" Thir whimpered, tears forming in his eyes. "So this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty."