The Girl In Battle (Carol x Valkyrie)

is it gay to look at the locket your 'friend' gave you for twenty-four hours?

The announcement went better than Valkyrie expected it to be. At first, when Valkyrie told them that Thanos was back, there had been worried murmurs and shocked gasps. Even the youngest children knew the name of the Mad Titan, and started sobbing. But Valkyrie assured them that she and her friends would protect them and Loki was to be their king in her absence. The people then erupted into cheers, and when Valkyrie looked over at Loki, he had this look of utmost disbelief on his sunlit face. She had given him a small smile, and he managed one back.

  When the people scattered away to their daily tasks and routines, Valkyrie ran straight to her hut and into her room. She locked the door and flung herself onto bed, curling into a ball. Her cheeks hurt from smiling. She could feel the heat in her eyes, signaling the tears that were to come. And she let them spill down her sore cheeks. She then pulled the locket from her pocket and flicked it open, fingering Carol's soft hair in it. It had become a sort of lucky charm to her, bringing comfort to her darkest days. She then reached over to the side of the bed, her dangling hand rummaging around the box under it. She pulled out the heavy instrument, sat up, and settled the guitar down onto her lap. She then put the locket down beside her and stared at the lock of shining hair for a while, drifting into a memory from three years ago.

  "Thor said one of his friends gave it to him," Valkyrie said. "He didn't know how to play it, so he gave it to me. I didn't know how to play it either, and still don't. So I kept it in my junk box." She raised her eyes and met Carol's gaze. "Do you...know how to play it?" she asked hopefully. In reality, Valkyrie admitted quietly to herself, she just wanted to hear Carol sing. "And...sing?"

  Carol accepted the guitar and positioned herself so the guitar was settled comfortably in between her thighs. "I...I don't really know how to sing."

  "Come on!" Valkyrie pleaded. She ducked her head, afraid if she met Carol's eyes, she wouldn't be able to phrase her next sentence correctly. "Besides, you need not worry. With a voice like that, you'll surely capture men's hearts."

  Carol visibly flushed in the dim light of the room. She smiled toothily. "What about women's hearts? I'm not really into men."

  Valkyrie didn't know why, but she felt delightful at hearing it. Her heart murmured to her softly. No men will get to her. No one. Then she commanded her heart to shut up and just do the sparkly sparkly sparkle thing. "Same. You are great. I mean, all women are great." She silently scolded herself for being such a stuttering idiot. She was never this jittery before.

  Carol giggled and Valkyrie couldn't help but laugh too. She then strummed the guitar, and a sweet tune filled the room. "You can have your space, cowboy," she sang. Her voice was high and stunningly beautiful. She sounded almost like an angel. Like wind chimes. "I ain't gonna fence you in. Go on ride away, in your Silverado. Guess I'll see you 'round again. I know my place and it ain't with you. Well, sunsets fade, and love does too. Yeah, we had our day in the sun. When a horse wants to run, there ain't no sense in closing the gate. You can have your space, cowboy."

  Valkyrie had lay down on bed, Carol's voice soothing her to sleep. Carol's little giggle sent her heart thumping its way out of her chest, causing her to wake up a little. "That is...That is the most beautiful voice I've ever heard."

  Carol had laughed, set the guitar on the ground, and burrowed herself under the covers. "Well, before you go to sleep, can I ask you something?"

  "Of course," Valkyrie murmured. Carol's presence soothed her almost entirely, and she felt the most relaxed she had in days.

  "Why do most people call you Valkyrie?" Carol asked. "Aren't you Brunnhilde? Why hide a name so beautiful?"

  Valkyrie felt panic inject itself in her veins. She tried her best to calm herself as memories of fallen Valkyries assaulted her mind. Dead, staring eyes. Horrible screams. All of them. Falling. Dying. A warm hand touched her cheek, pulling her out of the dark, and she realized she had been crying when Carol's thumb wiped away a tear on her cheek.

  "Woah, I'm sorry," Carol started apologising. "I didn't know..."

  Valkyrie shook her head. "It's okay." She managed a weak smile at Carol. "I'll tell you, if you'll listen." She never trusted anyone this easily before, but seeing Carol in front of her, something in her seemed to change. "Odin, the All-father, put me in charge to lead the Valkyries to battle against the Goddess of Death, Hela. Valkyries are a unit of Odin's handmaiden. Hela...she killed all the others easily. I almost got her, but she was faster. She almost killed me, but another Valkyrie saved me and she died, too. Then I left to live in Sakaar so I could forget my memories of the battle and drink until I die eventually. Then I met Thor and Loki and that's when everything changed. I-I guess people like to call me Valkyrie because I'm the last surviving one of my kind."

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry." Carol still had a hand on Valkyrie's cheek. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a golden chain. A locket. She let her fingers linger on Valkyrie's face before taking Valkyrie's hand and pressing the cold locket into Valkyrie's palm. "Here. I want to give you this."

  Valkyrie looked down at the heart-shaped locket in her hand and curled her fingers around it. It was oddly comforting to roll it around and around in her fingers. "For...For what?"

  "I just want to let you have it." Carol reached out and pulled Valkyrie in for a second embrace that day. "I don't know really...a show of gratitude for letting me stay? Whatever, you keep it. A gift."

  Valkyrie never liked physical contact, but being in Carol's arms comforted her in ways that no one ever could. It made her nightmares fade away into nothing. She pressed her face against Carol's shoulder and sighed. "If you're going away tomorrow...when will I see you again?"

  "Soon," Carol promised. "Soon."

  Valkyrie pressed the locket close to her heart and held it there. For three years, she held the promise in her heart with hope that she could see Carol again. But she never thought it would be like this.

  She closed her eyes and imagined a soft voice singing in her ears. You can have your space, cowboy...

  She drifted off to sleep.