st_ormbreaker | (no subject)

(no subject)

It couldn't be anything important.

That's what Thor decided first. If he was going to lie to Valkyrie, it was going to be over something pointless, something trivial. Something that didn't matter. The first lie is a small one -- a message sent to her from his notebook:

I need to talk to you about something.

Truth be told, Thor had nothing of significance to talk about. The two of them chatted enough that there generally wasn't anything new to discuss about their day-to-day. The one truly significant thing he had to talk to Valkyrie about he had done so shortly after arrival, and even then he didn't feel particularly inclined to give out anything more than just the essentials -- then or now.

Pool Bar, one hour.

The Pool Bar was unoccupied this time of year. During the spring and summer months, you'd find people there all hours of the day, making their own drinks to suck down as they lay out at the pool's edge. Winter made the location less appealing. It was private, the perfect place to discuss something important.

That is, if Thor had something important to discuss.

Thor is sitting at one of the tables in the pool bar, notebook open, two bottles pulled from the bar's shelves: a Johnnie Walker and a newly-discovered malt scotch he'd pulled from the shelf based on name alone (Highland Park Valkyrie). It felt appropriate somehow.

Thor idly writes in his notebook as he waits, brows furrowed with thought.

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"What?" Valkyrie's answer completely caught him off-guard.

"The way I see it, Your Majesty, it's the dawn of a new era." Valkyrie gestured with the bottle, making what little liquid remained audibly swish about. "Follow your passions. Become Mr. Thor Stark wielder of the mighty Stormbreaker. I'll announce your fated arrival for you as we charge into battle."

Oh, no. Despite the lie, Thor did not actually want this.

"You don't think it sounds...?"

Thor makes a little humming noise and gestures vaguely.

"What?" Valkyrie blinked over her bottle. "I take it as a rather genuine expression of devotion. I'm sure your Tony Stark will be elated."

Thor is beginning to regret this.

"Will he, though?"

"You asked for my opinion, I'm giving it." Valkyrie turned her head a slight degree, giving Thor a look of bemused reprimand. "I'm also of the opinion that going back on such a solemn oath is astonishingly cold-hearted of you, Your Majesty. A Midgardian with enough mettle to bear Asgardian tradition, yet you cannot bear taking on his family name?"

Thor immediately scrambles to the defensive. "This is an important decision," he says quickly. "I've had the name Odinson for 30 of Tony's lifetimes and am likely to bear his surname for 30 more. We -- we haven't even discussed the name thing. Not like we discussed the Asgardian tradition thing."

"And what a beautiful way to commemorate your love. A man who lives his life in the blink of an eye compared to us, thereby immortalized." Huh. Oddly poetic. Valkyrie took a long look at the malt scotch bottle curiously before shrugging and taking another swig off it.

Oh no. Why did he do this?

"He might not even like it," Thor argues. "He might find it uncomfortable. He's engaged already back home, you know."

"Is this your way of asking me to find out?" Valkyrie lowered the glass with purpose.

Shit.

"Yes," Thor agrees, hoping that the please let's drop this and never speak of this again isn't somehow bleeding through the latest lie.

Still, he's pretty certain that Tony will put an end to this particular discussion immediately. Especially with Thor's encouragement.

Thor forces a tremendous smile and pulls his journal back across the table.

"Please."

"Fine." Valkyrie stood and pulled an about face, striding back towards her room. "I'll find out in no time, Your Majesty."

"Good," Thor agrees, sliding the tips of his fingers in between the pages of his journal. "It's important that we know how he feels about it."

As soon as Valkyrie is out of sight, he abruptly shoots Tony a message.

Edited 2018-12-07 01:16 (UTC)

Ten or so minutes went by, and Valkyrie was striding back into the pool bar area, boots clacking the frosted tile as she approached and pulled up a chair beside Thor.

"Reporting back, Your Majesty."

Thor is in mid-swig when Valkyrie returns; he quickly swallows then sets the bottle back down on the table.

"The verdict?"

"Verdict. Right." Valkyrie nodded, pressing a single finger between Thor's eyes with her free hand. "Your falsehoods need practice."

"Ow," Thor says to her finger-press, though the weight of Valkyrie's finger is hardly as punishing as her words.

Still, much like a dog who has just attempted a newly-learned trick, Thor is desperate for approval.

"You believed me until you talked to him, though." There's an unspoken right? there at the end of the sentence, and if Valkyrie can't hear it in his voice, she can probably see it in his eyes.

"I didn't say one word to him." Valkyrie almost pitied the man. Almost. "Got hungry. Went inside and grabbed the deer jerky we made out of our catch." She pulled a plastic bag out of her broad coat pocket and set it on the counter for her king to partake of. Consolation.

Thor's expression is heartbroken.

"You knew the whole time?"

"I...almost thought you might be serious until the part about wanting my assessment." Valkyrie's lips tightened into a not-quite smile.

"Why wouldn't I want your assessment?"

Thor reaches into the bag of jerky and pulls out a slice. He chews away at it, his gaze never leaving Val's face.

“It wasn’t that.” Valkyrie reached into it after him, plucking out a piece. “That you wanted it for such a ridiculous name. It reeked of, how one of the children here puts it, shenanigans.”

Thor can't argue with that. It was a ridiculous name.

"If you knew, why did you goad me like that?"

Valkyrie blinked innocently--as innocent as Thor had attempted to look during their earlier exchange. "Play a foolish game, win a foolish prize."

Thor chews away at his jerky, frowning. "I've already given it up, you know. Reformed myself. Loki was the one who got the lying gene." Despite not being able to actually inherit it from their father.