He had nightmares all night. You soothed them away, petting his hair, rubbing his back, using magic here and there to scare the nightmares away. You could go without sleep, for days if needed and had done so frequently during the trials. You stroked his hair and sang him old lullabies from home, soothed away his fears and the old memories.

You wished you could go back in time and kill that bitch yourself.

The sun was just rising when he woke properly. "Kyrie?" he asked softly, confused, scared, bruised.

"I'm here," you told him and kissed his forehead. "You're safe," you added. He still looked so soft and innocent and bruised. You ran your fingers again through his hair.

"I... she..."

"I know, darling. She is very, very dead and can't hurt you anymore," you reminded him. "Your Lady Mother wished to keep those memories from you for a reason," you added equally softly, wondering if she had been right, though you knew she hadn't. He deserved to know.

"She was wrong," he growled. You kissed his forehead again and smiled. That sounded more like your Loki.

"Come on, love, you'll feel better when you've eaten something," you told him gently and started to climb out of bed. He growled and his arms wrapped around you, holding you to him tightly. You sighed and rolled your eyes. "Loki~"

"You stayed up all night, didn't you?" he asked, finally seeming to remember how many times he woke during the night. "You were singing..."

"I tried to scare the nightmares away," you told him, knowing you weren't as successful as you'd liked. The memories had been too strong. "Come on, love, at least let's go get a cup of tea." He growled softly again. You sighed exasperated. "Or I can go get something for you if you're not up to leaving..." he was still so bruised, but you knew he'd feel steadier getting out of the room for a little while, eating something, stabbing Thor if that's what it took.

It took some cajoling, but you finally got him up out of the bed and down to your couch in the living room. You tucked a blanket around him and handed him a cup of tea. You kissed his forehead again and went to go make breakfast for you both. Thor came in at some point and greeted Loki. You didn't pay them much mind, focused on keeping the eggs from burning.

You took Loki's plate in to him and started to head back to the kitchen to get yours, but stopped short in surprise at Thor standing directly behind you. "Odin's beard! You should know better than to sneak up on me Thunderhead." He grabbed both of your wrists in one hand and backed you toward the nearest wall. "Thor? What are you doing?" you demanded, scared of the hatred and anger in his eyes. He slammed your wrists into the wall above your head, holding you off balance on your tip toes. "Thor!" you protested.

"What did you do to him?" he snarled, gesturing at Loki, who was scrambling off the couch, horrified, to come to your rescue.

"I didn't do anything!" You protested, trying to break his grip on your wrists. His grip just tightened. You hitched up a leg to kick him. "Let me go, Thor," you warned.

"Why is he like this?" Thor demanded instead and pulled you from the wall to slam you against it, jarring you from kicking him.

"He had nightmares all night, from painful old memories, if you must know. Now let me go," you snarled a final warning before you hurt him.

"What did you do?" he growled, lifting your wrists even higher, keeping you off your feet. You were eye to eye with him now. He was also pointedly ignoring Loki's dagger at his throat and Loki's threats. Also the dagger sticking out of his side.

"Do you know about Lady Hilde?" you asked. He looked horrified and dropped you. You cursed when you hit the ground, hard. You hadn't known if Thor knew about the love potion incident, but his reaction seemed to indicate he had. Loki shoved Thor away from you and wrapped his arms protectively around you.

"Are you alright, Kyrie-love?" he asked. You nodded and kissed his cheek.

"I'm fine. Your brother is just an idiot as per usual. Go eat your breakfast. I'll deal with the oaf," you told him brightly. He hesitated, still bruised, but now afraid for you. Thanks, Thor, that was just what you needed, an unsteady and now afraid Loki. "I promise not to kill him all the way. It would so upset your mother," Loki gave you a small smile and finally went back to his breakfast, trusting you and your ability to take care of yourself. Thor turned to you and opened his mouth. "No need to apologize, Thunderhead. I would have worried over him too in this state," you kept your voice soft so Loki wouldn't hear your conversation.

"He remembers, then?" Thor asked. You nodded, but raised an eyebrow, questioning how he knew. "Mother told me what happened, a warning so I would not fall to the same trick." You nodded. That made sense.

"He'll be ok, Thor. Just give him a little time," you told Thor firmly. He hesitated, hating seeing Loki so unbalanced, but finally nodded.

He clapped your shoulder. "I should not have doubted you, Lady Valkyrie. I neglected to remember how much you care for him. I had grown used to him being so alone..."

"I know, Thunderhead," you told him and kissed his cheek. "You're both stuck with me forever now," you teased and flashed your ring at him as you went to get your breakfast.

"Joy..." he growled sarcastically, but was laughing. It was exactly what he wanted for you both.

Loki regained his balance after breakfast and a quiet morning reading with you curled in his arms. You caught a nap, using his lap as a pillow while he stroked your hair absently. You were worried when Tony came in before Loki regained his balance, afraid he was going to antagonize Loki. He opened his mouth to make a sarcastic comment, but either saw your frantic expression or the legitimate haunted look in Loki's eyes and changed his mind, offering a polite greeting instead. You sighed in relief.

*

That evening the team decided to order as many pizzas as it would take to feed an entire army and beer and spend the evening around the coffee table, playing stupid games. Everyone loved Mario Kart and enjoyed the competitive game. Loki was surprisingly good at video games, so eventually Tony decided that wasn't fair and got out Cards Against Humanity instead.

"Winter is coming and so is..." Cap read on his turn, then flipped over one of the white cards in front of him. "Captain America's Star Spangled Dick," he read without seeming to comprehend the words. The entire room roared in laughter. "My what now?" he demanded half amused, half offended at the white card. That just made you all laugh harder.

The evening devolved from there. "I think that hammer thing's a trick!" Tony announced, pretty drunk late in the evening. You had all moved to sitting on the couches, telling stories. Thor boomed his laughter and gestured to Mjolnir in the middle of the coffee table.

"You are welcome to try, if you believe you are worthy," Thor offered. He wasn't drunk, though he'd gotten out Asgardian liquor for you, Loki, and himself.

And so the game of try to lift the Mjolnir began. No one succeeded, as predicted. Cap came closest. Nat refused to try. The group cheered each time someone failed. It seemed to be a long running game. Clint stuck his tongue out at Mjolnir when he couldn't lift it. "Loki, your turn!" Nat called, saluting him with her bottle of beer.

"I have had that question answered on many occasions, over our thousand plus years," he replied, raising his mug of ale in reply and took a sip on it. "I am not worthy." The group accepted that and cheered him anyway.

"Kyrie, you're the last one!" Nat told you with a grin.

"Do I really have to play?" you asked. The group insisted and prodded. You sighed and saw Thor's grin and Loki's smirk. You held out a hand lazily and Mjolnir flew to you. You tossed it to Thor. The entire room just stared at you, besides Thor and Loki who laughed. You grinned at your shocked friends. Friends? When had they become friends? "Why are they so surprised?" you mock-pouted at Loki.

He laughed and kissed your forehead. "I know not, darling. Of course an honored Valkyrie, and you most especially, would be worthy of wielding Mjolnir,"

*

You were called out on plenty of missions over the next couple of weeks. Your skills and Loki's were both appreciated on the battlefield, as well as on surveillance and spying missions. You were facing down a particularly nasty group of Hydra agents who had teamed up with mutants and monsters. The battle was nasty, they had planned this battle and fought well together. You and Loki spent most of it guarding each others' backs, using daggers, magic, ice, anything at your disposal to take down your foes.

You heard a scream across the battlefield toward the end of the battle and your head swung over to see Nat get shot again. The bullet had gone straight through her heart. Her body crumpled to the ground, though Clint caught her, eased her down.

"Nat!" you shrieked. No! She couldn't be!

But you felt it.

She had died before her body hit the ground.

You grabbed Loki's hand, blew up the monster you had been facing, and ran for Nat. There wasn't time. Loki saw it too and ran with you. You dropped his hand and ripped off your gauntlets as you ran, throwing them to the side. You ripped your cape off as well.

"Nat! Nat no! Wake up!" Clint was shouting, holding pressure to the wound, though it was too late. Cap was beside her too, shield up to defend her and Clint.

"Get away from her!" you ordered as you slid to your knees next to Nat's body. There wasn't time. "Thor, keep watch!" you barked out the order.

"Yes, Lady Valkyrie," he replied formally, turned his back on the scene and stood with Mjolnir held ready to defend you. You were perfectly allowed to bark orders during battle, even to the royal family.

"Clint. Let go," you ordered firmly, but trying to keep your voice kind.

"But-" he was crying over the loss of his best friend. "She's dead,"

"Let me help her. There's no time to explain. Let go," you growled. He let Nat go, horrified by his actions, by your words, by his giving up, and scrambled a couple inches away. That was all you needed. You reached out with your magic and connected telepathically with Loki. He caught the connection automatically, just as you'd been doing since you learned telepathic magic so very, very, many years ago.

"What are you doing!?" Clint demanded, horrified and angry. There was no time to answer.

"Loki, hold the link," you told him firmly.

He nodded and took your hand. He bowed over it and placed his lips against the sigil on your wrist. "Valkyrie of Asgard, in the name of your prince, unleash your power," he bid you softly. You ignored the stares and glares of the others. They didn't understand. You felt the power flare and your black feathered wings erupted from your back, through the cleverly designed and hidden wing slits in your armor, there for just for that purpose.

You closed your eyes, placed your hands on Nat's stomach and chest, over the bullet wounds, and dove into the land of the dead to rescue your friend.

You stood from your body and looked for Nat. She had wandered off already. Had tried to find her own way. Stubborn redhead. You snarled, stretched your wings, flapped them a couple of times, and took to the skies to begin your search.

It didn't take long to find her. She hadn't wandered far yet. You dove back to the ground in front of her, drawing your dragonfang blade to slay one of the ghasts who attacked the dead, defended her soul against the attack.

"Nat!" you greeted her when the ghast was slain. She looked at you confused. You wrapped your arms around her, relieved that you had found her, that she was ok.

"Kyrie?" she asked. You nodded. "I died?" she asked, uncomprehending. It wasn't uncommon for the dead to not understand.

"Yes. You were shot through the heart," you told her. She looked sad, heartbroken.

"You're here to take me-?"

You smiled and shook your head. "A day will come when you and I will make the journey to Valhalla and you will be welcomed as a treasured warrior. Today is not that day. It's not your time. Come on, there's not a lot of time," you told her and wrapped an arm around her waist before she could protest.

"But, I died..."

"And I'm a Valkyrie. You don't have to stay dead, as long as we hurry," you told her firmly. A few wing beats and you were back in the air, carrying her back to her body. You set her down carefully beside it. "This is going to suck. It's going to hurt. But today is not the day for you to join the other warriors in the halls of Valhalla,"

"Do what you must," she told you and you nearly sighed in relief. This wouldn't work unless she wanted to live again. You took her soul's hand, knelt again in your place beside her, in line with your body, but not rejoining, not yet.

/Loki, now!/ you thought down the telepathic link. Loki moved your body's hand so your bare skin was on Nat's arm. He'd picked the placement well, a little frostbite on her non-dominant arm wouldn't kill her, or hinder her recovery. You needed physical contact for this though. You grabbed Nat's soul, thrust it back in her body through your hand on her bare skin. You held it there, half in the land of the dead, half in the land of the living. Your power flared in both realms, holding her soul to her body while it healed around her. Usually you couldn't heal something this bad on your own, but with the healing taking place in both the realm of the living and the realm of the dead, with your power flaring, with how much power you were using, you could do it this time.

You had gotten there just in time. Any longer and her body and soul would have rejected the reforged union.

You finally snapped back to yourself when the healing was complete, as if Nat had never been shot. The only hint was the blue, nearly black handprint on her arm, but even that would heal. Loki removed your hand from Nat's arm. "It's alright, darling. You did it. You saved her," Loki told you softly. You were dizzy from the effort and couldn't remember how to stand. You stayed kneeling, confirming to yourself that Nat was alive. She was breathing and fighting to wake. She'd be ok in a minute.

"Did...she just bring Nat back from the dead?" Clint demanded. You were too out of it to talk to any of them. The battle had been finished without your help.

Loki inclined his head and turned his attention back to you. "It is a little known skill of the Valkyrie," he explained simply. You still hadn't remembered yet how to get back to your feet. You were beyond drained, beyond exhausted, just wanted to curl up and sleep.

"Your work here is done, my angel, let's go home," Loki told you gently, teasing a little with the silly pet name. He took your arms gently to haul you to your feet. You swayed and nearly crashed into him, making a soft small distressed noise when your body wouldn't behave and do anything useful, like stand. He smiled gently, made a soft soothing noise, and lifted you carefully into his arms, one arm just below your shoulder blades, your wings draped over his arm and trailing nearly to the ground, his other arm under your knees. "I've got you, angel, everything's alright," he reassured you softly and kissed your forehead. It had been quite awhile since he held you while you had your wings out.

It had been quite awhile since you'd even had your wings out.

Your head fell onto his shoulder and you were dead asleep before he could take a single step.