Second Chances Rpg

Who: Valkyrie and Gamora
What: Gossip!
Where: Rooftop
When: Last night
Warnings: Language, talk of adult situations but that's really it? No major warnings.
Status: Completed Gdoc



Popping the top off a bottle of stout, Gamora leaned back on the upholstered cushions of the Patio furniture and looked out at the setting sun over the New York skyline. The air was cool, but there was a warm glow coming from the fire pit, so she was comfortable. It had been a ridiculously long couple of weeks, and even relaxed on the sofa, Godslayer was still on her belt, just in case.

“Hey neighbor,” she called, seeing Val across the rooftop, “Beer?”

Val was still trying to sort out how to handle everything, but she was functional now. Less likely to be a liability. That was nice. It was a start.

A smirk curled her lips upwards, "Fancy seeing you out here." She said laughing, before heading over to join her. "Don't mind if I do." She stretched out, feet towards the fire, looking out at the city.

“Where’s the boss-man?” Gamora asked conversationally, sipping her beer. She pulled one foot up onto the cushion, curving her arm around her bent knee. “You know, it’s so weird to see him and Peter be friends, they nearly threw each other out of the airlock when they first met. Now they’re like bros.” She knew Peter missed Kraglin, Rocket and Drax more than he ever said. She thought he was the one who needed friends far more than she did.

A shoulder lifted, "probably finding food." She grinned as she stretched lightly, "is that so?" She arched a brow upwards, "I had no idea but I am also not terribly surprised." She laughed as she looked over at her.

"Though to be fair, the first time I met him, I kicked his ass, slapped a control disc on him and sold him." A smirk.

Gamora laughed again, “Yeah? We answered his distress call, and then had to pull his unconscious body out of deep space. I made the mistake of touching an unconscious person’s arm and then it was it, it was a battle of dicks from there out.”

She sighed and took a drink, “You know, the first time I met Peter, I kicked his ass and tried to steal the infinity stone he had stolen. I had the upper hand until two bounty hunters got in on the fight and we all got thrown in the Kyln. Not my finest assassin moment. When we broke out, that man went back for the walkman his mom gave him when he was a kid, can you imagine? Serious mama’s boy.”

Valkyrie pulled her hair over her shoulder, picking at the ends of a braid that was coming loose, working on undoing it so she could rebraid it. “Oops. I swear, if they keep waving them around they’re going to lose them, and where will we be?” she smirked, “though, as long as they’re getting along, we shouldn’t have much to worry about.”

“How did two of the fiercest women in the universe end up with a pair of momma’s boys?” she blinked, looking over at Gamora, “How does that even happen?” she paused in her work to find a beer for herself.

“Clearly it’s the sex,” Gamora peeled the label off the nearly empty bottle in her hand, throwing it into the fire. “Star-Lord is legendary. Throws female orgasms around like candy. Apparently, even grief one-night-stands get multiple orgasms.” She emptied the bottle, threw it into a conveniently placed recycling bin and leaned over to grab another from the cooler.

“Met one of those yesterday.”

Valkyrie blinked as she took a pull from her bottle, "grief one night stands get multiple ones? That's awkward. There is a story there. Share." She tucked a leg under her and leaned forward to look at Gamora.

"Did you punch her?"

“No she was already crying, so it wasn’t even a challenge.” Gamora pushed her hair out of her eyes. “After the snap… the second one, third one? I lose count since I was dead and all… Peter was alone for several months before he ended up here. And you know how men are. I don’t actually blame him, how could I? I took on my father when he told me not to and got sacrificed. It was stupid.”

She took a drink and stared at the fire. “Anyway, there were a few girls in the time between the snap and here. But we had already talked about it. They all knew this was a one time thing, nobody came anywhere near my bed, we have full honesty around this.”

“So we’re in a bar on Contraxia last night, and this glowing, radiant, probably Gibborim chick walks up while his tongue is in my mouth and his hand is up my skirt and basically thinks he’s back for her. Read the room, girl.”

She set the bottle down, "Men will be men." She noted as she listened, "Wait so, he's all up in your face and this chick thinks he's back for her and you didn't deck her across the room?" She ran her nails over the back of her neck.

"Okay, so. What happens next? Why is she crying? Bitch got her feelings hurt over it?" She plucked the bottle up to finish it off before adding it to the bin.

“That’s the thing. This is how talented Peter Quill is with women, that his drunken meaningless grief sex is the best night of her life, and she thinks that he is her soulmate. And why wouldn’t she, she doesn’t have to trip over his tools that he blames Groot for leaving out or remind him that the fridge is for food too, not just beer? Because I think that shit is cute, but this girl would probably lose her damn mind. So she sits down AT OUR TABLE blubbering, and I tell him, ‘Peter just apologize’, because look, she actually made me kind of sad that I stole her fantasy boyfriend by not being dead after all. Because he probably would have avoided the place completely if it weren’t for me wanting a date night, he’s not stupid.” Gamora pulled her other leg up, curling her arms around herself, her beer bottle dangling from one hand.

“Anyway, when he tells her he’s sorry that there was a misunderstanding and she smacks him, and turns on me and calls me ‘exotic’ because apparently Gibbs are racist assholes. The stupid thing is that back in the day I would have cold cocked her, but I have a kid at home. I can’t just leave Groot with the babysitter while we jailbreak our asses from the Kyln again.” Gamora took another long pull of beer. “So that was my night. Please tell me yours was better.”

Valkyrie wasn't entirely sure what to say..she was discovering she was really bad at girl talk. "She sounds like a mess. And I guess that's fair, though, I mean, we'll come drag you out if you need it." A shrug.

"Exotic." She blinked, she knew what racism felt like, but exotic was a new one. "That's a new one." She rolled her eyes, then, sighed. Heavily.

"Mmm. I went to Valhalla. It wasn't a better night but it was different." She got herself another one and drained it in one go..thinking about it made everything hurt. She was going to kill Odin.

“Was it a job? Like were you taking someone there, or just visiting?” Gamora hadn’t had a woman friend since Mantis, and she had been far more like a pet than someone you could have a drink with.

"Neither. Though both? It's complicated." She twirled the bottle in her fingers, "I had to go seek advice from someone who's soul is there. It is never an easy trip." She tipped the bottle back, "turns out breaking the view of who I am is a lot harder than planned."

“Yeah?” Gamora asked, but didn’t push. “I don’t know much about Asgardian customs, but I do know that a man who believes himself all powerful never wants the women who he has fashioned as his weapons to do the type of things that it’s clear that you and Thor enjoy.” She gave Valkyrie a look. “Immensely, it would appear.”

"I've no complaints." Her face hardened, "No. Weapons don't get their own lives." She knew Gamora would understand. They were more alike than expected. She let out a sigh, "Turns out, Odin likes to make that very clear. It hurts." She tossed the bottle onto the recycling bin.

“Physically hurts? When you….?” Gamora raised her eyebrows, “Or when you feel? Weapons don’t feel.” She couldn’t even count the number of times Thanos had snapped that sentence at her, usually when Nebula was in pain and Gamora was trying to make it stop. “Is that who you had to see in Valhalla? Odin?”

"Don't say that and give the one eyed bastard ideas." She said lowly, "Aye, don't feel. What a load of shit that is." She looked at her hand, looking as if she could see the barbs of pain in her veins. She couldn't but she could feel it. "No. I think even he might be able to kill me, or force me to renew my oath, in Valhalla. That would be embarrassing."

“These fucking disgusting old men think they can control our lives. Listen, if you need someone to help you cut a path through the literal hordes of hell, I’m your girl,” Gamora tipped her head back, finishing the bottle in her hand in one long pull. “In fact if you need someone to help you murder an Asgardian, I have just the weapon for that.”

"They don't even have the decency to explain how things work." A snort of derision as she looked up at the sky. "Thanks for the offer but you can't go to Valhalla to help. No one can."

"That so?" She smirked, "I'm not sure what would work. I don't think this has ever been tried before. Could blow up in my face." She laughed, "he's worth it though."

“Of course he’s worth it, he’s a pain in the ass, they always are,” Gamora laughed. “Look, if I can’t go with you, you’re taking the sword.” She patted her belt. “When I earned it, I was told it could slay the gods themselves. And it sounds like you might need it.”

Valkyrie snapped her head down to look at Gamora. "You barely know me - why offer the use of such a gift?" She asked, knowing that when one was made into a weapon, instead of a person, one knows another weapon, knowing that there was groundwork for a bond there. They both knew what it was like to be used. A unique experience.

She wasn't turning it down. She just wanted to know - it seemed important to Gamora.

“Because we’re the same in so many ways. Because my father ripped me away from my heart and threw me away like trash in his quest for the power to control worlds. To have the power to stop Thor’s father from doing the same to you would be my honor.”

She looked at Val for a second, then said, “I don’t know what other options you’re contemplating. I do know I thought I wasn’t afraid to die. I thought I could be the sacrifice and that would protect him. But thanks to this rift in reality, I got to see the consequences of my actions. He was broken without me. It took work, and fights, and so many words to put us back together. Believe it or not, I was never a talker before I died. And here I am. I say all the words, every day, and we both had to agree that there are no heroics, no noble sacrifice. We have to face everything together.”

She looked at her with something akin to melancholy. She was lost in her own head for a minute, Gamora was so like her Sisters. Then, without hesitation, Val smiled. "It would be my honor. You remind me of my Sisters."

"Odin threw me away. Threw my Sisters away. Sent us on a suicide mission. Hela was as power hungry as Odin was. And she took my entire army of sisters out. Like they were nothing." She tucked her other leg up. Sharing was hard.

"I don't even know how to express half of what I feel." She sighed again, "trying to figure it all out while being distracted by pain sucks."

Gamora smiled. “But they were not nothing, your connection with them fuels you. And you are definitely not nothing. You are the strongest of the Valkyrie. You are the chooser of the slain. And your heart is tied to the god of thunder, he is also not nothing. And you have friends here. So we figure out who or what you need to slay to end this, then that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

"I should have died too."

The admission was nearly silent. Then she looked up, "No, he is not nothing. And you forgot Queen, I'm not nothing. I have never been nothing." She snorted, "I'm going to make him feel every ounce of pain. I don't care if I have to burn the realms behind me to do it."

Then she smirked,"I understand why Odin did this. Love is distracting when you are supposed to have focus on one purpose. Sex is too, but breaking that part is easiest."

“I'm not so sure about that,” Garmora said, leaning back against the cushions, “it sounds like love has you entirely focused on one purpose right now. It's just not Odin’s. And that’s why he did it, because a woman with her own purpose is a dangerous thing.”

“I know that we are the lucky ones. Because no matter what enemy we face, I know that Peter will be right next to me facing it. He might be pissed when I take risks, but he doesn’t stop me, or himself, from taking them. And when the fight is over, he always has the same look in his eyes. You and the son of-” Gamora stopped herself, deciding that they were both done being defined by their fathers. “You and Thor are the same.”

She looked out into the night sky, wishing that she could see the stars, “I know one thing, if I ever look up from a defeated enemy and get a thoughtless peck on the cheek and a business-ike ‘we need to talk’ I will know that either all love in the universe is dead, or Peter has been replaced by a skrull.”

"Mmm that. That I can agree with you on. Men seem to be scared of women with purpose."

Then she nodded. "We are. He hates when he causes me pain or when I take risks, but he'll have my back if I choose to take them." She looked over at Gamora, "you would have fit right in with my Sisters, I'm honored to call you friend."

Then she blinked, "what the fuck? If I defeat an enemy I damn well expect to barely make it to privacy before getting laid. Who gives someone a kiss on the cheek?"

Gamora nodded. “I would like that. My sister still carries much anger, and doesn’t understand that there is a far greater burden to being the stronger one, a burden that we protect them from.”

Laughter filled the night. “Eventually you figure out how to wait until you get home, feed the sprout dinner, find privacy because your child already tells you that you’re pervs… but no matter how long we have to postpone, never once has the fire in that man’s eyes stopped promising that he intends to make me scream.” She shook her head.

“I was working with Pepper on the suit the other day, because she’s got the basic functions down, but it’s pretty clear her husband didn’t suggest she drill with it. And her daughter had some creepy murder doll in her room. Terran movies sound awful, by the way. Because Pepper picks the thing up by the hair and blasts a hole through it that nearly tore the thing in half. She’s got a warrior inside her, that one. But Stark strolls in, fully suited up, but looking grumpy as hell about it, and kisses her on the cheek and tells her they need to talk. I almost told them, ‘No, it’s time for the two of you to hit the showers’ but figured I will let other people sort out their own marriages. I can’t even imagine.”

"Freiki and Geri and Aragorn barely respect the doorway of the tent." She laughed softly, "one of the wolves always nails Thor." then she was honestly laughing, it was funny. They were such uncouth children and she loved them.

Valkyrie cringed, "that sounds depressing. A victory, especially when you are not a warrior by trade, and protecting one's child should be celebrated not whatever that was." She tossed Gamora another drink, "To being the strong women regular men are afraid of, and to being the strong women that sends both of ours alight with desire." She tilted her bottle, "Skål!"

Gamora toasted and took another long pull of her drink. Just then, the elevator opened and a timid looking young man stepped out, holding two large paper bags. “Oh look,” Gamora laughed, “Peter cooked dinner. Some days that man is perfect.”

“That's mine,” she called out as he eyed the spaceship. One of the wolves howled from somewhere in the rooftop garden. Gamora couldn't imagine what the kid was thinking, but he handed her the bags and left quickly, peeking over his shoulder as if he was wondering if he could get in a selfie with a ufo in the background.

“I should go in. Trees are supposed to live on water and sunlight, but mine prefers to pack in the chicken nuggets.”

"I should tend to my lot. Freiki smelled food by the sounds of it and now he'll be begging." She pushed herself up to her feet and smirked.

"Ah well, they're all unruly children, they live by their own rules." She shrugged as she made her way back towards their corner, "talk to you later, Gamora." She looked back, smiled, then could be heard yelling at the wolves to behave, laughter in her voice.

It was nice, now that she thought about it, to have someone who understood what being made to be a weapon was like and how breaking that mold was something necessary.
“Hey neighbor,” she called, seeing Val across the rooftop, “Beer?”

Val was still trying to sort out how to handle everything, but she was functional now. Less likely to be a liability. That was nice. It was a start.

A smirk curled her lips upwards, "Fancy seeing you out here." She said laughing, before heading over to join her. "Don't mind if I do." She stretched out, feet towards the fire, looking out at the city.

“Where’s the boss-man?” Gamora asked conversationally, sipping her beer. She pulled one foot up onto the cushion, curving her arm around her bent knee. “You know, it’s so weird to see him and Peter be friends, they nearly threw each other out of the airlock when they first met. Now they’re like bros.” She knew Peter missed Kraglin, Rocket and Drax more than he ever said. She thought he was the one who needed friends far more than she did.

A shoulder lifted, "probably finding food." She grinned as she stretched lightly, "is that so?" She arched a brow upwards, "I had no idea but I am also not terribly surprised." She laughed as she looked over at her.

"Though to be fair, the first time I met him, I kicked his ass, slapped a control disc on him and sold him." A smirk.

Gamora laughed again, “Yeah? We answered his distress call, and then had to pull his unconscious body out of deep space. I made the mistake of touching an unconscious person’s arm and then it was it, it was a battle of dicks from there out.”

She sighed and took a drink, “You know, the first time I met Peter, I kicked his ass and tried to steal the infinity stone he had stolen. I had the upper hand until two bounty hunters got in on the fight and we all got thrown in the Kyln. Not my finest assassin moment. When we broke out, that man went back for the walkman his mom gave him when he was a kid, can you imagine? Serious mama’s boy.”

Valkyrie pulled her hair over her shoulder, picking at the ends of a braid that was coming loose, working on undoing it so she could rebraid it. “Oops. I swear, if they keep waving them around they’re going to lose them, and where will we be?” she smirked, “though, as long as they’re getting along, we shouldn’t have much to worry about.”

“How did two of the fiercest women in the universe end up with a pair of momma’s boys?” she blinked, looking over at Gamora, “How does that even happen?” she paused in her work to find a beer for herself.

“Clearly it’s the sex,” Gamora peeled the label off the nearly empty bottle in her hand, throwing it into the fire. “Star-Lord is legendary. Throws female orgasms around like candy. Apparently even grief one-night-stands get multiple orgasms.” She emptied the bottle, threw it into a conveniently placed recycling bin and leaned over to grab another from the cooler.

“Met one of those yesterday.”

Valkyrie blinked as she took a pull from her bottle, "grief one night stands get multiple ones? That's awkward. There is a story there. Share." She tucked a leg under her and leaned forward to look at Gamora.

"Did you punch her?"

“No she was already crying, so it wasn’t even a challenge.” Gamora pushed her hair out of her eyes. “After the snap… the second one, third one? I lose count since I was dead and all… Peter was alone for several months before he ended up here. And you know how men are. I don’t actually blame him, how could I? I took on my father when he told me not to and got sacrificed. It was stupid.”

She took a drink and stared at the fire. “Anyway, there were a few girls in the time between the snap and here. But we had already talked about it. They all knew this was a one time thing, nobody came anywhere near my bed, we have full honesty around this.”

“So we’re in a bar on Contraxia last night, and this glowing, radiant, probably Gibborim chick walks up while his tongue is in my mouth and his hand is up my skirt and basically thinks he’s back for her. Read the room, girl.”

She set the bottle down, "Men will be men." She noted as she listened, "Wait so, he's all up in your face and this chick thinks he's back for her and you didn't deck her across the room?" She ran her nails over the back of her neck.

"Okay, so. What happens next? Why is she crying? Bitch got her feelings hurt over it?" She plucked the bottle up to finish it off before adding it to the bin.

“That’s the thing. This is how talented Peter Quill is with women, that his drunken meaningless grief sex is the best night of her life, and she thinks that he is her soulmate. And why wouldn’t she, she doesn’t have to trip over his tools that he blames Groot for leaving out or remind him that the fridge is for food too, not just beer? Because I think that shit is cute, but this girl would probably lose her damn mind. So she sits down AT OUR TABLE blubbering, and I tell him, ‘Peter just apologize’, because look, she actually made me kind of sad that I stole her fantasy boyfriend by not being dead after all. Because he probably would have avoided the place completely if it weren’t for me wanting a date night, he’s not stupid.” Gamora pulled her other leg up, curling her arms around herself, her beer bottle dangling from one hand.

“Anyway, when he tells her he’s sorry that there was a misunderstanding and she smacks him, and turns on me and calls me ‘exotic’ because apparently Gibbs are racist assholes. The stupid thing is that back in the day I would have cold cocked her, but I have a kid at home. I can’t just leave Groot with the babysitter while we jailbreak our asses from the Kyln again.” Gamora took another long pull of beer. “So that was my night. Please tell me yours was better.”

Valkyrie wasn't entirely sure what to say..she was discovering she was really bad at girl talk. "She sounds like a mess. And I guess that's fair, though, I mean, we'll come drag you out if you need it." A shrug.

"Exotic." She blinked, she knew what racism felt like, but exotic was a new one. "That's a new one." She rolled her eyes, then, sighed. Heavily.

"Mmm. I went to Valhalla. It wasn't a better night but it was different." She got herself another one and drained it in one go..thinking about it made everything hurt. She was going to kill Odin.

“Was it a job? Like were you taking someone there, or just visiting?” Gamora hadn’t had a woman friend since Mantis, and she had been far more like a pet than someone you could have a drink with.

"Neither. Though both? It's complicated." She twirled the bottle in her fingers, "I had to go seek advice from someone who's soul is there. It is never an easy trip." She tipped the bottle back, "turns out breaking the view of who I am is a lot harder than planned."

“Yeah?” Gamora asked, but didn’t push. “I don’t know much about Asgardian customs, but I do know that a man who believes himself all powerful never wants the women who he has fashioned as his weapons to do the type of things that it’s clear that you and Thor enjoy.” She gave Valkyrie a look. “Immensely, it would appear.”

"I've no complaints." Her face hardened, "No. Weapons don't get their own lives." She knew Gamora would understand. They were more alike than expected. She let out a sigh, "Turns out, Odin likes to make that very clear. It hurts." She tossed the bottle onto the recycling bin.

“Physically hurts? When you….?” Gamora raised her eyebrows, “Or when you feel? Weapons don’t feel.” She couldn’t even count the number of times Thanos had snapped that sentence at her, usually when Nebula was in pain and Gamora was trying to make it stop. “Is that who you had to see in Valhalla? Odin?”

"Don't say that and give the one eyed bastard ideas." She said lowly, "Aye, don't feel. What a load of shit that is." She looked at her hand, looking as if she could see the barbs of pain in her veins. She couldn't but she could feel it. "No. I think even he might be able to kill me, or force me to renew my oath, in Valhalla. That would be embarrassing."

“These fucking disgusting old men think they can control our lives. Listen, if you need someone to help you cut a path through the literal hordes of hell, I’m your girl,” Gamora tipped her head back, finishing the bottle in her hand in one long pull. “In fact if you need someone to help you murder an Asgardian, I have just the weapon for that.”

"They don't even have the decency to explain how things work." A snort of derision as she looked up at the sky. "Thanks for the offer but you can't go to Valhalla to help. No one can."

"That so?" She smirked, "I'm not sure what would work. I don't think this has ever been tried before. Could blow up in my face." She laughed, "he's worth it though."

“Of course he’s worth it, he’s a pain in the ass, they always are,” Gamora laughed. “Look, if I can’t go with you, you’re taking the sword.” She patted her belt. “When I earned it, I was told it could slay the gods themselves. And it sounds like you might need it.”

Valkyrie snapped her head down to look at Gamora. "You barely know me - why offer the use of such a gift?" She asked, knowing that when one was made into a weapon, instead of a person, one knows another weapon, knowing that there was groundwork for a bond there. They both knew what it was like to be used. A unique experience.

She wasn't turning it down. She just wanted to know - it seemed important to Gamora.

“Because we’re the same in so many ways. Because my father ripped me away from my heart and threw me away like trash in his quest for the power to control worlds. To have the power to stop Thor’s father from doing the same to you would be my honor.”

She looked at Val for a second, then said, “I don’t know what other options you’re contemplating. I do know I thought I wasn’t afraid to die. I thought I could be the sacrifice and that would protect him. But thanks to this rift in reality, I got to see the consequences of my actions. He was broken without me. It took work, and fights, and so many words to put us back together. Believe it or not, I was never a talker before I died. And here I am. I say all the words, every day, and we both had to agree that there are no heroics, no noble sacrifice. We have to face everything together.”

She looked at her with something akin to melancholy. She was lost in her own head for a minute, Gamora was so like her Sisters. Then, without hesitation, Val smiled. "It would be my honor. You remind me of my Sisters."

"Odin threw me away. Threw my Sisters away. Sent us on a suicide mission. Hela was as power hungry as Odin was. And she took my entire army of sisters out. Like they were nothing." She tucked her other leg up. Sharing was hard.

"I don't even know how to express half of what I feel." She sighed again, "trying to figure it all out while being distracted by pain sucks."

Gamora smiled. “But they were not nothing, your connection with them fuels you. And you are definitely not nothing. You are the strongest of the Valkyrie. You are the chooser of the slain. And your heart is tied to the god of thunder, he is also not nothing. And you have friends here. So we figure out who or what you need to slay to end this, then that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

"I should have died too."

The admission was nearly silent. Then she looked up, "No, he is not nothing. And you forgot Queen, I'm not nothing. I have never been nothing." She snorted, "I'm going to make him feel every ounce of pain. I don't care if I have to burn the realms behind me to do it."

Then she smirked,"I understand why Odin did this. Love is distracting when you are supposed to have focus on one purpose. Sex is too, but breaking that part is easiest."

“I'm not so sure about that,” Garmora said, leaning back against the cushions, “it sounds like love has you entirely focused on one purpose right now. It's just not Odin’s. And that’s why he did it, because a woman with her own purpose is a dangerous thing.”

“I know that we are the lucky ones. Because no matter what enemy we face, I know that Peter will be right next to me facing it. He might be pissed when I take risks, but he doesn’t stop me, or himself, from taking them. And when the fight is over, he always has the same look in his eyes. You and the son of-” Gamora stopped herself, deciding that they were both done being defined by their fathers. “You and Thor are the same.”

She looked out into the night sky, wishing that she could see the stars, “I know one thing, if I ever look up from a defeated enemy and get a thoughtless peck on the cheek and a business-ike ‘we need to talk’ I will know that either all love in the universe is dead, or Peter has been replaced by a skrull.”

"Mmm that. That I can agree with you on. Men seem to be scared of women with purpose."

Then she nodded. "We are. He hates when he causes me pain or when I take risks, but he'll have my back if I choose to take them." She looked over at Gamora, "you would have fit right in with my Sisters, I'm honored to call you friend."

Then she blinked, "what the fuck? If I defeat an enemy I damn well expect to barely make it to privacy before getting laid. Who gives someone a kiss on the cheek?"

Gamora nodded. “I would like that. My sister still carries much anger, and doesn’t understand that there is a far greater burden to being the stronger one, a burden that we protect them from.”

Laughter filled the night. “Eventually you figure out how to wait until you get home, feed the sprout dinner, find privacy because your child already tells you that you’re pervs… but no matter how long we have to postpone, never once has the fire in that man’s eyes stopped promising that he intends to make me scream.” She shook her head.

“I was working with Pepper on the suit the other day, because she’s got the basic functions down, but it’s pretty clear her husband didn’t suggest she drill with it. And her daughter had some creepy murder doll in her room. Terran movies sound awful, by the way. Because Pepper picks the thing up by the hair and blasts a hole through it that nearly tore the thing in half. She’s got a warrior inside her, that one. But Stark strolls in, fully suited up, but looking grumpy as hell about it, and kisses her on the cheek and tells her they need to talk. I almost told them, ‘No, it’s time for the two of you to hit the showers’ but figured I will let other people sort out their own marriages. I can’t even imagine.”

"Freiki and Geri and Aragorn barely respect the doorway of the tent." She laughed softly, "one of the wolves always nails Thor." then she was honestly laughing, it was funny. They were such uncouth children and she loved them.

Valkyrie cringed, "that sounds depressing. A victory, especially when you are not a warrior by trade, and protecting one's child should be celebrated not whatever that was." She tossed Gamora another drink, "To being the strong women regular men are afraid of, and to being the strong women that sends both of ours alight with desire." She tilted her bottle, "Skål!"

Gamora toasted and took another long pull of her drink. Just then, the elevator opened and a timid looking young man stepped out, holding two large paper bags. “Oh look,” Gamora laughed, “Peter cooked dinner. Some days that man is perfect.”

“That's mine,” she called out as he eyed the spaceship. One of the wolves howled from somewhere in the rooftop garden. Gamora couldn't imagine what the kid was thinking, but he handed her the bags and left quickly, peeking over his shoulder as if he was wondering if he could get in a selfie with a ufo in the background.

“I should go in. Trees are supposed to live on water and sunlight, but mine prefers to pack in the chicken nuggets.”

"I should tend to my lot. Freiki smelled food by the sounds of it and now he'll be begging." She pushed herself up to her feet and smirked.

"Ah well, they're all unruly children, they live by their own rules." She shrugged as she made her way back towards their corner, "talk to you later, Gamora." She looked back, smiled, then could be heard yelling at the wolves to behave, laughter in her voice.

It was nice, now that she thought about it, to have someone who understood what being made to be a weapon was like and how breaking that mold was something necessary.
“Hey neighbor,” she called, seeing Val across the rooftop, “Beer?”

Val was still trying to sort out how to handle everything, but she was functional now. Less likely to be a liability. That was nice. It was a start.

A smirk curled her lips upwards, "Fancy seeing you out here." She said laughing, before heading over to join her. "Don't mind if I do." She stretched out, feet towards the fire, looking out at the city.

“Where’s the boss-man?” Gamora asked conversationally, sipping her beer. She pulled one foot up onto the cushion, curving her arm around her bent knee. “You know, it’s so weird to see him and Peter be friends, they nearly threw each other out of the airlock when they first met. Now they’re like bros.” She knew Peter missed Kraglin, Rocket and Drax more than he ever said. She thought he was the one who needed friends far more than she did.

A shoulder lifted, "probably finding food." She grinned as she stretched lightly, "is that so?" She arched a brow upwards, "I had no idea but I am also not terribly surprised." She laughed as she looked over at her.

"Though to be fair, the first time I met him, I kicked his ass, slapped a control disc on him and sold him." A smirk.

Gamora laughed again, “Yeah? We answered his distress call, and then had to pull his unconscious body out of deep space. I made the mistake of touching an unconscious person’s arm and then it was it, it was a battle of dicks from there out.”

She sighed and took a drink, “You know, the first time I met Peter, I kicked his ass and tried to steal the infinity stone he had stolen. I had the upper hand until two bounty hunters got in on the fight and we all got thrown in the Kyln. Not my finest assassin moment. When we broke out, that man went back for the walkman his mom gave him when he was a kid, can you imagine? Serious mama’s boy.”

Valkyrie pulled her hair over her shoulder, picking at the ends of a braid that was coming loose, working on undoing it so she could rebraid it. “Oops. I swear, if they keep waving them around they’re going to lose them, and where will we be?” she smirked, “though, as long as they’re getting along, we shouldn’t have much to worry about.”

“How did two of the fiercest women in the universe end up with a pair of momma’s boys?” she blinked, looking over at Gamora, “How does that even happen?” she paused in her work to find a beer for herself.

“Clearly it’s the sex,” Gamora peeled the label off the nearly empty bottle in her hand, throwing it into the fire. “Star-Lord is legendary. Throws female orgasms around like candy. Apparently even grief one-night-stands get multiple orgasms.” She emptied the bottle, threw it into a conveniently placed recycling bin and leaned over to grab another from the cooler.

“Met one of those yesterday.”

Valkyrie blinked as she took a pull from her bottle, "grief one night stands get multiple ones? That's awkward. There is a story there. Share." She tucked a leg under her and leaned forward to look at Gamora.

"Did you punch her?"

“No she was already crying, so it wasn’t even a challenge.” Gamora pushed her hair out of her eyes. “After the snap… the second one, third one? I lose count since I was dead and all… Peter was alone for several months before he ended up here. And you know how men are. I don’t actually blame him, how could I? I took on my father when he told me not to and got sacrificed. It was stupid.”

She took a drink and stared at the fire. “Anyway, there were a few girls in the time between the snap and here. But we had already talked about it. They all knew this was a one time thing, nobody came anywhere near my bed, we have full honesty around this.”

“So we’re in a bar on Contraxia last night, and this glowing, radiant, probably Gibborim chick walks up while his tongue is in my mouth and his hand is up my skirt and basically thinks he’s back for her. Read the room, girl.”

She set the bottle down, "Men will be men." She noted as she listened, "Wait so, he's all up in your face and this chick thinks he's back for her and you didn't deck her across the room?" She ran her nails over the back of her neck.

"Okay, so. What happens next? Why is she crying? Bitch got her feelings hurt over it?" She plucked the bottle up to finish it off before adding it to the bin.

“That’s the thing. This is how talented Peter Quill is with women, that his drunken meaningless grief sex is the best night of her life, and she thinks that he is her soulmate. And why wouldn’t she, she doesn’t have to trip over his tools that he blames Groot for leaving out or remind him that the fridge is for food too, not just beer? Because I think that shit is cute, but this girl would probably lose her damn mind. So she sits down AT OUR TABLE blubbering, and I tell him, ‘Peter just apologize’, because look, she actually made me kind of sad that I stole her fantasy boyfriend by not being dead after all. Because he probably would have avoided the place completely if it weren’t for me wanting a date night, he’s not stupid.” Gamora pulled her other leg up, curling her arms around herself, her beer bottle dangling from one hand.

“Anyway, when he tells her he’s sorry that there was a misunderstanding and she smacks him, and turns on me and calls me ‘exotic’ because apparently Gibbs are racist assholes. The stupid thing is that back in the day I would have cold cocked her, but I have a kid at home. I can’t just leave Groot with the babysitter while we jailbreak our asses from the Kyln again.” Gamora took another long pull of beer. “So that was my night. Please tell me yours was better.”

Valkyrie wasn't entirely sure what to say..she was discovering she was really bad at girl talk. "She sounds like a mess. And I guess that's fair, though, I mean, we'll come drag you out if you need it." A shrug.

"Exotic." She blinked, she knew what racism felt like, but exotic was a new one. "That's a new one." She rolled her eyes, then, sighed. Heavily.

"Mmm. I went to Valhalla. It wasn't a better night but it was different." She got herself another one and drained it in one go..thinking about it made everything hurt. She was going to kill Odin.

“Was it a job? Like were you taking someone there, or just visiting?” Gamora hadn’t had a woman friend since Mantis, and she had been far more like a pet than someone you could have a drink with.

"Neither. Though both? It's complicated." She twirled the bottle in her fingers, "I had to go seek advice from someone who's soul is there. It is never an easy trip." She tipped the bottle back, "turns out breaking the view of who I am is a lot harder than planned."

“Yeah?” Gamora asked, but didn’t push. “I don’t know much about Asgardian customs, but I do know that a man who believes himself all powerful never wants the women who he has fashioned as his weapons to do the type of things that it’s clear that you and Thor enjoy.” She gave Valkyrie a look. “Immensely, it would appear.”

"I've no complaints." Her face hardened, "No. Weapons don't get their own lives." She knew Gamora would understand. They were more alike than expected. She let out a sigh, "Turns out, Odin likes to make that very clear. It hurts." She tossed the bottle onto the recycling bin.

“Physically hurts? When you….?” Gamora raised her eyebrows, “Or when you feel? Weapons don’t feel.” She couldn’t even count the number of times Thanos had snapped that sentence at her, usually when Nebula was in pain and Gamora was trying to make it stop. “Is that who you had to see in Valhalla? Odin?”

"Don't say that and give the one eyed bastard ideas." She said lowly, "Aye, don't feel. What a load of shit that is." She looked at her hand, looking as if she could see the barbs of pain in her veins. She couldn't but she could feel it. "No. I think even he might be able to kill me, or force me to renew my oath, in Valhalla. That would be embarrassing."

“These fucking disgusting old men think they can control our lives. Listen, if you need someone to help you cut a path through the literal hordes of hell, I’m your girl,” Gamora tipped her head back, finishing the bottle in her hand in one long pull. “In fact if you need someone to help you murder an Asgardian, I have just the weapon for that.”

"They don't even have the decency to explain how things work." A snort of derision as she looked up at the sky. "Thanks for the offer but you can't go to Valhalla to help. No one can."

"That so?" She smirked, "I'm not sure what would work. I don't think this has ever been tried before. Could blow up in my face." She laughed, "he's worth it though."

“Of course he’s worth it, he’s a pain in the ass, they always are,” Gamora laughed. “Look, if I can’t go with you, you’re taking the sword.” She patted her belt. “When I earned it, I was told it could slay the gods themselves. And it sounds like you might need it.”

Valkyrie snapped her head down to look at Gamora. "You barely know me - why offer the use of such a gift?" She asked, knowing that when one was made into a weapon, instead of a person, one knows another weapon, knowing that there was groundwork for a bond there. They both knew what it was like to be used. A unique experience.

She wasn't turning it down. She just wanted to know - it seemed important to Gamora.

“Because we’re the same in so many ways. Because my father ripped me away from my heart and threw me away like trash in his quest for the power to control worlds. To have the power to stop Thor’s father from doing the same to you would be my honor.”

She looked at Val for a second, then said, “I don’t know what other options you’re contemplating. I do know I thought I wasn’t afraid to die. I thought I could be the sacrifice and that would protect him. But thanks to this rift in reality, I got to see the consequences of my actions. He was broken without me. It took work, and fights, and so many words to put us back together. Believe it or not, I was never a talker before I died. And here I am. I say all the words, every day, and we both had to agree that there are no heroics, no noble sacrifice. We have to face everything together.”

She looked at her with something akin to melancholy. She was lost in her own head for a minute, Gamora was so like her Sisters. Then, without hesitation, Val smiled. "It would be my honor. You remind me of my Sisters."

"Odin threw me away. Threw my Sisters away. Sent us on a suicide mission. Hela was as power hungry as Odin was. And she took my entire army of sisters out. Like they were nothing." She tucked her other leg up. Sharing was hard.

"I don't even know how to express half of what I feel." She sighed again, "trying to figure it all out while being distracted by pain sucks."

Gamora smiled. “But they were not nothing, your connection with them fuels you. And you are definitely not nothing. You are the strongest of the Valkyrie. You are the chooser of the slain. And your heart is tied to the god of thunder, he is also not nothing. And you have friends here. So we figure out who or what you need to slay to end this, then that’s exactly what you’ll do.”

"I should have died too."

The admission was nearly silent. Then she looked up, "No, he is not nothing. And you forgot Queen, I'm not nothing. I have never been nothing." She snorted, "I'm going to make him feel every ounce of pain. I don't care if I have to burn the realms behind me to do it."

Then she smirked,"I understand why Odin did this. Love is distracting when you are supposed to have focus on one purpose. Sex is too, but breaking that part is easiest."

“I'm not so sure about that,” Garmora said, leaning back against the cushions, “it sounds like love has you entirely focused on one purpose right now. It's just not Odin’s. And that’s why he did it, because a woman with her own purpose is a dangerous thing.”

“I know that we are the lucky ones. Because no matter what enemy we face, I know that Peter will be right next to me facing it. He might be pissed when I take risks, but he doesn’t stop me, or himself, from taking them. And when the fight is over, he always has the same look in his eyes. You and the son of-” Gamora stopped herself, deciding that they were both done being defined by their fathers. “You and Thor are the same.”

She looked out into the night sky, wishing that she could see the stars, “I know one thing, if I ever look up from a defeated enemy and get a thoughtless peck on the cheek and a business-ike ‘we need to talk’ I will know that either all love in the universe is dead, or Peter has been replaced by a skrull.”

"Mmm that. That I can agree with you on. Men seem to be scared of women with purpose."

Then she nodded. "We are. He hates when he causes me pain or when I take risks, but he'll have my back if I choose to take them." She looked over at Gamora, "you would have fit right in with my Sisters, I'm honored to call you friend."

Then she blinked, "what the fuck? If I defeat an enemy I damn well expect to barely make it to privacy before getting laid. Who gives someone a kiss on the cheek?"

Gamora nodded. “I would like that. My sister still carries much anger, and doesn’t understand that there is a far greater burden to being the stronger one, a burden that we protect them from.”

Laughter filled the night. “Eventually you figure out how to wait until you get home, feed the sprout dinner, find privacy because your child already tells you that you’re pervs… but no matter how long we have to postpone, never once has the fire in that man’s eyes stopped promising that he intends to make me scream.” She shook her head.

“I was working with Pepper on the suit the other day, because she’s got the basic functions down, but it’s pretty clear her husband didn’t suggest she drill with it. And her daughter had some creepy murder doll in her room. Terran movies sound awful, by the way. Because Pepper picks the thing up by the hair and blasts a hole through it that nearly tore the thing in half. She’s got a warrior inside her, that one. But Stark strolls in, fully suited up, but looking grumpy as hell about it, and kisses her on the cheek and tells her they need to talk. I almost told them, ‘No, it’s time for the two of you to hit the showers’ but figured I will let other people sort out their own marriages. I can’t even imagine.”

"Freiki and Geri and Aragorn barely respect the doorway of the tent." She laughed softly, "one of the wolves always nails Thor." then she was honestly laughing, it was funny. They were such uncouth children and she loved them.

Valkyrie cringed, "that sounds depressing. A victory, especially when you are not a warrior by trade, and protecting one's child should be celebrated not whatever that was." She tossed Gamora another drink, "To being the strong women regular men are afraid of, and to being the strong women that sends both of ours alight with desire." She tilted her bottle, "Skål!"

Gamora toasted and took another long pull of her drink. Just then, the elevator opened and a timid looking young man stepped out, holding two large paper bags. “Oh look,” Gamora laughed, “Peter cooked dinner. Some days that man is perfect.”

“That's mine,” she called out as he eyed the spaceship. One of the wolves howled from somewhere in the rooftop garden. Gamora couldn't imagine what the kid was thinking, but he handed her the bags and left quickly, peeking over his shoulder as if he was wondering if he could get in a selfie with a ufo in the background.

“I should go in. Trees are supposed to live on water and sunlight, but mine prefers to pack in the chicken nuggets.”

"I should tend to my lot. Freiki smelled food by the sounds of it and now he'll be begging." She pushed herself up to her feet and smirked.

"Ah well, they're all unruly children, they live by their own rules." She shrugged as she made her way back towards their corner, "talk to you later, Gamora." She looked back, smiled, then could be heard yelling at the wolves to behave, laughter in her voice.

It was nice, now that she thought about it, to have someone who understood what being made to be a weapon was like and how breaking that mold was something necessary.