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Brunnhilde gagged as she threw up in the toilet. Groaning, she flushed it again and then leaned against the wall. Morning sickness was worse than being hungover. She wanted to die so badly and not just because of her illness. Her entire life was in total chaos now. All because the stupid robot had let her secret out. After coming to peace with her past, after finding a shred of happiness and someone to love, Brunnhilde felt ruined again.
She had locked herself in her room and was ignoring FRIDAY. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, see anyone or be near anyone. It wasn’t because she was sick; she didn’t want anyone to see her cry.
Crying was something she considered beneath her. Even when the other Valkyries had been slaughtered, she didn’t cry. It wasn’t because she didn’t want to; she felt it would have been disrespectful to her fellow warriors. Now, she was going to. So that was what she did.
Brunnhilde burst into tears, holding her head and shaking. What was she going to do? Loki knew. He knew why she had been avoiding him. There was no way she could ever face him again. She was going to have to leave the Avengers as well. Working with Thor and Loki would be too much to bear.
A fly landed on her face. Brunnhilde didn’t have the strength to bat it away. Instead, she just continued to cry. Nausea overwhelmed her, and she stopped her sobbing to throw up again. Sighing, she flopped onto her back and looked up at the bathroom ceiling. The fly landed on her cheek again, and once more, she just let it sit there.
“Where am I going to go?” She asked herself. “What am I going to do?”
The fly flew off her face and landed on the floor. She sat up, looking at the bug.
“I wish I could just disappear,” She continued, talking to the fly. “I’m such an idiot. Falling in love with a prince, what a fool I was.”
To her shock, the fly exploded in a puff of green smoke. Brunnhilde stood up, but she felt woozy, so she slumped back to the floor. Fear seized her when the smoke vanished, and Loki was standing before her.
“What are you doing here? Get out!” Brunnhildetried to sound firm.
“That’s a tempting offer. Let me think about it,” Loki pretended to think. “No, I think I’ll stay.”
“I’m not playing with you, Lackey,” Brunnhidle tried to sound angry. “Get out before I make you leave.”
“You can’t even stand my love,” Loki walked to her. “I’d love to see you try.”
“Get out!” Brunnhilde felt the tears coming again. “You have no right to be here.”
“No, right? Excuse me? You’ve been avoiding me this entire week, and now you’ve locked yourself away, throwing a tantrum, and you’re angry at me? For once, I’m completely innocent in this situation.”
“Loki, I swear to---”
Brunnhilde covered her mouth and ran back to the toilet. Unable to hold it in, she vomited once more. To her surprise, Loki was behind her, holding her hair and rubbing her back. Anger melted away once she felt his familiar touch. One week without him had been torture; having him near her again broke her. She pulled back from the toilet and fell against him, her body exhausted. Brunnhilde felt the fight leave her. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.
“You should leave,” Brunnhilde said with not much conviction.
“That’s not happening. The two of us have to talk. You can scream at me all you like, but you know this isn’t fair. Not to me, not to you, and not to the baby.”
Baby.
Saying the word made it feel real. Brunnhilde was pregnant. She placed a hand on her stomach, wondering if the baby was aware of the emotional turmoil she was in.
“Is there a reason you didn’t tell me?” Loki asked. “The bucket of bolts told me before you did, and then you decide to run away? Very mature of you, my dear.”
“Shut up,” Brunnhidle said, hiding her face.
“Oh no, you don’t,” Loki grabbed her face. “You’re not ignoring me! For an entire week, the woman I love has avoided me like the plague, all because she’s carrying my child! I deserve an explanation.”
“What---what did you just say?” Brunnhilde asked. “You just said the L-word.”
“Goddamnit, woman, I thought you were smart. We’ve been together for two years, of course; I love you.”
“No, you can’t. You shouldn’t,” Brunnhidle felt the tears coming again. “You’re a prince. You’re throwing so much away if you stay with me.”
“Not here on Earth,” Loki said. “Our land is gone, and I have no title here on Earth. The humans still hate me for what I did to New York. I am a no-one to them. I thought I meant something to you at least.”
“You do. That is why I didn’t say anything,” Brunnhilde said. “I didn’t want you to feel like you had to be with me because I was pregnant.”
“So you think I’d stay with you because I felt obligated to, not because I love you or because I want to be a father?”
That last bit shocked her.
“You---want to keep the baby?”
Lok opened his mouth to speak, but then he paused. It was so rare that the silver tongue trickster was at a loss for words. For a second, they were both silent.
“Yes,” Loki finally said. “I never really thought about being a father before. Granted, I’ve never been in love before. When the android let it slip that you were pregnant, I was overjoyed. A person like me does not deserve such a blessing.”
“If anyone doesn’t deserve this, it’s me.”
“We’re not comparing past sins, love,” Loki said. “As cheesy and cliche as it sounds, Thor is right. What matters now is what we do and how we view our past actions.”
“You’re starting to sound like your brother,”
“Don’t remind me,” Loki sighed. “Brunnhilde, I love you. The moment we met, I was smitten with you. Being with your these past two years has been heavenly. I will not abandon you now.”
“Goddamnit,” Brunnhilde said. “I’m supposed to be a hardened warrior, and then you came along, making me all gooey. Alright, let’s do this. Together.”
Loki went to kiss her, but she blocked his lips.
“You did see me throw upright?” She asked. “I also probably smell.”
“Lucky for you, we have this invention called showers,” Loki said with a grin. “And lucky for us, the shower in here can fit us both.”
Loki picked her up like she weighed nothing.
“I love you, Brunnhilde,” He said. “Please, no forget that.”
“Against my better judgment,” Brunnhilde pressed her forehead against his. “I love you too. You know this child could turn out to be a massive pain in the ass like me.”
“If that is so, I’m sure I’ll love the child as much as I love you.”