Sword in the Stone (Ironman & Valkyrie)

[Iron Man - Tony Stark]

"Good." he said, smiling - the cold air seemed warmed by her smile, especially after the expression on her face when she'd touched the sword. In battle that was one thing - directed at him, well, it was another. She fell quiet for a while after, thinking, and he let her, taking a little time while she did to repair the damaged power junction, though it only took a moment, and he looked back to her as she spoke again, grinning slightly.

"I know you are... 'throw me'?" he lifted a brow. "I can't think of anyone else who would ask me to pull that stunt... and who I'd actually believe could pull it off." His expression softened again at her light touch, and he looked down a little, reddening slightly as she ran her fingers over his armor - the tactile sensors were rougher than actual skin, but at the same time... well he wasn't about to shut them off.

The armor was undamaged, though it was somewhat less shiny than it had been before - the beam had scoured away a few thin layers of armor, but it was the armored equivalent of a sunburn - the material his armor was made of was tough on a level surpassed only by adamantium or vibranium. "I, ah..." he cleared his throat a bit, looking back up to her befor ehe found his voice again. "I'm not hurt - the shields took most of the blast, I just overdid it with the return fire before the repulsor system had a chance to cycle. I blew part of the power junction, and lost power for a while... I've gotten it back now, though my power levels are still on the low side. Going to be a little while before I try that again..."

"Even so... if I'd hit the water and Hydra got at me before I got it working... that, or I sank too far - the armor is only hardened when power is applied, with the armor dead like that... it wouldn't take the pressure." he said then, quieter, as he looked back up to her. "Like I said... thanks."

[valkryie]

"I know you are... 'throw me'? I can't think of anyone else who would ask me to pull that stunt... and who I'd actually believe could pull it off."

She shrugged one shoulder casually, dismissing what most would consider an incredibly brave act.

“It was the only way,” she said simply. Well, perhaps it wasn’t the only way, but it had been the best way; tactically and strategically at any rate.

He explained what had happened and she understood very little of what he actually said, but whatever the problem was seemed to be fixed now. Then he had to go and tell her she’d saved him.

The hand on his face patted his cheek gently and she smiled just before she punched his arm. Un-gently.

“See that further thanks will be unnecessary,” she said before standing and taking stock of where they’d ended up. The kiss they’d shared still sat on her lips and she resisted the urge to touch them, already shifting back to her much more familiar, and less emotional, self.

Raising a hand to her brow, she blocked the sun from her eyes. The mountainside was serene and the birds were beginning to sing again after their abrupt interruption.

[Iron Man - Tony Stark]

He smiled back to her at the pat on his cheek, lulled, perhaps, into a false sense of security by the whole mess, until she hit him, hard, in the arm, and he winced - of course, the punch didn't penetrate or dent the armor, but it didnt stop the vibrations from being painful as hell, and he winced, nodding a little, and profoundly glad the armor WAS still on that arm, or he might be watching his healing factor deal with a badly shattered bone at that moment. \

"Yes, maam." he said, fighting the urge to rub at the metal over his arm, and he stood as she did, mind still half on the moments earlier. He took a breath, quietly, and looked off in another direction while she looked around. Meanwhile, his helmet had been floating back to him, and it split apart as it came near, assembling itself over his head just as the gold neural sheath flowed back up over his hair. The faceplate stayed in the lifted position, though, and he looked back over to her.

"We're in Sweden... more than halfway around the world, as a matter of fact... how come you brought us here? I mean, you've never been, unless you've been to Midgard before you came this time." So far as he knew anyway, she hadn't left the US since her arrival, she'd been with the Avengers since shortly after she had.

[valkryie]

“I have been to Midgard on occasion,” she said without looking at him. It was true enough, but she hadn’t stayed long enough to take in the scenery. And she certainly hadn’t come here. “The television had pictures of this place and it reminded me of Asgard.” Of home. Striking that thought from her head because Asgard was no longer her home, she lowered her hand and looked at Tony. For an instant the aloofness she normally carried with such ease cracked and the softness of earlier bled through.

The temptation to stay here in this quiet place, just the two of them, was surprisingly strong. Perhaps it was that intensity of want that made her instinctively shy away from it.

“We should return. Odin knows what havoc the Hood will have wrought in our absence.” It wasn’t exactly a flimsy excuse, not by a long shot. The Hood would not wait simply because it was convenient for the Avengers.

Shoving aside everything but what mattered most, she offered him her hand.

“I think it best if we get back quickly, yes?” Now that she’d done it twice, and knew it worked with two people, she was less wary of testing out this new way of using the teleportation she’d previously used only to move between Midgard and Asgard for souls.

[Iron Man - Tony Stark]

"Ohh... well you do have a point about that..." he said, looking around a little bit at the scenery again, as the sections of his gauntlet floated up and reassembled, and he looked back over to her for a moment. He could ask her to stay... do something else... mention the resort he knew not far away, where they could go for a time... but what happened if he did that and it became serious? She had enough trouble of her own, was making her own enemies... she didn't need his enemies added to that. Didn't need some man to steal Tony's armor and use it to sneak up on her and kill her like Rumiko...

His eyes found hers, and there was another moment... he almost moved back to her... then she looked away, and it was gone. He took a breath, and closed his eyes, taking a slow breath.

Why was Tony Stark the quintessential bachelor? Lots of reasons. Most of them pretty good. And yet all of them sometimes sounded very hollow and stupid...

He looked back to the mountains, and his faceplate snapped shut. Hiding inside your armor again, Stark? Iron Man indeed... "You're right. Can't be giving our hooded friend any room to breathe." He reached up and took her hand, gentle as one could be with an a hand encased in powered armor, and he stepped a little closer. "Maybe we'll come back here sometime."

[valkryie]

If this had been a conversation, she would have argued that, despite how strong his armor made the wearer, it would be a pleasant day in Hel when an impersonator were able to dispatch her from this realm, with or without a fight.

It was a little awkward – ok, a lot awkward – with them standing here, thinking but not speaking of what had passed between them, but she didn’t know how to break it so she said nothing as he took her hand and she closed her eyes. He needn’t worry overmuch about the degree of gentleness he used with his armor. It would take more than a careless handshake to harm her.

The process was slower this time, more deliberate, and she let the image of the Mansion fill her mind until it sat sharp and clear at the forefront of her consciousness. Only then did she reach for that thread of power that connected her to Hel, taking firm mental hold of it and tugged.

In the blink of an eye they disappeared, pulled from realm to realm nearly instantaneously to end up exactly where she’d visualized.

[[End of Thread]]