#valkstarr

Thunder sounded from outside, sending a rumble through the compound and startling Ava so she jumped and spilt some of her tea onto the blanket draped over her legs.

“Shit!” She cursed, tossing the blanket aside. She parked her book on the couch, leaving it open and face down so she didn’t lose her place.

Her small, sock clad feel padded down the hall of the compound to her and Val’s shared room. When she opened the door she wasn’t expecting to find Val there, drenched and pulling off her armor.

“What happened to you?” Ava asks, leaning against the doorframe, an amused smirk on her lips as she took a sip of her tea.

“I was training with Thor, we got caught in the rain,” Val explains as she dries her long, thick hair with a towel.

“Can’t he control things like that?” Ava asks, dumbfounded.

“He thought it would be funny if he drenched me while he stayed dry,” Val rolls her eyes and tosses the towel onto the back of a chair.

“Hmm, how nice of him,” Ava muses. Val simply hums in response as she pulls on a dry shirt and a pair of sleep shorts. Ava pushes herself off the doorframe and climbs onto the bed, watching as Val puts her hair up in a messy bun. Another crack of thunder, this time accompanied by a flash of lighting. Ava’s heart skipped a beat, her hands beginning to shake.

Val finishes fixing her hair and turns to Ava, crawling onto the bed and pressing a kiss to Ava’s lips.

“You’re shaking terribly, what’s wrong?” Val asks, cupping Ava’s face in her hands.

“It’s nothing,” Ava turns her face in embarrassment.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Val says, raising her eyebrows as she turns Ava’s face to look at her again.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

“It’s embarrassing, you’ll laugh,” Ava shakes her head.

“I could never laugh at you, darling.”

“Alright. I’m...I’m scared of thunderstorms,” Ava admits, turning her face down to hide the blush that was burning on her cheeks.

“See, it’s silly.”

“It’s not silly,” Val argues, wrapping her arms around Ava’s waist and pulling Ava onto her lap.

“That’s easy for you to say, you’re not afraid of anything,” Ava says as she lazily slings her arms around Val’s neck.

“Yeah? How do you know that?” Val challenges, running her hands up and down Ava’s bare thighs.

“Because you’re...you. You’re amazing and fierce. A warrior.”

Val laughs, shakes her head, and looks up into Ava’s sea green eyes.

“That doesn’t mean I can’t be afraid of anything.”

“Alright, tell me, then. What are you afraid of?” Ava asks, her fingers playing with the hairs that had fallen out of Val’s bun.

“Sometimes I still have nightmares about the battle with Hela, when all the Valkyrie died except for me.”

Ava suddenly felt very stupid for being scared of something like thunder.

“Val...” she reaches up, grazing Val’s cheek with her thumb.

“Everyone’s afraid of something, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Val tells her with a reassuring smile and a gentle squeeze to her thigh.

“Now I really feel silly,” Ava blushes. Another rumble of thunder shakes the compound and Ava’s arms tighten around Val’s neck.

“Doesn’t Thor control this? Can’t he make it stop?”

Val shakes her head.

“It’s natural, he can’t really stop it.”

Ava leans down, burying her face in the crook of Val’s neck.

“Do you need anything? More tea, another blanket?” Val asks as she rubs soothing circles on Ava’s back. Ava closes her eyes, humming a quiet ‘no’.

A flash of lightning lit up the room for a brief moment, breaking through the barrier of Ava’s eyelids. On instinct she tensed.

Val sighs and presses a kiss to Ava’s neck before gently guiding Ava off her lap. She stands up, walks to the windows and pulls the drapes shut.

“Much better,” she nods as she climbs back onto the bed.

“Come here,” she holds her arms open and Ava gratefully crawls into her inviting embrace.

“Put your head on my chest, listen to my heart beat. Just focus on it, block out everything else.”

Ava lowers herself and gently placed her head on Val’s chest. She hones in on the steady rhythm of Val’s heart beat, closing her eyes and draping an arm across Val’s torso. Val’s hand came up to her head, combing through her hair gently.