For Valkyrie

[sayshazam]

Billy knew all too well how much it hurt to have someone close to you, someone you cared about so much, suddenly disappear. What he didn't know (even after all this time) was how to deal with it. He didn't know how to deal with it himself and he definitely had no clue how to help someone else through it other than to be there, if they wanted. So Billy just offered to be there for Valkyrie if she wanted. He'd tossed out a few suggestions of things they could maybe do and they both settled on some sparring. Billy was pretty sure he was going to end up hurting after this.

They met at the beach, something about the sand making footing more difficult and more of a challenge. Billy was dressed just in a pair of shorts, not wanting to give Valkyrie anything like a loose shirt to grab on to. While Billy hadn't been training with anyone in particular the last year or so he had kept up with what he did know and was at least enough of a slouch that he didn't think he would be boring for Valkyrie to fight so long as she didn't use magic.

But if she needed an outlet for some aggression he was fine letting it be him. He wouldn't take it personally and if that's what he needed to do to help a friend? Well then he was happy to take a few bumps and bruise to make that happen.

"Come on," he said, giving her a smile as he slowly circled her in the sand. She'd just landed a solid kick to his side and it stung badly but he wasn't about to let her know. "Is that all you've got?"

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[scion_of_ancients]

Every single muscle in her body was screaming out to be given free rein, to be unleashed and allowed to just do what instinct told it to. In unison, they were currently more dangerous than any of the magic she knew how to do. At least for that, she'd have to focus and put effort into using it. For this, all she'd have to do was lose control. But that's something she couldn't afford to do.

There was no getting around the way she felt, though. Tanith was gone. People had warned her, told her that the city could take just as easily as it gave, and here was the proof. Their affection had kindled, had blazed so brightly for a brief time, and then, that was it. Gone. Gone, and worst of all, Valkyrie knew what she would be returning to. A chair, and nails, and Grouse with a Remnant inside...

Then she heard Billy's taunting words, and something deep down snapped, unlocking a door that had lain dormant for a long time. She screamed, a primal noise that hurt her throat and threatened to strip the skin off her vocal chords. The fury of the sound was matched only by the fury of her assault, and she hammered at his arms, his legs, his back, with whatever part of her was close enough to strike. Somehow, she retained enough control to keep away from his head and other more vulnerable parts, but that was probably not much consolation to him at the moment. She didn't care. At least she didn't want to, not right now.

[sayshazam]

Billy could see the change in her like a switch was flipped. He hadn't meant to provoke her like that but boy did it really provoke her. If he thought she had been hitting hard before he was wrong, he was so very, very wrong. She hammered him with blows and it was all he could do to keep her from seriously hurting him, focusing all his energy just on defending himself and not even trying to hit back, he couldn't risk leaving himself open and having her bruise or crack a rib.

Plus, this seemed like maybe something she needed. Valkyrie needed to let out some of her anger and rage at her friend being gone and there wasn't anything or anyone she could properly direct it to. So Billy let it direct her to him. Blow after blow just rained down on him and he deflected them the best he could. Eventually thought he had to stop it, for his own sake and because if Valkyrie seriously hurt him she'd feel miserable too.

"I give, I give!" he shouted, hoping that would snap her out of it. "Valkyrie, I give up, stop!"

[scion_of_ancients]

With her shoulder about to strike somewhere near his collarbone, she heard Billy's shout, and the urgency of it pulled her back to the present. She twisted away, instead smacking into him with her back - but that was good, because it dissipated the energy across his whole body, rather than just focusing on one point. It did also mean he suddenly had one whole Valkyrie flung at him, and they landed in a heap on the ground. A bit of sand made its way to her nose, and she sneezed. Then she slammed a fist into the ground, but it was less of an attack, and more of a gesture.

"I'm sorry, Billy. I'm so sorry. But this place - look, it can take the Bentley, you know? It can take whatever it wants. My coat, my cat, even my magic I can do without. But she was...she was my..." and there, Valkyrie faltered, searching for a word that she didn't know. In the end, she and Tanith had been something beyond friends, something that surpassed whatever terms were flying through her mind. "I don't even have the right word, but if I ever find out what runs all this, I'm going to take it down."

She turned around and carefully built him a pillow out of the sand, something so he can put his head up a little bit. He'd have to shower, but they both had sand on themselves anyway. She wasn't wearing too much either. Shorts and a tank top, the complete basics. Going into this, she'd told herself that she wanted to be able to move more freely than the coat allowed, but she knew the real reason. She'd been wanting to feel a pain that wasn't deep inside. That it would end up with her going all-out had not been expected.

"I think I owe you for this one. I know I do. How about you stay at my place for the weekend?" she asks him, smiling, fighting the urge to beat herself up for what she's done. "I'll order food, and we can watch movies or play Scrabble, and my cat can claim you as a new cushion."

[sayshazam]

“I know. She was special to you. I know,” Billy said, letting her know that she didn’t have to justify her anger to him, that she didn’t have to explain herself, Billy knew all too well what that felt like. Maybe no two people dealt with it exactly the same way but you had to be a monster of some sort to not understand that this was horrible for Valkyrie. If being a punching bag for a bit helped then he was happy to do it. Well, he was mostly happy to do it.

“And that sounds pretty good. I could... it would be nice not to be alone the whole weekend,” Billy said. Sure he could have friend later over but that wasn’t the same, he wanted to just be with someone, just exist in the same place for a while without making it a thing. “And stop being angry at yourself. I could have called you off at any time. I volunteered to be a punchin bag to help you out. As long as you keep sneaking peeks at my shirtless body when you think I won’t notice when it’s covered in bruises we’re good.”

Billy had no clue if she actually did that but he hoped it would bring some levity to the situation.

[scion_of_ancients]

"Yea, I don't think I'd want to be alone either. Not just because it sucks," she said, feeling that immediate ache that came with remembering the loss, "but I don't really trust myself right now. I'm liable to be reckless. And I don't think this city would be fond of that."

Reckless. Dangerous. Possibly even out of control. She'd been out of control before, and the magical community was still reeling from it, back home. Maybe Darquesse was gone these days, and maybe it would never be that bad again. But she wasn't exactly powerless at the moment, either, and she still hadn't tried to go full-bore with those abilities.

"You were a pretty good punching bag, I'll give you that. Very squishy, and satifying thud noises when I hit." She'd meant to be joking with that, but then realised just how much she laid into him. "And who's to say you've noticed any peeks I may have been sneaking? I'm good at misdirection, you probably only noticed the ones when I was lulling you into a false sense of security."

[sayshazam]

Billy laughed at her joke about being a good punching bag, but the laughing sort of hurt so it turned into a mild groan of pain. He did his best to not let on how badly he was hurt though, he could tell she already felt guilty about it as it was and the last thing she needed right now was to feel guilty for venting some of her anger. Billy wouldn't have let her do it if he didn't think he could take it.

"Yeah? Which parts do you enjoy peeking at most? I'll try and direct any healing energies I have that way so that I don't spoil the view," he said, rolling onto his side so the he could climb to his feet, not quite feeling up to just sitting straight up. "Gotta keep up my eye candy status."

[scion_of_ancients]

The laughter eased up the situation a little bit, and she let herself relax a few measures. It was easy to relax around Billy. He was charming, and fairly handsome, and, no, no, Valkyrie wasn't going to start thinking anything of the sort. It wasn't right. But then he went and made those comments.

"I haven't decided yet, to be honest," she answered him. "It's going to need a bit more time before I can really pick something." Then she stood up and reached out with bonds hands to help him as painlessly as possible. "Come on, then. Let's get you showered and wrapped in something soft and fluffy. Oooh, I have this purple bathrobe..."

[sayshazam]

Billy was glad to see Valkyrie relax some. He knew it was impossible to take your mind completely off of someone leaving but being partially distracted for just a little bit was the next best thing. Plus, Billy missed being with someone that was so comfortable and easy. Even the mild flirting was nice, nice to be able to do that without his heart breaking anew.

"Thanks for at least avoiding my face for the most part. Less questions at school that way," Billy said, smiling at her as she helped pull him up. For a moment her statement of "let's get you showered" teased his brain with thoughts of her helping, which caused him to flush a bit. "And red is really more my color but I bet I could rock purple."

[scion_of_ancients]

"A face is an important thing to protect. It's the organ in charge of sarcasm, at least in the outwardly sense of things. I'd never take that away from you," she said to him, hoping that humour will serve to impart some sense of apology.

Cautiously, she guides him over to where the car is parked, and after making sure that as much of the sand as possible was left on the ground outside, got into the driver's seat. It felt almost weird to sit in it, dressed so casually and lightly. This was probably going to attract a few looks - more so than the car itself already did.

[sayshazam]

"You are so good to me, Valkyrie. How can I ever repay you?" he said with a smile as he grabbed up his things. Billy brushed off as much sand as possible before pulling on his shirt so that he didn't get swear all over the car. In everything he'd done back home and here he didn't think he'd ever been in a car as cool as the Bently. Somehow, even dressed like she was, Valkyrie managed to pull it off, which was pretty impressive.

"Thanks for giving me a ride even though I forgot my top hat."

[scion_of_ancients]

"A top hat would just look tacky. Maybe a good suit with a bow tie...how well can you wear a monocle, Billy? That's essential for the image I've got in mind," she said, although she didn't tell him that the image made for a great source of hilarity. That probably didn't need saying.

"Besides, after what I just put you through, I owe you more than a ride. Maybe a mountain of pillows to rest on and, uh, whatever I can cook up. There may or may not be enough things in my fridge to do that at the moment." She gave him a half-cocked grin. "How do you feel about ordering in?"

[sayshazam]

"If I'm going to wear a bow tie and a monocle I should just wear a tuxedo," he said. The only problem was that he didn't have a tuxedo and there was no way he could afford one right now. So maybe just a bow tie then like she suggested.

"Uhhh, I believe we've already agreed that you are the best pillow. But yeah, I think ordering in and a mountain of pillows while we watch some movies sound perfect," he said with a nod. Hopefully that would help take her mind off of her friend leaving too. "I should probably shower before I lay on any pillows though."

[scion_of_ancients]

"A tuxedo's not a bad idea, actually. We'd have to get it tailored, of course," she says, looking at him again. "You know how it is with fancy clothes: they've got to show off in all the right ways." Not that her wardrobe is replete with that sort of thing, but still.

"No, we didn't agree, you just keep saying that," she says, and pokes him to emphasise the point, "and then not letting me say anything against it. I won't disagree with the shower, though. You're not allowed to get sand on my couch."

[sayshazam]

Billy and Valkyrie bantered the entire way back to her place. It was a nice, comfortable thing that meant they were able to say a lot without necessarily saying a lot. He hoped that he sparring had helped her get some of her anger out of her system, or at least see how destructive it was, for a little while. Now they could just hang out at her place for the evening and relax. They could just be two people hanging out and having a good time.

Once they were at her place Billy hopped in the shower, eager to get clean and to assess the level of bruising he had received. As the hot water ran over him he rated it all somewhere between "ouchie" and "that's already leaving a mark".

After he cleaned himself off Billy realized that he'd totally forgot to grab a towel. It was stupid and cliche but there was no way he was going to put his only pair of clothes on while they were wet.

"Uh, Valkyrie!" he shouted, sticking his head out of the shower. "Towel? I forgot to get a towel!"

[scion_of_ancients]

Seeing that Billy continued to be in a good mood and wasn't actually mad at her was just about the best thing that Val could've asked for at this point. The guilt was already eating her up, but slowly, that turned into just a small nibble. Then, as he went to get cleaned up, she sat down and waited for the cat she'd adopted months ago to curl up in her lap. It didn't take long for that to happen, nor did it take much longer for her mind to calm down. There was no way she wouldn't continue to feel a bit bad about what she'd done, but...maybe self-flagellation wasn't the way to go.

When he called out, she nearly leapt up, and it was only the cat's presence that made her get up carefully. At some point, she'd actually have to name it, she realised.

"Towels are easy," she shouted back, "they're just around the corner, in the...oh, right. Yea." Indeed, they were just around the corner from the bathroom. Right where she could see if he were to step out. Whoops. "Hang on, hang on. I'll find one for you."

If only she had a big, pink, fluffy thing that she could hand him. That would be grand. Not only were those things usually an eyesore, but they were pretty bad at being towels - which is why she didn't have any around. Instead, she grabbed a normal, light grey one, and knocked on the door, very deliberately facing the other way as she held it out.

"Here you go. Next time, remember the towel before you're dripping wet, will you?"

Okay, so maybe she could see a little, out of the corner of her eye. But she had to, she told herself. Otherwise she wouldn't know when to let go of the towel.

[sayshazam]

Billy had to awkwardly hold his hands to cover any area that he didn't want Valkyrie to see. Not that he would have thought that she would try to see, Valkyrie wasn't like that, it was just how you did that sort of thing. One person covered and the other person didn't look.

Billy had to cover less of himself when he reached out to get the towel though. Turning a bit to grab it and then wrap it around his waist as fast as he could.

"There, all decent!" he said, posing with his hands on his hips like he'd seen Superman do, like putting a towel on was some heroic feat. It wasn't a heroic a feat though, especially if you didn't wrap it tightly like Billy hadn't and it fell off your waist onto the ground.

[scion_of_ancients]

She turned when he made his grand announcement, laughed when she saw the incredibly ridiculous pose that he was pulling, and almost twisted an ankle with the speed at which she turned as the so-called garment fell to the floor.

"You know, I bet that's the reason that Superman's got his pants on the outside. Makes sure that his towel doesn't fall down. Either that, or, y'know. You should try turning it into a cape," she said, and she slowly walked away from the bathroom, nearly collapsing into a giggling fit a few steps later. "But remember to get dressed before you do!" she shouted over her shoulder. Then she let herself fall onto the couch, laughing out loud. My god, he'd been bruised. But that pose!

[sayshazam]

Somehow the fact that Valkyrie was laughing so much made Billy feel less embarrassed. Sure having someone laugh at seeing you naked wasn't ideal but he had to admit that it was a pretty ridiculous situation and he'd brought it on himself. Drying himself quickly Billy pulled his shorts back as well as his hoodie before he stepped out of the bathroom.

Even if he'd been pretty embarrassed about what had happened if she was having a complete giggling fit then it wasn't all bad. If she could still laugh like that even just for a little bit then it was worth it. He'd make a fool of himself if that's what it took for her to be happy for a bit.

"Just shut up," he said when he saw her, but he couldn't hide the blush on his face or the smile that threatened to tug at the corner of his mouth. It was kind of funny.

[scion_of_ancients]

"Shutting up," she said, and then, in an astounding display of being Valkyrie Cain, proceeded to do the exact opposite. "Only, you were posing. I'd give anything to frame that moment. If you'd been wearing clothes, of course. Instead of a towel. A towel that fell," she said. The words were barely out when the giggles started again, but she got herself under control relatively quickly.

"Okay, I'm better now. I'll be fine. I think I can order food. What do you want?"

[sayshazam]

"You so did not shut up," Billy said, even though he was grinning as he said it. The entire situation was ridiculous and as embarrassing as it was for him he didn't want her to stop laughing either, she looked like she was actually enjoying herself and that was much too important to stop doing at the moment. So he'd continue to let her laugh at him. Besides, it was pretty funny.

"I want you to have to pay the price. In tickles," he said, wiggling his fingers menacingly at her as he started to move toward her.

[scion_of_ancients]

"Ohhh, no no no. I am not paying that toll. I've already ordered food, and there's a film ready to go, and I will even let you have my purple fuzzy robe, but I have to draw the line somewhere," she said, edging away from his sinister approach. Sure, she wasn't an actor, but she was good enough to look terrified.

[sayshazam]

"See, you're over playing it. I know you're not afraid because you can easily have me on my back if it comes to that," he said, timing his lunge until just the right moment. Unfortunately the timing was right it was just the distance that was completely off and he landed face down, outstretched on the couch and still not quite touching Valkyrie. With a loud "eeeuuugghhhhh" he stretched his finger out and poked her leg.

"Gotcha," he gasped. "Let that be a lesson to you."

[scion_of_ancients]

"Oh, I can, can I? Well maybe I should just - HEY, NO FAIR!" she half-yelled, and scrabbled backwards quickly. Poor Billy really wasn't having the best day, but at least he managed to reach her. The moment his finger made contact with her skin, she made a long gasping noise, a faked rattle, and flopped backwards, stretching out both legs in her death pose.

[sayshazam]

"In light of your tragic death I admit I may have misjudged just how terrified you were of tickles," Billy said, grinning at her overly dramatic death scene. He liked that she didn't mind playing around with his ridiculousness. Billy hadn't even realized how badly he needed this until now, being able to just laugh and have fun and not think much.

"It's okay, I know how CPR," he said, sitting up and hovering over her for a moment before... quickly pulling up her shirt to expose her stomach and then leaned in to blow a raspberry on it.