Valkyrie Smash

"That was a blast!" Natasha exclaimed while stretching in her seat. Her bulging stomach made those movements a source of stress to anyone looking, but the woman herself didn't seem to care all that much. After all, she got to spend an entire day with her favorite idol.

"It sure was." Her husband's response was much less enthusiastic, but that might be because he was used to it, having worked as the Aurora's producer for years.

A calm orange glow coated the road leading to the first settlement. There wasn't much traffic out here, making the drive back home a peaceful one. Ryan couldn't help but relax however his wife's constant fangirling was getting in the way of that.

"AK was so gorgeous!" She said. "And T-Two was super adorable! Aaah! I'm glad to be alive!"

"Dear, you should calm down a little," Ryan spoke with a smile. "You don't want to accidentally hurt our baby."

"Her name is Eleven!" Natasha shot back, smiling from ear to ear. "I can't believe we got her blessing!"

"Really? I wasn't worried about that at all."

One didn't really need permission to name their child after someone. Still, it felt a lot more special to get permission from the person themselves. Ryan knew for sure that Eleven wouldn't have minded if he names his daughter after her, but he wanted to do something to help cheer his wife and the visit came just at the right time.

Natasha kept talking about their day with the idols. She spoke of the conversation she had with Eleven as if her husband wasn't there the entire time, she then talked for a while about AK and Twenty Two joining them. She spent a while looking through the photos she took and only once they reached the city did she calm down a little.

The sun had set and the street lights took over the task of illuminating the street. There wasn't much left before they reached their home. As he drove, Ryan glanced at his wife. She was looking outside the window, her mood seemingly having changed from a few minutes ago. He was about to ask her what was wrong, but before he could she was the first to speak.

"I think Eleven hates me," Natasha said, sounding a bit resigned.

Ryan glanced at her and saw that tears were gathering in the corners of her eyes. His expression became a tad more serious just then.

"And what makes you think that?"

Natasha turned ti him with a glare.

"So you are going to pretend you didn't know?"

Ryan didn't reply.

"You are a heartless bastard, you know that, right?" Turning away from him, she leaned her head against the car window. "You could've given her a proper closure. Now she'll think I stole you from her."

Once again Ryan kept his silence and things remained quiet for a while. Eventually, he let out a sigh and scratched his head, feeling a bit annoyed.

"There was once this guy I knew." He began. "He worked in one of the Resistance bases, although his position was barely above that of a janitor. We only met for drinks when he came to the city on his days off. After a few glasses, he would start telling me about this Valkyrie in his base who likes to snoop around and how he got to talk to her a few times. At first, I didn't take him seriously.

It wasn't a big deal; I talk to Valkyries all the time. The problem was that the stories started to change after a while, and with each one, I got the impression that the two of them were getting a little too close. At one point he stopped coming to our meetings. I then learned that he went missing some day and that the Valkyrie he told me about was recalled to the headquarters and never came back."

Natasha listened to the story attentively, her eyes widening a little with each word. She didn't say anything when he was done, and when he didn't receive any questions Ryan continued.

"I… I was starting to notice things around that time. Eleven might've been some kind of idol to many, but to me she was starting to seem like a normal teenage girl. Of course, I also noticed how she felt, but… I couldn't bring myself to feel the same way."

Tears began to flow down Natasha's cheeks and she sniffled while pinning him with a glare.

"So you only got with me because you couldn't be with her…"

The statement caused Ryan to flinch and he almost lost control of the car.

"What!? of course not!" He said, suddenly losing his previous composure. "I mean, I don't know what her real age is, but I was almost confident she was underage. That would be enough reason to make me disappear."

"As if anyone would believe that." She said. "Romance between an idol and her producer was pretty common before the war. Age never stopped your kind."

"Hey now, just because some perverts couldn't keep their hands to themselves doesn't mean everyone with this job would do the same."

"Then you're an idiot." Natasha huffed and turned away. "If I was in your place, I would've risked everything to be with her."

"That's… a bit too far, don't you think?"

"You had the world's greatest idol crushing on you and you went for a bland woman from the suburbs? You truly are an idiot."

"Well, thanks for the compliment."

They both decided it would be for the best if they didn't dwell on it for very long. Whether Eleven had a crush on him or not, Ryan was now a married man who has eyes only for his wife. If the Valkyries were indeed no different from humans then the blue haired idol will overcome her heartbreak sooner and later.

Everyone has to go through that experience at least once in their life and it would without a doubt contribute to building their character.

The couple soon arrived at their house. People didn't usually stay outside around this hour so the area seemed deserted, but thanks to the lights shining through windows and the loud music playing somewhere.

Ryan and Natasha's house was only one that lacked the liveliness of the other homes in the neighborhood, but there was nothing they could do about it since all three members of their family had only just returned.

Ryan decided to park outside since Natasha's car was in the garage. A lamp near the front door lit up as soon as they stepped outside. The neighbor's dog barked at them from beyond the fence shattering the delicate silence. The two ignored it, unlocked the door, and went inside. Back at home, they were finally able to relax. Ryan helped his wife reach the couch then went to use the toilet.

After finishing his business, the producer proceeded to wash his hands in the sink. When he reached for the towel to dry his hands its light blue color caught him by surprise and Eleven's face resurfaced in his thoughts.

The shocked look she had after entering the meeting room, just remembering it caused his heart to ache. Despite having no romantic feelings toward her, he still like he had done something terrible, and the urge to apologize overwhelmed him.

'Maybe I should-'

"Ryan…"

His line of thoughts was severed by a call from his wife. Her voice sounded a little disturbed so he hurried back to the living room fearing that something might have happened to her or the baby. As soon as he reached the door, however, his entire body froze.

Natasha was still on the couch just like he left her, but now there were three masked strangers surrounding her, one of them pointing a gun to her head.

Ryan didn't know what to do, but his body moved before he could. He was about to rush toward the intruders, but because he had his sight focused on them he didn't notice the last one that was waiting for him by the door. A sharp pain struck the back of his head and the next moment everything went black.

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