A/N: I keep telling myself I'll stop writing Infinity War fanfic. I keep writing it anyway. It's kind of a problem. But hey, a fangirl's gotta survive the wait for that trailer somehow, right?

Inspired by a Tumblr post by obscure-sentence-starters titled "Sad and Soft {Sentence Starters}"

Val paced around the edge of the room, waiting for everyone else to be ready. Gods, there were so many overdressed people in there. There was Stark, Rhodes, and Parker in their metal. There were the two shrinkers, and a guy with wings. There were two captains, though she didn't know what the heck they were captains of. And there was a guy with a bow and arrows – arrows against Thanos. And some of them didn't even have proper armor. Strange had a fancy cape. Romanoff and Maximoff had leather.

They were idiots. They were all idiots.

And Val was ready to charge into battle right alongside them.

At least the two she had to protect above all else, Thor and Loki, had- Nope. Loki just has leather, too.

Speaking of Loki… She paused her pacing, swiveling on her heel to scan the room for him. Considering she was taller than the raccoon and just about nobody else, it wasn't the simplest task. She stretched upwards, looking for her tall Asgardians. There was Thor, arms crossed tightly but laughter on his face as he talked with Stark. She looked near him, as Loki had been sticking close to his brother since they first encountered the Midgardians and their grudges, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Thor spotted her and waved her over. She wove her way through the plethora of Midgardians, coming to a halt beside Parker, who had been shadowing Stark. She bit back as a sigh as she glanced at the teen, cursing her genetics for making her so much shorter than someone who was thousands of years younger than her. "Where's Loki?" she asked Thor.

Her king pointed at the handful of vehicles waiting to carry them off to fight Thanos. "He's in one of the ships," he replied. "He claims he wants to be alone, but I think he's just uncomfortable out here."

"Probably," Val agreed. I'm uncomfortable, and I didn't try to kill anyone here. Well, I did enslave Thor, but that's beside the point. "I'll go talk to him."

"Stark has drinks-" Thor started to offer.

She smirked. "Not anymore," she tossed over her shoulder.

Stark arched an eyebrow. "Got any more like her?"

"You're engaged, Tony!"

"Rhodey isn't."

Shaking her head at the minds of men, Val made her way to the ships. She checked Quill's first, but it was empty. So was the Commodore. The third time was the charm – he was on the quinjet. He was huddled in the corner, knees drawn to his chest, gaze blank.

Val knocked on the wall as she stepped inside, alerting him to her presence. "Hey, sweetheart."

Loki blinked slowly, straightening up as he spotted her. "Hi."

"Sulking?" she teased lightly, moving to sit beside him.

He let out a sarcastic half-laugh. "Something like that."

"You don't like being back here," she said. It was a statement, not a question.

Loki looked down at his hands. "They have every right to mistrust me. I understand that. I expected it. But I've let them punch me without fighting back, I've made sure to stand where they can watch me, I've avoided unnecessary conversation, and now I'm getting ready to charge into the most dangerous battle of my life and hoping those same people watch my back. I'm not exactly filled with confidence."

Val glanced out at the milling crowd. "Thor trusts them."

"They love Thor," Loki muttered, following her gaze. "He lived and worked with some of them for years."

"Whatever they may think of you, they know you're his little brother," she pointed out, resting a hand on his arm. "They know he loves you. If for no other reason, they'll protect you for that."

Loki put his hand over hers, rubbing his thumb over her fingers. He didn't look convinced.

"Besides," she went on, forcing her tone to brighten, "I'll be right beside you. So will your brother. Between the three of us, I think we can keep you safe enough."

"I'd be more reassured if I didn't already have personal experience with Thanos and his minions."

"C'mere," Val murmured, shifting her arm to wrap around him. "Lean on me."

Loki obliged, nestling his head on her shoulder. For the first time, she really felt the tension in his muscles. This wasn't just about the upcoming battle. "I wish I could tell you that you're safe."

"But you can't," Loki sighed. "Because I'm about to walk right back into Thanos's clutches."

Val squeezed his arm, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "I can tell you that it's different this time. At the very least, you're not alone."

Loki tilted his head to look up at her, his eyes soft and mournful as they traced the lines of her face. "Maybe that's the problem."

"Never say that," she admonished. "Not being alone is your greatest strength."

Loki looked away again. "I want to believe that. But what if you get hurt out there? Or killed? Or what if Thor does?"

"Then you'll fight like hell, because revenge is one hell of a motivator," she told him with the bitterness of personal experience.

"And… after?"

For that, Val had no real answer. "You just… cope. However you can."

Loki sat up again, meeting her gaze. "I'm not the only one trying to ignore traumatic memories right now, am I?"

Val ducked her head. For a moment, she considered denying it, but this was Loki. This was her love, and he was too smart. So she spoke. "The last time I stood with such a large group against such a dangerous threat… I lost everything. I just started piecing my life back together. If I lose everything again… I don't think I could handle it."

This time, Loki pulled her into the hug. He held her against his chest, their hearts beating alongside each other, and tucked her head beneath his chin. "I wish I could tell you that I'll survive this."

Val held him tight, because he was right. They couldn't promise anything to each other. They couldn't even say they would still be alive in an hour. They could be dead in half that time. Or maybe one would live while the other perished, and the survivor would be left to cry and scream about life's unfairness.

"There is one thing you can do," she murmured.

He stroked her hair, leaning back to meet her gaze. "Anything."

"Thor told me you can sing."

He paled. "I- um- I haven't-"

"Please?"

Her pleading tone worked, because she could see him melting at it. He nodded, taking a deep breath and clearing his throat. Quietly, in their native language rather than Allspeak, he started singing an old lullaby. He was offkey and hesitant at first, but as he slipped into its familiar rhythms, his voice grew melodic and steady. Val smiled, because even if he had had the worst singing voice ever, this was the safest she had felt in a long, long time. She closed her eyes and snuggled against him.

"Loki?"

Abruptly, his singing stopped and her eyes flew open. They turned to look at the quinjet's entrance. Thor stood there, some of the Midgardians behind him. "I haven't heard you sing in centuries," Thor said, smiling nostalgically.

Loki returned the smile, twining his fingers into Val's hair. "I didn't really have a reason to."

The Midgardians were exchanging surprised glances with each other, finally seeming to realize that Loki really had returned to the good side. All except Stark – he just looked satisfied, as if he had been pushing for the others to come to that conclusion. And maybe he had – from what she had learned of him, he seemed to be similarly distrusted by some Midgardians.

"Know any good bar songs?" Stark asked, making his way to the pilot's chair. Parker, Strange, Bruce, Rhodes, T'Challa, Romanoff, and Barton piled in behind him.

Loki snorted. "Have you met my brother and the woman I love? Of course I know bar songs."

"Awesome," Stark said. "We could probably use some cheerful in-flight entertainment. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be on your own ship, Thor?"

Thor shrugged. "My brother is here - I'm not leaving. And, by the looks of it, neither is he. Besides, it's not hard to pilot. I'm sure someone could figure it out."

"Which songs?" Parker asked curiously.

"You better not know a single one of them, Peter," Stark warned, going to the kid's side as autopilot kicked in and the quinjet started to take off. "You're years away from going to bars."

As the other began settling down, Val moved onto Loki's lap to make a little extra room. He looped his arms around her, joining their hands in her lap, his cheek brushing against her hair. "I think he's old enough to learn."

"That's rich, coming from someone who's well over a thousand," Stark retorted.

Barton shrugged. "Maybe Loki's got a point, Stark."

"Wha- I thought you, of all people, would side with me on this, Mr. Father of Three. Four, if you count Wanda."

Rhodes chuckled. "I don't know, Tony. I think the kid's gonna need to know some bar songs if he wants to be an Avenger."

Parker's eyes lit up at that, and he turned a pleading gaze on Stark. "Please, Mr. Stark?"

Stark pursed his lips. "Fine," he relented after a moment. "No cussing."

"Well, brother?" Thor asked. "What Asgardian music shall we teach the mort- humans?"

Nice save, Val thought, briefly tightening her grip on Loki. Today, they were all mortals, no matter what their species. Today, they could all die.

But, as they flew to their potential doom, they ignored that. They sang and joked and laughed. Thor sat beside Val and Loki, one arm around Loki's shoulders with his hand resting on Val's shoulder. Val angled herself to sprawl out across her king and prince; Loki bent one leg up for a backrest, and Thor used her leg as a drum. None of them were really comfortable, but they didn't care. If they were going to fly to their doom again, they were going to do it while taking comfort from their family. Their little family that was small and broken, but all they needed.

As they were landing, the trio disentangled themselves. The others departed, and Val made to follow them, but Loki grabbed her wrist. "Wait."

She turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Whatever happens today, I will always love you," he promised quietly. He cupped her head and kissed her, long and loving.

She returned the kiss, pouring everything into it that she didn't have time to say. "I love you, too."

A/N: Apparently I'm now headcanoning that Loki is secretly a very artistic dude. This is my second fic where he does something soft and artsy. I enjoy this headcanon.