Time passed slowly on Thor son of Odin. He aged gracefully as his people did, but all his human friends were now dead. He had not the time to grieve them as he now ruled a people without a land. Asgard, as the ship was now named, was old. Often it creaked with its age. They still searched for a new homeland. Thor refused to take one from another race so they wandered the cosmos looking for an uninhabited planet to take as their own.
"Are you worried you will never find a home, brother?" came the haunting voice of his sister nagging in his mind.
He ignored it. The scars of her power still lay on him even if they were invisible. Only his eye was the testament his struggle against her. She had been dead for so long often he forgot about her. It was only her voice in his head that reminded him of what she took from his people.
Sometimes he wondered if she was right to conquer, but the idea was always shaken from his head in frustration. Asgard would do for now, even if it was an old ship falling apart at the edges.
One day in his rage Thor hit a wall and dented it. No one was around to see what he had done, but he felt guilty. This was their home, and he damaged it. Asgard had only served him with the utmost loyalty, and he took out his anger on the walls.
"You have forgotten your own strength, brother," Hela's voice said in his head.
Thor grumbled under his breath and retreated back into his quarters. He was under so much pressure that he now worried he was cracking. He did not know how to be king. He never wanted to be king…
"I never asked for this," Thor said in frustration as he sat down on his bed.
"No, and it was not your fault," said Hela's voice almost sweetly.
Thor knew he was losing it now. Hela could never be described as sweet.
"Our family was so eager to destroy, but you were not," Hela said a voice without a body. "Maybe you were the wisest of all of us."
Thor looked up at the roof. He was going mad. Why would Hela's voice be saying these things to him? It could have at least been his mother's voice. That at least would have made some sense.
"You are the last of us," Hela said softly, and for a moment Thor almost saw her sitting destitute in the corner of his room. She looked younger than he had ever seen and one side of her was twisted and dead.
"I can give you all who you want back. It is the least I can do…"
She was there again, clearer now. Her living side was sad but beautiful in a mournful way. This time she did not disappear, and Thor stared at her in disbelief. Then he realized what danger she was to him, and his hands crackled with thunder.
"How do you live?!" He cried.
Hela looked at him. The one living eye she still had was sad, and it peered into him. "I am the goddess of death," She said simply.
Thor lowered his hands feeling pity for her now. She was so small and twisted and so fragile. "Why are you here?" He asked.
"I just reincarnated. This body is not as wonderful as the last one. I am weak, but I still rule of Hel," Hela said now standing. On one side her clothing clung to her like a glove, but on her dead half, it was slacked and unfitted. "It seems with the destruction of Asgard, I have been weakened."
"What took you so long to return?" Thor asked.
Hela was silent. "I returned years ago, but as a child. Unruly, unkempt, but with the knowledge of my past lives. Oh, god and the shame of them too," Hela said. "I have seen the world again, and this time I know the pain I inflicted. I now ask for forgiveness and redemption."
Thor stopped for a moment. Anger filled his chest like fire, and he glared at her, shocked and disgusted that she would come to him asking this. "And why, pray tell me, should I grant you this?" He growled.
Hela bowed her head to him. "Because I come now with those who I took, and two that were taken from you…"
Outside his room, he heard cries of surprise, and Thor left no longer worrying about Hela but rather the other presumed danger. Thor almost tripped over a familiar man. It was a man he had forgotten in the passage of time, but once he saw his face they both gasped in surprise.
"You!" Thor exclaimed stepping back to see the man better.
Skurge blinked. "I thought I was dead," he said his voice coming out hushed with fear and surprise.
Thor pushed passed him and into largest area of the ship where the Asgardians usually congregated for life on the ship. Everywhere he looked there were people staring at others that they had thought were dead, that had been dead. There were weeping family holding each other for the first time in a lifetime of a man. In the middle of all of it, there was a familiar greasy man standing alone and confused. Thor ran towards him as his chest swelled.
Thor hit him hard. The force would have knocked Loki over had it not been for Thor's arms wrapping around his chest. Thor rested his head on Loki's shoulder as tears fell like hot raindrops.
"You smell like sweat."
Thor laughed as he let go of his brother and wheeled him around. "And you smell like the dead!"
Loki's brow furrowed, and he touched his face. "I'm alive," he said looking around again.
"Hela brought you back. Do you remember dying?" Thor asked.
Loki shook his head. "No," he said softly. "I hardly remember anything… I only remember coming up that ship… Then it's all blank."
Thor smiled and drew his brother in for another hug. Loki stood limply in his arms, not knowing whether or not to hug his brother back. Thor once again let go of his brother and looked around. "Who was the other she brought back?" He asked no one in particular.
Thor began searching around the ship for the other Hela returned. Loki followed behind him curiously for he too wanted to know who it was. He also wanted to see Hela again, but that was only to see her dead once more…
When Thor had searched the whole ship, he returned to his room in anger ready to demand that Hela explain herself, but when he opened the door he saw a face he had long since pushed from his mind to stop his agony. He rubbed his eye to make sure it was not a vision then drew closer. Valkyrie sat on his bed with one of her hands on Bruce's shoulder steadying him. Thor swallowed to bring some moisture to his now dry throat. He stumbled forward then fell down so that he was on his knees in front of Bruce. He reached out to touch his face, to make sure he was real.
"What happened?" Bruce asked his voice strained.
"I've been trying to ask him what he remembers last, but he won't answer me," Brunnhilde said. "He was freaking out so I brought him here since I thought maybe seeing some of your things would calm him."
Thor didn't ask why she thought that. "What do you remember?" He asked so softly that Brunnhilde had a hard time hearing him.
"The other ship… I remember the other ship, but that's all," Bruce said.
"Thanos's ship?" Thor asked reaching out again to touch Bruce. This time he reached for his hand, and he rubbed his thumb on the calluses of the other man's hand so gently that it sent shivers down Bruce's spine.
Bruce nodded.
"It's been two hundred years since then," Thor said still rubbing Bruce's hand to ease his mind.
Bruce froze. Thor could see the color leave his face and worried that he would transform. He grabbed him into a hug and whispered into Bruce's ear. "The sun's getting low…" and he kept repeating it until Bruce grabbed him just as tightly. He was clinging to the only thing that felt real.
"How?" Bruce whispered as his voice cracked.
"You've been dead for some time…" Thor said drawing back to look at Bruce and to judge how he would take the news.
Bruce rubbed his face then reached out for Thor's hand as some comfort. "Then why am I back?" He asked his voice shaking.
Thor glanced at Brunnhilde then let out a long breath. "I don't know… Hela brought back all the people she killed and Loki and you," He said. You rolled off his tongue daydreamy for it felt like a dream to him.
Brunnhilde stared at Thor then she stood up. "You can handle him, right?" She asked.
Thor's brow furrowed, but he nodded. She left the room quickly, and he imagined it was to find someone she lost to Hela. There was more silence as Bruce and Thor were left alone together. Thor coughed and stood up then sat down next to Bruce.
"I'm glad you're back…" Thor said softly looking at the wall. His hand twitched slightly as he fought the urge to grab Bruce's hand and hold on for dear life.
"I don't feel like I've been gone," Bruce said shifting slightly. Thor could see he was nervous out of the corner of his eye, but he couldn't will himself to turn.
"I never got to tell you this, but I really care for you," Thor said softly still unable to make eye contact.
"That's really sweet Thor; I care for you too," Bruce said shifting again.
"No, I really care for you… Like I… I have feelings for you…" Thor said now looking over.
Bruce was avoiding his eye. His face was flushed. "Oh… Uh geez… What kind of feelings?" Bruce said puffing up his cheeks for a moment as he grew redder by the second.
Thor stared at Bruce as he grew redder and redder. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed Bruce's cheeks and drew him into a kiss. It was a little harder than he wanted it to be, but two hundred years of repressed feelings came flowing out liked a dammed river. Then it was over and they both sat together awkwardly waiting for the other to make the next move.
"Uh… I didn't know you felt that way, Thor," Bruce said. It was strange to see him so red instead of green. "I really, uh… thought you had feelings for Brunnhilde…"
"What? No! She's like a sister," Thor said now playing with the hem of his shirt, "but like a good sister that hasn't tried to kill me, yet… I mean she did sell me into slavery, but I suppose that's better than Loki and Hela who, uh… both tried to kill me…"
Bruce laughed softly then turned to Thor and kissed him on the cheek. "That's good. I was worried I'd have to fight her for your affection," He said.
