Disclaimer: THOR IS, UNFORTUNATELY, NOT MINE! The shirtless scene only lasting twenty seconds should tell you as much, yeah?
Anastasia, and her interactions with Loki, are not mine either! Used with permission.
Thor was not having a good day. His mother wanted to interrogate him about Gerd, his father was forcing him to negotiate with Frost Giants, and Gerd had humiliated him in front of everybody by allowing another man to touch her on the dance floor while he was still in the room. He wasn't upset, wasn't feeling betrayed. No, he was pissed.
And worse! He had been demoted to third wheel by his own brother!
Said brother was currently feeling up his wife across the table. During dinner, in front of their family and friends. Anastasia was giggling, Odin and the Warriors Three were laughing as Frigga was attempting to scold him, and Sif was doing her absolute best to comfort Thor but was honestly making things worse.
Thor made a point to finish his dinner quickly so he could get out of the room. He loved his family, he did, but at the moment he just wanted some time to himself.
He was happy for Loki. Growing up, Loki hadn't really had anyone to care for him so much that wasn't his own flesh and blood and Anastasia did him good. She might not have been the brightest…or the most graceful…but she had a big heart and that was good enough for them.
Still, he never anticipated that his brother would be the one to marry first. Thor had always been first in everything, so it was a slight blow to the ego for the Thunder God. Don't misunderstand; he had his fair share of women when he wanted them. But not a single one of them were anything he'd consider settling down with. He had no idea what possessed him to actually attempt a 'relationship' with Gerd, but look what happened with that! She had been unfaithful and blaringly obvious about it too. Perhaps he just wasn't meant for such things.
He got a lot of curious looks as he silently got up and left the table (he hardly ever did anything so much as quietly as Loki explained later), but he ignored them. Ordinarily he would go out and bury his troubles in mead and an all-too-willing woman, but tonight he found that he was rather disinclined. Maybe it was because the root of said troubles was currently a woman, or maybe there was something actually wrong with him and he should seek medical attention. He was leaning toward the later.
He didn't act on this, though. Instead he went out to the place that he used to storm off to after a fight with Loki in his youth, before he discovered sex of course. It had actually been a long time since he'd been there.
It wasn't much, really, he realized as he looked out over it now, but perhaps that's why he enjoyed it. The little rocky bluff was the farthest thing from the Palace of Asgard and the pressures that went with being it's heir that he could possibly imagine, looking out over the far expanse of space with the Rainbow Bridge and the Bifrost off to his right. It was simple, Thor thought, but it was beautiful.
He was never much of a thinker, that had always been Loki's thing, but as the Thunder God sat there and stared out over the stars his mind began to wander. He knew his father grew impatient with his frequent adultery and that his mother worried that her eldest son might never settle down, but who was he really going to spend the rest of his life with? Gerd? That harlot may have acted the proper little Lady in front of everyone else, but Thor knew better- and he'd never in his right mind think for one second that she could ever have the makings of a Queen of Asgard.
His thoughts were brought to a screeching halt as there was a bright flash of light in his peripheral vision. Curious, the God turned to see a feminine-looking figure sprawled out over an especially rocky outcrop.
Thor immediately got to his feet and walked over. Upon closer inspection, it was definitely a girl and she most certainly needed to go the infirmary.
The girl was beautiful too, despite the scary shade of purple that her face had taken. That particular thought was hovering in the very back of his mind however as he carefully lifted the slender girl into his arms, cautious of her obviously shattered left leg and the probable bruising of the rest of her body. Thor winced as the girl let out a pained groan and walked as quickly as he could without jostling her, thoughts from earlier completely gone from his mind.
"Physician, I require assistance!" Thor called as he entered the chamber.
The Physician of course immediately rushed in. It was his job to heal after all, but it helped that he was being ordered to do so by the Crown Prince.
He was a kind old man, the sort that one could easily imagine telling his grandchildren stories of Frost Giants and Heroes by the fire with his wispy hair clinging onto the last vestiges of greyness before becoming completely white.
"Here, Prince, lay her on the cot." He suggested politely.
Thor did so with a gentleness that surprised even him.
"How did this happen, my Prince?"
"I do not know." The Thunder God replied, at a loss for words. "There was a flash of light and then she was just…there."
"I see. Rest assured, my Prince, she will be cared for to the best of my abilities."
"Thank you, Physician. Send word if her condition changes."
"Yes, Sire."
Loki was lounging against one of the stone pillars as he watched his wife scurrying around in search of their son. The boy was practically a carbon copy of his mother despite having his looks, but without at least a fear of heights keeping him from sliding down the Rainbow Bridge in his socks. He probably should have been worried, would have been honestly if it had been a year earlier, but these sort of incidences happened often and Gandalf always seemed to come home in once piece- if not just a little worse for the wear.
It wasn't until he saw his son emerge from the Bifrost with no sign of Heimdall in sight that he felt his confidence begin to waver.
Sweet Odin's Eye…"Gandalf!"
The three year old, who was dressed in grey robes that even Loki found ridiculous, looked up and grinned. "Hi Daddy!"
Loki groaned, snatching Anastasia's hand before she could forget her fear of heights and cross the Bridge alone (again) and half-dragged her to where Gandalf had decided to simply plop down on the ground and wait for them.
"What did you do?" Loki questioned in his best persuasive voice.
"PRETTY BUTTONS!" The child giggled, holding his hands in the air as if he wanted to be picked up.
The God stared at his son, silent. Finally after about five minutes of uneasy quiet, he spoke.
"Shit."
The Girl groaned, light assaulting her eyes as they cracked open.
"Good, you have risen. Pardon me, I must send word immediately."
She stared after the old man's back as he rushed out of the chamber, utterly confused. "Uhm…ok?"
The man, who she decided she was going to call Gaius, returned only a few minutes later. "The Prince has been notified of your waking, my Lady."
The girl stared at him through squinted eyes, holding her hand up to where an incessant throbbing had started in her skull and attempting to sit up. "What…?"
"My apologies, my Lady. You must be disoriented. Please, lay back and rest some more. You will need your strength to recover."
She sighed but did so reluctantly. The girl hadn't the faintest idea why, but she knew that she hated just lying there and wanted to be on her feet immediately.
"What is your name, dear?" Gaius asked her gently.
The girl tried to remember, she really did, but nothing came to her. Her mind was completely blank up until the moment she woke up just a little while ago.
"This book says Peterson. I found it with her. It is confusing because Peterson is not a given name and she certainly does not appear to be a son even if it was." A gruff voice answered.
'Peterson' looked up to find that the voice belonged to a rather large and intimidating blonde.
"Show it to me, my Prince, if you would."
The blonde passed Gaius the journal and 'Peterson' took the opportunity to study him as he and Gaius engaged in a deep conversation, ignoring her as they worked toward figuring out her name. He was attractive, that much was obvious, with his ocean-blue eyes, golden blonde hair to his shoulders, and a thick, muscled frame. Again, she didn't know how she knew these things, she didn't even remember what an ocean was- much less what one looked like! But yet, that was the description her mind supplied her with and despite her confusion, she decided that she quite liked it.
"Based off of what I see here, her name appears to be Karina Peterson."
Karina.
Yes, that was it. She was Karina.
She was busy testing out the word when Thor addressed her. "It is a most beautiful name, my Lady." He said.
Karina forgot even how to breathe as those ocean-blue eyes trained on her, searching her face as if he could truly see into her soul.
Of course, she may have also forgotten to respond to his complement in the process.
If Thor had thought she was beautiful before, he was positively blown away now that her radiant green eyes were open and staring his way.
Of course, he didn't make these thoughts known and instead went for what Anastasia called his 'macho-muscly-man' act- whatever that was. He would never understand the female his brother had chosen.
"Just listen to the Physician, Karina. He will take care of you." He then turned, gave Gaius some instructions, and walked out of the chambers without a second glance.
"Well then." Karina muttered dryly to his back. "What's up his arse?"
The Thunder God almost turned around.
For about a week Karina lay bedridden (and slowly going out of her mind for it), resting and allowing her body to heal itself as per Gaius's instructions.
The blonde-haired male came to visit her a few more times as well, usually brining food and only staying long enough for her to finish eating and get news of her condition from the Physician. He hardly ever spoke directly to her, but she had quickly learned to ignore his presence when he was in such a mood.
Gaius often gave the two of them what almost looked like what her mind called a 'knowing look', and that made her uncomfortable even though only her subconscious mind understood the implications of it. That confused her, and she did know that she hated being confused.
On her seventh day in Asgard, the Prince returned and offered to take her out and show her around the Palace. Gaius consented, as long as her leg was wrapped properly and they were both cautious of it.
He tried to make her use crutches, but to both men's dismay, Karina blatantly refused. When the Prince offered to carry her around, she gave him a look that could have melted a Frost Giant and chilled a Volcano to the root. So, it was eventually decided that she would wear a special boot that Gaius had found on Midgard since her leg had begun to mend itself anyway.
"You know," Karina pointed out after a while, "I find it unfair that you know my name and I don't know yours."
"Thor," he replied shortly, not so much as glancing down at her as he continued walking.
Well then, Karina thought, glaring at his back for a second before limping a little faster to catch up with him. Somebody's a little snappish today.
"There's the Hall," Thor pointed out. "And the personal chambers are down that corridor. The main ones anyway; Father had another wing built on the other side of the Palace for my brother when he married."
Karina nodded attentively. She had a feeling she would be here a while, and would prefer to know where she was going. This place seemed like it would be hell to get lost in. She may not have liked him much, but Thor knew his way around so she was going to follow him.
"Gi-The Physician says I can be released within the week."
Thor nodded, leading her down to where the personal chambers were. "He mentioned that. Servants are preparing accommodations for you as we speak."
She nearly stopped short but managed to keep walking. "Really?"
He glanced down at her curiously, "Of course. I will have to speak to my father, but I do not see the sense in attempting to return you to your home when you cannot even remember where that is. It appears that you have nowhere else to go for the time being and it would be irresponsible of us to ignore that."
She nodded quietly, looking around at the impressive architecture around them. The palace, from what she'd seen so far, was all ridiculously high ceilings, space, and a shiny metal she couldn't name. It amazed her. She may not remember her own home, but judging by her reaction to the palace it obviously hadn't been anything that compared to Thor's. Though, she had a feeling his was special anyway.
They had been walking for at least a good hour or so and had made it outside before Karina heard the sound of other people. Not five minutes later the source of the voices came into view.
She saw a small blonde girl run by her first, but didn't think much of her until she nearly took a tumble. Karina had just enough time to spot a black-haired male wearing a scary amount of green out of the corner of her eye before she found her hand darting out and grabbing the girl by the forearm before she hit the floor.
Karina blinked as her vision began to blur, a dull ache beginning in her skull. The ache grew into a steady throbbing when the girl looked up at her with blueish-lavender eyes. It became unbearable as the girl whispered her name.
"Karina?"
Thor had just enough time to catch her before she hit the ground.
A/N:
I really liked my friend mr. unicorn's story "Graceless Love" so I decided to write my own spin-off, with her permission of course. I obviously borrowed Loki/Anastasia, I think you noticed. This story will most likely be longer and include angst (hopefully not TOO much), Loki/Thor Interaction (NOT AN INCEST STORY.), Anastasia, Badassery, Two-Bit Slags, and- most importantly- sex hair.
Reviews get a candy from my Thor Pez and hugs. Flames get a Mjolnir to the face- and not the one in Tom Hiddleston's pants.