Thor felt sick… Beyond sick, his entire body felt sweaty, heavy, his head was pounding and he was ready to vomit.
Slowly he lifted a hand, and touched greased tangled hair, then Thor opened his eyes and saw the floor of a small wooden hut, by his feet were laying empty glass bottles. "What?" he asked. "Loki..." Thor called then his eyes widened. "LOKI!" he shouted.
There was no responds, wide-eyed Thor looked around and recognized, an old wooden fishing hut… Outside he could hear the sound of waves, the smell of the sea.. Norway.
Thors eyes widened as he slowly started to realize… No… NO! Thor tried to stand up but stumbled, the sickness overwhelmed him and Thor ran to the kitchen sink just in time for his stomach to be emptied of its contents, mostly golden alcoholic liquid. Wide-eyed Thor looked down at the sink, he saw the tips of his own greasy hair being smeared by the vomit.
Then he looked down and saw his big gut spilling over his gray Midgardian sweat pants.
But… How?! Thor had been in Asgard! He had been sitting next to Loki! Loki… WHERE WAS LOKI?!
Thor stumbled up and towards the door in a wild panic. "LOKI!" he shouted. "LOOOKI!" he ran for the door and smacked it open to be faced with a small fishing village and the few remaining Asgardians walking back and forth carrying crates of fish.
No… Please no! He couldn't be back here. Then suddenly Thor grabbed a man walking past him. "Have you seen Loki!" he shouted.
The poor Asgardian looked shocked back at Thor. "My… My king!"
"LOKI!" Thor shouted. "He… He was right there beside me!" and he let go. "LOKI!" he shouted as he stumbled around. "LOOOKI!"
"Thor!" A dark skinned warrior maiden came running and grabbed his shoulder.
"Valkyrie!" Thor gasped. "Loki! Loki was.."
"Easy, easy Thor!" Valkyrie gasped. "Ssssh, calm down. Calm down." she tried.
"No, you don't understand!" Thors eyes were wet. "Loki was."
"I know, I know." Valkyrie assured in a caring voice. "It… It's going to be okay." her voice broke, then she sucked in a breath and looked up. "Come on Thor easy, I need you to drink some water all right? And then… Go to bed."
"Huh?" Thor blinked. "But I.."
"Can you tell me where you got those bottles from?" Valkyrie asked.
Thor looked at her… Huh?
"I swear if it is Korg again." Valkyrie hissed. "I'll smash that Kronak. I don't care anymore."
Then suddenly Thor realized… Valkyrie thought he was drunk. But… He wasn't! He hadn't been drinking… Had he?
Thor was confused, he did feel sick, like he had indeed just spend an entire day drinking and now felt the crushing hang-over. He felt the stinky alcoholic sweat covering his body, he could smell it to, his head was hurting so much, the light hurt his eyes, the sounds around him were so loud and they hurt.
What was going on?! Had he just been dreaming?! A desperate dream brought on by his drunken stubbor?
No! It couldn't be true! Loki had been right there next to him... He really had. And slowly, the panic was replaced by despair.. Please, no.
Thor just let Valkyrie grab his arm and pull him back inside the hut, then she snorted at the floor. "You got to be kidding me." she muttered, then finally lead Thor to the couch and dumped him down. "Stay!" she demanded as if Thor was a dog.
Then Valkyrie ran to the sink, wrinkled her nose by the sight of the content in the sink, the vomit, but grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water as well did she find some salty crackers and headed back to Thor handing him both items. "Here."
Thor swallowed but accepted. "Thank you." he replied as Valkyrie turned around and picked up the first bottle she saw, then the next, not all of them were empty but it didn't look like Valkyrie cared, they were all thrown into the bin.
Emptily Thor looked at the woman as she checked all cupboards and drawers, and took any bottle she found then tossed it in the same bin.
Thor did remember Valkyrie doing this regularly, trying to keep the alcohol away from him. Clearly it didn't work.
"How did I of all people end up on alcohol patrol." Valkyrie muttered to herself as she walked.
Thor blushed as he looked down. "I'm.. .Sorry."
Valkyrie sighed. "Look, I know all about trying to drink away the pain! I spend a good hundred years drinking myself silly every single night. But at that time, no one was depending on me!"
Thor swallowed, the shame rising inside of him, the tears stinging.
"It… It seemed so real." Thor breathed. "Have I… Gone insane?" he asked grabbing his head. "They were right there!"
Valkyrie quieted then turned to Thor. "Thor listen to me… Nothing good comes out of this. Trust me, I know! Drinking the pain away it… It doesn't help, it just makes it worse!"
"I know." Thor breathed and Valkyrie swallowed. "I'm sorry, Brunhilde." he whispered. "Do you… Know what is going on?" he tried hopelessly.
Valkyrie sighed. "From what I can tell you were drinking all last night, passed out and have just woken up again."
Wide-eyed Thor looked up, he did remember, the time he had fallen a sleep and then woken up in Asgard, he had indeed been drinking all night.
"Take a shower." Valkyrie then encouraged. "You'll feel better."
But… Thor had just taken a shower! … That was in Asgard though. Thor looked down at himself, and his current state was much worse than what it had been when Loki called him gross... What would Loki say if he could see this? The real Thor? ... Gross would be the least hurtful thing he could say. And what-ever he would have said, it was probably true.
"I should..." Thor hesitated "Trim my beard."
"That would be nice." Valkyrie admitted. "If you are up to it, perhaps work on the hair to."
Thor lifted his hand and felt his hair, Loki had called it a birds nest, this though was basically dreads. "Perhaps it would be easier just to cut it." he commented.
"Well." Valkyrie halted. "Yes… Probably. If you don't mind that is, I can find someone to cut it for you if you want."
Thor nodded slowly. "Aye, please." he asked. "I'm gross aren't I?" he asked.
"Well erhm… Yeah." Valkyrie then admitted. "But, with a shower a beard trim and a hair cut, no one will have to know."
Thor frowned slightly.
"Please take a shower." Valkyrie then asked. "For me." she send him the largest brown doe eyes possible.
Slowly Thor nodded then stood up, put down the water and crackers and hobbled towards the bathroom, trying to figure out what was going on… Had he only been dreaming?! Had he been so drunk that he had managed to imagine it all?!
Was he truly loosing his mind at last?
