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“Hey, wait - Thor!”
There’s a loud thud as Bruce’s stool hits the ground, knocked over in his haste to stand up. Thor winces a little at the noise. But he doesn’t falter.
“It’s for your own good, Bruce. You need to sleep.”
It’s been five days since Bruce has had a proper night's rest and it’s beginning to show. The lack of coordination in standing up is only the beginning; dark rings have formed under his eyes. He barely speaks.
It’s too much for Thor to watch any longer.
So he raises his arm higher, keeping the tablet out of the reach of Bruce’s wavering hand. Finally, the hand drops, it’s owner unable to fight off the fatigue he’s clearly still suffering from. The look of utter defeat brings no satisfaction to Thor. It’s with a last, half-hearted attempt that Bruce mutter out his final plea.
“Please, Thor. I have to finish it.”
Thor shakes his head but brings the tablet down to waist level, scrutinising it. Each time he had entered the lab this week it had been in Bruce’s hand. No doubt by now it contains hundreds, perhaps thousands of pages worth of research, diagrams and theories relevant to Bruce’s goal.
“And you will. But I would not have you waste away in the process.” He holds out the tablet, an offering. One of trust. It’s not up to him to dictate Bruce’s life. But he has to try to push it in the right direction. “You’re a good man and you’re going to help thousands of people with this. Come to bed with me. Please.”
Taking the tablet gingerly, Bruce studies Thor’s face. There’s a longing in his eyes, but it wars with his guilt and need to do good, to make up for a past that Thor very much believes has been paid for tenfold. It’s what has been driving Bruce to the brink all week.
The tablet clacks as it’s placed back down on the bench.
“Okay.”
Bruce’s hand slips into his, leading him away towards the hall.
…
“Incoming call from General Ross.”
It’s a snap second decision. In the instant before the window opens to reveal a red, bristled face Thor steps out in front of Bruce, using his hand to gently push the other behind him. With his broad shoulders and carefully placed angle, Thor is certain that Bruce is obscured from the camera that sits within the holographic screen.
Indeed, while Ross is still unpleasant and abrasive, he does not become impassioned with his usual drivel about Bruce and the Hulk.
Thor lets the other Avengers handle to talking and is satisfied to hear that none of them are particularly cooperative. In fact several appear to be on the brink of bursting. If looks could kill, Colonel Rhodes would have decimated Ross by now, hologram or no. He still might, words allowing.
But Thor stops paying attention to words soon after the call begins. He focuses on holding Bruce in place, arms behind his back and a hand resting on each shoulder. Whether he’s holding Bruce back or holding Bruce up, he cannot tell. But he can feel that tremors that wrack Bruce’s body, can hear the slight intakes of breath that he recognises as practiced techniques. With the pads of his thumbs he begins to rub soothing circles on Bruce’s shoulders. He cannot speak, not without giving him away but he does his best to convey his meaning through touch.
Keep breathing. You can do it. I’m here. I will not let him see you.
Perhaps with a little warning Bruce would have faced down Ross himself. In fact Thor is sure that, someday, he will. But right now panic and PTSD do not give him a choice and Thor’s snap decision was based on the chance of this exact reaction, one that Bruce had warned him about before.
When the hologram finally dims (wiped away by Rhodes’ arm while Ross was mid-speech), Bruce’s knees buckle and Thor swiftly turns to help him slide to the floor in a controlled manner. He rubs at Bruce’s back, holding him close. Around him the others give them some space, which he is grateful for.
One day Bruce will be ready to stand toe-to-toe with his past tormentor. But until that day, Thor will protect him.
…
“This is pointless. I can’t see anything. We’re lost.” Thor announces woefully.
Next to him Hulk makes a noise of agreement. “Plants too tall. Thor and Hulk too puny.”
“Agreed.” Thor puts his hands on his hips and turns on the spot. Nothing but green on all sides. Perfect. The one time he manages to get a mission alone with the Hulk and it’s in the middle of an oversized planet with equally oversized vegetation. And no target in sight.
It’s only fun when you’re winning, Hulk had put it, over an hour ago when they’d first realised they had no idea how to find their target.
“But Thor more puny.”
“Yes, alright.” Thor swats at Hulk, who is grinning from ear to ear. In all honesty Thor had stopped being offended by such remarks long ago. But Hulk’s joy at Thor’s reactions is enough to keep him participating in their usual back and forth of ‘Hulk stronger than Thor’ and ‘Thor not strong, let Hulk do it for him’. The big guy doesn’t smile nearly enough for Thor’s liking and he’ll do everything in his power to change that.
Speaking of Hulk, it seems he’s begun another path, swiping stem upon stem down with each step. Thor follows behind him, sticking close as the stems slowly spring back up behind them. Odd, inconvenient planet. Why couldn’t it have just been a field on earth? Hulk would have loved it! Plenty of room for running and leaping. And Thor would have joined him.
As they go Thor ends up staring at Hulk’s back (there’s little more for him to stare at and it’s all green either way). The way muscle ripples underneath skin is oddly captivating to Thor and he finds himself longing to reach out and feel the power himself.
So he does.
“What Thor doing?” Hulk stops, only curious rather than cautious or irritated. Thor likes that they’ve reached the point where Hulk is no longer afraid of him (yes, contrary to popular belief, the Hulk guards his feeling just as heavily as Bruce does and he’s aware he can be hurt more ways than just physically).
“I have an idea.”
With a mighty pull, Thor leaps up onto Hulk’s shoulders, feet planted firmly apart and one hand in his dark hair for balance. He now stands just a head above the plants.
“Thor see anything?”
No, would be Thor’s initial response. Apparently being above the treeline - plantline? - doesn’t give any more of an advantage of finding a specific distinction to what direction they should take. It’s just... green. All the way up to the horizon.
But Thor doesn’t want to give up so easily, both for the mission and for his own sake.
Hulk’s hair is really soft.
“Thor see anything?” Hulk repeats, getting a little impatient now.
Finally, he does see it. A dark patch. Okay, so he has no idea what it means but better there than anywhere else , right?
“That way.” He points.
“Thor sure?” It’s not surprising that Hulk has his doubts. Thor certainly does. But he has a feeling as well. That’s the way to go.
“Yes, trust me.”
There’s a shifting beneath him and they begin to turn the way Thor had pointed.
“Always.” Hulk says, and begins cutting down a new path.