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Thor startled in his seat at the loud bang from down the hall, unaware he had fallen asleep. He blinked away drowsy sand, revealing why he was here in the first place. Laying unconscious in the hospital bed before him was Loki.
Their mission had soured worse than milk under a summer sun, their weaknesses exploited. It was all Thor could manage when he rescued his battered brother from the onslaught, opting to return to the Quinjet instead of the Bifrost. Aggravating Loki’s injuries further was not on his list of priorities. Thor’s eyes remained plastered open even after dressing the trickster’s wounds.
He had refused to sleep even after the Quinjet landed at the Tower and Loki was carted away into the ICU. The lobby just outside the double doors was where the nurses forced him, or more like strongly suggested until he relented, to wait. They abandoned him to his cursing at the mobile phone he had promised he would learn to use and uncomfortably tiny chairs. He lost track of how long he had paced around the room by the time the nurses called for him.
Thor slumped forward, elbows resting on the mattress as he stared at his brother like he would wake up through mere wishful thinking. He reached out and grasped Loki’s hand. It was chilled, more so than usual.
Please, wake. If not for my sake, then for theirs…
Distant shouting stole Thor’s attention, followed by a myriad of rushed footsteps that grew louder by the second until he could finally make out the owners’ words.
“You can’t be in here! This is a restricted area!”
“Please! Only family members are allowed right now.”
Thor recognized the two voices as belonging to the nurses who had barred him out earlier.
“You know who I am. We live together in this building. Why is that not good enough?” a third voice retorted.
Thank the Norns! I did successfully text someone!
“You’re not m—”
“Married? Just because we’re not legally bound means I can’t see him?”
The footsteps stopped just outside the door.
“W-well,” the second nurse stuttered, “We were, we were told not to—”
Thor jumped to his feet and grabbed the door handle.
“Not to let me see him? By who? Fury? Because if it is, he’d better not let me find him.”
He swung the door open, a half-hearted grin on his face. “I would rather enjoy that hunt.”
A small amount of relief trickled onto your face when your eyes met.
“S-sir! We apologize for disturbing you.”
The first nurse stepped up, gesturing at you. “We’ll handle this.”
“No need. I specifically asked for them to come.” Thor waved the nurses off.
“But sir—”
Thor stepped aside to grant you passage into the room.
“Family is not bound by blood or ink.”
And with that, he shut the door on them.
You choked out a gasp and rushed to Loki’s side. One hand found his while the other brushed away tiny tendrils of hair wafting onto his forehead. Your eyes threatened a torrent of tears that you dammed with silence. Thor took back he seat, unwilling to break your concentration, to watch you lose control. If you started to cry, so would he.
Thor lost track of the minutes as he watch you stroke Loki’s tangled mop of hair. It was when your hand left the trickster’s head to instead clench the over-bleached sheets that he knew you were ready to talk. He wasn’t sure if it was fortunate or unfortunate that your gaze remained averted.
With wavering inhalation, you began, “What happened?”
Some hours and much coaxing later, you were bundled up on the stiff couch at the end of the room, soaking in the ghost of Thor’s warmth left over from when he had taken his turn to sleep. Thor knew you were still awake, merely feigning slumber for his sake. He would never forgive himself if he allowed you neglect your own health… And neither would Loki.
Thor’s gaze wandered back to his younger brother, and he leaned back in his chair, a dejected sigh escaping him.
Don’t make us wait much longer… Please…
It was almost as though his internal whispering was said aloud. Loki’s jaw twitched. Then his eye lids fluttered, followed by his fingers and a sharp, deep breath. Thor could only watch as the mischievous god’s body pieced itself together to reveal some semblance of a conscious person. When Loki finally opened his eyes, Thor barely managed to tamp down a joyous holler. Startling the only other people in the room would surely invoke yours and Loki’s wrath.
“Thor…” Loki called out, voice low and hoarse. “Where are—”
“The Tower, brother. We live to fight another day.”
Thor’s hand clamped down on Loki’s shoulder, earning him a painful grimace. With an apologetic squeeze, Thor released him.
“Where—”
The god of thunder chuckled and pointed across the way to you. “Over there. You wouldn’t believe how many promises I made in order to get them to rest.”
“Oh?” A wry smile tugged at Loki’s lips. “I hope you intend to keep every one of them. I would hate to see what happens if you are the cause of their disappointment.”
You are definitely healing well, brother.
Thor moved to stand. “Then, I suppose I must wake them now.”
“No!” Loki snatched at his arm. “W—wait…”
“Are you preventing me from fulfilling my first promise?” Thor teased.
“I— I must speak with you first.”
Loki’s mouth was set in a hard line. His eyes were on you. Was it longing or guilt that Thor recognized in his gaze? Perhaps both.
The older god settled and answered with expectant silence.
Loki softly cleared his throat. “I need your help,” he muttered.
As desperate as Thor was to take advantage of the moment, he bit back the quip dancing on his tongue. It was rarer than someone other than Thor being able to lift Mjolnir.
“With what, brother?”
Continuing to stare at you, Loki elaborated, “I… I hear it is a popular custom for Midgardians to… to present a ring to their beloved as part of a marriage proposal…”
If Thor’s grin could have grown larger, it would have split his face in half.
“Say no more. I would be honored to help.”
Loki’s mouth flopped open and close before he turned to Thor with grateful, teary eyes.
“But first you must rest and heal.”
“Now see here—”
Thor shook his head, that smile still plastered on his face. “No compromises. I understand you wish to do this as soon as possible, but this was part of our agreement.” He motioned to you and noticed the tiniest sly smirk playing with your features. “And I fully intend to keep every one of my promises.”
Before Loki could stop him, he was calling out your name. In response, you stretched like you truly had been asleep and sat up. Loki had a mixture of a scowl and a pout as you meandered over and settled on the opposite side of the bed. With a snicker, Thor patted Loki’s shoulder and rose to his feet to leave and afford you two some privacy.
“You heard everything…”
“Yeah,” you nodded, leaning forward and kissing Loki’s forehead. “And for the record, the answer is yes.”