Chapter Text
Thor waddled down the hallways of the palace as quickly as he could. He had been spending the morning in his bedroom playing with his toys when his nurse Inga had informed him that his father had returned from battle, and there was surprise waiting for him. He immediately jumped up and ran out of his room as quickly as his toddler legs would allow. Inga chased after him. The young prince was incredibly happy his father was home, but was ecstatic at the idea that there was surprise waiting for him. What could it be? A new toy? A sword? Some kind of magical item from the land of the Frost Giants? Thor’s mind was running a million miles a minute thinking about all the items his father could have brought him.
“Prince Thor! Please slow down!” Inga yelled after him. Thor paid her no mind. The slower he walked the longer he would have to wait to see his father, and the surprise waiting for him.
Thor ran faster down the halls. He turned down the corner that led straight to his parents chambers. He was so close, he could feel it. Excitement was bubbling inside him more and more with each step he took. He was so excited he didn’t realize to stop himself before he ran into someone. He fell to the floor with a soft thud. He looked up to see who he had run into, and immediately smiled at the sight of who he saw.
“Father!” He cried with happiness. Odin looked down at his young son with a small smile.
“What happened to your eye?” Thor asked in the most innocent fashion a young toddler could. Before Odin could respond, Inga came running down the hallway.
“My prince! Please stop-Oh! My King.” She quickly bowed her head. “Please forgive me my King. He ran from me so quickly. He is turning into quite the young warrior.”
“It’s no matter. My son has found his way to me. You may now leave Inga. We will call for you when needed.” Odin’s voice boomed in the hallway.
Inga bowed once more before turning back down the hallway. Odin grabbed Thor’s shoulders and stood him up.
“What is the surprise you have for me?” Thor asked, jumping up and down from where he stood.
“All will be revealed, my son. Come with me.” Odin took Thor by the hand and walked with him to the door of his and Frigga’s room.
Thor's excitement was getting bigger and bigger. It must surely be a big surprise if it was waiting for him inside his parent’s chambers.
Odin slowly opened the chamber doors. Thor let go of his father’s hand, and saw his mother sitting on the bed looking down with a smile at what appeared to be a bundle of blankets in her hands.
Frigga looked up with a smile at the sound of Odin closing the door, “Ah my son, come here.”
Thor waddled over to the edge of the bed. He tried to climb the side of it, but the bed was so large and tall he slipped and fell. He tried once more. He fell again landing on his rear, letting out a small giggle.
“Husband, help him up. Our mighty Thor has not grown tall enough for his ambitions quite yet.”
Odin walked over and lifted Thor onto the bed. Thor crawled over and sat next to his mother. Trying to see what was hidden in her hands.
“What do you have, Mother? Is it my surprise?” Thor asked, eagerness in his voice.
“Yes, my love, it is,” Frigga turned to the side, fully facing Thor. “This is your surprise.”
She pulled the side of the blanket revealing a small baby. Small tufts of black hair covered the top of its head. Bright green eyes stared up at Thor.
“What?” Thor asked. Of all the ideas he had for the surprise, a baby was not one of them. He stared at it, eyes wide with curiosity.
“This is your baby brother.” Frigga said softly.
“Br-brother?” Thor asked. The excitement was starting to build again.
“Yes Thor, you have a little brother now.”
Thor grinned. He has a little brother now. Someone to play with, someone to go on adventures with. A life long friend. Someone who will always be at his side no matter what.
"Can I hold him?” Thor asked.
Frigga nodded, and carefully passed the bundle of blankets to Thor.
“Support his head dear. He is very fragile right now.” Frigga said. Thor immediately listened to his mother, and placed a hand under his brother's head.
Thor stared in awe at the baby. He may not have known him for long, but he already loved him so much.
“He’s so tiny.” Thor said. He held his finger to the baby, his brother wrapped his tiny finger around Thor’s.
“He will grow like you are,” Odin said, “It will take some time.” He placed a soft hand on Thor’s backside.
“Which means it’s your duty as an older brother to protect him. You will be the one to look after him once your Father, and I are feasting in Valhalla. Can you do that for me Thor? Can you do that for him?” Frigga asked.
Thor smiled down at his baby brother. Pride swelled inside him.
“Yes. I promise to protect him for the rest of my life! No one will harm my brother!” Thor smiled at his mother.
Frigga smiled back at her son. She was proud of him.
“Then Asgard, and the Nine Realms are in good hands,” She said. She looked up at her husband, who also seemed to be smiling at his son’s response.
Thor looked up from his brother and made direct eye contact with his mother.
“Mother? What is his name?” Thor asked. Surely his new brother must have a name.
"His name is Loki.” Frigga said.
Thor looked back down at his brother, a smile covered his whole face.
“Hello Loki,” he said softly.
Thor awoke with a loud gasp. He gripped his blanket as tight as he could, breathing incredibly hard. He had the dream again. The dream was the memory of the time he met Loki. It was once a happy memory for him, one of his most favorite memories from his childhood. But now, all it brought was immense sadness for the God of Thunder.
He was expecting the dream to happen. The dream has replayed in his sleep on the eve of Loki’s birthday for the past five years. But each year the memory just became more painful. It reminded him more of all his failures. He broke the promise he made to his mother, he failed to protect his little brother. His brother’s neck was snapped right in front of him, and he failed to save him.
“No resurrections this time,” Thanos had said while throwing Loki’s lifeless body in front of Thor. He wanted to scream. He wanted to murder the titan for his actions. But he couldn’t. He was restrained, and Thanos had managed to escape. Once freed from his restraints all Thor could think of in that moment was to hold onto his brother’s lifeless body as the Statesman exploded around them.
When he finally had the opportunity to kill the Titan, to avenge his people. Avenge Heimdall. Avenge Loki. He failed. He went for the chest. Not the head. Why didn’t he go for the damn head?
He knew why. He wanted Thanos to feel the same pain he had felt. He wanted Thanos to feel the same level of anguish he felt when Loki’s neck was snapped. He needed a taste of his own medicine. His brother’s neck was snapped slowly, so Thanos should die from a slow painful stab wound. He wanted to watch the life drain from the Mad Titan’s eyes. Just like how he watched Loki’s life drain in front of him.
Unfortunately that line of thinking led to Thanos having the ability to snap his fingers. Turning half of the universe into dust. All because Thor didn’t go for the head. Thor had failed everyone. He failed his parents, his brother, and the universe. What kind of a God was he?
He did get to go for the head eventually. He and the rest of the Avengers went to the Titans home. It was a good plan. They would catch him by surprise, kill him, and take the Infinity Stones back. There was hope that everyone could come back. They would save everyone like they always had done. Unfortunately they were too late.
Thanos destroyed the stones before the Avengers could reclaim them. Thor immediately went for the head in his anger. The revenge should have felt good. He should have felt relief that his brother, and people were finally avenged, but all it did was amplify his grief. What’s the point in murdering the villain if no one was able to be saved?
Thor lied in his bed for several hours. Staring at the ceiling. He didn’t want to get up. He just wanted to wallow in his sadness from the comfort of his bedsheets. If he didn’t move then he wouldn’t have to deal with his memories head on. It was his brother's birthday. The memories of Loki’s death always hit the hardest on this day.
A loud knock on the door interrupted Thor’s wallowing. He let out a groan.
“Go away.” He said. Though apparently not loud enough for the person on the other side of the door to hear. They knocked again.
Thor grumbled and rolled out of bed. It was likely Valkyrie trying to get him to leave his home and do his “kingly duties”. He had no interest in them. He failed all of Asgard already, and the idea of catching mass amounts of fish to sell to food companies was the very last thing he wanted to do on this day. She should know that this day, of all days he truly wanted to do nothing other than lie in bed and drink.
Not that he didn’t already do that every other day, but today he truly had no desire to pretend to be productive for their little village.
The knocking on the door continued. It grew louder as he left his bedroom and entered the living room.
“I’m coming. I’m coming,” he grumbled. He opened the door just a crack and saw Korg, and Miek standing there. Korg had some game controllers in one hand, and a six pack of beer in the other.
“Hey man!” Korg said with a smile. “Miek and I were planning on playing some video games, and we thought it would be a good idea to see if you wanted in. Since today is well...today. Figured we could help get your mind off it a bit. I brought the good stuff too!”
Korg lifted his hand holding the beer. Thor eyed it, he then moved his sight to his living room. It was a mess. Clothes, beer bottles, and dirty dishes lined the floor and furniture.
“I-uh. Haven’t cleaned in a while.” he said.
“Oh that’s no prob. Miek and I have been vibing to the lone bachelor pad style.”
Thor looked at his dirty living room again, then back to the six pack Korg was holding. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to have some company, just for a little bit. He opened the door fully.
“Come on in. You uh, already know your welcome to eat what's in the fridge and where the bathroom is.”
“Thanks man! Here have one of these.” Korg handed Thor one of the bottles from the six pack as he and Miek entered Thor’s home.
Thor opened the bottle and took a big swig as he closed the front door.
Several hours had passed since Korg, and Miek arrived. The sound of their game echoed throughout the entire house. Thor took a brief break and went to the kitchen. The beer supply was running low, and snacks were getting needed.
“Thor, you here buddy?” He briefly heard echo from the living room.
Whose voice was that? It didn’t sound like Korg, and Miek didn’t speak English.
“Yeesh. What died in here?” A different voice said.
Thor stumbled out of the kitchen. He entered the living room to see Bruce Banner, and Rocket Racoon standing in the center. Rocket’s mouth was gaped open in shock. Bruce looked at Thor with concern. The years had been so rough on him, he hadn't kept up with his physique very well. He had put on quite a few pounds since his friends had last seen him.
“Ah my friends! It’s been a while,” Thor said, words slurring slightly. “Come in. Uh-feel free to snack on anything. Korg brought some drinks.” Thor walked over and awkwardly hugged Rocket, then Bruce.
“It doesn’t look like there’s any drinks left based on the state of your living room,” Rocket said gruffly.
“We got plenty, please sit.” Thor said.
“Well as fun as this sounds, we’re not here for a social call. We found a way to fix everything.” Bruce said.
“What do you mean?” Thor asked, eyebrows raised. He drank a sip of his beer.
“We found a solution for what Thanos did. Tony figured out time travel. We can bring back everyone Thanos took in the blip.”
Time stopped for Thor. What? It couldn’t be possible. The memories of his failures came to the forefront of his brain once more.
“How?” He asked on the verge of tears.
“We can go back in time and gather the stones before Thanos ever got his hands on them. We’ll bring them back to our time and do our own snap, bringing everyone back we lost that day.” Bruce said, a smile on his face. It was his attempt at comfort while explaining the plan.
“Everyone?” Thor asked, he was trying to keep the tears in. He didn’t want to cry in front of Rocket and Bruce.
“Everyone we lost when he snapped his fingers,” Rocket said.
Thor looked down. The rest of the people he lost after the assault on the Statesmen could be returned to their families. That thought alone should be giving Thor immense happiness, but he couldn’t be fully happy.
“Only the ones lost during the blip? Not…” Thor didn’t have to finish the statement. Bruce knew who he was talking about. Bruce put a comforting hand on Thor’s shoulder.
“I’m sorry man. I don’t think so, but we can bring back so many people. The rest of our friends can be home again. Tony and I still have more research to do though before we all go back. If I find a way to bring Loki back, I promise to let you know immediately. We need you Thor.”
Thor stopped trying to fight the tears in his eyes. He let them roll down his cheeks. Why did Rocket and Bruce have to come today of all days? Though his reaction probably wouldn’t have differed much if they came on a different day. But for them to say that they can bring back all those lost in blip minus his brother because he wasn’t a victim of the blip, just murdered, hurt Thor deeply.
There was a moment of silence in the room. Korg has paused their game. The only sounds heard was the wind from outside. The light from the TV illuminated the living room. Thor’s tears continued to fall.
“There’s beer on the ship.” Rocket said with a shrug. Bruce shot him a disapproving look.
Thor looked down at the ground again. He has the opportunity to redeem himself of all his failures. He can bring back some hope to Asgard. They're going to travel through time. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. He can finally make up for his failed promises.
“When do we start?”