Chapter Text
Bruce was lying in the quarters given to him and Hulk on the Asgardian ship. He felt almost dwarfed by the bed, and, frankly, the rest of the room around him. It was overly spacious, of course, they had to be since the Hulk quite liked his space. But that was mostly due to him being a giant green rage monster.
Bruce shook his head at that thought. Hulk was no more a rage monster than he was… He just happened to be more physically expressive than Bruce was ever comfortable being. It was never Hulk’s fault that his main motivator until now has been anger. It was how they had survived until this point. Him and Hulk may not get along, and either personality may prefer being the one in control at any given moment, but they were fiercely protective of each other.
That was one of the things he never expected anyone to understand. Natasha certainly hadn’t, but that wasn’t really her fault. That’s why Thor finding them on Sakaar was so surprising, more so to Bruce since he hadn’t even been aware he was on Sakaar until Thor accidently brought him back. But yet, for some reason, Thor understood. He got it .
And Thor, well Thor very easily could be one of the few people that’s ever cared about them both. Bruce smiled, still laying in the middle of the massive bed, as he thought about the moments him and Thor have shared over the course of the trip through space. The soft spoken words in the middle of the night as the other refugees slept, the fast paced back and forth when talking about the different and complex theories that Bruce could never discuss with anyone that hadn’t had at least as many PhDs as himself, and even the more comfortable moments when either man could fit in a quip or some snark. Bruce had never felt more comfortable than on this ship, with Thor, and he was sure that was one thing both him and Hulk could agree on. Since the Hulk no doubt had his own Thor centric memories that he held close to his heart, like the daily sparing practice the two of them had scheduled, and the many battles the two had fought side by side this past year.
There was a knock at the door.
“Hey, Little Guy,” Val’s voice came through, “it’s show time, get pretty.”
Bruce was on his feet in an instant, er well, he tried to be. Rather, he was crawling/scooting his way to the edge of the bed, getting almost swallowed in the sheer excessive amount of fabric as he attempted to get on solid ground, before face-planting in the most majestic of ways, tangled in sheets and wearing nothing but boxers.
Of course, this wouldn’t have been nearly so mortifying if Thor, the literal demi-god he’s been crushing on for a year and the one he had just spent the past hour daydreaming about, hadn’t burst in like an excited puppy at that exact moment.
“Banner! Come quickly, we’ve neared Midgard!” Thor said, practically vibrating with energy as he stood there, in the open doorway. Bruce awkwardly picked himself up, suddenly thankful for the puddle of sheets around him he could use to cover himself.
“Let’s give him a minute before you embarrass him too much, your majesty” Val said, before lifting her flask to her lips and walzing away, dragging Thor behind her.
“I’ll be there in a minute!” Bruce called out as the door slid shut once more.
Bruce let himself relax as he got ready, They were almost home. But then, another thought entered his mind, a thought that had been plaguing him since Thor told him they’d be going back to Earth, and traipsed it's way through every insecurity Bruce and Hulk had ever had. Won’t everything be different now?
Loki was decidedly not hiding. If he, perhaps, did not want to be in the presence of his large, overly eager, brother at this exact moment, that was his business and no one else’s. Loki overheard Thor and Valkyrie talking as they got closer to his hiding spot- er vantage point , before teleporting himself elsewhere. He didn’t want to explain to Thor why he so clearly lacked his brother’s enthusiasm for going to Midgard. Though the answer seems obvious, Thor did always have a thick head.
“Your highness,” tch, there was someone here. Loki turned around and grimaced, he’d gotten caught sneaking around by the one person that hated it most. “Care to tell me what has you so anxious?” Heimdall asked.
“Nothing, I’m simply practicing my magic. It’s a skill where constant upkeep is required.” Loki lied.
“I see. So you are testing yourself to see exactly how long you can avoid your brother” Heimdal said, cutting through Loki’s lie easily.
“Of course you would keep track. I can’t do anything without you spying on me”
“If I remember correctly, you’ve done countless things outside my range of sight before”
Loki smiled, those were some of his better moments. Way back, when mischief was mischief. Before Thanos…
His smile faded. Heimdal took notice.
“You worry you will suffer punishment for your transgressions against Midgard” Heimdal said, in that majestic, all-knowing voice of his, “you worry you will deserve whatever punishment they see fit to bestow upon you”
“I do not-”
“And you worry Thor will agree”
“Preposterous” Loki scoffed, he didn’t have to deal with this.
“Or do you worry more that he won’t?” Loki stiffened at this, his eyes gone wide, “You worry that he would choose you over Midgard, that the happiness he has found there will cease to be because of you. Am I close?”
Loki bit his tongue and whispered through clenched teeth, “not. Even. in. the. Vicinity. of. close”
Heimdall looked away, still majestic and endlessly wise, “you need not fear, my prince. When you think there are two options only, you ignore the possibility of the unexpected.”
“Well, never let it be said that Loki of Asgard doesn’t thrive on the unexpected”
Heimdal smiled, warm, almost fatherly, “That you do”
Loki disappeared again, it was getting boring avoiding Thor.
Bruce was making his way to the bridge of the ship when Loki appeared out of nowhere,
“SHI- FU- Loki??! What the Hell dude?”
“Ah, Banner. You heard the news I assume?”
“The news? You mean that we made it back to Earth? Or did you get different news from me. Like, newer news.”
“No. That’s the correct news”
“then , yes. I got that news and I’m headed to the bridge right now”
“Great,” Loki smiled, “I’ll head there with you then. Shall we?”
“Uh sure, yeah. Can’t keep the king waiting, I guess” Bruce joked as Loki rolled his eyes. They walked in a slightly uncomfortable silence after that, mostly on Bruce’s part. Loki seemed fine. But it’s not like Bruce was the grandmaster of figuring out Loki’s emotions. Speaking of which, whatever happened to that guy? Weren’t he and Loki -
“Out with it. What is it that has you staring at me every three seconds, I may be attractive but as far as I’m aware you’re more into broader blonds” Loki said, interrupting Bruce’s thoughts and causing him to fluster and quickly defend himself.
“Weren’t you sleeping with the Grandmaster?” Shit, wrong thing to say, it was just on his mind, and he really was curious, Hulk was his favored champion and even he got locked in a room all day. He slowly looked back up at Loki, only to see him almost turning blue with blush.
“What is with everyone trying to get into my personal life today!?” he hissed before speeding up ahead of him.
Huh. Guess they were.
“Wait, does that mean he’s your sugar daddy or something?” Bruce asked, jogging slightly to catch up. It wouldn’t be fair if Loki was the only one that got to mess with people on this ship.
Loki’s neck turned a deeper shade of blue, “And what? I’m supposed to believe your intentions toward my brother are so pure ” holy shit , Bruce had never seen the man so defensive. He usually just joked and quiped with the rest of them when it came to past deeds like murder and attempted fratricide. This was a whole new avenue.
So naturally, Bruce spent the rest of their shared walk doing what he could to get Loki more flustered while ignoring or brushing off whatever pointed and malicious remark Loki sent back.
Bruce was just finishing off a cheap remark about being a trophy twink when they entered the bridge and suddenly all Bruce knew was the overly strong embrace of an excited Asgardian King.
“Banner!” Thor’s voice boomed around him, “quick! Come see! This is the view of your planet from space!! Is it not beautiful?”
Thor relaxed his embrace slightly, and Bruce was able to spy a confident smirk on Loki’s face. His lips moved and Bruce could almost swear he was saying something like who’s the trophy twink now? Bastard
Bruce was dragged to the large window at the front of the ship where they usually saw the vast expanse of space sprawled out for an eternity before them. Except now, it wasn’t space. It was Earth, and the sight of the familiar blue planet brought tears to his eyes.
“We made it”
Thor’s hand rested, warm and strong on his shoulder, “We certainly did”