Work Text:
Thor looks across at Bruce, noting the way the latter’s eyes are fixated on the wall, as if the white paint holds all the answers to everything in the world.
He thinks he knows what's bothering him, but given that he knows Bruce doesn't like to be prompted at times like this, he keeps his mouth shut.
Instead, he wraps an arm around Bruce’s shoulders. Bruce leans into him, reaching up with his hand to entwine their fingers. Thor presses his lips to Bruce's cheek by way of comfort.
Bruce sighs heavily, running his other hand over his face. “This stupid job,” he grumbles. “I just–I’m so tired and–and they're asking so much of me and I don't feel like there's enough time and I just need time to sort myself out but I don't have that right now and—”
“Hey, shh shh shh.” Thor smiles sympathetically, as he turns Bruce to face him. “Breathe. I know that I can’t really help you with your struggles,” he starts saying, “but know that I am here to listen to you and support you and remind you that it'll all make sense again.”
Bruce's mouth twists up slightly. “Yeah, but if I was just given even a few days off, I could sort through what I need to do and maybe get some kind of order in my head about it all.”
Thor nods and squeezes his hand. He tries to remember how his mother used to help him with this exact problem when he was in school. He remembers complaining to her about having too much work and how it stressed him out.
A light bulb goes off in his head and he gets up off the sofa to reach for a nearby sheet of paper and a pen. “I could try and explain to you how I managed my workload in school?” he says, sitting back down and folding the paper in two.
At Bruce's nod, he starts drawing a rough three-columned table. “What I did was make a table with three headings: next few days , next week , week after .” He speaks as he writes, brows furrowing in concentration. “Then I’d sort all my tasks into one of these categories.”
He looks up to see Bruce following the pen intently along with his gestures, so he continues, “Then I’d take the first three items from the ‘next week’ column, complete them in order of difficulty, tick them off, move on to the next three, and so on. Don't worry about anything other than the three tasks you're doing, and start each one with a fresh mind.”
Bruce looks astonished. “Why didn't I think of that?” he says, looking up at Thor with wonder in his eyes.
“Well, now you know.” Thor shrugs. “Maybe it’ll help you get things in order.”
Bruce looks up at him, slightly nervous. “I hope so. It'll take a lot of stress off my shoulders and then I can spend more time with you.”
Thor smiles as he takes Bruce's hand. “I can wait, my love. The most important thing is for you to focus on your mental health, and if this is the best way to do that, then so be it.” He brings Bruce’s hand to his lips, and brushes kisses along his knuckles.
Their eyes meet; Bruce seems to be glowing. He's grinning from ear to ear and Thor winks at him, whispering an, “I love you,” against his fingers.
Bruce’s heart melts. He feels some of the stress and urgency lift off his shoulders and, for at least a few minutes, he lets himself relax. The only thing running through his mind is his love for Thor.