Chapter Text
Five years had passed since the defeat of Thanos, the Mad Titan. However, nothing could be done to bring back everyone who had vanished during the Snap. Although this was something that the Avengers were going to fix, they needed to gather all their surviving members first- one of which being Thor Odinson. And Bruce Banner and Rocket Raccoon were sent to New Asgard, Norway to find him.
“This is kind of a step-down from a golden palace and magic hammers and whatnot,” Rocket remarked after he and Bruce got out of the truck that took them to New Asgard.
“Hey, have a little compassion, pal,” Bruce replied. “First, they’ve lost Asgard, then half the people. They’re probably just happy to have a home.”
Then, Bruce and Rocket saw Valkyrie. She was standing in the field, having watched them come. But she actually wasn’t happy about that, because Thor had changed considerably since going for Thanos’s head, and she was afraid of how Bruce and Rocket would react.
“You shouldn’t have come!” Valkyrie gasped.
But Bruce didn’t care. “It’s great to see you, Angry Girl!” he cheered.
“I think I liked you better either of the other ways,” remarked Valkyrie.
“Valkyrie, this is Rocket,” Bruce said, gesturing to Rocket. “He’s a friend of mine.”
“Um… hello?” Valkyrie said to Rocket uneasily.
“How you doin’?” asked Rocket.
“Fine, I guess,” Valkyrie responded. “He’s busy right now.”
“Who?” Bruce asked. “Thor?”
Valkyrie nodded. “He’s a tattoo artist now,” she explained. “Over the span of the five years since the Snap, he’s received training and gotten his certificate.”
“I never thought the god of thunder would become a tattoo artist,” Rocket told Bruce.
“Me neither,” said Bruce.
“Thor should be done in about an hour,” Valkyrie said.
“What?!” Rocket gasped. “An hour? No. Bruce and I don’t have all day.”
“We can wait,” Bruce told Valkyrie, putting a reassuring hand on Rocket’s back.
“Thanks,” Valkyrie said, smiling and nodding at Bruce and Rocket.
One hour later, Bruce and Rocket walked into Thor’s tattoo shop, Ax & Hammer Tattoo Studio. And when Valkyrie had told them that Thor had a certificate, she wasn’t wrong. The shop itself was very clean- as it needed to be- and Thor’s certificate was hung on a wall in his office.
It was then that Bruce and Rocket got to see the new Thor, who was currently working on a large phoenix tattoo on a male client’s back. Thor still had his short brown hair, but now, he had many tattoos and piercings of his own, which he was showing off by wearing a black tank top. Thor also wore ripped jeans, black boots, a silver Norse-style Mjolnir necklace, and a chunky silver band ring on his right thumb.
Thor had a number of tattoos on his arms, including a rose on his left inner bicep, a small star on his left inner forearm, the first name initials of Odin, Frigga, Loki, and Heimdall on the side of his right forearm, a geometric design on his right inner forearm, and even a microscope on his right upper arm dedicated to his ex-girlfriend, Jane Foster. Thor also had Loki’s helmet on his back, a banner saying “REST IN MISCHIEF” on his lower back, “RIP LOKI” in large letters on his chest, a pegasus on the right half of his ribcage, Mjolnir and Stormbreaker crossed on the left half of his ribcage, and a moon crescent on his left calf.
For piercings, Thor had three gold hoop helix piercings- two on his right ear and one on his left ear- as well as a silver tragus piercing on his left ear, a silver nose ring on his right nostril, a silver nose stud on his left nostril, and a pair of silver nipple piercings.
“And… there,” Thor said after finishing the man’s tattoo. “You’re all done, buddy.”
“It’s over?” the client asked. “Thank God! It hurt so badly!”
Thor chuckled before turning off the tattoo machine, bandaging his client’s tattoo, and helping him sit up on the chair. “Now make sure to put cream on it, okay?” the god of thunder said before giving his client tattoo cream. “Tattoos and piercings are essentially wounds, so aftercare is very important.”
“I understand,” said the client, taking the cream and standing up to leave. “Thank you, King Thor!”
“No problem!” Thor replied, waving goodbye to his client as he walked out of the tattoo shop. Once he left, Thor took off his surgical gloves, leaned back in his chair, and sighed sadly. Becoming a tattoo artist was how he was coping with his recent trauma.
“So I suppose this is how he coped with the Snap?” Bruce whispered to Rocket.
“I guess so,” Rocket replied.
Then, Thor saw Bruce and Rocket standing outside of his office and became happy. “Boys!” the king of Asgard exclaimed. “Oh my God! It’s so good to see you! Come in, come in!”
Bruce and Rocket slowly walked into Thor’s office, and then, Thor gave Bruce a big hug. “Oh, it’s been so long!” Thor said as he hugged Bruce. He then went to Rocket and hugged him as well. “Come here, you little rascal!” Thor said, ruffling Rocket’s head.
“Okay, okay!” Rocket said before Thor let him go. “Listen, Bruce and I aren’t here on vacation.”
“We need your help,” Bruce told Thor. “There might be a chance we could fix everything.”
“As in?” Thor asked.
“Stop Thanos and bring everyone back,” answered Bruce.
Thor’s smile then dimmed at the mention of Thanos’s name. “Don’t say that name,” he told Bruce, placing a hand on his shoulder.
Bruce tilted his shoulder, sliding Thor’s hand off of it. “Now, I know that that guy might scare you,” he said.
“Why would I be scared of that guy?” Thor asked. “I was the one who killed him, remember?”
“Look, I get it,” said Bruce. “You’re in a rough spot, okay? I’ve been there myself. But do you wanna know who helped me out of it?”
“I don’t know,” Thor responded. “Was it… Natasha?”
“It was you,” Bruce said. “You helped me. And with your help, us Avengers can bring everyone back. Are you in?”
Thor took a moment to think. He then came to a decision- and it was the best one.
“Yes,” Thor answered before holding out his hand for Stormbreaker. And soon enough, Stormbreaker came to him. He then followed Bruce and Rocket out of the tattoo shop and to a spaceship to go to the Avengers Compound. During the flight, Thor kept Bruce and Rocket entertained by telling the stories of his tattoos and piercings, as well as his most memorable clients.
“Now, which piercing would you say is your favorite?” Bruce asked.
“My nipple rings, for sure,” Thor answered proudly. “Would you like to see them?”
“Sure,” said Bruce.
Then, Thor pulled up his tank top so Bruce and Rocket could see his nipple rings, which were captive bead rings. “Damn, those must have hurt!” Rocket gasped.
“Well, these were the most painful piercings I had gotten,” Thor replied, “but the pain was worth it. I love them so much.” He then pulled his tank top back down.
“Now, how about your favorite client?” Rocket asked.
“I’m glad you asked!” Thor said. “Two years ago, this young man came in to get an Arabic quote done on his collarbone, and he talked about Fortnite the whole time. It was then that we found out that we had something in common- that we both played Fortnite. The man wanted me to tell him about my experience playing the game, and I didn’t hesitate to tell him. You know, I enjoy playing Fortnite with Korg and Miek during my time off, but there’s this kid called NoobMaster69 who keeps pestering us. So you know what I tell him time after time? That I’m going to fly to his house, come down to the basement he lives in, rip off his arms, and shove them up his butt! That always does the trick to shut him up.”
“I know how that feels,” said Rocket.
“Right?” Thor asked.
“Have you ever made time for your royal duties?” Bruce asked. “Because it sounds like your… um… career has taken up a lot of your time.”
“Of course I balance it with my duties as king!” Thor responded.
Then, Rocket lifted an eyebrow at Thor, knowing he was lying.
“The truth is, I still feel so depressed from what happened five years ago that I don’t feel as motivated to be king anymore,” Thor said honestly. “So I have Valkyrie do most of the work.”
“That ain’t responsible, dude!” Rocket yelled.
“Listen, Thor,” Bruce told Thor, “it’s great that you’ve gotten a career that you enjoy, and that you’re not hurting yourself. And like you said when we took off, you prioritize the health and safety of your clients. But let’s face it- your tattooing gig has gotten in the way of your duties as the ruler of Asgard, or New Asgard as it’s called now. It’s not up to your friends to run the place while you spend your days drawing on people’s skin. You yourself have to do that. You are Odin’s son, Thor. And it’s your duty to always protect and serve Asgard, like it was his.”
“And Asgard isn’t a place,” Thor added. “It’s a people. And I’ve failed them.” He then began to cry.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Thor,” Bruce told Thor, putting a hand on his back. “What matters most is that you’ve decided to do the right thing- because that’s what heroes do.”