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“Brother!” he yelled, loudly at the wreckage.
No response.
“Are you there?” he yelled again.
Still no response
“It’s no use, Thor. He’s gone.” Strange appeared behind him, carefully placing a hand on his shoulder. “We best leave now. We can’t be sure what hides here.”
He nodded solemnly, grudgingly following the sorcerer into the portal. As soon as he entered he noticed Bruce and Brunnhilde talking. As soon as he walked by, the two glanced up at him with looks of empathy.
Empathy and pity.
He muttered something to himself before turning to Strange who had been waiting by the monitor Bruce had set up for them. He was carefully reading the monitor and turned to Thor impatiently. “Look, I’m sorry your highness, but this is a failed cause. Feel free to continue, but I’ve made my point clear. The only reason why we’ve been seeing signals of him is probably his seidr shattering after he died. Simple as that. Now excuse me, I have to return back to the sanctum.”
He turned around, exiting quickly using his portals, leaving the room stunned.
“I’m sure he’s just upset! no need to worry… but I do think we’re wasting our time. If he were alive, why would he constantly teleport away?” Bruce suggested, attempting to lighten the mood. Thor stood in stunned silence but nodded. After the trio had removed all the equipment Tony had lent them, they all headed to their separate quarters.
Thanos had taken so much from him. His people. His friends. His brother. all gone. Now all he did was sit, wait and plan what to do next. The few that survived relied on him. The Avengers needed him. But he needed some peace. After all, the last few months had been rough. His father died, his sister tried to murder him, he was stranded on a mysterious planet, Asgard had been destroyed, he’d lost his hair and one eye, and then Thanos attacked.
As the memories resurfaced his mind, he tried his best to fall asleep again, but to no avail. He remembered everything that had occurred. The horrified looks on their faces. They were expecting him to save them. But he failed. It was his fault. Only his fault. They were dead because he was too weak. Why should they have to suffer from his mistakes? It should be him. Only him. Even after the snap was reversed, they were all still gone.
“Why.” muttered one ghost haunting his mind “Why didn’t you save us. It’s your fault. Yours. You should suffer, you’re the king. it's your fault, it’s your fault. YOUR-”
“Hey Point Break? you okay? Fri alerted me that you were stressed?” Tony asked from the door. He approached Thor slowly, turning to face him. Tony grew more concerned, however, as he noticed the tears streaming down his face.
“It’s my fault.” he plainly said as he leaned over, tears dripping onto the floor.
“No. Thanos had you down, you couldn't have done anything. It was never your fault. Come on big guy. Get some rest, tomorrow's gonna be a hard day.” he almost whispered as he patted Thor’s shoulder. He slowly got up and left for the door. Steve had usually been better at pep-talks, but he wasn’t here. Not even the Avengers were the same.
He tossed and turned in his bed until he finally fell asleep.
_________________________________________________________________________
The orange lights were gleaming through the windows, directly onto his face. The entire room was completely silent, the only noise stemming from the cars driving outside. His room was relatively clean, excluding his desk. After his arrival on Midgard (“No, Thor, its earth. A lot of people don’t get ‘Midgard’.”) multiple archaeologists had sent him undeciphered runestones. full translations and some short sections were formally written down on papers, waiting to be sent back. His walls were covered in letters and drawings sent from his fans. Even considering his extended absence, his fans were very grateful for his actions.
Thor got up quickly, not bothering about appearance, trudging up to the dining area.
“Morning Tho-” Peter, Stark’s kid began, “Oh jeez! are you okay?” he looked at the older god with concern. Thor glanced down at the kid and nodded, but the dark circles under his implied otherwise.
“I agree with Peter. Thor, you’re overworking yourself. You deserve to rest.” Strange added, taking a slow sip of his hot tea.
Thor glared at the doctor as he poured a cup of coffee, “No, I cannot. I must continue working. The universe won't save itself.” he muttered, his voice extremely hoarse. “I’d advise you to do the same.” He quickly left the room, leaving the group stunned.
“Don’t, uh, don’t worry ‘bout that. I’ll try to talk to him.” Bruce rushed after the god. He walked through the hallway leading up to his thunderous friend's room, concerned. Thor never snapped at them. He was always there to cheer up the team when they were upset.
“Thor?” Bruce quietly asked as he peeked over the door frame. “Wanna talk?”
Thor looked over his shoulder and shook his head. He yanked Stormbreaker of its stand and moved past Bruce towards the exit of the building. With a quick flash of light, he had already taken off.
Bruce stood idly in the violent rain. The water droplets hit his head quickly, but Bruce didn’t mind. Great bolts of light danced across the sky as Bruce observed the dark sky. And for a small moment, Bruce felt closer. Closer to Thor. Almost as if he truly understood him. But he didn’t. He still had friends left.
He hadn’t lost everyone.