On the ride from Sakaar to Asgard, Thor and Bruce had some time to talk
Bruce couldn’t believe that in the short time he had spent with Thor since they had been reunited, he had developed feelings for him. Sure, he had always considered Thor attractive, but come on. Surely everyone who had laid eyes on the God of Thunder thought that. Plus, they had been friends for many years. All the Avengers had grown closer during their time taking down HYDRA on and in-between their many missions. Bruce even considered them to be his friends, maybe even his family. If he had any family, he would want it to be them. That much was certain.
But two years had passed since Sokovia. Two years that Bruce didn’t remember. Two years of being locked away and having no way out, and he had woken up lost and confused on a planet (on an Alien planet!) light years from the only home he had ever known.
Thor was there with his constant optimism, and his relentlessly kind heart. He had helped him when he was scared, and protected him without a second thought. Certainly, Bruce thought, he had to be one of the kindest people he had ever known. He didn’t even fear Bruce, and not because he believed he could beat the Hulk in a fight if the need arose, but because he trusted him. Thor trusted him. He might’ve even been the first person to trust him completely and fully since before the accident.
He thought Natasha trusted him once, but he knew now that they had turned to each other because they were both hurting, and afraid. And she had used him, to get to the Hulk. He knew there was no other option, and he still respected her as a person. She would’ve died, and he would’ve probably hulked out eventually anyways. But the fact that she hadn’t trusted him or even given him a choice in the matter hurt. Especially since it had led to him losing two years of his life forever.
And now here he was, sitting across from Thor on an alien spaceship flying through space to Asgard to fight some ultra-powerful being. Thor looked deep in thought, his brow furrowed and head tilted as he stared at the floor. He had so much going on, had had so much going on all this time. His father had died, he’d lost his hammer, been separated from his home and now his sister, whom he’d only just learned existed, was destroying it. There was no way Thor had even thought about Bruce in that way, he hadn’t even had the time. Besides, was that even considered an ok thing on Asgard? Even on Earth, it still wasn’t accepted everywhere. Of course though, Earth had many restrictive religions, and Asgard was more a kingdom of the gods themselves. But still. There was no way of knowing, unless-
“Hm?” Thor replied absentmindedly, still staring at the floor.
“Can-can I ask you something?” Thor glanced up at Bruce then, smiling warmly as they made eye-contact. God, he was so, pretty. His chiseled jaw, scruffy but well trimmed beard, his new haircut, and oh, his eyes. They were so blue.
“Of course” Bruce looked sheepishly away at his reply, his fingers twisting together nervously over his knees.
“It’s kind of-it’s not important. It’s dumb, really. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. You know what, just forget I ever said anything-“
“Banner” Bruce looked back up at him. Thor’s face was kind and reassuring, patient as ever with Bruce’s ramblings. “It’s ok, it’s alright.” he soothed “You can ask me anything.”
“Ok. It’s-it’s about Asgard”
“Ah, Asgard” Thor said, straightening up. “My home. I know everything there is to know about it, you picked the right person to ask.” Bruce smiled.
“Ok” he said again, stronger this time. “On Earth, ah, I don’t know if you noticed. But not everyone there is not as, as accepting of others there. Of peeople that are- that are different, I guess, from them” Thor’s brow furrowed again and he leaned foward in his seat.
“Yes, I noticed. They weren’t all accepting. They certainly weren’t accepting of you, and of the Hulk. Not even the other Avengers”. His tone sounded mildly angry, that Bruce had been mistreated for what he was. “You told me what they did to you before New York, I remember.” he paused. “Those vile people. They never should have been able to treat you that way. They hunted you Bruce! Like an animal!” His voice was filled with disgust. Disgust for what was done to Bruce, everything he had to go through. It would’ve made Bruce happy that Thor cared for him, if it hadn’t been because of such an awful thing.
“Right. Yeah.” His eyes trailed downward has he relived the memories. “That wasn’t ok. It was- it was horrible.” He continued staring down for a moment, lost in his thoughts before he looked back up. “But that wasn’t what I was referring to.”
“On Earth, people aren’t always allowed to… love, who they love. Like, I had a friend, um, in college”
“When you were learning, for one of your PhDs?” Thor questioned, and Bruce laughed at that.
“Yeah, yeah. For one of my PhDs” he stopped, nervous, before continuing. “Um, so my friend, he and I were uh, romantically involved. Just for a few weeks but um. Some of his friends found out, and they didn’t take it so kindly.” He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry. “So I was just wondering, if-“ he met Thor’s eyes again. “If that kind of thing is uh, okay? On Asgard?” He could feel his heart thrumming in his chest, his stomach in his throat, afraid. Afraid that Thor would be disgusted, that he would say ‘no, of course not! What are you, mad?!’
“Ah.” Thor said. “Of course it is.” Bruce released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. “On Asgard, people are free to love whom they choose. And many do. Often, it isn’t even defined. It’s just,” Thor sighed softly “love.”
“That’s nice.” Nice didn’t even begin to describe it. Bruce felt like a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, like he could breathe again.
“Yes. It is.” His face faltered, just a bit. “Though, in older times, more in the days of and before my father, royalty and members of esteemed families were often expected to produce an heir, and that meant…”
“That they didn’t have a choice?” Bruce finished.
“Right. Yes. But-“ Bruce’s heart skipped a beat at the ‘but’. “Most people don’t care about that sort of thing anymore.” He looked intently at Bruce, and he could’ve sworn Thor’s eyes were twinkling. “I certainly don’t.”
