Chapter 5
Thor!"
He turned at his name being called. "Hello Volstagg."
"You have been back at least a week, and I have hardly managed to catch a glimpse of you! You must come rejoin your friends! We all want to hear of your adventure in Midgard!"
"Two weeks and three days. I've been busy."
"You've been too busy to come to meals and yet you know the exact time you've been back. That sounds more like boredom to me! Take a break, come tell us of your adventures."
Thor hesitated. He had just been shooed out for food and rest by his mother again, and for all that he hadn't slept well since returning he was too wound up to sleep just yet. "I suppose I could visit a short while."
"That's the spirit!" Volstagg propelled him out the door to the large balcony where the friends had always socialized. "Friends, look who I've found!"
As they settled, Fandral gave Thor a nudge. "What's with the shadows under your eyes? Lying awake pining over your ladyfriend?" The warriors all laughed. Thor started a little.
"I… have not thought of her recently. I've had other things on my mind."
"What then?" Sif joined in, a little less teasing than the men, "How terrible must the battle have been to weigh so heavy on your mind?"
Thor looked down at his hands. "In the course of the battle, we hurt Loki. Badly. Worse than I ever intended. Despite all that he did and all the good reasons we had to be fighting him, he is still my brother and I do not like harm coming to him."
"You are still beating yourself up about this so long afterwards?" Hogun asked. "And you tease me for thinking negatively."
Thor fiddled with his tunic. "It is hard not to when I spend most of my waking hours at his bedside."
"Bet he's a diva." Fandral muttered.
Thor spun on him, half angry, half sad. "He has yet to wake. We worry that he never will."
"Simmer down." Volstagg stepped in. "Fandral meant no offense. Right, Fandral?"
"Right, right. Just came out wrong."
"We are very sorry to hear of his poor condition." Sif added when Thor didn't appear quite placated.
When Thor had left to sleep, the rest looked at each other.
"I'm not sure how I feel about this."
"Me neither."
"He's a war criminal, and I worry they forget that."
"Are we even sure that he's not up to something?"