Was it two weeks since the snap they said at the start of endgame? Because I'm kinda curious abt brice's reaction when thor either tells him about how he survived or doesn't. Bruce just kind of figures it out himself
hello anon sorry for the incredibly delayed response, but i decided to write a small fic of my take on this! check it out under the cut:
“I knew you’d come back to me”
check it out on ao3 here
When they returned to the compound, everything was exactly how they left it.
It was as if this world altering event hadn’t happened. Inside the compound, it was as though the entire team would walk back in after the battle. But they wouldn’t. Half of them were gone.
Nobody had really accepted what had happened yet and it seemed like everyone was moving in slow motion. They retreated to corners of the compound where their breakdowns couldn’t be publicised. Steve and Nat attempted contact with missing team members. They tried to find Tony, and turned to Bruce for help.
“I’m really not the person to ask,” Bruce grimaced, taking a seat at the table.
“Bruce, you were the last person to see him on Earth.” Steve reasoned, “Please. Just try and think back. Do you have any idea where he went? What he was doing?”
“He was following the wizard,” Bruce answered, squeezing the bridge of his nose. “Hulk wouldn’t come out and so they banished me— it was a whole thing. I wasn’t there.”
“A wizard?” Nat asked, sharing a look with Steve that she clearly thought Bruce wouldn’t see.
“They took him on their ship, and Tony followed him. That’s all I know. I don’t know where they were going,” Bruce answered, anger flaring up inside him. Not at them, but at himself for being useless. “I’m sorry, you guys. I’m sorry.”
“Well what about Thor?” Steve asked. “What went on with you guys before you came back to Earth? Maybe he knows where Tony is, maybe he saw him.”
“He didn’t,” Bruce snapped, both Steve and Nat flinching at his response. “Don’t— I gotta go.”
He stood up, not bothering to tuck his chair away on exit, leaving Steve and Nat staring at him dumbfounded.
“Bruce—“ Nat called after him.
“Let him go.” Steve’s voice became quieter the further he walked.
Bruce stalked the hallways of the compound with one destination in mind. He didn’t stop until he appeared at Thor’s room, trying to ignore the empty rooms along the way of his fallen team mates.
Except when he arrived at Thor’s room, the door that was usually left wide open, was shut.
He hesitated. Knocked.
Bruce heard shuffling from behind the door and before he could walk away, Thor opened the door.
“Banner,” His face softened as he saw Bruce.
He only walked past Thor and into his room, shutting the door behind him. Thor hesitated by the door before he turned around to face Bruce.
“Why did you do that?” Bruce asked, feeling his nerves get the better of him.
“Excuse me?” Thor asked, “Do what?”
“Why did you get Heimdall to send me back to Earth?” Bruce felt his lip quiver as he spoke and he balled his fists angrily.
Thor sighed, “Bruce—“
“No, Thor, why? Why didn’t you let me stay and help fight?” Bruce was shouting now. “Because I could’ve helped. I wasn’t done. You had no right to just send me away.”
“Thanos had already wounded you enough,” Thor murmured, “We needed someone to warn the others of his plan, that he was coming.”
“Bullshit,” Bruce snapped, “Why did you really do it?”
“You wouldn’t have survived the decimation of the ship. He wiped everyone out minutes after you were gone. He killed—“ Thor stopped and took a breath. “I didn’t want your death to be on my hands, too.”
Bruce’s frown fell. “But everyone—“
“You’re strong, Banner, I know that more than anyone, but you’re not Asgardian strong,” Thor took a seat on the edge of his bed. “We had more of a chance of surviving the decimation than you did.”
“You shouldn’t have made that decision for me, Thor.”
“Well I did. Okay?” Thor snapped now, and Bruce flinched. “Earth needed you and will continue to need you now more than ever. Heimdall knew that. I knew that.”
Bruce took a seat next to Thor in the silence. His room was bare and cold. It was never really his home. He was never there. But now he had nowhere else to go, so it became a home to him with such severity that it made Bruce ache. There was nothing here to remind him of his family and his people.
“I’m sorry,” Bruce spoke quietly, trying to diffuse the awkwardness that had suddenly risen. “What happened after I left?”
Thor continued to stare at the floor. “He killed Heimdall. However many Asgardians he didn’t kill probably died when he decimated the ship.”
“And you?” Bruce asked. “How did you survive?”
Thor paused, and Bruce could hear him take a shaky breath. “I don’t know. I shouldn’t have.”
Bruce shook his head. “Thor—“
“I gave up,” He said. “I wanted to be with Loki. In my final moments.”
Bruce took a sharp intake of breath— Loki. Thor didn’t enter Wakanda with Loki. He was nowhere to be seen.
“Thanos,” Bruce tried. “He—“
“Killed Loki,” Thor nodded his head emphatically. “Yeah.”
Bruce felt bile in his throat as he watched Thor try to hold it together. The gap between them was stupid, and Bruce shuffled closer to Thor instantly. He needed to be there in case Thor collapsed.
“I’m so sorry, Thor,” Bruce answered, hesitantly placing a hand on Thor’s arm. He didn’t flinch, and his arm was warm, so Bruce squeezed it slightly in recognition.
Thor looked at him for the first time since he entered the room. “One minute I was resigned and ready to die with Loki, and the next I was inside the Rabbit’s ship. I don’t know how I got there or what kept me alive. But here I am.”
Bruce nodded. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad his Snap didn’t take you. Even if you might wish it did.”
Thor nodded too before finally letting his tears get the better of him. He collapsed, much to Bruce’s expectation, and Bruce had never been more thankful for intuition. He held onto Thor as he cried, feeling his arms wrap around his body in response.
Bruce didn’t know how long they stayed there, but he found himself crying, too.
