elysian.

“sorry,” he couldn’t help but repeat the word, silently hoping the other knew how much he meant it. he had always struggled with finding the right words, and now, with everything going on, it felt almost impossible. it was easier to just stay silent, drowning in his own thoughts. of course, it wasn’t fair to be giving the other the cold shoulder, not when he’d done nothing wrong. so exhaling, the blond shifted, moving closer to the other male as he gently met his gaze. “i’m not so far now,” he managed a feeble laugh to accompany the horrible joke, a smile momentarily spreading across his face.

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything.” He smiled at him softly. He knew he meant the apology, he just wished he knew that he never has to apologize.  Not for this, Bjorn would never expect one. The little joke Danny said made him smile more, he hoped it was a sign that he was getting better. But Daniel’s own smile faded too quickly for Bjorn to believe that for much longer. “You know what I mean.” He moved his head from Danny’s lap and sat up, leaning on his elbow. “You were skimming that page for five minutes.”

since his return from asgard, daniel hadn’t felt like doing much of anything. he just wanted to be left alone to wallow in his own self-pity, and to have some time to try figuring everything out. unfortunately, the longer he dwelled on things, the deeper into despair he seemed to fall. still, he tried his best to act as if nothing was bothering him, forcing himself to smile as he absent-mindedly flipped through the pages of his book, eyes scanning over the words, yet retaining nothing. he was just too distracted, what with his own problems and everything going on around paragon. if it weren’t for bjorn, he would have isolated himself completely. sighing, somewhat loudly, he managed to tear himself away from the book, almost having to force himself to look at the other. “sorry,” he whispered, gently biting down on his lip, “i got distracted,” he added, though he was certain that was obvious.

“I know, love.” His voice was so delicately soft. Daniel was never good at lying or being subtle, so Bjorn knew he wasn’t okay. He wished, more than anything, to know how to help him. It hurt his heart more than he could ever explain. He dropped his hand to Daniel’s arm, his fingertips running up and down his forearm.  “You’re a million miles away.”

      “i’m glad we’re both aware that i can hit harder, the real question is, do you want me to?” siri said with a smirk. “because i make zero promises about me playing nice if i give it my all.”

“Yes!” He exclaims like he won a prize. The sword became a makeshift cane as he grinned. “Please do, make it challenging for me at least.”

“just because i can doesn’t mean i WANT to,” it wasn’t that she wasn’t a fighter ; tova just didn’t enjoy the POSSIBILITY of hurting someone she actually liked, and fortunately for bjorn… that was him. she dropped the tip of her sword to the ground, frown deep, “maybe i’m not the right PERSON for this.” 

“Not the right person for fighting?” His jaw slacked, like nothing could be more ridiculous to him. “You’re Thor’s grandchild! That can’t be genetically possible.”

Kate raised an eyebrow. “I know I’m a badass and all.” She said. “But I am still a human. Not all of us can be gods.”

“That sounds like an excuse, Miss Bishop.” She did have a point though. “I still believe in you, however.”

Yet, here he was anyway - laying in front of him and putting his head in his lap. He didn’t want Danny to be alone, it worried him more than he knew how to express. He could only imagine how hard it is to know that you’ll outlive anyone you know right now. Bjorn knows he’s being annoying or frustrating, but he was willing to do anything to keep him around.

“You’re being too quiet.” He whispered with a laugh, bringing a hand up to trace his jaw.

Being born to two soldiers, war was seemingly always meant to be part of Bjorn. His birth parents died in a battle soon after he was born. Brunnhilde found him and adopted him with Sif.

Growing up, all he wanted was to be a warrior like his moms. He fashioned a spear out of a tree branch, he cradled and loved it like any other child would love a stuffed animal.

When you look up the term chaotic good, Bjorn’s face is the first thing that comes up. He’s a good at heart, but he is as reckless as they come. That is the very reason his moms refuse to let him join Asgard’s army. He begged, he pleaded, but they never budged.

As he was sulking, he was asked by his moms to show the newly arrived son of Thor around Asgard. He sneered, willing to do anything to get out of it, but then he saw him. Everything changed for Bjorn, suddenly fighting wasn’t his only priority or wish. Suddenly and abruptly, he fell hard for Daniel. The whole time Daniel was in Asgard, Bjorn found a way to be with him.

His first real heartbreak came when it was time for Daniel to go home to Midgard, his was moping for a while after. He took out his heartbreak with training, fighting became his big priority again.

daniel couldn’t help but smile, his worries momentarily forgotten as his thoughts turned towards their evening. it had felt like an eternity since they had spent any real time together, and he struggled to contain his excitement. to some it was just a cup of tea, but to daniel it was so much more. “absolutely!” he responded, rather enthusiastically as he turned to exit the training room, making sure bjorn was behind him as he let the door slam shut.

A wide grin spread across his face as he followed Daniel out. Every day since Daniel left Asgard, Bjorn ached to see him again. He was overjoyed when his mothers told him he was going down to Midgard to go to Paragon. “I don’t think I’ve ever actually had tea before, I have heard it is good. My moms always brought coffee back from Midgard, though.”

there was a part of daniel that felt like he was making a huge mistake, but he was there, and running away now would only make things more awkward, if that were even possible. being around bjorn used to feel natural, and now, it was anything but, and he hated it. but it had been his idea to give each other space, and he couldn’t just talk it back, no matter how desperately he wanted to throw himself into the other’s arms. “yeah- i miss you too,” he managed a small laugh, gently biting his lip as he lifted his head to look at the other. “maybe we could get a cup of tea, and catch up?” he suggested, a smile spreading across his face as the thought.

Bjorn liked to think he knew Daniel well, he knew that him talking to Bjorn right now was hard. He was patient, more than he ever thought he could be, for Daniel. As the other spoke, he smiled. “Definitely.” He put the spear back on the weapons rack and put his shirt back on. “Lead the way, then.”

         ˗ˏˋ the woman let out a smile “good, i’m a simple woman with simple wants. i like you kid.” pearl nodded “i see. so are you wanting me to explain it to you or just get you the answers? i don’t care either way, as long as i’m fed i’m happy.” she shrugged, not concerned about helping him cheat. not that she’d tell her dads but she’d done it herself many times while in school, she barely had to ask before answers would be filled in for her.

“I’m a simple man with simple wants, like not doing chemistry homework.” Bjørn passed her fries. “Just the answers, please.” He was a fighter, he had no patience for homework. He tried, but he just couldn’t stomach it.

“yeah,” daniel responded, his voice cracking as he quickly allowed his gaze to fall towards their feet. he had forgotten what it felt like to be around bjorn, how he found himself unable to think in his presence. he missed it- he missed everything about being with bjorn, and he thought, that perhaps he was being silly, that maybe he should just dive in head first. but, he didn’t, instead he cleared his throat as he forced himself to make eye contact with the other. “i just wanted to see how you were doing,” he responded, it was the truth, but it felt ridiculous saying it. a better response would’ve been that he wanted to be with the other male.

“Hey...” Bjorn’s voice goes soft as he hears Daniel’s voice crack, his mind goes to the worst. He put a hand on his shoulder, afraid he would be smothering him. He was always so protective and worrying of him, Danny was softer in a way that Bjorn wasn’t, but being with him made Bjorn much softer than he was before. “How am I doing? I...I miss you.”

what was he doing there? it was a completely logical question, yet daniel couldn’t even begin to think of an answer that actually made sense, let alone one that would be believable. in truth, he had absolutely no idea why he was there, he was out for a walk and before he knew it he just found himself there. but even in his head it sounded like a lie. but he knew the answer, he just didn’t want to say it. but ultimately he relented, exhaling as he focused on bjorn. “i was looking for you,” he responded, nervously biting down on his lip as he looked at the other male. “i guess i know you pretty well, this is the first place i looked.”

“Were you?” Bjørn had been giving Daniel his space since he arrived, letting him figure things out without smothering him. It had been torture for him, but he kept his distance. He so, so badly wanted to close that gap right now, but he settled for stepping close enough so he wasn’t speaking so loudly that the other people in the rooms were getting annoyed. “You do know me better than anyone. But...Why were you looking for me?”

daniel wasn’t sure what had compelled him to visit one of the many training rooms, especially when considering how he actively tried to avoid him. it was almost as if something was calling him, or perhaps leading him there. allowing a sigh to escape from his lips, he pushed open the door and suddenly everything began to make sense. well, sort of, it didn’t make any sense at all, but standing there, seeing bjorn, he knew there was a reason he was there. “h-hi bjorn,” he stammered, biting down on his lip as he stared at his companion. “h-how are you?” 

Bjørn is a warrior, he doesn’t get nervous. That rang true for every other situation except for this, except for when someone he loves is standing so close to him, yet he’s so far away. Cold panic flowed through him, he fiddled with the spear in his hands so they didn’t visibly shake. “Good...yeah, good. What - what are you doing in here? I thought you weren’t big on weapons.”