Who: Thor, Loki What: Thor comes home, bearing bad news. When: the morning after Thor and Jane's talk. Rating/Warnings: red, medical issues.
Loki spent the early morning hours attempting to mend a relic, obtained from a recent salvage jaunt he and Valkyrie took to the area around Asgard. It wasn't a planned excursion, but things just ended up that way when one could access secret paths, not to mention being able to survive out in space. Certainly, it helped that they could stealborrow a ship on Contraxia with a good tractor net and excellent scanning system. Knowing the general composition of the artifacts - having a very long time to study them and know the lore behind them - made the search for the smallest fragments much easier. And leaving even a fragment of those items out there, unguarded against scavengers, was dangerous.
Although he slept very well, he awoke to find it was raining buckets. The sky was a heavy, oppressive dark gray that showed no sign of any warmth. Loki would have rather felt a mid-winter sun shining through the windows on the main floor, but this was the exact opposite. Feeling the need to instill some good cheer (and sow some organized chaos), he went to the kitchens and insisted on helping with cooking the morning meal.
Despite what Agatha and the cooks thought, Loki was masterful at cooking pancakes. Massive amounts of pancakes. It was his usual routine when too many thoughts were on his mind. A routine where everyone else reaped the benefit of pancakes as he let his mind go blank with a mundane task. He kept going even after the raiding party of children had stuffed their faces, and most of the kitchen staff cleaned up and finished prepping for the next mid-day meal. All was quiet in the now deserted kitchen, and Loki imagined he would simply put them into one of the freezing boxes for later so that everyone could easily break their fast the following morning.
When Thor left Jane’s, he walked for what felt like hours. The rain continued to pour, the drops resembling the tears on Jane’s face, as Thor tried to make sense of their conversation. Obviously he’d always known that as a mortal, she’d die before him but this? This was too early. This was unacceptable. If he could seek out the Norns and demand Jane’s life in exchange for his, it was something he would do gladly.
Initially, Thor had gone to his favourite place on Midgard: Antarctica. Destroying icebergs made him feel better, but that was only momentary. Ice didn’t fight back. So he then summoned the Bifrost, going straight to Helheim. Killing demons helped, and he lost track of the time as he hacked his way through teeming masses. It had to have been hours later when he finally started to feel weary, and it was getting harder and harder to lift Stormbreaker. It was then, and only then when he returned to Midgard.
The sun had been shining until he landed on the roof of the Asgardian warehouse. From there, the sunshine faded, leaving only grey clouds full of cold, dreary rain. Thor stood on the roof for another hour or two, letting the rain wash away the gore and viscera from his fighting. When his stomach began to rumble, he idly wondered when was the last time he ate. It had to have been before he went and saw Jane… or had it been even earlier than that?
Without thinking, he slowly made his way to the kitchen, refusing to acknowledge anyone’s greetings. His mind was still foggy and dazed, and it wasn’t until he was halfway through a stack of pancakes did he stop to wonder who had made the pancakes, and who had given them to him. Looking up, he stared at his brother in dazed confusion.
“Loki. When did you get here?”
Everyone was familiar with Thor's moods to know that when he wore one of those thunderous expressions, it was best to stay out of the way. So when Thor entered the kitchen, sat down, and started eating? Loki merely gave him a concerned glance, wondering what transpired. It would come out at some point, and so he went back to cooking until Thor's voice interrupted his thoughts of how much more baking mix they were going to have left if he continued.
"I've been here the whole while," he told Thor, one eyebrow arched much higher than the other. "Where have you been, if it is not too bold a question to ask."
It was another few minutes before Thor has a chance to respond back. Once he started eating, he found it very difficult to stop. It was only when his stomach started to actually hurt (and his armour felt tight) that he pushed his chair away from the island. Avoiding the question, he frowned, rapping his knuckles on the counter.
“Do you know what cancer is? Or Loo-kee-mee-aah?” He’d been practicing the pronunciation, but still wasn’t sure if he was saying it right.
It didn't matter, because they both sounded utterly foreign, even by All-speak standards. Loki blinked a few times as he thought about the words and what they might mean. He had enough time to flip a pancake before replying.
"Alas, I do not. One sounds like a tool and the other a very ugly fish," he said while waiting for the other side to cook. "Why do you ask? And where did you hear such ridiculous words?"
“Jane said them.” Jane had said so much, too much, and Thor had barely pieced it together. “She said …. She said…” His throat caught suddenly, and he couldn’t get the words out. “She said she has this illness, that is those words I said, and it is ...fatal. Jane says she only has six months at most to live. How do these Midgardians know that? I was not aware there was a calculation for life span.”
Loki added that pancake to the pile and turned off the heat, as this sounded and looked rather serious. It explained the rain, and how much Thor looked like some thoroughly rained on, formerly shaggy beast.
"So this means she is...actually ill." Loki watched Thor for a long moment; his brows lowered giving him a grim expression and mouth pressed into a straight thin line. He appeared to mull this over, aware that mortals died so swiftly from a myriad of afflictions or deeds gone wrong, or from infirmity of aging. But this? The news was shocking. Jane Foster was not that old by Earth's standards, at all. "Perhaps their healers have encountered this illness, and therefore they know based on that."
He dared to look openly sympathetic. An act that he would have stabbed himself for, around six years ago. This dire news was further complicated by what he told Thor as they made their way to confront Malekith and attempt to destroy the Aether:
"This day, the next, a hundred years is nothing. It’s a heartbeat. You’ll never be ready. The only woman whose love you prized will be snatched from you."
Loki quickly went from looking sympathetic, to outright guilty.
Thor was quiet again, staring at the pile of pancakes. “She had some figures, but I cannot remember them. She was very insistent though that this ...this would resolve itself easily.”
Tears started to well up, and he suddenly sat up straighter, looking at his brother. It had easily been a few centuries since he last cried in front of his brother, since he last broke down in front of anyone, and yet he couldn’t do it any longer.
The last year had been so hard. Odin’s death. Ragnarok. Thanos. The dusting. And now this?
Thor couldn’t speak anymore. Instead, he just sat there, almost shivering as he tried to hold back the onslaught of tears.
What was said didn't fully register with Loki, as far as how things would resolve themselves easily. That could mean that it was easy to cure by Midgard's standards. Or that it would be a simple matter where the ending would be quick and hopefully as painless as possible. A thought that didn't settle well with him even if he knew that Jane was very much a mortal woman. It seemed....a waste.
Then he saw it. Oh no. Loki's eyes went wide as he watched his older brother finally cracking under the pressure of everything. A state that could very well inundate them with bad weather, and...well, it was never a good thing to see Thor this upset. It meant things were disastrous, indeed.
Loki rounded the counter and barely hesitated as he hugged onto Thor, breathing in deep and giving him a reassuring pat on the back. He didn't let go, offering a show of solidarity they hadn't really shared since making amends on The Statesman.
"She is brilliant, and there are many brilliant scientists on this world. Even that hack sorcerer is a doctor. Perhaps there is hope there if she wishes to fight through it all, using this realm's healers."
Thor nodded his head. He didn’t trust himself to talk, and instead allowing his brother to embrace him. When was the last time he had the comforting arms of his brother around him? Years. Decades. Centuries maybe.
It was several minutes before he whispered, “She has requested we end our relationship so that I do not have to suffer through her -- her illness.“ No. He wasn’t doing to say death. “She bade me leave lest I make things harder for her. Why would she say that… why?”
"Because she wishes to spare you. It is a noble concept, but the absence surely would not help her mend." Unless she believed there was no chance. A thought that made Loki's arms tighten momentarily around his much bulkier brother. "Eir is here, but we are at a disadvantage to offer aid. This is the first time I've heard of such an illness, and I studied basic healing with them for a small while."
Loki pulled away and looked at his brother's face, trying to read into the open book that his brother usually was. Boisterous. Loud. Happy and optimistic. Thor was currently none of these things and - as much as he was reluctant to admit it out loud - it made him ache to see it.
"There are the apples," Loki blurted out. "But you know there are rules in place about giving them to mortals. There is a trial to face and overcome. It is usually offered after a feat of great renown and daring, or to one who is wedding a royal. And after, she is bound as one of us. She would have nothing in common with this world. She may not wish to trade all she is and has for that, even for a short time."
He was talking a lot but speaking softly, his tone gentled. As he pulled away he left both hands on Thor's shoulders, and gave one a light pat.
"Perhaps speak to her about...uhh...wedding her not only because you are madly in love with her? But also to spare her such a sorry end as to die by illness."
Jane would never accept the apples, Thor thought to himself. Not until she tried all her beloved science had to offer. Again though, that was a conversation they hadn’t had at all, like so many. Thor had always known they wouldn’t have forever, but he thought they’d at least some more time.
“I do not think a deathbed engagement is what she would like … and regardless, that topic, like so many, has not been broached at all.”
Clearing his throat, he reached up and cupped his brother’s hand once before letting go. He brushed away the moisture from his face with his sleeve. “This was the last thing I expected.”
"...can it not be lightly touched on, eventually, as a possibility?" Loki asked, the nervous tick of fidgeting his hands together already starting. Although there were only two left, an apple would provide a solution against mortal diseases. It also wasn't ever given lightly without a show of fidelity, and Thor seemed afraid to approach those topics.
Of course, his brother would fly in and tackle everything else with headbutts and hammers before. But love apparently left him either in rainbows or rainstorms. It looked like this time there was a strong possibility of the news broadcasts reporting on wide-spread flooding.
Overall, he didn't like seeing Thor like this. He was too accustomed to teasing antagonism at best, and fists or knives flying at worst.
As Loki pondered solutions, he blurted out, "Midgard likely has the ability to map the human body. Even so, it might be lacking by our standards. I've been working with Eir to piece together a soul forge. If I could recreate the palace shielding on a smaller scale, then this too is a possibility. Perhaps our healers can learn what this loo-kee-mee-uh is, and can attempt to offer aid."
“I promised I’d speak with her today.” Was it today? Thor wasn’t quite sure how much time had passed. It was difficult at the best of times when days blended easily into each other but now? “And any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated, brother. I will...not be able to navigate this on my own, Jane is right in that regard. But I will not shirk any responsibility and she will have to understand that I will be there with her through this.”
He looked up at Loki. “If there are council meetings, can you please take notes for me? Proper ones,” he added. “If there are appointments with this realm’s medical healers, I would like to attend them as much as possible.” The vision of Jane, so little and fragile, already broken...no. He would not see her be alone.
Clouds continued to form, but the rain was lessening. It would be some time still before the sun broke through, but Thor was happy with this plan. Well. As happy as he could be.
"Of course," Loki answered, without hesitation. "Merely inform the Elders that I am acting in your stead. I will take the notes and defer any vitally important decisions, which I will bring to you."
It was the least he could do, after doing so much ill before. And everything was running smoothly now. They knew how much food they needed. Everyone was comfortable and safe. Chores were seen to, and plans were made for the village's construction. It was rather quiet, except for Agatha. And Loki could talk circles around Agatha without batting an eye.
"Go forth, brother," he said, mustering up a smile for Thor. "Take some pan cakes to her, and tell her that I wish her well. It is my hope that Midgard's healers are masters of dealing with such ailments."
Pancakes would be nice and probably appreciated. Thor felt a pang of pain when he realized that Jane most likely hadn’t eaten either. She ignored herself at the best of times but with this looming over her head...well, it wouldn’t be good. “Thank you, Loki. For everything. I am sure I will be seeking your supportive shoulder many times over the next while. I too am optimistic, since to be anything else is to admit defeat. Jane will not perish. She won’t.”
And if it took force-feeding her an apple -- okay maybe not. He would never do anything without her consent...but he would definitely advocate and remind her of it daily until she gave in. He had confidence in his shaming skills.