The Brightest Star

Chapter 47 - Aftermath

Five Years Later
(Kára's POV):
I knocked on Thor's door before entering his house, cringing at the odor coming from within. I really needed to convince him to leave the house for a few hours so that I could do a deep clean of everything and make it smell less like something died in his walls.

"Hey there, Kára, we were wondering when you would drop by," Korg greeted me, momentarily looking up from the game on Thor's TV.

"Hi Korg, Miek," I smiled at the two of them, my eyes sweeping across the room. "Do you guys know where Thor is?"

"Lady Kára!" Thor called out before either one of them could answer, coming out from the kitchen. "How nice it is to see you again. Please, sit down and make yourself comfortable."

"Thank you for your hospitality, but I really would rather stand. And please put on a shirt, I really do not need to see this," I replied, lowering my gaze to the floor as I mocked shielding my eyes.

He chuckled lightly before asking, "so what can I do for you, Kára?"

"I brought you some lunch, if you would like it."

"What is it?" He questioned, looking suspiciously at the bowl I was offering him.

"It's a salad," I replied, despite knowing that that would immediately turn him from the idea of eating it.

"Um, no thanks, we've got pizza," Thor smiled, trying to give the salad back to me.

I waved my hands and made the pizza disappear, my gaze not leaving Thor's, "really? I don't see any pizza. Now eat the salad, that's not a request."

"I really don't know why you can't just leave me alone?" He complained as he reluctantly accepted the food I was offering.

"Because you would probably die if I let you truly live the way that you clearly want to. Now don't complain, that salad is packed full of nutrients and protein, it's good for you."

He sat down in his recliner, clearly annoyed, and began to eat. I watched him like a hawk as did so, making sure that he ate all of it and didn't try to trick me into thinking that he was eating. Once he finished, I gratefully took the empty bowl from him and placed it on his side table before lowering myself to his level.

"Thor, are you sure that you're doing alright?" I asked him, placing my hand on his arm.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be alright?"

"Thor," I began, encouraging him to be honest with me.

"Why would I be affected by anything going on? Because I let Ragnarok happen and now Asgard no longer exists? Because I couldn't stop Thanos and now half of all life is gone? Because even now, years after the snap, I still cannot provide for the small portion of the Asgardians remaining?" Thor asked, his facade shattering like glass.

"Thor, none of this was your fault. You had to cause Ragnarok, otherwise all of the Asgardians, including yourself, would be dead right now. Not to mention the lives of those in whatever realms Hela would have decided to conquer after Asgard. You saved their lives," I began to assure him, hoping to lighten the pain even just a little. "As for Thanos, none of us were able to stop him. Just because you were the last one to face him does not mean it was your fault. Loki and I joined forces against him and were still helpless against his power. You did all that you could and, yes, you did fail, but so did all of us. You have to accept that failure and, as much as I don't like to say it, you should try to move on. Hold onto the memory of those that we lost, but continue living for them."

Thor shook his head, "I can't, I am not fit to be anyone's king. Not after failing so miserably."

"I think that having a king that admits they failed is more powerful than one who diverts the blame to others," I gave him a small smile. "The people still support you Thor, but it is ultimately your choice whether or not you become the king that you think you should be."

"I think you and Valkyrie have it covered for now. Would you mind refilling the ice bath with beer?" He asked, climbing back into his shell.

I sighed, getting up from my crouched position, wishing there was more that I could do for him. Knowing that now was not the time to press him, I did as he requested, grabbing a handful of beers from the fridge. However before closing the refrigerator door, I turned every bottle of beer in the fridge into beer flavored water. It was something I had been working on for a while and had finally perfected. It had been a week since I started transforming his beer and so far he had not noticed so I was hopeful about the results. I knew that it wasn't much, but it was a far healthier alternative than the constant alcohol that he was consuming. Now I was focusing my attention on doing the same thing with his tequila.

Thor had been hit especially hard by our loss against Thanos and I tried to be there the best I could, but he did not seem to want to let anyone help him. I understood where he was coming from as I would have probably turned out similar to him if I did not have my daughter to raise. She and my sister Saga were all I had left after Thanos. Brynjar, Tormod, and Erna all died at Hela's hand, either as part of the Einherjar or while helping other Asgardian citizens make it to safety. Aasveig died in the snap while her husband died because of Hela, her son now being raised by Saga and I as well.

Now I spent most of my days trying to aid Thor and helping Valkyrie lead the remaining Asgardians. There was not much that we could do, but it was clear that we as a people had grown a lot closer, united as a result of tragedy. Everyone was trying to help each other cope and it was a beautiful thing to see, despite the circumstances.

-

(A/N): There were definitely a lot of things that I disagreed with in Endgame, but despite that I am keeping the action mostly the same just so I can follow the canon storyline, but like in the other movies I won't be spending as much time detailing things throughout the course of the actual movie just a heads up