Queen of Asgard (NaNoWriMo2018, Completed!)

49: Road Trip

"Are you sure you don't want me to call a Healer?" Thor asked as we walked through the castle, my burned hand still in a bowl of cool water. A mishap with the flambe dessert had left me with some patches of angry red skin.

"They have way bigger things to worry about than this," I replied, blushing at Thor's concern and my blunder. I'd never heard a grown woman scream so much in my life as I'd heard tonight from the startled chef as I leapt out of my seat as the towering cake went up in flames. Sadly, the action had actually placed me in harms way and I'd singed my a few fingers on my left hand as a result.

"It wouldn't take more than a second," Thor said as he opened the door and frowned at me over his shoulder.

"What?"

"Not locking your door? Isn't that a bit unsafe?"

"I locked it before I left," I remarked. "Maybe it was Sif, she does have a key." I studied the door a moment, looking for scuffs or breaks as a sign of forced entry-just in case. A mere habit more than a useful one; anyone who wanted to break in here didn't need to smash the door to do it.

"She can be forgetful," Thor allowed as I kicked off my heels and heard the hallelujah chorus when I did. "But I suppose she doesn't think much about things like burglars; if anyone broke into her home I'd be more worried about them than her."

"Me too," I agreed as I pulled my injured had out of the water. The pain had lessened now and though a small white blister was forming on my pinky, it wasn't serious. All it needed now was some ointment and a bandage. "You want to come in?"

"Sure," Thor smiled even as he loosened his tie and sighed audibly before tossing it onto the coffee table.

"Better?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen to grab the first-aid kit.

"Much," he sighed, smiling widely. "I hate those things."

I took a seat on the couch and set the small red case on the coffee table. "For someone who doesn't care for formal wear you really have a lot of it."

"Trappings of the office," Thor said with a heavy sigh. "Here, let me do that."

"I've got it," I protested but Thor was faster than me and he had the tube of medicine in his long fingers before I could even open the case. "Fine," I held out my hand, trying not to smile too much as he delicately held my hand to avoid putting too much pressure on the injured skin.

"Sorry about dinner by the way," he said, his eyes not leaving his work as he drew a thin layer of ointment across my skin. "I should've told my mom to go with something less..."

"Flammable?" I offered, air hissing through my teeth as he rubbed the medicine into my skin.

"I was going to say extravagant but that's way better." Thor set aside the tube and grabbed a roll of gauze. "They liked you by the way."

My face burned again but this time it wasn't due to how he was fussing over my hand. "Really? I thought things were a bit rough. First with the soup and then with chess thing and then I ruined dessert-."

"They liked you," Thor reassured me as he wrapped my fingers in the gauze, his touch feather light and gentle. There!" He tied off the bandage with a deft motion and brushed a feather-light kiss across my fingers, a tender gesture that made my heart skip. "All better!"

"Thanks Nurse," I teased as I leaned in, giving him a real kiss, a brief one just across his lips that still had the taste of chocolate on them. "If you ever wanted to give up politics you'd be great in a clinic."