[Post Avengers: Endgame]
"Let's get the sun shining on you again, then. For Loki."
"How?"
"We'll work on it. I'll be in your corner, you won't be alone."
"Thank you, Esme."
"Anything for...Anything for you, Thor."
Esme is one of the last Asgardians...
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"So, do you talk to the animals when you take nature walks?"
Esme gave Thor a strange look. "What are you trying to say, Thor?"
"I was just curious, that's all."
Esme's brown eyes looked around the familiar sight. Right now the weather was cool enough to get away with spending some time in the forest. Soon, it would get cold and snow. "I almost didn't know what to do with myself when we came here. I sort of found a rhythm in New Asgard, but once I left..." She swallowed.
From the corner of her eye, Thor looked slightly uncomfortable. "You found something better, something less chaotic."
"I wouldn't say better, per se. I found something a tad lonelier here. I didn't have weapons to use or keep. I've sort of forgotten my training on what I used to have." Esme shrugged. "I guess it's for the better. This life is less stressful."
Thor kept pace beside Esme, sometimes going a bit ahead of her due to his longer stride. He carried a small cooler containing their contents for lunch later when they decided to take a break.
Animals high in the trees chattered as the two Asgardians got themselves lost in the greenery. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in the trees. The air lacked breeze but it was cool nevertheless.
"This place has beauty too, I just had to look," Esme murmured. She hopped over a fallen log with ease. Thor mirrored her, the cooler wiggling in his hand.
"Earth has grown on you."
"I suppose it has. I wasn't fond of the planet, now I can't think of any other place to be. So, what made you decide to try a new leaf?"
"That is quite a story, a long one."
"Well, it sounds as though you have a lot of time on your hands, so by all means, tell. I'd love to hear a good story."
"I wouldn't consider it a 'good' story, with what's happened. You recall what happened with Thanos?"
Esme swallowed, swatting at a bug that flew into her face. "Yes, what you were willing to tell me before refusing to speak about it ever again."
"He sought to destroy half the universe with the help of the Infinity Stones. I had the chance to end it...but I failed." Thor halted, Esme noticed a few steps after and stopped. "Thanos got what he wanted, we lost a lot of friends. When we had the opportunity to find him, I made sure not to fail again. It's why afterwards I found New Asgard and..."
"Became a miserable drunk," Esme finished rather bitterly. "Spending what time you did in New Asgard drinking your life away and bullying children online over a video game. Believe me, I remember the low point in your life clearly."
