Avengers: A Wedding At Last

Surprise (NSFW)

After a couple of weeks of space travel, Dean had decided that sleeping in outer space wasn't nearly as unsettling as some might think. In fact, there was something innately calming about it, aside from the fact that the cold vacuum of space stood between him and the ship- The Benatar. Dean likened it to the feeling he often got when there would be a tremendous storm outside while he slept warm and safe in his bed.

It helped, of course, that his bedmate happened to be the god of thunder. It was hard to feel very endangered under such circumstances. Dean rolled onto his side and propped himself up on an elbow so he could take in the sight of him. In the dim artificial light of their small room, Thor's expression was relaxed and soft. One could look at him as he was in this moment and never imagine the magnitude of power he wielded. Dean reached out and softly ran his fingers through his hair before casually glancing at the clock.

Time was a strange thing in space. The Benatar could travel at light speed, making time a sort of irrelevant thing. Furthermore, the absence of contrast between day and night furthered this notion. Despite this, Dean found that his circadian rhythms were proving to be relatively unchanged.

Thor moved suddenly and his attention darted back to him. He knew before his eyes settled back on him that Thor was having another nightmare. There had been several when Dean had first come back from the dead, but they had gradually decreased. Still, when they did happen they were distressing for Thor.

Dean laid down next to Thor and began to gently stroke his head. He knew that it was very important that he be right there beside Thor when he woke up from a nightmare.

Thor had endured multiple tragedies in rapid succession. The betrayal of Loki, and the death of his mother and father. These would have been enough, but fate had much more in store for Thor. He'd lost his hammer, his home, and then- in cruel turn of events- Loki had been killed. Cruel because he and Thor had finally fixed their relationship only for it to come to such a violent and painful end.

Anyone would think things couldn't have gotten worse but fate, once more, had further plans for Thor. Many of his people had been slaughtered, including one of his oldest and closest friends- Heimdall.

Thor went on a quest for revenge, hopeful that he could destroy the cause of this most recent tragedy only to fail in the end. And that failure had cost him even more. When he'd failed to kill Thanos, the titan had used the Infinity Stones to erase half of life in the universe. But, to be more deliberate, Thanos's actions had erased half of Thor's universe.

Heartbroken and completely disillusioned, Thor had fallen into the depths of despair from which he didn't climb out until he and the Avengers had finally found a way to undo Thanos's actions. Five very long years of heartbreak shouldn't have lasted so long for one who'd lived a thousand. But these were the longest five years of his life. Five years of drinking and eating himself into a stupor. And then- a snap. Happiness had returned to Thor, along with a new direction on his life. Everything seemed right, aside from those nightmares.

"Fair One," Thor sighed when he awakened. He stared gratefully up into Dean's face.

"That looked like a bad one," Dean whispered.

Thor smiled tightly. "Better than they used to be."

He was right, Dean knew. There had been many nights when Thor had cried out in his sleep, twisting and thrashing in the bed. Dean had always managed to soothe him with a combination of his presence and his empathic powers.

"I don't want to have those dreams anymore," Thor said in a tone that seemed to be ordering the dreams to never return. If only it could be so easy.

"I know. But they aren't happening as often. And you said they aren't as bad as they used to be."