Avengers: A Wedding At Last

The King Has Returned

Dean's eyes fluttered open and he stared up at the ceiling of their room. Crisp air was filtering in, prompting him to snuggle up against Thor's warm body beneath the blanket. Thor's breath came slow and deep, his chest rising and falling under Dean's hand. Dean stared at him, watching his face for any signs of distress. When he saw only calm, he smiled and snuggled closer.

Thor woke at Dean's movement. "Can't sleep?" He asked as he shifted so that he was on his side and staring at Dean's face in the artificial lighting.

"I suddenly just got really excited," Dean explained. He reached for Thor's hand. "We're getting married."

Thor squeezed his hand and returned a smile. "Yes. We are." He looked down at their joined hands and felt a huge wave of joy. Dean was alive and in his arms again. More trouble could be waiting on the horizon, but he could face it knowing they were together.

"And, you know, the holidays are coming up. We'll have to be home soon."

Thor brightened even more. The holidays with Dean's family had always been a joy- one that he'd sorely missed after the Blip had claimed Dean and the vast majority of the Allen family.

"Which reminds me," Dean went on. "We are totally behind in our Christmas shopping."

Thor shrugged. "When we get home there will be plenty of time for shopping and wrapping."

Dean smiled at the thought of Thor's history of disastrous gift-wrapping. Secret Santa gifts were never quite a secret where he was concerned. He then thought about the timeline. They would be home just before Thanksgiving, which was still plenty of time to prepare for Christmas. "This whole adventure we've gone on has been fun. But I am so ready to get back home. I'm ready to see everyone again and celebrate the holidays."

"And marry me," Thor added.

"And marry you."

Thor smiled. "Then let's cut our trip short. Let's go home, Fair One."

After the crew had departed from the planet, they set their course for earth.

"I can't even begin to imagine how much has probably happened since we've been gone," Dean said as he sat across from Thor in the galley.

"It's been just a few months," Thor reasoned. "Surely the others haven't gotten into too much trouble in our absence."

Dean broke into a grin. "You expect the others to have stayed out of trouble all this time?"

"Well, I'm sure there will be plenty of stories waiting for us," Thor corrected himself.

Dean's expression became more serious. "I hope Wanda's been alright. I know she told me not to worry about her, that she was fine. But she was also shielding her emotions from me."

"She probably just didn't want to worry you. I'm sure Wanda has been fine," Thor spoke with assurance.

Dean shrugged. "Yeah. I guess if anything had happened we would have gotten a message."

Wanda had endured several tragedies even before Dean had met her. The most recent had been the death of Vision. Although Wanda had assured him that she was coping, Dean hadn't felt completely convinced. Still, he knew that the grieving process was one that would take time.

"I wonder how things are going for Sue, Reed and Franklin," Dean asked, brightening. "Can you imagine coming back to life after five years and meeting your son?"

"I imagine Reed felt he'd missed out on quite a bit," Thor said in a sympathetic voice before taking on a mischievous expression. "Still, he was lucky enough to miss changing diapers."