How cool is that?! <> It has nothing to do with the story but oh well ///
FYI- This chapter is only a short one. But you'll probably hate me for its content. *Hides*
Thor had paced the waiting room for what felt like days, chewing on a mutilated hangnail and trying his very best not to storm into the infirmary and demand what was going on.
What in Odin's name was taking them so long?
Had they discovered his brother wasn't human? Were they wheeling him away to a science lab right this moment?
A kindly nurse had offered Thor some warm clothes and a coffee, clearly sensing his distress. But wet garments didn't affect the God of Thunder and he didn't have a clue what coffee was.
"No," was all he managed to whisper before he fell back into an uneasy silence.
The Royal Victoria Wing was a fantastic children's hospital in the City. People reminded him of this every time he would demand to know how his brother was faring.
The way they dismissed his fears with gentle cooing and a switch of topic was aggravating.
Thor wanted to break something.
But a small voice at the back of his head told him to be patient, park his butt on a seat and wait. It sounded suspiciously like Loki.
Countless hours later, a stern looking adult with a spotless lab coat and square glasses appeared in the doorway, clutching a clipboard and a pair of latex gloves.
"Family of Luke Hiddlesworth?" he called. His voice was flat and uninteresting.
If Thor hadn't been so alert, he probably wouldn't have responded to the name.
He shot to his feet like an extremely muscular and clumsy bullet, startling a poor toddler from his slumber.
The doctor raised his trimmed eyebrows, mouth set in a grim line. "I assume you are Theo Hiddlesworth?" he eyed his large and tired appearance critically. "Follow me, please."
"Is my brother alright?" Thor gushed, easily matching the doctor's urgent strides. The older man peered at him over his glasses and sighed. "...yes,"
"I sensed a hesitation!" Thor called loudly, ignoring the hushes from the working nurses around them. The pungent stench of sickness and antibacterial invaded his nostrils. "I have found that people lie when they do not want to tell the truth!"
"That's usually how it works, yes." The doctor replied sarcastically, shaking his head in wonder. This boy was something otherworldly, indeed.
"What is so terrible you have to lie about it?"
"I think we best wait until we're behind closed doors-,"
"Why?"
"I think-,"
"Your thoughts aren't good enough! I demand to know what is wrong with my brother!"
The doctor did not cower at the God's anger like most people would.
He met those angry blue eyes with his own cold, brown ones and they stared at each other for several seconds.
Then the doctor continued walking.
At the end of the corridor was a small office, in which Thor found himself standing in the middle of. The doctor shuffled behind his desk and motioned for the teenager to sit in front of him.
"Pleasure to meet you, Theo." He smiled. It was cold and forced. "I'm Dr Brian Banner. I'm the doctor assigned to your sibling's case-,"
"How is he?"
"...Well."
"You hesitated, again."
"It's difficult to say-,"
Cold dread flooded the boy's stomach. No...
"He...he's dead?"
"Not quite," Dr Banner exhaled and scribbled something on his clipboard. "No."
"Then what is so atrocious you struggle to tell?"
"I've been a doctor for thirty-something years-,"
"I don't care."
Dr Banner glared at him over the top of his glasses, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "Humph, well. What I was trying to say, Mr Hiddlesworth, is that despite being a doctor since before my son was born, delivering news like this never gets easier."
"What news?" Thor whimpered, shrinking in his seat and no longer looking like the independent, oversized young man he was just moments ago.
The doctor could only see a lost child. A child with too much weight on his shoulders.
Sighing, the doctor folded his arms across his lap and mustered as much sincerity into his expression as he could. "I'm sorry, Mr Hiddlesworth. But your brother has cancer."
OoPs. This was heartbreaking to write...
