Shine Again (An Avengers: Infinity War/Endgame Story)

Chapter 33: Damning Mistakes

    Anja cringed as one of the nurses pressed a piece of gauze to her temple. Whatever was on it caused her horrible burn to sting something fierce. She had been sitting in this bed for what seemed like an eternity now, in nothing but her undergarments and a thin robe so the nurses could get a better assessment of her injuries. Her clothes had been so tattered anyway she may as well have not even been wearing them. Normally she would've been self conscious, but with it just being Loki, Bruce, and the nurses, she didn't care. Loki had already seen her naked, and Bruce had seen her in a swimsuit, so that wasn't much different than her underwear and a robe.

    She glanced around the infirmary, trying to keep her mind off the pain the side of her head was in as the nurse continued to clean it up. Why she couldn't have minor injuries like Bruce she would never understand.

    Speaking of... Bruce was awake now, partially reclined in his bed. He had several cool rags and ice packs resting across his mostly nude body. He was still only clad in a pair of shorts, the tattered remains of his slacks. Despite all that had happened, he seemed pretty good. Probably because he had been the Hulk for most of the ordeal, and had been unconscious for the worst of it. Mostly he was just bruised. Lucky bastard.

    Loki was in the bed next to her, a brace supporting his neck while also holding an ice pack in place. Miraculously nothing had broken, but the nurses thought he could use it anyway. He had removed the top half of his armor, leaving his chest and arms exposed. His left arm was outstretched, allowing him to hold onto Anja's hand. He didn't even flinch as she squeezed his hand tightly, as she tried to ignore the pain from the burn. Anja's eyes lingered on him, partially because she wished she could tackle him, but also because she was still in disbelief as to how close she had been to losing him to Thanos. That realization hurt a hell of a lot more than the burn on her head.

    After a moment, her thoughts were interrupted by the pressure on her temple lessening. Anja looked over to see the nurse moving away from her, a small smile on her face.

    "It will take a little time, but you should heal without much issue, miss," the nurse explained. "Your healing abilities certainly lessened the damage, and not just for yourself." The nurse glanced over at Loki before looking back at her. "You saved the prince, and for that, you have Asgard's thanks."

    Anja smiled. "He would've done the same for me," she answered, giving Loki a loving glance.

    The nurse glanced between the two of them and then at Bruce, a smile on her face. "I'll let you three rest. I'm sure you'll have visitors soon," she stated before bowing at the waist and leaving the room.

    Anja immediately got off her bed and plopped herself on Loki's lap, her legs straddling his thighs so she could look at his face. "So I'm not sure how I feel about being bowed to," she admitted.

    Loki smirked, resting his hands gently on her legs. "As long as you are mine, you will have to get used to it."

    Anja raised an eyebrow. "But how did they- oh. I guess the hand holding gave it away, huh?"

    Her boyfriend continued to smirk as he slowly nodded. Anja wasn't sure if he meant to, or if the brace on his neck was hindering his ability to nod. "That, and you kept staring at me," he added.

    "Look, it's not my fault I'm still not used to seeing you partially dressed, so bite me," Anja countered, blushing. "I'm still used to you being covered in tight leather armor more often than not."

    "Mm, I think we can arrange a change in that," Loki mused.

    Anja leaned forward and cupped his face, careful not to bump into his brace. "Sounds like a plan," she replied. "But you have to promise me not to almost die on me again."