SUMMARY: Reader isn’t sure how to tell Thor how she feels, so she decides buying him something for Valentine’s Day will do the trick.
Hearts filled every available space in the kitchen, their round edges plump and pink like puckered lips waiting for a kiss. On the center of the island sat a poorly painted ceramic heart twice the size of a watermelon. Instead of pink, it was an angry red like blood, which was ironic to say the least. I pictured a giant somewhere clutching its gaping chest, wondering why someone would steal its most vital organ and use it as a cheap Valentine’s Day decoration.
“What is this?” I asked Tony. He faltered on the ladder propped against the sink. He was holding a ribbon, but he let it fall when he turned; gravity slowed as the fabric drifted toward the garbage disposal.
“Uh, Pepper said I don’t take Valentine’s Day seriously, so I figured I’d surprise her,” he shrugged, eyeing his handy work. Honestly, it looked like a convenience store holiday sales pitch threw up all over the place, but Tony looked a little too proud for me to burst his bubble, so I nodded and gave him a weak smile.
“You did...good.” I could’ve sworn I’d bitten a hole in my tongue trying to keep my thoughts to myself. I glanced down at my jeans to make sure they hadn’t caught fire. Surprisingly, they were the same faded blue as before.
“I know,” said Tony, and it’s the exact thing I was expecting to come out of his mouth because Tony loves himself too much to be imperfect.
I changed the subject. “Have you seen Thor?” I leave out why I’m looking for him; there’s no way in hell I’d give Tony a reason to talk shit. In my bedroom was a gift, something only meant for Thor and no one else. Amongst the Avengers, I’m better known for my lack of “understanding” and “compassion” and my “inability to connect with others.” So I stuck to the minimal questions and prayed that Tony did in fact know where Thor was.
“He’s training. You know, working on the big guns? Trying to...get that bread?”
“You’ve been hanging out with Peter haven’t you?”
“That’s none of your business.”
And like almost every other conversation Tony and I have had, it ended as soon as it began. I took two of Nat’s special shakes (a whole lot of vodka with a smidge of orange juice) out of the fridge and started heading toward the elevator. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one going down. One awkward ride with a newbie agent and a couple of swigs of one of Nat’s shakes later, I was stepping out onto the third floor. Across from the elevator was a giant wall of glass. Through the wall, I could see Thor going at it with an innocent punching bag. His black tank top was soaked through with sweat, and his standard grey shorts were hanging low on his waist. There was something about seeing Thor in anything other than his traditional Asgardian armour that always threw me for a loop. Not that he looked bad, he just looked off.
If I let my mind wander a bit I could almost imagine he was just another dumb jock, but I knew that wasn’t true. Though he looked like the average American football star and sometimes acted like an imcompetent child, he was smart. And strong. And brave.
And incredibly attractive.
I mean, he could turn any room full of women into the Atlantic.
I banged on the glass with my fist and watched as Thor nearly jumped out of his skin. “Hey, thunder. I brought booze!” I threw open the door and stepped into the gym. Thor met me halfway with a bone crushing hug; he smelled awful but I wasn’t going to complain. Being in his arms felt like literal heaven, all safe and warm and comfortable like nothing in the world could touch us as long as we stayed right where we were.
He pulled away, and my body immediately went cold. He took one of the shakes from my hand and shook his head.
“Dear friend, how many times must I remind you your Midgardian booze is like water to me?” he scolded, but he was smiling and so was I.
“So does that mean you don’t want to drink with me anymore?”
“Good. You’re literally the only person here I can drink with without me having to become someone’s babysitter.” Flashes of Clint attempting to shoot a fire hydrant with an arrow passed through my mind. I could practically hear Natasha now swearing on her life that she was the best at hide-n-seek; I’d spent half the night trying to find her. She’d been in one of the washing machines in the basement the whole time.
Thor’s booming laugh shook me out of my reverie. “I assure you a man of my nature needs no babysitter.”
“That’s good to know, Thor,” I said. “But, anyways, I actually came here to tell you I have something for you.”
One of Thor’s brows lifted as he took a sip of his shake. “A gift? What is the occasion?”
Fuck. I didn’t even take into consideration that he might not have understood earth holidays. Why, oh why, did I think this was a good idea? This is a perfect example of why I’m an Avenger and not a teacher.
“Well,” I started but had to stop and take a deep breath. “On earth we do this thing called Valentine’s Day where we sort of give gifts to the people we care about.”
“Ah, I see. Forgive me, but I did not get anyone anything.”
I peeled my eyes away from the floor to look up at Thor. He was frowning, the space between his brows pulled together.
“No, you’re fine,” I assured him. “Normally, people give people gifts on Valentine’s Day because they-well, they- uhm, they...maybesortofhaveamajorcrushonthem.” The last part came out in a rush, and I somewhat hoped Thor hadn’t been able to make out what I’d said, but of course he did. He was a god.
“But you say you’ve gotten a gift for me. Does that mean-”
I didn’t give him a chance to finish before I began rambling on about how sorry I was for pushing my feelings on him and how it was totally okay if he didn’t feel the same and how I kept the receipt and could return the gift if he didn’t want it. By that point, my face was the color of a ripe tomato and my hands were trembling. I hadn’t realized Thor was only a few inches away until he leaned down and pressed his lips against mine. My mind went into autopilot.
The walls began to melt and the dumbbells on the rack behind me were turning white and all the colors were melding together to form one big ball of blinding light and my body was on fire and I couldn’t feel my toes. Hands were in my hair, but I could barely register what was happening because my heart was thumping in my chest louder than I could handle and I couldn’t focus. My lips moved against his like petals desperate for rain. Somewhere outside thunder roared in the sky. Whether from the storm brewing in my chest or an actual storm, I would never know, but I wanted to drown in it and never come up for air because this was heaven.
All too soon Thor pulled away. His fingers were still tangled in my hair; he pulled my forehead to his, and I let him because I couldn’t bear not having a part of him not touching a part of me.
“Don’t apologize,” he whispered. I had no idea what I’d apologized for, but I nodded my head and promised I wouldn’t do it again.
He carefully moved his hand to my waist and smiled.
“I’d like to see this gift if that’s alright with you.”
I wanted to stay still. To press my thumb to my lips to hold his kiss in place. But Thor was tugging me toward the exit and into the elevator, and before I knew it, we were standing at the end of my bed and I was handing him the small, black box that I’d picked out two days ago.
He took the necklace out of the box and slipped it around his neck, the silver lightning bolt charm brushing against his chest.
As I stand here now in my white dress while Thor lifts the veil away from my face, I can’t help but look at that charm and remember that Valentine’s Day and that kiss and that fluttering feeling in my heart that I know will never go away.
I thank my lucky stars for those few sips of Nat’s shake I had in the elevator and say, “I do.”
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