When Thor Odinson meets Peter Parker, itās a veritable hurricane outside, which seems almost fittingāhe is the god of thunder, after all. Heās dripping gallons of rainwater on the old wood floor and the boy in front of him is blinking up at him, his face almost blank except for a slight twitching at the corner of his lip: a movement Thor notes is one of amusement. āThought you might stop by,ā the boy across the counter says, stunned, before his face finally breaks itself open and into a full smile and Thor is struck, as he always seems to be, with how surprising these tiny humans can be. And this human is exceptionally tiny, though not necessarily shortāhe looks twig-like and breakable, and he reminds Thor vaguely of the small animals Loki would often chase around the woods in Asgard: this is a thought that stings a little, so he ignores it, asks for a coffee, says, āyou know my face?"Ā
Thor tries to remember all the things Jane Foster taught him, all the things his team taught him, the things that help to make him seem ordinary, that blend his face with the rest of the people in a crowdāas if that feat were entirely possible, as if his height and size and difference werenāt as isolating as they really were. Thereās something of Jane in the boyās face he notices, realizes, staring longer than is normally socially acceptable, but he canāt seem to care. Thereās a softness there and Thor is tired and he misses his brother and Jane and his father and home. Peter ducks his head, breathes out this funny little laugh, says, āof course I do, youāre the resident Norse god, after all.ā Thor blinks, mind suddenly shorting out, because, because, because thereās a boy in front of him with eyes like Jane who knows exactly who he is and what he is, and nothing is really making sense.
āAh, I see youāve met Parker,ā Tony says from the doorway, hood still up to block the rain and an old leather bag slung over his shoulder like heās working which he hardly ever really does, and Thor just feels the weight of confusion sink heavier on his shoulders. Tony pats one of his confusion-and-muscle-heavy shoulders sympathetically before stepping up to the counter and ordering a white mocha like he owns the place, which Thor is almost positive isnāt true, but sometimes he gets disoriented because Tony could own anything he wanted to, and sometimes he does own small hotels or casinos or whore housesāor, at least, he says he does. Sometimes Thor doesnāt know when heās telling the truth: heās only ever been good at picking Lokiās truths out of the sea of lies, white or not so white. He takes a moment to breathe here, not wanting his expression to match the sudden sour taste in his mouth because he wasnāt very good at it after all.
āYouāve finally decided to give sugar a try,ā Peter is grinning whilst ringing Tony up, hasnāt really stopped grinning since he stepped inside, actually, says, āIām so proud,ā and Tony rolls his eyes, sticks his tongue out like a petulant child. This makes Peter laugh, which Thor thinks is irrational and probably unwise because Tony should never be encouraged. āThis is only a trial run, so it better be good, or Iām swearing off sugar in favor of alcohol.ā Peter laughs at this again, says, āso, how long until Pepper gets back?ā but Tony just waves him off, collapses onto an armchair by the window, placing his bag down by his feet. āSee to our demigod, will you? He looks concussed.ā Peter blinks once, twice, returns his steady gaze to Thor, who stares back, fidgeting with the corner of his very wet jacket and, well, rain reminds him of so many things, but mostly just things he loves, Loki and home and thunder, thunder, thunder. Peter smiles a small, knowing smile, like he can read his mind, and hands him a towel across the counter. Thor is struck again with his simplicity and his magnetismāthis human is fragile and he is kind, and there are people worth saving in Midgard after all, he catalogues this within himself as if by doing this, he can convince his father of the same. Loki is so far past convincing, he thinks, and at that the bitter taste returns to his mouth.
Ā āIām sorry,ā Peter says with trepidation, glancing around him. āDoes it smell bad in here and I donāt know it? Your face just went allā¦ā he waves his hands around in a manner that Tony is wont to do, meaning to convey something with gestures that isnāt quite understandable. Itās so familiar, so sweet, so genuine, sort of young, in a way that doesnāt quite make him feel old as it does make him feel warm, and Thor has to let a smile spill onto his face as he shakes his head. He can picture in his mindās eye the look on his face, and it is the look of brokenness that he tries so desperately not to notice is there, the betrayal that still stings beneath the surface. As the phrase goes, you always hurt the one you love, and itās true and Thor knows this, but it goes both ways. Thereās plenty of hurt involved in love, but he just canāt help loving anyway. So it hurts and it hurts and it hurts, but he smiles at this human because this human is a kindness he never asked for, the way Jane was so long before.
"Apologies, my friend,ā he says, searching his jeans pockets for their strange paper money, and Peter nods, his brows knitted together, furrowed like heās thinking, while he punches in the corresponding keys on the register. Thor pays and Peter smiles and pours him a cup. Thatās when they all begin to trickle in, fugue-like in the slow build. After Tony comes Bucky and Steve, practically inseparable these days, then Clint, arm slung around Bruceās shoulders, then Natasha, finally, stamping rain onto the welcome mat. And so by the time Thor has his mug of coffee firmly in his hands, heās surrounded by his teammates and now heās the one blinking, dumbfounded. He glances at Peter who looks like a strange mixture of shy and proud and thinks what did I just step into? But Peterās smiling slow now, as if it took him a second to realize that his friends were there, and as if he still hasnāt realized what Thor took seconds to catch on to: that theyāre there for Peter, not the coffee. Thor just smiles because humans have such a huge capacity for brilliance, and heāll never stop being amazed by this, drinks his coffee in content silence.
