In The Dark I See | Nat & Thor
There were some nights when the nightmares would wake her up more than once, others were so bad she couldn’t find the resolve to try to go back to sleep after. Ever since the leak when she’d released all of SHIELD and HYDRA’s dirty secrets onto the internet, there was this ever-present sense of dread. She’d done what she had to and there were no regrets but that wasn’t enough to put an end to the feeling of impending doom. Like she’d come home one night, flip on the light switch and be met by a team of half a dozen highly trained assassins ready to pay her back for betraying their masters.
It came with the territory, sure, but things had never hit so close to home. Not even after Loki or the invasion, not when the world and everyone in it was forced to acknowledge that there was more out there than they could ever fully grasp or comprehend.
Some of the worst dreams were sprinkled with memories of him, though she wasn’t sure how or why. Sure, Natasha had known more about Barnes than she’d let on when last she saw Steve at Fury’s grave but that hadn’t meant the two had shared a history that went beyond Odessa.
Even so, every night his face would appear among the strange images of Soviet commanders hovering over her, ballerinas en pointe twirling in unison and bitter Russian winters of decades long past.
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The top floor of Stark’s Avengers Tower was reserved for Thor. He was grateful to have a place on Earth where he could be among his team. This was his home now, the entire realm of Midgard. In many ways he missed Asgard and the golden halls in which he grew up. He missed his father and his mother and all of is friends, but Earth is where he belonged. It wasn’t something he could describe. There was only a sense of rightness when he was on this soil. Too many times now, the mortals had needed his aid and he gladly gave it along side his new found friends, the Avengers. They weren’t perfect by any means, but he was coming to regard them a sort of surrogate family.
During his time here, he became something of a nomad. A wanderer in the footsteps of his father. He spent time in London with Erik Selvig and Jane Foster. He also spent time in New York with the Avengers. In between, he’d travel everywhere, learning everything he could about the modern cultures of mortals. Nothing ceased to fascinate him here. Jane, too, had become a traveller of sorts. They still saw lots of each other, but it seemed she was always off winning some Nobel Peace Prize or discovering a new theory with a team of scientists. He was proud of her.
Currently he was in his home in Avengers Tower, sharpening many of his weapons. The room was high tech and sleek, but he managed to make it feel like home with fur rugs and and tapestries he’s collected in his travels. The balcony doors were open, letting in the breeze of the sunny New York City day.
When the knock came at his door, Thor paused in sharpening the great battle axe that lay across his lap. Solitude wasn’t something he minded, but he always welcomed the chance to regale tales of glory with friends. Picking up the axe in one hand, he walked over to the door and opened it with the other.
“The fierce Lady Romanoff,” he said with a grin. “Thine appearance brings a smile to my face.” He opened the door wider to allow her passage inside. “What brings thee here?” Though he refused to mention it until she did, it was hard not to notice to circles under her eyes.
