Work Text:
Aidan dusted the remainder of the seeds and nuts off his hands, stepping back to watch from a distance as birds dropped from nearby trees to peck at their new meal. He backed away until the heel of his boot touched a large boulder near the edge of the clearing. Turning, he walked around the boulder until he found a crack in the side where he could lever himself up, gripping along the crevice and climbing up to sit cross-legged on top.
He lifted a bottle of water to his lips and drank a long sip before screwing the cap back on and setting it aside. Digging in the pocket of his tunic, he found his MP3 player and plugged in the earbuds, hitting shuffle. He smirked at the sound of the first song that popped up, Sunshine Of Your Love, and nodded along with the beat. Aidan set the music player face down on his thigh so the small solar panel he’d had affixed to the back faced the sun. It wouldn’t make a huge difference, but it would help conserve the energy until he could get home later to plug into the larger panel on the roof of his treehouse. Even that one took a while to charge things, but it was the best option the pawn shop dealer on Midgard could offer when he said he was travelling to a developing country where he didn’t think the standard charging cable would work. Asgard might not have the same USB ports or wall outlets, but they had light from their sun, which worked just fine with the solar panel.
Before long, he was mouthing along with the words and closing his eyes. However, it wasn’t so much the words that made the song catchy, it was the music and the upbeat rhythm. It was a lot different from the classical, instrumental music that was played in the town square. For an ancient race, he felt that some of Asgard was stuck in a more traditional culture cycle. Or maybe they just liked things simple. Most of the more advanced technology was also saved for the wealthy and military forces, while the lower classes far from the palace got make their clothing by hand and such. It was one of the reasons he liked sneaking off to Midgard when he could, because his money went further. The pawn shops went nuts for Asgardian gold, even if they had no idea where it came from. It probably also drove S.H.I.E.L.D. nuts to hear about alien currency showing up, which made him grin even more.
Aidan glanced back down at the birds scratching at the ground for any last seeds and sighed. He was still surprised at the amount of them that came flocking down from the trees as he walked by. Over the years, they’d recognized him as the one who brought them extra snacks during the dry months. He hadn’t meant to amass an army of birds, but he’d been told that’s what it looked like when he sprinkled a bag of seeds down in the clearing and was immediately surrounded by them chirping excitedly.
Then suddenly, all the birds scattered as a loud crack of thunder broke out in the clear sky. Dark clouds began to roll in, and Aidan stuffed his mp3 player away in his pocket and grabbed his water bottle just in time for the rain to come pouring down. He pulled up his hood and slid down from the rock, running along the path with a mutter of, “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” as he bolted through the trees. The rain was coming down so hard, even the protection of the trees didn’t keep him entirely dry. With how fast it had come on, it was very likely the elder prince Thor was having some kind of tantrum over something stupid. Or, maybe the two brothers were trying to kill eachother again. He rolled his eyes at the thought of it. Absolutely ridiculous, the whole royal family. Much too much testosterone in the palace.
Aidan waved a hand as he approached his treehouse, frantically making the sigils to undo the latch which caused the rope ladder to unroll. He scrambled up it and pressed his hand to the trap door for a moment before lifting it open. Runes glowed to confirm his identity, letting him in. He peeled off his damp tunic as the door shut silently behind him, and hung it over the railing surrounding the trap door to dry.
A fluffy black cat mewled up at him and nuzzled at his legs.
“Everything’s fine, Ryu,” He murmured as he stepped back away from the cat while he kicked off his boots and stripped off his leggings to hang them over the railing as well. “Just another storm. Happening more often lately, it seems. Must be trouble in paradise.” He chuckled as he pulled his mp3 player out of the pocket of his damp clothing and set it on his workbench to charge later when the sun came out.
Brushing his long crimson hair back out of his eyes with his fingers, he tied it back into a ponytail with a scrap of fabric. He went to the stove and snapped a spark of fire beneath it, filling the kettle from the pump by the sink. He spooned some tea leaves in a mug and waited as the water boiled. Once finished, he brought his mug of steeping tea over to the table by the bed, before taking a seat and pulling a warm blanket around himself. Ryu leapt up onto the bed and immediately crawled into his lap, little paws kneading at his thigh. Aidan smiled, breathing out a slow sigh as he ruffled the cat’s fur and scratched behind his ears. “You’re too cute, you know that? Always make me smile when I’m reminded that I’m surrounded by idiots.” He could have sworn he saw agreement in his little companion’s green eyes.