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Chapter Text

Thor remembered that night clearly.

It was the night before his 18th birthday. He stood on the balcony outside of his room, leaning on the railing. Wind rustled past him, creating a cool and relaxing atmosphere. The moonlight, along with the stars, casted a dim illumination over Asgard: the kingdom he grew up in, as well as the kingdom he was destined to rule in the future. After much contemplation, he went back inside his room, still lit by the candles he didn’t bother put out.

It was also the night before the name of his soul mate imprints itself on his body. It was already late, and he really should be sleeping, but he wanted to see his soul mate’s name as soon as the clock struck midnight. Fidgeting with his hands, he looked at his grandfather clock—it was still an hour before that, so he thought of what he could do in the meantime to help him wait.

The young prince glanced around his room and saw books on his bedside table—some of them novels, some a bunch of textbooks his tutor gave him. He flopped down his bed and flipped through some of them, but ultimately the words just looked like blocks of incoherent text. He threw aside the books in favor of rearranging the clothes in his closet, but ended up just staring at them. This went on for a while: he would try to find something to do in the hopes of calming his mind, until he heard the clock strike midnight.

Thor sprinted toward his dressing room and, taking his clothes off, faced the full-length mirror. He felt a tingling sensation on his right pectoral, and before he knew it, a name scribbled itself on it. It took time before Thor worked out the messy scrawl on his chest, but eventually he figured out the name: Bruce Banner.

For a while Thor just stood there, smiling. He hadn’t even met this Bruce Banner, yet he could already feel fondness for him (the name seemed masculine). He drew his fingers over the name before he put on his clothes again. He was about to go to bed when he decided against it. Loki, he thought. I should tell Loki. Excitedly he went out of his room with a candle, for he was sure that his little brother would already be sleeping.

Loki’s room was just across Thor’s. Opening the door gently so as not to startle him, Thor tiptoed toward his bed. The room was dark, with his candle being the only light source, which he lay on Loki’s bedside table.

“Loki,” Thor whispered, looming over his brother’s smaller frame. When he didn’t stir, Thor shook him gently. “Loki.” His voice was stern now, face frowning. He started shaking Loki more rigorously, which was enough to rouse him.

Opening his eyes, Loki scowled at Thor. “Thor, what the hell?” he snarled. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

“Loki! You do remember what day it is today, right?” Thor beamed, expectantly.

Loki blinked a couple of times. “If you woke me up at ass o’clock in the night just so I could greet you Happy Birthday—”

“No! I mean, yes, it is my birthday, but what I meant was”—Thor paused while he lifted the front of his shirt to expose his chest—“I finally know who my soul mate is!”

Loki squinted at the name on his chest, then grabbed the candle to illuminate it properly. “Bruce Banner?”

“Yes! Doesn’t the name sound amazing?”

“Thor, there is literally nothing special about that name,” Loki remarked, putting down the candle.

“Well,” Thor started, releasing the hem of his shirt, “you are always cynical by default, so I will just consider your opinion invalid.” He smirked, crossing his arms, but quickly his smirk turned into that of a fond smile. Quickly, he grasped Loki’s shoulders and exclaimed, “This is wonderful! I can finally find the love of my life! When I meet him, I’m going to court him by buying him gifts, and inviting him to our library and we can have dates in the garden and—”

“All right, all right! I get it! This Bruce Banner, whoever he is, is magnificent and you will gladly lay down your life for him. You’ve made your point.” Loki detached Thor’s hands from his shoulders and lay down, turning his back to Thor. “Now go to sleep. Father wouldn’t appreciate you stumbling to breakfast again.”

Thor glared at his brother’s sleeping form, then sighed. “Fair enough. Good night.” He blew out the candle then sauntered toward the door.

As he was opening the door, he heard Loki mumble, “Good night.” Thor smiled at him before going back to his own room.

--

“For the last time, you may not!” Thor’s father, Odin, seethed at him across the dining table. “You will leave this palace with a bodyguard, but only within the area of the nobility. You’re not allowed to roam around where the lower-class live or, god-forbid, outside of our kingdom. It’s either that, or you stay here.”

Thor stared at his long-forgotten breakfast, knuckles white and fists clenched. For the last twenty minutes he had been trying to argue that No, I won’t find him anywhere near us, I know a lot of nobles with none of them bearing the name Banner, and searching farther away would increase the odds of finding him. He would argue his point more, but figured that he might just make the situation worse, especially for Loki and their mother, Frigga, both of whom were forced to watch and listen to their quarrel. So he just stood up and excused himself out of the room.

Once he had left the dining room and entered the halls of their palace, he quickened his pace until he was practically sprinting. He hadn’t really thought of where he was going, but eventually he found himself in the Palace Library.

As if on instinct, he continued to run up to the second floor, and, turning right, sat down beside a familiar stack of books. He didn’t pay much attention to them at first, focusing his thoughts on his recent dispute. He felt guilty; he wished it hadn’t come to a point where he and his father were practically shouting at each other. He also couldn’t help feel upset about not being allowed to look for his soul mate. It was probably an irrational and immature thought, but damn it, he practically grew up just trapped in the palace, and he was yearning for freedom and independence.

These thoughts addled Thor’s mind for how long he didn’t know, until he heard a warm, familiar voice.

“Thor?”

Thor turned to look at his mother walking toward him. She sat next to him and took his hand in her own. He smiled, suddenly realizing that had probably been wearing an ugly scowl earlier. “How did you find me here?” he asked.

Mother chuckled, a sweet, pleasant sound. “Don’t you remember this particular aisle? Why, we used to go here a lot when you and your brother were children.”

Thor glanced around the books surrounding him and, taking notice of the sign suspended above, realized that these are the books containing information about soul mates. A warm, fuzzy feeling of nostalgia swam over him as remembered those times when Mother would bring him and Loki to this section of the library and read different stories and anecdotes and other information regarding soul mates. These were the highlights of his childhood: a time much simpler, filled with innocence but also naivety.

Mother added, “You also used to go here a lot just by yourself.”

Thor processed what she just said, after which a faint shade of pink crept up his face. Right. He also went here a lot when he wanted to cry. He sighed. “I swear I wasn’t having an emotional breakdown before you found me. I was just . . . thinking.”

“And what were those thoughts, exactly?”

Thor looked back at his mother and studied her face for a moment. She looked gentle, just as she always had. He could tell why Father fancied her: she was beautiful, but not in a way that catches your attention in a tavern in a drunken whim; rather, she looked lovely, in a way that could make even the most confident of people awkward and smitten with wholesome desires.

“I thought my being of legal age would be enough to convince Father that I can stand my ground in the real world, that I don’t need an escort constantly watching my back. Mother, with all due respect, I don’t want to be cooped up in the palace anymore. I want to experience life like any other person would.” Thor sighed, looking down at his lap. He felt his mother tense, then felt her grip on his hand loosen a bit.

“My son,” she started carefully, “the moment you were born, you already lost your right for that kind of life.” Thor whipped his head to look back at her, but she continued. “Your being crown prince means you’re destined for the throne. You are not meant to live amongst your people—you are meant to live for them, to love them and cherish and make sure they thrive.” She pursed her lips for a second. “I know you more than you think I do, and I know you are quite stubborn, so I won’t stop you in any of your endeavors, but just know that I love you and nothing will ever change that. I have my full trust in you that anything you do, you do because you genuinely think it is what’s best for you.”

Thor thought of the last thing she said and smiled in appreciation. He couldn’t find the right words to properly express his gratitude, so he just sat there in silence, which was eventually broken by his mother.

“What was his name again?” She smirked, raising her eyebrow.

It took a couple of seconds before Thor was able to react. He undid the buttons of his tunic, enough to be able to pull back the collar and show the name written on his chest.

“Bruce Banner,” she read, smiling. “I’m sure he’s lovely and will make you very happy.” She stood and Thor followed suit. They walked out of the library in silence.

Before they broke off in the hallway, Frigga squeezed Thor’s hand in reassurance. It was all he needed before he went to Loki.

It took all of his self-control to not barge into Loki’s room. When he entered, he saw his little brother hurling knives at a makeshift target (which their father has already ordered to get rid of multiple times).

Thor scowled. “What the hell- Oh, never mind.” He sighed; he would deal with this later. “Loki, I need your help.”

--

The plan was simple enough.

Loki would disguise Thor: give him an eye patch, paint his face with scars, and hide his long, blonde hair with a brown wig. Thor would assume the persona “Blake,” complete with a made-up backstory. He would cooperate with their gatekeeper, Heimdall (whom he had befriended when he was still young), so that he won’t tell Odin about Thor’s sneaking out.

Thor roamed around the different towns and villages of Asgard, trying to find anyone with a visible name tattoo with his name on it, or trying to eavesdrop on others who might know of a Banner. Sometimes he would wind up in taverns with grumpy, drunk men who would try to pick a fight on him; thankfully, he knew the basics of unarmed combat, so he would always end up victorious albeit with minor injuries (there was also the fact that none of these men knew how to fight properly, much less when they were drunk).

Thor’s escapades went on for months. Aside from all of the brawls, he had gained a couple of friends which helped him find more people who might know of the name Banner. But almost a year passed and he still didn’t have a single trace on his soul mate—not that this had discouraged him from going to town. Eventually he went out of the palace not just to look for his soul mate anymore, but because the experience was thrilling—at least, for someone who grew up in an aristocratic environment. He had never experienced anything like this before: strolling down busy streets, bustling and loud with civilian chatter; bantering with crude language; buying things for himself instead of relying on his servants to do the magic for him.

None of the civilians ever suspected that their crown prince was casually just traipsing along with them because, while Loki’s disguise was also deceptive, the notion that “The crown prince is in the fish market under a disguise!” was just plain ridiculous.

After a couple more months, however, Thor had to tone down his downtown trips lest Odin finds out what he had been up to. His father had also started bringing him along to council meetings—“Just listen, don’t speak; you need to learn more of our nation’s politics before you can contribute to our meetings,” Odin had said—which definitely made his once non-existent schedule busier. This didn’t mean that Thor had completely given up. Even though he rarely managed to visit small towns and villages, he never lost the melancholic yet hopeful feeling in his heart, telling him that one day, you will meet the man who will offer you nothing but happiness and love. One day, you will be able to reciprocate his admiration and esteem fully and completely. One day, you will find your soul mate.

Even after ten years with no trace nor sign of Banner, Thor still held onto that hope.

Chapter Text

Thor sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Loki swinging down a knife on his arm. He feinted with his sword, pretending to disarm him; easily it was deflected by Loki’s other dagger. With Loki’s arms stretched out, Thor took this as an opportunity to kick him square on his chest, sending him sprawling through the floor of the palace’s sparring room Valhalla—a sturdy hall built suspended meters above the ground, adjoining two sections of the palace.

The so-called “Warriors’ Hall of Asgard” was well-lit by sunlight coming in through giant windows which overlooked Asgard. Stone columns supported the ceiling, which had intricate paintings, telling the story of centuries-worth of Asgard’s history. Racks of weapons were situated along the walls. The clashing of swords, as well as the sounds of feet shuffling (and Loki sprawling, at that moment) on the floor filled the hall.

“Still keeping those knives or use a sword like the rest of us do?” Thor teased. He gestured around the hall, filled with soldiers, guards, and noblemen sparring with a variety of swords, some blunted for beginner’s use and others sharpened, like Thor’s rapier and Loki’s daggers.

Loki got up, brushing off dirt from his clothes. “I will keep the knives, thank you very much,” he said with a smile. He flipped his daggers, catching them with ease. Seeing as he wasn’t planning on making the aggressive move, Thor charged at him. Loki prepared himself, and before Thor could attack him, took a step and slid down, using the momentum to trip Thor with the flat side of his blade.

Almost immediately after crashing on the floor, Thor got to his defensive stance. This time he let Loki approach him, and they went back to sparring.

Thor might have had the upper hand in terms of strength, but Loki was more agile. He knew that Loki preferred shorter blades because they allowed him to carry his weight more easily, which also gave him the chance against Thor. When he wasn’t evading Thor’s attacks, he would be deflecting them while looking any openings to hit Thor.

“So, how’s your soul-mate-hunting?” Loki breathed out, trying to disarm him. This was another thing Loki was notorious at: trying to distract Thor through conversation.

“Shut up, Loki. I won’t fall for this again.” Thor gritted his teeth, trying his best to focus on their sparring.

“No, I’m serious. I want you to tell me.” Loki leaped backward, sheathing his knives and raising his hands.

Thor sighed, lowering his sword. “Still no word of him. Doesn’t mean I should stop looking.”

“Brother,” Loki started carefully, “you know I care about you very much, right?” He paused, as if waiting for Thor to say something. When Thor stayed silent, Loki continued. “Honestly, I think you should just . . . allow fate to bring Bruce Banner to you. Besides, don’t you think that your soul mate would be the one looking for you, seeing as you are the crown prince and your name is well-known here? The only way he wouldn’t know your name is if he’s from another kingdom.”

Thor gazed out the window, taking in his homeland. He had to admit, Loki did have a point. However, he had come to love his country so much—all of it, unlike Odin and most of the nobility who only see the beauty in the aristocratic parts. He enjoyed travelling through his kingdom, learning about the different towns’ traditions. “I am certain that fate is the determining factor on when and where we will find each other. But after all of these years of looking, I can’t rest easily just sat here in the palace. There is something comforting about being around the townsfolk. Not only do I feel closer to Bruce Banner, but I don’t feel pressured into—”

The sound of quick footsteps and a flash of dark clothes broke his gaze and he quickly raised his sword, but it was too late: Loki’s blade was upon Thor’s hilt and he was disarmed, his sword clattering a few meters away. Loki raised the point of his dagger to Thor’s neck.

Thor scowled. That greasy little snake. He moved away the blade with a finger. Loki stepped back, a smug look painted on his face. He flipped his daggers again before sheathing them.

“You weren’t so bad,” Loki said, walking toward Thor. He gave him a pat on his shoulder and, before leaving the sparring room, said, “But that was the fifth time in a row I won.”

--

The next day, Thor was sat on a chair on his balcony. He had just attended a meeting with the Royal Council and had come to his room to relax. He gazed over Asgard, deep in thought, when a pounding on his door shook him from his contemplations.

“Come in!” he yelled, turning to his room’s entrance.

Loki entered the room and, without permission, flopped himself down on Thor’s bed. “Attended the meeting?” he inquired.

“Yeah. Abhorrent, as usual.”

“Oh?” Loki looked at Thor. “Tell me more.”

Thor stood up, rubbing his eyes. “Want to know the subject of the meeting? Us. And our sparring. The council told Father that we were being reckless, not wearing the proper gear and using real weapons and blah blah. I don’t know how they will ever be convinced that we’re not stupid and won’t accidentally cut each other’s heads off.”

“You’re right. If I ever cut your head off it would’ve been intentional.”

“Loki, no.”

Loki chuckled, fishing something out of his pocket—a crumpled piece of paper, it seemed. “Found something outside. Apparently copies of these have been circulating around the townsfolk. It might cheer you up.” He threw the paper at Thor, who caught it with ease.

He unfurled the piece of paper and stared at it in confusion. “Inventors’ convention?” he asked, looking up.

“Bottom-right corner. Look at the names.”

Thor looked back at the paper. A lot of names were featured there, presumably names of inventors. But there was a section on the corner with a block of text printed in a much larger font. He read through it and—

Thor felt his heart hammer against his chest. COME SEE THE INVENTIONS OF THE TWO GENIUSES OF MIDGARD:  TONY STARK AND BRUCE BANNER.

Bruce Banner.

Bruce Banner.

At that moment, Thor froze. He kept staring at the paper, afraid for a second that if he ever took his eyes off it, the name will disappear. It was as if seeing that name written elsewhere other than his chest made his brain short-circuit.

“I guess you owe me twice now—” This snapped Thor back to reality. He pulled Loki out of the bed and gave him a crushing hug.

After a while, Loki pushed him back with a scowl. Thor stared at him, dumbstruck, then eventually breathed out, “Thank you.”

Loki was silent for a moment, then pushed back his sleeve. On his arm was an ornate tattoo of a knife, with Odinson written across the blade. Two years after Thor got his soul mate tattoo, Loki got his on his left arm, except his was a rare variation—a type of tattoo that signified a loyal family member who will put their family first. When their father found out about his tattoo, he scoffed at the idea and thought it ironic, but Thor understood—he and Frigga and, to some extent, Heimdall, all loved Loki dearly, and while he had always had trouble expressing his love through words, he never failed to show them that he cared and would do anything for them.

Pointing at the tattoo, Loki said, “This never failed to make things easier for you, huh?”

At this, Thor’s face broke into a smile. “This is it. I will finally meet him.” He paused, then a thought struck him. “I have to make a good first impression, don’t I? Are the clothes in my wardrobe presentable enough? Should I give him a gift, flowers maybe? Or- or a necklace! Maybe I should compose a poem—”

“Thor, stop.” Loki braced his hand on Thor’s shoulders. “Don’t try to overdo it. Just meeting his soul mate would probably would probably be too much of a shock for Banner, so try to approach him about it slowly and steadily. Then, once you’ve established your relationship, you can shower him with affection.”

Thor contemplated this. He wanted only the best for Bruce, and Loki, once again, had a point. He decided he would just introduce himself to Bruce then talk about the years of looking for him. “Thank you,” he said again, smiling “You actually give good advice, you know?”

Loki showed his tattoo again and said, “Now you owe me thrice.”

--

The convention began three weeks after the day Loki gave Thor the poster. The venue was in the Oppland Hall in Lillehammer town, which was commonly used for big events as it had a wide, open space. Thor had gone to this town before for games and bazaars.

That day, he decided to pass up the wig and faint scars; instead, he opted for a scarf to cover most of his head, but kept the eye patch. He didn’t want to reveal his identity to most of the locals, but would want Bruce to see him without the disguises. As for his attire, he decided to wear a gold-embroidered blue tunic and a pair of dark pants—something decent and a bit unusual for a local villager, but not too fancy or elegant. However, he did wear a poncho over it, so as not to make himself noticeable, which he would remove once he met Bruce.

Entering the horse stables, Thor couldn’t stop smiling. With butterflies in his stomach, he could feel himself blushing from the heat covering his cheeks. He went to his horse, a beautiful, dappled gray mare. “We’re going to Lillehammer today to meet my soul mate. Are you excited, Mjolnir?”

Mjolnir neighed. Thor was taught horseback-riding when he was just a kid, and was allowed to borrow some of the horses in the stable when he turned 18, but it was a couple of years after that until he decided to get a horse of his own.

Before leaving, Thor fed Mjolnir some carrots. Donning his poncho, scarf, and eye patch, he mounted Mjolnir and rode to the palace gates were Heimdall was situated.

Heimdall ordered for the gates to be opened. Mjolnir trotted toward Heimdall, and, with a cheeky grin, Thor told him, “Just off to a town. This time, I am quite certain where he may be.” He got the poster from his pocket and showed Heimdall the section that said BRUCE BANNER.

For a split second, Thor swore he saw Heimdall’s eyes widen and—did his lips break into a smile?—but just as quickly he regained composure. “I must say, I am quite happy for you. As usual, you may pass.”

“Thank you.” And, with full speed, Thor rode through Asgard.

The electrifying feeling of riding his horse through his kingdom came rushing back to him, intensified by the surging excitement of meeting his soul mate. The familiar breeze cut into his skin, the taste coating his lips. His ears rang with the clopping of Mjolnir’s hooves against cobblestone streets, coupled with the noises coming from carriages and clamoring of civilians.

In what felt like minutes, Thor finally arrived at his destination.

Making his way to the village, he could already hear noise coming from the Oppland hall with all the inventors and scientists preparing their booths. He got off Mjolnir; all the other horses were tied to a stable outside the Oppland Hall, but Thor let Mjolnir wander around the village. Wherever he went, he would always give her the liberty to go wherever she wanted, trusting that he would always find her if he needed to go home.

Entering the Oppland hall, Thor noticed that most of the people there were the inventors as it was still early before the convention starts. With a map given to him, he quickly navigated himself to where the booth of Tony Stark and Bruce Banner would be. Eventually he found himself faced with a stage, much bigger than the space allotted for the other inventors. They’re really that special, huh? Thor thought. Of course their booth is special if Bruce Banner is a part of it. Suddenly, he giggled. Then he mentally slapped himself for that—even he thought that was too cheesy.

After about twenty minutes, people started piling in the hall until it was practically full. Most of the inventors had finished setting up their booths and already had audiences, but Tony Stark and Bruce Banner still weren’t to be seen. However, a lot of people were already eagerly waiting in front of their stage.

After a while, smoke started covering the stage, until eventually fireworks started coming out of the sides. The stage still remained devoid of a person, until a silhouetted man walked on from backstage. He stepped in front of the smoke, holding a certain funnel-shaped device on his hand. The audience cheered and clapped for him. This man was a bit tall; his beard was trimmed, and he had a confident and charismatic demeanor. He wore a luxurious coat over a frilled dress shirt, signifying his wealth. He raised the device and placed the smaller end of it near his mouth. He spoke into it: “Greetings, Asgard!” His voice boomed into the funnel, which startled a lot of people, including Thor. “I am Tony Stark, of Midgard, and before anything I would like to thank all of you for being here—it really means a lot. Now, I know what you’re all thinking: What is this I’m holding? And how do I make my voice loud with it? Well, this right here is what I call a megaphone. The idea to make this actually came from my buddy, Bruce. Bruce! Why don’t you introduce yourself?” Thor perked up when he heard the name. He felt his heart racing, and had trouble controlling his breathing as he watched in anticipation. Another silhouette of a man formed on the back of the stage. He walked to the front of the stage and—

The man—Bruce Banner—was easily the most beautiful person Thor had ever had the honor to lay his eyes upon. Dark curls fell just above warm, brown eyes. Rosy lips complemented his bright smile and a light stubble covered his soft jawline. He had a light beige complexion, the sunlight shining on his smooth skin. He wore a simple, purple tunic, in contrast to Stark’s lavishness. He had a short stature, and Thor could already imagine burying his nose in those curls and kissing his forehead as he holds him close.

All of these thoughts clouded Thor’s mind as he watched Bruce and tried to listen to him. He had been telling the story of how the idea of the megaphone came to be—something about making it easier to shout across the house from his lab?—but he could only focus on the sweet sound of his voice. He was soft-spoken, yet able to speak with clarity and enough power to hold the attention of his audience—well, most of his audience, it seemed, as no matter how much Thor tried to concentrate, he was already crafting an image of a loving relationship inside his head.

During the convention, Bruce and Stark featured three of their inventions, including the megaphone. The other two were the telescope (they gave a great view of the heavenly bodies!) and a steam engine (a machine that produces mechanical energy using steam!). The deeper science of these inventions flew past Thor (mostly because he kept ogling at Bruce), but he grasped the general explanation of it.

The two inventors ended off with an announcement: They have permanently relocated in Lillehammer town and will set up a shop there. After this they went backstage with more cheering coming from the audience.

Thor saw this as an opportunity to introduce himself. He sneaked around the stage until he saw the area behind it. There, he saw Bruce conversing with Stark. The latter seemed to have excused himself, as he went away and left Bruce there.

Once again, Thor’s heart started pounding against his chest. He could feel heat rising up his cheeks, but pushed down his fear. He had waited so long for this; he couldn’t suddenly back out. So, taking off his disguises, he took tentative steps toward his soul mate and coughed to grab his attention.

This startled Bruce, which led Thor to realize that he was probably not as confident in social situations as he made it out to be when he spoke earlier.

“Hi,” Thor said, quite dumbly if he said so himself.

“Uh, hey.” The response was awkward and stilted, but Bruce managed to gain composure and ask, “What can I do for you?”

Thor gulped. In a panic, he looked around the room and noticed the telescope sitting just to the left of Bruce. “The telescope—it uses lenses and mirrors to project a farther image? Forgive me for asking for clarification, I wasn’t . . . able to listen properly what with all the people earlier.” That was half-true, at least.

At that question, Bruce lit up. And if it wasn’t the most adorable sight, then Thor didn’t know what was. He grabbed the telescope and explained again how it worked. “Okay, so there’s an eye piece on the telescope, right? Well, just beside it, there’s also a lens that captures the image from above. Inside the telescopes there are a bunch of different lenses and mirrors used to manipulate the image and make it larger, which is now projected onto the larger lens here”—he pointed to the wide lens at the end of the telescope—“which you look at through the eyepiece.” He then went on to explain the different lenses and mirrors and their shapes, how their being “convex” and “concave” gave different effects to the image.

This time, Thor listened intently, understanding the concept of optics and how their invention was a breakthrough in astronomy. Watching him so passionate about his work melted Thor’s heart, and he found himself being more and more relaxed around his presence. Eventually, they fell into a more casual conversation about Bruce and Stark’s simpler inventions.

“By the way, I never really got your name,” Bruce noted.

Thor pursed his lips, but he was less nervous. “Thor. Thor Odinson.” He scanned Bruce’s face to spot any signs of familiarity, but—nothing?

Bruce smiled extending his hand, saying, “Nice to meet you. Really.”

Frowning, Thor took his hand. Sheepishly, he asked him, “Um, does my name not . . . sound familiar to you?”

“Well, not really, no. You can’t blame me, though, right? I mean, I just moved to Asgard, so I wouldn’t know any Asgardian family names.” He said this with a slight chuckle. Thor looked down at Bruce’s arm, and noticed that when his sleeve was pulled back, his arm was covered by a brace. A special type of brace, used for—

Then, like a waterfall cascading down, dread washed over him. His face started to sweat; he couldn’t breathe, and it was evident with how Bruce looked at him with concern.

“Thor? Are you—”

“It was really nice meeting you as well, but I have to go, um, enjoy yourself here, uh, yeah.” Thor barely stammered that last part out with a nervous chuckle, then left the booth. He ran out of Oppland hall then whistled. He looked around and saw Mjolnir running back toward him. He rode back to the palace, trying not to think about what had just happened as much as possible. He wasn’t even able to greet Heimdall when he returned. All he could think of was he needed to go somewhere safe.

With Mjolnir back in her stable, Thor sprinted back to the palace. He didn’t think much of where he was going, letting his legs take charge, until once again, after all of these years, he found himself situated in the Soul Mates section of the library. Heart racing throughout his entire body, he grabbed as many books as possible. With trembling hands, he skimmed through them. He skipped the good bits of the topic of soul mates and ventured into the rare situations regarding them, and only found information confirming his dread.

It is possible to get the name of a person who doesn’t have yours. Unrequited love happens when you have a soul mate, but you are not their soul mate. Braces are often worn to cover names out of bitterness, such as a tragedy befalling one’s soul mate. Braces are often worn as a sign for others that the wearer doesn’t wish to pursue romantic relations. Not only is it possible to not have your name on your soul mate’s body, it is also possible for them to have someone else’s name.

Thor came to an unsettling conclusion: Thor’s soul mate may be Bruce, but Bruce had a different soul mate, one who probably met a tragic end, enough to make Bruce bitter enough to not want to be involved in any soul mate business.

Closing off a book, Thor slid down, his back to a shelf. Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, he closed his eyes. Putting his face in his hand, he did something he hadn’t done for years, and never thought he would do again. Tears gushed out of his eyes, and before long, he started choking down his sobs, chest heaving.

For years, he never thought he would cry again.

Chapter Text

Bruce couldn’t shake away the feeling he got after he met Thor Odinson.

When he first saw him, there was only one way he could’ve described him: intimidating. Thor towered over Bruce; his body was broad and his muscles bulged in his clothes. He had sharp, rigid features and a neatly-trimmed beard, making him handsome in a rugged and masculine way.

But what intimidated Bruce the most was the glaring aristocratic air Thor held with him. Growing up, Bruce had never done well with the upper-class: years of isolation, alienation, and being out-casted all came flooding back to him when he saw the way Thor stood with pride and dignity, accentuated with his gold-embroidered clothes matching his flowing blonde hair and bringing out his crystal-blue eyes. At that moment, with Thor in front of him in the back of the stage, he expected him to make snide remarks about the way he looks, sounds—anything.

Thor wasn’t anything like that.

When he approached Bruce awkwardly, he let his guard down a bit. When Thor started talking about his and Tony’s inventions with genuine interest—that was when Bruce decided he had judged him too quickly. They fell into an easy and casual conversation about the devices and science in general.

Bruce didn’t know what power he possessed with him that he could easily ruin the moment just by asking for his name.

When Thor told him his name and had expected him to know it, Bruce immediately went for the defensive and told him that he was new to Asgard and didn’t know anyone yet. He expected Thor to get mad at him, or confused, or condescending, or literally any other reaction he had ever gotten from any famous people he didn’t know. The last thing he was expecting was for Thor to look nervous and agitated. Another thing he wasn’t expecting was for him to flee as if something bad just happened.

All of these thoughts muddled Bruce’s mind, the churning in his gut never having quite left after their exchange. He opened the door to the building where he and Tony would be setting up their shop. Boxes and crates were already being shuffled around the ground floor by workers supervised by Happy.

Bruce went for the stairs which led to their apartment rooms above the shop. Right then, he needed someone to talk to.

--

“All right, so what got you so frazzled?” called Tony from the kitchen.

Bruce was sat in Tony and Pepper’s lounge. Their room was spacious, housing a couch, a fireplace, and bookshelves. Floorboards creaked under the weight of Tony’s feet as he walked over to wear Bruce was, carrying a tray of tea cups and a tea pot. He set these down on a coffee table in front of the sofa and settled down next Bruce, pouring tea for both of them.

“Someone . . . talked to me at the back of the stage in the convention earlier,” Bruce said, frowning. He rested his elbows on his thighs, chin on his hand.

“And? They get into any trouble?” Tony inquired, raising an eyebrow at Bruce.

“No—well, no . . . At first I thought he was one of the usual rich douchebags. Turns out he just wanted to ask about our convention, our inventions, the science behind them, our shop . . . basically nothing I ever expected.” Bruce sighed and closed his eyes, ruffling his hair. “It was going kind of fine, actually. Then I asked for his name, and he told me it was Thor Odinson, then he—”

Next to him, Tony spat out his drink. “Go on,” he said, when Bruce paused to look at him.

“. . . Yeah, so, anyway, this guy asked me if I knew who he was, then when I said no, he freaked out and just bolted out of the Oppland hall.” He rubbed his eyes, recalling the way Thor had looked. The poor guy was nothing short of okay, and Bruce wanted to help him. He looked back at Tony, who looked back at him with a mixture of emotions, possibly ranging from The fuck? and Are you actually that dumb? Hell, with Tony, Bruce could never know for sure.

“Bruce, buddy, you just had a conversation about steam engines to the crown prince of Asgard.”

Now it was Bruce’s turn to have a momentary what-the-actual-fuck expression. His jaw dropped, his eyes widened, and he forgot how to speak for a while.

“Now, I don’t know why the crown prince would behave like that—”

“What about why he would be in the convention in the first place?” Bruce tried to look for any signs in Tony’s face that would tell him that he was only joking, but he seemed serious about Thor Odinson being the prince of Asgard.

Tony set down his cup and raised his hands. “Look, royalties are weird. I probably wouldn’t have been fazed had I been in your position.”

Bruce slowly shook his head, still in utter disbelief. Tony started laughing and said, “I can’t believe you met the Prince Thor of Asgard without knowing that he was the prince.”

“Hey, come one! You’re the one here with a lot of connections. Of course I wouldn’t know who he is! I barely knew anyone at Midgard, let alone here.” Bruce rubbed the back of his neck. “I still don’t understand why he would react like that. Getting annoyed for not knowing who he is? Plausible. Looking like he just saw someone being tortured? It seemed so random, it really got me worried.”

Tony rested his hand on his shoulder. “Look, you’re clearly just overthinking things. Like I said, royalties can be weird. I wouldn’t hold that against them.”

Bruce sighed. Both men settled into a comfortable silence. With Tony, Bruce never had to feel awkward. They had been best friends since they were children that they were practically brothers; they had always cared for each other.

The problem is, sometimes, Tony cared too much.

“Hey, so there is this nice restaurant just around the corner. Pepper and I decided to eat there for dinner. Maybe you should—”

“Tony, no.” Tony looked disappointed. He opened his mouth to argue more, but Bruce cut him off. “What with how I’m doing now, things won’t magically go back the way they used to.” Instinctively, Bruce placed his hand on his brace, caressing it. “Going out with the two of you . . . it would remind me too much of Betty.”

Just saying her name caused a pang in his heart. Almost three years had passed since the operation—when Bruce had failed when Betty needed him to succeed the most. At first, Bruce lost the will to live. He couldn’t think of a life without his beloved—his soul mate. But eventually he started patching himself up. Granted, there were still holes, but it was still progress.

Tony didn’t take his eyes off Bruce. “At least promise me you’ll be okay?”

Bruce smiled at him. “Of course. After all, isn’t that the reason why we decided to set up this shop?”

Tony smiled back, draping an arm around his shoulders. “I swear it’ll get better, Bruce.”

“I know.”

--

Snow crunched under Bruce’s feet as he stepped out of their shop. The sharp, cold wind cut into his face. The morning sun was practically blocked off by the clouds and snow. He pulled his hood over his head and clutched his cloak, setting his path to a store several blocks down.

Only a week had passed since the convention, yet the harsh winter had already greeted them—well, harsh for Bruce, it seemed. Walking along the sidewalk, he noticed a lot of children playing in the snow: throwing snowballs, making snowmen, some just hurling themselves into a pile of snow. Even the streets were busier; carriages trudged along, some clearing the road of snow, others going around the town selling coal. Bruce stopped to buy some for the furnace in his and Tony’s workshop, and stuffed it in a satchel he brought with him.

After what felt like half an hour of trekking through the snowy Alps, Bruce arrived at the Foster Chemical Enterprises. Entering the store, he was met with the familiar sight of chemicals stacked on racks against the walls. At the counter, Jane Foster was reading. Hearing him come in, she looked up and smiled at him. “Hi, Bruce.”

Putting down his hood, he walked toward the counter. Smiling back, he said, “Hello, Jane. Has the sulfuric acid I ordered arrived yet?” He had ordered it on the same day of the convention—which was also the day they met. Both being scientists and from Midgard (although Jane had moved to Asgard when she was younger), they instantly became kindred spirits.

“Just today, actually. Come on.” Jane stood up and entered a backdoor. Bruce followed suit.

The storage room was quite large; it had a lot of boxes, most of them having a warning sign. Jane picked up a tightly covered bottle from one of the shelves. “500 milligrams of sulfuric acid, for Banner,” she read, giving the bottle to him.

“Thank you.” Bruce carefully put it in his satchel.

Both walked back to the counter where Bruce paid. Just as Bruce was about to leave, Jane told him, “You know, I’m supposed to ask what you’re going to use it for, but seeing as you’re wearing a brace, I don’t think it would be necessary.”

Bruce looked at her in confusion. “Why? And what does my brace have to do with it?”

“Some people buy corrosive chemicals to burn a part of their skin that has their soul mate's name.”

This confused Bruce even more. “Why would they do that?”

“Depends.” Jane shrugged. “Some do that instead of wearing a brace. Others do it because their name changed and they don't want their former soul mate to know.”

“This is the first time I heard about this policy in a store.” Bruce frowned, pondering the reason of this policy that Jane told him. “Actually, this is also the first time I heard about deliberately burning your own skin.”

“Midgardian laws and customs are different.”

“I didn't even know your mark can change.”

“Well, it can. Can’t say it happens all the time.” Jane sat back behind the counter.

Bruce was silent for a while. These revelations nearly shook him to his core. Maybe these will distract me enough to help me move on from Betty? he thought “Huh. Okay . . . Well, thanks again, Jane.”

Jane nodded at him and waved him goodbye as he left.

--

There were a handful of customers at the Stark and Banner Tech when Bruce arrived. Pepper was at the front desk, while Tony handled the customers.

Bruce showed the bottle of sulfuric acid to Tony, and he gave a thumbs-up of approval. Bruce made a beeline toward the back of the store where their lab was.

There, he stacked the acid with the other corrosive acids and, donning his lab coat and goggles, got to work. Recently he had been working on distilling petroleum in order to use the petroleum oil for lamps as opposed to whale oil. If he were able to do this, then not only would they have a more accessible form of fuel for lamps (as petroleum is abundant), the hunting of whales would drastically decline.

Hours passed with Bruce testing different temperatures for distillation and gathering samples. He tested these and noted all of the different effects they brought to several lamps. Just as he was nearing the perfectly distilled form of petroleum, Tony shouted from the store, “Bruce! Can you come here for a while?”

“That can probably wait, this can’t,” Bruce called back. He was about to put oil in the lamp when Tony interrupted him again—

“Uh, no, this can’t either. I’m serious.”

With a snarl, he set down the materials and removed his goggles. Stomping over to the store, he snapped at Tony. “Tony—”

Bruce stopped dead in his tracks. In front of him was Tony, looking at him expectantly, and behind him was—

“Ah, there you are, Banner,” greeted Prince Thor, looking delighted. “I wish to speak with you regarding our previous encounter.”

Chapter Text

On the night of the convention, Thor found himself in Loki’s room.

When Loki saw him in his red and puffy state, he offered consolation. They sat on Loki’s bed and he let Thor talk it out.

“What will you do now?” Loki rubbed Thor’s back.

Thor had been thinking about that before he went to Loki. He recalled how Bruce looked when he entered the stage; he recalled how passionate the scientist was, how his face lit up; he recalled how happy he felt when at last, after so many years, he found his soul mate.

“After all this time, I really can’t lose him, can I?” Thor looked at Loki and smiled, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “He may not be able to feel the same, but he’s still my soul mate and holds a place in my heart.”  He reached through his shirt’s collar and placed his hand on the mark that had been engraved on his chest for a decade. He traced the name. Bruce Banner. He would never get tired of that name. “He and the other inventor—Stark—they have a store at Lillehammer. I could see him there. Maybe be able to befriend him.”

Loki chuckled. “Now, you can’t expect to act normal in front of him with you feeling like shit.”

“Father will catch on if he notices me not being around that much. I’d say I have a week, at least.” Thor shrugged. “By that point, I should be fine and ready to see Bruce again.”

“Speaking of which, do you plan on telling them?”

“Father? No. Absolutely not. He would probably tell me to just wait for Bruce to be the one to come to me. As for Mother—I’m sure she’d be glad to know.”

Loki clutched Thor’s shoulder. “You know . . . I’m proud of you. You never let anything bring you down.”

“Thank you. Hopefully nothing does.”

--

Thor got out of his carriage and stepped on snow in front of the Stark and Banner Tech. Through the store’s glass walls, he saw a couple of customers milling about. He did his best to cover his face with his cloak’s hood and entered the shop.

The shop looked like a technological dreamland. Thor stared around, eyes wide, taking in all of the gadgets and machinery. There was no sign of Bruce Banner, but Stark was there, talking with a customer. The customer nodded, then went to the counter where a red-haired woman was. With Stark alone, Thor saw this as an opportunity to ask him about Bruce. He approached him and said, “Stark—”

Stark turned to Thor, eyebrows furrowed.

“—may I ask where Banner is at the moment?”

Stark continued to stare, mouth agape. “Sorry, do we know you?”

Thor blinked. Then, in a low grumble, he whispered, “You may not, but he does. I am Thor Odinson—”

Stark’s eyes widened. “Shit. Prince Thor. I’m terribly sorry for that, uh—”

Thor waved his hand dismissively. “It is fine.”

“Right. Uh, what can I do for your highness?” Stark stood up straight.

Thor frowned. “As I have said, I wanted to ask where Banner is right now.”

“Right. Right, of course. Bruce!” Stark turned to one of the doors at the back. “Can you come here for a while?”

“That can probably wait, this can’t,” a voice shouted back. Thor smiled. The sound of Bruce’s voice made him feel lighter.

Thor was about to tell Stark that If he’s busy, I can wait for him, but Stark insisted, “Uh, no, this can’t either. I’m serious.”

Stomps reverberated throughout the floors. The door swung open, and out came a not-so-pleased-looking scientist. “Tony—” Bruce started, but stopped when he saw Thor.

“Ah, there you are, Banner.” Thor took in the sight of Bruce: his shocked expression, messy curls, and lab coat. Thor figured that Bruce had been in their lab working on an experiment. “I wish to speak with you regarding our previous encounter.” He walked toward Bruce.

Bruce looked up at him and his body quivered. He nodded. “Yeah—Yes. Of course, your highness.”

“Ah, so I take it you found out who I am?” Thor chuckled.

“Prince Thor, I apologize for—”

Thor stopped Bruce with a gesture. “There’s no need for formalities and an apology.” As much as possible, he wanted to make Bruce feel comfortable. “If anything, I should be the one to apologize, but, er,” Thor looked back at the customers in the shop, now being entertained by Stark. With a low whisper, he continued, “Could we get some privacy? I can’t risk anyone recognizing me here.”

--

The storage room wasn’t an appropriate place to have a conversation with a prince, but there was no other room Bruce would allow Thor in.

“You . . . have a lot of stuff here,” Thor remarked as he moved past stacks of boxes.

“Yeah, we have a lot of our inventions already assembled here. Parts as well.” Bruce settled his back on a wall.

Thor stood in front of him. Beads of sweat trickled down Bruce’s brow, and his chest constricted. He already knew that Thor was no threat to him, yet the feeling didn’t leave him.

“Right.” Thor clasped his hands. “Well, about last time. I have to admit I panicked when you said you didn't know me because growing up, I only ever talked to people who already knew me. So going to the convention and finally being able to talk to someone else . . . it sort of daunted me.”

So he is a bit weird, just like Tony had said. He’s a socially awkward recluse, just like me! The familiarity of Thor’s disposition eased Bruce’s chest. “Hey, it's okay. I sort of feel the same way. Which is why it's a good thing that I work with Tony. He's usually good at this talking stuff.” Bruce gave a nervous chuckle. “You did make me a bit worried, though. I thought I had said something wrong.”

“Ah, well, sorry for that.” Thor scratched his neck.

“It's fine, I mean, I'm just glad you cleared up what . . . happened, you know?”

Thor nodded. “Of course, of course.”

The two men stood in awkward silence, before Thor broke it. “I didn’t just come here to tell you something, I, uh . . . could you show me around your shop? I’m quite interested in whatever products you have.”

Eyes wide, Bruce looked at Thor. That man never failed to surprise him in all the good ways. “Yeah, sure! I’d love to.”

Thor beamed, and Bruce led him out of the storage room.

The store had products ranging from small gadgets to bigger machines. Most of them weren’t original inventions and were only recreations of Tony and Bruce’s brand. Since these objects had been mass produced to the public for a long time, Thor already knew what they were. But there were still some that had been invented by Bruce and Tony, so Bruce had to explain how they worked to Thor.

“And this—this is the telescope, right?” Thor pointed at the telescope model in front of the store’s glass wall. The model was placed on a small table, and beneath the table was a box containing the parts.

“Yeah. The same model we featured at the convention, actually.”

Thor studied the telescope, then looked at Bruce. “My room has a balcony. It has a nice view of the sky. Do you think it would be a good place to set-up a telescope?”

Bruce smiled. “You can easily see the heavenly bodies just from the ground, actually. But a balcony would be nice nonetheless.”

“Perfect! I guess this would be my purchase, then.” Thor fished out a purse from his pocket. “How much is it?”

“40 pounds. You can pay it to Pepper.” Bruce gestured to the counter.

Thor went to pay, and when he came back, Bruce said, “All right. I assume you have a carriage waiting outside? I’ll just go ask Happy to lift that for you—”

“There’s no need for that, Friend Banner.”

Friend?

Thor crouched and touched the box. “Is this the one I would be bringing home?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

Then, with ease, Thor picked up the box of telescope parts and rested it on his shoulder. He turned to Bruce and grinned.

Heat crawled up Bruce’s neck, but he shook away the feeling. “Oh. Well, if you ever need help, just send a letter to our postbox. The details are written on the packaging. We also do repair services for that.”

Thor’s eyebrows shot up. “Repair services? Just for your products or can I get some of my own things repaired as well?”

“Even your own things, yes! We fix clocks, compasses, magnifying glasses—any gadget, really.”

“All right, I’ll keep that in mind.” Thor walked to the door, and, before he exited, said, “Thank you, Banner. I have a lot of duties to this kingdom as its crown prince, so I’m not sure when I would be able to come here again, but you can definitely expect me to be back.”

Bruce watched Thor through the glass walls as he went to his carriage, where his coachman had been waiting for him. Thor got in with his package. With a smile, he looked at Bruce before the coachman closed the door and drove off to the Royal Palace. Bruce followed the coach as it got smaller and smaller into the distance. He would’ve kept staring if Tony hadn’t coughed beside him.

“So, care to tell me why you finally assisted a customer after staying in your cave for a week?”

Bruce looked at Tony. “Come on, you know I never get along with . . . people that much. It was fun talking to Prince Thor. He doesn’t seem like an airhead, and even showed genuine interest to what I have to say.”

Tony raised his hands. “All right, fine. Just do that more often, please? Assisting customers, that is.”

“Sure. I’m almost done with my experiment on petroleum, anyway.”

Tony clapped Bruce’s shoulder then went to Pepper. Bruce turned back to stare at the spot where Thor’s carriage disappeared earlier.

--

The day after Thor went to the Stark and Banner Tech, he carved out some time from his schedule to talk to his mother.

As usual, Frigga had been supportive of Thor’s decision to see Bruce from time to time. She asked him about the store, and when he told her about their repair services, she asked him to have her jewelry box repaired.

This led to Thor standing outside the Stark and Banner Tech, two weeks later, with a broken jewelry box in his hands. It was an old box with two drawers, paint chipped.

Two costumers—a couple, it seemed—exited the shop. Thor ducked, letting the couple walk past him, and entered the shop. The only ones there were Bruce and the red-haired woman at the counter (Pepper Potts, if Thor remembered correctly). He saw this as an opportunity to put down his hood and lower the scarf that covered his mouth.

Bruce was wearing a navy blue coat on top of a white shirt and a pair of red breeches. That was probably the most well-dressed Thor had seen Bruce (granted, he had only seen Bruce a total of three times). When Bruce saw Thor, his eyes widened and he beamed. “Prince Thor!”

“Friend Banner!” Thor walked toward Bruce and held out his hand.

Bruce stared at Thor, brows furrowed and mouth agape. He reached out a hesitant hand. Thor gripped it and shook it with vigor.

“So, what brings you here today?” Bruce let out a soft chuckle as he retracted his hand.

“Well, as I’ve said, you can expect my return. I brought my mother’s jewelry box. It’s broken, as you can see, and I was hoping you’d be able to fix it.” Thor held out the box for Bruce. The latter picked it up and studied it.

“A bit old. Paint’s chipped, so it would need another paint job. Loose handles, probably because the screws already lost thread.” Bruce tried pulling on a drawer. “Rusty slides. Oil wouldn’t do the job here. I’d have to replace it.”

Thor stared at him. “So . . . you can fix it?”

Bruce smiled. “Yeah. Actually . . .” Bruce’s smile turned into a frown. “You could get this fixed at any other repair shop. I don’t know why you travelled here just for this.”

“Ah, well . . . You said you can add modifications to it, right?” Thor scratched his beard. Shit. Maybe he’s on to me wanting to see him.

“Of course. I could add a lid here that opens into a mirror. I can also add platforms inside the drawers that will automatically pop-out if you pull the drawer. This will optimize the space, especially since the drawers are mostly hollow anyway and could fit more than one layer of jewelry.” Bruce looked up at Thor and smiled. “What do you think?”

Thor’s jaw slackened as he stared at Bruce in awe. “That would be great. You can really do that?”

Red tinted Bruce’s cheeks. He looked down and tried to hide his grin. “Yeah. I’d need Tony’s help, though.”

“Well, I’m sure Mother would love whatever it is you can make from that.”

Bruce told him the price that he would charge, and Thor paid for the down payment. They talked for a while, Thor inquiring about what Bruce was recently working on. Bruce had just figured out a way to distill petroleum to use the by-product as fuel for lamps as an alternative to whale oil. This delighted Thor. He had always felt sympathy toward animals, and whales were no different. Bruce asked Thor about the telescope he bought. Thor told him that he had finished assembling it and had tried using it.

“It was truly a breath-taking experience—to be able to see the moon and the constellations so close!”

Their conversation shifted to astronomy. They talked about the stars and constellations they learned about as kids, and which ones were their favorite.

A customer went inside the shop. With a regretful sigh, Thor put his hood and scarf up again. He wanted to continue his conversation with the scientist, but he couldn’t disturb him while he’s on the job.

“I must bid you farewell now, Banner. I’ll try to come back as soon as possible for Mother’s jewelry box.”

Bruce looked just as regretful, but he nodded. “All right. I’ll also try to finish it as soon as possible.” He patted the box in his hands.

Thor walked out of the shop, and, with a wave and another smile, stepped in his carriage.

“Things go all right, Thor?” his coachman, Korg, asked.

“Yeah. Just wished we were able to talk for much longer.”

“Well, there’s always next time.” Korg looked back at Thor with a smile.

Thor couldn’t help but smile back at him. Korg might be his personal coachman, but that doesn’t make him any less of his friend. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

As the carriage drove back toward the palace, Thor stared at the shop. Up until he had arrived at his home, he never stopped looking at the direction of where his soul mate was.

--

Three days later, Bruce, with help from Tony, finished repairing the jewelry box. A month passed without a sign from Thor, but Bruce couldn’t get him out of his mind. He wondered when he will come back.

Bruce was giving the specifications of their microscopes to a customer when he heard a carriage pull over. Seconds later, the door swung open and a chill wind hit Bruce’s back. He paid no mind to this, focused on his current customer.

“This one”—Bruce picked a box—“is more durable, so it costs 60 pounds.”

The customer took the box and gave it a once-over. “I think I’ll have this.”

“All right. Just show it to Pepper and you can pay her.”

She smiled at Bruce then walked to the counter. He was about to fix some of the boxes when a warm, heavy hand clamped his shoulder.

Bruce jolted, spun around, and looked up at—

“Prince Thor!” he yelped.

Thor stepped back and raised his hands. “Apologies, Banner. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He wore a sincere expression, until his face betrayed him and broke into a toothy grin.

Bruce laughed, face lighting up. “You said you were going to come back as soon as possible, but it’s already been a month. What happened?”

Thor grimaced. “A lot, involving a bunch of horses and a careless equestrian.” His smile came back. “Anyway, I’ve come to reclaim my mother’s jewelry box.”

Bruce nodded. “All right. I’ll just go get it.” He walked toward the workshop, expecting Thor to just wait for him at the shop, but he followed Bruce. For some reason, he felt self-conscious, as if Thor was scrutinizing him as he walked.

Bruce entered the adjoined workshop. He strode to the shelf where he kept the jewelry box. He took it and noted the changes he and Tony made, including the Odinsons’ insignia painted on the lid. He passed it to Thor and couldn’t help the smile on his face when Thor stared at it with wonder painted on his eyes.

“It’s beautiful,” Thor breathed out. He pulled out a drawer, and—just as Bruce had promised—two smaller compartments sprang up and away from either side of the main compartment. Thor beamed, then pushed the smaller compartments back into place, and close the drawer. He set down the box on a nearby table and enveloped Bruce in a crushing hug.

Surrounded by Thor’s arms, Bruce not only realized how much smaller he is but also caught a whiff of Thor’s scent. He smelled of expensive perfume—the aroma of jasmine—mixed with his masculine musk, both wafting through Bruce’s nose. Warmth spread throughout his body as he wrapped Thor in his arms as well.

After a while, Thor pulled away and held Bruce’s arms. “Banner! You don’t know how much this means to my mother. Thank you!”

Bruce ducked his head, for he was sure that a bright shade of red tinted his face. “Oh, well, just doing my job, I suppose.”

“Yes, but you put so much passion in it, and it is very evident in your work.” Thor let go of Bruce and grabbed the box. They walked back to the shop, where Thor paid for the rest of the repair service fee to Pepper.

At that moment, Tony entered the shop, carrying a parcel. He nodded at Bruce and turned to walk to the workshop, but did a double-take when he noticed Thor. His eyes widened. “Oh. Prince Thor.”

“Stark.”

“Have you received the jewelry box yet?”

Thor rested a hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “I have. Banner gave it to me just earlier.”

Tony nodded. “All right. Well, hope you’re enjoying your trips to our store so far.” He retreated to the workshop.

Thor turned to Bruce. “I’d like to stay and chat for a bit, I really must go now.”

“Right. Yeah, yeah, sure.”

Thor walked out the shop. Before he entered his carriage, he looked back at Bruce and beamed. He smiles a lot, Bruce thought. This thought plastered a smile on his face as well, and he waved goodbye. The carriage drove off. As Bruce watched it, a light feeling settled on him. Maybe relocating to Asgard was a good idea.

--

After Thor got the jewelry box, Bruce noticed that his visits started becoming more frequent. He came back for a clock that needed to be repaired. It was his brother’s, Loki, he said. Bruce suggested a number of modifications he and Tony could add, including the cuckoo bird, by which Thor was delighted. He claimed that it would be good for Loki to have that kind of alarm, and told Bruce that he definitely should add one to the clock.

Thor kept coming back throughout the next couple of months. He would be carrying something that needed to be repaired or buy something from the shop. He would also always stay in the shop for a while just to talk to Bruce; at one point he went to the shop and went straight for the small talk without asking Bruce for anything. When Bruce asked him if there was anything he could do, Thor said that he only wanted to visit Bruce and have his company. This confused Bruce; the only ones who ever appreciated his company were fellow scientists as well as Pepper. Thor would be the last person he expected to want to see him, yet he accepted the prince’s friendship. Eventually, he became accustomed to the sight of Thor outside of the shop, beaming at Bruce, but sometimes Thor still sneaked up behind him to startle him. This would always elicit a laugh from Bruce.

For a while, no one ever brought this up.

Months after the relocation of Stark and Banner Tech, Bruce, Tony, and Pepper took a day off to relax at the Lillehammer Central Plaza.

The trio walked along a cobblestone path, parts of which had shadows casted by fruitful trees. This was the weather where being under a shadow still felt chill, whereas basking under the sun provided the temperate warmth of springtime. Children played around the plaza, some daring others to climb a tree and pick a fruit. Adults strolled around the plaza as well, some with their kids, some with pets, others in solitude, but all to appreciate the new ambience of Asgard.

Bruce had been observing his surroundings, content with the background sound of Tony and Pepper talking, until his attention was caught by something Pepper said.

“Aren’t we going to say something about Bruce, though? I mean, he made a loyal costumer out of a prince—”

Bruce whipped his head toward where Pepper was at Tony’s left, only to see both of them staring at him each with a cheeky grin.

“What about it?” Bruce asked, unsure of what he should say.

“Please, we know you’re scared of human interaction. So what made the crown prince any different?”

“Well, I wasn’t really the one who approached him. He approached me. And just so happens to be interested in what I have to say.” Bruce frowned. “Why did you ask?”

Tony wrapped an arm around Bruce’s shoulder and pulled him close, still walking. “Look, maybe we’re just happy to see our Bruce happy again, and with new friends!”

“Hey! Just agreeing to walk with you two should be achievement enough.”

The couple laughed, and, instead of the same bitter feeling he was all-too-familiar with, their happiness made Bruce smile. For once, he accepted that while things might not always go well with him, he could still make do with what he had.

--

The three of them decided to have lunch at the same restaurant at which Tony had invited Bruce to join him and Pepper months ago. They spent their afternoon exploring the town, checking out the stores it had to offer. Dusk had already fallen once they came home.

Bruce sat on his bed and looked down at his brace. He put his hand on it and smiled. There were so many things he wanted to tell Betty—how he isn’t ruining his life anymore, how he is learning happiness without her, how he isn’t living in fear of what her father could do to him anymore. Bruce knew that Betty would be happy to see him happy.

The sound of the clopping of hooves tore Bruce away from his thoughts. He hadn’t been expecting costumers as the store had a CLOSED sign already, but the horse didn’t leave. Curious, Bruce looked out through his window, and saw Thor’s coachman.

Bruce rushed down the stairs and went out. Now close to the coachman for the first time, Bruce noticed how big he actually was, but despite that, he had a calm and gentle disposition. He wore some sort of Asgardian uniform.

“Mr. Banner! I’m Korg. You’re already probably familiar with me, as I drive Thor’s carriage. Speaking of which, you’ve got a letter from the prince.” Korg handed Bruce a piece of parchment, slightly crumpled by Korg’s big hands. Bruce read it:

Friend Banner—

I would first like to apologize for not going there myself as I had matters to attend to in the palace, but there is a request I have been meaning to ask you for a while now. As you may know, I consider our conversations to be a delight, and I admire your wit and intelligence. You never fail to fascinate me with your knowledge, yet you still admit to not knowing a lot. More than once you’ve expressed your desire for more knowledge that the books you and Stark have cannot provide you with. Knowing this, I wish to invite you to our palace that you may visit our library.

Bruce eyes widened. Him? Being invited to a palace? Bruce couldn’t believe it! He continued reading:

I talked my father, the king, into granting you this opportunity, which he approved as he also thinks of the benefits you and Stark could bring our kingdom with your genius. However, he allowed me to invite only one of you, which was why this letter was addressed to you, as not only do I want to invite you as an inventor who may benefit our kingdom, but also as a friend.

You may already visit tomorrow. Just write your response on the spare parchment attached to this letter and give it to Korg. Please include the date and time you wish to come here. Korg will be the one to pick you up.

I hope that you will accept this request, for I appreciate your company dearly. You may keep this letter and show it to Stark if he asks why you can’t be available to work for a day. Hopefully there comes a second time where something like this happens and I get to invite not only you but also Stark and Ms. Potts. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Thor Odinson

Bruce skimmed through the letter over and over again, just to make sure that what he was reading was real. Deciding that Thor wasn’t playing a practical joke on him, he grabbed the spare parchment and wrote his response:

                Prince Thor—

I am extremely grateful for this offer. Thank you for taking the time to arrange this invitation. If I may, I would like to visit your palace the day after tomorrow, around noontime.

Yours truly,

Bruce Banner

Bruce gave the letter to Korg and coachman stuffed it in his pocket.

“Thank you, Mr. Banner. Have a good evening.”

“You, too, Korg.”

Korg mounted his horse. He smiled at Bruce then left.

Bruce went back inside and locked the doors. Back in his room, he looked at the letter again. He couldn’t contain the excitement he felt that he went to Tony and Pepper’s apartment room to tell them.