Chapter Text
To say that Thor was excited would have been putting it mildly. It was his first day at his new job, the first time he was going to be a lecturer, have his own class, plan his own course. The clock read 6:30am and his class started at 10am. He’d been up since half five, unable to get back to sleep with anticipation, and had already worked through all his preparation, got washed and dressed, packed his bag. Now all there was left to do was wait.
Thor bounced his leg up and down on ground, fidgeting. So what if I arrive a little early? he thought. No one’s ever been punished for arriving early to work.
He set off, slipping into his favourite red coat as he closed the door behind him. The sky was still a little dim as he made his way to the lecture theatre. Even in early September, the famous Scottish winds were making themselves known. Thor laughed at his hair blowing right into his mouth as he crossed over Edinburgh Waverly station. Flicking it out his face, Thor took the time to appreciate the view of the castle.
Loki didn’t lie when he said Scotland would be a more elegant place to live than Pasadena.
He was glad he’d followed his brother’s advice and picked this job over the offer Caltech had made him. Caltech might have more cutting-edge research, but for Thor it was all about teaching, getting the opportunity to share (and hopefully pass on) his enthusiasm.
Checking the directions on his phone every couple of seconds, Thor made his way to the campus, to the building where his first lecture was to be.
Outside of the hall, on a screen, was the timetable for the lecture theatre for the day. Thor panned down until he detected his own name. “Dr Thor Odinson, Introductory Electromagnetism, 10:00”, the timetable read, and Thor felt himself swell with pride.
He pushed the door open and made his way up to the stage, smiling around at how big the room was, how many people he would be able to teach.
“Ouch!” Thor head a voice come from a curtain behind him. “Aww, great.” The voice sounded sarcastic and was definitely American.
He pulled the curtain back apprehensively. Thor still couldn’t see anyone.
“Hello?” he called. No response. Going further behind the curtain, Thor noticed some legs and feet poking out from under a technical control box.
“Hello?” Thor repeated.
The figure bashed their head up on the bottom of the box in surprise.
“Oww, that’s the second time I’ve done that in a minute.”
“I’m sorry.” Thor backed off, apologizing. The person took themselves out from under the box, sitting up to face Thor.
“No, no, don’t apologize, I probably would have been equally clumsy without you being here.” The man talking to Thor was probably in his forties, having many frown lines, but he had a kind face, the sort that put Thor at ease. He held out his hand. “I’m Bruce, Professor Bruce Banner.” He smiled to Thor and Thor found himself smiling back instinctively. It took him a second before he realised he had left Bruce’s hand hanging, and so he took it and shook it vigorously.
“Thor Odinson,” he replied.
“Dr Odinson? The new physics lecturer?”
Thor nodded proudly.
“I read your paper on the effects of the magnetic fields created by lightning, it was incredible.” Bruce was still shaking his hand. Wanting to spare him the embarrassment of Bruce realising he hadn’t let go of the handshake, Thor placed his other hand on top of Bruce and gave it an appreciative squeeze before letting go and responding.
“Thank you!” Thor glowed. Banner, where do I know that name? He stood to attention as it clicked.
“You’re Bruce Banner? The famed polymath professor?”
Bruce nodded bashfully.
“I wouldn’t say ‘famed’, I think it’s only really academics who know who I am.”
“You’re amazing! Your research on the effects of radioactivity on the aging process of lobsters was fantastic! And your paper on how topology can affect the formation of clouds was inspired! The way you link your areas of expertise to give a different approach to a subject – It’s not like any other researcher I’ve ever known. You truly can do anything.” Bruce blushed, giving what he hoped was a gracious smile, but it looked more like a grimace. He ran his fingers nervously through his hair. Sweet soft curls. Wonder how they would feel to run my fingers through.
“Apparently one thing I can’t do is fix this sound system.” He gestured to the electronics behind him.
“I can help you with that, it’s no trouble, I’m good with electronics.” Thor reached over to the system. “What seems to be the problem?”
“The mic is amplifying my voice, but there’s a lot of interference, and it’s supposed to be able to record so that students can rewatch the lecture, but it doesn’t seem to be recording.”
“Okay,” Thor grinned. “Let’s see what I can do.” He dived under the box and set to work.
It only took him a couple of minutes of taking things out and plugging them back in the right place before Thor the system was fixed.
“Done!” declared Thor as he pulled himself to his feet.
“Thank you,” Bruce said looking grateful. “If there’s anything I can do to repay you –“
“It’s fine. That’s what colleagues do.”
“Well, then I’m certainly glad to have you as a colleague.” He picked up the mic and attached it to his blazer. “If you don’t mind me asking, why are you here before seven in the morning?”
“I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep. Too excited. It’s my first teaching position, you see, I wanted to make a good impression.”
“Well, you’ve certainly made a good first impression on me.” He looked at his watch. “Lectures don’t start for another two hours, though, so you don’t have to wait around if you don’t want to.”
Thor considered for a moment.
“If I may ask, why are you here so early?” Bruce’s lecture was before Thor’s, but that still meant he was here over two hours before he was needed.
“Same as you, really. I don’t always find it easy to sleep when my head’s focused on –“ Bruce paused very brief second, like he was about to reveal too much and caught himself. “Focused on science, my next paper, new theory, you know.”
“I understand. I’ll leave you to it then, Banner.”
“It’s been nice to meet you, thanks for helping me,” Bruce said as he waved to Thor.
Thor started to walk back out of the room when a whim caught him.
“Bruce?” Thor could almost swear that the man’s eyes lit up at the use of his first name.
“Yes?”
“If it’s not too much to ask, could you give me a tour of the campus?”
Bruce smiled, nodded and put his coat on, following Thor out of the room.
Thor felt his heart speed at another smile and the thought of spending more time with him.