Chapter Text
“Do you think we’re blending in?” Thor asks, peering over the pages of his open manga, his borrowed glasses askew, crooked on his nose. Niall glances over, nonchalantly sets the book right-side up in his hands, and nods.
“Definitely,” he says. He glances around, at all the people wandering around in their costumes. Really, they’re not. Neither of them are in cosplay, which makes them stand out, but since no one’s looking at them, Niall doesn’t think it matters. “Why’re we here, again?”
Thor frowns down at the manga, flipping it upside down again. “These are supposed to be read this way, Niall. I thought you had visited all the countries on Midgard enough to know their various customs.”
Niall laughs. “I haven’t been to every country on Earth, but I have been to Japan enough to know that mangas aren’t read upside down. They are read backwards, though.”
“Oh,” Thor says, peering more closely at the book. “I suppose that makes more sense. Not sure why I thought it was supposed to be read upside down, I mean, it’s just not possible. Unless, of course, you’re from Alfheim; some of the elves there have eyes made of diamonds, you see, so everything they gaze upon seems as though it is upside down. We studied them in school, it was quite interesting.” He points to a tall man in Thor cosplay. “That is why we are here.”
And suddenly he’s standing and walking towards the man, taking great, purposeful strides. Laughing, Niall shakes his head and follows. So much for blending in.
“You, sir,” Thor says, approaching the man. “I see you’ve chosen the best Avenger to imitate for today’s festivities, but might I just make a few suggestions?” He doesn’t wait for the man to answer before pointing at one of the braids in the man’s wig. “This strand should be much darker; Loki’s hair was black, not brown, and so you should have woven black hair into this braid.” He points to the hammer next, which Niall actually finds quite impressive. “The symbol on Mjolnir was actually connected at the middle, see, not at the ends. I’m not actually sure how you did that, it makes no sense at all and I’m actually beginning to question your knowledge on the god of thunder.”
It goes on like that until finally, fed up, the man just walks away, not having said a single word the entire time. Grinning, Niall calls out a meek sorry for him and turns to Thor.
“So you’re just trying to find people who dressed up as you so you can correct them?”
Eyes scanning the large room, Thor nods. “I’m just trying to help them be their best me they can be.” His gaze lands on Niall. “Why didn’t you dress up?”
Niall shrugs, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Eh. Costumes are fun and all, but all the Avengers wear tights. Not very comfortable, is it?”
Thor’s brows pull together. “I don’t wear tights.”
“I know,” Niall laughs, “but it’s a bit weird to dress up as your-“ and he stops, there, because what is Thor to him? A friend, boyfriend, lover, booty-call-from-another-planet-that-was-destroyed-so-now-he’s-a-refugee-living-on-Niall’s-planet?
A small smile has grown on Thor’s face at Niall’s hesitation. “Trouble finding your words, love?”
“I…of course not,” Niall says. He clears his throat, checking his watch for something to do. “Soundcheck starts in a half hour; we should head back.”
The ride back to the arena is silent, until Thor turns to him bodily, a serious expression on his face. “Niall.”
“Yes, Thor?” he answers, brows raised. Thor is still wearing his glasses.
“If you were to partake in today’s events, which of my comrades would you dress up as?” Thor asks, face set and tone strict as if it were the most important question in the world. Niall smirks.
“Oh, I dunno,” he drawls, “Hawkeye is pretty cool. He’s a perfectly normal guy and yet he’s running with the strongest heroes in the world. And he’s deaf? Makes him even better, mate.”
Thor pouts. “You wouldn’t dress up as me? Not even a little?”
Niall shrugs, slouching in his seat. “Nah. No point in trying to be something I’m not.”
“What do you mean?” Thor asks, brows pulling together. Niall laughs, a bit awkwardly. He can already tell it won’t come out how he means it.
“No point in dressing up as a god if I’ll never be comparable, I guess,” he mumbles. He stares out the window. “Just not that great, you know.”
“If you’d been born on Asgard,” Thor says, voice gentle, “you’d be one the best warriors they’d ever seen.”
“Well, I wasn’t. And I’m not a warrior,” Niall answers.
“No,” Thor agrees. “Instead you’re the best musician Midgard has ever seen.”
And Niall knows it’s not true, obviously, not with artists like Frank Sinatra and Beyoncé out in the world, but it plants something warm in his chest anyway. He smiles over at Thor, places his hand out palm up on the seat between them, smiles even bigger when Thor takes it.
Has to turn away to hide just how big his smile is getting when Thor squeezes his hand, once, twice, three times.