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Bruce had never particularly liked thunder.
He remembered hiding in his closet, hands over his ears trying to block out the sounds of a storm outside. His mom had come to find him. He’d shaken his head and stayed curled up, refusing to move even as she explained that the thunder couldn’t hurt him. It was too loud, it hurt his ears and it didn’t make sense to him. She stayed with him though, eventually getting him to open his eyes. She’d showed him how to watch for the lightening and how to count to find out how far away the lightening was. They counted, taking deep breaths as they did, until she finally coaxed him out for some milk and cookies before his dad came home. The thunder was still loud and he still didn’t like it, but he could at least try to understand it a little, try to make it predictable.
He never did quite find a way to predict where lightening would strike, but at least now he could usually get warnings on his cell phone of storms being on their way. He forced himself to move to the window and look out of the tower, flinching away each time the thunder rumbled through the air directly into his mind. If he could look out of the window he could count, he could work out if it was close. Then at least he’d feel like he had a little control in the situation.
One flash happened startlingly close, and to Bruce it felt like the noise came far too quickly afterwards. He moved backwards, tripping over his own feet and falling to the ground. He curled up, bringing his knees towards his chest. He clamped his hands over his ears, trying to ignore the sound of his own heartbeat in his ears. He counted and breathed, getting himself under control. It was just lightening. He was inside, he’d be fine. He could cope with the noise if he could just get himself under control.
He was so focussed on his breathing that he didn’t notice the door open, nor someone stepping inside. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry, I did not mean to startle you.” Thor said softly. “You just didn’t seem to hear me say your name. I heard something fall and I wanted to check on you.” Bruce shook himself off, trying not to seem too panicked. The rest of the team always got uncomfortable if he didn’t seem calm.
“No, no it’s fine.” He said quickly. “I just… It’s nothing.” He couldn’t exactly come up with an excuse for why he was huddled on the floor. Thor would probably let him get away with a lame lie, but he wasn’t sure there was any point.
“Are you sure? You seem rather upset.” Thor asked, a frown of concern on his face.
“Thor, I’m okay. I just-“
A crack of thunder cut him off, loud enough that Bruce was sure the lightening must have hit the building. He tensed, closing his eyes for a moment and taking a breath. It was hard to count when the gaps between the lightening and the thunder were so short, so he just counted his breathing to his pulse instead.
“Bruce? Are you okay?” Thor asked, stroking along his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting without making Brue uncomfortable. “Is it the thunder?”
Bruce managed to nod a little, slowly forcing his eyes open to look at Thor.
“It’s just… loud. I’m not good with, you know… loud.” He said. He frowned though as Thor smiled, a hint of laughter in his eyes. “I know it’s stupid but-“
“Bruce.” Thor said, stopping him from trying to make excuses. “You know I can do something about that. The thunder.” He chuckled slightly, and the next crack of thunder seem further away.
“You can?” Bruce asked, looking out the window briefly to see that the rain seemed to be easing off.
“I was led to believe that most people on Earth knew me to be the god of thunder.” Thor said, dropping his hand from Bruce’s shoulder.
“Yes, well, I didn’t know how literal that was.” Bruce said, feeling some of the tension ease out of him as he heard the thunder rumble gently in the distance. The sun was still hidden behind clouds but the rain had reduced to a soft patter and the wind had died down. “Thank you.”
“Think nothing of it.” Thor said. “However, I assure you that I would never allow it to harm you.”
“Yeah it’s not really that.” Bruce said with a sigh. “It’s… hard to explain.”
“That’s perfectly okay.” Thor said with a small smile. “Just inform me if you need my assistance again. Although I can’t promise to never allow lightening near you. There are certain rules the atmosphere needs to obey, after all. Disturbing them too much can lead to bigger trouble in the future.”
Bruce nodded a little, and after a moment he allowed Thor to help him to his feet. He took one last look out of the window, breathing in deeply as it seemed the thunder had moved too far away to hear.
-
Bruce took a breath as he leaned back against Thor’s solid chest. Thor had suggested some time away for the two of them, and Bruce really hadn’t travelled since the formation of the Avengers so he’d found it hard to resist. They’d settled on somewhere remote, quiet and private. Of course the press had gotten wind of them dating, but Bruce didn’t want to provide them the opportunity for more photos of the two of them.
“Are you ready?” Thor asked, stroking a hand along Bruce’s bare side. They sat on the bed in their one room cabin. There were just the two of them after all. Bruce looked out across their mountain view.
“Ready.” Bruce said. He was propped between Thor’s legs, just in their underwear, comfortable with each other by now. He blinked as a bright flash of thunder came down, far away from them but still clearly visible.
“Three, two, one.” Thor counted down, followed by a soft rumble of thunder. Bruce took a deep breath, grounding himself against Thor’s steady presence. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” Bruce said with a nod. “I can do another one.” This time the strike of lightning was closer and Bruce could see the after image for a second or two.
“Three, two, one.” Thor counted down again, and the thunder was louder. Bruce held Thor’s arm, reminding himself that if he said stop Thor would push it far away. He finally had a little control.
Bruce turned a little in Thor’s arms to just about face him. He rested his head against Thor’s shoulder, hearing the faint sound of his heart beat.
“You can let it go.” Bruce said quietly. “I’ll tell you if I need it to stop.” He looked up at Thor, stroking his finger tips down Thor’s chest. He leaned up, seeing the flash of lightening in the corner of his eye as their lips connected. He kissed Thor softly, smiling against his lips as he heard the thunder rumble through the cabin at the same moment as Thor let a soft moan rumble out of his chest.