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It started with a drizzle. It was supposed to be the perfect beach weather weekend.
The Avengers had just settled in to Tony’s mansion over a week ago, but with all the business briefings, orientations, and training Fury was putting them through, the team was rarely together all at once. Everyone was looking forward to the weekend. Tony was pushing for Coney Island after Steve wondered how much it had changed since he saw it last. But Friday came, and it rained buckets. And Thor was very quiet.
“Thor you literally haven’t said a thing all day,” said Clint.
“Yeah, you’re always telling stories at breakfast,” said Steve. And then, “Oh man, Thor, is it because of the rain?” Thor looked up at him.
“Oh man. I’m sorry I even brought up Coney Island. Should’ve checked the weather.”
“Well, unlike you, I did check the weather,” said Tony, walking into the room with a drink already in his hand. “This morning. And it was supposed to be beautiful.” He glared at Thor. Thor stared back. Steve and Clint watched them both.
Clint asked, “What’s going on?”
Thor yielded first. “I caused the rain. I am sorry, everyone.”
“Oh yeah that’s right,” Clint muttered, “you can make it rain cus you’re the god of thunder,” he added, swallowing his words. Steve looked worried.
“I’m not mad or anything,” said Tony, “we can always go next weekend, it’s no big deal. I’m just wondering.”
“Is something wrong, Thor?” asked Steve.
Thor sighed, and smiled sadly. “My friends, I am sorry for the rain, but it was not on purpose. I have been thinking of home, and having difficulty getting used to Midgard.”
“You’re homesick!” said Steve, clapping him on the shoulder.
“I suppose so.”
“Oh Christ,” Tony said, backing out of the room, “Don’t Asgardians have the best parties in the entire universe or something? Well I’m about to give you guys a run for your money.” He yelled from down the hallway, “Nothing beats a good party!”
Clint snickered. “As if Tony Stark needs an excuse to drink.”
“Knowing him, this is going to be nuts,” said Steve, shaking his head. He looked to Thor. “What do you think?”
“I think I would like to see what a Midgardian party is like.”
--- --- ---
Thor and Steve were sitting on the balcony of Stark Tower. Thor dangled his feet over the edge as he watched Manhattan sparkle and shimmer in the night. Steve, staring hopelessly into his drink, sat a safer distance away from the edge. Something dripped into it. Steve looked up, the sky swirling with darkening clouds. Thunder rumbled softly in the distance. He inched closer to the edge, and gave Thor’s shoulder a shake.
“Not what you expected?”
Thor snorted. “I expected it to be different, but not this much. There is no feasting, the music is far too loud to speak let alone tell any tales, and the dancing…”
Steve dropped his gaze, hiding his reddening face. “Yeah. I’m just as… disappointed.” He felt a few raindrops on his arm. “But it’s quiet enough out here. Maybe you could still ‘tell a tale’ or something.” Thor looked thoughtful.
“Well, I did prepare something for today.”
.oOo.
Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three were out on another hunting trip, running through the forests of Asgard like wolves in for the kill.
But there was nothing to kill.
“Thor, we haven’t seen hide nor hair of any quarry for hours now!” whined Volstagg.
“We could not have hunted everything, could we?” Fandral chimed in. “I remember when you could barely take two steps without bumping into deer. We would take home tens of hind in the time we’ve been running around.”
“That may have something to do with it…” Loki muttered, leaning against a tree. “We should head home.”
“No, we are not leaving now, brother,” said Thor, “We have not yet searched half the forest!” Volstagg groaned.
“Maybe we should break camp,” said Sif. “It is getting dark after all.” Thor turned to her and smiled lovingly.
“If you say so, my dear.” Sif smiled and dropped her gaze, and tucked a stray golden lock behind her ear.
Fandral and Loki met eyes, and promptly turned behind trees, making gagging noises. Thor and Sif reddened.
“Stop it both of you!” said Sif. Loki and Fandral giggled endlessly, and Hogun shook his head as he walked off to collect firewood.
.oOo.
Later that night, the young Asgardians were settled down for the night, sleeping in a circle around the warm fire. Except for Loki.
“Sif? Sif. Are you awake?” he whispered.
Her eyes snapped open. “I am now.”
“Shhh! Don’t speak so loud, Thor might wake. I have the perfect solution for our hunting problem. Let’s wake the others.”
After the two roused a grumpy Fandral, groggy Volstagg, and irritated Hogun, Loki revealed his plan.
“Now, we have all realized there are no animals in these woods, or at least they are very scarce. So we would have to put in some of our own. And we do have the best warriors in all the Nine Realms among us…”
Fandral interjected, “Are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?”
“What’s he suggesting?” said Volstagg, bewildered.
“You want to turn us into animals,” said Hogun. Everyone stared wide eyed at Hogun, then turned to Loki. He smiled mischievously.
“You can’t be serious,” Fandral started.
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Sif.
“You do?” said Loki hopefully, his eyes brightening.
“Of course. You’ll just have to stay with Thor and make sure he does not harm us, and turn us back when the fun is over. This could be exciting!”
“Fun? Exciting??” said Volstagg, looking scared. Fandral looked thoughtful.
“It will be interesting, that’s for sure. I’ll do it,” said Fandral, suddenly looking seriously at Loki, “As long as you promise no harm will come to us.”
“Fandral, I would never let anyone harm you. Or any of you,” said Loki, turning to the others.
“I swear to you as an Asgardian and a prince of this realm that I will protect you.”
.oOo.
The next morning, Loki suggested they all split up throughout the forest, and blow upon their hunting horns if they found anything. Thor, reluctant to separate from his friends but trusting Loki’s often-correct judgment, yielded to the proposal. And so they went their separate ways.
Almost too quickly, Thor heard the horn. Crashing through the brush in its direction, he suddenly came upon Loki, who hushed him with a finger to his lips. Loki pointed, and through the trees, Thor saw a huge red boar rooting its nose through the fallen leaves. Thor grinned wickedly, and bounced his spear in his hand. He crouched down, and took a few slow steps forward. Loki darted off to the side, making a wide circle around the both of them, silently going around to the other side of the boar.
Its ears perked up. Thor stopped. It sniffed the air, looked around, and spotted Thor. Its fur bristled, and it started to snort. Thor stood up to his full height. No point in hiding now. Suddenly, it charged.
Thor flipped the spear and jumped out of the way, smacking the boar across the nose with the blunt end of the spear as it passed. Squealing, it crashed into a bramble bush, and Thor couldn’t help but laugh at the stupid thing. Then it was upon him, screeching and spitting and slashing the air with its deadly tusks inches from Thor’s eyes as he held it back by its snout. Pushing with his arms and legs he threw the boar to the ground, grabbed the spear dropped by his side, and aimed to strike. The boar squealed in terror and Loki yelled.
Thor stabbed his spear deep into the ground, inches from Volstagg’s sweating face. Thor stepped back, incredulous. Loki ran to Volstagg’s side. “Thor, I can explain—“
“Don’t touch me!” Volstagg pulled himself up, visibly shaken. “Loki turned us all into game—“
“But you agreed!” yelled Loki. “You were all so bored, you loved the idea as soon as I said it! ‘The greatest warriors in all the nine realms’ indeed!”
“I never agreed! It was you and Sif and Fandral and you nearly had me killed—“
“ENOUGH!” Thor yelled, and thunder rumbled above them. Eyes wide and slightly terrified, Loki and Volstagg took a step back. Thor breathed for a second, then turned to Loki. “Sif agreed to this?”
Loki nodded. “Yes, she was the first to agree, actually. Thought it was a great idea.” He smiled fondly at the memory. “She really thought it was a great idea,” he murmured. Thor turned to Volstagg.
“Is this true?” Volstagg nodded. Loki looked indignant.
“It was the two of them and Fandral that convinced Hogun and I.” He grimaced, then smiled, rubbing his nose. “It was a good fight though, wasn’t it? That knock on the nose was really something.”
Thor couldn’t help but chuckle. “And you nearly gutting my eyes out? That was really something.”
“Well, you know I wasn’t going to really.”
“I know now.” Thor walked up to Loki and put his hand on his shoulder, rousing his little brother from his downcast gaze. “I only wish you had told me.” Loki smiled.
“But if I did, that would’ve ruined all the fun. And the surprise. You would’ve held back, and I was sure Volstagg was going to be fine. At least I didn’t set you on Sif first.” Thor couldn’t help but smile back.
“You’d probably be dead right now.”
“Burned to a crisp.” Thor and Loki laughed, Volstagg looked confused.
“Are you saying… that I’m dispensable?” Loki turned to him, still smiling.
“You are indispensable as the dispensable one, Volstagg.” Volstagg screwed up his face in concentration as the brothers laughed even harder.
--- --- ---
Steve and Thor stood under an awning on the balcony, hiding from the downpour.
“Next we found Fandral,” Thor continued, misty-eyed. “He was not difficult to catch, since he was busy admiring his shimmering fox coat in the lake-mirror.” He chuckled at the memory. “Hogun was a great black wolf. We had never fought a creature so powerful before or since. It took all four of us to pin him down.”
“And Sif?”
“We could not find her for hours. We had nearly given up when Loki spotted her. She was a little golden hare, swift as an arrow from a bow and slippery as a fish in a river. We gave up when it got dark, Loki just changed her back for us. She will not let me live it down to this day.” Then Steve had a thought.
“Wait a minute, I’ve seen Sif’s file, it came with the Avengers Initiative. Doesn’t she have dark hair? You keep saying she has golden hair.” Thor nodded.
“That was before… Loki cut it. And brought back the dark hair as tribute. Along with Mjolnir and Gugnir.”
“Wait Loki got that for you? Your hammer? Is there a story for that too?” Steve asked expectantly.
Thor smiled sadly and nodded. “There is, Steve Rogers, but that is a tale for another time.”
Steve looked at him knowingly. “You miss him, don’t you.”
Thor looked up at the dark clouds as if trying to see through them to the stars and the realms beyond. To Asgard. Where they were doing who-knows-what to his brother. Frigga had suggested some distance from Loki may be best for both of them. Thor bowed his head and stared absently into his empty glass.
“Yes.”
--- --- ---
“Package for Thor Odinson, it seems,” said Natasha, dropping a small object in Thor’s lap.
“But… this is in Old Norse, how could you read it?” Thor stuttered. Natasha shrugged.
“Who else could it be for? Anyway, Jarvis found it at the bar while he was cleaning up after last night’s fiasco. Said it was for you.”
Thor tore off the brown paper to reveal a book. The back of someone’s chainmailed head was on the cover, with the word “Beowulf” blazoned across the top in bold letters. Both Bruce and Steve exclaimed.
“I remember reading that in school! That’s all warrior poetry and stuff, just like the story you told me last night,” said Steve. “Thor, you’re going to love this.”
“I heard about that translation, Heaney’s supposed to be the best.” Then Bruce added, “But I don’t think you’ll need the translation.” Thor was flipping through the pages, admiring the Old Norse juxtaposed with the modern English.
“What is it about?” Thor asked.
Steve started, “Now I didn’t pay much attention in that class, but there’s a warrior named Beowulf who kills monsters—“
“ –with his bare hands, mind you—“ Bruce interjected.
“ –all in the name of honor and glory—“
“ –and he kills a huge dragon but dies in the process cus he’s old—“
“ –and there’s a great warrior funeral for him at the end, right?” Bruce nodded.
“Beowulf is actually an Old Norse legend, it was just brought and written down in England, so it’s considered the oldest piece in British literature. Everyone learns about it in school.”
“At least that didn’t change,” said Steve. Suddenly, Thor stood up, staring at the last page of the book. Before they could ask, Thor turned the book towards Bruce and Steve. Written in an elegant hand, if that was even possible, was a short passage in Old Norse.
“It says ‘I am tired of your thunderstorms,’” said Thor, turning the book back and staring at the message. A broken smile crept across his face, then he bowed his head and quickly walked out of the room to his floor. As the door clicked closed, Steve and Bruce looked at each other.
“Loki.” Steve could only nod. He wasn’t sure whether to be happy or worried. As if in answer, there was a flash of lightning and crack of thunder, and it started to pour.