Chapter Text
When pressed, Thor cannot profess to an undying love for his home town. It's familiar, it's home, after all, but there never seemed to be anything special or unique about where he grew up. It's not especially small, not especially big. Just somewhere in the middle – mediocre, really, which seems to sum it all up rather well. There's not much he doesn't know about the place either. Having spent the better part of his nearly 18 years roaming its streets and surrounding woodlands he has a nearly impeccable knowledge of his town and the people that inhabit it.
There are no serial killers around here, no lotto winners or mysterious old men who live in mysterious old houses on hills. There's nothing to make it any different from any other town that one would pass as they drove from Wichita to Des Moines. Or from Portland to Kansas City, for that matter. It's all terrible mundune.
So perhaps that's why, when a new family moved into 2389 Anderson Road on a sunny Friday afternoon, Thor knew all about it.
*
He heard about it, really, from Steve, who lived two doors down, who told Natasha who told Thor. He was down there before the hour was out, hiding behind a bush with Natasha and her boyfriend Clint, who thought the whole thing was slightly stalkerish and refused to peer in the same direction as the rest of them.
There was a big moving truck, of course, stuffed to the roof with beds and tables and chairs and other assorted items that make up a household. There were no coffins or skeletons though, which was disappointing.
There appeared to be a middle-aged couple, who looked drained and frustrated with the whole experience, and an older woman who was perhaps one of their mothers. Thor couldn't imagine still living with his mother when he was in his forties. There didn't seem to be anyone around their age, which was a pity, because that would mean a new face at school and something a little bit different, just for a little while, until the novelty of a newcomer wore off.
They were just about ready to give up and head down to Steve's to badger him for some food when Clint, who had been swearing up and down and on his pinkie that he wasn't watching, spotted another person waiting in a car out front.
Natasha, who couldn't see the person from her angle, wouldn't shut up.
“What do you mean you can't see them? Is there someone in the car or not? Man or woman? Girl or boy? Come on, Clint!”
“Fuck I dunno! Give me a minute here!”
In the end it was Thor who saw him first, stepping from the car on the way up to the house. He seemed to be carrying something, but from the distance it was hard to be sure exactly what. The boy appeared to be around their age, or slightly younger, and he was thin, but not skinny – lean, perhaps. His hair was long and black, a stark contrast to his alabaster skin. He didn't seem to be interested in anything going on around him, easily ignoring the movers and piles of furniture on the lawn. Even from far away Thor could see his features were sharp but delicate, with razor cheekbones and dark, sultry eyes. He was stunning.
“Thor?”
Thor leaned forward for a better view, whilst still trying to be covered by the bush. He kept his eyes trained on the stranger, oblivious to anything else around him. The boy walked up to his parents and handed his mother whatever he held in his arms – a baby, so clearly his younger brother or sister then – and only then turned to survey the mess that was his new front yard.
“Thor?” Natasha asked again.
Clint slapped the back of his head. “Yo, dude, stop drooling. It's embarrassing.”
Thor turned to them suddenly, startled out of his reverie. He could feel his cheeks begin to redden. “I was not drooling!”
“Oh yes you were,” said both his friends in unison, and Thor pouted before running the back of his hand over his mouth.
“Was not.”
“Was too. He's hot, we get it. He's your type, we get it. Just, maybe, ya know, not be so damn obvious about it next time?” Clint said, and behind him Natasha started to giggle, her red curls bouncing as she tried to stifle her laughter.
“Don't know what you're talking about,” Thor muttered, and turned back to peer through the bush again, hoping for another glimpse of the black-haired boy.
He was gone.
*
Thor had no reason to cycle down Anderson Road later that day, but he did anyway. He slowed down past 2389 and pretended to be enjoying the view, not that there was much of a view at that point in Anderson Road or anything. The front yard was empty now, the moving trucks gone, and the disappointment of not seeing the boy again sat like a rock in Thor's stomach.
*
He moped that evening, all through dinner and then afterwards too when his mother asked him to wash up. He always had to be asked; never did it just because he could and because his mother would appreciate it. It was an inconvenient, tedious task when he could have been playing video games or hanging out with his friends. Or, more rather, brooding about a certain black-haired teen.
He thought about going over to Steve's on the thin pretense of asking for help with his homework just so he could walk past that house again, but that'd never work – Thor didn't exactly do his homework anyway. He wasn't close enough to Steve to just go over there to hang either.
Thor sighed and put on the loudest, heaviest music he had instead.
*
The next day, Tony dragged him to the local burger joint with Clint, Tasha and Steve. Even though the burgers were supreme and the fries out of this world, there was only one thing on his mind. And it wasn't food.
“Maybe he'll start at our school.”
Tasha and Clint groaned. Steve just looked slightly bewildered, and Tony shot glances at each person around the table, trying to figure out just what in the hell Thor was talking about.
Tasha saw his confused look. “Thor's in lurrrrrvveeee!” she said, grinning.
“Thor drooled all over me,” Clint added, and went back to eating his burger.
“With who?” Tony asked Tasha, pissed off that he was out of the loop. He didn't like being uninformed and ignorant to anything new going on. He was Tony-fucking-Stark, for chrissakes.
She shrugged, and pinched a handful of fries from Clint's tray. “Some new kid. Moved into Anderson Road the other day.”
“Oh him?” Steve said, contributing to the conversation for the first time since they'd sat down.
“You know him?” Thor asked, sitting up so quickly he nearly knocked over Tony. He stared at Steve, heart hammering in his chest. It wasn't fair, this feeling. It made his stomach twist in knots and his hands sweat.
“Errr, not really. I saw them move in though. He went for a walk yesterday with a baby in a stroller. Other than that, haven't seen him. They keep to themselves.”
Thor deflated like a lead balloon and nearly collapsed into his fries.
“There, there,” Tasha murmured, patting him on the back like she was trying to soothe a wounded dog. “You'll see him again, even if we have to infiltrate his house with spy cameras.”
“You can do that?” Thor asked enthusiastically, picking himself up out of his lunch.
She stopped petting him. “Umm, not really. I think it's illegal.”
“I could so do that!” Tony said, dropping his burger. “It shouldn't be hard to smuggle them in, maybe in the newspaper or mail or we could dress Steve up as a Boy Scout and send him round to sell bugged cookies.”
Steve looked scandalised.
“No, guys, seriously? Bugged cookies? Why doesn't Thor just wait until Monday and see if this dude shows up? Instead of getting arrested for stalking or some shit,” Clint pointed out.
“Wait til Monday?” Thor asked morosely. That was a whole day away! Two, when you thought about it.
“Thor. Buddy. You'll live,” Clint insisted. “Anyway, he could be some deranged maniac. Maybe that's why they moved here, cos he killed like 3 people or something and they're hiding from the police.”
“No, he wouldn't do anything like that,” Thor said, and smiled, his eyes looking far away in the distance. “He's too pretty.”
Tasha threw ketchup at him.
*
Sunday dragged out long and slow, and Thor valiently resisted every urge to revisit Anderson Road. He gave up after lunch.
He borrowed the neighbour's dog and took him for a walk, up Anderson Road and down the other side, and saw.... nothing. No cars in the driveway, curtains pulled tight, no movement visible anywhere. It was all very depressing. He invited himself to Steve's house and sat in his kitchen for an hour, looking out the window towards 2389, until Steve kicked him out.
“You need help, Thor,” Steve said, and shut the door in his face.
*
Technically, Thor had a history test the next day, but he was too overcome with nerves at the thought of maybe seeing him at school that all he could do was flop on his bed and hug his pillow. It wasn't like he studied anyway.
His dreams that night were full of black hair and pale skin, a bright smile and deep eyes, and when he woke Thor found he'd spoiled his sheets.
*
“You have the jitters,” Steve said to him as they stood around at school, waiting for the first bell.
“I have the what?” Thor asked, hoping it wasn't contagious.
“The jitters!” Steve said, eyebrows raised. “You can't stand still and you're jogging on the spot.”
“Yeah man,” Clint said, “get over it. Dreamboy might not even come here.”
Thor paled at the thought.
“Oh leave him alone,” Tony said. “He's infatuated. Nothing we can say is going to disarm him. He's convinced that this guy is the love of his life, and who are we to argue?” He smiled coyly at Steve, who tried awfully hard to stop the red rising in his cheeks.
“Dreamboy? Him, you mean?” Natasha said casually, looking away from the group.
Thor followed her gaze and nearly fell over. There he was, walking through the door, even more beautiful than Thor had remembered. His eyes were emerald green, his skin pale and soft, dark hair gleaming in the light. It was true. Thor was in love.
“Hmmmm,” Tony said appraisingly. “You know, I'm starting to get this infatuation thing now. Not bad, Odinson, not bad at all...”
“You stay away from him!” Thor hissed, alarmed at the idea of Tony encroaching on his territory.
“Hey, whoa there big fella,” Tony said quickly, hands up in a sign of surrender. “He's cute, but I have my own Dreamboy.” He looked pointedly at Steve, who looked as though he wanted the ground to swallow him up. Tasha snorted.
Thor didn't listen, too preoccupied with something far more interesting, who was currently waiting at the school office for his timetable. He carried a dark green backpack, and wore black jeans, dark Doc Martins and a light green shirt that hugged in all the right places. Thor hoped his dick wasn't going to give away his current opinion on such an outfit.
“Do you think I should go over and offer to show him around?” Thor blurted out, the desire to get closer almost overwhelming.
“Yes,” said Tasha.
“No,” said Steve.
Thor ignored both of them. “Look look he's coming our... oh.” He watched, downcast, as one of the school secretaries came out of the office and walked off with the school's newest asset, presumably to show him around. His heart thunked depressingly in his chest and he groaned, much to Clint's disgust.
“Man up, Thor. You'll see him again. And that's the bell! Goodbye, seeya later, good luck for your tests, see you later...” He said the last to Tasha and pulled her in for a sloppy kiss, pulling away with her lipstick smeared on his mouth.
“Gross, Clint,” Tony said cheerfully, and gave Steve a pat on the arse as he headed for homeroom.
Steve ignored him. “Good luck, Thor,” he said seriously, before leaving in the opposite direction to Tony.
“Yeah, good luck, dude. You'll see him around,” Tasha said, and mussed up his hair before she left.
And then Thor was alone.