Chapter Text
Thor looked around at the gathered avengers, tiredly picking at their schwarma after the battle. They all had strong souls, in various conditions, but Anthony, Anthony's heart was a shattered star. Shining almost too bright to look at, it was threaded with dark veins where it had been damaged, but there were streaks of grey light where it had started to patch itself back together amongst the damage too.
It was beautiful, and heartbreaking to see. The soul of a great, kind man, who had been beaten and broken down, but had the sheer strength to put himself back together. Over and over again if Thor was any judge.
He had noticed the glorious fire of that particular heart light from the moment he laid eyes on it when he broke into the plane to snatch his brother from the custody of the other Avengers, but he had assumed it had something to do with the armour, not believing such brightness could be natural. Especially not in a short lived midgardian.
What sort of person could have the strength to deal with such damage, unless it was spread out over a lifetime of centuries after all?
He had been shocked to silence for a while when he first saw the man out of the suit. Such a big soul packed into such a small body could do nothing but impress him.
Seeing that star streaking through the skies, felling chitauri warriors left and right had inflamed his battle lust, with the instinctive need to both prove his worthiness to a potential mate, and work off tension. He had fought ferociously, but without any comparison, having never seen him fight before, Anthony couldn't possibly know that.
He had been glad of that fact. For one, it showed him in an impressive light to his new midgardian allies, and for another, he hadn't wanted the man to know how quite how easily he swayed Thor's instincts. Not yet at least.
Thor didn't yet know Anthony as well as he would like, and while he was not driven wild by his instincts, he knew that if Anthony played on them right, he could be goaded or cajoled into many things. He would rather keep that to himself for now.
Seeing the dual trails, of the missile, and the heart light shooting up through the portal had his heart tight with worry, and when the order to close it had come without him returning, Thor knew his own light must have dimmed a little, with the wrenching feeling of something lost before it could ever begin.
Hope and despair and relief had come quick on each others heels then, as he saw the inventor's heart fire dim so much he was sure the man had gone, before flaring to blinding levels at the hulk's roar.
When it settled, there was another dark streak through it, painful to look at, but all the more beautiful for the survival, and heroism it represented. After all, it was a sign of how willing Stark was to sacrifice himself to save others. A true hero, more than worthy of Valhalla.
As an asgardian, strength and courage were extremely attractive, and the Man of Iron had both in spades.
His wit and humour made Thor smile truly more than once. The little star was sassy, sparky and irreverent, and it amused Thor to no end to see him poke and prod and show no fear in standing up to people who could without a doubt snap him like a twig outside of his armour.
He was also smart. Far smarter than Thor. He was only human, with no exceptional physical abilities, and no military training, and yet his mind allowed him to fight with super soldiers and aesir on an equal footing. It was extremely arousing.
He would love to that formidable mind willingly relax for him. Even now, aching and exhausted Anthony was on one of his devices, eyes drooping and brain churning. He wanted to take the genius to bed, and take all responsibilities from him. Have him trust Thor to take care of him. To let his mind go completely empty.
He would have to earn such trust, but Tony's submission would be beautiful, and powerful.
Tony had comely face too, with wide, dark eyes and a pink, soft looking mouth. His body was smaller than Thor's, as he preferred, but sleek and powerfully muscled, and were it only his outer form he could see, Thor would have had no problem seeking a place in his bed, but such a soul deserved more than a tumble or five.
The thought still caused a stirring in his loins, that only his centuries of discipline keep from becoming obvious to all.
Thor wouldn't usually care, having no shame in his body, but he didn't want to make his little star uncomfortable. There would be time enough to think of having the beautiful genius sprawled amongst his sheets, naked, flushed and wanting. He shifted slightly. It would take more discipline than even he had if he allowed that train of thought to continue right now. That didn't mean he wouldn't enjoy it later tonight, when he was alone of course.
He made his decision. For all these reasons, once he had returned Loki and the tesseract to Asgard for safekeeping he would return, and he would court the affections of the Man of Iron.
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After saying his farewells to his other teammates, having assured them he would return after dropping Loki off to face asgardian justice, he approached Tony.
Holding a hand over his heart, he inclined his head in a gesture of admiration.
"You are as strong as you are beautiful Anthony Stark. It was an honour to fight beside you as shield brothers."
He smiled at the bemused look on the little hero's face.
"Um. Right back at you big guy, you're not too hard on the eyes either." Tony squinted at him over his sunglasses.
"I will see you again soon, Little Star."
He forced himself to turn away with a short bow while Anthony mouthed "little star?" in confusion, and stride back over to his muzzled and manacled brother.
He wanted to hurry. The sooner he dealt with his duties in Asgard, the sooner he could return to the side of the sharp little supernova who so captivated him. He hoped Anthony responded well to his intended courtship, or he was going to be left sorely wanting.