A/N: I live in my own alternate universe. So this is an AU AU. Never thought I'd be writing a Thor/OC fic…. [tears up]… Oh, how my boy has grown up. Anyway, more about the AU AU. I like the idea of a female Captain, have played around in my own unpublished fics about how Rogers either steps down or is forced out after Civil War [not at all bc I want him to], and don't really know much about Captain Marvel… hence my OC, who I work with a lot for development reasons. Fancy way of saying: sorry if this is confusing to you. If it is not, then yay!

Just to be really clear, there has been no prior romance between Thor/OC before this fic. Just an implied crush, I suppose. That is all. It's like a start-from-scratch, but not too slow of a slow-build… if that makes any sense outside of my own brain. Also, possible Loki/OC (same OC) and, if it somehow happens to work into my plot, Thor/OC/Loki. We shall see.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Avengers. If I did, Loki wouldn't have died and IW would have been a soap opera.

Warnings: Strong language.

One:

The Return

One would think that Captain Zora Haque was accustomed to being awoken at strange hours of the night by the building's AI system. There was, after all, an entire planet to safeguard; catastrophes happened every minute, and if they were able to help, then the Avengers damn well would. This was something FRIDAY typically decided, according to the parameters Tony had meticulously set up over several days of brooding, not eating, and not sleeping: an entire programmed checklist of whether or not such-and-such issue required Avengers' intervention or not. It was not their initiative to undermine local, state, or federal law enforcement, no matter the country. It was their initiative to help.

So to wake on this evening to FRIDAY's lilted voice alerting the Avenger's captain of an incoming alien spacecraft should not have been horribly surprising. It really shouldn't have been. But as soon as the word alien rolled off of FRIDAY's extremely metaphorical tongue, Zora had one jolting thought: Thor.

She rolled out of bed with the grace of a cat, though she felt anything but. The evening air had been cooler when she'd gone to bed, which had left her confident enough to shove her window open and be lulled to sleep by the chirping of crickets one simply couldn't appreciate several dozen stories up in the middle of Manhattan. However, as the night had progressed and made its way towards morning, a strange humidity had thickened the air, creating a cold sweat on her skin. She could taste it; like smoke, like electricity.

Thor.

Swiping at her sweaty forehead, pulling several damp strands out of her face, Zora quickly threw on a t-shirt and jeans, shoved her feet into her favorite pair of boots, and stumbled outside.

'Alien spacecraft' was definitely one way to describe it. Zora was not the only facility employee to be standing outside in haphazardly thrown-on clothes, gawking at the truly massive thing sitting in their own backyard. It was shaped like a large freighter ship, as if it were made mostly for cargo, with the most obvious difference being that it could fucking fly. The helicarrier was just as impressive, true… But the helicarrier was not from outer space and didn't have as many lights blinking rapidly throughout it, creating a dizzying affect that forced Zora to place her hand against the cool metal side of the dormitory building in order to collect herself.

There was a hiss, a loud shifting and cranking of gears, and suddenly a hatch had opened up, revealing the one person she was certain she'd never see again.

Thor.

Lots of other employees, recruits, and even Avengers rushed forward to greet the Asgardian prince merrily, but Zora held back, stiff. Her breath felt tight in her lungs; compressed, stuck. She wasn't even sure she could breathe. Because there he was: two years of no contact, not a fucking word or idea if he was alive, and there he was.

Missing an eye, it seemed, and sporting a new haircut that made him look only that much more godlike, but there he fucking was.

There was a lot of pomp and circumstance. A lot of questions that FRIDAY threw at her – I sense nearly one-thousand other bodies on board the ship, ma'am. What would you have me do? and Shall I have a room set up for the prince, ma'am? and Are you okay, ma'am?

"Uh, yes," Zora answered to that last one, her voice wavering, teetering towards uncertain. "Yes, I'm okay, FRIDAY. Thanks for asking. Use whatever empty rooms we currently have to house… whoever else is on board that ship. You said they were friendlies, right? Good. But a thousand – fuck. Maybe put some calls out. Local hotels. Spread it out. Don't want the news getting ahold of this just yet. We need to keep this as quiet as possible."

"Of course, ma'am," FRIDAY answered easily. "Perhaps now is a good time to mention the extra sublevels Sir had built several years back during his Y2K phase. It has a great deal of living space that should be sufficient."

Zora blinked. "I am storing that information away for later for very nefarious purposes, FRIDAY."

The AI chuckled. "Yes, ma'am. You should mention in particular the food stash. Sir had a fixation for canned meats at the time. It was… an unfortunate period of time for Miss Potts, I have been told. For the present, I will see how we can house our new guests."

"Thanks, FRIDAY," Zora replied. "Always good to know you're here."

So many people had surrounded him. Were whooping and hollering (Tony), firmly shaking his hand for far too long a period of time (Steve), and pulling him into a warm hug (surprisingly, Natasha). Thor's smile was blinding. Truly blinding. Sometimes, Zora wondered if the others ever looked at him – his physiological likeness to human beings – and forgot that he was other. But she never did. His smiles were blinding and his presence was sharp and distracting and heady and his eyes – his eyes had finally found her.

He stared at her from across the grass and people and chaos that separated them and offered the smallest, most tentative of smiles. Shy. Uncertain.

Zora wasn't sure if she felt sick or… was that butterflies?

Fuck, get it together, Haque.

Offering a small smile of her own, Zora nodded at the prince. But she made no effort to move. His eyes had her pinned to the spot, anyway. She wasn't sure it was even possible for her to move.

And then something truly horrible, catastrophic, and completely unexpected happened. Loki – fucking Loki of Asgard, burdened with his pretentious and stupid fucking glorious purpose, Loki, would-be-conqueror of Midgard, Loki, murderous younger brother – stepped up behind Thor like a slick shadow, his eyes guarded, his stance tense as if prepared for an attack, and the chaos all settled down into silence.

If it was possible, the humid air thickened further. She imagined she even felt a cackle of electricity in the air as Thor, in front of his younger brother like a shield, grew apprehensive.

From her distance, she missed what was said. What explanation for Loki's presence Thor managed to give. How everyone seemed to relax after a few minutes – though not completely. She simply stood back and watched, studied, gauged reactions and expressions and shifts.

Then Bruce stepped forward, awkwardly like he always had done, and all went silent for another reason entirely.

Natasha didn't move, at first. Only her bright red hair titillated in the small breeze cutting through the forest. After a few beats of another uncomfortable silence, the red-headed assassin spun heel and sauntered off, a forced-casualness about her form. Bruce stared after her, heartbroken and uncertain.

It was all too much. Being captain of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes certainly threw a lot in Zora's face every single day, but this was all so personal.

So she followed Natasha's lead, gave FRIDAY some more tasks to accomplish and made sure there would be space in the faculty's dorms for both princes and Bruce, before turning tail and hiding in her room until the sun rose.

000

The bags under her eyes were so bad that, if she'd been flying commercial someplace nice right about now, she'd get charged extra for additional luggage. She glared at herself in the mirror and willed the blotchy skin to clear up through sheer will alone. Alas, it did not, and she almost looked like how Bucky had described Steve back in the day – always sporting a coupla' shiners, and not in a sexy way.

Still, Zora was never one to get too hung-up on personal appearance. There was work to be done and she was the only one who could do it. That was that.

Having crept into her office around six that morning after getting zero sleep, Zora was three cups of coffee in when there was a soft knock at her door.

Her stomach clenched up. Her hands began to sweat. Why did she have to react like this? So he was back, so what? It didn't change anything… because there had never been anything to begin with. They barely knew one another. Had worked together through Ultron's brief rampage. Had felt that spark, if you could even call it that. That was it. Nada. Nothing else.

Get a grip, Z.

The face that peeked in her doorway was a welcome one. Natasha. Looking just as exhausted as Zora, much to the captain's surprise. Natasha could go without sleep for days and still look like a model.

"Captain," the assassin said, her voice slightly hoarser than usual. "Got a minute?"

"If it'll spare me from more paperwork on the thousand or so Asgardian refugees we just took in illegally, I have several."

Nat smiled, but it was a watered-down smile. Didn't reach her eyes. The assassin slunk into the room and closed the door behind her before settling back into one of the comfy chairs in front of Zora's desk.

"So," Zora said, folding her hands atop the desk. "You look like shit."

Natasha's lips curled up sharply. "Same as you, dorogaya."

"I take offense to that."

"I know you don't," the assassin said smartly, fondly. "You take offense to nothing." Then after a beat. "Almost nothing."

Zora rolled her eyes. "You want some coffee?"

"Please."

They sat for nearly fifteen minutes in a companionable silence, sipping their coffees, eyes roving out to the view of the forest beyond Zora's floor-to-ceiling windows. It was uncommon for Natasha to come in for no particular reason and sit. Uncommon, but not unprecedented. And besides… Zora had a niggling feeling that this wasn't for 'no particular reason' at all.

"You wanna talk about it?" Zora finally asked, never once taking her eye off the tall spruce tree she'd taken a liking to whenever she gazed out and needed to think. It was perfectly unsymmetrical; a scrawny thing that made up in height what it lacked in girth and strength. She worried, sometimes, that after a particularly nasty storm, it'd be blown away. Gone, in the blink of an eye.

Pause. "No. Do you?"

Zora smiled as she took another pull of her coffee. "No."

"Can I help with the paperwork?"

"Are you any good at forging my signature?"

Finally, Natasha's grin reached her eyes. "'Good' would be an understatement."

000

Tick tick tick. Zora gritted her teeth. She had banned conventional clocks from her office space and even the common rooms for this very reason: it got on her nerves. Made her feel on edge. She forgot that her wristwatch for that day could be so irritating. She was just looking for some peace and quiet to think, to gather herself.

"I hear congratulations are in order… Captain."

Oh fucking fuck. That voice. Zora would never, never forget that voice. It haunted her. All the jaunts, the playful jibes, the almost flirtatious comments he'd tossed at her when they'd fought Ultron fucking haunted her like a phantom with an obsession.

And yes, okay, yes. Sometimes she imagined that voice saying very, very different things to her. Dirty things that would sound so beautiful off that tongue… No, no, stop. Don't go there.

Fucking fuck. She should have known he was there by the slight change in the air around her; a muted electricity, an otherness. A thing that set her blood alight.

Turning to face the Asgardian prince – king, she had to remind herself – Zora kept her face carefully schooled blank.

Ugh. He was leaning against the doorjamb of the common room, his arms crossed over his chest in such a manner that accentuated the bulging muscles of his biceps a little too much, with a shy-smug hybrid of a smile on his lips.

Gods help me.

"Congratulations?" Zora asked dumbly, because those biceps. That smile. What, was she back in seventh grade with a crush again? Fucking shit woman, pull yourself together. Remembering that she most certainly had not been captain back when they'd fought together several years ago, Zora quickly caught up. "Ah, yeah." Rubbed the back of her neck. "A lot has changed since you were last here."

"Not too much, I hope." There was a veiled uncertainty behind those too-blue eyes of his, which darted briefly to her hands before they returned to her gaze. What did that mean? "Although I cannot say I'm surprised. I could sense a great destiny about you, Zora Haque." He smiled ruefully to himself. "Captain," he corrected.

She considered him a moment. "Um, do I bow? I've heard…" She waved her hand vaguely in his direction, and his eyes lit up with amusement. "That, uh… you also have a new title." She had also heard how he had gained this title, so she knew that there were no congratulations in order. Only condolences.

Smirking, Thor rubbed at his beard – gods, did she mention those biceps? – and eyed her. "You are not Asgardian – you need not bow. And while a great deal of things have changed for myself as well, Captain, you must still call me Thor. I will insist."

Yes, those were definitely butterflies. But gods, why did they make her feel almost nauseous? "Then drop the 'Captain' bullshit and call me Zora. And not Zora Haque. That just makes me feel… old."

He almost grinned. "As you wish, Zora."

There was an awkward silence. Was it only awkward on her end? She couldn't be sure. He kept eyeing her as if he knew something she most certainly did not know, and it was setting her on edge.

"So… Loki." Eloquent she was not. But those two words seemed to pull the smile right off Thor's lips and force a sigh.

"Yes… Loki." His uncertainty returned. "I assure you, Zora, that he will wreak no havoc while here. He has changed. This I can promise." Another rueful smile. "Mischief on the other hand… I'm not sure I can promise that we will not suffer some of his more harmless antics."

It seemed like there was a story behind those words, but Zora couldn't quite wrap her head around it yet. Last she had seen Loki… Well. She wondered if Thor even knew. About what Loki had said to her. What he did.

"I trust your word, Thor," was all she could manage. Even those small words seemed to settle Thor's anxiety, though. He smiled at her, really smiled at her, and it felt like the floor had dropped away.

Not a moment later, a frazzled Asgardian rushed into the room. He was young-looking – which could mean he was around thousand years old, probably – but held a forced air of control about him. A new soldier, perhaps?

"Your majesty," the young Asgardian bowed to his king. He offered a nod to Zora. "Captain." Turning back to Thor, he spoke in a language she had never heard before. Old Norse?

After the young boy – man? – had taken his leave, Thor looked regretfully at Zora. "It seems I am needed elsewhere, Captain… Zora. I hope to see you soon, if you will do me the honor of not avoiding me once more."

Zora's cheeks burned bright red. Oh shit. So he had noticed that? Given the amusement in his eyes, he didn't take it too personally, though.

"Yeah. Yes. You will," she assured him.

He smiled at her once more before taking his leave. Zora fell back onto the couch and buried her face in a pillow.

000

Bucky's infamous lady-killing smirk was focused on Zora, though Steve's arm was wrapped around his boyfriend in that protective-don't-hurt-or-even-look-at-my-Bucky-the-wrong-way thing he did. It was cute. Except for that fucking smirk on Barnes' face. Zora glared back at him.

"What?" she finally asked, eyes darting between the pair, settling the book she'd been trying to read on her lap. Steve stifled a grin, pretending to scratch at the beard he was growing, looking anywhere but at the woman he had turned over his title to.

Barnes just shrugged. "Oh, nothing."

"Barnes," Zora growled out. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

Did she mention that the Winter Soldier could act like such a fucking diva child?

"Like you're laughing at me."

"I'm not laughing at you, doll. Promise."

"Bullshit."

"A lady shouldn't speak like that."

"I'm not a lady and you know it."

His smirk grew. "Does Thor know it too?"

Ah, so that's why. What a little bastard.

"I have no idea what you're talking about and I don't like what you're implying," she said with a sniff. She tried to refocus her attention on the book in her hands – it was later in the evening, just after the dinner they had all shared together, sans Thor and Loki who'd had Asgardian matters to attend to – and she was trying to relax.

"Oh, I'm implying that you wanna fuck Thor," Barnes said matter-of-factly, glancing at Steve for back-up. "Was I not? You know she wants to get down and dirty with Thor, right, Stevie?"

Another suppressed smile. Steve shot his boyfriend a faux-offended expression. "Language, Buck."

"Don't 'language' me. You talk dirty as shit in the bedroom and you know it."

Steve blanched before turning a dark red. "Bucky."

Barnes gave his best innocent is my middle name look. "What?"

Shaking his head in resignation, Steve went back to reading his own book. "I'm not going to participate in this conversation."

"Now that's less fun," Bucky pouted, but he was quick to return to smirking at Zora. "Still, I'm just sayin' what we're all thinking."

Zora paused, her muscles coiled up tight. "What? Who else knows… ahem, thinks, that I'm… attracted to Thor?"

Barnes full-on grinned. "Question is: who doesn't?"

000

"We need to double our food supplies," Zora was telling FRIDAY as she sat back in her office chair and spun around thoughtfully, her feet kicking out every once in a while. "Actually, triple it. I don't know what an average Asgardian needs for 'sustenance', but if it's anything like how much Thor and Loki eat, we're going to need the extra food."

"Yes, ma'am. I can have a shipment delivered as early as tomorrow."

"That's perfect, FRIDAY. Thank you."

"Of course, ma'am."

Zora stared up at the ceiling, hesitant. As if the AI had eyes of her own – well, she did technically, didn't she? – FRIDAY piped up quietly. "Was there anything else, ma'am?"

Ugh. Had she really resorted to this? To asking the AI who oversaw the entire compound about Avengers' gossip?

"FRIDAY… Uh, since there's no other way to ask this and keep my dignity intact, I'm just gonna come right out and ask. Do the others have the impression that I'm interested in Thor?"

FRIDAY's pause was enough to make Zora feel sick. "While my protocols typically prevent me from sharing conversations and personal information about the others on compound, I feel that I can tell you without any transgression on my part that no, ma'am, the others do not seem to think this. Other than Sergeant Barnes, as you well know." Another pause. "May I inquire why you ask?"

Zora scratched at a spot on her neck, feeling foolish. Bucky had just been baiting her, then. Smart fucking man. And she had let him get under her skin. "No, FRIDAY. Just trying to make sure drama stays at a minimum here. Y'know, when you pack a compound full of superheroes, things are ripe to get outta hand."

"Indeed, ma'am." However, the AI sounded skeptical. Zora nearly scoffed.

At least she could walk around with her pride uncompromised, still. Things didn't have to get any more awkward with Thor for his duration here. They'd figure things out – where to put these Asgardian refugees and this 'New Asgard', as Thor kept referring to it – and then he'd be out of sight and out of mind, yet again.

Well, at least one of those.

A/N: Take mercy on my poor soul and leave a review if you liked this and want more!