Issues, Issues…
"I can't wait, Maria." Thor said on the balcony of Jane's wedding reception, the stars watching from overhead as he took up Maria's hand in his own. He brought her knuckles to his lips.
His smile glittered at her along her arm as he held her hand to his lips, kissing it softly as the impossible happened – Thor's knee bent.
Maria's heart had fluttered in her chest as she watched him lower, hardly daring to believe that going down on one knee meant the same thing to them. Her hand was still inescapably in his as his kneecap touched the hard balcony floor. Cultural differences, she told herself. Surely he doesn't realise what he was doing.
The wicked smirk, nursed with the soft, loving look in his eyes told her otherwise. "Brad informed me of the traditions of your world." He offered in way of simple explanation.
Brad… Jane's new husband, Maria thought breathlessly in her head. Thor had been left with the groom and the boys to get ready for Jane's wedding while Maria had gone to the bride's house with the bridesmaids. Those hours of separation had killed her, but then she'd seen the result: his tall, muscular form looked absolutely divine in the suave dark suit he wore, a bow tie tied neatly at the base of his neck. His lengthy blonde hair was combed back lightly from his face angelic face, not at all tainted by gel, leaving no distractions from his bold, bright blue eyes.
Incredible, she thought. Just incredible.
Her eyes flickered instinctively to the side, to the glass panelled doors of the balcony. They were closed over, the patterned glass distorting the images inside. Just minutes ago, Thor and Maria had been one of them; dancing to the music, his hands at her waist before he'd led her free of the party to the seclusion and privacy of the balcony.
If Brad knew, then Jane did too, Maria affirmed in her head, turning her eyes away from the Hall and back to – gulp – Thor.
He was still down there. "He informed me that it was customary for a man to get down on one knee," His bright blue orbs twinkled and Maria felt mesmerised, like she couldn't look away if she tried. The breath hung in her throat. Especially as Thor's spare hand reached down into the pocket of his suit jacket. "And for him to present his beloved with a ring."
Maria's heart suddenly booted into overdrive as Thor brought forward the small box from the silky confines of his suit. How had she not noticed that lump in his pocket? Her head was torn between nervously cursing and 'yay'ing as the small black box settled beside her caught hand, Thor letting her fingers ease back from his mouth. Now, everything was perfect, he thought with a smile.
To him, Maria looked a goddess tonight. The bold colour of her royal blue dress emphasised Maria's porcelain skin and luscious dark curled locks gloriously, one side pinned back from her pretty face with a gently sparkling clip. The dress hung to her knees, matched with a pair of silver heels that gave Maria an extra three sturdy inches of height. It was gorgeous, absolutely perfect, Thor thought.
His heart was in his throat as his thumb hooked the catch under the lid of the box and flicked, opening the sprung cap with a prompt snap. He didn't miss the way Maria's breathing stopped, her eyes drawn to the jewellery in his hand.
It was nothing huge. But it was right, he knew. Brad had assured him that it was the wedding rings that should be gold and proper, but the engagement ring was one flash, but at the same time, not to overdo it. Thor had scoured the store for a ring that was worthy of his desired woman, yet accommodated her modesty fairly.
The result shone up at her now, the shimmering diamond in its silver clutches glistening in the moonlight. The stone was a crystal blue, the exact shade of Thor's eyes, and shaped in pointed end tear drop. The band of the ring was shaped down like a heart, the tip of the diamond tear nested prettily in the top of the dip. It was perfect she thought breathlessly, the most wonderful mix of Thor's traditional, Norse simplicity and modernity. How did he always get everything so beautifully right?
"Brad said the man must offer this ring to his chosen, and ask her." Thor went on, forcing down the lump in his throat. When had he suddenly got so nervous? Had he not been grinning confidently just moments ago?
Maria's hand started to trembled in his, but Thor paid it no heed. The same way she didn't point out the anxious bead of sweat on Thor's temple.
The moment of truth, the God of Thunder thought.
"So I ask you, Maria Sorin." Thor's voice rumbled deep and breathlessly, his orbs burning into swirling, molten depths of crystal blue. Maria's stomach knotted with them. "Will you marry me?"
xxx
That was three weeks ago. Just three weeks. And now - "Thor… is this going to work?"
Maria bit her lip anxiously as she watched the god, leaning her hip against the kitchen cupboards of her little cottage. Thor was finishing off wolfing down the last of his breakfast at the table. "I mean…" she searched for the words to explain herself, and Thor watched her over the rim of his mug as he gulped down the last of his coffee. "We're so different."
Thor grinned as he set his mug back on the table. "So what I see as our greatest blessing, you see as our greatest obstacle."
Maria folded her arms over her chest defensive. "Perhaps." She said proudly. She held her stance for a stubborn second – just to make her point – before Thor's mug and plate started to bother her and she fretted forward to tend to them. "But realistically, it's true. I mean, there's location and the ceremony and …" Maria trailed off, shaking her head in frustration as she turned to the sink.
It had been barely two months since Thor had come back to her, and already they were engaged. Maria sucked in an unsteady breath, still hardly able to believe it.
A part of her thought she was an idiot for rushing into this. They weren't only engaged quick, but they weren't planning on delaying the wedding much either. Probably only another few months or so, and both their patience would expire. But a part of her also knew that she was never going to fall in love with anyone else, that Thor was the one she wanted to live and die beside for the rest of their life.
Waiting wouldn't change that. There was no reason not to get married to him as soon as he'd asked for her hand. A strange sense of dreaminess hovered over her lately: all her life she'd dreamed of getting married, and now it was finally going to happen.
"Well, one of those is obvious." Thor said calmly, rising from his seat. "We will wed in Asgard."
The soles of Maria's Coverses squeaked on the stone kitchen floor harshly as she skidded to an abrupt halt. The dreaminess was gone. She span around to face her god so fast that Thor's eyes darted fleetingly to the kitchenware in her hands, the paleness washing through her cheeks making him fearful she'd drop them. Her grip returned just in time and righted them again, before a crash could deafen him.
She looked absolutely stunned, her eyes lifting and sharply questioning. The strong look there suddenly made Thor retrace his words.
"No." she said solidly, forcing the plate and mug harshly onto the kitchen counter beside her, to put her hands on her hips defiantly. "I'm getting married in a church."
Thor shrugged, relaxing. "That can't be done. There are no churches in Asgard."
"I think you're missing my point." Her arms were folding again. Warning bells started to go off in Thor's head, and he forced himself to stay alert. "Church – Earth. Not that hard. I'm not getting married outside religious ground."
Thor fought back the urge to scoff a laugh. He couldn't hide the tweak of his smirk though; that was asking too much of him. "How can you still believe in your god when you know of me? We are the gods, Maria. Or does your book tell you otherwise?"
The last bit was pushing his luck, and he realised it all too late as Maria's mouth thinned. But it was true, he protested in his head. He'd read parts of that 'Bible' of hers she so loyally leafed through – and it had made for a most comical read! The idea that one could forge an entire world and its inhabitants in a matter of days… Thor hadn't even got past the first chapter before he'd surrendered to his uncontrollable fits of laughter.
"Who's to say God just didn't create you too and you just don't know about it, hm?" Maria retorted with a tactful arch of her eyebrow. "I believe in you, and in a higher power. Deal with it."
Thor ran a hand over his mouth, allowing himself the full grin he was finding impossible to restrain. "Alright." He'd indulge her for now. "But we must have a ceremony on Asgard. That is irrefutable."
"Why?"
Had she really just asked that question? Was the answer not obvious? Then Thor noted the stubbornness in her tone and realised she was speaking on impulse and her damaged pride, reason lost from the equation.
He stepped forward steadily, clearing past the table in one long but casual stride. "Because I am a prince, and it will not do for me to be wed beyond the eyes of my people."
Maria chipped her chin up proudly as he approached. "And what about Jane? She can hardly come if I get married in a different world, can she."
"What of my parents?"
Thor was sure it was no trick of the light when Maria's face paled a shade further, her arms slacking over her body. Her stiff expression melted into one of absolute dread.
Maria had yet the pleasure of meeting Thor's parents. With her reluctance to leave her world and the sheer impossibility of Thor bringing them to Earth, it had simply been an ambition yet to be achieved. As far as he'd assumed, he would have introduced them all when he'd brought Maria to his homeland, presenting his wife-to-be to his mother and father and kingdom in one proud, unquestionable swoop.
Except… "Surely you can appreciate that it would be wrong to deny my parents the chance to see me wed?" Thor argued. "And the only way to avoid that is to marry on Asgard."
It was a good case, one even Maria couldn't argue with. Her mouth blurted open to say 'no' but she caught herself just in time, unwillingly letting the truth of his words sink in. She groaned – he was right.
Her eyes rolled skywards in frustration and her hand ran through her hair. "Okay." She finally snapped back down to him, hands braced out as she laid down her proposition. "You get your Asgard, but I get my religion. Deal?"
"No deal." Thor's head shook. "You can't ask me to swear by a God I don't believe in. You may believe what you wish, but for I…" his head shook again in polite refusal.
In his mental checklist, he ticked off location. Asgard looked set now. He also less than modestly gave himself some brownie points for winning one over Maria; one-nil to him, he recorded smugly.
"Well, it won't be a proper marriage for me unless I swear it by God." She protested, palms flipping over demandingly. Then her gaze softened insecurely and her arms retreated to crossing her chest again. "It won't feel right."
Thor watched with adoration the flash of wounded hurt that flashed in Maria's eyes and felt his heart tug in his chest. He knew Maria was very religious. It was something, he'd learned, that had been passed on from her mother, and that she'd clung to as one by one the safety nets of her life had fallen away. Thor found it endearing – if a little naïve – that she put so much faith in something there was not even any evidence for.
He reached up and cupped her shoulders in his large hands, easing them closer so gently he wasn't even sure who moved to accommodate whom. The action teased her gaze more fully to his, and he captured it with intent, crystal orbs swirling with promise.
"How about this," he started quietly. "You say your Christian vows, but I say those that are traditional of my culture. Call it a compromise."
Maria's lips pressed together for a second, before she allowed her smile to tease though. "This is hardly fair." She mumbled, but didn't argue his suggestion. "You're getting everything you want."
Asgard, check. Ceremony, check. And the score stood at 2-1 to Thor by his calculations. She was right – far from even.
Thor's mind scoured for a solution. "You get the dress." He said with barely a seconds thought. He had to confess; the white flowing simple wedding gowns of his home world had nothing on the extravagant dresses of Earth. Through all the magazine's he'd flicked through with Maria, or had just glanced through a store window in the city centre – he'd fallen in love with the elegant, varying designs, every one of them capturing his heart resolutely.
"And you get your armour, right?" Maria's face was clashed with hope and disappointment at the same time as she relaxed – at last! – into Thor's hands.
The god smiled. Jane and Brad's wedding taught him about the formal wear of men on Earth, and he knew that Maria had snuck a few extra stares when she'd thought he wasn't looking.
But he also knew – this time from word of her own mouth – that the sight of Thor, resplendid in his shining armour and flowing crimson cape, powerful hammer in hand, just made her go weak at the knees. Maria ran the guilty thoughts through her mind too. Thor looked great in whatever clothes he wore. The jeans and shirt he wore now looked moulded to his body, and in a suit he was absolutely delicious, but in his armour…
Maria sucked in a breath to keep her head from spinning – God, were there even words to describe him in all his godly majesty?
"Yes." Thor affirmed proudly. He didn't count that as a point though, levelling up the mental score board. His smirk started to slip as more serious matters clouded his mind. "Have you given any more thought to immortality?"
It was inevitable. Thor could marry Maria as a mortal, but she would leave the chamber as a goddess – that much was certain. He watched her gulp though, and his heart bled for her. It was no easy thing to ask of her. The process was something else, but Thor could hardly imagine how eternity must look to her, so prepared for her life to end within a mere eighty years or so of life. Soon that time would pass in the space of a week, and she would not have changed a bit.
She would have to say some words of Asgardian nature during the ceremony. That alone would make it easier. Marriage there was a lot more solid that just words and promises. There, their souls would be bound together, and tethered to a god such as Thor would immediately give her eternal life to stay with him. If he would live forever, that power would flow into her upon their marriage.
But eternal youth… that was the key.
"I'm ready." Maria insisted, her voice betraying her true anxieties, her small, brittle smile futile. Thor didn't believe it for a second and kissed her forehead tenderly.
"A sip of wine and a bite of an apple, and it will be assured." He breathed against her, hand rising to stroke her hair softly. Well… it wasn't as simple as that, but both of them knew it; why only scare her further by saying it aloud?
An acutely poisoned apple, and wine laced with the water from the blessed fountain of youth. That was what would make Maria truly immortal. Poison to kill her mortal cells, and water to revive them for eternity. As far as Thor was aware – as he so constantly tried to reassure Maria – it would not hurt. Merely a dull burning through her body, that would ache and would leave her weakened, but would not truly hurt her.
Still, he was anxious for her.
He forced a smile on his face. "You've leapt off skyscrapers and faced a gun and yet you're afraid of a little wine?"
"I'm afraid of a little poison." She corrected bitterly, biting down on her lip, forcing her eyes to solidify with courage. Thor felt his heart swell with pride at it. "I've walked towards death too many times already."
Her suicide attempts, Thor remembered with a pained twang in his chest. He did not like thinking of those. His hand stiffened at the back of Maria's head and he pressed a hard kiss to her lips, as if he could kiss the horrible memories away. He'd seen one. He'd seen when she'd leapt willing from Stark Tower to plunge to her doom.
"Well, this time," he pecked her lips firmly. "You will not fall, but rise gloriously from the ashes like a phoenix. And then I'll keep you safely by my side until the end of time."
His lips teased forward to press tenderly against hers again and his heart settled when she kissed him back, her eyes screwed shut to block out her worry. Her hands found Thor's chest and felt his heartbeat thud reassuringly through his shirt.
She breathed, letting her tension ease from her. The warm air washed over Thor's face as she peeled her mouth away from his, basking in the solid comfort of his strong hands.
She blinked her eyes open to find Thor's calming blue orbs, letting their passionate burn wrap around her heart. His arms solidified around her body. Oh yes, she felt safe with him. Always.
"Although," he asked, voice lighter as he steered away from the subject. "What of after the wedding?"
Maria's brow creased in a frown. "After?"
"Yes, after." Thor repeated patiently. "Are we to live on Asgard or would you like to return to Earth for a while longer?"
He had to confess he would miss this quaint little cottage, filled with so many glorious – and not so glorious – memories of his time with Maria, but he was a prince and, one day, would be king. He could not be a ruler from another realm. At some point he and Maria would have to live in the palace of Asgard, but if she wanted to spend some last years here and introduce him to more wonders of her world…
Maria's back straightened up further, and Thor read the determination in her eyes with amusement. "Earth." She said instantly. "I did not just waste three years of my life studying at university for a job I won't get to even start before I become a baby-maker myself!"
Thor laughed at her dramatic phrasing, breaking the last of the iciness of the earlier topic once and for all. "You can bring your profession to Asgard. Women have babies to be birthed there too." His eyes sparkled teasingly, but the suggestion was serious. Why couldn't she apply her skills in Asgard? Sure, there would be less of the medical and technological advances to help her there, but the concept remained. "My mother is the goddess of childbirth." He went on. "Work such as that would be welcomed whole-heartedly rather than rejected, even for one of regal stature."
He watched the words sink into Maria's eyes but wasn't sure really just how much she registered them: "So you admit it?" she smirked. "You're going to make me into a baby-maker?"
Thor felt a rush go through him and his hands flowed down from her waist, saddling subtly closer to have his lips by her ear. "You will be my wife, and will therefore bear my children." He murmured assuredly, his voice dropping huskily into his chest.
Maria chuckled, arms winding around his waist. "How many?" The side of her head rested against Thor's broad chest and she fluttered her eyes shut dreamily.
"A small army's worth."
"Oh God…" she laughed, bobbing lightly on his chest. Then she noticed the firm grip he held her hips in and something inside her snapped consciously. Her eyes opened sharply. "No." she said, hands closing over his and peeling them firmly form her body. She stepped back – until her hips bumped against the counter behind and she was forced to skirt around him instead. "Not until we're married."
Thor was relentless, that grin so filled with sweetness and an almost predatory desire at the same time following her. He swaggered round to watch her squarely put the table between them.
For the assumptions this world seemed to have about his people, he was surprised to find Maria was even more traditional and prude than he was thought to be! Something that –again – tied back to her religion.
But there was more to it than that, he knew, something he was bluntly reminded of as her soft eyes watched him across the kitchen, her fingertip trailing patterns in the table surface. "We've talked about this." She murmured, gaze gleaming for him to understand.
And he did. It was not a question of religion – her greatest motivation for this notion was insecurity. Thor watched his woman, and felt the carnal lusts drain from him, washed away with a pure, warming adoration. She didn't want to give herself, her heart, so fully to a man that had every opportunity to just up and leave her. Marriage gave her a tie, gave her some faith that whomever she entrusted herself to he would stay by her side.
Too many people had left her alone for her to not be cautious of it. Thor understood perfectly: she wanted to give this irreplaceable gift to someone who would bask in it with her, rather than steal it away.
Thor slowly paced around the table, and was glad when Maria didn't shrink away. A wariness flashed in her eyes.
She didn't pull away though as Thor reached out and tenderly hooked a finger under her chin, gently guiding her timid gaze up from the table top to his passionately burning orbs. Her fingers caught guardedly on his wrist, and Thor recognised the protectiveness behind the move.
She'd defended herself her whole life, he thought, watching her with his heart feeling like it would burst in his chest. Now it was his turn. He leaned down fluidly and pressed his lips lovingly to hers, his spare hand finding the backs of her shoulder blades as he massaged her mouth with his.
"I know." He finally breathed, parting their lips. His forehead rested against hers though, hand creeping to her neck, feeling her racing pulse under the skin. "I'm sorry."
Thor was certainly no stranger to pre-marital intimacies but by all the gods, he would respect Maria's wish. He didn't want to force her into something she didn't want to do, something he knew she'd regret later. He had to confess: the idea that Maria had saved herself for him, even if she hadn't intentionally had him in mind when he did so, filled him with a pride and an honour than made him swear by all he held dear that he would treasure her for the rest of her life.
"I love you." She blurted, her eyes still dreamily closed from the bliss of Thor's kiss.
Thor's thumb stroked her cheek, and he pressed his mouth fleetingly to hers again. "And I love you."
Maria's lips parted and she graced him with a dazzling smile, eyes fluttering open at last. They were so close Thor could feel the light rush of cool air from her batting eyelashes. "Well…" she breathed, the warm air tasting sweet on Thor's parted lips. "Seems all we have left to decide on is a date."
A grin of his own slowly pricked at the gods lips. Maria let out a giggle as his hands supported her back and he bent her back low in one swift surprise swoop, her arms instantly flying around his neck.
His lips closed in on hers again, and drank in her happiness in a lingering kiss, his tongue venturing forward to tangle with hers.
"The one thing I approve of these mortal weddings," He murmured against her lips with a grin, his arms supporting her suspended body like she weighed nothing. "Is the taking of the husband's name. That would make it perfect."
His lips pressed down on her, kissing softly through her chuckles. "I'm not Odin's son." She pointed out, lips playfully pressed together in a smile. "It wouldn't work."
"It is a shame." Thor reluctantly agreed. "Although," he pecked a firm kiss to her lips. "The son of Coul's wife adopted his last name even though the title is inaccurate. And if it's good enough for them…" he drove his point home with another kiss and he felt Maria's fingers rub encouragingly at the back of his neck as he did so.
"You want me to take your name?" she sighed as he released her for air, her mind fuzzing as the pressing of his body against hers sending her brain on a miniature rollercoaster ride. "Really?"
"Very much."
As primitive, as possessive as it might sound, he wanted her to have his name. Something else that would tie her as his forever. He wanted her in every way he could have her, and if name was on the card, Thor would take it with relish. He knew last names in Asgard were more of a literal meaning to the names on this world, but he didn't care. Maria would be his, and he wanted every measure possible to show it.
He would feel ashamed of himself for these thoughts if he didn't already know that part of the reason Maria loved him was for his raw masculinity. Thor didn't complain.
Relief washed over his heart, matching the smile on Maria's lips. "I love you too much." She grinned. "You get away with far more than you deserve."
"Like?" Thor's nose nuzzled fondly against hers.
"Like breaking down my door."
Thor's lips pressed together, unable to deny it. He couldn't help it; when he'd been granted the ability to return his nerves had been dancing. He'd done enough waiting by the time he'd knocked on her door. The obstacle had been easy to remove.
Maria laughed at his expression, clearing enjoying teasing him as he so often did with her. Oh, revenge is sweet, she thought to herself.
"It is not proper to mock your future husband, woman." Thor's chest rumbled against Maria's, the gentle snarl of his voice making her soul hum with exhilaration. She loved all that power. It made her head giddy. "Asgard will have a shock when it finds its new queen so spirited."
The smile slipped off Maria's face as quickly as it had come, and Thor knew the clenching of her arms around his neck came from nothing more than blind anxiety. He watched the dread creep into her wide eyes, the way her lips hovered open in horror.
Thor was no idiot; the thought of their future scared her. She was not marrying any ordinary man.
"You will be a most wonderful queen." He reassured quickly, planting a loving kiss on her numbly parted lips, before his hand scooped under her knees, lifting her off the floor entirely. He straightened up with her in his arms, but nothing of the pure mortification in Maria's face shifted.
"What if they don't like me?" She breathed, her voice so light it was almost like she was in a daze. "I'm mortal."
Thor could hold her cradled with one arm easily and he used his free hand to tenderly brush back the disturbed locks of hair that had crept forward onto her cheeks, his butter soft eyes melting with hers. "They will have to. Or they shall have me to deal with."
It came out the perfect mixture of dark threat and solemn promise, and he watched the shy smile spread over Maria's face with pride. He would most definitely be honoured to hold this woman up as his wife, as his queen. And if someone had a problem with that… yes, he thought darkly, they would not live for very long. Simply put.
"You're incredible, you know that?" she smiled, her arms relaxing around his neck as surrendered herself to the happy glow in his orbs, the love in his voice.
She felt so safe in his arms. With this muscular hold encasing her, feeling his heart beat against the side of her body, the worries of marriage were deemed insignificant. Meeting Thor's parents – a breeze. Becoming queen of an entire world she'd never stepped foot on… his soft hand stroked it all away as his palm covered her cheek, lips leaning forward to kiss her forehead.
"Oh, I know it." He grinned back at her, that boyish charm she loved so much shining through.
Maria giggled and let her lips close the gap between them, sealing her mouth with his. Thor's hands firmed around her, hugging her even closer to his body as they kissed slow and deep, reaching an intimacy that filled the gap until their wedding night.
When Maria slowly pulled away breathlessly, she threw him a mischievous flash of grinning teeth. "Let's get married."