Chapter 2: You've Got to Learn to Reach Out There and Grab It

Author's Note: This chapter will be going back to my first Zelda story, 'Counting Stars'. It'll serve as a kind of filler for that story.

"Thor?" I called. I was at Jane's apartment—she called me over to help her with her research. Since Thor managed to retrieve her journal from those people at the crater site, she'd been locking herself up in her study trying to recreate the data she'd gathered since the beginning. Thor eventually poked his head from the kitchen, a look sweeping across his face. "Hey, I was going to go do some shopping, wanna come?" I asked.

"Shopping?" he murmured, coming out of the kitchen.

I smiled. He'd only been with us for a total of two and a half weeks, and somehow his confusion on certain things always managed to make me smile.

"Yeah, shopping," I said, stifling a laugh. "It'll be fun, I promise. Do you wanna come or not?"

Quickly looking behind him, where Jane was flitting around with various paperwork and Selvig practically sprinting to keep up with her, Thor looked back at me with a small smile.

"Is that a yes?" I laughed.

"I'd be honored to accompany you," he said, smiling broadly.

"Well then c'mon," I laughed, "before Jane notices."

I decided that we'd go to the next town over for the shopping—not the one my parents live in, I tried to actively avoid that one—but the town furthest from that one. The other town had more variety when it came to clothes and food so I liked going there a whole lot better than the little town I lived in with Jane and Darcy. I certainly had no plans of moving—the thought did cross my mind on occasion, but if Jane, Darcy, and Selvig were content living where they were, I'd stay with them until they said otherwise.

I managed to snag Jane's van, somehow going unnoticed by her, and Thor and I were about halfway to our shopping destination.

"You're doing OK?" I asked, looking over at him for a minute. Since that whole ordeal with Thor going to the crater site and then coming back with a completely drunk Selvig and Jane's leather-bound book, there was something about him that was different. It had become some kind of unspoken agreement that whatever happened over there and between the two men would stay in the past. But there were moments where I'd see a look in Thor's eyes that suggested maybe talking about it would help.

"I'm fine," he murmured, but something about his voice made it hard to believe him.

Part of me was egging me to check his mind to see what the problem was, but another part of me—a more assertive side—said no, whatever happened was Thor's business. Whatever happened that knocked the cockiness out of his attitude would always be his business.

"Do you like it here?" I asked.

I felt Thor's eyes on me. "Here?" he asked.

"Yeah, with us." I quickly glanced at him before focusing on the road. "Do you like it?"

"It's nice," he murmured. "You've all been very compassionate with me—you showed a great deal of patience for me."

I tried for a smile. "It's the least we can do after hitting you with Jane's van."

Thor let out a rumbling chuckle.

After making it to the town and finding the nearest store, Thor and I got out of Jane's van and walked in. It was a hot day in New Mexico and the stale air conditioned store felt very nice. Letting out a relieved breath, I grabbed a basket and linked my arm through Thor's.

"Today you will see the glory of shopping," I exclaimed dramatically.

Thor let out a rumbling laugh. "I look forward to it," he said.

"Don't think you won't help though," I said playfully, looking up at him. "Anyone who shops with me must do their fair share."

Going to where the fruits and vegetables were first, I started going through what I needed. While I was rummaging through some tomatoes, I felt Thor's hand on the small of my back, his thumb gently rubbing it. I squirmed a little before relaxing into his touch. That was something I noticed quite often with him—he'd always subtly give small touches or maybe brush his arm or hand against me. Whether he was doing it as a method to get my attention or maybe as a way of showing something else, I had no idea.

I looked up at him curiously. He smiled sheepishly before holding up a box of Pop Tarts. I chuckled.

"You really love these don't you?" I smiled.

"They're very delicious," he mumbled, his cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

Taking the box from him, I put it with the other groceries I had before adding the freshest tomatoes I could find with what I had.

"Do you think you could get some avocadoes, please?" I asked, looking up at him. A look swept across his face. I did a quick description of what an avocado looked like and he nodded his head firmly before walking off. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed two women whispering to themselves. Despite my best not to get too focused on what they were doing, I ended up turning my head and looking at them. The women were whispering and softly giggling to each other, throwing looks Thor's way. It was no big surprise that, physically, Thor was very attractive—I wasn't afraid to admit it—and not to mention that accent of his would make him seem even more attractive to others, but there was something about how those women were looking at Thor that made a burning sensation in my stomach. It was almost like I was jealous of the way they were looking at him. As for Thor, I had no idea if he was oblivious to them or just kindly ignoring them.

By the time Thor came back to me, he handed me the avocadoes he found—looking rather proud of himself—and I gave him a bright smile.

Out of sheer impulsiveness, I grabbed Thor's hand and led him to another part of the store. Once we were far enough away from those women, I felt the angry burning sensation go away, though it still lingered for a moment longer before actually dissipating.

"Zelda, are you OK?" Thor murmured.

I looked up at him, noticing the concern etched on his face.

"I'm fine," I muttered. It was that moment I realized I was still holding his hand—and I was noticing how huge and calloused his hand was compared to mine. Feeling my stomach knot up with another emotion, I dropped my hand from his. Thor took a hesitant step toward me, placing his hand on my back, between my shoulder blades. I gave him a small smile. "I'm thinking of a movie night tonight," I said, trying to make my voice sound lighter. "How about we get more Pop Tarts and a whole lot more food."

Thor's eyes lit up at the mention of that, but I could still see the worry underlying the excitement.

That man was certainly something else.

After dropping off the groceries at my apartment and dropping Jane's van back at hers, Thor and I walked back to my apartment, given it wasn't that far from Jane's. Once we got back to mine, we put away anything that needed to be refrigerated and got out all the junk food I bought.

"What're you in the mood for tonight?" I exclaimed. I had Thor watch the entire Lord of the Rings series, which he found to be interesting. While Darcy and I continued arguing over the topic, I wanted Thor to see the reboot of Star Trek, Darcy wanted him to see Star Wars. He hadn't seen either as a result of Darcy and I not coming to an agreement.

"What is there?" he asked, getting the food prepared.

"I've got Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, The Hurt Locker, Inglorious Bastards, Thelma and Louise..." I named off a few others before Thor told me his interest in the Black Pearl. After putting in the movie and getting the TV ready, I sat down on the sofa next to Thor. He put his arm around the back of the sofa where I was sitting, something I started noticing whenever we were watching something together. In that moment, I scooted closer to him and rested my head against his shoulder, his arm draping around me.

Author's Note:

Hey-yo, everybody! Sorry if this chapter's sloppy, but here it is. Let me know what you think! If you believe I've written Thor wrong in any way, let me know.

I own nothing in MCU. All I own are my characters and the shoes I wear.

If you've got ideas for future one-shot ideas I could add to this story, let me know. While I don't mind coming up with new ideas, eventually I'll run out and I'll have to depend on you guys for support. While I do rely on you guys for some kind of support, one-shot ideas are very important for this little story.

Don't be afraid to review or PM me.

Leave a kind and helpful review, please.

Thank you.

Susan Strong