Hey guys! Several of you requested a story with Steve and Thor and this is what I came up with. Can I just say that I'm completely hooked on the idea of Steve being worthy enough to wield Mjolnir? It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! XD Hope you guys like it!


"To your left, Captain!"

Steve hears Thor's warning and manages to roll to the side at the last possible second, just avoiding being crushed by a half-ton metal fist swinging toward him like a titanium meteor. He's up on his feet again, dodging an avalanche of concrete as the side of a building collapses beside him. He skips over a few tumbling chunks of rubble and rebar, coming to a stop beside the thunder god and resuming the battle where he'd left it.

Steve resists the urge to sigh as the metal giant takes another swipe at them. He was getting tired, not because of the battle itself but because this was the third one he'd been in this week. S.H.I.E.L.D had developed a new training program and was using it to test the Avengers for every possible scenario. Rampaging mutants? Done it. Atomic fallout? Check. Weather control device that created fire tornadoes and blizzard hurricanes? That was Tuesday. It was all in an effort to prepare them for anything, man-made/natural disaster and other. Each simulation was staggeringly real down to the collapsing buildings, flipped cars, and panicked and injured civilians. This difference was, however, that the Avengers were the only actual living bodies within the simulation.

For as real as they felt, each simulation was completely fake. Tony had tried to explain it once but it had gone completely over Steve's head. He called it virtual reality, a world that wasn't a world but acted like one all the same. The threats were real, the destruction was real, the civilians were real, but at the same time none of it was real. It all came down to that fancy little electrode they pressed against Steve's temple before he went into the room. It allowed him to see and feel and experience everything inside the virtual world. That included the bone-deep bruises of being thrown into a school bus back-first and the shredding sensation of catching his leg on a piece of jagged metal as he ran. The simulation wouldn't kill them, there were failsafes upon failsafes built into the program to prevent that from happening. But it could and would do everything in its power to make the scenario as real as possible, including the injuries. They needed to be prepared for everything and being injured in battle was included in those possibilities.

Today they're facing off against four giant robots that are hell bent on destroying a replica of 5th Avenue. There's a burning car crashed into the side of a building, pedestrians are fleeing in terror as one of the giants stomps after them down the street, and there's a tiny dog yapping insistently in the backseat of a car. Steve has to remind himself once again that none of this is real because it's damn hard to believe when the screams of terror sound that genuine. Just like everything else in the simulation, the terrorized citizens are nothing more than a clever hologram. 'Adding in real world situations without the real world consequences' one of the S.H.I.E.L.D personnel had told him after their first simulation as a team. If little Suzi with the broken leg or the mailman trapped in his burning truck died in the simulation, they would simply regenerate in the next one. Same characters, different simulation and different fate every time. The ultimate goal was to prevent the death of any civilians in the simulation. Their track record wasn't exactly stellar at this point in time…

Steve doesn't have time to think about that at the moment as he dodges another blow from their metallic nemesis. Steve had guessed pretty quickly why this simulation was assigned to just him and Thor alone. Their enemy was not organic so it couldn't be taken down with lightning and it was much more durable than a few blows with Steve's shield. It was designed to force them into strategy, all of the partners exercises had been so far. Tony and Hulk had faced off against shadow creatures earlier that morning, something Tony couldn't shoot with his repulsors and Hulk couldn't smash into tiny pieces. Clint and Natasha had done one last night that involved figuring out a way to close a rip in the time stream that was allowing velociraptors to roam the city streets like it was an all you can eat buffet. Each simulation required a different approach and different plan of attack. Steve is still working on figuring theirs out right now.

Thor throws Mjolnir just as Steve throws his shield and there's a high arch from both of them as they swing in the direction of the nearest metal giant. The clang of impacted metal is loud and jarring, echoing through the streets and strong enough to cause Steve's teeth to vibrate together. The giant staggers slightly, the front of its head caved in from the impact, and then all at once it drops to its jointed knees and collapses.

Steve retrieves his shield from where it landed and Thor catches Mjolnir as it flutters back through the air and returns to his hand. The giant is still twitching slightly, metal fingers curling and uncurling spasmodically as the gears and wires inside begin to short circuit. The head is nearly completely concave, the front pushed to the back from the indention of Mjolnir. Steve's shield had struck the joint connecting the head to the body, lodging in the groove of metal enough to disjoint the head to one side. Together it would have been a killing blow for almost anything; shame it took them so long to figure it out.

"Headshot," Steve mutters quietly as he nudges the downed giant with one foot. It was what Tony and Clint always screamed at him when they forced him to play those zombie video games. Steve never understood the purpose behind the games but that didn't stop Tony and Clint from parking him on the couch and dropping a controller in his hands because 'seriously Steve? What self-respecting teenager doesn't play video games?!' He was grateful for the reference now.

"Aim for the head," Steve tells Thor just as one of the other giants lumbers into view. The thunder god nods once in understanding and they step forward in unison to meet the monstrosity. They're almost in front of it now, Mjolnir swinging in a blurred circle at Thor's side and Steve's shield arched back, ready to the throw, when there's an explosion of metal and concrete from one side. It had been a trap, an ambush, the giants were waiting for them. Clever.

Steve manages to avoid the car that sails past them but Thor isn't quite so lucky. The fender catches his shoulder, knocking him off balance just enough for one of the giants to swat him out of the way like an annoying housefly. The thunder god flies through the air, crashing into the side of a building and bringing a shower of rubble down on top of him.

"Thor!" Steve calls out to his fallen teammate but he doesn't have time to wait for a response as he dodges another blow. Each metal hand is the side of a Cadillac and just as heavy and they're making deliberate swipes at Steve with the intent on catching him and finding out just how much pressure it takes to squeeze him into patriotic jelly.

He rolls off the hood of a car and lands on his knees a few feet away from the crumbled remains of the building Thor just went through. He knows the god isn't dead, dazed or possibly unconscious but definitely not dead; the simulation would make sure of that. But it also meant that Steve was on his own until Thor re-joined the battle and that meant a combination of dodging and avoiding until he could come up with a better plan.

Fortunately, 'a better plan' happened to find him first in the form of Mjolnir. The force of the blow had been enough to knock the hammer from Thor's hand and it had landed with a heavy, immovable thud beside the car Steve just rolled off of. Steve knows it's a long shot, he's seen the kind of strength and power Thor used in order to wield the weapon, but he also knows he doesn't have many other options at this point. If this will keep them both alive and well, he hopes Thor will forgive him for using his weapon.

Steve gets to his feet just as another metal hand knocks him backwards a few feet. He rolls off the impact and jumps to his feet again and then he's running toward the hammer. The hand is coming down again, grabbing at him with long metallic fingers, but Steve doesn't slow down. He reaches out, grabs the handle of Mjolnir, and keeps going. The hammer is heavy and bulky at first, bouncing against his leg painfully as he runs, but it grows lighter with every step until it feels no more different than the weight of his shield. Huh, odd.

The hand comes down again and this time Steve lets it catch him, strong fingers squeezing hard enough to make him gasp in pain. The giant brings him up to eye level, emotionless face watching him carefully, and Steve makes his move. He twists out of the giant's grip, running up the length of its arm and leaping toward the head. Gripping the handle with both hands, Steve raises Mjolnir high above his head and brings it down with crushing force on top of the giant's metal skull. The metal collapses like aluminum and the body goes down with it, knees buckling and dropping both the giant and Steve to the ground. Steve rolls out of its hand and is already making his way back across the street by the time the giant hits the pavement and lays motionless.

There's a shuffle of movement from the rubble Thor is buried under and Steve knows the god is trying to dig his way out. Steve runs toward the building to help him but a metal foot blocks his path as one of the other giants appears above him. It raises its foot to kick him out of the way like a star-spangled soccer ball but Steve doesn't give it the chance. Mjolnir swings up and smacks the foot out of the way with a damaging blow. The giant staggers slightly and Steve crushes the other foot before it has a chance to correct itself. The giant topples backwards, taking out street lights and billboards as it falls, landing with a heavy, earth-shaking thud in the middle of the street. Steve is on top of it a moment later, running across the smooth metal plating of the chest and sliding off gracefully to smash the metal skull in with a punishing blow from the hammer. The giant twitches once and goes still, sparks and smoke drifting out of the split metal.

"Captain?" Thor's voice comes from behind him and Steve turns to see the thunder god standing among the rubble of the building. He's dusty and a bit bloody in some places but looks none the worse for wear. The expression on his face is a bit unnerving though. He's looking at Steve carefully, a mixture of confusion, surprise, awe, and a few other emotions Steve can't identify. They don't exactly have the time to talk about it either as the last giant stomps its way down the street.

Steve runs back across the street to Thor's side, passing Mjolnir to him with one hand while gripping his shield with the other. "Here you go, big guy," Steve says, giving Thor a slightly apologetic smile as the thunder god takes the weapon without a word. "I didn't want anything to happen to it and it helped keep the giants away from us for a bit."

Thor doesn't say anything, he just continues to look from the mythic hammer in his hand to the younger man standing beside him in muted bewilderment. Steve wants to question the matter further but the last giant decides to make its presence known just then and he doesn't have a chance to. Gripping his shield tightly, Steve looks back at the thunder god. "Last one, Thor. You ready?"

The perplexed look fades from Thor's face and he sets his jaw in a hard line. "Ready," he rumbles quietly, stormy eyes fixed on the approaching giant. There's no spoken plan between them but both of them attack in unison as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Thor goes high while Steve goes low, a combined attack that has the giant struggling to stay upright. Using the weight and leverage of his shield, Steve manages to cut the giant's feet out from under it just as Mjolnir dislodges the head with a mighty swing, the metal piece flying through the air and bouncing heavily on the street.

The giant falls to a smoldering heap on the ground and Thor lands beside it, eyeing the metal body with barely contained disdain. Steve is looking at it as well but all he feels is relief that it's over. Thor is turning to him then and Steve's relief is replaced by a twist of apprehension. The god's eyes are stormy and turbulent, churning clouds before a maelstrom, and his gaze is fixed on Steve.

It's funny how taking down a legion of city-destroying robots is barely a blip on the radar for Steve but having their resident thunder god staring him down like an alien life form is enough to make him squirm and shift uncomfortably on the balls of his feet.

"You wielded Mjolnir," Thor says simply. It's not a question, it's a statement of fact and Steve can't deny it.

The younger man feels his face flush with embarrassment and pulls the cowl away from his face awkwardly. His hair, damp with sweat, falls across his forehead, and he swipes at it unconsciously. "Yeah," he says finally, shifting uncomfortably beneath the god's stare. "I'm sorry about that. If there had been another way I wouldn't have used it but-"

"You wielded Mjolnir," Thor says again but this time his voice isn't quite as hard and his eyes aren't quite as dark. The way he says it is mixed with surprise and a bit of confusion, the same as the expression he'd had on his face when he'd first seen Steve with the hammer. He's not angry, he's stunned.

Steve shifts again, suddenly feeling very self-conscious from the intensity of the god's stare. "Well yeah, but I mean-"

Thor doesn't let him finish, he simply walks over and hands the hammer to Steve without a word. The younger man is surprised and hesitates to take the offered weapon. "Thor-"

"Take it," Thor tells him gently, his voice encouraging more than deterring.

Steve looks at him and then down at the hammer in his hand. It doesn't seem like a trick and Thor doesn't appear angry in his offer so Steve hesitantly reached out and grasps the handle that's being presented to him. Thor releases the hammer and it stays in Steve's hand, the weight of the fall causing his shoulder to bounce slightly as it drops to his side but otherwise leaving him unaffected.

Thor's eyes widen in surprise and he looks at Steve with something comparable to amazement. "By Odin's beard," he whispers almost to himself, watching as the younger man holds the weapon in one hand similar to the way he holds his shield.

Steve doesn't understand the significance behind the exchange and looks down at the weapon in his hand curiously. It's bulky and heavy but it doesn't seem too out of the ordinary; it looks exactly the same as all the other times Steve had seen Thor use it in battle. But something about this is different, something about him holding it is different, and Steve suddenly comes to the realization that he's never seen any of the other Avengers wield the weapon in the heat of battle like he just did. In fact, he distinctly remembers Hulk trying to pick up the hammer during one of their fights and being unable to lift it. If Hulk couldn't lift it, then there was definitely no way he should be able to lift it, right? It's a startling realization even by his standards and Steve utters the only thing he can think of to say in the moment. "Uhh…"

Thor beams brightly at him, his grin wide and happy, and he takes the hammer from Steve carefully. "You've more virtue and merit than you are aware of, Captain," Thor tells him with another grin. "Only a fair few are worthy enough to wield Mjolnir and I have never seen it done on Midgard. Truly we were meant to be shield-brothers in battle!"

Steve doesn't have a chance to say anything as Thor captures him in a tight embrace. He lets out a startled "oomph" as the god's large arms wrap around him. It's useless to try to break free, Steve has firsthand experience with the intensity of Thor's group hugs and he knows the god will only let go when he's good and ready.

That moment comes sooner than Steve thinks and Thor releases him from the embrace, his hands lingering on the younger man's shoulders. He's looking at him with a mix of barely contained excitement and something akin to pride. It's warm and accepting, full of satisfaction and brotherly affection, and Steve remembers seeing that same look in Bucky's eyes a few times when they were kids.

Steve knows full well that Thor has almost completely adopted him under the category of surrogate little brother since the fall out with Loki. His brother's betrayal and consequent imprisonment had been a staggering blow for the thunder god and he had been reeling from the treachery for a long time now. His despair began to dissipate slowly the longer he spent on earth with Jane and the Avengers but it hadn't gone completely. He'd found some kind of solace in Steve though, a friend, a kindred spirit, a brother. They were both at a loss in this new world, Steve from his time in the ice and Thor from his time spent elsewhere in the universe, and both found it easier to relate to one another than anyone else. They fought together, understood each other, found comfort in the fact that neither of them felt alone anymore.

Thor saw Steve as an admirable warrior, brave and noble, and an adept leader for their team. That didn't stop him from big brothering the holy hell out of Steve on the battlefield. Once the bonds of friendship had been formed and solidified, Thor had apparently made it a point to keep a constant eye on Steve when they were in the middle of battle. He watched his back, protected him from injury, willingly threw himself in front of him to keep him safe. It almost seemed like Thor was attempting to make amends for failing Loki by investing himself in Steve. This hadn't escaped the younger man's notice and he had breached the subject multiple times only to be given a warm, companionable smile and a pat on the shoulder for his efforts. It was Thor's wordless way of telling him 'I'm doing this because I want to.'

Now it seems that the universe was cementing the bonds of friendship and brotherhood between them even more. Steve had proven himself worthy of wielding an Asgardian weapon, something few, if any, humans were able to do and Thor seems to think that's the greatest thing in all of the Nine Realms. Steve is still a bit confused by the whole process though. He doesn't know what makes one person worthy over another and he certainly doesn't feel that he's gained any kind of special qualifications that would set him apart from the rest of his team. He doesn't feel any more worthy or heroic or noble than anyone else; he's just him.

"Mjolnir recognizes purity of heart and a brave spirit," Thor tells him, seeming to realize the focus of the internal battle Steve is warring with himself. "It responds to selflessness and altruism, the qualities of a true warrior." Thor smiles warmly at him, clapping him on the shoulder affectionately. "It was not mistaken in its acceptance of you, Captain."

Steve wants to argue the point further and insist that he's no different than anyone else but he knows it's a moot point; Thor has unshakeable faith in what he's seen in Steve's ability to utilize Mjolnir and there's nothing in Midgard or Asgard that will change his mind on the matter. So rather than beat his head against the issue, Steve just lets out a self-conscious little huff and smiles back at the god.

Thor beams back at him and slings an arm around his shoulder, leading them both away from the metal wreckage of the giants behind them as the synthetic city begins to flicker around them signalling the end of the simulation. "Come my brother, let us forsake this virtual world in favor of our own."

Steve just smiles and allows the thunder god to lead him along, the arm across his shoulders fond and companionable. "Right behind you, big guy."


Thanks for reading guys! :D