Waking early on a Saturday was never something Layla tried doing on purpose. What was the point? Saturday was one of only two days in the week where she could sleep in, and taking advantage of that was something she took pleasure in. But today, she had things to think about, and it would be easier if she did her pondering outside, where she wouldn't have to be worried about Thanos scanning her mind.

Putting on her warm black coat (her father had once joked the dark color would make her easy to see in a snowstorm), gloves, and hat as quietly as she could, Layla wrapped the scarf around her neck (the final touch), and tip-toed down the stairs. It was a good effort, but the stairs creaked anyway. She was tempted to pause, but she knew that was the worst thing she could do; better to get the noise over with, so she hurried down the stairs, skipping every-other step.

Entering the living room, she saw Thanos reading on the couch. He glanced up at her questioningly.

"You woke up before me? Really?" Layla was honestly surprised; Thanos usually stayed up late doing science-related things in his lab, which resulted in him getting up later than her.

Thanos ignored her question, and nodded pointedly at her attire. "Going out? Isn't this a weekend? I recall you mentioning that school was closed during this time." She kinda wished he'd go back to reading the book.

"I was just going to go for a walk. The air is at its freshest in the morning, good for thinking and clearing the mind." She didn't see any reason to lie about that, even though she wasn't sure if he'd understand that. He didn't look like the kind of guy who had ever needed to clear his head.

"The weather is rather frigid for a simple trek. Those must be some heavy thoughts on your mind," Thanos commented lightly, and for a moment, Layla was worried that he was reading her mind right now. One of these days, she would have to speak to him about personal boundaries.

Deciding it was time to go, Layla shoved her feet in thick boots before opened the front door, hesitating when a gust of chilling wind blasted against her face. Glancing back, she saw Thanos had gone back to his reading, all snug. Being an alien had some very good perks, obviously, such as having thick skin.

Steeling her resolve, she inhaled, and put one foot out the door. Feeling braver, she put her other foot in front, took a few more steps, and let the door shut behind her. Normally, the sound would have been louder, but the wind had drowned everything else out.

At least it isn't snowing. The snow can get real thick around here, Layla thought to herself, putting her scarf over her mouth.

Walking aimlessly forward, Layla got lost in her thoughts. Most people would be indoors right about now, so she wasn't too worried about running into other people, despite the fact that her neighbors had finally returned. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to speak with them yet; Thanos made that difficult.

Thanos. He was the whole reason she was out here, and not just because his telepathy made her wary, but because her thoughts were about him. She had been happy when he had crashed down, happy to let him stay at her house for awhile, and happy that she had someone to talk to.

But those feelings of happiness seemed to be morphing into something else. Sometimes, they would be talking, and she would be content to listen to his deep voice. More than a few times, she would catch herself stealing quick glances at him.

Of course, I like him. Anyone who helped add some spice to this boring place would be a winner in my book. But would I feel this way about anyone else who had arrived? She wasn't so sure. She was also concerned that Thanos had "heard" her thoughts, and considered her foolish. Did he have those kind of emotions? Did his species look down on things like that?

There were so many questions and thoughts to sort out. She could ask him – but no, that would be too embarrassing. What if he laughed? Just the thought made her clench her fists in anxiety. She sighed, a puff of visible air flying up towards the sky and vanishing.

Looking up, she saw that she had arrived at the local supermarket (AKA, the only supermarket in the whole town). The name, Bob's Local Produce, wasn't very catchy, but when this was the place everyone came for their food, it wasn't a name you forgot. She didn't enter (Layla hadn't thought to bring any money), but the place brought back pleasant, if uneventful, memories.

The automatic doors slid open for Layla and her shopping cart, moving aside as if they were royalty. Hah, she wished! No, she was just here to get herself some vegetables and soup. Maybe some dessert could be squeezed in, but she didn't want to gain weight. One of her kids had once claimed, "Teacher, you got bigger!" That had been enough to cause Layla to abandon sweets for months.

Walking down the well-lit aisles to the health section, Layla wished for a moment that she had someone else to eat with. Instead of buying two cans of soup, she could buy four – at least. Instead of buying a few tomatoes, she could get a basket-full! Spending the extra money wouldn't be so bad.

After filling half her cart, Layla rolled it to the nearest check-out line, trying to ignore the squeak one of the cart's wheels made. One of her neighbors, a gabby lady named Clementine, was the customer in front of her, unfortunately. Layla plastered a friendly smile on her face as Clementine turned towards her.

"Oh, hello dear. I didn't expect to see you here today. How is your job as a teacher going? Oh never mind that, are you still on your diet?" Layla got lost in the conversation after that. Clementine meant well, but the amount of words she could speak in the course of a few minutes was overwhelming. Then again, the curly-haired lady was phone operator; being able to speak quickly was probably what got her the job in the first place!

After waiting what felt like half an hour, it was finally Clementine's turn. Swiveling her head to address the cashier, earrings dangling like swings, Clementine seemed to switch the conversation. "Why, hello Bob! Fancy meeting you here. I was just informing Layla that she needed to get married soon!" Layla couldn't remember that part of the conversation, but then, she had missed the last few minutes.

Bob nodded, rubbing his hand against his beard, stroking it. "Its true, Layla. You're already in your 20s; maybe it's time to consider getting hitched."

The problem with that idea was that in this small town, she knew everyone…and there was no one she liked enough to marry.

Thanking them both for the well-meaning advice, Layla quickly paid for her groceries, and briskly walked past the door, which seemed to open faster than usual.

It was for that reason she was happy to have Thanos around. It was just nice to have someone else at home that she could buy extra groceries for! It was simple as that; romance had nothing to do with it. Layla laughed to herself, kicking a stone that was on the ground. Lying to herself was never her strong suit.

Thanos had long since put his book down, giving up on being able to concentrate on the long passages of text. When Layla had suddenly brought up that she was going to think about human things, his first inclination had been to read her mind; he had dismissed the thought. He hadn't actually scanned her mind for over a week now, although he didn't know the precise reason why this was.

Maybe because she trusted him, reading her private thoughts would be despicable of him. But since when did he care about that? But then, the situation had changed since the beginning. At first, he had planned to murder his host, but that changed when the Tesseract unexpectedly embedded itself inside Layla. He had still planned to kill her, after the cube was removed. But now…

When he thought about it…he no longer had any wish to harm her, even after removing the Tesseract. The thought actually made him feel….unpleasant. She had been kind to him, treated him in ways he had never been treated before, and she had even given him something else to live for, aside from Lady Death. She had even offered…friendship. The word was alien in Thanos' mind.

Of course, he was grateful for that. But was that all? He had been grateful to people in the past, people he still ended up murdering. But she was different; he sometimes picked up the scent of her hair when he walked past her, and he sometimes caught himself gazing at her inexplicably. And that dream he had…

Thanos lay back on the couch, hand behind his head. He was too tall for the couch, as with his bed, but that wasn't his concern at the moment.

One such as I, Thanos, having these feelings? It must be a cruel cosmic prank! He wasn't laughing, though. But what could he do with feelings like this? She was friendly with him, of course, but if he admitted these feelings…what would her reaction be? Would she scream, or maybe faint? The thought made him wince.

Besides…he wasn't attractive by Earth standards, he knew and accepted that. He was massive, purple-skinned, and had a large, lined chin. And as an alien, would a…relationship be forbidden? He didn't know (not that gave much thought to what anyone in power considered "decent").

Thanos almost laughed to himself. Why was he giving such rambles the time of day? It was probably best to squash these musings now, before it got out of hand. With that decided, Thanos turned back to his book, which now seemed infinitely less interesting.

Layla decided to head through the small woods (if it was big enough to even call it that). It was on the edge of town, and some kids used to play there after school, until the parents put their foot down. It wasn't especially dangerous, since getting lost was nearly impossible.

Most of the leaves had already fallen off the trees, leaving them very much naked. Layla placed her gloved hand on one of the tree's bark. She couldn't feel it through the glove, but it was probably cold and rough. She had come here once, with a student.

She chased the young girl into the woods, knowing that if the kid got hurt, she would have Hell to pay with the parents and Mr. Haynes. The girl was laughing happily, care-free in a way that only a kid could be. Layla thought it would be nice to be young again, so that she could play without worry too.

In the woods, the girl had begun to climb a tree, and Layla watched, fidgeting. She had to be ready to catch the girl if she were to slip. Reaching a high branch, the girl shouted down, "Teacher, have you ever climbed this tree?" Layla responded that climbing a tree was something she had never tried before. Furthermore, she had never explored these woods either. The girl seemed disappointed.

"My father takes me here sometimes. Don't you have anyone to come with, to climb trees or have picnics?" Layla smiled sadly, saying that she didn't. But she wished she did, very much.

Maybe she would ask Thanos if he would like to come to the woods with her one day, when the snow fell, and the trees looked like they were blanketed, and no one was around, and everything was calm and still.

Her final stop was Crosswood Academy. Looking at the building from outside, she was hoping for a different perspective. It looked the same, though it did bring one not-so-great memory back to the surface.

After moving from her parent's house, Layla had been working at Crosswood for a few weeks, and she was getting the hang of it, had memorized the code to enter the teacher's lounge, and had begun to make friends with her fellow instructors.

At the moment, she was drinking some coffee in the lounge, when Mr. Haynes walked it. She knew it was him because he was the only adult in school who had the scent of thick cologne. He sat down on one of the plastic chairs.

"I see you've been doing well so far. I knew I saw something in you," Haynes said, seemingly trying his hardest to make conversation.

"Thanks," Layla replied graciously. He had been the one to recommend her, so she really couldn't thank him enough. Reaching for her coffee cup, her hand was obstructed by another hand, which was attached to Haynes. Clasping his hand to hers, Haynes let out, "You're a strong, commanding woman. I like that in a lady."

It was obvious this was his way of flirting. Layla had no interest, and planned to stop things before they got out of hand. Removing her hand from his grasp, she tried to politely tell him what she thought.

"Sorry, Mr. Haynes. I appreciate what you did to get me a job, but I'm way too busy right now to consider anything else at the moment. Maybe in a few months, once things get settled, I'll think about it." Mr. Haynes didn't look happy being rebuffed. Getting up stiffly, he strode to the door, only turning back to say, "I'm disappointed with you, Dunham." The door angrily slammed against its frame as Haynes departed from the room, leaving a shaken Layla.

Well, at least she didn't have to worry about him now, thanks to Thanos. It was one more thing she had to thank him about. Dating him was much more appealing than dating Mr. Haynes.

Rubbing her hands together to get warm, Layla hurried back home, realizing that she had been gone for hours. Making up her mind, Layla decided that she would tell Thanos her feelings….tomorrow. What happened after that was something she would think about when she got there.

At the house, Thanos had been stuck in the same chapter of that blasted book for a while. He was frustrated at his easily distracted thoughts, but he had to steel his mind.

I am no coward; I will tell her tomorrow, when the time is right. Even if she turns me down, I am sure she will have the decency to hear me out.

The front door opened, and Layla walked in, shivering. "I think I'd better make some coffee. Want some?" Thanos nodded, feeling more satisfied that he had in awhile, and sensing that Layla felt the same way. Her walk had apparently been fruitful.

Takhan was staring at a glowing computer monitor, one that his scientists had asked him to look at.

"Sir, we are getting readings from the Tesseract, the cosmic cube that Thanos had stolen. The signals are originating from the planet Earth. We suspect Thanos to be hiding down there." Takhan sneered. Just like Thanos to hide on such a wretched mudball. It would be fitting to kill the Titan in such a desolate place.

Author's Notes:

Oh, man. It's been a while since the last chapter; I apologize for that. I also apologize that the first chapter after the break isn't very big. I wrote it as more of a slow, contemplative chapter, with a tiny bit a recap in it for good measure. Still, I hope you enjoy as my two MC's slowly drift towards each other...

Oh, and Happy New Years. :)