an: so this chap happens before the "Armistice" chapter in The Cosmic Disturbance Indication. Eve proved herself tough in the battle of New York, but is she tough enough to fight with the Asgardians in Vanaheim?

High Hopes

In the thousand-plus years that she had lived, there were only so many spectacles to be seen. But the image of seeing him pace about was certainly one she hadn't been privy to until today.

Thor son of Odin, god of thunder and of looking like a giant puppy (in her opinion), was anxious.

The blonde looked away from the pacing demigod to catch the whetstone she had loaned to her fellow woman with a practiced hand. "I think the objective is to get the scratches off your blade, not add them onto the whetstone." She observed as she had taken account of the scratches her tool had gotten from the other's lance.

"Sorry, suppose that I wasn't focusing…" The brunette defended as she sat with her, shooting a look over at their leader. She caught the cocked brow from her fellow woman at her side, returning the expression, "What?"

Roslynn slightly shook her head, "It surprised me too; never seen him worry so much, especially over one of his warriors." She offered as she followed her gaze.

Sif huffed under her breath, "He's worrying for nothing, he knows she can handle whatever crosses her path." She mused.

Blinking once at hearing her, Roslynn elbowed the woman, "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're starting to warm up to her." She remarked.

"For a Midgardian, she's got a spine of steel." Sif explained wryly, regarding the bemused smirk on her pretty face and she added with a mildly-exasperated puff, "don't look so damn smug."

"Dunno what you're talking about…" Roslynn looked to the fire before them with a purposeful sniff, her smirk that had returned shifting to a grin when Sif elbowed back.

"Milord!" The demigod was first to snap to at the call, abandoning his pacing to greet the injured warrior that had reached their camp and stumbled past the tents to him, being first to support the man. The injured scout was glad when another warrior came to help him stand, facing their leader, "Milord, it's the Lady Athena. We were attacked, she forced me to come back, spared me from t-that creature…"

"Thor!" Sif called when the named blonde took off into the forest after the injured warrior recounted his tale.

Roslynn smiled wryly at his sense of chivalry, looking to the injured man, "Bring him here, I will tend to him!" She gestured for the other man to bring him.

xxxxx

A loud snarl escaped the beast that swung one of its thick paws at her.

Having sent the injured warrior back to camp, moreso because she didn't want anyone's blood on her hands other than her own, she dropped back a bit and shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she eyed the creature.

It was a bear by all rights, save that it was three heads taller than ones she had seen on earth, but its elongated fangs and the ivory-colored antlers that were glued to its head behind its ears made it look like something out of a cheap sci-fi movie. And it didn't take trespassers lightly, either.

Their party had come to Vanaheim to snuff out the reputed trouble that had arisen within the last few years, and the bloody thing was the only obstacle that had stopped her in the task of scouting the surrounding forest for trouble. The one warrior that he had insisted accompany her had barely gotten a few feet ahead of her before the beast came charging in on them, causing her to act.

The bear-creature bared its elongated teeth before snarling just as hurried footsteps sounded behind her from the path she had taken, glaring past her at the cavalry.

"Evelyn!" A familiar voice called with something like relief and annoyance as he had seen the bear before looking to her. "I'll take care of it, get out of here." He ordered.

"You get out, then, I've got this!" She snapped with a flippant gesture of her arm back at him, knowing he didn't like this in any aspect, green energy encasing her hands as she shot off a short burst at the bear's footing, "Oi, you wanted me, didn't you?" She taunted.

"Evelyn!" He barked when the bear gave a louder snarl than before and flew at her, watching her headbutt the massive creature and cause a burst of green jets to converge on it. Covering his eyes with an arm, he lowered it to see the bear had been destroyed with her blow, blue eyes resting on the goddess responsible as she stood there for a moment before taking a step away from the scorched spot of grass only to stagger when she moved.

She closed her eyes, expecting to drop onto her rear, when he swept her into his arms. She groaned his name as he cradled the back of her head in one hand and hugged her thighs with the other, opening her eyes as the brightness had receded from her green eyes to return to the medium hue he was accustomed to, and she regarded the worry lines in his furrowed brow with a small smile. "Told you I had it sorted." She said, starting to push away when he stood and kept her in his arms' hold, her smile faltering, "Thor…"

"Come on," he slightly sighed before turning to carry her back to the camp.

xxxxx

Roslynn stepped back after checking her, shaking her head exasperatedly. "I think you scared the hell out of him." She gestured over her shoulder at the mouth of the tent where its occupant was pacing just outside of.

"He's got nothing to worry about… He can come in if he wants to, now!" Evelyn added the last part loudly, plucking a leaf from her disheveled locks, knowing without seeing him stiffen at her taunt.

Roslynn smirked at her challenge, pausing in her exit when Thor entered the tent, "She's fine." She informed him, patting his arm before continuing her leave.

Thor came to a halt at seeing his archer seated on his cot with her arms folded at her chest and a complacent look on her pretty face, overall glad that she was unscathed, albeit that wasn't what he was catty about. "Thank the nine that you're alive, that thing could've killed you." He huffed.

"I said that I had it sorted, and I did, didn't I? And I seem to recall you saying that we were a team. Not Ros or the other Avengers, or even your men, you and me. The two of us… Together." Evelyn retorted as she watched his scowl refuse to budge one iota, her complacent frown also of like mind.

"Hence why you should have let me take care of that bear. By all rights you're still Midgardian, meaning that even with Athena's powers, you're still mortal." Thor flippantly gestured past them at the darkened camp, reaching on reflex to help her stand when she straightened from his cot.

Evelyn shooed his hand away and stood before him with her hands on her sides, "That doesn't mean you need to swoop in and save me! I don't need you to 'sort out' things that I already have handled… I'm not weak, and you bloody-well know it." She argued stubbornly.

Thor stepped away to loosely run fingers through his hair, wryly wondering for a moment if it wasn't Athena talking in her stead, turning to her as he exhaled. "As much as you know that I didn't 'swoop in', as you so put it…"

"Then why?" Evelyn asked with some impatience as she stepped up to him, hands lowering from her sides.

Their stares held for a moment that moreso felt like hours before his shoulders slumped slightly as he answered, "Because I would prefer having you here, fighting side by side, than not having you present."

Feeling herself deflate as she acknowledged that he had been worried for her, and rather frustrated that she had accused him of being sexist, she looked up at him from under her brow before closing her eyes and leaning up to crush his lips with hers in a kiss. She heard him inhale at her manner of apologizing before he was kissing back, firmly but not to where he bruised her lips, making a shiver race up her spine as his fingers curled in her hair and his tongue pried its way into her mouth, pushing against hers.

Thor heard her stifled moan and he smiled despite gladly accepting her apology, holding her to his chest with his free hand while his occupied hand cradled the back of her head, even moreso relieved when she hugged his neck between trying to assert dominance over his mouth.

Evelyn withdrew her conquest to bite his lip, hearing a growl-like noise thrum in his throat when she gingerly and reluctantly drew away, squeaking slightly when he turned his attention to her neck and buried his face into the spot between her left shoulder and throat. Back arching as he left a small-but-visible bruise on her neck and sucked on it, if only to tease her, she curled her fingers in his blonde hair and sighed elatedly. "You're such a lug." She griped more to herself.

Thor reached under her jerkin to trace circles along her birthmark as he nuzzled her temple, chuckling at her complaint. "Apology accepted." He assured.

an: so this was done on the spur of the moment, fyi. and i know it's out of sequence so i apologize if you guys got confused with why it was placed after the Christmas-themed chap. anyway, idk if i'll come up with more drabbles before Christmas so consider this my gift to you guys. oh and thank you victoria cullen35 for the very first fave/follow!

* 'High Hopes' by Panic! At the Disco *