Chapter 5

Thor felt a strange sense of satisfaction as he stretched out over the couch, listening to Maria pack away the dinnerware in the kitchen behind him. A smug grin was on his face. He stretched his arms up and laced his fingers together behind his head, basking in pride.

He'd done well. Better than well - he'd done brilliantly! He'd finally made Maria happy.

He glanced over his shoulder at the bustling girl, and was rewarded with a beaming smile. Yes, he'd made Maria very happy.

He wasn't even sure what had clenched it. Was it the dress? Or the visit to the cemetery? Or was she merely getting used to him? Either way, Thor was glad she was no longer afraid of him. He was getting quite settled here.

At first he'd been wary of the small house, but now he could fully understand it's charm. He'd always thought it an appropriate setting for a woman, and now he could appreciate it from a male perspective: it was a home. Listening to the sounds of Maria in the kitchen, the smell of the recently eaten meal still wafting gently in the air, it was a place any warrior would look forward to returning to after each battle, with a woman like Maria waiting for him.

He liked to think that one day, he'd have a home and a woman like this. It was almost a taste of the future. It was the last piece of the puzzle. He had his battles and his glory. Now he wanted something softer, something he hadn't yet experienced.

The god was wrenched from his thoughts as Maria dumped herself heavily on the couch beside him. Thor pulled his hands back to his sides.

"Tired?" Maria grinned, her cheeks slightly flushed, as she folded her legs beneath her.

Thor noticed, with a gulp, that she was wearing her night shirt again. Was it that late already? That wasn't what worried him though; he eyed the smooth skin of her thigh warily, thinking back to the store.

"No," he shuffled uncomfortably. "Would you like to rest? Should I leave?" he asked as Maria pulled down the blanket from the back of the couch, half rising from his seat.

"No, I'm not tired." she chuckled, throwing the blanket (mercifully, Thor thought gratefully) over her legs. "Just cold, is all." she shrugged.

Suddenly, Thor noticed the noises he could hear beyond the walls of the cottage: the lashing of rain against the window pane. Glancing over shoulder at the small square windows lining the walls, he confirmed his suspicions. His gaze fell back on Maria, who was hugging her knees to her chest through the blanket, remembering the first night they'd met.

"Would you like me to stop it?" he asked, concerned. It wasn't thundering yet, but...

Maria smiled. "No, it's okay. It's not very fair of me to stop the weather whenever I feel like it just because I have you. Besides," her eyes shone playfully, "It's only thunder I freak out at."

"It's no trouble." He'd probably shut the stars off themselves somehow if Maria asked it of him.

"It's fine. I've dealt with it before and I'll deal with it long after you've gone."

Thor's heart gave a tug.

Maria, oblivious to Thor's conflict of emotions, turned forward to face the blank television screen, and pulled the blanket along with her as she wondered forward to investigate it.

Thor's brow furrowed. He'd made her happy hadn't he? He thought Maria was happy with him around - today at least, she had been! So why was she talking about him leaving? Was that what she wanted? Or -

"You think I will leave you?"

Across the room, Maria glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyes unreadable. "Of course you will, in one way or another." she shrugged as well as she could in the crouching, twisting angle she occupied. "Either I get killed, or I don't, in which case you'd eventually go home, right? It's inevitable."

No, Thor thought to himself. There was something else. Some edge in her voice, some shadow in her eye. There was something she wasn't telling him. She was just being objective.

And why would she want to be objective?, an encouraging voice asked in Thor's head.

Suddenly Thor's eyes widened. To protect herself. So it doesn't hurt.

"Do you want to watch a film or something?" Maria asked from the television set, distracting the god. "There's still a couple of hours to kill."

Thor's frown was back. "A... film?"

Maria straightened up, having pressed a button on the top of the television and the box burst into life, the screen full of colour. "Yeah, a film." She jumped lightly back on her place on the couch. "Titanic's on I think. Not a very manly film, I know, but..." Her eyes gleamed up at him innocently.

"I... " What, his mind yelled.

Finally, Maria caught up. "You know what a film is right?" she asked carefully, as if afraid of the answer.

Thor gulped, his mind searching for references to 'film' from his last visit to Earth. He'd been acquainted with the television, and he assumed this film was something to do with that...

"It's like a TV programme but longer." Maria explained before he could try. "It tells a story. On the screen."

That wasn't so complicated, Thor thought, cursing himself for his stupidity. He should have just pretended like he knew! "And what is the story of this..." his mind strained to remember what Maria had said amongst his confusion, "Titanic?"

A bright smile instantly spread across Maria's face. "It's about a ship sinking. It's a classic."

With that she jabbed the remote in her hand at the box and the channel changed, flying right into the movie. Thor peered at the screen as he tried to keep up, but he was almost instantly distracted again as Maria abruptly leapt to her feet. He watched her step out of the blanket and disappear into the kitchen without explanation. His mouth opened soundlessly.

Still frowning, slightly lost, he turned back to the television set and tried to focus on the film.

"I love this film."

Maria jumped back down on the couch, a bowl of small yellow-white snacks in her lap. She popped one in her mouth, absorbed as the man and woman on screen united on the ships deck.

Finally, she caught Thor's questioning gaze and held the bowl out to him offeringly, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry. Want some?"

"What is it?" Thor eyed the food suspiciously.

He soon wished he hadn't asked, and had just taken the food: Maria cocked her head to the side sharply, her eyes disbelieving as her jaw dropped. "Please tell me you're joking." she said sternly. Thor leaned back cautiously at the look in her eye, but said nothing. "You've never had popcorn? Gordon Bennett, what sort of place doesn't have films and popcorn?" She rolled her head, shaking her hair from her shoulders and thrust the bowl into Thor's hands before he could protest. "Try it." she demanded. "You have to."

Suddenly eager to avert his eyes as Maria fumbled casually to get her bare exposed legs back under the blanket, Thor glanced down to the bowl. He picked up one of the fluffy snacks between his large fore finger and thumb and popped it in his mouth.

His eyes widened. "This is delicious!" he boomed, scooping a handful from the bowl and shovelling it in his mouth.

Maria chuckled and leaned over to take a handful herself from her bowl nestled comfortably in Thor's lap. Thor turned to see how big a mouthful she'd take at once, but was surprised to see the food untouched in her hand, while her other rose to mask an awkward cough. Her eyes darted from the screen to the floor, her cheeks colouring.

"Are you alright, Maria?" he asked, his brown beginning to dip.

Maria's eyes flickered up at his briefly, matched with a shy little smile. "Yeah," she dismissed, looking down again. "I just find these parts a little awkward." she chuckled, nodding ahead.

Confused, Thor glanced back to the television screen. Then he understood: the woman lay sprawled out on the couch on a cabin room, naked. Every now and then the shot would cut to the man and his eyes lapping over the curves of the woman's bare body.

The god smirked as he returned his eye to the blushing Maria. "You are a maiden." he boomed in what he hoped was a reassuring way. "You're reaction is nothing unexpected."

A sly smile was teased from Maria's lips. "Most people don't care. It's just me that's embarrassed." She shifted awkwardly in her seat. "At least it doesn't last long."

Still smirking, Thor turned back to the screen, finding as Maria predicted that the exposing scenes were already over. Her reaction was still fresh in his mind, fuelling his grin. She is a true maiden, he thought to himself, knowing that such a remark out loud would only embarrass her more, pure in both body and spirit. He took another fistful of popcorn.

As the time crept on though, Thor found watching Maria more amusing than the film. His eyes watched her subtly, though he doubted she'd notice anyway; she was entranced by the film. One moment she'd be smiling, her eyes endearing at what was playing on the screen, then the next moment she was biting her lip tensely, her gaze burning with frustration. Thor observed each emotion play on her face with care, savouring every motion.

Except one.

"Maria? What's wrong?"

He abandoned the long empty bowl on the floor and swivelled in his seat as his keen sight caught something disturbing: Maria, hand pressed to her mouth, tears slipping gracefully down her cheeks.

She pressed her lips together in a teary smile. "It's nothing." she waved, bringing her palm to her chest. "It's just sad, is all. I always cry when the music hits."

Still frowning, Thor glanced to the screen. "He is laying down his life for the maiden," he observed bluntly, earning an emotional nod from Maria, "But surely that is nothing less than expected of him?"

Maria's hand slapped down to her lap, and Thor snapped his gaze back to her. "But I don't want him to die! Jack's awesome!" she exclaimed, in an almost desperate voice. Suddenly, she jerked forward again and fixed her teary gaze on the screen, as if determined not to miss a moment of it. "But you're a man, so I guess it doesn't matter to you."

A smirk crept its way onto Thor's face as he realised what Maria was saying. "You think because I am a man I do not understand love?"

He was very satisfied to see a blush creep once again over Maria's cheeks.

"It is true, though," he conceded, sparing her from having to talk through her embarrassment, "That some men view love as a weakness. My brother would be one of them. But not all men think like that. I don't."

Maria's eyes glanced at him sideways. "Then what do you think?"

Thor rolled his eyes skywards as he thought, leaning back in the couch. "I think..." he searched for the right words. "I think love is something precious, and that those who have it are lucky. It has more power than people dare to imagine. That's what my father told me. He said the men who deem love a weakness are simply afraid of that power." He paused for a moment thoughtfully. "I think it is something worth fighting for."

He glanced back down, surprised to find Maria smirking. "Does everything have to come down to fighting with you?"

Thor let out a thundering laugh, throwing his head back. "I am a warrior, Maria. Battle is what I live for. I cannot run away from fighting."

Another teasing smirk answered him, though Maria's eyes drooped and abandoned it a lot sooner than they had before. Thor looked back to the film, watching as the scene flashed through the wrecked ship to the vessels former glory, all the characters reconvening around the stair well. The music played again, the music that made Maria cry and he glanced to see her last reaction as the main characters embraced.

His eyes blinked in surprise when they found Maria's head resting on his shoulder, her small body rising and falling with soft sleeping breaths. She must be light, Thor thought, if I didn't feel her.

For a moment he just stared at the sleeping girl, taking in the peaceful look that coated all her features. The crying must have worn her out, Thor thought with a smile. Careful not to move his shoulder he brought across his hand to cup the other side of her head, and eased Maria off him gently. At the same time, moving as smoothly as he could so as not to wake her, Thor slipped out of his seat and gently lowered Maria down onto the cushions. Pulling the blankets up to her narrow shoulders, he stood back to admire his work. Maria slept soundly, curling up comfortably in the blanket and cushions in her sleep.

She'd never looked more beautiful.

Thor smiled.