Chapter 1
Thor was odd.
Most of the Avengers knew that by now, and no one really questioned it. They pretty much all chopped in up to being a god, or alien; whatever he was. Steve still refused to believe there could possibly be gods other than the one he believed in.
Thor had been alive for a very, very long time- longer than Steve or Bucky. It made sense he had pieces of his past he didn't want to share…. Things he had long since forgotten… Or old wounds he'd rather not reopen.
Wounds older than Natasha's, Clint's, Bucky's, or anyone else's… Thor had lived multiple lifetimes and all with the same soul, same heart… or at least… that's what they thought.
Because a large piece of Thor's heart had been missing for many years…
Maybe that was why he was okay with taking that hit…
"Can Asgaurdians even die from an atomic bomb?!"
"I don't know, Tony! Just-just get him on the operating table! Helen, get over here! I'm gonna need help!"
"How the fuck is he even still alive?!"
And it was also why Thor couldn't die here…
Thor's bloodied, burnt armor sat in the corner of the operating room as Bruce Banner and Helen Cho worked like hell to stabilize him… His Asgaurdian heritage was quickly working to heal him, and with modern medicine on Earth- the Avengers had hope he would survive.
A terrorist group found their location of battle, and was quick to intercept them with a somewhat out of date atomic bomb… If it connected with the ground, they would be whipped out- the world would lose its protectors…
Thor grabbed the missile and took it higher into the sky before it could though, much like Tony had done that very same day the Avengers formed. He smiled confidently, like he always did, and he took off, flying high into the air with Mjolnir…
The missile blew, and Thor was struck… yet he was still alive.
He came crashing to the ground, his hammer falling to the ground next to him… he didn't move… Steve and Tony rushed him back to the Quinjet, before hurrying them all out of there and back to the compound, where the two doctors were trying to help him heal.
And heal he would… because Thor still had to see her again.
"How's he doing?" Natasha questioned; arms crossed over her chest as she looked at the large, slumbering god.
"He's out of the woods," Bruce said, running his fingers through his hair. "Honestly, I'm not even sure how he's still alive right now…. We think he should be back up and about soon though. Probably a day or two."
A sigh of relief let most everyone gathered. Thor was an integral part of the team… he left for Asgard often, sometimes for years at a time, but his presence was always missed. He had been around for so long, he had encountered many situations and was a well of good advice.
They wondered what their lives would be like without him… and it was a scary thought…
But nothing was worse than what was going through the unconscious Asgardians mind…
Peter fiddled with Thor's broken armor in the lab, making notes of how it worked, when Tony Stark leaned over his shoulder, "Whatcha doin' kid? Is that Point Break's armor?"
"Uh, y-yeah. I thought I'd put it back together for him, at least until he can go back to Asgard…" the teenager trailed off, suddenly unsure.
Tony grinned, ruffling the boy's hair, "Have fun with that, kid. I've been trying to figure out how his armor worked for years." He had asked Thor to examine it years ago, and the god compiled…
But even the genius billionaire Tony Stark couldn't figure it out.
Peter breathed a sigh of relief as his mentor walked away, turning back to his project. He made all the other Avenger's gadgets, their tools… this shouldn't be any different, right? Besides, he wanted to do something nice for Mr. Thor…
After all, the god had been nothing but nice to Peter, never underestimating him because he was a kid, simply giving guidance… Never once did Thor question Peter's abilities on the field, something everyone but Tony had done.
Peter could only stare…
S-she was gorgeous….
That bright smile, her larger than life cerulean blue eyes… Soft, long bluish black hair that cascaded down her back in waves… Soft creamy ivory skin… Curves and legs for days… She was the most beautiful girl Peter had ever seen…
Peter's spidey sense immediately started going off a few seconds later, breaking him out of his trace. He scrambled around for a few seconds as Tony Stark entered the lab, raising an eyebrow at Peter's disheveled state, "You okay, Petey?"
"Uh, y-yeah. Yeah, I'm good."
Peter didn't even sound confident to his own ears. Tony looked at the boy for a few moments, before deciding to just leave it be, "Alright."
Spider-man breathed a long sigh of relief…
Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were unwavering. They all had hard expressions on their faces as they had a stare down with Tony and Steve. "We only wish to take Prince Thor back to Asgard to get proper medical treatment!"
"And according to Bruce, Thor doesn't need to move for a few more days!" Tony shouted back, "So you and your whole Lord of the Rings fan-troop can just go back to where you came from!"
Lady Sif sighed, "Can we at least see him?"
Steve glanced over at Bruce, who looked unsure for a moment, but ultimately nodded. Captain America looked at the four Asgardians, "You have ten minutes."
"Um… excuse me, Lady Sif?" Peter approached the armor clad woman casually. Out of all of the four warriors, she seemed to be the most approachable… But then again, Natasha looked approachable, and she was one of the most dangerous people on the planet.
The dark-haired warrior looked at the boy… The Warriors Three were in with an unconscious Thor, who wasn't due to wake until tomorrow. Sif raised an eyebrow, "You're the spider child, no?"
"Uh, yeah, that's me." Peter fidgeted around, patting himself down as he searched for something. "I was uh, working on repairing Thor's armor for him, and found this." He pulled an old, worn, colored photo no bigger than his palm…
The edges were brown with wear, torn in a few places, but the colors were all there… And the subject of the picture… Her bright cerulean blue eyes still shone.
And the minute the picture hit Sif's hand, her eyes grew wide… B-but that was… Peter continued on, "I-I found it right over the part that goes over his heart."
His heart…
Thor's heart…
Tears wheeled in Sif's eyes… Even seeing her again made her heart ache… The first person to believe in her… To tell her women can be even better warriors than men… The woman who convinced Thor to back Sif, to allow her to become a warrior of Asgard.
It was her…
To think, all these centuries, Thor had been fighting with her right by his heart… Never once without her… "I had no idea he had such a thing…" Sif's words were light and barely a whisper.
Peter's eyes widened, and he sat next to her on the sofa. "Y-you know who this is?"
"Yes, I do… She… She's Thor's heart…"
"His… heart?" For a few seconds, Peter was confused… But then, it all started to click… the Avenger looked down at the picture, smiling sadly, "There's a worn spot in Thor's armor, I don't think he ever fights without it."
A mournful smile pulled at Sif's face, "I imagine so… he's never been the same sense… even now…"
No, Thor had never been the same…
Thor was up and walking around, his body fully healed and was going back to Asgard with the Warriors Three to fix his armor and rest up. "Mr. Thor!" Peter called, stopping the god in his tracks. The teen fidgeting nervously, "Do you, uh, have a minute?"
"Of course, Young Peter. What is it you need?" the god smiled down at the child.
Peter fumbled around for a minute, patting down his pockets- silently praying he didn't drop it and that Thor didn't kill him for having it. "Uh," the boy pulled it from his pocket, gently cradling the picture that meant so much to the god. "I-I found this in your armor when I was trying to fix it. I figured you'd like it back before you left."
Thor looked down at the picture in Peter's hand and his expression immediately turned melancholy… He was smiling, but it wasn't the same… It was so sad… Like nothing was right with the world, as if none of it mattered… because she wasn't there.
"Thank you, young Peter." Thor took the picture gently, holding it up to the light. His thumb ran across the girl's cheek, and in his mind's eye- she leaned into his touch, her smile growing as those beautiful cerulean blue eyes looked up at him.
"S-she's beautiful, by the way."
Thor pursed his lips, and in that moment, it took everything in his being to not cry. "The most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes upon."
With that, the god turned around, walking off down the hallway and Peter simply let him. Spider-man could see it in the Asgardian's eyes…
Just how much pain he was in…