Of my rightful chances
Thor had begun a routine of getting up and doing a little work on his house before officially starting his day or running any errands. He was so excited about Bruce being discharged, he could barely keep still. He woke up earlier than usual, got ready first, and after that he kind of felt frozen. Like he couldn’t do anything while he waited for 1pm. He sat on his couch, kind of rocking back and forth in place. He’d been so happy recently. He hasn’t been this happy consecutively in a long time. He sat there so long he wound up taking a short nap, awaking to a loud alarm he had set hours prior to remind himself when to leave the house.
He hurried into the building, meeting up with Bruce’s cousin in the hallway. Jennifer was shorter, slightly tan with shoulder length moderately curly black/dark brown hair. She stayed kind of quiet when he entered the room, kind of staring up at the large man. “Hello, you’re Jennifer I presume.” He stuck his arm out and she hesitantly took his hand, shaking and letting go. “Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” He could tell by her voice that she was relatively anxious during the encounter. They walked together into Bruce’s room, helping him gather his things and sign all of the discharge forms, and they left. Jen had brought Bruce some clothes from his apartment to change into and they hit the road in Jen’s car. “So where were you guys wanting to get something to eat?” She finally asks as they approach a red light. The traffic is pretty backed up for New York lunch hours so they have some time to think about it.
Bruce and Thor exchange a look for about a minute from the front and back seat until Bruce finally speaks up “Chinese? Haven’t had it in a while.” Thor just nods his head to agree, and Jen pulls into the closest little Chinese restaurant to escape traffic. They all pile out of the car, Thor helping Bruce adjust before heading in and sitting down. As they waited on their food they mostly sat in silence. Thor nervously bounces his leg until he can’t stand the quiet anymore. “So, Jen. Bruce tells me you’re a lawyer?” He looks at her and does this little nervous half-smile. She smiles back at him from across the table. “Yeah, I actually just started working for a new firm. We get quite a few clients from New Asgard, actually.” Thor’s face flushed. He was quite embarrassed that other people probably knew how run down their civilization was at the moment. The entire community made ends meet via fishing, which was quite the downgrade from how they used to live. It was also freezing down there, which some of them are accustomed to, but it’s still a shock to most of the population.
Jen laughed a little. “Don’t worry, they only had good things to say.” He leaned back in his seat. The waitress brought their food and he began to feel relief at the opening for a new topic. Bruce and Jen talked for a while, Thor simply stared off into the background, his vision hazy over the decorations on the back wall of the restaurant. The rest of the meal was fine. They talked about Jennifer’s work, and Bruce’s scientific research. All things Thor didn’t really pay all that much attention to. The lunch he was so excited for.. really wasn’t all that exciting. It soon ended, Jennifer driving them both to Bruce’s apartment so they could help him get situated.
Thor nearly ran through the door carrying his friend’s bags and medical supplies. Dumping them onto the brown cloth couch while Jen helped Bruce through into his home. This was the first time he was truly allowed to rest since all of this mess started. There was a solid hour of them helping Bruce get situated before Jen left, hugging her cousin goodbye and waving at Thor as she left.
“So what’s wrong with you?” Bruce redirected his head to Thor, pathetically sitting next to him at the kitchen table. The large blonde anxiously looked back. “What do you mean?” He flashed a nervous smile. “You’ve been moping since the restaurant. You usually talk a lot. Like. A lot.” Bruce deadpanned. Thor slumped in his seat. “I- I don’t know- it kinda feels like-“ Bruce scoots his chair closer. “Nothing. Nevermind, I’m fine I promise.” He moved his elbows to the table and rests his face deep in his hands. “You can tell me stuff. You know that, right?” Bruce’s expression softens. He didn’t mean to be rude. He set his hand on Thor’s back and rubbed the spot a little bit. “I know you’re trying to help, but it just feels.. patronizing.” Thor mumbled through his arms.
He took a deep breath and raised up, sitting straight. “It felt like you were trying to set me up with your cousin and I feel horrible that I’m not interested.” Well.. he wasn’t. Jennifer was cute and all. Smart, funny, put together. There was really no reason for him to not like her. “She’s just.. she’s too much like Jane.” He could feel his eyes strain as he tried to retain his composure.
“I.. I’m sorry. I thought it might help, you know?” Bruce’s voice sounded sore. Now he felt really bad about tampering with Thor’s phone. “I thought maybe a rebound would help? That sounds awful, any other time I wouldn’t want you anywhere near my little cousin but she- I dunno I thought you would mesh?” He shrugged his shoulders and smiled pathetically at the other man. Thor laughed. It wasn’t much but he had been in such a damper mood it was like a weight lifted off of both of them. “Oh, don’t start now, maybe I’ll change my mind. She is quite lovely.” Thor teased and winked at Bruce. “O-ho-ho nope, you had your chance pal, don’t even think about it.” The smaller man grimaced, his right eye twitching.
They went back and forth for a few minutes, Thor helped Bruce settle in and excused himself. It would start getting dark out soon and he intended to be home in bed by 7pm. Not really the life of a Viking warrior, but it was the life of a man who lived in a cold little fishing town. And he was becoming content with that. He didn’t have to be extraordinary. At least that’s what he told himself. As soon as he walks through the door he throws his long dead phone onto the couch and kicks his shoes off. The place was still a bit of a mess, but certainly not as bad as before. Just a few beer bottles on the coffee table and clothes scattered across the floor and on his armchair. The lack of overhead lighting helped the comforting, homey ambiance. Just a few warm lit lamps and the glow of the television set. He could really go for a hot bath right about now, but he was so exhausted he honestly couldn’t be bothered. He changed into his pajama pants and stripped off his jacket and shirt, easing into bed for long awaited peace. Not just silence, but true peace. Twin Peaks reruns ran on his small box television in Bokmål Norwegian.
Tiden er inne for deg å søke veien. Din sjel har satt deg ansikt til ansikt foran det klare lyset… og nå er du i ferd med å oppleve det i sin virkelighet.
The low volume and soft static helped ease him to sleep.