Chapter 1
When I put out an ad for roommates before heading to university, this wasn't exactly what I'd been expecting.
He was the only one to respond, but at the very least he seemed eager, and kind enough. Even so, he was... a big guy. I'd never lived with anyone besides my family, so moving in with a stranger was scary enough, without even counting his intimidating physique. But the first few days were genuinely ok. He did his best to get acquainted with me, help out around the apartment, and he was a pretty cheerful person to have around. I was beginning to think that this could genuinely work out fantastically.
And then the film crew turned up.
My eyes widened as they stood in the doorway, before I turned around, shutting the door in their faces as I pressed up against it. Why was there a film crew? At my apartment door??
"Amy?" Thor called out, coming around the corner from the kitchen, munching on her toasted sandwich. He seemed quite cheerful, until he saw the shock on her face, "Are you alright?"
"There is a Film. Crew. Right there! Behind the door!" She whisper-yelled at him, too scared to move from in front of the door in case they tried to break it down, "Why is there a film crew??"
Thor seemed to make a sudden realisation.
"Ah. That. You, uh, may want to sit down."
Apparently, according to Thor, this has happened to him multiple times. Unbeknownst to me, Thor just so happened to be a Norse God.
"God of Thunder, specifically." He added. Looking back at him... I'm a little surprised I didn't question it sooner. But even more than that, he was one of the Avengers who saved the world a couple weeks back. If I'm honest, I barely knew what had happened at the time, only that I was the only one left of my family, living in a house full of ash before they suddenly returned. It was part of the reason I had to move out, I couldn't live in the same home where I watched my family die. But alas, here was one of the men who'd saved the entire universe, as he put it, and a camera crew setting up equipment in my living room. I could at least see why they were here now.
Even discounting all those crazy revelations, about Thor's godhood, his superhero status and powers, I already knew that this had to be the weirdest documentary ever filmed.
"Well, after the whole Thanos thing blew over, I decided I needed to go on a break again, and I really do love Australia, I mean, have you seen the snakes? Amazing." I couldn't help watch Thor as he went on about this war I didn't even know happened, about the man who killed most of my family... Half the entire universe's population, if Thor's recount was anything to go by. It was a little shocking, for sure. I didn't realise that the director had prompted me to say something until Thor cleared his throat rather obviously, pointedly gesturing to the camera with his head. I whipped around to see the camera focused on me. I felt embarrassment wash over me momentarily, before I turned to the director, "What was that, sorry?"
"How did you and Thor end up as roommates?" He repeated, seeming to have lost no patience with me. He seemed like a tolerant guy, since he wasn't glaring daggers at me for slamming my door in his face.
"Oh." I said, before looking over at the camera, fiddling with my hands as I spoke, "So uh, I put an ad out for roommates, seeing as I was headed to uni, looking to move out of home, and..." I turned my head to look at the man sat at the end of the couch, cheerfully munching away at the toasted sandwich I'd made for myself earlier.
"I answered the call, obviously." He responded, mouth half-full, grinning widely, "My last roommate, Darrel, moved elsewhere, so I needed a new buddy!" He reached over to pat my arm, making me flinch at the sudden contact. I still wasn't quite used to his affectionate nature, and with muscles to spare, I was almost always certain I was about to lose an arm whenever he so much as touched me.
I turned to look at the cameraman, watching him pan back to my face, "How... How long are you guys gonna be here?"
It turned out, they were planning on sticking around for a while. A little over a month, in fact.
Over the course of the day, introductions were made by the crew. There was Javier and Gwen, the two main cameramen, Apollo, the lights technician, and Taika Waititi, the documentary director. He was a pretty eccentric man, but definitely as tolerant and kind as he first seemed. In fact, the whole day of filming had been strangely fun. He'd asked me to just do my usual chores and work around the house, which was a little awkward at first around the cameras, but I got into it a lot more toward the end. The first day turned out pretty well in the end, with both Thor and I wrapping it up by giving our first thoughts of each other. It sort of felt like what I imagine a reality TV show would do, like the Bachelor or something.
"Thor? I mean... He's pretty damn nice." I told the camera. Gwen was playing around a little with the lens, but I paid it no mind, "He's very affectionate, rather cheerful, after everything that's happened recently, he's a really nice presence to have around." I said genuinely. He was always cracking a joke, giving me compliments or offering to make 'Asgardian' delicacies, even if he did seem oddly uncertain about a lot of how chores and such work. Before knowing he was a Norse God, I just assumed Asgard was some place in Europe, and that Thor was just a kid who'd had his parents do everything for him. I supposed a godly status gave him a bit of leeway in not knowing how to mop or work a washing machine.
"Sometimes though," I added, "I catch him around the place and he looks... I dunno, sad?" I tried to offer, "I mean I don't know him well enough to know why, and I'm not about to get involved in his personal life after only knowing one another for such a short time, but. I dunno. It's jarring."
I talked to the camera for a little while longer, prompted my Taika, who asked me to talk about all sorts of things, most of which I really didn't know how to answer. What's the most annoying thing about him? What's the best? What similarities did we share? I don't know, we've been living together for 3 days!
"I suppose, we both like trying to keep others happy?" I said, though not really sounding too sure of myself, "I don't really know Thor's motivation when he compliments me or offers to do stuff for me, even if he doesn't really know how to do those thing, but it sure makes me happy, and he does it often. I tend to try go out of my way to make others happy too, when I can." I offered, "But.. you know, take it with a grain of salt. Like I said, three days!"
Not too long after that, they wrapped up that little segment, leaving me to go remake that toasted sandwich that Thor stole earlier. Once made, I began to head back to my room, when a loud, now familiar voice echoed down the hallway.
"Amy is a very lovely companion," I could hear Thor relaying to a camera as I walked past his room, slowing a little to eavesdrop, "I mean, she's no Darrel, of course, but she lets me use her electronic device! Uh... Computer, that's it. Darrel always said 'oh no, I need that for work!'" He imitated a whiny voice, before chuckling, "I find the games very entertaining."
I couldn't help my slight smile, deciding to stop near the door, just out of sight so I could listen to them.
"What do you guys think you uh... Have in common?" Taika tried to prompt Thor, who obviously had far more charisma, and more experience, than I did. He had a presence in the room, and was really owning that camera. Then again, he always seemed to have a large presence. Being a tall, muscly and fairly attractive man, as he was, probably helped in that, but his contagious grin and laugh added to it as well.
"Well, uh, I'd say we're both very good at persevering through adversity! Of course, I've likely faced a few more extreme circumstances, the Chitauri, Thanos, my own family even. But I can tell that Amy has faced her own personal loss, and she's very strong for facing it as she has." I was a little stunned at his response to that, not really hearing the rest of the questions, instead caught up in my own thoughts. I hadn't really expected Thor to say such nice things about me, even if he'd shown nothing but kindness thus far. Maybe it was my own paranoia, and uncertainty of this new situation, not just with the filming crew, but with Thor himself, but I'd been expecting a far more... neutral opinion. I wondered if what I'd said was even comparable to his compliments, if I'd made myself look like an idiot. What felt like mere moments later, I felt a hand land on my shoulder, glancing up to see Thor grinning at me.
"I didn't take you as one to eavesdrop," He chuckled. I felt heat crawl up my neck, but brushed it off, smiling over at him.
"It's really nice, what you said in there." I told him.
"Well, it's true, isn't it?" He said, voice softer. I could hear the mumblings of the crew inside Thor's room as they chatted and packed up their equipment.
"Yeah, I... Yeah it is, I suppose." I responded. He sent me a small grin, before picking up one half of my sandwich, taking a bite out of it.
"Dude! Make your own sandwiches!!"
"I think you'd have to show me how." He responded cheekily. I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't keep the smile off my face.
I grabbed his wrist, pulling him along behind me, "Fine. But I'm just letting you know now, I'm getting half of your sandwich."
"That seems fair."
It seems the crew had heard our conversation, as not even a minute after getting to the kitchen, the crew were setting up their cameras to film my shitty toasted sandwich making tutorial. I glanced to Thor, who was quite content chatting away with Apollo about something or other, before I turned around, trying to pull myself together as I grabbed the equipment I needed. Being filmed for a little while? It was ok, I understood. Thor was a big deal, and it was probably the world's obligation to know he was ok or something. But being filmed while cooking felt a bit invasive, even if I couldn't quite pinpoint why it felt that way. Maybe eating habits was just something people could easily judge me on? Maybe the idea of messing up on camera was getting to me. I didn't really know, and I didn't realise I'd been shaking until a hand grabbed mine. I flinched, but Thor still gave it a gently squeeze, and I looked into his eyes to see concern.
"Just pretend they're not there," He whispered to me, giving me a knowing look. I took a shaky breath before nodding, him letting go of my hand as I pulled the sandwich press out from the drawer. Why I'd even bothered putting it away today escaped me, seeing as I'd made nothing short of 3 sandwiches already, but it didn't matter too much. Once I grabbed all the ingredients and the rest of the equipment I needed, I made sure Thor was actually paying attention.
"Alright, so what would you usually have on a sandwich?"
"Well, uh, I am quite partial to boar-" He offered. I looked back at him, incredulous.
"Will ham do?" I asked. Because as if I could ever afford an entire boar. He nodded as I went and pulled the packet of shaved ham from the fridge, "Anything else? Tomato or something?"
"I mean, I suppose."
"Fantastic," I said, throwing him the tomato, which he caught with ease, "You cut it, I can't stand the things."
"Really?"
"Really. They're acidic and have a weird smell, and they're meant to be fruits?? Not for me, don't like them." I chuckled softly as I pulled four pieces of bread out of the quickly emptying plastic sleeve I'd only bought yesterday. I put butter on both sides, as well as a little grated cheese. Because you can never have enough cheese. I plugged the sandwich machine into the wall, letting it heat up.
Thor was Ok at cutting tomatoes. Not much worse than me, but he was having some trouble holding the fruit, at times, as it kept rolling away.
"Hey, lemme show you a tip," I offered, moving over to the chopping board. Thor placed down the knife, waiting for me to pick it up, "Nono, you're still doing the cutting, just let me show you something."
Thor carefully picked the knife back up as I repositioned the tomato onto one of the sides Thor had cut.
"See?" I said, holding the tomato and moving it slightly, to show it was far more difficult for it to roll away, "It should be easier to cut now." Thor nodded, moving the board back over to him and starting to cut away again, the knife now gliding through the flesh of the fruit far easier, without rolling away.
"Better?"
"Better." He agreed, continuing to cut away as I did the rest of the sandwich stuff. I could see Thor watching me, which concerned me, seeing as he was still cutting the tomato, but at the very least he seems to know a little knife etiquette, judging by how he held it and the placement of his hands. Besides, this was meant to be a learning experience for him, and I had a first aid kit if he happened to slip up. Once he's cut up enough tomato (Maybe too much tomato, considering I didn't want any) I grabbed the rest, wrapped it in cling wrap after giving a little explanation of what it was to Thor, before putting it back in the fridge and turning back to the sandwiches.
"Alright, so all you have to do is make your sandwich, and then we put it in the sandwich press for a couple minutes." I explained, "It'll toast the bread and make the cheese melt." Thor seemed happy enough with that, and made his sandwich. I'd made mine while he cut up the tomato, and put it in the sandwich press. When I turned back, he'd put almost all the tomato on the sandwich. I was about to say something, but decided against it. Maybe he just... really liked tomato. I couldn't really judge.
He also ended up dumping a bunch of cheese on the sandwich too, which I couldn't argue with. After all, I'd done the same.
As he finished making his sandwich, I pulled mine out of the sandwich press. Javier was behind me with the camera, the same way I imagine they'd have it on cooking shows. It was... Well, it was a toasted sandwich. It was toasted well, with all the cheese I could ever ask for. And now, if I was lucky, I'd be able to eat it without having half of it snatched away from me.
Thor seemed eager to cook his own sandwich, placing it down into the press as if it were his own child, closing the lid and standing impatiently in front of the machine, eyes not once wavering away. It was almost like if he looked away, the sandwich would be burnt and lost forever.
A few minutes later, the perfectly cooked toasted sandwich came out, thus ending the crappy little tutorial tutorial.
"Now do, be free and eat your abomination of a toasted sandwich." I laughed. I'd already eaten one half, and had started on the other, hoping to scoff it down before it was stolen off of me. Thor didn't even bother cutting his in half, munching down on it. He seemed ecstatic, and happily ate it as the crew finally packed up for the day, promising them a day off tomorrow, before coming back the day after. I sent them a smile as I closed the door, before turning to Thor.
"This month had better be worth it."
"What?" He asked, still with crumbs in his beard, "I thought they were as good natured as last time." He said with a shrug, before sitting himself onto the couch. I rolled my eyes.
"Ok, lets put it this way," I started, "This day started off with me thinking I'd have a nice, quiet day, before I have to start back at work tomorrow. I thought I'd have a nap, eat crappy food, maybe put on a movie for us to watch." I started.
"...And?"
"And?!" I exclaimed, slouching onto the couch in frustration, my hands flailing wildly with my explanatory gestures, "Instead, I had to do chores, and talk to people I barely knew who'd just barged into my new home, all while coming to terms with my new roommate being a Super powered Norse God!" I said, looking down at my hands, worn from the day of pretending to clean the bathroom, the bedrooms, washing dishes and cooking, "I dunno man, it's just... It was too much. I don't like being filmed at the best of times, let alone about all... this."
Thor watched me for a moment, seeming to think on something before patting the cushion closest to him, "Come here, Amy."
I had to admit, I was a little frightened. Thor's a big dude, he could crush my head if he really wanted to.
Even so, I shifted closer, almost right beside Thor. He put his hand over my own, looking down into my eyes, "I apologise for not telling you sooner, I do." He said, "All this God stuff, and Thanos, and being an Avenger. It's been a tough few years. I wanted to finally wind down a little, have a rest for a few years. Maybe stop a petty crime here and there, you know?" I nodded in reply, trying to read his face. He looked like he was trying to work through a lot at once in his head. It was strange seeing him like this when he was usually so... Cheery.
“I… I guess this has all just been a lot, y’know?” I said, “These last few weeks have been a lot, I don’t think I was ready for more, and all at once.” Thor squeezed my hand, and the look in his eyes held more loss than I could ever fathom. He looked distraught, like a cyclone on the coast, about to swallow everything in its path, but lose all its strength in the same run.
But his eyes didn’t match with the rest of him. Well, not considering the fact that he had two different coloured eyes. But his face, his smile, all seemed so much happier and positive. He was grinning, he seemed elated to have someone sitting beside him, while his eyes had a storm brew in the background.
“Are you ok?” I finally ask, wondering if I’d been staring into his eyes for too long, “You seem...”
“Me?” Thor started, blinking a few times, and suddenly the pain seemed muted, as if he’d deliberately shunned it back, “Oh, I’m fine. War and hardship and, and loss, all give you this very uh… Clear mind.”
“...It does?”
“Not really, I’ll be honest.” He laughed, but it was hollow. I sighed. I don’t think there’s much I can do to help here, not yet anyway.
“Look, Thor. If you need to talk?” I grabbed his hand with both of mine, giving it a tight squeeze, “I’m here to listen.” Thor sent her a stiff nod, and suddenly he wasn’t really hiding that look anymore. He seemed so tired.
“I think I’ll head back to my room.” He said, standing.
“You sure?”
“Yes, yes, I think I’ve been bother enough today.” He said. The smile was back. It was warm, as was his tone, but he still looked as lost and tired as before.
“You weren’t a bother, Thor.”
“Well...” He said, “At the very least, I think you deserve that nap, and I’d hate to keep it away from you.” He gave me a quick clap on the back, before moving off into the hall, closing the door quietly behind him into his room.
I slouched. Today really had been too much. And tomorrow, I’d have work. And now I was really, really worried about Thor. Was he ok? Did he have depression or PTSD or something? Did he need counselling?
No matter what he needed, I knew I couldn’t do much about it now. Not yet. I didn’t really know Thor that well, and he didn’t know me. I don’t think he’d appreciate me going from new roommate to clingy therapist in less than a week.
I curled up on the couch, hugging one of the cushions as I closed my eyes. I could move back to my room, but my body was aching from all the cleaning and chores. I’d be up in an hour or so anyway...