Fated Marks

Thor despite being built like a brick wall actually made a great pillow. I tried moving off of him a few times during the night but he’d just pull me back on him. After the third time I decided to give it up and just stay on him even though he was probably going to be sore when he woke up.

I woke up before him and just watched him sleep peacefully with a small smile on his face. I slowly started to move off of him when his arms came up around me.

“Morning.” He said with a grin.

“Were you pretending to be asleep?” I asked.

“No my eyes were still resting.” Thor said with a grin.

“Uhuh.” I said lifting myself up to kiss him. I moved to pull away but Thor sat up to continue kissing me. “Mh.” I moaned. Thor slowly brought his hands to my hips before flipping us over. “Ah!” I shouted in surprise before laughing.

Thor chuckled before bending down to kiss me. I put my legs around his waist and rocked my hips against his.

“Hayley.” Thor moaned.

“Thor.” I said smiling up at him. I lined myself up with him and gave him a nod telling him to go ahead. Thor kissed me as he pushed inside muffling my gasps.

Thor snapped his hips while I clung to him and tried to keep up. Before I knew it we both reached our climax and Thor collapsed beside me happily sated.

“I could get used to that.” Thor said making me laugh.

“Yeah… makes you look forward to waking up.” I said cuddling to his side before his stomach started growling. “Hungry?”

“Some sustenance would be good so we could continue making up for lost time.” Thor said with a smile.

“Good idea.” I said straddling his lap before kissing him and rolling off of him. “I’ll go see what we’ve got in the kitchen.

I grabbed my underwear and a tee shirt I had left laying around before heading out to the kitchen. I looked around and realized that besides some cheese eggs and poptarts there was nothing in the pantry.

“Jarvis can you order some groceries?” I asked.

“Right away ma’am. Any special requests?” Jarvis asked.

“Recess peanut butter cups, chocolate chip cookie dough and some of Thor’s favorite chocolate scoops cereal. Actually while you’re at it I think he’s going to need some clothes.” I said.

“I have his measurements on file and will use him personality profile to find something to Mister Odinson’s liking.” Jarvis said.

“Thanks.” I said taking out the eggs and cheese. I settled on making some omelets with a side of poptarts and coffee which thanks to Tony and Clint I had at least five different types of stored up.

I got into the zone and started humming a song and dancing along as I cooked. I jumped a bit when I heard Thor chuckling. I looked over my shoulder and saw him leaning against the wall just watching me. He was shirtless and just had some pants on.

“Enjoying the show?” I asked.

“I have missed your cooking and… tarts of pop!” Thor said overjoyed when he saw the box.

“We’re running a bit low on… everything so I hope you’re okay with cheese omelets.” I said.

“Anything you make will be more than enough love.” Thor said hugging me from behind and kissing my cheek.

“I also had Jarvis order you some clothes since I figured you probably wouldn’t want to wear your armor all the time.” I said.

“It does tend to draw attention.” Thor said.

“For the right reasons.” I said smiling. Thor placed his hand on mine and toyed with the ring I was still wearing. That’s when I remembered… “So last night we bonded…”

Thor suddenly got tense. “We did.” He said.

“And you did say that back on Asgard bonding was the same as marriage…” I said.

“It is but we are not on Asgard. Not that I wouldn’t want to marry you” Thor quickly added anxiously.

“Right.” I said smiling a bit at the thought. “We’re not but that’s still your home and uh… what’s it mean to you?”

“Hayley. I am happy just being at your side. Waking up next to you this morning was the happiest I’ve been in a very long time. I understand your desire to not commit…” Thor started.

“What? No… It’s not that I’m not committed. I mean we’re bonded and I love you and everyone else I just don’t want to play favorites.” I said.

“I do not understand.” Thor said.

“Sweetie having multiple soulmates isn’t really common here. There are people that view someone with more than one mark as disgusting and immoral. It happens but not often and there are rules, laws that don’t allow someone from marrying more than one person.” I said.

“In Asgard no such rules exist. As long as everyone in the arrangement is in agreement than the marriage is as valid as a common one between a man and a woman.” Thor said. Damn Asgard is woke. Shame they view humans as a waste of space because of our significantly shorter lifespan.

“That sounds amazing and there are a few countries here on Earth that share that view but the majority don’t. I’m committed to you guys completely and personally I don’t think a piece of paper but either way I don’t want to play favorites by putting a legal label on what we have.” I said.

“We do not need a piece of paper to symbolize our commitment to one another. I’m yours as long as you’ll have me Hayley.” Thor said.

“Guess I should clear a table for mjolnir because you’re not going anywhere.” I said with a smile. Thor leaned down to kiss me before picking me up and sitting me down on the kitchen counter as we continued to kiss.

Yeah, I could really get used to this.

Two Weeks Later-

True to his word, Thor had stayed on Earth and was living with me in the penthouse. Tony was a bit annoyed when he found out Thor was living with me not because he didn’t like Thor but more like he was feeling lonely. I continued to skype him everyday, twice a day, once before bed and once in the morning but the closer we got to thanksgiving the more guilty I felt for not being around more.

I was really homesick. To make matters worse Thanksgiving wasn’t celebrated in England and I had a midterm exam and a paper due. To top it all off the search for Delilah had turned up nothing and it was getting really close to the deadline. I was really feeling the stress.

“Hayley have you been listening to me?” Tony asked during one of our video calls.

“Uh yeah something about… tech?” I asked rubbing my eyes.

“Have you been sleeping at all?” Tony asked.

“Don’t really have time for it.” I said as Thor walked in.

“Hey Pointbreak when was the last time…” Tony started and muted him.

“Hey sweetie, you hungry?” I asked.

“What did Stark want to ask me?” Thor asked.

“Oh nothing you know him.” I said.

“I was going to ask when was the last time Hayley slept was.” Tony said as his face suddenly appeared on the TV.

“How did you?” I asked looking down at my laptop before looking at the TV.

“You’re not the only one that knows how to hack.” Tony said. “Thor when was the last time Hayley slept?”

“She sleeps every night though she has been waking up earlier than usual.” Thor said and Tony gave me a look.

“I sleep a bit.” I said.

“Hayley.” Thor said giving me a look.

“I’m a bit of an insomniac. I have a lot going on right now.” I said.

“Look Thanks giving is next week why don’t you fly over and we can all spend it here at the tower.” Tony suggested.

“I can’t, I have class.” I said.

“It’s thanksgiving don’t you get half the week off?” Tony asked.

“They don’t celebrate Thanksgiving here.” I said.

“What? How do they not… those ungrateful…” Tony started.

“To be fair the holiday does celebrate the suffering and abuse endured by Native Americans so they may be on to something.” I said.

“Hales.” Tony started.

“I’m okay. It’s just getting pretty close to the deadline and I still haven’t gotten any news and there’s finals and… I’m feeling the pressure.” I said.

“Hayley it’s going to be okay.” Tony said.

“It doesn’t feel that way.” I said feeling a bit light headed probably a mix of the sleep deprivation and not eating in a while.

“Try to get some sleep. I’ll call you in the morning” Tony said.

“Yeah. Night.” I said hanging up.

“Hayley.” Thor said.

“Hm?” I hummed close my eyes and resting them on the back of the couch. I felt Thor sit down next to me before pulling me onto his lap and hugging me.

“Everything will be okay Love.” Thor said kissing my temple and holding me.

“Mhm.” I said hugging Thor as I knocked out on him.

A week later I was in the middle of a marathon cram session while at the same time running a facial recognition program that analyzed traffic camera footage in Hungary. Kol headed back to the states for Thanksgiving dinner with Davina. John was treating Rebekah to homemade dinner since she wasn’t spending it at home.

Thor was hovering and trying to distract me… which as much as I loved him for it was driving me crazy since I had a ten page single spaced essay due in two days, a pre final exam worth a third of my grade in three and a homicidal sociopath of an older brother sending me threats via text every other hour.

I was handling it pretty well that is until the elevator dinged in the middle of dinner.

“Sorry to interrupt you folks, someone dropped this off for you Miss Adams.” Arthur said.

“Oh thank you.” I said before he left.

“What is it?” Thor asked.

“No idea. It doesn’t have a return address.” I said grabbing a knife and cutting the tape to open the box. When I finally did open it I regretted it immediately. It was another dead bird. Except this one was rotting and had maggots. I gagged and almost threw up as I reached in to grab the note tied around its twisted neck.

I don’t like people wasting my time. The clock’s ticking, four weeks to go. Find her or the neck box I send will have your head

“Who sent that?” Thor asked.

“Satan.” I said closing the box before taking it and throwing it down the garbage chute. I sat down and when I looked at dinner I just felt nauseous.

“What’d the note say?” Thor asked.

“Same as always. Find her or your dead.” I said.

“He had to send a bird with the note?” Thor asked.

“It’s an analogy. My necklace, dead bird… what he’s planning on doing to me if I screw up.” I said.

“He won’t go near you, we won’t let him.” Thor said squeezing my hand reassuringly.

“I know.” I said trying to stop myself from shaking. “I’m going to get back to studying.”

So that’s what I did for hours… hours turned into days and finally I was forced to stop by Steve closing my laptop Natasha and Will dragging me out of the study and into the bedroom to shower and get some sleep. I knocked out for over twenty-four hours. I woke up Thanksgiving afternoon to the smell of turkey and pie.

I looked at myself and saw that I was dressed in a faded star wars t-shirt and some shorts. I walked into the bathroom and freshened up a bit before changing into some black leggings and a white tank topped with a long cream colored cardigan.

I walked out of the room and towards the kitchen where Steve, Clint and Will were cooking while Natasha just sat at the counter enjoying a glass of wine.

“What’s going on in here?” I asked.

“hales!” Will said running over and tackling me into a hug.

“Oh! Good to see you to Will.” I said patting his back.

“You know the green button on your phone is to pick up a call right?” Will said.

“I know how to answer a phone Will.” I said.

“Doesn’t seem like it, and your dumb voicemail recording, seriously I thought you had picked up the first couple of times.” He said.

“Probably a bad time to tell you I never check my voicemail.” I said walking around the counter to try and sneak a taste of whatever it was Clint and Steve were cooking.

“Ah ah ah.” Clint said moving the macaroni and cheese away.

“but I’m hungry.” I said.

“It’s not done yet.” Clint said.

“Can I…” I started.

“No, go relax.” Steve said.

“But…” I started.

“No.” They both said at the same time.

“When did you guys even get here?” I asked and they all exchanged looks.

“Did you seriously black out again?” Will asked.

“What? I lost track of time.” I said.

“Hales we’ve been here almost two days.” Will said.

“Seriously? Fuck! I haven’t turned in my essay.” I said running to the living room.

“Morning sunshine.” Tony said.

“I need my laptop.” I said.

“Oh no you don’t.” Tony said.

“Tony I need to turn in my midterm essay.” I said.

“Actually Miss Adams you turned that in two days ago.” Jarvis said.

“I did?” I asked.

“Yes ma’am you received stellar marks.” Jarvis said.

“My exam?” I asked.

“Already took it.” Jarvis said.

“Oh… Any…” I started.

“No new alerts, you will be notified once there is any news.” Jarvis said.

“So I don’t need my laptop.” I said.

“You’re overdoing it again.” Tony said.

“Starting to realize that.” I said.

“You want to talk about what’s going on?” Bruce asked.

“I’m just stressed.” I said sitting down on the couch.

“Does this have anything to do with the bird?” Thor asked.

“Bird?” Tony and Bruce said confused.

“He’s starting to send very graphic messages to get his point across. The latest of which happened to be a rotting bird with a broken neck and a note tied to it.” I said. “He and Delilah are made for each other.”

“And you’re just telling us this now?” Tony said.

“Not the first time he does this. He sent one on my birthday and it took him a month to make a move. It’s just a scare tactic.” I said.

“What’d the note say?” Bruce asked.

“Find her or the next package will have my head in it.” I said.

“You’re coming back with us.” Tony said.

“No, me running away is exactly what he wants.” I said.

“And you staying here is the better option?” Bruce asked.

“At the moment yes. The semester’s almost over, I narrowed down Delilah’s location to one country and I have facial recognition programs running everywhere it’s only a matter of time.” I said.

“And what then?” Thor asked.

“That’s not my problem anymore. I need to find her not catch her.” I said.

“What makes you think she won’t see you coming? She knows you’re after her.” Tony said.

“She’ll slip up. We all do eventually.” I said.

“Dinner’s ready.” Will said

“Good cuz I’m starving.” I said getting up and heading to the dining table. Don’t know who took charge but everything smelled amazing. There was turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, string beans, freshly made dinner rolls, and even three different types of pie.

“Figured if you couldn’t come to thanksgiving, we’d bring Thanksgiving to you.” Steve said.

“Aww thanks guys.” I said kissing Steve before kissing Clint.

“For the record this was my idea. I owe you after last year.” Will said.

“You don’t owe me anything and last year wasn’t so bad…” I said. Sure Hadrian managed to find me thanks to us getting held up in the drunk tank but overall it was good.

“My dad called you an abomination you smashed my grandmother’s urn on his head and we ended up in the hospital before going on a bender.” Will said.

“At least we were together,” I said giving him a smile. “Hey, where’s Josh?”

“He’s working.” Will said cutting me off. I gave him a look and Natasha shook her head letting me know to drop it for now.

“Well since I apparently finished everything early and you’re here through the weekend how about we have a best friend day? I’ll show you the sights and maybe get a bit of shopping done?” I suggested trying to cheer him up.

“Really?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been stuck in my head way too long.” I said.

“It’s a date.” Will said.

“Should we say something?” Steve asked and everyone stayed quiet.

“Sure let’s eat.” I said.

“Seconded.” Thor said.

“We could do what we used to do at my house.” Will suggested.

“The going around and saying what we’re thankful thing?” I asked.

“That sounds nice.” Bruce said.

“I’ll start.” Will said. “I’m thankful for spending Thanksgiving dinner with people who accept me just the way I am and for my sister who’s kept me going through it all. Love you Hales.”

“Love you too Buddy.” I said.

“What did you just say?” Will said.

“Love you too?” I said and Will tackled me into a hug. “Oh… forgot how emotional you get during the holidays.”

“It only took you three years to say it.” Will said.

“There there.” I said patting his back.

“Guessing this means I’m going next.” I said. “I’m grateful for everyone around this table. It’s been an…interesting year.”

“That’s one word for it.” Tony said.

“It’s been challenging and there were times I didn’t think I was going to get through it but thanks to you all being patient and understanding I pulled through. I love you guys. Thanks for being you.” I said.

Everyone more or less said the same thing and we continued digging in until we were all stuffed. Since I had slept most of the day I was still wide awake when everyone started heading to bed. I stayed in the living room watching a movie.

“You know we’re not done talking.” Tony said when the end credits started rolling,

“I figured.” I said turning off the TV.

“How are you, really?” Tony asked.

“Honestly? I’m exhausted. I’ve been under stress before but not like this and I’m loosing track of time more and more often.” I said.

“Are you blacking out?” Tony asked.

“No I’m pretty conscious of what I’m doing I just feel like it’s been a few minutes when it’s really been hours or even days.” I said.

“You’re over working yourself.” Tony said.

“Pot calling the kettle black don’t you think?” I asked. “You haven’t been sleeping.”

“I’ve been working on some things on my end. Your sister in law is good at hiding.” Tony said.

“Tony, you don’t have to do this. It’s my job to find her, it’s your job to make sure I don’t over do it.” I said.

“I miss you.” Tony said.

“I miss you too.” I said hugging him.

“How about after you find Delilah and your brother isn’t a problem we take a vacation? Fiji or Tahiti, a nice beach somewhere.” Tony said.

“Sounds nice.” I said.

Two Weeks Later- Third Person’s POV

“Finally got the little guy to settle down?” The flight attendant asked.

“Yeah, I think the little guy’s teething.” She answered.

“How old is he?” The flight attendant answered curiously.

“About eight months.” She answered rubbing the infant she was holding’s back.

“He looks just like you.” The flight attendant asked.

“Trust me when I say he’s a mini copy of his dad, hopefully just in looks.” She said sadly.

“We’ll be landing in New York Shortly, and it’s snowing so be sure to bundle up.” She suggested politely.

“Thank you.” She said before looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms.

‘Well kiddo, welcome to the first day of the rest of your life.’ She thought.