"Oh, Thor, I'm so sorry!  Are you okay?"

"It is of no consequence, (Y/N)," he groaned, doubled over with an arm wrapped around his own stomach, his breaths long and rhythmic as he tried to work through the jolt of pain you had caused.  He tried to look up at you, but with each movement that stretched his muscles, a new wave of radiating agony coursed through him.

"I really didn't mean to kick you...there.  I swear."

"Carry on, (Y/N).  You've left yourself open."

You raised your head just in time to see the bottom of Natasha's boot hit you square in the chest, throwing you into the hard wall behind you and knocking the breath from your lungs with a searing pain that shook your ribs.  Clint was waiting at the point of impact, ready to grab you and flip you onto your back, pressing his weight into your abdomen to pin you down.

"Do you think she's ready?" Tony asked, standing with Steve on the other side of the gymnasium window.  Today was your final test, and they were both eagerly and anxiously watching your every move. 

"I want to," Steve replied quietly with a small nod.

"Scared?"

"Every time."

"Yeah," Tony reluctantly agreed, folding his arms over his chest, still watching you intently as he spoke to his teammate, "even watching her now, I worry that she could do something to ruin all of that recovery and work that she's done.  But," he sighed, "she doesn't want me to play the dad role anymore, so as a concerned, very close and ridiculously overprotective friend, I hope that you make the right decision."

"She'll never forgive me if I say no for my own purposes.  You know that."

The two men continued to watch, with Thor now rejoining the fight and making it a three-on-one battle that you had slim chances of winning.  All it would take is for Thor to pin you with that damn hammer to end it, and he sure was trying.  It wouldn't be fair to take another cheap shot at him, even though you weren't lying when you said you didn't mean to do it the first time.  In your peripheral vision, you spotted Steve as he watched, his expression and demeanor carrying his fear for you to easily read; Tony was a near-perfect mirror to him, and it gave you the sudden burst of energy and drive that you needed, determined to prove them wrong in their worry once and for all.

Steve closed his eyes for a moment, opening them to drop his gaze to the floor as he thought about how he could convince you to stay behind on your own volition so that you wouldn't blame him when he told you that he didn't agree with the others.  He needed to find a way to keep you safe this time, the guilt of the accident still in his mind.  When he raised his head again and looked through the window, he gasped out loud, wrapping his arm around Tony's shoulder with a stinging slap. 

Natasha was now secured to a nearby weight bench with chains from the punching bag, Clint was lying in the fetal position in the far corner and appearing to be crying, while you had your arm tightly around Thor's throat and his arms pinned with your legs, in the move that had rendered Steve unconscious not all that long ago.  When you saw your Captain eyeing you, you gave him a quick wink as the muscles in your arms flexed and Thor began to appear much more relaxed.

"Lord help me, that's hot," Steve mumbled, silencing himself with a cough at the snap of Tony's head towards him.  "Sorry."

"So, we're a go?"

"Stark, she's choking out an Asgardian.  What do you think?"

"I think your opinion is shit at this point, Cap."

Steve slipped past Tony and to the gym doors, entering and signaling to you that the test was over before Thor actually slipped into unconsciousness.  You gently pushed the god to the floor, holding his head to be as careful as possible, giving him one quick look to be sure he was coming back around.

"How'd I do?"

"Great.  Better than great," he smiled, but it wasn't a lighthearted expression and his eyes were darkened; his jaw was set and he looked like he was about to boil over into a rage.  "There's just one more test before I can sign you off.  Follow me."

You quickly took step behind him, following him through the doors and past Tony.  "Hey, could you maybe untie Nat and be sure Clint stopped crying?  I guess I have one more test to pass."

"Sure, kid," Tony agreed, "but what other test is there?  I thought that was the last one?"

Steve reached back and took your hand in a strong grip that nearly brought tears to your eyes and blanched the color from your fingers.  He stopped short and turned to Tony, replying curtly and pointedly with no change in his expression, "endurance."  His hand jerked you forward again and you followed, barely keeping pace with him as your laugh echoed through the tower halls.  Tony grimaced and shook his head, trying to clear out the images of the two of you that were suddenly attacking him against his will.

"Gross."

~~~

When Bruce entered the common room later that evening, he paused at the entry to watch Thor sitting quietly and alone, masterfully balancing the handle of Mjolnir on his middle finger, the hammer barely wavering.  With slow and cautious movements as to not startle the god, Bruce tiptoed to a nearby couch and pulled out his phone, silently snapping several pictures of his teammate, who was appearing lost in deep concentration.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Thor looked at the doctor curiously for a brief second, trying to find the reference in his mind, but coming up empty.  "I carry no Midgardian currency."

"It's an expression, Thor.  I'm just wondering what you're thinking about that has you so enthralled."  Bruce pointed up at the hammer, still sitting perfectly balanced, "I know it's not that thing even though you haven't taken your eyes off of it for quite a while.  So what, then?"

"The Captain has asked me to supervise (Y/N) on our mission tomorrow.  He won't be accompanying us and has placed his trust in me to watch over her."  He tipped his hand slightly and allowed the handle of the hammer to land soundly within it, "this is a great responsibility."

"Sure, but why the worry?  She can handle herself."

"Clearly.  But it is not (Y/N) who is giving me pause.  If anything should happen, I fear that our friendship would be irrevocably fractured, and his trust will have been misplaced."  Thor set Mjolnir on the ground at his feet and leaned back into the couch, pulling out his flask of mead to add a few drops to his drink.  "I don't have many friends here, as you can imagine.  I don't care to lose the ones that I have made thus far because I could not fulfill a promise."

~~~

"Thor is gonna babysit?  Are you serious?"

"He's not babysitting, (Y/N)," Steve groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed tightly shut in frustration and the beginnings of anger.  "It's your first time back in the field, and he's your S.O. for the mission.  That's all."

"And you're really not coming with us?" you pressed, moving a few steps closer to him.  "Why not?  There's something going on in that pretty head of yours, Steve Rogers.  Tell me."

He released his hand and dropped both to his sides in defeat, knowing full well that hiding anything from you was futile, and a cause for just another argument that he didn't want to have.  Ultimately, he knew that there was no reason to hide how he felt, hoping that his therapist was right and that openness was always the better path to travel.  "I'm terrified to go with you.  I'm completely panicked."

"Steve," you sighed, reaching for him but stopping in surprise when he pulled away, "hey, nothing is going to happen.  I'm ready."

"You were ready before and still got hurt.  Because of me."

"I thought we got past this.  Sweetheart, that wasn't your fault, and I don't know how many times I can tell you that before you believe it."  You took a few more steps forward, finally pushing him against the wall so he had no choice but to accept your touch, realizing that he had wanted it all along.  "I'm going to go on that mission tomorrow, everything will go as planned, and I'll be back here with you before you know it."  You took his chin in your hand and lifted him to look at you, your smile now lighting your eyes with a sparkle that he could never resist.  When his smile finally appeared, you felt a small sense of relief that he was maybe beginning to believe you. 

"Just you watch.  If anything, I'll have to save his ass."

~~~

If you stretched just a little bit farther...just a few inches more...you could reach him.  If you pushed yourself to your limits, you would be able to connect with Thor and keep him from falling off the precipice that guaranteed a fatal fall if he slipped.  You had one of your legs twisted in a rope that you had tied to a nearby tree, your body now hanging over the edge to where he was holding on by only one hand.  If Steve could see you right now, this would definitely be your last mission before he threw you off the team in the name of fear. 

"Thor, reach up to me!"

"Where is Mjolnir?!" he hollered, his free hand thrust forward.  "(Y/N), do you see it?"

"Oh, yeah," you snickered, "all I can see is the freefall to death, big guy.  No hammer."  When his look conveyed only his anger at your response, you forced yourself back up until you were on solid ground again.  Your eyes scanned the area but found nothing.

"I don't see it!"  You continued to search, taking a moment to call out to the rest of the team through your comms.  "Hey, guys?  Anyone have a spare second to grab Thor off the side of this mountain?  He's dangling just a bit."   A rattle within a bush a few hundred feet away caught your attention, the sound like nothing you had heard in nature before, with a loud shake and a hum directing you to it.  "I think I found it!" you called out to him as you ran to free it from whatever was holding it back.

A few steps away from having it within your reach, your leg gave out and dropped you to the ground.

"No, no, no," you mumbled, a wave of fear washing over you; your heart was pounding so loud in your ears that you barely heard Thor yelling for you as he fought off an enhanced guard attacking him from above.  "Not now, come on."  You pushed yourself up to your feet slowly, but as soon as you put weight on it, the leg buckled again. 

"(Y/N)!  Can you free Mjolnir?"

Fighting back the tears of both anger and fear at what was happening, you crawled to the hammer and pulled the bushes away, seeing it tangled in a mess of vines and debris.  You managed to get yourself positioned next to it and grabbed the handle, lifting it from the restraints.  With a fast reaction and without thought, you threw it towards your teammate, taking the assailant out with one hit.  With his hammer now in hand, Thor landed next to you, grabbing your arm to pull you to stand and now sensing your fear at using your leg.

"What's happened, (Y/N)?"

"I don't know," you panted, "it's probably just fatigue.  Fuck, I hope it's just fatigue."

"You lifted it, didn't you?"

"No."

"Do not lie about this," he warned.  "Not this."

A few of your teammates arrived, stopping suddenly as Thor swung his arms beneath you and lifted you to him; he held you tightly against his chest, swinging Mjolnir and disappearing into the sky.  Their mouths hung open wide, staring up into the clear blue above, with a long pause before anyone knew what to say.  Clint chuckled and shook his head in disbelief, finally breaking the painful silence.

"That whole 'kissing her in front of Steve' thing doesn't look so bad anymore, now does it?"