Nine hours later, I got ready for my date, slipping my black bikini under my dark blue shirt and a pair of khaki shorts. I bid goodbye to Sif who tore her eyes away from the start of season two to wish me luck and promised to grill me when I got back. Laughing to myself, I exited the room a mix of excited and nervous butterflies in my stomach. I didn't have much time to dwell on it, however before Thor materialized down the hall way.

I smiled at him. "Hey."

"Hi," he grinned back. He was dressed casually in a snug grey shirt and black shorts that I figured were swim trunks. On his feet, rather than his usual Oxford shoes were sandals. "You look nice."

"Thanks," I said, feeling a blush stain my face. "You too. So," I glanced around, trying to feign nonchalance. "You ready to go?"

"Got your bracelet?"

I held up my hand so he could see the leather that was secure around my wrist. "Never leave home without it."

"Or with your gun so it seems," Thor noted, eyes drifting down to my side where Besty was holstered.

"I have my conceal and carry," I defended myself. "Though I suppose it won't do me much use here."

"Perhaps it would be a good distraction though," Thor said fairly as he extended his hand to me which I took. The last thing I saw was his smile before the world compressed around me and when my feet touched ground again, I was no longer inside. Long grass tickled my bare legs and when I breathed in, I tasted a tang on salt on my tongue. Curious, I opened my eyes and gasped. I was standing on a tall hill covered in lush green grass that overlooked a beach and silver of blue ocean. Waves rushed up on the white shoreline, creating a hush of noise across the otherwise quiet landscape.

"Wow," I gasped, hands flying to my mouth as I took in the stunning view. "What is this place?"

"Ran Cove," Thor replied. "It was named after the giant Ran who supposedly had powers over the sea."

"Supposedly?"

"She and her husband Aegir are kind of like our version of Bigfoot. Some people believe they were real or currently exist, some don't and think it's just a story."

I nodded. "Good to know," I let my hands fall and took in a deep breath of salty air. It cleared my mind and the amazement I felt a moment before faded as worry edged it's way in. "This is beautiful but are you sure we won't be found here? I mean, this is pretty open."

"It's possible but very unlikely."

"Why?"

 "These fall under royal lands," Thor replied with a tiny, smug grin. "So unless my parents decide to throw a beach party right now, I think we'll be okay."

I sighed, relief flowing through me as I peered out at the water. The sun sinking over the horizon made the water sparkle. "Can we go down to the water?"

"Of course," Thor said with a nod of his head. "Just follow me, there's a trail right over here."

I let him lead me back across the hill top towards a narrow path that went steeply down the side of the hill. "Is it a good idea to be holding hands?" I asked, regretting my choice to wear flip flops as we went. The soles had no grip and flattened grass offered very little in terms of stable footing.

"Don't worry," Thor shrugged, "I've walked this plenty of times. If you fall I'll catch you."

Looking at Thor from his angle, I was slightly reassured. His broad shoulders certainly gave him a sturdy look. If I fell down onto him, I was willing to bet I wouldn't send us both tumbling. Of course that was just a hope and once we reached the base of the hill, I was pretty relieved.

Thor turned his head to look at me. "You okay?"

I pushed my hair back from my face with my free hand. I was starting to regret not bringing an elastic with me. "Fine, just glad I was able to walk down the hill instead of fall down." We laughed at my feeble joke and Thor turned his attention towards the horizon as the sun dyed the surface of the water gold, orange and pink.

"Did you want to jump in the water?" he asked and I shook my head.

"Not just yet. Question, are there a lot of sharp rocks on this beach?"

"No why?"

"Perfect!" I let go of his hand but moved it immediately to his shoulder and felthim stiffen with surprise.

Are you okay?" he asked reaching out as though to stop me from falling. "You're not going to be sick are you?" He looked like he wanted to step back then so I shook my head as I removed my sandals and felt the powdery sand against thesoles of my feet. "I just want to walk in the surf for a bit."

A furrow formed between Thor's eyebrows. "People do that in real life?"

"Yes! Come on, just try it."

"Alright." He copied my moments, removing his own shoes and then he gestured outwards towards the waiting water which was lapping the shoreline, reaching higher points as the tide came in. "Shall we?"

I giggled at his semi-formal language. "Yes."

We left our perch at the edge of beach and were soon at the edge of the water. I sighed as I felt it touch my bare feet, it was warm, not quite like bath water, but fairly close. "So," I began as we walked across the wet sand, "did you come here a lot with your family?"

"Yes, it was a place Balder and I loved to visit during the summer. Nothing cools you off like jumping off the hill and into the water."

He said the words casually but my jaw dropped all the same. "You did what?" I squeaked.

Thor chuckled. "I suppose it seems extreme to you, but it's not much for us. We'd always try to see who could get out the farthest. Drove our mom crazy."

"What are your parents like anyways?"

"My dad is strict but the wisest man I know. If I can lead with half the wisdom he has during his reign I'll retire happily. He was an amazing warrior back in the day too; he taught me most of what I know when it comes to tactics and hand to hand fighting. We fought like cats and dogs when I was younger, but now that I got my head out of my ass I actually realize he was right about a lot of things. As for my mom we always got on okay. We have this tradition of eating dinner together once a week. She's got the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known and even more patience. I could do with taking a leaf out of her book."

"Patience gene skipped you huh?"

"By a a mile or two," Thor said, letting go of my hand and reaching down into the surf. I peered over to see what he held and tried not to grimace as I saw a live, pale starfish wriggle in his hand. 

"What?" Thor asked as he lobbed the creature back into the sea. "Never seen a starfish before?"

"Not a live one," I wrinkled my nose as I recalled it's wriggling body. "Having seen one now though, I have to say they're kind of freaky looking."

"I thought Boston was on the coastline?"

"Massachusetts has a coastline and Boston has a harbor." I corrected with a smile. "I never made it to the coastline as a kid that I remember. Mom, Dad and I took one camping trip out there when I was four but I don't remember most of it aside from chasing seagulls."

Thor shuddered. "Seagulls are evil."

"Really? I always found them funny."

"Did one ever chase you trying to steal your lunch?"

"No."

"That's why you get to think their funny," Thor shivered again. "I still don't trust those feathery bastards."

I laughed. "How old were you when that happened?"

"Five." I sniggered again and Thor glared at me. "Hey," he defended himself. "They're thieves, you can never trust a thief."

"Not completely true. You can trust a thief to be dishonest. You'll never be surprised when they rob you."

"That's why you don't associate with thieves."

"Sometimes you don't have another choice." I'd seen that firsthand.

"You have experience with that?" Thor asked and I couldn't help but blink in surprise at his insight.

"How'd you know?"

"Call it a guess. Why would a cop associate with a thief."

"Because sometimes they're just cogs in a much larger and more dangerous machine." I replied. "Sometimes cutting a deal with the small-time thief helps take down the man behind the curtain."

"Have you ever had to do that?"

I shook my head. "I haven't been on the force long enough to run into a case like that. But it did happen with the druggie who shot my dad."

Thor grin fell off his face and shattered. "What?"

"He used and he sold small-time," I clarified, hot anger and cold resignation mixing inside I recalled that man who'd stolen my father from me. "Got his stuff from a large supplier in Boston and had some names. He cut a deal with the department; information in exchange for a lesser charge."

"That must have been hard."

"It was when it happened," I admitted, running my fingers through my hair. "I was really angry about it for years."

"Was?" Thor asked, brows furrowing in confusion. I tried not to be offended at that. Despite my resting bitch face, I wasn't actually an angry person.

"I grew up, realized how much energy it took to be angry all the time and gave forgiveness a shot. And now that I'm a cop, I can understand why they cut that deal."

"You'd be okay with that?" Thor asked, shaking his head with disbelief. "I don't understand how you could be."

"It's not something I'd necessarily like," I clarified, realizing his confusion might have not been to do with his impression of me at all. "But sometimes there is no such thing as justice. The world is unfair and that's just a fact. Sometimes you don't get a chance at justice, you just have a chance to save as many people as you can and you have to take it."

"And you could live with having your dad's killer walk away with a mitigated sentence?"

"If it brought down one of the most violent drug rings in the city, then yes."

"It did?"

"No." The old anger reared inside my chest just for a moment. "His information was outdated, but they had no way of knowing that. I understand why they offered him the deal; Robert Mulligan was dangerous. He had to be taken down."

"Was?"

"They got him five years later, he had a bench warrant out for him after he failed to appear in traffic court and it was all they needed to get probable cause to search his house. He's still in prison."

"That's impressive."

"Nah, how they took down Al Capone was cooler. He had a seven year reign as the baddest guy in Chicago before they got him on tax evasion."

"Who's Al Capone?"

"He was a crime boss on Earth back in the nineteen-thirties I think. People called him 'Scarface'."

Thor grimaced. "Doesn't sound like someone I'd want to meet."

"You and me both but I did learn one thing from his life."

"What's that?"

"Don't mess with the IRS."

"The what?"

"That's the name of the organization that collects taxes in the United States."

Thor shook his head. "I hate tax season. It's so chaotic."

"Do you have to deal with it as a king?"

"Not in the day to day, but once the season comes around it's all budget meetings. Boring but necessary."

"Sounds like history."

Thor looked affronted and shook his head at me again. "Those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

"That's why I said it was necessary." I smirked at him. "I prefer doing things rather than reading about what someone else did."

His slightly open-mouthed expression morphed into a smile. "There is something to that." We lapsed into silence then, the only sound the waves against the shoreline and I stared out at the water which was slowly darkening as the sun vanished behind the horizon. Even without the family memories, I could see why Thor loved this place so much. It was beautiful.

I smiled to myself but it only lasted a second as the water shifted; ripples billowing out from underneath the surface of the water. "Thor," I said, my voice tense. "We need to get out of here, now."

"Suzume, what's wrong?"

"There's something here," I said, heart slamming against my ribs. I had no details but the same tense, wrong feeling that had assailed me when I saw that Jotun in the seedy convenience store on Earth was hitting me again.

"Suzume-."

My senses shifted into adrenaline induced overdrive as the surface of the water began to bubble and before I could grab Thor and run, the surface broke with a starburst of white, blue and black as something emerged from the water with an ear-splitting roar. Something long, green and alive. A sea monster.

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New chapter! Third date has begun and it's certainly unique right? ;) Hehehehe. As always, I love hearing from you guys!

Write on! :)