(The day after the previous chapter)

Word count: 2,274

    Bruce wandered down to the lab the next morning, a to-go cup of tea in one hand. Stephen made the best teas. That was one thing the whole team could agree on.

    The scientist shuffled over to his desk, still trying to shake the sleep off of him. Tony didn't fail to notice.

   "Rough time sleeping last night?" His voice made Bruce jump. He completely overlooked his friend waxing one of his hot rods.

   "Yeah…" Bruce groaned.

   A smirk formed on the billionaire's face. "You know, I saw Thor leave your room last night…" He wiggles his eyebrows.

   "Ohhhh no, don't you go there. You know me better than that," Bruce replied, turning in his chair and waving a finger at him.

  Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, I'm just sayin'! You know I wouldn't judge you anyways. Heck, you've walked in on me and Stephen--"

  "I'm plugging my ears now!" Bruce yelled, dramatically covering his head.

   Tony chuckled, shaking his head and walking over to Bruce's desk. "I'm messing with ya, Brucie." He leaned against the metal frame and crossed his arms. "Although I am curious. Did you confess your feelings to him?"

   Bruce sighed, running his hands through his hair. "No. The storm was upsetting me and was starting to make the Hulk come out, but Thor stopped by to ask about my paper and he helped me calm down. He also helped take my bird feeders off of my balcony, which I need to put back up. I should probably go do that, actually. They'll be mad if I don't, and I don't want any of them flying into my glass doors."

   He nodded. "Yeah, you should probably do that. Remember, I'm giving you a week off anyway. I'm glad Thor was able to help you. I was actually going to check on you when I ran into him. I know you and storms don't mix, which is really ironic since Thor is the God of--"

  "I know," Bruce groaned.

  Tony studied Bruce a moment longer. "Did anything else happen last night?"

  The scientist scoffed. "You're so nosey!"

  "That's what friends are for."

  Bruce glared at Tony's cheeky grin. "Alright, fine, he actually left my room to get me some earplugs he had."

  "Awwww that's so sweeeeet! No wonder why he seemed in a hurry."

  Bruce slapped his arm. "Oh, stop it." He started to get up, now really wanting to hang up his bird feeders.

  Tony grabbed his chair, lifting an eyebrow. "Anything else?"

   He raised his arms and let them fall to his lap. "Fine! We hugged for a while to help me calm down and he may or may not have kissed the top of my head when he left."

   "AWWWWW BRUCIE!!!!!" Tony was acting like one of his fans.

  "Shut up!" He hissed, finally being able to get out of his chair. "I'm leaving now."

   "Of course you are! Go get your man!" Tony slapped Bruce on the butt and pushed him toward the lab door.

  "Don't touch me there, or else I'm gonna set Stephen loose on you!" Bruce yelled over his shoulder, but secretly smirked. Tony could sometimes be the bane of Bruce's existence, but he was a really good friend.

   Bruce stepped off the elevator after hearing the ding for his floor. He approached his room to see the door cracked. He frowned. He never left it open; it was always latched.

   Pushing it open slowly, he looked in to see his main room empty. However, he heard birds chittering and looked over to see...Thor?

   The god sat at the small, wire table on one corner of the balcony, watching the birds feed and bathe at the other end..

   Bruce slid his door open, causing the birds to scatter. "Thor?"

   "Bruce!" he beamed. "I woke up this morning and saw the sun outside and thought about your feeders, so I came to see if you had hung them back up! Since you hadn't, I hung them up for you!" His face fell a little. "Although, I've realized it was rude of me to enter your room without permission. I should've found you first and asked."

   Bruce smiled at Thor's realization for boundaries. "That's alright. As long as you weren't rifling through my stuff or anything. Thanks for hanging up my feeders! That's actually why I came up here." He took the empty chair beside the god, placing his tea on the table. "So, how have you liked bird watching?"

   "It's very pleasurable! They're so tiny and fast, and you were right, they do sing nicely, and I even saw a little hummingbird!"

   Bruce laughed, finding himself admiring how the god's eyes squinted when he smiled with his teeth. It was cute. "You know, if you wear red and stay very still, they might fly over to you."

   Thor looked like he just won a lifetime supply of PopTarts. "Really!?" He stands up abruptly, his thighs hitting the table and making it shake. "I'll be back; I need to get my cape!!!"

  Bruce smiled, scooting in further for Thor to step around him. He ran back inside.

  The curly-haired man shook his head, a grin still stuck on his face. His eyes landed on an open notebook on the table. In it was a rough sketch of a Black-Capped Chickadee.

   Bruce gasped right as Thor came back, panting at the doorway. A panicked look crossed his face, and he rushed over. "Bruce, what's wrong, are you hurt!?"

   "No, I was gasping at this!" He held up the notebook. "I didn't know you could draw!"

   Thor blushed. "I just doodle. Nothing major."

  "Nothing major?" Bruce scoffs. "You need to get with Steve. He's also really good!"

  He rubbed the back of his neck, flustered. "How many drawings did you see?"

  "Just this one. I know how personal some people's sketchbooks can be, so I don't look through them without permission," Bruce said kindly.

  Thor breathed an internal sigh of relief. He had several drawings of Bruce at work. Most of the time, he'd be so hyper focused that he'd never even glance up and see the god sitting just beyond the glass door of the lab. Other times, he's drawn Bruce in the common area doing common things--reading, watching a movie, sipping tea at the kitchen island. He was a fantastic model. Maybe Thor would show him the drawings one day.

   The god looked at the smaller man, realizing a brief silence had settled over them. "So...what should I do with my cape to attract the hummingbirds?"

  Bruce thought for a minute. "We could spread it out across the table, like a tablecloth. If that's not disrespectful to you or your cape, that is."

   Thor smiled. "It's just a cape. Here, take this for a moment." He handed him the notebook and pencil and proceeded to unfurl the cape and spread it across the metal surface. "Great, now what."

   Bruce smirked. "We sit still and wait for the birds to come back."

   "Okay." Thor shifted in his seat to get comfortable, staring at the feeders.

  "We can still talk, just be sure to whisper," Bruce murmured.

   He nodded. "So...why red?"

  "Many of the flowers that hummingbirds eat are brightly colored as a signal that there's nectar inside for them. Sort of like how fast food restaurants are red to catch your attention. There's actually a whole psychology behind colors and how they affect your mood. Red can be associated with hunger and passion--sorry, I'm rambling again." Bruce looked down at his hands, playing with his fingers. He jumped when Thor placed one of his on top of them.

    "Again, Bruce. I love it when you ramble. You listen to me do it all the time."

   Bruce blushed. "I just feel like I'm being annoying."

  "No, no. You're not." Thor thought for a moment, trying to cheer the little scientist up. He leaned forward. "Tell me what blue means."
 
   The curly-haired man adjusted his glasses, realizing when he tried to move his hand that Thor's was still resting on them. He blushed. "Um, well, blue is usually seen as a calming color that can help you relax, sort of like how it's soothing to  look at the ocean or other bodies of water. In fact, studies have shown that being near water can have a positive effect on your mental health. This is because water has a lot of negative ions in it, which can help increase the flow of oxygen to the brain. Listening to water can also have a calming and meditative effect. Um, so yeah… I'm sorr--"

   Thor put a finger to Bruce's lips. "That explains why your room is painted blue. Now, tell me about green."

   Bruce smiled. They had forgotten about the hummingbirds at that point.. "Well, green is very prevalent in nature. It can also be soothing and can be a sign of fertility, but it can also be associated with money, greed, and jealousy."

   Thor snapped his fingers, then pointed at Bruce. "That explains Loki's fashion choices."

   The two chuckled, then stopped abruptly as they heard a buzzing. They both glanced over to see a hummingbird at the feeder. 

  "Be very still and quiet," Bruce whispered.

  Thor held his breath and watched as the little bird took a drink, flicking it's tiny tongue afterward. It paused for a moment, then slowly flew over, hovering above the table. Thor's eyes widened, studying it's white belly, green head, and dark throat that flashed red at certain angles. A twittering sounded nearby, causing the bird to lose interest in Thor's cape and fly off.

   The god let out a breath, grinning wildly. "That was amazing!"

   "Congratulations, Thor. You just met a male ruby-throated hummingbird." Bruce smiled at his giddiness.

  "I can't believe how tiny it is!" He exclaimed.

  "Right? You know what's even more mind-blowing? Their nests are the size of large thimbles, and their eggs are the size of Tic-Tacs!"

  Thor tilted his head in confusion, squinting a little.

  "Oh, right. You don't know what those are, do you?" He gestured to the notebook. "May I?"
  
   Thor gulped. "Uh...sure."

   Bruce flipped to a clean page, luckily. He drew a circle about an inch in diameter. "Their nests are about this big. They usually make them out of cobwebs with plant debris. And their eggs are even tinier! Also, animal scientists can put itty bitty bands on their legs with numbers on them so they can track them."

   "Nuh-uh, there's no way a bird or a band can be that small." Thor crossed his arms.

   Bruce grinned wildly. "Get this: there's a breed called a Bee Hummingbird that, as an adult, is even smaller! I mean, it's bee sized, or else it wouldn't be called that."

   "How many different kinds are there?"

   "A lot. Most of them are in tropical regions. They come in all kinds of shapes and colors. Some even have super long tails to attract mates!"

  Thor gazed at the feeders, then back at Bruce. "Midguardian birds sound amazing. I can't wait to see them all!"

  Bruce frowned, then chuckled. "Thor...there's thousands of kinds of birds on this planet."

"Well, I am a god. I can spend a few thousand years finding them."

  He chuckled. "Well, if that's what you want to do, by all means, go for it. I'd suggest you watch a few nature documentaries first."

  Their gazes landed on each other and stayed there for a few moments. They broke their connection when Bruce's phone buzzed. Tony had texted him.

  A picture appeared on the screen of...Thor and Bruce...sitting on the balcony.

  Tony: I spotted a couple of lovebirds on the balcony. You're doing well at attracting different varieties ;)

  Bruce rolled his eyes, then saw Thor looking at him. He flushed, hoping he hadn't been looking over his shoulder. . "Tony, um, texted me."

  "Oh." Thor continued to gaze at him.

  Bruce squirmed, the movement making his stomach growl. "You know what? I think it's almost time for lunch. I'm getting hungry." He jumped up and pushed his chair in.

   Thor frowned. It just occurred to Bruce that he might have ruined some kind of moment. He mentally scolded himself. But Thor didn't like him, right? I mean, the Hulk tried to kill him in the past…

   He watched as Thor grabbed his notebook, pen, and cape. He also handed Bruce his forgotten cup of tea. They decided to walk to the kitchen together for lunch.

  "I enjoyed talking to you again, Bruce. I loved hearing about colors, water, and birds."

  The scientist blushed, looking at his feet. "Umm...you too. I'm glad you liked bird watching so much. You're welcome on my balcony anytime."

  Thor reached over and patted his arm. "Thank you." He carefully put his arm around the smaller man's shoulders as they went to get lunch.

   Bruce entered his room later that night, ready to go to sleep. Walking past his desk, he stopped. A smile crept up his face.

   Pinned to the wall underneath a drying flower crown was the drawing of the chickadee. A sticky note was stuck to a corner.

   For introducing me to a wonderful species

     Xoxo,

   Thor Odinson

   P.S. The spider child saw me writing this and told me to put xoxo. He said it's a common way for Midgardians to end their letters.

    Bruce laughed. He was gonna have a word with Peter in the morning. But for the moment: sleep.

  A/N: Hi friends! I have some news! So, I will be at a college summer camp for an entire month (July 2021). I'm not yet sure how this will effect my updates. I do have some downtime in the evenings, and I'm going to really work this week to write a few chapters so I have some to publish about once a week. I don't want to leave y'all hanging for a month ;)

   Thank for you the votes, comments, and support! They mean a lot!

   <3 Rey