Okay, I know it’s been a minute (like six months, oops) since I’ve posted anything canon to my story, so I thought I’d do a little bit of a recap. 

Chapter 12, You Shine: Bruce explains his body insecurities to Thor and they go swimming together.

Chapter 13, Brother: Loki comes to visit and everyone gets to meet Mobius. Bruce, Peter, and Thor learn that Loki experienced trauma from presenting as female around the Grandmaster.

 Chapter 14, Falling for You (Lokius): This chapter shows how Loki and Mobius first got together. Mobius fell off the docks in New Asgard and Loki took him home to dry. 

 Chapter 15, Electric Love (Lokius): Loki and Mobius have a mini date the next day and watch Megamind after Mobius saw Loki in his Jotun form. 

Chapter 16, Prove Me Wrong (Lokius): Mobius finds out about Loki’s past trauma after accidentally overstepping some of his partner’s physical boundaries. 

  This chapter will be going back to Thor and Bruce! I hope this was a good refresher for everyone!

Word Count: 1,350

   Bruce was wiping down the counters and stove after cooking dinner when Thor ran down the hallway and into the compound's kitchen, seemingly out of breath. 

  The god put his hands on his knees, bracing himself. "Bruce, the field is being weird." 

  He furrowed his eyebrows. "The field?" 

  Thor nodded as Bruce walked over to the living room window. The scientist squinted as his eyes adjusted to the dusk. "Oh, are you talking about the fireflies?" he chuckled. 

  "Is the field going to catch on fire!?" Thor exclaimed.

 Bruce couldn't help but laugh. "No, Thor, they're completely harmless. Some people even like to catch them." He reached over and took his partner's hand. "Why don't we go outside and take a look?" 

  Thor grinned as he followed Bruce to the ground level of the compound. He held out an arm, stopping the god. “Hang on a sec,” he murmured. “Friday, could you dim the outside lights?”

  “Due to security, I am unable to dim all of them,” Friday replied. 

  “Could you just dim the lights immediately attached to the east side of the compound for fifteen minutes?” he negotiated. 

  Friday was quiet for a moment. “I can do that,” she responded. 

   “Thank you!” Bruce called as he stepped outside, Thor following. “Artificial light isn’t healthy for fireflies. It can confuse their light patterns, which are used for courting.”

  “So these fireflies...blink to attract a mate?”

  Bruce nodded. “The ones you actually see flying around and blinking are all males. The females hang out in grass or trees and mate with a male if she likes his pattern.” 

  “Fascinating!” Thor exclaimed. “This may be a dumb question, but surely they’re not made from glowstick juice?”

  The scientist chuckled. “No. They are part of a rare category of living things that contain something called bioluminescence. Plants and animals can use this trait to help reproduce or find food. For example, the anglerfish lives very deep in the ocean and it has an antenna with bioluminescent light on the end, which it uses to lure in prey. There’s also glowing algae and mushrooms.” Bruce ran a hand through his hair. “Sorry, I kinda nerded out there for a second.” 

  “Bruceeeee,” Thor whined, bringing the both of them to a stop. “You know I love it when you talk nerdy.” He kissed his forehead. “Tell me more. Why don’t all plants and animals glow? What makes these so special?”

  Bruce blushed. He still wasn’t used to his nerdy rants being rewarded by genuine interest and warm words instead of masked boredom and dismissal. “W-Well, in order for these organisms to glow, their body has to produce a chemical called luciferin, which produces light when it reacts with oxygen. Some of these organisms can also produce a catalyst called luciferase, which helps speed up a reaction.”

   “Those are very big words. What is a catalyst?” Thor asked as they began to approach the majority of the fireflies. 

  “A catalyst is usually a substance that--when mixed with a chemical--can lower the energy needed for a reaction to take place. Therefore, it speeds up the reaction process. Outside of the science realm, it can mean something that caused an event or reaction.”

  Thor pursed his lips, then spoke. “Like how Peter sped up the confession of our feelings by giving me advice and ditching you when he was helping you glue stars to my ceiling? Would that be a catalyst?”

  Bruce began laughing and couldn’t stop for a good minute. “You knew he ditched me that night?”

  “Oh yes, he snuck out of my bathroom when he thought I was asleep after I walked you to your room. Do you realize how terrifying it is to open your eyes and see a big shadow crawling across your ceiling?”

  “That little…” The smaller man trailed off as he went into another fit of laughter. 

 They continued walking until they reached the majority of the fireflies. Thor stared around in wonder and awe. 

  Bruce smiled, taking in the blinking bugs. “I remember catching these as a child. I grew up in the city, but they’d sometimes appear in a nearby park. They only come out during the summer when it’s warm. My mom would take me.” His expression turned sad. 

  Thor noticed the change of mood, so he tried to change the subject. "So…how does one catch these?" 

  "Well, normally, I would just pick one and chase it with my hands cupped until I was close enough to catch it.  Then I'd put it in a jar." Bruce chuckled. "It's been years since I've caught them, though."

  Thor looked at his feet. "Didn't you say the lady fireflies stay in the grass?" 

  "That or the trees, yeah." 

  Thor frowned. "Well, I wouldn't want to step on any ladies while trying to catch the men. That wouldn't be very nice." 

  Bruce chuckled. "Oh Thor, they're just lightning bugs. But it's cute that you're so concerned."

  The god furrowed his brows. "What did you say?" 

  "Oh! I forgot, some people call fireflies lightning bugs. I guess you have some earthly cousins," Bruce teased. 

  Thor looked lost in thought for a second. "Step away from me slightly, please." 

  The scientist was a bit confused since his boyfriend was more of the cuddly type, but nevertheless respected his wishes. Thor held out his hands, palms up, his fingers curling. Electricity arced off of his fingers, lighting up a small circle around the couple. 

   Bruce gasped as the fireflies began to cluster toward Thor's lightning. Pretty soon, they were surrounded by most of the bugs in the field. The couple stood mesmerized. 

  "I quite enjoy lightning bugs," Thor said after a few minutes. He had turned his lightning off after drawing most of them over so he wouldn't zap the insects. He held out a finger, where one landed and blinked for a few seconds before lifting into the air once more. "These would be amazing to have had on Asgard."

  "Yeah, that would've been cool. But, I'm pretty sure Norway has fireflies, so maybe New Asgard can experience them," Bruce replied hopefully. 

  Thor's face lit up. "That would be wonderful! I'll have to tell Loki about them!" He moved closer to Bruce, winding his arms around his waist. "Thank you for taking the time to show them to me. They're almost magical." He kissed Bruce's nose. 

  The scientist giggled, which made Thor's heart flutter. "You're welcome, Thor. It was nothing, really." He leaned in for a more proper kiss. 

  The compound lights flicked back on right as their lips touched. The two sighed. 

  "Alright, lovebirds, it's past your curfew!" Tony yelled from a balcony. 

  "Curse you, Stark!" Thor yelled playfully as the fireflies retreated to the darker part of the field. A malicious grin appeared on the god's face, and the billionaire was soon yelling a string of curses as a stormcloud let loose over his head. 

  The couple laughed as Tony–now soaked–slammed the balcony door. "We probably should go inside," Bruce said. "We could cuddle in my room." 

  Thor groaned playfully. "Oh, all right. But only if I carry you back." 

  "Wha-" Bruce was scooped off of his feet before he could finish. He snuggled into his boyfriend's arms all the back to the compound and up to his room, then resuming snuggling once they were dressed for bed and under the covers. 

Me headcanoning Bruce as Demisexual when I first started this book: I just think he's neat

Me six months later going through a sexuality crisis: wait why does his orientation suddenly make more sense???

  So yeah…I'm kinda playing around with using demisexual as a label at the moment. Nothing is set in stone, of course, but it's helping me pin down my identity better. Now that I have a better understanding of it, I may incorporate Bruce's identity more in future chapters :)

  As you can see, I haven't completely abandoned this book. I've just had a really busy school year. I also got into Good Omens (if you haven't read the book or watched the show, I highly recommend it. It warms my queer lil heart), so I spent from December until March writing a Hanahaki one shot for a writing contest. It's both on here and on Ao3.

  That being said, I have moved on from marvel a teensy bit. At least, I'm less focused on it now. However, I still plan to update this book when I get the chance. I don't know how regular my update schedule will be. This next month will probably be too busy for me, but we'll see. I'm glad to be back, though!

I also have a Tumblr if anyone wants to follow me! I post some ThorBruce stuff, but mostly Good Omens. My username is spinchling.

Until next chapter, my lovelies <3