Word Count: 2,670

 Bruce shut the door to his car, Thor following suit. Clint had invited the Avengers to his farm for a bonfire and cookout. They ran a little late, but that was okay. 

   "I'm excited for this bonfire and cooking outdoors!" Thor proclaimed loudly. He helped Bruce get the camping chairs out of his trunk. 

  "I'm glad," the scientist replied. Tony had asked him earlier that week to drive Thor over. The god was a very talkative fellow and most of the Avengers couldn't gracefully handle an hour long car ride with him. Bruce didn't mind, though. He found Thor's childlike curiosity charming. When he wasn't talking about Asgard or asking questions about Midgard, he was attempting to sing along with the eighties playlist Bruce had playing in the background. 

  They wandered around back where mostly everyone else was gathered in a circle of chairs around a crackling fire. Clint sat beside Nat, animatedly discussing a long range shot he made in target practice that week that broke his record. Sam, Bucky, and Steve sat beside each other as they talked about Back to the Future , which they had just watched earlier that day. Tony was trying to convince Stephen to create a fireworks show toward the end of the bonfire, to which the wizard was objecting. Peter and Scott were outside of the circle dueling with red and green cosplay lightsabers. That piqued Thor's interest. He lumbered over as Bruce set up the chairs beside Tony and Stephen. 

  "I brought Ibuprofen, Benadryl, and horse tranquilizer, whichever you prefer," Tony said after Thor got out of earshot. Stephen's cloak smacked Tony on the arm for him. 

  Bruce decided to play dumb, as he always did when people were being passive aggressive or rude. "Why would I need those?" 

  Tony nodded toward the god, who was fighting Peter with the red saber. "For Point Break. I'm sure he talked your ear off the whole ride over here." 

  "He did. Why would that have been a problem?" 

  "Well, you're usually not one to talk. I figured he would’ve driven you up the wall." 

  He shook his head. "I happen to like how vocal Thor is. He's very transparent about his feelings and thoughts, which means I don't have to decipher what he says as much. Unless he's trying to describe something here on Earth. Then it just gets entertaining." He proceeded to talk about how Thor was trying to describe PopTarts, which he had eaten not too long after he'd come to Earth. ("It's like a board, but it tastes better than that and it's sweet like fruit with a layer of white on top of it and little shavings of color," he had explained. "They also come wrapped in a shiny material, which I learned was not meant for eating." It had taken a good three minutes before Bruce had guessed correctly.) 

    Tony wiggled his eyebrows. “Sounds to me like someone has a crush.” 

     Bruce rolled his eyes. “Just because I’m nice to someone doesn’t mean I have a crush on them. I believe it’s called basic human decency.” 

    “Mhmm.” 

    He inwardly sighed. So maybe he did have a crush on the god. Was he going to admit it though? Probably not. It’s not like it’d go anywhere. He leaned back in his seat and watched Thor duel with Peter. 

    Clint gathered everyone a few minutes later. Someone broke out the hotdogs, condiments, and buns, and everyone started roasting their food. 

   Bruce noticed Thor eyeing the package of hotdogs with concern. “Are you not hungry?” he asked from beside him. 

    He shook his head, and that’s when the shorter man noticed tears in his eyes. “I’ve met dogs before,” he whispered. “Why would anyone eat them!?”

 The scientist frowned. Of course Thor would be concerned. He still wasn’t used to generally-accepted nicknames or metaphors. “They’re not made of dogs, Thor. It’s a pork biproduct. It’s made of pigs. I don’t know why we call them hot dogs. You don’t have to eat any if you don’t want to.” 

   Thor sighed in relief, laughing. “Thank goodness. I think I’ll try one, then. Will you show me how to cook one?” 

  Bruce nodded, then proceeded to show him how to put the hotdog on the stick and hold it over the fire. He reminded him to check it every few minutes and turn it so it cooked evenly. 

  After a few minutes, the scientist turned to see Tony smirking and wiggling his eyebrows at him. Bruce rolled his eyes and turned back to the fire. “I think yours is done, Thor.”

  “Now what do I do?”

  “You can eat it with a bun if you want,” Bruce replied. “I usually put mine in a bun with ketchup and mustard. He led the god over to the folding table where all the food and plates were. Bruce fixed his hotdog and grabbed some chips. Thor tried a dab of ketchup and mustard before deciding on both condiments. 

  The Avengers all sat by the fire and ate, talking casually to one another. After a few minutes, Clint stood up. “Thank you all for coming tonight. I think it’s nice to get to hang out with each other when we’re not on missions.” He clapped his hands together. “So, I had the idea of getting to know each other better. I thought we’d play 20 Questions. I have a random question generator on my phone, and each of us will go around and answer the same question, then I’ll start the new one. Sound good?”

  Everyone nodded in agreement. 

  (A/N: Of course, some of these answers won’t be completely canon)

  “Great! Here’s the first question: What job did you have before becoming an Avenger. Or what job do you wish you had? I’ll go first: I did competitive archery as well as taught it when S.H.I.E.L.D. hired me. Now I wish I could train service dogs.” He looked to his right at Scott. 

  “Well, um, I was kind of a criminal, but for like...a good cause?I was a Robin Hood, I guess. Speaking of which, I also worked at Baskin Robins...for like a day…” 

  “Bucky and I went into the military straight out of high school,” Steve said solemnly. “I wouldn’t trade serving my country for the world, but I’d also like to go into an art-related field. Maybe art therapy?”

  Bucky nodded. “I’m not sure what I’d do if I could. Maybe help people in trauma therapy? Help run a support group?”

  Sam smiled, who also happened to be beside him. “Hey, I could hook you up. Outside of the military, I’ve worked as a social worker, and I love my job. I don’t think I’d do anything else.”

  Everyone else went around the circle. Vision would probably be an IT guy (how ironic), Wanda wasn’t sure what she’d do, Rhodey liked working in the military, Nat wanted to work with abused and mistreated women (and perhaps hunt down their abusers), Peter would like to go into a STEM field, Tony preferred the billionaire-genius-playboy-philanthropist life, and Stephen wished he could still be a surgeon, although he likes magic. The question came down to Thor and Bruce, who were sitting beside each other. 

  "Well, I was always preparing for the throne as a child," Thor began. "I also like art, like Captain Rogers said, but I also like training and sparring." 

  "You could be a personal trainer," Sam offered. 

  "Or a physical therapist," Stephen added. 

  "Or a professional wrestler!" Peter exclaimed. Scott high-fived him. Everyone started laughing. 

  "It's your turn, Bruce," Clint said, nudging him. 

  "Well," he began. "I have 7 PhDs. I feel like I've done a lot with my life and that I've been pretty satisfied with my career. However, I do wish I had worked more with gamma radiation before my Hulk problem." 

  "I don't think Hulk is a problem," Thor murmured, nudging Bruce's shoulder. 

  "Thanks," Bruce replied. 

  Clint's gaze lingered on the two before he turned back to his phone. They answered a few more questions (who did you most admire when you were younger?; What was your first kiss like?; What country would you like to visit?). Then, the game took an interesting turn. 

   “Okay, this question is: Do you have feelings for someone in this circle?”

   Peter cleared his throat. “The feeling was friendship,” he said in a gameshow host-like voice. “But seriously, what kind of feelings? If we’re talking about romantic feelings, then it’s a no from me. All y’all are too old.” 

  The group shared a laugh. “Okay, Peter sits out this round. But as for everyone else…” Clint eyeballed the group. “I’ll go first. No, I do not have feelings for anyone in the circle. Laura is inside.”

  “Awww,” Thor murmured. 

  “Yes,” Scott declared.

  “No,” Steve said. 

  Bucky shifted in his seat and blushed, fiddling with his metal fingers. “Yes,” he practically whispered. 

  Clint and Nat shared a knowing look. Sam went next. 

  “Yes,” he said. 

  “I think it’s a bit obvious,” Vision stated, stroking Wanda’s hand.

  “Aw, you’re turning so red, Vis,” Wanda teased. “And, yes, I agree.” 

  “No,” Natasha said simply. 

  “Yes,” Rhodey said, twirling his hot dog roaster. 

  “I like someone, but I bet you’ll never guess who!” Tony exclaimed, wiggling his eyebrows. Stephen rolled his eyes. 

  “Yes... unfortunately ,” he muttered before leaning his head on the playboy’s shoulder. 

  Thor shifted beside Bruce, which piqued the scientist’s interest. Even though this game was for schoolgirls, he was curious. 

  “Um, yes,” Thor said, playing with a strand of his hair. 

   I wonder who, Bruce thought. Probably Steve, he concluded. Everyone likes Steve at some point or another. He snapped out of his thoughts as he realized everyone’s eyes were on him. 

  “C’mon, Brucie. Do you like anyone in the circle?” Tony asked with a teasing grin. 

  The god looked at Bruce curiously. Did he like someone? If he does, it's probably Natasha , he thought. 

  Gosh, how Bruce hated this. Hulk stirred in the back of his mind, but the small man did his best to soothe the beast. It’s just a game , he reminded himself. 

  “Yes,” he answered in a small voice. 

   Tony’s eyebrows furrowed. “Interesting. That makes four we don’t know. So that means there’s some secret relationships going on, someone is about to discover someone else's feelings, or someone is about to get friendzoned.” 

  “Hang on, you didn’t say we had to reveal who we liked,” Bucky protested. 

  “True. But it’s pretty obvious. Me and Stephen are dating. Wanda and Vision are a thing. You and Sam are obviously in love with each other--who doesn’t know that?” Bucky and Sam looked like deer in the headlights. Tony didn’t seem to notice. “That leaves Thor, Scott, Bruce, and Rhodey.” He narrowed his eyes at Bruce. “And I can probably guess who another couple is real quick.” 

   “Hey!” Peter exclaimed, jumping up from his chair. “How about we start the s’mores?”

  Thor perked up, tilting his head. “What are those?”

  Peter gasped. “Mr. Thor, you’ve never had s’mores!?” 

  The god shook his head. 

  The teen pulled Thor out of his chair, which threw everyone off guard. They sometimes forgot about Pete’s superstrength. Everyone laughed as they slowly joined in making dessert. Thor was over the moon about s'mores. He declared they were almost as good as PopTarts. Bruce made a mental note to buy some s'more flavored PopTarts for him. 

  After everyone had had about two s’mores each and endured an argument between Tony, Rhodey, Clint, Scott, and Steve about what was okay and not okay on a s’more (“I’m telling you, bacon is amazing on it if you’d just give it a try!” Scott had claimed), Tony started a round of Truth or Dare. 

  So far, Buckly had been dared to let Natasha braid his hair (Peter’s dare) and leave it in for the rest of the night, Steve confessed that he wet the bed until he was twelve (Bucky confirmed that), and Scott had to shrink to the size of a five year old for the next three days after refusing to tell Sam how he found the Compound. Sam had to sit on Bucky’s lap the rest of the night after refusing to tell the rest of the group how Scott had beat him up. Neither of the men were complaining about the dare, which further confirmed Tony’s earlier suspicions. 

   Tony rubbed his hands together with a mischievous glint in his eyes. “I have a dare specifically for the people in the circle who said yes to the crush question earlier. Please, scoot forward.” Tony, Stephen, Rhodey, Wanda, Vision, Scott, Sam, Bucky, Thor, and Bruce brought their camp chairs a little closer. “I dare all of you to kiss the person that you like.” 

  “And if we don’t?” Rhodey asked. 

  Tony smirked. “Then I suppose you’ll have to say who you like instead.”

  The selected group groaned. Bruce’s stomach turned. He should not have said yes. But hey, at least he could tell Thor. He didn’t have to kiss him. But still, he hated this game. 

  “Alright, to make it easier, I’ll go first,” Tony declared. He turned and kissed Stephen deeply. 

  “Pfft, well that was obvious and easy for you,” Rhodey muttered. 

  “Get a room!” Scott joked. 

  The couple broke apart. “Alright, who’s next?” Tony asked. 

  Wanda and Vision shared a sweet kiss. Everyone’s attention was directed to Sam, who was sitting on Bucky’s lap. The Falcon sighed. “Well, I couldn’t make it more obvious.” He leaned down and kissed the soldier lightly, then broke apart. 

  “Wait, what!? ” Bucky exclaimed. 

  “Dude, could you be any more dense!?” Sam cried. Everyone laughed. 

  Rhodey played with his hands as everyone’s stares found him. “Um, I’m going to go with the truth on this one. Natasha, I’ve always thought you were an amazing woman. I wish I had your strength, wit, and fighting skills. I understand that you don’t like me back.” 

  Nat smiled. “Aw, thank you, Rhodey.” She pecked him on the cheek. “That wasn’t part of the dare, by the way,” she clarified. A few people chuckled. 

  Scott blushed, scratching the back of his neck. “Um...well...now I feel dumb. My person didn’t say yes, either, but that’s okay.” He took a deep breath. “Uh...S-Steve...I think you’re amazing. You're kind, have a lot of integrity, you stand up for the little guy--” Scott looked at his 3 foot self ”--No pun intended. And  you’rehotandhaveagreatbutt,” he mumbled. “So um, yeah…” he chuckled awkwardly. “But then again, I think everyone has had a crush on you at some point.” 

   See! My point exactly! Bruce agreed silently. 

   Steve smiled. “Thanks, Scott. I’m sorry that I can’t reciprocate your feelings.”

  Scott waved a hand. “No worries, man.” 

   Bruce looked at the dying fire in the middle of the circle, then realized everyone was expecting an answer from him. He thought Thor would’ve gone first. 

  “C’mon, Brucie,” Tony coaxed. 

  The scientist squeezed the arms of his chair to stop his hands from shaking. “Um, well...this is probably gonna sound stupid. This person is way out of my league. I guess you could even say there’s no way on earth I could be with them...heh.” 

  A smile began to creep up on Thor’s face.

  “So um...yeah, uh, T-Thor? I-I like you. And it’s okay if you don’t like me ba--”

  Bruce was cut off by a kiss. Cheers and whoops and hollers filled the air, but all Bruce could fathom was that Thor was kissing him. The god of thunder was kissing him. And he liked Bruce back!? What!?

   Thor pulled away, grinning. "I like you too, Bruce!" 

  The scientist smiled uncontrollably. The bonfire in front of them couldn't match the fire in his heart. 

  Did I end this chapter with a cheesy line after not knowing what else to do? Yes, yes I did.