The Little Things: A Collection of Thorbruce Oneshots

2. Safe and Sound

Word count: 1,245

Thor hummed along quietly to an acoustic song as he tidied his room. He had taken music recommendations from the avengers, and eventually the whole team put together a Spotify playlist for him to listen to. It had a combination of Marvin Gaye, 40s music, 70s and 80s rock, Taylor Swift, Indie folk, Lofi, movie scores, sea shanties/drinking songs, and Broadway. (Okay so I was trying to guess what everyone listened to but this is basically my music taste XD) He especially liked the drinking songs and sea shanties. At least the Midgardians had some good tastes.

The god paused the current song right as it ended. He thought that Bruce might like it.

"Omniscient Lady?"

"Yes, Sir Fabio?" Friday responded.

Thor rolled his eyes at the nickname Tony had programmed in. "Where might Bruce be?"

"Dr. Banner is down in the lab right now."

"Great. Thank you, Omniscient Lady," he said as he walked out of his room.

"Call me Friday."

His brows furrowed. "But it's only Tuesday! Tony really needs to fix his calendar." He shook his head as he took the elevator down to the lab. The technology on Midgard was strange and still very new to him.

"Banner! How are you doing this fine morning!" The god asked, walking into the lab.

Bruce was in fact, not fine. He had a paper he needed to email to some other scientists by 9:00 that evening, and he was only halfway done with it.

"Hey, Thor. Look, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm really stressed out right now because of a paper I have to finish. Now's not a good time for me to give you my attention." The smaller man smiled apologetically from his chair.

"You're stressed?" Thor asked in a concerned tone. "Maybe a song will help?"

Bruce sighed and checked his watch. It was 10:00. He'd been working since 8:00. A break wouldn't kill him. "Sure, it's worth a shot. What song is it?"

Thor pulled up a stool to sit beside him. "Okay, so I was on Spotted Fly listening to the playlist you guys made, and I found a song by a Taylor, who apparently thinks she's swift."

Bruce chuckled at Thor's terminology. His interpretations were always very entertaining. "So you're a Swiftie, huh? What song of hers did you like?"

Thor hit the replay button on his phone. "This one. It's called Safe and Sound, and it reminded me of you."

Bruce smiled softly. This must have been a lesser-known t-swift song because he hadn't listened to it much. About a minute in, he asked Thor, "So why did it remind you of me?"

"Because of the mantra Natasha made for you. It says the sun is going down during the chorus! Also, it's a really soothing song! I think it would help you when you get stressed!"

The curly-haired man blushed a little. He never would've thought that Thor would be so thoughtful when they first met. Now Thor came to him almost every day with something to say.

Thor leaned closer to Bruce, catching him off guard. He was looking at the computer screen. "So what are you writing about?"

"Oh, Tony is trying to get a company to be the main supplier for the metals he uses in his suits, but they want evidence that the technology is trustworthy enough that if something malfunctioned for backfired, Tony wouldn't sue them. Tony is a billionaire, so suing them would be pennies in his pocket anyways. However, the company said they wouldn't sign an agreement until a scientist verified the trustworthiness of Tony's technology. So, he asked me to do it...at seven this morning...and the deadline is nine tonight." Bruce groaned and put his head on his hands. "Curse Tony for asking me to do stuff last minute all the time."

"Be careful what you say, Green Bean." Thor and Bruce whipped around to see Tony standing at the lab door. He sauntered over and leaned on a nearby worktable, crossing his arms. "In all fairness though, I have been asking a lot of favors from you lately, which I apologize for doing. I'll ask Pepper to put you down on the email list so you'll know earlier on when I do need your help. After you finish this paper, I'll let you have the week off. Sound good?"

Bruce sighed. "A week break would be wonderful. Thank you, Tony."

There was an awkward silence. Thor decided to break it. "Well, I'll let you get back to your paper. Good luck, Bruce." He patted him on the shoulder, then left.

Bruce's gaze lingered probably a little too long on the god because he looked back to see Tony studying him.

"What was Joe Dirt doing down here anyway?"

"Oh, he was just showing me a song he liked from the playlist we made him." Bruce waved his hand like it was no big deal. Why would it be?

Tony moved to stand between Bruce and his computer. "I think he likes you."

"Pfft, what? No. I'm the last person he'd like. There's so much cooler Avengers here. Plus, what makes you think he's into guys? And there's the whole Hulk thing." Bruce waved his hand nonchalantly when internally, his insides were doing somersaults. He'd been asking himself if they had feelings for each other ever since they got off Sakaar.

"Oh, hmm, let's see." Tony taps a finger against his chin, then starts numbering reasons with his other hand. "He comes down here almost every day telling you something; he finds excuses to touch you, like, all the time; he talks to you probably more than everyone else; you helped each other get off a weird planet and defeat his sister; and who knows how sexuality is viewed there on Asgard. Loki is genderfluid, and I'm pretty sure he also gave birth to a horse, but that's a different conversation. Also, he can totally handle you as the Hulk. The Hulk didn't kill him in the arena fight."

Bruce stared at Tony. He definitely hadn't been oblivious to their interactions.

The billionaire lowered his AI glasses to gaze down at Bruce. "And I'm pretty sure a certain someone likes Thor, too."

He felt himself blush. Curse Tony and his apparent observational skills. Bruce opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off.

"Or maybe you don't. All I'm saying is, don't lead the poor guy on. Either ask him out, or let him down easy. Because I'm pretty sure he'd rearrange the stars for you given the chance." Tony moved away from Bruce's computer. "Now, I'll let you get back to your paper."

He started walking away, but stopped at the lab door. "What song was he showing you?"

"Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift."

Tony smirked. "That's a love song, Brucie Bear."

Bruce was left speechless as Tony went back upstairs. He had seven PhDs. Surely he wasn't that oblivious to someone having feelings for him. Then again, he was the kind of person who would probably ask his spouse if they actually loved him after being married for years.

He groaned, rubbing his eyes. He needed to focus on his essay. However, he found himself typing in Spotify's web address and replaying Safe and Sound.

Just close your eyes,

The sun is going down.

You'll be alright,

No one can hurt you now.

Come morning light,

You and I'll be safe and sound.