Ave Maria

Five

Chapter 5

Thor felt a strange sense of satisfaction as he stretched out over the couch, listening to Maria pack away the dinnerware in the kitchen behind him. A smug grin was on his face. He stretched his arms up and laced his fingers together behind his head, basking in pride.

He'd done well. Better than well - he'd done brilliantly! He'd finally made Maria happy.

He glanced over his shoulder at the bustling girl, and was rewarded with a beaming smile. Yes, he'd made Maria very happy.

He wasn't even sure what had clenched it. Was it the dress? Or the visit to the cemetery? Or was she merely getting used to him? Either way, Thor was glad she was no longer afraid of him. He was getting quite settled here.

At first he'd been wary of the small house, but now he could fully understand it's charm. He'd always thought it an appropriate setting for a woman, and now he could appreciate it from a male perspective: it was a home. Listening to the sounds of Maria in the kitchen, the smell of the recently eaten meal still wafting gently in the air, it was a place any warrior would look forward to returning to after each battle, with a woman like Maria waiting for him.

He liked to think that one day, he'd have a home and a woman like this. It was almost a taste of the future. It was the last piece of the puzzle. He had his battles and his glory. Now he wanted something softer, something he hadn't yet experienced.

The god was wrenched from his thoughts as Maria dumped herself heavily on the couch beside him. Thor pulled his hands back to his sides.

"Tired?" Maria grinned, her cheeks slightly flushed, as she folded her legs beneath her.

Thor noticed, with a gulp, that she was wearing her night shirt again. Was it that late already? That wasn't what worried him though; he eyed the smooth skin of her thigh warily, thinking back to the store.

"No," he shuffled uncomfortably. "Would you like to rest? Should I leave?" he asked as Maria pulled down the blanket from the back of the couch, half rising from his seat.

"No, I'm not tired." she chuckled, throwing the blanket (mercifully, Thor thought gratefully) over her legs. "Just cold, is all." she shrugged.

Suddenly, Thor noticed the noises he could hear beyond the walls of the cottage: the lashing of rain against the window pane. Glancing over shoulder at the small square windows lining the walls, he confirmed his suspicions. His gaze fell back on Maria, who was hugging her knees to her chest through the blanket, remembering the first night they'd met.

"Would you like me to stop it?" he asked, concerned. It wasn't thundering yet, but...

Maria smiled. "No, it's okay. It's not very fair of me to stop the weather whenever I feel like it just because I have you. Besides," her eyes shone playfully, "It's only thunder I freak out at."

"It's no trouble." He'd probably shut the stars off themselves somehow if Maria asked it of him.

"It's fine. I've dealt with it before and I'll deal with it long after you've gone."

Thor's heart gave a tug.

Maria, oblivious to Thor's conflict of emotions, turned forward to face the blank television screen, and pulled the blanket along with her as she wondered forward to investigate it.

Thor's brow furrowed. He'd made her happy hadn't he? He thought Maria was happy with him around - today at least, she had been! So why was she talking about him leaving? Was that what she wanted? Or -

"You think I will leave you?"

Across the room, Maria glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyes unreadable. "Of course you will, in one way or another." she shrugged as well as she could in the crouching, twisting angle she occupied. "Either I get killed, or I don't, in which case you'd eventually go home, right? It's inevitable."