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Fly Me to the Moon~~~Exactly one month had passed since the establishment of New Asgard: An impressive space hub orbiting the Earth, the result of a massive collaborative effort between Bruce Banner, Thor, and Stark Industries. The idea of course had come from Bruce—Thor had done all the heavy-lifting, while Tony had funded the project itself and had manufactured all the necessary parts. Even Jane Foster had gotten involved in the project, providing consultations on the construction of a new Bifrost. This itself was still a work in progress, however—but with each day that passed, New Asgard had begun to feel more and more like home.Every once and awhile though, Thor would begin to feel—well, Bruce had called it “cabin fever,” the sensation of restlessness he’d developed due to being confined to a Bifrost-less space station. And while the Earth seemed like the obvious choice for a quick escape, Thor wasn’t too certain he could keep himself from doing something reckless while he was down there—after all, it was the U.N.’s lukewarm attitude towards Asgardians that had gotten his people stranded in space in the first place. If it wasn’t for Bruce and, well, his own inexplicable fondness of the Earth, he would have packed everything up and headed on over to the next star system.The moon, Thor had decided, was the next best thing. It was close by (relatively speaking), and it boasted a pretty decent view. And most importantly, it was quiet. It would give him and Bruce the privacy they both needed without having to go obnoxiously far away.Bruce had nearly swooned when Thor had posed the idea to him. “You’re kidding,” he had said, eyes alight with both excitement and disbelief. “The moon? The moon?! Oh man, oh man… ”“I take it this is a good idea?” ventured Thor.“It was like, a childhood dream of mine to go to the moon,” laughed Bruce, his cheeks filling with color. “It’s a very good idea.”Thor’s shoulders dropped in relief, and he grinned. “Wonderful! I’ll just get Loki to set up those enchantments like last time, and then we’ll be good to go.”Bruce hesitated at this, then folded his arms and gave Thor a critical look. “You really think he’s gonna help us out on this little excursion of ours?”“He did last time,” said Thor simply.“Last time was out of necessity.”“True, but, I know Loki. As long as he can use the fact that we’re a couple as eventual leverage against us, I’m sure he’ll support this.”Bruce stared at him for all of ten seconds before clapping an exasperated hand to his forehead. “I… wow. Your brother really is a prick,” he muttered.Thor laughed. “He’s complicated, I’ll give him that. But I think… I think something might finally be changing in him.” He paused, cleared his throat, then awkwardly rubbed at his neck. “But that’s a conversation for another time. Go ahead and meet me in the pod bay—I’ll be right over once I settle things with Loki.”And so he had. Just as he had suspected though, there had been the faintest twinkle of mischief in his brother’s eyes when he had asked for his assistance. Really, he wasn’t sure what had possessed him to develop this newfound trust for Loki, given everything that had transpired within the past six Earth years. Yet recent developments had somehow softened his attitude towards his brother—he just hoped that it wasn’t at the expense of his people, or at Bruce’s.The moment Loki had given his word, Thor had dashed off to the pod bay, heart thudding with excitement. He nearly collided into Bruce—who looked just as thrilled as he felt—and together they piled into one of the pods and exited the bay.The trip there was even quicker than the usual descent to Earth, and lasted approximately a half an hour. For thirty minutes they sat in a comfortable silence, hands clasped together and eyes fixed in fascination on the sea of black outside the viewport, the moon a distant silver disc that slowly evolved into a giant gray-dappled marble.With a slight but expert maneuver, Thor took the controls and landed the pod besides a crater within one of the massive basins of the moon. He powered down the pod, then squeezed Bruce’s hand and smiled. “Ready?”Beside him, Bruce was a stiff wall of both excitement and nerves. He inhaled sharply, then gave Thor a brisk nod. “Ready.”Thor squeezed Bruce’s hand once more and, giving him a fond look of reassurance, activated the hatch and carefully helped Bruce out of the pod.They landed with a soft thud, their breath catching as a thin plume of lunar dust rose around them, but never touching them thanks to Bruce’s protective bubble. He could hear the man in question drawing in shuttered breaths of excitement from beside him, his hand practically trembling inside of Thor’s.“Ohhh my gosh,” he said, his voice unusually high. “Oh my gosh. I almost—I can’t believe this is actually happening, it almost doesn’t feel real…”Thor grinned, a small feeling of accomplishment fluttering inside his chest. “Well, it’s real,” he said, stroking his thumb against Bruce’s hand. “Shall we stroll?”“Oh, uh, yeah,” said Bruce, suddenly sheepish. “Just be careful when you step. The surface gravity here—”“Is low—0.1654 g’s, about one-sixth of Earth’s,” finished Thor matter-of-factly. He gave Bruce a playful grin, then bounded forward as if to demonstrate. “Ta-da,” he said, landing lightly on his feet with his cloak fluttering behind him.Bruce chuckled, a shy grin crossing his face. “You’re adorable.”Thor blushed at this, then hastily adjusted his cloak and waved away the compliment. “Pfft. ‘Piece of cake,’ as you humans say,” he said with a cocky grin. “Here, I’ll help you— auGH!”It was just his luck that in this very moment he would trip and fall flat on his face. He coughed as an embarrassingly large amount of lunar dust billowed into the air, then fluttered back down and piled onto him like snow.In front of him, Bruce was heaving with laughter.“Oh, shut up,” mumbled Thor, hauling himself carefully up off the ground and dusting off his pants. He looked at Bruce, and immediately broke into a smile in spite of himself. He couldn’t help it—it was intoxicating, seeing him this happy.“I’m sorry,” wheezed Bruce, brushing away what must have been tears. “I’m sorry. It’s just, you’re such a doofus. ”Thor grinned. “Yeah but, I’m your doofus,” he said, finger-gunning Bruce.Bruce flushed at this, then shook his head. “Honestly. What am I going to do with you?” he said with a small smile.“Well, you could start by walking with me,” said Thor, chuckling. He bounded back over to Bruce and offered his hand. “Here— no, I’m not gonna fall this time,” he added when he was met with a skeptical look.Bruce smirked, then gave a resigned shrug. Cautiously he reached out and wove his fingers between Thor’s—a gesture that made Thor’s heart flutter with giddiness, even though they had done this several times before. But wow, did Bruce’s hands feel warm.Thor cleared his throat and attempted to compose himself. “Okay. You ready?” he asked, smiling softly.Bruce sucked in a deep breath, exhaled, and nodded. “Yeah. Ready.”Together they took a few small steps—Thor first, and Bruce following. The low gravity caused them to feel wonderfully light, as if the stress and strain of every Earthly trouble had been lifted off of them. And for a moment, it had—for a moment, it was just him and Bruce, alone, on the moon.They landed together with a slight bounce, their boots sending up a tiny puff of dust. He could hear a gasp beside him, and immediately he turned to find Bruce practically shaking with excitement.“Oh—my— gosh, ” he said, his hands rushing to his face. “Oh my gosh. I can’t believe—I just walked on the moon!”Thor grinned beside him, his heart practically melting at Bruce’s delighted expression. That same feeling of accomplishment had returned, brighter and warmer and more intense than before. He supposed it was no small wonder, the moon—at least by Midgardian standards. But then again, so was visiting two alien planets and rooming with a couple hundred gods on a spaceship. Bruce had seen a lot for a Midgardian, and Thor supposed that that was just one of the million things that made him special—for all the things he had ever seen and encountered, Bruce still had this tireless joy, this insatiable curiosity that filled him with the purest sense of wonder.Bruce released Thor’s hand, and shook his head as if to shoo away some pestersome fly. “Okay. Easy, Banner. Be cool.” He sucked in another deep breath, then adjusted his glasses and knelt to inspect the crater they were standing in. “Alright. So… I’m not much of a geologist but, I believe we’re standing in one of the basaltic regions of the moon.” He stood up again and gestured to the lunar plain in the distance, which sparkled white in comparison to the muddy gray basin they had landed in. “Yeah. See how that area’s lighter over there? The dark regions over here indicate lava flows from ancient volcanic eruptions.” He paused, brow furrowing in thought. “I wonder where exactly we are,” he muttered.“I was wondering when you were gonna ask that,” said Thor, his lips tugging into a soft smile. “We’re in a place called the Sea of Tranquility. You might’ve heard of it.”Bruce practically froze upon hearing this. “No… way….” he breathed, mouth becoming comically ajar.Thor laughed. “Yeah, I thought you might like that,” he said fondly.Bruce gaped at him. “This… this is incredible! I mean, this is where the first ever moon landing took place,” he began to gush, his cheeks going red. “As in, the very first astronauts to come to the moon landed right here, where we’re standing. It’s—it’s—” he paused, then stared at Thor. “How on earth did you know?”It was Thor’s turn to be sheepish. “Well, ever since I visited Earth, human spaceflight has always kind of fascinated me,” he began, idly kicking up a cloud of dust with his boot. “I mean, there’s no Bifrost on Earth. No doorway that you can use to just pop in and out of other planets. The other worlds are essentially closed off to you. But you’ve found another way.” A soft smile. “It’s a much slower way, but it’s a way nonetheless.”“Yeah, well. We humans are nothing if not tenacious,” laughed Bruce. “Once we got our first taste of the stars, we wanted more. I mean, they’re even talking about sending people over to Mars now.” He paused, catching his breath. “And like, there’s just so much more for us to discover. I mean, we as a race have only just begun to grasp our own tiny corner of the universe. But there’s just so much out there—and you! You’ve seen it all…” he trailed off, a hint of wistfulness in his voice. He gave Thor a strange look just then: uncertainty mixed with a fierce longing—a longing that Thor had felt in his heart since their reunion on Sakaar.Suddenly bashful, Thor’s gaze dropped to his boots. “But I haven’t seen it all,” he said quietly. “The universe is vast and ever-expanding. Infinite.” Like how I feel when I’m with you. “You’re my moon,” said Thor suddenly, before he could catch himself. “Soft, radiant, gentle. I’ve travelled the stars a thousand times over, but I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”Bruce flushed at this, dazed by the suddenness of the compliment. “Wow,” he said lamely, eyes dropping. “I uh… well, if that’s the case then—you’re my sun,” he returned, cheeks going a deep scarlet. “Yeah. You’re fierce and fiery, and warm. Just… beautifully warm.”Thor laughed softly, shaking his head. “No. Not me,” he said with a rueful smile. “I’m nothing like that. I’m just—I’m just a wanderer out here. Drifting aimlessly, admiring your beauty from afar. It’s… it’s a privilege.”From where he was sitting, he couldn’t see the look Bruce was giving him. But then he felt soft hands close around his own, war-calloused ones, and he looked and saw Bruce’s face drawn with emotion.“Well… you don’t have to be so far,” he said simply, taking Thor’s hands in his own. “Come a bit closer, will you?”Their eyes locked just then—velvet brown meeting a single electric blue. Thor immediately felt himself shudder—the usual softness of Bruce’s eyes were awash with emotion, some of which Thor couldn’t place. But at the center of it all was love, a deep and intense love that Thor had never expected to be the object of. Even now, it was still so surreal—Dr. Bruce Banner, one of Earth’s brightest minds, in love with him.He grunted in surprise as a pair of arms closed around him, pulling him out of his thoughts and flush against the man in question. “You think too loudly,” came Bruce’s voice, low and warm inside his ear.Thor faltered. “I have no idea what that means,” he said blankly, hands hanging in mid-air.Bruce pulled away from him, his face twisted into a smirk. “Are you serious?”“Serious. What do you mean, I ‘think too loudly?’”Bruce’s mouth twitched. “Wow. For someone who’s pretty wieldy with crappy space metaphors, you take things really literally.”“Oh, shut up,” laughed Thor, giving him a playful swat. Bruce grinned at this, then lightly shoved him in turn. He’d forgotten about their unique gravitational situation however, and had thus caused Thor to practically fly backwards, arms and legs flailing helplessly under him as he sailed through the air. He landed with a single bounce and collapsed in an unceremonious heap.Bruce’s hands immediately went to his face, which had turned a deep scarlet. “Oh, my God,” he choked out between laughs. “Oh man—I’m so sorry, I forgot that—OOF!”It was in this moment that karma in the shape of a god play-tackled him, pinning him to the ground and flaunting the most smug expression to ever grace the nine realms. “Gotcha,” he rumbled, his mouth twisting into a grin.“Yeah, yeah. You got me,” rasped Bruce. “Mind getting off me now? You’re crushing my lungs.”“Oh. Sorry.”Immediately Thor peeled himself off of Bruce and helped him to his feet.“Nifty, these enchantments,” said Bruce, inspecting his clothes. “Lunar soil is toxic to humans, but there’s not a speck on me. Nice.”“Yeah, well, speak for yourself,” laughed Thor. “I guess I need to be standing right in your bubble for me not to be affected.”Bruce looked at him, then slowly wrapped his arms around Thor’s waist. “Well. You can stand in my bubble for as long as you want,” he murmured, giving him a sly smile.Thor’s mouth twitched. Carefully he mirrored the gesture, his hands curling around Bruce’s waist and then traveling to the small of his back. He couldn’t help but shudder a little bit—he’d almost forgotten how delightfully soft Bruce felt.“Do you remember our spacewalk way back when? When the satellite was damaged?” Bruce asked.“Yeah, of course.”Bruce gave him a sheepish smile, and Thor could feel his heart melt for what must have been the tenth time that day. “I was thinking—we should do that again, too.”“Fix a satellite?”“Yeah, fix a satellite. You know what I meant, smartass.”Thor grinned at the sarcasm. “Sorry. Yeah, I know what you meant.”“Good,” murmured Bruce, pulling Thor close so that their hips brushed against each other. With a happy sigh, Thor sank into Bruce’s warmth, his heart fluttering inside his chest. He felt the corners of his mouth tug into a smile—he quite liked the feeling of Bruce pressed up against him, and he wasn’t sure he ever wanted to let go.He did eventually of course—but when he did, it was to pull Bruce into a kiss.Bruce gave a small grunt of surprise at this, but then leaned in and deepened the kiss. Just like the rest of him, his lips were wonderfully soft to the touch. A delighted shiver ran down Thor’s spine as one hand found its way to the small of his back, the other gently combing through his closely-cropped hair. He would have never thought that such a slight, gentle gesture could give him such exhilaration—and yet here he was, practically shaking underneath Bruce’s softness.Gradually they pulled away from each other, both staring at each other in wordless, breathy excitement. And then heartbeats later Thor found himself in Bruce’s arms again, and they were back to square one.Bruce was laughing. “Man. If you’d have come up to me ten years ago and told me that you were a god and you were gonna take me to the moon to make out with me, I would have said you were high out of your mind.”“And then I would have done it anyways.”“And then you would have done it anyways. And I wouldn’t have minded one bit.”“Do you mind now?”Bruce smirked. “What the hell do you think?”A pause. “I think that I love you.”Bruce faltered at this, and Thor couldn’t help but chuckle. “Didn’t see that one coming, didja?”“You called me your moon like, five minutes ago. I saw it coming from a mile away,” murmured Bruce, though the red in his face suggested otherwise.“Hm. Well, it’s true,” said Thor warmly, curling close to him and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “I really do love you, Bruce Banner.”“I love you too, Thor.”