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leisurelypanda · 6 years

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Ballad of the Thundering Heart ch. 8

http://archiveofourown.org/works/13605048/chapters/31845684

Steve woke up early on Sunday morning excited to actually see a pro baseball game for the first time in his life. He didn’t actually expect this to happen until he had some kind of job of his own. His mother was just a little jealous of him, but she didn’t begrudge him his day at the stadium. She had actually found it quite amusing for some reason. Though that might have been because Steve was practically bouncing off the walls with excitement.

He was still excited, but the bouncing off the walls had been replaced by… something else. What was it people talked about? Butterflies in their stomach? It did kind of feel like there was some fluttering in his stomach.

“Come on, Steve,” he said, stepping out of the shower. “It’s just a baseball game, why are you nervous? It’s just Thor. It’s not like you’re taking a girl out on a date. And what kind of person would ask someone out to a baseball game for their first date, anyway?”

He decided to text Bucky about it. If nothing else he could vent about it to someone who he knew wouldn’t judge him. Knowing him he’ll probably tell me that it is a date. After he finishes yelling at me for going to a Mets game without him.

He sent him a quick text and put his phone down while he dried off. There was still a lot of time left before Thor would pick him up to go to the game. They planned on getting there an hour or so early. Game days could be crazy, especially at the pro level. And they were in New York City, so getting anywhere by driving was a challenge in and of itself. He’d suggested just taking the metro, but Thor insisted that they would be fine.

Steve had no sooner put on some clothes than he heard his phone ringing. It was Bucky. He grinned as he answered the phone.

“What do you mean you’re going to a Mets game?” Bucky asked. His voice sounded strained with the struggle to not yell at him. It was still early, his roommate was probably still sleeping.

“Thor got me tickets,” Steve said. “We’re going to this afternoon’s game.”

“And what? You’re getting cold feet? If you don’t want to go to the game I will get a taxi and come back to take your ticket!”

“No I’m not getting cold feet,” Steve replied. “It’s just… I don’t know I’m nervous or something.”

“What? Butterflies in your stomach?”

“Yeah, basically,” he said.

“Dude, this is Thor,” Bucky told him. “I’d probably have butterflies in my stomach if he asked me out to a game.”

“But it’s a baseball game, Buck,” he countered. “Doesn’t exactly scream ‘first date’ does it?”

“Well that depends, doesn’t it?” he said. “How do you feel about going to the game with Thor?”

“Who are you, my therapist?” Steve joked. “Umm… I don’t know. I feel… excited? Nervous? Kinda dreading it but also can’t wait, you know?”

“And what do you think of Thor?” he asked.

“I mean… I like him,” he said. “He’s nice. He’s smart. He’s strong. He gives great hugs.”

“You hug a lot?” Bucky asked.

“Yeah, all the time.”

“Do you know what he smells like?”

“What?!”

“Just go with me on this,” Bucky ground out.

Steve thought for a moment. “He smells like… smoke. Like, from fire not from cigarettes. And pine.”

“Uh-huh. And what goes through your head when you’re hugging him?” he pressed.

“I feel… happy. Safe, you know?” he answered, after a bit of hesitation.

Bucky sighed. “Stevie I think you got it bad for Thor.”

“That’s impossible!” Steve protested. “I’m straight… right?”

“I don’t know, Steve,” Bucky replied. “I’m just a raging queer, so it’s not like I know anything about liking guys.”

Steve sighed. His mind was racing with questions. “So… am I?”

“Are you what?” Bucky asked.

“You know… gay?” he said around the lump in his throat.

“I don’t know, dude,” Bucky replied. “I can’t answer that for you. You might be. You might be bixexual. You might be pansexual like me. You might just have a thing for Thor. But it does sound like you have a thing for Thor.”

Steve was quiet for a while. He wasn’t really sure how to process… this.

“Anyway,” his friend continued. “The good news is that you don’t have to figure it out right away. And I always got your back, buddy.”

“Thanks, dude,” he replied. “Anyway, I’m gonna go wallow in my problems until Thor gets here. See ya, Buck.”

“He’s picking you up?” Bucky said excitedly. “Are you sure this isn’t a date?”

“Shut up.” He heard Bucky laughing on the other end of the line as he hung up. Well that conversation didn’t really help much, he thought. He sighed again, thinking of how Thor would be here in a few hours.

Thor’s going to be here in a few hours, he thought in a panic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve heard the buzzer ring around 1:00. Just in time for his mother to answer and invite him on up. He was in his room getting ready. He was dressed in the Mets jersey he wore every time a game was on with his Mets baseball cap and a pair of khaki shorts. Nothing fancy, but this was his first game for his team and he was going to with pride no matter what.

Soon there was a knock on the door and before Steve could react, his mother was there, opening the door and staring up at the bulky man practically looming in the doorway.

“Hello,” he said, smiling. “My name is Thor. You must be Mrs. Rogers.”

His mom pulled him down into a hug. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Thor” she said. “And please, call me Sarah.”

“I am glad to meet you as well… Sarah,” he replied.

It was really weird seeing Thor hug his mom. He briefly wondered if that was how it looked when he hugged Thor. Thor was huge. Easily over 6 feet tall with a broad, bulky frame. His mom on the other hand was nearly a foot shorter than him, slim, and petite. She looked tiny, like she had just disappeared completely as soon as Thor’s arms wrapped around her. Steve himself was 5’7, only a few inches taller than her. It was… interesting to see it from the outside.

“Come in, come in,” she said. “Steve’s just getting ready.”

“Actually I think he's ready,” Thor said gesturing to where he standing in the kitchen. He walked over and hugged him as fiercely as ever. Steve laughed as Thor embraced him and took the opportunity to breathe in the bigger man's scent. He did indeed smell like smoke. And pine. It was a comforting smell. He smiled before he let go.

“Are you ready?” Thor asked.

“Ready as ever!” Steve said.

“Let's go, then,” he replied.

“Bye mom,” Steve said, heading towards the door. “I'll call you when we're done.”

They got to the car, where a familiar face was welcoming him. Mr. Baker, Thor’s butler. It was still weird to think that Thor had a butler. Or that he was taking them to a baseball game. Steve pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

“You remember Mr. Baker, right Steve?” Thor asked, thumping his butler on the shoulder.

“Of course,” he replied. “Good to meet you again, sir.”

“Likewise, Mr. Rogers,” he replied. He had a faint British accent and Steve realized that he hadn’t heard him speak before. “If you would get in the car, we’ve got a game to catch. Master Odinson, please.” He held open the door for them.

“Master Odinson?” Steve asked when they were inside. Thor winked at him. Steve’s heart skipped a beat and he felt a blush blooming on his cheeks.

“I take it you’re a fan of the Mets?” Thor asked, apparently oblivious to his blushing or willfully letting Steve retain some level of dignity.

“Huh? Oh, yeah right, I am,” Steve stammered. “Mom and I have watched every game we could since I was a kid. Bucky’s a fan, too. He’s pissed that I get to go without him.”

Thor chuckled at that. As if it weren’t bad enough that he had sent his pulse racing, he had to use that deep, rumbling chuckle. It really didn’t help his efforts to see Thor as strictly platonic. He made himself calm down, or tried to, and focus on the upcoming game.

Steve rambled on about the season the Mets had had this year. They weren’t having the best season this year, but they weren’t doing horribly either. They were doing pretty well, really, but some dumb mistakes on their part and some bad breaks earlier in the season had cost them games that they would have won otherwise. He discovered that even though it wasn’t his favorite sport, Thor still liked baseball. His team, for better or worse, was the Red Sox from the American League. Though Steve had to explain that the American League and the National League were two separate parts of Major League Baseball.

“So wait, the American League is made up of the National League and the Major League?” he asked.

“No, the Major League is made up of the American League and the National League,” Steve explained. “And there are three lower level leagues beneath them.”

Thor looked completely baffled. Steve suspected that all of that went over his head. He was confused the first time someone explained it to him as well. Of course, he’d never had to explain it to someone who wasn’t an American before.

“Why do you Americans have to make everything so complicated?” Thor asked. “Why can’t you have just one national league like all the other sports?”

“I don’t know, but baseball is the best,” Steve said, grinning. “That’s probably why.”

“The best?” Thor said, affronted. “The best? I need to take you to a rugby game at some point. Then you can see what sport is really ‘the best!’”

Steve laughed at that. “I know nothing about rugby, so you’ll have to teach me the rules first before you take me to a game and expect me to know what’s going on.”

“Steve, you wound me,” he said, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain. “Of course I would educate you first. I’ll have to record a game or something some time. That’s really the only way to teach someone a game. Make them watch it.”

“Bring it on, then!” he said, smacking Thor’s arm.

“Oh so that’s how it’s going to be, huh?” he said, his eyes twinkling with mischief. Suddenly Steve was caught in a headlock and couldn’t get free. He couldn’t even get Thor to move his arm. He was too strong.

“Let me go!” he demanded.

Thor hummed thoughtfully. “Mr. Baker?”

“Yes, Master Odinson?”

“What is it Americans say in situations like this?” he asked.

“‘Say uncle,’ sir.”

“Right. Say uncle, Steve,” he said with a chuckle, adjusting his grip to accommodate Steve’s squirming.

“You wish!” Steve countered. He tried hitting him, shoving him, anything. Nothing worked. Thor was too big and Steve was too small. “Okay fine.”

“I’m sorry?” Thor asked. “I didn’t quite catch that, Steve.”

“You won,” he muttered.

Thor hummed again. “Mr. Baker?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Did Steve say uncle?” he asked. “I couldn’t hear him properly.”

“He did not, sir.”

“Nice try, Steve,” Thor said smugly.

“Damn it,” he muttered. “Fine. Uncle.”

Thor released him and he straightened. “There,” Thor said with that insufferable grin on his face. “Was that so hard?”

Steve muttered bitterly and looked out the window. They were almost there by his reckoning. His heart rate was up. He was surprised to find out that it was excitement, not anxiety, that was causing it. He grinned. Maybe this won’t be so bad, he thought. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- It took nearly forever for the three of them to get through security so they could find their seats. Steve was nearly blown away by the size of it.

“It’s so big…” he said, gawking at the stadium as they entered. Thor snickered at that. “Shut up, you know what I mean.”

“No I don’t think I do, Steve,” he said with that big, goofy, charming grin on his face. “What’s so big, exactly?”

“God help me,” Steve muttered, trying to hide his blushing face under his baseball cap. Thor just laughed and threw his arm around his shoulders and led them to their seats. The weight of Thor’s arm on his shoulders was oddly comforting. It wasn’t forceful or coercive. It was strong, yet gentle in a way.

Their seats were some ways away from where they came in, but neither Thor nor Mr. Baker seemed to pay it any mind. They walked along the concrete pathway along the first base line. When they got to their section they walked down towards their seats. And kept walking until they were at the front row.

“You got front row seats?” Steve asked with disbelief. “Your dad managed to get front row seats?”

“What? You thought my father would get us cheap seats?” Thor asked, chuckling.

“Master Odin puts great store in quality,” Mr. Baker explained. “He would have gotten any tickets he could, but he is skilled in the art of persuasion and compromise. It was a simple thing to get good tickets to the game.”

“Remind me to thank him when I meet him,” Steve said over the din of the crowd.

The game started soon after, the stadium filled quickly with fans. Some were already getting rowdy, but Steve tried to focus on looking forward to the game and on his friend. Many were far enough away for him to ignore. For the ones who weren't, he practiced some of the deep breathing exercises Dr. Erskine taught him. The sessions were paying off. The method succeeded in helping him calm down. This was the culmination of one of his oldest childhood dreams. The last thing he needed was to have a panic attack. He continued the exercises until the announcer introduced the person standing on the field who was going to sing the national anthem. By then, he was feeling moderately better.

Steve stood proudly for the song and was surprised when Thor stood respectfully as well. He’s a diplomat’s son, he reminded himself. He’s probably been trained to always be respectful, no matter what. Standing for another country’s anthem is probably proper courtesy.

The game got off to a rough start for the Mets. The away team, the Atlanta Braves, managed to get two men on base in the first inning. The next hitter stepped up to bat. He missed the first swing. Steve held his breath. The second he didn’t swing. It was a ball. Steve didn’t dare breathe. Two outs and two men on base. If the Braves got a good hit and managed to score, the Mets would have to play catch up in order to come out ahead. Better to start ahead. The pitcher threw his third ball. It flew down the pitch and was met with the crack of bat as it made contact. The ball flew into left field where it was caught. But not before one of the Braves players managed to score. Steve groaned with equal parts relief and frustration.

“You are really into this,” Thor commented. “It’s only the first inning.”

“We’ll come back,” Steve declared. “They’ve only scored once.”

Thor chuckled with amusement and for once Steve didn’t blush at the sound. Instead he smiled as he watched on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thor was surprised by how caught up Steve became in the game. He readily admitted that the Mets were a good team, but he rarely watched baseball games, even though the one of the sports known as, “America’s pastime.” He liked it. But he loved rugby. If rugby was not on, football (real football, not American football) usually was.

Steve jumped to his feet when a Mets batter hit the ball, cheering and yelling for the man to run faster, before he slid onto second base. The crowd roared. He wondered if this was what he and his father were like when they were watching rugby. The energy here was similar to the kind that permeated the air at rugby matches back home. Fans on both sides cheering, praying, chanting, dancing, shouting, willing their team to win. It was glorious.

It didn’t take him long before Thor jumped to his feet as well, cheering as a Mets player hit the ball and it went soaring overhead towards the home run wall. Everyone, even Mr. Baker, were cheering and screaming as the players ran to home base.

“I told you it wouldn’t be long,” Steve shouted over the cacophony.

“And I shall never doubt your judgment again,” Thor replied.

“You better not,” Steve replied. Thor guffawed at this sudden, confident side of Steve and bumped him with his elbow playfully.

Steve tried to scowl at him, but the persistent grin made it impossible. Instead, he looked as close to carefree as Thor could imagine. His blue eyes were alight with joy and his smile was so broad he couldn't help but notice his dimples. He was so beautiful… Thor had to stop himself from leaning down and kissing him. He decided that sitting down was probably the safer option than standing up. Mr. Baker regarded him in silence.

“What?” Thor demanded.

“You are smitten, Master Odinson,” he replied. His face was straight but there was a knowing, devilish light dancing in his eye.

“You know what?” Thor scoffed. “I’m hungry. Go get some food.”

“Mr. Rogers,” he said, leaning across him. “Hot dogs or hamburgers?”

“Are you kidding?” Steve shouted. “We’re at a baseball game! Hot dogs!”

“Certainly, sir,” he replied as he got up. “Try to behave yourself while I’m gone, Master Odinson.”

Thor glared at him as he walked away. He focused instead on the game. The Braves had so far failed to get anyone on the Mets side out. The Mets had a great chance to cement their lead if they could manage to score more runs. The air thrummed with excitement.

Sure enough, the batter managed to hit the ball on the third try and the ball bounced across the ground when the second baseman fumbled with the ball long enough for the batter to slide into first base. Safe.

Steve visibly relaxed. Then he turned to him.

“Thanks, Thor,” he said.

“It was nothing,” he replied.

“It's not nothing,” Steve insisted, touching his arm. “This right here… I've dreamed of coming to one of these games my entire life. I didn't think it would happen this soon. So… thanks.”

Thor looked down at Steve’s hand on his arm. He wanted to take it, lace their fingers together, and bring it up to his mouth to kiss. But as soon as it touched him, Steve removed it, blushing and smiling with embarrassment. Damn, he thought.

“Trust me, Steve,” he said, looking into his eyes. “It was my genuine pleasure.”

Steve's smile grew and he ducked his head the way he did when he was feeling bashful. He shifted his attention back to the game and shouted as the Braves finally managed to get one of the Mets out. Thor didn't make any kind of move. Despite what his mother said, he was still unsure about how Steve felt about him.

I'll take what I can get, he thought.

The game went on. Steve cheered at every hit the Mets made, every time one of the Braves was tagged out. Just as he predicted, the Mets didn't take long to take and stay in the lead. Thor enjoyed seeing Steve so passionate and uninhibited. It was intoxicating.

Then in the 8th inning, probably the last seeing as the score was 7-4 for the Mets, a batter got up to bat. He was a Mets player. Thor didn't pay attention to the names but this one was had a nice butt, so he was noteworthy. The man missed his first ball. On the second he hit, but it was a glancing hit. It flew overhead in their direction.

“Oh please let my Irish luck kick in,” Steve whispered, standing with his gloved hand ready. Thor held his breath. It began to descend right over their heads. For the first time, he understood why people brought their ball gloves to the stadium.

The crowd roared as Steve caught the fly ball. Steve jumped for joy, holding his trophy in the air. Thor jumped to his feet and caught Steve in his arms and spun him around laughing. Steve was laughing in his ear, too. Thor set him down.

“I caught it!” he crowed. “I actually caught a foul ball!” Then, to his great surprise, Steve hugged him again. Thor returned the embrace, holding the smaller man against him. And for a moment, even though he wished for more, he was happy.

#thundershield #thor x steve rogers #thorsteve #marvel #avengers #fanfic #Ballad of the Thundering Heart #Thundering Heart #my work

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