"No," she said too quickly. "I mean... back home, I wasn't allowed to do anything, but here, like you, I am finally free to do what I want. If I want to eat, I eat. If I want to sleep, I sleep. No one tells me when or what to do. No one hits me for looking them in the eye. No one grabs me for voicing my opinion. No one kicks at me to watch me flinch, so they can laugh."
Thor stared at her with those flashing lightning eyes. "Tell me where you are from, and I will again become the hero people once thought I was, and I'll kill them all for daring to breathe the same air you used to."
She didn't need to ask if he jested. The ice in his voice and in his eyes said he meant it.
Elle swallowed hard. "Thank you, but no. I like who you are now. I'd hate to add to the nightmares by making you do something no longer in your nature."
Thor raised his hand and cupped her cheek. "You are too good for me, Elle. I don't deserve you."
She pulled from his reach. "Don't say that. It isn't true. You don't know me. You don't know who I really am."
He pulled her face back to his. "I know everything I need to. As you said, I'm not the person I used to be. I don't care where you came from. I don't care who you used to be. I'll never let anyone hurt you again, if you'll let me."
Elle's heart fluttered. How had it happened? How had she gotten so attached to him in such a short amount of time? She didn't care. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to lie in Thor's muscular protective arms for the rest of her life.
"I think I'd like that."
Thor pulled her into his arms, and they lay back on the bed. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath before beginning to sing. Thor's breathing stilled for a moment, and she laid her hand on his chest and continued. His warm hands roamed her body, and as soon as she finished her song, his lips found hers again.
"Elle, you become more beautiful to me with every passing second."
He kissed her hard.
They made love several more times before falling back to sleep as the sun began to rise.
Thor awakened to a knock on the door. He rolled over to find Elle already dressed in her uniform, shoes in hand. She walked to the door and opened it a crack.
She spoke in hushed tones to someone on the other side, then closed the door. After a minute, she turned back and spotted him.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I tried not to wake you. You didn’t sleep well, and I wanted you to be able to sleep in."
"To be honest, I don't sleep much. To me, this is sleeping in."
She gave him a quizzical expression. "How sad. One of the things I've loved the most since I've been here is sleeping."
He chuckled. "When you're as old as I am, you will find sleep to be more necessity, less luxury."
"Well, for now, I'll take my luxuries where I can." She smiled and sat at the table to put on her shoes.
"You headed to work?"
She nodded. "Not as long as yesterday, but I do have a six-hour shift."
He didn’t like the idea of her working around the rowdy Midgardians. He wanted to tell her to stop and let him take care of her. But she needed to stand on her own two feet. Needed to learn to be her own person, and he couldn’t selfishly take that from her because he wanted to protect her.
"You're gonna be off in time to go to my dad's family dinner, right?"
She stopped tying her shoes. "Are you sure you want me there? I mean, it is a family thing."
"Of course, I want you there. If for nothing else, then to distract my family from pestering me with questions about how I'm doing."
Her lips twisted into a wry smile. "Oh, so you're using me as a diversion?"
"My father, brothers, and cousins were never able to resist a pretty face."
She cocked an eyebrow. "What about you?"
Thor smiled. "Luckily, I have you, and I don't have to resist."
