More and more, Thor found himself over at the Library, utterly comfortable in the space that was probably older than him. It was hard not to feel how old the place was, like an actual presence. And given that he had met the spirit of the Library - Ray, as he liked to be called in that form - calling that feeling a presence wasn’t that far from the truth.
Today he had managed to wake up without disturbing the slumbering man beside him, detangling their limbs carefully and slipping out of bed. Mindful of Ezekiel’s rule of underwear being the minimum requirement in common rooms, even if the man was no longer around, he rooted around in the dresser drawer that had somehow become his drawer, months ago, for a fresh pair of sweatpants.
Slipping them on, he made his way to the kitchen, feeling the hum of the Library all around him. Excalibur, always on guard and almost like a puppy at times, showed up just as he was about to open the fridge. “What do you think, Cal? An omelet? Or pancakes?” Watching as the sword did an excited jig and then turned around all of the way, Thor nodded sagely. “You’re right. Both, it is!”
It’s how Jake would find him later, frying some bacon and starting to pour his omelet mix on the skillet. “Morning, love,” Thor said with a smile, when he heard the other man shuffling in.
Before Vallo, before Texas and Hawaii, before the Library and Flynn and Eve and his fellow LiTs, Jake never would have imagined his life taking him here. A place where he was comfortable expressing not only his intelligence but also his affection. His father would never support Jake running off to the Sorbonne instead of following in his steps into the family business but derailed and derided Jake’s every attempt to keep the business afloat. He would have had a medical emergency if he caught him with another man.
Sleep had a strong hold on him that morning, enough for him to ignore the inner alarm clock that years of working on oil rigs created. He rolled onto his side and stretched out an arm that flopped down on the other side of the bed, not yet completely chill from the lack of body heat that was once there but it was getting there. Jake opened one eye and then the other, still heavy with sleep, and took in his surroundings. Effort to slide out of bed followed, grabbing a pair of pajama pants hanging off a lamp. He shuffled out of his room and followed the sounds of life coming from further down the hall, the smell of sizzling bacon hitting his nose as he came around the corner.
“Morning, babe.” He could admit that Thor’s physical presence definitely deserved its godly compliments but anyone who couldn’t see beyond to the man beneath was sorely missing out. Excalibur dropped into his view, spinning happily. Jake grinned and reached out to pat the sword. “Yeah, yeah, morning to you too, buddy.” Satisfied with its dose of morning affection, Cal whizzed off to hover in another part of the kitchen, no doubt enjoying the presence of two of its favorite people.
Jake shuffled over and pressed a lingering kiss against Thor’s bare shoulder, fingers brushing against the skin of his back as he passed him by to get the coffee machine going. He ran a hand through his hair, squinting at the bags of ground coffee they had accumulated not only in Vallo but back home as well. Any place the Library followed really. To Jake it mostly tasted the same but it was nice to have choices, for any of them to have choices.
“Hey, you want the miner’s medley or mermaid’s madn…actually gonna go with the miner’s medley because the last time I drank mermaid’s madness, I didn’t sleep for two days. Got the paper I was writing done though,” Jake stated dryly as he pulled the bag from the cupboard. “Speaking of sleep, you sleep well?”
Briefly leaning back into Jake’s kiss, before the other man moved onto the important task of coffee, Thor hummed to himself as he let Jake come to a decision on his own. He remembered those couple of nights. He had been banished from the Library so as to not distract the Librarian and had found Jacob slightly manic by the end of it. He would have to remember to hide the mermaid’s madness next time.
“Slept like I was in Valhalla,” Thor said cheerfully, as he flipped the omelet then moved over to pick the bacon out of the pan, before throwing another batch on. “I was going to surprise you with breakfast in bed, but I suppose I didn’t do a good enough job tiring you out last night,” he joked, as he plated the one omelet and directed Jake to go sit down in front of it to start eating. He then carried over a pile of fluffy pancakes he had already made to join the large plate in front of Jake. “Do you have any plans for the day?”
“High praise indeed,” Jake quipped playfully but meaning every word. The Library became a haven when it brought the Librarians in Training together with Flynn, Eve, and Jenkins, giving them a purpose beyond the ones they thought the future held and either feared or felt underwhelmed by. (One could argue that Jones was just fine with his but found room for improvement after experiencing what being a Librarian could be.) Thor finding comfort and peace in the Library meant the Library was treating him as one of its own and given the importance Thor had in his life, he appreciated it making the effort.
He chuckled deeply at that, stretching his arms over his head as he ambled slowly to the chair Thor motioned towards. “I wouldn’t say that. Man, I ain’t been that tired since coach made us run lines ‘til we couldn’t feel our legs no more after finding out we were the ones that put Principal Lockley’s car on the school roof.” Before he sat, Jake turned to Thor and leaned in, bare arm pressed against bare torso and soaking in all the contact. “Seemed like a great idea when I offered the family business equipment to help do it and even after, still not sorry.” Guy had been a real asshole and deserved a little humbling.
“Only one I got is enjoying this breakfast my boyfriend made,” he said, putting a foot on the chair nearby to scoot it out some, gesturing for Thor to plant his ass as well, “but then my day is free. You got something in mind?”
“High praise earned,” Thor said, brushing a kiss to the crown of Jake’s head as he prepped his own plate of food stacked a mile high. He took his seat next to the other man after bringing them both their coffees, a necessary start for the day. “I was thinking about taking a tour of a couple of vineyards, to get a better idea for what Torunn should expect for her newest venture. I could use some help, if you were feeling up for it? You have an excellent palette.” Which wasn’t immediately obvious when you looked at the burly mortal, but that’s what Thor loved about Jake. He had layers of surprises to him, always the unexpected right around the corner with him.
It wasn’t flattery either. Jake had a variety of skills that were undeniable and he had always had amazing taste in food and drink. It’s why Thor was so careful with his preparations for meals for the man. “You could put on one of your nice flannels and we can pretend to spit the wine out while actually drinking it.” It had no effect on Thor, but Jake was an adorable drunk. It would be a perfectly nice day out for them.
Jake’s face lit up at the suggestion. “Don’t know if it’s excellent but I appreciate a good glass of wine,” he said around a mouthful of pancake. “It’s great that she’s expanding her business. The place is great, the ale is the best I’ve ever had, and now people will get to experience that through wine. I also heard the brew master is a sight to behold. Rivals the Michelangelo to look at.” And much like the statue, Jake had been fortunate to see every inch of him. His mouth had explored a fair amount of territory as well.
His gaze started to glaze slightly as memories from the night before drifted back and he cleared his throat, a faint flush across his cheeks. “I think I have just the one. The ‘I am a casual tourist but don’t think that means I will go easy on you’,” he joked. He shoveled some bacon into his mouth and took a drink of coffee. “Will you be handling making the wine as well?” Thor had a few talents of his own up his sleeve (well, metaphorical sleeves as he didn’t seem to wear physical sleeves often) and already proved he had the skill to make an excellent brew.
Did Thor subtly start flexing? Maybe. He was vain enough to know that he was good looking, but he didn’t care about that until it came to impressing Jake. He hid a self-satisfied smirk behind his mug of coffee as he watched Jake lose focus for a minute, before answering his question. “I know a thing or two about Asgardian wine, so for that, at least, I will be helping out. I learned recipes from both Aegir and Dionysus, in my youth, and think I can put together something for Torunn.”
Bumping his knee into Jake’s under the table he nodded at the man’s plate. “Come, my love. Eat well, we’ll have a long day ahead of us full of drinking and cheese platters.” A year ago, Thor wouldn’t have thought he would find someone to spend his time with, where a day of drinking and just being with each other was in the cards. And now, he had Jake to look forward to, every day for the rest of Jake’s life. And him being a LIbrarian? Could be a considerably long time.
Jake maybe caught a little flex and chuckled deep. He also appreciated a healthy sense of humor and Thor had that and enough to spare. The view was something he also appreciated. “To doing the Jǫtunn and god of wine proud,” he stated and lifted his mug up in a toast. “When you think about it, neither has had an influence here in Vallo yet so probably those techniques you learned will bring something new into the wine-making game here.” Vallo had its own belief systems and ways of doing things and maybe there was something similar out there but still, bringing knowledge from another world had its advantages.
He bumped his knee back against Thor’s. Soaking into the domesticity of sitting in the Library’s kitchen, the two of them discussing everyday plans while the occasional unusual reared its head, he felt good. He felt really good. Calm, content, peaceful. With someone who saw him for who he really was and he hoped trusted enough to let him see him for all that he was. Jake took a slow sip of coffee. He assumed that contentment played a part in the slip up of words that happened next.
What he meant to say was ‘I love it’ referring to the plans they had for the day but easily off his tongue came, “I love you.”
It was like a record coming to a screeching stop in Thor’s brain, at the words that had left Jake’s mouth. And then sound and colour and feelings all came filtering back in once Thor processed what the other man had said. A smile bloomed on his face and pushed his food aside, before turning in his seat and facing Jake properly. “I love you too,” he said, easily, before lifting a hand to Jake’s face to cradle it. He leaned forward to give him a kiss, feeling like that was the only right move at their mutual declarations.
That moment after the words were said, that period of time that passed so quickly and yet so slowly at the same time, that had been documented in a thousand different ways through different eras and cultures, played out before him. Jake didn’t move once he realize what he’d said, an excuse for a slip on the tip of his tongue but Thor rendered it unneeded in a heartbeat.
Jake leaned into the kiss as well, eyes closing as he rest a hand on Thor’s leg to balance, heart thundering in his chest. Like those moments when he first joined the library, the feeling of adventure before him and passion stoked like a fire. “Goddamn,” he murmured softly, then feeling a little cheeky, “or maybe godsdamned.”