Hate to Love
It's a shorter journey than you might think
A/N: Hello, and welcome. This isn't the first story I've written, but it is the first one I've posted since I retired. I quit Fan Fiction a few months ago, and took some much-needed time to sort my life out. But now, I'm back. With a different account, since I don't watch any of the shows from old accounts any more. Consider this my fresh start.
Spoiler alerts: Avengers and Thor 2 promo.
Disclaimer: I have been on a long and fruitful voyage, but I have not yet gained the characters in this story. I do not own Thor.
She had ruined everything.
She had taken his brother, the great and mighty Thor, and turned him soft.
Made him weak.
His brother-The man willing to march into battle to destroy Jotenhim was now unwilling to let him finish what he started there.
And when he went back to earth, it was because of her that Thor thought he might give up and fight alongside his brother. Like when they were younger.
Except that wasn't who he was.
And that wasn't the Thor he remembered, either.
The Thor he remembered-the Thor he knew-would have cared only for the battle.
Not for the enemy.
Not for him.
This Thor was weak, sentimental, and driven by emotion.
By love.
And it was all her fault.
So as he sits now in his cell, remembering all that she had cost him, he does the only thing he can:
He hates her.
She's coming.
That idiot, that utter buffoon of a brother, is bringing a mortal into the greatest war-zone any of them have ever seen.
She's looking at him, studying him, like she expects to find answers for what he's done.
He has none, so she can search all she likes.
She's beautiful enough, for a mortal, but he's seen more so.
Sif is far lovelier, in his opinion, and has always held a close connection with his brother.
What does he see in this woman?
He is so deeply lost in his thoughts that he doesn't see the hand flying toward his face until too late.
"That was for New York."
He chuckles.
He glances at her, somehow knowing what he'll see.
A fire in her eyes.
No regret.
No fear.
He hurt her, and hurt what matters to her, and she is punishing him.
She doesn't see an alternative.
There are a million people who want to harm him, but she's the only one with the chance, and she doesn't hesitate to take it.
Her determination, her fire, is what causes the smile to spread across his face because, surprisingly,
He likes her.
They all knew it was coming.
Thor and Sif's feelings for each other had been growing for nearly two thousand years, and while Jane had been a nice fling, they all knew it wouldn't last.
She is a thinker, a dreamer, a learner, and an adventurer.
She needs someone who will challenge her, learn with her, and explore with her.
And Thor is a warrior.
He needs someone to stand beside him in battle, someone who he can depend on as much as she depends on him.
They both said the parting was mutual, that they realized they weren't right for each other, and thought it best to move on.
She had smiled brightly through the whole thing, and hadn't stopped until tonight.
The night of Thor and Sif's wedding.
The event was amazing, and Jane had said how honored she was to be there.
But now she's home, sitting on her bed, face buried in hands, sobbing.
He flinches.
He has no right to be there, he supposes.
The two may have built a tentitive respect, born of necessity, but he knows she still doesn't trust him.
Nor should she.
But she's breaking apart, and he knows that every smile, every laugh, and every statement of acceptance has been a façade.
So he steps out of the shadows and pulls her to him, letting her bury her face in his shoulder and cry out her tears.
He lets the strong, fiery woman fall apart, because in a way he could have never expected,
He cares about her.
One moment turns into an hour, but then she's done.
Because Jane Foster has never been one to cry over spilled milk, and she clearly doesn't plan to start today.
He expects their time together to end there, but to his surprise, she offers him pizza before he leaves.
"As a thank you."
He accepts, and while the Midgardian meal is certainly not what he's grown accustomed to, he can find nothing to complain about, either.
And when she offers him the chance to come back if he wants, he accepts.
Pizza turns into ice cream, sight-seeing, and even, on one occasion, shopping.
He finds the whole process overrated, since he could make her as many outfits as she wants for no cost, but she insists, and he has to admit, she looks rather amusing, and even-dare he say-cute, as she models outfit after outfit.
Then come the movie nights, where they sit and stare at a metal box.
He cannot figure out how there can be people that tiny, or how they fit into the box, and how they never tire of doing the same things over and over is beyond him.
But whenever he asks, she just laughs, so he gives up, being sure to thank the tiny people for their effort after each performance.
It is one such night, as they watch a performance she refers to as The Hobbit, that he realizes.
It has gone on much longer than he expected, and it is well after midnight, but still, she insists on watching it, so he does.
It's not ten more minutes before her head is on his shoulder, and she has fallen asleep.
He looks down at her and chuckles softly, and in that moment, he realizes,
He loves her.
A/N: So, what did you think? Thank you for reading, and God Bless.