My submission for Lokane week 2018. This will be a continuous mini-fic, with each chapter consisting of a different prompt. Story is post Ragnarok/beginning of IW. Enjoy!

Serendipity

Chapter 1: Science and Magic

Jane Foster was never one to believe in fate, destiny, or predetermination of any kind. She was a scientist, and as such, could not allow herself to indulge in such fantasies. To do so would be childish and laughable, and to believe she played a part in some bigger plan was ridiculous. She had to believe that her future was in her hands, otherwise she might as well give up now and let whatever was to become of her happen.

Jane Foster refused to believe that she had no control of her life and her future, but on a crisp fall day in New York, and in the weeks that followed, she found herself questioning her sanity, her beliefs, and even the very fabric of science itself.

It was a Tuesday in October, she remembered it clearly because Darcy had brought tacos for lunch. Only three things in Jane's world were constant; death, taxes, and taco Tuesdays with Darcy.

She'd felt it then, as she listened to Darcy talk about some new guy she was seeing, and Erik complain about how much hot sauce the fast food place put on his tacos. It was a burning sensation that seemed to run through her bloodstream. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was strange all the same, like a combination of pain and pleasure that left the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck standing on end. Her breath hitched and she instinctively covered her wrist where the sensation had begun.

"Jane?" Erik asked her, concern in his tone. "Are you alright? You look pale. Jane?"

She shook off her shock, and tried to nod at Erik. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Just tired, that's all."

Erik scrutinized her for a moment, before letting the matter go. The rest of lunch passed uneventfully, and when they went back to work in their S.H.I.E.L.D. issued lab, Jane threw herself into her equations, trying to forget the strange sensation that ran through her veins. She didn't quite succeed, but was able to fool Darcy and Erik enough to get through the day.

The ride home was uneventful, for which she was thankful. S.H.I.E.L.D. had provided her with a small one-bedroom home outside of the city. She had a cute little yard, and a garage that she had transformed into a small laboratory. As a result of her addiction to science, she regularly parked her car outside on the driveway and walked across her lawn to get in the house. When it wasn't cold or raining it was fine, but occasionally when the weather was unpleasant, Jane cursed her life choices.

The weather was pleasant on that Tuesday in October. The leaves fell in mass from the single oak tree on the manicured yard, and the neighborhood was silent except for the occasional passing car or barking dog. As soon as she shut the car door, the sensation she had felt earlier was back.

Pleasure bordering on pain burned through her blood. She gasped at the sudden onslaught of it, her hand immediately covering her wrist once again. A chill ripped through her following the burning sensation, and she shivered. Suddenly, it was over.

The astrophysicist stood in her yard rubbing her wrist, and wondering what the hell had just happened. Maybe she was ill as Erik had insinuated. Perhaps she needed to go inside and sleep it off. Surely she would feel better in the morning.

Jane trekked across the yard to the front door, and was surprised to find it unlocked. She could hear the television from inside, a nature documentary about snakes of the Amazon playing.

She could have sworn that she turned the television off before she left for work that morning, and had she really been so careless as to leave her door unlocked?

Jane proceeded with caution. She grasped her car keys in her hand, prepared to use them as a weapon if she needed to. She opened the door slowly, careful not to make any noise, and crept through the outdated living room. It was empty, though the television and lights on suggested that someone had been there recently.

She crept into the kitchen swept the area for any sign of intruders. When she saw him, she froze, her blood running cold.

Loki sat at her kitchen table, decked out in his Asgardian armor, a steaming cup of coffee in his hands. His boots were propped up on one of her chairs, and his green eyes fixed on her intently, a smirk curving up at the corners of his mouth.

Jane was stunned. Her mind warred between shock that he was alive and sitting at her kitchen table, thankfulness for him for saving her on the dark world, anger for New York, and a desperate need to claw his eyes out with her car keys for breaking and entering the sanctity of her house without so much as a phone call.

She opened her mouth to speak, and the only word that came out was "YOU!"

Loki smirked, and opened his mouth to respond, but she was already on him. Jane ripped the coffee cup from his hands, and pointed it angrily at him.

"This is my coffee," she stated like a petulant two year old. She kicked the chair out from underneath his boots. "This is my chair. And this is my house!" She sounded ridiculous, and not at all intimidating, even to her own ears. She threw her hands into the air in frustration. "Why are you even alive?"

Loki, looking not at all shocked by her outburst, remained calm. The smirk on his face grew wider, and when he spoke it was with an air of sarcasm.

"I can see that you are just as thrilled as I am that our paths have crossed again, Jane Foster," he drawled slowly, his voice like velvet on her ears. He looked around, disgust settling over his sharp features. "Believe me when I say that I would not be in this hovel were it not out of necessity. And if you are so fond of your coffee and your chairs, then you will be pleased to see that I have already prepared a cup for you, and there is chair in which you can sit, if you so desire."

Jane noticed that there was indeed a second cup of coffee sitting at the opposite side of the table, the steam rising from it and filling her nostrils with the bitter aroma.

"I'm not here to harm you or cause you trouble," Loki continued, his voice softening minutely. "I just want to talk. Please, sit."

Suddenly, she felt very silly. Jane sat Loki's coffee cup down in front of him, and took a seat across the table from him, her fingers wrapping around her own cup of blackened Folgers.

He didn't speak, but his green eyes traveled over her, mentally dissecting every feature and facial expression with care. She felt almost bare under his sharp gaze, and she found her own eyes fixated on the stern line of his thin lips.

She felt heat rising in her cheeks, and she took a sip of her coffee, hoping hide it, but Loki's knowing smirk told her otherwise.

"Why are you here?" Jane asked from behind her coffee cup, desperate to get his thoughts elsewhere.

Loki's smirk quickly turned into a frown, and his brows furrowed in anger. "I spent much of the afternoon scouring your black box for news reports, and found none concerning - "

"You mean my television?" Jane corrected. His reply was scathing.

"Yes," he spat. "It would seem Midgard is so inferior that even reports on the state of your realm must be fed to you through a tiny black box, and even then you are still oblivious to the enemy on your doorstep."

"English," Jane demanded. "And skip to the point. I don't have all day."

If looks could kill, she would be dead. His green eyes narrowed dangerously, and his hands curled into fists on the table. "Careful of your words, mortal," he snarled. "I could kill you with merely a snap of my fingers - "

"But you won't," Jane finished for him, growing tired of his attempts to intimidate her. "Just like you couldn't let me die on the dark world, you won't kill me now."

He looked like he wanted to strike her. The muscles in his jaw tensed, and he stood his knuckles turning white from the pressure he held on his fists. His eyes bored into her, hatred burning through them. For a moment, Jane felt fear. Perhaps she had taken it too far.

"Thank you," she breathed. He froze, the anger bleeding from his face into confusion. "Thank you for saving me. I never got the chance to tell you before."

Loki drew in sharp breath and blinked in surprise. His fists uncurled and she thought she saw the slightest tremor in his hands as he lowered himself back down to a sitting position. He made no further acknowledgement of her words. Instead, he took a sip of his coffee and schooled his features into neutrality.

"I'm here because we share a common enemy," Loki finally said. "A being that goes by the name of Thanos attacked the only remaining Asgardians. Thor and I alone survived. I faked my death and escaped."

Jane nearly spit out her coffee in surprise. "What?" she gaped. "What happened to Asgard? Where is Thor if you're here?"

Loki sighed. "That is a story for a later time. The important matter at the moment is that Thanos is too powerful for Thor, or your precious Avengers to stop," he continued. "He intends to destroy half of all life in the universe, so we are all in danger. That is why I am here."

The astrophysicist felt laughter bubble up in the back of her throat. It spilled out, and Loki raised a brow in uncertainty as she giggled like a school girl.

"You are aware that I have no special powers whatsoever, right?" Jane laughed. "If Thor isn't strong enough to fight this Thanos, what makes you think I can do anything to help you?"

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger, closing his eyes. "I don't intend to fight Thanos using strength," he explained slowly, as if to a child. "I intend to outwit him."

Her laughter stopped, and she wiped at her eyes with the back of her palms. "How exactly do I fit into this?" she asked.

"You nearly built a working Bifrost by yourself on a realm with no magic," he said simply, raising his head to meet her eyes. "Your science is impressive, even to beings who have mastered magic and traveled the realms. I have the ability to jump, moving my physical self wherever I please through the universe, but I cannot break the rift between space and time. I was hoping that you could help me with this."

"Wait," Jane mused, her fingers curling around the handle of her coffee cup. "You're talking about time travel."

"Precisely."

"But that's impossible," she explained, biting her lower lip. "Scientists have tried for years and are unable to build any sort of functioning prototype. It's just not feasible."

"The scientists you speak of did not have magic," Loki pointed out matter of factly.

"And you think magic will make a difference?"

"I do."

"And you think I can build this?" Jane asked skeptically. "Why not just find one of the scientists who's actually tried to build a time travel machine?"

"Because those scientists did not almost build a working Bifrost on a realm with no magic," he replied simply.

Jane felt a grin stretch across her face. "Was that a compliment?" she teased.

Loki smirked. "Take it as you wish, Jane Foster. I've chosen you for this alliance, if you feel you are up to the task."

Jane watched him for a moment, the easy smirk on his face making his features seem carefree. His green eyes looked over her again, but this time they were not critical, only observing.

To strike any sort of alliance with him would be dangerous. She should tell him to leave, and forget any of this ever happened. Instead, she found herself asking the one question that had been on her mind since she'd found him sitting at her kitchen table.

"How did you find me?"

A genuine smile spread across his face, and without warning, he reached out and wrapped his hand around hers.

Jane froze. Her mind screamed at her to pull away and run, but she couldn't. A burning sensation spread through her veins, bordering the line between pleasure and pain. She gasped, and felt Loki lace his fingers in between hers as she shivered.

"You feel it, don't you?" he hummed, his voice barely above a whisper. He moved around the table so that he was less than a foot away from her, his green eyes demanding her attention. "The power left over from the Aether. It burns through you like fire, like a drug you shouldn't want, but you do."

He squeezed her hand, and she took in a sharp breath. "No one understands," Loki continued. "Your friends don't understand. Thor didn't understand. That's why you left him, wasn't it? He couldn't understand why you're never satisfied, why you wake up in the middle of the night from dreams of power, a burning hole of need in your chest that nothing will fill because you've tasted that power, and you crave it."

"I understand, Jane," Loki told her solemnly. "I understand, because I've felt it too, and I feel it in you just as clearly as I feel it in me. That's how I found you."

He released her hand, and she took in a few sharp breaths, the remains of the Aether setting her blood on fire from his touch.

Loki watched her, the rapid rise and fall of his chest the only indicators he'd felt anything at all.

"Well Jane Foster," he inquired, his mask of neutrality back on. "What is your choice? Will you help me build a time travel device?"

He held out a hand to her, palm upwards.

Jane placed her and in his, not knowing that she would change the course of her life forever.