This fic is Avengers: Age of Ultron compliant and contains spoilers for the MCU up to and including the events of that movie. It's not strictly contemporaneous with Waterborne or Welcome to the Fall, though you can probably consider all three to share continuity to a limited extent.

I am playing a little fast and loose with the timeframe of Age of Ultron's events, and may not be tracking the movie with complete accuracy.

Jane said, "I'm going to throw up."

"Long as you do it after your talk, that's fine," Darcy said. Jane glared at her.

"That's not helpful."

"Seriously, just go up there, give your presentation, and answer any questions. Then you retreat to the bathroom and toss your breakfast, we find Thor, and go get some lunch."

Jane caught a whiff of something someone was eating nearby which smelled strongly of onions, and her stomach lurched in protest. She squeezed her eyes shut. "Let's stop talking about food."

She heard Darcy say, "Sure thing," and felt something push against her hand. She opened her eyes to find Darcy offering her a wax paper cup of cold water. Jane took it and drank it all in one go. Surprisingly, it helped.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Out on the stage, the chair of the symposium was just wrapping up his brief introduction to her talk. She could see from this angle that the lecture hall was packed with people, and despite that she'd given a half-dozen of these talks in the last year her heart still beat a frantic rhythm. This was different than all those prior talks. This wasn't a guest lecture at CalTech or a short talk at an RAS luncheon. This was the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Just remember," Darcy said, "Thor's out there. Somewhere."

"Right."

The glare of the stage lights left the audience a dark suggestion of bodies in seats and not much else, making it all but impossible for her to spot him. She thought she'd found him—there was a particularly tall person with a bright head somewhere in the upper-left corner—but movement caught her eye. Dr. Tax was waving at her to come out from the wings.

She took a deep breath and nodded at him.

"Ladies and Gentleman, may I introduce Dr. Jane Foster," he said.

The applause was deafening. With a last nervous glance at Darcy (who gave her an encouraging thumbs up), Jane stepped out into the stage light.

The talk went smoothly, with no technical glitches and more than a few excited murmurs when she showed the combined datasets from the Convergence, her recent observation time at Atacama, and a much earlier stint she'd done at Arecibo during graduate school. The Arecibo data was the very set of readings which had set her on this path all those years ago, and she took more than a little pride in proving her 23 year old self right. It was immensely gratifying to finally stand up on a stage in front of hundreds of her peers and say, "Interstellar travel is out there waiting for us to discover."

She was the last talk before the lunch break, and so found herself held over for nearly fifteen minutes by a handful of enthusiastic physicists who were dying to pick her brain. Eventually Darcy took pity on her and barged in, insisting Jane had an important appointment with a foreign dignitary which she couldn't be late for. One by one they traded email addresses with Jane and departed.

"Thank you," Jane said once the last one had left. "Can we get coffee? I need coffee. And we need to find Thor."

"Everything looked packed so I sent him to get us a table for lunch at that brewery place Helen recommended. We'll hit up the stand on our way there."

"Okay." Jane ran her hands over her face. "I can't believe I survived that."

"You did a lot more than survive, you kicked ass. Now come on." Darcy began leading Jane through the enormous convention center. Jane smiled and willed her legs to stop shaking. It got easier with each step.

"Thanks. And, thanks, for, you know, everything."

"That's why you pay me the big bucks."

Jane winced. "Well, hopefully they'll be bigger bucks. Soon."

"Here's hoping."

There was only one place serving coffee which didn't have a twenty minute line, mostly because it was a small, private booth tucked into the corner of a long hallway. Darcy had identified it on the first day ("First order of business: find the coffee stand that can get me coffee fast," she'd said), and sure enough they'd never had to wait more than a few minutes. Today, however, the wait turned out to be a few minutes too long.

As they stood off to one side waiting for their drinks, an unfamiliar voice said, "Dr. Foster?"

Jane and Darcy turned together. The young man addressing them was, at most, a couple of years older than Darcy. He was pale and dark haired and gray eyed, and wearing khakis and a light blue button down shirt that did nothing for his long face and flat, unfriendly smile.

Finding herself wary for a reason she couldn't easily identify, Jane said, "Yes?"

The young man's smile turned a little triumphant. "My name's Oliver. I was just watching your talk, about the Greenwich Event. It was very interesting."

Jane shifted. "Thanks, I find it interesting too."

"So you believe those portals shown in all the online videos were gateways to other worlds?"

Darcy narrowed her eyes but said nothing. Jane said, "I don't 'believe' it, I know it." The barista called out Darcy's name, and she went to get their drinks. "Two RAF pilots flew through one, and at least one extraterrestrial creature was found that may have come through another."

"You're referring to whatever it was that almost destroyed the University of Greenwich library. The supposed 'alien beast' which mysteriously disappeared."

Jane licked her lips. She had a sinking suspicion she knew where this was going. "Yes. Some of the best molecular biologists and biophysicists in the world are examining the samples from it even now to learn more about it and where it came from."

"And who would those scientists be?"

Darcy, who was just returning with their drinks, said, "Sorry, can't give that kind of information out," and handed Jane her latte. Oliver glared at Darcy, then focused on Jane again.

"That doesn't seem very keeping with transparency, something you've been vocal about in all of your talks."

Jane fingered her coffee cup. "Not everyone agrees with me about transparency in research when it comes to these kinds of events. And, unfortunately, I'm not in a position to make them do what I want."

"Understandable," Oliver said, like he was doing her some sort of kindness. "But since you're all about transparency, how much of this work is really yours, and how much of it comes from that person that you're always with? The one who's supposedly an alien? I mean how do we know this isn't some sort of elaborate scam?"

Shock and rage made Jane's face warm, and she could feel a tirade welling up inside of her. Before she could say anything, Darcy leaned forward and grabbed his conference badge.

"Is this even real?" she said, her voice much louder than necessary. Oliver stared at her, wide-eyed. Darcy looked over her shoulder towards the escalators leading to the exhibit hall floor and shouted, "Security!"

Oliver swatted his badge out of Darcy's hand, turned, and fled. A small knot of convention center staff had been watching the interaction with shrewd eyes from down the hall; two of them gave chase. Jane lost sight of Oliver and the staff pursuing him among the shuffle of attendees. Another staffer came over to Jane and Darcy, and asked about the incident: had they seen him before, here or at other conferences; did they recognize him; what had he approached them about. After a few minutes of this she seemed satisfied and let them go, with a request that they contact security immediately if they saw him again.

Darcy called Thor and let him know they were running a few minutes late but would be there shortly, and they set off for the restaurant. Jane tried to organize her thoughts as they walked.

"Did that really just happen? I mean, he was saying Thor and I are running a—a con."

"Drink your coffee," Darcy said. She kept their pace brisk but not hectic.

Jane sipped from the latte. She wasn't sure it was really helping. "I didn't hallucinate that, right? I was accused of being, being a fraud. By a guy who used a fake badge to sneak into a scientific conference."

Around a drink from her mocha, Darcy said, "Science denier," and shrugged. "I was reading about it on the lab admin mailing list—some of them sneak into the big conferences and harass the popular people."

"I'm popular?"

Darcy gave her an impatient look. "You're the astrophysicist who has the data and boyfriend which prove interstellar travel and alien societies are a thing. You're popular. You're a Name. Drink your coffee."

Jane nursed her latte and tried not to run into anyone as they wove through the lunch rush. The brewery was outside the convention center and down a couple of blocks, requiring a brief foray into the city proper. By the time they'd arrived the coffee had kicked in, and Jane felt a little better.

"I mean, I'm used to the emails."

Darcy snorted. She was scanning the sea of heads in the brewery dining room, trying to spot Thor. Absently, she said, "You don't even see the really bad ones, I just report those as harassment."

"For which I am eternally grateful."

"There he is," Darcy said. She lead Jane down to the patio deck, where Thor was sitting at a corner table which would afford them a little privacy. There was a view of an immaculately kept rock, palm, and succulent garden below them.

"I hope this will be acceptable," Thor said as they approached. He stood and leaned over to kiss Jane on the cheek.

"It's more than acceptable," Jane assured him, and took her seat.

Darcy sat down heavily. "Did you have to bribe the hostess?"

"I did, though she did not ask for much." When Jane raised her eyebrows in a silent request for clarification, Thor said, "She merely wished for a picture with me."

Darcy tapped her chin. "I wonder what the 'Selfies with Thor' exchange rate is..."

Jane said, "No."

"What? I'm not planning anything."

"Not yet. But you will."

"Wow, no faith."

"Not really, no," Jane said, and set to perusing the menu. Thor smiled and said nothing. The waiter, a middle-aged, olive-skinned man who introduced himself as Byeong-ha, came to get their orders. He seemed to be in particularly good spirits, and once he'd left Thor explained he'd revealed himself to be a fan of Jane's.

"A fan? I have fans now?"

Darcy gave Jane one of her, 'But of course,' looks. Thor said, "Of course. Thousands of your people witnessed your bravery in defense of the Nine Realms, and the knowledge you obtained from the Convergence will empower you to realize interstellar travel for Midgard. Why should you not have admirers?"

Jane was too used to Thor singing her praises to get embarrassed by it anymore. Random strangers was another thing entirely, though. She felt her face grow warm, and took a drink from her water to dispel the feeling. "But I'm just an astrophysicist," she said, toying with the glass. "I was just doing what I had to."

"Which just so happened to be saving the universe," Darcy said. "Pretty fan-worthy."

Thor said, "Darcy is right," and smiled encouragingly. Jane just fidgeted with her water until Byeong-ha returned with their soups, salads, and drinks. Thor and Darcy had beer (stout for Thor, lager for Darcy) and Jane had a concoction of ginger ale, lemon bitters, and lime juice.

As they got to work on their sides, Darcy said to Thor, "Okay big guy, give me the scoop."

Thor was, it turned out, pretty good at eavesdropping. He had 'fake engagement in something' down to an art form, something he said he and Loki had needed to perfect while growing up. It was an essential skill in politics, and though Thor wasn't good about masking his emotions in a general sense, this was one thing he'd worked hard to master. Upon finding out about it Darcy had enlisted him in her efforts to gather any and all gossip relating to Jane and her field.

"There is much talk of a push to produce devices which will explore interstellar space," Thor said. "One group seemed to think an entrepreneur—I believe his name was Musk—would be securing a contract to do this soon. They speculated he might align with Virginia Potts and Stark to produce the necessary equipment."

Jane grimaced. She appreciated the emphasis Pepper, Tony, and Elon Musk were putting on space exploration, but she didn't care for the privatization, not one bit. Darcy caught her expression and shrugged at her.

Thor took a drink from his beer and continued. "The arguments about the appropriateness of constructing the observatory on the native Hawaiians' land lead to some heated debate. And two individuals were having an animated conversation about Jane being considered for some manner of title or accolade."

"Yeah?" Darcy asked. "Which one?"

"They referred to it as a 'Nobel'."

Jane choked on her cocktail. Darcy's jaw dropped open.

"Seriously?"

"Yes," Thor said, though his focus remained on Jane and her attempts to clear her throat. He was poised to help her. "Are you well?"

Jane took a few steadying breaths, and when she was sure she could talk again, said, "Yeah. You're sure they said Nobel?"

Thor nodded and settled back. He looked between the two of them. "Is this an award of note?"

"It's kind of a big deal," Darcy said. "Even though it's just a bunch of old dudes saying you did something cool."

Jane sighed. "She's right, it's...a big deal even though it's also historically very sexist and racist in terms of who wins, and how people who've spoken out against their decisions were treated later on. But there's a monetary award, and a lot of recognition in the community, and it's really nice to put in your biosketch when you apply for grants."

Thor scratched at his beard. "When may we expect to hear that you will be honored with this commendation?"

"Well, there's no guarantee," Jane said, and Thor smiled one of his 'of course' smiles. She ignored it. "I think Erik said they make a phone call, sometime around the end of the year."

Darcy, who was holding up her phone now, said, "Looks like it's the Wednesday of the second week of October. And they call on Swedish time." She set her phone down and had a bite of shrimp. "I'll make sure your phone's charged."

Jane laughed and shook her head. "Thanks, Darcy, but..." Darcy raised her eyebrows, and Jane said, "Realistically speaking, my chances aren't good. I'm young, and only two women have ever won the Nobel Prize in Physics."

Darcy snapped her fingers and pointed at Jane. "Curie," she said. Jane waited. Darcy bit her lip. "Uh...M, something...M?"

"Maria Goeppert-Mayer."

Darcy groaned. "Mayer, right. And Curie won forever ago, didn't she?"

"Over a century," Jane said. "In 1903? I think. Mayer was in the 1960s."

"Forever indeed," Thor murmured with a sly smile. Jane felt Darcy try to kick him under the table; Thor only smiled more broadly in response. Then he sobered. "If it has been so long, there is no time like the present for another woman to win. You have experienced things none other of your discipline has."

"Except for Erik," Jane said. "If history's any indication, he'll be the one they give the award to."

"He hasn't published jack shit about the Convergence," Darcy said.

"Nor did he travel to Asgard over the Bifröst and study our archives, however briefly," Thor added.

Jane bit her lip. Maybe it wasn't completely impossible. Maybe. She didn't want to get her hopes up, though, only to have that day come and go without a phone call. So she said, "I guess we'll see."

Thor reached across the table, took her hand, and squeezed it. "So we shall."

The food was filling and delicious. Jane and Thor traded bits of their barbecue chicken and steak and roasted vegetable sides, and Darcy parted with a couple of her shrimp after Thor gave her an imploring look. They'd just finished up and were waiting to pay when Thor pulled his smartphone out and frowned at it.

"Uh-oh," Darcy said. "Duty calls?"

Thor's expression went from concerned to surprised. "Good news?" Jane said. He nodded, typed out a quick reply to whatever text he'd received, and pocketed his phone again.

"Maria Hill believes they may have found—" He paused, his eyes flitting around them. "Something we have been seeking for some time."

Darcy's eyes widened. "You mean the, uh," she scanned the table and grabbed Jane's unused knife, and held it up.

"Yes," Thor said, his tone somber. "I will rest easier once it is back in our possession."

Unable to mask her disappointment, Jane said, "This means you have to get going?" Thor ducked his head.

"I'm afraid so. I apologize that I will not be able to attend the rest of the conference with you."

She tried to smile; it felt wane and forced, so she reached over and rubbed his arm to reassure him. She'd long ago accepted that his work with the Avengers would often take him away from her for unknown stretches of time, and the scepter Loki had used in New York was one thing Thor had been determined to recover after he'd learned it was still on Earth.

As Byeong-ha approached with the bill, Thor said, "Perhaps you should offer to take a picture with him, as I did with the hostess."

"Or, you can autograph something in addition to the credit card slip," Darcy added.

"I—that seems kind of...presumptive," Jane said. Byeong-ha was almost to their table.

Looking smug, Thor said, "Considering the length at which he and I discussed your work before you arrived, I don't believe the offer will be ill-received."

They weren't wrong. Byeong-ha was delighted and admitted he'd been considering going back to college and finishing his degree; he'd been a Physics graduate student when his mother had fallen ill, and he'd left college to care for her.

"I know it's not easy to start back up after a big break like that," he said. "But," he flicked a sideways glance at Thor, "now seems as good a time as any."

"You should do it," Jane said. "If that's the career you want, then go for it. It might feel a little late, but a lot of us don't get off to a running start."

He smiled and nodded, and gripped his phone tightly. On it were photos of himself with Jane and also Darcy and Thor. "Thank you, Dr. Foster," he said. "And Thor and Ms. Lewis."

Thor clapped him on the back. "You are most welcome, Byeong-ha Lee. The lunch was commendable."

"Our pleasure," Darcy said. "Come on you two, people are staring."

Darcy was right; patrons were casting inconspicuous glances at them and murmuring to one another. Byeong-ha went back to his tables, and they managed to escape without being accosted by anyone.

They went back to the hotel room so Jane could bid Thor a proper farewell, and also shower and change. She had no intention of attending the rest of the afternoon's panels in presentation clothes, no way no how. That these things all went together was a nice coincidence (despite the reason).

She saw him off on her room's meager balcony. He was in his armor, making hugging him a not-entirely-comfortable affair, but she leaned in anyways and took a deep breath. Even around the scent of leather and metal she could still smell him. "If you find the scepter will you have to take it back to Asgard?"

"Yes." Thor stroked her face. "And I thought I might also use the opportunity to negotiate a journey to Asgard of your own."

Jane shivered at the excitement his suggestion generated. "Really?"

"Yes. A proper visit this time. For you and Darcy, if she wishes."

Jane tried to contain her enthusiasm. "That would be amazing. I'd love to study the archives and see the academies and just, get some time away from—" She remembered the coffee stand run-in, and her mood deflated. "...people."

Thor's good humor faded. "Has something happened?"

"No, nothing, just..." His scrutiny intensified, and Jane looked away. "It was just some science denier trying to tell me I'm a fraud and it's all you and you're not even really an alien and..." Her voice died when she noticed the clouds on the horizon getting bigger. She glanced up; Thor's face had gone blank.

"Who was this individual?" he asked. He was really, really bad at sounding casual when he was mad. Jane ran a hand over her face.

"No one. It's fine. Really, it's fine. Darcy took care of it."

Thor relaxed and made a low sound. The clouds didn't seem to be gathering so quickly now. He kissed Jane's forehead. "I shall thank her for doing so."

"She'll just say running off creeps is her job."

"That doesn't mean I shouldn't thank her for it." He kissed her and held her tight, and she returned the favor.

"Be careful," she said into his neck. There was almost never a reason for her to worry, but sometimes she couldn't help it. Fortunately he never brushed off her concerns.

"I will be," he promised her. "I'll call you as soon as I may."

Jane stepped clear, and Thor swung Mjölnir once, twice, and shot up into the sky.