When Jane was a little girl she stayed up late to watch the storms rage outside of her window and would count the seconds in between. The markings down her back don't make any sense to her or her parents, but her Mother tells her not to worry. The universe wouldn't write the name of someone if she wasn't ever to meet them. The girls at sleepovers all gather in circles and read each other's names to each other. They all wrinkle their noses at Jane's name.
When she was young it had bothered her, but the older she had gotten the more she had fallen in love with the stars. It no longer truly mattered to her; they would get there when they got there. She would love them when she met them, she could do nothing about it till then. Sometimes she would catch sight of it in the mirror and would pull her hair up to look at them. On good days it looked like it could be something like Chinese, on bad days when she was fed up with Donald trying to be her anchor she knew that they were runes.
Darcy hit the large blonde man with the van, and Jane will think later that she felt the words prickle, the way people say they will, when your soul mate is close. He stands in front of the mirror trying on jeans and Darcy looks at her pointedly. Eric coughs and pretends he doesn't see the Jane Foster scrawled down his spine. Jane stares and then looks away when he turns around. If he was her soul mate, he could wait a little longer. They had things to do first.
She takes him to the roof and introduces him to the stars. He would need to know them to know her. "Your world is one of the Nine Realms of the Cosmos, linked to each other by the branches of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree. Of these nine realms, of those that are inhabited, all of the people have a mark. A name written down their spines. The name of their soul mate, in their soul mates language."
That night Jane had fallen asleep on the roof. Thor looked at her, and considered this Midgardian who was to be his soul mate. It had taken years for someone to remember that the strange writing down his back was of Midgard. All of his friends had had soul mates written in languages of their own realm. His brother Loki had had the name of Ags daughter, Sigyn swirled down his back. When they had discussed their mates around a camp fire, on another quest, they spoke of who they thought they might have. Fandral said that he simply wanted a pretty girl with a sharp tongue, Volstagg said a plump girl who would love to cook and knew her way around a training yard, Hogun said that he would love whoever the ancients sent him, Sif just said she wanted someone who understood her and didn't try to change her. Loki is mostly quiet, just saying that he hopes they get along. None of them would have put the flighty sweet girl with Loki. They become solemn when Thor tells them his name. An Asgardian and Midgardian? That would only end early and sad.
And now Thor had found her. An extremely brilliant, passionate, risk taking, no sense of self preservation, Woman with bright eyes and waving hands. He now understood what Hogun had said about loving whoever he was sent. This woman is not what he would have chosen but he loves her already.
"Whatever fate lies before me, you are a part of it." He tells her, their marks prickling when they kiss.
He goes away from her and she waits, chasing storms and possible data. They would help him find his way back.