Chapter Text

Jane missed the alien invasion.

She was in Norway at the time, and instead of looking at the stars, she was in a basement laboratory getting caught up on someone elseA wormhole opened up over New York City and nobody told me?d run earlier and brought Jane a cup of coffee and a banana. Jane almost hugged her.)

It was stupid to be disappointed that Thor hadnt have any data on the wormhole, even if her voicemail did keep filling up with calls from people who remembered she was interested in them. She very nearly missed the one from Erik Selvig, and very nearly had a heart attack when they finally managed to meet (with a disturbing level of SHIELD-related security) and he told her what had happened to him.

A month later, Jane was still being pestered, but she knew slightly more because Erik had persuaded SHIELD that she was the perfect person to make sense of what wormhole data they actually had. She was staring at a SHIELD computer screen and thinking it was really ungrateful to miss the starlight when she had a wormhole to analyse, when a deep voice from the doorway said,

She spun around so fast the swivel chair nearly went over. It was him, in the flesh - and armor, and cape, and bright blue eyes. s - it She looked around.

He laughed.

Jane grinned at him helplessly.

It had been a long day already and she felt no guilt whatsoever about taking off for a fantastic evening. They bought takeaway for dinner and Thor flew them off into the winter night, away from city lights to where they could really see the sky while they ate it. (Jane wound up wrapped in her coat and his arm and sitting on his cape for protection against the chill of the ground. It took her half an hour to feel really warm again once they went back indoors, and it would have been longer if Thor hadnt have traded for anything.)

The conversation turned serious, after that. Thor listened to her talk about her work and worries, and he told her more than SHIELD had, perhaps more than SHIELD had known: discovering signs of LokiWill you visit Asgard with me?d spent a grand total of less than a week together?

Actually arranging the trip took a few days. Clearing things with SHIELD, clearing things with Culver University (which she was technically on sabbatical from anyway), alerting Erik (), explaining to her family, listening to Darcy bemoan her exams (Thor promised to try to get her a chance later), packing. Thor explained that the Einstein-Rosen... rainbow bridge was still broken, and perhaps shes arm, staring hungrily out at completely unfamiliar constellations and trying not to think about falling off of things. (Loki fell off of this. He let go. How the hell could you look at this and let go?)

Thor beamed at her.

Jane stared at him, abruptly brought back down to - not Earth. t ride a horse.t ride a horse on this narrow strip of whatever-it-was.

Thor looked bewildered. re much more intelligent than your wheeled engines of Midgard-t remember clearly what shed been adamant and nearly in tears about the insult to her driving, the insult to Midgardian transportation in general, and Thors hands closed on her shoulders. Thor stopped talking. She looked up at Heimdall in the sudden silence, then back at the abyss beyond her heels, and her knees buckled.

Thor said quietly, stepping forward to take her shaking hands.

Jane shook her head, wishing she could dissolve in mortification. m so sorry, I - I don

Thor said.

Jane gaped at him. She cut herself off before she could start shouting again and buried her face in her hands. s good. And then maybe I can just not talk to anybody until it wears , you will need to greet my parents...Oh,

m not sure that

The visit did improve from there. Thor held her close on the flight back and it didnt want to speculate on her own reaction if heDid you just say I might run into Loki?Around certain parts of the palace, alone. He is attended constantly. But Jane, please understand, I know what he did on your world, but he is not normally like that. He is my brother and he is... not well. He was not thinking clearly before he fell through the void, or met the Chitauri, or communed with the the tesseract actually conscious?It is... strange. I don

She thought about that for a few seconds.

safety and his .Okay?Itre obviously taking precautions.s and took another bite of eggs and ham. They still tasted great, nerves or not. Another deep breath and she even managed a smile.

After all, it was a big palace. She probably wasnd probably spot Lokid run into him?