Author's Note: The story is basically written, so I'm hoping to update twice a week starting next week. Be sure to check out the Guide for clarification on pronunciation, locations, setting, characters, and races. Hope everyone enjoys it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

If you haven't seen the trailer yet, check it out at... www . youtube watch?v=zilkbWnWa1o (sorry, there's a . com after the youtube and a / between the com and the watch part)


Songs for the chapter: "Gone and Found" by MØ, "This Night Has Opened My Eyes" by The Smiths


Chapter 1

Jane felt like she was suffocating in green. It was Ian's birthday and Darcy had gone way overboard with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme for his surprise party. As she held the end of a green streamer up so that Darcy could tape the other end in place, she asked, "How many people are even coming to this?"

Darcy glared at her before stating, "Just because you haven't made any friends in London, does not mean we all haven't."

"Sorry," Jane said. "What I meant was isn't this a lot of party stuff—especially for a guy who is turning, what, twenty-two?"

"It's a big deal!" Darcy exclaimed. "Ian's never had a themed birthday before! His mom wouldn't allow it. This has to be the biggest, craziest little kid type themed party ever."

"Okay," Jane laughed. "Good thing Ninja Turtles are back in style, I guess?"

"Right?!" Darcy said. "Ian said it was his favorite as a kid. It's gonna be epic. Oh, is Thor still coming? Does he eat cake?"

"He should be." Jane nodded. "And, I guess? I don't know. They don't have cake on Asgard—more of a puddings and pies kind of place."

"Tell me about it." Darcy rolled her eyes. "Did you know I had to go to three Tescos before I found one with the tubs of buttercream icing? What are these people doing with their lives?"

Jane laughed and the familiar sound of a thunderstorm came from outside.

"Oh good, Space Boy isn't late." Darcy smirked.

Jane dropped the streamer and ran outside to greet Thor. It had been nearly three months since she'd last seen him on her most recent visit to Asgard. He looked radiant as always, as if the stars shone out of his skin. Jane was about to kiss him when she noticed he hadn't come alone.

"I hope it's not an imposition," Thor began. "Sif has never been to a human's birthday party before."

"No, not at all." Jane smiled at both Thor and Sif. "I think Darcy's expecting the whole of London to show up, so the more the merrier."

"Thank you." Sif said. She looked around her at the misty drizzle and back to Jane. "This is different than the desert."

"Yeah, it's…" Jane trailed off.

"Wetter." Thor finished for her.

Jane smiled and then ushered them inside.

"How will the entire city fit inside of this chamber?" Sif wondered aloud.

"Earth humor." Thor said quietly and Sif gave a slight blush.

She had learned plenty about Midgardian culture from her time with Agent Coulson's team some months ago in the southwestern United States, but their humor had never clicked for her. She did not find Jane to be particularly full of Earth humor, though, which was a relief given how much time she was spending in Asgard these days.

"Darcy!" Thor cried. "You've done an incredible job with the place. It's so very…green."

"Thank you, Thor!" Darcy beamed and shot Jane a 'told you so' look.

"Darcy, you remember Sif?" Thor said as Sif moved further into the living room.

"Yes, from New Mexico like three years ago." Darcy said. "Hi!"

"Hello," Sif said. "Thank you for letting me attend your friend's birth festivities."

"No way! Thanks for coming!" Darcy bubbled.

"On Asgard we celebrate our Quinquagenary instead." Sif explained.

"What's a Quinn Kwajen thing?" Darcy asked.

"It means fiftieth anniversary." Jane explained quickly and then asked, "Okay, what else do you need help with before Ian gets here?"

"Um…" Darcy looked around the room to spot what was missing. The streamers were up, ninja turtle cardboard stand-ups were in place, the ninja turtle and green paper plates and cups were stacked by the food and impromptu bar, the table had a plastic green table cloth on it, the homemade ninja turtle cake was out as the centerpiece. "Oh! The candles. I forgot to buy birthday candles."

"I can go buy them. "Jane said. "Aren't you finishing the appetizers?"

"Yes! I mean, just frozen pizza bagels, but still. Oven on and stuff. Don't want to burn down the apartment."

"Right," Jane said. It was her apartment. "Do you need anything else while I'm out? Ice? Beer?"

"All stocked. Really I just need to start blowing up these balloons. You didn't have any helium in the lab, Jane!"

"Helium?" Sif asked, looking to Thor. "From Hela?"

Thor shrugged.

"Uh, it's an element. A gas." Jane explained. "It's lighter than air, so the balloons will float."

"What are 'balloons'?" Thor asked.

"These," Darcy held up a green balloon from her pack of fifty and blew it up a little bit. "See? But no go on the floating part."

"Oh, well, I don't know about helium, but I think we can help." Sif said. She held out her hand for the balloon and added, "May I?"

"Sure, be my guest." Darcy said handing the deflated balloon over.

Sif blew into the balloon, which easily filled to capacity, and Darcy took it back from her to show her how to seal it. When they released it, the green oval floated to the ceiling.

"Um, awesome!" Darcy exclaimed.

"I'm gonna have to test your lung air, Thor." Jane said. "What is that?"

"We have a secondary store of air for swimming." Sif explained. "It's lighter weight as to not slow us down."

"What Sif said," Thor laughed. "It's particularly useful when having swim races with the Vanir. They lack this extra air."

"You are terrible at those races!" Sif said.

"Sif, not in front of the Earthlings. They can never know my weaknesses!" Thor teased and then walked over to Jane to pick her up in an embrace. "I never said hello, Jane."

"Hello," Jane smiled, looking into his sky blue eyes before kissing him.

"Get a room!" Darcy cried.

"This is my apartment." Jane pointed out.

Darcy rolled her eyes and looked at Sif, "How much special air do you have?"

"Enough for that package of… balloons." Sif replied, grateful for the excuse to not pay attention to Thor with Jane.

"Okay, I'm going for the candles now." Jane said.

"I'll come with you, Jane." Thor said. "I need to talk to you about something."

Darcy raised her eyebrows and looked at Sif. Sif shrugged. Thor never spoke to her about his relationships. She liked to think this was because he knew it would hurt her, but she was unsure if Thor understood how she felt about him still.

"Okay, but change first." Jane said looking over Thor's Asgardian garb. She looked at Darcy and asked, "What time is everyone getting here?"

"Eight o'clock. Ian is coming at half past." Darcy said.

Jane looked at her cell phone's clock. It was 7:45. Thor would have to be concise, whatever it was he planned to talk to her about. The gnaw of worry crept in that he was dumping her, but then why come now? And why bring Sif? It wasn't logical. She noticed a low security classification text message from Director Hill and pressed her thumb print to the screen to open it. There was an emoticon of a rainbow followed by a question mark. She replied, "Mine" and put the phone in her back pocket.

Once Thor's visits to Earth and Jane's trips to Asgard became a standard thing, Director Fury had required everyone to check in whenever they used the Bifröst or were visited by someone who used it. "We want to attempt to regulate the airspace now that it's not just our own space junk coming and going." Fury had explained.

The emoticon had been Tony Stark's joke of an idea when the whole initiative started and had originally consisted of a bridge emoticon as well. Of course, Jane was still the only person from Earth who ever used the Bifröst, so the whole concept was a tad overdone. After learning five months ago that Director Fury had died during the collapse of S.H.I.E.L.D., Jane thought this whole thing would stop, but instead Tony took it over personally to keep it out of HYDRA's hands and protect Jane from government investigation. He jokingly complained that since the Bifröst caused the arc reactor to temporarily go offline, he might as well get to bug Jane if she was going to shut off his electricity with her god of thunder love affair.

After a couple months of it being just Jane and Tony on the Bifröst Alert Line, Maria Hill, the former Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., took over. Stark Industries hired her shortly after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. and their CEO, Pepper Potts, decided to give Maria the means to covertly restart a maintenance level of S.H.I.E.L.D. in order to protect Earth from alien threats.

"You ready?" Jane asked as Thor emerged from her bedroom in jeans and a henley shirt. The blue fabric stretched snugly around his bulging pectoral muscles and Jane was glad they were leaving right then. Otherwise she wouldn't trust herself not to pull the shirt right off of him.

"All set." Thor smiled and opened the door of the flat for Jane.

She grabbed her keys from the entryway shelf and called, "Twenty-two candles, right?"

"Yeah! And not the kind that relight. Those are so annoying." Darcy called to her from the kitchen.

~.~.~

On the street, the earlier mist had become a light drizzle. It wasn't hard enough to merit a hood, but it made Jane shiver slightly. Thor moved his arm around her, emanating out some radiation from his lifeforce to warm her. He called it magic.

"Odin has been asking about you, Jane." Thor began. "He noticed that you are visiting Asgard more often and he wants to know what my feelings are for you. He is concerned that things are becoming serious between us."

Jane could hardly stand, let alone walk. She moved to lean on the metal post of a zebra crossing sign.

"Jane, are you all right?" Thor asked.

"What did you say?" she whispered.

"I asked if you are okay."

"No, to Odin. What did you tell Odin?"

"I told him the truth." Thor said. "That I love you."

"And?" Jane said, her ability to breathe returning.

"And he says that I cannot keep leaving Asgard so often." Thor said.

"Oh," Jane frowned. Would Odin make Thor stop seeing her? She wondered.

"Jane," Thor began. "Odin is requiring you to move to Asgard permanently if we are to continue our relationship."

"Move?" Jane said.

"Yes, to Asgard." Thor said.

"With you?" Jane asked.

"Well, I should hope." Thor said with a laugh. "I will give you time to think it over, of course."

"No!" Jane said. "I mean, yes. I mean, I don't need any time to think about it. I want to come."

"Wonderful!" Thor said. "And you're sure you're okay? Your color went entirely off for a moment."

"I'm great!" Jane beamed. "I thought… I thought you were breaking up with me."

"No," Thor said and placed his hand on her shoulder. "I would never part with you, Jane."

He kissed her softly on the forehead.

Jane let out an excited laugh and exclaimed, "I'm moving to Asgard!"

Thor laughed with her and then Jane remembered they needed to buy candles. She led Thor in the direction of the grocery store, figuring the corner shop wouldn't carry something this unordinary.

Jane wondered if Odin's requirement meant he was actually beginning to approve of her, possibly even like her. Hope swelled inside of her, leaving her feeling lighter than helium.

~.~.~

They got back to Jane's apartment just after eight. She handed Darcy three ten-packs of candles, all in the color green, and saw only a couple other people were there mingling awkwardly with Sif. Her concern that no one would come seemed to be accurate, unfortunately.

"Tube delays." Darcy said, seeing Jane's expression. "I think."

"I'm sure. Saturdays are the worst." Jane agreed.

"Thor! So good to see you." A familiar voice called. Jane turned to find her mentor Dr. Erik Selvig walking into her apartment and embracing Thor.

"I didn't know you invited Erik!" Jane said to Darcy. "That was nice of you."

"Yeah, well, I figured you'd want to see him again…" Darcy shrugged as she attempted to hide a large grin.

"Wait, you knew what Thor was going to ask?" Jane said.

Darcy just continued to grin.

"Jane!" Erik called, walking over to her with open arms. "I'm excited for you and Thor both. It's going to be a real adventure."

Jane hugged Erik and shot Thor a look. He only laughed.

"Forgive me, but I seem to have missed the exciting news?" Sif said.

"Jane's moving to Asgard!" Darcy burst out. "Thor told us last week."

Sif looked to Thor with wide eyes. Why would he not have told me this? She wondered.

"She only just said yes." Thor explained to Sif breezily. "Odin commands it."

"Of course," Sif said after a moment. She managed a smile at Thor and then Jane, but inside she was furious with Thor and disappointed with herself for being foolish enough to think their relationship might end. Now it was only a matter of time before Thor convinced Odin to give Jane one of Iðunn's apples. Unless it truly is Odin's command, she reasoned. Odin had not been himself for the last few months.

"Okay, okay! Celebration drinks!" Darcy said.

"Wait, is this even Ian's birthday party?" Jane asked.

"Um, duh. Why else would I buy some much ninja turtle crap? And why would Matt and Anne Marie be here?" Darcy replied. "Say hi guys. Um, Thor's also from the village Asgard in Norway, like Sif."

The two strangers waved at Thor from their spot on the couch. Darcy busied herself pouring gin and tonics into paper party cups. Sif stood and walked over to Darcy after realizing she was too upset to be around Thor after hearing the news.

"Forgive me, Darcy, but I must go." Sif said.

"Already? You haven't even met Ian!"

"Please give him my regards." Sif said.

She walked to the balcony where they'd landed.

"Sif, wait," Thor said, hurrying after her.

She didn't pause and he followed her outside to the balcony, grabbing her arm to turn her towards him. Jane watched through the window as they had a heated discussion in voices too low to hear. As Darcy placed a room temperature gin and tonic in her hand, she saw Thor cup Sif's face in his hands. Jane instinctively drank the entire cup, nearly choking at the high gin to tonic ratio.

"Easy now," Erik said, rubbing her back as she coughed.

The Bifröst had opened and Thor had not released Sif's arm by the time it transported her. A flash of crystallized light filled the room causing Matt and Anne Marie to look out the window. Sif and Thor were no longer there.

"Was that lightning?" Matt asked.

"Yeah." Jane said tightly. She handed her empty cup to Erik and went to the front door. "I'm going for a walk. I'll come back after 8:30, don't worry."

"Jane," Erik called softly. When she did not turn to him he added, "Take a jacket."

Jane grabbed her jacket and keys and hurried out the door, working hard not to slam it as she left. She didn't want to ruin Darcy's big night.

She wasn't sure where she was going, she just needed to be outside. Usually, when she was feeling frustrated or wound up about her data she went to the cathedral a few blocks away and sat in its garden. It was her rooftop equivalent to Puente Antiguo, except with much worse stargazing. She decided to go there now.

The garden was still in bloom, but a late summer decay. She felt a bit like the flowers here, as though she was persisting past her time. Outstaying her welcome. Their prime beauty had faded weeks ago and now the petals clung on in their ugly, hearty states, desperate not to shrivel and dry up.

Jane ran the scene through her mind again, attempting to take on an objective view. Sif and Thor were dear friends. This was a fact she was well aware of from every aspect. They shared an unspoken language that she was yet to fully develop with Thor. They knew each other from childhood and had fought more perilous battles together than Jane could fathom. Perhaps Sif was merely expressing her concerns as a friend to Thor. But even then, what was the concern? Jane's human form? Her limitations? Probably.

Jane sighed. She liked Sif. She admired her strength and poise. Many times she wished that she could more like her. If Thor had feelings for Sif, Jane was unsure how she felt about it. She loved Thor, of course, but then so did Sif.

Jane let out a groan.

There was another option. Sif could be upset about something else entirely. Jane did not know her very well, and anything could be going on in Sif's life. The whole thing could have been entirely coincidental. After all, Sif had come tonight knowing the party was in Jane's apartment. It was not as if she and Thor's relationship had ever been a secret.

Jane nodded to herself even though she was not sold on the idea. She pulled out her phone to check the time, which was 8:27, and saw another rainbow emoticon text from the Bifröst Alert Line. She replied, "Mine" and then opened her photos. She wanted to look at photos of her and Thor together to see if he looked happy. She knew it was illogical, so she told herself it was the gin making her do it. As she swiped through her albums, she came across a photo of the Æsir library. She'd snuck it in one afternoon while visiting Asgard. Odin had invited her there while Thor was away on business in Vanaheim, and he took the time to give her a more intimate tour of the endless stacks than the librarians ever had. After he had left her to read in peace, she'd taken the photo.

She zoomed in on it, trying to pretend she was back in the library, which was her favorite spot in Asgard. As she moved over the width of the photo, something caught her eye. In the far left corner, where the stacks met a rarely used passageway Odin had showed her, there was a blur of green and gold surrounding what looked like a figure. She tried to zoom further in to make out what it was, but the pixilation was too great. When she zoomed all the way out, it only looked like a smear of grey and green. Creepy. She thought.

She looked around her, feeling suddenly frightened in the garden, like a ghost was present. She didn't believe in ghosts, but that was not how she felt at that moment. She stood up and walked out of the garden and back towards her building. She was not ready to go back yet though and instead cut left on the thoroughfare heading away from her apartment.

Refocusing her thoughts on tangible, non-supernatural things, she told herself that regardless of what had happened between Sif and Thor tonight, she had to decide if she was going to Asgard or not. Less than an hour ago that answer was certain. Now, though, she weighed her options.

After she, Erik, and Thor saved the universe from Malekith's destruction, S.H.I.E.L.D. had moved her from an observation status to something more involved in the organization. They were basically her employer until their downfall five months ago, even though her paychecks were issued under other corporation names. One of those names was Stark Industries. She had met Tony Stark and Pepper Potts through Erik, and they had gotten on well. So well, in fact, that Tony had offered her a legitimate career in Stark Industries doing research next to Dr. Bruce Banner. Dr. Banner's research had basically inspired her second dissertation, so it was kind of a big deal. But working with Dr. Banner required consistency and routine due to his condition, and she had been unable to commit to it because of how often she was in Asgard. Perhaps now she could take on that role.

But what about Asgard? Living there would give her more access to every technology they had. She could advance the human race by centuries in one day's worth of reading in the Æsir library. Or working in their healings rooms. Or talking shop with Heimdall, if he'd let her. She could take all of that knowledge back to Earth and go to work for Tony then. With Dr. Banner's help, they could make her discoveries look like collaborative research on Earth. They would be winning Nobel prizes for decades with the insight she could gain in Asgard.

The decision seemed obvious, but Jane's heart hesitated. It threw up walls and berated her for belittling her feelings in lieu of logic.

There was a change in the clouds and she looked back in the direction of her apartment to see a surge of energy. Someone had come from Asgard. She altered her route to head home, pulling out her phone to text "Mine too" before Director Hill could ask.