Yay! I keep having this thought I should put in my author's note, but then I keep forgetting what it was…one job.
Anyways, here's chapter 1, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 1
Plans
"Well, here we are, in Manhattan." Darcey proclaimed, walking into the rented apartment, Ian walking behind her carrying both their luggage. "Hope no aliens attack us again."
Thor smiled and shook his head as he and Jane laid their suitcases by the door. "I can assure you they won't." He reassured her.
"Ah, good ol' New York." Erik Selvig grumbled. They had to wake up early in the morning to catch a flight at 5am. It took them a while to get a taxi, and a few families fought them for the taxis. Erik of all of them was the most exhausted. According to Darcey, he was still 'banana-balls'…
"So Erik," Jane said. "Remind me why we are here…"
"Not sure," Erik admitted. Jane figured he was too tired to give all the details at the time. "But Coulson asked me to come to the meeting this morning."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. wants you to help them?" Jane asked.
"Not… necessarily," Erik replied. "I'm going to the Avenger's Tower."
"The Avengers…?" Jane asked.
"I think you forgot what happened last time you worked for Fury…" Darcey stated.
"Darcey," Jane hissed, gently smacking her friend's shoulder. "Try to be sensitive!"
"It's not my fault that Thor's crazy brother came and started breaking things." Darcey raised her hands in defense.
"Darcey, shush!" Jane snapped. The four mortals turned to Thor, some looking at him nervously, while Darcey was curious for his response.
Thor was silent for a moment. "Loki is dead…" Thor said. "He will not torment us any more… but I do care of how you speak… Loki may not really be of blood, but I grew up believing him to be my brother. He died trying to save me and Jane."
"Oh…" Darcey said, nodding her head in understanding. "I didn't know that… I'm sorry."
"Don't worry my friend," Thor smiled.
"Well," Erik stretched. "I'd better get over there." He turned and placed a hand on Darcey's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about Darcey." He reassured her. "It'll be fine. It's just a meeting."
"Uh… okay…" Darcey nodded. With that, Erik left, while Darcey and Ian left to pick up some breakfast for the remaining four.
Jane began to unpack her gadgets onto the kitchen table. Thor carefully placed the Mjolnir onto a hook by the door. Jane began to examine her old scanner.
"The readings are off again…" She mused before banging it onto the table. "What's going on…?"
"Jane," Thor gave her a big smile, walking over to her side and taking her hand. "Remember the plan?"
"Oh, yeah…" Jane hurriedly placed the scanner back onto the table. She and Thor walked over to the sofa and sat down, cuddling together. "So… what do you want to talk about first?"
Thor and Jane had decided once they could get a moment in Manhattan to talk about their future together. Some things had seemed unorganized ever sense they had left London. Now that things had seemed to settle down, they finally were able to plan for their future more effectively.
"I don't know…" Thor admitted. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Well," Jane said. "There is one thing that's been on my mind… You were supposed to be the heir to the throne of Asgard… what's going to happen now? Are you going to take it?"
"I told my Father I didn't care what would happen… as long as I'm with you." Thor replied. "But no, I also told him that I couldn't protect the Nine Realms on the Throne. So I turned it down."
"And Loki can't take it…" Jane said. "Don't you have another brother?"
"Hm? Balder…? He never had the appetite to take the Throne. He knew his place, and for that, he's a noble warrior."
"What will happen?" Jane asked. "Are there any stewardships, or… how does that work?"
"I wouldn't worry about it." Thor replied. "I just want to think about my life with you."
Jane smiled. "All right… You don't mind that we travel a lot, do you?"
"Of course not," Thor smiled back at her. "It is a dream to see the different Midgardian sights!"
Jane's smile grew wider. "I'm glad… so, I guess there's only one thing to worry about at this moment… are we getting married?"
Now Thor's grin had grown wider. "Yes, I guess we need to decide; when?"
Jane thought for a moment. "You're right… Now would be a good time to plan."
"We'd better do this right." Thor said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Jane asked.
"I need to make an urgent phone call to The Man of Iron." Thor replied, getting his cellphone out. "How do I make calls again…?" He asked, scrolling through his contacts. "Oh wait, I've got it… I wonder what fancy places we can go to eat?"
"Oh, Thor…" Jane rushed to his side, grabbing his phone. "You don't have to do that. If you're planning on proposing, it doesn't have to be perfect."
"Are you sure?" Thor asked. "This is a first for both of us after all."
"Sure I'm sure!" Jane said. "Just let it happen naturally."
"Very well," Thor said. Suddenly his phone buzzed. "Oh, it's Stark. At a meeting, what's up?" He read aloud.
"Oops." Jane said. "Just say sorry, taken care of…and I can help you find the emoji's so you can send him a smiley face…"
Jb
As the day lagged on, Darcey and Ian returned with breakfast and groceries. Erik's meeting had ended, but stayed longer to evaluate some things further, still not giving the rest of the team any details. At last, before dinner, he returned.
"I have news." He announced as he returned. "We don't have to cook tonight!"
"And…?" Jane asked.
"I just contacted an old friend of mine. She wants us to come over to her house for dinner."
"What about your meeting?" Jane asked again, wanting details. "What was that all about?"
"That's a discussion for after I meet with Mrs. Robinson." Erik replied. "Everyone, get your coats."
"Wait… Robinson…" Jane's face suddenly brightened.
"Yes," Erik replied. "Jenny's grandmother… you remember Jenny, right?"
"Yes!" Jane replied excitedly. "We still keep in touch! We used to just be pen pals, but until we discovered email, we talk often!"
"She may be there tonight," Erik said. Jane hastily put on her coat.
"I haven't seen her since she graduated high school!"
"Which was like… three or four years ago?" Darcey asked.
"Three," Jane confirmed. "I hope she's there… Then it'll be easier to put up with Alice and Lala…"
"Who is Lala?!" Darcey asked, clearly disgusted by the name.
"Oh, Jenny's cousin, Charlotte… she's kind of a brat…" Jane replied.
"But Joey just got his license." Erik added.
"Little Joey?" Jane asked, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Yep…not so little anymore." Erik said. "Is everyone ready? Let's get going!"
Jb
Hilma Robinson was completely beside herself when the science team showed up. Despite her old age, she was a bundle of energy.
"Jane! It's been a long time!" She said, embracing Jane and kissing her on the cheek. "Who is your friend?"
"This is Darcey, and her boyfriend Ian." Jane gestured to her friends.
"You are so beautiful, I can't handle it!" Hilma said, taking Darcey's hand. "You look a lot like my granddaughter, Jenny! Ugh! Just what I need, more disgustingly beautiful people in my life!" Hilma seemed to have a lot of tact, because she had the whole team laughing with her straight-forward comments.
"Erik…you have aged!" She grasped the shoulders of Erik, who was now blushing.
"And… this is Thor," Jane said, gesturing to the Norse god.
"Thor…?" Hilma gasped, walking toward him, her energy seeming to die down a little. "So…the legends are true…" She examined him in awe. "I am amazed." She took his hand, patting it gently. "It is an honor to meet you…"
"Mrs. Robinson was born and raised in Sweden." Erik explained. "She moved to America before World War 1 started. She met Thomas Robinson after World War II ended."
"Yes," She turned back to Erik. "He claimed to have met Steve Rogers, I didn't believe him. He spent most of his time during the war finding lost art. He was told he was too short to fight in the war, so reclaiming stolen art was his way of taking part. Afterwards, he became a painter, and passed that down to our oldest son, Charles. Now his daughter has been doing it more lately."
"So, Jenny's taking up painting?" Jane asked.
"Oh yes," Hilma nodded. "And is loving it. She's thinking of switching her major to art, although, she really likes her job at the News Station."
"That's right! She's told me about that!" Jane said.
"Are there any other activities this young lady does?" Thor asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, she's been into self-defense and martial arts ever since she was six years old. Why do you ask?" Hilma replied.
"Oh…" Thor hesitated. "No reason…"
Before anyone could say anything else, a young, skinny, blonde girl walked in. "Ugh, look what the cat dragged in." She stated, glaring at Jane. She looked like she was at least eighteen years old.
"Uh…hi Charlotte…" Jane replied, trying to sound polite.
"Now Lala," Hilma grasped her granddaughter's arm. "Try to be cheerful."
Lala sighed. "All right… but can we please stop calling me Lala?"
"Face it," A young, tall man walked into the room. "That name is sticking."
"Joey!" Jane gasped. "Wow you're… you're so tall! And handsome! How did that happen?!"
Joey shrugged. "Growing up is great, I guess…"
"Everyone, come," Another woman stepped out, gesturing everyone to come into the dining room. "Dinner is ready." The woman looked to be almost in her fifties, and looked like the older version of Lala.
"Oh, and this is Alice," Erik replied. "Jenny's aunt. Lala and Joey's mom."
"So, is Jenny going to be joining us tonight?" Jane asked Hilma urgently, once everyone had sat down and began eating.
"I invited her to come," Hilma replied. "But she said she had an obligation. She needed somewhere to be tonight."
"Oh," Jane lowered her eyes in disappointment.
"But she said she would be back at some point tonight." Hilma said. "It may interest you to know she doesn't live too far away from here."
"Like the next building over." Joey added.
"Really?" Jane's eyes lifted in excitement again.
"Yes," Hilma smiled and nodded.
"Has she been keeping up acting?" Jane asked.
"She hasn't been doing a lot of that lately…" Hilma admitted. "I haven't seen her on a stage in three years…"
Jane looked up in surprise. "Three years…? But it's her dream!"
"Yeah, but the people in the Theatre Department are all punks!" Joey said bluntly.
"Joey," Alice said sternly.
"Well, it's true!" Joey defended. "They don't care about her. They don't care that she can sing, dance, and act!"
"Well," Alice said, setting her cup down. "That girl needs to get her life in order and sort out her priorities! She couldn't even make it to dinner!"
Thor, sensing all Alice wanted to do was rant, began to goof off. He started tapping his fork gently on a plate.
"And that unrealistic dream of hers! She's just like her father- chasing daydreams and never catching them! It's a wonder how he was able to keep his other job before he got shot!"
"Now Alice, we don't talk about that," Hilma scolded. "It was devastating to Eloise, and Jenny."
"And that's the only reason she had her take lessons from that… Kaizen man."
"Sensei Kaizen," Joey corrected.
"Now look at Jenny… She's turned out to be a daydreamer like her father, and wastes her spare time in her…dojo…"
Thor silently pretended to doze off. The only one who had caught him was Joey. He snickered at Thor.
"A dojo… who would keep a dojo in their apartment? Her roommates must hate it!"
"I wish my roommate had a dojo in her apartment." Darcey smiled, glancing at Jane.
Alice ignored Darcey and continued her rant about Jenny and her parents. How they made too many mistakes on her, how she hasn't been successful in the life she was trying to build for herself. Blah, blah, blah… Eventually, Jane noticed Thor's antics and kicked him in the leg.
"Well, thanks for the dinner." Jane said to Hilma, once dinner was finally over. "I'm stuffed."
"That's what I like to hear." Hilma smiled, leading them to the door. "So, where will you go to now?"
"Home," Darcey said. "I'm about to have a food coma…"
"I like to hear that too!" Hilma cheered.
"Actually," Jane turned to Thor. "If it's not too much trouble, we could try to see Jenny."
"I would love to meet your friend!" Thor replied.
"Of course," Hilma said, giving them directions to Jenny's apartment. "I'm sure she would love to see you!"
"We can head over now." Jane said. "Thanks Mrs. Robinson."
"Please, it's Hilma," She gave Jane a warm smile. "Joey! Say goodnight!"
Joey jumped when Hilma called out his name. He looked up from his phone, about to send a text message. "Oh, um… good night…" He said, seeming frantic.
"Good night," Jane replied. After they closed the door Jane turned to Darcey. "Do you guys want to come with us, or should we meet you back at the apartment?"
"I'd love to come!" Erik said. "It's been long…"
"I guess I can force myself to stay awake for a little longer…" Darcey replied. "Besides, I gotta meet this girl, she sounds awesome!"
"That she is," Jane said. She turned to Erik. "Is it just me, or did Joey seem kind of jumpy just now?"
Erik shrugged. "Not sure…"
So…when I was nineteen and went to visit my family in Canada, my great-aunt, (who is very spry for her age) came up to me and grabbed my hand and told me that I was "disgustingly beautiful". I was like "Um…thanks?" And then as she turned to leave, she called out to my Uncle Gordon (her nephew), saying; "I love ya! I'm not in love with ya, but I love ya!
So, basically, Hilma Robinson is based off my great aunt. I just had to put in the "disgustingly beautiful" comment.
Hope you liked it! Leave a review!