Jane fiddled with the handle of her suitcase, smiling widely as she stood in front of the door. it was the day Thor was going back to Asgard and usually she would be upset, but today, she was going with him. Asgard, its beautiful, golden palace and wonderful technology; like nothing she had ever seen before. She couldn't wait to get there again and see it all, but without distraction this time.
But there was a tightness in her chest, a kind of fluttering nervousness that rose and fell with each breath. Loki was in Asgard; after the last time they had met, how would he behave towards her? As much as she was sorry for what she said, would he believe that?
She didn't know. She never did. And it terrified her.
"Jane!" She heard the sound of Thor moving down the stairs, back in his Asgardian armour.
"Come, let us go. I'm sure Sif and the others will be glad to see you again." Jane didn't think so; she could see that Sif felt something for Thor, that wasn't exactly merely comradeship. Which meant she probably hated Jane. Another Asgardian who hated her, it seemed. She sighed; why is it she seemed to attract the annoyance of every one of Thor's friends and family, apart from him? It was probably the 'mortal' thing.
She bundled Thor into her car and dropped in herself. It didn't take long to get to the place they would travel from; an abandoned grounds set a way out from New York.
Thor stepped out of the car and gently helped Jane out. She smiled at him and jogged away from the car, Thor letting her pull him with her.
After about five seconds of said movement, where they were far enough away from the car that it wouldn't come to Asgard with them, Thor called up to Heimdall to open the Bifrost and clasped her to his chest.
And suddenly a great hurricane of colour and light filled Jane's senses. She felt her body stretched and squeezing and moving, faster then light. The last time she had done this, she had been too surprised to properly enjoy it, but this time she would savour it, every bit of it.
All too soon, she was thrown out the the hurricane and into the large golden dome from which the Bifrost made its home. Heimdall nodded at her and pulled out the sword, his molten gold eyes twinkling with laughter at her shocked expression.
She was in Asgard.
Finally.
Sif galloped out, down the Rainbow Bridge. Thor was scheduled to be home today, or at least, so he had told her, and she couldn't wait to see him. Not that she would show that, of course. She'd probably just give some friendly comment and tell him if he wanted to ride home, he could bring his own horse.
Ah, there he was, just there, in her sights. Wait, who was the person next to him? A person dressed in... Midgard trousers, they were called jeans, she thought, and a buttoned shirt... she realized with a sense of dread that she knew exactly who that person was.
Jane Foster.
How... Why?
Of course, she realized. Why wouldn't Thor bring along Jane, his pretty little girlfriend? Jane, this gorgeous, feminine, frail little creature; everything Thor liked about women and everything that she wasn't.
It made her want to throw up to see them together, standing their looking at each other with gooey eyes.
Or rather, Thor was looking at Jane with gooey eyes, and Jane was staring up at the endless Asgardian sky, absolutely enthralled. She had come at the perfect time; a sunset that turned the sky to burning reds, soft delicate pinks, tiger oranges... sunsets and sunrises in Asgard didn't follow any particular order and came and went as they pleased. At times, they would stay for days or possibly even weeks at a time, sometimes, it would be only minutes before they would disappear.
Sif normally loved sunsets; they were bright, vibrant and bold, demanding to be seen and admired.
But how could she enjoy this sunset when it brought only unhappiness with it?
But this jealousy is not becoming for an Asgardian; she told herself firmly. She wouldn't let her feelings get the best of her. She would be civil towards Jane, after all, it wasn't her fault Thor did not love Sif.
It was nobody's fault but Sif's own, it would seem. She had never had the courage to tell Thor her true feelings and now she was paying for it. And would do so, for the rest of her life. Because it seemed impossible that Thor would ever love her... or that she would ever tell him.
She had her chance and now it was gone. And she was left picking up the shattered remains of her heart.
The sky was like nothing Jane had ever seen. Sunrises and sunsets were never really her thing; she much preferred the stars and their subtle beauty, but this, this, matched the stars in every way. It always seemed, to Jane, that the sky held the most beauty of anything on earth, or beyond; and in so may different forms! The sky was an ever changing mass of beauty and at that moment, Jane couldn't be happier.
She was quickly jolted out of her revelry by the sounds of hooves pounding against the Bifrost, a ringing, clear sound that penetrated Jane's ears violently and pulled her away abruptly from her thoughts.
She looked up to see the said horse and on its back, Sif. She looked stunning in the light, the burning colours of the sky throwing themselves over her, highlighting the jade in her eyes and turning her normally midnight hair to a rich chocolate brown. And Jane wasn't the only one who had noticed; she could see Thor watching Sif with a look akin to awe in his eyes. Jane should have felt jealous, but strangely, she didn't.
"Sif!" Called out Thor in a manner that could only be described as heartily. Sif replied to this with a significantly less enthusiastic smile, before finally pulling to a stop and gracefully sliding of the horse.
"Well, Thor, it's been quite a while longer than usual; we'd been worrying something terrible had happened to you. But I suppose you just decided to extend your holiday..." Sif teased Thor, who laughed good naturedly and threw an arm around her shoulders. Sif tolerated this for a few seconds, before slipping out of his grip and turning to talk to Jane.
"Well, I've only brought one horse, but you are quite small; we can ride back with me without too much trouble." Sif's eyes slipped to Thor and she said "As for you, if you want a horse, you can call for one yourself."
"Fair enough." Thor grinned back at her.
Sif then extended an arm to Jane and without further ado, they were both on the horse and speeding away down the Bifrost.
The palace was as large and beautiful as the last time Jane had been here. Larger, in fact, than she had known; last time she had been confined to her rooms, fretting over the Aether. Now she was allowed to explore the palace in it's entirety and there were so many rooms and places she hadn't even known existed. There was an aviary, filled with the loveliest birds, of every shape and size, and in all the colours of the rainbow. There were large bedrooms, with beds larger than her room at home; there were enormous banquet halls, decorated in gold and full of light... and with tables that could have an entire army sat at them at any one time. Which, she supposed, was probably what happened, especially after a big battle. They may have been empty now, but during those celebrations, there would be hundreds, if not thousands of people crammed into the halls, feasting and laughing and generally being boisterous. At least, if the tales she had read about the Vikings were to be told correctly.
And yet she knew she had only seen a small fraction of the palace. There were so many more rooms to see and marvel at.
But the room that intrigued her the most was the library. It looked huge, like every other room in this place, but unlike them, it seemed dusty and tired and full of shadows and darkness. it was also the room, Thor informed her, that Loki spent most of his time in, which was, Jane admitted to herself, the main reason she hadn't gone in yet, even though she had been in Asgard for three days.. After the last time she had seen him, she was very apprehensive over what would happen when she saw him again.
"Oh, come on, Jane. You've got to go this anyway, no point on putting it off." She scolded herself aloud as she exited her chambers. She had just woken up an hour ago and after a lengthy bath in a bathtub that matched the proportions of the rest of the palace and was made entirely of gold, dressed herself in one of the many gorgeous gowns that was on offer, in the wardrobe. It had been another agonizing decision, but this time it wasn't a lack of nice clothes that made it hard to chose, but an abundance of them. Eventually she had chosen a fir-green, of the shoulder robe that had black fir trimmings along the neck, cuffs of the sleeves and the hem of the skirt. All the other ones had made her feel swamped with splendor, so she chose the least attention seeking of the lot and decided to wear that.
By the time she had arrived at the library, her nerves had come back, in full force. But she couldn't turn around and leave; Loki had probably already seen her and if she left now, it would be... losing, in a way. She wasn't going to lose. Not this one.
"Loki?" Jane called uncertainly. There was no reply. Of course there wouldn't be! Loki was probably still annoyed at her; he wasn't going to make it easy for her to talk to him. She was going to have to do it another way.
"Loki?" He could hear Jane calling. From his place in the shadows, he sighed. Why couldn't people just leave him be? He had so much to read and research on before he could formulate an escape plan... one that would make sure that next time he returned here, it would be as its king, not its traitor.
"Loki... I know when we last talked, things went a little...um, weird. But, I'd like a chance to talk to you, to try to make things right. And even if... even if you don't want t talk to me right now, that's fine. I'm just hoping... I'll be in Asgard three more weeks and I'm hoping that by the end of that we'll be... uh, if not friends, at least... reconciled? Or something?"
Well, that was unexpected. He would have thought the girl would have hated him, like everybody else, after the lat time they talked, but she wanted to... say sorry? Loki cocked his head to the side and stared long and hard at Jane. Was she serious? Or was this some kind of trick, of joke? She seemed genuine; Loki knew what lies looked like better than anybody.
He might as well talk to her. It wouldn't hurt anybody.
Stepping out of the shadows, he greeted her with a simple 'Hello, Jane.'
"Hello, Jane." Jane jolted and spun around. Loki was right behind her, watching her with amusement in his eyes, but also a hint of... wariness? She couldn't tel very easily: Loki wasn't the type to let any emotions show that he didn't want to.
"Um, hey." She replied, not at all eloquently. Damn, why did she always turn into a mess of stupid when Loki was around? It was probably just the way he always had this air of great confidence that caused Jane's tongue to turn into a giant knot.
Loki simply raised one black eyebrow and waited for her to start talking. It seemed to be her turn to talk, then. Huh.
"Loki, I'm sorry." The words started gushing out. "I was angry and tired and what I said was totally uncalled for. Whatever else I could of accused you of, I said things that were completely untrue and... god, I'm sorry. That's all I can say. I'm so, so sorry." Jane breathed out, a large whoosh of air.
Loki stared at her a moment, his posture tense and his eyes hard and unreadable, before the ice flecks inside them melted and his eyes returned to that soft sky blue they had been before.
"I suppose I should accept your apology, then." His lips quirked upwards and Jane found herself smiling back at him in relief. That went better than she had hoped, much better.
"Well... that's great." Wow, Jane. That was so smooth. Really, really smooth. So smooth she could get a job as a politician and feed lies to the general public with ease. That was her job as an astrophysicist finished; she had now found her true calling.
Jane blinked, confused. Where had all the sarcasm come from? Darcy must be rubbing off on her, she told herself.
Unless it was Loki who was rubbing off on her, that little voice that kept saying forbidden things murmured to her. Jane dismissed it; how could she learn habits from Loki, she had only met him few times.
A few times to many, Thor would say, the voice insisted on telling her, and Jane prickled with guilt that crept through her, like a thorny plant. However much she tried to justify this, it was still wrong. The very way that this had been kept from Thor showed how wrong it was. What was she even doing? Hanging out with Thor's homicidal brother?
"Well, when you've finished talking to yourself, you might want to pay attention to the fact that a very angry Thor is coming our way." Loki's voice cut through her thoughts and she turned her head to see Thor striding towards us, anger indeed upon his countenance. But not anger at her, it would seem, as he was glaring at Loki; if looks could kill, Loki would be dead on the floor right this moment.
"Jane, what are you doing?" Thor had finally reached them and pulled Jane into his arms. Jane held herself stiffly; she didn't want to pull away, but this sudden affection felt... wrong. Thor even being here felt wrong; his footsteps and large voice echoed around the library accusingly and made her cringe. Loki seemed to feel the same way, from the corner of her eye, she watched him as he took a step back from Thor and returned his glare.
After a tense few second, Jane wriggled free of Thor's arms.
"Thor, what's wrong?"
"Jane, why are you here?"
"I... wanted to read."
"But there are plenty of books in your chambers." Thor looked, perplexed at her.
"Yes, but... I wanted to come and see what was down here. It looked really interesting... what's wrong with that anyway?" She shot back at Thor. He did not even need to say a word, just looked up and stared at Loki, who smiled viciously back at him. No wonder Thor didn't want her to go anywhere near Loki; wearing that smile, he looked like he was here to smash her head against a wall repeatedly, not to talk to her.
"Thor, it's fine. It's okay. Seriously, I can look after myself." She must have looked more convincing then she felt, because after a few seconds, Thor relaxed slightly, but turned worried eyes to Thor.
"Are you sure you'll be fine?"
"Yes! Who's gonna hurt me here, anyway? Nobody here is stupid enough to hurt me in the palace, surrounded by guards. I don't need to stay in my chambers all day." Jane could hear herself practically pleading and Thor could hear it too. After a long moment, he nodded slightly and turned to leave.
"Jane." He whispered in her ear. "He is not called Silvertongue for nothing. Take care." And with those cryptic words, he strode off.
Loki was grinning at her and Thor in a way that suggested he had heard every word.
"I see my brother thinks that I might be a danger to you. It's almost sweet, the way he cares for you. Sickeningly sweet." Loki was back to his snarky self and Jane could feel herself relax. She hadn't known how he would react to what just happened. She never knew how he would react to anything, she realized.
"Well, you wouldn't hurt me. Thor's just... being overprotective." Loki's eyes caught hers and glinted with laughter.
"How do you know I wouldn't hurt you?" Loki voice dropped to barely above whisper, soft, dangerous words coming out of his mouth. Jane felt herself shuffling backwards slightly as Loki moved closer to her, until her back hit the wall and she felt a sliver of panic; she was trapped. But then Loki stopped, right next to her and all thoughts went out of her head at the proximity. Up close, she could see a scar just above his lip, barely noticeable, but there. Where had he gotten that? And what was she doing, thinking about a scar? While she was distracted, Loki had leaned in closer still, until he was close enough to kiss her. Just a few more centimeters, and their lips would meet...
And then he pulled himself away slightly, smiling at her with that infuriatingly smug look on his face. Jane felt a strange sense of loss; it was as if, in that moment, with their bodies practically touching, she had felt... completed. What the hell even was that?
"in this case, you are right. You can rest assured, I will not hurt you, Jane Foster. There are so few people who are not completely stupid, it would be stupid, it would be shame to lower that number."
Jane blinked up at him for a few seconds, having completely forgotten what they had been talking about, before her ability to think came back to her.
"So, the only reason that you won't kill me is because I'm clever?" Jane raised her eyebrows at him, and Loki chuckled.
"Of course. Well, that, and the fact that I've quite grown to enjoy your company, Miss Foster. You are... slightly more interesting then most Asgardians I've met, let alone mortals."
"Hey, we're not that bad. Maybe if you took some time to get off your high horse and come meet a few, you'd know." Okay, that was definitely banter. When had bantering with Loki, Thor's brother and destroyer of New York, become a thing?
"Well, I would, but I fear most humans, should I meet them, would start trying to kill me, since I don't think I made a very good first impression. maybe in a few hundred years, perhaps?"
Jane suddenly was overcome by a wave of anger. He didn't care about the fact he had killed hundreds, if not thousands, destroyed so many homes, businesses; wrecked so many people's lives. She jerked back from him and looked at him reproachfully.
"You don't care, do you? All those people's lives you wrecked; you just don't care! Why is it that you even even talk to me, when other 'mortals' lives are so insignificant to you?!"
"What do you want me to say? That I'm sorry? It was a war, Jane. In war, there is collateral damage. That is always inevitable." Loki explained, a little bit of steel coming out with his voice. Jane gaped at him. Was that really what he thought? Did he really care so little?
Loki, seeing her face, sighed, and said in a more appeasing tone: "To be entirely honest, I did not want the amount of casualties that there was. It was designed to be a peaceful takeover. But... of course, these things never do go as plan." He hesitated for a moment, and then reluctantly admitted "It was a foolish plan, borne not of logic, but of mere anger. Should I do it again, there would be many things I would have changed."
Jane looked at him for a long moment, scarcely believing her ears. Was he... admitting his mistakes? That was new. But he looked sincere enough. She slowly nodded and the serious look on his face dissolved into a slight smile.
They didn't say anything for while. There wasn't any need; all the things that needed to be said were said.
"So, why do they call you Silvertongue?" Jane asked, finally, curiosity taking over care, as usual.
Loki laughed, a full genuine laugh, the kind she had not heard him do in such a long time. "I can show you, if you wish."
"Um, okay." Jan agreed, trying not to let her interest show to much.
"That book over there is very interesting." Loki spoke, and she could finally see why was called Silvertongue. The words fell like silken webs, slithering softly into her ears and dancing gracefully through her head. It was true. That book did seem so very interesting; she picked it up and smoothed her had over the cover. Just to see what it said, just a little peek...
"Jane." She was jolted from her revelry as Loki shook her gently. She blinked and shook her head wildly, remnants of his voice still dancing around her head.
"You looked like you were going to eat that book. I would prefer you not to, it is quite valuable, though not the most thrilling of reads." Loki teased her, his hands sliding from her upper arms to her shoulders and stayed there. It was such a casual touch; did he even know how weird it made her feel, all tingly and breathless? Probably not. She dismissed these feelings from her mind and looked down at the book: Asgardian Methods Of Warfare.
"I imagine it probably isn't." She agreed, causing Loki to laugh again and her to grin almost foolishly, strangely pleased she had made him laugh like that, that she had made him happy. What was this? What was even going on? She was behaving really weirdly, like some kind of schoolgirl.
They stayed like this for more then a minute, silent again. But a comfortable silence. Until Jane noticed the clock like pattern painted on the wall, which reminded her that time was ticking and she had thing to do.
"Oh! I'm... I have to go now. Thor said there was some kind of feast he thought I should attend and I suppose I'd better go." Jane explained, her once burning desire to go to this feast and see what it was like almost evaporated.
Loki nodded, assenting. "Well, goodbye, Jane. It has been a pleasure to meet you... for the second time." Jane mentally went 'what?' for a second, before remembering that this was supposed to be the second time they had met and she laughed and took Loki's outstretched hand.
"Nice to meet you too." She said primly and their laughter joined together and flew out into the air.
And then she had to go and Loki melted back into the darkness of the library and Jane walked off down one of the corridors towards her room.
She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy.
Thor watched Jane as she walked away, back towards her room and pondered on what had just happened. Contrary to what they believed, he had not left, but had stayed to make sure Jane was okay. He had seen the way Loki touched her and the way she had reacted, the way that they laughed and talked together, like they were best friends. Or more. Thor could feel his heart almost bursting with jealousy; Jane never behaved with him the way she behaved with Loki. And that was the confusing part. How could she have cultivated this strange closeness from only meeting him twice, and once barely even talking to him? Thor knew that there was something he din't know about all this and he was determined to get to the bottom of this. Anything to keep Jane safe.
With uncharacteristic silence, Thor turned and left the area, grimly determined to find out what was really happening.
And that's a wrap! Sorry, it took so long for me to update, but on the bright side, you get a longer chapter and lots of Loki/Jane interaction!
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to WinterCandyMints, who always believed that Loki and Jane would reconcile, even when the odds were slim.
I hope you enjoyed that! Reviewers get a cookie. (::)
