Chapter 7
The risk was definitely paying off, Jane thought, smiling as she and Thor trekked hand in hand up Valentine's Meadow.
The light had fallen from the sky, casting a gorgeous dusky glow over the field. The stage was at the head, but speakers dotted around to make the sound accessible to everyone, fires scattered where various groups had made their campsites.
Darcy and Loki's was pitched not far from the outskirts of the campers, and Thor and Jane made a line for it, carving their way towards the couple. Jane was grinning at the pair, looking cosy as they sat close – yet not a single bottle of booze in sight. A part of her felt a bit damped; so Darcy could snuggle to her dream-man sober, but Jane had to get plastered to so much as talk to hers!
She could hardly complain with the result though as she and Thor sat with the couple, the fire warming her more than her shirt did in the chilly evening.
"Evening all." Darcy said with a grinning mimicry of Loki's pristine English accent.
He nudged her fondly in the ribs as he leaned forward and handed a box around the flames to Thor. "Marshmallows." He explained with a twinkling eye. "It should be illegal to have a campfire without marshmallows."
"I second that." Thor murmured, setting the box in his lap, and prising it open.
Jane leaned her head against his shoulder, smiling happily as her boyfriend skewered pink and white marshmallows for her and handed her the stick.
She still hadn't got used to using that word: boyfriend. It sounded too solid, too intimate for two people that had gotten together on a whim, following a drunken kiss at a party. But Jane held his hand, didn't she? That had been Thor that had kissed her on the lips when she'd said yes, hadn't it? Yes, and yes, and now they were on a date. The word still felt wrong though.
Her eyes watched Thor in the low light, his eyes light but intent on his task as he fixed himself some marshmallows of his own. He was perfect; really. There wasn't a fault to be found in him – especially not in that physique hidden beneath that blue shirt and dark jacket! But Jane liked to think she like him more for than just his body. He'd called her different, hadn't he? And Jane was different. She remembered the way he'd cared for her after her hangover and she couldn't deny the way her heart tugged at the sweet gesture, the way it always did when he even so much as held a door open for her.
But they hadn't even kissed properly since the party and Jane was starting to get worried. Was Thor not attracted to her? Was he having second thoughts? Jane was a little concerned, but at the same time, what could she do? She didn't know how to handle this sort of thing…
"Whoa!" Thor's hand closed over hers and wrenched it back from the fire as the marshmallows she'd been 'toasting' erupted in a miniature fireball, spitting under the too intense heat. Her fingers dropped in on instinct and watched it flame for a second, then die on the grass beside her.
Her heart was in her mouth from the shock of Thor's rescue, her eyes still wide. Her hand was warm from how narrowly avoiding getting burned.
Thor was grinning as she lifted her blushing face to his, feeling an idiot. "Are you alright?" he chuckled, thumb stroking over Jane's hand tenderly, though his gaze held her startled one with ease. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her fingers tingled as Thor eased his own skewer into her hand. "Here." He smiled that godly flash of teeth of his. "Take mine."
Jane could do little but obey, letting her ifnegrs grip the stick and closing her idiotically open mouth with another flush of colour on her cheeks.
Thor paid it no heed, already setting up a new skewer. "Perhaps we should leave the fire to me." He grinned, his eyes light.
Jane cursed herself inside. God only knew she wasn't worthy of such a guy as Thor – the least she could do was to act like a sane human being for him! She wanted to slap her palm to her forehead, but knew that wouldn't win her any normality awards now.
Her teeth dug into the soft marshmallows angrily, biting her irritation through the gooey centred cushions. Oh God, they tasted good! Jane felt her eyes flutter closed and her heart melt along with the sweetness in her mouth. She'd forgotten how nice this was – the last time she'd had roasted marshmallows was in high school, the simple minded students they were toasting over the flame of the Bunsen burners.
Her shoulder relaxed into Thor's of its own accord and she offered no resistance as he looped an arm around her shoulders.
She really had no objections, she realised, as she appreciated just how warm Thor was. She hummed happily as her cheek settled against the radiator that was his chest, basking in the body heat leaking through his shirt. Oh, he was incredible.
Her mind drifted in bliss and she let the beat of the music wash over her, listening at last. The light hearted racing tune of the banjo strummed her heart along too and she found her foot tapping along to the song:
"But it was not your fault but mine,
And it was your heart on the line.
I really fucked it up this time,
Didn't I, my dear?
Didn't I, my dear…"
Jane found herself clapping along with the rest of the field as the Mumford and Sons song ended and the tribute band drank in the applause, her mouth full of chewy marshmallows. She loved that song…
"We're going up the front to get a better view." Loki said, cutting through her thoughts, already rising with Darcy's hand in his. "Want to come?"
Jane and Thor flickered their gazes to meet simultaneously. Jane's orbs were gleaming in the dim evening light, her tongue swirling to clear her mouth of the marshmallow. A smile stretched on Thor's face at the sight – but a thoughtful second later, his brow dipped in a light frown.
"You go ahead." he said, eyes lingering on Jane as she gulped down the last of the food. A new song was strumming up through the speakers already. "Perhaps we'll join you later."
His gaze rolled round to his brother as he said the last part, letting his arm fall casually from around Jane. Her heart skipped a beat at the sudden loss of contact. Loki merely shrugged, Darcy already tugging at his arm towards the stage, and Jane watched with light envy as they turned and trotted towards the front of the field.
She started to feel anxious. Thor had dropped his arm, he'd kept them there – alone. Jane wasn't idiot enough to think that was a coincidence!
Her head stayed turned front ways, not brave enough to look at Thor full on, fearful of what she might find. Her eyes pricked to him out of her side-on vision, waiting for him to speak. Ice gripped her heart as she anticipated what it might be.
He wanted to talk, that much had to be certain. But talk about what? Had he come to his senses at last? Had he realised just how out of his league Jane was? Maybe her time had come at last. She'd tasted paradise, but hadn't grasped the opportunity that had been presented to her, and now maybe Thor was braking up with her. Maybe it was because she hadn't kissed him since the party. Maybe it was because she hadn't put out for him.
Her heart thudded in her chest and she was starkly reminded of that time outside the lecture theatre when she was sure Thor had been about to reject her then. Her panic blinded her to the softness in the sport star's orbs.
"I know you're still anxious about us." Thor said softly, eyes watching Darcy and Loki as they disappeared towards the stage.
Jane couldn't bring herself to say anything. Anxious… yes. How did he know? She let the gentle tone of his voice ease over her, trying to work out the tension that gripped her heart. Thoughts of him rejecting her though, despite his backing off earlier, were pushed out with the second stick of warm marshmallows he gave to her. She risked a glance to Thor's face, and the soft flicker in the corner of his lips, though his orbs stayed otherwise occupied, reassured her for definite.
Her shoulder's slumped with relief as the band started to sing, letting a smile of her own play out on her face as she bit into the marshmallow:
"And I came home
Like a stone,
And I fell heavy into your arms…"
"I know it's a lot I've been asking of you." Thor went on in that gentle voice of his that made Jane want to just bury her face in his chest and let him hold her. "But I'm very grateful you've been willing to try."
"These days of darkness,
Which we've known,
Will blow away with this new sun…"
"I don't know what you're other relationships have been like, but I wanted to take us slow. I don't want you to think that I'm not serious."
Jane brushed aside the scoffing in her head. Other relationships – what other relationships?! Any boy-relations she'd had were nothing short of disasters, the lengthy periods of battling out the bad not even holding a candle to this sweet week of tenderness. Thor had bested them all, made the greatest relationship Jane had ever had – any may ever have! – and he didn't even know it!
His fingers closed around hers on the grass and squeezed and Jane felt all rational thought leave her as Thor's orbs finally linked with hers, his molten diamond orbs… oh, Jane wanted to cry at their gleaming sincerity!
"And I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you."
Jane felt her heart race in time with the banjo tune and shivered, a combination of the truly chilly air and the honest in Thor's orbs that carved grooves into her soul. It was incredible; Jane was sure she must be dreaming…
The pressure of Thor's fingers was missed for barely a second as Thor shucked off his jacket, tugging his muscular, short sleeved arms free. His hands cupped her shoulders as he draped it over her shivering body, Jane's hands rising to close the front around her. Her lips smiled appreciatively, glad when Thor's arm draped over her far shoulder, letting her ease into his body.
The jacket was thick and warm over her limbs, and combined with Thor's body heat that just seemed to radiate from him endlessly, Jane was snug in seconds. She basked in the feeling.
"I don't know…" she breathed, letting her eyes drift dreamily shut. "I still don't really know what to make of this whole dating thing. I don't think I'll ever understand you."
Jane's body bobbed as Thor's chest rumbled with his chuckle. His finger gently hooked under her chin and guided her face up from leaning against the broad canvas of his chest, her eyes blinking open immediately to find his. His crystal blue orbs filled her vision instantly, and she felt her heart drop the way it always did at their majesty.
"Is it really too much to believe that I simply like you, Jane Foster?" his lips smiled, but Jane was much too preoccupied with his eyes to notice.
A smirk flittered over her own face at the utter absurdity of what he'd just said.
"So break my step,
And relent.
You forgave and I won't forget…"
"Yes!" she finally gasped. "Are you kidding me? You're Thor Odinson, for God's sake, and I'm just…" she struggled to find apt words to compare how small and insignificant she was compared to him.
"Just the most wonderful astrophysicist I've ever had the pleasure of meeting." Thor finished with a charming grin.
Jane's head tipped to the side. "I'm the only astrophysicist you've ever had the pleasure of meeting."
Thor's wonderfully broad shoulders shrugged, and Jane placed a steadying hand on Thor's chest as the movement disrupted her balanced position against him. He didn't seem to mind. Jane certainly didn't, lapping up the body heat that seeped through his shirt and into her palm.
"True." He conceded, his eyes sparkling. "But it doesn't mean I care about you any less."
"But I will wait, I will wait for you.
And I will wait, I will wait for you…."
The smile blossomed; Jane couldn't help it. The way this guy could make her feel like the only girl in the world that mattered to him… oh, it just destroyed her. How could he do that?, she wondered, giggling as Thor's chuckles became infectious.
Thor's arms tightened around her, and Jane's heart quickened at his palms on her back. Surely they could feel the way her heart was racing? They must, she decided, the strong organ in her chest working so hard it hurt as Thor had a scarily accurate impact on her senses. Blood was pushed to her flushed cheeks, warm with the jacket and strong arms encasing her body, holding her firmly to her boyfriend's chest.
"So I'll be bold
As well as strong
And use my head alongside my heart…"
"I meant it, you know." Thor said, his voice light but thick with earnest. Jane let her eyes fall from his face, basking in the wonderful sound of his deep voice. "The more time I spend with you, the more sure I am that I did the right thing."
"The right thing?"
A crooked, lopsided grin curves Thor's lips. "Building up the courage to ask you out as I did." He smirked. "It was the most terrifying thing I've ever done."
"But I'll kneel down,
Wait for now…"
"A week ago I thought it was impossible to fall for someone so easily." He breathed, his fingers rising to comb through her hair. Jane surrendered to the tender gesture, letting him brush the dark strands from her face, illuminated by the firelight. Her eye blinked open though as she felt the tightness in his chest beneath her, like he was holding his breath. They locked with his glorious crystal gaze instantly, his lips twitched in an almost disbelieving smile. "Then you came along."
"Raise my hands,
Paint my spirit gold…"
Jane's heart sung, her chest crushing with… wow, had he really just said that? That he was…no, he couldn't have. Could he? Falling for her… it was unthinkable.
An incredulous smile of her own flittered over her face, her hands unconsciously gripping at his shirt. "I thought you didn't like me." She spilled. What the hell, she thought. "I thought because you hadn't kissed me, you didn't…"
Thor's charming grin killed the words in her throat.
"And bow my head,
Keep my heart slow…"
His hand stilled in her hair, at a prime position at the back of her head. "I've been waiting for you." He breathed, the hot air washing over Jane's mouth tantalizingly. She could taste the sweetness of the marshmallows. "I knew the way to win your heart was not to act like a reckless brute." Jane could so clearly feel his thumb stroking her back, even though his touch was soft over the thick jacket. "I didn't want to mess this up. I…" he drew in a deep, but solid breath before he spilled the last of his heart to her. "I've never felt this way before."
Jane's heart had dropped into her stomach long ago. Never felt this way… he sounded so serious. So wonderfully serious.
Her blood pulsed instinctively in her chest with the beat of the music, letting it carry her to new heights of bliss. What more could she want? In Thor's arms, with him confessing the deepest trenches of his heart to her…
His eyes flashed with a light that made Jane's breath catch in her throat. "But if it is a kiss that you want…"
"'Cause I will wait, I will wait for you
And I will wait, I will wait for you…"
Enough waiting, a voice in her head said; Jane pushed herself up and pressed her mouth to Thor's before he could finish the sentence. Her heart had given out. If she listened to any more of his wonderful words, she was sure her heart would burst with how he made her feel. The light, racing music drove her on, with Thor's firming hands on her back, as she took what she'd been too afraid to even ask for until now.
If what he said was true, then why not? If Thor was falling for her... his mouth moved eagerly against hers as Jane tasted the sugar on his lips and tongue, reveling in the way his strong arms engulfed her.
Jane's palm stayed against Thor's chest, feeling his heartbeat throng through his muscles. How could his hands be so powerful and soft at the same time? To Jane it was a marvel.
"And I will wait, I will wait for you…"
Her lips brushed off Thor's.
Her soul was warm with content as she pulled away, her breathing steady, but her lips feeling strangely light at the absence of Thor's lips pressing on hers. Her mind swam with wonder.
That was… wow, she thought breathlessly. None of the recklessness of their first drunken kiss but soft and gentle and meaningful. Almost lulling with tenderness. Thor's lips hovered apart as Jane drew off him, her mind flittering at her unnatural forwardness. Was there no way she could kiss him normally, she half thought to herself, or did she always have to just throw herself at him?!
"And I will wait, I will wait for you…"
Her head drew back, the truth of what she'd just done startlingly digging into her system. Thor straightened himself up and closed the gap between them again before she could escape – his mouth latched onto hers with a touch so feather-light it made Jane's heart melt in her chest.
His fingers stroked through her hair as he eased Jane onto his lap, his arms around her waist, lips moving so slow and caring against hers. She could feel his smile.
There was nothing rushed or sloppy about the embrace, nothing frantic or desperate. Jane let herself relax against Thor, entrusting herself to more than capable hands. His mouth massaged hers, tongue flicking tantalizingly against her lips but never once forcing entrance, enticing her forward to him of her own accord
Jane breathed in the air from his mouth, loving its heat and sweetness. Her hand rose and found the pulse on his neck, giving herself some leverage as she slipped her mouth from his again.
Her lips hovered over his by millimeters, just letting him overwhelm her. Her heart was pounding in her chest, his taste in her mouth, the scent of him on his jacket, his arms around her, his face and those godly eyes of his swimming in her mind behind her closed eyelids…
Thor was chuckling as his arms firmed around her, and Jane's heart skipped a beat as he rolled them over, Jane's back lightly hitting back on the grass.
The sports star leaned over her, but never in all Jane's life had she ever felt so safe, so protected than with this hulking figure looming over her. His smile glinted in the shadows of the firelight. Jane was laughing with him as her arms reached up for his neck, hugging him tight. His head bowed down and he planted a sweet kiss on her cheek.
"You are incredible, Jane Foster." He breathed against her skin, peeling back just far enough to kiss her on the mouth, slow and sweet. "I don't know how you do this to me."
Jane merely grinned, her hands moving up to tangle in his hair. She reached up and pecked him on the lips. "Best." Peck. "Risk." Peck. "Ever."
