Chapter 10: Home

Puente Antiguo was a small but sturdy community that seemed to have existed since the dawn of time. The population as a whole was large enough that everyone didn't necessarily know everyone else, however; the shops along the oldest part of town still functioned like a typical tiny town. If you worked along the main drag or lived in one of the lofts above the old stores, everyone along the street knew you and all your business. Jane's personal research area should have been exempt. It wasn't and Jane waved at several shop owners as they stepped out to see exactly who she had in the van with her.

"I am grateful to see that it has been rebuilt." Thor said, surveying the buildings from the passenger seat of her van. "It is as though the destroyer never came."

"SHIELD was the frontline of the recovery effort. Everything was rebuilt exactly as it used to be in almost no time at all." Almost no one had left, which had surprised Jane. Their stores were repaired and restocked and then it was business as usual. There hadn't even been a lot of fuss about the gas-line explosion cover story. Sometimes it almost seemed like the town-wide secret was a point of pride.

"You guys could have gone on to the house" Darcy said, appearing at the window with two enormous plastic wrapped pizzas between her hands.

"Thor wanted to see how the town was doing" Jane replied. "It was on fire the last he saw, remember?"

"Oh yeah." She turned to her red 2000 Kia and settled the food into the back seat before circling the car to the driver's side. "I'm so hungry, ugh. You tour as long as you want, I'm getting to the house A-SAP."

Jane laughed and waited until Darcy had slid into her car before turning the key in the van. She glanced at Thor as they followed the little red car through the town and said, "You didn't really want to see the town, did you? You just wanted to keep an eye on Darcy."

"A storm approaches, Jane. To drop our guard now would be unwise."

"Do you mean your mom's vision? The guy in the portal?" She wasn't sure what Fury and the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents had thought about Thor's mom's prophecy. Fury had appeared to take it seriously, but she also had only seen the man with that one expression on his face so it was hard to tell. Jane didn't have the luxury of skepticism in this matter. She had been there when the Destroyer had ravaged the town, she had been there when Thor had regained his powers and she had been there when he had disappeared into a whirlwind.

After all of that, why doubt the psychic queen of Asgard?

"Aye, that and more; it disturbs me greatly that this person moves through a labyrinth of soldiers and never is he seen or, if he is, it is not later recalled. The son of Coul has stated that the investigation into the incident that injured you has yielded only more questions."

"Pepper says that Stark took the security footage apart pixel by pixel trying to figure out how he's editing himself out… or she, I guess. The security system we use is his tech and he's not happy about being out-Starked."

"I do not think that the fault is in the effectiveness of Stark's contraptions, nor the attentiveness of Fury's men. I am beginning to believe that something else may be at work here."

"What do you mean?" The afternoon's previous unease reawakened in her stomach and flicked frequent glances between Thor and the road.

"I think it possible that there is an element of magic to these occurrences. Either someone possessed of magical ability or someone in the employ of a mage." He shook his head. "Hiding behind illusions is a common trick among magical practitioners; one Loki often used in his mischief. I cannot see that it would be difficult for an experienced mage to hide himself or another from Stark's security devices."

She had never thought it might be magic. Some part of her had assumed that it was a whacko S.H.I.E.L.D agent because who else but a spy could have the capability to get a whole vehicle in and out of the base without being seen? Actually, on that note, magic did make more sense. "Thor, could it be… I mean, could Loki have-"

"My father does not believe it possible for anyone to survive falling into the void" he said gently "My brother is dead, Jane. You need have no fear of him."

His hand was warm where it came to rest on the back of her neck. His thumb made comforting little circles behind her ear. Whether it was her he was reassuring or himself; Jane didn't know. There were things, details, about the fight with his brother that he had withheld. Small hesitancies in his speech where it seemed like was choosing his words carefully. At one point in his story, where he told of his confrontation of Loki inside the Bifröst, he had lifted his hand from her shoulder to caress the backs of his fingers against her cheek.

It might not have seemed out of the ordinary to her, as he'd barely stopped touching her since he had emerged from the portal, but there was an undercurrent of tension beneath the touch. She wasn't sure what it meant and, really, wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

Fifteen minutes out of town the van turned from paved civility onto an unmarked dirt road. They passed Old Stan's ranch, the heavy gate secured between the tall log posts that held an elaborate, and rather clichéd name sign, and then there was nothing before them but miles of prairie. Clusters of little yellow flowers stood out against clumps of pale green brush. The desert in bloom was a lovely sight indeed, and possibly what had first softened her toward 'buying' her house.

There were inconveniences about living so far out of town. It was quite a drive to the base for one thing, and she did worry about emergencies. However, now that she had lived in the house for a year; she found that she understood the appeal of distance. But for the occasional S.H.I.E.L.D semi-discreet security detail that took up residence in the outbuildings on her property, she had no neighbors but Old Stan who lived more than a twenty minute drive away and rarely stopped in.

As Pepper had pointed out to her, Thor was a distinctive man. When the Avengers made the headlines he would be recognized. Now that he was here, now that she was seeing him again armored and battle ready, she understood what Pepper had tried to tell her. Now she was intensely grateful for the woman's meddling.

This sort of isolation hadn't been her idea, however. Oh she had agreed with Pepper, and had warmed to the idea of having a little place more out of town than in. Of course she had been thinking along the lines of three or four miles out. It was through a combination of meddling, sneakiness, and outright manipulation by one Tony Stark by which she had come to live in more than an hour's drive from, well, anything. In hindsight, she realized that she ought to have known better, given Tony's highhanded ways.

Shortly after sharing her plans with Pepper, Jane had found herself knee deep in good fortune. While trolling real estate websites just because she was thinking about it, Pepper had just happened to stumble upon a lovely, seventy-five year old southwestern ranch house with two outbuildings and a fairly large acreage attached to it.

Oh it was a little further out of town than Jane had been thinking, Pepper had said. The house and both outbuildings needed some cosmetic work, but it was structurally sound and had an amazing view. The price had been too good to be true. In fact the whole deal had been too good to be true and Jane had known it, but she had let Pepper drag her out there anyway. Just as Pepper had assumed, Jane had fallen in love with the place then and there.

Jane, however, was nobody's fool. Neither was she a stranger to the mysterious ways of real estate. The property, cosmetic damage and all, was worth far more than Pepper claimed the asking price was. Far more than Jane could afford, regardless of her generous wage from Stark Industries. Eventually Pepper had broken down and revealed that it was, as she had suspected, Stark's house.

One of those things, his fiancée confessed, that he had bought up just because he felt like it, then never thought of again. At first Jane had adamantly refused the house. For four months, in fact, she had stalwartly refused to even talk about it. She had only relented on her birthday when, in a box wrapped in shiny golden paper (tied with a red ribbon, of course), Tony and Pepper gave her the deed to the house and the keys.

No sooner had she thanked them than Pepper had offered to oversee the little bit of work the house needed, considering that Jane was so busy with the Project and everything.

It was at this time that Jane had learned that the formidable team of Stark and Potts were going to do whatever it was they wanted to do, and there was not a thing that anyone could do about it. Pepper's little bit of cosmetic work turned into a major renovation which she charged, of course, to Tony's accounts. When Jane had protested (loudly and with much outrage), Pepper had, sweetly, bid her a Merry Christmas.

Tony's response had been even more infuriating: "Stop worrying. My pockets are deeper than you'll ever know."

She had been very slightly pacified when Major General Potts had given her selections of colors and materials for various rooms and allowed her to choose what she liked best. She was further mollified when she was allowed, with the same method of choice, to pick what furniture she wanted and where it would go. She had even been allowed, in the spirit of compromise, to purchase certain things, like her bedroom set and the patio furniture.

"We're almost there." Jane told Thor, enjoying the feeling of his fingers against the back of her neck. "It's a lot different than my… ah… prior living situation." and the memory of that moment was still a little embarrassing, even after all this time.

"We two would not have fit well if your small chambers, I think."

Inside of her a little knot of uncertainty eased. She hadn't known if he had expected to stay with her, or if he had wanted to. When Pepper had been decorating the house, Jane's only real request was that it not be too feminine. She wanted Thor to be comfortable there, to feel that it was his home. She was glad now that she wasn't expecting him to stay only to discover that he planned to live at the S.H.I.E.L.D. barracks at the base.

As quickly as that worry was assuaged, a new one rose to take its place. What if he didn't like the house at all? It was a good jump up from the trailer, but a long ways from a palace. What if it wasn't enough for him?

His hand slipped from her skin and she felt his touch on her knee as he leaned toward her. "Have I overstepped my bounds? I assumed that I would take residence in your home when I returned. On Asgard it would not be inappropriate for us to… My knowledge of Midgard courtship rituals is limited and if I have offended you in any way-"

"No, no" Jane said quickly "You haven't- why would you think that?"

"You are distressed. I assume it is because of my comment a moment ago. Your honor is very important to me, Jane. I would do nothing that would cause damage to your reputation."

It took her a moment to process what comment he meant, apply it to her apparent distress and from there figure out what he was talking about, how it applied to her honor and why he looked so adorably embarrassed. When everything clicked together in her mind she had to slow the car down while she laughed. Then she had to stop it entirely while she covered her face with her hands while she attempted to regain control of herself.

"You are a very confusing woman" he murmured, which only made her laugh harder.

"I'm sorry," she gasped, fighting back giggles "It's not what you think. I mean, you haven't overstepped any bounds or offended me or anything like that."

"I am relieved" he replied, though his expression remained uncertain.

"Really, it wasn't anything you said. I just… you aren't like anyone I've ever met and sometimes it sort of hits me that I don't know what you expect, or want and I let it scare me."

He regarded her for a long, silent moment, vivid blue eyes intense and searching. Finally he pressed his mouth to her forehead and said in a low voice, "We are, neither of us, on entirely familiar ground. Women I have known, but none such as you. None so baffling, certainly." He smiled when she laughed. "You must not fret so, Elskling. We will learn this together, you and I, and whatever is to happen between us will come in due course."

Her hand found his where it rested on her knee, and she smiled when he moved to intercept her fingers and entwine them with his own. "I don't know anything about Asgardian courting rituals, and the ones here kind of vary. I suppose you won't really understand what I mean when I ask 'are we together?'"

"That question does not refer to the two of us being in the same place at the same time, does it?"

She laughed and reaching for the gearshift, said "Okay. Due course, like you said. I'll try to stop freaking out all over the place." She pulled from the shoulder of the road, gazed toward where the dark smudge of her house rose up from the prairie.

"For the sake of clarity, min elskede, it is not improper for us to reside together?"

"Its fine" she assured him, "It's… sort of what I had hoped for."

The remainder of the drive was taken in silence, but Jane found herself catching her breath when the view of the house was clear. She pointed it out to him, and held her breath as he leaned forward and studied it as they approached.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked as she pulled into the driveway. The property was not yet fenced. It was one of those things she had promised Stark she would see to herself, and then promptly forgot. She'd get to it one of these days, probably.

Thor exited the vehicle and stood gazing up at the layers of wood, plaster coated brick and mortar. Jane moved around the van and stood beside him nervously tugging at the tail of her shirt and hoping that he didn't regret leaving his gold-drenched palace. Despite the truly phenomenal amount of stress that acquiring the house had put her under (to say nothing of the renovation), the final result was that Jane loved her house.

The porch that ran the length of the front of the house was peaked at the center where the front door was nestled. The second story's roof was divided into two sections with the small third floor rising up between them. Four wide floor-to-ceiling windows fronted the third floor with two smaller triangular windows filling the space to the crest of the overhang. Red slate decorated the peaked roofs, and rough log boards accented the plaster and brick.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of scrutiny, he put his arm around her waist and said, "Our home is beautiful, Jane."

Our home.

She leaned into him, resting her head on burnished metal, feeling light headed with relief. That was exactly what she had wanted it to be. Not just her house, not Jane's place. She just hoped that he liked the inside as much as he approved of the outside. "Think we'll both fit okay?"

A heartbreaking smile spread across his features "Let us go and see." His big hand engulfed hers and he led her toward the house but, when his boot touched the first step of the porch, he hesitated. He glanced down at himself and then looked up at her with an awkward smile and said, "A moment, Jane. This is something best done outside."

"What are you-,"

She moved toward him instinctively as he walked back to where he had studied the house. He cautioned her back with one hand, "No, Elskling, it is not safe for you to be close to me at this time."

The click of the deadbolt was the only indication that Darcy had stepped outside, as the door opened silently on well oiled hinges. Locked doors, Jane thought distantly, were a sign of one particular unwelcome visitor. She hadn't seen his car on the road, and hadn't noticed anyone speeding away from her driveway. Maybe Darcy was just being paranoid; the product of whatever had happened early this morning.

Maybe it was time to see about that fence.

"'Bout time you guys got here. I have the pies cooking… I love your oven, by the way. What's Thor doing with Mewmew?"

"I have no idea." Jane said as the Asgardian lifted the hammer toward the sky where dark clouds were rapidly forming.

"So, like, you two okay? You just sorta stopped in the middle of the road."

"A little miscommunication, I think. We're fine."

The younger woman was about to respond when a flash of blue-white light startled them both. Thin, spidery bolts of lightning were pouring down from the sky to Mjolnir, wrapping around Thor like a net. His cloak and armor seemed to blur, flaking around him like vibrant dust before they twisted upward into hammer's broadside. The event, whatever it was, lasted only a moment or two before it abruptly ended.

"Whoa." Darcy said as Thor strode toward them. Jane whole heartedly agreed.

His armor had changed from an elaborate metal breastplate to a simpler one of some kind of heavy leather. Silvery metal formed a V over his chest, and curved around his sides to join the front and back sections of armor together. The crimson cloak was gone but she saw flashes of the material crafted into the leather at his shoulders and different points over his torso.

The woven mail that had covered his arms was gone, leaving them bare from shoulder to wrist where he wore a sort of gauntlet or bracer; crimson cloth beneath wide strips of metal. His pants and boots remained the same as before.

Well, she thought, he had said more or less. If this was less, she wasn't complaining.

"I thought this might be more appropriate for home." He rumbled, brushing his fingers along her jaw, "You might say this is how I normally look."

"It's a good look." Jane murmured, blush heating her face.

"I'll say." Darcy added.

Thor chuckled, the deep tone of it washing over her and sending a cloud of memories sparking through her mind; the long drive to the SHIELD facility, the night spent on the roof of her research lab. Remembrances that she had clung to when it seemed like everything was going wrong and it felt as though she would really never see him again.

"Wow, it's really hot out here. I'm going to go back inside where the chemistry isn't as thick." In a whirl of dark curls, Darcy ducked back into the house leaving Jane and Thor alone at the bottom steps of the house. The college student had left the door open, either as invitation to enter or a method to spy. Jane considered various ways to throttle her incorrigible assistant (most of which involved some sort of nefarious fate for Darcy's precious laptop) until two large, warm arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her snug against a leather-and-metal clad body.

"Let her have her fun," Thor said "Darcy cares for you as her own family."

"I know she does." But it was weird somehow to hear someone say it directly. Not just because of Jane's own family history but because she knew enough about Darcy's family to know it had not been a peaceful, happy household. A mother absent for reasons Darcy never spoke of; an overbearing, mercurial father and an older sister who had, in Darcy's own words, only looked after herself. She hadn't even been bitter about that, which was a kinder attitude than Jane had for her father who had done much the same thing.

So it stunned Jane sometimes that Darcy, who had never had family that she could count on or even really love, should look at and interact with all the affection of a sibling. Strange that she should respond to Jane's often tentative affection with all the eagerness of a new puppy. It was flattering, heartwarming, and sometimes a little terrifying.

"I know she does," Jane repeated, shifting her hands between them to rest on the hardened leather. "If Darcy weren't teasing us, I'd be worried that she was sick or something. I'm not mad at her, don't worry."

The teasing, though a little exasperating, was not unexpected. In fact, it was a bit of a relief; whatever misadventure Darcy had experienced that morning, whatever Stark had said or done to make her so pale and shaky, hadn't been enough to subvert her sense of humor. She was well recovered, and that made Jane feel as though she could let the matter rest.

"Come then, Elskling, let us join her."

"You keep calling me that" Jane laughed "But I don't know what it me—ah!"

Moving so swiftly that she hadn't even realized what he was about to do, Thor had scooped her up into his arms. He held her aloft, one arm supporting her back and the other beneath her knees, regarding her with such intense adoration that she felt her eyes begin to warm with tears. He moved up the three steps to the porch landing with no effort at all, his gaze locked with hers as he approached the door,

"The Iron Warrior saw fit to inform me of a few Midgardian traditions he thought I ought to know about" he said.

"This is, um, a very particular one, Thor."

"I know." The emotion in his eyes made her tremble. "I am not a man of poetry… I cannot court you with pretty words about your how your beauty and spirit have captured me, or of my unending devotion. Were I to try, I fear you would laugh."

"You've done fine so far" she murmured, and was rewarded with that smile that she loved so much.

"Only because I have had two years to prepare" he chuckled, and then grew serious "Allow me to let my actions say what my words cannot." He moved forward, crossing the threshold into the small entryway between kitchen and living room.

She wanted to tell him that she understood what he was trying to say; that she didn't need pretty words and poetry. She wanted to tell him what it meant to her, how it frightened and elated her. How safe and cherished she felt when he held her. However, as his mouth crashed against hers, Jane found that she couldn't think beyond the prickle of his beard against her skin, the scrape of teeth against her lip, and the taste of him as he devoured her mouth.

The deliberate clatter of stoneware dishes against granite countertops broke them from something that might not have waited the two flights of stairs to the bedroom. Breathing hard, Thor set her gently on her feet, but kept his arms snug around her until her own breath steadied. When her blood stopped pounding in her ears, and she felt that she wouldn't embarrass herself by falling over, Jane slid her hand into Thor's and led him toward the kitchen.

Darcy stood at the island counter, setting out plates and cups and silverware. She flashed Jane a knowing smile and told them that the food was still going to be a few minutes. Guiding her with a hand pressed at her back, Thor ushered Jane to one of the two bar stools tucked beneath the edge of the counter top, and beckoned Darcy to take the other one. When they were seated, he detached a small dark leather pouch that had rested unnoticed at the back of his armor.

"I have gifts for both of you" he said, and dipping his hand in briefly before offering an object wrapped in dark blue cloth to Darcy. It wasn't very large; perhaps five inches long and four deep. Appearing deeply surprised, Darcy opened her gift slowly, working the knots in the cloth with great care before uncovering a beautiful little wooden jewelry box. The lid was carved with what Jane knew to be Yggdrasil, and inlaid with gold and a shiny material that reminded Jane of mother-of-pearl, but was more vibrant. The sides were carved with an intricate design that Jane didn't recognize.

"It's really pretty. Wow, no one's ever given me anything like this" Darcy said, opening the hinged lid carefully. The inside was divided into four sections and lined with what looked like blue velvet. "Thank you." She hopped off the stool and gave him a quick hug which he returned.

"I am glad it pleases you." The blond giant replied and explained that the interwoven runes lining the sides of the box were charms against theft. Darcy was deeply moved by the gift, nearly tearing up as she ran her fingers over every inch of it, grinning widely. She was always like that about gifts, though. She had gotten all choked up on her birthday when Jane had given her a corny mug with the words 'World's Greatest Assistant' printed on it.

Jane looked up as Thor held out a small bundle wrapped in white cloth and tied with silver ribbon. He looked… eager. Sweet and adoring, warm and strong and everything that she had never known she wanted. And the way he was holding that little parcel out to her somehow made him look more like a little boy offering a ragged flower to his crush, rather than a warrior-prince from another world offering a prettily wrapped present to his woman.

The cloth was incredibly soft against her fingertips, and silver ribbon slid apart at the slightest tug. She would tuck both away, she thought, in the little memory box her mother had given her, that she kept hidden beneath her bed.

As the layers of white silk fell away, Jane felt tears again begin to well in her eyes. Nestled in her palm lay an iridescent, rainbow-hued stone about the size of a quail's egg, rounded but roughly hewn. Silver wire had been woven around the stone to secure it to a thin, braided chain. Running a finger over its surface, Jane found that while it looked rough, it felt smooth as glass.

"I could not take you to see the bridge," Thor told her softly, "So I thought that perhaps I might bring a piece of it to you."

"This is beautiful, Thor" she murmured, awed at both by the beauty of the gift and the thoughtfulness in the gesture. Because Thor was the prince of Asgard; it was very likely that he had ample access to ruby, emerald, or diamond encrusted anything. But he had chosen this, a piece of the bridge that he had promised to show her; demonstrating again how he always kept his word. "Would you put it on me?"

Thor was glad to oblige, working the simple clasp as Jane lifted her hair away. She hadn't been sure before, but glancing down at were the pendant rested on the swell of her breasts, she was certain that it emanated a faint light that was reflecting off of her shirt.

She thanked him with a very thorough kiss which made Darcy giggle.

"Darcy, is something burning?" Jane's eyes snapped to her assistant who leapt off her bar stool, set her little box down, and rushed around the counter like a mad chicken, crying as she went

"The pizza!"

"How on earth have you not burned down your dorm room?"

"I told the advisor that it was a bad idea to assign me one with a kitchenette," she said, carefully lifting out the pies and setting them on the counter to cool "Mostly I just use the microwave."

Fortunately the food was only a little scorched and Darcy was quick to remind Jane of her promise to have dinner on the patio rather than inside. At this time of day, the back would be well shaded. Between the three of them it was one quick trip to get the bulk of everything outside, with Darcy rushing back in for drinks.

The back patio ran the length of the house as the front one did, but was twice-and-a-half as deep, so that a bit more than half of it was not protected by the overhang. It was paved with wide slabs of terra cotta tile, roughly cut and pieced together like a puzzle. The tile theme continued from the porch to a wide, square section of the yard about twelve or so feet out from the last step of the porch. At the center of this was a large fire pit made from rough stone slabs fit together and topped with smooth slate. It was about two feet high, and four across.

It was Jane's favorite part of the back yard, and one that she and Darcy had utilized frequently during Jane's forced time off.

Today, however, she wasn't ready to break out the firewood. Today she wanted to use the deck furniture that she and Darcy had fallen in love with in Santa Fe during an enforced vacation by Warden Pepper during Jane's two week convalescence after the explosion, and before she was able to start physical therapy. The table was a large, rectangular affair, with a solid wrought iron frame, and topped with decorated tiles in reds and whites. It matched almost perfectly with the chairs that she had got to go around her fire pit and she sometimes suspected that she had been led to it by some skillful manipulation on Pepper's part.

The chairs were also wrought iron, and were softened by plush red cushions. When the weather was good, and Jane was not needed at the Portal Hangar, and yet did not want to utilize her lab in-town, she and Darcy would take to the back yard with everything they could carry. Laptops, research notes, notebooks, pens and pencils, and Darcy's school books would be spread out to completely encompass the table as they both worked. Darcy had even set up a coffee station on the side board she had found and put by the back door.

Sometimes they would stay out there long after sunset, working by the light of computer screens and the lantern style porch lamps that hung from the overhang.

"Food, yay," Darcy sighed, carefully levering several slices onto her plate "Ouch, hot."

"Wait for it to cool first," Jane laughed

"I can't, I haven't eaten all day."

"I told you to get something for breakfast." Jane laughed again, claiming her own pieces and sitting down. Thor had taken the head of the table, and was casting critical eyes between Jane and the four slices that she had put on his plate. Trying to figure out, she thought, how to eat it without getting yelled at. Choosing to wait and observe, he took the can that Darcy had set in front of him and eyed the top quizzically.

"I was… busy" Darcy said, a blush rising in her face "You open it like this, Thor." She took her can of soda and pulled at the tab. Thor mimicked her with greater care than probably necessary, and took a large gulp. Both Jane and Darcy started snickering when his face twisted abruptly from curiosity to disgust. He choked it down and stared at the beverage accusingly,

"What in the name of Asgard is this vile concoction?"

"C-Coca-cola." Darcy snickered, "Oh gosh, I wish I had my phone. That face!"

"Don't have soda pop in Asgard? Here, give that to me. I'll get you some coffee." Jane giggled, taking the open can from him and setting her unopened one aside. While pizza and coffee weren't what she thought of as a particularly appetizing combination, she had a feeling that Thor would like it. Fortunately, her assistant had the forethought to make a pot while she and Thor had been otherwise occupied.

When she returned to the table, Thor had already devoured two of his pieces and was starting on the third. He apparently approved heartily of the pizza, feeling that it was a meal fit for warriors. He thanked her for the mug she sat in front of him, grinning when she reminded him not to smash it.

His manners have improved a lot since that first breakfast, Jane thought. She remembered being vaguely disgusted by the way he had wolfed down the breakfast she had bought him at the diner. He had been so strange; angry, demanding, imperious and, at the same time, chivalrous. There had been moments she had wanted desperately to slap him and others where she had found him unbearably charming.

When he had charged, metaphorical guns blazing, into the plastic city S.H.I.E.L.D. had built around Mjolnir, she hadn't thought he was brave. She had thought he was insane. But then the Destroyer had come, and she had watched him help evacuate the thrown; commanding drivers to wait until their truck beds were loaded with passengers, guiding panicked citizenry, scooping up frightened children and rushing them to waiting cars.

Calm and determined, focused but never cold. He was passionate about everything he did; whether it was sitting on her roof and telling her about Asgard, or striding out to meet his death at the hands of a thing far larger and stronger than he was.

She smiled now, watching him ask Darcy all sorts of questions about her school, what she studied, how she liked her instructors. Fond of her, Jane thought, feeling no jealousy. He looked at Darcy the same way Jane did; like a younger sibling… or a pet. She wasn't sure which view was winning just at the moment.

There would be more days like this one. The three of them sitting around a table, talking and laughing; Thor's hand seeking hers on the tabletop, Darcy whining about finals. There would be evenings spent outside, roasting hotdogs over the fire pit, and seeing what Thor thought of s'mores.

Due course? She could live with that.

Dark had fallen by the time that Darcy bid them farewell, assuring Jane that she was not too tired to make the long trek back to her dormitory. Jane worried after her like a mother hen, making certain that she had all of her school things, making her promise to stop along the way if she became too weary, making her promise to 'text' when she arrived. They had grown closer in his absence, and he enjoyed being able to see for himself the way they looked after one another.

He waited for her now in the central living area of the home that the Iron Warrior and his mate had gifted to Jane. It was a comfortable chamber, he thought. The floor was comprised of a sturdy tile squares of a mottled sandy color, the ceiling was richly stained wood beams over white-washed planks. There was a large fireplace set into one wall, with an assortment of deep sofas and chairs set before it.

Small tables set up here and there provided space for small personal items, which drew Thor's interest. A framed image of Jane, Darcy and a red-headed woman that he assumed was Stark's intended, sat beside a rough clay figurine of two canines curled together. A little, leafy plant sat in a painted pot on a table by one of the large windows that characterized the house. There were several thin, garishly printed books lying on a low, square table before the fireplace; Stark's image was on the topmost one along with the woman from the framed portrait.

"Want to see the rest of the house?" He turned at the voice, and found her standing just within the room's arched entrance. She was smiling, but her face was pale and drawn. He had thought that she appeared tired in the afternoon, before they had left the base, but now she looked as though she might collapse at any moment.

In truth, he wasn't much far behind her.

It had been a strange yet wonderful day, and though his heart was full and light, his body was beginning to feel the weight of fatigue. Fighting his way through Jane's Bifröst had been difficult, so say the least. Without the aid of the Captain and the Iron Warrior, he very much doubted that even his great strength alone would have been enough to make it through. After, he had been too preoccupied to recognize just how much of his strength he had used in the crossing.

Battling the soldiers of S.H.I.E.L.D. while mortal had not tired him as much as Jane's Bifröst had done.

"Another day, I think. You are tired, Elskling; you must rest." He explained gently, crossing to her. She leaned into his arms with a sigh, resting her head against his shoulder. He would have to acquire clothing from this realm, something that would allow him to feel her when she was pressed close to him like this. "There will be ample time to explore our home when I return from Fury's training mission."

"It's only for a few days," she sighed, "But I really wish you weren't going."

"I, as well, but I will return. I will always return to you." He kissed the top of her head, ran a hand over her hair. "Will you allow me to rest beside you tonight?"

"Only tonight?" She asked, looking up at him with those lovely brown eyes. For a moment it was all he could do not to scoop her up and a find the bedroom— any bedroom. But the fatigue in her face stilled him. He would not be a beast, he would not be selfish. Jane's comfort and welfare came far above his desires. He would be a gentleman, and he would be patient, until Jane was ready to accept him as her lover.

"I will gladly share your bed any and every night you allow me the privilege" he murmured catching her lips in a soft, chaste kiss.

Author's Comments:

Update: This chapter has been beta'd. Big thank-you to Lcsaf for her hard work and patience: especially for the work, this chapter had a lot of mistakes.

I should have made a note of this in the last chapter but, better late than never: I will provide translations to all the Norwegian words I use… after Jane gets Thor to tell her what he keeps calling her. That's storyline, so I don't want to spoil it yet.

Also, I haven't forgotten the gift that Hogun sent for Jane, it's just didn't work for this chapter.

A great big Thank You to both my translators, all-in-the-past and immiD. You both will probably be hearing from me again soon o^^o

Tony and Pepper are like the fairy godmother from Ella Enchanted (the book, mind you), they give you things whether you want them or not. Jane adores Pepper, and finds her presence very calming… when Pepper isn't driving her nuts, that is.

Also please let me know about any spelling errors you catch; my keyboard and I still aren't getting along. Now instead of dropping T's, it's switching them with Rs. So instead of writing 'our home' I kept writing 'out home'. I think it might be possessed.