(Author's note: Hey! So, given that this story has gone up to nearly twenty chapters, I've decided to dedicate this chapter to a flashback of when Loki and Jane met. Hope you all enjoy and thank you all for your kind comments and sticking with me.)
Standing idly in the throne room, Loki's eyes wandered aimlessly as he took in the large room. Having been given notice that Thor's mortal love was to be presented to their family, the dark haired Prince's gaze fell upon his parents who sat above him. From how Thor spoke of Jane Foster, she did seem a fascinating individual, but given how most women Thor liked were foolish feather brains, the idea of Jane Foster being anyone worth knowing seemed slim. If anything, he found himself surprised Thor was still unaware that the Lady Sif had been harboring feelings for him for centuries; the lady in question seemingly quiet as she stood with Hogun and the other members of the Warriors Three. Drawing in a slow breath, Loki exhaled softly as he longed to return back to the book he had been in the middle of reading; its contents far more appealing than the idea of meeting a mortal. Still as he glanced down at the floor beneath his feet, it would not hurt to find out what this Midgardian astrophysicist looked like. From his brother's recent flings, Loki could only guess that Jane was of the sort who seemed intelligent, but lacked basic common sense.
"Are you sure about this? I mean, this is the first time I'm going to meet them. Don't you think it should be more private?," Jane said; anxiety prodding at her stomach as she tried her best not to fidget. Her relationship with Thor had already been gone through a really rough patch given that he had been gone for two full years, but after talking it over and over again, she found herself standing in front of the most gloriously built palace she had ever seen. The sight of the gleaming structure was one that both intimidated and provoked her curiosity. When Thor had talked with her about how Asgard looked, Jane very much doubted words could be used to describe the luxurious scenery. Wishing she had thought to bring a camera, Jane looked up at the blonde God of Thunder; his cheerful disposition doing little to calm her worries about how his family would react to her. From what he had told her, his mother seemed the sweet sort while his father seemed the type that focused heavily on rules. As she looked away from Thor, it was the knowledge that Thor's brother, Loki, had taken great pains to tease and mock his older brother's past lovers that caused her to be nervous. While she knew she had the ability to deal with any sort of personality, having to deal with ones' boyfriend's brother was something she wasn't used to. What if he didn't like her and proceeded to treat her like the others?
"You must not worry, Jane. I promise you will be well welcomed by everyone waiting to meet you in the throne room. Let's not keep them waiting. I am certain mother is anxious to meet you," Thor replied while placing a hand on her lower back and gently leading her in.
"I just feel like meeting them all in a more relaxed atmosphere might be better than this." Then, at the very least, I won't feel the same anxiety I did the day I threw up during an oral presentation, she mused to herself. As soon as she and Thor entered the large palace, Jane found herself speechless at the elegant interior. This place seemed filled with endless wonders! Finding herself wishing she had thought to bring a camera once more, she moved away from Thor to spin around; her curious gaze glimpsing elaborate paintings and flower arrangements that seemed more in place with medieval times. "Wow..," she managed to say.
Peering over at the ever curious woman, Thor's lips curled up in amusement at her reaction. As usual, Jane managed to react to Asgard in a way he had never witnessed before; his usual romantic companions shrugging off the glorious tapestries and such. Jane, however, seemed in awe. "It is a beautiful palace, hm? Remind me to take you on a tour once we get you settled. Come." He grasped onto one of her hands while gently tugging her toward the double doors that marked the entrance of the throne room.
Drawing in another breath, Loki exhaled softly as sounds of Fandral and Sif talking drew his attention.
"... I've heard she is a very exceptional mortal; very bright. Granted - that is what he said about Ingrid," Fandral murmured while looking over at the double doors.
"If she is anything like Ingrid, I am leaving. That woman was preposterous!," Sif exclaimed; her face tightening in a pained grimace at Ingrid's absurd questions and comments.
Stifling an amused chuckle, Fandral shook his head in amazement at Sif's remark about Ingrid. "The Lady Ingrid merely did not share what we all deem as common sense. She did, however, make up for it with her other worthy assets."
Glaring at the blonde swordsman, Sif shook her head before allowing her gaze to fall on the doors of the throne room. The sooner they all were introduced to this Jane Foster of Midgard, the sooner she could decide how she felt about the woman and move on from the day. Glancing over at Thor's younger brother, Sif moved away from Fandral and the others to speak with Loki. "What news have you heard of this woman, Loki?"
"Ah, Lady Sif; such an honor for you to speak with me," Loki murmured while bowing his head in acknowledgement. "As for your question - I have only really heard how unusual she is and that she talks endlessly about the stars."
"She does not seem the type for Thor, in all honesty," Sif murmured while moving to stand in front of Loki; the urge to leave presenting itself over and over again. But, she did not want to break her promise to Thor by leaving.
"Your jealousy is showing, Sif. For all we know, Jane Foster is the type for Thor," Loki muttered as he proceeded to straighten the sleeves of his dark tunic. "After all, if she is as exceptional as Fandral says, it could very well be a good fit for Thor to have someone who isn't as foolish as his past relationships."
Scowling in frustration at being called out for her jealousy, Sif backed away from Loki while shaking her head. "I am not jealous."
"Dear Sif, you do realize I am the God of Lies and Mischief, yes? I feel in all of Asgard, I am quite able to detect a lie and you have just uttered one. But, keep up hope - Thor and Ms. Foster might just be an ill fit for each other and you will have your chance to swoop in finally. Now, I -" he had been too caught up in his conversation with Sif to realize that the doors had opened. The sight of the woman standing next to his brother caused his heart to squeeze tightly as he took in her form. While she wasn't as voluptuous as Ingrid, her enthusiasm and bright eyes made up for it. The way she looked eagerly around the room, gasping excitedly at the various decorations that filled the room made him smile as her enthusiasm was refreshing. What struck him the most was her attire: the dark blouse revealing how lean she was to the way the denim jeans clung to her legs tightly. While she wasn't a traditional beauty, Loki found himself drawn to her.
The vast throne room was almost too much to take in, Jane mused to herself, as she proceeded to turn around once more; the sight of the towering columns with the dozens upon dozens of fiery torches making the room seem more and more like a set from a medieval film. The sight of sharp features surrounded by dark locks caused her to pause as the owner of the sharp features seemed to be staring intently at her; even going as far as to smile. Who was he? The smile, she noted, made his face look so unbelievably handsome that she could not look away. What also struck her aside from the luminous smile was how she felt as she continued to look at him. She felt as if she had known him far longer; the sense of his presence feeling so familiar.
"Ah, I see you've spotted Loki," Thor murmured; the sight of the small astrophysicist staring at his brother greeting him as he grasped onto an elbow and gently led her to the row of people awaiting their arrival. Smiling as they grew closer, Thor nodded in acknowledgement at Hogun and the others while glancing down at Jane who seemed determined to eye Loki. Curiosity filled the blonde God of Thunder as his past love interests typically paid far more attention to him than to his family or friends. Making a mental note to ask her as to why she was so curious about Loki, the two of them reached the group, "Brother, I would like to introduce you to Jane Foster. Jane, this is my brother, Loki."
His brother? They look nothing alike, her mind concluded, as she found herself standing in front of the still smiling individual. While Thor had a more blonde surfer dude appearance, Loki seemed more the type to prefer to stay indoors and unlock the secrets of the universe. It didn't help that she was able to fully see his intensely beautiful green eyes; the sight of them watching her curiously. Recognizing that she had been too quiet, Jane proceeded to thrust a hand out in an attempt to greet him properly. "Hi."
Eyeing her outstretched hand in confusion, Loki looked from his brother to the small, radiant woman in front of him. "What am I to do with that, Ms. Foster?"
Frowning at his confusion while wondering if handshakes weren't part of Asgardian tradition, Jane was about to pull her hand away in embarrassment before she changed her mind. Instead, "You're to take my hand with yours and shake it. It's a way to introduce yourself back where I'm from."
"Ah, but we're not on Midgard, Ms. Foster," Loki murmured, smirking faintly at her honesty.
"It's Jane."
His smirk faded as he reached for her outstretched hand; a warm, tingly sensation forming and coursing throughout his body as soon as his hand touched hers. As he continued to hold her hand, the room as well as the people in it seemed to almost vanish as he focused intently on the brunette astrophysicist in front of him. His eyes found and locked onto hers as he turned her hand so that her knuckles were facing upward before he drew the appendage up to his lips; he bending over slightly to kiss the knuckles softly. As he did so, the sight of the familiarity and curiosity for each other was glimpsed in her eyes which astonished him to no end. Who was this woman and why was he reacting to her in this manner? "It's lovely to meet you, Jane."
From the moment his hand tauched hers, Jane found herself equally focusing on the dark haired Prince in front of her; his sharp features causing butterflies to form in the pit of her stomach as the rest of the people she had yet to meet properly were long forgotten. Watching as he drew her hand up to his lips, Jane was thoroughly surprised at the gesture as she had fully expected him to deny the handshake. Just as his lips touched her skin, the most peculiar sense of belonging; of coming home filled her as she was, yet again, confronted with the feeling that she had somehow known Loki for a long time. The feeling intensified as the sound of her name coming from him caused an involuntary shiver to vibrate down her spine. "Nice to meet you as well."
"Call me Loki," he murmured; his curiosity over her only increasing as he found himself wishing the two of them were in a private setting so that he could have a chance to figure out why he was so drawn to her.
Smiling slightly at his choice of copying her, Jane nodded, "Nice to meet you, Loki."
His heart squeezed tightly at the sound of her using his name. How was it worldly possible that a mortal was able to trigger such intense feeling from him?
"Jane, let me introduce you to Fandral and the others. Brother, she will need her hand back," Thor murmured, wondering why his brother and Jane were acting the way they were. He had been expecting Loki to merely bow his head in acknowledgement given his brother's past reactions to his previous love interests. With Jane, however, the meeting between the two of them was unexpected.
Letting go of Jane's hand while frowning at the feeling of regret for doing so, Loki stepped away from the two of them; the need to create space far more important than manners. With Thor's other past relationships, he had taken little interest in the women; even going as far as to ignore them whenever they spoke as their presence meant little to him. Jane was different, Loki mused to himself as he watched his brother lead the small astrophysicist away to greet the others. While he knew little about who she was, what he did know of her paled in comparison to who he had met; the warmth of her hand still remaining on his.
Days that felt like weeks passed on as Jane slowly began to familiarize herself with the palace; its dozens of corridors and thousands of rooms gradually becoming all the more recognizable as she made it a point to remember the exact route from her bedroom to the kitchen. While she had been able to become closer with Hogun, Volstagg, and Fandral, the Lady Sif tended to avoid her at all costs; seeming to prefer to leave the room or speak privately with Thor. Thor, of course, denied any claims of the female warrior being jealous or disliking Jane, but Jane still couldn't let go of the way the dark haired woman acted around her.
Loki, however, seemed to be ever lurking around whenever she set foot out of her room; the dark haired God of Mischief greeting her in the morning and even accompanying her to her room whenever Thor was too busy to do so. While she, at first, was not used to his presence, she soon became comfortable with it as the two of them would wind up talking about anything and everything. Yesterday they talked about the vanishing-dimensions theory that suggested that systems with higher energy have a similar number of dimensions; his knowledge on said theory outstanding, so much so that she been in awe throughout the entirety of their conversation before switching the topic over to what he was like as a child. It truly fascinated her how much he knew about several of the topics that she was greatly interested in and more; the way he went into detail with each of his points caused her to wish she had known him long ago. Of all the people she had met on Asgard so far, Loki had made her feel the most comfortable with his willingness to talk about any topic that came up.
Now as she stood in front of his room as he had mentioned giving her a tour of the libraries within the palace, Jane could not help recognizing that she had seen more of Loki than of Thor. While she did her best to understand that he needed to focus his time on readying himself for the day when he eventually became King of Asgard, the fact remained that she had only agreed to come to Asgard with the promise that they would work on their relationship. Instead, she saw the God of Thunder during meals. Even then, he seemed to prefer to spend more time with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif during moments when he wasn't busy. Letting out a frustrated sigh as she found herself wondering if she had been wrong in giving Thor another chance, the door to Loki's room opened and the dark haired Prince appeared in the open doorway.
"Jane, you're here early!," Loki exclaimed, a happy smile gradually adorning his features as he peered down at her.
"I was getting a little lonely and was wondering if you wanted to start the tour?" His reaction to seeing her caused her concerns about Thor to dissipate as she returned his smile.
The thought of Jane being lonely caused his smile to dim as he, too, had noticed his brother's lack of attention where the mortal was concerned. While he understood the necessary tasks one needed to comprehend in order to become a King, a man who had Jane Foster as a lover and chose to ignore her was a fool. The days that the two of them had shared had become some of the best days of his life which, in all honesty, was surprising given how long he had been alive. If she was his, Loki mused to himself, he would never allow her to feel she wasn't wanted. If she was his, he would want to spend every moment with her; treasuring her laughter as well as her silence. Drawing a deep breath as he realized he had been in his thoughts far too long, Loki wanted to find some way to express that he appreciated that she had come to him. As he struggled between the dozens of options, he finally chose by reaching forward and gently cupping her right cheek. As usual whenever one of them touched each other, the now familiar surge of comfort mixed with belonging filled him; the sight of her own reaction lingering in her eyes as he found her looking up at him calmly.
"Well, my dear Jane, let us start our tour."
(Going to break this apart and flash forward to their second meeting. Thank you all for sticking with me!)
