A/N: So I've had a hard time writing this fic, which means that sadly it is going to be pretty short. Sorry about that- I had other hopes for it, but I want to get this wrapped up before moving on to a Darcy/Loki fic I really want to write. There should be two more chapters. Also, I can't remember/find if I've said how old Jane is, but I've meant for her to be twenty-six. Again- sorry, guys! I may write a sequel, because I really like Thor and Jane, but if I do it won't be for at least a few months. =P
Thor lay in bed that night. Easter. The holiday had never had much significance to him, and honestly, it still didn't really. But this particular day, this he would remember for a long time. Of all people, the 'friend' Loki had said would be joining them for dinner, of all people, it was her. Jane. Jane...
He'd thought of her often, in the months since he'd seen her. More than he'd thought of any other woman. It drove him crazy! There was no reason for it. They'd barely spoken, one time, at a random bar in another state. He'd gone home with another woman, for god's sake! So why had her light blue eyes haunted him? Why had he been able to remember so vividly every part of their last encounter? Ask him about any of the women he'd been with before or since- and there had been quite a few...Thor was not one to leave himself unsatisfied- and he wouldn't be able to tell you much. Perhaps the color of their hair, their name... But Jane. He could remember the expressions on her face, the way she would seem dismayed by something she said, or the way he had startled her into laughter, how she'd seemed so surprised that he had wanted her number.
And then today, seeing her again, it had hit him once more how incredibly beautiful she was. It was funny that he hadn't even thought about her beauty so much before. It had been her personality that had struck him so forcefully. But once he'd seen her again, he realized how incredible a feat it was that her personality could overshadow her beauty, especially when, unlike his brother's girlfriend Darcy, Jane was by no means particularly talkative, nor did she want to be center-stage.
Still, she was making him feel things that confused the ever loving hell out of him. He'd wanted her to feel comfortable- she'd seemed a little flighty at first, as if she wasn't sure how she would fit in at what Thor now realized to be quite a close, family gathering. There was no way that Jane would have known, but it was one of the first times that he and Loki had seen each other since a family feud and had separated them for ten years. And it had been the first time Thor had met Darcy. And when Jane had finally settled in and begun joking back with Darcy, he'd felt proud of her. He'd regretted bringing up the ridiculous story of the old Italian woman, because, honestly, Thor didn't think it made him look too great...but then she'd started laughing and he'd been glad that he told it. She had a beautiful laugh. Yet there was something about it, perhaps even just the expression on her face, that made her seem unused to it. Like she was perpetually startled by the sound of her own happiness. The thought made his heart ache strangely.
"Ah Jane," he said to himself quietly. "What are you doing to me?"
That night Jane lay in bed thinking of Thor, too, filled with excitement for their date the next night. It had been years since she'd been on any kind of date, and she was...looking forward to it. Though that probably had more to do with Thor than with the idea of telling her life story once again.
She slept fitfully, as always, but this night her dreams were plagued with images of the big, blond man, and of his strange intensity.
As she fiddled with her hair before leaving to meet him the next night, she felt an unusual wave of self-consciousness when it came to her looks. Why did her hair have to have a curl right there? And why was her concealer not hiding the bags under her eyes well enough? And she really shouldn't have had that second slice of pecan pie...now her dress felt too tight, and, lordy, everything was going to go wrong- Thor would take one look at her and realize that he'd made a huge mistake asking her out.
Stop that! She berated herself, recognizing that these were simply old insecurities rearing their heads. Thanks a lot, Keith. She sighed and shook her head to dispel these thoughts. Thor had given no reason for her to believe that he thought less of her. He had only ever been kind. And kind of rude. But mostly kind.
Squaring her shoulders, Jane forced herself to accept the person in the mirror. I love who I am, she told herself. I do. I am a brilliant, beautiful (okay, wow let's not get a huge head about this- or actually...screw it. DO get a big head about this)- god damn GORGEOUS independent woman who deserves a man who can see me for who I am and not just who they want me to be. If that man is Thor, then great. And if it's not, then...that's his loss.
He was lost. He was completely done for. Jane was wearing a tight red dress that showed off her figure to great effect, and brought out gold highlights in her dark hair. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes sparkled, and there was such an air of hopefulness about her. Fuck me, he thought, scrubbing a hand over his face.
"You look beautiful," he said in greeting. She blushed and smiled, to devastating effect.
"Thank you," she said, and slid into the booth opposite him. "You too."
Thor smiled and she blushed even harder. "I mean," she stuttered, "Obviously you don't look beautiful, because, I mean, you look quite handsome and all, with your...um, and, yes...oh god," she said, holding her head in her hands. "Goodness gracious, just shoot me now."
"I am glad you find me attractive," Thor said, chuckling, charmed by her. "I think so too."
Jane smiled at that and cocked her head to the side. "Oh," she said, not really sure how to respond to such a comment. "Mmkay." He was so amusing! She was sure a lot of people would read him as extremely narcissistic, which he was, but it didn't aggravate her at all. It didn't seem unhealthy. He just loved who he was and wasn't embarrassed by it.
A waiter came by and asked if they knew what they wanted. Thor looked to her in question.
"Yes, I'd like spaghetti with meatballs," she said. It was her favorite.
"And I'll have the lasagna," Thor said. The waiter nodded, writing their orders down, and promised to be back with it soon.
"So, did you fall in love with Italian food when you went to Italy?" Jane asked, latching on to the first subject she could think of. She got the feeling that he was pretty comfortable with silence, and at the moment she was way too nervous to be quiet.
"Yes," Thor said.
Jane waited. Then started laughing.
"This is funny?" Thor asked, confused. Had he been amusing? He hadn't thought so.
"Just," she snorted, "I'm sorry. But, you're so funny sometimes!" She broke off, caught in laughter again.
While Thor was glad to have provided her with amusement, he was still unclear about how he had done it. He just looked at her giggling into her hands across from him, her hair around her shoulders, glinting off of the low lights of the restaurant, and felt a pulse of warmth in his heart. She had glanced up and the expression on his face had sent her back off into giggles.
"Sorry," she said a few moments later when she'd gotten them under control. "I am so sorry. Just, the way you talk sometimes. It's extremely amusing."
"The way I talk?" Thor wrinkled his brow. He couldn't remember being told that he was funny before.
"Yeah," Jane said. Seeing the look on his face, she hastened to explain. "Oh- not in a bad way! I really like it. It's just, you're really abrupt a lot of times, and I don't expect it. So then I'm just waiting for you to elaborate, but," she waved her hands, "you're done."
"Oh," he said. Yes, he'd heard this before. "Yes, I can be quite abrupt."
Jane started laughing again. "Sorry," she giggled. "Just, you did it again. It makes me so curious what's going on in that head of yours."
Thor cocked his head to the side. What an interesting creature. She was so unlike the kind of girl he usually spent time with. Well, 'time'... He never went on dates. Had never really wanted to. Dates were to find out more about a woman, and he'd just never really cared before. But Jane- she intrigued him beyond comprehension. It had been such an unusual mood he'd been in, at that bar. On any other night, he wouldn't have approached her. He was immensely glad that he had, though.
"Ask me anything," he said. "I'm an open book." It was true. He didn't lie. He found lies to be a waste of time. They bored him. Truth was always so much more interesting, so much more dangerous.
Jane smiled widely.
"What?" he asked.
"Just...'I'm an open book.'" She laughed. "I would never call you an open book. I bet you're super good at poker, with that poker-face."
He was, actually. But he'd meant it. "Truly. Ask me anything you'd like."
"Okay..." she said, "I don't know. What are you thinking about right now?"
"How sexy you look," he answered immediately. "The way your nose crinkles when you think. Whether your hair is as silky as it looks. Why you are blushing right now."
Her cheeks had steadily gotten redder and redder as she grew more flustered. His eyes were so intense and heated, and he stared her directly in the eyes until she lowered hers in shyness. There was no doubt that he was absolutely sincere.
"Oh," she said. Well, he had told her he'd be honest.
"Why are you blushing?" he asked.
"Erm, well...it's been a while since-" she broke off. "I don't know. I guess, I just haven't been complimented by a nice guy in a while."
Thor frowned. "How is this? I find it hard to believe that men do not compliment you all the time. But you said something like this, before. In New Mexico. You were surprised I wanted your number. Why?"
It was disconcerting, all this talk about herself. She wasn't really used to it. It was oddly nice though, that he seemed almost outraged for her.
"Well, guys usually just want to...get into my pants," she said, blushing. "So to speak. They don't really take the time to get to know me." Thor felt slightly guilty. He was like that with most women, too. But not with Jane, he admitted. I really do care... "So when I get compliments that end with '...so sleep with me.' I just don't really feel as complimented."
"I see." Thor thought this over as the waiter came back with their food.
"How old are you?" he asked a few moments later.
Jane choked on her bite of spaghetti. Honestly! She didn't actually mind, but she had to smile at the incredible indelicacy he could speak with.
"I'm twenty-six."
Thor nodded, apparently satisfied with this. Jane felt a bit of the devil in her rise, though, and decided to turn the tables.
"How old are you?" she asked.
"Thirty-two."
Oh. She'd kind of figured him for that. She still felt a little reckless though. She couldn't restrain herself, even though she knew it wasn't tactfully a good idea...
"Do you smoke?"
"No. Can't stand the smell." He tilted his head at her as if trying to work something out. "Do you?"
"God, no." Keith had picked up smoking when they got together. The stench of cigarettes had blanketed their tiny apartment. "Do you drink?"
"Yes. Occasionally. But I am past the age where getting drunk has any appeal." His head was still tilted. Still working on something. "Do you drink?"
"Sometimes." No. Never. Keith had drunk as well, and he had not been a happy drunk. But she didn't want to seem like a complete wuss in front of Thor.
"Jane," Thor said. "I can't help but feel you are trying to achieve something particular with these questions. Do you mean to scare me off? I hope not, because I like you. I doubt anything you say could scare me off."
This made Jane a little ashamed. He was so sweet... What was she doing? It was horribly rude to be so blunt, and incredibly unlike herself. Thor didn't deserve to be treated like that, especially now when he was being so nice about it. She felt herself blush with embarrassment.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm so sorry. I don't know why I...um. Did that."
He considered her for a moment, and she wondered what he was thinking. His face really gave nothing away. Unlike hers, she thought sourly. She could hide nothing. It felt like he had a bit of an unfair advantage.
"I don't mind," he said, the intensity in his eyes startling her every time she let herself stare at them. It was mesmerizing. "You're cute when you get confrontational."
Oh dear, Jane thought, her heart still pounding and a warm glow buzzing through her. It was after he had dropped her off back at her house. He'd been a perfect gentleman, too. Well, not exactly. He'd kissed her. But...she hadn't really minded. It had been quite a nice kiss.
The five o'clock shadow he'd been sporting had felt interesting against her cheek, and he'd certainly known what he was doing. Jane had felt slightly unprepared and unsure of herself. It had been a while since she'd kissed anyone. But it had been a nice kind of unsure, almost like a redo of her first kiss. And what a new first kiss it had been.