They'd been going out for about two weeks before Thor asked if she'd like to come back to his place. She'd hedged for a few minutes before finally saying yes and blushing. It had made Thor smile. She was always blushing at something he said or did. He'd figured out that it was because liked him, and she didn't know what to do about it. For a young woman who was as beautiful and smart and sweet as Jane was, she was also shy and unsure of herself. It made him want protect her, and shelter her from things that could hurt her- which was a completely alien feeling to Thor. He did not typically suffer from White Knight Syndrome. He was more of a 'to each their own' kind of guy.

"Make yourself at home," Thor said as he opened the door to his apartment. He was a little apprehensive all of a sudden. It struck him that a lot of himself was out in the open in the way he had decorated his apartment. The intensity that he wanted Jane to like it, and to like him, came as quite a shock to him.

Jane nodded, smiling shyly. "Okay," she said, looking around in curiosity. "Thanks. Oh!" She picked up one of his carvings from the table in the hall. His heart beat a little faster than normal. What was she thinking? Her back was to him.

"Those are nothing," he said. "I just do that in my spare time. My hands...I can't leave them empty for too long. They need something to do." He'd had that strange handicap since...hmm. Probably since... Interesting. He couldn't remember exactly why it had started, but he'd been doing it for the past five years. He was a little embarrassed by them though. It was such an unusual thing for a grown man to do- to carve animals in his free time. Even if they were quite good, if he did say so himself.

"You make these?" She asked, turning around, holding up the one she'd been examining. Ah. Not the best specimen. It was one of his elephants that she held, but it was an earlier one, before he'd gotten the tusks right. She seemed impressed though, which heartened him a bit. It was quite unsettling, the way she could sometimes make him feel doubtful, or awkward. He'd always thought of himself as quite confident, but she made him a little unsure of himself at times. It was not necessarily a bad feeling- just surprising.

"Yes. That one's not my best. You can see on the left tusk, I've chipped away more than I should have."

Jane's delicate brows rose. "These are really good," she said, impressed. "You're quite talented."

They were good enough, for the most part. He agreed with her. "Thank you," he said. "Would you like a beer? Or some tea? Water?"

She blushed again, putting the elephant back down and playing absently with the folds in her pretty floral dress. "Umm. Yes," she said, making Thor smile.

"Which one?" He asked, and she ducked her head in embarrassment, laughing a little at herself.

"Umm, the beer...thanks."

Nodding, Thor turned to the kitchen, and for some reason that he couldn't quite explain, he turned back around and said, "You can have it, if you want. The elephant," he added, seeing the confused look on her face.

Feeling little unsettled by why he had done that, he shrugged it off and got them beer.

Oh. Well, that had been surprising and quite sweet of him. Jane got a feeling that he wasn't used to being sweet, though it seemed to come pretty naturally. Perhaps he just hadn't had many opportunities to show it. He seemed almost surprised at times by the things he would say, which Jane thought was adorable.

She wasn't sure if she was ready yet though, to have sex. Thor was great and all, and god knew her body wanted it, but really- it had been two weeks! Did he expect it though? Was that what was normal these days? It had been a while for her.

To calm her nerves, she took a swig of beer- forgetting that she wasn't used to the taste- and almost spat it out.

"Argh!" She coughed after managing to swallow. "Oh my god. That stuff is...really good."

Thur chuckled, taking a drink. She was obviously not someone who drank alcohol. It was cute, the way she wrinkled her nose in distaste even as she tried to pretend she liked it. She was quite bad at hiding the way she felt. But the reasons she felt those things- those intrigued the hell out of Thor. For instance- why was she trying to drink beer when she would clearly rather not be? He'd offered her other things, but that was what she'd chosen.

"So..." She said, tapping her fingers against the bottle nervously. "I guess...Ummhmm..." Thor was pretty sure he knew what she was trying to say, but was quite enjoying watching her fumble around for the words. She tried again. "Well, that is to say...here's the thing-"

She looked so unsure of how to continue that he finally took pity on her. "We don't have to sleep together," he told her. While he would, of course, love to, he didn't want to scare her away. He really had just invited her up to his apartment to spend time with her.

She looked at him, startled. "Oh. But I want to," she said, blushing crimson.

Thor's brows rose. "Really?" Well that was surprising. He'd had her pegged as a much more old-fashioned kind of girl who might have even wanted to be engaged before sleeping together. He hadn't really thought that far ahead, honestly. A bit of a flaw in his plan.

"What?" She asked, still red. "Don't you want to?"

Was she crazy? "Of course I want to. But are you...ready? I don't want you to feel like you have to do this."

She took a swig of beer, managing not to cough this time. Her eyes had become focused on his lips and she seemed almost entranced, he noted with amusement and desire. All of a sudden it wasn't just that Jane was sitting on a couch across from him. It was that Jane was sitting on his couch, in his apartment, across from him and looking beautiful and sexy and staring at his lips. The entire atmosphere of the room changed, becoming charged.

Thor stood setting his beer aside and holding out a hand to Jane. She stood and took it, and he led her back to his bedroom.

"If at any point things go too fast for you, let me know," he said.

"I won't," Jane said. "I mean, they won't. But I...um...will. Let you know." She grinned, and Thor would have chuckled, except that he was too turned on to laugh.

He tried to go slowly, but Jane was having none of it. It had been a long time coming, and she was ready for it to just happen. He was so big, and muscled, and hard. It was exhilarating to have him focused on her. She'd only been with Keith before, and it hadn't been anything like this. It was a whole new experience.

Afterward, they lay together, spent. Thor had pulled Jane to his side and kept her there with an arm draped over her waist and against his chest. He was a surprisingly comfy pillow.

"That was..." Jane struggled to find the word.

"Life-changing?" Thor supplied, making Jane laugh. He was so full of himself. Although...he wasn't wrong.

"Basically."

Thor grinned with satisfaction, kissing her. "Good. For me too."

Jane blushed a little, remembering some of her less than staid behavior. It was a little embarrassing, how wild he made her, but she guessed that as long as he enjoyed it she would try not to think about it too much.

She didn't end up going him that night, and actually had the best night's sleep she'd had in...a long time. It was so calm and peaceful with Thor. She felt safe.