InsaneJournal

Who: Jane and Thor
What: Before the party that never was
Where: Jane's apartment
Rating: Green

Jane had to admit she liked the decorations Darcy had put up. The lines of her modern apartment were slightly more tolerable with a decor of colored paper lantern and foil-wrapped stars. It had already been a long day and Darcy's help was invaluable. Darcy had just left to pick up fresh bread and some wine and Jane ducked into the kitchen where Thor was chopping vegetables for salad.

"Hey," she sighed. "Crazy day. You doing okay?"

Thor gave a tired smile back, but it was a good tired. He had Stormbreaker now, he was able to bring Jane into space with him, and he had both eyes now. Really, it was a win/win type of day. "Yes," he said with a nod, finishing up the last cucumber. "I truly am. I'm sorry we had to do all of this on your birthday, and now you have an event you need to host on little sleep." Putting down his knife, he turned around to look at her. The whole time they were up there, he worried that maybe he'd made the wrong decision, but no -- he needed to start sharing these things with her. He wasn't going to let the same problems come between them as before. "Is it selfish of me that I'm grateful you came with though? I'd forgotten how much of a horrible experience that was before, reigniting the forge." He shuddered and looked down at his arms, the burns already fading from sight but still present enough to remind him. "I think twice is more than enough in a lifetime."

Jane was exhausted and as much as she might like to call it an early night and crawl into bed beside Thor to sleep, company was coming. Sometimes friends helped after hard days. "No. I wanted to go," Jane said, stepping in close. She'd adjusted to the eyepatch so even though Thor looked more himself with it gone, it was strange to see him without it. Seeing one brown eye alongside his natural blue would take some getting use to as well.

"I'm glad you're okay." There were a few times that reminded Jane just who and what Thor was. Beyond the trick with the thunder or anything else, there were a few times when he earned the title of god. When he scarified himself to the Sentinel at Puente Antigua. When he walked into Malekeith's maelstrom during the Convergence. And today. it was the bravest thing Jane had ever seen.

Thor reached out to Jane and pulled her in close, his chin nuzzling the top of her head, and let out a breath that he didn't even realize he was holding. "As long as you are by my side, I feel I can weather anything." Since they'd gotten back together, he'd felt a weight off his shoulders, and hadn't realized how badly he needed her reassuring presence. Even when they were separated by duty and space, knowing that she was waiting for him had always helped.

"It meant a lot that you asked me to go with you." It gave her hope they could grow beyond the things that had driven them apart. Jane let herself lean against him for a moment longer. "Okay." she sighed. "I should finish setting the table. Will you fill a pot, get some water boiling for me?"

"Of course." With a quick kiss, he pulled away reluctantly, watching as she went off towards the dining room. He may not be a cook, but boiling water was a technique he could handle. Turning on the water, he stared down at the pot for a moment before flicking his gaze up out of the window. His brow furrowing, he peered out closer. What had been a clear day was now turning smoky, for lack of a better word. There was something on the wind, some sort of ash. The water overflowed, startling him. He turned the faucet up, and when he looked out the window this time, he could hear the faint strains of emergency vehicles' sirens, and ...were those screams?
That wasn't ash. Thor's mind flashed to the other memories, the dreams he had at night. Of a battle in Wakanda, a lost battle, and the dust ...the dust was everywhere.

Jane.

With an overwhelming need to see if she was okay (his memories didn't give him any reassurance), he tried his best to be calm as he moved quickly in the living room. Seeing her there, standing, he let out a choked cry. "Jane. It's happening."

There was a not so distant explosion and the windows rattled. Smoke billowed across the sky. Jane's mind flashed to other events before she realized the one Thor meant. It was getting darker outside and as she stared out the balcony, Jane couldn't tell what was smoke anymore. "Thor..." She reached out and he was there. Jane gripped tight onto his forearms, feeling the solid realness of him and trying to think past the rushing in her ears. Above them, the foil stars twinkled in the falling light.

Think. Solve the problem. "People...people are going to need help. Kids or babies in their apartments alone. We have to check on them. And Darcy.." Her phone buzzed and Jane checked it almost without thinking. "I'll start that. You need to go find Darcy, she's locked in a store room somewhere."

After reading Darcy's post, he shook his head. "How? If we don't know where she is, and it appears her phone is dying. That would be a fruitless search. My brother has ways of locating her, he always seems to know where she is. We will have to trust in Loki to do right by Darcy and rescue her." Would his life always be full of hard decisions? "I'll help you with this building. I'll start on the bottom, you start with the top. We should group the survivors into one of the upper apartments, those tend to be bigger. Maybe you can speak with the owners' of the penthouse here." His phone was going off incessantly, notification after notification. If he stopped to look at it now, he wouldn't be able to deal with what was needed. "Once everyone is settled, we can worry about the others."

Jane looked conflicted but nodded her acceptance. She stepped away from Thor and there was a brief flash of white light. When it passed, Thor's Earth clothes had been replaced with his armor. "I'll text you the apartment number so people know where to go. Then I'll have to go find a set of keys from the super, I can't kick in doors."

Thor nodded distractedly, already trying to determine how many people were in the building, if they would have to feed them, how to get a hold of the authorities in case of children (and he could already hear small ones crying). Opening the doors peacefully had not been on his list of things, but in deference to Jane, he nodded. "Sounds good. I will meet you there." And because he had to, he gave her a hard kiss goodbye. "I love you. Stay safe. Do not do anything to endanger yourself and pay attention to your surroundings. If you have to flee, flee. There is no shame in it."

Jane nodded, though the resolved look on her face suggested she had no intention. "I'll be fine. See you soon."