jane foster (sea_bass) wrote in rooms, @ 2015-01-20 12:03:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !marvel comics, *log, jane foster, thor |
Log: Jane and Thor
WHO: Jane and Thor
WHAT: Reconnecting
WHERE: Stark Tower
WHEN: Way, way, back. Shhh.
WARNINGS: None!
Jane supposed that her getting acquainted with this world so quickly was a good thing. It wasn’t that much different than hers, after all. All that missing was a little bit of history. Well, and all her things. Living at Stark Tower wasn’t so bad. The room was accomodating and the view was nice. She simply missed her things. Small things. Her clothes. Her lab. Her notebooks. The little things she always missed the most and with that thought in mind she roamed the tower, pacing as she tried to think of the best way around this longing. Down halls, through the lobby, and back up again, any place that she had unimpeded access to, she paced. The restricted areas had no appeal to her, she merely needed to stretch her legs. Maybe she could drive back on a weekend. Maybe she could fly. Maybe Darcy would come with her. Maybe she could— She bumped into someone. She really should have been paying more attention, and she pulled her gaze up from her phone. “Sorry, I wasn’t—” Of course, she would run into Thor. Of course. She had given him some space. Two years, he had said he’d been without her, and that was saying nothing about his usually-more-than-a-handful brother or the future-alternate-reality daughter. So she gave him some room and busied herself with the files Bruce Banner had given her and the occasional chats she had with Pepper Potts. Now she wondered if she should have been trying to see Thor sooner. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a red tank, she smoothed back her brown hair as if trying to apologize for her casual appearance. She had hoped that when she did run into him again she’d be more put together. “I wasn’t looking,” she finished with a sheepish smile. “Jane.” There was warmth in his voice regardless of her appearance, both hands coming out to reach for her arms and steady her. Much had changed since the last time he saw a Jane, and he had been through two others. There had been the first that helped him return the Tesseract to Asgard, and the second that had seemed so different. And now this one who reminded him of the warmth that Midgard had brought to his life. She didn’t look much different than the last time they’d seen one another. Aging would hold off for a few more years and until then, he could pretend that it might hold off much longer. “It’s all right.” And maybe he should have expected to see her given that they were both around the tower, but he hadn’t. There were times when he did not see one or other of the Avengers for days - it was simply accepted. They all had other things and he had both Asgard and the whole of the Nine Realms to watch over. “I’m glad to see you again, Lady Jane.” As his hands steadied here she forgot most of her nervousness and simply smiled back at him. It had always been easy to smile at him. “It’s really good to see you too,” almost leaning closer out of habit but settling herself firmly on her heels when she caught herself. She even laughed softly at the title. She would never get used to being called that, even if it added a bit of distance, when he could just as easily say only her name. She ducked her chin a moment to shake off that thought. “I was, ah...” She waved her phone around as if it explained things. “…Pacing.” That was as best of an explanation she could come up with in a random hallway. Speaking of which, she turned to look at their surroundings, acutely aware now that they were out in the open where anyone could gawk. “Did you want something to drink? Water? Coffee?” She could definitely go for some coffee right about now and she pointed around and behind him, to a pair of elevators. “I’m just a few floors up if you want to come in.” The waving of the phone got a perk of one eyebrow, but he nodded and smiled again. “Ah.” No matter how much time he spent here, there were still things he didn’t understand, such as why her pacing involved a phone. But mortals did seem to be very attached to the small handheld devices - though Ben had not been - and he came to accept it as simply something that was. “I would, aye.” It was only after her glance around that his own gaze left her to look. There were others in the hallway, mortals that he knew by sight though not by name, and they too received a smile and a nod from the Asgardian, but it wasn’t the same smile she received. “Coffee would be fine.” He still had preference for that particular drink as he started towards the elevator, his steps measured to match hers. His agreement made her smile, and she hadn’t realized that she had been holding her breath until he said yes. Things might have changed, and she was still navigating what had and hadn’t. Small steps. It wasn’t so hard. Moving past him she led him to the elevators, nearly bouncing on her heels with nervousness as they waited for the car. With a soft ding it appeared, and she hopped in and pressed the button for her floor. Once he was in, the doors closed with another ding. Jane took it as her cue, but still another beat passed in silence. “So.” A soft exhale, so much for wit. “How are you?” Bland, boring, but considering that the last time they reconnected she slapped him, this was what most people called a step up. Often he’d been called a fool, but he would have truly been one if he had missed the tension that had seemed to plague their conversations as of late. The tension was still there, pronounced now that they were in an enclosed space with no one else to interrupt them. His mother would have handled it diplomatically, asking around the problem until tongues loosened enough to give voice to the problems. Loki would have taken yet another way, but Thor blundered in as he was wont to do. “I am well. And you?” His thumb fit to the protruding red button marked Stop and maybe that wasn’t what it was there for, but it would guarantee them privacy for a few moments. Hopefully long enough for them to both end up at ease. “Lady Jane, I…” A good start. “There were things said to you that should not have been, by Torunn and my brother. She is not of our universe, but she is my daughter. And very protective of her mother.” A wry smile. “You are the third you I have known since I came to the hotel. The first was captured by Loki before we rescued her and she helped to return the Tesseract to Asgard. The second I did not know for very long.” Another pause, his smile slowly falling away. “I have not seen you in years.” “Good,” she said with an absent minded nod. She had been better, certainly, but she had been worse. Her mind was turning over a few ways to change the conversation. Maybe they should meet the tension head on. Maybe they should wait until they were out of the elevator. She hadn’t made up her mind but in the scant few seconds it didn’t matter. He beat her to it, and she hadn’t noticed the car stopped. “The third.” Her echo was soft, not wanting to interrupt him but the revelation surprising her all the same. Of course, briefly, her mind shifted to something far more curious. “The Tesseract?” But that was really none of her business, even if a previous her had a hand in it. She shook her head. “Years.” That was the rub, wasn’t it? Hours for her and years for him. As his smile faded her face fell, the unspoken insinuation rolling through her mind. So he had forgotten her. Well that was… “Okay.” She nodded, a bit more firmly, her lips pursing in thoughtful determination. “Wait, no. It’s not okay.” Her shoulders tightening up, she turned her face up toward him. “Years aren’t anything new to us. Between New Mexico and London? We’ve done years before. So fine, your daughter is new.” She gave a conceding nod and shrug. “But years? That isn’t so bad unless…” Her lips pursed together once more, steeling herself. “Unless you want them to be bad. In which case that can also be worked out.” Jane wasn’t a dramatic woman, usually. Break ups happened. This wasn’t the end of the world. “Glad I didn’t lead with kissing then. Sorry, Pepper,” she muttered under her breath as she shook her head. Years and and broken promises. The first he’d extracted a promise from to leave Loki alone, to stay far from his attention and she had not been able to - and it had ended in her abduction and Thor being forced to release Loki from the manacles that bound his magic. The second had been - he wasn’t sure what the second had been, besides uncomfortable, like boots that were a size too small. It had been brief and between them - there had been others. Chloe. That Eve of Christmas. So many changes between the world they had known together and this one - that he was King of Asgard now, his (alternate universe, possibly future) daughter Torunn was here and eager for the arrival of her mother Sif, and the knowledge that no matter what his brother might say, Jane could never be Queen of Asgard. Not because she lacked the passion or the intelligence, but because (and regardless of his feelings) Asgard was not a place for the mortals of Midgard. Yet, some things hadn’t changed, and the corners of his mouth turned up fondly as her determination showed. “Nay.” It was as quiet as he ever got, but fond as he reached one hand out to her; he did not want them to be bad, they simply were. “Much has changed; I did not know when, or if, you would return, but I do not think it is a bad thing.” Maybe this would have been easier if she had led with kissing. Hand holding. She could be okay with handholding and some of the tension in her body and face eased as she grasped his hand with hers. “No, I get it,” she conceded, another nod that had her hair spilling over her shoulder. It wasn’t as if Thor was short on understandable excuses. Nine realms in upheaval. Brother running afoul. Multiple versions of her coming and going. Their paths weren’t easy ones to cross with the other. “But I’m here now, and—” And what, was the real question. Before she could tumble even more awkwardly forward, a voice made her jump. “Doctor Foster? …Thor, sir. Uh, Mister Odinson? Thor?” She suppressed a laugh but didn’t stop her smile as she turned toward speaker and the poor security guard trying to talk to them. The elevator had stopped and she surmised who pressed the button. Moving quickly to the speaker, and without dropping their hands, she pressed the button to talk. “Yeah, hi.” “Is everything o—” “Yup. Everything is good. We just need a few minutes.” With her free hand she held up her open palm, a plea for five more minutes of privacy to wherever the camera was. Only when he agreed and the line went quiet, did she turn back to Thor and wondered what her point was. Or really, if words were even worth it. She decided no, and leaned in. Holding his hand still, her free hand reached for his cheek as she rose up on her toes and pressed her lips to his. She held her kiss for a long moment, giving into the urge she had since she saw him outside the elevator. When she pulled away she was breathless and sheepish, settling back on her heels. “Sorry. Very inappropriate. Couldn’t help it.” Their intertwined fingers still laced together though her other hand brushed her hair away. “What were we saying?” And - And he knew what to do when a pretty woman like Jane kissed him. There had been trials and separations, the first Jane that had cooled his feelings for her somewhat, and this one who reminded him of all the things that he enjoyed about her: her passion for her work, her intelligence, her easy smile. He returned the kiss, one arm bracing against the small of her back to keep her close. Warm. Fragile. Mortal. He didn’t fight her when she pulled away, but didn’t quite let her go either as his mouth turned up and he gave her fingers a very slight squeeze. “That you are here now,” he replied quietly, dimples cutting into his cheeks. She was not the same Jane that came twice before. And whatever had happened between he and them was not the same as what could happen between the two of them. He forgave the younger Loki to let him become the younger man that he was, she had done nothing that needed to be forgiven. Nothing. Not even the ‘very inappropriate’ kiss. “Another,” he murmured, fingers spreading out wide across the small of her back, the smallest bit of pressure applied from the tips. “Another.” She repeated the word with an amused huff, breath warm against his mouth, but she didn’t pull away either. She would have rolled her eyes to tease him but as it was, the curve of her smile told him she was pleased, a soft moment before she pressed her lips to his again. Kissing Thor was easy, always easy, and she would’ve been crazy to pass up the opportunity. Her hand curled against his shirt, tugging him close even as she rose to meet his kiss, reveling in the feel of his hand at her back and his chest under her fingertips. It was almost as if no time had passed at all. Almost. Long moments later she pulled away, the elevator humming back to life as it started its ascent once more. The jolt, though small, still startled her, and she squeaked in surprise against his mouth as she pressed against his chest. “Five minutes my ass,” she mumbled before pulling away once more. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise. She could’ve stayed in that elevator all day and kissing wasn’t talking, and wasn’t going to solve anything. Even if it was fun. “We should, ah,” she gestured to the elevator doors, for when they would eventually open. “We should probably take this somewhere else.” Somewhere with less cameras, kissing or not. Thor could have almost ignored the jolt in favor of continuing their kiss, except she startled and the contact between their lips broke. He started to frown, brows drawing together, only to laugh quietly at her comment. Even he, who didn’t carry a watch and still found it easier to tell time by his own internal rhythms rather than a clock, suspected it hadn’t been the promised five minutes. “Aye,” he agreed quietly. If they remained, he was likely to hit the stop again and they’d be further interrupted by whoever it was that spoke earlier. And whether they were talking or pursuing more physical activities, interruptions were not wanted. Nor was distance, as one hand settled on the small of her back - steadying her, keeping her close - for the remainder of the elevator ride. |