#astrophysicistfoster

A sense of finality filled Thor as he opened the last moving box, ripping away the duct tape and peering inside the cardboard container. Everything else in his and Jane's new apartment was unpacked and in place; Jane's study was fully set up, the kitchen was stocked, and all of the rooms were furnished. The place they'd agreed on was on the 75th floor of a fairly luxurious skyscraper, and Thor always felt more at home in the clouds. Outside on the roof-covered balcony were Jane's telescopes and work-related paraphernalia, as well as a hot tub -- because, as Thor insisted, why not? They were no longer in Jane's flat in London, and even the god of thunder knew that in New York you had to go big or go home. 

Even so, there was something indescribably cozy about the place. Maybe it was the throw rugs Jane favored, though the Mexican patterns also reminded Thor of their time in Puente Antiguo. Maybe it was just the fact that he was with her and they had a space to call their own. He was only a few blocks away from the Avengers Tower and Shield HQ, and she could continue her research all over the city. It felt like the possibilities were endless. 

In the box were a wrapped stack of photographs. Thor smiled as he pulled off the cellophane and sifted through the snapshots. There was the one Darcy took of him in Isobel's diner that first day, but most of them were taken by Thor since his return to earth. They primarily featured Jane -- okay, the pictures were only of her. Where she was working, chewing on her pen with a little crease between her brows, when she was laughing, and even when she was fast asleep. He could admit he'd gone a little overboard with the camera. They didn't have technology like this on Asgard and he was more than fascinated by its abilities to preserve a moment on parchment. 

The rest of the photos were of them both; in Greenwich, in London, in their vacation in Paris. There were a lot of sneakily taken pictures he had never seen before, including the two of them eating at a cafe, stargazing, and holding hands as they walked through the streets of Europe. Thor assumed Darcy took them when he wasn't looking and made a mental note to thank her.

                   “Hello? Is anyone in here?”

 ⊰;❂;⊱ —-                          Jonathan had been having quite a busy day. Between the paperwork , a fight that had broken out between two of the inmates and his appointments with his patients -- he had been glad to be able to sit in his office for more than five minutes with peace. His appointments were usually the worst part of his day. Not only did he have to deal with people during that time -- he had to deal with insane people. It was rare he ever got calm patients -- it was usually the ones screaming and threatening him the whole time , the ones that said they were innocent of their crimes and weren't insane , and the ones that just stared him down and refused to speak with him. Though -- he had to admit they were his favorites.

"So many seem to want my attention today."

Wanda was glaring at the boxes that littered her apartment, thinking that maybe if she started at them long enough, they'd just move by themselves. There wasn't actually all that many boxes, just some clothes, her laptop, a few books, and a picture of her and her brother, but she was tired of tripping over boxes every time she turned around.

The apartment itself was fantastic, completely more well-designed and high-tech than even some of the labs she'd seen, and she had the floor to herself... or did she? She hadn't really been listening when she'd been given the rundown about who was where, she'd been too busy ogling the Tower. Despite its intelligent design, it didn't feel like anything more than a fancy hotel room right now.

You know what, she decided. I mustered up the will to think about starting to unpack. I should get myself some coffee as a reward.

Loki teleported into the most crowded elevator he could find, just because he could; he was no longer banned from Stark Tower, and chose to celebrate by popping up in the most unexpected places and scaring the daylights out of anyone around. It was almost too good, watching the agents jump for their guns with identical looks of terror and surprise on their faces. Stupid mortals.

Oh, he had plenty to celebrate. Being welcomed into Stark Tower, for one, meant that the Avengers were practically opening their arms and saying 'Loki, put your knife here!' He'd initially suspected a trap, but what did they have that could possibly trap him? Nothing but Mjolnir could hold him somewhere where he didn't want to be, but the only one who could wield it was Thor, and Thor wasn't exactly one for making traps and being stealthy. 

For another, the spell he'd perfected while using Jarvis as a test subject had left the Other on its back and coughing up a glob of purple blood when it tried to use its telepathic attack on him.

And finally, his success in a more dastardly plot had raised his spirits to levels they hadn't reached in years. All it had taken was a quick trip to the hospital and a spell, and his mischief had been managed.

The elevator door dinged, and he slid out onto the floor with a smug grin at the agents in the elevator. 

Loki glowered at Jane from his perch on her windowsill, watching her in the form of a small black bat, resentment lying in his belly like a cold stone. The foolish girl had left her window open, and that was a mistake.

She was Thor's- what was it they called a courtship here?- girlfriend. She wasn't just blowing off steam by having sex like it was with Sif, and it wasn't a one night stand like it had been with the other girls he'd had. This was an actual mushy-gushy, honest, open, starry-eyed relationship, and it hurt.

It hurt because Thor was changing, and he was doing it for her. Before he'd been banished, he was an arrogant hothead with a deadly lust for war, and Loki had been trying to get him to use the brain that was nestled somewhere under that blonde mop for their whole lives, because he'd been worried that one day, his brother would face something that Mjolnir couldn't kill, and that would be the end of him. Then suddenly, he came back from Midgard, and he's thoughtful, and he's not so violent, and he's figured out Loki's plan.

He'd spent centuries trying to get Thor to change, only pushing for the tiniest shifts in judgement that might someday save his life, but he'd gotten nowhere. Then this Jane Foster strolls up, takes him for three days, and returns him as a completely different person.

In less than a week, she did what his own brother (not-brother, corrects his head) had failed to do in their entire existence. 

And Loki didn't like that. What made her so special?

He'd find out. He'd find out right now.