[For Thor] Dated 13 June 2011

[sciencefact]

For a place where time typically plods by at a glacial pace, life on Tabula Rasa has been proving especially complicated for Jane. Her motivation remains untempered, but not since college has she faced such an intense mixture of frustration both professional and personal in nature. Not knowing how to reach a goal has never been a problem for her,

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[havenoplans]

Thor's only just returned from the nearby waterfall when he hears Jane's voice coming from outside; his hair hangs damp around his face, but his clothes, at the very least, are dry. (He's rather gotten the sense that the Compound's box favours him more than it does many others, but while he appreciates the haste with which he can change in and out of his acquired attire, he prefers, always, his Asgardian garb. Unfortunately, it's ill-suited for the climate, and he's not worn it since the day he fell to this realm.) Dropping the towel he'd been using onto the back of a chair, he strides towards the door, a smile at the ready for the moment Jane comes into sight.

Her presence can only mean one thing, after all: that the spell under which she had fallen was done, and that she's been returned to her normal self. Though there's admittedly part of him that wished he might have been of more help to her during this trying time, he's learned that not everything can be fixed by storming the enemy, no matter how much he might wish it could. (That there's no real enemy to storm is a factor he chooses not to consider.)

"Jane," greets Thor, stepping forward to meet her outside. "You're doing well?"

[sciencefact]

"I'm doing better," Jane replies, a subtle but important distinction. Given what she'd said the other day and (perhaps more importantly) his total lack of reaction to it, 'well' seems like a bit of an overstatement. She does manage a slightly strained smile, though.

"I know this sounds really ominous, but I think maybe we need to talk," she adds, seeing no reason to not just fling herself head-first into what she came here to do. Like a Band-Aid, right? Just get it over with.

[havenoplans]

"Of course," he says, hesitating only a beat. The truth of the matter is, he only finds the prospect ominous now that she's assured him it isn't, the clarification alerting him to the fact that everything might not be so better, after all.

[sciencefact]

All of yesterday, Jane went over in her head how she wanted this to go. Determined though she is to stick to the script, he unnerves her. He always has.

"What is this?" she asks, rehearsed words going straight out the window. It feels good to just cut to the chase. "The two of us, are we just friends? Or are we more than that?" Even before she'd ended up on a malicious desert island that forced her to tell the truth, she'd had no trouble with making her feelings clear. It isn't as if he hasn't known.

[havenoplans]

It takes him a moment to parse the meaning of her words; though she'd danced around the subject a few days prior, Thor had been considerably more concerned by how Jane had spoken than what she said. He'd upset her, and that, over anything else, was what he took away from the experience. Now, though, her assessment that she was better seemed to hold, even if she seems bothered all the same.

Thor peers down at her, curiously, and says, "Do you mean to ask if we're lovers?"

[sciencefact]

There are moments when Thor's anachronistic tendencies are more obvious than others, and despite the fact that Jane quite firmly knows that he doesn't mean the term in the same way that her brain has instinctively taken it, she doesn't catch herself quickly enough. Briefly, she stares at him with the dumbfounded astonishment of a deer caught in headlights.

"No," she replies, rallying herself. "I know that we're not." Not by any definition, anachronistic or otherwise. "But I can't tell if that's what you want or not, so it would be helpful if you could shed some light on that."

[havenoplans]

In his life (a life longer than any mortal could conceivably wrap their heads around, even one as clever as Jane), Thor's not had a lot of experience in needing to explain himself. His motives generally spoke for themselves, subtlety far from his strongest suit. Loki was the one who operated in shadows both actual and metaphorical, and so it is that Thor finds it jarring that his own reasons should come into question, now. Wondering if he might be better served with action as well as words, he reaches out for her hand, and leans forward, brushing his lips against her knuckles.

"I'm very fond of you, Jane Foster," he says, placing his other hand over hers so that it all but disappeared between his, and he takes a step forward, one that brings him well into her personal space. Recalling what she said before, he clarifies, "I... like you."

[sciencefact]

His sudden close proximity is dizzying, and Jane falters despite herself, caught between wanting to giggle helplessly like a schoolgirl and being thoroughly incensed at his ability to be so obtuse about this lone thing. Head tipped back so that she can look fully into his face, she sucks in a big breath that does absolutely nothing to steady her whatsoever.

"That's, um. Thank you? That's good to know, but actually not very helpful. At all." The warmth of his hands over hers is a whole other level of disconcerting, but she makes no move to pull away. "Are you planning on doing something with that like of me?"

[havenoplans]

Perhaps, he thinks, a more direct approach is required of him, though it strikes him as ungentlemanly. For all his boisterous attitude in combat, Thor's nature around women in other circumstances has tended always to lean towards chivalry; Frigga was a formidable woman, and instilled him with a great respect for the whole of her sex. But Jane is pressing for an answer, and while he's admittedly unsure as to what's the rush in all this, he doesn't want to upset her any more than he apparently already has.

With a quickness that belies his size, he leans in again, bypassing her hand in favour of her mouth, kissing her properly, though it's short-lived due to the angle; she's really very small, and were they to continue along that vein, he'd likely need to pick her up in some fashion, something he refrains from doing only because he's in need of asking her another question. His eyes opening, he looks at her again, his expression both earnest and mildly exasperated.

"Was that helpful?" he asks, the barest hint of laughter colouring his voice.

[sciencefact]

As could be expected, it takes Jane a moment to recover from the sudden and unexpected onslaught of his mouth. A bit breathless, she stares up at him, unaware that her free hand has twisted into the front of his shirt.

"Helpful. Very helpful," she confirms, and can't keep a smile from creeping over her expression despite how silly she suddenly feels at having forced his hand. "You could have done that a month ago and avoided all of this, for the record."

[havenoplans]

"I have much still to learn," Thor replies, wryly. Letting go of her hand, he places one of his own along the small of her back, his fingers spread wide, but his touch light. With the other, he cups her cheek, emboldened by her response.

"But I should hope my intentions are no longer in doubt."

[sciencefact]

"No, it's um," Jane breathes, the warmth of Thor's hands at her back and cheek making it incredibly difficult to focus on anything of lesser importance, like forming coherent sentences. "This is good. This is better."

Even stooped down he's far too tall for her, and Jane tugs down on his shirt as she lifts onto her tiptoes so that she can press another unabashed kiss to his mouth. Until this moment, she'd not realized how desperately she was in need of something that made sense. The island had yanked all of her safety nets clean away the moment she'd arrived, and she's been floundering in trying to find her feet. Not even science, her life's single constant, makes any kind of sense in this place. But Thor's mouth is warm and his hands are strong but gentle, and there's familiarity and comfort in that instead.

[havenoplans]

Jane Foster's undeniably a force to be reckoned with, possessing a headstrong nature that speaks to Thor's own, and he smiles against her mouth when he feels the pull on his shirt, knowing she's not strong enough to move him, but bending, regardless. It's only a gesture, though, as he quickly lifts her from the ground, drawing her up towards him with an effortlessness that speaks more of her size than it does of his strength.

[sciencefact]

Undaunted by the difference in their height, Jane instinctively wraps legs around Thor's waist and arms around his neck. There's no doubt in her mind (what little of it is still working just now) that this is a bit of a leap from a few kisses, but she's got to work with what she's got, and right now what she's got is a whole heck of a lot of man and a libido trying to go into overdrive.

[havenoplans]

Thor's eyes fly open, and he breaks off the kiss with a startled laugh that quickly dissolves into laboured breaths. She's so light in his arms, but there's no mistaking her for delicate, her desire plain and clear, though Thor's not entirely sure what to do with her forwardness. They're still outside, after all, and while Thor hasn't any neighbours close by, it hardly escapes his notice that this may not be the time (nor place) for such activities. While the latter is easily rectifiable, he can't help but think she deserves something a bit better than what he currently has to offer, though it's becoming increasingly difficult to think much at all.

"Jane--"

[sciencefact]

There is not a single cell in Jane's body that's sorry for her current position, not even at Thor's wary tone of warning. She's never been very good at knowing when to say no when she really wants something, not even to her own self, and the way she feels so suddenly lightheaded and warm really isn't helping with her ability to make sound decisions.

(Really, though, could there ever be a better decision than this one?)

Biting against her bottom lip, she affords Thor a coy, if slightly abashed smile.

"Yes?"