Jane's gaze sweeps over him, and Thor's certain he's not imagining the way she lingers on his face and the glint of black metal peeking out from his shirtsleeve. Without realizing he's done it, he turns slightly to hide the latter, his own attention on the fact that his old flame has suddenly reappeared in his own kitchen. And on the strange expressions on both her face and Amelia's - alarm? guilt? Were they talking about him just now? Jane is here. Why is Jane here?
The tableau breaks as Amelia steps in to smooth things over, and Thor's frozen thoughts lurch forward at last. When Amelia reaches for him, he reaches back with his living hand, drawing her in close for a brief embrace. "Oh? Good things, I hope," he says, forcing his tone to be light and diplomatic, uncertain what front to present. It's been years since he's seen Jane, not even after they'd returned the taken, knowing she had been one of them. And now... so much has changed. He has changed.
Jane's gaze breaks away from Thor at last, looking back to Amelia, color in her cheeks. For all that she's been turning this visit over in her mind, fixated on what she might find, all her rehearsed words have left her bereft. As if she'd never considered what to say in the first place, an impulsive decision to come all the way out here for reasons even she can't name. "It's not... I mean. I just... wanted to see if you were okay. I heard what happened to Asgard." She smiles, but there's a sadness in her eyes that Thor understands without words. "It's a beautiful village. You must be very proud."
"I am," Thor answers, and he means that, despite the heartbreak whose roots grow deep in Asvera. It is not Asgard, and it does not have to be, but for just a moment there is a shared moment of mourning for what was, and is no longer. He cannot change the past any more than he could turn the Fates from their weave, and there is little point in wishing otherwise, a lesson he's had to learn the hard way. "It's... good to see you, Jane. You look good."
"You too," Jane answers, her eyes flicking back and forth between him and the woman in his arms, and mercifully does not mention where he differs from the Thor she remembers, though he knows it could not be more blatant. "...I see you on the news sometimes. But that's not really... you. I guess I just... had to see for myself."
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The tableau breaks as Amelia steps in to smooth things over, and Thor's frozen thoughts lurch forward at last. When Amelia reaches for him, he reaches back with his living hand, drawing her in close for a brief embrace. "Oh? Good things, I hope," he says, forcing his tone to be light and diplomatic, uncertain what front to present. It's been years since he's seen Jane, not even after they'd returned the taken, knowing she had been one of them. And now... so much has changed. He has changed.
Jane's gaze breaks away from Thor at last, looking back to Amelia, color in her cheeks. For all that she's been turning this visit over in her mind, fixated on what she might find, all her rehearsed words have left her bereft. As if she'd never considered what to say in the first place, an impulsive decision to come all the way out here for reasons even she can't name. "It's not... I mean. I just... wanted to see if you were okay. I heard what happened to Asgard." She smiles, but there's a sadness in her eyes that Thor understands without words. "It's a beautiful village. You must be very proud."
"I am," Thor answers, and he means that, despite the heartbreak whose roots grow deep in Asvera. It is not Asgard, and it does not have to be, but for just a moment there is a shared moment of mourning for what was, and is no longer. He cannot change the past any more than he could turn the Fates from their weave, and there is little point in wishing otherwise, a lesson he's had to learn the hard way. "It's... good to see you, Jane. You look good."
"You too," Jane answers, her eyes flicking back and forth between him and the woman in his arms, and mercifully does not mention where he differs from the Thor she remembers, though he knows it could not be more blatant. "...I see you on the news sometimes. But that's not really... you. I guess I just... had to see for myself."