Starting Over - Loki (COMPLETE)

3) University

Loki and Jane talked weekly throughout Loki's second year at university. Jane's project seemed to be advancing a lot more rapidly with Loki's help, so much so that she even promised to include his name on the paper she planned to write on Einstein-rosen bridges. One day, however, she called him but didn't want to talk about her paper.

"I was just thinking, Alden," and she sounded quite nervous, "If you'd like to come to America, to New Mexico, and meet me? You could stay as long as you like and I'm sure we could progress so much more if we were in the same room. You could see all the equipment instead of just guessing what it does. I think it'd be fun."

She paused.

"What do you think?"

Loki's mind worked faster than the average human's and, while he was a cautious person, his brain formulated an answer before he'd really thought about it.

"I think that would be wonderful, Jane," he replied, smiling.

He heard a squeal on the other end and Jane tell the other person, likely Darcy, to calm down.

"I'm so glad!" Jane said breathlessly. "I'm afraid I don't have a spare room but there's a motel in town, or you could take the sofa? I mean, I could take the sofa myself..."

She laughed nervously.

"The sofa is fine, Jane," Loki reassured her. "I'm sure it's better than my bed at the moment."

She laughed again.

"I'm really happy you said yes," she said. "I'll send you the dates I'm available."

Loki set the phone down and felt a rush of warmth. Was this what it was like to have friends? Actual friends? Not people like the Warriors Three and Sif who were only there for Thor. From all he'd seen, humans were a lot better than Asgardians.

*

Jane met Loki at the airport in New Mexico and then drove him to her house.

"It's not much," she gabbled shyly, pulling into her road, "but it's home."

"Stop worrying, Jane," he smiled. "Home for you is home for me."

He didn't know what made him say it but it made Jane blush profusely and focus intensively on parking in front of her house.

"Welcome to New Mexico," she said when she opened the door.

"Jane, you're back!" Cried a female voice, presumably Darcy.

"Who let you in?" Jane asked, forgetting briefly about Loki as she walked into the kitchen.

Loki followed her regardless and was greeted by the sight of a young woman who was probably a year or two younger than Jane and thereby a few years older than Loki, or how old Loki was pretending to be.

The woman shrugged but then caught sight of Loki. Her mouth dropped open.

"Jane, you never told me he was handsome!" She exclaimed, giving him an appraising look.

Loki merely stood there, frankly quite used to the attention from when he was a prince. He hadn't often been told he was handsome but he supposed tall and thin usually constituted handsome on earth. On the contrary, Loki's slim build had often been a source of disappointment on Asgard.