Stupid With Love
She tried to catch him, his hand, when he left, but she only caught thin air. Her heart dropped to the pit of her stomach and she brought her hands close to her chest, playing with her fingers. What could she say? It was astonishing, it was marvelous, it was confusing, it was... disheartening. All he said, all they had been... and she couldn't remember any of it. A whole other life, a whole other love... A torrid of feelings swirled inside of her, all betraying each other. Excitement and grief, uncertainty, and longing...
Her breath shuddered a bit and raked her hair back. She wanted... to talk to someone about this... But who would believe her...
After a moment, she looked through her contacts and called the one person she thought most likely to believe her insane story. It took a few rings, but she eventually picked up.
“Hey, what’s up?”
Jolene sighed a little in relief when she answered, running her fingers through her hair. "Hey, Verity. Do you have some time? I was hoping you might have time to talk me through some stuff..."
"Uh, yeah, sure, what’s up?" Verity asked curiously. "Want me to come over?"
She smiled lightly at the suggestion. "If you have time, that'd be great."
"Trust me, I’ve got time." She chuckled. "I’ll be there in five."
She smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Verity."
When Verity hung up, she hurried around to get the house tidied up. She had known Verity for over five years and had learned that the woman had an uncanny ability to spot lies and truths. She’d have to believe her. But at the same time, she might freak out. I mean, who wouldn't freak out if they were told the terrorist that almost destroyed New York was living in her apartment? Especially when Verity had been in the middle of the chaos with Jolene that night? And how would she react if she told Verity that she herself was an Asgardian... Vanir... person? But she couldn't exactly call off the visit because as promised, about five minutes later, her dear friend knocked.
Jolene took in a deep breath before she opened the door and smiled. "Verity...!"
"Hey, Jo." Verity smiled back at her. Her long red hair was tied up into a bun and her arms were folded, the short sleeves allowing her to show off her beautiful tattoos. "What’s up?"
She greeted her with a hug. "Oh gods, what isn’t?" Then she hurriedly pulled her inside. "Come in, please, come on in!" She took Verity to the living room where they sat down together on the couch. "That’s for coming so fast."
"No problem." Verity said as she sat beside her friend. "So, what’s going on?"
Jolene smiled sheepishly and fiddled with her fingers. "Well, I... it’s a long story... a crazy story..."
She raised a curious eyebrow and shifted on the couch to face her properly. "Okay?"
She blushed as she kept her eyes on her fingers. "Well, um... Remember that man in Germany...? The man with dark hair that made the whole place panic?"
"How could I forget?" Verity puffed.
She rung her fingers. "He might be back...? Living here... with me?"
Verity was quiet for a moment. She opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. "...oh?"
Jolene's face flushed. That was possibly worse than her freaking out about it. "J-Just, no, just listen, okay?? He’s not the same as he was in Germany, he’s not even close...! I know he has a bad reputation but if you just spend a day with him, you can tell the difference...! Something was wrong before... I felt it even back then like there was something off about him. But he’s better now... he just feels... right."
Verity seemed to take all this in, pressing her lips together as her eyes seemed to look over her face before slowly nodding. "Okay... I believe you... But how the heck did this guy end up in your apartment of all places?"
She blushed a little more. "He may have been... looking for me...?"
Verity blinked at her. "Why??"
She diverted the question to a new one. "Verity, how long have we known each other?"
She raised an eyebrow. "Like... five years at this point?"
She smiled wearily at her. "I technically should be 38... Do I look 38 to you?"
Verity watched her curiously, quiet for a moment. "No, you look like you’re still in your early twenties."
Jolene smiled uncertainly. "I’ve never seen myself age... Then he came back looking for me because he saw me in Germany... Because he knew me even before then... We lived on Asgard together... I’m... basically immortal..."
Saying out loud it sounded ridiculous, but...
Verity stared at her for a moment. "...if I were normal, I’d think you were joking."
She smiled sheepishly. "I’m pretty sure we’re both not normal and I still think I’m joking..."
She snorted a bit. "So, basically... you’re from the same place that guy’s from, and you’re basically immortal."
She slowly nodded. "Yes... and he and I were... in a relationship..." she practically whispered
Verity choked. "I-I’m sorry?"
Jolene played with her hands some more as she nodded shyly. "That’s... why he came to find me... We were dating... Well, he called it courting, but it’s basically the same..."
She blinked several times. "Wow."
She slowly nodded, blushing. "And he just admitted... that he wants to go back to that..."
Verity watched her for a moment. "And... do you?"
She pursed her lips uncertainly, playing with her pinky all the while. "I mean... yes?" She sighed and her shoulders fell. "I really like him, I think it would be wonderful, but... there’s so much I don’t remember... What if it's too soon? What if it isn’t what he thinks it will be?"
She sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. So much was going through her head, it was all happening so fast. She barely knew him but everything she knew... she loved it all. His sass and wit, his naivete when it came to earth and its inhabitants, and the curiosity that shone in his beautiful green eyes with every new discovery. She had briefly dated guys before, sure, but... this was something new, and terrifying.
"I called you because I don't know what to do... I feel crazy." she admitted.
Verity hummed softly and then placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well... I’m not gonna say I’m entirely for getting with a guy that is kind of infamous for bringing aliens to New York... But if you like him, and he likes you, I say go for it. As long as he doesn’t, like... kick puppies for fun, or something psychotic like that."
Jolene had to giggle. "Actually, he absolutely adores puppies...!"
"Oh, then he’s a keeper."
Jolene burst out laughing. "He actually had no idea what dogs were until I took him to the animal shelter...!"
Her friend snorted and covered her mouth. "Seriously?!"
"Seriously!" She laughed. "What kind of place is Asgard that it doesn’t have dogs??"
"I don’t know, but they need help!"
She smiled and laughed with her friend. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, being able to admit all this without Verity thinking she was crazy. It was like she could breathe again, at least for a moment. But as she settled, the doubt crept into her head once more.
"He admitted he wanted to be like that again... but he ran off before I could answer. I think it unnerved him." She frowned. "What if he's disappointed? What if I can't give him what he wants? I don’t know how to give him what we had before..."
"Then he has to be willing to adapt." Verity told her, squeezing her shoulder. " You shouldn't push yourself just to please this guy. You don't have your memories, and if he cares about you and understands that, then he won't expect things to be exactly the same. Unless he's an idiot, and if he's an idiot, I'll slap him."
Jolene couldn't help but burst out laughing at her friend's serious threat. "You wouldn't...!"
"Try me." Verity snorted.
Jolene laughed softly and tucked her hair back, feeling a lot better with her friend's encouragement. She could always rely on Verity to be real with her, to tell her what she needed to hear. "Thanks, Ver."
Verity playfully nudged her side. "Anytime, Jo."
Jolene looked out of the window, watching as drops of rain began to patter against her window. "Do you think he'll be back soon?"
"He'd better. Or else I’ll slap him."
Jolene laughed again. "Why are you so eager to slap someone?"
Verity laughed too, playfully wrapping her arm around Jolene's shoulders. "Because I’m protective of you."
"Aww, Verity!" Jolene cooed playfully.
Verity rolled her eyes at her teasing, but she had a smile on her face. "Want me to stick around until he comes back?"
"Yes, please, I desperately need help." Jolene giggled.
"You do know I'm not the romance type, right?"
"I knoooooow, but you're my friend and boys are our thing...!"
"And girls." Verity added.
"And girls, in your case, but still!"
Verity chuckled. "Fine, fine."
And so, Jolene began practicing what to say to Loki when he got back in front of Verity. And the whole time, she could feel the judgment radiating from her close friend at how bad she was at this. And Jolene wholeheartedly agreed.
Norns have mercy on her.