Thor takes a deep breath.

He can do this..

He can do it.

He just...

He just needs to do it.

He raises hs fist and raps his knuckles against the door.

And now he waits.

Is he standing too close to the door? He might be. He might be uncomfortably close to it when she opens it. Maybe he should stop back a little bit. He'll do that. He takes a step back. It feels more comfortable – and more formal, too, which is a weird combination. 'Formal' isn't supposed to be comfortable. Does that mean he's doing this wrong? Maybe he–

The door opens, and there she is, standing before him in all her earthly glory.

Jane Foster.

Jane's eyes go wide, her body tensing in the doorway. Thor tries to smile at her. It might come off as more of a grimace. It's hard to tell. His mind is a whir, and yet, he's not sure there's a single coherent thought passing through it.

Jane just stares at him, a mindless, "Uh..." filling the otherwise silent air between them.

"I, uh..." He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hope I'm not intruding." It's more a question than a statement, he realizes once he's said it aloud. Maybe he should have said it more factually. Or would that have been rude? Arrogant, even? He's been trying to work on his arrogance over the last year or so. It's one of the many flaws his banishment showed him he had.

"Uh, no, you're..." Jane trails off awkwardly, then starts again. "What, um..." She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "What're you doing here?"

"Looking for you?" This is also more of a question than a statement, he notices. He does his best to sound more confident as he continues, "I would have come back much sooner, but amidst my brother's fit of rage, I had to destroy the Bifrost to protect the rest of the Nine Realms – to protect you."

The corners of her lips quirk upwards in the slightest of smiles. That makes him feel marginally better about this whole thing.

"But the Bifrost is fixed now," Thor tells her. "I know that it has been a long time since we last spoke, but I'm here now, and I hope..." He hopes something. What does he hope for? He hopes this works out. He hopes this conversation works out; he hopes this relationship works out. He hopes that the worst is behind them, and that, in spite of his year-long absence, Jane will still take him back.

Jane reaches up, cupping his face in her hands, and stands on her toes to press a quick kiss to his lips. "I missed you."

Thor wraps his arms around her waist, holding her close. "I missed you, too," he says, and he can't put into words just how true that is. It's so good to see her again. Especially after the day he's had, he needed this.

He rather reluctantly lets her go after a few moments, and though she takes a step back to where she'd been standing before, the awkwardness that had filled the space between them has largely dissipated.

"You wanna come in?" Jane asks. "Darcy and Selvig are here, and..." She doesn't seem to know how to finish that sentence – doesn't seem to want to – but finally, she just says, "I think you're gonna want to see him."

Thor grimaces. "How's he doing?"

"Not great," Jane says. She gestures for Thor to follow her inside, talking as they walk. "Your brother was here. I'm guessing you knew that."

Thor nods solemnly. "Yes, I'm aware," he says, "both of what he did to Selvig and what he tried to do to your planet. He's back in Asgard now, but he..." He lets out a long breath and shakes his head. "It's a stranger situation than you know, but that's a conversation for later, probably."

"If it's stranger than I already know, I almost don't want to ask," Jane says, a halfhearted joke of a sort.

It's then that Darcy appears, and she almost walks right by them until she notices Thor and does a double-take. She looks between the two of them incredulously, not a word leaving her mouth and seemingly not a thought entering her head.

Thor chuckles. "Hello, Darcy," he says.

Darcy stares at him.

And then stares at Jane.

And then stares at Thor once more.

"Either Selvig's 'crazy' is rubbing off on me," she says, "or Thor's in our kitchen right now."

Jane huffs a laugh. "Yes, Thor's in our kitchen right now."

Darcy puts her hands on her hips. "Huh," she says. "I did not see that one coming."

Thor cracks a smile. "It's nice to see you, my friend," he says. "It's been far too long."

"Yeah, really," she agrees. "What brings you to this side of the universe?"

Though Asgard and Midgard are both on the same side of the universe, Thor's answer is simply, "The Bifrost has finally been repaired. This is the first I've been able to leave Asgard in a year."

Darcy raises her brows. "Huh," she says. "Well, welcome back. You've missed a lot. Your brother's a psychopath."

Thor takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly before he allows himself to respond to that. "My brother is back in Asgard where he belongs," he says. "There is much more to what happened than you know – and I'll explain it all in time – but you have my assurance that he will not bring any more harm to your world." He really is a good person – both of his Lokis are. And though he doesn't expect his friends to believe it, and he certainly doesn't fault them for that, he wants them to know nonetheless.

Darcy eyes him skeptically, but she seems to move on surprisingly quickly. "So, how's space?"

Thor grimaces. "Space is... not great."

"What?" Jane looks up at him with a frown. "Thor, if you need to be somewhere else, I totally understand–"

Thor shakes his head. "I should be elsewhere," he admits, "but I don't..." He sighs. "When I do return to Asgard, I'll have to confront my father about something I do not look forward to discussing. I would much rather be here with you – with all of you." He gives Darcy a small smile. Though he came specifically for Jane, he can't deny that it's nice to see her, too.

"Is everything okay?" Jane asks. She seems so genuinely, earnestly concerned for him. It's heartwarming, truly.

"It will be, I believe," Thor assures her. His trust in his father is shattered, perhaps irreparably, but beyond that, it will be okay. "But I didn't come here to bother you with my plights. I want this to be a grand reunion."

That puts a smile on her face, and it truly warms his heart to see it. He's missed her so, so much. Not a day has gone by where he didn't think of her. This is truly everything he could have hoped–

Crash.

"Shit," Jane mutters, and she and Darcy take off running.

Thor furrows his brows and follows them.

And that's how he finds Erik Selvig lying on the floor in his underwear with a lamp underneath him.

It's certainly an interesting sight.

Jane and Darcy both rush to his side, crouching down beside him, and Thor stands uncomfortably in the doorway. Should he help? Would he just get in the way? Is it rude not to offer? Would it be ruder to interrupt?

"Erik, what happened?" Jane asks quickly.

Selvig rolls onto his back, no longer crushing the poor, broken lamp, and gestures vaguely toward the window. "I saw a..." He flails his hand around while he tries to think of the word. "I saw... I..." He raises his head off the ground to look at Darcy. "Those horses with the..." He puts his hand against his forehead and sticks one finger out.

Darcy blinks at that. "You saw a unicorn?"

"Yes!" He gestures to her emphatically.

The two girls share a look, and the fact that neither of them seem too surprised only makes Thor more wary. Unicorns don't live on Midgard. They haven't for a very, very long time. There's no possible way he could have seen one. And yet, the women are hardly phased.

"Are you okay?" Jane asks.

He blows a raspberry. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He sits up, propping himself up with his hands behind himself. It's then that his gaze lands on Thor, and a big smile spreads across his face. "Thor! You're back!"

Thor chuckles awkwardly. "Yes, I am."

Selvig climbs to his feet and runs up to him, throwing his arms around him in a tight hug. Thor awkwardly hugs him back and pats him on the back. This is very uncomfortable.

He expects Selvig to let go after a few seconds.

He doesn't.

Thor glances at Jane helplessly, and she gives him an apologetic shrug. Darcy just looks like she's trying not to laugh, so that's not going to help him. It seems he just has to deal with it.

In an attempt to make this less awkward, Thor tries to make conversation by asking, "How have you been?"

"Oh, awful," Selvig answers. He finally lets Thor go and takes a step back, which only serves to remind Thor of his pantslessness. "Your brother is a dick."

Thor nods uncomfortably. "Yes, what he did to you was..." He pauses, searching for the right words to convey his sympathy without painting his brother as a worse person than he is. He finally settles on, "truly, truly awful, and I apologize on his behalf. I'm glad to see that you're okay." Okay, of course, being a relative term – and one he's not entirely sure does apply. Physically, his friend may be alright, but mentally, he certainly isn't the same person he was a year ago.

"I get why he's jealous of you," Selvig adds. "You are so much better than he is."

"Thank you?" Thor says uncertainly. This is not the conversation he wanted to have today.

Fortunately, Jane steps in with, "Well, Erik, since you're okay, I'm going to take Thor and..." She grabs Thor's arm and gently tugs at it, and Thor bids his other two friends a brief farewell as he lets her lead him out of the room.

Once they're out of sight of the others, Jane drops his arm, and, after a moment of deliberation, Thor decides to try something potentially stupid: he takes her hand.

Jane looks back at him, and for a moment, Thor fears he's moved too fast. Yes, they kissed in the doorway, so no, holding hands doesn't sound like all too much, but that was a spur-of-the-moment thing. This is different. This is a pointed movement; purposeful, thought-out. He can't be sure...

But then Jane smiles, and all Thor's fears wash away. Of course this is fine. This is Jane. Of course she's not going to be upset or uncomfortable or weirded out by this. He's just so nervous; so worried that he's going to make a mistake and ruin the best thing that's ever happened to him. He's not sure he'd ever forgive himself if he did.

Jane opens a door down the end of the hallway, and they step inside together, their hands only separating once they're inside and Jane is shutting the door behind them.

Thor takes a moment to look around. The first thing he notices, of course, is the bed. These must be her chambers, then. There's a desk next to the door, covered with books and loose pieces of paper. Her closet door is open, revealing an array of dresses and blouses and pantsuits, with shoes lining the floor beneath them. It's almost a strange sight. He's never seen her in a dress before.

The drawers of her bureau are closed, but on top of it sits a collection of photos in frames, and though Thor tries to get a casual look at them, but they're too small to make out from across the room and he doesn't want to be weird and snoop on her private belongings. Maybe he can look at them later? He'd love to know what photos she deems important enough to display so proudly on her bureau.

It's quiet for a few moments, and Thor awkwardly clasps his hands in front of him. It just feels wrong to be in her chambers right now. It feels too soon; like they haven't reached this point in their relationship yet. And he knows nothing is going to come of this. He's certainly not looking to go there. But even just being here feels so forward.

"So..." Jane gestures to her bed, and she seems just as uncertain as he feels. "You want to sit?"

Though the idea of sitting on his girlfriend's bed is, admittedly, kind of daunting, he agrees nonetheless. They both take a seat, their feet hanging off the edge, and it's then Thor notices that she's only wearing socks. Should he have taken his boots off when he came inside? She didn't tell him to, and it's not like he was ever asked to take his boots off before, but this is different; this is their home.

Although if she wanted him to take his boots off, she probably would have said...

He's still doing this. He's still overthinking everything. He doesn't have to. He knows he doesn't have to. He and Jane got along just fine a year ago when he was acting on impulse alone. There's no reason to think that would have changed. But he can't stop.

He takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Hopefully his nerves will go, too.

"How have you been?" Thor asks her. That seems like a good place to start.

Jane shrugs. "I've been okay," she says. "I published a paper on Einstein-Rosen bridges that was really well-received in the scientific community, so that's nice. I've gotten some good opportunities from that."

Thor smiles. "Congratulations," he says. "That doesn't sound like an easy feat. I'm proud of you." She worked hard, studying the Bifrost the way she did. She deserves all the praise the world has to offer for her work.

Jane's cheeks turn a faint shade of red, and she sheepishly tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

"How about you?" she asks. "Have you been up to anything exciting? Other than, you know..." She gestures vaguely. "Loki."

"Not much," Thor admits. "It's been a rather solemn year. I'd thought my brother was dead; I lost all connection to the rest of the Nine Realms..." He shakes his head to himself. "These last few days have been much better than the months that preceded them. They've brought some joy back to my homeworld."

Jane doesn't seem quite as glad to hear that as he was to hear her exciting news. He doesn't blame her. Loki's return has filled a hole in the heart of Asgard. His presence on Midgard had a very different effect.

"I cannot apologize enough for his actions," Thor says. "He was not himself. I don't know the details – he won't talk about it, and I haven't the courage to ask – but somebody made him do what he did."

Jane raises her brows. "Somebody made him do it."

"Yes," Thor says. "All I know of this being is his name and that he scares my brother more than anything I've ever seen." And that he apparently kills Loki someday in the future, but the whole time thing may be too much to explain to her right now.

Jane eyes him skeptically, but though she doesn't seem to believe it, she doesn't try to refute it, either. He'd like to think she'll understand someday. He'll explain everything in time – the two Lokis, his new Loki-adjacent sister, Mobius and his near-omnipotence – but for right now, this is enough for him.

"You said something about your father," Jane says, almost hesitantly. "Can I ask...?"

Thor nods solemnly. "You may if you'd like, but I'd hate to burden you with such... bizarre problems." Is bizarre the right word? It's certainly a bizarre situation. Everything has been bizarre since his family grew by three. But the problem itself? His father's lies; his bloodthirsty rampages throughout the Nine Realms? Is that really bizarre? Or does it just hurt?

"Would it make you feel better to talk about it?" Jane asks. "I don't want to push if you don't..."

Thor lets out a long breath as he thinks about that. "I don't know that it would make me feel any better or worse," he admits. "It will haunt me until it's dealt with, and it may haunt me even after that." He'd like to think that talking to his father will help; that Odin will make sense of it all for him and he'll learn that he simply misunderstood what happened. But if what Mobius says is true, he can't imagine any explanation that will make his father's actions okay.

Jane nods sympathetically. "Well, I'll leave it up to you if you want to tell me – and if there's anything I can do to help..."

Thor shakes his head. "No, you would do best to stay away from it," he says, but then, does that sound dismissive? Condescending, even? That's certainly not what he meant, and he's sure she knows it, but what if she doesn't? He doesn't want her to think he doesn't view her as his equal, or that he doesn't want to tell her about his own life. How does he ensure there's no misunderstanding?

... Telling her might help, he supposes.

Although if she's to meet Odin one day – and he'd like to think she will; he truly does see himself spending the rest of her life with her – he doesn't want her to have this awful perception of him, either. He doesn't want to ruin any chance that they could get along.

This is the best he can do, then.

"I've recently learned some... concerning things about my father's past," Thor tells her. "Things that have changed the way that I view him; things that have hurt my respect for him. And I'm not ready to confront him about it, but I know that the next time I see him, I'll have to." He only hopes he can put it off until Mobius returns and they can all do this together. He doesn't expect to – he was supposed to have spoken to his father already about setting the Nine Realms straight – and he can't imagine he'll be able to avoid that for too much longer.

Jane frowns and puts a hand on his shoulder, a comforting gesture that truly means a lot. "I'm sorry," she says. "It's hard to realize your idol's not the perfect ideal you've made up in your head. I'm sure it's even harder when it's your own dad."

Thor just nods. It certainly is. Odin is his father, his king, his idol, and now he feels like everything he knows about him is a lie. He's not sure he'll ever be able to get past that.

Thor takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly. He didn't come here to bog her down with his plights. He came here because he loves her, and he doesn't want to waste their reunion talking about Asgard.

So Thor changes the subject.

"I would like to take you out somewhere," he tells her, "but I don't know enough about your world to do so. I don't suppose you have any suggestions?"

Jane cracks a smile. "I'm sure we can figure something out," she says. "Have you eaten? We could grab lunch? There's a few nice restaurants nearby."

"That sounds perfect," Thor says. An afternoon out, just eating lunch with the woman he loves. It doesn't get much better than that.

"Just, remember," Jane says, a teasing smile on her face, "no throwing mugs, okay?"

Thor chuckles. "Yes, I remember that very well," he says. "Your world's culture is strange to me, but I'll do my best to learn it."

"As long as you don't stop being you," Jane says, and she taps her finger against the tip of his nose.

Thor just smiles. It's so nice to have her back in his life.

~~~

"And the whole thing exploded," Jane says, gesturing widely with her hands.

Thor laughs, something he's been doing much of this afternoon. "Was everyone alright?"

"Oh, yeah, everyone was fine," Jane says. "Darcy's hair didn't even catch on fire this time!"

Thor throws his head back, laughing boisterously at her tales. The way she weaves these stories together, calling back to the ones before, is beyond impressive – and beyond amusing in the best of ways.

"Have I ever told you about the time I almost burned down Asgard's forest?" Thor asks.

Jane's eyes go wide with excitement and intrigue. "No, but now you have to!"

Thor beams. "I was young," he begins, "and I hadn't quite mastered my powers."

Jane covers her mouth with her hand, shoulders already shaking from silent laughter, and he hasn't even gotten to the best part.

"My father had warned me not to practice outside the palace," Thor continues. "In hindsight, it was sound advice, but I, being the arrogant know-it-all that I was, thought–"

The door to the cafe opens, and Sif steps inside.

Thor's heart drops.

It seems he won't be able to wait until tonight to talk to his father after all.

The last time Sif came to find him on Midgard, she did so with bright eyes and a smile. Now, her expression is solemn. He understands why.

Sif walks up to their table, either oblivious to or ignoring the stares of the other patrons, and says to Thor, "The King has requested your presence."

Thor takes a deep breath, trying to ready his mind, but it does nothing of the sort. He's not ready for this. He's not sure he'll ever be ready for this.

He turns his gaze to Jane, who's looking at him with a wary frown. He forces the smallest, most insincere of smiles, and she gives him one of her own.

"I suppose this is it, then," Thor says.

"Are you coming back?" Jane asks.

"Of course," Thor says without a moment of hesitation. He wouldn't dream of leaving her again. "It may take some time. I have business to attend to throughout the Realms. But I promise you, I will be back."

Jane smiles sadly, and Thor reaches across the table, taking her hands in his.

"I'll come back as soon as I can," Thor assures her. "Until then..." He brings one of her hands to his lips and presses a gentle kiss to her fingers. "It was wonderful to see you again, Jane Foster."

"You too, Thor."

And with that, he's off, following Sif out of the building and ignoring the stares they get in the process. It's not until they're outside that they speak. If Thor had it his way, he wouldn't have to speak a word until after he's confronted his father.

"You went back to the girl," Sif remarks. There's a hint of disapproval in her voice that Thor pretends he doesn't notice.

"I did," is his only answer. He went back to her, and he doesn't regret it for a moment.

Sif just hums, and that's the end of it.

She calls upon Heimdall to open the Bifrost once more, and they're transported back to Himinbjorg.

"Heimdall." Thor greets him with a nod. He's always been rather fond of Heimdall. He's like family, in a way – like a second father who's been tasked by the palace to stop him and his brother from doing anything stupid. It's a very important role in Asgard, and one that does not get the recognition it deserves.

"My prince." Heimdall nods once in return.

Thor turns to take his leave. He'd hate to leave his father waiting – though, at the same time, he would love to leave his father waiting if he could. He would love to buy himself some more time, though he knows it's not an option. Heimdall's voice stops him before he gets very far.

"I told the Allfather about your conversations with the Lokis and Sylvie."

Thor freezes.

He can feel the blood draining from his face.

So Odin knows.

That's...

Okay.

That's okay.

He was going to want to talk to him about it anyway.

This is fine.

And it's not as though Thor can be punished for telling his siblings the truth. He has nothing to fear. He did nothing wrong. Surely his father can see that.

So Thor swallows hard and says, "Thank you for telling me." At least now he knows what to expect. It's certainly better than going in blind.

And then they're off to the palace.

There are two horses waiting on the Rainbow Bridge. Thor takes one for himself and Sif takes the other, and together, they trot down the Rainbow Bridge and back toward the palace.

Sif glances over at him as they ride. "What conversation did Heimdall speak of?"

Thor just shakes his head. "Not important." He doesn't want to get into that. Maybe after he talks to his father, he can talk to his friends, but until then, he wants to keep this in the family. His friends don't need to know what his father's done. His friends don't need to know the legacy that follows his family, the blood that trails behind their every move.

The rest of the ride is quiet, aside from the occasional remark from Sif that he shuts down each time. He doesn't mean to do it. He's not trying to be rude or unfriendly. He's just not in the right headspace for a conversation.

Thor bids her farewell once they've reached the palace, and he's not sure it really sinks in until he's reached the throne room doors that this is it. He's about to have what could possibly be the most difficult conversation he's ever had. He's going to learn things about his father that he never wanted to know. He's going to learn things about his world's history that he never wanted to know.

He takes a deep breath.

And he opens the door.

His father is seated on the throne, expressionless, and the lack of emotion, the lack of anything on his face only makes this more disconcerting. He doesn't know what to expect. He's not sure he's ready to find out.

There are two guards at the base of the stairs, and Odin shoos them away. Thor's not sure if that makes this better or worse. Then Odin gestures for him to come closer, and Thor hesitantly does as he's told.

He swallows hard. "Father."

"My son." Odin nods in greeting, and it feels so... solemn. Tense. Uncomfortable. At least they both feel the same way.

"You called for me?" Thor says. He knows why. He's sure Odin knows that he knows why, too.

"Yes, I did," Odin says. "We were supposed to meet earlier today, were we not? To discuss our plans to quell the uprisings among the Nine Realms."

Thor grimaces.

He knew this was coming.

"Did something else come up?" Odin cocks his head to the side, as though out of curiosity, but Thor suspects that it's more than that. He wants Thor to tell him what he's learned. And though Thor doesn't particularly want to, he doesn't want to put it off, either; he doesn't want to deal with this anxiety any longer than he has to.

So Thor takes one last calming deep breath.

"Yes," he says. "Something did."

Odin raises his head slightly, and though he doesn't know if this was his intention, it feels... intimidating, almost. If he thought he could turn back now, he might have, but that doesn't seem to be an option.

He's spent a lot of time thinking about how this conversation would go. He's spent a lot of time trying not to think about it, too. He'd assumed he would have his siblings by his side when they did this, that they would take the pressure off of him, but they're not. This is all on him, and he doesn't know where to begin.

So finally, he just asks, "Why did you not tell me about my sister?"

Odin sighs, his head hanging low, and there's a feeling of vulnerability there, uncharacteristic of a king like himself. "I didn't want you to find out this way," he begins.

"It seems to me that you didn't want me to find out at all." If what Mobius said is true, he only finds out quite literally in his father's dying moments, seconds before his sister appears, with nothing but violence and revenge on her mind.

Again, his father sighs, and that feels like confirmation in and of itself. Odin was never going to tell him. Not until he was dying; not until his final moments, when he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath.

Thor looks at him in disbelief, in disgust. "You're a coward." That's what this is all about. He's a coward. He's a selfish coward who cares more about himself than the fate of Asgard. He can't believe he didn't see it before. He can't believe he couldn't see through him. He's so selfish, so arrogant that he thought nothing of putting off a world-ending catastrophe until he was gone, leaving the fate of Asgard – the fate of the Nine Realms in their entirety – in the hands of his woefully unprepared descendants.

It's hard to believe that a day ago, Thor would have called him his idol. He would have called him a hero; the greatest king Asgard could ask for. At least he knows the truth now. At least he knows his father for the coward he is.

And then, Odin surprises him.

"You're right."

Thor raises his brows, silent.

"I never told you because I was ashamed," Odin says. "I was ashamed of my rule, and of the child I ruined with my own bloodlust and brutality. I thought that if I could hide it, if I simply raised you well, you would..." He trails off, shaking his head to himself. "I've made a lot of mistakes, and you now know the worst of them."

If Odin thought that would make it better, he was wrong. It changes nothing, but at least he's self-aware.

"What did you expect to happen when you died?" Thor asks. "You were going to let Hela loose on our world with no warning, no time to prepare our people for war?"

"I expected that you would have taken the throne a long time before then," Odin answers.

Thor narrows his eyes.

"I always told myself that when you proved yourself as king, I would tell you the truth," Odin says. "I wanted to wait until I knew that you were ready to rule before I told you. I wanted to know that you were ready for what was to come. I've since realized I was wrong.

"When you attacked Jotunheim, I'd thought I'd make a mistake," Odin says. "I feared I'd given you the throne too soon, and that you were too impulsive, too intemperate for what I had to share. But I've begun to realize that I was wrong. I should have told you the truth far sooner, not simply to prepare you for the future, but to help you learn from the past, so that you would not make the same mistakes as I."

Thor clenches his jaw. A part of him can see the logic in his thinking. A much larger part of him simply thinks his father is proving himself to be not only a coward, but far less of a genius than he appeared.

Odin stands up, and as he descends the stairs to the throne, Thor backs away. But then Odin steps toward him, and, rather reluctantly, Thor stops, letting his father come closer. If this is what he wants, Thor's not allowed to refuse. That's what it comes down to, really: whatever his father wants, he gets. It's much less endearing now that Thor's learned he's not the man he thought he was.

Odin rests his hand on his son's shoulder, and when their eyes meet, Thor can see the sincerity in them. Though he almost hates to admit it, Thor can feel his walls begin to crack.

"I'm sorry, my son," Odin says. "I should have told you. I let my shame get in the way of my duty, both to my kingdom and, more importantly, to my family. And though this is not how I wanted you to learn of my actions, I'm glad that you now know the truth."

Thor just looks at him for a few moments – really, truly looks at him. He's vulnerable, perhaps more so than Thor's ever seen him, and it makes him want to forgive him. It makes him want to forget that this ever happened. He wishes he could go back to the time when he trusted his father wholly; when he believed with everything in him that his father had only the purest intentions in everything he did.

But he can't go back.

He can't unlearn the truth.

So, after a long, drawn-out silence between them, Thor says, "I will be back tonight with Loki and Sylvie, and perhaps Mobius, if he wishes to come. They wish to speak to you as well. Tomorrow, I – with the Loki of our world – will lead our army in restoring order to the Nine Realms. Is that all you need from me?"

He can see the moment Odin realizes that he's lost him; that his story, his apology, it wasn't enough. He chose to keep this secret. He chose to endanger all of Asgard for his ego, his selflessness, and that's not something they can just move past.

Slowly, Odin takes his hand back, and he shakes his head. "No, that is all."

Thor nods once. "Thank you, Father."

And then he leaves.