It seems like my dear muse Lupin wants more. Here it is. I own nothing.

"What if you found me?"

Jane watched the mist of a breath leaving her mouth and dissipating into the cold, bright night. The snow-covered grounds reflected the moon and the stars, glittering silently, peacefully. The landscape around her had gone to sleep long hours before. There was no movement, no sound to disturb this graceful slumber. Tall spruces were guarding and decorating the path up the small hill, towards her new home. They stood there magnificent and still, their branches bowing under the weight of the glinting snow. The small garden around the house slept as well, the lawns and patches buried under the white cover. And surrounded by all this quiet beauty, stood her modest house. It was made mostly of wood, the outer walls painted dark shade of red, the window frames white.

The small porch before the main entrance was one of her favorite places to linger for a while. She sat there in the summer afternoons, reading books, revising papers or just listening to the sounds of nature. And it was her shelter during the sleepless winter nights, when the loneliness crept closer.

It felt relieving and kind of refreshing when the SHIELD had first moved her to their research base in Norway. And she had hoped to feel this relief after returning from Asgard, too, but it was harder this time.

Before, she had had something to cling onto. The hope that her Asgardian prince would come for her as he had promised. But what was there for her now? She had been banished, and abandoned for good.

Yes of course, she used to have a regular, perfectly normal life once. Something she would love to return to. Well, if the mess of a life of an unusually skilled astrophysicist girl could have been considered "normal". But it had been something she would love to return to. Why not? She used to be pretty happy like that. No need to worry about the realms somewhere in the deep universe.

Back then, she used to watch the distant worlds, she used to fantasize about them. She could have imagined them as she wanted them to be. But now it was different. She had been given this opportunity. She had travelled amongst the stars. She had witnessed the unknown beauty of a place light-years away. However, too soon she had learned that this realm had not been just about wonders. It was about cruelty and suffering, too.

She embraced herself at the sudden blow of a cold breeze. Straightening the collar of her long coat, she hung her head. Perhaps you should retreat to the house, Jane. It is extremely cold. Yes, you have a coat and snow boots on, but there's still just a nightgown underneath it.

Wrapping the coat tighter around her body, she straightened and turned to leave. But then, she stopped mid-turn and assumed her previous position, leaning against the wooden column.

She could not just turn and go to bed. She knew she would see him. Again. His wrists scraped, torn up to the flesh. His pale, wretched body, starved to the bone, covered in sweat and old, clotted blood. His lips and eyelids sewn shut with a wire. His silent lamentation, and the tears running down his sickly pale cheeks. And the giant serpent looming over him, the venom dripping, slow and unforgiving, from the enormous fangs.

No, there had been no other option. She must have helped him. She must have done something, anything...

And now she was there. Back on Earth, with no possibility and no intentions to return.

But she missed him. Thor.

Did she still love him? She could no longer tell. But she would love to see him at least once again. Maybe to say some reassuring words, an apology… Something.

What are you possibly doing now? What is anyone else in Asgard doing right now? She sighed. What is Loki doing right now..? What happened to him after I had left? Did they accuse him of a rebellion against his punishment? Did they punish him even worse? Instead of me? Is he still alive at all?

Too many questions, and no answers to be found.

No, Thor would not allow it. He would defend Loki even if it meant going against Odin. He would keep Loki alive. And eventually, he would save him. He would. Surely.

But those thoughts she forced in her mind would not stop her heart from sinking. She forced herself to imagine him free again. How he would look like. How his eyes would look like in the daylight. They must give him that last chance. They have to let the sun shine on him once more. They cannot let him starve and die in the dark dungeon. No…

Jane wondered if he would ever get to know who had visited him in his prison cell. And if he knew, what would he think? What if he came to Earth? And what if he found me?

Jane looked up with an unspoken plea on her lips. The cold wind pinched her wet cheeks. The stars seemed so bright. And so close. Closer than ever.

Please… Live.

She bit on her lower lip and held back any further tears. And then, Jane looked back at the tiny garden, at the snow-covered path.

At first, her heart stopped with shock and horror, but then, eventually, started beating again.

Down the path, a few feet away from her, stood a tall man in dark clothes, the green cape moving lightly with the breeze. His hair was shoulder-long and black as a raven. His skin was pale and the green of his eyes twinkled brightly in her way.

Jane stood still, petrified on her spot, as he made a few steps forward, closing the distance between them. A large snake's fang was hanging around his neck. Jane reached out and touched it. And at once, she felt that jolt of pain shooting through her wrist and forearm.

Never tearing his eyes off her, he took her hand and pushed the sleeve up, just slightly, to reveal the old scar. The bite-mark. And as soon as he found it, he did not hesitate and pulled her hand up to gently cover the scar with his lips.

And he did not need to say anything else.

He lived. And he did not need to explain.