Thor Odinson was over 1,500 years old— a number that humans would never be able to grasp, and yet still young for an Asgardian. For so long, he had thought that his life on Asgard was all he needed. He was a prince, the God of Thunder, someone to be feared and someone to be praised. There was the next battle, and that was it. Thor existed to win— to conquer. And he was good at it.
But his life didn’t truly start until he set foot on Earth. His father was a complicated, misguided person but he taught him his greatest lessons. Forcing Thor to earn his hammer, making him think about someone other than himself and the fastest way to throne— it changed him. And that journey would not have been the same without Jane Foster.
She was brilliant and brave and loved the stars in a way that Thor had never considered before. He wanted to see the universe through her eyes and teach her the things he had learned on his journeys. She saw him when he was unworthy and when he earned that power back— and loved him all the same either way. Connections like theirs seemed meant to be, drawn together by whatever powers in the universe made such things happen.
Earth brought him to Jane. To the Avengers. To his brother when he was lost. Earth gave him a home when his was lost. It saved his people. It’s where his father spent his final days. The 1,500 years prior felt small compared to everything he’s experienced on this planet. His life became exponentially filled with both joy and sorrow the day he was banished.
Because of that, Thor found it hard to return after taking Arra in as his own. Jane was gone, his people did not need him, and his friends were either dead or gone somewhere else. After his travels with the Guardians, it felt as if he had no home. So he put all his energy towards Arra and their life together— forging bonds, testing her abilities, and fighting for those who could not fight for themselves. Love and Thunder, they were called. A title he absolutely adored.
But then something called him back. It felt like homesickness, but that couldn’t have been right. Thor had no home. Only a ship and a daughter to share it with. Still, he followed that feeling back to Earth, not knowing what to expect when he arrived.
When Val told him the news, it took a lot of convincing to finally make him believe it. Jane was alive, she said. He figured it was some sort of cruel joke, and questioned whether following his homesickness back to this retched planet was just his past trying to play him for a fool. But once he moved through the waves of sorrow and bitterness that came with thinking about Jane, Thor finally gave in and accepted what Val said.
So here he waited, sitting on a rock near the cliff covered shores of New Asgard, looking over the water. It was a beautiful and brisk day, much like it was the last time he saw his father. He came to terms with the possibility that he would be waiting there forever, that Jane was not actually alive. But he needed to know for himself.