Displacement

Jane had been guided back to her rooms in the palace by the queen's maidens, and Thor remained alone to say one last goodbye to the one who had been his mother.

Odin had gone, and the crowd was dispersing, having paid their respects, in silence. Frigga had been much loved by her people, and she would be gravely missed.

At the edges of the quickly-evaporating crowd, Thor noticed another who, like himself, lingered on. He was dressed in a long, black hooded cloak, as if he did not wish to be known, and for a moment Thor thought that Loki had somehow escaped to attend the funeral of the not-mother he had nonetheless loved. He discarded the thought, however, as the stranger approached him.

"I am so sorry for your loss," the stranger said in a low voice. His accent was almost exactly Midgardian English, but to Thor's practiced ears there was just a hint of something else, something from very far away, both in space and time. Then, smoothly, the cloaked man turned on his heel and walked away, but Thor caught just a glimpse of Midgardian Converse sneakers under the edge of the robe. He did not follow the man, but stood thinking.

Could it be?

He remembered Frigga telling him, long ago, of the man who had come to her, blown on the wings of a storm, needing badly the aid the queen had offered, and the tales she had told him of the race of distant Gallifrey, as ancient if not as deep in lore as that of Asgard, who had instead of becoming protectors of the Nine Realms had sworn non-interference, and especially of the man who had, like he himself, fallen in love with the people of Midgard and become their protector. Gallifrey had since vanished from time and the memories of lesser races, and Thor suddenly realized that then the stranger must be without home or kin. He felt the impulse to follow the stranger, to tell him that he was not alone in the fight, but he knew that he must not.

Some journeys, a man must walk alone.

Author's note: I have no excuse. Also lots of plot bunnies. *sigh* What am I doing with my life. (Am I the only one who thinks a DW/Avengers crossover would be FREAKING AWESOME? I can't be the only one.)

Anyway, the reason for this was mostly I was intrigued by both the similarities of Asgardian and Gallifreyan culture and differences-for instance, both are very long-lived, but the mechanics are different, and Asgard is a culture of guardians, while Gallifrey is more about observing. However, a Time Lord never forgets a kindness.

I hope everyone enjoyed this and I still cry over Frigga. *sigh* What is my life.