Somewhere In Between

By Serena

Summary: They were from different worlds, of entirely different dimensions. But beneath it all, they were just a man and a woman.

A/N: Just saw Thor, been waiting for a LONG LONG TIME for it to come out… Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed! I thought it was a fantastic movie, definitely one of the best superhero movies I've seen. And, I mean, c'mon... Chris Hemsworth owned that role.

WARNING: MAJOR, MAJOR SPOILERS! If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend NOT reading this fic.

NOTE : I've published my YA novel OCEAN OF EMPTINESS on Amazon in eBook format for the Mac, PC, Kindle, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Android (with free Kindle App). If you would like more information, and if you'd like to read a sample chapter, please check out my homepage by going to my profile here and clicking on the link. If you would like to purchase the novel, click on the link on my profile page.

Also, if you'd like to be a fan of me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter, links are on my profile as well, as well as a link to my Deviantart page.

Disclaimer: I don't own this in the least bit.

Maybe you and me got lost somewhere; we can't move on, we can't stay here. - Rob Thomas

Jane Foster was an astrophysicist. She was dedicated, severely passionate about her work, and intensely focused. She did not, not fall head over heels for any man, especially a man who might distract her from her research.

Even if said man just so happened to be the Norse god of thunder. Or at least, he claimed to be. But it was absurd. Thor was just a legend, a fairy-tale. He certainly was not real. Or as insanely good-looking. Or a man who consistently happened to be in the way of her truck.

But whoever, or whatever he claimed to be, Jane was driving herself crazy, due to the fact that he was driving her crazy as well. He'd started out so violent, so commanding and threatening. So intense and intimidating. Such as the incident at the diner, when, after consuming more food in one setting than she ate in two days, he decided to express his newfound love of coffee by, well, smashing his mug on the ground.

"What was that?" she demanded, as she bent down to pick up some of the larger pieces. She glanced up at him, only to find him staring at her with a strange expression on his face. Was it curiosity? Admiration? And why the heck did his eyes have to be so blue? Whatever it was, it made her feel extremely uncomfortable and oddly warm. She hastily averted her gaze and rose to her feet.

"It was delicious," he explained simply. "I want another." He seemed extraordinarily pleased with himself.

"Well, you could've just said so," Jane retorted, angry with herself for admiring him and questioning his hot gaze.

"I just did," he said with a laugh.

What an asshole, she thought, inwardly fuming. She'd have to pay for that, and it wasn't like she had tons of money to spend.

"No!" she exclaimed, returning to her seat. "I meant ask! Nicely!"

His self-satisfied expression flickered with a bit of uncertainty. "I meant no disrespect," he replied, sounding surprised by her offended tone.

She didn't want to hear it. "All right, well, no more smashing," she told him, irritated both with him and with herself. "Deal?"

He paused, regarded her carefully, almost as if sizing her up as an opponent in a fighting match. However, he nodded his head, then answered, much to her surprise, "You have my word."

This shocked Jane, to say the least, after he'd been less than grateful in their past conversations. What was his angle, here? Was he trying to be manipulative, as Don had been with her? Or was he sincerely apologetic for his actions? Jane didn't trust him; or rather, she didn't want to trust him.

At least, that's what she told herself.

"Good," she managed to get out, ignoring the not-so-subtle look Darcy cast her, then to Thor. She looked up at him, only to find him staring hard at her with that same expression as before: intent, focused, and, much to her astonishment and confusion, dark with an emotion she couldn't quite place. She only knew that she started to blush, and quickly turned her own gaze down to her barely touched food.

But she could still feel his gaze on her.

Damn it, she thought, furiously stabbing her plate. She was an astrophysicist, all right. But right now, she was only a woman, and she didn't like to be reminded of that.

When he abruptly decided to search for something that he claimed was his, she jumped up and ran after him, confused and more than a little ticked off. She still needed him – well, needed information from him. He couldn't just abandon her – them – after everything she'd – they'd – done for him!

When he told her that the satellite was not what it appeared to be, she grew more and more frustrated with his arrogance at wanting to just storm into a government operation. If he could be taken out with a tazer, it was certain the government would take him out.

And man, did he walk fast!

"Well, whatever it is," she huffed, "the government seems to think it's theirs, so, you just intend to go in there and take it?"

"Yes," he said with that cocky smirk of his.

UGH! She wanted to scream, hit him, and then hit herself for being drawn to his lips and eyes. Then, he halted, fixed her with those stormy blue eyes of his, and said,

"If you take me there now, I'll tell you everything you wish to know."

Crap. He had her there.

And when he said good-bye and reached for her hand, she couldn't help but jump back, startled at his sudden closeness and reach for contact. Eyes glittering with amusement and sheer warmth, he took her hand and bent down. Never breaking eye contact with her, he pressed his warms lips to her hand.

Oh, man. Jane bit her lip and started blushing and giggling like a schoolgirl. And when he smiled at her, she knew she was losing it fast.

But despite the craziness of her life, despite the fact that this stranger claiming to be the god of thunder had dropped into her life without warning, despite everything that was going on… She couldn't help but relish in the fact that despite everything, she was still a woman, and he was still a man.

She didn't know what possessed her to drive him to the scene of the satellite. Although she accused him of being crazy, she wasn't so sure that it wasn't her that was really the crazy one.

Who's the more foolish – the fool or the fool that follows him?

"No Star Wars references," she muttered, flexing her hands on the steering wheel.

"I beg your pardon?" said Thor with that low, deep voice of his.

Jane blinked, shook her head. "Sorry, just… talking to myself."

"And you accuse me of being crazy," he said, sounding amused.

Jane shot him a glare, but then he started chuckling.

"I only joke, Jane."

Why did her name have to sound so completely amazing coming out of his mouth? Biting her lip, she shook her head again and proved unable to hold back a smile of her own. Darn the man, but he did have a point. Somehow, he always seemed to unnerve her, to completely unhinge her. She hated it and loved it at the same time.

"I know," she said, shooting him a small grin. "I'm just sort of surprised to hear you making a joke."

His smile faded. "There hasn't been much time for jokes as of late," he said more grimly.

"I know," she repeated. "It's one thing after another these days." When he raised an eyebrow, she said, "What? C'mon, you have to admit that our whole encounter hasn't been exactly normal. I find you in the middle of nowhere, I run you over with my car twice, and now we're off to storm a government compound." She shook her head, snorted. "I feel like I'm playing DDR and losing badly."

"DDR?" he echoed.

"Dance Dance Revolution," she said, suddenly embarrassed. "It was a game that I used to play when I was younger."

He frowned, puzzled. "I'm interested to see how one would attempt a revolution through dancing. Is it a war dance?"

She couldn't help it – she burst out laughing. "No, no," she said, giggling. "It's just a game. You have to try to step to the music and follow the directions on the TV, and if you don't do it at the right time, you can fail the game."

"It sounds intriguing," he answered, still sounding a bit confused.

Jane had a sudden mental image of this extremely tall, extremely buff, extremely strange and fascinating man playing DDR on her TV. And, despite the dangerous, foolhardy mission they were attempting, she started to laugh again. When he shot her a curious look, she just shook her head and laughed harder.

"We'll have to play it sometime," she said, still laughing.

He shot her a blinding smile, shining blue eyes once again strangely dark and full of turbulence. "Indeed we will."

Her smile faltered; and she had to fight a strong blush.

Then came that night. The night when he unexpectedly brought Eric back to her trailer and startled her into an embarrassing frenzy. After he explained that Eric would be all right and dumped her old friend and mentor on the bed, Eric, completely drunk, slapped him on the cheek.

"I still don't think you're the god of thunder," Eric drawled, grinning up at Thor. "But you should be."

Jane, surprised at Thor's presence, and even more surprised at Eric's words that Thor actually claimed to be the Norse god of thunder, turned and tucked some hair behind her ear. She didn't know whether to be unnerved that the giant man was in her trailer, or because he did actually think he was a god.

Well, it didn't hurt that he looked like one.

She followed him into the small kitchen area as he started to leave. However, just as he reached the open doorway, he turned and paused, almost as if he didn't want to leave. And when he turned completely around, her heart gave a small jump.

Cut it out, Jane Foster, she thought. You need to stop this.

"Are these your chambers?" he questioned, looking around the rather dumpy trailer.

Chambers? Who says that?

"Ah, it's more of a temporary living situation," she said, and happened to glance down at the box of Kashi cereal and dirty dishes lying around. "Oh," she said, completely embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she added, hurrying to pick up the plate and cereal box and get them out of the way. "I don't usually have guests." She shot him a chagrined smile as she carelessly stuffed the objects in a cupboard. Whirling around, she rubbed her neck and laughed, embarrassed, and added, "Actually, I never have guests."

He just smiled at her, only heightening her mortification at the state of her trailer. Then, with horror, she realized that she'd stuffed a dirty plate into the cupboard. Her smile fading, she turned around again.

"That's – that's not the right place for that," she muttered, taking the plate out of the cupboard and placing it in the sink, her hands practically shaking. "Um…" She tried to clean up the sink area, but to no avail. A pile of dirty dishes had taken over, and she would need at least thirty minutes to clean them all up.

Crap.

She sighed, turned back around to face him. "Um, can we go outside?" she asked hopefully.

He actually looked as relieved as she did, and nodded, grinning. "Yes, of course."

He followed her outside and helped her build a fire, before pulling up a chair for her, and then himself. As they stared at the fire, she started to ramble about how she came up here when Darcy was driving her crazy, or when she needed to reconcile data. He just smiled at her again, and she felt like a complete idiot.

Licking her lips, she glanced down at her hands, then up to him. "I'm really glad you're safe," she admitted.

"You've been very kind to me," he told her honestly. "I… I've been far less grateful than you deserve."

Wow. He was so sincere, so open and gentle. So unlike the rough-mannered man she'd first run over with her car. Speaking of running him over with her car…

"Well, I did hit you with my car a couple times," she said, "so I think we're even." She started laughing at that, and he joined her.

"Perhaps I had it coming," he said.

In the chill of the night, she was warmed by his words and his gaze. And when they leaned in closer to each other as he showed her the different realms and their connections, she felt even more warmed by the closeness of his body heat that practically radiated from him.

More and more, she saw him changing. And more and more, she found herself being completely drawn to him. More than being drawn to him. Drowning her whole life, her whole being in him. Jane Foster, astrophysicist, was just a woman who was quickly falling in love with not a god of thunder, but just a man.

The thought terrified her. And thrilled her.

She felt his hand pulling up her blanket before she drifted away into a peaceful sleep.

Unreal. That's the only way she knew how to possibly describe the events taking place. First, after Thor had helped her prepare breakfast, exceedingly kind and polite, four of his friends had shown up – friends dressed like ancient warriors.

Then, a strange object had appeared and started to destroy the whole town – Thor seemed to know what it was. He tried to get her to evacuate with the others, but she stubbornly refused. He'd been there with her for everything else so far – there was no way she would abandon him now.

But when she saw him firmly, steadily walk towards the metallic suit of armor, she felt her heart drop. Strong and powerful though he was, how could he defeat something twice his size? But to her astonishment, he faced the object with no fear. He started talking, and the strange creature halted. Thor talked as though he were speaking to his brother, and pleaded with it to destroy him over the town.

What? No! Thor, what are you doing? She thought frantically. She had to trust him in this… But she was so afraid. She couldn't remember being this afraid for someone before… ever.

And when it looked as though the object were turning away, she breathed an audible sigh of relief. Then, it swung around and knocked Thor far into the air.

"NO!" she screamed, pulling away from Eric's grasp and running up to him. He was covered in blood… so much blood… She could hear him gasping, choking for breath. She fell at his side, touched his face. "No… no," she whispered, tears springing to her eyes. She ran her fingers down his jaw, swallowing painfully. He was pale, dazed… those glittering blue eyes unfocused – until they saw her.

"It's…" He gasped, coughed again. "It's over…"

She shook her head even before he finished speaking. "No," she argued breathlessly, "It's not over."

"I mean," he breathed raggedly, breaking into a dazzling, tired smile, "You're safe."

"We're safe," she agreed quietly.

She had never seen his eyes so clear. So full of emotion before. And she knew, in that tumultuous moment, that she had never loved someone so much in her life before. He had risked everything for her, all for her.

"It's over," he repeated, and started coughing again.

"No," she whispered. But she saw it in his face. He wheezed out another breath, and his eyes slid shut. She choked out a sob, and tears flowed freely down her face.

No, you can't be dead. You can't be dead. You are not dead, she repeated in her head.

But he wasn't. And when his hammer, his hammer, came flying through the air towards him, regenerating him and revealing his true being, she knew that this was no ordinary man. This was an immortal being, powerful, strong, and more dangerous than any other being on earth.

But he loved her. And she, simple human astrophysicist, loved him.

After he had carried her away to the site of the bifrost, he drew her close to him with one powerful arm, said in a low, intense voice, "I must return to Asgard. But I give you my word: I will return for you." And he pressed his lips to her hand, his eyes once again dark and heated. "Deal?"

Jane didn't speak. She merely did what she had been longing to do for so long: she met him halfway and kissed him. When his lips crashed onto hers, she knew then that she never wanted to be apart from him again. Despite the fact that he was the god of thunder, despite the fact that she was just an astrophysicist, deep down, they were simply a man and a woman.

And right now, in the heat of the moment, as his lips molded with hers, his mouth hot completely perfect, she knew that was the only thing that mattered.

"Deal," she whispered.

It had been two months. The two longest, most frustrating months of Jane Foster's life. Months of searching, months of collecting data, months of working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to try and recover the portal to Thor's dimension, but to no avail. Still, they hadn't been able to connect with anyone else, and no more bifrosts appeared.

After another long, fruitless day, she sat in her bed, dully staring at the TV. She, Eric, and Darcy were staying in a hotel, courtesy of S.H.I.E.L.D., and it had been pleasant not to be living in a trailer while she focused on her work. But, even with the hotel, she didn't really care. She just wanted to be with him.

He had promised to return for her, and she believed him. But how long would he take? Didn't he know how hard she was trying to find him?

Then, startling her, Darcy burst into her room, saying, "OK, that's it, Miss Mopey-Face. You're done sitting on your butt."

Jane shot Darcy a half-hearted glare. "I've been working all day. I deserve it."

"No. What you need is to get a good workout." Darcy threw two plastic mats on the floor in front of the TV. "Here, got this from the front desk. I figured you needed a little exercise."

"What I need is to be alone so I can think." Jane rubbed her head.

"Nuh-uh." Darcy shook her head, plugged the mats into the TV screen, and popped the game disk into the DVD player. "Work it off, girl," she said. "Work it off. Just dance away your sorrows and your frustrations. C'mon. If you beat me I'll buy you a cookie."

"I'd rather have ice cream," said Jane sullenly.

"Fine, you get ice cream."

"With hot fudge."

"Fine, hot fudge, too."

"And extra whipped cream."

"OK," Darcy said slowly.

"And a brownie."

"Don't push it," Darcy said. "Now c'mon. Get your butt off that bed and dance! Beyonce, here we come!"

Jane sighed, but she slid off the bed and joined Darcy, stepping onto her own mat. As much as she hated to admit it, Darcy was probably right. She'd been cooped up inside for an entire week now, pouring over constellation charts and Hubble telescope images. Maybe she needed this.

The first song came out, and she started out slowly. Part of her didn't want to move, and part of her just didn't care if she won or not. However, as the song became more fast-paced, she found herself being focused on the steps, on the computer, and ensuring that she hit the pad at just the right time.

"No!" Darcy moaned. "I can't believe you creamed me!" Pouting, she said, "Best out of three?"

Jane glanced at her and grinned, slightly out of breath. "Let's do this."

An hour later, Darcy and Jane were locked in an epic battle of Dance Dance Revolution, both completely fixed to the TV screen. The song was "Livin' La Vida Loca," and both were covered in sweat but in no hurry to stop playing.

"I'm gonna… own you," Darcy panted, moving quickly with the beat.

"That's what you think," Jane breathed out in return. Her hair kept falling into her eyes, but she ignored it and stepped again. Darcy had, unfortunately, been right. She felt a rush of adrenaline as the music challenged every muscle in her body. She felt sweat drops running down her arms and forehead, but she just swiped them out of her eyes and continued.

"So, this is the Revolution of Dancing."

Jane halted mid-step, whirled around, and faced the god of thunder himself, who was standing a few feet inside the room, smiling broadly, hands folded over his muscular chest. He was dressed in a simple long-sleeve, navy shirt, with jeans and boots.

"About time," Darcy said breezily. "Jane was just about to cream me again." She stepped off the mat. "Here, you can take my place. I already owe her two gallons of ice cream and four brownie sundaes, but maybe you can beat her and take those off my tab." She went up to him and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Later, guys." As she turned to leave the room, she shot Jane a snarky look and raised her eyebrows, grinning.

But Jane wasn't even paying attention. Darcy huffed and closed the door behind her, muttering, "I know when I'm not wanted. Which is all the time."

Jane, breathing heavily, felt as though her lungs and heart would explode. "It's really you," she gasped out. "You're here. You are, aren't you?"

He gazed at her, then drew closer. With every step he took, Jane felt her heart pounding heavier and louder. Then, he reached out, drew her to him in one, swift move and halted, only inches from her lips. She could feel his familiar, hot breath against her cheeks. It made her heady, dizzy. She felt as though she were almost in a dream.

"I told you I would come back for you," he rumbled, eyes deep and dark. "We had a deal."

"I know, it's just…" She could barely talk with him so close. "I didn't think… it's been so long. Too long." Feeling a sudden, strange burst of anger, she pulled back slightly and punched him in the shoulder. However, it did nothing to him, and only made her hand hurt like the dickens. "Owwww," she groaned, clutching her hand.

Thor shook his head, took her tiny hand in his own, and started massaging it with his fingers. "I'm sorry, Jane. I never meant to be from you for this long. I destroyed the bridge that connected our realms to defeat my brother, and in doing so, destroyed the connection with you."

"Then how are you here?" she demanded, trying not to be affected by the way his hand was caressing hers.

"My father. He was able to help me reach earth. However, the bridge is still in repair, which means that I won't be able to return to Asgard for some time." He smiled down at her, then kissed her hand. "I'm sorry, Jane. Can you forgive me?"

"I don't know," she said. "I have to think about it."

He pulled her close again, gaze hot and smile warm. "Are you certain?"

She swallowed. "Y-yes."

Bending down, he pressed his lips in a torturous, light kiss to her lips. "And now?" he said, his voice low.

"Mmm-hmm," she breathed, eyes sliding shut.

He made an amused noise deep in his throat, and pressed his lips to hers, longer, harder. After a pause, he pulled back, lips still touching hers. "And still?" he muttered.

"Absolut -" She barely had time to get the word out before his mouth covered hers, and his arms tightened around her tiny frame. Her arms slid up his toned arms, around his neck, and into his thick, golden hair. As he titled her head and deepened the kiss, fully overwhelming her, she heard him growl low in this throat. Her mouth opened for him, and she gasped into his lips.

One of his hands buried itself in her hair, the other still clasped tightly to her waist. They were pressed tightly against each other, no room in between. Jane felt as though she were drowning… and she never wanted to come up for air. However, eventually, they did part, and she was gasping for breath as he pressed his forehead against hers.

"Jane," he murmured, "I am in love with you. I am yours – my entire being, my soul, is yours. You have saved me, in more ways than one. You have no idea the extent of how you have tormented me these months."

She smiled up at him. "I think I do. Because I felt the same way." She brushed some stray strands behind his ear. "I love you, too, you know."

His smile was broader than she had ever seen. "I hope you don't mind if I stay here for a while longer. That is, unless you feel the need to hit me with your car once more."

Jane laughed. "No, I think I'm good for now."

His eyes glittered warmly. "Good." He squeezed her hand, stepped back. "Now, perhaps I can attempt the Dancing Revolution."

Jane couldn't stop smiling and went over to her mat, still holding his hand. "You can try… but I warn you not to underestimate my powers." She sank into a ninja position, giggling. "And yet another Star Wars reference," she said, shaking her head. "I'm hopeless. I hope you know that, Thor. I'm very strange."

"What is it that Darcy once said? It takes one to know one," said Thor, grinning wickedly at her.

Jane burst out laughing. "All right, then let's see if you can handle Dance Dance Revolution… let's start with JLo and Pitbull." She selected the song on the TV screen, unable to stop herself from trembling with excitement and pure, unadulterated joy.

"Oh, I think I can handle anything," said Thor arrogantly. But by the way his eyes were shining, she knew he was joking.

Jane smirked. "You're on, tough guy."

Here we stand. Somewhere in between this moment and the end. - Rob Thomas

THE END

Let me know what you think! :)

- Serena