Title: During Inbetween

Pairing: LokixOC

Verse: Slightly AU Thor!verse

Prompt: During Loki's time off from trying to rule the world

Disclaimer: As much as I wish I could own this version of Loki, Marvel does and won't give him to me.

Chapter 1

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"Brother, NO!" shouted Thor as Loki let go and fell into the abyss closing around them. He closed his eyes as he took what he hoped was his last breath in Asgard.

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Anna Halfdan needed to ride. She sighed and rubbed her eyes, looking away from the computer screen filled with a disappointing financial statement for the small farm rescue she owned and operated. She grimaced, giving the report one final look, and threw on some thick riding socks and slid on her worn in riding boots. She walked across her lane to the small six-horse barn. The early May weather was a few degrees warmer than she was used to in Southerndown, but she wasn't going to complain. Anna hated the weather in wales, even though it was halfway through May and the thunder storms from the last to days had been heading off and dissipating.

Anna entered the barn and breathed deeply. She should put her boys out, but the fields were just so wet and muggy they would lose all the grass and with hay being so expensive right now, she couldn't risk it. She grabbed her new project, Fenrir, and led him to the center aisle. Fenrir was a gorgeous Danish Warmblood stallion, with an almost black coat with a dark silver and black mane and tail. Anna began to brush down his sleek coat and mused on how she got him.

Anna had first seen him on a vet call to a local stud farm, locked in his stall and barley standing. His coat was deteriorated and hair falling out of his mane and tail, looking dazed and angry. His stall was filthy and water and food molding and smelling. When asked, the owner of the farm said he was too dangerous to be around and only came out long enough to breed with mares. Anna had immediately took him home with her (she always brought the trailer, just in case) and nursed him back to a healthy state.

Anna paused mid-stroke and Fenrir looked at her. He nickered and shook his head, seemingly asking if she was done yet. Anna smiled and stroked his face. "Are you happier now boy?" she asked him, taking in how much he changed. His scruffy and dry coat had been rejuvenated into a shining black mass (when not muddy) and his mane and tail had grown and filled out about three inches. His new coat showed a dusting of white hairs on his forehead, giving him an almost wolf-like face. "Oh, Fenrir, what would you do without me?" Anna laughed and gave him one last pat.

She grabbed his tack and her helmet and led him out of the barn and to the lane. As she looked up to mount Fenrir, she saw a black object fly towards Dun raven Bay. She blinked and tried to follow the object, but lost it after it disappeared behind the hills and trees. She pulled herself up and inwardly debated whether she should see what that thing was. Deciding suddenly, she pushed Fenrir into a trot and headed toward the downed object.

Fenrir was a very large horse, allowing Anna to see a wide distance. The small details, however were lost on her, like the fading footprints coming from somewhere within the shallow tide. Anna stopped and gasped when she saw a human-like figure barely breathing about half a mile down the beach. She pushed Fenrir into a brisk canter. Hoping this figure was an animal rather than a human, she threw herself off her mount and ran over to the figure lying on the ground.

"Oh….oh, no…." Anna sighed out when she realized it was a man. He was large, but fit, making it difficult to lift him. "Come, on….please…if you're still awake try to help me…please." Anna pleaded, hoping this man would be able to hear her and start walking, or at the least fumbling back to Fenrir. He was barely breathing, gasping almost, and looking a little bruised up.

Fenir was nervous and worried, not quite sure about who this figure was-or if he could be trusted. Anna's soothing voice helped calm him down, and Anna, thanking whoever was up there, managed to push the unconscious man onto Fenrir and climb up behind him. The horse struggled at first, carrying two people on a beach in sand was far more difficult than one lighter Anna, but with some effort, Fenrir carried both the unknown person and Anna back to the farm.

Anna pulled Fenrir to a stop, rubbing the horse's face and praising him as she nervously tied him by the water trough. She hoped that he would stay long enough to get this injured man slumped on Fenrir into the house. Debating on how she would best get him to the house, Anna prayed she would be able to catch him if he fell to fast. She reached up, grabbed the leathery shirt of the man and pulled him off Fenrir. Luckily, Fenrir didn't spook and even unconscious, this man fell gracefully, almost regally, of the horse.

Anna caught him and managed to half carry half drag him to her room and on the bed. Grimacing as she realized this would mean sand would be all over her clean sheets, she ran out to take care of the horses, and ensure Fenrir wasn't injured due to straining himself and feed him lots of grain.

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About and hour later, Anna had finished caring for all of her horses; putting away and cleaning tack, ensuring Fenrir wasn't injured and making sure all of the animals were fed and watered. She sighed and walked into the house, stripping as she went. She walked with her dirty clothes and threw them into the washing machine, setting it on soiled and went to take a shower. Walking into her room to grab some clean lounge clothes, she startled and gasped when she saw a strange man. It took her a minute to realize that it was the man from the beach. How could she have forgotten him? She bit her lip and decided to continue with her plan of showering. She smelled awful-adrenaline and sweat and horse were not a good combination. She would only be ten minutes, in and out.

After the shower, Anna felt much better and tried to think of a plan to assess the prone man she knew was still out of it on her bed. Steeling her resolve to help this man, she moved from her spot in the doorway and walked over to her bed. She hoped he wouldn't wake up and assume the worst- that she had kidnapped him or something- and began to hesitantly undress him. His clothes were almost like he took a step back a thousand years and took clothes from a rich…. Viking maybe? It took a couple minutes to determine how to get the clothes off, but she would rather have to do this slowly than try to cut them off. These looked expensive and almost ancient. Anna shook her head and pushed the thought away. She had always been a bit of a dreamer with a large imagination.

After Anna had worked the shirt and the boots off, she bit her nail and debated on whether or not to take off the pants. She didn't know if anything would be… underneath. Like if he was commando or whatever people called it. Thinking intently for a couple minutes, she remembered a few of her dad's things that was left in the box in her closet. She grabbed a pair of the neatly folded old boxers, and the lounge pants her dad favorited out of the box.

Anna really tried not to look, but she kept noticing how well muscled this man was. He wasn't spectacularly built or large, but he was lean and the muscles were lightly defined along his stomach, chest and arms. It was like a muted version a body builder and more attractive. She blushed slightly and tried to ignore the physical stature of this stranger. She looked elsewhere when she pulled the pants down, and was glad that he had a cloth covering. It wasn't anything she had seen before, but regardless it made this situation a little less weird. Picking up the light summer lounge pants, she pulled them on the man. They were a little short, even though her dad was six foot tall; meaning tis man had to have been about six foot three. He didn't seem that tall at first to Anna, who was five foot eight, and caused her to blink in surprise.

"I should probably check him for injuries, he basically fell from the sky." Anna thought.

"Um, my name is Anna, I found you lying on the beach, and…. I took you home. I need to check if you're injured. I want to make sure you are ok…I hope you can hear me." She ran her hands over his arms and neck, checking for any broken bones or pockets of hard swelling indicating a severe internal injury. Finding none, Anna continued and moved on to his torso and abdomen. Satisfied with finding no injuries, Anna left to grab a bowl of warm water and a clean washcloth to wipe away the sweat and blood from a minor cut on his chiseled cheek. Anna glanced back to the man on her bed and prayed that he would be alright.

Coming back a few minutes later, Anna saw the man thrashing slightly and mumbling incoherent words. Setting the bowl down and hurrying over she managed to catch what sounded like "I'll miss you brother…." Before he settled done again. Looking at him with a long, sad glance, Anna sighed and picked up the washcloth and dipped it in the water. She gently began to brush the washcloth over his exposed body, humming a gentle lullaby about horses. Anna realized she was treating him like she would one of her injured horses. Anna laughed quietly at herself. How could she be so afraid of this man, not even knowing his name, yet care so gently for him? One of life's greatest mysteries she supposed.

One thing she noticed was how tense this dark man was. He was like a skin stretched across a too-big drum. Somehow, as Anna cared gently for him, he seemed to become lest restless. Like when a frightened animal realizes you won't hurt them, but are still prepared to react on a moment's notice at the slightest threat.

After washing off the sweat and dried blood as gently as she could, Anna dried the stranger off with the driest part of the washcloth and got up to return the bowl and place the washcloth in the dirty clothes. Returning to the room, she pulled up her lounge shorts and checked in the mirror to make sure her bra wasn't showing through the flimsy shirt she threw on top of her shorts. Realizing she was preening for and unconscious stranger, she snorted and turned on her heel to find a place to sit and figure out what to do next. You know, since her bed was occupied and all.

Finding her lounge chair under a pile of papers and riding breeches, she pulled it over to the side of her bed. She lived so far from town and the hospital, how could she get him there? The truck wasn't an option, she could barely get this guy on her horse, much less the lifted truck. Yes, she owned a nice little truck (and by little she meant a six inch lift with large tires and a tow package) that made short work of any farm work she needed done and towed anything and everything. I mean, even if she could get him in the truck, how would she explain herself?

"Oh yes, nurse, I found him on a beach and took him home, bathed him and got him some fresh clothes and showered before I thought I should take him to the hospital. Here ya go!"

…Yeah, right. She would most definitely get locked up. Biting her lip, noticing it was a nervous habit she needed to break, she decided that it would be a bad idea to try to get him into town. Her eyes started to droop as the weariness she had been denying was starting to seep into her bones. She closed her eyes and leaned back in the chair, grabbing a blanket. Only a couple minutes, she told herself. Just a few minutes.

She didn't notice that a few minutes later, she would lean forward onto the bed and grab the stranger's hand.

A few hours later, Loki awoke, hoping to find himself in Helgrind. Really, any other world would do, just nowhere near Asgard. Loki never wanted to return to the place where he'd been lied to and cast out. He struggled to open his eyes, and his blurred vision revealed a murky room with a ceiling staring back at him. How did he get here? He let his eyes wander to a window casting the moonlight into the room he was in. As his vision cleared, he saw a barn with marshy grass and trees surrounding the perimeter of the property he was located. His senses could pick up the slight saltiness of a beach nearby. Where was he? What realm was he on?

It was when he went to move his hand that he realized he was not alone. There was a cascade of ash blonde waves that connected to a lightly tanned face dusted with tiny freckles. This woman who held onto his hand...who did she think she was? Touching the great Loki without his consent… How should he feel about this? The woman was obviously a hard working woman, with calloused hands and small scars on her wrists and hands. Beautiful. "Wait," he thought to himself, "I shouldn't be thinking those things about a petty woman." This was the last thought Loki had before he drifted back to the realm of unconsciousness, not to remember the few moments he was awake; slowly slipping into the blackness that helped to keep the unwanted memories threatening to surface at bay.

Around eight the next morning, Anna awoke, confused as to why she was not in her bed and in a chair. She went to rub her eyes and found one of her hands intertwined with the strangers. Alight dusting of pink settled onto her cheeks as she tried to untangle her fingers from his. She blushed even harder when his hand grasped her hand tighter and a small frown graced his lips, only momentarily before settling back into his neutral sleep-ridden face.

Biting her lip, Anna managed to get the man to let go of her hand. She felt slightly guilty as he seemed to portray a betrayed look and rolled over onto his stomach, grasping the pillows underneath his head. Anna, as good as she had been since she first undressed him, began to stare again at his shirtless torso. The lean muscles in his back had moderate definition and seemed to grow slightly erotic when he moved into a more comfortable position. Anna blushed even harder and swallowed thickly before rushing from the room and finding little chores as an excuse to get out of the room, lest she jump him in his sleep.

Despite focusing on feeding the horses and finding chores around the barn, Anna could only avoid going back inside for so long before she grew hungry. She had only eaten once the day before, and her stomach growling loudly was not making it easy on her to put off fixing herself breakfast. Sighing in resignation, she dragged her feet through the threshold and into the kitchen, kicking her shoes off as she walked into the house.

Rummaging through the fridge and only managing to find food to make an omelet with yogurt, Anna frowned dramatically and pulled the stuff out and set it on the counter. She remained quiet, partly out of habit and partly out of worry that she would wake the stranger in her room. Who knew where he came from or who he was?

After fixing herself breakfast and making a second plate of scrambled eggs for the stranger (in case he was hungry) Anna set her dirty dishes in the sink. Suddenly she felt goose bumps raise on her arms and the back of her neck. Someone was watching her….but that was ridiculous. That was the last thought she had before she was violently pushed into the wall next to the pantry and flipped around so her back bore the brunt of the force. She found herself looking into intense green eyes and a darkened face that belonged to the stranger.

"Who are you and where am I?" He growled out, sounding almost like a predator that had been cornered. He glared into her eyes and she felt a magnetic desire to tell him everything about herself. Then he narrowed his eyes and the pull was broken. She frowned and snarled in response.

"Maybe I don't feel the need to disclose that, Sir," she bit back, "maybe if you ask me nicely, I'll tell you my name and what happened. Ass."

Loki was taken aback and in response to her attitude (which he was most certainly not amused at) he forced her back against the wall even harder. Almost choking her. Anna was angry enough to outright glare at this stranger that SHE had cared for and SHE had helped. Now he was threatening her and angrily forcing her to spill her personal information? Oh no, not today, sir.

"I asked you who you were and where I was you little quim." The stranger said in a deathly calm. The insult went over Anna's head at the sound of the quiet rage held in that voice. She felt the weight of the unsaid threat left unsaid in the air, hanging like a weight on her shoulders and on her survival instinct.

"Anna. My name is Anna." She whispered in a neutral voice. One that she hoped didn't show her nervousness or fear to this dark and maddeningly attractive stranger she had stumbled upon. "You're in Southernland Wales, I found you on the beach. You were unconscious and you may have been injured, but I'm not sure. Please, could you just, get off me? I fixed you breakfast." Anna deadpanned, as she gave off the straight facts without adding any flourishes or details. She looked at him straight in the eyes, silently daring him to question the story she just recounted.

After a few moments of both of them staring at each other, Loki released his fierce hold on Anna and went to straighten his clothing. It was then that he realized this…woman had dared touch him and dirty his clothing. He slid his eyes over to her and saw that she had grabbed a large plate filled with eggs, and put into the microwave built into the cabinets overhead. This stranger, Anna if she had told the truth, had cared for him and was now feeding him despite his violence not a few moment earlier. Loki could see the bruises slowly forming on her arm and a bruised line across her lower neck. Women always bruised so easy; such weak and indecisive creatures. His mother, now she was strong.

Refusing to give into the painful memory surfacing, he turned away from Anna and stared out the bay window behind the table settled in a corner of the open kitchen. His eyes roamed over the pastures and connecting barn, with the beach off in the distance. He saw horses scattered throughout the expanse of land, and a river running through the three large pastures. So this woman kept and cared for horses. Loki continued to survey the pastures seeing a few trees were scattered in each area and a covered structure stood by extra water basins in the back. Walking closer to the large window, Loki saw that beside the barn was a covered arena. It was rather small, but most definitely large enough to host a few horses and engage in several activities.

Breathing deeply, he could smell the distinct salty smell of the beaches and the special scent of horses. He had enjoyed visiting the stables in Asgard as a young boy, and riding alone through the city outskirts was pastime no one knew he had enjoyed. At least she understood how to care for noble creatures.

The microwave beeping broke Loki from his perusal of the land and he turned to look over his shoulder at Anna. She had a set look in her face, as if she expected something of him. Smirking rudely when he realized she wanted his name, he fully turned to sit at the table. Anna continued to glare at him and kept the firm set of her jaw.

"My name is Loki." The stranger said evenly right as Anna took a breath and opened her mouth to ask him. She shut her mouth with a light snap of her bottom jaw hitting her top row of teeth. Turning on her heel without a word, she set the plate down in front of him with a fork and walked out of the kitchen and down the hallway to her room. She closed the door and threw on old jean shorts, a threadbare pair of long socks and an old t-shirt. Walking out of her room and toward the front door of the cottage, she whipped past Loki slowly chewing his eggs and decided to ignore his pointed stare at her. She put on her muck boots and walked out the door to the barn. She had horses to care for she told herself. She would deal with the stranger later.

Anna sighed and sat down on an upturned bucket after feeding all twelve horses in her care and delivering clean water to the three pastures. How was she going to go back in there with this man who claimed to be Loki. It was possible, she had seen the news from New York, but how long ago was that? She really didn't have much need of current events in her line of profession, being a small town vet for large animals required more interaction with animals than it did people.

Sighing and standing up, she moved to walk back into the house and confront this "Loki" about his claims. Walking into the house and kicking off her boots, she looked for Loki in the kitchen. Not finding him, she searched quietly through the house, browsing slowly through the living room and sun area before heading to her room.

"I'm right here….Anna." The smooth voice whispered behind Anna, making her heart race for a few moments. She turned and looked over her shoulder, glaring at the man with a silent anger.

"Don't sneak up on me. It's rude." She said icily, before walking into her room. She left the door open, presumably meaning for him to follow. Loki quirked an eyebrow at her audaciousness and decided that he liked this girl. He walked to her staring at him, trying to look intimidating with her short shorts and funny socks. It was almost laughable.

"So you claim to be Loki. From Asgard. How can I believe that?" She deadpanned.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me, pet." Loki replied bluntly.

"Terrible choice, really." She sarcastically threw his way. "Regardless of who you are, I picked you u, saved your life most likely, so you better how my horses, my house, and myself some respect. Lay a hand against a horse, or my home, I will end you. There will be no body to find." She said darkly, meaning every word.

For the first time in a long time, Loki felt the slightest shiver of fear slide down his neck at the sincerity of her words. He instantly became angered. How could this slip of a woman demand from him what he gained by his birthright in Asgard?

"I should demand the same from you, you foolish mortal. I did not ask for you to bring me here to your tiny home or to dress me into clothing undeserving of my status, ones most likely worn by some inadequate past lover maybe? I did no come here for you to help me at all. You, my dear, brought this on yourself." Loki's voice slithered out and his word wrapped around her neck. The insults to her and the tiny house were one thing, but saying somwthing against her father? That was so not ok in Anna's book.

"How dare you. How dare you imply those things about me, when you know nothing of my past. Those were my father's, and you should feel honored to wear them. He was a great man that deserves everything you believe you were entitled to." Anna bit out in an almost whisper.

She had started staring at the ground to hold back the tears of anger and with glassy eyes full of anger and hurt, she brought them up to look directly into Loki's eyes. She stared into him with the intensity of Odin himself and it was in this moment that Loki began to understand why Odin had always respected his mother.

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A/N WHOO first chapter done! This is the longest chapter I've ever written. I know a lot of people probably won't read this, but it's been on my mind for the last two weeks now and I've finally finished it. I dreamed this ending scene and the scene I'm most scared of writing first after finding an amazing video on youtube. I'll post the link in my profile (which hasn't been updated in almost two years) and I guess I'll see you guys next chapter. I have no idea how long this story will be or if each chapter will be this long but I hope to entertain! Kisskiss lovelies.