Chapter 30

Six days.

Six long, painstaking days of staring at the rose on the table, cradled in the small, humble vase.

Tony had sent it to her. All the way from America, after he'd picked it up where she'd dropped it that fateful day, and had sent it back to her, knowing how much she needed it. She hadn't realized just how much herself until she'd found it nearly half way across the world from her.

Thinking about it, Tony Stark had done her a lot. She was eternally in his debt: not only had he saved her life and her planet, but now he'd flown her home on his private jet, sent Thor's flower, paid her rent as if he'd known she would have no will to so much as leave her front door, let alone work…

And the thunderstorms had raged.

It was scary. A week of solid thunderstorms that refused to let her sleep, as if Thor was screaming down to her that she was not forgotten.

She felt like it though. Every step and breath she took echoed through the cottage, reminding her all the more that she was alone. She'd been alone for six days.

She was going to wreck and she didn't care. As soon as the rose was dead, she promised herself, she'd start again. For now though, she let herself be consumed by the hope, the prayers. She dressed every day in his shirt. She sat every day at the table. She slept there too, not wanting to let the rose out of her sight. Sometimes her brain would get so sick of the sight her head would swoon and she'd drop her forehead to the table top dizzyingly. She wasn't missing anything.

The light of the flashing storms illuminated the dark cottage as a bold fork of lightning cut through the sky with a roar. It lit up the hollow groves of her face. She hadn't been eating much.

The rose was aging.

The once crimson, silky soft petals were now stiff and waxen. She could see the hardness forming, shriveling the flower up before the creeping loss of colour confirmed the approaching death. Grey clouded the petal edges, edging inwards.

Maria was half sure the rose should be stone dead by now, but here it was, clinging to life. Perhaps Thor's godliness had enhanced it somehow. She was pretty certain that the colour didn't creep out the flower like that naturally either. Honestly, she wasn't sure if that bothered her or not. It was like it was clinging on… because it doubted Thor would make it without being bought some time.

The thought saddened her. Almost as much as the heart wrenching crash of thunder.

What if he'd forgotten her? It wouldn't be hard. There must be many more beautiful women on Asgard for him to choose from. She would be but a shadow on his memory, a time where he'd gotten to flirt with a human.

But as soon as the doubts rose, they were quickly crushed; it was love she'd seen in Thor's eyes the day he'd left. Love. Nobody could fake that. She remembered that gleam, so heartbreakingly pure, so devoted to her… he wouldn't cast her aside so carelessly.

So why wasn't he here?

Maria drew her knees up to her chest in the kitchen chair, feeling her head grow heavy with sleep. The sky outside was black, forked with yellow sparks of electricity. She had a maximum of two days before she'd be forced to forget about Thor and moved on with her life he had fought so hard to save.

Her eyelids started to fall, her mind slipping into nightmares of a grey petalled dead rose on her table when she woke…

A solid thud snapped them open again.

What was that? The noise came again. Not a thud. More like a bang. A rap on wood – her front door. Maria's heart was in her mouth as her eyes lifted from the kitchen table to the dark shape of her door across the floor. She just stared; then the thump came again, and she saw the structure tremble.

There was nothing patient about the 'knock's. Whoever was there wanted her. Now.

Maria could feel her throat drying rapidly, knees trembling as she slid from the chair, unfurling her stiff legs from beneath her. She wore nothing to hide her legs. Thor's shirt only stretched to the tops of her thighs.

It hardly mattered as she took slow steps to the door, just grateful they were keeping her upright. Her eyes were transfixed nervously: nobody called on her at her door. Especially not at this time of night! She hadn't even gotten so much as a phone call from anyone since she'd got back. No one knew she was here. It had to be either Jane or Jason or…

She gulped, not even daring to think his name just in case. She couldn't bear it if she got her hopes up only to crash and burn.

Her hands pressed against the wood of the door, bracing herself.

Then the wood creaked ominously and Maria frowned. Instincts had her backing away at the dangerous sound. She staggered out of range just as the structure crashed and splintered

The wood caved in over the kitchen floor spectacularly, splinters flying like daggers through the air as it shattered. Maria's arms flew over her face to protect herself, feeling the shards chip into her skin. Her mouth fell open in a gasp, just… were there even words to describe how utterly astonished she was?! Her body curled against the blast protectively, arms around her head, eyes screwed shut, waiting for the world to fall silent again. She could feel the wall against her shoulder, and didn't fight as her body slid down it numbly.

Heavy footfalls took over her ears as the groaning of the settling wood ceased and she started to relax her posture, creeping her eyes open to peer through her cowering arms and fingers.

Large fingers filled her vision, reaching down to her.

"I could not wait." A gruff, but apologetic voice, said almost begrudgingly. "When you did not answer immediately I grew concerned."

Maria's arms shot down. Her eyes were round and innocent as they gleamed at the giant than leaned over her, looking past the rough fingers to the bright blue eyes behind them, the wide, dazzling smile, the blond hair…

She launched herself at the god, ignoring his outstretched hand and fastening her arms around his neck with spirit. Her legs found their strength at last, propelling her at him. He staggered back as her body slammed unexpectedly into his, chuckling, his hand supporting her at the small of her back. He didn't complain though. Maria heard the metallic thud of Mjolnir hitting the floor as he dropped it to wrap both his arms around her.

His face nuzzled into her neck, breathing her in through her hair. "I've missed you." He sighed, his warm breath tingling against her skin.

Maria just hugged him tighter.

She didn't care he'd broke her door in. She didn't care that the cold air would flood the house, not to mention the harsh winds and water through the open doorway. As long as she had Thor, his strong arms holding her protectively, the roof could cave in and she wouldn't give a damn.

His arms crushed her body to his in an almost punishing hold, forcing the air from her lungs, probably re-cracking her magically healed ribs, but Maria loved it. Loved feeling his strength. Just knowing he was there was more than enough. With this power behind his body, his muscles, what could possibly tear him way from her ever again? She buried her face in his armoured shoulder, letting his raw power engulf her.

A sharp gust of wind blew through and skidded the vase across the table. It ran out of surface and crashed to the floor with a loud smash. The noise distracted them both, heads shooting to the side to see the shattered glass, the small puddle of water. And the rose. Lying beside Thor's bent knee.

He unpeeled an arm from around her and picked it up delicately between his two large fingers. "I kept my promise." He murmured, more to himself than her as he lifted the rose to eye level, examining its decay carefully. "Although, only just."

"Only just is good enough." Maria's hands found his face and steered his back to her.

They froze for a second, lost in each other's eyes. The breath held in their chests tantalizingly, knowing their lips were mere millimeters from each other's. Neither one made to close it or move away, just embracing the closeness.

"How?" Maria finally sighed, the sweetness of Thor's breath almost making her lose her mind, lifting her higher. Her fingers lowered to her neck and she could feel his throbbing, racing pulse. "How did you get back? The Tesseract…"

The god grinned and more of his intoxicating breath warmed her cheek. Maria eased closer without even noticing it. She was probably just reacting to the god's warm hand touching her again as he reached into his armour: pulling out something between them that Maria had to look twice to see. It was tiny. Miniscule. For a second she thought Thor's thumb and forefinger were pinching nothing but air, but then she frowned and peered closer.

Then the slim, pale blue sharp had become apparent. She recognized that bright blue shade, that glow of energy…

"Is that-"

"Yes." Thor beamed, answering her before she even asked, His spare hand clamped on the side of her face, thumb stroking over her cheek. "Father carved off a piece of the Tesseract for me. Its power is nothing dangerous, but it is enough to safely transport between worlds."

Maria's hand instinctively reached up, but she curled her fingers back before she could touch it, remembering herself. Her eyes were captured between the shard and Thor's crystal blue eyes that shared the same breath taking shade. "How long?" she gasped, unable to fight the smile spreading across her lips. She didn't care about the answer. She was just overwhelmed her was here in the first place.

"Forever." He grinned, fist closing around the shard. "It's mine to use as I please. A gift from Asgard, my father said. A reward. And I would gladly use it to spend my life with you."

"Do they…" Maria wasn't quite sure how to phrase this, nerves sweeping through her system. "Do they know about me? Your parents?"

Thor's smile widened. "My feelings for you are no secret." He said warmly. "I think my father gave me this gift for a purpose. All of Asgard knows of your name, knows that you are the woman I want at my side for all eternity."

The blush crept in Maria's cheeks, the heat a stark contrast to the chill creeping into her bones. She gulped, trying to ignore the 'all of Asgard bit'. "Eternity?" she squeaked.

"Your mortality is nothing of concern." Thor read her mind, fingers lacing gently through her hair to ease her close. The touch sent electricity through her system. "Asgard can make you immortal, then we can truly be together forever." His hand retreated back to her cheek, cupping her steady as more of his hot intoxicating breath swathed her face.

Maria pressed her lips together and battled with the threatening wave of emotion. Up until now, she'd done reasonably well to control herself. Now her heart swelled, aching inside her rib cage as utter relief, joy, thankfullness swamped it. She wasn't sure what to think of the whole immortal bit, knowing if she focused on it too much it would simply scare her. But the knowledge that it would give her Thor forever, living in paradise… it was overwhelming. Her body shuddered with her shaky breaths, Thor's hand on her cheek only making her lose control faster rather than stop it.

She didn't care, the first tear breaking free of her eyes. She had him – she gulped, hardly daring to believe it – forever. She had the rest of her life to be happy with him but for now…

She made up for the last numb week. For the days praying, thinking, waiting, sat at the kitchen table so stilly it made her bones creak from the sudden movement. Her heart had torn, bled, cracked, shriveled, hurt so bad she wished she could have carved it out of her chest to save her the pain.

But now he was here and she realized it was worth it tenfold. Easily.

Her eyes and fingers took over, desperate to refresh her memory of his every feature. Her eyes followed her fingertips, tracing his boyish grin, his strong neck, his stubbled chin, the strands of blonde hair that flopped obscuringly into his eyes… he was perfect. He was back. She let out a gasping sound that was somewhere between a sob and a laugh when she realized she'd never have to memorize him again. He'd always be there to fill the gaps of her mind.

His arms looped around her body again, holding her tightly and Maria felt her heart beat to life for the first time in a week, making up for lost time.

"I must be dreaming." She breathed to herself, her head tucked under Thor's chin.

Thor's hand found her hair and stroked through the locks smoothly, gently unpicking the tangles that she had abandoned for the past six days. "You are not." He reassured softly. Maria sank deeper into his embrace. "I am truly here. I will always be here."

Despite the warmth of Thor' body against her, Maria shivered at his words, still grasping them. The chill didn't leave her though, and she started to remember her shattered door.

"You b-broke my house." She forced out through teeth that were starting to chatter. The air was cold, goose bumps rippling her bare exposed skin from the severe draft. Her grin crept through though. She couldn't help it.

The god chuckled and stood, scooping his woman up in his arms as he did so. His bright blue eyes pierced through hers. "My apologies, my lady." He crooned in a seductively low voice, eyes glinting alluringly. Maria just melted, arms looping around his neck. His mouth eased closer to hers. "But we have many years to make up for it."

And just like that Maria didn't care. She'd mop up the seeping water in the morning, barricade her house some other day. For now though, Thor would keep her safe.

Her mouth closed in on his as they stood there in her damp kitchen. The touched fired her blood, feeling Thor's soft lips against hers, so wondrous she was forced to stop for a moment, frozen with … just overwhelmed. She was really kissing him again, the man she'd missed so much. She'd feared she'd never see him again.

Thor's mouth moved softly, his tongue impatiently venturing out to tease between her lips and taste her. Slow didn't do it for him now. Now he'd missed her. Now he was desperate for her.

Maria's hands clawed at his neck, fingers tangling in his hair as she kissed him back with as much vigor. She reveled in him dominating her, his arms crushing her lithe body to his. She could stay like this forever, sharing his hot breath, tongues dancing within the other's mouth.

They didn't stop even as Thor carried her up the stairs to her room and they settled underneath her sheets. Thor let his armour melt away, letting his soft shirt match the gentle surroundings of sheets and Maria. She soon fisted her tiny hands in the garment, lips kiss swollen and frantic as she refused to let him go. Thor hardly complained, easing onto his back and rolling Maria on top of him.

He could feel her shivering and let his hands run over her waist and legs, trying to work some warmth into her body. He was tempted to rip his own shirt off to offer her a second layer, but… he didn't want to break the kiss for anything.

It was hours before they succumbed to exhaustion, the emotional drain of the last six days finally catching up to them at last. Their kisses grew slow and tired, still molding their lips together in a vain attempt to prolong the moment longer. Maria knew it must be early morning by now, that her house would be ruined, her body freezing despite Thor's heated palms. Her lips melted from the gods and her body slumped against his, feeling herself rise and fall with every swell of his chest.

Her eyes started to droop, exhaustion washing over her, aching her every limb. She relaxed into Thor. "Don't leave me." She murmured, knowing she couldn't cling to consciousness much longer. "Please…"

Thor's hand found her head and stroked through her hair again. "I will never leave you." He promised, bending his neck to kiss the crown of her head tenderly. His hands followed up her body and ran up her side, over her back, tracing her shoulder and following the line of her arm over his own body. His fingers laced with hers beside his head, and gripped them firmly.

His eyes slipped shut and he sighed in content; he would never have to be apart from this woman ever again. He was hers to keep as she pleased.

The smile was mirrored on Maria's face against his chest as sleep claimed them, dreams of the life they would have filling their minds, until morning came and they could make them a reality…