This pretty much steamed from a rant I posted on tumblr about wanting a frostiron arranged marriage story, so of course I ended up having to write my own.

I own nothing. I used part of the script from Iron Man 2. Not claiming that either.

Title of the prologue taken from a side quest in Skyrim. (It just seemed to fit.)

Lastly, just an interesting note, kisu-no-hi's Jotun Loki on tumblr is pretty much my headcanon for what he looks like. If you haven't seen it you should really go check it out. Her work is absolutely beautiful. She does draw mostly Thorki as a warning. If you want to avoid that I can link you the comic she did that is relatively safe. (It's still Thorki, but well not dangerously so. I don't know how to describe it.)

Prologue: Blood on the Ice

Laufey stares out over the vast sea of ice. The warriors who had not been severely injured in the Odinson's assault, including his youngest son Býleistr, labor to dig graves for their fallen brothers. The ice still responds to them with what little power is left. But Laufey remembers a time when this would have been a simple task, when the ice would have accepted the fallen with a ready embrace. Once the ice sang. One Jotunheim was a world of music and beauty. Once, before Odin…

Loki's sudden appearance beside him snaps the Jotun King from his reminiscence. "Odin has banished his son," Loki says, knowing better than to waste time with trivial small talk.

Laufey turns his gaze from the warriors to his eldest, but he does not speak. Out of the corner of his eye he sees Býleistr notice Loki and make his way over.

"He was captured by a group of humans when he attempted to retrieve Mjolnir. The Odinson now sits powerless in their prison."

"You have a plan." Laufey does not ask. He knows. Once he had wanted to kill this runt, but Fárbauti's tears had stayed his hand. Every time Loki's plans succeed it reinforces his belief that the decision to keep his eldest was the wisest thing he had ever done.

"We need to move now, before Thor is accepted back into Asgard. The people who hold him now, they deal in secrets and shadows. I would ask that you allow me to go to them."

"We should kill him," Býleistr says in his soft voice, finally arriving beside his father and brother.

"And how would that help us?" Loki asks calmly, but his tone suggests that his brother is an idiot.

"He should answer for our fallen brothers. Helblindi might yet die!" Býleistr protests.

"We cannot throw away the living to avenge the dead." Býleistr's shoulders sag when his father finally speaks. "You would have the aid us?"

"Yes," Loki answers. "Asgard is too strong for us to stand against alone." No one likes hearing those words anymore than Loki likes saying them. "We need allies."

"And the cost?"

"More to them than us. More gain to us if we succeed."

The meaning of those words go right over Byleister's head, but Laufey knows his son's mind. It is his mind, but mischievous where he would be cruel. The ultimate goal in this war, Loki's ultimate goal, will be the Casket of Ancient Winters. The mortals will serve as a rather nice distraction.

"What will you tell them?"

"The truth."

Byleistr snorts. "The truth? You?"

Loki shakes his head, a pitying smile forming on his lips. "That is why I am such a successful liar, brother. I know when to use the truth."

/

"Reboot complete. You got your best friend back."

"Thank you very much, Agent Romanoff."

"Well done with the new chest piece. I am reading significantly higher output and your vitals all look promising."

"Yes, for the moment I'm not dying," Tony responds. Although that's not taking into account all of Vanko's crazy drones. "Thank you."

"What-"

Pepper's voice is cut off suddenly, replaced with a far less friendly one. "Stark!" Fury barks.

"Little busy at the moment. Please call back later."

"Stark, hurry your ass up and get to New Mexico."

"Did I not just say I was busy?" Tony isn't going to New Mexico. There is no way Tony is going to New Mexico.

"Yes, your little Expo disaster. Hurry and clean it up, and then get your motherfucking ass to New Mexico. We have a possible alien invasion." Fury hangs up before Tony can respond.

Fuck, he's going to end up in New Mexico after this.

"Your boss is an asshole," he tells Natasha.

"Where you referring to Fury or yourself?"

"Tony!" Pepper cuts back in. "What'd you mean you were dying? What's going on? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was gonna make you an omelet and tell you!"