Amundr was a year old when Loki began to once again think of marriage. They had been so focussed on only raising Amundr his first year that they had rarely stopped to talk about themselves, or each other. The little time they had spent only with one another had been spent cuddling to sleep tangled together, Amundr with his grandparents, both Loki and Brynja hoping the visit was long enough to finally feel rested when they woke.

Loki had read about some of the Midgardian customs pertaining to the wedding ceremony. Many he thought were silly, but he knew that rings were important and he knew from the little gold ring that Brynja still wore so many years after her Midgardian lover's death that they were important to her, too, at least sometimes. He also admitted to himself that he felt a twinge of jealousy that someone before him had left such an impression on her that she wanted a continual reminder of that person to grace her finger. He approached his mother about the subject, not mentioning marriage specifically, but asking if there was a ring in her collection that she would permit him to give Brynja as a token of his love for her. Frigga brought out a jewellry box full of glittering gems, gold, and silver, and handed him a few she said she would be honoured if he shared with her. He selected one and she offered him other jewellry as well, putting it in a small box of its own and insisting that he give the pieces to Brynja when the time was right.

A few evenings later, as the family gathered in the library just spend time together, Loki fiddled with the ring tucked in the pocket of his vest. He was nervous, hoping that he would do things right, a blend of Midgardian and Asgardian customs.

When it came his turn to talk about his week and to tell some sort of story, he took a deep breath and approached Brynja, lowering himself to one knee, "My love, I have come to you on my knees to beg for you to reshape me, to ask forgiveness, and to pray to you to accept my weaknesses. This time I ask for none of these things," he paused, nervous, as he pulled the ring from his pocket, "We have talked of marriage before, but this time I ask you formally, will you marry me?"

Brynja held out her hand, a broad smile on her face, "Yes, darling, I will." He slipped the ring on her finger and she bent down to kiss him.

Katja was the first to break the silence, "So, Loki, how has your week been?" she asked, grinning.

Loki laughed, his lips still pressed to Brynja's, before breaking away briefly, "Later, child, I'm kissing your mother."

Thor chuckled, his laughter escalating, "There will be much time for that later, Little Brother!" He began to clap, "A round of applause for Loki and Brynja!" As the others joined him, Loki blushed and Brynja moved over so he could sit beside her, Amundr toddling over to climb on their laps.

Katja called out over the applause, "It's about damn time!" with a wide grin on her face.

Of course, the rest of the family gathering was spent peppering them with questions about wedding plans and ideas. Frigga wanted to celebrate grandly, but Odin reminded her that Brynja had already had one huge wedding and might want something different. All eyes turned to the couple.

"We've talked before about a ceremony with just the family, something simple and quiet. I know it's important to you and to the realm to celebrate publicly, though, so I think we can come to an agreement on having a large reception and feast after the ceremony. I don't want this to look like my first wedding, though."

Loki squeezed her hand, "While Brynja has planned a wedding before, I have not. I do not want the entire realm as witness to my marriage- I hardly think they would want to be there anyway, so I would prefer it just be the family- those I know will love and embrace us. The feast...so long as there is time when I may have eyes only for my bride, I believe I can endure it."

Thor interjected, "Loki, I know you are not fond of our feasts and courtly matters. There will be enough questions about a private ceremony, but some traditions we must attempt to uphold. I will make certain you both have time to retreat to renew yourselves and find a little peace. You have my word."

"Thank you, Thor. Both of us would be quite grateful," he answered.

Frigga asked about the date, "When do you wish to have this ceremony? We took only a week to plan the last royal wedding, but this one does not have to be nearly so rushed."

Brynja shrugged, "We haven't talked about it. The last time we really dreamed of weddings was before Amundr was born. I'd like to wait until he can at least walk more steadily, though."

"A year's time would allow for that," Loki answered. And so they set the wedding date for one year hence.

Sunny, ever curious about the details, asked, "Are we going to have to dress very very formally, like at the coronation? Who gets invited?"

Loki answered the first question, "We will have to be somewhat formal, yes- Brynja has a dress she would like to have altered to fit that came from Midgard. I would like something made. Mostly black, possibly a light cape, but not so ostentatious as my ceremonial armour...and certainly no ceremonial helmet."

Brynja answered the second question, "For the ceremony, it will probably be just us here in the room- possibly Freyja, given how close we are to her. There will be a formal guest list drawn up for the feast that will include royals from allied realms, friends of the family, the court, and anyone else that Thor thinks would be slighted if not invited. Unfortunately, weddings are as much political events as they are celebrations when you're this close to the throne."

Katja piped up, "And hence why I'm not having one. How can you stand that? Oh yes, the celebration will be the family, our closest friends, and any strangers we have to invite so they don't decide to start a war. It sounds like inviting calamity, if you ask me."

Odin answered, "Fights rarely break out at wedding feasts, unless someone has a bit too much to drink. But anything serious is usually saved for the day after when everyone departs. It's quite remarkable, especially given the number of guests who arrive armed and how much drink is consumed."

Loki looked nervous as he wove his fingers with Brynja's, "Yes, I remember the coronation...it made me exceptionally nervous, given the number of individuals in multiple realms who would like to see me dead."

Sunny spoke, "I'll make sure there are protective spells in place, Loki. I'm sure Grandmother and Freyja will do the same. you will have three witches watching out for you. We aren't going to let anything get out of hand."

Loki smiled, a little reassured, but mostly just touched by the sweetness of Sunny's offer, "Thank you, my dear. I feel better already."

Brynja squeezed his hand, "Besides, it's not like I have a whole lot of exes who are going to be coming and trying to disturb the peace. I've got one- the rest of my ex-lovers are dead. Makes it kind of hard for them to come calling."

"Given that at least one of us in this room was actually dead at one point, I'm not sure that's entirely reassuring, love."

Thor puffed up his chest, "Worry not, Brother! We will make sure your wedding day is splendid and safe! I will personally see to it that nothing gets in the way of it being a joyous occasion."

Brynja kissed Loki's cheek, "We'll be all right, Loki. We don't have to make every decision tonight. We've got plenty of time to get things arranged."

Frigga interjected, "I'll work up a guest list so you don't have to- all you'll have to do is tell me if I've missed anyone or if there's anyone on there you don't want to invite."

"I will speak to the kitchens and have them work up a menu for the feast. You'll just have to approve it or tell us what it's missing," Odin offered.

Thor smiled, "And I will take care of the politics of the day- you will not have to."

Katja made her own offer, "And I'll talk with Sif to arrange security. Sunny's got the magic on hand, so we can work together."

Brynja nodded, "Thank you, all of you. I will work on finding arrangements of the Midgardian music I would like to hear for the musicians. There are a few that have been significant to us that I would like them to play. We'll discuss the finer points of the wedding later, though. It's getting late and I'm starting to feel very tired." They said their good nights and went back to their rooms, Amundr falling asleep in his father's arms as they walked. They laid him on a small cot near their bed and sat down together after undressing for bed.

"Did I do it right? Did I say the words the way I was supposed to?"

She kissed him, pulling him on top of her, "It was a beautiful proposal, Loki. Absolutely perfect."

His hair formed a curtain around their faces, brushing her cheeks; he rested his forehead against hers and whispered, "And the ring?"

She examined it on the hand resting on his shoulder, "Is gorgeous. Thank you." The ring was simple, by Asgard's standards. The silver and gold braided band was set with three stones, a diamond in the centre, two deep green emeralds on either side of it. Brynja admired it in the moonlight that filtered through his hair, "I still can't believe we're finally doing this. It's surreal, a dream I hope I don't wake up from. We have a son, we are getting married, our daughters are grown and strong. I remember wondering if I'd ever see you again when they were younger, hoping that I could undo the damage that their father was doing with the stories he told of your traitorous nature, stories I knew weren't true but he would not let me stop him from telling. I remember wishing in those years that I could run back to Jotunheim, but knowing that I had to uphold the bargain with Father. And I remember the night I thought was our last and the moments before the dawn that followed. I missed you intensely for the hours I thought you were dead. I remember thinking as I brought the girls home that every dream I had was suddenly gone...that somewhere in my heart I realised that over those years with Fandral, I always yearned for you to be in his place. I never thought I would get a second chance, and yet here we are."

Loki kissed Brynja as his reply, his arms around her, his hands gentle, almost worshipful. She ran her fingers through his hair and rested one hand on the back of his head, the other she rested on his chest. By the time they finally fell asleep, both were exhausted and slept deeply in one another's arms.