As far as lunches went, this one was probably one of the quietest that Thor had ever sat through, and that was truly saying something as he was an immortal Asgardian. After the initial introductions Loki and Thor sat down on the picnic table were Sigyn and Nari were already eating. They helped themselves to the food that had previously been laid out on the table and had barely spoken since.

Loki still didn't seem to trust that Thor wasn't about toss down his sandwich, rip off his traveling cloak, take out Mjölnir, and fly him back to Asgard, and as such was sitting as far from Thor as the picnic table's bench would allow. Nari was still shy around Thor and seemed content to simply sit while quietly making two small carrots duel each other on his plate, having already consumed his fill of the meal. Whatever conversation there was, it was thanks to Sigyn.

Thor had to give Loki credit, Sigyn was a beautiful woman. She had wavy blond hair and brown eyes. The same color eyes, Thor noticed, as Nari. Despite being lower nobility she did not seem at all intimidated to be dining with both Asgardian princes. With Thor she was still courteous and respectful, but she had no reservations about acting familiar with her husband.

"Really Loki," she said after yet another failed attempt of getting Loki to converse with them. "If you refuse join us in conversation, could you at least take Nari to see the merchants so that Thor and I may speak without you brooding at us?"

"I'm not brooding at you." Loki said defensively and a bit childishly.

"Either way, I would like a chance to get to know your brother," She paused. Thor saw glimmer of mischief in her eyes. "…and I'm sure Nari would love to pick out some new toys. Wouldn't you Nari?" Loki gave her a look that said 'That's just playing dirty.' Sigyn smiled devilishly and turned her head to glance at her son who had perked up immediately at the words "new toys".

"Can we father? Pleeeeeease?" Nari's eyes were wide and full of longing.

Loki sighed and gave Sigyn a half-hearted glare.

"Very well." He agreed.

"YAAAAAY!" Cheered Nari leaping out of his seat.

Loki made a summoning motion with his hand. A young serving girl with a basket hurried over to him. "Elsa, please bring the remainder of our lunch back to the house."

"Yes my lord" She replied and began to dutifully fill the basket with the leftover food and dishes.

Loki walked over to Sigyn and helped her to stand, at which point it became very obvious that the table she had been sitting at had been hiding a stomach very rounded with pregnancy. Thor's eyes widened. Another child? He had yet to get over the shock of the first!

Loki placed a hand on Sigyn's stomach and whispered something in her ear. She smiled in response.

"I'll be fine."

"I don't like this" He glanced at Thor.

"I know you don't, but I thank you for doing it."

Loki bent down slightly to kiss her forehead before finally giving in to his son who had been pulling at his free arm for the past few seconds.

"I'll see you both later then." He said as Nari pulled him back into the merchant booths. Thor watched him walk away.

"I can't help but feel as though I am intruding, despite the fact that it was Loki who sought me out." Thor said as he stood up.

"Yes I'm sorry about that." Sigyn said. She was watching Loki's retreating form as well. "I'm sure that deep down he does want you here or I would never have been able to convince him to go to you, but as you are doubtless aware, Loki is a very complicated person as well as stubborn. He tried to cut all ties with who he used to be. It must be very difficult for him, you being here." She turned to look at Thor. "Let us walk. It is a beautiful day, and I need to stretch my legs."

"So it is you I have to thank for bringing my brother back to me." Thor said as he stood up and started walking next to Sigyn. They chose to walk along a path that looped around the small park they were currently in. They set off in the direction the led away from the town square, and thus away from the crowds of people.

"Yes." She agreed "I had been long ago expressed my opinion that he should seek you out, but didn't press the issue. Three weeks ago however, it became even more important that he revive his relationship with you."

"What happened three weeks ago?" asked Thor.

"We paid a visit to a local sorceress who is also a midwife. We are going to have another son."

"I offer my congratulations, but fail to see the connection."

"Before Nari was born Loki was a bundle of nerves and anxiety. It was nothing that was unmanageable, but with Vali almost here ..." At this she put her hand on her stomach. "He hasn't been sleeping well lately. He is constantly plagued by night terrors. I'm worried for him. He would never admit it, but I think he sees the two of you in our sons. He fears that the two of them will grow apart and that he won't be a good enough father to his children. He fears that they may grow to hate him. I believe that if the two of you can somehow grow close again, or at least come to a civil understanding, it may give Loki hope for his sons, and make him more at ease with the concept of fatherhood. When we heard that Prince Thor was in Vanaheim I put my foot down and insisted that he find you. He finally acquiesced."

"I see." Said Thor "That certainly explains why Loki showed up when he did. I will do my best to be patient with him. I would also like for us to rekindle our bond. I understand his fear, though I see no reason why his sons would turn out as we have. How does Nari feel about the baby?"

"Oh, he is very excited. He can't wait to be a big brother. He has even helped us decorate the nursery. He went as far as to give up some of his old toys for his soon-to-be little brother. As you may have noticed, that is a big deal for him." Sigyn smiled at the memory.

"I suppose I can understand Loki's anxiety about fatherhood. I myself have trouble seeing him in the role of loving father. He has always been rather …" Thor hesitated, searching for the right word. "… self-motivated, but from what I've seen so far he is doing a wonderful job. Nari seems to love him very much."

"Loki is a wonderful father. A bit too doting perhaps, but he has his reasons, and there are worse things. Sadly I can't say his fears are entirely unfounded. There was an incident a few months ago. Nari had had a dream where …" Sigyn hesitated and looked around. When she started speaking again her voice was hushed. "He had a dream in which a frost giant abducted him and brought him to Jotenheim. He was terrified and nearly inconsolable."

Thor felt his breathing catch and his heart clench on his brothers behalf at Sigyn's words. He was also surprised. Loki had told Sigyn of his heritage? He must trust her even more than Thor had first thought.

"That was a hard day for Loki." She continued. "When we finally managed to get Nari back to sleep Loki left the house. I have no idea where he went, but when he came back several hours later he was dirty and sweaty and his fists were bloody. He refused to talk about it, and for his sake I haven't mentioned it since. You see, we haven't told Nari of Loki's heritage yet. He is too young. What if he repeated it to the neighbors? We will when he is older and can understand these things better. We do our best to explain to him that not all frost giants are evil brutish monsters, and that he shouldn't listen to rumors and stories, but we can't shield him from everyday gossip and superstition."

"And how do you feel about it? About Loki." Asked Thor.

Sigyn was quiet for a moment. Thor was worried about her answer.

"His heritage doesn't bother me." She answered finally. "Jotun. Aesir. Vanir. Loki is Loki. That is really the best description of him. He is unlike anyone I have met before. Sometimes I can't tell if I love him or hate him. Sometimes it's a mixture of both, but he is a good father to Nari and a good husband to me. There are some who don't approve of him. The circumstances of our marriage are still in people's memories, and the fact that Loki refuses to talk of his family has led some people to believe that he is the castoff illegitimate son of some distant noble family."

"Sadly that is more true than I would like to think." Said Thor, thinking about Laufey and Odin.

"I suppose," Said Sigyn "But that is only the opinion of a few now. Most see that he is a hard worker, he is a good father and husband, and he is very gifted in the ways of magic as well as battle and strategy. He has come to be an accepted member of our community."

"I am glad to hear my brother has found a place to call home. I would have wished for that place to be Asgard, but if he feels this is best for him I will not complain. I must ask you though, what did you mean 'the circumstances of your marriage'? "

"Has Loki not told you?"

"He has told me only that you have an interesting story."

Sigyn smiled. "Well that is certainly true. Let's see then. I first met Loki about a week before the day I was supposed to marry a man named Theoric."

"Oh this is starting to sound like a very 'Loki' story." Thor said sounding exasperated.

"Did you just use your brother's name as an adjective?"

"I believe I did."

Sigyn gave him an incredulous yet amused look before continting with her story.

"I had been living with my aunt and uncle at the time. My aunt and I had to travel to a large city a day's ride away to pick up my wedding dress. Theoric came with us, but there had been reports of bandits along that road, so we hired a handful of bodyguards for extra protection. Loki was one of these men."

"I see." Was all Thor said, not wanting to interrupt her story.

"I spoke with Loki only a handful of times on that trip, and on the voyage back. I enjoyed his company, but didn't think too much on our talks. When we arrived back home, we paid him his dues and he left. I had not thought to see him again and didn't until the day of my wedding.

I was standing with Theoric at the altar. Our hands had just been unbound from the ceremonial rope, and I had just said my vows to be his wife, thus completing the marrage ritual, when who should burst into the chapel in a fit of anger … but Theoric."

Thor looked puzzled for a moment, but his expression quickly shifted to horror.

"He didn't!" Thor shouted, causing a few people to quickly glance their way.

Sigyn just nodded in return.

"In a flash of light the Theoric standing next to me shifted back into Loki. Everyone was outraged, but as you can imagine, none so much as the real Theoric. He claimed that Loki had used his magic to delay him and challenged him to a Holmgang."

Thor nodded. Such duels were not uncommon in the Nine Realms. If one man felt slighted or insulted by another he was within his rights to challenge that man to a duel during which the two men would fight one on one. These duels did not were not meant to be duels to the death, but if death were to occur neither man would be held accountable as long as the challenge was made and accepted publicly. If a man were to back down from such a challenge the punishment would vary depending on the crime he was accused of. Sometimes he would have to pay a severe weregild, other times he would be outlawed. Either way, it was considered disgraceful.

"I assume Loki won the duel." Thor concluded.

"He did." Agreed Sigyn. "It didn't even last long. Everyone was impressed with Loki's skills. I suppose after growing up in Asgard, even a magic user would have to be an expert with a blade."

It was true. Loki and Thor were both taught how to use any type of weapon starting at a very young age. It wasn't until they were slightly older that Loki started to focus more on his magic, but even then he never completely abandoned his weapons training.

Sigyn continued her story. "Theoric was a skilled swordsman, but Loki was so fast. Theoric never even landed a hit. It probably didn't help that Theoric has always been irrational when angry. He was attacking blindly and Loki was able to easily dodge every attack which only made him angrier. He never stood a chance."

"What became of him?"

"I'm not sure. He still lives, but after he lost the duel, he left. I have not seen nor heard from him since."

"So Loki won the duel, Theoric was forced to give up his claim to you, and you remained Loki's wife."

"That is mostly true. After Loki won, the cleric who married us gave me the option of annulling the marriage. He said that since I had not known to whom I was giving my vows I would not be held to them. I declined his offer."

Thor's eyebrows rose in surprise. "That is very … noble of you. Not many people would have done the same. I suppose that is one of the reasons Loki trusts you so much. You chose to stay by him even after all that. Why did you?

"That is something you will need to know about me. When I was a little girl, my mother left my father to run away with another man. I barely remember her it was so long ago. I remember what it did to my father. He had truly loved my mother and was devastated. We moved in with his sister and her husband. It wasn't a bad life. They were all very loving, but the pain of my mother's betrayal never left my father's eyes. Shortly after I reached adulthood he died, I believe, of a broken heart."

"I'm sorry for your loss." Said Thor.

"Thank you. That is why, long ago, I vowed to myself that when I marry, I will be loyal to my husband and stand by him. That is why I stayed with Loki. It is just fortunate for me that he is such a good husband and despite his mischievous ways, he is a good man. We had our problems in the beginning. You see, just because I am loyal I don't want you to believe I am the type of woman who will bend to her husband's will and fade into the background. Loki is well aware that I will always stand by him, but that does not mean his actions will not have consequences."

"You are a good match for my brother." Thor said smiling. "I am glad he found you, despite the unusual circumstances of your marriage."

"Thank you." Sigyn said again. "Come. We should probably go find them before Loki buys every toy in the market for Nari."

"Would he do that?"

Sigyn smiled knowingly. "For Nari, there is nothing Loki would not do."

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Long chapter is long. This is nearly the size of two chapters in one, but I can't find a spot to break it up. I guess Sigyn had a lot to say to Thor. I hope you enjoyed. :)

I used a bit more Norse mythology in this one than the others, but I think I explained everything well. Let me know if you missed anything, or feel free to look up Nari/Narfi, Vali, Sigyn, Thoric, or Holmgang on Wikipedia.

I did alter the story of Loki, Sigyn, and Theoric slightly to fit the canon of this story, but I kept the basic concept the same. I also gave Sigyn a bit of a backstory, because not much is known about her other than that she is the Goddess of Fidelity.

There wasn't much Loki in this chapter but he'll be back. Let me know what you thought. I love reviews. :D