New Asgard, present time

"Can't sleep, Majesty?"

"Can't sleep, My Lady?"

"I asked you first."

"So it is only right that you be the first to answer."

She smirked and said nothing. She walked over to stand over Thor's shoulder.

"She's grown so much. Not so tiny anymore."

"Yes, see?" Thor covered her head with his giant palm. "My hand used to come up to here, now it's up to here."

She deadpanned. "I don't think that's how they measure a baby's growth, Majesty."

Thor laughed softly. Valkyrie smiled a small smile of her own.

He turned solemn once more. "I cannot bear the thought of leaving her alone."

"She isn't alone."

"Someone needs to hold her until such time Loki –" Thor's breath caught in his throat, "Until Loki wakes up."

"She's in good hands, Thor."

"I am her Uncle. If not me, who then?" The line of his jaw tightened. "Our parents are gone. Stephen's preoccupied with searching for a cure. Stian and Aífe are as good as my own."

He cleared his royal throat.

"How has he been today?"

"Your brother is such a princess." She sank into the armchair on the other side of the cot. "Sure sleeps like one. Not even so much as a fart."

A sad smile. Thor kissed Aífe's forehead.

"Maybe he's catching up on all the times he went without when we were younger." Thor sniffed. "He used to go for days without sleeping. Or food. He was somewhat strange like that."

"He has always been quite a character, I gather?" She asked lightly. She did not know the Odinsons before Sakaar, so all the backstory she knew she learnt from listening in on occasional conversations and court gossip. Not that she was into all that for she prided herself as good enough a judge of character as the next person.

Thor played with Aífe's hair next, marvelling at the softness of the strands of red in between his fingers. "I cannot help but blame myself as partly, if not wholly responsible for most of Loki's pains."

"How so?"

Thor shrugged. "Where do you wish me to start?"

Oh dear. She was probably going to need alcohol for this. But it would probably be very rude if she were to leave now. "Wherever is easiest for you, Majesty. I'm not picky."

"When I was living in Midgard, before this I mean, there was this show the guys sometimes watched. Seconds From Disaster, I think 'twas called." Thor leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. From where she was sitting, he looked tired and thinner.

"Catastrophes don't just happen in the heat of the moment. They are caused by a chain of events, starting small, mistake leading to another mistake, until it snowballs resulting in disaster."

"If I had listened to Loki, the accident at the Academy of Magic could have probably been averted. Loki would not have sickened. For all we know that could be the reason why he is still unable to recover."

"He is unable to recover because of a curse, Thor. It wasn't anything you did or didn't do."

"Oh Valkyrie If you only knew." Thor's Adam's apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed. He had yet to open his eyes. "The only reason Loki let the Jotunns in was because he had felt mistreated and slighted his entire life, that he felt he had no choice but to ruin my coronation, thinking I wasn't ready to be King. And he was right. I wasn't."

"I led us into Jotunheim. And Loki found out he was a Jotunn when his arm turned blue at the touch of one of his own." Deep regret darkened Thor's mismatched eyes. "That catapulted us both onto a spiral, me trying to climb back up to Asgard and regain my worth, and Loki…"

"Well. You know the rest. Even if you don't, it is not my tragic story to tell."

"My three-thousand-year-old wisdom tooth is hurting right now. You want to blame yourself for that too while you're at it?" She lifted an eyebrow. "Jeez. Give your brother some credit why don't you."

Thor opened his eyes and stared at her uncomprehendingly.

"Everyone is responsible and accountable for his own choices in life and death, Thor."

"You can't carry the blame for all the bad that's happened. Not unless you're willing to take credit for all the good too." She smiled albeit a little sadly.

"The treasure you're holding in your arms. The Little Prince. Loki turned all goody-goody and working alongside you. And I know what you said to Fancy Man back when he was about to have a nervous breakdown trying to keep your brother alive." She shrugged as his eyes widened. "I was hiding behind the door. You were a lot kinder to him than I was though. You get extra points for that."

"His name is Stephen." Thor simply had to return her smile.

"Duh, I know his name." She rolled her eyes. "The only person I call by name around here is Lackey. And even that I purposely get wrong all the time."

A long moment of silence ensued.

"I miss him, Val." Thor's eyes were wet. "I miss my brother."

"So do I, Majesty," she said, eyes equally grave. "So do I."

"Pappa." Stian's fat tears were soaking into Loki's hair and pillow; who knew for such a small boy, Stian had so many tears in him? "Pappa, Pappa…"

"Shh…I'm here, my sweet," Loki sifted his fingers through Stian's hair. "I'm okay now, see?"

"I thought you were never going to wake up." Stian hiccupped into his neck. Stephen rubbed comforting circles on their son's quivering back.

"You brought Pappa back, Stian." Stephen could not have been more proud of him than right at this moment.

Stian rubbed the back of his hand against his nose and sniffed furiously, "I did?"

Stephen nodded, beaming. "You did very well. I am so proud of you."

Despite the tears of joy still clinging to his eyelashes, Stian gave his parents a sunny smile, before jumping off the bed. Kissing Loki on the cheek one last time, "Be right back, Pappa!"

Cerulean blue began to swirl around Stian's form –

"Stian, where do you think you're going?" Stephen tried to sound as stern as possible but was failing miserably; his heart was simply too light and aflutter with exhilaration and pure joy. "It's nearly midnight!"

"To get Uncle Thor!" Stian said excitedly, his lower body beginning to disappear, "He says to come get him if Pappa even so much as twitches! And Pappa's twitching a lot!"

Loki groaned softly, both in chagrin and in dire foreboding. "Grounding that child is going to be next to impossible."

"Uh-uh."

"We have two, three minutes at most. For someone so large, Thor moves fast."

"I know. He damn near beat me trying to get to you that night."

It would stay with Stephen forever; the image of Loki convulsing on the floor of their kitchen with the red moon casting its ominous light across his violently shaking frame, as red as the blood spurting from his nose.

"How long?" Loki asked softly.

"Two weeks." Stephen traced his fingers over the outlines of Loki's face, marvelling at how soft his features were now that he was awake. Gone was the cutting sharpness of his cheekbones, the sunken hollowness of his cheeks – Stephen must be dreaming.

"Is this real?" He murmured. "Are you real?"

Loki's eyes seemed to tear again as they roamed his face, "Are you real?"

"Two damn weeks, Loki…" Stephen pressed Loki's hand to the side of his face; the ring felt cool against his skin. Stephen kissed it, once again marvelling at the sight of it on Loki's finger. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Two…weeks." Loki's other hand went to his stomach and he froze. He twisted his head to look at it. True enough, it was back to its usual, concave flatness. "Where is she?"

"Stephen, please tell me she made it?" Loki's breaths quickened, on the verge of hyperventilating.

"Shh, darling." Stephen kissed his knuckles. "She's fine. Aífe's just fine."

"Oh thank the Norns," Loki nearly sobbed as relief washed over him like a tsunami. His hand trembled as he palmed his eyes. And soon his entire body was trembling too.

"Oh, Loki…" Stephen could not hold himself back any longer. Thor was probably going to be here any second, but no one was going to steal this moment from him.

No one.

Stephen seized Loki's lips in a raw, bruising kiss, despite the little voice at the back of his head cautioning to perhaps be a bit gentle, but when Loki succumbed to his kiss with an icy fire Stephen did not think he would ever savour again, he threw caution to the wind; he snaked an arm around the back of Loki's neck and lifted, bony frame and all –

"Loki."

He held Loki tightly to his chest, needed Loki to feel the thundering of his heart against his own, needed to know how with every heartbeat Stephen had missed him. Had missed him so, so much

"Don't you ever, ever do that to me again."

He could feel the sharp tip of Loki's chin dig into his shoulder as he nodded.

"Thank you, Stephen."

Loki's thin arms found their way around Stephen's back. "For grounding me again and again."

They kissed again, not even stopping for breath, not even when Loki's chapped lips bled.

"I love you." Stephen did not know who said it first, but it would not surprise him if they had said it at the same time, the voice in his head sounding neither his nor Loki's –

But for good measure, he said it again, out loud this time. "I love you, Odinson."

Loki lifted his head to catch Stephen's lips again. "It's Odinson-Strange now," he corrected.

Stephen murmured in between kisses, "Damn right, it is."

"LOKI!" Thor thundered from somewhere down the hallway. And seconds later, they heard the front door crash to the floor with a bang.

Stephen groaned.

"Oh…boy." Guess Thor could not be bothered with punching in the security codes.

Here we go.

New York, the morning of the wedding.

"I can't believe you're doing this."

"Uh-uh."

"I still can't believe you're doing this."

"Yep."

"Never thought I'd see the day."

"For a married man, you seem overly concerned about my committing myself to the institution of marriage." Stephen watched as Tony's reflection paced behind him in the full-length mirror. "Were you this uncertain when you made the decision to make the lovely Mrs Stark your bride?"

"This is Loki we're talking about. This is no ordinary bride."

"And you forget, Stark. I am no ordinary man." Stephen said coolly, inspecting his cuff links for non-existent blemish. For the third time.

"You got me there, Doctor." Tony finally stopped in his tracks.

"Well, I've said it once. No harm saying it again." Tony looked at him over his shoulder. "Whatever makes you happy, man."

"I am happy for you."

"Thank you, Stark."

Tony ran his eyes up and down. "You look very dashing, by the way."

"Are you sure you won't be needing a best man? The offer still stands."

"Asgardian customs requires no best man. A true warrior doesn't need another man to stand by his side in the midst of battle, he certainly doesn't need one at the altar." Stephen cocked his head as he studied his friend's reflection in the mirror. "Besides, I'm not sure how Loki feels about having you in the official pictures."

The uncalled-for derogatory comment aside,

"A true war- oh God." Tony sighed. "Don't get me wrong, I find interracial marriage beautiful and all –"

"Interspecies," Stephen murmured.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, but it's so complicated. You'll always be second-guessing yourself, wondering if you haven't stepped on somebody's toes by accident –"

"I have the rest of my life to learn."

"And you can't afford to be making any mistakes! You're going to be the King's Brother-in-Law, for Christ's sakes!" Tony gaped. "I bet you their wedding night ritual is probably creepy as fuck – "

"Did you know in Swahili culture they would get older relatives to sleep under the matrimonial bed while the newlyweds consummate the marriage, for the sole purpose of making sure the bride isn't resistant to her groom and that the marriage is actually consummated? They check the bed sheets and everything, like in The Tudors!"

He froze, a look of horror in his face, "Oh my God. What if you find Thor hiding under your bed?"

"Tony. You just want to be in the pictures, don't you."

A glum, "Yes."

Tony pouted. "It's good for my intergalactic reputation. Branching into medical tourism, didn't you hear?"

Stephen sighed, and turned his head to study his friend's dejected profile.

If it had not been for Tony Stark, Dr Stephen Strange and Loki of Asgard might still be at odds with each other, on a cosmic, irreconcilable scale. Who would have guessed?

He smiled benevolently. "I'll see what I can do."

Stephen fiddled with the bow tie again and wondered for the hundredth if he should swap the black for a bit of colour. "I quite like the idea of having a best man. If you hear me shout 'Line!', then that's your cue to rescue me in the unlikely event of having to salvage a catastrophic groom's speech."

"I'm a man of iron and words alike, my man, I won't let you down." Tony beamed. Then the brightness of his face took a turn, "Oh but that means I'm a bit underdressed now! Have to call Pepper, have to call her, where's my phone…"

Nah. Black, always the gold standard. Goes with everything.

"I mean, what's the worst thing Loki could do?" Stephen shrugged. "Hide you behind an invisibility spell the entire ceremony?"

Tony abruptly dropped his phone.

"Tony?" Pepper's voice squeaked out of the speakers. "Tony, you still there?"

Stephen smiled. It was going to be a beautiful day.

Nothing to be nervous about. Absolutely nothing.

New Asgard, the morning of the wedding

"Majesty, we have an emergency."

"Yes, yes, I've called in a few royal favours and yes, we will be getting the game and the poultry and the venison and the alcohol and whatever else for tonight's feast! I don't how they could have screwed up such an important order, someone needs to fire someone," he muttered.

"No, not that kind of emergency Thor!" Although it was considerate of Thor to ensure a never-ending supply of alcohol, which she was sorely in need of right freaking now because

"Loki's gone missing."

"Nonsense. The wedding is in three hours. The entourage from New York will be arriving pretty shortly."

"He is actually, really, abso-fucking-lutely missing." If she didn't love her hair so much, she would be tearing it out right about now. "No one can find him anywhere!"

"Are you sure?"

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and kept her tongue in check lest she say something stupid like, ' No, I just like making up stories about your insufferable brother especially on very important days such as his own damn wedding, ' and get her beautiful hair (and/or head) chopped off.

"Yes, Your Majesty, your brother Loki, the Prince of Asgard, is m-i-s-s-i-n-g."

"Are you sure he is not just holed up in his room, sick with nerves? He carries tension in his stomach."

"Oh wait, I don't think we've checked his room – of course he is not in his room, Thor! That was the first place we looked!" She fought to remain calm. Getting frustrated was not the way to get anything done.

"The Master of the Horse wanted him to try the new bridal saddle he commissioned and has been looking for him since this morning, but no one has seen Loki since breakfast!" She put her hands on her hips. "Now he is panicking because he needs to know if the Prince is going to ride side saddle or astride - "

"Loki's never going to ride side saddle. Not even when he's wearing a dress, which he isn't."

Her mouth fell open. These Odinson brothers were really going to be the death of her one day. "Thor, that is hardly the most important thing right now."

"You are not suggesting my brother has gotten cold feet right now when we are literally hours from the wedding?"

"I am not suggesting anything other than the fact that he seems to have disappeared into thin air, Majesty, and you need to find him," she said tiredly. Finally the King was getting it. "And you'd better find him fast."

"There is no need for alarm, Valkyrie," Thor said calmly. "You find Stian, you find him."

"Stian's sleeping in the nursery, and I assure you, Loki isn't there." Her ire was beginning to rouse again at his nonchalance. "What do you take me for? Don't you think I've checked?"

"Alright, alright, Valkyrie, calm your horses."

"Calm my –" She palmed her face. She could not believe this was happening. "Lackey can be anywhere on this planet and the only person who has a chance of pinpointing his location is his damn fiancé and I don't want to be the person who breaks the news."

"What do you take me for, Valkyrie?" He rose from his chair, and she took a step back as he towered over her.

Once she was certain he was only rising to stand instead of to strike her where she stood, "So you know where he is?"

"Of course I do." Thor tucked his helmet under his arm. "I'm his brother."

"Then why didn't you say something?" She seethed.

"Because it's fun watching you getting all flustered over nothing."

"I know it's regicide but can I strangle you anyway?"

Thor laughed.

New Asgard, present time

Thor wavered uncertainly at Stephen and Loki's bedroom door, dying to step inside but knowing he shouldn't –

Stephen waved an exasperated hand in from where he was sitting on the foot of the bed. "Come on in!"

And now he could!

Overjoyed, he threw himself down on the side of the bed. Even when kneeling, he towered over his brother. "Loki?"

"Hey, Thor." Loki grinned slyly. "Did you miss me?"

Thor could not speak. He responded to the silly question that was so characteristically Loki the only way he knew how; he was not even going to be all vague about it like the last time back on The Statesman –

He could feel the breath leave Loki's chest as he squeezed his brother in his arms. He let go for a split second to allow Loki to gasp in a breath before drawing him in again, into a tighter embrace this time.

From now on he would hug his brother whenever he felt like it, just because he could, and irritate the Hel out of him, just because he could.

"How could you?" Thor mumbled into Loki's shoulder. His arms shook as they tried not to crush Loki in his feverish outpouring of emotions. "How could you?"

"And miss out on this?" Loki sounded teasing, yet his voice was shaking just as much, his frail hand sifting through Thor's hair gently. "I don't even need a bath what will all of you bawling over me."

"Oh you're going to be one crying now, Lackey." A new voice spoke from the door.

Thor surreptitiously wiped the back of his hand against his eye before releasing Loki back down gently. "Oh yes, he so is."

Loki craned his neck to see, "I am so not."

Stian bounded into the room and pounced on the bed like the tornado incarnate that he was, "Pappa! Look who's here! Lady Val, come on!"

With shining eyes, Valkyrie sat herself on the small spot next to Loki's pillow. "Say hello to your daughter," and thrust a bundle into his arms very carefully.

Loki's lower lip trembled. No, he was not going to burst into tears, not with all these people here –

He teased her hair with the tips of his fingers. He should have figured. Aífe gave his daughter not just her name, but her fiery hair as well.

How could something that came out of him be so beautiful?

"Hello, little one," he croaked. At the sound of his voice, thick and choked with emotions, Aífe opened her eyes.

And Loki lost it. He began to sob.

"Oh Pappa…" The soft-hearted Stian began to cry too, his little hands pawing at his face to wipe the tears away. "Pappa, it's not good to cry so much, you'll get sick…"

Aífe gurgled as if in agreement with her brother, but that made Loki cry even harder.

Stian turned to his father helplessly. "Daddy, tell him!"

Valkyrie decided it was time to step in and save the night before everyone became a downright mess, herself included. "Come on, Revengers! Group hug, group hug!"

"You too, Fancy Man!" Stephen felt her pull him in and soon, everybody was crying and laughing at the same time.

Thor would deny it to his dying day, but he cried the loudest.

New Asgard, two hours before the royal wedding

"Thought I might find you here." A familiar voice interrupted his quiet reverie. "The Valkyrie's near hysterical. You damn near turned her hair white, thinking you'd bailed."

"Surely she wouldn't begrudge me my last few hours of solitude before all the mayhem starts."

"I think a Post-It on the door would have saved her a lot of heartache, Loki."

"I don't know what that is, but I never usually tell people where I'm going, and I'm hardly going to start doing that now." Loki breathed in, savouring the smell of the sea. "Totally ruins the mystery."

"Ah, yes. I've got a couple of grey hair at such a young age, thanks to you and your mystery."

"Come now, Thor. You liked listening to the stories of all my adventures."

"I would have liked them more had you been the one telling them."

"Not my fault you're an aural person, Thor. I'm a linguist. I read fantastic stories, and I get people to write fantastic stories about me."

Thor watched a seagull swoop down and snatch its prey out of the water.

Loki crossed his long legs in front of him. "I've been sitting here, waiting for a sign."

"A sign? Of what? Who from?"

Loki shrugged. He hesitated for a heartbeat. "Valkyrie's not wrong, you know."

"Come Brother. You're not one to get cold feet about anything. In fact, you do the complete opposite. You run headlong into it, create as much mischief if you can and try to talk your way out of it."

He glanced at his brother out of the corner of one eye.

"You've never been surer about anything." Thor mirrored his posture, crossing his slightly longer legs in front of him.

"That's why you're here. Instead of hiding somewhere on some other planet where you know no one can ever find or reach you." Thor cleared his throat delicately. "Not even your Stephen Strange."

"How did you come to know me so well, Brother?"

"You're not the only one who's changed, Loki."

"I guess not." Loki smiled. Then he faltered. "You're not going to make me change my mind? Marrying a hu – " he caught himself. "Marrying Stephen?"

"What was it you once said? About me and Jane?" Thor frowned.

"It's a heartbeat," Loki said, his voice hollow.

"It's a heartbeat, yes."

Thor turned to look at him and smiled gently. "And it's still beating, isn't it." He touched the tip of his finger to Loki's chest. "It's beating for you."

"You going to take that away from him?"

Loki's eyes smarted. He shook his head furiously.

"That's what I thought." Thor nodded. "Does Stephen make you as happy as you make him?"

Loki nodded, albeit slowly at first, but he became surer with each nod.

"Then nothing makes me happier, Loki." Thor beamed sunnily, looking every inch the Golden Prince Loki grew up with, and the Golden King Loki would serve till the end of their days.

"You are my brother, Loki. And I love you." Thor's hand was warm at the back of his neck. "And I'm not giving you away today, nor am I giving you up."

"I'm gaining another brother."

Thor drew in a kingly breath. "As you can see, there aren't that many of us left."

A single tear trailed silently down Loki's cheek. Thor reached to thumb it away tenderly.

"How now, Loki? Shall we get back and get you married?"

Loki threw himself forward and damn near toppled Thor backward as Loki hugged him tightly, unabashedly. "You're my sign, Thor."

"About time." Thor mussed his short hair as Loki released him as suddenly as he had embraced him.

"Come. Let's get you dressed up. Can't have you looking a mess and Stephen stealing all the limelight, can we?"

Loki gave a little sinister laugh. "He can certainly try."

A/N: Sorry for the wait guys, yesterday was a crappy day so everything was coming out angsty. Today is way happier, hence! The second last chapter!