The boys had watched their womenfolk be spirited away by the resident goddess of love and beauty in almost stunned silence. Predictably, it was Tony who broke the spell.

'She'd better not put Pepper in anything that might hurt the baby,' said Tony.

'I don't think she would,' said Bruce. 'She seems like the sort who is hyperattentive to those sorts of things.'

'I pity whoever winds up with Natasha,' said Clint. 'She doesn't like makeovers much. Someone tried it on her once before; it wasn't pretty.'

'I'll believe that,' said Tony.

'Friends, perhaps we could go to our training courts for a while,' suggested Thor. 'I am sure that none would be adverse to some exercise before dinner.'

'Not in the slightest,' said Steve. Thor gave a great booming laugh and led them through a maze of hallways until they reached a green door with a skull, serpent and wolf in a triangle around an open hand on it. Thor knocked.

Loki opened the door. 'Escorting me to my execution so soon, Thor?'

'I simply wished to see if you would join us for some exercise,' said Thor. 'I worry that you spend too much time in here, brother.'

'I worry that you do not spend enough time training your brain,' said Loki acidly. 'I imagine that it is a great disappointment to Odin. Give me a moment; I shall come with you.'

The door closed firmly, and the group waited in the hallway. Five minutes later, the door opened again, and Loki emerged without the overrobe he had been wearing before. Thor beamed at him and the group set off again.

Thor led the group through the halls. Behind him, Volstagg had taken charge of Steve and was discussing – of all things – food in the military. Fandral was attempting to tease Clint about Natasha, with help from Tony, and Bruce was turning pinker and pinker as the comments got more and more ribald. Funnily, Clint wasn't too fazed by any of this. Erik valiantly attempted to distract Bruce with questions about his work. At the back of the group, silent Hogan walked with Loki, who was smirking madly as he eavesdropped on the conversations happening in front of him.

The training yard was a large square courtyard with an eight-foot wall separating it from, on one side, a garden, and on the other, a stable yard. Loki climbed up the wall on the stable yard side and perched there. Hogan clambered up after him and sat a good five feet away from the troubled prince. Thor and Volstagg immediately began fighting, swinging their massive fists at each other and landing devastating blows. Falderal, mistakenly thinking that Steve would be an easy opponent, invited the Captain to spar. Clint perched on the garden-side wall and refereed the two matches, calling out suggestions for improvement when he felt they were necessary. Erik sat on the ground below and to one side of him, watching the fights.

Tony and Bruce, bored by the displays of machismo, parked themselves in a corner to discuss their thoughts on their current experiment, which was still in the theoretical stages. Their intense conversation was not overlooked by Loki. After a while of watching and trying to listen in without moving, Loki jumped off the wall and made his way over to the only other really brilliant people in the area.

'So, Mr Stark, what is it that you and the good Doctor have been furtively discussing for the past hour?' Tony looked reluctant to share with the megalomaniac who attempted to destroy his city. 'Oh please, I am completely bored by Asgard, it no longer offers me any challenge, I'm not going to use your invention to take over any world.' Bruce looked to Tony to make sure he was allowed to explain their experiment with Loki.

'We're trying to figure out a way to do long-range teleportation but we simply can't get the practical application to work out.'

'Oh that,' said Loki dismissively. 'That's easy. For me, anyway.'

'Really,' said Tony, 'and for the rest of us mere mortals?'

'Probably significantly more difficult,' said Loki. 'When I need to teleport, or travel between dimensions without Heimdall knowing, I set up a wormhole. There's one just outside the treasure room that leads both to my rooms and to Jotenheim. Which is under construction. Part of my punishment for the Midgard incident.'

'So they're actually punishing you for that,' said Bruce. 'No one mentioned it to us.'

'I assure you, my punishment is draining and difficult,' said Loki. 'Rebuilding the Bifrost and repairing the damage to Yggdrasil is much more delicate and exhausting than they sound. Especially with a small council sitting nearby, watching and demanding I explain every little thing I do.'

'We know what you mean,' said Bruce sympathetically. 'We deal with the CIA. It's a headache trying to explain experiments and inventions to people who have no appreciation for the work itself.'

'Thank God Fury just nods, pretends he understands and carries on,' said Tony. 'He's good about just letting us do our own thing, as long as we show up to save the world.'

'I very much wish that Odin was like that,' said Loki wistfully. 'Not completely understanding, but supportive and interested in the world I have shaped for myself.'

'Well, my dad wasn't the greatest father ever either,' said Tony. 'He spent more time with Steve than with me. But, he did give me the tools I'd need to take care of myself.'

'Odin let you find out who you are,' said Bruce. 'That's a blessing, really.'

'I suppose it is,' said Loki thoughtfully. 'At any rate, come by my rooms tomorrow after breakfast, and I'll lend you my notes on wormholes and moving in the space/time continuum.'

'Why not after dinner?' asked Bruce.

'Dinners here tend to go on from six until two in the morning,' said Loki. 'By the time we'll be allowed to leave, I shall very much want to sleep. And I need to find my notes, though I'm fairly sure I kept them. They're probably somewhere very safe in my library. Or Hel took them the last time she was here.'

'Riiiiiiight,' said Tony. 'So, meet up at your place after breakfast? Sounds like a plan.'

'What are you three up to?' Steve called across the yard.

'We're just chatting,' said Bruce.

'A nice little conversation among geniuses,' said Tony. 'No worries, we'll explain it to you when we know what we're doing.'

Steve nodded. This was Stark standard. If it was important, they'd know when Tony wanted them to, and not before.

'Loki,' said Thor with a mischievous little smile, 'are you making friends?'

'I won't rule it out,' said Loki dryly.

Thor's face lit up with pure joy. 'I am pleased for you, brother. Perhaps having friends will ease your loneliness somewhat.'

'Perhaps being married will cause you to grow up,' retorted Loki. 'All of Asgard shall be pleased by that.'

'It will be supper soon,' said Hogan, causing everyone to jump a bit.

'Very true Hogan,' said Falderal. 'I propose that we all go inside and get cleaned up, and meet in Thor's quarters before dinner.'

'A worthy suggestion,' said Thor.

'I think we'll need help finding our rooms,' said Bruce.

'We'll show you!' said Volstagg. The Warriors Three surrounded their Midgardian guests and ushered them off. Thor turned to Loki, still beaming.

'It's good to see you interacting with the world again, brother,' said Thor. 'It truly is.'

'I'm sure,' said Loki. 'Stop grinning at me, you look like an idiot!'

'You've often said that I'm the idiot of the family,' said Thor amiably.

'That doesn't mean you have to look the part,' snapped Loki. He sighed and buried his face in his hands. 'Sorry. Do you mind if I skip the pre-dinner get together? I need some space, and I need to check something.'

'Take the time you need,' said Thor solemnly, clapping a hand on Loki's shoulder. 'I'll see you at dinner.'

When the men reconvened in Thor's rooms a few hours later, they looked very different. Their Midgardian clothes had been taken by the very helpful maids sent to help them with their baths. Steve was not the only one uncomfortable with this. They had instead been given brown or beige pants, black leather boots and a shirt and tunic combination. Erik was in grey and white; Steve was in blue and white; Tony looked sharp in dark grey and crimson; Bruce wore purple and cream. Overall, they looked wonderful to Thor.

'I feel like I'm wearing a dress,' was Tony's first comment.

'I think I saw something like this in a historical movie,' muttered Bruce.

'It's wonderfully traditional,' said Erik cheerfully. 'And surprisingly comfortable.'

'It beats spandex and Kevlar,' agreed Steve.

'Well, let's hope that Tony and I can behave ourselves,' said Bruce pragmatically. 'We seem to do the most damage to our clothes.'

'I am very glad that the outfits please you,' said Thor.

'My, don't we all look dashing,' said Fanderal as he waltzed through the door, baby blue cape swirling around him.

'No Loki?' asked Volstagg. 'He is far too skinny to be missing meals!'

'He will be at dinner,' Thor assured him. 'He had to attend to his responsibilities, and thus could not join us prior to the feast.'

'It's nice, knowing that he can be responsible,' said Fanderal.

'He made it pretty clear that he was responsible for invading Earth,' said Tony. 'And killing people, and generally being destructive.'

'You forgot to mention the damages to your penthouse,' said Steve.

'That was mostly me,' said Bruce sheepishly.

'Pepper and I wanted to redecorate,' shrugged Tony. 'Our interior designer and contractor nearly went ballistic when they realized how big the job was. So we went on vacation to Aruba for a month, and when we came back it was all fixed up and ready to live in again. No long term damage.'

'That is good news,' said Thor. The door opened again, and Odin entered. 'Father, this is a surprise.'

'It shouldn't be,' said Odin. 'Freya wanted a ladies-only audience with Frigga, and who am I to deny her? Though I fear we should get ourselves down to the feasting hall, else our ladies may be offended that there is no one to admire them when they come down, and they may very well eat all the food.'

'A tragedy!' said Volstagg.

'We must go down and make sure they have an audience!' said Fanderal. The two men left at a brisk jog, Hogan following them with a roll of his eyes.

'Hogan shall keep them out of too much trouble,' said Thor. 'We need not fear for the food or reflective surfaces.'

'Small blessings,' muttered Odin. 'We'd best go down. I want to see what Freyja has done to your little mortal girlfriend.'

'I am sure she has done her best,' said Thor. The rest of the walk was almost silent. The visiting Midgardians weren't comfortable with the AllFather, and Thor was too tense to attempt to put them at ease. Unsurprisingly, the tension was broken by the appearance of Loki.

'There you are,' said Thor. 'I was beginning to wonder if you were coming after all.'

'I don't dare insult anyone by not attending,' said Loki. 'Good evening, King Odin. You seem well.'

'I am very well rested,' said Odin blandly.

'Excellent,' said Loki.

'How did your errands go?' asked Thor.

'Very well,' said Loki. 'I called Hel back, since you interrupted that call, and she's doing fine. She doesn't have my wormhole notes, by the way, so they're here. I checked on Fenrir as well. He hasn't been sleeping well lately, but beyond that he's just fine. And I did begin looking for my wormhole notes. I also found some of my other research that you two might be interested in.'

'We'll have a look at it, if that's alright,' said Tony. 'So, what's the deal with dinner?'

'Eat as much as you can,' said Loki.

'Drink as much as you can,' said Thor.

'Try not to vomit on anyone,' said Odin.

'Great rules,' said Bruce.

'Will you get in here?' demanded Falderal from the doorway to the hall. 'The ladies will be here any moment! Er, good evening, AllFather.'

'Good evening,' replied Odin. 'Are you abusing my decorative shields again?'

'No, AllFather,' said Fanderal. 'Just making sure that they are shined properly.'

'The girls are here,' said Clint, drawing everyone away from Fanderal and the mirror-bright shields. Gold-clad Frigga led the party into the hall, followed by an unreasonably pleased-looking Freya in sky blue, arm in arm Pepper in turquoise and Darcy in plum. Natasha, predictably, was wearing a blood-red dress that hugged all her curves. Sif contrasted her in moss-green. And then there was Jane.

Jane looked like she belonged in the shining city. She looked like she belonged in this company of gods and superbeings. She most certainly did not look like a storm chasing scientist who drove RVs into tornados and slept under the stars when the rest of the world was too much. She looked like a queen.

'Pick your jaw up off the floor, Tony,' said Pepper. 'I don't look that good.'

'You look amazing,' said Tony, wrapping his arm around his wife's waist. 'More amazing than usual, which is quite the feat.'

'And you've been talking to Asgardians too long,' said Pepper. 'Your speech patterns are getting messed up.'

'I'll fix it when I get home,' said Tony.

'Let the feast begin!' announced Odin.

The feast began well enough. Loki kept the scientist/inventor section of the table entertained with stories of experiments gone wrong – like the week he accidentally turned Thor into a woman – and encouraged the sharing of other embarrassing moments. Freya attempted to match Natasha up with every eligible man in the room. When that failed, she tried the eligible women and the married men. Frigga eventually put a stop to it by reminding her that after Thor, it was her turn to marry, prompting tears and an emergency counseling session run by Pepper. Sometime around midnight, Fanderal said something stupid and Sif threw a roll at him. It missed and hit Clint, who extracted his tongue from Darcy's throat and flung a chicken leg at Sif, who ducked. It hit Natasha squarely between her shoulder blades. Food began flying all around the room. Poor Volstagg valiantly attempted to catch all of it in his mouth.

As Loki predicted, the party died down around two. Ad as Loki predicted, by the time the feast was over, the visiting Midgardians were too tired to do anything but sleep.