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Thor was sitting alone in his room. The sun had yet to rise and he couldn't sleep. His thoughts were focused on one Haruven Sigurdsson. A part of him wanted to go back to Starborn right away, but another part was telling him to take his time.
Granted it was a very small part of him. It was the part that still feared that Haruven was no better than Loki and that small part was quickly suppressed by the other part and surprisingly, his heart.
His heart was telling him to go back to Starborn this very moment. Something was pulling him back and its call was growing stronger by the minute.
He sighed, stood up, and walked over to his wardrobe. He pulled out his bag and took a small, round mirror out of it, feeling its slight weight on his palm. It was big enough to fit in his hand.
Taking a seat on his bed his took the mirror in both hands and closed his eyes, murmuring a few words in his mother language under his breath. The reflective glass of the mirror glimmered, and moments later the beautiful face of his mother appeared instead of his reflection.
"Thor, my son. I am surprised you called so soon," she spoke lovingly, and a smile tilted Thor's lips.
"I need your advice, Mother," he said and Frigga smiled at him.
"Speak, my son," she said and Thor frowned.
"I met someone." Frigga frowned and tilted her head to the side. "He is a bartender at a café. His name is Haruven Sigurdsson."
Frigga's eyes widened for a mere second before her lips tilted into a small, mysterious smile. "And?" she asked and Thor licked his lips.
"I don't know mother. I went to see him and I have felt strange ever since. It is like something is calling me to him; pulling me to his side. I read about his past and he is a great warrior. I have seen his heart and I saw that he is weary of battle. He is powerful in magic but does not wish to use it to harm others. He seems honorable and I must admit that he is very beautiful."
Frigga laughed charmingly, eyes glimmering with mirth. "I fail to see your plight, my son," she said and Thor sighed.
"I keep remembering that Child carrying the Mark of Thunder you mentioned once."
"Ah." Frigga nodded her head in understanding. "Worry not, Thor. If you feel drawn to young Haruven then go to him. I dare say that you shall not regret it."
"You know something, Mother," Thor concluded, narrowing his eyes at him mother. "You know something you are not willing to share with me."
Frigga smiled at him lovingly. "Now, where would be the fun in that, my son? You should live your life on your own. I am only here to give you advice. Go to him. Speak with him. Your instincts have never failed you before. Why deny yourself now?"
Thor hummed and looked out the window of his room. Dawn was breaking and the sky was painted red. "You're right, Mother," he looked back at the mirror. "I shall go and speak with him. I must know if he feels the same."
Frigga nodded and offered an encouraging smile. "Go, my son. Stay safe," she said and Thor nodded.
"Greet everyone for me, Mother, and stay safe," with that the mirror glowed and once it stopped glowing the only thing he could see was his own reflection. He sighed and put the mirror under his pillow. Looking at Mjölnir that rested against the wall beside the head of his bed, Thor took a deep breath and stood up.
"She is right. I should go," he muttered and made his way out. 'Otherwise my heart and mind will no longer know peace.'
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Haruven smiled when the door of the Café opened and a tall man with dirty blond hair walked in. "Neville! It's been so long!" he greeted warmly and Neville grinned. The two met in the middle of the café and hugged.
"Harry. I missed you," Neville said and Harry smiled at him when they parted.
"What brings you here?" Harry asked and led Neville over to the bar.
"Luna is visiting relatives with our children so I thought, while they are at it, I could come and see how you're doing. You know I don't like large gatherings; especially loud large gatherings."
Haruven laughed and placed a cup of tea in front of Neville and another one beside it, before rounding the bar and taking a seat beside his old friend. "I know, and I'm sure Luna doesn't mind."
Neville chuckled. "No, she doesn't. She sends her greetings."
"Greet her for me when you see her, as well as your children. How old are they now?" Harry asked and a happy smile decorated Neville's face.
"Frank is 14 years old, Alice is 12, and Harry is 13 months old." Ven's eyes widened slightly and Neville sighed, placing a hand on Haruven's back. "You did a lot for us, Harry - Ven." He corrected himself and rolled his eyes, earning a small laugh from Haruven. "I would have lost both Luna and Frank if it weren't for you."
"You're my friends, Neville. I only did what was right," Haruven said and Neville gave Ven's shoulder a small squeeze.
"And I will never be able to express my gratitude. You know that you only have to call and that I'll do whatever I can to help you, right?"
Ven nodded, and covered Neville's hand with his own. "I know, Neville. Your friendship means the world to me."
Neville smiled and looked around with a sigh. "This place is wonderful."
"Thank you."
"I can feel your magic circulating everywhere," he said and looked at Ven. "Is everything alright with it?"
Ven sighed and shrugged elegantly. "I'm handling it to the best of my abilities. To be perfectly honest it is getting increasingly harder to find a way to contain it."
Neville frowned in worry. "You have yet to find your Chosen."
Ven's expression turned slightly sad. "That's not the problem, Neville," he murmured.
"Then what is?"
Ven looked at him and Neville almost winced when he saw the worry in Ven's eyes; worry and the shadows of old fears.
"What if I'm not good enough…"
"You stop right there, Harry James Potter!" Neville snapped and Ven recoiled with wide eyes. He forgot that Neville could be quite forceful when he wanted to be. "You are a man anyone would be happy to have as a life mate, a friend and a consort. You are kind, wise, generous, powerful and you don't have a selfish bone in your body, so don't you dare think yourself unworthy of anyone! You deserve the best. If nothing else, whoever they are, they should worry about not being worthy of you."
Ven laughed quietly and shook his head. "After everything I've done you still think so highly of me."
Neville frowned and grabbed Ven's forearm tugging on it until Ven turned to face Neville fully, warm brown gaze diving into Ven's emerald depths. "You did those things because no one else was brave enough to do them. You sacrificed years of peace to bring peace to others, you sacrificed a good part of your life to gift life to others and you asked nothing but peace in return." Neville let go of Ven's arm and moved back a little. "If it were up to me, nothing less than a god would be fit enough for you."
Ven blushed and Neville gifted him with a gentle, brotherly smile.
"You deserve someone who will be able to take care of you for once. You don't need someone who will depend on you, but someone who will be able to protect you for a change." Ven sighed and looked at Neville with a smile.
"I suppose you're right," he said and Neville snorted.
"Like I said," he spoke and took a sip of his tea, "you've taken care of others for your whole life. Even now you're doing so." Ven raised an eyebrow and Neville shot him a sarcastic stare. "What do you take me for? Blind?" he nodded towards the ceiling. "I can see what you did to this place. You just couldn't retire to some mountain and live the rest of your life in peace and quiet. You just had to open up a place for tormented souls, didn't you?"
Ven chuckled and shook his head. "You know me, Neville."
"I do, you self-sacrificing Gryffindork," Neville drawled and Ven laughed.
"Merlin, am I happy to see you again," Ven breathed out and Neville chuckled and patted Ven's shoulder.
"And I'm happy to see you again, Harry, although I would have been happier to see you married to some tall, handsome hunk of a man than alone like this." Ven laughed loudly and Neville chuckled. In that moment the door opened and Neville raised an eyebrow when Ven's head snapped toward the door and a shiver ran down the lithe body.
Neville barely stopped himself from whistling at the man that entered.
"Good morning," he greeted, and Ven stood up, quickly bowing at him.
"Someone like him," Neville pressed out though his teeth and Ven hissed at him to keep quiet before facing the newcomer with a smile and walking over to him.
"Good morning, Thor. I'm glad to see you again."
Neville's eyes widened for a moment. He got a hold of himself when his eyes met Thor's. Those stormy blues darkened for a moment and Neville had a sudden need to pack up and leave as soon as possible.
"You know what, Ha - Ven?" Said man turned around and looked at Neville with a confused stare. "I just remembered that grandmother asked me to pick up something for her. I'll see you later, alright?"
"Neville…"
"Stay safe!" Neville rounded the two and left the Café as though Hell Hounds were chasing him.
Thor stared after Neville with a raised eyebrow while Ven did an impressive imitation of a fish for a few moments. His mouth snapped shut when Thor turned to look at him, eyebrows meeting the line of blond hair. "A friend of yours?"
Ven quickly gained control over his tongue, swallowing and straightening before he made an even bigger fool of himself. "Yes. I'm sorry for that. He must have been in a hurry."
Thor chuckled and Ven felt a shiver run down his body. "Do not worry. I came so we could speak."
Ven's breath caught in his throat and he looked away from Thor's captivating eyes. "Of course. Please, take a seat," he said and walked over to the bar.
Thor smirked and followed after him, startling a bit when both cups vanished off of the bar while Ven prepared drinks for the both of them. Thor took a seat and crossed his arms on the bar, watching the wizard work. "It seems you are feeling better than last time," Thor commented and Ven looked up from the drink he was preparing.
"I am feeling better; much better."
Thor nodded and smiled in thanks when Ven placed a cup in front of him, his smile growing a bit when he recognized the drink as the one he drank last time. "Did you think of a name for it?" he asked and Haruven shook his head.
"No. I can't think of a name for it at the moment. I'm sure it will come to me with time." Ven placed another cup on the bar and rounded it, taking a seat beside Thor who smiled and nodded. "So," Ven said and took a sip of his drink. "What did you want to talk about?"
Thor sighed and turned in the chair to face Ven fully. For the longest moment he just observed Ven and the bartender had a hard time staying calm.
For once his magic wasn't bursting at the seams, but it was restless never the less. He could feel it crawling under his skin, begging to either be set free or trying to answer the call of Thor's own power.
It was overwhelming.
It made Ven's body burn and his heart beat quickly, but this time he kept an iron hard control over it.
He was determined not to make a fool out of himself.
"I must say, Haruven…" Thor started and Ven almost jumped in his seat, managing to stop himself in the knick of time. "You've made me think and feel strange things." Thor decided that if he wanted to get anything done he would have to be his usual blunt self. Even though he came a long way from the rash brat he was a few years back, there were moments when he could still be quite forceful and blunt; he only learned to control himself better.
"I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable," Ven said and Thor raised an eyebrow.
He could see that Ven's eyes darkened slightly and that he was pulling back, and Thor didn't like that; for some reason he didn't like that at all. "I never said that." He said and smiled when Ven tilted his head to the side a bit with a confused expression. "I only said you make me feel strange, but not in a bad way."
Ven tensed up and his eyes widened for a mere second. "Then what…"
Thor sighed and took his drink, taking a sip of the enchanting ambrosia he had discovered in this strange place. "You…" he started but his voice faded as he looked for the right words, "you attract me, Haruven."
Ven's lips parted slightly and he stared at Thor with surprise.
"I've known you for no more than three days, but I feel drawn to you. I feel like I should stay with you and never let you out of my sight; and yet I don't know why. Your magic is calling out to me and your heart…"
"Stop…" Haruven interrupted him and closed his eyes. "Please, say no more." He stood up, rounded the bar and threw his drink into the sink.
'Ven, what are you doing!'
'This isn't right, Urd!' He told her, his heart aching something awful. "He shouldn't be with me if it's just my magic calling out to him! I feel like I'm not giving him a choice!'
'But, V…'
"I came here to tell you what I feel, Haruven." Thor interrupted Urd, standing on his feet with hands braced on the bar. "I am not yet certain what it is exactly, but I…"
Ven took a towel and impulsively started to clean the tables just to stop himself from looking at Thor. He was slowly losing control again and he didn't want that to happen.
"Haruven, stop that and talk to me. Please." Thor followed after Haruven who avoided him moving on to another table before Thor could take a hold of him.
"I'm afraid we have nothing to talk about," Haruven spoke, barely managing to stop his voice from wavering.
"Haruven, listen. If you do not feel the same…"
"No!" Haruven cried out before he could stop himself and turned around to look at Thor, not realizing that he had made a fatal mistake. He bumped into the table behind him when he realized Thor was closer than he thought he would be, finding himself looking up Thor's eyes, heartbeat stuttering when tall, strong man took a step closer effectively trapping Ven between the table and himself.
"No?" Thor asked and smirked.
Ven's breath hitched in his throat and he realized that if the God of Thunder took another step closer Haruven would practically be forced to sit on the table.
"No." Haruven spoke. He was trying to keep a cool head and push down his magic that was running wild in his veins. "I'm not indifferent about you." He tried to regain control over himself and his words.
Thor hummed and took another step forward. His instincts never led him wrong before and right now they were telling him to grab the slightly smaller man and never let him go. Something in him, in the deepest part of him, recognized this man. It recognized Haruven on a primal level. It recognized Haruven as his and his alone. "You are not indifferent, you say."
Haruven swallowed difficultly when Thor took another step closer and pushed his knee between Ven's legs, taking a firm hold of Haruven's forearms when the raven haired man raised his hands and placed them on Thor's broad chest in a feint attempt to push him away and put some distance between them, not even aware of the quiet, pleading whine that escaped his parted lips.
"Why are you fighting so hard against whatever is happening here, Haruven?"
Ven's mouth dried and no matter how hard he tried to avoid doing that, he looked up and his eyes dove into Thor's.
Maybe it would be easier to just give in?
Maybe he would finally be able to go back to how he was before if he just gave in to this need?
Thor let go of Haruven's forearms when the bartender ducked his head, and the God of Thunder reached up, touching those pale cheeks with the tips of his fingers. His breath wavered when his fingers brushed Haruven's fringe away from that beautiful face to reveal a faded lightning bolt scar on Ven's forehead. One had to look hard to see it because it was almost too faded to see, but to Thor it was clear.
"You are that Child," Thor whispered in pure amazement. "You are the Child with the Mark of Thunder." Ven tried to look away but Thor cupped his face within his gentle hold and stopped him. "My mother spoke of you a long time ago. I thought I would never find you."
Haruven tried to say something but the words were stuck somewhere in his throat.
"I'm sorry…" he managed to press out and Thor frowned in confusion, "I didn't mean to deceive…"
"Fret not."
"But…"
"I only heard my Mother mention you once. I had no idea that this was what she meant." Thor muttered lowly and Ven swallowed difficultly. "I had no idea that the Norns decided to gift me with such a powerful, strong consort."
Ven's eyes widened. "Thor, I…"
Before Ven could say another word Thor captured his lips in a kiss and Ven could do nothing but moan. His magic sang in his blood, his heart was beating loudly in his ears and his hands fisted on Thor's chest as though they had a will of their own.
Thor moved closer and his arms settled on Ven's waist as he tasted his Chosen for the first time. He could feel Ven's magic burst out of him and wrap itself around them. He could feel his own power respond to Ven's magic and every fiber of Thor's being trembled and burned. He deepened the kiss and pulled Ven closer, moaning when Ven's long, elegant fingers entangled in his hair, keeping him close and stopping him from breaking the kiss.
Not that Thor wanted to. As far as he was concerned his whole life, everything he lived through, every experience, every battle, every lesson he had learned has led to this one single moment.
They parted, gasping for air and Thor leaned his forehead against Ven's. The slightly smaller man was shivering and his magic was dancing happily around them. He tilted his head up a bit and Thor shivered when he looked into those ethereal, burning emerald eyes. They were glowing with power beyond anything Thor has ever seen and felt, and for some reason he suddenly felt humbled.
He felt like he should kneel in front of this creature and thank the Norns for intending Haruven to be his. Instead of doing that he reached up and cupped Ven's cheek with his hand, gently passing with his thumb over those kiss-abused lips. "Mine," he whispered possessively and Ven leaned into Thor's hand, eyes slipping closed as his whole body trembled.
"Yours," he breathed out and tilted his head to the side to lay a kiss in the middle of Thor's palm. His magic suddenly calmed and pulled back into him, and those amazing eyes opened to look up at Thor who gifted him with a smile full of comfort.
"You shall suffer no longer," he promised and Ven's mouth opened slightly, eyes widening in shock and wonder. "I make this pledge on my honor and my blood." Thor spoke. "I, Thor Odinson, hereby swear on my life that I shall prove myself your worthy keeper." Ven swallowed over a lump and nodded his head unable to speak. "Do you, Haruven Sigurdsson, accept my pledge? Will you allow me to court you and prove to you that I am worthy of your affection?"
Haruven tried to speak, but his voice was stuck in his throat. Thor smiled and Haruven's heart skipped a beat. In that moment it was as though a calm settled over his mind. His magic pulsated and his thoughts cleared. He looked in Thor's eyes and tried to find something, anything that would tell him the man wasn't willing in this. He tried to find a trace of anything that would tell him Thor was doing this just because something was making him do this, but to Ven's honest surprise all he found was honesty and something that he couldn't quite name yet, but it made him feel warm and safe.
A small, calm smile appeared on Ven's face and Thor couldn't help but think that he had never in his life seen anything more beautiful than that. "Do you, Haruven?" he asked again and Ven nodded his head, for once refusing to think.
"Yes," he said and Thor let go of a relieved sigh. "I do."
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I remember someone telling me the first time this chapter was posted that the last scene seemed to be rushed, and that the romance between Thor and Haruven had advanced too quickly.
But then I remember the start of my own relationship and think - NAH, this is too damn slow!
Anyway, let's all see what will happen next!
I'll see you all next time in 'Old Friend'.