Author's Notes: Okay, if you want to avoid some graphic smexy, skip to the next section when you see Darcy's name. Thanks to everyone for the amazing reviews, guesses and encouragement. It really feels great to have so many lovely people on this journey with me!

… …

Nyvorlas nodded as he felt the woman's shields drop into place. "Very good. You've mastered building and lowering them. It's time to practice holding them against an assault." He tried not to let his irritation show as she rolled her eyes. These mortals…well, former mortal in her case, had the most annoying mannerisms.

"Oh, fun. Not," Loki's princess muttered. "I didn't know your people could use empathy offensively."

"They cannot. But what we will do is use a mirror ward. You will attempt to attack me, and the ward will bounce it back at you."

"So, in effect, I'll be attacking myself. Hmm, not sure if that's going to work; I have to feel the emotion to amplify and send it."

And they tended to miss the obvious. "But if you suddenly feel it much more strongly, you will know that you have not blocked the attack."

She shrugged. "Okay. I've always wondered what it feels like. If my shielding is crappy, I guess I'll be finding out."

He frowned, their phrasing also left much to be desired. "Your shielding is not crappy, but your projections are exceptionally powerful. If you can block them, you can block anything mental that anyone throws at you. I was not able to block them with standard wards and shielding. This mirror ward is something Loki and I have devised between us. Neither of us had the knowledge or power to create it alone."

"Should we try it now?"

"No, not until Loki returns. I do not want him to see you collapsing from a distance if you cannot block your own power. I'd be lucky to keep my head long enough for him to remember that you were in no danger."

"Smart man."

… …

Pepper stretched out on the bed, waiting patiently for Tony to return from his shower. Even with the suit's built-in cooling, he had still been soaked with sweat after the morning's combat practice. She smiled as their door opened and he entered; his hair towel-dried and charmingly disheveled. Since she knew for a fact that he'd taken a comb with him, the mussed 'do' was intentional. "Feeling better?" she asked with the tiny smile that she knew drove him crazy in all the right ways.

"Much. Thanks to Frosty, our cold water is actually cold, so I stood under that for a while before turning on the hot water to get clean."

She looked at the slight tenting in his shorts. "Well, it doesn't look like you kept the cold on for too long."

"Nah. I knew I had a hot fiancé waiting for me. Wouldn't want to waste the adrenaline build up and disappoint her."

Pepper bit her lip to keep from laughing at his roguish expression. "You are such a ham." The threatened laughter finally escaped. "Seriously, Tony…let the real you peek out for a few minutes, okay?"

"The real me. Which real me? The genius, the billionaire, the playboy, or the philanthropist?"

"Tony…"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry." He sat down on the bed and waited until she had settled herself against the wall that was substituting for a headboard. "What is it, Pep?"

"It's about Kara…and Loki."

"Okay, what about them? Oh, and I'm sorry they beat us to the altar, but you know, it wasn't my fault. Or theirs, for that matter."

"I know; but that's the thing. They didn't really get to an altar. At least, they haven't had a traditional wedding or any of the fun parts of it. I mean, really, they haven't even had a honeymoon."

"Huh. I was kind of envying Loki not having to do all of the ceremony stuff, but the missing out on the honeymoon part sucks the big one."

"Tony."

"Yeah, I know; totally irreverent. Sorry."

"I'm sure. Anyway, I was thinking…"

"Oh crap, now we're in big trouble."

"Anthony Edward Stark!" He winced and flashed her his best puppy dog expression. She wasn't going to melt under it, not this time. "What do you think about the idea of them having an Earth-style wedding, complete with all the preparations, parties, and such, and then having a honeymoon? At least a short one, I know Loki's supposed to be serving a sentence and such, but you don't get major threats every month let alone every week."

He stared at her for a minute, blinking slowly as he processed the flood of words she'd purposely dumped on him. "I suppose you expect me to foot the bill?"

"Well, yes."

Swinging his legs up on the bed, he grabbed her hips and pulled her down to lay beside him. "Okay. But you have to make the arrangements. It's so far outside of my areas of expertise it's ludicrous."

"No problem."

"And you have to clear it with Haakun and Fury. And probably Nassar."

"Why Dr. Nassar?"

"Uh…I think Fury's assigned him as a special liaison from S.H.I.E.L.D. to Asgard's representatives. Probably wants someone sensitive enough to not piss them off."

"Oh. That makes sense."

"Yep, for a change." He shrugged when she gave him a sharp look. "Hey, I don't usually think Fury makes a hell of a lot of sense."

"So, I get it cleared, we're good."

"Oh, babe, we're always good, especially together," he purred as he slid a calloused hand under her camisole top to gently caress her breasts.

"Remind me to thank Loki for the soundproofing," she managed to gasp as his touch roughened and his strong fingers pinched a nipple.

… …

Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I didn't realize you had that many connections," he said to Raj Nassar.

"They aren't my personal connections, or not all of them are. Each member of our Council works to develop one or two close connections in their part of the world." His shrug was self-deprecating. "We must have some way to bypass red tape in addition to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reputation for results."

"I hate politics."

"Which is why you are the Director and not a regent on the Council. Though, frankly, I'm not terribly fond of politics myself, though I'm very good at playing the game."

"Will these people have the authority to negotiate on Midgard's behalf?" the Asgardian Councilor asked.

Nassar grimaced. "No. However, they have great influence on those who do. What must first happen is for the Ambassadors to the United Nations to obtain permission from their individual governments to negotiate a treaty with Asgard. Next, the Ambassadors must appoint a small committee to do the actual negotiation with you. Once they've agreed on terms they will put it up to a vote amongst all of the Ambassadors. Two-thirds of them must agree to ratify the treaty, or it must go back to the committee for further negotiation."

Haakun groaned. "I begin to understand Loki's stance on conquest of this world. Surely it would make governance simpler."

Nick snorted at the idea. "You'd be dealing with rebellion on a constant basis. Our various peoples are too different culturally for it to work. Believe me, the idea has been floated often enough. Unfortunately, we've got over seven billion people, within dozens of exceptionally dissimilar cultures."

"Ah. That's…significantly larger a population than the other eight realms combined."

"Isn't Asgard's entire population about ten thousand?" Rogers asked. Nick had almost forgotten that four of the Avengers were there, they'd been so quiet during the discussions.

"That's like seven hundred thousand times Asgard's population," Dr. Banner mused. "No wonder Loki was able to make the enemy think it was doable. He was using his perceptions based on a much smaller population."

"Probably on purpose, the crafty bastard," Barton muttered from the seat beside the Black Widow.

Romanov hadn't opened her mouth, but her eyes were avidly watching all of them. She knew politics better than anyone, both its public face and its seedy underside. "Ms. Romanov, no comments on anything we've discussed?" Nick asked.

She lifted one slender black clad shoulder. "You've covered the political side thoroughly. Councilor Haakun will need security. I suggest the Avengers be retained for that purpose."

"Nat, we've got to take Loki back to Asgard so he can go to Jötunheim. I don't think him and Kara should go alone, you know. I don't trust Asgard to keep them safe on that trip."

"You do not trust us with the safety of our own Prince and his Princess, Hawkeye?"

Barton flushed slightly. "You didn't do a really great job in your own damn palace. That dark elf bastard nearly killed both of them. How are you going to manage it when you throw a different realm in the mix?"

"We're taking steps to ensure that such does not happen again. The All-Father will be sending a company with them to Jötunheim so that they will have extra protection there."

"I don't think that's good enough."

Nick compressed his lips at Barton's obstinacy. "Are you volunteering to go along?" he asked.

"Mortals would not survive the climate. It is terribly harsh even for the Æsir," Haakun told them.

"I'd survive it. My other would come out, but I'd survive it," Banner said quietly.

Barton grinned. "That's why Kara is getting that arctic gear. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arctic-issue body armor is insulated with Stark Industries' version of hydrophobic aerogel."

"What's that?" Rogers asked.

Banner pushed his glasses up his nose as he leaned forward. "Aerogel is a manmade substance that's the lowest density solid in existence. It's approximately ninety-six percent air. Amazingly enough it can support about four thousand times its own weight and survive a direct blast from two lbs of TNT. It's also the best insulator in existence. The hydrophobic variety can deal with getting wet without breaking down."

"It's practically standard issue. Fury can get more for us," Barton insisted and then turned to Banner. "Hey, with that amulet, you could go too and not worry about your other coming out when he's not needed or about destroying it if you Hulk out."

"I could. And I have to admit, seeing Jötunheim would be interesting from a scientific point of view."

"There, two volunteers right here. Cap, what do you think?"

"I think I'd better stick with Councilor Haakun as his security. It's not that I don't want to help Loki, but me in uniform supporting this might say a lot to the U.N. since there's a lot of Ambassadors who lived through the aftermath of World War Two and the defeat of the Nazis."

"I'll go," Romanov offered. "I've developed a good working relationship with Sif and Hogun, and they tell me they'll be part of the group going to Jötunheim. They're also of the opinion that most of the weapons I've shown them will work well there."

"Your Iron Man has already indicated that he will accompany me to these meetings. It seems his lady has informed him of business he must attend to in the area, and he is also willing to host informal gatherings of…Captains of Industry, I believe he called it, to gain support."

"Okay. Me and Stark to New York, and the rest of the team goes with Loki and Kara," Rogers told them.

"And what happens if we have an emergency and need the Avengers?" Nick grated.

"Director, you will have two Avengers and a Norse god at your disposal. I should think that would be sufficient." Haakun grinned at his surprise. "I am a warrior of some small renown and am our god of Hunting."

"He's a better shot with every one of my bows than me," Barton grumbled. "Even styles he'd never seen before."

"I've had several thousand years of practice, Hawkeye. And my vision is superior than even your remarkable eyesight."

Nick shook his head, wondering why he even pretended he had any damn control over any of this. "Well, if we're all decided, let's get to it."

… …

Kara grinned as the last in the series of new targets burst into flame in the exact way she'd intended. It had taken three more days of experimentation, but she was finally getting the hang of it. All of the work she'd done with Nyvorlas on her shielding had paid off. Fully shielded, she was able to center herself and now had the fine control she needed. Concentrating again, she made the flames die almost as quickly as they'd risen. "Hmm, I think I shall have to give up one of my titles to you, my love," Loki told her as he sat up from where he'd been lounging on a blanket nearby.

"Uh, why?"

"Once you're fully Æsir, you should be the goddess of Fire; you have far more power over it than any other I've met."

Now Kara was confused. "I thought you were the god of Mischief and Lies?"

"I am, and those are the titles that most remember. I am also the god of Chaos and Fire." He stood and stretched; carefully rotating the shoulder that had taken the brunt of an attack from a Hulked out Bruce in the combat practice the Avengers and their Asgardian friends had 'enjoyed' while she was working on centering with Nyvorlas. She'd kept some of her attention on the group, ready to calm the Hulk down if he got out of hand.

"Oh. Well, chaos makes sense. Most mischief and lies result in chaos. But I'm not sure where fire came from."

"No? Walk into a crowded building and yell 'fire'. What results?"

"Chaos…oh. That's kind of a reach, though."

"I agree, love. We don't choose what titles we're saddled with. Odin consults with Asgard's Seers and together they determine who best represents a particular aspect." He stood and reached for her. "Of course, none of the Seers could have predicted you."

"Could they not?" They turned and saw Haakun climbing the rise. "Do you think it a coincidence that our god of Fire has married a former mortal who is the perfect personification of that aspect? How many of the gods would willingly cede a title they have borne to another?"

"I see your point. Were Kara not my wife, I would not willingly give up the title for her, regardless of it being a title that suits me ill."

"Huh. Do you think that's why Frigga told me it was about time I'd come along? Maybe a long time ago she saw a love for you that would be a pyrokinetic?"

"Hard to say; I was given that title over a thousand years ago. I'm not certain how far in advance she sees."

"Frigga and some of our more powerful Seers have had visions dating clear through to Ragnarök, which we hope is yet thousands of years in the future. I am certain that is the case," Haakun told them. "Loki, every time you would become enamored of a girl, your mother would insist that it would amount to nothing; that the girl in question was not meant to be yours. She was ecstatic when she met Kara and saw what she could do and realized you cared for her. The All-Father and I got no rest that night devising a plan wherein the two of you could be wed."

"Was my sentence then a foregone conclusion?" Loki sounded as annoyed as she felt.

"If it was, someone is going to feel my foot connecting with their ass," Kara muttered. "Going through that mess was agonizing."

Haakun grinned. "No. If Loki had not been so well spoken of by the Avengers, and the truth revealed, the sentence, I'm afraid, would have been torture or death. We were counting on your friends, based on the information they'd passed on to Heimdall, to convince the rest of the Tribunal that a lighter sentence would be just."

"Your asses are safe, then." Kara threw Haakun a glare when he chuckled. "He thinks I'm kidding, Loki."

"No, Kara, he does not. He is merely appreciating your rather aggressive response to all of this. It is fully appropriate for a future Æsir goddess, particularly a goddess of such a volatile element as fire."

"Exactly, though please, do not specifically and directly threaten the All-Father again. It truly cannot be done with impunity now that you are officially a citizen of Asgard. Odin would abhor being forced to punish the woman who brought his son safely back to him in any manner, but would not be able to excuse the offence."

"I'll try. But he's really good at pissing me off."

This time it was her husband who laughed. "Kara, almost everyone is good at, ah, pissing you off. Your temper is worse than mine and that is saying something."

"I have an excuse; I'm a redhead."

"Yes, yes, I know: Don't piss off the redhead. Haakun? Why did I marry a termagant?"

"She was the only female able to keep you in line, my prince."

"Hmm. You're right, though she does it with love and soft words rather than her temper." Kara smiled even as she felt her eyes tearing up. "Oh by Yggdrasill, have I done it again?"

"Yes," she told him, pressing her face against his shoulder. "Again."

She focused on calming herself while Loki soothingly stroked her hair. "What did you need, Haakun?" he asked.

"To advise you that I will be leaving in the morning for this continent's eastern coast. Dr. Nassar has arranged for a meeting first with this country's leader and then with a committee from Midgard's council…I believe they call it the United Nations."

Kara lifted her face. "It's more a diplomatic group that makes recommendations to the leaders of the individual nations than a council. But yes, that is a group you'll need to speak to, eventually."

"Are you taking anyone with you?" Loki wanted to know.

"Prince Nyvorlas will accompany me. He feels Princess Kara's progress is sufficient that he will be no further help after the exercises you've scheduled for late this afternoon. Captain Rogers has offered to provide security, along with Mr. Stark. The remainder of your team and both Hogun and Sif will remain with you."

"Tony has a lot of business things to catch up on," Kara told them. "Pepper needs him to talk to Stark Industries' Board of Directors. She may be the new C.E.O., but he is still the majority stockholder and their biggest asset."

"Good, I won't have to suffer his insolence for a time."

"Loki, be nice."

"I am being nice. I haven't retaliated…much."

"Oh, no. What did you do?"

He smirked. "You'll know soon enough." She glared at him until he laughed outright. "Oh, leave off. It will do him no harm, darling."

"Crap. It's just occurred to me that I'm going to be on edge wondering just what mischief you'll pull next for the rest of a very long life."

"It keeps life interesting," he said with a shrug.

Haakun was smiling, fortunately. "That, my lord, depends upon your definition of interesting. Casting an illusion upon Gungnir to make it appear to be a shepherd's crook was more disrespectful than interesting."

"Rubbish. It was a commentary on how the nobility follow Odin blindly rather than questioning that which needs to be questioned." His grin was smug. "And it was funny; even Heimdall smiled."

… …

"I'm so glad you're going back to New York with us," Beth said as she ran her fingers down the side of his face, then along his neck and across his bare shoulder. His tee shirt was neatly folded on the lid of their picnic basket.

Steve smiled up at her. "I will be on duty, you know. I'm going to be flying down to D.C. with Councilor Haakun and then I'll have to go to the U.N. with him." They were enjoying their picnic in the shade of a pop up tent they'd set beside a group of some kind of cactus type plants Beth had called 'Yucca'. Beth was sitting with her back against the cooler he'd hefted the short distance from the encampment and he was lying stretched out on the blanket with his head in her lap. It was really nice; she'd called it romantic.

"I know, but at least we're on the same planet…and will be in the same city most of the time. You'll get some time off while you're in New York, won't you?"

"Sure. And I'll see you in Avengers' Tower." He stared up at her somewhat wistful expression. "And my first night off, we'll go out on the town. Maybe Jarvis can get us show tickets and dinner reservations at a nice place."

A sunny smile emerged. "That would be wonderful. I haven't been to a show in a long time." Her nose scrunched. "Probably hasn't been so long as it has for you, though."

He chuckled. "That's the truth. I haven't been to much more than a movie matinee since, well, before."

"Before?"

"Since before I became Captain America. Since I was…um, a lot different than I am now."

"My dad said you were an average guy they did experiments on, and the experiments are what made you so strong."

He sat up and stared off into the desert, his shoulders hunched, and tried not to flinch when she stroked her hand over the muscles in his back. "Your dad was right, except I was less than average. I was the original ninety-eight pound weakling. Well, I weighed more than that, but not an awful lot more."

"You're wrong, and so was dad." She moved to settle on her knees in front of him and draped her arms around his neck to press her nose lightly against his. "You were never average, let alone less than average. You have heart, Steve Rogers. You have integrity, and you have a strong, compassionate soul. You were always a great man. The only thing those experiments did was give you physical strength to match your strength of character."

"Do you really think so?"

"Nope, I know so. Maybe it's too soon to tell you this, I don't want to scare you off, but I love you. I love Steve, the kind, wonderful man that you are, not Captain America, the big hero. There wouldn't be a Captain America without the man named Steve. You're so much more than the muscles, so much more than the symbol. You're…special; really, seriously, special."

He could feel his eyes getting wet. It was kind of embarrassing, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Beth got it. She really did. Before, only Peg had understood. Peg had picked him out of everyone else because of something she saw inside of him. He'd lost any chance with Peg because of Red Skull and that rotten tesseract, but he had a new chance for a good life with a good woman. And that woman was Beth. He smiled, silently thanking God for the opportunity. "I'm not scared, Beth. I love you too."

… …

Loki sat on a rock a few feet away from where Nyvorlas and Kara sat facing each other on the hard dry ground. He'd insisted she sit. If she were not able to block the reflection of her power, he didn't want her falling from a standing position. While bruises healed far more quickly than they did before, he'd rather have her not bruised at all. "Don't project anything you find too traumatizing," he advised. "Perhaps you should do joy. That would be safe."

She turned and stared at him with narrowed eyes. "I'm supposed to be shielding from an assault, Loki. If it's a nice projection, I won't have any motivation to block it."

"Fine," he huffed. "Do what you want, you will regardless."

"It's better that she give it her all here and now under controlled circumstances and when you are here to care for her if things go amiss," Nyvorlas reminded him.

Loki sighed. "You're right. I suppose I'm being overprotective."

"It's your job to be overprotective, hon. That's a privilege of being my husband." He smiled at Kara's attempt to make him feel better. "I'm glad you're here for this. I'll need you if my shielding isn't as good as we expect."

"I know, Kara. Go ahead, I'll be quiet and let you get on with it."

She nodded and turned back to the Ljósálfar prince. "Ready?" she asked. When he nodded, Kara closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them the bits of gold and silver that accented the predominant blue and green seemed to glow. Loki looked at Nyvorlas in time to see an energy disturbance hit the mirror ward. As they'd designed, the energy bounced off of it. A veritable tsunami of terror crashed over him and despite knowing what it was and where it came from he found himself sliding off the rock to sprawl on the desert floor. "Loki!" was the last thing he heard before he lost his grasp on unwillingly terrified consciousness.

"Loki?" a male voice penetrated the fog surrounding his brain. "Come on, pull yourself out of it." His beleaguered mind identified the voice as belonging to Nyvorlas. "Open your eyes and look at me," the Ljósálfar insisted, his tone growing hard.

He blinked and struggled to focus. "Did it bounce randomly?" he thought to ask.

Nyvorlas' expression was perplexed. "No, worse. Or better, I suppose." He held out a hand and Loki accepted the assistance to pull himself upright.

"In what way?" he asked, looking around.

Kara was kneeling on his other side, wearing a smug grin. "It bounced off of your ward all right," she told him. "But it also bounced off of my shields!"

A chuckle escaped as he grinned at his lady's pride in her accomplishment. "Hmm, then I think we're done here."

… …

"So if you've been out of the game for years because of your other, how come you're so damn good at this?" Darcy asked as she recovered from a bone melting orgasm.

"Natural talent." She snorted at Bruce's nonchalant tone. "No? Okay, I read everything I can find on practically every subject. Surprisingly, much of what I read on sexual techniques seems to work."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. For example…" he tugged her onto her back and then moved between her legs and gently pushed them apart, up and back until her labia was exposed to the cool air coming through the vent. "If I do this…" he trailed off again as he leaned in and began first sucking on her clit and then rapidly rubbing it with a forefinger. The pressure built within her and she began to shudder as the fine muscles clenched. Mere moments later she began to spasm and her ejaculation spurted into the air.

"Oh my God!" she yelled. She'd squirted before…or gushed really, but that was the first time she'd done it that hard or straight up like that. It looked like something out of a porn film. Bruce was grinning at her, some of it had splashed in his face. Fortunately he was one of those men who loved squirting, knew what it was medically, and also knew it meant something special that he could make her come that hard. "You learned that from reading?"

"Among other things."

"Holy crap. I'm reading the wrong books." He climbed to his knees and she discovered another benefit to this particular trick…he was rock hard again and ready for her. "Oh, wow. I love your dedication to knowledge."

"Nice to have some practical use for it," he agreed as he eased into her.

"Practical. Nice? Oh, hell to the no. If you're taking off to another planet and leaving me here high and dry for a while, you'd better be making this nasty."

"As you wish."

… …

Sif barely suppressed a moan of pleasure as she pulled her fork from her mouth. These 'spaghetti' noodles in the tomato sauce were excellent. The herbs and spices exploded with flavor on her tongue. Chewing, she twirled her fork as Lady Pepper had demonstrated to claim another bite of the sauce drenched goodness. "Enjoying your meal?" a breathy tenor voice asked.

Her eyes shot open as Prince Nyvorlas took the seat across from hers, totally unbidden. Of course, it was a public dining area, and no rank was recognized, so he had no obligation to ask permission. Still, it was irritating. "Yes, very much so. I have not had Midgardian cuisine in this century." If she were honest with herself, much of her irritation arose from the bet she'd made with the Ljósálfar. Loki was seemingly getting along well with all of the Avengers, even the terribly irritating man of iron. She was starting to have some doubts about her prediction.

Nyvorlas nodded and took a bite of what she'd been told was 'garlic bread'. His eyes widened as the sharpness of the spice contrasting with the cheese melted into the toasted bread's surface filled his mouth. "Hmm," he said after he'd swallowed. "The spicing seems heavy handed, but I must admit it is interesting." He helped himself to a forkful of the greens that had been tossed with an herbed dressing the food servers had called 'Italian'. "Oh, very nice indeed."

Sif grinned at his unabashed enjoyment. Hogun, who sat at the other end of the table, had taken a few bites, stared at the food for a bit, and then had wolfed down the remainder of his meal and returned to the serving area for more all without comment or other indication of enjoyment. Fandral, when she'd shared good meals with him, tended to wax lyrical about the offerings, which was somehow even more irksome. She refused to even think about eating with Volstagg…it was an experience best forgotten or ignored. "Does the food make your trip here worthwhile, your highness?" she asked.

His pale eyes narrowed. "Many things have made my trip here worthwhile. But yes, I am highly enjoying the sheer variety of foodstuffs and preparation methods. Tony Stark tells me that New York City offers an endless variety of cuisine and has offered to introduce me to some of it. It is something to look forward to while being paraded around as an inducement to listening to what Asgard has to say to this realm."

"Just don't agree to go eat shwarma with him." They looked up to see Captain Rogers walk by with the healer in training he kept company with. "It's pretty awful. Thor liked it, but he likes pretty much anything."

"I liked it," the one who turned large and green commented quietly from behind them. "It was tasty."

"Okay, gentleman," Natasha interjected turning around from her seat behind the Ljósálfar. "Let's agree that it had mixed reviews." When Banner shrugged and continued on his way the woman leaned forward and said quietly, "Most of those reviews were poor. Seriously. I've eaten military rations that I've enjoyed more. If Stark does succeed in dragging you to the shwarma place, order the gyro or a kebob instead."

"Shwarma isn't bad," the healer…oh, of course, her name was Beth, said. "But there are a lot of foods that are awesome, so don't waste your time. I can make you a list of things you really don't want to miss and where the best places are to have them. I've been living in the city for seven years now, and I love food, so I'm pretty well up on the subject, despite being a mostly broke student."

"That would be appreciated, my lady," Nyvorlas said kindly.

"And maybe you could see some movies," Beth continued.

"Fandral mentioned movies," Sif said. "They sounded fascinating. A bard's tale brought to life by gifted mummers. I wouldn't mind seeing some of those myself."

"Then perhaps you should stay, Sif." They all turned as Loki arrived with his lady in tow. "I shall have four of the Avengers, plus the Warrior's Three with me in Jötunheim. You might better serve Asgard by showing the people of Midgard that we value females in all aspects of life, including war craft."

"Trying to rid yourself of me?" she asked, suspicious of his motives.

The trickster's smile was charming. "Of course, that was my first thought upon arising today. What excuse could I find to separate myself from the Lady Sif so soon after she's finally learned that I intended her no harm all those years ago and is treating me without contempt for the first time in centuries."

She flushed. "I didn't mean to imply…"

"Yes, you did. But I deserved it. It's your choice, truly. I only offer you the option. Every good sword on my trip to my half-brothers' realm is appreciated. But you could well do Asgard's cause good by remaining. I give you the choice, and I will defend that choice with the All-Father, whichever it may be."

Sif stared at the man she had quietly hated for centuries. It all fell into place in her mind; the endless give and take of insults, the resentment, the behavior skirting the very edges of dishonor on both sides. It was all pointless. He really had not meant her harm, but had no defense against her anger because her great loss was his fault. And because of his reputation, and with the encouragement of her peers, she had never once listened to an apology or asked for an explanation. In her own way, she was even worse than he. And really, his lady was right; hadn't she gained in the long run. She looked up and met his wary eyes. "Apology accepted…my prince." His eyes widened at her use of the courteous address she had denied him since his prank had gone so wrong. "I think I would like to stay."

Loki's smile was small and tentative. "I shall clear it with Haakun and with the Midgard authorities. Oh, and have Stark teach you how to play HALO. When you visit us later in Avengers' Tower you should bring Hogun and Fandral and we shall have a tournament and team up to beat them soundly at it."

… …

Pepper leaned back on the small mound they had made of their pillows. "You really are making up for lost time," she said with a soft laugh.

"Yes, well, I needed to remind you why you adore me."

"Adore? No, love yes…I adore chocolate. I adore bubbly. You, I love. Totally different and it has nothing to do with the sex."

"Damn. I wasted all of that effort."

"Oh, no, not wasted at all. Just because I love you doesn't mean you get a free ride."

He grinned. One of the things he loved most about Virginia Pepper Potts was her ability to banter. Life without banter would be boring as all hell. Which was probably why he drank more when they were on the outs; the socialites and such he picked up at parties couldn't banter worth a damn. Frequent sex didn't make up for it at all. "Free? I don't call this ride free. I mean, you're the highest paid CEO in the industry, and that rock wasn't cheap," he said nodding at her engagement ring.

"Are you trying to get into trouble?"

"Um. Noooo; but I bet I'm succeeding."

"You are. Care to get back out of trouble, or should I go bunk with Beth since Darcy moved her things to Bruce's room."

"Eww. I didn't need to know that. Isn't he old enough to be her father?"

"I'm not sure how old Bruce is, but you're definitely old enough."

"Ouch. I'm wounded." At her annoyed expression he schooled his features into a contrite mask. "Okay, how do I get out of trouble."

"You go catch Loki before he goes to bed, and you talk to him about proposing to Kara in some romantic setting."

"Uh, Pep? They're already married."

"I know that, but he never got a chance to propose. She'd love that. When they get back, you can take him to Tiffany's to get her a nice engagement ring, and then set them up somewhere romantic so he can officially propose to her and she can accept. Then I can start planning an Earth-style wedding for them."

He sighed deeply. "Okay, I guess I can do that."

"Good, then you're out of trouble. Run along, find Loki, and I'll be waiting for you. Just like this." She lounged back in a provocative pose and smiled as he grinned, threw on some clothes and hurried out the door .

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