"What's wrong?" Hogun asked.

"Um, your energy isn't compatible either. I don't understand. General life energy is universal, so far, regardless of race. I'd never worked with meng mein energy before Loki popped up in Central Park; I guess I just assumed it was universal too." She stared off into the distance, horrified at the implications. "Obviously, I was wrong." Frowning she held her hands over Loki's abdomen again and tried to corral the leaking energy and force it back to the meng mein. No good, "Damn. Why did it work with Thor? I could understand it if they were related, for organ and marrow transplants it's a lot more likely that a family member would be compatible, but Loki's adopted."

"Kara." She looked up to see a bit of blue showing from Loki's slatted eyes. "Bölþorn," he whispered. "Bestla's fath…" the eyes closed and his energy took a nosedive.

"Loki, damn it!" Biting back a sob she looked at the others. "Who is Bestla? Why is she important?"

"Bestla was Odin All-Father's mother," Fandral replied.

"Son of a b…, my father-in-law is a quarter Jötunn and he allowed…damn him. He's back on my shit list, big time. That still doesn't do us any good. Maybe it was a Jötunn factor?" Kara scanned the area, even though she knew from doing healing on Gymir that the Jötunn didn't have a meng mein organ. Nothing; wait... She turned back to where Helblindi was crouched beside his half-brother. "Oh my god. You…okay, everybody out, I have to talk to Helblindi, and you don't get to hear this unless he wants to tell you," she told the others.

Her brother-in-law's eyebrow shot up. "Gymir and Slingard may stay. I have no secrets from them."

"Seriously, I think that…"

"No secrets. Ever," he reiterated.

"Fine, your choice." She looked around at the others who were all hesitating. "Out, now, we don't have much time here." They filed out, still too slowly, but at least they were moving. The door closed and she motioned Helblindi closer. "I'm not sure how good their hearing is," she said softly. "Um, don't shoot the messenger, but are you aware that you're at least part Æsir?"

He blinked, looking floored. Okay, apparently he'd had no clue. "Are you certain?" he asked, shock coloring his voice.

"None of the other Jötunn I've scanned have meng mein organs. The Æsir have them, and the Ljósálfar, well, the only one of them I've met has one and some of the Svartálfar, but not all of them, which seems weird. But you have one, and the energy is compatible with Loki's."

"Many of the realms share bloodlines. Perhaps all of those who have this organ have Æsir blood, or Vanir, they're closely related to the Æsir," Helblindi mused.

"Okay, regardless. Your energy is compatible to Loki's. If you're willing, I can pull a little bit of your energy and use it to heal his meng mein. I'm not going to kid you, it will hurt worse than anything you've ever endured, but it won't cause any lasting harm and…what are you doing?" she asked as he settled down on the chair Hogun had vacated.

"Do it." He glared at her as she hesitated. "I am losing patience, woman. Heal my brother and do so now."

"Okay."

… …

Frigga jumped up as Odin stiffened for a moment, staring off into nothing after hours of attempting to far-see what was happening on Jötunheim. "Husband? What is wrong?"

"Kara," Odin said firmly. "Bölþorn was Bestla's father…" his voice failed and he slumped in his chair.

"Thor! Thor, come quickly!"

"What is it?" her son said, sounding out of sorts. "Father?" He dropped to his knees by the stricken king examined him, then turning he ordered the guard at the door, "Summon Lady Eir!" He stood, lifted Odin in his arms and settled him on the couch that sat across from the fire. "What happened?" he asked her as Eir rushed in.

"I'm not certain. He seemed…I don't know how to explain it to you, elsewhere, I suppose. He said a few words and then collapsed. I think, perhaps, he was trying to speak to Kara."

"He's entered the Odinsleep," Eir informed them. "Bring him to the healing chamber."

Thor lifted her husband again and indicated with a jerk of his head that she should precede him. "Is that a sign of a brain injury, Lady Eir? Speaking to someone who is not here?"

Eir smiled. "Not with the All-Father."

"Thor, your father can far-speak, but it comes at great cost. I'm not certain what he was trying to tell her, though. It made no sense to me."

"I should go to her…but I cannot," he realized for himself as he set his father down in the chamber of greater healing.

"No, Thor. All we can do is wait."

… …

"That all went to hell," Clint muttered as they watched a Jötunn healer apply warm compresses to Banner's chilled skin. While he didn't have frostbite, thanks to his other, his body temperature was way too low. A freestanding heater had been brought in and set up by the scientist's bed. The healer sat off to the side of it, reaching over and replacing compresses and then backing away quickly as the direct heat was too much for her. "What's the word?" he asked Fandral as he and Hogun joined them.

"We do not know, but it's bad. Our energy was not…compatible for some reason with Loki's. I do not understand it fully."

"Kara is angry with the All-Father," Hogun offered.

"Again? What the fuck did the old bastard do this time?"

"Clint, really?"

"Oh, come on, Nat. I'm stressed here, you know my language gets worse when I'm stressed." He grinned at her aggrieved sigh. "Like you can't whip out the f-bomb when you're in the mood to?"

"How often does that happen?" she asked.

"Uh…okay, very rarely. I guess I stress easier. So, what did he do now?"

Fandral and Hogun shared an uneasy look and Hogun shrugged. "Apparently," Fandral told them. "The All-Father has been hiding the fact that the giants his line is descended from were Frost Giants."

"Fuck."

Clint grinned and shot Natasha a knowing look. "So, it's total shock that pulls that word out of you. Good to know." He frowned at Fandral. "So Thor's energy worked because he's got the Jötunn blood way back, but you guys are pure Æsir so yours won't. Oh, shit. Unless we can get Thor here, like yesterday, Loki's hosed."

"Then so is Kara," Nat reminded him.

A knock sounded on the door and it swung open to admit Slingard. "Out," he ordered the healer. The woman rose, bowed and fled. "I've been ordered to tell you all is well," he said once the woman was gone." Your princess will join you to explain once she has rested."

"You couldn't say that in front of the healer?" Clint asked.

"I heard you speaking. She is an intelligent woman; she would have made the connection."

"I guess I'm not so intelligent."

"Clint, if none of our Æsir have Jötunn blood and all is well, that means that one of the Jötunn has Æsir blood and if I have to explain that any further I swear I'm going to claim that either Bruce or Tony is our baby's father."

He stared at her for a minute until it sunk in. "Wow. And geez, that hurts, you know. Sure, I'm not a genius, but really stressed here."

She sighed and joined him on the edge of the bed. "Sorry. I'm as frustrated as you are stressed."

He wrapped an arm around her and held her as close as possible given the arctic wear. "I know. We all are by now, and I don't mean…you know."

Her lips quirked slightly and her eyes lit up in that quiet display of humor he adored. "Yes, you mean that too."

"Damn, you caught me."

… …

Helblindi absently rubbed the spot that had hurt so fiercely when his brother's wife had taken a bit of his energy. She had not understated, he'd never felt such pain. But it had passed swiftly and she had declared that Loki was now healing. He'd watched avidly through the pain as his half-brother's form shifted when the energy transfer began. The woman was now lying on her husband's pale chest, only semi-conscious. She'd waved off his concern and murmured only that she needed rest. He sighed as the door opened and Slingard returned. "I've passed on the message," his good friend said. "They've figured it out."

He nodded. Loki's immediate circle did not include any stupid people. Of course they realized how Loki had been helped. Slingard sat down next to Gymir. He eyed the both of them. They'd played together, trained together and fought alongside of each other since they first learned to walk. He valued their opinion. "So, does this change aught?"

"It changed nothing for Laufey," Gymir said. "Your mother was full-blood, all of the concubines were; after the Fárbauti debacle he had the healers test them."

"Which means my father had Æsir blood, and likely his father did before him?" His laugh was sour. "Ah, of course; belittle what you hate most about yourself; oh, my brother," he said, looking at the still unconscious Loki. "The men who raised us had much in common after all."

"They're both total assholes," the woman mumbled from her husband's chest.

This time his laughter was genuine. "That they were, princess. Are you so blunt with the All-Father?"

"Frequently. So far he's let it go, mostly because I saved Thor and Loki, and then one time because he decided he deserved it." She pushed herself up and held her hands above Loki's middle. "His energy is regenerating pretty quickly now. He just needs to sleep." Her odd eyes met his. "Thank you. You saved his life."

"And yours." Her eyebrows lifted. "Some of us know your Midgard English," he admitted.

"Silly of us to think you couldn't. Though it's a fairly young language in comparison to others, it has roots in most of the European languages." She shook her head and made a soft huffing sound. "Yes, and mine. What do you want in return?"

"A fair treaty and trade agreement and regular visits from my brother; I like him."

Princess Kara gave the first full genuine smile he'd seen from her during their stay. "I can't guarantee any of those things, but we'll do our best. I think Loki likes you too. Your little brother, however, was a hateful little prick."

He frowned. "He allowed you to see his genitals uncovered?"

She choked on a laugh. "That was a figure of speech that's used on Midgard. When a male overdoes the ego thing, we joke that he's trying to compensate for a physical inadequacy. Sometimes it's even true." Her head tilted to the side and her eyes narrowed. "From your amusement and contempt of him, I guess it was definitely true in his case."

Helblindi glanced over at the table where he'd set Býleistr's head. "I can honestly say that was the most prepossessing part of him." Frowning, he added, "What is a cavalry?"

… …

"Anybody get the name on that truck?" Natasha sat up and looked over at Bruce. He had one hand on his forehead and looked a lot more worse for the wear than usual after a fight.

"Turns out not even the Hulk is avalanche proof," she told him.

"My head hasn't pounded like this since I was in my late teens and had my first hangover."

"Well, the cold was making you lethargic under the snow and calming you down. Kara had to keep projecting anger at you to keep you alive while we were digging you out. So technically, you shifted forms at least a dozen times in a few hours."

He blinked and nodded thoughtfully. "That would do it." One corner of his mouth turned up as he looked down at the intact arctic wear. "The amulet worked, thank Asgard."

"It was probably the only thing that kept you alive between phases. You'd pulled the top half off of your arms and shoulders before you let go the first time, but when you climbed out of the snow you were fully in it. We're not sure how that happened."

"Hmm. I have this fuzzy recollection of being inside a green bubble and Loki pulling my arms through the sleeves. Then the bubble started collapsing. I've never seen him look frightened before, but he seemed absolutely petrified. I wouldn't have figured him to be the type to fear death. Fight it, yes, fear it, no."

"That's something else we discovered. Their life force is tied together. If Loki had died, Kara would have as well."

"Oh. That I can see, yes, he'd be frantic thinking she was about to die. Wow." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled himself to a sitting position. "I'm starving, I don't suppose there's food?"

"Hawk just took the boys to go and find some." She stood and helped him ease into a chair. "Meanwhile I've got a protein bar and electrolyte water for you from my emergency stash. You need it."

"I won't argue." He took the items from her and downed half the water before tearing open the protein bar. After a few bites he chewed, swallowed and then stared at the thing. "There's very little I don't like, but this doesn't even qualify as a consumable item."

"It's a step down from C-Rations," she agreed. "But it gets the job done. Finish it."

Bruce grinned. "I know better than to argue with a redhead," he told her and went back to methodically demolishing the poor excuse for food.

… …

Hawkeye grinned as the Jötnar kids danced along beside them as they headed for the dining hall. "Is Prince Loki well?" one of them finally asked, looking hopeful.

"He's going to be," he told the boy. "We haven't been able to talk to him yet, but Slingard gave us a report from Princess Kara."

"Is he going to be our king?" one of the girls wanted to know.

"What? Oh, no. He can't stay, I'm sorry. He and his wife have to spend the next hundred years on Midgard. But Helblindi will be a great king, Loki said so." Loki hadn't said any such thing, but he figured it was better to fudge the truth a bit and make the kids feel more confident. A chorus of 'awwws' greeted this announcement. "Hey, he's tough, and he works hard for all of you, you know that, right?"

The boy that had spoken first nodded. "He doesn't claim the girls like Prince Býleistr and King Laufey did."

"Say, what?"

He shrugged. "They claimed first right when a girl became a woman."

Son of a fucking bitch. "Yeah, that's wrong. One of many reasons why they're both dead. Helblindi's not going to allow that to happen, ever again." Or if he did, he was going to answer for it, even if he had to beg Loki or Thor to get him here to ensure it. He stopped short as an adult Jötunn stepped in his path. Helblindi stared down at him, his blood red eyes blazing.

"I was not aware that the practice did not end with my father," he told the children. "Býleistr hid that from me as well." He looked down to his waist and Clint realized he'd tied the macabre trophy back on his belt. "I will not tolerate injustice or treachery being hidden from me by anyone. Should there be aught else you feel is wrong or unfair, it is your duty to tell me. I will not be angry with you, and I will investigate any wrongdoing that's reported."

The kids all looked at Býleistr's head and then up at Helblindi. "Will all wrongdoers be executed like that?" the girl who'd spoken before asked.

The corner of Helblindi's mouth quirked up into a kind of smirking smile. "No. Treason is a wrong that harms all in the realm. Lesser crimes will be dealt with through lesser penalties." He dropped to a knee to put himself more at a level with the children. "Thieves will be made to give recompense threefold. Other crimes will earn punishments appropriate to the wrong that was done, and again, any recompense shall be targeted at three times the loss."

"You can't give me back what he took," one of the older girls said with a glare at the head hanging on Helblindi's belt. This 'girl' was a bit taller than Hawk, but her face still had the roundness he associated with adolescence. Aw, crap. This must be one of the ones the frigging prick had 'claimed'.

Helblindi stood and took the girl's hands in his. "No, I cannot. But I will find some other way to repay you, I swear it."

… …

"Will I find you sleeping on my chest every time I awaken from an injury?" Loki asked his beautiful lady as her kaleidoscope eyes fluttered open.

Her lips curved up into a sweet smile as she focused on him. "Only if you're injured badly enough that I have to exhaust myself healing you."

"Hmm, pity. I rather like the sight of your fiery hair strewn across me when I wake."

As he'd hoped, the comment made her chuckle. "I guess I'll have to use you as a pillow when you don't need monitoring then." Her smile faded. "I know how you are, but how do you feel?"

"Not going to read my emotions as well as my physical condition?" Loki smirked at her annoyed frown. "Leave off, love. I am teasing. I know you feel that's unethical. Did we lose anyone?" he asked, sobering.

"Some of the Æsir are wounded, but I'm told they're recovering nicely. Bruce was still out of it, poor guy must be exhausted after all I put him through. I think two of Helblindi's loyal men were killed, but not in the battle, they were on guard duty inside the fortress."

"Hmm. I saw Gymir go down, he looked overrun."

"He was, but I was able to close the wounds before he came close to bleeding out. He'll be fine. Býleistr is dead, Helblindi wasn't kidding about the dismemberment and decapitation thing."

"Oh?" He tried not to smirk, but couldn't help it. "And did Helblindi carry Býleistr's head about as a trophy?"

"He's wearing it on his belt," his Kara said sourly. "And it's starting to smell, besides being gross on general principle. I don't suppose you'd be willing to put that silver tongue of yours to work and convince him to just preserve and display it somewhere rather than carrying it around with him?"

He had to laugh. "I'll see what I can do, my love."

"Brother? Do you wake?"

Loki shook off the sense of déjà vu and looked up at Helblindi. "Obviously." He wrinkled his nose in distaste; Kara was right, the grisly trophy did stink. He'd have to do something about that.

"That is glad news," his half-brother told him, deepening that annoying feeling that he'd done this before. Oh, wait; he had, but with Thor. "Are you feeling well?"

He grimaced. "Other than being exhausted and quite done with nearly dying yet again, I'm fine."

… …

Helblindi couldn't repress his chuckle. If Loki was being sarcastic, he must be doing well indeed. "I am pleased to hear it. We-I had given you up for dead. Your lady never did."

"She's a very powerful empath. If she says someone is alive, they're alive."

"Yes, but we saw no way to retrieve you. Your Lord Hogun was the one who realized that some of your people could fit through our windows when we could not."

Loki looked at the woman who had levered herself up from her position on his chest and was looking down at him. "Remind me to thank him."

"You can thank all of them later. By the way, both Fandral and Hogun were willing to donate energy to you."

"Willing, but did not?"

Helblindi frowned. "Do you not remember, Loki? Their energy was…incompatible. It was you who provided the key to finding compatible energy."

Loki frowned. "I do not remember that, not at all."

"But I heard you, we all heard you." Princess Kara's frown was worried and Helblindi worried with her. Was the trauma so severe that his brother was suffering memory loss?

"The last thing I recall was not being able to concentrate any longer; Banner had shifted back to his mortal form and I could feel you feeding him anger, but he was slow to shift back and I could no longer move enough to strike him or otherwise try to hurry the change along. Then everything was bright for a moment and there was nothing more until I awoke with you atop me."

The woman held her hands over Loki's head and then ran them down the length of his body. "I don't feel anything that could account for you not remembering opening your eyes and speaking. Weird." Helblindi frowned as the word did not translate through the all-speak and she glanced his way. "It means extremely odd."

"Ah. Odd or no, it matters not. The words saved you, Loki. Of all about, only my energy was compatible with yours. We assume I must be part Æsir as you are part Jötunn."

"I don't…but. Then if Thor and I were compatible donors for each other, then he must be part Jötunn as well."

"Yes, that was what you told us, that Bestla was Bölþorn's daughter."

Loki's head dropped back on the bed and he laughed weakly. "Oh, that is rich. Wait…I did not know that, so I could not have told you such." He frowned. "There are few alive who could know that, if it is true." His eyes widened. "Odin. It must have been he. He spoke through me."

"Excuse me?" Loki's lady said. "He can do that?"

"Only with those who share his blood…Kara, I-he, if the power over the Casket is hereditary I must also be descended from Bölþorn. They truly are my family." Odd wetness, what the Æsir called tears, filled Loki's currently green eyes.

Helblindi didn't allow his anger at this to show on his face, he knew he didn't. Years of not allowing his father to see his disapproval had taught him well. But Kara, she was an empath and she knew. He found himself the recipient of her narrow-eyed glare. "Can't you be happy for your brother?" she asked him. "He was alone and thought he had no true family and now he's found that he has more than he'd ever hoped. You're part of that family, you know."

"I am not descended from Bölþorn, of that I am certain. If Loki is, it must be through Fárbauti, his mother."

"Yes, but you are half-brothers. That's a far closer blood relationship than he has with Odin or Thor, and you are related to them by marriage, every bit as much as you are related to me. You call me your sister by marriage; they're your cousins, of some sort, by marriage of your shared father to Loki's mother."

He smiled slowly as he began to see the possibilities. "Odin will have the excuse he needs to renegotiate the treaties and trade agreements in a more fair manner without losing respect."

"Yes," she agreed. "He sure will. And he'd damn well better, or I'm going to be pissed."

"Just don't threaten him again, love. Please?" Loki asked.

Helblindi shook his head in amusement over the pair as his brother's lady sighed. "I'm trying very hard not to."

… …

"Why don't I already have a FacePage, Pepper? Didn't we set one up for me when we were publicizing the Expo?"

Pepper looked up at him from her seat on the sofa. "We had one for the Expo itself. We were trying to play down your narcissism at the time, if you recall. You wanted to make it about innovation and the future direction of Stark Industries, not about Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

Damn, she was right. "Okay, that's cool. But it's different now, I'm an established hero. I should have a FacePage. Or maybe one for Iron Man instead of Tony Stark?"

"I'm thinking the page should be called 'Tony Stark is Iron Man'," Darcy said. "We can play up the philanthropy and innovations and downplay the playboy crap, I mean, you're an engaged man now, you need to put a lid on it."

"And now that I'm no longer C.E.O., again," he said with an exaggerated frown at Pepper to remind her that she'd made him take the company back after the Justin Hammer fiasco and make her the V.P. of Research and Development instead until they'd driven the stocks back up to nearly their pre-Afghanistan high. "I can shift the focus to what being Iron Man means to me and to the people I, uh, serve."

"Oh, please, Tony. You still serve yourself." Pepper held up one elegant hand to stop his retort. "You know you love being thought of as a hero, and yes, you are one. But don't try to convince anyone that it's all for the rest of us."

Okay, that was fair. "No, not all. But I didn't take that nuke out the wormhole for me."

Her stern look softened. "No, you did not." She stood and showed the file she'd been working on to Darcy. "Here is the media you needed. Jarvis, copy this file to Ms. Lewis' social media server."

"Yes, Miss Potts."

"We need to arrange for a Kara interview first, I think," Darcy suggested as she opened the file. "I released her name on Loki's page and the fans went nuts. Everybody wants to know who Kara is. And did you hear the Tonight's Entertainment report on TV last night? Even Marco Lopez is talking about them as a couple. He called them 'LoKara'. Isn't that so cute it's nauseating?"

"It's better than 'Pepony' or 'Tepper'," Tony groused. "This whole nickname thing is just ridiculous."

"You only say that because your names don't mesh really good."

"Do you want to think about how Darcy and Bruce would sound mashed together?" he countered.

The girl shuddered. "Ah, no. Thanks."

"Thought not. Maybe my cover picture should be a still from one of the feeds showing me flying off with the nuke?"

"Tony!" Pepper and Darcy yelled in tandem.

… …

"Well, well. Look who's up and about," Hawkeye said as a group of Jötnar entered the room, dwarfing the couple in their midst. "You got more scars on your gut, Loki?"

Bruce saw the two of them in time to watch the god sigh. "And on my back. It itches, at any rate."

"Yes, you added two big scars. The entry point is scarring, too," Kara told him.

"At this rate, your people are going to think I'm mortal."

"Not a chance, Loki," Bruce offered. "You'll still be larger than life to them."

"How are you doing, Bruce?" Loki asked him. "I was concerned."

"Not bad. Ended up with a hangover worthy headache, but other than that, a meal seems to have fixed me up well enough."

Loki nodded. "Thank you. All of you," he added, looking around the room. "I-we would have died this day were it not for all of your efforts. While I understand that some of you acted only for Kara's sake…"

"Bullshit," Clint interrupted. "We don't leave a man behind if there's even one damn thing we can do to avoid it."

"You're one of us, Loki. Even Steve said so," Natasha agreed. "We may have thought there was nothing we could do at first, but the thought of it…suffice it to say we weren't terribly happy about it."

"I don't…"

"Stop right there, buster," Kara insisted. "No more 'woe is me I'm undeserving' crap from you. I don't want to hear it. Or feel you thinking it," she added.

Loki snorted softly. "Then stop the reading of my emotions since you find doing so unethical."

"I didn't have to read anything, you were projecting it."

"Uh, Loki?" Bruce decided to interject. "It was also written all over your face. Sorry, but it was very obvious."

Loki stared at all of them, plainly disgruntled. He finally shook his head and sighed. "I did not even realize I was doing it," he finally admitted. He looked around at them again. "I suppose that I've been…most fortunate as of late."

Bruce grinned as Kara gave Loki an approving hug. "That's okay," he told the god. "As it turns out, so have we."

… …

"I have been thinking on your advice," Helblindi said, looking down at him. "If you are well enough, I think we should do it tonight."

He couldn't resist a smirk. "Before anything else befalls us?"

His half-brother grimaced and nodded. "Yes, and hopefully by the morrow you'll be rested enough to return to Asgard. If your Gatekeeper has been watching, I imagine there has been no lack of concern there."

Loki hoped that Heimdall had been censoring his reports. Frigga would be worrying herself sick if she knew everything that had happened. "You're right. Kara? Are you up to monitoring me as I attempt to crown my brother King of Jötunheim while carrying the Casket?"

"If I have another meal between now and then, sure, I can handle it."

"Good. I think it will stay quiet, it got quite a workout yesterday between summoning so many storms, augmenting my shields during the battle, and preventing me from being crushed and from leaking energy while we awaited rescue. Even its power is not limitless, I think. I hope."

"What will you do with it when you return to Asgard, my brother?" Helblindi asked.

"I shall have Odin find a safe place to hide it and ward it against any disturbance. Like other objects he's collected from those who would misuse them, it is far too dangerous to be entrusted to anyone."

"And what if it is needed here again?"

"Damn. Then I shall have him stash it away in a manner that will allow it to be retrieved, but that retrieval must be done by several individuals. Perhaps keys to the place that must be used in concert. We'll think of something that will keep it out of the wrong hands yet make it accessible in time of need."

"Good. I've a light meal being sent here for you all. There will be a formal meal after I wear the crown." He turned to go. "I will see you in the great hall in three bells."

Loki waited until Helblindi and the other Jötnar were gone before turning back to his…friends. "I should have enough power back to make us all presentable. Assuming, my lady, you'll allow me to keep that power until after Helblindi is crowned?"

"Yes, and if Odin has a problem with that, he can kiss my lily white ass."

"No, he may not. That delectable ass is mine alone to kiss."

"Oh, man, TMI, dude," Hawkeye muttered, turning away from them. "Way too much information."

He smirked at the archer's back. "Are you telling me that you do not kiss Natasha's ass? How remiss of you."

"That is not what I'm…shit. You're just trying to get a rise out of me."

"No, I've succeeded in getting a rise out of you. By the way, you're blushing."

"Christ. You…aw, shit."

"Clint, quit before he gets any further ahead," Banner advised.

"Yeah, whatever."

Loki chuckled. "My apologies, Natasha. I should not have made allusions to your love life in public, it was rude of me."

She nodded, her lips curved in a tiny grin. It seemed she was neither angry nor embarrassed. "Apology accepted." Not that he'd expected embarrassment, but anger had been a distinct possibility.

"I'm going to lay down until the food gets here," Kara interrupted. "I'm still beat."

"I'll join you." He sighed. "Another good reason to finish this tonight and go home. Even I can't kiss your sweet ass here since we've no privacy."

"Damn it, Loki!" Hawkeye griped.

… …

Gymir was irritated. His prince had ordered him to a seat when he'd refused the advice of the healers. It was not going to take all that long a time, he could remain standing with no ill effects. Folding his arms across his chest he watched as the Æsir and humans entered the hall with Loki. Many of the younglings present were flocking to Loki's side. The half-breed was back in his Jötunn form, new scars the only sign that he'd been all but dead when the children and Loki's friends had rescued him in the hours before dawn. He strode through the hall as though he owned it, an Æsir coronet of rank on his brow. His lady was dressed in her armor which looked newly polished, without her helm, but also wearing a coronet. She held the silk-wrapped Casket under one arm freeing her husband to greet his rescuers and accept the touches they offered. "He's well-liked by the young," Slingard muttered.

"He has won their hearts without even trying. This mummery our princes have devised between them had best work or we shall be burdened with an Æsir queen should Loki be forced by popular demand to take the crown."

They watched as Loki and his lady stood at one end of the dais, opposite of where Helblindi would emerge from the anteroom. The woman with hair like a living flame pulled aside the silk wrapping in preparation as the door opened. "All hail Prince Helblindi Laufeyson, all hail Prince Loki Laufeyson," the chancellor called out. Gymir took a calming breath as he noted that no one seemed to notice, or at least object to the man not giving Helblindi the accustomed title of 'Crown Prince' in his introduction. Loki took the Casket from the silk and strode forward toward the throne. Helblindi moved towards it as well, slowing his steps so that his longer stride would not cause him to arrive before his half-brother. They stood together, one on each side of the throne and nodded to each other. The populace gasped as Loki reached down and picked up the crown.

Another gasp sounded when Loki took a step back and gestured with the crown to the throne and Helblindi sat down. "People of Jötunheim," Loki began speaking and the Casket glowed. His voice echoed off of the walls of the great hall, augmented again by the artifact's power. "You see before you the last two sons of Laufey. Both of us have worked to preserve your realm. Both of us have sworn before your elders to love its people. But only one of us can wear the crown. Only one of us has never caused harm to this realm and its people. I am not that man. I have heard the murmurs. Yes, the Casket of Ancient Winters answers to me as it has done for no one since Bölþorn. Would that make me a good king? The answer to that question is an unequivocal no. What it does make me is a friend you may call upon in time of need. What it does make me is a man you should listen to when he tells you that Helblindi is the right king for this realm. And I warn you," he said as he raised the crown above his half-brother's head. "Any who object to Laufey's eldest son crowning his surviving brother in his place will need to face both of us. We are united in knowing what is best for Jötunheim; and what is best for Jötunheim is King Helblindi," Loki concluded as he set the crown down on Helblindi's head.

The crowd erupted in cheers. Gymir smiled in spite of himself. "He did it," he muttered to Slingard. "The brilliant bastard did it."

Slingard frowned down at him. "Technically, Helblindi is the bastard," his old friend said with a solemn expression.

Gymir glared up at him. "Always the smart mouth, aren't you?"

Slingard shrugged and finally grinned. "That's what you both like best about me."

"Oh, shut up."

… …

Author's Notes: :Checks to see if it's safe to come out from behind the blast screen: Phew! Okay, sorry about that, folks. I really hadn't intended last chapter's cliffie; it kind of just happened. Please forgive me?

Thanks to DoctorLokiLove for the idea of a celebrity-style 'couple' name for Kara and Loki. I hear that the one I came up with has been used before, but I don't know which story it originated in or who the author was as I haven't personally seen it. If you're that person, great minds think alike! Seriously, there are only a limited number of combinations and this one sounded best.