Author's Notes: More pictures have been posted to my Tumblr account (same user name), including Kara's engagement ring - I see some of you have already noticed that one…But I've just now uploaded Pepper's wedding gown and engagement ring. Enjoy!

Much fluff and feels lie herein.

… …

She was sitting in one of the armchairs; her head tilted back, glorious hair spread out behind her. Measured breaths were taken, slowly, evenly, no doubt designed to calm down the temper he had sent raging through her. Closing the door behind him gently, he made his way across the room and then knelt before her. His amazing lady; she was his one, his only, his everything. Why he felt the need to order her about he did not understand. Kara, while quick-tempered, was one of the wisest persons he'd ever met. True, she often made decisions from her heart rather than her head, but over and over again, those decisions were the right ones. He was living proof of that, was he not? Loki waited patiently as she continued to breathe. She knew he was there; her empathic gifts would have told her the moment he'd approached regardless of whether she was shielding. The corner of his mouth quirked up as he realized that he had never been able to sneak up on her, no matter how quietly he moved. Others were perpetually startled to find him so close, but not his wondrous lady. "You never cease to amaze me," he said with a smile as her kaleidoscope eyes finally fluttered open.

"Why did you break your word to me?"

Ah, right to the point. "As usual, my love, it was all about me." Her lips turned down even more sharply at his attempt at levity. "I felt helpless to protect you and it rankled. It-it underscored how much I have had to depend upon you and…" he trailed off with a sigh, breaking away from her gaze to stare at her feet. "I have too much arrogance, my love. I am truly sorry that I tried to tell you what you could or could not do. I should have asked you to consider not doing another of these interviews rather than insisting you do not for no other reason than to spare my wounded pride."

"Do you have any idea how hard it was for me not to be hurtful right back to you?" she asked, her voice still calm and even. "I knew it was a pride issue and I was so damn tempted to call you on it in front of everyone."

"Which would have wounded that pride even more, but you knew that. Even when I do not deserve your care you give it to me." And that, he decided, made him feel even more the ass.

"Loki, even when you piss me off, I love you. You always deserve to have that love, even when you screw up." Her hand smoothed over his forehead and along the side of his bound back hair. The touch was gentle and soothing and made him want to cry with the joy of it. "I'm…hmm, encouraged that you realize what you did and understand why you did it. That's progress, at least."

"I'm forsworn, Kara. I may now accurately be called oath-breaker. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I beg you for it anyway."

She blinked. "Wait, Loki of Asgard begging? Crap; and I don't have any witnesses to it. No one would ever believe me."

He looked up to see her sweet lips curled in a beautiful, loving smile and he huffed out a short laugh. "Barton will believe you. I told him that I realized begging was the only thing that might return me to your good graces."

… …

The quick laugh faded as Loki grew serious again. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"He is a good friend, Kara. I said something…fairly unforgivable and he brushed it off. Well, he did call me an ass first, but then he let it go."

"You're very good at being an ass." She sighed at his resigned nod. "But that makes you more approachable, more…one of us."

"I suppose it does at that." Kara found herself smiling as he laid his head in her lap and wrapped his long arms around her waist. "What must I do to earn your forgiveness?" he asked.

"Forgiveness is like love. It isn't earned, it's given. What you have to earn is trust. Like I said, you're making forward progress; you're recognizing when you've screwed up and admitting to why you've done it. But while I forgive you, I'm not going to be able trust you about this sort of thing until you stop doing it. You know how important it is, we've talked about it. If you keep telling me instead of asking me with little things like this, I'm not going to trust you when it is important. That could get us both killed."

He nodded, his grip tightening. "I know it. I have to get past my anger at the situation I-we're in."

"Do you know what you could do to help me not have to go through that kind of interview again?"

Loki looked up at her and grimaced. "Yes; I shall need to learn how to bury the insult I feel and deal with them myself." His eyes narrowed at her nod of agreement and then brightened with mischief. "Then I shall lead them all a merry chase."

Kara laughed as he sat back with an intensely calculating look as he mulled the possibilities over in his head. "Yep, you' are going to have a blast with this."

… …

Pepper Potts gathered up her tech and other items from the boardroom conference table and tucked them away in the custom made messenger bag she preferred over a traditional briefcase. In less than sixty seconds she'd be out of here and avoiding the usual questions about… "Ms. Potts, will there be a double wedding?" one of the board members asked. Damn. Another forty-five seconds and she would have been home free.

"No. We've discussed the idea and decided that neither Loki nor Tony would be willing to share the spotlight."

"What a shame, it would be quite the media event."

She frowned at the man. "I don't see it as a shame at all. A double wedding would be a circus; one wedding for each couple will be a media bonanza. It's a much better opportunity for both The Avengers and for Stark Industries." The man's jaw dropped and she smiled sweetly at him. "We'll be releasing details shortly. I'll see you at next week's meeting, good day." With that she strode out of the boardroom as quickly as possible without appearing to rush. A quick elevator ride later deposited her in the private section of the lobby where Natasha Romanov awaited her, dressed in her 'Natalie Rushman' persona's usual wardrobe. "Nat," she greeted the woman. "What's up?"

"You have a two-thirty at the bridal designer's workshop. Did you forget?" Natasha asked.

"Drat, I did. Where's Kara, then?"

"Waiting in the car. She's being recognized too easily, particularly in venues she might be expected to frequent."

"Getting tired of the fuss already, hmm?"

"Not the fuss, the obnoxious attitudes," Nat told her quietly as they made their way to the restored Bentley that Tony had recently added to his collection. The vehicle had once been the property of European royalty, Pepper had forgotten which ones. Tony had decided it was the only fitting ride for the 'queen of his heart'. "I think it's fueled equally by jealousy and fear. There's a lot of 'who is she to become the wife of a god' going on as well as the fear of what she can do now that she's becoming Æsir. Add that in to the knowledge of what Loki did, coerced or not, and she's being heckled constantly."

"They just can't catch a break, can they?" Pepper sighed at the resigned shake of Natasha's head. Darcy stepped out of the car and grinned at them. "Well, glad to see someone's in a good mood," Pepper told the girl as she climbed in and took her seat next to the other bride-to-be.

"I posted a You-TV video about a half hour ago of the shitheads hassling Kara. It's already going viral and you should see the comments giving the assholes hell." Darcy's smile was smug and her moss-green eyes sparkled.

"They made Kara and Loki into the underdogs with their accusations, didn't they?"

"Oh yeah. And social media is hell bent on supporting the underdog. It's going to be so practically suicidal to say anything hurtful about or to Kara that only Cox News would dare support the shit. By the way, did you hear their ratings plunged after the interview aired?"

"It came up during the board meeting. Definitely worth a smile." She eyed the silent princess at her side. "Kara, are you okay?"

The gold wraparound sunglasses turned her way. "Sure. It's just getting me down, I guess." Her mouth twisted slightly. "I hate the mob mentality. One on one, face to face, most of these people would never come up with any of this garbage. But get a group of them together and it's a wall of hate just pouring over me."

"Can you feel it through your shields?" Kara nodded and folded her arms across her abdomen. "I'm so sorry, honey. Is there anything we can do to help?"

A tear trickled out from under the shades. "Just having you guys around helps. I'm sorry, it's just hard to not let it get to me after a while…and-and I have to get it out of my system before we go back to the Tower. I don't need Loki picking up on it. He feels badly enough as it is."

Pepper smiled as Nat climbed over to Kara's other side and sat down beside her. "I could take out a few key members of the hate organizers," the former assassin offered. Pepper grimaced as she realized the offer was sincere. "That would take the wind out of their sails. No one would ever know it wasn't natural causes."

"They're organized?" Kara asked, sounding horrified.

"Hate campaigns usually are. They don't spring up naturally; they're usually very carefully orchestrated by someone with a serious agenda. We're still researching the why, but we have some of the who identified."

"The why is almost always profit-based. Even if it's political, it's to get people in place to pass laws that will mean more profit for those pulling the strings," Pepper felt she should explain. Natasha nodded; she'd known that, obviously.

Kara shook her head. "I just don't understand that mentality, I really don't."

"Rich capitalist pigs; no offense to Tony, he's rich and can be a pig, but not in that way," Darcy piped up. "Hey, we can start counter-propaganda once we get all of them ID'd."

"No," Kara said. "I won't stoop to their level."

"Honey, sometimes you have to dirty your hands to survive. This isn't a game, it's your life. You're going to be here long after these bastards are dead, and you need to know you'll be able to live here without wondering every minute when someone is going to stab you in the back, literally or figuratively. It has to be nipped in the bud now."

"I'd have expected to hear that from Nat, but you, Pepper?"

"I've been with Stark Industries for over a decade. I've seen it, each and every day. There's a reason Tony is as, well, crazy as he is. A good man can't handle this garbage without sacrificing something. He decided to stay good at heart, which means he had to let off steam some other way."

"So the adrenaline rush seeking, the drinking, the womanizing, the narcissism, etc., were all to give him the freedom to do good stuff?"

"The relief of pressure that built up from doing the good stuff when everyone else told him it wasn't profitable or advisable. Yes. Well, except for the narcissism. That's pure unadulterated Tony."

"Damn. I'm impressed." Kara grinned as she tugged the wraparound glasses off of her nose and dried the wet streak on her cheek with a tissue. "Go, big brother."

… …

Pepper had already chosen her dress and it was ready for her first fitting. It was gorgeous and if Kara had been marrying a human, she would have been more than happy with a similar gown. However, she was marrying Loki, and Lord Haakun had informed her that since her in-laws would come from Asgard to attend the very public ceremony…along with, she was horrified to learn, heads of state from both Midgard and at least four of the other seven realms, she needed to meet their expectations. She'd drawn the line at wearing green, so the designer had put together a portfolio of drawings accompanied by fabrics and trims in various shades of gold. Leafing through the drawings was growing more tedious with each and every page. Sighing as she turned yet another, she gasped and then grinned when she realized her gasp had been echoed by Darcy, Natasha and Pepper. It was perfect. "This is it," she told the young man who had been fussing over them for the past hour and a half.

Aleixandre flushed as he looked at her choice. "Perfect, the Venetian inspired gown, you will love it. We'll add some sparkle, green stones, no?" he asked.

"Um, sure, I guess."

"This is my favorite design," he said in a confiding tone. "I'd despaired of ever having the opportunity to create it properly. The fabrics, the trim, all of the delicate gold work…but it will be a labor of love, I promise you."

"And a very rich paycheck, I presume," Pepper added with a smile.

"Well, yes, but it will take countless hours of hand-sewing to bring this masterpiece to life," he told her earnestly. "Your amazing dress is almost complete, and I will then dedicate myself and my assistants to making this gown total perfection." He grinned and almost danced around the room. "Every other bride on the planet will be jealous that they are not wearing an Aleixandre Bailey original," he crooned.

Kara rolled her eyes and gave Pepper an exasperated look. "Isn't it perfect, Kara?" Pepper asked her. She reluctantly nodded. "Then let the guy have his…um, joy in the moment."

"Fine. Look, Mr. Bailey…"

"Aleixandre, your highness."

She sighed. "Aleixandre. We'll need to incorporate a coronet into the veil. I didn't think to bring it with me."

"Oh, I did," Darcy piped up. "Well, I brought it; Loki thought of it, it's in my tech bag." She dug through the small bag, which contrary to its name, was stuffed with papers. The girl looked up at Kara's soft snort. "Yeah, I know…I've got to clean it out. Here we go." She pulled out a slim wooden case and handed it over.

"Thanks." Opening it, Kara showed the formal circlet to the designer. Unlike the one that was hurriedly provided for her wedding feast on Asgard, this one was etched with a flame design and was studded with dark green crystals that Loki had informed her could be charged with energy if needed. He had a new circlet as well, though his was engraved with what looked suspiciously like chaos symbols dripping with icicles.

"Ahhhh, lovely. Let me take the dimensions and we can produce a mock up for the veil design work so that you may substitute the real thing on the big day, yes?"

"Sounds good to me."

… …

Dr. Foster's work had required their presence and Loki had kept a close eye on Thor and the mortal. Much to his relief, Thor kept his mouth shut for the most part and spoke politely and respectfully when addressed. More importantly, Thor did not stare at the woman with the lost puppy look he generally gave his brother when Loki was the one who had been wronged. No, Thor simply looked at what was required when questions were asked and looked around at the other equipment in the lab when his attention was not directly needed. For once the socially inept oaf had listened. Suddenly his elder brother straightened. "Lady Jane? This is it." He pointed at one of the monitors; it was displaying a new frequency, a frequency Loki was very familiar with.

"This is what?" Jane asked, her jaw somewhat set at having to speak one on one with her former admirer.

Loki decided to rescue the woman. "This frequency is the one that resonates with the Bifröst. If you can artificially generate this frequency at one of the egresses, we should be able to connect directly to it." Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened. "It might even help complete the repairs to the bridge if we coordinate it with Asgard's efforts there."

"That's…that's…oh my God. Are you kidding me? No, of course you're not. Holy, geez. I would have missed it."

"I did miss it," Loki admitted. "We are fortunate Thor decided to pay attention to your other devices."

Jane Foster turned to look at his brother. "Yes, we really are. Thank you, Thor. This is wonderful." The mortal woman even managed to sound sincere.

"You are most welcome, Lady Jane," Thor told her formally. "Brother? Should I bespeak Heimdall or go to Asgard to discuss this directly with our father?"

"Check with Haakun. We do have an event this evening. If there is a lull between events, perhaps you can alert Heimdall tonight and then go to Asgard to plan the experiment directly with father and the others who work on the repairs."

"Excellent advice; I'll track down Haakun and let you know." Thor nodded briefly to Doctors Foster, Selvig and Banner, and loped out of the lab and down the hall.

"You handled yourself quite well, Jane," he said quietly to Dr. Foster after the men returned to their research.

"I-thank you. It wasn't too bad since we had something, um, important to talk about."

"Casual conversation won't be possible for quite some time, I imagine. But do you not think this bodes well for that to one day be an obtainable goal?"

"Yes. I don't…it's too raw, yet. I know it was the right thing to do, it's just hard to process."

"Walk with me." He turned and left the lab, relying on the sound of her footsteps to tell him she followed. He stopped in the elevator lobby. "You are the first person he's given a care to. Before you he would cast off the women who had attracted him with little more than a word when he became bored or found someone new. He did not agonize over the hurt he caused them; indeed, it did not even occur to him that they would be hurt." Loki huffed a soft laugh. "Though I much doubt he'd have cared if it had occurred. Thor is a better man because of your influence. He did not end your relationship because of boredom or because of another woman, but because he knew it was not the right one for either of you. I know this is not much comfort, but I felt you should know that he is trying his best to be a good man."

Jane nodded. "I -I know that. And he really was right to break it off. Maybe a lot of my hurt is ego, I don't know."

Loki frowned as he considered that statement. "No. It is simply the pain of rejection. You dared to open up to another and your efforts were pushed aside. It hurts, I know. I've been there. But you must not close yourself off, that way lies madness, literally."

"You've been there too?"

"I should think that much was obvious."

"You know, Loki, you're actually a pretty nice guy. Well, you would be if you'd stop telling Kara what to do." He wanted to retort, but caught himself as he noticed the woman's teasing tone.

"My, aren't you the bold one; mocking the god of Mischief." He shook his head ruefully. "I must be getting soft that one such as you dares such."

"Being a friend doesn't mean you're getting soft. Not in this group, anyway. I don't think there's a normal person in the bunch."

Loki considered the claim. "Perhaps Bethany and mayhap Pepper. The rest? No, you're quite right. But I find the abnormal comfortable."

"Yeah, me too."

… …

Thor fidgeted as yet another diplomat was introduced to them. This one was from Norway, interestingly enough. Less interesting was that the man thought this should make him more important in their eyes. He struggled to keep his expression polite and let Loki do the talking. As usual, his brother managed witty banter that had the diplomat convinced that he had made a favorable impression with the pair. Finally, the 'chat' was over and the man moved off. "It's not as if they've worshipped us in recent generations," he grumbled to Loki.

"Nor are they likely to in the future. Still, the man has some pride vested in the fact that his people helped to keep our legends alive, no matter how convoluted and distressingly wrong some of them were."

That got a laugh out of him. "I still cannot countenance the mortals' belief that you gave birth to anything, let alone a horse."

"Don't forget the giant serpent and the wolf," Loki reminded him. "They did not understand metaphors back in the day, I suppose. And I did raise Sleipnir from a newborn foal abandoned to die, so in a way I was his mother."

"Wait, what?" They turned to see Kara frowning at them as she approached, flanked by Romanov and Barton playing bodyguards. "There was actually something to that story?"

Loki sighed. "Yes. I had bargained for a foal out of Svadilfari, the prized stallion of the Hill Giants. I'd intended the foal to be a gift for Odin on his feast day and had used magic to ensure the foal would not only be a colt, but would be the fastest of all horses. This was many centuries ago you understand, and my magic was not as accurate as it is now."

"Was this around the same time you screwed up Sif's hair?" Kara asked as Barton choked back a laugh.

"Give or take a few decades, yes. Both incidents taught me well the importance of accuracy over pure power in sorcery. So, the colt was born, and he had eight legs. The Master of Horse was aghast and ordered the 'poor deformed thing' be put down. I was determined to prove my magic's worth and spirited the colt away. Because he was taken from the mare so young, I had to bottle feed him, teach him to walk and well, everything else a colt must learn. Once he was old enough and secure with his body, I taught him to run."

"How? I mean, watching you run isn't going to help a horse. And watching another horse run isn't going to help one who has four extra legs."

"No, and this is where it got complicated. I had to learn to shift my form through sorcery to that of an eight-legged horse and then teach myself how to run before I could teach Sleipnir. Eventually, I managed it and found the extra legs gave him more speed and endurance than any normal horse."

"So, your magic worked, just in an unanticipated way?" Natasha asked.

"Exactly. He was ready by Odin's next feast day and I rode him into the Valhöll. There were snide comments, but Odin said naught. Our mother suggested that Thor go fetch his stallion, as at that time Thor's Fastmundr was hailed as the fastest in all the Nine Realms, and that we race to the Observatory and back. We did so; Sleipnir and I arrived back at the thrones more than fifteen lengths ahead of Thor and his steed. I dismounted and dropped to a knee holding the reins out to our father. I'd taught Sleipnir to bow and he did so and held it until Odin accepted the reins and patted him on the neck. Then he smiled…Odin, not Sleipnir. I think it was the only time during my youth that I ever made him smile."

Loki smiled now as his lady hugged him tightly. Thor grinned. "I have seen him smile over things you had done before and have done since. But since they were acts of mischief, his smiles had to be hidden as he could not be seen to condone such things. He does truly love you, Loki."

"I know that now, my brother," Loki agreed and Thor's mood brightened under the oh-so-casual use of the word. It was becoming almost normal, but it never failed to warm him. "And I have always loved him, even when I hated him."

… …

Kara's head hurt. No, she hadn't had to deal with her temper; it wasn't one of the power blockage migraines, there had been no repeat of that since Eir had worked her healing magic. This pain was a combination of listening to political bullshit and wearing the damn circlet for six hours. "Why are you not fighting a headache?" she asked her husband.

Loki smiled as he tugged her into his lap, lifted the circlet from her head and began massaging her temples. "I'm used to it; both wearing one of these and listening to useless bores for hours on end." His fingers were magic, she decided as the tension began to abate. And it had nothing to do with sorcery.

Sighing, she dropped her head back on his shoulder, raising it again as a thought occurred. "You aren't nagging me about my seatbelt."

"I'm holding you, which is far more secure than one of those devices." She smirked at the comment and he sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Fine, now I'm holding you."

"You make me smile," she told him as she made herself comfortable in his arms.

"Don't go all sickeningly sweet back at her or I'm going to have to try and hurt you," Clint said as Loki opened his mouth.

"I'll let that go because I owe you," Loki informed him.

"Wow, I'd be worried if I didn't know you two liked each other," Kara said as she buried her face in her husband's neck.

"Bite your tongue, woman. One doesn't like mere mortals."

She could hear the teasing note in his voice, and she was sure Clint could too, but couldn't resist the challenge. "Well, excuse me oh exalted one. You love these mere mortals." He gave her the patented 'Loki stare of death', but the expected retort didn't accompany it. Clint, for a change, was smart enough not to say a word as she kissed Loki's jaw.

… …

Their new suite featured what Stark had told them was his second attempt at an Asgard-style sunken bath. It was a good bit smaller, the water flow wasn't as even and the temperature wasn't as quickly adjusted, but he'd had to rely on tech rather than sorcery. All in all, it was a quite credible attempt. Loki had to admit to being impressed. Kara was ecstatic. "I love this bath," she told him as she luxuriated in the warm flow of water.

"You must, you've been in it for an hour already," he teased. "I didn't think I'd made you quite that dirty."

"Humph. It's relaxing. I need relaxing, I had a stressful day."

"I thought that was what the lovemaking was for."

"No-o-o, the lovemaking was because you're too damn hot to resist."

"Hmm. Don't fall asleep in there. We do have a bed for that." He smiled as she stuck her tongue out at him. "You never said; did you choose a dress?"

"I chose a dress design," she told him as she finally climbed out of the water. "It's very ornate; your mother will love it."

"Do you love it? That's what should be important." She sighed, that didn't bode well. "If you're not happy with this one choose something else. This is your day not my mother's or anyone else's.

"I know. It is gorgeous. I want it to be perfect and for that, it needs to be something that meets everybody's expectations for a princess of Asgard. As much as I know you want it to be all about me, everyone else be damned, I'm not that selfish. I know that marrying you means that I'm a public person now. I can live with that, as long as you're part of the package."

"I'm very proud of you, did you know that?" he asked as he wrapped her snugly in the large towel and held her close. She smiled in response as he wrapped another towel around her hair and squeezed the excess water out. "Do you at least like the damn thing?"

"Yes, I like it. The other girls did too. Do you know how hard it is to get four women to agree on one dress? Compound that impossibility with the personalities involved, I mean, seriously. Pepper, Natasha, Darcy and me; all agreeing on the same dress, how unlikely is that?"

"It must be perfect."

"Exactly." She sighed as he continued to work on towel drying her hair. "It's kind of an Italian Renaissance style in ivory silk with tons of gold overlay. You'll enjoy the view from your height."

He ended up sputtering at her comment. She'd managed to keep a perfectly straight face, but her eyes were sparkling more than usual. "That's twice you've caught me with your outrageous comments this evening," he scolded her. "That's not so easy to do."

"You should be used to my outrageous comments by now," she told him as he lifted her and carried her to their bed. "I can walk, you know."

"I know; I enjoy carrying you."

She smiled at him as he settled them under the covers and pulled her into his embrace. "You do love them, you know; for their acceptance of you and us if nothing else."

"Perhaps some of them," he decided to admit. "Those who have the most reason to hate me, at any rate. Was it really necessary to point it out publicly?"

"Probably not. I'm really sorry if I embarrassed you."

"I did owe Barton, and Natasha would go to her grave before betraying what she would see as a confidence. Fortunately the others were in the other vehicle so I suppose it's all right." He frowned at her. "This time."

She yawned, adorably, and rubbed her soft cheek against his shoulder. "I love you, and not because you accept me."

"No, you love me because I'm too damn hot to resist."

"No teasing when I'm half asleep," she insisted and then yawned again. "Night, Loki."

"Good night, my sweet love."

… …

"His Royal Highness, Prince Loki of Asgard requests your presence at a ball to celebrate his engagement to Dr. Kara Gunnarssen," Nick read from the formal invitation. "Is he fucking kidding me?"

Raj grinned at the exasperated man. "I don't think so, no." He shrugged at his friend's glare. "You could always send your deputy."

"No, I can't. It goes on to specifically state that Maria Hill is not welcome in any capacity. Can you believe this garbage?"

"Give it a rest, director. I thought you said he wasn't all that bad?"

"I didn't say that. I said the son of a bitch might deserve a break. Entirely different thing."

"If you say so. Are you going to decline?"

"And miss the opportunity to see politicians groveling over someone who would cheerfully separate their heads from their fool necks given the choice? Not a chance."

"That's the spirit. Are you going to stand around imagining the worst case scenario during the entire event and smirk at them all?"

"I'll plead the fifth on that, doctor."

Chuckling, Raj held up his own gilded envelope. "Well, you'll have company. Though I don't think we'll see any of our visitors causing issues. The U.N. diplomats were exceedingly charmed, from what I'm told. There are two regents amongst them, and they were also favorably impressed. Kara is, apparently, back in their good graces."

"She's bringing them a powerful alliance, or so it's being made to appear. That's not such a stretch."

"Sadly, it's not." Raj sat back and watched Nick pace his office, frowning when he realized the red desktop had been replaced by a blue one that matched the shards in the large glass jar. He looked to the corner of the room and his eyes widened. A second jar had joined the first and it was filled with red shards. "What happened?"

Nick Fury followed his gaze and sighed tiredly. "Did you know that Nyvorlas and Loki were close friends in their youth?" Raj shook his head, still speechless at the thought of a second pricey desktop reduced to rubble. "I impugned their masculinity and the elf was not amused."

"He's that strong? Loki froze the thing first; it's small wonder that it shattered…but Prince Nyvorlas?"

"Ljósálfar, it seems, have magic that manipulates nature or natural materials. He used that magic to make the marble brittle before striking it."

The word 'magic' was pronounced as though it had left a sour taste in the director's mouth. He could appreciate that his old friend was becoming heartily tired of it. Raj wasn't terribly at ease with that power himself. "I do like the blue better."

His black clad friend barked a laugh and dropped down to lounge in his leather chair. "Stark had better be bringing out the good booze for this shindig. I seriously need a drink."

… …

Haakun enjoyed the quiet on the roof of Avengers' Tower when he passed his reports to Heimdall. There were no mortals to deal with, or Ljósálfar. Lady Sif and his princes well knew he enjoyed his rare moments of solitude. He was very good at his job, but he was not, by nature, a gregarious man and assignments such as this wore heavily on him. He concluded his impressions of how well Thor and Loki had worked together in dealing with the mortal ambassadors, telling of how skillfully Loki had guided not only the questions but had provided subtle clues to lead Thor into wise responses. Haakun decided not to mention how astounded he was that Thor had understood the clues. Odin knew well enough that his elder son was not a man of subtlety and would be impressed all on his own. "That is all at this time, Heimdall," he concluded.

"Not all, Lord Haakun," Thor said from behind him. Haakun turned to give him a questioning look. "The frequency?" he reminded.

"Ah, of course. Please, go ahead."

Thor grinned. "Heimdall, please tell my father that Lady Jane's experiments have isolated the frequency modulation used by the Bifröst. Loki believes that we can reproduce that frequency here and that this will help with repairs to the bridge. He plans to spend the morrow writing up his thoughts on how this might best be accomplished and I shall return home two days hence with it and will remain long enough to plan a response. If you could also advise all interested that I will accept missives to carry to our people here, that would be much appreciated."

"The repair of the Bifröst will go a long way toward easing the remaining bad sentiment in Asgard," he told Thor.

"Aye, I know it. And the upcoming treaty talks, should they go well, will finish the job. Loki will be in most everyone's good graces long before his sentence is served."

That would make Haakun's job and his much anticipated retirement from his duties as First Councilor a great deal easier. "I am proud of you both, my prince.

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