Most of January passed without incident, except for an incident with frost giants, which she came to realize were the same species that Thor's adopted brother, Loki, was.
The incident made Thor sullen for a few days, as sullen as he could be, which was mostly reduced down to the consumption of large amounts of pop-tarts, and a steady drizzle that melted all the snow and made a good number of the occupants of New York miserable.
Thankfully, it passed, with the help of some cups of cocoa, and impromptu therapy sessions, during which Miranda mostly listened and nodded while Thor regaled her of his childhood tales.
"I still don't understand why he has done these things," he sighed.
Miranda pondered it for a moment, wishing that Tony had made the hot chocolate, and therefore added a little something.
"Loki found out he was adopted in pretty much the worst way possible," she finally said. She'd heard that tale around Thanksgiving, when Thor had smuggled some Asgardian mead into their dinner, which had the happy side effect of allowing Thor to get drunk. (Steve was still immune however, which made Tony sad, and Miranda relieved beyond measure.)
"He reacted badly," which was an understatement. "And things snowballed from there."
She winced at her word choice, which made Thor slump deeper in his chair.
"Father was no help; if anything, he made it worse. He did always tell us that we were destined to be king. But there can only be one king of Asgard, and Loki knew that it would never be him, as soon as he discovered his true parentage."
Miranda nodded sympathetically.
"All our lives, he lied to us. He must have had the best intentions, but nothing good came of it." He sighed heavily. "When Father told us the frost giants still lived, I swore, in my childish fervour, that I would hunt them all down and kill them when I was king."
Miranda winced.
"You still love him," she hazarded, attempting to move the topic away from him blaming himself, and back to... well, anything else.
"He is my brother," Thor concurred. "I will always love him, even if he cannot find it in his heart to love me back."
"Sometimes, love is unrequited," Miranda told him, echoing something she'd heard in English classes, so many years ago. "All you can do is offer him love, and hope that some day, he can find it in his heart to love you back. It is not your fault that your father lied to him. You didn't know, after all, and you were raised as brothers."
Thor nodded. "I know. But it is hard, when Loki refuses to see me when I go visit him in captivity."
"You can't make him come around," Miranda said gently, "But hopefully he can. He just needs time to come to terms with what your father told him."
Thor nodded, slurping the last of his hot chocolate.
"Your words carry great wisdom," he concluded, nodding. "I shall keep them in mind the next time my mind wanders to the tragedy of my brother." He stood up, and she followed.
"You can always come talk to me," Miranda told him, reaching up to pat him on a massive shoulder. She would probably regret it later, but it was sort of her job, even if it wasn't technically in her job description.
"Thank you Lady Miranda," Thor said, rather subdued for him.
He returned the reassuring pat, and it nearly broke her arm.
"Anytime," she squeaked.