Thor stared blankly out of the massive wall of windows, absently watching the sky slowly catch fire as the sun, unseen from this angle, rose over the broken mess that had been made of the great city several days previously. A whimper and a wiggle drew his attention to the small body that was occupying his lap and he absent mindedly lifted up one of his large hands, which he used to gently rub at the other's back, soothing the male back into a semblance of peaceful sleep. Thor was under no illusions as to how truly peaceful that slumber was as the slight male was probably reliving the nightmare he had been living for the few days previously in his dreams. The thought made Thor tighten his hold around the male briefly before he focused himself and released his arms from around the dark-haired male.

It was still just too hard for him to get around what he had been told last night about what his brother had done to this poor male and he had spent the night dozing on the sofa, instead of claiming the bed offered to him by the warrior and fellow Avenger, Tony Stark, in a generous offer of hospitality. Thor, however, just couldn't bring himself to get up and place his new brother-in-law down on his own bed; leaving the male alone in a strange place. And he knew that it would be even worse if he took the man, who had fallen asleep in his arms as he cried out his heartache over Loki and what his brother had done, to sleep with him in the offered bed. Also, his thoughts were swirling about too rapidly to allow for much slumber, as the shocking revelation that Loki might not be the one controlling his actions kept popping up in his foremost thoughts after the little male's revelation of memories of blue eyes in Loki's face, even if they were only for the briefest of moments.

Thus why Thor was still up to greet the dawn, even though he was so tired in body, mind, and spirit that he wished for nothing more than the sweet embrace of oblivion to claim him and hold him as he slumbered for days on end. He would only be staying on Midguard for a couple of days longer at most as friends Bruce and Tony toiled to create something that would contain the mighty Tesseract while allowing him to tap into its awesome power to transport himself and his brother back home once again, where Loki would face justice for the crimes he committed. Thor suddenly raised a hand and scrubbed hard at his face. While justice needed to be seen to, Thor would also have to ensure that whatever was done to Loki would have to adverse affects on the little one that had been forcibly bonded to his brother and the heir or heirs that dwelt within the slim body.

That thought brought a scowl to Thor's face.

While normally, Thor would consider himself a temperate and easy going man, the thought of what his brother had done to the tiny Midgardian Seiðberendr inflamed him with its injustice and lack of honor. He had not had a chance to truly have speech with his brother since finding out about Loki's new bonded, and Thor was honestly not looking forward to doing such, but he needed to hear from Loki the reasons why he had done what he did: both in regards to allying himself with the honorless Chitauri and why he had acted as he did in regards to Harry's person.

A long, low rumble drew him out of his thoughts and was the cause for a rueful, abashed look to spread across his face as his stomach made itself known. While the food called "pizza" from the night before was most excellent and had been greatly enjoyed as he ate his fill, his warrior's body was truly efficient in the manner in which his food was consumed, thus making regular, large meals the rule for him. A stirring on his lap and the pulling away of the bundle of heat that filled it indicated that his faint hope that his brother's bonded had been able to continue with his slumber was unfounded. Sighing slightly, Thor looked downwards with his weary blue eyes only to be met by equally weary looking emerald green ones that had a small gleam of humor shining deep within them.

"Hungry, huh?" the small male quietly asked, even as he rose from the broad lap of the God of Thunder. "Well, come on then. Let's find the kitchen."

"There is no need son of James-" Thor began, only to be interrupted by Harry.

"I distinctly remember telling you, just before I fell into an exhausted slumber, that my name was Harry and that I expected you to call me as such. After all," Harry said with a pained smile, "we are family now."

Thor gave a sharp nod of assent even as he allowed the petite male to haul him to his feet while politely ignoring the sheen of tears that brightened those green, green eyes.

"JARVIS? Could you please be a dear and help us find the kitchen?" Harry looked up at the ceiling as he hesitantly cast his question out into the air.

"Of course, Harry," responded the ever calm voice of the A.I. "Merely go down the hallway, past the stairwell that leads to the bedroom level, and at the end of the corridor, you will find the room in question."

"Thank you, JARVIS," Harry quietly responded before stepping off, Thor close on his heels.

As they walked, Thor kept his place behind the other male and thus was able to observe the way the Seiðberendr moved. It was fascinating to watch, Thor decided as he observed the way the slight male moved down the hallway in a manner that could only be described as a cross between dancing and an experienced warrior's cautious stride. Upon arrival at the kitchen, Harry pushed Thor onto one of the stools that waited for use at a tall counter near the center of the room.

"Now I'm just guessing, so please feel free to speak up and correct me, but I'm thinking that you have even less of an idea on how to use these appliances than I do," Harry calmly stated as he looked around the extremely futuristic looking kitchen.

"Indeed," Thor said uneasily as he took in the room that was a marvel of all that was shiny and new, filled with items that he would not even be willing to hazard a guess at. "I must admit my defeat in this matter, as well as inform you that baring spitting a fresh kill over an open fire, I am greatly lacking in the skills of the hearth and home, for that is not a task for a warrior on Asgard."

"Figures," Harry muttered quietly under his breath before striding determinedly forwards. Grabbing the handle on what he was guessing, and hoping, was the refrigerator, he gave it a tug. A sigh of relief slipped out of him as he took in the sight of the fully, loaded shelves that were revealed to his sight as the light came on and a cold draft crept out. Peering within, and shuffling a few things to one side or another, Harry came to a decision. With a sharp nod of his head, and a few quiet words to himself, Harry began to pull items off of the shelves.

"It's your lucky day," Harry stated with a subdued air of satisfaction. "I do know my way about..."hearth and home", I believe is how you referred to it, thanks to the not-so-loving care that my relatives bestowed upon me as I grew up under their roof. So, based on what is in the refrigerator and the number of people that I'm sure will be popping out of the woodwork as they smell food and the bloody insane amount that was consumed by the same people last night, I think scrambled eggs in the biggest pan this place offers, a pan for bacon and a pan for sausage with several rounds to cook up an army's amount of them, and finally, I'll be making my Grandmother's pancakes up.

"While I did not have the chance to know them, and my Aunt Petunia refused to speak to me about them," Harry quietly talked as he began to open various doors and drawers in search of cookware, "I was able to learn bits and bobs about them as I was made to clean and cook. I found pictures of them one year when I was made to clean out the attic so I know what they looked like and when set to cooking, I had access to all of the recipes in the household, including Grandmother Evans' hand-written out cards."

Thor listened to the rambling as he quietly sat, not entirely sure about the terms used to name the foods, and watched the lithe male finish setting up, before he took a step back away from the food and twisted his mane of dark hair up into a large bun that he promptly skewered with a long, thin, metal stick that he had taken out of one of the many drawers. Harry then glided over to the sink, and, seeing no handles, cautiously waved his hand under the spigot, jumping slightly when water poured out but quickly settled back down as he set out to scrub his hands clean before preparing the meal.

Thor was amazed as he watched the other go about the actual cooking. Not a movement was wasted as Harry went from prepping ingredients to actually cooking. In fact, the nearest comparison that Thor could make placed the entire activity as akin to a sword drill with its precision. It was fascinating to the God of Thunder as he lost track of the time and was able to completely ignore the complaints of his empty, needy stomach as it made its demands upon him.

Until, suddenly, a plate massively laden down with piles of cured, cooked meats and a mound of bright yellow, fluffy, steaming eggs was plopped down in front of him, followed by a second plate that bore a stack of flat cakes almost as high as Mjölnir that overflowed with a translucent brown sauce. Taking a closer look at the flat cakes, Thor could see that they had a purplish-blue berry in them, but before he could do more than open his mouth, Harry quietly informed him that these were the 'pancakes' he had talked about and that Harry choose to cook them with blueberries in them, as it was a delicious way to get some fresh fruit, and that the sauce was a sweetener called 'maple syrup'. Thor gave a shrug at that, not recognizing the name, but took the offered fork and enthusiastically attacked the offered meal.

"What a feast! You are a cook of some magnificence, Harry!" Thor happily blurted out after his first bite of the pancakes.

"What's this about a feast?" was heard from the doorway at the same time as Harry asked, "What would you care to drink?"

Thor swiveled his head around, still chewing enthusiastically, saw that both Tony and Bruce were standing there: Bruce looking somewhat confused and Tony looking over at Thor and Harry in interest, both looking a bit more rested as though they had finally gotten a bit of sleep and dressed in new, clean clothes. Raising a hand, Thor beckoned the two of them over, which Bruce did with a shuffling, awkwardly apologetic gait and Tony did with a bound and a skip in his step. Thor swallowed hastily and gestured at the plates set before him, then at the stove where Harry was dishing up more food for the new arrivals.

"My brother's husband has great skills in the realm of the hearth and the home and has graciously provided the means for us to break our fast by the work of his own two hands," Thor beamed at the other two as the took the pair of stool on his right hand side. Turning his head back to the front once again, Thor finally answered Harry's question, "I would, were I still on Asgard sitting at my father's table, join my morning meal with a flagon or three of a good strong ale or stout, but I have observed that is not what is done down here on Midgard, so I will leave it to you to choose for me, brother Harry."

Harry flashed Thor a smile that was both painful and pleased when he called him "brother", but didn't object to it as he moved over to the refrigerator once again and looked within it, ignoring the exclamations of delight coming from Tony and the quiet, sincere thanks from Bruce. Finally, Harry seemed to find what he was looking for and pulled out several different containers of juice as well as numerous smaller ones that Thor recognized as yoghurt containers from the appliance, setting them on the counter nearest him while the three eating kept an interested eye on him. Harry, obviously looking for something, began to open and close the cabinets before suddenly spinning around and fixing Tony with a look.

"All right, where do you keep your blender?" Harry asked.

"In the kitchen?" Tony replied with a hopeful expression on his face, knowing that his answer wasn't going to fly with the wizard Lord.

"Sorry," Tony continued with an abashed grin as he ruffled up the hair on the back of his head, "Pep would know since she was the one that ordered everything and is usually the only one of the two of us that makes any use of this room. I normally just live on takeout or call for a chef to come here and cook for me if I'm not eating out somewhere."

"Brilliant," Harry loudly muttered and went back to his search. Several long moments, and one cabinet that had been almost completely emptied out, later, Harry was triumphantly holding the looked for appliance aloft as he spun around and danced. Placing it on the counter and plugging it in, Harry quickly poured in some juice, as well as several yoghurts, before grabbing a banana from the bowl of fruit on the counter and putting the peeled fruit in as well. After a bit of noise, Harry was plopping a large glass full of the resulting mixture down in front of Thor while giving him an expectant look. Thor wasn't too sure about it, but wasn't about to upset the wizard more than he already, rightfully, was and so lifted the glass and took a cautious swallow that quickly turned into several long gulps. Putting the glass down, Thor was met by Harry's face beaming at him in joy before Harry flashed away again to get the drinks that Tony and Bruce were requesting. Well...friend Bruce was quietly asking anyway, friend Tony was whining.

Thor set about finishing his meal, only absent-mindedly paying attention as the rest of the Avengers entered the kitchen, only to be bullied into sitting somewhere while Harry filled plates and cups and cooked up several more batches of food for them all.

He had somewhat seen it, last night when Harry had first entered the room when Tony was still standing stunned in the door and Harry had just been a slight, attractive male dressed as a pleasure slave and was, as yet, unknown to Thor. But this morning, when the petite male had sent that beaming smile, so full of happiness, towards him, Thor had had his breath stolen by the delicate male's beauty and lost himself in watching all that the male did: how he moved, the way that he cared about each person in the room as he ensured that they ate well and inquired about their health and how well they slept even though he had never before met them, the fact that he obviously welcomed Thor even though it was his own brother that acted with such a lack of honor towards the slight male in the manner of his claiming and bonding.

Absent-mindedly, Thor politely turned down fifth helpings of the excellent food and excused himself from the room, going back down the hallway to stand at the broken windows and look out over the city that they had fought so hard to protect and save such a very short time ago.

'What does this mean,' Thor thought to himself. 'And what of my Lady Jane? She has been there with me from the moment when first I touched foot upon the soil of Midgard in centuries. She is fierce of heart with a soul that is gentle and wise. She has taught me much and I am truly a better person for the lessons Lady Jane helped me to learn.'

Thor stood there, lost in his thoughts and memories, weighing what he knew about both Harry and Jane versus what he knew of Asgard and the very few mortals that had been gifted with an immortal life there. What it all boiled down to, was that the mortal had to truly earn such a great gift, for not everyone had the proper mindset for a life that would span eons and the results of someone with that much power turning to evil or madness were unpleasant to say the least.

The other major thought for Thor was a question. Not if he loved Jane, for he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he loved her and always, always would, but the manner in which he loved her. As he stood there in thought, a small body gently made itself known by leaning into his large bulk and Thor easily, without thought, wrapped his arms around the other person and pulled his armful to him, holding the other securely, but not too tightly. Finally coming to a conclusion, that he loved Jane as a mentor, friend, guide, teacher, and wise sister, as someone who could steer him onto a better path and help him make the wiser choices in life , but not as a man should love his wife and life partner, Thor was able to draw his thoughts back into the world around him.

Blinking heavily, as though he had forgotten to do so for some time, Thor felt someone in his arms and looked down. Only to stifle a loud chuckle at the sight of Harry, happily curled up in his hold, reading a scroll. Looking around the room, Thor saw that everyone had finished eating and come out to join him in the large room, but had found various things to do to keep entertained. Thor had to stifle a further chuckle as he took in the disgruntled looks Tony kept shooting between the little one in his arms and an owl that could only be described as smug looking that was perched on the mantle.

"What have you there," Thor quietly asked, amusement rife within his voice.

"Hmm...Oh, this. It's just my creature heritage family tree. I had ordered one from the goblins some time ago and it finally came," Harry absently replied. "The familiae haereditatem potion used to check for inheritances and heirs only reveals three generations back, if they are magical, and absolutely fails when it comes to recognizing creatures unless they are full blooded. In other words, if your great-great grandmother on one side was a Benbecula Mermaid, and you had a great-grandfather who was a Selkie on the other side of the family tree, but you didn't know it because the parchment didn't show it, you might cause yourself some problems by moving inland, away from the coast where they would have settled. And since some of the problems that that could cause might be life threatening, most families take care to do a full creature tree every few generations and try to take care as to which families they marry into. Also, some blood just doesn't react well at all if it is mixed within a set number of generations: for instance, Dark Elf and Jophiel descendents shouldn't ever marry until after the fifth generation because the combination would only have a 5 percent chance of having a viable child together, most having been stillborn or miscarried.

"I had had to have one done because, if my parents or grandparents had one, I sure couldn't find it, and it is well known that those in the Noble Houses and Lines have interbreed and intermarried to a ridiculous extent, thus opening me up to several odd inheritances. For instance," Harry rolled the scroll until it was near the top, "It seems that when the last Peverell descendent, one Anastas Cedany Gloriana, married into the Potter family, she brought several creature lines with her, the most dominant being Thestral which gives its descendents a gift towards the spiritual and necromancy."

"What are some of those? I've never heard of them!" Tony spoke up right at Thor's elbow, causing him to start and pull away slightly in surprise. He had been so caught up in Harry's verbal musings and absentminded explanations that he had failed to note what was occurring within the room itself, and so never noticed Tony sidling up along side of himself and Harry, or the way the others had slid in a little closer and were giving Harry a great deal of attention.

"Oh...," Harry blushed under the intense scrutiny Tony was giving him. "Well uh, I'm sure you know what a mermaid is and a Selkie is pretty common in muggle myths as well, being a seal that can set aside its skin and walk on the shores like a man, but a Jophiel is an angelic like creature known for their beauty and fierceness in battle, and a Thestral is a winged, skeletal horse like creature that can only be seen by someone that knows and accepts what death is. A Dark Elf is very distant kin to the High Elves but lives underground, is extremely violent and cunning, has dark hued skin tending towards black with subtle shading, and strikingly white, or lightly hued hair. Their descendents have a hard time mixing their blood lines with any one else because the Dark Elf blood is so potent and does funny things when mixed with other creature blood. For instance, I went to school with the heir to the Zabini line, which is one of the most prominent ones to feature the Dark Elf heritage as they have been claimed as mates by several Dark Elves throughout the millenia, and somewhere down the years, some odd reaction between various creature lines has led to the fact that if a spouse is unfaithful to one of the Zabini line, the next time the married couple sleep together, the unfaithful one will die."

"What!? Wait a minute! One of your ancestors fucked a zombie horse!" Tony exclaimed in shock, his mouth hanging open and his eyes wide.

"ANTHONY EDWARD STARK!" Pepper screamed as she moved across the room from near the bar so fast that Harry thought she had apparated. "That is an appalling thing to say to someone, no matter -"

Pepper was interrupted before she could really get some momentum going on her haranguing of Tony by a the sounds of giggling coming from Thor's direction. When she turned her irritated face that way, Thor used his head to gesture to the body he was holding in his arms. Harry, seeing the red head turned her ire towards him, immediately attempted to look somber and contrite as he opened his mouth to apologize.

"Thank you for attempt at an intervention, Ms. Potts-"

"Call me Pepper please, everyone does."

"Pepper then," Harry said with a slight smile, "but only if you make sure to return the favor by calling me Harry. In fact that goes for everyone here. But getting back to the matter at hand, Tony's comment was really funny if slightly inaccurate as it seems that my ancestor was on the, ah, receiving end, if you will.

"Something to keep in mind when dealing with magic and its beings and creations," Harry continued on, changing the subject as he did so. "Is that magic has its own set of rules, well they're really more of a set of guidelines to be honest, and physics and the other hard sciences rarely come into play, let alone take a starring role. A prime example would be our maths: simple math, like you would learn in primary, is still used of course, but the higher maths in our world take the form of something called Arithmancy, which is really only form of divination based on assigning numerical values to a word or phrase, traditionally done in our world with ancient runes.

"Now if you don't mind," Harry apologetically nod towards the flabbergasted looking Avengers and Pepper, "I have a few questions that I need to talk to Thor about. Is there anywhere that we could have a private conversation? And please take no offence at this, but that also means that JARVIS needs to be excluded."

Pepper pushed away her mental daze and focused her attention back on a sheepish looking Harry, who was still safely enclosed within Thor's large arms.

"Of course! May I recommend simply taking this to the room that Thor was offered last night? It's just up the stairs, turn to the right, and count the doors until you reach the fifth one on the left. JARVIS has strict orders involving anything that occurs within the privacy of the bedrooms. Mainly that anything that occurs there is to remain private no matter what Tony tries, unless it is something that might cause immediate harm, or is a plot to cause long term trouble."

Thor nodded his head, forced himself to release the petite Seiðberendr, and simply followed after as Harry left the room with all of its curious occupants. Shortly after arriving in the bedroom, with Thor now sitting on the massive bed with his back propped up against the headboard by a veritable army of pillows, Harry unrolled the scroll across the foot of the bed, then began to pace. Harry suddenly halted, ran a hand over his face, then freed his long hair and used both fingers to shake it out of the bun it had spent the morning in.

"I am going to apologize in advance here, Thor, but some of the questions I need answers to are going to be pretty invasive and rude. On the flip side, you will be getting some information about me and my family that is only supposed to stay within the family as creature lines are considered a family secret. The reason for that is if an enemy of the family got ahold of the information, it could be used to figure out weaknesses, strengths, and everything in between. Oh, there are always several creatures that are known, if only because of all the intermarrying the Purebloods and Noble lines have done, but the full list is a closely guarded secret.

"What I need to ask is about the truths of the myths surrounding you and your family. Specifically involving Loki and his being adopted. In primary, I remember covering several of the myths of the world, including several Norse myths which state that Loki was a Jotun that had been adopted by your father."

"Yes," Thor stated simply, seeing no need to hide such information from the newest family member. "How such knowledge came to be here on Midgard when such information was unknown on Asgard is beyond my ken, but it is true. My father finally told us the truth; that Loki was a runt placed out to die and that the Allfather found him and brought him home as his second son."

"Okay," Harry said as he bent over the laid out scroll. "That will help slightly as Loki's," Harry spat out the name, "contribution is well know at least."

"May I ask what you need the knowledge for and what you are searching for on the scroll," Thor quietly asked.

"I was being perfectly serious out there when I said that the bloodlines in my world are full of odd creature blood and inheritances. They can do some really bizarre things when crossed. Traditions have come about to ensure nothing dangerous or too nasty occurs anymore, unlike the horror stories from centuries past, mainly involving betrothal contracts between children that have been meticulously researched beforehand, but some families will also marry outside the lines, choosing a muggleborn who brings in clean magic and lessens the consequences of all of those various interactions for future generations. I had mentioned the Zabini line which suffers from one of the deadly forms, but another friend of mine came from a line that suffered from an over-abundance of fertility of all things, that would only cease when the bearer had either birthed a daughter, which was extremely rare in that family, or had become too old to safely bare children."

"I need to know what effect the Jotun blood will have on the child or children that bastard forced on me," Harry turned haunted looking eyes to Thor as he gave that quiet statement, placing one hand over his lower abdomen. "All family creature charts have a section that links to the goblins main archives and will allow for instant study on any new creatures that might have suddenly claimed a member of the family as a mate. Which is how most of the blood has entered the wizarding families to begin with, and how most of the information remains in the family unless the claiming was done in public or the creature is too easily recognizable when they go out in public, as the betrothal contract negotiations are locked down so that no one can even remember what lines are being crossed after it has been determined what would come of the pairing. Hence why it is so necessary to buy a new chart every few generations."

Harry turned his attention back to the scroll and, after a period of examination where he clearly didn't find what he was looking for, placed his finger on the parchment near the bottom where there was only blank space. Thor felt a pulse of something at the same time as Harry's finger flashed white and he spoke.

"Jotun blood, cross reference Harry James Potter-Black. Also, information regarding the dissolution of a forced bond."

Several long minutes passed by in tense silence that Thor felt no need to break as he watched Harry pace back and forth before the parchment began to fill up with an ornate script. Harry let out a strangled yell and snatched up the scroll, letting his eyes run all over the new writing as he frantically took in the information. Letting out a sigh, Harry's eyes filled with tears and his shoulders took a decided slump as he collapsed onto the bed as his eyes neared the end of the new information.

"Would you tell me what it is that is troubling you? I would gladly help carry the burden that now weighs you down," Thor quietly spoke up as he slid around until he was sitting beside the other male and able to wrap an arm around him.

"Well, what would you like first?" Harry choked out, just on this side of hysterics. "The bad news or the worst news?"

"With whichever is burdening you the most."

"The only means of getting a bond dissolution, short of death as that tends mean the death of both of the bondmates except under some rather odd circumstances, is to have a family member join the bond, making it a tri- or even a quad- bond, let it settle for a length of time that would have to be determined by the use of Arithmancy, then the unwanted member of the bond can be safely severed. There are several things that determine the length of the multi-bond before the severing can occur, including, and in this case the highly relevent fact, of pregnancy. The babes take what they need to survive and grow from their sire through the bond magic."

Thor said nothing at that, merely making a note as it further strengthened something that had begun to play on his mind since Harry had given him that dazzling smile at breakfast, and let out a noise that indicated that he wished to hear more even as he pulled the petite male onto his lap once again.

"At that brings me to the other bit of new information. It will be "babes", in a sense. The goblins ran several calculations after doing their research and have determined that the Jotun blood is interacting with two other creature lines, one from the Potter family and one from the Black line that was only strengthened when my Godfather did a blood adoption on me one Christmas to further draw out the Black blood that I had already inherited from a paternal Grandmother so that I was able to claim the Black Lordship after him. I will be having twins thanks to that. Only they will be a very special sort of twins, as they will be absolutely identical; from their looks to their very magic. More of a clone of each other really."

Harry burst out into tears and buried his face into Thor's chest. Thor comforted him as best as he was able, patting and rubbing at his slender, muscular back. After getting Harry to quiet down except for the occasional hiccough, Thor rose with Harry in his arms and resettled the two of them back up at the headboard with its mound of pillows to recline against. Grabbing at a possible future that he saw for himself and decided that he truly wanted, both for himself and as a means to assist the little one in his arms who did not deserve what his brother had done, Thor chose to speak up and share his thoughts with Harry.

"I have been sparing much of my time in thought today. And I must confess that most of my thoughts have rotated around you, brother Harry. The story you told to us last night and, more, the story you shared with me when you had woken up in the middle of the night and it was just the two of us. You have a rare heart, full of gentleness, yet you equally posses a warrior's spirit. Then this morning, I fully saw the beautiful package that encased those fine traits and became enthralled. After much thinking, I had already resolved that I would be speaking to the Allfather about what might be done about the bond you so clearly hate that ties you to Loki, hoping that a different magic might be the key to freeing you. But now that a way is open that will bring you freedom from my brother, I will instead be speaking to him, hopefully, about another matter entirely.

"Harry, son of James and Sirius, Lord of the Midgardian Houses of Black and Potter, will you do me the honor of considering my courtship, with the full intent of bonding?"

Harry pulled back and looked up, amazement sparkling in those bright emerald eyes that still held traces of tears as he met Thor's serious, yet hopeful, blue eyes looking back down at him.

"But I thought that bastard was adopted?" Harry quietly asked, even as his brain flooded into overdrive thinking over all that he knew of Thor: both the myths he had learned as a school child and all that he had learned from the news revolving around the events in New Mexico, U.S.A. and from the lips of both Thor and his fellow Avengers.

"Loki was adopted into my family, that makes him, by royal decree and magic, my brother."

Harry fell silent and leaned against the massive chest, listening to the heart beating strongly within it as he gave some very serious thought to Thor's request. The day passed that way, with Harry sitting on Thor's lap and thinking by the comforting sound of his large heart, and Thor alternating between rubbing gently at Harry's back and running his large hands through Harry's long, black hair. They were only interrupted once when Steve knocked on their door, letting them know that he had brought sandwiches for the two of them as it was way past lunch. Inviting him inside, Thor quietly asked him to set the large, fully laden platter down on the bed beside him, getting a smile in return as Steve did so. On his way out, Steve also let slip that Tony was apparently starting to climb the walls as he went out of his mind with curiosity over what the two of them were doing out of sight for so long, as well as the fact that Tony was getting desperate to ask Harry questions about the wizard's world, but that Pepper had left orders that Tony wasn't about to break.

All this was imparted with a smug tone of voice and a large grin, causing Thor to burst out in laughter as Steve exited the room. His laughter startled Harry, who, upon getting the demanded explanation, also burst out into laughter before grabbing a sandwich and eating. They settled back down into their previous states after that, losing all track of the time.

Finally, Harry lifted his head and looked back up at Thor with a lost expression.

"I-I...yes, Thor Odison. I am honored to accept your request for courting, just...please. It. I-I was... I had never...Loki, he...," Harry teared up once again and began to shudder.

Thor quickly put together what Harry was trying to tell him, and a dark look fell over his features as he guessed that not only had Loki forced a bonding and a pregnancy on the slight male, but that he had forcibly stolen something from Harry that was his right to give away to someone with love. Getting his temper that was threatening erupt under tight control, Thor cautiously and gently placed a hand under Harry's chin, lifting it up. Thor then slowly bent down and pressed a light kiss to Harry's lips.

"I am the one being honored, and I promise that I will do you full justice over the courtship, as well as the fact that we will only post the banns once you and I are both in agreement. I will indeed be speaking to the Allfather about a great many things when I return with my brother, it seems," Thor firmly stated as he nestled Harry back against him.

familiae haereditatem- family heritage

Just wanted to give a shout out to reviewer Belldandy123 for the idea of transferring the bond to Thor. It was a great suggestion that really helped me to write out a happy ending, which I wanted but couldn't see doing with Loki after Harry was raped by him.

My Grandma's Pancake Recipe

1 1/3 cup flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 beaten egg

1 cup milk

2 tsp vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients in one bowl. Add wet ingredients. Stir until moist. *** DO NOT over stir.*** Ladle onto hot, buttered pan and cook until bubbles form around the edges that do not pop, then flip. Should be a lovely golden color.

Berries, choc chips, and anything else (Ground, cooked sausage for example) can be added. (I prefer to add them after I've ladled the batter onto the griddle so that I may make several different varieties.)

Can add more milk to thin out the mix and get more pancakes. (I also will triple the batch, as we are a family of five and I like leftovers for the kids to have.)