i have written and rewritten this a total of fourteen times. in a fit of rage i deleted all of my plotting for this entire fanfic. enjoy. not edited of course.

Odin shouts at him with a fury Thor has never witnessed before; need he be reminded that marrying Loki was a 'delicate choice'? Need he be reminded that Asgard and Jotunheim had been at war for centuries, and it was only Jotunheim's temporary lapse of strength that had forced Laufey to negotiate? Need he be reminded?

.

Loki is not in their chambers. Thor begins to search, inquiring eir whereabouts to every servant and wench in the hallways - they point him in various directions, claiming to have seen em turn corners, and some say that they hadn't seen anyone. His anger slowly builds as he turns a corner only to find himself back at their chambers, and that is when he snaps.

"Where is Loki?" he booms, holding a servant close by the front of his shirt and shaking him.

"I did not lie to you, prince! She went that way!" he points a shaking finger in the direction Thor had already gone. Thor bares his teeth in a wicked, angry grimace.

"You better not be sending me on another wild chase, or I will have your head." he bites out, thoroughly frustrated with the time he has lost looking for his spouse. Loki could be anywhere by now. Shoving the servant away gives him a small amount of satisfaction, and then he continues on.

He hadn't noticed her at first, but as he goes down yet another hallway he sees a wench that he does not recognize. She's carrying a tray with a considerable amount of food and a cup filled almost to the top with wine. Thor stops and is about to ask her if she's seen Loki - but there's something odd about this one.

"You there-"

"Please do not speak to me." She says curtly. Thor stares at her incredulously.

"You should not interrupt me, wench."

"I'm busy." She smirks at him, and then he sees it. Pointed teeth, the remnants of dark blue lines slithering to hide themselves under her clothes, the faint sound of gold jingling.

.

"Loki!" he says, voice low as he grabs eir shoulders roughly and pins em to the wall. Ey drops the tray and the food crashes to the ground, wine sloshing at Thor's boots. Ey smiles as the blue of eir skin melts through the thin layer of seiðr - the mask of the wench and her clothes disappear leaving em in eir original loincloth and jewels. Loki seems unfazed by Thor's harsh grip, but responds by digging eir nails deep into his forearms.

"Oh, what a fool you are, husband." Loki purrs, flexing eir fingers so that blood wells around them. Thor bites his tongue to keep from wincing at the small wounds Loki has inflicted.

"You made me look weak in front of my family."

"I'm sorry, dear Thor, I'm a bit confused. Was it you who appeared to be weak, or I who appeared to be dangerous?"

"I want you to apologize!"

"I have nothing to apologize for. It's Baldr who should apologize to me for even entertaining the idea that my children would be used in your petty wars." Loki spat in his eye and laughed, trying to break free of his hold and failing. Thor's face was beet red and he grunted, trying to wipe it off on his shoulder without letting Loki go.

Before Thor knew what was happening Loki had managed to kick him in the stomach hard enough to knock the breath out of him. Ey scrambled onto him and gave him a smug look, stroking the side of his face with a cool hand.

"Now, tell me again; was it you who appeared weak, or am I perceived as a threat?"

Thor wheezes, "...Loki."

"Try not to strain yourself, husband." ey murmurs, slapping his face a little, using eir thumb to wipe the spit from his eye. Thor feels shame burning hot in his belly once more as he regains his ability to speak.

"You are wicked," he murmurs as he sits up, surprised when Loki actually lets him do so. Ey runs eir hands fleeting across the oozing indentations on Thor's arms, thin wisps of seiðr pooling into them and mending broken skin.

"So they tell me." Loki snaps.

.

"Ása-Thor. The mighty thunderer and I, the 'mother' of monsters. I cannot help but wonder..." Loki murmurs, nails pressing lightly against Thor's throat. Ey had calmed Thor down quite some time ago and now they lay, sprawled across the pelt of a great beast in their chambers, with Loki settled low on Thor's hips and musing. Thor didn't particularly enjoy Loki's sharpened nails against his skin, but he dare not say anything in protest. "I cannot help but wonder what the realms would think of our child."

"They would not dare to spread rumors."

"We shall see." Loki drawls, a languid smile on eir face as Thor's hands encircle eir waist. He kisses em softly, grinning when Loki shoves eir tongue into his mouth and eir hand presses against his cheek.