"The trial is simple," Sif told me as I sat down in the library. I was more focused on the scuffs in the tabletop than I was on her words. "Asgard has several levels of courts and generally, the monarchy isn't called onto make legal rulings, however, sometimes they are required to."

"When?"

"When lower court rulings are inconclusive, but those are more present in history than they are today. More often than not, they just take small civil cases as a show of strength and justice to the people."

"So is that what I'll be doing? Ruling on a civil case?"

"No."

"You lost me," I said as I toyed with the elastic on my wrist. "You just said the trial was me ruling on a small civil case like the royal family sometimes does."

"The point of this trial is to see whether or not you can rule justly. Odin felt that a civil case would be too easy a test, so you'll be taking something much more intense."

"Define intense?"

Sif shrugged and shoved her hands into the pocket of her sweatshirt. Eir and his team had finally finished healing her arm. "I don't know the details, but I know enough to tell you that this case is going to be very difficult to decide on."

"And they're going to let me decide? On a real case?" I shook my head. "That's insane!"

"Better they find out if you can do it now than wait until after you get the job."

"But if I don't do it right-."

"Glad you understand how serious this is. That's a promising sign."

My ability to grasp how serious repercussions could be for someone if I screwed up this trial didn't extend to a promising chance as queen. Not with how Thor apparently had lost interest in me. "When do I get the case?" I wasn't even sure if I'd make it to the trial on Friday if things kept going like they were now, but I wasn't completely sure I was going to leave yet. Part of me (the more petty side) wanted to force Thor to admit he didn't want me here and send me away himself, rather than sparring him the awkward conversation by leaving on my own.

"Tomorrow morning, you'll be given the case file to get an overview, you'll have three days to come to a verdict which you will present to the court. Pretty simple, at least in theory." Sif gave me a sheepish grin and pulled her hair from it's updo. "You'll be fine though, I mean you already deal with law in your Midgardian life."

I might be returning to it soon. "Just don't count your chickens before they hatch."

"I'm not," she frowned at me, "are you okay Suzume? You seem troubled."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, if you change your mind just let me know." Sif ran a hand through her hair. "Want to go and spar?"

I couldn't have gotten to my feet any faster. "Yes please."

***

Two hours later, my limbs were achy and covered in sweat as Sif threw me against the mat one more tip, the tip of her staff up against my throat like a sword. "You're getting better," she remarked, twirling the staff a moment before extending a hand down to me.

"You're still kicking my ass," I groaned as I got back onto my feet, feeling bruises form all over my body.

"You're still only human. Did you want to go again?"

"No, I think I'm gonna head back to my apartment and just relax for a bit. Watch some Netflix or something."

"Did you want company?"

I shook my head. "I'd rather be alone."  I saw a noticeable slump to Sif's shoulders but she didn't push the issue.

"Well, I'll be staying in too, so you know where to find me if you change your mind."

"Thanks Sif," I said as I pasted a smile onto my face. "And thanks for this, I needed it."

"No problem, want me to take you back?"

"Sure," I would have been fine with walking too, but I didn't want to disappoint her again. The smile that crossed her face was worth grabbing her hand with my sweaty one and enduring the hard  lurch of teleportation before touching back down next to my apartment door.

"Home sweet home," Sif said, letting go of my hand and wiping it off on her tank top. Unlike me, she hadn't broken a sweat during our session. "You gonna be okay?"

"Nothing a shower and a snack won't cure." I said, referring only to my sweat-covered body and empty stomach. "I'll see you tomorrow for a morning run?"

Sif shuddered. "Can we swim instead? That's way more fun!"

"Fine, swimming it is. Be ready by eight."

That earned me a groan. "Are you allergic to sleeping in?"

"No, I just love to hear you bitch and moan about it." I shoved her playfully with my shoulder. "See you tomorrow morning, you'd better be bright-eyed and beaming."

"Lower your expectations," Sif advised. "See you." And with a shimmer she was gone and I was alone again. The moment she was gone, the smile fell off my face and I entered my quiet apartment and stripped off my sweat-soaked clothing.

I turned on the shower with a creak of the handle, hot water pouring from the gold shower head and fogging up the glass door. "I'll tell Sif tomorrow," I said to myself as I stepped under the spray and leaned into it. The heat was relaxing against my bruised limbs. "I'd rather she heard about this from me." It occurred to me then that she might have known already; she and Thor were best friends after all. I had to wonder how she'd feel when she'd find out. I already knew how badly she'd wanted him and I to work out. I was loathe to admit it, but I had wanted the same thing for us after we'd kissed on that beach. With those pleasant thoughts swirling around in my head, I scrubbed myself clean and then once I was dry, dressed in my favorite sweats, reheated leftovers and sunk onto my couch while the credits for Friends rolled across my screen and the ever-catchy theme song sounded off and  I let my mind go blank as I watched the sitcom play out. Though some things hadn't aged well from the nineties, the sarcastic one-liners were still perfect.

Time ticked on, the shadows on my wall grew long until they faded completely into darkness as night fell on Asgard. Wonder if this will be my last one, I found myself thinking as I ended yet another episode and clicked off the TV and rubbed my eyes. "Nana korobi ya oki," I whispered to myself. I was my father's daughter and whatever happened, I'd be okay eventually. Sighing, I tossed the blanket off my legs and stood up, ready to curl up in bed and sleep. Or maybe cry first, I wasn't sure yet now that I didn't have Friends to distract me. I stopped short however, when I heard a knock at my door.

I frowned as I crossed the room to answer, apprehension making my hands tremble as I turned the knob. No one in this building would make a social call this late unless something bad happened.

  I opened the door to see Thor standing outside. Despite the late hour, he was still in the same clothes he'd been in earlier. "Hey," he said, voice soft and his arms behind his back, he wasn't quite meeting my eye. "I know it's late but can we talk?"

"Depends," I replied, "are you ready to be honest with me?"

"I am."

I stood aside. "Then come in." He muttered a thank you as he walked passed and I shut the door. The click sounded ominous to me. I knew we needed to have a serious talk but I wasn't sure if I was ready to hear what he had to say.

Thor took a seat that minuscule kitchen island as there was no other stool, I stood on the other side and took a deep breath in an attempt to soothe my nerves as I leaned against the cool quartz. "You said you wanted to talk, so talk. I'm listening." Thor moved and set a manila file on the countertop. "What's this?"

"You said you didn't want to talk until I was ready to be honest," he answered gruffly, glaring at the folder like it had done him a personal wrong. "Even though Jotun are a threat to Asgard, we still have to deal with ones from the inside. Most notably, an anarchist cell that believe that if they throw Asgard back to the clan system we used to have, that it'll prevent Ragnorak."

"Clan system?" I repeated. I'd never heard any mention of that before, from Sif or Melinda, who'd immersed herself in Asgardian history during her stay.

"We used to be a lot more like your Vikings on Midgard. Strange how patterns repeat themselves, even worlds away." Thor looked at me then, just a flicker out of the corner of his eye before looking back down at the folder. "Asgard used to have dozens of clans running amok, constantly at war with each other over territory and even minor offenses. We were like that for hundreds of years until a pack of Jotun found there way here. The clans of old banded together to survive the attack and though we won, our population was decimated. It was that loss that helped create the system we have now-the old grudges lingered, but we couldn't afford to kill each other anymore and eventually, we created the system we have now."

"Skip the history lecture and get to the point please."

"The Brigade feel that the ending of individual clans was an affront to the Old Gods and will lead our world to destruction. Because they believe that, they're responsible for several terrorist attacks on Asgard, the most recent of which was the Jotun attack on the manor where you were all living." Thor sighed and pushed the folder towards me. "They found out I was searching for  a queen and attacked several of the royal properties. The Jotun was one method of doing so and it happened to be the right location."

Thor's apparent loathing at the folder suddenly made more sense. I pulled it towards me, cautious like it might explode at any moment. "This is the case file?"

"Yes, you can read it if you don't believe me."

"I believe you," I said. "But what does that have to do with how you've been treating me? I get you've been under a lot of pressure and apparently it's worse than I thought but-."

"I'm not trying to make excuses for how I've been acting," he said quickly, getting to his feet and pacing across the floor. His movements were sharp and abrupt, agitation in every step. "I know I've been an asshole and I know you don't deserve to be treated like that. I just..." Thor stopped his manic pacing and flopped onto the couch, his shoulders hunched like he was holding the world on them.  "I'm scared. I'm really scared."

I pushed myself off the counter and made my way across the room again, this time sitting by his side. Close enough to touch and far enough away that it had to be a choice on our part. "Is the Brigade really that powerful?"

Thor sighed, staring at the carpet like he wished it would swallow him. This was not a productive way to begin a conversation.

"Thor," I tried again. "Please, talk to me."

"Suzume," he looked up then, eyes meeting mine. "The Brigade targeted all of those places just because there was a slight possibly they could kill all of the potential queens present. What do you think would happen if they found out I had a favorite contender?"

"W-what?"

"I felt something on the beach too," he said, reaching out and grabbing my hand. The heat of his skin felt like fire as he rubbed his thumb across the back of my hand. "And when I saw you in that dress, if it hadn't been bad manners for a host to leave his own party, I would've grabbed your hand and ran out the door with you so we could be alone."

Blood rushed to my face hearing that. "So you've been avoiding me because you're afraid I'll be the target of a terrorist group?"

"In a nutshell yes, but I see now that it didn't do much good. I wanted to protect you because I care but all I did was make you think I was an asshole." Thor rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, a blush rising up his neck.

That was a pretty good summation of what had happened. "Everything's more obvious in hindsight."

"Can you forgive me for how I acted?" Thor asked softly, a hopeful smile on his face that I hesitantly returned.

"I understand what you were trying to do," I told him, brushing my hair behind my ear with my free hand as I tried to think of a way to make myself clear. Good intentions or not, this wasn't something I could just let go. "I know you weren't trying to hurt me, but you still did. Look," I squeezed his hand as he stared at me intently. "If you and I are going to have any chance at having a real relationship, you can't make a choices that concern both of us by yourself."

Thor sighed. "I know and I won't do it again. I promise if something like this comes up again, I'll talk to you about it and we handle it together."

That was all I needed to hear. Beaming I moved closer and threw my arms around his neck. Thor's throaty laugh filled my ears as he fell back against the couch.

"Ow."

"Faker," I accused and he laughed again. It sounded better than music. "You're a god."

"When I'm around you, I feel like an ordinary man." A wistful smile crossed his face then, the lines in his face suddenly more prominent.

"You're how many hundreds of years old?" I reminded him. "Not exactly ordinary."

"Is that a problem?" he asked, his playful smile back again and it warmed my heart.

"Not in the least."

To prove my point, I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "I've always had a thing for older guys."

"Is that so?" Thor asked, his breath tickling my hair while his free arm curled around my waist.

I made to reply, but I never had the chance as his lips pressed against mine. My heart leapt against my ribs. He held me closer, his rough fingers brushing through my hair. It struck me, however briefly that it was the same way Jared had kissed me once, but it had never made me this giddy. Then again, Jared wasn't a literal god.

His presence was just consuming. I couldn't focus on anything except him. The smell of ozone that clung to his skin and the way his whiskery face made my nose twitch when we kissed drove out any other thought. There just wasn't any room in my head for anything other than him. It was almost regretful when we pulled apart.

Thor sighed and leaned into my touch. "I'm going to take that as an 'I forgive you'." He said as he folded his hand over my own. "That was an 'I forgive you' right?"

I laughed. "It was-was I not clear enough?"

"No, I'm just that tired." Thor yawned then, as though punctuating the statement and my thoughts that had been moving in the direction of less clothing fizzled out.

"Long day?" I asked.

"We're trying to investigate the Brigade  and beef up security for the trial this week at the same time. And on top of that t-the press," he stifled another yawn. "Ran another article after the interviews. Nothing bad but we're still waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"I don't blame you," I remarked. It would be some time before I forgot how they called me plain and assumed I was a call girl. "They're not always nice."

"That's putting it mildly," Thor muttered, yawing once more.

I ran my fingers through his short hair. "It's late."

"Yeah," he agreed though he didn't move to push me off his lap. "It is."

"We should probably move."

"Yeah." Once again he agreed and once again, neither of us moved.

"Do you have to go?" I asked finally as the silence began to stretch between us. "I mean, I know you need to get some rest, but I do have a queen sized bed over in the other room. Plenty of space for both of us."

"Is this an invitation to sex or sleep?" Thor asked, rubbing his eyes a moment.

"Sleep," I answered fast. "Just a sleep over."

Thor smiled. "That is the second best idea I've heard all day."

"Second best?" I replied, trying to look coy as I got to my feet and helped him to his. "What was the first?"

"That's easy," Thor opened the bedroom door as I led the way in and kicked off my slippers. "'Talk to her you bonehead' line wins by a landslide."

I laughed as I pulled the heavy white duvet back off the mattress and crawled onto my side, propping myself on my side so I could watch as Thor pulled off his shirt. I let my eyes linger on the sculpted muscles of his back, a small part of me wishing it wasn't so late so I could enjoy that a bit more. "Who'd that come from?"

"Who else?" Thor asked as he tossed his shirt and jeans onto the nearby chair. "Sif."

"Smart girl," I laughed, hearing her voice the words in my mind with a furious expression on her face.

"She is," Thor agreed, climbing into bed and snuggling up against me. The weight of his arm heavy across my hips and his warm chest against my back. "Good night Suzume," he yawned, giving me a brief, sleepy kiss across my cheek.

"Good night." I whispered as I turned off the lamp and we were enveloped in darkness.

*********************

New chapter! Finally got some time to write between two jobs and what might have been bronchitis. Yay for summer sickness! How'd you guys like this chapter? I'd love to hear from you!

Write on! :)