When I'd first arrived at the Asgardian castle, I'd been took shaken to notice the beauty of the place in the aftermath of the Jotun attack. After that, the constant color scheme of white and gold had bored me and I'd overlooked it even more. Now as I walked down the grand staircase, following the hastily scribbled directions on Thor's note, I couldn't help but realize how wrong I'd been.

The white marble wasn't as plain as I'd thought, as now when I looked closer, it was flecked with bits of grey and gold. The light fixtures gleamed in the afternoon sun, their gold color burning bright and casting brillaint warmth into the space. It was all beautiful and it was a shame I could only appreciate it now as I prepared to say goodbye to it.

I was going home today.

Thor hadn't told me outright that things were over, I knew it was coming. The cryptic note he sent me asking to meet in the dinning hall because we "needed to talk" and I had been in enough relationships to know that those three words were never ones you wanted to hear.

Sighing, I took my last steps towards the finely carved wooden doors. I allowed myself a moment's pause to admire the craftsmanship of the stars and planets carved into the wood and then let myself inside. Better to tear off the band-aid. Or at least that's what I told myself as I stepped into the grand room, half blinded by the sunlight streaming in from the giant glass-stained windows. I told myself that was the reason there were tears in my eyes.

Thor was standing next to the long mahogany table, apparently admiring the beautiful windows. The sight of him sent a pang through my chest, my rib cage tightening like a vice as I realized how my life was about to change. Today, I'd be leaving Asgard. Today, the three dates Thor and I had shared would be all we ever had. Today, I'd go back to my old life, if such a thing was even possible now that I knew the things I did.

My breath came in sharply then and the sound altered Thor to my presence. He turned, his thin mouth turning into a smile. "Hey, you got my message."

The sight of his grin and his clean-shaven face made my chest hurt even more. "Yeah, I did."

Thor sat up on the table. His legs so long he could still touch the floor. "Look, Suzume, we need to talk."

"You said that in your note," I replied, my voice trembling slightly and I placed my hands on my hips. Yuki called it a 'power pose' and I hoped it might be of some use to me now. I was not going to cry, not in front of him. I still had my pride.

"Yeah sorry," Thor took a deep breath and shrugged.  He glanced at the floor and back at me several times and a tense silence stretched between us like piano wire. "You want kids right?" He blurted, possibly blushing but it was hard to tell underneath the colorful light streaming into the room.

"What?" That question had not even been on my radar.

"I know it seems random," Thor said as he looked up at me again, a small smile on his face. "But after last night, I thought we should talk about it."

"What happened last night?" I asked, sliding up next to him. Unlike him, there were a good three inches between my feet and the floor.

"Elise and I were talking about the future, kids came up and apparently she doesn't want them."

"What? But she's a pediatric nurse!"

"That's what I said," Thor laughed, "but apparently she likes kids only for a few hours or a weekend max. Can't really move forward with someone when you both want a drastically different future."

"No," I agreed, "you really can't."

"So, yes or no one the kids thing?"

"Definitely a yes." I smiled. "I'd actually like to have four. Two of each but I know that an imaginary family is different from having a real one so who knows if I'll be up to that task of raising four tiny people."

"We could do it," Thor said, voice ringing with confidence. "We might not sleep for three to five years but we could do it."

I felt my heart grow twice it's size when I heard him use 'we' when talking about raising kids. Sighing, I leaned my head against his shoulder and shut my eyes, enjoying both the warmth from the setting sun and the clean smell of his skin. "So, if this was all you wanted to talk about why'd you send me that creepy note?"

"It wasn't creepy," Thor scoffed and I raised my eyebrows.

"Evidently a note saying 'we need to talk' means something different on Asgard huh?"

"What's it mean on Earth?"

"Either you're being blackmailed or you're boyfriend is breaking up with you."

That got Thor's attention and I felt him shift. I opened my eyes and saw his neck was turned as he looked down at me. "You thought I was going to break up with you?"

"Yeah."

"Whoops." He gave an uneasy chuckle. "I was in meetings all day and wanted to make sure we had a chance to talk. I didn't think-." A shrill ring sounded and Thor's smile vanished. "Damn it," he grumbled, reaching into the pocket of his slacks.

"Something wrong?" I asked, mind flashing to Jotun instantly.

"Some people are just idiots," Thor said, as he held out a silver disc, runes flashing blue like a stoplight. He looked at it a moment more before his long fingers closed around it and the next smile he gave me was tense. "I have to run back to a meeting, something came up." He stood up and grabbed his suit jacket, tugging it on with a grimace. "It shouldn't take more than an hour, maybe two tops."

"Here let me," I offered, hopping off the table's edge.

"You know how to tie a tie?"

"Uncle Enemi can't figure it out," I replied as I twisted the blue-striped silk into a French knot. "Mom and I always had to help him." My fingers brushed lightly against his throat as I secured the knot and a jolt like electricity traveled down my hand and shot through my entire arm.

"Thanks," Thor muttered as the disc flashed again, brighter than before. "I'm so sorry," he sighed, "I wasn't planning to bail on you-."

"Hey," I cut him off, placing one hand on his chest and I felt his heart skip underneath my palm. "It's okay. Apparently whoever calling needs you way more than I do right now." Smiling, I stood on my toes and kissed him. "Just go do your job and when you're done, you can come and tell me all about it."

The veins in Thor's neck softened just a little. "You're awesome, you know that right?" He leaned into me then and another jolt ran through me as our lips touched again. The smell of ozone filled my nose and as his warm hands pressed against my back, I wondered if his magic was at work. Perhaps that was the reason for the electricity I was feeling now as I let myself melt into him.

"I really should go," Thor whispered as our lips broke apart though our hold on each other didn't. "They're going to wonder why I'm taking so long."

 "Rude to keep people waiting," I remarked but I didn't step back and he didn't let go.

"Yeah, it is." He kissed me again and another shock ran through my entire body. "So," his forehead pressed against mine. "You have any dinner plans tonight?"

"No, did you have something in mind?"

"I'm supposed to have dinner with my parents tonight and I'd like  you to come."

"Yes." The word came out before I had any real time to think about it but Thor's smile and the way his eyes sparkled with it stopped me from being able to say anything else.

"Great, I'll pick you up at six." He kissed me again and even my slightly dazed state I could still feel the sparks flying between us. "And wear something a little dressy, Mom loves an excuse to dress up."

"Will do," I managed as I felt his arms fade away as he teleported out of the room. As soon as he was gone, I groped for the table's edge to support myself and my shaking legs. "Holy shit," I said aloud as I realized what had just happened. "I gotta find Sif," I mumbled to myself as I walked towards the door as my mind was kicked into overdrive.

I was going to meet Thor's parents tonight. I'd thought he'd asked me to the grand hall to break up with me and here he'd asked me to meet his parents. The unexpectedness of it was one of the things that helped me put one foot in front of the other until I found myself at the door I wanted.

I knocked twice, the staccato tempo matching my heart beat for beat. 

"I'm coming! Jeez!" Sif's exasperated voice sounded from behind the door and a second later it was open. "Suzume? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"You have you angry face on."

"This is just my-oh forget it," I pushed past Sif into her little studio apartment and flopped onto the edge of her bed. "I'm having dinner with Thor and his parents," I blurted, pinching the bridge of my nose as the words rushed out like a river. "Tonight in fact, he's picking me up at six and that's five hours from now and I do not know the difference between a salad fork or a meat fork or whether or not the napkin goes into my lap-!"

"Suzume," Sif clasped my shaking hands between hers. I hadn't even noticed they were shaking. "Calm down. I hated my time as queen, but I know plenty about fine dining and even more about Odin and Freya. I'll help you, now first thing we need is whisky."

For the second time today, I found myself surprised. "Why do we need whisky?"

"Because you need a drink. Then I'll teach you how to tell your forks apart."

***

Five hours later, I was reciting the rules for fine dining as Sif zipped me into my only cocktail dress. On the two occasions I'd worn it prior, I'd felt confident in it. Now I couldn't stop fighting against the hem as I tried in vain to make it go past my knees.

"Stop fidgeting," Sif scolded as I tugged at the hem. "You're gonna look like a fool if you do that in front of Freya! She hates fidgeting."

"You don't think it's too short?" I asked anxiously as I tugged at the cobalt fabric again.

"It's a normal length skirt, you're just freaking out too much."

"Of course I am! I'm meeting Thor's parents in five minutes!"

"More like ten, Odin likes to be fashionably late." Sif grinned at me but the stony expression she saw in the mirror made it vanish. "Seriously, you've already met Freya, stop freaking out."

"I met her as the Queen of Asgard, not as Thor's mother." I tore my eyes away from my reflection, knowing I'd keep fidgeting with the hem of my dress. It had been a Christmas gift from Yuki the last year and I'd worn it a few weeks later on New Year's Eve. It seemed shorter now than it did then and I doubted a mother who doubled as a regal queen would approve.

"Suzume that dress makes your legs look hot, Thor will love it and his parents will definitely like you even if they don't care for your outfit choices."

"Why would they like me?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my bed and resisting the urge to tug at my dress again. Our return to my apartment had been brief and now as the time ticked down to six o'clock I wished I had more time to sulk there in my little home. "I wasn't even their pick for the trials."

"They're not just going to like you, they're gonna love you," She said as flopped onto my bed and kicked off her boots.

"You really think so?" Her blase attitude didn't offer much comfort to me now

"Yeah once you get past your resting bitch face you're really lovable." Sif rolled up to a sitting position. "Look, you might not have been their first choice but that doesn't mean you're not a good one. When they see how happy Thor is with you, that's going to be more than enough."

That was far more reassuring than her blase attitude. "Thanks," I smiled. "I needed that."

"What are friends for?" She laid back onto the bed and shoved a pillow behind her head.

"Getting comfy aren't you?"

"Yep," she chirped as she rolled onto her side. "Now go impress your boyfriend's parents and wake me up for details afterwards. Go!" She punctuated her command with a yawn and I rolled my eyes even as I tossed a blanket over her.

"Don't droll on my pillows," I muttered as I walked out, decidedly avoiding the mirror lest I start fighting with the hem of my dress again. I already knew Freya preferred Camila over me and I didn't want to give her more reasons to feel she was right in her choice.

Inhaling through my nose, I rolled my shoulders back and I had no sooner shut the door that I felt someone brush up behind me and the smell of ozone filled my nose. "Hey stranger."

I couldn't stop my smile as I turned around. As per usual, Thor cut a very nice figure in a charcoal grey suit and white button down. "Hey," I took a step towards him even as he pulled me towards him so we were chest to chest. "You look good."

"Trust me," Thor chuckled. "No one will be looking at me tonight."

My face flushed at the compliment and tugged at a lock of my hair. I'd left it down tonight, hoping it would help soften my resting bitch face. "Glad you approve."

"Come on," he laced his fingers through mine. "They're waiting."

I was thankful I'd worn my bracelet as the world rushed away in a flash of magic and within a moment, I was standing back at the doors to the grand hall. "Could've just walked," I murmured as I adjusted my hair again. Teleporting always messed it up.

"Where's the fun in that?" Thor teased as he raised my hand and brushed a kiss over my fingers. "You ready?"

"As I'll ever be," I replied, "let's do this."

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

New chapter! I'm sorry for the delay in updates but I promise now that there won't be any? How can I promise that? Pre-writing!  I have the rest of the chapters done and now they just need to be posted. From this point on, I'll be posting one chapter per week until the book is done!

Are you guys as excited as I am? I don't think that's possible 'cuz I'm pretty excited! 

Write on! :)

P.S.

I hope those who celebrate had a wonderful Christmas! And those who celebrated something else? Well I hope that was great too!