It was summer when Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three returned to Asgard. They had spent much of the spring season out in the wilds on a hunt. As Thor entered the gates of the palace, the wind tangling his golden locks, he wished for the thousandth time he had been born a simple hunter, instead of heir to the realm. Even surrounded by his best friends, laughing, he longed for a different life.

It hadn't been so bad growing up, but now Odin was putting pressure on him to be more responsible. His father kept telling Thor that he shouldn't spend so much time hunting and fighting that he should be more like his brother, Loki, learning how to rule and give measured council. Politics, god Thor hated politics. Part of the problem was that he had, as Loki liked to remind him, a stellar inability to hide his emotions. Personally, Thor was of the mind that Loki hid too many of his emotions. Thor's younger brother had always been a dark-haired mystery to him.

Hugin and Munin, his father's ravens, croaked overhead snapping Thor from his reverie. Beside him, Fandral and Volstagg were laughing uproariously at what was surely a vulgar joke, if Fandral's hand gestures were anything to go by. Sif and Hogun strode silently, stoic as ever. Odin had called Thor back for the council that was to be held, it was to formally introduce Thor and Loki to the ambassadors from other realms that they would be dealing with when Odin stepped down. Thor wondered if it were possible to strike up some sort of deal with his brother whereby Thor could get the fighting wars, partying hard, royal hunting parties parts of being king and Loki could deal with the boring stuff: councils, balls, visiting dignitaries and the like. Somehow, he doubted Loki would go for it. Loki would see through such a scheme far too easily. Thor sucked at subterfuge.

The rest of the walk to the palace was a blur, Thor's mind was too busy frantically trying to remember the names of the ambassadors he had met before. Norns, why were there so damn many of them. Maybe it would be easier just to conquer the other nine realms and enslave their races, just to avoid this whole damn ambassador business altogether.

Barging into the Great Hall, Thor was momentarily surprised to note that at some point, his friends had left him. So he was alone, glaring dumbly at the likeness of himself immortalized in the royal tapestry when the sound of flirtatious laughter reached his ears. It grated his nerves, but he was drawn in its direction for there was something odd about. The trill lead him down one of the far corridors towards one of the many sitting rooms. The laughter continued, punctuated with a deeper rumbling with words Thor couldn't quite make out. There was something disturbingly familiar about that giggling, though he was certain it'd been a long time since he heard it.

Thor pushed aside the brocade covering to the sitting room and his eyes nearly fell right out of his head in shock. At the farthest corner of the room, sitting all too close in Thor's opinion, were Loki and a handsome-looking blond stranger in Vanaheim garb. They appeared to be chatting and laughing amicably. Loki rarely smiled like that, it seemed more genuine with less of a smirk to it. What in the nine realms was Loki wearing? It was more like woman's robe of deep green and it was nearly falling off his left shoulder. What had the stranger said that was so funny? It took Thor a while to realize that Loki and the stranger had stopped their conversation to stare at him, he was too occupied working out that this stranger must be one of the visiting ambassadors. Visiting ambassador or no there was no excuse for the presence of the stranger's hand on his brothers lap, just above his knee.

Loki cleared his throat loudly. His green eyes were looking at Thor expectantly. He seemed curious and annoyed.

Thor was feeling annoyed himself, though he couldn't quite work out why. It was none of his business what his brother did. Every ambassador Loki entertained was one less he had to concern himself about. By rights, Thor should be pleased with the situation. Besides Loki was grown and no maiden to need protecting. They were just talking after all, no harm in that.

Thor didn't know what to say. The silence was roaring in his ears. "Where's father?" he asked gruffly.

"Hello to you too brother," Loki said, his smile was hard and teeth clenched. "Why Loki how has your summer been? It's been quite delightful Thor, I enjoyed the fact that you weren't around blundering in to places you didn't belong. So kind of you for asking."

"Enough, brother. Where's father?"

The stranger next to Loki moved his hand to Loki's shoulder, but Loki brushed it off, nearly taking the sleeve of his robe with it. He hastily pulled it back up and continued to glower at Thor before hissing, "I don't know brother. I'm not his keeper. Do you see him here?"

Thor growled in frustration and pushed past them to the exit at the end of the room. His foot nearly caught a vase in his haste to be out of there. He could hear the stranger speaking softly to Loki behind him. He didn't wait to hear his brother's response.

As it was Thor decided he was in no mood to greet his parents directly. He made his way down the hall in the direction of his own chambers. He would look for his parents at dinner after he'd had a bath to calm himself. Something about Loki always got under his skin. Lately, before he'd left it had taken very little to set them at each other's throats. He recalled when they were small things had been different. Despite their differences they'd been best friends and his brother had been his confidant and oft-time partner in crime. Loki's talent at bending the truth was perfect to help get Thor out of trouble. Even when they were adolescents they'd still been pretty close, in spite of Loki's dislike of the Warriors Three and Sif.

Thor wondered if it was this competition over who would be chosen heir that had driven this wedge between them. Though he supposed if he considered it more carefully that it had been his brother that had suddenly turned away. Without warning Loki had just turned cold towards Thor and gradually withdrawn. What had been minor disagreements blew up into raging arguments. It seemed to distress Frigga more than Odin. Thor's father always seemed to know more than he was telling. Thor would like to ask him more about this Vanaheim interloper that had been hanging all over Loki, making him laugh. And he wanted to know whether there was more to this council than just introducing them to the ambassadors.