You're Not a Horse, Harry!

Number 5

Number 5

Dinner at Avengers Tower was always a loud, raucous affair. Not everyone joined the others at the dining table every day. People went on missions, and dates with friends or lovers, and from time to time everyone needed a quiet dinner in their own rooms to relax. But everyday there were at least some Avengers and support staff to come together for the evening meal and Harry usually sat down with them to eat.

That evening, Harry was seated between his mother, who took helicopter parenting to a whole other, potentially lethal level, and Bucky, who had apparently decided that Harry was the only other person in the tower besides Steve that he actually liked.

Harry’s father was seated across from them, regaling a bemused Steve with an animated account of one battle or another.

“How are you settling in, Harry?” Bruce asked from the head of the table. He always got to sit there, claiming that having to bump elbows with others stressed him out too much.

“All right,” Harry said with a casual shrug. He actually wasn’t quite sure how he was doing these days. So much had happened, so much had changed, that it was difficult to comprehend it all. Mostly, Harry just went with it and let everything happen around him.

Bruce nodded with a sympathetic smile. “It must be difficult, not just suddenly having parents, but suddenly being royalty as well.”

Harry’s eyes widened and he froze in place. Holy fuck. He had not considered that, not even in the slightest.

“Yes,” his father said in a voice full of pride. “Haraldr is my firstborn child. I am the heir to the throne of Asgard, and Haraldr is my heir.”

Harry still couldn’t move and he felt his mother’s hand gently squeeze his thigh under the table.

“Thor,” Loki said while giving Thor an exasperated look full of centuries worth of frustration at Thor’s inability to be subtle. “Perhaps we should discuss this with Haraldr in private before announcing it to the world.” Both his parents had taken to calling Harry by the name Loki had apparently given him right after birth. After a brief period of adjustment, Harry didn’t mind it, even kind of liked it. Everyone else still called him Harry, though, as he preferred it. He was happy to let Haraldr be the name only his parents used for him.

Thor looked at Loki in sheer confusion.

Leaning forward and offering Thor his most intense stare, Loki said through gritted teeth. “Haraldr might not even wish to rule, brother. He was not raised like you and I.”

Thor waved a dismissive hand around. “Of course he will rule. He is our child, Loki. One day he will make a fine king.”

Harry could barely breathe. Now he wasn’t just the Boy Who Lived and saviour of the wizarding world, no, now he was also suddenly the future king of an alien world somewhere in deep space. How was he ever supposed to deal with that?

Beside him, Bucky picked up a warm bread roll and silently handed it to Harry.