Working Title : Loki & Annie

Chapter Twenty-Nine - Sweet Success

Annie had everything plated up. A couple pancakes for herself, some of the eggs and a couple pieces of bacon. She told Thor to grab everything else except for one small pancake, a spoonful of egg and a single piece of bacon. These she saved out for Loki and was making a plate for him as she was also keeping an eye on Thor. He had filled his plate and gone to sit with Loki on the couch.

Annie had brought out her tray and now had the small plate on it. The eggs were there and both the bacon and pancake had been cut into tiny bite-sized pieces. Grabbing it along with a bottle of maple syrup she headed over to the couch where Thor was waiting with a smile.

"Ah yes, the syrup!" Thor spoke to Loki. "You'll love it, Brother! It is like the sweetest honey."

Annie picked up the bowl of Cheerios, noticing that there were still eight and set the tray on Loki's lap. There was a slight squeak as he inhaled quickly and drew his hands back. She set the bowl on the tray next to the plate then sat down on the edge of the couch so she could lean down and forward slightly while resting her arms on her legs.

"So this is breakfast." Annie pointed as she spoke. "These are scrambled eggs. This is bacon. And these are pancakes." She opened and poured a little syrup on a few of the pieces. "I'm putting the syrup on a couple so you can try those and see if you like them with syrup or plain."

She handed the bottle to Thor who had his hand outstretched. Thor spoke knowingly, "You will prefer the syrup. It is just the sweetness you like."

Annie raised her eyebrows at the amount of syrup Thor was using and made a mental note to add the industrial size of syrup to her grocery list.  "Looks like he's not the only one who likes sweetness."

Thor didn't look the smallest bit embarrassed, forking in a mouthful he nodded. "These are most delicious."

"That's because you helped make them, food always tastes better if you make it yourself." Annie fixed her own pancakes then sat back. She ate while keeping an eye on Loki, she wanted to know if he would be tempted into at least tasting the syrup. She knew the smell alone should be tempting him.

Thor didn't answer more than nodding and making a noise of an agreement, his mouth was full again. When he had swallowed he said, "I will have to agree with you. I always thought that the food we cooked on our hunts was better than that served in the palace. But then it was always eaten at the end of a long day with good company, over a fire while telling stories full of boasts and half truths while drinking too much ale."

Annie watched Thor's face, he was remembering the highlights of his life, the best parts. "So is that the majority of your life? Hunting, drinking and telling stories?"

Thor's eyes glanced at Loki then bounced up to meet Annie's, his smile slipped only slightly but he kept it on his face. "No, not all the days. Right now there is much to be done in the other realms, there has been unrest in the last several years and it has required-" Thor looked down at his plate and pushed his food around. "It has required my attention." He looked up with a smile that seemed more forced, "Prior to that we had more time for hunts and feasts however we had official duties to fill our time. To prepare us for our future roles, I as king and Loki as my advisor."

Thor couldn't help himself. He stretched out his hand and rested it on Loki's shoulder while lowering his head to try to look into his face. "It was not so bad, was it Brother?" He shook him gently before running the hand through the spiky hair a few times. "I could not have been king without you at my side." Thor lowered his hand and picked up his fork. He spoke quietly. "I do not wish to be."

Well hell. Great job, Annie. Another topic that turns into a Debbie Downer. How the heck am I supposed to know what's going to lead to depression and guilt? Think of something else! Something that can't possibly be dangerous. Think think think.