Epilogue
It'd been three months since Thor and Elle had met, and they still couldn't go a day without putting their hands all over each other. She was glad their bed was right above Thor's shop; it made it convenient… though they’d broken in almost every surface of his property. Including one of his bikes.
He'd helped convince Elle to start making jewelry, so they'd turned the backroom from a sparring room into a shop for her to work in.
She hardly believed she owned her own business.
She'd named it If the Ring Fits, proud of her own cleverness.
Thor had taken her down to the jewelry district of Los Angeles, where she had sold her largest ruby to purchase many smaller uncut stones and gold to make her creations.
And to her surprise, though she hadn't been open that long, and she hadn't finished many pieces to stock the shop, she'd had dozens of custom orders come in from Thor's family.
At first, she'd thought they were being kind, but then she'd started getting orders from patrons and employees of both the Raven Weaver and Valhalla's Throne.
She finished setting a pink sapphire into a platinum setting when her loud rock music shut off.
Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr complained from their pen, and Elle turned from her workbench to find Thor walking toward her.
"Time to get ready."
She set the ring in a velvet box to finish later. "The food needs to go in the warmer."
"Done."
"Did you turn it on?"
"Like you showed me."
"What about the cake? Did you take it from the fridge so I can frost it?"
"Sitting on the counter next to your frosting and cake knives."
"And the wine-"
"Chilled and ready to go. The only thing you need to do is whatever you need to."
Elle went through her list in her mind to make sure she was ready to host her first family dinner.
"Do you think I made enough meat?" she asked.
Thor wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek.
"Elle. You have been taking cooking lessons with my father for two months.
You took baking lessons from Melli for three months.
All to make this one meal. You had the table set a week ago.
Everything is ready. And remember, it's our family. It doesn't have to be perfect."
"But I want it to be perfect. It's the first time I've hosted a family dinner."
"And that's why no matter what you do, everyone will love it. Because they love you, and they want you to be happy. Except for maybe Fenrir, he doesn't care what anyone thinks about anything."
Thor kissed her head and swatted her on the rear. "Go put on that sexy new dress my mother made."
Her heart pattered thinking about the dress. "It really is beautiful."
"It should be, it's like your jewelry, one of a kind. Now go, before I have to come up and help you shower." He winked at her.
"If you did that, dinner would be late."
"We could always reschedule for tomorrow."
She pushed away from him. "No. I've done too much work."
"Then you'd better hurry, they'll be here in thirty minutes."
"Thirty? I told you to tell me when I had an hour left." She rushed toward the door.
"I did," he called. "But you couldn't hear me over the music."
Elle shook her head and jogged to the winding metal stairs. She had to hurry.
Dinner around the Oseberg ship table had gone more beautifully than Elle imagined.
There had been enough food for everyone, and they'd all praised her new cooking skills.
As she brought out the delicate three-tier cake for everyone to enjoy, Thor got to his feet and tapped a fork against his wine glass.
A hush fell over the group.
"Thank you all for coming to our first family dinner. And a special thank you to Elle for all her hard work, not just in putting this together for us, but for putting up with us as well."
Several chuckles sounded around the table.
"And as Elle has now spent months putting up with me, I think I've convinced her to stick around." Thor set down his glass and walked to Elle.
He touched her cheek, and every inch of Elle's body warmed. He kissed her and lowered to one knee.
Elle's skin flushed.
He pulled a black velvet box from his pocket and held it out to her.
Elle's heart beat so fast she was sure she would pass out. Around the table, everyone from Odin and Frigg to Val and Heimdall smiled at her. The intimidating faces of Tyr, and Hel smiled in their own way. Even Fenrir appeared less hostile than normal.
Elle opened the box, and inside sat an intricately woven band of Celtic knots entwined with hearts. And at the center of each heart sat a brilliant red ruby.
Elle's chest squeezed.
"The work isn't as refined as what you are able to do, but I did make it myself. Of course, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr helped pick the stones from your stash."
Elle sniffled as tears flooded her eyes.
"I can buy you a different one if you don't-"
"I love it," she blurted.
"Is that a yes?"
"You still have time to say no and choose me," said Baldur.
"Sorry, Baldur," said Elle. "I chose Thor the first time I saw him."
Thor stood and pulled her into a hug, kissing her so passionately that it felt like the first time.
Everyone broke into cheers and clapped.
Odin stood as Thor put the ring on her finger.
"Congrats to Thor Odinson and Princess Sutrelle, daughter of Aelena, Priestess of Asgard."
Everyone raised their wine glasses. Thor kissed her again, and Elle grew so warm she was sure her hair would catch fire.
Loki and Val approached them. "Congratulations, cousin." Loki hugged Thor.
Val smiled in a way Elle hadn't seen her before. She kissed Elle's cheek. "I'm happy for you."
Elle squeezed Val's hand.
"Now," said Thor. "When are you two going to make it official?"
Val rolled her eyes. "When Hel lets Surtr out of prison."
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Would you like to make a wager?" asked Loki.
Val eyed him. "Why not?"
Loki's grin spread across his face. "Because I always win a bet."
Val threw him a brilliant smile. "Then losing will be a new experience for you."
Thor barked with laughter. "Oh, Cousin, you are in so much trouble with this one, and I can't tell you just how much I absolutely love that."