"You're a... what now?" Richard's gaze had moved on from the bird, mostly to better track what Eva (his new daughter-in-law) had said about his son. "God?" Richard added and could feel his face tighten into his most confused expression. Clearly, he didn't deny the existence of Asgardians and aliens, given Earth's history lately and where he was standing... but he wasn't completely sold on the entire god complex.
If her husband's response had been confusion, Karen's was of concern. Her eyes focused on Nathaniel as though she'd just noticed something different about him and internally she cursed herself for not noticing it sooner. Yet, in reality, there was nothing. Besides looking happier and a bit fuller in the cheeks, Nate didn't look or feel any differently. "I'm sorry," Karen said to Eva with all the respect she could muster. "But what does that mean, King of Hell and God of Darkness?" she asked with hesitation in her voice.
Nathaniel screamed... within his mind and only his widening eyes betrayed his lack of cool. To be clear, he was happy everything was out in the open, but he knew of the two pills to swallow, the ruler of Helheim would be the more difficult. Marriage, even plural, to Eva came with... Eva. The glorious woman beside him. And the other was a much more abstract concept that came with... death. "A god, dad," that was weird to say. "Or at least, I passed a certain number of trials and was granted powers alongside the Asgardians. You don't have to call me a god," he made it clear to his father. "And it's Helheim," he corrected his mother. "A kingdom like Asgard, which I helped liberate. And yes, it's the afterlife," technically.
"Hell?" Karen interjected again.
"No," Nate countered quickly. "Anybody who doesn't die bravely in battle goes there, to Helheim. It's not full of bad people," he explained.
"But it's for dead people, is that why we can't go there?" Karen wondered, mostly aloud.
"Yes, until you die," Nathaniel said rather bluntly.
"Huh," Richard added and rubbed his scruffed chin with his open palm. "All those times I told you to go to hell... you finally listened," he said with a smile, which earned him a smack on the shoulder from his wife. Worth it.
"It's not hell," Nate corrected, then smirked. "But yes. I also found a girl." Another common utterance his father had yelled toward him - since his divorce.
"Good," Richard confirmed, then glanced toward Eva. "You think peacocks would like Iowa?" he asked with a renewed smile on his lips.
"I mean," Karen started, looking a bit flushed. "This is a lot," she added then pulled her son into a hug. "King, god, married," Karen mumbled into Nate's shoulder. "You could have put that into one of your letters."
"My letters were very informative," Nathaniel defended himself, quite seriously, while he supported his mother.
"Okay, mister," Karen's hug climbed from Nate to Eva, then she repositioned herself to be on Eva's arm. "Come on, dear," she told the queen and her newest daughter. "For that, I'm going to tell you all of Nathaniel's deepest, darkest secrets," she informed Eva, eyes still focused on Nate. "And you can introduce me to your lovely children. Now that they're family," Karen smiled toward Eva, a bit giddy.
"She knows them all," Nate called after his mother and wife, then glanced back to his father.
"You are so screwed," Richard told his son with a pat on the shoulder.