Author's note: Canon is borrowed from MCU and comics more so than mythology. Warnings for future cannibalism, mpreg, and canonical character death.

Laufey stood by his mother's side in one of Asgard's giant golden halls. On each side of the room was a giant statue of Bor's father. Today was a special day for the apprentice. His mother was attending a meeting with King Bor and King Thrymr. Today, he would be joining him. Laufey was expected to be quiet, attentive, and speak only when spoken to. Until the day he took his mother's place, he was only a spectator.

His mother stood tall beside kKng Thrymr. The king was large even for a Frost Giant, and Hefring proudly matched his height. Like all Jotnar, she wore only a loin cloth around a hips. A patch of leather hung over her flat chest that bore Thrymr's crest and her family's crest. Laufey wore an almost identical patch over his own chest, the only difference being that it lacked the king's crest.

King Thrymr towered over Laufey. The apprentice only came up to the man's abdomen. He hoped that soon, when he was finished with puberty, that he would be tall like his mother and rival the king. Sadly, the short height his father was said to have stood diminished that chance.

It had been mere hours since the Jotnar had arrived into the kingdom. Later they would sit in another room to speak, but for know they were standing in two group, one containing the blue folk and the other with the warm-bloods.

"Laufey."

The apprentice looked away the statue of the previous king. "Yes, King Bor?"

He gestured to one of the blond Aesir at the table in the middle of the room playing a game with twigs. He looked to be younger than Laufey, still not even close to getting facial hair like the warm-bloods around the Jotun's age did. The child was sitting next to another Asgardian just a bit older than Laufey. The older one had light hair down to his shoulders and a braid on each side of his head. He looked over at the Jotun, and Laufey found himself wanting to speak to him. For an Asgardian, he looked interesting. On the other side of him was yet another child, and this one seemed like he still had his first set of teeth.

"You will join us at court another day. For now, spend some time with my son Vili."

Laufey glanced over at Herfing. Today was supposed to be a special day for him; the idea of having to wait until the next meeting was dreadful. Much to his despair, she nodded in approval.

The oldest Asgardian of the group stood. "I can take him, Father."

On second thought, the change might not be so bad after all.

"Odin?" Bor asked. "Would you not rather stay?"

The Asgardian named Odin shook his head and walked over to Laufey. He came up to Laufey's waist, and for the twelfth time that day, Laufey found himself remembering how strange the height of warm-bloods was.

"I am closer to his age. It would make more sense for me to take him than Vili," Odin explained.

Bor took a moment to think over his answer, then nodded. The group of Aesir and Jotnar moved to the other room while Odin turned to face Laufey. He held out his hand, and Laufey shook it. His blue hand dwarfed the lighter one of Odin's, but the prince paid no attention. He acted like he too was a giant.

"I am Odin Borson, heir to Asgard."

"I am Laufey Hefringson, heir to the adviser of the king."

And when he inherited the title, he would lose his equivalent of a surname, and the remaining members of his family would become Laufeysons and Laufeydottirs.

Odin seemed to be a bit confused by this answer. He glanced over at Hefring with a curious expression but asked no questions. If Laufey focused, he could make out a few words of the Jotnar and Aesir's conversation. They were talking about trade, mostly the exchange of Jotunheim's rare metals for the gold and iron that it lacked. When he looked back over, Odin's eyes were still on him.

"Come. Let me show you the palace," Odin said.

Laufey nodded. "I have been wanting to see it."

With that, the prince slipped his grip a bit higher so he was holding Laufey's waist and led him out of the room and into a wide hall. It was big enough to store the Mountain Giants of legend. Once they were a good distance down the hall, Odin spoke up. Laufey had been too busy observing his surroundings to speak.

"I will take you to the feasting hall first. The cooks should still have some food from lunch they can serve us."

Laufey nodded. It was good to see the warm-blood was a decent enough host to offer food to his guest first. "A good plan. Now, Borson, there is a question I want to ask."

To be honest, there were a thousand questions Laufey wanted to ask. Asgard was so different than the home he had grown up in. Did the Aesir ever get too hot? Why did they have hair coming out of their head? How did they manage to get around despite being so small? How come they only bore the name of their father instead of the leader of the family? However, there would be time later for learning all the answers to all those questions. This was only his first trip outside of Jotunheim, and he was sure he would make hundreds of more, so today he would settle with only one question.

"Very well. Ask and I will answer if I can. In return, I want to ask a question of my own," Odin replied.

"Fair enough. Now, my question. Is it true that your kind stay with one lover your entire life?"

Odin stopped walking and turned to face his guest. Aesir walked on past them. Many would glance at the curious sight of their prince with a Jotun as they walked by.

"We do. When we come of age, we find someone we love and marry them. We love no one but the other person for the rest of our lives. Well, we try to. Are you telling me you do not do the same?" There was no judgment in his tone, for which Laufey is glad. The Borson had an open mind.

"We do not. We bed whoever we wish and marry only those we wish to have a family with. Most have a small number of spouses. We do not believe affection should be hoarded." Large families could quickly get difficult. Laufey could have went into more detail and explained how heat cycles and naming played a role in his society, but he decided to spare Odin the details.

"I see. What an interesting way to think of things." Odin resumed their walk. "And now for my question. Is it true your kind have no women?" Laufey laughed. He didn't laugh to mock Odin, but he laughed at how strange the question was. Odin raised an eyebrow. "Did I say something wrong? I don't mean to offend."

Laufey shook his head, still chuckling. "Nay, not at all." He placed his hand over chest. "The difference between sexes for us Jotnar is not as clear as it is for you Aesir. Both genders lack breasts." He saw another question form on Odin's lip, so he decided to answer it before he could ask we. "We suck on ice from deep within Jotunheim as babes. Anyway, the differences are small like having wider hips and eyes that are a bit more circular. Since your kind don't see mine often, I'm not surprised you get our sexes confused."

"I feel foolish now." Odin laughed to himself. "I thank you for telling me. That may have prevented several misunderstandings from happening in the future."

Finally they arrived in the kitchen. True to the prince's words, there were several plates of food left out. A few Aesir still remained sitting at one of the around hundred tables in the room. Odin sat down and motioned for Laufey to take the spot next to him. It did not take long for them to be served. The prince helped himself to some ale and wide variety of food, while Laufey stuck with water and some boar meat.

They talked as they ate, and Laufey caught the prince staring at him many times when the warm-blood thought he was distracted by something else. It made the apprentice smile. It seemed he wasn't the only one who thought his companion was attractive.

While they were in the middle of talking about a famous sorcerer in Alfheim, a large man stood up and grabbed the much shorter man sitting across from him by his shirt. Odin stopped in the middle of his sentence to watch the two.

"I swear! I will have your money to you soon!" The smaller man shouted. The larger being shook him, causing the other to yelp.

Laufey watched the confrontation with interest. In his opinion, it was shameful on both parties to be dealing with their personal business in public. He wanted to see how it would play out and wondered how his mother would respond to the event.

"You told me a month. It's been twice that, so I ask you, where is your payment?!" The larger man demanded.

Odin excused himself before crossing the room and placing his hand over the one on the man's shirt. The owner of said hand froze. Laufey was impressed.

"You know as well as I do, Erik, that the crops have come in late this year," Odin said. "There is nothing a farmer can do about that, and your threatening will do neither you nor Asgard any good. Wait, and you will have your money."

The man who was a good two heads taller than Odin sat back down. In that moment, the Borson seemed to be a giant despite his size. Laufey realized then that the Asgardian and his blood would go far and do many things.

He could see himself falling in love with the warm-blood.