Mercy: Thanks for the review! Definitely made my day!

Gets writers block. Ends up mixing Marvel lore with Norse mythology more

Also, the chapter title has no particular meaning. I just had no ideas for what to call this chapter.

"Why?"

Ullr stood on the other side of the barrier, glaring at Loki with a cold steel gaze in his eyes, "You, a monster of winter, do not deserve the throne," He said with bitterness in his tone, "I am the stepson of Thor. You aren't even an illegitimate son of Odin or any of his sons. You are a monster, left to die in the wasteland of a frozen world for being weak. Your only family is monsters. No one loves you. I deserve the throne, not you!"

Loki flinched slightly at Ullr's words. Ullr's words rang truth then Loki remembered what Damian had said months ago, "I am no monster Ullr and if no one loved me how am I standing here instead of set off on a boat, dead?" Loki questioned, "Odin's words were very clear on who would become king. Whosoever is worthy to be king, if he can rule with wisdom and love, Shall have their full power and the power of the king." Loki recited, "I proved that I was worthy to be king over Vidar, the heir before you, because of my sacrifice out of love."

Ullr laughed, "God of lies, you have been fooled. No one could love a foul creature such as you," Ullr waved his hand. It seemed he still had some minor control over the powers of winter because he caused Loki's Jotun form to show, "Do not forget that you are a monster of winter."

A growl rose to Loki's throat then he turned on his heels and marched out of the dungeons. His Jotun form faded away as he left the dungeons. The guards he passed were slightly frightened but were careful. Loki began to return to his room when one of the healers stopped him.

"My king," The young woman spoke up with a slight curtsey, "Lord Damian has awoken and is demanding to see you. If you would please follow me and do hurry," She requested, "Lady Eir does not wish that he move but he is very adamant about seeing you."

Loki's heart raced slightly and he was over joyed to learn that Damian was awake, "Of course. Thank you for notifying me," He said, with a nod of thanks before quickly following after her to the room the healers had Damian in. He nodded in thanks when he let her in.

Eir looked up when Loki came in and sighed in relief, "Good. You're here," She handed him a potion bottle, "Maybe you can get him to drink this. He'll get drowsy but it will help him restore his energy," She explained.

Loki carefully held the bottle, "Thank you Eir," He smiled softly to her. He moved around her and walked over to where Damian was sitting up in the bed in the room. He sat on the edge of Damian's bed, "Hello my love. I heard you've been causing trouble for Eir and the other healers. Perhaps you can drink this to repay them," He chuckled, handing the potion bottle to Damian.

Damian took the bottle and glared at it for a moment before downing the contents with a grimace, "I was only causing trouble because I didn't know where you were or if you were okay," He mumbled, shaking his head a bit, trying to get rid of the taste in his mouth that had been left by the potion. He moved a bit so he was sitting next to Loki and rested his head on Loki's shoulder, "But it seems you're perfectly okay."

"Indeed, I am fine," Loki smiled, stroking Damian's soft, black hair, "I'm just a bit tired, that is all. We've all been terribly worried about you. You were unconscious for a couple days," Loki chose not to go into too much detail surrounding everything that had happened. If Damian wanted to know more then he would answer any questions.

"I'm tired for having been out for a couple days," Damian laughed tiredly. He nuzzled a little bit, "Did they catch whoever fired that arrow?" He asked. He wanted to know if they were safe or if there was still danger lurking around.

"The Valkyrie caught him," Loki answered, "It was Ullr, god of archery and skiing. You are lucky that for once his arrow did not hit its mark," He glanced at Damian's shoulder, remembering the arrow that had been imbedded in it just a couple days ago.

"You're the one who is lucky that I have such good hearing," Damian yawned, "Why must I be so tired? I only wish to spend time with you and yet it seems that my body has other ideas," He mumbled, burying his head in Loki's shoulder.

"Sleep my love," Loki went back to stroking Damian's hair. He soothingly coaxed Damian to sleep, smiling when Damian did fall asleep. Loki looked over to where Eir was taking care of a few things, "Eir? May I take him to my rooms? He would be much more comfortable there and my children will want to see him."

Eir smiled, looking over at Loki and Damian, "You may. Just make sure he gets plenty of rest and I will have any potions he needs to take delivered to your room," She replied. She remembered when Loki would bring injured birds to her when he was a child, and now seeing Loki all grown up with his soulmate was touching. Despite what others thought, Loki had a good heart.

Loki smiled and nodded in thanks. He carefully picked Damian up and held him close as he walked to his rooms. His children all perked up when he walked in, including Hela who was now awake, but he gestured for them to remain quiet, "He is sleeping for now, but he was awake for a little while not too long ago," Loki said to his children as he set Damian down on his bed.

Vali padded over to the bed before returning to his human form and sitting down on one of the nearby chairs, "So he's okay?" He asked, tilting his head to the side slightly as he looked at Loki while asking his question. Then he looked down at Damian, "I hope he's okay."

Loki placed a hand on Vali's shoulder, "He is fine. Simply recovering. Think of it like a cold," Loki ruffled Vali's hair a bit, "I suggest any of you that haven't gotten any sleep recently get some. I can have the servants bring more blankets if they are needed."

"You are going to get some sleep, right father?" Hela asked, leaning on Jormungandr a bit. While she was well rested, she was slightly dizzy from a migraine. This was what happened when she used her powers for too long. But in her mind it was worth it.

"Yes. I think I can sleep peacefully now in good knowledge that Damian's okay," Loki smiled softly and looked down at Damian. He brushed some of Damian's hair out of his face with a ginger touch. He got distracted for a moment, just watching Damian sleep.

Hela did a bit of herding with her siblings and one by one got Sleipnir, Fenrir, and Vali to get some sleep, letting Loki focus on himself and Damian. Once those three of her siblings were asleep Hela and Jormungandr went out for a walk, leaving Loki in a quiet room with a sleeping soulmate and sleeping children.

Loki smiled, grateful for Hela's help. Convinced that now he could finally sleep in peace, Loki lay next to Damian. For a moment, Loki just played with Damian's hair, lost in thought. Then with a gentle smile he closed his eyes and allowed himself to fall asleep.

When Loki woke up he discovered he was pinned down because Damian was sleeping, sprawled out, on top of him. He smiled and messed with Damian's hair a bit. He just adored Damian's tousled black hair. It was also always so soft.

Damian shifted in his sleep and grumbled a little. Slowly he opened his eyes, blinking so he could adjust to the sunlight pouring in from the window. He turned his head slightly to look at Loki and smiled softly, "What a handsome face to wake up to," He commented.

Loki chuckled, "Well, someone seems to have woken up happy," He smiled and kissed Damian's forehead, "How are you my love? Hungry I assume," He knew Damian technically wouldn't have eaten in around three days now.

"Absolutely famished. And I for one know that there is a feast hall that is probably serving an absolutely delectable breakfast right now," Damian said, using his hands to push himself up so he was looking down at Loki. He smirked and kissed Loki's nose before rolling out of bed.

Loki laughed softly and sat up. He watched for a minute as Damian changed clothes into something more casual, by Asgardian standards. After a couple moments he got up and got changed. Admittedly he hadn't changed since the coronation.

Damian glanced at Loki and he pulled on a shirt and smiled happily. He went over to Loki and kissed his cheek as Loki finished getting changed. Then Damian took Loki's hand and pulled him out of the room, going in search of breakfast.

Loki smiled and let Damian pull him to the feast hall. Just like Damian had predicted there was breakfast laid out on several tables. He sat down with Damian at one of the tables and watched as Damian dove into the various breakfast breads and meats. He only had a small bowl of fruit though. He didn't eat much on average but it seemed that Damian hadn't noticed that yet. Which was admittedly a good thing in Loki's opinion. Damian didn't need to know.

After a little while Thor, the warriors three, and Sif joined the two of them for breakfast. Damian was quiet and letting those five chat, sometimes with Loki. But Damian was picking up on subtle hints in what they said directed at him, mostly coming from Sif and a little bit from the other warriors three. He could tell that they were trying to pull him away from Loki. And that was not something he was going to stand for.

Damian stood up and straightened his shirt a bit, "I think now would be a good time for Loki and I to take our leave," He said emotionlessly, "Before I get the desire to kill someone," Damian glared, his glare mostly directed at Sif.

Loki stood up, confused as to why Damian would suddenly be defensive. And yes, this was how Damian got defensive. Loki took Damian's hand, as a way to tell him not to attack anyone, but was then pulled out of the feast hall by Damian, who was still rather upset, "Damian, are you okay?" Loki asked once the two of them were in the hallway and away from the feast hall.

"No," Damian huffed, slowing his pace as he walked towards their room. He let go of Loki's hand and crossed his arms. He had his gaze focused mostly on the floor. He just couldn't understand why those four would try and get him away from Loki in terms of their relationship.

Loki stepped in front of Damian, stopping him, and put his hands on his love's shoulders, "Talk to me," He said, "Please tell me what's wrong?" He wanted to know what had Damian so upset. Of course he was worried. There was a number of things that could've gotten Damian ticked off.

Damian looked up to look at Loki, "its Thor's, friends," Damian said friends with a hiss of disgust, "I heard what they were saying. I know what they were, are, trying to do," He huffed, keeping his arms crossed.

"And what might it be that they were trying to do?" Loki questioned, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Damian. He knew Damian was skilled at picking up small details so perhaps there was something that Damian picked up on that he hadn't.

Damian tried not getting too angry, "They were trying to ruin our relationship. The things they were saying. It was like they wanted me to become their and Thor's friend and forget all about you. They weren't being straight forward about it, but there were little things in what they said. It was so irritating! Why would they try and do that? Do they not realize our love is pure and unbreakable, or that we're soulmates?"

Loki hugged Damian. He knew Damian was very loyal, and that was why at times he got defensive or protective. Loki sighed a bit, "I don't know why they would be doing something like that," Loki started, "But I do know that you would never leave me. And I would never leave you. So we have nothing to worry about. I love you."

Damian buried his head in Loki's shoulder and hugged Loki back, "I love you too," His voice slightly muffled because he talked into Loki's shoulder. He knew that Loki was right. He smiled faintly and after a moment let go of Loki, "Let's go find your children, then we can spend time together as a family," He suggested.

Loki smiled softly, "I think that is a wonderful idea," He agreed. He brushed some of Damian's black hair away from his face before kissing him softly. He knew they would always be there for each other. It was really no wonder why the norns chose them to be soulmates.