Two years had passed since Loki came to live in the royal household of Asgard. Two years in which he had grown willowy, a little of the height of his father in him even if he was his runt, but he was still smaller than the powerful, muscled men who surround him – the guards, companions and advisors of Thor. Loki was still a youth, still only sixteen and he might yet grow stronger although he was forbidden to practise with weaponry. The old man, Odin, feared that Loki with a knife or sword in his hand would be a danger to his son. He knew little about the magic Loki practised under cover of darkness. Loki used his powers mostly to amuse Thor, to show him little parlour tricks that were a secret between the two of them but Loki was still learning, still honing his skills. Odin would have been horrified if he knew how powerful Loki really was but Loki was clever enough to hide that, to appear docile in Thor's company, completely in the Asgardian's control.

Loki was still Thor's favourite. Still his beloved thrall that he kept by his side but Loki was not contented in Asgard. There were things that worried him, one thing foremost. Thor had taken him as a lover many times, spilling inside him and they both knew that Loki's body was such that he could conceive from their coupling albeit unlikely. Loki was still a runt and Thor was still Asgardian. They were somewhat incompatible if nothing else.

Although Loki had heard stories about couplings such as theirs producing offspring, he was sure they were only stories. For him they were the stories of Princess or Princes kidnaped from their palaces of ice and forced to wed the barbarians from Asgard. Thor's childhood stories were much the same but it was Loki's people who were the savages and Thor's women who were taken. Always women in Asgardian legend and Loki found it odd that they had such distinctness between the two of them. In his homeland the genders were distorted. There was very little to tell the difference between the two, both could bear children and it was really only through outward presentation that they choose a gender to show.

Still he worried, any child conceived by he and Thor during their union would forfeit all rights to the royal line of Asgard because of Loki's bloodline. It should be the next in line to both his father's throne and Thor's, but because Loki was nothing more than a concubine in Thor's household then any child of his would suffer that same fate. He had fears his children would be taken from him, that they would be bought up to be artful little palace whores. They might be taught to be charming, taught to be pleasing but they would never know that they were heirs to the throne of the kingdom of Asgard. Sometimes Loki lay awake at night, wrapped up in Thor's arms, his chilled blood boiling in his veins as he imagined the injustice of it all.

It was an afterthought to the many other degradations that Loki endured daily, the many overt humiliations that followed him. The fact that there was hardly any likelihood of him conceiving meant he didn't often worry himself over a future that hadn't happened. Loki still had ambitions to leave Asgard, to not be Thor's kept pet but to be his equal in every conceivable way.

He could hardly achieve that if he spent his time worrying about what was not and never would be.

There were so many places in the palace that Loki was not allowed on his own. It had taken Thor a long time and more persuasive power than he usually had before the boy had been allowed into the library. The fear that there might be something in the books that Loki could turn to his advantage, that he could use against them had amused Thor. His father still acted as if Loki was a prisoner and not as if Asgard was his true home. Seeing Loki's delight in being able to read the books, being allowed a little privacy inside his own mind had been worth the arguments to Thor. He still had to post guards outside the door when Loki was reading and the youth was never truly on his own because he was watched at all times, but Thor still tried to give him something that resembled a normal life.

It was hard though and no matter how Thor tried there were some areas of his life in which Loki was not allowed to be his equal.

Loki was never allowed into the council chambers to hear discussions on war or the running of Asgard. Even if Thor promised to escort him, told his father that Loki was no threat to them, he was still not allowed to bring him into their meetings. Loki had to be locked in their shared room and Thor was forbidden from talking to him about what had been discussed. Loki was almost always angry after those times. Already Thor knew he would be met by scowls and cross words if Loki even bothered to speak to him at all.

None of it was Thor's idea but he could not refuse to attend matters of state due to Loki's sulking and he told himself that firmly even when he locked the boy away and all the way through his councils with his father and his father's advisers. It was only afterwards, on the long walk back to his chambers, that Thor was left to think about his duplicity in keeping Loki a captive.

Thor was already dreading the moment he unlocked his door. Although his little Loki had thawed to him over time, had come to care for him as Thor had always hoped he would it did not mean that Loki did not resent his life. Every time he was locked away like a caged bird – beautiful but trapped – it only served as a reminder of the freedoms he had lost and would most likely never regain in full. Thor wanted to give him everything but even he understood Loki would not be in his arms if he had a choice. There were some things he had had no control over either but when Loki was angry everyone was his enemy, even those who loved him most.

His footsteps sounded heavy, even to himself and Thor had no doubt that Loki was sitting in their room, glaring at the door, willing him to walk away because sometimes to Thor it seemed Loki preferred being angry with him than facing the fact that Thor was his ally and friend. More than a friend in truth. Loki had not left his bed since his first night in the kingdom and Thor tried most anything to make certain that Loki never left his side. He would not give Loki the satisfaction of remaining angry with him, not when Thor craved his company.

He stopped outside his bedroom door, drawing the key from his pocket and he unlocked it, taking a breath before pushing it open, expecting something to be thrown and aimed for his head. Loki was silent however, sat in a chair at the window, his knees tucked up under him. He did not turn his head to look at Thor and Thor could not help but wonder if ignoring him was Loki's new way of showing his displeasure at Thor.

He stepped behind the boy, laying his hands on his shoulders and Loki sighed, head bowed.

"Would you like to go outside?" Thor asked. His windows looked down upon the gardens. They had never been off-limits to Loki. Night was falling now and they were entering the cold months where no one else would find pleasure in the frosted ground but Thor knew that this time of year was when Loki was both most happy and most melancholy. He was reminded of his old home.

"Yes, I would." Loki said, tuning his head and Thor thought he could see tear tracks on the boy's face but they were faded and Loki could not have been crying for long. Thor frowned, even so, and bent to kiss them away.

Loki liked the gardens. He was allowed to run freely in them, barefooted and almost unclothed. He let his magic flow there, under Thor's watchful gaze, turning the ground to ice and snow beneath him, freezing the flowers, making it all a beautiful landscape of frozen blue. Thor followed him carefully, his heavy tread leaving marks in the snow that Loki had created. Everywhere through the garden it was easy to see where he had tracked his thrall but Loki was easy prey. He never moved too far from Thor's reach, never ran from him. Even if they were the only ones in the garden it didn't mean they were the only ones watching. Thor's father had eyes everywhere and while Loki might be able to amuse himself with little displays like this, anything which suggested he was not otherwise completely in Thor's power would have caused some sort of punishment.

This time Loki was like a deer, bounding over the snowy ground and Thor had to sprint to keep up with him and at last finally catch him. He didn't know how Loki could stand the cold he had created, how he could run in it wearing nothing but his nightshirt. Thor covered him with his body, pinning Loki against a tree and Loki's fingers rubbed against its bark, turning the leaves brown. They fluttered down to the ground around them, a patchwork of faded colours, leaving the branches bare above them.

"Let your father see." Loki whispered, sliding his arms around Thor's neck and Thor has glad that Loki had never used his clever fingers to turn him to ice the way he was obviously capable of. "I know he will have spies watching us, Thor. Let him see how well you love me still."

Thor hid his smile, bending his head to nip at Loki's throat. Loki it seemed was always aware of his position as Thor's bed-warmer, of the need for the two of them to be together physically as well as in each other's company and Thor did not mind that so much. While he hoped privately that his father had never seen him and Loki lay together, he knew others within the palace had and he knew they would have reported back to his father.

Thor tugged at Loki's clothes, pulling the thin shirt off the boy, revealing Loki's naked form to him. Loki was still as beautiful as the first time Thor had seen him, even more so now that he was growing up. Loki was growing tall, like all his race although he would still be considered small in comparison to them. His dark hair had grown long, curling around his shoulders and he was beginning to carry the traits of the man he would one day be. He was still a youth now, still covered in an innocence that bellied all he and Thor had done together. Thor was utterly beguiled by him and everything about him.

The first time they had lain together Thor had been unable to take him the way he fully wanted but Loki had grown. Thor had been gentle with him. He'd trained Loki, working him open a finger at a time until Loki could take four of his fingers at once. He'd not done more than that for a while, letting Loki grow used to feeling of being filled, letting him grow used to something moving inside him. Within a few weeks Loki was begging for more, begging for Thor's cock in him and Thor had been only too willing to move them towards that joining. Loki was still so small and Thor marvelled even now at how Loki took his cock inside him, how willingly he opened to him.

Even now in the frozen wasteland of the garden Loki spread his legs willingly. Thor picked him up carefully, bracing him against the tree and struggled with the bounds on his trousers, pulling his cock free. Loki waved his fingers in the air, a momentary flicker of light sliding between them and then Thor was able to push himself inside Loki, the boy already stretched and wet through his magic. He dragged Loki down, hands cradling his hips and Loki groaned, tipping his head back.

He reached between them, fingers stroking over the base of Thor's cock and Thor grunted, shoving forward to press himself even deeper into Loki.

"Always hard for me, aren't you?" Loki teased. Thor pulled back a little to see that for all his goading, all his begging for Thor, Loki was not hard himself. He stopped his thrusts and Loki grumbled softly, reaching up to tug at his hair. "Don't stop. Why have you stopped?"

"You're soft." Thor said, nuzzling against his cheek and Loki sighed.

"Then make me hard." He said, rolling his eyes and Thor found himself smiling. Sometimes he thought Loki would prefer it if Thor simply took his pleasure from him and ignored Loki's needs but he couldn't do that. Loki was too precious to him. They were in this together, both he and Loki, bound together by the peace contract their fathers had made. The last thing Thor wanted was for Loki to be treated as nothing but a slave when Thor's hands were tied by the treaty as well. He had never been asked if he wanted Loki although he always had. He was doing what was good for Asgard, what was his duty as their Prince when he took Loki to his bed. It was only luck that had bought him a thrall as beautiful and engaging as Loki. He wanted Loki to begin to understand that, to begin to realise that Thor loved him and had from the first moment Loki was presented to him.

He changed the angle of their bodies, canting Loki's hips up and drove into him again. This time he was trying purposefully to ensure Loki enjoyed it. He sought out the spot inside Loki that he knew drove his young lover mad, thrusts growing deeper and more careful in precision until Loki cried out, hips pushing back towards Thor, his soft cock giving a twitch of interest between them.

Thor kept his thrusts to the pace he'd set, slowly coaxing Loki to hardness with each press of his cock inside Loki and Loki's eyes rolled back in his head. He was moaning now, low and soft, too far gone to speak and Thor risked pulling back just far enough to see the beads of pre-come rolling down Loki's shaft before he pressed in again.

"You're so beautiful like this, Loki." He panted, kissing Loki's throat, leaving his marks there. "So beautiful."

With every slide into him Loki was welcoming, gripping him tightly as if he didn't ever want to lose the sensation of Thor's cock inside him and Thor gave him what he wanted greedily, wanting to bury himself in the boy. Sometimes all Thor wanted to do was lie in bed, joined bodily with Loki, growing soft and growing hard but never leaving him. Loki would not allow it. The day to day life of being a Prince would not allow it but Thor still wanted it.

Loki tangled his fingers in Thor's hair, tugging sharply and a second later he was arching back against Thor, clenching so tightly about him that it was almost painful. Thor couldn't move, could only support the two of them as Loki came. He came a beat behind Loki, his seed milked from him by Loki's eager hole. Slowly, carefully, Thor sank to his knees, pillowing Loki between himself and the frost-bitten tree roots.

"So beautiful." He whispered, brushing back the dark hair that had fallen across Loki's face. Loki looked good with a pink tinge to his cheeks, the sharpness gone from his face and replaced with a softness now he was no longer guarding himself. Loki could not wear a mask when he had come undone like this, could not make Thor think he was heartless. His eyes were closed, a small smile on his lips as he breathed in slowly and Thor wished he could always keep Loki in the blissful state.

Loki opened his eyes then, sighing in pleasure and tilted his head a little to kiss Thor.

"Even when I want to fight you, you won't let me." He murmured against Thor's mouth. He wiggled a little in the snow beneath them, getting himself comfortable within it even as Thor had begun to feel the chill of it seeping into his knees, the sensation a decidedly uncomfortable one for him. He eased himself from within Loki's body, tucking his spent cock away and Loki wallowed in the snow, Thor's seed seeping from within him and mixing with that other whiteness.

"You never have need to fight me." Thor promised him, kissing Loki's mouth quickly. "I wish you would realise that, Loki. If I could, I would give you everything."

Loki looked as if he was about to say something but then he shook his head, sighing again but this time it was not a pleased sigh. "Let us talk of something else, Thor. I don't want to ruin this moment."

Thor did not know what he had done to upset Loki again but he didn't want to continue it so he kissed his young lover again and slowly the snow beneath them thawed and Loki melted into his arms again, as willing and happy as Thor had ever had him. He made love to Loki again, intermingled amongst the tree roots and if a large black Raven perched in one of the branches and watched them intently Thor paid no heed to it. As Loki has said, they should let his father see.

A full moon passed over the house of Odin before Thor realised that Loki was ill. He was sleeping more, a tiredness in his bones those even long hours in bed seemed to do nothing to quench. At first Thor had thought he had simply reduced Loki to boneless joy, that Loki did not want to leave his bedroom and that maybe Thor had finally received his wish and Loki was now pliant to all his desires. Then he became aware that Loki was pushing him away more often, that Loki had begun to be sick when he thought Thor could not hear him in the early hours of the morning. Loki ate very little, refusing the plates of food Thor bought him as if the very smell of the cooked meats and bread made him nauseous.

Thor could not recount how long it had been since Loki began the illness. He could not recall how many nights he had lain awake in the darkness of their room, hearing Loki throwing up in the confines of their little bathroom, wanting to go to him but knowing that Loki would forbid it. Loki seemed to almost have chosen to give in to his illness. He lay in bed during the day, taking little sips of water from a cup which Thor offered to him and eating a morsel or two of food which Thor forced upon him and sleeping for long hours while Thor watched over him and then emptying the contents of his stomach at night when he thought Thor was not awake to stop him.

Thor found himself beside himself with fear.

Loki could be dying, he reasoned, wasting away from some disease he did not understand, some disease which affected Frost Giants only. The fact that Loki would not talk to him about it, would deny it even Thor could see the very evidence in front of his eyes was too much for Thor to take.

Eventually he couldn't stand it any longer. Watching Loki waste away before his eyes was more than he could stand. Loki was incredibly light and even when he fought against him Thor was stronger than him, picking Loki up and cradling the youth in his arms. He ignored Loki's shouting, ignored everything but the fact that Loki needed a healer. He carried him through the halls, Loki wrapped only in the fur from their bed. He had complained bitterly before that he was too hot for bed clothes, wiggling from them and throwing them on the floor and Thor had not the heart to believe it was anything but the truth.

He kicked open the door to the healers hall, depositing Loki on the nearest bed. He had not needed to be here himself for many moons but he remembered how it had been, how he had lain in bed while his arm was bound and a little medicine used to ensure he would not become infected. He only wished now that whatever afflicted Loki would be as easy to detect as the deep cut on his arm had been.

"He's sick." Thor called out, pointing at Loki who had curled around himself. "Heal him."

The nearest Healer, an old woman, hurried over. Loki spat at her but she pushed him down with forceful hands. Thor almost smiled. Even their old women were stronger than his little Loki. He would have smiled where it not for the fact that Loki was still ill and obviously frightened. Thor did not know why Loki was so determined not to be seen by a Healer. He didn't know if Loki wanted to die, if this was Loki's new form of rebellion – wasting away right in front of Thor's eyes. Loki had that cruel streak in him and Thor wondered if Loki could stand to hurt him that much, if he would happily take himself away behind the veil of death where Thor could never reach him again.

It was a rebellion against Odin, against Asgard but if Loki died then it would be Thor who would be broken by it, not the kingdom.

The Healer tugged the fur away from Loki's thin frame and Thor turned away, giving Loki some privacy. He stalked from the room, not wanting to further humiliate Loki by being present during this inspection. He walked up and down the corridor, frowning every time he heard a whimper or heard Loki cry out. Finally the noise stopped and that was even worse for Thor. There was a long silence, painfully long, and just as Thor was about to push the door open again and find out just what was causing that silence the door opened and the old woman came out into the hallway.

"What is wrong with Loki?" Thor asked.

The woman looked at him, her eyes twinkling and Thor wondered what could possible give her the reason to look at him like that, as if there was some merriment to be found in the situation.

"Your thrall is quite fine, milord." She answered and Thor wondered how he could hurry her through her explanation because Loki could not possibly be fine if he could not keep his food down.

"How? How can he be so?" Thor demanded and the woman shook her head, her smile growing more amused and Thor found her more infuriating.

"He is only pregnant. I am sure many of his kind have been through it before." She said.

For a moment Thor did not really understand her words. He had always known it was a possibility that Loki might carry his child. He had known that the Jotunn were both male and female at once but he had long stopped thinking of Loki as different from himself. Loki was the beautiful boy who lay in his bed and allowed Thor inside him. The thought that when Thor spilled in him it might create a child had been one he had stopped thinking of when their first few couplings did not result in that sort of union. Thor had always felt if it were to happen then it would happen as soon as Loki was bedded, as soon as his body was filled. He had not expected it might be years.

The healer seemed to understand his hesitation. She placed her hand upon his arm and gave him a smile that was softer now. "He was still young when he came here. He was ready now."

Thor pushed her away gently and went through the open door. Loki was still curled in on himself, his hands pressed to his stomach and he looked up at Thor guiltily as Thor settled beside him.

"I didn't plan for this." He said the words stubborn and defiant. "I didn't want your child, Thor. I do not want it. I will get rid of it."

"Why would you do that?" Thor could not understand, his bigger hands moving to cover Loki's smaller ones. "When will it show? Are you not pleased? I am pleased. I have never had a child before, Loki and to have one with you…"

He trailed off at the expression Loki made, the deep sadness that spread over the boy's face. "Loki?"

"Our child, Thor, it will be illegitimate. A bastard." Loki bit out and Thor felt the sting of those words. He knew how Loki, runt of his family, born of bad blood, had been treated but Loki should know that Asgardians did not regard their children born out of wedlock as lesser. Thor would still have it train with the warriors, would still love it. It would be his most glorious of children, his first born. His heir unless he married and Thor did not feel very much like marrying if he could not make Loki his wife. If the treaty they had both been party to had been of a different kind then Loki might already be his bride but that had not been, much to Thor's disappointment.

"No, it will never be…"

Loki cut across him angrily. "Of course it will! I am your Jotunn whore, Thor! I am your concubine. They will take our child from me. How could they not? Otherwise it would always be your heir, wouldn't it? No one wanted this. Not your father. Not I! You are the only one happy about this, Thor!"

"Then you knew?" Thor asked angrily, only half-listening to what Loki was saying now. To know that Loki had known he was pregnant and had kept that knowledge from Thor, had let Thor believe instead that he was dying hurt him deeply. They should have been celebrating. "You knew what was happening to you and you never said?"

"I hoped to kill it." Loki said, lifting his chin defiantly. "I hoped to starve it from my body, to deny it life before I could grow to love it. If you make me carry this child, Thor, then I will love it and I will not be parted from it when it is born."

Thor sighed, reaching to pull Loki against him, cradling Loki in his arms. "Do you think I would not love it too? What makes you think it will be taken from us?" He asked and Loki sniffed.

"I know it will." He answered.

Thor laughed and kissed him softly, kissing away the tears that had begun to form in Loki's eyes. "Nonsense. You are mine and this child is mine. I will keep you both." He said and felt Loki relax a little into his arms. "I am the future King and I will have no other heir but this one you bare me, Loki. I have always been yours, have I not? Since you first came to me? I have loved you Loki since I first saw you and I love you still." He promised and this seemed to convince Loki even if nothing else did. Thor already was warming to the idea of a feast in which he would present Loki, swollen with child, to his subjects and let them rejoice in the news that there would soon be a new royal son or daughter in Asgard.

"You should rest now, Loki." He murmured tenderly, brushing the black curls from Loki's forehead. "Take the medicine you are given and eat. I want our child to grow strong within you." He said, patting his hand over Loki's still taunt stomach. He wondered when the child would begin to show and how close Loki had come in his plans to kill it. He would make sure now that Loki rested and ate his fill. He hated to think that Loki might have worked some damage to both himself and their baby with his foolish actions. He settled Loki into the bed and covered him with furs, making certain he was warm and well attended to.

Even though he thought them foolish Thor could not fault Loki for his design. Loki had been frightened, had imagined himself alone and imagined that he would be left bereft, the child torn from his womb and given away. Thor had never heard such a preposterous thing but he could understand Loki's fears. Thor too would be lost if he could not hold his child when it was born. He would look forward now to watching his beloved Loki grew, swelling with their child inside of him. Their child who would be a symbol of the love Thor had for Loki, the love he hoped they both shared.

Thor left Loki sleeping, a slight spring in his step as he walked now. He had never been a father before despite all the maidens he had bedded and to share that joy with Loki first was something to be savoured. Although Thor knew he would love any child he had, to have one with his beloved Loki was surely the greatest of blessings. He had festivities to plan now, a week of feasting at least, and he headed towards the kitchens, intent on discussing the possible choices of menu. They would need to step up their hunt if they were to catch enough wild deer and bore for the meal Thor had planned and their cellars would be drained dry of mead.

His walk however was interrupted by Hogun who appeared at his elbow suddenly, a shadow with a soft tread and Thor was about to remark to his friend what a good assassin he would have made when he noticed the grave expression on Hogun's face.

Hogun was never a cheerful man but something in his look made Thor feel disquieted. It stripped him of all his happiness.

"What is wrong?" He asked, fearing the worst.

"Your father wishes to have a word with you." Hogun said and Thor felt a sense of foreboding. He had not feared visits to his father before but this meeting being called so suddenly after the discovery of Loki's pregnancy filled him with dread. His mind was still filled with Loki's ramblings, Loki's worries and he tried to force them away and make his feet follow Hogun down the corridor towards his father's chambers.

His father was an old man. He was seated in his chair, leaning against it for support and Thor wondered when he had begun to see his father as old rather than regal. It had happened slowly, Thor was certain of that. He had always regarded his father with respect. His father had always had the best interests of their Kingdom at heart and Thor had always tried to follow in his footsteps. Now he found himself considering the possibility that his father had begun to grow weary under the responsibility of the crown. He had been King for many years after all.

"You wanted to see me." He said, waiting for some instruction or something, some idea of why he had been called. His father leant forward heavily and Thor wondered if he was tired. He seemed tired.

"I heard about Loki's condition." His father said. His tone was cold, annoyed even.

Thor nodded. "Yes, I'm very pleased." He said cautiously, not certain now that he was supposed to be happy with Loki's pregnancy. His father certainly did not seem happy. His father groaned, leaning back in his chair and rubbing at his temples.

"We will have to get rid of it." He murmured. "We cannot keep it. It will always be a threat, Thor. When you marry, when you have heirs, it will always be there in the background, a danger to our Kingdom."

"Get rid of it?" Thor asked, not truly believing he was hearing the words from his father's mouth. He would not have thought his father capable of viewing a harmless, innocent child as a danger.

"Yes, get rid of it. Force Loki to miscarry, bash the child's head in when it's born. Send it to a brothel. Get rid of it, Thor." His father said, his fingers curling into fists and Thor wondered when his father had become so cold. Had he always been this cold? He had been the one who had accepted a treaty which forced Loki into their household, which bought him there as a concubine when he was still only a small boy. If he had not been an old man then he would have bedded Loki and not Thor. Those thoughts, that knowledge, made Thor sick.

Everything Loki had thought, every fear he had had, it was all true.

Thor found himself trembling with rage. There was nothing he could think of but Loki, lying in the healer's bed, sleeping peacefully in the knowledge that Thor loved him and their child, that Thor would protect him.

"No." He said simply, watching his father's face crumble at the refusal.

"Thor," His father warned. "This is not your child. It is a nothing you conceived with your thrall, it will never be accepted. It is a half-breed bastard and nothing more. I will never allow it the throne of Asgard."

Thor nodded calmly. He could see that now. His father would never accept Loki and he would never accept the child that he had conceived. Thor should have known that, should have understood it from the moment he was called to his father's rooms but he had been hopeful. Now he knew what he had to do for the good of Asgard.

Loki awoke to a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. He sat up, rubbing at his eyes and realised it was Thor in the darkness of the room.

"Thor?" He asked, wondering why Thor looked so angry. His face was drawn, his whole body tense and he had something clasped in his hand but Loki could not see what it was in the dark. "Thor?" He asked again, suddenly frightened of Thor in a way he had not been in a long time.

"My father told me to kill our child, that it would never be my heir." Thor said, his voice expressionless and Loki moved to protect himself, hands raised and ready to strike with the magic he had been cultivating. He knew he should never have expected Thor to love him as much as he said he did. And now he knew Thor did not love their child. Not in the end, not when it came down to it and his father commanded it of him.

"Don't do this." Loki said, unsure what Thor planned to do. Would he strike him? Strangle him? Rid himself of both Loki and the child or would he just cut the child from him? It was still so little, a nothing really but Loki had believed in Thor, believed in his love and he had let himself grow attached when he never should have. Loki did not want to have to hurt Thor but to protect himself and his child he would. Thor had forced him to confront it, to accept it and Loki would not allow it to be taken from him now. He did not want to hurt Thor though. No matter how hard he had tried to stop himself he had opened his heart to the oafish man as well.

Thor raised his hand and dropped the thing he held in it on the bed before Loki. It rolled and came to a stop in Loki's lap, the head of Thor's father, his expression one of shock as if he could not believe that it was the hand of his own son that had struck him down.

"I killed him for you." Thor said and Loki gazed at him, uncertain what the fluttering in his chest was. "I am King now and you are not my Thrall and our child is not a bastard."

Loki looked again at the head that Thor had bought him, a token of his love for Loki, a symbol of it that Thor could hoist high over the gates of Asgard and show to any who dared think of crossing Thor. Thor had killed his own father to be King. He had killed him to protect Loki. Loki washed his hands in the blood of the old man as pushed his head away, reaching for Thor instead.

"My father and his kingdom next." He promised Thor as he sealed their mouths together in a kiss.