Title: An Impossible Situation
Fandom: Thor (2011)
Characters/Pairings: Odin, Loki, Thor, Frigga.
Author: gyuumajo
Rating: K
Summary: Odin is faced with an impossible situation and tries his best to deal with it.
Disclaimers: Characters not mine. Mostly Marvel, Marvel Studios & Stan the Man. No one will pay for this so no profit was/is/will ever be made.
Warning: Un-beta'd as usual. Halfway through showering, BAM! Odin-feels. WTF self? Is that adequate warning for the words you are about to read? Consider yourself warned. :)
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It was an impossible situation.
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He knew he will be knee deep in trouble the moment he gazed upon the runt his men had found in the temple.
None of them had dared go near the wailing babe for fear of what the touch of blue skin upon pink would do. After all, most of them were still nursing the stings of frostbite from the battle just concluded.
As he bent to pick up the oddity that was a tiny Frost Giant baby, he was reminded of his own son, not much older than this babe—if the size of this babe could be equated to an Aesir child.
Thor was a loud and robust child, all punching arms and kicking legs with a cry that he swore could be heard through all of the nine realms. He smiled at that thought as he sought to comfort the Jotun babe.
And the strangest thing happened.
Before his very eye, the blue skin and raised markings dissolved away and were completely gone within seconds.
This tiny Frost Giant baby could by all means be a lost Aesir baby.
.
"What do you see?" He asked Heimdall after sending his men back to the Healing Chambers, cradling the bundle in his arm. Heimdall darted his golden eyes to the babe before returning his attention to his king, face as impassive as always.
"I see you. I see Laufey back on his throne. I see Jotunheim rebuilding." Heimdall nodded towards his little bundle. "I see Laufeyson."
"Laufeyson…?" He breathed. He held in his hands not just any runt, but the runt of Laufey?
What he thought would be an exercise in educating both Aesirs and Jotuns on living in concord had just gotten more complicated.
+o+o+o
Frigga was naturally displeased.
She blamed him not for suggesting raising this abandoned child as his own but for suggesting they keep his heritage a secret.
He had already made his men swear an oath of silence at the Jotun temple but Frigga was not convinced.
"What do we know of Jotun children, Husband?" Frigga took the baby from him, freeing his hands to undo his armors. "What do they eat? Drink? How fast do they grow?"
It pained him to admit his ignorance but his wife did make a valid point.
"Then we shall have to watch over him carefully."
+o+o+o
And watched they did.
Each passing year, they breathed a little easier as they watched their sons fight, play, learn and grow together.
Thor was as Thor is. Headstrong and quick to anger. As the boy grew in strength, he grew in ambition. He saw much of himself in his firstborn. It was easier to interact with Thor, he had to admit. Bless his single-minded warrior heart.
And Loki. He watched as Loki's sharp mind grew sharp and his sharp tongue grew sharper. And though physically not as strong as Thor, Loki had found ways to make up for his shortcomings. He found Loki's ingenuity refreshing, having lived among warriors for so long.
But even as he watched his sons grow, he cannot help but notice the differing looks casted upon Thor as his might grew and Loki as his mischief grew. Truly, his men had held their tongue admirably but he could see the scorn behind those looks directed towards his Jotun ward. How long before those looks were backed with ill-chosen words?
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He knew in his heart there will come a time when he had to make known the truth to Thor and Loki. He will have to make them understand Jotuns need not be the enemy and he hoped beyond hope that he will be able to teach them both the value of peace and allies. Before his sons are beyond lectures and lessons.
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"Only one of you can ascend to the throne. But both of you were born to be kings."
He will make it so.
+o+o+o
So it has come to this.
What a spectacular unveiling of his own lies and deceit.
Frigga had urged him to let known the fact to Loki and Thor but centuries after centuries past and he still could not bring himself to break it to them.
Next century, he'd said. He had always said since.
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"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance. Bring about permanent peace, through you."
He had held hope that Laufey would yield and allow him to place Loki on their frozen throne but this fragile peace was too valuable to risk starting another war just for Laufey to bend his knee to him and Laufey's own runt.
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"You're my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."
He had truly thought of Loki as his own son and he had truly thought keeping Loki from the truth was for Loki's protection but as he slipped deeper into Odinsleep, he cannot help but feel his words have been twisted to sound like something else other than his original meaning.
As Loki's ears were wont to do.
+o+o+o
It is true what they say. He can still hear and see what transpire around him even as he falls into Odinsleep.
.
The quiet voices of his wife and son discussing his choices made him wonder if he had made the right ones all those years ago. How will Asgard react to their king taking in a Jotun child—a Jotun prince as his own? Will they treat him as they had treated him thus far? Will they be kinder with their words and actions knowing him to be different and not belittle him for not being a prized warrior of honor and valor but rather, praise him for being one of skill and cunning?
How often he had tried to make known his pride to Loki but any words he thought was encouragement ended up sounding like reprimand. Try as he might, he was never able to ease the sensitive soul of his second son. He knew Frigga had spent nights reassuring Loki that what he had said was not as Loki thought.
.
"He kept the truth from you, so that you would never feel different. You are our son, Loki. And we your family. We mustn't lose hope that your father will return to us. And your brother."
He hoped Loki believed his mother's words better than his own.
+o+o+o
"Husband! Oh Husband, you need to get up. Your sons… You'll lose both your sons if you don't hurry…" Frigga cried desperately as Loki stormed out of his bed chamber.
He cursed his own pride and stubbornness for putting off Odinsleep for so long. He should have seen this. He should have been prepared for Thor's obstinate and Loki's discontent.
"…Frigga," he croaked, reaching out towards the sound of his wife's voice. Without him saying another word, she had already grasped his hand and began helping him into his armor.
.
The distant boom of thunder as Mjolnir struck the Rainbow Bridge only served to hasten his arrival but no matter how much he willed himself onto the Bridge, he was only able to arrive after Bifrost was lost to them. Not his sons. He will not lose his sons to strife. He will not lose his sons to the impossible situation driven by his own hand.
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"I could have done it, father! I could have done it! For you! For all of us!"
"No, Loki."
.
You should not have to do any of this at all.
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End.
A/N: I hate FFnet's formatting.
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This fic has been brought to you by all of Lifehouse's songs playing in the background. =3
I seemed to be writing about bad fathers quite a bit, judging from my previous fic. I would've written about Denethor if not for a much better author known as Evendim who had done more exploring on his character than I could ever think of. But I do like the parallel my scumbag brain* made between Denethor and Odin. Only time (& Marvel Studios) can tell if Odin will achieve the redemption level Denethor got at the end.
Because, seriously, it's hard enough trying to break it to a kid that he is adopted, much less telling him that he is actually of another species. And not just any other species, it's the one where everyone thinks are monstrous and evil.
So if you have any good recs on Odin not being a jerkass dad, please be sharing with me? I need more inspiration to polish up this piece. :D
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*I say scumbag brain because I have a killer test to study for and here I am, not studying. XD