Sticking Together

Chapter One

It was raining and thundering out the day Odin returned home to Asgard from the war in Jotunheim. Had the weather been better, the King and the warriors would have been greeted by hordes of happy Asgardians. Instead, they rode in silence back to the palace and to their homes. The small bundle in his arms wiggled and cooed softly. He looked down at the baby boy, watching as the child looked up at him with wide green eyes.

He knew Frigga had been craving another child for a while now. They both loved their eldest son, Thor, dearly. But, when they'd tried to bear another child, they found that something had happened to make the Queen sterile. He felt horrible for his wife, so that was one of the reasons as to why he'd taken the tiny Jotun child. The little boy would have been absolutely puny in Frost Giant terms and never would have fit in there. He was even rather small in Asgardian terms.

When they got back to the palace, he dismounted and gently bounced the baby in his arms. He had taken the child for multiple reasons. If there were ever a day when they needed to negotiate with the Jotuns for peace, he figured the little boy could be an olive branch. But he'd unofficially adopted the child mainly because he knew Frigga wanted another child, and he did as well. When he'd touched the Jotun child, he'd immediately turned himself pale with green eyes, as if looking for approval from the man holding him. The child was a mage and would eventually have a lot of power if he ever needed it, that was certain.

"Darling, you've returned." Frigga said with a grin when he walked back into the palace, wrapping her arms around him and kissing his cheek lightly. He kissed her back gently, smiling back at her.

"Yes, and I don't plan on leaving for a long while." He replied with a small chuckle to her before moving to hand her the child.

Frigga took the cooing and wiggling bundle, gazing with awe down at the little thing. "Honey, what is this?" she asked curiously, looking up at him as she bounced the little boy.

"It's our newborn son, darling. I found him abandoned in a ruined Jotun temple, starving and left to die." Odin replied with a small smile to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close as he watched the baby boy wiggle happily and coo softly as he looked around at his new home. "What will we name him?" he asked curiously.

Frigga thought for a bit before smiling. "Loki. His name is Loki Halldor Odinson." She replied with a smile down to their little boy, their little Loki. "He's so precious, honey. You're wonderful, do you know that?"

Odin grinned and chuckled a bit, hugging her and kissing her cheek before gently stroking the little boy's cheek with a finger. "I think you've told me that a couple of times, yes." He replied with a grin as Loki cooed happily, leaning into his finger.

"Mama, what's that?" A small voice behind them asked. Odin and Frigga turned and smiled when they found Thor standing behind them, rubbing his eyes and looking up at them curiously.

Frigga smiled and knelt down in front of Thor, showing him the small baby in her arms. "Thor, this is your baby brother, Loki."

Thor looked down at the little baby in his mother's arms, smiling a bit when it looked up at him and cooed, smiling and sticking out his tongue. "He's cute. Hello, Loki." He said with a smile to the baby, watching as his baby brother wiggled his arms free of the blanket and waved them about. He moved to gently take hold of one of Loki's tiny hands. "I'm Thor, Loki. I'm your big brother. I'm going to keep you safe." He said to the child with a smile.

Frigga moved to gently pass Loki over to Thor to hold, rather liking how well their son was taking the news of the new baby. The baby cooed to him before cuddling into his chest and letting his eyes slip shut as he fell asleep.

"Mama, he's sleeping." Thor whispered to Frigga, not really knowing what to do. Frigga just nodded and smiled, chuckling a bit.

"Yes, he is. You're a natural at this, Thor." She replied with a smile to the blonde boy.

"I'm going to be the best big brother ever!" Thor said happily, looking down at his new baby brother. He couldn't wait until Loki was older so he could take him out to the gardens and the training grounds to watch the warriors train and play with his baby brother. He was going to be the one to show his little brother the world they lived in and all the wonder and magic there.

Frigga smiled at how eager Thor seemed to be about his new baby brother. "Come along, Thor. You can help us put Loki to bed, then you'll have to go to sleep, too." She said, walking with their son back to her and Odin's bedchambers. She waited on the bed with their sons while Odin moved the baby cradle into their room for Loki.

Thor smiled and held Loki close, watching as the baby slept peacefully in his arms. He couldn't wait to tell Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg about his new baby brother the next morning when they all went out to play before they had to start their studies. He wanted to show Loki off to as many people as he possibly could and tell them all about how happy he was to be a big brother.

When the cradle was set up with blankets and a couple stuffed animals, Thor moved to set Loki down in it, unwrapping him from the blanket. He helped Frigga to put him in some tiny pajamas.

"Night, Night, Loki. I love you." Thor said to the baby with a smile before kissing his forehead softly and handing him a stuffed rabbit, watching as his baby brother grabbed the bunny and hugged it tightly.

With that, Frigga walked Thor back to his bedchambers, kissing his cheek and tucking him back into bed. "Goodnight, Thor. Sleep well, darling."

"Mommy, do you think Loki likes me?" Thor asked softly.

"I think he loves you very much." Frigga confirmed before blowing out the candles and letting her son sleep, returning to her own bedchambers to do the same.