Sleipnir is his father's mighty steed. Sleipnir is also his brother's child. The thought still baffled Thor, but he refused to allow this to get the better of him. His nephew needed him, and he refused to rest until Sleipnir was free.

Of course, Sleipnir didn't seem to understand Thor's intentions — or perhaps he simply had what the Midgardian's called "Stockholm Syndrome." It didn't matter either way; Sleipnir was only a child, after all, and Thor knew what he was doing.

(His great plan: sneak into the stables, and free Sleipnir from captivity, while Father remained asleep and obvious).

"Quiet, nephew!" Thor hissed, as Sleipnir let out a loud whinny. "I am here to free you, but Father mustn't know!"

Sleipnir reared back, and Thor realised that the horse was moments away from kicking him. He took a step back in alarm, and tried to give the horse the sternest stare he could muster.

"I understand why you are angry at me," he said, trying his best to sound comforting. "I too am furious with myself. I was truly unaware, nephew! But now that I know of our familial ties, I refuse to stand by and allow Father to treat you this way!"

Sleipnir whinnied. Thor beamed, and leaned forward to stroke his mane.

"Yes, that is right!" he exclaimed eagerly. "You may be a horse, but you are still a member of this family!"

"What in Hel's name are you doing, boy?!"

Thor froze, his hand still rested on Sleipnir's mane. The horse stared blankly forward, as Thor's eyes widened comically.

"Father!" Thor cried, whirling around. "I — what are you doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question," Odin responded, his one eye narrowing suspiciously. "Why are you sneaking about in the middle of the night and — what are you doing with my horse?!"

Thor hesitated, unsure of how to answer. He glanced back at Sleipnir, and the horse let out another whinny. Narrowing his eyes, Thor turned back to his father, now sure of what he must do.

His little brother already thought he'd failed him; Thor refused to allow his nephew to think the same.

"Father, did you honestly think you could keep this from me?!" he snarled. "Did you think I wouldn't find out?!"

Odin stared back. While outwardly his expression remained hard, he inwardly shuddered. This situation was starting to feel very familiar. Although, unlike that dreaded confrontation with Loki, Odin genuinely had no idea what was going on (something that didn't happen often). He glanced between his son and his horse, trying to form a connection, and coming up blank.

"About Sleipnir!" Thor snapped, as if Odin hadn't figured out that much already.

"What about the damn horse?!" Odin snarled, feeling his patience rapidly running out.

Thor looked furious. "How dare you speak of my nephew that way!" he cried.

"Your what?!"

"My nephew," Thor pat Sleipnir gently on the back. Odin stared between the two, and though his mind was starting to build a connection, he refused to accept it. There was no way his son — the heir to his throne — could think that —

"Don't worry nephew, you will always have my support!"

Oh norns, Thor truly believed the horse was his nephew.

Odin took a deep breath, because while yelling at Thor seemed like a brilliant idea, Frigga had warned him about his temper. The last thing he wanted was to end up sleeping in the stables.

"Thor," he began, his voice strained, "why do you think that Sleipnir is you…nephew?" The last word was spat out hurriedly.

"Because he is Loki's child," Thor replied promptly. Odin felt his eye twitch. He momentarily wondered if Thor was joking, and then remembered which child he was speaking to.

"Is there…a reason you came to this conclusion?" There was a moment of silence. Odin growled impatiently. "Thor, what you are saying is simply not possible."

Thor glared at him. "There is a perfectly logical explanation, and you know what it is!"

'Temper, temper — don't banish him, he is simply a fool, and you only have yourself to blame for that. Banish him again, and Frigga will — ' "Just — explain. Now," he growled.

"It is simple," Thor spat. Odin sincerely doubted it was. "Loki transformed himself into a —"

Odin bit back a groan. He had a feeling he knew where this was going, and he did not like it at all. He had no idea how Thor could have come to the conclusion that Loki had gotten a horse pregnant…

" — mare, lay with a horse, and gave birth to Sleipnir."

Odin stared at Thor, at a loss for words. That was…a lot worse than what he'd initially thought, and he could only pray that Loki would never hear of this mad tale. Given that he was currently locked in a cell, and refused to speak to any member of the royal family, Odin doubted that would be an issue in the near future.

Thor was still talking, and Odin wondered if it was time to demand that he stop. " — and then you rip Loki's child from his arms, and parade around on his back, as if he were some common animal, and not your own kin!"

Odin breathed deeply.

"Will you not even try to defend yourself?!"

"…Thor," Odin said, his voice steady. "I am trying to reign in my temper. If I were to speak my mind, you would not like what I would have to say. And neither would your mother, which is why I am making an effort here."

Thor's eyes narrowed, but he remained blissfully silent. Odin felt some of the tension draining out of him (not much, but it was an improvement), and continued.

"I will say this once, and only once, so listen well. I know what gave birth to this animal, and it certainly wasn't your brother. It was another mare, from these very stables."

Thor blinked, his anger giving way to confusion.

'Good,' Odin thought, 'let him be confused. It is nothing less than what he deserves.' Perhaps that wasn't very fatherly, or kingly, but it was late, and he was tired, and cold, and it was all Thor's fault.

"The reason Sleipnir has eight legs is your brother's fault - he thought it would be humorous to play a little trick, and poor Sleipnir here paid the price. But that is as far as his involvement extends."

Thor glanced between Sleipnir and Odin. "…Sleipnir is not your grandson?" he asked slowly.

Odin's eye twitched. "No."

"And…the Midgardian legends were incorrect?"

Odin wondered why in Hel's name there were legends about his son giving birth to a horse. He also wondered who had written such things, and had half a mind to hunt them down for such insolence. Of course they would have already passed long before…damn those mortals, and their short life spans.

"Yes," Odin said at last, "they were wrong."

"Oh." Thor backed away from Sleipnir, his face rapidly turning red. "Well then."

"You may go now," Odin growled. Thor nodded quickly, and hurried away, not looking back for a moment. When he had finally disappeared from site, Odin let out a long sigh, and gave Sleipnir a wary glance. No, he would not be forgetting this for a while to come.

…

AN:

So…my first Thor fanfic ever. No idea if this was any good, but I just hope it made someone laugh. And hopefully everyone was in character. And…yeah :) Tell me what you think!