I'm baaaaaaccck! Okay, life's been crazy. I'm about to start my final semester of my undergrad, and you would not believe how busy I've been and how busy I've chosen not to be and instead just crawling under my comforter to hide from my problems. BUT, I've got some future free-time I hope to use for fanfiction and holiday stuff. Since the semester is coming to a close early for me, I've got ideas running through my head.
Now, I've decided to start another fanfic story that's going to be a bit longer than what I've written, but I've also got another story I promised to rewrite. I'll try to get to them both, but I think I'll stick with the one that's giving me the most inspiration.
Otherwise, I've got this little "short" story for you to enjoy, just a random idea popping into my head that I found so adorably cute to write. I honestly haven't had this much fun writing something since the last story I wrote in my fiction 1 class just recently. Anyways, I hope you like the story, enjoy ~
Loki hardly ever felt true, unassuming, delight over parties in Asgard. Especially royal ones, now especially as he was king. Yet, there was always a few that had him filled with excitement.
His daughter, his only daughter Kaia, was celebrating her sixth birth year. Young enough to still be considered his baby, but old enough now to have an opinion of her own. She was a tough act, Loki found and especially demanding. He hardly remembered being this demanding as a child, but he supposed that it could be he doted on her every whim. His Queen, Hannah, has pointed out such treatment, but anytime those blue little eyes blinked in such a way that reminded him of his wife's, he caved.
This year, he was wrestled into party set-up. Upon his daughter's insistence that she has a pink-themed ball, with all sorts of frilly frivolities, Loki was forced to sort out the most important part: her gift.
In the past, her gifts had been chosen by the most revered shopkeepers in Asgard, who would select the finest things for Loki and his wife to choose from in a private showing. Typically, Loki would select a few, only to send out a card asking for the other items he saw. His daughter's toy room was a collection of his errant spending and spoiling, but the smile on her face when she opened her eyes to the reveal at her parties was always worth it.
Now, she wanted him to in fact go and pick something. She caught them one year, slipping past a guard specifically posted to keep her away, but ultimately failing in the task, resulting in catching her parents with the pile of gifts and the shopkeepers. In her young mind, she saw this as something so abhorrent, Loki genuinely felt an intense guilt for disappointing her in some way.
Loki was prepared, though, and despite wanting to give in to her desires completely, Hannah avidly reminded him that she's six, and won't know the difference if he went out and plucked through every item in every shop, or if he went to a store with items for him to sort through at the bequest of the same top shopkeepers. He was clever, and hopefully, it would suffice enough for his daughter, who was happily chewing away at her breakfast at their private feasting table near the hall of the throne room.
Despite his busy schedule being King of the Nine Realms, he avidly sought out time to make for his little family. Now, most importantly, because his daughter was growing up, and growing up fast. Looking at her now, he couldn't imagine not having her in his life. She always made him think of his past deeds, certainly not regretting them but contemplating if they had truly been the best decision for him.
"Daddy goes shop today?" His eyes focused on his daughters, her brilliantly blue eyes shining. A big smile on her face. Her black curls tied into ribbons on each side of her head bouncing with the same amount of energy as she had. She had her mother's eyes, but she had his hair. Her boundless energy has always been said to be his, but on the last occasion his in-laws saw her, only saw their daughter in his child.
"Yes, sweetheart." Hannah chuckled a breathy laugh. Loki also knew his daughter kept his wife on her toes. On more than one occasion he found both his wife and his daughter fast asleep during an afternoon nap after a full day of endless playing. A few of those occasions, Loki simply crawled into bed with them, shedding out of his outer garments and slipping into bed, his daughter between him and his wife.
"Will daddy?" Her blue eyes found him, and he nodded his head.
"Yes. Your mother as well," Loki says, assuring his daughter the best he can with a six-year-old. He will perhaps repeat this several times before she leaves with a maid to her lessons. He didn't think he would have the patience for this kind of conversation, yet he slipped into the role of father quite easily, and much to the chagrin of his wife who found him endlessly gushing about his daughter to her when they were alone. One time almost missing the hint his wife was giving him when their daughter began to talk, and Loki was going on about how she almost said "da." His wife abandoned subtlety, cornering him between the sink and her body the best she could, positively naked.
"Yay!" His daughter cheered, happily clapping her hands until her mother pointed a finger down to her bowl. She went back to messily eating the rest of her breakfast, and Loki watches his wife dote over their daughter with pride. Though their relationship started a bit rocky, and he certainly didn't deserve her, he couldn't be prouder to have her in his life. Despite his misgivings as a husband he was sometimes, she seemed to love him all the same.
His daughter still held her excitement in seeing her parents go and get her gift, no doubt curious as to what they'll get her this year. Strangely, the act seemed… normal. If Odin had ever done this sort of thing, he certainly didn't remember. The old king had possibly just ordered someone else to get something who knew them better than he did. Or perhaps his mother, which he undoubtedly knew chose at least a few of his gifts herself.
Going out and getting his daughter her gift didn't seem that daunting now, but with his aptitude for nothing but the best for his daughter, he was surely going to come back to the palace more exhausted than he would be had he stayed within the palace walls sitting in a dreadfully boring council meeting. He enjoyed the invigorating process of problem-solving, but many of the matters he felt could be solved at a lower level than at the king's table.
His daughter was off, clearly forgetting the promise she's been keeping Loki to, and chatting away at the maid, who held her hand and was raptly listening to the six-year-old nonsense.
"You ready to head out now?" His wife asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. He breathed in deeply, held it for a few seconds, and then let the air out quickly. He then squared his shoulders and braved a smirk for his wife. She was long used to his glances however they may be received, but she always blushed when she saw him smile. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and began their descent to the market square only a few blocks from the outer entrance to the palace grounds.
"There can't possibly be more," Loki groaned. He had severely underrated the prospect of choosing from more toys and felt as if he would be buried under all the insane items that these shops have. And all of it is new. Many of these items haven't even been put on shelves yet. Loki could deal with troubling diplomats, and juggle court relationships easily, but seeing as more and more toys piled up in front of him, he felt the need to get fresh air, and never return.
However, he did make a promise to his daughter, and though in the past he would've found a way to get out of doing these grueling "normal" tasks for more interesting and quite frankly less of a health hazard activity. He remembered having lots of toys growing up and showered his daughter with anything she wanted, but looking at the selection now, he understood his wife's insistence that they could've just moved the meeting with the shopkeepers somewhere else, where their daughter could not easily sneak into.
He considered it, even now, but he was already knee deep in wooden dolls, handcrafted wagons, and an endless supply of swords. None of which he was looking for, or particularly interested in. His daughter had plenty of each, even the swords which were only used if his daughter forced him to play "knight" despite being a literal king. The hilarity lost on her, who was merely interested in giving her daddy a wooden sword and a fur blanket to wear over his shoulders.
"Oh, there's more." His wife smirked, taking great joy in watching Loki squirm under the masses of toys and his impossibly high standards. "She's six, she'll play with it and then drop it after about a week and it'll join the ever-growing pile in her playroom. Honestly, I'm seriously concerned when she gets older and her requests become more lavish. You'll be laying in an early grave if you put this much thought into something like this every time."
His wife was right, of course, but he hardly wanted to admit defeat. Loki was up for the challenge, and with his wife's words, he was even more determined now to pick out the perfect gift for his daughter.
"These simply won't do," Loki states, noticing the way the shopkeeper nervously flouts about the store looking for something that would pique Loki's interest. His wife had chosen smaller items, things that would interest his daughter as well as the other children in attendance at the party.
"Let's try another shop then." His wife suggests. He shakes his head. He is not prepared to walk in another shop only to have the same thing happen again. Being buried under toys in one store is enough for Loki.
"No," Loki says stubbornly, but then pauses. Something catches his eye closer to the back of the store. The shopkeeper follows his line of sight and stumbles through the messy storeroom to fetch the item. The man returned, and in his hand, was a model of a dragon. Asgard didn't have dragons, but he knew of many worlds that did.
"My son is a soldier for Asgard. He told me about these creatures when visiting another world, your grace." Loki admired the work and noted what the man said. Yes, this he could do something with.
"This one," Loki states. The man before him beams, happy that he has sold something to his very king. Loki was aware of this kind of honor.
"Of course, my king. How would you like it delivered?" He asks, allowing Loki more time to inspect it. Loki thought for a minute before answering.
"I'd like it now, actually. I have bigger plans for this," Loki says. From the corner of his eye, he saw his wife shake her head, clearly unimpressed with Loki's creative imagination, which rivaled his daughters sometimes.
After some nervous handling the shopkeeper hands Loki's purchase in brown paper to protect it and hide it from prying eyes. None of it mattered though, he needed this for something much bigger.
Loki's life became a whirlwind of responsibilities. He had his duties to his nation, which he took seriously, but also to his daughter's ball, nearing ever closer. He had hardly a day to finish the final touches to his gift, but he was pleased with the results. All he had to do now was ensure that the gift remained a secret until the big reveal the next night.
He left the throne room with a pep in his step, finding himself smiling. The maids he passed in the halls, and other guests milling about saw this and couldn't believe the look on his face. He could care none the less about what they thought, walking with purpose to his private chambers where his wife would be waiting for him.
They decided to spend this night to smooth over the final details for the ball and to have a moment for themselves. His daughter was put to bed early for the big day, and he was sure there would've been foot stomping and huffs as his daughter resisted the urge to fall asleep sooner. Before entering his chamber, he followed the short hallway that leads to his daughter's room, cracking open the door slowly to be sure she was asleep before stepping inside and placing a kiss on her head. She was dead asleep, a trait he realized she took after her mother who could easily sleep through a stampede.
In the other room, his wife was falling asleep at their shared desk in the corner, parchment paper scattered, and some unfortunate papers being drooled on. He chuckled to himself, amazed by his wife's tenacity and sometimes her forgetfulness to take care of herself. Duly tired, and wearing herself down with all the preparation, he knew she was busy planning to never miss a moment of their daughter's life, as much as he was determined to.
He easily lifted her from the chair, picking off the papers stuck to her face. Just as he suspected, he did not wake her and slumped into an awkward position when Loki laid her down on the bed. He ventured back to the desk, collected the papers, disturbed by his wife's unorganized nature, and looking over the documents she had clearly fallen asleep over.
His eyes glazed over most of everything and found that he was simply too tired to do this himself. He assumed that despite his best attempts, they simply couldn't attempt to make the party perfect. With a six-year-olds imagination, something was bound to go wrong. The only true thing Loki was concerned about was his gift, which turned out to be bigger than he anticipated.
He shed his clothing and slipped into bed next to his wife, who was in a deep sleep, lightly snoring next to him.
"Pink!" His daughter shrilled, running around with pink ribbons all around the ballroom. At least ten other little girls chased after her, each with ribbons in their hand and screaming. Loki adored his daughter, but he couldn't imagine having more than one, his ears could not take any more of the noise emitted by such a small creature.
His wife was somewhere else, watching over the last of the dinner guests through for the main event. His gift was hiding in the room over, waiting to be rolled in as soon as he made the motion to the guard posted at the door it was hiding behind. This time, he made sure the guard understood not to let a single thing slip through, under orders of potential night posts on the northern mountain. Forever.
He was nervous, despite his wife's assurances that she will love the gift. Having only been told the logistics of the gift, and knowing she tuned him out when he got to the deeper parts of the concepts, but couldn't help himself to just keep talking. At the end, she reminded him, again, that she was six. He knows how old his daughter is!
From the other side of the ballroom, he saw his wife chatting happily with the other patrons, and envied her approval among the other parents. He did feel she should be less personable with their subjects but admired her for being the way she was. Loki was certainly not chummy with the guests that he could go up and hug them. Didn't mean he wasn't social and had made the rounds to thank everyone for coming and despite it not being his day, being thanked for having invited them.
She noticed his stare, always aware, and nodded to him. It was time to reveal his gift. He made a motion to the guard behind him, acknowledging his command and dipping into the room. Loki then put himself near the center of the circle that was made for the children running around. His daughter saw him and ran to him excitedly, the other children stopping quite a few steps behind to keep their space away from the king. They were corralled by their parents calling them back from the sides and began facing Loki, quieting down so he could speak. His wife joined him, smiling warmly and accepting a hug from her daughter.
"Welcome, and thank you for coming to celebrate this important day for us," Loki began. The room was now very quiet, even the children kept hush as their king spoke. "I would like to present our gifts to our special girl."
Loki waved forward the guard pushing a cart in. The other toys would soon join, but he wanted to show his daughter his gift before everyone else's was brought out. His daughter looked at the gift intently, but as it was covered, she still didn't know.
Loki walked over to the cart, nervous as ever but trying his best to hide it, to uncover what was beneath. In one swift move, the white sheet covering what was beneath came off, and then there was silence. At first, his daughter came forward to see it better, it being a small wood dragon. She seemed confused by it and looked at Loki with expectation. He did, however, know this would be her reaction and smirked. The dragon was trapped in a dome-shaped glass, but it was an illusion. Reaching his hand down, he tapped the top of the glass, and the dragon began to glow.
His daughter sucked in a breath and watched as the dragon began changing colors, until Loki tapped the glass again and soon the dragon was two, five, ten times bigger than it was in its glass case. His daughter jumped back, afraid as it grew bigger so close to her face, but her eyes never left the dragon that was starting to take shape, but bigger. Much, bigger.
The crowd in the ballroom gasped as the dragon became enormous, but it dazzled with many bright colors, it's wings flapping and leaving a trail of blurred colors as they moved. The dragon then pushed forward, almost barreling into his daughter before she ducked. The dragon flew out the balcony doors of the ballroom, but the dragon didn't shatter the glass, instead, just flew through it. There were more gasps, and soon, he was chasing after his small child as she went to chase after it.
The doors were then opened by servants standing around, and everyone in attendance began making their way out, with Loki and his daughter front and center. From outside, Loki lifted his daughter up onto her shoulders, so she could be in constant view of the night sky, currently with a multicolored dragon flying around. He was sure the people below would be terrified seeing something unknown above their heads, but he would deal with the consequences later. For now, he was watching his daughter enjoy the dragon that he made for her.
After a few more moments of watching, the dragon began to do tricks, flipping around, and flapping its wings so it made shapes in the sky. With each new trick, there were "oohs" and "ahhs" to go around for everyone, and his daughter clapped happily above his head, bouncing despite the discomfort it gave his neck. He felt a hand rest on his back, his wife enjoying the show, and clearly awed by the spectacle.
At the end, the dragon raced through the sky and spelled her name. There were claps to go around as the dragon made a few more circles, then a few excited shouts as it came racing back towards them, only to shrink in size, flying through the open doors and then finding itself back into its small shape under the dome.
His daughter wiggled down, catching her before she made the long descent to the ground and allowed her to run back in the ballroom to inspect the now small and wooden creature below the glass. Other children gathered around her to look at it as well and were befuddled when nothing happened when they tapped the glass. Even when his own daughter tapped the glass, the only thing it did was glow in multi-colors.
"I think you outdid yourself this year," his wife said, joining him in watching their child. "You've set the bar higher for next year, I'm afraid though."
"Could be worse," he says. They both laugh, both not caring about next year's party quite yet and just simply enjoying their daughter as she now runs to each of her toys gifted to her by everyone else.
Yes, Loki had truly outdone himself this year, but he was prepared for the challenge it brings him for next year. For he loved his daughter, and he loved spoiling her.