Disclaimer: I don't own. Need I bring in a lawyer? (Yes, I think I will. Jared Franklin ;D)

A/n: I...I don't even...

Odin would be lying if he said that he didn't worry about his children. He may not look like it to some, but the All-Father was a very compassionate man. On the outside, he certainly didn't look like it, but to his family he was a loving and caring father.

Now, Odin didn't pity either of his sons. No, quite the opposite. Odin took pride in both of them, even in their young age.

Thor clearly had potential. The blonde was older, stronger, and was thrilled by the thought of one day ruling Asgard. (However, he was selfish and arrogant—something that Odin wished would be cured by the time his adolescence was over.) Thor was friendly, loving, and protective. If he looked out for Asgard the same way he looked out for his brother, than he would indeed be a fine king.

Loki was just as talented as Thor, just not in the same areas. He was smaller and thinner than his brother or any other child in his age group. Despite his size, Loki was smarter and a quicker thinker than Thor. (And Odin knew for a fact that Loki occasionally did Thor's schoolwork; their handwriting was just as different as the boys themselves.) Not to mention Loki had extraordinary talent with magic, something that neither Thor nor Odin had been particularly gifted with.

Even though both of his boys were worth bragging about, it was Loki who Odin worried about the most. He worried about Loki getting hurt due to one of Thor's harebrained ideas. He worried about Loki and his magic. He worried about Loki one day discovering his Frost Giant heritage and going into a rampage. But most of all, he worried about loosing Loki.

It would one day happen; the Norns had predicted it, and Frigga had seen it. Deep down, Odin knew this, yet he didn't want to believe it just yet. There was no way that a child that small and innocent could turn against them.

Something similar had recently happened in Vanaheim. There had been an uprising among the people against the royals, being lead by King Njord's adviser. Vanaheim was at war with itself. Because of this, Njord had recently asked Odin if he could send his twin children—Frey and Freya—into Asgard until the fighting died down. Frey was the crowned prince and next in line for the throne, so there was already a bounty on his head. Freya was just a pretty little thing that anyone could take advantage of if given the chance.

Odin of course, had agreed to Njord's request. He even offered to send a rank of his own warriors into Vanaheim to fight along side him. Njord thanked Odin but refused, saying that it was his kingdom and he could take care of it himself.

Odin was expecting the arrival of the twins a week from now, so he was already having two spare rooms in the palace made up for their Vanir guests.

So perhaps it was the consistent worry about Loki or of the war in Vanaheim that triggered his Odinsleep.

The day that the symptoms of dizziness and fatigue almost overcame him was the day that Skuld arrived. The red-haired Norn had greeted Odin and Frigga with the utmost respect; Skuld seemed to deny the fact that she was in fact more powerful than all the rulers of the nine realms combined. She had a small smile on her lips when she told them both that, "It's time."

Frigga had lead Odin off into their chambers, not once letting go of his hand, Skuld trailing along behind.

"How long will it last?" asked Frigga as Odin sat down on his bed.

"Two, three days. Less than a week, so not terribly long," Skuld replied, and stepped out of the way of the door seconds before it burst open.

Thor came rushing in, Loki at his heels, a very winded looking Fulla following closely behind. Both boys ran over to Odin, standing on either sides of him.

"Father, do you have to go to sleep?" asked Thor.

"Father, what is the point of the Odinsleep anyway?" questioned Loki.

"What would happen if you stopped breathing?"

"How long will you be asleep?"

"Does it hurt?"

"Can you get nightmares?"

"I tried to stop them," Fulla told Frigga. "Honestly I did."

"Do not fret," Frigga said, smiling, "they were bound to do this sooner or later."

"Have you two been giving Fulla a hard time?" questioned Odin, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Father," both brothers chorused quickly. Odin didn't notice how Loki's eyes would occasionally flick over to Skuld.

"Good; now return to you rooms with Fulla. I must rest. I shall tell you everything you wish to know when I wake up."

Both boys looked as if they would protest, but Loki scrambled up onto the bed next to Odin and wrapped his thin arms around his torso, pressing his face into his Father's chest. Thor quickly copied him, and the two princes were clinging to him like he was a lifeline.

"I don't want you to go," murmured Loki. Thor said nothing, but just squeezed him with the grip of a warrior.

Odin felt his heart swell with grief. Loki may have been small, sharp-tongued, a troublemaker and a Frost Giant in disguise, but Odin loved the boy more than anything during that moment. And as he lost consciousness, Odin knew that one day Loki wouldn't hug him. He knew that Loki would rebel and be hit by a wave of truth that would pull him under and consume him.

But until then, all Odin could do was worry.

A/n: Uumm...Here's another attempt at Loving!Odin. ...Pfft I fail. Anyway, I've recently been looking at a LOT of Thor fanart. Is it wrong that I want fanart to go along with this story? BECAUSE I WANT IT SO BAD.

Also, that odd / even chapter getting more reviews thing is still happening. What the heck. Please review because this chapter is even lol.