Chapter Thirteen
Loki sat passed out in the bed for over a day. Thor and Frigga were at his side the entirety of the time, caring for the body that was fast healing, but not fast enough.
"Why does he not regenerate faster?" Thor asked. His mother was the only one besides Loki he showed his vulnerable side to. As the crowned prince, he had to always be confident, proud, powerful; but this was the woman who birthed him. She was there to fuss over every bruise and scrape (though she had learned to do so silently and with a mere glance; she was not allowed to dote on her babies after they became men). To her children, she was safety.
"By birth, Loki is a frost giant, darling," she explained. "If there is anything his body hates, it is fire."
"I cannot believe he would behave in such a suicidal manner!" Thor shook his head. "I had thought I had made such progress."
"You have," she patted his knee affectionately. "Do not try to control your brother, though, Thor. Loki is a free spirit. He is the god of mischief for a reason; I have had to learn that sometimes, if he is in a position he doesn't like for too long, he rebels. He will need to burn off excess energy no matter what. It is a part of his charm, I think, that he can be so quiet and still one day then wild and...powerful the next." Her hand pushed back Loki's ebony locks gently so as to not disturb him.
"Never as wild as Thor," he mumbled. Their eyes got wide and Frigga sighed in relief. "Though I will admit to being powerful."
"Ever confident, even in injury," Thor chuckled softly, taking Loki's hand.
"You are a thousand times worse," Loki's eye lids fluttered open, revealing the emerald orbs beneath.
"Loki!" Thor groaned in relief, touching his forehead to his brother's. His hand came to rest on Loki's left cheek, his thumb gently stroking his cheek bone.
"Ugh," he swatted away his hand. He avoided looking at Frigga for fear of her reaction. What he missed was the softening of her features, the warmth in her eyes.
"Hey, it is okay," Thor grinned. "She knows."
Loki's head whipped over to look at his mother.
"It's alright, darling," her hand went back up to his hair.
"And you're okay with it?"
"I have supported it since you were children, if you will remember. I could have taken steps to keep you away from each other when I had my first suspicions. Not that they would have worked, but I could have made my displeasure known. Instead I left you do your own." She watched Loki's face carefully.
"It was because you knew I wasn't related by blood."
"Yes. I often entertained the idea of telling you your heritage so you could rule by Thor's side instead of behind him," she admitted. Loki's eyes widened. "I am not as ignorant as you think, my son. But me stepping in to protect you from bullies even as a child would have made things worse for you. Whether I agree with the social standards of Asgard is irreverent; I know how to work them."
"Still, I could never be Thor's...consort. I cannot bear him an heir, and I will NOT let him lay with a female to do so," Loki's voice was much more powerful than it had been in the beginning of the conversation. Thor didn't miss that he said will not instead of would not.
"Loki, have you read up on frost giants?" Frigga cocked an eyebrow; at that moment no blood relation mattered; she and Loki looked hey similar.
"Well, besides the histories telling us...you...how evil they...we are, there isn't much literature on the subject," Loki's voice grew bitter.
"Loki, it matters not whether you are Odinson or Laufeyson. You are Friggason. By being so, you are not evil, unless you think me so," her eyes narrowed in challenge. It was in that gaze that made it obvious what the great Odin had found appealing in her in the first place.
"Friggason...I think I like the sound of it," Loki smiled. "Loki Friggason. There are certainly worse titles."
"Good, now as I was saying- Jotun-born beings can carry children. They are inter-sexed."
Loki pushed himself up to a sitting position. "I assure you my body parts are a hundred percent male."
"I changed your diapers. I remember," she teased. Loki's face turned pink. "Now will you stop being so stubborn and listen? What happened to my bright little boy who loved to learn and could sit here for hours in the library?"
"He just learned that he is supposed to have a vagina!" Loki yelled. He slapped his hand over his mouth quickly afterwards. "Sorry, Mom..."
She rolled her eyes. "You are not supposed to have a vagina."
"Eww," Thor wrinkled his nose. "Mother, you can't just say the V-word!"
"Thor, you are a grown man! If you can sleep with one, you can say the word."
"But I don't sleep with any. I hate that word..." he scowled.
"But you can say penis just fine?" she scoffed.
"Easily. Penis. Penis. PENIS!" He yelled, receiving a smack from Loki. He grinned down.
"Oh my gosh, I am sleeping with a child," Loki groaned.
"A child with a penis!"
"OH MY GOD SHUT UP ABOUT PENISES!" Loki yelled, smacking Thor repeatedly.
"What is so wrong with vaginas?" Frigga questioned.
"They are just Midgardian black holes! They just keep going! How do things not get lost there? How will my" he glanced at Loki with a devilish twinkle in his eye, "penis know when to stop?"
Frigga covered her face. "We are not having this conversation."
"As for that, once a month a female will try to kill her partner, Tony has informed me. I would rather have a person I know will kill me for set reasons than because her body suddenly decides she needs to beat me for a week." Thor shivered. "Just...bleh."
"Please go back to the part where I am supposedly half female!" Loki yelled.
"You are not a female. You are still a male. You just have a uterus. Inside of you. No birth canal, not other female parts. But you CAN get pregnant, but only when you choose it," she explained.
"Alright," Loki relaxed. "As long as there's no black hole inside me."
Loki didn't miss all that his made possible. There was a glimmer of hope for their relationship. That glimmer was enough.
Sorry for not updating sooner! Thanks for all the feedback! I love you all dearly (in the non-creepy way)!