Thor was busy working with Loki when a servant entered the room. He was one of the attendants Thor kept from his father's reign. Likely, it concerned Othel. Ever since she had their beautiful son, Atticus Thorson, she had been on intensive bedrest. She was oft trying to escape her sentence, or she was emotional from giving birth. Both were something Thor had experienced before and had expected from her.
"What is it?" he asked, looking away.
"Sire, Lady Othel needs thee."
The tone the servant used was quite alarming to say the least. He sounded frazzled and quite alarmed. The last couple of months since Atticus was born had been like a bubble of normality in his hectic, busy life. What if something had happened to them? He wasn't sure it was something he would be able to recover from.
"Loki-"
"Go," Loki sighed, taking away Thor's papers. "Best to quell that monstrous woman before she has yet another outbreak of emotion."
"I will go," he said, nearly leaping up.
As soon as he opened the doors to his private chambers he was trying to find Othel and Atticus in the rooms. He followed the sound of Atticus crying and found them in the nursery. It was pitch dark inside, and Atticus was screeching and weeping. Thor lit a torch on the wall, and in the dim light he saw Othel rocking a hysterical Atticus, tears running down both of their cheeks. The sight was heartbreaking to him. What could cause both of them such horrendous tears?
She looked up at him helplessly. "I don't know what to do; he won't stop crying."
Thor didn't know what he should do, so he went with what he wanted to do and knelt down in front of her and gathered her in his arms, careful of the babe between them. "What is wrong, dearest?" he cooed into her hair.
"He hates me," Othel cried into his neck.
"Othel, beloved, that could not be further from the truth," he said soothingly. He took Atticus in his arms and began soothing him with the rumble in his chest. It seemed like no time at all before he was asleep and sucking on Thor's shirt like it was Othel's breast.
"I spent over an hour trying to calm him down. I changed him, tried to feed him, walked up and down the hall, rocked him, sang to him. Nothing. You're here for two minutes and he's out like a light. My baby hates me. This is…sc-scientific proof."
Thor put the baby down in his crib and motioned for them to head out of her room. She followed, still hiccupping and sniffling into her dress sleeve. In their bedroom, she grabbed some Midgard tissues she insisted on having and tried to mop at her face. Thor sat down beside her and took her hand in his own. "Othel, our babe does not hate thee."
"How did you even know to come?" she asked suspiciously.
"A servant came to me."
She sat on the couch and started crying again. "Even they think I'm a bad mother! I'm a horrible person!" she sobbed.
"No, Othel, they just knew to call me when thou art upset," he said, holding her to him. Then he had an idea of how to help her. "Othel, when was the last time thou hast left the palace?"
"Not since two months before Atticus was born. Everyone hates me for replacing Jane. They think I'm just sloppy seconds; it really hasn't been worth leaving...even if fresh air would be nice. I'd rather just stay in here."
Thor knew how she felt. He tried his hardest to keep her away from the ones who did not appreciate her, but sometimes a few managed to slip through the cracks. "We should go to a Midgard beach. I promised to take Narfi, and it would be pleasant to see thee in Midgard swimwear."
"No."
"Why not?"
"I-I don't know. C-Could we maybe…just go to the library or something? You have work. I don't want to be a burden."
"That settles it," Thor stood. "We shall go to a Midgard beach."
Thor and Othel returned to Midgard with Narfi and Atticus in tow. Thor talked to Anthony, and his friend was kind enough to let them use a private beach along with his Malibu home. It was smaller than Thor expected, but it was cozy all the same. Thor and Narfi immediately went to the beach while Othel nursed Atticus and put him down for a nap in a carrier. When she met them outside though, Thor frowned.
"Why art thou wearing a robe?"
Othel looked near tears. "I'm wearing the damn thing because I let you and Tony pack for me, and all you dumbasses packed for me to swim in was a skimpy bikini!"
"What is wrong with that?"
"I just had a baby three months ago, you jackass! My body is hideous, and I don't think anyone deserves to see so much hideous in one sitting. It's bad for their health."
"I know thou hast had a baby," he said blankly. "Tis our baby. And thou dost not look hideous, thou looks beautiful!"
She shook her head. "You don't understand. You're gorgeous! You're literally the perfect male specimen! Your ass should be illegal in most countries. You're a giant beefcake. I'm all lumpy and bumpy and stretch mark laden. Who wants to see that?"
"Is that why we haven't coupled since the healers gave thee permission a few weeks ago?"
Othel wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of the robe. She had been crying so much lately. Thor was going to rectify that. "This may not be easy for you to understand, but it's hard to get in a sexy frame of mind when your body is so gross."
Thor walked forward, moving to untie the robe and peel it open despite Othel's attempts to keep it closed. He knelt in front of her and started kissing the stretch marks on her hip, making his way towards her belly button. "Othel, thou hast grown another human being within thee. That is something that I couldn't do. A few scars from something so amazing is nothing I would find ugly. They art thine battle scars…something to be proud of."
She let out a watery chuckle, then a squeak as she felt a tongue on her neck. A knot of tension released that she hadn't realized was constantly there. She had been so worried Thor wouldn't want her anymore. Seeing how turned on he was by her even with her imperfections was a relief.
"Uncle Thor!" Narfi screamed from the water line. "Play with me, not Aunt Othie! You play with her all the time!"
-End
