A/N: I wrote legit 6 chapters of this on paper last night 'cause I was bored, so this shouldn't take too long to post. I had to...this story does Loki justice, I think. Everything he's been through...I'm a huge Loki fanatic, so this seemed fitting. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: As much as I wish Loki was mine (in more ways than one), he is not. Alas, he is Marvel's, as are any other characters and scenes referenced in this fanfic.
The Mind Is A Dangerous Place, Part I
Most people didn't see the value of knowledge, or the world, like he did. But then, he was Loki - no one saw the universe quite like he did.
Loki saw the universe as a cruel, harsh mistress, cold and unforgiving. But, he supposed, it did have its softer moments, where the Fates would smile upon those it deemed worthy of fairness and kindness. It was a complicated balance of life and death, good and evil, love and hate and everything in between. Those who were good were rewarded, becoming the ones who were recognized as victors, as heroes, in history. Those who were evil were punished, disgraced, made monsters of in history. Harsh though it may be, the universe had its rules for a reason. A reason most people didn't seem to understand.
Loki tried to understand. But he knew no one else would ever understand the way his mind worked.
Not Frigga, though Loki knew she tried to understand exactly how his brain worked. And he loved her for it, even though he knew that she was attempting the impossible.
Not Thor, who was too arrogant and brash and dense and just plain stupid to even attempt to puzzle out Loki's way of thinking. Despite that, Loki knew Thor loved him, even if he didn't always understand him, and for now that would suffice.
Not Odin; oh, gods, not Odin. Odin, who had never particularly loved nor cared in the slightest about Loki, would never understand the sheer complexity of Loki's mind, and frankly Loki preferred it that way. He still longed for his father's approval, his love, his recognition, his respect, but he'd long ago realized that there was no hope of Odin ever understanding his mind.
After all, at barely ten years old, Loki didn't truly understand his mind either.