Of Numbers and Strange Friendships

Chapter 46

Loki tossed Thor his cape back as soon as the battle was over. He looked over at his brother with desperation in his eyes. "Did we get all of them?" he begged of his brother. This wasn't the skilled warrior the teens had seen throughout the entire battle. This was a terrified boy seeking his older brother's protection.

Loki didn't want to go back to Jotunheim. He didn't want to be king there. He knew nothing about the Jotuns except what Odin had taught him and Thor as boys: that the Jotuns were monsters, savages, horrible brutes of creatures. Loki hadn't come to terms with the fact that he was biologically a Jotun. He was raised Asgardian and it was so against his beliefs to even consider.

Now it was being shoved in his face.

He was going to have to deal with it.

The only consolation so far was that Peter hadn't rejected him.

Thor nodded and gave Loki a reassuring look. "We got them all. Your secret is safe. For now," he added that last, though he didn't need to. Loki knew that the Jotuns would be back to find Loki again. They weren't going to give up until they found their lost prince.

Loki nodded. "I need to speak to Mother. Will you look after Peter and Wanda?" he asked Thor. He wouldn't leave the teens alone without someone he trusted when they were both strangers to this realm. Maybe in a few years of visits, but not on their first trip to Asgard.

Thor nodded. "I will look after them," he promised. He understood Loki's concern and wouldn't leave the teens on their own either.

Loki breathed a sigh of relief, though gave Thor a stern look. "And you are not to give either of them alcohol," he reminded his brother.

Thor rolled his eyes. "I'm aware," he said dryly. "They are children,"

"We're NOT children!" Wanda and Peter protested at the same time, which made Thor, Sigyn, and Loki all laugh at the same time.

Loki went to Sig. "Are you alright, darling?" he asked her, full of tender doting concern that the Midgardians generally thought him incapable of. Peter, Wanda, and the team knew better now, after they'd seen him with Peter for months.

Sig smiled brightly up at him, her armor shimmering back to proper court clothes. She cupped his cheek. "I'm perfectly fine, my love," she replied warmly and kissed Loki softly. The teens jeered them along with Thor's idiot friends.

The only proper response was for Loki to flip them off and kiss Sig more thoroughly. She didn't mind in the least.

Loki eventually broke away and cupped Sig's cheek. "I need to speak with Mother about this battle. Will you be alright, darling?"

She laughed. "I'm not a delicate court flower, Lokes. I'm perfectly capable of helping the other warriors clean up. Besides, I'll be needed in the healing wing," she reminded him.

He nodded and kissed her again before he headed into the palace to track down his mother after warning the teens to behave. Frigga wasn't hard to find. She was in the healing wing where she'd said she would be. Loki couldn't help feeling relieved that she was alright. It didn't matter that none of the enemies had so much as gotten past the palace threshold, Loki would still worry over his mama.

Frigga looked up when he came in and she saw that it was her son. Her eyes widened in alarm. Loki held up a hand to stop her concern. "I'm uninjured, Mother, don't fret. I just need to speak with you about the attack. I need your advice," he said. Frigga nodded and the pair of them went into her study.

"What's wrong, darling?" Frigga asked when Loki sat down picking at his hands. He always did so when he was nervous. It was a habit he'd gotten from her so reading him was always like reading herself.

"The frost giants were after me," Loki admitted softly, looking at his hands. He could barely admit this to his mother, though she'd adopted him, so of course she knew his heritage and had loved her adopted son as if he were her own.

"Do you know why?" she asked him gently. She didn't want to break Loki, especially while he was already upset over this and upset over having to admit he was a frost giant. She knew that he hadn't accepted that part of himself. He was raised Asgardian and saw himself as Asgardian, no matter what his biology said.

Loki nodded and hesitated, swallowing and taking a deep breath before he could speak. "They were looking for their lost prince. They wanted to drag me back to Jotunheim to rule," he said, terror in his voice that Frigga wouldn't defend him. He was afraid she'd tell Odin, who would be all too quick to ship him back to Jotunheim as a gesture of good will.

Frigga nodded. "It will be alright, darling. We've prepared for something like this. We will give false trails out to the other realms and the Jotuns. They will have no reason to believe that you are the lost prince," she reassured him and spelled out the entire plan for him.

Loki relaxed at her reassurances, but still had to question. "And Father? He won't send me back?"

Frigga shook her head. "No, he will not. You are our son," she said firmly. She would defend Loki and make Odin make the right decisions concerning him.

Loki moved to kiss her cheek. "Thank you, mother," he said, reassured that he was safe. Frigga would never give him up. She smiled warmly and Loki left her study and the healing wing.

He was surprised to find Peter right outside the healing wing's door.

"What's the number, witch?" he greeted Loki, clearly concerned over Loki after the battle and hoping the conversation with Frigga went well.

"Three. Everything is alright arachnid," Loki reassured him with a smile and the pair began to plan the rest of their time on Asgard.