A Second Chance // Thorki

Chapter eleven

"Hello Mr. Loki!" Albin's voice was almost surprised, his grin wide and his arms held out even wider as he ran at the trickster.

Loki was very much caught off guard by the child, who wrapped his little arms around his knees and squeezed them tight, giving him a tight hug. It was almost enough to make the trickster smile. "Goodmorning, Albin. I apologize for having been away a lot recently... I've been quite busy. The King of Asgard is a very problematic man."

"The- the king is your brother, yes?" The little boy looked up at him with big eyes, so dark they were comparable to the night sky, so beautiful and breathtaking that even Loki had to take a moment and try to focus before he could properly converse with him.

"Well... yes, I suppose so. Technically, I'm a prince." Loki said it with a gentle smile as Albin grabbed his finger and lead him to their little corner where they always sat and read.

Today, however, was different. Because there was no noise, no bustle of children playing, no clunking and clanging of toys. There were three children, along with Albin- four in total. A stark difference from the usual ten or fifteen.

"Where did the rest of the children go, Albin?"

"Left." The boy didn't seem to concerned with it, looking through the small bookcase for a book they had yet to read.

"Left? What do you mean by left, Albin?"

"People came and took them."

Oh, yes. It was then that Loki remembered this wasn't just some daycare. This was the orphanage. And Albin was one of the last children left in it, the rest having been adopted.

"Is Thor really tall?" Albin asked, picking up a book with green letters all along the front. It's in a language that even Loki doesn't comprehend.

Loki almost laughed. "I... yes, I suppose so. But I am the taller one. And the intelligent one. And the most attractive."

"Is it fun?" Albin asked, sitting down on a beanbag chair, "Having a brother?

That was a hard question. Loki gave a bit of a sigh as he sat down beside the little Albin. "At times, yes. However It's an especially difficult life when you're adopted and your father doesn't treat you equally." He looked around at the few other children before he continued, "I only ever wanted to be Thor's equal... my mother saw us as such, and loved us both the same. But our father played favourites. As a consequence, I lived many years in my Brother's shadow."

"What does consequence mean?"

"A consequence is... a result, especially a bad one." Loki's smile returned for a fleeting moment as Albin opened his little book. "An example of a consequence would be if you eat too many sweets, and have a stomach ache because of it."

"That doesn't sound like fun."

It was then that the door was opened, and Loki glanced up at who had entered before quickly turning his back to the man.

Thor stood in the doorway, looking around the tiny orphanage before starting to make his way over to Loki, dressed in simple, comfortable, midgardian-esque clothes.

"Brother," he greeted, nodding to the man, before his attention was directed to Albin, who still remained sitting in his little bean bag chair, focused more on his book than anything else.

He knelt before the little boy, which seemed to get his attention. Albin was suddenly rather shocked, the book falling from his lap as he practically jumped to his feet, "Y-you're the king!"

Thor almost laughed at that, and Loki scowled.

"Yes, yes... I am the king of Asgard, but you, my little friend, may call me Thor."

Loki couldn't help but roll his eyes, crossing his arms and keeping his eyes anywhere but on Thor or Albin. The few other children were staring, everyone in the room watching the king of Asgard speak ever so softly with the little boy.

"Do you remember your parents, Albin?"

Albin shook his head. "My mum and dad left me with the caretakers when I was little. The caretakers are my parents now."

"Do you want parents, or a parent? A person who looks after you, cares for you..." Thor trailed off with a smile, and Loki's heart almost stopped. He could see exactly where this was going.

"Thor," he warned, though the man simply held up a hand to quiet him.

"I know of a family... a family which needs something- or someone- to bring them together again." The thunderer reached out and placed an especially gentle hand on Albin's shoulder. The boy seemed confused by Thor's statement.

Loki saw exactly what the damn king was planning on doing. And so, soon enough he was on his feet, a firm hand grabbing Thor by the hair. No matter how short or long it was, it was always an easy way to get him under control. Though the guards in the room were definitely paying attention now, Loki didn't seem to notice as he dragged his brother into one of the back rooms, slamming the door and shoving the man up against the wall.

"Thor Odinson, you are not going to adopt a child!"

"And just why not?" Thor was almost laughing, his smile bright and his eye even brighter, seemingly ignoring the large hand around his throat.

"You're unable to even take care of yourself, how are you supposed to raise a child? You are such an oaf!" Loki straight up punched him, though it was fairly weak, hitting his pectoral muscle and doing very little else. "You literally just inherited the throne, like, three days ago at the most. Learn to deal with your kingly duties and such before you go off adopting all these children. As much as... as much as I like Albin, we can't take care of him properly with the way things are now."

Thor opened his mouth to say something in return, only for him to close it, then open it again, rendered speechless. It pissed him off.

"You hold a good argument, Brother..." he uttered, teeth barred.

"What made you think adopting a child would be a good idea, Thor?" Loki practically demanded, stepping back to cross his arms. He was fairly surprised by the spontaneity in his brother's actions.

The king shrugged. "I like children."

"Well, I don't. Did you ever think about that?"

"You like that child," Thor pointed out, "The one with eyes as black as night."

Loki practically growled at that. "I enjoy his presence. That doesn't mean I'd like to raise him. I occasionally find joy in being around certain children- some can be fairly endearing. That does not mean I want my own."

Thor gave a sigh, still standing against the wall with his arms crossed. "I... In that case, I shall wait until we have properly gotten Asgard up and running again before we get a child." It was a rather defeated mumble, barely audible.

"Good... now let's go to the bar again after my shift, I'm in need of a drink."