Chapter Text
Thor was different today, Loki noticed as he watched his brother from the archway that led to the classroom. The way the omega walked, his slow gait, hands held behind his back. He was looking down.
Had Loki disappointed him that much?
Or was Thor actually pregnant?
He watched his brother walk towards the study halls. Loki was concerned. Even if he would never admit it, he didn't like disappointing Thor.
Mastress Eir was glowering at Loki, her arms crossed. Every now and then she would "humph". Loki sat on the bench and waited impatiently. Fidgety. He tried to use his magic as a distraction for Thor's unnecessarily long trek, but she tutted at him every time he tried.
It was a good sign, though, if Thor came instead of their parents. Maybe he wasn't in much trouble.
When the omega got closer, he looked up at Loki. A small smile graced his lips. An annoyed yet humored smile.
So not distraught over Loki then.
Maybe Loki wasn't even in trouble! Well, then again...it wasn't up to Thor to decide that.
Of course, there was still the possibility that Thor was pregnant, if he really were kissing alphas all willy nilly. They'd have to have a little chat about that.
"What have you gotten up to now, Loki?" Thor asked when he reached him.
Loki crossed his arms and looked away, "I did absolutely nothing wrong."
"Right, this room got in this state by itself." Thor said, looking at the destruction that used to be a classroom.
Thor didn't even give him the benefit of the doubt. Anyone could have caused that destruction! Sure Loki was indeed the cause, but that wasn't the point.
"Tell him the truth, Loki!" Mastress Eir snipped at the young alpha. Loki sighed and relayed the events of the day.
He started with the conversation that initiated it all.
Sylvie had told him her sister was in trouble and was being sent to Vanir to live with their grandparents. Sylvie had said this with great joy. Her sister and her could never get along.
When Loki had asked why, she told him it was because her sister got pregnant and the alpha who did it wasn't acknowledging her.
Loki had told her only whores got pregnant before marriage. To be honest, he hadn't meant any harm. He was just repeating what he heard other students say. Sylvie and Loki studied with older students and Loki liked to listen in on their grown up conversations. He figured the older students must have deep knowledge in such things.
Sylvie had hit him for the comment and called Thor a slut.
Apparently their strained relationship strong enough that Sylvie felt the need to fight for her sister's honor.
And fight the two did. Magic went blazing. Chairs, tables, and windows were broken. Any objects that could be lifted by magic were thrown. Students and even Mastress Eir scattered.
The battle was fierce. Two alphas were determined to protect, even if it were only reputations that needed protecting. As the two were pulled apart, she yelled that Thor was going to get pregnant too if he kept kissing alphas.
Loki conjured a venomous reptile that wrapped itself around the crown of Sylvie's head, hissing and snarling. Sylvie went running. Loki considered it a win.
When Loki finished, Thor was rubbing his brow in frustration. Loki thought he'd be more grateful. It was, afterall, THOR'S reputation he'd been fighting for.
"As I said, it wasn't my fault." Loki finished.
"Loki, you can't rip apart a classroom and attack someone with a snake because you didn't like what they said." Thor said.
"I was defending YOUR honor. You could at least say thank you!" Loki argued, "And she started it."
Mastress Eir huffed in annoyance, "This is what I deal with all day. Every single day. Take him. Go, go! Tomorrow you and Sylvie will clean up this mess you made." She said. Mastress Eir was too elegant to stomp away. So she did a dignified sway instead.
The bitch.
Thor sighed, looking down at Loki who couldn't help but look away. Perhaps the fight had gotten a wee bit out of control. But he wouldn't admit that.
Thor sighed again and reached his hand out to Loki, who took it.
"Am I in trouble?" Loki asked.
Thor snorted, "Most definitely." The omega hesitated for a bit, "You're confined to your room for a fortnight."
"A whole fortnight?!" Loki said, shocked. "I won't get to see Sylvie?!"
"The same Sylvie who may still have a snake living rent free in her hair?" Thor said.
"The spell will wear off soon. And we'll be fine. We fight like this at least once a week." Loki said. Thor chuckled. "She shouldn't have said what she said."
"Neither should you." Thor said, "You called her sister a whore."
"She called you a slut!"
"Because you called her sister a whore!"
"She is!" Loki insisted, "She's having a baby before marriage. Subs can't do that, she should have known better." Thor sighed again, he did that a lot.
"Mistakes happen, Loki." Thor said, looking away.
"You wouldn't do that." Loki said.
Thor huffed a soft laugh, "What makes you so sure?"
Loki considered this, considered his brother's careless, impulsive way about things. Maybe he shouldn't be so sure.
"Please don't get pregnant, Thor. That would be most inconvenient for me." Loki said. He was quite serious but Thor laughed at him, even if it sounded a bit tense.
"I can assure you," Thor said, "that is not something you have to worry about."
"Thor?" Loki asked. When Thor said, "Hmm?" Loki asked, "Were you kissing alphas?".
Thor rolled his eyes, "Why is that so important to you?"
"Because if you kiss alphas, you'll get pregnant. Everyone knows that, Thor." Loki said, slightly annoyed. Leave it to his brother to miss the basics.
Thor smiled, "Is that so?"
"Yes, and then they'll abandon you like Sylvie's sister." Loki said, "And it'll be all up to me to take care of you." Thor seemed humored by this.
"Babies don't come from kissing, Loki." Thor said. Loki snapped his eyes up at him.
"What? Yes, they do."
Thor laughed, "No, it's more complicated than that."
"Really?" Loki said, trying to wrap his young mind around that. "Where do they come from?"
"I'll tell you when you're older." Thor said, then his voice changed a little, "Or our parents will."
Loki tried to add it up. Where could babies come from? Kissing was the only thing that made sense.
"I'll have to share this with Sylvie." Loki said before he remembered his punishment. He looked up at his brother, "A whole fortnight?" Loki whined, "The allfather said that?"
Thor sighed heavily, "Yes, your father did." He sounded so sad.
"What's wrong?" Loki asked. Thor looked down at him with a sad smile, "Nothing. I'm fine, Loki."
The healers closed his womb?
Loki couldn't switch his attention from this newfound knowledge. Not just because it was cruel but... What did it even mean? Was Heimdall barren? Or was this something that could be reversed? Had the healers used science or magic?
Had they done it to Thor?
What had been told to Thor might not have been the truth. It certainly would be in character for Odin to lie about something so severe. Thor was to be the King. Another child before due time would prohibit that.
Or so Odin would have thought.
Loki walked in distracted thought, scanning the offerings from Triffflheim, an ally of once glorious Asgard. The Trifffles were watching him intently from their shelves along the hall walls, searching his face for approval. Loki wasn't good at...civility. He smiled at them with what he hoped conveyed genuine approval but they all cowered back.
Well...he tried.
News of the destruction of Asgard spread quickly and their allies were quick to offer assistance, hoping to beat their enemies in offering more destruction.
Thor and Heimdall were busy. The King and his advisor amicably accepted the gifts, diplomatically offering...something in return should the Trifffles want it. But if Loki's allspeak was correct, the tiny beings only wanted to help.
Which was just as well. Loki couldn't imagine they had anything to offer in return. But there was quite a bit of the all-father in Thor. Loki was sure his broth—father, had something up his sleeve.
The Trifffles were odd looking beings, as most of the Galaxy were. Their ears were bigger than their bitty bodies and flopped over, dragging on the ground when they walked. They only reached the height of an Asgardian's ankle and their skin was a bright glowing cyan hue.
It was because of this and Loki saying, mistakenly in Thor's presence, they could use the Trifffles as living lanterns on the ship, that Loki was banished from this meeting of important persons. Lest he say something inappropriate in their presence.
Not that he much minded. Because, well, he probably would have said something inappropriate, to be honest. But also, he couldn't imagine staring down at someone ankle height for a long time was very comfortable. But kneeling would have been considered rude.
To their credit, most of the Trifffles had the decency to climb to high places to communicate. Thank Valhalla, because if they had stayed on the floor, Loki just knew he'd step on one eventually.
They offered food that was mostly foreign to them. Clothes that were hideous and Loki didn't imagine would fit very well. He did admire their determination, however. How many of them did it take to sew just one giant sized garment? Let alone the thousands they were offering to them in crates.
There were other things as well, that would count for wealth. Beautiful stones and gems, weapons, whatever the Trifffles thought would be helpful.
Before Surtur, Triffflheim was under Asgard's protection. The realm was spoiled with riches just beneath the surface. Trifffles didn't believe in using more than was necessary and they were so small that what they used didn't even scratch the surface of their wealth.
So others, including Loki himself once, another reason he was sidelined, decided to use their resources for them. This usually involved killing them in groves. That wasn't as bad as it seemed as the Trifffles multiplied at astounding rates.
Loki tried to imagine it. How tiny their squabbling infants had to be. Infants. Babies. Full circle to the very thing he'd rather not think about. Children. Fertility.
Heimdall's fertility was a fine thought. His brother's, not so much. Especially since Thor wasn't at all his brother. Nevertheless, Loki couldn't help but have questions.
If the all-father was so intent on having his way that he would shut the womb of a child after he forced an abortion on that child twice...what else had he done?
The alpha overheard the Trifffle King offer the Asgardians the chance to mine their world for one percent of their resources to help regain their wealth.
Loki knocked down several crates of who knows what when he spun around in shock. Even one percent of Triffflheim's resources would be enough for several Asgardian generations.
Thor glanced at him in wary humor and politely declined, claiming the Trifffles' had already been overgenerous.
This must have upset their patrons, for every Trifffle in the room threw their head back and let out the most...Heinous...Wail.
A brain shattering wail.
Their ears even stood up and wobbled as they did so.
Heimdall even emoted. The way he winced, Loki wondered if his amazing hearing was more sensitive to the sound than the rest of them.
It took more self-restraint than Loki had ever exercised in his fourteen plus hundred years of life to not banish each and every one of these miserable miscreants to another dimension.
Had this been Odin, he would have done it just to spite the old bastard.
But Thor. For his true father, he could behave. For once. Loki had never thought he would feel this much regret for his treatment of Thor. He's spent his life being spiteful towards his not-brother for his childhood neglect and his parent had been giving him attention his entire life.
That made Loki hate Odin even more.
Thor was quick to offer his apologies and accepted the offer that had been made.
The agonizing wails ceased and were replaced with celebration, shiny cyan ears clapped happily. Loki had a sneaky suspicion that the Trifffles' generosity was self-serving.
They would have to take shelter on Triffflheim to mine the resources. They would essentially be bodyguards for the Trifffles during their stay.
Asgardians on their worst day were still a realm-destroying force. And the protection they could provide for the weak was undeniably substantial. But a respite from their travels and a new environment to decompress from...everything was well and long overdue. It was a fair trade.
The Trifffles explained they had tried to build homes for their massive allies but the task was too much for them.
They were an incredible race, Thor thought. They had started building the homes but their tools could only reach so far. So the homes were half finished. How they even made it that far was simply amazing.
Thor told the Trifffle King, Leklan, that they could simply continue living on the ship. But they would help the Trifffles finish the houses. When the Asgardians continued their journey, it would appear as if some had stayed.
Diplomacy never came naturally to Thor. It seemed more a task for Heimdall. But Heimdall rarely spoke more words than absolutely necessary. He had always been quiet but he's grown silent over the years. Thor had evolved in the complete opposite direction.
As it was, this was apparently a good move. The Trifffles greatly appreciated it.
Hell, maybe some would actually stay. While they were few in number currently, Thor wouldn't get in the way of any of his people who wanted to follow a different path.
Trifffleheim was a beautiful realm. Everything in the world was oversized except for the people who lived here.
Thor had wandered a bit, just a few clicks from basecamp. He had thought the second they'd reached any land, he'd never step foot on the ship again unless he had to. He was sick of looking at it.
But for the three days they've been on Triffflheim, he had rarely left the ship. To be fair, there was a lot to take his attention. His people had many needs. But most of his attention was handling childish disputes to be honest. He needed a break. So it was all Heimdall's problem until he returned.
Not to be a bad friend, but it kind of made Thor want to stay away for as long as possible.
"Hello, your Highness," Thor heard a voice say from behind him. He turned around and found Valkyrie. She walked up to stand beside him.
"I thought you'd be gone by now." Thor said, leaning against the trunk of a massive tree.
"Go where?" Val said, with a sly smile, "You guilt-tripped me out of my home." She didn't seem that distressed about it.
"Your home is with your people." Thor said, then cringed a bit at how much he sounded like his father.
"Yes," Val said, surprising him, "All I could remember was the war. Now that I'm back, I remember everything else. I wish I had come home before Asgard was destroyed."
"We will rebuild." Thor said, "Perhaps our new Asgard will be better than before." He said it more confidently than he felt. Not because he missed his home necessarily. As much as he hated to see it blown to bits, all the places that held horrible memories for him were blown away as well. It was why he spent so much time away from his home world in the first place. He suspected Heimdall felt the same way. Probably more so than Thor.
"I'd like that." Val said, moving closer. He caught her scent, which had picked up. She wasn't trying to dominate. She scented aroused.
Thor couldn't blame her, he was very arousing. Though it seemed sudden. Or maybe it wasn't. Maybe that's why she had come to him.
"I was just going to explore." Valkyrie said, "We'll be here for a while. Might as well get to know our surroundings."
She wasn't advancing on him, despite her closing the distance. Which he was grateful for. Her scent and the setting brought to mind an old memory. A painful, shameful one.
Thor pushed it deep down, where it belonged.
"Explore the forest?" Thor said, his voice teasing, almost to prove a point. If to no one but himself. "Or explore me?"
Val seemed confused at first, even when he closed the gap and kissed her. But she reciprocated, kissing him more passionately than he expected.
"Exploring you does sound fun," Val said when she broke away, taking his hand. "Let's find a place, a bit more secret. The memory he had pushed down had bubbled back up, filling his chest. He almost felt as if he were suffocating.
He followed her still, letting her use him and pretending to enjoy it.
Thor opening his door caught Heimdall off guard. The fellow omega ambled in and collapsed face first besides Heimdall on his bed.
"One of those days, I suppose." Heimdall said, setting his books to the side. He had been studying. But Thor always seemed to want the most attention when Heimdall was the most preoccupied. He cast his sight on Loki, since the boy was the only person who could get Thor this upset.
The young alpha was sitting on his bed, arms crossed in a foul mood. Confined to his room, Heimdall supposed.
Definitely Thor's doing. If it had been Odin, the boy would have been in his grandfather's office being lectured.
Thor wasn't big on talking. Probably because Odin did so much of it.
"I swear, for someone who's not supposed to be raising their own child, I feel like I'm doing all the work." Thor said. Honestly, Heimdall tended to agree. It seemed the only thing Odin was contributing was frustration. The Allmother never seemed as determined to be Loki's mother as Odin was to be his father.
But the Allmother was all around more sensible.
"Apparently, Heimdall," Thor said, propping his chin on his arm, "I'm a whore."
Heimdall's brow furrowed, "Loki said that?"
"Not on purpose," Thor said with a headshake, "He said any sub who has a baby before marriage is a whore."
If someone hadn't known Thor, his look of mild disinterest might be convincing. But Heimdall knew better.
"I'm sure he's just repeating what he's heard." Heimdall said, "I know the students who attend his halls. They throw such words around to sound mature." And they probably heard them from older siblings who used them out of cruelty.
Heimdall hoped Thor never had to face such cruelty. Laufey had already done too much and Heimdall had experienced enough cruelty for the both of them.
Thor was silent for a moment, brow furrowed as if he were thinking something over.
"What's wrong?" Heimdall asked.
Thor shrugged, "It's just...sometimes I feel..." Thor shook his head dismissively, "It's nothing."
"Sometimes you feel as if you really are a whore." Heimdall said, finishing Thor's thought for him.
"Do you ever feel that way?" Thor asked.
Heimdall felt that way now , the events of the day played out in the back of his mind. But he simply just said, "Yes."
"Now I feel bad." Thor said. The older omega wasn't even sure what he meant by that.
"There's nothing to feel bad about." Heimdall said gently, " You can't blame yourself for feelings."
"But..." Thor started then stopped, worrying his bottom lip.
"What's wrong?" Heimdall asked, reaching out, running his hand through Thor's hair. "You can always tell me anything."
"You promise you won't think less of me?" Thor asked. Heimdall's heart ached, wondering what could have happened that led Thor to that thought.
"Of course not." Hiemdall said, "Come." Thor moved to sit beside him. He has grabbed Heimdall's stuffed animal. The one that he's had since early childhood. It was a mistakenly half bear/half bunny hybrid that his father had finished for him before he died. He still held it sometimes, even though he felt he was too old for that. Thor was clutching it close to his chest. He had always been drawn to it.
Heimdall wrapped an arm around the younger omega, "What happened?"
"I...Apparently Loki got in a fight with Sylvie because he called her sister a whore and she said I was a slut because I kiss alphas." Thor said, a bit of sad humor shining in his eyes.
"But I..." Thor started and stopped. Tensing. After a moment he continued, "I don't even know how she found out... Unless they were talking about it already." Thor's face gradually fell as the weight of the realization fell on him.
That made it far worse, Heimdall always thought. When an alpha violated him and then bragged about it. It was a cruelty he wished he could have kept Thor from. But, Heimdall supposed, he couldn't protect Thor from everything. No matter how much he wanted to.
Thor wouldn't be a victim of such boasting too much. He was one of the only two omegas in Asgard but he was still the King's son. He was the heir to the throne. Respect had to be given even if it were begrudged.
"Thor?" Heimdall said, "They?"
"I...there were some alphagirls in my hall. They keep pestering me." This said, "They sort of trapped me in the woods."
"Why didn't you call for me?" Heimdall asked. He could see much. But he could only concentrate on one thing at a time. Maybe that would change over time, their gifts grew as they aged.
But if Thor had called, he would have heard him. Heimdall would have protected him.
Valhalla knows Heimdall would have done anything to have someone willing to protect him. He supposed Odin and Frigga would have been willing if it wasn't for Odin's personal philosophies.
"I didn't want you to get hurt again." Thor said
"I would have been fine." Heimdall said, "I can take on a couple of fifty year olds."
"They were older than me." Thor said.
"Even still, I would have come if you had called." Heimdall said.
Thor pondered on this, then shook his head, "But we have to protect each other."
"You need to protect Loki," Heimdall said, "I'll protect you."
"Then who will protect you?" Thor asked.
"I can protect you and still take care of myself." Heimdall said. It was true. Well, now it was. He wasn't bothered much by his peers these days, he was too fierce.
In childhood, however, when he first came to Asgard, Heimdall felt as if he had been thrown into a pit of jealous, vicious lions and was, quite literally, told to deal with it. Effective, he supposed. He only had two options. Either survive or be destroyed.
He learned how to survive.
Well, almost. While his peers weren't a problem, there were a few select elders who were.
"That seems unfair." Thor said.
Heimdall gave Thor a small smile, "I'll be fine."
Thor's 'okay' in reply didn't seem comforted. But he would probably listen regardless. "You still haven't told me what happened?" Heimdall urged softly. It was hypocritical, he supposed. There was much he hadn't shared with anyone.
Not because he didn't want to. No one ever asked. Well...Thor would whenever he noticed Heimdall's scent was off. But Thor was a child. He didn't need to share Heimdall's burdens.
Heimdall wished an adult would care enough to ask.
Thor sighed, looking down, eyes wet. "They...I didn't want to but they surrounded me and I was scared. I told them I didn't want to but they wouldn't listen. And I-I didn't want to lose another fight so I just...I did what they told me to do. They didn't force themselves on me. They just wanted to kiss and they put their hands all over me and...inside. I don't think they really knew what they were doing, to be honest. They just wanted to have an experience and I happened to be around."
That made sense if they weren't much older than Thor. The younger omega wouldn't have known much about sex himself if it hadn't been for Laufey.
"I didn't even know them and I let them use me." Thor said, "Sylvie was right. I am a slut." The words cut, as if the insult were personal, directed towards Heimdall himself and not a means of self destruction.
"No, Thor. You didn't consent." Heimdall said, "You're not a slut." He wished he knew what else to say. But it was a suffering he shared and never learned how to consolidate. He's done what Thor did. Fighting back often made it worse, alphas could get so aggressive. Sometimes Heimdall just snapped his eyes shut and cast his sight somewhere beautiful until the ugliness was over. Sometimes he never made a single sound of protest. And after, he felt like a whore too.
"But they won't mention that, will they, when they slander my name?" Thor said, voice dripping venom and pain, "I'll just be the whore who puts out in the forest." Heimdall knew that humiliation all too well, knew there were no words to comfort that shame.
Instead of trying, Heimdall hugged Thor. The younger omega clutched the stuffed bunny bear and cried on his shoulder.
A rather sad memory passed through Heimdall's mind as he threw his sight elsewhere, away from Thor. His friend's sex life held no particular interest for him, he just happened to cast his sight on Thor at an unfortunate moment. He did find it fascinating how Thor could, quite literally, meet someone in one moment and bed them the very next.
Heimdall never begrudged Thor of his... promiscuity. He was simply fascinated. The few times Heimdall had courted in his years, the sex was always nothing short of misery for him. He was happier being left alone. In every sense.
How Thor tolerated it so often for so long remained a mystery. Especially since Thor didn't seem to appreciate it anymore than Heimdall did. Which was worrisome.
But maybe it wasn't as painful for Thor as it was for him.
Heimdall sat at the edge of his bed, picking up the stuffed animal he's kept for nearly two thousand years. It was ugly. A patchwork of different materials and colors. Some patches stitched perfectly, others were nearly managled. A gift from his nine mothers and his father.
He had almost lost it on Asgard. But when he was gathering his people to escape Hela, he came across a little girl who had lost her own stuffed animal. She asked him to save hers and he gave her his ugly bunny bear promising she could keep it if he couldn't save her stuffed turtle.
Their world was coming to an end, Hela was destroying any and everyone in her path. And Heimdall made saving stuffed animals a priority.
He didn't regret it. The girl had her life and her turtle and he had the last gift his father ever gave him.