Work Text:
Ordinary Miracle
Loki lay sleeping in the other room, and Thor stood with his newborn child in his arms. Vali also slept, and the world seemed too clam. It seemed too quiet after the day they had. Loki's labour had been long, and it had been bloody and chaotic. Thor was ashamed that he had passed out (only for a moment!), but in his defence, the birthing room was not a place for men (unless that man was Loki, in the shape of a woman, giving birth). Loki had, unfortunately, learned during his years of super villainy, that it was practice on Midgard for husbands to hold their wives' hands during labour. When Loki demanded it, how could Thor have refused, no matter how much he wanted to?
Now, hours later, Thor could only stare down at the child in his arms. Vali was so small, so fragile looking. When the midwife had first put the baby in his arms, Thor had been terrified of dropping him. It felt awkward, holding something so small. Seeing his blossoming panic, a laughing Loki had adjusted his arms and taught him the proper way to hold a newborn. Not long after that, Loki had finally given into sleep, and Thor was left alone with his son.
He had never seen anything so perfect, so beautiful. The child was flawless. He didn't resemble anyone yet, at least as far as Thor could tell, though there were tuffs of blonde hair. He was everything that Thor had dreamed of these past months, since Loki had announced his pregnancy.
He should have left Vali in the care of the midwife and gone to announce Vali's birth to the court, as was customary for a father in the royal family to do so. He should have, but Thor made no leave to move. There would be grumbling at the breach of protocol, but Thor didn't care. There was nothing short of an attack on Asgard that could make him give up these moments with his son.
He had never loved anything like he did the baby in his arms, and it was frightening. This tiny being, who fit perfectly into the crook of his arm, was his to love, his to protect. The responsibility was a weight settling on his shoulders, and it was one Thor was glad to bear. He had never welcomed anything like he welcomed this.
"You will be mighty," Thor told him, already feeling pride stir in his breast, "you will be great," he paused, emotion choking him for a moment, "and you will be loved."