Grooming
Thor sat like that for a few minutes, listening to the soft purrs and letting his new pet get used to him. After a while he stood, gently depositing Loki onto the floor, and called upon one of his servants to draw a warm bath. Loki watched the servant cautiously from his place on the floor, sniffing the air and pressing himself as low to the ground as he could. As the servant girl passed him to reach Thor’s bathing room, she startled slightly, eyes wide, but said nothing and hurriedly filled Thor’s bath with warm water.
While waiting for the girl to finish, Thor gathered together what he needed-some scented soaps and shampoos, his comb, a cloth towel, a pair of fresh linen trousers, and a white tunic. The clothing would be too large for Loki, but it was the smallest Thor had, and he could have clothes made for his little Jotun later. Loki kept glancing at Thor, apprehensive of the new things happening around him. Thor stroked his fingers over his pet’s back gently while the girl finished drawing the bath. The girl scurried away without a second glance at Loki. Thor smiled softly, almost apologetically as he said, “We must take these off now. I will not hurt you, Loki.” He shifted his pet in such a way that he could remove the rough linen trousers from his body. Loki made no attempt to cover himself as he was bared, animal minded as he was, and Thor tried not to let his stare linger on Loki’s manhood. Perhaps in his other form, without Odin’s spells, he would be even bigger than he was and flushed dark blue instead of pink between his legs. Thor shook his thoughts away-it was wrong to think of Loki, his pet, practically a frightened puppy, sexually. He would not take advantage of Loki’s innocence in such a way. Loki’s knees were dirty and scraped beneath the pants that had been removed, and Thor remembered how desperately his pet needed a bath. He stood.
“Okay now, little one, it’s alright… just let me lift you up,” Thor spoke gently, as one would speak to a startled horse, as he lifted Loki up with one arm around his shoulders and the other beneath his knees. Loki yelped pitifully and immediately clung to his master and wriggled.
“Hush Loki, everything is alright, I won’t drop you.” Thor whispered to him, and stood still for a moment to allow Loki to calm down. When Loki stopped his squirming, Thor made his way with his bundle of Jotun to the filled tub. As Thor lowered him into the water, the creature released a shocked half-whimper, half-cry as he clawed at Thor chest and flailed his legs, attempting to get friction in the water. He was able to break free of Thor’s grasp and leap out of the tub, splashing water all over the marble floor and his master as he made a mad dash to hide away in a corner. He cowered and hissed, pressed close to the floor with his back arched. For a confused moment, Thor was furious. He was soaked along with the floor, but when he turned to reprimand his pet, he stopped. Loki was shaking, his eyes were wide and shining with tears, and he was letting out frightened sounds somewhere between a growl and a whimper. He hadn’t been trying to be a brat or obstinate… for whatever reason his Loki was truly terrified of the bath.
“It is okay, Loki… see, it doesn’t hurt.” Thor slowly lifted his hand and placed it into the bath, swishing the water around. Suddenly, it struck Thor what had frightened his pet so much. The water was warm. His pet was Jotun and likely had never felt warm before, had perhaps even been taught to be afraid of the heat. Animal minded as he was, how was Thor to expect Loki would understand that Odin had placed a glamor on him to protect him from such things? Thor continued to swish the bath water around with his hand, hoping that seeing his master touching the warm water would calm Loki.
“It is alright, Loki, I’m sorry I did not realize… it is okay, see? Come here, little one.” Thor spoke softly, clicking his tongue and cooing nonsensical calming sounds. It took a few minutes, but slowly Loki uncurled himself from the corner and began to inch towards Thor’s outstretched hand. He pressed his face into the large palm, and Thor gently thumbed his tears away. When Loki’s chest began to rumble with a purr, Thor carefully took one of his pet’s hands in his own and lifted it towards the tub. He maintained eye contact and continued to speak softly to him as he skimmed the tips of Loki’s fingers across the water’s surface. Loki flinched and let out a frightened whimper before realizing that foreign feeling of heat wasn’t burning him. Slowly, his demeanor changed from afraid to curious as he drew closer to the tub of his own volition. He began to bat playfully at the water, watching it ripple and splash. He looked up at Thor and let out a delighted chirp, tearstained face now alight with excitement. Thor couldn’t help but smile at how easily amused his new pet was.
“Okay, now. In you get.” This time, when he lifted his pet into the water, Loki didn’t struggle. He stiffened slightly when his whole body was submerged, but relaxed quickly into the warmth. “See it is not so bad! Good boy!” Thor poured some of the soap into the bath and started with washing Loki’s face. As he gently scrubbed the muck and blood off, his pet’s beauty became even more apparent. His face was pale and unblemished with a soft pink flush on his high cheekbones, and there was a cluster of light brown freckles dusting each of his shoulders. He was a bit too thin, perhaps, but nothing a few good meals couldn’t fix. When he began to wash and comb Loki’s hair, his pet began to purr and press into his hand. It seemed to Thor that Loki’s head and behind his ears were his favorite places to be petted. And so he indulged his Jotun, burying his fingers in the wet black locks. By the time he lifted Loki out of the bath, Thor’s knees were aching, the water was a disgusting gray, and Loki’s whole body was flushed. He rubbed Loki dry with the towel, careful of the few yellow bruises that still marred the white flesh. As he dried his pet's hair, Thor delighted with the shine of it and how the loose curls bounced around his shoulders when he moved. His pet, now clean and dry, was quite the sight to be seen, and Thor couldn't help but lean in and press a gentle kiss to his forehead. Loki responded enthusiastically, nuzzling into his master's cheek and giving his beard a quick, loving lick.
By the time Thor was pulling the white tunic over Loki’s head, his purrs were quieting and his heavy eyelids drooping. He quickly finished dressing his pet, the clothes hanging off of his small frame awkwardly. Thor realized that he was also rather tired and sore from training earlier as he rose. He smiled down at his exhausted pet and patted his thigh to get Loki’s attention.
“Come, Loki, I do believe it is time for a nap.” The two exited the bathing room, Loki trotting at Thor’s heel on his hands and knees. Thor shut his heavy curtains against the bright afternoon sun, and changed out of his own soaked clothes and into a pair of soft pants. He tossed a few blankets and pillows from his bed onto the floor for Loki to arrange as he liked. “Here, Loki,” Thor said, pointing to the bedding on the floor, “No furniture, understood? I’ll have a bed made for you later, but this will do for now.” Loki sat atop of blankets and pillows looking immensely disappointed and Thor did his best to ignore the sad looks his pet was shooting at him. Loki had to learn the rules, he told himself as he laid down beneath his own blankets and closed his eyes.
A few minutes later, Thor heard scuffling and suddenly, there was a weight beside him on the bed. His eyes flew open to see Loki, curled up beside him, his chest rumbling with purrs and his head pillowed upon Thor’s stomach. His eyes were already shut.
“Loki, no.” Thor groaned, “Floor, now.” He pointed to the pile of blankets and pillows on the floor. Loki looked at Thor, then at the makeshift pet bed, and then back at Thor. He let out a soft whine and snuggled closer to his master’s side, eyes wide and hurt. Thor slumped against his pillows and sighed.
“Fine, you manipulative little rule-breaker. Just this once.” Thor let his fingers comb through Loki’s soft curls and his pet let out a happy trill as he buried his face into Thor’s stomach again. Thor closed his eyes as a small smile played on his lips.
Loki was, for the first time in what felt like his whole life, warm, safe, and happy. His breathing evened out and he was asleep in minutes.