[Perhaps the difference is that Billy never tries to justify himself, like Odin did. Perhaps the difference is that he always thought of Billy in familial terms more as son or younger brother, rather than someone he should aspire to be.
But in a strange way, it also triggers those instincts built during his abortive week of being a father, the protectiveness he's built up being around Ikki.
Loki still remembers his youth with perfect clarity. He remembers things that he did that hurt other people and himself. He remembers they were mistakes. And while others raged at him, he still remembers putting his head in Frigga's lap and weeping while she stroked his hair.
Billy is a child. By human terms, by Asgardian terms certainly.
Rogue always asks him, who he is, who he wants to be. In many ways, he's still deciding on that. But he knows he doesn't want to be Odin. It's something of a horror, the way the harshness of Odin has stuck with him and destroyed the gentleness he knows he was showed by Frigga. Will he still let the people he hates control him, even now?
Will watching Billy be in agony make his own agony any less, when he can admit to himself that he still does care about Billy? It's not the same, as wanting to see Odin ground to dust. It isn't the same at all, and he can see that now, no longer quite so blinded by his own pain.
In the end, it's not even really a decision.
Loki reaches out and wraps an arm around Billy's shoulders and pulls the boy in tight.]
[action] have some tl;dr, I made it just for you.
But in a strange way, it also triggers those instincts built during his abortive week of being a father, the protectiveness he's built up being around Ikki.
Loki still remembers his youth with perfect clarity. He remembers things that he did that hurt other people and himself. He remembers they were mistakes. And while others raged at him, he still remembers putting his head in Frigga's lap and weeping while she stroked his hair.
Billy is a child. By human terms, by Asgardian terms certainly.
Rogue always asks him, who he is, who he wants to be. In many ways, he's still deciding on that. But he knows he doesn't want to be Odin. It's something of a horror, the way the harshness of Odin has stuck with him and destroyed the gentleness he knows he was showed by Frigga. Will he still let the people he hates control him, even now?
Will watching Billy be in agony make his own agony any less, when he can admit to himself that he still does care about Billy? It's not the same, as wanting to see Odin ground to dust. It isn't the same at all, and he can see that now, no longer quite so blinded by his own pain.
In the end, it's not even really a decision.
Loki reaches out and wraps an arm around Billy's shoulders and pulls the boy in tight.]