Unbroken

Chapter 13

Thor looked at him in disbelief. He must be joking or mistaken, he's an adult, only a few years younger than himself, how does he not have a name?
"What do you mean you don't have one?" He asked. Laufeys son looked like he wanted to hide. He probably did.
"He never gave me a name. I was only ever called runt" he said back. Thor was quiet for a minute, He couldn't imagine living like that, he always just took his name for granted, he didn't think about it and he never cared about it, it was just a fact of life, but now he's talking to a man who had no name. Suddenly a name seems like the most important thing in the world, what would it feel like to have no name? You'd have no sense of identity. you'd feel like you were worthless if people just snapped nasty remarks at you all day because there was nothing else to call you.
he needed to have a name but this was a situation Thor wasn't prepared for.
"Okay.... well we can't keep calling you that, you need a name." He said to him. Laufeys son looked like he had something to say but was afraid to say it.
"That's- I told the queen that- she can name me. I'm her property now" it was clear that getting those word out was hard, of course it would be, he's talking about himself like he's a horse not a person.
"No, it's not like that" Thor said "we can keep this between us, I'll find a list of names and you can pick one you like and we'll just tell everyone that was always your name. No one has to know that you don't have one" he said, he felt terrible for him, he has no idea how to be treated like a normal person.
"Why would you do that?" Laufeys son asked in confusion. "Why would you do anything for me?" He couldn't get his head around the idea of people being nice to him, He was still very tense and was nervous with Thor being in he room.
"I'm just nice like that" Thor said with a slightly joking tone "and maybe we can be friends" he said as he stood up, Laufeys son looked more nervous, he thought he was getting up to do something to him.
"Relax. I'm going to get a book with some names. I'll be back in a few minutes" he said as he turned and left the room. All of this was very confusing for Laufeys son.
This had to be a trick right? He'll bring in a book of horrible names that are just as mean as Runt and he'll make him choose which one to keep.
After a little while Thor came back and sat down with a book in his hands. He explained that he would read them out loud so that Laufeys son could hear what they sounded like and then could decide which one he wanted to keep. It was an incredibly strange situation, Thor wasn't really sure how to make it less weird, he's helping a grown man choose a name for himself, thats not normal at all.
When Thor came back he sat down and began to list off the names he thought were good, he kept glancing up at Laufeys son to see if he looked interested in any of them, but his face was totally blank. He didn't seem like he was paying much attention, maybe he was having a hard time focusing, he's probably still in a lot of pain, but he wished he'd talk a little bit more and help him out a bit. Thor kept listing them off, occasionally telling him what the name meant, then he said one and Laufeys son perked up a little bit. Thor saw that he looked interested but he didn't say anything so Thor kept going. Laufeys son wanted to stop him, he liked the one he just said but he couldn't interrupt him. If he's the prince then he has to be respectful, he can't cut him off or he'd be beaten for sure. Thor noticed that when he kept going the enthusiasm in the frost giants face started to fade.
"Did you hear one you liked?" He asked him, clearly something had struck his interest a moment ago.
Laufeys son nodded a bit.
"Yes. I liked the one you said a second ago" he said quickly. Thor didn't know why he always looked scared to talk or why he always spoke so quickly, but whatever, they found a name he liked.
"Which one?" He asked "Lonan?" He asked, that was the last one he read. Laufeys son looked nervous though.
"You're allowed to say no, I'm asking" he added, he figured that he was afraid to say no because... well who knows? But he was obviously afraid.
"The one before that" Laufeys son said, sounding a little unsure. Thor ignored that he was uncomfortable and looked at the name he had read before that.
"Loki?" He asked "was that the one you liked?" He added. Laufeys son nodded a little bit.
"Yeah... I liked the way that one sounded" he said, looking cautiously at Thor. He thought that it must still be a trick, no one would do all this for him. But Thor didn't do anything horrible. He just closed the book.
"So that's it? You want us to call you Loki?" He asked him. Laufeys son nodded slowly.
"Alright then. You're Loki, and no one will ever have to know that I helped you find a name, alright? As far as anyone else is concerned your name has always been Loki" he told him with a slight smile. The amount of disbelief on Laufeys sons face was heartbreakingly sad. He was shocked to have anyone be nice and I him, the amount of surprise on his face was equal to the surprise a normal person would feel if they just saw someone walk on water. The very idea that someone might be kind to him was outrageous and unbelievable, he kept thinking a trick was coming, something was going to happen to him. As if Thor was reading his mind he said.
"I know this is a really unsettling experience for you. I can't even imagine what you've been through. But if you want, we can be friends. You don't have to be afraid of me, I know I'm bigger than you but that doesn't mean I want to hurt you" he said to him after a minute of quiet. He knew what he was thinking: 'yes it does' for Laufeys son there was no such thing as a friend, anyone who could hurt him eventually would in one way or another, and Thor could certainly hurt him.
"So introduce yourself to me" Thor said "people will be meeting you and asking who you are, you should practice introducing yourself" he said. Laufeys son looked nervous again.
"I don't- I've  never done that" He said "I don't know what to say" Thor assumed that would be the case.
"That's okay. I'll help you" he said "I'll introduce myself first and then you can just do what I do" he said. Then held out a hand for him to shake.
"Nice  I meet you, I'm Thor" he said. Laufeys son had seen people shake hands before so he sort of knew what to do. He was just afraid of doing it wrong. But Thor didn't move, he just held his hand there, so Laufeys son finally took it and did as Thor instructed. It was hard to move his hand up to shake Thor's, but Thor helped him by just grabbing his hand and shaking it for him. Thor then gave him an expecting look, so he finally mustered up the courage to speak on his own.
"Nice and I meet you. I'm... I'm Loki" he said as Thor shook his hand. Having a name was a new feeling. He always knew runt wasn't a name, but it was the only title he ever knew, but now he has a name, a real proper name that meant something. It wouldn't seem like a big deal to most people but to Loki it was a huge deal. For the first time in his life he had some kind of self identity. He was able to feel like he was something a little bit more than a pet