Magnus is so stinking proud of her he could cry. Her determination... her resilience... He hates, so much, the difficulties she's faced in her young life, and he's so glad that now that Olaf is dead (and dead, and dead, and dead again), odds are she'll have much smoother sailing moving forward. He wonders if Jack is going to successfully rustle up either (or both!) of their dads. That might be nice, having the whole family here to throw water balloons with Sunny. But even if they don't show up, he's here.
There was this moment in Niflheim, back when he was freezing to death, unsure if he'd make it off the frozen sea and onto land, when it hit him just how much he actually, genuinely wanted to stop Ragnarok and save the world. He wanted Sam and Amir to get to be married; he wanted Percy and Annabeth to get to go to college; he wanted Percy's little sister to grow up and thrive. He'd wanted it for Hearthstone and Blitzen. He'd wanted it so Mallory and Halfborn could reconcile their then-current breakup. He'd wanted it so Hunding could eat more chocolate, and so Alex could make more pottery, and so TJ could mentor more new einherjar.
It's not that his own future didn't factor into his decision. He'd also consciously chosen to save the world so that he could learn to love more of the world. But his main focus had definitely been letting alive people have normal lives.
Facing down Count Olaf was kind of like facing down Sunny's Loki, and he's definitely not coming back. And there's (probably) no Ragnarok here. So the stakes are different. But Magnus knows, in this moment, hovering half a foot behind Sunny so he can catch her if he needs to, that he'd do any and everything in his considerable power to ensure Sunny grows up happily and well.
When she gets to the top, he snags the bucket of balloons and bounds up next to her. He sets the bucket to the side and pulls her into a big bear hug. "I'm really glad you're my forever sister," he mumbles into her hair. "I love you a whole lot."
Then he straightens up and hoists a balloon. "This one," he tells her with a wink, "represents Jello." Then he tosses it over the edge and lets it smash against the ground.
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There was this moment in Niflheim, back when he was freezing to death, unsure if he'd make it off the frozen sea and onto land, when it hit him just how much he actually, genuinely wanted to stop Ragnarok and save the world. He wanted Sam and Amir to get to be married; he wanted Percy and Annabeth to get to go to college; he wanted Percy's little sister to grow up and thrive. He'd wanted it for Hearthstone and Blitzen. He'd wanted it so Mallory and Halfborn could reconcile their then-current breakup. He'd wanted it so Hunding could eat more chocolate, and so Alex could make more pottery, and so TJ could mentor more new einherjar.
It's not that his own future didn't factor into his decision. He'd also consciously chosen to save the world so that he could learn to love more of the world. But his main focus had definitely been letting alive people have normal lives.
Facing down Count Olaf was kind of like facing down Sunny's Loki, and he's definitely not coming back. And there's (probably) no Ragnarok here. So the stakes are different. But Magnus knows, in this moment, hovering half a foot behind Sunny so he can catch her if he needs to, that he'd do any and everything in his considerable power to ensure Sunny grows up happily and well.
When she gets to the top, he snags the bucket of balloons and bounds up next to her. He sets the bucket to the side and pulls her into a big bear hug. "I'm really glad you're my forever sister," he mumbles into her hair. "I love you a whole lot."
Then he straightens up and hoists a balloon. "This one," he tells her with a wink, "represents Jello." Then he tosses it over the edge and lets it smash against the ground.