[Thor] Gen | A Broken Window [2/?]
Title: A Broken Window (2/?)
Summary: You don't see the lightning, but you hear the echoes. Thor travels back into the past in his dreams. [Previous installments: Part 1]
Fandom: Post-Thor
Characters/Pairings: Loki, Thor, Frigga
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 715
Author's Notes: 30 days challenge, R3, prompt #9: travel. This turned out longer than each of the previous two dreams BUT IT IS SO FUN TO WRITE.
Loki is nine; Thor is eleven and thirty.
"I start learning seidr tomorrow," Loki tells him, and how Thor's heart aches with the want to see his brother-the one from his time-smile like that again. "Father says he will provide the books, even though he will not instruct me himself." The happiness falters for a moment, but flares back determinedly. "I know he isn't pleased, but I promised him, Thor, I promised that I would try to do better in the arena and-and I like reading alone anyway, so it all works out for the better."
Thor sits on the floor next to Loki's bed. There is enough room for him on the massive structure, but like this he is of the same height as Loki's bright pale face, and he misses this, misses the way he could once look into his brother's verdant eyes without flinching away.
"You will be a mighty sorcerer," he murmurs, mindful that his younger self is right next door and restless in his own bed.
"Will I?" Loki asks shrewdly. "Thor, will I be formidable? Will I stand by you in battle and make Father and Mother and you proud?"
Hesitating for a moment, Thor nods. "You will, little one, in time. The greatest sorcerer in Asgard, second only to Odin All-Father himself, but twice as crafty." He has no heart to mention Loki's penchant for collecting other names: Loki the Liesmith, Loki the Trickster… "You will fight with me and prove your mettle, and you'll stay by my side, always." A false promise, but Loki at nine still trusts Thor, and Thor has learned a little of how to lie.
"Good." Loki yawns. "Because now you have Sif and the Warriors Three."
Unsaid is the fear that Thor will leave him, Thor knows this now, even as Loki hides the confession away. He remembers the sour looks Loki would give him when he'd rush away after mundane lessons to play with his friends, leaving his brother alone with the dusty tutors that preferred Loki to the Crown Prince of Asgard anyway.
When he looks back down at Loki, he sees his younger brother asleep, one hand tucked under his pillow. Loki is tucked almost in a fetal position facing Thor, his breaths coming deep and quiet, his long black hair curled around the collar of his sleeping shirt.
"I bid thee a good night, brother," Thor whispers, patting Loki's head gently.
The doors creak open and shut just as Thor's hand starts to fade with the rest of him. His younger self climbs into Loki's bed and huffs as he wriggles next to his brother to find a good position before falling asleep as well, not noticing Thor at all.
When Thor wakes up in his own bed in Asgard, he is unashamed to find tears marking his pillow. He dresses hastily and pads down the hallway to his brother's closed rooms, startling a servant midway down the corridor, for he is not known to be an early riser, at least in times of peace. The locks open at his touch.
Loki's rooms are the same as ever. A large bookcase filled with books about seidr and the histories of the Nine Realms sits against a wall. Beside it is Loki's writing desk, a beautifully carved ebony table with pieces of cream parchment still resting on it, weighted down by yet another book.
"I miss him dearly," his mother's voice calls from the open doorway, and Thor turns to behold Frigga in her tired glory. "He was always my child, no matter his heritage, and I call out for him to return every single day."
"Mayhap he is listening, Mother," Thor says, his throat constricting, and he moves to hug her tight. "He will return because we believe it to be true."
"If only that were enough, Thor." Frigga's hands close the doors, the locks clicking quietly in the empty corridor. "Your brother has always been as stubborn as you." Her smile is wry, and she takes his arm as they head towards the dining hall, recalling memories of Loki's early tantrums-they were rare compared to Thor's constant demands when they had been mere toddlers-that make both of them laugh away their wistful tears.
Summary: You don't see the lightning, but you hear the echoes. Thor travels back into the past in his dreams. [Previous installments: Part 1]
Fandom: Post-Thor
Characters/Pairings: Loki, Thor, Frigga
Genre: Gen
Rating: G
Warnings: N/A
Word Count: 715
Author's Notes: 30 days challenge, R3, prompt #9: travel. This turned out longer than each of the previous two dreams BUT IT IS SO FUN TO WRITE.
Loki is nine; Thor is eleven and thirty.
"I start learning seidr tomorrow," Loki tells him, and how Thor's heart aches with the want to see his brother-the one from his time-smile like that again. "Father says he will provide the books, even though he will not instruct me himself." The happiness falters for a moment, but flares back determinedly. "I know he isn't pleased, but I promised him, Thor, I promised that I would try to do better in the arena and-and I like reading alone anyway, so it all works out for the better."
Thor sits on the floor next to Loki's bed. There is enough room for him on the massive structure, but like this he is of the same height as Loki's bright pale face, and he misses this, misses the way he could once look into his brother's verdant eyes without flinching away.
"You will be a mighty sorcerer," he murmurs, mindful that his younger self is right next door and restless in his own bed.
"Will I?" Loki asks shrewdly. "Thor, will I be formidable? Will I stand by you in battle and make Father and Mother and you proud?"
Hesitating for a moment, Thor nods. "You will, little one, in time. The greatest sorcerer in Asgard, second only to Odin All-Father himself, but twice as crafty." He has no heart to mention Loki's penchant for collecting other names: Loki the Liesmith, Loki the Trickster… "You will fight with me and prove your mettle, and you'll stay by my side, always." A false promise, but Loki at nine still trusts Thor, and Thor has learned a little of how to lie.
"Good." Loki yawns. "Because now you have Sif and the Warriors Three."
Unsaid is the fear that Thor will leave him, Thor knows this now, even as Loki hides the confession away. He remembers the sour looks Loki would give him when he'd rush away after mundane lessons to play with his friends, leaving his brother alone with the dusty tutors that preferred Loki to the Crown Prince of Asgard anyway.
When he looks back down at Loki, he sees his younger brother asleep, one hand tucked under his pillow. Loki is tucked almost in a fetal position facing Thor, his breaths coming deep and quiet, his long black hair curled around the collar of his sleeping shirt.
"I bid thee a good night, brother," Thor whispers, patting Loki's head gently.
The doors creak open and shut just as Thor's hand starts to fade with the rest of him. His younger self climbs into Loki's bed and huffs as he wriggles next to his brother to find a good position before falling asleep as well, not noticing Thor at all.
When Thor wakes up in his own bed in Asgard, he is unashamed to find tears marking his pillow. He dresses hastily and pads down the hallway to his brother's closed rooms, startling a servant midway down the corridor, for he is not known to be an early riser, at least in times of peace. The locks open at his touch.
Loki's rooms are the same as ever. A large bookcase filled with books about seidr and the histories of the Nine Realms sits against a wall. Beside it is Loki's writing desk, a beautifully carved ebony table with pieces of cream parchment still resting on it, weighted down by yet another book.
"I miss him dearly," his mother's voice calls from the open doorway, and Thor turns to behold Frigga in her tired glory. "He was always my child, no matter his heritage, and I call out for him to return every single day."
"Mayhap he is listening, Mother," Thor says, his throat constricting, and he moves to hug her tight. "He will return because we believe it to be true."
"If only that were enough, Thor." Frigga's hands close the doors, the locks clicking quietly in the empty corridor. "Your brother has always been as stubborn as you." Her smile is wry, and she takes his arm as they head towards the dining hall, recalling memories of Loki's early tantrums-they were rare compared to Thor's constant demands when they had been mere toddlers-that make both of them laugh away their wistful tears.