Author's Note: This is another one-shot of Loki's childhood. Loki is about nine years old, and Thor is about twelve.
The ending, really, is how I wish it was like for Loki with his older brother :(
Please enjoy and review! And thank you to those who did, and to those who favourited :D
"Where are you going, Thor?"
Thor, Sif, Hogun, Fandral and Volstagg jumped and whirled around at the question. Loki stepped out of the shadows of the corridor they were all walking down, carrying a stack of books.
"You startled us, Brother!" Thor exclaimed.
"How long have you been here?" Fandral demanded, heart still pounding.
"As long as all of you have been", the dark-haired boy replied, head tilted to one side.
"You were following us?" Sif narrowed her eyes angrily at him.
Loki's green eyes blinked back. "Don't flatter yourselves; I'd meant that I was already walking down this corridor when you entered."
He turned back to his brother. "So, where are you going? If you don't mind my knowing."
"To the areas further away from the house of our father, to explore and see what we can find!" Thor grinned at him.
"May I accompany you?" Loki already knew what they would say.
"You won't be able to keep up" said Volstagg, shrugging, as Sif scoffed.
Loki just smiled and aimed his reply at Thor.
"I'll try"
He knew he wouldn't be able to keep up with them for long, but he didn't welcome the idea of his reckless older brother charging around the outer areas without someone secretly searching their surroundings with magic.
"You'll have to try hard, then" said Hogun
An hour later, Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three were talking and rushing through rocky land, Loki at the back of the rowdy group. His breath had become more and more laboured as he was gradually getting left further and further behind. His foot caught on a loose rock, and finally Loki stumbled to the ground.
He looked up, and the others were even further ahead, not noticing he wasn't there anymore. Not even Thor.
"Wait!" Loki called to his brother.
They looked back at the young boy as he got to his feet and caught up with them again on trembling legs.
The Warriors Three and Sif all had exasperated but amused expressions that said "I told you so".
"Your little tricks don't do you much good with this kind of thing, do they?" Thor chuckled good-naturedly, patting Loki on the shoulder. "You should just go back, Loki."
They continued ahead exploring, leaving Loki staring after his big brother with sad, green eyes.
Loki tiredly began to make his way back when he heard Thor yell "Wait!"
He turned around to see Thor run back to him. "Please keep going with us, Brother. We need you."
Loki looked up at him. "But I'll just slow you down."
The older boy turned and crouched. "I can help you until you get enough strength again."
Loki still didn't go, hesitating. "But what if I can't keep up afterwards?"
Thor smiled at him, almost like an apology.
"I'll wait for you"
The smaller boy gratefully climbed onto his big brother's back.
"Thank you, Brother... Let's go"
The two boys continued their journey, the smaller one exhausted but with the happiest smile on his face as the other finally stayed behind to help him catch up.
Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed it :)
