Summary: Prince Loki of Jotunheim has never seen an Asgardian before, so what will he do when he finds an Asgardian a few years older than him lying in the snow?

A/N: Loki is about five to seven in this one, Thor is eight to ten.

"Huh." Loki sat back on his haunches and cocked his head to the side.

The subject of his gaze stirred slightly, shivering.

Loki picked up the Asgardian's hand and dropped it back on the snow and ice. He'd never seen one before.

They look strange, Loki decided, poking the Asgardian's forehead experimentally. The Asgardian's eyes flickered open.

"Jotun?" the Asgardian asked, and then moved his hand slightly to his belt, looking for a sword. Loki was quite glad that hehad taken the precaution of removing its sword.

"Who're you?"

The Asgardian was a few years older than Loki, but clearly less resistant to the cold. He was wearing a thick coat and freezing, Loki was fine.

"Thor." Thor pulled his limbs closer to him and pushed himself into a sitting position. Loki saw that he was injured. There was a line of blood on his temple. "Crown Prince of Asgard."

"Aah." Loki was counting off the seconds until the Asgardian collapsed again. He'd read somewhere that they could only stand cold of this intensity for five minutes after they woke up, then they'd faint again. Stupid Aesir. "I'm Loki Laufeyson."

"…Laufeyson?"

"Crown Prince of Jotunheim."

Thor shuddered and blinked ,focusing his eyes. "Give me your coat."

"What?" The cold air didn't affect Loki now, but he was certain that if he gave up the coat it would. Despite the fact that he had experimented with staying out in the cold before, and it hadn't. Besides, Asgardians shouldn't ask for anything. It was enough mercy that the Jotuns allowed them to live. "No."

"Give it, Jotun. I'll die." Thor shivered again at his words. It was true, he knew, but saying it aloud made it more true somehow.

Loki thought for a second, then realized something. The Asgardian was slipping away, his eyes closing. "You're Crown Prince of Asgard?!"

"Yes…" Thor slipped down to the ground.

The small Jotun pulled him upright. "Odinson?" He was panicking now.

"Yes…leave me…"

Loki dropped the Asgardian's body on the ground and yanked off his coat, tossing it over him. "Stay there!" he shrieked before tearing off back to the castle.

King Laufey glared at the battle plan map. "If we move our right flank—" he offered.

"We'd end up being partly surrounded—" began the general, but stopped when a very small, very young Jotun shot into the room shouting something.

Laufey put the map down. "Loki? What are you—"

"Father!" Loki stopped to breathe. "There's an Asgardian in the snow, Thor, he's dying-"

"What does it matter?"

"The Crown Prince, Father! If he dies, Asgard'll declare war on us," Loki panted.

Laufey stopped. While war with the Asgardians was not necessarily a bad thing, they had signed a peace treaty no more than a year ago. If Thor died in Jotunheim, Odin would blame them.

His son glanced up at him. "Shall I find medics and bring them to where he is?"

The king was snapped out of his revery. "Yes. Hurry, Loki."

The little Jotun nodded and ran out of the battle room.

Laufey rolled up the map of Alfheim. "Bring out the map of Asgard. If Loki isn't fast enough, we'll need to be prepared for war."

"He's over here," Loki told the medics. He ran over to Thor and landed on his chest, bending over him. "Asgardian? You awake?"

Thor half blinked one eyelid.

Loki slid off him with a sigh of relief. "He's alive!"

"Loki…" Thor breathed. "What…" the young Asgardian gave up speaking, his teeth clacking together.

"Please don't die," Loki said, trotting by Thor as the other Jotuns carried him back. "It would be really, really, bad if you died."

"Not…planning…to."

"Good, because it would be really, really bad timing. Asgardians always have bad timing, Father says," Loki continued thoughtfully.

Thor was too tired and cold to complain of this unfair generaliziation, though he did manage to weakly hit the Jotun.

Loki was quite pleased that the Asgardian had managed to hit him, even if it did hurt a bit—it was fairly certain now that Thor would survive.

Thor didn't remember much of what happened later. He became sick with cold and had to stay in Jotunheim longer. He remembered asking the little Jotun—Logi? Loki?—if he could see Odin, and when he could go back to Asgard. If Loki or Logi or whatever his name was responded, he couldn't tell, because by then he'd slipped back to unconscious.

A while later he heard yelling outside.

"You're lucky I'm not starting a war, Jotun, I think—"

"Asgardian. You're lucky I didn't kill him now—"

Loki—yes, that was his name—slipped into the room. "Your father's here."

Thor blinked. "I can tell."

Loki jumped up into a chair, curling up in a ball. "He's angry."

"Of course he is!"

"It wasn't our fault that you decided to freeze in Jotunheim! How'd you even get here? We were kind and took you in!"

"Because you were worried that my death would cause a war!" Thor rolled his eyes. He would have stood up to yell at Loki, but he didn't know if he had the strength. "You Jotuns think of nothing other than warfare and cruelty."

Loki could leap to his feet, and did. "Was it warfare and cruelty that we healed you? Was it warfare and cruelty that drove me to tell someone that you were dying out there!? Who are you to judge cruelty, Asgardian? You're all alike, all selfish, inhuman—"

Thor couldn't see what had cut Loki off. He craned his head, and blinked, seeing Odin.

The Jotun had never seen the king of Asgard before, but his father had described him—he lost an eye in the battle and wears a shiny patch over it to hide the injury, fool that he is, any warrior would be proud to have such a scar—and as a result vanished.

Not literally—Loki would have been glad if he could summon magic to do this—but in the space of almost a second the little prince had scampered to the other side of the room. Theoretically the now-short-sighted Asgardian wouldn't be able to see him. Loki was all for standing up to the stupid Aesir, but right now Odin was holding a spear and he didn't want to be impaled, thank you.

"Hello Father," Thor said, giving him a small smile.

"Thor! What—" Odin was for once at a loss for words. "Your mother and I shall punish you greatly for finding your way into Jotunheim later." He glanced at Loki (apparently the stupid Asgardian could see him after all). "Were you the one that found him?"

Loki paused. He could catch a glimpse of Laufey through the open door. Laufey looked none too pleased with Odin barging in (presumably Laufey would have liked to negotiate treaties for the safe return of Thor), but nodded to Loki.

"I was."

"Your name?"

Thor interceded. "He's Loki."

"I can speak for—" Laufey's eyes widened at him in warning and Loki calmed down. "Sorry."

Odin helped support Thor on his feet, pulling him away. "Come, Thor. If I find you in Jotunheim again I will be very angry. How did Heimdall let you pass?"

Thor didn't answer the questions, instead leaning back to see Loki. "Bye, Jotun."

"Asgardian." Loki gave him a little wave, then bounded back into the chair and watched the Asgardians leave.