So in the midst of finals, I've been working on this little tidbit. I saw Frozen last week, and loved it, and thought that the sister feels would benefit from an angsty Norse Bros twist. But not just angst, there will be a lot of fluff here too. Hopefully.
There will be spoilers for Frozen embedded in here (although it's an AU off of the Frozen canon, and it diverges at a number of points).
Onwards!
On the night of the first auroras of the year, all was well in the little kingdom of Asgard. The rightful King and Queen ruled with an equanimity that had led their tiny country to prosperity, forging alliances through trade and trust that helped them defend from the attacks of the barbaric northern clans. The people slept in peace, without fear of wolves or raiders or frost giants.
All slept…except one.
The castle nursery, decorated in warm hues of red, green, and gold, housed the two little princes who, at the hour should have been fast asleep. But all it took was the auroras peeping through the glass before Prince Loki, the younger of the pair, had scrambled from his bundle of blankets to sit on the windowsill and watch the colors light up the sky.
He sat that way for a while, silently observing the displays of color with green eyes alight with mischief, only to be pulled away by a sound of distress from the only occupied bed in the room. On quiet feet, as to not alarm his dreaming brother, he approached the bed, pulling himself up to sit beside him.
Prince Thor, who was a couple years Loki's elder, tossed and turned, trapped deep in a nightmare, golden hair plastered against his forehead. With a gentle, hesitant hand, Loki reached out to cup his brother's face.
"Thor," he whispered, nudging him slightly, "Thor, wake up."
Startled blue eyes flew open, meeting the calm green ones with a look of intense relief. For a moment Thor struggled to regain his bearings completely, before pushing himself upright and grinning at his younger brother. Loki smiled back, keenly aware at how shaken his brother was by the nightmares, and that his smile was only a thin attempt to veil this fact.
"Hello Loki," said Thor, slowly beginning to settle, "Couldn't sleep either?"
"The sky is awake, and so am I," he replied, flopping over dramatically, "It reminded me of a story, is all."
"A story?" asked Thor, perking up immediately. Loki smiled. Thor was not much a scholar, but he would never turn away a tale.
"Yes. About the lights." Loki glanced to the window, where the auroras peaked through the spaces where he'd left the blinds thrown open. "They're little windows to Vahalla, and when they're shining down on us, it means that somebody up there misses us and wants to say hullo." Thor nodded along, still clearly unsettled but not wanting to discuss his nightmare. Loki sighed. "Want me to show you a trick?"
"A trick?" asked Thor, frowning. Loki did tricks quite frequently, most of them not particularly nice.
"Not like that," Loki said, catching his thoughts, "But you must promise not to tell anyone."
Thor grinned. This kind of trick he could do. Loki returned the look, taking it as silent agreement.
"Watch closely," he said, raising his hands above his head just a little. Suddenly, a small orb radiating soft green light appeared, floating just above his outstretched palm. Thor's mouth dropped, but Loki was too concentrated to notice his incredulous look. A couple more sparks appeared, each slowly growing in size until it illuminated the tiny nursery.
So concentrated was the little prince that he did not notice the sudden chill that entered the room. Nor did he notice the deep blue hues that began to creep up from the tips of his fingers, inching slowly down his arms and under the long sleeves of his nightgown. However, it did not go unnoticed by Thor.
"Loki?" he said in an attempted whisper (because true whispering was completely out of the question for him).
"Shhhh."
But Thor was not to be deterred. "Loki, what's happened to your hands?"
Again, his younger brother paid him no heed, so out of curiosity Thor leaned forward and extended a hand, gently stroking his little brother's fine-boned hand. A pain like fire bit into his fingertips, and he fell back with a sudden cry, blackness appearing suddenly on the skin that had made contact with his brother.
The sound startled Loki, who jerked violently, the flurry of light and ice dancing out of his control. The rogue magic swirled, hitting the walls and bed, freezing sheets and toys solid, leaving trails of snow in their wake. They were so far out of control that he could not control it as a shaft arced back, striking Thor where he sat trembling with pain at the edge of his own bed.
Loki could only watch in horror as his big brother crumpled to the floor.
After the shock wore off, he tore out of the bed in a heartbeat, reaching out to grab his brother and shake him awake, but paused at the sight of his blue hands and Thor's frostbitten skin. For a moment he could not form words, could not form thoughts as the room continued to get colder. Tears came to his eyes, and attempted to fall, only to freeze halfway down his cheek.
"Mom! Dad!" he screamed suddenly, when his mind finally caught up with him. "MOM!"
A moment later there were voices at the door as someone tried to slam the way through. Loki realized belatedly that he had accidentally frozen the entrance shut, and realized only then that he didn't know how to unfreeze them. His father, however, was a mighty man, and with a solid kick the door flew open, admitting his parents to the scene.
Frigga flew to them, eyes darting first to Loki, who recoiled in an attempt to save her form his blue hands. Then she noticed Thor, lying unmoving beside his bed. With a cry, she gathered him up in her arms, pulling him close to her heart.
"He's ice cold," she said, looking to Odin for some kind of answer, "What do we do?"
For a moment, Loki felt Odin's one eye drift over him, something sad and distant there. But then he moved on, as though bringing to light a memory long lost to him.
"I think I know somebody who can help," he said, picking Thor up as though he weighed nothing at all, "But we must hurry."