6 Years Old

He wasn't mistreated. Not at all; he reaped what he sowed. He was a trickster. A liar. Manipulative, deceitful. A bad child. And therefore, he was treated badly in return. He told himself this everytime he was screamed at or hit for misbehaving. But he could take those; they were easy to deal with. All he had to do was pretend that he was Thor, and he was invincible. No amount of scathing words or stinging strikes could effect him. He was stronger than that. But there were things that terrified him sometimes. Things that he couldn't be brave around. The dark, thunder, the cage.

It was in the attic. The attic was always dark, and Loki absolutely hated being forgotten and ignored for hours upon hours, abandoned, alone. He came to learn that those were his weakest moments. The Thoughts had first begun there, in the pitch black. Not even Thor would be able to endure them. But there he sat, knees pulled up to his chest in order to fit into the cramped cage. The room was freezing, and his flimsy robe did naught to protect him as he shivered, his skin as cold as ice. Loki had been in the cage for the entire night, and he was fighting off sleep while hyperventilating and slowly getting closer to hypothermia.

It was dark, and the Thoughts came in the dark. They always came in the dark. His heart pounding, Loki tucked his head between his knees. "Go away," he whispered, squeezing his eyes shut so tightly it hurt. "Go away go away go away..." He knew that it wouldn't work. The Thoughts would stay until morning, until he fell asleep, cold and alone as always. Then they'd return with a vengeance, to haunt him throughout the day. This, he knew all too well, thus he tried to switch tactics. Distract himself, think of something that made him happy.

Sometimes - just sometimes - the punishment wasn't all bad. Sometimes, Thor would sneak up just to see him. He'd sit beside him and hold his hands through the bars, whisper words of comfort. Calm the crying, shaking boy. His voice was like velvet, and it soothed Loki with every word.

Loki, now, couldn't help but notice how frigid the room was without Thor's warmth. How much larger it seemed to be. How disturbingly empty, how frighteningly alone. How the darkness seemed to envelope him at every possible angle and side, pressing in closer and closer. How the shadows grew and took shape. Loki's pulse was racing. He could see it - what ever it was. He could see it. Coming. He couldn't breathe - his chest was unbearably heavy. Loki gasped for air, panicked, terrified, as the darkness shifted and contorted until it swallowed him whole-

"Brother." Loki screamed, his heart stopping completely. Thor smiled, stifling a laugh. "Brother, it is only me! Calm yourself." Recognizing the voice, Loki sighed in relief, reaching for his older brother through the bars.

"Idiot! You scared me!"

"Shh, stay silent so father doesn't find out that I'm up here. Now listen. I have something for you, Loki. A gift. Meet me at the creek in an hour, and I'll give it to you, okay?" Loki nodded excitedly as they linked pinkies in a promise.

Thor pulled him into a tight hug then, and whispered, "I am so sorry about this, brother. If I could change it, I would..." His voice was contrite and sincere, and Loki never once doubted that he meant it.

It was about six in the morning when Loki was released from the cage. He hadn't even bothered to change his clothes before he ran down to meet his brother. And as promised, the young blonde was standing there, waiting patiently. Loki ran to him as fast as he could, practically tackling him to the ground. Thor laughed as he was pushed to the grass, Loki giggling and shrieking in delight.

"Where is it, Thor?! Let me see it! I wanna see it!" Loki demanded happily as he looked at his sibling, his green eyes wide. Thor laughed again.

"Alright, alright! You've to get off of me, first. And close your eyes."

Loki stood hurriedly, straightening his clothes then closing his eyes tight. Thor enjoyed seeing his brother like that; grinning and writing in excitement. He was rarely ever that happy. Thor relished the moment for as long as possible before he spoke, quieter. Softer.

"Open your eyes, Loki." The noirette opened his eyes to see a white and black rabbit, in a cage of its own.

Loki loved the animal more than anything. As he watched it sniff around the barn - it's new home - he looked at his brother.

"What shall we name it?"

"Hm... I haven't a clue, Lokes. You can name it whatever you'd like."

His eyes grew instantly. "Really?"

"Yes, really!" Thor could hardly contain the amusement in his voice. Loki stared at the rabbit intently, before speaking unsurely, as if he was afraid to say it.

"H-How about 'Thor'?"

Thor's smirk softened into a smile when he heard the suggestion. "I like it."

The rabbit kept Loki busy for a while. Thor was glad to see his brother actually smile, actually laugh. He thought that, perhaps, the animal would keep him out of trouble. Out of the attic, the cage. Of course, he was wrong.

A/N: Hey~ So ja, this is my third Thorki story. Don't kill me. This is the last one I'll be writing for a while, actually. It's be multi-chapted (I already have them all written, so there won't be a very long wait between them), and of course, with me, you can always expected angst. Always. There will also be heavy symbolism in here, as well as an entire chapter of fluff. You're welcome.

This can actually be a prequal to my story, My Prince, and a sequal to my OTHER Thorki story, First Day of School~ I call this the Bobbiverse. Expect more installations.

Please leave comments, favourites, follows, criticisms, and whatnot. Thank you for reading~