Thor: 6-7 years old in the first scene, about 12 in the last
Loki: 3-4 years old in the first scene, about 9 in the last
Loki Hides
When they were children, too small yet for training, Loki and Thor would play together. For hours they would argue and wrestle and tease one another mercilessly, laughing and adventuring to their hearts content.
~.~
But one day, curious what would happen, instead of returning to his brother, as he had promised, Loki hid.
Thor, never patient, came calling and searching for him moments later.
And Loki came out of hiding, laughing and running to escape from the brother he was sure would follow, getting hopelessly tussled when he was caught and knocked from his feet. Thor was looking down at him, perplexed, as he laughed, defiant of his defeat.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Loki shrugged, "Wanted to see what would happen. I thought it'd be fun."
Thor shrugged, satisfied enough with the answer and rose, pulling Loki up behind him, "We have to hurry, or the Frost Giants will take over our castle,"
~.~
Often Loki would get sidetracked in their games, drifting away where he couldn't be seen, wondering if his brother would care enough to notice, care enough to find him.
He always did.
Thor would always come to find him, to catch him when he ran away.
~.~
Always.
~.~
They became older, Thor began his training with the other boys, and Loki became so miserable without his playmate that it came to the attention of his mother. Worried, she asked the AllFather, and Loki was allowed to join his brother. But now Thor had new friends. New friends that he insisted come to play with them whenever they were done with the day's training.
Thor laughed at the other boys' jokes, wrestled with them, had them be the comrades on his side of the fort they'd built.
Loki didn't mind it. He didn't mind it at all. In the end, Thor would always come back. He was the only one that was his brother. After all, the others were only his friends. And Loki had his magic, his own lessons, his own training. No, Loki was plenty busy, too busy to notice the change, or if it chanced that he did, too busy to care.
~.~
One day, as they were dividing into teams, arguing out who would be the defenders, and who the attacking host, Loki wandered off. It was a childish test, and one he had long since abandoned, but all the same….Casting a cautious look over his shoulder at the squabbling group, Loki slipped away, twisting the shadows of the stables around him to hide him from sight as Freya, his magic teacher, had taught him to. He wandered, flitting from shadow to shade, slipping between them like ghosts and finally dropping the work entirely when he came closer to the Hall, letting the shadows fall away. It was a long time before he made his way back.
He heard their voices long before he saw them, and Thor's loudest of all. Thor, cheering and mighty. Thor, not coming to find him.
Thor and Volstag and Fandril crouched together behind a low bush, rallying for the next attack. Hogan peered out from behind the haphazard fort they'd made. Siv was speaking to her sister, who sat with her back to the fort's one wall, a distressed look on her face. Thor looked up, "Brother, why don't you go to the aid of the defenders, Sig doesn't know how the game is played."
No 'where have you been', no 'why did you run off', no acknowledgement that he had been gone at all. Just a curt order to go and fill a place on the other team.
"Mother wants me to finish my lessons." He turned and started back to the palace.
"Loki," Thor started, then paused, Loki almost slowed, almost turned, but Thor went back to discussing his plans with the other boys, and Loki broke into a run, even though he couldn't see the ground that was passing under his feet.