Frigga hesitantly took the child from her husband's arms and looked down upon him. His wide eyes were green, his hair dark, his pale skin cool to the touch, a tiny baby pleasant to behold to an Aesir's eyes…but he was absolutely miserable. The baby wailed, his chest heaving to get enough air in between his short breaths. His eyes were frantic, darting around the room fearfully taking in his alien surroundings; these strange looking people whose touch is too warm, the blinding new colors all around him, everything too warm, too hot, not home, not right. He cried, afraid, hurting, lost.
Frigga rocked the child silently into the night, looking at Odin with uncertain eyes. The goddess of childbirth prided herself on her maternal instincts, but for all her gentle cooing, her swaying, her caresses could not calm this strange cold child for even a moment.
She laid down on her marriage bed beside Odin some long hours later, the child bundled at the foot of the bed where it wept and reached out with its small hands as if it were searching for something it could not find. Pity and sadness filled her heart at the sight of it; this child has no place here in this world, physical illusion couldn't hide the truth underneath. Her hand reached for her husbands in an act of resignation. Heart hardening, utterly spent and weary she wished to be rid of Odin's scheme. She left the child at the edge of the bed. Odin said nothing, remained silent, stoic gaze betraying no emotion, eyes fixed upon the child. The room lightened and morning came.
The great golden doors to their chambers creaked open and the sound of small footsteps made their way to the bed. A little mop of golden hair peeked over the bed and Odin's great arms reached down and scooped up his firstborn son and placed him on the bed. Thor giggled and hugged his father, pleased that he snuck into their room. His mother and father smiled down at him.
The baby wailed. Thor jumped in his father's lap and stared wide eyed in the direction of the little bump of blankets on the bed. The conquest of his parent's room was forgotten. He looked back to his mother for permission, and she didn't say no, she said nothing, her face tired. Thor crawled down the bed and slowly looked over the pile of blankets. He gasped and looked back at his silent parents in surprise. A baby. This baby was very noisy, it hurt his ears. The baby's face was wet, like his was when he was sad. Thor fought the urge to cover his ears up; instead his little hand reached down and touched the baby's cheek and held it there.
After a moment, the baby's thrashing slowed, his cries softened and his chest slowed down, his wide eyes fixed onto Thor's. Thor looked down into his green eyes and held his gaze. Happy to make the baby not sad, Thor kept his hand on him and smiled. After a few long moments, when he was sure the baby wasn't sad and wasn't going to start hurting his ears again, he looked back to his parents with a question in his eyes.
His mother took his father's hand in hers and nodded with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Thor, my son, this is your baby brother Loki."
Thor was the first to make Loki stop crying.
Frigga's youngest child did not cry so much anymore. He would cry if was hungry, if someone brought him too close to the fire, if his brother left him alone for too long, but the tears came less often as time moved on and Loki neared his first year. He was a quiet child, observant, his intelligent eyes always taking in his surroundings. He watched his brother and mimicked him, learning his new world quickly.
Thor's laughter rang out and filled the room. He jumped to his feet, turned in circles, shouting and giggling, lost in his imaginary world of play amidst the great circle of toys that surrounded him and his baby brother. Loki sat in the middle, tiny figurines of animals scattered in his lap, one in his mouth as he chewed on it, his eyes tracking his wild brother. Frigga watched the spectacle from across the room, her heart warm, and her eldest son's laughter music in her ears.
Thor's little feet tripped over a toy and he fell again to the ground holding his toys aloft over his head waving them wildly, heedless of his tumble, continuing on in his play. He scooted over to his baby brother and made his toy horse dance around the air above Loki's head, making silly noises that he thought a horse would make.
A new sound filled the room, an unfamiliar note that Frigga had not heard before. Her eyes came to rest on Loki, her youngest son was laughing. Thor's laughter grew and Loki's arms reached out to follow the toy horse his brother had, his face alight with joy. He fell into Thor's lap and giggled.
Thor was the first to make Loki laugh.