These are my contributions to the Sifki Week prompts on tumblr, February 23- March 1, 2014.
Sifki Week, Day 1- Childhood
In which kid!Loki and kid!Sif are adorable.
Loki could hardly remember a time before the fiery blonde girl had joined their group. Sif had forced her way into a game of sword play one day between Thor and his friends Fandral, Volstagg, and the Vanir boy Hogun, or as Loki liked to call them, "The Followers Three," and she had never left. Loki suspected that Sif had become a lifelong member the moment she had managed to knock Thor onto his back and placed the wooden sword against his throat. His brother had been utterly shocked, much to Loki's amusement, but had soon let out a boisterous laugh, reaching for the outstretched hand the warrior girl offered him as the others cheered.
He would never admit it to anyone, especially not Sif, but Loki was glad to have her around. She stood up to the elder prince, never just blindly following him like the others, and the way she could best him in countless games was most amusing. But most of all Loki secretly enjoyed when she would sit out of the boys' games with him. He never asked her to, yet some days he would look up from his books to see her sitting next to him, watching the clouds or twisting grass in her fingers as Thor and his cronies ran and played. He wouldn't dare ask why she would bother to keep him company of her own volition; Loki was too afraid of scaring her off. After all, he could not think of any reason for her to wish to sit silently with him instead of playing with her friends and he did not wish to give her a reason to leave by saying the wrong thing.
So it became commonplace for Loki to find the blonde girl sitting beside him in the grass or on a bench, silently passing the time. Until the day she finally spoke.
"What are you always reading, anyway?"
Loki looked up in surprise, finding a pair of hazel eyes staring at him intently. For one with a silver tongue such as he, Loki was at an unusual loss for words. "What?" he managed to squeak out, his voice cracking frustratingly out of disuse, clearly shocked to hear her speak. It was not as if Sif never spoke to him, she quite often tried to goad him into joining the games, often throwing mild insults in an attempt to trick him into playing, clearly forgetting that it was not easy to trick a trickster. But not once before had she said a word while she sat beside him.
Sif merely grinned, "Your books. You always have your nose in some dusty old tome," she clarified, gesturing to the pile of books in the grass next to Loki. "What is so interesting that you'd rather stare at them all day then play with us?"
The young prince looked at the girl suspiciously, narrowing his eyes as he tried to determine if this was some sort of ruse, some attempt at mocking him, but all Loki saw when he looked into her eyes was curiosity. He sighed before answering, knowing she would surely be uninterested and perhaps even repulsed by his answer, as most Asgardians seemed to be, oddly saddened at the prospect of losing his silent sometimes-companion, but for some reason the lies he usually so easily told would not flow from his tongue this time. "Magic," he told her simply, watching her face warily for the violent reaction he was sure was coming. "They're spell books mostly. Sometimes history books too."
Loki was shocked to see her eyes light up in interest as she craned her neck to look at the book in his lap, scooting closer to him. "Really? Can you do anything fun?" she asked, smiling up at him.
His eyes were wide as he regarded her, having expected any other reaction before this one. "I- I can do a lot of things," he stuttered before his usual self-assurance took over, holding his chin up.
Sif merely rolled her eyes at him, quite used to the prince's bravado. "Prove it!" she insisted, raising her own head high in a mocking gesture. "If you can," she added with a smirk.
Loki crinkled his eyes and pursed his lips, stopping just short of sticking his tongue out at her in annoyance. "I certainly can," he answered as he brought his hands up in front of him and began concentrating. He had never shown anyone his magic before, save his mother, and he hoped he would be able to follow through on his claims.
He took in a deep breath and pushed the magic out, pleased to see a green orb slowly form between his hands. Loki glanced at Sif in smug satisfaction, but his haughty look fell at the look of wonder on her face.
Sif was looking at the ball of magic as if it was the most wondrous thing she had ever seen. She hesitantly reached a hand out to touch it, seemingly enchanted by the glowing sphere. As her fingertips reached it, the orb suddenly dispersed, her touch interrupting the flow of magic. Loki was not yet skilled enough to maintain such a display for long periods of time, and her hand had disrupted his concentration.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," she said softly, looking as guilty as she sounded as she withdrew her hand and folded it along with her other one in her lap.
"It's alright," Loki answered quickly, eager to dispel her sadness for some reason. "I am not that skilled yet, it is not your fault," he assured her, pleased when she gave him a tentative smile.
"Oh but I think you're wonderful," she exclaimed, her eyes widening as she realized what she had just said. "I mean, your magic, it's truly splendid," she said, blushing as she tried to clarify her words.
Loki was confused by the warm feeling that overcame him at her words. He continued to stare at her, not sure what to say. Surely her blurted words meant nothing, Loki knew that of course, but her explanation still meant that she liked his magic, which meant she liked him, in some fashion, and that thought made him exceedingly happy for some reason.
The young prince continued to regard her, trying to comprehend the anomaly that was the young Lady Sif. She possessed such a warrior's spirit, always on the move, refusing to back down from any challenge, yet she was also thoughtful and kind, and now she had even accepted Loki and his magic, where everyone else had at best given him odd looks and steered clear of him. He could not understand why she was so accepting of him.
Though perhaps her reaction to his magic was not so surprising after all, Loki thought. He had seen the way she looked on with longing when Thor had begun his training lessons, leaving Sif and Loki behind with Hogun, who was still considered too young to learn fighting skills, her gaze wistful as she watched. The teachers had laughed when she tried to join in the lesson, telling her girls had no place in war. Ever since she had taken their bouts of play fighting more seriously, swinging her wooden sword more ferociously and with greater purpose, even taking to practicing while Thor was at lessons with Fandral and Volstagg, mimicking the techniques she observed.
Sif understood what it felt like to be mocked for doing something she loved. She was much like him in that way, Loki realized.
"I think you'd made a great warrior, Sif," he said suddenly, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. "No matter what the others say," he added, staring intently at her, trying to show her that he was being honest, for once.
She looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by his sudden outburst. Her lips curled into a huge grin and she opened her mouth to say something when Thor yelled to her from across the field, asking her to join him and the others in a game of tag. He knew better by now than to bother trying to get Loki to join them in their games.
Sif turned to the elder prince and waved her assent, standing up to join them. Loki felt a rush of disappointment at the interruption, both sad and jealous that she was leaving him for his brother.
Before she left, however, the young girl looked down at him, giving him a smile. "And I'm sure you will someday make a great sorcerer," she said before turning away and beginning to jog over to the others. "Oh, and you better show me something new tomorrow!" she called over her shoulder, bringing a smile to Loki's face before he quickly turned back to his book, rapidly flipping through the pages, looking for a new spell to work on. For tomorrow.