A/N: So, I'm on an Avengers kick. Mainly Loki. Been reading a few stories out there and really wanted to write one. It's been difficult though, and I am really not sure if I'll continue this particular story for long. I have at least three chapters for it though. Will be rated M later on, but for now it is very kid friendly. The idea is to have a few chapters of Loki's childhood, teenage years, adult through Avengers stuff. Not sure how far that will go. But really, I couldn't resist a young Loki. Ah, he's so cute. Or at least, that's how I saw him. As far as aging, i know that they probably age differently in Asgard, but for the sake of sanity and clarity let's just say they age like us and go through all those phases and what not. My OC is the goddess of wind. Runa. It's a romance between her and Loki as they grow up together. Sort of cute fluffy stuff for the most part. Blah. Anyway. Hope you enjoy it.
I don't own the Avengers or Loki or any of that. Just my OC Runa. You know the drill.
ONE
It was to be that sort of day. He knew before his eyes could open to the morning. Knew as his conscious mind recognized the voice calling to him.
"Wake up, brother. How can you still sleep?"
Loki opened his eyes, refusing to move. "Because I'm tired." This sparked a chuckle from his brother as the blanket was torn from his body. Loki sat up, glaring. "Get out of my room."
Thor never did understand the difference between a joke and an order. "Dress quickly. I'll not be telling father I was late because I had to get you up."
Loki caught the leather pants and jacket Thor threw, pulling them from his face where they had smacked him. "Then why come get me at all?"
This seemed an unreasonable question to an eleven year old Thor, who only smiled all the way to his blue eyes. "Because this is more fun." Thor was gone before he could be hit by the pillow, which landed on the floor harmlessly. Loki wished he could muster the same enthusiasm. He slipped from his bed and began to dress, but he did so at his own snail's pace. Thor might be happy about a day like today, but Loki had not been looking forward to it. When checking his clothes and fixing his hair, Loki did so with precise attention to detail. The day was important whether Loki was happy about it or not.
When he finally emerged downstairs, Thor had already finished breakfast. He chatted to one of the servers, keeping them from their chores with high energy predictions as to how the day might unfold. Loki took his seat and had just started to arrange his plate; it had not even been half a minute. He was already in trouble.
"Why are you just now coming down to breakfast?" His father sat at the head of the table and Loki glanced up meekly as he set down a piece of bread.
"I was getting ready, father." Loki spoke to the table. He did not like facing his father when he was in trouble. This meant he saw very little of the man's face, but he didn't need to see the piercing stare when Odin's voice was harsh enough.
"And you look very handsome." Frigga gave him a warm smile, which he did not acknowledge. "You both do." She stated, but Loki sensed his father wasn't finished.
"From now on you shall give yourself adequate time for dressing." He scolded.
"But I made it a point to look presentable." Loki argued, and then pointed at Thor's shirt. "His buttons aren't even aligned." Thor looked down at his shirt at the comment, beginning to undo them.
"Never mind what your brother does." Odin barked. "I am not speaking to him, am I?"
He sighed. "No."
Odin looked at Thor as he fumbled with the buttons. "Make sure you are decent before you leave your room."
"Yes, father." Thor replied, finishing up the buttons and smoothing his shirt. Loki bit into the now cold piece of bread and butter. Thor's folly goes unnoticed, but Loki had to be scolded before he could even eat his food. He only had time for the one piece of bread before he and Thor were told to stand and follow their father. Loki stuffed another piece of bread into his pocket as he jumped from his seat. He'd not eat it in front of anyone, but he was surely not going to go hungry until lunch.
Thor was at Loki's side as they walked. He had been through this all before, but today would be Loki's first day of training. "I have been waiting for this day. We can practice together, like we do in the yard. I can show you all the good moves, too. You'll be ahead of everyone." Thor beamed and then clapped Loki on the back.
Loki tried to smile, but he did not want to say that he was nervous. It was the other children that he was worried about. "Do you think I'll do…well?" Loki looked sideways quickly, then his eyes fell back to his shoes.
Thor scoffed. "Are you serious? You're my brother, Loki. How could you not do well?"
"I don't think that being your brother is synonymous with success." Loki argued, and he wondered why Thor didn't consider such things on his own. Loki didn't assume Thor to be good in magic simply because they were related. Thor excelled at the physical. Loki had always been better at schooling. Now, he'd be expected to hone these abilities with the rest of the noble children. It was not a show he wanted to perform.
"Cheer up, gloomy. This shall be great fun. I promise you will have a good time. I have never had a bad day of training." Thor confided, as if his feelings would automatically be shared by his brother. Thor nudged Loki in the shoulder. "Get excited. You'll make it rain if your face stays that way."
Loki smiled. "If only."
They reached the training yard just behind their parents. It was a wide open pit encircled by rafters, carpeted by coarse sand and nearly seventy feet in diameter. There were already some children gathered, waiting near the center of the arena. Some were like Thor and had been in training for a few years, others like Loki and just starting. Thor ran to the center. He met his friends, a group of three boys, and began to chat excitedly. Loki knew them well enough, but he remained with their parents. Mostly, he knew that this day was not going to be a good day. He would try. Fight and learn with all he possessed, but that was rarely enough. Not when these things came so easily to Thor. He was going to be mocked, he was certain of it. And Loki hated to be mocked.
Already Thor picked up a sword and was twirling it about his wrist. Even the children not in his circle of friends were watching him respectfully. Loki felt his mother's hand on his shoulder.
"Why do you not join your brother?" She bent down so that Odin might not hear.
Thor briefly turned toward them, beaming. "You're missing the fun, brother. Come, try the lance. I think it might weigh more than you." He laughed at his joke, which might not have been meant in malice, but had no less of a disheartening effect. Loki looked at his mother.
"Do I truly have to do this?" He sighed.
"What do you mean, my love?"
"I mean, must I train with swords and lances? I can make up for my time here in classes. I'll do extra work. I'll live only for my studies…just do not make me go." He glared at the children. They were mostly separated into girls and boys. Girls would train with them for a short time, but only because of their rank. All of these children were gods or demigods or their parents were such. There weren't many of them, only about twenty children of varying ages.
"What's this I hear?" Odin stepped next to his wife and Loki looked at his shoes.
"It's nothing. Loki and I were just talking." Frigga smiled at her son, who mentally thanked her, and Odin moved on to speak to one of the father's watching the children.
"Hallimer, my good friend." He took the man's arm in greeting, both of their hands easily bigger than Loki's face. "I do not see yours among the trainees? She does start today?" The man pointed toward the edge of the arena, where the wall rose up to separate the seating from the fighting. A girl balanced on top, her feet bare and her hair flapping around her shoulders.
Hallimer sighed. "She is as she was born to be." He chuckled. "I cannot, for the life of me, keep her feet on the ground."
"Wind, wasn't she?" Odin clarified.
Hallimer nodded. "Yes. And she is just as capricious. But her humor is unmatched and no one is quicker to laugh. She is rather defiant at the moment. As you can see, it was all I could do to get her to come here at all."
Odin nodded, arms crossed. Loki sensed that his father disapproved of the girls' behavior. He watched Hallimer's daughter balance on the wall, fluid and light on her feet. She made it look easy. He wondered what she would do without her boots once the training started, and how she would fair wearing only a flowing dress and shoulder padding and some wrist bracers. She spun on her toes and began to walk again, looking toward her father. Loki averted his eyes, not wanting her to know he had been watching. Then he was ushered forward by his father's strong hand.
Thor had set down his sword and ran to meet Loki, ignoring the looks his friends exchanged. He smacked Loki hard on the back, grinning. Thor had talked of nothing but training for as long as he could speak. When he had turned eight, he had been up before the servants in anticipation. He assumed Loki was equally ecstatic and could not fathom otherwise.
A hush fell over the children, even Thor stopped talking, when the instructor arrived. A thick man with a plate vest and a scar running from his chin to his forehead. It disfigured his lips and his left eye, but not maimed them. The parents had left and now it was just them and their intimidating teacher.
The instructor looked out at them all and then his black eyes found the girl on the wall. "You." Loki threw his hands over his ears, the man's voice rattled in his chest and he feared for the girl. "Child, come here."
Runa jumped off her wall, ran to her boots, and scooped them into her arms before hopping along the sand to put them on as she walked. She nearly fell a few times, which sent half of the children murmuring and the other half giggling. When she reached them she stepped right up to the front, chin in the air.
"Yes?"
"We are beginning. Next time you will be with the others and properly clothed before I arrive. Am I understood, Runa, daughter of Hallimer?"
The girl wrinkled her nose and Loki thought she might protest.
"Yes, sir." She mumbled and then spun on her heel, hair flipping behind her, the ends tangled and windswept, and stormed to the back of the group. The other girls all had their hair pinned up and out of their faces.
Loki's attention was pulled from her by their instructor, Torgall, and their lesson went by with little incident. They were all given instruction on the proper hold for the blade and stance. Wooden swords were handed out for them to practice. The older students were to help with the younger ones. There would be no actual fighting that day. Their last hour was spent in pairs. Thor went to Loki without question, adopting his stance and waiting for Loki to do the same. When he did, Thor struck quickly, passing Loki's attempted block with ease.
Arm stinging, Loki shook out his hand. "This time you advance." Thor ordered.
"We're not supposed to be hitting each other." Loki hissed.
Thor laughed. "We hit each other all the time. Come on. Come at me." Loki let out a sharp breath. This was true; they had been hitting each other long before that day. Although, Loki remembered receiving more than he dealt. Loki lunged and Thor blocked and pulled Loki forward in a fluid motion, smacking him in the back as he switched their positions. He laughed again. "Good move. You need to keep your stance more centered. You're thrown off too easily."
Loki rubbed his back. "And how would you know? You're not the instructor here. Even with a few years on me, you're still the student."
"Irrelevant, Loki. I am trying to help you." Thor assured. "Now balance yourself." Heaving a sigh, Loki did as his brother said. "Very good. Strike." Loki did, this time with more force and was met with a face full of sand. He wiped his lips and eyes quickly, glaring at those that were now laughing. He looked back at Thor, anger blinding him to the spectators, but not deafening their snickering. Now Thor had an audience. Just as Loki had feared would happen, he was made to look the fool. Loki was finished with games. Concentrating, he prepared for another strike. Thor took up his defensive stance. Loki lunged, but at the same time waited half a breath. Thor dodged the illusion easily, his grin evident, but the real Loki managed to smack him sharply in the arm.
Victorious, Loki noticed that they no longer laughed. Or, mostly. One voice still giggled and he turned to see Runa laughing into her palm. Loki wanted to think her laughter was directed at his brother, but he was being scolded before he had time to think.
"We do not use magic in this lesson." Torgall boomed. "When you have learned to wield that weapon properly, then I might allow for those kinds of tricks."
Loki's fists clenched. Why not use his advantages? Why not let him use magic? It seemed unfair. Especially when Thor had not been reprimanded for hitting him. Thor was looking at him timidly, which only made the humiliation worse. Like Thor was wary of Loki's feelings.
"Go practice with Fandral." Loki spat. He moved to the outer edge of the group, standing alone. He cooled his nerves. Closed his eyes and tried to loosen his grip on the weapon. When he sensed a presence behind him, he spun and his sword lashed out, meeting her sword with a crack. Runa giggled.
"That was funny." She said.
Loki lowered his weapon. "What was?" He eyed her skeptically. She was an odd girl. He guessed that much about her. But she had kind eyes, a friendly smile, and soft features. He noticed a bruise forming on her pale arm, a bruise that might not have been there if she were wearing adequate clothing.
Runa set her sword point into the sand. "That trick. Thor had no idea." She giggled again. "Did you not see his face?"
Her laughter and easy conversation made him smile with her. She had been laughing at Thor, then. It was a nice change. Usually the other children hated when he used illusions or magic. They were all too frightened. Runa picked up her sword again and held it in front of her. "Shall we?"
"Shall we what?"
She huffed and then nudged him in the shoulder with her sword. "We are supposed to be practicing. And your brother stole my partner. So come on." She raised her weapon. Loki followed and they practiced the steps they had been taught, not actually hitting each other as instructed. Runa's steps were flawless, gliding on her feet from one stance to the next. Form wasn't an issue for her and she encouraged him to watch her and mimic her movements. He learned quickly through watching her and with more ease than he would have with Thor. She stepped forward and he retreated. He spun them to the left and she circled with him, swords raised. When doing the exercise properly, it was almost enjoyable. Runa met each swing evenly and she had even begun to laugh, making him smile. This was fun.
"You know," She in-stepped and he mirrored, just missing each other. "It's almost like we're dancing together."
Loki halted, their heads knocking together lightly. "I'm not dancing." He protested quickly, taking a step back and rubbing his forehead. "Especially not with you…"
Runa frowned, little nose scrunched. "Who said I wanted to dance with you either?" Her sword point jabbed him in the arm.
Loki didn't know what to do. She had turned their fun into something uncomfortable. Dancing with a girl? He was only eight. What was she thinking? Loki rubbed his arm, which was now throbbing after all the jabs it had absorbed. Runa was truly lathered, dust swirling at her feet. Wind circled her legs and the ends of her long chestnut hair began to flutter. She crossed two skinny arms and stuck out her bottom lip in a pout.
When that soft breeze circling her turned into more powerful rushes of air, he began to feel it on his face. He held up his hands, sand stinging his cheeks. "Stop it."
Her grey eyes were venomous. "Make me."
Loki squinted, trying to keep his eyes covered. It only lasted for a few minutes before she calmed down. The wind stopped, at least, and she went from angry to sad in seconds. Loki removed his hands just as Torgall was on them. He waited for the lecture, knowing that this would somehow be his fault. Instead, Runa was given the sharp look and booming reprimand.
"Did I not say that magic was not permitted?"
Runa kept her arms crossed, little chin raised in defiance. "He started it. He was being rude and I got angry."
"I do not care what your reason, you must control yourself or your parent will be informed and you will be removed from my instruction." He towered over them and then Loki received some of that stare. "Both of you need to tread carefully. I do not put up with insolence for long." He turned and left them. Loki waited until he was far enough away before glaring at his sparring partner. The stupid girl had gotten them both in trouble.
"I told you to stop." He seethed. "Look what you did."
Runa kept her back to him, glancing over her shoulder. "This is really your fault, you know. You were the one being mean."
"Only because you had to go and start talking all…girly." He whined.
Runa spun around, eyes livid. "I am a girl, you daft idiot. Maybe you ruined everything by being boy…ish." She growled. "I'm not speaking to you anymore."
Loki narrowed his eyes. "But you just were."
She kept silent, forcing her back to him again. She didn't speak to him for the rest of the lesson, which he didn't understand. When Loki left he tried to say goodbye, but she was gone before he could. She kicked off her boots the instant the lesson ended and raced for the exit, not even waiting for her father. Thor slung his arm over Loki's shoulders. His arms were sweaty and Loki winced. The smell wasn't exactly sweet.
"Was that not one of the best days of your life?" Thor asked. "My first day was nearly that. Or maybe it was the time I beat the oldest boy, Gendrick, in practice on my third day." Thor's comments seemed to be more for his friends than for Loki. He didn't answer Thor, but he considered the original question. The day was far from the best, but, to his surprise, it hadn't been the worse either. "I bested Fandral and Hogan seven to six…" Thor continued to relate the events, encouraged or contradicted by his friends. Loki left them in the main hall of the palace and went to his room. He needed to change his clothes, his current attire full of sand and dust. Their book lessons would be starting soon, schooling he actually looked forward to.
Tomorrow he'd have to return to the arena. Runa would have to return, too. Loki hoped she would be talking to him again by then. If he was stuck with Thor for a partner he'd be kicked out of lessons most surely.
A/N: So, hope you liked it. I think it's just so cute, him interacting with a girl at that age. Ah, so adorable. Oh, and he'll definitely hit his charismatic nature as a teen. I don't have him like that now because we are rarely the exact same people at that age. I like him a bit more shy or uncomfortable around her. When they're older and more familiar with each other, the flirting will definitely start. ;) Again, hope you enjoyed reading. This story isn't anything too serious, just a bit of fun because I cannot get Loki out of my mind and have to do something creative with him besides watch him in Thor and the Avengers over and over again. Sigh. Thanks for reading. ^_^
P.S. Any facts or information I might have gotten wrong...yeah, sorry. I'm not overly familiar with this genre, just the movies. I figure some of it isn't totally believable for Asgard or what not, but hey, I'm lazy and it makes the story work. Just saying, I didn't do a lot of research and i am seriously only writing this for fun. I'm sharing it on here in case others might find it interesting or cute, just as I do, to read about him in these situations. ^_^
