Author's Note: For jayjay who asked for a fic in which Loki was oblivious to Thor's affections.
Camp
Loki sighed as he raised his head from under the water and shook himself half-turning to see Thor staring at nothing. Oak trees rustled before he called, "Are you going to bathe today or not, Thor ?" The river swept around him while he summoned a fistful of emerald fire and threw it in his big brother's general direction. Thor, of course, didn't even notice. "I'll take that as a no then." He rolled his eyes before wading into the shallower water, summoning his towel from where it lay on the bank, wrapped it about himself then made his way back to their camp.
The soft yellows, pinks, blues and purples of sunset filled a sky already sparkling with stars. Ah, but Asgard was beautiful. It was Yggdrasil's crowning jewel, in his not so humble opinion, of course. While he re-stoked the fire he looked about for the little snake which'd seemingly become his friend - a Blue Star Snake, they were rather poisonous if riled, so rather like himself. Stiarna had curled up beside his tent far from the fire, that was an odd thing about Blue Stars they preferred coldness to heat. Mother had suggested that they could be descendants of snakes from that ancient time when Asgard and Jotunheim were friendly. Ha, as if Asgard and Jotunheim could've been friendly when the Frost Giants were unsophisticated monsters.
By the time he had dried and dressed, sat at the fire with the little sapphire and onyx-scaled snake wrapped about his throat Thor had finally returned from his own bath. Thor walked over to his own tent before he heard the blond crawling into it. Only a few minutes had passed before Thor wondered loudly. "Loki, where did I put my pants ?"
"How am I to know if you don't ?" Under his breath he muttered, "You're an idiot if you can't find your own pants. I am not a nursemaid to go and fetch things, I am a prince of Asgard the same as you." A soft hiss from Stiarna who then slithered down onto his bare forearm. Was camping not supposedly a bonding experience ? There'd been more bonding between himself and the odd little snake than himself and Thor. Really, he couldn't fathom why Thor had insisted on its being only them. It wasn't like they were doing anything particularly dangerous like bilgesnipe herding, after all.
Still he had to admit it was a very nice break from Thor's friends...but not Fandral. He didn't mind Fandral, they understood each other rather better than the others. Fandral and himself both preferred weapons which required more speed and grace than brute strength. They could have a good, lengthy, conversation about books without the others getting bored and demanding they talk of something else. Huh, he really did miss Fandral. Well, the good thing was that he and Thor would be leaving for home tomorrow. It was going to be so hard to wait.