Gaia held her breath and started to run sneakily to the nearest bush, that was behind her, when Thor yelled "Found you!" and he went running the opposite way towards the base, she ran behind him, he slammed his hand against the hard stone fountain and they both started giggling. "That is not fair!" she complained with a mocking tone. "Where is Loki anyway? Have you found him yet?" she asked, still trying to catch her breath. "Nay, after many times of playing this game I'd say he might be cheating". Loki had been always the best at playing hide and seek, nobody could ever find him, but he always gave in after everybody had been found already.
"I am surprised by the fact you are still not able to find me" Loki's voice sounded behind them. "Brother! we were asking ourselves where you might be" Thor exclaimed entuthiastically "And I well heard you" Loki said in response "For the record, I do not cheat, but I do know how to recognize a good hiding spot". Loki gave Gaia a sly smile, it was like they could read each other's mind, it had always been like that, they had a connection nobody could understand, not even themselves.
Later that evening, they all had dinner, along with Sif, Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg. But time is never enough when you are 6 years old and it's already time to go home. "I suppose that I will see you tomorrow Loki" Gaia said, before waving goodbye. Within a few minutes everybody else was gone and only Thor and Loki were in the big entrance.
The warm summer's breeze suddenly filled the air, flowers bloomed, bringing new stunning colors and patterns, the sky got clearer and the grass got greener every day.
Gaia ran chasing Loki through the trees and bushes when Loki stepped on a branch and they both tripped and fell to the ground, both started laughing and they met each other's eyes.
"Hi there" Gaia said.
"Hey, I want to show you something" Loki said while he got on his feet and helped Gaia to get up as well.
She followed him through an ivy wall, that looked most like a green leaf curtain and once inside there was a stone bench surrounded with a lot of different kinds of plants and flowers, roses, lilies, hyacinths, peonies, different types of trees and a small pond. It was beautiful. They stared at the little garden for a while.
"From now on this is going to be our place, our secret place" Loki said.
"How did you find this place?"
"One time we were playing hide and seek"
"I love the silence"
"Me too, it makes me feel safe"
5 Years Later
"Check mate" Loki said.
"I hate you" Gaia chuckled.
"I know you don't" Loki said with a giant smirk on his face.
"Why are you so good at playing this game?"
"I have practiced a lot lately, and I do not have good opponents to play with"
"Hey! That is rude! instead of wasting your time criticizing me you should teach me how to play"
They spent a few hours arguing and finally Loki agreed to show Gaia some strategies and tactics, but after all the long explanations Gaia was still unable to beat Loki.
"Check mate….again" Loki said
Gaia sighed and affirmed "This is a complicated game for a complicated mind"
"What do you mean? I am not complicated" Loki seemed confused
"Forget about it, I am exhausted, let's go to the library"
Loki still was confused about what Gaia had said. He wasn't complicated, he was….. well, maybe Gaia was right. Why did she wanted to go to the library anyways? Maybe it was Gaia who confused him the most.
Once in the library Gaia seemed to forget the awkward discussion she had with Loki earlier. She walked slowly besides the tall bookshelves carefully reading the titles and sliding her fingers through the many books that were ordered alphabetically.
Loki tried to forget about his 'complicated' thoughts for a minute, but he had mixed feelings, he didn't know whether to feel angry about Gaia's comment or sad, this actually was a complicated situation, Loki almost laughed at his own joke. This whole time he had been following Gaia, and this halls seemed like they would never end. What was so fun about books? They were boring and they had many confusing words and many pages. He only liked to see the covers and images that some of them had.
"Why are we here?" Loki asked a little irritated
"I want to show this beautiful hobby of mine" Gaia said proudly
"More than a hobby, a new way of living that I think you might like" she added
She and Loki kept walking until they found a small living room with a few chairs and tables. Gaia sat down in a brown chair and made a movement with her hand intended for Loki to do the same. She stared at a bookshelf next to her and then turned around to see Loki.
"Pick a book" she said, with a sly smile
Loki got closer to the shelf and picked a dark blue book and handed it to Gaia. He didn't understand what was he feeling, something about her made him forgive her quickly, she was interesting and mysterious, and he guessed that that was something he liked about her.
They spent the rest of the evening in the library together, and from that day, they read everyday at the same time a different book when they had finished one, sometimes they would read another title from the other's individually, but they were always there for each other.
