Chapter 1:
"Play with me, Loki!" Thor begged, tugging on the sleeve of his brother's robe.
Loki brushed him off, ignoring him as he turned the page of his thick tome. He was finally getting beyond theory and into the practical aspects of illusion seidr. Truly, it was a wonder that Thor could always have such bad timing.
"I'm bored," Thor whined again as he tried to climb up into Loki's lap to get a better look at his book. Loki promptly shoved him off, hearing Thor land on the stone floor with a thud.
For Hel's sake.
Loki glanced at his brother to make sure he wasn't close to tears. The last thing he needed today was for Thor to run off and tattle to Mother.
But, instead, Thor sat up, rubbing the back of his head. He gave Loki a particularly irritated look.
"That's not fair," Thor complained from his heap on the floor, "Mother said you were supposed to spend time with me and all you're doing is being boring. Let's play 'dragon hunters', or we can go-"
"Let's play the silent game," Loki said, cutting Thor off mid-sentence and flipping to the next page.
It was bad enough that he was tasked with watching Thor in the first place. What were his nursemaids for, if not this? But, oh no, by Odin's beard, Thor couldn't ever let anything be easy. Norns ruin us all if that happened. Instead, Thor had thrown a tantrum about how he was too old to be looked after. Naturally, he came to this conclusion days before Hela's coronation, when their Mother had no time to watch him. Still, Loki could grudgingly respect their mother's way of distracting Thor; the boy was more stubborn than a mountain on his good days. Unfortunately, her clever ploy had involved convincing Thor that spending time with him wasn't technically minding because they were brothers.
So here he sat trying to read while his svinhqfdi of a younger brother glared at one of the oldest books in Asgard.
"No," Thor said, crossing his arms over his chest and puffing his cheeks up. "You can't trick me into being quiet so you can keep reading. I'm not forty anymore, brother."
Loki sighed and lowered his book. That was the irritating thing about Thor; he was only selectively stupid.
"How about hide and seek, then?"
Thor gave him a suspicious look, chewing on his lip as he tried to suss out if it was a trick. Loki smirked internally; poor little Thor. It would take him millennia before he even got close.
"You mean it, brother?" The instant Thor seemed to come to a decision, his face lit up as he scrambled to his feet.
Loki nodded his ascent and was rewarded with a full-blown, enthusiastic smile. Norns, how did he do that? It was like the sun just rose over the horizon.
"You can count first!" Thor called, already rushing for the door, "And no scrying this time, Loki!"
Loki watched Thor leave and the door slip close behind him. He truly was so much closer to seeing the trick this time. Too bad he was still far too gullible. With a bemused smile on his face, Loki propped his book open and continued reading.
Thor ran as fast as his feet would take him. He wouldn't put it past Loki to count in Vanirtungu to make the time shorter, so he needed to be quick. He rushed down the stairs at breakneck speed, nearly colliding into servants as he ran around corners. Then he was out of the main palace and into the bustling courtyard. There were goods and traders as far as the eye could see. The exotic colors of Alfheim robes were sprinkled throughout the crowd as more and more people arrived for Hela's coronation. He could even spot some of the dwarves from Nidavellir as they hauled their gifts to the new queen across the courtyard.
Thor couldn't stop his excitement. The last time they'd had a feast this big was when Father and Hela had ended the war with Jotunheim. Even then, he'd been too young to attend the full festivities. But this time, this time he would make sure he got to stay. If Loki was old enough now, surely he was too.
Speaking of Loki…
Thor glanced uneasily behind him, half-expecting to see Loki's green robes emerging from the crowd. There was no sign of him, though, Thor let out a sigh of relief. If Loki had found him so easily, he'd probably be stuck in the library all day. He needed to get to his hiding spot, and fast. Thor darted past the caravan of people and out the front gate with a cheerful wave to the guardsmen.
Loki probably thought he'd hide in the kitchens or someplace similar. Thor grinned.
Not this time.
He'd found the best hiding place out in the forest by the Bifrost when he was playing Valkyries with Sif last week. It would stump Loki for sure. Thor suppressed a giggle as he imagined the look on Loki's face when he walked by and Thor jumped out and scared him. It would serve him right after the last prank with the Frog.
Thor made his way through the forest careful to stay out of the sight of any of the patrols. He wouldn't put it past Loki to bribe them into finding him. No, his hiding spot was so good, he would bet not even Heimdall, with his all-seeing, golden eyes, could find him. Thor passed a clearing and then turned left at the creek before he came to a thick patch of berry bushes. He got down on his knees and crawled into the thicket, carefully tucking his red cape around him so he didn't snag it. Then he crouched down in the bushes, his knees digging into the marshy ground.
This was the perfect spot. He could see anyone coming or going from the creek and the brush was so thick, not even his cape was visible from the outside. He knows; him and Sif had taken turns trying to find any thinning in the foliage, just in case. His teachers always told him it was important to know the weaknesses of your defenses. Not to mention that the bushes were chocked full of perfectly ripened bilberries. He grinned, now he only needed to wait Loki out.
There he waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And waited.
His foot tapped idly against the ground as he plucked one of the bilberries off the branch and popped it into his mouth. The tangy sourness burst across his tongue. Thor frowned; this was boring. Loki was supposed to come find him.
He ate a few dozen more berries as he hummed to himself, trying to stay still as he lay in wait. He wiped his purple-stained hands on his tunic and glanced towards the creek, hoping to hear the rustle of coming footsteps. There was still no sign of Loki.
Thor rubbed his eyes and let out a small yawn. His knees burned from kneeling in place for so long. He tentatively stood up and stumbled out from behind the bushes, expecting to be met by one of his brother's pranks. Instead, there was nothing.
Where was Loki? Was his spot really so good that his brother wasn't able to find him?
Thor stood on his shaking legs. They tingled from remaining still so long. He shook out the pin and needles from his limbs and slapped his palms against his face with a resounding smack as he tried to ward off the drowsiness. He was 120 years old and he didn't need naps anymore!
A thought struck Thor: maybe Loki was confused and thought he was supposed to be hiding. He ran the conversation over in his head; he'd rushed out of the library so fast maybe Loki hadn't heard him and Loki had been hiding all this time waiting for Thor to come find him.
Yes, that must be it!
Well, that was fine. Thor was a great seeker. Seeking was like questing, and Thor loved to play questing. He'd find Loki in no time. He'd start with the forest; after all if his spot was good, Loki might have a found a better one out here himself.
He wandered between the trees, a carefree smile on his lips as he searched behind rocks and by the creek for his brother. He'd yet to have any success beyond startling a stag. He'd briefly given up his search to chase the animal for a bit before he remembered Loki was still waiting for him.
Thor passed a series of boulders on the forest floor when something glinted off the sunlight filtering from overhead. It looked vaguely shiny. Thor walked closer, clambering up the rocks only to find a green serpent sunning itself.
"Loki?" Thor whispered as he climbed closer to poke it. He wouldn't pick it up, not after what happened last time. Thor still had the scars and the memory of Loki laughing at him.
The snake raised its head, let out a low hiss, and then flicked its tongue out, scenting the air.
"Loki?" Thor asked again, more hopeful. That certainly seemed like a very Loki response. The snake ignored him and began to slink down the boulder. Thor followed it because everything it had just done was very reminiscent of his brother.
"Brother I found you; change back so I can tag you!"
The serpent continued to make its way through the undergrowth.
"Don't be a sore loser!" Thor yelled as he crawled after the snake. Loki in his serpent form was too fast though, and with a few more twists, he was quickly disappearing from view.
"Wait, don't move so fast!"
Thor didn't pause as he made a hurried scramble through the bushes. Suddenly, there was no solid ground under him. Air breezed upwards, surrounding him. He was falling.
Thor flung his hands out, flailing them in every direction, only to be met with empty space. The wind was whistled in his ears and it was suddenly so dark that he couldn't see anything.
There was something wrong, something very wrong. It was day, so why was it so dark?
As quickly as his fall started, it ended as Thor slammed into something solid. All the air was knocked out of his lungs as he lay on his back.
Ow, he thought distantly as his brain tried to catch up with his body. Where was he?
As soon as Thor could hear his own thoughts again he sat up. He groaned. His body felt like he'd been sparring all day. He rolled over, his eyes adjusting to the dim light.
It appeared he was in some type of cavern. Everything looked grey around him, and when he looked up, he could see a faint crack of light from overhead. That must be where he'd fallen from. He made his way over to the edge of the cave, running his hand along the stone walls. They were smooth, unnaturally smooth.
Thor gulped. There was no way he could get back up there; it was far too high up and there was no way for him to grip the walls as he climbed. He would need to find another way out of the cave.
Thor shook himself off and wrapped his cape tighter around his body. He felt cold all of a sudden. This wasn't quite the quest he'd been expecting.
Something moved in the corner of his eye. He whirled to face it, fists raised high. "Whoever's there, show yourself!"
Out of the shadows slithered the green snake.
"Thank the Norns you're here too, Loki!" Thor squealed in delight, "You can use your magic to float us back up there!" Thor pointed enthusiastically to the crack of light above them.
The snake paused. Its tongue flickered out before it turned and made its way deeper into the cave.
"Loki, wait! Where are you going?" Thor trailed after the snake, trying to keep up with it in the darkness. What was Loki thinking? The way out was back there.
He tripped in the darkness. His hands came up, trying to catch his body as it fell. They crunched down on the rocks below them, jarring his wrists as he landed. He could feel something sharp cutting into his palms. He couldn't make out his hands, but he could smell the metallic tinge in the air. He was bleeding. He pulled his hands back into his cape; they stung. He didn't like this. His hands hurt and it was dark and he wanted to go home!
Thor scrunched up smaller against his cape. He was scared and he wanted to go home. His eyes prickled as he realized he couldn't sense any movement around him. He couldn't see the snake in the darkness. Loki had left him.
He froze. His throat suddenly felt tight.
"This isn't funny anymore! It isn't funny. Come back! If- if you don't come back, I'm telling Mother!"
No one answered.
His eyes stung and he rubbed the palms of his hands into his eyes. He felt something wet drip onto his injured hands, making them sting. He wasn't crying, Princes of Asgard didn't cry.
He sniffled. It didn't matter if stupid Loki left him. He could find his way out of one dumb cave by himself. He didn't need Loki!
Thor stumbled to his feet, feeling his way forward in the blackness. He would get out of here and then he would go tell Mother what Loki had done.
Thor wasn't sure how long he stumbled around for. What he did know was that he was thoroughly lost and that he wanted his Mother. He took one tentative step, then another, his fingertips brushing along the walls as he walked. He'd been murmuring prayers to the Norns for the last hour.
He felt a shift in the earth. Something moved beneath him. What in the seven Hels was that?
The ground rumbled around him, and he scrambled closer to the wall, looking to steady himself. His hands brushed the smooth rock wall. Thor hissed as the force dug into the scratches on his palms. He struggled trying to hold on as the cave seemed to move this way and that, trying to shake him into the abyss.
What madness was this?
As quickly as the shaking started, it stopped and Thor let out a hysterical laugh.
"Stupid cave, I am a son of Odin. Do your worst!" Thor yelled into the emptiness.
His voice echoed around him, fading into the darkness.
Then the earth tilted sideways, and Thor was falling again.
Author's Note: Okay here's a clarifying note about time frames because I've been getting some questions. So this is an Alternative Universe that will vaguely follow the Avengers plot with some changes. The most major change is that Thor and Loki were born later and are younger than in the mcu. Also in this universe, Loki was born first, so compared to canon Loki and Thor have swapped ages. In this story, Thor is probably around 7 or 8 in human years and Loki is around 15, Hela is in her late 20s. The Avengers are relatively the same with an exception to Coulson and Clint's role which you will see next chapter. One other change is that instead of Loki Thanos sends Ebony Maw to earth to gather the Infinity Stones. Let me know if you guys have any questions! Thanks to all the people over on the Write With Me Discord who listened to my ideas and helped me edit this chapter into something semi-readable and offered great suggestions to improve this story! Vanirtungu mean Vanir tongue, essentially Thor is referring to Loki cheating by counting in a different language. Svinhqfdi means pighead which is an accurate description of Thor. Comments and constructive criticism are very welcomed.