In which we are given a privileged glimpse of Thor and Loki's childhood and adolescence.

Title: Dance a Little Dance

Chapter Two: These Stories Aren't Quite As Dr. Selvig Remembers

Word Count: 4,558

[Total Word Count: 12,896]

Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe

Pairing: Eventual FrostIron/IronFrost, if we can get there in one piece.

Warning: Language, violence, mean things done to children (is Odin considered an abusive parent?)

Spoilers: Norse mythology with creative license to fit it into the MCU. Specifically, the ones where Loki's lips are sewn shut, the death of Baldur, and the origins of Hel, Jormungandr (a.k.a. the Midgard Serpent) and Fenrir.

Author: Kisnau

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Miscellaneous Notes: A bit of a break in the current storyline, but I feel these events are important to clarify~ :3

: : : : : : :

Once, a long time before Sif was a respected warrior in her own right, before Mjolnir had been created, before Thor, Loki and the would-be Warriors Three had even grown halfway into adults – there was another child.

This child – Sif – had long golden hair that fell to her knees, which the adult goddesses would praise and pamper and dress for her. Given she was not allowed to play with the boys, or even train for battle and not mere defense, Frigga took her under her wing and trained her in secret. Sif's flaxen hair was pulled into a glorious high ponytail during these sessions, swept back and dancing through the air like a ribbon as she fought. Loki would often secretly watch these, jealous as he was for his mother's attention. Only once did he mention to Thor what a good fighter Sif was, in retaliation to a comment from Thor about how useless women were in battle. Thor called his bluff, and Loki challenged him to see for himself.

The next training session, Loki and Thor hid under Loki's invisibility magic – imperfect, and so they concealed themselves in the shadows, nonetheless – and watched. Loki held a restraining arm on his brother so Thor would not break their secrecy, but it was unneeded. Thor remained still, attentive and awed, as he watched the two women fight. Frigga, he had always known as kind and gentle and strong, but she was before him as a demanding but calm teacher to the young Sif, who tried in earnest to land a hit. When the training was over, Thor burst from the shadows and proclaimed Sif was the finest female warrior he had ever beheld, and clasped her forearm with both of his in a gesture of equality and respect. Sif's clothing was not armor, merely her dress of that day bound up so as not to trip her, and she blushed at the words. Frigga gazed at Thor with pride in her eyes, and Loki felt the bitter taste of jealousy sting in his throat.

He had watched Frigga and Sif train for all these days, but had never dared reveal himself. And here, he had set up his own failure by bringing Thor, whose presence had Sif instantly smitten. Furthermore, Frigga's eyes were full of affection for Thor's progressive realization. Loki felt a stab of bitterness that it had not been Thor's natural inclination to believe such a thing. No, it had been Loki's idea, but as always it was stolen by Thor. Everything he valued was stolen by Thor. Feeling prickly with pain and deciding to channel it elsewhere, Loki strode forward with a laugh, eyes sharp and tone haughty.

"Oh, yes, a fine warrior you make, Sif! But your golden hair is an open target! Allow me to remedy that!" Loki sneered this, jerking his hand to the side as though to cut, two fingers pressed together. There was a glimmer of green magic, and a neat line sliced off Sif's glorious ponytail, making it fall to the ground. Her remaining hair now fell around her cheeks in a ragged, short cut. Everyone stared at Loki in shock for a moment, before Sif, upset, turned and ran away. Frigga frowned at him, but Loki didn't notice, only reveled in the satisfaction of taking something important away from someone who would never see him – not after meeting Thor.

Thor, for his part, shouted in outrage and caught his brother by his collar, eyes angry and furious.

"Brother! You will replace what you have taken!" Everyone knew Sif's golden hair as the most wonderful in all of Asgard; even Thor. Loki smiled meanly at his brother.

"How can I? I cannot weave gold from air." Thor stewed at him for a moment, before Frigga interjected.

"Go to Nidavellir and request that the sons of the dwarf Ivaldi fashion her new hair, fairer than her own before." Loki jerked, looking up to his mother in shock, but her eyes were firm, her expression caught in a small frown of disappointment. Loki felt his throat tighten, at causing that expression.

"But it's Thor's fault –!" Frigga's gaze hardened, silently declaring Loki should claim responsibility for his own actions, and Loki fell silent. He hung his head and mumbled an agreement to do as asked.

Ivaldi welcomed Loki courteously, and set his sons to work. In addition to a new head of hair for Sif – dark and raven-like, calling to the night, and indeed would render her more beautiful than before – they crafted two other marvels. One was the ship of all ships, Skidbladnir, which could be shrunk, put into one's pocket and always had a favorable wind. The other was the spear Gungnir, presented to Loki as a great gift for Odin. Allowing his royal entourage to hold the items in question, ever-curious Loki had it in mind to explore the caves of the dwarves more. He came upon a pair of adult brothers, Brokkr and Sindri, working at a forge. Loki called them over, and showed off the marvels his entourage carried. The brothers were duly impressed, and Loki gave them a troublemaker's smile as he cuttingly remarked that he doubted they could make anything so wonderful. The brothers exchanged a look, and one asked what Loki would give them if he could. The young prince laughed, and dismissed the very idea, but countered with a suitable bet.

"If you can, why I'll give you my tongue!" The brothers considered him, and to Loki's great shock they agreed to the bet. Not overly nervous – for what Ivaldi's sons had fashioned were without equal! – Loki turned to go back to Asgard with his entourage, but sparked a bit of magic into the air. Two flies emerged from sparks of green nothingness; one the biting kind and controlled by magic and the other merely hovering so Loki could watch the brothers work.

Seeing their skill even despite his young age – for Loki had watched Ivaldi's sons work, as well – Loki directed the harmful fly to bite Sindri's hand. Sindri jerked, and when he at last pulled his creation out of the fire, it was a live boar with golden hair. This was Gullinbursti, and it could run better than any horse, even over air and water.

For the second item, Sindri placed a nugget of gold on the fire while Brokkr fed the flames. The fly bit Brokkr on the neck, causing his fingers to twitch, and when the gold was pulled out of the fire it had become the ring Draupnir. Every ninth night, eight rings would drip from this ring, each of equal weight.

For the final item, Sindri put a lump of iron over the fire and told Brokkr they must be especially careful about this one, because there would be no room for mistakes, now. Feeling particularly vicious about the two brothers getting the best of him, the Silvertongue, Loki had his fly bite Brokkr's eye. The blood half-blinded the dwarf, but he worked through it, hands on his work and unable to wipe it away. Sindri had fashioned the mighty hammer Mjolnir, which had but one flaw, as the handle was too short. This item would return to its wielder's hand and never miss its mark.

The brothers rejoiced at finishing their task, at proving the arrogant young prince wrong, and left for Asgard to collect their dues. Every child must learn their lessons, after all.

In Asgard, Loki dismissed his fly spell and dreaded losing his precious tongue. So, he sought to think of a way to wriggle out of his side of the bargain.

When the brothers arrived before Odin, the All-Father accepted their gifts with surprise and asked what the price would be for items so fine. Sindri spoke of Loki's bet with them, and Odin's eye hardened. He called for his younger son, and Loki emerged from the shadows beside the steps to the throne. Odin asked if it was true, that he had made this bet with the dwarves, and Loki said it was so, standing tall and regal for all his youth. Brokkr began to advance on him with a knife, but Loki continued to speak, calm and cool despite the situation.

"However, you can only take my tongue if you leave me my tastebuds." Furious at this response, Sindri accused Loki of lying to them to win such powerful items for Odin. Loki denied this, and Brokkr grabbed him by the collar in anger. Odin's voice rang out over all of them, and his eye was steel as he watched his troublesome son.

"Since you enjoy spinning words so much, we will take them from you." For a moment, Loki was afraid Odin would allow his tongue to be cut out, tastebuds or no. But Odin went on. "Your lips will be sewn shut for fifty years, as punishment. My Queen, fetch your needle and thread."

To Loki's great horror and humiliation, Thor took this moment to make his entrance. His older brother glanced around the room, at Frigga's sorrowful face as she returned with the requested needle and thread, at Brokkr and Sindri's satisfied smiles.

"What is happening?" Odin turned his eye to Thor, and in that moment Loki wished his brother had stayed away. Sif emerged after Thor, but not so close to the throne. She was a small figure against the people of the court, the gift of her dark brown hair already on her head, and pulled back by one of the courtiers into a simple braid. Loki was ashamed for this to be done in public, and tore his eyes away from her, to his father, eyes pleading.

"Father, please no! Not like this! I can – " But Odin only spoke over him, sparing Loki barely a few words and not even a glance.

"You must learn your lesson, my son. Thor, help them hold your brother down." Loki froze, knowing it was pointless. He had made his bed, and Odin would not allow him to flee from it.

Thor would have been forgiven. His mind supplied viciously, unseeing as Brokkr moved forward to hold Loki's shoulders down, pinning him on his back to the cold stone of the great hall. Thor tried to argue, but a clipped command from Odin silenced him, as well. Thor's blue eyes were on his as he obeyed, confused and worried, but Loki looked away as his brother's hands clasped around his shins, holding him still. Loki looked up as Sindri grinned down at him, the dwarf sitting on his stomach as a third reinforcement, ensuring Loki couldn't move. He threaded the needle – it looked to be a magical thread, and Loki had eyes for magic.

He knew it would last the fifty years. He wouldn't be able to cut it before the time was up.

"Come, little lying prince, let's make you better company for a while." Sindri's grin was eager and motivated by scratched pride, and Loki shut his eyes tight with a whimper as the needle punctured his lower lip. He tried to turn his head away, but Sindri's other hand came up to hold his chin in a vice-grip, not allowing the escape. For the first stitch or two, to cement the thread in his skin so the other stitches would not come undone, Loki held back his sobs. Sadly, he was young and weak and soon they leaked out, anyway. Thor's hands on his legs gripped him tighter, and Loki was briefly glad his brother couldn't see his face as Sindri sewed his mouth shut. It was agony as Sindri worked the needle through his lips, magic tingling along the holes in his skin in tandem with Odin's decree that the punishment would last fifty years. Loki's eyes never opened, and tears slid down his cheeks and over his temples as the torment continued.

When Sindri was done, he and Brokkr declared their satisfaction at the substitution, and returned to Nidavellir. Loki's public humiliation complete, Odin allowed Frigga to have her maids take Loki away to his room and tend to him. They padded gently at the blood on his chin from the puncture wounds, and cleaned him up as best they could. A few hours later, when his raw skin had healed around the injuries, they bathed him and changed his clothes. They didn't speak to him; it wasn't as though Loki could respond in kind. Thor came to see him, later, and rushed to hug him. Loki flinched, but allowed it. Thor muttered comforts in his ear and Loki sighed through his nose, catching the good intent. He allowed Thor to hold him. Frigga entered not long after, and swept her sons into her embrace. They stayed like that for a moment, as she explained quietly that Odin had no choice but to do what he did, since the dwarves had marched into Asgard in front of the entire court.

Odin could not be seen as weak, not even in a matter concerning his own son.

The fifty years were a long time for Loki, who had only been 400 at the time of the incident. He didn't eat during this time, and so grew weak and pale, but never strayed close to death. When he was 450, the threads his mouth had healed around glowed and disappeared. His mouth was sensitive, and Loki could only just bear to eat and drink small amounts; so unlike the huge plates and gallons Thor devoured. The scars took fifty more years to fade, and that was only because Frigga used her healing magic on them, every day. She had said something quietly, like "A foolish mistake does not deserve a lifetime of punishment," and waved off Loki's concerned eyes about Odin finding out she had helped heal him, "I will deal with your father, if he raises the question."

It took some time for him to remember how to talk, after so long. But his mind had never dulled; if anything, Loki had grown more careful with his words, but not in the way Odin intended. He no longer spoke what he felt, having learned it was better to play neutral and unaffected. Words were powerful things, and to be respected. He had learned a lesson; to be a better liar, to ensure he always had a way out of a conversation, and to not foolishly accept a proposal, no matter how unlikely it seemed to happen. Before, he had been known as the Silvertongue, and only after this ordeal did Loki begin to truly build his reputation as the God of Lies and Deception.

One didn't always need to lie in order to deceive, after all.

: : :

Odin and Frigga had had a son before Thor, of course. His name was Baldur, and he was some years older than Thor. When Thor had been born in 914 AD (and Loki, later in 964 AD), Baldur was already 300 years old. He was a favorite of the court, and someone Thor looked up to throughout all of Loki's childhood. Baldur was everything light, pure and beautiful about the world. Frigga smiled more when he was around, and Thor did his best to live up to his older brother's battle prowess.

When they were old enough, Odin explained to Thor and Loki that Baldur had refused the throne. He enjoyed simply existing too much to carry the weight of the Nine Realms on his shoulders. Thus, when telling the story of the war against the Frost Giants to defend Midgard, Odin promised Thor and Loki – respectively 600 and 550 years old – that one day the throne would fall to one of them. Thor would earn Mjolnir a few centuries later – when he was 1000 – to everyone's great pride.

Baldur was not with them, after that. He died, of course, but no one had seen it coming. Frigga had long ago heard from the Norns that Baldur's death was unavoidable, but still had done everything in her power to prevent it from coming true. Frigga had made everything in existence swear not to harm Baldur, and this oath was taken seriously by all that had sworn it. The gods of Asgard found it endlessly amusing to throw anything they could find at Baldur, after this, since nothing could harm him.

It was Loki who did it. Oh, not on purpose, of course. He had been walking around the outskirts of Asgard, talking to the flora about his indestructible brother Baldur, and a small mistletoe bush spoke up. It told him Frigga had not extracted an oath from it to do no harm to Baldur, and intrigued, Loki cut off a branch of the bush and fashioned it into an arrow. He didn't really believe something so small and weak could harm Baldur, but thought it would be interesting to give it a test, nonetheless.

Back in Asgard, he placed the arrow in the quiver of one of the gods taking part in the usual game of throwing things at Baldur, then sat back and watched. When the mistletoe arrow was drawn, Loki's sharp eyes paid attention to its path as it soared through the air, grazing Baldur's arm. To everyone's surprise, it drew a slash of blood and Baldur screamed, clapping a hand to the wound as he collapsed. Frozen, Loki watched as the gods crowded around his brother before a wail of anguish went up from the group.

Loki had killed him. No one knew the truth, but Loki knew that he was the one who had caused it, even if indirectly.

They burned Baldur, and his wife Nanna threw herself upon the flames of his funeral pyre. Their son, Forseti, looked on, stone-faced as his parents disappeared into the fire. Loki felt horrible guilt, but he could not say a word.

: : :

Remembering Odin's wishes for peace with Jotunheim, Loki departs soon after to be an ambassador. He is only 800 years old, but he cites grief and wishing to do some good in a world where Baldur no longer exists. He is haunted by his guilt, and gives into a base way to rid himself of it.

It is over the next 150 years that Angrboda works closely with Loki in an attempt to establish ties between Asgard and Jotunheim that are not forged by war, and she gives him three children; the wolf Fenrir, the child Hela and the serpent Jormungandr. When the children are revealed to him, Loki is shocked at how Angrboda tells him she managed this. Fenrir is from the boiling resentment Loki keeps hidden in his heart against Thor, Hela is borne of his apathy, and Jormungandr is his enormous cunning personified. Loki accuses her of using him to get to the throne of Asgard and Angrboda smirks lazily at him and tells him to 'be a good father'. Loki kills her for her betrayal of his trust and takes his children into his arms. Tricks are all well and good, but this is different. Loki doesn't know what to do.

Fenrir is nothing more than a puppy scratching at his shins, whining to be picked up. Hela is a toddler clutching to his shirt as he holds her. Jormungandr is not so large, yet, but Loki can see the energy crackling along his scales and knows the python-size snake hanging around his neck and off his shoulders will one day be a giant. Loki loves them, would protect them at all costs, but he is dismayed at the possible scandal in Asgard, if only because it would hurt his family more than himself, who is already hated. Nonetheless, he returns home secretly with his children and tells Frigga of Angrboda's betrayal. With her dead, he cannot leave them in Jotunheim alone. In retrospect, it was perhaps a foolish move for him to kill her. Heimdall does not see them in Jotunheim, does not see them as they sneak in through one of Loki's secret passageways, but once they are in Asgard Loki knows it is only a matter of time before Heimdall senses them. These children are too powerful to ever be safe. And surely enough, Odin storms in during his plea for Frigga to help, and Loki is shocked and dismayed at the harsh judgment to come.

Odin takes the children from him, refusing to acknowledge them as part of his family despite Frigga's and Loki's visible distress. Odin calls them a 'shame you will never overcome, my son', and Loki seethes because how dare Odin speak as though Loki were ashamed of his own children? Only later does Loki realize this is but the first step into a hole where Odin will always look down upon him. This is the first major offense Loki has committed and Thor doesn't know, he is off fighting somewhere, or celebrating (aren't they the same thing?), and Frigga holds Loki as he strains to pull the little ones back into his arms. She knows there is no changing Odin's mind, and Loki understands this, but he didn't expect to be found out so soon, nor for it to hurt so much.

Hela, Odin relegates to Helheim as its Princess – and then Queen, once she is old enough – as one side of her body is an unsightly Jotun blue, and one eye is red (including the sclera). She ages too quickly and Loki blames the Jotun blood and magic in her veins. Jotuns age quickly – they must, otherwise all their infants would succumb to the harsh elements of their own land. Later, Loki realizes later, with horror, as he discovers his true origins that Hela never had a chance to 'age normally'. Due to Odin's glamour on him for so many years, Loki is a hybrid; half-Aesir, half-Jotun. Having a Jotun mother, Hela is thus three-quarters Jotun. Thus, it is really no surprise that by 2014 in Midgard, Hela is comfortably ensconced as an adolescent Princess in Helheim. Odin is the most gentle in his punishment to Hela, actually – he has made her the eventual ruler of the Nine Realms, as everything must one day die. Everything will come to Hela, in death, and she will give it judgment. Loki suspects it is because she is the most Aesir-looking of his three children. The Jotun details can be dismissed, apparently, when one takes into account her brothers' natural forms are that of beasts. Odin's prejudice towards the Aesir is keenly felt, and later Loki will be grateful that his status as a hybrid of two beings helped his daughter curry Odin's favor. In retrospect, if she had had the entire body of a Jotun, Loki doubts the All-Father would have been so lenient.

Jormungandr, Odin flings through time, aging him as Jormungandr passes back through the eons and dropping him into the sea of Midgard; the now-ancient and gigantic serpent wraps around Earth, bites his own tail, and holds the planet together. He serves as a barrier between Midgard and Jotunheim, to prevent travel from the latter to the former. This action would essentially make pointless Odin's battle with the Frost Giants if Jormungandr is sent to Midgard before 964 AD, and so Odin is careful to place him there only after the battle, so no paradoxical universes can crop up from this addition to the timeline. When Jormungandr releases his own tail, the world will end. A strange and slightly unsettling realization for Loki is that his own son is now double his age; due to Jormungandr traveling back through time to 964 AD, and then living through those same years that already aged him. When Odin does this, it is 1914 AD in Midgard, and Loki is 950 years old. Jormungandr, born in 1914, is 1,900 years old.

Fenrir is cursed with the fate of killing Odin, but Loki is relieved at least that Odin does not kill his son, outright. Instead, Odin addresses the court of the gods and announces that this wolf – not his grandson, no, of course not, merely a creature loosened upon the realms, inhuman and power-hungry – is growing too fast and too dangerous to be free. Loki bitterly attributes this to Fenrir's Jotun mother and his own magical influence. Odin enlists the help of the dwarves in creating a rope strong enough to bind him. Fenrir, for all his infancy, smells something is amiss and does not agree to be bound. Loki intervenes without revealing his relationship to his son, and suggests a god could put a hand in Fenrir's mouth. If the bindings hold, Fenrir will bite and take the hand as vengeance for being bound. If they do not hold, Fenrir will not bite and seek his escape, and the gods shall not try to bind him again. It seems a fair deal, and Loki is half-hoping no one will volunteer. But, no – Tyr is the one who steps forward, and the rope of the dwarves holds. Fenrir bites off Tyr's hand – a last, bitter statement of revenge, giving some relief to the rage living in him, that should not be Fenrir's to bear. Tyr's hand does not grow back, but he is respected for his self-sacrifice, all the same. No one knows that Fenrir is Loki's son, and Loki is forced to do nothing as he feels Odin's eyes on him. Loki knows he should be grateful Odin is not killing Fenrir when it is foretold Fenrir will be Odin's end, but it still tastes like poison in the back of Loki's throat as those innocent, puppy-like eyes gaze up at him mournfully from a dangerous, overgrown form as Fenrir is taken away.

Some of these stories make it into Norse myth, because Loki steps into time while protecting himself from aging against it as he goes back. The Vikings, at least, will know of Loki's children for what they are. He tells the human children stories in the form of an old woman, and invents a story about 'the god Loki' sleeping as a mare with a stallion and bearing a foal. It makes the mortals laugh and throws off any suspicions they might have over his identity. For why would proud, powerful Loki tell a story that demeaned him in such a way? He mentions Thor and Odin, as well, and to his irritation the Vikings take to the bloodthirsty tales as though they are the epitome of nobility. Loki does not hide his disdain for their bloodlust, but the disapproval of an old woman – as he dare not reveal himself – does not do much to stem youthful vigor. This he knows well, being Thor's brother. And while Loki is not a physically feeble old woman with a mind sharp as a tack, he can relate to someone not taking him seriously because he cannot physically force them to comply. Oh, and he could – his true strength far outweighs that of the mortals around him – but that would blow his cover. So, Loki sits patiently and watches the Vikings pillage and plunder – just like Thor and his companions – before moving on to another village. He does this for a while before growing bored and returning to Asgard in the early 1900s of Midgardian time.