Loki's celebratory evening came to an end and with it the rising of the morning sun. Gentle beams of light filtered through his curtained window, rousing the god of fire from his slumber. He gave a silent groan as he opened his eyes, looking around the room. He lifted a hand to his head, rubbing his face and trying to piece together the events of the previous night. The feel of something cool against his skin startled him, pulling his hand away and drawing his attention to his middle finger. The sight of Yuna's ring jolted his memory, the happenings of the evening slowly returning to his mind.

That's right. The two of them had celebrated his belated birthday with a night of food, drinking, and shenanigans. They had thrown back multiple mugs of ale, sang obnoxious songs, and danced the night away. At one point, they had literally played with fire, tossing a harmless flaming sphere back and forth with firewood logs. Then, somehow, they had ended up in his room, lying down and talking. Then…

'Eh?!' At the realization, Loki immediately looked downward at the goddess sleeping peacefully, her head atop his chest. They must have passed out at some point during the night, although he couldn't remember when it must have happened. His face flushed with embarrassment as he recalled their intimate conversation, wondering if Yuna would remember any of it as well. How much of their drunken ramblings had been inebriated fantasies, and how much a result of a loosened tongue? He didn't want to think about it at the moment. For now, he would focus on getting out of bed.

Doing so actually proved quite difficult, the fire god shifting ever so slightly to move without disturbing Yuna. His desire not to wake her was two-fold; both a wish to let her sleep, and also to avoid the embarrassment of their compromising position. In the end, he managed to escape from his bed, using his quick reflexes and nimble movements to replace himself with a nearby pillow. She moved in her sleep, gripping the new object. She gave a contented sigh but remained otherwise undisturbed. He took a moment to admire her in her peaceful expression before exiting the room and making his way back to the main area.

The room was a mess, the obvious aftermath of a wild evening. It was difficult to believe that it had been only two of them that had created such destruction with firewood splayed across the floor, the spit knocked over, and mugs scattered around from where the gods had grabbed new ones after misplacing the originals. His center hearth confused him the most, trying to figure out how it had ended up in such a state of disarray. The only sensible conclusion was that he must have stumbled into it at some point during their game of flaming volleyball. It had to have been him. Loki would surely remember Yuna being on fire and her clothes would have the burns to prove it.

With an amused sigh, he went to work reorganizing his hearth as the object of priority. The other things he would get around too at a later time. He couldn't be bothered to worry about the mugs for the time being. He had just finished replacing the final log when a quiet sound reached his ears from the doorway. The knob was turning.

"Loki, are you awake? We wanted to know if you were interested in a stroll today. Since you missed the banquet, I thought that… oh my." Balder's invitation came to a screeching halt at the sight of the room, Loki in the center of it trying to regain some semblance of order. "What… happened here…?" He asked in utter confusion, wondering if perhaps a wild boar had gotten loose inside the building.

"Ehehe…" He laughed sheepishly; a bit embarrassed to admit that the two of them had gotten so utterly sloshed the previous night. So instead, he decided he would allow Balder's mind to formulate a conclusion, as he was sure he would come up with a far more innocent story than Loki ever could. "Do you really want to know, Balder? It's quite a tale."

A heavy sigh. "Loki… one of your hijinks got out of control again, didn't it?"

"Something like that." He smirked, sauntering his way towards the door. Balder's guess wasn't very far from the truth, only that his 'hijinks' had involved a certain frigid ice goddess. "Aaanyway, a stroll sounds wonderful. I need some fresh air."

"Wonderful! Did you want to summon Yuna? She normally enjoys our walks together."

Loki shook his head, strolling lazily out the door. "She's probably still sleeping. Don't worry about her. She's a decent tracker, she'll catch up when she's ready."

Balder watched him go, an amused smile on his face. What was he going to do with him? Shaking his head, he followed him, stepping into snow and closing the door behind him.

. . .

"Thor, Balder. How was the banquet?" Yuna asked. After waking up to an empty house, Yuna had left the cottage and made her way into the forest, curious as to where Loki had run off to. As it turned out, he, Balder, and Thor had left for a walk through the woods. It didn't take long for her to find their trail and she managed to catch up with them rather quickly. Now, wandering with the trio, the goddess was curious to see how the other gods' evening had gone.

"Uneventful." Thor said, offering little more than his usual apathy.

Balder gave a slightly more helpful answer. "It was rather nice, actually." Balder replied, turning a gentle smile to the inquisitive goddess. "I wish you could have joined us."

Yuna offered a rueful smile. "My apologies, Balder, but I had prior arrangements."

"That's quite alright. I hope you enjoyed yourself?"

"Very much so." The goddess smiled.

Her eyes held a wistful look that Balder couldn't quite place. It was a pleasant expression on the goddess's face, but he couldn't help but wonder just what exactly had created it. Whatever it was, it must have been worth it to make her smile so.

"I see. Well, I am happy to hear that you had a nice time."

Yuna and Balder continued on, discussing further details of the previous night. The god told her what transpired at the palace during her absence. Loki watched them, an involuntary smirk on his face. He had thoroughly enjoyed his evening with Yuna the previous night. If he were being honest with himself, he would love nothing more to do it again, and in fact, found himself looking forward to Yuna keeping her promise. Just the thought of it gave him something to finally look forward to on the day of his birth.

Balder stumbled, nearly falling into a nearby tree, only righting himself with Yuna's assistance. She chuckled at him, ever amazed by his inability to stand upright. Typically, the fire god would point and laugh, taking every opportunity to poke fun at the clumsy god. Today, he said nothing. Instead, he was distracted, finding himself drawn to the smiling goddess at Balder's side. It was only recently that Loki had begun to realize he greatly enjoyed her smile. He enjoyed many things about her.

"Loki."

"Mm?"

Red braids twirled behind him as he whipped around, facing the taller god. Thor was eyeing him curiously, taking note of his unusual silence. The god of fire was many things, but quiet certainly wasn't one of them.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. His golden eyes observed him, taking in every detail of his friend's unusual demeanor.

"Ehh? I'm perfectly fine, Thor, but thank you for asking." Loki cracked a playful smile, earning an eyebrow raise from the other god.

Thor said nothing further. He simply watched. While many would believe that Thor was aloof, oblivious, and possibly downright disinterested, he actually paid a great deal of attention to the world around him. He wasn't naïve, nor was he blind, and he had seen the way that Loki was watching the goddess. The way that his eyes followed her, lids relaxing in contentment when she was around him. The way that his lips pulled into a grin every time she drew near. Could it be that Loki was…?

Returning to a more characteristic behavior, Loki groaned, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm booored. We should do something."

"…Loki, we are already doing something." Yuna said flatly, eyeing him with a look of confusion.

"No, no, we should do something fun!"

"Uh oh…" She knew what that meant. It seemed that the god of mischief was up to his old tricks again. Whatever it was that was on his mind, it was probably going to involve some sort of trouble. And, chances were, all three of them were going to be dragged into it. Participation in Loki's shenanigans was never optional. It was only a matter of how involved one was going to be.

"How about we…" Loki paused for dramatic effect, leaving all three of his friends with bated breath. "… build a snow sculpture?"

"…"

All three gods stared at him; a bit taken aback by his suggestion. They were fully prepared for a grand debacle, one that would likely take up most of their day and result in them prying the other god out of trouble. This was surprisingly tame.

"…A snow sculpture?" Yuna asked, a bit unsure. One could never be too cautious when it came to Loki.

"Mm-hmm… Whoever builds the best one wins!"

Yuna sighed. Everything was always a competition with Loki. Perhaps it was supposed to be payback for the snowball incident. Were that the case, then the other god was going to find himself, once again, sorely disappointed. "Sure, why not?" Loki's face split into a mischievous grin.

"Oh, that sounds fun! Yuna, let's work together!" Balder exclaimed, delighted at the idea of working with the winter goddess once more.

Loki's grin turned immediately into a frown. This was the second time that Balder had sided against him. The first time had been surprising enough, considering that Yuna was still a relatively new member of their group. This time was even more shocking, but not because of the action itself. There was a fervor in Balder proclamation that differed from the first. He wasn't siding against Loki in a playful banter. He was actively siding with Yuna.

Unfortunately, the other god did not get his wish on that day. With a polite chuckle, the winter goddess shook her head. "I appreciate the assistance, Balder, but I believe it would better to assist Loki in this endeavor. He's going to need it."

"If your craftsmanship is anything like your aim, I shouldn't have a problem." He answered her playful jab with a retort of his own, receiving only a coy smile in return.

Balder looked between the two of them, taking note of their back and forth. He pouted slightly; a bit disappointed at Yuna's rejection. In the end, he heeded her advice and decide to work alongside of his childhood friend. Considering her power, it was likely that he really would need the help. In fact, all three of them may need to work together in order to stand chance against her in her element.

At least, that was what he had initially believed.

Within ten minutes of the competition's start, it became clear to them that Yuna may not have been as skillful an artisan as they were led to believe. As the three gods wandered around the area, scooping, and shaping snow, their opponent wandered aimlessly, tossing snow into what looked like a pile of mush. As the minutes went on, the Norse gods' display was starting to take shape. With a few careful carves from Loki, it was nearly recognizable, the spitting image of a forest bear taking form.

Yuna's, on the other hand, resembled little more than a block of snow, packed carefully layer atop even layer. If the goal was to create the perfect rectangle, she had won an Olympic medal. Somehow, she had made less progress than the other three, despite half of their energy going towards helping a fallen Balder out of the snow.

As the grizzly was nearly finished, the fire god took a few steps back to admire their work. A few careful flames shaved off some excess ice, rounding the perfect nostril to their forest animal. It was an impressive work of art if he did say so himself. Behind him, however…

"Eh? What is that?" Loki inquired, looking smugly at her large rectangular block of snow. Whereas the three of them had made a near-perfect replica of a large predator, Yuna had crafted… something. It was tall in height, roughly person-sized, and at least three feet on each side. It was even and geometrically sound, but not much of an actual sculpture. A quiet snicker shook his shoulders, his lips pulling into a wide grin. "Could it be? The goddess of winter can't build a snowman? Who would've guessed?"

The god of fire burst into laughter, dancing around the icy block with a smile on his face. Lost in his amusement, he didn't seem to notice the grin growing on her own.

Utterly unperturbed, Yuna humored him and waited for a few moments. She patiently allowed him his victory dance, figuring that he deserved to enjoy a few moments of blissful ignorance before she destroyed it. Slowly, she lifted both of her hands, strolling towards her rectangle. She took a few moments to concentrate, looking over the height and thickness of the ice. Then, with a wave of her hand, she called forth her power. The packed ice cracked, loosening in all of the right places. With one last look at the celebrating god, she snapped her fingers.

The snow block fell apart, all excess snow raining downward in an avalanche and spraying across the ground. Yuna's rectangle was gone… and in its place was an exact replica of the dancing god, tongue sticking out, facing the very person it was imitating. Every detail from his waving locks to his heeled feet was accurate; a perfect image frozen in time.

Loki blinked, startled for a moment to see his own taunting face staring back at him in the form of snow. Thor let out a puff of air, a large singular bark of laughter at the display. Balder slowly dragged his eyes from the sculpture to his friend, examining all the similarities between the two. Then, he burst out laughing, both at the uncanny resemblance and the look on Loki's face. Yuna giggled, shooting the fire god a positively devilish smile. Her laughter grew even louder when he scowled at her, clearly trying to show his displeasure with her little stunt.

The god of fire crossed his arms, turning his nose up at the goddess's creation. "Hmph. It barely even looks like me."

Yuna caught her breath, managing to formulate a proper sentence. "I strongly disagree."

"That's because you're blind."

"It looks exactly like you!"

"Not even close. It doesn't properly capture my charm."

"What charm?!"

Thor shook his head, leaving his grizzly bear behind. It seemed that he would once again have to referee their debate. If he didn't, it was likely that both he and his brother would be dragged into another snowball fight. While the pair bickered back and forth, Balder's amusement slowly began to wane. He couldn't help but feel a sense of discomfort, watching the two of them together.