A/N: This is a collection of short stories for those people who just want Loki in his youth . . . it's fun writing him. I know sometimes I just want the happy moments, before Odin happened (collective Loki fandom noise of disgust). Anyway, enjoy the stories! They're longer than a regular chapter because they're an entire story (maybe some of them will be two chapters if they're too long). I don't know how often I'll update this, whenever I get inspiration for a youthful moment.

Enjoy!

All recognizable Marvel content belongs to Marvel, not me.

Of Magic and Steel

"Ha!" Thor triumphantly stood over Fandral's prone form, pointing the tip of his sword at the boy's throat. Loki stood off to the side, and Sif, Volstagg, and Hogun were clustered together several feet away.

Thor stepped off of Fandral and sheathed his sword. The young prince helped Fandral up and he smiled at the boy. Thor turned to the rest of the group.

"Anyone else?" he asked smugly. Loki had watched him defeat Fandral in less than a minute—his swordsmanship was improving vastly. Of course, Loki had also improved greatly with his daggers, and magic . . . but Odin wouldn't notice that. He had eyes only for Thor—the golden prince of Asgard. Even at a young age, Loki could see his father's favoritism.

Loki stepped forward from the shadows underneath the tree boldly. "I'll try." He took his place facing opposite Thor, who looked with surprise as he took his stance.

"Bet he loses within the first thirty seconds." Loki heard Sif's muttered comment to Fandral, who only shrugged. He gritted his teeth and pulled out two daggers. Hopefully he'd win for once against his brother.

They circled each other. Thor lunged at Loki, but his sword fell on empty air as Loki attacked from behind. The illusion disappeared and Loki's blades grazed along Thor's back. They were enchanted to feel the same as a wound, but not to actually inflict a wound. Thor cried out as he spun around. His young face twisted into frustration.

"Loki, you know I can't beat you with your tricks!" he whined as he struggled to figure out if the Loki in front of him was an illusion or not.

"You beat me all the time anyways," he said calmly. Thor fell for his tricks again, and this time Loki swept his foot across Thor's legs, and he toppled over onto his back. Loki stood over him, one dagger aimed at his throat. He held that pose for a second before stepping off, sheathing his daggers and helping Thor up.

Thor glared at Loki. "Not fair," he complained.

"And why exactly would that not be fair, my son?" Frigga's voice came from the trees, and she walked up to them smiling, her soft, elegant blue robes swishing around her. She put an arm around Thor's shoulders and glanced from Thor to Loki.

"Because he beat me with his tricks!" Thor cried out loudly. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Thor, not all fights are fair. You should know that. What if you had to fight me? I'm much older, and much stronger, and yes, I might even use some magic as well," Frigga explained. Loki broke out into a smirk as he watched Thor get a lesson in defeat.

"But—but—" Thor whined to Frigga as she walked him out of the dirt training ring. She flashed a proud look at Loki over Thor's shoulder, and he smiled at his mother in return. A happy glow spread through him; he always loved it when Frigga came to his defense. He was bullied too much by Thor's friends, and Thor himself.

"But he shouldn't have been able to beat me!" Thor's voice faded as he and Frigga walked away, and Loki turned to Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif. He smiled.

"Does anyone want to train with me next?" he asked cheerfully. His spirits were high after Frigga's defense of him; he searched the faces of Thor's friends and found resentment, disdain, and disgust. They all turned and walked away, returning their practice weapons to the shed and going back into the palace.

Loki's spirits dropped, and his shoulders slumped. He turned away and went into a different door to the palace, holding back his tears. Why did they always reject him so?

He was slowly beginning to learn that kids were most likely the cruelest people of them all.

…

Loki felt Frigga's arms cradle him as he cried into her chest. She leaned back in the armchair, humming softly to him.

"They—they always l-l-leave," he hiccuped. "A-and they n-n-never g-give m-me a ch-chance!"

"It's okay," Frigga murmured. "It's all right. You'll be okay."

Loki gave one last sob before his breaths quieted and he calmed. He pulled away from Frigga, tilting his body backwards so he could look sorrowfully up at her. She returned his gaze with warmth and love.

"I'll tell them to give you a chance more often. Is that okay?" she asked. Loki shook his head, his eyes red from crying.

"They won't listen. They never do." He leaned forward again and buried his face in her chest, relishing the soft warmth his mother gave off.

A mischievous smile slowly spread across Frigga's face. "Tell you what," she said. She gently lifted young Loki off of her lap and set him to stand on the ground. He looked curiously as she stood up and walked over to the window that overlooked the gardens.

She glanced down at him as he stood beside her, and bent down to meet her blue eyes with his green. His eyes searched her face, and he smirked at his mother's own mischievous smile.

"You go get Thor and his friends to walk in the gardens after dinner. I will give you permission to play any small prank you will on them, all right? As long as it doesn't do any harm. Understand?" she said gently. Loki instantly brightened at this prospect, and he broke out into a grin.

"Yes, Mother!" he said excitedly, bouncing on the balls of his feet. Frigga couldn't help but smile as she straightened and continued to stare out the window. Loki ran out of the room enthusiastically.

Frigga turned as Odin came walking into the room mere seconds later. He stood beside her and laid a hand on her back, rubbing it in small circles.

"What did you promise him?" Odin asked, and Frigga smiled.

"Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg all rejected his offer to train with him earlier today, so I promised him that he could play any small prank on Thor and his friends that he liked after dinner in the gardens. As long as it doesn't do any harm," she explained. Odin hummed in response.

"These aren't good habits to foster, Frigga," Odin scolded gently. Frigga turned, resting a hand on Odin's arm that laid on her back and putting the other hand on his shoulder.

"Is bitterness a good habit to foster? He needs a way to let it out. If it's small revenge pranks, then so be it," she said as she walked away from Odin. She trailed her hand along his arm until it left it and she walked over to a nearby couch.

Odin sighed and joined her on the seat next to her. "What are we going to do with him? He's so involved in mischief and lies . . . I don't know if I should be letting him do this. It's not good, not for an Asgardian," he lamented.

Frigga put one hand on Odin's shoulder and the other rested against his robes on his chest. "He's not Asgardian, and you know that. When are you going to tell him?" She knew she touched a sensitive topic when Odin refused her loving touches and stood up abruptly. He returned to staring out the window and she stood up, looking at his back.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Odin turned. "I don't know." His voice suddenly sounded weary and tired—older than his old age.

"The sooner, the better. You know this. The longer you put it off, the worse it will be when he does find out. And what if he finds out without you telling him? He will be furious either way, Odin. Not only furious, but hurt, and heartbroken . . . I can only imagine the pain he'll feel . . ." Frigga trailed off, putting a hand to her heart as she thought of what Loki would feel once he found out about his Jotun parentage.

"Don't you think I know that?" Odin's voice was tinged with anger. He turned suddenly and walked back towards Frigga, then turned and began to pace the room.

"I know he'll feel heartbroken. He'll hate me, and—oh. Oh, no." Odin stopped pacing and turned to face Frigga, a horrified look in his eyes. Concern etched itself in Frigga's features, and she lowered her hand.

"What? What is it?"

"If he continues with mischief like this, he'll do something terrible when he finds out. If it was Thor, it would take a simple troop of guards . . . but with Loki, he'll be able to plot and plan for days. He'll lie, and we won't know what's going on, and ultimately his plan will work, because he's Loki . . ." Odin looked distressed as he stared at Frigga.

She walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "So tell him now," she said quietly. "When he's old enough to know, yet too young for any of his plans to truly be devious and harmful to us or anyone else in the palace."

"But what about his childhood? Frigga, I just don't know!" He turned away and returned to the window in a few quick strides, then turned from the window and walked back to the couch. He sat down in his fever, and then stood up again, but was stopped by a calming hand on his chest.

"Stop," Frigga said firmly but softly, guiding him gently down back to the couch. She lowered herself beside him. "We'll figure this out . . ."

…

Loki crouched in the bushes as he watched Thor, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg crowd the garden walkway. He cringed at their loud voices, which seemed to ruin the garden's natural peacefulness and quiet calm.

"And then he swept his blade under—"

"And Fandral leapt over it—"

"And then I pushed him down and conquered him!"

They were so boisterous and noisy, Loki cast a quick muting spell on himself to quiet their loud voices. Then he smirked and started on his prank.

He held his open palm in the air in front of him and bent it into a claw-like shape. He held his magic in reserve for the reality-bending spell. He had learned it only days ago, and he wished to try it on Thor and his friends.

Loki felt around the air with his magic. He found somewhere to hold reality with, and channeled his magic into that handhold. He twisted his hand in the air and, as if he was holding the sidewalk and the ground was a piece of cloth, the sidewalk bent and warped under the boys' feet. Loki smirked as Thor and company looked down at the ground in fear.

"What's happening?" Sif's voice was tinged with fear as she wobbled unsteadily on her feet. The ground buckled underneath them, and all fell onto their backs.

Loki closed his fist and severed the magic from the spell. The ground returned to normal and Loki watched as Thor and his friends all stood up and stared around at the ground in wonder.

"What just happened?" Fandral asked. Thor looked up from the ground, an irritated look on his young face. He stared into the bushes.

"Loki!"

…

"Why did you do this?" Odin's voice boomed through the throne room. Loki stood at the base of the steps to the throne, eyes cast downward. Frigga stood to the side, forcing concern to override her smirk and quiet laughter. It really was a good prank; she didn't know whether she was on the side of the people whose backs were bruised or the person who mercilessly pulled it off.

"They walked away from me when I asked them if anyone wanted to train with me," Loki replied in a small voice. Odin growled.

"Raise your head," he rumbled. Loki obeyed and stared into the eyes of his father. Odin almost felt pity for Loki, whose young green eyes were wide and scared. He decided to lighten his anger; he was just a boy, after all.

"You asked them, and they said no," Odin replied bitingly. Loki's eyes narrowed.

"They didn't say no. They looked at me with disdain and walked away without a word. Not even a friendly smile," he countered. Frigga's laughter was lost as she watched Loki's eyes water with tears. He'd need comforting later. Frigga didn't think the young boy could stand much more of this. Eventually, he'd snap, and they'd be all the worse off for it.

"Allfather—" Frigga started. Odin growled at her, and she stepped back. Hadn't they discussed this? Frustration rooted itself in Frigga's chest as her eyes narrowed at her husband. Sometimes, she admitted, Odin didn't have the best of judgment.

"You are confined to your rooms for three days," Odin boomed. "You can send servants to retrieve books from the library, and you are allowed visitors."

Frigga inhaled sharply and glanced between Loki and Odin. She thought to protest, but figured it wouldn't do any good and watched as Loki nodded sadly and ran out of the room.

Loki was hurt. He knew Odin didn't treat him fairly compared to Thor, but underneath the injustice of it all, his young face suppressed a smirk.

It was absolutely worth it.