SURPRISE! IM NOT DEAD...

Happy SUPER LATE birthday to my favorite greasy Frost Giant! ! ! ! ! (his bday was on the 17th) in honor of his majesty's birthday I decided to get off my ass and write this one-shot. Now this story is inspired by this adorable art I found on the internet (unfortunately I don't know the artist but credit to him/her and their awesome talent...and yeah)

Late evenings were always Loki's favorite time during the day. They were so beautiful and peaceful in Asgard. Unless the people wanted to throw a ridiculous feast for whatever reason of course. Then the night became Hel.

A refreshing chilling breeze suddenly hit the young God's face and he sighed with content. His fingers lazily traced the unique design on the cover of the book that his mother gave him that morning. It was the book from the marketplace that he found (and fell in love with) weeks ago. The book was based on the history of Asgard's sorcerers. Twas an excellent gift from his mother, he was already on the last page, but he took a little break to go grab an apple and some water from the kitchens. Taking a bite from said apple, he thought over his day. Mother was the only one to really acknowledge his birthday. Coming into his rooms that morning, bringing him his favorite sweet bread and his present. She smiled at his surprised reaction,

"You deserve it love,"

before kissing his head gently and leaving without another word. Father was away on an 'important meeting' in Vanaheim (it was foolish to get his hopes up for a letter), and Thor was with The Warriors Three and Sif on a jouney somewhere or other. He learned to accept it by now though. The lack of...well celebration of his birth. The Aesir could care less, they only used his birthday as an excuse to drink and dance in the courtyard. He was relived the Queen banned anyone from partying for the night. Another blessed gift. Now he sat here at dusk, on his terrace, admiring the Realm's beauty. The stars were gleaming with pride, the sky was painted different shades of purple and blue.

Another gust of wind hit him and he adjusted his fur cloak realizing that he should probably go inside. Not that the cold bothered him, but his parents and Heimdall were becoming rather concerned recently with how much time he spent outside. They told him it wasn't healthy to spend so much time out during Asgard's harsh winter. Except Loki was never affected by it, so he didn't quite understand all the fuss over the highly unlikely possibility of him coming down with something.

A crash rudely interrupted his thoughts and Loki looked and saw his brother nearly rip off his door holding a ridiculous looking pastry of some sort. Wonderful.

"Brother. What are you doing here? We weren't expecting you to come back till tomorrow," Loki yelled slightly irritated. Thor only smiled back mischievously and began walking towards him eagerly.

"Come now brother, you really didn't think I'd miss your 700th birthday"? Thor asked with a raised eyebrow, trying his best to balance the four-layered pastry but failing since the damn thing was about to topple over.

"Ah, forgive me for assuming that you'd forgotten. It's not like you missed ninety-seven of my other birthdays before," Loki murmured rolling his eyes.

"Those incidents were all justified Loki and you know it"!

"Oh of course, you being hungover and behaving like a wild animal last year is completely justifiable".

"We had just won a battle against those notorious burglars from the south, did you not expect us to celebra-, gah nevermind. Here," Thor held out the dessert expectantly.

Loki just continued staring blankly at the iced breads not knowing what his brother wanted him to do.

"Well go ahead Loki, don't worry it won't bite".

Loki forced himself not to lash out and instead calmly asked, "What is it exactly"?

Thor grinned proudly and replied, "The mortals call it a 'cake' I believe. Apparently it's a Midgardian tradition to have these on your birthday. Adorable isn't it? Our friends and I had to pull a few strings but we got it! Oh look, these candles on the top? You're supposed to blow on them and make a wish".

"My, humans have rather...bizarre customs don't they"? Loki said chuckling a bit.

"So are you going to eat it or..."?

"Just leave it here please. I'm surprised you don't want to try a piece, it smells like vanilla".

"Well I do but I have to go greet mother and meet Fandral and Volstagg at the pub. We made a bet that whoever drinks the most gets to keep our next kill," Thor explained. "Enjoy your treat brother! Happy birthday, I'll see you at dawn". Giving his little brother one last smile, Thor darted off the balcony and out of the room shutting the poor door with a bang.

Loki shook his head wondering how the hell he and Thor were related. Standing up, he decided to visit the library, he hoped his mother was there so they could read spells together. He didn't want his mind to remind him that Odin was the only one in his family that failed to...well, you can't have everything in life can you? Turning around he cast a quick glance at the sloppy cake, and he noticed a note with some frosting on it that read,

'I hope the sun shined on you today brother. Here's to another 700 years"!

Hmm, well he supposed today could have been worse.

if anyone is wondering when the heck I'm gonna update my other story, the answer is...SOON. I haven't abandoned it, but I really really appreciate all your lovely reviews, I don't deserve all your kindness. Happy Holidays!