Ok, this is set in between Tales of Asgard (where our favorite Asgardians are younger than the film) and the Thor movie's age ranges. This is not going to follow any already set story. In age comparisons;

Thor & Fandral: 17

Loki: 16

Hogun, Sif and Volstagg: 19

Odin and Frigga: 40-60ish

I do not own marvel or the Thor series. Norse mythology belongs to the world and is free to use.

Not set in any particular Thor verse- just use your imagination.

Please review here- don't sneak behind my back to have a snit fit over my story like a big baby or flame for the sake of flaming.

Warnings: Possible groping, alcohol use, hinted sexy times, and ideologically sensitive. Yaoi. Don't like? Please turn back now. I won't have time for you.

Things were always happy in Asgard. When Loki was happy, the rest of Asgard seemed to gain nothing but smiles and humorous laughs from the Trickster God. Loki always played tricks, but when he was happy, the tricks ended in a quaint, fun explosion of confetti or a stuffed creature. Few were scared, and those that were upset easily, Loki avoided or surprised with a bundle of flowers.

Though the time that the older boys were making fun of his magic abilities ( which were only slightly developed at the time), he managed to let loose a wild boar the size of a Midgard bear in the training arena. The chaos he relinquished on the meat heads was well worth the cleaning chores he had to perform later. Odin himself couldn't stop laughing at the 'accident', as Loki so aptly put it, but wouldn't let his youngest get away with misconduct.

Everyone else in Asgard peacefully awaited the next battle, went about their daily chores, and trained. Frankly there was very little to do otherwise. Train, feast, battle in mock battles for the heck of it, drink, drink, wake to find odd people in your beds after drinking, drink some more, and battle. Life was good.

When the Frost Giant's king and a few of his troops showed up to speak with Odin, no one questioned that it wouldn't be a peaceful matter. The Frost Giants and the Asgardians had a long standing, but tensed, truce between each other. Ever since the last battle between them, Odin and Laufey had an agreement that neither realm would attack the other. But Laufey's turning up at Odin's doors peaked the young sorcerer's constant need to snoop, even if it was just to see what the horror stories spoke of as a nightmare. Frigga had told them tales of how evil monsters, turned evil by their own chosen actions, preyed on children of the Asgardian realm because they were the easiest to pursue and consume. Like every other child in the realm, Loki was fearful of these tales, and he had a bit of trouble coping with it at first. He locked himself in his room and refused to let anyone in for four long days. Odin was never told of his behavior, but that was assumed that the elder man could see exactly what he was doing at all times anyway, so what was the point. And while Frigga managed to convince him that he wasn't going to be attacked by a monster at first, Thor was the one who came to him late on the evening of the fourth night. He spoke to him like a brother would, not that Thor had much of an attention span prior to this event. He didn't seem to understand the finer points of humility and honorable battle. Loki, being the 'well behaved' younger brother, listened. He just listened to his brother and relaxed to the sound of his voice. Thor's voice was always a source of comfort for the younger man… it reminded him that should the need ever arise, Thor would be his shield against the world. Thor was the muscle, Loki was the mind. That's how the royal family would be ruled when Odin passed.

Thor kept talking to Loki all night, and by the time he was getting up to leave, Loki unlocked the door and looked at his brother. Thor embraced him as he always did, with a heavy arm around his shoulders and a fist rub to the head, and gave him confidence for the next day.

Loki let a few tears fall into his brother's shoulder as he reciprocated the hug and joined his brother in Thor's bed for the night. It was innocent and needed by the younger of the two, but Thor welcomed it. As any decent brother would do when the opportunity arose to prove how 'perfect' a brother he could be.

But that night faded as time progressed, leaving Loki to curl up with a book in the library when he had a bad dream. Finding his mind lost in the pages, all dreams were shoved out the door with the daylight, and distancing himself from most others (Thor aside, but he was more or less tolerated from day to day).

The yelling that began to fill the halls of Asgard this fine morning was enough to scare the bravest of warriors. Odin was angry with Laufey, and Laufey wasn't backing down.

"He belongs with his own kind!" Laufey roared, causing the entire fortress to tremble. Loki had taken cover behind the corners of the hallway on the second floor. He could hear the familiar footsteps of his brother approaching from behind him, and the rest of the residents had taken refuge in their respective rooms. Loki looked towards his brother with confusion, not from the argument, but to why the strawberry blonde was here. Thor smirked at him and took a knee behind the younger man, placing a heavy hand on his shoulder as he leaned in to listen to the conversation.

"You abandoned him when he was an infant! If you wanted him so badly you shouldn't have treated him like an unwanted!" Odin roared back, matching Laufey's tone. The boys could practically feel the annoyed growl that came from the Frost Giant, even though they couldn't see him.

"He was in that temple for a reason! You had no right to take him!" Laufey countered, making Loki shiver with the roar emanated from the throne room. He could have sworn that his bones were shaken by that last roar's soundwave.

"I had every right to take an abandoned infant! Your kind left him to die in a temple during a snow storm! How am I supposed to take that impression! One of your kind didn't want him if he was left alone!" Odin spoke, slightly less aggressive this time. The boys leaned in more to hear what was going on, dying to know what- or who- was so important to Laufey.

"The boy needs to be back with his own kind. He's too valuable to leave here! The Frost Giants need him!" Laufey roared, causing both boys to jump back. Thor's hand never left Loki's shoulder, trying to reassert himself as a big brother and friend. They both praying that their fears weren't going to be met when Laufey left that room.

"He will stay here where he belongs with his family! And I won't hear another word against it! Your kind abandoned Loki, and no matter what anyone says, I won't let you take him! Even if he is as special as you say!" Odin's voice ripped through Asgard, making Loki freeze and Thor blanch at the message. Loki slowly turned to a shocked Thor, unknowing of what he should do.

"Thor…" Loki whispered, slightly shaking at what Odin had said. Thor looked at Loki with concern, and then pushed him torso up from its leaning position on the floor behind Loki, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder from behind. Loki placed his hand on top of his elder brother's and tried to smile, offering comfort where his own mind was running wild. He could understand the silent message in his brother's movements, but didn't want to say anything. Thor had a good heart, but didn't know much when it came to offering condolences to a fearful mind. Then again, what was there to say? Given his physical strength wasn't as boldly obvious as Thor's, but his intellect dwarfed the elder brother's. He didn't need to think hard to start to worry why Laufey would want him. Thor had been very open about the fact that he wanted Loki to rule with him, if nothing more than to keep him from setting off wars left and right with his rashness. Loki had just heard him speaking about it with Frigga, who was surprisingly welcoming of the idea, perhaps from her own quarreling with Odin over political matters. Loki didn't understand this madness, until he realized the Thor must have been talking about both boys ruling with different positions. Loki couldn't see it any other way. Asgard needed a king, not two. Loki would welcome a position as an advisor to Thor's rulership. It might give Thor something to buffer his boisterous personality against bringing it to the royal bedchambers when he finally married that Sif girl. Loki didn't care much for her. He didn't care much for any females. Few were well rounded, and most were cruel to him when he was younger. Sif herself took every opportunity to trash poor Loki for even so much as breathing. Apparently, by doing anything other than dying, he was evil and stupid in her eyes. Not that he cared, he had much better things to attend to than some ranting female with a feminism superiority issue against the entire nine realms.

"It's ok Loki… nothing bad will happen… you aren't going anywhere…" Thor whispered back to Loki as he held his brother tightly to his position on the floor. They sat there for a moment, trying to hear the whispers from downstairs. When they finally did manage to start to get up, a door was roughly slammed behind a retreating Laufey and his men. The boys tried to hide back in the hallway they were crouched in front of, but didn't conceal themselves well enough when Laufey and his two escorts came into the lower atrium. Laufey paused for a moment and looked back up to the second floor, as if sensing his target was near.

Loki dove behind Thor and one of the many hanging clothes that bathed the fortress in a smidgeon of color when the seasons changed. Since it was nearing winter, all the cloths had been changed to blue and white for the season.

Laufey wasn't stupid though. He saw the young man, unusually light skinned and dark haired, diving behind the larger teenager. And the older boy was clearly Odin's son, he had the build of his father but the colorations of his mother. Laufey, against the overwhelming urge to grab the boy and run now, turned back around to head out the door.

Loki tried to hold himself together as Thor crouched down and pick up his brother, tossing him over his shoulder with a small growl of opposition from said green cloaked boy. No need to attract attention when it came to Loki. Thor hauled his brother back to his room, because no one would come to look for Loki in Thor's room. And he feared that anyone who came to speak to Loki would only bring annoying questions and almost unwelcomed news. Both were certain that the entire fortress had heard the main parts of the argument between Laufey and Odin. And anyone with half a brain who had heard the childhood stories of Laufey's Frost Giants knew that the monster always got what he wanted. If he wanted an Asgardian, chances were there was going to be a war over Loki. Thor wasn't going to let anything bad happen to his younger brother. The Frost Giants had lost out on Loki when they abandoned him in the Temple when he was a baby. They weren't getting another chance to convince the young male that he belonged with beings that treated him so poorly.

"Thor…" The oddly small voice of Loki came from under Thor's arms. Thor was so lost in thoughts that he hadn't realized he'd been holding Loki on his shoulder since they had taken refuge in the older brother's room. It must have been at least five minutes since they'd arrived, and Thor hadn't released his younger brother. Thor was going to let him go, but then noticed that the younger man was shaking slightly. Thor pushed the younger man onto his bed and leaned against the wall behind him. He didn't want to let go of Loki tonight, for he feared that something awful was about to happen, and he'd be blamed. Loki, sensing that something was amiss in his brother's mind, clutched himself tightly to his brother's fur covered pillow.

"You're not leaving us…I won't let them take you away, brother. I don't care what they say… you belong here. With your family. With the people who love you… it's just… just not Asgard without you…" Thor said, blocking his face from Loki's view by turning towards the window. Loki cold have sworn he felt the icy cold coming from his brother's eyes, but dismissed the thought as he felt the larger hands of Thor bringing the covers around his still tense body as Loki hid his face in the pillow. He felt the stress induced headache coming on again, and tried to block the light to make it stop.

Loki didn't register much after that as Thor blew out the torch that hung near his bed and rested his eyes while taking his position across the bed, keeping a decent distance from Loki. Loki soon followed as the darkness swept him away.

Frigga let herself into the throne room, noting that the grand visage of Odin was cloaked in concern. She approached slowly, allowing him to get use to her presence as she came closer. He looked up with his one good eye, and gave her a sad smile. She took her seat beside him and took his hand in hers. He gripped it enough as a forced comfort on himself, trying to ease her thoughts with his own troubled mind.

"They aren't getting him back. I already ordered the guards doubled around the clock, and tripled around wherever Loki is at the moment. I fear they will stop at nothing to take him Jotunheim..." Odin said slowly. Frigga rubbed his hand slowly, trying to offer as much comfort when the All Father needed it. She loved her boys, and the troubling news from Jotunheim wore heavily on her soul. As parents, they never told Loki of his origins because they wanted him to live a normal life as an Asgardian. Loki tended to close himself up when he felt threatened, and they would have to rely on Thor to bring the mischievous sorcerer out of his shell. Much like the time the Countess of Vanaheim had told Loki that he was delayed. Loki took this the wrong way, thinking she spoke of his physical development at the time; when she actually meant that he was late to the feast. Rumor had it that the other boys his age were already twice his height, and teased him for his shortened stature. Three days passed before anyone could find the young sorcerer, and Frigga nearly murdered the Countess when she believed him dead.

"Odin… we will fight to keep him where he wants to be…" Frigga said as she rested her head against his hand. Odin sighed as he took in the words. The Asgardian forces were some of the strongest men in the universe… certainly they could protect a magic wielder. Loki was no fighter, heck, the boy rarely picked up any forged weapon these days. But when magic was involved, no one could beat him on the battlefield. Between his staff and basic knowledge of magic, he had taken down over three fourths of the guards without breaking a sweat. He even gave Thor a run for his money once or twice when sparring. That was also the reason Odin was limiting what he learned for now. The boy was power hungry, and while it was well contained, throwing him into a massive amount of knowledge would only propagate this hunger. Limiting it slowly while combining the training with lessons that only life could teach would hopefully allow that hunger to be controlled, but Odin wasn't sure of the capability of the younger man. He had potential, but potential needs guidance. Since Loki wasn't his own child, he didn't know what to expect. Thor was never unexpectedly intelligent, but Loki threw him for a curve every time he tried to teach the boy something.

"Does he know about-" Frigga started. Odin cut her off with a strained look from his eye.

"No… and as long as he's here, that won't become an issue." Odin replied. Frigga placed her head back down on Odin's hand and gently sighed.

Review please- nice people will be given cybercookies, trolls and destructive criticism will be thrown out.