...When Someone Needs Help Only You Can Give.

A long time ago, in a place that none have seen but all have heard of, a young boy was pulled by his brother into a room he knew better than any other.

"Brother, why must you hurry so?" The young boy asked, ignoring the feel of bruises forming on his delicate wrist.

His elder brother grinned as he finally stopped in front of a looking glass that had seen better years. He released the younger and spread his arms grandly.

"I have discovered something amazing! Look with awe and know that your big brother is clearly the best warrior in all of Asgard!"

The younger blinked at this proclamation before tilting his head curiously to the side.

"What of Father?"

The elder's hand's fell and he looked slightly sheepish.

"Save for Father…"

The younger smirked before nodding in agreement. Then he turned his eyes to the looking glass and wondered what it was that made his brother so excited. He looked for a very long moment at the image displayed before him. Then his brow furrowed and he turned once more to his brother, who stood in a position of pride at his side.

"Why must I look in awe?"

His brother seemed to sag from his stance and looked at him sadly.

"Are you not impressed?" The younger looked at him with confusion as he sulked. "I found it quite pleasing when it first caught my eye… Is it not something one should be happy for?"

"What are you talking about? What is impressive about a village of humans?"

There was a long and very frustrating pause then, as the two brothers seemed to absorb the situation together. Then, without much warning, the elder of the two started to shout.

"Did you not see it?! The grand display of the their worship?! The very thing that makes them important?! Be more observant Brother and look closer!"

The youngest brother was pushed closer to the glass by a heavy hand and forced to look, once more, at the small village of humans in front of him. He ignored the annoyance gnawing at him and searched the image for something of any importance. It didn't take too long. Surrounded by the buildings that served as the human's homes was a statue. A statue of his elder brother.

"They worship you…" He whispered in astonishment.

His brother seemed to swell with pride beside him.

"Indeed! You see now how amazing my discovery is! These people see me as their god! Just as they do Father! It is something to celebrate, is it not?"

"Well…" The younger began before looking at his brother's pleased expression. His fist clenched and he smiled widely at the one who had always cared for him when everyone else did not. "It is a grand thing to celebrate. Father will surely be pleased when he hears of this. Mother as well."

His brother's eyes seemed to glow with happiness.

"Truly?"

He barely paused as he unclenched his fist and quickly hugged the larger boy to him.

"Why, of course! They will be immensely pleased and proud of you when they hear such wonderful news! And the others, well, I'm sure they will be even more impressed than myself. After all, I always knew that you would become as worshipped as Father is someday. I am happy to see that that day is today. I am very proud of you brother."

He said this with more sincerity than he himself had expected. Honestly, he was rather surprised that most of these words were true. Still, he restrained himself from saying more, lest he do something he might regret.

"Loki…"

The young wordsmith blinked in surprise when his brother enveloped him in a fierce hug. He ignored the pain of creaking ribs as he hugged Thor back. When he was finally released he was worried that the elder would cry before he suddenly spoke.

"You will celebrate at my side this night. After I tell everyone about this wonderful occasion, you must join me at the table and revel in the glory with me. I cannot enjoy such festivities without my greatest supporter there to enjoy them with me."

Loki blinked before smiling and squeezing his brother's shoulders.

"Of course. I would want nothing else."

And with this, Thor grinned before running off to spread the news of his most recent accomplishment. Then, when Thor was long gone and nobody else remained in the great library save for himself, Loki screamed. He screamed and ranted and begged the fates to tell him why his brother was so fortunate. He fell to his knees and sobbed like the child he no longer was, and begged for the answer to his eternal struggle.

"Why must he always be better than me?"

"Argh!"

Loki jumped in alarm and looked frantically at his surroundings.

"Dear Odin, why have you punished us like this! What have we done wrong?!"

The boy blinked as he realized where the noise was coming from. He gazed, once more, into the looking glass and watched as a woman sobbed into her husbands chest as he screamed at the sky.

"Stoick…" The woman murmured.

Her husband, for that was the only thing he could be, looked down at his wife and held a large hand to her cheek.

"We will fix this. I don't care how hard it will be, but we will fix this. I will not let our child die."

Loki stared in shock as he realized what was happening. The woman was heavily pregnant, but she seemed pale and sickly. She looked weak and her stomach looked far too small.

'Her baby is dying…' He thought with a heavy feeling in his heart. 'She has grown ill, and now her baby will die before it even gets the chance to live.'

He was saddened by this thought.

"Please, Gothi, is there anything we can do?"

The man looked over to an old woman that Loki remembered seeing once. She was quite impressive in her own right. Although his brother had not understood the reason why at the time, he had. She was an intelligent woman with the uncanny ability to look straight at him when he was watching her through the glass. Just as she was looking now. Except, this time, she wasn't just looking at him. This time, she seemed to be pleading.

Loki hesitated for a moment. He wondered briefly if he was just imagining things, but was sure that he was not. And so, he steeled himself slightly and thought for a moment. He thought about the world he was watching and all of the things he knew were in it. Then he found a solution.

As carefully as he could, using the knowledge of worship he had learned from his mother, he pushed the idea into the old woman's head and hoped that he had made it clear enough for her to understand. He was happy to see that he had succeeded when the woman's eyes widened in astonishment, before she nodded and started to write symbols into the sand. A few moments later, the couple left the woman's presence and hurried off to complete the seemingly impossible task they had been given. Loki spared a moment to hope that he had given the right advice before he looked curiously at the woman.

She looked right back at him and seemed to stare into his eyes for a moment before she bowed to him with as much grace as her little old body could muster.

"Thank you, God Loki, for answering my plea. I am humbled by your kindness, and hope that you will continue to be a kind and merciful god from this day on."

The words were not spoken aloud, but Loki heard them as clear as a bell in his mind. And he watched, stunned, as the woman finally walked off and into her home.

'God… She called me God…'

"Loki!"

The boy jumped and almost destroyed the looking glass in his surprise as his brother ran in, shouting his name. When his heart had finally calmed, Loki turned to him as innocently as he could.

"Yes, Thor?"

"Father has thrown a feast in celebration, just as you said he would! Come! We must hurry before they start the festivities without us!"

Loki remained silent at his proclamation but allowed himself to be pulled towards the dining hall without resistance.

He did not flinch at the roughness of Thor's handling.

Nor did he mention what had just transpired a moment ago.

He simply smiled and eventually started to laugh as the realization sunk in.

'I am a God too.'