A Kind Of Magic

Chapter 1

This story is inspired by the legend, Freddie Mercury :) It reminds me of our favorite trickster God for obvious reasons and I can totally imagine Tony and Clint singing this to baby Loki :)

Thor had been in Loki's life since he arrived on Asgard, quickly adapting to the role of big brother, oblivious to the sinister schemes of his mysterious father. He didn't care for the troubles and chaos this baby brought, all he cared about was the fact that this adorable, raven- haired infant was his. This child, with eyes greener than Valhalla's earth, was his very own to grow alongside and love unconditionally. As the child grew, so did Thor's protective streak.

Enclosed in a bubble of admiration and love for the mischievous young tyke, he was susceptible to overlooking his tricks and schemes, but he was always aware of them.

This is why, at 1500 years old, Thor doesn't immediately attack his 'ill' brother posing as a familiar toddler with curly black hair and emerald eyes too big for his face. Just a moment ago, he had been delivering news of the ongoing battle in Niflheim to a very snotty, very limp, and very grouchy God of mischief and now... well, a toddler was gazing up at him with eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"Whoa, Thor! How'd you get so big?"

The big brother in question blinked uncomprehendingly at the awe-struck child, who was clutching a pot of half-eaten jelly from the medical bay with his tiny fingers. Said child frowned at Thor's lack of expression or reply, clambering wobbly onto his feet (hey, Loki wasn't always graceful) and glaring at his elder brother, looking far from impressed.

Thor almost released a hysterical laugh at the familiar glare, which Loki had been perfecting for centuries now.

"Enough of this foolishness, Loki. Turn back."

The toddler raised an eyebrow. "Okay." He drew out slowly, spinning in a 180' circle to face the headboard. He lifted his tiny arms in a placating gesture. "Better?"

Thor growled, not at all in the mood to deal with his brother's silly games.

"How do you even have the energy to do this? I thought your seidr was famished." he snapped, gripping the boy by the shoulders and manhandling him into a sitting position. The child yelped and bit Thor's hand. "You were sniveling and feeling sorry for yourself not five minutes ago!"

"Let go of me, you fool! I'll tell mama!"

Thor froze, his hands retracting as though he'd been burned. No, Loki wouldn't jest about that. It's the one thing he absolutely refused to talk about, the death of their dear mother. What was the meaning of this?

"Who are you and where is my Loki?" Thor deadpanned, lowering his head to stare deeply into the fidgeting child's eyes. He had learned quite quickly how to spot his brother's lies.

"I am Loki!" the child sighed, exasperated. He was looking at Thor like he was the stupidest soul to ever grace the nine realms, which wasn't really new. "I'm hungry, Thor. Take me to mama."

Thor's bottom lip quivered when he took in Loki's excited expression. Frigga always had been his favorite person, since... well, forever. If this had simply been an anomaly in Loki's magic, and the child in front of him was his little brother, then he had no idea that their mother was dead. He blinked back a sob of frustration. He also didn't know that they weren't real brothers and Loki absolutely despised the notion of his existence. That was a plus, he supposed weakly.

"Loki-,"

"Why are you crying?" little Loki whispered, wrapping his teeny arms around his brother's large neck. "Don't be sad, Thor-Thor."

It was reflexive more than anything, that Thor wrapped his arms around his small brother's spindly torso, breathing in the long lost scent of parchment and fresh washing powder. He smelt like mother and memories and winter.

"I'm not sad, little one. I'm just happy to see you," I'm happy that you love me again. "We should go now, it's not safe here."

Was this risky? Could Loki be manipulating him to be set free? Probably. But at this point... Thor was past caring. He was past living with the pretense of King. If Loki wanted to spill his guts onto the marble, fine. He would have just jumped the queue.

Loki was still technically serving his sentence on Asgard but he had fallen ill after the news of Frigga's untimely death. Jane had since been returned to Midgard, breaking up with him in the process, and leaving Thor to patch up his broken brother and planet.

"Okay," Loki beamed, placing every fiber of trust into his big brother, like he always had. "Is this an adventure, Thor? Like when we were smaller and father took us to Álfheimr?"

"Exactly that, little one." Thor smiled softly, plagued by memories of a better life, racing around the realms, believing himself and his brother to be untouchable by the monsters and the darkness. Oh, how wrong he was. "This time, we're venturing to a place called Midgard. Isn't that fun?"

"Does papa know people there?"

"No. But I do."

"Are they your friends, Thor? What are their names?"

"Well, little one, they call themselves the Avengers."

"That's just stupid."

Thor was startled into an undignified snort, scooping Loki into his arms and storming down the castle halls with new determination. Nobody dared stop him and ask why he was clutching an unfamiliar infant. He hadn't been very... stable of late.

When the unusual pair eventually reached the Bifrost, Loki had fallen asleep, snoring lightly into his sibling's armored chest.

"Sleep well, little one," he whispered as the colors of the Bifrost surrounded them. Heimdell gave him a brief nod of understanding before the hues swallowed them and carried them away from the place only one of them called home. "You will be safe now."

This story is dedicated to the lovely bookfangirlmaryjane for always supporting me from the very beginning. I love you, girl 💕