Chapter Text
Summers, Thor thought, were when Asgard bloomed to its fullest. The castle, while hot, was never unbearably so; nothing that couldn’t be solved with unstrung clothes and sheetless sleep. The warmth roused Asgard’s marketplaces and only further enhanced the refreshing sweetness of juices squeezed fresh from the burgeoning gardens under Frigga’s care. And in the cliffs and forests surrounding the city, the land hummed with life. Truly, Asgard only glittered brighter in its summer months.
However, Loki tended to disagree with Thor’s sentiment. Thor rarely saw his younger brother outside at all while the sun shone bright overhead. Loki had never been one for summer’s warmth. One of Thor’s earliest memories was of his brother, barely able to stand on two legs, ruining a prospective trip to the marketplaces; wailing so fiercely and so intently that they had been forced to retreat back inside the palace to their cool nursery.
“Perhaps it's the heat,” he remembered mother saying as she clutched Loki close to her chest, his wails having subsided to sniffles. “He doesn’t mean it against you, my sweet. We shall have ample time to go another cooler day.” Frigga had kissed Thor’s forehead but her words did little to dissuade his childish anger.
Now Loki never complained so loudly, though Thor knew his distaste for the heat was no less passionate. Had he wailed, though, he surely would have been kicked from his preferred library haven.
Indeed, that was where Thor found him on this day. “Brother!” Thor rushed towards Loki; who was tucked into a shaded corner, cool breeze ruffling his curled hair. Thor’s outcry earned him disapproving looks from the royal booktenders (royal bootlickers was what he called them when they weren’t around) but he ignored them. Today his brother wouldn’t lounge in what Thor thought must be the most dull place imaginable. Today they had better things to do.
Loki looked tiredly up from his book, a thick tome inscribed with runes unreadable to Thor. “Oh joy. As if the persistent buzzing of the bugs wasn’t enough, I’ve now got a big ugly one right in my face.” There was no venom behind his words and his eyes sparkled with mirth.
“Were I a bug,” Thor said, grinning. “I surely would have stung you for being so rude.” Pushing some of Loki’s many stacked tomes aside, Thor sat next to his brother, who sighed and abandoned his book. It puffed dust into the air which caught on a sunbeam and glittered like tiny diamonds.
“And what,” Loki cocked his head. “Have you come to bother me about today?”
Throwing a hand out towards the sparkling blue sky just out the windows, Thor waggled his eyebrows. “Have you even cast your gaze to this magnificent day? There is no better weather for a hike!”
“A hike.” Loki sounded incredulous. “Surely you jest.” Not a question. Loki knew full well Thor didn’t. He already sounded resigned.
Rising, Thor pulled Loki up with little resistance. “Nay. I know a fine spring only a few hours out. Should we leave now, we could bring lunch and have a proper picnic.”
At the prospect of the spring, Loki perked up slightly. There was no better way to escape the heat than immersing oneself in icy water fresh from the land. Though, Loki balked moments later. “What of your friends? Surely Fandral or-”
“I don’t want to go with Fandral, Loki. I want to go with you.” He’d spent precious little time with his younger brother as of late. Loki’s battle training had only just begun and it ate away at their time together in a way Thor didn’t much care for.
He saw blush rise in Loki’s pale cheeks and his lips twitch up. “I suppose… as long as we have returned by supper. Mother will flay us should we-” Loki didn’t get to finish his hesitant agreement as Thor pulled him from the library in a sprint. Books scattered behind them and Thor heard the bootlickers cry out but none could stop them.
It took them little time to pack. Loki’s quick fingers and quicker tongue scored them a fine meal from the kitchen chefs. And it took them even less time to rush through the city, ignoring startled cries of slower moving mounts and their riders. They left their horses to graze in a shady field and stared up at the mountaintop that rose high above them. Again, Loki seemed apprehensive.
“Thor… this may be foolhardy. I can already feel my legs cramping from Alfi’s blows this morning. Maybe--”
Scoffing, Thor grinned. “Nothing to relax sore muscles like more exertion.” He saw Loki roll his eyes, sweat beaded on his dark brow even now. “Should thy legs betray you, I can always carry you to our destination.”
Though Loki was nearly his height now Thor remained convinced he could still tote his stick of a younger brother just as he once had. Apparently Loki thought otherwise as he swiftly glared at Thor and jogged ahead. “You’re delusional.” Thor bounded to catch up, ruffling Loki hair as he passed and eliciting an offended growl. “By the Norns, why am I tormented so?” He beamed back at his brother as he pulled ahead and watched Loki get whipped in the face by a thin branch that Thor had pushed aside.
“Ha!” Thor snorted and continued. He heard the “snap ” of the branch breaking and moments later felt it bounce off his back. Grinning, he dislodged a rock from under his foot and kicked it back at Loki before clambering up and out of range of retaliation.
Much as Thor wished to prise all of Loki’s thoughts from his head, it’d been far too long since they’d sat and talked, their hike descended mostly to silence. They stopped often, drinking deeply from their waterskins as the sun seemed to sap water from their bodies swifter than they could replenish themselves. Thor could feel sweat sliding down the back of his thighs in sticky rivulets and could feel his face covered in a sheen of the stuff. After some silent deliberation he paused long enough to slip off his shirt and tuck it into his pack. Barely a breeze rose to cool his skin. And when the sweat dried it left a tacky feeling across his back. He had, perhaps, underestimated the heat. It seeped into his weary muscles and caught his breath wet in his lungs. Their uphill climb did nothing to help, as they rose closer towards the light Thor only felt it press harder down upon him.
Loki was a steady pant behind him. Occasionally Thor would glance back to watch him heft himself up a particularly steep rock or duck under the meager shade afforded to them by the hardy and scraggly trees that clung to the steep rockface. Eventually, after what felt like an age and a half, the steep rocks gave way to tough, short grass, clinging to an incline that was not so unmanageable and the trees began to rise high and spread their branches thick with needles.
Wishing for a moment of celebration, Thor turned to exchange a triumphant look with Loki. But he was not there. For a split second he expected Loki to pop out from behind one of the trees, glaring at him, demanding to know why he’d stopped. But when that did not happen, he spotted a tuft of raven-dark hair a good thirty paces downhill. Dropping his pack, Thor skidded down the path, paying no heed to how rocks stung and tore at his palms or how the grass stained his trousers. "Loki!"
His brother sat, leaned up in the meager shade of a young oak. As Thor approached, panic in his throat, Loki laughed weakly. “You are… the worst brother.” Though he flashed a smile, Loki’s lips were pale. His face was pink with the beginning of a burn. "I'm fine just... just sitting," he mumbled unconvincingly. His dark hair was slick with sweat that covered him and his curls that stuck to his forehead were hot as a furnace to the touch.
Of course, Loki’s hair soaked in heat like nothing Thor had ever seen. Thor fumbled for Loki’s waterskin and found it almost empty. Still, he handed it shakily to Loki, who took it and pressed it against his forehead. “Drink.” Thor insisted. He tugged at Loki’s shirt, prying it off his brother, who muttered a weak protest.
“Your fault.”
“Yes, yes. My fault.” Thor smiled encouragingly as Loki took a slow sip from his near empty waterskin. It was his fault. In his excitement to spend time with Loki he’d underestimated the effect of the unblinking heat had on his unaccustomed brother. He just wished Loki had said something . Had Loki not been so stubborn-- Thor knew the spring had to be close, the lush grass around them told him that much. “Stay here, brother.”
As Thor scrambled back towards the pack he had abandoned, he heard Loki murmur. “Can do…”
Thor’s heart raced. He tried to remember what he could do for heat. If he could get Loki to the spring… but too sudden a cold could do more damage. Running back to his brother Thor tore off a hunk of bread and shoved it towards Loki’s face. “Eat.”
“Mmm, no,” Loki protested firmly enough to shove away the offering. “Stomach-- I shall merely throw it up.”
Glaring up at the puffy, cursedly sparse, clouds, Thor hated them for lack of shade. If he only had that hammer father kept in the vaults. He knew tales of its weather manipulating abilities, how it could crash down rain and bring snow. If he possessed it now, he surely would have cast down so fierce a downpour Loki couldn’t help but feel better. But that hammer was not his and sitting here was doing Loki no good. “I’m a fool.”
A wheezing shook Loki’s chest and alarmed Thor until he realized it was laughter. “I-- could have told you that.” There was a vagueness about Loki’s eyes that frightened Thor. He had to do something.
“Come now, brother.” Resolve hardening, Thor scooped Loki up from his arms and swung his brother’s thin frame onto his back. “Hold on.” Clammy hand hooked themselves weakly around Thor’s shoulders. Thor sucked in air, Loki was heavy. Heavier than Thor had expected.
“So dramatic … I can walk j-just fine.” Loki’s protests were barely audible and wholly ineffectual.
Gritting his teeth, Thor began his arduous climb. His legs cried out for mercy with every step and sweat slicked his body; more than once almost slipping Loki from his grasp. His lungs burned as he gulped for air. But the steady, yet worryingly faint beat of Loki’s heart kept him pushing ahead. And the pair of them, together, climbed.
Finally, after what felt like at least an hour of their agony, Thor came over the crest of the small, lush alcove. He let out a cry of relief and pushed past his exhaustion to slide towards the crystalline pool at its center. His first instinct was to dive headlong into it but he quashed the desire and slowly lowered Loki to the ground. His lack of complaints worried Thor but the slight rise of Loki’s chest gave Thor some reassurance.
“We’re here,” As he spoke, he unlaced Loki’s boots.
Loki’s eyes were half lidded and, under the pink of his burns, he’d only grown paler. “Goodie…”
Feeling lightheaded himself, Thor first dunked his head into the spring. Cold water stung his skin and his raw palms but he gulped mouthfuls of it into his parched mouth. It filled him with sweet relief akin to the finest of Asgard’s delicacies. He gasped for air, flinging water about, and went under again. Sweat melted off him and his soaked hair stuck to his neck like a cooling mat. Finally tearing himself away from the pool, Thor returned to Loki, who had managed a half-sit to watch Thor, and pulled him along the ground until his feet dangled in the water.
Loki let out a soft moan and his eyelids fluttered. “Oh, oh…”
Though he loathed to leave Loki alone, Thor knew they needed their packs away from the snapping teeth of scavengers. “Stay here, Loki. I shall return. Don't get in yet.”
“Mmm…” Loki nodded absently as a cold breeze rolled off the water of the spring.
Refreshed and no longer carrying Loki’s weight, his trip back to their abandoned belongings was a far shorter one. That their packs were untouched filled him with relief. Slinging both over his shoulder, Thor gnawed on a load of fresh seeded bread and allowed himself a moment of rest. Loki would be fine, he’d not lost his senses that thoroughly.
If he had -- Thor shook away the thought. He was fine and that was all that mattered. Thor threw one last glare up at the unblinking sun that had nearly ruined his perfect day and began his scramble back up the mountain. Somewhere nearby a bird chirped, a high, piercing sound. The high pine trees were dizzying as Thor glanced upwards, imagining himself perching atop one. Pine needles cascaded down upon him as the dark bird took off into the sky.
Upon returning to their pond, Thor’s pulse quickened and his stomach turned as he didn’t immediately spot his brother’s figure. Where--
But then Loki surfaced from the pool, pulling hair from his face. His sharp green eyes focused on Thor. “Ah. Please tell me you’ve brought food.” Loki waded to the edge of the pool and looked expectantly up at him.
Grinning with relief, Thor ignored his thudding heart and plopped down beside Loki. He wanted to chastise Loki for ignoring his simple commands but couldn’t find the strength in him. He rummaged through their packs and pulled out a stem of green grapes. As Loki reached for them hungrily, Thor held them out of his grasp. He noted how pale Loki still looked with a pang of concern.
Loki’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, haven’t you tried to kill me enough for one day? Now you must starve me too?” Though Loki smiled, guilt raced through Thor.
“I--” He hadn’t thought of it that way. Could Loki have truly died there? “I’m so sorry, brother. I had no idea that- uh!” He sputtered as Loki splashed icy water in his face and snatched the grapes from him.
“You’re lucky I don’t tell mother of this.” If there was a grudge to be held (and Thor knew there was) Loki seemed to have no interest in it outside of benignly antagonizing him.
And Thor could take a bit of deserved ribbing. Loki was alive and smiling, that was what mattered. “You wouldn’t.” He said playfully. It was the truth; should Loki let Frigga know, not only would she chastise the both of them but Loki would surely be forced into the healing chambers, a place Thor knew he despised. “But, are you feeling well?”
Loki shrugged and water rolled off his thin shoulders. “I’m not dead yet.” He popped a grape in his mouth and burst it under his teeth. Thor felt juice splash his face. Loki’s nonchalance did little to calm Thor’s guilt, neither did his hands, which shook ever so slightly. Loki seemed to notice his stare and slipped his hands underwater. “It was an accident, Thor. No blame is to be held except upon the heat itself. Which I shall surely enact my grand and final revenge upon one of these days.” Mirth entered his voice. “And what proper prince hasn’t had a brush with death at least once in his life?”
Thor laughed weakly. “I suppose…” Before he could do more, Loki snatched his wrist. What had once been clammy and clumsy was now familiarly nimble and cool, despite its tremors.
“You want to make it up to me?” He did. “Then we keep this a secret to all. Nobody but us shall know of this.”
“Aye, that I can do.”
“Shake on it.” There was a spark of mischief in Loki’s eyes.
Thor took his outstretched hand and, in an instant, Loki heaved backwards, pulling Thor into the spring. Water shot up Thor’s nose like a burning jet and he burst to the surface sputtering as water splashed around them. “My-- my boots! You little--” As he struggled to tug off his surely ruined fine boots, ones that father had gifted him, Thor watched Loki duck underwater, giggling.
Depositing his soaked boots on the edge of the pool, Thor turned on Loki who grinned tauntingly. “ Oh no, poor widdle Thorsie lost his bootsies. What a -- aulgh!”
Thor tackled Loki before he could say more and dunked him underwater. He felt Loki kick him in the gut hard enough to knock the air from him. Battle training, he’d almost forgotten. While he gasped for air, Loki pushed off him and shot across the pool. By the time Thor filled his lungs with air and got his bearings, Loki was nowhere to be found. “Coward! Come and face me!” He splashed the water and scanned his surroundings.
A rustle in the trees. Thor spun around just in time to watch Loki jump down upon him with a great splash. He emerged laughing and Thor couldn’t help but follow suit. This was better, this was what he had wanted. Loki’s giggles subsided as Thor shoved him back underwater.
The last of their vigor leaving them, they retired to the shallows and their food. As the day passed into evening they lounged on the grassy knoll, dangling their bare feet in the water. Thor could feel a growing breeze drying his hair and his trousers. And Thor questioned Loki, he wanted desperately to know how his brother fared. No longer were they inseparably bound in their training and it made Thor ache, though he knew why it had to be so.
Most of Loki’s answers were to his liking. Training was tedious and painful but a necessity; Thor noted blue-black bruises on Loki’s bare arms, no doubt trophies earned from Alfi who never forgave mistakes with anything less. Thor had sported his fair share when he began too. When Loki spoke of what mother taught him, however, his eyes gleamed and his smile grew. He sparked to life a glittering green lily that floated on his palm and Thor smiled at it, more though, at just how delighted Loki was.
Less to Thor’s liking were other answers. Listlessness rattled Loki’s ease when Thor pushed on thoughts of the future. When he asked of friends, because surely, surely , Loki had made some; Loki clammed up and all the answer Thor got was that of the bugs crying in the trees above them. There was something dishearteningly melancholic about Loki that lasted until Thor made him laugh by pretending to be the hardened trainer Alfi and swiftly fell back into the pool.
Once a cool evening wind began to blow, they packed and set on the hike back. Downhill was a far easier venture, though they were sure to stop often. Thor kept careful watch on Loki, who rolled his eyes and dismissed Thor’s fretting. But, more than once, Thor saw Loki’s knees buckle and he almost toppled. Thor said nothing, he saw how Loki tried to play off the weakness by complaining about the loose stones.
Their horses were just as they left them and their ride back to the palace was swift. It had to be, as the sun dipped and their dinner neared.
After cleaning, despite his dip Thor knew he still stunk of sweat and fear, they acted at dinner as princes should. The meal was especially delicious after the exhaustion of their day and Thor savored every bite of it, relishing savory juices that ran down his throat as he tore into his steak. Thor watched Loki squirm under Frigga’s soft hands as she brushed his pink sunburned face. “I'm fine, really mother. Twas just a bit of exposure.”
Later, she had remarked on the heat and Thor found himself breathless. Did she know? She always knew.
But Loki had smiled gamely and lamented the faroff autumn months with nary a hint of an unsaid secret or a brush with fear. She had moved on, none the wiser, to their duties and training. Though Thor had noticed father watching them carefully, Huginn and Muninn fluttering around his shoulders.
After dinner Loki found Thor in his chambers. “You must get better at that.”
“At what?” He knew full well what Loki meant. Thor shifted on his bed to allow space for his brother to sit.
Loki did not sit but pursed his lips disapprovingly. “You turned near statuesque when mother mentioned the weather. Did you think she would not notice? Had I not dissuaded her she surely would have pressed you and then our promise would be forfeit.” As he strode across the room, his still pink face twisted into a frown. There was roughly masked hurt in his eyes.
Their promise, of course.
“I shall get better, for your sake. Though lying doesn’t suit me. It hangs strange on my shoulders.” He patted the bed beside him and smiled as Loki sat, crosslegged, beside him.
Loki nodded, appeased. His frown disappeared. “You must be better. Because this is our secret and I shan’t have you ruining that.”
Thor smiled at Loki’s assertion. “Our secret. Promise I’ll keep it safely tucked away until the Valkyries take us.”
Snorting, Loki flashed a toothy grin. “After too. Cannot have all the warriors of Valhalla knowing Hel almost claimed me from some silly heat.”
Shadows cast sharp, strange lines across Loki’s face but the candle beside Thor’s bed glowed warm in his green eyes. “Aye. What a mocking that would make. Our secret, then, until death and even after.”