Keep the Monsters at bay

Reworked version of a oneshot of mine written in 2016

He was running through a dark forest and there was a dangerous animal after him. It was coming closer even if he was running as fast as he could. Then he tripped over his own feet and fell to his knees. His body stiffened in dreadful anticipation as he heard the animal closing in, leaping into a jump that was surely supposed to end on his back. He squeezed his eyes shut. But there were no claws digging into him. Slowly he reopened his eyes. Suddenly it was cold and as he looked up, the only things he could see were a lot of snow and a lot of ice. Once he took a closer look he could see figures lurking in the shadows of the icy walls that were surrounding him. And then they stepped forward and he could see them for what they were. Frost Giants. They were all grinning evilly at him. Quickly he got to his feet and took a few careful steps backwards. The Frost Giants' grins widened and then they were coming towards him, hunting him. And he started running again. They were faster than him. There was one right behind him and he was trying to grab him by the arm. His fingers were closing around his elbow... subconsciously he started to realize that he was dreaming. The Frost Giant had a death grip on his arm now, he was trying to get free, but he was stronger than him by far. He started screaming, crying as overwhelming fear pressed the air out of his lungs and squashed his heart. He couldn't possibly take more of this. He snapped his eyes open, brutally forcing himself to wake up. He was lying in the darkness, eyes wide open and fixed to the ceiling he couldn't see, tears streaming down his cheeks, breathing rapidly and violently. So he was lying in bed, not moving an inch, frozen from the panic that raged inside his chest. It was simply impossible to go back to sleep. A voice at the back of his head cut through his distress, reminding him that he needed to sleep and couldn't stay awake all night. But it seemed like he couldn't avoid it, the fear thrumming in his veins was keeping him wide awake. Stupid court and its horror stories about Frost Giants and Vanaheim's wild forests, he thought as he was lying in the dark, his heart hammering out of control. It would explode if he were to stay this way for just another moment, he thought. There was still fear and panic in every cell of his body. But he decided that he couldn't lay there shaking and silently crying, wasting important hours of sleep. So he finally made his decision.

Still shaking as violently as if Thor's lightning had hit him, he climbed out of bed and made his way towards the door. Shaking, crying, hugging himself, just clothed in his sleeping tunic and barefoot he opened the door, slipping out into the corridor and closing it behind himself. Pathetic for a prince of Asgard, he thought, biting his lip. He crept through the corridor, warily looking around, moving carefully and soundlessly towards a certain door. He opened it, just so much that he could slip through, but he hesitated in the doorframe. Thor was sleeping peacefully in his kingsized bed. He closed the door behind himself and walked across the room, stopping by Thor's bedside. With one still violently shaking hand he hesitantly reached out and grabbed his shoulder to shake him gently until he awoke. His other arm was still clutched against his torso. Finally Thor started moving and blinking sleepily. „Loki?" His voice was a little rough from sleeping. Failing to suppress his shaking, he settled himself on the edge of his brother's bed, twisting his body to steady himself with his hands and look at Thor at the same time. Thor was slowly sitting up and using one hand to prop himself up, while he was rubbing his eyes with the other. He eyed his younger brother quizzically. Worry settled on his face. Pathetic, as he couldn't stop crying or trembling while he was being looked at. It was in moments like these that he felt so lost, weak and helpless. Thor's eyes darkened as he studied his face. He didn't need to look into the mirror to know what he was seeing. His eyes, wide and open with a terrified look to them, tears still trickling down his face occasionally, cheeks reddened from crying and his lips trembling. „Nightmares again?", was the only thing Thor asked. He nodded. „Frost Giants and Vanaheim's forests.", he whispered in reply, his voice cracking. Thor's look softened. He leaned forward, put his arm around his waist and lifted him off the edge of the bed to settle him down into his lap. Then he wiped the remaining tears off his brother's cheeks with his thumbs. Suddenly he wasn't crying anymore. He didn't have to. Childish, weak and pathetic as he was, he felt safe with Thor. He rested his head against Thor's shoulder and gave him an exhausted smile as he gently stroked his head and smiled back calmly. Thor might be a big oaf of a brother, but he loved him nonetheless, he thought, because of moments like these. „Can I stay in your bed with you tonight?", he asked his big brother. „Of course you can, brother. I promise I'll protect you from the nightmares.", he answered, still smiling genuinely. Then he gently lifted him off his lap and lay him down beside him. He pulled the blanket over him and lay down too. They were facing each other, lying so close that their foreheads were touching. It was warm and cozy and he felt safe. Accidentally, his feet touched Thor's and his brother flinched, but didn't pull away. Instead he only lightly scowled at him. „Your feet are totally frozen, brother, no wonder you are dreaming of Frost Giants." He gave him a drowsy smile in return, sleep already tugging at his eyelids. Thor smiled back, looking as groggy as he himself felt. „Good night, Loki.", he murmured. „Good night, Thor.", he yawned, before his eyes closed. He knew that while he was slipping away from consciousness, Thor was probably also drifting off to sleep, but that was fine. Because he felt safe nonetheless. Thor's presence alone was already enough to keep the monsters at bay. And that was how it was always going to be.

Oh my, typing this in was an experience of pure cringe. But I promised little me to upload this. So here we are.