Back then, Mavuika would always sit on the side and watch. Sometimes he would speak up to stop them, but most of the time, he would just watch them mess around with a smile.
A thousand years have passed.
Thor and Loki have grown up.
But some things have never changed.
"Alright, alright." Mavuika interrupted them, "It's been so long, why do you two still love to bicker so much?"
Thor and Loki stopped at the same time, rolled their eyes at each other, and though they looked a bit reluctant, they obediently shut their mouths.
Thor's eye-roll was the kind that said, 'Wait until I get you back later.'
Loki's eye-roll was the kind that said, 'I can't be bothered with you.'
They had been afraid of Mavuika since they were little, and even now that they were grown, they still dared not be too presumptuous in front of him.
Mavuika looked at them, the smile on his lips deepening.
"Now, tell me," he said, "Why did you come to Earth?"
Silence.
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance.
In that glance, there was something Mavuika didn't understand at first—guilt? Embarrassment? Or something else?
"You tell it." Loki nudged Thor with his elbow.
Thor glared at him. "You tell it."
"You're the one who did it." Loki lowered his voice, "You tell it."
"It was your idea." Thor wouldn't back down. "You tell it!"
Mavuika gave a light cough.
The two of them immediately shut up.
Mavuika looked at them with a half-smile, a playful glint in his amber eyes.
"What?" he asked.
"Starting to be humble now? Weren't you just fighting to speak to me earlier?"
Thor and Loki exchanged glances again.
This time, both of them saw the same meaning in each other's eyes:
"We're done for."
"Since neither of you wants to say it," Mavuika said slowly, "then say it together."
Mavuika stood in the moonlight with his arms crossed over his chest, looking at his two younger brothers, who had their heads bowed, with that same half-smile.
Thor kept his head down, scuffing his toe against the ground, his long golden hair covering half his face so his expression couldn't be seen.
Loki, on the other hand, held his head up, but his emerald green eyes darted around everywhere, refusing to meet Mavuika's gaze.
"Speak," Mavuika said, his tone as calm as if he were asking what they had eaten today. "Who starts?"
Thor and Loki exchanged a glance.
"You first!" Loki and Thor said in unison.
"You."
"You."
Mavuika gave a light cough.
The two of them immediately shut up.
"Since neither of you wants to speak first," Mavuika said slowly,
"then say it together. I'll count to three, and you both speak at the same time. One, two, three—"
"We wanted to come see you but Father didn't agree so we thought of a way to come ourselves—"
Thor and Loki's voices rang out at the same time, their speed as fast as if they were competing in a tongue-twister contest.
But the content of what they said was surprisingly consistent, even colliding on certain words.
Mavuika was stunned for a moment.
Then he couldn't help but laugh.
"Alright, alright." He raised a hand to interrupt them. "One at a time. Thor, you go first."
Thor took a deep breath and scratched his head.
"Uh... the thing is, Big Sister, Loki and I... we missed you."
Mavuika raised an eyebrow.
"You missed me?"
"Really!" Thor's eyes lit up, and his tone became eager.
"We haven't seen you for hundreds of years. The last time we met was—uh, that time in the Middle Ages? We've always wanted to come see you, but Father always said, 'No, Mavuika has his own things to do,' 'Don't go bother him,' 'He'll be back soon, just wait a little longer'..."
He imitated Odin's deep, majestic voice, doing a pretty good job of it.
Mavuika's lips curled up slightly.
"And then?"
"And then..." Thor's tone became a bit guilty.
"We asked Father again this time, but he still didn't agree. He said your plan was almost complete and you would be able to return to Asgard before long, so we should wait a little longer."
He paused.
"But I couldn't wait anymore!"
Mavuika looked at him.
There was a childish grievance in Thor's expression.
"It's been hundreds of years, Big Sister, hundreds of years since I've seen you. I know this amount of time might not mean much to Asgard, but—but I really missed you. And Loki too. Even though he doesn't say it, he also..."
He glanced at Loki.
Loki turned his head away, pretending to look at the scenery in the distance.
Mavuika was silent for two seconds.
Then he sighed softly.
"So you came secretly on your own?"
Thor nodded.
"How did you come?"
Thor's expression stiffened.
He looked at Loki.
Loki was still looking at the scenery.
"...It was Loki's idea," Thor said.
Loki immediately turned his head back. "My idea? We discussed it together!"
"But you were the one who came up with it!"
"What's wrong with me coming up with it? The plan was perfectly fine; it was your execution that went wrong!"
"My execution went wrong? It was clearly Heimdall who was too vigilant!"
"Of course Heimdall is vigilant. His eyes can see through the Nine Realms! Do you think it's easy to trick him?"
"Then why didn't you say so earlier? If you had told me he was that vigilant, I wouldn't have—"
"Enough." Mavuika interrupted them again. "Start from the beginning. How did you trick Heimdall?"
Thor and Loki exchanged glances again.
This time, Loki spoke first.
"It's like this, Big Sister," he said, his tone becoming serious, though there was still a hint of his usual craftiness in that seriousness.
"Heimdall is the Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge. Without Father's command, he won't open the Bifrost Bridge for anyone, so we had to find a way to bypass this restriction."
"What way?"
Loki's eyes flickered.
"I... turned Thor into Father's likeness."
Mavuika was silent for two seconds.
"...You what?"
"I turned Thor into Father's likeness," Loki repeated, his speed much faster this time.
"I had him wear Father's armor, put on Father's helmet, and hold Father's Eternal Spear—of course, that was fake, I used magic to conjure it—and then order Heimdall to open the Bifrost Bridge to Midgard."
Mavuika covered his forehead with his hand.
"You... impersonated Father?"
"It was only for a few minutes!" Thor hurriedly explained.
"It was only for a few minutes! And Loki said Heimdall wouldn't notice. Although his eyes can see through the Nine Realms, Father's image is the hardest to see through, because—"
"Because it's Father," Loki took over.
"Heimdall is absolutely loyal to Father; he wouldn't voluntarily try to 'see through' Father's disguise. As long as Thor acted like him enough, he shouldn't be suspicious."
"Should?" Mavuika raised an eyebrow.
Loki's expression stiffened.
"...Theoretically, there shouldn't be a problem."
Mavuika looked at him.
Loki turned his head slightly.
"And in reality?"
Thor took over.
"In reality... it was quite smooth at first," he said, his tone carrying a hint of reminiscence.