A/N: I'm stepping out of my comfort zone on this one. Most of the time if I receive requests from one of my reviewers, it's pretty vague. Example: Pearl Maiden said that she'd love to see the boys rescue Rowen at some point, and Place Called Home was born. Anyway, GreenLoki PM'ed me maybe about a week ago with this epic dream she had, explained the basics, and asked if I might be willing to turn it into a story as an early b-day present. (Completely epic dream, btw, I'm totally jealous of it! I never have cool dreams like that!) Anyway, the reason this is out of my comfort zone is that I realized that she *saw* different things happening and gave me an overview, now I'm writing a story on it. I don't want to ruin her dream! I know it sounds silly, but hey... Anyway, all that to say hat tip to GreenLoki for the plot line on this. Oh, and happy early birthday to her! :D

Oh, and as always, please note this is part of my series and you may see the list of stories in the order they're meant to be written on my profile.


End of the Road

And I'm damned if I do and I'm damned if I don't
So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road
And I'm ready to suffer and I'm ready to hope
It's a shot in the dark aimed right at my throat

Shake it out, Florence + the Machines

"Tell me a story."

Loki perked at the voice that broke softly through the chilled night air. He'd thought she had been asleep with the rest of them, curled up in his brother's arms by the campfire. It had been her idea for them to get away from the palace for a night or two. She could see the rolling landscapes and the beautiful stretches of land each time they visited, but she'd never seen them up close with any time to appreciate. So here they were, camped out beneath the starry, clear sky around a fire and the younger prince of Asgard found it impossible to sleep with the snoring battle that Thor and Volstagg seemed to be waging. He really was not a fan of camping.

"What sort of story?" he asked quietly, not wishing to wake any of the others.

"One about you and Thor," Jane answered, casting an affectionate glance in the thunder god's direction. "From when you were children."

A sly smile stretched across the trickster's face. "I've told you stories," he answered, shifting in his place. One glance told him that she was expecting something at least and the smile broadened. "Let's see... Something I haven't told you..."

"That'd be preferable. Anyway, you owe me."

"How so?"

"I managed to avoid Darcy tagging along. If she'd had half a notion that I was coming to Asgard, she would have been along for every second of this trip."

Loki grimaced. "I owe you," he agreed. It was not as if he disliked Jane's assistant, particularly, but she tended to get louder as time went on. Much louder and far more often. Sometimes he thought she might never stop.

Jane laughed at him quietly and padded her way across the space between them, taking a seat next to him in an expectant manner.

The dark haired prince sighed. "Let's see... There was the one about the dragon."

"I've heard that one, though I'm not sure I believe it all."

"I assure you that I had no need to exaggerate on that one. She was quite fierce. How about the one about the pond and the ice..."

"Heard that one too. Several times. I'm starting to think that one is your favourite."

The smile returned as Loki thought about it. "It is one I'm fond of," he admitted. "Thor is not."

"Couldn't imagine why."

"Let's see... I've told you about the one where we went hunting for stags and found a bilgesnipe instead and about the encounter with the Dark Elves?"

"Both, yes," Jane said and glanced back at their sleeping friends. Her dark eyes turned back to the trickster, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable under her gaze. "Okay, so Erik has this book with myths-"

"I've warned you about those. They're often misconstrued and mixed up."

"Did you really shave Sif's hair off?"

The god of mischief went entirely silent, green eyes flickering to the sleeping goddess of war a few feet away. She looked so deceptively peaceful in slumber. "Perhaps shave is not the right word..." he murmured reluctantly.

Jane grinned devilishly. "But there's something to it."

Loki's voice was entirely hushed and the mortal woman leaned in closer in anticipation. "We don't often speak of it, mostly as I prefer to keep my head resting firmly on my neck and my neck attached to my shoulders. Though you wished for a story revolving around Thor and I."

"I'm sure he got involved."

"Very well. Sif and I had been back and forth in a bit that may or may not have started with a bet that she would not kiss me - one that I won, I'd like to point out - and that followed in some rather nasty marks left and ended with an enchanted knife that trimmed her blonde locks from her head. I grew them back."

"Wait... She was blonde?" Jane demanded, having a hard time conjuring the image in her mind.

"When Loki says he grew them back he sounds like it was done out of his own good will."

Both Jane and the trickster in question turned, eyes wide in the dimming firelight and staring at the now standing goddess of war. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring sharply at Loki who offered her the most innocent of smiles.

"Good will or not, you received your full head of hair back. The colour matters little."

Jane tried not to laugh too loudly. "Is it true you went to the dwarves for the hair?"

"Is that what your legends say?" the god of mischief asked, still not entirely sure he should pull his attention away from Sif who had not settled herself back down. There were reasons that they did not speak of this particular story within her earshot, as it usually ended with Sif reminding him that she was still a better warrior and he did not like to admit or be shown that a woman could knock him fully and painfully into the ground. "No, I regrew it with a spell."

"So the dwarves never sowed your lips shut?" she asked with some pause, as if it were a question she'd wanted to ask for some time, but hadn't wanted to bring up a sour topic. She immediately regretted doing so now as his thin lips turned downward.

"That was another time and another adventure. One that involved Thor losing Mjolnir in a particularly drunken bet and begging his little brother to retrieve it."

"I did no such thing," Thor's drowsy voice sounded from his place. He turned, blue eyes watching the others that had already woken in the night or had not slept at all.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Yes you did to both, though one can't expect you to remember it after all the ale and mead that you consumed on that particular evening." A sly grin pulled at the edges of his lips and he turned his attention back to Jane and spoke with his hands dancing. "He was quite drunk, my lady. Stammering about, demanding this and that. It was a true scene."

"Enough, Loki. You exaggerate."

"I do not," his younger brother huffed, but otherwise ignored him, having found a story that Jane had not heard and spoke of Thor's routier days. He avoided those stories, for the most part, as a favour to his dear brother, but the hour was late and he was irritable at having been kept up after being dragged on the trip at all. Someday Thor would learn it was simply best to let him be when he did not want to attend an outing. "We found these dwarves in a dark little tavern just on the edge of the city. It was just Thor and I and I had stepped off to speak to the barmaid about payment, as Thor had had more than enough already."

Jane sniggered good naturedly and received a somewhat pouty glare in response. The others had begun to stir and Sif had taken a seat to listen to a story that she had surely known pieces of at one time or another.

Loki ignored the look of pure irritation that he received from his elder brother. "When I'd returned Thor had begun some sort of betting game with the dwarves. I did try to warn him that it was best he bow out while ahead-"

"By warn him, do you mean that you encouraged him to keep going?" Sif deadpanned with a knowing look.

The second prince of Asgard looked highly offended. "I most certainly did not. I explained that I-"

"We all know that the words you use and the actions you expect them to bring about do not always match," the goddess of war grumbled, receiving an enthusiastic nod from Thor.

"Shall I finish the story or not?"

"By all means, continue on."

Loki cleared his throat and turned his sharp green eyes back to Jane who was doing her best not to laugh at the exchange or at the increasingly grumpy look that Thor was wearing. "As I was saying, I did my best to control the damage before it was done, but Thor would have none of it and placed a rather hefty bet on the table."

"On your advisement," the god of thunder rumbled.

Loki shot him a look. "Even if you listened to my advisements - he doesn't, by the way, even since he named me his lead advisor - I never told you to hand over your most prized possession ."

"No, but if I remember correctly - and I do, no matter how much I'd had to drink - your advice to me, dear brother, was to place a bet so high that they wouldn't dare counter it, that way I could leave with both my dignity and bet intact."

The god of mischief looked a bit irked at this, though if it was because he'd been called out on something or his story was continuously interrupted, no one could say for sure. "I never said to produce Mjolnir, did I?"

"It reasons that would have been the intent."

Jane watched as the younger prince tensed and she realized that something was brewing between them.

"What are you saying brother, that I set you up for all of that?"

"It wouldn't have been the first time."

"Yes, because my intent was to have you convince me that a trip into their fortress was a good idea and it landed both of us injured and my lips sewn shut!"

Sif was at Jane's shoulder and she pulled her back as the brothers continued to growl back and forth at each other. The mortal shot her a questioning look. She had seen them bicker more than once before, but she'd never seen it grow so heated so quickly, and over something as silly as a story that was most likely centuries old. "What is going on?" she demanded in a whisper.

"They do this from time to time," Sif acknowledged. "Not nearly as much as they used to, but it was bound to build at some point. Do you have siblings?"

"No."

The goddess of war offered her a smile. "Then take it from someone who has watched those two brothers more years than not: they bicker, they fight, sometimes it comes to blows, sometimes they won't speak for days after, but they'll be alright in the end, once they've both cooled down."

Jane turned dark eyes to where the growls at turned to shouts and Thor was directly in his younger brother's face, though Loki hardly looked intimidated. Instead he was pushing back, words sharp as knives.

"They've been putting this off for too long," Sif muttered.

"Perhaps a few more steps back?" Fandral mumbled from his seat, rising to move out of the way if need be.

At the first shove Jane rolled her eyes and stepped towards them. "Thor, it was just a story. He didn't mean anything by it."

He turned on her, blue eyes alight with anger. "And what do you know of Loki's meanings or Loki's words?"

She felt herself tense at his tone, but straightened her shoulders when she felt the urge to cringe back. "Fine," was all she said and turned on heel, stalking away into the woods.

Thor blinked, perhaps expecting something more and then it seemed to occur to him that Jane, though she might have biting words for anyone else that crossed her, had never directed them at him. He felt the anger leave him and his shoulders sagged in a deflating motion. He started after her, all the apologies he could think of on the tip of his tongue, but his wrist was caught by a smaller hand.

"Brother," Loki said, his tone much softer than before.

"I must apologize to her. She should not be in these woods alone."

"I agree, but she will not hear it from you now. No matter the honesty you mean to offer her, she is not accustomed to being spoken to as you spoke to her just then. This may need a..." He paused, looking as if he were genuinely searching for the right phrase. "It may need a gentler approach than you might give."

"So you'll lie to her?"

"I will not," Loki promised. "I'll bring her back as soon as she's settled and you may offer any apology to her that you see fit."

Thor studied him for a moment and then let out a long breath through his nose, turning as he waved his brother off. "Go then."

Loki stood still for a moment, almost as if he were expecting something. Only an apology for the mortal then, he decided, and vanished from their sight.

"This could have gone better," Volstagg said sleepily from his bedroll.

"Sif?" Thor called and she was already pulling her boots on.

"I'll go after them both." She stood and turned to look at the crowned prince directly. "I don't normally get involved between yours and Loki's tiffs, but... Once you've made your apologies to Jane, perhaps you should both see to apologizing to each other or this whole bit that you two nearly clashed into will only get more tense."

Thor did not have time to respond as she started after Jane and Loki in the woods, leaving the Warriors Three and the thunderer at the camp site.


TBC