Disclaimer: I was bored. I don't own anything, bitch!

LOKI

In his dreams he was free. Loki looked down at his arms for the scars that had put him into the deep sleep. They were still there, angry, red and bleeding. He saw that as the blood leaked out of the wound and onto his pale skin it would disappear before it hit the ground. That was how he knew he was still sleeping. His feet were bare and he dug his toes into the grass. Everything was still and he had been staring at a tree for as long as he could remember. In fact, that seemed to be the only thing he could remember – the tree. It was the biggest tree he had ever seen. The leaves were a deep green that reminded him of something that he could not place. The trunk was thick and seemed to be made up of many smaller trunks and roots. He looked down at his feet and willed them to move. That was when he realized that he was stuck. He pulled at his legs but they did not move. He screamed but no sound came out of his mouth. He brought his hands up to his lips and realized in horror that his lips were gone. He shut his eyes and forced himself to take several deep breaths. He felt his heart beating rapidly in his chest. When he opened his eyes, his brother stood before him. This was not the Thor of today; rather it was a younger Thor. He had a silly grin slapped onto his face and his hair was tousled. His clothes were dirty and he looked as though he had been running through the fields for days without a bath.

"What are you doing Lo? Come on let's climb the tree!" he said. He ran away from Loki towards the large tree.

Loki tentatively took a step and realized that he could move. He quickly put his hands on his face and felt his lips. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Come on you bilgesnipe! What are you waiting for?" Thor shouted.

Loki rolled his eyes and followed Thor toward the tree. He glanced down at his arms and noticed that his wounds were still there, still bleeding. He ignored them and ran toward the tree.

"Thor? Where are you?" he called.

"Up here!"

Loki looked up and saw that Thor had already started climbing the tree. "Be careful!" Loki shouted.

The young Thor laughed. "I cannot die in a dream, Lo, you should know that!" he said. Thor continued to scramble up the branches until he found a suitable spot in the shade. "You have allowed yourself to grow old, brother. Will you not climb with me?" Thor asked.

Loki eyed the tree and placed one hand on the bark. He began to hoist himself up towards Thor. It had been years since he had climbed a tree. He felt beads of sweat form on his forehead but he ignored them and continued to climb. The wounds on his hands continued to throb and bleed but they did not pain him. He felt a familiar excitement and fire in his limbs and began to climb faster and higher.

"That's it, climb!" Thor said. He sat lazily several branches ahead of Loki. Thor pulled out a skin from a small bag and opened it. He poured out some wine onto the ground and then he took a long drink. When Loki finally reached to where he was, Thor handed him the flask. "You remember this, don't you?" Thor asked.

Loki took a drink and then handed it back to Thor. "Of course I remember this. We spent so much time here, hiding from our teachers," Loki said.

"No one could stop us because we were the sons of Kings," Thor said fondly.

"Why do you look young?" Loki asked.

Thor shrugged. "Everything you see here is already within your mind. I cannot control how I appear," Thor said.

"So am I talking to myself?" Loki asked.

"In a way, yes." Thor smiled and closed his eyes. He looked ridiculously comfortable on the tree, more comfortable than he looked on the ground.

"You always did love to climb trees," Loki said.

"And I always made you climb them with me," Thor said.

"I fell once."

"Just once?"

"There was one time that was especially bad. I remember I had so many cuts and scrapes on my arms and my face. I must have broken some bones too," Loki said.

"Am I at least sorry for what I did?" Thor asked.

Loki shrugged. "That is what you say," he said.

Thor handed him the skin again and Loki accepted it gratefully.

"Why did you cut yourself?" Thor asked.

Loki pondered this for a moment. "I was…what is it the Earthlings say? Bored?"

"Bored? I don't understand."

"I needed something to do."

"Why? Why aren't you ruling Asgard?"

Loki looked away from the young Thor. "Because you rule Asgard. There is no place for me there."

"There is always place for the son of a King."

"Must you always be so naïve? Even in my dreams, Gods."

"Tell me what is on your mind, brother. Tell me about the scars."

Loki looked down at his arms again and saw that the cuts had healed into many ugly scars. He ran his fingers across them and shuddered.

"You are disgusted with me now. You can hardly bear to look at me and I do not blame you."

Young Thor looked genuinely confused. "What do you mean? What could you have possibly done to turn me from you? You know…how I feel…we are brothers, Loki."

"We are not brothers, Thor. We thought we were. I am not of Asgard. Do you remember that day?" Loki asked.

Thor's cheery expression was suddenly replaced with a serious one. He narrowed his gaze at Loki and nodded.

"Of course I remember," he said. He took a sip of the wine. "The day you turned blue," Thor said.

Loki and young Thor remained silent for a few moments.

"I made you promise to never speak of it."

"And I never did."

"What would you do if you were locked away in a cage?" Loki asked.

"I would smash through the bars with the mighty Mjolnir!" he said.

Loki actually laughed at this and felt something in his chest that he hadn't felt in a long time – warmth.

"You would. You would do that."

"And what would you do, brother?" Thor asked.

Loki looked at him, at the young earnest face free of worry and lines, the bright blue eyes that seemed to be even bluer in this dream, and his blond hair, which was messy as it used to be. He then looked down at the scars on his arms and felt a lump in his throat.

"I would cut my way out," he said quietly.

"You were always the crafty one of the two of us, Lo," Thor said thoughtfully. "I do not believe that I could bring myself to hate you, no matter what."

"You don't know anything. You're just an illusion. A memory of a time long gone," Loki said bitterly.

Young Thor's face was suddenly very sad. "If that is what you believe, brother, then so be it…"

Loki watched as the young Thor began to fade away. "What is happening?" he asked in a panic.

"I am but a memory, Loki. Remember, what you dream here comes true. What you believe here comes true," he said.

Thor began to fade more quickly and Loki reached out for him.

"Thor! No!" he shouted. He grabbed Thor's hand just as he disappeared into thin air. Loki felt the tears he had been holding back spring from his eyes and down his face. Loki allowed himself to cry. He allowed the tears to stream down his face.

"Thor I am SORRY!" he shouted. There was no response. He looked down at his arms and saw that his wounds had reopened.

"Get me OUT OF HERE!" he screamed. He looked up into the tree, up into the sky hoping to hear something from someone but no one came to his aid.

Tears continued to stream down his face and he watched as his wounds continued to bleed.

A/N: Please let me know what you think! Reviews will be greatly appreciated! :D