AN: This…took forever. Lol I had it written forever ago, but just now got the time to type it up. Anyway, many thanks to my readers~! Love you all!

xxxxx

"Oh, gods. I'm sorry. I didn't—I'm so sorry."

Loki was frozen as Aaron babbled and vanished. He stared at his hand, the skin almost burning where Aaron had kissed him. He barely registered the muffled sounds coming from the bedroom as his mind reeled from what he had just experienced. He tried to make sense of it.

Aaron had no idea who he truly was.

Aaron was in pain.

Thor was in pain.

Thor didn't want to remember.

And he was using Aaron to do it.

Loki didn't know how long he sat there, mind racing. Eventually, he realized Aaron had gone quiet. Loki assumed he had fallen asleep. He hesitated a moment before quietly going to the blonde's room. He tried the knob and upon finding it locked, he simply sent a jolt of magic through. He smiled slightly as the lock clicked and he gently pushed the door open. The room was a mess. Loki wasn't surprised. From the dim light coming through the window, Loki could see Aaron on the bed. He was lying on his side, legs drawn up, a pillow held loosely to his chest. Loki carefully made his way to the bed and sat gently so as not to wake him.

"My brother," Loki whispered, reaching out to gently brush Aaron's bangs to the side. "Why did you leave?"

"Lo…ki…"

Loki froze. That didn't sound like the way Aaron talked. It matched Thor's speech patterns.

"…Thor?"

The blonde didn't respond. Loki let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He placed a feather light kiss on Aaron's head before leaving to let the man rest.

xXx

Belle had introduced him to coffee and was currently babbling about work.

"You do a lot," Loki commented when she took a moment to refill her lungs.

"Yeah. Kinda have to when I'm the only vet in town. I did have an assistant, but he's moved on to bigger and better things. Sometimes I wish I had, too. Just taken Aaron and got out of here. But whatcha gonna do, y'know?"

Loki gave her a one-shoulder shrug as he took another sip of the slightly sweetened bitter drink. "He said you and your mothers just found him one day?"

"Yeah," Belle said with a nod, taking a bite out of her apple. "Weirdest thing, too. Crazy ass storm. Thunder, lighting, everything. The power went out so they let us go home early from school. So here I am, drenched. I walk in the door and they got this blond guy. Long haired and a beard. Loki, a freakin' beard. Scared the shit out of me. Odd clothes, too. I mean, it was just a long-sleeved shirt, pants, and boots, but they just…didn't seem to fit. Here. Anyway, the said he was there at the door, bangin' on it. And…" Bell sighed for a moment. "He looked so sad, Loki. SO very, very sad. Like…I dunno. Like maybe he was in love with someone he couldn't have. Heartache. That's what he had. Still has it, but he hides it. Anyway, Aaron didn't talk for months. And when he did, finally, it was this weird combo of how he talks now and this other way. Kinda like you, actually. He'll slip back into that other way when he's drunk off his ass or hopped up on pain meds. This one time, he had to have surgery 'cause Ash snapped his collar bone—" Belle froze. Loki raised a brow when she tilted her head. "How long ago did your brother leave?"

Loki hesitated before answering. Exact time moved the same but because Asgardians had such a longer life span than those of Midgard, relative time was much different. "I think it's been…seventeen years?"

Belle counted on her fingers for a moment. "That's how long Aaron's been here. Dude! What if Aaron's your brother?"

"Either Aaron is Thor, or he looks exactly like him."

"Seriously? Whoa. That would explain your face last night. So we gotta get Aaron to remember. Easy peasy."

Loki was unable to respond because Aaron chose that moment to shuffle into the kitchen. Loki watched him go to the cabinet and heard him rustling around for a moment. He closed to door, a small silvery package in his hand. He was ignoring the pair, and it allowed Loki to examine the blonde's recovery. Of course, he was still covered in bruises, but it looked like he was already healing. The colors had already lightened, showing his body had begun removing the pooled blood to fix the damaged vessels. He sat heavily in the chair next to Belle's and, looking still half asleep, started eating his breakfast.

"Sleep good?" Belle asked after a moment.

She was answered with a grunt.

"Ah, yes. Male speak. It's a wonder my lady brain can understand it."

Snort.

"My, my. Such crass language, brother!"

"Women. Nag, nag, nag."

Belle grinned and ruffled Aaron's already messy hair. Aaron half glared at her.

"We need more Pop Tarts."

"We just got you three boxes on Saturday."

"I've only got half a box left. Please, Belle? I neeeeeed Pop Tarts."

"You're addicted, did you know that?"

"Strawberry, please."

Belle stared at him. Aaron stared at her, taking another bite of the pink Pop Tart.

"Fine. I need to pick up some things away. Did you need anything, Loki?"

Loki shook his head and Belle nodded. "All right. Give me a call if either of you think of something." Aaron responds with a small salute, earning an eye roll from his sister before she got up and put her stuff in the sink and walked away.

And once again, Belle left them with an awkward silence.

"Are you feeling better?" Loki asked after a moment.

Aaron grunted, taking a bite of his banana. "Still sore as a mother, but yeah. What about you? You okay?"

Loki nodded, running his fingers over the handle of the mug.

"Give me a couple more days and then we'll go riding," Aaron said quite suddenly. Upon Loki's questioning look, the blonde elaborated. "Belle and I have horses. And I haven't been spending anytime with Donner lately, so in a few days when I'm more healed, you and me, we're gonna go see him."

"Ah," Loki finally replied after processing the information. That really was out of nowhere. "I'd love to."

"Good," Aaron said, finishing his breakfast. "Now, as much as I love what you're wearing, you need something a little more…I don't wanna say normal, but—"

"More appropriate for this small town of yours."

"Yes. So you're okay with that? Sweet. Anyway, you're too tall for any of Belle's clothes so for now, we'll have to make something of mine work."

Loki just nodded and allowed Aaron to take his hand, leading him down the hall to his room. The night before, Loki hadn't been able to make out any details because it had been dark. All he knew was it was a mess. And now he knew what constituted that mess. Loki raised a brow. There were clothes scattered across the floor, slender not-exactly-books and boxes with mostly naked males on the covers, lying on every available surface in the room. As Aaron let go of his hand to head to the closet, Loki picked up one of the booklets and laid on his side on the bed, head propped up on his hand as he flipped through the pages.

"Interesting reading material," Loki said, stopping on the page in the middle. Loki had to admit, the male was attractive. Slender with pale skin, black hair, green eyes, and they had managed to capture a mischievous look.

"Hey," Aaron said and Loki looked up at him to find those blue eyes playfully glaring at him. "A man's got needs."

Loki smirked, making it obvious to look around the room. "And I see your needs are great. So, how many have shared your bed?"

"Lots," was the easy reply as Aaron turned back to look through his clothes for something suitable.

"You're lying," Loki said, smirk turning into a grin.

"…a few."

"Still lying, dear Aaron."

"All right, fine. As far as I know, I'm a virgin. But I could have been a whore before."

Loki just barely managed to hold back his laugh. "If you were anything like my brother, then yes; you were quite popular with the ladies."

Aaron scrunched his face up. "Ladies? Yeesh. And you? Are you popular?"

Loki was quiet as he watched Aaron finally pull out a shirt and a pair of loose pants. "Very few." And even they meant little to him. A lot of mead had been involved.

"Here," Aaron said, tossing him the clothes. "The sweats have a drawstring so you can tighten the waist. I need a shower, so…see you in a little bit."

Loki nodded, gaze following Aaron's retreating figure. Loki sighed, rolling over to his back. He ran a hand through his hair. Thor hadn't taken anyone since he'd been here? That was strange. Very strange, indeed. And if the contents of this room were any indication, he had no interest in women. Loki thought back over the years he had spent with his brother. As far as Loki could tell, Thor had never shown any interest in those of the same sex. Although the number of women he had slept with was suspicious. Perhaps he was hiding something. Loki pulled the booklet back into view, flipping through it again. That male was there a few times. Loki's brows furrowed as he searched the others. The ravenette was in almost everything.

And it was until Loki caught his reflection that he realized they looked similar.

xxxxx

AN: Okay! I don't have anything to say other than I've got the next chapter written. Just need to type it up. Hopefully, that'll be done today.