The day was dark. So was the whole mood in Asgard. They were at war; again. Nothing was going the right way. Earth penetrated, Asgard declared war, one of the strongest mages brought down by an unknown creature, claiming to be the worst enemy. Loki was hospitalized; he was recovering, but not very fast. It took time for the bones to grow back together. Thor spent his every day at his brother's bedside, Sif coming in to check on both of them. The mage was out for a week, and in those seven days Earth only got worse. But Thor's mind was too occupied with everything happening on Asgard, which lead Odin to forbid him going away, at least not while he's in this state. Besides, he still needed Loki to come and use his powers as well.

The eighth day came and Loki was still not awake. Thor couldn't do anything now; he had no backup force that Loki once provided him, and the guilt ate him up from inside.. But yet, if he went down there, he would probably get himself killed. Sif was a big help for him; she came to the hospital each day, trying to put slight smiles on the golden prince's face. She succeeded most times. And he was most grateful to her for that. Loki's pale face was still lifeless. Thor was sitting on a chair in the medic's ward, staring at the floor, waiting for any sign of life from his brother.

''My lord?'' – someone spoke. Thor twitched and rose his head to see who was talking.

''The Allfather asked for you, my lord.'' – his eyes landed on the quite skinny guard. He must be new, Thor thought.

''What for?'' – he asked immediately, his voice rough and slightly trembling, since he hasn't spoken much in days.

''I am sorry, sir, I don't know. His majesty said it was urgent. That's all I know.'' – the young guard replied while shrugging his shoulders. Thor nodded in a sign of dismiss, which made the guard bow and walk away, leaving the door opened behind him. The heir got up, picked up his faithful Mjolnir that has been there by his side the whole time, and cast his last look on his sleeping brother.

''Please, wake up...'' – Thor wasn't even sure if that was a thought or if he actually said it, but he didn't care. He gripped his hammer and continued marching out in the same direction as the guard.

It seemed as an eternity for Thor to climb up to Odin's chambers. The halls were empty, not a soul on the outside of the castle, no where, no one. Thor couldn't blame the Asgardian people; hearing your realm got into a war with an unknown enemy that previously destroyed one of your greatest mages isn't a nice thing. He approached the gates of Odin's chambers with wrath and anxiety; not on Odin, but on himself for not doing anything. The guards noticed his sped up paste, so they immediately opened the gates without further notice.

Thor flew inside, only looking for Odin.

''Father!'' – he called, walking deeper into the chambers.

''Son, you came. Good.'' – an old, strong voice echoed through the room, confusing Thor from where the sound came. He turned around and found Odin standing next to an ancient wood table, old books scattered over it.

''What is it you wanted to speak to me about?'' – he asked coldly, with no emotion. He was already tired of bad news, another one would just be the drop that tops the glass.

''War is here, son. I need you to understand something.'' – Odin spoke, walking towards his first and only born. ''You cannot seek out vengeance now. It's simply not an option right now. You'd only make everything worse.''

Thor was annoyed but not angry at Odin for saying that, everyone knew Thor was the rash and hasty one.

''I won't.'' – it was all Thor said. Odin balked slightly and raised an eyebrow.

''Can I take you seriously?''

''I'm not going to risk all of Asgard's life just for my egoistic purposes, if that's what you're referring to.''

''You did it once before.''

Thor's face was emotionless, but he just cast a look over to Odin.

''Well I won't do it again.'' – he replied with arrogance, and as he saw silence took place between them, he decided to leave.

''Would that be all?'' – the impatient prince asked. Odin nodded his head, and he wasn't even looking at Thor now, he was spinning the pages of an old book. Thor spinned the Mjolnir in his fist, walking out of the king's chambers filled with tension. He headed back to the medical unit; until his brother recovers, he won't make any moves. Loki is very powerful, and not using him in this would just be insane. He entered the medic ward; all of the medics were surrounding Loki's bed.

''What...'' – Thor was confused. Had something happened while he was gone? He ran over quickly, clutching the Mjolnir on his belt, grabbing the medics' shoulders to move them away, just so he could see what happened.

''Thor.'' – the familiar ice cold voice came out of the pale body laying on the bed; Loki was awake. Thor's face stretched into a wide smile, coming closer to the bed.

''Oh stop staring, yes, I'm awake, so what?'' – Loki spoke again, arrogant as usual, but this time his arrogance was followed with a smile. Thor was still smiling, although he knew they had to cut to the chase immediately.

''Are you able to walk?'' – the golden prince asked, looking at the medics. unfortunately they all shook their heads. Apparently, Loki was no where near walking. His legs were broken that day in a way that normal people wouldn't heal. Loki grinned. The medics pulled away and eventually all left one by one. Thor didn't realise why, but they probably didn't feel comfortable with Loki in the same room.

''Oh please, I can walk...'' – he said. Thor thought he was joking again, but no; this time, Loki pulled the bed sheets off of him and landed his feet on the ground, feeling confident about it all. Thor was observing his face; even though he was still sitting, Loki showed no signs of pain so far. That was good!

But then the mage took it over the edge. He tried standing up, and it felt like a sword sprung right through his both knees, which made the prince stumble and lose balance, immediately losing strength in his legs.

''Whoa! You can walk, huh?'' – Thor teased when he caught the pale mage for his waist. Loki grabbed Thor's shoulder with his left hand, but Thor still held him, he was still standing. And that hurt.

''Could you please just let me fall down? Standing on these is worse than it would be to cut them off!'' – Loki yelled in pain, sweat dropping from his brow. Thor twitched and quickly put Loki back on the bed. The younger prince sighed out in relief.

''Did you tell the Allfather about the Dark Elves?'' – Loki shot out, still frowning from the pain. Thor's eyes widened.

''You remember that? I thought you were speaking nonsense in the heap of the moment, while you were losing consciousness!'' – Thor replied. He really thought that Loki wasn't himself and that he was talking rubbish. Loki basically killed Thor with his eyes.

''What? You moron! We know who our enemies are and you didn't even bother to do anything?'' – the young prince shouted, holding his stomach as it also hurt.

''Hey, you were out! What else was I supposed to think? 'Sure Loki's telling the truth, it is, after all, the moment where he loses his consciousness!' Come on, brother, you would've acted the same!'' – the golden prince was trying so hard to find a way to justify himself, but it was obviously not going well.

''Of course not! Seems I was right about you, you are the fool I always took you for, maybe even bigger!'' – Loki yelled again, grabbing his upper robe, putting it on, just so that he pulls his sleeves up. He stretched his hands out front, pointing it towards his legs.

''Loki, what are you doing?'' – Thor was worried Loki might use magic to cure his legs; it sounds good, but the spells drains out energy out of the caster. And since Loki just woke up,...

''Guess. You've got a brilliant mind, I'm sure you can work it out.'' – of course, he was sarcastic. Thor didn't laugh this time; he grabbed Loki's hands, looking straight into his eyes.

''Don't do that, I need your strength, you need to be able to protect Asgard.'' – Thor said, not moving his eyes away from Loki's. The young mage hesitated, but then finally gave up. He relaxed his hands, so Thor let them go.

''Fine. But I can't stay here, it's disgusting.'' – Loki spoke, turning his head around slowly, observing the room with disgust on his face.

''No. You're staying here, I'm going to tell Father about the Dark Elves.'' – Thor stated, tapping Loki's shoulder, turning on his heel and leaving. Loki was annoyed, but somehow glad that he didn't have to walk, his legs were really killing him. Thor went out, but crossed paths with Sif, who was just getting in the medic room. Thor told her Loki is awake, and she continued walking to the ward, carrying food that was intended for Thor.

''Well, you're awake!'' – she said happily, closing the gates of the room, walking towards the bed Loki was on. The prince, of course, rolled his eyes.

''Stop stating the obvious. Besides, what are you all so surprised about? I wasn't going to die out of those minor injuries.'' – Loki was full of himself. Sif raised an eyebrow and placed the food down on a table next to Loki's bed.

''Minor? You think broken legs, broken ribs, cracked head, broken arms, are all minor injuries?'' – she laughed. ''I wonder what you consider as bad injuries.''

''Why are you here?'' – the prince asked, annoyed already, but sadly for him he couldn't leave.

''I was here almost every day!'' – Sif replied, smiling. Loki widened his eyes, frowning. He was really confused. Sif noticed his baffled look, so she raised her eyebrow once again.

''Not because of you, of course.'' – she said again. Loki's face softened. He was stretching his hands towards the food on the counter.

''Then why?''

''Well, your brother! He was here every day, and he wouldn't eat if I wasn't bringing him food. Plus, he needed company.'' – Sif spoke. She held a slight smile on her face the whole time. Loki froze, his pupils extremely narrowing. Sif noticed his reaction and giggled.

''What?'' – his voice was deep and rough, somewhat embarrassed. Sif sat down on Loki's bed, knowing he wouldn't say anything against it, since his thoughts were too busy with the fact that Thor spent his every day here, with him.

''You know, you should be glad! He didn't leave you to rot here alone. You're still his brother after all.'' – the warrior knew she was saying too much. Loki's fists clutched, his head fiercely turning towards Sif.

''Why does everyone keep saying that?'' – he squeezed through his teeth.

''Because it's the truth.''

''STOP SAYING THAT!''

Sif balked a little, looking at Loki's face filled with something unknown. His breath was wearing thin, but that didn't stop him from putting his feet back on the ground, getting ready to get up again.

''Uh, Loki, you shouldn't...''

''Shut up.'' – he was rude, but Sif was use to it. She got up before Loki did, ready to catch him if he falls. Loki took a deep breath and just did it; he pushed off of the bed and moaned in pain. But no, he kept up, he was still standing.

''Is it okay?'' – Sif asked, looking at his trembling legs.

''Y-yes...'' – the pain was killing him. Of course, his pride wouldn't let him admit that he's not okay. Sif backed away as he took his first step; each time his foot touched the floor he twitched, swallowing his screams.

''Loki, this isn't smart...'' – Sif kept trying to talk him out of it, but he ignored her. After he took five steps, somehow he got familiar with the pain and it was easier to ignore it. But it still hurt like hell.

He was heading to Odin's chambers, to see what the war plan was. He couldn't miss this, he had to take his revenge. Sif was walking slowly behind him, careful that the prince doesn't fall down. He was merely annoyed by her presence, he didn't need someone to watch over him. His steps were weak, slow and unreliable. His thoughts were trying to fight the pain, he was the mighty Asgardian mage, if he couldn't overcome this pain, he was worth nothing. After a while, he still heard Sif's steps behind him.

''Why are you following me, go away.'' – he demanded. She grinned.

''Someone has to take care of the rebel prince.'' – Sif said, watching Loki frown even more.

''On the other hand, you're right, I could go away, your brother always looks out for you, you don't need me.'' – she said cheerfully again. This was the drop that filled the glass. He put a lot of effort into suddenly stopping, turning on his heel and grabbing Sif by her neck. His eyes were filled with anger, as if he was going to kill her with his look.

''I warned you about this.'' – he spat out, looking directly at her eyes. She had fear in her eyes, that's no lie. But she was a warrior, and she was certainly well trained for these situations. Her hands flew up in the air, one grabbing Loki's hand, and the other slightly punching him in his stomach. He stumbled backwards and, since his legs were weak, he fell down. Sif straightened up, fixing her armor to fit straight. Loki's head felt dizzy; he was obviously still not even close to being healed. Right when he cast another look at the woman warrior, he noticed she was looking somewhere behind him.

''Thor! Thank heavens, I was already thinking of putting him to sleep again!'' – Sif said happily, walking past Loki, ignoring him completely.

''What the... What happened here?'' – Thor was standing on the archway leading to Odin's chambers. His eyes were fixed on his laying brother, who held his head, his eyes tightly closed.

''Loki?'' – the golden prince had his voice filled with worry. He put Mjolnir down, running towards his brother, helping him to sit up straight.

''I'm fine, go away... Ugh, I'm... I'm fine, get away..'' – the young prince was still too proud. His hands were still on his head, unable to move his legs.

''He keeps saying that. See, Loki, that attitude gets you into this position.'' – Sif was also getting proud. Her sympathy for Loki was slowly descending. Thor cast her a look of scolding, signaling her to behave herself. One of his hands was on Loki's back, and the other one on his shoulder.

''Brother, I told you to stay where you were, I already told Father myself.'' – Thor smiled, patting Loki's back.

''Yeah, I was... I was going to stay... Until this one came and got on my nerves... What, uh... What did Odin say?'' – the mage was quite dazed, the whole world was spinning before his eyes.

''We're attacking in a week. Father had a quarrel with these elves, that's why they're back. Luckily, he knows them and knows where to find them.'' – Thor voice was soothing, and Loki couldn't help but think how relaxing it was to hear his voice now.

''Oh, one more thing. Another of those elves was found. He looked like you.''

Loki's eyes widened, but it was of no use; he couldn't see a finger in front of his nose of how blurried his sight was.

''What? Like me?''

''Yes. They've been making several elves to look like you, to use you and use the fact that you were once... Well, you know...'' – Thor was obviously too uncomfortable with bringing that up again.

''A lying, betraying scum. Say it, I know you mean it.'' – Loki was still besotted but nothing could erase those memories out of his head. Sif grinned next to them both.

''If anyone thought you were a lying, betraying scum, it was us, the Warriors Three and, well, the whole Asgard. But be sure he didn't—'' – Sif started bringing out the truth, but Thor raised his hand to stop her.

''Sif, that's enough.'' – slowly and silently Thor spoke again, descending his hand on his brother's back. ''Loki, you can't walk back. Sif and me are going to bring you back.''

''We are?'' – Sif spoke, raising an eyebrow. Thor shot her with his look, which just made her grin.

''N-no, what for, I can walk!'' – the young mage's voice was cracking, his eyes blurry like never before. But no, he was okay. He started getting up, not aware that he used Thor's hands as his standfasts. Sweat was flowing down his face in suffer, but he barely felt anything anymore, everything in him ached now, so the pain balanced and felt like it was a part of his everyday life.

''Loki, stop being so stubborn...'' – Thor growled, grabbing his brother's waist and wrapping one of Loki's hands around his neck. Sif rolled her eyes and ran over to them to help them both. They carried him all the way to the medic ward again, just to lay him down in the same bed as before. As they put him down to lay, he was already unconscious.


Three days passed. Loki's chambers weren't empty anymore; he was back. Back to his mage corner, back to his spell learning and training. True, he had guards surrounding the place everywhere, but at least he was back. Loki stood outside on his balcony, his body in a better shape than three days ago. His legs still ached, but he was a demigod, he was healing quickly. His thoughts, though, wouldn't let him rest. War wasn't bothering him at all; he was use to fighting, killing and not eating for quite a while. Besides, the war was destined to happen in four days and three nights, he had plenty of time to heal completely. It was the things Sif said while he was in the medic ward. Thor spent every day next to Loki's bed. He didn't move at all. Why? Why would someone who witnessed such horrid betrayal from Loki still stay at his side, to make sure nothing bad happens to him? Who in their right mind would do that?

Thor.

Huh.

It was interesting. Thor got Loki thinking like never before. Sif's words really carved up in the mage's brain. She also said everyone thought he was a lying, betraying scum. But then, she wanted to say something, and Thor interrupted her. But Loki's mind didn't stop here; he also found it frustrating that the sound of Thor's voice in that certain moment felt so refreshing, so calming and relaxing, like it was just the thing Loki needed. Why was he thinking all this? Why would he even care?

Truth is, he cared. Quite a lot too.

''Brother?''

Loki snapped out of his thoughts, and quickly turned around to face the one person he was thinking about a moment ago.

''How many times do I have to tell you, stop calling me—''

''Your brother, I know. My apologies, I keep forgetting. It kind of grew into... Into a habit.'' – Thor's face went into a slight smile; he was standing on the gates of Loki's balcony. The mage frowned after Thor's words, but not long after he smiled and turned back to face the beautiful view of Asgard.

''Mind if I join you?'' – Thor gently asked, knowing he will get a refusing answer.

''Well, since you're already here...'' – Loki replied calmly, smiling to himself. The older prince was quite surprised by the reply, but gladly got up the few stairs and leaned against the balcony fence. The view was magnificent; Asgard was at it's bloom. A beautiful sunset stood in front of their eyes, citizens calmly walking through the streets, talking and laughing all together.

''Too bad it's all going to be gone in five days.'' – Loki suddenly spoke, twitching Thor out of his trance. He looked at the mage; the thought of it just made his face frown.

''Why did it come to this? Can't there just be peace?'' – the older prince said, casting his looks to the city again. Loki smiled.

''Because there will always be creatures like me, seeking vengeance and punishment for all those who ever got in their way.'' – the mage said it with such ease, and what he said was very true; even if Asgard found peace, it wouldn't last long. Thor's head turned to Loki again.

''How do you talk so easily about it? You look as if you forgot of all of it.''

Loki's head descended a bit, his face frowning in remembrance.

''I didn't forget. And I will never be able to forget. I would give anything to undo it all. The time I spent in that glass cell made me come to sense. That's why I tend not to make any mistakes now, I can't allow myself to do that.'' - Loki's voice was silent and deep. Thor couldn't do other but just nod in understanding.

''Thor... Sif said something that got me confused.'' – the mage spoke again.

''What is it?''

''Why did you spend each day in the medic ward while I was out?''

Thor smiled.

''Truth?''

''Yes.''

''Fine. While you were out, I couldn't help but think of the chances of you dying. My mind was filled with all kind of thoughts, and the Allfather forbade me to go anywhere in that condition, since I wasn't clear enough with my head for battle. And since I had nothing better to do, I stayed in the medic ward, waiting for you to wake up! The medics weren't so thrilled to be there all the time, you know. So I guess I helped them too.'' – Thor said. He said everything through a smile, while Loki was just observing him, not believing what he just heard.

''And, uh, the part about everyone thinking I'm a scum?'' – the mage finally spoke, still not quite focused.

''What about it?''

''Well, Sif said something about you and you interrupted her.''

''Oh, that! Apparently, I was the only one to keep hope in you. Everyone thought of killing you. But you're lucky you had me on your side! You would've been dead if there wasn't for me!'' – Thor laughed, teasing his younger brother. Loki smiled, slightly feeling both relieved and guilty. He was too harsh with Thor all this time when in fact the golden prince is the reason he's still alive. Loki felt his soft side coming to the light, but he didn't care. He swallowed his pride and gathered courage.

''Thank you.''

Thor twitched and turned his head towards the mage.

''What?''

''I said thank you.'' – Loki repeated, turning his head to Thor, still smiling. The older prince did non other but smile from ear to ear, happy to hear his brother getting back to normal. In fact, they were both happy to be hearing it. They knew it wouldn't last long, but for now,

everything looked just fine.