The trial had been arranged for the morning after, and as soon as Thor awoke that day, he hurried down to the cell in order to possibly speak with his brother one last time, before the sentencing.

Nothing could have surprised him more, when he arrived at the door to the cell to find his brother was gone. In his place, there was a small, miserable child in Loki's clothes, which were far too big for him, the muzzle loose around his neck, face grubby with tears and snot and dirt pulled from who-knows-where.

Most surprising of all was how the little boy looked just like Loki had, as a child.

"Who're you?" The child wondered, his voice shaking.

"I'm Thor." He responded. "Who are you? And how did you get here? What are you doing? Where's my brother?"

The child's eyes grew tragically wide under the onslaught of questions, and he shrunk back from Thor, frightened. "You're not Thor." He protested. "Thor's my big brother. You're a grownup."

"I tell you, I am Thor, son of Odin." Thor rumbled. "Where are your parents?"

"I dunno…" He shivered miserably. "I been calling all night, until I think I fell asleep. My throat's all scratchy."

"Loki put you in here?" Thor guessed.

Solemnly, the child shook his head. "Nu-uh. I'm Loki. I dunno who put me in here."

"You're Loki?" Thor's eyebrows shot up. "But… how?"

A shrug. "I been Loki since I was born, I think."

"Prove it." Thor narrowed his eyes.

"Uh…" The child stared off into empty space for a while. "Um… I like cookies. And Loki likes cookies." He gave a small, highly adorable hopeful smile. "So, I must be Loki!"

"Everyone likes cookies." Thor stated. "Try something else. Something that only he would know."

"A secret?" He grinned, displaying his missing front tooth. "Well… If you really are Thor, then three nights ago was your birthday night. I had a bad dream, and I came into your room for a hug, but you thought I was a Frost Giant come to eat you, so you got scared, and you shoved me over, and I hit my elbow. You didn't want to get in trouble, and you were sorry, so you made me swear to never tell anyone…"

"…Even if they tickled you ten thousand times." Thor finished. As far as he knew, Loki had kept that promise. The two of them were the only ones who knew, and it was one of the very rare times he'd hurt Loki in their childhood. However this had happened, this child was Loki.

And he obviously remembered nothing. It could be a trick, but the innocence in those eyes spelled a different story. He'd forgotten. It was almost as if he'd been given a second chance.

Immediately, he unlocked the cell door, and scooped him up in his arms.

"You really are Thor." Loki murmured happily, wrapping his little arms, dwarfed by the adult-clothes' sleeves, around his neck. "You give the bestest hugs."

"Thank you." Thor smiled. It was almost too good to believe. This Loki had done no wrong, so he wouldn't need to be punished. They could be happy, together, again. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

"That's alright." Loki smiled jubilantly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

Loki furrowed his tiny brow. "How come I'm in jail? And why are you all grown up and have a prickle-chin? And how come I'm wearing these clothes that don't fit? And where are Mother and Father? And why'd you think I wasn't Loki? And why…"

"Woah, too many at a time!" Thor chuckled. "Let's bring you back to your room, and we'll work things out from there."

Solemnly, the little Trickster nodded. "One more question? Can I have a hanky?"

"Of course." Thor smiled. How had he missed how adorable his little brother was, all those years? He hadn't known how he missed the readiness of his eager smile, the childlike joy and innocence, his thirst for knowledge, and yet, the acceptance of everything around him.

"I missed you, Brother." Loki was saying, as he played with a strand of his long blonde hair. "I was so lonely, in there. I thought you'd never come for me, but you did!"

"Of course." Thor smiled. "I'll always come for you."

"I love you, Thor." Loki sighed, and leaned his little head against his breastplate with a sigh of deep content.

The Thunderer, meanwhile, was struggling to hold back tears, for he'd despaired that he'd ever hear those words from his brother's mouth, again. "I love you, too, Brother." He smiled, his throat choking up, as he pushed open the door to the dungeons, striding through the palace as he held his small brother to his chest.

It felt almost like a sin to push open the door to Loki's room. Before, he'd hated it when Thor entered his room, ever since his early teenage years. He hadn't even seen the interior since he was sixteen. The servants had kept it maintained since his fall from the bridge, and, as far as he could tell, there was little change.

However, the little boy in his arms seemed displeased. "This isn't my room…"

"Yes, it is." Thor protested. "It's been your room since you were three years old."

"Well, it's shaped the same…" Loki admitted. "But all the stuff's different. Where are all my toys?"

Thor sighed. This was going to be hard to explain. He was still working out how to explain it in his own mind, and telling his small brother would be nearly impossible. "Here, sit down on the bed. I'll try to find something for you to wear."

Silently, the small boy slipped to the ground, and pattered over to the bed. After a moment's struggle, he clambered up onto the mattress, and sat there, sucking the knuckle of his first finger.

Why Thor had thought any of his brother's clothes from when he was that size would still be around here, somewhere, he wasn't sure, but there was nothing but adult clothes in the closet. Finally, he settled on a short sleeved, fawn-colored tunic. At least the poor child wouldn't have to be constantly pushing up his sleeves, like he was, now.

"I couldn't find any smaller clothes, Brother…" He informed, as he came back into the room. "Will this do, until we can find something?" He held up the tunic hopefully.

"Mhm." Loki nodded. "Can you tell me what's goin' on, now?"

Thor sighed, and seated himself on the edge of the bed. "I suppose. Arms up."

Loki obligingly lifted his arms, and Thor slipped the armored breastplate off, and his shirt quickly followed suit. "I apologize if this is rather nonsensical…" He began. "I don't exactly know how it happened, myself. But… well… This is going to sound crazy."

"You are crazy." Loki pointed out with a mischievous smile as he squirmed into the still-oversized tunic. It seemed more like a nightshirt on his small body, but it would have to do.

"Yeah, I know." Thor chuckled. "Well… how old are you?"

"Six." He replied, holding up the corresponding pudgy fingers. "How old are you?"

Thor cracked a small smile. "I'm twenty-three."

Loki's jaw dropped. "Wow, you're ancient! How come you're not wrinkly?"

"Well, you used to be almost as old." Thor smiled at his little brother's shocked expression. "You were, last night, actually."

"Last night?" Loki frowned. "But…"

"You forgot everything." Thor stated. "We put you in jail because you'd done something very bad, but something happened, overnight, and now you're small. As if you never grew up in the first place."

"What happened?" Loki's little green eyes were wide.

Thor shook his head. "I have no idea. My best guess is that you did this to yourself, but… what I'm trying to work out is why?"

"Maybe I liked being little." He suggested, fiddling with his bare toes. "Or maybe I dd it to get out of trouble."

"That… that would make sense." Thor sighed. "But we can't punish you, now, so I guess it worked. You don't even remember what you did."

"What did I did?"

Thor shook his head doubtfully. "I don't think you need to know that."

The already wide eyes widened even further. "But I wanna know that."

Thor wearily dragged a hand over his eyes. "We'll ask Mother. If she says you ought to know, we'll tell you."

"Alright." He agreed. "Can I see Mother, now?"

"Yes, I suppose." Thor smiled, and, hand in hand, they made their way towards the throne room. All Thor could think, as they drew nearer to the throne room was, what if? What if Father didn't believe it was Loki? What if he decided he was faking, and required the punishment, anyway? What if they executed him? What if… On and on in circles his mind went, until they were standing outside the grand, gilded doors.

With a nervous glance to Loki, (who had absolutely no cares in the world) he took a deep breath, and shoved them open.

TheOnlyHuman.