Loki awoke the next morning at around noon, cheerful and excited. Why? He wasn't sure. He sat up, and threw the covers off of him, then turned to his brother expectantly. They had shared a bedroom as long Loki could remember, and, even though the Avengers compound had plenty enough rooms for him, Loki liked the security of having his brother still so near to him.

The only problem was… Thor's bed was empty, the covers neat and tidy, and there was no sign of his brother.

Loki blinked in surprise. Thor was typically an early riser, ever since the days of their training, but he was typically the one to awake Loki, himself. Where was he?

Timidly, Loki slipped off the bed, and padded across the carpet to the closet he and his brother shared, and shimmied into the Midgardian clothes he'd laid out the night before. He combed his hair, and sat expectantly on the edge of his bed, waiting for Thor to appear.

That was when he saw the folded note at the end of his nightstand.

Brother, it read, I've gone to Asgard for the day. I'll be back late tonight with a few things from your rooms. Don't sit up for me, I'll return long after your bedtime. Much love, Thor.

Loki blinked in surprise, as he stared down at the scrap of paper in his hand. Thor had just… left? Just like that? Without even saying goodbye?

Loki's lower lip trembled, as he blinked back tears. He had wanted to ask Thor about his death, his returning memories, perhaps find a few answers, but… Thor had left. Shoulders slumped, he got to his feet with a melancholy air, and shuffled sadly down to the communal floor.

Steve and Sam were making pancakes, and they greeted Loki with cheerful smiles. "Morning, Loki!" Sam waved, before noticing Loki's disappointed countenance. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Loki sighed, and leaned against the counter, head in his hands. "Thor left."

"What?" Steve looked up from the griddle. "Where?"

"Asgard." Loki sniffled.

"He'll be back, though, right?" Steve prompted, to which Loki gave a nod.

"Late tonight. I won't see him at all, today."

Sam nodded in understanding. "Well, that's okay. You can have fun with all of us!"

Steve nodded, and offered Loki a cheerful smile. "You know how to spar?"

Loki nodded hopefully. "You want me to train with you? As if I was actually an Avenger?"

"Why not?" Sam shrugged. "Or, if you get tired of fighting, we could stick magnets to Bucky's arm while he's asleep…"

"No." Steve corrected, shooting Sam a glare. Loki snickered softly. "Or maybe we could put hot sauce in Tony's coffee, again?" He smiled hopefully.

"We could team up with Clint!" Sam suggested, shooting finger-guns at his new partner-in-crime, as Steve face-palmed in exasperation. "He's really good with pranks and stuff."

Loki sobered immediately. "I'm not so sure…" He muttered. "I don't think Clint likes me."

"Sure he does!" Sam enthused. "Who couldn't like you?"

Loki silently stared at his hands, a sad, regretful look in his eyes. "I made him kill people." He reminded his friend gloomily.

Sam rounded the counter, and rested his hand on Loki's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "He knows that wasn't you, Lokes."

Loki glanced up. "Wasn't it? Just because I don't remember…"

"We proved it." Steve spoke up, again. "You were under the same mind control he was."

The Trickster's eyes widened in shock, and… something else. He… He could remember this, actually. Hands shaking, he stumbled backward as an onslaught of memories poured over him.

"No, Loki." And then he fell, fell into the abyss, the void, where there was no air, no light, only the burning, freezing darkness, and then… and then…

And then he hit the ground. He didn't know where, he didn't know how, but he'd hit a planet. Every bone in his body ached from the impact, but he managed to pry his eyes open, enough to see a silhouette advancing through the dust.

It was HIM.

"Loki!" Steve's voice cut through the memory, and his eyes flew open to see his friends leaning over him, concern etched over their features. "Loki, breathe. It's okay."

With a great, shuddering gasp, Loki unwound from the tight ball he didn't remember curling himself into. His cheeks were wet with tears, and, wiping his cheeks, he glanced up at them.

"You okay, Buddy?" Sam asked, extending a hand to help him to his feet.

Loki tentatively nodded, and, accepting the hand stood up, and willed himself to stop shaking.

"What was that?" Steve wondered, rubbing a comforting circle on his shoulder blades.

"I… I… um…" Loki stammered, biting his lip anxiously. "I think I just remembered something else." He admitted.

"Something else?" Sam questioned. "You've been remembering things?"

Again, Loki bobbed his head, and sat down at the kitchen table in am attempt to hide how his knees buckled. "L-Last night, I-I-I remembered… dying. And, I think, a little of… New York."

Sam and Steve glanced at each other in surprise, and Loki twisted his fingers nervously. Was that… bad? Should he not have told them. To his shock, however, Sam grinned widely. "That's great, Loki!"

"Really?" He blurted in surprise.

"Of course!" Steve rejoined. "You're getting your memories back, that's amazing."

Loki flicked his eyes down to the table, and he traced a finger across the markings in the wood. "I think I'd rather not know…" He admitted.

Sam sat down next to him, his face marred in confusion, as Steve returned to the griddle to flip the pancakes. "Why's that?"

"Because I remember all the things that happened before I did bad things…" Loki sighed. "I'd rather not know just how bad the bad things are."

Sam nodded in understanding. "I see… I guess you're the opposite of Bucky, then, cause he remembers all the bad things he did, and not the good."

Loki sadly nodded, again. "Never in my life did I think the words 'I don't want to know' would pass my lips, but I truly don't want to know."

Sam snorted, not a noise full of mocking or mirth, but quiet understanding. With a comforting smile, the Avenger stood, and patted Loki on the shoulder. "You gonna be okay?"

Loki offered a wan smile of his own. "I believe so. Thank you for your concern."

Bucky lay curled on the couch, sound asleep. Despite how highly recommended they were, Bucky had never been able to stay awake during a Star Wars movie, and as The Return of the Jedi played on the tv in front of him, he snored softly, lost in dreamland.

Loki and Sam crept quietly up to him, wearing twin mischievous smirks as they carefully stuck refrigerator magnets onto Bucky's metal arm. The tiny clicks as they attached themselves weren't enough to rouse the super soldier, and, emboldened by their success, Loki snapped his fingers, dying Bucky's hair bright, florescent green. Stifling giggles, the two of them fled from the room, and moved on to their next victim.

By lunch time, they'd sabotaged Tony's coffee with hot sauce, painted a Canadian maple leaf on Steve's shield, instead of a star, and greased the handle of Mjolnir, so that any attempts to pick it up would be entirely unsuccessful, whether you were worthy, or not.

They were both extremely cheerful as Sam taught Loki to make macaroni and cheese from a box, and as they sat down to eat, and plot their next prank, Loki had almost forgotten his distress from earlier.

"We could butter the floor outside Wanda's room." The Trickster cheerfully suggested.

"That's kind of dangerous, don't you think?" Sam skeptically tapped his fork against the side of his plate. "We don't want to actually hurt anyone."

Loki shook his head. "She has her powers, she could catch herself."

"I don't know…" Sam frowned. "We ought to be careful. Besides, we already put butter on Thor's hammer. We can't butter the whole tower, funny as that may be."

Loki smirked at the mental image, but agreed. He silently ate his macaroni for a few seconds, before brightening with a new idea. "We could trade Natasha's plushies for live animals!"

Sam blinked in shock, his fork hovering halfway between the plate and his mouth. "I have questions." He announced. "First of all, Natasha has plushies?"

Loki silently nodded, eyes wide with surprise. "You didn't know? She gifted me her giraffe the first day I was a person, when I was sick."

Sam shook his head. "But she's supposed to be super epic and badass and stuff! Not… plushy…"

"She has over a dozen…" Loki shrugged. "She showed me her full collection, yesterday."

A devious smirk spread over the Avenger's face, and his eyes lit up with glee. "You can hack into the cameras, right?"

The Trickster smiled, understanding where his friend was going with this. "Blackmail?"

"Absolutely!" Sam held up a hand, offering a high-five.

Loki stared at in confusion. "What are you doing?"

Sam shrugged. "It's a high-five. You… you smack your hand against mine."

Loki blinked, but lightly patted his palm against Sam's. "Like that?"

"Yeah, you got it!" Sam grinned, as Bucky walked into the room, bleary-eyed, apparently not noticing his green hair.

Loki smacked a hand over his mouth, and stifled a snicker.

"Hi, Loki. Wilson." The soldier nodded, pouring himself a cup of coffee from the sabotaged pot. Sam and Loki shared a glance, their eyes dancing in glee as Bucky took a long swallow, before his eyes widened in shock, and he spewed the coffee out over the counter top. "What in the world is the trash?"

Loki and Sam dissolved into peals of giggles at Bucky's stunned face, and he sent them both an unamused glance as he emptied the coffee pot. "You two are the worst." He grumbled good-naturedly. Loki sat up, and pushed his hair from his face. "Bucky, Sam taught me to make macaroni! Would you like to try some?"

Bucky shot him a playful suspicious glance. "It's not poisoned, or something, is it?"

Loki smiled, but shook his head. "No, perfectly normal. Your hair, however…"

Bucky raised an eyebrow, as he pulled out a plate, and piled the macaroni on it. "What's wrong with my hair?"

"Oh, nothing!" Loki glanced away innocently.

"It's certainly… interesting…" Sam agreed.

"If you happen to like… that… it's fine." Loki nodded. "If not, you simply look ridiculous."

Sam snorted into his hand, as Bucky caught a glimpse of his interesting hairdo in the shiny reflection on the microwave. "Guyyyyyyyyyss…" He whined. "Is it April Fool's day, and I missed it?" He glared accusingly. "Change my hair back!"

"Okay, hold still..." Loki commanded through his giggles, and snapped his fingers once more, returning his friend's hair back to normal.

"Thank you." Bucky sighed. "You need to stop hanging out around Sam, he's a bad influence on you." He shot a half-hearted glare at his frenemy.

"I think I'm a bad influence on him, actually." Loki smirked. "Ooh, Steve said he could spar with me, later today! Could I challenge you to a match?"

Bucky shrugged easily, and seated himself next to his two friends. "Sure, why not?"

It was late, late, late that night when Thor returned. In fact, it was technically early. He crept quietly into his and Loki's room, smiling softly at the sight of his little brother curled under his covers, his breathing, deep, and even. He placed his cargo on the floor at the foot of his bed.

Is that him? He looks so much smaller…

Thor quietly hushed his companion. "He's asleep. Be quiet."

Well, excuse me if I'm eager to see him. I thought him dead!

"We all did." Thor whispered. "Let him sleep. You can speak with him, tomorrow."

With that, Thor flopped in exhaustion on His bed, and was out like a light.

TheOnlyHuman.