Note: To answer a question I received in a review, this will not contain any pairings. I only support canon couples, and as seeing how those couples are (mostly) only shown in the manga (and this is based mostly on the anime), I'm not writing any into this story! Sowwy!

Chapter 2

"For the last time, Mayura, Yamino is not missing. Don't you think I'd be out looking for him if he were missing?" Loki sat at his desk, paging through a large, ancient book. He lazily looked at the girl sitting on a couch halfway across the room.

"You could be so cold and uncaring that you just don't want to look for him! That's so mean, Loki!" Mayura scolded, climbing to her feet. She set her hands on her hips, her face turning red. "How could you do this to poor Yamino after everything he's done for you?"

"Do what to him?" Loki went back to reading his book, internally chuckling over the girl he was confusing and making frustrated.

"You've abandoned him!" Mayura continued to yell at him. She crossed her arms over her chest and stuck her nose up in the air. "If you're going to be such a cold-hearted jerk, I don't think I want to be here with you. I'll solve this mystery by myself, and I'll tell Yamino how mean you are!"

"All right, then," Loki breathed. Without even raising his eyes from the book, he said, "While you're out looking for Yamino, would you mind picking up some medicine from the store? Yamino is sleeping right now, and I am quite certain he's ill. You'd save me the trouble of running to the store to get some myself."

"See if I do any favors for—" Mayura froze. Tipping her head to one side, she frowned. "Yamino is here?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Loki turned the page of his book, a small smile creeping onto his face. He did not look at the girl.

"He's sick? That's horrible!" Mayura stepped to Loki's desk, slapping her hands down on it. This caused the child-god to look up at her in disinterest. "What can I do to help?"

"I've already told you. Weren't you listening?" Loki grumbled.

"Of course I was! I'll run to the store and pick up some medicine right now!" Mayura chimed. "You don't even have to give me any money!"

"I wasn't going to."

"I'm that worried about Yamino!" Mayura said, ignoring Loki completely. "I'll get all of the best medicines! We'll try them all!"

"I don't think that will be very good for Yamino."

"I'll get at least five different kinds!" Mayura spun around, heading toward the door. Her eyes glistened. "But what if this is some sort of alien virus? What if it's an ancient plague that has been dormant for millions of years, and now it's resurfaced to infect the human race once more?"

"I'm pretty sure it's just the flu."

"Mystery!" Mayura bounded out the door, slamming it behind her. Loki stared at the door. He sighed.

OOOOOO

Fenrir plodded down the hall, dismally shaking a few traces of his breakfast from his head. He paused as he was passing his younger brother's bedroom, raising an ear and pressing the side of his head against the door. There was still not a sound to be heard within the room, and this caused the wolf pup to sulk. He moved down the hallway at a much slower pace, then, shivers running up his spine as he realized their father would most likely be in charge of lunch as well.

The pup made his way to his father's study. Loki was still enthralled by the ancient book he was reading, barely noticing his eldest son as the dog entered the room. Ecchan was perched on Loki's head, equally interested in the book.

"Daddy, Midgardsormr still hasn't gotten up. What are we going to do?" Fenrir whimpered.

"I think we can handle things without him for one day," Loki said, calmly. He flipped the page of the book. "He needs his rest."

"But Daddy…" Fenrir sobbed, his belly grumbling violently.

The silence that overwhelmed the room then was brief. A door slammed elsewhere in the house, but the sound was loud enough to capture all three of the room's occupants' attentions. A strong voice echoed through the halls of the large house.

"Hang on, Four-Eyes! I'm coming!" called the familiar voice. "Don't die on me!"

"Narukami?" Loki's mouth hung open for a second as he slipped from his chair, wandering out of his study.

He followed the voice down the hall, eventually finding himself standing in front of Yamino's bedroom door. The door was ajar, so the trickster pushed it open completely and entered the room.

Standing next to the bed, dressed in a blue and white stripped shirt, white pants, and a blue cap was none other than the god of thunder himself, Thor, known in the human world as Narugami. His brown hair, though partially kept under his hat, appeared disorderly. He was panting and sweating, but a brilliant smile covered his face, and his eyes twinkled. Without hesitation, he tore back the blankets covering Yamino.

"Narukami! What are you doing?" Loki exclaimed, too stunned to do anything but stare. Fenrir hurried to the room, standing just outside the door in the hall, his tail wagging.

"I'm here to rescue you, Four-Eyes!" Narugami cheerfully explained, jutting his finger at the young man in bed.

Yamino was conscious then, or at least his navy blue eyes were open and somewhat focused on what was going on around him. He simply laid in bed, awkwardly staring at Narugami while shivering due to the sudden lack of blankets over him. He blinked as he tried to make sense of what was going on.

"Narukami, why are you…?" Loki frowned.

"I saw Mayura on the street, and she told me that Four-Eyes here was deathly ill! Looks like she was right!" Narugami stated, crouching down so that he could inspect Yamino more closely. Yamino drew back slightly, his eyes growing wide. Narugami's eyes lit up as he stood upright. "That's all right! I have just what he needs!"

The god of thunder rolled back one sleeve, gracefully snatching up and balancing a covered tray, which he had left on the bedside table, in one hand. Slowly, almost as if to create some sort of dramatic effect, Narugami grasped the white cloth that laid over the tray. Whipping it aside, he revealed an assortment of rice balls.

"Here it is! The world famous, or at least going-to-be-world-famous, mystical rice balls of Rice Ball Shack!" sang Narugami, beaming.

"Another part-time job?" Loki raised an eyebrow at his fellow god as he approached the bed.

By this time, Yamino had sat up, his bleary eyes scanning the room and its occupants as though he were not sure where he was or who was surrounding him. His green hair had been tied back, but it still managed to be in disarray. He continued to pant, sweat, and shiver much in the same fashion as he had when Loki first checked on him. Wincing as though it pained him to move, Yamino raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. Finally, he reached to the table beside his bed and fetched his glasses.

"What is…" he started, his voice hoarse, but he grew quiet when Narugami burst into a fit of laughter.

"Not just any part-time job! This time, I work for a place that sells meals of mythical proportions!" boasted the thunder god. He waved his hand over the rice balls on his tray, grinning cheekily at Loki. "People have been cured by this food! It's a natural healer! People come from all over the world to try these amazing rice balls! It was said that they made a blind man see and a dying man live… er… longer."

"Honestly…" Loki rubbed his brow, sighing heavily. Narugami went on without noticing him, shoving the tray in Yamino's startled face.

"Here! They'll save you! And then you will live to cook another day! And another meal for me. I mean, if I save your life, you should owe me and—Forget that! Eat!" Narugami demanded.

"B-but I don't think—" Yamino was silenced when a rice ball mysteriously flew from the tray, with the help of Narugami's hand, into his open mouth. He sputtered on it briefly, then complied and took a bite, chewing it slowly. A sour expression overwhelmed his face as he swallowed. "Th-that's…"

"Foods with healing powers don't normally taste very good, or so I've heard," Narugami explained, thrusting the tray at Yamino once more. "Come on! Eat them all, Four-Eyes! They're taking this out of my paycheck!"

"It sounds like you've been swindled, Narukami," Loki breathed, reaching out to grab his companion's sleeve. He dragged Narugami, along with his rice balls, away from the bed, directing him toward the door. "Perhaps the reason this Rice Ball Shack isn't world famous is because their food is terrible and they don't really have magical healing powers. They just have really terrible food."

"How could you say such things? This could be the only thing that will save Four-Eyes' life!" protested Narugami as he was shoved out the door.

"I'm sure he was recovering just fine on his own until you poisoned him," Loki said, releasing Narugami. He folded his arms over his chest. "Why don't you try one of those rice balls for yourself and see how incredible they are?"

"Fine," Narugami snatched one of the rice balls into his hand and took a giant bite without hesitation. His smirk faded into a scowl, and he gagged. "Th-this is… horrendous…"

"Now stop feeding that to my family." Loki slammed the door in Narugami's face, spinning around so that he could lean against it. He smiled when he heard the god of thunder staggering away from the door.

"I think I'm going to throw up…" muttered Narugami as he wandered away down the hall.

Yamino blinked in utter confusion at the child-god standing guard over his bedroom door. Loki seemed distracted until Narugami could no longer be heard, and then he looked to his youngest son and smiled, wearily.

"That probably wasn't the waking you were expecting, now was it?" he chuckled.

"N-not at all…" Yamino rubbed his head one last time, sighing. He frowned at the alarm clock which lay in ruin on the floor, trying to recall how it had gotten there. His eyes went wide as he came to realize what was going on. In horror, he said, "I went back to sleep!"

"For good reason," Loki said, returning to Yamino's bedside. "You're sick."

"Sick?" echoed Yamino as though the word were foreign to him. He immediately shook his head, throwing back his blanket. Despite the strength present in his eyes, his body protested his actions completely and he shuddered. "I'm all right, Master Loki. You and big brother must be hungry. I'll just get up now and—"

"You'll do no such thing," Loki commanded, wagging his finger at his ill son. This caused Yamino to pull back slightly, unaccustomed to the mannerisms the child-god was displaying that moment. Loki gave him a stern look. "You need to stay in bed and rest. You're more than ill enough to earn yourself a day in bed, so lie down and go to sleep."

"But Master Loki…" Yamino began to protest, but his father held up a hand to him, demanding silence. He held his tongue.

"What makes you think I can't handle a day without you, anyway?" Loki questioned, a scowl shadowing his face.

"It's not that I—" Yamino was again silenced by the waving of his father's hand. His already flushed cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. His eyes trailed after Loki as the trickster went to the door, a look of deep remorse within them. Obeying Loki's command, he remained quiet.

"I'll have you know that I already prepared a nutritious breakfast for myself and Fenrir. Next, I'll be trying my hand at lunch. By the end of the day, I'll be as good a chef as you, Yamino!" Loki swung the door open, sheer determination burning in his eyes. As he was standing in the doorway, the cocky look on his face was replaced by a gentle one. He smiled softly. "I appreciate you wanting to help, but all I want from you right now is for you to try to get better."

"A-all right," Yamino nodded, lowering himself back down in bed.

After replacing his glasses on his bedside table, he pulled the covers back up around his trembling body. He watched his father for a moment longer, then he closed his eyes. He inhaled slowly and deeply. Finally, he was still, breathing raggedly and sweating as profusely as ever, but he was asleep.

Loki turned and prepared to enter the hallway, stopping only when he found Fenrir standing in front of him, all four of his stubby legs wobbling and shaking underneath him. The pup's tongue dangled from his mouth, and both of his eyes twitched.

"Daddy…" he whimpered, waving back and forth, ready to collapse. Loki let out a small gasp, kneeling next to his son. Fenrir whimpered, then fell over. "Thor made me eat this treacherous rice ball…"