Disclaimer: I don't own anything, blah blah blah. Now on to the story!

xxxXxxx

Of all the days anyone could choose for flying, this was one of the worst. The chill of a powerful wind was heightened by a steady downpour of rain from the thick clouds that covered the sky. Yet, a compact ship was making its perilous way through the Asgardian mountain ranges.

"By the Norns, Thor, can't you do anything about this?!" the ship's pilot griped, briefly gesturing toward the front of the craft, the view from which was almost completely blocked by rain and clouds.

"I'm trying, Loki! But we need the cloud cover if we don't want Father to know about this. You said so yourself. Forget about trying to see through these clouds, and use your sensing powers or whatever magic you use for navigation," the passenger retorted, bracing himself as another gust shoved them upwards.

"At least some more visibility would be useful. If you cared so much about making a stealthy escape, you would have used that fancy mallet of yours to get to Bjarne's place yourself, or at least manipulated the weather sooner to make this flight a bit easier. It is not my problem that you dragged me out here to help avenge your bruised ego," Loki said as he forced the craft back down into level flight.

"At least I can rest knowing that he will think twice before insulting me and Father again," Thor said.

Lord Bjarne had criticized Thor and Odin in front of the Thunderer after apparently deciding that his meeting at the palace had not concluded satisfactorily. Thor had begun chewing him out right then and there, but the confrontation was almost immediately broken up by a worried courtier. Now, some days later, Thor decided to "knock some sense into Bjarne's head". He recruited Loki to fly him to the lord's home and shield them from Heimdall's sight (it would not do if Odin found out about the trip, for they knew that he would disapprove of it). The Trickster agreed to do so on the condition that he was allowed to help with the revenge plan, which included taking back a valuable book he had loaned to Bjarne six years ago that said lord had not returned yet.

Under the excuse of testing the capabilities of a new ship that Loki had received as a gift, the brothers had flown to Bjarne's home, where Thor dealt with the lord and retrieved Loki's book. All this time, the wind and already pouring rain picked up rapidly, making for a miserable return trip.

But wind, clouds, and rain were to be the least of the travelers' concerns.

"I'm losing control. I think there is ice on the hull," Loki said tightly.

"You need to descend quickly then!" Thor exclaimed.

"Thank you for stating the obvious, Brother," Loki snapped as he reduced the power and pushed down on the stick.

The ship seemed to stabilize as it broke through a layer of clouds, but as soon as the brothers thought that they were reasonably out of danger, it rolled sharply to the side.

"LOKI!" Thor shouted. At that moment, a loud scraping sound filled the air, and the world spun upside down. After what seemed like an eternity of the ship bouncing and tumbling along the surface, everything fell silent.

"Ouch," said a muffled voice from the mangled remains of the craft.

Thor pushed back a piece of twisted metal and grimaced as fire shot up his arms. "Loki! Where are you?" he called.

"Under here, you big oaf!" A hand waved impatiently from under the rubble before disappearing in it.

Thor stood up with a groan. More than just his arms were aching now, but he forced himself to dig his way through the wreckage. "Hang on. I'm coming. Are you able to get out?" he asked.

"No," Loki answered sourly, but Thor heard a hint of pain in his brother's voice.

He found Loki pinned under some wreckage. His eyes were closed and his hands were balled into fists.

"Where does it hurt?" Thor asked.

"On my side. I think something went into it," Loki said.

Thor began to help his brother up, but Loki rose a little from his position and shoved his hands away.

"I don't need your help. You're making it worse, and your arms are a mess. Don't hurt yourself more," he said.

Thor glanced at his arms to find them bruised and scraped. Apparently, they had taken the brunt of the crash in his hasty attempt to brace himself. He didn't know if there was anything embedded in the cuts, but he would have to take care of them later. "It will be fine. Now let me take a look at you," he said, hauling Loki out of the wreckage as gently as he could.

Loki swore as he did so. Thor noticed that his shirt was torn at the side and soaked with blood. Loki reached out and summoned the medical kit from the ship. He fell back panting from the strain caused from using the magic.

Thor eased him to the ground. "Stay still. I'll take care of it," he said.

Loki did as he was told with a face, knowing what was coming. "I'll need to find help somehow," Thor said as he stitched up his brother.

"Right, get help somewhere in the middle of these Norns-forsaken mountains of which we know absolutely nothing about. Sounds like a solid plan to me," Loki snarked, looking about at the rugged peaks around them. Now that the rain had subsided to a light drizzle, they could see their surroundings better. They had landed on top of a cliff, and it was clear that it would take quite some effort to find a way down.

"It's the only thing I can think of right now, for goodness' sake! I don't think I can get us back to the palace with Mjölnir right now. As you so kindly mentioned, my arms are injured, and I would like to try resting them before I attempt to travel with it," Thor said.

Loki was about to say something when he started coughing violently. He covered his mouth with one hand and quickly drew it back with a grimace. Thor frowned when he saw a reddish substance on it. "That's it! I am finding help. You are seriously injured and could die soon," he said.

He stood up and walked along the length of the cliff edge, scanning the area for any smoke that could indicate a dwelling, but he saw none. With an angry huff, he rejoined his brother.

"No luck I presume?" Loki asked smugly.

"Shut up, Loki," Thor said wearily, plopping down beside him.

They sat for a few minutes in miserable silence that was occasionally broken by Loki's coughing. There seemed to be no way out of this predicament, and neither brother could think of a solution for it.

Loki laughed mirthlessly. "Father and Mother must be frantic by now," he said, "It is well past the time we said we would return. Oh, they will be furious when they find out about what happened. If only you weren't so adamant on-."

"Look, I messed up. I am aware of that, and I am sorry for getting us in this position," Thor interrupted. Loki looked a little surprised by his admission.

"Well, I did agree to help you with your hare-brained scheme, so that makes two of us who should be sorry," he conceded.

"Are you?"

"More than a little"

Thor chuckled. "We will get out of this somehow," he said, but he was losing hope quickly.

Sundown was approaching, if the waning light indicated anything. They would have to find or make a shelter to spend the night in. And there was no guarantee that Loki was not going to succumb to his injuries during that time – he was steadily growing weaker and looking worse. The thought made Thor queasy. He looked up at the bleak landscape and then stared. A lone traveler was walking in their direction.

"I see someone!" he exclaimed. He got up and began waving his arms to get the traveler's attention. "Over here! Get help! Please. My brother is dying! Get help!" he shouted.

"No need to be so dramatic," Loki said, rolling his eyes, but Thor ignored him.

The traveler stopped at the sound of Thor's voice and then ran toward them. "Mercy on us! What happened?" she cried.

"We flew into bad weather, and our ship crashed. My brother was badly injured," Thor explained.

"Come with me to my home then. My mother knows some healing arts. She will be able to help you," the maiden said.

"Thank you. We are deeply grateful for your help," Thor said with a relieved sigh.

He put one of Loki's arms around his shoulders and helped him to his feet. They began to follow the maiden as she led them along a crude path that was hidden behind a large boulder and littered with rocks and scrub. "You didn't see this path?" Loki asked quietly.

Thor shrugged as well as he could and winced at the motion. It would be weeks before the soreness wore off, he guessed. Suddenly, Loki stumbled and sank down, pulling Thor with him. Thor caught him and picked him up in one fluid motion.

"Put me down. I can walk," Loki said curtly.

"We need to keep up with her," Thor said, nodding toward the maiden, who had stopped and was looking at them worriedly.

"This is humiliating!" Loki protested.

"At least we will get there faster this way. Now stop being so difficult," Thor grunted.

With an exasperated sigh, Loki leaned back and rested his head on Thor's shoulder. He coughed again, and Thor was alarmed to see that his lips were tinged with blood.

"How much farther is your place?" he called to their guide.

"Not far now. Just another turn, and we will be there," the maiden replied, "Are you able to continue, or do you need to rest?"

"No. The sooner we get there the better," Thor said.

They finally reached a small cottage, and the maiden quickly let them in. "Mother! I found some injured travelers on my way home, and they need your care."

An old woman emerged from a room and gasped. "Put him in my room- no, don't worry about us. He doesn't have long from what I can see," she ordered, waving them to a small room.

"How long exactly?" Thor asked as he helped his brother onto the bed in the room.

The old woman examined Loki, who was now drifting in and out of consciousness. "I think his lungs are damaged. You are lucky that my daughter found you as soon as she did because he would last for one or two days at the most without proper care. You did a decent job with tending to that side wound, so I wouldn't worry as much about that," she said. She shooed Thor out of the room. "I would prefer if you were not present while I tend to him. Nervous people always distract me. I hope you understand. My daughter will take care of your injuries," she said.

"As you wish," Thor said reluctantly. The maiden led him to the main room and made him sit in front of a merrily-burning fire so that she could clean and bandage his scrapes.

"We haven't had time to introduce ourselves properly," she said shyly, "I am Sigyn, and my mother is Inge."

"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Sigyn. I am Thor, and my unfortunate brother is Loki," Thor said.

The maiden's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying that you two are the sons of the All-Father? Forgive us for our ignorance! I hope our humble lodging will be suitable enough for you," she said.

"There is no need to apologize, my lady. Your hospitality is more than we could ask for," Thor said warmly.

"Just Sigyn, my lord," the maiden said, blushing.

Some hours later, Inge joined them. "How is he?" Thor asked.

"I mended as much of the damage to his lungs as I could. He is sleeping now. Only time will tell if my efforts were any good," she replied.

Thor jumped up on his feet and hugged her before rushing to the room. "Don't wake him up! He needs to rest!" Inge called after him.

Thor carefully sat on the bed beside Loki. His brother looked more relaxed, but his breathing still came in shallow rasps. Thor took his hand and squeezed it slightly, trying to ignore the tears that threatened to form in his eyes. "If you dare die on me, Brother, I swear I will storm Valhalla and drag you out of there myself," he said.

"I advise you to take some rest yourself while you can. I know it has been a trying day for you as well. I will let you know when he wakes," Inge said softly from the doorway.

"Of course, my lady. I will stay with him for a few more minutes," Thor said absently.

The old woman shook her head and left, hiding a small smile. Soon, exhaustion overcame Thor, and before he could stop himself, his eyes were sliding shut…

xxxXxxx

The first thing Thor noticed when he woke up was that he was stiff and sore all over. He opened his eyes sluggishly and blinked in confusion. Sometime during the night, he had apparently been moved to a chair beside Loki's bedside. He leaned forward to listen to his brother's breathing and was startled to see Loki staring back at him.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed.

"I have been for a while. You look rather adorable when you are asleep, did you know that?" Loki said with a roguish grin.

Thor hugged him as well as he could. "Never scare me like that again, do you hear me?"

"I cannot do anything about being your brother, but I will certainly try," Loki said with a chuckle that ended in a bout of coughing, "Norns, it still hurts!"

"How do you both fare today?" Sigyn's voice came from behind them.

Thor looked up to see the maiden there, looking amused by their banter. "Much better, thanks to you. I am sure Loki will say the same thing," he answered.

"More or less," Loki agreed.

"Wonderful! Now remember, Mother says that you must rest for the next week or so and try taking deep breaths every once in a while. That will help you recover better. If you are very good, I will lend you some of my books to keep you occupied," Sigyn told him.

"Of course, my lady," Loki said meekly.

Both brothers spent the prescribed week resting. As promised, Sigyn shared some of her books with Loki, and the two often stayed up late into the night discussing literature, politics, magic, and goodness knows what else until a concerned Inge sent them off to bed. Thor tried to return to the wreck, but he was hindered by his unfamiliarity of the mountains and the weather, which was still as bad as ever. Finally, Inge declared Loki to be fit for travel again, and after many heartfelt farewells, Thor took them back to the palace with Mjölnir. To their relief, no one was there to meet them – yet.

As they made their way inside, they were immediately blocked by a spear. "Finally, you have returned. I trust you have learned your lesson about sneaking out without my permission?" Odin said calmly, but the expression on his face was terrifying.

"How…?" Loki gasped.

"It was quite simple for Heimdall to track you after you were injured, Loki. Did you really think you could escape his sight for long?" Odin said. His voice grew more threatening as he turned to Thor, who was fidgeting. "Why did you do it? Your mother and I were in great distress about you both when you did not return."

"What Bjarne said about you was inexcusable, Father! I couldn't let him get away with it. If you must be angry at us, punish me. Loki didn't want to go at first," Thor said, his words tumbling over each other in his haste.

"He agreed to help you in the end, nevertheless."

"I am sorry, Father, truly. We should have known better," Thor said shamefacedly. Loki nodded in agreement, shooting a nasty look at his brother.

Odin sighed and lowered his spear. "I forgive you both. At least you returned safely. However, you are not permitted to leave the palace for a year unless you are under constant supervision. And you will not get another craft until you prove to me that you are responsible enough to handle one and are willing to work for it. Now go find your mother. I know she has some words for you," he said.

His sons paled at that but went to Frigga's chamber, where the queen was waiting with her hands on her hips.

"Moth-," Thor began, but he was immediately cut off by a light box on the ear.

"You foolish boys, you could have been killed! And you-," Frigga said with an identical smack upside Loki's head, "why didn't you tell me about his plan?"

Loki mumbled an apology before he and his brother were smothered in a big hug.

"Please do not attempt such a thing again. For my and your father's sanity," the queen said, kissing each of them on the cheek.

"I promise, we won't," Thor said.

xxxXxxx

A few weeks later, Thor came into Loki's room carrying something. "I went back to the wreck and found your book. Besides a few dents, it is in excellent condition," he said.

Loki got up quickly to take the proffered book and flipped through the pages to confirm Thor's claim. "Wonderful! Thank you," he exclaimed.

"I also thanked Inge for her help," Thor said, throwing himself into a chair with a comfortable sigh.

"Her Sigyn is quite lovely and kind, don't you agree?" Loki said wistfully, "I might visit her again."

Thor chuckled. "Are you going soft on me, Brother?" he teased.

"Of course not!" Loki retorted with a playful nudge.

Thor looked thoughtful, and then his eyes lit up. "I just had a brilliant idea for a combat move!" he said.

"Oh, not one of those again," groaned Loki, "What is it?"

A few minutes later, the door to Loki's chamber banged open. A shocked Thor flew out, followed by furious voice from inside the room shouting, "I will NEVER do your mad 'Get Help' idea!"

xxxXxxx

A.N. Never say never, Loki. XD

The crash and the buildup to it was based on a real aircraft incident, where an Embraer Phenom 100 encountered icing conditions and was badly damaged during the landing due to pilot error. Fortunately, everyone was ok, unlike our Brodinsons.