It was, indeed, the Thunderer, arrived at long last, and he clumped into the interior of the tower with all the confidence of a true warrior, nonchalantly swinging his hammer. "You called for me, Man of Iron?"

"Yeah! Thor!" Tony cheered, jumping to his feet, Loki remaining quiet, strangely enough. "We've got a problem for you."

"For me?" Thor raised an eyebrow. "What quest would you have me go on, my friend?"

Steve shook his head. "Not a quest."

The two earthlings glanced at each other. "Okay, Point Break." Tony sighed. "What if we told you Loki was alive?"

For a split second, a wild hope leapt into Thor's eyes, but then was crushed by an overwhelming sadness. "Please, Anthony. Do not get my hopes up."

"Hello, Brother." Loki finally spoke up.

Thor blanched. "Loki…?" He croaked, looking around in befuddlement. "Reveal yourself to me, please." He was such a puppy, Tony almost cried.

"I, um…" Loki stammered, his voice wobbling. "I'm afraid I can't."

Thor's face fell. "So, you only have his ghost?"

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but Tony beat him to it. "Practically."

"Better than nothing, right?" Loki asked hopefully. "Wait a minute, am I dead?"

Thor nodded, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oooooohhh…" Loki suddenly realized. "That explains everything. Anthony, this means I'm haunting you!"

"Lovely…" Tony rolled his eyes.

Loki seemed to be far too pleased with this idea. "I wonder how one possesses an object… Perhaps I could write creepy messages in blood on the walls? Or maybe send specters down the hall in the middle of the night, wailing like ten thousand…"

"Loki, it really is you!" Thor cut him off, delighted.

"Naturally." Loki snorted.

The Thunderer shook his head in disbelief. "But I held you… I watched you die!"

"…Oops?" Loki was not be fazed.

"How can you do this to me?" Thor gasped.

Loki was silent as Thor collapsed onto the couch, tears pooling in his eyes. "I mourned for you! It seems every time you die, you come back make me go through it all over again!"

"Would you have preferred it if I had stayed dead, this time?" Loki asked quietly.

Thor glanced up. "No! No, of course not!" He sighed, running a hand through his blond hair. "I sorry to have come off that way. I love you, Loki, and I'm glad to have more time with you, even if only with your spirit."

"I love you, too, Brother." Loki automatically replied.

"What?!" Thor's face lit up like a light bulb. Tony mentally commented that he was practically mood swinging. Happy, then sad, then happy again, then sad. "You what?" Thor breathed in disbelief.

Loki hesitated. "I… love you? Is that… wrong?" His voice rose in panic. "Did you disown me for attacking Midgard? Is that why we're on bad terms? Anthony, why didn't you tell me? What of Mother? Father? Do they still accept me? I'm so dreadfully sorry, I didn't mean it!"

And, then came the waterworks. Previously, Tony was unaware how high Thor could scream, but the prince squealed like a little girl, and ran around in circles, arms over his head to protect himself from the pouring water. For someone who could control storms, he did not seem pleased to be in the midst of one.

"Hey, Rudolph!" Tony soothed, being the only one who had ever successfully talked Loki down from his weeping. "It's okay! Thor loves you, he just said he did!"

Loki hiccupped. "T-Truly?" He asked, as forlorn as a small child, lost at an amusement park.

"Yes…" Thor assured, extremely weirded out by this whole ordeal.

"Then why were you so surprised that I said that?" Loki pressed.

Steve edged up to the blonde oaf. "Just a warning, he doesn't remember anything. He thinks he's fifteen."

Thor turned to him in shock. "Three whole years of his memory, gone?"

"Three?!" Tony screeched. "You mean, he was seventeen when we first met?! And eighteen when he died?!"

Thor nodded, as if this was common knowledge. Steve put a hand to his head, as if it was spinning. "This is a lot to take in."

Tony nodded somberly.

Thor sat heavily on the couch, which groaned in protest. "Brother… like you said, we weren't on very good terms. You did not consider me your brother for quite some time."

"Why not?" Loki's voice was hushed, almost horrified.

Thor bit his lip, in a quandary. "I… believe I should not tell you what transpired to make you feel that way. I have no wish for you to harbor such hatred towards me, again."

The three Avengers could practically feel Loki's frustrated glare. "Brother, you know me better than anyone." He growled. "So, you should know how very much I despise having information within my grasp, yet still unattainable."

"Yes…" Thor admitted. "I'll discuss it with Anthony and the Captain. Alright?"

"They will say to tell me!" Loki insisted.

Thor smirked. "Then you should have nothing to fear."

Loki sulked. "I hate to wait." Then, with some reluctancy, "You've gotten wittier in three years."

The Thunderer smiled in gratification. "I suppose you finally began to rub off on me."

URK short short chapters, today!

TheOnlyHuman.