"Loki!"

"Loki!"

Loki was vaguely aware that his body was shaking violently, and it hurt dimly. He wasn't aware that he had fallen asleep, but, he had been so tired…

"LOKI, NO!"

His eyes snapped open at the violent shaking and loud screams. His brother's face registered above him as his vision began to come into focus.

"Thor," He began, and as he went to try and push Thor away, he was lifted, and pulled into his older brother's lap. Thor sat, cradling Loki's head in his lap, rocking him softly, hugging him tightly, and whispering reassurances in his ears.

"Loki! I am so glad I've found you alive!" Loki closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and regained some of his strength. In one swift movement, he pushed Thor away from him violently, vaulting in the opposite direction.

"Don't touch me," Loki hissed, readying his already tired and injured body for further abuse.

Thor stood startled, hands up in his own defense, "Loki, wait, I'm here to help you, to bring you back!" Thor took a few more steps toward his wary brother, "Look at you," Thor motioned to Loki, a look of grief on his face, "you need a healer."

"This is your fault!"

"What?" Thor asked surprised, hurt by his brother's senseless accusations, "Brother I promise I had nothing to do with this, if I had do you honestly think I would have come to search for you?"

Loki looked at Thor suspiciously, tongue tied for a moment, trying to configure something else to say, but Thor was right. If Thor had tried to kill him, why would he have come for him?

"Well, do you know what she did to me!? I'll kill her!" Loki's voice echoed loudly in his rage, and Thor cautiously stepped forward a little slower. His brother was dangerous, unpredictable, in his rare occurrences of rage.

When Loki had decided that Thor had come close enough, he lashed out, swinging with his good hand, clipping Thor in the jaw. Thor laughed dryly, turning back to Loki, shaking his head. "Don't do this, brother."

Loki swung again in answer.

Thus started the fistfight. Loki struck with force, but Thor tried his best to stifle his own blows, he did not want to hurt Loki, just to subdue him. When Loki went far enough as to begin to hurt himself, Thor had had enough.

"Loki! Be still!" Thor reached out grabbing the back of his brother's head. Loki was stunned into stillness. His body ached. He sighed defeated, leaning into his brother's touch, and reserved to save himself any more pain.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "she tried to kill me…"

"I know," Thor said, closing the distance between them slowly, "I thought I had lost you…again." They both chuckled, humorlessly as Thor pressed their foreheads together.

"I want to take you back now."

Loki nodded, and breathed, "I want you to do so much more than that…"

Thor laughed. And then he kissed his brother.

"I think I hear something up ahead," Fandral said, leading the trek through the Vani forest, searching for Thor and Loki. A few moments ago they had heard the sounds of fighting.

They stopped almost as soon as they began, but they followed the sounds anyway. They sounded so familiar.

Fandral chuckled when Volstag tripped over a root, but otherwise they continued on in grim silence.

"I hope we find them," Hogan muttered, "for Sif's sake…"

Volstag nodded, agreeing, "We all do, Hogan, we all do."

When Fandral caught site of what it was they were searching for he stopped, taken aback, aghast. It felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. He was shocked.

He looked around nervously, checking to see if anyone else had seen.

"What's wrong, Fandral? Why have we stopped?" Asked Volstag, and Fandral was relieved.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" He announced, turning the group around, "I think they might be over this way," and he lead the group away from Thor and Loki, who stood lip locked on the beach.