A big thanks to the people who are following this story or who have Favorited it! I really don't know if this chapter is any good, but I tried to make it longer because the time between updates might be longer; I have lots of other work to do -_- Then again, I might upload more on the weekends. Anyway, here you go!


Thor had been looking out the kitchen window, studying the buildings suspiciously when Loki suddenly stood up from the table. He hadn't been listening to the conversation, but now he listened intently to see what was going on.

"Can I come with you? Pretty please?" The god watched as his brother smiled at the girl, a genuine smile, and winked at her as he said,

"Maybe some other time. I have some important business to attend to. I'll keep my promise, I swear."

"Where are you going?" The woman was obviously worried for him, though why he did not know. His brother could easily take care for himself. It could just be that she was beginning to fall in love with him.

Earlier that morning, he had accidentally hissed at that thought, and nearly given himself away. Luckily, the woman hadn't notice, though Loki seemed to have. He had only his father's magic to thank that he wasn't caught.

"Down to Brooklyn." The god pulled on a black leather jacket that he had brought out of nowhere just then, surprising the woman. "I'll be back in a few hours. Do not worry for me; I can take care of myself." He left the room, with Thor following quickly after.

Loki sighed and his shoulders lowered a little as he shut the apartment door behind him; it was like all of the air had been sucked out of him. He strode away to the elevator, and the God of Thunder only just slid in-between the metal doors before they closed.

The other sagged a little against one wall, letting out all of his breath.

"Where are you, Thor?" These words were spoken with such despair to the god that he almost wanted to become visible to his brother; to say, 'I am here'. But he resisted and stood there looking sadly at Loki.

...

Thor set his feet back down on the footpath silently once the cab had stopped. He did not recognize where they had stopped, but he knew that it must be important. What was Loki doing here?

He watched his brother enter the building and followed after, still wondering. Thor went to wait by the elevator, observing as Loki talked the receptionist into telling him the room of one 'Steve Rogers'.

What would he want with Captain America, one of the Avengers who had foiled his plan to take over Midgard? His brother was confusing him more and more, and he wondered if it had anything to do with what he had done last night.

The God of Thunder's cheeks burned as he thought of it; he was ashamed that he had taken advantage of Loki, even if he hadn't gone… that far. But this was no time to regret what he had done, the other god was already striding towards the lift and he had to follow him and see what exactly his plan was.

...

He couldn't believe that the Captain would open the door to Loki, though it appeared that he had done just that. He sidled inside as quietly as he could, following them into the lounge and dodging Steve as he went to close the door.

"What do you know about Thor?" The god straightened up at this. Was this what Loki had come here for?

"Quite a lot, actually. But as of right now, I am trying to find out where he is hiding out." Rogers frowned at the ebony-haired male, finally beginning to look suspicious.

"But he should be back in Asgard, back with his brother." Thor heard his brother hiss at this, like a serpent, living up to the Asgardian's nickname of 'silver serpent'.

"They are not… brothers. What I have found out is that Thor has found himself back in Midgard, for unknown reasons. I am currently looking for him, and I was wondering if you would have any idea."

So Loki was looking for him. And he was going to an Avenger to ask. He didn't see the logic of it, especially since he was still supposed to be in Asgard. In fact, how did the god know that he was even here? It must have been the 'dream'…

Suddenly, Steve jumped up from the couch, raising his hands as if to fight Loki, and Thor also readied himself; he lifted up his hammer and waited for the Captain to make the first move.

"You're Loki! How the hell did you find out where my secret hide-out was?"

"You know, you don't look that imposing in America flag boxers." Thor noticed this as well, not very surprised at how far the man's patriotism went. "And it was easy enough for me to find out where your hide-out was. It isn't that secretive. Can we get back to Thor?"

"Why do you care about him? You aren't related, as you said yourself." He pulled down his white t-shirt, although the two could still see bright red, white and blue practically shouting at them.

"I just want to find out where he is. If you can't help me, then I'll leave." His brother was about to leave when Steve stopped him.

"Okay, I'll try to help you. But only if you promise not to attack anyone while you're on Earth and you promise not to hurt Thor."

"I swear. Now, where is the first place that I should start looking?" Thor admired that Loki had agreed to this, and at that moment he was tempted to reveal himself to his brother and take them both back to Asgard.

But he knew that Loki also had to accept that he had changed, and right now, the God of Thunder couldn't be sure of that. He lowered his hammer to his side, and began thinking of what he should do.

Could he let Loki accidentally find him at the place that Rogers suggested, or should he remain hidden and invisible? Although he desperately wanted to meet his brother properly and discuss what had really happened, he must wait until he had fulfilled his father's conditions.

...

"I can't say that I know Thor well, Loki."

"Then just point me in the right direction." Captain scratched the back of his head slowly, making Loki sigh in frustration.

"Look, it isn't my fault that you decided to do all of this and get banished. If you're so angry at me, you can go find someone else to help you, and I doubt that you will."

"Okay, fine. Help me work this out logically. Bring me a quill and parchment."

"Er, a what?" Steve looked at him strangely, the words obviously confusing him. Loki had to remember that they were not from the same place, so things were different.

"Pen and paper," he said after a little while of thinking. "Immediately."

"I'll go get it. You don't have to order me around, you know." As Rogers left to collect the required items, Loki investigated the room a little, noting how it was modern but had a dated feeling to it. Maybe it was just Captain's moodiness.

He heard a cough from the corner and jumped, thinking that it was the Avenger returning. It wasn't, because there was nothing but thin air behind him. Loki narrowed his eyes at this; twice in one day was more than a coincidence.

The raven-haired god stood up slowly, walking around the sofa and towards the corner; he stopped in front of it, emerald eyes peering at it, almost daring it to cough again.

"What are you doing?" He jumped for a second time and turned to glare at Steve.

"Your corner coughed. I was investigating."

"Because that explains everything," he muttered under his breath, shaking his head and sitting back down on the couch. "Now, how were you proposing to sort this out logically?"

Loki sat back down beside him and took the paper, setting it down on the coffee table as he also took the pen.

"We work out all of the people he is emotionally attached to and where they are. As well as the places where he may go separately in the process." He set the pen to the piece of paper.
"So, where do we begin?"

"Well, there's Jane. His girlfriend from Earth." Loki frowned at this but wrote it down anyway. He had forgotten the mortal woman that Thor had fallen in love with. "I don't know where she is, but I could always ask S.H.I.E.L.D her location."

"Would they let you?"

"I'm the leader of the team, of course they will." His eyes flashed with uncertainty though, and the god put a question mark beside Jane Foster. "Then there are the Avengers."

"Hm, yes. If there was a crisis on Midgard, I am sure that Thor would return to protect you all. That would also explain his return here." He wrote down Avengers and tapped the pen on the table, looking at the wall blankly.

Captain cleared his throat, not sure of how exactly to put his next words.

"You know, there are, well, there is you. His brother."

"He is not my brother," hissed Loki angrily, scribbling down his own name. "We are not related."

"And how does that change anything? If you grow up with someone your whole life that means that you must have some sort of connection with each other." Steve's voice grew a bit wistful at this point. "And sometimes you just throw it away."

"Let us continue this list without getting distracted. Who else is there?"

"I don't think that there's anyone else," Captain said after a short pause. "Thor doesn't come here very often, you know. And he doesn't get attached to people easily."

"I know. So, we only have 3 options to choose from. There is Jane, in an undisclosed location; there are the Avengers, who would presumably be at the airship being debriefed; and then there is me. Here."

"You said that you heard coughing before? At least, I think you did." Loki frowned at him.

"Yes, but I believed that to be my imagination. Thor could not possibly be here with us, right here, right now. He is an oaf, and he doesn't have a single drop of magic in his blood." He paused for a moment. "Unless it had something to do with my father. Wait. Quiet."

He got up from the couch, cocking his head to one side. If he was silent, he would be able to hear the breathing in the room. Loki closed his eyes, tuning into the sound waves around him.

"Rogers. Could you please stop breathing so loudly?" the god said, opening his eyes.

"I'll go make myself a coffee," the blonde said sulkily, leaving the room with a scowl on his face. Loki closed his eyes once again and tried to listen to the room all around him. For a moment he could've sworn…

But then it was gone. Whatever had been there earlier had left, probably along with the Captain so as not to disturb the sound waves. If it was his brother, then he was already becoming more intelligent; if it wasn't, then there was someone spying on him.

"I will find you, Thor," he whispered angrily. "You can't hide from me forever." He turned swiftly away from the wall and snatched up the piece of paper from the table. Without even saying a farewell to Steve, he left the apartment stealthily.

...

It was fortunate that he had decided to leave once the two had begun to talk about the people he was 'emotionally attached' to. If he hadn't, it was probable that Loki would have found him.

Unfortunately, he now had to hide by the apartment door until someone decided to leave. And waiting was not his specialty. He could feel his hammer throbbing, and he clenched his other hand into a fist and attempted not to hit anything. Standing here was so boring.

He had a mind to sneak back into the room and allow Loki to find him, though that would have gone against his father's express commands; then again, he had already broken them by interacting with his brother yesterday.

How he wished that he could tell Loki how he really felt…