"Thor!" Loki gasped, at his side in an instant. "What did you do? How did you even know...? Thor!" He shook him gently, and when he received no response he shook him heartily. Nervous green eyes darted from one side of the room to the other. It would do no good to call the dwarves. They were the reason that his brother now lay sprawled on the cold, unfeeling floor, paler than the snow and breathing so shallow it was as if it might stop at any moment.

He turned his attention - he must focus, he must focus - back to the cuffs that he was so close to undoing. His nails bit down into the latches and he put aside all care for his fingers, shifting them in an awkward angle he would have otherwise avoided. He was rewarded with a snapping sound and the cuff fell off. He worked the other one off in a much quicker manner.

Freed from the magic suppressers he pulled his brother's much larger form up against him, cradling him in a way that he would never have been caught doing at any other point. Thor could be infuriating more times than not, driving him to the brink of blinding rage, but he did love his brother dearly. More dearly than he could ever truly express, and it was that love that put aside his usual self-preservation.

Thor felt so cold in his arms, but as he gripped the blond's hand he could feel it warm as he used a spell he had never though he'd have need for. He tangled his other hand in blond hair, murmuring his words against his brother's temple: spell, benediction, plea. Thor had always been full of surprises, but surely never one so harrowing as this.

Slowly, oh so very slowly, Thor was growing warmer, closer to the temperature Loki knew he should be. He could feel himself growing colder and heavier, the only place remaining warm were his lips where Thor's words had worked. And it had worked. Loki was not certain he would ever recover from his brother's small victory.

Thor stirred, his breathing deepened. Bright blue eyes opened and Loki felt some of the knots in his chest loosen. "What were you thinking?" he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Thor sighed. "You know perfectly well what I was thinking." he grumbled. He tried to sit up and Loki helped him, but did not release his hand. He needed just a little longer.

"Looks as if the dwarves' wine is not so potent after all," Thor chuckled, obviously feeling stronger than he had only a few minutes before. He stood, a bit shakily, but brought his brother with him. His laughter faded as he took his brother's paling form in.

Loki gave him a small smile, hoping to distract him long enough. "Or perhaps you're just stronger than they anticipated."

Thor seemed to realize that his brother had a death grip on his hand and slowly put the pieces together. He may not have known exactly what spell Loki had cast, but he knew that his recovering health was coming at the cost of his brother's diminishing. "What are you doing?" he growled out, trying to snatch his hand away.

"Saving your life," the dark haired prince snapped back.

Thor wrenched his hand from Loki's grasp with a growl of frustration. "Enough!" he exclaimed.

"You do not wish for me to save your life?" Loki asked, rubbing his wrists absently.

"You have done enough, brother. Taken on enough." Thor said, backing away until he was out of arm's reach in case Loki tried to take hold of him again. He laughed mirthlessly. "Stronger than they anticipated. I think not. I do not think I am exceeding their expectations in any manner. Meet them, though just that." He turned a rueful gaze on his brother. "They may yet think more of me than you do."

Loki felt a pang and wondered if it was from the fact that Thor thought such a thing or whether it was because it was closer to the truth than both of them liked. Thor coughed, but not as deeply as earlier and Loki found himself scooting imperceptibly closer.

His brother shot him a wary look and Loki held up his hands as if to show his innocence in the movement. He could feel the poison that he had drained from the elder Asgardian working its way through his own veins now and he gave an involuntary shutter, the entire room pulsing for a moment.

Thor moved and took hold of the younger prince, hauling him backward so that they were both leaned up against the wall. "Don't try anything," he warned.

"Ungrateful," Loki responded. He had meant it as a jest, but voice sounded rough and harsh as he spoke and he couldn't hold back a cough any longer. That one was as if opening a floodgate and his body began to rebel against him. His chest tightened and he swallowed against the fit that threatened him. He was so concentrated on staying upright that he hadn't noticed Thor moving again, his hand steadying him at the elbow. His brother was strong, Loki realized. He had not taken all of the poison from him, perhaps a little over half, and even that was ripping at him in an instant as it had taken time to begin to do to Thor.

A large hand covered his own and his brother's voice rang in his ears. "Can't you give it back?"

"Doesn't work like that," Loki managed between gritted teeth.

"Excellent. That is simply excellent." Thor said. "Can you counter it with a spell of some kind?"

"Believe it or not, dear brother, there is not a spell for everything. Unless you have more tricks up your sleeve." Loki said pointedly.

"Alas, you have witnessed the only magic words I happen to possess."

"That I knew, since it is apparent you know neither please nor thank you either." Loki said curtly.

"Mother would be so proud of you for pointing that out. I'll be sure to let her know that you insist on court etiquette even to the bitter end." Thor replied, pulling away and going to the door of their hold. He pressed his hands against it, testing its strength.

Loki slid down the wall to sit again, wrapping his arms around his torso. "Let's not argue now." the trickster said softly, bringing one hand up to gently tug at his bottom lip. It was sore, but would not even be that in two days.

"You? Unwilling to argue?" He turned to shoot a glare at his dark haired sibling, but found he could not. Loki was watching him intensely from his seat, looking as pale and worn as Thor was sure he did earlier. His limbs still felt stiff and cumbersome. He was certainly not his usual boisterous self, nor was Loki at the top of his game. They would have to be careful in their escape and they would have to work together. "Who do you suppose that Arlan they kept mentioning is?" Thor asked at last, turning his attention back to the door.

"I have no idea," his brother responded quietly and sighed. "You're still cross with me, aren't you?"

Thor leaned against the door and felt the wood strain under his fingers, the very grain of the wood beginning to groan in protest and he eased back so he did not send it splintering into the hallway before they were ready to move. He sighed. "Am I not allowed to be cross with you? You've certainly been cross with me plenty of times."

"That's because you have done foolish things plenty of times." Loki said reasonably.

Thor turned and leaned his back against the door, crossing his arms. "Perhaps you only think my actions foolish because they are not the actions you would have taken. I can never be like you, Loki, I haven't your type of skill. Will you never allow me to permit you a kindness without calling it foolishness?"

Loki snorted. "You call it kindness, but it is that kindness that will be your undoing. You get us into these messes and then when you realize that you have, you blunder around even more trying to get us out. In the end, I'm the one putting everything straight and usually end up in the healing rooms for my efforts." He had stood some time during his short, irritable rant, raising his chin the air as he spoke.

They stood, the room turning into a heated battle ground of words as it often seemed to now, and Loki crossed his arms stubbornly, perhaps not even noticing that he mirrored his brother's own stance.

Thor's expression hardened and Loki might have not imagined the distant rumbling far above them. "You are right. My antics have troubled you far too long and as soon as we return home I vow to trouble you and land you in the hands of the healers no more. Now, if you would like to leave this forsaken place and the escape the intolerance of my company, shall I unhinge the door or is that blundering for you, brother? Surely you have some much more graceful way of whispering to it and seducing it out of it's locks?" the thunder god growled.

The distant rumbling grew ever so slightly louder and Loki wondered if lightning could strike this far into the earth by his brother's spontaneous anger. Surely, if it could, it would find him.

He sighed, knowing that he needed to quench his brother's fury - hurt - before any escape was attempted. They would need to work together, as they always did when things went well. Not that Loki would like to admit that out loud. "Forgive me, brother," Loki murmured. "I let my words get carried away. I didn't mean to offend you."

"You never do. It just comes easily," Thor snapped, not to be settled so quickly this time. "Poor, dumb Thor, so quick to throw his brother into peril."

"That's not what I said and you know that."

"It is what you said!" Thor was breathing hard now, the poison not yet gone from his system. He coughed into his hands, his body shaking under the pressure.

Loki took a step forward, genuine worry written on his features. He was at his brother's side before either realized it and reached out to him. "I'm sorry," he whispered sincerely.

"Sorry you said it or sorry you're stuck with me for a brother?" Thor asked roughly, pulling away.

Loki's outstretched hand met only air and he stood there, for once not knowing what to say.

Thor turned back to the door. "We need a strategy, then, if we are to reach the Bifrost without getting cut down by dwarves or ensnared by their mysterious guest. And since we're back in this fortress, if we happen to pass by the chamber where they've laid Mjolnir I should like to reclaim her." Thor said.

"I know paths through their little kingdom well enough, I think, to get us to surface without rousing them." Loki said. He ran a hand through dark hair, tousling the strands in frustration. He never failed to have the right words, especially where his brother was concerned. For an apology to fall short with Thor was almost an insult. He sighed, feeling ill and exhausted. "To get to Mjolnir we'll need to go up-" he stopped, running over the layout in his mind - "four flights. They were keeping it in a banquet hall close to the exit."

"That sounds like a trap."

"Yes, well, if you want it we'll go fetch it. That is what we came here for, after all, and it would be a shame to leave it behind. I can always cover our escape in fog or something of the like if we need it."

Thor nodded, accepting the plan and he took hold of the door. He gave it a sharp push, the wood creaking and shattering under his powerful grip and they were released.

"It does seem simple, doesn't it?" Loki murmured, looking down the hall in both directions.

"Let us not be malcontent with a few moments of peace." Thor said. The blond eased down the hallway towards the stairs. Loki stayed several paces behind in case they were ambushed. They reached the base of the stairs with still no one in sight, and no movements could be heard above them.

"They're not very intent on guarding their prisoners." Loki mused.

"They probably thought I would be dead and you would be lost to a painful sleep." Thor replied.

"Or they are not expecting us until later. Haste may be the only advantage we have right now." Loki said.

They slipped up the stairs in near silence, Thor easing open the door at the top.

Loki might have once wished for nothing more than a few moments of silence from his elder brother, but he found the cold quiet and few curt words to be almost painful to him. Thor rarely stayed angry long when something managed to get under his skin, but this seemed to be the exception. He had not looked directly at his brother since the holding room and he continued to avoid eye contact even as green eyes slid to try and capture blue.

He'll come around once we're home, Loki promised himself, trying to push down the uneasy feeling that was clawing at him. All he was sure of at the present was he was not overly fond of the current Thor. He decided that he would complain less about the other's natural sunnier disposition in the future. "Right in there," he whispered, pointing to the banquet hall that he'd taken the wine from previously.

The brothers reached the table without being caught, which made Loki even more uncomfortable. These were dwarves, not given to lying in wait for long periods of time and certain not given to moving stealthily through their own abodes. There was a greater force at work and he was becoming convinced that it would spring and both of them would be caught in its jaws. "Get it and let us leave, please." Loki nearly hissed.

"What is that?" Thor demanded.

Loki turned, not understanding what could fascinate his brother so much as to delay taking up the hammer and continuing their escape. As soon as he caught sight of what his brother pointed at, he understood. He frowned, smiled, and started laughing.

Thor was not amused. "Did you do this? This is a most tasteless jest. Change it back at once. I will not carry such...such a..."

"Priceless treasure?" Loki offered, still laughing.

"Monstrosity!"

The younger prince was now shaking as he tried to stifle his laughter, hand to his mouth to smother any giggles that escaped. Thor looked ready to unleash on him. "Change it back!" he nearly roared, remembering last second to keep his voice down so that it came out as a seething whisper.

Loki gathered his wits about him, staring at the hammer. It was shrunken in size and the most atrocious shade of pink he had ever seen in his life. Were those flowers...? He had to admit it did seem like something he might have done if he were trying to rile his elder brother. "I'm afraid I cannot take credit, though I almost wish I could." At the look he received he threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Not against you, brother, of course, but only so that I would know who had changed it. It is a bit of sorcery that the dwarves wouldn't know."

"Can you change it back?" Thor asked, sounding mildly desperate.

"I'm sure that I can. I'll need my books, though, to see what kind of magic this may be. But yes, I can. I'm almost positive." Loki said, grinning at the way Thor's jaw twitched when he heard the word "almost".

"Not even Sif would use this." Thor pointed out.

"Certainly not. Fandral would use it in this condition long before Sif would near it." Loki agreed. "But it is what it is, and we must go. So grab your flower, I'm sorry, hammer, and let's be off."

Thor's murderous look and equally vicious grumblings were lost as Loki almost cheerfully lead the way back to the hallway.

He stopped in the doorway, dread seeping into his veins. His halt had been so sudden that Thor bumped into him, and he tilted his head in a questioning way.

"I don't think this is some idle sorcerer," he murmured. "I've never sensed anything so... powerful." He lifted a hand, fog spreading out before them as if it were born of the stones it came from. Loki took a breath, looking as if he were steadying himself. "The poison is making it difficult to control my magic. We'll have to move quickly and I can't spread it out too far."

Thor gave him no argument and no hesitation. They moved quickly through the halls, the stones cold around them and dripping with condensation in places. Loki's breathing became heavier and he reached out to stop his brother. "He knows where we are." Loki said, voice so low Thor could barely hear him.

"Whom?"

"This sorcerer. We are being watched. It is not intended for us to leave this place, but I think I can distract him." Loki said, cut off by Thor's sound of displeasure.

"I know where you are taking this line of thought-"

"And you will let me finish it. I have felt this before, do you understand? You must return to Asgard. We are both affected and will need help. Please don't argue, we haven't long."

Thor did look ready to argue, but he met his younger brother's eyes and saw that he was pleading in earnest. "I can't leave you to him."

"I'll be along. I swear."

Thor stared at him, hand finally coming up to the side of Loki's face. "Don't think I'll easily forgive you if you don't come back."

Loki managed a smile at this. "Keep going straight on. You'll reach a turn down the way. Take to it to right and then straight out."

"I'll meet you at the Bifrost site."

"You should go on ahead."

"I'll meet you at the Bifrost site. If you don't come, I'm coming back for you myself."

Words died on Loki's tongue before they ever made it past his lips. Words that spoke of how much he did care for his brother and how he had been wrong earlier. They spoke of trust and love and devotion between them, things that were never spoken of anymore, and would not be spoken in that moment. He swallowed the words and forced a smile. "Be careful," he said instead. "I shouldn't want to explain to Father that his favorite didn't come home."

"Nor do I." Thor said. He brushed his thumb across Loki's cheek once and was gone, slipping outside Loki's circle of fog.

TBC

A/N: We are never lacking for available adorableness from these brothers. Gotta love them =)