A/N I think there are probably going to be two more chapters after this one to wrap this story up. I don't want this story to end but it has to eventually, so prepare yourselves. The end is coming.

So... Sad news this week. Although many, if not all of you will likely disagree with me. Spider-man is going to be added into the Avengers universe. Since I don't care for Spider-man, I am less than enthused about this. I know there are a lot of Spider-man fans out there that are probably overjoyed about this but I'm not one of them. I don't outright hate Spider-man but I don't particularly like him either. Here's hoping Feige can manage to make me like Spider-man.

Every week I am so humbled by the amazing reviews I receive. Your support and encouragement get me through more doubts and discouragement then you guys will probably ever know! :)

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DragonsAddicted- Thank you so much! You really are too kind! I can't even express how much your wonderful reviews, and the lovely reviews from everyone, mean to me! :)

Guest- Thanks for the review! That is actually purely coincidence. I know almost nothing about any of the mythology. I'm pretty much entirely going off the movies here. I don't even really know anything about the comics even. I actually didn't come up with the name. A friend of mine helped me come up with it and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know much about the mythology either. So don't read anything into it. The similarities are just accidental.

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Unexpected Support

Loki, Thor, and their friends exited the throne room, all talking excitedly about the ceremony and their awards.

"Go on without me. There's something I need to do," Loki said.

"Brother?" Thor asked, slight concern in his tone.

"It's nothing bad, Thor. There's just someone I need to speak to."

Thor hesitated a moment before nodding. "All right. Come find us when you're finished."

Loki nodded and watched them walk up the hall. Once they had disappeared from sight, he leaned against the wall and sighed deeply. He really did need to talk to someone but he also needed just a moment of solitude to absorb everything that had happened.

The entire ceremony, the recognition and honor, Tyrnir, it was all a bit overwhelming for him. He had spent his whole life ignored in the shadows and now he was suddenly the center of everyone's attention, gratitude, and adoration. It was going to take a lot of getting used to.

With a wave of his hand, Loki produced Tyrnir and simply stared at it, the silver gleaming in the light and the jewel glinting green at his touch. He couldn't stop looking at it. It was beautiful. It was perfect. And he still couldn't believe it was his.

"You should know, it was all your father's idea," Frigga said, breaking him out of his thoughts.

He turned to see her moving up the hallway toward him.

"Really?" he asked in surprise.

"Really," Frigga said, coming to a stop beside him. "He had it commissioned, laid out all the specifics, and even helped make it. We both did. He had the dwarfs make the actual spear, then we both worked out the magical side of it."

Loki smiled. He was finally starting to understand what Steve had meant about Odin's way of showing he cared.

"Thank you," Loki said.

"Your father was right. You deserve it. It is long overdue," Frigga said, caressing his cheek and kissing his forehead. "Now then, you better go. Your friends are probably waiting."

"Actually, I have somewhere else I need to go first," Loki said.

)()()(

Loki pulled his horse to a stop as he reached the end of the rainbow bridge and dismounted. He left the horse there and walked into the bifrost dome.

"Prince Loki," Heimdall greeted when he saw him.

"Heimdall," Loki greeted back.

"What brings you here, My Lord?" the gatekeeper asked.

"I have not yet had a chance to apologize to you for freezing you with The Casket," Loki said.

"You need not apologize for actions beyond your control, My Prince."

"Still, I am sorry," Loki said.

"And I thank you, My Prince," Heimdall said, bowing respectfully in acceptance.

Thinking there was nothing more to be said, Loki was about to turn to leave when Heimdall's voice stopped him.

"My Prince, if I may?"

Loki nodded, giving Heimdall leave to say whatever he wished.

"Your dreams are troubled and your nights restless and without sleep."

Loki didn't say anything but nodded. It was useless to deny it. Heimdall saw almost everything. It wouldn't have been hard for him to see Loki wake from his nightmares and sit alone in the dark until morning.

"Burdens often become lighter when shared," Heimdall said.

Loki knew the gatekeeper was probably right but he didn't know how to talk to someone about it. He didn't know how to tell someone else that he couldn't ever get a full night's sleep. And he wasn't even sure who to go to for that.

"Thank you, Heimdall, but..." Loki trailed off, looking unsure.

"Just know, My Prince, you are not the only son of Odin who finds his nights disrupted by the dark fears within his mind."

Loki looked at Heimdall in surprise for a long moment before smiling gratefully.

"Thank you, Heimdall."

"It is my honor, Prince Loki."

)()()(

Later that night, Loki was once again waking from a nightmare.

Loki sat up and pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head on his knees and sighing in equal parts fatigue, frustration, and resignation. It looked like yet another sleepless night of sitting alone in the dark, waiting for the sun to come up.

Loki was tired and not just physically. He was tired of the same routine. He was tired of letting his past haunt him and encroach on his life. He was tired of the fear and of carrying this burden on his own.

Perhaps Heimdall was right. Perhaps he should talk to at least someone. Even Tony had told him that letting just one person in helped. Regardless of whether he should or shouldn't, Loki knew he no longer had a choice. He couldn't keep going like this. The lack of sleep was more than starting to wear on him, and it was no way to live. So, reluctantly, he got out of bed and left his room, silently padding across the hall to Thor's room.

He hesitated a moment before forcing himself to open the door and quietly slip inside. What he found was not quite what he expected. Instead of being still and sound asleep, like Loki would have thought, Thor was tossing and twitching restlessly in the middle of his own nightmare.

Loki carefully approached the bed, hesitating a moment before resolving to wake his brother and try to save him some of the torment of whatever dream he was having.

"Thor," Loki called softly. "Thor," he reached out and gently shook his brother's shoulder.

Thor's eyes snapped open and Loki instinctively leaped back, expecting an instinctive attack of some sort from the older prince. For once, though, Thor didn't unintentionally strike out and Loki slowly moved back over to the bed.

"Brother?" Thor asked, confused.

"You were having a nightmare," Loki said.

Thor sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. "I'm sorry I woke you."

"You didn't," Loki assured.

"Then how-"

"I was already awake," Loki admitted. "I... I had a nightmare of my own and I thought..." he looked away.

"I'm glad you came," Thor said and Loki looked at him in surprise.

"You are?"

"I told you if you needed me to come. I'm glad you did. Besides, I could use your company after my dream."

"Do you wish to talk about it?" Loki asked.

Thor sighed but reluctantly nodded as he sat up in bed. Loki stepped forward and sat on the foot of the bed, facing his brother.

"It's usually some variation of the same dream most nights. Sometimes we're hanging off the rainbow bridge, sometimes it's the battle with Thanos, and sometimes it's the healing chambers, but the result is always the same. You die," Thor said quietly.

"Most nights?" Loki asked. "How long have the nightmares been going on?"

"Since the battle," Thor admitted. "Since I almost lost you."

Loki leaned forward and grabbed Thor's hand, placing it over his heart so Thor felt his brother's heart beating.

"I'm right here," Loki said.

"Thank you, Brother," Thor said softly, reaching out to gently squeeze the back of Loki's neck before letting his hand drop. "Now, what about you? You said you had a nightmare."

Loki paused for a moment before taking a deep breath and speaking.

"It's usually of the battle. Except, in my dreams, no matter what I do, I'm never strong enough or fast enough. I cannot defeat Thanos. I cannot save Father. Everyone I love dies and Asgard burns."

"But none of that happened. You were strong enough and fast enough. You saved us all," Thor said.

"I know, I just... It could have been different so easily," Loki said, looking away.

"Brother, look at me," Thor said. Loki reluctantly turned back to meet Thor's gaze. "You cannot dwell on what ifs. Those things did not happen nor will they ever now. If you keep dwelling on what could have happened instead of what did happen, it will consume you."

Loki sighed but a slight smirk pulled at his mouth.

"When did you become so wise?" he asked, his voice gentle and fond.

"When I finally started paying attention to my smart, wise, amazing younger brother," Thor said.

Loki ducked his head and smiled shyly. He was still figuring out how to take praise from people, especially his family.

"Now, I want to know why you didn't come to me before now," Thor said.

"I didn't want to be a burden," Loki admitted quietly.

"You will never be a burden to me," Thor promised, moving his hand to gently rest on Loki's cheek, earning a small smile from the younger prince. "What made you finally decide to come to me?"

"I spoke to Heimdall earlier today," Loki replied. "I needed to apologize to him for my actions when I was king. While I was there, he told me he knew my nights were troubled and that I should share my burdens with someone. He also told me I wasn't the only one having nightmares. Now the question is, why didn't you come to me?"

"You needed your rest. I didn't want to disturb you."

In all honesty, Thor had wanted to go to his brother. Every night that he woke from yet another dream of Loki's death, he had the nearly overwhelming urge to go check on his brother, just to see that he really was there and still alive, that the dreams really were dreams and nothing more. But he never did. He didn't want to wake his brother and he repeatedly told himself he was being ridiculous, that Loki was fine and just across the hall. However, that didn't keep him from lying awake in the dark for the remainder of the night until the sun finally rose.

"Well, as it turns out, you wouldn't have been disturbing me," Loki said with soft chuckle.

Thor huffed a slight laugh in return. "No, I suppose not."

They were both silent for a long moment before Loki decided that neither one of them could keep doing this every night and it was about time things changed.

"All right, how about this?" he said. "From now on, if either of us needs the other for anything, regardless of the time, we will seek each other out. Deal?"

"Deal," Thor said with a grin.

"Excellent," Loki said with an answering grin. "Now, move over."

Thor complied and shifted to make room for Loki to lie down beside him. Loki got into bed and curled up next to Thor who wrapped his arms around his brother. It wasn't long before they were both asleep again.

That night, neither Prince of Asgard sat awake in the dark waiting for dawn.

)()()(

The morning of the feast was filled with chaos and confusion as the palace staff worked to finish the final preparations for the banquet. Loki and Thor had long since learned, on mornings like this, to pick a room and hide until the insanity settled down. Their fellow Avengers would have found out the hard way that it was better to make themselves scarce when a feast was being prepared, if it hadn't been for Thor and Loki giving them fair warning.

That was how the seven of them ended up congregated in Tony's room where they sat around and talked and joked while the servants bustled through the halls outside.

"Man it is crazy out there," Clint said as he reentered Tony's chambers after braving the chaos in the halls to make a trip to his own room and back. "Is it always like that?"

"On days of feasts, ceremonies, or other big celebrations, it is always chaos before," Thor said.

"Thor and I always find a place to hide until the preparations have been completed," Loki said.

"Hide?" Tony asked in a teasing tone. "I thought you liked chaos."

"I prefer the chaos I cause," Loki said with a smirk.

"Have you ever caused any on a day like this?" Steve asked.

"Well..." Loki said. "I did have this idea once about pulling a prank on the cook, but I never actually did it."

Steve shared a look with his father before they both turned back to Loki, matching grins on their faces and mischief shining in their eyes.

"Oh no!" Natasha and Bruce said in unison, their tones promising consequences if they were ignored.

"Uh uh," Clint said, his tone trying to warn Tony and Steve not to do anything stupid while Thor quickly shook his head at the two men.

Natasha, Bruce, Clint, and Thor were so focused on Tony and Steve that none of them saw an identical, diabolical grin spread across Loki's features to match the ones still on Tony's and Steve's faces.

A/N Feel free to send me any theories you might have concerning what might happen with Steve, Tony, and Loki. Will they go through with the prank? If so, what will the prank be? Will they get caught? Will they get in trouble? Will they even care if they get in trouble? Let me know what you think! :)

Next chapter, Tony, Steve, and Loki may or may not get themselves into a bit of trouble. But as far as they're concerned, it may or may not have been so worth it. Then, it's been a month since Loki came home and Asgard is finally having the welcome home feast that they've been meaning to have. Although, now it's also kind of doubling as a 'we won the war and the majority of us are still alive' celebration. Might as well kill two birds with one banquet.