Thor looked at the room – and it was darker than anything that he'd ever seen.

His friends were there, the man of iron and the captain of America – and so was his brother.

Loki.

I have lost you so many times, and yet you always come back to me.

Loki.

But he didn't look like the Loki he'd known, the Loki he'd feared – the Loki he had even hated. No, this Loki was distressed, lightly sleeping in beads of sweat, kicking the sheets, eyes closed with force, ill. This was the Loki from the time when they were kids and he had nightmares and mysterious sicknesses and Thor played the big brother. This was the Loki that cared not about war or anything like that. A Loki who only wanted some water, because he was thirsty. A Loki who looked at him through glassy eyes and told him thanks for staying with him and not going hunting with his friends.

He approached his brother with a heavy heart. Sif had warned him that Loki was ill, but… Seeing him like that… He'd always imagined that Loki's end would come in battle. Part of him hoped they would be on the same side, although he knew that was not very realistic. But this… the excessively warm face, the sweat, the pained expresion, even in his sleep. This was not how Loki was supposed to go – like a child, scared, diseased. No, Loki was meant for something much more grand.

Thor also noticed things that were not supposed to be there, things that weren't caused by any symptom of the condition. Wounds, bruises, abrasions. He caressed his brother's too-hot cheek and Loki moaned, moving in his uneasy sleep. He vaguely registered the Captain talking to him.

"….good to see you, Thor. We were getting worried."

"What happened to Loki?" Asked Thor, ignoring Rogers. "Did you fight him? Why is he this badly wounded?"

Tony and Steve looked at each other. Neither of them wanted to tell the god of thunder that his little brother had been tortured. They knew he would be angry, and Thor's anger was not something they were looking forward to. But anything that was not the truth would only infuriate him more.

"It was SHIELD. The company we worked for last time we were here. Fury and his agents." Steve started.

"They fought Loki?"

That would've been a more ideal scenario.

"Not exactly. They found him and took him in… prisoner. But he wouldn't answer to the questions they had, so they… well, you can imagine the rest." Tony said, looking everywhere but at Thor.

The god slammed his fist, effectively creating a crater in one of the walls. The implication of Stark's word was soemthing he didn't like. Not one bit.

"We didn't know." Tony was quick to add. "Soon as we found out we sprung him out of there. Whatever he's done, that's out of the line, what they did to him. And it was pretty obvious that the guy needed some medical attention."

Thor looked at him.

"And Loki didn't fight SHIELD? Why?"

There was a terrible sadness in Thor's eyes. One thing was not wanting to see his brother hurting other people and another was knowing he was helplessly being hurt. That was too much. That was also not Loki.

"So… Thor, before you tell us what's been going on… Do you have anything to help him? Any kind of pain reliever? He's developed some sort of immunity to the ones I've been giving him…" Bruce said, awkward as usual. But he also wanted Thor to know that they hadn't just let Loki writhe in pain, that they had given him something, took care of him.

"I do."

Thor still had some leftover potion Eir had given him for his pains, from when he was afflicted with the disease. He'd thought of getting rid of it when he found himself miraculously cured but the Lady Jane told him to keep it, in case he had a relapse. Now, maybe, it could give Loki some relief.

But he had to awaken him first. He approached his brother and softly spoke to him.

"Loki? Loki, you need to wake up."

The sheer familiarity of the voice woke Loki up. It was a voice he'd heard a thousand times, a voice that had taken him out of many nightmares, tended to his fevers. A voice he'd heard since he had memory. The voice of a brother.

"Thor… you're here."

"I am, brother. Now I need you to sit up, I have something for your pain."

The words were sweeter than those of an angel. Thor was there, and he was alive, and he was going to relieve his pain. There were tears in his eyes – tears of joy.

"Sit, please, Loki. I need you to drink this."

Thor was fuzzy and blurry and very out of focus, but it was him. It was his voice, and he would recognize it anywhere in the whole nine realms. And Loki did so, without much hesitation but a lot of effort. The others just watched as Thor caringly cradled his brother's head and gave him the green liquid he had with him.

"With Eir's best wishes."

It wasn't true, Eir had brewed this potion for him, not Loki, but Thor couldn't bear seeing Loki in such a pitiful state, and was trying to comfort Loki in any way he could. Maybe if he thought that there was people in Asgard that still appreciated him it would easy the pain in his heart. Sadly, Thor could see that not only his brother's body was suffering, but his mind as well. He thought of the time he'd spent in this planet, in prison, treated terribly by those SHIELD people, probably being insulted. As id Loki didn't have enough of self-worth problems. Loki had the uncanny ability of remembering every bad word and every let-down from him or his father, but dismissed the good things they'd done for him.

Loki closed his eyes again, but they seemed to smiling. It was the most happy the Avengers had seen him since he was back on Earth. But Thor was sad. He couldn't believe he had left Loki be tortured and abandoned in a strange planet, on the hands of enemies. No matter what he had done, he was still family. He would always be. And Thor was the only one Loki had left anymore. He'd tried not caring about him, but it didn't work.

He watched him as he slept.

"So, Thor…. Can you fill us in on what the hell has happened? Why has your amnesic brother appeared on earth without his magic and why he's become so depressive?" Tony asked.

"Amnesic?" The others nodded.

"It is a lengthy tale." Thor said, as only answer.

So they went to the living room, telling JARVIS to warn them if Loki showed some changes. Thor started his lengthy tale, trying to sum it up as much as possible.

"I brought the Lady Jane to Asgard… and we were attacked. I was infected with an incurable disease. I was using Loki to help against this new foe, before it was too late… but he betrayed us. Then our enemy betrayed him – and they started fighting each other, it was… bloody, very bloody. And then they disappeared, the both of them, and there was only blood left and our All-seer couldn't see them anymore."

Thor sighed. He remembered mourning Loki, but also thinking it could be good, since he wouldn't be around anymore to betray him and spoil e the few good memories he had left of him. He thought he couldn't do any more good. He was wrong.

"And then I was suddenly cured, and the only thing Heimdall could see were traces of blood, so we were convinced that Loki had perished after killing our enemy. But now he is here, and he has the illness I used to have… and you tell me he has no memories…"

"He was afraid he had killed you." Tony said. "And a bit confused about why he had sad at all. But he still loves you, that much is clear."

Thor ran his hands through his hair, confused but glad that Loki still lived, even if he was in a bad condition.

"Friends, I…. I appreciate the hospitality you'd shown my brother. You were there for him when even most needed it, when even I forsook him. I will not forget this kindness."

"We were happy to help." Steve said, and smiled.

As he watched Loki, the picture of calm and pale beauty in his bed, he nodded. He deserved this – and so did Thor. A new chance.

Sif looked through old parchments while Eir read ancient books, both women desperately searching for a cure, something they had missed the last time. Sif had lied. She'd said Thor was again sick, fearing that if she said it was Loki the healer wouldn't help her. She didn't know why she was doing this.

Maybe it was for Thor's sake. Maybe she'd grown too fond of Loki.

But one thing she knew – they weren't going to lose this fight if she had a say in it.

It was already night and his friend were discussing something about chemistry in one of Stark's lab. They had taken a sample of Thor's potion and were trying to duplicate it. Steve and Natasha were doing some more thing to keep SHIELD far away and Thor was on his brother's bedside, holding his pale hand.

He had awoken some hours before, and threw up some blood while looking at him with teary eyes. Thor held his shaking frame and said soothing words, hoping to be able to do more. He couldn't.

At last, Loki fell asleep again.

And Thor had to see it. He needed it to see to understand the state of Loki – because the one he'd seen last on Asgard and this one bore no resemblance. He had to see it, no matter how much it hurt.

"Machine, JARVIS. Do you have images of Loki's time after he was found by SHIELD?"

"I do, sir. But I would not advise.."

"Show them to me."

"All right."

It was a nightmare.

He saw Loki crying and being insulted. He saw his brother not wanting to see his own reflection but being forced. He saw his brother weep, and be hurt in every possible way. For days, and days and days. It hurt. It hurt bad.

While the footage kept rolling, two silent tears went down the cheeks of the god of thunder.

A/N: Why have plot when you can have gratuitous brother bonding and whump?

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