For those who wondered where Thor went during all this, look no further. The poor guy needed a break after virtually thirteen years of worrying his butt off for his little brother. Welp, things aren't going to get any better for him, nehehehehe.

Also, I'm a little under the impression that people think Loki no longer has a tongue at the current moment? I was under the impression that people like Thor and Loki and the rest of the AEsir have the magical ability to regenerate, so just to clarify, Loki still has a tongue. He just...keeps tearing it out among other things. Just to make sure!

One last thing: THE WONDERFUL ORDIS MADE A LOVELY LITTLE FANFICTION FOR MY STORY. She based it off of the section where the Chitauri feeds Loki bread when Loki was in captivity. Check it out! /s/8578222/1/Daktoa-for-One

Thank you all so much to those who reviewed! You guys truly make me so happy and motivated, and each one of them brings a smile to my face. Thank you all for your support!

Thor was more than just tired. He felt as if he hadn't slept for a millennium. Truthfully, he had not slept a wink during those ten pseudo-years that he had spent searching for Loki in the empty space, and he certainly couldn't bring himself to sleep when he came on Earth, always on guard that SHIELD agents may turn their word against him and Loki and let their ill will take advantage of them. It wasn't that he didn't trust SHIELD (or at least, he denied it in himself vehemently), but he knew that if they were anything like he once was before his banishment, they would not fear nor hesitate to seek revenge.

He sat silently in the kitchen of Stark Tower, warming his hands on the cup of coffee Pepper had brewed for him. She silently fixed herself a cup of hot tea while he mulled on the circumstances, careful not to tread on his silence. She was a practical woman, and a lovely one at that; more than enough to balance the impulsive Tony Stark.

"Banner and Stark have been with Loki for a long time," Thor said, his voice remaining calm.

Pepper glanced back at Thor. "They were still running tests on Loki last time I checked," said Pepper. "They thought they found some sort of radiation coming out of him, but they wanted to make sure."

"From the wound on his chest?" said Thor. Bruce had tried to bring Thor into Loki's room to confirm the origins of the strange blue scars, but Loki adamantly refused to show it to Thor, nearly lashing out on him in the process. In the end, Thor had to settle with seeing a screenshot of it that JARVIS took for him. It was compelling, to be frank, if not almost familiar, but unless Thor could actually behold it himself, he could hardly recognize it.

"Yeah," said Pepper, dipping her teabag into the hot water. Amber blossomed on the surface. "It's still not showing up in X-rays, but Tony suspects whatever this thing is would probably be located near Loki's heart."

Thor gritted his teeth. Thanos never did things halfway, apparently. He was convinced this was the very poison that nearly killed Loki on the quinjet, but as for what it specifically was left him clueless.

"Hey, Thor." Natasha and Clint joined them in the kitchen. Even at eleven in the night they still donned their SHIELD uniforms, evidently preparing for night duty ("Loki-watching," as Clint dubbed it). Clint waved a hand at Thor before opening the fridge and taking out a tall aluminum can of energy drinks. With a soft pop, the can snapped open and he glugged it down.

"Isn't that Tony's?" said Natasha.

"Shh," said Clint, taking another gulp. "That guy doesn't need Monster to stay up at night. I'm a hawk, not an owl."

"He told me to send you a bill for all his espresso shots you took from the fridge," said Pepper.

"Are you kidding me?" said Clint. "He could probably take the money he got selling his toenail to buy the entire company of energy drinks."

"Don't worry about it," said Pepper. "I added it to his costs for all the alcohol he drinks. Maybe he'll take the hint."

"You're a saint," said Clint.

"How are you, Thor?" said Natasha.

Thor looked up, almost forgetting that he was in the room along with everyone else and not part of the audience as if watching a play, letting the conversation pass him by without latching onto him like hooks.

"I am all right," said Thor with a smile. "I haven't been sleeping well, but that is all."

"No kidding, considering you're drinking black coffee right before midnight," said Clint.

Thor shrugged wordlessly, taking a small sip. Natasha furrowed her eyebrows and pulled a bar stool next to him at the kitchen island.

"You aren't going to help anyone if you don't rest, Thor," said Natasha. "Not yourself, much less Loki."

Thor winced; Natasha always knew how to detect the bold truth with a mere glance. Clint shot a sidelong glance at Thor before downing another healthy gulp of energy drink.

"Loki hasn't been resting properly either," said Thor. "He's ill, and I know it. Not only in his body, but in his mind and soul."

"I agree with the mind part," Clint muttered into his can. Thor pretended he did not hear.

"But that doesn't mean you can't let yourself sleep," said Natasha.

Perhaps not, but that didn't rule out that Thor still felt uncomfortably guilty. How could he let himself rest when his brother was plagued with nightmares both asleep and awake? Nightmares that Thor could have prevented, he remembered cynically.

"Is everyone crowding around in here?" Steve walked into the kitchen, yawning. He already had his pajamas on (Tony spent a good two weeks teasing Steve for his plaid matching pajamas, only to find out that it was Pepper who bought them for him), worn out from a long day of carrying out SHIELD errands and responsibilities. He occasionally stayed at Tony's tower on the insistence of all the other Avengers, considering that outside of SHIELD Steve didn't exactly have his own home. Truthfully, everyone Tony housed was essentially homeless.

"Isn't this a little past your beddy-bye time?" said Clint.

"I just wanted some milk," Steve said. He opened a cupboard for the collection of mugs. "Stark and Banner still working?"

"They've been at it for hours," said Pepper.

"Sooner or later all three of them will have to crash," said Steve. "They can't keep this up forever."

"Tony's just getting started," said Pepper.

"Lure him out with some bourbon," said Clint.

"And let him get drunk when he's trying to play doctor?" said Pepper.

"Any idea of what it is, Thor?" said Steve, uncapping the bottle of milk from the fridge.

"I can only extrapolate," said Thor. "While Stark claims there are similarities to that of the Tesseract, I know fully well that the Tesseract is safe in the vaults of Asgard, whole and untouched. It would not be within Loki."

"Is there a Tesseract version two we should be aware of?" said Natasha.

"There is the Infinity Gauntlet, but that too is in Asgard," said Thor. He furrowed his eyebrows. "There may be the Infinity Gems, but I cannot see how Thanos would have gotten a hand on them. And even if he has located them, the Infinity Gem is only powerful to the beholder, and its full power is unleashed when joined with the other gems on the gauntlet. I see no logical reason why he would insert one of the main components into his prisoner."

"Well, to be fair, I doubt Thanos expected you to steal Loki away," said Steve.

"True, but a body is not the most ideal place to hide a treasure," said Thor. "Of all the gems though…let's see, I do not believe it would be Time. Time is too brash, too gaudy. Surely not Soul, else we'll have more to worry about than Thanos. If it were Reality, it would not have the effect that Bruce described. Surely not power or space…"

It clicked in his mind, and Thor closed his eyes.

"What is it?" said Steve.

"If it truly is an Infinity Gem," said Thor, "it would be the Mind gem. I truly believe it."

"Mind gem…?"

Before Steve could inquire further, the elevator doors in the hallway rang and parted. Tony and Bruce joined them in the kitchen, eyes heavy with shadows. Stubble was trailing Bruce's lips and Tony actually looked sleep deprived for the first time in a long time. Thor stood from his seat immediately, nearly knocking down his seat.

"How is he?" said Thor.

Tony snorted before taking the energy drink from Clint's hand and downing the rest of it.

"He's…distressed, to say the least," said Bruce. "He freaks out whenever I try to come close to his wound, even when I promised not to hurt him like—like last time. I think…this Thanos guy, or whoever was with Loki, they used that thing in his chest to torture him."

Thor felt fire sear his mind and he wanted nothing more than to tear the Chitauri limb from limb. The return of his old warmongering mind did not shock him as it should; all he felt was the rage that anyone would hurt Loki.

"Is he resting now?" said Thor.

"Er—as much as he can," said Tony. "I mean, he hasn't slept at all, and I doubt he will."

"Why won't he sleep?" said Clint.

"He's smart and knows you're in the same house as he is," said Tony.

"I think he's afraid," said Bruce quietly.

Thor turned sharply to Bruce. Even Clint raised his eyebrows in surprise. Natasha turned away to brew herself a cup of black coffee.

"Afraid? Does he not believe he is safe here?" said Thor.

"Probably," said Tony. "He just got out of a bunch of years of torture. I'm personally surprised he hasn't gone completely, utterly crazy."

Thor bunched his hand into a fist. "I will destroy the Chitauri," he said. "I will draw and quarter Thanos until he begs for mercy."

"Calm yourself, big guy," said Tony, lightly slapping Thor's arm. "You'll get yourself killed if you don't take a deep breath."

"Loki has suffered far too much for far too long," said Thor. "Ever since he fell from the Bifröst…no, maybe even longer…he's gone through too much."

"What happened at the Bifröst?" Natasha said, turning around.

Thor looked up to Natasha. "It's a rather lengthy tale," said Thor.

"That's what you say all the time," said Tony.

"It is. Perhaps a thousand years worth of a tale," said Thor. "Ever since we were young, my brother…Loki, he thought everyone considered him inferior. And perhaps they did without realizing it. He was always considered more fragile, weaker than the rest of Asgard because of his prowess in magical arts. None ever truly appreciated his intellect. Not even me. It deteriorated his relationship with our parents and me."

Thor came to realize that everyone was listening to him now and he suddenly felt very self-conscious. Truthfully, it was not his story to tell, but he felt the strong urge to speak, as if to prove to others that Loki wasn't truly evil, and that Thor was never guiltless.

"I was not there when he fell apart," said Thor. "I was on Midgard, banished for my brash cruelty. Last I saw him, he was fighting side by side with me. When I returned, he had tried to end me and was destroying an entire realm—the realm of Jotunheim. He was unstable, emotionally and mentally. Tearing himself from me. Saying all he ever wanted was to be my equal…he never wanted the throne."

Thor rested his forehead against his fists. "In the end, after I destroyed the rainbow bridge to keep Jotunheim from being completely destroyed, he fell. No…he jumped. He tried to end his life. We all thought him dead until our gatekeeper saw him on Midgard, wreaking havoc."

"He tried to kill himself?" Bruce said.

Thor raised his eyes to Bruce. Bruce looked troubled, if not a little understanding, and the thought made Thor twinge with heartache that anyone would be so heartbroken to think that the world would be better off without them. He bowed his head in a deep nod.

"When we mourned, my mother told me what had happened," he said. "Loki found out through terrible circumstances that he wasn't truly my father's son in blood. That he had been adopted, found as an abandoned baby in the snow. That he was a—a Frost Giant."

He loved Loki with all his heart, but the name of his brother's true creature felt unpleasant on his tongue. He wanted to respect the Jotuns, treat them with as much equality and care as he would an AEsir, but the memories of past assumptions and hatred made the thought of such creatures still repulsive. He felt disgusted by himself—he could never be a worthy brother if he could not accept the foundation of truth: Loki's true race.

"It broke him," said Thor. "All our lives we were taught that Frost Giant were vile, brutal, savage creatures, and when he found out by himself what he was, and how none told him, he hated himself utterly. He misunderstood Father and thought Father only saved him from dying for political purposes. That he didn't love him. And Thanos only furthered that lie, no doubt."

"He's not much of a fan of your dad anymore, huh?" Tony said, leaning against the counter. Pepper gave a sidelong glance at him and rested her hand against his elbow.

"It is a rift I'm afraid cannot be healed in a short time," said Thor. "Even with me…he hates me and I am most certain of it."

He still remembered his words, how he swore to kill all the Frost Giants when he was king. He remembered too well how easy it was for him to attack the Frost Giants when he thought them a threat. A cold sense of fear clenched his heart when he wondered if Loki thought that Thor would kill him just as quickly as he would any other Frost Giant he came across. Odin help Thor should he ever lay a hand on Loki.

"He said he never wanted the throne, so why did he come to Earth and demand people to kneel?" said Clint.

"That even I do not understand," Thor said with a weak laugh. "He fell from the bridge and a year had passed. Even I do not know what he had experienced in the Void, and he certainly will not tell me."

"What is the Void?" said Steve.

"When the bridge was broken, space and the universe ripped apart," said Thor. "A tear mutilated space and he fell into the chaotic state of Yggdrasil. It must have brought him to the Chitauri in one way or another."

"The Chitauri," said Natasha.

Thor nodded. Natasha stared down at her dark cup of thick coffee.

"I think they hurt him," said Natasha.

Thor's heart jumped to his throat. "How do you know?"

Even Clint looked perplexed at Natasha's sudden outburst. She set the coffee down on the counter and gave a heavy sigh.

"He sort of let it slip when I was trying to talk to him," said Natasha. "I suspect so, at least. They found him before he came to Earth. And they hurt him."

Thor dug his nails into his palm. It wasn't that he hadn't suspected it, but to hear that it was true, and to realize that it was Natasha who confirmed it from Loki instead of himself, made the news all the worse.

"And they dared to ruin him a second time?" he said.

"Thor, you're going to break my cup—ah, there it goes." Before Tony could finish that warning, the cup of coffee shattered in Thor's hand, spilling hot coffee over his fingers. Thor apologetically swept the shards into his hand and into the trash, the burning coffee putting a stopper on his impulsive fury.

"What are the odds that they'll come for a third?" said Clint. When Thor spun angrily toward him, Clint raised his hands as if in surrender. "I'm just being practical. If they were so intent on going out of their way to get him out of Asgard even after their business with him was supposedly done, they might be ready for strike three. Especially if you say that the Mind Gem or whatever Thanos wants is stuck in him."

"I am here to protect Loki, but that does not mean I will forsake your realm," said Thor.

"By the way," said Steve after taking a sip of his milk. "I was wondering...SHIELD said when you came to Earth that one time several years ago, you landed in New Mexico. But you ended up in Norway, instead. Do you choose where to go, or do you crash-land and hope it isn't an ocean?"

"I did not take us there," said Thor. "I do not understand the tears in space as much as Loki does. Loki knew the map, and I only took us there."

"Why'd he want to go to Earth, then?" said Steve. "Why not back home?"

"All of the tears and currents of the universe lead to Midgard, as it is in the center," said Thor. "Asgard is too far from Thanos's lair. The travel would have sucked us both dry if we tried. Midgard was the first and best choice."

He couldn't help but give a soft smile. "Norway was the first place in Midgard Loki had ever been to. He must have fond memories of it deep inside, if he remembers how to reach there and watch the lights."

"What sort of memories?" Natasha asked.

Thor ran a tired hand through his hair. He wondered if even he could remember them as clearly as they once played in his mind.

"Of better days," he said. "When nothing ever mattered."

The Chitauri skin burned off Thor's body as he spun off of the abandoned moon, holding Loki's frail form to his chest. A howl rushed in his ears; he couldn't tell if it was the roar of space flying past him or if the Chitauri had caught sense of his ploy. It mattered not as the stars wrinkled in every direction around him and space folded within itself when the two brothers slashed through the universe. All Thor was certain of was that they were leaving the Chitauri behind, and he would do anything to keep Loki safe.

He pressed his hand against Loki's chest, trying to feel for his heartbeat in the midst of rushing space. He imagined he felt it, but Loki was so still against his side that his mind panicked. He gripped tighter on Mjölner as if the hammer could banish blindness. He didn't know how much time he had left; he lost the truth of time somewhere in the feigned decade he spent searching in the darkness.

There! There was Midgard. The force of the universe was shoving them toward the direction of the familiar realm. Thor wrapped his arms around Loki as their speed picked up. Loki did not wriggle or fight out of his grip, and while Thor was relieved by this, he was not comforted. The Loki he knew, even before his fall from the rainbow bridge, would only let his weakness be shown if he was on his deathbed. And perhaps he was.

They broke through Midgard's invisible glass and shuttled toward the earth, gashing clouds and wind as they plummeted. Thor sharply turned so that his back faced the ground. He crashed onto the ground, falling trees and upsetting stone, absorbing as much of the blow as possible. His bones protested and his nerves screamed, but he ignored their cries. They were surrounded by splintered trees and overturned dirt, and Thor could only hope no mortal noticed.

He sat up immediately and gently laid Loki down on the cold soil. Loki was as pale as death, dried blood coating the entire left side of his face and bruises marring his neck. His clothes were torn and his limbs thin and broken. Here in the shy light of dawn Thor could see too well the brokenness of his brother and he did everything to swallow his cry.

"Loki," he whispered. "Brother."

Loki's dulled eyes did not see Thor; Thor wasn't even sure if Loki recognized him. Immediately Thor reached into his pouch beneath his cloak and extracted the healing stones he had smuggled out of Asgard. He held the stone in his hand only to despair at the fact that he didn't know where to start. Wounds covered nearly every inch of Loki's body, all of them severe. He crushed the stones in his hand and applied them to the wounds on his head and back, sewing the heavy gashes until no blood escaped. Thor tried to save as much of the stones as he could to heal all of Loki's body, but by the time he used the last pebble only a third of Loki's wounds were closed. With the cold water from the nearby river, Thor wiped away the blood and grime.

"Stay with me, my friend, my brother," said Thor. He pulled his cloak from his shoulders and draped it over Loki. Loki's eyes were still unseeing, having yet to adjust to the soft light after so many ages in the dark. Thor wondered if Loki could hear him. "You will heal, and you will be safe. I will bring you back home."

He reached out a hand to wipe a smudge of blood still left on Loki's cheek. The moment his fingers grazed Loki, Loki jerked. His hand flew to Thor's wrist and gripped it tightly. Thor tried to pull back, perplexed, but Loki would not let go. His nails dug into Thor's skin as a look of recognition and vexation dawned upon Loki's face.

"It is only me, Loki," said Thor. "It's your brother. It's your Thor."

Loki pushed Thor's hand away as if to say he had no such thing. He pulled away the cloak from his shivering body and tried to push himself onto his knees. His battered body could only collapse against the ground, stiff with pain.

"Please, Loki," said Thor. "Let me help you. You're safe. I want to help you heal. I want you well again."

Loki pressed shaking hands against his ears. He tried to move away but he hadn't the strength. Thor moved to place the blanket around Loki again and Loki flinched, staring at Thor without understanding.

"You're nowhere near the Chitauri anymore," said Thor. Loki lifted a hand from his ear; motivated, Thor continued. "You're far from them, and they can't reach you here. You're on Midgard. In Norway. You chose this place."

Loki turned his head slightly to look about him. The sleepy sun was just raising its head over the horizon, softening the lines of the rolling mountains and sharp trees.

"Don't you remember this place?" said Thor. "Father took us here once, when we were adolescents. It was your first time ever to Midgard, and how excited you were!"

Loki licked his thin lips nervously. He held his arms protectively, defenseless against the cold. Thor wrapped him in his cloak, ignoring the nip of the mountainous chill.

"And the lights. Don't you recall the lights? You always questioned Father why Asgard had nothing like the dancing lights that Midgard had. He said that every realm had its own special beauty that made it so lovely."

Loki's eyes were filled with hurt and anger at the mention of Odin and Thor hesitated. He could see Loki shivering underneath his cloak from the frigid air, and how his eyes drooped with the worrying signs of hypothermia. Thor immediately pulled Loki close, warming him against his body. Loki was stiff in his arms, unwilling to yield and yet drawn to the heat of survival.

"You will be whole again, Loki," said Thor. Loki's skin was icy at the touch and he held him closer. Even a Frost Giant could have too much of the cold, and the world be damned if Thor would let go of his brother. "You will be whole."

Thor hunted as soon as the sun reached the highest point in the sky, wandering through the woods until he sacrificed a muskox for its meat and fur. He fashioned a blanket for Loki out of its fur and carved the meat off its bones for food. Loki did not eat his share. When Thor tried to give him water, Loki could not swallow.

The second day, Loki showed no signs of healing, and was growing imminently weaker. Thor scoured the forest for Midgardian healing herbs, as primeval as they were compared to Asgardian cures. When he returned to Loki's side with sprigs of spruce, he found his brother dazed and free of the muskox's fur, tugging at his shirt as if in desperate need to rip it off. When Thor tried to approach him, he hid his face in his knees and quaked, long fingers digging into his dark hair, drowning in an invisible scream.

On the third day, the wounds Thor had healed with the healing stone broke again and blood stained the pale ground. By the time Thor finished binding all of Loki's bleeding wounds, both their entire fronts were drenched in blood. Loki did not wake for another two days.

On the sixth day, Loki grew incredibly ill. His skin burned at the touch and he could barely breathe. His eyes were wide and blind, hallucinating. Thor was panicking, at a loss of what to do to help. No herb calmed Loki's fever. No brew eased his pain. The last resort was the ancient hidden roots Thor knew of, buried deep within the soil. He ran as fast as he could, unable to pull away from Loki for so long.

When he returned, his hands and face grubby and clutching the unearthed roots, he stopped dead in his tracks. Gray wolves leered among the trees, their dark eyes fixed on Loki, surrounding him. Thor immediately shouted to tear their attention away from his brother.

"Stay away from the prince of Asgard," said Thor. "You harm him and you will pay."

The wolves were hungry and irate at the strange creatures that entered their domain. The leader of the pack raised its strong head to Thor and bared its teeth. Thor stood his ground, readying Mjölner.

There was no fear or even understanding of the situation in Loki's eyes. Only silent acceptance. Thor's heart clenched uncomfortably.

"We bring you no harm," said Thor. "We only beg for the hospitality of your forest."

The leader of the wolves took a step forward toward Thor. It gave a short bark.

"I am Thor Odinson of Asgard," said Thor in response. "My brother is Loki Odinson, and he is gravely injured and ill. I only take the fruits of your forest's labor to save his life."

The wolf turned to look at Loki. Loki closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the ground. His breath barely made wisps of cold at his bluing lips. The wolf gave Thor another bark.

"I do not know what it is exactly that ails him after so long of torment," said Thor. "I can only hope that these can help." He held out the roots. The leader of the pack approached Thor carefully. It licked the dirt off of his fingers and from the root. Taking this as a sign of acceptance, Thor cautiously came closer to Loki. The other wolves hid in the trees again, still surrounding the brothers but keeping their distance as Thor carefully drew his cloak and fur tighter around Loki's body and felt for the fever; his skin still seared. He prepared a fire and a kettle of stone to boil the roots in.

When Thor turned back to Loki again after the roots were properly cleaned and stewed, he paused. All the wolves had come down to Loki and lay themselves about him, wrapping him around their warm bodies and shielding him from the cold. Loki's panicked heart alleviated and his bluing skin faded to its usual pale hue; for the first time in a long time, he looked as if he felt safe, at peace. As carefully as possible, Thor avoided stepping on the dozing wolves with the bowl of hot water and roots. He gently lifted Loki's chin and helped him drink the brew. Loki's eyes fluttered shut at the taste of the healing root and he relaxed, nestling deep in the gray fur around him.

"Asgard and Yggdrasil have wronged you," Thor said softly as Loki was eased into slumber. "Let it be Midgard, then, that heals you."