"Brother.." Loki spoke quietly through the muzzle on his mouth, his voice barely a whisper when he tried to speak past it. They had left the real of Earth and were walking back along the grass paths in Asgard. The Tesseract was not yet in proper containment and had brought them to a sight far from the palace and the city.
Thor looked back at him, lightly tugging on the chains that bound his hands. Loki had not looked good when they arrived back, more so than the pale skin that had suited him so well before. Now when the large man looked back at him he saw his eyes, tired and rimmed with red and shadows. He saw a slight flush to Loki's now clammy skin, but he could not stop, they were expecting him back at Asgard.

Loki tried again, speaking a little louder. He was tired, now that he was out of the reach of the monsters that he had been in contact with he felt weak, relieved that they could not come after him and plague his every waking moment with pain, but very weak. They had provided him with so much power that his body was not adjusting well to the sudden loss of it all. "Brother please.. Might we rest.. Just for a while?" He tried to ask nicely, he knew that once there were others around them he would keep his thought and requests to himself for fear of injuring what little pride he had left.

Thor shook his head and continued to walk, a little faster now. Loki thought that he was being cruel, that this was a small way for him to exact revenge for what he had done, he didn't know that his brother was simply trying to get them home faster so he could provide Loki with a bed and a doctor.

The smaller man stumbled slightly, nearly tripping over the chains connecting his feet, and Thor stopped for a moment only to set him up right. "We must go, there is no time for this Loki." Thor barked at him, becoming angry with the odd and slow way that his brother was walking. "I'll have none of your trickery at this time, you have done awful things and we must return quickly." He was growing angrier, yelling louder as he pulled on the chains.

Loki flinched at the yelling, he normally would have retorted with some witty and hurtful remark about how he had more than enough time, so much that he could go and nearly start another war before bringing him in. But he didn't, he felt dizzy and wobbled again, the sound of static blacking out any sound in his ears as white clouded his vision. "Brother please.."

Thor turned around to yell again, met with the sigh of his brother falling to the ground, his skin three shades lighter than it had been. He dropped the chains and the Tesseract, rushing to his side. "Loki!" He shook his shoulders, watching his eyes open to just barely a slit. "Loki what is wrong?" Loki looked up at him, peaking through the tight and suffocating metal of the collar. "I do not feel well.. please.. may we rest just a while? ..I.. I cannot breath.." Thor nodded and turned him onto his side, quickly taking off the mask and setting it down. He paused, afraid, as he stared down at his brother gasping for breath and trying to keep his eyes open. As he watched the one person he loved and cherished over anyone else shiver and curl into himself.

"Loki what's happening to you?" He gently moved a lock of hair from his face, slowly lifting him up into his arms after using the rope from the mask to tie both it and the Tesseract to his belt. He bit his lip, wiping sweat away from his brother's cheeks. Loki looked up at him for a moment, closing his eyes and laying his head in his arms. He spoke quietly, hoping that he wouldn't need any more explanation. "M-Magic withdrawal.." He swallowed thickly, his throat felt dry and sore.

Thor knew little of what that was, but other wizards and Seer's of Asgard had experienced it before, he walked faster, nearly running as he remembered watching each and everyone one of those people shivering under many blankets as they took their last breath. "Just hold on!" He would not let him die.

Loki sat at the table, adjusting the white napkin under his plate and then the cuff of his suit. He had washed and ironed it just for tonight. He had met a very nice man while gathering information and after a few run in's and meetings for lunch Loki had finally gotten up enough courage to ask him out to dinner. The man had smiled, though his nervousness was obvious on his face.

"Sure." He had agreed, and Loki had asked him where would like to each, which led to him, sitting alone at a table towards the back of a nicely lit restaurant, the reservation coasted him a pretty penny, but he really liked this mortal, and wanted to see him happy. He checked the watch on his arm again; it was half an hour after they were supposed to meet.

"Are you ready to order yet sir?" Another waiter came by; when he spoke it made Loki's heart sink. It had been the third time he asked and the pale man had to accept that the man wasn't coming to dinner. He wanted to keep hoping he was just running very late, so after a glance at the menu he asked for a plate of spaghetti.

He watched the door with the kind of devotion that a dog would when waiting for its master to return home. Time went by quickly without him noticing and his food was soon placed in front of him. He took a few bites, he had not eaten anything earlier in the day because of the anticipation and excitement he was harboring for his first date. He was very hungry.

The waiter stopped by again, bowing his head and handing Loki a small piece of paper. "There was a phone call for you sir, they left a message. "He nodded and took it, unfolding the paper and reading it as the man left once again.

"Loki, look, you a nice guy, and you have some really wicked curves, but I could never date a guy, it's disgusting and I don't know how the hell you got it in your head that I wanted to go out with you. I'm not going to dinner with you tonight, and I would really appreciate it if you didn't talk to me anymore."

It nearly broke the poor man's heart. He had gotten himself so excited and hyped up for this that the letter hit him like a train, he could feel a sob raising up in his throat and he pushed it back down, thanking the All-Father for a moment that he was sitting with his back to people so they couldn't see the tears that had begun to stain his face. He set down the note and covered both his eyes, leaving the money for his food on the table and getting up to leave as quickly as he could.

The night air was cold on his wet face and he wiped at his eyes again, trying to keep himself intact until he could at least reach the small apartment he had been renting.

"Brother?" Loki froze when he heard the voice, turning slowly to see the large blonde man standing just behind him, he must have just walked by without noticing him. God how he wanted to run into those arms right now, to be comforted and to have Thor rub his back with one arm while holding hi tightly with the other, like he had when they were younger. But he was afraid, in this situation Thor would only see him as the target that The Avengers wanted to destroy, he would chase him, and imprison him. Loki stepped back, clenching his teeth together as Thor took an experimental step closer. "Brother what's happened to you?" Loki turned on his heel to run, the worried pitch in his voice making his stomach churn.

"Loki!" Thor's voice was much too strong to be yelling in a crowd of people. He grabbed Loki's arm, pulling him back and into his arms, the smaller man frozen again with the shock that Thor had not killed him immediately. He turned his face and shoulders, hiding in the warm jacket that his brother was wearing as he lost himself, his sobs thankfully being muffled by the fabric as he stood there and cried like the pathetic god that he was.

Thor frowned and leaned down, pressing his lips to the top of Loki's head while wrapping both his arms around him to hold him securely in place. "Brother.. You needn't cry. Whatever has happened to you, I promise I will make it right, I don't not wish to see you so upset.." The smaller one nodded, though he could not stop himself from sobbing.

"L-Loki! Loki keep your eyes open!" He didn't mean for it to be like this, he only wanted to capture Loki and bring him home, not let The Avengers.. these.. these monsters shoot and attack his brother until he laid in his arms, trembling and clinging to him in fear of the blood pooling underneath him and the white edging into his vision. "Brother.." The smaller man flinched, curling into his brother's arm more and burying his head between his arm and chest. He mumbled constantly, afraid that if he stopped talking he would no longer be there. He spoke of many apologies, of how he just wanted to protect Thor when he told the gatekeeper where they were going, he spoke of how afraid he was, how much the archers poison arrows stung, how he could feel the acid crawling through his veins.

Thor was livid, he wanted to kill them for what they had done to his beloved brother, wanted to rip them apart and watch them burn as they were struck with lightening over and over again. But he didn't dare set Loki down, he didn't dare leave his brothers side or stop telling him to hold on, telling him that everything would be alright.