Hello! I feel I should explain this a bit, because there isn't enough space in the description. This is a one shot, but I'm tempted to call it a half shot because this is really just Thor's reflection on his and Loki's relationship, their happy childhood compared to the situation and the turmoil they're in now. So yes... kind of... lots of brotherly feels. Please, please let me know what you think! :)

It had been a month.

Loki's punishment of imprisonment was deemed to last indefinitely. And slowly, it was killing him. Not just Loki, but Thor as well.

Each day the thunder god would visit him. They often wouldn't talk, there was nothing more to say to each other. Sometimes, Thor wouldn't show himself, but stare idly at his brother in silence from behind a glass wall.

Like tonight. Thor had lay in bed for what seemed like hours, staring mindlessly at the soft streaks of moonlight that fell across the magnificent rug upon his floor. And that's when he thought of Loki. In a barren cell. Alone. Reaching a resolution, Thor threw off his bed covers and donning a small fur blanket about his shoulders, walked quietly through the empty corridors of the palace until finally he reached Loki's single cell. The guard outside was slouched against the wall, eyelids shut. Someone else would have told him off, but Thor knew his brother wasn't a threat. Not right now. Because at that moment when Thor looked upon the God of Mischief, his eyes beheld a still, sleeping form. Peaceful, not maleficent.

And Thor sighed a deep, sorrowful sigh as he took a seat on the single, cold bench outside Loki's cell. Still, his ocean blue eyes never left Loki's face. Because some magic there held his gaze, held his heart in a soft, yet vice-like grip; Nostalgia. Because as Thor looked at Midgard's proclaimed enemy, he saw only his younger brother, peacefully held in a restful sleep. The god's normally wildly intense eyes were softly shut, his dark eyebrows raised slightly in rest as all creases of anger and frustration were wiped from his brow. Lips slightly parted, the sleeping God breathed silently, his chest rising and falling steadily with no signs of labor or unrest.

Thor frowned slightly upon seeing Loki's right arm precariously placed beneath his head in order to form a pillow. He was also without bedding, of any sort. No matter how hard Thor tried for at least that comfort, Odin would not allow it. So Thor continued to study Loki's form, eyes settling with a ping of sadness on his knees, which were, probably subconsciously, pulled close to his chest. Thor wondered, was he cold? Loki lay only in a simple tunic and slacks, the rest of his clothing removed and stolen away.

Or was he lonely...

Thor's heart twisted as he looked to Loki with a new pain, suddenly remembering their childhood together. Out of all their shared experiences, out of all their memories, bed time had always stood out to Thor. Every night, their mother, Frigga, would read them tales of the glorious battles and victories of their ancestors, until the two young boys would excitedly jump out of bed, grabbing their play things and spewing their own magnificent stories of the adventures that they too would experience when they grew older...

"I'm going to be the strongest warrior, wielding the power of all of Valhalla and defending Asgard against every evil that dare show it's hideous face!" Young Thor would shout, jumping on the bed and raising a sword to the high vaulted ceiling.

"And I will follow you into your honorable battles, brother! Always at your side, using my sorcery to protect us and my learned wits to outsmart our dull enemies!" Loki would say, tossing aside their little figurines like they were no match for them.

Frigga would laugh, pulling them both into a gentle hug, despite their playful protests. "Yes, my dears. Together, you boys will be a powerful and wonderful pair, a perfect team. You both," Frigga would say, touching both sons lightly on the noses as they giggled as she tucked them into bed, "yes, both of you, are righteous princes of Asgard." And then, smiling gayly, eyes abashed with images of their bright futures, the two young boys would slide into a peaceful sleep with a final,

"Goodnight, Thor!"

"Goodnight, Loki. Sleep well, for tomorrow we have kingdoms to conquer..."

"I won't fail you, Thor! I promise."

Thor cherished those moments, even after all those years, he still held fast to them. Loki was his brother, his little brother. Thor was meant to protect him, to comfort him, to believe in him and support him. How could anyone convince him to abandon his brother? They may not be of blood, but of they were of heart. And soul. Brothers forever, and despite what anyone said, despite even what Loki himself said, Thor could never, ever abandon his own brother.

Loki suddenly breathed in deeply, a long, drawn out breath. Thor thought perhaps he would wake, but then the dark haired god's eyebrows knitted and he stirred briefly before settling again into peaceful sleep. Thor's eyes drifted to Loki's pale hand as it hung limply from the edge of the stone bench, his long, nimble fingers resting in the air. Resting... as if waiting.

"Thor, please... stay here. I'm scared." Loki whimpered, his bright green eyes peeking out from above the edge of the bed covers. The skin on his forehead was glimmering, damp with the mark of a fever, and his small form shook slightly as he coughed.

"What are you afraid of? You will get better soon, Loki. The sickness will leave you quicker if you sleep, you know." Thor replied, crouching at Loki's bedside. They two boys now slept in different rooms, but Loki more often then not would venture to Thor's room at night, claiming to have nightmares. But since Loki had fallen ill, Thor had done him the grace of coming to him.

"Brother...what if I don't wake up?" Loki replied, his voice barely audible as his eyes began to prick with tears.

"Shhhh, everything's okay Loki! You just have a fever," Thor comforted, then suddenly he had an idea. "Here! Let me take your hand! I will hold it as you sleep, and when the sun rises, I will shake you awake!" Loki's eyes lit up and he immediately extended a small hand. Thor grinned and grasped it, their entwined palms resting on the side of the bed.

"Thank you, Thor!" Loki replied gleefully, nuzzling himself back into the covers.

"Sleep well, brother. I will wake you in the morning." Thor replied, watching his brother's eyes shut. He planned to leave as soon as he was sure Loki was sleeping, but shortly after, the blonde haired prince felt his eyelids droop, and he too fell asleep, head resting beside Loki's...

Thor hadn't realized the tear that had escaped the corner of his eye until he felt it splash upon the hand that rested on his knee. Sniffling, Thor wiped his eyes, trying to keep his emotions at bay. Thor wanted desperately to reach out and take Loki's pale hand in his, and tell him that everything was going to be okay, just like in the blissful simplicity of their childhood. For every time he looked at Loki, he saw his kid brother. The one that once followed him everywhere, chiding and laughing throughout all of their adventures. The innocent younger brother, the playful, lighthearted, carefree younger brother.

But Thor was not ignorant of his brother's slow transformation. The playful nature slowly became tinted with trickery, laced with a thin thread of ill-will. His carefree demeanor was weighed by magic and sorcery as Loki learned of power through his studies. And that was when Thor was recognized for his own greatness on the battlefield, awarded for valor and courage, while Loki silently fell into the thunder god's shadow. Thor hadn't noticed this then, but it was at that time that Loki's secret envy festered and grew within him, intertwining itself with his sharp mind and quick wit until a plan for his brother's undoing came into being, and eventually, was set into action.

Thor had watched it all happen, sat idly by, unaware of the inner torment that became his brother. But Loki wasn't his brother, and that must have been the most painful part... for both of them. Odin had kept it a secret, hidden from Loki that he was descended of the creatures that he hated. And what more reason was there for self-loathing? Thor could never dream to fathom the turmoil his brother witnessed everyday, the pain and utter confusion that endlessly tore him apart...

Loki had said he found himself, that he knew who he was. That he had decided to take hold of the monster that he always knew was within him, and to give way to his misdeeds and deceitful trickery. And most importantly, make Thor an enemy, rather than a brother. At this too, Thor felt his eyes dampen as the scar in his side radiated the soft heat of betrayal. Stabbed by his own brother...

His friends, fought against, and almost killed, by his own brother... Thor still could not bear this thought. Forgiveness, he prayed, would save him. He vowed to forgive Loki, but not forget. No, he could not forget all that had happened... He never would.

So there he was, sitting silently in front of Loki's cell, watching his black-haired brother breathe softly in a deep sleep, his face blank and peaceful like it once used to be. But Thor knew he could never go back to those days. That was the past. What Loki had done, there was no way to undo that or the affects that it had on all of them. Plus, the All-Father had already declared his sentencing; lifelong imprisonment, and then death by Odin's own scepter so that Loki could not experience the gentle embrace of his own daughter, bidding him to reside in her kingdom...

Thor could not argue, he could only sit and watch. Just like he always had through every moment of Loki's silent suffering... If only, if only Loki had come to him for help, if only he could have asked for- No. He didn't need to ask. Thor should have done a better job... As a brother... As a good, big brother he should have-

Thor couldn't hold back his tears any longer. The little orbs of liquid sorrow slid down his cheeks, dampening his beard before splashing to the floor as he got to his feet.

"No, brother, it was I who failed you." Thor said, his voice cracking as his body racked with suppressed sobs. He took a step forward, placing a single hand to the glass behind which Loki's sleeping form was kept. So peaceful in slumber... so beautiful and pure... Thor's eyes soon clouded with tears, blurring his brother in a beautiful, swirled kaleidoscope of green and white, regret and revelation.

And then, as if on the very breath of truth, the weighted, yet freeing, words left his lips,

"I love you, Loki."

Then Thor's hand slid down the glass, leaving behind a trail of discarded tears on its surface, as he took one last, pained glance at the fallen god before turning his back and walking away.

But in his quick glance, he missed the single, shining tear that slipped down Loki's pale cheek, and the words that were quietly murmured into the empty room,

"Thank you... brother."

[End]

:') And thank you... for reading! Reviews are always appreciated!