A/N This is the result of insomnia at 4 in the morning. Forgive me!

Something was wrong.

Thor woke, startled by the whimpers of his little brother coming from the other bed in their shared room. He dangled his legs over the side of his bed- not yet long enough to touch the floor- trying to get down without making too much noise. He waddled over to his brother's bed to find a shuddering cocoon. Thor climbed onto the bed, and pull the covers down to show his little brother's sweating face. It wasn't until he placed his hand upon his head did he notice his skin. His own pale complexion contrasted with the blotched inkiness of Loki's. Thor, too confused as to what he should do, laid down and hugged his brother over the covers.

"Brother, everything will be fine, I will protect you. No one can take you away from me," he whispered, nuzzling his nose into Loki's neck. His brother's only response was a small sob that caught in the throat.

"Thor, is that you?" Loki murmured, attempting to turn to face him, but he could not even muster the energy to keep his eyelids open.

"I'm here Loki, everything will be fine."

"I'm so cold."

"You'll be fine," Thor said without really thinking about the meaning of the words. He was more concerned with comforting his baby brother. He clumsily brought a hand to Loki's forehead as he had seen his mother do before, and felt him burning up. "Everything will be fine." he chanted.

"Can you tell me a story?"

Thor was panicking too much to think of which was Loki's favourite, so told his own favourite, the one his mum had told them that night.

"Once, a mighty warrior fell into the river Ifing, and washed up on the shores of Jotunheim. The river had swallowed his sword and shield. He tried to make a spear, but before he finished making his spear an ice- an ice giant came... and-" the little story teller started crying at the thought of the Jotunn. They must be the ones responsible for his little brother's sickness, his skin was their evidence. "I'm-I'm sorry brother I c-could not protect you this time. I always will in the future!" He tried to go on, but he started hiccupping from crying.

"What are you blubbering about?" a small smile played on Loki's lips. Even when ill he still tried to use humour to comfort his brother. To Loki, Thor always came first.

"The Jotunn are behind your current state! Look brother!" He grabbed his hand from under the cover and held it up to the stream of moonlight that came through the drapes.

"Well, would you look at that?" Loki said, before giggling.

"... Brother?" He had never heard him giggle like this, even as a baby he was very controlled. This giggle fluctuated in pitch and came from his stomach; Thor hand which rested there moved as he laughed. His out of character behaviour worried him, but he did not know what to do. All he could do was tighten his embrace. Loki responded by grabbing Thor's hand and interlinking their fingers.

"Thank you," Loki giggled, turning to face his brother. "You're always looking out for me. You're the bested brother in all of the nine realms." He planted a soppy kiss on Thor's cheek, before nuzzling his face into his brother's chest. "Shing to meh," a muffled voice came out. Thor started to sing the songs he had heard his mother sing over their cribs to get them to sleep in their younger years. As he sang with his high voice, he brushed the hair away from Loki's face. Loki purred a content sigh as he did, so Thor continued to stroke his hair in time to his song. Eventually, Loki's breathing became even. Thor kissed the top of his head, and fell asleep, still holding his brother.

Thor woke up with empty arms. At first, he was disoriented by the change of view of his room, but quickly remembered last night.

"Loki!" he yelled, climbing out of the bed and running down the corridors. He screamed all the way to his parent's room, until he bumped into his mother. "Loki?" was all he could say before he started crying. She scooped him up, cooing-

"Hush now, you're both safe, I'm here."

"It's my fault Mummy, I did not protect him from the ice giants you warned us about."

"What are you talking about Thor?"

"The ice giants from your stories! They got to him and turned him into one! You can't give him to the Jotunn, he's still my brother! You can't-" he started hiccupping again. Frigga sighed, hoping she would have more time before this conversation.

"Thor, look at me. He will always be your brother no matter what. Never forget that. Now, he's resting in our chamber, I need to check on him. Stay here, I will see if he's awake so you can see him."

Frigga put him down on the floor before going into her room. Thor did nothing except sit cross legged facing the door waiting eagerly for her to return. A few moments later the door opened and he scrambled to his feet, dashing inside. He saw his brother sitting up in a bed, smiling at him. "Brother!" Thor exclaimed excitedly as he jumped onto the bed, tackling his brother.

"Look brother, I'm all better!" Loki squealed, as Thor's arms wrapped around him, tickling his sensitive skin as his night shirt rode up.

"Your skin! It's normal again!" he said, gazing at the expose stomach.

"Of course silly, why didn't you notice my face was normal too?"

"I was too busy looking at your smile, that's always been the most important part of your face." Loki was too embarrassed to do anything except hide his face behind his hands.

"Come along Thor, leave your brother to rest. I'm sure you have some studies to do or friends to see."

"No mother! Don't make me leave him!" Thor retorted, clutching to his sibling even harder. Frigga worried about their dependence on one another, but decided they had been through enough for now, and to dwell on it later. She made a silent exit as Loki patted Thor's head reassuringly.

"We're safe now Thor, Mother has gone." It was only now Thor realised how tired he was after the eventful night. He lowered his head, resting it in Loki's lap, body curling in the foetal position. Loki weaved his hand into Thor's hair, scrunching it as he would a dog.

"Are you really better?" Thor said, looking up with his appropriate puppy eyes. It was the first time he had looked into Loki's eyes since he had... changed. He was comforted when his eyes met the usual combination of green and blue, not red like before.

"Never better, I promise. Would I ever lie to you?"

"No, of course not. Does this mean you can stay here?"

"Of course, I could never leave you Thor."

"Good."

"...If I had to leave, would you come with me?"

"No one can separate us brother, I will always stay by your side."

"And I would be honoured to be there, as your equal."

"Equals, brother. Always."