"Thor!"

Thor spun around around at the sound of his name being frantically called by his brother. "What is it?" he asked Loki, who was bounding gracefully over to him, panic hidden in his eyes. Thor had been on his way to his next training session, and was currently in an empty corridor.

He took a moment to catch his breath before speaking. "I... I've made a mistake."

Thor's eyebrows furrowed. "What kind of mistake?"

Loki looked at him warningly, and Thor knew something was happening, or something had happened, and it wasn't just a prank that he'd been caught doing; it was something more.

"What kind of mistake?" Thor repeated, voice lower this time.

Loki wouldn't look him in the eye. "Just..." he trailed off.

"Loki," Thor said, inching closer to him. "Tell me."

Loki finally looked up at him, looking more guilt-ridden by the second. "Don't be angry. There are no lectures you can give me that I haven't already given myself," he said quietly.

Thor worried about why he would need to lecture him, which he didn't do often. But he nodded his consent. Loki looked around the corridor, making sure no one is in earshot. Thor helped, just in case.

Loki took in a shallow breath and closed his eyes, as if he was shielding his eyes from something. With his exhaled breath, he said, "Sigyn's pregnant."

Thor was confused at first. He seemed to overlook the obvious, as if in denial. Sigyn was their, or truthfully just Loki's, childhood friend. When they were younger, Loki and Sigyn were almost inseparable. When they got older, they eventually grew apart; Loki went on more quests and trained more often, and Sigyn worked more to help her family keep their house and feed her younger siblings. Thor thought that was the end of it. He didn't understand why he needed to tell him she was pregnant. She was an attractive young woman, she was sure to have suitors. And a commoner wedding never attracted attention.

Loki saw he was confused and added more detail. "Thor... Sigyn's pregnant with my child," he said.

Thor's breath caught in his throat, trapped. His mouth was hanging open slightly. He blinked several times before looking at his younger brother. "Your... what?"

Loki didn't look at him. "You heard me the first time," he said.

"But..." Thor stumbled with his words.

He was getting impatient. "Have you nothing to say?" Loki said, more angrily.

"Have you nothing to say? Do I not deserve an explanation for your actions?"

"Thor..." Loki pleaded. Thor didn't seem to hear him; he seemed to have just fully understood what was happening.

"Out of wedlock... Gods, do you realize what you've done? What everyone will say? How they'll treat you, how they'll treat her? You're in the royal family for Odin's sake, you're a prince of Asgard! People look down on these sort of things!" Thor was acting purely out of shock, not thinking before he spoke. He had no idea how his words were affecting his brother, how they nearly brought Loki to tears.

"Don't say that," Loki said, trying to hide his fear with anger.

Thor realized then, by seeing his brothers eyes sparkle with wetness, that he had done exactly what he promised he wouldn't do. He had lectured him, brought him to tears. "I didn't mean—"

"No, it's fine," Loki said, trying to sniff the tears away. "I deserve whatever horrible things people will say about me, but she doesn't. She doesn't," he repeated himself, closing his eyes in the struggle of keeping the tears in.

"I'm just shocked, that's all. I didn't know you two were, you know..."

"We aren't. Well, we weren't. It jut sort of happened, I'm not sure why." Loki shook his head. He looked as if he was still trying to figure it out, too.

Thor desperately tried to wrap his head around the whole thing. His brother, his baby brother, was going to be a father. He swallowed hard at the thought. It's not that he was angry, he was just so very, very shocked. Loki and Sigyn, parents. He had known, when they were younger, that she had fancied him. He was a prince of Asgard, anyone would. He hadn't thought anything of it. He didn't remember Loki ever feeling anything for her, but then again, when did Loki show someone something that he didn't want them to see? Besides, Thor hadn't seen Sigyn for years. And he had been just as busy as Loki, so he didn't talk to his brother as much as he would have liked. He was more out of the loop than he realized.

Thor looked at Loki. He hadn't realized until then, but he looked dreadful; his hair was messy, his eyes were tired and strained, and his hands were shaking. Thor suddenly felt horribly sad for him. What he must be going through...

"I'm sorry," Loki said, very nearly breaking down.

Thor's instincts took over. He pulled his younger brother in by the shoulders and hugged him, bearlike. Loki hugged him back, still struggling to hold back tears. They stayed like that for awhile, until Thor pulled away and held Loki by the shoulders, looking him in the eyes.

"It will be alright," Thor assured him.

Loki shook his head. "How?"

"Because I'm going to make sure it will be."

A/N: It's short because it's the first chapter, later chapters will be longer. Drop a review, eh?