AN: Okay folks, so this is the last chapter of this little fic. I hope you've enjoyed the journey. I'm going to be working on a Christmas fic for this fandom next so if you enjoyed this story, I hope you'll look for the next one!

It was darkness that greeted him the next time Loki opened his eyes. Once again, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, the last thing he remembered was having emotionally broken down in Thor's presence. Though not exactly the display he wanted to put on before his brother, the trickster wouldn't deny, to himself at least, that there had been something cathartic to getting those feelings out in the open. To be honest with both himself and with probably the only other being in the universe that had any kind of non-malevolent feelings toward him at this point.

For that he had only himself to blame. Frigga had been right about that, even if he hadn't wanted to admit it at the time.

Loki sometimes thought his mother had known him better than he had known himself. He was sure she had been the only one who had even attempted to understand him.

Laying still, Loki allowed his eyes to adjust to the lack of light in the room as he took an assessment of how he felt. Most of the aches and pains from the battles he had fought seemed to have subsided. He felt rested this time, unlike the last time he had awoken. Even the headache had lessened to just a dull ache that he barely noticed. A weight on his left hand was the only thing that seemed out of place.

As he could now make out shapes in the dim light of the room, Loki glanced down at his hand to find one of Thor's hands still covering his own. His older brother was now kneeling next to the bed, his head pillowed on the arm of the hand that covered Loki's as he slept.

~The sentimental fool, ~ Loki thought, though the opinion didn't hold the same contempt it once had. It was that sentiment that had probably spared his life on more than one occasion. It was the reason that Thor had yet to completely give up on him despite all that he had done.

The sentiment and compassion for those they cared about was the one trait that Thor and Frigga had shared.

"Is he any better today, mother?"

The question had seemed far away in the fever induced haze that Loki had been in at the time. He hadn't been aware of much during that illness. He had often heard voices during that time but he hadn't bothered trying to sort them out, except for his mother and brother's voices. There had been something reassuring about their voices even in his delirium. Something comforting about his mother's presence at his bedside.

"There doesn't appear to be, but he's holding his own," had been his mother's reply.

"I find I miss him tagging along on my adventures with my friends," his brother had admitted.

"That is often the way of things. The things we find annoying or bothersome, are appreciated more when they are no longer there."

There had been silence following Frigga's gentle lesson. Other than the removal and replacement of the cool, wet cloth on his forehead, Loki wasn't sure what was going on during that time, nor had he really cared. But then his brother had spoken again.

"Isn't there anything else they can do for him?"

"The healers are doing all they can," Frigga had replied, "And sometimes just being there for someone, even if they seem unaware of your presence, is the best thing you can do for someone."

"Is that why you've been here day and night?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going to sit at Loki's bedside too," Thor had proclaimed.

The memory had come upon him from seemingly out of nowhere but he did remember opening his eyes after the fever had broken and finding his mother sitting at his bedside. A glance to his right had revealed his older brother sleeping on a bed of blankets he had brought into the room at some point during Loki's sickness. Loki had never bothered finding out exactly when as it hadn't mattered. What had mattered was the act of Thor giving up sleeping in a comfortable bed so that he could be near him, just like he was doing now.

Slowly slipping his hand out of Thor's grasp, Loki waited to see if the movement would disturb his older brother's slumber. When Thor slept on, Loki carefully slipped out of the bed and silently made his way across the room. He needed some time to himself to process things, and now seemed as good a time as any.

Silently, Loki made his way through the outer area of the quarters they were in, and keyed open the door. Unsurprisingly, as he stepped into the corridor, Loki found two guards standing on either side of the door. Though both guards turned their heads to see who had emerged from the room, neither made any move to stop him. Without a word to the guards, Loki turned to his right and started down the corridor. He might now know where he was going, but he wasn't about to look like he didn't know where he was going.

Whatever the hour was, the ship was quiet and the corridors empty, allowing Loki to hear the footsteps of a guard that was following him. Giving Thor's earlier assertion to Heimdall that he was to still be regarded as a Prince of Asgard, Loki assumed that the guard was simply doing his duty to protect the royal family, and didn't pay him any attention.

Reaching what appeared to be the ship's mess hall, a large room with tables, chairs, and one wall of viewports showing the stars beyond, Loki went inside, the view of the stars calling to him. As the door shut behind him, Loki noted that the guard had remained outside in the corridor, presumably taking up post beside the door as before. Relieved to be alone, Loki crossed the room to stand next to the viewport.

Loki knew first hand how vast the space beyond the ship they were traveling on was. Even in all his wanderings, the God of Mischief knew he had barely touched the surface of the wonders and mysteries that their universe contained - some more desirable to discover than others. He need not be confined to this ship, or the course that Thor had chosen for them. There was nothing stopping him from striking out on his own once again.

Nothing that is except for the simple fact that he had no desire to be alone. He had chosen that fate once, and despite his solitary nature, hadn't found it to his liking. Solitude was a blessing when taking in small doses but after long lengths of time, it became a curse - one which someone would do almost anything to end. He'd had a taste of that feeling twice - first when he had deliberately let himself fall from what had remained of the Bifrost bridge and then again locked away in the dungeons of Asgard. Neither stint had turned out well, though at least Frigga's visits through illusion had made the latter a bit more bearable.

However, Loki wasn't sure that staying was in his best interests either. Despite recent events, Loki knew that not everyone would be able to overlook his past actions, Asgardain and humans alike. In fact, his very presence might be enough to make the whole group unwelcomed when they reached Earth. The fact that he had helped saved the lives of those aboard this ship would mean nothing to the humans.

His people, the ones he had risked his life to save, would probably be better off if he went his own way before they reached Earth. Thor probably realized that as well, though Loki doubted the sentimental oaf would actually admit to it.

~Perhaps that's one decision that is best taken out of the hands of our new King, ~ Loki pondered, as he watched the stars pass by.

Sounds from out in the corridor drew Loki from his thoughts. Turning from the viewport, the God of Mischief focused his attention on the door, as he listened to the scuffling sounds from the corridor beyond. He wasn't sure what was going on, but whatever it was, it probably wasn't good.

Loki had made it halfway across the room, when the door opened. Stopping, and taking up a defensive position, the trickster waited to see who came through the door. As the metal parted, in strode one of the Asgardian guards, sword drawn. One glance told Loki that this guard wasn't the one that had followed him from his post outside the rooms he and Thor had been in, nor was it the guard who had remained behind.

"Can I help you?" Loki asked, hoping to gather some information though he didn't let his guard down. As the guard who had followed him here hadn't made an appearance, Loki assumed that this guard had incapacitated the first guard in some way.

"You could've helped us by letting us leave in peace," the young guard replied. "You may have helped us, but I'm not stupid. As soon as it's no longer in your best interest, you'll turn you back on us again or even worse."

"I admit, my past actions haven't exactly shown my best side, but surely we're all entitled to a few mistakes."

"Allowing you to live was Odin's biggest mistake. I'm here to correct that," the guard replied, before charging toward Loki, sword held in front of him.

Moving deftly out of the way, Loki let the guard go by him. Turning to keep the guard in his line of sight, Loki stayed in a defensive posture, ready to ward off another attack. As the guard was young and driven by emotion, the God of Mischief didn't have long to wait, as the guard turned back toward him. Without regrouping or thinking about his actions, the guard swung his sword. Having had more experience with battles, Loki was easily able to dodge the wild swing, nimbly moving out of the way of the metal blade.

What the guard lacked in experience though, he made up for in passion as he continued to aggressively engage his quarry. For his part, Loki tried to keep his actions as purely defensive. Enough Asgardian blood had been spilt as it was, and he had no desire to be the one to add to it, even if the young guard had no qualms of spilling his.

So intent on the battle were the two men that neither heard the door to the room open once again signaling the arrival of reinforcements. Before the new arrivals could interfere on behalf of either party though, a misstep caused Loki to slip. Hitting the metal deck hard, Loki found himself staring up at his assailant, who now clearly had the advantage. As the guard swung the sword again, Loki raised his arm, planning to deflect the blow as best he could. The action turned out to be unnecessary though as two strong arms grabbed the guard from behind.

From his vantage point on the ground, Loki watched as Thor quickly disarmed and subdued the guard.

"What is the meaning of this?" Thor asked, his voice loud enough to echo off the metal walls of the near empty room.

"You wouldn't dispose of the threat we still face so I intended to take it upon myself," the young guard answered defiantly despite being restrained by his King.

"He's not a threat, he's your prince," Thor replied. "And attacking him can be regarded as an act of treason," he declared even as Loki got to his feet.

"Then so be it," the young man replied.

Handing the attacker off to the guards who had entered the room with him, Thor instructed the guards to lock the prisoner up. As the guards escorted the prisoner out of the room, Thor turned his attention to his brother. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Loki responded. "The guard who followed me here?"

"He was knocked unconscious but he'll be okay," Thor replied, taking the few steps necessary to stand in front of his brother. "Seems he was only out to kill one person."

"I do seem to have that affect on people these days," Loki replied dryly.

"That you do," Thor agreed. "Perhaps you shouldn't be walking around unarmed."

"Who says I was unarmed," Loki replied, slipping a dagger out of its hidden holster. "I just had no intention of anymore Asgardian blood being spilt, especially by my hand," he admitted, slipping the dagger back into its holster.

"Despite the fact that he clearly had every intention to make sure that it was your blood that was on the deckplates of this ship."

"I had no intention of allowing that to happen," Loki replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I may not be as skilled a warrior as you, but I've had my share of practice in combat in recent years."

"Brother, I'm well aware that you can hold your own in a fight," Thor replied. "That still doesn't mean I want you to be taking any unnecessary risks."

"I won't," Loki replied, trying no to show the fact that he was touched by his brother's sentiment. He'd had enough sentiment for one night. "But I won't draw a blade on a fellow Asgardain in the light of what has happened," he added, turning away from Thor and walking over toward that wall of viewports.

Thor paused a few moments following that statement, before taking slow steps in the direction of his brother. "Loki, I do believe recent events have changed you," he commented quietly as he took up a position beside his brother.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Loki asked, needing to hear his brother's approval out loud and hating himself for that weakness. Still, some parts of yourself were impossible to change.

"Not at all," Thor replied without hesitation. "It's nice to see a glimmer of the brother I remember growing up with."

Loki spared only a quick glance at his brother as he nodded in acknowledgment of the simple praise. The brief glance was enough to catch his brother's sincere gaze though, telling Loki that Thor wasn't just placating him.

"What do you plan to do with the guard?" Loki asked, as he gazed back out to the vastness of the stars beyond their ship.

"Well he did attack a member of the royal family . . ."

"Granted, but everyone's been through a traumatic experience. Emotions are running a little high for everyone."

"So, are you asking me for lenience in his sentence?" Thor asked.

Loki didn't even bother glancing at Thor as he could hear the smile in his brother's voice. "I think now is a great time for second chances given that we're all starting over somewhere new."

"Sounds logical," Thor replied thoughtfully in an attempt to disguise his surprise at his brother's words. "I do know that the young man will never wear the armor of an Asgardian warrior again, however, perhaps your right. Emotions are still running high. I suppose waiting to pronounce sentence won't hurt anything. I'll give him a couple of days to sit in a cell and think about what he's done today, and then go down and talk to him with a clear mind myself before passing judgement."

"Sounds like something a wise King would do."

"Thank-you," Thor replied. "And Loki, I am happy to have you here by my side," he added, reaching out to pat his brother on the back.

"I appreciate that," Loki replied even as he glanced over his shoulder to make sure that Thor hadn't stuck anything to his clothing this time.

"Really?" Thor said, catching the movement. "Don't you trust me, Brother?"

"Only when it comes to certain things," Loki countered, without missing a beat.

Despite everything that had happened, Thor let out a laugh at Loki's reply. Though it appeared his brother was changing, his suspicious nature was clearly still intact. "Fair enough," he replied.

The two brothers stood in silence for a few moments. Given that his brother had seemingly been open to his advice on how to deal with the guard, Loki figured now would be as good a time as ever to bring up the concern he'd have ever since Thor had chosen their course.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to go back to Earth?" Loki asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes of course. The people of Earth love me. I'm very popular."

Neither the answer nor the lack of hesitation in Thor's answer surprised Loki. They were in keeping with Thor's nature to look at things directly and not from many different angles, as Loki had trained himself to do.

"Let me rephrase that," Loki replied, knowing that it was up to him to get Thor to see the situation from his direction. "Do you really think it's a good idea to bring me back to Earth?"

"Probably not, to be honest."

The admission brought a smile to Loki's face. Maybe his brother wasn't as focused on one angle as much as he led people to believe.

"But I wouldn't worry, Brother. I feel like everything is going to work out fine."

The last words told Loki that his brother was not going to be persuaded away from this course of action no matter he said. Deciding it was a battle not worth fighting, Loki fell silent. He would follow his brother for now, and see where this path took them.

Loki only wished he could share his brother's confidence that things would work out fine.