*waves* Hallo! Welcome to my second fanfic ;) This one isn't really planned and I'm just going to see where it takes me, so enjoy! Just a warning - despite there being many pancakes, there is a serious undertone, so if you're looking for a light-hearted, sadness-free story, this ain't it! But you're welcome to read it anyway! Ehehe...

The guards were just bringing Loki back in from wherever they had been – the library, most likely. Thor didn't spare it much thought. "Brother," he greeted him, trying to sound as if Loki wasn't in chains with a muzzle clamped around his mouth. His brother glared at him, then at the guards as they led him into his cell and carefully took the chains off him before retreating from the cell. Thor waited patiently, trying to ignore the way Loki's eyes were digging into him. Eventually, the guards left, and Thor started for the cell. "Well, finally you come to see me," Loki sneered, not giving him a chance to talk. "So nice of you. I suppose it only occurred to you now to visit, did it? What is it? What do you need?" Thor frowned. He didn't need anything, and he was a little hurt Loki thought that was the reason he had come here… but, he hadn't exactly been visiting his brother often. It would have hurt him to see him in prison – and perhaps that made him weak. "I don't need anything, brother," he told Loki somewhat pleadingly. "I'm not your brother," Loki countered fiercely, and the words pierced Thor. "So why are you here?" Thor decided not to show the hurt on his face – Loki might as well laugh at him. "The Avengers-" Loki snorted. "I don't want to hear whatever you have to say about them," he told Thor flatly. Thor glared at his brother until he shrugged and sat down against the wall of the cell, looking politely interested but nothing beyond that. Thor sighed. "They are having a contest, to see who is the better cook of pancakes. I thought you might like to come along. To watch, if you don't want to compete." Loki raised an eyebrow, then sighed and rolled his eyes. "No." Thor scowled. "I know the prison is comfortable, but-" Loki's eyes had narrowed at the words. "You think I like it down here?" he asked with obvious sarcasm. "You think I enjoy my time in prison? I said no because I have no wish to meet the people I fought against barely months ago. So, no." Thor decided to try again. "The all-father has already agreed," he ventured. "Thor, no. I don't want to go." Thor muttered something to himself. Loki was already angering him already – Thor wished to show him the mortals were not so bad, but Loki seemed adamant to be difficult. There was a petulant tone to his voice, almost as if his brother were sulking. "Thor, stop standing there glaring at the cell. You may go. Thou art dismissed." Loki waved an elegant hand at him and he scowled yet again. "You're coming with me, Loki. You won't be deprived of any comfort – we'll be keeping the chains." Loki saw his face and didn't argue as the guards were called back in to put the chains back on and led him to the Bifrost.

After that, Thor watched his brother carefully, but he didn't say another word, or even look at him. He almost smiled as he recognised the typical signs of Loki silently fuming, but the situation was a little too grave for that. Admittedly, Thor was more than a little hurt that Loki had so fiercely brushed aside his attempts to get him away from Asgard's lower levels for a while. Clearly, he did not wish for a reprieve in his time of imprisonment. Thor snorted. Some imprisonment, if he was allowed to go to and fro from the dungeon library – which was quite extensive – and had all the comforts he might need in his cell, even if it was rather plainer than his chambers and he had little to no privacy beyond his own illusions. Thor had the childish urge to run to Frigga and complain – but he pushed it aside. Instead, he watched Loki as they walked through the corridors. There weren't many people – Thor supposed Odin had had the corridors cleared. Though the guards remained, eyeing Loki distrustfully. Thor felt like yelling at them – He walked among you, do you remember not? He was not so different then! Why do you look at him so, cowards? But it would not help. At least the guards leading him remained impassive. Thor would have liked to walk beside his brother, but the chains were in the way; he settled for walking a few paces behind him, watching his feet. At one point, he stumbled, and Thor was alarmed that he was somehow hatching a plan to escape, but nothing more happened and Thor assumed he had simply tripped. He must not have had much exercise beyond trips to the library, he reasoned, and thought nothing more of it. At least this excursion would be good for him – at that thought, Thor perked up. The avengers had been planning some form of contest for a long time now – eventually, Man of Iron had procured a large, spacious hall and declared it should be used for the glorious battle of foodstuffs. He had promised Thor a foodstuffs battle at the end – he wasn't sure how well he could cook, but he would very much enjoy a battle. And just a while before Fury and a small team of SHEILD agents had declared the place ready for the contest in a few hours, Man of Iron had joked he could invite Loki along. Thor had asked him, told him it might be good for his brother, and eventually Man of Iron had rather reluctantly agreed. Asking Fury was harder – but struck by the spirit of things, he had grudgingly allowed Loki to visit, but only for the contest and only so long as there was no chance of escape. Besides, Thor had reasoned, Loki had neither Tesseract nor Sceptre. Odin had been remarkably easy to convince – Thor had told him it would be good for Loki to get to know the mortals, that perhaps he might begin to see them more as equals, and feel some remorse for his actions. That and Frigga had persuaded him rather quickly, and here they were.

He was concentrating on the golden sword, and did not see the golden eyes as they exchanged a rather curious glance with Loki. They met Loki's eyes, and flicked briefly to Thor, before Heimdall opened his mouth slightly and his eyes widened in question. Loki shook his head subtly, and Heimdall frowned before shrugging slightly and turning to greet Thor. The whole exchange was slight enough it was unlikely the guards had noticed. Thor certainly hadn't. Heimdall gave a rather curt, "Thor," then turned to Loki. "Loki." He was still frowning slightly. Loki gave him a snarky grin which didn't quite reach his eyes and bowed as much as he could before the guards yanked him up again. Loki rolled his eyes at them. Thor sniffed slightly, eyeing the guards. Heimdall turned back to Thor. "Most of the Avengers are gathered, they will be starting within the hour. I suggest you go." Thor nodded then turned to the guards. Loki swung back and forth on his feet as they hand cuffed him and tied his feet with a length of chain he could just about walk with. A chain extended from the manacles and the guards handed it to him, but he waved them away. "Leave it," he told them, wanting to give his brother at least a little freedom. It was not like he would be able to run, with the meagre length of chain they had allowed him. They shrugged and took the length of chain, before Thor waved them away without another word. Feeling like a traitor, he fixed the muzzle to Loki's mouth. He would remove it later, he promised himself. Loki didn't say a word, or even blink, as he was putting it on. Thor sniffed again and turned, inclining his head slightly to Heimdall. "Ready?" the golden-eyed god asked, but he was already turning the sword and Thor barely had time to nod and grab onto Loki's arm before the Bifrost surrounded them. Thor loved traveling in the Bifrost – a kaleidoscope of colours and crystalline structures surrounded him. He noticed that Loki didn't seem to be enjoying it – he had stiffened under Thor's grip, and his mouth was set in a grim line, but Thor didn't have any time to ask about it before they were once again back on Midgard. Fury and the Man of Iron were waiting already, with Black Widow and Eye of Hawk standing some way away – the latter looking distinctly displeased. Captain America was someway away, bending over a motorcycle and looking rather frustrated. Banner was nowhere to be seen – Thor assumed he had yet to show up. They were outside the large metal building Man of Iron had procured of them, in a rather isolated area. Thor wasn't sure exactly where they were – he had relied on Heimdall. Fury immediately strode over to Loki, pointedly ignoring Thor, and tapped him on the shoulder. Loki turned, a quizzical and overly sarcastic eyebrow raised. Thor was, for once, glad he had the muzzle on. It would not do to infuriate everyone before the fight had begun. "No misbehaviour," Fury snapped at him, as if he were a dog. "Or I'll have Thor drag you right back to Asgard." Loki shrugged, but nodded soon after, as Fury began to glare at him. Fury got out a small square and, without touching Loki, attached it to the back of his hand. It whirred and clamped down on the skin. "It's a tracker," Fury informed him. "It will alert us if you manage to get it out, too, so none of that. The door will be locked and there's a heat sensor around it in case you try to escape, and we have other security measures in place too. You're not running off." Thor watched his brother look idly around, with a sort of disinterest common to him nowadays.

An uneasy silence ensued. Eye of Hawk seemed more than displeased and kept glaring at Loki – though he occasionally smiled whenever Black Widow leaned over to whisper something in his ear. Quips at his brother, most likely. Thor curled his fingers around his hammer at the hostility, but did nothing more. It didn't take long for Banner to arrive after that. He dismounted his motorbike and looked around almost nervously. "Oh, hey," he greeted Loki. "Tony said you'd be here." Loki sketched a bow, and it looked almost as if he were smiling under the muzzle, though Thor couldn't really tell. At least Banner had spoken to him, Thor thought. As the other Avengers greeted Banner and complained of his being late – "Honestly, Bruce, we were going to start without you," – they also said a curt "Hi" or "Hello" to Loki. He responded with a small nod each time. Man of Iron gave him a smirk and Loki blinked back cattishly, but other than that the exchanges between them were mostly the same – Eye of Hawk ignored him completely. And then they decided they would begin, and filed into the metal hall ((pun unintended ehehe)) one by one. Thor prodded Loki in before him, his brother glaring at him angrily as he did so. Thor spared a look around the building. It was mostly empty, but at intervals were Midgardian cookers and large cupboards Thor had no doubt were stocked with ingredients. For pancakes, Man of Iron had told him. They had something similar in Asgard – Thor had rattled off the ingredients and Man of Iron promised him they would be in his cupboard. Steve had shown him how to adjust the heat, and helped him grasp the finer concepts of cooking. By the cookers were also small beds should they wish to rest over the two-day contest. Thor noted that at the back of the hall there was a small cupboard, sleeping mat and an old looking stove. The cupboard had golden horns stuck onto it. Loki had spotted it; he didn't look amused. Thor heaved a sigh. That would be Loki's, then. He'd have to untie his hands. He hadn't thought about that – but it didn't matter. It would be safe enough with all of the Avengers here. They were gathering around Fury now – Fury having a small team of SHEILD agents behind him.

"We will be surveying the pancake competition from the balcony," Fury was saying. Thor looked up and sure enough, there was platform which ran around the walls, and a small set of stairs on the left leading up to it. "To make sure nobody is cheating. Here are the rules," and at this point Thor briefly glanced at Loki, who seemed to be paying little to no attention. He nudged him and Loki shot him a glance before looking over at Fury. "- exactly two days. We will be scoring the pancakes as we go along, you may make as many types as you like. This should be more than enough time for you, and you may choose whether your pancakes are to be served hot or cold. Now, no permanently maiming, knocking unconscious for longer than fifteen minutes, or killing the other contestants." Thor could have sworn a glance had been directed at a suitably innocent-looking Loki. "If you get caught stealing ingredients, twenty minutes penalty the first time, forty the times after that. So, if you steal, do it well. But we'll be watching." Fury gestured to the SHEILD team and they began moving to the metal stairs and filing up them one by one ((That one was intentional)). "Go to your places," Fury told them, and Thor practically dragged Loki down to the two end stoves. "Ta-da," Thor muttered as he took in the giant horns again. They looked like scrunched up newspaper sprayed with cheap gold paint. Loki shrugged and moved towards it, but Thor stopped him and took off the muzzle quickly, slipping it into his pocket in case he needed it later. Almost reluctantly, he took the manacles from an impatient Loki. As soon as they were off, he rotated his wrists and they clicked slightly. "Finally," Loki harrumphed, then turned and walked right away from the stove, into the very corner of the hall where he sat down, resting his head back against the wall. Thor opened his mouth, but Loki cut him off. "I told you, Thor, I don't want to be here. Leave me be. Go cook some… Pancakes." Thor shrugged and left him. If Loki wanted to sulk, he would let him. He'd only just got to his stove when Fury announced that they could begin.