[fic] Loki Found the Whole Thing Hilarious 2/3
Lolololol Wat? Oh, more of that fic thing. ROFL don't hurt me.
Title: Loki Found the Whole Thing Hilarious
Chapter: 2/3
Rating: PG-13ish
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Word Count: 4515
Chapter One
~~~
The first thing Loki noticed upon opening his eyes was that Hel looked an awful lot like Asgard. The second thing was that it looked an awful lot like his old room in Asgard. He could already tell that this was going to be some sort of Poetic Justice type of eternal pain and suffering.
Then, he turned his head and saw Thor. Thor. Sleeping in a chair beside his bed with his head and arms resting on it. Loki lay there, frozen and staring, and then realized that Thor was holding his hand. He finally found it in himself to recoil in surprise, jerking back and attempting to sit up in the process. Pain shot through his chest and he hissed, falling back onto the soft pillows, barely a foot from where he had just been laying, Thor's hand still tightly wrapped around his.
Thor jerked awake at Loki's sudden movement and sat up quickly, staring at his brother wide-eyed. Loki stared back, not daring to breathe.
Suddenly, Loki found himself hefted up and in Thor’s crushing embrace. He winced and let out another hiss of pain as he was jostled, but once he was in Thor’s arms and still again, it ebbed away once more.
“T-Thor?” he questioned hesitantly, startled, and he coughed to mask the break in his voice. Thor was holding him tightly, like he was going to disappear, and his face was pressed into Loki’s hair. But his brother said nothing, just held him close and Loki wasn’t sure, but he thought Thor was shaking. Loki’s hands came up to rest against Thor’s chest in the embrace and he stared blankly at the metal of his brother's armor, trying not to let himself be fooled by the situation. This was going to be one torturous eternity if it was always going to be like this, because he knew it couldn’t last. Everything he had secretly wanted would be ripped away.
“I thought that I had lost you, brother...” Thor muttered into his hair and Loki only became more perplexed by the entire situation. But his chest still hurt and his head was throbbing and Thor was holding him and calling him brother and it was all too much to fight, so he gave in. He dropped his forehead against Thor’s chest and closed his eyes.
They stayed like that for a long moment before Thor pulled back suddenly, holding him at arms length. “--You should be resting. I am probably just worsening the healing process of your wound--”
Loki stopped and stared at him. “I--what?” Then, the truth slowly dawned on him. His usually quick mind had just been so sure of what had happened that the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him. He was alive. The realization barely had time to sink in before Thor had pulled him closer again, though not crushing his face to his chest like last time.
"Do not ever do something so foolish and reckless again!" Thor ordered and Loki’s face went blank.
"--Foolish? Reckless?!" the Trickster God demanded, suddenly feeling his anger flare. He pulled back as best he could to fix Thor with a mighty glare. "You are one to talk! You almost got yourself killed because you didn't know what you were getting into! You just assume you're so invincible because you're The Mighty Thor--but even fath--Odin lost an eye, brother--There are things, even on Midgard that can hurt you--can kill you! Not everything and everyone on Midgard comes from Midgard and you are a fool to think otherwise since you and I are proof of it!"
Thor's expression became taken aback, though he still held his brother in place at arms length, gripping his slender arms lightly. "--Did you hear the words which you just spoke? It was you who almost died, brother!"
"I knew exactly what I was doing!" Loki snapped indignantly, trying half heartedly to pull away from Thor.
Thor's expression then changed from defensive to serious and Loki saw too late the verbal trap he had just walked into. He blamed it on the fact he was apparently in the process of healing.
"So, you knew exactly what you were doing when you leapt in front of a deadly spell for me." It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement which Thor spoke.
Loki kept his eyes trained down, unable to meet Thor's gaze. The things he had said--confessed--to Thor, he wouldn't have if he had known--
"Why?" Thor asked him.
Loki continued to stare blankly at the covers between them. "I believe I already answered that question..."
"I want to hear it again, brother--"
"--Stop calling me that--You had already ceased! I know this whole ordeal is the only reason that you are calling me that again. I will not have you pity me, Thor!" Loki growled, trying to wrench himself free of Thor's grasp.
"Loki--Loki stop!" Thor protested, trying to hold onto him without hurting him. "Loki, you ARE my brother!"
"Your FAKE brother, you mean," Loki hissed.
Thor frowned deeply and grabbed hold of Loki's shoulders more firmly. "You confessed that you still perceive me as your brother--how is it that you cannot believe the same from me?" Loki remained silent, staring at the covers again like a sulking child. "I have never once ceased thinking of you as my brother," Thor continued, gently tugging him into his embrace again.
“Then you are more of a fool than I thought you were,” Loki muttered before looking up at him. His expression was stern but behind his eyes was a myriad of emotions ranging from hope and happiness to anger and sadness. Thor looked down at him and opened his mouth to speak, but Loki cut him off. “--I’m not your brother--I’m a Jotun--your enemy in that regard and on Midgard. I’ve attacked your friends and I’ve tried to kill you, Thor! Numerous times!”
Thor laughed and Loki started to become extremely insulted before the Thunderer spoke. “Loki--I dare say that if you had truly wanted me dead, I would have been dead long ago.” Loki stared at him. That was not the response he had expected--Thor giving him a compliment?--as it was he was going to have to do some inner reflection on the truth of this statement, but Thor continued still. “As for what you are--We may not be brothers in blood, but we are in bond and I will never lose sight of that. In fact, I am very grateful for your heritage for that is how you are sitting here with me this day.”
Loki continued to stare at him, incredulous. “I--First of all, Thor--you have never been this well spoken before. It’s rather disorienting. Secondly--You’re not allowed to speak in riddles, that is my Game, get your own. In fact, I should think you should stop speaking at all.”
Thor laughed again and Loki could almost feel the cheerful rumble of it in his bones. “I would be happy to explain, provided that you lay down and rest. I fear I’m doing more damage than good, upsetting and jostling you about.”
Loki scowled but nonetheless he laid back on the covers with a slight wince. “I’m listening,” he said flatly. “I also want to know how it is that you convinced anyone in Asgard to let me back into the palace.”
Thor chuckled and patted his brother’s hand. Loki narrowed his eyes at the gesture but somehow couldn’t bring himself to move the appendage as Thor took hold of it.
“You see,” Thor began. “I had thought you had perished in my arms and proceeded to unleash a great storm upon those responsible.”
“Thor,” Loki said slowly and a genuine smile began to creep up onto his lips for the first time in a very long time, outside of the most recent near death experience of course. “Did you touch off a hurricane just for me?”
Thor’s cheeks colored slightly and he cleared his throat. “Now, brother, you’re supposed to be listening.” Loki huffed but remained silent long enough that Thor took it as his cue to continue. “I was just about to lay waste to Doom and the Enchantress when Stark and Rogers informed me--over the sound of my anger--that you were alive.”
Loki’s eyebrow arched delicately.
The God of Thunder cheeks flushed a bit more. “--You see your armor had hidden the rise and fall of your chest from me--and the blood flow of the wound had slowed--I was sure that your heart had stopped--and you had lost consciousness so I was certain--” Thor shook his head. “I said it before and I will say it again, never have I been so glad to be wrong. Stark told me it made sense because...” the Thunderer screwed up his face as he tried to remember the exact words. “--Ah yes-- because we Asgardians are the type of people who normally don’t have to check for life signs as there is little cause to check someone’s breathing when their lungs are sticking out of their neck and their head lies halfway across the room.”
Loki grimaced but nodded. “That... was a grotesquely accurate observation on Stark’s part,” he agreed. “With such lovely imagery, too. I’ll be sure to have to thank him for that.” The sarcasm in his voice was apparent but Thor ignored it.
“As soon as I realized my error I rushed you to Asgard and to the healing rooms,” Thor told him as if it was a master tale. “No one dared stop me.”
“Of course they didn’t,” Loki murmured as he looked up at him.
Thor ignored his commentary and pressed on. “There were but two major reasons you survived, brother. One being that your heritage allowed your body to enter a sort of healing sleep--”
“Thor--if you tell anyone that I’m alive because I hibernated like some bear, I will kill you.”
His brother for his part had the decency to look sheepish and he lowered his voice a little bit. “--I’m afraid the Warriors and Sif already heard.”
Loki groaned and pulled a pillow over his face in mortification.
Thor took this opportunity to continue. “--The other part, though brother,” he began again, and reached out to take a hold of Loki’s hand more firmly. “Is that you truly saved my life. If the aim of the spell had been true, it would have struck me in the heart and I would most surely be dead. However, because it struck you, and several paces in front of me at that, it hit here,” Thor gently pressed his fingers to Loki’s upper chest, just under and to the side of his collarbone. “It but grazed one of your lungs, which was why you coughed blood--but that healed quickly because, after all, you are a god.”
Loki slowly drew the pillow down from his face so he could look up at his brother.
“Loki,” Thor continued and smiled at him softly. “Without a shadow of a doubt, you saved my life. If anyone lived who would dare to speak out against a Prince of Asgard--and you are still a Prince of Asgard my brother--they definitely would not speak out against you now. Not when I only breathe because of you.”
The Trickster pulled in a slow breath as he allowed all of this to sink in. It was a long moment before he spoke. “...So what you’re telling me is that... I only survived because I hibernated like a bear and because I am short.”
Thor stared at him and then he began to laugh.
~~~
Thor had insisted that Loki stay in bed for the next several days. While Loki did not particularly enjoy being treated like an invalid, he found that he did enjoy Thor's doting. Brotherly attention that didn't involve Mjolnir flying at his head was always appreciated.
His wounds were all but healed, though he was still tired. His chest still hurt when he moved too much, thus Thor's overprotective order of bed-rest, but he was well on his way to regaining his strength.
Thor was at his side almost constantly, only leaving when there were official matters to attend to since he was at least temporarily back home in Asgard. During the rare times Thor was absent from his bedside, Loki passed the time by summoning books from his (apparently untouched) bookshelves over to him. It had been years since he had read these books and he had honestly not thought he would see them again. So, he read.
It was on one such occasion that Loki was sitting up in bed against a wall of pillows, reading, when there came a knock. Without looking up from his book, Loki called, "Come in." He wasn't sure who he had been expecting, but it was definitely not who walked in through the door. The Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were not even on the list of people he thought would come to see him. It was a very short list. Really, the list was "Thor" and possibly "Mother."
So when the four of them came walking into his room, he wasn’t quite sure what to think or expect. Instinctively he began to gather the magic he would need for a transportation spell, but didn’t use it. After all, there was the off chance that they were, in fact, here with peaceful intentions. He couldn’t really picture them going against Thor to the point of coming to attack him. It wasn’t in character. Still, he could never be too careful.
They all stopped several feet from his bed and shifted on their feet, glancing at one another in various states of awkward. It was Sif who finally rolled her eyes at the others and stepped forward. “We--I..” she began, then frowned to herself, trying to decide where to begin.
Loki chuckled and held up a hand. “To what do I owe this visit? As I recall this didn’t happen before you all hated me.”
Sif set her jaw and then put her hands on her hips. “...Yes, well, trying to kill Thor was the fastest way to get on our bad side.”
“--But you saved him this time-” Volstagg piped up.
“--And so we figured you didn’t really ever want him completely dead,” Fandral continued. He glanced at Hogun to pick up more of the explanation but Hogun was just staring silently and stoically at Loki with his arms crossed over his chest. “...But that’s not why we’re here--Thor told us everything that happened,” Fandral hastily continued. “So we came... to thank you.”
Loki did not bother concealing his surprise. “...To thank me,” he repeated, incredulous.
“Yes, to thank you,” Sif huffed. “I don’t particularly like it because you’ve done...very awful things. But-- You saved Thor’s life...” she trailed off and lowered her arms to her sides. “And you very nearly lost your own in doing so. We never would have expected you to do something like that, risk yourself for Thor like that. So we thought that... we might be wrong about everything else too.”
“--We want to try...starting over,” Volstagg elaborated, nodding his agreement.
Fandral spread his hands. “So let’s try again, shall we? It could be fun!”
Loki stared at them all. “...You four are as bad as Thor.”
There was a short moment of silence before Fandral glanced between them all and then grinned. “Is that a yes, then?
Loki groaned and put his head in his hands. “Worse than Thor,” he amended, shaking his head. He waved a hand in surrender. “Fine.”
Volstagg grinned and clapped Fandral on the back. Fandral in turn looked very pleased with himself, as if it was his speech alone that convinced the Trickster. Hogun continued to stare stoically, but he seemed ever so slightly pleased.
Sif shifted her weight and looked down at the God of Mischief, who still had his head in his hands, before sighing a bit. Speaking lowly enough so only Loki would hear her, she bent slightly, leaning a little closer. “Loki. Is it really such a bad thing that someone would forgive you?” He remained silent and Sif sighed before turning and heading back over to the three warriors. “Think about it,” she said, and it didn’t sound like a request. Then, she herded the other three out of the room.
Loki stared down at the covers, silent, even after they had left. He was thinking about it, and he was still thinking about it when Thor came back to the room.
“--Loki?” he questioned, and the Trickster could hear his brother’s concern even in the way he spoke his name.
He raised his head and smiled a bit before turning to pick up his book. “I’m fine, Thor. How was everything?”
“The day was fair--” Loki could hear the frown in Thor’s voice without even looking. “What troubles you, brother?”
“Nothing troubles me,” Loki said all too convincingly. “Come on, tell me about your day.”
“Loki...” Thor began warningly. The warning being ‘If you don’t tell me what is wrong I am going to pester you until you tell me.’
Loki shook his head with a sigh. “Thor, it’s nothing. The Lady Sif and The Warriors Three paid me a visit and left me with something to think about, that is all. If you’re going to be worried every time I have to think about something, then we’re going to have a problem. We can’t all be you, after all.”
Thor opened his mouth to retort about the ‘nothing’ comment, then closed it at the mention of his friends. He opened his mouth again to ask what they had done and if they had upset him, but closed it again when Loki got to thinking. He opened his mouth once more when Loki implied that he worried too much, but then he flushed when he realized Loki had insulted him. Thwarted in all his attempts to speak, Thor crossed his arms and did his best to look offended. It wasn’t very convincing. “I have reason to worry, you know.” he grumbled.
Loki chuckled and couldn’t help but smile affectionately at the blushing, embarrassed, sulking God of Thunder. His brother really needed to stop being so cute. Of course that thought led Loki into even more thinking. At the time of his brush with death, had he the strength, Loki would have raised his head and kissed Thor, pulling the last stopper on his secrets regarding his brother before they died with him. The problem now, however, was there was no near-death experience, no blood loss to blame his sudden need to be honest on.
He had never felt so compelled to tell the truth about anything, but he wanted--he needed Thor to know how he felt. But then, he was also terrified that should Thor learn the truth, he would lose what fragile happiness he had just found. It was the same feeling he’d had before the battle in which he revealed his Jotun heritage to Thor. Yet, here Thor was, still calling him brother.
Surely there was a limit to Thor's naiive, pig headed forgiveness.
Instead of an embarrassing confession, Loki shook his head and gave his brother a disarming smile. “Of course you do, Thor. Everything is fine, everything will be fine. Now, it’s late, so go to bed and let me think when you won’t be awake for it to offend you.”
Thor did not look so sure, but Loki did seem to still be in fairly decent spirits. So, he nodded slowly and stood. “Very well. Good night, Loki,” he said as he made his way to the door.
“Good night, brother,” Loki called after him and Thor could not help but smile, despite his misgivings.
~~~
It was the next morning that Thor knew everything would be fine. Fandral had run screaming down the hallway upon seeing his reflection in the mirror, finding himself completely bald. Everytime Sif put on armor of any kind, it immediately turned into a large, froofy, incredibly-difficult-to-move-in dress. Volstagg found that any alcohol he tried to ingest instantly turned into milk upon touching his lips. To Hogun's great displeasure, anytime anyone said anything to him, in jest or otherwise, he would burst into hysterical laughter, and could not stop smiling when he was not laughing.
There were reports of the staircases in the palace changing direction and location, periodically every member of the court found themselves stripped to their underwear, then back to full regalia moments later, and all the fountains in Asgard were suddenly filled with wine rather than water. (Nearly everyone enjoyed the fountain prank, all save for Volstagg.)
The All Father did not fair any better. The carvings on Odin's eye patch had changed into intricate heart shaped designs and even Frigga was not spared as no matter how she try, her hair would not stay pinned up and would only hang down with its full, beautiful curls.
Thor was not surprised in the slightest that Loki was not in his room on this day. Or anywhere in the palace for that matter. Thor was surprised, however, that he seemed to have avoided his brother's day of amusement all together and could probably remain completely untouched by mischief for the entirety of the day if he didn't leave the palace.
Despite his better judgement, he went looking for his brother.
There weren't too many places Loki would have gone, especially after playing a prank on the entirety of Asgard, and Thor was rather pleased with himself when he found Loki sitting on the Bifrost, as he had thought he might. He took some comfort in the fact that he still knew his brother well enough to find him fairly easily.
Thor stepped up beside his brother and sat down next to him, swinging his legs over the side. Loki glanced over at him briefly to acknowledge his presence, but didn't look him in the eye and turned back to look out. They used to do this all the time when they were children under Heimdall's watchful eye. This was where they would just sit. Sometimes they would talk, sometimes they never said a word, just stared out into the expanse of the universe. It had been one of the few times Thor wouldn't become aggravated by sitting still and doing nothing. Eventually, of course, he would become bored of it and would stand once more, but Loki had never seemed to tire of it.
They sat there, gazing out into the expanse like they had as children. Loki stared silently forward, his mind turning and weaving around things Thor couldn't even comprehend, as always. And as always, Thor was the one to break the silence first. "You know," Thor began. "No one even seems to be angry. I think they're all just glad that you are back to your old self. Days like this are like the days before any of this madness started..."
"Mmm," Loki conceded. The Trickster was silent for a long moment and Thor wondered if he had said the wrong thing, and if he had if he should say anything else at all, but then Loki spoke again. "I started it, you know. It was my fault. I was the maker of my own undoing."
"What are you talking about?" Thor asked simply.
"I was the one who let the Jotun into the weapons vault. I knew they wouldn't actually get to steal anything--" he trailed off and glanced up at the sky, leaning back on his hands. "I just wanted to ruin your big day..."
Thor was silent for a long time, looking out at the stars. "I'm sure it started long before then, Loki, and I think many are to blame." He looked over at his brother. "Especially your family. We are the ones who failed you the most."
Loki shook his head, sitting forward again. "Thor--"
"--And besides," Thor said, cocking his head with a grin. "Can you imagine what would have happened if I had actually been crowned that day?"
Loki blinked and then he laughed. Thor hadn't heard a sweeter sound in years. "Oh, I don't even want to imagine that. The seasons would be "War with enemy number 1, War with enemy number 2, War with enemy number 3, and Thor is Sleeping."
They laughed together for a long, long time and it was one of the most wonderful, relaxing things for both of them. To finally be at ease with each other long enough to laugh, to talk, to smile. To let things be as close as they ever would be to the way things had been.
Loki recovered from his mirth first but was content to look out into the space around them. Thor, finally calmed, stared out as well. Without looking at his brother, he spoke. "They all missed you, Loki."
Loki said nothing at first, then he finally broke the silence. "I suppose... I may have possibly missed them just a little bit, hardly at all, too."
Thor simply smiled. "You should give them a chance again, and they will give you one too. You are still a prince of Asgard, Loki, and I am sure that they would be happy to have you around, especially in my absence."
"You're returning to Earth, then?" Loki asked, not looking at Thor.
The God of Thunder blinked in surprise then, nodded. "I am. I have an obligation and desire to help my friends there. They need me."
The Trickster stayed silent for a long time. "...I think I shall go with you," he said finally. At the confused expression on Thor's face, Loki decided it was now or never. "I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you, brother..."
Thor chuckled and clapped his hand to Loki's back. "Brother, I must say that doesn't surprise me in the slightest."
The Trickster winced, leaning forward with the friendly blow. "Oh, shut up you great oaf, before I change my mind."
Thor chuckled again and removed his hand, then blinked as Loki turned to face him fully. Loki's eyes were searching his face and the Thunderer found himself rather uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He found himself ever so slightly flushed. "Brother--what--"
Loki was suddenly very close and Thor's eyes widened. "I thought I told you to shut up, brother," the Trickster murmured before closing the space between them and pressed his lips to Thor's.
~~~
~Chapter Three~
Title: Loki Found the Whole Thing Hilarious
Chapter: 2/3
Rating: PG-13ish
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Fluff
Word Count: 4515
Chapter One
~~~
The first thing Loki noticed upon opening his eyes was that Hel looked an awful lot like Asgard. The second thing was that it looked an awful lot like his old room in Asgard. He could already tell that this was going to be some sort of Poetic Justice type of eternal pain and suffering.
Then, he turned his head and saw Thor. Thor. Sleeping in a chair beside his bed with his head and arms resting on it. Loki lay there, frozen and staring, and then realized that Thor was holding his hand. He finally found it in himself to recoil in surprise, jerking back and attempting to sit up in the process. Pain shot through his chest and he hissed, falling back onto the soft pillows, barely a foot from where he had just been laying, Thor's hand still tightly wrapped around his.
Thor jerked awake at Loki's sudden movement and sat up quickly, staring at his brother wide-eyed. Loki stared back, not daring to breathe.
Suddenly, Loki found himself hefted up and in Thor’s crushing embrace. He winced and let out another hiss of pain as he was jostled, but once he was in Thor’s arms and still again, it ebbed away once more.
“T-Thor?” he questioned hesitantly, startled, and he coughed to mask the break in his voice. Thor was holding him tightly, like he was going to disappear, and his face was pressed into Loki’s hair. But his brother said nothing, just held him close and Loki wasn’t sure, but he thought Thor was shaking. Loki’s hands came up to rest against Thor’s chest in the embrace and he stared blankly at the metal of his brother's armor, trying not to let himself be fooled by the situation. This was going to be one torturous eternity if it was always going to be like this, because he knew it couldn’t last. Everything he had secretly wanted would be ripped away.
“I thought that I had lost you, brother...” Thor muttered into his hair and Loki only became more perplexed by the entire situation. But his chest still hurt and his head was throbbing and Thor was holding him and calling him brother and it was all too much to fight, so he gave in. He dropped his forehead against Thor’s chest and closed his eyes.
They stayed like that for a long moment before Thor pulled back suddenly, holding him at arms length. “--You should be resting. I am probably just worsening the healing process of your wound--”
Loki stopped and stared at him. “I--what?” Then, the truth slowly dawned on him. His usually quick mind had just been so sure of what had happened that the possibility hadn’t even occurred to him. He was alive. The realization barely had time to sink in before Thor had pulled him closer again, though not crushing his face to his chest like last time.
"Do not ever do something so foolish and reckless again!" Thor ordered and Loki’s face went blank.
"--Foolish? Reckless?!" the Trickster God demanded, suddenly feeling his anger flare. He pulled back as best he could to fix Thor with a mighty glare. "You are one to talk! You almost got yourself killed because you didn't know what you were getting into! You just assume you're so invincible because you're The Mighty Thor--but even fath--Odin lost an eye, brother--There are things, even on Midgard that can hurt you--can kill you! Not everything and everyone on Midgard comes from Midgard and you are a fool to think otherwise since you and I are proof of it!"
Thor's expression became taken aback, though he still held his brother in place at arms length, gripping his slender arms lightly. "--Did you hear the words which you just spoke? It was you who almost died, brother!"
"I knew exactly what I was doing!" Loki snapped indignantly, trying half heartedly to pull away from Thor.
Thor's expression then changed from defensive to serious and Loki saw too late the verbal trap he had just walked into. He blamed it on the fact he was apparently in the process of healing.
"So, you knew exactly what you were doing when you leapt in front of a deadly spell for me." It wasn’t a question, but more of a statement which Thor spoke.
Loki kept his eyes trained down, unable to meet Thor's gaze. The things he had said--confessed--to Thor, he wouldn't have if he had known--
"Why?" Thor asked him.
Loki continued to stare blankly at the covers between them. "I believe I already answered that question..."
"I want to hear it again, brother--"
"--Stop calling me that--You had already ceased! I know this whole ordeal is the only reason that you are calling me that again. I will not have you pity me, Thor!" Loki growled, trying to wrench himself free of Thor's grasp.
"Loki--Loki stop!" Thor protested, trying to hold onto him without hurting him. "Loki, you ARE my brother!"
"Your FAKE brother, you mean," Loki hissed.
Thor frowned deeply and grabbed hold of Loki's shoulders more firmly. "You confessed that you still perceive me as your brother--how is it that you cannot believe the same from me?" Loki remained silent, staring at the covers again like a sulking child. "I have never once ceased thinking of you as my brother," Thor continued, gently tugging him into his embrace again.
“Then you are more of a fool than I thought you were,” Loki muttered before looking up at him. His expression was stern but behind his eyes was a myriad of emotions ranging from hope and happiness to anger and sadness. Thor looked down at him and opened his mouth to speak, but Loki cut him off. “--I’m not your brother--I’m a Jotun--your enemy in that regard and on Midgard. I’ve attacked your friends and I’ve tried to kill you, Thor! Numerous times!”
Thor laughed and Loki started to become extremely insulted before the Thunderer spoke. “Loki--I dare say that if you had truly wanted me dead, I would have been dead long ago.” Loki stared at him. That was not the response he had expected--Thor giving him a compliment?--as it was he was going to have to do some inner reflection on the truth of this statement, but Thor continued still. “As for what you are--We may not be brothers in blood, but we are in bond and I will never lose sight of that. In fact, I am very grateful for your heritage for that is how you are sitting here with me this day.”
Loki continued to stare at him, incredulous. “I--First of all, Thor--you have never been this well spoken before. It’s rather disorienting. Secondly--You’re not allowed to speak in riddles, that is my Game, get your own. In fact, I should think you should stop speaking at all.”
Thor laughed again and Loki could almost feel the cheerful rumble of it in his bones. “I would be happy to explain, provided that you lay down and rest. I fear I’m doing more damage than good, upsetting and jostling you about.”
Loki scowled but nonetheless he laid back on the covers with a slight wince. “I’m listening,” he said flatly. “I also want to know how it is that you convinced anyone in Asgard to let me back into the palace.”
Thor chuckled and patted his brother’s hand. Loki narrowed his eyes at the gesture but somehow couldn’t bring himself to move the appendage as Thor took hold of it.
“You see,” Thor began. “I had thought you had perished in my arms and proceeded to unleash a great storm upon those responsible.”
“Thor,” Loki said slowly and a genuine smile began to creep up onto his lips for the first time in a very long time, outside of the most recent near death experience of course. “Did you touch off a hurricane just for me?”
Thor’s cheeks colored slightly and he cleared his throat. “Now, brother, you’re supposed to be listening.” Loki huffed but remained silent long enough that Thor took it as his cue to continue. “I was just about to lay waste to Doom and the Enchantress when Stark and Rogers informed me--over the sound of my anger--that you were alive.”
Loki’s eyebrow arched delicately.
The God of Thunder cheeks flushed a bit more. “--You see your armor had hidden the rise and fall of your chest from me--and the blood flow of the wound had slowed--I was sure that your heart had stopped--and you had lost consciousness so I was certain--” Thor shook his head. “I said it before and I will say it again, never have I been so glad to be wrong. Stark told me it made sense because...” the Thunderer screwed up his face as he tried to remember the exact words. “--Ah yes-- because we Asgardians are the type of people who normally don’t have to check for life signs as there is little cause to check someone’s breathing when their lungs are sticking out of their neck and their head lies halfway across the room.”
Loki grimaced but nodded. “That... was a grotesquely accurate observation on Stark’s part,” he agreed. “With such lovely imagery, too. I’ll be sure to have to thank him for that.” The sarcasm in his voice was apparent but Thor ignored it.
“As soon as I realized my error I rushed you to Asgard and to the healing rooms,” Thor told him as if it was a master tale. “No one dared stop me.”
“Of course they didn’t,” Loki murmured as he looked up at him.
Thor ignored his commentary and pressed on. “There were but two major reasons you survived, brother. One being that your heritage allowed your body to enter a sort of healing sleep--”
“Thor--if you tell anyone that I’m alive because I hibernated like some bear, I will kill you.”
His brother for his part had the decency to look sheepish and he lowered his voice a little bit. “--I’m afraid the Warriors and Sif already heard.”
Loki groaned and pulled a pillow over his face in mortification.
Thor took this opportunity to continue. “--The other part, though brother,” he began again, and reached out to take a hold of Loki’s hand more firmly. “Is that you truly saved my life. If the aim of the spell had been true, it would have struck me in the heart and I would most surely be dead. However, because it struck you, and several paces in front of me at that, it hit here,” Thor gently pressed his fingers to Loki’s upper chest, just under and to the side of his collarbone. “It but grazed one of your lungs, which was why you coughed blood--but that healed quickly because, after all, you are a god.”
Loki slowly drew the pillow down from his face so he could look up at his brother.
“Loki,” Thor continued and smiled at him softly. “Without a shadow of a doubt, you saved my life. If anyone lived who would dare to speak out against a Prince of Asgard--and you are still a Prince of Asgard my brother--they definitely would not speak out against you now. Not when I only breathe because of you.”
The Trickster pulled in a slow breath as he allowed all of this to sink in. It was a long moment before he spoke. “...So what you’re telling me is that... I only survived because I hibernated like a bear and because I am short.”
Thor stared at him and then he began to laugh.
~~~
Thor had insisted that Loki stay in bed for the next several days. While Loki did not particularly enjoy being treated like an invalid, he found that he did enjoy Thor's doting. Brotherly attention that didn't involve Mjolnir flying at his head was always appreciated.
His wounds were all but healed, though he was still tired. His chest still hurt when he moved too much, thus Thor's overprotective order of bed-rest, but he was well on his way to regaining his strength.
Thor was at his side almost constantly, only leaving when there were official matters to attend to since he was at least temporarily back home in Asgard. During the rare times Thor was absent from his bedside, Loki passed the time by summoning books from his (apparently untouched) bookshelves over to him. It had been years since he had read these books and he had honestly not thought he would see them again. So, he read.
It was on one such occasion that Loki was sitting up in bed against a wall of pillows, reading, when there came a knock. Without looking up from his book, Loki called, "Come in." He wasn't sure who he had been expecting, but it was definitely not who walked in through the door. The Lady Sif and the Warriors Three were not even on the list of people he thought would come to see him. It was a very short list. Really, the list was "Thor" and possibly "Mother."
So when the four of them came walking into his room, he wasn’t quite sure what to think or expect. Instinctively he began to gather the magic he would need for a transportation spell, but didn’t use it. After all, there was the off chance that they were, in fact, here with peaceful intentions. He couldn’t really picture them going against Thor to the point of coming to attack him. It wasn’t in character. Still, he could never be too careful.
They all stopped several feet from his bed and shifted on their feet, glancing at one another in various states of awkward. It was Sif who finally rolled her eyes at the others and stepped forward. “We--I..” she began, then frowned to herself, trying to decide where to begin.
Loki chuckled and held up a hand. “To what do I owe this visit? As I recall this didn’t happen before you all hated me.”
Sif set her jaw and then put her hands on her hips. “...Yes, well, trying to kill Thor was the fastest way to get on our bad side.”
“--But you saved him this time-” Volstagg piped up.
“--And so we figured you didn’t really ever want him completely dead,” Fandral continued. He glanced at Hogun to pick up more of the explanation but Hogun was just staring silently and stoically at Loki with his arms crossed over his chest. “...But that’s not why we’re here--Thor told us everything that happened,” Fandral hastily continued. “So we came... to thank you.”
Loki did not bother concealing his surprise. “...To thank me,” he repeated, incredulous.
“Yes, to thank you,” Sif huffed. “I don’t particularly like it because you’ve done...very awful things. But-- You saved Thor’s life...” she trailed off and lowered her arms to her sides. “And you very nearly lost your own in doing so. We never would have expected you to do something like that, risk yourself for Thor like that. So we thought that... we might be wrong about everything else too.”
“--We want to try...starting over,” Volstagg elaborated, nodding his agreement.
Fandral spread his hands. “So let’s try again, shall we? It could be fun!”
Loki stared at them all. “...You four are as bad as Thor.”
There was a short moment of silence before Fandral glanced between them all and then grinned. “Is that a yes, then?
Loki groaned and put his head in his hands. “Worse than Thor,” he amended, shaking his head. He waved a hand in surrender. “Fine.”
Volstagg grinned and clapped Fandral on the back. Fandral in turn looked very pleased with himself, as if it was his speech alone that convinced the Trickster. Hogun continued to stare stoically, but he seemed ever so slightly pleased.
Sif shifted her weight and looked down at the God of Mischief, who still had his head in his hands, before sighing a bit. Speaking lowly enough so only Loki would hear her, she bent slightly, leaning a little closer. “Loki. Is it really such a bad thing that someone would forgive you?” He remained silent and Sif sighed before turning and heading back over to the three warriors. “Think about it,” she said, and it didn’t sound like a request. Then, she herded the other three out of the room.
Loki stared down at the covers, silent, even after they had left. He was thinking about it, and he was still thinking about it when Thor came back to the room.
“--Loki?” he questioned, and the Trickster could hear his brother’s concern even in the way he spoke his name.
He raised his head and smiled a bit before turning to pick up his book. “I’m fine, Thor. How was everything?”
“The day was fair--” Loki could hear the frown in Thor’s voice without even looking. “What troubles you, brother?”
“Nothing troubles me,” Loki said all too convincingly. “Come on, tell me about your day.”
“Loki...” Thor began warningly. The warning being ‘If you don’t tell me what is wrong I am going to pester you until you tell me.’
Loki shook his head with a sigh. “Thor, it’s nothing. The Lady Sif and The Warriors Three paid me a visit and left me with something to think about, that is all. If you’re going to be worried every time I have to think about something, then we’re going to have a problem. We can’t all be you, after all.”
Thor opened his mouth to retort about the ‘nothing’ comment, then closed it at the mention of his friends. He opened his mouth again to ask what they had done and if they had upset him, but closed it again when Loki got to thinking. He opened his mouth once more when Loki implied that he worried too much, but then he flushed when he realized Loki had insulted him. Thwarted in all his attempts to speak, Thor crossed his arms and did his best to look offended. It wasn’t very convincing. “I have reason to worry, you know.” he grumbled.
Loki chuckled and couldn’t help but smile affectionately at the blushing, embarrassed, sulking God of Thunder. His brother really needed to stop being so cute. Of course that thought led Loki into even more thinking. At the time of his brush with death, had he the strength, Loki would have raised his head and kissed Thor, pulling the last stopper on his secrets regarding his brother before they died with him. The problem now, however, was there was no near-death experience, no blood loss to blame his sudden need to be honest on.
He had never felt so compelled to tell the truth about anything, but he wanted--he needed Thor to know how he felt. But then, he was also terrified that should Thor learn the truth, he would lose what fragile happiness he had just found. It was the same feeling he’d had before the battle in which he revealed his Jotun heritage to Thor. Yet, here Thor was, still calling him brother.
Surely there was a limit to Thor's naiive, pig headed forgiveness.
Instead of an embarrassing confession, Loki shook his head and gave his brother a disarming smile. “Of course you do, Thor. Everything is fine, everything will be fine. Now, it’s late, so go to bed and let me think when you won’t be awake for it to offend you.”
Thor did not look so sure, but Loki did seem to still be in fairly decent spirits. So, he nodded slowly and stood. “Very well. Good night, Loki,” he said as he made his way to the door.
“Good night, brother,” Loki called after him and Thor could not help but smile, despite his misgivings.
~~~
It was the next morning that Thor knew everything would be fine. Fandral had run screaming down the hallway upon seeing his reflection in the mirror, finding himself completely bald. Everytime Sif put on armor of any kind, it immediately turned into a large, froofy, incredibly-difficult-to-move-in dress. Volstagg found that any alcohol he tried to ingest instantly turned into milk upon touching his lips. To Hogun's great displeasure, anytime anyone said anything to him, in jest or otherwise, he would burst into hysterical laughter, and could not stop smiling when he was not laughing.
There were reports of the staircases in the palace changing direction and location, periodically every member of the court found themselves stripped to their underwear, then back to full regalia moments later, and all the fountains in Asgard were suddenly filled with wine rather than water. (Nearly everyone enjoyed the fountain prank, all save for Volstagg.)
The All Father did not fair any better. The carvings on Odin's eye patch had changed into intricate heart shaped designs and even Frigga was not spared as no matter how she try, her hair would not stay pinned up and would only hang down with its full, beautiful curls.
Thor was not surprised in the slightest that Loki was not in his room on this day. Or anywhere in the palace for that matter. Thor was surprised, however, that he seemed to have avoided his brother's day of amusement all together and could probably remain completely untouched by mischief for the entirety of the day if he didn't leave the palace.
Despite his better judgement, he went looking for his brother.
There weren't too many places Loki would have gone, especially after playing a prank on the entirety of Asgard, and Thor was rather pleased with himself when he found Loki sitting on the Bifrost, as he had thought he might. He took some comfort in the fact that he still knew his brother well enough to find him fairly easily.
Thor stepped up beside his brother and sat down next to him, swinging his legs over the side. Loki glanced over at him briefly to acknowledge his presence, but didn't look him in the eye and turned back to look out. They used to do this all the time when they were children under Heimdall's watchful eye. This was where they would just sit. Sometimes they would talk, sometimes they never said a word, just stared out into the expanse of the universe. It had been one of the few times Thor wouldn't become aggravated by sitting still and doing nothing. Eventually, of course, he would become bored of it and would stand once more, but Loki had never seemed to tire of it.
They sat there, gazing out into the expanse like they had as children. Loki stared silently forward, his mind turning and weaving around things Thor couldn't even comprehend, as always. And as always, Thor was the one to break the silence first. "You know," Thor began. "No one even seems to be angry. I think they're all just glad that you are back to your old self. Days like this are like the days before any of this madness started..."
"Mmm," Loki conceded. The Trickster was silent for a long moment and Thor wondered if he had said the wrong thing, and if he had if he should say anything else at all, but then Loki spoke again. "I started it, you know. It was my fault. I was the maker of my own undoing."
"What are you talking about?" Thor asked simply.
"I was the one who let the Jotun into the weapons vault. I knew they wouldn't actually get to steal anything--" he trailed off and glanced up at the sky, leaning back on his hands. "I just wanted to ruin your big day..."
Thor was silent for a long time, looking out at the stars. "I'm sure it started long before then, Loki, and I think many are to blame." He looked over at his brother. "Especially your family. We are the ones who failed you the most."
Loki shook his head, sitting forward again. "Thor--"
"--And besides," Thor said, cocking his head with a grin. "Can you imagine what would have happened if I had actually been crowned that day?"
Loki blinked and then he laughed. Thor hadn't heard a sweeter sound in years. "Oh, I don't even want to imagine that. The seasons would be "War with enemy number 1, War with enemy number 2, War with enemy number 3, and Thor is Sleeping."
They laughed together for a long, long time and it was one of the most wonderful, relaxing things for both of them. To finally be at ease with each other long enough to laugh, to talk, to smile. To let things be as close as they ever would be to the way things had been.
Loki recovered from his mirth first but was content to look out into the space around them. Thor, finally calmed, stared out as well. Without looking at his brother, he spoke. "They all missed you, Loki."
Loki said nothing at first, then he finally broke the silence. "I suppose... I may have possibly missed them just a little bit, hardly at all, too."
Thor simply smiled. "You should give them a chance again, and they will give you one too. You are still a prince of Asgard, Loki, and I am sure that they would be happy to have you around, especially in my absence."
"You're returning to Earth, then?" Loki asked, not looking at Thor.
The God of Thunder blinked in surprise then, nodded. "I am. I have an obligation and desire to help my friends there. They need me."
The Trickster stayed silent for a long time. "...I think I shall go with you," he said finally. At the confused expression on Thor's face, Loki decided it was now or never. "I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you, brother..."
Thor chuckled and clapped his hand to Loki's back. "Brother, I must say that doesn't surprise me in the slightest."
The Trickster winced, leaning forward with the friendly blow. "Oh, shut up you great oaf, before I change my mind."
Thor chuckled again and removed his hand, then blinked as Loki turned to face him fully. Loki's eyes were searching his face and the Thunderer found himself rather uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He found himself ever so slightly flushed. "Brother--what--"
Loki was suddenly very close and Thor's eyes widened. "I thought I told you to shut up, brother," the Trickster murmured before closing the space between them and pressed his lips to Thor's.
~~~
~Chapter Three~