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Thor sits on his bunk, cleaning blood off of Stormbreaker's blade. It's a task that lets his mind wonder, which is something that has often proved to be dangerous in these past six years.
He left with the Guardians a year ago now, and in that time he started recovering from his trauma. He's still not 100%, nowhere near by any means. But he's better. He drinks less, he eats more healthy amounts, and has, according to Rocket, lost some weight. Thor kept his hair and beard long, and has been working to keep it looking presentable.
Staring out at the stars, he can’t help but think of his brother. Thor wonders where he is now, a small part of him believing that Loki still lives, and is out there causing mischief across the galaxy. Perhaps he'll run into him, and the thought brings a sad smile to his face.
The truth of the matter is that Loki is dead. For good this time. There was no way his brother could have survived the awful crunch of his vertebrae giving way under Thanos' hand. That thought made Thor's facial expression darken.
It was no secret that he missed his brother. After all, Loki's death at Thanos' hands was one of Thor's driving motivations to forge Stormbreaker and kill the titan. Of course, as fate would have it, he only managed to kill the titan after everything was already lost. Slicing off Thanos' head gave Thor little pleasure. It just made him angrier. Angrier that he didn't do that before, angrier that he didn't do that right at the start to spare Loki and Heimdall.
Thinking in hindsight was useless now, however. Thanos was dead, twice. Though even watching the titan fall to dust felt like a hollow victory, especially since it came at the cost of Tony Stark's life.
Thor sniffs, and decides he needs to cut his thoughts off before they leave him a sobbing mess that would only embarrass the God of Thunder more. So he stands, leans Stormbreaker against the wall, and goes to find something alcoholic to drink.
"Another payday, a-holes!" Quill shouts excitedly as they all filter into the Benetar. The only two that don't look particularly pleased are Nebula and Thor, but everyone else seems to be used to that by now.
Thor leaves the group, and goes to his bunk to clean Stormbreaker again. He's always prided himself in keeping his weapons clean of blood stains, and the Uru that the axe was forged of made it easy to wipe the blood away.
It always looked as brand new and shiny as the day it was forged when he was done with it.
It was forged on the same day Loki had died.
That sudden thought made Thor jerk as though it physically pained him, and in doing so he cut his hand on the blade of his axe. He yelps and curses loudly, dropping the axe to the ground as he rushes to find something to stem the bleeding.
"Thor?" A voice comes from the doorway, and Thor turns to look at the Rabbit, like he is a deer caught in headlights.
Rocket clearly notices the blood. "Are you okay?" He asks.
Thor takes a shaky breath. "I'm fine, my hand just slipped." He was pleasantly surprised by how steady his voice came.
The Rabbit nods, "I'll get the first aid kit." And he turns and leaves.
Thor only sighs, and looks at the small, but deep cut across the line where his index finger meets his palm. For a moment, it seems all too familiar to a cut from one of Loki's daggers, and Thor has to shake himself to stop thinking about his brother.
Loki is dead. He reminds himself. It's been six years, this is ridiculous, stop thinking about it.
And yet he couldn't. The more he tried not to think about it, the more his heart ached for his little brother. The more he wanted him back.
It seems now that even though Thor is recovering, Loki is the one thing that seems to hold him back from getting to where he needs to be.
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice Rocket return until the rabbit was already pressing disinfectant to Thor's cut.
Thor yelps and tries to flinch away, but Rocket holds his hand still.
"Calm down, ya big baby. It's just some disinfectant." Rocket says in his usual 'I'm so done with all of you' tone.
Thor just looks at him, and tears sting his eyes. Rocket blinks. "C'mon, it doesn't hurt that much, does it?"
"... It's not. That..." Thor says, his voice a little hoarse.
Rocket raises an eyebrow, "Then what is it?"
Thor takes a shaky breath, "I've been thinking..."
"Well that's dangerous." Rocket quips.
"... Yes. Well. I have been thinking a-and." Thor stops.
"And?" The rabbit prompts.
"... Everyone else... Got someone back..." Thor murmurs distantly.
Rocket looks confused.
"... But me..." Thor gives a sad smile. "Everyone that lost someone, had them returned to them."
"Well. Yeah. That was the point of the time heist." Rocket says.
"But what about me?" Thor's voice shakes. "What about my loved ones? What about my happy ending?"
"Thor..."
"Hel, even Stark got his Spider Child back before he died! And I. Am left with nothing. No one."
Rocket looks like he's thinking for a moment. "You got talk to your mom-"
"IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" Thor suddenly shouts, and pulls his hand out of Rocket's grasp. He storms to his bunk, and sits down with a thud. Electricity thrums under his skin, and he fights to keep it down.
To let the storm out on the ship would tear it apart.
"... It's no-ot... Enough..." Thor says, past the lump in his throat.
Rocket jumps down from the counter, and comes to stand in Thor's line of vision.
He blinks, and the tears spill over. "E-even you, Rabbit. You got your family back. And I... I have nothing..."
Rocket looks at the floor for a moment, Thor's tears dropping into his fur. He sighs, and then brings the rest of the first aid kit over to finish tending to Thor's cut.
While he's working, he says "So, just get 'em back, then."
Thor's next breath is shuddering. "It is not that simple..."
"Sure it is." Rocket shrugs. "Nebula brought Gamora from 2014 into our timeline. So. Just go back to before your family died, pick someone up, and bring them back to our timeline. Easy." On the last word the rabbit spoke, he was done wrapping Thor's hand in a bandage.
Thor regarded Rocket with a confused expression. "But. There are rules-"
"All of which have been broken multiple times in the past two years. Ya want someone back or not?"
Thor's logical side said no.
But in the end, it was that pull on his heart that made him desperate to embrace Loki again, that made him say: "I do."
"Then let's go get 'em, then."
"What do you mean you're leaving in a pod?" Quill almost shrieks, as Rocket prepares said pod to leave.
"I'm getting my brother back." Thor says simply.
"What? No! Your brother is dead!"
Thor turns and glares at Peter, and everyone else in the ship is silent as they watch the tension build.
"So were you, for five years." Thor almost growls.
"Quill, will ya back off, please? It's something he needs to do so I'm taking him back to Earth, where the time machine is, so he can rescue his brother, easy." Rocket explains.
"Once I have my brother back I. May not return."
Rocket's ears fall slightly.
"Oh thank god. You're a pain in my ass!" Quill says, only to get thumped in the shoulder by Nebula. "Ow!"
"Stop being an idiot." She hisses.
Thor allows himself a smile at their antics. "It's been fun. Hopefully I'll see you all again soon." He turns to the pod, and Rocket opens the door and they climb in.
It's a long way back to Earth.
"Thor! Rocket!" Bruce greets them enthusiastically when they leave the pod and step out into the courtyard of the rebuilt Avengers facility. "It's good to see you both, how are you doing?"
Thor nods politely. "I am fairing well. Much better than when we were last standing on this concrete."
"It's been a good year for us." Rocket says.
"That's good. That's good." Bruce seems to stall, not wanting to disappoint the God of Thunder after their brief chat over the comms in the pod. At the time, he hadn’t had the heart to protest, mostly because of the fact that he hadn’t heard from someone he considered one of his closest friends in over a year now. But now, being faced with the very real prospect of this actually going ahead, he now has to say something. At the very least, make an attempt to dissuade his friend from going through with this honestly dangerous and reckless plan. "Listen, about this plan..."
"I shan't take no for an answer." Thor says. "I have thought about this for months, considered all of my options. And now that I'm not wallowing in my self pity, I want Loki back."
"Loki?" Rocket asks at the same time as Bruce says:
"Thor, there are rules-"
Thor only rolls his eyes. "None of those rules seemed to apply to Steve when he went back to the past and grew old with the love of his life! I have nothing , Bruce! Nothing! And all I'm asking for, is one person, just the one! "
"Please, Bruce." Rocket tries. "We came all this way..."
Bruce sighs. "Okay." He says softly. "Okay. But just Loki. And not maniac Loki, the Loki that Thanos killed."
Thor's eyes narrow at the mention of that name. "That is the plan." He starts. "The plan is to go back to the moment he pulls his dagger on the purple bastard, grab him and bring him back here."
And he'll be alive and breathing and Thor will be able to be happy again. Truly happy.
"Won't that confuse him?" Bruce asks.
"I can get him up to speed." Thor tries a smile, which ends up looking more like a grimace.
Bruce shrugs, if he is being honest with himself he is genuinely unsure about all of this. About the consequences that stand a chance at coming with this. Not only is it incredibly risky, but it is also dangerous. He doesn't really remember too much about Thanos on the Statesman, but he remembers enough. He keeps his expression nonchalant though, and says, "Okay."
Thor has never felt so relieved to hear that simple, small word. I'm coming, Loki. He thinks. I'm coming, and the sun is going to shine on us again, like you said.
"You sure you don't want me to come with ya?" Rocket asks as Thor stands on the smaller quantum pad, in his quantum suit.
"It'll just complicate things, I don't want to be there any longer than I have to be." Thor shifts his feet. "Plus I get the feeling, Loki won't be very pleased with me interrupting his dramatic sacrifice..."
Bruce chuckles. "That sounds like Loki."
Thor smiles a little sadly over at him, and Rocket smiles a little crookedly at Thor.
"Whenever you're ready, Bruce." Thor says.
Bruce nods and touches the controls. "Going quantum in three, two, one-"
And Thor is sucked down into the quantum realm. The blue lights of the tunnel rush past him, and it doesn't take too long for him to find and turn into his exit.
Back to 2018, six years in the past. Back to the Statesman, back to that fateful day.
Thor materialises a few metres away from the scene, and for a moment he is lost in the memory of this place. The burning, the rotting flesh of his fallen people. He notices Heimdall, lying there, unmoving with that glaive protruding his chest, blood spilling out of the wound as well as his mouth. The red liquid pools underneath him, mixing with the dirt and grime of the destroyed Statesman. It takes all of Thor's resolve to not burst into tears at the sight, for from this angle it is far more upsetting. He blinks and shakes his head to dispel the sight from his mind, to refocus. He hates having to leave such a treasured ally and beloved friend like this, but he made a choice already. Only one, and he had prioritised his brother. A bolt of guilt ran through him as he realised how selfish it was, but he pushed it down. Buried it, with the rest of the guilt that he'd kept hidden for the past year.
He wishes he could have saved them. He should have saved them, should have done more.
Maybe he should have let Rocket come with him after all, if for nothing else other than the moral support and to keep him on task. Time was not exactly something he had a lot of in this particular moment. For any second now-
"If I might, interject." His brother says.
His brother.
Loki.
Living and breathing and speaking.
Thor's eyes sting, and he finds himself rooted to the floor. Brain begging his legs to move, to do something, but his feet stay planted.
"If you're going to Earth," He says, so confidently. Thor remembers distinctly that if he wasn't wrapped in metal, he could have slapped Loki for this. Hel, he can see that same sentiment in the eyes of his 2018 self. "You're going to need a guide." Loki grins a mischievous grin and extends his arms in a shrug. "I have some experience in that area."
"If you consider failure, experience." Thor's blood runs cold at hearing his voice again. That bastard that took his last living family member from him.
Well, not this day. Thor thinks savagely, and he finally finds it in himself to move, to pick up his feet. Nor any other day, for my brother is coming home.
"I consider experience, experience." Loki says, and then starts to walk towards Thanos. Thor follows, but at a distance. Far enough away as to not catch the attention of the Black Order, or Thanos. He was less careful about letting his past self notice him, though. Figured that this Thor could use the hope.
"Almighty Thanos," The way he says that makes Thor's skin crawl. "I, Loki. Prince of Asgard, Rightful King of Jotunheim." He pauses, and looks at this timeline's Thor in the eyes as he says "Odinson."
Thor's heart rate quickens. This is it, the moment is drawing closer. He has to pick up his own pace or else he won't make it in time.
"God of Mischief, do hereby pledge to you, my undying, fidelity..." Loki bows his head and takes a deep, shuddering breath. Thor starts to jog towards him, and Loki's knife appears in his hand.
Loki lunges at Thanos, aiming his knife at the bastard's throat. Only to be stopped and held in place by the space stone, Loki struggles.
"Undying?" Thanos growls. He grabs Loki's arm and twists it down, cracking his wrist and causing him to drop the knife. Loki makes a pained noise. "You should have chosen your words more carefully..."
Time seems to slow down as the gauntleted hand moves towards Loki's neck, and Thor breaks into a sprint. This is when the Black Order become aware of Thor's presence, but they do nothing. For they are completely dumbfounded by the sight unfolding in front of them. The most they do is take defensive positions, which isn't going to do much against what Thor has in store.
"NO!" He screams, but it sounds distant to his own ears, and leaps at Loki. Thor's body crashes into his brother's, and they both land in a heap on the ground before Thanos can wrap his hand around Loki's neck. The Titan, for what it's worth, is too shocked to say anything. Not even anything as pathetic as a frustrated gasp or scream escapes him. Thanos simply blinks at where his victim once stood.
Then Thor jumps back to his present, his brother in his arms. It all happens so quickly that Thor can only register what he just did as a blur of motion. It makes him feel somewhat nauseated, but only for a brief moment. That's Loki he just jumped onto. Loki, his brother, who was lost to him for so long. He holds his brother tightly, so, so tightly as they surge through the quantum time machine.
Thor returns to 2024, back to their normal size, and as instantly as Loki has his wits about him again, he drives his other knife into Thor's abdomen.
"What, the Hel?" He spits in a breathless manner.
Thor just smiles. "I knew you'd do that."
Loki shakes his head. "What have you done?!"
Thor pulls the dagger out of the wound and drops it to the floor. After everything, that is the least of his concerns. Plus, it has already started healing. "Saved your life, is what I've done."
"I had everything under control!" Loki spits.
"No, you didn't." Thor narrows his eyebrows. "You died in that moment, Loki."
"So you go back in time, what, four years-"
"Six."
"- Whatever. To prevent it, bring me back here, even though it was supposed to happen?!" Thor just nods at him. "Do you have any idea what you have done, how many rules you have broken-" Loki rambles on about the rules, when really his main grievance is with his brother ruining his dramatic sacrifice. It's not like he had wanted to die by Thanos' hand, but at that point he had expected it, and by extension, welcomed it.
"To Hel with the rules, I just wanted my brother back!" Thor yells.
That seems to pull Loki up short. And it is now that he does look, really look at the man before him who claims to be his brother. Thor can see his brother scan his features, taking in the long hair and long beard. The brown eye and the scar above and below where the old blue one was sliced out. The quantum suit, and the slightly pot belly. Thor can see it in Loki's eyes when he concludes that an awful lot has happened to the version of his older brother that stands before him.
"Look at me, Loki!" Thor shouts, knowing full well that his brother just did, "I'm. A mess." Eyes start to sting once again.
"Thor-"
"I just wanted. Something . Needed something. And you were one of the people lost to that purple bastard that didn't get brought back and I just... Just needed you..." He sniffs.
Loki's expression seems to soften. "Norns, Thor-"
"I needed you, and you weren't there! You let him kill you! A-and I had to watch!" His voice breaks and he hugs himself.
"Thor..." Loki says softly.
"I tried to. To move on. But it didn't. It didn't work. I just felt so alone , even though I was around friends. Do you know how that feels?" Thor asks, not really expecting an answer.
"Yes." He is surprised to hear Loki mutter. Upon looking at his brother's face, Thor realises that his mask has broken. His eyes have glazed over, as though he might burst into tears on the spot. "... You really missed me that much?" He asks.
Thor nods. "I watched you die. I watched that bastard pick you up by your neck and snap it like it was simply a twig in his hand. Then drop your body like it was, like you were, nothing ..." Perhaps he said too much, because Loki's breaths are coming in shorter.
"... He broke my neck?" Loki asks, almost not believing it. Or perhaps, believing it too much, to the point where he can faintly feel that strong grip of the Infinity Gauntlet around his throat. His hand reached for his neck gingerly.
"After he strangled the air from your lungs..." Thor is so desensitised to this story at this point. He's played the moment over and over in his head, it haunts his nightmares.
He's surprised at how calm he is to recall it.
Loki shakes his head, looking as if he might collapse. Or bolt, one of the two. Thor may be desensitised to this, but this is the first that Loki is hearing of it. And he'd actually not really like to know, he decides.
Thor gives a sad looking smile to his brother, "But this time, I saved you."
Loki looks up at him, sadness shifting into icy anger. "You didn't save shit , Thanos is-"
"Dead." Thor says adamantly.
"... What...?"
"The bastard is dead. He can't take you from me again."
Loki's next breath shakes, as does his lower lip wobble. "... I'm. Free?" His eyebrows raise in his signature shocked expression. He almost looks like a kicked puppy at this revelation.
Thor steps closer to his brother, and gently places his hand on Loki's shoulder. "Thanos can't harm you anymore."
Loki makes a sound of relief. He looks at Thor with puppy eyes. "Truly?"
Thor nods. "I killed him." The first time, at least , but he leaves that part out.
His brother gasps air in with his next breaths, breathing deeply as if he had forgotten to do so for a few moments. Loki's eyes are shut, and he waddles closer to Thor, eventually burying his face into Thor's chest. No, this is not to calm the rising anxiety that he is experiencing... Okay, it might be a little bit.
Thor wraps his arms around Loki, holding him tightly, almost clinging to him. Oh, how he wished for this, prayed for this even. To his astonishment, Loki wraps his good arm around him in return, and Thor breaks out into a grin. The constant tug on his heart for that missing something fades out as Loki hugs him back.
"You're chubbier than I remember..." Loki comments.
That makes Thor laugh for a moment. "Well, that's what grief does to people..."
Loki seems to squeeze his brother. "... I'm here, now..." His voice comes out small, as if Thor isn't the only one he is trying to convince.
Thor's grin returns, "Yes. You are..." He kisses Loki's scalp, cradling the back of his head.
There is a silence for a few moments, as the brothers just hold each other. And then, of course, a clearing of someone’s throat.
"Excuse me! Care to introduce us?" Rocket calls.
Loki lifts his head from Thor's chest, looking over at Rocket. "... That's a talking rabbit." He points out.
"He's wonderful, isn't he?" Thor says, a bright tone in his voice.
"Where in the Nine did you find a talking rabbit?" Loki asks.
"So you're really not coming with me?" Rocket says.
Thor nods, "My place is here, in New Asgard, ruling alongside my brother, like I was always meant to." When he mentions Loki, he wraps an arm around his brother's shoulders.
"Could I convince ya to come back if I said he could come?" Rocket tries.
"I'm not exactly the best team player." Loki says.
"Neither was I, but they helped me learn to be." Rocket said with a shrug, his tail swaying side to side behind him.
"Your offer is kind, Sweet Rabbit. But I think I've once again neglected my duties as King." Thor says.
"But you left Val in charge, and the place is still standing! Come on, just another year, please?" Rocket begs.
"Are you going to miss me, Rocket?" Thor asks.
Rocket gives a crooked smile. "More than you know, pal."
"I will keep in touch." Thor smiles.
"You had better!" Rocket points at him, walking backwards towards the pod.
"Oh, Rabbit?" Loki asks.
Rocket stops to look at him.
"Thank you for looking out for my brother. It's much appreciated." Loki pats Thor's shoulder.
Rocket nods. "You're welcome. If you're ever looking for some fun, you know who to call!"
The brothers nod almost simultaneously. "Yes. Yes we do." Thor says, smiling. Rocket gives a final nod then, before backing into the pod. The brothers stand and watch as it takes off into the sky.
Thor sighs heavily.
"What did he mean when he said you left Val in charge?" Loki asks, breaking the bittersweet mood.
"I will explain. A lot has changed in the six years you have missed." Thor says. "However, I think our first port of call is to get that wrist treated, wouldn't you agree?"
Loki blinks. "... I had honestly forgotten about it. I have been through worse." He shrugs.
Thor. Doesn't know what to do with that. "... Just because you have been through worse does not mean that your wrist doesn't need to be professionally looked at."
Loki sighs dramatically, rolling his eyes to complete his display of utter displeasure. "I know, I know..."
"When was the last time you even went to a doctor?" Thor asks.
His little brother shrugs. "Probably the last time I was deathly ill as an adolescent."
"Loki..."
"Well, it's not like Odin wanted me to be healthy before my trial. His initial sentence was execution, don't you know." Loki grumbles.
"I know that, Loki." Thor says. "Still grumpy about that, are we?" He teases.
"I have every right to be." Loki retorts, sticking his chin up in the air to look all high and mighty.
Thor cannot help but chuckle. Which only causes Loki to look more irritated. "... I have missed this."
"What? My antics?" Loki asks, genuinely surprised.
"Yes."
Loki just blinks.
"Six years of you being dead... I guess I have started to appreciate the little things. The things that used to get on my last nerves I think of fondly now..." Thor shrugs. "Is that weird?"
"... I would not know. I have not lost anyone who used to irritate me to such a degree." Loki says distantly.
"Hey, Loki?" Thor asks, after a moment of silence.
"Hm?"
"I love you."
Again, Loki blinks, and does a double take at his brother. Thor can see it in his eyes, Loki is considering making some quip, a ploy to hide his actual feelings, no doubt.
But the quip never comes.
Instead, Loki leans on Thor, his head resting on his brother's shoulder. "... I love you too..." He murmurs.
Thor's smile is the biggest and most genuine smile that has plastered his features since he lost his brother. The joy is overwhelming.
And the pair just stay like that, standing on top of the same cliff they said goodbye to their father on. The younger leaning on the older, the sun beating down on them warmly. It is, by all accounts, a wonderful day in New Asgard.
"Do you want to see the town?" Thor eventually asks.
"Is there a statue of me in the courtyard?" Loki asks, jokingly.
"Yes." Thor's very serious reply comes.
"What?" Loki asks. "Really?"
"Yes. Loki, you saved our people and gave your life so I could get away, which eventually lead to the defeat of the great threat. They insisted upon honouring your memory with a statue." Thor says.
Again, Loki looks genuinely dumbfounded. "... You're lying."
"I am not." Thor says, slightly offended. "See for yourself, brother."
Loki nods. "Alright. I will."
The brothers just look at each other and smile. Thor a goofy grin, and Loki his signature fond smirk. They turn around in near sync before walking down the dirt track to the town of New Asgard.
Okay, sure, some rules have been broken to get here, but now near enough every wrong Thanos committed has been righted. Families have been reunited, lost loved ones have been found. And no one will forget the ones that gave their own lives to make this a reality.
In the courtyard, the gold plated statue of Loki stands tall. But not too tall, not taller than the buildings that surround it. Loki is slightly offended by the fact that it's not the same height as the one he had sculpted for himself in Asgard. And he says as much, which only earns a hearty chuckle from Thor in response.
"At least you managed to capture my likeness." Loki comments sincerely. "It is a fitting tribute."
Thor nods. "I thought so too, when Valkyrie sent me the photographs."
That causes Loki to quirk his eyebrows questioningly at his brother. "This was her idea?"
"Mostly." Thor said, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "She was grieving too, you know."
"I hadn't expected her grief to manifest like this."
Thor shook his head, a grin plastered across his face. Again, he makes a faint chuckling noise. "No, neither had I. But it's sweet. And our people agreed with her proposal. The statue was built within... What was it, six or seven months?"
"Quick work, considering it seems you're still setting up all of Asgard's home comforts here." Loki said.
"No one ever said it was going to be easy." Thor remarked. "Or fast, for that matter."
Loki gave a lazy shrug. "I suppose."
"And I suppose that we had ought to reclaim our royal titles, eh, Loki?" Thor said, his one natural eye showing something... Else, behind it, however.
Loki notices, how could he not? In fact, Loki found himself thinking about how close his brother and that rabbit had appeared. It seems that, even in the depths of grief, Thor was good at making friends.
"You sure that you're ready?" Loki asks in a more hushed tone.
That causes Thor to stop, look at his brother with an expression as blank as a sheet of paper.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Thor asked, his blank expression being replaced with one of utter confusion.
"Well, you're clearly still recovering, for a start." Loki says, not unkindly of course, but he does notice the way Thor's expression darkens at the implication. "I wonder if Kingly duties might be too much of a burden on someone who is still experiencing such profound grief."
Thor's eyebrows lower. "What are you suggesting, brother? That you being here and alive will not aid in my recovery?"
Loki raises one eyebrow. "You oaf, no, that's not what I'm suggesting." Though Loki knows better than anyone how recovery is anything but linear. And even with the undeniable joy behind Thor's eyes, Loki would be a fool to not notice that air of sadness about his older brother.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be one hell of a bitch.
"Then, what?" Thor asks, folding his arms across his chest.
Loki searches his mind for a simple way to put it. And all he can think of is "... You've only had one year to fully grieve, and that means from everything. From the loss of our mother," Loki pauses to swallow, "Onwards, you've hardly had a break. And then in a final act of defiance, you bring me home to try to break it-"
"I don't need your analysis, Loki." Thor says, a rumble in his throat. "I know what I went through. You were supposedly dead for the majority of it."
Loki attempts to wipe the stung expression off of his face as quickly as it appears, but judging by Thor's expression in response, he didn't hide it fast enough.
"I'm sorry," Thor starts slowly, softly. "That was uncalled for."
Loki simply nods his head at the apology. Not quite in acceptance, but acknowledgment. But Loki hasn't the energy to fight, nor to hold much of a grudge. He is just very, very tired. He sighed. "No, I'm sorry. I figure my insight might've been helpful-"
"On any other day, brother." Thor said. "Any other day."
"Well, I was supposedly dead for most of them." Loki quips, that cheeky grin across his face.
Thor did roll his eyes affectionately at his brother, and then cracked a smile in return. "Norns, I have missed you, brother."
"Meanwhile, I haven't had the chance to miss you." Loki says. "The Mad Titan however..."
"He cannot have you." Thor says, again with a low growl to his voice. "No one can threaten your life like that again. Do you understand?"
"I am not a child -"
"I know that. But you also don't have to face such dangers alone, Loki."
Loki looks away from the intensity of Thor's gaze. "... You know how difficult I find that." He mutters.
The older brother puts his hands on the younger's shoulders. "Then it seems as though I'm not the only one still in recovery. We can work on it together, okay?" Thor says, smiling warmly.
That smile is contagious, especially in moments like this. Loki can't help but find himself returning the smile. "Together." He affirms with a nod.
"I will hold you to it." Thor says.
"And I will hold you to it, in turn." Loki responds. "We should get the Valkyrie in on this, too, just in case we happen to have our own bad day on the same day."
Thor nods. "That sounds wise."
As does Loki bow his head in a nod. "Quite.
"Actually, it seems I have made an error in one of my previous statements." Loki continues.
"Oh?" Thor's eyebrow quirks.
"I have missed you." Loki admits. "Last I saw you, you were at your peak of power. Your hair was short, you had an eyepatch over what now appears to be a brown artificial eye. Your muscular build is not as defined as it once was, and your beard is truly an unruly sight." He pauses as he notices Thor smile at the comment. It is getting perhaps overly long, it may need a trim. "The one thing that makes sense is the replacement for Mjolnir. The rest of you makes it look like you've aged for six thousand years, not just a measly six. And that time, I have missed out on."
Thor looks strangely sad at the confession. "Oh brother, it feels like I have aged another ten thousand years as opposed to only the six it has really been."
"You seem all the wiser for it."
That makes Thor smile. "If a little traumatised around the edges?"
"If a lot traumatised around the edges." Loki retorts.
Thor lets out a breathy laugh.
"Right, I don't know about you, but I have seen enough of that statue dedicated to my sacrifice that I have yet to commit." Loki says.
"I genuinely never thought I would hear you say that."
"Yes, well." Loki clears his throat. "Being faced with the mad titan, and dragged through a- What even was that contraption- to a time where said mad titan is dead, is enough to freak anyone out. And quite frankly, I am positively famished."
"And exhausted." Thor adds.
"And exhausted! Yes! Thank the Norns there isn't a fight here to be fought or else I'd have bloody well just collapsed."
"Let us go home then, brother."
"I thought you would never ask." Loki says, and then breathes a heavy yet contented sigh. "... And maybe we should do something about my wrist, too."
"There's supplies in the house."
"House? Not castle?"
"It has only been six years."
"Exactly my point, there should at least be a palace by now." Loki quips.
Thor shrugs. "Hasn't been at the forefront of Valkyrie's mind, clearly."
The brothers continue chattering, and the noise fades out into the crowd of voices as Thor leads the way towards their home. They take a nice and long stroll through the still growing town of New Asgard. Maybe one day, not so distant from now, it will be a city as opposed to simply a town. But for now, that is a long way off. For once, though, time seemed to be on the side of the Asgardians. Even if their King had meddled with its rules.
To hell with the rules of space and time. The brothers knew that this is where they both belonged, together. And that this is where they were to stay.