Chapter 11
-
Thor wanted to declare it boldly and loudly to the universe.
He and Loki were to wed.
Loki was to be his queen.
The queen of Asgard, like Frigga had been.
The thought filled him with delight, not only for the fact itself, but for the picture of the future that it formed. A future where they were, without question, together. United in every possible way, not only within themselves, but outwardly. So all knew they were together, two parts of one whole.
In time, Thor would tell everyone.
He would announce it to all of New Asgard, for the entire kingdom would partake in the celebrations. The ceremony and feast and revelries, like those the poems and stories recounted taking place for the marriage of Odin and Frigga.
And, Thor would of course proudly tell his friends outside of New Asgard, and invite them to celebrate too, provided they - especially a certain archer with a grudge - brought no weapons and vowed they’d show Loki only kindness.
However, all of that could wait. Thor wouldn’t announce their engagement to any but Heimdall, Bruce and Brunnhilde just yet.
When he next spoke in person to the council, then Thor would announce it to them, and through them to New Asgard as a whole, although a formal, public announcement would necessarily be made after the marriage date was set.
But that wouldn’t be for a long time.
Loki needed to recover more. He needed to be physically and mentally ready, and Thor knew that would take some time. Which was fine. He had infinite patience as long as Loki didn’t disappear, and he wouldn’t. Thor knew he wouldn’t. This Loki was real, not a delusion.
The delay also meant there was time for the Avengers to grow to trust Loki enough for Thor to feel safe inviting them, and for he and Loki to plan their wedding, while they continued to let their life together grow and settle.
And while they delighted in every single precious moment together after being parted for so long, after fearing they’d be parted forever.
Right now, the morning after Thor dared to ask Loki to marry him, they were lying in bed together, comfortable and warm and relaxed.
The morning hadn’t started out comfortable and warm and relaxed, a nightmare tearing Loki abruptly from sleep with a sharp cry and a sudden burst of magic that splintered one of the wardrobe doors.
But nightmares were a part of their life, and Thor knew what to do. How to calm Loki down and remind him of where he was, how to help him believe this was reality and the nightmare had been a mere dream.
He knew how to look after him in the wake of the horrors his mind subjected him to, and he immediately, calmly, had.
The Loki who lay in Thor’s arms now, hours later, was utterly different from the shaking, hyperventilating, terrified Loki just moments after the nightmare, although their echoes still lingered in the slight redness around his eyes and the edge of nervousness to his movements as he traced his fingers over the contours of the muscles in Thor’s arm.
The nightmare had been so real to Loki, they always were.
Loki’s imagination was incredibly vivid. It was why he was so good at creating intricate illusions, sometimes forming multiple scenes or images at once. But when it came to dreams, that talent became a curse.
Thor didn’t have the imagination Loki did, but his own mind had shown itself perfectly capable of creating vivid and believable lies. Of tricking him with ghosts of Loki. Had he not spent years imagining a Loki that didn’t exist, talking to a figment of his mind?
As Thor lay in perfect serenity with a Loki who was definitely real, a creeping discomfort edged into his mind.
Had he imagined last night? Had he dreamed Loki accepting his proposal, which Thor really was making far too soon after his arrival in New Asgard. He was still struggling to heal, still seeing and hearing phantoms of Thanos, still afraid to go outside unless they remained right beside the house.
But surely it could not have been a mere dream. The happiness Thor felt was so real, so tangible, it couldn’t possibly have been a dream.
And yet, the Loki he imagined in his grief had felt real, the outcome of his question was perfect and dreamlike, and Thor was almost always filled with a sense of happiness now that Loki had returned. He would be happy and content even had Loki refused or not been asked at all.
“Did you agree to wed me last night?” Thor asked suddenly, deciding not to edge around the question. He needed to know whether he, too, had been deceived by his mind in the night.
Loki didn’t move his head to look at Thor or let his fingers cease their gentle caresses, “Did you ask me to wed you?”
Thor frowned, “You do not remember?”
“No,” Loki turned briefly to look blankly at him, “Perhaps it was a dream.”
Perhaps it was.
Perhaps he had said nothing of it last night after all.
But then Thor felt Loki smile and rolled his eyes, “Cease your jesting.”
“Never,” Loki turned and rested his chin on Thor’s chest, “But, yes, Thor. Unless you’ve changed your mind now a new day has dawned, I do believe we are engaged to be married.”
Thor smiled warmly, with infinite fondness, “How could I ever change my mind about wishing to wed you, Loki? I want nothing more than to have you by my side forever.”
Loki tilted his head, smiling softly back at him, “By your side is the only place I feel I belong.”
“I only feel truly right when you’re with me,” Thor gently brushed a hand over Loki’s temple, slipping fingers into his hair, “You know, our marriage shall be the first to take place in New Asgard.”
“Hm,” Loki shut his eyes as he leaned into Thor’s touch, “The wedding traditions will have to change somewhat.”
It was true. Many traditions would not be possible or logical with Asgard gone, and some may be too painful a reminder of all that they had lost. They’d need new customs, new ways to celebrate, although the core elements of the wedding need not change.
“What we choose to do will influence all weddings that follow,” Thor mused, watching Loki’s lips form into a contented smile as Thor lightly massaged his scalp with his fingers.
The marriage of Odin and Frigga had dictated many of the traditions used in weddings on Asgard, adding to those that had existed since the time of Bor. Naturally, Thor’s wedding would have a similar influence in New Asgard.
“We should introduce a custom that has no logic behind it, which people will feel obliged to follow even though it makes no sense, and for centuries they will wonder why it is that we must release nine geese to run amok during the wedding feast.”
Thor laughed, deep and rumbling, making Loki break into a broad smile, “Of course you would see our wedding as an opportunity for mischief.”
“I’m the god of mischief, Thor. It’s my prerogative.”
“Well,” Thor grinned and lifted Loki off him, easily and carefully reversing their positions and straddling over Loki’s smaller frame, “God of mischief, perhaps I could accept one or two tricks in our wedding.”
He shifted down Loki’s body and pressed kisses to the hollows of his hip bones, then moved up to touch his lips softly over his abdomen, kissing a path over his chest, up to his throat, smiling at the sigh of pleasure Loki let out as Thor let his teeth lightly graze the sensitive skin there.
“Perhaps even three,” Thor murmured, leaning up to touch their lips together, “If you can spin a tale sufficiently convincing to justify their inclusion.”
“Agreed,” Loki smiled and reached a slightly trembling hand up to thread into Thor’s hair, tilting his head to kiss him again, “It is fortunate I a-“
He broke off suddenly, his hand slipping out of Thor’s hair to fall limp on the pillow beside him, his eyes rolling back and falling shut.
Just for a few seconds.
Long enough for Thor to panic, then calm himself as he realised Loki had just fainted. It still happened sometimes, but usually when Loki stood or had been walking for too long.
This was the first time he’d fainted in bed, but they’d been too active yesterday and not eaten or drunk enough, and Thor making his heart rate rise now must have been too much for his weakened body.
It was alright, though, despite the fear clenching Thor’s chest. Loki was already coming around, groaning weakly and wincing as he opened his eyes.
“There you are,” Thor gently brushed his fingers over his forehead, smiling through the echoes of his sudden fear.
“What happened?” Loki murmured.
“You passed out for a moment,” Thor whispered tenderly, “How do you feel?”
“Nauseous.”
“I’m sorry. I pushed you too far yesterday. You must rest,” Thor pursed his lips, “Let me get you some water.”
“Don’t leave me,” Loki gripped his hand weakly, “Don’t leave me.”
“I won’t, Loki,” Thor gently kissed his forehead, “It’s alright, I won’t leave you. I’m right here. May I carry you to the other room?”
Loki hummed his agreement, shutting his eyes as Thor lifted him into his arms and pressing his head against Thor’s neck. He always felt sick after passing out, and Thor didn’t want to make it worse, so he walked slowly and carefully, keeping his steps level.
Thor gently settled him on the couch, grabbing the blanket to wrap around his body against the slight chill in the air, and went to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, as well as a packet of grapes for some sugar.
“Do you think it’s dehydration again? Should I message Bruce?” Thor asked after he’d helped Loki take a few sips of the water, sitting close beside him, one arm around his shoulders and his hand automatically finding the ends of his curls, “Ask for more hydration drinks?”
Loki offered a tired smirk as he sat back and shut his eyes, “Only if you tell him I’ve become dehydrated from our intensely energetic sex.”
Thor laughed softly, “I think that among the humans, Bruce will be the most difficult to make uncomfortable, if that is your intention.”
“He’s perpetually uncomfortable,” Loki replied, his voice a bit groggy, his movements slow as he took another sip of water.
“And you telling him that our sex is particularly glorious will not make him more so,” Thor smirked, “Although I should like to tell him and Brunnhilde of our engagement, if you do not object? Heimdall of course will already know.”
“One day we’ll find a way to surprise him. In over a thousand years we still have not achieved that.”
“You surprised him when you suddenly appeared here.”
“But I didn’t get to relish the surprise,” Loki argued, tugging the blanket closer around his body and leaning against Thor, “It doesn’t count.”
Admittedly, Loki had surprised Heimdall repeatedly but it was true that he’d always been unable to relish it.
He could easily use his magic to conceal himself and steal one of the watcher’s chickens or something, but that would be both too unsophisticated for Loki’s tastes, and probably not that much of a surprise to someone who’d known Loki almost all his life.
“I’m sure we can think of something,” Thor said as he wrapped an arm around Loki’s shoulders and ate a grape, “Do you still feel nauseous?”
“A bit. Just that unpleasant cloudiness and headache that follows passing out,” Loki said quietly, “And, you need not ask my permission to tell anyone, Thor. Others knowing will not alter my answer, and I hope it won’t change your question.”
“You know that it won’t.”
“There are those who’ll advise you against it. Tell you I’m seducing you for power,” he grimaced slightly and set the water down, “That I'll eventually betray you and take the throne for myself.”
“I know, and I shan’t heed a single thing they say. Loki, I know you, they do not. I love you, and there is not a single thing anyone can say or do that will change that fact. I wish to marry you, and as long as you still want the same, we will be married, no matter what anyone else thinks of it,” Thor turned to kiss his hair softly, “Now try to eat at least a few grapes. The juice will do you good. We’ll rest here as long as you need.”
Loki nodded tiredly and reached for the packet, taking two grapes and eating them slowly, swallowing with some effort.
“Ask Bruce to bring some hydration drinks over and answer as you are. That may make him more uncomfortable,” Loki mused quietly, “Humans are strangely averse to nudity.”
“Bruce is a medic, and therefore he is not. You may keep trying to find a way to render him more uncomfortable, but do not forget what may happen if he becomes too uncomfortable,” Thor reminded gently, “I have not fought the hulk for some time, and I would of course win as always. However, I should rather like to save the damage to our home that may result.”
Loki hummed thoughtfully, “A reasonable point.”
“Most points I make are reasonable.”
“Lies,” Loki ate another grape then rested more against Thor, clearly unable to eat any more right now.
Thor only smiled in response, lightly massaging Loki’s head with one hand as a remedy against the headache, while reaching for his phone.
It had some charge left and he didn’t want to risk the flash as he jolted more power into it, in case it worsened Loki’s nausea, so he let it run on low battery. He only had a single message to send anyway, adding it to the Revengers messaging group.
T: Bruce hello
T: Loki fainted this morning but we were quite active yesterday so it may be nothing but ought he take more of those hydration drinks
T: I also have tremendous news
Bruce replied almost instantly, as he often did in the mornings.
B: It might help. Has he been eating ok? No sickness?
T: He has been eating and has not been sick
T: I believe it is merely him pushing his body beyond its limits
B: Ok. I’ll bring some drinks over later today. Let me know if the fainting gets worse or starts happening without high levels of activity preceding it
T: Thank you Bruce
B: No problem
Brunnhilde weighed in at this point.
V: What’s the tremendous news Your Majesty? Don’t keep us waiting
Thor beamed as he typed his reply, but not before turning to kiss Loki’s head and earn himself a contented, sleepy hum in response.
T: Loki and I are to wed
T: It shall not be for some time as Loki still needs much time to recover but when we are ready Loki shall be my queen
T: He shall be the queen of new Asgard
Alright. Maybe it wasn’t just the one message he was sending, but the phone had enough power.
Brunnhilde and Bruce were both typing before Thor had finished his last of the messages, but Thor didn’t bother staring at the screen to wait for them to finish. He turned his attention back to Loki, who was dozing against him, his breaths even and soft, his body relaxed in the aftermath of the unconscious spell.
Thor tucked the blanket more snugly around his body, afraid he may grow cold, and kissed him again before looking back at the stream of messages on his phone.
V: That’s great, Your Majesty. I obviously don’t know Loki well at all, but it’s obvious how much you love each other, so there couldn’t be a better choice for your queen. Congrats (hope you’re gonna have an open bar at the wedding)
B: Congratulations! I’m really happy for you both!
And several emojis that looked like fireworks, and reminded Thor pleasantly of the fireworks their mother used to conjure over the water to make him and Loki smile.
Then,
B: Although I didn’t know you two had that sort of relationship. I mean, I knew you cared a lot about each other and were interdependent, but I didn’t know there was a romantic or sexual side to it. Not that I have a problem with it. Just guess I should’ve noticed
V: How did you not notice? You’ve been around them more than me! Did you not see the way they watch each other when they fight? It’s borderline indecent
B: Mostly in those situations I’ve been somewhere or someone else
V: Trust me. It’s obvious
With a winking face whose tongue was sticking out. Thor assumed that emoji meant what it looked like, but Tony had said something once about the meaning of emojis not always being what they seemed to be, and cautioned against emojis of vegetables.
B: I’ll keep an eye out for it next time, Val. Anyway, Thor, congrats. And tell Loki congratulations too. I’m honestly really happy for you both. I look forward to seeing an Asgardian wedding
V: Likewise. Love a wedding! Alcohol and passion flow free. Your Majesty, are you going to tell the council?
T: Thank you both
T: I shall not tell the council until I next meet them in person but wished to tell the both of you without delay
“Bruce and Brunnhilde say congratulations,” Thor said to Loki, smoothing a hand over his hair, “And Brunnhilde says we watch each other fight in a manner that betrays the nature of our relationship.”
“Ought she not have been paying attention to the fight itself?”
“She’s a Valkyrie. She can do all the things simultaneously.”
Loki hummed his agreement, “You do look incredibly appealing in battle.”
“Ought you not be paying attention to the fight itself?”
Loki smirked and hit him lightly, “I can have multiple me’s on the battlefield at once. There’s always opportunity to steal a glance or two.”
He curled himself more closely against Thor’s body, “Do you think they’re actually happy, or just feel they are obligated to say so?”
“Why would they not be happy?”
“They both have plenty of reasons not to like me, and most people do think me to be the dark and unwanted thorn in your side. The shadow that stalks your light.”
“Please do not speak of yourself like that, Loki,” Thor tenderly brushed his fingers over his back, “You are not unwanted. I want you more than anything or anyone else. You may occasionally be a thorn in my side but only because you literally stab me in the side, often with a dagger the size of a large thorn.”
That made Loki smirk slightly.
“You are not unwanted,” Thor continued, “And, whatever light I might be seen to possess, it is dimmed to nothing when you’re not with me.”
Loki swallowed and looked away, lowering his eyes to the side.
“Loki,” Thor gently tilted his chin to catch his gaze, “I know you suffered cruelty from many on Asgard. That they saw you as different and mocked you, never trusted you, never tried to see past the walls you put up around you. But you are not what people claimed you to be. You never were. You still are not. And, in time, Bruce and Brunnhilde will see that too. But even now, they are genuinely happy because they know I love you entirely, and trust me to be marrying you for that reason alone.”
He hugged Loki tight against him, “Besides, I think Bruce does like you. He’s just also scared of you.”
“I should hope so,” Loki mumbled, “Input considerable effort into intimidating him.”
Thor laughed softly at that, before kissing his hair gently then nudging him with his chin, “Please try to eat some more grapes. You need to recover your strength.”
“I went almost four years without eating a single thing, being tortured without respite,” Loki mused as he reached for a grape, “And now a few hours more than usual without food, and with some moderate activity, and I faint. It’s absurd.”
“Well, you are being tortured no longer. You don’t have to endure anymore, and perhaps your body knows that,” Thor reasoned, “Such as how during a battle, pain and exhaustion are barely noticeable at all, but once it’s over and you can rest, they can overcome you suddenly. Now you have the ability to take care of yourself, or rather, to let me take care of you.”
Loki shut his eyes as he drew an unsteady breath.
“It hasn’t been that long since I-I was there. But even now, when I have a nightmare or feel the..the echoes of the pain, or..or when I think I see him or hear him..” Loki shuddered, his mind rapidly straying into thoughts of Thanos.
Thor clasped the side of his neck gently with one hand, the other squeezing his shoulder, “Loki, breathe. It’s alright. It’s alright. He’s dead. You’re alright. You’re safe.”
Loki kept his eyes fixed on Thor as he drew a long, deep breath, releasing it slowly.
“He’s dead,” he whispered.
Thor nodded, “You’re safe.”
Loki drew another steady breath then broke into a fractured smile, “See? Just thinking about him, about it all, does this. And when it gets worse. The pain or the thoughts or memories..I-I can’t understand how I survived it at all. I know how I did, that it was you..only you who kept me from giving up, but..”
“Now you don’t have to endure that, it’s impossible to imagine how you did. Impossible to picture yourself doing it again,” Thor finished for him, “What I endured isn’t close to the suffering you went through, but I know how you feel. I don’t understand how I didn’t completely lose my mind or give up on life without you there. I could not do it again.”
He gently brushed away the tears on Loki’s cheeks, “But neither of us ever have to do it again. We’re here now, Loki, both of us, together, and that will not change.”
“We’re here,” Loki repeated softly, leaning in to touch his forehead to Thor’s, “We’re both here.”
-
They had a sort of routine, which they followed vaguely and waveringly. The routine adapted to how they were feeling. If Loki’s pain was high or his mind straying, or if Thor felt a sudden resurgence of the fear that he might not really be here at all.
But they did try to hold up a sort of routine because it was supposed to be good for healing, and they both had a lot of healing to do.
Most days, around mid-morning, they would go outside. Sometimes they just walked around the house and their growing garden, keeping close to the place Loki felt safe.
Occasionally, if Loki’s mind had been especially calm earlier that morning, they walked part way along the path that led to Heimdall’s place of residence, the nearest building to their home, turning back when Loki grew too afraid or too weak to go any further. The most recent time, they’d been close enough to see the watcher collecting eggs from his chickens.
But sometimes, going outside wasn’t an option at all.
On days when the pain was too unbearable for a walk, they lay in bed or lounged on the couch most of the day, watching television, playing board games, reading, just talking..whatever they felt they wanted to do.
When it was the mental torments that kept them from their routine, however, Loki always still wanted some exercise to work his muscles, and with their wedding in mind, they turned to dancing.
The last time they’d danced together, before Loki’s return, had been at a feast in Vanaheim a few months before Thor’s failed coronation.
Thor had been leading but Loki not really following, and they had knocked Njord into the mead, making it more than a bit of a memorable feast. They had been lucky it was Njord, and not one of the more wrathful Vanir, and that Odin had been too busy trying to outsmart Freyr in a strategy game to notice.
Usually, now, they chose slow Midgardian dances because it was easier to find music from this realm on the Internet.
This morning, it was a calm and uncomplicated one from several centuries ago. One they had done together on Earth when it was considered modern and terribly indecent. Loki had been shifted into a female form, her raven hair tied up and the colour of her eyes beautifully accentuated by the emerald and black lace choker around her neck.
It was slow and close, allowing Thor to take some of Loki’s weight if he needed to, and to remain always attentive to his body, aware if he began to grow weak or dizzy.
This dance would work Loki’s wasted muscles without having to go outside or be parted from Thor at all. And Thor cherished every contact with Loki, making this close dance even more desirable right now.
They had enjoyed dancing at celebrations most of their lives, ever since Frigga showed them a circle dance at a summer celebration when Loki was only a few centuries old.
They would dance at their wedding too, although the style of music wasn’t something they’d even discussed yet. Probably something fast paced and exciting and exhausting, rather than this. The sort of music better suited to revelry, and the alcohol that would flow freely throughout the celebrations that followed the ceremony itself.
But, for now, slow and steady and close felt right. They were just enjoying every moment together, moving as one to the music coming from Thor’s phone.
Thor laughed softly as Loki stepped up onto his feet, “Do your legs grow tired? Ought we stop?”
“If I wished to stop, I’d not be standing on your feet would I?” Loki replied, resting his head on Thor’s shoulder as they continued to dance, Thor now making the steps for them both.
Thor grinned, shifting the hand on his back to wrap fully around his waist, holding Loki’s body closer. And as he continued to dance, he hummed along with the music, smiling as he felt Loki respond. Relax into his hold.
Around him, the room changed, an illusion rippling through the space to transform the house into a hall. Gold and marble, with flames flickering in sconces and flowers curling out of magnificent vases.
Not quite a copy of any hall in Asgard, but an echo of it. Smaller and simpler and empty of anyone but them.
Just them in this illusion of a New Asgardian hall, with the music echoing around them, growing richer and richer as Loki’s mind deepened the illusion, until, finally, the music on the phone ended, the next song began playing, and Loki allowed the illusion to fall away.
Thor nudged his head lightly as he stopped, prompting him to raise it so their lips could meet in a tender kiss.
“Is that how you imagine our halls should look when we work to build New Asgard further?”
“Maybe. I wasn’t thinking, it just felt right.”
“I like it.”
“I should hope so.”
“Come,” Thor whispered and kissed him again, “You ought to rest. We’ve been dancing for a while.”
Loki hummed and dropped his head against Thor’s.
“If you feel less tired later we may dance again, but for now I hear coffee calling our names.”
“You’re having hallucinations too now?”
Thor laughed and kissed him again, “Some humans do if they go without coffee for long enough. Or have too much.”
“Sounds tiresome.”
“That’s what the caffeine is for.”
Loki broke into a grin then immediately hid it, rolling his eyes, “Cease your attempts at wit and make us the damned coffee.”
“As my future queen desires.”
Thor easily swept him into his arms, kissing him again before carrying him to the kitchen to set him on the counter, the music still playing in the background.
The regular slow beat was far less pleasing when you weren’t dancing to it, and as the coffee began to brew, with unspoken agreement between them, Loki raised a hand and dragged the phone across the room into it, handing it to Thor to change.
“What music would you like?”
“Folk music from the lower towns of Asgard is presumably out of the question,” Loki said as he summoned his Crocs onto his bare feet, glaring at them for a moment before kicking them off, “So, Bach.”
“Which?”
“The father.”
“Did you not have a few liaisons with one of his sons in London?”
“You know I did. You were there.”
Thor smirked as he put on some of Bach’s music, slipping the phone into his pocket and smiling more broadly as Loki used his magic to make the music drift all around them, richer than it would be with only the phone.
This music was the perfect background to their activities. To their drinking of coffee together, talking quietly as they lounged on the couch, discussing the humans they’d met in previous journeys to this realm.
Humans who came centuries before the one who suddenly phoned Thor, interrupting their music and making Loki tense in fear.
“It’s alright,” Thor squeezed his shoulder, “It’s just a phone call.”
From Tony.
Thor answered only because he trusted Tony not to have any animosity towards Loki. The gift of whisky and his kindness in the video call with the Avengers had reassured him of that.
But he pressed the button to make it loud, unwilling to have Loki feel he may be being talked about without his knowledge of what was being said.
“Point Break! Hey sorry to interrupt. I know you wanted to be kept outta stuff, but we’ve got a bit of a situation,” Tony said quickly, and there were sounds of a battle in the background, “Got some like zombie things attacking and could use all the help we can get. There’s a lotta them, and Cap’s with half the team dealing with a Dr Doom attack downtown.”
Thor bit his lip. He didn’t want to leave Loki, but he did have a duty to the realm, and as Loki had said before, if he failed to help and lives were lost, the guilt would eat at him.
“Do you have a visual we can see?” Thor asked, and watched as the phone screen went from dark to a video, a moving image of the battle from Tony’s elevated perspective, flying above it.
A battle with beings Thor recognised.
“Draugr,” Loki frowned, “On Midgard?”
“Someone must have been dabbling in magic,” Thor mused, “Tony, we know what these beings are. Fire is the most effective way to kill them, and their remains are toxic so you must keep them from water systems. Someone must be summoning them. If you do not stop the one responsible, they may keep coming.”
“Copy that. You good to come help? There’s a lot of these guys and we could use you.”
“He will be there momentarily,” Loki replied before Thor could say anything, his eyes on Thor, his hand tightly clutching his.
Then he pulled back and passed that same hand over the other, summoning something, a sword, from a pocket dimension into his hand. A sword Thor knew well.
“You’re without a weapon, and lightning may not be sufficient to ignite these creatures,” he handed the sword over, “Take this.”
The familiar blade grew slightly in Thor’s hand, accommodating itself to fit the one who wielded it.
“Did Loki just do a ‘dangerous to go alone’ moment?” Tony muttered, but Thor was too busy arching an eyebrow at his betrothed to respond.
“Loki. When did you steal the sword of Surtr?”
“A few centuries ago.”
Thor shook his head and leaned in to kiss Loki softly, “You’ll be aright?”
“I’ll survive. Now go, and come back. Don’t be stupid and get yourself hurt.”
“I shan’t,” Thor smiled through his anxiety at leaving and kissed Loki again, before pulling back and using the tesseract to take him to the scene Tony showed them.
As soon as he arrived, he summoned lightning to replace his Midgardian clothes with his armour, and immediately drew the flaming sword. He took stock of the situation in seconds and launched himself into the fight where he could be most useful, making use of his lightning to strengthen and quicken his blows with the sword.
“So, Point Break,” Tony said, flying alongside him and blasting a few of the draugr, which splintered them but didn’t kill, although igniting arrows from Clint solved that problem, “Not sure if you realised that was a video call. As in, I could see you. So, you and Loki...”
“What about us?”
“Are tender kisses on the lips a platonic thing in Asgard, or are you two a couple?”
“We are betrothed,” Thor replied calmly, easily dispatching several of the monsters.
It wasn’t quite how he wanted to tell his friends, but he supposed this way was as good as any.
“You’re engaged?!”
“Thor’s engaged?!” Rhodey asked, dropping down beside them and breathing heavily from the fight.
“Aye,” Thor destroyed a group of draugr who had suddenly emerged from a building, “However now is perhaps not the time for this discussion. Might we delay it until after these beasts have been defeated? They seem to be coming from that building. The sorcerer responsible must be within.”
“Nat’s already there,” Clint said, then touched his ear, presumably to communicate with her in those devices they wore, “Find anything yet?”
For a time, the battle continued with only what communication was required for the fight itself.
Natasha found the one responsible for summoning these creatures, but needed back up to fight them.
But the sorcerer was protected by some kind of barrier and even when Thor and Tony went to try, combining their powers, they couldn’t break through and every attempt only accelerated the rate of the draugr rising.
The undead beings weren’t much of a threat to the Avengers, at least not to Thor or Tony with his suit. But in greater numbers, the draugr could escape the perimeter Clint, Peter and Rhodey were busy maintaining. They could reach civilian populations who couldn’t defend themselves against the powerful undead beings.
“Thor!” Tony yelled as he pulled back away from the sorcerer, who had only grinned at them from beneath a dark hood, mocking their futile attempts, “Your bro or fiancé or whatever is calling.”
“Fiancé?” Natasha arched an eyebrow at them.
“He’s with Bruce. He wants-“ Tony broke off, “Never mind. I’m putting him on speaker.”
Suddenly there was Loki’s voice. Distorted but recognisable.
“Thor, use the tesseract to bring me to the battle.”
“Absolutely not!”
“You can’t deal with this sorcerer but I may be able to. Banner explained the situation to me.”
“I am not bringing you into a battle!”
“Then those creatures will keep coming!”
“Thor, we’ll keep him safe,” Natasha reassured, “But we need to stop these things coming, and if Loki can stop them then you gotta bring him here.”
Thor clenched his jaw, “Loki, if we do this, you stay close to me at all times.”
“You say that as if I’d have any desire to do otherwise.”
Thor smiled very slightly at that and wasted no time. He gave the sword of Surtr to Natasha because he was not wielding a flaming object anywhere near Loki, and he knew she could handle a sword. Probably almost any weapon really, with a few minutes of practice.
Then Thor pulled out the tesseract, and took himself home. Loki stood as he appeared, smiling through his obvious fear as he wrapped his arms around Thor’s shoulders.
“It’s just draugr and a sorcerer,” Loki whispered.
“Nothing more than that,” Thor agreed, “Just draugr and a sorcerer. He is not there. All will be well, Loki.”
Feeling Loki nod against him, his hands tight in his cloak, Thor used the tesseract to take them back to the battle, putting the cube away without fully releasing his hold on Loki.
And Loki didn’t let go of him.
Where they stood, Loki was facing the sorcerer. Thor’s body was between the two of them, a shield in case the one bringing the undead here attacked, but able to see what was behind Loki, to bring lightning to keep enemies at bay. To keep Loki from all harm.
Nothing else mattered right now to Thor.
Loki could deal with this sorcerer, Thor knew that, so Thor needed to focus on nothing other than protecting him and holding him close in the hope it might help keep his mind from straying too far to Thanos.
As soon as Loki began to whisper a spell that Thor felt tingle over his skin, the draugr collectively turned towards the two gods, targeting their attacks to them instead.
Natasha and Tony immediately put themselves between the gods and the encircling draugr, offering a defence which was soon bolstered by Rhodey, Peter and Clint, hurrying in as more draugr rushed into the building to attack the threat to the one summoning them.
Natasha and Clint were effectively destroying many with their weapons of fire, aided by the others corralling or disabling the monsters to make them easier targets.
Loki’s spell was in a language far older than Asgardian. His voice deeper than it usually was, and in a soft whisper.
Spells should be whispered like a caress, Loki had once told him as he showed off his latest new skill, and now that caress was at odds with the tightness of the one hand Loki had gripping his cloak and the trembling in his body. Casting a spell against a terror Thor knew was rising within him. Could feel rising within him.
He wasn’t just out of their home. He was out of their home and surrounded by fire. The burns on his skin had made clear he had been tortured with heat, and with the weapons being wielded and the usual energy of the battle, this place was hot.
Thor felt a sudden, stinging, burst of energy hit his back. The sorcerer finally realising they were in danger and trying to attack Loki instead of relying solely on the undead beings.
But the blasts were weak.
This was no expert sorcerer. Someone merely able to summon some undead, and achieve perhaps a few spells beyond that.
They were no match for Loki.
With a final repetition of three words nine times, a sudden burst of the soft, cool magic that belonged to Loki rippled all around them.
The draugr dropped like marionettes whose strings had been suddenly cleaved with a single slice of some great blade.
Glancing back over his shoulder, Thor saw the sorcerer laying unmoving on the floor. Dead or unconscious, Thor didn’t know, but definitely not summoning anything anymore and that was what mattered.
The battle was over. The bodies of the draugr would need cleaning up and there were small fires to put out, injuries to be tended to, but the battle had ended.
“Are you alright?” Thor whispered, cupping the back of Loki’s head.
“Take me home,” Loki rasped, his face pressed against Thor’s neck, hidden from the humans around them.
Thor had no objections. Loki’s mind was struggling and they needed to leave, and with the enemies defeated, nothing forced them to remain.
“The battle is done,” Thor said to whichever Avengers were nearby, keeping one arm tight around Loki and bringing out the tesseract with the other, “We will return to New Asgard now. You can handle disposing of the remains without me?”
“Yeah, we’ve got it,” Tony said, “Get Loki home.”
“Wait!” Natasha said quickly, “Your sword.”
Thor had forgotten about it. The sword that he and Loki had gone on a quest to retrieve when they were young. The sword Loki took his first life with, and then hid in a temple for months struggling to deal with what he’d done.
Thor forced a smile as he accepted the sheathed weapon into his free hand, feeling Loki tense even with just the loss of that small contact even though Thor’s arm remained around him.
He didn’t wait any longer. With the sword and the tesseract, Thor took them both home, discarding the two relics immediately in favour of hugging Loki more tightly as he broke down into frantic, rapid, broken sobs.
“It’s alright,” Thor murmured, stroking his back and guiding him to sit on the floor as his legs buckled, “You’re safe. You’re home. It’s alright, Loki.”
Loki choked on another sob and hugged Thor more tightly, unable to form words or do anything but cling to the one person who he felt safe around, and let out all the fear and pain he’d suppressed during the battle.
Near the couch, Thor heard his phone go off several times. Presumably the Avengers wanted to know about the engagement he’d let slip, but they could wait. They’d had enough of Thor’s time today.
Now only Loki mattered.
If there was some urgency with the draugr, Thor knew Heimdall or Bruce would let him know. And otherwise, Thor had no care for what else was going on.
All that mattered right now was holding Loki close, helping him to feel safe, helping to bring him back to himself.
It took a long time. Far longer than usual.
But then, they hadn’t done this before. Loki hadn’t been in a battle since whatever had happened when he killed Thanos, nor had he been surrounded by so many people or by fire.
And when the sobs did finally subside it was only for them to become broken, unsettling laughter. Laughter that reminded Thor too much of the way Loki smiled when overcome with the grief over discovering the truth of his birth and over the loss of Frigga.
The sort of laugh that hid a very deep, very terrible, agony.
Thor pulled back slightly to look at him, but kept a gentle hold on his face, “Loki?”
“How absurd it is to be afraid. How pathetic,” Loki was still trembling, his cheeks stained with tears and his eyes more vibrant with the red around them, “Th-that sorcerer was weak. Inexperienced. Anyone with the smallest knowledge of spells could have defeated them. A-and I am afraid?!”
“That sorcerer is not the one you’re afraid of,” Thor said, gently wiping tears away with his thumb, “Being in that environment merely took your mind back to that place, to the one you do fear, and there is nothing pathetic about being afraid of a monster who tortured you so horribly, and for so long.”
Loki nodded shakily, “I felt him there. I heard him.”
“Those were tricks of the mind,” Thor whispered as he touched his forehead to Loki’s, “That monster is dead. He is dead and he cannot come back.”
“He’s dead,” Loki rasped, shutting his eyes, “Thanos is dead.”
Dropping his head against Thor’s shoulder, turned to the side, he conjured the titan’s severed head into the room.
The massive purple head stared back at them. Well, would have, had its eyes not been gouged out, something Thor guessed Loki must have done after killing him and his followers, given that he said he regretted not killing Thanos more slowly. That he had to kill him first and quickly.
“He’s dead,” Loki breathed again, “He’s still dead.”
He shuddered and pressed his face against Thor’s shoulder, waving his hand to get rid of the head.
Thor turned his attention from the empty space left behind, back to Loki, hugging him more tightly, “He will always remain dead. You’re safe, Loki.”
Loki’s fingers deftly, with long practised ease, unfastened Thor’s cloak from his shoulders so he could wrap the red fabric around his own body, leaning into Thor again.
“Thank you for coming to help, despite my asking you not to,” Thor murmured gently, “Many lives would have been lost had you not stopped the sorcerer so quickly.”
“I wanted you to come home promptly,” Loki replied tiredly, exhaustion hitting now the fear had subsided, “An ongoing stream of draugr was hardly conducive to your prompt return.”
Thor smiled, the first time he felt he could really smile since the battle, “Do you feel able to have some dinner? Or would you rather we merely relax? Go to bed?”
“I think I’m alright to have dinner, perhaps in a short while,” Loki replied quietly, “I couldn’t eat yet.”
“Whenever you’re ready,” Thor kissed his hair softly, “There is no rush.”
He carefully lifted Loki into his arms as he stood, carrying him to the couch and nudging the fine wool blanket lying on it aside with his foot so he could wrap it around their shoulders as they settled onto the comfortable seat.
Loki immediately curled against him, his head on Thor’s shoulder and his feet tucked under one thigh, hands resting against his chest.
Then he made a small irritated sound, before suddenly sending a wave of magic over Thor, replacing his armour with casual Asgardian robes. Presumably whatever of Thor’s clothes he had stashed away in a pocket dimension.
“I hope you put my armour somewhere safe,” Thor smirked, stroking his hand up and down Loki’s back.
“I put it somewhere.”
“Will you return it?”
Loki hummed tiredly, “Perhaps. If I feel like it.”
Thor laughed softly, laying his head upon Loki’s.
He hoped there would be no need for his armour to be returned any time soon, no emergency that desperately needed him, and would tear him from Loki’s side again.
He hated being parted from Loki, and he hated the nightmares they both endured after, each of their terrors realised as they slept after feeling so close to having become true in the waking hours.
Although, this time, they hadn’t been parted the entire time.
Only now, with Loki safe in his arms and relaxed against him, did Thor realise what had happened.
He and Loki had fought side by side. For the first time since Ragnarok, they had fought together, and despite knowing they’d struggle to sleep tonight, that thought alone brought a soft smile to Thor’s lips.
The smile didn’t fade as he read through the steam of messages in the ‘og Avengers’ group messaging chat that he’d been added to.
He’d asked Bruce to remove him from it during his grief, but apparently Tony decided he needed to be in it again.
It wasn’t so much the messages from the Avengers outside New Asgard that kept Thor smiling, although the thanks some offered to Loki for his help was comforting.
What cheered Thor most of all was Bruce’s answers to questions directed at Thor, demonstrating not only his support for the love between Thor and Loki, but also how much a part of Asgard he had become, absorbing their culture.
Natasha had begun the whole stream of conversation about the engagement.
N: So, Thor, was Tony just messing around or are you actually engaged to Loki?
M: Sorry Point Break. Didn’t mean to let that slip. Just excited for you, I guess, but also, didn’t know you’re bi
C: Wait, wtf? Thor and Loki are engaged? When did that happen? Have you checked for glowing spears of destiny?
B: Thor isn’t bi, Tony. Asgardian culture doesn’t have sexuality labels like we do. There’s love and sexual attraction and sexual acts, but no labels
M: That’s pretty utopian actually
B: It is. Besides, Loki’s gender indifferent
C: Can we return to the Thor marrying his brother thing?
S: Can people please stop typing so fast?
M: Sorry grandpa. But I’m not actually typing at all. Want me to speak slow enough for you to remember how to type?
N: Guys, cool it. Loki is adopted though right
B: And in Asgard it’s not unusual for adopted siblings to marry. Brunnhilde was telling me that it’s pretty common for a family to adopt a child with the intention that they should marry one of their kids, usually to end feuds or so there’s someone to carry on a family business
N: Is that why Odin adopted Loki?
B: I don’t know. Not sure anyone does
S: But aren’t they not even the same species?
C: I’m more worried about the psychopath who we still can’t be sure isn’t gonna try to kill everyone thing
B: Loki’s a shapeshifter, and most of the time he’s Asgardian in form. Besides, the definition of species isn’t what we thought it was, given revelations about the different species of aliens we’re learning about. Brunnhilde told me a lot about this sorta thing. In an academic way.
B: Also, Loki is not going to try to kill everyone again. He just wants to live with Thor, and as Thor’s ally he’s also ours. I know it’s difficult, Clint, given what he did to you when he was being controlled, but try to give him a chance
C: I am. I was joking
C: Half joking. I will shoot and ask questions never if he decides to go murdery again
S: Understandable. Let us hope he won’t.
M: Guys! We’ve failed to actually do the most important thing here and congratulate Thor and Loki on their engagement! (And ask if we’re invited to the wedding)
There followed various messages of congratulation, differing in enthusiasm and believability, but overall warming Thor. He wanted people to celebrate with him, to feel joy when he did.
As apparently people had finished typing for now, Thor quickly replied then switched his phone off.
T: Thank you my friends
T: Your support means a great deal to me especially given your history of being enemies to Loki
T: Provided you all vow there shall be no violence or unkindness I would love to have you at our wedding although it shan’t be for some time yet
He tossed his phone aside after turning it off and turned his attention back to Loki, back to his betrothed, who was sleeping soundly for now.
The fear, suppressing it during the battle and letting it out as soon as he felt safe, had exhausted him, but Thor knew his sleep would be uneasy and broken. There would be nightmares, there would be tormenting dreams of heat and torture and Thanos, perhaps for several nights.
Thor pressed a tender kiss to Loki’s hair. When a nightmare did inevitably tear Loki from his rest, Thor would be right here.
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