When the Grandmaster promised Thor punishment for his attempt to escape, the god of thunder expected torture or violence against him. What he did not expect - not even in the darkest and deepest parts of his mind - was that his punishment would be purely emotional and worse than anything else he has ever experienced. Loki had brought him back to the Grandmaster, hoping to secure his position, but the next day it became clear that his plan was doomed to fail from the very beginning.
Thor is tied up against a wall, his hands held by iron cuffs and his body unable to move more than an inch without causing him incredible pain. It’s effective, even more so with the threat that another attempt at escape would end with death. Not for him, though, but for Loki. And this is where the Grandmaster’s punishment becomes the cruel nightmare that it is. Because Loki is the one who is enduring all the pain, who is the true victim of Thor’s attempt to run away and there is nothing he can do to stop it.
Tears stream down Loki’s face when he searches for his brother’s eyes, only for a second before he grimaces in pain again and bites his lips to stay quiet. It’s impossible to not make a sound and once more Thor rattles on the chains holding him up, pushing forward only to fall back right away. He can’t interfere, he can’t stop this violation he is forced to witness, nor can he stop the tears in his brother’s eyes from falling or make the pain on his face disappear.
The Grandmaster is not gentle with Loki. He’s in no way considerate of any scream or crying, not even of Loki’s frantic pleas to stop and to end it. There is a brutality in this that Thor never imagined possible, not with the way he has experienced those two together before, and it makes his anger just the more vibrant and intense. Every expression of Loki’s face burns into Thor’s mind - every twitch, every tear, every single second his pain manifests in any way. And with each second passing, Thor wants revenge for this more and more.
Again and again, Loki is pushed against the ground, held down by nothing but the sheer force of the Grandmaster’s thrusts and his own humiliation. Thor knows that Loki can take a lot, but this is beyond anything he is used to and the brutality alone will be enough to cause him pain for weeks on end. It’s the worst torture Thor can imagine, worse than a million others merged together. He would kill himself if it meant he could stop this, but it’s impossible and he knows that.
When Loki cries out in pain, his hands clenching to fists on the hard, cold ground, Thor growls like an animal trapped in a cage. Again Loki looks up at him, as if he’s trying to escape what is happening, as if he would rather see the distress on his brother’s face than acknowledge the agony his body is subjected to. And his green eyes, shimmering with tears and regret and suffering, only say one thing: ‘I’m sorry.’
This, finally, breaks Thor’s silence and he shouts out Loki’s name in sheer desperation, pulling on his chains again in a useless attempt to get closer to him somehow. In return, the Grandmaster becomes even more brutal with Loki, grabbing his hair and pulling his head up so he cannot look away from Thor anymore. With their eyes locked, Thor is forced to watch Loki get pounded like there is no tomorrow and, when Thor looks into his brother’s eyes, it seems like there isn’t.
When the Grandmaster finally lets go of Loki after hours, Thor slumps back as much as he can and just stares at his brother in absolute shock. Loki is covered in sweat and blood from several nails ripping his back open, completely limp as he drops to the ground and unable to move. He just lays there in defeat and hiding his face from Thor, but the silent sobs are still there and they break Thor’s heart in every possible way.
The Grandmaster is long gone when Thor finally finds his voice again, without knowing how much time has passed. He’s unable to raise his voice to more than a whisper, tears stinging in his own eyes, but this one word forces its way out, as important and meaningful as never before in his life.
“Loki…”
It takes an eternity before Loki finally reacts, but he doesn’t say anything. He pushes himself up, arms trembling under his weight as he begins to move without looking at him. There are still no words when Loki pulls himself up using the chains Thor is held by and begins unclasping the cuffs around his wrists.
“Loki, please look at me,” Thor begs when Loki’s hands move to his legs and at this, finally, his brother obeys. But the eyes he meets hurt Thor in a million ways more than he anticipated. There is nothing of the life in them that he knows, nothing of the mischief or cockiness or attitude - Loki’s eyes are completely empty and drained of anything Thor associated with his brother.
Thor barely registers it when Loki’s hand moves between his spread legs and works his pants open, nor when his fingers wrap around his cock to free it and stroke it. He is completely lost in the sadness and hurt in Loki’s eyes, held captive by the realization that he is responsible for this and that he could have done this himself without it making any difference. Only when Loki pushes himself up with his legs and shoves closer, Thor finally breaks out of his paralyzed state.
Loki lets himself down on Thor’s cock without a word, without any explanation, his arms wrapping around his brother as he does. He buries his face against the crook of Thor’s neck as he sinks down further and Thor can feel how much pain this causes him, how even such a slow and almost careful penetration makes him tense up and clench around him. Without thinking, Thor returns Loki’s desperate embrace as gentle as he possibly can, pressing his lips against his brother’s temple.
This isn’t about pleasure or desire, this is about something so much more meaningful that Thor can’t understand it at first. After all this, after being brutally and violently assaulted for hours and hours, there is only one thing Loki wants and needs. And even in this moment where he cannot look into his brother’s eyes, Thor is the only one who can give it to him.
“I’m here,” Thor whispers and at those simple words, Loki holds him even tighter than before.
This is as simple and as complicated as it can get, but Thor knows that it’s the right thing to do now. When he begins to move with careful, almost tender thrusts, he can feel Loki’s reaction immediately. He is tense as never before, shaking and sobbing, but he keeps holding him and doesn’t try to pull away, no matter how much pain he endures.
They don’t do this for the release that ultimately follows, nor for the thrill they get from it, no. This one time, it’s about nothing else but reassurance and love. It’s a promise that it’s alright, that this doesn’t change anything or destroys what they have. It’s a promise of devotion in every way possible and, most importantly, it’s a promise of a love so deep that nothing will ever be able to take it away from them. And it’s a promise that, after everything, they still belong to each other and no one else.