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Chapter Text

Loki sat at the console of one of the Statesman's escape shuttles, thinking deep thoughts. When he noticed his brother crossing the cargo bay, a looking-for-Loki look on his face, he allowed himself to be found. Spotting him at once, Thor made straight for the row of little shuttles and climbed aboard.

"Ah, here you are.” He flopped down in the other seat and put his feet upon the dashboard.

"Did you need me, brother?"

"I wanted someone to talk to."

They did just the opposite for a long while, their silence companionable, even comfortable.

"I've really let you down these past few years," said Loki when his thoughts finally went too deep. "I was wrong about everything."

"Not about me. When I look back at the boy I was, I cringe. And if you hadn't opposed me, I would be that boy still."

"I hope you know that, however much I hated you, I always loved you, too."

"Do you love me still?"

"I love you more."

Thor didn't look as pleased at that heartfelt declaration as Loki had expected. He looked downright calculating.

"What's wrong?"

"There's something you need to see."

-----------------

Loki followed through the ship to the 'royal' chambers, all the while fighting down his fears. Obviously anything that so concerned Thor should concern him as well. He knew it couldn't be too bad if no other advisors had been summoned, but he knew it couldn't be too good either when Thor poured him a drink (and made him finish it) before saying a single word.

"What is it I need to see?" Loki gently prodded.

Thor took a few chugs on the bottle, almost answered, then made Loki down another glass instead.

"If you don't show me soon, I'll be too drunk to help."

Heeding the wisdom of this warning, Thor waved resignedly toward a single sheet of vellum on his desk.

Loki approached it as if it might bite.

"The treaty with Jotunheim? Perhaps another drink is in order after all." He stuck out his glass for Thor to refill.

He pored over the document, finding nothing but dense, dry boilerplate. It was no different than a hundred other treaties he'd studied ... until he reached the final condition of surrender.

His empty glass fell to the floor and shattered.

"We can tear it up if you want," offered Thor. "It was tucked among the books rescued from Odin's most private library. We're probably the only living beings to know of its existence." He waited for a response which was not forthcoming, then went on. "I ask only that we never again be enemies. As long as you're by my side I don't much care whether I call you brother ... or husband."

Chapter Text

Loki felt about to fall, so he steadied himself on the desk.

"Should I not have told you?"

"I'd never want you to bear such burdensome knowledge alone."

"Thank you for sharing it. Do you need time to weigh your options?"

"Well you've had some time. Surely you must have a preference one way or the other."

"I dare not speak it for fear you'd prefer the other."

"Well an unmarried king is far more useful than a married one. And I doubt the current Jotun king would take kindly to these terms. Not that we have the means to enforce them ..."

"Yes. Politically, it's toxic," Thor nodded solemnly along with this logic. "But I care not for politics. I want to know your heart. Our hands were apparently fasted as children, true enough, but the union was never consummated. It can yet be undone ... if you wish it."

Loki was still reeling and a little tipsy, and he wasn't sure he understood.

"Are you ... Conversely, are you saying you'd fuck me, here and now, if that's what I asked of you?"

"Of course not," Thor scoffed as if it were the most ridiculous suggestion he'd ever heard.

"You could've at least pretended to consider the possibility," Loki snapped. He couldn't stop the flush of his cheeks or the grind of his teeth. And he clenched a fist when he realized he'd been offended into revealing himself completely. "It's only polite," he added, far too little and much too late.

Thor laughed.

Now angry as well as humiliated, Loki turned to go. He felt like he'd been lit on fire and would burn the whole place down if he stayed any longer.

"It's not like you'd have to look at me," he muttered on his way to the door. "I could be anyone you wanted ..."

"Wait, please," Thor chuckled, getting a hold of himself and a hold of Loki's elbow. "I shouldn't make light of your wounded pride. I'm sorry."

"I do need some time to think about this."

Thor's grip tightened.

"I won't run away."

Thor let him go.

----------------------

Mere moments later, Loki was dazedly roaming the halls and bumped into the Valkyrie.

"You look like you need a drink." She hadn't noticed he was upset, that was just how she greeted people.

Giving over to her direction, he followed to the smaller of the two makeshift dining halls. This one had a little discotheque in the corner where Korg had taken to tending bar. He was rather gifted at it, considering his species didn't have taste buds.

"Hey, man, what's eatin' ya?" The Kronan asked as they sidled up to the counter. And of course the big pile of rocks was more emotionally perceptive than the Asgardian warrior. "Wanna talk about it?"

"I'll need a very big drink first."

"Comin' right up." Korg produced a comically large stein and filled it with five different kinds and colors of liquor.

"What's in it?" inquired Loki when his first tentative sip revealed the cocktail to be quite palatable.

"Who knows, mate? The Grandmaster stocked his ships with more unlabeled booze than food ... and there is a lot of food."

When that drink was finished, Loki felt ready to confide in the friends (he hadn't had friends in so long) eagerly leaning in to listen. Over the course of another, much smaller aperitif, Loki let the tragic saga of the last half hour tumble out of him. No one interrupted. Even the nearby barflies went silent as they eavesdropped.

"You're family's so fucked up," said Valkyrie, unhelpfully, when he'd finished.

"I must admit," said Korg, "you're in a most imponderable conundrum. I take it you're genuinely disappointed that your big brother doesn't want to have sex with you, and, given the chance, you would gladly be his wife and helpmeet for many years to come."

"Husband, but yes."

"Did you fall in love with him when you found out you're not really related?" asked Valkyrie, somewhat more comfortingly.

"It was long before that. I used to dream about him ... about us. I thought something was wrong with me. I couldn't tell anyone, and I couldn't make it stop."

"No wonder you lost your mind and tried to kill him."

"But what do I do now? I've been rejected, and I have nowhere to escape."

"No worries, mate,” said Korg with feigned cheer. “There's plenty of supernaturally beautiful gods of thunder in the sea."

"Ugh, you're such an optimist," Valkyrie rolled her eyes. "He needs to trick him into it."

"Like turn into that girl that mutually dumped him?"

"Nah, I mean like saying he's in love with someone else to throw Thor off, let things calm down for a while, then seduce him when he least expects it."

Loki was exactly drunk enough to think that was a brilliant plan.

Chapter Text

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Thor, approaching the bar and finding three very suspicious characters huddled and whispering.

"Prince Loki was just proposing marriage to me," answered Valkyrie when Loki panicked and snapped his mouth shut.

"Uh, yes. Yes. I cannot marry you, Thor, because I'm madly in love with ... what's your name?"

"Brunnhilde."

"With Brunnhilde."

"I cannot allow such a thing. She gave up the prospect of marriage when she became a Valkyrie."

"I hate to break it to you, your majesty, but I haven't exactly obeyed my vows of chastity or temperance either," she admitted, raising her glass to him.

Seeming amused and unbothered, Thor remained focused on Loki. "And if she were to marry anyone, it should be me. We have the future of the race to consider, and she'd make a worthy, Asgardian queen."

"Survival of a bottlenecked population will require a deepening of the gene pool sooner or later," said Loki mildly, refusing to be goaded again.

"Very well then, I’m convinced. Marry her with my blessing. But just know that I'll be claiming the First Night."

"I'd like to see you try," scoffed Valkyrie into her drink.

"Not with you."

Loki could think of nothing to say. He could think of nothing at all, really. The entire hall fell quiet, or perhaps he just lost the ability to hear.

But he could hear well enough when Thor bent over him and whispered, "Let's go."

Loki blinked them back to the stateroom, where the lights had been dimmed and the bed turned down.

"What are you doing?" he asked as two big, strong arms slipped around his waist and a bearded face dug into his neck. He clutched Thor's shoulders for fear he'd pull away and never return.

"Trying to explain."

"Try harder."

"I misspoke earlier. My objection was only to your crass description of my intentions. I'll fuck you tomorrow, but tonight I want to make love to you." Thor lifted his gaze to Loki's. "If that's what you ask of me."

Loki abandoned the search for something clever to say. All he could do just then was wish for long golden locks to yank while they kissed. Soon they were naked and on the bed, and Thor was inside him, and everything was right for once.

Loki was dizzy with drink and desire. His own member ached and quivered with Thor's every thrust. He'd waited centuries for this moment, this feeling, and it was more than he'd ever imagined.

Those deep, thorough thrusts slowed every so often, whenever Thor had to pause and bring himself back from the edge of climax. When Loki moved to touch himself during one of these respites, Thor pushed his hand away. He hooked Loki's knees over his shoulders and bent so he could pierce him from a new angle.

Startled, overfilled with his brother's solid cock, Loki came. He closed his eyes, cried out, and came and came, shuddering and senseless long after he'd spent himself.

Thor had come, too, somewhere in that blissful eternity, and he pulled out, sighing like he'd rather have gone on a little longer. He managed to get them under the blankets, and they kissed again, this time tenderly and tentatively. They were now in uncharted waters.

"I've dreamt so often of this night," Thor confessed, twining their fingers together.

"Really?"

"I've loved you all my life, always wanted you, even when it was ... inadvisable."

Loki had to hide his sudden tears with another kiss. His heart felt about to break under the weight of all of this.

"I hope you're not too disappointed that you can't marry Brunnhilde now."

"Who? Oh, right. So you weren't fooled?"

"For a minute there I was afraid I'd made you angry enough to throw yourself at the first person you saw. And if you'd been sober you might have pulled it off ... but I caught on."

"I do wish you hadn't laughed."

"Then you shouldn't be so cute when you're angry."

Loki was unsatisfied with that, so Thor went on.

"I couldn't help it. As soon as you looked at me I realized what a fool I'd been. And I realized you might actually feel the same way about me. I had, quite by accident, gotten everything I'd ever wanted. I was overjoyed ... and a little terrified."

"Well, all right then, I suppose I can forgive you."

Thor smiled and settled in, on the verge of sleep.

"I think we're going to be much better husbands than we were brothers."

"I think you're right."

Chapter Text

Loki woke with a screaming headache and something sticky between his legs. He wasn't entirely sure where he was, but there was a strange clench in his chest ... a clench of ... happiness. And when he rolled over, he found himself nose-to-nose with Thor, and everything came back to him.

It was more than he could handle in his current state, so he clawed his way to the washroom and freshened up. The steam and scented soaps (and a few spells he'd picked up in his university days) eased his hangover and made him feel alive again.

Thor was still snoring, so Loki dressed and slipped out in silence.

That unfamiliar happy feeling followed him down to the dining hall. However hard he tried, he couldn't stop smiling. Some bread and bacon and a mug of stout soothed the last of his pain and nausea, and he felt the sudden urge to talk to someone ...

He went to the bar, but Korg was gone, and the Valkyrie was passed out among her empty cups.

"Hullo, Meek," he attempted, but the little creature didn't seem to hear and scuttled on by.

Sighing, Loki made for the cockpit, where he could always find one person to talk to.

"How goes it, Heimdall?" He practically chirped as he strode in.

"It goes well ... my king."

Loki started at the title. He'd heard it often, of course, disguised as Odin, but this time it was real. No tricks, no threats, no bloodshed.

"Have you heard rumors already? Or did you just ... watch?"

"Neither."

"Then how ...?"

"I was there the day your marriage was arranged. I was there the day your hands were fasted. And I can see just by the look on your face that those promises have finally been fulfilled."

"Why did you never say anything?"

"'Twas not my place."

"Why did Odin never say anything?"

"He'd let you be brothers for so long, he feared you could never love each other any other way. But, I think that was only because he so completely considered you his son. You were brothers in his mind, and so it must be for everyone else."

"That sounds like the Allfather, all right."

They stared out at the stars a while, though one gaze reached further than the other.

"I should probably go take a shift in the healing room ..." Loki began to excuse himself.

"I know what hunts you, my king," Heimdall interrupted.

Loki froze. In his joy, he'd almost forgotten.

"Should I leave the ship? Draw him away?"

"Your absence would not make us any safer from Thanos. Nothing but Asgard itself could make us any safer from Thanos ... And your place is with the people who love you. Your place is here."

----------------

Loki found the sick bay calm and quiet, so he prepared some salves and suspensions for later use. He conjured what herbs he could think of and stored them away in clear bins.

Magmar, one of the few fully-trained healers to escape Ragnarok, glided between the beds, tending to the worst of the wounded. His braids and beard were gray, and the lines on his face were long and deep. Occasionally, he'd glance over Loki's shoulder, but found no fault with his work.

After changing a few dressings for ambulatory patients, Loki conjured clean linen bandages and thick cotton pads to restock the stores. When he'd finished that, Magmar bid him rest.

"You must conserve your energy, my boy."

"I've barely done a thing ..."

"You've done a great deal. Leave the rest to me."

Feeling more than a little useless, Loki returned to the mess for a spot of lunch. Korg was back on duty, and the Valkyrie was at last awake.

"Three cheers for our new king!" she cried, much to his shock and embarrassment.

"Hurrah!" cried the sparse crowd in answer, lifting their glasses. "Hurrah! Hurrah!"

Loki ducked his head and demurred his way across the hall. He shook hands and accepted congratulations with a blush, unused to (and a little afraid of) his people's approval.

"You cheeky bitch," he admonished as he joined her at the bar.

"What was I gonna do, not talk about it?"

"I suppose it was bound to come out eventually."

"If you're to be a good king, then you'll have to stop valuing your secrets so much."

"Odin valued his secrets ... but you're right; that wasn't one of his virtues."

"So," she said with a devilish smile, "how was it?"

"Some secrets should be kept." He grinned in spite of himself. "But it was really, really good."

"Sorry to interrupt," said Korg, "but I've made a bagged lunch for his majesty your hubby, and I'm sure he'd much rather get it from you than me."

-----------------------

Worrying all the way to the upper decks that having such a mundane thing as a husband meant he was destined for mundanity himself (gods forbid), Loki arrived to find said husband in a bit of a predicament.

Thor had apparently risen long enough to lay out his clothes and shower, but had fallen asleep again the moment he'd sat down to dress. He was sprawled across the bed in nothing but a towel, legs draped over the edge.

"Oh no ..." Loki shook Thor's shoulders, shouted, everything short of slapping him across the face. "No, no, no, no, no ..."

He ran to the communicator by the door and beeped down to the bar, where Korg answered with a prompt "'Sup, man?"

"We have a problem."

Chapter Text

Brunnhilde, Korg, Heimdall, and Hulk arrived within minutes. Loki had tucked Thor in properly, and the makeshift council gathered around the bed. The Valkyrie, lacking what little tact Loki had, slapped her king hard across the cheek. Thor’s head lolled, but he still didn't wake.

"I'll try," offered the Hulk.

"No!" everyone shouted.

Silence fell, and, with horror, Loki realized that all eyes were upon him.

"Well," he took a deep breath, "a healer’s on the way, just to rule out a medical explanation. No matter what, we’ll need to set a nice, calm example for everyone.” That’s what his parents would have done. They’d have kept their heads, controlled the messaging … hidden the treaty, banished the child …

Such a fine line between preventing a panic and burying the truth entirely.

He glanced from face to face, pained to see the trust he was about to break.

“I’m sorry to say that I’ve got more bad news … we should reconvene in an hour - somewhere with more chairs - to discuss the details.”

All in agreement, they began to file out, but Loki held the Valkyrie back for a moment.

"Would you do me the honor of being my herald? You're terribly honest, and people listen when you speak."

"The honor would be mine."

"Then, before anything else, would you apprise the whole ship of all that has happened. Nothing causes trouble like confusion."

"I'll see it done, my king."

"And please don't be too raunchy about it."

"No promises."

Alone for the moment, Loki drifted back to the bedside. His face was calm, but when he took Thor's hand, his own was trembling.

“I’d hoped for more time before I ruined everything,” he murmured. “I’m so sorry, my love.”

He snatched his hand back and leapt away when Lord Magmar arrived, so used to hiding his feelings for Thor (and quite certain that Magmar hadn’t heard the news yet), that he finally felt a small sense of normalcy.

“It is the Odinsleep, I’m afraid,” sighed the healer after a brief examination. “His exertions in the battle must have finally caught up with him. Or perhaps he finally felt safe enough to give in to the exhaustion. All we can do is keep him comfortable.”

“Thank you for checking,” said Loki, walking Magmar back to the door.

“It’s days like this when I wish we had a queen. I know you miss Frigga with the love of a son, but we all miss her with the love of a nation. She always held the court together, no matter how long the sleep lasted. It took him once, long before you were born, right there on the battlefield; but just as his body was being brought into the medical tent, she was leaping upon his steed to take command.”

Loki paused, charmed by the tale of his mother’s bravery …

“You’re so like her, my prince.”

… and then wilted, laid low by knowing he’d never be enough like her.

Magmar saw the doubtful look on Loki’s face and chuckled, patting his shoulder.

“She lacked confidence at your age, too. And, of course, the people will look to their prince in such times, but you won’t be alone for long. Soon enough, you’ll both have wives and children to share the weight of the crown. There’s so much to rebuild, so much lost … but I know that you’ll both marry wisely, and that joy will come again to Asgard just as it will come again to your family.”

“Let’s pray you’re right.” Loki could barely move to open the door, waving a weak farewell.

“Oy, everybody,” Valkyrie's voice crackled over every single intercom in the ship. “Report to the main hangar bay for an announcement. And I mean everybody! Utmost importance!”

Magmar, startled, threw Loki a questioning glance.

“Yeah, you should go to that.”

---------------------

An hour later, the council met in the captain’s quarters, joined now by the captain herself. Yrsa was a woman of Magmar’s generation, the highest ranking officer of the Asgardian fleet to survive, and (like most high ranking officers) a good friend of Thor’s. Under better, normal circumstances, her presence might have intimidated Loki, but, as captain of their temporary home, her authority rivaled even the kings’, and Loki was desperate to offload some responsibility.

When all were seated comfortably, he sighed and pulled the tesseract from his cloak. Reactions varied from Korg’s complete chill to Hulk’s reflexive growl. The Asgardians recognized the infinity stone for what it was and grew serious though not, as he’d feared, angry.

“It was Odin’s wish that this be kept out of … certain hands.”

“Thanos,” said the Valkyrie grimly.

The name got Korg’s attention, and he looked upon the cube with a newfound fear. “Is it a weapon?”

“A means of travel,” Yrsa explained. “Can’t we use it ourselves?”

“I can’t send the whole ship at -”

“Big ships can go,” insisted Hulk, frowning.

“To enlarge and stabilize that portal, we had to build a miniature bifrost and completely drain a massive arc reactor.”

“How much time do we have?” Yrsa nipped the potential argument in the bud, turning to Heimdall.

“He’s just leaving Xandar, power stone in hand. Two smaller ships are bound for Midgard.”

“That’s enough time to try to build a bifrost. And whether we succeed or not, we must warn the humans.”

Yrsa’s optimism and conviction were infectious, and, loathe as he was to admit it, perhaps the *shudder* Avengers were up to the task of saving the universe … There might be a way through this yet.

“Then try we shall.”

-------------------

Another hour later, Loki was back in sick bay, handing over Odin’s books and papers to Magmar for safekeeping.

“You see?” laughed Magmar, hefting the bag full of treasures onto his desk, “I knew you’d both marry wisely.”

Loki laughed along in spite of himself, then dove onto the opportunity to voice a haunting question. “Everyone seems to be taking the news so well … Why?”

“Because half of Asgard was on Jotunheim the day you were found. We all went home to our families and told them that Asgard would foster a royal hostage, just as it had done a hundred times before. For years we assumed that your fate was a political marriage, likely to Thor. The circumstances of your arrival only became a secret when it became obvious that Odin didn’t want a hostage or a ward or a son-in-law … he wanted a son. Every Asgardian of a certain age sees this as a vindication of their own memories. Among what you’ve just handed me is proof that Odin was the crazy one, not us.”

They laughed again, this time with a ring of strange, relieved grief, and Loki realized, perhaps for the very first time, just how much he truly had in common with his people.