Written in response to another image on tumblr by Teaat2am. An alternate aftermath to the bridge scene.
"Leave us."
The guards hesitate, sharing quick glances before turning back to him; clearly torn. Thor would understand, truly he would, but he has no patience for them in this moment. Not when his brother sits in chains just beyond the doors, his gaze fixed to the floor and his shoulders slumped in submission.
"Leave," He commands once more, and they do, hurriedly bowing and removing themselves to a safe distance. Thor is no fool; they will give them a semblance of privacy, nothing more. It is not enough, but it will have to do.
Loki sits on the marble bench just inside, his body wrapped in chains as thick as Thor's wrists. They were forged by the best of Asgard's blacksmiths, spelled by the greatest magicians of their father's court, and Thor knows without a second of thought that if Loki wished to, he would escape them in a moment.
Loki is the Trickster, the Deceiver, the God of Mischief, the sorcerer with the silver tongue. He is the one who lies his way through the nine realms; into courts and beds and outs of battle. He is the one who allowed the Jotun into Asgard, who deceived his people and took his father's throne as he slept; the one who lied to Thor and almost brought his death.
He is the one who killed Laufey, King of Jotunnheim, at the cost of almost everything.
He is Thor's brother.
And he is wrapped in chains.
"Loki," He says, quiet, and nearly gentle, "Brother. What have you done?"
His brother stirs but does not raise his head, the thick chains binding him clunking ominously as he shifts in his seat, "Leave me, Thor. Your questions are pointless now. Or has your time on Midgard ruined what little mind you possess?"
Thor feels his face contort, a snarl baring his teeth in outrage, "Do not speak in such a way! Do not lie. Not to me. Not again. You are my brother, Loki, I deserve know why—"
"You are not my brother!"
Thor stops, stunned, as Loki glares at him, his brilliant green eyes dark and wild, a snarl twisting his face.
"You are not my brother," He repeats with utmost care, his gaze fixed on Thor's features, poison green eyes avidly searching him as if this is his final chance. It is. Loki is to be banished; cast out of Asgard, his magic bound. His actions nearly destroyed them all, and the All-Father's will not tolerate traitors in his lands.
Even if that traitor is his son.
Thor steps forward to stand before his brother and sinks to his knees.
"How can you say such a thing?" He asks softly, reaching to cup his brother's face with one hand. Loki stares at him, eyes wide and glassy, and tries to jerk away, but Thor's grip tightens against his jaw and he refuses to let his brother go, "Why do you think so?"
"I am a Jotnar," Snarls his brother, teeth bared, as angry as he's ever seen, "Is that not enough?"
Thor searches his brother's features to see the truth his brother always hides. Loki is a master of deception, truly one of the greatest in the nine realms, but Thor knows his brother better than anyone else. Loki is at his best when he deceives himself; when what he truly wants is not something he will ever speak. Thor has had millennia to learn his brother's quirks, what he truly means while his tongue weaves falsehoods like breathing air. Loki is his brother, deceptive and cruel and entirely his own. That will never change; not even if they are no longer bound in bonds of blood.
"You know it is not," He rumbles in response, coaxing his brother's head down to rest his forehead against his own, "You know it. You are my brother, Loki. My brother. Blood does not matter here. It never did."
Loki snorts, derisive and sneering, but presses his forehead against Thor's, his eyes flickering closed, "You are a fool."
Thor can only offer the barest hint of his former gregarious grin at that, but it is something nonetheless, "Then I shall continue to be so. Better to be a fool with a brother, than a man without."
A tremor runs through his brother and for a moment Thor wonders perversely, ridiculously, if his brother has begun to cry. But as he draws back to look at his brother's face properly once more, it is only to find him biting his lip against laughter, as if Thor has said something so amusing he is unable to properly contain himself. Thor frowns, for surely nothing he has said could possibly be taken as that amusing, but as his brother finally looks at him again, his green eyes dark with pained amusement, he knows that it is only because his brother is trying to remain strong.
Loki falls silent moments later, the mirth in his eyes dying as quickly as it burst forth. Thor can only watch his brother for a moment, drinking in the sight of him for a final time himself. Their gazes catch, and both stare at the other for one long moment; avidly searching each other's features once more for comfort, for strength, and the knowledge that though both cannot prevent what has happened to them before this moment, both wish more than anything it had not ended like it has.
Loki surrenders first, dropping his forehead to rest on his brother's once more; inhaling a deep, shuddering breath.
"Take care of Mother," He murmurs, so quiet Thor almost cannot hear, "And take care of Asgard. You will be a fine king one day, brother. Never doubt that."
Thor sighs shakily, and rubs his thumb against his brother's cheek, grief making his throat tight and voice thick, "I will, brother. I swear to you I will."
Loki nods once and draws back, settling himself back onto the bench, "Then go. Now. The All-Father will be here shortly. I do not want you here for that."
Thor shakes his head, clasping his brother's arm, squeezing reassurance and love with as much care as he can, "No, Loki. I will stay. Until the end."
Loki only looks at him, eyes glinting wetly in the lamplight, "Very well."
And so he does; until Loki is gone.
And a long time after.