MAJOR INFINITY WAR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IT
Title from Hey Brother by Avicii
You've lost your brother once before, left his body on the cold rock of a dead planet. That felt more real than this time, you think, although you're not sure why. Perhaps because of last time.
.
If you imagine hard enough, you can see Asgard. You're able to walk across the Bifrost once more, your hammer swinging in your grasp. Loki is there in his guise as your father - except he's not. Odin smiles and greets you as his son, your mother standing warmly by his side. Loki smirks at you, proud, no longer cast out or in chains.
But, you remind yourself. It is all gone now. These are the foolish dreamings of a man who once had everything, and now has nothing at all.
.
Perhaps what is not quite so real about this is how. Your mother died as she lived - fighting, protecting. Your father blew away in an orange glow of peace and warmth and love. Loki was just gone, his life choked out like it meant nothing. You think there must be some trick to it because this is Loki - this is your brother - only you know there isn't. His final trick was the knife he must have known would not be enough, and his undying loyalty.
(You did not realise then that the trick was the undying, and not the loyalty)
(Loki, despite his tricks, was always loyal)
.
You cannot find it in your heart to be angry at your brother for stealing the Tesseract. Loki had always been in search of his own light to chase away your shadows.
I assure you, brother, the sun will shine on us again.
You had not believed him, then. You cannot, still.
.
You have lost your brother too many times to count; to Thanos, to the dark elves, to himself. You always felt his loss, but Loki always came back. Perhaps, then, that is why this time is not like the last. Loki will not come back.
It sinks in too slowly that you will never see your brother again. You can still feel the touch of his not yet cold body under your fingertips before that, too, was ripped away from you.
.
On Sakaar, you told yourself - told Loki - that you could live without him. You even believed it, for a time. You only see the lie for what it was now that you are forced to live it, and suddenly you understand.
This is the way it would always be with Loki. With lies and tricks and games, until the very end, when you can see the love he always kept hidden shining in his eyes, when he chooses the sacrifice over the gain.
Loki dies.
You, Thor, survive.
I hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. Please leave a review if you have a moment!