A/N: This arose because of all the stories (including one I wrote) where Asgard decides to punish Loki in some horrible way, and Thor lets it happen. But the more I think about it, the more I think Thor is selfish and might instead figure: justice be damned, that's my brother we're talking about. So…

Summary: Thor hasn't fully thought through what will happen when he brings his brother home to face judgment. Not slash. And not too depressing!

Thor dashed in and threw himself at the cage. "Loki," he said against the bars. Hoarse and unsteady. "I didn't know, brother I swear to you, I had no idea that this would happen. I only wanted to bring you home so that Father could set things right… I had no idea I was bringing you home to this."

Loki looked up slowly. The muzzle had been removed, but he had not seen fit to speak to anybody since his arrival. Not counting, of course, the noises he had made during the flogging. That wasn't really speaking anyway.

Thor continued in the silence, almost desperate: "I didn't know Father would be so cruel – how could I?"

Loki's mouth was dry, but he licked at his lips before speaking. "That wasn't cruelty, you fool," he rasped. He was surprised by the state of his own voice; he'd expected to be a little hoarse from all the yelling and roaring, but now he found he could hardly talk. "He meant it as a kindness."

"What?"

"People want blood. If the Allfather hadn't given them this," he gestured wearily over his shoulder with one chained hand, "He would have had to give them a gruesome execution. This way, at least I can be killed cleanly."

Thor's brow was drawn. "Cleanly or not… Brother, they still mean to execute you."

How did someone so stupid ever hope to become a king? "Of course. That is what I meant when I said killed."

"And… and you'll just let them?"

Loki snorted. "I wasn't aware that I had a choice."

Thor was silent a moment, searching his face. Then: "You knew this would happen."

He sounded almost accusing. "Yes," Loki sighed, too exhausted for anger. He would face the end calmly and with dignity – that was all he had the energy for anyway. "I don't claim ignorance, Thor. Everything I did, I did by choice, and I knew perfectly well what the punishment would be."

Thor swallowed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"You-, you didn't tell me that I was bringing you to your death," he stammered. "Loki… how could you think I…? You must know I would never have brought you home to this. However much anger had grown between us."

Loki kicked himself. It had actually occurred to him, down in Midgard when Thor first clapped him in Father's chains, that the idiot hadn't thought this all the way through. I love you and come home with me, Thor had been saying. He clearly didn't realize he was delivering his brother to execution, and all Loki would have needed to do was remind him: I've done evil in the name of Asgard; you know what the penalty is. He hadn't said it, because it had smacked too much of begging for his life, which he had promised himself he would not do.

"But you did bring me," he pointed out coolly. Cruelly. It felt good. "As I knew you would. At least this way you can insist it was an accident. Imagine how hard it would be to live with yourself, if you had to really own what you've done?"

Thor drew away, mouthing soundlessly, eyes wet, and Loki pressed on. "So, did you come to say farewell? You shouldn't have. It would be easier to forget that you killed your little brother if your last memory of him wasn't-"

"Loki, please-"

"-wearing the chains you locked on him in the cell you dragged him to, and-"

"Loki! Stop it!" Thor shouted over him at last.

Loki stopped, and just gave a look of cold disdain. "Leave, Thor. If you're looking for comfort, you won't get it from me. I have better things to do with my last night than hold your hand and pretend to forgive you."

Thor faced away, head bowed, and stayed there for a while. Then, suddenly: "Loki… those chains bind your magic, do they not?"

Loki blinked. The grief had gone from Thor's voice; there was some energy to it now. "What?"

"Your chains. They-"

"-Bind my magic. Yes. Why?" He forbid himself to hope.

"Are you able to travel between worlds with your magic bound?"

"What do you mean?"

"If I-… Loki, we don't have much time, Heimdall will be hearing all of this." Thor spun around and grasped the bars again. "If I tear open this cage and battle our way through the guards, do you know of a way we could escape the realm? I will have to go with you; now that I see how Father deals with treason in his sons I would not want to stay here and experience it myself."

Loki could hardly believe what he was hearing. "Thor, think. Are you really-?"

"Yes: I will leave all this – my parents, my throne, my home. As angry as we are at each other, your life is more important to me than any of that. Can we get away?"

Loki swallowed. Nodded.

That was good enough for Thor; he raised his hammer and smashed through the prison and smashed through the guards who poured in to investigate the commotion. He grabbed Loki by the hand and they ran up the stairs together. He let Loki tug him down this passageway and that, running, and he panted where are we going, but Loki only shook his head and reminded: Heimdall, and wouldn't speak it aloud.

They reached the edge of the Bifrost, felled their pursuers, and had a moment before any new ones arrived. Loki stood bent over, catching his breath. "This is the only way I know without my powers," he panted. "I realize it's not a very attractive option. You don't have to come along."

"I will come." Thor swallowed and looked down into the void. "What happens when we jump?"

"We fall. Perhaps for a long time. It's empty and very cold. We see some terrible things. Eventually we stop falling, and land somewhere, and pray that it's better than what we left behind." He shook his head. "Our chances would be better without these," he said, jerking on his chains, "But I don't think we have time now to think of how to get them off. We can worry about it when we land."

Thor bit his lip. "Loki…" He drew a key out of his pocket. "I stole this." He unlocked one of the magical cuffs, and Loki felt himself bursting with joy…

…Until, instead of unlocking the other side, Thor snapped the open cuff onto his own wrist and shoved the key into his mouth. Loki watched in horror as he tipped his head back and worked to swallow.

"There." Thor clapped him on the shoulder. "I love you, brother, but I don't think I trust you just now. This way I know that you will not leave me falling through the abyss alone. You will have your magic back once you land me somewhere safe."

Loki battled down a burst of admiration for the clever move, and tried to snarl. "I'll land you somewhere safe, and then I'll filet you like a fish until I find that key."

"You will not," Thor declared with certainty. "I've seen you use your knives, brother. When you want a man dead, he dies." He touched the wound on his abdomen, smiling a little. "This was what my Midgard friends would call a love tap. I knew the moment you gave it to me, and it was the first hope I'd had in so long that we were still-"

"Shh!" Loki tilted his head to listen. People were coming. "Hold on to your hammer," he instructed, "And hold on to me, and don't let go."

Thor stepped close and grabbed. "I'm ready."

Loki threw his arms around Thor's chest. He didn't say anything, but as he pulled them both over the edge he gave a squeeze. Thor could, if he wanted to, elect to believe that it was a hug.

The End. Let me know what you thought!

Also, news: Over the past few weeks I've been writing bits from the Rehabilitation universe, and they seem to be coalescing into one single narrative rather than a collection of one-shots. So it's possible at some point I will be doing a sequel – but if not, I'll still post some of these, cause I like em.

I've also been musing on two more bits of Forfeit. So that might get posted as well.