Yes, I'm still alive! I don't think I've uploaded anything up here for a good year or so… And you may have noticed a slight genre change… But, it's still slash, yaoi, bl, whatever you wanna call it~ So, I hope you enjoy my latest offering!

Thor x Loki, Steve x Tony, Loki x Tony… Ship all the pairings!

Set after Avengers and just before the start of The Dark World.

((Also, just wanna take this moment to say that any of my other stories that are still marked as 'in progress' probably won't ever get finished… So… Sorry… I don't think there are that many of them but… Y'know~))

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

"No, father, please!" Thor burst into the Allfather's throne room, all too aware that what he was about to do could potentially cost him dearly. "Please, do not send Loki down into the dungeons!" Everyone present turned to look to the far end of the room as Thor ran down to them; Odin, Loki and even the guards that were holding Loki's restraints looked to see who was causing such a commotion.
"Son, what is the meaning of this?" His father's voice echoed through the chamber. He was clearly agitated by the intrusion, as well as slightly confused.
There was a short silence as the god of thunder quickly approached and then skidded to a halt to stand beside the guards that crowded around his brother.
"I am asking you to reconsider my brother's punishment." Thor explained, not breaking eye contact with Odin. "I understand that what he has done is truly terrible and that many of innocent people lost their lives. It is true that he destroyed half of a city-"
"And where exactly are you going with this?" Loki cut in. He received a glare from both Odin and Thor, and they both told him that his interruptions were not welcome. The trickster hesitated, and then turned his attention back to the floor. Odin glared at him for a second, before turning back to Thor with a look that said he was free to continue.

"It is true that he destroyed half of a city," he repeated, "but I can promise you that he did not mean to cause such havoc upon Midgard. Everything that he did, he only did in order to protect himself. He was only there to… To retrieve the tesseract. He realised that it truly belonged here in Asgard, where it would be safe, and so he went to retrieve it. For you. People on Earth did not understand his mission, and tried to hunt him down."
Loki looked on confused. Both Thor and himself knew that absolutely none of what Thor was saying was true, and yet he was spilling these words with such conviction, and his ever honest expression that any outsider would be convinced. Although Loki couldn't deny he was impressed, he still wasn't sure what Thor's lies were in aid of. However, anything that would allow him a ticket out of imprisonment couldn't be a bad thing, so he watched on quietly.
"So you are saying that I should allow him freedom because his intentions were good?" Odin questioned. He didn't sound too convinced by Thor's story, and was constantly glancing between the two brothers, eyeing Loki up and down.
"I am not saying that, father. I am merely suggesting that he should not be judged so harshly."
"Then what do you propose we do with him?" Odin's eyebrow twitched.
Thor took a deep breath before he spoke. "May I suggest that we keep him within the castle grounds, under watch at every second."
"So he can escape once more? I think not!"
"No, father, I will volunteer to guard him. You know that I can best him in a fight any day."
The king hesitated. "And what of his magic? You are no match for him in that respect."
"Have mother restrict his powers in some way. I am sure there must be something she can do to take away his strength."

And with that suggestion, Odin seemed to seriously consider the idea of simply keeping Loki under house arrest. There was a minute of agonizing silence before their father spoke again. "You." He turned to Loki, addressing him directly for the first time since his arrival. "I will not commit you to the dungeons." A brief smile of hope flickered across Loki's face, before he regained control and set his expression back to the cool, calm one that he was well known for. "However," Odin continued, "You shall be confined to the grounds of the castle, and you must stay within your brother's sights at all times. If he has to leave, then you shall be placed in a dungeon cell and guarded until his return. Frigga shall bind your magic, restricting you to only the most simple of illusions and spells."
Loki couldn't believe that he was going to get away with this. And all thanks to his goody-two-shoes brother. That was just peculiar, but he wasn't about to complain. "And Loki, one wrong move, and I will not stop the guards if they see fit to kill you."

There was silence as Loki considered the pros and cons of this new arrangement. He quickly came to his conclusion. He looked up to his father, and with the sweetest smile he could muster, he said; "I promise, I'll be a good boy." For a split second, it seemed like Loki's response caused Odin to waver in his decision, but he didn't say anything else. He nodded to the guards, signalling for them to take away the chain's from around Loki's wrists and neck, and then exited the room. On his way past, he mouthed to Thor for him to visit later. The guards followed after him when they had released the god of mischief from his constraints, leaving the two brothers alone in the vast room.
"So, just a… Quick question, really." Loki began, rubbing his aching wrists as he turned to face Thor, "When exactly did you go insane?"
"I just saved you from the dungeons did I not?" Thor retorted with twitch of his head.
"I wasn't complaining. I was simply curious." Loki smiled. "So, it appears that you are saddled with me for the time being; what shall we do first?"

Thor did not respond, he simply turned on his heel and made his way back to the doors at the far end of the room. Loki watched for a second, and then hurried after. He was about to speak, when his brother beat him to it. "We are headed to my chamber. Please, do not talk to me until we arrive."
"Alright then." Loki nodded. He was still confused by his current situation, but he was – although he would hate to admit it - grateful to Thor. The restriction to his magic would be a pain, undoubtedly, but he figured that it was a small price to pay for his 'freedom'.
Thankfully, Thor's chamber wasn't far from the throne room, and they were there in a matter of minutes. Thor ushered Loki into the room, and then shut the door firmly behind himself, being sure to lock it, something he never usually resorted to. Loki noted this behaviour, and in a matter of second, he convinced himself that he was about to get stabbed, or at the very least punched somewhere excruciatingly painful. He sat himself down on his brother's bed, and started thinking aloud.

"So, your plan is to what? Kill me in the privacy of your own chamber and be done with this wretched business? Punch yourself in the face and accuse me of trying to break out? Make it- actually, wait, please, do that second one."
Thor didn't say a word. He slowly walked from the door over to his bed, and stood over Loki. His expression was blank, for the most part, but there was a hint of what Loki thought could be disapproval.
"You said I could talk once we arrived, did you not?"
Still, Thor remained silent. He shifter around to beside Loki, and sat himself down on the bed. "Brother?" Loki was beginning to become concerned with Thor's behaviour. "Thor!" He laughed nervously, "Please, if you're going to kill me, just get on with it."
"I am not going to kill you, Loki." Thor sighed.
"…Then, what?" Although Thor was speaking again, Loki felt no more at ease.

There was another second of silence, and then, Thor began to lean in closer to his brother, cupping one hand around the side of Loki's head, stroking the liesmith's jet-black hair with his thumb absentmindedly. Loki was about to speak out, but when he opened his mouth, he found that words didn't want to cooperate with him, so he clamped his mouth shut once more and watched on as his brother came closer, until their foreheads were touching. There was a strange tension in the air between them. It was almost electric, if still slightly awkward.
"Brother, I know that what you did was wrong. But I could not stand idly by while father committed you to a life of imprisonment. The thought of... of never seeing you again... It tears me up inside." Thor's voice was little more than a whisper. He drew himself closer, until his lips brushed across Loki's.
The god of mischief jumped back at the contact, but found that Thor's other hand had moved up behind his head, and stopped him from moving any further. As Thor let his lips linger on Loki's for a second, slightly longer kiss, the adopted brother gave in to the warmth. He had never experienced contact like this with another being before, and it was comforting. He may not have totally understood the purposes behind his brother's actions, but it brought him a strange sense of fulfilment and wholeness. He knew that someone actually wanted him. That was all he had wanted his entire life, and it was right here in front of him; his life's goal was right there in his grasp, even if this wasn't exactly what he had in mind.

After a brief hesitation, Loki brought himself forward, until he was all but sat in his brother's lap. He snaked his arms up and around Thor's neck, resting one hand on his muscular shoulder, the other tangling itself through seemingly endless locks of silky golden hair. He let his eyes slide shut as he finally returned the gesture, and pushed his pale lips back against Thor's. There was a muffled sound of surprise from the god of thunder, but he quickly regained himself and kissed back.
He leaned forward more, dominating over his brother, as ever, and eventually forced Loki to fall back onto the mattress with a soft 'oof'. Thor thought the sound was adorable, and smiled softly as he swung a leg over his brother and straddled him. He leant back to allow Loki to get comfortable, resting back on his haunches. He watched on with a contented smile as his brother pulled himself up and supported himself on his elbows.
"You have recently received a hard blow to the head, haven't you?" Loki smiled, looking up at his brother with playfully sparkling emerald eyes. It was a look that Thor wasn't familiar with, but it was enchanting to him. It had been too long since he had seen Loki truly happy. It gave Thor strange feelings that he wasn't familiar with, but they were good feelings, he knew that much. They were similar to the kind of emotions he had felt when in the presence of Jane Foster, only they were so much stronger, and were actually causing him to act on them.

"I have not." He smiled, allowing himself to fall forward. He set his hands either side of Loki's shoulders. He shifted his weight onto his left hand, and lifted his right hand to the mischief maker's pale cheek. "This is something I have desired for a long time."
"Then... You were dropped on your head at birth?" Loki smirked, "Because that would explain a lot."
Thor had never been so amused by Loki's insults, but talking was not what the god of thunder wanted to hear at that moment. Before Loki could form any more words in his head, Thor dropped down and brought their lips together again, into a more passionate kiss. Loki let out a startled moan, then went along with it anyway. He desperately leant after Thor when he pulled away, and whimpered. He looked up into Thor's large blue puppy dog eyes with need in his own, and he pulled his brother back down with a gentle nudge on the back of his head. He moaned as he let his mouth slip open, allowing his brother to venture deeper.

The two barely separated for air as they started to shed their clothes, throwing the garments carelessly to the floor. In minutes, they were shirtless, breathless and panting lightly. "Th-thor..." Loki could only just manage to get out the word. His voice was breathy, but Thor did manage to hear him over the sound of his own breathing. The thunder god looked down into Loki's eyes, and waited for him to speak. "What... Why are we doing this? Why are you doing this?" There was silence between them as they shared a long look with one another.
"Brother. You were so concerned with becoming father's favourite, that you failed to notice you are clearly my favourite."

Upon hearing his brother effectively confess his love for him, Loki found a strange lump forming in his throat, and his eyes tearing up. "Brother-" He started, but apparently, Thor wasn't finished.
"I have admired you since we were children. You are skilled with your tricks and illusions, you are strong mentally in ways I could never be, and you are charming and attractive. I have never wanted anybody the way I want you." With a soft smile, Thor leant in and placed a soft kiss on Loki's forehead, while the god of mischief took the time to gather himself. The last thing he wanted to do was have an emotional breakdown. Thor slowly moved his gentle kisses from Loki's lips to his collar bone, then further down. His puppy dog eyes that were usually filled with such innocence were suddenly sparkling with a new, predatory glint. It worried Loki, as he had never seen this look before, but at the same time, it was insanely exciting, and his breathing sped up at a worrying rate.
It got worse when he looked down to see Thor nuzzling at the top of his trousers. This entire affair had been running on instinct up until then, but when the blonde looked up to his brother to see that he was alright with proceeding, Loki realised just what it was they were about to do. The reality of the situation hit him. Not to mention the insanity of it all. To think that they had been each other's sworn enemies for months, and now, apparently, they were lovers, or something similar. After a moment of quiet thought, Loki decided.

He pulled himself up to sit against the headboard. Thor looked put out, but he had known that things had been going too smoothly. He sat down on the mattress where Loki's legs had been before he had drawn them up to his chest. "Brother. What is it?" The innocence had returned to his crystal blue eyes, and Loki had to look away to avoid that ever imminent breakdown. He hid his face between his knees and spoke down into his legs.
"This doesn't make sense, brother. You hate me!" He snapped his head up to glare at the blonde sitting at the end of the bed. "And now you are telling me that you love me, and that you truly care! What were the last years to you? Because to me, they clearly show me that everything you are trying to tell me now is nothing but a lie! Do you not think I have been fed enough lies in my lifetime?"
Thor looked truly hurt at his brother's sudden rage. He knew that Loki was volatile at the best of times, and he understood that this must be confusing for him, because lord knows it was still tough for him to get his mind around. Thor moved himself up to the top of the bed to sit just in front and to the side of his brother. After a second of hesitation, he rested a hand on Loki's knee.
"Please, Loki, believe me when I say that I understand your confusion. But, I want you to know that all that time I spent at your throat, I only did that to please father. I am torn here, between my duty and my heart. But, everything I have said to you in this room tonight is the truth." Loki was still thinking. "I want nothing more than to make you my king. To treat you the way you deserve to be treated. You will have to atone for your crimes on Earth, but I believe that you deserve kindness. Your childhood was cruel to you. I want to make that right." Thor tightened his grip reassuringly on his brother's knee, as he was still avoiding eye contact.

"And why should I believe you?" The liesmith grunted, glaring hard at the wall on the far side of the room. Thor sighed, with a soft smile playing on his lips. He slipped a strong hand under Loki's chin and gently forced the paler man to look him in the eye.
"I can show you." And without another word, he leant in and planted a kiss on Loki's lips. In an instant, the god of mischief melted. All his thoughts of running from the room or throwing Thor to the floor vanished from his mind. His concerns disappeared. The only thing he could think of now was the warmth of his brother's body and just how much he needed it. He collapsed back down onto the bed and let Thor sit back on top of him.

"Thank you, Thor." He whispered as his lithe fingers tangled themselves through the mess of golden hair. "Thank you."

~X~X~X~X~X~X~

So, there's that! I know Thor's explanation as to why Loki destroyed New York is pretty bad, but that's kinda the best I could do.

So, brace yourself for the next chapter folks! I'm really feeling this story, and with it being summer, I have the time to sit down and get some writing done! It's great!

I'll be waiting for you!