The stiches pulled at Loki's mouth as he woke with a start. He felt a warm, broad hand smooth across his forehead and felt his brother's breath on his face.
"Shhh…it's alright brother, I am here."
Loki could feel the warmth of his brother seeping through the thin clothes he was wearing, heat he had longed to hold against himself for so long and that was now so close and yet so very far away. The hand left his face and Loki felt it tug softly at the bonds keeping him on the rock, trying desperately to ease their bite in his tender flesh. He whimpered softly and turned his head, once again seeking out his brother's hand in the darkness.
Thor cupped his brother's cheek once again, careful not to move the bowl he held above Loki's face or spill the contents of it on himself or his younger brother. Seeing his once strong and vivacious brother caged and broken like this made Thor's heart ache in a way that he was not sure he fully understood. He had missed the days when Loki had wanted nothing more but to lay around with him all day, in his chambers or in the gardens, and simply be with him but he had not wanted them back like this.
Loki felt Thor's hand move to cover the entirety of his face, and he began to cry. He felt his brother's fingers tighten over his flesh for the few agonizing seconds it took him to empty the bowl, and then felt it leave his face, making him suddenly cold. He heard Thor wipe it on his cloak and then it was back again, stroking his hair and his neck. Loki cried even harder.
Thor gently wiped the tears from his brother's cheek. He worried about the blindfold getting wet and suffocating Loki, a silly fear he knew but there none the less. The bowl above his brother's face slowly began to fill again, that evil snake sitting there trying to drip it's venom on his brother. Thor wanted so badly to kill it, but his father had decided that this would be Loki's punishment. He had allowed Thor to intervene this much—though he insisted on the blindfold so that Loki would suffer not being able to see his brother—and Thor did not want to push his father if he was still willing to let him protect Loki.
Thor looked down at the hand that was stroking Loki's hair, now scared and blistered. He was not going to let one drop of that poison touch his little brother, even if it meant losing his hand. He felt Loki trembling.
"Shhh…it's alright brother, I am here." Thor repeated, bending carefully so that he could press his forehead to Loki's. "I will always be here, I love you…"
A take on Loki's punishment, wherein his mouth is sewn shut to stop him from telling lies, and he is tied to a rock with a serpent to drip venom on his face. His beloved wife holds a bowl over him to catch the venom, but every time she empties the bowl, three drops fall on Loki's face. I replaced Sigyn with Thor, who is undoubtedly more loyal to his brother, sacrificing himself to protect him.