The hardest thing Thor ever has to do is letting go of his little brother's body. Loki had died an honorable death and he did not deserve to be left behind on these cold black sands.
But there is an enemy that must be defeated, else Malekith will bring darkness to all the realms of Yggdrasil. Malekith will pay for this.
/
Seeing Loki alive and well, again, comes very close to breaking him. Thor has grieved for his brother twice now. He cannot do it again.
"Is this the part where you rage at me, brother?" Loki sneers, spitting the last word out like it is poison.
"You idiot," Thor barely manages to breathe out before he surges forward. Loki freezes within the unexpected embrace. "You idiot, you absolute idiot," he chants, holding Loki as tight as he can, unwilling to ever let him go again. "Why do you keep doing this to me?"
"Because I enjoy your pain," Loki hisses back, but he is clinging to Thor just as tightly.
Thor's hand slips around Loki's neck and he rests his forehead against Loki's cool skin. "Then why do you never seem happy to cause it?" Loki looks surprised for the briefest moment before recovering himself, rearing to spit at Thor again, but Thor shakes him to close his mouth. "Do not lie to me, not now."
"I always lie, Thor. That is who I am, and if you cannot understand that I should never have co-"
This time Thor uses his lips to silence Loki, pouring every ounce of love he has ever felt for his brother into it. Loki hesitates, almost too long, and Thor begins to pull away, but at the last second Loki pulls him back in, responding with a ferocity that surprises Thor.
"What? Have I surprised the great King of Asgard?" Loki questions, giddy at his own joke, when they pull apart.
Thor's response comes in the form of another kiss, dragging Loki down to the floor, and spending the night entwined around one another.
/
The next time Thor sees Loki he is being brought before the throne in chains. Balder steers him forward, careful of the small, yet visible, bump on Loki's stomach. Thor feels his mouth go dry at the sight of it. He has no need to ask who the child's father is, Loki would not have allowed himself to be captured if it was not Thor's.
"Leave us," Thor orders. There is a moment of hesitation before the crowed throne room slowly empties. It takes an eternity, but eventually there is only Thor, Loki, and Balder left. "It is all right, Balder," Thor reassures him. "I will be fine."
Balder hesitates, just as the rest of the populace had. It seems everyone worries over him when it comes to Loki, and he cannot blame them after everything that has happened between them. But Thor is Balder's king, and he cannot disobey a dismissal. "I will be near if you have need of me."
And then they are alone once more. Thor has no idea what to say to Loki, no idea what to even do anymore. He cannot keep going through this.
"Nothing to say, dear brother?" Loki grins viciously as he gestures to his stomach. "My condition warrants no consideration from you?"
Thor takes a deep breath, propping his elbow against the arm of the throne. "Why now?"
Loki's sharp retort comes a moment too late, making it obvious that Thor's response was not what he was expecting. "The gestation of your child within me is not enough reason to come to you?"
"The truth, Loki." Thor finally stands from the throne and walks the short distance to his brother. "For once in your life, speak the truth." He reaches up, wrapping his fingers around Loki's neck in a familiar gesture.
Loki sighs as he leans into Thor's touch. "My child is depleting my magic." Meaning Loki does not have enough left to protect himself.
"You will have my protection so long as you stay here, but once you leave, you can never come back." It hurts to say, but Thor has to. He is King now, and he cannot be distracted by Loki constantly running in and out of his life. It has to be all or nothing. "And if at any point you try to take my child from me I will hunt you down."
Loki's Adam apple bobs as he swallows. He steps forward, resting his head against Thor's shoulder. "You would cage me?" Loki fears Thor is trying to take away his freedom, the one thing Loki has valued over everything.
"No, never that." Thor wraps his arms around Loki, turning his head so his nose brushes against Loki's hair. "But I cannot allow you to keep doing this to me. You cannot pull me in one direction when my duties lie in another."
Loki scoffs . "So much for your love for me."
"Do not," Thor growls. He holds Loki tighter. "You cannot because I will choose you every time, and I cannot do that now."
There is a long silence that settles between them as Thor holds Loki, finding more comfort in his brother's closeness than he should. There will be serious repercussions to deal with, but Thor doesn't care. His word as King is law, and if he has to use his authority in such a way to keep Loki close, then he will do so.
"Very well," Loki finally says softly. "I will think on your conditions."
/
Loki stays after the child, a beautiful, healthy son, is born. They don't discuss it, they don't need to. Thor refuses to take any other into his bed, and as the children keep coming, Asgard eventually accepts that Loki's children will be Thor's heirs. They are a force none can stand against, and together they pull Asgard into the most prosperous age it has ever known, just as Frigga knew they would.
The blade in her chest does not hurt, the joy of the visions before her eyes cancels it out. She sees her sons happy and in love, she sees their fights, she sees them make up again, and again, and again, she sees their children grow and defy all the expectations Asgard places before them. She hears Loki's whispered desire for her to be able to see them as he and Thor watch their children play.
I can see them, Loki. I can see them.
The sharp pain of the blade being withdrawn from her body almost snaps Frigga out of the vision, but she clings to it. She knows better than to chase the visions, it is too easy to become trapped that way, but it no longer matters. She would have her last sight in this world be her sons, and know that her sacrifice has been worthwhile. Not even her life is too high a price to pay for her sons' happiness.
She watches them grow old together. At the end of a very long reign, Thor finally steps down, leaving Asgard to his children. Loki is still by his side. They spend the last of their years together in peace, content with it in a way their youth never would have let them be. At the end, Loki holds Thor close, his head resting against Loki's chest. The greatest King Asgard has ever known, the God of Thunder, the beloved son of the realms, the warrior that has saved the realms over and over again, slips away in his sleep.
It is not the honorable warrior's death that will be sung of for years to come, but it is a good death. She had feared for them, feared her boys would keep fighting, but they will be fine, they will be happy.
It is a good death. Frigga lets go.