A/N: The ol' "one-shot came out of nowhere" trick.
(This technically takes place in the same continuity as Duty Bound, In Love and War but they having nothing to do with each other so you don't have to read both. The other one takes place before this one, though.)
And thanks to LokiErenDark for beta-ing this while I wasn't feeling well. ;)
This Battle, Won
The warriors around the god of thunder sighed just as Lady Sif approached.
"Thor," she said as wisps of white breath left her lips.
"Lady Sif." Thor turned his back as he entered his tent. Sif followed, the others did not.
"You cannot allow Loki to join us in the next battle," stated the shield-maiden, her hand resting casually atop her sword's hilt.
Thor's shoulders sagged as he turned around, a humorless smile forming. "I will not have this discussion again, Sif." He turned to place his hammer upon a table, on the map of the surrounding areas, the campaign of war and the standards belonging to each company- both enemy and ally. "Loki is a capable warrior, has he not yet proven himself?" He turned fierce eyes on his long-time friend. "All of you are forever hounding him about his magic- his use of dagger rather than sword, the way he sneaks rather than shouts-"
"Thor-"
"I will admit that I find his methods...less than honorable, perhaps, but it is his way, and," he straightened up, "he is my brother, and," he pointed, "a prince of Asgard, as you lot so easily forget." His armor remained, but only because he didn't feel like removing it. Why were they always questioning him on this?
"Thor," Sif started again, "it's not him, it's you."
He paused, looking to her. "What?"
She sighed, walking closer. "Our issue is not with Loki, but with his brother."
Thor frowned.
Sif's stride placed her before her future king but she did not touch, even if, as a friend, she should. "You are magnificent upon the battlefield, you don't need me to tell you that, but you are far too distracted."
His frown deepened. "I don't take your meaning..." Or perhaps he did.
She sighed again, deeper. "It's Loki's first time on the field of battle, we understand your reluctance to allow him out of your sight but you cannot always-"
Thor walked away, breathing in and out harshly through his nose before speaking. "This is what you and the men have come to say?" He turned around. "That I am distracted?"
"Yes."
Her bluntness caught him off-guard.
"Loki is a fine warrior," she said carefully, "despite his...different ways of defeating the enemy, but you are right, it is his way. Still, he can hold his own, for the most part, and he is young, learning is a part of the process." She walked toward him, a hand almost upon his shoulder but retracted at the last moment. "Your smothering will not help him." At this, Thor turned around, fire in his eyes, but the war goddess stood her ground.
"And what would you have me do? Remove him from the front lines? You know how he will take that." He grit his teeth and took a step back, eyes on the slit of the tent. "He's already heard the protests of Mother and Father- how will he take it when even I deny him what he wants most?"
A small smile graced Sif's features. "Is it truly battle that your brother craves, or something else?"
Thor's eyes met her's, bemused. "I don't-"
"It's nothing. I misspoke," she said quickly, but her eyes remained on his, an expression Thor couldn't decipher.
For a moment they were both quiet. The wind had begun to pick up and it moved the tent with whispers.
"Do you-" Thor started slowly, "Will you join me?" Her head tilted. "To tell Loki."
She smirked. "Afraid to face the trickster alone, are we?" It seemed a jest but her tone said something different.
Loki was the only thing in all the Nine that gave Thor pause. The eldest prince was never a coward, no, but he feared upsetting his brother more than anything. Loki was not much younger than they and yet he was so often denied- by their father, their mother -what was easily given to others. Those closest to the mischief god didn't always understand it. He was different, yes, but not weak, never weak. Even Thor sometimes feared angering his little brother if only because his revenge was never in the battle ring. What could one do against magic and illusions and trickery that made even the All-father's head spin? Loki held grudges like no one else.
The two warriors smiled as they left the prince's tent, heading toward the edge of the field where Thor knew Loki would be. Loki was always there, after a battle; doing what, Thor didn't know. He stood as a statue, raven hair against the pale gray of a winter's sky.
It struck Thor, then, how much his little brother had grown. He was almost as tall as Thor- even if he had never grown much muscle to match. His wiry frame aided him well, though, Thor thought, his magic and agility all the better for the lack of such things.
Sif stood back as the elder prince joined the other, muddy boots soft on the ground.
"Loki, I-" Thor started, but when his brother turned a soft expression on him, he started again. "What are you doing?"
Loki gave a light snort and turned back around, staring out across the field. The line of sturdy, blackened trees swayed little in the wind. "It took you long enough to ask."
"Yes, well, what then?"
"Why do you care?"
"Why should I not?"
A cold gust of wind blew and Loki's eyes closed, face tilted slightly upward. "Watching," he said quietly.
"Watching?"
"And...learning."
Thor frowned, looking around, then to the sky. "Learning what?" he returned, truly curious now.
Loki smiled, it was almost warm as he turned a mischievous eye on the elder. "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Thor canted his head in annoyance. "Loki," he admonished, but he already knew, if Loki did not wish to share, then he would not. He supposed he should be grateful that Loki hadn't decided to instead lie- Thor wondered what that said about how Loki regarded him: which was better? He sighed internally. Loki was ever the enigma; he was certain the trickster liked it that way.
"Well, Thor, explaining such things to you is pointless, isn't it?" His words were biting but his expression wasn't. He leaned closer to Thor. "Magic has never interested you, dear brother."
Thor lifted his head in understanding. "Ah." Magic. Of course. But... was that a lie? Immediately, Thor stopped himself. He wouldn't get pulled into those labyrinthine thoughts again. Trying to figure out Loki was like trying to navigate a maze without an end- the moment you think you've found something is the moment you realize you're truly lost.
"Ah," Loki parroted. He turned to Thor. "Was there something else?"
Thor opened his mouth, then shut it. Dark eyebrows lifted, watching him carefully.
Another gust of wind hit them, the cold of the sun's fall whispering at the backs of their necks.
"Brother," Thor started, then paused. Loki's eyes narrowed the smallest bit. The elder cleared his throat. "Brother," he started again. "Are you cold?"
Loki's face, at first confused and perhaps worried, slowly, but surely, morphed until he was smiling- even as he tried to hold it back. "Cold?" Suddenly, he barked out a laugh. "Am I cold?" He set his hand upon his chin, as if in deep thought. "Let's see...am I cold?" he said slowly, turning the words over. He tapped his chin. "Am I-...Why?" he whipped his head around with an innocent expression. "What would you do if I were?"
Thor smiled. He hadn't known what to do until now; this he could handle. Quickly, before Loki could jump or slide away as he always did, Thor grabbed him in a tight hug.
"Thor! What is wrong with you?!" Loki hissed, trying to get away as he pushed at Thor's chest.
"What's the matter, brother? Afraid the others will see?"
"Quite frankly, yes." And just as Thor leaned back, surprised, so did Loki. "I mean- You know what I mean. We're princes, Thor, we can't just go around...embracing."
"Why not?"
"You know very well why."
"I don't believe I do."
Loki rolled his eyes.
Perhaps it was becoming a bit awkward, Thor thought, but he didn't care. He held his little brother for several moments, and, although Loki seemed determined not to return the gesture he stopped trying to run away.
Thor smiled innocently at him, then, when Loki rolled his eyes again and shook his head, the god of thunder immediately sobered.
"Loki..."
Green eyes shot up.
"Will you be careful?" At the younger's confusion, he added, "Out there, I mean, on the field."
He scrutinized Thor, leaning back. "Why would I not be?" he replied.
Thor continued to stare, a fond, small smile forming. "I worry for you."
"Of course you do," the trickster huffed. Then, to Thor's serious expression said, "But...you needn't worry about me, truly."
"You know I can't help it."
Loki's eyes darted between Thor's, trying to figure something out. "You know you can't always protect me. I can take care of myself."
"I did not say you couldn't."
"Then why-"
Thor couldn't help it, he placed a kiss on the younger's forehead. Strangely, Loki allowed it. Thor murmured against the pale skin. "Give me your word that you will not be a hero- that if the situation looks dire, if you cannot see an absolute way out, that you will not be a hero." Loki's forehead was cold, as it always was. Thor looked down at his brother's face, eyes determined.
The younger frowned for a moment, then scoffed. "This, from the mighty Thor. Are you telling me to be a coward? Or are you telling me I already am?"
"Don't ask questions you already know answers to," Thor said solemnly.
A blink then a narrowing of green eyes. "Alright." He blinked again. "Alright, but I am no coward-"
"I know, little brother." Thor ran a hand through Loki's hair. "I am the coward."
Surprised, Loki stepped back; Thor let him. Blinking furiously, the trickster inhaled lightly. Then after a moment: "What is this about, Thor?"
"Nothing," Thor smiled- lied. He didn't know how not to right now.
Confused, Loki nodded absently.
"Let us go inside," said Thor in a cheerful tone that he didn't truly feel. "I'm sure the Lady Sif is expecting us." Thor put a heavy arm around his brother's shoulders, squeezing.
"Oh? And why is that?"
They walked and Thor continued smiling. "No reason, except-" he looked around. Except, she should be here, waiting for me. He could almost see her mocking, wide smile.
The sun had set. The few warriors still awake huddled around several crackling fires, their long shadows painted behind them; it was a good night after a good battle, cold but not mirthless.
The elder prince's tent was brightly lit and filled with a warmth Thor hadn't felt in a long time. Loki was there, and their friends, and everything was well with the worlds.
A/N: I don't know where this came from. Don't ask. My brain is stuck on Thor and Loki. The end. Except not the end because WHAT ARE YOU DOING THOR? DON'T LET LOKI OUT THERE AGAIN, MAKE HIM STAY AT HOME SO HE'LL BE SAFE! Don't you know what we h/c authors DO to him all the time?
Uh. Yeah. I'm TDW deprived. Must see again.
Random A/N that you can ignore: So has anyone else noticed how Thor presents his emotions to Loki, which is to say, very physically? He's always all up in his grill, lol. (I'm looking at you, mountain-top scene in The Avengers.) Anyway, just a random comment but, I'm inclined to think that's how Thor's always acted, except Loki didn't necessarily hiss at him and push him away- or maybe he did (he's still Loki) but just sort of accepted it as Thor being Thor. And then...the films happened. Sad, so sad.