Death was in that poison'd wave
And in its gulf a fitting grave
For him who thence could solace bring
To his dark imagining;
Whose wild'ring thoughts could even make
An Eden of that dim lake.
-The Lake, Edgar Allan Poe
Thor stood by the grave as the mourners gathered to hear a man - Eric -talk about how wonderful she had been. Thor heard the voices, but all he could hear was her voice, full of wonder as he had told her about Yggdrasil.
He stood there for a long time, long after the others had gathered inside because of the rain. Eric had patted him on the back but had left for cover.
Of course it was raining. This was the god of thunder, there was bound to be something.
His face was wet. He didn't know if that was the rain, or tears.
He had lost so much, first his mother, his brother and now Jane. All within a year of eachother.
Lightning flashed.
A hand was on his shoulder. A familiar weight that couldn't be.
He had seen him die, he had seen him die on Svartalfheim, blood pooling around the white fingers.
"Thor."
He never thought he'd hear his voice again, full of something not even close to resembling hatred.
"She's dead." That was all he could manage. He could not believe it. He couldn't believe any of this, that his dead brother was with him, and that the woman he had loved was gone.
"That's what mortals do." came Loki's voice.
Thor turned to him "I thought you dead."
Loki gave a bittersweet smile "Did you miss me?"
"Of course, but how?"
Loki turned away to observe the grave. Reading the words that said with absolute certainty that she was gone, that Jane Foster was gone.
"Their lives fade so fast." He observed with something that sounded like fascination.
Thor said nothing, but knelt by the grave.
Loki stood by Thor and handed him a rose.
"Thank you, brother." The title came almost involuntarily.
Loki may have tried to kill him, had tried to kill the All Father, tried to destory Jotunheim, rule Midgard, but he was there. He had found a way out of Asgard, had protected Jane, and seemed to have died doing so. And he was here now.
"I'm not your brother."
It had been repeated so many times.
"I know."