Author's Note: First things first, this fic is based on fan art on deviantart that I don't believe exists anymore, so don't try to search for it. Now we can get to the important part. This fic takes place right after Infinity War, BUT IT'S NOT CANON. THIS IS MY OWN INTERPRETATION OF WHAT I WANT TO SEE HAPPEN IN THE SEQUEL. I mean, we've all been wanting some Thor and Loki brotherly love since Thor: Ragnarok was released, right? Sure, the ending had a little bit in it, but what we really need is a hug, an embrace, genuine smiles, and maybe even some happy tears; and that's exactly what I plan to give in this fic! Also, there are some Infinity War spoilers in this, so if you haven't seen the movie yet, proceed with caution. Also also, please, please, please don't put the word "spoilers" in any way, shape, or form in any reviews or messages or anything. There is no excuse to. Now that all that's out of the way, we can get to the fic!

Enjoy!

Infinity War and all characters (c) Marvel Studios

That was it.

They lost.

"Now what?" Nebula asked, looking down at the metal hero sitting beside her. Tony Stark sat on a dusty rock, still in his armor, wondering how to answer her question. He stared down at the ground, contemplating their entire failed attempt to stop Thanos from wiping out half the universe.

The only thing he answered with were three repulsor blasts from his left hand into the faded orange sky.

"What were those for?" Nebula asked, watching them disappear into the clouds. "Trying to signal a ship to get us out of here. I would just fly, but not only was my mask destroyed, I also can't carry you. So, I have to signal a ship." Stark replied, standing up and facing her. Nebula nodded slightly before turning away. Tony turned the other way and his thoughts took over again.

We were so close.

If that one guy hadn't screwed it all up, we would've won.

It's all his fault.

That bratty little—

"GET DOWN!" Stark's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Nebula screamed, running up behind him to tackle him to the ground. Her attempt failed, however; and Stark was the one to get the both of them out of the way before the incoming red and yellow ship could hit them. It skidded across the ground for a few seconds before finally grinding to a halt, and the doors opened with a foggy pssssss. Stark and Nebula looked onward as steps made their way towards them.

When they saw the pilot, Stark immediately recognized him; his eyes widening and his jaw dropping with utter shock and surprise.

"All aboard." said the long, black-haired man with a smile.

Sooner or later, they found themselves gliding through the emptiness of space. "I-I don't understand, how are you still alive? You were killed! You-You shriveled up to nothing!" Stark exclaimed, stretching an arm towards the man in a small state of anger. "I have my ways." the man responded. "Excuse me, but I would like to know who this is." Nebula intervened, walking to stand beside Stark. "Well, you gonna tell her?" Stark asked the man. "I'm a little busy flying a spaceship at the moment." the man responded, not so much as giving him a glance. "Alright then." Stark sighed. "This is Loki. He's a god, the brother of a friend of mine, and a huge prick." he continued. "Yes, a huge prick who's home and people were just destroyed." Loki added sarcastically yet seriously. There was silence before Stark broke it. "Well, now that introductions are over, we need to get to Wakanda on the double." he said to Loki. "What is a Wakanda?" Loki asked, laughing a little upon hearing such a funny word. "It's a place, and this place is where everybody else is located. Now let's move it before Thanos decides to destroy the other half of the universe." Stark answered. "That kind of tone is not required." Loki mumbled under his breath.

With directions from Stark, Loki was successfully able to get them to their destination. He was a little surprised at how sunny and green it was considering everything that had happened, but he didn't really care about that.

The only thing he cared about right now was finding his brother.

He landed the same way he did before, skidding across the ground before grinding to a halt, and the doors opened with the same pssssss sound. When the three exited the ship, they all looked around for the people they knew.

"Hey! Nebula!" Rocket Raccoon called to his friend. She turned around to see him waving at her, and she ran over without hesitance. "Boy, am I glad to see you." Rocket said. "Likewise." Nebula replied. "Where's Groot?" she asked. Rocket's ears drooped, and Nebula got her answer.

"Hey Cap!" Stark called to Captain America, who'd turned around upon hearing his name called. "Tony!" he called back upon seeing his iron friend. "Glad you didn't disintegrate." he said once they reached each other. "Same here." Stark replied. "Speaking of that, are any of the others still alive?" he asked. "Uh, yeah, Banner, Widow, and Thor are alive." Cap answered. "Everyone else?" Stark asked. Cap only shook his head.

There was a pause.

"Oh, one other thing." Stark said. "I uh...brought an old friend." he continued.

And, as if the Timing Gods had given him a gift, Loki walked up to them. Cap just stared in amazement and confusion. "Me too, buddy." Stark said quietly.

"Where is my brother?" Loki asked Cap in a seemingly demanding tone. Cap hesitated. "I'm not sure. He disappeared right after Thanos..." he answered, snapping his fingers. Loki looked around and, upon seeing Bruce Banner, immediately jogged over to him. "Banner!" he called.

Banner looked up, and was a little relieved to see Loki. "Hey, you're alive!" he said. "Yes I am, now have you seen Thor?" Loki asked, now sounding a bit worried. "Last time I saw him, he was walking over that way." Banner answered, pointing towards a group of trees. Loki stared for a couple of seconds. "Thank you." he said, turning to Banner, then taking off towards the trees.

He stopped at the edge and listened.

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

He walked slowly through, every once in a while brushing up against a branch; his cape dragging along behind him. He could hear nothing but his own footsteps.

No chirping birds...

No loud insects...

No small variations of wildlife scampering by...

...Nothing.

Yet still, he found it somewhat peaceful.

*sniff*

What was that? he thought, jerking his head in the direction of the strange sound.

*sob*

Someone's crying.

Could it be...

*hic*

...Thor..?...

Loki made his way towards the source of the cries as silently as possible; he didn't want to startle them. He had just a little more ways to go.

All he had to do was round the corner, and the source would be in his sight.

Just a couple more steps...

One more branch to move...

...There he was.

Thor, the mighty God of Thunder, was curled up in a ball on the ground, crying.

This was something Loki hadn't seen since their childhood. He remembered exactly what happened: they had run outside and were climbing a tree when Loki slipped on a branch, his face being badly cut by another branch during the fall to the ground. He remembered the distress in Thor's high-pitched, squeaky voice when he screamed his name, and when he screamed for their parents with him in his arms. Amazingly, Loki didn't cry throughout the whole thing, but Thor did. He remembered waking up in the healing room all patched up and seeing Thor sitting next to him, crying like a baby...

...and sitting in the exact same position he was here.

After a long pause, the younger one was finally able to say something.

"...Brother?"

Thor immediately stopped crying and looked up, eyes wide. When Loki saw his tear-soaked face, he was taken right back to the same memory. The face he saw before him was the same face he saw when fell he from the tree as a child back on Asgard.

But then it turned angry.

"What do you want?" Thor mumbled loudly, turning his head back into the direction he was originally facing. This surprised Loki. "I thought you'd be happy to see me." he said, confused.

"Why would I be happy to see a hologram?" Thor replied angrily. "A hologram?" Loki asked. What in the wide world was he talking about?

Thor suddenly threw something at him, but it missed. Loki watched it fly passed him. "What is your problem?! You could've hit me with-"

"MY PROBLEM IS THAT FACT THAT YOU'RE TAUNTING ME!" Thor yelled loudly, standing up. His lightning flared up, which frightened Loki more than he already was.

The younger brother opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Thor's lightning ceased as he stood in front of him, hands balled into fists; his tears still clearly flowing. "You have nothing to say." he said quietly as he turned to go back to his spot on the ground. He leaned up against the tree and slid down back into the same position he was in earlier.

Then there was silence.

It didn't last long, though. "You had so much potential, Loki; more than me 10 times over." Thor said quietly through his sobs. "But that big, purple bastard took it all away." he continued. His face and eyes were so red from crying so much, and the areas on his clothes where his tears had been dripping were soaked.

He must've been crying longer than Loki thought. And his voice...it sounded so...

...heartbroken.

A wave of sheer guilt crashed into Loki like an avalanche as he felt his own eyes tear up.

"I'm not a hero." Thor continued. "I failed to save my home...I failed to save my people...and I failed to save the most precious thing I had." he said, wiping his tears, only for more to fall and take their place. "What is that?" Loki asked, struggling to keep in his emotions as well.

"My little brother." Thor replied after a short pause. The poor guy could no longer hold his sorrow back as he shoved his face into his knees and cried.

Loki wanted to do the same thing.

How could he have been so blind?!

All these years were spent fighting against his brother and hating him and thinking he was stupid, but yet he was the stupid one for never realizing how much what he did hurt Thor, and how much Thor really cared about him.

Thor was always good to him, even when he tried to take over Earth. And how did Loki repay him?

Trick question.

He never did.

But the thing is...he never really hated him, either.

He was only jealous of Thor because he got all the attention and glory, while his little brother was left in his shadow. Loki did care for him.

He was just never able to work up the courage to admit it.

But he did. He always had.

Because he was his brother.

And he was Thor's brother.

Adopted or not.

His voice finally broke the long, sufferable silence. "Thor?" he said, looking down at his sullen brother. Thor only looked back up at him. Loki continued. "You were right when you said that our paths diverged long ago, and you may not believe me when I say this..." He took in a breath. "...but I want to bring them back together. We've misunderstood each other for far too long. I think it's time we work it all out and destroy this barrier that stands between us." he said, confidence in his tone. Thor's expression became angry again as he turned away, and he mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.

"I'm sorry?" Loki asked.

"I said-" Thor spoke louder this time. "-WHY WON'T YOU JUST FADE AWAY ALREADY?!" he yelled, standing up and chunking a stone at Loki; his lightning flaring up again as he did so.

Loki blocked his face with his arms and let the stone hit his wrist. It hurt, but he was able to take it.

For Thor, it was realization.

For Loki, it was finally showing Thor that he was really and truly there with him, and not a hologram.

Thor stood as still as a statue, his eyes wider than they had ever been before; and his lightning once again dissipated. The two brothers stared at each other for what seemed like an hour.

A cool breeze blew, blowing Thor forward a little. Oddly, it reminded him of their father.

Seeing it as a sign, Thor quickly ran up to Loki. He now stood before his younger brother, still trying to process everything. "A-Are you alright, brother?" Loki asked.

After a few seconds, Thor placed each of his hands on both sides of Loki's face, slightly squishing it. Loki looked up at him, and upon seeing the blonde man's tears return, he gave a small smile.

Thor smiled back.

And Loki's smile grew bigger as his own happy tears fell.

"You really are here." Thor whispered.

"That's already been proven, Captain Obvious." Loki replied, lifting up his right hand to hold Thor's left.

Without hesitation, Thor finally wrapped his arms around his little brother. It was a little tight for Loki's liking, but he didn't care. He simply did the same.

And for the first time in a long while, he felt warmth in his icy heart.

"I thought I had lost you for good." Thor said with a sniffle. "Come on Thor, you don't possibly believe that I'd ever let that happen, do you?" Loki asked sarcastically. Thor chuckled as he wiped away his tears for good. Loki laughed a bit to himself as well.

"I love you, little brother." Thor suddenly said out of nowhere. This caught Loki by surprise, but nonetheless, he greatly enjoyed hearing it. It made him hug Thor a little tighter.

"I love you, too, big brother." he responded.

Little did they know, however, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner had been watching them since they heard Thor yell the second time. "I never thought we'd see those two hug at all." Stark said nonchalantly. Banner chuckled. "That's not a hug, Stark. That's an embrace." he said in return. "Whatever, same thing." Stark sassed. "Actually, no they're not. A hug is something you give to someone when you just want to be friendly. An embrace, on the other hand, is something you give to someone when you want to show them you really care about them." Banner explained. "And that's what's happening here, my metal friend." he continued. "Don't ever call me that again." Stark said in a very unamused tone. "Sorry." Banner apologized shyly.

Pause.

"Should we stop 'em?" Stark asked. "Are you crazy? Of course not!" Banner answered. "Okay then, no need to bring out the Hulk." Stark responded, flying away afterwards. Banner looked back to the brothers and smiled before walking away after Tony.

Loki enjoyed the embrace. He'd forgotten how good it felt to be in his brother's arms.

But when they started to slip, he became alert.

"Thor? Are you alright?" he asked, releasing himself from Thor's grasp to hold him up. "Where's Thanos?!" Thor suddenly shouted, startling Loki. "Woah! T-Thanos isn't here, brother! We're safe!" he shouted back. "Oh...good..." Thor said, falling back asleep. "THOR!" Loki shouted again. "AAAAH!" Thor jolted awake again, cowering a little. After a second, he came out of hiding. "Oh, i's just you...Loki. " he yawned. "You're sleepy from crying so much, aren't you?" Loki asked with a snarky smile. Thor blushed. "I don't know what you're...talkin' about." he yawned again. Loki chuckled. "Alright, back to your spot." he said, pushing Thor back to where he was sitting. He took what was left of his cape off of him, then took off his own cape and sat down with them; folding Thor's cape into what seemed to be a pillow and placing it in his lap. "Lay down." he said, patting it. Thor layed down sideways facing away from his brother, his head resting on the homemade cape-pillow while the rest of his body lay on the soft soil. With a woosh, Loki threw out his own cape and covered up his brother with it. "Your cape is soft." Thor said, sounding as if he was drunk. "Just shut up and go to sleep." Loki replied, leaning back against the tree he sat in front of. "Mmkaaay..." Thor said quietly and happily. Loki smiled as he patted his arm, closing his own eyes.

This was something they both desperately needed.