"Mjolnir or the woman?" Loki asked, grinning devilishly.

"That's not a fair question," Thor chuckled, "comparing a hammer to a living, breathing human being."

Loki shook his head. "Like comparing a raindrop to a hurricane."

Thor's smile froze on his face. "Brother—" he began, but was interrupted by a small noise of protest. "Brother," he said again, loudly, forcefully, "You will learn to see them as I do. You can learn to love them."

"And if I do?" Loki inquired coolly, "I'm a monster to them."

"One of the magnificent things about them is how accepting they are," Thor replied, smiling fondly and gazing off into the distance, no doubt thinking of the mortal, Jane Foster, whom he had grown quite close to over the past few months.

"You say 'accepting', I say 'stupid'," Loki replied, "I do not know why I even deign to play this petty mortal game with you."

"Would You Rather?" Thor asked, "Jane taught it to me. It's a good pastime, is it not?"

"The concept is interesting, but in reality it's full of holes."

"Holes like what?" Thor asked jovially. Loki thought he was a little too eager to jump back into his "big brother" role again; to act like nothing had ever happened, like Loki hadn't tried to kill Thor and everyone he loved, including himself. It could be his undoing.

The problem is that I think like a villain, Loki mused, Always have. It's in my blood, something that Thor refuses to acknowledge. The darkness is not merely skin deep. It runs like ice through my veins. Such is my curse; Loki Laufeyson.

"It's so shot full of holes I can't begin to grasp at it for what little substance it has." Loki responded.

Thor gave him a winning smile and a hearty laugh. "Then give an example."

"One should not be able to dodge a question, but you just did." Loki replied resentfully.

"Well, you did not ask it right!" Thor grinned enthusiastically. Loki sighed.

"Would you rather be a mortal with the woman or wield Mjolnir, the hammer that gives you your power, but never be able to see her again?"

"I would rather be with Jane," Thor said matter-of-factly. Loki scoffed. Thor patted him on the chest. "Come, your trial is nigh."

Loki stood up, and Thor signaled the guard to open the barred doors. "I still think you're crazy," he laughed humorlessly.

"And I still think you were only temporarily so." Thor replied.

"I'd do it again in a heartbeat." Loki shot back.

"Please refrain from making those types of comments at the Council. It will not help your case," Thor said half-seriously.

"Nor will it help your reputation to be my defense councilor." Loki sneered.

"Come now, we'll have you straightened out yet. I trust you, brother." Thor stopped him and looked deep into his eyes. Loki flinched and uttered a wordless protest when he said "brother". He squeezed his eyes tightly shut so that Thor could not search them for any imagined remnants of love.

Speaking slowly and struggling to keep his temper in check, he seethed, "If you trust me so…then why am I chained? Why am I not allowed access to my magics?"

"Because you have not yet learned to trust yourself," his so-called brother replied softly, before grabbing him by the elbow and leading him once more to the Council.

"I can only assume that the prosecution councilor must be someone I know, as unwilling as you are to mention him." Loki came at Thor from a different angle, relentlessly trying to find a soft spot, an advantage. Villain! The Odinson in his mind said, as it often did lately. As usual, the Laufeyson drove this voice out with sweet whispers. You owe him nothing. He was not your family. You owe your family nothing. They did not love you. Your only responsibility is to yourself.

"She, actually," Thor replied awkwardly, "The Lady Sif seems to have taken great offense at your betrayal."

"She betrayed me!" Loki snarled, "You all did!"

Thor ran a hand through his hair self-consciously as they reached the Council building. "I'm sure this is difficult for you, br—Loki, and I cannot begin to imagine your pain. But we all love you. We do. You had a nasty shock, that's all. But we can get over this together." Thor grabbed his shoulders and shook them slightly. "I don't care what they say, and I don't care who you think you are. In all the ways that matter, you are my brother, and I love you."

Thor pulled Loki to him in a short hug, barely half a second. Loki heard the sound of rattling chains and cursed internally as he realized that his hands had twitched. Had it not been for the shackles around his wrists, he might have returned Thor's hug. Out of reflex, surely.

Thor pulled open the door for Loki, and the two of them proceeded into a long corridor lined with four doors on each side. Wordlessly, they entered the first room on the left and glanced around, having never actually been in the defense's consultation room before. There was a small table with two chairs, a window, a water cooler, and some cups. Thor pulled out a chair for Loki, who sat down. The damned cuffs were leeching away at his dignity. They could have a least had the decency to lock his hands in front of him, instead of behind, and surely they could have found a longer chain. The space between cuffs was terribly short and Loki had been stuck with his shoulders wrenched in an awful position for about a day.

Thor sat across from him and shifted uncomfortably; he was much too big for his chair. Loki leaned back. "Time?" he asked.

Needing no clarification, Thor answered, "We have perhaps ten minutes."

Loki arched an eyebrow. "Charges?"

Thor pulled a rumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and smoothed it out on the table. "Murder of 80 mortals, destruction of a mortal town, undeserved threatening of mortals, stealing the Casket, harboring enemies, conspiring with enemies, treason, attempting to kill a god-" he stopped and caught Loki's eyes with a smile that said, "Hey, that was me! I'm the god you tried to kill!" before continuing. "-bypassing the bifrost, tyranny, assaulting the gatekeeper, inciting riots, misusing magic, attempted genocide, and lying under oath."

"What? Lying under oath?" Loki asked incredulously.

"I'm just assuming you will," Thor chuckled.

"Yes, of course, but I shan't be caught, honestly, the way you underestimate me!" He could have used those words as a jab, but he chose to play to Thor's clumsy attempts at brotherhood, so he said them in a light, mockingly sarcastic voice. Thor's smile widened further. "Are there any other made-up charges in there?" Loki asked, even though he knew that the rest were real.

"No, but I can add some if you like," Thor said as he pantomimed writing on the paper, "How about public nudity, jaywalking, prostitution, spitting on the sidewalk, and sexual harassment of a potted plant?"

Loki laughed, and it wasn't merely to set Thor at ease. It was a genuine laugh, one that brought tears to his eyes. "Sexual harassment of a potted plant?"

"Just the first thing I thought of," Thor beamed, pleased with Loki's laughter.

"Yes, it sounds as if you have experience in such matters," Loki quipped.

"Nay! I am always completely professional around all forms of shrubberies!" Thor boomed. This was, of course, the exact moment that one of the jurors walked into the room accidentally. He stared like he thought Thor was mentally unwell.

Loki sat up imperiously and remarked, "I do believe, good sir, that the room you are looking for is located two doors down on this side of the hallway. Be sure to have a pleasant day."

"Th-thank you," he muttered and backed out of the room quickly, his eyes fixed on the two gods.

Thor looked after him mournfully. "You shouldn't traumatize the man; your fate is in his hands."

"No," Loki said giddily, "My fate is in my hands. Besides, I was perfectly polite!"

"You're on trial for mass murder! I doubt the man's expecting you to say 'be sure to have a pleasant day.'" Thor chortled.

Loki sighed quietly. "Yes, well, what should I have said, 'have a pleasant day or else I will drop you off of the rainbow bridge and set you on fire'?"

Thor considered this for a moment. "Maybe you should just not talk."

"If you put that cursed metal gag over my mouth again I will drop all pretenses of friendship!" he snapped coldly, even as he scolded himself that Thor had merely been teasing.

"'Twas a joke, brother" Thor mumbled, leaning back and blinking rapidly as if waking from a trance.

Too proud to apologize to Thor, and too smart to insult his defense councilor, Loki deftly changed the subject. "What is the maximum penalty for these charges?"

Thor frowned grimly. "Execution."

Loki knew this had been coming, but Thor looked so damn upset that he found himself joking, "Well, as long as I'm not being strapped to a boulder while snake venom drips in my eyes. We all know how that turns out."

Thor smiled sadly but fondly. "Ah, the mortals and their stories."

Loki grinned devilishly. "I'm quite insulted, really, that I lead the inhabitants of Hel into battle."

Thor looked puzzled. "Of all the bizarre things they have recorded you doing in mythology, that was the most insulting?"

"Well I admit the horse is a close second."

Thor sputtered with laughter. "I remember the first time you heard that story! You refused to be seen around colts for more than a fortnight!"

"Yes, yes, it's all so severely funny," Loki said petulantly.

Thor grinned and opened his mouth to say something else, but at that moment, light shone through the window in a way that illuminated only Loki, flashing off of the metal chair. Thor grimaced. "It is time."

Loki blinked. "I think I'm blind."

"The trial always starts directly after the defendant is bathed in light. It signals hope for redemption." Thor scolded, even though Loki already knew this bit of trivia.

"What signals the defendant getting his eyesight back?" Loki groused.

"I've heard a hard smack to the back of the head works wonders," Thor jokingly threatened.

"I can see!" Loki cried in mock triumph, "It's a miracle!"

"Perhaps I should hit you anyway; just to be sure it sticks." Thor smirked.

"No, you're too kind, really, but that's quite alright," he replied delicately. Thor smiled and patted him affectionately on the arm before standing up and hauling Loki to his feet.