Several hours ago.
Thor watched as Loki shivered even though he was a frost giant and buried under several thick layer of blankets.
"You are not cold are you?" Thor asked sadly because if Loki wasn't cold he knew what the reason was for the shivering. Loki didn't look at him but nodded his head. Thor closed his eyes momentarily. He hated seeing his brother go through treatment, it was painful for him to see his brother in such pain but it was the only way to keep his brother from the madness that would otherwise have control of his mind.
Two years ago Thor had tried to kill Loki with lighting but Loki had unexpectedly survived the encounter; probably because his brother had been using dark energies at the time. Loki had unexpectedly had calmed after the lighting hit his body and his madness for awhile seemed to have vanished.. However it had come back. The healers had discussed it and had determined that the madness had been cut off by Thor's lightning and had something to do with Loki's brain. Thor wasn't sure that he entirely understand exactly what was going on he just knew it's end result; Loki no longer being mad.
Thor hadn't had to hit Loki with any more lighting though instead Loki was treated by a team of healers. However the result was the same saneness in exchange for significant pain. Humans he understood were put under for such treatments but that did not work for Loki. Loki's body was very resistant to treatment of any kind, it was especially resistant to things that would serve to put him under if Loki's body had allowed them to work; which his body hadn't. Additionally on the few things that worked to put him under only worked until the pain started and then ceased to work any longer than that.
The treatments and the accompanying pain however was the only way to make sure that Loki didn't return to his old ways and nobody wanted that. Thor did not like to think about the dark times, the 100 years of his brothers madness. Loki had killed many people in many places, one of them being Asgard. However Thor knew his brother as he was now was not the monster that Loki had once been. If Loki needed another treatment then Thor was going to be with him like he always was. The only problem was that the treatments were taking less and less time to wear off. The healers were searching for other methods, less painful ones, but they had yet to come up with anything.
"I will be there with you brother." Thor assured Loki. Loki continued to shiver in fear and Thor knew that Loki dreaded the treatments. The treatments were the only way that Loki could stay free though. If Loki refused them Thor would have no choice but imprison his brother in the darkest dungeon he could find and make sure that Loki would never use his magic again.
"Thor I can't do it again." Loki begged and Thor's heart broke to hear him talk so brokenly. Thor didn't like seeing Loki go through it either. It was the only way though, the only way they could stay together, to be brothers.
"Loki you aren't well and until we find a better method this is the only way we have to fix you." Loki shook his head.
"I can't."
"Loki."
"I cant!" Loki yelled and then huddled in himself so that his skinny arms were wrapped around his blanket covered legs and his face was touching his knees.
"Loki you know what will happen if you don't get treated." Thor reminded him softly. He didn't want to see that. Thor had gotten used to having his brother back; the one who wasn't determined to dominate the realms. Thor couldn't allow that to happen, not when so many more people would die. However in the end it was his brother's choice. "If you chose that I'll have to strip you of your magic and put in a cell where you cannot hurt anyone." Thor didn't want to do that but it was his only option if Loki opted against treatment.
"Or you could kill me." Loki said into his knees but Thor heard. But he had to have heard wrong; Loki wouldn't ask him to do that. Loki looked up from his knees "Thor I can't do it anymore." Loki pleaded with him tears streaming from his eyes. Thor got off the bed and stepped away from him in horror because he never thought that Loki would ask him to do something like that.
"You did it before." Loki reminded him but Thor shook his head. Thor had been angry then and desperate and most importantly he had managed to shut down all his brotherly feelings, Thor didn't think he could do it again.
"Loki I cannot, you must not ask that of me." Thor insisted and Loki looked sad but he nodded before he grabbed his knees again hiding his face again.
"Loki you must put this madness behind you." Thor said trying to convince Loki. Thor was afraid that his brother if in lieu of Thor refusing might try to take his own life. He sat next to Loki again and put his hand in what he hoped was a comforting way on Loki's back. Loki didn't speak for a long time; so long that Thor had assumed that Loki had fallen asleep.
"What if there was another way?" at first Thor was overjoyed thinking that Loki had put the plan of his death behind him, however on further inspection Thor found that he wasn't fond of the way that Loki had said that.
"What do you mean?" Thor asked warily. Loki looked up his face slightly nervous.
"Thor the length of the effectiveness of the treatments is going to keep going down. Eventually I will probably need one every day." Thor shook his head.
"You cannot think like that; the healers will find another soon." Loki shook his head.
"They've been working on it for two years. They've tried every other way on me but because of my magic and physiology the treatments are the only thing that works."
"Then I'm afraid I don't understand what you're asking?" Loki had always been smarter then him. Even 100 years of his brother being crazy and the repeated treatments hadn't dulled his brother mind much. Loki brother smiled but it was still his smile, not the one that his brother wore when the sickness in his mind took over. He looked more energized that he had in a long time and Thor found himself curious about what kind of plan would make Loki act this way.
"What if I could fix everything before it ever started?" Thor frowned not liking the way that Loki had phrased that.
"But how could you?" Thor asked knowing there was something he did not understand. Sometimes Thor wished he could trade a little bit of his strength for an inkling of what went on in his brother's mind.
"Thor don't you see?" Loki asked hopefully but Thor still didn't get it. Was it a riddle? How could you fix something before it started? Loki sighed but didn't look as miserable as he had before.
Instead he just looked tired he rolled over onto his side. Though Thor wondered if Loki was really tired or just trying to shut him out. His brother was often tired though. Which had something to do with the fact that he ate very little, in fact Loki's hair was started to go prematurely gray and fall out which the healers said because Loki was not eating enough. Thor knew that the deaths that his brother had caused weighed heavily on his brother's conscience. Thor sighed as well.
"Loki." Thor said trying to talk to his brother try to convince him not hurt himself. There was no response though except the steady rising and falling of his brother's chest. Thor had never been able to tell when Loki was really sleeping or when he was pretending to be so so Loki wouldn't have to talk when he didn't want to.
Thor was not going to leave his brothers side regardless. Not until he convinced his brother first to abandon thoughts of hurting himself. Then Thor was going to convince Loki to go through treatment again. Thor left the bed not wanting to crowd his brother in his sleep. First of all he grabbed one his brothers spare blankets and headed for the red sofa that was just a few feet away from the bed. Thor climbed onto it. The red sofa certainly wasn't as comfortable as his own bed but he wasn't leaving Loki. He had lost and thought he had lost his brother too many times over the years and Thor wasn't about to lose him again. Thor tucked the spare blanket of Loki's around him and looked at his brother's still form. Thor would keep vigil over his brother in the night and hopefully in the morning things would be better.
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