Chapter 9

Thor woke up the next morning with a severe headache. He groaned and sat up on his bed, noting that his brother was currently still asleep on his own bed across the room.

'What happened last night? 'he asked himself, cradling his forehead in his palm. Thoughts came flooding back almost immediately, but they were dazed and muddled. Something about a chandelier? Oh, and girls. A lot of them. He vaguely remembered Loki dragging his alcohol-induced state back home early this morning. His brother had been angry with him, for some reason.

He reached over to the bedside table for a glass of water sitting there. He'd live through this hangover – he had experienced worse. The lukewarm water was stale, but he gulped it down anyways. He set the glass back down with a loud clunk, which woke Loki.

Loki's normally perfectly done hair was askew across his head. His eyes were disoriented from lack of sleep. It was a rather funny sight in Thor's opinion, and he started laughing stupidly.

Loki didn't say anything. He glared fiercely at Thor, who stopped chuckling almost immediately. Never had he seen his younger brother so upset with him.

"What?" Thor said defensively.

Loki still kept quiet and stalked off to the bathroom. Thor figured it was about time for him to get up as well and hopefully find some food.

He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. The mortal family posing as the boys' aunt and uncle had left yesterday afternoon for a weekend trip to celebrate the New Year alone.

That was just fine with both brothers. Neither really cared for the mortal family much. Thor and Loki could handle themselves just fine alone.

Thor reached the refrigerator and sifted through the contents. He couldn't cook, so anything involving the oven, stove, or microwave was out. He settled on a small cake that mortals called a "cupcake" and a slice of cold, leftover pizza.

By the time he found a plate and had sat down at the kitchen table, Loki had shown up as well, dressed and showered. His hair was no longer messily arranged, which Thor found to be a disappointment. He would have liked to laugh at it more.

Loki scoffed at Thor's interesting breakfast choices and set about making what he would call "real food" – a bagel with cream cheese and jam. He still did not speak, but the expression on his face as he spread the topping was slightly short of fuming.

Thor decided to break the tense silence.

"So, did you have fun at the party?" he asked, chewing his pizza.

Loki froze mid-spread and his face changed to one of somebody about to commit murder. He looked over at Thor with icy eyes.

"It was fabulous," he said sarcastically. "The highlight of my evening was dragging your heavy, drunk ass home this morning."

"You should really loosen up a bit. I didn't see you drinking. You probably would have had more fun if you had had a bottle or two." Thor shrugged, licking some stray frosting off his finger.

"I don't like alcohol, as you very well should know," Loki muttered angrily. "And you aren't even supposed to be drinking it."

"I'm not?" Thor was confused.

"No! There is a reason we don't allow you near alcohol, and that reason was clearly shown last night when you thought it would be a lovely idea to go for a swing on the chandelier," Loki said pointedly.

Thor's mouth fell open in a comical 'O'. "So that really did happen...?"

"Yes, Thor. Don't let your alcohol fried brain deceive you," Loki said and venom practically dripped out of his tone.

"I hope Father isn't angry..." Thor's voice trailed off as he imagined the possibilities of his father's wrath.

"Trust me, he will be," Loki said with a final glare and he marched up the stairs to their bedroom.

Thor continued eating his breakfast in deep thought. He was certain Loki would get over this by lunchtime.

He was wrong, though. Lunch came and went, and Loki was still fuming. Not two words had been uttered out of his mouth since that morning, despite Thor's futile attempts to get Loki to talk to him.

The younger brother didn't even acknowledge the elder when asked to pass the television remote later that afternoon.

This upset Thor. He was catching up on the "Toddlers and Tiaras" episodes he had missed recently, and Loki's refusal to even hand him the remote annoyed him to no end. He decided to speak up.

"Loki, come on, brother. Get over this! It was just a misunderstanding!" he said firmly.

"And exactly what was the point being misunderstood?" he said mockingly. "I recommend you reconsider your word choice before speaking again, Thor." Loki turned back to his book.

Thor thought for a moment about that before replying, "Okay, maybe it wasn't a misunderstanding. But it was an accident! I didn't mean for you to have to take me home this morning."

"It's not just that, Thor! You knew you shouldn't have even touched the drinks." Loki threw up his hands in an exasperated gesture. "Now we have to find a way to pay for that chandelier you destroyed."

"I'll pay for it!" Thor exclaimed. "You don't even have to worry about it, little brother."

"You do not have a job. How exactly do you expect to afford it?" Loki raised his eyebrows.

"I will find a job. It will be not a problem," Thor assured him.

Loki hardly looked relieved like Thor had expected him to. He turned his head slightly to the side and glared out the window.

"Is everything else alright, brother? You still seem bothered," Thor observed gently.

Loki let out a single, mirthless laugh and shook his head, not in a denying-things way, but in a way that further proved Thor's theory that perhaps there was something else the matter.

"You can tell me. Was someone rude to you last night? Who was it? I shall destroy them!" Thor roared, standing up from his bed.

Loki rolled his eyes and sighed. "Sit down, Thor. No, nobody was rude to me at the party. I'm fine." His tone was bitter and cold.

Thor could tell that wasn't the whole truth. Loki was clearly not fine, but he decided to let the subject drop.

It was late that night when the letter from Odin arrived, delivered by one of his sacred ravens. The large bird swooped through the window Loki insisted on having open and deposited the envelope on Loki's desk.

Thor watched as Loki gingerly picked it up and carefully opened it, hesitating to read it. His green eyes slowly took in each word, his face falling into a shameful and angry expression by the time he was finished. He dropped the paper onto his stack of notebooks and left the room in a hurry.

Thor strode over to the desk and snatched the letter up. It said:

My son, Loki,

Never before have I been more ashamed of your behavior. What was going through your mind as you allowed your brother to consume alcohol? I dearly wish to know. Whilst you were absent, Thor very nearly exposed his true identity to the entire mortal race. Had you been there, I believe you would have been able to deter him. Fortunately, he went unheard and the impending crisis was narrowly avoided.

However, I cannot ignore the fact that you had let him be near alcohol without supervision. As your punishment, I am removing your privileges to magic for one month. During this time, you will not be able to use any magic. Up until now, I have granted your usage of minor magic amongst mortals, so long as it went unnoticed. But due to your erratic and irresponsible actions in regards to your brother, I cannot allow this to continue any longer. I fear that you will single-handedly reveal our existence to Midgard through use of your magic.

Give my kindest and most sincere regards to Thor. Your mother waits impatiently for you both to return.

Your Father,

Odin All-Father
Ruler of Asgard

Thor sighed in frustration. He couldn't believe that Odin was blaming Loki for Thor's own actions. It wasn't fair that Loki was being punished.

He left the room in search of his brother. He first checked the bathroom, and then he went down to the main floor to continue his search. After looking for nearly fifteen minutes, Thor came to the conclusion that Loki was no longer in the building.

That worried Thor. What if his little brother had ran away? He could be lost in the snow storm brewing outside! But then Thor reminded himself that Loki was far too smart to run away in such conditions. He still might be in the yard though. Thor figured he might as well check.

Thor donned his coat and headed outside. Sure enough, Loki was standing on the patio, gazing up at the heavens above. He wasn't even wearing a coat or jacket, which struck Thor as odd.

Thor walked to stand next to his brother. He took a deep breath.

"Loki, look. I'll talk to Father and get the punishment removed. I'll tell him it was my fault and-" he started, but Loki cut him off.

"Thor... Have you ever felt that perhaps I don't belong in this family?" he said quietly.

"Never. Why would you think that?" Thor blinked, surprised.

"Then why does Father treat you so much better then me? Why does he blame me for your mishaps?" Loki sorrowfully whispered.

"Father loves you as much as he loves me. He loves us equally. You are my brother and you always have been. As I told you, I will discuss your punishment with Father and get it revoked. Now stop spewing such nonsense," Thor concluded with a sense of finality.

Loki sighed but didn't say anything further.

Thor was caught up in a sudden moment of nostalgia and crushed his little brother in a giant hug.

"Ahh! Thor! Get off me!" Loki commanded, his voice muffled because his mouth was being covered by Thor's coat.

"No. I love you, Loki! You'll always be my favorite brother," Thor said in a sing-song voice, a big stupid grin stretched across his face.

"That's lovely. Now let go! You're crushing me!" Loki gasped.

Thor released the younger boy, who stumbled a bit while rubbing the ribs Thor had squeezed.

"And for the record, I am your only brother," Loki said, but he appreciated it all the same.

"Oh. Well, if I had more than one brother, you would be my favorite!" Thor said jovially, ruffling Loki's hair. "Perhaps Mother's new baby will be a boy when she has it. Then you will know my sentiment is true. I hear she wants to name it Baldur if it is a boy," Thor said, wrinkling his nose. "Can you imagine a more ridiculous name?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact. She could always name it Thor. Now that is a ridiculous name," Loki teased, a playful glint in his eyes. Then he dashed back in the house before Thor could figure out what he had just said.