Some slightly dub – con shenanigans in this chapter. Just to let you know. :-)

12.

All of a sudden the volume he had been missing came back into Thor's life. After all the silence, the strange underwater sensations, it was as though someone had slammed that switch on too hard. Everything was too bright, too loud.

"Loki," he said, rubbing a hand hard over his face, squinting as though Loki was an illusion.

"Miss me?" Loki said again; he was still smiling, cocky, arms folded across his chest, looking as though he could imagine nothing other than Thor's utter delight at seeing him back. Thor just stared at him.

"I thought you were dead," he said eventually, stupidly, heavily.

Loki's eyes narrowed, he raised an eyebrow;

"Did you mourn?" He was amused, curious, scathing – mostly all Thor heard was a vague amusement. It made him angry. He thought about how hard he had mourned, how deeply and it made him furious.

"You –" he growled, standing up slowly, fists clenched tightly – "You should have told me –" It became truer as he said it out loud; he took Loki by the shoulders before he could slip aside and shook him – "You should have told me!" he roared.

"That's a no then is it?"

Thor pushed him savagely. Loki shoved him back, angry that Thor was not reacting as he was supposed to. Thor punched him. Loki ducked and Thor's fist got him in the shoulder. Loki danced around and hit him back. Within seconds they were a scrapping snarling ball of fury, fighting like cats in the alley. Thor was aware, even as he tried to wrestle Loki down, that he did not want this, did not want to hurt him; he wanted to touch him, to be reaching for him, wanted to be glad just to have him back, to hold him close and keep on holding him forever. But he was too angry and Loki, it seemed, did not care about hurting him. After that first punch, all Thor found himself doing was fending off a writhing whirling attack of Loki.

Loki scratched and hit and dragged at Thor. He knew, somewhere in his head, that he did not mean to, ever. But Thor had been mean. He had not been pleased to see him. He had not even told Loki that he had mourned him and so, as far as Loki could tell, he had not. Thor thought he had died and he had not cared and no amount of sensible thought would tell him otherwise. He had tested Thor and Thor had failed. It hurt so piercingly Loki could not stop trying to hurt him back, determined not to hear an attempt at explanation on Thor's part. He knew Thor was shouting his name at him, but he refused to hear it. And yes, a large part of him enjoyed the fight, enjoyed lashing and ducking and now and then hurting and Thor, large and hard and furious pushing against him. He would not hear Thor speak but he let him wrestle him onto the alleyway floor.

"Well" Loki smirked – "Isn't this familiar."

Thor growled, lip twitching, not even able to express his disgust at Loki, still acting like this was the most fun he had ever had.

"You –" he snarled out, pushing Loki's wrists down onto the ground behind his head; Loki squirmed, but not, Thor could tell, trying to get away – "You lied to me".

"No – oo," Loki said slowly, as though Thor were being stupid, as usual – "I just didn't tell you, that's not the same thing."

"You told me you were worried something would happen! You built me up to this – you let me think I could have stopped it! You did it all – on purpose!" Thor seethed, realising as he said it, the extent of Loki's deception. Loki's eyes sparkled wickedly –

"Well yes," he admitted – "Are you telling me I didn't do well?"

"I – you – how could you?"

"Yes, you were broken up, I'm sure – that's why you're so pleased to see me back," Loki spat – "I bet you were glad to see me gone –"

"You would mock this? I died without you!"

"Tsk. So melodramatic. Really Thor that's my job."

"I hate you Loki, I fucking hate you."

"See that's your problem – you always sing the same damn song – that's why I'm a bigger star than you -" Loki might have gone on but Thor slapped him in the face;

"You're a dead star!" he snarled – "You're nothing –I could –" Loki's eyes widened for the first time in fear but before he could speak Thor was on him, teeth and tongue fighting a way in, lips sneering against his mouth in a kiss that hurt. Loki reached and struggled – not so much to push him off but at least to slap him back – Thor slammed his hands down again, pushing a knee between his legs to kick them apart, yanking at his belt. He twisted until he had both of Loki's wrists pinned in one large hand and pushed his fingers into Loki's mouth, never giving him time to speak. Loki glared at him, fire in his eyes, but he sucked on his fingers as he would have on his cock and Thor realised he had been this hard since he had first pushed Loki away. His mind was a mess, but his body knew what to do.

Thor bent over to kiss Loki again as he took his hands away, tearing at his clothes to touch him, to get inside him. He kissed Loki more to silence him than anything as his fingers shoved roughly into him, opening him up, Loki's arms around his neck, holding him in place even as he pretended to struggle. He was wriggly, slippery and squirming; it just made Thor harder, more intent – he pulled his fingers out, replacing them with his cock, pushing in rough and slow and merciless. Loki screamed into his mouth; he swallowed it, wrapped his hand around Loki's cock, hard and trapped between them, there were tears leaking from Loki's eyes but he thrust and pushed needily into Thor's hand anyway as Thor fucked him like he was still fighting him, violent in the face of uncertainty. He whispered to Loki again that he hated him, whispered it tenderly into his ear, and he did, he really did, however little difference it made.

As Thor whispered Loki kissed, kissed his face and arms and the hair that fell golden against his face, peppering the side of Thor's face in little kisses so sweet that Thor was thrown; his mind was a swirling mess of confusion whilst the rest of him shivered in pleasure at the feel of Loki beneath him, around him, everywhere; this was how they should be, he knew it, they were right, why had Loki had to switch everything up? Why could he not just have asked him? Why did he have to be such a dick? Why did Loki?

"Me too," Loki whispered – "I love you too".

Thor crushed Loki to him, arms around him, all of that slight little figure clutched to his chest as he came, crying out, inside him, Loki shuddering in his arms, spilling into his hand. He had never said it before, Thor realised, why say it now when he had not wanted to hear it? Because, he almost heard Loki say it, as smugly as he would have if Thor had been man enough to ask – you did not want to hear it. He had to be careful, he realised as the disentangled, surprisingly gentle, he had to be so careful how he played this.

But as Loki got back to his feet, Thor could almost see him shake the gentleness off his face like it was glitter in his hair. He took off that part that had said I love you like it was a coat he found uncomfortable and before Thor could take advantage of the moment he grinned – shakily but cockily –

"Feel better now?" and the smirk was back – "Prove something did you?"

"No." Thor stared at him sadly, frowning – "No, nothing," he looked away. Something in the angle of his body made butterflies of panic in Loki's chest, they flew out as snapping words.

"That's it? You're just going to go?" His eyes stung. He hated it – "You're going to walk away? Again? You're just going to walk off on me?"

"I hadn't been –" Thor heard himself say. This time his mind knew what it wanted, what it always wanted, but his body was betraying him and he was turning away, he wouldn't look back this time, wouldn't look at Loki, see the dampness on his face from the tears he wasn't crying. If Loki was going to be like that he would walk away.

"Fine!" Loki yelled, actually stamping his foot – "Fine! If that's what you want! Go away, see if I care! I could have anyone I don't need you! I hope you die wishing I'd never come back! You –" Loki's tongue felt all twisted up and he knew that if Thor was going to walk away he had to stop him or do it too, just like he had the first night they were together.

Loki chose on impulse. He picked a direction and ran.

_x_

Okay how much do we hate the Scheherezade thing I keep doing to you all? :-)

I've just realised, both sadly and finally that this fic is nearly finished – I got a maximum two/ three chapters to go! Luckily for us all, thanks to Storyends I have a plan for the next one so you won't miss me too long! :-)