"Can I come home?"

For once, Loki can be certain that the feeling of déjà vu he experiences has nothing to do with visions or timelines – this is most definitely a memory, albeit one he wouldn't usually wish to dwell on. The only difference to the moment he first heard Thor ask that question is the fact that this time, it catches him entirely unprepared.

He has never seen the point of feeling guilty – if you can't change what you did, what good would your contrition do? He isn't sure whether Thor deliberately tried to allude to the cruel lies Loki told him during his banishment to Midgard, but if he did, he apparently doesn't know Loki at all. It's not in his nature to dwell on regrets; he no longer is the frantic, desperate boy he was during those ill-fated days, so it matters little that he would likely choose a different path if he were facing the same choices now. Back then, he turned on Thor because he foolishly believed it might give him the chance to finally prove himself worthy of Odin's regard; that is no longer a concern now, but it doesn't mean he must be willing to consider Thor's impossible plea.

With a flick of his wrist, Loki sends Gungnir back to his dimensional pocket, thus giving himself a few seconds to get his thoughts in order. There's no need to cling to the symbol of his kingship – even without it, it remains blindingly obvious how much the power has shifted between him and the man whose overwhelming presence both brightened and darkened every day of Loki's life up to the moment he had to scatter Thor's ashes among the stars. The man who stands before him now is a pale, broken travesty of the golden prince Asgard still mourns, yet Loki can't bring himself to gloat over the sight of his formerly perfect brother brought so low. He feels a little like he did when he first saw Thor's body on the bier – a stunned, strangely hollow sensation of disorientation, as if the star his whole existence used to orbit had suddenly imploded and left him adrift.

And now his lost brother wants to return to Loki's Asgard, wants to force himself into the center of Loki's life once more and push him back into the shadows he has finally begun to leave behind? Does he truly think Loki will endanger everything he has built for himself just to hear the halls of the palace ring with Thor's laughter again? Loki has mostly made his peace with the memory of his brother, but –

"You don't have to worry that I'd challenge you for the throne, you know." Thor has been fidgeting ever since he asked his question, and now it seems he can't take the prolonged silence any more. He must interpret Loki's lack of reply as skepticism, because he adds, "I mean it – I've lost all taste for ruling."

Loki still can't wrap his mind around the fact that Thor calmly admitted to abandoning the pitiful remnants of his people to the care of – the rising memory is accompanied by a flash of resentment – an alcoholic slave trader, so he takes refuge in flippancy.

"I know, you'd rather be a good man than a great king."

The sarcasm is utterly lost on Thor, who seems taken aback for a moment before his eyes widen with dawning comprehension. "That was you?"

Loki shrugs. "Apparently."

Like a reflection emerging in a fogged mirror, the image in his mind is slowly getting clearer – Thor before the throne, speaking of his brother's honorable death with an expression of calm serenity; his own skin itching from the seiðr that masqueraded him as Odin, the triumph he'd expected to experience strangely muted as if the part of him that used to feel with such overwhelming, terrifying intensity had been lost in the darkness that had swallowed him up and then spat him out again on Svartalfheim. There's a twinge of the old pain in his chest, and it cuts through the swirl of re-forming memories and brings him back to the present.

"And you think the people of Asgard would just accept the abdication of your birthright?"

Thor's smile is filled with a self-deprecation that seems so out of character for the brother Loki remembers that it makes his skin crawl. "I'm sure they would if they could see me like this."

He's not entirely wrong; there's little the Aesir abhor more than an open display of weakness, and a blind man could see that Thor has been faltering under the weight the Norns have chosen to put on his shoulders. If Loki barely recognizes Asgard's golden prince in the wreck of a man before him, he doesn't even want to imagine how the people of Asgard – let alone the palace courtiers – would react to him.

"So what would you do if I took you with me?" Loki hopes the question doesn't come across as a promise of any kind, but he's honestly curious. "The kingship has been your only goal for as long as you've lived, after all."

"I know I don't look it, but I'm no less of a warrior than I was." The pleading undertone in Thor's statement is hard to miss, and it makes Loki extremely uncomfortable. "You say that you'll still have to fight Thanos – I have fought him, so I could be of help if you let me. The army you're gathering will need a leader, won't it?"

"The king leads the army in a great war." Loki keeps his tone deliberately cool; this is how Thor hopes to convince him that he wouldn't challenge him for the throne? "That has always been Asgard's way, and it's not going to change."

Thor raises his hands in a placating gesture. "I didn't mean it like that! I just – I thought that even the greatest king could use a general."

Loki tries to imagine what Tyr would say to the idea of letting Thor, who wouldn't recognize military discipline if it spat him in the eye, command an army; it isn't all that hard to picture the old soldier's reaction. "I have a general, and he has a great deal more experience with actual warfare than you do."

Yet he can't help it that his mind takes hold of the question and runs with it. No king would sleep soundly with the erstwhile, greatly beloved heir apparent walking among his subjects, no matter how much that heir claimed not to want the throne any more. He would have to be given a new purpose, preferably one that would keep him safely away from the people, whose ever-fickle affection might be too easily swayed by the memory of their former hero even if he didn't look the part any more.

Away from Asgard... and isn't there a realm Thor might even want to return to, the last among the Nine that isn't yet aware of the deadly foe who draws nearer with every passing day? Loki's invasion may have alerted Midgard to the need for an organized defense against 'alien' threats (threats that might reach them from a hundred different worlds which the mortals, in their peculiar mix of ignorance and arrogance, lump together under the term 'space' like small children who consider everything beyond the walls of their own home 'away'), but so far, he hasn't managed to come up with a strategy by which King Loki's Asgard might forge an alliance with a realm that still believes he wanted to subjugate it.

The mortals would have to be approached by someone they trust – someone who has fought alongside their heroes, who could serve as an ambassador for Asgard's king while leaving Midgard in the dark about the identity of the king he represented. Jane Foster was sent back home without learning of Thor's death, so his return to Midgard probably wouldn't cause too much of a stir there – and this Thor knows what it means to fight the Titan and could probably convince the mortals to take the threat seriously if he put the whole force of his personality behind it.

...if that personality hadn't been crushed under the weight of grief and despair, and if Thor – even assuming he recovered his former charisma – could ever manage to keep his mouth shut about anything.

Still – Loki would never admit this to anyone but himself, but it would be a relief to no longer be the only one who truly understands what they're about to face, to have at least one person whose presence didn't force him to censor himself all the time when speaking of the Titan. He knows the idea is nothing but childish sentiment – it has been centuries since he and Thor were close enough to share anything of real importance, and probably even longer since either of them fully trusted the other. A small, maudlin part of Loki's heart still can't help longing for those days of true brotherhood, but he's well aware that they were gone for good long before he found out that they had never been true brothers to begin with.

I thought we were going to fight side by side forever – but at the end of the day, you're you and I'm me.

If Loki can trust the snippets of memories that keep surfacing in his mind like silvery fish rising from the bottom of a murky pond, even Thor has reached the same conclusion in this reality.

Meanwhile, Thor appears hard-pressed to come up with an answer; he has begun to fidget again, and when he finally opens his mouth, he's interrupted by the sudden noise of someone outside of the room banging on the door.

"Thor? What the fuck is going on in there?" The voice that shouts over the hiss of the door sliding open sounds both tired and annoyed, but what really takes Loki by surprise is the fact that it seems to originate from somewhere around knee-height. "You talking to dead people again, buddy?"

Loki can't keep himself from gaping at the furry little creature that saunters into the room, looking for all the world as if someone had put a set of mismatched clothes on the stuffed toy fox he'd owned as a toddler. As if the situation weren't bizarre enough already, the strange visitor (Loki is absolutely certain he has never seen anything like it on any of the realms he's been to in his lifetime) points an accusing... paw? at Thor and blithely rants on, "You really oughta cut back on the booze, man, some of us would like to actually get some shut-eye at night instead of – whoa!"

The creature stops dead in its tracks when it spots Loki standing half-hidden behind Thor's bulk; a split second later, it has drawn a small energy weapon from its clothing and is brandishing it with a snarl. "Who's that, and how the fuck did he get in here?"

Loki remains silent; neither the creature nor its weapon strike him as a serious threat, so he sees no reason to escalate the situation needlessly. He would have expected Thor to offer an explanation, but Thor is just staring at the creature with huge eyes, and what little of his face remains visible under the filthy beard has gone deadly pale.

"You... you can see him too?"

The creature snarls, displaying a set of small, but sharp-looking fangs. "What's that supposed to mean? Course I can see him, he's standing right there!"

"Oh." Thor is visibly struggling for composure while Loki, who has caught on to Thor's meaning and now wishes he hadn't, inwardly cringes with a mix of second-hand embarrassment and something that almost feels like pity.

The oaf still can't believe he isn't dreaming.

"I just – I wasn't sure..." Thor's floundering is painful to witness, and Loki finally cuts off his stammers before the whole display can get even more awkward.

"I'd be happy to kick you again if it will help."

It was exactly the right thing to say because the dirty look Thor gives him in return is downright reassuring in its normality. "That won't be necessary, thank you."

Appearing somewhat composed again, Thor turns back to the creature who is still pointing its weapon at Loki. "Peace, dear rabbit – this is... Loki." He pauses and then adds, almost like an afterthought, "My brother."

The creature's mouth drops open. "Your dead brother? Are you kidding me?"

Thor's expression darkens. "I wouldn't joke about something like this, my friend."

"Could have fooled me." The beady little eyes look Loki up and down in a way that is decidedly unflattering. "Because I'm pretty sure this one ain't dead."

Loki figures it's time to regain a modicum of control over the situation. "And I'm fairly certain you're not a rabbit, so I'd say we're evenly matched."

The creature bares its teeth again; it looks vaguely threatening, but is probably supposed to be a grin. "Oh great, another smartass." It finally lowers the weapon and takes a step closer. "Should've taken a better look at you sulking in that shiny aquarium, I guess."

Loki has no idea what the not-rabbit is babbling about, but it doesn't give him time to get a word in anyway. "So howd'ya trick the purple asshole into thinking you'd –"

"Rocket," Thor interrupts gravely, "do you remember what I told you about our first attempt to retrieve the Tesseract?"

The creature – Rocket? – freezes for a moment, and then lets out a string of curses that should by rights make the wall paint blister. "You mean he's that one? How the fuck did he get back here? I thought we were finally done with that crap!"

"I don't know," Thor admits, "but the king of Asgard wields great power, and Loki tells me that he is king in his timeline, so he obviously has the means."

Loki was beginning to tire of being discussed as if he weren't in the room, but Rocket's double-take at those news is too entertaining to remain annoyed.

"You gotta be kidding me – first your folks lock him up in daddy's basement, and then they make him the head honcho? How do you know he isn't just bullshitting you?"

"He has Gungnir." Thor sounds tired, as if he were merely repeating an argument he's already had with himself in his head. "The spear is the sacred weapon and symbol of power of Asgard's king; only the rightful king may dare to wield it."

Loki can't help thinking back to the days of his ill-fated regency, when the fact that he wielded Gungnir did absolutely nothing to prevent Thor's posse from undermining him, but this is hardly the time to bring it up.

Rocket appears to accept Thor's explanation, although his scoff indicates that he remains unimpressed. "What's it with you guys and the blade fetish? Give me a decent blaster any day." Turning towards Loki, he adds, "Hate to break it to you, pal, but things didn't work out so great for you here."

"I'm aware," Loki replies, careful to keep his tone neutral; he has no desire to stir up those memories again.

Rocket's head swivels back to Thor. "Couldn't wait to spill the beans, huh?"

"I didn't." There's something in Thor's voice Loki can't decipher. "He remembers."

For a moment, Rocket stares up at Thor as if he'd grown a second head; then his fur starts bristling in a way that reminds Loki of an angry hedgehog. "I knew it! I knew that whole time shit was coming back to bite us in the ass! You mess with stuff, it messes you up in return! Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

After a few more expletives, he turns back to Loki and growls, "And now you think you can just waltz in here and pick up where you left off?"

"I don't."

Rocket narrows his eyes at him when Loki doesn't offer any further clarification. "So you ain't here to hang around with big brother?"

"No," Loki states evenly, "I'm here to take him home."

He realizes only when he hears himself say those words that his mind was made up before Rocket even walked in. There are three dozen reasons why this is a terrible idea, but none of them will change the fact that for better or worse, there will never be a time when he'll pick an existence that doesn't have Thor in it over one that does.

Thor looks utterly stunned, as if he'd never seriously believed that Loki would give in to his plea; since Loki is hardly less surprised himself, he feels he can't really blame Thor for it.

He expects to be questioned about the way he plans to carry out his decision, but what Rocket asks instead is, "And how's that not gonna fuck up your own timeline? Don't you already have one of him back home?"

Loki holds the little creature's gaze; he doesn't want to look at Thor right now. "Not any more."

"Oooookay." Rocket hunches his shoulders as if he were either cold or very, very uncomfortable. "I guess that... kinda makes sense."

Loki can only hope that the talking furball is right, but the integrity of either timeline is the least of his concerns. Barely a few remnants of Asgard are left in this place (he has to tamp down hard on another flood of unbidden memories of fire, smoke and blood), and Thor appears to have cut ties even with those; the removal of one single, almost entirely unmoored existence will hardly cause an entire branch of time to collapse, and there is a vacant place for his brother to fill back in Loki's own reality. There's still a risk he might be about to plunge the entire universe into chaos, but...

What were you the god of again?

He doesn't need another sibling to remind him that Loki of Asgard is the author of his own destiny.

"Rocket, my friend." Thor has finally found his voice again, although it's shaky enough to come out as a hoarse whisper. "You all took me in as your shield-brother, and I would not abandon –"

"Thor, buddy, do me a favor and shut the fuck up." In spite of the harsh words, Rocket's tone is surprisingly gentle. "We all know that this universe has screwed you over six ways from Sunday, so we ain't gonna blame you if you take your chances with another one."

Thor hesitates. "I should at least tell them and explain –"

"I must not stay for much longer," Loki interrupts him. "From what I've read on multiverse theories, there's no way to tell whether different branches move forward in time at exactly the same speed – what are minutes here might very well be hours in Asgard, and a king can't afford to just disappear without a trace."

He isn't lying, although it's not the only reason why he won't allow Thor to draw out his departure; he's well aware that the longer he dawdles, the bigger the chance that his own misgivings about his impulsive decision might catch up with him and force him to reconsider.

Thor must still be reeling from Loki's unexpected acquiescence, because it's only now that he thinks to ask, "You really believe you can do this? That you can... take me with you when you leave?"

Loki shrugs. "I managed to find my way into this reality, didn't I? Returning should be easier now that I know the path I need to follow, and your presence won't make much of a difference."

The Aether in Loki's dimensional pocket lets out a barely perceptible growl. One could almost believe that the Reality Stone took offense at Loki's failure to acknowledge its contribution, but it calms down when he Tesseract's gentle hum intensifies as if the Space Stone were eager to take them all away from this miserable place.

Thor shakes his head, looking for all the world as if he were only now beginning to grasp the magnitude of what Loki has agreed to do. "And it won't cause any damage if I... stay there? I mean, you're just visiting here, but I – I don't actually belong there, do I?"

Loki can barely suppress the urge to roll his eyes. "Isn't it a little late to start fretting over that? This was your idea, not mine!"

"I know, but" – Thor is visibly searching for words now – "remember the stories we were told when we were children? Of the terrible fate that befell those who tried to rebel against the Norns' plans? If I –"

"Thor," Loki cuts him off; he's at the end of his patience and sorely tempted to just disappear and leave the dithering fool behind. "Listen to me: fuck the Norns. Do you want to come with me or not?"

Thor seems shocked, but he still draws himself up to his full height for the first time since he got to his feet. "Of course I want to."

Loki holds out his hand. "Then come here, I need to touch you in order to take you with me."

In spite of his earlier declaration, Thor still tarries. "Does that mean that I'll remember dying too once I'm... there?"

This time, Loki does roll his eyes. "How should I know? If you do, we can compare notes – I remember doing it repeatedly, after all." Thor's uncertain expression isn't lost on him, but this isn't the time to dwell on his brother's refusal to believe that anything which happens to Loki might be real as long as he isn't getting his neck snapped right in front of him. The memories start to well up again, but Loki does his best to ignore them. "And now shut up and take my hand, I really want to get out of here."

Rocket gives Thor a gentle shove. "What'cha waiting for? Get going before the jerk ditches you again!"

"Sweet rabbit..." Thor's attempt at a smile comes out a little wobbly. "Please tell the others that I'm sorry, and that it was my honor to be their shield-brother, and... thank you. For everything."

"Yeah, yeah," the little creature waves him off, "it was great and everything, and now get a move on!"

Thor finally reaches for Loki's hand, although there's still a second of hesitation before he takes it, and it's impossible to miss how the tension drains out of his shoulders the moment their fingers touch. Another memory surges, blotting out Loki's earlier impatience; he gives Thor a nod and simply says, "Yes, I am here."

Thor's posture slumps like a puppet whose strings have been cut; in the next second, Loki finds himself engulfed in his brother's arms. Loki freezes; he has often enough been swept off his feet by Thor's rib-crushing bear hugs, but now he realizes with sudden alarm that Thor is leaning on him, that his brother is clinging to Loki as if he were the only thing that's keeping him upright.

Deeply unsettled, Loki reaches out towards the comforting presence of his two Infinity Gems. It takes him longer than it should until he's focused enough to let their entwined energies guide him, but once his seiðr is finally in perfect harmony with their steady pulse, it is but the work of a moment to find the veil between worlds again and push it apart.

The last thing he sees as he half-turns to pull Thor through with him is Rocket's little wave that almost looks like a salute.