"No, you won't."

The reply seems to puzzle Thor. "That's what I said." He tries to look over Loki's shoulder towards the city as if he were afraid that Loki might not allow him to pass. "Why are we stopping here? Are we – I mean, is this the spot where you..."

Loki interrupts him before he can finish the question; whether Thor is asking out of genuine concern or merely trying to unsettle him further, he isn't going down that path again. "I'd rather focus on the future than reminiscence about the past right now."

Without giving Thor time to answer, Loki raises his right hand and places his fingertips on Thor's forehead. Thor flinches, but the spell pins him in place before he can pull away.

"Loki, what the –"

"Hush," Loki shushes him gently, "I need you to be quiet for this."

He's a little surprised when Thor actually complies, but he doesn't have time to wonder about it. He still isn't entirely used to channeling Asgard's magic through his own, but for this, he will need to tap into a power that is solely the king's to command. It takes all of Loki's concentration to let his own seiðr reach out towards the pulsating center of magical energy deep within the realm's heart, accessible only to the one who wields Gungnir, and focus on nothing but his will as he pulls it towards him through the spear in his hand. All magic is intent, but this is more than just that – it's the might of a realm almost as old as Yggdrasil itself, and for a moment, Loki can't help feeling daunted by the forces he is attempting to control. Who are you, changeling, to try and wield the sacred power of Asgard's kings?

The challenge reverberates through his consciousness in an eerie reminiscence of Odin's voice, but Loki finds that he knows how to answer it, that he can feel it deep in his bones with a certainty that leaves no room for doubt or hesitation.

I am Loki, King of Asgard, and her power is mine to wield.

It surges like a wave threatening to crush everything in its path, higher and higher until Gungnir is singing with it as if it were coming alive in Loki's hand, but he doesn't yield, doesn't allow himself to be overwhelmed until Asgard's magic stops trying to consume him and, aligning itself to the rhythm of his heartbeat, finally subsides. Now that the realm's might willingly follows his command, it is but the work of a moment to picture what he wants to achieve and, his own seiðr shaping Asgard's magic into the spell he wishes to cast, will it into being.

Thor, eyes wide, stumbles back when the power touches him, but the spell has already taken hold, and Loki can see its faint greenish-golden threads engulf his brother in a shimmering cocoon of magic that sinks into Thor's skin when Loki implements the geas with a snap of his fingers.

Thor's face turns ashen. For a moment, he seems about to faint on the spot, and although he thankfully doesn't, he keeps staring at Loki with the glazed look of a man who has just seen a ghost. Loki has no idea what has him so spooked – Thor has no way of knowing what kind of spell Loki just placed on him, and someone with as little magical awareness as his brother can't possibly have felt the true amount of power behind it.

It takes a long time for Thor to find his voice again, and when he finally does, it comes out rough and unsteady. "What... what did you do to me?"

"Call it a precaution." Loki's even tone seems to go a long way towards pulling Thor out of whatever fit has befallen him. "We have to assume that the timeline is muddled enough as it is without you bringing in information from another reality, so you will have to keep your mouth firmly shut."

Thor frowns. "But people will ask how I'm suddenly back among the living, won't they? What am I supposed to tell them, if not the truth? You know I'm not a very good liar."

Loki smiles without humor. "You're Odin's son, I'm sure you'll manage."

I love you, my sons...

Pushing back against the unbidden image that rises from the murky depths of another lifetime's memories, Loki keeps his demeanor businesslike. "If people ask, you will tell them that you don't remember anything that happened between your death and your return to Asgard."

Thor's frown deepens. "But I do remember."

Loki can't quite prevent his smile from widening into a smirk. "Have you tried speaking of it?"

He knows he shouldn't enjoy this, shouldn't derive quite as much satisfaction from the spectacle of Thor's futile struggles against the spell he is only now becoming aware of – Asgard's king is supposed to be above such pettiness, but he is Loki, and he's done living up to expectations if it doesn't suit him.

It takes a while until Thor admits defeat and turns to glaring daggers at Loki instead. "You put a geas on me?"

"It's rather more complex than that." Loki does his best not to sound too gleeful. "You may thank your father for the idea, Odinson – just as he tied Mjölnir to his will, I've now tied the leash on your tongue to mine."

It truly is an ingenious concept, far more open and flexible than an ordinary geas could ever be, and Loki doubts he'd ever have thought of employing the king's command of Asgard's magic in such a devious way if it hadn't been for the late Allfather's shining example.

What was it Hela said to him, back when they first met? I imagine you of all people would appreciate that the throne you're sitting on belonged to the greatest liar of all.

Make your father proud, my king. Even the Allmother's prophetic gift probably hadn't been enough to warn her just how well her cuckoo child would live up to his never-father's legacy.

Mentally pulling away from that particular brink, Loki continues before Thor can get a word in. "There's no more danger of you blabbing anything you shouldn't – the spell is permanent unless I decide to lift it, and it will prevent you from speaking of anything I do not want you to reveal, whether I'm present or not."

Thor's jaw drops. "You're muzzling me?"

Loki's only reaction to his brother's tone of outraged indignation is a raised eyebrow. He isn't going to grace Thor with a reminder of the rules of fair play and turnabout, and to Thor's credit, he seems to come to the realization on his own because he doesn't manage to hold Loki's gaze for more than a few seconds before he blushes and averts his eyes.

There was a time when Loki would have milked this moment of triumph for all it was worth, but he has more important things on his mind now; gratifying as this development may be, it is still just a means to an end. "Can you think of another way to make a diplomat out of you?"

"I – what?" For once, Thor can hardly be blamed for being baffled by the question. "What are you even talking about?"

"I did tell you that I'm in the process of forging an alliance between all Nine Realms, did I not?" Loki allows a hint of self-deprecation to slip into his tone; his plan won't work if he can't make Thor want to bring his precious mortals into the fold. "As you can probably imagine, I'm finding myself in a bit of a pickle as far as Midgard is concerned, because something tells me the mortals might prove a tad reluctant to ally themselves with King Loki's Asgard. However, I'm sure they would be willing to listen to the Mighty Thor if he came bearing his king's offer of alliance against a foe they could never hope to defeat on their own."

Especially if the Mighty Thor failed to specify which king was sending him to make the offer, Loki adds silently, but that's a discussion for another day.

Thor perks up like a dog at its master's whistle. "You're sending me to Midgard?"

"I'm planning to, yes – that is, once I've made sure they'll actually recognize you there."

Thor self-consciously runs a hand over the matted tangles of his hair. "You mean a glamour?"

With a grimace, Loki pokes him in the stomach. "No, I mean half the food and twice the exercise for a few months."

Thor's shoulders slump ever so slightly. "Fair enough. But... don't they all believe me dead too? How am I supposed to explain if you won't let me –"

"They don't know," Loki cuts him off. "Jane Foster was returned to Midgard the moment she regained consciousness after I freed her from the Aether. As far as the mortals are aware, Odin still rules in Asgard with you next in line while I disappeared without a trace after I escaped their clutches. Your mortal woman never learned of your death; she probably assumed you just lost interest when you failed to call on her again."

Thor's expression darkens. "That's low even for you, Loki."

How little things have changed, brother dearest. Loki can't help it that Thor's words still sting, but he has had a millennium of practice when it comes to covering his reaction to such incidents under a veneer of nonchalance.

"Actually, I considered it a kindness." He holds Thor's gaze until Thor is the first to lower his eyes. "In my experience, anger is far easier to bear than grief."

One would think you'd know about it, brother, considering how quickly your purported grief always turned to anger when I had the audacity to not be dead after all.

Thor bites his lower lip and doesn't reply for a long while; when he finally does, it's only to change the subject. "Your... geas – does it mean you're now in my head all the time? Are you controlling my thoughts as well as my words?"

"Your head is the last place I want to be in," Loki quips; he can only hope that the flippancy will cover his visceral reaction to the memories stirred up by Thor's question. Hooks that tore into his brain like white-hot steel claws until he was barely able to think, barely able to remember who he was, why he was even still struggling against the ropes that had him dancing like a puppet in the hands of those who were pulling his strings... "I merely tied your ability to speak to my will. I can't read your thoughts, nor would I ever wish to – you can think whatever you like, you just won't be able to reveal anything I want you to keep to yourself. While I'm alive, that is."

There was a moment when he considered adding a failsafe that would, unlike Odin's spell on Mjölnir, make sure the geas outlasts his death, but he discarded the idea because it ultimately seemed pointless. He isn't going to pass up the chance to twist this particular knife a little, though. "I suppose that should console you – you'll never have to wonder again whether I'm actually dead or not, because you'll know for certain as soon as you're able to spill your entire knowledge to everyone."

Thor looks away; when he finally meets Loki's eyes once more, his expression is troubled. "You'll never trust me entirely again, will you?"

Loki shrugs. "No, and neither will you."

He doesn't understand why Thor seems so upset by his reply; he has known for a long time that it's entirely possible to love someone without fully trusting them, and he doubts he is even capable of the kind of unquestioning, all-encompassing trust Thor has always claimed to believe in even though it never included his allegedly beloved little brother. I trust you, you betray me. Round and round in circles we go –

The past is the past, but a fresh start doesn't erase everything that came before – both he and Thor remain the sum of their experiences and memories (in Loki's case, two sets of memories), and no amount of reconciliation or fence-mending is ever going to change the fact that Loki might decide to forgive, but he isn't ever going to forget.

He's well aware that for all his protestations, the same is true for Thor, but Loki finds that it doesn't bother him in the slightest. Thor has always defined "betrayal" as a failure to acquiesce to his wishes, but that is solely a king's prerogative, and Thor has been adamant in his refusal of the throne and will now have to live with the consequences.

And yet... there's nobody but Loki for Thor to confide in when it comes to the horrors he has lived through, and while it was neither spite nor pure selfishness that caused Loki to put that particular geas on his brother, he can still appreciate the side effect of finally getting to share his own worries with someone who truly understands what they're about to face. With that in mind, Loki loosens the fetters curbing Thor's tongue a little – the geas was never meant to keep Thor from revealing his knowledge to him, after all.

"Just to clarify – you're free to talk of whatever you please when we're alone and can't be overheard." Loki shakes his head at Thor's surprised expression. "You needn't look so shocked; I fully intend to make use of your experience when it comes to fighting the Titan since I apparently missed most of it, and I will have a lot of questions for you in the near future. For now, though, I suggest we keep moving; the sun is about to rise, and it's a bit of a hassle to keep us both hidden from sight in broad daylight."

Loki sends Gungnir back to his pocket dimension and starts walking again; Thor obediently falls into step next to him, but he keeps looking at him sideways as they make their way towards the end of the bridge. Loki ignores the furtive glances for a while, but eventually they get on his nerves.

"If there's something you want to say to me, I suggest you say it."

Thor, slightly taken aback, shakes his head. "It's nothing, I just... you're different than I remember you."

Loki keeps his eyes forward. "I should hope so."

See, Loki, life is about growth. It's about change. But you seem to just want to stay the same...

He doesn't point out that between the two of them, it's Thor who's barely recognizable any more; he can't help wondering whether he has really changed at all or if his brother is only now realizing just how much Loki doesn't fit the image Thor had of him.

As if sensing that he's treading on dangerous ground, Thor changes tack. "Can I ask... I know it's possible to cross over between timelines, but how did you manage to find me?"

Deciding that Thor doesn't need to know yet about the Aether in his possession, Loki sidesteps the question. "The most common theory is that you need some kind of focus; ideally, it would be the version of you that exists in the other timeline –"

"But you were dead there," Thor blurts out before Loki can continue. "I was probably the only one still alive who really knew you – the mortals remembered the would-be conqueror of Midgard, and the few surviving citizens of Asgard had known you as their prince, but you... the only place where you still existed was my memory."

Loki isn't sure what to do with this statement, so he gives it a wide berth. "Then there's your answer, isn't it?" He manages a small smile at Thor's stunned expression. "I told you before that there's only one me."

"But why isn't the same true for me?" Norns help them, Thor now appears determined to try and think, and to Loki's utter lack of surprise it's not going well. "You say you remember everything that happened to you, but all I've been getting since I came here are... echoes, maybe – blurry images, sounds, colors, but nothing that makes real sense."

Loki shrugs. "Well, if you're correct about the moment when the timelines split, you were dead for most of this one" – you weren't torn in two different directions, getting stronger in one reality while gradually fading away in the other – "and besides, you've always possessed the magical sensitivity of a squashed cockroach."

He isn't willing to share the information that he was getting flashes of that other place long before he actually managed to cross over; it might lead to questions he would rather not answer at this point even if he could. The Aether lets out a growl reminiscent of the sound of distant thunder as if it were protesting the omission of its contribution, but Loki still isn't convinced that it was merely the Reality Stone in his possession that was responsible for the reverberations of a different life bleeding through the veil that separated them. Didn't Hela tell him that she felt it too, even if he hadn't understood her at the time? Or... would it be hubris to assume that he could have been the linchpin, the focus for the power of an Infinity Stone that allowed it to divert the course of an entire universe through him?

Then again, who better than the God of Chaos to shatter reality itself and rearrange the shards into a different pattern?

Thor makes a face. "Are you mocking me?"

"Always," Loki replies lightly, "but that doesn't mean I'm not speaking truth."

However, it turns out that his brother is no longer listening. They have reached the end of the bridge, and Thor stops dead as the first rays of the rising sun touch the golden spires of the palace in the distance.

"The sun will shine on us again." Thor's voice is little more than a shaky whisper; he doesn't even seem to notice the tears in his eyes. "You kept your promise, brother."

Loki's insides turn cold. "It... appears that way."

He has been trying to stay clear of those memories ever since he first felt them surface deep in the darkest recesses of his consciousness, but now Thor's words have pierced right through his defenses, and it all crashes down on him at once – the fear, the hopelessness, the leaden weight of bone-weary exhaustion that had settled over him when Thanos' ship had appeared on the screen. He knew there could only ever be one outcome to this encounter, and he just wanted it to be over, to be finally done – but then he saw Thor in Thanos' grip and understood with terrifying clarity that only one of them was going to die that day. The realization cut through the comforting numbness like a white-hot blade through living flesh and left him more alert, more alive than he had felt in years, all his senses focused on one single, final goal: to make sure that Thanos would choose him over his brother.

He remembers the shrill wailing of the Tesseract as he pulled it out of his dimensional pocket, tempting him to use its power, to disappear with it to the most remote corner of the universe where Thanos would never be able to reach either of them, but he knew it would mean Thor's death if he gave in. The poisonous glow of the Power Stone in Thanos' gauntlet seemed to mock his inability to use the source of immense power in his own hand; no matter how willingly the Tesseract had always followed his command, he still couldn't use it to defeat the one enemy who mattered because the Gems could never be turned against each other. Thanos had won, and he would make good on his promise of a punishment far worse than pain by forcing Loki to watch Thor die a slow, agonizing death.

Had there really ever been a choice? Loki had understood, from the first time he had faced Thanos during his time on Sanctuary, that what the Titan truly reveled in was neither balance nor mere destruction, but suffering – that in order for Thanos to fully savor a victory, someone always had to be left to mourn, to keep feeling the pain the Titan and his children had inflicted. No, Thanos wasn't going to kill Loki for a long, long time – unless Loki forced his hand because the one hope he had left was that Thanos wouldn't kill both brothers.

"Is that not what you meant?" Thor sounds like a bewildered child asking for reassurance, but Loki can only shake his head, too preoccupied with the turmoil in his own mind.

"I'm... not altogether sure what I meant at the time."

It's a bald-faced lie because he remembers with gut-wrenching clarity, but it's a truth he isn't ever going to share with Thor – he can be ruthless when he needs to be and vengeful when he has been wronged, but he has never had a taste for pointless cruelty, and it would be beyond cruel to tell Thor now why Loki chose those to be his last words to him.

You really are the worst brother.

Oh, how well he remembers Thor's scathing verdict – it cut through the Tesseract's shrieks in Loki's mind as he relinquished it to Thanos in order to save his brother's life, and then cut deeper still, right through the armor of resigned determination, to spark a last flash of vindictive spite.

He knows exactly why he made that ludicrous promise with the sound of Thor's final condemnation still ringing in his ears – I will die for you, brother, and it will be a gruesome and painful death, but my suffering will only last moments while I will see to it that yours lasts a lifetime.

No, there was no hope of Thor appreciating or even recognizing Loki's sacrifice, and it only seemed fitting that Loki would die like he had lived, chasing after the futile hope that he might finally be good enough for someone, for Odin, for Thor, for Asgard – yet it would also be his only lasting victory over his brother, for with his final words to Thor, he would make sure Thor never found peace again. He, too, would now be clinging to futile hope for the rest of his life, would feel it eating away at the core of his soul just like Loki had for as long as he could remember.

Loki casts a sidelong glance at the wreck of a man beside him and takes no comfort from the fact that his ploy succeeded. Like most of his triumphs, this one, too, feels hollow; perhaps he had been closer to the truth than he'd known at the time when he had told Thor that satisfaction wasn't in his nature.

And yet... what if it was that poisoned gift which anchored Loki's presence so firmly in Thor's memory that it became a beacon to guide him across time and reality towards his lost brother? Has that cruel promise, made out of hurt and bitterness for no other purpose than to hurt right back, turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Loki almost wants to laugh when he's forced to ask himself whether this is the Norns making sport of him or the other way around, because –

There is no better lie than one that becomes truth in the telling.

What were you the god of again?

Thor's hesitant voice pulls Loki out of his musings and forces him to focus on the present again. "Do you think that maybe you said it because you already knew? I mean, that you knew you had escaped – or would escape to a different timeline?"

"That kind of thinking will only serve to drive you mad," Loki warns him. "I won't lecture you on spatio-temporal paradoxes because you wouldn't understand a word I'm saying, but I'll remind you again that no sane sorcerer would ever be arrogant enough to deliberately interfere with time itself."

Thor gives him a shrewd look. "Tony Stark did."

Loki raises an eyebrow at him. "Your point?"

Thor actually grins at that, although he quickly sobers again. "Do you think – is there even a way to tell how much damage we might have done? I mean... I shouldn't really be here, should I? You said you don't care about the Norns, but didn't you just tell me there's an order to the universe that must not be tampered with?"

"I actually said no such thing," Loki corrects him with a hint of exasperation. "What I was trying to tell you is that it's beyond risky to tamper with universal forces because there's no way to control the outcome, so the results are always going to be completely unpredictable."

Thor seems perplexed. "But isn't that the same thing? If you –"

"Thor," Loki cuts him off because this is getting them nowhere, "I seem to recall you once telling me most sanctimoniously that I could be more than the God of Mischief."

"...yes?" Judging by Thor's cautious expression, he's well aware that Loki didn't bring up this particular conversation out of nostalgia. "So?"

Choosing his words with great care, Loki begins, "Why are you known as the God of Thunder? Thunder is merely an echo, a background noise; the real sources of your power, and therefore your actual domain, are the lightning and the storm, are they not?"

Thor's eyes take on a faraway cast. "Someone once reminded me that I'm not the God of Hammers."

"That is... pretty much my point, yes." Loki doesn't even want to ponder who someone might have been, so he continues. "People have always had a tendency to downplay our true nature for everyday use, to mask elemental forces with more palpable titles in order not to be constantly reminded of the damage we might cause if we ever unleashed the fullness of our powers. Mischief and lies, those are fairly harmless concepts, are they not? Lies are frowned upon, but mostly trivial, and mischief is more of a nuisance than a threat. Now tell me, Thor: what is my actual domain?"

The look of dawning comprehension on Thor's face proves that he truly had forgotten the answer and is only now remembering it. "You're the God of Chaos."

Loki nods with a smile that has a dangerous edge to it. "So you'd better believe that I know what I'm talking about when I tell you that there is no order in the universe, that all existence is change, turmoil and uncertainty – with one single exception, which happens to be the domain of your other sibling."

Thor has gone back to chewing his lower lip as if he were working up the courage to ask the question that's on his mind. "So... are we still that, you and I? Siblings?"

When we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you.

Loki carefully clears his face of all expression. "You tell me."

Thor hesitates briefly, but then presses on. "You called yourself Odinson, right at... the end."

Loki closes his eyes for a moment and tries to push past the dread that fills him as the memory rises to the surface. He doesn't want to remember any of this, doesn't want to relive even a single second, and yet he recalls every last detail, the stink of blood and smoke, the garish colors of the flickering lights, the moans of the wounded and the sound of voices that used to fill his nightmares – and how he couldn't give in to the terror he felt snapping at his heels, could not even pay attention to the carnage surrounding him because he had to focus on his single remaining objective: to trick Thanos into killing him instead of Thor.

He knew that his only chance was a direct challenge, a brazen, pointless attack against Thanos himself right there in front of his henchmen that would demand instant, brutal retaliation – but in order to get close enough for that, he needed a gambit that was both bold and crazy enough to pique the Titan's curiosity the same way a cat might pause at the sight of a mouse sauntering up to it.

He remembers that last walk, step by agonizing step, reciting titles that no longer held any meaning as if he were leaving them behind like a snake shedding its skin –

I, Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, rightful king of Jotunheim, God of Mischief, do hereby pledge my undying fidelity...

A binding magical oath cannot be sworn under a false name. Thanos didn't know that, but it seems that neither does Thor, and once again, Loki decides to spare him the cruelty of the truth.

Ever since the moment he saw the Allfather fall, he has slowly been learning how to let go of those parts of the past that kept dragging him down like chains around his limbs, but now it occurs to him for the first time that he also gets to choose what to hold on to.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Loki faces Thor and states with enough emphasis to get even through Thor's thick skull, "That, brother, is not going to happen again."

Thor keeps his eyes on the outline of the palace and doesn't reply, giving Loki no indication whether he understood what Loki was trying to tell him. Loki keeps quiet too; he has said his piece, and it will be up to Thor to decide what he wants to do with it.

The sun has fully risen over the city by now; the gleaming spires of the palace are shining in the golden light of early morning as if Loki had never seen them shrouded in fire and smoke, and the image leaves him with a sudden, fierce resolve that almost surprises him by its intensity.

He still isn't entirely certain whether Asgard can truly be considered his home, but there is no more doubt in his mind that she is his – his to rule, but also his to protect and defend, and he'll be damned if he lets either Thor or Thanos take her from him. At some point during the last few months, he has finally let himself acknowledge the possibility that they might actually win the war that is looming on the horizon, but as he watches the Golden Realm gleam in the sunlight like a shining jewel, he is struck by the realization that he wants her to survive the battle ahead of them – not just for his own sake, but for the sake of the future he could build for her, and for the first time, he finds himself convinced that they are going to win, that not even Thanos will prevail against them now that Loki of Asgard knows what he is fighting for.

He is so deep in thought that Thor's voice startles him when his brother speaks up again. "I still can't wrap my mind around the idea that... that this is real, that I'm here and you are too even though we both died, that the past is now the future and – I'm not making sense, am I?"

Loki spreads his arms in a gesture that encompasses not just the two of them, but the entirety of the vista before them. "I thought we had already established that we've arrived at a point where nothing makes sense anymore."

Thor's smile is a pale shadow of the grin Loki remembers, but it still lights up his careworn features as he points out, "It's fitting that you should rule here, then."

"I suppose it is," Loki deadpans and, to his own surprise, realizes that he means it.

.

.

.

FIN

A/N: This was the ending I had in mind when I started outlining this story almost two years and +100.000 words ago (believing I was going to write a one-shot... *facepalm*), although it grew an epilogue pretty early during the actual writing process. Apologies to those who would have liked to see everything resolved, but would a neatly wrapped-up, defined ending really suit the God of Chaos?

I was never going to write the epic war against Thanos that some readers might have expected (sorry!) because A: I don't particularly care for action sequences and absolutely suck at writing them (the fight against the Dark Elves in chapter 2 constitutes about 50% of all battle scenes in the +800.000 words of fanfic I've posted so far) and B: I'm sick and tired of Thanos. IMO, Movie!Thanos is a terrible villain – nothing about him, from his motivation to his actions, makes sense or is in any way compelling. Many early fanfic takes on his character were fantastic, but his actual MCU incarnation was such a letdown for me that it left me with zero interest in writing him in an active role.

Therefore, this fic will conclude with the next, epilogue-style chapter in which Frigga will finally get her say, and I'll save the rest of my ramblings for the end of that chapter. I might not be quite as done with this storyline as I expected to be at this point, but... more on that next time ;-)