Notes: Sentiment
Enjoy.
(I took another bit from the film to add to this chapter. I don't think there will be more things taken directly from the film after this).

"We are fucked!" Loki said, popping out of nowhere inside Brunnhilde's room. She jumped up, startled.

"What the fuck!"

"Sorry for coming in unnanounced, but we are fucked. And how come Thor was presented to the Granmaster!? Why didn't you hide him!? We are so, so fucked up! If Thor goes up against Banner, they might kill each other. And I cannot let that happen. Both of them would be better alive. Maybe we could even take Banner with us now. He would want to come with Thor. They are friends. And friends help friends, don't they? Brun! We need to put the plan into motion. Now!"

"Woah, woah! Calm down, Lackey! I am sorry about your brother, but I just didn't realise on time that I forgot to turn off the location of my ship so they were already expecting me to come back with the catch. I couldn't hide him on time and... Put the plan in motion today? That's going to be a bit-"

"Yes, today!" Loki snarled. "We need to go before the Grandmaster has time to talk with Thor at all. It's going to get messy. And it's going to be bad. And Asgard is without protection of its mightiest warrior at the moment against Hela." Then, Loki stopped talking and looked at the valkyrie. "You know about Hela..."

"I would rather not-"

"Whatever information might help us. You don't need to come and fight against her, but you can still help us! I will keep your existence a secret."

Before she could answer, Loki's com-device chimed. The Grandmaster was summoning him. He looked up at her, worry painting his already distressed features.

"Is it that bad?"

"Thor and Greeny are going to fight in a couple of hours. He wants me there, in his private settling."

"Ah... That's going to be a bit of an inconvenience for our plan."

Loki just left, without saying another word. And she muttered a curse. Then she went out. Maybe there were other things they could do instead of using The Hulk and both princes –sorry, the prince and the king of Asgard– would be in their merry way after the match. If Thor survived, of course.

She was a bit dumbfounded, as she had failed to find Loki before he encountered his brother in the chair and after that she just thought about going back to her room and rest. After all, it seemed like things had worked well between the two, right? And the Grandmaster hadn't melted Thor upon meeting him.

00000

Loki was tense, and far away, and focused on the arena. And he couldn't possibly be thinking about setting his beloved arena ablaze just because Loki was focused on it so intensely. Starla and Strella were teasing him, trying to get his attention. And it was working. They made him giggle. The time had come and so he got up and presented Sparkles, well, Lord of Thunder, as the new contestant against the champion. And, oh, wasn't this delightful? Basking in the love of his people. They were all here to enjoy and he laughs with them, all worry gone from his mind.

The little Lord was standing in position, ready for whatever was going to be thrown at him and when he callend in his champion, he yelled a happy "YESSS" that echoed through the arena, even when the attendees where there cheering, too. He sat down, briefly confused and looked at Loki, who was huffing as if he had been waiting for this. En Dwi was about to ask him if and how his brother knew his champion when the cheer from the arena came again in full blast.

Looking back at the match, he saw his championg grabbing the Lord by the legs and swinging him around like a rag doll before stamping him on the ground, to his own glee and the happiness of the masses. So enjoyable, seeing all that bravado and that was all that he amounted to. Funny, indeed.

"YES! THAT'S HOW IT FEELS!" Loki's yell startled him. With a gasp, hand on his chest as if to prevent it from surging forward and out, he looked at the man: he had srpung up and was sporting a vicious grin on his face, revenge shining in his pretty eyes, hands fisted. He looked overly excited by the turn of events, given that the man being thrown around was his own –adopted– brother. And wasn't that look of pettiness very becoming of this little thing that had been toying around ever since he found him almost dying while trying to steal from him?

Then, Loki seemed to become aware fo where he was and composed himself –endearing, really–. When he sat back down on the couch, his body was relaxed and an easy smile was perched on his pretty, pretty lips. Oh, how wonderful would it be to make use of them. But, alas, he had other matters to attend to, like how his champion was still his champion. Busy life, that of his, ruling over his planet.

He also had a meeting later on –maybe tomorrow... Had it been last week?–, about sending a few guards to the cannibalistic tribe that had made a settlement on one of the dumpsters. It had caused him to lose three scrappers this month. Three! The outrage! Scrappers didn't come by that easily, and having good ones was even more difficult.

A shift at the other side of the couch caught his attention. His eyes focused briefly on Loki, who had changed positions, looking focused on the match with a semi-worried expresion. En Dwi looked too and saw something he didn't quite like either. Sparkles was winning against his champion and that was a no-no. He suddenly had severa ideas on how to exploit such a fighter in the future. If Sparkles was able to fight one on one against his champion then they could do mock battles with armies! Oh! Oh! He was having so many ideas. He couldn't let Sparkles win now, that would mean losing Sparkles as he had promised him freedom. But how? He would never break a rule he had made unless that rule had become obsolete and was more of a nuisance than a real rule to help the game.

He saw his encouragin stick. There were lots of people who had said that it was a punishment stick but that wasn't true. This stick's only purpose was to encourage his people to behave while having the disks on their necks. Ah! That was it! He would use the encouraging stick to encourage Sparkles into becoming a better fighter for the arena. Yes, he would do that. Without much more ado, he grabbed it and pushed one button. Sparkles fell to the floor.

Loki, at his left, gasped. His face had become a mixture of horror and interest, spiced with a bit of morbid fascination as well as worry. What a funny thing. En Dwi was seeing so many new facets of Loki's ever since Sparkles had arrived. Before, there had always been a sense of urgency, as if he was fighting to flee, as well as if he was trying to addapt to Sakaar. But now? It seems as if he is a bit more relaxed. As if he had enough time.

En Dwi frowned. He didn't like it, for some reason.

00000

Thor woke up inside a small cell. It was grey, had a cot –in which he was laying–, a small window up in the wall, and a sink. His wounds had been dressed, well... Not wounds per se, but he had been changed into clean clothes and he had a few bandages. Grunting, he got up and assessed his surroundings. There was a door. He tried it and discovered it wasn't locked. When he got outside he found himself in a busy hallway.

"Lord of Thunder!" he was greeted. Thor tried to correct them at first, but ended up rolling with the nickname. Most of the other people there were also fighters. They have survived long which had given them a status of sorts. He was shown around, the tour finishing at the canteen where the meal of the day was being served. A couple of screens popped out of nowhere and the same voice that had told the tale of the Grandmaster called for attention.

"This new video will show our valued fighters how to train against creatures," the voice was saying as the video showed several people pulling thick ropes attached to a-

"Bilgesnipe!" Thor almost yelled.

"You know that kind of monster?"

"Ah, yes. I've felled a few through my life, friend," Thor answered, not looking away from the screen where the people had freed the foul creature. It was one of the biggest he had seen to date, and it looked rabid, most surely having poison on it's teeth. Then, a lone figure charged against it as the incorporeal voice was describing how to not die in vain while training, because that would be such a loss for all parties involved, over all the Grandmaster, who would be losing a fighter. But Thor wasn't paying attention anymore, he was focused on- "Loki," he whispered. He would recognise his brother's way of fighting anywhere.

As the video showed the progress of the fight, Thor grew tense. It was obvious the video had been shortened, but it had shown him enough to see that Loki had been fighting recklessly. He could have been mauled several times already. However, his brother's face looked exhilarated, crazed even, almost as if he had been freed his inner berserk. Which, taking into account his real ancestry wouldn't make any sense but still...

"Now, dear fighters, after you train, it is advisable to take a shower to clean yourself. And never forget to clean your weapons," the voice said, video showing briefly his brother inside the shower. For modesty, Thor surmised, the video only showed Loki's upper body.

Thor's jaw was clenched, hands fisted. He could see clearly as day Loki's scars. He could also see a pair of scars that weren't supposed to be there because Loki had tricked him. It had all been a trick, so those scars had no business marring the skin on his brother's chest and back. He had not been impaled, after all.

"You weren't dead!" he grunted.

"Lord Sparkles?" a soft, feminine voice called him. He turned around, ready to hit or smash, having been taken out from his thoughts in such a violent way. There were twin women looking at him with smiles. One was carrying a tray in which a letter sat, waiting for him to pick it up. The other carried a tray with a control. Thor frowned at the offered objets before looking up again at the women.

"Yes?"

"The Grandmaster has tasked us with sending you these. We also are to guide you to your new accommodations," they said at the exact same time, sounding like only one person. They stretched their arms so Thor would take the two things. Thor did. "Read, please," they said. So he did.

In the letter, he was congratulated, as he had been 'ascended' into a new category of fighter: General. He would be able to command his own army in glorious battle against The Champion's army. For now he was invited to change into better quarters. The control was to get rid of his disk. He used it as soon as he read the instructions, not doubting even for a second what was told in the letter. The disk fell off his neck onto one of the trays.

"Lead the way," he said, looking at the twins. They bowed and walked away, not looking back to see if he was following.

00000

"Loki!"

Loki stiffened, but didn't stop. How in Hel had Thor came into this part of the tower without being stopped by anyone? Maybe he had become a favourite of the Grandmaster. Come what may, Loki was in no mood to entertain his oaf of a brother. Not now. He had still to gather his thoughts and feelings and accommodate his plan B, and change plan C and D entirely. Of course, plan G was staying as is, but plan F would also need a few retouching. Needless to say, plan A would need to be discarded now. But for that he had to go see the Valkyrie. Which wouldn't happen if his brother caught up to him. So he ran. And Thor ran. And he feinted. And Thor feinted too. And he tried to dodge but Thor rammed into him, throwing both of them to the floor.

Not happy with that, he grabbed Loki and pulled him into the first empty room he found –which was basically the first room Thor looked into, how lucky–, and slammed him onto the wall.

"What! What!? You better not be trying to say that any of this is of my-" But his rant was cut shot when Thor teared the soft linnen clothes he had been wearing instead of his leather armour. His brother tore it down, leaving it hanging at his waist, where it had been secured by a silken sash, and his arms, chest and back exposed. "Are you daft? What's gotten into you? Did you drink or eat any-"

"Shut up!" Thor growled, eyes thunderous, voice strange. Loki didn't understand. Couldn't. Something had happened to Thor, who was now forcefully turning him around, hands touching his exposed back.

"Are you drugged?" Loki asked, bewildered.

"No," Thor's dry answer sent shivers to his spine. That, and his calloused fingers. He was tracing something, rubbing again and again the skin on his back. Then, his other hand fell to Loki's flank, searching until it found whatever Thor was curious about.

"If you aren't drugged, and you know I am not responsible of this, what in Bör's bollocks are you doing, you daft-"

"Is this where she hit you?" Thor cut him off, voice sounding strangely calm.

Loki sighed. Whatever was going on inside his idiot of a brother's head was incomprehensible at the moment, so maybe he would play along.

"Yes. And stop doing that! It haven't healed completely yet," he spat, only half bite in his words. Resting his forehead on the wall, he let his brother rub against his back, but slapped away the hand on his flank. "Death touch, you know? It will take time," he added after half a beat.

"I know..." Thor said, remorse painting his words. That caught Loki off ward. Then, he was swung again and Thor gripped his shoulders, maybe a bit more forcefully than needed, in Loki's opinion. Loki examined his brother's face. He was frowning, eyes narrowing as they focused on his chest. Again, his brother started rubbing his skin, this time on his chest. "It won't fade away."

"What won't," he asked, growing shorter on patience. Loki was this close to headbutting Thor.

"This... thing... that you have on your chest and your back. It shouldn't be there."

Loki's eyebrows shot up in his forehead. Then he barked a laugh.

"Scars, brother, scars. I gather you are more than acquaintaced with them, are you not? After all, you have gotten-"

"But not these!" Thor hissed, rage veiled by something else that Loki wasn't able to decypher. Loki narrowed his eyes.

"Why not?"

"It was supposed to be just a trick. Just another trick..." Thor's voice trembled. His whole body started shaking. His grip on Loki's shoulder bordering on painful. "You... You weren't... dead..." Thor broke down, crying, head bowed. "You weren't dead, so why do you have these scars? You shouldn't have been dead. Because... It was just a trick..."

Loki fought the sting on his eyes. He would not cry. But he would talk. His hand shot up and gripped Thor's wrist.

"Oh, but I got stabbed. I got impaled. And it hurt! And you left me, there, alone. I thought I was dying for real. My lungs wouldn't work and I couldn't move and you never came back to take my body back home, to give me a proper funeral! You are so selfish, Thor. So, so selfish!" he hissed back. It had hurt so, so much when he realised his brother wouldn't come back. And then, the cold. He couldn't move, his body was so cold. His heart had long stopped but he was still alive. How? He daren't know. "I laid there for hours, bleeding, suffering. I was scared. I hadn't been so scared ever since-" better not to go there "-and you weren't there. You, you what, saved your lady friend? And then you saved everyone else. But not me. Never me. I would go to titanic extends to protect and save you but you never return the favour. Because you take that for granted, right?"

He let out a dry laugh, but it wetted with the emotion of his sadness and betrayal. Thor's head shot up and looked at him, eyes red, mouth quivering, but stare firm, his hands gripped Loki with such strength he knew he would bruise.

"But you were back on Asgard. You had enough time to go back to Asgard and charm our father and impersonate him."

"Oh, that? Well... Remember, you left me for dead in a different place with a slightly different time zone," he retorted.

He didn't add the "and you never came back". He was starting to feel too vulnerable to keep on talking. That was dangerous. More so because of where they were, and how. It didn't matter that Thor was new, that Loki was a favourite, that they were brothers. The fact was that they were alone, in a secluded place. Loki was half naked and he was being touched. And he was a code green guest. That could warrant Thor's death by Melt Stick.

"And I never came back," Thor whispered, forehead coming to rest on Loki's. And Loki allowed it. He was so tired of fighting against everything. "I'm sorry, Loki... I'm sorry..." Thor's hand was back again at rubbing at his scar.

"Stop doing that, you are irritanting the skin," Loki commanded, albeit in a softer tone. Thor did as told, releasing his brother's shoulders but instead taking his head between his hands. With infinite delicacy, Thor planted a soft kiss on Loki's cheek.

"You never got to mourn mother."

"I did get revenge."

"But you weren't allowed to attend to her-"

"I know."

"... Loki..."

"Stop this... sentiment. This is not the time nor the place."

Thor seemed to square himself, but he didn't let go of his face. Instead, he slid one hand to his neck, caresing Loki's jaw with his thumb, as he had always done. And Loki would not aknowledge that the hotness on his cheeks came from his own tears, nor that his own mouth was quivering too.

"I love you, Loki," Thor said looking at him in the eye and Loki couldn't help but think that he was saying the truth. "You may do things I cannot forgive, but I will never cease to love you."

"So you say. Just you wait until I go back to Midgard and eviscerate your wench." Loki's words had no real strength, but both men laughed at his jab. And then, the laughted became sobs again. Thor pulled Loki into an embrace and Loki grabbed at his brother's clothes, feeling once again like a lost boy finding his family at the edge of the forest. They slid to the floor.

"I wish we could go back," Thor whispered.

"I doubt we will."

"I still want to strangle you, you know? For what you did to father."

Loki chuckled.

"Just try it..."

Just like that, they reconciled. Though both Loki and Thor knew they would be throwing fists in the future.

"So... About contacting Heimdall?"

"It will take a bit of time and effort and... Oh."

"What?"

"You... You are like a battery!" Loki pulled away to look at his brother in the eye. Thor was cofused, as always. Loki rolled his eyes. "Your seidr, Thor. Your elemental seidr. It's powerful. I could use you as a battery. That would consume less of my own seidr and maybe I would be able to contact Heimdall more easily."

Thor seemed to think about it, though Loki suspected he wasn't really thinking. Thor wasn't one to think. He was to develop a plan and go for it taking into account possible outcomes for his actions nor any seat back that could occur.

"All right, what do we do?"

More notes: Ah... That last scene is a bit lacking... Well, next one will be funnier. Just imagine The Grandmaster's face when he enters this inconspicuous room and finds his favourite half naked, with another man between his legs (not quite but still) and they are acting very, very, veeeerrryyyy, lovey dovey (lmao, unreliable narrator who) and kissey and stuff?

:D

I think this chapter is a bit longer, but was too... watery? Hah