Loki was wearing that skimpy pair of shorts again. He was bending over as he pulled weeds from the flower bed. It was Sunday, and tomorrow they would both attempt to once more return to work and school. This entire week had been difficult and strange. On top of grieving, Thor was also feeling his long-controlled lust for his little brother rising to the surface with more ferocity and frequency than ever before. He'd been grateful of the excuse to need to clear out his old apartment to escape his little brother, and that made him feel guilty too. His friends came over to help him pack up his bed and his couch, which he bequeathed to Sif. His jeep was stuffed full of boxes of clothing and knick-knacks. He still had possession of the apartment for another two weeks. And though it did not have a stick of furniture in it anymore, Thor felt like running there to hide from his problems.

"I don't know who decided that dandelions are a weed that need to be eradicated. I'm rather fond of dandelions," Loki said.

"They're beautiful things that pop up where they aren't wanted," Thor said.

"Like an erection," Loki grinned as he sniffed the yellow flower. Like you. Thor thought. He swallowed hard.

"I wish I didn't have to go to school tomorrow," he said.

"You need to. You have finals coming up and you need to prepare. You've missed too much already. I need to get back to work. My boss will find a permanent replacement for me if I don't."

"So? You have money. You could quit working altogether for the next decade if you play it right."

"Loki, be serious."

"I am serious. This house is paid off. You only had to shell out, what? $30,000? If you pay off your jeep and the rest of your student loans, you'll still have a little under $200,000. Without any bills, you can make that last a really long time."

"And then what? Re-enter the work force with zero work history and all my training a foggy distant memory? No Loki. It is tempting, especially now to lay back and be lazy but it would catch up to me when I am old and out of money and at my most vulnerable."

"I was rethinking what you said. About becoming a welder," Loki said.

"Really?"

"It's not a profession I'm particularly passionate about, but it has a certain mobility to it. I could buy a truck and one of those tiny houses. You know, the ones we see on the home improvement network? We could go anywhere there is work. See the country. Meet new people."

"We? What about this house?"

"We could rent it out, or sell it."

"But I thought you didn't want to sell this place?" Thor asked.

"I didn't, at first. But every day I wake up, I feel haunted by our parent's things. Their bedroom is now a tomb. Sometimes I feel like they are watching us, and instead of it giving me comfort I feel disturbed," he said. Thor's heart pounded in his chest. Loki had no idea what he was asking of him. For them to live together, in such a tight space, roaming the country together. Hopping from job to job in a new city every few weeks. They could get away from everyone that knew them and they could become lovers. No one would know they are brothers.

"Loki, those tiny houses are too small for us. They are perfect for single people or couples, but I'd rather not sleep in a bed that is also the couch/dining table/guest room," he said. Loki's heart deflated at the statement. His hopes once again dashed by Thor's rebuffing statements. He wanted to scream at him, to profess his undying and unbrotherly love for Thor. To beg him to bend him over the patio furniture and fuck him senseless. To love him in the romantic sense he wanted, so very much.

"Fine! We'll just stay here," Loki snapped and marched back inside the house. The burst of anger caught Thor off guard, but he did not linger on it. God only knew what emotions of grief and hurt were swirling inside his brother's heart. And he had his own to contend with.

XxXxXxXxXx

Loki's second attempt to return to school went much smoother. The mean girls at school had lost some of their coolness in the eyes of their classmates for having been so cruel to him. It served the bitches right. Loki buckled down and did a lot of reading for his civics and English classes. Finals were only a month away, and then graduation.

Thor lost himself in his work, delighting in the ache and pain from working his muscles. Melting metal pieces together into exacting shapes and sizes required a great deal of his concentration. It felt like meditation, for the first time since his parent's death, his mind was empty.

Loki studied hard every day when he came home from school in his room, often falling asleep with a book or a pencil in his hand. Thor came home from work every day, exhausted and grateful that Loki had chosen to remain mostly cloistered in his bedroom. Thor cooked dinner and did dishes every night, stopping briefly to knock on Loki's door to offer him a plate of food. He didn't complain about the small mountain of dirty dishes forming on his bookshelf. It could wait until the weekend, and he needed the break from the constant presence of his beautiful little brother.

The week went by so quickly, that Thor was surprised by the robo-reminder phone call for the appointment with the grief counselor. He knocked on Loki's door.

"Yeah?" Loki asked.

"Hey, our appointment with the grief counselor is tomorrow at 3pm. I'll knock off work early and pick you up at school."

"You really think we still need one? I mean, it feels a little late now. The worst part is over."

"I don't think it is actually. I think it would be good for both of us," Thor said. Loki shrugged his shoulders. He didn't see what benefit would come of it.

XxXxXxXx

"Dr. Banner," Thor leaned in and shook the man's hand. Loki kept back, looking him with something akin to distrust.

"Right." Bruce looked over the two young men. According to CPS, they were brothers but he did not see any familial resemblance whatsoever. Stepbrothers, perhaps? He doubted they were half-brothers given how little they shared in physical traits. "So, I think I will start with Thor. If that is alright?"

"Whatever," Loki said and sat down in the lobby and grabbed a magazine. Bruce ushered Thor into his room and shut the door.

"Alright. So really quick, just some preliminary questions. You and Loki, you're related to each other how?"

"Um, we're brothers."

"Step, half?"

"Whole," Thor said. Bruce scribbled notes on his pad where Thor could not see. He wrote the word Adopted, underlining it and with a question mark. If one of them was adopted, the question would be, which one?

"Your parents both died in a car crash yes?"

"Yes."

"Were either of you with them? Did you witness it?"

"We weren't there at the time, but Loki was the one to identify the bodies."

"Ok." Bruce said, scribbling more notes. "Right. So, tell me how you are doing."

"Oh, um. Fine, I guess. Well, not fine. I mean, as good as can be expected," Thor began. Unsure of what to say.

"Tell me how your life has changed," he said.

"I was living on my own in my own apartment before, but I've had to move back home to take care of Loki."

"Are you sleeping in your old bed?"

"No, actually. My old room was converted into an office. It was small and I'm so tall now, so I've had to sleep in my parent's room."

"How does that make you feel?"

"Depressed. Loki and I both slept in that bed together during that first week. The room smelled like our mother. But everyday I'm there, I'm slowly replacing her smell with mine. I hate it. It's their room. The closet is full of my father's things. I don't have the heart to throw all of it away."

"Do you plan on moving out? Selling the house?"

"I don't know. I want to. Loki said that he wants to."

"So, what's stopping you?"

"I don't really believe that is what Loki wants, and I don't want a stranger moving in. It's our home. I want to be able to visit whenever I want."

"Visit? But not live there?"

"I…I don't know," Thor's choked. His eyes teared up and he looked off at a picture on the wall. "I love my brother," he began, "but I'm his parent now. I know he'll be 18 soon, but that isn't the point. I'm the patriarch of our little family now. I'm the eldest and while Loki has me to look up to for strength, I don't have that. I must be strong for him and there are days when I don't know if I can. I want to cry and be held by my mother and ask my father for advice," he burst into tears then. Bruce passed him a tissue box as Thor sobbed into his hands.

"It can be hard to know which burdens to share with your younger brother and which struggles to keep to yourself. How are your finances?"

"Good. Good, actually. My parents each had a life insurance policy. Money isn't a problem. Though, I am worried about what Loki will do with his portion when he gets access to it. Handing a quarter of a million dollars to an 18-year-old is a recipe for disaster."

"You don't trust your brother's judgement?"

"Hell no. He's a teenager," Thor said. Bruce smiled at that.

"Is it just because he's a teenager, or is there a deeper reason?"

"I worry, that in his grief, he'll develop bad habits. Blow all of his money on drugs, alcohol, or some other diversion to avoid the pain of our loss."

"That is a legitimate concern. Next week I'll have both of you on the couch together. Right now, I'm going to bring Loki in and listen to his concerns."

"Thank you, doctor. I feel better already."

"Crying is cathartic. Helping the two of you form a stronger bond to cope with your new lives will take time," Bruce said. Thor exited it the room and beckoned Loki to enter. Loki's frowned, his arms crossed as he entered.

"Alright Loki. Let's get started. Thor tells me you were the one to identify your parent's bodies. Is that right?" Bruce asked. Loki glared at him.

"Aren't you supposed to soften me up with a couple of softball questions first?"

"Would you like me to?" Bruce asked. Loki sneered and shook his head.

"Yes. I did."

"Are you suffering any nightmares or daytime distractions from the memory?" Bruce asked.

"I'm not having nightmares."

"But you've had disturbing images interrupt your thoughts during the day?"

"Yeah. So what? It's normal."

"It is, but that doesn't mean you have to live with them. Tell me Loki, what is the earliest memory you have of your parents."

Loki sat and pondered his memories. For a brief moment, an old dream flashed through is mind's eye. It wasn't about Odin or Frigga, but of another man and woman with black hair and green eyes. They were looking back at him from the front seats of a car. It disappeared quickly and was replaced by the memory of Thor, only five years old. With golden ringlets in his hair and chubby rosy cheeks, he remembered Thor offering him some chocolate and hugging him after a tumble.

"Loki?"

"I fell down and scrapped my knee. I was learning how to walk, I think. I cried and Thor came and hugged me. Then my mother came and picked me up."

"Thor's always been there to take care of you, hasn't he?"

"Yes. Well, no. During high school, we drifted apart. When Thor finished trade school he moved out and got a job. The last couple of years he only came around on holidays. He forgot about me."

"He was a young man, trying to establish himself in the world. I'm sure he was busy. In any case, he's back in your life again."

"But he doesn't want to be. He doesn't want to be near me."

"Is that why you took it upon yourself to identify the bodies?"

"No. I mean yes. I did it to ensure my own survival really. Thor is so sensitive and sweet, you see. I knew that whichever one of us that had to see them, all mangled up like that, that he would be ruined by it forever. I found it better to let me be messed up by it than him. I need Thor to be strong. I need him to take care of me. He can't do that if he's messed up in the head. Things have been hard enough for him as it is."

"Do you think Thor is ambivalent about being forced to take care of you?"

"No, I don't know. I don't know what he feels. I just know that I need him."