THREE WEEKS LATER
Loki had been trying to distract himself since he had heard the news. At first he denied it, working through his books, looking for a spell, any tiny charm which could have the remote possibility of returning to Earth. He scanned the sky for any portal, any portal that was open or any scar that he could tear open to send him back. He looked at every power source he could get his hands on. His friends were not sure if this commitment was admirable or the symptom of an underlying medical problem.
And then came the disbelief. He refused to believe that there was no way back, and worked through the night, never sleeping, always working on another hare-brained scheme. Despite numerous failures, he refused to believe that it was impossible, and he got even more frustrated with himself for being so dull he could not understand how to do one simple thing. Whenever someone pointed out his fundamental error in believing such a feat was impossible, he would hurl insults at them, but rather than his usual well-prepared witty vituperation, the slander was instead rather dull and clumsy, demonstrating as well as anything else that his mind was far afield.
He was now in the anger stage.
He had fought to get out of the Healing Room, and he still wasn't quite healed. He assured everybody around him that he was fine and trained to within an inch of his life to get his strength back. He told people he wanted to get back to the peak of his physical fitness, but Thor could tell he was lying. He was angry at himself for saving the universes. He was angry at himself for leaving those he loved behind, however he was not thinking about the ones that loved him on this planet. He was angry at Thor for not telling him that Bifrost had been destroyed personally, and he was angry at Odin for the usual reasons. He was even angry that he had been scraped off the rocks instead of being left to die or put out of his misery. He was in great pain, both physical and of the soul. Somehow Thor knew that he would never reach the acceptance stage. He would not be there until he relinquished the rage, and that was not going to happen.
He and the Warriors Three often thought it was funny to beat up Loki, and due to his small stature, it was relatively easy. That was no longer the case. He could take on the Warriors Three all at once without breaking a sweat. By the end of a minute, he was the only one left standing. After they had taken a few too many rounds like this, Fandral, Volstagg and Hogun refused to take part in any of Loki's so-called 'training', opting to watch from the sidelines. It had taken Sif a few weeks longer to tire of being a fleshy punching bag, but she too took a seat next to her comrades to watch the fireworks. Only Thor remained due to commitment to his brother.
He looked tired and in pain as he offered a hand to Thor, "how about we call it a draw?"
Thor took his brother's hand, "thank you."
"No, thank you," Loki smiled as he helped Thor up and they walked together for a little while.
"Where did you learn that?" Thor asked him. He wiped the sweat and grime off his face.
"Where do you think?" Loki shot back, and suddenly his face was grim again.
"When will I learn to shut up?" Thor asked.
"Not any time soon," he sighed.
"We had both better clean up for the ceremony tonight," Thor said with a tiny smile.
"Another faux remorseful reminder of the blatant hypocrisy that has served our father so well lo these many years," Loki sighed.
"At least you have not lost your way with a cutting phrase."
"No, seriously," Loki stopped them, "first, the shameless aristocracy blame me for destroying Bifrost and the breakdown of order throughout the known galaxy due to a couple of actions I made under the influence of temporary insanity and then mind control, and now I actually destroy Bifrost and cause a potentially dangerous power vacuum, it is all just peachy and that same blatant aristocracy welcome me back with open arms like in the tale of the prodigal son."
Thor thought for a long time about what to say, and decided on something that was probably the entirely wrong thing to say, "Did I mention that there will be cake?"
Loki looked up at him although he was about to snap at him or turn around and hit him, but he just raised an eyebrow, "how much cake?"