Loki skidded to a halt only feet from the cliff. He groaned, then began to laugh. A bit hysterically, though he would never admit it.
Thor didn't waste a moment. "Where is the tesseract?" he demanded.
Loki stopped laughing and said cheerfully, "I missed you too!"
Thor said in his most commanding big brother voice, "Do I look to be in a gaming mood?"
"Oh, you should thank me," Loki said, ignoring him. "With the bifrost gone, how much dark energy did the All Father have to muster to conjure you here? Your precious Earth!" he scoffed.
Thor did not take kindly to that last comment, and pulled his adopted brother violently to his feet. "I thought you dead."
Loki was surprised to hear the pain in his voice. He looked up into Thor's blue eyes. There were tears. What could this mean? Loki gulped, and tried to hide his battling emotions as he asked softly, "Did you mourn?"
"We all did," Thor answered softly, eyes widening in apparent alarm.
Loki entered the room quietly in full Prince of Asgard regalia. Thor walked in beside him, and Loki folded his hands in front of him.
"Nervous, brother?" Loki asked with a smirk.
Thor laughed, which was just what Loki had been aiming for. "Have you ever known me to be nervous?"
Loki shrugged. "Mm, well, there was the time in Nordheim…"
"That was not nerves, brother, that was the rage of battle!" Thor protested.
"Ah. I see," Loki said, unconvinced.
"How else could I have fought my way through a hundred warriors and pull us out alive?" Thor demanded.
Loki made a face. "Uh…as I recall…I was the one who veiled us in smoke to hide our escape."
Thor laughed again. "Yes! Some do battle, others just do tricks.
Then, a servant bearing a glass of wine on a platter entered beside Thor, smirking at the comment Thor had just made.
Just tricks, hm? Loki thought. Right. Tricks that have saved your life, dear brother. He made a special gesture with his hand, and two projections of snakes appeared in the cup. The servant cried out in alarm and dropped the platter. Loki chuckled with satisfaction.
Thor was not so pleased. "Loki!" he chided, "That was just a waste of good wine!"
"Oh, it was just a bit of fun," Loki said playfully. He turned to the servant. "Right, my friend?"
With a wave of his hand, the snakes disappeared. The servant gave him a weary look before leaving.
"Hm," Loki muttered, and the brothers laughed softly.
A guard came in, bowed, and handed Thor his helmet. Thor took it and studied it in his hands.
"Ooh," Loki said. "Nice feathers."
Thor turned to him, smiling. "You don't really want to start this again, do you? Cow?"
Cow? Really? Loki rolled his eyes. "I was being sincere!" he said truthfully.
Thor wasn't buying it. "You are incapable of sincerity."
Loki almost winced. "Am I?" he said, pretending that didn't hurt a lot.
"Yes!" Thor laughed.
Loki bit his lip and sighed. He had to make Thor know that he really was trying to be serious. So he turned to his brother and said softly, "I've looked forward to this day as long as you have. You're my brother and my friend. Sometimes…I'm envious…but…never doubt that I love you."
Thor smiled. He understood. He put a hand on his neck, cradling his head. "Thank you," he said, and then took his hand away.
Loki couldn't resist. "Now give us a kiss."
"Stop it!" Thor laughed.
Loki tried to push the memory away.
"Our father—" Thor began.
"Your father!" Loki snapped, pushing Thor from him and walking a few steps away from the god of thunder. "He did tell you of my true parentage, did he not?"
Thor just wouldn't let up. "He's your father too."
Loki frowned.
"He's your father too," he said again.
"That man is not my father!" Loki screamed.
Thor took a step backward. "And am I not your brother?"
Never doubt that I love you…
"I—"
"Because I am. No matter what they told you, you are my brother!" Thor argued. "We were raised together. We played together, we fought together. We loved each other more than anything in the world. And I still do. Do you remember none of that?"
Loki glared at him and hissed, "I remember a shadow. Living the shade of your greatness. I remember you tossing me into an abyss." He turned his back on his brother.
The memory persisted to drown out all other thoughts. Could that really have been only a year ago?
"So none of it matters," Thor broke Loki out of his reverie. "You take the world I love for a recompense for your imagined slights? No. The Earth is under my protection, Loki!"
Loki couldn't help laughing. "And you're doing a marvelous job with that!" He said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "The humans slaughter each other in droves while you idly fret. I need to rule them! That's why—"
"—You think yourself above them," Thor interrupted.
Loki blinked. "Well...yes."
"You miss the truth of ruling, brother! A throne would suit you ill."
Stupid oaf. "I've seen worlds you've never known about!" Loki yelled. "I have grown, Odinson, in my exile! I have seen the true power of the tesseract, and when I wield—"
Thor interrupted again. "Who showed you this power? Who controls the would-be king?"
"I AM KING!" Loki spat.
"NOT HERE!" Thor roared. "YOU GIVE UP THE TESSERACT! YOU GIVE UP THIS POISONOUS DREAM!"
Loki huffed with frustration, and tried to think of a comeback. Thor beat him to it, putting a hand on his neck, cradling his head. That was the last thing he had expected from Thor.
"You come home," Thor said, true pain evident in his voice. "Please, Loki. Please."
Loki couldn't believe it. Could Thor really have missed him so? Was it even possible? It couldn't be. He pushed Thor away and turned around, running his fingers through his hair simultaneously. He was frustrated. Confused.
Why would he do this? Why didn't he just kill me? Why does he want me to go home? Why would he even think about it, after all I've done?
Never doubt that I love you…
After all I've done.
The pain he had bottled up inside himself burst forth like a wave, and he could feel tears streaming down his face. He couldn't take it anymore. He had to go home.
Home.
He turned around and looked at Thor, and suddenly he found he couldn't stand. He sank to his knees, sobbing. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I made so many promises just to let you down!"
Thor dropped down beside him, probably in shock.
"You believed in me, but I am broken!" Loki cried.
Then, Thor did what Loki had been longing him to do for a long time. He kissed Loki's wet cheek and embraced him, weeping with joy and relieve.
"Brother, how I missed you!" Thor cried.
Loki felt horribly unworthy of this love. "I'm sorry!"
"Sh! None of it matters now! I promised I love you, and I do. So much, my brother!" Thor told him.
Loki wept, "I know! And I love you, Thor! I don't know why I did the things I did! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Thor protested, "Brother, I'm the one who needs forgiving. It was because of my arrogance that led us to that place. But we're out of it now. Forgive me at last."
Loki nodded, his face buried in his brother's shoulder. But he managed to say, "At last I forgive you!" through his tears and his brother's cloak.
"And I forgive you," Thor said. "Loki?"
"Yes?"
"Let's go home."
Home.