Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Thor, nor am I making any money from this work of fiction.
9. Nightmare
Loki awoke with a start but not a sound. He was covered in an icy cold sweat and shivering in fright. The nightmare had plagued him for longer than he could recall. It was always the same; he was alone, cold and frightened.
The pain it left in his heart was the worst part of it. Loki could wait out the cold and the fear, but the lonesomeness was consuming. That was what always led him to his brother's chambers after the nightmare struck.
Thor awoke slowly as always. He grumbled and fumbled around his bed until he touched his little brother's hand. The fearful trembling and biting cold immediately brought him to full awareness.
"Loki," Thor sat up and pulled his brother to him, wrapping his arms around slender shoulders and rubbing trembling arms. "Again…? What causes you such fear, brother?" He shifted and lifted his blankets, urging Loki in the warm cocoon.
Loki crawled in immediately and settled against his brother with practiced ease. He felt the lingering effects of his nightmare begin to soothe as soon as Thor's arms wrapped around him again. "I don't know."
Thor sighed and held the smaller boy close. "You always say that." He hated to feel helpless; it went against his nature.
Loki pressed his face to his brother's shoulder to avoid looking him in the eye…and because it was warm, or so he chose to believe. "Because I can never remember the nightmare, only the feelings it leaves in its wake."
Thor frowned and rubbed Loki's back absentmindedly. His cold flesh was already warming to its usual comfortable cool (for Loki never seemed to be warm, Thor blamed his slight frame) and he was not shaking nearly as much. Thor was sure -as was Loki- that it was the same nightmare returning every time, but Thor could not figure out what would plague his brother so persistently.
"Loki…no one has harmed you, have they?" Aside from some cruel words, Thor never heard of anyone being malicious towards his little brother, but he acknowledged that he was not the most observant of individuals and they did spend a fair amount of time apart of late. Aside from his dearest friends, Thor doubted that anyone would report any wrongdoing against Loki.
He just did not understand why…
"Thor," Loki murmured, clearly he was starting to feel comfortable again. His grip on Thor's nightshirt relaxed and he snuggled against his brother and the blankets as the lingering fear ebbed. "Despite what you and the other warriors might think, I am not without my own defenses."
Thor actually knew that; it was just fun to tease Loki about taking on such a feminine study as spell craft and flourishing in it so. Still, he knew plenty of warriors in training who would be able to take on the budding sorcerer. "You would tell me though, if someone did hurt you?"
"I dare think you would notice regardless, brother. You have no respect for privacy, after all." Loki's tone relayed that he did not actually mind so much.
Thor could not help but grin. He knew it was inappropriate to barge in on his brother all the time, but he wouldn't mind if the opposite were true so he never bothered. "Only where you are concerned and you are my brother after all…what you could possibly mean to hide from me?"
"Nothing, obviously," Loki made a vague gesture that seemed to incorporate their current state, "But it still might be nice if you knocked once in a while. Good manners and all that."
Thor scoffed, blowing some of Loki's hair in the act. "Manners are for dignitaries and strangers, not brothers. When have we ever- Hey…" Thor frowned as something occurred to him. "You avoided my query."
Loki sighed quietly as Thor turned serious again and tightened his hold on the younger boy. "Loki, you must promise that you will come to me if someone harms you. As your big brother and future liege, it is my duty to protect you and how I can do that if I don't know you're being mistreated?"
Knowing that any wry comment he could offer (such as suggesting that Thor simply pay attention to his surrounding outside of battle) would not be taken in jest, Loki merely sighed again. "Alright, if it means that much to you, then I shall inform you if someone mistreats me…assuming I'm in a position to."
Thor frowned at the phrasing -his brother was terribly clever with words, he knew- but decided the promise sounded fair. After all, he could hardly expect Loki to inform him he was being abused if he were held captive or was otherwise unable to reach him. He knew Loki had a tendency to take promises a little too literally sometimes.
Thor closed his eyes, content for the time being, and settled his head over Loki's on his pillow. His little brother seemed to be recovering from his strange nightmare and Loki had assured him that he was well. At least, he was pretty sure they had reached that understanding. Loki could outwit Thor on his best day and he was very tired…
Deciding he was the one being too literal now, Thor allowed himself to drift off to sleep once more…
Loki stayed awake for some time longer, enjoying his brother's rarely quiet presence and thinking over the promise he had made. Thor always did look at things in the most basic or physical sense. He would never even realize the flexibility of such an assurance. The standing of a pupil did leave one in an unexpectedly confining position…
At least one good thing came from their discussion: Loki was no longer dwelling on a shapeless nightmare.
10. Forgotten
Thor stormed from the dining hall, leaving a shocked and frightened silence in his wake. He knew it would soon be replaced with whispers of confusion, outrage, and conspiracy theories. He could not bring himself to care.
It was not the first time Thor had caused a scene or disrupted the peace of the grand hall with his temper. Only in the past, his brother had been there to calm him and make him see reason again. This time, he only found himself alone and seething.
All the years, all their lives, Loki had been a loyal brother, son, student, defender, and prince. He had fought bravely beside Thor time and again. He had been the only one their father could trust to entertain certain diplomats in his stead. He had made their friends laugh with his clever wit and easy magic. He had been a kind and levelheaded prince, always looking out for the good of Asgard.
Yet all of this was forgotten in the wake of one mistake. Granted, it was a big mistake, but Loki was not entirely at fault. Not that anyone outside the family knew that, of course…the masses could not possibly be told of what heir precious All-Father had done.
What enraged Thor even further was the certainty that if he did make Odin's mistakes known, the people still would not fault him. No, they would only speak of Loki with further ridicule and disdain.
'It all makes sense now, he was always a monster!' 'Of course he was evil, he was a Frost Giant!' 'I always knew something wasn't right about him, he was always so abnormal!'
They may be able to forget, but Thor could not. He could not forget the boy he had laughed with and grown alongside. He could not forget the man who had listened to his every care and stood beside him whenever it mattered most. He could not forget the brother who he always loved and always would.
He could not forget how quickly the others had turned on Loki either.
Thor quickly grabbed what supplies he would need. He had heard other whispers as well; ones that spoke of another -darker- way out of Asgard. If there were such a way, Loki's old teacher would know.
Everything that once bound him to Asgard would be easily forgotten.
Everything except the one he would never find there again.
