Disclaimer: I don't own anything and am not profiting off of this.

Ages:

Thor: 18 years old (12th grade)

Loki: 14 years old (9th grade)

Three.

"Remember, you asked for this. If anything happens to the house, you're responsible," Odin warned, voice gruff and serious.

Frigga shot her husband a look. "Make sure no one over indulges," she told Thor, "And don't hesitate to call for help if something goes wrong."

Thor nodded, accepting a hug from his mother and a warm shoulder-grip from his father.

It was the night of his prom and the official celebration held at the most expensive hotel in town had just ended. Parents were heading home and his fellow graduates were running around changing out of their formal clothes into party-wear. Three top of the line busses were parked outside ready to transport the graduating class to the location of the after-party, or the 'real' party. The formal portion was for handing out awards, taking classy photographs, watching feel-good presentations of videos and photos to the sound of corny music and having the always cheesy 'father-daughter' and 'mother-son' dances. It was always held at the same hotel in a lavish room with a grand feast. The after-party was a rager held at one of the graduate's very large houses with plenty of alcohol bought by their parents and other illegal substances brought by the students themselves.

This year Thor was holding the after-party. His parents didn't mind – they encouraged it even – and it was expected of either him or Amora, as leaders of their grade. It really shouldn't have been so different than any other party he had held over the years, but it was.

Loki had finally entered high school and had just finished his freshman year. Normally, he would also be attending a large party celebrating the end of the school year for students that would be returning the next year. Typically there would be several such parties with the attendees separated by personal popularity, clique membership and grade level.

Except Thor had suggested Loki throw his own party at their house. At the same place and at the same time that Thor's was occurring.

Odin had thought it strange. Frigga had thought it sweet. His friends had thought him ridiculous. His fellow graduates hadn't known what to think at first. Before long the entire school population was united in their opinion: epic.

With Thor's entire graduating class and Loki's own considerable amount of friends, half the school would be attending. With the amount of uninvited crashers, most of the school would be attending. So Thor and Loki had thought 'fuck it' and invited everyone.

It would be over four hundred people. Close to five hundred with 'plus-ones-and-twos-and-mores'.

It would be glorious.

Thor waved goodbye to his parents who would be spending the night at the hotel and then hurried to join his friends on the bus they had taken charge of.

A short trip later, he arrived to the familiar sight of his home in the midst of a wild party. Cars lined the street and the ground vibrated with the strength of the music blasting through the walls of the house. He led his class to the front door with steady, unhurried steps. Before he could even reach for the handle, the door flew open and he was met at the threshold by his brother, green eyes sparkling.

Someone had turned down the music and a hush seemed to fall over the entire house.

Loki reached out and grasped Thor's hand and Thor easily adjusted to accommodate the comfortable hold.

"Behold," Loki started, his smooth voice raised to be heard across the entire lobby and past it into the rest of the house, "the finest football captain Asgard has ever seen, SHIELD-bound recent graduate, my brother, the Mighty Thor!" As Loki raised their joined hands, loud cheering and applause rained over them. It seemed every person attending the party had stopped what they were doing to welcome the graduates, to welcome Thor.

Thor laughed and entered his house, followed closely by the rest of his class. He accepted hugs and congratulations from friends he had in lower grades, aware of his brother's presence nearby, their hands still clasped.

After he had dealt with the first wave of well-wishers Thor allowed his brother to lead him into a comparatively quieter nook beneath their grand staircase. He knew a second wave of friends and friendly acquaintances awaited him in the living room and yet more by the pool in the backyard and scattered throughout the rest of the various rooms in their large house, but for now his brother wanted him and so he followed easily.

"How does it feel?" Loki asked. He had to lean up close for Thor to hear him over the din, his breath cool against Thor's heated cheeks.

Thor laughed. "I don't think it's quite set in," he said, "Give it a few days."

Loki chuckled, voice deep and so unlike his high-pitched tone before puberty had hit. "At the speed your mind works, then, it'll take weeks." He leaned away then, dodging Thor's good-natured swipe. Instead, Thor's reaching hand settled around the back of Loki's vulnerable neck as it was wont to do.

"I know I rarely say it, and it's even rarer for me to show it, but I am proud of you brother," Loki said, his words barely reaching Thor's ears. His smile was sloppy but sweet, bottle green eyes shining with sincerity behind the glaze that covered them.

Thor grinned broadly. "You've been drinking," he said, "Else you'd never admit such things to me."

Loki laughed loudly at this, swaying slightly on his feet. He had still yet to have his growth spurt and so his face was level with Thor's chest, making it easy for Thor to keep him standing with just the gentle hold Thor had on his neck.

"You wound me brother," Loki said around his laughter, "You may doubt my sobriety at this moment, but never doubt that I love you."

Though his brother still laughed, Thor felt his breath catch in his throat. He couldn't remember the last time Loki had said as much to him. To be fair, he couldn't remember the last time he had said those words to Loki. It seemed they had grown out of voicing the feeling, though Thor knew that the love itself would never wane.

"And I you," Thor promised. He moved to pull Loki into a hug, but his brother was already slipping away, ever elusive and impossible to pin down.

"I leave you now to your adoring public," Loki announced with a grand wave of his hand, eyes fixed somewhere past Thor's shoulders. He winked at Thor and then disappeared into the mob of party-goers.

Not a moment later, two thin arms wound their way down Thor's shoulders to rest on his chest. "So here you are; I've been looking everywhere for you." The words were whispered into his ear and he turned to appraise the speaker.

"Lorelei," he said, "Sorry, everything has been hectic."

"Mmm, I know," Lorelei murmured, "In the rush of things we didn't even manage to get on the same bus."

Thor forced an apologetic smile. "I suppose I've been a poor date."

Lorelei flicked an auburn lock behind her shoulder in an action reminiscent of her sister. "Nonsense," she said, "You've been a darling. Now I must go see some friends, but find me later, okay? Then you can be a good date and a good host and give me a tour of your bedroom; I've never seen it." There was a wicked glint in her green eyes and Thor felt just a little spellbound by them.

He nodded dumbly and she smiled before sweeping away.

Lorelei was a force of nature, just like her sister Amora. She had always flirted outrageously with him, even when he had been dating the latter. Afterwards Thor had stayed away, not wanting to cause a rift between them. Never mind that the sisters had been at each other's throats as far back as he could remember and never mind that Amora now loathed him. In any case, keeping his metaphorical distance had been easy because though Lorelei spent a fair amount of time around Thor by virtue of being friends with Loki, she had never actively pursued him. At least, not until recently when she had asked him to be her prom date. With her green eyes fixed on his own blue, Thor had found it impossible to say no. Besides, it was no hardship. Though he'd had plans of going stag, having a date had its benefits. Other girls didn't dare stray too close to him because Lorelei, though sweeter and softer than her sister, was not someone to cross. And so he had only been expected to perform the dreaded slow dance with Lorelei, though he had allowed his mother and Sif to cajole him onto the dance floor as well. There was also the fact that she was very pretty, with cunning green eyes, long auburn hair and a fondness for green clothing that rivaled his brothers.

Staring at his date's retreating back, Thor knew without a doubt that if she had her way the night would end with them lying together in his bed. And by Loki's encouraging wink, his brother had known it too. Thor wasn't sure how he felt about that. His brother was fourteen now and definitely old enough to know such things, but Thor would always look upon him and see an innocence that he wanted to shelter from the world.

He shook his head and set forth to meet, as Loki had put it, his adoring public.

A good hour and quite a few drinks later Thor wandered into the kitchen for ice. Loki was there, leaning against the marble counter of the breakfast island chatting with two people Thor recognized as Svadilfari and Sigyn. Sigyn and Loki had always been close – everybody had assumed they would get together before she started dating Theoric and then, well, most still thought it was inevitable. Thor had liked her all the more for her new romance. Loki, he reasoned, needed a Sif-like figure of his own; the real Sif still retained a childhood fondness for Loki that prevented her from being as strict as she could be with Thor. Svadilfari, on the other hand, was someone Thor hated having around his little brother. There was honestly nothing concretely wrong with the guy except for the fact that he was two years older than Thor himself – he must have already started his summer break from college – and liked Loki far too much for Thor's comfort. Their relationship had never been one of mentor and mentee or big brother and little brother. Lord knows Thor would have been bitterly jealous if the latter had been true, but he still felt he would prefer it to whatever relationship they did have.

Thor paused in the doorway of the kitchen. A frown settled on his face as he watched Loki and the other two take shots together. Svadlifari swallowed his down easily, but Loki and Sigyn made disgusted faced and then leaned into each other and exaggerated their repulsed expressions before bursting out into riotous laughter. Svadlifari smiled affectionately at them and slung an arm around Loki. Thor watched that arm carefully and his blood boiled as it fell dangerously low on Loki's back. He prepared to head over there and break up the scene, but someone else beat him to it.

"Hey, Little Prince! Come over here and let me make you a real drink." It was Fandral who had, up until then, been chatting up some girl Thor vaguely recognized as a junior. Even in casual party clothes his friend was better dressed than most males in attendance. And with his blond hair perfectly windswept even without wind, Fandral was dashing as usual.

Loki raised a thin dark eyebrow, but gamely made his way over to Fandral, his steps only slightly clumsy. "I'm not little anymore," Loki complained, referring to the childhood nickname.

Whenever a much younger Thor had invited his friends over in his childhood their favourite game to play was Castles, acting as brave knights on a quest. Since Sif had refused to be a princess, Thor had always had to beg Loki to join them and act as the prince they had to rescue. Although it was Thor who ultimately rescued Loki from whatever danger he had been in, Fandral would always play the role of gallant knight to the tee by presenting Loki with flowers that Fandral had picked from their garden – it had drove Frigga mad. Then they would all fight over who got to marry the prince, since that's how the stories usually ended, and Sif would always win. When Thor thought about it, Loki had probably received more kisses – albeit on the cheek – from Sif than Thor ever had and Thor was the one who had dated her!

"You're less little," Fandral conceded, with a flirtatious grin. Thor told himself that Fandral didn't mean anything by it; flirting was in the same vein as breathing to Fandral. And even if he did mean anything by it, Thor knew that Fandral would never approach Loki lightly lest he risk Thor's wrath. As he watched Fandral mix up some alcoholic concoction for Loki, Thor told himself that his younger brother was in safe hands. It didn't cool the heat in his blood, but he managed to make himself leave the kitchen.

He decided to seek out Lorelei and as luck would have it he entered the living room and immediately caught her eyes from across the room. The intent in their dark depths harnessed the heat already occupying his body and gave it purpose. Thor wanted to have sex. He was ready for it. And Lorelei, from what he'd heard, was good at it. The crowd seemed to part for him as he sauntered over to her, confident in his inebriated state. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned down to mutter, "Ready for that tour?"

Lorelei licked her lips lewdly and moved so that their lips brushed with every word she spoke. "I think I should be asking you that." She then all but yanked Thor into hallway, forcing her way through the array of bodies. They were making their way towards the staircase when Loki cut in front of their path, a hand clasped across his mouth. They paused, watching him run. Lorelei turned to giggle into his arm. "Looks like someone can't hold their drink," she teased. Thor's worried brow was her only response. "Oh come on, Thor, Loki will be fine. It's about time he experienced his first hangover. He likes to lord it over the rest of us that he always manages to stop drinking at the right time so that he wakes up fine and unaffected as ever. He's only been drinking this year and is more cautious than anyone else his age, so it's about time that he slipped up."

None of Lorelei's words seemed to have any effect on Thor. He kept looking to where he'd last seen Loki, though his brother had long since disappeared. "Maybe I should check on him," he mused.

Lorelei huffed. "No. What you should do is take me to your bed and fuck me senseless."

At this, Thor's head whirled around to face her, mouth agape. He swallowed visibly, eyes dark with lust as they lingered over Lorelei's body. When he raked his eyes back up to meet her green gaze, he faltered. Thor took a deep breath and exhaled heavily. "I'll be quick. Just see if he's okay. It will take only a second. I'll catch up with you later," he told her.

"Thor!-"

"Later," he stressed firmly.

He traced his brother's course to one of the bathrooms, leaving behind an affronted date. Upon opening the door, Thor found Loki puking his guts out into the toilet and quickly knelt to hold back his brother's hair and rub his back comfortingly. Once Loki had expelled all the contents of his stomach and then some, Thor brought him three slices of bread with honey and forced Loki to swallow them along with three glasses of water to wash each slice down. He then gathered his half-asleep brother into his arms and carried him upstairs to Loki's bedroom where he settled the younger boy on his bed. After dressing Loki into comfortable pajamas and tucking him under the covers, Thor stared at the small figure that was curled into itself, dwarfed by the luxurious king-sized bed. He then sighed, kicked off his jeans and crawled under the covers as well.

Thor spent his prom night curled around his drunken younger brother. It was the first time since his childhood that he'd slept so soundly.

/Three.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter; it's tied for my favourite along with the next chapter.

Please review and let me know how I'm doing in terms of characterization as this is my first story in the Thor universe and my first time playing with these characters. I also really hope that I'm portraying the relationship between Thor and Loki well since that's basically what this entire story is based around.

Midnight's Violet Haze

HS