More Than a King

After lunch, Thor took Loki to another part of the parade where it was dedicate more solely to the warriors. Sparring rings were set up for knife throwing and archery competition and there were quite a few mock battles going on. Several rings too were set aside for the melee. It was a combat sport where a group of a hundred or so warriors would charge at each other until only one stood. Then there were the rings set up for younger warriors. One seasoned warrior would stand in each ring, encouraging the younger ones to try take him on. It was all good fun and entertainment.

Next were the weapon stalls that were lined in rows. Whatever you need, you would probably be able to get it from one of them. If not, well, you could always ordered them and have them custom made in a week or so.

Of all the things Loki wanted to try, it just needs to be the most dangerous of all… the melee. Thor did not like it.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Thor asked for the fifth time since they stood in the ring with some ninety over warriors around them.

"Worry I would dump you on your ass your Grace?" Loki asked cheekily as he weigh the blunt sword in his hand.

They waited for the referee to check every single one of their weapons. No one was taking any chances. The melee was for entertainment, not an opportunity to settle scores if there was one.

Thor had left Mjolnir in the back room.

They all took up dull swords that could barely slice let alone pierce through armors. Breaking bones was at bad as it could get with these metals. Still, Thor worries as he looked at the faces of the warriors around them.

They were all looking at him and Loki with unconcealed interest and anticipation. No doubt all of them were craving to pit their strength against the King and the Crown Prince of Beast.

The referee came up to Thor to inspect his weapon, then to Loki.

"No ice voodoo yes?" The referee asked. The referee and pretty much everyone knew Loki even when he wears his Aesir form.

"Aye" Loki gave a nod.

The man grunted before moving on to the next warrior.

All too soon every warrior had been inspected and it was time to start.

Thor suddenly didn't think this was a good idea. What if the referee had missed one warrior? What if the referee had missed some hidden weapons? In the mad scramble if anyone was to assassinate Loki, none would be the wiser. It could even be made to look like an accident. Freak accidents happen. People do die in melee.

"Loki I don't-"

"Go!" The referee shouted.

The melee started and it was a mad scramble as they raced at each other.

All thought were knocked out of Thor's mind as the first weapon swung down; Thor barely had time to raise his in defense. Sparks flew where metal contact. Thor kicked out, slamming his heels into the man's guts sending the fire demon stumbling slightly.

The warrior licked his lips. The bulk of his tan lean muscles tightened and in another heartbeat he charged at Thor.

Thor was ready for him. His heart hammered and pumped as the melee went on.

The watching crowd was wild.

Look…Look at the King of Asgard... Look…

Look at the Prince of Beast… Look.

Thor had long lost sight of Loki and couldn't afford to look for the prince or he'd be clobbered. He'd fended off two warriors that challenged him at once and sometimes more. He was a very popular target. The perks of being the King.

By the end of the fourth hour, Thor's muscles were aching, his sweaty hands were aching and there were still a good forty or so warrior left in the arena. The crowd was still pack and increasing in numbers. Cheering, shouting and no doubt betting.

Loki was still in, but the prince was sprouting a split lip and some bruises along his jaw. That normally neat raven locks were a mess, that pale skin sweaty and the new armor muddy and dirty but Thor could tell that Loki was enjoying himself. The prince was laughing and screaming as he struck the warrior coming at him. He was fast and he was brutal.

Thor let his worries go. Loki is fine.

By the time it was down to twenty, the sun was starting to set and Loki was finally out of the game. He'd lost his sword and was knock flat on his back. Loki couldn't very well conjure ice blades and was thus out, much to his displeasure.

Then when it was finally down to seven, Thor thought he had had enough. He didn't need to win, he had fun. He let a particularly bulky Vanir knock him down and surrendered.

He limped slightly towards the bench where Loki sat with the other warriors.

They cheered and clapped when Thor came to join them. It doesn't matter who had won or lost, all were worthy of respect. An Elf shifted to make space for Thor. If anyone noticed that that space was specifically beside Loki, no one said a thing. It seems that beating the living light out of each other had helped forged some degree of respect between the warriors which miraculously included Loki.

Thor had only a few glimpse of Loki throughout the whole event. He did not really see Loki fight, but it must have been impressive if the warriors were finally giving Loki a silver of respect.

Loki regarded Thor with a mischievous smile when Thor came to sit by him.

"How shocking that the Mighty Thor isn't the last one standing" Loki said pleasantly.

"They are all very formidable warriors"

"Oh I have no doubt" Loki said, turning back to the ring.

The crowd started to thin considerably after Thor had lost.

The sun was down when the bout finished. The last one standing was an Aesir, all bloody, muddy and sweaty but he had won. They all cheered and clapped, making their way to congratulate the winner. All but Thor and Loki that is.

Thor would have gone up to congratulate the man too, but he didn't want to leave Loki alone. And Loki was hardly the type to congratulate anyone. Though, Thor did give the man a smile and a nod when he looked over to his King for approval.

"I presume it's time to go back?" Loki stood to his feet.

"We are not going back tonight" Thor said.

"And what of the feast held in your name?" Loki reminded the King.

"What then of the celebration here and the celebration over the hills, and those in Fyrisvellir and the feast in the home of commoners and the drinking down in the taverns?" Thor asked. "They are all in my name and in my honor…Tell me, should I be present at every one of them?"

"Hmm..." Loki looked at Thor with interest.

Where is this defiance coming from? This utter selfishness...

"What would the Queen say I wonder"

"Why should she say anything?" Thor reached forth to take Loki's hand; his thumb brushes Loki's bruised knuckles. "I have not and will not shun by duty. But for now…"

"…"

"Come" Thor got up.

The armies are ready to move out the moment he gave the signal. The stores are packed with supplies and he will choose his consort come the night after next. For tonight, neither the Queen nor Asgard needed the King.

It took them a while to find an inn with any room left and it was only when the sun had truly set that they left to venture the streets again. The moment they were alone in their shared room, Loki had demanded Thor to remove his damn armor and had himself a long bath and a nap. While he sleeps, Thor left him to get them new sets of clothes.

"I didn't think you would like us wearing those clothes from before" Thor had said when he showed Loki the velvet tunic of deep emerald he'd bought for him.

From what Loki had seen, Aesir warriors had no qualms about wearing their disgusting armor all day even after grueling sparring. Thor was doing this for his benefit. Hel, Thor had even gotten himself fresh clothes too.

They were tunics too, but with slight different in design and they were the color of deep sapphire. Then there were the standard leather pants and leather belt studded with gems to go along with them.

It seemed that Thor knew what he would or would not like. That was to be expected Loki suppose. Even a dullard who had spent months with him would pick up something after awhile.

"This would suffice" Loki had said after a glance in the mirror.

Thor beamed. "Come then"

They went down the wooden creaking stairs that Loki swore would break under their weight at any moment. Truth, Loki was expecting Thor to take them for more wild drinking and partying as Aesir seem to love, was surprised when Thor led them to a more quiet part of town.

"I'll take you to our theater after dinner. I got us box seats" Thor told Loki as they stroll over the stone bridge.

"Theater?" Loki snorted.

He would never have thought Thor and theater would ever fit as one. It was just unthinkable that Thor would be even the slightest bit interested in anything that doesn't involve smashing.

"You never cease to amaze me do you?" He laughs.

"I thought that you would like it" Thor defended, looking away. "You could barely dance! You are lousy at holding your drink. What else is there to do?! I thought someone like that would be used to something more soothing for entertainment"

The sudden insult and reaction told Loki all he needed to know. Thor likes the theater. And he was ashamed.

"Ah… the Mighty Thor" Loki chuckled. "The beast slayer…How the realm would tremble in laughter if only they knew"

"We don't have to go if-"

"I tease your Grace" Loki smiled. "We will go"

"…"

"I suppose truly no one knows"

Thor shrugged; he did not deny nor confirm.

"Oh I like this" Loki grinned. Another secret it seem.

Thor was silent after that, clearly uncomfortable. Loki could never understand why the Aesir had such strict rules of what was to be male or female interest. Art was female and smashing was male. Child care was female and metal craft was male. If you break the rules you were tormented and shunned.

Ridiculous!

On Jotunheim he'd seen some of the greatest warriors running after their little ones in the streets. He'd even hear some of the greatest warrior sing in Laufey's hall. It did not make them any less of a warrior.

"So tell me, what else do I not know about the Golden King?" Loki asked.

"Perhaps he is not so golden?"

"Oh yes" Loki said. "He is foul and rusted beneath all that gold"

"You would know won't you"

"Very well indeed. And he is no less perfect to me"

Thor smile, giving Loki a playful shove. Loki hummed.

They spoke of nothing of importance, teasing and mocking as they walked beneath the endless diamond sky.

Loki had always teases, giving his trademark mischievous grin and smirks and laughs; for it was a behaviour that flows most naturally for him. A shadow of the trickster that was once him centuries ago; hiding the truth of his rapidly fading ability to feel anything positive. But Loki doesn't think of it, because if he did, he will be afraid. And what is a warrior who fears to wield his own ultimate weapon? What is a King who enters a battlefield praying that he would not need to pick up his weapon?

The gentle wind blew, rustling the low hanging vines of trees by the river. The clamor drunken fools and banging noises call music seem a distant away as they strolled down rows of finer eatery. The warm fragrant of roasted meat and stew were thick in the air.

The Lord and Ladies who were in for a more quiet night strolled up and down the stony ground pass them. Some turn to give them a look and whisper in hush voices while others could not be more besotted with their partner did not even seem to notice them. But even so, Loki could tell that Thor was uncomfortable.

For all the bravado Thor had claim he did not care, Loki could tell that Thor was worry about public perception still. For all the confidence Thor presents himself to the entire realm, Loki knew that Thor is insecure. And when it came down to it, when there was nothing distracting him, Thor did care.

Loki brushed his fingers over Thor's bare arm, catching his attention.

"I can put a glamour over us if you prefer"

"It's alright" Thor reach to cover Loki's hand.

Gentle melody of the violin resonated down the street. Lanterns hung from every eatery at their ornate entrance casting a muted light over the place.

The eatery that Thor had picked for the night was small in Loki's opinion. Its interior was made wholly of ancient oak and its private room looked as if a cabin. The ceiling was low, antique decoration hung from walls, a small fire place by their side crackle and burn as Loki sat upon a chair that looked as if it was carved out of an ancient tree.

"You will like it" Thor promised when Loki look at their private room skeptically.

"After that skewer, I am sure anything would taste heavenly"

Thor laughs as the door open and the server men brought them their dishes.

They started with fresh oysters, caviar, goose liver, creamy pumpkin soup, crusted hot bread roasted with butter and herbs and some greens dressed with apple, nuts and cheese. Then came the mashed potatoes mixed with herbs and cheese, honeyed ham, beacons, little meat pies, suckling pig roast to sweet crunchy crisp and roasted boar stuffed with mushrooms and drench in gravy.

Loki cut himself a large piece of honeyed ham and brought them to his plate.

"What is it like in Jotunheim?" Thor wondered.

Loki considered it for a moment.

"Different" He said finally. "A different beauty. An ominous one some would say"

"In a realm so harsh, I would expect so"

"Our beauty is not in the gold that lined our walls or the gems in our artworks or our metal craft or music or dances. They do not define us" Loki said. "Jotunheim is a realm of silver and white of ice and snow. Our beauty is in our buildings, temples, cathedral, statues, walls and bridges that spend hundreds of miles long and thrice as large and as wide as the stone bridges of Asgard. And should you be lucky enough to enter the great hall of Laufey, I say to you, look upon the walls, the pillars, the very ground you stand and you will see our history carve so finely and in such detail into its very structure. And if you look upon the throne of ice and steel from the dais, you will see Yggdrasil before you. We are builders, creators and crafters as hard as it is for you Aesir to believe, that is Jotunheim"

"I believe you" Thor said. "I saw the design you drew for the gold pieces of your armor. I have never seen anything like it"

Loki picked up a piece of pie.

He had not lied about Jotunheim, but with the lost of the casket, the temperature had risen in the centuries. These great feats of art, their buildings, their bridges and statues had crumbled into rubbles and were in ruin. The walls had to be mended every decade or so to keep the ice strong but eventually that would crumble too. The glacial had melted, flooding the lower land. Crops and life stocks die in the numbers from the heat and crumbling ice beneath. Famine plagued the realm for millennium, sickness spread, claiming tens of thousands. Jotunheim is a dying realm. But not anymore… the casket is home at long last.

The serving men came and cleared off the unfinished dishes and Thor motioned for the sweets to be served. Loki dipped his greasy digits into a small bowl of lemon water, cleaning his fingers.

"I hope you like caramel apples" Thor said.

From the moment Loki laid eyes on the theater, he could only wonder how he had missed such a massive structure that sweep upwards to the heavens with such height and with such grandeur.

The walls were silvery grey, smooth and cold, as if the entire structure were carved out of a mountain. Flying buttress connected the pinnacles. The tracery high above the entrance was an ornate interlacing pattern of vines and leafs framing the ocular of Gothic rose window. And gargoyles stood on either side of the entrance paved with stone. The vaulted ceiling within reaching massive heights was ornamented with a kaleidoscope of ruby, sapphire and emerald spanning across the entire theater.

Thor led Loki down the aisle and up a winding stair with rails of ebony and steps of marble, then down a hallway to their private seat in the balcony. Two velvet chairs were ready for them behind the thick crimson curtain of privacy.

"It seems Aesir do more than stack boulders together" Loki said once they had settled. "I am impressed"

"I'm glad you approve"

From where Loki sat, he could make out that most of the audience were noble ladies and their grumpy Lords who wished he could be anywhere but this embarrassment of a place.

"If…if this is not to your taste, we may leave and I'll think of something" Thor said quickly, just as the lights dimmed, the organs started, mist and smoke curled and rose and the curtains began to rise.

A voice that puts the angels to shame radiated in splendor. It was a story of ice, of love so pure, destroyed in the hands of betrayal, giving way to anger, vengeance, destruction and death. Loki was intrigue by the singer's voices, by the sensual grace the dancers move and by the music that resonate.

He looked over at Thor by his side, who was watching the musical, but Loki could tell that worry and fear still sits on his mind. Worry perhaps that he might have been seen coming in here. Fear of the rumors that would spread. And perhaps even the fear that Loki would mock and tease him too.

A gentle smile touch Loki's lips, and what he did next, he would tell himself it was all part of his scheme. Or that it was for his own sake. He straightened up in his seat. And with a few well chosen words, the warmth of seid trickle over his fingers and shimmering sliver thread stirred, curling and dancing over the palm of his hand.

"Loki?" There was fear in Thor's voice.

"Shhh…put your worries to rest. And enjoy, your Grace…" With a gentle wave of his hand, the thread drifted from Loki's slender fingers, leaping and dancing over the round chamber down below.

Thor's eyes widened as the scene of gold and red slowly morphed to silver and white, as told by the song of ice. Details… beauty that could only exist in a world of fantasy. Glowing silver thread splashed across the golden chandelier and at once it was gold no more, but glassy cerulean.

The audience beneath gasped and clapped, thinking it was all part of the performance as pillars too started to fade and shimmering white petals of roses began to fall like snow.

And with another curl of Loki's finger, the light dimmed, till it was almost as dark as night, but enough to see the performer on stage. Mist and smoke rose and slithered across the carpeted floor.

The audience beneath whispered in excitement.

The performer sang on and danced as if this were all part of the act.

Loki chuckled, casting glittering illusions of delicate beast, of does and stags and doves as in the dark melody Thor loved so much.

Loki had given them more intriguing thing to talk about than the King, come morning. If indeed they did see their Golden King that is.

"I may not be much of a dancer" Loki said. "But that doesn't mean I am not a performer" With a flick of his fingers, the soaring dove splashed against the lead singer and her velvet dress of royal purple were shimmering white of snow.

The audience leaped to their feet, clapping in breath taking awe.

"Talk of these would be more fascinating than you I am sure" Loki looked back at Thor to see that at last, he was smiling.

Worry and fear had left the King. Thor chuckled.

"You are…beyond words" Thor said.

As the night dwindled, the darkness, and elegance, the macabre beauty depict in their melody were brought to life beneath Loki's design and imagination with simply the twirl, and wave of his long pale fingers. Horses prance through a silver storm; carriages raced uncontrolled and vanished with a terrifying flash of venom green, giving way to a dozen ghostly figures dancing gracefully, across the chamber with their nimble steps and sweeping translucent gowns of glowing cerulean. Their glittering translucent face were beautiful, their expressions were a point between pain and sensuality.

Faster and faster they twirl as the dark music of the organ resonated in crescendo and the soprano resonated to high heavens. Then merging finally as one glittering cerulean dancing silhouette; terrifying silver tendril rose at once in numbers, chasing and chasing as the figure dance in all her splendor, at last ensnaring her, curling and enveloping, piercing and ripping her shimmering gown in macabre beauty even as she twirled and struggled, opening her translucent lips in one last silent scream, she fell and was no more.

The audience gasped.

Then with another flash, thousands of glowing cerulean butterflies burst forth, and snow began to fall.

Scenes of ice morphed and change in every act, as if a passing memory.

By the end of the night, it was without a doubt one of the best and most beautiful performance Thor had ever seen. And if he had enjoyed one more, he had no memory of it.

"Thank you" Thor said when at last they left the theater.

"Don't flatter yourself" Loki said. "Their performance was pathetic in the first act and I don't watch pathetic performance"

"I see"

Hesitantly, Thor took Loki's hand as they came to the river side. Fireflies glowed all about them as they walked silently, and all that could be heard were the soft rushing of water and the soft murmurs of the roaring party on the other side of the town.

Then Thor spoke.

"For the beast of our children's nightmares, able to fashion something so beautiful with such ease, I cannot help but wonder if we have been so dreadfully wrong. Perhaps peace is not so impossible"

"Or perhaps, you are simply a blind fool"

"You are not a monster"

Loki snorted. "Sentiments..."

"You are not a monster" Thor said again, more firmly.

"Only you" Loki thought, turning to face Thor. "Only you had ever looked at me without contempt or disgust or fear. Only you do not see a monster"

Without thinking, Loki lifted his slender free fingers to touch Thor's face, turning the God to him.

"Loki?"

"…"

"Are you alri-" A slender finger pressed against Thor's lips.

A pain, an ached…a good one Loki thinks, tightened in his chest.

Truth, his declaration to Odin that he could feel absolutely nothing positive was not strictly true. Sometimes there is still the ever so faint lingering of warmth, a dull throb; a shimmering ached of something… good, beneath a numbing layer of shell that thickens with each whisper of black magic. But in these rare occasions, he refuses to acknowledge them. He rejects them utterly. Perhaps in that sense, you could say that his declaration is true.

But this time…it just wouldn't go. The faint lingering ache of something…and it terrifies him.

Gently, Thor reached up to hold Loki's hand, and with a tenderness that always startle Loki, making him long for something he could almost remember, Thor kisses the palm of his hand.

For a moment Helblindi was stunned, frozen in place at the sight, when he opened Byleistr's door. At first sight, there was a scuffle on the bed; two larger Jotuns were wrestling Byleistr down, shoving the prince roughly into the fur beneath. Byleistr snarled and kicked, fighting pinching fingers. Then all at once, Helblindi's sense came crashing down on him as if a thousand ton boulder. Horror twisted, anger surged.

"Get away from him!" Helblindi dashed across the chamber without a thought.

One of the assailants barely managed to turn around before a fist came flying, breaking his nose with a loud crack, snapping his head back.

"Blindi! Blindi!" Byleistr cried in panic.

The goon fell back in shock. Helblindi was swinging his fist again when Byleistr caught his wrist.

"Stop it! Stop!" Byleistr spat in shaking rage; his eyes were murderous. "What are you doing?!"

Helblindi looked at him in shock and confusion.

What was he doing? He was saving his brother from being raped that was what he was doing! Or at least that was what he thought he was doing! Byleistr angry expression was surely telling him a different story though.

Helblindi looked at the two Jotun who had scurried off the bed; one was nursing his bleeding nose, while the other was looking rather uncomfortable. They were naked and now that Helblindi was looking, he knew their faces. One was Byleistr's personal guard and the other was Tyr, Thrym's second in command and soon to be General when Thrym dies; which seem to be soon.

"What is going on here?!" Helblindi demanded; turning to his brother.

Byleistr growled, shoving Helblindi's hand away.

"You should be clad in robes of black feathers brother" Byleistr gritted, getting off the bed. "Your arrival is as ill luck as the raven from the south"

"…"

"Sveinn, clean yourself up and take the night off" Byleistr snapped at his bloodied guard. "And Tyr…you stay"

"As you command my prince" Tyr bowed.

"Come brother" Byleistr beckoned for Helblindi to follow him, grabbing his loincloth off the chair as he passed, but not the fur. He did not intent to speak to his brother for long.

Byleistr showed Helblindi into a small room connected to his and shuts the door with a click. It was his work room. He did not offer Helblindi a seat.

"What now?" Byleistr puts on his loincloth. "I told you not to come unannounced did I not?"

"What was that about?!" Helblindi snapped; as if he had suddenly found his voice.

"Sex. I like the struggle and I like it rough. Have you arrived later; I would have been tied up and beaten too. Just so you know, if you decide on another unannounced visit"

"You are sleeping with Tyr?! Since when?!"

"What is it to you who I take to my bed?" Byleistr ties the cloth loosely. One well place tug would be enough to unravel it.

"Do you sleep with all the Generals and their second in command?!" Helblindi was clearly disgusted.

Byleistr heaved a sigh.

Helblindi… Helblindi... That sweet innocent mind of his...

The thought of telling Helblindi that the title of prince, and promise of power isn't the only way to get men to do your bidding or acquire information, the best weapon happens to be between ones leg was tempting. Helblindi's expression would have almost been worth the annoyance. Almost.

"I do not sleep with Thrym" Byleistr said instead.

Not that he hadn't tried seducing him. He just didn't look enough like their dam for that to work. He had more muscles, and was more on the bulky side like their sire. If he had Loki's leaner, hungrier look, he might have succeeded.

A pity really.

Oh well, Lord Thrym will be discharge of his position soon.

Before Helblindi could open his mouth to say another word, Byleistr cuts in. "I doubt our confinement sentence is over so soon. Why are you here?"

Helblindi gritted his jaws as he glared at Byleistr.

Why had he come? Well, he had come to have a talk with his dear sibling about that scheme of his with Thrym.

Laufey had been soft. Too soft! As he always is when it came to them. He will not accept it! You do not betray your family!

He wanted to ask Byleistr why? how? How did it come to all this?! What is wrong with him?! And to stop this insanity! He wanted to hear Byleistr say he had given up his poisonous fantasy! Given up his murderous madness! Something…

"Well?" Byleistr asked impatiently when Helblindi remain silent.

"Nothing" Helblindi rasped. "I do not think now is the best time. I did not know you have company"

"Clearly"

"I will take my leave now"

"Please do…and might I suggest that there is no reason to inform anyone of this liaison"

"If you swear to stop this nons-"

"It is none of your business who I take to my bed"

"Tyr is with mate!"

"Yes. I have not forgotten the time when Loki publicly shames him over his infidelity…which I assure you, he is still sore from it. But as you can see, he is still rather loose with his cock and cunt" Byleistr said. "So really, humiliating him again, isn't going to change much"

"Telling dam would make sure he keeps his cock out of you!"

"Hmm…maybe" Byleistr shrugged. "But are you so cruel that you would lay even more burden on dam when he is mourning over Lord Thrym's dead bed?"

"…"

"Or sire? When he is at his wits end with dam's anguish and the wild rumors that it is he who sends Fenrir?"

In that instant, Helblindi simply looked at Byleistr as if he was some kind of monster, speaking to him with his brother's voice and image. His silence though, is answer enough for Byleistr.

"I think not" Byleistr grinned. "Good night, brother"

Creaking bed, shallows pants; tanned skin and piercing cerulean eyes that seemed to glow in the dark of night. Warm hands slides down Loki's inner thighs, brushing teasingly over the edge of Loki's straining length. Loki groaned in near pain from the need to be touched.

"If only I could have you in your true form…" Thor whispered.

"Some things…are not meant to be…Some things…not even the King can demand it be done…" Loki shuddered.

There was something different tonight. Something different in the way Thor touches him, kisses him. There was none of that wild passion, the intoxicating excitement of pain, danger and domination.

Loki moaned as he drops his head back against the side of the bed, lips parted and fingers twisting the sheets beneath them as Thor move in him at a slow pace, impaling him over and over again. Setting him ablaze with every thrust and letting the fire burn torturously slow, letting pleasure mount till Loki wanted to scream and Thor would stop and he would kiss him…his lips…his neck…his collarbone…his chest…that warm lips brushes over his tense shoulder. And those rough warm hands would caress him with a tenderness Loki could not bear. He'd touch him everywhere but where he ache the most, where he wanted to be touched the most.

Thor's gentleness, the painful desperation in which Thor worshiped every inch of his body was more intoxicating, more cruel than any pain Thor could give to him. He begged for Thor to end his torment, he pleaded and weeps in frustration, and clawed down the arms and back of the Aesir King. But Thor ignored him.

Everything happened at Thor's will, and in his time and his time alone. There was a certain excitement to this indifference Loki found. There is thrill in submission, a certain blend of humiliation and exhilaration, to be so completely owned, to be so completely at another's mercy. To know that his pleasure is Thor's to give and to deny, his pain, his moans were for Thor and Thor alone.

"Please…please…let me…please…" Loki gasped; long pale fingers clenched and unclenched those messy golden tresses, his inner thigh ached with the exertion as Thor slowly lowered him down on his hard erection, piercing him, impaling him relentlessly, sending streaks of lightning tearing through him, a pleasure mounted to such sweet pain that he could only weep.

He wanted to come so badly without Thor having once touched his throbbing length; without Thor once having struck him, he wanted….

"Not yet…" Thor kissed Loki's ribs. "Not yet…" Rough thumb wipes away Loki's tears of frustration.

And when finally Loki did come with a painful cry of ecstasy against trembling flesh, he was on his back with their grappling fingers laced together and their bodies covered in sweat.

"Is it always like this with you…? So painfully gentle…and dragged out…?" Loki whispered long after when his head rested against Thor's chest, long pale fingers ghosting over Thor's hard packs as he was held close to the King.

"Mostly…I like it this way" Thor said.

This was the first time Thor had held Loki since the purging. The first time he had held Loki with his mind truly his own.

"So you make all your partners beg and weep in frustration? And yet you blame me for your perversion? You are indeed a wolf in sheep's clothes aren't you, your Grace?" Loki teased.

"No…it is only you that I have begging me"

"Is that right?"

"I know you like the power play. You know I would not hurt you if you come at any time. And I did not command you not to; I simply did not command you to when you pleaded. But you would not without my permission or command because you like the idea of being owned completely. It arouses you. It thrills you. So I try to provide it…but my way"

"Still a wolf in sheep's clothes" Loki lifted his gaze to Thor, probed against a mountain of pillow at his back.

Cerulean meets emerald.

"Well you know me best" Thor said cheekily.

"That I do"

"Aye"

"What of those wild abandon passion?" Loki asked.

Thor let out a soft chuckle. "I enjoy those…wild abandon passions too. But dominating my bed partner to that extent that I did, does not come naturally to me. My partners are not my possessions nor are they beneath me. They are my equal and I respect them"

"What if this partner likes it?"

Thor smiles, his thumb strokes Loki's bare shoulder.

"Exceptions could be made"

"Hmm…"

"Do you want to…?" Thor asked. "We could go a second round. Your way, if you li-"

"It's fine" He shifted closer against Thor.

"Okay" Thor drew the woolen cover up to Loki's shoulder.

The night had become silent, the sound of parties were no more. In another few hours dawn would be upon them. Thor didn't want tonight to end. But not even a King, can command time to stop. His free fingers lifted to tuck the stray strand of Loki's bangs over to back of the prince's ear.

There was still something tingling at the back of his mind, and it has been since the day Loki absently told him the tale of Lord Thrym's unborn child and later declares that he was a monster with ease and even pride.

"Loki…"

"Um?"

"If you must insist that you are a monster…then know this. You are more than just a mindless beast. You are more than just a title, just a prince…" Thor slips a finger beneath Loki's chin, making Loki look up upon him. "You are freedom, you are strength, you are wit, you are courage, you are fire, you are defiance and you are…perfect"

Loki smiles a sad smile, lifting a hand to cup Thor's face. Words he had never spoken whispered from his lips unbidden. Words he had never spoken and after tonight, he never will again.

"You are more than a son, a brother, a friend, a warrior. You are more than the sword and shield that protects the realm, more than the faith and hope of Gods and men. More than the King of Kings" Loki whispered. "You are honor, you are faith, you are forgiveness, you are mercy, you are compassion, you are kindness, you are love…and I…thank you"

It was noon when Thor and Loki finally decided to tumble out of bed. Thor blinked when he saw four tired but familiar faces lounging in the lobby, waiting for him.

"My friends" Thor beamed. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you do not run" Sif said. "The Queen's order"

"Run?"

"The Queen worries. You vanish yesterday my King" Fandral said.

"Ah…forgive me. It was just a bit of fun" Thor slings his arm over Fandral's shoulder.

Fandral thought Thor did look a little apologetic, if not, a little sad.

"Told you he is alright" Volstagg laughs, patting Thor's back. "If you want a bachelor's party, just say so"

"I'll do that next time"

"Next time"

They laugh as Loki came down the stairs wearing the stuffy armor he hated. It was much easier to wear it back than to carry loathed as Loki is to admit.

"Ah…the little prince!" Volstagg announced when he saw Loki.

Loki simply gave him a nod, saying nothing.

Then all too soon Hogun had them walking back to the palace.

Sif and Loki walked a little slower, following the warrior three and Thor who were laughing in front of them. They were back to their jokes as if the entire ordeal of knocking on every inn one after the other and receiving the same negative reply, the dread as the hour ticks and there was no sign of their king, the mounting worry that perhaps Thor had indeed elope…it was as if none of that had ever happened. Or perhaps the warrior three were simply better at forgiveness than her.

Sif did not know.

She is furious at the irresponsible stunt that Thor pulled. She is furious at what Thor puts Frigga through. At the careless way Thor nearly destroy Asgard's reputation among the other realms. But more than anything, more than anger, she worries for him. The Jotun prince has the power to make or unmake Thor.

"If you betray him, I'll kill you" Sif said.

"My Lady, indeed your loyalty is astounding"

"He is my king and friend"

"Yes…and it pains you doesn't it? To know that that is all he would ever be"

"I've accepted that I can never be his Queen"

"But you could be mine"

Sif lets out a soft humorless laugh. "This is all a game to you isn't it?" She turns to Loki.

"What do you think?"

"I do not care enough to think what anything means to you. But I will tell you this, if you hurt him, I will kill you, and that is my vow to you"

"Then my Lady, this is my vow to you" Loki said. "When you come for me, I will adorn you with the crown of high honor. I will give you a battle and a death that would put the warriors that sit in the golden hall of Valhalla to shame. I will put you on the right hand seat of the Allfather in that golden hall above all that had mocked you, for there is no other place that could be worthy of you"