Loki sat alone in his quiet little cell, idly staring up at the ceiling as he waited out these last few hours in peace. Thor would be here soon, he was already late, who knows where the All-Father had him, but Loki was certain that Thor didn't stay away by his own choice. As he ran a hand over his short dark hair and the scar on the back of his neck, he let out a shaken sigh, wishing for Thor to appear, or Frigga, any comforting face to give him hope in the last bit of time he had left of his life. Odin's verdict of death had been swift, and of no surprise to Loki, though he couldn't help but see the utter heartbreak on Thor's face as he was lead down to the dungeons.

Thor had kept his promise and ignored Odin's wishes, staying with Loki any chance he got, assuring him he wouldn't let Odin execute him, that he would find a way to get him out of there and to safety before the blade could find Loki's neck. Loki had wanted to believe him, he really did, and it didn't make him love Thor any less to see him fail, but he only had a few hours left and there was no sign of him or anyone else.

"Thor…please…" he begged softly into the silence. "Please don't make me do this alone. I don't care if you save me or not, I just don't want to be alone…"

"And who says you are alone?"

Loki sat up, spotting Odin standing alone outside of his cell, his heart lurching in his chest. Thor had failed, he'd been caught and now Odin was here to rub it in that Loki's savior wasn't going to make it in time to save him. He didn't think he had hope for Thor's plan until now that it had died, it saddened him a bit to know that he'd truly believed in Thor even despite the odds. He did love that man deeply, if only he'd realized it sooner.

"Hello, All-Father," Loki said quietly. "I thought I had a few hours left before we were to meet again."

Odin ignored Loki's comment, pacing slowly as he looked in at the man that had once been his son, the child he'd had so much hope for.

"Do you think I want this?" Odin asked him finally. "Do you think that it brings me joy to see you here?"

"No…it makes two of us, I don't want to be here as well, and I take no joy in my imprisonment, or my death," Loki said to him, rising to walk over to the door of his cell in front of Odin, arms at his side, glad to at least have been given proper clothing to wear before he was to face his execution. If only he could grow his hair back over night. "I imagine this is quite shameful for you, to have to take the life of a man who was once your son."

There was no sarcasm in Loki's voice, only sincerity, though it didn't appear to melt the heart of Odin any more than if he'd been derisive. Loki didn't have enough strength left in him to play games, he felt like the last few months had been one long race and he was nearing the finish line now. He was ready to stop running now, he wanted nothing more than to rest.

"Your mother and brother beg me incessantly to spare your life, why do you think this is?" Odin asked next, pacing slowly in front of the space in front of Loki's cell, occasionally turning to look at his prisoner, hand gripping his spear.

"They love me," Loki answered without hesitation, momentarily feeling ill for both Frigga and Thor. While he may not fear his own death, he knew they both dreaded it. "They think there is a chance you will show me mercy because you once felt the same."

"And what do you think? Do you think there is hope I will be merciful to you?" Odin stopped mid stride, his eye locking with Loki's as he spoke. "Would you beg for your own life?"

Loki swallowed hard, taking a moment before finally shaking his head. As much as he knew it would hurt Thor and his mother, he didn't have it in him to plead for anything, much less his life. He hated the thought of disappointing them, but he knew at least Thor would understand why he couldn't do it if he ever learned of this conversation.

"I don't believe you became one of the most feared beings in the Nine Realms by throwing mercy around," Loki said to him finally, holding his hands behind his back as he faced his father, or the only father he'd ever really known. "If you show me clemency, it weakens your position, it shows what you will allow someone to get away with unchecked. I know what I have done, I am aware of my crimes, and I know the penalty for them. I will not plead you for my life, All-Father, if that's what you came for, then I hate to disappoint you."

"Are you aware of a plan of Thor's to release you from prison?" Odin said, a little surprised so far with Loki's answers. He was always a smart boy though, Odin had no doubt that he knew just what to say, they didn't call Loki silver tongued for no reason.

"I was aware he was forming a plan, through I didn't know what it was. I assume it's failed seeing that you know about it. I didn't encourage him, if you're asking, it was entirely his own doing," Loki had a hard time keeping a straight face that time as he pictured how Thor must have felt knowing he failed the person he most loved. "He doesn't want to face being without me, as I wouldn't want to face being without him in his position. It's much easier to be the dead one."

Odin watched the man he'd once called his son for a moment, looking for any crack in his demeanor, anything that would hint this dejected, broken Loki was anything but sincere. Despite the love of Thor, Loki hadn't changed much after coming home to Asgard from what the humans had done to him on Midgard. Odin was aware of everything that had transpired, Heimdall filling him in on all the details of Loki's imprisonment and torture. Frigga had insisted that Loki had suffered enough at their hands, but Odin had disagreed, his own word being the final one, though he wasn't oblivious to his wife's pain through all this. Or his son's.

"He had informed me that he refuses to give up on you, despite you giving up on yourself," Odin said, looking into Loki's dull eyes, gripping his spear tighter. "Do you even want to live, Loki? Would a pardon be wasted on you?"

Loki perked up a bit, though he knew Odin's wording didn't mean that he was going to get one, it was purely a hypothetical situation. And, knowing the All-Father, it was likely to remain one.

"I want to stay with Thor, more than anything I want to stay with him, whether I'm in this cell or not, as long as I'm with him, that is all I want. For both him and myself," Loki said, his voice bordering on pleading as he forced himself to keep his eyes on Odin's. "I want to live more for Thor, and for mother, than for myself. If it was just me, then…then I think I would welcome the axe."

Odin seemed to take a moment to ponder this over, staring at Loki, his body still though Loki knew he was deep in thought by the look in his eye. He would have to hope that Odin was taking what he said to heart, that he cared more for Thor and Frigga's reactions to this than his own pride and throne. He wasn't holding his breath, however.

"…I will see you in a few hours, Loki," Odin said, his voice softer than it had been when he asked Loki his questions, but it seemed that nothing else had changed. The execution was still on, there was no point to anything that had just transpired, it only hurt more to see anther glimmer of hope only to have it extinguished.

Loki nodded briefly at Odin, unable to speak as the lump in his throat grew. Turning, he went back to sit on his small bed, knowing now that Thor wasn't coming for the last few hours he had left. He was to be alone until the end, a thought that weighed heavily on his heart. For the first time since he'd heard his verdict said aloud, Loki was frightened.

He'd been bound and chained to be lead up from the dungeon to where he was going to die, but Loki remained calm throughout his procession. It wasn't a public execution, he was still a prince, but as Loki approached, he saw his mother and brother waiting for him to arrive, both with red-rimmed eyes. His heart ached at the sight of them, though he selfishly felt comfort knowing they were there for him. Though deep down, Loki knew they shouldn't have to see him die, especially in so gruesome a manner.

"You should take Mother from here," Loki said as he was lead to the block, still standing before it. "I love you both, I don't want you to have to see me lose my head."

"We do not want you to be alone when you do," Thor answered, keeping an arm around Frigga who was weeping openly. "We are not going to leave you now, Loki, do not try to argue with us. We love you too."

Loki tried to smile comfortingly, but could only frown, his shoulders sinking as his eyes stayed locked on Thor's, his heart beating fast. He hated to see such sadness etched out on the face of the man he loved, and he hated it more to think that it was his own decisions that lead to Thor's pain. Odin may be the one who ordered the execution, but it was Loki that committed the crimes, he was well aware of that. And while Thor should hate him for doing what he did, for hurting him so much, there was only compassion and love from his brother, which broke Loki's heart even more.

"On your knees, prisoner," the executioner said, pushing down on Loki's shoulder, forcing him down onto his knees before the block. His heavy hand pushed Loki forward next, resting his neck against the block so that he faced forward, once again looking at Thor and Frigga. He could do nothing for them, though, he could only watch them in their sorrow as they stood against the All-Father and for him in his hour of need. Though, even with them there to support him, Loki was truly afraid.

"Loki Laufeyson, you are guilty of spreading destruction and death, and for your crimes against the people of Midgard, you are to meet your death," Odin said, seemingly oblivious to the pain he was causing his wife and son, not to mention the child he adopted. "Do you have any last words?"

"…please…please don't do this, Father," Loki begged Odin, his gaze still on Thor and Frigga, his heart aching for them. "For them, don't do this to me. You can keep me imprisoned, you can keep me in chains, but please keep me so they can see me when they want…"

"Father, if you do this, if you kill him, I will never forgive you," Thor spoke up, his voice shaking with anger as his fingers twitched on the handle of his hammer, ready to let loose with Mjolnir the second the executioner raised his axe to put an end to the situation his own way. He wasn't going to let Loki die today, even if he had to disobey his father. "If you kill one son, you will lose the other, I assure you."

"Odin, please…" was all Frigga could add, afraid for her son and the fallout this execution would cause in their family. She wasn't prepared to lose Thor as well, but she understood why he would want to leave.

Odin raised his hand to direct the axe to raise, though he paused as he stood still, regarding his family. This wasn't what he expected when he first gave the order for Loki to die, he knew Thor had grown attached to him, but the anger and fear in his son's expression was more than he'd bargained for. While he didn't approve of the relationship between Thor and Loki, he'd been wrong when he thought it would be easy to break with Loki's death. The execution would only serve to complicate manners rather than simplify them.

"Wait…" Odin said, lowering his hand as he kept his eyes on Thor, not wanting to admit defeat but also not wanting to lose his only heir. He would have to break them apart one day, but this wasn't the way. "Stop, I am issuing a pardon for the prisoner, his sentence will be served in a prison cell, not by the axe, until, in my wisdom, I deem him reformed. He suffered enough at the hands of the humans that captured him, it is not necessary to take his life."

Loki could scarcely believe what he was hearing, he expected Thor to start swinging Mjolnir to save him, he didn't expect to hear Odin change his mind. He couldn't wrap his mind around it, even as the guards hauled him back to his feet, keeping a hold of his arms as they prepared to take him back to his cell. He was alive, he wasn't going to be killed by his adopted father, he was going to see another day with Thor by his side, and…

He didn't even see Thor approach him, he was just suddenly in front of Loki, taking his face into his hands and pressing an enthusiastic kiss against Loki's lips before wrapping his arms around him. Loki longed to raise his own shackled hands up to touch Thor's jaw and the short hair that covered it, but he was still held back by the guards, though that didn't stop him from kissing Thor back just as enthusiastically. In that moment, he was free, and nothing mattered except Thor.

"Return him to his cell," Odin said, turning to head inside with Frigga close behind him, thanking him for changing his mind, though he didn't want to hear it. He hadn't done it for Loki, and even now he wasn't sure of his decision, but he'd made it and now he must deal with the consequences.

As the guards pulled Loki back, his lips broke away from Thor's with a whimper, though there was a grin on both of their faces when they looked at each other again. They would both be together again that night as always, to make love or just lie in each others arms, without the thought of death hanging over them. They could celebrate for once after living without anything to look forward to, it was a wonderful notion to both, something they'd needed for so very long.

"I must return to my cell, will I see you later?" Loki said, a smile still on his face as the guards began to lead him away. Imprisoned or not, he felt as if he'd been restored. He would have to thank Thor properly later for standing up for him, and their mother when he saw her next, but he figured it was going to be quite a while before he saw Odin again. It was all for the better though, it wasn't as if he missed his adopted father's company.

"I will be there, you have my word," Thor smiled back, raising his hand in a wave as Loki was taken back down into the dungeons. After checking on their mother to make sure she was alright after the events of the day, Thor would join him as promised, bringing him down some books or something to help him pass the time when Thor would have to eventually leave again. His schedule wasn't always as open as Thor may like, having his duties to the realm after all, but he wouldn't forget about Loki for a second. He would do what he could to spend at much time with Loki as he could during his time in prison, and when the day came when Odin let him out, they would be together properly.

Until that day came, though it couldn't come soon enough for him, Thor would love and protect his brother as always, wherever he may be.