Author's note: This chapter was inspired by a comment from AidennQueen. :)
In reply to A huge fangirl – Most chapters have been pre-written, or I would never have been able to update every two days. ;) I have no sequel planned, but I think this story will wrap things up rather neatly as it is. As for when they will receive the verdict… well, we shall see. ;)
For the first time since their arrival, Thor is actually having breakfast with them instead of being forced to tend to the many duties that comes with bearing the title of Asgard's crown prince. However, Loki can quickly tell that his appetite is not quite up to par and that there is something bothering him. Thor is not usually as subdued and solemn as this, and his responses to Tony's never-ending chatter are tense and curt.
Loki quickly dismisses the most obvious explanation – that it's the hearing and what may or may not come out of it that's weighing heavily on his mind, because when they had talked about it yesterday evening, Thor had not seemed nearly as glum. Yes, he had been serious and at times even solemn, but he had still tried to maintain his optimism, stubbornly clinging to the hope that the outcome would be favourable and at least provide Loki with some form of leniency.
But the tautness in the limbs as Thor reaches for his mug of beer had not been there yesterday, and neither had the deep lines on his forehead nor the shadowed look in his eyes. Those are all new additions as of today, having been brought by something else.
However, Thor gives nothing away of what is troubling him as they devour their lavish breakfast, but Loki takes note of the furtive glances thrown into his direction as if Thor is searching for answers of one sort or the other, though Loki is not even sure what the questions are.
"You seem tense, Thor," he finally says, once those long looks get to be too much for him. "Is something bothering you?"
Thor pauses, hand halting in mid-air, still clutching a half-eaten slice of bread. He is silent for a few heartbeats before he drops the bread onto his plate, and reaches out for more beer instead. "We will speak of it later," he merely says in response, then proceeds to drink deeply from the mug tightly clutched into his hand.
Loki raises an eyebrow at that. So there is something eating away at Thor, then; it was not merely a figment of his imagination.
But Thor seems reluctant to speak further on the subject, despite Tony's unsubtle prodding that the Thunderer can say whatever he wants to around him, because he won't tell a living soul a thing, so cross his heart. The man's insistencies have no effects, though, as Thor stubbornly keeps his silence.
It is only when their breakfast is finished and done with that Thor once more turns towards Tony, who is sprawling in his chair, both hands resting on his full stomach, and looking like he'd rather roll than walk away from the table.
"If you don't mind, Man of Iron, I would like some words with my brother in private," he says in a voice that makes it clear that despite the polite wording, it is an order that he expects to be obeyed without objections.
Tony is quiet for a few seconds as his gaze flickers between the two of them, and then he laboriously heaves himself up from the chair and onto his own two feet. "Brother-to-brother talk, huh? Sure, no probs. I'll just excuse myself and go brush my teeth, then. With a toothbrush." He crumples the napkin in his hand into a tight ball and disposes of it on his plate as he makes to leave. "Actually, that's one thing I think you guys should consider adopting. It's a totally neat invention, and does wonders for your dental hygiene."
Thor meets the suggestion without a comment, despite his usual eagerness to discuss Midgardian customs and inventions. Finally sensing that Thor is not in the mood, Tony offers a 'fine, see you guys later, then,' and heads out the door, leaving the two of them alone.
At that, Thor turns towards Loki, the creases on his brow deepening as he looks him over, gaze oddly prying and inquiring. Loki on his hand merely waits, not sure what it is that Thor wants to speak about. It doesn't seem like it's going to be anything pleasant.
"I have heard rumours," Thor eventually says, letting the words hang in the air as if he's waiting for Loki to snatch them up.
So he does.
"Well, the servants always talk," he replies with a shrug, leaning back into his chair as he crosses his arms. "What is it about this time?"
Thor's jaws are moving as if they're trying to grind a piece of rock into dust before he finally opens his mouth to answer. "It concerns the nature of the… relation between you and Man of Iron," he says, the beer mug in his hand deforming a little beneath the pressure exerted on it. "About him… exercising the full rights of a master in regards to his slave."
And a part of Loki had sensed this might be coming, but he's still glad he doesn't have any food or drink in his mouth, or he would probably have spat it right out at hearing this from Thor's lips.
Of course, it would make sense that such rumours would eventually reach even the ears of the Thunderer himself, but Loki hadn't expected it to happen so soon. After all, even the servants with the loosest tongues would be too cautious to let slip any such within earshot of the royal prince. And after so many centuries of living in the Royal Halls, Loki is well aware that most of what would be simmering and bubbling among the servants are not things spoken of openly, even if such talk has a propensity to eventually trickle up the ranks.
But somehow, this has now made its unfortunate way even to Thor's ears, and on the face before him Loki can now see scepticism and the conviction that it's just an ugly rumour mingle with the unavoidable fear that it might still be true.
"Is there any substance behind this talk?" Thor demands at Loki's stunned silence, more hotly this time, his fist having let go of the now ruined mug but still clenching tightly as if it is imagining gripping the hilt of Mjölnir itself.
And of course, he should immediately assure Thor that no, there is no truth whatsoever in those rumours, Tony has never done any of the sort to him, nor would he in a million years. But still, there is something inside of him that wants… confirmation. Because this is his brother who claims to love him above all else, who once made a solemn promise, still remembered, to always protect him back when they were little boys and a very proud Thor had just received his first wooden training sword. Maybe he should not push it, maybe he should leave well alone – but he still wants to know.
"And what would you do if these rumours were true, Thor?" he says evenly, holding his breath as he dreads the answer, watching the shift in the well-known face of the man before him.
No, maybe he shouldn't have asked such a question, because both of them know that Thor has no rights no interfere, not even a prince of Asgard would have any say in what a master does to his slave.
Thor's voice is like the sharp blade of a sword on a crisp winter's night. "I'd make him stop, somehow," he says without even a moment of hesitation. He lifts his fist still clasping the imaginary Mjölnir. "Even if it meant-"
"Despite him merely doing what would be fully within his rights, as granted to him by Asgardian law?" Loki pushes on, unable to stop himself.
"Yes. I would." Thor looks positively miserable now, as he leans forward, grabbing hold of Loki's arm, pulling him closer. "Tell me, is this appalling rumour true? Has Man of Iron forced you to…?"
And he needs no further confirmation. Thor has said it all. All he ever needs to know. And the feeling welling up inside of him at those words is the same as that one time so many centuries ago that Thor had brandished that silly but treasured wooden stick of his, assuring Loki that if any of those frost giants ever breeched the gates of Asgard and tried to take his little brother away and eat him, Thor would chase them all off with his mighty sword.
"No, it's not," he hastens to reassure Thor, putting emphasis on every word. "Tony has done nothing of the sort, and he never would."
And Thor slumps back in his seat, the relief spreading across his face flattening those creases of worry out, as he expels a heavy breath of air, his eyes closing for a few seconds.
"You actually believed those mean-spirited rumours, Thor?" he says, eyeing the Thunderer's boneless form in front of him.
Thor slowly opens his eyes again to look him into the face. Then, he shakes his head. "No, I did not. But I had to make sure regardless when I encountered them this morning. I could not sit idly by and let such vile things happen to you."
"And you never considered until now that my appointed master might actually decide to take advantage of my position in that way?" Loki asks him, cocking his head.
Thor blinks a couple of times. "I admit, the idea that Man of Iron would do such a thing never entered my mind. I cannot imagine him dishonouring a captive enemy like that. Not until I heard the whispers travelling the Halls did I at all consider it," he says, looking away with a clear flush of shame on his face.
A flicker of annoyance piercing him, Loki finds himself on the verge of pointing out that he wishes that he could have shared that same conviction when he was sent to Tony's tower, because that would sure have saved him a lot of torment and anguish, considering what he had come to expect would happen to him in Tony's custody. But in the end, he holds his tongue, because he realizes it will only serve to pain Thor if he finds out about the suffering Loki went through, and he finds that he actually doesn't want to make Thor feel guilty for any of that. It's not like it was his fault, and there is no point in telling him now; all that is long in the past, and everything has changed so much since then.
Thor reaches out to him again, both hands grabbing Loki's forearms this time. "And whoever might come after Man of Iron, my assurances still stand. No one will treat you like that, slave or not. I will not let it happen, Loki. Please believe me when I say that."
Loki nods his understanding, the previous flicker of annoyance melting away to give way to a fuzzy ball of warmth spreading inside of him at Thor's expressed willingness to protect him from the worst possible consequences of his slavery. Perhaps Thor won't succeed in the end, but at least he will try with all his might; of that, Loki has no doubt. Yes, Thor is still willing to protect him, despite everything Loki has done to him and all the innumerable ways in which he has wronged him.
He looks up at Thor – no, his brother – meeting with those familiar steel blue eyes, realizing there is something still needed to be said, and he might as well say it now, because who knows how long it will be before he might get a chance to next time?
"I'm sorry, brother," he says. "For… everything."
Thor merely stares at him, his mouth closing and then opening again a few times as if he can't believe the words he's just heard. Then, the Thunderer gets up from his chair, which tips and falls over with a crash, and makes his way across the table to where Loki is sitting. A second later, a pair of strong arms are pulling him up from his seat, wrapping themselves around him in a tight embrace.
"You are forgiven, little brother," Thor mumbles into his ear, voice thick and heavy. "And whatever I might have done to drive you into such darkness, I ask forgiveness for it in turn"
"There is nothing to forgive," Loki says, returning the embrace, marvelling at how good it actually feels to be close to Thor, to be pressed against his chest like this. "You have done nothing wrong."
He doesn't know how much time has passed when they finally break free of each other, but when they do, Thor is smiling like the sun itself, looking anything but like how his title God of Thunder would imply.
As they're making their way back to meet up with Tony, Loki can't help but let his thoughts drift. And he wonders what Thor would think if he knew about the attraction that has developed between him and Tony, despite neither of them having really acted on it yet.
Thor had known about some of his old dalliances in the past, of course. It was an implicitly understood but not openly spoken of fact, the direction in which Loki's tastes in such matters ran. And he knew full well that Thor's opinions of such relationships were the same as the rest of Asgard. Such was unfit for a prince – for a man – willingly making himself argr like that, but despite his obvious disapproval, Thor had never said anything out loud, preferring to pretend as if wasn't happening. Which was probably just as well.
Thor would surely not approve of him and Tony engaging in any such any more than he had those other times. But there would also be no reason for him to approve any less either, as long as Loki was a willing participant and Tony didn't demand something that Loki did not want to give.
Of course, if Tony were to order it, Loki would be left with no choice but to acquiesce to his wishes, just like any other slave. But he knows that such a thing will never happen. Tony would never demand any such, he'd ask and make sure it's what Loki wanted before proceeding further. And if Loki were to tell him no, Tony would accept and respect that. Not like a master, but like how a real… lover would.
Not that he would say 'no' now, obviously. There could only ever be a 'yes' to that.
At that, his brain suddenly sees fit to provide him with a very detailed image of himself lying naked on Tony's bed, Tony's hands exploring his body, Tony's tongue tasting his skin, Tony's hard length pressing into his hip…
"Come to think of it, you actually… got one bed, didn't you?" Thor's sheepish words suddenly interrupt his thoughts.
"Yes," he confirms, letting the pleasing mental image slip away with a little sigh. His brother never did have good timing. "What else would we have gotten?"
"Why didn't you tell me? I could have had something else arranged."
"It doesn't matter. The bed was big enough for both of us." And it's not like he minded at all. "So are we leaving for Midgard now?" he quickly asks before Thor can say anything further, trying to steer the topic of conversation away onto something else.
"We will soon. I merely wish for Man of Iron to try something out before we depart," Thor says, as usual easily derailed.
And as they reach the door to their room, Loki can't help but marvel at how lucky he is. Because despite all his wrong-doings, there are still somehow two men out there who are willing to look out for him and do everything in their power to protect him.
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