Placing it-- well, most of it here because I loved this so much.
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liarofasgard: Thor… I should not be surprised you are the first to find me. You certainly have a knack for such things.
thunderofasgard: I am your brother. If not I, then who else? How do you fare, Loki?
liarofasgard: How I fare does not truly matter. I am here in one piece, and that is more than I expected.
You however, Thor… I did not expect to find you on Midgard so soon. Not after what happened.
thunderofasgard: More than you expect? Why? You are still prince of Asgard. Her people would not wish to see you in more than one piece.
I could say the same to you. What did Father say?
liarofasgard: Truly, you cannot think that my crimes would get me no more than a slap on the wrist and an invitation to reclaim my rightful place in a world I do not belong to? Nor do I have only Asgard’s punishments to fear.
Your father said nothing. I am not here of his accord. Did you think I would sit idly in Asgard awaiting my sentencing or the possibility of some part of the Chitauri you and your blighted band of friends didn’t manage to wipe out? There was no one to stop me, least of all you, so I slipped away.
thunderofasgard: In a world you do not belong to? Do you truly believe that you do not belong in Asgard, after having been raised there for most your life? Do you?
No, I did not think you would. And for the Chitauri— I will bring down every last one of them who would dare seek you out.
liarofasgard: I grow tired, Thor, of attempting to explain something you refuse to listen to. Think what you will. I do not belong anywhere, least of all Asgard.
Oh I have no doubt you would try… But it would take far more than trying. You would require the help of your friends to stand any chance of bringing them all down. And I highly doubt they would so readily stand and fight for my sake. Nor would I expect them to.
thunderofasgard: If you truly think that way, then I will no longer attempt to convince you otherwise. But know that if— if not Asgard, at least I will always welcome you with open arms.
That remains to be seen. But even then, even if none else in Yggdrasil will fight against the Chitauri for you— I still will. So long as I am capable of it.
liarofasgard: *laughs incredulously, backing away slightly from Thor as the momentary humor leaves his face*
Open arms? Fight for me if none else will? Your sentimentality knows no bounds, does it? Why do you try so hard, Thor? Why do you keep striving for something that I continue to show you does not exist any longer?
Why do you care so much?
thunderofasgard: Why?
All these years we have spent together, and you truly cannot think of why? All these years we have laughed, played and fought together, you ask why?
I cannot bear the thought of living without you. In my heart I hold you more dearly than Yggdrasil itself. You call it sentimentality, but I- love.
liarofasgard: Love?
*tries for words that refuse to come at first, his silver tongue soundly failing him as he absorbs Thor’s words. When they finally do form on his tongue, they lack all of the ire and heat he wishes for.*
Do you so quickly forget what I am, Thor? You cannot truly care so much for a cast off of a race you grew up fearing and hating. Regaling me with your once dreams of destroying them all. You cannot love a monster.
Those years you cling so desperately to. They were blackened by the shadow you cast over me. Torn asunder by the truth of what I am and what I never could be.
thunderofasgard: No, I cannot love a monster, but you are not one! I care not if you are Jotun or Aesir- you did not choose- and I see you as no less than my brother.
I… I have failed you many times in our past. Never paid heed of my careless words, of my arrogance and selfishness that had cost more than I had thought. But know this, Loki— you had always been my equal. You are strong in where I am flawed.
liarofasgard: How can I know what was never shown? How can I know more than what was driven into me? That no matter how flawed you are, you were never so flawed as I was. As I am. Yet you offer me such words. Do you realize you are the only one who would? Who would not turn and scoff; laugh at another slight to prove how unfit I am?
Your blind compassion is maddening. Frightening. No matter the daggers I attempt to twist into your heart, you do not give out. You do not even stop to waver. How can you continue to care so blindly, when I’ve done nothing more but harm and push you away?
thunderofasgard: Not as flawed as you? I think you wrong on that part. My whims had led us into many a mess and in such times I always thought things would be fine so long as I had you, the cleverer one, to aid us in our survival and bring us home. I would trust in your insightful words. I knew not but blind rage and even now all I have is the strength in my arms and Mjolnir, which will never be enough solve all the problems I wish I could.
I have always thought the world of you, Loki. I have faith in our years of kinship. In you- my brother.
liarofasgard: Thor…
Surely you know I think you a fool. A fool with the stubbornness of an ox and a far too soft heart. A fool who would deign to let himself be harmed time and again, with open arms and love where there should be hatred. A fool whose heart does not waver, no matter how I push you away, no matter my actions.
A fool who, I find, I have discredited. Only you, Thor, would not see flaws where others do. Would cherish my skills, instead of treating them as slights. Signs of weakness. Asgard certainly has no love for my seidr. Nor, love for my cleverness.
I have done naught to be worthy of your acceptance. Yet you offer it so simply. And I most certainly, think you a fool for it.
thunderofasgard: How could I believe your seidr and your cleverness be slights, when they were an art above my understanding and have proven their usefulness in our times of need? Fear of the unknown, of a weapon that they do not understand, was what wrought about the distaste of seidr.
My acceptance of you, my softness for you comes from our time raised together as brothers. You know this. Still you insist there is nothing to be loved in you and yet I stand here, proving otherwise. Do you truly think me foolish for my love? If for that reason I am a fool, then I harbour no regrets in being one.
liarofasgard: Yes, I think you a great fool for your love. You, of all people, should hate me the most. If not for what I truly am, then for my harm to you. For the lies I have spoken to you; lies you so quickly accepted. For my jealousy and scheming, that drove you into situations you may not have otherwise encountered.
Yet you trust so purely. You deem me worthy despite my cruelty and despite my failures. You accept me when none else will, or would hesitate to do so. You would protect me, despite what it might cost you, instead of turning your back on me.
Were it any other than you, the memories would have long been forgotten, in favor of raw anger and distrust.
thunderofasgard: You think I should hate you the most— but I think otherwise. You claim to have hurt me, yet I too have had done the same with my pride and self-centeredness through our youth.
My reasons for my trust and love are simple, brother.
Once, you told me to never doubt that you loved me.
And I do not doubt.
liarofasgard: Ah…
*feels silence stretch between them as his tongue is yet again quieted by Thor’s words. Only Thor could manage to render his otherwise serpentine tongue useless and silent with only a few words.*
Perhaps I have misspoken. Perhaps I am truly the fool here. To think you would have forgotten such words. Considering all that happened thereafter. It is a small, fickle thing to cling to, words uttered from a trickster’s mouth. Most would have cast them aside… Most wouldn’t continue to believe them, yet you do.
And I… think you no fool for that.
thunderofasgard: Those are the words of my brother that I believe in.
(thinks about it first, but gently places a hand where Loki’s neck met his shoulder)
Whilst you are in Midgard, will you stay with me?
liarofasgard: *stills as Thor’s hand rests at the junction between his neck and his shoulder, a touch not at all foreign to him. Perhaps had he suspected the gesture beforehand, he would have shied or backed away from it. This simplest of gestures had a way of bringing him to attention, keeping him in place. Instead he looks directly into Thor’s strikingly blue eyes, attempting to shield his expression even as he begins to speak*
You know well that when I arrived in Midgard, my intention was not to spend it by your side. In fact, I think you know why I came to this miserable little realm without my needing to utter a word. I had not expected this to be where you set out after you left Asgard, and thus my notion is foolish indeed. You have always been able to find me, even when I do not wish to be found.
*lets a small smile quirk at the corner of his mouth, the guarded expression falling away*
But there’s no changing what has come to pass, is there? If I tried to disappear or slink away, you would search me out and implore me to be at your side once more. And while I am certainly not impartial to seeing you beg… Yes, while I am on Midgard, I will stay with you, Thor. It may be slightly less foolish than my original plan of action.
thunderofasgard: (smiles in return, holding eye contact with green ones. He knew when his brother was honest and cannot help but to feel as if a load has been removed from his heart)
I know that it was not your original intent. But I had to ask anyway.
Come, then. You may stay at my quarters or the guest rooms if you wish, or we could find some place else if you are uncomfortable with the Man of Iron’s Tower.
