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I took an accidental holiday in Sakaar. Loki enjoyed it a lot more than I.

[He's a little gruff, but at least he's joking about it.]

There's a lot I need to tell you. Shall we sit?

[ A witty reply dies on his tongue as he steps around to see him, finding an eyepatch, of all damned things, awaiting him. He doesn't mean to take an instinctive step back, stopped by a stool that bumps his legs, but as his heart twists into a knot in his throat and Loki's cheer is drained with icy dread he neither minds when he accidentally shrinks down to take a seat. The support is needed. ]

... Thor?

[Thor tries not to wince at Loki's reaction, but it's exactly the kind of shock and horror he's been anticipating. He looks like he's been through the wringer, he knows. All he can do is try to act like everything is fine.]

Mostly. Missing a few features. [He rolls the eye he has.] I thought maybe I should draw an eye on, but then it might be even more distracting

Edited 2017-11-15 21:41 (UTC)

[ That stupid good humour is what loosens up Loki's throat as he rakes him in a once-over, hesitant to ask but needing to before he addresses anything else. ]

Where is Mjolnir?

It's still here, by my bedside. [This time he does wince, rubbing his wrist as he struggles with the words. He mourns that damn hammer, almost as much as he does his father.]

It doesn't answer my call anymore. Doesn't do much of anything, actually. [He shakes his head.] Back home it was destroyed by Hela, with nothing more than a firm grasp.

[ There is so much to unpack that Loki slides to face the bar and orders a Green Mile, the only drink able to loosen a god's sobriety. He's so thankful for that first gulp. ]

I need you to start from the beginning.

[Thor relaxes into his seat, finally. Ordering a pint of whatever they have that's strong and readily available on tap.]

It actually started a while ago, when the Avengers were fighting Ultron. He enlisted Wanda's help, I'm sure you've met her. She gave me visions of Asgard's ruin and as I last recall, I was saying my farewells and heading off to find the source of our destruction so I could put an end to it myself.

[He doesn't even question the fact that he was going to fight something powerful enough to destroy Asgard alone.]

I thought our enemy was Surtur, since it lined up with the dreams I had. I let myself get caught and I fought him and took his crown with me, back to Asgard.

[He grimaces.] Upon my return I found Loki- although he was pretending to be Odin. He had hidden our father on Earth and meddled with his mind. When we found him, it was too late.

[Thor pauses himself.] I'm not boring you, am I?

Edited 2017-11-16 22:04 (UTC)

Impressed you defeated Surtur so easily, actually.

[ He always thought of his otherverse counterparts as younger but never stronger, yet now it seems as though they are the bullet-proof version of Asgardians even from his own Asgard. Thor couldn't smack around Surtur like that for fun, not so easily as to make the Lord of Muspelheim a footnote.

But this sounds ... ]

Your words bode ill, but go on. Loki was being a bag of dicks ...

He's nothing but a fool with a crown. [And that makes two of them.]

Anyway. Strange helped us find him. Nice of him. We found him just in time for him to tell us that he had banished our older sister and that the only thing keeping her from coming back and kicking our arses was his.. life force. I suppose?

So when he died, she returned. Broke my hammer, threw us out into deep space and went on to murder and rampage on Asgard while Loki and I bickered on Sakaar. I met Banner and a Valkyrie, brought them back to Asgard and fought her off as best we could. She took my eye. [He gestures vaguely at it.]

I discovered that I don't need mjolnir to summon lightning, which kind of helped, but it wasn't enough to stop her.

[He gets shaky at this point, it's the part that keeps him up at night.]

Loki returned with a ship big enough for the surviving citizens. We herded them on like cattle and-- I let Surtur return and crush the realm into stardust and sand.

[Here comes the thousand yard stare.] And now I'm the king who destroyed Asgard.

[ There's a seasickness in his gut as Thor reveals the wealth of his misadventures but one thing stands out, never really specified but implied. And it makes Loki feel even queasier. ]

Your sister Hela?

[ Okay, so. That all sounds like Ragnarok, but. ]

That can't ... be right.

[ It's self-indulgent not to coo and whimper over Thor's obvious distress but frankly they have a while to get to that, those anxieties and scars aren't going anywhere. Loki isn't selfless enough to ignore the twist of distaste that forces its way across his features to reveal, inadvertently but hopelessly, that Hela is definitely no direct (at least, not by blood) relation to him. ]

Father must be fooling you, how would ... ? And he can't die. He's father.

Father has fooled us from the day we were born. Since the day he brought Loki home.

[He finds his bearings somewhat, his expression hardens.]

If it was all a joke, it was a costly one. [He shrugs, remembering his drink and helping himself to it.]

He turned to sparkly dust and flew into the sky. Perhaps he's living on as a cloud.

[ His snort is immediate without being wilfully insensitive, but still he checks himself and has grace enough to look apologetic. ]

Sorry.

[ Father seems infinitely unlikely to turn into sparkles, but whatever. That sounds like bullshit to be needled another day; Loki turns a concerned look on Thor, a frown sinking in. ]

You inherited the Odinforce, then? I suppose it's the Thorforce now. The strength of the All-Father.

It's fine.

[Thor dismisses the apology, this whole thing has been laughably absurd.]

All I've inherited is a mess. [He raises a brow.] Whatever force I have wasn't enough to stop Hela without letting Surtur do the dirty work.

Edited 2017-11-18 07:25 (UTC)

I'm sure you did what you could.

[ So many times the Golden Realm has fallen, echoes of itself spanning forward across time. It's a morbidly depressing thought that his otherverse family has suffered so much when they were so untouched when first he came to know them, now blighted by a fate that ripples through every universe.

A shiver runs down his spine and he reaches over to lay a gentle hand on Thor's arm. ]

When you rebuild it will be different, yet home once more. Asgard is not a place, it is its people.

I've heard that one before. [He doesn't roll his eyes, but he gives Loki a wry look all the same.]

It can be better. [But it's a huge responsibility, and Thor doesn't even know where to begin.]

Thank you. [Thor turns his hand around so he can gently grasp Loki's wrist.]

Well, it's true. Asgardia became a nation of all the realms' lost souls under the All-Mother, perhaps you could attempt the same.

[ Sliding their hands off the bar so that he can properly take Thor's in his, swallowing hard as sympathy pains course through his heart (now that it is done being concerned with his own personal interests, oops) Loki sips off his stool to step closer, his gaze tracking from a blue eye to a lost one. He raises his free hand. ]

May I ... ?

[Thor tenses just slightly when Loki raises a hand toward him, but he relaxes himself. He's adjusting as well as he can to the change, but it's been a tough process.]

You may. [The permission is granted, but Thor's look is wary.]

I'm not going to stuff my fingers in your gross empty socket, stupid. [ Sympathy stains his tone, easing the jab of his words as Loki's soft fingertips brush lightly around the cavernous scar. ] Don't look so worried ...

[ The gentle touch traces where a brow used to be, thumb skimming where the formerly soft skin underneath Thor's eye has been weathered by his injury. Loki's expression is thoughtful, tinged with sorrow as he shakes his head. ]

When my brother lost his left arm I thought how cruel that was, his hammer-arm gone. He bears his Unworthiness worse, however. But this ...

I would never have wanted this to happen to you, of all Thors.

[Thor grunts at Loki's reassurances, because he really hadn't meant to make his discomfort so apparent. He doesn't like that it makes him feel so vulnerable, and it's not something he can just hide.

Loki's touch is gentle, as promised. Thor's other eye falls shut for a moment and he forces himself to be okay with the gesture. It's not Loki's fault he's crippled, it's not his fault he's having a hard time dealing with it, either.]

Could be worse. [He says, and it's to placate himself as much as Loki.]

I'd prefer this to losing an arm, I think. I need both hands to pull you and Loki around by the ears.

It could. [ He tries not to be too great of a downer, though the loss is awful. ] Never met anyone who wasn't terrified of Father and he was famous for your new look.

[ His hand slips down to rest on Thor's shoulder and he trails the other out of holding hands to skim up an arm, tracing through the middle of a bicep. ]

His arm ended here, the dwarves forged him a new one of black uru. It's very strong. [ Especially when it connects with your face. Hah. Looking up, he struggles to find his tongue for a moment then blurts out, ] You could call me Lokes, if you wanted. I like it. It helps differentiate between the two of us here.

Edited 2017-11-21 12:20 (UTC)

That's the dream, to be terrifying. [It used to be, anyway, but now Thor says it dryly and with humor.

Thor casts his eye downward as Loki's hand travels over his skin. He doesn't pull away or even second guess it, he's a sucker for affection.]

It might have attributed to his mood. [Thor muses. He can appreciate the novelty of a strong, uru arm but he knows that it would eat at him. Knowing someone got the better of him, that he's not whole somehow.]

Lokes. [Thor repeats.] I like it, it suits you. Generally I differentiate by calling him the grumpy one.

You don't terrify anyone who counts. [ Like family, whichever the universe.

With a huff, he drapes his wrists around Thor's neck and tugs on the short hair at his nape, basking in the attention and being allowed, more than anything, simply to touch. It's a novelty he covets at every opportunity. ]

I saw him once, when I was being reborn in this body. I saw a lot of Lokis ... but he was carrying a staff, I remember that. And I first saw you in the year 2013 when I travelled to your Midgard and read their Wikipedia on superheroes. [ He chuckles, a tease crinkling in the corners of his eyes. ] You were baby-faced on the photographs, an Avenger.

[That earns Loki one very fond smile. He puts his hands on Loki's shoulders, happy to keep a physical connection between them while the younger one pulls at his hair.

He grumbles, but there's no intent to stop him, evidenced by the fact that he does nothing but grunt in protest.]

Baby-faced. [Thor winces.] That was a long time ago, for all us. And we've come along way, Loki and I. [He can't hide the fact that he's happy with how some of his future turned out.]

He did well. You would be proud.

I already was, now I'm sure moreso. He never seemed the sort to descend into insanity like the rest.

[ There's room for some tweaking of Thor's beard as Loki grins, giggling. ]

I suppose these face pubes are going nowhere and I'll have to be proud of them, too. Poor baby-face, he was so pure!

He seems to have pulled himself out of whatever spiral he was in.

[There's uncertainty in Thor's tone, but he's distracted by the tweak of his beard.

This time he growls in feigned frustration and darts his hands to Loki's midsection in attempt to tickle his tweaking away.]

I was going through some things then, alright? Did you see my hair? What was I thinking?

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