Thor and Loki - filling in

[st_ratagem]

As days went, this one was... sub-optimal. Not that Loki exactly minded not having to play-act Odin anymore, of course, but he had rather enjoyed being king. Even the ridiculous administrative details that should have been mind-meltingly boring somehow hadn't been. He'd miss that... assuming he could work out an exit that allowed him enough freedom to miss bureaucratic nonsense.

He'd bought some time to think before getting dragged to Earth, that was a good start. Getting finicky nearly always worked, and he'd flatly refused to go anywhere until the dragon-head and some of the brains and blood had been removed from the Bifrost room. Thor being Thor, though, had countered by insisting on 'supervising' the cleaning. Together.

He'd managed to take hold of Loki's arm as soon as 'make a break for it' had occurred to him.

It was extremely annoying.

Watching Skurge mop and drag as penance for failing his one job almost made up for it. Almost. "You know he's going to be as terrible at cleaning as he was at guarding, don't you?"

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[st_ormbreaker]

Thor looks at Loki, puzzled. It probably wouldn't be for the last time this day.

"You didn't just replace Heimdall with this moron?"

Skurge shoots them a look. He definitely heard him. If Thor seems at all bothered about it, it certainly doesn't register on his face.

[st_ratagem]

Laughing on the inside threatened to turn into laughing on the outside, but Loki managed to return Thor’s puzzled look with a patient expression that said it’ll come to you. Because of course Loki had done that, but he’d been playacting Odin at the time.

[st_ormbreaker]

Thor shoots Loki yet another puzzled look, and then frowns when he realized what Loki meant.

And just like before, Thor bristles with irritation.

"We're going," he says, wiping his hands off on his pants. There's nothing on them, but just being in here makes him feel filthy. "If we sit around waiting for your janitor to be done cleaning up the place, we'll be here 'til nightfall."

The sooner Odin was returned, the better. Maybe that'd be some small consolation prize for all he's hard to put up with today.

Loki was far more insufferable than even Surtur, but neither encounter was particularly pleasant.

[st_ratagem]

Loki considered the matter for a few seconds. He could conceivably buy more time, yes, but for what purpose? It had become increasingly clear that escape was unlikely while they remained on Asgard. His best shot at getting out of being locked in a cage to be silent and alone forever was on Midgard, while Thor was tending to... whatever was there of Odin, depending on how much Loki's spells had held together. "Of course, brother. The smell in here is rather nauseating, in fact. I'm sure fresh air will be pleasant."

[st_ormbreaker]

"Janitor, you want to give us a hand?" he asks, of Skurge as he heads up the platform. Skruge does not particularly look like he wants to give anyone a hand, least of all the man who had called him a moron a moment ago. Thor, once again, is not particularly affected by his reluctance.

"You remember when Heimdall would let us take turns turning it?" he asks, once he reaches the top of the platform.

[st_ratagem]

This time it was Loki who looked puzzled, as he followed Thor up to the platform. He'd been radiating annoyance, verging on outright anger, the entire time, and then... a pleasant reminiscence?

Unless it wasn't, perhaps? Perhaps those were fond memories only for Loki. That would make sense. This was Thor fumblingly trying to find a knife and twist it, then. "I do. I also remember that many of my early turns only opened the bridge because you... were impatient." 'Were impatient' replaced the word 'helped'. At the time, it had been help, and appreciated.

[st_ormbreaker]

It was a fond memory for Thor, but it was also a sort of sad one. They'd always quarreled somewhat as kids (what siblings didn't?), but things had only gotten worse after Loki's first attempt to usurp the throne. This had gone well beyond arguing whose turn it was to turn the sword.

"Good times," Thor says instead, giving Loki a far-too-hard pat on the back. Thor had the awful habit of either forgetting his own strength or neglecting to care about it when engaging with others. It was always difficult to tell which it was at any particular moment.

And once they're in position -- and Skurge is in position -- Thor issues the order:

"Janitor, send us to Midgard."

[st_ratagem]

As ever, the too-hard backslap took Loki enough by surprise that he half-stumbled the last step forward to the platform. It didn't hurt, really, it wouldn't even have knocked over a mortal even if it would have actually been painful for one. What stung was the realization that Thor had found a knife to twist, though there was still a chance he didn't realize it.

They had been good times.

But not anymore, and never again. Eventually even the sting would be gone. It should have been gone long before this, but over a thousand years of kinship apparently took time to snuff out. "New York City specifically. If you drop us anywhere else, rest assured I will find a way to make you suffer. Janitor."

[st_ormbreaker]

Skurge scowls at the both of them. Thor crosses his arms over one another and glances over at Loki. For a second, it looks as though he might say something else, but before he can, Skurge turns Hofund with an audible sound, and the brothers are engulfed in a familiar rainbow light.