st_ratagem | (no subject)

It had been a while since the brothers had spent time together; it was possible that Loki had been avoiding Thor somewhat since their message conversation about his... involvement with Valkyrie. Further conversation was something he both did and didn’t want to have, which was a good sign of an unintended fight ab It to happen. But things had been quiet enough for long enough that it didn’t seem like something worth worrying about.

So Loki sent a quick message to Thor, inviting him up to see the fish tank and mostly-Valkyrie’s collection of goldfish swimming around inside it.

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From:

st_ratagem

“Well, no one’s going to use this hair, at least.” Loki actually shuddered a little, then struck another match and dropped it into the bowl. Just to make sure. “And you’ve been lucky. It’s not just control, you know. Any sympathetic magic could use your discarded body parts.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

"I don't know if after 1500 years it can still be called luck," he says. "Are you that worried about someone doing magic on you after a haircut?"

Thor feared few things, but he couldn't imagine a reality when he'd have anxiety about leaving a few hair clippings behind after a haircut. He'd left plenty back on Sakaar and no one had thought to do anything with any of that.

From:

st_ratagem

“Me, no. I’ve always burned my clippings.” It was, in fact, one reason he cut his own hair. “I do worry if I somehow leave anything behind, though.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

"Did you do that when mother cut your hair, too?"

From:

st_ratagem

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Loki shrugged. “Sweeping the lot into a fireplace was easy enough.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

That seems weird to Thor, but he doesn't remark upon it. Instead, he moves the conversation back to where it was before.

"I don't think Vanaheim is as far out of reach as you think it is," he says. "We're the sons of Frigga. I'm half Vanir."

From:

st_ratagem

“While I’m nothing at all, yes, I’m aware. And I said ‘somewhat more complicated than you think’, not ‘far out of reach’. Vanaheim might not be so eager to put itself back in thrall to Asgard, for example.” The subject change was easy enough, especially with the fire already almost out. “And I note you have no answer for the fact that you’re tied to Midgard and would want to spend time there with your humans.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

"I would much rather have my brother in my life." Yes, his human friends were important, but he could easily see them whenever he wished with the Bifrost. That wouldn't be the case for Loki if they settled on Earth.

From:

st_ratagem

Loki sighed. “You’d need to have capable councillors to rule for you while you’re off playing house, then. Trustworthy as well, unless you fancy putting down palace coups every few years.” By any sane estimation that let him out at least once if not twice. Valkyrie was probably still in, though.

From:

st_ormbreaker

"You're already my advisor," he says. "I don't see what would stop you from ruling briefly in my stead." A beat. "Besides, you're pretty popular with our people now." Loki's surprising return had earned him the love of his people. As did, probably, the play he'd put on that wrote him as a big hero.

From:

st_ratagem

“And you think I’d hand the throne back to you in that case?” He probably would, but it was worth asking.

From:

st_ormbreaker

Thor's answer comes without hesitation: "Yes."

From:

st_ratagem

"Sentimental ass." It wasn't a disagreement, at all, which was why Loki continued, "I suppose the Valkyrie would be around to keep an eye on me, at that."

From:

st_ormbreaker

"Probably," he says. He can't imagine Valkyrie won't be. "So, short pit-stop on Earth, and then Vanaheim."

From:

st_ratagem

It was a pretty enough fantasy. Pleasant to think of being home again in some way, of keeping the bonds he’d somehow managed to build. Honestly, it was pleasant even if he had to re-learn solitude and watch Thor and Valkyrie settle into happiness that didn’t include him. Pleasant, pretty, and very unlikely.

Thor knew it as well as he did, Loki was sure, so he didn’t bother to point it out. Unlikely wasn’t impossible, after all, and if his brother could believe that there was a decent future waiting for him he might actually try for it. “I’ll do my best to catch up, then.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

Thor abruptly shoots up from where he sits. Mirror still in hand, he throws his arms around Loki and pulls him tight. "Thank you." Thor knows better than anyone that his brother is resistant to any sort of happy ending. The fact he was even acknowledging it as a possibility, however faint --

It means the world to Thor.

From:

st_ratagem

Loki sighed and let himself be hugged. “It would be nice to see you and Valkyrie settled happily, so I do hope I get to see it.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

Thor gives Loki one final squeeze before finally relinquishing control. "And you there with us," he reminds Loki, gesturing at him with the mirror.

From:

st_ratagem

“I'd have to be, to see anything at all. I’m not that good at scrying.” Loki shrugged. “Don’t expect me to be happy myself, brother. That’s never really been a possibility and I don’t think I’m built for it, but I do think I can manage passable contentment in the happiness of people I care for.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

"You're going to be happy, too," Thor says, continuing to gesture with the mirror. "I'll make sure of it."

From:

st_ratagem

“It’s not a possibility for me,” Loki repeated. “You and the Valkyrie will be, two out of three isn’t bad. Take the passable contentment you can get.”

From:

st_ormbreaker

"You, settled down with Valkyrie in a little house together. I live next door and there's always two or three little Lokis running about," Thor continues, ignoring his brother. "I bring them souvenirs from Earth and teach them how to fight using a hammer."

From:

st_ratagem

“Never going to happen, brother. She’s not interested in anything even remotely close to that.” It was odd, also, how readily Thor came up with bizarre domestic scenarios.