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“Oh stop moping around already”, Loki gave an exasperated sigh and threw an apple at Thor's head, who slapped it out of the air against a wall, where it was crushed by the power of its impact. Loki raised an eyebrow, while his eyes followed his pacing brother through the room. He knew what was wrong, of course he knew, but he could not help it. Thor was missing his friends, his girlfriend most of all, and it was, for the most part, Loki's fault that he could not go to see them. It was not something Loki would like to publicly admit, but he felt sorry for Thor.
However, after all this time, it was kind of unnerving to see Thor gloom about like that. He was the dark rain cloud that ruined the perfect sunset that was Loki's renewed welcome in Odin's palace. As distanced and chilly as the welcome had been, Loki was glad for it. He had made mistakes and rash decisions and knew that he had tried to prove himself to the wrong people all along.
Not a moment did he doubt that his purpose was going to be a glorious one, but maybe his time had not yet come. Maybe being patient was the wiser move for now, waiting for his chance, for his call to action.
And, while he waited, he could as well try to be useful for once in his life. And thus Loki decided to cheer his brother up.
“Just... wait! Don't open your eyes!”, Loki said, throwing a look over his shoulder to make sure Thor was not cheating.
“Loki, I swear, if this is one of your stupid pranks-”
“Tsk”, Loki cut his brother off, feeling insulted more than he cared to admit. His pranks were not stupid . “Way better”, he said and smirked and could feel Thor's hand twitch uneasily. Loki snickered, liking the idea that he was able to make his brother, the great warrior, nervous simply by pretending he was up to something. Not that it was his goal to make Thor nervous, but it would make the final surprise even greater.
“Now, stay right there, and... open your eyes!”
Grinning expectantly, just like the little boy he used to be, he waited to see Thor's reaction. The grim, suspicious face changed from confused, to amused, to an outburst of hollering laughter. It earned Loki a couple of glares and curses from the people he had 'involved', but that made the scene all the better.
“You're one of a kind, Loki”, Thor huffed, when he finally managed to calm himself down, wiping the tears from his eyes. He looked around the vast area Loki had led him to, a large pavilion surrounded by a grove of young oaks, the whole area encased by mountains on each of the far edges. It was truly beautiful. But what was special about it was what Loki had done to the place – and who he had gotten to help him, despite the difficult relationship he had with most people, if not all.
The Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral, were dressed up in tight, green outfits – but it was not green cloth that had been used to make these, but three-leafed clover, actual shamrocks, hundreds, if not thousands of them. The men did not seem too happy with this choice of clothing, but Hogun and Fandral played their designated roles, inviting Thor to stroll through the grove or enter the pavilion, where Loki had prepared more, as his excited eyes gave away.
When Volstagg opened his mouth to complain about the mockery Loki made of him, Loki shot him a warning look, letting some of the clover leaves fall to the ground with a gush of wind. It was his magic that held their dresses together and they best not forgot that. Also, they had agreed to help him cheer up Thor, thus they were to play their part and not break ranks.
Thor chuckled and waved his hand at them.
“You may go”, he said and as quickly as they could without losing too much of their natural garments the Warriors Three hurried off and away. Loki was going to let his magick wear off once they were far enough away, so they were not going to return, but rather hurry home to get their clothes. It had been rather fun decorating them...
“Loki, what is all this for?”, Thor asked, looking down at his brother, who shrugged the question off with pointed nonchalance. He started walking towards the trees slowly, Thor falling into step next to him.
Fearing that if he were to talk about his reasons, Thor would give him his own reasons for being in a bad mood – and there was no way Loki was going to get out of a conversation like that without a lot of accusations being made. So instead of talking, he decided to take Thor's mind off things, unaware of how much his magic was already taking effect – in a much unexpected way.
The golden sunlight that made its way through the young leaves set a delicate mood, the grove itself acting like a veil, giving the brothers privacy. Thor could not help but notice his brother's smooth features, baring little similarity to the little boy he had known so long ago. They had been through a lot together, they had both chosen their paths and Thor was unspeakably relieved to know that their paths had crossed, despite all odds and probabilities, and that they were now travelling as one again, as family. It had taken them long enough to get back to this point and there were still things unspoken between them. But maybe it was better they remained that way, for now.
The lines that those events had added to Loki's face, the faint hardness, the touch of cold that came with him wherever he went, it was like the dry note to a subtle perfume. It made Thor feel as though he wanted to take more of it in, to find out what there was to it, to taste it in its entirety, well aware that, had its taste been any stronger, it would have been too much to bear.
It was not until a bird caught Thor's eye, the little creature taking wing from the ground before them, that he noticed they were following a path of what appeared to be shimmering green pebbles. His eyes followed the path back to his own feet, over to Loki. He was not walking, he was prowling, like a cat, with the slightest sway of his hips and Thor would not have been surprised had he heard his brother purr. Loki looked so content, sharing his silence with Thor.
It was as though time stood still and flew from them at the same time and Thor could never have told if they had walked for hours or had just set into motion when they had rounded the pavilion and Loki led him inside. They had not spoken a word, yet it seemed as though they had shared more meaning than any spoken sound could have conveyed.
Before them was a pool set into the ground, just deep enough for a grown man to stand with his shoulders above the water. It was wide enough to offer space to a dozen of people without them having to touch if they sat down on the edge, but small enough for them to hear each other talk without having to raise their voices. Now, however, there was no soul around to be heard, only the water sparkling green in the sunlight.
When Thor moved closer to the pool he noticed that it was not the pool that was green, but the water itself. A bright, strong, slightly bluish green that seemed to let the fiery glow of the sunlight dance upon it, more than just reflecting it.
With a faint blush, Thor realized that Loki had started undressing himself. It had never been unusual for the brothers to share a bath, but with the distance that had come between them, there was something else where familiarity used to be. It was like Loki was a different person to Thor, losing none of the affection, but having to be rediscovered. With every layer of clothing that fell, uncovering Loki's pale marble skin, Thor felt himself drawn towards the dark-haired man a little more. Loki had dipped his foot into the water, his nude form slowly descending into the pool that suited him so well as his garments had.
Thor felt almost clumsy as he set his own clothes aside and joined his brother in the water, sitting next to him on the slim bench that had been set into the stone.
“Why green?”, Thor broke their silence after a while and the vibrations his deep voice caused in his chest disturbed the water around him.
“It's St. Patrick's Day. On Midgard, it should be”, Loki replied, feeling a little foolish. He knew little about the celebrations of the mortal kind, but he had guessed Thor would appreciate the gesture. Now, however, he felt childish for mentioning it. “I thought you'd-”
“It's wonderful. Thank you.” Thor put his hand on Loki's shoulder. His brother's body seemed as though it was delicately chiselled from the finest marble; Thor had wondered if Loki's skin would feel cold to the touch, hard and unyielding beneath his hands, but it was soft, so very soft, and warm as though the sun's touch had left its fire behind. It was a nice thought that at least someone was kind enough to share some warmth with Loki and Thor was very aware of the coldness his brother faced among their people.
Loki's smile was almost shy, a feature Thor had never thought he would attribute to his brother. There was a sadness to it, and relief. It was the look of a boy who had broken his mother's dishes one time too many and had now served her a glass of water.
Not knowing whether it was right to hug Loki or not, Thor put his arm around his waist and sank down a little to let his head rest on Loki's shoulder. Thor could smell him now, the intoxicating scent of his skin and he closed his eyes as he took it in.
“I'm glad to have you back”, Thor muttered and smiled.