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“I wouldn’t worry, brother, I feel like everything is going to work out fine.”
The Midgardians have a saying about ‘famous last words’, but Thor had never really put much stock in it.
That is, until now.
Thanos’ ship hangs large and heavy over the entirety of viewable space. It’s huge. Threatening.
It reeks of death, and stuns Thor into silence. Thanos. The bringer of death, destroyer of worlds. It’s only fitting that he’s caught up to them now, just after things were starting to look up.
“Brother…” Loki warns, “He will kill everyone. The fate of Asgard lies with you. Call an evacuation.”
“Yes. Of course.” It comes out stuttery, unfortunate, unbecoming of a leader. “The emergency pods won’t hold everyone.”
“They won’t if you do not
try.
” Loki urges. “This is unlike me, I admit, but I don’t actually want the entirety of our race to die. I will take the front of the ship, you take the back. Come on.”
“Of course.” If it were any other moment, he’d probably pause on ‘our race’. But he cannot. He clasps his brother firmly by the forearm and nods. “Don’t die.”
“And you.” Loki squeezes back. “I was actually beginning to like having you around.”
And with that, he takes off towards the front of the ship.
With an uncomfortable huff, because something about this feels so very wrong, Thor rushes towards the back of the ship at a breakneck pace.
He stumbles into Brunnhilde on the way. “The ship- a threat- we’re fucked. We need to evacuate.”
“I know, idiot.” She replies, and steadies him. “I’ve already started. Help me!”
He doesn’t know how long they have until Thanos boards. For all he knows, Thanos could phase-shift in at any point.
They don’t need to lose any more people.
Not today.
It’s a couple of minutes of frantically stuffing food items into bags, consoling scared Asgardians and herding them into the emergency shuttles.
Thor runs into Korg on his third trip back from the shuttle.
The man is huffing, bits of rock falling off him as he shivers. “There’s a - purple guy. Front of the ship. Massacre. They’re fighting but it’s a bloodbath, bro. Your brother sent me to get you.”
Okay. Okay. Thanos is here. Already. Fuck. He swallows. “Miek?”
“No.” Korg shudders, clearly on the verge of tears. “Stubborn dick decided to run in. It’s just- it’s just a bloodbath.”
“Go.” Thor steadies him. “Go to the emergency shuttles. Get out of here. There’s still safe planets. Tell Brunnhilde to go as soon as she’s got everyone onboard. Don’t wait for me, or my brother or Heimdall. Go!”
“He’ll kill you, bro.”
“Better to die protecting Asgard than to fall as a coward.” The words ring true, even though the thought of fighting Thanos fills him with unspeakable dread. He’s King now. This is his duty.
“Thanks for… everything.” Korg hugs him so tightly that he can’t even draw a breath, tears streaking down his face. “We’ll remember you.”
“And you, my friend.”
And they separate, and rush off in different directions, without even a look back.
Thor knows he’s never going to see them again. It’s a truth that settles deep in his bones. If he doesn’t die here, he’ll die on Earth. His death is coming, and there’s nothing more to be done about it.
He draws in a deep breath, steadies himself once more, and walks towards the cockpit. The brutal, blood-curdling screams coming from behind the giant doors bring tears to his eyes. He’s about ready to push open the doors, ready to fight the hardest battle of his life without his hammer, when a hand on his arm stops him.
Loki.
“Brother.” He says, a lump heavy in his throat. “I thought you’d already be fighting.”
“Running in there without a plan would be suicide.”
“Well, then, do you have one? Our people are dying!” He gestures towards the door.
Someone’s begging now, pleading for their life. It ends in a strangled, broken groan.
“You know as well as I do that we need to trick Thanos. He could snap my neck with a single thought. Neither of us are strong enough apart.” Loki forces his gaze back to him. “The Hulk is in there. Thanos doesn’t know about him. He could be our catalyst.”
“Good plan.” Thor nods. He’s been doing that a lot lately. It’s easier to hide ‘utmost dread’ in a physical movement. It’s harder to hide it when he speaks.
“Right. Shall we get onto it, then?” Loki turns, moves to slide his hand across the sensor that would open the door.
“Brother, wait-” The sudden desire to say something , to ensure that neither of them go to their deaths with any past violence on their lips, is overarching and painful.
Loki turns back, and glares. “If you’re going to get sentimental on me now, I’ll-”
Thor seizes him by the arm and drags him close. “Brother, I need you to know that despite everything you’ve ever done, I’ve never stopped loving you. Through everything. I swear that on our mother’s grave.”
It’s a gamble. Loki’s feelings towards him are sporadic on an average day, and liable to be equally as frenetic at the end of their lives. There’s a fairly high chance that he’ll be stabbed before either of them even go through the door.
Loki must be feeling charitable. Or maybe he’s just as terrified as he is. Bluffing only goes so far, thousands of years of living have taught them both that. This could very well be their end.
He cups Thor’s neck and pulls him close, so their foreheads are just touching. It’s almost fierce in how he spits the words. “Even though I’ve been trying to kill you for our entire life… I don’t actually want you to die. Thanks for… being around. I appreciate it.”
It’s probably as close to an ‘I love you’ as he’s going to get. “Thank you.” He clears his throat, really hoping that Loki doesn’t notice how close he is to crying. That would just be embarrassing.
(Though he’s sure that his brother is feeling near to the same thing.)
“Good.” Loki lets go and wipes a hand over his red-rimmed eyes. He sniffs and steels himself, daggers at the ready. “To Fólkvangr, brother?”
Thor reaches out, and brushes his fingers over Loki’s cheek just one more time. “To Fólkvangr.”
If they die, they die together.