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“Do you trust me, brother?” Loki’s voice cut softly through the silence.
They were sitting in Loki’s quarters. It was late in the night and Thor had come to reconcile with his brother, but he didn’t know where to start. Small talk and frivolities were exchanged before they fell silent and the sound of the fire was all that was left.
Thor didn’t answer. Loki had given him few reasons over the years to truly earn his trust, and though he loved his brother, he didn’t know if he trusted him. Loki’s mouth turned up into a spiteful grin, and Thor could see every thought that passed behind those cold eyes. Loki was sure Thor wouldn’t trust him. He was sure that everything he’d caused between them had left a barrier between them that even the Mighty Thor couldn’t smash away. A heaviness wrapped around Thor’s heart as he watched his brother armor himself, hide his true emotions behind a sneer and brace himself for the inevitable rejection from Thor. Thor knew that he had not directly caused this pain, that Loki had in truth brought this down on himself over the centuries, but he could not help but feel guilty. He wanted to fix them.
Loki was opening his mouth again to say something but Thor cut him off and said, “Yes.” Loki closed his mouth again and only the briefest twitch of muscles bellied his surprise before a look of condescending doubt took its place. Thor cleared his throat and straightened in his seat. “Yes,” he said again more firmly. “You have my trust.”
Loki studied him for a moment before laughing. It was a laugh that had no humor in it and wove its way through Thor’s skin, chilling him. Loki lounged back in his chair with a smirk and softly said, “I do not believe you.”
Thor bristled at his tone. There was a challenge in his voice that was daring Thor to prove himself, to put himself in Loki’s hands and show that he truly trusted him. Loki was goading him, knowing full well that Thor could never back down from a challenge, and Thor closed his eyes to steady himself. When he opened them again he met Loki’s smug look with one of unyielding certainty. He knew Loki was playing him, he knew this, but he was going to let himself be manipulated if that’s what it would take to convince Loki to trust him return.
“Then test me, brother,” Thor said jutting his chin out. “I will prove my trust to you.”
Thor thought Loki might actually giggle. He didn’t, but his smug look changed to one of almost childish delight. If Thor hadn’t meant his words he would feel regret at accepting the challenge. The slow circles Loki drew on the arm of his chair and the contemplating look on his face said that he would push Thor to his limits. Loki stood, his movements like silk, and walked leisurely behind Thor. It was hard to not turn and track Loki’s movements, wanting to know what he was going to do, but Thor stared resolutely forward. He needed to prove to himself as much as to Loki that he trusted his brother.
Cold fingers brushed down the side of Thor’s face and he resisted the urge to shudder. There was a small breath against his ear and Loki murmured, “Shall we play a game?” Thor could feel Loki’s smile as his lips skimmed across the shell of his ear. The touch was gone and Thor released his own breath as Loki walked back around him, letting his hand trail down Thor’s arm. Their eyes met and held before Loki’s grin widened. “Stand against the door.”
Thor hesitated for only a moment before getting and walking towards the large wooden door that led to the hall. Loki walked towards a desk, opening a drawer and pulling out several small knives. Warily, Thor watched Loki run his finger along the blade of one of them, drawing a thin line of red across his pale skin. He brought the finger to his mouth and sucked away the blood that had risen before setting the knives on a small table halfway across the room from where Thor stood.
“Do you still trust me, brother?” Loki asked.
Thor wasn’t certain what Loki was planning, but he had been right to assume before that it would push his boundaries. He adjusted his stance against the door to a more assured one and said, “I do.”
There was another small flicker of doubt that was immediately covered by a calm, complacent expression. Still standing a fair distance from Thor, Loki picked up a knife and weighed its grip in his hand. In a flash of movement, there was a resounding thud and Thor couldn’t help but flinch as the knife buried itself in the wood of the door next to his cheek. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears and his breathing quickened. Loki watched him with a raised brow and Thor calmed himself knowing what Loki was doing now. He steadily met Loki’s gaze and tried to convey through eyes alone that he trusted Loki in this.
Loki hummed and walked over to a different drawer, pulling out a thin length of red cloth. He moved back to the knives and looked Thor in the eye again, running his hands along the cloth, before lifting it to his eyes and tying it around his head.
Thor was nervous, he would not claim fearlessness in this situation, but he had told Loki to test him and so he would hold his ground. Loki picked up two more knives and tossed them up, catching them easily in spite of the blindfold. Thor relaxed himself as much as he could. His brother was a master marksmen, this was not a test of Loki’s ability to not hit Thor, this was a test of whether or not Thor trusted Loki to not intentionally strike him.
In consecutive motions the knives were thrown and struck dangerously close to either side of Thor’s temples. Another was thrown just above his head and three more lined the sides of his throat. Thor stared unflinchingly ahead at Loki as he exhausted the small set of knives on the table. Each gust caused by the flying metal furthered Thor’s resolve to not let Loki push him away. He was sure now that Loki would never truly do anything to hurt him. Loki would try, he would cause infinite cuts and bruises that would slowly damage Thor and eat away at him, but he would never do anything that would cause him to lose Thor for good. Loki’s purpose was to push and strain Thor’s loyalty, not to lose it completely.
There was one knife left and before it ever left Loki’s hand, Thor knew it would be more desperate than the others. He kept his eyes open and held completely still as he watched it come towards his face. The edge kissed along his cheek, mirroring the line of red that Loki had earlier drawn on himself. He refused to move away from the now warm blade anchored in the door as Loki slowly drew the blindfold away from his eyes. The giddy and confident expressions from before were lost and instead Loki studied Thor with a deep contemplation and perplexity. With tentative steps he approached Thor. His eyes followed the crude halo that he had placed around his brother’s head before settling on steady blue eyes. They stood in silence, stoic blue never leaving uncertain green.
A single drop of blood ran down the side of Thor’s face but he did nothing to stop its course. Loki’s eyes shifted to its path though and he carefully left a hand to brush against the cut. His brow deepened as he met Thor’s eyes again. “You’re a fool, Thor,” he said quietly.
Thor stepped forward then and pulled his brother to his chest in an embrace. Loki let himself be pulled into Thor’s warmth and buried his head in his shoulder. Putting his face to the side of Loki’s head, Thor breathed in the familiar scent of sandalwood and winter. “I know,” he mumbled into his brother’s hair. “I know.”