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Chapter Text

The fluorescent and neon gleam that coated every building on Contraxia was an eyesore, so far as Thor was concerned.  He much preferred nature, however he might find it, or failing that the familiar architecture of Asgard where buildings weren’t screaming for attention.  The smells were cloyingly sweet to cover the faint underlay of what might generously be described as it smells like something died here, came back, and died again.  But he had a job to do, and the first leg of that entailed waiting for Rocket to arrive.

Thor took a sip of what the server assured him would taste ‘just like apples’ and grimaced.  Ugly city, colder than Niflheim, and not even a decent drink to be had.  Next time he would pick the meeting place.

A jingle from his pocket brought a smile to his lips as he opened the video display where the too-close face of Love peered back.

“Hey!  I was just thinking-”  Thor started only to be cut off by a brusquely spoken question.

“-Where is Mr. Snuggles?”

“What?”

Love gave an impatient huff.  “Mr. Snuggles.  I can’t find him.”

Thor’s lips twitched.  “Did you try your room?”

“Yes.”

“Did you try the kitchen?”

“He doesn’t go in the kitchen, Uncle Thor.”  Love said, in a tone so reminiscent of his brother that it hurt.  She was pint-sized sass and curiosity, every inch a troublemaker, and it pained him that Loki would never meet her.  Not that his brother had ever been especially fond of children, but at the very least he could let Love torture Loki on his behalf.  Love had a knack for mischief.  And adventure.

His mother always said, I shall delight in grandchildren who are exactly like you two, that you might understand what it is to have such troublemakers for sons.

Thor had laughed.

He wasn’t laughing now.

“You put him in the kitchen last week!”

Love pulled away from the phone camera with a huff.  “Auntie Val, Uncle Thor is being a fool.”

“Language, young lady!”  Thor said back instantly.  “Who taught you that word?”

Valkyrie’s voice echoed in the background, chipper and smug.  “Oh, I did.  You’re working on ‘improving her vocabulary’, right?  You’re welcome.”

“You are never staying with Auntie Val again.”  Thor muttered.

“Yes I am.”  Love said, in a tone of utter conviction and Thor tilted his head back against his seat in exasperation.  Then she peered back at her phone screen with a frown.  “Are you at a party?”

“What?  No.”

“It sounds like a party.  You said you were working!”

“I am!”

Which was of course the moment a rather drunk man decided to shout.  “This party is gnarly!”

Thor grimaced again as Love glared.  “Sweetheart, that man was joking.  He was joking.  Look.”  His hand snaked out and snatched the man by the shirt and nearly toppled him.  Thor tilted away from the camera to give the man a look that could melt glaciers.  “Tell my daughter you were joking.”

“W-Wha?”

Thor’s grip on the man’s shirt tightened and the man stammered out the requested words.  When he was gone, Thor turned a sweet smile back on Love.  “As I was saying-”

“Found him!”  Valkyrie’s voice shouted in the background.

Love’s expression brightened.  “Yes!  Bye, Uncle Thor!”

“Love, wait-”  The screen had already gone dark and Thor sighed heavily.  He may not be laughing, but he bet his mother in Valhalla was.  The thought gave him a familiar pang, he would have loved for his mother to meet Love too.

“Hey, beefcake!”  The voice was hostile and Thor had just turned while putting his phone away as a puff of pink smoke was blasted into his face.

He rose quickly with a furious demand of what was that on his mental lips.  They never reached his physical ones as the room suddenly went sideways and Thor fell to the floor, unconscious.

--xx--

When Thor awoke he blinked blearily, there was a strange, violet hue and fuzzy edge to everything he could see.  His mouth tasted strongly of cinnamon and Thor dragged his tongue along his teeth to try to clear it.  “’Tastes like apples’, she said.”  he muttered.

“He’s awake!”

Thor squinted in the direction of the voice even as he realized his hands were tied behind his back through slats in a chair, and his ankles were bound to the chair legs.  A bright, swinging fluorescent light hung overhead and he decided he was never visiting Contraxia again if he could help it.

A reed-thin being with yellow-green skin and bulbous eyes leered as it leaned inches from Thor’s face.  “Now the fun can really start.”  The being said.

Thor scrunched his nose and tilted his head away.  “Oh, wow, that…your breath smells worse than bilgesnipe dung you should really do something about that.”

Yellow-Green’s [as Thor decided to name the-man?-woman?-them?] eyes seemed to jut out even more in sudden anger.  “You won’t be making jokes for long, you-”  The slew of insults that Yellow-Green spat next didn’t translate in Allspeak but Thor smirked all the same.

“So you tied me up?”  Thor asked casually.  “Could have bought me dinner first.  A little effort goes a long way.”  He was impressed when Yellow-Green’s eyes bulged further still, he vaguely wondered if they’d come right out.  Thor was reminded of childhood with Loki when as curious youngsters they would eagerly inspect any creature they could get their hands on.  Loki, more clinically, while Thor tended to snuggle anything with fur even if it was four times his size and slavering.

“Brother!  Get away from it!”  A young Loki all but shrieked only to tense as Thor was pounced on by the giant creature that seemed a cross between a bear and a bobcat.

“Relax, brother!”  A grinning, cheeky young Thor called back as he laughed and stroked the furry face that was currently sniffing him and had fangs larger than Thor's hands.  “He likes me!”

“It’s a she, you oaf!”

“Okay, she likes me!”

Loki watched with a baffled expression as the menacing mass of muscle and fur became a puddle of cuddle-seeking in Thor’s hands.

Thor gave a wistful sigh and smiled sadly.  Life was so much more simple when the worst thing the brothers had to worry about was if this would be the day that Thor snuggled a creature that would rather eat him.

“You think you’re so funny, Earthling.”  Yellow-Green spat.  “Just wait until The Boss gets done with you!”

“Earthling?”  Thor blinked and glanced down at himself, his vision still violet-tinged and fuzzy.  “What gave you that impression?”

“Enough talking.”  The voice held a thick accent that Thor wasn’t familiar with and he glanced to the corner where a desk sat.  A man was seated at the desk with a thick, swirled black mustache and a pompadour.  His face was round, wrinkly, and the shade of a green-olive, Thor decided to call him Olive Face.  Beady, black eyes narrowed at Thor as Olive Face moved…and then seem to disappear.

He squinted in the direction of the desk before his brows rose as Olive Face came into his line of view.  Olive Face had looked somewhat tall at the desk but clearly he’d been propped up by something because his height came up to about Thor’s knees.  And he had two tentacles that seemed to be sprouting from his waist under his suit top.

Olive Face straightened his sleeves with a disdainful look at Thor.  “I’m The Boss.  And this ain’t your lucky day, kid.”

Thor blinked once.  Twice.  And then burst out laughing.  “This…this is a joke, right?”  he looked around the room.  “Come on, who put you up to this?  Was it the sweet rabbit?”

Olive Face’s eyes narrowed.  “There’s nothing ‘funny’ about what’s coming to you.”

“Nooo.”  Thor drawled with amusement.  “Really, who put you up to this?  Rope ties?  Calling me ‘Earthling’…was it Quill?”

Olive Face stiffened and exchanged a glance with Yellow-Green.  “You know Quill…Peter Quill?”

“Like you don’t know that.”  Thor said with a snort.  “Seriously.  Is Rocket here?”  He yanked his wrists and the rope bindings broke immediately.

Six blasters were suddenly aimed in Thor’s direction and he lifted a brow.  “You guys really go all in, huh?”  He began to take the bindings off his ankle when he felt the press of a blaster to his head.  Thor sat up slowly as he sighed heavily.  “Get that off my face.”

“You don’t give the orders here.”  Yellow-Green spat.

Thor clucked his tongue.  “Last warning.”

Olive Face lifted a hand.  “Teach the kid some manners.  Then we’ll see what he knows about Peter Quill.”

Thor shook his head as he tilted to be flat on his feet as he snapped the wooden chair legs apart with a jerk of his ankles.

The sound of shattered glass, smashed objects, blaster fire, and screams filled the room as Thor took care of them all in short order.  A few were unconscious, a few had run, one was half-stuck in the ceiling, and Olive Face was hiding under the coffee table.

Thor spotted a closed bottle on the table and wanted to clear the taste from his mouth.  He gave it a hopeful try and then spat it back out as he tossed the bottle aside.  “Never again, Rocket.”  he muttered.

“D-Don’t kill me!”  Olive Face trembled beneath the table and Thor’s brow furrowed as he tilted his head down.

“Kill you?  Why would I do that?  Wait-so if this wasn’t a prank, why did you grab me?”

“You t-threatened my nephew!”

“Huh?”  Thor threatened a lot of people, to be honest, and that didn’t really narrow it down.

“You made him say he wasn’t at a party.”

“Oh.”  The light bulb went off for Thor as he chuckled.  “The things we do for our kids, am I right?”  With the room more quiet a noise caught his attention that had been at the edge of his ears since he’d arrived.  A small, scraping sound and a noise like a muffled squeak.  Thor curiously drew closer to the noise even as Olive Face fled the room.

Behind and to the side of the desk was a small cage and the contents of the cage made Thor’s eyes widen with awe.  “Oh my Norns…a baby dragon.”

The dragon was a tiny thing with iridescent, cerulean blue scales and vibrant, blood-red eyes that reminded Thor of a Jotun.  He supposed it made sense if the little cutie was from Contraxia, given that the planet was practically a giant ice cube.  But on the other hand he wouldn’t have thought dragons native to the planet.

The dragon’s wings flared slightly, the small body was coiled with tension and the long, slender tail was wrapped around the dragon’s middle.  Thor wasn’t familiar with dragons in particular, but the body language of the little guy screamed fear.  “Hey, there.”  He spoke in a tone as one might speak to a puppy.  “Aren’t you just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen?”

The dragon bristled at his words and if Thor didn’t know better, he would almost say the dragon seemed irritated by the comment.  The dragon’s snout was tied shut with thick twine and there were little padded boots that seemed to be in place to render the dragon’s claws safe.

Thor picked the cage up and set it on the desk while the dragon gave a muffled squeak as best it could with a sealed snout.  He peered through the bars of the cage as the dragon fidgeted.  “Alright, tiny dragon.”  Thor said soothingly.  “This is what’s going to happen.  I’m going to let you out of that cage, and free your mouth.  And you aren’t going to bite me.  Sound fair?”  He was startled when the dragon stilled and then gave a very deliberate nod.  Thor’s eyes widened.  “Wait-can-can you understand me?”  A pause and then another deliberate nod.  Thor’s excitement rose and he was suddenly far less put-out about being on the obnoxious planet.

He unlatched the cage and reached a hand towards the dragon who flinched as it drew back.  The dragon pressed tightly away from Thor’s hand for a few seconds before cautiously the dragon moved forward.

“I won’t hurt you.”  Thor assured the dragon.  “Just don’t bite me, that’s all I ask.”

The red eyes peered intently at Thor as the dragon moved closer but avoided Thor’s hand.  He splayed his palms as he took a step back and let the small dragon exit the cage on its own.  The dragon glanced over the edge of the desk before it sat on its rear and looked at Thor expectantly.

Thor moved closer again as he surmised that was his cue to free the dragon’s snout.  He brought his hand closer, his palm dwarfed the dragon’s head, and the dragon flinched again.  “It’s alright.”  Thor soothed again as he changed course and instead dragged the side of his finger gently over the dragon’s head.  The scales were smooth and cold.  The dragon tilted as if to move away but then remained in place as it watched Thor.  “I am going to take the string off now.”  Thor advised as he gently pinched both ends and tugged till the string snapped.

The dragon immediately pulled back and snapped its jaw several times and made rotations as though to free the snout of a cramp.  The little dragon looked at Thor and gave a low, high-pitched noise like a whine.

Thor was delighted.  “That was adorable.”

The dragon bristled again and then made a rumbling noise that sounded more like a growl.  It smacked a padded claw against the table and looked at Thor pointedly.

“Oh, oh, right.  Got it.”  Thor said amiably as he moved forward and slowly slipped all four pads off.  The dragon had what might pass for tiny, gnarled hands with claws at the end.  He resisted the urge to wiggle the little fingers.  “Better?”

The dragon flexed all four claws and stepped in a circular motion on the table before it flexed its wing and snapped its tail as if to ensure all was in working order.  Then the dragon began to examine the contents of the desk.

“Looking for food?”  Thor guessed.  “I’m sure I can find-”

What could only be described as an irritated hiss cut him off and the little dragon clacked its jaw at Thor with fangs bared.

Thor lifted a brow only to hear the percussive sounds of a fast-paced drum.  Rocket had set the ringtone himself.  He answered to hear Rocket’s annoyed voice come through the line.

“Where the Hell are you?”  Rocket demanded.

“Me?”  Thor scoffed.  “Waiting for you.  This planet is terrible, by the way.  Next time, I pick the meeting place.”

“I mean Xandar is kinda boring but I wouldn’t call it ‘terrible’.”

“Xandar?”  Thor exclaimed into the phone.  “You said Contraxia.”

“What?”  Rocket’s affronted voice snapped back.  “I did not!”

“Yes.  You did.”  Thor said plainly and a touch snidely.

Rocket swore and he heard indistinct speech as Rocket talked to someone in the background.  “So you’re on Contraxia.  Right now?”

“Obviously.  Since you said that’s where we were meeting.”

“You son of a-”

Thor’s attention was distracted by a screeching noise as the dragon leaned as far as it could from the table edge.  “Just a minute, little guy.”  he cooed at the dragon.

“What the Hell did you call me?”  Rocket demanded.

“Not you, the baby dragon.”

“The baby what-wait…dragon?”

“That is what I just said, yes.”  Thor said, he felt entitled to the sarcasm given that Rocket had clearly gone to the wrong planet.

“Okay, you know what?  Never mind.  I’ll deal with it when I get there.  Look, stay put, cause I’m gonna be there soon.  Cause you’re on Contraxia.  Right, Thor?”  Rocket’s tone was patronizing and rife with irritation.

“Are you getting old in rabbit years?  Did I not say just say so?”

Thor couldn’t help the smirk as he received a colorful slew of curses and insults in surprise before Rocket hung up.  “Ah, sweet rabbit.”  He said fondly as he pocketed the phone only to hear another sharp screen.  “What?”

The dragon had, in the time of Thor’s distraction, apparently found some pieces of paper.  Several of them were shredded and the dragon seemed to be in the process of shredding another.  The dragon dragged claws across the paper and then slammed a claw down in what seemed to be frustration.  Another angry screech and throaty little growl.

“Not a fan of paper, little guy?”  Thor asked, amused, only to receive the most baleful glance he never knew a dragon could give.

The dragon then made something akin to a chittering noise as it moved closer to Thor again.  There was one noise that it seemed to keep repeating.  At one point the dragon stilled, looked Thor right in the eyes, and made a deliberate sort of chirp.  Thor simply watched and the dragon repeated the same noise.  When Thor had no reaction the dragon dragged its claws against the desk and made an agitated whine.

“Well, listen, little guy.”  The red eyes shot back to Thor.  “I have places to be, sort of, do you have a…mommy dragon around somewhere?  Is there someplace I can drop you off?”

The dragon’s small, red eyes widened and it made a distressed, high pitched noise as it reached a clawed hand out as if to grab Thor.  The dragon seemed to misjudge its balance because with a startled squeak it pitched forward and Thor acted quickly to catch the dragon.  He felt it immediately seem to panic and squirm in his grasp.  Thor held his arms side by side in a sort of scoop as he said.  “Hey!  Hey!  Calm down.  You have my word, little dragon.  I am not going to hurt you.”  he softened his tone further.  “Alright?  You are safe now.  I will not let you back in that cage.”

The dragon paused at his words as red eyes met his own searchingly.  Then the dragon gave a little shudder and pressed its stomach against Thor’s chest as it grabbed a tiny handful of Thor’s shirt.  The dragon repeated the same, singular chirp noise from before and stared up at Thor expectantly.

“Sorry, my little friend.”  Thor said wistfully.  “Allspeak doesn’t work on dragons.  But perhaps we can go outside and you can point out where you need to go?”

The dragon’s other front claw clenched in Thor’s shirt as it made another distressed noise and shook its head.

Thor’s brow furrowed.  “Your parents are not on this planet?”

The dragon paused and then shook its head.

“Do you know where they are?”  Another shake.  “Hmm.”  Thor considered that as he idly stroked gentle fingers down the dragons scaly head and back.  He felt a rush of fondness towards the little dragon when its tail lightly curled about the wrist of the hand that stroked it.  “You’re just a sweet little guy, aren’t you?”  he cooed and the tail immediately dropped as the dragon growled and bared its teeth again.  Thor lifted a brow and chuckled.  “Apologies.  I meant you are a very tough and noble little dragon.”

The tiny, red eyes narrowed and the dragon’s tail thumped against Thor’s chest as if in protest.

“Well…I don’t see a reason why you can’t come with me for now.”  Thor didn’t realize the tension in the little dragon until he felt it slump against him somewhat at the words.  “Aww, you liked that, did you?  Very well…you will need a name though…” he said thoughtfully, and the look the dragon gave him seemed almost wary.  “My brother always said I was terrible at naming things.  But then, he named one of his pets Percivius.  Percivius.”  Thor snorted and a tiny claw dug into his chest as the dragon gave an urgent screech.  “Yeah, I think it’s a stupid name too.  We can do better than that for you, can’t we.”  it was more croon than question.

Thor glanced around the room and then back at the dragon as he considered it.  The dragon really did look Jotun in coloring, and it was such a tiny dragon.  “How about ‘Little Giant’?”  Thor suggested.

The dragon blinked slowly before it made a low growl and shook its head.

Thor couldn’t recall ever having a creature give him quite such a you are a fool look before, but here the little dragon was.  “Hmm…you are blue so…maybe…Blue?”  The sudden dig of claws into his chest made Thor yelp as he clutched the dragon’s sides and tugged it away abruptly.  The dragon made a panicked squeak and scrambled for purchase so Thor pulled it back against the cradle of his chest and stroked its head soothingly.  “Sorry, sorry.  But no clawing!"

The dragon shuddered and gave a miserable sounding little chirp followed by a quiet, drawn out sound like a squeaky moan.

Thor made a sympathetic noise as he brought the cradled dragon closer and pressed a kiss to the tiny head.  The dragon blinked at him in apparent surprise and Thor bumped his nose against the small head.  “You need not be afraid.  No harm will come to you while I’m looking after you.  Alright?”

The dragon stared at him for a long moment before it quietly made the same, single chirp noise of earlier.  It made a breathy noise like a sigh and then the small dragon curled up against Thor’s chest.

Thor thought the little dragon looked sad, but he knew from his mother’s teaching that you weren’t supposed to ascribe the emotions of higher beings to creatures.  But dragons were highly intelligent, this one could clearly understand speech.  So perhaps it was indeed sad.  His mind drifted briefly to a snatch of memory wherein he’d been convinced a palace hound was depressed and it turned out to have been carrying a litter.

“Something is wrong, brother!”  A young Thor insisted anxiously.  “She will not come when I call and she has grown heavy for lack of running.  And just look at her!  She looks so…so sad!”

A young Loki looked dubiously at the sleepy-eyed hound tucked up on a blanket in the corner near the hearth.  “She is a hound, brother. What has she to be sad about?”

“Will you just…use your sorcery?”

“To do what?”  Loki asked, baffled.

“Make her…better?”  Thor prompted, somewhere between hopeful, sheepish, and worried.

Loki sighed, he never could say ‘no’ to his big brother.  “I will try.”  he agreed, and the bright look of affection and gratitude he got in return made it more than worth his while as a warm feeling spread in his chest.  Loki knelt next to the hound as Thor hovered nearby.  His hand glowed green with his sorcery as he tried to find some ailment or wound…then he sighed heavily and rubbed a hand over his face.

Loki made a split second decision as he rose.

“What?  What is it, Loki?”  Thor asked anxiously.

Loki set a hand on his brother’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze as he kept his expression grave.  “Brother…I know not how to tell you this…”

Thor’s expression was rife with worry and his tone was to match.  “What, Loki?  Tell me!”  he pleaded.

“Dear Letha…is carrying puppies.”  Loki said solemnly, although he broke into a broad, mischievous grin as the information dawned on Thor.

“You-”  Thor started, just shy of angry before his expression filled with awe.  “- Puppies ?"

Loki liked animals too, but Thor enjoyed them well beyond Loki and his big brother’s delight was infectious.  He smiled before he oofed as Thor pulled him into an excited hug.

“Come!”  Thor exclaimed as he suddenly snatched Loki’s wrist then slipped to his hand as he pulled his little brother along.  “We must tell Mother!"

Thor felt an all-too familiar ache at the bittersweet memory.  What he wouldn’t give to have those moments back, to have time back, to have his brother back.  “I am sure he could name you better than I could.”  he admitted in a murmur.

Thor was surprised to feel the dragon stretch upwards against his chest as the tiny head bumped his chin.  He smiled as he dropped his head against the dragon and rested the cool scales against his face.  The dragon didn’t resist and simply stayed tucked against his face for the moment.  A name for a tiny, clever dragon.  “How about Frode?  It means ‘wisdom’ in the old tongue.  You seem a clever little beastie.”  he mused.

He took it as a good sign that he didn’t get clawed or growled at, but the little dragon stared at him for a long moment.  The dragon again made the breathy sound like a sigh and slowly nodded.  Thor grinned.  “Frode it is.  I am Thor.”  he informed the dragon as he pulled away but kept the dragon cradled in his arms as he said thoughtfully.  “I have always wanted a dragon.”

Frode tilted his head in a most unimpressed fashion and shook his head.  Thor couldn’t guess at what the dragon meant by that so let it pass.  As he made his way out of the now-messy room, he decided he was glad that Rocket had sent Thor to the wrong planet [because he surely had].  Thor wasn’t exactly sure how to go about caring for a dragon and dragons did tend to grow enormous…but eh…he’d cross that rainbow bridge when he got to it.

Chapter Text

The room Thor had exited led to a long, pleasantly dark corridor that opened onto an alley.  His vision was then immediately assaulted by Contraxia’s blaring need to utilize every light on the planet simultaneously and he shook his head.  The squeak of protest and tiny nudge Thor got in return reminded him that he had a baby dragon riding on his shoulder and he’d dislodged Frode’s perch.  He gave the little fellow a conciliatory pat and Frode huffed against Thor’s neck.

The sight of a fight drew his attention as he had nothing better to do.  He chuckled as one man was thrown through a window and another returned with what seemed to be a small flamethrower, only to be rendered unconscious by a frying pan of all things.  “Ah, Contraxia.”  Thor murmured.

“Hey, there, handsome.”  A voice cooed and Thor glanced down to see an androgynous being with lavender-colored skin and long, thick strings of hair past their waist.  When the being blinked, their lids closed horizontally and their voice seemed to change from feminine to masculine on every word.  “You look like you could use some company.”  a palm pressed against Thor’s chest suggestively.

Thor politely removed the hand while the dragon on his shoulder growled.  “A generous offer but I must decline.”

“Oh, come on.”  The being tried again as arms slid up towards Thor’s neck.

Frode bared his fangs and snarled as he clacked his jaws at the being, who stumbled back with wide-eyes.

“Cantar’s balls!”  The being swore.  “That thing is alive!”

Thor’s brow furrowed.  “What did you think it was-” he paused as Frode gave an angry chitter.  “What?”  Frode gave a long, low squeak and Thor gave a gentle bop to the dragon’s snout.  He received what Thor had decided was the dragon equivalent of a glare for his gesture.

“I thought it was mechanical!  You can’t just walk around with a dragon!”

Thor snorted as he gave them a look.  “And who’s going to stop me?”

--

The answer to that question came shortly after in the form of what seemed to be a group of aliens affiliated with Olive Face.  While another set seemed strictly interested in trying to take Thor’s new dragon friend.  He found himself faced with some twenty, various weapons as he was surrounded on all sides.

“Not so cocky now, are you?”

“Yellow-Face!   I wondered where you ran off to.”  Thor chuckled.

“My name is Drantorious-”

“-Yeah…I really don’t care.”  Thor said bluntly and he heard a snort from Frode.  He grinned at that as he wriggled a finger against Frode’s torso only to have Frode snap at him.  “Hey!”  Thor held up a stern finger.  “We had a deal, no biting!”

Frode gave a low whine and wrapped his tail around the back of Thor’s neck.

“You really got a few screws loose, don’tcha, blondie?”  A man with golden-plated teeth called out.  “This is the part where you beg for mercy.”

Thor gave a rumbling laugh.  “I am a son of Odin.  I don’t beg.”

“I don’t care who your daddy is.  But.”  A yellow-skinned alien said mockingly.  “If your mother is pretty as you I might be interested in making her beg.”

All traces of humor fled as Thor as lightning began to crackle in his hands and eyes.  Frode gave an anxious chitter on his shoulder as his tail wound more tightly and small claws gripped Thor’s shirt.

Thor’s voice was pure venom as he asked lowly.  “What did you say about my mother?”

--

“Really, Thor!  I leave you alone for two damn seconds and what do you?  You go all thunderstruck on Contraxia!  I like Contraxia!  That’s where I got your eye!”

Thor’s expression was unrepentant as he crossed his arms with his back against the wall as he sat on a bench while Rocket berated him.  Frode was tucked against Thor’s neck and the side of his head.  “They insulted my mother.”  he said, in a tone that suggested that was the end-all answer.

“Yeah?  Suck it up.  I don’t even know my mother.  Boo hoo, ya big, golden baby.”  Rocket groused before he finally seemed to take notice of Frode.  He paused before his eyes widened.  “That’s a dragon!”

“I told you.”  Thor said smugly.

“There’s a dragon on your shoulder!”

“His name is Frode.  Isn’t it, little cutie?”  Thor cooed only to be smacked in the face by Frode’s tail.  He smiled fondly before he looked back at the flabbergasted Rocket.

“I want it.”  Rocket said abruptly and Frode made a displeased, hissing noise.

“Not it.  Frode.  And he’s staying with me.”

“Gimme the dragon.”  Rocket insisted.  “Come on, I saved your life.  I gave you the magic axe handle!”

“Groot gave the axe handle.”  Thor pointed out.

“Yeah, well, Groot is a package deal so it’s basically like I gave you the handle."

“Frode stays with me.”  Thor said with amused finality.

“Ungrateful little-”  Rocket muttered as an irritated man approached.

“Hey!  Quill!”  Thor’s expression brightened.  “It is good to see you, my friend.”  He tried to clasp and arm around Quill but he held up a hand and stepped back with a warning look.

“Don’t you ‘my friend’ me, you electric pain in my ass.”  Quill growled.  “Do you have any idea the schmoozing I just had to do because of you?”

“Come again?”  Thor asked.

“Apparently, before you decided to go all ‘look at me, I’m Thor the god of boom and annoying’.”  he mocked Thor in a baritone.  “You told them you knew me!   So now they think we’re friends!  And somehow this is my fault too!”

“We are friends.”  Thor said genially.  “I realize it might be overwhelming to announce yourself as a friend of Thor Odinson but you may do so proudly.”  he reassured him.

Frode nipped Thor’s ear but before he could take the little dragon to task for it, Quill made an irritated noise and rubbed his hands over his face.

“How do you have more ego than Ego?”

“You just repeated yourself.”  Thor pointed out.

“Ego is a person.  Or a planet.  Or a…it’s complicated.  He was my dad.”  Quill huffed.

“Could also just called him a giant piece of crap.”  Rocket suggested.

“Yeah, thanks, Rocket.”  Quill rolled his eyes before he gave a permissive hand gesture.  “Fair enough.”

“Are you joining us on the job?”  Thor asked.

Quill pulled a disgusted face.  “Ha.  Ha!  No…fortunately this a you and Rocket mission.  Enjoy that.”

“A shame.”  Thor said regretfully.  “It has been awhile…are the others here?”

Quill seemed reluctant but ran a hand through his hair as he replied.  “Yeah.  Taking a little pit stop.  Or at least we were.  Until someone couldn’t play nice!”

“They insulted my mother.”

Quill paused as his brow furrowed.  “Insulted her how?”  When Thor informed him Quill’s expression went slack before he nodded.  “Okay.  That’s valid.  I’m slightly less completely annoyed at you right now.”  Quill conceded.  When Rocket gave him a what the Hell look, Quill said.  “What?  Mothers are sacred, Rocket.”

“Humies.”  Rocket muttered with a long-suffering sigh.

“Where are the others?”  Thor asked.  “I wish to greet them and introduce them to my new friend.”

“Your new-” he followed the line of Thor’s finger as Thor pointed to Frode.  Quill blinked.  Pinched his cheek.  Blinked.  Pinched Rocket’s arm and got a curse and threat in exchange.  And then asked.  “Is that a dragon?”

Thor grinned.

--

“Some guys have all the luck.”  Quill muttered as they made their way into the club slash casino the rest of the Guardians were at.  “I can’t believe you just stumbled onto a dragon.  And it’s so freaking cute!”  Quill exclaimed.  “Not fair!”

“He is.”  Thor agreed and Quill looked wistfully at Frode.

“Don’t worry, Quill.”  Rocket said quietly, but not too quietly.  “I’ll get him later.”

“You will not.”  Thor said matter-of-factly.

“Will too.”  Rocket chimed.  “Just you wait.”

When they approached, Mantis was trying her hand at a slot machine with an encouraging Drax at her shoulder.  Nebula watched with crossed arms and she groaned as Thor approached.

“You’re still alive.”  Nebula said without inflection.

“Good to see you too!”  Thor said cheerfully, either missing or choosing to miss Nebula’s lack of enthusiasm.  Frode was inclined to think the former, given Thor’s penchant for willful blindness.

Drax looked to Quill who shrugged even as Mantis gave Thor a bright smile.  “Thor!  It is good to see you again!  You are much more pleasant in small doses.”

“I agree.”  Drax said amiably as he and Thor clasped arms in a suitable, warrior greeting.  “Your face is more welcome than last time I saw it.”

Thor chuckled.  “I am glad to hear it.  Much has happened since last we met.”

“Oh?  Did you end up saving the injured warrior lady?”  Mantis asked curiously before her eyes widened as Frode fidgeted on Thor’s shoulder.  “Is that a-”

--

Once the next round of ‘is that a dragon’ was sufficiently played out, Thor, Frode, and the Guardians took up a table in the back where it was reasonably quiet.

“What was the deal with the chick anyway?”  Quill asked through a mouthful of fried pickles.

“Sif.”  Thor said.  “She had lost her arm in battle and thought she might be on her way to Valhalla.  But thankfully she still lives, she teaches swordplay in New Asgard now.”

“It is good your friend is not dead.”  Drax said with a thoughtful nod.

“That was my thinking too.”  Thor said as he munched a cheesy fry.  He considered it before he held one out to Frode.  “Hungry, little guy?”  The squeak and pointed tilt away of Frode’s head suggested otherwise.

“You can’t feed a dragon cheesy fries.”  Quill said incredulously.

“Oh?  Then enlighten me.”  Thor said in that particular way of his where every word sounded unbearably smug and, or patronizing and made Quill want to punch Thor in his chiseled face.  “What do dragons eat?”

“I believe dragons are carnivorous.”  Mantis said.  “Perhaps raw meat?”

Frode made a displeased chitter before he paused and then looked to Thor with a deliberate nod.

Quill’s eyes went wide.  “The dragon nodded!”

“Frode.”  Thor corrected.

“Frode nodded!”

“He’s a very clever dragon.”  Thor said with obvious pride and Frode tilted his head in a way reminiscent of an eye-roll.

Thor ordered raw meat for Frode and some kind of cooked creature leg.  Supposedly it would taste like turkey, Thor wasn’t optimistic but he would try.  

When the food arrived, Thor moved his arm as a kind of ramp for Frode to clamber down and onto the table.  Frode was subjected to every set of eyes at the table and his wings folded around himself as his tail curled.

“Aww, he’s shy.”  Rocket cooed.  “I can fix that.”

“How do you fix a dragon being shy?”  Quill asked skeptically.

“By letting him eat people and set things on fire.”  Rocket said confidently.

“Oh-ho-kay.”  Quill drew the word out as his brows rose.  “So, Rocket is never allowed to have a dragon.”

Rocket glared.  “Not your decision.”

“Group vote?”  Quill suggested.  “All those in favor of not giving Rocket a murder-dragon, say ‘I’?”

“I.”  Mantis said cheerfully and Drax seconded her vote.

“Bunch of traitors.”  Rocket muttered sullenly with his arms crossed.

Frode had taken advantage of the distraction to nibble at the raw meat, but Thor noted he didn’t seem to like it.  The red eyes fixed on his not-turkey leg and Thor paused before he tore a chunk off and held it out.  Frode hesitated before he nibbled on the bit of meat before he began to more ravenously eat it.  Thor snatched his finger back as the sharp little fangs got a little too close for comfort.  “Someone is hungry!”  he exclaimed with a chuckle.  Thor began cutting strips off of the turkey leg as it seemed easier and Frode wolfed them down.

“I am Groot!”

“Groot!”  Thor exclaimed as he rose from the table and his brows rose.  “You have gotten big, my friend!”

“I am Groot!”  The tree exclaimed back as the pair shared a tight hug.  “I am Groot.”

“No way!  Good for you, buddy.”  Thor said as he clapped the tree on the back and Frode stared.  “One of these days I’ll teach you how to wield an axe.”  he promised.

“I am Groot!”

“Stormbreaker, huh?  We shall see.”  Thor chuckled.  “My daughter is wielding Stormbreaker these days.”

Frode made a choked noise as the Guardians gave varying exclamations and noises of surprise.

“Daughter?”  Quill spluttered over a fried pickle.

Thor grinned.  “As I said, much has happened.”

--

Thor regaled them with the tale of Gorr the God Butcher while he figured out how to trickle water for Frode to drink.  Frode sat at the table and listened as intently as the rest with two, tiny claws on the back of Thor’s hand.

When he was finished, Rocket whistled.  “That’s one way to get a kid, I guess.”

“I am sorry for your loss, Thor.”  Mantis said sincerely.

”I am Groot…”  Groot said with his head hung sadly.

“So am I.”  Drax said solemnly.  “If you need to weep  manfully, I will allow you to use my shoulder.”  he said generously.

Thor’s smile was more forced at that.  “I appreciate the offer but I have…mourned Jane enough.  Now I wish to honor her memory and raise Love well.”

“Still weird to me a dude named ‘Gorr’ named a kid ‘Love’.”  Quill said.  “And sorry about Jane by the way.”  he added.

“I named her Love.”  Thor said.

“Why?”  Drax asked.  “Love is not a name.”

“Clearly it is, because that is my daughter’s name.”  Thor said in what Quill dubbed ‘that tone’.  “Gorr always called her ‘my love’…so…it seemed fitting.”

“But didn’t she ever have a name name?”  Quill asked.

“Love is her name name.”

“Not a name.”  Drax said bluntly.

“Agree to disagree.”  Thor said.

”I do not agree because I am right.”  Drax informed him.

“I am Groot.”  Groot said.

“Of course you take his side.”  Drax huffed.

Thor glanced down and noticed that Frode had his gaze locked on Thor’s face.  He smiled as he brushed a knuckle against the side of the tiny, scaly head.  Frode huffed out a soft breath but tilted into the finger as he brought the tip of his tail up to brush against Thor’s hand.

Rocket watched the pair before he gave a resigned sigh.  “Now even I’d feel bad if I took your dragon.  Kinda seems like you actually got really bad luck.  Everyone you love dies.  In really horrible, awful ways.”  he added.

Thor flinched as Nebula, who had been mostly silent for the affair, finally spoke.  “How terrible?”

“Terrible.”  Rocket said.  “His mom, his brother, and his best friend all got murdered.  He just said his maybe-girlfriend got sick and died.  His sister tried to murder him but Thor got her first.  His dad just poofed.  Stark and Natasha.  His planet.  And then there’s all the Asgard-people that Thanos killed on his ship-”

”-Rocket.”  Mantis interrupted quietly.

Thor’s hand was clenched so hard around his glass his knuckles had turned white and his expression was tight.  Frode chittered softly and stared at Thor as he palmed the top of Thor’s hand.

“Oh.”  Rocket seemed to realize his error then as he rubbed a paw on the back of his neck awkwardly.  “So…yeah…”

“He does make a compelling case.”  Drax noted soberly.  “That does sound like a lot of death.  Maybe you are cursed?”

Thor’s mouth twisted ruefully as he stared at his glass before his gaze slid to Frode as the dragon tilted to be in Thor’s line of sight.  He released the glass to stoke Frode’s cheek.  “I am immune to most curses.”

“How’s that?”  Quill asked.

“My father wielded the power of the Allfather, my mother was a witch, and my brother was a sorcerer.  They covered me in protective spells most of my life.”  Thor said lightly.  “It would take someone stronger to curse me, and my brother was the most powerful sorcerer in Asgard.  So it’s unlikely.”

Frode chirped as his head lowered to settle on Thor’s arm and then he gave a low, soft whine.

“Yeah, but, if they’re all…y’know…dead…doesn’t that mean their ‘spells’ are gone too?”  Rocket's tone was awkwardly sympathetic.

Thor paused as his expression blanked, he was silent for a few seconds before he chuckled mirthlessly with a sad air about him.  “I never thought about it.  But I guess you’re right…”  He added a quiet hum in thought as his hand clenched.

Frode’s tail slid over Thor’s arm as both claws latched on gently and Thor offered the little dragon a tight smile.

--

Thor and Rocket sat on the side panel of the ship as they stared out over the then dark landscape of Contraxia.

“Sorry about.  Y’know.”  Rocket trailed off as he took a sip of his drink.

“Not to worry.  Nothing you said was untrue.  And you know me.  Resilient.”  he brushed a thumb over his cup, some kind of hot tea brewed for him by Mantis.

“Still not drinking?”  Rocket asked as he glanced Thor’s way.

Frode was curled up against Thor’s neck as he spoke.  “No.  No.  I’m done with that.”

“Good…that’s good.”  An awkward silence followed before Rocket cleared his throat.  “Does it help?”

“Hm?”

“Having the kid…does it…make the other stuff…suck less?”

“Ah.”  Thor pondered the question as he looked at the endless, inky black beyond the city.  “It…keeps me from thinking too much.”

Rocket scrunched his snout.  “Pretty sure you’re supposed to think more when you’re a parent, but eh, what do I know?  Weird to think of you being one anyway.”

“How’s that?”  Thor asked with a chuckle.

“I don’t know.  You’re the guy who lets a star almost melt him to make an axe and cuts off Thanos’ head.  Hard to imagine you just…being…a person?”

Thor snorted.  “What was I before then?”

“The guy with ‘nothing left to lose’.  S’what you said anyway.  Well, and there was the melted ice cream thing.”

“We don’t discuss that.”  Thor said archly.

“Yeah, yeah.”  Rocket waved a dismissive paw.  “Just figure it’s gotta be hard.  Going from saving the universe and being a king to being a nobody.”

“I am not nobody.”  Thor protested, mildly affronted even as he turned Rocket’s words over in his mind.  “And I will still save the universe if needed.  I just stopped Gorr!”

“And now you make pancakes…just saying, I wouldn’a guessed it.”

“As I once told my brother.”  Thor said.  “Life is about growth.  Change.  I have learned to adapt.”

“Good for you, Thor.”  Rocket said as he patted a small paw on Thor’s back.  “Guess you found what you were looking for.”

Thor’s hand clenched on his drink as he forced a chuckle.  “Right.”  he agreed.  “Right.”

Frode’s small head pressed against his cheek and he brought a finger up to stroke Frode’s stomach.  The dragon caught his finger in a tiny, clawed hand and didn’t release it, so Thor let it be.

Just a former Titan-slayer slash king drinking tea on an obnoxious planet with a not-rabbit and holding hands with a dragon while his mystical adopted daughter is in the care of his royal replacement.

What else could Thor need?

--

Thor yawned as he slipped off his shirt once he was back in the privacy of his ship.  They would spend the night on Contraxia before Thor and Rocket would start the job.

He had smushed a pile of blankets and pillows on the ground for the dragon next to his bed.  Frode didn’t seem enthused, he simply sat where Thor had placed him and watched Thor intently.

Thor figured he’d shower in the morning and intended to sleep only in his under clothes.  He turned his back on the little dragon as he prepared to slip into bed only to hear a fierce screech.  “What?  What is it?”  he asked urgently as he turned around.

Frode was aiming a clawed hand at Thor as he made a series of agitated chittering noises, another screech, and then a low growl.

Thor crouched down, bewildered, and brought his hand up to the little dragon who batted it aside with a screech.  He had been about to get into bed when the dragon started making a fuss…perhaps that was the issue?  Thor glanced back at the bed as he debated his options then shrugged as he looked back at Frode.  “You want to sleep with me, little guy?  Is that it?”

Frode’s agitated fidgeting stopped as he stared at Thor before he gave a quick, sharp screech.  He seemed to gesture to Thor’s hand so Thor offered it again, surprised when Frode immediately skittered up his arm.  Thor felt Frode on his shoulder as the dragon pressed claws into his upper back and from the reflection in a mirror he saw Frode staring at… “Ah.  My tattoos.  You probably haven’t seen tattoos before.”  he mused, surprised that a dragon noted or cared though.  Especially a baby one.  “Here.”  Thor abruptly pulled the dragon off and Frode gave an indignant squeak as he squirmed.  He set the dragon down on the bed and turned to display his back.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw that the little dragon did indeed seem to be examining his tattoos.  “They are to honor my brother.”  he saw the tiny, red eyes tilt to his own.  “Do you have siblings?  Brothers or sisters?”  he amended, unsure of how extensive the dragon’s vocabulary was.

A pause and then a slow nod.

“Do you know where they are?”  Thor asked as he moved to sit beside Frode on the bed, the dragon looked up at him in a rigid position.  The dragon nodded and Thor’s expression brightened.  “Then I will take you to them.”  The dragon shook his head vehemently and Thor frowned.  “You don’t wish to be reunited?”  The dragon was still a moment before he set a claw on Thor’s thigh and stared at Thor intently, a little chitter and then the chirp.

Thor eyed the little creature and then smiled as he understood.  “You want to stay with me.”  he translated.  “Well, I don’t mind.”

The dragon’s claw clenched and his head tilted as he made a long, grumbling growl.

“Feisty little thing.”  Thor said affectionately as he scooped the dragon up.  Frode gave a tiny screech and scrambled before Thor held Frode against his chest.  “If you wish to stay, then you are welcome.  My daughter will love you.”  he added as an after thought and Frode’s head tilted as he peered back at Thor.  “But no biting.”  he reminded Frode as he poked a finger into the dragon’s back.

Frode made his huffy noise as he poked Thor back in the upper arm with his tail.

“Just how smart are you?”  Thor wondered aloud and Frode chittered.  He trailed his fingertip along Frode’s head and Frode pressed back against it.  Thor noted in the light that there was a faint transparency to Frode’s wings as though they were thinner than the rest of his skin.  Curious, he brought his fingers over the top of one wing to brush his thumb against it.  Frode tensed as he dug his claws into Thor and made a sharp screech.  Thor released him immediately and Frode scooted back so fast he tilted off Thor and rolled onto the bed.  “Did I hurt you?”  he asked, concerned.  “It was not my intent.”

Frode pulled himself onto all fours and shivered as he flexed his wings and stared at Thor.

“Your wings look different than the rest of you.  I was curious.  Apologies.”  Thor offered and Frode slowly unfurled one of his wings which had been tucked against his side.  Frode gave a low, quick whine and Thor asked.  “You’re letting me feel it?”  he clarified this time.  When Frode gave a nod, Thor brought his hand closer.  Frode tensed and watched Thor carefully.  Thor was slow and then gentle as he brushed the pads of his fingers over the edge of the tiny wing before he brushed his thumb against the wing itself.  He got a soft chitter in reply and smiled.  “You are a very handsome dragon.”  Thor reassured his new little friend who snorted.  He lowered his hand and Frode watched the path of it, so Thor opened his palm to see what Frode would do.

The dragon seemed to study Thor and then his palm before Frode put a small, clawed hand on Thor’s and chirped.

Thor curled his fingers to brush against Frode and the little dragon seemed to sigh.  He scratched a fingernail lightly under Frode’s chin, surprised when the little dragon gave a contented rumble and tilted as if to allow better access.  Thor obliged before the dragon pushed at his hand abruptly and squeaked.  “I take it you that means ‘done’?”  he chuckled.  “I would not have expected a baby dragon to be so confident, or so bright.”  Frode huffed and chittered rapidly, he seemed displeased and Thor again misunderstood the cause.  “My mistake.  Not a baby dragon.  Simply a small one.”  he teased and Frode smacked lightly at Thor’s arm with his tail.

There was something distinctly pleasing about interacting with the little dragon.  There may have been an element of lifelong enthusiasm involved given that Thor had always wanted a dragon.  But the tiny, needy thing was endearing and spirited.  Thor was already growing quite fond of the little beastie.

“Time to sleep.”  Thor informed the dragon.  “Would you rather sleep here or there?”  he asked as he nodded towards the little ‘nest’ he’d made Frode.

The dragon didn’t even bother to look at the cushy bed.  He very pointedly curled up on Thor’s bed and Thor laughed.  “Fine, but you go-” he gently pushed the dragon who gave another indignant squeak and growl.  “-Here.”  Thor pushed Frode to the head level of the bed and the second pillow.  “I don’t want to roll on you in my sleep.” he said wryly.

Frode managed a rather disdainful look for a [not] baby dragon.  Thor poked his tiny nose in amusement and Frode bristled with a growl.  “Good night to you too, Frode.” he cooed and Frode huffed again.

Thor switched off the light and heard a sudden rustling noise.  He squinted in the dark and felt a thin tail curl around his palm as Frode settled on the pillow next to Thor’s head.  Thor wasn’t sure if the sudden dark had spooked the little dragon or he simply wanted to sleep nearer.  He pressed a kiss to Frode’s tiny head, or possibly his neck, Thor was aiming roughly.  Frode gave soft chitter and chirp as he bumped his head against Thor’s and settled back down.  Thor went to sleep feeling pleasantly content.

--xx--

“That’s the guy.  Tanton Zelrik.  Sleaziest sleazeball this side of the galaxy.”  Rocket said as he pulled images up on the screen.

The man was a bald humanoid with elephantine ears, a small trunk, and light-gray skin.  He was dressed immaculately and gave off wealthy asshole vibes by the boatload.

Quill squinted at the image.  “Yeah, I could see.”  he decided.

“I’ve met him before.”  Nebula said in a deadpan.

“Wait, really?”  Rocket asked.

“I was on a job.  He attempted to touch me.  He almost lost a hand but Gamora stopped me.  She did slip a non-lethal poison into his drink on my behalf though.”  Nebula said as her tone softened with rare fondness.  “She was a good sister sometimes.”

Silence fell over the ship before Quill sucked air through his teeth.  “She was a good everything.”

“Yeah.”  Mantis said with a quiet sigh and Drax nodded.

Rocket shifted awkwardly before he cleared his throat.  “Anyway.  This guy’ll smuggle anything.  He’d sell his own mother if he hadn’t already.”

“Wait, he sold his mother?”

“Well, step-mom, but said difference.”  Rocket shrugged.  “She was from a race that cries jewels for tears.”

“That seems useful.”  Drax noted.

“And pretty.”  Mantis added.

“I am Groot.”

“What would you do with that much money?”  Thor asked with a quirked brow.

“I am Groot.”

“Dream on, kid.”  Quill said with a roll of his eyes.

“I am Groot!”

“Language!”  Rocket said with a shake of his head.  “Jeez.”

Thor swiped a hand over the touchable hologram as more information about Tanton came on the screen.  He stiffened as a list of known worlds of business displayed, amongst many others, Asgard.  “Your information is wrong.”  Thor said abruptly as he pointed and frowned down at Rocket.  “Asgard didn’t do business.  Least of all with a smuggler.  Least of all with a child smuggler.”

“He smuggles children?”  Drax’s tone was surprised and angry.

“S’why this mission’s here.”  Rocket said before he looked to Thor.  “And don’t blame me if you didn’t know what was going on in your little kingdom thing.”

“Okay, it was not a ‘kingdom thing’.”  Thor said with something resembling air quotes.  “And we did not do business with smugglers.  Or business.”  Frode chittered on his neck and pushed the tip of his tail against the back of Thor’s neck.  “Not now, Frode.”  Thor tried to tap Frode lightly and got a nip in reply.  “Hey!”  Frode gave a little growl and Thor frowned as he slipped Frode from his shoulder and set him on the table.  “You are in small dragon time out.”  Thor informed him.

Frode bristled and stalked in a circle on the table before he fixed Thor with a small dragon glare and chittered angrily.

Thor lifted both of his brows intentionally as he gave Frode a look and pointed a stern finger before he returned his attention to Rocket.

“Anybody else think that was kind of adorable?”  Quill asked.

“I did!”  Mantis exclaimed.

“Me too.”  Drax said, almost solemnly.

“Okay, enough about the adorable dragon, moving on.”  Rocket said as he looked back at Thor.  “Kingdoms are all about business.  I’ve done a lot of business with kingdoms.  We’re doing business for one right now.  Sort of.”

“What’s this about?”  Quill asked.

“Thought you weren’t interested.”  Rocket snarked with his arms crossed.

“That was before you told me it’s a child kidnapper.  That’s a little different than exotic smuggler.”  Quill pointed out.

Rocket rolled his eyes.  “Same difference.  This kid.”  He pressed buttons on a pad and the screen changed to reveal a bug-eyed, pink-skinned alien in a girl’s school uniform with a swirling antenna on her head and a vaguely heart-shaped mark on her cheek.  “Trieza Larksnapper is the niece of the queen of Zebulon.  Her dad was supposed to be the king but he turned down the throne to marry her mom.  The mom was one of the last of her kind.  They all got that mark.”  Rocket said as he pointed to the heart-shaped mark.

“What does it mean?”  Nebula asked.

“Means the kid is supposed to be able to see things.”

“I can see things.”  Drax offered.

“Not that kinda see, ya dope.  Like…the future, maybe?  Other realities?  Kinda not clear on it, it’s a lot less fact and a lot more legend.”  Rocket said.

Thor frowned at the image.  “How do they know Tanton took her?”

“Cause they say this guy did it.”  A blurry, security camera still of a man mostly covered with gauze wrapped around his face came on screen.  A grainy picture of a man with sunglasses, blue skin, and messy black hair came on screen.  “Zadrik.  He’s a Kree reject who does a lot of work for Tanton, but he’s anything-goes.  Last confirmed planet of residence was Sakaar.”

Thor choked.  “Sakaar?”

“What, you’re familiar?” Rocket asked even as Frode made a shrill squeak.

“Unfortunately.”  Thor said with a pinched expression.  “Let’s just say the Grandmaster of Sakaar would not be happy to see me.”

Rocket crossed his arms.  “That’s a problem cause that's probably our first stop.”

Frode made an agitated series of screeches and Thor held a finger to his lips in a shushing motion that only seemed to irritate the little dragon further.  “Hush, you.”  Thor said as clamped a fast hand around Frode’s mouth.  Frode jerked and tried to squirm away, when that failed he slashed at Thor’s hand.

Thor withdrew with a hiss as he glanced at his bleeding hand where sharp claws tore lines into the side.  “Bad dragon!”  he snapped.

Frode had seemed angry still but as he saw Thor bleeding and was chastised, he coiled in on himself a little and looked decidedly abashed.

Thor sighed as he wiped his hand on his shirt.  “Sakaar is a terrible planet.  And the flow of time is different there.  My brother and I landed there only hours apart but he’d been there three weeks when I arrived.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it, I got a couple Chronal Distortion necklaces.”  Rocket said dismissively.  “Won’t be a problem.  Anyway, Zadrik was seen just before Trieza went missing.  And her queenie aunt is willing to offer a whole lotta money to get her back.”

“I don’t care about the money.”  Thor said.  “But I will not let child theft stand.”

“More for me.”  Rocket said with satisfaction.

“Tell me me more about this Zadrik.”  Thor ordered as he perused the hologram slides.

“Not much to say.  He’s a Kree the Kree don’t want.  Something something, back-stabbing, money-grubbing, no honor, yada yada.  From what I’ve heard, he’s got no hang ups.  No code.”  Rocket explained.

“What does that mean?”  Mantis asked.

Quill spoke up.  “Means he’s got no rules, he’ll cross any line.  The worst kind of jerkbag.”

“There is no honor that.”  Drax said firmly.

“No, there is not.”  Thor agreed in a murmur as he fixed a faint glare on the resumed image of Zadrik.

Quill leaned against a table before he threw up his hands.  “Fine.  We’ll all go.  Guardians assemble.”

“Avengers assemble.”  Thor corrected.  “You have to get your own line.”

Quill stared at Thor incredulously.  “The Avengers can’t hijack ‘assemble’.  It’s just a word.  You can’t have a monopoly on a word.”

“Avengers assemble.”

“Guardians assemble.”

Quill and Thor stepped practically toe-to-toe before Nebula made an annoyed sound.

“You are both incredibly annoying and no one cares about your nonsense lines.”

Quill and Thor both looked put out by that before they shared a glance and both shrugged it off.

“It matters not.”  Thor said dismissively.

‘It matters not’, Quill mouthed mockingly.  “Thanks for that, Hamlet.”

Thor squinted.  “Who is Hamlet?”

“Character from a Shakespeare play, you uncultured swine.”  Quill said with patronizing smugness.  “Romeo and Juliet.”

“Hamlet.”  Mantis said.

“Yeah, that’s what I said.  Hamlet is from a played called Romeo and Juliet.”  Quill explained patiently.

“No.”  Mantis corrected.  “Hamlet is from Hamlet.”

Quill opened and closed his mouth, apparently with intent to correct her only to doubt himself.  “That…why would the title be the guy’s name?”

“Shakespeare did that with several plays.”  Mantis explained.

“Why do you even know that?”  Quill asked as Rocket and Thor chuckled.

“Ego had a fondness for Earth plays.”  Mantis said as some of the cheer left her face.

Quill sucked his bottom lip before he nodded.  “Got it.  Alright, well.  Close enough.”  he scratched the back of his head.

“I am Groot.”  Groot said impatiently.

“Exactly!”  Thor agreed as he crossed his arms and wore an imperious expression.  “Quill is wasting time when we have an important mission at hand.”

“I am Groot.”  Groot said dryly and Quill snickered.

Thor’s look grew faintly to resemble a pout.  “You’re supposed to be on my side."

Groot looked between Quill and Thor and mimed punching a fist into his palm.

“Yeah, yeah, play nice.  Got it.”  Quill grumbled.  “Can we just get going?”

“I can’t leave my ship here.”  Thor said.

“Just auto-pilot it back to New Asgard.  Your ship is a Drakken X-47.”  Rocket said as though it should have been obvious.

“It can do that?”  Thor sounded impressed and Rocket sighed as he rubbed a paw over his face.

“Amateurs.”  Rocket muttered.  “Get what ya need outta the ship and then we’ll all go, how’s that?”

--

With all matters handled, Thor [with Frode restored to position his shoulder] joined the Guardians on their ship for the now group-misson.

Thor had reassured Frode that he was a ‘good dragon’ and he hadn’t meant it when he said Frode was bad.  Frode seemed thoroughly unimpressed but rejoined Thor where he curled his tail around the back of Thor’s neck and pressed against the thunder-god.

“So here’s the plan.  We pop into Sakaar, see if we can get any intel on Zadrik.  That fails?  We go to where the kid was taken, Chrysus.”  Rocket said.

“I thought you said she was from Zebulon.”  Quill pointed out.

“Her aunt rules in Zebulon.”  Thor corrected and Rocket clapped his hands together.

“Look at that!”  Rocket crooned.  “There is something resembling a brain under all that hair.”  Thor glowered while Rocket smirked, and Frode gave a little chitter as his tail poked at Thor’s neck.

“Traitor.”  Thor muttered as he brushed Frode’s tail aside.  Frode moved his tail in what seemed to be a conciliatory pat against Thor’s head as he gave a short chitter and what Thor had come to consider Frode’s customary chirp.  “I vote we skip Sakaar.  Trust me.  It’s a terrible place.”

Quill snorted.  “What, you lose at a gambling table?”

Thor replied matter-of-factly.  “I was enslaved in a gladiatorial arena, got smashed by the Hulk, had an obedience disc forced on me, and was almost captured again courtesy of my trickster brother.  Then we orchestrated a revolution, stole the Grandmaster’s ships, and went to Asgard.  So, provided the Grandmaster is still there, he’s not going to be especially pleased to see me.”  Frode gave a little screen during Thor’s story and wriggled a finger towards the dragon but didn’t touch him.  He heard a huffy chitter at the gesture.

“Fine.  You can stay on the ship, how’s that?”  Rocket said, unimpressed.

Mantis looked fascinated by the tale.  “You have an exciting life.”  she decided.

“Forced to complete in an arena to the death.”  Drax said wistfully.

“Go back a second, your brother sold you out?”  Quill asked.

“He tried to.  I tricked him first.”  Thor said smugly and Frode gave a shrill squeak and shoved his head at Thor.  “What?  Are you hungry?  Do you require the little dragon’s room?”  he  winced at the very shrill little screech in his ear that earned him.

“Perhaps I could help?”  Mantis suggested.  “I may be able to feel what has upset him."

“Oh, right.”  Thor said slowly, he had not been a fan of Mantis’ first reading of him when he’d awoken on the ship after the Statesmen explosion.  “No biting.”  He reminded Frode as he plucked the dragon from his shoulder.  Frode curled around his hands with an angry hiss as he looked between Thor and Mantis.  Thor held the dragon up to his face to meet Frode’s gaze directly.  “Mantis has special powers.  She might be able to figure out what you want.  So be a good little dragon.”  he advised sternly.

Frode made a rapid chitter, chirped, then growled as he flicked his tail before he looked to Mantis.

Thor took that as acquiescence and held the dragon in the cradle of his arms as Mantis approached.

Mantis smiled as she bent to be at eye-level with the wary dragon.  “Hello, little one.  This will not hurt.”  she promised.  She lifted a hand and Frode tensed but remained in place as Mantis set her hand on his head.  Her smile slipped the longer she kept reading the dragon, before her eyes abruptly opened and she looked to Thor with a troubled frown .  “This is not a baby dragon.”  she said uncertainly.

Thor blinked, surprised as he peered at Frode who looked between the two.  “He’s just a small grown up dragon, then?”

Mantis made a clicking noise with her tongue as she thought over the question and what she’d felt.  “Allow me to try again.” she finally said as she set her hand back on Frode.  A moment passed and then she said with more confidence.  “It is…not words exactly, but impressions…”

“Yes?”  Thor prompted.

“Frode says he is your brother.”  Mantis said bluntly.

Thor stared at Mantis even as Frode looked up at Thor expectantly.  “He says what?”

Chapter Text

“I Loki, Prince of Asgard, Odinson, The Rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief-do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity."

--

The first sensation Loki felt upon awakening was pressure all around him.  He instinctively tried to move back against whatever held him down but Loki found himself encased on all sides.  His body thrummed with a deep, painful ache and he felt tingling pinpricks throughout.  Loki open his mouth to speak, or perhaps to groan, but what came out was an unfamiliar, high-pitched whine that would have startled him if his thoughts weren’t so muggy.

Loki’s last sensations were of having Thanos’ rough hand around his neck.  The terror, resignation, and clarity of purpose as he baited Thanos into ensuring that Loki was the Odinson the Mad Titan took for balance.  A last ditch attempt to do one thing right.

Loki was still alive, though barely, as the Titan cast him aside.  He heard Thanos’ words as though muted and then he felt vaguely a pressure on his chest.  Loki had an impression of his brother, his ever-too-warm brother with his voice ragged as he said ‘Loki, no’.

Funny thing that, given that Odin’s words before Loki had fallen the first time were ‘No, Loki’.

Loki might have laughed if he’d had any breath left with which to do so.

Better to laugh than to cry.

--

When Loki next regained his senses, he took stock of what seemed an increasingly impossible situation.  He was gloriously alive, which he had held a faint hope for even as he’d held a dagger against Thanos.  But clearly things had not gone as Loki had planned.

Loki was trapped in a dark, cramped space with a mouth that wouldn’t form words and a body that felt increasingly not his own.  He felt unfamiliar appendages and there were most assuredly claws on his hands…and a tail?  Loki felt a heaviness on his back as well but it felt held tight, bound perhaps.

Then voices and light as Loki realized he was inside of a box and that he was far, far smaller than everything around him.

A rough hand grabbed him and Loki tried to protest but a series of high-pitched noises came out instead.  He was able to glimpse himself in the light even as his body felt only more wrong.  The flash of blue left him terror a moment that against all reason he was in Jotun form.  But reality caught up with him quickly as he took in the scales, claws, tail, and rounded little belly.  Loki managed to tilt his head back enough to see wings tied at his back and he knew then.

A dragon.  Loki was a dragon.

--

His attempts to free himself resulted only in being bound further.  Loki’s ‘legs’ and ‘arms’ were bound as pairs and twine was wrapped around his mouth.  The indignity and helplessness infuriated him even as fear gripped him.  Beyond his own current circumstance, the mystery of what happened to his brother weighed on him as well.  Had the Mad Titan won?  Did Thor yet live?  Had Loki’s attempt to save Thor made any difference at all?

Did Thor mourn or feel relief at the loss of his trickster brother?

--

Loki had a poor grasp of time but it seemed to be weeks before he found himself in different ‘company’.  A man called ‘The Boss’ engaged in a transaction to buy Loki as though he were nothing but property, merely an exotic beast.

That he was a dragon of all things was absurd, Loki had no idea how it happened though he had tried to guess.  Oh, if his brother could see him now.

“Please, Loki!”

“For the last time, Thor.”  A young Loki huffed.  “I am not shifting you into a dragon!  I am not sure I even can !”

“You could try.”  Thor insisted.

“And if it goes horribly wrong?”  Loki crossed his arms as he narrowed his eyes at his brother.  “I could always make you a frog.”  he offered as a little smirk curved his lips.  Thor’s scrunched expression of distaste made him laugh.

There was the time rumors of a dragon reached Asgard and a teenaged Thor was over the moon about it, it was all he would speak of.  Loki was at his wit’s end.

“There is a perfectly good dragon waiting for us to claim them!”  Thor exclaimed.

Loki rubbed a palm over his face in exasperation, he was certain it was the twelfth time that day they’d had this conversation.  “And where exactly do you propose to keep a dragon?  This may come as a shock to you, brother, but it will not fit under your bed.”

Thor huffed and gave Loki a look as though he  were the one being annoying and unreasonable.  “We have an entire realm!  Asgard should have a dragon!”

“You mean you want a dragon.”  Loki corrected.

“You must know a spell to incapacitate one.”  Thor insisted.

Loki felt a flicker of irritation.  For all that Thor laughed at Loki’s ‘tricks’ these days, Thor was ever ready to turn to them when they might prove useful to him.  “I would not tell you if I did.”

Thor scowled.  “Are you afraid?”

Loki glared at that.  “I am not a coward because I am not fool enough to try to steal a dragon back to Asgard, Thor!”

“Coward.”  Thor said and Loki wanted to throttle him.  “Prove me wrong if you are not.”  he challenged.

Loki cursed himself that he was even tempted by that, by the instinctive need to best and impress his oaf of an older brother.  “I am not helping you do something so ridiculous.”

Thor ended up storming off and Loki passed word to his mother of what Thor had in mind.  Naturally their father found out and though Loki wasn’t directly named as responsible for informing on Thor, of course it had been him.

Loki remembered the way Thor berated him afterwards for ‘breaking his trust’.

He could not decide that year if he felt it more kindness or mischief when Loki presented his brother with a beautiful, red glass dragon for a Yuletide gift.  Loki had fashioned it with sorcery out of a glass that gleamed like fire in the sunlight.  He knew it could go one of two ways: either Thor would feel mocked or sullen, or as if they’d never had such a fight Thor would love the gift without a hint of irony.

Loki could not say ahead of time which reaction he most preferred.

Thor opened the little box curiously and his eyes widened as he saw the glass dragon.  “Loki.”  his tone was quietly awed.

Loki watched carefully as Thor gingerly took the trinket out and examined it.  “Here, brother.”  He motioned Thor to follow him to the window.  “Hold it up to the light.”

Thor did, and when the dragon gleamed he made a delighted noise.  “Where did you find such a thing?"

“I made it.”  Loki said, and Thor looked to him in surprise.   He could not help but add.  “I know it is not the dragon you hoped for, but perhaps you will find it to your liking all the same.”   Loki waited for a potential backlash that didn’t come.  Thor looked a touch guilty at those words, the way he grimaced the closest to an apology that Loki was likely to get on the months-old fight.

“More than to my liking, brother.  It is truly awesome.” he said as Thor used his free hand to cup Loki’s neck in their gesture of affection.  “Thank you, Loki.”

Loki hid his rush of pleasure at Thor’s reaction with small smile and a bit of humor.  “It will even fit under your bed.”

Thor snorted as he pushed lightly at Loki’s neck.  “Aye.  But I will find a better home for this treasure than that.”

Loki’s heart skipped a beat as Thor referred to it as a ‘treasure’, though if Thor genuinely put such weight on the gift, Loki couldn’t be sure.

Loki the dragon watched from inside the bars of small cage he’d been trapped in.  You always wanted a dragon, brother.  Here I am.  He thought ruefully, the wry humor the only tenuous grasp on keeping his composure he had.  Loki had no idea of his brother’s welfare or the fate of Thanos.  And at present, he wasn’t even able to keep himself from being treated like a mindless beast and pet.  He had seen his reflection though, and oh, the hilarity of his current form.  Truly, the Norns must have laughed to weave his thread.  Not even death had severed Loki from the colors of his birth form.

Loki was uncertain how long he’d spent with The Boss.  The alien seemed content to own Loki but did nothing else.  Loki was kept in a cage in the corner with no more apparent value than a paper weight.  He supposed at least a paper weight might have utility.  He was bored, restless, and agitated.

Loki caught the faintest glimpse of arrivals to the room but he generally ignored them anymore.  He heard those in the room speaking of a man who’d insulted The Boss’ nephew and was to be taught a lesson.  The only thing worse than being held captive was being held captive by such utter imbeciles.  They started speaking of the man being awake and Loki had little choice but to listen, though he listened intentionally as he heard the man speak.

“Oh, wow, that…your breath smells worse than bilgesnipe dung you should really do something about that.”

Thor.

Loki was upright in an instant as he pressed against the bars of the small cage.  It was impossible, the odds were infinitesimally small, it defied all reason.

“So you tied me up?  Could have bought me dinner first.  A little effort goes a long way.”

There was no mistaking the voice of the brother that Loki had known all of his life.  Somehow, against all odds, Thor was here.  Thor’s mixture of arrogance, cockiness, and mocking usually drove Loki up the wall but in that instance it was damn near the best thing he’d ever heard.  Loki tried to make noise, muffled sounds beneath his closed snouts and clattering against the bars with his tail and padded claws.  Thor seemed to think the encounter was a prank of some kind, he mentioned a ‘sweet rabbit’ and ‘Quill’.  The men must have pointed a weapon at Thor, based on Thor’s words, and Thor offered them a warning.  Loki took no small pleasure in knowing Thor was about give the men a very bad day.

Thor made a comment about ‘the things we do for our kids, am I right’, that gave Loki pause after the tumult died down.  But the bulk of Loki’s attention was on trying to get Thor’s attention.  He heard footsteps approach and then got the first glimpse of his big brother in…Loki wasn’t sure how long.

Thor had changed yet again.  His hair had grown long and faintly wavy while both eyes were blue again.  He wore what seemed to be Midgardian clothes though far flashier than the homely ones Thor had worn when they’d gone to see their father.  And somehow Thor seemed to have gained yet more muscle.  The effect meant that Thor looked both painfully familiar and uncomfortably, slightly like a stranger.  Another iteration of Thor that Loki hadn’t been present for, another change missed.

The excitement on Thor’s face and exclamation of ‘Oh my Norns…a baby dragon’ told Loki that at least Thor’s lifelong love of dragons was still present.

Excitement and painful longing flared in Loki in return as he wanted desperately to speak to his brother.  Loki wanted to be seen and recognized, to understand where he stood with this Thor, to go…to go…did Loki even have a home?  Would he be welcome in New Asgard, if Loki might even consider such a place ‘home’?

“Hey, there.”  Loki fixed his gaze on Thor’s face as he spoke.  “Aren’t you just the cutest thing I’ve ever seen?”  He bristled as Thor spoke to him like…well, like a little beast.  Loki supposed he hadn’t really hoped that Thor would recognize him somehow but…not being recognized still stung.  Thor picked up the cage and Loki tensed in alarm.  He could not get used to being so small and having so little autonomy.

“Alright, tiny dragon.  This is what’s going to happen.  I’m going to let you out of that cage and free your mouth.  And you aren’t going to bite me.  Sound fair?”

Loki was agitated at Thor’s continued babying tone, but he took his opportunity to display his sentience and gave a deliberate nod.  Thor’s wide-eyed look was mildly satisfying, Thor’s attempt to touch Loki less so.  His brother’s hand looked huge as it approached and Loki, who’d not been handled gently since awakening in his current form, flinched instinctively.

Thor offered a reassurance, perhaps more gentle than Loki might have expected or perhaps exactly what he should have expected.  Thor’s penchant for moonlighting as a ‘gentle giant’ was so at odds with the Thor who could gleefully level battle fields in an instant.  Loki waited for assistance to be freed and he flexed his body while he clacked his jaws in relief.   -Any chance you can understand me?-  he tried.

The look of delight and accompanying ‘that was adorable’ gave Loki his answer and he tried not to feel too disappointed.  He could work around that, there were always ways.  But first he needed his ‘hands’, such as they were, and he smacked them on the table to get Thor’s aid.  Thor was gentle at that task as well and Loki moved about the  table before he looked for some means of communication.  The offer of food was met with Loki’s sharp annoyance as he was suddenly intensely impatient for his brother to understand Loki was Loki and not truly a juvenile dragon.

An obnoxious noise came from Thor’s pocket and Loki half-listened to Thor even as he tried to scratch words onto paper.  Loki couldn’t make his clawed fingers seem to work individually, the muscles were too new and untried, and he shredded papers in frustrated attempts.  The bit about Thor meeting someone got Loki’s attention, he was concerned what Thor intended to do and tried to speak to his brother again.

“Just a minute, little guy.”  Thor cooed.

Loki wasn’t sure if he wanted to claw the table or Thor more in that instant.  Had Thor ever tried to talk to Loki in that tone when he was right-bodied, Thor might well have earned a dagger in his side.  Thor called him a ‘baby dragon’ and Loki grimaced.

Loki renewed his attempts to scratch words into paper and failed.  He made a noise of frustration and cursed.  Thor asked if he was a fan of paper and called him ‘little guy’ again and Loki treated his brother to his best attempt at a dragonic glare.  He needed Thor to understand it was him…Thor always used to have a knack for recognizing Loki in different forms [sometimes]…perhaps he might again?  Though this was a far different scenario and Thor was likely sure Loki was dead but…worth a try, right?

-Thor, look at me.  Brother, I am Loki.-  Loki sat still and pointedly looked Thor in the eyes.  -Brother…-  There was no reaction.  -Brother…I need you to see me…-

“Well, listen, little guy.  I have places to be, sort of, do you have a…mommy dragon around somewhere?  Is there someplace I can drop you off?”

Loki’s eyes widened as sudden fear gripped him.  -No!  Thor, it’s me, you can’t leave me here!-  He stretched his claw out to Thor with a grabbing motion only to fall forward.  Loki felt suddenly hands on him in the midst of his surprise and he heard a squeak from his own mouth as he squirmed.  Then he was on the warm plane of Thor’s arms as Thor spoke softly.  Loki felt his heartbeat calming as he looked up at Thor who gave his word that Loki was safe and Thor would not hurt him.  Thor, offering Loki protection unwittingly.  The same great oaf…who had no idea who Loki was…  The sorrow of the thought was immediate and Loki shuddered as he moved up Thor’s chest.  -Brother…-

“Sorry, my little friend.”  Thor said wistfully and Loki’s heart sunk even though he knew it was the inevitable reaction.  “Allspeak doesn’t work on dragons.  But perhaps we can go outside and you can point out where you need to go?”

Loki clenched his claws in Thor’s shirt, the distressed noise that bubbled up from his throat was unbidden, he shook his head deliberately.

Loki shook his head to the next two questions before Thor stroked his fingers down Loki’s head and back.  The first tender touches Loki had in his current form, and from Thor no less.  Relief at the first taste of a feeling of safety he’d had since the mess started slid over Loki, as well as the desire to be known by his brother and with him properly.  Loki’s tail almost instinctively curled around Thor’s wrist as he watched his brother morosely.  He had spent years trying to hide from Thor and now Loki would give realms for Thor to see him now.

“You’re just a sweet little guy, aren’t you?”  Thor cooed and Loki dropped his tail immediately.  Trust his brother to ruin the moment, however inadvertently.  Loki’s displeasure came from his mouth in a growl as he bared his teeth.  Then Thor laughed at him, the giant oaf.  “Apologies.  I meant you are a very tough and noble little dragon.”

Loki narrowed his eyes and thumped his tail against Thor’s chest.  But when Thor said that Loki could come, his body slumped in relief.  The mention of a name put Loki on guard though, Thor was infamously terrible at naming things.  He might be lucky if Thor didn’t simply call him ‘Dragon’.  Thor mentioned Loki and he tried to get his brother’s attention as he clawed Thor’s chest lightly.  -I am that brother!-

Thor offered ‘little giant’ and Loki stared at his brother in disbelief before he shook his head.  -No.-  When Thor’s next brilliant suggestion was ‘Blue’, Loki dug his claws in harder.  Thor pulled him away and being carried startled Loki who immediately sought something to hold onto.  He was pulled back against Thor’s warm, firm chest and stroked.  The safety of Thor’s arm and the kindness of his touch was searing, Loki was so close to his brother and yet so far.  -Brother, please-  Loki pleaded quietly, even though he knew it was futile.  A sudden kiss to his head surprised him, then Thor nudged Loki with his nose.  “You need not be afraid.  No harm will come to you while I’m looking after you.  Alright?"

Loki knew the words were to the ‘baby dragon’ and not Loki himself.  But with Thor looking at him, speaking to him, it felt like any countless number of vows of protection and reassurance Thor had ever given him.  -Brother…-  Loki sighed and resigned himself to his current situation as he curled up against Thor.

“I am sure he could name you better than I could.”  Thor murmured and Loki’s heart clenched as he understood himself to be the ‘he’ in the statement.

Loki moved towards Thor and bumped his head against his brother, full of words and emotions that had no outlet.  Somehow as well, Thor’s wistful mention of Loki was both touching and sad.  So he still thinks of me fondly.  Loki noted to himself.  Thor pressed his face against Loki and the warm pressure and presence of his brother was welcome, Loki simply accepted it.  When Thor suggested ‘Frode’, Loki stared at him for a long moment and wondered if Thor remembered the dragon that shared that name.

“He should have a name.”  Thor said as he admired the glass dragon now perched in a place of honor near his bed.

“It is a piece of glass, Thor.  I somehow think it will not mind the lack of one.”  Loki said dryly.

Thor rolled his eyes before he said thoughtfully.  “Perhaps Red?”

Loki stared at his brother.  “I did not spend hours making the thing for you to give it such a ridiculous name.”  He realized his error when Thor looked to him in surprise.

“It took you hours?”

Loki feared that Thor would mock him, though Thor really had no grasp of sorcery.  “I do not give poor gifts.”  he said primly to hide his defensiveness.

Thor’s arm slipped around Loki’s shoulder and he found himself pulled against Thor’s chest in a fond, one-armed hug.  The elder’s cheek rested against Loki’s head as Thor smiled proudly at the little dragon.  “No, you do not.”  he agreed.  “And he must have a name worthy of all the effort you put in, brother.  I am open to suggestions.”  Thor added with a wry grin.

Loki huffed even as Thor’s reaction touched him more than he cared to admit, hungry as he always was for his big brother’s pride and affection.  “Frode.”

“Frode.”  Thor repeated.  “That means…” he strained  for the answer.

“Wisdom.  I am not surprised you forgot the meaning, as you have none yourself.”  Loki teased and Thor squeezed his fingers into Loki’s arm in ‘revenge’ before he released his younger brother.

“Frode the Wise.”  Thor said thoughtfully.  “Aye.  I like it.  Though Red had a nice ring to it as well.”

“You are such a fool.”  Loki muttered, with no real heat and Thor grinned.

“A fool you spent hours  crafting a dragon for.”

“Shut up, Thor.”  Loki grumbled before he yelped as Thor ruffled his hair into disarray.  He glared but it softened as Thor’s gaze had already turned back to the dragon with a fond, pleased smile.

“Frode it is.  I am Thor.  I have always wanted a dragon."

Loki knew that better than anyone, surely, and shook his head.  He had nodded his acceptance at the name with a sigh.  When they reached the outside, Thor shook his head and pushed Loki from his position.  -Thor!- he protested.  Thor patted him and Loki huffed as he resettled.

Then Thor was propositioned and his attempts to rebuff the advances were ignored.  Loki was a touch surprised at his own sudden welling of irritation as he snapped his jaws at the being.  He felt a ruffle of satisfaction as Loki frightened them.  Thor called Loki an ‘it’ and that caught his attention instead.  -Don’t call me an ‘it’!-  Thor simply bopped his nose and Loki glared.  Loki was worse than his brother’s shadow, he was his brother’s silly pet.

A group began to harass Thor who seemed amused.  Loki felt a flicker of fond amusement as Thor declared himself a ‘son of Odin’ and thus did not beg.  But then they insulted his mother which instinctively raised Loki’s ire.  Loki, however, knew his brother well enough to know what the primary concern was.  Just as he had on Jotunheim those years ago when Thor was called ‘princess’.  Sure enough, lightning coated his brother and Loki tried anxiously to better his grip.

Thor made short, electrifying work of the group and not long after was subjected to beratement by what looked to be an Asgardian rabbit.  Loki stared down at the creature in surprise as it gave Thor quite a piece of its mind.  He was a touch surprised as well that Thor simply took it like a stubborn, slightly sullen child.  “They insulted my mother.”

Thor did have a point.

The rabbit went on to mock Thor and Thor didn’t even snark back.  He wondered if that said more about a change in Thor or his bond with the strange creature.  Loki became the subject of scrutiny and when Thor called him cute, he lightly snapped his tail against Thor’s face.  The rabbit spoke of saving Thor’s life and a magic axe handle, Loki was curious about the context.

Then a man approached that, if Loki had to guess, was Midgardian.  Thor greeted the man [Quill, apparently] warmly but he too began to berate Thor fearlessly.  Loki didn’t see so much as a hint of being insulted in Thor’s expression when the man called him a ‘pain in my ass’, and mocked Thor.  Then again, Thor seemed oblivious to the root of the man’s ire as he apparently thought the man felt unworthy to admit his friendship with Thor.  A friendship that Loki questioned the mutual nature of the more he heard the Midgardian speak.  Thor’s cockiness earned him a nip on the ear from Loki.

Quill mentioned Thor doing a mission with a rocket which Loki found concerning.  What use did Thor have for the Midgardian explosives?

Loki made a repeated impact whenever he was noticed.  The rabbit was insistent that he would take Loki, though thankfully Thor was equally sure that he would not allow that.  He half-expected to see some of the Avengers but an almost new set of faces greeted him.  Loki recognized Nebula from his time with Thanos and felt a frisson of fear.  How was Thor companions to a daughter of Thanos, did he not know who she was?  Was she tricking Thor and the others?

Thor greeted her cheerfully and Nebula did not return the favor.  A motley crew of other beings greeted Thor and their reception implied to Loki that Thor must have recently worn out his welcome with them.  More excitement over Loki the dragon and then the group sat to eat.  Loki listened as Thor spoke of Sif, last he had seen her, Loki had sent her away the Allfather’s guise.  So she yet lived and had made it to New Asgard…

Thor offered him something that smelled of grease and dripped with what Thor claimed was cheese but Loki was dubious.  The woman, Mantis, suggested raw meat which didn’t please Loki either.  But meat in general did so he declined before he amended and nodded at Thor.  Thor called him a clever dragon and Loki tilted his head.  As if a dragon understanding speech was ‘clever’.  Thor’s standards for cleverness were oafishly low.

The food arrived and Thor motioned Loki down.  He crawled down Thor’s arm, an embarrassing thought that only served to remind him further of his current predicament, and sat on the table.  That was somehow worse, seated on the table like the creature he seemed to be rather than the god he truly was.  All eyes were on him and Loki felt uncomfortably self-conscious as they wanted to make a show of his attempt to eat.

They were distracted by a concerning conversation and he made attempt to try the raw meat, but Loki found it distasteful on principle.  He couldn’t bring himself to focus on anything but that fact.  He looked to his brother’s roasted beast leg and Thor thankfully caught on.  Loki found that much more to his liking and Thor was generous in sharing.  The exclamation of ‘someone is hungry’ was also embarrassing for Loki but there was little recourse for it.

He was alarmed when a large, apparently sentient tree approached and his brother greeted said tree with a hug.  The tree kept announcing it was named ‘Groot’, and then of all things, Thor treated the repetitive words like proper words.  Thor mentioned a ‘Stormbreaker’ which sounded like a weapon…did his brother get a replacement for Mjolnir?

“My daughter is wielding Stormbreaker these days.”

Loki choked as he stared at his brother in pure, unadulterated shock.  Thor had a daughter?

Loki was an uncle?

The tale was fascinating and sad both as Thor spoke of the God Butcher.  He never held the same fascination for Zeus that his brother did, so Loki wasn’t overly surprised that the Olympians declined to help.  The idea that Thor beseeched the pantheons of gods and received no support struck Loki as annoying though.  His brother yet again risked him recklessly to be noble and not one of those wretches could be bothered to come help Thor save all of them?

Loki felt an uncomfortable roil in his stomach at the mention of Jane and the fact that she wielded Mjolnir.  And Thor’s powers.  And Thor’s name.  Loki couldn’t even lift the damned hammer.

The roil faded into sympathy as Thor spoke of Jane’s death and sacrifice.  Loki could see his brother’s pain even if Thor hid it well.  Upon hearing that Thor had named her ‘Love’, Loki felt that was quite like his brother and far from the worst it could have been.  Sentimental oaf.  Thor seemed to note Loki’s eyes on him and brushed a knuckle against his head.  Loki huffed, not fond of all the touching and being treated like a pet, but unwilling to reject Thor in this at present.  And perhaps he wasn’t as not-fond of the touching from Thor as Loki’s pride would have him declare.  Loki tilted against Thor’s finger and brushed Thor’s hand with the tip of his tail.

His tail.  Loki cringed at the thought.

Loki’s attention was ensnared as the rabbit spoke of death following his brother and the daughter of Thanos asked ‘how terrible’.

The rabbit continued and Loki’s gaze went back to his brother as the list grew longer.  Thor’s expression was carefully blank and yet tension hummed in his body.  Loki could see the tightly clenched grip of Thor’s hand on his glass.  And he knew his brother, Loki knew the words would affect Thor.  He knew of what Thor lost, save ‘Stark’ and ‘Natasha’.  But to hear it all listed together put it in perspective for Loki differently.  -…I am here, Thor…-  Loki offered, knowing it was no good all the same as he pressed his small palm on the back of Thor’s hand.

The rude bunch added insult to injury and spoke of curses.  Thor called Loki the ‘most powerful sorcerer in Asgard’ and he stared up at his older brother in surprise.  He set his head on Thor’s arm.  -As if I would let anyone else curse my brother-  Loki said, soft and wry.

 Then the rabbit opened its mouth again and made it worse.  Thor let out a chuckle that Loki knew full well was forced and a sort of mirthless hum.  Loki slipped his tail over Thor’s arm and grabbed gently at it as Thor smiled tightly back at him.

--

Thor and the rabbit, apparently ‘Rocket’, sat outside and the chill of Contraxia had even Loki [who didn’t mind the cold] burrowing against Thor’s neck.  The elder Odinson called himself ‘resilient’ and Loki heard a wealth unspoken beneath the word.

Rocket asked about drinking and the way that Thor declined it gave Loki the impression he was missing something.  ‘Done with that’…had Thor been drinking something particular, or often?  Thor spoke of thinking less and the rabbit jabbed at him lightly, but the rest caught Loki by surprise.

“I don’t know.  You’re the guy who lets a star almost melt him to make an axe and cuts off Thanos’ head.  Hard to imagine you just…being…a person?”

Loki latched onto the first bit with startled outrage that melted into blanket shock at the rest.

‘Cuts off Thanos’ head’.

Thor beheaded Thanos?  The Mad Titan was dead?

Thor took his head?

Loki felt numb, overwhelmed by the sudden revelation, even as the rabbit continued.  ‘Nothing left to lose’ caught his attention but he kept picturing the last time he had seen Thor and Thanos.  His brother had been defeated, the Mighty Thor rendered helpless.  What in the Hel happened to give Thor the power to behead Thanos?

Then Rocket implied Thor was no longer a king and Loki was aghast.  How many years had passed?  What had happened?

Thor mentioned Loki and yet again his heart clenched.  Rocket spoke of Thor finding what he was looking for but Thor’s tight reply told Loki that wasn’t quite true.  So many words and not one that Loki could speak.  He pressed his head against Thor’s cheek and Thor brought a finger up to stroke Loki’s stomach.  Loki caught the finger instead and held it, struck by that as well.  He and Thor had been working through such distance, the Statesmen had been their first hug in years.  Now Loki was practically in constant contact with Thor, sharing affections, but Thor had no idea.  When was the last time the brothers had held hands?  In their boyhood, perhaps?  Some night curled up in bed sharing comfort and closeness?

--

Thor set up what appeared to be a makeshift bed on what Loki surmised was Thor’s ship.  He found himself set down without preamble and watched his brother move about.  Thor removed his shirt and Loki caught a glimpse of imagery.  He was transfixed until Thor started to move at which point he bellowed.  -What have you done?  Oh, you great oaf, you utterly ridiculous-

“What?  What is it?”  Thor asked, oblivious to Loki’s wellspring of rage and disbelief.

Loki pointed towards Thor.  -You inked yourself.  With my name and that inane memoriam!  Those look like they were done by a child!  What possessed you to-no, don’t touch me!-  Loki batted Thor’s hand away.

“You want to sleep with me, little guy?  Is that it?”

Loki stared at his brother as he fumed.  -Unbelievable.-  He pointed to Thor’s hand and Loki clambered up Thor’s arm when it was in reach to make his way back to the tattoos.  Loki peered over Thor’s shoulder to try to get a better look.  Thor rambled and Loki found himself picked up.  -Hey!-  Then Thor displayed his back and Loki studied it intently.  The list of names gave him pause, as did the question mark by his own name.  Had Thor been hoping…?

“They are to honor my brother.”

Loki flicked his eyes to Thor, suddenly exhausted of his anger and unbearably frustrated instead.  Frustrated and saddened.  The inking was terrible, truly, but it was a testament to Thor’s sentiment.  Whatever happened on the Statesmen had not been enough to turn Thor from him.  Had not been enough even to stop Thor from clinging to the possibility that Loki might somehow be alive.  Though, Loki had taught Thor that hope himself, perhaps the cruelest trick Loki had ever played on his brother.

“Do you have siblings?  Brothers or sisters?”

Loki gave his brother a slow nod.

“Do you know where they are?”

Thor moved closer and Loki held still as he looked up at the other man with a nod.  The oaf’s expression brightened.  “Then I will take you to them.”

Loki shook his head quickly.

“You don’t wish to be reunited?”

Loki considered his response and set a claw on Thor’s thigh as he stared at his brother.  -I am here, brother-.

“You want to stay with me.  Well, I don’t mind.”

A far cry from the reaction those words had when Loki arrived on the Statesmen.  His claw clenched as made a frustrated noise.

“Feisty little thing.”

Loki scrambled again as Thor picked him up.  He didn’t like not having solid contact, he didn’t like being moved about so easily and having a reminder of his own currently small size.  Then Loki found himself cradled against Thor’s chest and was oddly reminded of his childhood.  How many times had Loki found sanctuary in his brother’s arms?  Sometimes tear-stained face smushed into Thor’s chest as Thor stroked Loki’s hair and held him?

“If you wish to stay, then you are welcome.  My daughter will love you.  But no biting.”

The reminder of the child gave Loki pause and he wondered if that would be true of Loki himself.  He had never been much good with children, though they always adored Thor.  What, if anything, did the child know of Loki?  Had Thor spoken little, or much, or had he tacitly avoided detailing Loki’s grand history of misdeeds in the years before his death?

Thor poked his back and Loki huffed as he poked Thor’s arm with his tale.  His brother wondered at his intelligence.  -Still smarter than you, Thor-.  When Thor trailed a finger along Loki’s head he pressed back against it.  The feel of Thor’s touch on his wings startled Loki though, he dug his claws into his brother instinctively.  -Stop that!-  Thor released him and Loki pulled back which resulted in a tumble to the bed.

“Did I hurt you?”  The great oaf sounded concerned.  “It was not my intent.”

Loki rose with a shiver as he flexed his wings and regarded his brother.

“Your wings look different than the rest of you.  I was curious.  Apologies.”

Loki knew his brother had meant no harm but his wings were sensitive and they had hurt when they were bound.  Even to be cramped in the cage and unable to unfurl them caused them to ache after a time.  Loki hesitated and then relented.  -Just be careful- he said as he unfurled a wing cautiously.

“You’re letting me feel it?”  Thor asked.

Loki nodded and Thor’s large hand came closer, he tried not to flinch.  Thor’s hand moved softly over Loki’s wing and then the interior flap.  The feeling wasn’t unpleasant when Loki was prepared for it, and Thor was gentle enough.  -How can one as soft as you have taken Thanos’ head?-  Loki mused softly.

“You are a very handsome dragon.”  Thor said, as if to assure Loki.

He snorted at that and Thor lowered his palm to the bed.  Loki watched, curious, and then when Thor seemed only to be inviting contact Loki set his hand on Thor’s with a soft sigh of -brother-.  Thor’s fingers curled and scratched under Loki’s chin.  A pleasant feeling washed over Loki instantly and he found himself preening for Thor’s touch before he could think about it.  Then he pushed away.  -Enough of that.-

“I take it that means ‘done’?”  Thor chuckled.  “I would not have expected a baby dragon to be so confident, or so bright.”

Loki huffed.  -Stop calling me a ‘baby’, you overgrown child.-

“My mistake.  Not a baby dragon.  Simply a small one.”  Thor teased.

Loki smacked Thor’s arm with his tail for lack of any better recourse.

“Time to sleep.  Would you rather sleep here or there?”  Thor asked.

Loki didn’t bother acknowledging the crude bed on the floor.  He curled up in place and looked to Thor pointedly.  Thor’s laugh put a warm feeling in his chest until Thor began to push him.

-Excuse you!-

Loki found himself pushed up as Thor spoke of not rolling over on him.  He gave that idea all the contempt he could muster in a look.  Loki found his nose poked and he bristled with an unbidden growl.

“Good night to you too, Frode.”  Thor cooed and Loki huffed.

But then Thor turned off the light and a sudden panic flared in Loki.  The dark was not a pleasant thing, not after so many bad experiences, not after being alone so long, not after fearing he would be trapped in his current existence and never know what became of his brother-

Loki moved towards Thor and slipped his tail over Thor’s hand as he curled up next to his brother’s head.  A kiss was pressed almost on Loki’s eye, no doubt thanks to Thor aiming in the dark, but he welcomed it more than he would ever care to admit.  -…Rest well, brother…-  Loki said softly as he bumped his head against Thor’s and settled in.  The first time sleeping with a feeling of safety since he’d been born anew.

--

Thor showered the next morning and Loki watched as his brother emerged in all his glory with sopping wet, golden hair clinging to his skin in the fog of the bathroom.  He caught sight of the obnoxious tattoos again, even as Loki acknowledged they made him want to do something horribly sentimental like hug the big oaf.  Thor whistled a tune that Loki didn’t recognize and slipped on clothes before he eyed Loki thoughtfully.  “I should probably give you a bath.”  he mused out loud.

The idea of being bathed by his brother who believed Loki to be a baby dragon was unconscionable.  Loki felt he made that sufficiently clear as he drew up into a menacing position and growled.

But of course, Thor only laughed like Loki’s threat was something precious and Loki glared.

Loki thought the matter done until he had eventually been taken to the restroom as Thor brushed out his hair.  He watched idly as Thor stepped towards the shower then shrieked with rage and alarm as Thor blasted him with the shower head.

-I am going to kill you, Thor!-  Loki snarled, infuriated when Thor doubled over laughing as though it were the funniest thing he’d ever seen.  He slammed a frustrated palm on the bathroom counter as he shook water from himself.

Then Loki heard a strange noise and realized Thor was pointing his cell phone at Loki.  It took a second for him to recall the capabilities of the Midgardian communication device.  When it dawned on him he darted across the counter and leapt onto Thor.

The elder Odinson nearly dropped his phone as he fumbled.  He got it into his pocket even as Loki swatted at Thor with his tail.  -You are the worst!- he hissed at his brother, only to be struck by the last words Thor had ever spoken to him.

“You really are the worst, brother."

The sudden flash of memory doused Loki’s rage like a water bucket on a lit candle and he barely heard Thor’s admonishments.  Thor seemed to note Loki’s diminished attitude because he frowned as he brought Loki closer to his face with concern.  “I am sorry…did the water hurt you?  I won’t do it again.”  he promised as he brushed a thumb over Loki’s face.

The gesture felt so similar to their gesture of affection, Thor’s tone was so soft, it made Loki’s heart ache painfully as his head drooped against Thor’s chest.  He was confident that he would make Thor understand who he was eventually.  But there did seem to be what some might call poetic justice in a turn of events that might leave Loki stuck at Thor’s side in such a fashion.  Rendered wordless and harmless and held at Thor’s whim.  Desperate for Thor’s proximity and care anyway.

“I have you, little guy.”  Thor assured him as he brushed his fingers over Loki’s scaly form.

Thor held his sniffling little brother in a tight hug against his chest as he stroked his hair and pressed a kiss to the crown of his head.  “I have you, little brother.  I am here.”

Loki made a miserable little noise as he buried himself against Thor’s chest and felt terribly small in a way that had little to do with his physical size.

--

Hologram displays showed the target as Rocket explained ‘the job’.  He listened intently and recognized the name of the smuggler.

Thor was outraged at the inclusion of Asgard on the smuggler’s list of places he’d done business.

“And we did not do business with smugglers.  Or business.”

-Of course we did business, you fool.-  Loki pushed the tip of his tail against the back of Thor’s neck.  -What do you suppose a trade agreement is?-

“Not now, Frode.”  Thor dismissed him and tapped at Loki who nipped him, irked by the gesture and dismissal despite himself.

“Hey!”  Thor exclaimed.

-You started this-.  Loki grumbled.

Loki found himself set on the table as Thor informed him in a tone as one might speak to a misbehaving child- “You are in small dragon time out.”

Loki bristled as he paced in a circle and glared at his brother.  -Wait until my powers are restored.  I will show you a ‘time out’.-  But even as he said so, Loki wondered if he would have his powers restored.  Loki still wasn’t sure what had gone so awry with his spell.

Thor gave Loki a look and pointed a stern finger, to which Loki could only glower, relegated to the table at Thor’s pleasure.  The others spoke of Loki being adorable and he quietly fumed.  He returned his attention to the information on the job Thor was to attend as Rocket spoke again.  Loki didn’t know of ‘Zadrik’, but he knew of the militaristic and technologically advanced Kree.  They would make excellent mercenaries.

“Last confirmed planet of residence was Sakaar.”

-Sakaar?-  Loki tensed at the thought, his brother seemed no less startled.  -Going to Sakaar is a terrible idea.  Once was quite enough for a lifetime.-  Although perhaps technically this would be a new lifetime, Loki noted miserably.  Thor tried to shush him and Loki clacked his claws on the table with a glare.

“Hush, you.”

Loki found his mouth held closed, a feeling he did not relish any more than Thor’s inadvertent patronizing.  He pushed at Thor’s hand aggressively and scratched Thor unintentionally.

“Bad dragon!”  Thor snapped.

Loki’s instinct was to take that poorly but as he saw Thor bleed, he slumped a bit.  He hadn’t meant to draw blood, least of all over so small a matter.

The conversation continued as Thor and Quill got into a petty disagreement over what Loki agreed with Nebula were ‘nonsense lines’.

The rabbit had more intelligence than Loki had first realized, and he was faintly amused when Rocket seemed exasperated with Thor’s lack of knowledge of the workings of his own ship.

Thor bent over to be more at eye level with Loki on the table.  “Listen, you are a good dragon.  But friends do not draw blood from friends.”  he said sternly.

-How about brothers?-  Loki queried , wry but weary.  Norns knew Loki had probably drawn blood from his big brother more than anyone else.

Whatever Thor took from Loki’s quiet chittering, he brushed a gentle palm over Loki’s head and Loki allowed it.  “Are we good?” he asked.

Loki huffed at his fool of a brother before he nodded to satisfy Thor’s question.  He found himself brought back to Thor’s shoulder where he curled up again.

Later when the conversation continued, Thor smugly said.  “He tried to, I tricked him first.”

-Oh, hardly!  And how dare you sound proud about that!-  Loki complained as he shoved his head at his brother.

“What?  Are you hungry?  Do you require the little dragon’s room?”

-No, I require you to recognize me, Thor!-  Loki snapped, exasperated and frustrated with all of it.

“Perhaps I could help?  I may be able to feel what has upset him.”  Mantis offered and Loki eyed the woman warily.

“Oh, right.”  Thor said, as though that made perfect sense.  “No biting.”

Loki was handled yet again and he gripped at Thor’s hands as he hissed.  -I am so very tired of this-.  Thor brought Loki up to eye level and Loki was struck again by how large Thor seemed.

“Mantis has special powers.  She might be able to figure out what you want.  So be a good little dragon.”  Thor advised sternly and Loki felt a wave of anxious caution at that.

-What sort of ‘special powers’, brother?  Do you even know?-  Loki flicked his tail with agitation before he looked to Mantis.  Thor seemed to take that as a ‘yes’ and brought him towards the woman cradled in Thor’s arms.

“Hello, little one.  This will not hurt.”

Loki wasn’t sure he believed that, nor was he pleased about the situation.  But if she did have some power that allowed them to communicate…  He reluctantly remained still as she put a hand on him, and Loki felt a tingle throughout.

“This is not a baby dragon.”

Loki’s eyes widened at that and he felt a flicker of hope.

“He’s just a small, grown up dragon then?”  Thor asked and Loki watched the exchange carefully.

“Allow me to try again.”  Mantis said and Loki was more eager to allow it.

I am Loki, brother of Thor.  Loki wasn’t sure if she was a telepath, but he tried his very best to make that one thing clear at least.  He summoned the thoughts to the forefront of his mind and tried to push them towards her as he might if Loki had his own sorcery at hand.

“It is…not words exactly, but impressions…”

“Yes?”  Thor prompted.

”Frode says he is your brother.”  Mantis said.

Loki felt a wave of victorious exhilaration as he looked at his brother expectantly.

“He says what?”

Chapter Text

The room felt suddenly far smaller as the words penetrated Thor’s brain.  He must have misheard, or he must be dreaming, or any number of other explanations than the one that Mantis implied.  It had been some six years since Loki’s death.  Thor’s flyaway hope that his brother had somehow survived had long been waylaid by the length of Loki's absence.  Six years was nothing for a god but given what they’d been through it was everything.  There was simply no way that Loki had done this to him again.  Loki would not be that cruel, not after what happened, not even Loki would do that.

Would he?

The little blue dragon with red eyes [he looks like a Jotun] Thor had thought, stared at him after Mantis’ revelation.  There was no shake of the head, no angry noise, the dragon-Frode-Loki?-was just waiting.

“No.”  Thor croaked, his tone harsher than he might have expected and Frode [it could not be Loki] tensed even as Thor’s hands clutched more tightly at the dragon.  “It can’t be.”

Loki wasn’t sure what reaction to expect but Thor spoke ‘no’ like it was ripped from the depths of his chest.  He felt Thor’s hands tighten uncomfortably and Loki grew uneasy.  -Thor…brother…-  He flexed an anxious claw against Thor’s hand and tried to gauge the root of his brother’s reaction.

Thor stared down at the small dragon and asked, barely above a whisper.  “Loki?”  There was a pause before the dragon slowly nodded and Thor felt the floor fall out from under him.  A dizzying rush accompanied the confirmation and his vision seemed to narrow.  He didn’t realize the lightning was building inside of him until he saw the crackle on his hands and heard Loki make a panicked squeak.  Loki tried to move from Thor’s grasp so he tightened it and Loki made a pained noise that did not entice Thor to loosen his grip.  “How could you do this again?”  he asked in a low tone.

Loki shuddered in Thor’s grasp and yelped as Thor’s grip became painful.  He saw the flickers of Thor’s lightning and began to panic.  Loki caught on quickly to what Thor seemed to think this was and he shook his head rapidly.  -No!  I didn’t-not this time-Thor, that hurts-  The last word was a high-pitched screech and Thor’s jaw clenched.

“Change back, Loki.  Do it now.”  Thor ordered tersely.

-Brother, I can’t!-  Loki squeaked in Thor’s hands which only grew tighter.  -Thor, please-  A low whine.

The Guardians had various reactions that Thor barely registered.  He stiffened when Mantis’ hand went back to Loki’s head.  “He is afraid, Thor!”  Mantis said quickly.  “You are causing him pain!”

”I’m causing him pain?”  Thor chuckled bitterly.  “Shift, Loki.  I’ll not ask again.”

“Thor.”  Quill’s voice was cautious, lightning stilled rippled in spurts along Thor’s frame.  “Look, we can talk about this, okay?  But put the dragon-brother-whatever it is down before you do something we’re all gonna regret.”

Thor’s lip curled.  “This is between my brother and I.”  he snarled.

“Thor, he is afraid.”  Mantis repeated.  “Let him go.  Please.”  Her eyes had begun to fill with tears as she experienced Loki’s vicarious pain and fear, and for her own nature took pain at the situation.

“He should be.”  Thor snapped as he glared back down at Loki.  “Did you take this form to lessen my anger?  You thought I would forgive you faking your death again if you came to me this way?  I watched you die, Loki.” he cut off with an angry sound and Loki made a pitiful, pained whine in his grasp.  “Ask him why he did it.”  he demanded harshly.  “Ask him why.  What was it this time?”

“It does not work that way, Thor.”  Mantis said gently.

Drax moved closer to Thor with a frown.  “Do not yell at Mantis.”

“Move away from me, Drax.”  Thor said in warning.

“Whoa!  Hey, cool it!”  Rocket said as he held up his paws.  “Everyone, just calm the Hell down!”

“Do not presume-”  Thor started angrily only to feel a sharp pain on the back of his neck.  He whirled around to see Nebula staring back at him impassively.  “What was that?”  he demanded.

“Abarian Nerve Agent.”  Nebula stated simply.

“Oh, shit.”  Rocket muttered.

“A wha-”  Thor’s tongue felt thick and numb, as did the rest of him shortly after.  He tried to demand an explanation but his mouth didn’t seem to work.  Nebula plucked Loki from his hands easily and Thor’s hands fumbled at nothing as he stared in angry confusion.

Loki had feared Thor would squeeze hard enough to do true damage, his brother was veering into dangerous territory in his temper.  Thor was his most unreasonable when he lost his temper and sure enough he seemed to be turning on his friends as he reverted to instinctive command.  The ingrained arrogance of a lifelong prince who wouldn’t let a mere thing like friendship get between him and his intent. 

Thor’s friends began to quarrel with him on Loki’s behalf before the daughter of Thanos did something to Thor, he recognized ‘Abarian’ but not the item.  When Nebula reached for him, only his sense of self-preservation against the immediate danger caused him to go to the other major threat in the room.  He had no trust for a child of Thanos, regardless of her apparent good behavior thus far.  Loki shifted to watch as Thor’s body made little jerking motions and he wore  a look of confusion before he fell to the ground in a heap.  A new fear gripped him as he worried Nebula had just killed his brother before his eyes.  But Thor’s eyes were still open and moving as his fingers twitched against the floor, the lightning had ceased.

“What the Hell was that?”  Quill asked, wide-eyed.

“Abarian Nerve Agent.”  Nebula repeated as she deposited Loki on the floor, apparently not interested in holding a dragon.

“Okay but what is it?”  Quill emphasized.

An annoyed look crossed Nebula’s face.  “I told you.  A nerve agent from Abaria.  A fast acting paralytic.”

“Means he ain’t moving anytime soon.”  Rocket translated as he tapped a foot against Thor’s ankle with a sigh before he looked to Loki who had taken a seat in front of Thor’s face.

“Why do you even have that?”  Quill asked, aghast.

Nebula blinked.  “Doesn’t everyone?”

“No!  No they do not.”  Quill said vehemently and Nebula rolled her eyes.

Loki watched as Thor’s eyes swiveled to him and he heard muffled noises in Thor’s throat.  He couldn’t exactly blame Thor for his reaction, even if Loki hadn’t liked it or Thor’s infamous temper.  -I am sorry.-  He said softly, words he knew Thor wouldn’t understand and that he’d struggled to ever say save for his near-death on Svartalfheim.  Loki flicked his tail over Thor’s neck and let it rest there as he pressed his small palm against Thor’s cheek to try to convey he meant no harm.  Thor exhaled sharply through his nose but could do nothing else.

“So the dragon is really…Thor’s brother?"

Loki’s gaze went to Quill as he spoke and Loki realized once again all eyes were on him.

“That is what I felt.”  Mantis said.  “He has a great deal of pain inside of him, and sorrow…I think he has been very lonely.”

Loki cringed as Mantis added far more commentary than was necessary and more than he realized she’d picked up on.  He looked back to Thor who couldn’t give a reaction anyway, but his brother’s eyes were fixed on him.  Was it wishful thinking that Thor’s gaze had softened a fraction?

“So his dead brother came back as a dragon?”  Rocket asked with a scrunched expression.

“Is that possible?”  Drax asked.

Loki, aware of the eyes on him, took the chance to at least latch onto that explanation given that it wasn’t wholly untrue.  He nodded, still uncertain of the means or circumstances of his revival, transformation, or rebirth.

“I am Groot.”  Groot said as he poked at Thor’s back with a mixture of sympathy and fascination.  “I am Groot?”

“Nah, he definitely missed his brother.  I don’t think he really wanted to kill him.  If Thor wants someone dead, they’ll be dead.”  Rocket shrugged.

Loki shivered unwillingly at that, it would be an easy matter for Thor to have crushed Loki in his bare hands.  Even a mortal could likely do it now, the realization was nauseating.

Quill crouched down as he peered at Loki, who looked back evenly.  “So your name is Loki?”  Loki nodded and Quill repeated a clicking noise on the roof of his mouth as he thought that over.  “Your Thor’s little brother, right?”  A nod.  “But you died?”  A pause and then a nod for which Loki looked back at Thor again.  “Thor said you were a wizard-”

“-Sorcerer.”  Nebula corrected.

“Whatever.”  Quill said.  “So what, did you use magic powers or something to come back?”

Loki hesitated because he didn’t truly know but for the sake of not causing further misunderstanding with Thor he nodded.  Another muffled noise came from Thor’s throat and Loki patted his cheek lightly.

“Are you stuck that way?”  Mantis asked politely.

Loki gave another nod and Thor exhaled heavily.

“That sucks.”  Quill said.  “If it’s any consolation, Thanos is dead twice over.  Thor took his head off the first time.”

Loki stiffened at that, bewildered by the implications.

Quill gave Loki a sympathetic look before he rose as he clapped his hands on his knees.  “How long is Thor gonna be down for?”

“It depends.  An average person?  Twenty-four to forty-hours if it doesn’t kill them first.”

Loki looked to Nebula in alarm and rising anger as he growled, Nebula seemed distinctly unimpressed.

“Did you give Thor poison?”  Quill exclaimed.

“For the last time-”  Nebula started irritably, but Rocket interrupted.

“It’s only poison if you’re reaaally unlucky.”  Rocket said.  “Thor’s…Thor.  Shouldn’t be that long.  We can get going.  He’ll get up when he gets up.”

Such charming friends you’ve found yourself, brother.  Loki thought, a bit mystified by their apathy towards Thor.

“We gonna just leave him on the floor?”  Quill asked dubiously.

“We should put him in a bed.”  Mantis suggested.

“Not it.”  Quill said.

Mantis looked to Drax questioningly and Drax sighed.  “Fine, only because Quill is to weak to do it.”

“E-Excuse you!  I totally could!”  Quill protested.

Drax gave Quill a dry look.  “Then do it.”

“I mean…I just…I have to get the ship going so I’m busy.”  Quill hedged.

“You can’t do it.”  Drax said smugly.

Loki watched, flabbergasted, as in short order Drax managed to goad Quill into trying.  He watched Quill heft Thor up a bit only to drop Thor back to the floor with a curse.

“How much does this guy weigh?  Damnit!”

Nebula smirked and Rocket rubbed a paw over his face.

“Alright, let me get a better grip-”  Quill tried to play it off as he moved closer.

Loki had seen enough humiliations visited on his brother by his companions.  He moved quickly onto Thor’s back and let out a low growl at Quill as he shook his head pointedly.  Embarrassing all around, but what was he to do?

Quill seemed relieved but played it off as he made a disappointed noise.  “Oh, darn.  Thor’s dragon-baby-brother laid down the law?  I’d totally pick him up but…I mean, it would be really disrespectful to ignore his brother’s wishes so…I’m gonna just, uh…go start the ship.”  He made finger guns as he backed away and smirked when he turned his back.

Drax looked at Mantis.  “You heard the dragon.”

“I believe Loki did not want Quill to drop Thor again.”  she corrected.

Loki was impressed at the little display of insight and nodded as he moved back off of his brother.  He noted Thor’s fingers had clenched into his hands, a sign of slowly but surely returning movement.

Drax proved more capable as he hefted Thor up and deposited him on a cot bed.  Mantis had brought Loki in her arms and tilted her head.  “Maybe you should put him on his back?”

Drax considered it and then acquiesced.  Thor’s limbs were flopped over the side so he picked them back up and set them on Thor’s chest.

Mantis set Loki down beside Thor and bent at the waist to address him closer to eye level.  “Do you need anything?”  she offered kindly.

I need a great many things, none of which you can provide.  Loki thought, so he shook his head and gave a little half-bow for lack of any other way to show gratitude.  Mantis beamed at him and mimicked his gesture, of all things, and Loki watched her go curiously.  When they were alone again, Loki returned his attention to his brother who had a strained expression as he stared at the ceiling.  He used his tail to tilt Thor’s head towards him and the blue eyes fell back on Loki.

Two wordless brothers with bodies that would not do as they wished.  What a pair the sons of Odin made.

Loki curled up in front of Thor’s face and squirmed a little of his tail under Thor’s cheek.  Best shore up what slivers of good will he could.  Hopefully the conversation with the Guardians and time to cool down would make Thor more amenable.  He and Thor could only look at each other for the moment.  It might have felt stranger if not for the fact that Loki’s life was nothing but strangeness at present.  Loki felt lulled by the unmoving position and his brother’s calm proximity, the body was also young yet and wanted for sleep more than an older form.  His eyes had closed and he’d fallen asleep before he realized it.

--

Thor could only listen as he lay on the floor, furious and hurt.  What game was Loki playing now?  What did he want from Thor?  The Guardians asked questions of Loki and Thor watched as Loki through nods suggested he had died and come back through sorcerous means.  Loki kept looking him in the eye and kept a little hand on his face, did he expect that to soothe Thor?  Then Loki growled at Nebula on Thor’s behalf.

Quill and Drax’s argument irritated Thor and Quill’s failed attempt to lift him left Thor fuming anew.  But then Loki climbed on his back to ‘defend’ him from Quill’s would-be second attempt.

Thor was shortly placed in a cot with Loki and the pair were left alone.  Loki forced Thor’s gaze towards him and they could only stare.  Questions and accusations burned Thor’s tongue but he couldn’t move his mouth.  Then at some point, Loki’s tiny eyes began to grow lidded before he fell asleep.

The sight unwound some of the tension in him as painful nostalgia and yearning replaced it.  Loki falling asleep in front of Thor was a trust and closeness lost to him during their fighting.  One Loki had seemed hesitant to provide even on the Statesmen.

But Thor had once caught Loki in a service corridor on the ship with a manual for a relay pipe in his hand.  He had fallen asleep slumped against the wall, clearly exhausted.

Thor hadn’t hesitated to scoop Loki into his arms as though he were a boy again.

Thor smiled as he saw Loki curled up on the nest of blankets and pillows they had been camped on to draw.  He scooped the toddler into his arms and Loki stirred sleepily.

”Bruh-er?”  Loki mumbled.

“Go back to sleep, little brother.”  Thor said fondly as he gently set Loki in bed.  The toddler latched onto Thor’s arm and he grinned at the adorable gesture as he slipped into bed next to Loki.

“Seep now?”  Loki queried sleepily.

“Sleep now.”  Thor confirmed as he pulled Loki into his arms and tucked them under covers.  He kissed his brother’s head.  “Good night, Loki.  I love you."

Loki burrowed against his brother with his eyes closed and kissed the air, too sleepy to find his brother’s face.  “Luh you too, Tor.  Nigh.”

Loki came awake immediately with a dagger summoned to hand that he promptly aimed at Thor’s neck.  Thor didn’t miss a beat as he kept walking and Loki stared at him incredulously before he squirmed.  “What do you think you’re doing?"  He cast his dagger back, surprised when Thor stubbornly tightened his grip on Loki.

"Let's call it 'helping my brother whether he likes it or not'?"  Thor suggested and Loki’s eyes narrowed.  “You fell asleep against a wall, book in hand.  You’re the one always telling me about ‘maintaining a king’s dignity’.  Shouldn’t a prince do the same?”

Loki didn't appreciate having his words [ones he liked to hold over Thor] thrown back in his face.  Nor did he like being carried like a child.  He could fight Thor on it overtly but that came with a host of potential consequences.  Better then to turn it to his advantage or rile Thor into acting as Loki pleased.

He stopped fidgeting and crossed his arms as he turned the situation around by playing imperious.  Loki smirked as he drawled smugly.  “I suppose it is fitting to have a king carry me.  Such is my due as a-Thor!”

Thor pretended to drop his brother and chuckled at his indignant yelp.  Loki pulled at what he could of Thor’s shorn hair with a scowl.  “Hey!  No hair-pulling!”  

Loki hmphed even as he settled in Thor’s arms, more comfortable than he would ever admit despite his embarrassment.  And more tired than he wanted to show.  Loki and Thor had been working seemingly non-stop.  They reached Thor’s quarters and Loki frowned.  “You’ve gone to the wrong room, brother.”

Thor ignored him and headed in as Thor kicked the keypad to close the door behind him.  “You’re staying here.  And I’m going to make sure you actually sleep.”

Loki scoffed.  “And how precisely do you intend to do that?"

Thor set Loki on his bed and made a show of deliberately pulling the covers over Loki who promptly kicked them off with a challenging smirk.  The elder lifted a brow and shrugged.  “Be cold then, suit yourself.”  He took up a chair in the corner of the room and settled in with a yawn as he clasped his hands over his stomach.

Loki watched his brother with a furrowed brow.  “What are you doing?”

“Getting comfortable.”

“You brought me to your room and forced me into your bed so that you could sleep on a chair?”  Loki asked skeptically.

“No.”  Thor said as he closed his remaining eye.  “I brought you here to make sure you get some rest, brother.  So if you wouldn’t mind.”

Loki stared at his brother, took in the faint dishevelment and the almost imperceptible, weary sag of Thor’s shoulders.  His brother was surely as tired as Loki was, for all Thor's posturing.  He should go back to his own quarters.  Or call Thor’s bluff.  Loki really, really should.

“This bed is enormous.”  Loki heard himself say.  “You commandeered the grandest room on the ship.  You may as well use it.”

Thor’s eye cracked open as he eyed his brother.  “When?” he asked pointedly.

Loki scowled, tempted again to call Thor’s bluff just to spite him for forcing the answer.  “If you intend to sleep now, then I suppose now would be an optimal time.”

Thor played it casual as he pretended to think about it.  He scratched his stubble thoughtfully.  “Mm.  Maybe you’re right.”  he lifted himself up and headed for the bed where he plopped down beside Loki on his stomach.  “It is a nice bed.”  Thor agreed.

Loki looked down at his brother who had already closed his eye again.  The sight of the eye-patch as ever put a guilty, uncomfortable feeling in his stomach.  “How is it?”  he asked quietly.  “Have you been tending it as I instructed?”

Thor didn’t need to ask what.  “Yes, brother.”  He said, in a tone that one might say patiently ‘yes, dear’.

Loki pushed his brother’s shoulder with a huff and Thor smiled against his pillow.  He settled in as he lay on his side, uncertain as ever of his place there.  On the ship, in New Asgard, in the universe, by Thor’s side.

“Shh.”  Thor murmured.

“Pardon?"

“You are thinking too much.  It’s loud.”  Thor complained.

“As opposed to you, who thinks not at all.”

“Good thing I have you then, Loki.”  Thor said, with no particular inflection.

Loki swallowed hard at that as he followed the curves of Thor’s face with his eyes.  “You think you ‘have’ me, do you?”  And for the first time in the conversation, Loki saw uncertainty bleed across Thor’s expression as his one blue eye opened.

“You said you would stay.”  Thor said quietly.

“And, of course, I’ve never lied before.”  Loki drawled and regretted it when a spasm of pain twisted Thor’s face before he hid it.  The oaf had learned to do that, to hide things from Loki.  He didn’t like it one bit.

Then, softly.  “Was it a lie?”

Loki hesitated, unable as always to state things plainly, to put himself out there for fear of what might happen.  “Ask me when we get to New Asgard.”  He said slyly, but not unkindly, the implication that he would be there.  Loki brought his palm to Thor’s face as he closed his brother’s eye, his hand lingered a few seconds as he said.  “Rest, Thor.  You look like you’ve been tossed about by the Hulk.”  he chided, in place of the sweetly spoken concerns that wouldn’t pass his lips.

“You should see the Hulk.”  Thor teased with a yawn as he tilted his head down against Loki’s palm.

He froze with Thor’s shorn hair under his palm before he cautiously trailed his fingers over Thor’s scalp.  There was no laugh, no incredulous look or question.  Emboldened, Loki trailed his fingers down to the hair on the back of Thor’s neck and back up again.

“Mother used to do this for us.  And then we’d do it for each other.”  Thor murmured and Loki’s hand stilled.

He waited to see if Thor would say more, but when he didn’t, Loki swallowed a sudden lump in his throat.  “That was a long time ago.”

“I know.”  Thor spoke in a tone that sounded strangely remorseful and Loki resumed the stroking.  A large, warm palm found Loki’s upper arm as Thor gave it a squeeze.  “She would have been glad to see us together.  Not fighting."

Loki snorted.  “Knowing full well it was likely not to last long.  Also, that’s cheating.”

Thor hummed, weary and questioning.

“Mentioning Mother wanting us together while asking if I mean to stay.”

“I learned from the best.”  Thor murmured.  “My brother is the God of Mischief.  You should meet him some time.”

“Oh, should I?  He does sound charming.”

"Just the word I'd use...”  Thor said wryly.  “Especially when he isn’t shoving a dagger in my stomach.”

“Now, see, I find that very charming.”

“You would.”  Thor snorted as he brushed his thumb over Loki’s shoulder.  “Sleep, brother.”

“Is that an order, King Thor?”  Loki asked dryly.

“Would you listen if it was?”

“No.”

Thor’s lips quirked.  “Then it was a brotherly request.”

“Oh, a brotherly request.  How could I deny that?”  Loki drawled.

“Will you just go to sleep?”  Thor grumbled, but sounded amused.

“You brought this on yourself.  I was perfectly content.”

“Sleeping in a hallway.”

“Exactly."

Loki lowered his hand and Thor lowered his.  Their arms ended up cross near the wrists as their hands lay touching but not intertwined.  A simple movement would lace their hands but it seemed neither would do it.  He wondered what Thor would do if Loki did.  Loki wondered at Thor bringing him here at all.  How very trusting of Thor to offer Loki his vulnerable, sleeping self.  But then, of course, he expected the same of Loki.  [Then again, Loki hadn’t done himself any favors passing out in the hallway].  He watched Thor for a short time, waited for some other snark or comment, but then heard the faint snore of true sleep.  Thor really had simply fallen asleep in front of him, quickly too, which Loki supposed showed how tired Thor was.

Loki’s gaze flicked to their nearly joined hands and he ever so gently laced the fingers together.  He told himself it was Thor’s benefit that Loki gave in and let himself sleep, more secure than he’d been a long time.

--

Thor blinked and felt sluggish, his mouth was dry and his head pounded faintly.  “Ugh.”  He rubbed a hand over his face but his fingers felt wobbly and his memory caught back up to Thor as he heard a rustle at his side.  Red eyes peered back cautiously, and then Thor really remembered.  

The little dragon he'd found in a cage in a backroom on Contraxia, whom Thor had been treating as a cutesy pet...conveyed to Mantis that it-that he-was Loki.

Thor might have been forced to consider that he'd somehow dreamt the situation if not for the tingling remnants of the nerve agent.  And perhaps the too-intelligent eyes of the dragon beside him.

Loki.  The dragon said it was Loki.  But that wasn't possible.  Loki was dead and there was no rhyme or reason to the notion that he would come back as a dragon of all things.

That he would come back at all, because surely Loki had gone to Valhalla with their family.  Loki had died a warrior's death.

Thor again focused his attention on the little dragon and noticed it seemed more tense under his gaze.  He recalled with a grimace his less than calm reaction to Mantis' declaration.  The last time he'd seen his brother hung in Thor's mind as it had so many times since that day.  Thor had lost everything.  And he'd been encased in metal as his little brother had his throat broken by a genocidal tyrant.

"Look at you, the 'Mighty Thor' with all your strength.  What good does it do you now?"

Loki's taunt from their Bifrost duel seemed almost a lifetime ago but it was eerily fitting to what Thor's life had become.  All of his strength and what good had it done him when it came to saving the things that mattered most to him?

But if this was really Loki...if somehow against all reason this was Thor's brother...

“Loki.”

Loki woke to Thor stirring, he was able to move again apparently, though his movements seemed a touch slow.  When Thor said Loki's name he couldn’t help but curl in on himself a little, uncertain of what reaction was in store.

“Loki.”  Thor repeated, almost toneless but determined.

Loki didn't know what to make of that but recognized his brother was seeking confirmation.  He drew himself up into a sitting position as Loki gave a deliberate nod.

Thor inhaled sharply and then shook his head as he said, almost to himself.  "You can't be."

Loki craved his voice, or any voice, so that he could speak and explain.  But for lack of one he had to make due.  Loki looked Thor pointedly in the eyes as he did his best to point a claw at himself and nod again slowly.  -I'm inclined to agree with you, brother.  And yet, here I am.-

Thor's head tilted away a moment as the heels of his hands rubbed against his eyes.  "It can't be him."  He muttered, clearly more to himself.

Loki didn't need his brother doubting him and it was frustrating besides to finally nearly have recognition only to have Thor prevaricate.  He took a lock of Thor's hair in his small, clawed hand and tugged.

Thor jumped even as he snapped, his little brother was the only one who'd ever pulled Thor's hair thus.  "Loki."

And then Loki, as he released Thor's hair, saw some of the color seem to drain from Thor's face as his own word hit him.  Thor's instincts were quicker to realize than he consciously was himself.

Thor's mouth opened and closed wordlessly before his expression scrunched as though he were in physical pain.  "...Is it really you, brother?"

Loki gave another nod and Thor's breathing stuttered.  The reaction didn't tell him much but at least Thor hadn't reacted with more anger.  But then Thor pushed himself up into a sitting position, it seemed a more laborious effort than it should have been so the nerve agent was clearly still wearing off.  Loki tensed as he looked up at his far larger, stronger brother as blue eyes stared down at him intensely.  He was slightly startled when Thor abruptly spoke.

“I will ask you this once.  And whatever the truth is, that is what I want from you.  I...will not act in anger again but...I need you not to to lie to me, Loki.  Do you understand?”

Loki felt a flare of anxiety but nodded slowly and waited.

“Did you truly die?”

Thor’s tone had been calm and gruff, Loki expected more of the same.  But the question came out so hoarsely that Loki felt compelled to check his brother’s eyes for wetness.  Loki found none, but the agony in the question came across clearly.  He looked Thor in the eyes as he nodded once.

Thor made a low, wounded noise and then obscured his face behind his palm.  

The sound put a terrible clench in Loki's heart as he saw grief in Thor, grief for him.  -Brother, I-

Loki had truly died, the sliver of hope that Thor must have carried against all odds was extinguished at that.  His little brother hadn't escaped, Loki didn’t have a trick, he had died.

And Thor had only watched.

“I am sorry.”  Thor rasped.  “I am so sorry, Loki.”

When they were children, Thor had encouraged [insisted] that Loki confide in his big brother.  Whatever joy or sorrow caught Loki, Thor wished to know of it and tend it if need be.  Rarer were the times that Thor openly came to Loki when he needed comfort.  Loki had comforted Thor plenty of times, certainly, but far fewer where Thor had shown his deeper feelings plainly.  Even during their confrontation on a mountain in Midgard, Loki had been surprised by the emotion displayed by Thor as he told Loki to 'come home'.

And as for apologies, princes rarely ever apologized.  They weren't supposed to, nor have need to and Asgard's crown prince had never been an exception.

So the sight of Thor with such an openly pained expression took Loki aback.  Thor's tone was raw as he apologized to Loki for...for his death?  Was it simply that Loki had died at all or was there more to it?

Loki couldn't speak and had no other idea for how to handle the situation.  Somehow, it still caught him by surprise that Thor seemed to have mourned him.

“Brother.”  Thor said, not really a question and yet somehow also begging for answer, another affirmative.

Loki nodded in his own seated position and heard Thor curse under his breath, likely overwhelmed.  He then stiffened as Thor's hand moved to hover next to Loki.  Thor had touched Loki a good many times since their reunion, but this was different, now Thor knew it was his brother.  And likewise, it had been one thing to play at being a dragon and placate Thor but now...now the truth hung between them.

Still, Loki let himself tilt sideways enough to brush against Thor's palm.  He heard his older brother exhale as though Thor had been holding his breath.  Then Thor's hand gently cupped around Loki; fingers around his back, palm against his neck, and Thor's thumb stroking his jaw reminiscent of their gesture of affection.

The touch was both overwhemingly foreign and painfully familiar.

Thor finally knew who he was, and Loki was surprised at the level of relief that flooded him.  The accompanying feeling of security and certainty that Thor would take care of him now.  The sentiment was ridiculous and childish, particularly with all that was between them in their last years together.  But Loki still felt the once-common feeling of safety and warmth at his big brother's touch.  Loki felt pathetic for it, for how dearly he wanted to cleave to even that pittance of affection and acknowledgment.  But in the moment, all he could do was accept it and marvel at Thor's apparent continued fidelity to Loki.

Then Thor touched a spot that was a little more tender than had realized, courtesy of his older brother's initial outburst.  Loki recoiled slightly and Thor stilled before he grimaced.

“Did I hurt you?”  Thor asked quietly.

Thor had hurt him, but not badly, and Loki didn’t want to give the oaf more to be upset about.  He shook his head and Thor replied resignedly.

“Liar.”

Loki saw guilt in Thor’s eyes along with the fresh pain.  He had so few options for how to address any of it, so few ways to make a point or do anything useful to comfort his fool brother.

So Loki tilted and chomped down on the meat of Thor’s palm hard enough that Loki tasted blood.  He grimaced even as Thor made a startled exclamation and jerked his hand back.

“Loki!”

Thor’s little outburst of Loki’s name was music to his ears and Loki would have laughed at the simple, giddy relief it gave him.  His brother knew that Loki was here, Thor could see him now, such as Loki was.  Loki waved his tail lazily.  See?  I’m fine.  Now we’re even.  Loki thought wryly.

Thor watched the dragon-his brother-seem to gloat after the bite, or was it meant to be reassuring?  Either way, Thor couldn't help the pained chuckle that bubbled up from his throat.  "Still the God of Mischief." he said, far too quietly for what should have been a playful statement.

Loki didn't know the state of his brother's feelings.  He didn't know all the details of what happened in his absence.  And he didn't know how to receive what Thor seemed to be giving.

What are you sad about? I’m the one that’s stuck.

Loki had pondered the different reactions Thor might have to his death and his return.  He had hoped, if his plan went well, that Loki would be able to return on his own.  Perhaps try his luck with a ‘did you miss me, brother?’ and hope for the best.  This was far from what he’d planned but he was alive nonetheless.  And rather than angry or accusatory [now that Thor didn’t think Loki had tricked him]…Thor was wounded and guilty.  Nether of which Loki wanted his brother to be.

“You're really here, Loki…”  Thor said, it may as well have been to himself, there was a quality of wonder to his tone.

-Isn't that what I've been saying?-  

“No resurrections this time.”

“You should have gone for the head.”

Crack.

The closed Gauntlet.

Loki with a dagger in his hand.  “Odinson.”

“I assure you, brother.  The sun will shine on us again.”

“You really are the worst, brother.”

“You should choose your words more carefully.”

Loki dangling in Thanos’ fist.

“You will never…be…a god.”

Crack.

“Loki, no.”

“You should have gone for the head.”

Thor dug his nails into his palm until it hurt even as Loki curled against his arm.  Loki.  Loki was here.  His brother was alive.

But his brother had died because Thor had failed him.  He had failed them all.

Slain Asgardians littered the floor of the Statesmen.

Heimdall speared through the chest.

Loki’s body on the around.

Natasha never to leave Vormir.

“I am Ironman."

If Thor had stopped Thanos on the Statesmen…if Thor had aimed for the right target the first time...

He’d been furious when he thought Loki had faked his own death again, Thor had been hurt.  But deep down he’d been relieved too.  Thor had thought that at least he hadn’t failed Loki in that.  At least Thor hadn’t done nothing while his one and only little brother had his neck broken before Thor’s eyes.  At least Thor had not really seen Loki’s body cast aside like so much trash at the pleasure of the Mad Titan.

Thor had not really failed Loki when he needed Thor the most.

Loki hadn’t really died.

But he had.  He had.  And Thor couldn’t bear it now any more than he could then.  To face Loki, to face a Loki who was trapped in some other form because Loki truly had died cut Thor to his bones.  Thor’s heart felt splayed, laid bare on the altar of his greatest failures.

“Everyone fails at who they’re supposed to be, Thor.  The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are.”

Thor had been measured and found wanting, Loki was proof of that in so many ways.  He had swallowed the nightmarish thoughts and aches that left him reeling in New Asgard.  The crippling ‘what-if’s' and agonizing emptiness of having everything and everyone he loved taken from him.

Thor should have protected them.

All he could see in his mind's eye were the bodies.  All he could hear was the breaking of Loki’s neck.  The plunge of the spear in Heimdall’s chest.  The screams of their people.  The eerie glow of the wrecked ship.

Bruce’s grief as he looked for an Avenger who was never coming home.

Tony’s small daughter crying at his funeral.

It wasn’t right.  Thor should have saved them.

Or it should have been him.

Loki died saving Thor, the younger wasn’t supposed to protect the older, Loki wasn’t supposed to die for Thor.

Thor bit his tongue until he tasted blood and tried to drag his mind back to the present.  It would have been better if Loki had faked his death.  Thor could adapt, he was resilient, right?  He was supposed to be.

“No resurrections this time.”

Did it make Thanos wrong or right that Loki had come back different?

Was it selfish that Thor was desperately relieved to have Loki back all the same?  And the first thing Thor had done upon learning Loki was here was to hurt him further.  Fail him further.

Who was the worst brother after all?

Loki could sense something was wrong but he couldn’t be sure what.  He could almost taste it on the air somehow; Thor’s misery, Thor’s…pain?  Loki was a god, he was a man, not a simpering pet to be crawling around offering pathetic comfort and yet he could not help but try.  Not when Thor had seen him and was grieving with Loki right in front of him.

Loki considered his options and then wrapped his tail lightly around Thor's wrist.

Thor watched as his brother leaned into his touch and then caught Thor's wrist.  The sight was strange beyond words but also so very welcome.  Loki was here...his brother was back, someway, somehow.  The small, scaly form pressed against his palm and holding his wrist had Loki inside of it.  The idea of his fierce, quirky brother being trapped in the alien form discomfited Thor.  Loki had been in a cage when Thor found him, had Loki been a captive for the six years following his death?  What had happened?  Loki's words were cherished by him, Thor could only imagine how jarring 'Silvertongue' found it to be silenced.  From declaring himself Odinson and dangling from Thanos' grip to this.  But still..it was Loki, this was Thor's brother...Thor had no words for deeply the knowledge struck him.

"I've missed you, brother."

The words were a softly spoken admission, as if Thor felt he were confessing a secret which would displease Loki.

Thor had seemed so vibrant when Loki saw him at their ‘reunion’.  The Mighty Thor even in tacky, Midgardian attire.  But now something of him reminded Loki of their father.  A weariness in Thor’s face that seemed at odds with his youth.  Thor had drunk deep of loss and it showed beneath the veneer of Asgard’s once famed Golden Prince.

Thor had mourned Loki, even with all that lay between them, even with Loki's true parentage.  He wondered if this was something of what the grief Thor had spoken of in the past looked like.

“Did you mourn?”

“We all did.”

“I cried for you, I mourned for you!”

“I’m honored?”

Loki had imagined Thor breaking down before him in his ‘madness’, in the throes of his resentment.  A tearful, woeful Thor at his feet, defeated by Loki and broken by hands Thor had primed to turn against him.

Now the sight of misery that hung about Thor made Loki want to stab something repeatedly.

Loki heard the 'confession' and stared at his brother.  Thor had tried to bring Loki back into the fold, he had touched on feelings that Loki felt [for Thor] had been fairly blatant.  But this was the first time Thor said something like this, where he had just come out and told Loki that he was missed.  Thor's chastened demeanor caught Loki's attention but he couldn't discern a cause.  Did he expect Loki to want to mock him?  Or think that Loki wouldn't have felt the same?  Thor was all that Loki had, there was no one else he could have trusted to appear before and receive help and genuine care.  And even that had been a bit of a gamble because Loki hadn't been sure he would receive a welcome reception from Thor.  Beyond that Thor was the logical choice to turn to for aid and protection though, Loki too...had missed his brother. 

Loki steeled himself as he shook free of Thor's hand and saw Thor's expression fall slightly before Loki began to move up onto Thor's leg.  He helped himself to Thor as a perch as Loki swallowed his pride and noted Thor remained perfectly still.  Loki clung near Thor's upper arm and curved his tail under Thor’s chin as he pressed it upwards pointedly.  -Chin up.-  Thor's hand automatically came up under Loki as he cupped Loki's lower back and hind legs.  The position made Loki even more keenly aware of how small he was compared to Thor at present, compared to everything really.

“Chin up, dear heart.”  Their mother would say.

And Thor must have had a similar recollection because he murmured.  “Chin up?”

Loki gave a nod and Thor exhaled raggedly.

"You're the one stuck as a baby dragon."  Thor said with half-hearted humor that didn't nearly reach his eyes.  "I should be telling you that."

Loki grimaced at the words and Thor must have noticed.  Thor's expression turned faintly apologetic as he brushed his thumb along the side of Loki's face gently.

“I was not supposed to be on Contraxia.”  Thor said as he rubbed his face on his shoulder.  “I went to the wrong planet, so Rocket tells me.  If I had not…”

-That would have been unfortunate for us both, but seeing as you did.-  Loki pressed a clawed hand into Thor’s chest lightly. 

"I always wanted a dragon...do you remember?"  Thor asked in an absent tone.  

Loki tilted his head.  -As if I could forget-.  

Thor's thumb stopped and rested on Loki's neck.  Loki wondered if Thor was trying consciously or unconsciously to mimic their gesture.  "I didn't..."  Thor struggled to find the words a moment before he forged ahead.  "I wasn't angry to find you back, Loki.  But when I thought you had faked your death again, let me...let me mourn you all this time..." he trailed off with a heavy exhale.  "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Loki wasn't sure how to reassure his brother, in this, he understood.  If Loki had faked his death again and popped back up with some half-baked plot to appeal to Thor by appearing as a dragon then Loki would certainly have deserved Thor's ire.  He had told Thor on the Statesmen thar he would stay, at least for a time, and Loki had intended to try.  Loki's 'I'm here' was supposed to have meant something, he wanted it to.  He had wanted to be the 'more' that Thor spoke of on Sakaar, both for Thor's sake and Loki's own.  Loki flicked his tail up and tapped it against the top of Thor's head as if to pat it.  He saw Thor's lips quirk a little as he realized what Loki was doing but Thor still looked entirely too sad for Loki's tastes. 

"I cannot tell if you mean that to be comforting or patronizing.  Is it strange that I am relieved either way?"  Thor murmured.

What am I to do with you, brother?  Loki thought, even as some part of him was relieved too, and touched perhaps.  He was worth this much to Thor.  The Mighty Thor had such strong emotion for Loki even still, he hadn’t blamed Loki for the hidden Tesseract it seemed.  That or it mattered less to Thor than the rest.  Loki didn’t know what it was like to watch his brother die [ignoring the Destroyer incident as Loki was not right-minded] nor did he want to.  He had shown Thor a brother’s death three times but Loki ensured he wouldn’t have to see the same of Thor.  What would his own grief have looked like if he’d had to sit in the ruins of the Statesmen and hold Thor’s body, waiting for the end?  If Loki had survived in a world which no longer had his brother in it?  If Loki had blamed himself?

Just who was this man that Thor had become?  Calmer but still capable of anger.  Forcing smiles with the kind of guile that Thor of old seemed incapable of.  And then displaying grief across his face where Loki could see it...

Loki had always wanted Thor to trust him, to be vulnerable to Loki at least even if Loki couldn’t have what of Thor he once had.  When they’d grown distant in years past.  But things had changed and now Loki couldn't even speak to his brother properly.  He couldn't examine Thor's reactions as Loki would like or gauge his brother accordingly.

Loki did his best to make the hand gesture for 'either or' to mean 'bit of both' and Thor treated him to a surprised chuckle.

Then Thor's finger slipped under Loki's hand before it dropped and he brushed the tip of his finger over Loki's palm.

Loki watched the action, uncertain of Thor's intent, but humored his brother as he flipped his palm up.  Thor seemed to treat it as a kind of invitation as he cupped a finger under Loki's hand then ran his thumb over a claw.

"It's hard to believe you're in there, brother."  

Thor's voice was still too quiet, too mopey for Loki's liking even if it was a little...heartening?  That Loki could affect his brother so.

Loki made a show of lifting his other hand towards Thor's hair as if Loki would pull it again.  Thor blocked his hand with a small smile as he gently took Loki's hand in his fingers.  The gesture was a little more embarrassing this time around as Thor knew it was him.  And the deliberate nature of the holding [was this meant to be 'hand holding'?] as well as Thor's somber expression left Loki jittery.

"You're so small..."

Thor managed to make the three words sound worrisome and maudlin.  Loki decided to take a stand as he drew himself up to his full, not considerable height as he snatched his hand back from Thor.  He looked at Thor as imperiously as a dragon could manage.

Thor seemed to think that Loki's reaction indicated offense and he grimaced as he lowered his hand with something like disappointment in his expression.  

Loki patted his clawed hand against Thor's chest to show that Thor's words hadn't upset him and Thor relaxed slightly.  -Do recall that dragons grow very large as you taunt me, brother.-  He offered, and would rather his brother could have heard it.

Thor tentatively caught the tiny claw in his fingerd again and watched Loki carefully.  He saw Loki observe him but Loki made no move to take his hand back.  Thor looked at Loki's current hand and saw the little clawed 'fingers' curl about his own.  This is Loki.  His mind reminded him, the dragon was his brother .  Thor couldn't stop the little affirmations, the returning amazement and mingled disbelief at a situation that was weird even for them.  Red eyed and blue-scaled in the colors of Jotun, that couldn't be a coincidence and yet Thor couldn't imagine Loki choosing those colors.  This is my brother.  The thought caused Thor to blink rapidly at the sudden threat of wetness in his eyes.  His heart was pained and it was all Thor could do to resist the impulse to pull Loki close and hold him.  Loki probably wouldn't appreciate the sentiment or being squeezed. 

Loki saw a tender look play out over Thor's expression and Loki wasn't sure Thor realized it was there.  He saw the hint of wetness, there on Loki's behalf no doubt, and still couldn't quite believe it was for him.  But Loki wasn't sure what to do, what he wanted to do with the closeness between them and knew only that Loki would be more comfortable if he could lift Thor's mood.

So he changed the subject to one that would give Thor something to do for him.  Loki clacked his claws as though snapping his fingers and then put a hand on his stomach as he looked to Thor pointedly.

Thor’s brow furrowed slightly before Loki saw realization dawn.  “You are hungry?”

Loki nodded and made a shooing motion with his small hand as if to hurry Thor along.  He was pleased when what seemed to be a genuine chuckle passed Thor’s lips.

Thor had no idea how to convey his feelings, nor did he feel he deserved to convey most of them.  To receive comfort for things brought about by Thor’s failures.  One of Thor’s very first vows, being no more than a child himself, was that he would always protect his little brother.  Loki’s current form was a living reminder that Thor hadn’t, as if the images and sounds burned into Thor’s mind hadn’t been enough.  He had pushed them down to move forward, to try to live worthily, but they had come to the fore again.  “I will find a way to speak with you…and perhaps there is some sorcery to give you back your form…”  he said even as he began to rise with Loki cradled in his arms.

Loki nodded, Thor might think it was merely assent but hopefully he might clue in to the fact Loki knew it was possible.  Or at least, it should be.

“I’ll take care of you, Loki.”  Thor promised softly.  “I must finish what I’ve started with the Guardians but then-”

Loki flicked his tail over Thor’s lips to quiet him as he gave a nod.  He had no more liking of a child smuggler than Thor did, and he wasn’t about to leave Thor something else to be guilty about.  And he wasn’t exactly eager to go to New Asgard, certainly not as he was.  Loki had no idea what would await him there or what Thor might want when Loki had his form restored.  And Loki did intend to ensure that happened, one way or another.

Thor exhaled slowly and then said lightly against Loki’s tail.  “Thank you.”

The words of gratitude bewildered Loki somewhat.  Thor wasn’t one to give thanks, but Loki wasn’t sure why this merited that.  Did he think Loki would demand otherwise, as if he even could at present?  Loki had also had sentiment aplenty and it was even harder to deal with when he couldn’t properly respond or answer to it, so he flicked his tail against Thor’s forehead as a brotherly dismissal.

“Alright, alright.”  Thor said in a lighter tone as he headed down the short hall, surprised when Loki clambered up and resumed his perch on Thor’s shoulder.  He felt Loki’s tail curl about his neck where the tip moved up and down almost mimicking the gesture of Thor brushing his thumb against Loki.  The small, cool weight of Loki as he curved against the crook of Thor’s neck put a lump in his throat.  This was Loki, this was his brother.  Loki was really here.  Thor was going to do whatever it took to ensure that stayed the case.  He couldn't help but add.  "I mean it, Loki.  You...I won't let any harm come to you.  I will find a way to help you...I'm with you, brother."  Thor said and meant the words as a show of support and solidarity.  He wanted Loki to be reassured that Thor wasn't going to leave Loki or abandon him, and Thor was not going to fail to protect his little brother again. 

Loki could have laughed at himself.  And here Loki had worried that Thor might not accept him back, might not want Loki back.  Even to hear Thor call him 'brother' brought a warm rush of feeling to Loki.  He still had a brother after all.  Wonderful pain and oaf that Thor was.  -And I with you, brother.-  Loki replied softly, and hoped Thor might understand even if he couldn't hear the words.  For all that they had fought before, even to be a small weight against Thor's neck felt like safety.  The certainty that Loki's brother would look after him.  Loki brought a claw up to the back of Thor's head as he lightly clenched and unclenched his claws in something like a tiny, hair stroking motion and he felt Thor swallow hard.  -Sentimental oaf.-  Loki murmured, though he was little better having started it in the first place.  The sons of Odin were reunited at last, and Loki wondered ruefully what their parents would make of the latest development.

Chapter Text

The casual weight of the ‘baby dragon’ seemed infinitely heavier with the knowledge that inside the form was his brother.  Thor was hyper-aware of Loki’s presence and still struggled to adjust to the fact.  He was glad his brother was alive, of course he was.  But Thor’s limited knowledge of ‘coming back from the dead’ pertained to forbidden necromancy.  Since Loki should have gone to Valhalla there should have been no room even for that.  Odin would never let one of his sons be summoned by some dark-arts necromancer [nor would Loki, Thor was sure].  So how was it that Loki was alive and trapped as a dragon of all things?

The little touches and clinging of the dragon had been negligible or cute to Thor, the actions of a juvenile creature looking to Thor for care.  But now it was Loki’s tail around Thor’s neck, it was Loki sitting on Thor’s shoulder, it was Loki relying on Thor.

He thought of the cage and his jaw tightened as Thor wondered what his brother had been through.  How long had Loki been trapped?  How long had he been back?

Thor had [thankfully] ordered some not-turkey legs to go thinking ahead to feeding his ‘new little friend’.  So he set a plate for Loki with pieces of one and settled in as Loki sat on the table to eat.  He didn’t realize he’d been absently staring until Loki stopped and looked at Thor pointedly.  Thor blinked as he cleared his throat and looked away.  After a moment he heard Loki resume eating and that thought alone struck Thor.  Loki was eating.  Loki was here.

The clack of claws brought his attention back to Loki who tapped an empty cup.

Thor was on his feet instantly as he fumbled around the ship’s makeshift kitchen and found a deep spoon.  “We’ll figure something else out soon.”  he muttered as he resorted to cupping a hand around Loki and trickling the water into his mouth as Thor had done at the club.

Loki too found that sitting on Thor’s shoulder carried a different weight now that Thor knew it was him.  The easy affections he’d paid Thor when Loki had anonymity and ‘tiny dragon’ privilege felt less viable now.  He wasn’t really a dragon, he was Loki, and the brothers’ relationship hadn’t been all sunshine and rainbows when last they’d met.

Technically when last they’d met, Thor had told Loki he was the worst and Loki’s last glimpse of his brother had been of Thor bloodied and trapped.

Loki was embarrassed when Thor had to spoon him water, they did indeed need to find another method.  Thor’s mood too had changed again, he seemed uncharacteristically pensive and distracted.  He was tempted to bat away the spoon just to see what Thor would do but then it was too easy to create misunderstandings now.  Loki couldn’t make his position or feelings clear and it was best to be as straightforward as he could.  Thor’s hand lingered after Loki finished eating and he stared up at his brother, uncertain of if Loki wished more to lean into the touch or pull away from it.  His brother had missed him, had mourned him, but what did that mean?

And there again was the stroking as Thor’s thumb brushed along Loki’s neck.  The warmth and soft touch against his scales [Loki again mentally cringed at the thought] put a little shudder through Loki.  Thor drew back immediately with a faintly concerned look and Loki realized his brother thought he’d hurt him.  He tried to allay the misconception but Thor had already bent to offer his arm to Loki to resume his perch.  Loki could do little else but accept it as he was unwilling to spend his time crawling around the floor like an actual animal.  Not to mention he didn’t fancy being dwarfed so blatantly by every being in a room.  Loki settled on Thor’s neck again and complained.  -I never thought I would say this but you are being far too quiet, brother.-

Thor heard Loki’s chittering and a rumbling, little growl and stopped immediately.  “Do you need something?”

Loki huffed even as Thor’s attentiveness was endearing.  Even a simple, casual comment caused a misunderstanding.  He shook his head and flexed his clawed hand for Thor to continue.  The oaf’s brow furrowed but as Loki persistently shooed him forward again, Thor obliged.

And once again Loki had to marvel at the unusual friends[?] Thor had chosen as he was treated to a cold shoulder upon approach.

Thor’s presence had been noted but the Guardians didn’t acknowledge him till he cleared his throat and asked.  “How long until we reach Sakaar?”

“Not long.”  Rocket said as he exchanged a glance with Quill.

Drax abruptly approached and stood toe-to-toe with Thor.  “If you ever threaten Mantis again, I will challenge to you to a duel of honor to the death.”  he warned in near-monotone.

“I didn’t threaten-”  Thor started to protest but Drax leaned closer and repeated.

“Duel of honor.  This is your warning.”  Drax resumed his seat at that and Loki was baffled.

Thor stood awkwardly before he sighed and approached Mantis.  “I-…my behavior was untoward.”  he said as he fell back on long-ingrained princely manners.  “I apologize.”

Mantis looked up at him with a sympathetic smile that made Thor feel properly guilty.  “I understand.  I know your brother is very important to you.  But do not do it again.”  she added as she pointed a finger in a way that might almost be threatening if it weren’t Mantis and she didn’t sound like an admonishing parent.

Loki wondered what prompted Mantis to declare that Loki was important to Thor, he assumed it related to feelings of Thor’s she had read at some point.  He tried to ignore the little flutter of hope and pleasure that the possibility of Thor considering Loki important brought.

“I understand.”  Thor agreed and after that the mood became far less chilly.  Before long the group had begun an animated discussion about Thor’s time at Sakaar, why Hooked on a Feeling was a better song than Don’t Bring Me Down, and the best way to hot-wire ships with security systems.

Loki had begun to form a picture of Thor’s place in the group as something just outside of the inner circle.  The group called themselves the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ though Thor seemed still to identify as an ‘Avenger’.  The Guardians didn’t fawn over Thor as Loki was accustomed to his friends doing, or at least, they didn’t seem terribly respectful.  Did that say more about them or about the man Thor had become?  The Thor of old would never have taken a hint of challenge to a duel for honor quietly but Thor had actually let himself be chastised by Drax and Mantis then offered apology.

As much as Loki had always disdained his brother’s hair-trigger temper and unruly pride, there was something disconcerting about a ‘tamed’ Thor.  Especially one who came into being outside of Loki’s presence.  In all things, Thor should always have been a proud prince of Asgard, but Thor seemed increasingly…mundane?  The talk of fathering a child and cooking with Midgardian implements, the clothes, the demeanor.  And with that came a new level of uncertainty as Loki wondered at his place by such Thor’s side.  Loki was certainly not interested in ‘going native’ as it were, he had no desire to play at being mortal.  So where would Loki fit in?  And if his form took longer to be restored then would Loki be stuck at Thor’s side as [by appearances at least] a pet?

Stuck was perhaps a little harsh given that the idea of separating from Thor was more painful than Loki cared to admit but still.

“Alright, alright, We Are The Champions or Eye Of The Tiger?”  Quill asked with a tone of great seriousness.

“We Are The Champions!”  Mantis chimed.

Quill clenched a fist in the air and dragged it down with an appreciative look.  “Can’t go wrong with Queen.”

Loki wondered what queen Quill was referring to even as Thor chuckled.

“ACDC is a superior band.”  Thor informed them.

Quill scrunched his nose.  “Yeah, maybe if you’re tone deaf and you like a guy screaming and calling it music.  I guess.”

“Nah, he’s right, some of their songs are actually decent.”  Rocket agreed.

Quill scoffed.  “And Queen’s aren’t?"

“Not really my style.”  Rocket said.

“Heathen.”  Quill declared and Rocket shook his head.

“I like the band with two Cs.”  Mantis said.

‘Two Cs’ Quill mouthed before his mouth formed an ‘o’.  “CCR.  Creedence Clearwater Revival.  Not bad…”  he shook his shoulders as he hummed.  “I see a bad moon rising!  I see trouble on the way!”

“There is also Cake.”  Thor noted.

Quill’s brows rose.  “You know about Cake?”

Loki was further confused as a conversation about music seemed to become a conversation about confections.  Quill seemed oddly surprised to hear that Thor knew what cake was, which made no sense to Loki.

“I learned of a great many bands between Jane and the Avengers.”

Loki paused at that and tilted to study his brother’s expression at the mention of Jane, but Thor seemed unaffected.  He wasn’t sure if that meant Thor no longer actively grieved her or if this too was Thor showing more guile.  Loki had once bemoaned Thor’s poor lying skills and his seeming inability to practice artifice and pretense, but now Loki found it put something of a bad taste in his mouth.  Thor caught his gaze and lifted his hand as if to pat Loki as he had done several times before but then visibly stopped and lowered his hand.  Loki found himself oddly disappointed and chastised himself.  He didn’t need Thor petting him, doling out trite affections as if Loki were truly a beast and not a god.

He didn’t need it…and yet the lack of it felt more like a loss.

The conversation went on, more Midgardian nonsense that went well over Loki’s head.  By the time Sakaar was in view, it was almost a relief from the grating mishmash of words that the conversation seemed to have become.

“Well, it was gonna be me and Thor but since Thor wrecked the planet on his way out I guess that’s a no-go.”  Rocket said.

“I didn’t wreck the planet.  I liberated the people of Sakaar.”  Sort of.

Loki snorted on Thor’s shoulder and he flicked at one of Loki’s claws.

“I need someone reasonably competent with me.”  Rocket announced as he whirled around in his chair.

Quill straightened.  “Then obviously-”

“-Yeah, not you.”  Rocket said decidedly before he eyed Nebula.  “I trust you not to be an idiot.”

“True.”  Nebula agreed while Quill looked affronted.

Rocket fished around in a compartment and pulled out two necklaces with badge-like objects on the end.  He tossed one to Nebula and slipped one himself.  “These babies will lock our chronal signatures in place.  So we’ll leave the same time we arrived.  Now all you bozos gotta do is watch the ship and if you see my signal, you come running.”

“What is the signal?”  Drax asked.

“You’ll know it when you see it.”  Rocket assured him.  “Ship’s got the same time-bandaid as these necklaces.”  he added to the group.

Thor peered out a window at Sakaar with distaste.  “I dislike this planet immensely.”

“Congratulations.  Stay put.”  Rocket ordered and Thor lifted a brow as Rocket and Nebula headed off.

The tense air of waiting that followed lasted all of a few minutes before Quill asked.  “Anyone know a good party game?”

--

“This is harder than it looks.”  Mantis said from upside down as she tried to walk while doing a hand-stand.  As she started to tilt, Drax grabbed her ankles to assist her and no one was inclined to call her out on it.

“Just takes practice.”  Thor said genially.

Quill rolled his eyes.  “What, so now you’re the god of handstands too?”

“Only of thunder.”  Thor said with a chuckle.  “And fertility, storms-”

“-Yeah, yeah.  I get it-wait-fer-…fertility?”  Quill looked at Thor like he’d grown another head.

Drax eyed Thor speculatively.  “That does make sense.  Thor has an excellent form.”

"'Thor has an excellent form'."  Quill mocked in an irritated mutter.

As Mantis was righted she looked to Thor with a smile.  “Your turn.”

“This’ll be good.”  Quill muttered.

Thor gave a tight smile that was all kinds of smug.  He brought his shoulder close to the table for Loki to get down and the dragon did so with an air of annoyance.  Thor winked at his brother who managed a rather dry look for a dragon as Thor made a show of stretching his arms out.  “Let’s see…”  He got into position on both hands before he went only to one pointer finger on each hand as he took a few ‘steps’.

“Son of a-”  Quill gritted his teeth and Mantis looked delighted while Drax looked impressed.

The sound of a rumbling explosion had them all crowding at the window where a section of buildings were smoking and on fire.

“Is the the signal?”  Drax asked.

“I am Groot.”

“I’ll go.”  Thor said before he added matter-of-factly.  “If the ship is shielded against chronal distortions then the necklaces were unnecessary anyway.  The disturbance comes from the external planetary field.”

Quill stared.  “Did you just talk science?”

Loki was taken aback as well, since when did Thor know anything about regulating time signatures?

“Basic principles of time flow variance.”  Thor said as he glanced at Loki who narrowed his eyes suspiciously.  “Don’t give me that look.”

“He did travel time.”  Mantis pointed out.

Loki’s eyes widened.  -You did what?-

Thor didn’t know Loki’s precise words but he seemed to guess at the content.  “Time Heist.  Long story.  I will tell you when I return.”  he said as he held out his hand and to Loki’s shock, Mjolnir flew into it.  A little worse for wear, but Mjolnir nonetheless.

How had that happened?  Loki moved towards the edge of the table expectantly and Thor seemed confused until he caught on.

“You’re staying here.  I’ll be back.”  Thor said decisively.

-Excuse me?-  Loki screeched as he clenched his claws on the edge of the table.

“I am Groot!”

“No, you four stay here.  Sakaar is not a place you want to wander, I have it covered.”

“You’re not the captain.”  Quill said with his arms crossed.  "I decide if we stay or go."

“Did I mention the melting stick?”  Thor asked and at the reminder Quill grimaced.

“We’ll stay here.”  Quill ‘decided’ and Groot rolled his eyes.

-Thor!-  Loki growled.

Thor glanced to his brother as he offered placatingly.  “I’m doing you a favor, brother.  I’m seeing the Grandmaster so you don’t have to!”

-The only favor will be the one I repay if you leave me like some manner of-Brother!-  Loki’s threat veered off as Thor gave a cheeky wave with Mjolnir and left the ship.  He seethed in his position on the table before he realized he was the subject of all eyes in the room again.

Groot crouched to be more at eye level with Loki as he peered at him.  “I am Groot.”

“He didn’t used to be a dragon.”  Quill supplied.

“I am Groot.”  he reached a finger towards Loki who backed away warily.

“Don’t poke strange dragons.”  Quill chided.

“I am Groot!”

“Any relative of Thor counts as ‘strange’, end of story.”  Quill said.

Loki didn’t especially care for that comment but couldn’t really protest.  He curled his tail around his feet and waited impatiently for his brother’s return.  Thor’s presence felt like a singular lifeline.  He had an unpleasant, nagging worry that if Thor left his sight Loki might lose him again.  And besides, the oaf was terrible at taking care of himself.

…Not that Loki was in much position to offer aid anyway.

--xx--

There was a commotion in the streets as Thor approached and found Rocket with Nebula battling a small contingent of insectoid Sakaarans.

“Making friends already?”  Thor asked as he joined Rocket.

“Shut the Hell up and help.”  Rocket retorted as he hit one with a blaster.

Thor didn’t bother summoning the lightning directly, he smashed Mjolnir into the ground and let the backlash knock most of the group off of their feet.

When the fight was done, Rocket glared at Thor.  “This planet sucks.”

“As I said!”

Rocket shoot his head with an agitated growl.  “You said there’s some kinda ‘king’ right?”

“The Grandmaster.  He was being deposed last I heard.”  Thor said.

“Well someone’s gotta be in charge.”

Nebula glanced to the most ostentatious building in the area where an illuminated banner read ‘Royal Residence’.  “How about there?”

--

“Well this is unexpected.”  Thor said with lifted brows as he took in the regime change.

The Grandmaster was indeed in the ‘Royal Residence’ and on a brightly painted, makeshift metal throne.  But he looked utterly miserable whereas the woman at his side looked so haughty as to be comical.

“You.”  she said, with open disgust.  Topaz had gotten a promotion, it seemed, with an excessive and gaudy crown complete with a now bejeweled melting stick.

“Friend of yours?”  Rocket mocked back under his breath.

“Pretty sure she wants to melt my face off.”  Thor muttered.

“Is that a ‘no’ then?”  Nebula asked, and Thor honestly couldn’t tell if she was being earnest or cheeky.

The Grandmaster recognized Thor too, his eyes widened as he exclaimed.  “Sparkles!”  A quick frown from Topaz had the Grandmaster slinking back into his throne.

“Why are you here?”  she demanded.  “If you think you’re going to start another revolution-”

“-Technically, Korg started it.”  Thor interrupted.  “I'd rather be anywhere but this planet, to be honest, but we are looking for someone.  Zadrik?  Kree mercenary?  Blue?  Ring a bell?”

“Never heard of him.”  Topaz said, so automatically it seemed habitual.

Grandmaster behind her was mouthing ‘I know’ and ‘help me’.

Thor was starting to get the lay of the situation and he had no pity for it.  But he did need information.  “I’ll make this easy.  Tell me where I can find Zadrik and you can go back to holding that lunatic hostage.”

“What did you call my husband?”  Topaz demanded at the same time a surprised Thor mouthed ‘husband?’.

Grandmaster was shaking his head until Topaz turned around at which point he pasted a large smile on his face.  “I am sure he didn’t mean it, sugar lips.”  he said, with far less animation than Thor had ever heard from the man [or whatever he was].

“Stay out of this, honey-poo.”  Topaz snapped.  “This is between me and the blonde homewrecker.”

“The what now?”  Thor blinked.

“I know what you’re really here for.  You came for my husband.  Well, you’re not getting him.  You or that she-demon.”

“Who?”

“Scrapper 142!”

Thor looked at her blankly.  “No idea who that is.”

“You are lying to a queen!”

“One, not lying.  Two, since when is Sakaar a monarchy?”

“Since my honey-pooches and I made it one.”  Topaz hissed.

“Someone fell down the crazy tree and hit every damn branch.”  Rocket muttered.

“I have no idea who Scrappy 42 is.”  Thor said honestly.

“Scrapper 142.  That scheming, lazy, swindling little lush!”

“Ohh.”  Thor tapped his fist against his palm.  “Val.  I forgot she had that little nickname.” he chuckled fondly.

Rocket looked at Thor with a faintly bewildered expression.  “Ain't that your new king?  And you picked her out from that description?”

“If you saw how much Val could drink you wouldn’t question it.”  Thor said and Rocket shook his head.

“Asgardians.”  he muttered.

The light bulb went off for Thor then as he clicked his tongue.  “We should have just called Val.  I bet she would know.  Probably.  If she was sober enough at the time to remember.”  he said thoughtfully.

‘HELP. ME.’  The Grandmaster mouthed desperately.

“Does that mean we can leave?”  Nebula asked impatiently.  “Because this planet smells like Claxtaron dung.”

Thor sniffed the air and tilted his head in a ‘so-so’ gesture.  “Now that you mention it."

“You think you’re getting off Sakaar alive?”  Topaz cackled.  “I’m going to give my smoochie-baby your melted bodies as a present.”

“Topaz, dear, we’ve talked about this-”  Grandmaster started.

“You two deserve each other.  Really.  So we’re just…going to go now.”  Thor said as he started to move backwards flanked by Nebula and Rocket.

“Sparkles, come back!”  The Grandmaster shouted.  “We can talk about this.  I forgive you-”

Topaz scowled.  “You what?”

“Go.  Go now.”  Thor muttered to his companions as they made a hasty retreat.

It wasn’t until they were out of the compound that Thor realized Rocket had a new possession.

“Where did you-how did you-when did you?”

Rocket chuckled as he admired his ‘melting stick’.  “It wanted to come with me.  That’s all.”

“It was in the hall when we left.”  Nebula said.  “It wasn’t an impressive theft.”

“Speak for yourself.”  Rocket grumbled before he brandished his new toy proudly.  “Look who got the fancy melting stick.”

They passed what Thor recognized as the building where competitors had been kept and paused.  “Who wants to help me start a revolution?”  he asked with a look of satisfaction.

“Do we have to?”  Nebula asked.

“Can I try the melting stick?”  Rocket asked.

“Yes and…maybe.”  Thor shrugged.

Rocket and Nebula exchanged a glance before Rocket replied.  “Sure, what the Hell.  I hate this planet.”

--

By the time the trio returned, they looked like they had rolled in plaster powder from a building and were covered in a viscous, dark goo.

“You have lost melting stick privileges.”  Thor growled.

“How was I supposed to know if you amped up the settings they’d pop!”

“I feel disgusting.”  Nebula said as she held her arms at her side gingerly.

“What happened?”  Quill demanded as he took in the sight of them.

“Revolution.”  Rocket said casually.  “Thor’s idea.”

Loki looked his brother up and down as Thor approached.  -You started another revolution?-

Thor wasn’t sure what his brother said but the indignant screech made him feel Loki might be scolding him.  “I brought you something.”  he offered as he held out a plush, dark green pillow.  The elder Odinson noticed a bit of melted goo and flicked it off.  Loki recoiled as it landed near him and he eyed Thor and the pillow with distaste before he growled.  “Green is your favorite color.  And you like silk.”

Loki wasn’t sure in the first place why Thor decided to present him with a pillow.  But his brother’s sticky state and the goo on the pillow left much to be desired.

“Oh, that is adorable!”  Mantis exclaimed.  “It is a baby dragon bed!”

“She gets it!”  Thor agreed approvingly and Loki stared at his brother before he bared his fangs.

-If you put that disgusting thing anywhere near me I will bite you, Thor.-  Loki growled.

“Perhaps green is no longer his favorite color?”  Mantis suggested and Thor frowned as he looked to Loki questioningly.

“My brother’s had the same favorite color for a thousand years…you didn’t change it, did you?”  Thor's blunt confidence became slightly uncertain.

Loki had been back in Thor’s presence all of a couple of days and this is what his brother wanted to speak of.  Being the younger brother of an absolute oaf was exhausting.  He hoped it would put an end to the matter when he pointed his tail at the goo now on the table and then the pillow with another growl.

“Oh.”  Thor looked for a clean part of his shirt and wiped the hint of goo from the pillow on it and offered it back to Loki.  “There you go.”

Loki gave his brother an irritated look before he very deliberately moved away on the table as he turned partially as if to ignore Thor’s presence.

“He really does not like green.”  Drax whispered to Mantis who nodded.

Loki wondered if a dragon was capable of getting a headache as fully came to terms with the fact he was on a ship full of fools and there was nothing Loki could do about it.

--

Once the trio had washed up, Thor called Valkyrie and Rocket set the video call to show on the ship’s hologram display.

The screen clicked on to a flash of black hair and then Sif was peering into the screen.  “Thor?”

Thor’s expression brightened even as Loki watched with renewed interest.  It was…notable to see a familiar face even if Sif wasn’t someone he especially missed.  “Sif!  Good to see you…I was trying to call Val.”

“She’s showing Love how to use a mace right now.”  Sif said casually.

“She’s what?”  Thor exclaimed.

“She’s showing your kid how to use a mace?”  Quill asked.  “How old is she?”

“I was supposed to show Love her first mace.”  Thor said with a tone of disappointment.

“There are plenty of other weapons for you to show her.”  Sif said with an amused smile.  “If you see a flail on your travels you should pick one up, that is one we don’t have yet.”

Thor brightened.  “An excellent weapon.”

“You wanna give your kid a flail?”  Quill exclaimed.  “What are you teaching kids on Asgard?  Jeez.”

Rocket snorted.  "Like Yondu was teaching you to paint pretty pictures."

"Yondu taught me a lot of valuable skills...that any kid should learn."  Quill cleared his throat.

"No arguments here.  Just saying, pot calling kettle."

“Mastery of a variety of weapons is standard for budding warriors.  My daughter already wields Stormbreaker with great promise.”  Thor said proudly while Loki marveled at yet another side to Thor, a fatherly one.

“She’s wielding the mace with promise too.”  Sif said as she flipped the screen show Valkyrie cheering Love on as she went to town on a training dummy with a mace.

Quill’s mouth fell open while Nebula and Drax looked approving.  Thor’s expression melted as he watched.  “Oh, look at her go…she’ll take the training doll’s head off soon at this rate.”  he said warmly.

“And that’s…a good thing?”  Quill asked.

“Of course.”  Thor said, as though it should have been obvious.

“You are raising your daughter well, Thor.”  Drax said admiringly.  “She is lucky to have you for a father.”

Thor beamed.  “I am pleased you believe so.”

There was a loud war-cry from the child as Love split the dummy in half and Thor laughed, excited on his daughter’s behalf.  “That’s my girl.”  he said with obvious pride and affection.

Loki studied his brother carefully and noted an odd marriage of traits of their parents in Thor.  The fierce emphasis on the warrior traits was mostly reminiscent of Odin though Frigga had her moments given that she had been a warrior of the Vanir.  But Thor’s open pride and affection was more like Frigga, though Thor was exuberant where Frigga was dignified.  He found it hard to reconcile the Thor who arrogantly demanded passage to Jotunheim to seek angry battle with the man before him.

“Val!”  Sif called out.  “Thor wishes to speak with you.”

“Thor?  Again?  Tell him to stop being so needy.”  Val called out in complaint.

“Uncle Thor is so needy!”  Love called out with an obvious desire to imitate Val who grinned at her young charge.

“Hey!  Don’t teach her that!”  Thor protested.

“She calls you ‘Uncle’?”  Mantis queried.

“Aye.  She loved her father, she misses him.  I told her to call me whatever she liked.  She has a fondness for ‘aunt’ and ‘uncle’.”

Val approached and gave Sif a wink as the phone moved in such a way that it seemed Val had given Sif some kind of physical contact.  Sif smirked and Thor studied the pair through the hologram display.

“Are you two…?”

“Did you call me just to ask about my love life, Thor?”  Valkyrie asked as she tore her gaze away from Sif who seemed amused again.  “Cause if so, I’m hanging up now.”

Love’s head popped up on the screen as she stood on tip-toe.  “Is the rabbit there, Uncle Thor?”

“Not a rabbit!”  Rocket grumbled while Quill snickered.

“Yes he is, sweetheart.”  Thor said in an affectionate tone that put an odd pang in Loki.

The tone reminded Loki, oddly enough, of one Thor might have used in their youth when the brothers were young and inseparable.

“Is this about the funeral?”  Valkyrie asked.  “I think it would make more sense if you went on behalf of New Asgard.”

Thor frowned.  “What funeral?”

--

“First we came to fight Thanos, now we’re here for a funeral.”  Rocket grimaced.

“One usually followed the other with my father.”  Nebula noted.

“I’ve never even heard of this place.”  Quill said as he took in the sights he didn’t expect to see on Earth.

“We’ve talked about it before.”  Rocket scoffed.  “It’s Wakanda.”

“If you say so.”  Quill muttered as he took in scores of people in white.  The Guardians stood on the outskirts with other outsiders permitted to attend.  “Your Avengers buddies are coming too, right?”

Thor stiffened even as he replied somberly.  “What remains of them.”

The cryptic statement caught Loki off guard and he once again itched with questions he couldn’t give voice to as he sat on Thor’s shoulder.  He vaguely recalled hearing mention of Wakanda, though he couldn’t say where, but he knew nothing of them specifically nor their fallen king T'Challa.

“I am Groot.”  Groot said soberly.

“Yeah…”  Rocket agreed.  “He was impressive to watch fight.”

“I am Groot.”  he said as Groot looked to Thor.

“It didn’t matter, in the end.”  Thor said as he stared ahead at the mourners.  “I only had one role of import.  I missed.”

The Guardians shifted uncomfortably, even Quill seemed sympathetic while Loki grew only more curious.

“C’mon, Thor…you shoved an axe in Thanos’ chest.  You had no way’a knowing that he was such a thick-skinned bastard.”  Rocket said.

“And you took his head later.”  Mantis added.

“Later was too late.”  Thor said gruffly and Quill sighed.

“Yeah, I know feeling.”  Quill muttered as he thought of Gamora.

Loki looked at his brother questioningly as he tapped a claw on Thor’s neck with hope of elaboration.  Thor glanced at him briefly before his jaw tightened and he looked away.  Loki was a living reminder of Thor’s too lates and not enoughs.

Thor glanced out over the landscape of Wakanda as he recalled Thanos’ smug satisfaction before he Snapped.

“You should have gone for the head."

The voice echoed another set of words in Thor’s mind.

“No resurrections this time."

An orange portal formed a circle of sparks in the air behind them as the Guardians and Odinsons turned to see the new arrivals.  Stephen Strange flanked by a small group.  He seemed only vaguely surprised to see them upon stepping through.  “I thought that was you.”  Stephen said to Thor.  “Your energy signature is a little different than last time.”

Loki’s claws clenched lightly into Thor’s shoulders as he recalled his unpleasant meeting with the mortal sorcerer.

Stephen’s gaze slid to Loki before he frowned.  “Thor.”  There was a warning in his tone.  “That one feels familiar too.”  There was more of an accusation than a question there.

“Holy smokes, is that a dragon?”  Bruce exclaimed as he stepped out of the portal.

“It-”  An indignant growl from Loki caused Thor to amend.  “-He is a dragon.  And also Loki, my brother.”

Bruce blinked.  “Shut the front door.”

Chapter Text

The brief explanation Thor provided left several newcomers unhappy.  Loki may have [somewhat] redeemed himself in Bruce’s eyes, but others hadn’t had those sort of interactions with the trickster.

The funeral proceeded as mourners in white gave tribute to their fallen king.  Thor murmured the Asgardian prayer for a fallen warrior although T’Challa would not fall under Odin’s care in Valhalla.  When it was complete the guests remained present to grieve and remember.

“Thor.”

The voice gave Thor pause and he steeled himself as he turned to face Pepper.  Her daughter was at her side as well as a young man Thor didn’t recognize.

“It’s good to see you.”  Pepper said kindly, though Thor had ever only had limited interactions with the woman.  Perhaps it was enough that Thor had been a teammate to Tony.

“You as well.”  Thor offered and he forced a smile down at the her daughter.  “Hello, Morgan.”

The girl pressed against her mother’s side as she clung to her hand.

“I am Ironman.”  Tony snapped the Gauntlet.

Thor inhaled sharply and then found himself addressed by the young man.

“Mr. Thor, it’s really good to meet you.”

Quill whirled around as he squinted at Peter.  “Hey, I know you!”

Peter’s eyes widened.  “Quill?”

Thor looked between the two, surprised to find they knew each other.

“This kid was part of the team.  Spiderman, right?”  Quill asked.

Peter glanced around almost cautiously before he nodded.  “Peter out of the suit.”

“Suit.  Are you an Avenger?”  Thor asked.

“I mean.  Kind of a junior Avenger, I guess-”

”-You’re an Avenger.”  Pepper said.  “You earned it.”

“I don’t know about that.”  Peter said as he rubbed the back of his neck a bit bashfully.

“Momma.”  Morgan tugged at Pepper’s sleeve.

“And who is this little cutie?”  Quill asked as he clapped his hands on his knees.

“It’s Tony’s kid.”  Rocket muttered and Quill froze before he coughed awkwardly.

Pepper’s expression tightened and Morgan’s expression crumpled at her father’s name.

“Tony is my dad’s name.”  Morgan said in a morose tone.

The Avengers sat around Thor’s hammer as Clint dismissed the worthiness enchantment before he was goaded to try to lift it.

“Clint, you’ve had a tough week.  We won’t hold it against you if you can’t get it up.”  Tony teased.

When Tony was invited to do the same he said.  “Never one to shirk from an honest challenge.”  he stood before Mjolnir.  “It’s physics.”

“Physics!”  Bruce exclaimed.

“Right, so if I lift it…then I, I then rule Asgard?”  Tony asked.

“Yes, of course.”  Thor replied.

“I will be re-instituting Prima Nocta.”  Tony said, then proceeded to be unable to lift the hammer.

“It’s been hard on her.”  Pepper said softly as she pulled Morgan into her arms.  “It’s been hard on all of us.”  she admitted.

Peter’s expression was also sad.  “He was a really good guy.”

“Shakespeare in the park, does your mother know you weareth her drapes?”

Thor paused before he tried.  “Point Break.”  And the ship recognized his identity.

Morgan buried her face in Pepper’s neck with a sniffle and Thor found himself walking away before he’d even realized he was doing it.

“Thor?”  Quill, Pepper, and Rocket said in near-unison.

Thor went for the first private area he could find as he rubbed a hand over his mouth and leaned against an exterior palace wall.

Loki had listened to the conversation from which he garnered that Anthony Stark was dead.  He didn’t particularly care for the man, but nor was the news welcome.  And the sight of the grieving child wasn’t easy for anyone to see.  He was surprised when Thor abruptly left his friends and practically stumbled into a secluded spot.  -Thor?-  Loki peered at his brother’s face from his perch on Thor’s shoulder.

Thor heard the little chitter and ignored it as he stared out at the forest.  It had been hard enough to see Morgan at Tony’s funeral, but to see her now that Thor had his own daughter…and of a similar age…

-Brother?-  Loki chirped as he poked under Thor’s chin with his tail.

“Not now, Loki.”  Thor said gruffly and Loki bristled.

He knew he wasn’t exactly conversation material at present.  But Loki had expected the novelty of his return to have last a touch longer.  Were it normal moodiness, Loki might have pressed irritably at his brother but Thor seemed troubled in a way that gave Loki pause.

“Mr. Thor?”

Thor grimaced and exhaled slowly before he turned to find Peter.  “Just Thor.”

“Oh, right.  Uh, are you okay?”  Peter asked tentatively as he approached.

“Why would I not be?”  Thor asked in a low tone and little expression.

“You…kinda just took off and you seem a little…stressed?”

“Either way, what concern is it of yours?”  Thor didn’t feel like talking to the child, or anyone at all.  Especially given that of the few expressions he’d now seen this boy make, one was grieving Tony.

“You miss him too, right?”  Peter tried as he stepped closer.  “That’s why you walked away?"

Thor blinked as the boy persisted and then spoke bluntly too near the mark.  “Why are you talking to me?”

Peter seemed taken aback by the question but perhaps misunderstood the cause of it.  “…You’re one of the original Avengers…you knew Tony longer than I did…and I heard about…I mean you went through a lot.”

Thor dug his nails into his palm as he stared at the boy.  “Whatever you think this is, it is not.”  he said firmly.

“Er, sorry.  Okay.”  Peter scratched under his ear awkwardly.  “Cool dragon, by the way…”

Thor didn’t understand the boy’s behavior or demeanor but it seemed like Peter wanted something.  “Loki.”

“Wait-you were serious?  That’s…Loki Loki?”  Peter’s eyes widened.

“One and the same.”  Thor said as Loki flexed a claw at Peter in something of a cheeky wave.  The boy had sufficiently distracted him and somewhat begrudgingly he asked.  “So who are you?”

“Peter.  Peter Parker.”  he said, and still seemed a bit astounded about Loki.  “I’m Spiderman.”

Thor squinted even as Loki recalled with amusement that Thor’s childhood fear had been spiders.  He hadn’t been much fonder of them as an adult either.  “You don’t turn into a spider, do you?”

“What?”  Peter laughed as though Thor had made a joke.  “Of course not.  That’d be crazy.”

“My brother used to conjure illusions of giant spiders.”  Thor said with distaste and Peter watched the dragon on his shoulder [Loki] give what seemed to be as much a grin as a dragon could manage.

“Because you like spiders?”

“No.”  Thor said bluntly.  “Because he is a terror.”

-Hey!-  Loki protested as he clacked his jaw near Thor’s ear.  -Of course, you leave out all of the pranks you pulled.-  he complained.

Peter, lacking context other than that Loki was a villain, looked a little put off by that.  “But you’re…taking care of him now?”  He noticed Thor seemed surprised by the question.

“Of course.  He’s my brother.”  Thor said, as though that were the prime answer unto itself.

Loki regarded his brother at the steadfast declaration, pleased more than he cared to admit.

Peter stepped closer as he stood within a foot of Thor and eyed Loki before he addressed the thunderer.  “How do you talk?  Does he have telepathy or something?”

Thor exchanged a glance with his brother before he shook his head.  “He used to be able to transmit his thoughts.  Currently we can’t speak.”

“That sucks.”  Peter said sympathetically, since ignoring the whole ‘Loki factor’, it would suck to have your dead brother come back and not be able to actually talk with him.  “Can I ask how he…um…came back?”

“Would that I knew.”  Thor replied.  “If Loki knows, he can’t tell me.”

-I don’t particularly enjoy being spoken of as though I’m not here.-  Loki grumbled.

Thor wasn’t sure what the grumble was meant to convey and let it pass.  “So…how did you become…sort of an Avenger?”

“Tony brought me in.  Kind of.  There was a whole thing and he needed my help but then he sort of wanted me to take a step back, so I did.  And then Thanos happened and it was ‘all hands on deck’…then I got Snapped.”  Thor winced.  “And then I came back…and it’s you, Mr. Barton, and Bruce left.”

Loki gathered that implied Natasha, Stephen, and Anthony were gone…had Thanos killed them?

“You were Tony’s ward.”  Thor said lowly.

“Uhh…I mean…I guess you could look at it that way?  He took me under his wing.”  Peter agreed.  “Made me a suit too…”

Thor’s jaw tightened but he kept his voice light as he asked.  “You don’t have a power?  You’re another Iron suit?”

Peter chuckled.  “No, I have powers too.  I sling webs, cling to walls, I’m super strong…”

“Sling webs?”  Thor repeated.

“Yeah, I’d show you but I didn’t bring my stuff…I can show you a video?”  he pulled out his phone before Thor could reply and in short order the brothers squinted at the screen.  A red and blue-suited figure swung from building to building.

“Huh.”  Thor said with an expression of interest.  “That looks fun.” he granted and Loki huffed.  He smirked as he recalled Loki’s skittishness after being an unwilling and willing passenger to Thor flying with Mjolnir.  “Does it make you miss Mjolnir?”  he teased.

Loki pinched Thor’s ear between two claws and Thor cursed as he barely refrained from swatting his brother off.

“I will put you down.”  Thor warned.

-You will not enjoy my retaliation.-  Loki informed his brother.

“It can be.  Falling isn’t so much but that’s been rare.”  Peter chuckled and as the brothers interacted, he watched with surprise.  Loki seemed…a lot more tame than he expected?   It was hard to imagine Loki being a big, scary villain when he was a grumbling little dragon on Thor’s shoulder and Thor was teasing him like a big brother would.

“I had a learning curve when I started to fly with Mjolnir.”  Thor admitted as he returned his attention to Peter.  “But it was worth it in the end.”

“That’s gotta be awesome.”  Peter said with admiration.

“Oh, it is.”  Thor said as he finally grinned even as Loki gave a dismissive chitter and shook his head.  “Loki was especially fond of flying with me.”  he lied and Loki growled.

“Does he know that?”  Peter asked with an ill-contained grin of his own.

“He might have forgotten.”  Thor granted.

-Still here while you lie through your teeth, brother-.  Loki growled.

Peter tried to stifle a laugh and was glad Thor’s mood seemed better.  Thor had a pretty stormy look on his face when he’d walked off before.  “It’s pretty cool you’re an Avenger and a Guardian.”

“I prefer Avenger.”  Thor said with a flippant hand gesture.  “I’m more of a…consultant for the Guardians.”

-The nonsense you drivel out.-  Loki grumbled.

“Still, it’s impressive.”  Peter shrugged.

“You’re an Avenger too, according to Pepper.  And you’ll have no disagreement from me.”  Thor added, having decided he liked the boy once he stopped pestering.

Peter scrunched his nose.  “I appreciate that, I do…”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’.”

-Suddenly you have the capacity to be perceptive, brother?-  It was unfortunate the only audience for Loki’s snark was himself.  But Thor seemed to at least recognize Loki was mocking him somehow because his brother flicked one of his claws.  That was something, small though it was.  Being unable to communicate was it’s own kind of torture, having his little attempts to convey things acknowledge was a pittance of comfort.

“I don’t know.”  Peter leaned his back against the palace wall.  “Sometimes…I kinda feel like…an imposter?  I’ve helped save the world and everything but so have a lot of other people.  I still wanna go to school and have a normal life and a-”  he trailed off as he thought of MJ.  “Normal stuff.”  he finished instead.

Thor nodded.  “I know the feeling.”  he said as he crossed his arms.

“Really?”  Peter asked as Loki asked.

-What?-

“I’ve been given more titles and roles than I know what to do with.”  Thor said dismissively.

“But you’re Thor.”  Peter said.  “The Thor.”

Thor snorted even as Loki rolled his eyes at Peter’s [essentially] praise.  “You know something?  I’ve heard that all my life.  Like my name is a title unto itself.  Five years old and breaking a priceless family heirloom?  It’s Thor.  Slaying my first bilgesnipe?  Thor.  First kiss?  Thor.  Announced as heir of Asgard?  Thor.  Banished for being unworthy?  …Thor.  Almost burnt to death by a star forge to make a weapon to kill Thanos?  Thor.  When I missed…?  Thor.”  he stared down at his palm as he clenched his fist.  “My name means something different to everyone, and everyone of them expected me to live up to it.  Or was disappointed if I wasn’t being the Thor that I ‘should’ be.”

Loki stared at his brother, more or less shocked by the admission or that Thor had entertained such thoughts.

“I tried being Thor all my life and you know what it got me?”

“...What?”  Peter asked.

“Death, and more death, and destruction, and more death.”

“W-that’s not true!  You killed Thanos!  You helped stop Ultron!  And L-” he trailed off as he cleared his throat with a guilty look at Loki.  “You’ve saved a lot of people.  You’re a hero.”

“Why?”  Thor asked, and at Peter’s puzzled look he asked.  “No really, why?  Cause I helped save the universe?  Cause I eventually killed that purple bastard?  Perhaps I did those things for selfish reasons.  Or just for revenge.  Would I still be a hero then?  Perhaps I dropped the ball down the line and because of it…other people paid the price.”

Peter seemed flummoxed as he took that in.

“Heroes run to their problems, not away from them.  Tony was a hero.  Not cause he snapped the Gauntlet.  Cause it was the last thing he wanted to do but he did it anyway cause it had to be done.  Nat gave herself up for the Soul Stone.”  Thor seemed like he might say more then stopped.  He felt Loki’s eyes on him but didn’t look his brother’s way.  Thor wasn’t even sure why all of this was spilling out now.

“You ran to your problems.  You said yourself you almost died making a weapon to kill Thanos.”  Peter pointed out.

“Well.  I had nothing left to lose.”  Thor shrugged and Loki felt a pang.

“But you would have done it anyway, right?”

Thor paused and then splayed his palms as if to ask what Peter wanted him to say.  “Point is….the point is…Tony wouldn’t have brought you in for no reason.  You want a normal life but you’re still out being ‘Spiderboy’.”

“Spiderman.”  Peter corrected gingerly.

“Sure.”  Thor conceded.  “You’re making the effort.  That’s enough.”

“Then…it’s enough for you too, right?”

Thor gave a short, rueful chuckle.  “I’m fifteen-hundred plus years old.  I’m a god.  I was a king.  It’s a little different for me.”  he said as he made a small space between his thumb and pointer finger.

Peter frowned at that before he said.  “Well, for what it’s worth…I think you’re a hero.  Earth isn’t even your planet but you always come.  Oh!  New Asgard.”  he smacked his palm on his forehead.  “This is your planet too now.”  he amended.

Thor gave Peter a tight-lipped smile but his reply was interrupted as Peter’s attention was drawn elsewhere.

“Are we leaving?”  Peter asked and Thor turned to see Stephen Strange.

“Not just yet.”  Stephen said.  “I need to speak with Thor…would you mind?”

“Oh, of course.”  Peter said genially as he held his hand out to Thor.  “It was nice to meet you.  Thanks for…what you said.  And I know I don’t know you very well but just..in my opinion…you don’t need to be so hard on yourself.”  he said the last bit hushed so that Stephen wouldn’t hear.

Thor clasped his hand in return.  “Nor you.”  he offered before he clapped Peter on the back.  “You’re a little naive but I like you.”

-As if you have any room to talk, Thor-.  Loki sniped.

Peter’s brow furrowed.  “Thanks?  I think.”  he looked to Loki.  “It’s…nice to meet you too, Mr. Loki.”

-Mr. Loki-.  Loki repeated and Thor chuckled.

Peter waved and headed off, when he was out of sight Stephen approached Thor.

“Thor.”

“Strange.”

Loki bristled on Thor’s shoulder as he did his best to glare at the mortal sorcerer.

“Quite the speech you gave Peter.”  Stephen noted and Thor’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m surprised the ‘Sorcerer Supreme’ has time for eavesdropping.”  Thor said sarcastically.

“Not the Sorcerer Supreme anymore.  I was replaced while I was Snapped.”  Stephen noted Thor’s sarcastic expression tightened.

“Peter was right.”  Stephen’s tone was casual.  “There’s no reason for you to be excessively hard on yourself.”

Thor’s expression grew faintly angry.  “You know nothing of me.  I tolerated the boy’s intrusion.  I don’t need yours.”

“’Intrusion’.”  Stephen snorted.  “On your…little hiding spot on the side of a palace that doesn’t belong to you?”   Before Thor could give an angry retort he continued.  “I may not be ‘fifteen-hundred plus’.”  he said with half-hearted air quotes.  “But I know what festering guilt looks like.  And I saw you run from Tony’s family.”

“I didn’t run from them.”  Thor snarled as he advanced on Stephen who looked unimpressed.

“Did anyone ever tell you I used the Time Stone?”  Stephen continued conversationally.  “I saw 14,000,605 futures.  And you know how many I saw us win in?  Just one.”  he said as he held up a finger.  “And lucky us, we did the improbable.”

“If you have a point, then make it.”  Thor growled and Loki could tell his brother was growing defensive.

“It’s so easy to affect the future.”  Stephen said as if Thor hadn’t spoken.  “The Butterfly Effect?  The tiniest decision can have drastic, unforeseen influence on the outcome of the future.  You ‘missed’.  So Thanos snapped the Gauntlet.  And from what resulted, we lost three Avengers.”

Loki realized then what had been weighing on Thor.  But to hear that Thor had ‘missed’ surprised him.

“But it could have happened any other multitudinous ways.  You want to blame yourself for missing?  When no one else could even touch Thanos?  Blame Vision for being at Wakanda and affording Thanos the Mind Stone, or Wanda for not protecting him.  Blame the sorcerers of my order for not taking the Time Stone into a dark dimension to be lost forever.  Blame-”

“-Enough.”  Thor snapped.

“See, I find it troubling that you’re taking this so hard and you don’t even understand the inherent problem.”

“You are trying my patience, sorcerer.”  Thor warned.

“Oh, no.  I’m shaking in my shoes.”  Stephen said dryly.  “Christa Harris.”

The name drew Thor up short.  “Who?”

“You feel so guilty about Tony you can barely stand to look at Pepper and Morgan.”

“Strange-”  Thor said tersely.

“-But you don’t even know Christa’s name.”  Stephen said with a shake of his head.

Thor narrowed his eyes.  “Your theatrics do not amuse.  Make your point.”

“If I told you there was a man back in the states who’d killed scores of people.  What would you say?”

Thor didn’t understand the back and forth and it was only irritating him further.  “Where is he?”

“Exactly.  Because you’d want to stop him, right?”

“Obviously.”  Thor growled.

“This man, he’s killed men, women, children.  Didn’t bat an eye.  I’m assuming you’d probably execute him?”

Thor bit out.  “It’s likely.”

“What if that man…had a wife who insisted on her husband going free?”

“It would not make a difference!  If you have a point then make it.”  Thor snarled, patience at an end.

“Yeah…me too.  A careless disregard for life on a mass scale, doesn’t seem like the kind of person you should leave kicking around.  Not in prison, and not free.  No matter who wants to divert the course of their justice.”  Stephen then pointedly looked at Loki and the brothers understood the parallel being drawn.

Thor began to crackle with lightning.  “If you mean to harm my brother-”

“-On the contrary.  I’m technically going to help him.  Very much against my best judgment.  On your behalf.”

Thor’s lightning faltered as he looked at Stephen with confusion.  “What?”

Stephen closed his fist and when he opened it a thin, silvery chain necklace with a red and green stone was present on his palm.  “This, if you put it on Loki’s neck, will give him what amounts to your Allspeak.  A form of telepathic, universal communication.”

Thor blinked in surprise.  “Then…why?”   After a beat, he added.  “Do you know a way to restore my brother’s form?”

“See.”  Stephen clicked his tongue.  “I knew you were going to ask me that.  And then I would say ‘no’.  And you would be offended.  And I might casually bring up the New York Invasion and you would argue and so on.  Which is why I prefaced bringing this out with ‘story time’.  That and your misplaced guilt was rubbing me the wrong way.  Christa was about Morgan’s age, when she died in the invasion.  But you didn’t know her name.  You wouldn’t know her father’s face.  You’ve never lost a minute’s sleep over her.  But here you are, bringing her murderer back to Earth again.  Where’s your guilt for that?”

“Loki-”

Stephen held up a hand.  “-Yeah, I know, I know.  Excuse, excuse, this that, he’s my brother, gods, whatever else.  But here’s what I see.  Selective empathy.  A ‘god’s’ idea of ‘justice’.  You feel terrible about Tony because you considered him a friend.  So you feel terrible about Morgan.  You know something?  I lost five years to the Snap and I don’t blame you.  Not one bit.  Not knowing you had to behead that monster and after the lengths you went through to try?  Par for the course.  We all make screw ups trying to do the right thing and we pick ourselves up and move the Hell on.   But him?”  he pointed to Loki.

“Him, I blame you for.  You brought your familial drama to my planet and over eighty people died for it and you don’t know a single one of their names.  You keep bringing him back here, and I know for a fact you were going to bring him to New Asgard.  You care about Morgan and not Christa, and why?  Because you cared about Tony.  Because you’re a god with an ant-farm who cares selectively.  You have a sense of justice up to a point.  But at the end of the day?  You’re a god.  Hundred years from now, we’ll be dust but you and him will still be going strong.  Things don’t matter the same to someone who has five-thousand years the way they do to someone with a hundred, and I get it.  And you know what?  You had a role to play and you played it.  You helped stopped Thanos.  You’ve helped Earth before.  I like you, objectively speaking.  You’re obnoxious in large doses but objectively…I think you mean well.  But your moral playing field isn’t like ours.  I like you, but I can’t trust you.  Which comes back to the point.”

Stephen held the necklace out to Thor.  “Earth owes you a debt.  You lost…everything a man could lose.  As much as I would rather cut off my own hand than help your brother…I realize what it would mean to get back family in your position.  So I am giving you a means of communicating with him.  But there is a caveat.  If he tries to hurt anyone from Earth, it’s going to leave him in a bad way.  Shouldn’t be a problem though, as long as his ‘disregard for mortal life’ days are behind him.  There is no ‘Christa’ by the way.  Well, there may be.  I don’t know all of the names either, to be honest.  Because I know when guilt is mine to carry or when it’s just an exercise in self-pity for the sake of making yourself feel better.  Mortality must be a hard thing for a god to grasp.  Probably why gods don’t usually make friends with us mortals, am I right?  Instead of grieving Tony and Natasha you’re trying to take the blame for ‘failing’ to save them.  We’re not gods, we never will be.  We make the choices we make knowing how short and precious every second of our lives are.  So stop wallowing, you can honor Tony and Natasha by respecting their sacrifice instead of making it about your hurt feelings.  You understand?”

Thor took the offered chain by way of answer and Stephen gave Thor a decidedly sympathetic look.  “I say this as a kindness.”

“Kindness.”  Thor repeated, but Strange’s words had made an impact in the end.  “Our Father would have agreed with you…but if I’d agreed with him, I wouldn’t have answered Midgard’s call.”

“For which I thank you.  And that is why you get that necklace even though helping him is physically painful to me.”  Stephen said with a look of distaste.

“...This chain will let him speak?”

”Yup.”

“And it will only hurt him if he should cause harm to a mortal?”

“That’s it.  Nothing more, nothing less.”

Thor glanced to Loki.  “It’s your decision, brother.”

-I trust the two-bit sorcerer about as far as I can presently throw him but at the risk of another chance not presenting itself…-  Loki said reluctantly and Thor waited for a reply that would be meaningful to him.  He gave a deliberate nod as he pointed to the necklace with his tail.

“Well then.  Safe travels.”  Stephen offered abruptly as he started to walk away.

Thor caught him by the shoulder.  “…There may be some truth to what you’ve said.  But I value life.  Mortal or otherwise.”

“I never said you didn’t.  Only that you don’t value it the same.”  Stephen shrugged Thor’s hand off.  “if I believed otherwise, then I would take steps to keep you off of my planet.”

Thor was tempted to argue on principle that Stephen wouldn’t be able to but instead he settled on a gruff thanks for the necklace.

“Don’t mention it.”  Stephen said.  “Really.  Don’t tell anyone you got that from me.”  he said with a half-wave as he headed off.

Thor watched him leave before glanced to his brother.  “You ready to try this?”  An affirmative chitter led Thor to plucking his brother from his shoulder as he set Loki on the grown and crouched beside him.  He slipped the chain around Loki’s thin neck and thought it would be too large but the necklace shrank as soon as Thor clasped it.  The stone glowed briefly and Loki shuddered.

“...Did it work?”

“You tell me."

“It worked!”  Thor exclaimed, he heard Loki’s voice in his mind…or at least, a variation of his voice.  He saw Loki perk up as his tail whipped back and forth reminiscent of a dog’s tail wagging.

“To think that two-bit sorcerer proved useful after all.”

Thor put a hand over his face as he shook his head with a wry smile.

“What?” 

“Your first words after regaining speech are to pay an insult.  It’s very like you, brother.”

Loki seemed as though he might object but then couldn’t deny it.  “You call it an insult.  I would call it being honest.”  he countered as they slipped into a casual bit of banter as though this were not the deeply unbelievable situation it was.

Thor didn’t reply immediately, so for a moment, the brothers simply looked at each other.  Then Thor cupped his hand around Loki’s neck gently with the pad of his thumb under Loki’s jaw.  The best rendition of their gesture of affection he could manage.  “Welcome back, brother.”  he finally said.

Loki felt the warm, familiar palm and saw a tenderness in Thor’s gaze that he wasn’t sure what to do with.  “How like you to jump into sentiment.”

“Is that a complaint?”  Thor asked with amusement.

“More honesty.  I seem to have turned over a new leaf.”  Loki drawled.

“Mmhm.  I’m sure.”  Thor said wryly and he felt a fond pain in his heart when Loki brought a clawed hand to his wrist and rested a few claws against it.  Loki mocked his sentiment with words but offered reciprocation in allowing it and the small gesture.  Perhaps Loki had missed him too after all, and it wasn’t purely for convenience that Loki latched onto Thor when they’d ‘reunited’.  “We have a lot to talk about, but now isn’t the time.”

“I am well aware.  We have to find your ‘know a guy’.”  Loki pulled away from Thor’s touch.  “I’d just as soon get this over with.”  he looked to Thor expectantly.

Thor was tempted to tease his brother, but the relief of being able to finally hear Loki speak after six years of mourning him was too great.  He couldn’t quite resist a quick brush of his thumb against Loki’s cheek before he scooped his brother up and returned Loki to his shoulder.  Loki settled in against him and the knowledge that Loki could speak made his presence more comfortable.  Especially as Loki seemed receptive to Thor and not…any number of negative other possibilities.

By the time the brothers returned to the Guardians, Thor was pleasantly surprised to see that Rocket had already found and initiated a conversation with ‘the guy’.

“I want that arm.”  Rocket groaned.

“Yeah, well, I need my arm.  So for the last time, no.”  Bucky informed the persistent [raccoon?].

--

During The Call With Valkyrie

“So you’ll go?”  Valkyrie confirmed.

“I don’t think Wakanda cares if a representative of New Asgard goes.  But I will attend.”

“Easier for me.”  Valkyrie said.  “So what’d you call for?”

Thor, with input from the others, explained a summary of the situation with the smuggler Tanton and the suspected child-kidnapper slash reject-Kree mercenary Zadrik.  “We looked for him on Sakaar-”

“-You went back to Sakaar?  How was it?"

“Topaz had the Grandmaster hostage.  She called him disgusting pet names.  Threatened to melt us.  And…then we started another revolution.”

Valkyrie looked slightly impressed.  “I can get behind that.  Not surprised you didn’t find Zadrik though.  The Grandmaster didn’t like him, he made himself scarce.”

“You know him?”  Thor asked.

“Loosely speaking.  I saw him around before he was pretty much banned from Sakaar.”

“That’s possible?”  Thor asked incredulously.

“Goes to show what a scumbag he is.  Even the Grandmaster didn’t want him around.  ‘Bad for business’.”

“So how do we find him?”  Rocket asked.

Valkyrie pursed her lips as she tilted her head back and forth as if debating in her head.  “There’s a place you might find him, or at least the information you want.  But it’s not easy to get into and if they catch you out, they will try to kill you.  Violently and painfully.”

“Not a problem, continue.”  Thor said and Quill shot him a bewildered look.

“No, that actually sounds like a big problem.”

“Don’t be such a wimp.”  Nebula said and Quill made an affronted noise.

“That hurts, Nebs.  That hurts."

Nebula gave him a pointed stare.  “Call me ‘Nebs’ again, and you will hurt.”

Quill looked back at the hologram screen without another word.

“There’s a…club, let’s call it.  ‘Fortuna’.  It caters to the best of the best assassins and mercenaries, and the suckers rich enough to pay them.  Or bet on them in the ring.  Zadrik is elite enough to visit.  Tanton is rich enough to get in.  Get an obscene amount of money or find yourself a golden ticket and you’re in.  As long as you don’t screw it up and blow your cover.”

Quill looked back at Nebula.  “You count, right?"

“No…none of Thanos’ children were welcome.  Only free agents allowed.”

“But Thanos is dead.”  Quill pointed out.

”And I am not working as an assassin.”  Nebula countered.

Thor was sure he had an answer…it was right on the tip of his tongue…Steve had said something… “I think I know a guy.”  he said suddenly as the answer came to him.

“Of course you know an elite assassin.”  Quill grumbled.

“You just called me one.”  Nebula reminded him.

“Yeah but you’re a Guardian.”  Quill said and Nebula rolled her eyes.

--

“I’m Thor, son of Odin. “  he introduced himself.

Bucky’s looked at Thor, looked at the dragon on his shoulder, then said matter-of-factly.  “Bucky Barnes.”

”Steve’s friend.”  Thor supplied.

Bucky frowned slightly at the mention of a man who’d been like a brother to him and was now gone.  “S’right.”  he looked between them as he came out with it.  “I’m not the Winter Soldier anymore.  And I don’t think aliens, no offense, give a damn about a guy who got mind-controlled into it.”

“With the scepter?”  Loki asked aloud, intrigued and forgetting that he could be heard now.

All present seemed startled.

“Who said that?”  asked Rocket.

“Oh, good, I’m not the only one hearing voices.”  Quill said.

“Loki can talk now.  In your minds.”  Thor supplied.  “I didn’t know you could talk to everyone at once though.”

“Neither did I.”

“The dragon talked?”  Bucky clarified.  “And it’s name is Loki?"

“ I spoke, yes.  And my name is Loki…son of Odin."

Bucky stiffened.  “Wait…New York Loki?”

“My brother Loki.”  Thor corrected even as Stephen’s words came back to mind.

“Who brought the Chitauri to New York.”  Bucky persisted.

“Yes.  I am not the man I was then.”  he offered for the sake of fostering a working relationship, or at least so that Thor could.

“Nah, you’re a dragon, apparently.”   Bucky exhaled as he ran a hand through his hair, he was used to rolling with the punches, even strange ones.  And he wasn't in a great position to be high-handed about someone else killing.

“Your credentials should be sufficient to gain entry.”  Nebula said.  “You would be a…novelty.”

“Just what I always wanted.”  Bucky muttered.  “So you want me to pretend I’m still the Winter Soldier so you can piggy-back into this murder club to find a kid-snatcher?”

“Basically.  Yeah.”  Rocket agreed.

Bucky glanced skyward as he scrunched his nose.  “Space isn’t really my thing.  Call me old-fashioned.”

“Is saving an adorable little girl ‘your thing’?”  Quill asked.

Bucky frowned at Quill, looked back up at the sky, and then sighed heavily.  “Damnit.”  he muttered.  “Alright, I’m in.”

--

With a less-than-pleased Bucky on board, the Guardians and the Odinsons returned to their ship and set a course for Fortuna.

Thor took his brother to the most ‘private’ spot aboard the ship to finally, finally speak with his brother.

Chapter Text

The ship was set for a course in the vicinity of the Centaris Nebula where a small planet called Larxis held Fortuna.

Bucky had been less than eager for the sights outside of the window.  The further away from Earth they drew, the more Bucky looked as though he’d sucked on a lemon.

“Don’t worry about it.”  Quill said as he gave Bucky a pat on the back.  “More people die in car accidents than space ship collisions.”

Bucky shrugged the other man off with a look of distaste.  “Bolts and metal are all we got between us and that.”  he said as he pointed towards space.  “Death ain’t the problem.  Dying in the middle of nowhere space is the problem.”

“You always this cheerful?”  Quill asked.

Bucky gave the other man a dry look as he replied.  “Yeah.”

Quill lifted his brows as he made an okay then expression.  “So none of us have ever been to Fortuna, right?”

“Sounds like it.”  Rocket said as he reviewed the monitors.

“Listen…”  Quill said as he moved closer to Nebula.  “What are the chances that…Gamora would be there?”

Rocket glanced over at the pair with a frown before he looked back at the screen.

“Almost zero.”  Nebula said bluntly.  “I told you.  Children of Thanos are not-”

“-Welcome.  I get it, I get it.  But Thanos is dead and Gamora has to be making money somehow…so…maaaybe.”

“Almost zero.”  Nebula repeated and Quill looked disappointed.

“You will find her some day, Quill.”  Mantis said reassuringly.

“I am Groot.”

“She is not gonna kick him in the balls, Groot.”  Rocket huffed.  “More likely she’d shoot or stab him if he got too close.”

“Thanks, guys.  Love the support.”  Quill grumbled.

“I still don’t see what a bunch of aliens would want with me.”  Bucky said as he crossed his arms and leaned against a ship wall.

“Doesn’t sound like it’s about ‘want’.  Sounds like you just got the right credentials.”  Rocket said.

--

Thor had been eager to speak with his brother.  He had plenty of questions and moreover…he just wanted to talk to him.  Thor wanted the continued proof and confirmation that his brother was really back and [relatively] okay.  But as the pair retreated to the back of the ship to speak, both fell into an awkward silence.  Thor sat on a cot with his back leaned against a ship wall and Loki sitting on the cot next to him.  He absently took one of Loki’s claws between his thumb and pointer finger as he felt the sharpness of the tip.

Loki too had been longing to be able to speak to anyone, but to his brother especially.  He felt a jittery anticipation for the impending conversation as he wondered what Thor would find most pertinent to bring up first.  The younger man was surprised when Thor said nothing and abruptly toyed with one of his claws.  He watched the action as he noted how ridiculously large Thor’s hand seemed currently compared to his own.  Thor was still Thor, but Loki had changed drastically again.  He had been born Laufeyson, made Odinson, discovered he was Laufeyson, and then died only to come back as a dragon.  One could argue his identity had been lost to him.  But Thor seemed glad of his return, emotional about it even, and he had given Loki an apology…he presumed for Loki’s death though that was not Thor’s fault.  Loki wasn’t one to be hopeful or optimistic, he was practical and a realist.  He had known it was a possibility that Thor would blame him for the Statesmen, that Thor might have written him off.  Loki had thought he could count on Thor’s decency to at least aid Loki until he could take care of himself, but he hadn’t been sure Thor would…want Loki still.  Or that he would want Loki for a brother still.

But Thor had admitted to missing Loki as well as vowed to help and take care of him.  The thought roused a terrible quantity of sentiment in Loki.  There was no one else who would find out the little dragon was Loki and respond with wet eyes and tender touches.  No one left alive who would have missed him, and there had been few dead who would have either.  For Thor to greet him so preciously and warmly…Loki doubted Thor could understand how much it meant to Loki and relieved him.  If Thor had rejected him or denied them as brothers…

Hands he’d known most of his life were toying gently with his claw and it was stupidly moving.  “You great oaf.”  he said softly, because he couldn’t bring himself to put words to what he was feeling and yet couldn’t stay silent either.

Thor blinked as his hand stilled with Loki’s claw still between his fingers.  “What did I do?”

Loki huffed and Thor only looked more confused before Loki pulled his claw free and looked up at Thor.  “Do you have questions or not?”  his tone was a little demanding, but better that than his voice shaking with sentiment.

“If you don’t wish to speak now-”

“-I haven’t spoken in years.  Of course I want to speak.”  Loki grumbled.

Thor’s expression contorted in a pained grimace.  “Years…?  Then…all this time…?”

Loki felt a stab in his tiny heart at the sight of Thor’s pain on his behalf.  Since when did Thor show such emotions so readily?  Since when did Loki have the power to bring that out in Thor?  He gentled his tone as he rested his side against Thor’s thigh lightly.  Thor looked surprised before he let his hand fall to Loki’s other side where he lightly rested his palm against Loki’s lower side.  Loki felt slightly cocooned by Thor’s warmth and presence, almost comforted in the way that Thor’s hugs had used to comfort him when they’d been young.

The way that, past the awkwardness and uncertainty, their first and last hug of the decade aboard the Statesmen had made Loki feel warmed and safe.

“Hard to say exactly.”  Loki said quietly.  “I woke up in a box-”

“-A box?”  Thor interrupted with widened eyes.  “An actual box?”

“Unfortunately, yes.  I was even smaller then than now.  I was bound in a box…and I have spent much of the time since in cages.”

Thor felt his blood boil at the thought even as remorse filled him.  He had been drinking himself into a stupor on New Asgard while Loki was placed in boxes and cages?  His brother had been alive, but unable to help himself or ask for help and Thor had been…  “Brother…”

“You need not look so…bereft about it.”  Loki said uncomfortably, uncertain what to make of the open misery that flashed across Thor’s face.  He let his claw and part of his arm rest on the side of the hand Thor used to cup him.  “You had no way of knowing.  It’s strange enough that you of all people found me on Contraxia.”  He expected mentioning Thor’s expression to make his brother realize he’d been showing his feelings openly or to make Thor protest.  But Thor didn’t seem the least bit bothered to have it pointed out.  He just kept wearing that hang dog expression and Loki didn’t like it at all.  Loki was glad that Thor cared, more than glad even, but he didn’t take any pleasure as he might once have in causing his brother pain.  “And you…have agreed to help me now.”

Thor’s brow furrowed.  “Did you doubt it?”

Loki fidgeted slightly as his hand clenched around the side of Thor’s somewhat.  “I wasn’t sure what reception I would receive from you, Thor.  We were not exactly on the best of terms when we parted and…”  

Thor waited for Loki to finish but when nothing further was forthcoming he gave Loki’s face a light tap with two of his fingers.  He then let his palm settle on Loki’s back as he brushed his thumb over Loki’s chest.  Loki’s red eyes were intent on Thor’s own and although a dragon’s face had nothing of the expressiveness of a human one, he could imagine the face Loki would be making in that moment.  The uncertainty and the reluctance that came from even the tiny admission of vulnerability.  “You’re my brother, Loki.  You really thought I’d find out you were stuck like this and abandon you?”  When Loki didn’t reply Thor frowned.  “Loki.”

“...It’s not as if you owe me anything…and who would see me as ‘Loki Odinson’ now?”

“Me, you stubborn little brat.”  Thor said as he abruptly pinched at Loki’s cheek which was more like the side of his face.  Loki made an involuntary squeak of surprise and affront that made Thor smile automatically and Loki glared as he bared his fangs slightly.  “When are you going to accept there’s nothing that would ever make us not brothers?  We don’t have a choice about it.  Deal with it.”

“Deal with it.”  Loki repeated even as he reeled a touch from the conviction of Thor’s words.  Thor scooped under Loki suddenly and Loki scrambled with an indignant yelp.  “Thor, put-”

Thor tucked his own arm over his chest and set Loki on it with Loki’s chest against his own while he cupped Loki’s back with his hand so that there were only a few inches between their faces.  Loki stopped mid-sentence at that as he met Thor’s gaze.  “Father and Mother named you ‘Odinson’.  No one can take that from you.  You’re still you, brother.”

Loki was embarrassed to feel the film of tears in his eyes and he ducked his head which meant resting it against Thor’s chest.  He felt Thor’s hand lift as Thor’s thumb ran down his head and neck soothingly.  Loki hadn’t felt like himself, he hadn’t been sure what his fate would be.  He’d not been sure Thor had even survived let alone that he would see him again or be accepted by him.  “Since when did you say such things?”  he practically mumbled in his mental voice.

“Since I got my brother back and a dragon at the same time.”

Loki’s head jerked up in surprise as Thor switched from sincere to a light tease.  “Don’t think I will tolerate being treated like your insipid pet now that you know who I am.”

“Of course not.”  Thor agreed with mock-solemnity.  “You’re a very smart little-Ow!”  he shook his hand out as Loki nipped at it with the best glower a dragon could muster.

“Serves you right.”  Loki informed him primly.

Thor flicked at Loki’s side before he let his hand rest on his brother’s lower back.  “What happened?  Why a dragon?”

Loki had expected that to be among the first things Thor asked.  “I am not precisely sure…I had a contingency plan of sorts…but evidently something went wrong.”

“Contingency plan?”

“I spent four years ruling Asgard with access to the Vault and Gungnir.  I had considerable resources at my fingertips.  And…I knew that sooner or later…Thanos would catch up to me.”  Loki watched Thor’s expression carefully and at that, Thor’s expression revealed little but his hand clenched a little more tightly around Loki’s back.  “I gave myself some insurance.”

“What kind of insurance?”  Thor wanted to ask about Thanos but he would hear the rest of this tale first.

Loki had anticipated potentially having this conversation with Thor someday.  But he’d never imagined the circumstances or that he’d be a dragon.  The strangeness was further by the fact that Thor was cradling Loki against his chest.  Thor would certainly not be doing this to Loki were he in his true form, nor would Loki be allowing it.  What did it say that Thor instigated the close contact and that Loki hadn’t protested?  “Without being very technical about it…I planted a kind of seed.  For four years I fed it magic, blood, and the essence of Asgard.”

“A seed for what?”  Thor asked.

“For me, should I die.  It was…again, in simplest terms, an attempt to grow an alternate body for myself.  My death was meant to trigger my soul to return to that fashioned vessel.  I expected I would be in a…younger form for a time, but still myself.”

“But Asgard was destroyed…”  Thor said with pain again present in his expression.

Loki somewhat awkwardly patted his clawed hand against Thor’s chest.  “So it did.  I wasn’t sure if the seed would survive the explosion but briefly…I thought I felt that it had.  Then I couldn’t feel any trace of it.”

“...You expected to die permanently then.”  It wasn’t really a question.

“It seemed likely.”  Loki said.

“Then you woke up like this.”

Loki nodded.  “The only theories that seem likely are that I truly…reincarnated as a dragon, of all things…or perhaps the seed found its way to a realm where a dragon resided.  The seed contained powerful magic, it’s possible a dragon would have tried to consume it…a dragon either carrying a child or…somehow the seed caused the dragon to be with child.”

Thor’s eyes widened.  “You had a baby with a dragon and you are that baby?”

Loki dug his claws in a little with his best attempt at a scowl.  “Stop calling me an infant.”  he groused.  “It’s one possibility, if you must put it in those terms.”

Thor considered that.  “If it worked as you planned, you would have woken up somewhere in your own body but…as a child?”

“The plan was theoretical…my own invention, for the most part.  I couldn’t be sure it would work, but yes, that was what I had intended.”

“...Would you have sought me out then?”  Thor asked.  Loki hesitated at the question and Thor’s expression twisted into something just shy of bitter.  “If you didn’t need my help, would you be here now?”

“Brother.”  Loki wanted to clear up the misunderstanding quickly but it was complicated.  “I…told you I wasn’t sure if you would wish to see me, if you would still consider us-”

“-What more would you have of me, Loki?”  Thor demanded as he interrupted.  “How is this still a question to you?”

“Oh yes.”  Loki replied sarcastically.  “Because you have made your stance blatantly obvious between us.”

“After everything you’ve done, you thought this would be the thing to turn me from you?"

“Everything I’ve  done?  And I suppose you think yourself blameless?”

“I didn’t say that.”  Thor growled.  “But if there was blood between us, I don’t think you would be so ready to assume I would cast you aside.  Is that what this is about?  Or do you think so little of me?”  he asked as he referenced Loki’s question on Sakaar.

The mention of his parentage caused Loki to recoil somewhat and Thor’s presence suddenly felt intense.  He tightened a claw in Thor’s shirt at the unpleasant inference.  “It isn’t just the lack of shared blood though, is it.”  he said.  “The blood of an enemy of Asgard.”

“You are not my enemy!”  Thor exploded in frustration and Loki tensed as he remembered Thor’s painful grasp when Mantis revealed him.

He tried to leave Thor’s grasp but Thor kept hold of him and Loki felt an instinctive panic, brought on likely by the form as much as anything.  “Brother.”  Loki tried for a placating tone as he bunched up a bit.

Thor felt monstrous when Loki tried to push away and then balled up as if in fright or anticipation of pain.  He forced himself to inhale and exhale slowly as he released his grip on Loki and kept a light palm at his back instead.  “Jotun.  Asgardian.  Dragon.  Trickster.  Pain in my rear.  I don’t care, Loki.  We’ve been together all of our lives.  It doesn’t matter what form you take, what you call yourself, if we fight.  We’re always going to be brothers.  Have I ever claimed otherwise?”  his tone lowered as he said quietly.  “It was only you who said we weren’t.  And it hurt me to hear it.”  Thor admitted.  “I don’t expect us to just…fall back into trusting each other as we used to.  But will you stop acting like…we aren’t family?  …We’re all that’s left, brother.”  he muttered.

Loki stared at his brother at those words, struck by how simple Thor made it all sound.  The words were a balm to his past years captive and mute.  A reassurance to his doubts and uncertainties, as well as his fears…  “Well…that’s not exactly true, is it?”  he was a little flustered when his voice sounded a touch hoarse.  What sort of magic had the mortal sorcerer used for the communication spell anyway?  “You have a daughter now.”  he pointed out as an attempt to lighten the conversation and because he didn’t know what to say.  Loki was concerned as well about saying too much.

Thor brightened at the mention of Love.  “And you have a niece.  I have told her many stories about her uncle.”

Loki was a little touched, and flattered, by that knowledge.  “What sorts of stories?”

“Things about you in general.  Adventures of ours.  She got a real kick out of hearing you turned me into a frog.”

Loki grinned and it showed off his fangs.  “That was a good prank.”

“It was terrible.”  Thor grumbled before he softened as he thought it might be good for Loki to hear.  “I told her that her uncle Loki was the greatest sorcerer of Asgard.  A master of daggers.  Mischief.  Getting his older brother into trouble-”

“-You’re one to talk, Thor.”

Thor continued like Loki hadn’t interrupted.  “That he was one of the bravest warriors of Asgard.  And funny, when he wants to be.  I told her of how you risked yourself to save Jane at Svartalfheim while avenging our mother…how you showed up in your cow horns to help save Asgard-”

“-Don’t involve the child with your jealousy over my clearly superior helm.”

Thor grinned, Loki sounded pleased and his body had relaxed from its earlier tension.  But then he grew more somber as he added as he brushed the back of his finger against Loki’s cheek.  “What you did on the Statesmen.”

“You told a child her uncle’s neck was broken?”  Loki asked as he grimaced.

Thor was glad when Loki referred to himself as Love’s uncle.  “I didn’t give her all of the details.”  he admitted.  “It’s between us now.”  Thanos and the Black Order were dead.

The idea of Thor reminiscing with the child about Loki was a surprise but not…an unpleasant one.  It seemed like Thor had shared good memories with her about Loki…as one would an honored brother…a loved brother?

“Why did you have the Tesseract, Loki?  Why did you tell me nothing of Thanos?”

Loki’s eyes closed a moment as a sinking feeling washed over him.  He had expected the questions, not necessarily in that moment.  Thor sounded calm at least, not overly angry or accusing.  Perhaps he might actually listen to Loki’s explanation.  He forced himself to meet Thor’s gaze and resist the urge to grow defensive or reclusive.  Loki was tired of running…he was tired of…’hesitating’ to treat Thor like family.  Thor was right to say there was still trust broken between them…but to question if they were still brothers was painful for both of them, it seemed.

“...I didn’t tell you about Thanos because…”

--

“Please…please…I’m sorry…I’m sorry…”  Loki buried his face in his forearms as he pleaded; to his father, mother, Heimdall, his brother…  “Heimdall.”  he croaked.  “You see me, you must see me…tell them…tell them where I am…” he begged.

--

The echo of his own pathetic, heart-sore voice rang in his mind and Loki shuddered.

Thor felt the tremble in his brother’s body and his brow furrowed as he mistook the cause being fear of Thanos because of Loki’s death.  He cradled Loki more, so that the arm beneath Loki was a little higher while Thor’s large palm covered Loki’s back with Thor’s thumb brushing gently against the back of Loki’s head.

Loki stared up at the concerned, blue eyes focused entirely on him.  Thor’s arm around him, Thor’s hand on his head, his brother offering Loki genuine care.

“He’s gone, brother.”  Thor said.  “He will never touch you again.”

And yet, in ways, he did.  Especially as Loki lay encased in darkness, trapped in one cage after another, the helpless darkness had reminded him of Sanctuary.

--

Loki’s face was tear-streaked as his body was wracked with trembles.  He clutched at the sides of his head as The Other mocked him.  Why hadn’t his family come for him?  …He hadn’t really been one of them in the first place, after what he’d done…had even his mother abandoned him?  They would let him die here?

The heat grew unbearable again and Loki bit down to stifle a whimper, still enough sense of pride and dignity to fight against breaking his composure before the creature.

Please…Loki begged in his mind.  Please help me…I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please let me come home…please…

The heat grew in intensity and Loki heard a scream.  It took him time to gain enough awareness through the pain to realize it was his own.

--

Loki felt tense all over and he again curled in on himself in Thor’s grasp.

Thor watched his brother, contained inside the tiny dragon form, practically burrow into a tight ball in his arms.  He hadn’t realized the mention of Thanos would cause such a reaction in his brother.  Thor hadn’t comforted Loki in years…especially not in a semblance of this moment.  Not with Loki in his arms as he so often had been as a boy.  A little raven-haired princeling slipping into his big brother’s bed seeking protection from nightmares.  A clingy youth gripping his older brother as Thor stroked his hair and murmured reassurances.  Loki was Loki, with all that entailed, and he was so small now…he fit on Thor’s joined palms.

Thor decided to throw caution to the wind as he held Loki on one arm and pulled the blanket up from beside them.  He scooped it around Loki who squirmed in surprise and looked almost confused.  Thor loosely bundled his brother as he brought the bundle to his face and rested his head against Loki’s.  As he might once have pressed their foreheads together with their gesture of affection.

Loki had felt himself being moved and then was rendered snug in a blanket as Thor cradled him close.  He had been trying to form a question when Thor pressed his head against Loki.  The younger man had an instinct to pull away.  Thor was imposing just by virtue of his size, he could maneuver Loki so easily.  And this type of intimacy between them…it surely wouldn’t be happening if Loki were outwardly a man, would it?

“I’m here, brother.”  Thor murmured.

“If you were here, I might even give you a hug.”

“I’m here.”

“I have you.”

--

A young Loki buried his face in Thor’s chest as he cried and Thor rubbed a soothing hand up and down his back as he rested his cheek on Loki’s head.  “I have you, little brother.  Shh…I am here, Loki…it will be alright…”  Thor promised as he kissed the crown of Loki’s head as the younger Odinson sniffled.

--

Words given and received between them all of their lives.  I have you.  I’m here.

Short phrases with a wealth of meaning and promise between the brothers.

Loki felt pain grip him at the nostalgia and the naked affection in Thor’s voice.  Thor could still be that soft towards him, after everything?  And Loki could receive it?  Some slithering voice in the back of his mind told him to mistrust it, told him to doubt, told him to pull away, told him to keep his cards close to his vest.

But Loki had spent so much time scrambling to escape and to survive, so much time regretting, so much time filled with rage.  Now as a dragon, it had been a different kind of Hel.

But Thor was offering Loki something else.  Something for Loki, for his brother, for a fellow Odinson, for all that they’d been to each other that against all odds still mattered to Thor.

Despite what Loki’s mind had been twisted to believe for a time; his family had not willfully abandoned him to Sanctuary, Thor had not cast Loki from the Bifrost.

Thor would have come for Loki, he surely would have.  And he was here for Loki now.  It was hard for Loki to relent, it was difficult to trust or to relax his guard.  Loki had grown accustomed to surviving through withdrawal and suspicion, to masking his pain with rage and plots.  He was exhausted and he’d been tired of going it alone well before he’d died.  Perhaps now, more vulnerable than he’d been in ages, Loki might try relenting a little and leaning on his brother.  Thor wasn’t the young man he’d been.  He never would be that again.  Nor Loki the one who’d stood quietly in Thor’s shadow.  But if for all of that they were still brothers, if the past and long history still mattered to Thor as [deep down] it did for Loki as well…then…

Loki let his eyes close as he pressed his head in the middle of Thor’s.  He pressed a closed hand into the side of Thor’s cheek.  “This isn’t easy for me.”  Loki confessed, mental voice a quiet brush in Thor’s mind.

“That’s okay, brother.”  Thor murmured.

Thor didn’t ask Loki to elaborate, he didn’t offer lengthy platitudes, and somehow Loki preferred that.  The simple acceptance without argument or judgment was comforting.  Finished off with their endearment, the verbal acknowledgment of their bond.  Who they would always be to each other when all else burned around them.

“You really have gotten soft.”

“I don’t want to be the kind of father ours was.”  Thor said to Loki’s surprise.  “Between everything I lost…and then navigating being…someone’s father…I see things differently.  I have come to realize, with you especially, that sometimes things need to be said to be clear.”

“...Did you just tell me after a thousand years you have learned the value of communication, brother?”

“Who was it that said ‘communication isn’t our family’s forte’?”  Thor countered.  “You spoke more than I but you said just as little.”

“That was a clever little comment.  Where did you steal that from?”

The brothers pulled away as Thor lifted a brow and Loki looked up at his brother with a challenging tilt to his head.  Loki was still tucked into the blanket, cradled in Thor’s arms.  “Even your insults feel refreshing.”

“Shall I insult you more?  I have a number of years to make up for it seems.”   Loki offered wryly.  The light banter was more comfortable to fall back on…even though the feeling of Thor ‘embracing’ him had afforded him more sense of safety and belonging that Loki had in ages.

Thor snorted as he tapped the side of Loki’s face as a ‘chide’.  Loki bared his fangs again and Thor helped himself to pressing a thumb between his lips to hold them open as he examined Loki’s fangs.

Loki jerked back with an affronted squeak that seemed to embarrass him.  “Thor!”

“I was admiring your little dragon fangs-ah, not this time.”  he caught Loki’s snout lightly as Loki made as if to nip him again.  “I hope you don’t mean to make a habit of trying to bite me.”

Loki wrapped his tail around Thor’s wrist and Thor felt a light tug as Loki tried to move his hand away.

Thor pressed his lips together in a sympathetic look.  “That isn’t going to work, brother.”  he released Loki’s snout though and his brother bristled as he squirmed roughly from the blanket nest.

“Insufferable as ever.”  Loki complained.

Thor didn’t seem the least bit repentant and Loki made an involuntary, rumbling little growl in the back of his throat that caused Thor to grin.

Loki noticed and glared before he sighed.  “This form is obnoxious.”

“I like it.”  Thor said decidedly and Loki made a scornful noise.

“You be the dragon then.”

“I seem to recall asking you to shift me into one centuries ago and you declined.”

Loki paused and then made a derisive grumble.  “And you call me ‘petty’.”

“Absolutely.”  Thor considered it and then brushed a knuckle against Loki’s side.  He wasn’t entirely sure why he found the gestures so comforting, if it was purely the relief of being able to confirm physically that Loki was present.  That Loki was allowing and perhaps also being relieved by them.  Some latent desire to pet a dragon?  Thor knew if nothing else he was worried about letting Loki from his sight, he felt lightened by Loki’s presence.  “Should we go back to the others?"

Loki was puzzled by that.  “I assumed you had more questions…and I didn’t answer…all that you had asked.”

“I do…and you didn’t.  But if it’s hard for you to speak of, I will not press the matter now.”  he rested the pad of his thumb against the side of Loki’s face as he curled his fingers lightly around Loki’s neck.  When Loki seemed to lean into the gesture instead of pull away, Thor’s heart swelled a bit.  “It’s enough that you’re here, Loki.”

The way that Thor said it, as though Loki’s presence were a boon to Thor…Loki felt a flutter in his chest and rush of fondness for his oaf of a brother.  But it unnerved him too.  Where did the sincerity stem from and how long would it last?  What did Thor hope for from Loki?  “…Perhaps…not of Thanos and the Tesseract…”  Even that felt almost like an admission, a show of weakness that he found the topics difficult to speak of.  Or almost worse, that Thor might take it as Loki hiding something from him already and create mistrust between them.  But Thor had only patience in his expression.  Just what had happened to Thor in Loki’s absence?  “If you have other questions…”

“...You’ve been…trapped since you awoke as a dragon?  You never saw another?”

“No…boxes and cages, dank rooms and unpleasant beings.  I recall nothing before waking up inside of a box.”  At Thor’s expression which looked to Loki’s eyes to be somewhere between guilty and miserable he poked his brother’s chest with his tail.  “You thought I was dead, Thor.  With good reason.  In fact, I did die.  You had no reason to look for me.”

“I’ve thought you dead before.”  Thor noted.

“I suppose that’s why there’s a question mark by my name?”

Thor took a second to realize the context for the question and then a rare hint of a flush darkened Thor’s cheeks as he realized Loki had seen the tattoo tribute.  He cleared his throat.  “I-…I hoped…”

“Hm.  Well, thank you for hoping, I suppose.  Even if thinking I had faked my death infuriated you.”

Thor grimaced at the reminder of his poor reaction.  He didn’t think it was entirely out of line had Loki actually faked his death.  But it was unfortunate that his first action on learning the dragon was Loki was to hurt him…it was the last thing Thor wanted.  His brother had been through too much already… The thought that Loki had been out there all that time…it chafed his insides.

“I still can’t believe you did that.”

“What?  Got the tattoos?”

“No.  Well, yes.  But more that you got such terrible ones.  Honestly, it looks like a child did the inking.”

Thor frowned.  “They’re not that bad.”

“You’re right, brother.  They’re worse.”  Loki said plainly and Thor seemed put out by it.  “Still, of everyone you might have paid tribute to, it is interesting you chose me.”

Thor suspected there was a question of some kind in the words but he wasn’t sure exactly what Loki was looking for.  “I only have one brother.”

“And one mother, one father-”  Loki pressed.

Thor shrugged.  “Parents aren’t brothers.  What would you have me say?  It was supposed to be us, side-by-side forever.”

--

“Loki, I thought the world of you.  I thought we were gonna fight side-by-side forever.”

--

He should read into Thor’s word change too heavily.  But all the same, Thor had gone from ‘I thought’ to ‘was supposed to be’.  Thor believed that even still?  They were no longer on Asgard, one destined to be king and one destined to be advisor.  Was Thor referring to the future that would never be, or a future that still could?  “And now I’m a dragon and you’re a father.”

Thor’s brow furrowed since the way that Loki phrased it made it seem as though Loki believed those facts disrupted the possibility of them staying together.  “Now my brother is back and he’s an uncle.”  he corrected.  “And welcome to stay.”  Perhaps that too ‘needed to be said’.

From beast in a cage to a missed brother and uncle ‘welcome to stay’.

“Let’s see if you still say that if I grow to be a full sized dragon before we find a means of restoring my form.”  When Thor grinned immediately at the prospect, Loki groaned.  “The universe is truly set against me.  Of all the creatures, it’s the one you’ve always favored.”

“Could have been worse.  And more ironic.  You could have been a snake and not able to stab me.”

“What a comfort.”  Loki said dryly.

Thor’s grin broadened before he said.  “You must have questions too.”

“A good many.  Not all of which you could answer.  But I would like to understand what’s happened in my absence.”   Loki was surprised when Thor’s expression twisted, a guilty, troubled look that passed into resignation.

“You won’t like it.”  Thor said, which made Loki uneasy.  Any story to Loki prefaced by Thor with ‘you won’t like it’ had never been a good sign.

Loki sighed to himself as he settled his lower half back into the blanket.  When Thor saw his intent, he assisted Loki as he tugged it to Loki’s middle.  “Very well.  Let’s hear it.”

Thor saw the images in his mind’s eye.  He could remember the acrid scent in the air, the coppery taste of blood in his mouth, the agony of seeing his brother’s distended form.  “He left me alone on the ship.  I went to you…”  he closed his eyes as his expression scrunched tightly before he seemed to collect himself but stared at the cot instead of Loki as he replayed the moment in his mind.  “I…held you.  I thought we would go to Valhalla together.”

The words brought Loki back to the moment as well.  The pain as he dangled in Thanos’ grasp, the sound of his own neck breaking, the realization that he was dying.  Loki had been nearly senseless as lay on the floor but he’d thought with the last little bit of awareness that he had that he’d felt a presence.  He thought it had been a hallucination, wishful thinking as his brain ceased to function but…Thor had held Loki in the end.  The knowledge felt strangely like a responsibility, a weight in knowing that Thor had taken Loki in his arms and expected to die with him.  Thor had spoken of mourning and grieving his first two deaths…what had the third done to his brother?  Loki stared at his brother as he tucked a bit of Thor’s shirt in his hand.  The action drew Thor’s gaze to him and there was…something in Thor’s eyes.  A haunted look that Loki had seen in the mirror, one he never thought to see in his golden brother’s eyes.

“And now here we are.”  Thor murmured as he absently trailed his fingertip along the visible length of Loki’s tail.  Loki allowed it as he leaned into Thor’s chest.  His brother had always appreciated physical gestures, whereas Loki preferred words.  If Thor could make an effort to be communicative, Loki supposed he could take advantage of his current ridiculous form to make a similar effort in Thor’s favor.  “The ship exploded.  When I woke up I had been taken in by the Guardians.  Rocket and Groot went with me to Nidavellir where I forged Stormbreaker.  Thanos had destroyed the forge, so I held the star forge open for Eitri to do his work.”

“You did what ?”

“...I held it open.”  Thor repeated as he realized too late what he’d admitted.

Loki blinked as he tried to wrap his mind around what his absolute fool of a brother had claimed.  “Held it open how?”

“Doesn’t really matter, anyway-”

“How, Thor?”   Loki growled.

Thor was reluctant but then muttered.  “I stood in the center of the forge and held the gates open by hand.”

“You let the force of a star blast you long enough to forge an axe?”

“...Yes?”

“How can you  possibly  be that witless, Thor?  How did you even survive?”

“It wasn’t…as bad as you imagine.  And once I got the axe I revived.”

“I beg your pardon?”

A ‘polite’ Loki meant a pissed Loki in this case and Thor amended.  “Restored.  Healed.  I mean.”

“How do you think my niece will feel about having a frog for a father?”  Loki mused.

Thor was gladdened to hear ‘my niece’ despite the context.  “After Nidavellir I went straight to Midgard, a place called Wakanda.”  he said as he changed the subject.  “Many fought against Thanos’ army.  I found Thanos-”

“-Straight to Midgard?”

“Stormbreaker can summon the Bifrost.”

“Of course it can.  My brother survives the blunt force of stars and summons the Bifrost with an axe.  Why am I even surprised?”

“Underestimating me?”

”Shut up, Thor.”

“I thought you wanted to hear-”

“-Remember that I may some day be a very large dragon.”  Loki warned.

Thor decided to shelve his snark as he continued.  “I buried the axe in his chest.”

Snippets of conversations came back to Loki and he suddenly suspected where the story was headed.

“He had the Gauntlet.  He said ‘you should have gone for the head’ and Snapped.”

There it was then, the failure Thor perceived though Strange and Rocket disagreed.  “And you blame yourself for that.”

“If I had gone for the head, I could have prevented it all.”

“I can’t believe you’re making me agree with that wretched magician but he was right.  Blaming yourself for that is absurd.”

“If I had-"

“Yes, you might  have been able to take his head off before he could Snap.  And any number of other things might have happened, as the mortal sorcerer explained.  That was how many years ago now?  And you still carry guilt for this?  I take back that you have gone soft, I see now you have simply grown weak .”  

Thor’s eyes narrowed.  “Don’t call me that.”  he growled.

“Or what?  Will you hurt me again and then bemoan it later?”  he saw Thor’s anger falter as Loki mentioned hurting him and Loki made an irritated noise.  “Is this what Father taught you?  To carry your decisions and actions like weights about your neck?  Since when were you so…lacking in conviction?”  Loki demanded even as he recalled Coulson telling Loki he lacked conviction.

“Conviction.”  Thor repeated with a harsh chuckle.  “Conviction.  I lost everything, Loki.  Everyone.  It fell to me to get vengeance from Thanos and stop him.  But he won, because I missed.  We found him after and I took his head.  But he was smug, he already had what he wanted, he’d destroyed the stones so we couldn’t undo it.  I went back to New Asgard alone with the Universe halved.  New Asgard had little better than a quarter of our people left from the survivors of the Statesmen after the Snap.  New Asgard was…a run down little village.  Our people had been gods and then they were…living half-lives.”

The words gave Loki pause as he considered how it must have been for Thor.  Thanos had personally taken from Thor, it fell to Thor to take vengeance and he hadn’t succeeded initially.  That would have been hard to swallow on its own without the Snap.  “You were king, what did you do?”

One of Thor’s hands came up to his face as he rubbed it while cradling Loki on one arm.  “Nothing.”  he said quietly.  “Nothing.  I hid in a hovel and drank past excess while my body came to rival Volstagg’s.  For five years.”

Anger ran through Loki, hot and all-consuming as he thought of his own sacrifice to ensure his brother, Thor, the king lived.  “You speak of guilt when you spent five years in indulgence instead of helping our people?”   Loki snarled.  “Thanos was excusable but abandoning your duties was a choice.”

“I am aware.”  Thor thundered and Loki tensed.  “I failed our people.  You.  Heimdall.  Half the universe.  Myself.  I failed.”  

Loki felt a sense of betrayal.  He hadn’t wanted to die, and whether or not he was to blame for Thanos and the events on the Statesmen…he had given himself for a chance that Thor would live.  Thor, his brother, who would be able to pull what remained of Asgard together and perhaps find a way to stop the Mad Titan.  The thought of Thor sitting in some ramshackle abode drinking himself into a lethargic stupor was near rage-inducing.  He could understand that Thor felt hollowed out, Loki knew well what loss and bone-deep weariness felt like.  But Thor was supposed to be better.

But then, Loki should have been better too.

“Banner and Rocket came to New Asgard.”  Thor continued more gruffly as he frowned down at the cot again.  “They had an idea.  We, the Avengers, used the Quantum Realm to travel time and recollect the stones to undo what was done.”

Loki was taken aback by the news.  “That…is unexpected.”

“Our first attempt to claim the Tesseract resulted in the Loki of that timeline stealing it, right before that Thor was to have taken him back to Asgard.”

Loki supposed the time traveling interference had given that Loki a chance to do so.

“The Soul Stone was on a planet called Vormir.  It required a cost.  A soul, a thing most loved.  Natasha and Barton went.  Only Barton returned.”

Ah, so that was how the woman had died.  She had managed, ever so slightly, to trick Loki into speaking more than he’d intended and he could appreciate that.

“We brought the stones back and Banner, more or less as Hulk, Snapped.  The people who were taken were returned.”

“Impressive.”  Loki noted.

Thor paused before he continued.  “The Thanos of another timeline came and razed Avengers Tower.  We fought.  Stark Snapped and ended Thanos and his armies.”

And that was how that one had died then.  Loki could see now the chains of events that Thor had taken to feeling guilty over.  The idea of another Thanos crossing into the timeline was deeply unsettling but unlikely to happen again.

“After that, I passed kingship to Valkyrie and traveled with the Guardians.  And you heard already how I came to have Love.”

“Why give up kingship?”  Loki asked.

“Valkyrie was better suited.  And I have never truly wanted the throne.”

Loki scoffed at that.  “You wanted it all of our lives!”

“I was raised to rule.  And I was glad to have my brother by my side for that.  But no, being chained to the throne of Asgard for all my days wasn’t…what I wanted.”  he admitted.

Loki thought back to his brother declining the throne after Svartalfheim, the business-like way he’d accepted the ‘throne’ on the Statesmen.  And he had given up New Asgard, such as it was, on his own volition.  He didn’t think Thor was unsuitable to the throne any longer, not as Thor seemed to believe.  But Loki supposed if Thor didn’t want it and Asgard wasn’t the Asgard they’d known…perhaps that wasn’t a bad thing.  Where did that leave them though?  What life did Thor lead and what place did he see for Loki in that?

“And now you know.”  Thor said as his gaze slid back to Loki’s.

His brother had a look about him as though he expected to be scolded and Loki was somewhat tempted.  But Thor seemed to have castigated himself plenty without Loki doing so as well.  Loki also, as he calmed, could empathize more with Thor’s situation.  There was also the knowledge that Thor had spent what he believed to be his last living moments holding Loki’s body.  Morbidly touching, perhaps, if not regrettable in a variety of ways.  “And now I know.”  he agreed.  “Where do you usually reside?”  He noted Thor seemed surprised by the forward flow of the conversation.

“Love and I travel in a ship.  We go where we’re needed.  She wields Stormbreaker.”

“She’s that powerful?”

Thor smiled faintly.  “Yes.  Mother always said our children would repay the favor of being a handful.  She was right.”

The mention of their mother caused a pang in Loki.  “A dragon can only fit on a ship for so long.”

Thor again saw the question beneath the statement.  “If we haven’t found a way to give you your form by then, we’ll figure something out.  Park the ship somewhere and travel by Bifrost as needed.”

“A dragon traveling the Bifrost.”  Loki sighed.

“Pretty awesome.”  Thor ‘agreed’ lightly and Loki gave his brother a dry look, in so much as a dragon could.  “If you’ve…been caged all this time, have you never flown?”

“No, but it can’t be much different to flying as a bird.”  Loki saw a sparkle of interest in Thor’s eyes and growled.  “You had better not be imagining I’ll fly you around, Thor.”

“Not even once?”

“Absolutely not.”  Loki said in a steely tone.

“Fine.  Not like it would be a lifelong dream come true.”  Thor grumbled.

“If you wish someone to pander to your dreams, find a faerie.”  Loki snarked and Thor flicked Loki’s stomach.  The younger brother in turn gave Thor’s finger a light jab with the tip of his claw.  “If you have nothing relevant to add, we can return to your friends.”

Thor couldn’t tell if Loki was still angry but he wasn’t willing to press the matter to find out.  He slipped the blanket from Loki as he let his brother perch back on his shoulder.  “They could be your friends too.”

“Doubtful.”

“Why?”

“I am not going to dignify that with a response.”  Loki said archly as they headed along the ship.

Thor refrained from pointing out that too was a response.  There was time for Loki and the Guardians to warm up to each other.  As they joined the others, Rocket had just mentioned Bucky having the ‘right credentials’.

“What does that actually mean?”  Quill asked.  “What kind of assassin were you?”

Bucky licked his lip with a frown.  “You brought me on and you don’t know?”

“Thor said he ‘knew a guy’.”  Mantis explained as all eyes went Thor’s direction.

“Steve told me a little.”  Thor said and Quill looked baffled.

“A little?  You sent us to Earth for a little?”

“I was also asked to go to the funeral on New Asgard’s behalf.”  Thor pointed out.

“Over two dozen kills in something like a fifty year time period.  That about right?”  Rocket asked.

“Wait, fifty years?”  Quill asked before Bucky could answer.  “How old are you?”

“Somewhere over ninety.”  Bucky said.  “I was born in nineteen-seventeen.  Steve was nineteen-twenty.”

Quill’s jaw dropped while Loki observed Bucky with interest.  Another man of time, then?

“But Captain America got all…”  Quill waved a hand over his face.  “Old, right?  How come you’re…not?”

Bucky seemed reluctant to answer but then said bluntly.  “Cryogenic freezing.  They kept me under when they weren’t usin’ me.”

“Who?”   Loki asked and everyone seemed surprised as Loki’s voice resounded in their minds.

“Talking dragon.”  Quill murmured like he still couldn’t believe it.

“Hydra.  Russian branch.”

“Hydra?”  Quill asked and Rocket rolled his eyes.

“You come from Earth.  How do you not know shit?”

“I don’t want to hear that from someone who can’t name Queen’s greatest hits.”  Quill sniped.

Rocket rubbed a hand over his face.  “It’s like working with children.”  he muttered and Quill narrowed his eyes.

“Says the one who looks like a child.”

“One, no I don’t know.  Two, I’d rather look like a kid than act like one.”  Rocket quipped.

Drax chuckled while Nebula smirked and Quill’s expression went faintly sullen.  “Traitors.  Ship full of traitors.”  he grumbled.

“Hydra started off as Nazi deep science-”

“-You worked for the Nazis?”  Quill exclaimed.

Bucky’s expression grew downright icy and Rocket shot Quill a dirty look.  “Did you miss the whole ‘mind control’ thing ya moron?”

“I am Groot.”

“Hey!  Watch your tone.”  Quill chastised as he wagged his finger and Groot grumbled a mocking reply.

“Good one, Groot.”  Thor said with a wink and Groot seemed smug.

“...Did you just speak to that tree?”   Loki asked, he had thought so before but hadn’t been able to question it.

“Yes, I took Groot on Asgard.  It was an elective.”

Loki stared at his brother.  “I am glad you picked the most useless possible class to pay attention to.”

“I am Groot!”  Groot exclaimed.

“He didn’t mean it, Groot.”  Thor soothed.  “My brother makes a full time job of being prickly.”

“Excuse me?”

Groot snickered and Loki pinched into Thor’s neck with two claws.  Thor started to instinctively bat at Loki but refrained as he didn’t want to knock his brother off.  He caught Loki’s small wrist instead and closed it in his fist.  “You can have this back when you feel like being a good dragon again.”

Loki tilted his head as he gave his brother a murderous look.  “I will generously give you time to release my hand before I see if dragons can bite fingers off, brother.”

Thor lifted a brow as if to say ‘challenge accepted’, but he released Loki’s wrist while Quill clapped his hands together with a look of delight and a grin.

“Oh, I like that one.”

“So teaching a dragon to eat people is bad but fingers are fine?”  Rocket scoffed.  “Double standards.”

“Listen, you.”  Quill started.

Bucky watched the exchange with a faint shake of his head as he wondered what he’d gotten himself into.  “How much longer till we reach Fortuna?  And do you have a mission file?"

“Mission file.”  Mantis repeated cheerfully.  “He sounds fancy.”

Bucky’s brow furrowed slightly at that but he kept his focus on Rocket.

“Day and a half?  Yeah, I got the info here.”  Rocket said as he started tapping up information the others had already received about the case.

“So.”  Quill said as his attention was drawn to Loki with a friendly if sly expression.  “You gotta have some embarrassing stories about Thor, right?”

“No.”  Thor said brusquely at the same time as Loki said serenely.

“Of course.  There was this one time-”

Thor’s attempts to silence his brother led to a nipped finger and Loki sitting on the table with Quill and a cajoled Mantis as ‘guards’ while Loki took the rare opportunity to poke fun at Thor to his friends.

The elder Odinson feigned grumpiness, and he was a little irked to be honest, but mostly he was relieved.  Because Loki was here and he was…in decent spirits all considered.  They would find a way to fix his form, finish the mission, and then…  Thor hoped his brother would stay.  He wasn’t sure how much he had disappointed Loki with the revelations of what happened with their time apart but Loki wasn’t cold-shouldering him and hadn’t ultimately berated him.  Thor wondered about Loki’s reticence to speak of Thanos and the Tesseract and if Loki’s fearful reaction was entirely from the last encounter.  Well, there was time to find that out too.  Thor would be patient, he wasn’t going to mess things up with his brother, he wasn’t going to squander the chance to have Loki back.

Chapter Text

The inside of the ‘club’ wasn’t what Thor had expected but the scene wasn’t anything too unusual given his centuries of life.  Bucky, on the other hand, wondered what circle of crazy he had fallen into and how he’d let himself get talked into this crap.

The first floor looked like a high priced lounge with what would be termed ‘modern’ furniture on Earth all in varying shades of gray.  The color came from fixtures like what appeared to be floor-to-ceiling lava lamps [some with writhing beings inside of them] or elaborately costumed…servers?  Definitely not Bucky’s style.  He’d gone to fight as soon as he came of age and while he’d tossed back more than his fair share of drinks when he could get his hands on them [they all did back then], he’d never had much of a chance to just hit a bar-let alone a club.  Bucky had the freedom now but not the desire.  He still felt aimless, Steve and T’Challa had both kept him grounded but now…

The outfit was more…confidence-inducing than it had any right to be.  Bucky thought he would be disgusted and some part of him was.  But some part of him had put the old outfit on and felt a sense of familiarity, like coming back to a place that used to be nostalgic.  The black vest, the glove, the goggles, the face-mask…he’d even done the smeared kohl under his eyes.  Bucky’s hair was a little shorter but it was close enough.  The Winter Soldier was back in play, or at least pretending to be.  There was a certain freedom [disgusting a word as that was to use for it] in slipping back into the role.  He despised it, and he hated himself for what he’d done as the Soldier, but having clear orders and being able to just follow them…sometimes it made sense when nothing else did.

Like being on a damned spaceship full of a whacka-doodle aliens with a pair of Norse Gods, one of whom was a dragon.  Because Bucky’s life hadn’t been weird enough when he was dealing with regular ole super soldiers and the Red Skull.

--

Four Hours Earlier

“We need someone to play the Soldier’s patron.”  Rocket announced when they were within hours of reaching Fortuna.

“Patron?”  Mantis asked.

“The assassins aren’t permitted in unaccompanied?”  Loki queried.

Rocket answered both questions in one go.  “If you wanna get past the ground floor you gotta go VIP.  An assassin can get in alone but they ain’t getting further without someone holding the ‘leash’.”

“So, what?  One of us has to pretend some rich, pretentious murder-boss?”  Quill asked.

“More or less.  And we gotta figure out a cover that’s not gonna get blown easy.”

Quill fluffed his collar and stood a little straighter.  “Clearly if we need someone to play the rich, handsome boss…it should be me.”

“Murder boss.”  Nebula reminded him dryly.

“Details.”  Quill waved a dismissive hand.

Thor considered the situation and what Rocket had said before about Asgard doing business with Tanton Zelrik.  He still didn’t see what Asgard would be doing with a smuggler, his father would never have dealt with some child-trafficking cretin.  But if they needed a powerful patron for an Earth assassin…  “We don’t need a false cover.  I’ll do it.”

Quill scoffed as Loki eyed his brother speculatively.

“No offense, Thor.  But you’re not a king no more.”  Rocket pointed out.

Thor shrugged.  “I am still the son of Odin Allfather, bearer of Mjolnir, slayer of the Mad Titan-”

Quill cleared his throat.  “-Uh, we all helped with that.”

“-And I could…pretend discord with Valkyrie if he knows of New Asgard.  Call her a usurper, that sort of thing.”

“The elite do love drama.”  Loki mused.  “A spoiled king-ling whining about his stolen throne would fit right in.”

Quill snorted and seemed amused by the title as he mouthed ‘spoiled king-ling’.

Rocket scratched his chin thoughtfully.  “King’s a nice cover.  And ya already got ties with Earth so it makes sense, you sponsorin’ the Winter Soldier.”

“Bucky.”  The man in question corrected.

“Yeah, sure.  Whatever.”  Rocket seemed distracted as he started typing into the ship computer before he glanced at Thor.  “Think you can pull-off arrogant royalty?”

Loki gave the dragon equivalent of a snort.  “The term ‘royal arrogance’ was invented for my brother.”

Thor huffed and flicked at his brother’s stomach.  “You wouldn’t even address the servants by their names.”

“Was I expected to remember them all?  Besides, you only bothered if you were sleeping with them.”

The assertion made Thor scowl and he seemed genuinely irked by the assessment.  “What?”  he exclaimed.

“Don’t play coy, Thor.  It doesn’t suit you."

“Is that what you think I did?  Just…slept with servants and…”

“Boasted about your grand triumphs?”  Loki drawled.  “Did I miss anything?”  He hadn’t expected Thor to be flattered but he was surprised at the way Thor’s jaw tightened as his brother looked away without a reply.  Loki hadn’t seen his brother in six years, and they’d spent the decade before that under less than favorable terms…and the last couple of centuries before that with Thor being an absolute oaf more than all his previous centuries combined…but he still liked to think he knew his brother’s mannerisms well enough to recognize that he seemed to have…hurt Thor’s feelings.

Loki was a little baffled at the prospect and his brother’s muted reply.  But any chance for reply was lost as the conversation continued.  Loki could feel his brother had gone stiff beneath him though as Loki remained perched on his shoulder, tense as though he’d like to buck Loki off but refrained.  Great.  Loki thought to himself.  Now the oaf is sulking.

Only when the silence lasted more than a few seconds and he found all pairs of eyes on the ship directed towards him did he realize he’d broadcasted that particular thought.  “Ah…”  Loki said awkwardly and made an aborted yelp when Thor abruptly snatched Loki from his shoulder and sat him on a table.  “Thor-”  He didn’t know how to render their conversation private and he didn’t feel like trying to soothe his brother in front of a bunch of strangers as a juvenile dragon on a table.  Thor didn’t exactly look amenable to being soothed either and embarrassment welled in the trickster.

“This is awkward.”  Mantis whispered to Drax, but not quite whispered enough to avoid being heard.  Even Quill clicked his tongue and seemed a little put-off while Thor pointedly turned away from Loki and addressed Rocket.

“I need a few supplies.”

--

Half the group thought arrogant royalty meant Thor should bedeck himself in riches but Thor knew how to play the game.  Besides, he was a son of Asgard, he wasn’t going to drape himself in jewels like some courtly maiden.  A quick stop to a merchant planet saw Thor appropriately outfitted.  He wore a fine red tunic with silver hemming, had his hair braided in a half-puled back style, light armor for a warrior’s touch, and a pair of leather wrist guards with Mjolnir’s symbol engraved into them.  Thor had gotten Stormbreaker while on Midgard in case Bifrost travel was needed and he supposed Love’s designs on Mjolnir probably wouldn’t have gone over well anyway.

He examined his reflection as best he could in the ship window.  Thor didn’t fuss much over his appearance these days as he’d once been inclined to.  Oh, sure, he liked to look his best every now and again and he kept himself in top physical form…but Thor didn’t bother with the accoutrements of royalty.  He wasn’t really a royal any more, per se.  There were still a number of beings that would hear Thor Odinson and show reverence but…it had been a long time since Thor really thought of himself as prince or king, or even Odinson as a title.

Asgard was gone, he and Loki were what remained of the House of Odin.  A memory of another era, really.

“It suits you.”

Thor’s lips pressed together in a tight line as he pretended to be engaged with checking his wrist guards.  The thin veneer of privacy that the half-wall between the little ship alcove and the main deck meant that they weren’t far off from the others but they could potentially speak privately.  He tilted enough to pay his brother a side-eye glance and found Loki tucked against the doorway.  Loki looked even smaller on the ground and he’d already gathered Loki hated being there.  “…You said that about my eye-patch.”  Thor muttered.

“I know.”

Silence fell between them and Loki sighed mentally as he made himself step [it felt like crawling] towards his brother.  He hated to be on the ground, it was filthy and animalistic, and he felt even more small and pathetic with his brother looking above him like a giant.  “I wasn’t trying to hurt your feelings, Thor.”

Thor gave an indignant sort of sniff and made quite a show of fiddling with the same wrist guard.  “You didn’t.  I’m above such things.”  he said primly.

Loki rolled his eyes as best a dragon could and ventured forward until he sat right before his brother and having to crane his neck to look up at Thor made his heart sink.  Gods, he was truly pathetic this way.  Thor’s eyes jerked down to him abruptly with a furrowed brow and stunned sort of expression.  Loki realized to his mortification his little self-deprecating, barely formed thought had made it to his brother.  “Burn this necklace.  Burn it now.”

Thor had been miffed with his brother, struck by the fact that even now his little brother had such an apparently low opinion of him.  And then he caught…something like a thought, Loki thinking of himself as pathetic and he’d almost swear he caught something else with it…a feeling.  A miserable, lonesome…helpless?…sort of feeling.  He felt uncomfortably itchy inside after though the sensation passed quickly.  Thor knew he’d not imagined it entirely though because Loki looked as horrified as a little dragon could look and something in the eyes clued Thor in.  Well, that and Loki’s follow up about burning his only means of communication.

A small part of Thor still bristled in the petty sort of way that only an older brother could against Loki’s perceived [false] criticisms.  Against the thought that Loki still spoke of such trivial past matters and measured them against Thor’s character.  Some part of him probably recognized Loki didn’t exactly come by those assessments unfairly.  Another, the part drilled into him by his father and Asgard, rallied against giving ground or apologies, or admitting a fault…or being open.

But all of that encompassed things that Thor had been working on for years.  With his mortal friends, with Jane, with Love, with what remained of Asgard’s people.  He wasn’t the same ‘greedy boy’ his father once named him as.  Only a few short decades ago Thor might have met Loki’s little jabs in front of his friends with fury, shouting, and a mean-spirited sparring match designed to let him humiliate Loki by knocking him down easily.  He would have thought Loki being snide and arrogant, demeaning and jealous of Thor.

But Thor wasn’t that fool and Loki wasn’t that brother, had never exactly been that in the way that Thor hadn’t been exactly what Loki believed Thor to be either.  They both were misguided towards each other.  Now, Loki was alive and needed Thor more than ever.  Loki had been so insecure about their brotherhood that he’d actually entertained the thought that Thor might take the ‘chance’ to cut Loki off, to deny they were family.

That couldn’t be let to stand.

Loki shifted anxiously in place on the ground as Thor said nothing and simply stared down at him with an expression Loki couldn’t read.  “Brother…?”  He tried and he hated himself for it but he pressed one of his clawed hands to Thor’s ankle, desperate for the reassurance and for the weighty silence to end.  Amongst other things, Thor was his lifeline now and if he alienated his brother…  He startled when Thor crouched suddenly and Loki stumbled back.  A warm, heavy hand braced his side and then Thor brushed a thumb over Loki’s scaly head gently.

“You’re not pathetic, brother.”  Thor said in an almost somber tone that quickly turned teasingly thoughtful.  “I think I prefer you this way.  You’re admittedly adorable.  And less prone to stabbing.”

Loki let out an involuntary, indignant sort of chirp that embarrassed him immensely especially as Thor grinned.  But he recognized Thor’s attempt to let them move on while also addressing Loki’s words.  “I can still bite, you fool.  And I assure you, my claws are sharp.”

“These ones?”  Thor asked with more fake-thoughtfulness as he picked up one of Loki’s hands between his thumb and pointer finger as he waved Loki’s hand.

“Hey!”  Loki yanked back and lost his balance which resulted in what should have been a fall onto his back but due to his tail he flopped ungracefully onto his side.  Thor burst into throaty laughter, the kind Loki hadn’t heard in a long time, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d…sort of missed his brother’s rumbling expression of joy until it washed warmly over him.  He couldn’t even really be cross at Thor’s teasing.  He was too relieved anyway, too glad of it, and he wanted to smack himself for it and he made damn sure none of those thoughts carried over.  Loki wondered if the wretched mortal sorcerer had designed the necklace thus with the intention of messing with the trickster.

Thor righted his brother as his laughter subsided and he grinned at Loki’s dragon-ish glower.  He wasn’t sure if Loki-the-baby-dragon was truly as expressive as he seemed to Thor or it was just that he knew his little brother so well.

Loki feigned irritation and ruffled himself as he was back on his feet-arms-limbs and whacked Thor’s hand with his tail for good measure.  Which [to his genuine annoyance] seemed to thoroughly delight Thor and cause him to give Loki the you’re-such-an-adorable-baby-dragon look.

“We’re here!”  Mantis chimed as she peeked her head around the short dividing wall and then clucked her tongue appreciatively.  “You look nice!”  she exclaimed.  “Like a real king!”

“Technically, I am a real king.  Sort of.”  Thor may have been the last king of the original Asgard, although that was also up for debate on technicalities.  One of the children of Odin, anyway.

Loki himself had experienced an odd mixture of feelings on seeing his brother in clothes reminiscent of the days of before, days that would never return.  He would never again walk the palace of Asgard, or stroll the rainbow bridge.  There would be no Heimdall keeping sentry in the gate room, Mother sat contentedly at her loom, Father buried in papers, or Thor slamming a cup down with a cry of ‘another!’.  No more long hours spent curled up in the library or some alcove too high for Thor to reach [to the latter’s complaint].  Thor was the only family he had left and arguably only because Thor willed it so.  The power was on Thor’s end, the Odinson name was his by birth and blood.  Loki was…expendable.  Ever the accessory to his golden, gleaming brother.

Loki violently crammed that thought down along with the little, unsightly pang of jealousy that came at seeing Thor looking splendid.  Rife with the freedom to be among people and dressing up easily while Loki crawled on the floor in a dragon’s form.

Loki was more than tired of being bitter towards his brother, he knew it was petty and it wasn’t what he wanted.  He had missed Thor, bone-deep and truly, and it was like finding water in a desert to be reunited and have Thor still want him in return.  Thor had cried for Loki, after all.  How many in the universe could stir the thunderer so?

Some part of him felt a flicker of pride to see Thor looking so…mature.  Unnerved too, because somehow Thor managed to be an eternal boy in his mind and to see him as a man [a father] with more loss and wisdom than Loki could reconcile his brother having…it was strange.

Loki still remembered the chubby-cheeked, gap-toothed and grinning boy who challenged him to impromptu races, let Loki climb into his bed when he had nightmares, and nearly choked himself trying to see how many pumpkin pastries he could shove into his big, oaf mouth.

And of course, he still remembered the Thor he’d learned to despise, the one that made Loki choke on bile and bitterness and resentment until-

That wasn’t fair and Loki knew that now.  Thor wasn’t all the monster that Loki made him out to be, no matter his flaws, and Loki knew [was willing to admit with hindsight] he wasn’t entirely blameless himself.

But that was the past.  There was no more throne to fight over, sycophants in the way, no more titles to fight for or parental approval and affection to compete for.  The brothers were all they had left-

-Or more accurately, Thor was all that Loki had left but Thor had plenty nowadays, didn’t he?  And if he decided Loki was too much effort…too much trouble…if the novelty wore off…

Thor’s hands, once a source of too-hard claps to his shoulder and strikes to Loki in the sparring ring, were obnoxiously comforting as Thor stroked Loki’s head and grinned down at him fondly.

Loki didn’t dare let thoughts about that form, careful not to overshare again and give the oaf a swollen head over the welling of affection at his core.

“Be right there.”  Thor assured Mantis before he glanced back down at Loki.  “You want me to bring you somewhere before I go?”

The opportunity to clarify his earlier words lost, Loki instead focused on the present issue.  The implication that Thor seemed to think he would be leaving Loki behind again.  “Pardon?”

“Before I go.”  Thor repeated.  “Do you want-”

“I’m going with you."

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes.  I am."

“Not.”  Thor repeated and Loki bristled, Thor rose as he brushed himself off and Loki stubbornly gripped at Thor’s pant leg with a tight, curled claw.

“We can speak now!  You are not leaving me behind again like…like luggage!”  Loki snapped.  “And I may be of use, you weren’t even aware that we did business with Zelrik’s company-”

“-Doesn’t matter.”  Thor said, so dismissively that it might well have been only a few decades ago with a boastful Thor brushing Loki off.

The hated tone caused a welling of anger in Loki who impulsively dug his claws into Thor’s skin through the pant leg.

Thor reacted with a half-kick on instinct that he caught himself on just in time to only knock Loki off but not actually throw him aside.  He made a noise of irritation [at himself and at Loki].  “Why would you do that?”  he growled once he was satisfied that he hadn’t hurt his brother.

“I’m not useless, you oaf!”  Loki snarled, heedless of the inadvertent connection the sometimes-endearment made to the words he’d spoken earlier.  “You need me-”

“-I’ve been managing just fine without you, Loki.”  Thor snapped over him.  “I think I can manage a few more hours.”

Loki recoiled as though Thor had struck him and he didn’t realize the sad way his tail curled loosely around his limbs.  Thor seemed to realize how his words could be taken-how Loki had taken them-and sighed in frustration.  “Well, don’t let me hold you up then…you have it all under control.”  Loki said tonelessly in his mental voice.

Thor glanced up as if debating doing just that before he scooped Loki up.  The latter squirmed and protested but Thor held his brother up in front of his face.  Loki didn’t like not having a stable surface and he flailed a bit until Thor apparently got the picture and tucked Loki into the crook of his arm.  “…I just got you back, brother.”  Thor admitted in a low tone.  “And you are…not accustomed to defending yourself this way.”

A kind way of saying that Loki would be practically useless in a fight, Loki noted wryly.

“I don’t want-”  Thor looked irritated a moment as if his own thoughts bothered him before his gaze softened and he looked to Loki.  “I can’t lose you again, Loki.  I refuse.  If…there comes a time you wish to leave, I will not force you to stay.  But otherwise…”  Thor cleared his throat against a sudden thickness in his voice.

Oh.  Loki felt oddly sucker-punched [and touched] by the sentiment.  Thor really had changed to come out and say something so bluntly, hand Loki such a ‘weakness’, show his hand like that…amongst other things it showed trust.  Something Loki wasn’t sure he really had from Thor, not even aboard the Statesmen.  Of course, Thor was likely sentimental over Loki’s recent ‘dead and gone’ absence and the fact Loki was trapped as Thor’s favorite creature and reliant on his big brother.

But still…the sentiment was…it was nice.

More than nice, if Loki were inclined to be honest, which he generally wasn’t.

“Would it surprise you to consider that sentiment runs both ways?”  Loki adopted a tone far too casual for the words and Thor’s face scrunched as if trying to parse out whether or not Loki was being sincere.  “It’s not as though I have anywhere else to go.”

Loki meant well in those words, meant to show Thor [even if hiding behind a bit of teasing to do it] that he felt much the same.  But his couched sentiment clearly missed the mark and Loki saw disappointment and something suspiciously like hurt flash briefly across Thor’s face before a business mask replaced it.  Loki knew exactly what had just happened, Thor took his words to mean that Thor was a default option-the convenient, logical option-and not necessarily once Loki would have chosen if he’d had a choice.

“Thor!  You coming, or what?  Jeez, think ya primped enough there, buddy.”  Quill growled from the ‘doorway’.  “You gotta go, it’s showtime.”

Thor nodded and Loki cursed the fact that this all came up now rather than while the brothers had all the time in the world earlier for a little heart-to-heart [or just clearing up a damned misunderstanding].  He knew he was about to be set down and left behind so Loki adopted a new tactic in the interest of time as he manipulated Thor by tugging on his heartstrings [including his shiny, new fatherly ones].  “There’s nothing more important than the mission right now, Thor.  The missing little girl could have just as easily been your own daughter, anyone’s daughter.  She deserves to go home and this enterprise stopped.”  Loki could tell he’d landed a bullseye with that emotional little tug.  “I have more experience than you in dealing with these sorts and smoothing them over.  Will you let sentiment cost you a possible advantage?”  That particular manipulation was one Loki hadn’t wanted to use and that would likely cost him later but if it got him with Thor now, then so be it.

Sure enough, Thor’s jaw tightened and Loki could see his brother’s mental wheels spinning, so to speak.

“Thor!”  Quill shouted.

“I understand!”  Thor snarled to Quill’s apparent surprise before Thor looked to Loki with a deep frown.

“I’ll be with you the whole time, brother.  And if anything, having a dragon will only lend itself to your prestige.”  Loki didn’t particularly like referring to himself as something akin to a possession of his brother’s but he wasn’t wrong in the assumption of the value he would add to Thor’s credibility and appearance.

The tail-end of their conversation was apparently out-loud as Rocket butted in.  “He’s got a point, Thor.  And he’s probably safest with you no matter where we go, right?”

Loki wasn’t sure if the not-rabbit actually believed that or was also throwing a little manipulation Thor’s way [which made Loki a proprietary brand of displeased] [only he should be manipulating his brother] but it helped his cause so he couldn’t be too irked.

“You can’t even speak to me privately.”  Thor pointed out.

“We’ll figure it out.”  Loki said dismissively.

Bucky stood ramrod stiff near the ship exit.  “Whatever the Hell you’re doin’, figure it out quick, cause we got company.”

Looked like a little welcoming party was headed for the ship, maybe scoping them out…they were certainly well-armed.

“I’ll stay with you the whole time, brother.”  Loki added quickly as he played on Thor’s pride.  “Your rabbit was right, was he not?  What place would be safer for me than by your side?”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing.”  Thor said dryly.

Abashed and a little guilty, Loki realized it was perhaps presumptuous of him to think Thor would be so easily strung along these days…but that thought was a little lonely too, he didn’t like encountering so many changes in his brother even as he marveled at them.

“You stay on my shoulder the whole time.”  Thor finally said tersely and Loki felt a thrill of excitement and victory.  “If you need to say something…tap my shoulder.”

“Absolutely.”  Loki agreed easily.

“I mean it, Loki.”  Thor growled.

“As if I have any interest occupying the floor or being touched by anyone else."

A funny look crossed Quill’s face at the words while Rocket snickered.

Groot tilted his head thoughtfully and shared a glance with Rocket.

“Time’s up.”  Bucky said as the ‘welcoming committee’ reached the exterior panel.

Thor stared at Loki’s hopeful, little red eyes and while he knew full well the brat was trying to spin emotional circles around him…well, it had kind of worked…and Loki had a point…and some part of Thor was reluctant to let Loki out of his sight.  [And would feel more comfortable and confident with his silver-tongued brother to whisper advice and commentary in his ear] [In a manner of speaking].

“Fine.”  Thor conceded and his lips twitched towards a reluctant smile at the little dragon-ey look of triumph and toothy grin his little brother [perhaps unconsciously] gave.

Thor joined Bucky at his side and Bucky didn’t have to work hard to look imposing as he stood at Thor’s side while the panel opened.  The former king drew on centuries of royal protocol and self-importance as he addressed the the new arrivals.  “You’re late.”  Thor announced.

The four-member group all looked taken aback at Thor’s declaration.  “Late, sir?”  One asked with a lifted brow.  “With all due respect-”

“-You’ve wasted enough of my time.”  Thor snapped as he cut them off again and strode down towards them with Bucky a silent shadow on his heels.  “What’s a king have to do get a decent reception around here?”  Thor rolled his eyes.  “This never would have happened on Vanaheim.”

Loki would have been hard-pressed to hide his smirk if he could still properly form one.  He was impressed, even Thor at his most arrogant had never been that kind of stuck-up royal.  This might actually be a bit fun.