His Affinity for Mild Drinks
"Ah, Loki! Come to watch your older brother teach you the ways of battle?" Thor strode to his brother across the gold arena, who was flipping through his leaf-encased spellbook.
"Funny. I needed open metal space to practice." The god's dry voice was was fitting to his red-rimmed eyes and slightly drooping eyelids.
"Practice? I wonder if you have forbidden yourself from taking breaks; I haven't heard silence from your room for nights." Loki's eyes shot to Thor. "I had hoped that you would quiet your spells after I sent the first three servants to knock on your door. What sorcery leaves you crying out with such enthusiasm?"
Loki's complexion blued and he missed a beat before he rolled his eyes. They landed at one part of the arena, mildly curious of the familiar sound of Sif grunting amidst the sound of her and her opponents' swords clashing.
"I will study a silencing incantation." Loki watched as she swiftly kicked the other's kneecap and had him staggering.
"You have invited Sif to your bed." Sif's eyes flickered briefly to them, eyebrows down with a frown as she blocked a blow from her opponent. Loki gave a curt laugh.
"Out of what did you pull that theory?" he inquired.
"Don't spread rumors based on assumptions, Thor, or I'll let everyone know that your Mjollnir isn't as mighty as you say it is," Sif yelled from her battle, her tone of voice making it clear that she was alluding to something other than the hammer in Thor's hand.
"Don't distract yourself, Sif!" The goddess growled at Thor and kicked more ferociously than needed at her opponent's stomach, who seemed to attempt to minimize the degree at which his body doubled over in reaction. Loki's lips turned up. He felt his brother's gaze on him as he read the conditions at which the spell works best. Thor's face changed in his peripheral vision as the older god muttered, Oh...Oh, dear little brother." Thor guffawed while Loki watched with a raised eyebrow and flinched away when Thor put a built arm around him to bring him close, murmuring, "Unless... your attentions are to yourself?" Thor's arm was instantly wrenched away from Loki, the former bursting into laughs again.
"The sludge canal that is your mind, Thor," he gritted out viciously, striding away to the other side of the arena that held the stands.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Loki. I, however, see no reason if maidens would line up outside your chambers." Thor called after him, making no attempt at discreetness for the pleasure of others staring at the god in question. "Are you blushing?"
Loki's face was abnormally cool, his shoulders rising defensively when he heard chuckles and footsteps running over to him.
"I'm sorry, brother; I can't help but relish the occasions I can make you writhe."
"Try," Loki snarled.
"What is it you're attempting now?"
"A spell." Thor eyed the first contestant by his usual sparring site, who held himself stiffly with a set jaw and whose muscles were on their way to rivaling the god's. He made his way over to his opponent in the middle of the arena. He set his hammer aside for the no-weapons battle, shook hands with the other and braced himself.
"Really? I wasn't aware. What kind of spell?" Thor yelled over his shoulder to Loki.
"It's rude to talk to someone in the presence of another who is waiting for you to strike." Loki called out as he read. He leaned his face closer to the text and, with furrowed eyebrows, mouthed phrases to himself. Thor grinned to himself and turned his face forward. The mediator at their side sounded a horn, and the fight began.
"Are you hoping to be a beast on the battlefield like your brother? Or perhaps you hope to become a gargantuan goat?" Thor called to his brother, circling his armored partner standing straight as a pillar with his legs apart and braced. "More meat is always welcome at the mouths of warriors." Thor made sure that his back was turned to Loki before he grinned, not seeing the suppressed shiver that ran through the younger god.
Thor let out a battle cry and lunged for the other's legs. The man's reflexes were quick enough to step out of the way. His muscles were hard under the flesh of his arms as he lunged his like a ram into Thor's stomach and threw his body into him, knocking them both to the ground with Thor underneath.
"Don't wonder during a battle, brother. You'll waste your brainpower." Thor almost missed the words over his and the other man's grunts as Thor braced his feet on the ground around the man's legs. "You only have so m--" Loki's words stopped in his throat when Thor bucked his hips upwards once. His opponent's face scrunched and his eyebrows instantly came within centimeters of colliding with each other. Taking advantage of the obvious surprise, Thor lunged his hips higher up. His opponent's body lifted into the air just enough to allow Thor's knee to come upwards. He missed his mark, but nonetheless felt heat and droplets of saliva on his face as his kneecap collided with a stomach.
From across the arena came a sharp inhale and growl. Thor shoved his opponent off, mind still in battle. He pulled himself to his knees over his opponent to ask him to surrender, disappointed at the lack of challenge. The only thing that came from the man down was a voice gasping "Sire" accompanied by a winced look at the direction of the bleachers. Thor followed his gaze to see Loki's panicked expression and his hands flailing wildly at his sides to extinguish blue flames from his palms. Thor was scrambling off his opponent before the full worry could set in,
"Water! Get him water!" commanded Thor. Behind him, Sif's sword was flung to the ground and clattered in her wake as she sprinted behind him to Loki. A force tugged Thor's shoulders back with a rip. The raven-haired god was now frantically yelling out combinations of syllables, voice getting louder, higher and less controlled as the fire began to spread to the back of his hands and past his wrists to his forearms.
Sif was by Loki and Thor seconds after, throwing the scarlet cape swiftly over Loki's arms. With Thor wrapping the cape once around the bottom of his arms and gripping the underside, the two pumped it up and down expeditiously so as to avoid pain by applying pressure to the cape. Their efforts quickly extinguished the flames, Sif and Thor keeping their grips on their end of the fabric. For moments, no one spoke, no one moved save for Loki's quivering arms. He breathed shakily and pulled his hands out of the folded cape. Sif dropped her arms from it for Thor to hold his burned clothing, the fabric glowing blue around the new jagged black and brown spots.
"Damn," the trickster gritted out, inspecting the viciously charred tissue. He felt the temperature drop on his neck and face from the feel of the eyes of the arena on him. He pressed his jerky hands to his cheeks harder than necessary, stifling a hiss. f
Servants had come running toward them with buckets of water, slowing down when they noted that the flames were gone.
"Sire," panted one, "healing herbs will be here in a minute." Thor saw Loki's expression alter completely into one of nonchalantness. He immediately after turned his back on the warriors and stalked tensely past the servant without visually acknowledging him, his chin high, shoulders squared, spine curved out, the heels of his black boots colliding forcefully with the floor and echoing with his vigor to escape.
"No, thank you. I'll take care of these in my chambers."
"Sire--"
"I said no, thank you."
Before Thor could protest, Loki brazenly recited an incantation and the god was instantly enveloped by feather-like smoke streams the color of his hair. All stared, some with envy, as the streams contorted rapidly until Loki and they with him became smaller than a bead and disappeared completely. Thor was left in awe, with Sif asking, "Have you irritated him that much?"
***
"Brother?" Loki's hushed voice reached Thor as he brushed past the younger god's room. Thor clutched the handle of the cracked door and ushered himself inside. Loki was on his back looking at the rustic chandelier of candle-holders on his smooth navy blue ceiling. The thin white candles were unlit tonight, though cobalt starlight shone from the gap in the amethyst curtains covering the glass walls, and a faint smell of incense lingered in the room.
"Can you not sleep?"
"I felt too drained to cover my nightly routine." If this was Loki was using his tricks, his voice made Think that he was doing a mighty job of it. Thor rested his head and back against the wall and folded his arms, his eyes dropping closed.
"Have you not moisturized today? Don't worry yourself over one night; I hold no doubt about your face remaining just as pretty." The sheets shuffled as Loki rolled his body to the side so he could more easily inspect Thor's light grin. For moments, it was silent except for the whispers of the flames that lit the hallways.
"Would you be willing to bring me tea?" Thor's face split into a smile.
"Your affinity for mild drinks amuses me, Loki. I was on my way to bed, actually. Use your sorcery." Thor opened his eyes at a frustrated sigh to see Loki droop his head back against the pillows.
"I have practiced the more physical sorcery without rest for the past three days, " he mumbled. "Your suggestion would be valid if if my current exhaustion and aches didn't match those of a dwarf laboring night and day in a large, stuffy mine"
"Then wait for a servant to come by and then you can scare him with your demanding whispers." Loki gave a drawn-out groan.
"I have no energy to make a threat, but I remembered too late that cannot sleep if I haven't drunk my tea and only you know exactly how I have it." Thor sighed.
"Loki--"
"Thor." Loki turned his head to him and gave him a miserable look through heavy eyelids. "Please?" The was so gentle that Thor almost lowered his trickster guards for a second. He ran a hand down his face and his fingers met on his stubbled chin. He held gazes with Loki, and then wordlessly walked out.
***
"This is the second act of kindness that I do for you today," Loki lifted his head at Thor's voice, "and with the stares that I was subject to in the kitchen adding to the severity of the first, I expect nothing less than more than one great favor from you." The mug in Thor's hands had his steps toward the bed being more precise than usual. "Your faith in me sharpened my memory; I even remembered that you preferred it 'hot enough to burn as it flows down but not enough to leave physical damage'." He now loomed over the god looking up at him and inquired teasingly, "Did you want me to feed this to you as well?"
Loki blinked slowly before closing his eyes and sighing. He grimaced as he pulled his arms out of the deep burgundy duvet and extended his open palm to grip the mug itself. Thor's eyes settled on his forearms as the other hissed and jerked his hand back, looking disapprovingly at it.
"What happened there?" Loki looked briefly at Thor, lifted his chin and turned his head to the side. "Alright. Why did you reject the herbs?"
"I don't need someone to heal me." Loki had raised his voice and barely let him finish the sentence.
" But you'll let someone give you a dainty milk drink that it looks like I'm about to feed you."
"I don't recall asking you to."
"It appears that it wouldn't hurt." Thor's condescending tone had the muscles below Loki's cheeks showed as he lifted his head and tightened his jaw. Thor almost missed Loki's lips twitch on his blank face.
"Well then, if you'll leave the room, I'll gladly heal my hands and drink it like a grown god."
Thor hadn't missed the starlight on Loki that that at that angle amplified the sleepy discoloration around his eyes, evidence of the magical exhaustion that had held him back from healing in the first place.
Loki winced slightly as he used his hands to push himself into a sitting position. It seemed that he had wished away the tall bedpost for the night, and his tiny facial twitches suggested appeared to be willing himself not to cringe at the pressure of having his burns keep him up while he dragged his legs into a cross-legged position to better balance himself. The heat wasn't going to help his burns, Thor registered, and planted himself on the covers next to Loki.
"No need. I'll assist you." He planted himself on an empty space on the blanket and put the cup a foot away from Loki's face. Loki stared at the cup and then at Thor.
Loki's tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth as he opened it and with furrowed brows, rushed out, "If you plan to use this in a future argument--"
"I see no way this could be of use." Loki saw Thor's supposedly reassuring grin as dung-devouring and rolled his eyes at the draining properties of excess sorcery. He leaned in close the mug. "What do we say, brother?" Loki gave Thor a murderous look that had Thor laughing and, in turn, the tea producing waves that nearly fell over the sides. Loki bit back a snarky remark, unwilling to be kept longer from sleep. Once calmed down, Thor took pity at Loki's restrained face. "Alright, no tricks. I promise this time." Thor carefully extended his arm to have the mug available for Loki, whose untrusting eyes watched the other as he cautiously put his mouth to the side of the mug and sucked the fluid in.
Thor waited until Loki had to crane his neck until tipping the mug. This repeated until Loki made a sound of protest, leaning his head back to signal that he wanted to remove the cup from his face. Instead, Thor misunderstood Loki to want more tea and tipped the mug too quickly. Loki made a loud noise of annoyance that this time got his point across. Thor retrieving the cup was immediately followed by, "Oaf. Those muscles are of no use if you have no control over them." The starlight illuminated the trails of milk that now dripped down the sides of Loki's frowning mouth.
For a second, Thor expected Loki to scold him for not bringing a napkin and wipe his face with the sleeve of his robe. Instead, Loki's tongue searched under his mouth and left the area shining in the faint light. Thor's eyes followed the slowly moving beads from Loki's chin to his neck.
"Here." Thor found his thumb reaching to the bottom of one at the side of Loki's Adam's apple. He followed it up his jaw and in the air past his chin.
Thor tilted his head, curious at himself for his lack of hesitation to clean up Loki. He looked up to meet Loki's scrutinizing gaze eyeing his hand. No anger showed, but the expression was unreadable to Thor's inexperienced eye. Thor retrieved his hand and ran the fingers of the same hand over his thumb to dry it.
"You still..." Thor looked pointedly at the other trail, gesturing with the same hand. He half expected Loki to roll his eyes and tell Thor that warriors were savages for wiping everything on themselves. He didn't expect Loki to make calculating eye contact and then cautiously lift his head to then look at the ceiling, baring a little of his neck. Thor made sure that Loki's face remained passive and placed his thumb halfway up the other trail. He slid it up, surprised when his finger touching the tip of the voicebox led to Loki to expose more of his throat. He eyed the pale flesh as he brought his finger up the jaw, glancing at Loki, who didn't seem to mind.
Thor turned his thumb to where it was dry and held it against the same spot at which he started, this time going down. He curiously noticed that despite there no longer being a purpose for it, Loki's neck was still outstretched. He reached the end of the trail, his thumb going over Loki's collarbone. The wet sound of Loki licking his lips breached the silence. A thin line of pale, raised flesh caught Thor's eye. He lightly brushed over it, wondering if he should ask where it was from but deciding that his voice would be invasive in the silence. He heard Loki exhale--quietly, but a quiver was detectable. He settled for scavenging his memories for possible causes and tracing it into the top of Loki's dark green robe. A nearly undetectable low noise escaped Loki's throat. Thor pulled his hand away, observing Loki.
His brother's eyes had at some point closed, his neck still stretched up, and with the starlight hitting Loki and accentuating his moistened lips, it flew into Thor's head that it was possible to liken his royal brother to a palace concubine. His comparison had him reel back an inch, hand still in the air, looking at his brother with wide eyes, with everything about the appearance suddenly backing up his claim--from the robe to the vulnerable pose to the perhaps magically ungreased raven hair waving and flowing down to the nape of this smooth neck.
Loki's eyes fluttered open and blinked twice at the ceiling. He lowered his chin, just enough to connect new and curious gazes with the frozen Thor. Thor recognized that particular look as one that he'd caught Loki with several times, never getting more than a glimpse. It only ever lasted seconds at most, as by then his brother's eyes had become aware and he had always almost immediately found something else in the palace to look at, straightening himself while rubbing his thumb against his newly tensed hands.
He now blinked at Thor, eyes darting to said man's hand. He leaned his body closer with minimal pain to Thor, face close to the offending hand whose thumb had a bead of mint-flavored milk dripping down the sideways length. Loki took the unchanging expression to mean that he could open his mouth and breathe gently over the the thumb, testing the reaction. Though Thor's eyes widened, he didn't move away. Loki, observing gaze still on Thor, moved his tongue tentatively to pick up the bead of milk at the bottom of the thumb. He pulled away the organ but kept his face where it was, analyzing the other's countenance.
A jolt ran through Thor. He opened his mouth to speak as Loki looked at him expectantly, no words coming out. Loki parted his lips again, sliding his tongue underneath the thumb to wrap it around and pull it into his mouth. An addle sound escaped Thor's throat when he felt a combination of sliding and suction. Loki saw Thor's jaw tighten and his Adam's apple bob with a swallow.
Thor wasn't sure what was more inappropriate--the fact that he was all the while comparing his brother to an attractive concubine after stroking his brother's neck, or that Loki maintained eye contact while he unhurriedly lapped at Thor's finger in a concubine-like manner. Loki ran his teeth over the top and bottom and pulled away with a gentle nip.
Shadows had fallen over the raven's dark bottom lashes and grazed the top of his cheekbones to make them look more extended than godly possible. His lips appeared crooked with what must have been his teeth biting the inside of his bottom lip.
Loki's heart and breathing were not cooperating with his wishes to slow their pace. Saliva was forcing him to swallow excessively, a fact that Thor noticed along with Loki's anxious face. His own couldn't have been much different, considering his confusion and the fact that he was getting thoughts and scenes in his mind that made his body react in a way he was sure it should not have. He realized that he didn't know what he should have done, but his fingers twitched when he noted that Loki's rarely-revealed curls looked soft out of the usual grease.
A shatter broke the silence and both men's heads shot to the side of the bed. Thor felt dampness and warmth seep through his shoes from the fluid. An uneasy quietness followed, in which Thor's swallow was surely audible to Loki. He wasn't sure if he should curse the universe's sick sense of humor for what had just happened or for the warmth and palpitations he was feeling, or give his thanks that it was nice enough that Loki preferred earthy mugs that had destructible tendencies.
"I..." Loki held his breath. "...need to go to my chambers." Loki's heart stopped. He struggled to swallow the saliva that now came in excess, and he might have vomited if he wasn't busying himself mentally cursing the reckless revelation of his desires.
Metal quietly collided as Thor lowered to the ground and seized a large shard.
"Don't." It didn't help Loki calm himself when his single word was croaked and sounded as wrecked as he was. Thor didn't look up, but saw in his peripheral vision that Loki had turned his head and back to him.
The situation was humiliating enough to Loki that any more embarrassment would leave him nauseous at any glimpse of blond hair or tea.
"You could step on it." Thor used a voice one uses around a friend whose parent had died. Loki had heard the same tone spoken by others, all in pity. He suddenly wanted to melt into the marble floors and scream at his body to halt its insolence when it commenced producing tears, but they were flowing down his cheeks before he could bridle them, and the only positive thing he could come up with was the fact that he had the sense to have turned from Thor.
Loki pressed his nose and mouth into the duvet covering his knees to cover up his nearly-hyperventilating breaths. He swallowed furiously before he forced himself to speak clearly and as smoothly as he could, just for two words.
"Leave it." Thor brought himself to his feet. He stared at the jade-colored fragments contrasting against the charcoal marble. He ran a hand through his hair to rid his face of strands that hadn't bothered him before but now irritated him to the point of him shaking.
"I'm--I will rest now." Silence. "Good night, Loki." Loki bit the duvet to stifle whimpers that were building in his throat as Thor's footsteps sounded against the marble. He was a trickster. Maybe his brother would reason that it had all been a cruel joke. Yes. Maybe he would do that, and maybe Loki would be able to meet his eyes again sooner than in a century.
Stars around, Loki was a god; he shouldn't be reduced to sobs and wiping his nose on his duvet, he cerebrated furiously when Thor's armor was out of sight.
Outside, a servant passed by Thor. The god's eyes bore through him. The servant met his eyes with a quick jerk back at the severe countenance.
"Sire, is there something that you require?" It was on the tip of his tongue. 'Clean up the mess in my brother's room'. Yet he couldn't bring himself to have someone bother Loki, especially when, as he was about to close the door behind him, he thought that he heard a faint sniffle coming from the room. Thor felt his eyebrows lower at the ground as he shook his head.
"No. But if my brother calls out, give him anything he wants." He left a gap between the door and wall for any of Loki's whispered commands to escape and, without waiting for the servant's reply, avoided all gazes as he strode to his chambers next door. He had things to settle.
"Funny. I needed open metal space to practice." The god's dry voice was was fitting to his red-rimmed eyes and slightly drooping eyelids.
"Practice? I wonder if you have forbidden yourself from taking breaks; I haven't heard silence from your room for nights." Loki's eyes shot to Thor. "I had hoped that you would quiet your spells after I sent the first three servants to knock on your door. What sorcery leaves you crying out with such enthusiasm?"
Loki's complexion blued and he missed a beat before he rolled his eyes. They landed at one part of the arena, mildly curious of the familiar sound of Sif grunting amidst the sound of her and her opponents' swords clashing.
"I will study a silencing incantation." Loki watched as she swiftly kicked the other's kneecap and had him staggering.
"You have invited Sif to your bed." Sif's eyes flickered briefly to them, eyebrows down with a frown as she blocked a blow from her opponent. Loki gave a curt laugh.
"Out of what did you pull that theory?" he inquired.
"Don't spread rumors based on assumptions, Thor, or I'll let everyone know that your Mjollnir isn't as mighty as you say it is," Sif yelled from her battle, her tone of voice making it clear that she was alluding to something other than the hammer in Thor's hand.
"Don't distract yourself, Sif!" The goddess growled at Thor and kicked more ferociously than needed at her opponent's stomach, who seemed to attempt to minimize the degree at which his body doubled over in reaction. Loki's lips turned up. He felt his brother's gaze on him as he read the conditions at which the spell works best. Thor's face changed in his peripheral vision as the older god muttered, Oh...Oh, dear little brother." Thor guffawed while Loki watched with a raised eyebrow and flinched away when Thor put a built arm around him to bring him close, murmuring, "Unless... your attentions are to yourself?" Thor's arm was instantly wrenched away from Loki, the former bursting into laughs again.
"The sludge canal that is your mind, Thor," he gritted out viciously, striding away to the other side of the arena that held the stands.
"There's nothing to be ashamed of, Loki. I, however, see no reason if maidens would line up outside your chambers." Thor called after him, making no attempt at discreetness for the pleasure of others staring at the god in question. "Are you blushing?"
Loki's face was abnormally cool, his shoulders rising defensively when he heard chuckles and footsteps running over to him.
"I'm sorry, brother; I can't help but relish the occasions I can make you writhe."
"Try," Loki snarled.
"What is it you're attempting now?"
"A spell." Thor eyed the first contestant by his usual sparring site, who held himself stiffly with a set jaw and whose muscles were on their way to rivaling the god's. He made his way over to his opponent in the middle of the arena. He set his hammer aside for the no-weapons battle, shook hands with the other and braced himself.
"Really? I wasn't aware. What kind of spell?" Thor yelled over his shoulder to Loki.
"It's rude to talk to someone in the presence of another who is waiting for you to strike." Loki called out as he read. He leaned his face closer to the text and, with furrowed eyebrows, mouthed phrases to himself. Thor grinned to himself and turned his face forward. The mediator at their side sounded a horn, and the fight began.
"Are you hoping to be a beast on the battlefield like your brother? Or perhaps you hope to become a gargantuan goat?" Thor called to his brother, circling his armored partner standing straight as a pillar with his legs apart and braced. "More meat is always welcome at the mouths of warriors." Thor made sure that his back was turned to Loki before he grinned, not seeing the suppressed shiver that ran through the younger god.
Thor let out a battle cry and lunged for the other's legs. The man's reflexes were quick enough to step out of the way. His muscles were hard under the flesh of his arms as he lunged his like a ram into Thor's stomach and threw his body into him, knocking them both to the ground with Thor underneath.
"Don't wonder during a battle, brother. You'll waste your brainpower." Thor almost missed the words over his and the other man's grunts as Thor braced his feet on the ground around the man's legs. "You only have so m--" Loki's words stopped in his throat when Thor bucked his hips upwards once. His opponent's face scrunched and his eyebrows instantly came within centimeters of colliding with each other. Taking advantage of the obvious surprise, Thor lunged his hips higher up. His opponent's body lifted into the air just enough to allow Thor's knee to come upwards. He missed his mark, but nonetheless felt heat and droplets of saliva on his face as his kneecap collided with a stomach.
From across the arena came a sharp inhale and growl. Thor shoved his opponent off, mind still in battle. He pulled himself to his knees over his opponent to ask him to surrender, disappointed at the lack of challenge. The only thing that came from the man down was a voice gasping "Sire" accompanied by a winced look at the direction of the bleachers. Thor followed his gaze to see Loki's panicked expression and his hands flailing wildly at his sides to extinguish blue flames from his palms. Thor was scrambling off his opponent before the full worry could set in,
"Water! Get him water!" commanded Thor. Behind him, Sif's sword was flung to the ground and clattered in her wake as she sprinted behind him to Loki. A force tugged Thor's shoulders back with a rip. The raven-haired god was now frantically yelling out combinations of syllables, voice getting louder, higher and less controlled as the fire began to spread to the back of his hands and past his wrists to his forearms.
Sif was by Loki and Thor seconds after, throwing the scarlet cape swiftly over Loki's arms. With Thor wrapping the cape once around the bottom of his arms and gripping the underside, the two pumped it up and down expeditiously so as to avoid pain by applying pressure to the cape. Their efforts quickly extinguished the flames, Sif and Thor keeping their grips on their end of the fabric. For moments, no one spoke, no one moved save for Loki's quivering arms. He breathed shakily and pulled his hands out of the folded cape. Sif dropped her arms from it for Thor to hold his burned clothing, the fabric glowing blue around the new jagged black and brown spots.
"Damn," the trickster gritted out, inspecting the viciously charred tissue. He felt the temperature drop on his neck and face from the feel of the eyes of the arena on him. He pressed his jerky hands to his cheeks harder than necessary, stifling a hiss. f
Servants had come running toward them with buckets of water, slowing down when they noted that the flames were gone.
"Sire," panted one, "healing herbs will be here in a minute." Thor saw Loki's expression alter completely into one of nonchalantness. He immediately after turned his back on the warriors and stalked tensely past the servant without visually acknowledging him, his chin high, shoulders squared, spine curved out, the heels of his black boots colliding forcefully with the floor and echoing with his vigor to escape.
"No, thank you. I'll take care of these in my chambers."
"Sire--"
"I said no, thank you."
Before Thor could protest, Loki brazenly recited an incantation and the god was instantly enveloped by feather-like smoke streams the color of his hair. All stared, some with envy, as the streams contorted rapidly until Loki and they with him became smaller than a bead and disappeared completely. Thor was left in awe, with Sif asking, "Have you irritated him that much?"
***
"Brother?" Loki's hushed voice reached Thor as he brushed past the younger god's room. Thor clutched the handle of the cracked door and ushered himself inside. Loki was on his back looking at the rustic chandelier of candle-holders on his smooth navy blue ceiling. The thin white candles were unlit tonight, though cobalt starlight shone from the gap in the amethyst curtains covering the glass walls, and a faint smell of incense lingered in the room.
"Can you not sleep?"
"I felt too drained to cover my nightly routine." If this was Loki was using his tricks, his voice made Think that he was doing a mighty job of it. Thor rested his head and back against the wall and folded his arms, his eyes dropping closed.
"Have you not moisturized today? Don't worry yourself over one night; I hold no doubt about your face remaining just as pretty." The sheets shuffled as Loki rolled his body to the side so he could more easily inspect Thor's light grin. For moments, it was silent except for the whispers of the flames that lit the hallways.
"Would you be willing to bring me tea?" Thor's face split into a smile.
"Your affinity for mild drinks amuses me, Loki. I was on my way to bed, actually. Use your sorcery." Thor opened his eyes at a frustrated sigh to see Loki droop his head back against the pillows.
"I have practiced the more physical sorcery without rest for the past three days, " he mumbled. "Your suggestion would be valid if if my current exhaustion and aches didn't match those of a dwarf laboring night and day in a large, stuffy mine"
"Then wait for a servant to come by and then you can scare him with your demanding whispers." Loki gave a drawn-out groan.
"I have no energy to make a threat, but I remembered too late that cannot sleep if I haven't drunk my tea and only you know exactly how I have it." Thor sighed.
"Loki--"
"Thor." Loki turned his head to him and gave him a miserable look through heavy eyelids. "Please?" The was so gentle that Thor almost lowered his trickster guards for a second. He ran a hand down his face and his fingers met on his stubbled chin. He held gazes with Loki, and then wordlessly walked out.
***
"This is the second act of kindness that I do for you today," Loki lifted his head at Thor's voice, "and with the stares that I was subject to in the kitchen adding to the severity of the first, I expect nothing less than more than one great favor from you." The mug in Thor's hands had his steps toward the bed being more precise than usual. "Your faith in me sharpened my memory; I even remembered that you preferred it 'hot enough to burn as it flows down but not enough to leave physical damage'." He now loomed over the god looking up at him and inquired teasingly, "Did you want me to feed this to you as well?"
Loki blinked slowly before closing his eyes and sighing. He grimaced as he pulled his arms out of the deep burgundy duvet and extended his open palm to grip the mug itself. Thor's eyes settled on his forearms as the other hissed and jerked his hand back, looking disapprovingly at it.
"What happened there?" Loki looked briefly at Thor, lifted his chin and turned his head to the side. "Alright. Why did you reject the herbs?"
"I don't need someone to heal me." Loki had raised his voice and barely let him finish the sentence.
" But you'll let someone give you a dainty milk drink that it looks like I'm about to feed you."
"I don't recall asking you to."
"It appears that it wouldn't hurt." Thor's condescending tone had the muscles below Loki's cheeks showed as he lifted his head and tightened his jaw. Thor almost missed Loki's lips twitch on his blank face.
"Well then, if you'll leave the room, I'll gladly heal my hands and drink it like a grown god."
Thor hadn't missed the starlight on Loki that that at that angle amplified the sleepy discoloration around his eyes, evidence of the magical exhaustion that had held him back from healing in the first place.
Loki winced slightly as he used his hands to push himself into a sitting position. It seemed that he had wished away the tall bedpost for the night, and his tiny facial twitches suggested appeared to be willing himself not to cringe at the pressure of having his burns keep him up while he dragged his legs into a cross-legged position to better balance himself. The heat wasn't going to help his burns, Thor registered, and planted himself on the covers next to Loki.
"No need. I'll assist you." He planted himself on an empty space on the blanket and put the cup a foot away from Loki's face. Loki stared at the cup and then at Thor.
Loki's tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth as he opened it and with furrowed brows, rushed out, "If you plan to use this in a future argument--"
"I see no way this could be of use." Loki saw Thor's supposedly reassuring grin as dung-devouring and rolled his eyes at the draining properties of excess sorcery. He leaned in close the mug. "What do we say, brother?" Loki gave Thor a murderous look that had Thor laughing and, in turn, the tea producing waves that nearly fell over the sides. Loki bit back a snarky remark, unwilling to be kept longer from sleep. Once calmed down, Thor took pity at Loki's restrained face. "Alright, no tricks. I promise this time." Thor carefully extended his arm to have the mug available for Loki, whose untrusting eyes watched the other as he cautiously put his mouth to the side of the mug and sucked the fluid in.
Thor waited until Loki had to crane his neck until tipping the mug. This repeated until Loki made a sound of protest, leaning his head back to signal that he wanted to remove the cup from his face. Instead, Thor misunderstood Loki to want more tea and tipped the mug too quickly. Loki made a loud noise of annoyance that this time got his point across. Thor retrieving the cup was immediately followed by, "Oaf. Those muscles are of no use if you have no control over them." The starlight illuminated the trails of milk that now dripped down the sides of Loki's frowning mouth.
For a second, Thor expected Loki to scold him for not bringing a napkin and wipe his face with the sleeve of his robe. Instead, Loki's tongue searched under his mouth and left the area shining in the faint light. Thor's eyes followed the slowly moving beads from Loki's chin to his neck.
"Here." Thor found his thumb reaching to the bottom of one at the side of Loki's Adam's apple. He followed it up his jaw and in the air past his chin.
Thor tilted his head, curious at himself for his lack of hesitation to clean up Loki. He looked up to meet Loki's scrutinizing gaze eyeing his hand. No anger showed, but the expression was unreadable to Thor's inexperienced eye. Thor retrieved his hand and ran the fingers of the same hand over his thumb to dry it.
"You still..." Thor looked pointedly at the other trail, gesturing with the same hand. He half expected Loki to roll his eyes and tell Thor that warriors were savages for wiping everything on themselves. He didn't expect Loki to make calculating eye contact and then cautiously lift his head to then look at the ceiling, baring a little of his neck. Thor made sure that Loki's face remained passive and placed his thumb halfway up the other trail. He slid it up, surprised when his finger touching the tip of the voicebox led to Loki to expose more of his throat. He eyed the pale flesh as he brought his finger up the jaw, glancing at Loki, who didn't seem to mind.
Thor turned his thumb to where it was dry and held it against the same spot at which he started, this time going down. He curiously noticed that despite there no longer being a purpose for it, Loki's neck was still outstretched. He reached the end of the trail, his thumb going over Loki's collarbone. The wet sound of Loki licking his lips breached the silence. A thin line of pale, raised flesh caught Thor's eye. He lightly brushed over it, wondering if he should ask where it was from but deciding that his voice would be invasive in the silence. He heard Loki exhale--quietly, but a quiver was detectable. He settled for scavenging his memories for possible causes and tracing it into the top of Loki's dark green robe. A nearly undetectable low noise escaped Loki's throat. Thor pulled his hand away, observing Loki.
His brother's eyes had at some point closed, his neck still stretched up, and with the starlight hitting Loki and accentuating his moistened lips, it flew into Thor's head that it was possible to liken his royal brother to a palace concubine. His comparison had him reel back an inch, hand still in the air, looking at his brother with wide eyes, with everything about the appearance suddenly backing up his claim--from the robe to the vulnerable pose to the perhaps magically ungreased raven hair waving and flowing down to the nape of this smooth neck.
Loki's eyes fluttered open and blinked twice at the ceiling. He lowered his chin, just enough to connect new and curious gazes with the frozen Thor. Thor recognized that particular look as one that he'd caught Loki with several times, never getting more than a glimpse. It only ever lasted seconds at most, as by then his brother's eyes had become aware and he had always almost immediately found something else in the palace to look at, straightening himself while rubbing his thumb against his newly tensed hands.
He now blinked at Thor, eyes darting to said man's hand. He leaned his body closer with minimal pain to Thor, face close to the offending hand whose thumb had a bead of mint-flavored milk dripping down the sideways length. Loki took the unchanging expression to mean that he could open his mouth and breathe gently over the the thumb, testing the reaction. Though Thor's eyes widened, he didn't move away. Loki, observing gaze still on Thor, moved his tongue tentatively to pick up the bead of milk at the bottom of the thumb. He pulled away the organ but kept his face where it was, analyzing the other's countenance.
A jolt ran through Thor. He opened his mouth to speak as Loki looked at him expectantly, no words coming out. Loki parted his lips again, sliding his tongue underneath the thumb to wrap it around and pull it into his mouth. An addle sound escaped Thor's throat when he felt a combination of sliding and suction. Loki saw Thor's jaw tighten and his Adam's apple bob with a swallow.
Thor wasn't sure what was more inappropriate--the fact that he was all the while comparing his brother to an attractive concubine after stroking his brother's neck, or that Loki maintained eye contact while he unhurriedly lapped at Thor's finger in a concubine-like manner. Loki ran his teeth over the top and bottom and pulled away with a gentle nip.
Shadows had fallen over the raven's dark bottom lashes and grazed the top of his cheekbones to make them look more extended than godly possible. His lips appeared crooked with what must have been his teeth biting the inside of his bottom lip.
Loki's heart and breathing were not cooperating with his wishes to slow their pace. Saliva was forcing him to swallow excessively, a fact that Thor noticed along with Loki's anxious face. His own couldn't have been much different, considering his confusion and the fact that he was getting thoughts and scenes in his mind that made his body react in a way he was sure it should not have. He realized that he didn't know what he should have done, but his fingers twitched when he noted that Loki's rarely-revealed curls looked soft out of the usual grease.
A shatter broke the silence and both men's heads shot to the side of the bed. Thor felt dampness and warmth seep through his shoes from the fluid. An uneasy quietness followed, in which Thor's swallow was surely audible to Loki. He wasn't sure if he should curse the universe's sick sense of humor for what had just happened or for the warmth and palpitations he was feeling, or give his thanks that it was nice enough that Loki preferred earthy mugs that had destructible tendencies.
"I..." Loki held his breath. "...need to go to my chambers." Loki's heart stopped. He struggled to swallow the saliva that now came in excess, and he might have vomited if he wasn't busying himself mentally cursing the reckless revelation of his desires.
Metal quietly collided as Thor lowered to the ground and seized a large shard.
"Don't." It didn't help Loki calm himself when his single word was croaked and sounded as wrecked as he was. Thor didn't look up, but saw in his peripheral vision that Loki had turned his head and back to him.
The situation was humiliating enough to Loki that any more embarrassment would leave him nauseous at any glimpse of blond hair or tea.
"You could step on it." Thor used a voice one uses around a friend whose parent had died. Loki had heard the same tone spoken by others, all in pity. He suddenly wanted to melt into the marble floors and scream at his body to halt its insolence when it commenced producing tears, but they were flowing down his cheeks before he could bridle them, and the only positive thing he could come up with was the fact that he had the sense to have turned from Thor.
Loki pressed his nose and mouth into the duvet covering his knees to cover up his nearly-hyperventilating breaths. He swallowed furiously before he forced himself to speak clearly and as smoothly as he could, just for two words.
"Leave it." Thor brought himself to his feet. He stared at the jade-colored fragments contrasting against the charcoal marble. He ran a hand through his hair to rid his face of strands that hadn't bothered him before but now irritated him to the point of him shaking.
"I'm--I will rest now." Silence. "Good night, Loki." Loki bit the duvet to stifle whimpers that were building in his throat as Thor's footsteps sounded against the marble. He was a trickster. Maybe his brother would reason that it had all been a cruel joke. Yes. Maybe he would do that, and maybe Loki would be able to meet his eyes again sooner than in a century.
Stars around, Loki was a god; he shouldn't be reduced to sobs and wiping his nose on his duvet, he cerebrated furiously when Thor's armor was out of sight.
Outside, a servant passed by Thor. The god's eyes bore through him. The servant met his eyes with a quick jerk back at the severe countenance.
"Sire, is there something that you require?" It was on the tip of his tongue. 'Clean up the mess in my brother's room'. Yet he couldn't bring himself to have someone bother Loki, especially when, as he was about to close the door behind him, he thought that he heard a faint sniffle coming from the room. Thor felt his eyebrows lower at the ground as he shook his head.
"No. But if my brother calls out, give him anything he wants." He left a gap between the door and wall for any of Loki's whispered commands to escape and, without waiting for the servant's reply, avoided all gazes as he strode to his chambers next door. He had things to settle.