Restraint, Chapter 08/Restraint, Epilogue
Series: Thor (Movie), The Avengers (Movie)
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, The Avengers
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: Restraint
Word Count: 2,655
Chapter: 8/9
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Faced with no choice, Loki is forced to capture his brother and send him back to Asgard to traitors. Now they must face the wrath of Loki Odinson as he fights to save his family with some extra help.
Thor watched as Loki entered the throne room with a slight bit of hesitance, but he did walk straight to him and the Avengers as they spoke near the main hall door. “It appears as if you’re leaving then,” the trickster commented, looking, in Thor’s opinion, beautiful in his gold and green clothes.
Whatever Stark was about to say was cut short by a look from Banner, who said instead, “Yeah. We have to head back now, but we’re glad we could help.” He tilted his head. “What are you planning on doing now?”
He waited with baited breath to hear what his brother would say because that was something that they had yet to discuss. He’d broached the subject once before, but then Loki had distracted him with sex. Very pleasurable, madness inducing sex that had gotten him addicted after just one time. It had embarrassed him quite sincerely that he had fallen asleep immediately after, the half a day sparring with the Hulk having worn him out completely.
“I think I’ll remain in Asgard. The Allfather has ended my punishment.”
“What about you, Thor? You heading back with us?” Steve asked, glancing between the two of them.
Thor blinked, as the idea that he wouldn’t be wherever Loki was had never occurred to him. “I will stay here, but return to visit Midgard soon.”
“You know, I hate to bring this up when you both seem to be glowing, but what about Jane?” Stark said bluntly.
Jane. He glanced at Loki, but the man’s expression hadn’t changed. It was impossible to read him and he wanted to so very badly. What was he thinking? He would have to return to Midgard and explain to her what had happened. In truth, he himself wasn’t entirely certain; all that he was certain of was his feelings for Loki. They had never been this clear, this unambiguous before. Looking back on their relationship, he couldn’t understand how he didn’t see it before.
“I will return soon then, to tell her in person.”
“So honorable, Thor,” Loki mocked, an unhappy look in his eye before turning and stalking away.
He hesitated, glancing at the Avengers, and Stark waved at him. “Go on, go. We’re fine, we just walk over the bridge and go home, right?”
“Heimdall will be there to guide you,” he said and gave them a brilliant smile. “Thank you, my friends.”
“If you say thank you one more time, I might smack you. That’s, what, the twentieth time by now?”
Thor laughed before he quickly followed his brother’s footsteps. Loki hadn’t gotten too far ahead; indeed, he had stopped at a balcony, allowing him to catch up. “I had expected you would follow me. Want me again so soon?”
“Loki, that isn’t what this is about,” he said with irritation. “What’s the matter? Why are you unhappy?”
“You’re going to return to see her.”
“To tell her that I cannot court her because my heart belongs to you!”
Loki whirled on him and for the first time in his entire life, Thor was able to glimpse the insecurities his brother tried so hard to hide. “I don’t want you to see her at all, no matter the reason!”
Thor really tried, he tried not to smile, but it happened anyway. “You have no need to be jealous, Loki.”
“I’m not jealous, Thor!”
He wrapped an arm around his lover’s waist. “You are, and while I’m honored by the depth of your affection, trust my words. I swore to you yesterday that I would not stray and I will not.”
“I said I’m not jealous and if you insist that I am, I will kill you. I’m already still angry with you for falling asleep yesterday while still inside me!”
“For a man who lies so well, you are not very good at it right now,” he said confidently.
For a minute he was sure that Loki would hit him, given the murderous look being thrown at him, but instead Thor found himself shoved against a nearby pillar. Their lips met with a distinct crash and his hands found their favorite spot: Loki’s rear. He squeezed the soft flesh, spinning them around until it was his brother’s back against the marble. His lust flared up, one time enough to addict him and not enough to satisfy in any way.
“How wanton, Thor,” he heard whispered in his ear when their lips broke. “Are you planning on rutting right here in plain view?”
It took an embarrassing amount of control to hold himself still. Instead he focused not on his lust, but his love. His fingers eased through the long black strands of hair, enjoying the look of confusion come across Loki’s face at the abrupt shift in mood. At least he did have some surprises in store for the smart man. “I love you, Loki,” he murmured, giving a gentle kiss this time rather than the bruising ones from before. “I would hold you again, but different than last time and not in so public a place. You are not a prize to be shown off, but a treasure to be cherished.”
“What nonsense are you babbling?”
Despite the tone, he could hear the confusion in his voice. He smiled, wrapping his arms around his lover again, this time taking away the harsh control Loki had over their previous encounter and replacing it with calm. “I do indeed enjoy your words, your actions, and yesterday fiercely, but you don’t have to feel you must say them every time. Are you thinking about giving me an excuse to want you? I need no encouragement to hold desire for you. Why do you think I do?”
“You really are an idiot,” Loki said, trying to get out of his grip.
Thor held on. “Why do you doubt my feelings?”
“Because it isn’t possible!”
He blinked. “What?”
“I’m not the type to attract good things, Thor,” Loki spat bitterly, refusing to meet his eyes. “Very rarely has anything good ever happened to me. Why should something this…nice, this good, you happen to me? The answer is because it hasn’t. It’s just physical desire because I seduced you and you were…concerned about what had happened to me. The moment you see Jane, I will be forgotten and when you do remember, it will be with regrets for yesterday.”
“Is that…what you truly think of me? Of yourself?”
“How else do you explain my life? All my plans have failed as of late.”
“It was your plan to return to Asgard with the Avengers and save our family; it succeeded.”
“Once does not negate a pattern.”
Thor had to actually grab Loki’s chin to force their eyes to meet. “Your plans never went wrong when we were together.”
“So now you’re insinuating I’m incapable without you?”
“Why must you always twist my words?” he spat in frustration. “I mean to say, and you understood, that we are far better together than apart. We, Loki. I found more joy and ease in fighting with you in that battle than I have in years past when we were separate. And if you truly think that I will abandon you, forget you, the moment I see Jane, then come with me.”
Loki’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline at that. “You would ask your current partner to be there as you end the relationship with another? How cruel are you, to shove it in her face like that?”
“I do not seek to be cruel, Loki, but both of you must understand something.” He let his brother go, watching as he stumbled just a little from how abrupt it was. “I know my own heart and I am not to be assumed a fool. I need no hand to guide me. What I need is a partner who trusts me and is my equal.”
He left his brother then, hoping his words would sink in.
-0-
He didn’t bed his brother since that conversation and they rarely spoke. Loki seemed to want to say something, but when Thor waited silently, there was nothing. That did not mean that he didn’t feel the eyes watching him. Loki was his ever present shadow, with him at all times, and seeming to study him, as if he were a fascinating puzzle that he didn’t understand. Not as unobservant as Loki claimed, Thor could see how he was barely holding himself in check from reaching out and touching him. Thor wanted nothing more than that, but he wouldn’t, not until he had spoken to Jane.
So four days after their conversation, he readied himself to return to Midgard. Loki had wavered between going and not going, until at the last minute he was there at Thor’s shoulder. Heimdall gave them a look, as the knowledge of their relationship had spread like wildfire throughout Asgard, but Thor didn’t care what other people’s opinions really were, only Loki’s.
They appeared back in that desert town where he’d first met the woman and he turned, leading the way to the building he knew she had once had her lab at. She was still there, he was sure, if Heimdall had placed them there. She was alone, Selvig and her assistant missing. He reached out, holding the door open for Loki, who gave him a sharp look but entered first.
“Thor!” The delight in her voice didn’t seem to be mitigated by Loki’s presence and she ran forward to wrap her arms around his chest. “Tony said that you were fine, but you didn’t come back with them!”
Loki was like a pillar next to him, stiff and unyielding, and Thor gently eased Jane’s arms from around him. “Jane, we must talk.”
She tilted her head at him, glancing at Loki. “What is it?”
He tried to calm himself, not get upset, at her suspicious staring at Loki, as if his brother had somehow hurt him. “I will not be returning to Midgard often. Asgard has need of me.”
“Then can I come with you?”
Thor blinked and it was not surprising to him that she would ask that question. He was drawn to her because she reminded him so much of Loki, how irreverent she was, that she would ask things no one else would do because her place was next to him. “No, Jane. Your place is here, among your people. Your work will benefit them more than they will ever know.” Before she could argue, he held up his hand. “This is not all I have to say. It isn’t just because of this that our courtship must end.”
“Then…what is it?” Her voice was shaking and he knew he was causing her pain, that she would probably cry when he was gone, but she was keeping it together because other people were here. When she was alone then she would allow herself to feel the hurt. So much like his beloved Loki.
“My heart…belongs to another. It always has, but I just never saw it. I’ve felt it all along, I just never realized what it meant. I should have seen it, I suppose, you have so many of the qualities of my love. I can only offer my sincerest apologies because I never meant to hurt you.”
Jane stepped back from him entirely. “Oh. So you were…”
“I did not look at you and see another; believe me, Jane, I didn’t know what it was in my heart until the recent threat to Asgard and I was imprisoned.”
“Who is it?”
“Jane…”
“I deserve to know, Thor, if I make you think of her so often.”
Thor swallowed a little, hating the question he was hoping she wouldn’t ask and yet knowing that she would ask it. He looked over at Loki silently. Green eyes met his gaze, moving over to Jane when she followed his line of sight. Jane drew back, giving him a horrified look. “Loki?! The man that killed how many people in his invasion of Earth?! The one that sent you back to be tortured?! How… How do I remind you of him?! What, you suddenly see me taking over the world?! Or am I evil?! I would never have sent you back to Asgard like he did, or hurt anyone!”
He had to take a deep breath to keep himself calm, to prevent him from taking offense to her words and defending Loki. “Your determination is what reminded me of him. How you continue, moving on past disappointment. Your pride in who you are, your irreverence for what has come before. You know what you want and you will not stop until you have it.” His eyes traveled to his brother and the force of his gaze made the man turn his head and meet Thor’s blue. “Loki didn’t want to, Jane, but he did what he had to save our mother. He knew that I could handle what they would do to me until he had a chance to free me.”
“You really believe that?”
Thor nodded at her, wanting so badly to take Loki into his arms, but holding back out of respect for Jane. He didn’t want to hurt her. She turned away and walked back to her table, gripping the edge of it tightly. She was staring down at her papers and her shoulders were a little hunched. “Then I hope he won’t disappoint you.”
Thor knew right then that it was over. He wouldn’t be back, she didn’t want to even talk to him. If Loki betrayed him, she would not welcome him back. “He won’t,” he reassured her. He gestured for Loki to go first, opening the door for him. For a moment, it looked as if Loki might not, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, didn’t.
The heat from outside surrounded them as the door swung closed. He didn’t look back out of respect for her, that she would want to break down in private. “You’re quiet,” he commented to his brother.
“Heimdall! Return us to Asgard!”
He blinked at Loki’s order, wondering if he was being ignored. He felt the Bifrost close around them and they were back in Asgard in less than a minute. Before he could ask what was going on, Loki had grabbed his hand and they were suddenly in his bedroom. “Loki?”
He stumbled back as Loki shoved him into a chair and began to pace. “I don’t understand you, Thor!”
“What?”
“You could have told her in such a way that she would allow you to come back to her, yet you deliberately burned that bridge!”
“You won’t betray me, Loki.”
“Where?! Where does this confidence come from?!” Loki demanded, whirling on him.
“Because I trust you. I trust your feelings.”
“You’re a fool! How many times have I betrayed you? Hurt you? Yet you continue to be so surprisingly stupid about trusting me.”
“This is different, Loki. I’ve never had your heart before now. Can you tell me, in all honesty, that you would hurt me now as you did then?”
His brother opened his mouth, but then closed it in silence. “Damn you… Do you know how hard it was to stand there and be silent? There were so many things I wanted to say, wanted to do, and I just had to stand there!”
He let Loki pace some more before he finally asked, “Do you trust my feelings now, Loki?”
Loki slowly stopped walking, but his back was to Thor so he couldn’t see his face. “Will you come to bed, Thor?”
The question made him blink. Not ordering him to come to bed, not turning around and making him wild, trying to seduce him…asking him instead. Thor smiled brilliantly and stood up, resting his hands on his brother’s arms and kissing the back of his neck. “I will.”
Series: Thor (Movie), The Avengers (Movie)
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, The Avengers
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: Restraint
Word Count: 1,220
Chapter: 9/9
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Faced with no choice, Loki is forced to capture his brother and send him back to Asgard to traitors. Now they must face the wrath of Loki Odinson as he fights to save his family with some extra help.
Loki woke gradually to the feeling of hands easing up and down his back. His eyes slid open by merely a crack, noting that it was early morning. He resisted the urge to go back to sleep, after all the huge bed was comfortable, the sheets silken, the air was cool, and he was feeling satisfied and pampered. Indeed, he stretched like a cat, settling on his stomach.
Lips soon joined the fingers stroking along his spine and he felt the furs around his waist being pulled down to expose his rear. He grinned as a weight settled there and his legs instinctively spread to make it easier. “You’ve been king long enough now to know that you can’t just spend the day rutting into me. Not that I mind.”
“I thought you were offering,” Thor teased with a rumble of laughter as he rested his clothed weight over Loki’s bare back. He felt the chainmail against his skin, rough hands easing down his shoulders and arms to grab his hands and twine their fingers. Their hips were now flush and he could feel the leather rubbing against his thighs and rear. He was even still in his boots.
“I’m not the bed, you know.”
“No, you’re far more comfortable than the bed.”
“Don’t we have some important dignitaries coming today? You wouldn’t want to disappoint them.”
“The Avengers would understand if we’re a little late.”
“They have to understand because every time they come, it happens. What was the last time? Stark saying he was going to stab out his own eyes when he saw you fucking me right up against a wall in the hallway a few months ago?”
Thor laughed in his ear and Loki shifted his head to rest more comfortably on the pillow. Thor’s long blonde hair touched his cheek as the man left soft kisses along his jaw. “He said to me after that I would never, apparently, have need of ‘Viagra’. I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t sound pleasant.”
Loki burst out laughing, his heaving chest jostling both of them. “Thor, ‘Viagra’ is a Midgardian drug to increase sexual virility! It is for those that have trouble performing in bed.”
“I shall try not to be insulted then.”
“Please, do not pretend you’re upset. I can feel you smiling.”
Their palms met, Thor doting attention on him and Loki soaking it up like a cat, almost purring. “I can hardly believe it has been almost three years since the attack on Asgard.”
He hummed in agreement. Three years since Thor had been made King; three years since the Allfather had finally eased into his final slumber not more than four months after the attack; and two years since Thor had convinced Loki to marry him in one of the most elaborate ceremonies ever known on Asgard, only to repeat it not a week later on Midgard. At least there with the mortals, Loki had had the Avengers on his side for making it a low-key affair.
“I love you, Loki.”
“So you say every day.”
“If I don’t, you may stop believing it.”
“Hardly! I wouldn’t have agreed to be your husband if I didn’t believe in your feelings.”
“As I recall, it took an entire year of asking you before you gave in.” Loki reached out for a nearby pillow and smacked Thor over his shoulder as best he could. “You would hit your king with a pillow?!” he said in mock outrage.
“I would hit my annoying husband with a pillow, there’s a difference.”
There was a faint knock on the door and Loki heard it open without a pause. “See! Ha! I was right, they’re still going at it!”
Loki managed to knock Thor off enough to ease up onto his arms and look over to the door. The Avengers stood there, expressions a varying mix of amusement and fond annoyance. “You owe me a twenty, Banner,” the genius was saying, gesturing at the mild-mannered scientist.
Yet the smile given back was a bit impish; clearly Loki was rubbing off on him. “I don’t think so, Tony. If you look closely, they’re not having sex.”
“Look closely? I’m not looking closely at a naked Loki!”
“I don’t know why not, he’s got a nice ass.” The statement from Natasha caused everyone to stare at her, particularly Barton and she gave them an unrepentant grin. “What? He does and I can at least have an objective look at it without appearing gay for him.”
Thor was laughing and really this was way too early in the morning for all this and yet Loki couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed. As his husband eased from the bed and joined his friends, leading him out of the room so he could get dressed, Natasha stayed behind for a minute. “Loki, I have something I want to ask you.”
“Whether my ass is indeed my best asset?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m being serious here.”
He sat up, not caring about his nudity. Loki had been slow to warm up to the Avengers, but he had…eventually…not hated them. Thor was convinced that he liked them, but that was just his foolish optimism. “What is it?”
“The others don’t know yet, only Clint does, and we’ve talked about this before, so he knows about this and is okay with it…not that it would have stopped me.”
“Do spit it out, I don’t have all day.”
“I’m pregnant and I want you to be the godfather. Clint chose Bruce, and my choice is you.”
He stared in shock. While not particularly interested in Midgardian customs, he did know about the culture more than what he wanted to know, and he knew about this one. “Don’t you usually ask those you’re particularly close to and trust for that kind of thing?”
“Yes,” was her very simple answer.
So if that was what it meant, and she knew that, and she still chose him… “Why me? Why not Thor?”
“You already know why, you just don’t want to see it. Despite your denial that we’re friends, that you like us, you’d be a good father and you’d keep my child safe.”
It was the biggest thing anyone had ever entrusted to him in his life, even before the dark area of his life, and particularly after. While the rest of the worlds might always treat Loki with suspicion and doubt, and most of Asgard Midgard themselves still hated him, the Avengers and this one in particular trusted him. “Yes,” he said quietly, fingering the ring on his finger as he always did when he felt out of his depth.
“Good. Now hurry up.”
He watched her go, the breeze ruffling the curtains from the open window and a few strands of his hair. His life might not be perfect, but Loki had found a man that loved him to his core and friends that accepted him for who he was even with what he did. Thor’s voice filtered back down the hall with jubilance. Clearly he’d been informed of the joyous news of Natasha’s condition. He couldn’t help but smile just a little and shake his head, standing and getting dressed.
He was Loki Odinson, and he had all that he needed.
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, The Avengers
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: Restraint
Word Count: 2,655
Chapter: 8/9
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Faced with no choice, Loki is forced to capture his brother and send him back to Asgard to traitors. Now they must face the wrath of Loki Odinson as he fights to save his family with some extra help.
Thor watched as Loki entered the throne room with a slight bit of hesitance, but he did walk straight to him and the Avengers as they spoke near the main hall door. “It appears as if you’re leaving then,” the trickster commented, looking, in Thor’s opinion, beautiful in his gold and green clothes.
Whatever Stark was about to say was cut short by a look from Banner, who said instead, “Yeah. We have to head back now, but we’re glad we could help.” He tilted his head. “What are you planning on doing now?”
He waited with baited breath to hear what his brother would say because that was something that they had yet to discuss. He’d broached the subject once before, but then Loki had distracted him with sex. Very pleasurable, madness inducing sex that had gotten him addicted after just one time. It had embarrassed him quite sincerely that he had fallen asleep immediately after, the half a day sparring with the Hulk having worn him out completely.
“I think I’ll remain in Asgard. The Allfather has ended my punishment.”
“What about you, Thor? You heading back with us?” Steve asked, glancing between the two of them.
Thor blinked, as the idea that he wouldn’t be wherever Loki was had never occurred to him. “I will stay here, but return to visit Midgard soon.”
“You know, I hate to bring this up when you both seem to be glowing, but what about Jane?” Stark said bluntly.
Jane. He glanced at Loki, but the man’s expression hadn’t changed. It was impossible to read him and he wanted to so very badly. What was he thinking? He would have to return to Midgard and explain to her what had happened. In truth, he himself wasn’t entirely certain; all that he was certain of was his feelings for Loki. They had never been this clear, this unambiguous before. Looking back on their relationship, he couldn’t understand how he didn’t see it before.
“I will return soon then, to tell her in person.”
“So honorable, Thor,” Loki mocked, an unhappy look in his eye before turning and stalking away.
He hesitated, glancing at the Avengers, and Stark waved at him. “Go on, go. We’re fine, we just walk over the bridge and go home, right?”
“Heimdall will be there to guide you,” he said and gave them a brilliant smile. “Thank you, my friends.”
“If you say thank you one more time, I might smack you. That’s, what, the twentieth time by now?”
Thor laughed before he quickly followed his brother’s footsteps. Loki hadn’t gotten too far ahead; indeed, he had stopped at a balcony, allowing him to catch up. “I had expected you would follow me. Want me again so soon?”
“Loki, that isn’t what this is about,” he said with irritation. “What’s the matter? Why are you unhappy?”
“You’re going to return to see her.”
“To tell her that I cannot court her because my heart belongs to you!”
Loki whirled on him and for the first time in his entire life, Thor was able to glimpse the insecurities his brother tried so hard to hide. “I don’t want you to see her at all, no matter the reason!”
Thor really tried, he tried not to smile, but it happened anyway. “You have no need to be jealous, Loki.”
“I’m not jealous, Thor!”
He wrapped an arm around his lover’s waist. “You are, and while I’m honored by the depth of your affection, trust my words. I swore to you yesterday that I would not stray and I will not.”
“I said I’m not jealous and if you insist that I am, I will kill you. I’m already still angry with you for falling asleep yesterday while still inside me!”
“For a man who lies so well, you are not very good at it right now,” he said confidently.
For a minute he was sure that Loki would hit him, given the murderous look being thrown at him, but instead Thor found himself shoved against a nearby pillar. Their lips met with a distinct crash and his hands found their favorite spot: Loki’s rear. He squeezed the soft flesh, spinning them around until it was his brother’s back against the marble. His lust flared up, one time enough to addict him and not enough to satisfy in any way.
“How wanton, Thor,” he heard whispered in his ear when their lips broke. “Are you planning on rutting right here in plain view?”
It took an embarrassing amount of control to hold himself still. Instead he focused not on his lust, but his love. His fingers eased through the long black strands of hair, enjoying the look of confusion come across Loki’s face at the abrupt shift in mood. At least he did have some surprises in store for the smart man. “I love you, Loki,” he murmured, giving a gentle kiss this time rather than the bruising ones from before. “I would hold you again, but different than last time and not in so public a place. You are not a prize to be shown off, but a treasure to be cherished.”
“What nonsense are you babbling?”
Despite the tone, he could hear the confusion in his voice. He smiled, wrapping his arms around his lover again, this time taking away the harsh control Loki had over their previous encounter and replacing it with calm. “I do indeed enjoy your words, your actions, and yesterday fiercely, but you don’t have to feel you must say them every time. Are you thinking about giving me an excuse to want you? I need no encouragement to hold desire for you. Why do you think I do?”
“You really are an idiot,” Loki said, trying to get out of his grip.
Thor held on. “Why do you doubt my feelings?”
“Because it isn’t possible!”
He blinked. “What?”
“I’m not the type to attract good things, Thor,” Loki spat bitterly, refusing to meet his eyes. “Very rarely has anything good ever happened to me. Why should something this…nice, this good, you happen to me? The answer is because it hasn’t. It’s just physical desire because I seduced you and you were…concerned about what had happened to me. The moment you see Jane, I will be forgotten and when you do remember, it will be with regrets for yesterday.”
“Is that…what you truly think of me? Of yourself?”
“How else do you explain my life? All my plans have failed as of late.”
“It was your plan to return to Asgard with the Avengers and save our family; it succeeded.”
“Once does not negate a pattern.”
Thor had to actually grab Loki’s chin to force their eyes to meet. “Your plans never went wrong when we were together.”
“So now you’re insinuating I’m incapable without you?”
“Why must you always twist my words?” he spat in frustration. “I mean to say, and you understood, that we are far better together than apart. We, Loki. I found more joy and ease in fighting with you in that battle than I have in years past when we were separate. And if you truly think that I will abandon you, forget you, the moment I see Jane, then come with me.”
Loki’s eyebrows rose almost to his hairline at that. “You would ask your current partner to be there as you end the relationship with another? How cruel are you, to shove it in her face like that?”
“I do not seek to be cruel, Loki, but both of you must understand something.” He let his brother go, watching as he stumbled just a little from how abrupt it was. “I know my own heart and I am not to be assumed a fool. I need no hand to guide me. What I need is a partner who trusts me and is my equal.”
He left his brother then, hoping his words would sink in.
-0-
He didn’t bed his brother since that conversation and they rarely spoke. Loki seemed to want to say something, but when Thor waited silently, there was nothing. That did not mean that he didn’t feel the eyes watching him. Loki was his ever present shadow, with him at all times, and seeming to study him, as if he were a fascinating puzzle that he didn’t understand. Not as unobservant as Loki claimed, Thor could see how he was barely holding himself in check from reaching out and touching him. Thor wanted nothing more than that, but he wouldn’t, not until he had spoken to Jane.
So four days after their conversation, he readied himself to return to Midgard. Loki had wavered between going and not going, until at the last minute he was there at Thor’s shoulder. Heimdall gave them a look, as the knowledge of their relationship had spread like wildfire throughout Asgard, but Thor didn’t care what other people’s opinions really were, only Loki’s.
They appeared back in that desert town where he’d first met the woman and he turned, leading the way to the building he knew she had once had her lab at. She was still there, he was sure, if Heimdall had placed them there. She was alone, Selvig and her assistant missing. He reached out, holding the door open for Loki, who gave him a sharp look but entered first.
“Thor!” The delight in her voice didn’t seem to be mitigated by Loki’s presence and she ran forward to wrap her arms around his chest. “Tony said that you were fine, but you didn’t come back with them!”
Loki was like a pillar next to him, stiff and unyielding, and Thor gently eased Jane’s arms from around him. “Jane, we must talk.”
She tilted her head at him, glancing at Loki. “What is it?”
He tried to calm himself, not get upset, at her suspicious staring at Loki, as if his brother had somehow hurt him. “I will not be returning to Midgard often. Asgard has need of me.”
“Then can I come with you?”
Thor blinked and it was not surprising to him that she would ask that question. He was drawn to her because she reminded him so much of Loki, how irreverent she was, that she would ask things no one else would do because her place was next to him. “No, Jane. Your place is here, among your people. Your work will benefit them more than they will ever know.” Before she could argue, he held up his hand. “This is not all I have to say. It isn’t just because of this that our courtship must end.”
“Then…what is it?” Her voice was shaking and he knew he was causing her pain, that she would probably cry when he was gone, but she was keeping it together because other people were here. When she was alone then she would allow herself to feel the hurt. So much like his beloved Loki.
“My heart…belongs to another. It always has, but I just never saw it. I’ve felt it all along, I just never realized what it meant. I should have seen it, I suppose, you have so many of the qualities of my love. I can only offer my sincerest apologies because I never meant to hurt you.”
Jane stepped back from him entirely. “Oh. So you were…”
“I did not look at you and see another; believe me, Jane, I didn’t know what it was in my heart until the recent threat to Asgard and I was imprisoned.”
“Who is it?”
“Jane…”
“I deserve to know, Thor, if I make you think of her so often.”
Thor swallowed a little, hating the question he was hoping she wouldn’t ask and yet knowing that she would ask it. He looked over at Loki silently. Green eyes met his gaze, moving over to Jane when she followed his line of sight. Jane drew back, giving him a horrified look. “Loki?! The man that killed how many people in his invasion of Earth?! The one that sent you back to be tortured?! How… How do I remind you of him?! What, you suddenly see me taking over the world?! Or am I evil?! I would never have sent you back to Asgard like he did, or hurt anyone!”
He had to take a deep breath to keep himself calm, to prevent him from taking offense to her words and defending Loki. “Your determination is what reminded me of him. How you continue, moving on past disappointment. Your pride in who you are, your irreverence for what has come before. You know what you want and you will not stop until you have it.” His eyes traveled to his brother and the force of his gaze made the man turn his head and meet Thor’s blue. “Loki didn’t want to, Jane, but he did what he had to save our mother. He knew that I could handle what they would do to me until he had a chance to free me.”
“You really believe that?”
Thor nodded at her, wanting so badly to take Loki into his arms, but holding back out of respect for Jane. He didn’t want to hurt her. She turned away and walked back to her table, gripping the edge of it tightly. She was staring down at her papers and her shoulders were a little hunched. “Then I hope he won’t disappoint you.”
Thor knew right then that it was over. He wouldn’t be back, she didn’t want to even talk to him. If Loki betrayed him, she would not welcome him back. “He won’t,” he reassured her. He gestured for Loki to go first, opening the door for him. For a moment, it looked as if Loki might not, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, didn’t.
The heat from outside surrounded them as the door swung closed. He didn’t look back out of respect for her, that she would want to break down in private. “You’re quiet,” he commented to his brother.
“Heimdall! Return us to Asgard!”
He blinked at Loki’s order, wondering if he was being ignored. He felt the Bifrost close around them and they were back in Asgard in less than a minute. Before he could ask what was going on, Loki had grabbed his hand and they were suddenly in his bedroom. “Loki?”
He stumbled back as Loki shoved him into a chair and began to pace. “I don’t understand you, Thor!”
“What?”
“You could have told her in such a way that she would allow you to come back to her, yet you deliberately burned that bridge!”
“You won’t betray me, Loki.”
“Where?! Where does this confidence come from?!” Loki demanded, whirling on him.
“Because I trust you. I trust your feelings.”
“You’re a fool! How many times have I betrayed you? Hurt you? Yet you continue to be so surprisingly stupid about trusting me.”
“This is different, Loki. I’ve never had your heart before now. Can you tell me, in all honesty, that you would hurt me now as you did then?”
His brother opened his mouth, but then closed it in silence. “Damn you… Do you know how hard it was to stand there and be silent? There were so many things I wanted to say, wanted to do, and I just had to stand there!”
He let Loki pace some more before he finally asked, “Do you trust my feelings now, Loki?”
Loki slowly stopped walking, but his back was to Thor so he couldn’t see his face. “Will you come to bed, Thor?”
The question made him blink. Not ordering him to come to bed, not turning around and making him wild, trying to seduce him…asking him instead. Thor smiled brilliantly and stood up, resting his hands on his brother’s arms and kissing the back of his neck. “I will.”
Series: Thor (Movie), The Avengers (Movie)
Characters: Thor, Loki, Odin, The Avengers
Couple: Thor/Loki
Title: Restraint
Word Count: 1,220
Chapter: 9/9
Status: Complete
Rating: R/Mature
Disclaimer: I have no claim whatsoever on any the marvel franchises at all, I'm just borrowing them for my story that will bring me no money whatsoever. I shall be forever broke.
Summary: Faced with no choice, Loki is forced to capture his brother and send him back to Asgard to traitors. Now they must face the wrath of Loki Odinson as he fights to save his family with some extra help.
Loki woke gradually to the feeling of hands easing up and down his back. His eyes slid open by merely a crack, noting that it was early morning. He resisted the urge to go back to sleep, after all the huge bed was comfortable, the sheets silken, the air was cool, and he was feeling satisfied and pampered. Indeed, he stretched like a cat, settling on his stomach.
Lips soon joined the fingers stroking along his spine and he felt the furs around his waist being pulled down to expose his rear. He grinned as a weight settled there and his legs instinctively spread to make it easier. “You’ve been king long enough now to know that you can’t just spend the day rutting into me. Not that I mind.”
“I thought you were offering,” Thor teased with a rumble of laughter as he rested his clothed weight over Loki’s bare back. He felt the chainmail against his skin, rough hands easing down his shoulders and arms to grab his hands and twine their fingers. Their hips were now flush and he could feel the leather rubbing against his thighs and rear. He was even still in his boots.
“I’m not the bed, you know.”
“No, you’re far more comfortable than the bed.”
“Don’t we have some important dignitaries coming today? You wouldn’t want to disappoint them.”
“The Avengers would understand if we’re a little late.”
“They have to understand because every time they come, it happens. What was the last time? Stark saying he was going to stab out his own eyes when he saw you fucking me right up against a wall in the hallway a few months ago?”
Thor laughed in his ear and Loki shifted his head to rest more comfortably on the pillow. Thor’s long blonde hair touched his cheek as the man left soft kisses along his jaw. “He said to me after that I would never, apparently, have need of ‘Viagra’. I’m not sure what it is, but it doesn’t sound pleasant.”
Loki burst out laughing, his heaving chest jostling both of them. “Thor, ‘Viagra’ is a Midgardian drug to increase sexual virility! It is for those that have trouble performing in bed.”
“I shall try not to be insulted then.”
“Please, do not pretend you’re upset. I can feel you smiling.”
Their palms met, Thor doting attention on him and Loki soaking it up like a cat, almost purring. “I can hardly believe it has been almost three years since the attack on Asgard.”
He hummed in agreement. Three years since Thor had been made King; three years since the Allfather had finally eased into his final slumber not more than four months after the attack; and two years since Thor had convinced Loki to marry him in one of the most elaborate ceremonies ever known on Asgard, only to repeat it not a week later on Midgard. At least there with the mortals, Loki had had the Avengers on his side for making it a low-key affair.
“I love you, Loki.”
“So you say every day.”
“If I don’t, you may stop believing it.”
“Hardly! I wouldn’t have agreed to be your husband if I didn’t believe in your feelings.”
“As I recall, it took an entire year of asking you before you gave in.” Loki reached out for a nearby pillow and smacked Thor over his shoulder as best he could. “You would hit your king with a pillow?!” he said in mock outrage.
“I would hit my annoying husband with a pillow, there’s a difference.”
There was a faint knock on the door and Loki heard it open without a pause. “See! Ha! I was right, they’re still going at it!”
Loki managed to knock Thor off enough to ease up onto his arms and look over to the door. The Avengers stood there, expressions a varying mix of amusement and fond annoyance. “You owe me a twenty, Banner,” the genius was saying, gesturing at the mild-mannered scientist.
Yet the smile given back was a bit impish; clearly Loki was rubbing off on him. “I don’t think so, Tony. If you look closely, they’re not having sex.”
“Look closely? I’m not looking closely at a naked Loki!”
“I don’t know why not, he’s got a nice ass.” The statement from Natasha caused everyone to stare at her, particularly Barton and she gave them an unrepentant grin. “What? He does and I can at least have an objective look at it without appearing gay for him.”
Thor was laughing and really this was way too early in the morning for all this and yet Loki couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed. As his husband eased from the bed and joined his friends, leading him out of the room so he could get dressed, Natasha stayed behind for a minute. “Loki, I have something I want to ask you.”
“Whether my ass is indeed my best asset?”
She rolled her eyes. “No, I’m being serious here.”
He sat up, not caring about his nudity. Loki had been slow to warm up to the Avengers, but he had…eventually…not hated them. Thor was convinced that he liked them, but that was just his foolish optimism. “What is it?”
“The others don’t know yet, only Clint does, and we’ve talked about this before, so he knows about this and is okay with it…not that it would have stopped me.”
“Do spit it out, I don’t have all day.”
“I’m pregnant and I want you to be the godfather. Clint chose Bruce, and my choice is you.”
He stared in shock. While not particularly interested in Midgardian customs, he did know about the culture more than what he wanted to know, and he knew about this one. “Don’t you usually ask those you’re particularly close to and trust for that kind of thing?”
“Yes,” was her very simple answer.
So if that was what it meant, and she knew that, and she still chose him… “Why me? Why not Thor?”
“You already know why, you just don’t want to see it. Despite your denial that we’re friends, that you like us, you’d be a good father and you’d keep my child safe.”
It was the biggest thing anyone had ever entrusted to him in his life, even before the dark area of his life, and particularly after. While the rest of the worlds might always treat Loki with suspicion and doubt, and most of Asgard Midgard themselves still hated him, the Avengers and this one in particular trusted him. “Yes,” he said quietly, fingering the ring on his finger as he always did when he felt out of his depth.
“Good. Now hurry up.”
He watched her go, the breeze ruffling the curtains from the open window and a few strands of his hair. His life might not be perfect, but Loki had found a man that loved him to his core and friends that accepted him for who he was even with what he did. Thor’s voice filtered back down the hall with jubilance. Clearly he’d been informed of the joyous news of Natasha’s condition. He couldn’t help but smile just a little and shake his head, standing and getting dressed.
He was Loki Odinson, and he had all that he needed.