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Thor was the only one who wasn’t standing. Everyone was huddled around, talking, trying to come up with a plan, with a strategy to win but Thor knows that they’ve already lost. He had nothing now, and as he lied on his side, looking into the forest of Wakanda, Thor thought of Asgard. Nobody around him knew what had happened to the people he was sworn to protect, what happened to Loki.
No one has tried to speak to him after Thanos left and half of them turned ashes before blowing away. He dropped to his knees as everything fell apart because of him and he hasn’t been able to get up. He tried after a few minutes but his knees went weak and his arms shook as he tried to push up.
He tried to think what happened that landed him here. The only thing he could think of was when Loki ‘died’ in his arms after the encounter with Kurse and the Dark Elves. After that, Thanos got to Loki and had Loki to get the tesseract which overall ended up killing him in the end.
Thor sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before reopening them to twist his head back to look at his friends. Thor could see the fear in Rhodes and Bruce’s eyes, the pain in Natasha’s, and if you looked close enough, you could see tears in Steve’s eyes as his body slightly twitched. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, it was completely muffled. Thor closed his eyes again and opened them to the forest.
There he was.
Thor shot up, resting on his knees, his eyes wide and his hands shaking. Dressed in all black, with his arms wide open, and a grin on his face stood Loki. Thor stood, not having trouble this time and ran to where his brother stood in the middle of the trees.
“Loki,” he gasped as he tackled Loki to the ground. Loki threw his head back and looked up at Thor.
“Was that necessary?” He asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Thor didn’t answer, he couldn’t. He just pressed his face to his younger brother’s neck and tried to hold back the tears but he failed.
“Oh Thor,” Loki whispered, bringing his hand to the back of his brother’s head, threading his fingers through the short hair.
“I don’t deserve these tears brother. I don’t deserve anything from you.”
“I’d give you everything,” Thor mumbled into Loki’s neck.
“I know and you have but these tears. I-I don’t want them, I don’t want you to cry.”
Thor sniffed and pulled away, resting his hand on Loki’s cheek.
“Y-you’re here.” Thor managed to whisper, a hesitant smile on his face.
“I’m here,” Loki whispered back, nodded slightly.
Thor placed his face back in his brother’s neck and sighed contently.
Hope began to grow within Thor. Before, when he set out to go against Thanos, it wasn’t to save others-he knew nobody could win against him- he did it as a suicide mission because he had nothing left.
“Thor?” Loki asked, his voice small.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. For everything.”
“That’s quite alright I suppose brother, you’re here now and that is what matters.”
“Yes,” Loki replied, “and I am with you.”
Thor closed his eyes and thought of Loki and him fighting side by side to defeat Thanos. He imagined them living with the Avengers afterward, living a more peaceful life. Thor liked this scenario. But that was a different universe, none of that happened here.
When Thor opened his eyes, his brother’s usual pale skin was now grey and cracked.
He pulled away, his eyes wide.
“L-Loki?” He choked out.
“I’m sorry brother,” Loki whispered, his eyes blinking fast as he tried to hold back the tears
“No!” Thor yelled. “No!”
Thor moved his hands to Loki’s chest and held on, trying to keep him where he was. Loki brought his own hand up to his brother’s and cradled his prickly cheek.
“I am always with you,” Loki whispered, leaning up to press his forehead against Thor’s.
“I will always be with you Thor. Please, please don’t fight for me, fight for you.”
“Stop,” Thor pleaded, his voice breaking.
“And I’ll see you again one day brother.”
“Please,” Thor cried, “stop this.”
“I love you Thor,” Loki said, his voice wet with sorrow.
“Loki,” he whispered but there was nothing there and he fell, his whole body shaking.
He yelled, “Come back,” a few time before whispering it over, and over, and over.
There was someone trying to hold him- he thinks it’s Steve- but he didn’t care.
“Go away!” He yelled, shoving whomever away. “Go away!” He yelled again and there was faint crash of thunder close by.
“I don’t care how,” he whispered to himself, “come back. For me, come back.”