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Loki cursed when he touched his bloodied nose and then unconsciously made a sign with his fingers to shield himself from evil forces.
The Statesman laid silent in the dark, all of Asgard citizen were herded in the upper decks by Bruce and Val. Loki was left alone in the dark cargo area.
No, not entirely alone.
Thor was somewhere in the dark and Loki was supposed to lure him out. He felt like bait, standing in the middle of the cargo bay and listening into the dark.
“I told them not to step a foot onto that planet,” Loki whispered to himself.
But they did and Thor got stung by a native mosquito and went berserk.
***
Berserk.
Loki hadn’t seen Thor in that state for centuries. Lost in rage, not able to tell friend from foe. And if Loki was being honest with himself, it was something he would gladly pass on to see it again.
Unfortunately for the inhabitants of the Statesman the insect’s poison worked slowly and they were back at the ship when Thor showed the first signs of irritability. And when Loki realised, with one look in Thor’s face, it was too late. Thor was lost in his rage.
By a breath Loki pulled an Asgardian out of Thor’s reach and then Thor’s anger focused on him. That gave them time to gather everyone else and bring them to safety while Loki desperately tried to plea with Thor’s awareness and at the same time not to get pummelled by him.
Thor roared and shook the Seiðr Loki send against his body off like it was nothing. At first Loki wasn’t too concerned and the mistake he made was to take this not seriously enough. In his heart he knew Thor wouldn’t hurt him, he got careless, too spoiled with the recent past of Thor only touching him with loving hands.
But Thor got the upper hand, landed a hard kick into Loki’s stomach and sent him to the ground. Before Loki could breath again, Thor kneeled down on him and landed the first blow with his fist in Loki’s face. And then the second and the third.
Loki lashed out with his Seiðr which made Thor recoil and he let go of Loki. For a moment Loki thought he was going after the others but then he saw through the blood streaming down his face that Thor picked up a heavy pipe and turned back to him.
Fear filled his entirely body when Loki saw the rage in Thor’s eye.
“Thor, please …,” Loki tried to crawl away, slipping on the metal floor slick with blood, “Thor!”
Thor stopped his crawl with a heavy boot on his chest, pressing Loki on the ground, and he lifted the pipe over his head. In that moment a crate came flying and hit Thor. He lost balance and someone grabbed Loki under his arms and pulled him up and away from Thor.
The Valkyrie had come back and was ready to fight. But Loki turned and dragged her with him to the next hallway. Thor roared and stormed after them, in the last second Loki managed to close the safety door between them.
“We can’t fight him,” he said to Val, wiping his face off of his blood. And then stepped back when Thor began to smash against the door and made a huge dent into it.
Val began to protest and Loki interrupted her, “It’s no use, he won’t go down so easily.”
“Then what are you suggesting? Kicking him out the airlock into space until he calmed down?”
For a second Loki seriously considered this but then Thor broke through the door. He got stuck and gave Loki and Val enough time to run to the next gate.
Loki gasped for air and went through the other options in his mind, “I know what to do. But I need time.”
Val looked at him, probably considering the chances of trusting Loki.
“Trust me,” Loki managed a weak smile.
As an answer Val rolled with the eyes but at least agreed.
“Fine. I’ll distract him.”
***
And now Loki was standing in the middle of the empty cargo bay on the South side of the ship and waited for Thor to step out of the dark hallway in front of him.
Only that he suddenly realised that he was hearing someone breathing behind his back and his hackles rose. Loki slowly turned to see Thor standing an arm’s length away from him, his bloodshot eyes trained on him.
“Fuck,” Loki said under his breath.
Thor growled and charged. And only grabbed thin air instead of Loki.
“Nice to see that some things don’t change,” the real Loki appeared from the shadows and spoke:
Innikróaður.
Green flames appeared from the ground, following the pattern of the pentagram circle Loki had drawn on the floor. Thor had stepped directly into the middle of it and now saw himself caged.
He tried to break through, roaring and pushing against the unyielding flames. They were cold to his touch, Loki made sure they wouldn’t harm.
***
It took two hours until Thor calmed down, he was heavily breathing and growled at Loki who never left his side.
Loki stepped closer, carefully watching Thor. It hurt to see him like that, suffering under the rage that filled his blood. He softly spoke his name and as an answer Thor snarled. But he didn’t set to attack Loki like the last times Loki tried to speak to him.
He looked so tired, his muscles trembled, his breath went hard and Loki could see his fast heartbeat in the pulsating veins on his forehead. His eye was glazed over, focusing on Loki only for a second and then on his body and the room in a wild pattern.
“It’s okay,” Loki said, perhaps more to himself than to Thor, and stepped closer. Still Thor didn’t try to grab him.
Loki took a deep breath and took another step through the wall of flames which didn’t hinder him in the slightest. Thor growled, towering over Loki, and now watched him very carefully.
As carefully as Loki took his last step to stand in front of Thor.
“Shh,” he whispered, “I’m here.”
Without haste he lifted his arm to Thor’s face, carefully placing his hands on either side of it. Thor tolerated it for a second but then his expression changed and he grabbed Loki’s wrists in a painful hold.
Loki yelped but held still. Thor didn’t fight him, instead he leaned down to sniff at his neck. Loki swallowed when he felt Thor’s hot and wet breath on his skin. This wasn’t going the way Loki had planned out.
“Oh, hey there, big guy,” Loki rambled and tried to wriggle out his wrists out of Thor’s iron hold.
Thor growled into his ear and let go of Loki to grab him around his waist and pulled him against his hot body. Before Thor could act on other urges he might have, Loki grabbed his head again and pulled him away.
“I’m so sorry,” Loki desperately looked at Thor, hoping to see another way but then blasted Seiðr into his mind.
Thor screamed out in pain and throw his head back while tearing at Loki’s hand. Loki didn’t let go of him, even when his screams turned into begging and tears streamed down both their faces. Even when Thor fell to his knees and the wall of flames went out.
Only when Loki felt the haze of bloodlust dissolve from Thor’s thoughts, when his magic found and wrapped itself around the feverish source, he let go. With a moan Thor pushed him away and both fell to the ground, breathing heavy and Loki’s heart broke when he heard Thor whimper. He scrambled on his knees to Thor to pull him into his arms and was relieved to see that Thor didn’t push him away again.
Thor pressed his head against Loki’s chest. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed repeatedly until Loki shushed him, gently rocking him in his arms and stroking his hair.
Thor set up and took Loki’s face into his hands, his own twisted in sorrow. “I nearly killed you.” Loki didn’t answer. Thor shook his head and leaned down to place his forehead against Loki’s.
They sat like that in silence for a moment until Loki freed himself from Thor’s hands and stood up.
“Loki …,” Thor’s voice trailed off.
Loki was spared an answer when Val and Bruce entered the cargo area and with them Eir and her healers. As soon as Thor was surrounded by helpful hands, Loki sneaked away.
He couldn’t face Thor for now, not after the pain Loki had inflicted on him. And the fear Thor made him feel. Their new bond was delicate and now Loki thought it threaten by the hurt they had brought upon each other once again.