Archive of Our Own

Thor tensed when he heard a van draw up outside.

None of this had been his idea. Loki had to live on Midgard as a punishment, a punishment Thor had negotiated for him in the hopes of softening his relationship with the human race – because that always worked out so well – and so had come to keep an eye on him. The city refused to support them, literal illegal aliens as they were. They had to make money for themselves since Asgard was also unwilling to offer financial support to its wayward princes. He was reluctant to accept much from his friends. He already felt that bringing Loki so near to them was an imposition considering his crimes and he wanted to live as normally as possible. As humanly as possible. So with their limited skills – turned out not many people in New York needed lightning on demand and Loki flat-out refused to further humanity’s baby-steps into science – they’d somehow ended up with a flagging restaurant. Thor could cook. It was an under-appreciated skill of the battlefield, where a good meal could make all the difference.

Loki had spent his time doing his very best to sabotage everything. Jane was still present in Thor’s life, but only just, their relationship having moved from romance to friendship surprisingly easily. She still contacted him for help with her research from time to time. Of course, their possibly inevitable separation had been hurried along when Loki decided to re-stake his claim on Thor by means of falling into his lap one evening and biting kisses into his neck right in front of her. Which had led to a few awkward conversations about just what their relationship had been before all this and Jane had, perhaps sensibly, decided that she didn’t want to be in the middle of that and left for some time. And she’d been the one providing the food, which rather left Thor in a quandary.

Stark said they ought to just set up a tent and charge entry for people to see the God of Thunder and the would-be conqueror of Earth, but Thor was uncomfortable with that idea. And then Rogers had suggested being their own bosses and a few misappropriated funds from Stark Industries later, Thor owned a kitchen. He’d thought Loki would be pleased to have purpose, thought the poise and stilted rules of Midgardian fine dining would appeal to him. But, and he really should have seen this coming, Loki did not enjoy anything about this new life. He did his level best to make everything as difficult for Thor as possible. They rolled through staff in waves, though they were never short of applicants; working for them was a badge of honour among the restaurant staff of the city. The longer you made it at Valhalla, the more proof that you could handle anything.

And that was another thing; Loki hated the name Thor had chosen. He seemed to consider it some kind of personal jibe. The name of a place he believed himself banished from. And he hated being there, often not showing up. Thor didn’t know where he went on the days he vanished and had words with various powers in order to install his brother and himself in the living quarters above the restaurant to better keep him under surveillance. After a few months of still managing to lose him to the bustling New York crowds, Thor even had magic barriers installed by mages on Asgard to keep Loki within 20 feet of the premises at all times. He’d been punished soundly for that, exiled from the bed they’d shared since Jane had left. They’d been making up for the lost time of the past few years previous to that. As a result Thor was frustrated and flustered and even working in the kitchen himself had done little to stop Loki from terrorising the chefs and waiting staff. They had a steady stream of customers, curious to see them and to try Asgardian cuisine. But they seldom paid. That was the problem. They came, they ate, Loki chased them off. Thor didn’t understand why they hadn’t been evicted yet.

So, over an evening’s drinks with Barton – who stayed away, never wanting to see Loki again it seemed, perfectly understandably – it had been suggested he call a human whose speciality was helping restaurants in difficulty, even through personal problems. Apparently he had a large and dedicated following and was known for his forthright language. Thor agreed. He had tried everything he could think of, pleading, cajoling, offering Loki whatever depraved sexual activity he could think of if he would just behave, but to no avail.

And now this man, this Chef Ramsay, was here as a last-ditch attempt to sort this out. His producer had been very keen, excited to have Gordon vs. the God of Mischief. Not that Loki knew this was coming. Thor hadn’t wanted to give him any time to prepare anything. As a result there was some calm before the storm, Loki having not yet surfaced, despite the late hour.

Cameras were produced. A small army of sound engineers and filming crews. And finally, the man himself. The famous Gordon Ramsay.

“Good morning,” the man said, tall and effortless in jeans, not at all what Thor was expecting. “Are you the owner?”

“Yes,” Thor said. “And head chef.”

“And lightning conductor, I hear.”

He seemed very unfazed, talking to a god. Loki would not like that.

Chef Ramsay ordered a little of most of the menu and Thor retreated to help his current cooks hurry through the dishes. They were skilled people and Thor was proud of them. As a result he had banned Loki from the kitchen hoping to keep them safe, something which made him only more determined to interfere.

He tried to put these thoughts out of his mind as he heard Chef Ramsay talking to his server for the afternoon.

“So, what’s the story here, my darling?” he was asking her. “The decor could be updated, it’s a little Olde Worlde, but maybe that works, considering the theme. But how’s the owner? He treats everyone fairly?”

“Oh, yeah. Thor’s great. Thor’s not the problem.”

“Then who is?”

“Loki.”

“And who’s Loki?”

“He’s Thor’s brother... and, uh...”

Thor listened as she hesitated, the word ‘incest’ being skirted around as she tried to word things sensitively. Their relationship was an open secret, although Loki tended to use it in attempts to make people uncomfortable, which Thor hated. He was not ashamed of Loki, but he hated the way people looked at them, the way people pointed and whispered. As a result he would often seize up when offered affection in public, a fact Loki loved to use to his advantage.

Chef Ramsay wanted to know what exactly Loki did in the restaurant and the girl hesitated again.

“I don’t know,” she managed, eventually. “He’s just here. And he, uh... He hates it. But he has to be here. So he just causes trouble. I think he’s kinda psycho.”

She’d whispered the last part. It wasn’t like she was going to be fired. Thor never fired anyone, they left of their own accord. He’d given up on notice periods, even though Pepper kept sending him notes that said they were necessary.

Chef Ramsay enjoyed the food, although he said the portion size was a little large. He found nothing wrong with the kitchen upon inspecting it, other than a few unfamiliar utensils brought from Asgard which he wanted to examine more closely at his leisure. Eventually he asked to speak to all the staff individually, taking them outside with the camera crew. Thor knew that they would all say the same thing. It was Loki’s fault, everything, Loki shouldn’t be here. But what was Thor supposed to do? Lock him up somewhere, deny him access entirely? He’d negotiated this punishment in an attempt to keep Loki out of prison. The fact that he couldn’t even trust his brother outside of the building was bad enough. It was enclosure enough.

Chef Ramsay moved back into view, face marked with concern, and stood in front of the store to deliver a piece to camera. He praised the staff and the food, then said that he was going to meet this elusive troublemaker.

Thor pretended he hadn’t heard and braced himself for the next question. The request he knew was coming.

“Where’s this Loki, then?”

“He’s upstairs. Probably asleep.”

“He’s sleeping through afternoon service? Fuck me...”

Ramsay didn’t even wait for his camera crew to follow, and started taking the stairs two at a time. Thor spluttered protests, it wasn’t safe to wake Loki like this, no, stop...

Fortunately Loki seemed too surprised at being yelled at by someone who wasn’t Thor to think about violence, too busy yelling back. Thor felt the camera’s gaze where they filmed his reaction, uncomfortable knowing that his emotions would be showing all too obviously on his face.

Loki came downstairs in his usual lighter day outfit, spitting and snarling and Thor was glad that the staff hadn’t yet come back inside as he was yanked forwards and Loki slammed their mouths together. There was no love here. This was just Loki punishing him, flaunting their arrangement for the cameras.

They hadn’t kissed for love in months.

“Thor, darling,” Loki purred, an edge of threat in his voice. “There’s a strange man in our bedroom. It’s not even my birthday.”

“Loki, this is Chef Ramsay. He’s here with his crew to help sort out the restaurant.”

And that had Loki pulling away, a challenge having been given. Someone to help? Someone coming to sort them out? He knew Loki wouldn’t back down without a fight.

And it seemed Chef Ramsay either hadn’t been briefed about the whole this-guy-attempted-to-subjugate-earth thing, or had barely any self-preservation instinct.

“I don’t think the restaurant needs fixing,” he said, hands on hips behind them. “What needs fixing is your fucking attitude.”

Loki whirled on him. “I never asked for this. I’m just trying to break my brother of his bizarre obsession with living like you. Your world barely warrants acknowledgement, let alone protection.”

“So you have no passion for this place? This restaurant?”

“None whatsoever.”

“And your brother? No love for him and his dreams either? You want him to fail?”

Loki laughed. “That desire has only driven my every action over the last five years...”

Chef Ramsay sized him up, taking in everything from the brittle smile to the bare feet.

“So that’s what this is really about then, is it? Big brother always had what you couldn’t have, and now that he wants to share something with you, you don’t want it? Sibling fucking rivalry...”

Thor snatched Loki’s wrist when he made to lunge.

“In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re not brothers. Not anymore.”

Thor couldn’t help the sad little sigh that slipped from his lips.

“I see,” Ramsay said, taking incestuous gods in his stride admirably. “But my point remains that you, son, are a spoiled brat...”

“How dare you? I was born before your ancestors had even settled on a writing system.”

“A spoiled brat,” he insisted. “Who can’t bear to let someone he supposedly loves succeed. What are you afraid of? That he’ll realise how little he really needs you? Because from where I’m standing, he needs you like he needs a fucking hole in the head.”

“Stop,” Thor said. “Stop, please. You don’t understand, I need him. I need him here, with me, where’s he’s safe.”

“Oh, fantastic. So on one side we’ve got grudges and resentfulness, on the other we’ve got possessive behaviour and over-protection, and then we’ve got a big dollop of co-dependency all over everything. Christ, I’ve seen fault-lines more stable than you two!”

Thor shuffled his feet, his grip still firm on Loki’s wrist. At least Loki didn’t seem to be intent on murder right now.

There was an awkward pause before Chef Ramsay tried to diffuse the tension.

“What is your actual job title, Loki?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Well, what do you do?”

“As little as possible. It’s not right for us to do this. It’s not right for us to serve those who should worship us.”

“You know what? I think you honestly believe that. But I don’t believe that you are going to sit by and watch your brother suffer.”

“No, I’m going to actively make him suffer. It’s what I do.”

Ramsay looked Thor straight in the eye.

“I think I’ve found your problem,” he said simply. “Right, I’m going to change and be back to observe evening service. See you later.”

He left without another word and Thor barely had a moment to think before Loki was shoving him against the wall.

“You’ve brought in a mortal to manage me,” he growled. “You think I’m intimidated in any way by that...”

“He’s going to help us! I’m unhappy. You’re unhappy. He’s going to help.”

“We don’t need help, Thor, we need you to give up this stupid obsession with Midgard. We shouldn’t be here. We shouldn’t be lowering ourselves like this. You are a prince. You are not some kitchen wench. You’re the one who always wanted to go home, well, now I’m begging you, take me back to Asgard. Don’t make me suffer here a moment longer.”

Thor hesitated, Loki’s hands warm through his clothes where they rested against his chest.

“I’m sorry, Loki. But this is home now. And you’re my home too. I couldn’t bear to be without you again. And you know that’s what would happen in Asgard. We’d be separated. We can be together here.”

Loki slumped and stamped his way back upstairs.

Thor almost hoped he would stay there for the rest of the night, but that wasn’t the purpose of this exercise. Chef Ramsay had to see how he behaved so that he would have a baseline from which to try to work on their issues.

And of course, Loki just wanted to cause as much trouble as possible.

He disconnected the phone. He locked one of the waitresses in a cupboard. He tried to shut Thor into the walk-in freezer (“Oh, shut up, Thor, you’d have survived.”) and he made a game of seeing if he could sneak up on Chef Ramsay without being seen and just stood, smiling unnervingly and without blinking when caught. He made quiet but very specific threats to anyone within earshot. He stood outside the bathroom and stared down anyone who came near. Diners became increasingly unnerved by his presence and decided to leave but Loki jammed the door shut, leading to a panicked escape through the fire exit which in turn led to a visit from a fire truck, summoned by the alarmed door.

Thor overheard some of the crew talking.

“We can’t use any of this,” one said. “No one will believe this wasn’t faked. I barely believe it wasn’t faked and I’m living it.”

“And there are probably going to be issues with that kiss this morning. I mean, the network would probably let the gay thing slide, but I don’t think the incest is going through. Even if they’re not... you know. Human.”

“Ramsay’s going to lose his shit.”

Sure enough, there was a lot of shouting. Thor caught some of it. ‘A fuck-up of epic proportions’ and ‘I’m a chef not a fucking couples counsellor’ stood out. Loki leaned against the wall, smirking as they were lectured by a fire fighter about false alarms and social responsibility.

Thor was exhausted by the time he was allowed to go to bed, the threats of an early start tomorrow ringing in his ears. And they were forbidden to open the restaurant. Everyone had the day off, except Thor and Loki.

He didn’t even try to get into their bed. The couch had become a welcome place of respite of late.

He really hoped this paid off.

--

Loki had decided to be shirtless the following day and Thor could do nothing at all to convince him that clothes were a good idea as they waited for the arrival of the film crew.

“Just so you know, I will be attempting to thwart this pathetic mission of yours at every turn,” Loki said as the van drew up outside.

Thor tried a withering look but received nothing in return.

“Good morning,” Ramsay said, shaking Thor’s hand and drawing back when Loki didn’t so much as look up. “I think we got off on the wrong foot yesterday. I really want to try a new approach, see if we can make progress because the problem isn’t your food. It isn’t your restaurant. It’s the two of you and a lack of communication between you. If you want to succeed, we need to work together.”

Loki snorted.

“And I’d really like to know who does your books for you, because by my reckoning, you should have shut down months ago, out of money.”

“A friend of ours, Pepper, she deals with that,” Thor said, suddenly worried that this wasn’t allowed. That there was some kind of law against Pepper running their accounts for them.

“A friend of yours.” Loki corrected him.

“You would like her if you talked to her...”

Ramsay looked back and forth between them.

“Alright,” he said. “I’d like to talk to this Pepper, if you don’t mind.”

Thor dutifully found a phone number for Pepper and sent Loki upstairs, begging him to put a shirt on. He listened through the door as Chef Ramsay talked with her.

“So you’ve been bankrolling them from the start?” he was asking. “They haven’t made profit at all? Why are you doing this?”

“Because they need it,” Pepper said, her voice tinny through the speakerphone. “They need something to do. And why not this?”

“You’re crazy. You’re all insane. Do they know?”

“Not really, but Thor definitely knows something’s not right. I’ve also settled several lawsuits out of court.”

“And who were they suing?”

“Loki. Verbal assault, usually.”

A groan from Chef Ramsay. “Why do you do this? Why have you let this happen?”

Pepper paused for a long time. “I know it doesn’t seem like it, but they need each other. I met Thor before he had Loki back and he seemed normal but he wasn’t, as it turns out, because as soon as they were together again, he was so much more alive. It was like a part of him died when... long story, but Loki was missing, thought dead, for a long time, and it was like a part of Thor that had died came back to life. It’s difficult to explain. So that’s why I keep the business afloat. Because I want them to get back to where they once were. What they had, once. I know what it’s like to love someone intent on their own destruction.”

“And it’s your own money?”

“It’s my money. It’s only my money. It’s their lives.”

Thor’s stomach lurched with guilt. Pepper had been providing for them all this time, and he did so little for her. He considered her a friend, but he never made an effort to spend time with her. And here she was, trying to help him, not expecting anything in return. Always working in the background. He cracked the door open and peeked in. Ramsay bid Pepper goodbye.

“Did you know about this?” he asked. “What she does for you?”

“No. I didn’t.”

A sigh. “You have some fucking amazing people in your life, Thor. And I’m sorry, but I don’t think your brother is one of them.”

“I love him.” Thor said.

He didn’t know how else to explain it.

Loki came back downstairs in full battle armour, helmet and all.

“Interesting outfit,” Ramsay said.

“Some of us still have standards. Thor buys his clothes here now. I’ll admit I enjoy zippers. Ease of access.”

A nod, as though he hadn’t heard what Loki just insinuated. “Alright. Well, I’m going to take you to a different restaurant to meet a friend of mine.”

“Oh. Hasn’t Thor mentioned that I physically can’t leave? Nice little bit of brotherly concern that he had put in to keep me in my place. I’m afraid your ‘friend’ will have to come to us.”

“Actually,” Thor said carefully. “There is a way for you to leave. You just have to be in physical contact with me. It’s a safety device. In case we need to get out of the building for some reason.”

If looks were blows, Loki’s would have bruised. “So you’ve just kept me here, when I could have left at any time?”

“If you were in contact with me, in an emergency. And once we’re outside, you won’t be able to be beyond six feet of me.”

“Ah. Invisible chains. Well, my old ones were rather cumbersome I suppose.”

Eventually Thor managed to walk Loki to the edge of his boundary, held his hand, and stepped over. Loki yanked his hand away and walked cautiously until he hit the invisible barrier. He walked around Thor in a careful circle, testing his limits.

“You think I lied?” Thor asked.

“You lied to me already. I thought I couldn’t leave, ever. This is not much, but it is something, and you kept it from me.”

Ramsay watched them both cautiously before ushering them into a waiting car.

“We’re going to a different restaurant because I want you to meet the maître d’. I think one of the major problems here is that Loki doesn’t have a title and doesn’t have any responsibilities, so he gets bored easily and resorts to acting out to get your attention. I want him to train to be a maître d’ so he has some control over the restaurant.”

“I was a king,” Loki mumbled. “And you want me to be a servant.”

“The maître d’ is in full control of the front of house. He or she is the face of the establishment, they deal with everything. They’re basically the monarch of the restaurant.”

Loki gave him a sneer in response.

Thor was certain the maître d’ had been prepped for their visit thoroughly as nothing Loki tried had any effect on her. Insults, mockery, threats, nothing worked, and Loki was quickly sitting in sullen silence. He wouldn’t dare harm anyone physically. Thor’s custody of him was dependant on that and despite his protests, he didn’t really want to be sent back to Asgard alone.

“I manage the waiting staff, they all answer to me,” the woman was saying. “I work with the chef to ensure the best for our customers.”

“And you want them to survive the experience, I assume,” Loki said.

“It’s expected, yes.”

“Do you see, Loki?” Ramsay said. “This would be a real opportunity for you to prove yourself, to show that you can handle responsibility. Prove it to yourself and prove it to Thor.”

“He doesn’t need to prove it to me,” Thor protested.

“Really? Then why don’t you give him anything to do?”

“I don’t want... I don’t want to order him about.”

Ramsay hesitated. “You can co-own this restaurant and have equal say in every decision. But right now, Thor, you own it by yourself and you just... you keep Loki around. Why?”

“Because I can’t... I can’t...”

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t trust him.”

An awkward silence.

“Alright,” Chef Ramsay said. “I think we need to go back to Valhalla and I’m going to talk to you both individually.”

Thor did not want Loki left alone with anyone. Or rather, he didn’t want Loki to be left with anyone without him. Especially when they shooed him away from the room where the interview was taking place so he couldn’t eavesdrop. Which he knew was wrong, he knew he shouldn’t, but he wanted to know what Loki would say about him.

Ramsay followed Loki out of the room looking slightly frazzled.

“I doubt any of that will make it into the cut,” he said.

“What did he say?”

“No. I want to hear what you have to say first.”

They were pretty generic questions at first, but he even found those difficult to answer.

“Why do you keep giving him second chances?”

“He’s my brother. I love him.”

“You know he... He says you’re not brothers.”

Thor tried to use his hands to shape his thoughts.

“We grew up together,” he said. “We were brothers. We are brothers. Nothing can ever change that.”

“Not even your... other relationship? Loki was quite forthcoming about that.”

“That... started a long time ago. And it stopped a few times, I thought we were done with it, but we were lying to ourselves. We’ll never be done. I know it’s taboo, I know, I’ve tried to break myself from him for a long time but I just can’t. I thought it was just sex for some time but it’s more than that. It’s love. I wish I didn’t, but I need him. And he needs me.”

“You really believe that, don’t you?”

“Yes. Absolutely. Because it’s true.”

Ramsay looked sorry for him. He was used to that look. People always asked, Jane had asked, his teammates had asked...

“How can you love him when he hates you so much?”

Thor didn’t often answer that question. He considered very carefully.

“I don’t know how not to love him. No matter what he does, I just... I can’t.”

“And do you believe he loves you?”

“Yes. Completely.”

Ramsay announced that he would leave and consider and return the next day.

Loki seemed a little too close to the door when Thor came out. Apparently the crew had been too scared to shoo him.

The bedroom door was left open that night and Thor took it as an invitation to take his place in the actual bed. Loki didn’t protest, but Thor was careful to keep his distance and remain on his side of the mattress.

--

Loki was shy the next morning. Nervous and flighty.

“I heard what you said,” he said when they were downstairs. “I heard you say that you wished you didn’t love me.”

Thor wanted so badly to hold him but didn’t dare.

“I could never really wish that,” he said instead. “Never. I would die.”

“You’ve tried though.”

“I thought you were dead. That’s the only reason. I was afraid I was going to die without you.”

There was a moment where Loki thought about this. Then he moved across the room and leant in to kiss Thor, properly. It was a surprise. Thor had almost forgotten how it was to feel loved, and he opened his mouth, moaning slightly as he felt the familiar press of Loki’s tongue.

It had been so long.

Loki was knotting the fingers of one hand in Thor’s hair, the other moving to his fly.

Thor’s eyes flashed open. They hadn’t had sex, of any kind, in more than three months. He drew back just slightly, questioning, only to be met by Loki’s smiling, eager face. Something he hadn’t seen in far too long.

“We... we can’t, not here, the windows,” he babbled. “Let me take you to bed.”

“No,” Loki said, fingers skimming over Thor’s cock as it hardened in his underwear. “I can’t wait. I want you now, take me now... The kitchen...”

Thor lifted Loki bodily, long legs locking around his waist, and carried him through the door, depositing him on the countertop.

“I’m overdressed, brother.”

And it had been so long, so long, since Loki had called him that, sounding like he meant it and damn him, it only riled Thor up more. He practically tore their clothes off, feeling Loki leave scratch marks down his back. Their cocks rubbed together, drawing moans from them both.

“What do you want, Loki? How do you want this?” Thor asked breathlessly, capturing both their lengths in one hand.

Loki rested his forehead against Thor’s.

“There’s olive oil behind you,” he said.

This was probably unhealthy, but Loki was a feast in front of him, waiting to be savoured and tasted and enjoyed, and Thor couldn’t bring himself to worry.

Thor sucked his cock as he carefully slid one oil-slicked finger into Loki’s waiting hole. Thin fingers laced through his hair, not pulling, but there, accompanying the words spilling from Loki’s mouth.

“Fuck, Thor... Please, I want you so much, brother, brother...”

It was as if he knew what that word was doing to him. It was forbidden and wicked and wrong and he loved it so much.

Two fingers, scissoring, but Loki was impatient and ordered him to hurry. It was all Thor could do to stay gentle, to be careful with him. Their lips locked again as Thor slid home, panting harshly through his nose as Loki clung to him, fingers slipping against his skin.

It seemed like an age since Thor had last felt this, the deep, clenching heat of his brother and the way they fit together so well. He started to move carefully, slow draws and pushes back while Loki gasped and nibbled his ear. He knew that drove Thor crazy and pretty soon the thrusts were speeding up and becoming harsher, Loki’s hands scrabbling for purchase on the stainless steel surface. He threw his head back and hit the tiles but he didn’t stop in his encouragements, trying to goad Thor faster still.

“Please, more,” he begged. “I love you, I missed you, missed your cock...”

Thor buried his head in the crook of Loki’s neck, one oil-slick hand sliding down to wrap around Loki’s erection, stroking harshly.

“Yes,” Loki said, growing louder. “Yes, yes, so close...”

The kitchen door opened and Thor tried to jerk back, but Loki locked his legs around him, forcing him to remain where he was, face split into a malicious grin.

Loki came with a satisfied moan as Chef Ramsay spluttered and fled. Thor tried his best to pull away but Loki held him fast and clenched deliberately, forcing an orgasm out of him.

“You... you knew they would come in...” he growled as Loki continued to smile at him.

“Honest error...”

“I hadn’t unlocked the front door yet.”

Loki’s face fell into an expression of perfect innocence. “Well, you must have left it open accidentally last night.”

Thor finally managed to pull away. He was embarrassed. Embarrassed at being caught balls-deep in his brother, embarrassed that Loki had tricked him, embarrassed that he’d fallen for Loki’s lies again.

He got dressed as Loki hopped down from the counter, admiring the outline of his body left there, and sheepishly headed out of the kitchen.

“Do you have any idea how unsanitary that is?” Chef Ramsay demanded. “Any fucking idea? I should shut you down right now. Jesus Christ, I’ve seen some shit, but I’ve never, never, had to deal with people having sex in the kitchen before.”

“I’m sorry, that doesn’t ever happen...”

“It did happen, I saw it. I will never get that image out of my head. Fuck me...”

“I don’t think he can right now,” Loki said from the kitchen doorway. “I rather think I’ve tired him out for the moment...”

“Go away, Loki,” Thor said.

“No, I want to speak to you both. I couldn’t care less about what you do behind closed doors, but the kitchen is off limits, do you understand? Fucking answer me, do you understand?”

“Yes.” Thor said.

“I’m not meant to go in there anyway,” Loki said. “Anyway, darling, I’m going back to bed. Don’t be long with your little restaurant game.”

Chef Ramsay was incoherent for a moment.

“I thought we were making progress,” he said. “You are not walking out of this room.”

Loki bristled. “Was that an order?”

“It was a fact.”

No one ever spoke to Loki like this. No one would dare, not since they were children.

Thor braced himself for the explosion that never came. Loki smiled instead. Somehow that was worse.

“I see,” he said, approaching, and Thor was suddenly aware that he was barely dressed. “You want me to stay down here, come-spattered and sticky and smelling of the sex I just had? All day, sweat still on my skin, oil and Thor’s seed leaking from my very flesh? Doesn’t sound very sanitary. Doesn’t sound like Ms Maître d’ would enjoy my company much... Or perhaps she would. Some women like that sort of thing, debauchery. Shall we see if she is among them?”

A brief standoff. Thor’s eyes flicked from one to the other.

“Well,” Ramsay said. “I never thought that there would be footage of me telling a grown man to get upstairs and take a fucking shower because a dear friend is on her way here and I will not let you meet her in this state, but here we are. You have twenty minutes. Get out of my sight.”

Thor watched Loki slink away.

“Do you ever tell him off?” Ramsay asked. “Seriously, do you ever set boundaries? Or do you just let him do what he wants?”

“I... I don’t... I can’t...”

“What’s that? Speak up, I thought you were the fucking God of Thunder!”

“I can’t risk losing him again.”

“So you don’t make any attempt to talk to him at all. You just act and have restrictions put in and never explain your thought process to him?”

He’d honestly never thought about it like that.

“But he knows, he knows what he does, he does it deliberately...” Thor floundered.

“Oh, I know. But if you don’t try to communicate effectively, then how the hell are you meant to move forward? I have worked with some fucked up people, but you two are certainly among the oddest. Part of me wants to tell you to give up, but I realise there’s no point. Clearly, since you actually seem willing to listen, I need to help you as best I can. So. Go upstairs. No cameras. Actually talk to him, for once.”

Thor hesitated.

“What if he doesn’t listen?”

“Then you try again. It will be hard. It will be fucking impossible. But you need to try. You owe that to yourself.”

Thor went upstairs as slowly as possible. Loki was digging through his clothes, apparently looking for the most imposing thing he could. He barely glanced over his shoulder at Thor when he tapped on the door.

“Sent you up to shower too?” he asked. “If I’d known I’d have waited for you. Made sure we were over 20 minutes.”

Thor sat down on the bed, feeling over large and out of place in what was meant to be his home.

“He sent me up to talk to you. It’s... come to my attention that maybe we don’t talk enough. That maybe I don’t try hard enough to communicate with you.”

Loki said nothing, just continued raking through piles of leather.

Thor sighed. “I just want to let you know that I do love you. And I don’t say that because I expect anything from you. I just wish you would... help me out sometimes. Let me know why you...”

He couldn’t bring himself to finish that sentence.

Loki had stopped moving.

“What?” he said, still not looking round. “Why I what, Thor?”

“Why you hate me so much. Why you want to hurt me.”

And that had him turning round, leaping up onto the bed to shove Thor down on it.

“Don’t you dare turn this on me,” he snarled, inches from Thor’s face. “You were the one who left me. You left me there, all alone.”

“I was banished, if you’ll recall,” Thor tried valiantly to keep his voice under control. “You think I wanted to go? You think I wanted to be alone, so far away?”

Loki laughed bitterly. “Not then. I wanted you gone then.”

“Then when?”

“Svartalfheim. You left me for dead!”

“You were dead! Didn’t you hear me scream? Didn’t you feel me hold you, as if I could use my strength to keep your spirit in your body? I still don’t understand how you survived, or why you did what you did before or since then, but believe me when I say that if I had had any inkling that you lived I would never have left you.”

He stared into Loki’s face, looking for recognition, but met only doubt. He leant up, trying to kiss, but Loki moved back, Thor’s lips closing on nothing.

“We’ll be late,” Loki said. “If you want me to make changes, I suppose I could try doing something at the time I was meant to. For once.”

He dressed simply. Thor was unsure whether to class this as a victory or not.

--

Chef Ramsay banished him from the restaurant, saying Loki had to learn about the role of a maître d’ by himself. At a loss for what to do, Thor decided he would visit Pepper and thank her in person for what he had found out.

He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible, but he was always recognised. He allowed people to take his picture, signed some things, waved at a few children. He wasn’t entirely sure why Midgardians were so obsessed with documenting meeting certain people, but it made them happy, so he couldn’t grudge it to them. They hadn’t tended to approach when he’d had Loki in tow. Especially when Loki spotted someone staring and decided to give them something to stare at.

The young lady behind reception in Stark Industries widened her eyes at his approach.

“Are you here for Mr Stark?” she asked, quavering. “Has something happened? Is there an emergency?”

“No,” he assured her. “I would like to see Ms Potts. Personal matter.”

She visibly slumped in relief. “She’s in a meeting, but I’m sure if you’d care to wait...”

Thor sat on one of the comfortable, but small, sofas lining the walls and picked through the magazines. An unusual blend, even for Thor’s limited experience of such things. Several tech periodicals, some fashion, National Geographic, which Thor selected on the basis that it never hurt to learn something about an area of Midgard he had not yet been able to visit. Various staff and visitors eyed him warily, evidently assuming he was there to discuss the imminent end of the world.

“Mr... er... Thor?” the receptionist said eventually. “Ms. Potts has delayed an appointment to see you. So, uh, if you could be as quick as possible?”

He followed another junior staff member out of reception, into an elevator and up to meet Pepper already waiting outside the doors.

“Thor,” she said, voice warm and welcoming. “It’s always so good to see you.”

He wasn’t sure whether to shake her hand or hug her, and settled for a respectful inclination of his head.

“And you, Pepper. Might we talk? I seek advice.”

She led him into her office. He stood awkwardly, feeling uneasy surrounded by all these sleek lines, until she made him sit.

“What do you need advice about?” she asked after sending for coffee to be brought to them.

“I’d actually like to start by thanking you. I understand what you’ve done for me, for Loki and me. For me. With your own money. I don’t know how I can thank you enough, you’ve kept me in business, you’ve kept me and Loki safe...”

She waved a hand to quiet him. “The way you can thank me is to be happy. If I knew that I had managed to help, even a little, that’s thanks enough. Not all of us can save the world; we just have to help who we can.”

Thor had heard many stories of ways Pepper had saved the world. She was too modest, Thor felt. Jane had been the same, always lessening her own contributions to everything except her scientific work.

Coffee arrived and Pepper looked at him expectantly.

“So,” she said. “Advice?”

“Yes. You said, to Chef Ramsay, that you know how it is to love someone who doesn’t seem to want to live.”

She nodded sagely. Thor found himself uncomfortably reminded of his mother and felt the pang of loss that she was not here to offer him wisdom.

“How?” he asked, helplessly. “How did you bear it? I don’t know what happened with you and Tony, and I don’t care for any specifics you don’t care to tell me, but please, just tell me how I should cope with this.”

Pepper sipped her coffee and took her time replying while Thor finished his in two gulps.

“Tony was dying. That’s why he didn’t want to live. He wanted to choose death on his own terms. Loki... has been dead. I don’t think he actually has any interest in being dead again. He wants to live, but again, I think he wants to live on his own terms.”

“His terms would be death and destruction for others.”

“I know. But it’s not enough to show him how bad that route would be. You have to show him how good the alternative is, how good his life could be. And then you have to let him choose that. You can’t force it. He has to make this decision himself.”

Thor considered this.

“What if he doesn’t choose it? What if he doesn’t choose to be happy?”

“Then there’s nothing I can say to you because you will stand by him. I know you will. You know you will. He probably knows it too, really.”

She obviously caught Thor’s guilty look.

“I know they’re not comparable, but I once loved a man who made a lot of his money through death and destruction,” she said gently. “And now he is a man who defends the safety of others. I’m not saying that Loki will ever be actively good, but he certainly has it in him to be neutral.”

It was good advice. There was not much Thor could do other than force another round of thanks on Pepper before leaving.

He was pleased to find no one in the restaurant was maimed, nor had anything visible been destroyed.

He was less pleased to find that someone had given Loki a knife.

“What are you doing?” he blurted, bursting through the door.

Chef Ramsay and his maître d’ friend looked up, curiously.

“We’re practising gutting fish,” he said. “You missed the flambéing, I’m afraid.”

Thor practically staggered. They had let Loki have control over fire? Were they mad?

And now Loki was looking him straight in the eye and slowly licking fish blood from his blade and Thor could only distantly think about how disgusting it must taste because the rest of his body was traitorously finding it one of the most arousing things he’d ever seen.

“I am sorry,” he said, just about managing to keep control over himself. “Please, explain more.”

“We’ve had a discussion about what Loki’s future here should be, and while he doesn’t want to be involved in the cooking itself, he is interested in some parts food preparation and the more... er... showman-like finishing aspects.”

The show-off parts and the bits with violence, Thor filled in internally, but smiled in a way that he hoped would seem encouraging. In truth he wasn’t sure what he thought about Loki holding knives. They had an uncomfortable habit of ending up in his flesh.

And Loki had little traces of blood at the edge of his lips and Thor wanted so badly to kiss those off, a desire that was making coherent thought rather difficult.

He found a chair and watched as they kept working, Chef Ramsay and the maître d’ demonstrating different techniques and Loki following along. He seemed almost calm, methodically slicing open fish after fish. Thor thought he ought to be happy that they were teaching Loki a new skill, but part of him was nervous that Loki might turn his thoughts towards larger targets.

Eventually the crew decided they had enough footage for one day, and Chef Ramsay shook Loki’s hand, both of them still patterned with gross fish innards, making it look rather unpleasant and slimy as handshakes went.

“Good work today,” Chef Ramsay said. “Seriously. Well done. You really turned it around.”

Loki preened under the praise and Thor felt jealousy rise in his throat.

Only he was supposed to make Loki feel wanted.

--

“Did you have fun today?” he asked mildly, later, sitting on the edge of the bed preparing for sleep.

Loki looked up at him in surprise. They didn’t go in much for small talk these days.

“I suppose I did,” he said after a while. “You never told me that it can be cathartic.”

“What?”

“Cooking. Or the parts with flames and meat anyway.”

Thor shrugged slightly. He almost told Loki that he’d never asked, but thought better of it.

“I saw you licking the knife,” he said instead. “Wasn’t that foul? You’re not meant to eat that part of the fish, that’s why you cut it out.”

Loki smiled. “Did you wish I was licking your cock instead?”

“Yes,” Thor admitted, and Loki's smile turned predatory as he moved round and slid to his knees in front of his brother.

“Wait,” Thor said.

“What?”

“This morning, we should... talk about it.”

It took everything he had to stay firm with Loki looking up at him moodily from the floor.

“Are you looking for forgiveness?” Loki asked. “Because even if I believe that you thought I was dead, I’m not sure I’ll ever fully be over waking up, cold and alone without even a note left for me. I had to go crawling back to Asgard by myself, no idea if you would be coming back.”

Thor sighed. “I’m sorry. I truly am.”

Loki moved for him again.

“But that isn’t what I meant. This morning when we... we...”

“Fucked?”

“Yes. Was that a lie? Did you really want me or were you just trying to embarrass me in front of those people? Did you time yourself, knowing when they were likely to arrive?”

Loki stroked his hands up Thor’s still-clothed thighs.

“Now, Thor,” he said. “Where would we be if I just told you these things?”

“Please. Please, Loki, just tell me, and then you can do whatever you want.”

And Loki’s eyes brightened at that.

“Whatever I want? That’s your price for the truth?”

“Yes. Whatever you want. Assuming the knives stay out of it.”

A pout. “You’re no fun anymore.”

A few more seconds of Loki idly caressing Thor’s leg and then he sighed.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll tell you. I really did want you. I really did desire you. But I did also time myself to provide maximum embarrassment. And I unlocked the door to let them in.”

Thor couldn’t decide if he was hurt or not. He was hurt, he supposed, but Loki had told him the truth and he had said that he did really want...

He didn’t protest any further as Loki unlaced him and began to tease with little strokes and kitten licks.

“A bonus piece of truth for you, brother: I was indeed thinking of your cock when I licked up the fish blood. But you taste infinitely better.”

And if Loki thought he hardened at the motions and not the use of such a familiar name, Thor was not about to correct him.

“You taste good too,” he managed to say instead. “I want to devour you sometimes, you’re so delicious.”

Loki gently sucked on the head of his cock and motioned for Thor to keep talking.

“I love the way you bite me sometimes. I like the marks you leave on my neck and shoulders.  And when I feel your teeth just grazing my ears. And when you put your lips around my cock I feel as though you will consume me utterly, and I would let you.”

Loki moaned slightly, pushing further down, tongue swirling and laving at Thor’s flesh. Thor laced his fingers through Loki’s hair, trying to resist the urge to grip and noticed Loki trying to subtly touch himself.

“I love being swallowed up by you. And I love being allowed to return the favour. You are the most exquisite delicacy, poison if not prepared correctly, but divine when handled properly and it is a rare privilege to be allowed to enjoy y- Ah!”

Loki had almost violently forced himself forward, Thor’s cock now completely sheathed in hot, wet, swallowing, and all he could do was pant out a warning before he was coming. Loki pulled off, showing every sign of having enjoyed himself immensely.

“How soon before you’ll be ready to fuck me, Thor?” he asked after carefully making sure he hadn’t missed even a drop of come. “I’m afraid I find myself simply famished tonight...”

“Would you care to feed me for a while? I’m sure you’d find it just as satisfying...”

“But if I did that, you wouldn’t be able to say such lovely things to me.”

“It wouldn’t have to be... You wouldn’t have to use my mouth.”

Loki grinned as he stood up and started divesting Thor of his clothes.

“Tempting,” he said. “Very tempting. And I will be sure to take you up on that offer at a later date. But not tonight. I want to be ravished. I’ll have your fingers first, that should give you enough time to recover.”

Thor made no attempt at further argument as he watched Loki shrug off his own garments and find a half-empty bottle of lubricant – one of the only things he had grudgingly decided Midgard had done well.

“And of course, if I grow bored I shall have to punish you.”

“I don’t think there will be much chance of that.”

“Very well. Let evening service commence.”

Thor laughed. It felt so good to be happy and comfortable and to feel this familiar warmth and love from his brother. He remembered how it used to be, so many years ago now when they were both young and untouched by the world’s woes and how they would laugh and play together and sneak into each other’s rooms after bedtime and stay up late, curled together as they fell asleep and how later, much later, they had become curious and how foolishly and quickly they had fallen together into this stupid, perfect, awful, wonderful, hateful, joyous love.

He hoped it would last forever.

Sometimes he thought he knew it would.

Loki lay down next to him, stealing all the pillows and piling them in the centre of the head end of the bed.

“Come on,” he said. “I’ll go off the boil.”

Thor raised an eyebrow at him, pointedly looking down at the certain evidence of his arousal, but daren’t say anything on the subject. He slicked up his fingers instead, trying to decide what he would say. He’d been rather on a roll when Loki had distracted him.

He brought his hand down between his brother’s legs, tracing patterns over the outside of him but not pushing in. Loki had let his eyes fall shut and sighed gently, so Thor took the opportunity to surprise him by kissing his stomach and the points of his hips and everywhere he could reach before carefully sliding just one finger inside.

“You’ve never been more beautiful, I don’t think,” he said softly. “Sometimes I wonder when I found you most attractive, whether it was when we were young and you were supple and soft or if it was when we were only just men and you had become lean and lithe. But in reality I think it is now because I can see the traces of those times and more.”

“What about when I was starved and sharp, did you desire me then?” Loki murmured, writhing slightly in an effort to make Thor move faster.

He added a second finger to cover his hesitation.

“When Heimdall saw you once more, when I had permission to follow you... I don’t think there could have been anything more perfect in my eyes than the sight of you alive, no matter what you had done. You were changed but so was I. And besides I like your hair longer. Like you have it now.”

“Better to pull.”

“Better to bury my nose in. And you like having it pulled.”

Loki huffed in laughter. “True. Very true. But Thor, I do not think you are working hard enough. I can barely feel what you’re doing to me.”

Thor steeled his face and twisted his fingers, seeking out a certain part of Loki from memory and grinning in satisfaction when he was rewarded with a cry of pleasure. He began relentlessly stroking that spot, noting the way Loki’s cock jerked and leaked.

“Better?” he asked brightly.

“If you stop, I’ll gut you. And I know how to, now.”

“But if you did that, who would fuck you?”

“Hmm. You’re right. Who else would put up with me?”

Thor didn’t stop his actions but he was at a loss for what to say to that. He wrestled with his brain, trying to think of something to say that couldn’t be taken the wrong way, something good...

“No one,” he said eventually. “Because no one else is ever allowed to touch you. You’re mine to love and mine to please.”

“Yours to fuck?” Loki said, hopefully, opening his eyes finally.

“Of course.”

“Then fuck me.”

Thor knew he’d been slowly getting hard again. There was something about having Loki laid out so trusting and wanting in front of him that tended to have that effect. And as he slicked up his cock while Loki watched him with a glint of hunger in his eyes, he found himself glad that Loki had talked him into this because he wanted nothing more than to watch his little brother fall apart and know that he had done it.

He forcibly pushed the memory of that morning from his mind and focussed on the immediate present. Being able to do this, to temporarily disregard the past, was a skill that had served him well throughout their time as more-than-brothers. This wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last that Loki had done something appalling and yet still managed to talk him into bed by the day’s end.

But none of that mattered when Loki was letting out a deep shuddering sigh and arching slightly off the bed as Thor steadily pushed into him. None of that mattered when he was once again fully seated and waiting for the nod before starting to move in long deep strokes.

Loki seemed to be wrestling with himself, torn between holding back his cries and letting them out. His breathing was coming faster, occasional little whimpers escaping his lips. And that wouldn’t do at all.

Thor stilled and scooted backwards, dragging Loki with him by the thighs, until he was able to slip his legs off the edge of the bed and stand. Which in turn meant he could start moving again, faster and harder and yes, that had his brother crying out properly, the way Thor wanted him to.

“How am I doing?” he asked. “Is everything to your liking?”

Loki panted harshly. “My complements to the chef,” he managed eventually. “But I’m afraid my side order of kissing hasn’t arrived.”

Thor lunged forward, causing less a kiss and more a messy meeting of mouths and teeth as they both tried to devour the other. Thor sucked on Loki’s tongue and nibbled on his lips as he stroked up and down his body, the distinct hot feel of Loki’s cock now trapped between them making his motions stutter.

Loki made urgent noises against his mouth and he drew back.

“Make me come first,” he said. “I can feel that you’re close, but please, I want you inside when I come. I know you like the sounds I make, please, Thor, let me.”

He didn’t say that he’d been planning to all along. This way he was once again obeying Loki’s directions as he reached down between them to wrap his hand around his brother’s cock, stroking it properly.

Loki’s head fell back against the bed, mouth open and eyes shut.

“Look at me,” Thor said. “I want to see you.”

A groan first, but then a piercing look that had Thor speeding up his strokes, doubling them in comparison to his thrusts and, though he knew Loki hated to be vulnerable, he was going to file this moment, this perfect moment, away in his memory. The way the muscles in Loki’s face were relaxed, the slight flush on his cheeks, the way his eyes opened wider as he came over Thor’s hand. It reminded him of the first time they had experienced pleasure like this together, how Loki had never touched himself and how strangely glad Thor was to have been the first person to take Loki to that place and to teach him how, even if it had been by nothing more than his amateurish hand. Loki still made the same sound, deepened a bit by the years, but distinctly the same.

Feeling Loki tightening around him, Thor let go, burying himself in Loki’s flesh a few more times before capturing his lips again as he released within him. He pulled out gently, and manhandled Loki back up the bed to his pillow pile and laid him there carefully, only to fall on him again to kiss his neck and his chest and his shoulders, tasting sweat and loving even that.

Loki mumbled something that he didn’t make out.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“No, what did you say?”

Loki seemed profoundly annoyed. “I said that I love you. And that I’m sorry.”

“For loving me?”

A sigh. “For not trying in our new life. You want us to be happy and successful and I wanted... I don’t know. But I’m sorry. And I will try, now.”

It would suffice, it would more than suffice, and Thor tried to convey this by once again bringing their lips together.

“Don’t think you get to order me around though,” Loki said.

“I’ll make you a deal. I’m in charge in the restaurant, but you’re in charge in the bedroom.”

Loki considered this. “Maybe. You can start by getting me under the blankets, I’m freezing...”

He didn’t complain when Thor wrapped both arms around him and held on through the night.

--

Chef Ramsay definitely noticed that they were calmer the following morning.

“Did you two talk last night?” he asked.

“Oh, yes,” Loki said. “We had a long, hard conversation.”

He nodded as though there was nothing in the subtext of that sentence whatsoever.

“Well, I need you to leave for today and over night. We’re going to redecorate for you. We always do this, it’s sort of part of the show.”

Loki looked thoughtful. “Can you rename it, as part of this?”

“Depends what you would call it.”

“Hel.”

Thor frowned. “We are not calling it Hel. What about ‘Asgard’?”

“What about ‘Jotunheim’?”

“How about you discuss this while you’re out?” Ramsay suggested. “Go to the park. Book a fancy hotel. See some friends. I don’t care, just leave.”

Loki seemed doubtful as they crossed the barrier together.

“Where will we go?” he asked.

“We’ll do as he says, we’ll go impose on some friends.”

“But I don’t... I don’t have any friends...”

Thor sighed. “My friends will be your friends. Some of them, anyway.”

“But I tried to kill them. Multiple times.”

“You tried to kill me multiple times.”

“Yeah, but I knew you’d live. I had faith in you.”

Thor found himself laughing at that. The ridiculousness of it. And smiling ruefully seemed to distract Loki from the fact Thor was firmly leading him towards Stark Industries. They would talk to Pepper. She was kind and understanding and she supported them and Loki hadn’t personally tried to murder her, so she seemed a good starting point. If necessary, she could probably talk the others round to at least acknowledging that Loki was going to be here for the long term if Thor had anything to do with it.

This time the visitors to the office scattered at their approach. He hadn’t tried to make Loki wear Midgardian clothes. It hadn’t seemed necessary. The receptionist’s eyes widened somehow even further than they had previously.

“We’d like to see Ms Potts,” Thor said, ignoring a scream and running feet behind them. “Nothing too urgent.”

“We just want to talk to her,” Loki said, showing off his most practised unblinking stare and a shark like smile.

The wait was much shorter this time. Presumably Pepper had realised that having Thor and his brother in the lobby reading aspirational lifestyle magazines was going to lead to a lot of missed appointments.

Loki seemed ill at ease in Pepper’s office. He accepted black coffee but barely spoke as Thor explained that they were doing much better but in need of a place to stay for one night.

“Actually, Tony’s away right now and I have no objection to company,” Pepper said. “I’ll have the spare room made up for you.”

Thor tried to hide his nervous glance towards Loki. He really wasn’t sure about staying in Tony’s home without his permission. Or rather, he wasn’t sure about Loki staying.

Other options ran through his head. Rogers’ apartment was too small. Loki wouldn’t see Bruce and the distaste was mutual for now. Barton was out of the question. And Thor wasn’t even sure where Natasha lived to ask her for shelter, even though he thought she might say yes. But really, the luxury he knew they would find would probably make Loki very happy. Maybe it would be alright after all.

Pepper stepped into another room to ask Tony’s permission at Thor’s request, but they could still clearly hear what she was saying down the phone.

“I’ll be fine. Thor will be with me, and Jarvis. Alright, I’ll lock the bedroom door. And the lab door. I will lock the doors, OK? Yes, I’ll be careful. No, I won’t walk around at night. Tony, do I need to remind you that I am quite capable of looking after myself? I don’t want to bring up that business that happened that Christmas but I will... Yes. Alright. I will call you as soon as they leave to let you know I am alive.”

Loki was giggling slightly.

“I’ve been somewhat curious about what you told me about Extremis,” he said mildly. “Maybe while her husband is away, we could ask for a demonstration.”

“Not husband. Partner. And I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Thor said. “She’s quite sensitive about it. It was rather traumatic, after all.”

He took Loki’s thoughtful nod as a victory.

--

He’d been right. The house was incredible.

Thor cooked, despite Pepper’s protests, as thanks for allowing them to stay. He had to improvise a little as the fridge contained a lot of foods he wasn’t entirely familiar with, but roasting is roasting and he managed to make something pleasing. Loki gave thanks by not causing trouble.

“So what exactly did your... partner fear that I would do while here for the night?” Loki asked after they’d eaten.

“Oh, goodness knows,” Pepper said. “He’s always afraid of me being kidnapped. Which has happened a grand total of once.”

“And what happened there?”

“I killed the man that did it.”

Loki made a mildly impressed face. Thor almost laughed, but managed to hold back.

“I’m always telling him,” Pepper continued, and Thor was starting to wonder if she didn’t have many opportunities to talk about these things. “I can look after myself. I’ve never attracted the attentions of scary Russians, unless you include Natasha, which I don’t because she is a delight. He’s been kidnapped or gone missing so many more times than me. But no, because I never felt the need to build a big metal body to live in, somehow I’m vulnerable.”

“Well, your form can only take so much punishment,” Loki said. “I imagine he feels the same way about you that I feel about Thor. Always running around, putting himself in danger...”

Pepper laughed. “You worry about him? The God of Thunder? Isn’t he virtually indestructible?”

“Where we are from, he’s no more resilient than anyone else. I’ve seen him beaten, almost to a pulp. Even your Tony, he made a good attempt.”

“I was going easy on him,” Thor protested. “I had no fight with him. Except that he was trying to take what was mine.”

Pepper eyed them cautiously but Loki smiled and reached out to stroke his face. She wasn’t to know that Loki secretly liked it when Thor was a little possessive. He felt he belonged nowhere, but at least he could belong with Thor.

“I’m glad you left him in one piece,” Pepper said. “Both of you. And I’m glad that you’re doing so well here.”

Thor couldn’t help the slight swell of hope that blossomed in his heart that Loki would see that other people could care about him too.

--

The spare room was enormous. The bath in the en suite was larger than their entire bathroom. Loki looked over everything with a slight gleam in his eye.

“I was barely here on my last visit, only in one room. This is a palace, Thor. Do you think we might be able to convince him to swap? We are of higher rank than him.”

“Not here, I’m afraid. Money is the only king here.”

“So... if we get money, we could live somewhere like here?”

Thor flopped back on the bed, soft as a cloud beneath him. “I suppose so. If we got enough.”

“Hmm. Something to aspire to down the millennia, I suppose,” Loki said, sitting down. “But while we’re here, we might as well make the most of it.”

Thor looked at him curiously and Loki playfully tapped him on the nose.

“Oh, please, don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about. We’re in a very large room, Thor. Two very large rooms. Full of very, very clean surfaces...”

He moved to straddle Thor and smiled down at him.

“So many things to potentially debase. Wherever will we start?”

“Nowhere,” Thor said, firmly. “We are not fucking in Tony’s house.”

“Why not?”

“The mess.”

“He has a small army of cleaning machines to deal with that.”

“The noise, we’ll wake Pepper.”

“From the other side of the house? Unlikely.”

Loki was now starting to unbutton the checked Midgardian shirt Thor had chosen to wear that morning.

“Cameras,” Thor tried desperately. “He has security cameras everywhere.”

Wide eyes and wider smile, he instantly knew that he’d made a mistake.

“Then I shall be sure to give him a show,” Loki said. “Come on, Thor, you agreed I would take charge in these matters.”

“I said you could take charge in ‘the’ bedroom, in ‘our’ bedroom, not ‘all’ bedrooms.”

“Semantics, darling.”

Thor gave up on fighting, happy that Loki had been pleasant and almost friendly all evening, he’d been nice to Pepper. Maybe he deserved a reward. And if his reward was going to involve making love to Thor, well, so be it.

He allowed himself to be stripped and idly fisted his cock as Loki undressed before him. Loki looked at him for a moment quizzically before opening all the drawers on the night stand, cackling in glee when he found a bottle of ‘travel-sized’ lubricant.

“Perhaps I was wrong,” he said. “Perhaps he has a few good ideas, your friend. Certainly, he knows how to make guests feel welcome.”

He waved the bottle in front of Thor’s face. “See? He wants us to have sex in his house. Now turn over.”

Thor would have been surprised, but he couldn’t bring himself to be. After all, he had offered this very position only a night earlier. It wasn’t often that Loki indulged him this way, but he loved it when he did. There was something delicious about hearing Loki unable to hold back his noises of appreciation for Thor’s form.

He felt Loki settle over his thighs, cock swelling against him, and running his hands in firm, massaging motions before he heard the snap of the bottle opening.

“’Self-warming’,” Loki read out loud. “Goodness, Thor. We are being spoiled.”

And Thor could feel it, warmth and then heat against his most intimate skin, and he moaned and squirmed as Loki used it on him, one finger first with a second not far behind.

“Do you think he has sound on his cameras?” Loki asked, his arousal being betrayed by the slight breathlessness of his voice.

“I don’t... I don’t know...”

“Hmm. I think we should provide a good soundtrack anyway.”

Thor writhed as Loki left him empty. He tried to bite back the whine that still managed to escape as his motions made his cock rub against the sheets, so much finer than the ones they had, and here they were, ruining them and...

“Beg me.”

He moaned and Loki gripped his hair. He briefly registered that at least he was using his clean hand.

“Come on, Thor. One little word. Six letters. You can do it...”

“Please.”

“There you go.”

And then he was bracing himself because Loki was pushing in and he was only barely stretched and he was hot, and Loki was panting behind him, beginning to pull out and push back, slowly and almost gently.

“We are getting some of this for ourselves,” he said. “Everything is so hot, so very hot...”

“Yes, I know, I can feel it rather well.”

Loki laughed helplessly, hands clenching and releasing Thor’s hips in his rhythm, gripping on his thrusts in and releasing to allow Thor to fall forward slightly only to catch himself. Thor’s entire mind seemed to be focussed on the rather pleasant feeling of heat within his very flesh and as a result he was unprepared for Loki to change his angle and catch his prostate. He would have been ashamed of the sound he made but for Loki’s encouragement in his ear, telling him how wonderful he was and how beautiful the cries of his pleasure and how Loki loved him and would never let him go, would never let them be separated ever again, not even death was allowed to have him, brother, brother...

The hand reaching around to grasp his cock was warmer than usual and Thor found himself throwing his head back and rutting mindlessly into that fist and back against Loki, chasing his own climax as his brother moaned and keened behind him. It was sudden, too sudden, a gasping fall into the soft bedding and the firm pressure of Loki enjoying the tremors of his body before he stilled as well and lay on top of Thor, idly lacing their fingers together as they tried to get their breath back.

--

They bid farewell to Pepper the next morning – apparently she had slept peacefully but Jarvis seemed more clipped than usual – and Thor found himself nervous with anticipation to see what Chef Ramsay had done with the restaurant. His restaurant. Their restaurant.

It was certainly different.

There were now windows into the kitchen, so Thor could be seen by diners as he worked. The battered wooden benches and tables had been replaced by dark wood chairs and the floors had been redone in imitation granite, black and glittering with mica like the view from the Bifrost when they were children.

“Have you picked a new name?” Ramsay asked once they’d looked around everything.

“I changed my mind,” Loki said to Thor’s surprise. “I want it to stay as Valhalla. It’s our word for Heaven. And, hopefully, that’s close to what we can build here, together.”

Thor willed himself not to cry sentimentally.

They had plenty more surprises waiting for them.

The chefs had all been taught new dishes which they would in turn teach Thor and allow him to add a more Asgardian flare, and crucially, all the new dishes had the potential for Loki to be involved at some point of the preparation, using the new skills he was going to learn in a series of private lessons Chef Ramsay had arranged for him which would take place in the restaurant itself outside service hours.

He shook hands with both of them, apparently completely unaware of the doubtful looks on the faces of the crew as to whether anyone would believe any of this wasn’t some kind of elaborate publicity stunt.

The van drove away and Loki’s hand came to rest around Thor’s waist as they stood waving in the doorway.

“Where did you get the idea to summon that man from?” he asked.

“Barton.”

“Oh, the little hawk? What a shame.”

“What?”

“I wanted to offer my thanks to whoever it was in person. But perhaps, when I have the skills, I might send him some kind of food basket to show my gratitude.”

“Do you really think he’d eat it?”

“I’ve been in his head. He’ll eat anything.”

“I’d suspect poison, if I were him you see.”

Loki laughed. “Oh, Thor. You’re the only one I care about enough to poison. Think about it. All the effort, the planning, making it undetectable but still potent enough to harm. Only you’re worth that much attention.”

They might have a long way to go, Thor considered. But at least they’d started.