(Dedicated and a big thanks to jenniebennie, for without which this would never have been finished.)

Loki groaned in frustration at the thumping to the bed and resisted the urge to smack Thor viciously. He had classes in a few hours and he didn't appreciate being woken up at two in the morning by his brother. "Thor…you…have…a…bed…over…there…" he grunted with his teeth grinding together, waving his hand in the direction of the other end of the room. He was amazed that Thor had asked to share the same dorm room when he'd just started university, and oh so pleased because they had been growing apart in high school, but now he was sincerely regretting saying yes.

Thor smelled like flowery perfume and he felt something twist in his chest. So he'd been with another girl that likely he didn't even know the name of. Loki knew that he was a possessive person and he had latched onto Thor ever since he was a kid as his person. Everything had been, while not rosy colored, good when they were kids until he'd felt his brother slip away from his grasp. No matter how hard he'd tried to hold onto him, the more he moved away. He had seen it, in the way they'd begun to cancel things they'd always done together and refusing to be alone in the same room with him.

He felt Thor roll over and spoon against his back, wrapping his arms around his waist. It was always, always like this. Thor would sleep with a girl and then leave her in the middle of the night to return and cuddle him. "Go back to sleep," Thor whispered in his ear, rubbing a hand up and down his arm in a soothing gesture.

There were only a handful of times that Thor wasn't sleeping in his bed and it was really starting wear on his nerves. He was trying, trying so hard, to keep things the way they should be, but he was losing so much sleep. Yet despite his firm insistence to make Thor go sleep in his own bed, as always, he found himself nodding off at the gentle humming in his ear and the soft stroking of his arm.

-0-

He threw his books onto his bed, not caring that they landed heavily on Thor's stomach. Thor grunted, waking immediately. "Loki!"

"It's three in the afternoon, brother. Get up. If you must sleep, do it on your bed."

"Yours is better," Thor told him with a cheeky grin.

"Then we'll trade."

Something flashed through his brother's blue eyes. "No."

He sighed and looked at his notebook before saying, "Look, Thor, we have to talk."

"About?"

"Every night you come back from some girl's room, fall into mine, and cuddle me. It's become…too much." Why couldn't it be him in those girl's places?

"…I didn't realize it was bothering you so much."

"Why do you do it?"

"You sleep better if I do."

He blinked and looked up. "What?"

Thor sat up on the edge of the bed. "You toss and turn constantly in your sleep, but you don't if I'm there. Don't you feel better when you wake up? More rested?"

He hesitated but nodded. "Yes, but we're not children anymore, Thor. I should be able to sleep on my own, and frankly, considering you've been sleeping until three in the afternoon, you don't sleep at all at night."

His brother merely shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "I don't have another class until at least an hour, so…"

"So?" he repeated, dropping down to sit at his desk.

"How's your classes? No one's picking on you, are they?"

His green eyes flickered over to Thor in annoyance. Sometimes he didn't understand what went on in the man's head at all. Why was he so overprotective and at the same time so willing to drop him? It was annoying and Loki wished he'd just settle on one thing because trying to figure it out made his head hurt. "They're fine and no, no one is picking on me. In fact, I might have actually made a friend."

"I thought you law students didn't have time for friends," Thor teased.

"We don't have as much spare time as you lot in architecture, judging by you, since all you do is sleep all day and spend time with girls."

He missed seeing something flash over his brother's eyes, focused on his textbook. "So who's this new friend of yours?"

"His name is Victor. Surprisingly enough, he's from your fraternity." He paused as something occurred to him. It was like a bolt out of the blue as he thought back over his conversation with Victor and Thor. Loki knew he should feel guilty about the plan that started to burgeon in his mind, but…he honestly didn't. His eyes were on the end result and he knew what that result would be. As much as he didn't understand Thor's behavior in the past few years, there was always one thing he could count on: over-protectiveness. "In fact," he said, lowering his voice deliberately as if this was a secret he wasn't sure he should share, "he even flirted with me."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his brother stiffen a bit. He had come out to his family in his junior year of high school, though he hadn't had an actual boyfriend. Unfortunately for him, they either all went screaming in the other direction after a talk with Thor or they'd dropped him with a sudden case of infatuation with said brother. Loki didn't want to believe that Thor had seduced the men he liked and he most of him didn't really believe it. He had never seen Thor with anyone but women and whenever that had happened in high school, it had always seemed a one-sided crush from his could-have-been boyfriend.

"He did? Who is he? Do I know him?"

"How am I supposed to know if you know him?" he muttered with annoyance. "I'm not part of your stupid fraternity. Honestly, Thor, why did you join one of those? The more people congregate together, the more IQ lowers. It's like the opposite of collective intelligence."

This was…good so far. Thor was focused solely on the conversation, on the fact that someone had flirted with him. In truth, Loki had thought very little of the flirtations, if not having downright contempt for them. There was only one person he was interested in and if there was any fault he had a type, it was Thor's. He wanted, craved, the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and muscular man and if he found himself attracted only to that type, well he could hardly be blamed. Victor didn't even rate; mousy brown hair, a fairly attractive face, he supposed, and at least tall…but not much else.

But just because he wasn't interested in him at all didn't mean he couldn't use him for his own ends. Just to get Thor's attention on him, just to get his notice for a short time. That was all he really wanted; nothing in the end would come of it, but it would likely mean that Thor would at least stop fooling around with girls for a short time and be stuck to Loki's side like a burr.

"And did you flirt back? Do you like him?"

"He's…nice," he said, deliberately pretending to think about it. He had to be careful about what he said now, lay the groundwork for later. He had to make sure that Thor knew that he wasn't ready to jump into bed with this new man. "I think I could come to like him. I might go on a date with him, I mean isn't that how it's normally done? To get to know someone?" He pretended to be annoyed at his brother. "Stop worrying so much, it's not like I'm going to immediately have sex with him. I'd rather know him first and take my time before that part and if that's all he wants, then he can get lost."

"Do you think that's all he wanted?"

Oh, perfect. Make it seem like he was innocent, that he honestly believed Victor wanted him as more than a piece of ass, so it would have all that greater an impact. "No, I don't think so. He seemed genuinely interested."

He let the silence settle as Thor didn't say anything, inwardly so smug that he worried it was coming out on his face. It wouldn't do to tip Thor off that he was manipulating him. He quickly did his assignment that held little challenge for him and raised an eyebrow as his phone chimed with a text. Thor had just pulled on a different shirt for his upcoming class. "Oh," he said in a tone of discovery, making sure that his smile seemed happy instead of smirking.

"What?"

"It's from Victor."

The tenseness from behind him satisfied him that he was on the right track. "What did he say?"

"He wanted to know if I wanted to go get a beer with him and watch a movie."

"Are you going to go?"

"I have no reason not to," he said as he texted back an affirmative, making sure that he seemed innocently excited. He had to manipulate not just Thor, but also Victor. "I'll see him in half an hour."

"Be careful," Thor warned with a dark tone in his voice. "I'll be in class for the next two hours, but feel free to text me if you need me, no matter what."

This time Loki smiled genuinely. "Of course."

He chose his most alluring dark green shirt, something that hugged his torso, and tight-ish black pants so that he knew he looked good, enticing, but tasteful. It wouldn't do to look slutty if he was going to make it seem like Victor's passions had gotten the better of him when he hadn't intended to.

He waited outside the dorm building for a few minutes before a car slid up and Victor smiled. "Hey, get in. Don't want to miss the beginning of the movie."

Loki slid into the passenger seat. Really, this plan could hardly be better.

-0-

It had been a week since he'd started this and he could see the strain it was putting on Thor. His brother was like an open book most of the time and it was easy to see that he was beginning to wonder if this was real and whether he should back off. That wouldn't do at all, he mused one night as Thor spooned against his back from, yet again, another night with another random girl before coming back at one in the morning to cuddle Loki.

He had been planning to push it three more days, to get Victor well and truly frustrated and wanting, but it would have to be tomorrow. It was obvious to Loki what the boy wanted: his body. He wasn't interested in anything Loki had to say, though he was pretending he was. He just wanted to get in bed with him and Loki wasn't interested in having his first time with someone like him. In the back of his mind he honestly began to wonder if he'd be able to have sex at all with anyone, given how overprotective Thor was. Most of time in high school, those he was interested never managed to approach 'first base' and it wasn't because of Loki.

So he deliberately slept in until noon that Saturday before stretching and sliding out of bed. He kicked his brother lightly in his back, waking him. "Come on, you have class in an hour. Why don't you just buy an alarm clock instead of relying on me to wake you up?" he pretended to gripe.

Thor flopped onto his back and groaned, rubbing his eyes. Really, he had never met anyone that was worse than Thor at waking up. After rubbing his face with one hand, Thor smiled brightly. "When class is done, do you want to do something? We could watch your favorite Monty Python movie."

He paused and stared. It was the first time in three years that Thor had ever asked him to do anything. When he'd been younger, they'd watched all kinds of movies together, played all kinds of games, and even gone hiking once when Thor arranged it for his birthday for the two of them. Then his brother had pulled away and all of that, the things that he'd cared about most, had disappeared. Now he was asking…

He felt a surge of genuine happiness and he wanted so desperately to say yes, like it was an opportunity that would never come again…but if he did, then all his planning would go to waste. Thor had to be the one that was desperate, concerned; he had to be the one that had been in Loki's place. So instead he swallowed down his screaming agreement and said, "Maybe not directly after your class, Victor was going to take me somewhere, said it was a surprise, and then head back to his room. How about at three?" he said innocently, letting some of his real happiness show through.

Thor sat up slowly. "Loki, you've been with Victor every single day since you met him, and most of the day too. Are you…sure you're not rushing it?"

Loki pretended to be shocked and annoyed. "Thor! What the hell are you implying? I'm not going to have sex with Victor. I don't want to have sex with him! I'm not rushing anything; I'm just getting to know him!"

His brother stood up and wrapped his arms around his slimmer frame from behind. "I know, I know, I just… I don't want him thinking that that's what you want, though. I'm worried, that's all. You're my little brother and I love you…so much."

For a moment Loki could almost believe that was meant another way, that it was a confession of romantic love, but he ruthlessly ripped it out. No, that wasn't what he meant at all. "I know what I'm doing, Thor, but if it'll make you feel better, I'll text you the moment I feel uncomfortable and you can come to the rescue. Keep your phone on you," he finished, reaching over to the desk dresser and grabbing it, handing it to his brother over his shoulder.

Because his entire plan hinged on Thor not forgetting his phone. Everything.

Thor took it and was it his imagination that he squeezed it just a little? "I will."

"Now let me get dressed, you idiot, and you need to too, or you'll be late."

Loki was not entirely surprised when Victor didn't take him anywhere for the 'surprise' he promised him, instead saying he'd forgotten something in his room and could they stop by to pick it up? Really, could he be more transparent? As he walked through the halls of the fraternity house, noting that he was getting a lot of attention, some of it leers and others laughs, he began to wonder if maybe there was something going on just below the surface. Loki was aware that the only reason Victor was even talking to him was because he wanted to have sex with him…but was that all it was? Was he being played the way he was playing Victor?

The room was somewhat small, with two beds, so obviously Victor shared a room with someone, and Loki was rather glad that despite joining the fraternity, Thor had chosen not to move in with them and instead stayed where he was. The place looked a tad unlivable from what he had seen and he had to struggle not to wrinkle his nose. While not a neat freak, Loki did demand a certain level of cleanliness that Thor had always adhered to.

"So what did you forget?" he asked, faking innocence perfectly.

"Just my jacket," Victor said, closing the door and reaching for jacket hanging on the back of it. Perhaps he thought he was being subtle and Loki didn't see him locking the door? "Why don't you join the Delta, Loki? Thor likes it here."

Like he didn't know the hazing that went on in fraternity's, and that said hazing was often so potentially humiliating that it could leave both physical and emotional scars behind. Nor did he want to be part of a group that had such dullards in it. Sure, he had seen from a few glances a few that were worth something, that studied and paid attention, but by and large most he had seen were interested only in drinking, partying, and otherwise using girls and sometimes other boys for whatever they wanted.

"No, I'd rather not," he told him honestly, sitting down on the edge of the bed when Victor signaled for him to do so as if he had no thought that there was an ulterior motive.

"Why not?" The taller boy dropped down next to him very close and Loki shifted just a little to put a bit of distance between them before he could help it.

"Because I don't want to," he said, working hard to keep the annoyance out of his tone. Did Victor honestly believe he had to justify his choices to him?

At just the perfect timing his phone chirped and he pulled it out of his pocket. Thor, that beautiful boy with the wonderful timing. He grinned a bit. How was he doing? He texted back that they had gone to Victor's room because they had forgot something. That was definitely going to arouse suspicion. Now all he had to do was wait for the other boy to make his move.

He didn't have to wait long because as soon as he hit the 'send' button, Victor was leaning in, rubbing his lips lightly along his neck. Loki leaned away, but the taller boy followed. "What are you doing?"

"What do you think?"

"Look, Victor, I don't want to," he told him, attempting and deliberately failing to sound intimidating. Loki knew he could scare people if he chose and he didn't have to raise his voice to do it, but that wouldn't be in his best interest right now. With his phone still in hand, he slowly started moving his fingers over the keyboard for the word 'help' in preparation. Victor didn't notice.

"If you relax, I'll make sure you enjoy it." Now he'd allowed himself to be cornered on the bed, letting out a little sound of surprise when Victor grabbed his hips and jerked him forward, tumbling him onto his back.

Perfect!

He squirmed, but it did little except urge the boy on, who was shoving his shirt up to his neck. Loki swiped his thumb over the keys randomly on his phone so that the only word that would send to Thor was 'help' and a lot of garbled letters, as if they had been fighting over the phone. His finger hit send. Good. Now, to make it look like a struggle.

"I said no!" he spat, shoving his hand with the phone against Victor's shoulder. Brown eyes flickered to it, but didn't bother to look at the texts, instead smacking it away and Loki deliberately loosened his grip so that the phone would fly and land on the floor away from them. Thor or his parents would buy him a new one if it broke.

"Don't you ever listen? If you don't fight me, you'll love it." Loki thrashed and Victor had to grab his wrists, pinning them over his head with one hand to keep himself from getting a black eye. Oh, this was too easy and it truly was a challenge not to smirk. "Fine, you want it rough? You got it."

He gasped as Victor began yanking at the button and fly on his jeans and he kicked, but deliberately missed and hit a nightstand, not knocking it over, but shoving it out of place. The only thing that he didn't like was that he couldn't control his own reaction, the beating of his heart in fear that maybe, just maybe, Thor wouldn't get there in time. Loki had not once allowed himself to consider the possibility that Thor might be late, that he wouldn't get there in time.

As the seconds trickled by, despite his bucking, Victor had managed to get his jeans open and he grabbed both them and his underwear, shoving them down to his knees at the same time. Come on, Thor… Don't be late, please don't be late. I need you right now, right now, not a few seconds from now! Please, please, please—

The door was kicked open, almost off its hinges and Victor jerked, looking over his shoulder. Loki did not hide his relieved smile when he saw his brother. Blue eyes took in the scene, most notably his hands being held over his head, the cellphone thrown against the floor, and his struggling. That gaze grew absolutely murderous and Loki had a moment to wonder if maybe he hadn't realized the depths of Thor's protectiveness before strong hands had grabbed Victor by the shoulders and thrown hard into a dresser.

Loki frantically yanked up his pants, half of it not entirely staged because he hadn't actually intended on being even a little undressed, but perhaps he hadn't anticipated the distance Thor had had to go before turning around to get to him. "Loki."

He looked up at Thor's voice, but the boy was looking at Victor and ignoring the growing audience they had in the doorway as the noise had drawn others. "What?"

"Did you want to have sex with Victor or was he forcing you?"

As Victor moaned in pain, slowly levering himself to his feet, Loki debated what kind of reaction he should have. Hysterical? Calm? Fighting off tears? Instead he chose something that he knew Thor would never abide: he lowered his shirt, looking away and whispering, as if ashamed, "No."

He felt Thor's eyes look at him and then he watched from the corner of his own as his brother surged forward and slammed his fist right on Victor's jaw, the boy stumbling back again, only keeping on his feet because he grabbed the dresser he'd been thrown into before. Thor didn't stop, following his movements and he kicked and punched as if Victor had killed his entire family. Several boys from the doorway rushed forward to try to separate them, to spare Victor some of the fierce, raining blows and Loki had to wonder if Thor had broken an arm with the way that he held it to his chest.

Pretending to be unaware, Loki asked quietly, "Why, Victor?"

Victor spat out a bit of blood from a split lip. "Because you're Thor's brother."

Both brothers' eyebrows hit their hairline. Because of Thor? Loki had suspected something when he'd walked in, but not that it was related to Thor. "What?"

"We had a bet to get back at him. Everybody on campus knows just how protective he is of you and we got sick of him taking any girl he wanted. Every one of them had eyes for him, for fuck's sake, even some guys' girlfriends. So we made a bet: to get you fucked in retaliation. I was planning on getting you drunk, maybe a bit drugged, and if you happened to have sex with more than one guy, then so be it, but it was too good of an opportunity to pass up today."

"Thor wouldn't have slept with anyone's girlfriend," he spat, rising to the defense of his brother without thinking about it.

"Like I believe that! They're so damn doe-eyed around him, how can we trust that he didn't?!"

Was that all this was about? They were jealous of Thor? In some ways, though…Loki could understand it. He'd been jealous of those girls for so long, hated them so fiercely because they took his brother from him. He was the one that wanted that attention, the one that Thor held in the dark beyond just cuddling after a night of sex.

Thor surged once, trying to get to Victor, but four boys held him back…barely. Loki stood up, pretending to draw shattered dignity around him. "You're so insecure that it's pathetic." He walked over, picked up his phone, and was a bit relieved to see that it wasn't broken. "Thor, let's go." The struggle internally was clear to him, but Thor finally relaxed his arms, not about to at least kill someone right then. "Oh, and give this message to all the fraternities: Anyone tries that again on me and I'll let Thor break both their legs for a start."

Loki stalked out, his brother following at a much slower pace. He could hear the man whispering something heatedly, sounding as if he wanted nothing more than to kill someone, but by the time Loki had reached the door, he was right there. When they stepped out and began walked back to their dorm, he felt Thor put his hand on the small of his back. "Loki."

"What?" he asked without looking, thankfully having only to go up one flight of stairs to reach their room. He opened the door to their room, tossing his phone on the nearby desk.

"Loki!" Thor grabbed him, pushing him up against the closed door. His eyes were intense and sad, as if he was doing everything he could to hold himself still from something. "It's okay, Loki. I'm here. You don't have to shake."

Was he… Loki looked down at his hands. They were shaking. Was it residual adrenaline? He'd known what was going to happen, so why did he have to react like this? It was like his body wasn't his to control and he clenched his hands into fists, as if that could somehow stop it.

Thor pulled him into his arms and Loki breathed in the scent, the cologne, and feeling the stubble on his brother's jaw. Somehow…somehow it calmed him and he found he could unclench his fingers. Their foreheads touched briefly and he let out a breath he wasn't realizing he was holding. This felt…so nice. Feeling their noses lightly touching as one of them shifted and the silence in the room was comforting rather than awkward or intimidating.

Then something happened he didn't expect. Thor's lips lightly brushed against his. It was likely just a passing moment, not even a kiss, but it sent Loki's nerves firing. He followed that mouth before he could stop it, planting a kiss that had barely restrained passion into it. His heart almost stopped beating as there was a moment's pause, and then Thor was shoving him hard up against the door as he returned it.

Oh… Oh…! He had never tasted anything so magnificent before. Thor's tongue demanded entrance and he allowed it, only to find himself moaning wantonly when that muscle dove into his mouth. Strong hands were on his thighs, then his rear to lift him up a little, and Loki reacted. He yanked his jeans open to give himself a bit of room for his growing erection and he moaned as he felt an answering bulge in his brother's pants.

"All…of it…for nothing…"

He blinked at the growl against his throat when Thor began to kiss down his neck. Loki's fingers paused as he was in the middle of yanking at his brother's jeans. "What?" he gasped.

"Why do you think I slept with those girls and came back? If I didn't sate myself, I thought I'd end up doing this to you in your sleep!"

Was…he being serious? Loki grabbed the shoulder-length blonde hair and yanked his brother's head up from his collarbone. "Say that again."

"Damn you, Loki, I want you so much. I love you. As in want to spend the rest of my life with you! I had to pull away when you were in high school because I've been thinking of you like that since you turned fifteen."

"…You son of a bitch," he whispered breathily, yet with a soft growl. He shoved the man back, only to push Thor onto his bed. "You son of a bitch!"

In a flash he had straddled Thor and yanked off his own t-shirt, Thor's eyes glued to his movements, to his chest and stomach. So all this time, waiting, wanting, losing sleep…it was all pointless?! Thor had wanted him all this time and they'd just been tormenting each other?

"Loki, what are you—"

"Shut up and fuck me, Thor!" he spat, kicking off his shoes and pulling down his jeans. "I can't believe we've been sitting here in agony when we could have been doing this for three years!"

As if that opened the floodgates, Thor had thrown him onto the bed and they kissed as if they needed it to breathe. Thor's shirt landed on a lamp, the weight of the throw toppling it over onto the floor. Loki paid it no attention. There was little foreplay as both were more than a little frantic to get skin on skin. "Is that…why…you kept scaring away…my boyfriends…in high school?" he muttered between kisses as Thor lined himself up after quick preparation.

"Couldn't help it. You ready?"

"Fuck yes."

Loki yelled as Thor thrust in and there was no coordination, no finesse to it. They were just frantically moving, seeking pleasure, trying to convince themselves this really was real. He would later pretend that the words coming from his mouth, the begging and pleading and endearments, didn't actually happen, but Thor soaked them up as if he'd been waiting all his life to hear them. Loki didn't care who heard him, he didn't mitigate his sounds. The bed was squeaky beneath him, lightly thudding against the wall, and Loki thought that maybe the grip should hurt, but it didn't.

His legs, braced on his brother's shoulders, felt tight with tension as he felt his orgasm approaching. He wanted to hold it off, but couldn't. Callused fingers fumbled, gripping him between his legs, and he began to pump him a bit haphazardly. "Thor!" he shouted, arching his back and he clenched. The pressure was enough to finish his brother, and he felt the sticky seed hit him.

It was as if an explosion of light hit him behind his closed eyes and Loki gasped. Oh…hell! He whimpered as memories flooded him, real memories. The false ones of growing up in a mortal home were pushed back and he remembered eons of spending time with Thor as a Prince of Asgard. Part of him actually mourned the loss, because those fake memories had been a clean slate for him, for them both. In resignation, he opened his eyes and saw the realization, the truth, mirroring in Thor's face. They were motionless, silent, as they realized what had occurred.

"L-Loki." Thor shifted and he gasped as they were still connected. "Loki, what have you done?"

"Why do you assume that I did something?" he snapped.

"Loki…"

At the warning growl, at Thor leaning dangerously over him and knowing just what a vulnerable position he was in, Loki sighed. "I was attempting a spell of confusion, but you found me and interrupted me in that warehouse. I believe I have told you several times never to interrupt me when I'm in the middle of casting something, but you stupidly did anyway and it scrambled our memories instead and made us believe we were mere mortal university students."

"Did the spell…do anything other than change our memories?"

"You're asking whether or not it caused you to want to bed me. No, brother dear," he sneered, "that was all you. Apparently you have wanted to spread my legs for a long while."

Instead of feeling ashamed or pulling out as he had expected, Thor smiled. "Then this means that you also…have wanted to spread your legs for me."

Loki stiffened, clenching briefly around Thor and the man gasped a bit. He hadn't realized… Since when had Thor been observant enough to turn such a thing around on him? "Enough. You can pull out now."

Instead, Thor smirked. Thor. Smirking. "No, I don't think so. The memories might be fake, Loki, but they're still there."

"Why should that make a difference?" he muttered and damned the same memories that still huddled there. These fake memories had made him far more lenient with Thor than he had been growing up in Asgard and those feelings that were real despite the fake memories, still held him.

"You indulged me far too much, brother," Thor whispered heatedly and shifted his hips deliberately.

"This…changes nothing, Thor," he muttered after a gasp was wrenched from his throat. "I am still a wanted criminal and—"

"No matter what you've said, your own spell kept us as brothers and we will always be bound together, Loki, as brothers and as mates. We will get through this together." A dark look came to his eyes. "I will have to find Mjolnir and take proper vengeance against Victor."

He stared. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Right after we're done."

"Thor!"

-End-