A/N: Ok. I actually rather like Loki's death scene, because he died his best self at the end of his arc. But this is my son we're talking about and I need him to live.

Fair warning, this does go through basically the entire scene, including that part and THAT part because I am a sucker for angst, but I promise, it gets better. I promise I fixed it.

"The Tesseract, or your brother's head. I assume you have a preference?" Thanos asked.

"Oh, I do." Thor looked up at his brother, but Loki lifted his chin, avoiding eye contact. "Kill away."

Immediately, pain ripped through Thor's head. It's for the best, he thought, his jaws gaping in a scream. Thanos can't be allowed to get the Tesseract, he rationalized, seeing nothing but blinding purple. Loki's just bluffing. It's what he does. Lies.

Right?

"All right, stop!" Loki cried, cutting through Thor's scream.

Oh, thank the gods, Thor thought, going limp. But when he forced his eye up, Loki was crying. Loki, his baby brother who had learned long, long ago that crying led to bullying, was crying in public.

It almost gave Thor the strength to fight back.

"Give me the Tesseract," Thanos commanded.

"We don't have the Tesseract," Thor said. "It was destroyed on Asgard!"

Right? he asked silently, staring at Loki, begging it to be true.

The look Loki gave him told Thor everything he needed to know. He watched in horror, his heart sinking lower with every passing heartbeat, as Loki lifted his hand, avoiding everyone's gaze. His heart hit rock bottom as the Tesseract appeared, glowing coldly in Loki's hand.

"You really are the worst brother," Thor muttered.

Finally, Loki looked at him, and Thor immediately regretted the comment. The Tesseract lit up his face, sharply pointing out the injuries he had already received, the rips in his always-impeccable clothing. Worse, it shone on his eyes, lighting up their terrified, guilty depths, covered by a layer of tears.

He advanced slowly, Tesseract extended towards Thanos, his gaze never wavering from Thor. "I promise you, brother," he said, a little shakily, but low and heated, "the sun will shine on us again."

Thor didn't let his own gaze waver, desperate to believe his brother's words.

"Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian," Thanos scoffed.

Loki looked up at the Titan. A smirk began to lift his mouth, the familiar expression banishing his terror. "For one thing, I'm not Asgardian. And for another, we have a Hulk."

A green blur came sprinting from the shadows with a roar, flinging himself at Thanos. Thor gasped as Thanos released his head, and a second later, Loki was tackling him out of harm's way. For a moment, Thor let himself lie there, stunned and panting with every inch of him in pain, as Loki crouched over him, one hand clutching Thor's shirt as he watched Hulk and Thanos battle.

"Hulk's got this," Thor tried to say reassuringly.

Loki just swallowed, wincing as the battle raged.

As quickly as it began, it went south. Thanos landed a solid blow. Hulk cried out in pain. He kept fighting, but the element of surprise was lost. Thanos kept landing blows, blocking what Hulk threw at him, hitting back with more viciousness each time. And finally, Thanos picked Hulk up, held him over his head and flung him to the ground. Where Hulk stayed. Defeated.

"No," Loki whispered, pressing back against the wall, eyes wide and terrified.

"Stay," Thor ordered him. He forced himself to his feet, reaching for the nearest weapon-like thing – a pole.

"No," Loki hissed, grabbing for him. "No no no-"

Thor slipped from his grasp, running for Thanos. With everything he had, he swung the pole at Thanos. It slammed into his hip, bending in half from the force of the blow. And Thanos hardly reacted. Just turned to look at him in disdain.

Ah. Crap.

Thanos did nothing, but one of his so-called children did. Thor was yanked backwards, forced to his knees. Chunks of metal twisted around him, holding him in place. He struggled, but the restraints refused to budge even a millimeter.

A wave of rainbow light sliced through the ship, scooping Hulk up and beaming him away. Thor smiled, a little breath of relief, that at least he was safe. Until Thanos turned to Heimdall, disappointment in his expression. "You shouldn't have done that."

In a single, almost tired movement, Thanos stabbed Heimdall in the heart.

"NO!" Thor screamed. Loki stayed huddled against the wall, frozen.

"You," Thor rasped, "will pay for that."

More metal snapped shut over his mouth, gagging him. Thanos ignored him, moving to Ebony Maw as the villain picked up the Tesseract and offered it to the Titan in a disturbing show of submission. Thor could only watch, trapped and helpless, as Thanos crushed the Tesseract in his bare fist, revealing the Infinity Stone within, and added it to his collection.

All he could do was try to silently console himself. Our people did not die for nothing. Heimdall did not die for nothing. Bruce will warn Earth. They'll stop him. No matter what happens here.

Suddenly, Loki moved, stepping back into Thanos's view, all hint of terror banished by his usual cocky persona. Thor watched, biting back a protest, his heart pounding in his chest. Don't do anything stupid, don't do anything stupid, don't-

"If you're going to Earth, you'll need a guide."

-do that. Loki, you moron.

"And I do have experience."

"If you consider failure experience," Thanos chuckled.

"I consider experience experience," Loki retorted sharply.

He controlled his voice, softening it to something more respectful, and began stepping slowly, deliberately up to Thanos. "I am Loki…" He paused, lowering his gaze, not quite looking at Thor. "…Odinson. God of Mischief. Rightful King of Jotunheim. Prince of Asgard."

A glimmer caught Thor's eye, drawing it to his hand. Where a dagger formed, hidden between Loki's arm and body. He fought not to react, not to call out or let his eye widen in panic. This was their final ploy, Loki's final ploy, Loki's final attempt to be the hero Thor had been encouraging him to be. And if Thor gave him away-

No. Failure wasn't an option.

Loki knelt stiffly. "I hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity."

Thanos watched, head tilted slightly as if wondering what to make of this. Loki stayed down for a moment, steely determination sharpening his gaze the longer he stayed still. Finally, he took a breath. And in a single fluid movement, lunged upwards, dagger flying straight for Thanos's exposed throat.

In a flash of blue light, Loki's attack was frozen in place, mere inches from its target. Loki's eyes widened, and Thor renewed his struggles. His people, Heimdall, they were one thing. Immense heartbreaks, but ultimately, Thor knew he could survive them. It would take centuries, maybe a few thousand years, but- he would survive. Eventually. But- but Loki- no. No no no no no.

"Undying," Thanos mused, twisting Loki's arm away. To his credit, Loki faced him with unwavering determination, even with no cards left to play. "You should choose your words more carefully."

Thanos wrapped his fist around Loki's throat, lifting him into the air. Thor screamed, struggling, fighting to get to his brother, his baby brother who was thrashing, kicking, clawing, as his face turned red, his eyes going bloodshot, his breaths coming in gasps, each more strained than the last.

But he still couldn't budge the restraints, and with his neck being crushed in a fist powerful enough to stop Hulk, Loki weakened quickly. His struggles eased, feet still reaching for purchase, fingers still scrabbling, but the tiny movements were utterly futile.

With his last strength, he locked gazes with Thanos.

With his last breath, he choked out, "You… will never be… a god."

Irritation flashed through Thanos's eyes, but he just smirked, tightening his grip. The sound of crackling bones pierced Thor's heart, and Loki went limp. Eyes still open. Still terrified. Forever terrified, even though he was brave to the end.

"No- NO!" Thor screamed.

But there was no one left to hear him. No one left to care.

Thor watched through blurred vision as Thanos turned to him. He opened his fist, too late, far too late. Loki dropped, crumpling to the ground with a dull thud that shot through Thor's soul. He hardly heard Thanos say "No more resurrections," hardly saw the villains leave.

He only noticed the metal springing open, clattering to the ground. He dragged himself forward, sobs wracking his body as the ship shuddered around him, ready to explode. But that didn't matter. All that mattered was Loki, all that mattered was being at his side. All that mattered was holding him.

All that mattered was holding his baby brother close, the one person in the universe he was supposed to protect above all others, shielding him like Loki had shielded him. He would not die alone. Not here. Not again.

Wait- was that-

Did he just breathe?

With a violent bang, the ship exploded around them.

-MCU-

He dreamed of life, of golden fields and musical laughter and warm hugs. He dreamed of battle, of arcing lightning and boastful jokes and seamless teamwork. He dreamed of death, of midnight funerals and salty tears and gaping loneliness.

Wake.

The word wove through his mind, slipping through the hazy dreams on a trail of white light. His laughter faded, his fighting paused, his tears slowed as he looked up, watching it. It beckoned to him, and his feet followed without conscious thought, carrying him through the swaying grass and bloodied corpses and mourners' rivers. He followed the beacon of hope into the summer afternoon, into the red sunset, into the moonless night.

Thor bolted awake with a gasp, lurching off the table. He grabbed the wall for support, chest heaving, head pounding. His other hand reached out blindly, instinctively, as if it was supposed to be holding something. His heart clenched when it closed on empty air.

"Woah! Woah, hey, calm down," someone said.

Thor spun to the voice, fists rising into fighting readiness. He was confronted with perhaps the oddest group he had ever seen, which was saying something. "Who the hell are you guys?"

The human-looking one lifted his chin. "I'm Star-Lord, and that's Gamora, Drax, Rock-"

Memories crashed over Thor, memories of death and fire, roars and screams, crackling bones and empty thuds. In two strides, he covered the distance between them, grabbing Star-Lord by the throat and slamming him up against the wall.

"Where's my brother?" he demanded. "What did you do with him?"

Drax and Gamora ran over, shoving Thor away from Star-Lord. Drax stayed back, clutching his daggers and ready to fight. Gamora just pressed her hands against Thor's chest, holding him off. "Your brother, what does he look like?"

Thor glared at Drax, still ready to fight, but he answered Gamora. "Greasy black hair, kind of weaselly, has a fondness for black and very dark green leather."

Gamora softened, her shoulders slumping, puffing out a breath. "He's injured, but he's alive. Follow me."

The fight drained from him in an instant as he obeyed, crowding behind her in an effort to make her move faster. She led him to a room with an open door. Inside was a neat little room, the closet open to reveal an array of clothes similar to what Gamora currently wore. To the left of the door was a bed, and on that bed-

"Loki!" Thor cried, dropping to his knees beside him. He was unconscious and paler than usual, but Thor rested a hand on his chest, tension fleeing his body as he felt a steady heartbeat beneath his palm. With his other hand, he investigated the brace around Loki's neck.

"We found the two of you floating in space – it took Drax and Gamora both to pry you off of him so we could try fixing him up. Whatever happened to you guys, he's damn lucky he's not dead," Star-Lord said, coming up behind Gamora. "It ain't a pretty sight underneath that brace. We don't even know if he's paralyzed or not."

Paralyzed.

"What did happen?" Gamora asked.

Thor left his hand on Loki's chest, clinging to that heartbeat even after he looked away. Paralyzed or not, he was breathing, and that much he could work with. "Thanos," he murmured bitterly. "Valkyrie managed to take some of our people and flee, but Thanos slaughtered the rest. And obtained the Space Stone."

Gamora's eyes widened. "No," she breathed.

Thor looked sharply up at her. "What do you know of his plans?"

She dropped her gaze. "I was his daughter," she admitted quietly.

Instinctive rage tightened his fist around Loki's shirt. Before he could act, a feeble moan sliced through the cloud of emotion. Thor spun back to Loki, trying to lean over him without invading his space. "Loki?"

"Thor?" he mumbled hoarsely. He blinked sluggishly, squinting at the dirty grey ceiling. "Thor…" He bolted upright, eyes snapping wide open. "Tho- Ow!"

"Easy, easy," Thor cautioned, sitting on the bed to brace him as he cradled his neck. Not paralyzed. Thank the gods. "You survived, we're fine, I promise, but he still crushed your neck pretty thoroughly." He paused, waiting for Loki to catch his breath and calm down before asking, "Don't take this the wrong way, but- how did you survive?"

"Spell to hide heartbeat," Loki answered, his voice hardly a whisper. "Had to be last second to trick him."

"You could've told me your plan," Thor rebuked him, noticing that his eyes were no longer bloodshot. "I- I thought-"

"Said undying," Loki protested, leaning back against him. His eyes were drooping shut, his hands trembling as the adrenaline surge from his waking wore off. "Tried."

Thor tucked him into a hug, holding him tight. "You did. You did your best."

Loki made a noncommittal noise.

"We can argue about that later," Thor sighed. "For now… I'm just glad you're alive, brother."

"You too," Loki whispered, lifting one arm. He wrapped it around Thor's shoulders, clinging to him. Thor closed his eyes, and for a few minutes, he ignored everything weighing on him in favor of just reveling in the safety of his brother.

A/N: So, I don't exactly know how far I'm gonna take this story. There'll definitely be at least one more chapter, maybe two with as far as I know I'm gonna go, but as for whether it'll end on Nidavellir or Earth or if I'll delve into Avengers 4 speculation territory, and how many chapters this'll end up being overall, idk. We'll just have to see where this goes.