A/N—I own nothing! Thor belongs to Marvel.
This is the last chapter. I'm sorry for the quadruple update, but I really wanted to finish this. (By the way, I listened to the LOST theme-Life and Death-while writing this...so...yeah...)
Thank you so much for all your reviews/faves/alerts! This chapter is for all of you wonderful, wonderful people. THANK YOU!
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Fingers gripped his wrist...
They slid; they couldn't hold on...
They tightened about Mjolnir, and Thor's fall jerked to a stop, his insides rising and falling inside him, bile rushing up to his throat before falling again, leaving him shaking and nauseous. The staff in his hand was heavy, the metal cold and biting against his skin.
Thor looked up at his father. He couldn't breathe. His heart wouldn't beat.
"Father..." he whispered.
"I love you, Father."
"I love you too, Fater!" The three-year-old Loki mimicked, reaching little hands up towards the figure at the edge of Thor's bed.
His father's armor was cold against his skin, and Thor could almost hear his tears sizzling against the metal.
"Promise you'll come back?"
—"I promise"—
Loki's green eyes clouded. "Where are you going?"
At five, war had been frightening. It had taken Father away. It had made Mother cry. It had been long days of fear, empty nights of weeping, all the while waiting for Father to walk in and make everything okay.
"Father has to go," Mother murmured into the little boy's ear. The words brought Thor's tears back, and he burst into sobs.
Loki crawled off Mother's lap and sat by Thor. His eyes were filled with tears as he leaned again Thor.
The little boy had nothing to say.
"Father! I could have done it!" Loki cried out. Looking down, Thor saw the child in his green eyes. He was 19 again...frightened and hurt..."For you. For all of us."
They hung there, like a damaged mobile, broken, but still able to work...
Mjolnir bit into Father's hand...
"No, Loki."
The hope in Loki's eyes died...
"Loki," Thor whispered, his heart shaking in his chest...
The memory in each tear was a sad one, a remembrance of sickness and neglect and longing...
Loki's fingers loosened...
"NO!"
His tears turned the supernovas into rainbows.