Thor's arm weighs heavily on Loki's shoulders as he guides his brother to his room. Should Thor stumble, he would surely take them both down in a heap. Loki half-hopes his brother isn't yet that drunk, though it would be his just punishment for drugging Thor's mead.

His wish had only been for Thor to throw insults at some Thane or make a clumsy advance towards one of the Valkyries. It was to have been Loki's gift of embarrassment where others had been heaping honours on him all night. Of course Thor and his warriors gloriously defeated the Fire Giants' invasion of their borders. They always succeeded in feats of battle. It was a given. Why waste Loki's time with such a lavish, insufferable display of Asgard's gratitude, especially after Thor had forbidden him to fight by their side this time and share in their glory.

Instead of making a fool of himself as Loki wishes he had, Thor had simply stood and announced his intention to seek his bed. No one even jeered at him for leaning on Loki for support.

They approach his door and Thor does stumble a little, but at the last second manages to find his step. Loki is perversely both relieved and disappointed, for he also half-wishes Thor would fall on him. The fleeting thought of having his brother's body covering his own sends a pleasant tingle down his spine.

But that thought is neither here nor there - a forbidden thing that Loki rarely even allows himself in private moments of pleasure. He had earned enough scorn for his mischief and his lack of skill at arms. If such incestuous urges were made known, he could well be removed from his father's court, or even thrown out of Asgard, or worse - Thor would be within his rights to seek retribution for such an insult to his honour, up to and including Loki's death, brutal and inglorious beneath the crushing blow of his hammer.

Such things Loki would not risk, even for something he so craves.

Loki puts the thought out of his mind while he leads Thor into his room and lets him fall heavily onto the bed. Turning on a heel, Loki intends to take some small revenge by leaving Thor to fall asleep in his light armour.

"Loki," Thor's voice calls out, stopping Loki in his tracks, "Help me undress."

Loki's breath halts for a moment. Unable to help himself, he turns to comply.

The amusement of seeing his brother clumsily pawing at the fastenings of his hauberk is reward enough, but Loki stays for more.

Pulling Thor to his feet, Loki attends to the business of undressing his brother. Thor stares at Loki while his long, slender fingers make quick work of the various knots and fastenings holding Thor's armour to his body.

With a strange look on his face, Thor reaches up and carefully chooses the end of one of the thin cords knotted at Loki's collar. Before Loki can bat his hand away, he gives it a swift tug. The fastenings of Loki's own cloak come free, dropping to the floor behind him.

Thor grins sheepishly at him and Loki surmises that in his drunken state he thinks it some kind of prank. Nonetheless, Thor's smile causes a surprising pang - a mixture of pleasure and pain both. For Thor never smiles at him anymore. He has a grin and a hearty backslap for everyone else he meets, but for his brother. Thor's smile disappears like the sun behind a storm cloud, leaving only a wariness in his eyes that Loki is unsure has anything to do with his mischief. If there were some particular deception that had caused such a look in his brother's eye, Loki is surprised to learn he would surely apologize and make amends, but the wariness came gradually as they both grew to maturity, with no connection to any one deed of trickery.

Loki looks away from Thor's smile, wanting neither the pain nor the pleasure it brings.

"Yes, very funny brother. Surely your wit will make you renowned throughout all of Asgard."

Loki puts his strength into lifting Thor's hauberk away, leaving his brother in only his smallclothes. He allows his eyes to linger but a few moments on the outline of muscle he can see through his brother's light undertunic.

Thor catches him by the chin. Loki's gaze snaps up to Thor's eyes and a sudden bolt of panic rushes through him.

"You were looking," says Thor.

Fear boils up from the pit of Loki's stomach as he watches the wariness return to his brother's eyes. Loki knows that that look is simply a storm cloud, and could give way at any moment to lightning flashes of anger. Putting one large hand down heavily on Loki's shoulder, Thor prevents him from fleeing as he suddenly wishes he could.

"Did you like what you saw?" questions Thor.

"Brother, I..." Loki begins, but his mouth is so dry. Before his tongue can shape a lie to save himself, he licks his lips.

Loki sees the lightning flash in his brother's eyes, but it isn't the anger he is expecting. Instead, Thor pulls him close and brings their lips together in a long, deep, kiss.

It is Loki who pulls away, telling himself it is for breath, though really it's out of fear.

"I doubt you'll remember that in the morning, brother," Loki says. Though I'll treasure it for the rest of my life.

Thor's eyes are half-lidded, but the intensity of his gaze pierces Loki like a spear. Thor is literally panting with lust. Loki tries to pull away, but his brother holds him close.

"Want you..." Thor murmurs. "Stay with me." He takes Loki's hand and guides it down under his nightshirt, towards his manhood. Loki finds it thick with desire, and wraps his hand around it, stroking it, revelling in the feeling of the smooth skin sliding over rock-hard flesh.

"Yess, just like that," Thor hisses. He pulls his nightshirt off, leaving himself naked. Before Loki can reaches out to touch his firm, inviting muscles, Thor finds the edge of his tunic and pulls it up and off over Loki's head in one forceful motion that leaves Loki breathless and uncovered above the waist.

Thor then sits down heavily on the bed and tries to undo the lacings of Loki's trousers. Failing that, he rips them open and throws them to the floor. At this Loki flinches, but Thor seizes his waist and drags him onto the bed, throwing him face down onto one of his pillows.

Spreading Loki's legs, Thor settles himself between them, leaning down to cover Loki's body with his own, giving Loki his earlier wish and more. Loki shivers and arches up instinctively to feel as much of his brother as possible.

Thor reaches down to squeeze and rub the soft flesh of Loki's lower cheeks. Loki is shocked to feel him dragging the head of his manhood up and down his cleft, smearing drops of leaked seed over Loki's most private area.

"Oil. We need oil." Thor's breath is hot on Loki's neck. Part of Loki is relieved that one of them remembers that detail, and part of him is horrified that this is actually happening. Should the sin they're about to commit be discovered, they'll be covered in shame from now until Ragnarok.

Part of him wants wants wants it so much, whatever the price.

Reaching up, Thor dips his fingers into a bowl left conveniently there for such a need. Loki can feel drops of oil dripping down as Thor hastily coats himself.

Thor kisses Loki's shoulder. His manhood lingers near Loki's entrance, teasing him, but there is still time to turn back.

"Nonono, brother don't do this." You'll hate me in the morning. Hate me and blame me. But the pillow beneath Loki's face is thick and muffles his voice. He's not sure if Thor can hear him.

Then Thor pushes, and it's too late. The head of his manhood is inside of Loki. His brother is inside of him. With no preparation it should have hurt, but Loki is so willing that he opens for his brother and lets him in easily. He's been waiting for this for so long.

It seems Thor is to make him wait a little longer as he stops for a moment to rest his forehead in Loki's hair, trembling every so slightly. Loki is amazed to realize that Thor must be pausing to keep his completion at bay, though he's pleased not to be the only one ready to spill himself just from what they've already done.

Thor finally moves again, and with one solid thrust slides in easily to the hilt. He groans into Loki's hair and Loki nearly sobs. It's so good. His brother is thick and long. He can feel the warm weight of his sac pressed against him, heavy with the seed that is to be spilled inside of him by night's end.

When Thor pulls back and pushes back in, it's just as good as the first time. While he continues steadily, pounding Loki into the mattress with an almost punishing rhythm, Loki moans loudly into the pillow beneath him.

It continues for a short eternity. Thor is relentless. Loki doesn't even have to bring his hand to himself - his pleasure is so great that he spills onto the blanket below without being touched, and afterward lies sated and boneless while his brother continues to rut inside of him.

Finally, finally, Thor can hold back no longer, and with a groan fills his brother with seed.

After, though Thor pulls him close, as soon as he is asleep Loki regretfully takes himself from Thor's embrace to rise and gather his clothes. He regrets nothing, but knows that to risk staying together would be to risk being seen together, and he has already wagered his future on this brief encounter.

There will be other nights, he vows to himself and to Thor as he slips out of the room to make his way to his own. He has never been more thankful that it is so nearby.

The next day Loki allows himself a long morning in bed, lingering in the scent that his brother has left on him, enjoying the light ache in his backside. He tells himself it will only be until next time (he does so ache to have his brother back inside of him), and if he is any kind of schemer he will find a way to arrange it soon.

For the first time since he was young, before he learned the terrible gravity of such thought and what his punishment might be should someone learn of them, Loki takes himself in hand with his brother in mind, spilling onto his sheets as quickly as he did all those years ago.

Loki finds Thor breaking his fast well past noon.

"Good day, brother."

"Loki," responds Thor, one hand on his brow to shade his eyes from the sunlight. "You sound cheerful. What trickery do you have planned today?"

Loki affords himself the barest smirk as he settles himself at the table. "Oh, dark mischief indeed, I assure you," he said after he was assured that nobody was around to hear them.

"Really?" Thor brings his hand away to glance up at Loki with lifted eyebrows. "Well be sure to leave me out of it. I can barely remember anything from last night, and I'm not entirely unconvinced that you had something to do with that." Seeing Thor's eyes for the first time this morning, Loki finds no trace of what went on between them last night, only the pained fatigue of a night spent in drink, and the old wariness back on his face like a cloud.

Coldness settles in the pit of Loki's stomach.

"You don't remember last night?"

Thor shakes his head and drinks more of his water. "Apparently someone gave me a fine shield made by the dwarven smiths of Nidavellir, but I don't know which Thane to whom I should give my gratitude."

"It was Thane Borghild," offers Loki numbly. Thane Borghild had given him the shield well over an hour before Loki had helped him to his bedroom.

Again Thor lifts his eyebrows. "Thank you, brother." The word pierces Loki with pain finer than any needle.

"And you don't remember going to bed?" Asks Loki, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice.

"No, although I've been informed I left the feast early, before I could be plagued by any more of your mischief. A small blessing, although I'm sure you found the night to be most disappointing."

Loki doesn't know whether to laugh or sob. "Oh, terribly," he manages to choke out before he is able to get up and flee the room.