Loki is shoved back into his cell and the force field is lowered down. Frigga is dead and the nine realms are saved from the Dark Elves and the Aether, but he gets to continue his sentence and rot in the dungeons. If only he'd regained consciousness sooner, he could have made his escape. He'd faked his death, sort of. That blow to the chest hurt like hell and penetrated several major organs, but Loki used his magic to save himself. It just took longer than he anticipated. Loki curses his frustrations. His cell is just as he left it, smashed to pieces and smeared with blood. With Frigga dead, no new luxuries will be smuggled to him. No social visits will be paid to occupy him and keep him sane. Loki knows what happens to the criminals that dwell down here without company. They go mad.

Thor tells Odin that he does not want to be king and that he wishes to return to Midgard. His request is denied. Odin is grateful that his son took the reins from him and defied his orders, saving the nine realms including Asgard. The role Thor has spent his entire life preparing for will be his in a very short time, though Odin does not tell him this. Thor begs his father to release him from the line of succession but Odin refuses. He is not going to hand over the throne to that idiot second cousin of his. He orders his son to his chambers. The process of rebuilding Asgard's defenses will begin on the morrow. Odin will need Thor to help him, the damage is so vast.

"What is to become of Loki?" Thor asks his father before the guards haul him away.

"He will continue to serve his sentence." Odin states.

"He deserves just as much credit for saving the realms as I. I would have failed without his assistance."

"True as that may be Loki is still Loki, and he has not reformed or developed one ounce of remorse for his previous actions and is still a danger to us all. He will remain in his cell." Thor looks to protest this decision but the look on Odin's face tells him it would be pointless. Odin will not budge on this.

Months pass as Thor works to rebuild the palace and all that was destroyed. Odin forbids him to visit Loki and he does not possess Frigga's magic to visit him through the fire. It was easier to sneak into the dungeons right after the attack. Loki was the only prisoner that was not released and no one bothered to keep watch down there when everything else was under siege. But now all Thor can do is bribe the guards to pass him news of Loki's condition. It is deteriorating quickly.

Thor is awoken in the middle of the night by one of the dungeon patrol guards. Loki's cell is bathed in his blood. He tried to kill himself. The months of isolation and grief have finally taken their toll and Loki is on the verge of death. Thor rushes to the dungeons praying he is not too late.

When he gets there he is greeted by a grizzly scene. The healers are already there doing their work, but Loki is so limp and pale Thor has his doubts about his survival. Loki has pulled his hair out in clumps and there are large bald patches on his scalp. There are small cuts all over his body. Many of them are superficial, designed to inflict pain not mortal damage. But the large wound in his stomach is the one that is killing him. Loki fashioned a knife out of an object in his cell and stab himself with it.

"Will he survive?" Thor asks as his voice chokes.

"Tonight? Yes. Tomorrow….his madness will kill him eventually. Once I am done healing him I am ordered to return him to his cell. He'll simply try again and again until he succeeds. There is no hope for him now." Lady Eir says grimly.

"Is there naught I can do?" Thor asks.

"The solitude has driven him mad. Unless he is released, he will die." She tells him.

"Then I shall join him in his cell." Thor says firmly. The healer looks up at him wide eyed and shocked.

"My Prince the Allfather wo..."

"The Allfather can execute me if he disagrees with my decision. I will already be in a prison cell. It will be the only punishment left to avail him." Thor says seriously. Servants come and clean the cell while Loki is healed. Thor orders them to bring down large trays of food and fresh clothing as well. Thor removes Mjolnir and places her on the ground in the dungeon hallway. When Loki is patched up and the room is clean Thor picks up his skeleton of a brother and steps inside. Thor gently lays his brother on the bed and tucks him in.

Thor looks around at the tattered furniture and white walls. The bathroom is a tiny space hidden behind a seamless wall panel which will not close if occupied. The shower stall is the only place where prisoners have any semblance of privacy. There are no windows and no sunshine or sense of time in here. There are many books but Loki has no doubt read through all of them multiple times by now. Thor removes his armor and strips down to his underclothing. Now in a simple cream colored under-tunic and linen under trousers, Thor climbs onto the small bed next to his brother and pulls him close. He does not fall asleep fearing his brother will stop breathing.

The following morning Odin pays Thor and Loki a visit.

"What madness is this?" His father booms his displeasure.

"Loki tried to kill himself. He has gone mad from his solitude." Odin lowers the shield to the cell.

"Get out of there this instant." He orders Thor like he is a small child.

"No. Execute me if you must, but I will not leave his side. Not again. He needs me. He will die if I do not stay with him."

"He should have died a long time ago." Odin says in anger.

"Find yourself another heir. Until Loki is released from this cell I will not leave it."

"So be it." Odin turns and leaves. If he wants to rot in there with his traitorous brother, then he can get the full prison experience just like Loki.

Loki sleeps well into the following afternoon. The large food tray, which is sitting on the floor, has long since gone cold and some of the food is getting stale. Thor eats a hearty amount leaving behind some of the lighter easier digested foods for Loki. When Loki finally stirs it is with a whimper. The first thing Loki notices it is that he is not alone. There is another physical presence in his cell.

"Mother." Loki whispers. He did it! He's free! He must be in Valhalla now. But he also feels pain and hunger and despair. His body feels clean, something he hasn't done for himself in quite some time. He feels. He feels. No!

"I am sorry brother, but I am not our Mother." Thor says as Loki's vision comes into focus.

"Have you come to kill me?"

"No brother."

"Why not?" Loki asks his eyes wild with insanity. Tears fall freely from Thor's eyes and his voice fails him. It takes several moments for Thor to answer.

"Because I love you." Thor sobs. Thor pulls Loki into his embrace and cradles him for what feels like an eternity. He can hold him for as long as he wants. There is nothing but time in this place. Loki reaches up and cups Thor's face with both of his hands and Thor heart fills with warmth.

"I love you Thor." Loki confesses, his eyes still glazed with a disconnected expression. Thor smiles at him and caresses his dark lovely hair vowing to himself that he will return his brother to full health, somehow. Loki continues to smile at Thor with a soft if insane expression. He is completely surprised when Loki tugs his head down roughly and kisses him full on the lips, slipping his tongue inside his mouth. Thor gasps into Loki's mouth, his loins constrict, and his whole body reacts with a desire never before exposed to the light of day.

Thor pulls Loki back to break the kiss. "No brother! Not that kind of love." Thor tries to explain. But it is too late. The seed has been planted inside his mind now. A new mixture of confusing emotions rolls through Thor and he doesn't know what to do. It's not like he can keep his distance from Loki. Loki is out of his mind right now and doesn't even realize what he is doing. He is not responsible for his actions, but Thor is. Thor must be the responsible one.

Thor is disturbed that he must remind himself that he is the responsible one. The unexpected pleasure he felt from Loki's sweet soft lips….. Thor has a sudden overwhelming desire to trot off to the training yard and practice until his muscles fail him. Once again, he realizes that he cannot run from this.

"Brother! Play a game of chess with me!" Loki chirps in a bright and happy voice. Chess. Yes that he can do. He can play chess. Thor sits down on the floor across from Loki with the board in between. It will be how the pair will spend most of their time while trapped in this cell.

The weeks go by and Thor spends much of his time talking to Loki, even though his brother's responses sometimes make very little sense. Their daily food rations are delivered and Thor makes sure that Loki eats all of it, no matter how much he protests. He develops a routine that he knows Loki needs. Shower every morning, breakfast, chess, lunch, reading, dinner, more chess, and then bed. Thor would be bored of chess were it not for the conversations it affords him. Loki tries several more times to kiss Thor and touch him inappropriately. Thor has taken to masturbating in the shower. Slowly, little by little every day, Loki becomes more his old self. Weeks become months.

Thor and Loki are playing another round of chess when familiar footsteps echo through the dungeon. The men turn and see their father standing outside of their cell.

"It has been a year Thor. Do you still wish to continue with this folly?"

"Yes."

"And if I threaten to execute Loki if you do not leave his cell?"

"Better a quick death than a slow one." Thor replies. Odin huffs and leaves without another word. The men are left alone to sit in silence.

"Why do you do this Thor? You could have your freedom if you but ask for it." Loki states.

"I will not abandon you again. I will not lose you to madness or grief or anything else that would prey upon your mind inside this cell." Thor says resolutely.

"I love you." Loki says looking Thor fully in the eyes. He doesn't look insane this time. He looks as clear headed as ever. Loki crawls over the chess board, knocking over pieces and ruining the game. "Kiss me." Loki whispers.

"Loki I…it would be wrong."

"Why? Because I am your brother? I am a frost giant Thor. We share no blood. We can lie together."

"Does our childhood mean nothing to you? We were raised as brothers." Thor says clinging to this moral thread for hope. Loki gets very close to Thor, to the point of sharing breath.

"Look me in the eye and tell me you do not desire me. Tell me you do not wish to make love to me, and take me and fill my Jotunn womb with your child." Loki says very seriously.

"Your Jotunn womb…..?" Realization dawns on Thor. Jotunns are hermaphrodites. While largely male in appearance, they can actually both bare and sire children. "Loki, do you have a..a…."

"A cunt? Yes. Though it did not make an appearance until that day we stole away to Jotunnheim after your failed coronation. When that Jotunn touched me and turned my arm blue, I felt it emerge between my legs. I have been unable to hide it since, even with Odin's camouflage."

"Have you…used it?" Thor asks feeling like a pervert.

"Not yet." Loki says. The silence returns. Tension builds by the second as neither brother moves. They stare each other down, breathing the same air. Loki is the first to break the détente. He grabs Thor's neck and pulls him in for a heated kiss. Thor's resolve caves and he reciprocates the tender act, sweeping his tongue into Loki's mouth to taste him.

It is the middle of the day, but they just don't care. They don't care if the guards or other prisoners see them. They are going to make love and they are not going to hold back. They pull at each other's clothes, tugging and yanking until they are both naked. Thor rolls them until Loki is on his back and Thor is above him. They are on the hard cell floor, and though the bed is nearby neither thinks to use it. It would probably break under the strain anyway.

Thor peppers Loki's neck with nips and kisses as his hands wander the pale man's slender frame. They both stop when Thor's hand gets near Loki's private area. Thor leans back and Loki opens his legs to let Thor see what is down there. Loki's cock is elegant and his testicles are small and split into labia lips that encircle his beautiful rosebud opening. Loki is wet, eager, and ready for him.

Thor looks back up into Loki's eyes and sees embarrassment and fear. "You are lovely my darling." Thor says to Loki. He lowers back down to give Loki the skin to skin contact he so desperately needs. He lines up with Loki and slowly pushes in. The pleasure they both feel is earth shattering. Loki arches his hips to meet Thor's thrusts and both moan with wanton abandon. Thor cannot see or hear outside, but he knows there must be a storm, because he feels like his soul is on fire. Loki wraps his legs around Thor's hips and hangs on for the ride of his life.

"I love you, I love you." Thor mutters over and over again. There are tears in Loki's eyes and Thor knows that Loki feels it too.

The noise they are making does indeed attract curious investigators as several guards round the corner to figure out what is going on. They all stop short at the sight of the two princes making love and promptly turn back the way they came. None of the scheduled patrols for that corridor make their rounds that afternoon. Thor and Loki are given their privacy.

Thor and Loki enter into a new daily routine and the guards learn very quickly which times of day to avoid that particular hallway. It is one day after a very loud and joyous round of love making that the princes are visited by Odin's entourage of elite advisors, noblemen, and priests. Thor and Loki look at them with open befuddlement. What are they doing here?

"The king is dead. Long live the king." The Head Temple Priest says. The force field of their cell lowers and just like that they are free. Thor hesitates at first, fearing this is a con or a ruse designed to separate him from his brother. Thor makes sure Loki is in front of him when they step out of the cell.

"Odin fell into Odinsleep three days ago and then his breath gave out. Since he has never named another heir, nor officially sentenced you to prison, you are the rightful king of Asgard."

"And what of Loki?" Thor asks them.

"You are King now Thor. Loki's sentence can be whatever you wish it to be." The advisor says.

"Then he is fully pardoned." Thor announces.

"Thor, I know this is not exactly good timing but, I think I need to pay a visit to the healers." Loki says with some hesitation.

"Are you unwell?" Thor asks.

"Not unwell, just with child, I believe. The healers should probably confirm that though." Loki explains. Thor smiles softly at him and runs his fingers through Loki's black hair.

"When is the coronation scheduled?" Thor asks.

"Tomorrow morning Your Majesty."

"Then the ceremony will serve a dual purpose. Make ready for a hand fastening as well."