Honestly, Loki is not actually dead that would be the single most un-Loki thing possible.

this thing called love (i just can't handle it)

The first thing Loki does after the battle is over and Thanos's forces are dusted is to try and find his brother amidst the chaos.

It has been too long since they had last seen each other — since Loki had had to watch him being tortured — but unfortunately, it had been necessary.

Loki had been busy getting as much as of the galaxy as possible to commit to joining this very attack at the right time.

It had not been his original plan, but when this Sorcerer Supreme — laughable name that was because how many centuries of experience did Loki have on the human again? — when he had presented Loki with the Time Stone as evidence as to why this was the best course of action.

Or at least, the best they knew of. Yes, Strange had seen them fail fourteen million six hundred and four different times, but how could he have been sure that this was the only way?

Nevertheless, Loki is well aware of how much exactly a quasi-guaranteed success is worth — especially given these stakes.

Plus, it is not as if there had been a lack of people out for revenge. Far from it. More than once, he had only had to mention the fight was against Thanos — the being that had taken so many of their loved ones/coworkers/hive members/whatever-the-case-may-be from them — to get enthusiastic agreements to join their fight with the biggest force they could build over the next five years.

Apparently, it is vital that Loki does not inform Thor of his continued survival, so Loki doesn't contact him during this entire time.

It is fine. It's not like it is the first time. Surely Thor must be used to it at this point. Plus, Loki had already placed Thor over the rest of the universe when he handed over the Tesseract. He can't do it again, not after all that they had collectively lost.

And it has worked out in the end.

They had won and all they had lost had been returned to them.

Now that it is all over, Loki is wandering the debris, looking for Thor. It takes a while, but eventually, he finds him with a group of people standing in front of Stark and the people hugging the man — all of them are crying. Loki is fairly certain that the fact that his brother does not quite have the same look as the last time Loki had seen him does have something to do with the search taking a moment or five longer.

Thor's hair had grown to its former length again, although it is anything but taken care good care of. Yes, it could be worse, but Loki has seen Thor take pristine care of his hair while they were on hunting trips that lasted weeks or even months on occasion.

His beard is now long and looked as if the first attempts to tame it must have been fairly recently, given the braid is loose enough that Loki honestly is not completely sure if he imagines it.

Then, there the new… addition around his brother's middle. It is almost worrying, how much Thor has changed — how disappointed and disgusted the arrogant man he had been a mere decade would be at his looks.

In short, Thor looks almost as if he had decided at one point over the last years that Volstagg had embodied the ideal of beauty.

Before the man's unfortunate demise at Hela's hands, of course. Loki doubts a rotting corpse classifies as beautiful for anyone.

"I leave for a mere five years and this is what you do to yourself?"

It is far from the most tactful way this could have been phrased, Loki is well aware, but it is not like the two of them are known for the gentle handling and understanding of each other's traumas and emotions.

Thor turns around faster than Loki had honestly thought he could move given the shape he is in.

"Loki? Sister? Is that you?"

His voice is so full of pure unfiltered hope and raw emotion that Loki almost doesn't respond in a sassy manner.

Almost.

"No, it's Hela, get ready for round two. Of course, it's me, you fool."

Multiple emotions cross Thor's face — shock, grief, and anger among them — but the only one that stays is a delight.

"Loki, you're alive."

"Obviously."

Before Loki has the chance to do or say anything else, she finds herself engulfed in a tight hug.

"You're alive."

"So you've already said."

Loki will never admit it out loud, but this feels surprisingly nice. She can't let Thor learn of this, however, so she does her best to push him off her.

Surprisingly, he actually lets go of her.

That's new.

"What in Odin's name have you been doing these past years?"

"Right back to you, dearest brother," Loki replies, poking Thor's stomach.

"You did not think me dead," Thor states flatly and quietly.

"I was quite busy coordinating a great part of the forces that you saw earlier. Strange — you know, the man that made me fall through nothingness for thirty minutes — appeared through a portal of his and implored the importance of doing such."

Thor finds Loki's eyes. "And you couldn't have taken a moment — just one, in five years — to let me know of your survival? A message would have been enough," he sobs more than he speaks.

"It was the only way to ensure this outcome, according to Strange," Loki responds, her voice softer than intended — don't let that fool be contagious. "And considering that the human used the Time Stone to discover this before he contacted me, I was and still am inclined to believe him. And now I believe it's your turn."

Thor sighed. He was unusually hunched over and drawn into himself.

"I did not deal well with losing you for the third time, especially so close after losing the lands of Asgard because of Hela and the majority of our people between her and Thanos. I forgot all that I had learned about being a better king for my people and I did pretty much the exact opposite. I withdrew from the community after a month or so and began drinking more and more. They wanted to help me, but one of the effects of being King is that people generally listen when you tell them to stay away. I did things I now realize I should not have done and it probably would have been much worse if Valkyrie hadn't stepped up and taken charge. She really built a beautiful community in New Asgard, you should see it sometime."

"Will you be returning there?" Loki asks, raising her eyebrow.

A beat passes, then another one.

"No," Thor replies. "At least for a while, I don't think I will. They deserve someone better than the person I am right now."

"Then please tell me what reason would I have to go there. Come on, just one, I'm waiting."

Thor smiles and puts his hands back onto her shoulders. "I missed you, sister."

"I thought we had covered that part already." She does not remove her brother's hands from her body, though she isn't quite sure why. Is this this 'sentiment' thing people have told her about?

"It bears repeating."

And maybe it does.

And maybe Loki even responds to say the same is true in reverse.