The battle had raged on for days, Aesir fighting one another, fighting the soldiers from other realms. Thor felt lucky to have survived so long, to have not killed anyone he knew well. There were many that he had seen die, though, and he knew that at the end of this battle, he would be different. He will have changed the course of history, and it will be his choice who to bring back from the worlds beyond once the fight ends.

Then he saw him. Not far away, Loki was battling for his life and losing. Blow after blow Thor watched Loki weaken and stagger. He struggled to block and parry the strikes. Thor wanted to run to Loki's aid, but the person he was fighting was on Thor's side. Loki was not. Sif saw Thor's stillness. She followed his gaze and knew he was out of the fight, at least for the moment. She signalled to Fandral and he signalled on to Volstagg and Hogun. They would guard him so he could be distracted as long as he needed.

Loki fell. Thor could not help running to him, screaming for his ally to stay his hand. The other warrior did, understanding that Thor had a right, on some level, to stand over his brother as he died. Their threw himself on the ground beside Loki and gathered him in his arms. Loki was struggling.

"Deal the blow, Brother. End this. Please. Let me go," he asked.

Thor choked back a sob and held Loki close, "I cannot, Loki."

Loki clutched at Thor's armour, trying to grip any loose piece, his hands slick with blood, "I will die one way or another, my wounds are mortal. Please, don't make me suffer. Let it be by your hand."

Thor kissed his brother's forehead and slipped one of Loki's daggers from his belt. With his eyes closed, he drove the blade deep into Loki's side under his arm, into his heart. He felt Loki shudder and gasp.

"Thank you," Loki managed to say before he died.

Thor gave himself only a moment to grieve before returning to the battle.

Days later, the battle over, Thor sat alone in Asgard, charged with the task of deciding who would return to the living. He began by resurrecting those he knew were innocents in the slaughter of the past few days and followed them with the friends and family members who had fought by his side, those who would be loyal to the realm. Once he had gone down the list and resurrected everyone recommended by those he had already brought back, he was left with one person he questioned bringing back.

Loki.

Thor loved his brother, there was no doubt in that. He wanted, with every beat of his heart, to bring him back. His better intuition, however, hesitated, asking if they could handle him, if they could deal with the chaos he caused just by existing. Thor asked his friends, Sif and the Warriors Three, what they thought.

Fandral opposed the idea, knowing what Loki could do and had done, looking out for the safety of all the realms.

Hogun hesitated, also knowing what Loki was capable of, but clearly seeing that Thor would not be complete without his brother.

Sif advised Thor to listen to whichever voice in his heart was loudest, but also reminded him that Loki would not be well received in Asgard, a rejection that could spiral him easily back down the same road he had been down before.

Volstagg, however, looked at things another way, "My friends, Loki was once one of us, someone we fought beside and loved as a brother ourselves. You are right to fear what he could once again become, but is not love what he always sought? The acceptance of his family and the approval of what he was capable of? What would be a better way to show that love than to bring him back alongside us, to take him in our arms, and to embrace him as one of us? To reject the rejection of long ago, to forgive what he has done, and to raise him up as our king's brother, a trusted advisor and dear friend to the crown?"

Thor looked at the reactions of his friends. Sif met his gaze well knowing which voice was going to be speaking louder now, understanding that her friend and king would embrace Loki whole-heartedly when he returned.

She spoke, "If this is the will of my king, I, too, will do my best to treat Loki as one of us, a dear friend, fellow warrior, and brother. Know, though, Thor, that this will not be easy for any of us, given what we have seen him do, including me. I will, however, trust your decision, if this is what you want to do."

Hogun nodded, "We will trust the guidance of our king."

Thor looked to Fandral, "And you? Will you, too, be able to look at Loki as our friends do? Will you be able to treat him as though he is only separated from the throne because I am older, not because he is different than us?"

Fandral smiled, "As Sif has said, it will not be easy, but yes. I do miss the fun we had with the Loki of days passed. I, too, will embrace him as Volstagg has proposed."

Thor decided.

When Loki returned to them, he was naked and frightened, as the others had been, disoriented by death and unable to recognise who was around him. Thor had seen this happen to everyone else as well. It took them a few hours to know just what was going on and why they were now back among the living. Thor draped a long cloak around Loki's shoulders as he huddled on the floor trying to make sense of his surroundings. Thor brought him a bucket- nearly all of them threw up at some point soon after their resurrection. Loki was no different and Thor knelt by him and held his hair as he retched, his entire body shuddering. Someone brought him a damp cloth and he wiped his brother's face and sent the cloth and bucket away.

Thor stood and stepped back, "I will leave you for a little while to recover. Everyone is disoriented when they first come back. You may not know who I am now, but in a few hours, you will remember." He turned toward the door and walked away.

A few steps from the door he heard a weak voice call to him, "Thor?" Thor turned to see Loki unsteadily rise to his feet, the cloak clutched around him. He stumbled towards Thor and fell into his brother's arms.

Thor held him tightly, "You know me already, Little Brother?"

Loki nodded, burying his face in Thor's shoulder, "I never forgot you."

Thor kissed Loki's cheek, "Welcome home, Loki. Asgard has been reborn. Once you are feeling well, our friends are waiting to greet you."

Loki felt safe for the first time in years as Thor picked him up and carried him to a couch, tucking a blanket around him, "I have no friends, Thor. That I do remember."

Thor brushed Loki's hair out of his face and smiled, "Things have changed, Little Brother. Get some rest. They will welcome you with open arms when you wake."

Loki snuggled down into the couch and tucked the blanket up under his chin, "I don't share your optimism, Thor, but we will see." It did not take long for him to fall asleep and Thor sat with him as he did. When Loki awoke, clothes were folded on a chair near the couch and he carefully dressed himself, noticing that his body bore none of the scars it should have after the battle. He cautiously left the room, fearing that he would be attacked for being on the wrong side of the war. Instead he saw Thor beaming, approaching him with arms wide. Loki walked quickly to him and jumped into his arms, Thor lifting him and spinning him around before setting him down.

When Loki stepped back from Thor, he was greeted by Volstagg, who gently wrapped his strong arms around Loki and said, "Welcome home, Loki. We've missed you." Loki looked for any sign of insincerity; Volstagg had always been a terrible liar. There was nothing on his face, though, that said he was anything but sincere. Hogun followed, his greeting brief, as usual, but kind. Fandral clapped him on the back and nearly knocked him over, laughing and telling him how much fun they would all have together now that he had returned. Sif briefly held him and kissed his cheek, telling him how glad she was that he would be here as they rebuilt the realm together, happy to have him amongst them.

Loki turned to Thor, "So what part am I to play in this new Asgard? Am I to once again be relegated to the background?"

Thor shook his head, "No, Brother, you will sit beside me as an advisor. You will sit on the throne in my absence, trusted to continue to rule in the manner we will all have fashioned together, our friends at our side bringing ideas and news of other realms to the table as we reform alliances and create this world."

Loki was shocked, "And what of my past transgressions?"

Volstagg stepped in, "No different than ours. We will work together to hold each other to the highest standard, making us fit advisors to the king and you a strong second in command. None of us will be alone in this."

Thor nodded, "Volstagg is right. Your past has taught you things about rule that I will never know. Together we can make and keep Asgard strong. I cannot do this alone, Loki. I need you by my side."

Loki smiled as he looked from face to face, once again a little boy seeking the approval of the older children, of his father, "Thank you. Thank you all."

Volstagg answered for the others, "You're welcome, my boy. Now, you must be hungry. I was after resurrection. Let us celebrate your return to the living with feasting!" And with that, they gathered around Loki and included him fully in their dreams for the new Asgard as they happily walked to the dining hall, just as they had in their early days as young warriors full of excitement, their futures yet to be written.