Brothers

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the movies Thor or The Avengers and I'm not making any money from this fic

Summary: There's a reason Loki doesn't want Thor to come with the thunder. After all, he knows what to expect from his brother

Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for the movies Thor and The Avengers; some mentions of violence; AU

Author's Note: So I'm returning to my favourite fandom and characters. A while back, I wrote some stories based on several challenges for The Avengers movies. The plot for this story is one of those challenges, though without using the extra elements. Also, the spanking position was inspired by a drawing I found on DeviantArt that, although in a different setting, is pretty much the same

Thor hadn't thought of anything else other than getting to his brother. Now that he had Loki on top of the cliff, though, he wasn't sure what to do. It didn't help that he could see a slight hint of madness on Loki's face. Whatever his brother had been through, he looked different. Much paler - but also wilder.

"How much power did Odin have to use to send you here?" Loki asked, sounding no more than mildly curious.

Thor frowned. "That's not important. Our Father sent me to bring you back."

"I doubt the people on Midgard are going to be happy about that."

Thor glanced towards the flying machine he'd pulled his brother out of. The AllFather had told him that he needed to communicate with the people on Midgard, but as soon as Thor had realised where his brother was, he hadn't been able to stop himself from coming straight to Loki's side. "You are an Asgardian - and therefore, you should be brought back to Asgard for trial and punishment."

"I'm a Frost Giant!" Loki bit out. "A Jotun. I'm sure Odin told you that. I'm not related to you. I'm not even partly Asgardian!"

"We were still raised as brothers," Thor replied, trying to keep his voice calm. "We have lived as such for centuries. Can you truly forget all that so easily?"

"Why do you think I sent the Destroyer after you?" Loki's voice was calm - maybe with a slight hint of glee teasing it.

Thor resisted the urge to take a step back, feeling as hurt as if Loki had physically slapped him. "I don't truly believe you have forgotten our relationship so easily." He knew Loki had always had a sly tongue and a tricky nature, but he'd never doubted their relationship as brothers. Before his banishment, he would never have believed Loki capable of sending the Destroyer after him, or of murdering innocent people.

"What are you going to do, Thor? Save me?" Loki laughed outright. "I don't need to be saved. I have everything I need."

"Then why do you look as if you haven't been sleeping or eating well?"

Thor had become a lot more observant over the past year, but if his eyes hadn't been focused on Loki's face, he would have missed the flinch that was quickly pushed away. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Did your allies harm you?" Thor asked, suddenly worried.

"They wouldn't be allies if they did, would they?"

Thor studied Loki's face, looking for some hint of what to do. Quickly realising there would be no help from there, he decided to go with his first instinct - the one that he'd thought about doing if he'd managed to pull Loki up from the bridge.

Loki was much better at reading people's faces than Thor had ever been. Even before the thought was half-formed in his mind, Thor moved and grasped his brother's wrist as Loki recoiled, ignoring the way Loki struggled. Since there wasn't anywhere comfortable for him to sit down, Thor transferred his grip to Loki's upper arm and turned his brother round, pushing until he was standing against the tree.

Thor's grip on Loki's arm meant that he'd twisted his brother's arm up and behind his back. It probably wasn't very comfortable for Loki, but it meant that Thor could keep him relatively still - and left his backside unprotected. Thor took advantage of that and swatted Loki hard.

"Ow!" Loki yelped, sounding almost indignant.

Thor didn't believe, for one second, that he'd used too much force with the first smack and he kept the next swat at the same level, ignoring the way Loki jerked forward in an attempt to get away from his hand.

Loki stayed quiet and still for another dozen smacks before he began twisting, looking back over his shoulder at Thor. Even in the dim light, Thor could see the blush that touched his brother's cheeks. "You can't do this! They're going to see!"

"I really don't think you should be worrying about that." Thor raised his hand again and felt Loki jerk under his other hand as he swatted much harder than before. Since his brother couldn't move forward without colliding with the tree, Thor could just keep him still with one hand while he swatted Loki's backside with the other.

After a moment or two, Thor felt Loki shudder a little. Then, his brother's struggles renewed and Loki flung his other hand behind him, digging his nails into Thor's wrist.

Thor winced and then shook his head. "Let's try this a different way." He pulled Loki away from the tree and then pushed his brother over his arm, gripping his waist with that hand.

Shifting position slightly, Thor reached out and stripped the leaves and small twigs from a thin, slender branch. He then easily snapped the branch off and, taking a firm grip on it, brought it down across the centre of Loki's backside.

The yelp from his brother was quite loud. Thor hardened his heart to the cry and landed a second strike slightly lower and a third one below that. Loki struggled as much as he could, but Thor simply gripped him tighter and started again from the top.

When Thor landed the switch across Loki's thighs for the second time, he could feel his brother shuddering. Dropping the branch, Thor began using his hand again, adding to the heat already radiating through Loki's trousers.

As Thor began addressing harder swats to Loki's sit spots and thighs, he felt his brother shudder and a quiet sob catch in his throat. As Thor continued the hard, sharp swats, he felt Loki sag against him, his full weight sagging against Thor's side.

Thor stopped and gently tugged Loki in close, relieved when his brother didn't try to pull away. He took Loki's full weight and just held him close as he sobbed, each cry tearing a hole in his heart.

It took a long time for Loki to finally calm down, but even after he did, he didn't pull away. For his part, Thor simply tightened his hold on his brother, only paying enough attention to their surroundings to make sure no one was about to disturb them.

"I forgot how stubborn you are," Loki said quietly into Thor's shoulder.

"I have to be, to match you," Thor answered. "Will you tell me the truth now?"

"I don't think you're giving me much of a choice." Loki sounded sad more than anything else. "But you won't like it."

Thor frowned, hearing a pain behind his brother's voice that went far deeper than the spanking he'd given him. He stepped back and slowly sat on the ground, settling Loki onto his lap. "Your allies..."

"They're not my allies," Loki said with a trace of bitterness to his voice.

Thor nodded slowly, hearing his suspicions confirmed. "They harmed you."

Loki was silent for several long moments - and when he finally spoke, he sounded lost; like he was a child again. "You never came."

Thor's arms tightened around Loki. "I couldn't find you," he said quietly. "But I'm here now, brother. Let me in. Let me help you."

Loki made no reply with words, but finally, he relaxed against Thor, leaning his full weight into his brother as he clung to him soundlessly.

The End