Brotherhood - Loki & Thor ♡

57. where honor is a distant memory

After things settled down; Thanos was defeated and everyone returned — everyone except Loki — Thor gave his brother a funeral.

Meanwhile, Tony got himself an unexpectedly new friend.

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An AU where Tony lives after Endgame but was never with Pepper. Natasha lives, too. Steve isn't an old man and never leaves Bucky behind. Though the story will center more around Tony than the rest. Can be a little hint to Frostiron but the most focused plot will be about Loki and Thor. Or, equally Loki and Thor's brotherhood, and Loki and Tony's unlikely friendship.

Title is from Jared Leto's Joker quote from Zack Snyder's Justice League; 'We live in a society where honor is a distant memory,' because I'm a proud fan of the character and of Jared in general.

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The funeral went by in quiet and cold atmosphere. Not too many people attended; just Thor and Thor's friends (mostly because, the thought still gave Thor a pang in his chest in which he tried not to think about it altogether, Loki didn't really have any friends of his own) assembling around in New Asgard, precisely at the place where Odin took his last breath. 

There was no body. Loki's body — of course, just by thinking about it, too, gave Thor a more severe pang in his chest it almost made him grimace — was never found. Gone just like Loki. Was still somewhere, alone in the dark, vast space.
Would he be scared? Ever since childhood, Loki had always been afraid of the dark, and of being alone.

Thor physically shook his head. The thoughts were breaking him down and he couldn't have that; couldn't afford breaking down while the ceremony was still going on. He could, and would, sink to his knees and weep. But it would have to be later, when he was alone in the solitary of his own room.

And no, Loki wouldn't be scared. At least not anymore. Because Loki was dead. Loki was dead and was incapable of any feelings at all. He was just gone, utterly erased out of existence.
Thor didn't even know whether Valhalla was real or if it was another bedtime story made to offer closure to those who lost their loved ones, for all that Thor knew was his brother wasn't here with him where Thor needed him to be. He was lonely and he wanted Loki here, but Loki was dead, died saving him on Statesman and all he could do was repeat the same sentence over and over again like a broken record in his troubled mind, 'It should've been me,'

"Buddy?" Tony tapping him lightly on the shoulder brought Thor out of his trance. He blinked away the tears in his eyes — both the real one and the artificial one — before turning to face his friend.
(Thor was grateful Tony and the rest were here. Since most of his Asgardian allies weren't around anymore, and he knew the Avengers weren't technically Loki's friends, if not outright enemies. They were all here, dressing in black, mostly for Thor's sake, but the truth was they didn't have to. So Thor was thankful nonetheless)

"You okay?" Tony sounded concerned.

"I'm fine," Thor said with a forced smile, and knew Tony knew it was a lie. "I appreciate you being here, you and Steve and everyone," he added and that, at least, wasn't a lie.

~~~

A magpie perched on a tree nearby, watching the ceremony below with curious eyes. Its feathered head cocked towards Thor for a long while before its gaze traveled to Captain Rogers, then Sergeant Barnes, then Agent Romanoff, then Barton, then Doctor Banner. It stopped at Tony Stark.

~~~

The ceremony ended by Thor simply standing there accepting the sympathy embrace each people offered.