Work Text:
“I could have done it, Father!”
Loki calls up, and he hates how desperate he sounds, but he has to know, he has to see, he did this all for Odin, after all-
“I could have done it!”
Odin grunts slightly as he readjusts his grip on Thor’s ankle, but otherwise doesn’t respond, and maybe he doesn’t understand-
“For you! ... For all of us.”
He waits, holding his breath, looking up at the man - his father - who he had just wanted to please, to show that he was more than Thor’s shadow. Odin opens his mouth and Loki waits, ready to hear the praise he had long been denied, but-
“No, Loki.”
Two words, devastating in their simplicity.
Loki stares up, shock then confusion then horror then NO! That can’t be right! I did this for you, can’t you see that, you stupid man, all this, I did for you, why can’t you see, that I can do this, I can do more, I can be more, for you, why-
“Loki, no!”
Thor’s voice somehow breaks through the fog Loki is in, and he realizes that his grip on his staff is slipping.
A beam of clarity through his muddled thoughts, and-
Well, maybe it’s better this way.
And Loki lets go.