[ Unbidden, Loki thinks of Thor, of a time when Thor's hand would rest against the side of his helmet, warming it to his touch. Their little jokes were no longer amusing. Their words were no longer truthful. Imagined slights were no longer just barbs in his mind. Loki could never restore Thor's faith. The least he did was restore an image of his brother, pristine as it once was, in noble death.

And Thor could never know.

If you betray me again, I will kill you.

Loki has betrayed Thor by living. ]

If you invite doubt by stepping over the words of your heart, your doubt will become poison.

[ Loki prods the melting ice-cream with his spoon. ]

If you commit, your feelings will be rewarded. Or so your literature tells me. True love conquers all, I believe?