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allthingsmarvellove · 2 years

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Refuse to Lose

Word count: 12,800

Pairings: Loki x reader (pre-dating romantic), Wanda x Vision (romantic)

Warnings: HOLY HELL the sexual tension 🚨🚨🔥🔥 (but still nothing explicit)

OK, OK - this is my first time incorporating FOUR prompts (I think) in one fic, and it was a TON of fun to write this one!! And I'm super excited there was so much hype for this - I hope it lives up to your expectations 😊

I kind of took the prompts and ran with them... like... sprinted is more like it 😂😂 I hope this isn't too far off from what you lovely anons were looking for! The main difference versus the prompts is there's not a current secret relationship going on between reader and Loki (although there may as well be...) but I think I'll use that in another fic at some point because I love the idea! Pre-dating just felt right for this one!

A reminder of the prompts included:

Prompt - Loki knows he can fluster the reader with ease, and frequently exploits it. Reader is determined to get him back

Prompt - reader likes to fluster Loki with pick up lines in front of the others. He won’t be having that.

prompt where Loki notices reader can’t figure out what to do when others are talking about tickling

prompt with Vision and Wanda

And as promised, tagging @quillsandtypos 😊 (And also @writingfics-passingtime for helping me work through intermittent writer's block 💚)

"Ooh, hang on- stop channel surfing, I want to watch that!" Wanda grabbed hold of your outstretched wrist where you were holding the remote pointed at the television, snagging the device from your hand.

"Hey!"

"Oh, stop. It's not like you were going to pick anything to watch in the next ten minutes anyway," she tutted, flipping the channel back to her favorite show.

"Wanda, this is a rerun," you groaned.

"I don't care! It's such a good show!"

"No it's not!"

She shot you an appalled look. "What makes you think it's so terrible?!"

"It's completely overdramatized!" You gesticulated to the screen where one of the lead female characters was stammering like a fool while talking to some guy. "I mean, honestly!"

"Wh- no it isn't!"

You scoffed. "Wanda, honestly. You can watch this and tell me it's realistic? I mean, look at this girl! She's completely lost the ability to form a coherent thought, and the guy literally just said hi to her!"

"Pshh. You can't tell me that you've never gotten flustered over someone like that."

"Have you?" you retorted.

"Uh, yeah. Before Vision and I started dating." Her expression softened as she reminisced. "God, he was just so adorable."

"Well, maybe you have fallen victim to that sort of thing, but I haven't."

"Not once?" she asked skeptically.

"Not once."

"Oh, I seriously doubt that."

The baritone voice could only belong to a certain God of Mischief. Sure enough, you turned your head toward the sound to see a smirking Loki standing behind the sofa.

"Do you make it a habit to eavesdrop on other people's conversations?" you chastised.

"Not usually. But the pair of you aren't exactly quiet." You narrowed your eyes at his comment. "In any case - I don't believe you when you say you're immune to something that is engrained within your mortal nature."

"Is not!"

Loki chuckled. "Alright. Whatever you say." Without another word, he turned and left the room. Rolling your eyes, you turned to Wanda.

"He thinks he's a gift from the gods, I swear," you muttered. She smirked.

"Does he think that? Or do you?"

"Excuse me??"

Wanda shrugged, returning her attention to the television. "I'm just saying - he didn't say a word to suggest that you might get that way around him. You jumped to that conclusion."

"Oh-ho, I don't think so." Huffing, you stood from the sofa and left the room, leaving Wanda to watch the awful show she had insisted on.

The whole interaction did have you a bit rattled, though you'd never admit it to your friend. If anyone were capable of getting you worked up over nothing like that woman in the show - not that you were saying it was possible, but if it were - it was Loki. You weren't sure what to call your relationship with him, in all honesty. It seemed to vary based on the situation. You seemed to kind of flirt the line between friends and... well, more than friends. And the tension had really started to build over the last few months, like a shaken bottle of soda just waiting to explode the moment the cap untwisted.

You were on your guard for a couple weeks after that, expecting that at any moment Loki might try to do or say something to make you stutter. But when those weeks went by without so much as an attempt from the trickster, you started to think that maybe he'd just forgotten the whole conversation had ever happened. Or, maybe Wanda was right, and you were projecting your own feelings onto his reaction.

But you should have known better. Loki didn't forget, he only bided his time. And he loved an excuse to cause mischief.

The day you first fell into the crosshairs of his chaotic ways started fairly uneventfully. It was a Saturday morning, and you were making groggy conversation with Nat, Steve, and Bucky as the four of you lazily drank coffee at the small table in the kitchen. Eventually, the growling in your stomach was audible even to your friends over the sound of your idle chatter, and so you shuffled over to the fridge and began to prepare yourself some breakfast.

"Wait - are you making pancakes?" Bucky asked, a glazed look in his eyes as he observed you hopefully. You laughed at his lack of subtlety.

"Are you asking me to make some for you too?"

"Ooh, hang on, if he's getting some then I want some," Steve interjected. Rolling your eyes, you couldn't help but grin at their obvious love of your pancake prowess.

"Oh... alright. Nat, you want some too?" you asked.

"Hey - if you're offering, I'm not saying no," she replied.

"Fine, but you guys have to keep me company while I cook."

You busied yourself mixing the pancake batter and getting the pan heated on the stovetop. The three hungry Avengers waiting for you to finish at least kept their word and made conversation with you while you cooked. As you finished the first stack of pancakes, Bucky snuck up to the counter and snagged the plate, swapping it for an empty one and bringing the fresh pancakes to the table to eat them while they were still warm. The moment you noticed, you turned around and scolded the soldier, wagging the spatula at him threateningly.

"Bucky! You could at least wait until I'm finished making the pancakes before scarfing them down like some animal!"

"Did you say you're making pancakes?"

Thor's booming voice echoed from the doorway, drawing your attention. The first thing you noticed when you glanced over was not Thor, but his younger brother, who was standing beside him with his eyes fixed on you. It made your heart rate tick up ever so slightly to feel his gaze, as it often did. You never allowed your nervousness to show on your face, despite the fact that your crush on the tall, dark, and handsome Asgardian god only grew with the passage of time. Because unlike the woman in that show, you had some self control over your reactions.

You shot him a half grin, which he returned with one of his own, his eyes flashing in the way they always did when he smiled at you.

"Are you gonna ask me to make more for you?" you groaned at Thor, glancing at the dwindling bowl of pancake batter and trying to eyeball whether you had enough left to satiate the hulking God of Thunder's appetite. Unlikely, you thought.

"That would be wonderful!" Thor strode over to join Bucky, Steve and Nat, scooping up a fork from the table and stabbing the top pancake to steal for himself.

With a heaving sigh, you moved to the fridge to pull out more ingredients for another batch of pancake batter. Loki strolled over to you, a poorly disguised pleading look in his eyes. You narrowed yours, fighting the amused grin threatening to spread across your face in favor of trying to look annoyed.

"Do you want me to make you some too, Loki?" you groaned, pulling the carton of eggs out of the fridge.

"Would you? That would be wonderful, pet."

The egg carton slipped from your grasp and dropped to the floor with a crunch.

Loki 's eyebrows shot up his forehead, a smug smirk suddenly tugging at the corners of his mouth as your cheeks slowly began to grow warm. What had he just called you? And in front of four other people, no less?

The thought of the others led you to the realization that there was no longer casual chatter sounding from the table. Your gaze flitted over to the four hungry Avengers awaiting their breakfast, who were now staring at you in confusion having witnessed you drop half a dozen eggs on the floor. Clearing your throat awkwardly, you collected the fragments of your composure as you reached for the roll of paper towels.

"Sorry, slipped," you mumbled, turning your gaze to the floor as you stooped to wipe up the egg mess. You felt a slight breeze as Loki knelt down beside you, holding his hand out expectantly for the paper towels so he could assist.

"What was that?" he whispered, the tone of amusement evident even in his hushed voice. You glanced swiftly at the table, confirming the others had returned to their own conversation before whipping your head back to glare at the mischievous and maddeningly pleased-looking god.

"Loki! You can't do that in front of everyone!" you hissed.

"Do what?"

"You know what. Calling me that."

"Calling you my pet?"

You had to fight to withhold a flustered squeak. "YES."

"Why not?"

You knew based on the self-satisfied expression gracing his features that he knew exactly why not - he simply wanted to make you say it.

"It's... ugh just... just..."

"You're quite flustered." His smirk grew impossibly wider. You turned your gaze away from him because you simply couldn't keep looking at the damned smug look on his face anymore.

"I hate you." You wiped up the last of the egg yolk from the floor, tossing the paper towels into the messy egg carton.

"So if I can't do it 'in front of everyone,' does that mean I can call you that behind closed doors?"

You weren't sure your face could get any hotter.

"I'm done having this conversation." You scooped the egg carton off the floor, rising to your feet and ducking your head to hide your flushed face as you tossed the mess in the trash and returned to the fridge in search of more eggs.

You couldn't look at Loki the rest of the morning without thinking about the little nickname he'd chosen for you. And you knew without a doubt he'd be continuing to hold this ability to fluster you with a word over your head. You simply had to mentally prepare yourself before he tried again. Block it out of your mind.

It was only hours later when he tried again.

You were in the training room getting some target practice in with the throwing knives you'd been training with for the past couple of months. Loki had been the one to show you how to hold the hilt properly and how to release at the right time to send the blade sailing toward the target. It had only been an added bonus that he had to hold your hand and place his hands on your waist to help you position yourself correctly the first few times. It certainly wasn't the reason you'd decided to practice with the knives in the first place.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Loki hovering a few feet away as you prepared your stance to throw the first blade. With a steadying breath, you blocked out the buzz of the other Avengers completing their own workouts around the room, honing your focus on the target. With a skilled flick of your wrist, you sent the blade across the room, sinking it into the third ring from the center of the target.

"Very good, pet," Loki hummed, drawing your attention. Having noticed him observing you, you'd mentally prepared yourself this time for the nickname. With a smirk, you folded your arms haughtily across your chest.

"Thanks. One of these days I'll give you a run for your money."

Loki looked slightly disappointed at your lack of reaction, but you could see the gears turning in his head. He wasn't going to let it drop that easily.

As you continued to practice, Wanda came over to join you. Despite the fact that she vehemently denied it, you were convinced she used magic when she practiced with the throwing knives. Hers nearly always hit the dead center of the target.

"Why can't I ever get a bullseye?" you groaned in frustration after your last blade hit the second ring from the center. In all honesty, you'd forgotten Loki had been intermittently watching you practice, and so you were startled by the proximity of his voice in your ear.

"You'll just need to keep practicing, princess."

You were glad you didn't have any more knives in your hand because they'd have surely clattered to the floor. Perhaps that's why he waited until you'd thrown the last one to say it.

In any case, you were caught so off-guard by this even more flustering pet name that you felt your face catch fire. You whipped your head around to stare wide-eyed at Loki, trying to ignore the confused but entertained look on Wanda's face beside you. With a huff, you strode off to collect your knives from the target, mostly to give yourself an excuse to walk away.

"What's got you so flustered, princess?" Loki teased, following you toward the targets.

"Nope!" you called back to him, refusing to turn around.

"How am I to understand if you won't tell me?"

You grasped the hilt of one of your blades, tugging it free from the wooden target and shooting Loki a silent glare. Everything in you wanted to wipe that smug smirk off his face. He merely shrugged at you, leaning close and reaching over your shoulder to pull one of your other blades free from the target, holding it out toward you.

"Thank you, my prince," you sang with a grin. Loki chuckled, shaking his head.

"You'll have to try harder than that, princess."

With that, he sauntered on his way, leaving you standing there with two of your blades in your hands and your jaw hanging slightly agape. Oh, he was infuriating. But you were bound and determined to get him back. No way was he immune to blushing. You just had to tease out what flustered the God of Mischief.

Clearly it didn't bother him in the slightest when you called him a pet name with a sassy bite to your voice. You supposed that was understandable. Perhaps the key was in how you said it. It was certainly worth a try.

Your opportunity came that evening when you happened across Loki and Thor seated on the sofa playing some sort of card game you didn't recognize. From the surfaces of the few cards you could see from the doorway, it appeared it was a game from Asgard - they were adorned with a completely foreign language to you. In any case, the two of them seemed heavily invested in the game - so much so that you actually might stand a chance at sneaking up on the trickster, who prided himself on being impervious to surprises.

Silently, you crept up behind the sofa, hovering over the two brothers as they played cards from their hands, interlaced with shouts and gripes at one another. With the tiniest of smirks, you leaned close to Loki, gently brushing his hair away from his ear as you growled seductively.

"What are you up to, my prince?"

The effect was immediate. He stiffened, his mouth falling slightly open with his eyes wide. There was a dusting of pink coating his usually pale complexion that you doubted you'd ever seen there before. Regaining his composure slightly, Loki turned his head gradually to glower at you.

Meanwhile, Thor - who had clearly heard what you said - looked positively delighted and amused at his brother's reaction. His blue eyes lifted to meet yours, a huge grin on his face.

"Have I missed something? Are the two of you romantic partners?"

"Oh, no. I just discovered how very flustered our dear prince becomes when I call him such," you explained, winking at Loki before turning on your heel and waltzing proudly out of the room. The bewildered trickster god was left to come up with some further form of an explanation to his brother for what in Valhalla was going on between the two of you.

Take that, God of Mischief, you thought.

* * *

Loki had to admit - he was taken aback by the ease with which you managed to find a way to make him blush. He certainly expected you would try. Perhaps he had underestimated the degree of power you held over him.

But, if there was one thing he'd learned in this little game the two of you had unknowingly entered into, it was that he, too, held a significant advantage over you. And the God of Mischief does not back down from a challenge. He simply had to up his game a bit - find something that wiped the smirk right off your face and replaced it with a heated blush.

He began to do what he did best - observing you perceptively to determine what it was that could get under your skin. Those little nicknames he used on you still worked well enough if he caught you off guard, but he suspected he could do better. Not to mention, every time he managed to get you flustered with a cutesy name, you turned around and got your revenge within hours. You and your damned sultry voice in his ear, calling him your prince. Oh, if you knew what you were doing to him.

A week later he stumbled upon his answer.

The team had been drinking socially and hanging out in the tower lounge during a night of down time. Tony, of course, had reached a pleasant state of tipsiness that had him reminiscing about the past, back when ‘everything was simpler’ and ‘there were no boogey men coming to destroy the world.’ Loki rolled his eyes at that, remaining seated in his corner away from the others lest Tony decide to bring up his run in with the chitauri years ago.

Engrossed in his book, Loki missed a solid portion of the conversation going on amongst the slightly inebriated heroes. He did sneak a glance at you from time to time, not certain if he was more proud or disappointed that you had switched to drinking water after only a couple glasses. The part of him that cared for you respected that you were being the responsible one - after all, someone had to take care of Tony if he got completely sloshed, and given the fact that Thor had just begun passing around Asgardian mead to the more alcohol tolerant superhuman beings of the group, the possible candidates for the job were becoming limited. But his mischievous nature told him a tipsier you might have been easier to pull a blush out of.

Loki missed whatever sequence of events led up to what happened next, but suddenly Stark was setting up some sort of audio device with microphones and a holographic screen.

“Man, I haven’t done karaoke in years,” Stark lamented. He pointed over at Steve and Bucky. “You guys are gonna love it, just watch.”

Nat snorted at the idea. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“What, you don’t think I can sing?” Steve retorted. Nat held her hands up in defense.

“Hey, you’re welcome to prove me wrong.”

Steve snatched the microphone from Tony, grabbing Bucky by the arm and dragging the protesting super soldier to his feet. “Oh, we will. Don’t worry.”

If it weren’t for the infernal Midgardian music, the singing wouldn’t have been all that bad. The super soldiers were certainly not crooners, but they could at least hold a tune pretty well. Wanda and Vision admittedly sounded great together during a duet, and even Bruce, fueled by a bit of liquid courage, was a decent singer. Loki was disappointed to see you politely decline when Tony held the microphone out to you. He would have been quite curious to hear your singing voice.

“Brother!” Thor shouted, stomping over to where Loki sat. “Come! Sing with me!”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Why would I-”

“Oh come on, Thor. Loki can’t sing.”

It was your voice he heard, cutting him off mid sentence. His eyes darted to you, where you stood leaning against the back of one of the sofas looking somewhat amused by the idea. He was going to decline, tell Thor he wouldn’t be caught dead singing that Midgardian trash they call music, but now he wasn’t about to back down. You challenged him, and he was stepping up to it.

He rose to his feet, his eyes fixated on you as he slowly paced over to the group.

“Oh, can’t I?” he asked, smirking at you.

“I doubt it.”

Loki cleared his throat once, and then he began to sing an Asgardian hymn. It had a melody that was languid and melancholy, the lyrics alluding to a scorned lover pining for his beloved. Not that you could ever know that - you didn't speak a word of his native tongue.

When he'd begun to sing, his intention was to prove to you he could, given you seemed so convinced that he couldn't (or perhaps that he wouldn't). He kept his gaze firmly affixed on you as he sang the lyrics in his usual velvety rich baritone timbre. After only a moment, your expression began to twist before his eyes, color blossoming in your cheeks.

Interesting.

He'd never considered this before. Mortals had such an aversion to singing in front of others, which was not a sentiment shared by Asgardians. It had never occurred to him that you might become pleasantly flustered if he were to sing to you. For you. And yet, the nervous energy quelling in your chest was plainly evident on your face. Quite frankly, it was adorable.

When he'd finished his song, he shot you a knowing smirk while the others began chattering amongst themselves. He was pleased to see that the glare you shot him had much less malice behind it than usual, buried beneath the shy smile pulling at the corners of your mouth. He said nothing - merely winked before returning to his own seat.

Clearly he'd taken the lead once again.

It only fueled the fire in your belly to get back at him. Loki was deadly curious to know what lengths you would go to next to up the ante. Of course, he had his doubts that you'd find another way to get under his skin, but it was intriguing to see you try at the very least.

The only problem was, your method of revenge came completely by accident.

He hadn't even known you were still in the room, honestly. He was seated in his usual spot in the common room, reading and tolerating the company of the others just long enough so that Thor would get off his case about his lack of desire to socialize. Loki might not be actively participating in whatever discussion was going on, but he was physically present, and that was his method of compromise with his overzealous brother.

Someone suddenly tugged gently on the hair at the back of Loki's head where it hung close to his shoulders. His gaze whipped up from his novel the moment he felt it, turning in surprise to find you standing behind him with a piece of lint pinched between your thumb and forefinger. A seemingly benign gesture, and yet you had a startled look on your face.

"Loki - holy hell, how is your hair that soft??" you exclaimed, loudly enough to turn heads in your direction. Before he could consider responding, you had begun running your fingers through his hair, your fingers brushing against the back of his neck.

It had been literal centuries since anyone had touched Loki's hair. So long, in fact, that he couldn't remember the last person who had. Likely his mother, he suspected. But the simple, gentle threading of your fingers through his dark locks sent a wave of chills down his spine. He was trapped between the complete shell shock that you would even consider touching his hair and the innate desire to melt back into his chair in contented bliss.

And you - you damned perceptive mortal - you noticed.

"I've gotta say, Loki - I'm actually kind of jealous," you continued, a sudden teasing edge to your tone as you continued to twirl his hair around your fingers. "Maybe one of these days you'll need to share your hair care regimen with me. Or is that a well-kept secret?"

"Hmmph." Gods you had him unfathomably flustered, his silver tongue tied in a knot weighing heavy in his throat while he tried desperately to come up with a coherent thought. The moment he managed to collect a sentence-worth of words in his mind, they were completely scattered as your fingers brushed against the hair just behind his ear, eliciting a visible shiver.

"Wow. She managed to silence him," Barton observed in shock from across the room.

"If I'd known that was all it took, I'd have tried it myself," Stark quipped.

With that, Loki finally snapped out of the hypnotic trance you'd had him under, rising swiftly to his feet and whirling around to look at you. The grin on your face appeared so innocent, and yet your eyes told a different story. They sparkled with the amusement of seeing that dusting of color that was surely adorning his heated cheeks at that moment. Holding up one finger, he opened his mouth to say something, quickly closing it again when he realized he had no words queued up in his throat. Instead, he swiped his book up off the arm of the chair, striding regally out of the room in a failed attempt to try to appear less flustered than he actually was.

Oh... she may have won the battle, but she's yet to win the war, he thought to himself, as he sought refuge in his own room.

* * *

Loki left you alone for days after that incident.

You weren't daft enough to believe he'd given up. If there was one thing you'd learned about your mischievous friend, it was that he refused to lose. It was more likely that he was, yet again, biding his time until he could come up with something that would completely set your face on fire.

Meanwhile, you continued brainstorming, yourself. The only way to beat Loki was going to be to find something that absolutely floored him. It had to be something so overwhelmingly flustering that he wouldn't dare to try to fight back for fear of a repeat incident. You were probably just as stubborn as he was. No way were you losing this little game without a fight.

What happened next made you reconsider your resiliency.

You'd woken up a couple hours earlier than usual that morning. Bucky had been hounding you for weeks about going for an early morning run with him, and you'd finally promised the night before that you'd go the next day, just to get him to stop asking. You knew he meant well - he was just trying to be a good mentor, getting you to step out of your comfort zone and work at things you weren't good at. And running... well, that was definitely not your strong suit. It made sense for you to train with him - you just wished it weren't so damned early in the morning.

Groggily, you threw on a tank top and a set of jogging pants, draping your sweatshirt over your shoulder and lacing up your sneakers. You threw your hair up in a messy pony tail high on your head just to keep it off your neck when you inevitably began to sweat bullets. Slipping in your headphones, you began sleepily scrolling through the music on your phone as you exited your bedroom and shut the door behind you, gazing at the screen as you began to pace down the hallway.

You didn't make it very far.

Barely one step, and you collided with something... someone... very solid. Your eyes flitted up from your phone screen as slurred apologies started to spill from your lips, until you realized who was standing in front of you.

Of course it was Loki. Normally you'd have started making a snide comment about the fact that he should watch where he was going, but your grumblings were cut off by your own flustered squeak of surprise as the sight of Loki wearing nothing but a towel around his hips registered in your sleep-deprived brain.

"Loki!" you squealed, throwing your hands up to cover your eyes.

"Yes?" His tone was even, calm, as though this were a totally normal thing for you to be seeing.

"W-why... what..." You couldn't help but peer at him through your fingers, your curiosity beating out your mortified embarrassment.

Gods, have mercy.

You weren't certain you'd even seen him wearing short sleeves before. It was only natural that the sight of his toned bare chest set alarm bells off in your brain. He wasn't the brawniest of beings, but it suited you just fine - those rippling abdominal muscles were more than enough.

"You're staring."

The teasing tone of his voice brought back your flustered agitation. Your hands dropped from your face, a scowl forming on your features as you took the slightest step backward.

"You... you... ugh. Loki, this is low even for you!" you hissed, glancing around frantically to make sure no one else was wandering about this early in the morning. His eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"You think I ran into you like this on purpose?"

"Oh, don't you try to tell me otherwise, you liar! Gods, Loki..." You slid your fingers over your hair to try to calm yourself, unable to avert your eyes from the scene in front of you. "Don't you think standing outside my door nearly nude is a bit too much?"

"I wasn't trying to get back at you," he insisted. "My shower is broken, Stark told me it would be three days before he could get it fixed, and I decided to use Thor's."

"So you wander around almost naked in the hallway afterward??"

"I wasn't aware anyone else would be up at this hour." A smirk crossed his lips. "And you seem to be quite focused on the amount of clothing I have on."

"Ugh! Loki, you ass!" you hissed, swatting at him and realizing too late that you were striking his bare chest. You pulled your hand back to your body as if you'd burned it, blazing heat rising in your cheeks. This only served to fuel Loki's mischievous mood.

"You appear flustered, princess." He took a step toward you, and you took a matching step backward toward your room. "Why might that be?"

"Loki..."

"Are you simply not accustomed to seeing this much of a god?" he continued, gesturing to his bare torso as he stepped even closer. You'd forgotten you shut your bedroom door until your back met the wood, heart beating rapidly in your chest as Loki trapped you against the door. He placed one palm against the wall beside the doorframe on one side, leaning in closer while his other hand held tight to the towel to keep it from falling from his hips.

"I..."

"I understand, darling. It can be overwhelming."

He stepped back, removing his hand from the wall and shooting you a seductive wink before heading on his way to his room. You stood motionless against the door for a moment, waiting for the buzzing in your ears to vanish.

And you most definitely didn't watch his bare, muscle-clad back as he retreated down the hallway.

“Did you do a warmup workout or something?” Bucky asked as you arrived in the lobby of the tower to meet him ten minutes late. “You look sweaty already.”

“Shut up and let’s go,” you mumbled, striding past him to walk out the door. You were not about to explain to him what just happened.

The image of Loki half-nude was hot-ironed in your brain for the entire run. Luckily, Bucky wasn’t much of a talker while he exercised, so you didn’t have to fumble through idle small talk while trying to rid yourself of the image. The one benefit, you supposed, was that you weren’t focused on the burning in your lungs as you ran through the city.

When you returned home, you had finally managed to quell the intense embarrassment in your mind. You headed to the kitchen with Bucky to grab a bite of breakfast, stopping short in the doorway when your gaze met Loki’s where he sat at the table drinking tea. Fully clothed, at least.

“Good morning,” he hummed, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips as the internal turmoil in your brain began to manifest on your face. That image that you’d worked so hard to file away in the back of your mind (because lord knew you weren’t going to forget it completely anytime soon) popped right back up in your head as Loki shot you a wink across the room.

Without thinking much about what Bucky might think, you spun on your heel and walked right back out without a word. You needed a cold shower more than you needed breakfast right now.

It was a solid week before you could be in the same room as the trickster god without completely losing your cool. He reveled in the fact that he could make your face burn and your heart race with just a look from across the room. There was no need to say anything - he knew you were thinking about exactly what he wanted you to think.

This whole back-and-forth between you and the God of Mischief was starting to become rather heated. Granted, a part of you deep down felt privileged to have seen his impressive physique that he normally kept hidden under layers of leather armor. But damn him for making a scene out of teasing you for your obvious appreciation for the view.

No question about it - you simply had to step up your game.

Which is how you found yourself willingly watching that cursed show Wanda loved so much, pretending to be giving it a shot but in reality simply seeking pointers for how you might be able to fluster your impish opponent into oblivion.

As much as you hated this show, you had to admit it was giving you an excuse to ask Wanda for advice without actually asking her. You just had to complain about the show enough to argue her points with you. For example, in this particular episode, Maria, the lead female character, was flirting shamelessly with Daniel ("hot guy," as Wanda referred to him) in the break room of the office they worked in together. It was no secret they had a thing for each other, but Daniel was unwilling to admit it and Maria was sick of waiting. So, she took it upon herself to try to force his hand.

"Honestly, Wanda - do you think someone could get a guy that nervous just by touching the side of their head?" you groaned.

"You say it like she's just patting his head like a dog," she retorted. "In my experience, the placement is key. Vis is a sucker for when I brush my fingers along the skin behind his ear."

You glanced at her in surprise. "Really? I didn't realize he could even feel it."

"He's a very sophisticated android," she boasted with a grin. "Anyway, if you're trying to prove your theory that this show is overdramatic, you're going to have to keep trying. I could easily drag Vision in here and prove it to you."

"No way! He'll do whatever you tell him to do. That's basically cheating."

As if on cue, Loki suddenly appeared in the common room, seemingly planning to cut through to the opposite hallway. You made a split second decision and leapt to your feet.

"Loki! Come here for a second." Your fingers closed around his forearm as he walked past, startling him.

"What-"

"Wanda and I need to settle something, and we need your help."

Loki's head tilted in bewildered confusion at your sudden willingness - and not only that, but your sudden desire - to get his attention. You'd spent the last week and a half avoiding him almost entirely, waiting for him to become bored with shooting you subtle winks across the room in an effort to remind you of the hallway incident. Surely he would deduce quickly that you had a trick planned for him. You had to act fast.

You reached out and grasped his other forearm, positioning him directly in front of you with a gentle twisting motion.

“Wanda thinks guys get worked up about this, but I disagree.”

His brows lifted from his eyes. “About what, exactly?”

“This.” You lifted your hand and slid it up along the side of his neck, fingers tangling in his hair, thumb resting just along the tip of his ear. For good measure, you stepped closer so your body was only inches from his, tilting your chin upward to gaze into his eyes.

Oh, it worked like a charm.

You heard Loki’s breath hitch in his chest, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly. For a moment, his gaze flitted down to your lips. That lovely rosy shade graced his pale cheekbones as his own lips parted slightly. Possibly trying to come up with something to say. Or, perhaps he was considering the real possibility of actually kissing you.

In any case, you smirked up at him and pulled away, your eyes still locked on his as you took a step back.

"Alright, I'll give you that one, Wanda. It works."

The range of emotions that passed over Loki's face in a matter of seconds was astounding. His mouth curled into a somewhat disappointed-looking frown, his brow furrowed. Quickly, that dark brow of his became heavier as a scowl clouded his features. Almost as swiftly as it had appeared, it was replaced once again by a sly, cunning smirk that made your stomach flip.

"Perhaps," he hummed. "But, I would argue there are better ways to drive someone mad with desire."

"I-"

"Quite simple, really." He stepped closer, closing the distance you'd put between the pair of you, as his hand raised to brush along the skin under your jaw, coming to rest just below your ear. "To touch a lover with one hand along the jaw, around the ear, behind the neck, is innocent. But, add a second point of control..." His free hand suddenly gripped your waist, fingers wrapping around to the small of your back to tug your hips closer to himself, nearly making you squeak in surprise. "... and you'll find that you can assert a sense of power over them."

You could slice the tension between you with a knife as he leaned his head down closer, pausing just inches away from your own face. Your tongue slid out subconsciously to wet your lips, and you found yourself transfixed on the kaleidoscopic blue-green eyes in front of you. Those soft-looking lips of his curled up into a self-assured smirk, and he suddenly ducked down so his mouth was directly beside your ear.

"Two can play at this game, princess."

Leaning back, his hands fell from your waist and your jaw to his sides before backing away from you. The sense of loss you felt without his touch was both startling and devastating. And, worst of all, you knew he knew what he'd done to you. Not just because you could light a match right now if you touched it to your cheek, but because his eyes danced with mischievous pride.

"What are your thoughts, Maximoff?" he asked, adding insult to injury by engaging your friend in this tête-à-tête.

"I mean, both seemed pretty effective... either way, I feel like I win," she responded with a grin. Loki rolled his eyes.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I was in the middle of something before you so rudely interrupted." He turned and continued on his way, leaving you standing there like a statue etched in marble, unmoving.

"I still think it's you that believes he's a gift from the gods," she teased, nudging you with her elbow as she returned to her seat on the sofa. "You still gonna watch the show with me?"

Grunting in frustration, you plunked yourself down on the sofa beside Wanda. There was no trying to pay attention to the terrible show now that your mind had wandered elsewhere.

* * *

Despite the fact that Loki had gotten the last laugh, he was still irked by your most recent ploy to get under his skin.

No mortal had succeeded in making him feel the way you did. Making him freeze up like that, and in front of another mortal, no less. You were getting dangerously close to realizing the degree of power you held over him, and he couldn’t allow it.

He had to find a way to claim victory in this little blushing war once and for all.

Loki observed you closely over the following days, seeking out any sort of behavior that might lead him to discover your weakness. Surely there was something that he could tease out about you that would suffice as leverage to end this little charade. He just had to determine what it was.

It was a few nights later that he learned of your ultimate weakness.

That evening, there were no specific plans to gather together as a team, but many of the tower inhabitants were lazing in the common room involved in various conversations or activities. Loki, as usual, kept to himself with a novel spread open in his hands, although he wasn’t really paying much attention to it. It was merely a ruse, a decoy to make himself look busy while he observed you making casual conversation with Clint and Vision.

A heavy sigh drew the attention of the room as Wanda entered. The witch looked exhausted as she shuffled in and sat down on the sofa next to Vision, leaning on his shoulder. He slid his arm around her, pulling her gently into his side.

"What's the matter, dear?" he asked gently.

"I made the mistake of asking Nat to train with me today," she groaned. A chorus of 'ah' and 'ouch' filled the room after that. The team was well acquainted with Nat's training style. Lacking superhuman powers, she more than made up for it with her dedication and hard work. Even some of the guys on the team had trouble keeping up with her during her workouts.

"See, now, I stopped making that mistake years ago," Clint noted, grimacing at the memory. "It was well worth the months of teasing after I told her no more workouts together."

"Might be a little more spry if you stuck with it though, Legolas," Tony quipped, earning a glare from the archer.

"No, I can see where he's coming from after today... My back is already aching, and it's only been an hour since we finished." Wanda reached behind her and grasped what must have been a sore spot on her back.

"Would it help if I gave you a massage, darling?" Vision asked. Her eyes lit up.

"Would you? That would be amazing."

Most of the others in the room had gone back to their own conversations by this point. Loki had ultimately returned to reading when he realized he wasn’t getting anything of use from your interactions, though he had the ability to observe and listen while he simultaneously skimmed the pages of his book. He noted that your attention was divided between watching Thor, Peter, Tony, and Bruce playing some video game on the television (rather rambunctiously, of course) and glancing at Wanda and Vision as he kneaded the tension from her shoulders. He couldn't be certain, but he thought maybe he detected a hint of jealousy in your expression. It had been quite some time since he'd seen you interact with anyone physically in such a manner... come to think of it, he'd never actually seen you allowing someone to rub your back like Vision was doing for Wanda at this moment. Perhaps that would be the key to getting you back, but he would need to observe a bit longer first.

Vision's hands slid lower down to massage the muscles in Wanda's lower back. She suddenly made an odd squeaking sound, arching forward away from his touch.

"Did I hurt you, darling?"

"No..." Wanda suddenly appeared sheepish. "You just tickled me, is all."

"I see. Are you feeling better?" Vision asked.

"Much better, thank you."

"I'm glad to hear it." A small smirk formed on Vision's face, just before he started kneading his fingers into Wanda's sides where his hands rested. Wanda burst into giggles, squirming as he tickled her more intentionally.

"Vis! Wh-whahat are you dohoing?"

"As I understand it, the appropriate response when someone tells you they are ticklish is to try to tickle them," he explained casually.

"Who-haha-whoho told you thahat??"

"Mr. Stark, of course."

Wanda shot Tony a look, which he only barely acknowledged as he briefly glanced up from his game and shrugged.

"You can't tell me I'm wrong," Tony called from his seat across the room. Wanda groaned.

"I quite enjoy listening to you laugh," Vision stated, his hands crawling up her ribs as her giggles increased in volume. "I suppose I should have tried this sooner."

"Noho, I don't thihink so - VIS dohon't you dahare!!" Wanda moved to stand as Vision attempted to slip his fingers under her arms, but he caught her around the waist and pulled her back down onto the sofa beside him, trapping her against his chest.

"Now I have to, Wanda dear - I'm far too curious." There was a teasing air to his tone, which was quite unusual coming from the usually serious android. Holding her close, he slotted his hands up under her arms quite easily and wriggled his fingers into the spaces, throwing her into hysterics.

At this point, Loki finally glanced up from the pages of his book, hearing the sudden loud burst of laughter from across the room. His eyes strayed from Vision and Wanda over to where you sat in a nearby armchair. He was more than a bit surprised to see that your face had changed color completely, and you appeared to be fidgeting in your seat as you stared at the scene unfolding in front of you. Notably, your arms were stiff and pressed tightly to your sides, and you were somewhat curled into yourself as though trying to protect your own vulnerable areas.

What an interesting observation this was.

Wanda had stopped protesting, having succumbed to her own laughter. Vision must have recognized she was tiring, as he eased up and eventually stopped tickling her in favor of holding her close while she caught her breath.

"You... I... ugh. Damn you for being so innocent," she groaned, leaning her head back against Vision's shoulder. He leaned forward so he could catch her attention, pressing his lips to hers when she turned to look at him.

"Now, it's not really fair that you're an android and she's a human - clearly she's never going to be able to get you back," Clint griped in Wanda's defense. "Last I checked, robots aren't ticklish."

"Yes, this is true. However, Wanda does tease me quite often about other things. I am still learning quite a bit about everyday human life," he countered logically.

"Yeah, it doesn't have to go both ways, Katniss Everdeen," Tony called, having finished the current round of their game. "Just because she can't tickle him doesn't mean he can't tickle her."

"How is that fair??" Peter demanded.

"Oh, you're only on her side because you're ticklish too, kid," Tony argued, poking Peter's side.

"Hehey! Mr. Stark!"

As the team continued to banter about the subject, Loki kept subtly glancing at you to assess your reaction. It seemed that even conversing about tickling was making you squirm in your seat, the corner of your mouth twitching upward every so often as you obviously fought back a grin. Notably, you were silent throughout the entirety of the conversation. Normally, you would interject frequently in these team arguments, but it seemed you were biting your tongue in this case.

Oh, this was absolute gold.

Eventually, the conversation progressed to another topic, and you visibly relaxed in your seat. Suddenly, Loki noted you were much more willing to participate in the discussion. That confirmed his suspicions: you were exceedingly flustered by even the mention of tickling. He could only imagine how flustered you'd be if he threatened to tickle you in front of the others.

He left you alone that evening, mulling over the best method of approach. It would be best if he caught you unawares - you didn’t seem to have noticed his watching you, and so you likely had no idea that he had come to this conclusion. Perhaps he would file this fantastic little piece of information about you into the back of his mind, ready to pull it out the next time you attempted to fluster him. It was only a matter of time, after all.

The opportunity fell into his lap - quite literally - a few days later.

Stark had just recently renovated the recreation room to add a fancy table and plush chairs for board games or card games. He was hoping to play a game of poker, but Peter asked to join and Stark insisted the kid was too young to be gambling despite his protests. So instead, he allowed Peter to choose a game. By this point, Thor had already roped Loki into playing, and so he had no opportunity to back out when Peter decided to play Monopoly, of all things.

This was going to be a long evening.

Seven people joined in, but only six chairs were present. Wanda simply took a seat in Vision’s lap, offering to play as a team. Peter began laying out the board and passing out the money to get ready to start the game.

“Room for one more?”

Loki turned to find you standing in the doorway. Stark responded to you before anyone else could.

“Good luck finding a seat.”

“Tony! Why would you only get six chairs? There’s more than double that many people living in the tower.”

“Hey! It’s a work in progress, alright? Besides, I didn’t anticipate playing team Monopoly in here with more than six players,” he retorted, rolling his eyes.

Your eyes fell on Wanda, seated comfortably in Vision’s lap, then skimmed along the table until your gaze rested on Loki. A flash of mischief sparked in your eyes, which normally would make him proud to see he was succeeding in corrupting you with his ways, but he was well aware that mischievous smirk was directed at him.

Sure enough, you strode into the room, heading directly to where Loki sat and parking yourself unceremoniously in his lap.

“It’s alright. I’ll just play on Loki’s team.”

Eyebrows raised around the table, but no one said a word. Despite that Loki had anticipated this the moment you walked in, he couldn’t help but feel a bit sheepish with you seated on top of him. You damned, cunning mortal, knowing exactly how to get to him.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he muttered in your ear. You turned your head to look at him, your face unnervingly close to his.

“I needed a seat. This was the best I could do.”

He didn’t bother with a retort, as Thor started the game with a roll of the dice. Participants chattered animatedly between their turns as they sipped their adult beverages (except Peter, of course, who was perfectly content with his soda). Even you participated casually in conversation with the others, as if it was having absolutely no effect on you whatsoever that you were seated on the God of Mischief's thighs. He had no idea what to do with his hands, so they rested beside his legs against the seat of the chair in the narrow space available on each side. Each time he thought he was getting past the flustering feeling of having you seated in his lap, you shifted your weight a bit, or turned and shot him a sly look out of the corner of your eye, and a fresh wave of heat rose in his face.

"Vis!"

Suddenly, across the table, Wanda had begun giggling and squirming in Vision's arms as he skittered his fingers along her sides. It was unclear what provoked the android - perhaps he simply wanted to hear her laugh - but in any case there she was, half-heartedly shoving at his hands as they crawled up her ribs.

And you immediately stiffened.

What wonderful timing this is, Loki thought to himself. He had you trapped, and it was all your own doing. You had nowhere else to sit unless you wanted to perch yourself on someone else's lap, and you had declared that you were on Loki's 'team' from the start of the game anyhow. If you got up now, you'd cause a scene.

He was definitely going to have his fun with this.

Leaning forward slightly, he began to whisper in a low voice in your ear, quietly enough that no one else could hear him speak.

"What's the matter, darling?"

You said nothing, simply turning your head to glance at him with what you probably hoped was a casually curious look on your face, but instead appeared more like a grimace. He tilted his head, urging you silently to provide an explanation without context for his question.

"Yo - mischief and mayhem - you're up," Tony urged, prompting you to whip your head back around to look at him. Loki was silent as you took the dice and made your roll, landing on a property that Clint already owned and handing over your fee without saying much of anything. In the meantime, Vision had stopped tickling Wanda, but she continued to squeak at random intervals when he'd poke or pinch her side teasingly. One particular poke to her lower ribs made you actually squirm a bit, which you tried unsuccessfully to disguise as shifting yourself to become more comfortable as you passed off the dice to Thor on your left.

"Something seems to be bothering you," Loki continued in your ear, making you stiffen the moment you heard his voice. "I might even go as far as to say... flustering you."

You turned enough to look at him, your own voice in a low whisper. "I don't know what you're talking about."

At that same moment, Wanda began giggling once again for a brief moment, and you swiftly rotated your head back to witness Vision scribbling at her belly. Loki took advantage of your renewed flustered state to lean a bit closer to your ear.

"I'm not a fool, darling. I know exactly what's got you blushing."

Again, your head swiveled to look at the god you'd chosen as your seat, but this time your eyes were ever so slightly wider than they normally appeared. He allowed a devilish smirk to spread across his face, knowing it would only serve to unnerve you.

"You do not."

Loki shrugged. "Believe what you want, princess."

Slowly, your head turned back to face the rest of the table. The tension you were feeling was plainly obvious - you were sitting as though a metal rod had been threaded through your spine, and your shoulders were pinned back and squared stiffly below your ears. Chuckling to himself, he decided to drop the bomb on you at last.

"You're ticklish, aren't you?"

If it were even possible, your muscles became more rigid at his confirmation that he knew exactly what was getting to you. Subtly, your arms moved to rest closer to your sides protectively. Notably, you didn't turn around to look at him this time.

"It's obvious, really," he continued, undeterred by the fact that you were no longer responding to him. "I suspected it the other day, when Vision learned of Wanda's ticklishness and decided to exploit it." He wasn't even touching you, and yet each time he said the word, you shifted a bit in your seat atop his lap. "You were acting exactly like this. Stiff as a board, arms lowered to cover your vulnerable spots, unwilling smile tugging at your lips." Loki let out a low, ominous laugh from deep in his throat. "Based on all of this, I've deduced you must be devastatingly ticklish. And the thought of someone exploiting it is making you incredibly flustered, isn't it?"

You were pointedly ignoring him now, taking a long sip of your wine and refusing not to respond to his teasing. It only egged him on further, knowing he was getting to you. If he'd provoked you into giving him the silent treatment already, he'd have you a blushing mess by the end of the evening.

By this point, the dice had been passed back around, and you silently took your turn. A quick purchase of a railroad, and the dice were passed on to Thor. Still, you remained facing forward, carefully avoiding leaning back against his chest with your arms pinned at your sides.

"You can't ignore me forever, darling," he hummed, slipping his hand up underneath the loose hooded sweatshirt you had chosen to wear this evening and resting his hand against your side just above your hip. The moment his hand made contact with the thin T-shirt you wore beneath your sweatshirt, your own hand shot down and grabbed hold of his through the heavier fabric of your outerwear. "Now, now, darling. You wouldn't want to cause a scene, would you?"

"You're the one causing a scene," you hissed, your head pivoting to give him the side-eye.

"Might I remind you that you selected your own seat. Regretting it now, I'm certain."

Huffing through your nose, you turned to look at the others. He could sense what was going through your mind at this moment. You were weighing your options - trying to decide if creating a scene now about finding another chair to sit in (likely from another room in the tower at this point) was worth the avoidance of the inevitable torment Loki was about to inflict upon you. You were stuck between a rock and a hard place. No matter what choice you made, there would be a scene. Unless, of course, you managed to contain your reactions.

With a nearly inaudible sigh, you adjusted yourself to sit more comfortably, leaning back a bit against Loki's chest and resigning yourself to your fate. Chuckling, he lifted some of the weight from his hand at your waist, still hidden from view of the others under your sweatshirt.

"Let's test my theory then, shall we?"

The gasp that came from your chest when he pinched at your side ever so gently was, fortunately for you, buried by the annoyed groaning of Peter as he landed on Thor's property.

"It seems I was correct. Devastatingly ticklish."

The dice were passed on to Wanda, who rolled for her turn as Loki began gently kneading into the pliant skin of your side where his hand rested. It amused him, the way your muscles tensed under his ticklish touch almost immediately, and yet you refused to turn around and scold him for fear of the others figuring out what was going on. You couldn't squirm, you couldn't laugh... you couldn't even allow the sensation to affect your facial expression if you truly wanted to keep this a secret.

Loki gave you a reprieve when the dice were passed over to you for your turn. You nearly missed the fact that Tony was holding them out for you to take, despite the fact that you were staring straight at his hand. Loki laughed under his breath, and you reached down with your free hand and pinched a small spot on his knee to let him know you didn't appreciate his laughing at you. In retaliation, he slid his hand down just a bit to scratch at your hip as you shook the dice in your hand. You threw them down against the board with more force than necessary, arching the slightest bit sideways away from his tickling fingers.

"Wow. Not even losing and you're being a sore loser already?" Tony quipped.

"N-no, it's not th- ahem - it's not that." It was clearly straining you to withhold your laughter, one of your hands dropping down to squeeze his hand through your sweatshirt in a feeble attempt to make him stop while you quickly moved your piece the allotted number of spaces on the dice. Your sigh of relief was audible this time when you landed on your own property, handing the dice off to Thor.

"You seem twitchy, there, mayhem. You alright?"

"Yep! Just- er, trying to d-decide if I want to get up and get another drink."

Loki was finding this quite entertaining, keeping you guessing by allowing his fingers to still against your T-shirt before suddenly starting up again, squeezing his way agonizingly slowly up your side toward your lower ribs. The moment his fingers reached the solid bone at the bottom of your ribcage, you suddenly slid off his lap and announced that you were going to refill your wine glass, scurrying out of the room.

"Er... she forgot her glass," Peter observed with a puzzled look. Grinning, Loki picked it up off the table and rose to his feet.

"She's rather frazzled tonight, I'm afraid. I'll bring it to her." With that, he stepped out of the room and followed the path you'd taken down the hall to the lounge.

He found you standing there alone, your fingers laced through your hair atop your head as you released a slow breath, your brightly colored cheeks puffed out. The moment you became aware of his presence, you shot him a frantic, wide-eyed glare.

"Loki!" you hissed, slamming your hands down onto your hips in an attempt to look condescending. "You absolute scoundrel!! What the hell?!"

"What's the matter, princess? Can't handle being flustered like this?" With a smirk, he added, "By the way - you forgot this."

You scowled, stepping forward to swipe the wine glass from his hand. "I'm finding another place to sit when we go back in there."

"Oh, but that would be a poor decision. The others would wonder why you suddenly want your own seat. After all, you were quite content with stealing my lap without asking."

With a groan, you stepped over to the bar, ripping the cork out of the half-emptied wine bottle sitting on the countertop. "What is it going to take for me to get you to stop?"

"Admit to me that I've won this little game. That I've succeeded in flustering you more than you ever could dream of flustering me in return. And then cease your attempts."

"No way!" you exclaimed, tilting the wine bottle over your glass to fill it with the burgundy-colored liquid. "You haven't won this yet!"

"Then I'm afraid I can't promise you anything." His smirk broadened as he observed your face cloud over with frustration. "It would be simple to just admit defeat. Though, perhaps you're enjoying this more than you're letting on."

"Wh- what?? I- I don't-"

"Save it, darling. I won't believe a word anyway." With that, he turned and began walking back to the recreation room. Once he reached the doorway, he called over his shoulder to you, "Don't take too much longer. The others are already wondering what's gotten into you this evening."

He could feel the stinging burn of your glare as he left the room.

When you'd returned with your full glass a few moments later, you hesitantly stepped over to stand beside the table, placing your glass on the surface. You made no move to sit down in Loki's lap again. He looked up at you with a sickly sweet smile, holding out an arm to offer you space to sit down.

"I'm going to stand for a bit," you mumbled.

"No need to be shy, darling - you've been sitting on me this entire evening." Without waiting for you to move, he reached up and grasped your hips, tugging to bring you crashing down into his lap once again with a squeak.

"You ass," you whispered, reluctantly shifting to face forward as you had been before.

"I offered you an out. You chose not to take it." He grinned. "You must know there are consequences. Or, perhaps you were hoping there would be?”

You couldn’t respond without drawing the other’s attention, as it was your turn once again. As quickly as possible, you rolled and moved your piece before sliding the dice over to Thor, folding your arms across your belly and trying to appear nonchalant despite your obvious frantic desire to be done with your turn. With a snicker, Loki slipped his hand up beneath your sweatshirt once again, the contact making you flinch and then relax a bit when you realized he wasn't tickling you yet. He allowed his hand to slide slowly up toward your ribs, reveling in the obvious nervous energy radiating off of you as his palm glided up your side.

"Suppose I seek out your weakest spot and exploit it... right... here," he breathed in your ear, scratching lightly along your lowest rib with just two fingers. You folded sideways the slightest bit in reaction to his touch, stopping yourself with obvious difficulty and straightening your back. While Loki couldn't see your face, he could see the subtle twitch of your jaw as you grappled with your internal instinct to react. "I wonder how long it would take to break your resolve once I find it. I'm sure the others would find it quite entertaining, watching me tickle you senseless."

"You're up again, mayhem," Stark sang, passing you the dice. The startled jerk of your head told Loki you again weren't paying any attention to the game, taking the dice and rolling for your turn. Cautious not to lift your arm too far from your side, you picked up your piece to move around the board. Still, Loki took advantage of the sudden reduction in protection of your ribs, spidering his fingers up to the middle of your ribcage beneath your sweatshirt. He felt your ribs expand outward as you sucked in a sharp breath, quickly moving your piece to the designated space and lowering your arm to your side as casually as you could muster.

"You passed go! Aren't you going to grab your two hundred dollars?" Peter asked excitedly.

"Yes, darling - don't leave money on the table, now. Go on and take the two hundred dollars," Loki concurred, eyeing the bank money sitting across the table. Your hand wrapped around his knee and squeezed harshly, acutely aware of what he was plotting. A few rapid squeezes to your ribcage were enough to let you know he wasn't backing down on this.

And you, you clever little minx, you reached out with your other hand to grab the money, keeping the arm that was blocking his access to your upper ribs firmly pressed to your side.

Oh, he wasn't having that.

While the others were distracted with their own conversations and with watching Thor take his turn, Loki swiftly slid his other hand up beneath your sweatshirt on the other side, bracing his thumb against your shoulder blade while his four fingers tickled the soft skin beneath your arm just below the hem of your short sleeve. There was a clearly audible squeak this time as your arm clamped down to your side, your Monopoly money crumpled in your fist. The squirming you'd done so well to hide was beginning to overcome you as you reacted to his fingers still wriggling into your underarm.

"Ah... might I have found it?" Loki whispered teasingly. You were starting to actually tremble with the effort of withholding your laughter. The small part of your face that Loki could see was vivid, the corner of your mouth twitching upward of its own accord. "This must be unbearable, darling. I have you completely at my mercy, and there's nothing you can do but submit to it." He punctuated his taunt by sliding his other hand around to your belly, scratching firmly with all five fingers just above your waistline. Whether it was this spot or the combination of the two that broke you, he wasn't certain, but you suddenly broke out in a desperate stream of giggles.

"What's so funny?" Thor asked quizzically.

"H-he... ahah... he tohold me a johoke!" you fibbed, doubling over as he increased the pressure of his scratching at your belly.

"Mm, yes, it was hilarious," Loki stated sarcastically, pausing his tickling fingers under your arm in an attempt to determine whether he'd discovered a weaker spot on your belly.

"Really? What was it?" Thor asked enthusiastically, gazing expectantly at you. Loki allowed his fingers to rest, unmoving, against your belly, endlessly entertained by the fact that you now had to come up with a joke to maintain your lie.

"It... it was..."

"Go on, darling, tell them the joke," Loki urged, prodding his fingers into the soft spot below your navel.

"HA! I... Sorry, it's just... it's fuhuhunny!!" You burst into giggles once again as he clawed at the center of your belly for just a moment.

"Are you sure you're ok? You're acting really weird," Clint observed, frowning with his brow furrowed in confusion. You nodded rapidly, your hands shifting to grasp what would look like your belly to the others, but really was Loki's hand in an attempt to keep it still for just a minute so you could think straight.

"Too much wine, I suspect," Loki tutted, shifting a bit so he could sneak his other hand down from under your arm to tickle the taut skin directly below your ribcage.

"I-hi dihid NOHOT have too muhuch wine!!" you scolded through louder laughter. Smirking, he started up again with his other hand. And finally, he broke you. "PSHH-AH-HA-HE'S TICKLING MEHEHE!!"

"I knew it!!" Wanda exclaimed triumphantly.

Now that you weren't attempting to hide it anymore, you were suddenly writhing in Loki's arms to try to evade his fingers. The abrupt change in your effort to fight for freedom allowed you to slip out of his grasp, sliding off his lap and stumbling to put distance between the pair of you. There was a bright, ticklish grin spread wide across your face that made his heart skip unexpectedly.

"You think I'm finished with you just because you've told them the truth?" he asked ominously, rising to his feet. With a squeak, you held your hands out in front of you protectively, taking a step backward.

"Loki - that's not... how is this fahair??"

"Darling, you can drop the act. You and I both know you don't mind this as much as you pretend you do."

"Shut up," you grumbled.

"That's cute," Tony teased, earning a sharp glare. Your attention quickly snapped back to Loki as he took a powerful stride toward you.

"Are you going to run? Or shall we do this here?" he queried. With a whine, you pivoted on your heel and sprinted out of the room. Sighing, Loki began pacing after you at a non-urgent speed.

"Brother! Don't kill the poor mortal," Thor called after him.

It didn't take Loki very much time to catch up to you. Predictably, you'd sprinted back to the lounge, glancing around wildly for a place to hide. Without a word, Loki wrapped his arms around your waist from behind, eliciting a startled squeak that was rapidly replaced by hysterical laughter when his fingers dug into your ribs.

"LOHOKI I SWEHEAR TO ALL YOHOUR GOHODS..."

"Preparing to threaten me, now? That would be unwise," he warned, his fingers working their way up toward your underarms. You clamped your arms down hard to your sides, stumbling forward as your struggle for freedom tipped you off-balance. Loki followed along with you, gradually marching you toward the wall on one side of the room. When he'd walked you close enough, he relented in his attack on your ribs in favor of grappling for your wrists, managing to catch hold of one of them and roughly spinning you around with a hand on your opposite shoulder. His other hand closed on your free wrist, jerking your arms above your head and slamming your wrists against the wall, one overlapping the other.

"L-Loki..." Your eyes were wide as saucers as you met his gaze, his face only inches from yours as he pinned your arms over your head.

"Tell me, darling - do I make you nervous?" he asked, passing one wrist to his other hand to pin them both in one of his larger hands, freeing the other to wriggle his fingers in your field of vision. You giggled anxiously, shutting your eyes tight.

"I-hi hate yohou, you know thahat?" you groaned, the color in your cheeks intensifying.

"Mm, but you don't mean it."

As your mouth flew open to retort, his free hand slipped up beneath your sweatshirt and shot up to the now taut skin under your arms. A shrill shriek escaped your lips before you began to let out desperate laughter, twisting and thrashing to try to free your wrists from the wall, from his grasp. Loki was far stronger than you, and so it was simple for him to maintain his grip, even as his tickling fingers lightened to a barely-there touch against the bare skin just above the hem of your t-shirt sleeve that drove you into silent laughter. Only then did he let his fingers still against your skin, pausing a moment to simply gaze at you as you came down from your state of ticklish euphoria.

"You're quite ticklish, even for a mortal," Loki teased, feeling a sense of endearment as your giggles gradually faded.

"Y-you can let go now," you breathed, glaring through your impossibly wide smile.

"Suppose I don't want to?" he asked, leaning into his hold on your wrists. "Suppose I like you this way?"

"Oh-ho-ho is that right?" you giggled. His free hand slid firmly down your side, enough weight to avoid tickling you, before landing on your waist just above your hip. His grip on your wrists finally loosened in favor of sliding his hand around the back of your neck, tugging you away from the wall. "L-eheh-Loki, there's no one around for you to be trying to fluster me in front of," you observed, your voice suddenly quieter, as though becoming uncertain of yourself. That beautiful smile still hadn't left your lips.

"I think..." he breathed, leaning his head down to close the distance between your faces. "... I think it's time we end this little charade, once and for all, hmm?"

"What are you-"

"I'm tired of the games, darling." He was so close now that he could feel your soft breath on his lips. "We both know there's something more to us than just this little game of ours."

You remained silent for a moment, your lips slightly parted as your tongue slipped out to wet them, your eyes glazed. Then, you surged forward, capturing Loki's lips with yours.

Your lips were soft, a hint of wine on your tongue as you kissed him hungrily. Loki growled low in his throat when your fingers slid up into his hair, tugging gently at the nape of his neck. Your other arm wrapped tight around his waist, and he pulled you closer with a powerful tug at your hip to feel your body against his. It was frantic and passionate, and it was everything he hadn't realized he wanted so badly these past few months.

As he pulled away, he drew your bottom lip between his teeth gently before separating his mouth from yours. There was a hazy look in your eyes that made his heart swell, knowing he was the cause. They flitted down to gaze at the floor for a moment, an almost shy expression on your face.

"That... that thing you do? The, the... 'two points of control?' Yeah, that's pretty damn effective," you breathed, drawing a laugh from Loki's chest.

"I'm certain I can come up with a number of ways to fluster you, if you'll allow it," he growled, pressing his lips to yours once again for just a moment. You grinned at him, a sly look in your eyes.

"Do your worst, my prince."

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