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#ticklish!thor
valiantphantomangel · 3 months
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The best Christmas ever.
"Reindeer Games!! the lights have to be at least six inches away from each other!" Tony shrieked as he nearly ran into Steve who was carrying in another christmas tree with Bucky.
The sixth christmas tree in the freaking living room!
"Calm down man of iron" Loki grumbled as he pulled the lights further apart with the help of Natasha.
"Do you not know how to hang ornaments"?! Iron man freaked as he turned the small ball a few degrees the other way "go you disgust me"! He yelled at Sam before chasing after him with his small note book.
"Yep he's definitely gone insane" Natasha said with a nod as she and Loki climbed down from the ceiling where the lights hang.
"I have to agree with Lady Natasha" Thor mused while he made sure the lights were secured tightly.
"Who even put him in charge?" Rogers asked as he pushed the christmas tree upright.
"you did Cap" Clint said with a laugh from the vents where he was keeping watch so you wouldn't walk in on them decorating yet.
"...Right"
just then Peter literally fell from the ceiling with a shriek leaving Loki to catch him and put him back on his feet "Y/N is in the elevator to this floor"!!
Since it was a surprise that they were decorating the tower to give you the best Christmas ever, Loki quickly cast a spell to make all the decorations go invisible and they all dived into a hiding spot.
Somehow Sam managed to dive almost on top of Bucky who let out a groan and shoved him off "Damm it Samuel"!
Everyone shushed him and stayed hidden just as the elevator doors opened, you walked out with your headphones on listening to music and walked into the kitchen to grab some left over pizza.
"we need to distract her until we are done" Nat whispered to Loki as they sat crouched behind a couch.
"I'll distract her, you guys finish decorating" He whispered back with a grin, being the God of mischief and lies gave him quite the advantage on knowing your ticklish little secret and he was more then happy to finally use it.
Loki stood up and walked up behind you, tapping you on the shoulder and successfully making you jump in fright.
"Jesus Christ Loki! You scared the living daylights out of me" You said with a hand on your heart as you took off your headphones.
"My apologies, i simply wanted to ask if I could retrieve my book from your room?" He said hiding his grin.
"Yeah of course, I'll show you where it is" you said with a nod and walked off with your plate of pizza after kicking the fridge door shut.
Loki trailed behind you as you both stepped into your room, but before you could utter 'abracadabra' he tackled into your bed and pinned you underneath him.
"Loki what the hell" you said confused which quickly turned into a surprised giggle when he traced your ribs.
"Sorry for the scare darling, it's just that I heard some interesting information about you" He said with a mischief smirk as he continued to trace your ribs and tummy.
"And what would that behihihi?" you giggle nervously.
"Sargeant Barnes told me about your little ticklish secret" Loki mused as he ghost tickled your tummy which sent chills all over since you were incredibly sensitive.
Your eyes widen before bursting out in giggles as you trashed around, he dug into your ribs and softly traced your tummy at the same time, driving you into madness.
"NOT THEREHIHIHIHIHI" you screamed in laughter as you arched your back to escape him which only gave him more access to your sides.
"Then I'll just switch places love" Loki grinned as he scratched lightly over your neck before suddenly blowing a raspberry on your tummy.
"GHAHHAHAHHAHA" you laughed loudly until your laugh turned silent and he let up, pulling you up to lay your head on his chest.
"Shall we watch some movies for the rest of the afternoon love?" He asked as he played with your hair.
You hummed in agreement as you settled against him, curling up content.
And that's how the afternoon went, every time you tried to get up to grab something from the kitchen Loki latched onto your sides and reduced you into a giggly mess to keep you in your room.
When it got dark Steve and Tony walked in, smiling when they saw you two.
"Come on kid, we have a surprise" Tony said as he pulled you to your feet and guided you out of the room with his hands over your eyes, the other two quickly following to make sure you didn't fall.
After an interesting walk downstairs (Tony almost walked you straight into a wall and got his head smacked for it) you arrived in what you believed was the living room.
Tony took his hands from your eyes and you gasped.
The entire room was full with lights of all colours and in every corner stood a christmas tree, which was decorated to perfection with presents underneath it, you looked up and saw even more fairy lights around the ceiling. It was absolutely stunning.
A smile made its way to your lips as happy tears gathered in your eyes, you felt a pair of arms around you and soon you were engulfed by the team.
"You guys did all this?" You asked as you wiped your tears away.
"Of course we did, we wanted to make this your best ever christmas" Nat smiled as she threw her arm around your shoulders.
"Why?"
"Because we wanted to make you feel at home, loved and happy, we knew how much christmas means to you" Clint said as he appeared next to you.
"Well you guys certainly made that happen" you chuckle as you still looked around in wonder.
"Merry Christmas Y/N" Bucky said with a soft smile.
"Merry Christmas, you guys are the best family I could've asked for" You smiled brightly and you were once again engulfed by the team.
It was safe to say that this was the BEST christmas ever!!
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tickles-in-ficland · 1 year
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BOREDOM
Summary: Y/N tries to avoid getting homework done by bugging two Demigods. It doesn’t go in her favor…or does it 😉
Word Count: 2,088
Pairings: Ler!Thor Ler!Loki Lee!Reader
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You were bored. With everyone on missions or spending time with their families, you needed some entertainment. Being the youngest on the team along with Parker, Stark was making you stay home this weekend and finish homework. Even being an Avenger, school was still important. You argued and insisted that you attend the mission but Stark had the final word.
You’d been “working” on your homework for an hour and decided to take a break and wander the compound. You thought, minus maybe Pepper who was usually in her office you’d be alone. Much to your surprise you saw two demigods sitting in the lounge area. Your lips curled up into a smile. They hadn’t seen you enter the room and you figured you’d sneak up and spook the brothers.
Before you could take a step, without looking up from his book you heard Loki speak.
“There’s no use in trying to sneak up on us Y/N. I know you’re behind me.”
“Ugh! No fair Loki.” you pouted crossing your arms. “How’d you even know I was there?”
“Darling.” Loki scoffed as he closed his book and turned his head to look at you. “You’re talking to the God of Mischief. You can’t get anything past me.”
Your eyebrows furrowed as you looked over at Thor who wore an amused smirk on his face.
“He is unfortunately right young Y/N. Even as kids, I could never best him.” Thor chucked. “But it matters not because you shouldn’t even be down here. Didn’t Stark order you to finish your school work?”
“I uh, decided to take a break.” you said clearing your throat. “Needed to get some air and all that.”
“Ah.” Thor nodded, not entirely convinced by your answer. “Well my brother and I will be here should you need us. Back to it.”
Your eyes widened in realization. “Wait a minute! Stark kept you guys from the mission to be my BABYSITTERS?”
“I wouldn’t put it that way exactly…” Thor started but glancing over at Loki who was clearly amused by your reaction, spoke up.
"Oh I would." he said with a deep chuckle. “Yes. Stark asked us to make sure you did as you were told. Seeing as last time you were left unattended you did not finish your school work and failed an assignment.”
Your pout only furthered more at Loki’s words. “I’m not a baby. I don’t need to be watched.” you said with a stomp of your foot, digging your metaphorical hole deeper.
The brothers both raised an eyebrow in amusement. You huffed, knowing you’d proven their point.
“Okay fine. But I do need a break. I’m bored up there. Can I hang out with you guys for a little while. Pleeeeease?” you asked looking between the two with the biggest puppy dog eyes you could muster.
Going over to Thor, who you knew was the softie of the two, you wrapped your arms around his big torso and looked up at him. “Please Thor? We don’t hang out enough. We are always off doing missions or you guys go back to Asgard and I miss you.”
Thor looked down at you with a soft smile as he stroked your hair gently. The brothers had grown quite fond of you since you’d joined the team. Being the youngest of them, they felt protective of you like big brothers. The world was harsh and it didn’t hurt to have two demigods on your side. You knew Thor was a pushover, it would be Loki that would be the tough one to crack.
“Brother.” Thor said putting his arm around you affectionately. “Why don’t we let the young maiden take a break from her studies? Surely it won’t hurt to take some time to enjoy the company.”
Loki’s eyes narrowed you, his hands on his hips. He pinched the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh of defeat. “Fine. But only for a short while. I don’t want to deal with Stark when he comes home and Y/N has yet to finish her school work.”
“YAY!” you cheered throwing your arms around Loki.
Not expecting the sudden impact, Loki stumbled a bit but gave you a small pat on the shoulder. He wasn’t much for affection like his brother, but you knew he cared for you nevertheless.
“I mean it Y/N.” he chastised. “Only a short break and then you are to return to your studies. Understood?”
“Yeah yeah sure.” you said with a dismissive wave of your hand.
Sure enough, you break went by entirely too quick. You were curled up on the couch, watching tv with your head on Thor’s shoulder when suddenly the tv clicked off.
“Hey!” you shouted looking over at Loki who shrugged. “What gives?”
“Breaks over. As agreed, it is time to go back upstairs. Should you need assistance with your work, you may call one of us and we will do what we can. We are fairly well versed in Midgardian studies. But until then, off you go.”
“No.” you said confidently crossing your arms.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?” Loki asked closing his book and looking at you incredulously.
“You heard me.” you snarked back, folding your arms once again in defiance. “I said no. N-O spells no.”
You heard Thor snort laugh behind you. He knew how this was going to end but you were digging your own grave and he was enjoying himself.
Loki scoffed a laugh before standing up and approaching the couch, where you and Thor sat.
“Y/N….” Loki said in a warning tone. “This isn’t going to end well for you darling. I’d stop while you’re ahead.”
“I don’t want to do my school work today. Maybe tomorrow.” you said reaching for the remote only to have it disappear in a green flash.
“Hey! Not fair. You can’t use magic to hide things.”
“Oh well.” he shrugged while a smile tugged at his lips. “Off you go.” he said reaching for your hand only for you to shake your head.
“I said no Loki.”
Loki sighed. “Then you leave me no choice.” he said with a fake pained expression on his face.
“For whAT?” you let out a squeak as Loki tackled you to the couch and with little effort had pinned your hands to your sides.
“Lohoki! What the hehell?!” you said nervous giggles building in your chest.
“I’m going to make you regret telling me no. Stark said to use whatever method we needed, to make sure you were not going to skip your schooling. This seems like a great way to do so.”
Opening your mouth to protest was cut short as you felt ten fingers find purchase on your sides. Sporadic giggles began to escape your lips as you tried to twist and turn away from the tickly feeling.
“Lohohoki!” you squealed as his nimble fingers worked their way up your sides.
Loki’s dark chuckle told you that he wasn’t stopping anytime soon.
“Brother, if you wouldn’t mind I could use some assistance.” Loki chided. “The young maiden is quite squirmy.”
“Certainly, dear brother.” you heard Thor chuckle behind you.
You felt slight weight in your shoulders and looked up to see the flowy blonde hair hair dangling above your face, Thor grinning at you through it.
“Thohohor! Hehelp!”
Thor smiled affectionately at you. “I would count myself a fool to challenge my brother. A lesson you dear Y/N have yet to learn.” He chuckled before fluttering his fingers along your neck, eliciting more squeals as you shook your head trying to evade his fingers.
Loki leaned forward toward your face. “Now darling. Are we going to behave now and do as Stark has requested or shall we continue this?” he asked halting his fingers for a few moments.
You took in deep breaths at the momentary reprieve. Truthfully you didn’t hate it. No one really knew but you had a feeling the Asgardian was catching on.
You smirked at the God of Mischief, playfulness dancing in your eyes. The twinkle in your eye caught Loki’s attention and a full grin spread across his face.
“You like this. Don’t you, young one? It’s why you’re being so defiant. You wanted this to happen.” he said starting to snake his fingers up your rib cage, bubbly giggles once again pouring from your lips.
“I do not understand.” You heard Thor question behind you.
As if you weren’t apart of the conversation, Loki continued his tickle attack. Your infectious laughter ringing through the room as you weakly batted at his hands.
“Have you not noticed, that our young friend here has not asked me to stop once? She has been given opportunity to yield and yet she responds with words she knows will get her in trouble?” Loki asked. “She LIKES this. She WANTED this. Isn’t that right little one?” Loki questioned you, his nimble fingers now reaching under your arms, arguably your worse spot.
“LOHOHOKIHIHI!” your hard belly laughter raising several octaves. Pushing on his hands did nothing. He was a God after all and his strength was no match for yours. “PLEHEHEASE! GAHAHAH!” your legs kicked wildly behind him.
Thor smirked as he too realized. “Ah. I see now. She’s yet to ask either of us to stop. Is that right Y/N? You enjoy the tickles, do you not?” Thor chuckled as his fingers made contact with your neck once again, a scream of laughter erupting from you.
Your cheeks a bright crimson color as you turned your head trying to avoid eye contact as the two Asgardians tickled you mercilessly.
“Come on darling. Just admit it. You like this.” Loki teased.
“NEHEVER!”
“Very well.” Thor sighed jokingly. “Brother, if you will.” he said gesturing for Loki to step aside. “Hold her please.”
“Nonono! Thohohor!” you squealed your eyes pleading.
In an instant, the two brothers had switched places with Loki now holding you down with little effort as Thor positioned himself at your waist.
“Now then.” Thor continued “Is my brother correct in his assumptions?”
You bit your lip to bite back a giggle. “Mahahaybe.” you admitted closing your eyes in embarrassment.
“Hehey!” Thor’s deep laugh rang through the room. “Look at me Y/N.”
When your eyes remained shut, Thor dug his fingers deep in your hip, causing a boisterous laughter to come out. You peaked at him with one eye and saw him looking at you with a gentle smile.
“It is nothing to be embarrassed by. Actually, it is adorable. Don’t you agree brother?” he asked looking at Loki who remained sitting at your head, occasionally fluttering his fingers in your neck.
“Indeed it is brother. What I don’t understand is why she shields her enjoyment of it.”
You sighed but a small smile played on your lips. Thor and Loki had released their hold on you, allowing you to sit up.
“Because. It’s not something most people enjoy. I grew up an only child. My parents worked all the time. I wasn’t given affection much as a child. And then…” you continued. “The…thing happened to me and I became a part of this team, this…family and for the first time I felt like I had brothers and sisters and… friends.” you stopped for a moment wiping your eyes.
“Heyyy.” Thor said pulling you to his chest and rubbing your shoulder. “It’s okay. It’s okay to want affection. As a young child you were deprived of what you craved most. It is natural to want that.”
“I hate to agree with my brother.” Loki chimed in which made you let out a muffled laugh in the crook of Thor’s shoulder. “But he is right. And if you need us to step in and be your big brothers, then that is what we shall be.”
You sighed in relief this time, a smile, a real smile this time gracing your face. “Thank you both. I really was bored though.”
“Well then.” Loki chuckled as he patted your shoulder. “We have been distraction enough. As agreed it’s time to return to your studies.”
You looked at him with a slight pout, twiddling your thumbs. “Would um…could you…” you asked embarrassed still.
“She wants us to continue brother.”
Thor grinned at you. “And what kind of big brothers would we be if we said no?” he asked before tackling you on the couch again, your deep laughter once again echoing through the room, your honorary big brothers tickling you to pieces.
Your homework long forgotten.
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mymelodymia · 4 months
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Tickles // Dad!thor x daughter!reader
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summary: your father gets back at you after pranking him.
Warnings: thor being evil >:/
Age: 14
Area/place: asgard.
A/N: I've been obsessed w/ dad!thor recently, pls don't judge me lol. Also it's hard writing a tickle fic when you haven't been properly tickled in probably over 2 years, but i feel most comfortable writing them so...
🩰˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ♡🎧✧˚.🎀༘⋆+•°+💕*°•+
You had just gotten back from visiting the team on Midgard on your own. Your father was lying on his bed, bored, playing with his long blonde hair.
You had also bought a plastic version of his hammer to prank him with.
You walked in wearing an avengers t-shirt, holding the toy in your right hand. Trotting into the large bedroom with an innocent smile on your face.
He sat up quickly to greet you with a childish grin on his face, which immediately fell when he saw you with his "hammer" in your tight grasp.
His eyes flickered between your "hammer" and his own, which had been sitting atop his bedside.
You giggled before speaking "see, told you i was worthy" you smirked as he panted in confusion. You tossed the fake hammer into his lap. He smiled as he realized that it was plastic.
"I got you didnt i?" You asked him, grinning sheepishly to yourself. thor wrapped his arm around you, pulling you closer to him and resting his head atop yours.
He wiggled his fingers on your side causing you to jump. You slapped his fingers away as he chuckled.
"You did. But, i will get my revenge" thor noted in a breathy tone. Your smirk fell as his expression transformed into a mischievous one.
Suddenly, you felt yourself being quickly pulled onto his lap with thors fingers digging into your sides. You screamed various protests to somehow stop your father.
Thor quickly bent down and blew the biggest raspberry he could just above your belly button. You screamed so loud you were sure the whole realm could hear you, and a few others.
"DAAHAHAHAHAHAHDD!! STOOHOAHAHAHPPP!! PLEEHEHEHHHHSSES!! AAAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA" you spoke, clawing at your father.
"I thought you had outgrown this years ago!" Thor bellowed, he held you still easily, due to your size difference.
Before you know it, your dad was hovering over you and was sitting on your legs, which were kicking frantically to try to escape.
He blew another raspberry on your neck this time as he counted your ribs. You felt your eyes water as you screamed once again.
"Tell me, daughter, where does it tickle most?" Thor asked you, "here?" He added before blowing a quick raspberry on your neck. "Or here?" He asked, blowing a longer raspberry on your stomach, not even giving you time to process his words.
He stopped ticking for a moment so you could answer. "My tummy" you panted in between breaths.
"Good, now i know where to focus." Thor stated as you realized what a mistake you had made telling him this.
"NOO-AHHHHHAAAAAHAHAAHAHHAH!!! DAHADDHEDDDDYYYY PLEAHHEHHAHEHSSESS STOOOPPPP!" you begged as he showed no mercy.
He blew three more raspberrys before letting you go. With tear-stains on your cheeks, you punched him in the shoulder just as lady sif burst through the door.
"What happened?! I thought one of you was being killed! I was halfway across the palace when i heard some blood-curdling scream! D@mn it thor!" She cursed, slamming the door as she shook her head.
You and thor busted into laughter as she walked out.
🩰˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ♡🎧✧˚.🎀༘⋆+•°+💕*°•+
🩰Tags🎀
@animealways // @white-wolf-buckaroo // @tonystark-au // @zebralover // @yummyangy // @carellmcu // @mariasabanahabanabana //
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supermarvel-fics · 1 year
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Tickletober Day 21: Wake Up
fandom: marvel
word count: 570
pairing: thor x reader (platonic)
summary: there's only one way to wake you up and thor is the only one who knows about it
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Next to being an Avenger, sleeping was your favorite thing in the world. Sure, you loved going on missions and training with your teammates, but nothing beat the feeling of falling into a deep sleep after a hard day’s work.
The only downfall of your love of sleeping was that it was nearly impossible to wake you up. There’d been a few times where you’d fallen asleep on the jet after a grueling mission and Steve had tried to wake you. Nothing he did worked and he ended up having to carry you off the jet and back to your bedroom. You woke up the next morning confused and completely embarrassed.
For months, it had been like that. That was until Thor had found the one thing that would work.
He had tried everything, just like everyone else had, when you fell asleep against his shoulder on the couch. In a last-ditch effort, 20 minutes after he’d first tried, Thor pinched at the muscle above your knee, causing a sharp inhale and a small giggled to escape your lips. You shot forward, instantly waking up.
“Ah, the young maiden awakens at last,” Thor bellowed with a teasing smile. “And all I had to do with tickle her.”
“Thor!” You hissed. “What was that for?”
“You have been asleep for an hour and I’ve been trying to wake you for almost half of that,” He answered, moving to stand up to stretch his legs. You blushed, hiding your face in your hands.
“Sorry,” You mumbled.
“It’s quite alright,” Thor chuckled. “Now I know what to do in the future.”
And you found that he used it to his advantage almost every single time you fell asleep in his presence. The rest of the team had been begging him to reveal the secret to waking you, but thankfully Thor kept that piece of information all to himself.
So, on the morning of an important mission you were supposed to embark on, Steve sent Thor in to wake you up after sleeping through and snoozing your alarm… 8 times.
Thor snuck in quietly—not that it would change anything had he come in banging on pots and pans. He did it mostly for dramatic effect—and tiptoed over to your bed. In a swift movement, he ripped the blanket off your sleeping form and immediately dug his fingers into your sides.
You awoke seconds later with a screech of surprise, then fell into boisterous laughter as the ticklish sensation took over your entire body. “AHAHA! THOHOHOR!”
“You were supposed to be awake 2 hours ago. You have to leave in 30 minutes,” The God said, still steadily squeezing up and down your torso.
“YEHEAH, OKAHAY! I’M AWAKE NOHOHOW!”
Thor halted his wake-up call, staring down at you with a fond smile. “I find it so endearing that that is the only thing that will get you up and out of bed.”
“I find it annoying,” You groaned, sitting up and rubbing the tiredness from your eyes. “You still haven’t told anyone, have you?”
“No, I have not, but keep laughing like that and I’m sure everyone will soon figure it out,” He snickered, reaching down to throw a teasing poke at your side. You flinched and yelped, slapping his hand away.
“You suck,” You told him, but the grin tugging at your lips was a dead giveaway that you didn’t really mean it.
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Can't Wake a Sleeping Beast
Word count: 3,800
Pairing: Various (Tony, Steve, Bruce, Thor, Clint, Nat, Bucky, Loki) x female reader (all platonic, although Loki has a crush on you because I CAN'T HELP MYSELF DAMNIT 😂😂)
Warnings: None I can think of - mild swearing maybe?
So normally I don't write for this many characters, but I wrote a slightly modified version of this prompt requesting a fic with the six original Avengers, Bucky, and Loki trying to wake a sleeping reader. I don't specify below that the reader is the youngest of the team, but you are welcome to assume so as you read! 😊
(Also - there's no good casual gifs of the entire team, so... please accept this gif from the trip to the shwarma place at the end of Avengers 😂)
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"Are you ready for the most exciting sporting event in history?!"
You plunked yourself down on the sofa beside Loki, grinning enthusiastically. Your upbeat tone was a stark contrast to your eyes, however. With puffy, darkened circles under your eyelids and a tinge of redness to the once white-colored outer edges of your eyes, it was obvious you were absolutely exhausted.
"Agent... how much sleep did you get last night?" Loki asked knowingly. You scowled at his chastising.
"I got plenty of sleep. I'm fine."
"Really? Because your eyes are telling me otherwise."
"Hey!" You folded your arms indignantly across your chest.
"I know you're not from Earth and all, but that's no way to speak to a lady," Steve chimed in as he and Bucky entered the common room, both taking a seat on an empty sofa. Loki rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"I simply mean to say that you appear to be very tired. And I know you have a tendency to overwork yourself into the young hours of the morning."
Your cheeks blossomed with color as your hardened expression faltered. "I went to bed plenty early enough, thank you very much. Plus, I slept in this morning."
"Oh? And what time did you awaken, then?"
"8AM."
"And what time did you go to sleep?"
You hesitated, taking a moment to think. "4AM."
Tony had just walked in at that moment, snorting in amusement. "Wow. That's even later than I went to bed. And that's saying something."
"You're not helping," you muttered, narrowing your eyes at the billionaire. "Anyway... can we please stop harping on my sleeping habits and get ready to watch the first game?"
"Are you certain you'll even be capable of staying awake?" Loki chided.
"For the World Cup? Absolutely. I wouldn't miss this for anything."
"Ten bucks says she falls asleep by halftime," Tony goaded, smirking at you from his armchair across the room. You scoffed, refusing to offer him a verbal response.
"Agent - you are well aware that once you fall asleep, it is nearly impossible to awaken you?" Loki teased.
"I will not fall asleep!"
Loki snickered. "Whatever you say."
You had been ranting about the upcoming World Cup for months now. Most sports were rather boring to you, but soccer games always had you on your feet cheering for your favorite team. Your enjoyment of the sport had rubbed off on your teammates - even Loki found himself interested in watching the games, finding it amusing how little protective gear these Midgardians would wear despite how violent the game could get.
And, perhaps, part of him just enjoyed the sport because you enjoyed it.
As the first game was beginning, Thor burst into the common room with a frantic expression on his face.
"Have I missed the coin toss?!" he fretted.
"Nah, you're just in time, big guy," Steve assured, chuckling as Thor's face melted with relief.
"Where are the others?" he queried as he took the seat on the opposite side of you on the sofa.
"Oh, they'll be in and out I'm sure," Tony responded flippantly.
"Bruce and Clint don't appreciate soccer as much as we do," you griped. "And Nat had a couple errands to run before she could join us."
"Agent!" Thor's attention suddenly turned to you, his brows furrowed with worry. "You appear to be exhausted! Are you alright?"
"Ah-ah - don't mention how tired she looks," Tony warned, whispering loudly enough for you to hear. "She gets grumpy when you talk about it."
"Alright, I'm ignoring all of you." You crossed your arms once again, leaning back against the sofa.
The first game finally began, and the room fell silent as everyone watched the initial kickoff intently. Intermittently, there would be a chorus of shouting as the favored team got close to the opponent's goal. Notably, you suddenly stopped joining in on the hollering about halfway through the first half. Loki hadn't expected you to fall asleep that quickly, but he didn't dare look at you to find out, for fear you'd become sour again.
And then your head suddenly slumped over onto Loki's shoulder.
"Are you awake, darling?" he whispered, turning his head to look down at your face. Your eyes were shut, your breathing slow and steady with a slight raspy snoring undertone. The sight was simply adorable.
"You weren't kidding about her being tired," Bucky observed at the end of the half, gazing at you incredulously as you snored away against Loki's shoulder. Tony clapped his hands together excitedly.
"Where's my ten bucks? I called it!"
"Shh! You'll wake the young maiden, Stark!" Thor scolded in a hushed tone. Loki laughed at that, earning a glare from his brother. "Do you not care that she is clearly exhausted?"
"No, no it isn't that. I just find it amusing that you believe a simple clapping noise would be enough to wake her," Loki chuckled. "The girl sleeps like the dead. It's near impossible to wake her."
"And how would you know that?" Steve asked warily. Loki felt an involuntary wave of heat rush to his face at the implication.
"I've come across her napping in the common areas of the tower before. Believe me - it's very difficult to wake her."
It was true - Loki tended to wander the tower at late hours of the evening, much later than any of the others. On numerous occasions, he'd found you sleeping on the sofa, or napping with your forehead pressed against your forearms at the kitchen table, having attempted to stay up too late to watch a film or get some work done and passed out before you could drag yourself to bed.
At first, he'd simply let you be. What should it matter to him where you slept? Clearly you managed to get yourself to bed eventually, as you were never in the same spot the following morning. Perhaps you enjoyed napping for a bit before heading off to bed for the evening?
Then Loki began to realize that the nights he discovered you sleeping outside of your bedroom were the nights you'd overworked yourself. Hours upon hours in the training room... pouring over blueprints and maps in preparation for a mission... even just completing your paperwork sometimes took precedence over sleep in your list of priorities. So he began to try to wake you whenever he found you sleeping in a position that appeared uncomfortable.
The problem was - nothing would get you to wake up.
It was clear you were still living - you were always breathing (often snoring, in fact) so Loki didn't fear something terrible had happened to you. But nothing he attempted could ever get you to awaken. Eventually, he'd simply taken to just scooping you up in his arms and carrying you to your room to put you to bed.
He imagined you must become confused those mornings that followed, finding yourself tucked into your own sheets despite never having brought yourself there in the first place. So, eventually, he told you the truth. Since then, it'd become a sort of joke between the pair of you - Loki teased you for sleeping like a corpse, and you teased him right back for having so much concern over where you slept. It was enough to make him feel confident that you didn't mind him looking after you on those nights.
"She will surely injure her neck if she sleeps like that for long," Thor worried, observing the way your head was tilted awkwardly to the side.
"Yes... I suppose you're right." Carefully, Loki reached around your back to grasp your shoulders, gently guiding you to lie down properly with your head resting on his leg. Thor followed suit, scooping your legs up off the floor to rest them across his own lap.
"There, now. She must be much more comfortable," Thor declared happily, patting your knee affectionately. Loki hummed in agreement.
You remained asleep through the entire second half of that first game. With a bit of a break between games, the boys began to discuss your exhaustion once again.
"She's probably gonna be really upset that she missed the first game..." Bucky pondered aloud. "We let her sleep for an hour, do you think we should try to wake her up now?"
"Good luck with that, Barnes," Loki snickered. "I'm telling you - nothing will awaken the sleeping beast."
"I don't believe it." Bucky rose to his feet, pacing over to the sofa you were resting on. Loki gazed up at him expectantly, motioning for him to try. He placed a hand on your shoulder and shook you gently for a moment. You didn't even stir.
"Honestly - is that the best you can do?" Loki taunted with a haughty laugh.
"I wanted to go easy on her." He grasped your arm with his metal hand and shook you harder, causing your head to jostle around against Loki's leg a bit.
Nothing.
"Hang on, let me try," Tony interjected, wandering over to stand beside Bucky. He knelt down in front of you, holding his hands up in front of your face before suddenly clapping them together loudly in rapid succession. "HEY! WAKE UP! GAME'S GONNA START SOON!"
Not even a flinch.
"Wow. You weren't kidding, Ice Age." Loki scowled at Tony's nickname.
"Ah, I have a thought," Thor announced with a sly grin, gaining everyone's attention. He grabbed hold of one of your ankles in his lap and swiped a finger down the sole of your socked foot. Your toes curled in response, egging him on to start scratching with all five fingers up and down your sole.
Loki watched your face intently. Your brow furrowed, a slight smile tugging at the corner of your mouth in the most adorable way. Still, your eyes remained shut, chest rising and falling rhythmically with your steady breaths.
"You might be on to something, Thor," Bucky noted as Thor relented in his attempt. He brought his fingers to your neck and fluttered them along the skin where your shoulder met your collarbone. Your shoulder shrugged up reflexively, and Bucky pulled his hand away to watch you expectantly, assuming you were waking.
Then, you turned over onto your other side, letting out a deep breathy sigh. Still asleep.
"What are you guys doing?"
The group collectively glanced up toward the sound of Nat's voice in the doorway, finding her standing with her hands on her hips accusingly. Beside her stood Clint - looking less than enthused to be watching the game; as well as Bruce - looking quite enthused about being there with Nat.
"Don't worry, Romanoff - she's been sleeping for over an hour. We just don't want her to miss all the games today," Steve assured.
"Alright. I'll allow it." She wandered into the room, standing over your sleeping form while Clint and Bruce found seats. "Hmm..." Glancing around, she suddenly walked over to Tony's seat, reaching over to the side table and plucking an ice cube from his drink.
"Hey! Do you make it a habit of taking things that aren't yours?" Tony griped. Nat merely grinned, carrying the ice cube over and dropping it down the back of your shirt.
"Oh, that's gotta work," Steve declared, watching intently to see if you'd wake.
The sudden chill of the ice certainly wasn't welcome, as evidenced by the grimace that formed on your face. Still, you didn't open your eyes even once, only shifting a bit in your sleep.
"Alright, clearly that didn't work," Loki muttered, sliding his hand down your back to guide the ice cube out from under your shirt and chucking it in Nat's direction. She shrugged, unfazed.
"Hey, I tried."
"I suggest we reserve further attempts for halftime," Thor announced. "The next game is beginning!"
Loki was genuinely torn as you continued to snore away with your head resting comfortably in his lap. He knew very well that you needed the rest, despite the fact you'd never admit it. And you looked simply adorable as you slept, which didn't help matters. But he also knew how angry you'd be with yourself if you awoke later that evening to find you'd missed the entire first day of the tournament.
Yes, perhaps at halftime they could try to wake you once again. For now, he decided to let you sleep a little longer, absently twirling strands of your hair around his fingers. A happy sigh puffed out of your nose, making his heart swell.
When the first half of the game had finished, the attention of the group turned from the television to your sleeping form once again.
"How long has she been sleeping like that?" Clint whispered.
"Don't worry about keeping your voice down - she's slept like a log since partway through the first half of the first game," Bucky explained with an incredulous laugh. "Thor, Tony and I tried to wake her up before you guys walked in."
"And she hasn't even moved?" Bruce asked.
"Not really. Thor tickled her foot and that seemed to sort of work, so I tickled her neck, and still nothing."
"Maybe you haven't found her tickle spot," Clint suggested. Nat glanced at him with raised brows. "What? It's what I call it with the kids."
"That's pretty darn adorable," she hummed affectionately. Clint's cheeks turned slightly red.
"A-anyway... here, let an expert give it a shot." He meandered over to your sofa, gazing down at you in thought. "Lila nearly wets herself laughing when I get her here..." He gently lifted your arm so he could slot his fingers into your armpit, wriggling his fingertips deep into the hollow space. A huffy breath escaped your nose as your brows knit together once again, a full-fledged smile now growing on your face. Astonishingly, you remained undeniably asleep.
"I don't think it's working," Thor stated, watching your face with a fondness in his eyes. Clint groaned disappointedly, removing his hand from under your arm.
"Damn. That always gets the kids to wake up when they're being a pain."
"Let me try, then," Nat suggested, approaching from behind Clint and giving him a teasing poke in the side. He yelped and twisted, glaring at the assassin as he returned to his own seat. Nat brought both hands down on your stomach, clawing at the soft skin through your T-shirt. The ticklish smile returned to your face, but still you did not wake. It didn't matter whether she attempted a firm scratching or a light tracing motion, you were simply too sound asleep.
"Ok, obviously she's only ticklish when she's awake," Steve observed jokingly. "What else haven't we tried? We're running out of halftime."
"Oh, oh, hang on-" Tony swiped Nat's glass of water from the table in front of her, clearly feeling he needed revenge for her theft of his ice cube. Loki gave him a fierce look as he approached you with the water glass.
"I certainly hope you aren't planning to pour that on her," he stated warningly, shooting daggers at Tony with his eyes. He shrunk back just slightly under Loki's gaze.
"No, of course not... who would do something that cruel?" He dipped his fingers into the glass of water (earning an annoyed shout from its owner) and then flicked the water at your forehead. A few cold droplets stuck to the bridge of your nose, again making you grimace slightly in your sleep. Tony sighed. "Alright, can I dump it on her now?"
"Not unless you'd like my boot up your-"
"Alright! Alright, I get it, Jack Frost!" Tony rolled his eyes, placing the glass down on the table where he'd found it before returning to your side. "Ok, kid - how about this?" His fingers dug into your ribs, kneading between the bones. It was clearly tickling you quite a bit, as your eyes and nose scrunched up in the most adorable way. And yet - you stubborn thing - you still remained asleep. Tony threw his hands up in the air in frustration after a few moments, stomping back to his seat. "I thought I had her there!"
"I'm afraid we must abandon our efforts once again - the second half is starting!" Thor announced excitedly.
"No, she's gonna be pretty mad if she wakes up to find she missed two full games," Steve groaned. "Let me try."
"Please do it quickly, soldier - I must see who wins this game!" Thor insisted. Steve paced over to the sofa where you lay, wasting no time in digging into your ribs as he'd seen Tony attempt. He squeezed your side with his other hand, clearly hoping two spots would be more effective than one.
You adorable creature - you buried your face in Loki's stomach, hiding the huge grin that had taken shape on your face. Surely you must be awake now, he assumed.
And yet, when Steve relented in his attack, your breathing returned right back to the rhythmic, steady rise and fall of deep sleep.
"Alright! I give up!" Steve declared with a laugh. "She can't complain when she wakes up - every one of us has tried."
"Bruce hasn't," Tony reminded him.
"Me?!" Bruce appeared frazzled at the suggestion. "But if you guys haven't been able to, what makes you think I could wake her up?"
"Worth a shot at least," Bucky concurred. "Any genius ideas in that big brain of yours, Banner?"
"Well, I... You guys haven't tried pinching her yet?"
Bruce withered a bit under Loki's angry glare at the suggestion.
"Relax! I wouldn't hurt her!" he assured quickly, "Physicians do it to assess neurologic function."
He rose to his feet as Loki's glare softened a bit. If it worked, at least you'd get to watch the remainder of the game. But he'd be damned if Banner would actually hurt you in any way. His eyes never left Bruce's as he knelt down beside you, taking your hand in his and pulling a pen from his pocket.
"See, this doesn't hurt that badly," he assured, pinching one of your fingers between the pen and his own thumb, careful not to apply enough pressure to earn the wrath of the god watching over you. No matter how hard he pressed, you didn't even flinch. You tenacious little thing.
Bruce slipped the pen back in his shirt pocket when he recognized it wasn't going to work.
"Uh... well, that wasn't helpful," he chuckled nervously. "Have you tried behind the knees?" He reached over and scratched at the back of your knee gently. You sleepily bent your knees to block out his access to the sensitive spot, that little smile tugging at your lips once again.
"I must request that we cease this until the game has finished," Thor insisted. "Clearly, the young agent requires additional sleep."
"You just want them to stop interrupting the game," Loki accused.
"I... yes, that would also be nice, thank you."
In a way, Loki was quite impressed that you'd managed to remain asleep throughout all of this. Even he, the God of Mischief, couldn't come up with another method to try to wake you that wasn't too cruel for him to care to attempt.
He decided to keep trying to wake you while the others watched the second half. He wasn't all too interested in the game anyhow, and Thor couldn't complain that he was interrupting his viewing time.
Loki was sure that he could wake you if he could just find the the spot that you were simply too ticklish to sleep through. While awake, you were devastatingly ticklish - barely a solitary squeeze to the side and you'd be giggling like mad. How your mind was able to block out the ticklish sensations only whilst you slept was beyond him.
He scratched his fingers along your belly just above your waistline as he began his mission to locate your weak spot. His fingertips traveled gently up the side of your stomach, around your side, down to squeeze at your hipbone for a moment. Your ribs, he knew, would have you howling with laughter if you were awake, and yet no matter how meticulously he searched along each rib for a trigger spot to wake you, you simply buried your face deeper into his stomach in your sleep. Loki had to abandon that spot, mostly because you'd begun to tickle him with your gentle breathy laughter against his thin shirt overlaying his belly. You infuriating little creature.
Tickling fingers traveled up to your neck, flitting lightly against the soft, silky skin. Curiously, he fluttered his fingers under your chin, chuckling fondly under his breath as you ducked your head and let out a breath of a laugh - still in your sleep, of course. Perhaps your back would do it?
Before shifting to try there, he scratched ever so gently just below your jawline, selfishly enjoying the adorable smile it brought to your face. His fingertips grazed along the thin skin just behind your ear unintentionally.
Suddenly, you squeaked.
It was barely audible over the noise of the game and the cheering of the others in the room, but it was undeniable - you had squeaked. A sly grin spread across Loki's face as he averted his full attention to that spot, ghosting his fingertips around and behind your ear. Your face scrunched up into a huge smile, then slowly, your eyes cracked open.
"What..."
"Ah, she awakens at last." Loki caught your wrist before you could block his tickling fingers with your hand, continuing to flit the fingertips of his free hand around the hypersensitive shell of your ear. Rapid, squeaky giggles bubbled from your mouth as you tried shrugging your shoulder up to block him.
"Hehey!! You wahanted me to slee-heep, and then yohou tickle mehe??" you whined sleepily.
"Darling, you've been asleep for nearly two hours," Loki informed you, pausing his torment as your mouth dropped open.
"Two hours?? But then I... I missed two games??"
"A game and a half, actually," Bucky called from his seat. The room had now realized you were awake. "But the end of this one has been a nail-biter!"
Scowling, you shifted to sit up so you could watch the television. Loki couldn't hold back from pinching your side once, drawing your attention just long enough for him to say I told you so. You returned the favor by poking him in the stomach, earning a jolt and a glare from the god that he didn't truly mean.
With the added rest, you returned right back to your usual ways. You were on your feet with every goal, screaming at the referee on the screen for every penalty as though he could hear you, cheering when the opposing team missed a score. You were rambunctious, loud, and vicious. All traits Loki had come to love about you.
But if there was one thing he'd learned today, it was this:
Even someone as fierce as yourself had a weakness.
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hugsandchaos · 1 year
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Remember in Double Trouble, there was a scene showing Loki couldn’t handle the cold nearly as much as Thor? This is basically a short based off that, taking place in another adventure they ended up in.
High in the edge of a cliff, Thor sat at the edge of the cave entrance and stared out into the blizzard. He wanted to keep watch since during the adventure, which had lasted two days, making this night three, his brother had stayed awake. He claimed it was because he wanted to watch the stars and smiled a bit, but Thor started to see through that lie. You would too if you noticed he was looking around for any signs of danger and reacting quickly to any sound as if it was a threat every time you woke up to grab a snack or go until he noticed you and was suddenly okay. Speaking of Loki, he was inside the cave next to a fire that were fueled by a few logs Thor found.
He was sitting in a fetal-like position and shivering a lot under his jacket and his teeth audibly chattered. His arms were crossed over his chest and pressed between his chest and legs. Between them, Thor was much more tolerant to low temperatures. He hardly ever shivered. Loki on the other hand, always wears his jacket and never goes anywhere without long sleeves or long pants, and doesn’t seem to mind the heat. He seems much more willing to die of heatstroke than freezing to death, but Thor suspects he went outside in the cold as a kid anyways just so he could get extra hugs from their mother. Thor looked back at Loki and got an idea. He stood up from the rock he was sitting on and walked to Loki, who had already noticed him coming. It was clear with how he practically snapped his neck to face him after hearing the icy stone crack under Thor’s boots. He didn’t say anything when Thor sat with him, only stared back at the fire.”Is there any other way to make this warmer?” Thor asked, trying to start some kind of conversation. Loki didn’t look at him or say anything like he had hoped. Rather, he shakingly put his hand out into the flames to touch it, the flames somehow dancing away from his hand to make a sort of tunnel around it as he touched the wood pile. Thor grabbed Loki’s arm to try and pull it out, but he didn’t move.”Take your hand out of the fire!” He said. Loki ignored him and blue flames began to replace the red and orange ones. Surprise replaced some of Thor’s worry and Loki finally pulled his hand out of the fire.
The cave slowly became much warmer, but Loki nearly toppled over and looked a bit dizzy. Thor put a hand behind his back and helped him sit back up.”You okay?” Thor asked. Loki nodded and Thor pulled him closer into a side hug, which probably caught Loki off guard based on how he tensed up for a moment. His shivering slowed down some, but he was still cold. The side of Loki’s head was touching the part of his arm above his elbow, and he felt ice cold.”How did you do that?” Thor asked. Loki yawned and leaned on Thor a bit.”Just a little trick I picked up on, nothing special. Blue fire is hotter than red fire, so I figured I’d use that trick to heat it up. It won’t last long, though.” He said, leaning onto Thor more and more as he spoke. He probably didn’t realize it, either, and Thor didn’t say a word about it.”Wow. Is there green fire then?” Thor asked. Loki shook his head and his eyelids drooped as the cave became warmer as he spoke, his tone much more sleepy than he meant it to be as he spoke.”Not naturally, I think…” He murmured.
Loki started to regain feeling in his toes and hands, but he was still freezing cold and almost wished he hadn’t regained feeling in them.”Why not?” He heard Thor asked. Loki stretched his arms and legs out, kind of like a cat, and sighed a bit when he relaxed again, pulling his legs and arms back to keep warm.”It has something to do with the light spectrum and the wavelengths of light, I think? I can’t remember right now. I think I have notes in here somewhere.” Loki answered as he nestled the back of his head into the fur of his jacket.
Thor waited for Loki to continue, but only heard barley noticeable snoring. Thor soon smiled and wrapped his red cape around Loki like a blanket so he’d stay warm.
With only the sound of crackling fire, howling winds from outside, and hard-to-hear snoring, Thor was left with his thoughts. Recently, he’d started thinking that maybe Loki’s magic drains his physical energy the same way as exercise or some other intense movement. If that was true, then perhaps it’s possible Loki isn’t as weak as he thought with all the shapeshifting and teleporting he does on a daily basis, along with the occasional conjuration of objects. Like when he made some roses to try to flirt with Mildred to get her to stop causing trouble. He’d ask about it tomorrow, after he finds out how blue fire is hotter than red fire.
Bonus that I don’t know when would happen but I had to write:
“How did I not know how ticklish you are?” Thor asked. The only answer he got was more laughter and thrashing from his little brother, who was stuck in Thor’s hold and turning red from laughter and embarrassment.
Earlier, Thor poked Loki’s ribs to get his attention from the book he was reading and Loki slammed his arms down to protect himself with a surprised squeak, which Loki tried to play off by ignoring it, but Thor pressed questions at his reaction and grabbed his arm so he couldn’t just teleport away and escape the interrogation. It started with more pokes to the ribs and Loki trying to stab him with every dagger he had, but Thor stopped every one and even tossed it away so Loki couldn’t try again while he was trying to hide any sign of hiding any giggles or laughter. Then the assault of tickles to Loki’s sides and belly came when he ran out of daggers. It was an unexpected change, so he couldn’t hold back the laughter anymore. Thor seemed to really like the reaction and kept going while Loki tried his best to escape, but he couldn’t with how much stronger Thor physically is compared to him. And Loki was indeed very ticklish.”Stohohohohohop ihihihit!!” Loki demanded. But he had no success. If anything, it only fueled something in Thor to keep going, which he did. Thor smiled and began poking at Loki’s ribs, which started the whole thing and drove Loki’s laughter an octave higher.”Not a chance! I’ve been waiting for so long to get revenge on you, and now--“
“AAAAAAIIEEE!!!”
Thor paused the assault, giving Loki a chance to breathe, and looked at Loki with a surprised expression. Loki glared back at him with a look as sharp as his daggers.”Don’t. You. Dare.” He threatened through his gasps for breath. A devious grin creeped upon Thor face and Loki began squirming around again, or tried shielding himself. Thor grabbed both arms with one hand and held them above his head, even lifting him a foot off the ground.”No!! No, I’m warning you!! I’ll turn you into a pin cushion!!” Loki threatened. Thor ignored him and started tickling his ribs again, throwing him back into laughter. Loki began kicking around and tried pulling his knees up to cover his upper body, but Thor simply pushed them away and continued.”I know I heard that! Where did that reaction come from?” Thor wondered out loud as he prodded and poked around his little brother’s ribs, soon coming to the spot that got the reaction from a few seconds ago. When his fingers poked the eighth rib on the right side, Loki squealed and broke out in uncontrollable laughter unlike anything Thor had seen, not just in Loki, but in anyone he’s heard laugh.”HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! NOHOHOHOHO!!! NOHOHOHO!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Loki yelled. Thor was a bit shocked and confused about the fact that he got such a reaction from a single rib, but he was more delighted to learn it.”Oh, wow! That sounds like this is unbearable!” Thor said. Loki turned a bit redder, either from embarrassment or laughter, and shook his head while laughing.”What? Does talking about it make it worse?” Thor asked. Loki didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too busy laughing as Thor curiously and carefully tickled the newfound sweet spot.
About three minutes later, Loki was too tired to keep trashing around and his laughs he was falling more and more into silent laughter. Thor had started tickling him all over his upper body with both hands since Loki was too tired to fight back; belly, armpits, sides, ribs, and especially his eighth rib on the right side. When Loki began showing signs of fatigue, Thor set him on the floor and continued the assault. Thor definitely had the upper hand, Loki’s mind was going mad with the tickles, and it certainly didn’t help that he decided not to wear his jacket and that flexible piece of green chest plate today. By now, streams of tears from laughter were flowing down Loki’s face and he looked like he might pass out soon. Thor decided maybe it was time to stop or at least give him a break and pick it up later, so he stopped. Loki began gasping for air and managed to curl up into a ball on his right side so it’d be a bit harder to get to his weak spot.”Are you okay?” Thor asked. Loki nodded and Thor moved to sit next to him. He didn’t know what it was, but something other than the victorious feeling of having a way to get back at Loki was making Thor feel pretty happy.
Thor knew it was that part of him that really wished he got along with his brother, and now he had a way to do that. And it’s not like Loki would fight back, Thor’s much more physically fit, so he could turn the tables on him easily. Loki panted and gasped for air on the floor.”Did you have fun?” Tasking asked sarcastically. Loki shot him a glare and shook his head, making Thor laugh a bit. It took a long while for Loki to recover from the assault and Thor popped his knuckles when Loki sat up.”Ready for Round 2?” Thor asked. Loki’s eyes widened and he teleported away, making Thor stand up and rush to his room in chase.
In Loki’s room, Loki stumbled to his door and locked it, then he dived under his bed to hide. He curled up in a ball again, exhausted and embarrassed, and planned on staying there for a long time. It wasn’t the fact that one of his weaknesses was discovered that embarrassed him more, it was the fact that Thor could’ve found out he enjoyed the activity.
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obsessedwithseb · 2 years
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Sentence starter….. if I was you I would run. Dealers choice on who
“If I was you, I would run.” Steve gave you the advice as Thor watched you eating his last pop tart. Everything would have gone fine if the team didn’t decide to go outside on this warm and sunny morning. Thor wouldn’t have known who ate his last pop tart, probably targeting Clint, even tho he hates this sweet breakfast.
You don’t need to be told twice, your feet started to run frantically out of the kitchen, Thor immediately on hot heels. You were scared of what he was about to do to you, you had no idea what could possibly happen. Knowing you can’t escape and he will eventually catch you, terrible thoughts came to your mind, though you know he would never hurt you in any way, he’s just a big teddy bear. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around your torso and you soon lost the floor underneath your soles.
“Little midgardian.. eating my last sweet and then sprinting away?” He swung you from side to side while walking back to the nearest couch, “you got yourself in some trouble, little girl.” He laid you down on the couch carefully, as said, not wanting to hurt you in any way. Now, you were pretty confused, none of your ideas fitted to the current situation… unless-
Thor recently saw you being tickled by your brother Peter, like he calls him, spider boy. Of course, he now has the perfect method to make you apologize in a second. He didn’t want to lose more time and got straight into it by weirdly wiggling his fingers into your tummy and sides, making you giggle loudly. You had to be honest, you weren’t expecting this since it was a Midgardian thing.
“Thohohor!” Your giggles soon caught the attention of the team, especially of your brother who watched you being tortured in amusement. Thor laughed heartily while he enjoyed himself tickling you for eating his last favorite food, luckily for you, he doesn’t know your most sensitive spot, so you handled this pretty long until you gave in. Yet, he wasn’t mad, just a bit sad that he doesn’t have any more of them…
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hiddlesbummmm · 1 year
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Updated Masterpost! Click here to go back to my main page💕
Other/Multiple Avengers X Reader Fics
• Catch!! {2678 Words} - Peter and reader get into a prank war. The other avengers take notice and decide to put an end to it.
• Caught(Sequel to above){2976 Words} - Peter and reader decide to resume the pranks even though they promised Steve, Bucky, Thor, and Loki they would put an end to it. Now they both must face the consequences.
•Let’s Do Get Help {3907 Words} Thor/Loki tag team!- Thor, Loki, and reader decide to play a game of Clue. Reader is remarkably good at the game and is accused of cheating. Loki asks Thor to do “Get Help” but with a ticklish twist.
•Spellcaster Supreme! {3771 Words} Dr. Strange fic - Reader is a apprentice under Dr.Strange. She decides to challenge Strange and claim she is the best Spell Caster! Since Strange knows her weakness, he decides to prove her wrong through tickles.
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You and Your Not-So-Ticklish-But-Probably-Ticklish Gods
Hades - You try and tickle him but it doesn't work the way you wanted it to. It does, however, take his mind off of whatever kept him preoccupied (likely something Zeus gave to him to handle). Have no fear, however, because with his attention now fully on you, it's now his turn to find your most ticklish areas.
Poseidon - You try and, uh... he's so disgusted with your attempt. Don't you see the arousal disgust in his eyes? Pathetic. And so, as a 'gesture of goodwill' or, er, something like that, he drags you off somewhere more private to show you how to properly tickle him. Preferably without clothes on.
Zeus - Why would you do this? You know he'd like it. You know he'd like it too damn much. And now he wants to return the favor. Yep. Have fun.
Loki - Do. not. do. it. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. ...Aw shit, you did it, didn't you? Be prepared to be ambushed with random tickle attacks throughout the day. And probably the night. Told you not to do it.
Buddha - All I can say is lmao. Giggle fits interspersed with makeout sessions between. Wholesome vibes all around.
Thor - You try and he stares. And he stares some more. And some more. Now it's getting awkward. That is, until he hits you with that psychotic ass, battle-horny smirk and promises to show the true meaning of tickling and proceeds to pounce on you. You've never laughed so hard and so loud in your life. The firm kiss that comes afterward seals the deal.
Shiva - Now why would you do this knowing full damn well he has multiple arms and will use said arms to tickle you EVERYWHERE? He promises not to lose the tickling battle to you and makes due on that promise.
Heracles - Ticklish like no. fucking. other. You do it because his laugh is so damn infectious and you love seeing that determined scowl turn into a genuine, boyish smile. You tickle him and next thing you know, you're wrapped up in his arms and he's extolling your virtues, and you... well, you've never blushed so damn hard before.
Odin - "lol," said Huginn and Munnin, judging you for even thinking your attempt would work all while Odin stares at you, unblinking, "LMAO."
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Double trouble
"Alright, you made your point now PUT ME DOWN"
Thor said that you were so light, he could lift you with one arm and you (of course) told him that that wasn't true.
"I don't think so yougn maiden, see my brother alerted me that you were ones again sleeping less then 4 hours, which made it that you lost weight" Thor said.
"Alright one: why is Loki watching me and two: that is not true"
" Darling, you should know better then to lie to the god of mischief" By hearing his voice you knew you were in trouble.
Loki walked towards you with that stupid grin on his face, he nodded to Thor and before you could blink you were pinned on your back with Loki straddling your waist and Thor holding your arms above your head.
One thing crossed your mind 'im screwed'.
You hat seen how ruthless the brothers were when it came to tickling and flustering, poor Tony hat once irritated Loki or how he called him reindeer games, that was one mistake he will never make again.
And now you were in his position only now you also hat to deal with Thor and knowing them you knew they would tease you into oblivion.
The very smug looking god just sat there watching you, the anticipation killing you.
"Just get on with it" you muttered under your breath.
Loki leaned forward, resting on hand beside your head and whispered "It almost looks like you want this, us tickling you until you fall asleep exhausted from your laughter" the blush on your face gave him his answer.
"Seems like our mortal friend wants to get tickled to sleep dear brother" Thor said having heard the entire thing his brother said.
Both of them immediately went for your dead spots, not wasting any time.
"AHHHAHAHAHAHAH THOHOHOHR LOKHIHIHIH STOP"
"i don't think so, you brought this upon yourself" Loki said kneading into the middle of your ribs, while Thor was busy with you underarms.
"HAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH"
"you look absolutely adorable" your already red face turned almost crimson.
Eventually they let up seeing that you needed to breath.
"Tell me love, are your knees ticklish too"? That smug son of a gun was really out to fluster you wasn't he.
"No there not"!!
"Really, i don't believe that" you felt his weight shifted and his hands were on your knees.
"Loki wait we can talk about tHIHIHIS LOKIHIHIHI"
Then if that wasn't enough, Thor now hat full access to the ribs.
"THOHOHOHR NOHOHOHO"
This went on for what felt like hours, but it finally stopped.
Your head laid on Thor's shoulder and feet on Loki's lap, you fell into a deep sleep with someone playing with your hair.
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tickles-in-ficland · 2 years
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I am working on a fic now but life has been super hectic!
Both my husband and I had covid, he was diagnosed with Autism so there’s been a lot of processing and figuring out next steps and all that mixed with writers block! But thank you for all the love on Green Green Dress! It means a lot. Hopefully I can get something new up soon! If anyone has prompts or ideas definitely send me a DM and share your ideas!
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Fighting the Tickle Monster
Request: Hi! First of all, your fics are amazing and cute and I'm so sorry for the haters you're getting! If that's okay, I wanted to give you a little prompt for Wanda and reader. Like, since joining the compound, reader has always seen Wanda being the tickle monster (she gave herself that title!) so they get Wanda, only to find out she is a huge and adorable walking tickle spot! You're free to add whatever you want, even other characters, I don't mind :)
Notes: Thank you so much for this cute request! I appreciate your patience waiting for this fic! I hope you enjoy :)
Word Count: 2030
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You were new to the Avengers, as this was only your second week living in the compound with all of them. You were still in awe of the structure and layout of your new living space. The highest technology, finest finishes, and updated appliances. For now, you had your own room, but you were never alone for long. Especially since the rest of the Avengers loved hanging out as a group downstairs in the common area.
You had many mentors who helped lead the way for you. As you learned more about how to be a great superhero, you also learned a lot more about the roles around the compound. Yelena was the prankster, roping in Kate and Peter so she could split the punishment. Peter and Kate were young and maybe just a tad bit scared of Yelena. They figured it was better to split the punishment three ways rather than two. Natasha was definitely the mom of the group, caring and strong, while always looking out for your safety and well-being first. Steve was the goofy one, always cracking corny jokes and happened to be an amazing chef as well. Tony was the uptight, serious, all work no play guy around there. Thor, Bruce, and Clint were chill dudes, who bonded over their lack of understanding of what young people do these days. Lastly, Wanda was the one who would do anything to protect anyone, but she also had a mischievous side and couldn’t help messing with people given her powers.
From what you’ve seen so far, whenever Yelena would try to pull pranks with Kate and Peter, Wanda would be the first to punish them with tickles. Her powers allowed her to pin all three of them at once while still having both her hands free. Natasha would sometimes join in to help her or give away Yelena’s weaknesses. Even though you were new here, Yelena still tried to rope you in as much as possible. Today, you were involved in your first quadruplet prank, which you learned the hard way to not do.
The four of you had put on swim flippers, dragging mud prints into the compound, trying to scare the others that an animal had walked through and left footprints. You guys were able to execute it quickly, running into the garage to take off the flippers and hide them. You knew this was a harmless prank since Wanda could use her magic to clean it up in seconds. However, your flippers were stuck and you couldn’t get them off in time, when the garage door opened and Wanda caught you guys in the act. 
“Well well well, what do we have here?” Wanda asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Nothing…” You said, avoiding eye contact and trying to move out of sight.
“Seems like Y/N has gotten roped into one of Yelena’s famous pranks huh?” The witch said, knowing that Yelena and the rest of the crew were hiding nearby. 
“I wasn’t doing anything!” You blurted out.
The witch knew you were lying, as she could hear your thoughts. 
“Really?” Wanda said, smirking a little before sending some magic towards you. In seconds you felt ticklish sensations on your ribcage, making you double over with laughter and wrap your arms around yourself, to no avail.
“Wahahanda stahahahap gehehet ihihit ohohoff,” you giggled, struggling to stay standing.
“Not until you spill the truth,” Wanda said, upping the sensation, making you fall to the ground laughing. It also didn’t help that she had added sensations to your armpits. Wanda slowly made her way over to you, as you were a giggly mess on the floor. Your superpower was the ability to shut your nerves off. However, you were too ticklish and couldn’t concentrate enough to focus.
“C’mon Y/N, what’s the matter? Can’t turn your ticklishness off?” Wanda asked, now picking you up and flying back into the living room with you, and pinning you with her powers. With that, she continued the sensations and began to tickle your sides with her sharp nails.
“GAHAHAHA WAHAHANDA STAHAHAHAP PLEHEHEASE IHIHIT TIHIHICKLES,” you screamed with laughter. 
“Better fess up who else is in cahoots with you,” the witch teased, speeding her fingers up.
“AHAHAHA NEHEHEVER,” you cried, unable to squirm and knowing that if you didn’t fess up, she would tickle you to tears.
“Tell the tickle monster, before she makes you pee your pants,” Wanda teased, moving down to your feet.
“NOHOHO NOHOHOT THEHEHERE OKAHAHAY IHIHI GHIHIVE,” you shouted, knowing that once someone got a hold of your feet, you were done for.
“Tell me,” Wanda demanded, as you giggled from the lingering sensation.
“Ihihi ahaha was wihith Yelena, Kate, and Peter,” you huffed out, lying there in defeat.
“Ohh interesting,” Wanda said teasingly, as you knew she already knew all the details, wanted to tickle you to get you to confess.
“You’re evil, you know that,” you said playfully.
“Glad you picked up on that in the short time you’ve been here,” Wanda said with a wink.
“Now what do you say? Want to help me dish out a punishment to your other little minions?” Wanda asked with a smile.
You thought for a second, knowing that either way you would be in trouble. Whether it was with Wanda or Yelena. However, Wanda had way more power, so you took your chances with Yelena and led the witch back to the garage where the others were hiding. In your defense, they didn’t try to save you when you were being tickled to pieces.
You turned on the lights in the garage, telling Wanda where they hid. 
“Thanks, Y/N. I’ll give you a headstart so they don’t try to chase you,” the witch whispered. You quickly ran off, hearing Yelena shout your name to get back there. You let out a giggle and returned to the living room where you found Natasha doing a sudoku puzzle.
“Heard you got wrecked, Y/N,” Natasha said, smirking without looking up.
“Shut up, I did not!” 
“Everyone could hear your laughter throughout the compound,” Natasha said. Before you could respond, Wanda came back in, all three kiddos in tow.
“Why do we keep agreeing to this?” Peter asked Kate, who looked like a deer in the headlights, knowing she was doomed. Yelena was the only one trying to wiggle her way out of Wanda’s grasp, being unsuccessful. 
“The more you squirm, the more she’s gonna tickle you,” Natasha told Yelena.
“But if I escape I won’t get tickled at all,” Yelena said back matter-of-factly.
“Too bad you’re not escaping,” you chimed in shyly.
“You little turd. You’re the reason why I got caught!” Yelena said, pointing at you.
“Don’t worry, I already tickled her to pieces,” Wanda said, catching you blushing.
“Oh man, I wish I saw that,” Yelena said with a chuckle.
“You missed a lot. She’s super ticklish and has the sweetest giggle,” Wanda said, floating her magic towards you, this time on your stomach.
“Nohohohoo Wahahahanda plehehehease ihih’ve hahahad enohough,” you squealed, curling up into a ball. They all laughed at your reaction, much to your embarrassment. 
“I didn’t forget about you guys,” Wanda said, promptly pinning the three of them with her powers.
“Now, who should I start with first?” Wanda said, wiggling her fingers.
“Kate!” Yelena blurted out, before bursting into laughter, as Wanda raked her nails over Yelena’s armpits.
“AHAHAHAHA STAHAHAHAHAP.”
“Since you volunteered someone else, I decided to tickle you first,” Wanda said cheekily.
“IHIHITS SOHOHO BAHAHAD PLEHEHEASE,” the blonde laughed, as Wanda began to squeeze her knees and knead into her hips.
Wanda gave her a break and moved on to Kate, who was the most scared out of all of them.
“Please don’t tickle me! I’m sorry!” Kate pleaded.
“Hmm, no I think the tickle monster is still hungry,” Wanda said, blowing three raspberries on Kate’s stomach. It tickled so much that Kate went into silent laughter.
“Wow Kate, she’s not even doing much,” Peter teased, whose eyes then widened when Wanda reached over and tickled his armpits, making the boy squeal with laughter. She now used her other hand to dip a finger into Kate’s belly button. 
“WANDA NOT THEHEHEHERE IHIHI CAHAHANT STAHAHAND IHIHIT,” Kate screamed. She was getting their two worst spots at the same time. Once she felt they had enough, she sent some magic to all of them, tickling them on their feet and sides. They were all laughing too much to even speak. Meanwhile Natasha had moved closer to you on the couch.
“You know, we should try to get Wanda back. She’s always the most powerful one here, but why not give her a taste of her own medicine?” Natasha suggested quietly to you.
“No way! I’m not suffering through punishment again!” You hissed back quietly.
“You’d rather be in trouble with me?” Natasha said, pinching your side, making you yelp and jump away.
“That’s what I thought,” the redhead said, now explaining the plan to you.
Natasha snuck up behind Wanda while she was distracted, grabbing her from behind and pinning her arms above her head. Meanwhile you came around and quickly sat on Wanda’s waist.
“Y/N! What are you doing??” Wanda questioned, trying to break free from Natasha. 
“I’m here to get revenge,” you said simply.
“Too bad I’m not ticklish, so you’ll have to find another way,” the witch responded confidently.
“We’ll see about that,” you said, slowly tracing your fingers over her sides and stomach. You saw her jolt, as she sucked her stomach in to avoid your fingers.
“Oh what do we have here? Seems like I’m not the only liar here,” you said, now kneading into her sides and tickling her stomach with no mercy.
“Y/N STAHAHAHAP OHOO MY GOHOHOSH,” the witch cried out with laughter. The tickling was enough for her to break concentration, which released the other three from her spell holding them down. Meanwhile, Natasha was using her free hand to tickle the witch’s armpits. 
“Alright everyone, pick a spot,” Natasha said, keeping a firm grip on her wrists.
Yelena went to her feet, Kate was at her knees, and you and Peter would get her upper body, while Natasha got her armpits. 
“Everyone ready?” Yelena asked.
“NO GUYS PLEASE! DONT DO THIS!” Wanda panicked, unable to escape. 
“Who’s the tickle monster now?” You asked, as you all began to tickle her to pieces.
“NOHOHOHO AHAHAHAHAHA GUYS STAHAHAP,” Wanda shouted, overwhelmed with ticklish sensations. 
You raked your nails over her ribs, before digging in between her rib bones knowing that you had hit a sweet spot. The witch tried to kick and wiggle as much as she could, but she was outnumbered.
“Do you admit defeat?” Yelena asked, running her nails over a particularly good spot near her heel. 
“GAHAHA NEHEHEVER SCREHEHEW YOHOHOU GUHUYS,” the witch laughed, turning pink.
“Man she is stubborn,” Peter commented with a small laugh.
“Fine, then take this as revenge for all the times you tickled us. Turns out you’re even more ticklish than us!” Kate said, now tickling the back of her knees.
Natasha had let her guard down a bit, loosening her grip on Wanda’s wrists. The witch saw this opportunity and extended her arms to reach Natasha’s stomach. She wiggled her fingers, causing Natasha to yelp and let go of her wrists. With her hands free now, she immediately turned towards you and reached up to tickle you off of her. You squealed and immediately got off of her. Wanda was able to overpower the others and quickly turned the tables on Natasha, the only one who hadn’t been tickled yet. 
Within seconds, Natasha was laughing and squealing, failing to swat Wanda’s quick hands away. You joined the other three, fleeing to safety.
“You brats!” Natasha yelled out over her laughter. The four of you knew they would get revenge on you guys afterwards, so you guys took advantage of the head start. Even if tickling embarrassed you, you loved the bonding it created between you and your superhero teammates. And the one thing you always remembered was that Wanda was the ultimate tickle monster.
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supermarvel-fics · 2 years
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Who is the best tickler y/n? ler Loki and Ler Thor prompt ☺️
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"Who is the better tickler?" Thor wiggled his eyebrows at you, grinning just as mischievously as his brother while they had you pinned to the floor.
"Oh-ho no! I'm nohohot playing thahat game!" You squeaked and giggled. "The loser wihill try and prove me wrohong!"
"Smart girl, this one," Loki smiled, gesturing to you as he spoke to Thor. "I'm certain we'll be able to determine a winner. Let us take turns."
"NO!"
Your protests fell on deaf ears. Thor chuckled and held tight to your legs, you arms already having been glued to the ground by Loki's magic. "You first."
Loki took to scratching precisely as the sides of your belly, equidistant from your side and navel.
"EHEHEAH! LOHOKI, NO!" You screamed in ticklish agony. The youngest brother continued until you felt you'd had enough, then removed his hands and took Thor's place.
"I think you'll find it difficult to beat that, brother."
"Mmhmm," Thor smiled, hands poised at the ready. "We'll see about that."
"I-hi wihihill kihiHILL YOHOU BOHOHOTH! NOHO!" Your threat was interrupted by cackling laughter once Thor's torturous fingers tickled at that same spot.
"So, young one, I will ask again. Who is better at tickling?"
"I believe it to be me. I am the God of Mischief, after all," Loki proudly stated. Of course, that comment flipped the switch to Thor's competitive side.
He growled playfully, switching to kneading into your ribs.
"AHHH! AHAHA! MEHERCY, MEHEHERCY, MEHER-AH!"
Thor instantly retracted his hands, looking in between you and his brother incredulously. Then, smirking at Loki, he said, "I win."
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this is my first time writing for thor so i had to let him win. loki wins every other time 🫣
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Family Forged Between Realms - Part 2
Word count: 10,700
Pairing: Thor and Loki x gn!reader (platonic)
Warnings: bullying coworkers, a bit of angst
I had a ton of fun writing this, but it ended up much longer than I anticipated! (whoops 😂)
The original storyline was based on this Prompt requesting a platonic Loki x reader fic where the reader is working with unkind coworkers, and Loki decides to get to the bottom of it. Another prompt requested to make it part 2 to Family Forged Between Realms, which just fit so perfectly! I hope you all enjoy!
Read Part 1
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"Sometime today, please."
"Shut up, Loki - I'm thinking!"
Your tongue protruded slightly from the corner of your mouth as your eyes skimmed along the wooden blocks stacked in front of you. Cautiously, you lifted your index finger to prod ever so gently against the center block on one of the middle rows, retracting it immediately when you realized the block wasn't budging. A sigh of frustration burst through your nose as you continued to search for a loose block.
"Does this Jenga game always take this long?"
"Shh - Loki! Our dear friend is trying to concentrate."
"Thank you, Thor," you hummed, shooting Loki a narrow-eyed glare. He rolled his eyes in response, leaning his elbow on the table and propping his chin up in his hand.
You supposed you couldn't blame him for being bored - it had been Thor who'd suggested the three of you play some games from your childhood. The three of you had already taken turns playing Connect Four, followed by a game of Scattergories where Loki had absolutely decimated both you and Thor. Selfishly, you'd chosen Jenga next, knowing you were skilled at it.
You poked at the block on the right side of a row closer to the bottom, finding there was a bit more give with this one. As you gradually began to slide it out of its place, your cell phone began vibrating in your pocket. The sudden buzzing startled you, causing you to push a bit too hard on the block and jostle the one next to it loose. The entire tower toppled to the table with a crash.
"All that fuss, and this is where it got you?" Loki queried teasingly. The corner of his mouth twitched upward as he heard you groan defeatedly.
"My phone is ringing," you muttered, pulling your phone out of your pocket as you scooted your chair back and stood from the table. "That was an unfair distraction - I call a rematch!"
"Perhaps you shouldn't keep your cellular device in your pocket, if it's so distracting to you."
You turned your head to stick out your tongue at the mischievous god, earning a chuckle as you spun on your heel and left the room to take your call in private. Thor had already begun restacking the Jenga blocks on the table as you vanished into the living area of your apartment.
"Hello?"
“Hey – I have a huge favor to ask of you.”
The voice of one of your university friends echoed through the speaker of your cell phone. Mandy had been one of the few friends who carried through after you graduated from school. She'd started on the same biotechnology track you'd followed, but after a year she realized it wasn't what she truly wanted to do in life. After that, she'd dropped out in favor of pursuing her true passion in clothing design. Still, you'd kept in touch all these years despite how your paths had branched in different directions.
"I'm finally opening my boutique next Saturday."
"Mandy - that's awesome! Congratulations!" you gushed, pride surging through you for your friend. "Did you get that building over on Park Avenue like you'd wanted?"
"Yes! Near the little French café!" The elation was evident in her voice. "I'm so unbelievably excited!"
"I bet you are! But... what favor do you need from me?"
She paused for a moment. You could hear the boys bickering in the other room about how to set up the blocks, which made you snicker silently to yourself.
"I hired enough staff to run the shop from 8:00am to 8:00pm, but one of them just backed out on me. Without her, I'm missing some of the evening shift coverage. I'm working on hiring a replacement, but it'll be at least a couple months before I get someone new onboarded."
"So... sorry, I don't follow. How can I help?" Your brow furrowed in confusion.
"Well - you live a few blocks away, and I know you have flexible hours with Dr. Banner... And I know I can trust you, and you're so smart, and a hard worker, and-"
"Woah, woah. Are you asking me to work in your shop?"
"I would pay you!" she insisted quickly. "I know you'd do a great job, and it would only be until I hire someone..."
"Mandy - are you sure I'd be a good fit? I-hi mean, I don't have any fashion sense, you know as well as I do."
"You don't need to! You'd just be helping with tracking inventory and supervising the shop during business hours. It's all numbers, I swear!" There was a level of desperation in her tone that was starting to break your resolve. "I would owe you big time. Please??"
You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. It had been years since you'd worked outside of the science field. And you weren't entirely sure you would fit in with the undoubtedly stylish and trendy patrons who would be frequenting her shop. But Mandy was a good friend. She'd been there for you through some rough times in the past, and you felt compelled to return the favor.
"Alright. I'll help you out for a few weeks."
"You are a LIFESAVER! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" she squealed. "Let's meet up for coffee tomorrow to go over the details, ok?"
When you returned to the kitchen after finishing your call, you found Thor and Loki already locked in a Jenga match between the pair of them. For having griped so much about you taking your time on your own turn, Loki was spending an inordinate amount of time prodding at the blocks to take his turn. He hadn't noticed you enter. It was an opportunity too good to pass up.
Silently, you crept up behind him, hushing Thor with a finger pressed to your lips as his gaze flitted up to meet yours. Just as Loki finally began to slide a block out from the center of the tower, you extended your hands and dug your fingers into his ribs on either side. He barked out a laugh, jolting and sending the blocks of the tower tumbling across the table.
"What the- you!"
You leapt backward as his head whipped around to look at you, giggling and holding your hands up defensively.
"I-hi was just evening the plahaying field- NOHO LOKI!"
He swiftly advanced on you and caught you around the waist, wasting little time in wriggling his fingers into your ribcage. You twisted in his grip, pleading for Thor to assist through desperate giggles.
"Never mess with the God of Mischief - haven't you learned this by now?" he growled playfully, releasing you after a few more seconds of torment.
"Yeah, yeah..." you shrugged him off, rolling your eyes with a grin as you straightened your shirt.
"Who was it that contacted you?" Thor asked amicably.
"Oh, have I got a story for you two!"
You sat down at the table, rehashing the conversation with your friend. They listened intently, a gleam of amusement in their eyes as you explained how you'd be spending your evenings for the upcoming weeks.
"So our hangouts are gonna have to be a little later in the evening some days, just so you know," you explained.
"Perhaps we could simply come visit you at work?" Thor suggested. You snorted.
"Ahabsolutely not. I'm not giving you the address - you two harass me at work here already, I can't have you doing the same while I'm managing a shop."
"Are you suggesting you're embarrassed by our company?" Thor chided, poking your side.
"Ack- no, that is not what I'm suggesting," you retorted, swatting at his hand. "But you two have a tendency to be annoying big brothers sometimes."
"Who, us?" Loki gasped sarcastically.
"We're nothing of the sort!" Thor added with a poorly disguised grin.
"I'm not telling you - end of story," you declared, a finality in your tone. "Now then," - you reached for two of the blocks closest to your seat, beginning to set up the tower - "Let's get on with that rematch I asked for."
* * *
You arrived the following Saturday at the boutique promptly at 3:30 to begin your shift. The smell of new leather and subtle lavender met your nostrils the moment you stepped inside. Mandy must have been toying with pleasant fragrances to entice people to stay and browse longer, you thought. A clever trick. And you certainly weren’t complaining about the flowery scent.
The shop itself was moderately sized, but Mandy had strategically made use of open space to make it feel much larger. Various rows of clothing racks stocked with vibrant patterns and classic neutrals lined the walls. A few mannequins were scattered throughout the store, fashioning some of Mandy’s favorite outfits to make them stand out. A few lavishly cushioned sofas and armchairs were set out in the center of the boutique. In the back, a small row of fitting rooms with full length mirrors standing outside were available to try on pieces, with aesthetic spotlight lighting overhead to bring out the color and shine of the clothing.
“Thank you SO much for doing this!!” Mandy exclaimed when she spotted you enter, rushing over to give you a hug. “You have NO idea how much I appreciate it!”
“The shop looks fantastic!” you praised with a smile. “Have you had a lot of customers so far?”
“It’s been steady for our opening day!” She beamed with pride. “We’re expecting a rush from 4 to 6 when the weekend workers are out and about, and it should die down before you close up.”
“You aren’t staying?”
Mandy offered you an apologetic smile. “I have to get over to the bank before they close to finish up some finance paperwork. But I have full confidence that you, Chloe and Samantha can close up without me! I trust you!” Her eyes lifted to glance at the checkout counter where a woman stood ringing out a customer. “Oh! Speaking of - I’ll introduce you to the other Saturday evening staff!”
The woman at the counter had an air of trendy elegance about her, both in the way she carried herself and the way she dressed. Her dress was on point with the current fashion magazines, and her honey blonde hair hung loose around her shoulders in effortless loose curls.
“Chloe! This is my friend!” Mandy exclaimed as she tugged you over by the wrist. The woman - Chloe, you gathered - glanced up from the register as she finished thanking the customer for shopping. You felt uncomfortably exposed as her blue eyes skimmed over your dress clothes, a poorly disguised scowl pulling at the corners of her mouth.
“A pleasure,” she stated flatly, returning her attention to her work.
“Where is Sam hiding?”
Chloe looked up without bothering to turn her head. “Around.”
Seemingly unfazed by her indifference, Mandy began to lead you toward the back of the store where a closed door labeled ‘staff only’ stood in the opposite corner from the fitting rooms. As she reached for the handle, the door opened of its own accord, another woman emerging from the other side. She was similarly dressed in the latest style, brunette hair tied back in a loose bun.
“Oh! Hi Mandy, so sorry!” the woman squeaked in surprise. Her smile fell slightly when her eyes landed on you. “Is this a new customer..?”
Mandy introduced you to the woman - Samantha, as you learned. She greeted you with a smile that looked more like a grimace. You were beginning to feel more and more out of place by the second.
With a quick glance down at her wrist, Mandy’s eyes widened as she hastily began making her way toward the exit.
“I have to get moving or the bank is going to close - I’m so sorry! Chloe and Sam will go over all the closing procedures! Just make sure the register is balanced and the alarm is set before you lock up!” she gushed as she walked backwards toward the door. “And thanks again!!”
“It’s no problem!” you responded with what you hoped was a cheerful tone. With that, your friend slipped out the door, leaving you alone with the other two employees.
You decided to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the inventory in the back room and reviewing the log books for the start of your shift. Chloe continued assisting patrons as they checked out their purchases at the register, while Sam flitted around the shop asking if customers needed help or simply complementing their selections. They were, truthfully, both very good at their jobs. You could understand now why Mandy had hired them. Perhaps once you got to know them better, they would warm up to you more.
After an hour or so in the back, you popped out into the main boutique again to find the place flooded with patrons. You made your way over to the register where Chloe stood before a line of customers.
“Hey! I’ll help out up here, it’s getting pretty busy,” you offered, stepping around behind the counter to join her. Chloe raised her impeccably manicured brows at you.
“I’ve got things under control here,” she assured sharply.
“The line is seven people long,” you argued, “I’m happy to help speed things up. It’s a lot for one person.”
With a chaste apology to the customer who had just stepped up to the register, Chloe grasped your arm above your elbow and led you a few feet away from the counter.
“I think it would be best if you stayed in the back,” she suggested in a hushed tone.
“Why?”
“Well…” Her eyes scanned up and down the length of your body. “Mandy is looking to attract a certain clientele. And you… well, you just aren’t dressed the part to bring in those clients.”
You felt a rush of heat in your cheeks, both out of anger and embarrassment. “So then, what exactly do you propose I do?”
"Balance the finance books? Count inventory? Organize the stockroom?" she shrugged apathetically. "I don't really care, to be honest. Just stay out of sight."
Without another word, she turned her back on you and returned to the register to continue ringing out customers. Biting your tongue to keep from lashing out, you swiftly stepped out from behind the counter and made your way to the back room, glad for a moment alone.
As closing time drew nearer, you began to grow restless. There was only so much inventory counting you could do, being only the first day open. Perhaps there was some tidying that you could do as the customer numbers began to dwindle toward the end of the night. Grabbing a broom and dustpan from the storage closet in the back, you made your way back out to the main boutique to sweep up the dust and dirt of the busy New York streets that had been tracked inside over the course of the day.
"What are you doing??"
You froze on the spot, startled by Sam's sudden shrieking. She glanced around hurriedly, as though trying to evaluate how many patrons saw you, before scurrying over to you and draping an arm around your shoulders.
"Don't worry about cleaning up, alright? It will be taken care of, I promise," she assured in a sickeningly sweet, yet condescending tone.
"Who else is going to do it?"
"Er... Mandy has... a cleaning crew that comes after hours." You could tell by her sudden fidgeting she was lying through her teeth. Narrowing your eyes, you set the broom against the wall beside you and folded your arms across your chest.
"What's the big problem with me doing some tidying up? I'm sure the cleaning crew will appreciate the help," you drawled. Sam leaned in closer so she could speak in a low whisper.
"I think it's just better that you stay out of sight, ok? With an outfit like that..." She shuddered as though thoroughly disturbed by your clothing. "Let's just find you something to do in the back room, alright?"
Sam began to pressure you toward the door to the stockroom with the arm still wrapped over your shoulders. Scoffing, you ducked out from under her arm, grabbing the broom from where you'd left it.
"I can walk by myself, thank you."
Feeling no desire to continue the argument, you reluctantly made your way back to the stockroom and slammed the door shut behind you. With a frustrated sigh, you leaned back against the door, allowing your head to rest against the polished wood. You didn't view yourself as a fashion icon by any means, but you didn't think your style was all that bad.
When the store finally closed at 8pm, you were finally able to exit the stockroom without any griping from your coworkers. The three of you worked in silence as you counted the register contents and locked them up in a safe in the back. Trying your best to be cordial, considering you'd be working with these ladies for at least a couple months, you amicably bade them goodnight as you all parted ways. Both responded with a curt farewell before climbing into their cars and driving off down the street.
During your short walk back to the tower, you thought more about the events of the evening. Maybe you'd do a bit of shopping yourself before your next shift just to get these women off your back. After all - you did want Mandy to succeed, and if Chloe and Sam who were good at their jobs thought you weren't dressing the part, maybe you could spare a bit of effort for your friend's sake.
You'd have been lying if you'd said you weren't looking forward to your sneakers and lab coat when you went to work in Dr. Banner's lab the next morning.
* * *
Over the next week, you worked three additional shifts. Mandy had seven people working for her, and by the following Sunday, you'd worked with all of them at least once. And not one of them seemed to like you.
Every day was more of the same. Even after you'd gone out shopping for some new clothes, it seemed you just weren't stylish enough to placate the other trendy staff members of the boutique. By the third shift, you began simply trying to avoid them all rather than attempting to make conversation. It was beginning to wear on you.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm?" You glanced up from the television screen at the sound of Thor's voice beside you. He and Loki had dropped by your apartment on your evening off to check in and see how things were going. It was unlike you to go longer than a few days without visiting the Avengers suite, you knew. But after working during the day for Dr. Banner and then spending your evenings hiding from your coworkers, the idea of actually socializing was sort of exhausting.
"You seem distracted this evening," Thor elaborated. "Normally you've made at least three or four snide comments about this film by this point, but you haven't said a word since we've started watching."
"I'm just tired," you reasoned flippantly. "Long hours working two jobs, you know?"
Thor leaned forward to gaze at Loki across the sofa. "Brother? Is our dear friend lying?"
Loki squinted at you as he analyzed your facial expression. You weren't certain how the God of Lies executed his magical lie detector tests. Taking slow, deep breaths through your nose, you attempted to slow your heart rate and maintain a straight, casual expression as his eyes bored into you.
"I'm not certain it was the whole truth," he declared finally, folding his arms sternly across his chest. "Come, now. Don't withhold information from us."
"Yes, tell us everything!" Thor concurred eagerly. "We want to support you!"
"I'm telling you, I'm just tired!" you insisted, leaning back against the backrest and stretching your legs out to rest on the coffee table. "I'm not sure what else you're looking for here."
Thor's gaze flitted up to meet Loki's once again. They had some sort of brief, silent exchange that you couldn't quite read. Then, suddenly, Loki's hands clasped around your wrists.
"Wha- LOKI! What gives??" You yelped in surprise as he yanked your wrists closer to himself, holding your arms outstretched from your body. It all fell into place the second Thor's fingers suddenly slotted up under your arms.
"Tell us the truth!" Thor urged, a hint of suppressed laughter in his tone as he scratched at your uppermost ribs. You immediately exploded with belly laughter, yanking desperately against Loki's hold on your wrists to try to block the space under your arms.
"I-HI TOHOLD YOU AHALREADY!!"
"Mm, brother, you're not quite in the right spot," Loki mentioned casually, as if having a normal conversation.
"Ah, yes. Silly me."
Laughter turned to shrieks and noncoherent pleas when Thor shifted his focus to the softer, more pliant skin in the hollows under your arms. Loki's grip was far too strong for you to overcome, especially in this weakened state. Already, you'd become breathless, laughter falling silent. Thor seemed to pick up on it, kneading his way down your ribcage to your sides to allow you a slight reprieve.
"Will you tell us the truth now?" Thor pressured.
"Ihi swehehear I'm nohot hiding thihings!" you insisted desperately. Sensing your exhaustion, Thor relented and Loki released your wrists. You took a few deep breaths, greedily sucking in oxygen. "I'm just... a little stressed... is all."
"We shall take your word for it." Thor didn't sound overly convinced. "But please, know that you can tell us anything. We're family - right, brother?"
"Hmm? Oh - yes. Family." Loki had since gone back to reading, clearly no longer paying attention to anything Thor said. You could tell by the worried creases in his forehead when he looked at you that he was more concerned than he was letting on outwardly.
It really wasn't a big deal, you thought to yourself as you settled deeper into the sofa cushions to go back to watching your movie. It certainly wasn't enjoyable, of course, working with such outspoken coworkers. But as long as you stayed hidden away in the stockroom, the shifts went by fairly smoothly. You liked to think they had Mandy's best interests in mind, although you wished they could be a bit more tactful about it.
* * *
After about a month working in the boutique, you weren't so sure how much more you could take.
Rather than your relationships with your coworkers improving over time, as you'd hoped, things seemed to only get worse between you. Not a day went by that someone didn't make some snide comment about the way you dressed, or the way you'd styled your hair. If you even so much as attempted to help with anything outside of the stockroom during business hours, you received a sharp scolding. It had truly crossed over the threshold from rudeness to straight up bullying.
How ridiculous, you thought. Being bullied in grade school was unfortunately a common occurrence, but you were a full-grown adult at this point. It was childish and silly to get so worked up over bullies at your age. And yet, you couldn't help but wince at the sharp sting of their words every time they said something cruel to you. Each dig sliced deeper and deeper into your skin, reopening the same wound that was simply never given the time to heal.
It felt juvenile to tell anyone about your plight with your coworkers. Informing Mandy about the situation seemed almost akin to "tattling" to the teacher. While you weren't above it in grade school, it felt embarrassing to even consider doing so in your adulthood. There was always the option to quit, you knew, but you knew it would make things harder on your friend. Your altruism and stubborn resolve prevented you from abandoning her in her time of need.
Thor and Loki had already begun to notice your change in demeanor after the first week, but you only seemed to regress further as time wore on. Days at a time went by without them hearing from you. When you did allow them to stop by for a visit, you were distant and devoid of your usual lively spark. They didn't want to pry - you'd made it fairly clear you weren't interested in discussing whatever it was that had been bothering you. But your surrogate brothers were genuinely beginning to worry about you - even Loki, despite the aloof front he put on whenever Thor tried to discuss the matter with him.
After an entire week went by without a word from you, Thor decided he'd had enough.
"Brother!" he shouted as he pounded with his closed fist on Loki's closed bedroom door early one morning. "I know you're in there! Open the door and speak with me - this is important!"
The younger Asgardian finally appeared in the doorway, scowling at the elder for disturbing him.
"What could possibly be so important that you felt the need to come here clobbering my door at this time of morning?"
Thor brushed past him to enter his room as he often did, despite how much he knew it irked Loki. "Have you not taken any notice to the fact that our honorary sibling has not called on us in over a week's time??"
"That is what compelled you to barrage my door?!" Loki pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration as he turned toward his older brother.
"Is our dear friend's welfare not cause enough for your concern?" Thor snapped back.
"Of course I'm concerned! I've been worried sick for weeks!"
The moment the words burst from his mouth, Loki appeared a bit sheepish. Of course Thor knew he cared about you - he simply wasn't one to broadcast his emotions in such outbursts.
Clearing his throat awkwardly, Loki spoke again in a much more controlled tone. "W-what is it that's made you decide today that this is an emergency?"
"They are due to come in to work in Banner's lab this morning," Thor explained. "You and I both know they would never miss work - if they will not come to us, we must go to them!"
"And you think that bombarding them while they work is going to make them more willing to tell us what's wrong?" Loki scoffed skeptically.
"We at least must try! Come with me, brother! They may never admit it to us, but they need our support more than ever."
Reluctantly, Loki trudged along behind his brother as Thor set off for Banner's lab. The God of Thunder was determined to get to the bottom of your troubles. Once Thor had set his mind on something, stopping him was akin to trying to halt a charging rhino.
As the brothers approached the door to the lab, the muffled sound of voices echoed from inside. Thor reached for the door handle anyhow, but Loki snatched hold of his elbow and tugged him away from the glass door and out of sight.
"Let go of me, bro- mmpf!" Thor's bellowing was cut short as Loki's palm slammed over his mouth.
"Shh! Banner is speaking with them - listen!" he hissed. Thor's chest deflated and his shoulders loosened as he calmed down, prompting Loki to remove his hand from over his mouth as Thor, too, began to listen.
"It's just... lately you seem to be sort of distracted when you come to work," Banner stated carefully. "I know you're working another job, but I need you to be on your game when you're working in the lab."
"I'm sorry. I've just... been working long hours lately," you responded shamefully.
"Yeah, I know. But your work here is what's most important, isn't it? Last week you wrote down the wrong number on the results of the nuclear arc reactor test. I nearly blew the place up trying to replicate the results - it was off by a full decimal place."
"I promise, Dr. Banner - I care more about my work here than anything."
"I believe you." Banner sounded frustrated still, but his tone softened. "Just try to let your work reflect that, ok?"
"Yes, Dr. Banner."
The guilt and shame laden in your voice made Thor's heart ache in his chest. He turned to Loki, who wore a similarly pained expression.
"It seems things are far worse than we realized, if our friend's work is suffering as well," Thor lamented.
"Yes, it would seem that way," Loki agreed somberly. "I don't suggest we enter the lab at the moment. They will only be humiliated if they realize we've overheard their conversation with Banner."
"Quite right, Loki. Let us leave them alone for the time being."
Both brothers were lost in deep thought as they returned to their dormitories. It was clear that you weren't going to speak to them about whatever was bothering you. Neither brother could stand to watch you suffer in silence any longer. But what could be done to help?
"Loki - I have another idea," Thor declared suddenly, grasping his brother's arm to stop him in the middle of the empty hallway. "It's obvious that whatever is bothering our sibling has something to do with the shop they have been working at - they were their usual upbeat self until they took the job for their friend."
"How astute of you, brother," Loki chided, rolling his eyes. Thor ignored Loki's outburst, continuing on with his explanation.
"If they refuse to tell us what's wrong, why don't we go and find out for ourselves?"
"And how do you propose we do that? We don't even know where this shop is located - as you may recall, they had no interest in providing us the opportunity to visit them while they were working."
"Loki... I'm surprised at you!" Thor chuckled, patting his shoulder heartily. "This sort of thing is right up your alley, is it not?"
"I don't follow."
"When they leave the tower this evening to go to the shop for work, we must follow them without being seen! Then we shall learn where their place of employment is located, and they will be none the wiser."
Loki snickered condescendingly. "You believe you can sneak around and pursue our dear friend without being detected?"
"Why not?"
"Thor - you are quite possibly the most conspicuous being I've ever known," Loki elaborated, shaking his head in amusement. "There is no possible way you could prowl around without being seen."
"I'll have you know that I am a master of disguise!" Thor argued. "I was able to travel the streets of Sakaar as a wanted man without anyone recognizing who I was!" Loki gazed at him skeptically, one brow raised. "... except Valkyrie of course. But she was the only one!"
"If you insist on following our friend this evening, I won't stop you," Loki sighed, conceding to his determined brother's resolve. "But know that if they catch us, you will be taking the fall for this dreadful plan."
"We won't be caught. Have some faith, dear brother."
The Asgardian duo made plans to meet up and hide just outside the tower entrance around the time you typically left for work. There were plenty of signs and topiaries surrounding the entrance for Thor and Loki to conceal themselves. Although, Loki was still not convinced his elder brother was capable of remaining unseen.
You were punctual as always. The brothers were ready and waiting when you appeared through the front entrance. Careful to keep their distance, Thor and Loki followed as you power walked along the crowded New York streets. Much to Loki's surprise, they were able to pursue you undetected. Thor insisted it was his aptitude for stealth - Loki simply chalked it up to you being obviously distracted, as you had been for weeks.
"Look - see, there it is!" Thor hissed excitedly as he pointed toward the building where you were ascending the small staircase to the front door.
"Yes - thank you, brother. I'd never have deduced that, had you not been here," Loki muttered sarcastically. "Now what?"
"Now we find a way inside without them noticing our presence, of course!"
Loki bit back a loud laugh. "You - the God of Thunder - are going to wander into a boutique completely undetected?"
"Yes... I suppose I am rather recognizable," Thor mumbled under his breath, pondering.
"I have a better idea."
Thor gazed curiously at his brother as a green shimmer of light blurred Loki from view for just a moment. When it vanished, in Loki's place stood a handsome, wealthy-appearing business man. HIs sharp facial features had transformed, now showing the face of a man with a neatly-trimmed beard and slicked back brunette hair, wearing a high-end pair of sunglasses to hide his eyes. Complete with an impeccably tailored navy suit overlaying a collared shirt, Loki now appeared to be the exact sort of clientele that would frequent a boutique such as this.
"Excellent, Loki!" Thor praised, patting him on the shoulder. "No one could possibly recognize you underneath this dashing and stylish façade!"
"I beg your pardon," - Loki smoothed the shoulder of his suit where Thor's massive hand had rumpled the fabric - "I like to think I am equally dashing in my usual form."
"Yes, well... we've strayed from the subject at hand. Go on and enter the shop - see what you can learn about our dear friend's sudden change in demeanor!"
Scoffing, Loki turned away from his brother and strode confidently down the sidewalk toward the entrance to your workplace.
You were nowhere to be seen when he stepped through the doorway into the boutique. A few other patrons were buzzing around the shop, sifting through the pricey fabrics and selecting pieces to try on. The only employee he noticed immediately was the young woman standing behind the front register. Her eyes flitted up to meet his as the door shut behind him, a sweet smile crossing her face as she shot him a seductive wink. Merely nodding once in acknowledgement, Loki began perusing the men's wear section as a ruse while he kept an eye out for you.
A solid fifteen minutes went by without any sign of your presence. Loki was approached once by another employee - a male this time, wearing a collared shirt unbuttoned at the top two buttons - but Loki declined the offer for assistance. He made the mistake of glancing once at the window, nearly groaning audibly when he saw Thor's face peeking through the end furthest from the front entrance. Deciding he'd been browsing for too long to justify not trying something on (and requiring an excuse to avoid eye contact with his gawking brother), he selected a suit off one of the racks and made his way toward the fitting rooms.
Then, suddenly, he caught sight of you exiting a door toward the back of the boutique. You almost appeared evasive, as though worried someone might catch you doing something you ought not to. Swiftly, Loki stopped at the nearest clothing rack to feign interest so he could remain within earshot.
"What is it this time??" the male employee suddenly snarled, advancing in your direction. You immediately bristled at the sound of his voice, shoulders pinned back to stand taller and prouder.
"Relax, Jay - I'm just getting an inventory count on the clearance rack," you sneered, making your way toward a rack in the back corner of the store marked with sale signs.
"In that getup? I don't think so," the man - Jay, Loki presumed - shot back. "You look like you fell into the dirty laundry pile at a thrift shop - it's hideous."
Loki's fist clenched tighter around the set of trousers he'd been pretending to consider buying. How dare this man speak to you in such a way?! Was this the person that was bothering you? He'd have the man's tongue cut out if that's what it took to make you happy again.
"I'll only be a few minutes - I don't think anyone will be blinded by my fashion choices in that short amount of time," you retorted bitterly, turning your back to the man. Suddenly, the woman at the register called out to you as well.
"Jason - what is she doing out again?" she drawled in annoyance. "Can't you supervise the nerd for ten minutes?"
That did it.
Loki turned sharply and began advancing toward the man antagonizing you, eyes blazing with fury behind his sunglasses. He'd nearly made it within arms reach of the man when a frantic waving at the window caught his eye.
Thor stood outside, still peering through the window, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to catch Loki's attention. The moment he realized Loki had caught sight of him, Thor began motioning for him to exit the shop and rejoin him outside. Loki glanced back at you and your antagonistic coworker, seeing your retreating form as you returned to the back room and slammed the door shut behind you. Reluctantly - though he had a right mind to ignore his brother and lay this man out on the floor - Loki altered his course and strode out of the shop without a word.
"Brother!" Thor hissed once Loki was within earshot. "What happened in there?! You looked murderous for a moment!"
"Those other employees are foul, disgusting swine," he raged, dropping his illusion once he was away from view through the window. "I'm not leaving here until I've taught them a lesson about trifling with an Asgardian-"
"Loki! You cannot go back in there!" Thor interjected sternly. "What would our friend say if they were to see you storming into the shop wreaking havoc??"
Loki growled in frustration. Deep down, although he didn't dare to admit it aloud, he knew his brother was right. You hadn't desired their presence here in the first place - you'd be furious if he suddenly stormed back inside in his own Æsir form and began blasting these miscreants to Hel.
"Then what do you propose, dear brother?" he spat stubbornly.
"Let us return here at another time, while our sibling is working in the lab. We shall have a private word with their coworkers."
"Oh, I'll have more than a word-"
"Loki..."
The younger Asgardian rolled his eyes. "Fine. Let's return to the tower, then, before we're spotted."
* * *
Days later, while you were toiling away in Banner's lab, the brothers did indeed return to the boutique. This time, the pair of them entered together, with no illusions to prevent people from recognizing them. That was the intent, after all.
"Pardon," Thor announced himself politely as he and Loki approached the front register. A different woman stood behind the counter this afternoon, though she clearly shared the same arrogant confidence of her other colleagues. Her jaw slackened when her gaze landed on Thor's bulky form, a tinge of pink blossoming in her cheeks.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. God of Thunder?" she purred flirtatiously, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her words caught the attention of the other two employees in the shop, who suddenly meandered over to the front counter to listen. One of them was Jason, the man from the evening that Loki had entered the boutique in disguise. The other was an unfamiliar woman, walking around in fashionable but terribly impractical six-inch heels.
"We're looking for one of your employees," Loki cut in, nauseated by the woman batting her eyelashes at his brother. He provided them your name, at which all three of the employees immediately grimaced.
"They aren't on until this evening," the woman at the register responded curtly. "Might I be able to assist you with something?"
"No - you see, we aren't here to purchase anything," Thor explained as he casually inspected his hammer. "We were simply looking for our sibling - we thought they might be here."
"Sibling?" Jason asked incredulously, poorly suppressing a laugh.
"You are surprised by this?" Thor glanced up from his hammer, allowing his arm to drop to his side.
"Well... yeah, actually. Aren't you two from another planet?"
"Realm, actually," Loki corrected with a glare.
"Not all family ties are bound by blood," Thor added. "Am I to assume, then, that you don't know where they are at the moment?"
"We... don't really interact outside of work," the other woman reasoned, wincing at the thought.
"Well then - we'd best be on our way. Right, Loki?"
"Yes - it seems we've wasted our time," he concurred. As he began to turn toward the door, he paused and looked back at the three dumbfounded employees. With a flick of his wrist, he conjured a slip of paper and a pen, jotting down the phone number to the tower secretary and handing it to the woman at the register. "Do contact us if you should see our sibling. Thor and I would be rather angry should something happen to them."
"Yes, quite right, Loki," Thor agreed, twirling his hammer in his hand. "They are under our protection, after all." He flashed them an ominous glare, suppressing a smirk as the three employees recoiled in fear. "Good afternoon to you all!"
With that, the brothers sauntered out of the shop, reveling in the stunned silence they left in their wake.
"I believe that went quite well," Thor boasted as they began the short walk back to the tower.
"I still would have preferred you'd have allowed me to make an example of one of them," Loki grumbled, balling his fists. "I'm certain they'd never bother our dear friend again if I'd have fastened that 'Jason' character to the wall by his poorly-fitted shirt with my daggers-"
"Yes, yes - I'm certain you'd have instilled the fear of Odin in them all," Thor sighed exasperatedly. "I feel that this non-violent approach was a much better option."
"You lack vision, dear brother..." Loki tutted with a shake of his head.
That evening, Loki was more than a bit surprised when there was yet another pounding on his bedroom door. With a groan of frustration, he stood from his desk chair and stalked over to the door.
“Thor - for the last time, stop clobbering my… oh.”
He swung the door open to reveal not his older brother, but you, standing there with a wild look in your eyes. Before he could say another word, you’d shoved your finger into his chest accusingly.
“What did you do?!” you demanded.
“What did I do?!”
“Don’t play dumb with me, Loki!” You advanced into his room, forcing him backward with a startling amount of strength for a Midgardian. Not that he was trying to fight you, of course. “Everyone at work was suddenly cowering in fear of me, and I know there’s only one reason that would happen! So tell me - what did you do?!”
“Darling, you’re asking the wrong person, honestly - it wasn’t-”
“What’s all this commotion about?”
You whirled around at the sound of Thor’s voice in the doorway, stabbing your finger into his pectoral muscle instead.
“You were in on this! Don’t you deny it! Tell me the truth, both of you!” Your chest heaved with the exertion of your frustration and bellowing. Thor’s blue eyes flitted up to meet Loki’s, an anxious look passing between the two of them. With a defeated sigh, Thor decided to tell you the truth.
“We… may have followed you to your workplace the other day,” he explained sheepishly.
“You what?!”
“We simply couldn’t take it any longer! Obviously something was very wrong!” Thor reasoned desperately. “It all began when you started working at your friend’s shop, so we decided to get to the bottom of it.”
“The mortals you work with in that establishment are witless, bottom-dwelling slugs,” Loki added furiously.
“Why did you not tell us about them in the first place??” Thor demanded.
“Because I knew this would be the result!” You threw your hands up exasperatedly, spinning on your heel and pacing further into the room. “Do you have any idea how humiliating it is to have your brothers go behind your back and threaten your coworkers??”
“We didn’t threaten them, per se…”
“Not directly, at least…”
“That’s not the point!” You spun back around to face them. “I don’t know what things are like on Asgard, but here on Earth, when someone goes and tells bullies off behind your back, it makes you look weak!”
“Have they said this to you?!” Thor raged. “I shall return there immediately and-”
“No! Ugh,” - you pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration, - “they won’t say anything, but that’s exactly what they’re thinking!”
“Perhaps we should pay them another visit,” Loki muttered angrily, glancing at Thor.
“No! No more ‘visits’! Just… oh, forget it!”
You suddenly stormed out of the room, brushing briskly past Thor in the process. The door slammed shut behind you without another word, shrouding the brothers in silence.
“Perhaps… perhaps we should have spoken to them first,” Thor pondered sheepishly.
“Yes, I suppose that would have been wise.” Even Loki seemed a bit put out by your scolding.
You headed straight back to your own apartment, slamming and locking the door behind you. A frustrated yell burst from your chest. Why didn’t they understand?? At least before, your coworkers made fun of you to your face - now, they were sure to be talking about you behind your back instead, and that was so much worse.
Maybe you’d been a bit hard on them. After all, they weren’t exactly experts on the social constructs of Midgardian culture. But gods, if it wasn’t so frustrating! And you still had no idea when you’d be relieved of your duties at the shop - it could be months before you could leave this all behind.
As if on cue, your phone suddenly began ringing in your pocket. You fought the instinct to answer with a sharp tone, especially when you noticed it was Mandy calling.
"I've got fantastic news! I've got a new employee starting in two weeks!"
A wave of relief rushed through you at her revelation. "That's... amazing, Mandy! Congratulations!"
"Thanks!! And thank you for saving my boutique! I seriously owe you BIG time."
"Oh, it's no problem at all, really!" you fibbed with a falsely upbeat tone. "So... two more weeks?"
"If you can swing two more weeks, I would SO appreciate it!"
You cringed at the thought of two more weeks at this temporary job. Six more shifts of misery. But at least there was a light at the end of the tunnel now. And, you supposed, your coworkers weren't going to bother you so much anymore now that Thor and Loki had threatened to smite them, or whatever they'd said to make them cower in fear. Not that you weren't still mad at them about it.
Exhausted from the tumultuous emotions you'd experienced throughout the day, you decided to head to bed early that evening. Maybe tomorrow you'd feel more up to talking to your honorary brothers again.
* * *
You didn't hear from Thor and Loki for a few days.
The bitter part of you was satisfied that you'd managed to convey your anger enough to chase them away. But a larger part of you was really missing your brothers. Deep down, you knew they meant well when they went to the shop and stood up for you. And after more than a month of feeling too emotionally exhausted to spend quality time with them, it was hard not to have them checking up on you.
Things at the boutique had marginally improved since Thor and Loki paid them a visit. You wouldn't say your coworkers were nice to you now, but at least you could wander the store as you pleased to complete your inventory tasks and get a bit of cleaning done toward the end of the evening. Still, you were counting down the days until you could say goodbye to this place.
The shop was quiet this evening. You'd completed the review of the inventory halfway through your shift, even finding some time to balance the finance records. Now, you were simply finding little tasks to complete around the main area of the shop just because you knew it irked your coworkers, and they couldn't say a word.
Samantha and Jay were whispering to one another behind the register, you noticed suddenly. Initially, you were worried they might be talking about you, but then you saw Jay nod in the direction of a clothing rack by the door. You knew immediately who they were muttering about the moment your gaze landed on him.
A man had entered the boutique, browsing through the clothing selection rather animatedly. More intriguing, though, was the absolutely absurd outfit the man was sporting. He had on a vividly-colored suit that was about three sizes too large for him, the jacket and pants adorned with completely conflicting, flamboyant patterns. His shoes were old, battered sneakers that appeared to have been in his possession for years. In contrast to his hideous outfit, his hair was styled neatly in short, brown curls. He boasted a thick but neatly trimmed beard.
"He must be lost - go ask him if he needs directions somewhere," Samantha hissed at Jay.
"Me?! You know I can't be that subtle, Sam," Jay argued in a hushed whisper. "You go talk to him!"
"I beg your pardon!"
The man suddenly called politely across the boutique to the three of you, smiling kindly. You offered him a friendly smile in return, knowing all too well the dirty looks he'd inevitably be receiving from Sam and Jay simultaneously. If he noticed, it didn't seem to bother him.
"Would one of you care to assist me in selecting attire for a wedding I shall be attending? I'm afraid I'm not well versed in this sort of thing."
"No kidding..." Sam whispered under her breath.
"Mandy wouldn't want you to kick him out," you hissed accusingly. "You both know as well as I do. He's a paying customer."
"Why don't you help him, then?" Jay retorted.
"Me? Didn't you two spend the last month telling me how useless my fashion sense is?"
A sudden crash made the three of you jolt in surprise. You glanced up to find one of the mannequins had toppled over, undoubtedly knocked down by the vibrantly-clothed man. He began spouting profuse apologies, hurriedly moving to scoop up the mannequin but knocking the head off in the process. Samantha and Jay looked absolutely appalled, but you had to fight not to start laughing aloud.
“I-I do apologize,” the man insisted, stumbling over to the mannequin head and swiftly replacing it atop the plastic body. “I’m a bit clumsy, I suppose.”
“A bit, yes,” Jay concurred bitterly. The man took no notice of his tone, approaching the counter with an amicable smile on his face.
“As I was saying before I so rudely made a mess of your shop…” he chuckled, “I would truly appreciate any insight you could provide me on wedding attire.”
He glanced at you for a moment, catching your eye with his fierce aquamarine ones. There was a familiar sparkle of mischief behind them that made you tilt your head with curiosity. In response, he shot you a quick wink, confirming your suspicions.
"You, there!" the 'man' - Loki, you now knew - declared suddenly, turning his gaze to Jay. "You'll assist me, won't you?"
"I-I... er..."
"Of course he will!" Sam exclaimed suddenly, nudging Jay forward a bit. She was likely just pleased that she wouldn't have to be the one assisting this style mishap. Jay shot her a glare, reluctantly stepping forward and following Loki across the store to one of the suit racks. He accidentally-on-purpose stumbled into another mannequin on the way, nearly sending it falling over onto Jay as he walked past but catching it at the last possible second.
You had to excuse yourself to the restroom to avoid bursting into laughter on the spot.
Loki spent the better part of an hour asking ridiculous questions, bumping into things, and essentially making every effort to make your coworkers' lives difficult. Closing time came and went, and yet Loki still wouldn't leave, always coming up with 'just one last question' to prolong his visit.
"Sir - how about I assist you with any last questions you might have while I close up shop?" you interjected finally, trying not to giggle at the desperation written across Sam and Jay's faces.
"Yes - that would be wonderful!" he concurred, though you noticed the spark of disappointment in his eye that you had cut his fun short.
Sam and Jay didn't need to be told twice - they both swiftly scurried out of the shop with a chaste goodbye, leaving you alone with the customer who'd made their lives a living nightmare for the last hour. You busied yourself with counting the register contents, waiting until both of their cars disappeared from view outside to address Loki.
"You can drop the illusion now," you urged with a sly grin, glancing up from the register drawer. With a green shimmer of light, the poorly dressed customer morphed into your friend and brother Loki.
"Why did you have to go and ruin my fun?" he whined teasingly. "I could have kept them here an extra hour quite easily."
"Yes, but I also want to go home sometime tonight." You chuckled, stepping out from behind the counter to carry the register to the safe in the back room. "Are you... headed back to the tower?"
"I'll be here waiting to walk back with you," he nodded in confirmation, gesticulating toward the door. With a smile, you vanished into the back to finish locking up before heading out with Loki.
A charged silence fell between the two of you as you began the short walk home to the tower. You weren't angry anymore. How could you be, after he'd spent so much of his evening just trying to make you laugh? But you weren't certain how to open conversation with Loki without first mentioning the huge argument you'd had a few days ago.
"Thor and I are... sorry for what we did," Loki spoke up suddenly. You turned your head to look up at the sheepish-looking god. "Our intentions were pure, I assure you."
"I know, Loki. I'm sorry I got so upset," you responded gently. "I've been so stressed and upset the last few weeks, I guess it all just came out on you two that night. I do appreciate you looking out for me, I swear."
"Yes, well - you'll have to continue to educate us on the politics of Midgardian relationships." He grinned. "Clearly Thor requires quite a few lessons in such matters."
"Oh, Thor does? Not you, Mr. God of Mischief?"
"I should think I'm ages ahead of Thor in my understanding of Midgardian culture!"
"Pshh, yeah - about as far ahead as your fashion choices were tonight," you teased.
"I thought I looked rather dashing in that ensemble."
"Only because you probably blinded yourself when you looked in the mirror."
Loki shook his head with a laugh, offering you his arm as you reached the crosswalk. You slipped your hand around his elbow, heart swelling now that you had your brother back in your life.
The pair of you laughed about the events of the evening for the remainder of the walk home. All frustrations from the last few weeks were forgotten as you reminisced about the look on Jay's face when Loki had asked him if he had any suits in the color orange. It was the most relaxed you'd felt in over a month.
"Is Thor going to stop by tonight?" you asked as the two of you approached the door to your apartment.
"I suspect he will, yes."
You turned your key inside the lock, finding it to be already open. Warily, you glanced back at Loki, who merely shrugged with a mischievous spark in his eye. Unsure what you were going to find on the other side of your door, you gradually swung it open and stepped into your living room.
"Surprise!"
There in the doorway from your living room to the kitchen stood Thor with an exuberant smile painted across his face. In his hand, he held a baking tray filled with freshly baked cupcakes. You covered your mouth with your hand to hide the amused grin as you observed his lopsided frosting work.
"Loki and I wanted to apologize for the other day," Thor explained. "So - I researched a baking recipe! I think they turned out alright."
"Yehes, Thor - they look delicious," you confirmed, unable to prevent a small giggle from slipping out. You crossed the room and politely took one of the misshapen cupcakes from the baking sheet, wrapping an arm around Thor in a one-armed hug. "Thank you both for tonight! I really missed you."
"We, too, have missed you," Thor responded, his voice thick with emotion. "I hope we haven't made things worse for you at the shop."
"No - everyone still seems to be afraid of me, which is fine by me! And the good news is - I'm leaving my job at the shop next week! Mandy found a replacement finally."
"That's wonderful news!" Thor declared, placing the baking tray on a side table in your living room so he could scoop you into a bear hug.
"Mmpf - yes, it is - don't squish me!" you pleaded, gasping dramatically as he released you. "So... what kind of cupcakes are these, exactly?"
"They are what you Midgardians refer to as 'confetti' cupcakes!"
You gazed warily at the rather dark brown-appearing cupcake in your hand. "Oh! Uh... I see you made them extra toasty?"
"Brother - I told you not to leave them in the oven to 'keep them warm,'" Loki hissed. You snorted, covering your mouth with your hand once again.
"D-did you also leave the oven on when you did that?"
"Well of course - how are they to stay warm if the oven is not heated?"
"That explains the frosting," you giggled, watching as the blob of blue frosting began to slide off the top of the cupcake as it melted.
"At least try them before you poke fun at my baking skills!" Thor retorted, fighting back a grin. Hesitantly, you took a small bite. The outer layer was actually crunchy in texture, it was so toasted.
"Mm... you know," - you swallowed the bite so you could speak - "Once you get past the burnt taste, it's actually not so bad!"
"Yes, yes, alright... I overbaked them. It was my first attempt! Spare me some criticism!"
"You literally needed to simply follow the recipe," Loki interjected. Thor scowled at his brother, although you could tell by his eyes that he wasn't truly angry. He was simply happy to see you acting like yourself again at last.
"I don't think you can make fun of them until you try them," you chastised, grabbing another cupcake off the tray and advancing upon Loki. He grasped your wrist as you attempted to shove the cupcake into his mouth, laughing incredulously at your tenacity.
"No! No - I think not," he argued, holding your wrist tightly to prevent you from advancing the cupcake any closer to his face.
"Hey - if I had to try Thor's burnt cupcakes, so do y-eep!"
You squeaked in surprise as Thor's strong arms suddenly wrapped around you from behind, causing you to drop the cupcake on the floor.
"I've heard quite enough about my terrible baking skills from you this evening," he growled playfully, tightening his grip as you began twisting to free yourself. "I think I'll give you something else to laugh about."
"No- THOR, NOHO!" You shrieked as his fingers found purchase on your lowest ribs, vibrating into the crevices.
"Perhaps you shouldn't have messed with your older brother then, hmm? You know it only ends poorly for you," he teased.
"Peheherhaps you shohould learn hohow to BAKE behetter!"
"Oh-ho, now you're simply asking for it!" Thor dropped his hands to knead at your sides, wriggling his thumbs into the sides of your belly. With a screech, you let your knees buckle underneath you in an effort to make it more difficult for him to hold you upright.
"L-AHAH-LOHOKI, HEHELP!" you pleaded, sinking to the floor as Thor lowered you down carefully.
"Help? After you nearly smashed a cupcake into my face?" he asked incredulously, smirking at your predicament. "You're fortunate that I haven't decided to assist my brother in tormenting you."
"Why not, brother? Clearly they deserve it!" Thor countered, shifting his grip to prevent you from slipping out of it.
"N-noho! Dohon't you dahare!"
"You're quite right, Thor," Loki concurred, ignoring your pleas. Kneeling in front of you, Loki snatched up one of your ankles and scribbled at the sole of your foot.
"LOHOKI! You're thehe WORST!!" you cried, kicking out at him with your free foot. He casually grabbed hold of your other ankle, pressing both down on the floor and pinning them there with his shin before continuing to flutter his fingertips along the bottoms of both feet. Thor had taken to clawing at the center of your belly with one of his large hands, his laugh rumbling in his chest as you began to squirm harder in his grasp.
"Have you learnt not to trifle with us yet?" Loki demanded, reaching up to tickle the delicate skin behind your knee. You nodded frantically, unable to speak coherently through the desperate laughter streaming from your lips. The brothers slowly eased up in their torment before ceasing altogether, chuckling fondly at your disheveled state.
"Do you feel better yet, my friend?" Thor asked teasingly.
"B-behetter??"
"Hmm, perhaps we've not made you laugh long enough..."
"N-NOHO, I feel behetter, yes!" you insisted as his fingertips worked into your ribcage for a moment. And, truthfully, you did feel better. You'd missed this juvenile playfulness with your honorary brothers. It had been far too long since the three of you had the opportunity to relax and simply enjoy each other's company.
Thor helped you to your feet, and you smoothed out your rumpled shirt. He scooped up the tray with the remaining cupcakes, holding them out toward you and Loki.
"Care for another before I put these away?" he asked facetiously.
"I... I'm full now, actually - big dinner tonight - but thanks!" you insisted, grinning.
"Absolutely not," Loki stated flatly. Chuckling, Thor carried the tray into the kitchen to discard the burnt baked goods. He returned moments later, stretching sleepily.
"We should be on our way, Loki," he urged, motioning toward the door. "Our friend likely needs to get some rest before working tomorrow morning."
"Actually-" you interjected as the two of them began to move toward the exit to your apartment, "I'm... working a little later for Dr. Banner tomorrow, if you want to stick around for a little while. We never did get to play the rest of my old board games."
"I'm happy to stay for a while, if you're certain," Thor agreed with a warm smile. "Loki? What do you say?"
"I... suppose I can humor you both for a bit longer," he mumbled. Even he couldn't fully suppress the grin that threatened to overtake his features.
"Great! I'll make popcorn, then?"
"Oh-ho, now you're hungry??" Thor chided.
"Hungry for edible food, yeah!" you retorted, scurrying to the kitchen before Thor could make a swipe for you.
"Don't think you can throw out such thinly veiled insults and get away with it!" he called after you, loud footsteps pursuing you to the kitchen.
Yes, there were a lot of laughs, jests, and teases that evening. You'd had your brothers for such a short time relative to your lifespan. But now, more than ever, you realized you couldn't live without this dysfunctional family of yours.
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marvelflame2010 · 1 year
Text
Marvel headcanons that I have
Pietro likes to watch professional wrestling, like AEW and WWE. Tony actually got him tickets to Wrestlemania once and Pietro had a BLAST
Bucky can cook because he had to take care of pre-serum Steve
Wanda likes to knit
Loki paints his nails. Thor will sometimes get Loki to paint his, and he loves it
Peter once bought the Avengers Tower Lego set and told Steve that he was too old to build it. Tony was a proud dad
Basically Wanda, Sam, Yelena, Bucky, and Clint can cook
Tony can only make Italian food and that's it
One time Vision got in the kitchen, and he almost burned it down
Pietro says "meep meep" when he runs
Natasha can fight in heels
Yelena is jealous of that ⏫
Kate is VERY ticklish and Yelena loves to tickle her
Tony and Peter built a robotic arm for Tony. Because Tony's arm had to be cut off.
Bucky and Tony get along ok and swap stories about Peter and Steve being stupid
Natasha and Yelena love watching Disney movies. But not the ones before 1960. They freak the sisters out
One time, someone put on Once upon a Time and Bucky freaked out when he watched the Mad Hatter episodes. Steve and him did LOADS of research about S. Stan
Yelena likes to write short stories and only shows them to Natasha
Alexei and Melina visited Natasha and Yelena, of course, Alexei challenged Steve to a match. Alexei actually won because he sweated so much, Steve slipped
Sam and Bucky have a "get along tee shirt". They hate it
Shuri made light sabers when she was 11 and brought them to the compound one time when visiting with T'Challa. She and Peter had a battle and T'Challa was like, "Sister, I told you not to bring them."
Bucky is a science nerd and LOVES sci-fi and Disney.
Steve and Bucky once asked Tony where the flying cars were.
Clint has fell from the vents 117 times. Natasha has kept track
The team has matching pjs of themselves and they wear them during movie nights
Peter has a swear jar and the people that have lost the most money are Tony and Natasha
Morgan once dressed up as Tony for Halloween.
America, Kate, Yelena, Peter, and Shuri once summoned a ghost and Kate was throwing salt everywhere and they had to go get Strange and Wanda to help
Bucky, Peter, and Steve have noise-cancelling headphones because they get over-simulated pretty easily
If Steve gets married, his wife would get him a ring made of vibranium
Loki once caught Thor and Bruce "doing it" and the image is scarred in his brain for life
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tickle-bugs · 8 months
Note
Hellooo! If prompts are still open can I request some ticklish loki? :) maybe the prompt “ you’re not ticklish? Really now? Lets see about that”
Or somethin, feel free to improvise :))) teehee
Thank you so much!
In Fond Memory
Summary: As an analyst, Mobius's knowledge of Loki comes from stale sets of data. He wants to know more about his partner. Loki decides to take them on a tour of his memories...to interesting results. Pre-relationship to confessing Lokius!
This got wildly out of hand. We're a little over 6k words. Not super happy with this fic, but I'd been sitting on it for too long to start over. Have the long-simmering origin story of Loki's eighth rib lmao.
The TVA cafeteria is chilled and reliably empty when Mobius and Loki take their lunch break. As usual, the break consists of Loki watching Mobius eat--both lamenting his agonizing pace and soaking in his company. 
“I know nothing about you.” Mobius takes a thoughtful bite of his salad. His non-sequiturs phase Loki less and less these days. They make an interesting pair, he thinks--a fallen god burdened with caring and a mustached auditor who speaks only in riddles. 
“I thought you knew everything about me.” Loki huffs. 
“More like bits and pieces. I know little factoids. What makes you tick.” Mobius points at Loki with his fork, a tomato skewered on the end. 
“So then you know what you need?” Loki plucks the tomato off the fork and pops it in his mouth. It crunches beautifully. 
“Well, I mean, I’d like to know more. If a certain someone would like to share with the class.” Mobius replaces the stolen tomato with a pointed stare. 
“You are terrible at asking for what you want.” Loki steals a crouton from Mobius’s salad. 
“Yeah? Pot, meet kettle,” Mobius chuckles, wiping his hands. Loki smiles, but the thought rattles around in his brain. Mobius makes so much noise, truly. Noise about morals and fixing things, about proving himself better than the TVA believes him to be--useless, frivolous noise. 
Compelling noise.
“Fine.” Loki sniffs. He holds out his open hand. 
“Fine…What?” Mobius raises his eyebrows. 
“Your TemPad.” Loki wiggles his fingers insistently. Mobius stares at him, clearly calculating the risk, and then slides his TemPad into the waiting palm. Loki balances the weight of his past smoothly in one hand--he’d expected the TemPad to fall heavier with a sense of occasion. He frowns at it.
These little reminders that he’s not special—significant, really…they start to grate on him after a while. 
“You don’t have to do this, Loki.” Mobius’s voice is worn smooth by something like fondness. It’s compelling to the cowardice still within him, but Mobius will stop looking at him like that if he doesn’t at least try. 
Loki fiddles with the device until the clock hands on Ms. Minutes’s digital face spin rapidly backwards. A portal of orange light opens beside the table. 
“Shall we?” Loki gestures. He can’t quite make eye contact. 
…….
They stride through the door to Old Asgard’s throne room in all its glittering glory, when its majesty seemed untouchable by the whims of war and time. Mobius gapes at the high ceilings and intricate stonework with a wide grin. It’s cute, stupidly so, but then the grand doors open yet again and Loki’s hackles raise.
He pulls Mobius behind one of the grand pillars and puts his finger to his lips. 
“They can’t see us, Loki. It’s a memory—“
Loki clamps a hand over Mobius’s mouth. Mobius rolls his eyes. He’s right, of course he is, but the survivalist in him can’t take the risk. Not with Odin. 
A younger Loki, toothy and tiny, races up to Asgard’s great throne. He stops before the giant steps, cradling something in a bright red cloth. Odin heaves a great sigh. 
“Father, look! I got my spell to work!” Young Loki carefully holds up the bundle. The fabric falls away to reveal a bulbous little frog with stark blue eyes. It blinks each eye separately.
“What is this?” Odin looks down upon the creature with disdain. 
“It’s Thor.” Young Loki beams. The frog leaps onto his shoulder, then his head, and ribbits triumphantly. He laughs. 
“Bring my son back to me at once!” Odin hisses fiercely. 
“But—“
“Now!” Odin’s shout still tears something open in Loki all these years later. He flinches back into Mobius. The younger Loki does the same, but there’s no one to hold him. 
With a shaky voice, he murmurs an incantation and folds Frog Thor back into the fabric. He tosses the bundle ahead of him and, in a flash of green, a young and shiny Thor stumbles on newly human legs. He’s shorter--still taller than Loki, as he always was--and rounder in the cheeks, but he’s the unmistakable spitting image of his father. His cape, no longer frog-sized, unfurls to brush his ankles. 
“Woo! Loki, that was awesome!” Thor cheers. He pulls young Loki in for a sweeping, spinning hug. His boyish giggles are infectious--soon young Loki joins in, clinging to his brother to keep from falling. 
“Get out.” Odin seethes. The throne room doors slam open, echoing his command. 
“Father--” Thor tries, but one icy look from Odin silences him. He immediately bends the knee, so small that his cape nearly swallows him whole. Young Loki looks at him in disbelief, but when he reaches for his brother, Odin clasps his gloved hand around the shaft of Gungnir, the Spear of Heaven. 
Young Loki stumbles backwards, then flees, scrambling right by his older self without a thought. Loki turns his eye to Odin, the golden sack of shit, and scowls. 
“Come,” Loki says hollowly, following himself outside. He doesn’t look back. He knows Mobius is with him. 
He walks the familiar grounds but the stone doesn’t remember him. The sky is too bright, the torches too warm--this is a childhood preserved in amber. It’s too clear to be real. He passes his hand through the braziers, bitterly amused by the way the flame clings to his fingers. It’s not hot. 
Loki finds his younger self exactly where he expects him to be—no amount of years could erase that instinct to hide, to wait, to be forgotten until he could emerge again. The child is tucked between a pillar and one of the giant braziers, his dark clothes lending themselves as camouflage. 
Young Loki didn’t have that fire in him, yet. The scorn of being lesser. He was still naive, still thought Odin’s love was a real, attainable thing. 
“Loki?” Frigga approaches. Loki looks up at his mother’s face for the first time in years, but she peers directly through him. He steps aside as she approaches his younger self. When the child doesn’t answer, she crouches in front of him. It’s unbecoming of a Queen, but she’d never cared much about that. 
“What’s wrong, darling?” Frigga takes his younger copy’s face into her hands. She wipes away his tears with her thumbs and his skin briefly shimmers its natural blue. 
“Father, he…” Young Loki shakes his head, retreats further. “I upset him.”
“Oh.” She swipes more tears from his face. “Let us spend the day together, hm? I have new tricks to show you.”
The child allows his mother to lead him away, down onto the giant lawn beneath the terrace. Loki watches them go, the bitter sting of grief still raw, even after all this time. 
“My mother was…is everything to me.” Loki sniffs. He can’t tear his eyes away from her. It’s selfish to miss her, but he’s a selfish wretch. 
“She seems like a wonderful woman.” Mobius’s hand is warm on Loki’s shoulder. He leans into it. 
“Extraordinary. There’s no one like her.” He leads them over to a bench on the terrace, one that overlooks the most spectacular view of the palace lawns and waters beyond. He watches his younger self fling bursts of magic back and forth with his mother. 
“Can I ask you a silly question?” Mobius turns to face Loki better. Loki raises his brow. 
“Are you still…blue? Under here?” Mobius gestures at Loki’s face. “I’m not too sure about how this magic stuff works. It’s fascinating.”
Loki barks out an embarrassing laugh and does his best to rein it in, but surprise still leaves him chuckling. Mobius looks at him like…well, he’s not entirely sure what that look is. No one’s looked at him so softly before. 
“I was raised Asgardian, but the nature of changing forms is…fickle. Do it too much and you lose sight of where you start.” He turns his hand over, back and forth, and his skin glimmers blue. Mobius takes his hand, wrinkling his nose slightly at the cold. 
“That’s awful wise of you.” Mobius squeezes his fingers. 
“I like to think I have my moments.” Loki smiles. Mobius holds out the TemPad to him. Loki pushes a few things on it, opening another portal. They step through it with lighter hearts. 
What greets them is not the stale brutalism and dizzying expanse of the TVA cafeteria, but the very same terrace, gleaming in summer sun.
“Okay, so this…isn’t headquarters.” Mobius gestures. Loki scowls. He presses a bunch of buttons at random. The machine beeps at him. The animated Ms. Minutes icon sticks her tongue out at him. He scoffs. 
“I noticed.” He slaps the TemPad into Mobius’s hands. Mobius stares at him, plainly amused, and Loki scowls harder. 
“Well? Fix it.” Loki turns towards the lawn to lessen the weight of Mobius’s gaze.
A great shout rings out across the green, utterly unmistakeable, and Loki runs up to the terrace railing. Sif and the Warriors Three mill about on the lawn, their chatting only perceptible by Volstagg’s loud and grating laughter. 
“Brothers, please. I need some help!” Thor’s voice cuts clear and desperate through the air. He can’t be far past coming of age--he’s taken on all those distinctive features that won’t budge as he grows. His hair sweeps his shoulders the same way his cape sweeps his ankles. He supports a drooping teenage Loki as they stumble towards the trio. 
On the terrace, Loki’s eyes widen. He squints at where Thor is hauling his younger self--yep, the little shit is definitely alive and well. Which means only one thing. 
“What’s all the commotion?” Mobius shades his eyes from the sun and looks out towards the fields. 
“Did you fix it?” Loki snaps impatiently, gesturing for the TemPad. 
“Hm?” Mobius blinks. “Yeah. What’s happenin’ down there, though?”
Loki snatches the TemPad and punches in whatever he can. A wave of orange energy ripples over and through them with a loud woosh. Loki opens his eyes to….
The same field. The same day. He’s actually managed to put them forward in time. Just splendid. 
“Get help!” Thor spins and launches his Loki like a shotput. He barrels straight through Sif and Fandral. Their mingled screams of surprise and displeasure ring out. Thor cackles, doubling over, as Sif chases Loki around the field. 
On the terrace, Loki buries his rapidly heating face in his hands. Mobius snickers up a storm beside him. He leans into him for support. 
“Get help?” Mobius wheezes, eyes wet with mirth. Loki’s chest flutters and his face progresses into full redness. 
“It was…a phase. An ill-advised distraction--”
“Seems to me like you used it plenty. One of your variants did that with Thor on Sakaar.” Mobius wipes his eyes and flicks the tears away, grin still splitting his face in two. 
“Shut up.” Loki groans into his hands until silence falls. He can feel Mobius’s keen eyes on the side of his face. He hopes for a random bolt of lightning to put him out of his misery. 
“You’ve changed, y’know.” Mobius bumps their shoulders together. 
“Have I?” Loki drawls, mostly unamused. The sincerity on Mobius’s face makes it hard to keep up the act. 
“You willingly showed me an embarrassing memory! You’ve changed plenty.” 
“I wouldn’t say…willingly,” Loki grumbles, rolling his eyes. 
“You and I both know you can fight a lot harder than that. This is growth, Loki. It’s good for ya.” Mobius pats his shoulder. Loki hums in acknowledgment.
“Careful, Mobius. I might start to think you’re fond of me.” Loki smiles teasingly. 
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Mobius chuckles and squeezes his shoulder. “Let’s get outta here.”
Another flash of orange, another failure to return to the TVA. Loki contains the urge to scream. 
“Where are we now?” Mobius puts his hands on his hips. 
“…I don’t know.” Loki frowns, turning in place. 
“That’s generally not good.” Mobius quips. Loki makes a snarky, incoherent noise at him as he takes in their surroundings.
Vaulted wood ceilings, immaculate stone walls, and green silks welcome them. Atop a giant fireplace, a regal painting of Loki leers at them, foxlike and empty-eyed. He cringes and turns away from it. He briefly considers throwing himself down on the green velvet divan and smothering himself in the throw pillows. 
“We’re on Asgard, certainly, and this is my room, but….” 
The doors fly open of their own accord and the hearth flares. A brunette with a strong build strides through the doors, their fingertips dripping with red motes of light. They’re clad in reds reminiscent of the magic--flowing fabrics gathered neatly under bits of strong leather armor. With a twist of their wrist, the leather breastplate falls away and arranges itself on a stand, right next to a stand with his own armor on it. 
“Who is this handsome devil?” Mobius raises his eyebrows and elbows Loki, but he is far too windswept at the sight of them. 
“Signy,” Loki breathes. 
“Who?” Mobius furrows his brow. 
The doors fly open yet again. A past version of Loki enters in similar dramatic fashion. It’s uncanny to see himself like this. Signy turns their gaze sharply towards him. The fire once again flares in the hearth. 
“Hello, darling.” Signy purrs, pulling Past Loki in for a kiss. They drink him in possessively, as if he’s going to evaporate without their claiming touch. He leans into it as much as he can without drowning. When they pull apart, they murmur to one another, low enough for the fire to swallow their words. 
“Ah, I see.” The bitterness in Mobius’s tone pushes Loki to clarify. 
“They were wonderful, but their jealousy often got to them. For all our happiness, we made each other worse over time.” Loki whispers conspiratorially, but Mobius doesn’t seem entertained. 
Signy and his past self begin to raise their voices, yelling at each other in an incomprehensible tumble of Asgardian. Mobius’s brow knits in concern. 
“Were you always this…loud?” Mobius frowns. Loki swallows the joke he wants to make.
“Like I said, we made each other worse. Much worse. We were betrothed all of two months before they tried to assassinate me.” Loki pulls back his shirt collar to reveal a thin, curved scar on his neck. 
“Assassinate—what?” Mobius touches it and Loki shivers. 
“It’s fine, Mobius. My Signy had naught but poison in their soul. This one seems…kinder.” Loki watches as they take his past self’s hands to stop him from wringing his tunic. 
“How is that fine—“ 
Their voices escalate into a tumble of shouting. Concern morphs into frustration and confusion. Why does Mobius even care? It happened, he survived, whatever—
A flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. His past self is…staring at him.
Loki squints at his past self and he squints back. Loki looks over his shoulder, then back at his past self, who is suddenly beginning to behave less like a memory and more like a—
“Variant,” Loki breathes. He opens his mouth to shout, but—
The variant disappears in a gentle flash of green light. Fuck.
“I think you just got outsmarted by yourself.” Mobius hums. Loki whips around, panic starting to bubble in his chest. 
“You said this was a memory.”
“It’s supposed to be.” Mobius rubs his chin. “With all the buttons you pushed, it’s possible that you sent us to a branch instead of a projection of your history. I’ll take a look at it.”
“Loki.” Signy eyes him carefully. They take him in with warm, red eyes that crackle with the hearth. 
“Heyyy…Signy.” Loki gestures awkwardly. Mobius snorts. 
“Darling, I apologize. You’re under much pressure.  I shouldn’t add to it.” Signy wraps their arms around Loki’s shoulders and pulls him close. He knows he should derive some comfort from it—he hasn’t been hugged in years—but it feels more like a creature pulling him into its clutches. Their fingers glide over the scar and Loki snatches their hand. 
“I’m…also sorry.” Loki pats their arm awkwardly and tries to worm out of their grip. 
“No need, my blade.” Signy presses in closer, cradling his cheek. Mobius snickers at the nickname off to the side.
“Don’t.” Loki, blushing, points an accusatory finger at Mobius. He holds his hands up, the perfect picture of innocence. 
“I think you’re lovely, but I’m not…your Loki.” He puts his hand over theirs. Their face pinches sharply. The fire kicks up. 
“You are beyond ungrateful. You are mine. I made you.” Signy grips his chin and forces him to look at them. Loki presses his lips into a line. 
“Signy—“
“Perhaps you need a reminder.” They press their hand to Loki’s side, right over the ribs on his right side. He panics and grabs for their hand. A tiny green spark jumps from his fingers, but it cannot stop the pulse of scarlet magic that wriggles deep into his skin. The magic snaps into cords, winding like puppet strings around one of his ribs. 
A strangled sound slips from him before he can stop himself. A terrible, toe-curling tickle—a powerful scritching like the blunt end of a quill over the bone—sends him clutching at Signy’s shoulders for dear life. 
“We are each other’s undoing. There is no you without me.” Signy pulls sharply on the threads of red light and Loki yelps.
“Oh.”
“Mobius—“
“Oh my god.” Mobius makes a noise that can only be described as a squeak of delight. Loki flips him off. 
“Even when I’m right in front of you, you cast your attention elsewhere.” Signy turns Loki’s jaw toward them, eyes darkening possessively, but their lips curl up in that damn smile that had drawn Loki back in over and over. 
There was a time when he’d daydreamed about Signy by his side on the throne. Now, he can’t fathom it. 
“You’re mine, Loki.” Signy tweaks their fingers, manipulating their magic, and Loki chokes down a screech. He laces his fingers into theirs and the magic blissfully vanishes. 
“Yes, yours. Mobius, help.” Loki casts a frantic look in his direction, gesturing at Signy. Mobius makes a ‘stall’ motion, then starts fiddling with the TemPad. 
“Look at me.” Signy pulls sharply on his tie. They sigh deeply, and their edge begins to wane. 
“Thanos has you dreaming of more, my love. I want more for you. But have you not enough here? Am I not enough?” Signy smooths their hands down Loki’s chest. He freezes.
“Thanos?” He asks quietly. Dread sinks into his gut. Signy’s expression softens.
“I know that you crave what you are owed. Your family has robbed you of your birthright. You are meant for greatness, Loki, but not at the cost of his greed. Asgard is yours for the taking. By my hand, you shall have it.” Signy leans their foreheads together. He squirrels away as much of this momentary comfort that he can. 
“Why would you help me?”
“Have you contracted your brother’s oafishness?” Signy playfully holds their hand to his forehead as if checking for fever. “I love you, you fool.” 
“Oh.” He blinks. He looks towards Mobius and finds him with a haunting expression, like some sort of ache had burrowed forth into his face. A suffocating hollowness crawls through Loki’s chest. He swallows thickly. 
“Yes, ‘oh’.” Signy curls their fingers beneath his chin. He laughs softly, involuntarily, and flinches away. Mischief and embers dance in Signy’s eyes. 
“My, you are…handsier than I remember.” Loki twists out of their grip. 
“Can you blame me?” They appear behind him in a scattering of red sparks. Warm hands wrap around his waist, tracing feather-light shapes that seem to burrow into his skin. He chokes on a quiet, suspiciously giggly sound and they light up.
Mobius scoffs and clears his throat loudly. His scowl seems baked into his face, a chilling force against the fireplace. 
“Okay, so I’ve got good news and bad news. Which one do you wanna hear?”
“Bad news first.” Loki wrestles with Signy’s roaming hands. Signy trips and tumbles backward onto the divan, scattering the pillows. They start tugging at Loki to try and get him to follow. 
“Your collar is broken. Kaput. S’probably why your variant was able to escape. TemPad can’t get a read on which one of you is real. You also MemLocked us, which is fascinating—“
“I’m sure it is,” Loki huffs, fighting to leverage Signy under him. Mobius barrels on. 
“MemLock allows us to manipulate a branch as if it were a memory, but the tech is volatile, so we rarely use it. It is neat though. Lets us walk right through as if we were invisible. Shame it ain’t workin’ on you.” Mobius snaps his fingers next to Signy’s face. They don’t seem to notice. 
“And the good news?” 
“I can probably fix it.” Mobius smacks the back of the TemPad and a panel pops out the side of it. He starts fiddling with the components. 
“Probably?” Loki’s voice cracks. 
“Well, I don’t wanna take the wrong Loki back with me. That’d be a fiasco. Though Signy—“ Mobius draws out their name with disdain— “probably wouldn’t even notice.” 
“Jealousy is unbecoming, Mobius.” Loki’s joking, but Mobius’s eyes don’t light up the way they usually do. 
“Y’know, far as I recall, you got yourself stuck in this mess. You should be thanking me for helping you.” Mobius puts his hands in his pockets. He tilts his head with a smile, easy and mischievous. Loki lobs a throw pillow at him.
Mobius punches something into the TemPad and, with a glorious beep, Loki’s collar disengages and clatters to the floor. Mobius scoops up the collar gently, letting the straps dangle between his fingers. 
“I’m keeping track of what you owe me.” His half-smile is somewhat dim. 
“I’d expect nothing less,” Loki breathes. Mobius nods sharply and turns towards the door. 
It’s an unfortunate distraction, one that lets Signy discover they can buckle his knees if they tickle him there, but Loki can think of nothing else but the reflection of the firelight on Mobius’s cheek. 
Mobius ducks quietly into the hall, shutting the chamber door behind him. The stone floors eagerly amplify his footsteps, tired of its own quiet. 
It’s unsettling, this place. People don’t seem to live here as much as they haunt it. Mobius can see how Loki turned out the way he did. It sets loose an ache in him. 
“Stop.” 
Mobius turns around with his hands raised. The variant twirls a dagger in his hands. He’s clad only in a green shirt and soft pants, his feet bare against the cool stone floors. This Loki is duller—he’s exhausted around the eyes in a way Mobius’s Loki isn’t. 
His Loki. Hm.
“Who are you?” 
“I’m afraid that doesn’t concern you, Your Highness,” Mobius says calmly. Loki disappears in a flash of green and reappears behind Mobius. 
“I could have you executed.” Loki’s dagger materializes across the plane of Mobius’s throat. Mobius tips his head back slightly to avoid the sharp edge. 
“I’m not scared of you, Loki.” He says it firmly, even as his skin prickles at the kiss of the blade. 
“Maybe you should be,” he snarls lowly, his lips brushing Mobius’s ear. Mobius flinches away. He kicks himself for it--Loki follows him easily with morbid interest. 
“Aren’t you curious about what I know?” Mobius hums. Silence stretches down the long hall. There’s a suspicious lack of guards in this wing. Is Loki’s chamber not worth protecting?
“You have a…clone of me. Why?” The blade presses in again. Mobius takes a careful, measured breath. 
“He’s my companion. We took a bit of a tumble, ended up in the wrong place.” A smile quirks at Mobius’s lips. Loki doesn’t look as confused as he thought he might—more…thoughtful. 
“Wrong place being?”
“That I can’t tell you. I can tell you that we’re trying to leave. If you don’t mind.” Mobius puts two fingers on the dagger and gently pushes it away from his throat. Loki releases Mobius but keeps his blade leveled at him. He’s tired, so tired, Mobius can see it in his bones. His eyes, dark-rimmed, seem frightened of closing. 
“You, uh…” Mobius pauses, taking in Loki’s twitchiness-- “I noticed you tryin’ to escape your beau in there. Signy, right?”
Loki stiffens at the utterance of their name. The blade remains steadfastly pointed at Mobius’s throat. 
“They ever hurt you?” Mobius clenches his jaw. Loki eyes him warily. 
“No. Never. Never.” The blade wavers with Loki’s voice. “But we don’t…agree on many things.”
“Well, I think you could do better. For the record.” Mobius steps forward—how could he not? But Loki’s knife and hackles meet him. He stops. 
“I’ll be sure to tell them you said so.” The fingers on Loki’s other hand twitch, glowing the faintest green. 
“You fancy making a deal, Your Highness?” Mobius sticks his hands in his pockets. He tries to keep his demeanor light, but he clasps his hand around the collar where it’s hidden. 
“I’m listening.” Loki shifts his fingers on the dagger’s hilt. 
“My Loki and I will distract Signy for you if you stay with us long enough for us to secure an exit.” Mobius jerks a thumb in the direction he came from. Loki follows the movement with his eyes. 
“All you require is my presence?”
“That and preferably that you refrain from using that toothpick of yours. Rather fond of my Loki.” Mobius inclines his head towards the knife. A wealth of emotions flickers across Loki’s face--he’s always been terrible at hiding his feelings, it seems. He tries to steel himself back into something sharp, but it just turns…sad. 
Loki lowers his blade. He loosens his fingers and it falls, but it vanishes before it hits the ground. 
“I agree to your terms.” Loki sniffs sharply, once again locating his arrogance.
“Excellent. Shall we?” Mobius gestures. Loki nods. They stroll back towards the bedchamber, relishing in the quiet comfort of their footsteps falling in line. 
“What are you to him? To me?” Loki’s voice goes soft. Mobius is usually quite adept at compartmentalizing, but it escapes him at this moment. 
“I’m not sure.” Mobius swallows. It’s easier not to think about it. 
“But you’re fond of him, as you said.” Loki sweeps closer, a familiar teasing grin playing across his lips. 
“I am.” Mobius huffs. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“The honor’s all yours, mortal.” Loki tilts his head, his smile growing wider. Mobius rolls his eyes. 
Mobius opens the door for the variant and they’re greeted by a wall of noise. Loki screams bloody murder and Signy yells over him in Asgardian, their sharp fingernails plucking at his ribs. They’ve switched positions, with Signy expertly pinning and tickling Loki down into the divan. 
The variant snickers, covering his mouth to hide it, but Mobius’s ears have long-since been tuned to his partner’s laugh. Interestingly enough, Signy looks up too. They furrow their brow as if searching for something, eyes glazing right past their variant, and then return to taking Loki apart.
An idea prickles at the back of Mobius’s mind. 
“You.” Loki shouts from the tip of his toes. His hair is a frizzy, disheveled mess. The variant goes to run, but Mobius scruffs him by the collar.
“You okay over there?” Mobius calls. Loki’s red face grows redder. He points angrily at the variant. 
“Come take your place, you sniveling little brat—“ Loki hisses, but he’s cut off by Signy tickling his waist. The most hysterical little giggles slip free and he buckles under them. 
“I’m afraid I can’t help you. That weakness is your plague to bear, not mine.” The variant’s regret is all mocking. 
It’s a stupid idea, but it’s an insistent one—the longer Mobius gazes at this variant, the more he finds that he can’t let it go.
“Sorry, just to clarify—you’re not ticklish?” Mobius doesn’t bother to hide his amusement. The variant eyes him stubbornly. 
“No. I’m not a child.” Oh, but like with every Loki, his eyes betray him. 
“Well, that’s a shame.” Mobius regards him thoughtfully. The variant turns a lovely pink. “Then, would you mind asking Signy to release my friend? Seeing as they pose no threat to you.”
Mobius crowds in closer. The variant pulls his dagger. Mobius tuts at him and pushes it away. The dagger’s point makes gentle, insistent contact with his stomach.
“This wasn’t part of the deal,” the variant snaps, but Mobius stands before him un-stabbed. 
“Sure it was. I said we would distract Signy.” Mobius smirks. “Just never said that you were part of the distraction.”
God, Loki is really rubbing off on him. 
“I’ve been told I’m quite stabbable, if you’re not amenable.” Mobius gestures to the dagger between them. The variant shifts his fingers on the hilt. 
“D-Don’t you dare touch him!” Loki pipes up through gritted teeth. He’s managed to pin Signy underneath him, but judging by his twitching, they’re not quite done with him.
Mobius grins at him. Loki makes an endearing little pinchy face and refuses to meet his eyes. The variant takes the chance to try and slink away, but Mobius grabs his wrist. The dagger disappears in a flare of green sparks. 
In a slick maneuver, Mobius loops the collar around the variant’s neck and it magnetically fastens. It beeps in confirmation of acquiring its target. 
“What is this?” He hisses, tugging at it. He flexes his fingers, calling for the dagger, and nothing happens.
“Just a bit of insurance. Now, would you like to deal with them—“ Mobius gestures to where Signy is wreaking havoc— “or me?” 
“I’m sure there’s a third option.” The variant chuckles almost nervously. His eyes dart around for an escape. 
“Oh, no. I don’t think so.” Mobius sighs deeply, as if it pains him. The variant’s eyes widen, and—
There it is. A flicker of thrill. 
“If you think you can stand to a god, I welcome you to try.” The variant spreads his arms wide. Mobius puts his hands on his hips. He’s never considered himself a particularly great fighter, but he prides himself on knowing his targets well. For example, he knows that nearly every Loki lacks small-scale patience. If he just waits…
The variant snarls and charges. Mobius ducks past him and loops his arms around his torso. 
Any Loki is deadly with or without their magic, but thankfully Mobius doesn’t have to worry about killing him. Or harming him at all, for that matter.
The variant lets out a confused, almost-offended squeak, like a kitten being bested. Before he can speak, Mobius starts clumsily tickling him. The resulting stilted laughter is interspersed with threats he can’t understand--both for being peppered with giggles and incoherent Asgardian. The variant tries to headbutt him in a way that doesn’t seem entirely on purpose. Mobius dodges predictable flying elbows and waits.
Over on the divan, Loki’s mostly given up. He’s wheezing more than anything, more focused on hiding himself from view than doing anything helpful. The quiet allows for the variant’s patchwork laughter to carry, just as Mobius hoped. He folds on a particularly powerful guffaw and Mobius follows him with a snort. S’cute, sometimes, the ways in which they’re the same. 
Signy’s gaze snaps up. Loki squirms out from underneath them and darts to the other side of the room, clutching his side. He makes eye contact with Mobius. His gaze is so full of sheer fondness that Mobius has to look away. 
“Why are you looking at me like that?” The variant tries to back up. Mobius squeezes his side and he yelps.  
“How’d you get over there?” Signy narrows their eyes. 
“Suppose I’m quicker than you.” The variant falls immediately into his role, ever the Loki. Mobius curls his finger into the collar and it disengages. The variant whirls on him, but then Signy starts to stalk across the room. 
“We’ll see about that, love.” Signy’s tongue curls sharply around the word. The variant bolts for the door. Signy laughs and chases after them. Their footsteps echo down the empty hall and carry them both from sight. 
A wave of green magic slams the door shut so hard that it rattles in its frame. Loki hefts a bookshelf in front of the door, then a heavy chest, then about every piece of furniture he’s capable of moving in the room. He slumps down onto the divan with a heavy sigh. Mobius hovers by his side, shoving his hand in his pocket so he doesn’t start fiddling with the disheveled bits of Loki’s appearance. 
“Well, come on then.” Loki bares his throat with an impatient gesture. There’s an imprinted red line where the collar usually sits. Mobius runs his thumb over it, gently, and Loki scrunches his nose with a smile. The sight is so lovely that Mobius spaces out a bit. 
“You are cruel and terrible, you know that?” Loki grumbles. Mobius remembers himself and tries not to savor the brush of Loki’s jaw against his fingers. He holds the transmitter box of the collar to Loki’s throat, scooting it around a bit in search of a signal. Loki twitches. 
“Mmm, just the worst. Stay still, will ya?” He huffs. Something in Loki’s collar clicks and the TemPad chirps a jolly tune. Both of them sigh in relief. 
Mobius punches in a few things and the familiar orange door opens up before them. He looks down at the collar in his hand, then shoves it deep into his pocket. Loki makes a soft noise. 
“Why?” He blinks almost innocently. Mobius swallows. 
“You wanna go back or not?” He juts his thumb towards the portal. Loki pulls him through as if it’s going to disappear. 
They have duties to complete, but living so many years in a day has thoroughly eroded what tiny sense of duty Loki has. His mind is abuzz with various iterations of he trusts me--a new and exciting thought--and it leaves him with zero desire to do anything but sit in Mobius’s presence like a flower in the sun. 
So, when Mobius heads for the library, Loki hooks their arms together and drags them towards the cafeteria. Responsible grumbling turns into fond chuckles, and soon enough, they’re assembling God's mistake: frozen yogurt.
They enjoy their spoils on a bench deep in the massive sprawl of the TVA. The complex sprawls out infinitely before them, twinkling in the abyss. It’s a prettier sight than this place deserves, but Loki can only pay attention to the unnatural strawberry hue of Mobius’s lips. 
“This is awful,” Mobius laughs, cringing through a spoonful of frozen-solid chocolate chips. 
“It’s perfect. Completely mediocre in every way. Humanity’s only worthwhile creation.” Loki bites a gummy worm in half with a smile. He offers the other half to Mobius and he takes it.
Loki thinks of Signy, of the look of muddled pain on Mobius’s face through the entire back half of their misadventure, and he cringes. Mobius pauses in picking at his froyo. 
“Brainfreeze?” 
“No, not quite. I want to…apologize, Mobius.” Loki fiddles with his fingers. He looks up just in time for the back of Mobius’s hand to gently slap against his forehead, as if checking for fever. 
“You? Apologize? Maybe I did bring back the wrong Loki.”
“Hilarious, you bastard.” Loki rolls his eyes and bats away the hand. 
“Well, don’t let me get in the way of history. Say your piece.” Mobius sweeps his hands out. Loki turns to straddle the bench, facing him fully. He leans his back against the wall. The cold of the concrete leeches through his shirt. 
“Earlier, things got…out of hand. I hoped if I showed you my past, you might find some detail, some tiny minutiae that would set me apart from the other variants. But, I suppose nothing you saw surprised you.” Loki runs his fingers over his throat, right where the collar usually sat. He felt lighter without it and, strangely, more exposed. 
“I wouldn’t say that.” Mobius mumbles around a strawberry piece. 
“I spent my life chasing after destiny. Everyone in my family had a grand purpose to fulfill, and I believed mine would be the greatest of all. Now I know that my destiny is to be disposable. The only significant thing I’m part of is the time I’ve spent here with you.” Loki pokes at his froyo with the spoon. Mobius swings to also straddle the bench, grumbling as he does, but it gets Loki’s attention. 
“I’ve got my own confession to make.” Mobius chuckles. “I don’t actually know everything about you.”
“We established this.” Loki scoops up an Oreo piece and pops it in his mouth. 
“Well, yeah, but—“ Mobius makes a series of grand gestures— “I mean, I don’t know everything about you, Loki.”
“Now you’ve said the same thing twice.” Loki frowns. Mobius makes a frustrated little noise.
“Look, you’re different. Sure, your story starts the same as the others, but you overwrote my expectations the moment we met. You are unique. You’re a unique pain in my ass, really, but…you’re a good partner. A great one.” Mobius gestures more with his spoon. 
“Go on.” Loki takes the cherry into his mouth, stem and all. A few moments later, he pulls out the stem—tied in a perfect knot. He smiles at his handiwork. 
“I’m trying to compliment you.” Mobius huffs. 
“I’m aware.” Loki grins teasingly, but the mischief caves easily under a wave of genuine joy. 
“Alright, wise guy.” Mobius narrows his eyes. A flutter of thrill picks up in Loki’s stomach, but no chase ensues. He tries not to be disappointed. 
“What I’m trying to get at—“ Mobius huffs dramatically— “is that it’s not your past that makes you. I’ve always studied you guys in patterns and matrixes. I thought a flip would switch and I’d understand how you fell into my lap instead of any other Loki. But…you defy sense. Turns out, you can bake some drastically different cakes with the same core ingredients.” 
“Careful, Mobius,” Loki says softly, so his traitorous heart doesn’t hear. “I might start to think you’re fond of me.”
“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Mobius smiles. 
“No, we can’t.” Loki’s eyes flit to Mobius’s lips. The air between them pulls taut. Loki scoots forward, bringing their knees to touch. 
“You have something on your face, right here. Terribly distracting.” Loki gestures to his lips. Mobius furrows his brow and pats his face with a TVA-branded napkin. Loki bats his hand aside and kisses him. It’s shorter and tamer than what his heart screams for, but he can’t dive into untested waters. Not yet. Not with something so important. 
Mobius, wide-eyed, follows Loki’s every move. He swallows once, thickly, then clears his throat. Not a single coherent word comes out of his mouth. His eyebrows move in nearly every direction as he tries to string some words together. Loki tips his chin up, catching his eyes. Mobius quiets, succumbing to a lovestruck smile.
“Did you get it?” Mobius gestures to his face. Loki laughs, knocking his head into the wall behind him. Mobius scrambles forward to catch him far too late, but they’re close. Close enough for Loki to see the pink froyo flecks actually hiding in his mustache. He smirks. 
“Hm, only one way to be sure.” He pulls Mobius in by his tie and kisses him like it's the end of times.
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