Title: Gold
Rating: Gen
Word Count: 1,048
Features: Loki, Thor
Genre: Fluff, humour (pre-slash if you squint)
Warnings: None
Last Edit: 3 Jan 2012
Notes: Unbeta-ed, this piece came out of absolute nowhere, and Loki just sort of decided it was time to do his thing.
Timeline-wise can be slotted in anywhere, though most likely during a period when the brothers' relationship is still mostly healthy
Summary: There is something Loki wants from Thor, and against his better judgement, Thor lets Loki have it.
Thor was just about to retire to bed when heard quick knocks on his chamber door.
For a moment he just blinked in surprise, arms still tangled in his shirt from the process of undressing. Staring at the closed wooden door he quickly pulled his shirt back over his head and crossed the room with quick strides. At this late an hour it is surely a servant, he thought, there must be an important message. He pulled open the door and found his brother Loki.
His brother Loki, whose disturbingly intense gaze was directed at… his head.
"Brother, is there something I can help with?" Thor asked.
Loki, eyes never leaving Thor’s hair, moved swiftly into his room. The door swung closed behind the brothers as one of Loki’s hands rose to Thor’s chest, and the God of Thunder felt himself being softly and determinedly pushed backwards into his room.
"I made a recent discovery, Thor, and I do believe I am in need of your assistance."
Loki’s tone was curt and cordial, and before Thor realised what was happening, he was being carefully prodded to sit sideways on a wide windowside bench, with Asgard, silent and ethereal at night, sprawled beneath him on the right. Behind him, however, was Loki, half draped over Thor's body as he clambered onto the bench and began pick at the strands of the Thunder God’s golden hair. Thor stiffened in an instant.
After waiting uncertainly for an explanation which didn't come, Thor ultimately decided to open his mouth.
"Does… your discovery have something to do with my hair...? Loki?"
Raising a lock of Thor’s hair to eye-level, Loki studied the golden strands between his fingers in pure, abject curiosity.
"No, well, you see, I've discovered that the people of Midgard are able to extract the essence of a being from simply having a strand of their hair or some similar part. It is incredibly fascinating. I wish to emulate the process using Asgardian magic."
The revelation was more confusing than enlightening for Thor, and the thought to question why Loki wanted to make clones of his brother disappeared as quickly as it surfaced as the Thunder God sat rigid, eyes wide as he sensed his brother shift against him, body flush against his back. Helplessly, Thor waited as Loki tugged at his hair, bending the blonde locks one way then another, testing its strength, its stretchiness, its flexibility.
Thor found himself staring at an empty corner of his room, rich light danced from the fireplace, casting flickering shadows along the walls. It was mesmerising, as long as Thor turned his attention away from the other going-ons in his room.
After a while Loki began to hum quietly, and somewhere in-between firelight and moonlight the sound slowly dissolved into a soft melody. Despite his discomfort, Thor found himself slowly relaxing. He wasn’t quite sure what his brother really needed from his hair (and why he was taking so long), but Loki’s form beside him was beginning to feel strangely comforting, both welcome and familiar in ways Thor had never once contemplated before. With Loki touchy and fiddly in ways he’s never been since they were children, it was hard to resist the tide of affection welling up from within.
With patience uncharacteristic of the warrior, Thor decided to wait. Turning his head slightly (which earned him a small grumble from Loki), Thor stared out into the broad cityscape beneath. Feeling the contrast of coolness and warmth against his skin, his tried to make out the buildings and gardens he frequented in the day. This was his home, his kingdom. From this place so far above the world, Asgard seemed a small and silent place, with only the ever-present light of the Bifrost glowing in the distance. The bridges and buildings he could make out - merely slopes, lines and curves under the starlight, hinted at a brilliance often unnoticed under the fullness of the sun. But even when shadowed, the beauty of Asgard was still undeniable. A little like Loki, Thor thought absently. You will never be able witness its whole, yet what little you do glimpse will hint at marvels beyond your wildest imagination.
Before long, Loki’s soft humming faded in a small sound of contentment, and Thor turned to see his brother gaze at him with the widest smile he had seen in a long time.
"I'm all done. Thank you, my brother!”
With a thin lock of Thor’s hair in his hands, Loki cheerfully jumped back into the room from his perch behind the Thunder God. For a second Thor almost mourned the loss of Loki’s reassuring warmth .
"Then I’m glad.” Thor responded, his discomfort apparent as he stood. “That was a most peculiar experience. I hope you’ve got what you need, Loki.”
His scalp felt strangely tight and tingly after Loki had had his way with his hair, but Thor found that he did not mind, still stuck in the strange mood from before. Loki, however, did not respond to his brother’s words, but was staring at Thor (or... at his hair?) in admiring delight.
Only now does Loki finally meet his brother’s eyes for the first time, the merriment in the trickster's eyes fading into something almost thoughtful as he examined his God of Thunder. There is a flash of green and gold before Thor's eyes and he feels the quick press of something on his cheek. The sensation was strange and fleeting, and before Thor’s mind had even registered that he had just been kissed by his brother, Loki had danced away into the depths of the castle, green eyes sparkling.
For a moment Thor just stared at the closed door, confused and slightly unsettled by his brother's strange behaviour. He ends up turning back to his bed, deciding to leave it until morning, when he can ask Loki face-to-face about the night's events. He only takes a few steps before he changes his mind and goes looking for a mirror instead. He may as well assess the extent of Loki's damage, he thinks. Since his brother had only carried a small lock of his hair he knew his appearance wouldn't be too drastically changed, yet something didn't feel quite right.
Thor did not recognise the person in the mirror.
…
Loki was carefully storing his new treasures away when an angry cry echoed through the walls of the palace. Glancing in the direction of Thor's chambers, he smiled in amusement.
Thor was so very pretty with knotted braids in his hair.
Edit: First piece of fanwork in years. I think everyone who's commented so far probably read a different version of this story. I've made multiple edits since I first put this up. Knowing me, this still won't be the last.