"Loki! Show yourself!" roared Thor into the small clearing among the trees.
Stepping out from seemingly nowhere, his younger brother chuckled at him. "It was only a spot of fun. There's no need to get so angry."
Loki had led Thor and his companions on a wild and fruitless chase through the forest under the guise of a massive boar. It all became rather suspicious when their mighty steeds could never quite reach the beast, nor did any of their arrows find their mark in its mottled hide. Thor, noticing Loki's strange absence and familiar with his games, had figured out the ruse at last.
Now the boar was gone, and in its place stood the tall, raven-haired man, clad in a light armor of green and gold, with a mirthful expression on his pale but handsome features. He was plainly amused by his little trick, but Thor was not in such a joyful mood after being made a fool and would have none of it.
"You know what I must do now, Loki," growled Thor. He let Mjolnir go; it thumped to the forest floor with a heavy finality, and there it would remain until picked up once more by its worthy owner. He approached Loki slowly, a certain light gleaming in his eye that the younger man recognized immediately.
"No, not that," said Loki at once, his smug smile vanishing from his face as he began to back away from his older and larger sibling. "I know that look. You mustn't – it's not fair!"
"Nor was it fair for you to use your sorcery and tricks to lead us on a worthless pursuit all morning," retorted Thor, and he lunged very suddenly, closing the distance between them so quickly that Loki scarcely had time to react. The chase ended as soon as it had begun, and Loki was sent crashing to the ground with Thor on top of him.
"Release me at once!" gasped Loki, trying to sound commanding even in this position but his breathless words came out more as a plea, his voice breaking slightly just toward the end.
Loki attempted rather futilely to wrestle his brother off of him but was overpowered easily. Dirt and fallen leaves flew through the air as the brothers fought briefly but furiously together. Eventually, he was rolled onto his back with both of his wrists suddenly and inexplicably trapped within Thor's fist, his arms stretched well above his head. Inside that iron grip, there was no hope for escape.
Thor, sitting on top of Loki and holding him so firmly in place that he could hardly move an inch, poised his free hand in the air just above the exposed side of the other man, the fingers curled into claws. The mere sight of this caused Loki to start laughing; the laughter was not from joy, but from sheer panic and worried anticipation of what was about to happen.
"Have mercy, brother!" pleaded Loki, still laughing nervously, even though Thor had done nothing so far except pin him to the ground and threaten him with a strange hand gesture without actually touching him.
"So you wish to play games, Loki?" taunted Thor ruthlessly. He could feel Loki attempting to slip from his grasp and he answered by tightening his hold about the wrists, keeping them trapped together over Loki's head. "You shall learn to find other means to relieve your boredom than making fools of your friends for amusement."
With that, Thor's hand went toward the weak point of Loki's armor. Beneath the arm, there was no hard layer of leather and metal, but an opening to the relatively thin garment worn underneath that offered little protection to the spot in battle. It was here that Thor inserted his fingers, expertly poking and prodding in such a way that he already knew the effectiveness of from past experience.
The expected result was instant. Loki, who was normally so composed and in control of himself, gave a shriek that sent the birds scattering from the trees, followed by a burst of uncontrollable laughter that echoed about the forest clearing. It became immediately apparent that he had not before used all of his strength to try to escape, not until he felt those fingers invade his undefended armpit. Loki's struggles increased tenfold, and he bucked wildly in a desperate bid for freedom, though it was all still no match against the steely strength of Thor.
Thor did not laugh, but remained stoic as he sent his brother into hysterics as retribution for the stunt he had played earlier. Loki could do nothing to escape the tickling, he had no choice but to endure it and laugh against his will for as long as he had to, and he knew from many rather unpleasant memories that Thor had no intention of relenting anytime soon.
It all suddenly ceased for a moment, but only so that Thor could seek a different spot to inflict the same treatment upon. Loki was already out of breath and struggling to pull in air after only a short time of being tickled, but he attempted to use this opportunity to negotiate his way out of this mess. "Please, brother, you know that I do not like this. Why must you torment me so?"
At this, Thor's mouth quirked up into the slightest smirk. "Torment? These are mere tickles, Loki, no harm is done. I thought you liked to laugh. Or is that only when it is at the expense of others?"
"You must realize that's not true– oh, no! Please!" Loki dissolved once again into helpless laughter and renewed struggling to free himself from this most compromising position as Thor focused now on vulnerable points along the sides and belly that were not quite so well protected by armor, prodding into any place with an opening wide enough to reach into.
It hardly mattered anymore where Thor applied his fingers; once the tickling actually began, Loki had a way of suddenly becoming sensitive all over, every spot as good as another.
Loki fought, writhed, shrieked, pleaded, and laughed, until the laughter turned silent from breathlessness and his struggles grew weaker until finally he had no strength any longer to resist. Then he merely lay there beneath his brother, laughing silently with tears streaming from his tightly shut eyes, his normally pale features reddened from exhaustion or embarrassment – or possibly a combination of both.
At long last, the tickling ended abruptly, and Loki scarcely seemed to realize it at first. Thor had released him, but the slighter man remained fixed to the spot, gasping in deep breaths of needed air and continuing to laugh uncontrollably for another moment longer even though Thor was no longer anywhere near him.
Thor brushed the dirt and leaves from his own red and silver armor as his brother lay recovering on the ground. He summoned Mjolnir with a simple gesture, and the weapon came flying into his hand at once. He glanced again at Loki, who had only begun to gather his wits and strength enough to start climbing to his feet, still laboring for breath and without a trace of humor or smugness to be seen on his face.
"Let us hope that our enemies never learn of your weakness, brother," said Thor in jest. "You would endanger all the nine realms if it ever became known." He found that his anger with him was fully abated; however, it was now Loki's turn to be irritated.
Loki drew himself up to his full height indignantly and glared at Thor. "It is only that I care for you so much, brother, that I did not send you up into flames right where you stood," he spat, his breathing still noticeably ragged. "You are a fool to believe you could capture me so easily."
"Is that right?" challenged Thor, taking a step toward Loki, whose expression immediately turned wary and uncertain as he moved several paces away in response.
Thor merely laughed, turning away from the most frustrated and undeniably defeated Loki, and strode off to find his horse somewhere among the trees and to head back home.