#marvel tic

This was why Loki had such a soft spot for the boy. Peter was just like a younger brother to Loki. He had always dreamed of having a younger sibling in his life. Thor was a great older brother, but sometimes Loki wished he himself could fill the role of being the big brother. He wanted to be someone the youth looked up to, came to for support, and slightly feared.

Peter, an only child, of course, loved the attention he received from Loki. Especially when he pulled off a decent prank. Growing up, he was absolutely terrified of Loki because of the 2012 alien invasion. But after living with the God for a few months, Peter decided he wasn’t that bad after all. He was just another victim of manipulation and mind control whose image had been warped by the media.

Peter liked talking with Loki mainly because he didn’t feel embarrassed about discussing his failures with him. As much as Peter loved and respected Tony, sometimes he felt like nothing he did would ever be good enough for him. Loki never gave off that vibe. Loki always teased Peter of course whenever he stopped by the library to ask for help. He would say “Wow. You must be truly desperate to come to me for help”. But then after making Peter chuckle, he would place his book back on the coffee table and take a look at Peter’s blueprints.

After months of bonding, the unlikely duo ruled the compound in prank wars and compassion. Thor was especially pleased to see Loki fitting in much better now with Earth's mightiest heroes. Loki enjoyed fulfilling Peter’s knack of curiosity about Asgard and all things alien. Loki even took the time to train Peter in some Asgardian hand-to-hand combat.

Although he wouldn’t say it out loud, Loki missed the boy while he was away at school. Loki didn’t relate as well to his other teammates and so he more often than not subjected himself to reading by himself in his room or library. He did enjoy when he was invited to play poker or any other board game, but it was never the same without Peter’s high amounts of energy shifting the moods of everyone he was around.

This is why Loki truly regrets the day he made the poor boy cry. Loki struggled with controlling his rage, and up until this point was able to push those emotions aside. But, for some reason, he was not able to control himself the day Peter broke his mother's vase.

The day started like usual. It was a Saturday so Peter didn’t have to go to school. The compound was scarce due to most of the team being on a mission somewhere in Africa. Steve decided Loki’s services were not needed this trip and asked him to hang back and keep an eye on the teenager. Loki happily obliged since he didn’t feel like going on a mission this time around.

Since most of the team of gone, Loki thought it would be fitting to teach Peter the skills of being stealthy. Peter was great at sneaking around and swinging up into rafters of buildings to hide. But, without his webs, he was pretty clunky on his feet.

Loki thought it would be wise to teach him these skills in case he gets into a situation where his web-shooters become disarmed or something. Peter was happy to learn from an experienced fighter and gleefully obliged to the training.

In this exercise, the game was similar to hide and seek. Peter was to sneak around the compound and see how long it would take for Loki to catch up to him. The only rule was Peter could not climb anything, and he could not settle down and hide for more than 5 minutes in a single spot. If Peter could avoid Loki for more than an hour, Loki promised he would allow the boy to try a sip of one of his special Asgardian spirits. That alone was enough to get the boy buzzed. Obviously Tony would never let this happen, so it was perfect he was on the mission.

Peter disappeared into the darkness of the compound as Loki counted to 100, giving Peter ample time to put some distance between themselves. Once he reached 100, Loki wandered around looking for the boy. Loki looked in the usual spots the boy liked to hang out. The kitchen, the common room, the gym, but there was no trace of the spider. Loki glanced at his timer and realized it had been 45 minutes somehow and he needed to hurry up or he would lose the challenge. Loki quietly stalked down the hallway leading to the living quarters and paused when he thought he heard something in the distance.

Listening intently, he heard a crashing sound and very quiet “ Oh shit” echoing down the hallway. Smirking, Loki bounded down the halls to find the culprit. He rounded the corner and noticed his bedroom door was agape. The silly boy had chosen to hide in his room. Clever, but not clever enough.

Loki jumped into his room to surprise the boy when he froze in his steps once he saw the scene laid out in front of him.

Peter was crouched next to Loki’s bookshelf hurriedly picking up pieces of broken glass. Loki flicked on the light to see what it was half expecting it to be a random coffee mug he haphazardly left in his room. But, to Loki’s horror, it was actually something much more important. It was a vase his mother had gotten him.

Now, Loki wasn’t a sentimental person, but just having the presence of an object that was so loved by his mother put his heart at ease. Frigga had given this to Loki upon his return to Asgard after the 2012 earth invasion. It was her way of showing that she still loved him even after the horrible things he had done. She would replace the flowers inside the vase weekly outside of Loki’s prison cell so he would have a constant reminder of her love.

Seeing that precious vase laying on the floor shattered to pieces caused Loki’s blood to boil. Without processing his next words he spat hateful things at Peter.

“You clumsy incompetent swine! I can’t believe that out of pure stupidity you waltzed into my room and destroyed something so priceless. You will never be a good fighter since you can’t even pay attention to your immediate surroundings without an ounce of danger in your presence.”

Loki’s harsh tone sliced through the air and pierced Peter deeply. Peter opened his mouth to apologize but nothing came out. His head hung low as he ran from the room, tears running down his cheek as he couldn’t hold them back.

The moment Peter disappeared from view, Loki was filled with guilt. How could he say such horrid things to Peter!? His mother would have most definitely scolded him if he ever talked to Thor that way. Loki was supposed to be the role model, and instead, he snapped and chewed up the kid for something that was a complete and utter accident. Loki could fix it with his magic if he really wanted to! Filled with regret, Loki went in search of Peter to give him a proper apology.

It didn’t take long to find the young boy. He was laying down on a couch in the common room, with his feet on the cushions and his knees tucked into his chest. Peter was no longer crying, but his eyes were still puffy and red. Loki walked over to the boy and gestured his interest in sitting down. Peter nodded and Loki sat down by his feet.

It was silent for a few moments until Loki spoke up.

“ Peter, you have no idea how incredibly sorry I am for the way I spoke to you. I should have held my tongue and not snapped like I did. You are like my little brother, and I should have treated you with the utmost respect. Will you please forgive me?”

Peter swallowed as he turned to lay on his back so he could see Loki face to face. Peter was never one to hold a grudge and he could see the sadness behind Loki’s eyes as he truly meant the words he spoke.

“ I I I forgive you. I re-really am sorry for breaking that vase. I uh should have paid more attention to my surroundings. Will you keep training me?”

Loki was tempted to hug the boy but fought against it because he didn’t want to invade his space while his emotions were high.

“ Peter, of course, I will still train you. It was a silly thing for me to get upset about. I can always fix it with my magic”. Loki looked down at his lap.

“ Well, what’s so important about that vase anyway? It obviously must mean something to you?” Peter trod lightly.

With a sideward glance, Loki chuckled and explained the history of the vase. Peter listened intently and now deeply understood Loki’s frustration and anger.

While Loki was telling the tale, he happened to place a hand on Peter’s foot that had made its way into his lap. Accidentally brushing his sole, Peter let out a shriek and clamped his hand over his mouth.

A mischievous twinkle appeared his Loki’s eyes as he realized what he had done. Gripping Peter’s foot tightly now, he smirked at the boy.

“ Well well well. It appears you are rather ticklish. How perfect the timing! I can’t let you stay sad forever, how about I cheer you up?”

Apparently, Peter’s feet were one of his worst spots because the moment Loki scratched 5 of his fingers against the sole, Peter howled and violently tried to shake his foot out of Loki’s grasp. Loki sneered as he pulled Peter closer to him and swiftly sat in his shins to hold his feet in place. Loki scribbled all over his feet and learned that when he swiped under his toes, Peter would squeal.

“ PLEHEHEASE LOKI IHHH AM NOT SAHAHAD ANYMORE”

Loki released his torturous grip on his feet and switch to his belly. Peter was already weakened by the previous attack, so he just allowed Loki to poke and prod at his stomach.

“ Wow. I never knew you could make such cute noises.” Loki teased as Peter quickly covered his face with his hands.

“ Hey! Don’t you be hiding your laughter from me boy!” Loki said as he dove his hands under the boy's arms. Peter slammed his arms down and started giggling like crazy.

“ Okayahaha Lo-Loki! I’m all chehehered up now!”

Loki could tell Peter was getting close to tapping out, so he stopped his tickling to allow the boy to breathe.

“ Okay okay. I see that smile. I guess you aren’t sad anymore. But just to make sure that frown doesn’t come back, I have one more thing in store for you” Loki grinned and quickly leaned down to blow a raspberry on Peter’s now exposed stomach.

Blow after blow caused Peter to just throw his head back, squint his eyes shut, and let deep belly laughter escape from his mouth. To make things even worse, Loki also spidered up one of his sides at the same time just to throw his nerves on the edge.

Once his laughter turned to coughs and hiccups, Loki relented his attack for good.

“Ehehe please do-don’t tell the others about this hehe. I can’t stand *hiccup* any more teasing.”

Loki chuckled and nodded. “ Of course. I want to keep this cute little tickle toy to myself now”. He reached over and pinched Peter’s beet red cheek.

“ In all seriousness, I really do regret all the things I said to you. How about I make it up to you and allow you to try my spirits as well as show you how I can fix the vase?”

Peter nodded gleefully and together the brothers from other mothers went in search of the liquor cabinet.

The night was then filled with even more helpless giggles as the unlikely duo stayed up late telling each other embarrassing tales and participating in more tickle fights until they both fell asleep on the ground.