"You're staring at me."
Loki's blunted words caught him off guard, but Thor didn't yet tear his eyes away from the cause of his utter fascination. Because Loki was right; he was staring. And the cause were those raven strands of silk combed back from the trickster's pale brow, hanging loose to his shoulders in rippling waves until they stopped-and a thick, roping braid took their place. It was unusual, seeing those locks bound and tied, and he longed to reach out to learn how the skin would feel against his skin.
Perhaps the depths of Thor's curiosity reached him, because Loki turned abruptly in his well loved and cushioned armchair and frowned at him, closing the book perched atop his thighs. "If you mean to keep at it, can you at least attempt some modicum of subtlety? Your attentiveness is disturbing, and it distracts me."
"...Aye. My apologies, brother."
Thor wasn't sorry at all, and he was certain his brother knew it too. Though he huffs and leaves the thunderer to his own devices, Loki is clearly on edge because of the twin steel blue orbs gazing at him without end. Amused with it all, Thor waits until finally those pink lips curl into a scowl and breach with a sigh of frustration. "You're doing it again." Loki tilts his head up and gives him the dirtiest look he could muster. It only makes Thor smile more. "By all means, Thor, speak. Something has clearly caught your interest. Tell me what it is, so I may go back to my reading in peace."
Should he tell him? Pondering it for a moment, Thor moved closer to the chair and then gathered Loki's braid in his hand, feeling its weight, the warmth of each individual strand as he wrapped it around his fist. "Your hair," Thor drawled, giving a light tug to coax Loki's head back. "You've never worn it like this before."
Loki frowned. "You're fascinated by my hair? That's what all this is about?" He recoiled away from the affection and tried to rise from his seat, the book carefully clutched in his right hand. "You're a fool. It's only hair."
"It's yours." His thumb stroked up the braid's length until he reached the back of his brother's white neck. Thor held it tenderly and made Loki take a seat again, giving him ample opportunity to settle himself again, those long legs curled up on the leather cushion. "It is most becoming, Loki. Why have you never dressed your hair like this in the past?" It wasn't as if braids were uncommon. Thor had two small plaits himself. They were a sign of strength, power. Though on Loki, they were also quite beautiful.
"Because it was never my prerogative to do so. I was cornered by the Lady Widow and Miss Potts. They insisted they be allowed to do something with my hair. Apparently it has grown quite long," Loki reached back to touch the ties keeping his braid together, a simple band of emerald dyed leather. "They also informed me that I was beginning to resemble a Tolkien elf."
Thor's brow puckered with confusion. "You are no elf. What would inspire them to make such a comparison?"
"Myself, if you would believe it. This Tolkien character is quite famous for his literature of a fantastical nature. And his version of elves are described to be fair of face, with hair that is both long and sumptuous, left to cover them like a shroud." Teasing a stray lock of black away from his face, Loki watched Thor return to playing with his braid, each of his fingertips wandering across its interlocked strands. "You are fascinated by it, aren't you? Thor, it's only a braid. You're hardly unfamiliar with them."
"Forgive me if I am so entranced by your loveliness. Is that now a crime," Thor teased, leaning down to kiss the corner of his brother's lips. "It suits you well, Loki. Have they expressed what other wonders they might achieve with your ever so glorious mane?"
"Jest all you'd like, you overgrown boar. It makes no difference to me." But it did, Thor knew it did, because he knew Loki far better than he would ever be inclined to admit. Chuckling heartily, he watched the trickster settle down with his book, stubbornly ignoring him. There was no deterring Thor from toying with his hair though. All too soon Loki seemed to realize that, because he sighed and granted Thor free rein with it, tilting his head slightly to the side. "..Tomorrow. They talked of taking over the lounge and having me choose another style they might best replicate while we...learned the wonders of Tolkien."
Thor paused with his strokes, peering over Loki's shoulder. He was hardly affluent with Midgardian literature, but he had noticed the letters gilded across the book's spine. Although what was so entrancing about a hobbit, he wasn't sure. "Would you be vexed if I joined you? I am curious to see what else might be done."
Loki's lips pursed, fingertips scrolling across the book's yellowed pages. "I suppose I can hardly stop you. But if you intend to spend the whole time annoying me, Thor, then I can promise that you will pay dearly for it."
"I would pay any price to have your company," Thor promised, kissing the top of his head. "Relax, Loki. My curiosity is genuine. If this is but one of the ideas Lady Potts and the Widow have planned, then I am eager to see the rest come to fruition." He gave his brother a brief hug and then settled back against the chair, patiently toying with Loki's hair while he enjoyed his book. It spoke volumes when Loki allowed it, looking up only once to give him a strange frown before he returned to his reading, muttering quietly under his breath.
"You grow more sentimental with each passing day..."
"Aye. And I do so proudly, without complaint."
