"Thor. This is ridiculous."

Loki pouts as he holds up the dress. If anything this makes Thor laugh even harder. He doesn't want to push Loki too much, or he'll never go along with it.

"Brother. Please. I swear that I will do whatever you wish." He isn't even sure why he wants him to wear the darn thing so much. Loki seems to be thinking the same thing. He eyes him suspiciously.

"Is this really going to be worth whatever task I may ask of you?"

"I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise!"

Loki narrows his eyes at Thor for a long moment before he finally gives into his bewilderment.

"I don't understand, Thor. What are you getting out of this?"

Honestly, the thought hadn't occured to Thor to think introspectively about the situation. Why should he question what the reason was behind his desire so long as he knew how great the desire was? It was there inside him, hungry and needing. As soon as he'd seen the dress in town, emerald and black with hints of gold, he had thought of Loki's eyes and raven locks. He pictured him in the gown, not as a woman, not at all, but as his brother. His lithe, elegant body, though fit and strong, he thought would look stunning as the flowing cloth contrasted his masculinity.

Even Thor knows, though, that even such fantasies wouldn't be enough for him to take steps to making his daydreams a reality. He never would have gone through the trouble of explaining the dress's necessity to the merchant, the string of white lies that would follow after, the smuggling, if it hadn't been for one nagging image in the back of his mind.

"Brother! BRO. THER." Loki cried from the garden trail behind him. Thor slowed his gate and turned to look back for his princess, Loki. When had he disappeared from his side? He saw little Loki in his gown they'd stolen from Sif, kneeling on the ground. As soon as he saw the tears on his cheeks, he ran back to him.

"Loki!" Thor gets down by him on the stone pathway solicitously and carefully sits Loki on his butt. "What happened?"

Loki's pale face was red from embarrassment, which only made him cry more. Thor and him had been running from a imaginary dragon after they vanquished it together, when Loki tripped on the slightly too long hem of his skirts. As a young adult Loki had been considerably short for his age. He pulled up his dress, showing Thor where he'd twisted his ankle, toppled over, and gotten a nasty scrape. The surrounding, moonlight soft skin was already starting to bruise.

It was no great injury and they were, after all, probably getting a little old for these kid games and boughts of mischief, but when they fed off of one another nothing could stop them from spreading all kinds of antics. Usually though, Thor was the reckless one to get hurt. Loki cried easily, but his tears never ceased to cause Thor's heart to wrench. He examined the injury tenderly and looked up at Loki. Loki looked back at him with a guarded expression as he attempted to hide his embarrassment and distaste for feeling vulnerable and idiotic.

"It's just a scratch."

"Nonsense, here, let me carry you, brother!" He scooped him up in his arms like he would any maiden in distress, though perhaps with even more gentle care, despite Loki's squeaks of protest.

"Thor, put me down this instant! I didn't call you back to carry me, I just...!" He frowned, unsure how to finish. His struggles slackened in Thor's much stronger, domineering grip. He didn't really mind anyway after all. "I just...didn't want to be left behind, that's all."

Cute...so cute, his Loki was so sweet. He kissed his temple tenderly and brought him to his own bedroom, perching him gently on the end of his grand golden four poster where Loki balanced like a delicate dove. He kept his legs closed closely, crossing his ankles shyly as he watched Thor hurry off to the bathroom. He wasn't quite sure how girls could run around in these things all day. He felt very vulnerable with his...manhood in the open air, dangling around. It felt so undignified, especially now that their joke had ended and he realized that he was grateful for the walls that hid his appearance from the rest of the world. He would be bullied a thousand times worse, surely, if anyone, anyone other than Thor caught even a glimpse of him in a dress. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror on the other side of the room, feeling like a fantastic fool.

Thor returned hastily and dropped down in front of Loki, fully prepared to play doctor with the damp washcloth, healing ointment, and excessive amount of bandages that he had retrieved. He reached up and with the utmost care and attentiveness began to clean his wound. All was well for a moment, then suddenly Loki let out a shriek of pain, nearly causing Thor to faint and simultaneously collapse in his hurry to pull the cloth away from Loki's bloody skin.

"WHAT? Loki! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, did I-" He cut off abruptly as Loki broke out into mad laughter. Exasperated, he sighed with relief and continued to clean his wound not nearly as gently as before.

The task, however, was realized quickly by both of them not to be that unpleasant at all after the initial hiccups. A sense of silence and calm came over them as they both seemed to register the intimacy of the moment. Loki couldn't help but blush slightly with affection for Thor and his loving touch, happy that he would even take the time for something so silly and trivial. Perhaps he felt bad for letting him fall in the first place; he was supposed to carry him, he was the Prince after all and Loki, the Princess. Thor, meanwhile, besides enjoying that Loki was allowing him to take care of him, noticed a sudden...fondness for Loki's appearance.

Thor decided suddenly that he...very much liked seeing his brother this way...soft and gentle, vulnerable even, more beautiful in Sif's dress than she or any girl could ever hope to be. He contemplated intently the elegance of his smooth collarbone, his strong, hairless and slim legs, and the way his slender hands rested just outside the cuffs of the sleeves.

He noticed then that Loki had found out his stare and begun to blush indignantly.

"What? Don't mock me, this was your idea, you-!"

"No, Loki, you...I was...I was just thinking that you are beautiful."

Loki stares with wide eyes, barely able to comprehend the absurdity of that statement. "Beautiful?"

"Yes, brother, you are pretty, prettier than a girl, prettier than Mother, or her garden, or the sun in the evening when..."

"Q-quiet this instant, Thor, I swear, I will curse you so you never speak again!"

It was Thor turns to look embarrassed. He began to bandage his wound. "I...I'm sorry, Loki, I didn't mean...I just meant...I wanted to..." Loki could see, suddenly, that Thor was sincere. The hair on the back of his neck flattened and his muscles relaxed slightly as they released their hostility. When he next spoke, Thor remembers, Loki's voice was incredibly vulnerable, soft, and innocent. He'll never forget the sound.

"...thank you, Thor...I...think you're beautiful as well..."

Things had not been right between them recently, abruptly, like a falling star crashing suddenly into their perfect world. The tension had grown seemingly from nowhere. Thor could see the hurt in Loki's enchanting green eyes when he thought no one was paying him any mind and he knew that inside him there was a storm of pain that Loki must have trusted his brother, his best friend, to prevent. But it was there now, and although neither of them was yet aware of what the result of that storm could someday be if left to fester into hatred, it didn't matter because Thor did not need any extra incentive. He would do anything for his beloved Loki. He knew their love was greater than anything they would face...and now he wanted to show Loki how much he treasured their bond.

For now the dress lies unattended on Thor's bed, perfect and waiting for the person it was clearly made for to grace it with his body. Thor, meanwhile, does much the same as he lays beside the dress and waits for Loki to return to him from his own bedroom. He'd insisted that he would concede to wear the dress on the condition that he would first allow him to go to his room to perform a task while most certainly not dressed in that ridiculous getup.

Loki returns with an extra measure of sway in his hips. He slips in and closes the heavy double doors behind him, then he looks to Thor as he leans up on his elbows and perveys him with a dazzling smile.

"Now are you ready?"

"Yes, Thor, I'm ready." Loki smirks. He seems free of his previous qualms, having devised the perfect retaliation to Thor's degrading request. He had already struck his deal with the mischief maker and once Loki had the dress on, he would have to hold his word no matter what Loki had planned for him and he knew he would. He walks to the dress, picks it up, and goes to the bathroom to dress. Odd, Thor thinks, because he knows Loki is far from shy and they're seen each other often in various states of undress.

He waits patiently, but he doesn't wait long. Loki reappears, stepping over to Thor gracefully, and turning his back to Thor, revealing the open back of the dress. Thor gawks openly. Loki is patient for a moment, but only a moment.

"...Thor? Are you going to help me? I can't lace up the dress myself, you know."

"Y-yes...of course." He comes out of his daze and gets to work trying to tighten the mild corset of the dress. He was taken off guard by Loki's elegant confidence in wearing the gown as he appeared from the bathroom, already breathtaking: the open neck of the dress falling around his slender shoulders exposing his pale skin against the dark fabric, his long neck and that utterly unabashed look on his face, no shyness in his magnetic eyes like there was when they were younger.

Loki gasps and grunts quietly. "Thor," he warns quietly as he tightens the corset a bit too much. He slackens his grip quickly. "Oh, sorry, brother, my mind wandered..."

He finishes, then he leans over and gently places his lips on the back of Loki's slender neck. He can't stop himself before it's already happened. He can't see Loki blushing, but he does slightly as he steps away and moves his hair back over his shoulder.

When Loki turns around, Thor quite nearly gasps. He wanted to use their bet and this dress to get back some of the fun in their friendship as brothers, like they used to have when they were so much younger. He didn't expect to find his brother so utterly stunning in the gown that was supposed to be, for the most part, a joke. He doesn't look like a woman. He looks better. He can't help but squirm under Thor's gaze, and Thor loves the way his chest rises and falls just a little more quickly. He steps forward grinning.

"How does it feel, brother?"

He says with a bit of breathless indignation, "Don't mock me, Thor..." The corset is tighter than intended, but he doesn't mind, but what he does mind is the look of burning...condescention? ...love? Amusement? Something...in his eyes. His confidence wavers.

But although it goes unrealized to Loki, the emotion there is desire, burning desire, not exactly lust, although that's there largely as well, but love and longing and he just has to HAVE him and hold him and keep him forever.

"I do not mock you! I am...I am enthralled, you are..."

Loki glares. "Take it off of me, now." He turns his back on him so he may undo the corset. Thor turns him back around quickly. "No, I am sincere! I swear to you, brother, I mean what I say! It...suits you! I knew it would." He runs the back of his hand tenderly across his cheek as Loki stares at him in confusion.

"That's why you had me put this on? Some odd fantasy of having me look like a woman?"

"No, I...I just thought it would make us both laugh, but I didn't think it would...do this..." He rests his hand on Loki's hip, continuing to stares at him in awe with a large smile. Loki, to his own dismay, blushes and fidgits shyly under his gaze. "I'm not beautiful, I look like a fool. Please, just, take it of-"

Thor cuts off his words with a hasty kiss, shocking both of them to the core. He deepens the kiss despite Loki's lack of response, pressing into his mouth enthusiastically for several moments before parting once more. Their hearts beat fiercely as they look at each other with confusion and helplessness, but Thor grabs his slim waist in his hands, pulls him closer, and plants another hot kiss against his mouth while Loki starts to squirm.

Finally, he manages to push Thor away with a firm hand on his jaw.

"Thor, stop." His voice is sharp and icy. He shoves him away angrily, and Thor stumbles back, stilll disoriented and stunned by his own actions.

"Loki, I...I'm sorry, I..."

"It's not enough? To have me beaten in everything, to be in line for the throne, to push me back into the shadows to be devoured by...darkness and isolation and...now you must have me like a woman as well?" Loki looks like he could slit Thor's throat, but instead hot tears come to his eyes at he stares at him like a stranger.

Thor, meanwhile, can hardly speak for the shock of his words as they pummel his mind, leaving him breathless and cold.

"No, brother. No."

It takes a moment for him to comprehend his own feelings, during which Loki grips the neck of the dress and tears viciously, ripping a large gash down the front through the elegant, rich emerald fabric. Thor grabs his wrists suddenly.

"Loki. I wanted to see what you are like when you allow yourself to be vulnerable again. I feel like I'm losing you, brother, please. You don't have to be afraid that I'm going to hurt you. You are everything to me." He gets down on his knees before him and takes his hands tenderly, causing Loki to stare at him with a startled gaze. Thor speaks with the voice of a man that has suffered a great loss. "...please. I love you, brother." He kisses his hands while Loki's eyes widen, aghast, trying to comprehend the situation before him: Thor is groveling before him as he stands there in a dress, he's just kissed him, and he says he loves him so earnestly. His clever mind works quickly, and suddenly he realize it.

"...Thor, are you in love with me?"

Thor looks up to him breathlessly.

"Yes, Loki. Yes."

He stands and wraps one strong arm around Loki's back, pulling him flat against his chest. They stare at each other, winded and frightened of this new territory they've suddenly discovered. Somehow, it changes everything. With hesitancy, Loki takes the next step and very slowly, eyes fluttering closed, he touches his lips to Thor's in just a whisper of a kiss. He feels Thor's hot breath warm his lips for a moment as he pants softly, then he kisses him back with all the care and affection an older brother should have for their little sibling.

Neither of them has ever experienced a kiss like this. It's loving, it's heated, full of unspoken desires and fears bursting at the seams of their bond. Unable to stand the tension, Thor grips a handful of Loki's hair suddenly and devours his lip hungrily with a groan of relief. Loki obediently allows his tongue entrance, parting his lips wide for him. Their tongues collide passionately, experimenting with each others tastes and movements. Loki, to his own surprise, finds himself dizzy and eager. He shudders visibly and grips at the front of Thor's tunic, hands shaking. How did he suddenly let this fall out of his control?

He feels hands pressing against him, feeling him, exploring him, and he can't fathom why they never tried this before. He moans softly in Thor's mouth as his hands press roughly between his legs, losing his fingers in the fabric, and gripping Loki eagerly. He rubs him lustfully for a moment when he suddenly stops. His heart pounds wildly as what he's feeling in his hand registers completely in his shaken mind. No. No way, it can't be. Oh god, Loki, what are you doing...

"...L...Loki...are you wearing...is that..."

Loki's mouth curves into a devilish smile as he pants and kisses at the corner of Thor's lips.

"Am I wearing panties, Thor? Is that what you mean to say?"

He licks his bottom lip, enjoying Thor's overwhelmed expression, then he coos sensually, "Yes, I am...my little secret. Would you like to see them?"

Yes. Yes, he would...