A/N: Just an idea my friend and I batted around a while ago during a sleepover. Mainly for the idea of nerdy Bruce beating the crap out of muscly Thor over a football game he wasn't even involved in JPlus a very nice reviewer begged me to upload anything at all to get my fanfiction mojo back and this was in my head so I thought why not?
Fandoms include the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, sans Guardians of the Galaxy (obviously this is AU but all the characters are up for grabs) and possibly The Amazing Spiderman but I'm not sure about that just yet, so we'll see. Has not been beta'd as I wanted to get it up before I changed my mind and it's ten at night. Enjoy!
"Here we are," Heimdall, slipping seamlessly into the cramped parking space and stepping out. He turned to survey his nervous charges with searching eyes. "Would you like me to accompany you to the Headmaster's office?"
Thor grinned widely, trying to buoy both himself and his thus-far silent brother. "No, I am sure we can manage. Thank you for escorting us, Heimdall." He glanced at Loki out of the corner of his eye and paused a moment. When nothing happened he stepped on his foot.
"Thank you, Heimdall." Loki said softly, his green eyes fixed on the imposing double steel and glass doors, his face oddly blank.
Their temporary guardian nodded and handed them their bags from the boot. "You must go to reception first and register yourselves, they will point you to your rooms; tell them you have an appointment with Mr Fury. Your mother and father will be calling you at precisely seven this evening, so please accept it or they will be demanding I storm the building in search of you."
"Let's not rule that possibility out," Loki muttered. Both his brother and chaperone ignored him with practised ease.
"Good luck," Heimdall rumbled then, for lack of anything more comforting to say, gripped both boys on the shoulder and squeezed hard enough that they felt it long after he let go. They watched him climb into the car and waved goodbye as he disappeared back the way they had come.
Together, they faced the great stone arches of S.H.I.E.L.D. Secondary School, standing still for a few long moments. Eventually, Thor shook himself free of the anxious stupor that had descended on them and with a muttered, "Come on," swung their large shared rucksack over his shoulders, seized his personal suitcase in one hand and grasped Loki's elbow with the other, leading the charge towards the imposing doorway. Loki lost the opportunity to make a sarcastic comment in favour of snatching his own suitcase off the ground at the last moment before Thor dragged him away.
They paused just inside the doors, drawing in sharp breaths and taking in the remarkably large marble and steel reception area, gazing at the multitudes of corridors splitting off everywhere and feeling like they were standing in the bowels of an enormous spaceship rather than a boarding school.
Loki spotted a pretty blonde woman sat behind a large silver service desk and strode forward, doing his best to appear confident and imposing. A difficult feat for a gangly sixteen-year-old, but he deserved points for trying, nonetheless.
"Good morning," the woman greeted them with a professional if vacant smile.
"Hello. Loki and Thor Odinson. We have an appointment with Mr Fury."
"We're new," Thor butted in. Loki tried not to wince as the woman gave a warmer smile and started rifling through the contents of a nearby drawer.
"Yes, of course. We had word you'd be arriving today. We managed to get you a double room, thought you'd be more comfortable with each other for the time being. Here is a room key each and this is your dormitory," she placed both keys off to the side and slid a map of the school grounds over the counter, marking their new home with red pen, "it's the furthest building to the east, as you can see. Just follow the signs once to reach the entrance and you should find it no problem. Mr Fury's study is down that corridor," she leant over the desk and pointed, "It's the second door on the left, his name's on it so you can't miss it. I'll buzz him now, just knock and wait."
Loki nodded and graced her with a smile as Thor gave a hearty "Thank you!" just behind him, scooping up the luggage as Loki did the map and keys and turned down the allotted corridor.
"Oh, you can leave your things here for now, dears. " the woman said suddenly. "We've got a student buddy to show you around the grounds, he should be here in a couple of minutes. I'm sure he'll assist you."
Thanking her once more, the brothers did as she bid and went off in search of the mysterious Mr Fury.
"Why did you ask about the eyepatch?!"
"I wanted to know, Loki!"
"You can't just ask people why they wear an eyepatch!"
"It was a conversation starter!"
"Gods, we haven't even been here a full hour and you pull that! Idiot!"
"Watch it Loki or I swear – !"
"Excuse me?"
The brothers jumped, and spun around in unison to look for the unexpected voice. A handsome young man stood by the service desk, roughly Thor's age from the looks of him, blonde and blue-eyed with a strong jaw and a physique that was no doubt the envy of many boys in the school. Despite his imposing stature, he stepped forward almost timidly, "Are you Loki and Thor?" he stumbled around the names, foreign as they were to him.
"Indeed we are." Loki supplied coolly.
The young man flashed a warm smile, looking much more confident. "Hi, I'm Steve Rogers, I volunteered to help you guys get used to the place." He shook both their hands in turn. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D. It's nice to meet you."
"The pleasure is all ours, Steve," Thor responded happily.
"You got everything you need here?" Steve asked, waving his hands around vaguely to indicate the reception area. At their nodded affirmations, he grabbed both their suitcases as if they weighed nothing at all and strode off down yet another corridor, indicating with a jerk of his head that they should follow him and throwing as casual, "See you later, Sharon!" over his shoulder.
He carried the majority of the luggage across the open-air campus, all the way to the end building despite Thor's protestations and offers to help. Upon entering the building, they became faintly aware of some kind of rock music pounding up ahead which only got louder as they ascended two flights of stairs until it became obvious that it originated from the end of the hall.
"I'm right next door to you guys!" Steve told them over the horrendous noise. "You should come over and speak to me and Sam, my roommate, some time!"
"That's very kind of you, Steve!" Thor rumbled back. Loki really did wince this time. "We would like to meet this friend of yours!"
"I don't think he's in right now, he should be down on the – !"
An explosion made the door at the end of the hall bulge threateningly, smoke starting to drift out from the gap at the bottom. Steve, face contorted in anger, cursed mildly and, tossing their bags into their new room (as Loki had finally managed to jimmy the damn key into the lock) stormed over to the offending room.
"STARK!" He bellowed, pounding on the door with his fist. A few splinters flicked off. "STARK, GET OUT HERE!"
The music shut off and a second later the door swung inward, revealing a scruffy but attractive youth in a stained Metallica T-shirt and ripped jeans, goggles dangling off his neck. "What's up, Stars-and-Stripes?" he asked lazily.
"What the hell are you doing in there?!" Steve demanded, peering around the boy.
The teenager threw out his other arm and straightened his posture so he blocked the entirety of his room from view. "Something beyond your thought process, I'm sure." He caught sight of the brothers lingering. "Newbies?"
"Yes – yes, this is Thor and Loki. They just transferred from – Asgard, was it?" Steve asked, looking at them for confirmation.
"Never been. Is it nice?" Stark drawled.
"I'm sure it is," Steve butted in before either Asgardian had the chance to respond. "And it would be just as nice for them here if you could keep that racket down!"
"Read the rules, probie. Music has to be shut off by nine pm. It's barely nine am."
"It's three in the afternoon!" Steve snapped.
"Is it? Oh good, then I've got another six hours to listen to my dulcet tones, don't I?"
Steve ground his teeth together angrily, speechless for several long moments – and then his face cleared. He smiled and the smirk slid off Stark's face until he looked a little worried. "What's that look for, Boy Scout?"
"Aren't there rules about things besides music? Like where is an appropriate place to work on science projects? Wouldn't want Mr Coulson to do a surprise check, would we?"
Stark scowled at Steve while the latter smiled infuriatingly. He reached behind him and plucked the key to his room from what must have been a shelf or something. "Yeah, whatever, I had to meet Pepper in the library anyway." He shouldered his way past Steve and made a peace sign towards the brothers, "Nice meeting you." And then he vanished down the stairs.
Steve smiled to himself for a bit longer and then seemed to remember his hosting duties. He flushed guiltily and stepped past Thor into the room, hoisting the bags up properly to plop them on the bed. "Sorry about that," he muttered uneasily, "I just can't resist getting one over on Stark."
Loki raised an eyebrow. "History between you, I take it?"
Steve shrugged. "I don't like bullies."
Thor frowned, casting apprehensive eyes at Loki's back where the latter couldn't see. "He's a bully?"
"Well, no, not really. Not intentionally, anyway." Seeing their inquisitive stares, he attempted to elaborate, waving his hand helplessly, "Look, he's Howard Stark's son. Y'know, the international engineer? Arms dealer, that kind of thing? Well, he's super-rich basically, so Tony's been totally spoiled his whole life, gets everything handed to him on a silver platter and he thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it, mainly because that's what he's been doing his whole life. I mean, underneath all that cocky crap, he's a nice enough guy, it's just the cocky crap is what you get the majority of the time. Gets a little wearing." Steve stared into space for a moment, then shook his head and made a visible effort to smile. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? I'm supposed to be making you feel welcome, not complaining about another student." He glanced around the new room. "Do you want a few hours to settle down or shall I give you the tour?"
"I am not tired," Thor said brightly, "and I should very much like to see our new home."
Steve smiled back and looked to Loki for his opinion on the matter. The slighter boy smiled slyly, "Lead the way."
"And now there's two of you," Loki growled lowly so only Thor heard of him. His elder brother ignored him with practised ease, continuing his passionate debate with Steve.
"Yes, okay, football is a good game and I like it just fine, don't get me wrong," their host was saying as they circuited the football pitch, passing the archery targets yet again, "I mean, I'm on the team, so obviously I like it, I just prefer baseball and I really wish they would consider putting a team together, is all."
Loki rolled his eyes as Thor boomed out an enthusiastic repartee refuting Steve's opinion. If he weren't too busy trying to think of an excuse to escape this conversation going around in circles (literally and figuratively – well, oblong-shaped, but that was just semantics, really) he would make a half scathing, half-sincere remark about Thor's vocabulary improving greatly. Seriously, though, he was going to get dizzy. Would they notice if he just slipped away? Probably, but how long did he have until they did . . . ?
"Watch out!"
The three boys registered the cry a split-second before a blur shot passed Loki's face, burying itself into his coat sleeve and suddenly he was being dragged to the ground by its momentum. He met the ground with a muted thud and grimaced, several sharp little pebbles digging into his shoulder and hip. Before he could so much as blink in bemusement, Thor and Steve were looming over him, Thor seizing what he could of his brother and bruising him further in his panic to ascertain whether he had suffered any injuries, while Steve at least tried to do the productive thing and pull him to his feet, resulting in an odd little tug-of-war between the two muscular teens, with the slighter boy as the rope. He was not pleased.
"I am uninjured, cease manhandling me immediately!" Loki finally snapped, shoving Thor away irritably and silently consenting to Steve's touch as his new acquaintance at last managed to assist him into a sitting position. He held his arm steady, quite unnecessarily, as Loki reached over with his right hand and extracted a real arrow from his sleeve, with a bit of manoeuvring around the plastic 'feathers' at the other end to do so. Now his coat was well and truly ruined.
"Oh God, I'm sorry!" a voice yelled. Thor, Steve and Loki looked round as the boys pulled the latter to his feet to see two other teenagers running towards them. The tanned, sandy-haired one was holding a recurve bow tightly in his hand, his black practise gear exposing his muscular arm and a pair of sunglasses perched above his brow. He gave Loki a half-amused, half-anxious once-over. "I'm sorry, I got distracted, I didn't even realise it was slipping until I let it go – are you all right?"
"Slight bruising, that is all," Loki informed his unintentional assailant smoothly, cutting off his increasing red-faced brother before he could blow, "You need not trouble yourself."
"Oh, well, that's okay then," the archer laughed breathlessly, reaching to take his arrow back as Loki extended it, "Clint Barton, nice to meet ya."
"I am Loki Odinson. This is my brother Thor." Said older brother seemed to have control over his temper for the moment, but was sizing up the newcomer suspiciously all the same.
"You guys new around here?" Clint asked, slipping his retrieved arrow into the holder on his back they had not seen before.
"Indeed," Thor said, apparently deciding to forego any action that could potentially ruin their first day, "we are transfers from Asgard. We were just being given the tour by the kind and informative Steve." The three of them glanced at their guide with this description and the conversation abruptly died along with the casual atmosphere.
Steve plainly hadn't been listening to a word that was being said, his body tense and a bizarre look upon his face, in equal measure sadness, confusion and anxiety, his eyes riveted to Clint's companion. This other boy looked to be the eldest of their group, a striking figure a little shorter than Steve. Unlike Clint, he was clad in a long-sleeved shirt with black gloves, in spite of the heat of the day and the small beads of sweat of his brow, somewhat concealed by his brown hair that hung loosely around his shoulders and a handsome face that was struggling to display no emotion. His stormy blue eyes had locked onto Steve's and not looked away once until he turned his back on them all quite brusquely, stalking off back the way he had come.
"Come on, Clint," he said shortly, marching away, his shoulders tight and tense.
Clint floundered for a moment, opened his mouth and closed it again, then gave them all an apologetic look that lingered on Steve the longest and then sprinted to catch up with his retreating friend.
The Odinson brothers shared a perplexed (Thor) and intrigued (Loki) glance before settling their combined scrutiny on their guide. The blonde boy had his own eyes riveted to the other teenagers back, his large hands clenched into trembling fists at his sides, jaw held tight and, though it was possibly a trick of the light, a watery sheen to his eyes as if he were fighting off the urge to cry. Thor glanced at Loki again before relinquishing his arm and taking several hesitant steps towards their companion, reaching out a hand to pat Steve's shoulder gently. The boy started in surprise and tried to put on a smile as he remembered whose company he was in.
"Right, right, sorry, for a minute there I kind of . . . Anyway, um, so you've seen the football pitch now and, um . . . " he flapped his muscled arms to indicated the grassy expansion before them, struggling to regain his composure, "Yeah, so, where would you like to go next?"
"Perhaps we might sit for but a moment?" Thor asked, gesturing towards the nearest set of bleachers.
Steve hesitated, his eyes flicking from the benches to Thor, then Loki and back again. His good manners won out over his desires, however and, forcing another painful-looking smile, he allowed himself to be herded towards the bleachers.
Once they were sat as comfortably as the wooden structures would allow, Thor got to the point, leaning forwards and keeping his face earnest, "I would not wish to think me impertinent or intrusive, Steve, but although we have known each other a scant few hours, I feel we will become friends, yes?"
"I'd like that," Steve said, a more genuine, though still very small smile slipping onto his face.
"I am glad to hear it. I do not mean to cause you distress and if you wish to hold your peace, I shall not push the issue, but may I inquire as to the identity of that student and why the mere sight of him troubled you so?"
Steve looked like he very much wanted to take offense at the line of questioning but after a tense moment, his shoulders slumped and his rested his arms on his thighs, his whole posture defeated. "Well, if you want to hear it, I guess so." Steve sighed in a shuddering breath and began, still addressing his knees, "I'm a transfer myself, you know. Only been here a year or so. In fact, I'm a scholarship boy. So is he. His name is Bucky Barnes and we moved here together from an inner-city school that you definitely would not want to find yourselves in any time soon. A man named Erskine, a brilliant scientist who made his fortune, he went around some of the more run-down orphanages, said he wanted to share his wealth with some kids who needed it. And he picked us."
Steve took a deep breath, his face contorted with something like grief, "Me and Bucky have known each other practically our whole lives, ever since his folks passed. Pretty much inseparable inside those walls. And out actually. Even when we came here, and made other friends, we still clung to each other."
"Did you quarrel?" Thor asked gently, patting Steve's arm reassuringly.
Steve shook his head doggedly and when he spoke again his voice was harsh, almost angry, "No. Not at all, that's what I don't understand. We were still really close, everything was going great and then . . ."
"And then?" Loki prompted, trying to sound soothing and probably just betraying his naked curiosity, but whatever.
"There was this party, some graduates leaving thing or something and some of them took a shine to Bucky, invited him and I tagged along 'cause that's just what we did. Problem was, I had a test I really had to study for, so I came back early, Buck said he was gonna get a ride back with some other friends. Next thing I hear, there's been this massive crash. Someone died and Bucky was in hospital. I went every day, but I only got to see him once, just after he woke up before he went into surgery. They said he had some really bad damage to his left arm. The doctors wrote to Mr Fury, told him to make Buck join the gymnastics group when he got out, to help with his physiotherapy. Anyway, everything was still okay, I mean, I was freaking out and then Bucky was calming me down when he figured out where he was, which was messed up 'cause he was the one in the hospital bed, but he always did that, you know? He always took care of me. I waited hours for him to get out of surgery and then Ms Hill – you haven't met her yet, she's a teacher here, tough but fair type – came to take me back here, said they'd let me know when he was out. I still went every day to see him, like I said, but they never let me in. I tried to sneak in a couple times but the security guards threw me out and they threatened to ban me if I didn't let up. It turned into weeks and then a couple months and then Fury banned me from going back 'cause me grades got so bad, I was spending all my evenings there, just waiting for them to let me see him. I started sending letters instead once I couldn't go back but he never responded. Just when I start getting desperate and thinking about going back anyway, Natasha – mutual friend of our – told me that he'd been discharged for over a week."
Steve turned them and there truly were tears in his eyes, although they did not fall. He only looked long enough to see their sympathetic faces before averting his gaze and continuing; it seemed now that they had gotten him started, he couldn't stop, "The doctors wouldn't let me see him because he told them to keep me away. He'd been my roommate, you know? First thing he did when he heard he was getting out was to call Fury and ask for a new one. Sam used to bunk with Clint, but they'd been bickering, I think it was about Natasha or something, so Fury swapped us around to keep the peace." Steve let out a choked, mirthless little laugh, "I couldn't believe it, you know, we were so close, like we were joined at the hip. And then he just up and . . . I went right to him, when I found out, asked what the hell was going on. I half believed it was a mistake. But he just says he needs some space without me hovering over him, even though we'd been apart for ages. He practically shut the door in my face. I did try to give him space but I didn't last long before I was basically hounding him again, asking him to tell me what was wrong, what I had done. He just shut me out, again and again. I wish he would tell me why."
Steve stopped long enough to look over at the far end of the pitch, where Bucky and Clint were packing away all there archery gear, casually conversing all the while. Their new friend's face was a picture of longing, anger and something heartbreakingly close to despair.
The three boys sat in silence, Loki and Thor waiting for their guide to snap out of his melancholy state. It took several minutes but he eventually did, blinking rapidly at them as if he had forgotten they were there and visibly hoisting a smile back into place and pushing himself to his feet, determined to put on a brave face. "Goodness, you'll think I'm a right old killjoy if I keep dredging all this up." He swung his long arms back and forth, looking around idly, as if for inspiration, "Well, where shall we go next? I've shown you the library, the atrium and the computer rooms, haven't I? How about the science labs?"
"Actually," Thor began, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes that sent Loki's stomach plummeting with dread. He'd seen that look far too many times in the past and it always ended badly. "It would appear a game is about to begin. I am aware that should I wish to join, I must properly sign on and be considered, but perhaps I would be allowed to partake in a friendly game with you?"
Steve beamed at him and, asking Loki to remain with the utmost politeness, raced Thor to the changing rooms to speak with the coach about letting Thor have a go. This was not going to end well.
Loki had no idea how right he was.