~ Shades Of Grey ~
Introduction
Loki Laufeyson always prided himself in being more sensible and intellectually advanced than all the other hormone-driven students in his high school. He was especially skilled in English literature and read Shakespeare on a daily basis – in fact, it was a rare occasion to find Loki without a Shakespeare book in his hand anywhere – and he could always hit back with a witty remark on any given subject. His words were his weapon and could make anyone look like an ignorant, uninformed moron under his nose - quite literally given that he was about one of the tallest guys in the school.
So, being armed with an arsenal containing wit, intelligence and uncanny good looks, one would assume that Loki had a relatively interesting and easy life. Of course, that wasn't all true; having found out at the start of the last year of junior high that your father favoured your older brother because you were adopted wouldn't exactly make his life all happy-go-lucky. As if that wasn't bad enough, having said older brother pretend as if you were related and still act as if everything was bright and positive all the time was sure to have the opposite effect on him. Thor didn't understand Loki's pain and that angered Loki more than anything. In fact, it irked Loki every single minute of every day he had to see his 'family' knowing that they had lied to him all these years. He felt a little moronic for not figuring it out sooner, what with him only being a few months younger than Thor, what other explanation could have proved true since his mother Frigga surely did not bear two children only 8 months apart in birth. That and the fact that he was the only one in his family to have black hair and green eyes.
To deepen his discomfort and frustration even more, every single aspect of his life had to be invaded by his oaf of a brother, Thor. Despite Loki's wishes, everyone referred to him as 'Thor's little brother', of course not knowing of his adoption. Loki always scoffed whenever Thor would pass through the hallways greeting everyone as he went acting like he was a king. Thor never failed to irritate him even when he was doing nothing at all. He always had a childish smile on his face and was rarely ever miserable because he was the one who had everything; his father's admiration, everyone's respect and was the centre on their attention most days.
Loki had nothing; he was second next to Thor, if anyone bothered to acknowledge him that is and his father always failed to praise his talents whenever Thor was in the picture. Odin had always said he loved them both equally, but Loki would have truly believed that if he wasn't always being treated like he was inferior to his older 'not-brother'. To make him feel even more useless, Thor always took it upon himself to defend Loki, thinking that his little brother was a damsel that needed saving. As if Loki couldn't protect himself and fight his own battles, Thor was always quick to scare anyone who even dared give Loki a twitchy eye.
And of course, there were Thor's friends. Loki, ever since the start of high school, had acknowledged the fact that Thor's friends were not his friends so as a result always ended up avoiding them. Plus, what was the point of being friends with them when Thor was there? No one would notice him next to his big bulk of a brother.
The only one he actually didn't mind was Natasha Romanoff, a mysterious Russian beauty who had transferred to their school in freshman year; she matched his intellect and his wit in every way and it didn't hurt that she was physically very skilled. Her and Loki got on surprisingly well considering who she hung out with but he had always admired her personality because she was determined, stubborn much like himself, very cunning and didn't take shit from anybody, especially not the guys in her company since she was one of the only girls who they actually liked and listened to. She could always be found training in the gym or being trailed by a very broody Clint Barton.
Clint was a very serious personality, always watching and wary, acting as if someone was about to jump on him and stab him in the neck. He was a keen archer and spent as much time as possible either with Natasha or playing with his bow and arrows. Everyone always wondered who he would pick when given the choice between them. Still, the two were inseparable and to everyone else, it was unclear whether they were a couple or just close friends but no one doubted that they would not leave each other's side if they could help it.
Then there was Steve Rogers - or as everyone referred to him, 'Cap' – who was a bit too innocent for his own good. He was a morally clean citizen who never failed to be defensive when others needed help. Loki would have appreciated that about the blond but it reminded him too much of Thor who was usually too overprotective that it got too annoying. He had never fully understood the concept of sex (which is why everyone was certain he was a virgin) and was always teased about it when anything too inappropriate made him uncomfortable. He would usually be the one to talk his friends out of doing anything stupid but then ended up doing it with them anyway. That was always what usually happened which is why he always wondered why he even bothered trying to stop them in the first place.
There was also Bruce Banner. No one knew exactly how to act around Bruce; most of the time he was a calm and collected young man who was even more intelligent that Loki. He was a bright scientist with a passion for science and always tried to stay out of trouble. However, whenever things would turn south, Bruce usually lost his temper so insanely fast that, after seeing the first time he lost it, people usually tried to avoid working him up for fear of provoking him. That had only happened on rare occasions because Bruce always had a small routine to keep him calm and relaxed. It was unnerving to Loki: how much rage could be contained in such a timid and sensible personality. Well, it was always the one you least expect.
Loki really had no problem with any of Thor's friends personally, just the fact that they were his friends which yes, Loki knew seemed a bit shallow but he couldn't help it.
And then there was Tony Stark. The one person Loki did not feel guilty hating. Tony fucking Stark; son of Stark Industries CEO Howard Stark, heir to a multi-billionaire company, playboy, genius and professional asshole. His name sent Loki's heart into frantic beats, and not the kind that people felt when they went on dates or when they share their first kiss. No, it was the kind of energy that people felt when someone has just punched you in the face and you feel so angry that you see red and feel like you want to stick a knife through that person's eye ten times over. That kind. He could rival Loki's wit and sarcasm with his own dirty innuendos and quick remarks which proved to be great entertainment whenever they broke out in an argument in class. Tony Stark was a devil, a sadist, a villain. Of course Loki was the only one who had such low opinions of him. Everyone else seemed to think he was Jesus incarnated, except Jesus didn't fuck girls behind the bleachers during school hours, or glorified in his 'fame' by autographing pictures of himself and charging freshmen students $20 for each copy, or got drunk at the prom and stormed the stage singing 'Like A Virgin' dedicating the song publically to Loki (much to Thor's dismay).
Loki always desperately tried to avoid Tony; it just didn't help that Tony was in his every class. Tony always made it his personal mission to rub it in Loki's face that he was better at him in Science and that his teachers had named him a 'modern day Einstein' because of his genius that he had inherited from his father.
However, during their second year in the school all the teachers had stopped stroking his ego because of Tony's tendencies to behave like an asshole during the day and the school seemed to think that he would stop if the teachers weren't praising him anymore. It didn't do anything; all it did was give Tony several trips to the principal's office but he never got thrown out because his father had made a very big donation to the school's science department just as long as Tony didn't get expelled.
Tony, somehow, managed to get Loki in trouble during class. It was like his cruel hobby. Loki usually sat at the desk by the right corner at the back of the classroom and then Tony would arrive, taking the space beside him. The teacher would start her lesson, Tony would start whispering nonsense and bullshit in Loki's ear, anything that would irritate the younger boy, and then Loki would hit back with a retort and tell him he was being a jerk. It would start off their daily whispered battle of wits. Loki always wondered if it was a teacher thing in their school to not hear Tony whispering but to hear when Loki retaliated. Loki would get told off in front of everyone and Tony would be wallowing in his 'achievements' and be sat there with a self-satisfied smirk that never failed to make Loki see red. It was almost a daily routine for Tony and Loki's poor classes to have to witness their fights and their disagreements.
Loki loathed Tony. Tony loved making Loki loathe him.
And now, the thought of leaving all that behind made him sigh in relief. No more being called 'Hamlet' or 'Macbeth' whenever he enters his English classroom, no more having to hear about how many girls he's fucked at the end of the week and no more having to be the victim of Tony's stupid taunts about how Loki secretly lusts for him.
The only problem was that they would all be attending the same university. Loki didn't let that hinder his happiness though. With any luck, Loki would be put into a different dorm building than them. None of them would be sharing his classes because they all chose different majors as Thor had pointed out. As long as he didn't run into them all in the campus too much, he would be settled and try to live his life how he wants; no more just being Thor's little brother, no more Tony's teasing and he could finally have his own life without his family breathing down his neck all the time.
"Brother!"
Loki snapped out of his mixed thoughts and a frown placed itself on his face. He turned to look at Thor who had a grin on his face.
"What?" He asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice.
"We are here!" Thor bellowed, clapping him hard on the shoulder, not noticing his little brother's wince.
Loki glanced up at the gates of the university through the window and sighed. He hated that Thor followed him here but was relieved that he finally had a chance of escape from having to see his family every day. Frigga sat in the passenger seat and turned back to look at her two young sons. Her eyes glazed over and she clamped down on her lip to stop from sobbing. Thor held her hand.
"Mother, do not fret. We are just moving out of the house, not leaving you behind forever. We will see you during the holidays. You and Father have nothing to worry about," Thor assured her.
"I just wish that your father was here to bid you farewell. If he could only wake and leave that damned hospital. Now my children are leaving me too, is there no end to my heartache?" Frigga whimpered, wiping at her tears.
"Mother, please do not cry. We will see you soon enough and I do not doubt Father will have woken up by then. I will take good care of myself and Loki," Thor said.
She smiled gently at him and then turned to look at Loki. Her youngest made a noise in the back of his throat.
"I do not need to be under your care, Thor," Loki spat, "I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. Or are you just too thick headed to notice that I have my own body which I can look after. We are not joined at the hip!" Loki hissed.
Frigga winced. "Loki, please. This is the last time I will see you both for another few months, I want to see you happy."
"How can I be happy when I am in your presence?" Loki bit.
Frigga winced and her eyes filled with fresh tears. "Loki please, do not-"
"Loki, this is not the time for this," Thor interrupted, softly touching his brother's shoulder.
Loki shrugged it off.
"I apologise, Mother. I did not mean it," Loki said, not meeting her eyes.
"I know you didn't, my sweet boy. It is alright," Frigga assured him, grabbing for his hand and squeezing it.
Loki squeezed back effortlessly and noticed Thor smiling at them both out of the corner of his eyes. He ignored the older boy and with a soft 'goodbye' to Frigga, he stepped out and unloaded his luggage from the trunk of the car, wanting to be out of there as soon as was possible. Thor followed behind him but Loki had already started walking away before he could get a chance to catch up.
A/N: Oh my goodness, I was SO very tempted to write 'happy-go-Loki' instead of 'happy-go-lucky' at the start. Sorry, I know that was a short introduction but I just wanted to establish a few things here such as Loki's adoption and his feelings towards Odin and Thor and also of course, his feelings towards Tony before we move onto Chapter 1. More character interaction in the next chapter, I promise. Just bear with me, my chapters tend to vary from long to short to long because I tend to shorten or lengthen dialogue for dramatic effect.
Also, I am going to be introducing a few familiar (or not so familiar) faces from Marvel Comics that will be imperative for this story to work and become interesting for you to read (I hope!). And I will usually not write author's notes at the beginning of each chapter however if there is dark content ahead, I will put up a warning at the start. Just telling you now because there will be dark content ahead. Rating of this story will definitely change from T to M once I finish future chapters that include scenes of a sexual nature (hurrah!) or scenes of dub-con/non-con.
On a last note, the title of this story has absolutely NOTHING to do with 50 Shades of Grey. The title came to me at a random moment and I hadn't even realised it was like the book so do not think this has any relevance to it. If you want to know the meaning of the title, please ask in your review and if any of you want to know I will tell you in the next chapter :)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story, unless stated otherwise. All known characters are owned by Marvel and their creators. This story has been published to entertain and no profit is or will ever be made.