It felt absurdly early to be waking up. It was still completely dark outside and after an entire school break of sleeping in and lazing around, the cold before the dawn seemed unnecessarily cruel.
Thor had dragged himself out of bed reluctantly, still practically snoring as he relieved himself and even as he brushed his teeth. He was still battling sleep until he stripped out of his pyjama pants and stepped into the shower. The hot water woke him up properly and he quickly washed himself and his hair before turning off the faucet and wrapping a towel around his waist.
He went to the vanity and started applying shaving cream to the magnificent beard he'd grown over the break. "Goodbye old friend." Thor muttered to his reflection before picking up a razor and beginning to shave it off.
"I see you're talking to yourself now." Loki Odinson, clad in a fluffy pair of green pyjamas, stepped into the bathroom and shot a smirk at his older brother. "And they say I'm the weird one."
"Oh my god, get out of here you pervert." Thor said with laugh and turned around to toss a toothbrush at his younger brother. Loki grinned and side stepped the projectile easily. He and his brother always joked and ribbed one another, at this point it was more of an expression of love than an insult.
"Well hurry up, I need to shower." Loki complained and joined his brother at the vanity.
"Maybe you should have gotten up earlier." Thor suggested, staring at himself intently in the mirror as he used the sharp blade to remove the hair from his throat. "I have quite the job to do here."
"Perhaps you should have dealt with that thing yesterday." Loki retorted, gesturing at what was left of his brothers beard with one hand whilst brushing his teeth with the other. He himself was essentially incapable of growing a beard anyway, but he did prefer to keep his porcelain smooth skin hairless.
"I'll have you know that the ladies adored this thing." Thor said as he wiped the last of the cream from his face and then splashed water on his freshly shaven skin.
"Uh huh. Great reason to do something." Loki commented after he'd spat out a mouthful of toothpaste. "Pander to the opinions of little girls. Perfect."
"My, my, we are snarky this morning." Thor teased his brother, stopping to ruffle his thick black hair before grabbing his pants from the floor and heading to the doorway. "You should be nicer to me, I'm your ride to school."
"Yeah, yeah, now get out." Loki chuckled and went to close the door after his brother. He stripped quickly, careful not to look at himself in the mirror. The image of his older brothers' muscular figure, the ideal man in many eyes, torturing him as he tried to avoid looking at his own skinny body.
He showered quickly, spending time washing his silky black hair and every inch of his pale skin. Once he was sure he was clean he stepped out of the shower and dried off his body thoroughly. Wrapped in his damp towel he went back to his room and moisturised his skin. He dressed with meticulous detail in a pair of pressed black jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie that had been washed and dried to the exact specifications on the tag. One of his favourite bands logos was printed in silver on the back of the hoodie, but otherwise he was dressed in entirely in black. He put on warm socks and a pair of old school vans, then styled his hair into a man bun once he'd finished dressing.
Loki grabbed his backpack off his desk where he'd left it after he'd finished perfectly packing it the night before and went downstairs to find some breakfast.
In the kitchen he found his mother, Frigga Odinson, sipping coffee at the table and Thor at the stove frying eggs and bacon. Thor had his blonde hair in a pony tail, and was wearing blue jeans and his red, white and blue letterman jacket.
"Good morning elskling." Frigga smiled at her youngest child and rose to kiss his forehead.
"Morning Mother." Loki returned her smile and hugged her. Despite being only 16, and still considerably shorter than Thor, he was more than a foot taller than his mother.
"Are you both ready for school?" Frigga asked her sons as she returned to her coffee.
"Of course, I was born ready." Thor said with a grin as he piled the large amount of breakfast he'd made onto a plate. "You want some of this little brother?" He added, holding out his plate to Loki as he went to the table.
"No, I'll pass." Loki raised an eyebrow at the grease pile Thor had made and went to the cupboard to pour himself some cereal. The little family ate together peacefully, minus only their older sister, until the clock signalled it was time to leave.
"Come on, we'll be late." Loki urged Thor from where he was already waiting by the door holding Thor's keys, wallet and backpack. "You know I get fidgety if we're late."
"Yes, I do, and it is this level of self awareness that makes you both more likeable and more irritating." Thor said to his brother as he met him at the door and took his things from him.
"You're such an ass." Loki muttered and pushed Thor's shoulder. They both laughed and called goodbye to their mother before leaving the warm house to trudge across the frozen ground outside to Thor's old Ford ute. Driving in the central part of NYC was ridiculous, but the school they attended stood on a large, sprawling property out in the suburbs, only half an hours drive from where Thor and Loki lived.
Already at school and sitting on the tall stone fence that surrounded the expansive property was T'Challa King. He was tall, lithe, muscled and his dark skin was smooth and taught across his chiselled body. T'Challa was the running back for the football team, and one of the nicest and humblest guys at school. His parents were rich beyond belief, but he never acted like he was better than any of his classmates.
He was the object of many affections at school, he dressed well, was incredibly handsome and he had a thick and sexy accent. His family had moved to NYC from Wakanda less than five years before his senior year began, and though they spoke English with ease, he as well as his younger sister had strong accents.
Shuri King, his younger sister, was standing on the pavement below him, shivering in the cold as she glanced impatiently up and down the street. She was a petite girl with stunning dark skin and natural black hair pulled back into braids.
"Where is this boy?" Shuri asked her brother, frustrated that she was outside in the cold waiting for a stranger she'd never met instead of being the in the warm computer lab working on one of her projects before class. "Why are we waiting?"
"I am not waiting for this boy." T'Challa reminded her, chuckling at his sister's frustration. "You are waiting because you are your class president, and it is your job to welcome and orient new students until the next class presidential elections."
T'Challa laughed outright when his sister shot him a filthy look and he rolled his eyes at her in return before he continued. "I am waiting for my friend, and when he arrives, I will abandon you to this peril."
Shuri narrowed her eyes and glared at her brother. "When my next robot is finished I am going to programme him to annoy you endlessly brother."
"It cannot be anyone worse than you are." T'Challa replied with a grin at the same time that he caught sight of his friend. He jumped down from the wall and patted his sister's shoulder before leaving her there to wait for the new kid. He adored his sister, and he had no doubt she could handle this task on her own.
"T'Challa!" Bucky Barnes drew closer to his teammate and friend and drew him into a hug. They clapped one another on the back before breaking apart and walking toward the grand front doors. "How're you doing? I hardly saw you over the break."
"Yes, my friend, my family and I spent much of the winter break in Wakanda." T'Challa gestured to the banks of snow on either side of the pathway and shivered. "I was not sad to leave this frozen place for a while."
Bucky grinned and elbowed his friend in the side. "What, you didn't miss all this?" He asked, his breath coming out in visible white puffs thanks to the cold.
"Not at all." T'Challa replied honestly, his own breath matching Bucky's. "And how are you my friend?"
"Oh, you know me, I'm always fine, living it up." Bucky shrugged, knowing full well he'd wasted most of his break watching Netflix and tinkering around with the old car in his garage. It wasn't much compared to staying in resorts in the warm and sunny African country his friend hailed from, but it was something.
The boys entered the school, walking under the grand archway and the overly fancy brass plaque nailed above it.
Hevner Academy: School for Boys and Girls with Distinction
Inside they immediately ran into two more members of the football team, Steve Rogers and Sam Wilson.
"Good morning teammates." Steve greeted them with polite smiles, his eyes warming when he saw his friends. "T'Challa, good to have you back, I hope you're ready for a gruelling season."
"Ready and roaring to go." T'Challa promised his captain with a smile.
Beside the main entrance, in one of the many adjacent halls that were lined with lockers, Gamora Black and Valkyrie Scrapper were flicking through their class schedules in front of the latter girl's open locker. The dress code at Hevner Academy was a relaxed one, it was a private school funded and designed for their students to achieve mental and physical prowess. The dress code was less and less important in today's age. Of course, there were rules, but unlike in many schools, Gamora's black t-shirt crop top, ankle boots, high waisted white jeans with holes at the knee's, cat eyeliner and dark lipstick were more than acceptable.
The large building was well heated, students often shed layers once inside, hence her lack of winter attire. Scrapper wore a sky blue t-shirt tied in a knot in the front, grey high waisted linen pants and high end sneakers. Her thick curly dark hair was loose around her shoulders and she wore no makeup.
Both girls were pleased with their schedules, they had been accepted into all of the classes they had wanted and were both scheduled to audition for the swim team again later that day. So far they'd both made it every year since they were freshman, and neither had any plan on missing out on a spot this year.
"I wonder who will become head cheerleader while Pepper is gone?" Gamora mused as she shut her schedule and tucked it into her cute green backpack.
Scrapper glanced across the hall and the various students crowded into it at Peppers empty locker. "I don't know, probably someone annoying as hell. She was too good to be true as far as cheerleaders go."
Gamora smirked in agreement and waved at Thor Odinson as he arrived at the other end of the hall. He returned the wave as another student, Bruce Banner, approached the girls. He stood in front of them as Scrapper shut her locker, a crooked grin on his face and his heavy backpack in tow.
"Hello ladies." Bruce was an awkward guy, he wore huge glasses and was a bona fide genius with science and physics, but his social abilities were not the strongest. He made Scrapper uncomfortable because he seemed like he was sweet and yet he was always looking at her breasts. As if she weren't self-conscious about the size of her ample bosom already. However, she'd been his lab partner the year before and now he seemed to think they were friends.
Gamora offered him a tight and dismissive smile before walking away to her own locker and checking her phone. Scrapper glared after her for a moment before she offered Brice a quick smile and greeted him before she too ducked away.
"Oh, that was rough Banner. Try looking girls in the eyes, they seem to like that." Thor Odinson's deep and booming voice made Bruce cringe as he walked past him and made his comment, clapping him on the back as he did so.
Loki followed Thor closely, following in the spacious wake his brothers' wide shoulders created in the chaotic mass of students. His brother was excellent at providing him an easy way of navigating the people filled halls.
Loki followed Thor until he saw his brothers football teammates waiting for him outside their classroom and he ducked away. He was a junior anyway and would have to split off from him eventually. Keeping his eyes low he ducked to the left, hoping none of the rough boys his brother played with would notice him, and ran smack into another student.
Loki, the wispy creature he was, fell backwards and would have tumbled to the ground if the person he'd run into hadn't reached out and grabbed his arms tightly. Loki gasped and looked up as he was set back on his feet. Immediately his cheeks flushed to a bright and embarrassing red.
"Hey, take it easy dude." Tony Stark said as he let go of the younger boys' shoulders and straightened his own jacket. "You alright?"
"Fine, th, thank you." Loki stuttered, shuffling awkwardly on the spot as he tried not to stare at the stunning senior standing in front of him. Tony was dressed gorgeously, his slim but strong body encased splendidly in fitted chinos, a hoodie and a thigh length jacket. Loki couldn't stand to look at his pretty face, Tony was unshaven, and his hair was tousled in that cute just rolled out of bed way and it was near intoxicating.
Without another word he stepped around the older boy and rushed to his classroom. He was beyond embarrassed, but he also couldn't stop thinking about the feeling of Tony's large hands holding his narrow shoulders as he caught him.
Inside his classroom he found his usual seat at the back empty and slid into it gratefully. As she always was, Shuri King was seated beside him at the next desk.
"Good morning Loki, this is our new classmate, Peter Parker." Shuri greeted him with a 100 killer watt smile and gestured to the cute boy sitting on the other side of her.
"Hi Peter." Loki offered shyly, relieved to feel the colour draining from his cheeks.
"Hi Loki! Shuri tells me you're Norwegian, and she's from Wakanda, omg everyone here is so exciting, my old school was pretty boring." Peter was immediately a bouncing ball of enthusiasm, he was practically hanging off of the edge of his seat as he spoke with vivid animation.
Shuri laughed, her laughter always sounded like bells, and she was the singular most pleasant person in Loki's whole grade, though it seemed like this Peter Parker might be about to give her some competition. She was dressed in her usual edgy but right on trend style that included baggy pants, a tight top and several gold choker necklaces. Peter was dressed similarly to Loki, but in a red sweatshirt, blue jeans and bright sneakers.
"This boy is crazy, he is so excited to meet us." Shuri giggled, clearly as bewildered and amused as Loki was.
Loki smiled, Peter's friendly nature put him at ease just as Shuri's did. "Well, my mother is second generation Norwegian. I've never been to Europe myself." Loki shrugged and crossed his legs on his seat, effectively sitting on them. "How about you, why have you transferred to Hevner?"
Peter answered quickly, frowning then smiling then chuckling in such a fast order it was confusing to watch. "My aunt moved out here for work, and I live with her, so here I am!"
Loki bit his lip, unsure whether or not he should address why Peter lived with his aunt not his parents. Were they dead? Criminals? Had they abandoned their young son? Did he talk so much they threw themselves off a cliff?
Luckily Shuri saved Loki from having to voice any of his increasingly inappropriate mental ramblings.
"Well we are glad to have you here now." Shuri said with another of her stunning smiles just as their first period teacher walked in the door. "You are going to love it here."
