Author's Note – Ownership of the cover-image goes to Batwynn, as it is her picture. Much thanks to Cassy27 for her help with this story.
Chapter Three || Just Be Straight Up
The music was too loud. The kids screaming were too loud. Tony Stark was just too fucking loud.
He was drinking. What else could he possibly do while at one of Tony's parties? They had won the first football game of the season, completely dominating the Alfheim Elves. That was whatever. Thor honestly didn't give a damn. It was just another check off of an endless list of things Thor had to do that week. But it was a big deal to everyone else, hence the reason for the party and the noise that came with it.
Thor had stayed around Tony and Steve and Rhodey and Pepper for as long as he was needed before the four of them started acting more ridiculous and stupid than usual. After that, he was gone. He gave the excuse of going to find more alcohol and hadn't been back since. He was now walking aimlessly around the mansion, counting down the minutes to when it would be appropriate to head home. He'd like to think that his parents would go to bed on time, but after tonight, he was pretty sure that they would stay up and expect an update on how his day went, how he played during the game, and how Tony was doing. It made him sick how interested they were in him, but what could he do? Tony Stark – and his father – secured not only his future, but theirs, as well.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, Thor took a rather large gulp of the beer that was in his plastic red cup, walking around the side of the mansion. He'd gone outside and cleared his head. There was as much of a party going on outside as there was one inside, but at least the one outside wasn't as crammed. Thor had felt as though he was going to suffocate in there.
The side of the mansion was lined by trees despite the fact that there wasn't another house close by. Thor walked through them, enjoying the separation. The music still made the ground feel as though it was shaking with how loudly it was, but there weren't any people around. It was just Thor with a cup full of beer. Some of the trees had lights in them, and Thor used that to guide him through, not that he could get lost, of course.
He thought that he was alone. The last thing he expected to find were several tire-swings tied to thicker branches along the trees, and he certainly didn't expect to find Loki sitting in one of them, a plastic red cup of beer of his own. At first he thought that he'd been drinking too much, because there was no way that Loki would be at one of Tony Stark's parties, especially after what happened yesterday. But there he was, chin resting on his arm.
Should he approach? Should he just turn around and walk away? They didn't say a word to each other earlier in English-class and, the last time they spoke, Loki had looked as though he was ready to kill someone. He then wondered if he should confront Loki. He had been accused of having something to do with what happened between Pepper and Natasha Romanoff and that hadn't been the case at all. He couldn't stand Pepper and the cruel side of him wouldn't have minded at all if the girl had gotten the sense knocked into her.
In the end, it was Loki who made the decision for him. It was as Thor was turning around to leave as quietly as he came did Loki speak up. "Hey."
That was it. It was that greeting and call of acknowledgement that froze Thor in his place. He tightened the hold he had on that plastic red cup before shifting his body to where he had it angled towards Loki. "Hey," He said in reply, unsure of where Loki was – if he was still angry or if he seemed calmer. He didn't have a lot of experience reading him – he honestly just took notice in him a few days ago – but from what he could see, Loki appeared the latter.
Loki didn't seem as though he was going to say anything. Of course, he would be the strong, silent type. Thor figured there was a point to that. Thor didn't know names, but he recognised faces. The more well-known people were, the greater the likelihood of Tony making fun or pestering them in some way, and seeing as how he only took notice of Loki … well. It made sense.
Clearing his throat, Thor found himself shuffling his foot in the grass. When that didn't hold his interest, he took another gulp, allowing the beer to jumble and disorient his thoughts. "So what is this? You get my attention and don't say anything?"
It was a joke and Thor was thankful that Loki smiled instead of snapping at him. He watched as Loki shrugged his shoulders, picking his chin up from where he had it resting on his arm. "I like watching you scramble for something to say to fill the silence."
"Yeah, I'm not one for uncomfortable silences," Thor chuckled, lifting a hand to run it through his hair. Only when he did, did he realise that Loki was lifting a cigarette to his lips. He furrowed his brows. "You sure are addicted to those things."
"I'm addicted to nicotine. That's generally what happens when a Russian introduces them to you."
"Oh."
"Does it bother you?" Loki raised his eyebrows in question.
Thor opened and closed his mouth several times before deciding it best to just keep it closed. He had no idea how to answer the question, so he just shrugged his shoulders. Yes, the smell of it bothered him. The smell was absolutely disgusting. But how Loki smoked certainly didn't bother him in the slightest, and the revelation of it shocked him. Choosing instead to not answer was probably best. Loki could take it however he wanted.
He narrowed his eyes, as though he was trying to figure Thor out. "Interesting," He finally said, voice low, but not low enough for Thor not to hear. It was Thor's turn to raise his brows.
"Interesting in a bad way?"
"No."
Once again, Loki left him hanging, not divulging his curiosity and simply staring at him. It should have frustrated him, because Thor was never one to be kept in the dark, but it didn't. It was yet another thing that confused him, but this was Loki and, so far, he had been shrouded in mystery. He was an enigma that suddenly fascinated him.
Changing the subject, Thor ventured a few steps closer, wrapping a hand around the rope of one of the tire-swings, jostling it slightly. "So what are you doing here? I wouldn't have pegged you for a partier."
Loki shrugged. "I wouldn't have pegged you for one, either," He grinned at Thor before looking away. As he watched Loki play with the condensation rolling down his cup, Thor swallowed. Maybe he was thinking too much into it, but he felt as though Loki was seeing right through the walls that he constructed for himself. Or maybe he was just drinking too much and was more buzzed than he previously thought. He shook his head. When Thor didn't say anything in return, Loki sighed. "I needed to get out of my house. And while I was out, I figured I would get drunk. Stark's house seemed the place to be – free alcohol."
"Oh."
"I also thought that you would be here …"
That definitely got Thor's attention. His sparkling blue eyes widened slightly and he opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't know what to say. "Oh," He cursed himself.
Loki snorted, though he kept his gaze on his cup. "I, uh … you didn't have anything to do with what happened to Natasha. I saw when you arrived and you didn't look as though you knew what was going on. I was just angry that Tony's bitch got away with it and Natasha was the one suspended."
"She really is a fucking bitch," Thor said, nodding in agreement. When Loki looked up at him with raised brows, Thor shrugged his shoulders. "Given the choice, I'd rather hang out with you than any of them. You don't seem like a pretentious ass-hole."
Tossing his cup to the side, Loki climbed out of the tire-swing and, after taking one more pull of his cigarette he dropped it and stepped on it. "Wanna get out of here?"
"And go where?"
"I know a place that's still open at this hour. They serve nice breakfast," At Thor's silence – even with the faint light surrounding them from the trees, Thor could see him blush some – Loki cleared his throat and started walking towards the sound of the music, which was still pulsating around them. "We need to get more in depth with what we're doing for the project. I don't like fucking around and waiting till the last minute to get shit down."
Thor grinned. "I'm actually starving, so yeah, let's get out of here."
-x- -x- -x-
The diner that Loki took Thor to was definitely away from the normal places that he would haunt. The red paint was chipping off the walls and the inside had a faint odour of grease. Surprisingly, though, Thor actually liked the place. Inside was homey and a bit on the warm side with cheap vinyl upholstery that was sticky. Loki must have been a usual, because the young woman who worked there – Loki greeted her as Sif – handed them menus and only asked Thor what he wanted to drink and eat. She must have had Loki's order memorised.
Ten minutes later, two hot plates were placed in front of them. Loki had eggs and bacon and hash-browns, and a biscuit on the side. Thor had pancakes and eggs and sausage. They compromised some after inspecting each other's plates. Loki gave up half of his biscuit and some of his bacon for one pancake. He stole a bit of sausage, too, but Thor didn't say anything.
"So what were you thinking for the project?" Thor asked after several minutes of simply eating. The silence wasn't uncomfortable or anything. Thor actually enjoyed being able to drift without feeling as though he needed to fill the quiet.
Loki was quiet for a minute, slowly chewing. "Nothing to do with love – I hate that sappy shit."
"Okay …" Thor tried to think, but honestly, he was drawing a blank. He had never been a calm kid. He was always moving, always doing something. He had no time to sit down and read, so picking a quote and finding meaning to it actually seemed a bit more daunting than he originally thought.
"'Victory's contagious. In all chaos, there is calculation'," Loki said. When Thor raised his eyebrows in question, Loki looked down and started cutting what was left of his pancake into smaller pieces. "Life is a game and we are all striving to win. We win a round and we endeavour to win another and another. Eventually, we learn to play better, harder. It's strategy. It's life. That is all life is."
Thor didn't know what to say. He certainly wasn't expecting that. But it was beautiful and elegant and mind-blowing to Thor, insightful. "Wow …"
Loki grinned. "I read a lot."
"What else do you like to do?"
He hummed. "Plot world domination – subjugating this world seems like a good idea, seeing as how quickly it's going to hell."
"Sounds like a tough gig for one guy," Thor rolled his eyes then looked down at his plate, slowly feeling his good mood slip. "… I don't know what I like to do. I never seem to have enough time to do anything."
"Why?"
"… I'm always doing what everyone else wants me to do."
"Why?"
Thor looked up at Loki then. He didn't know if he was just too blind to see it or what, but he laughed pathetically, almost manic. "I don't fucking know."
"Well, don't you think you need to find out?" Loki asked. He slouched in his seat and propped his feet up beside Thor, ankles crossed. He played with a bit of his hash-browns before putting a fork-full in his mouth.
"My parents have this plan –" Thor started – he had no idea why he was saying any of this, but he wanted to tell him for some reason – only to be unceremoniously cut off by Loki.
"I'm sure you love your parents and all – and I apologise for how crude this'll sound – but fuck them. This is your life. Live it how you want to live it."
Thor shook his head and forced a chuckle. "You're deep."
"More like experienced," Loki said. When Thor gave him a puzzled look, Loki merely shook his head. "'And like the sea, I'm constantly changing from calm to hell'. That's true about every human being, is it not?"
Thor felt as though Loki was describing him. He didn't take offense. "Thank you."
He didn't even know why he said it, but it was already out and there was no taking it back. It obviously threw Loki off guard, who opened his mouth to say something, but clearly couldn't think of anything to say in reply for the longest time.
"What?" He seemed to settle on.
"I don't know," For seeing me and not looking away.
-x- -x- -x-
He hadn't wanted to get up. His bed was too perfect. The sheets were nice and warm; a cool breeze from the cracked window had kept him from over-heating. His pillows were just right, the blankets wrapped around him just right. The very thought of getting up made him want to whine in protest and bury himself even deeper in the cocoon of warmth, but he knew that if he didn't, his mother and father would simply come up and get him. There was no sleeping in, no matter what day of the week it was. There was too much to do and so little time to do it all in.
Forcing himself from bed, Thor went into the bathroom, brushed his teeth, showered, and then emerged. The longing to crawl back into bed was still strong, but at least he felt more awake. He'd straighten the bed later to quench the temptation entirely after breakfast.
He found Odin and Frigga in the kitchen, the pair making breakfast. The smell of pancakes and bacon filled the air, Thor's thoughts immediately going back to last night with Loki in that diner. His stomach seemed to flutter, his chest growing light. He felt almost … giddy. Shaking his head, he moved deeper into the room to greet his parents. It was just too early to be thinking about Loki.
"Morning," Thor greeted when he moved deeper inside the spacious kitchen. After giving Frigga a kiss on the cheek, he grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured himself some orange juice.
"How was the game last night, son?" Odin asked. He was buttering toast and putting them on their individual plates. He looked up and grinned at Thor, and Thor couldn't help but roll his eyes, his lips quirking upwards slightly.
"You know how the game went," He replied, shaking his head when Odin chuckled.
Things seemed … easy. A good majourity of the time, Thor despised his parents, because they were pushy and controlling and compulsive about anything and everything to do with his life. But sometimes … sometimes they were really great. Sometimes they acted like parents should, teasing and joking around with their children. Thor could feel his body relaxing –
– Or it started to relax before Frigga opened her mouth and ruined his serenity. "And what about the party at Tony's house – how did that go?"
What she really meant to ask was did you meet Howard Stark and, if you did, what did you say to him? And just like that, whatever semblance of a good mood was stripped from him, leaving him feeling tired and irritable. Was that truly all they cared about? Even Odin looked up at that, his eyes sharpening, all hints of playfulness seeping from him, being replaced with business. Because that's all Thor was to them – business.
Pursing his lips, Thor cleared his throat and picked up his glass, taking small, slow sips of the orange juice, trying to figure out what exactly he wanted to tell them. The chances of them taking the news of him ditching the party – and any attempts at meeting Howard Stark – to spend time with Loki probably wouldn't end well. Thor decided to merely shrug his shoulders. If they wanted to know about what happened – or what didn't happen – then they would have to come out and ask him directly. He was tired of the evasive questions.
"Thor?" Odin prompted.
"Yes?"
Frigga gave a sharp exhalation, levelling Thor with a look that would have normally brought his gaze down and bend to their will. He just … didn't feel like doing that – not now. "Do you not care about your future at all? Or are you just trying to be difficult?"
Thor did roll his eyes that time. "I might be more willing if you and father would back off and stop pressuring me. It's my life. Let me live it."
Odin narrowed his one good eye, not at all appreciating the way that he and Frigga were being spoken to. He put down the butter knife he was using and placed his hands firmly against the counter. "Thor, we have talked about this before. Your mother and I –"
"Yeah, I know what you're trying to do, but I think you're taking it too far. I'm just a junior. I'm still a kid and you're acting like I'm running out of time. Let me live a little."
"You are running out of time!" Thor flinched back when Odin slammed his fist down on the counter. All traces of a good mood were gone now. Odin looked as cross and bitter as he always appeared. "I started out too late and now –"
"Your time is over! Stop trying to live my life for me!" Thor had no idea where that came from. His chest was heaving. Never had he spoken to his parents like that, but damn, did it feel good. Without another word, Thor turned around and stormed out of the kitchen, ignoring the shouts calling him back, ignoring everything.
Author's Note – This story is mostly finished. Updates will be very three days.
