Chapter 10:

Thor's been sitting here for maybe fifteen minutes, waiting for Loki to come out of the bathroom. He hasn't started eating yet, not wanting to do so without the other boy present. Logically he knows this is probably normal. That it would take Loki longer than most to get up and going in the morning. Irrationally though, Thor can't help worrying.

He hopes he hasn't upset the other boy by spending the night. Loki had said it was okay, but... Thor isn't sure. He has trouble reading Loki's emotions at times.

Another five minutes, and Thor can hardly stand it.

He stands, moving towards the still closed bathroom door. Reaching it, he knocks lightly, biting his lip. He can hear Loki in there, moving around.

"Loki?" He calls.

A few, long seconds pass before he hears any sort of reply.

"Y-yeah. I'm... I'll just be a minute more!" Loki calls back, and Thor can't help the relief he feels.

"Are you alright in there?" He asks.

"Yes, thank you." Loki says. His voice is soft and muffled behind the door, making it even more difficult than usual to hear him. "I'll just be a minute."

"... Okay." Thor answers, feeling foolish, before turning away and heading back to the kitchen table.

It's maybe another three or four minutes before, finally, the bathroom door comes open, and Loki comes rolling out, Michael, as usual, right at his side.

He's wearing a different set of clothes, a white button up shirt which he's tucked neatly into the waistline of his pants, and a nice, if obviously cheap pair of slacks. He's combed his hair back too, and looks generally fresher than when he'd first come out of his room.

Thor is happy to see it.

"Sorry I took so long." Loki mutters as he comes up to the table, sounding slightly embarrassed. "It... uh, it takes me a while sometimes, in... in the morning."

Thor smiles brightly, shaking his head.

"That's okay. Sorry if I, um... sounded pushy or something. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Loki gives him a lopsided smile, still looking a little uncomfortable. Michael jumps up onto his lap.

"I know, I'm... pretty pathetic, aren't I?" He laughs, the sound bitter, and Thor frowns, feeling his heart sink.

"No, that... that isn't what I meant!" He hurries to explain himself. "I just..."

Loki shakes his head.

"It's alright." He says. "I get it." He shrugs, almost boredly. "I'm in a wheelchair. I can't even piss standing up. I've got to sit on the loo like a girl. It must be strange to someone like you."

For a moment, Loki's voice sounds unusually angry, his face twisting in disgust, before he seems abruptly to remember himself, his features smoothing and his eyes going wide.

He looks away.

"I'm sorry." He mumbles. "I'm sorry, I... that was rude. I didn't mean..."

For a moment, Thor isn't sure what to say. He feels taken aback, almost stunned at the show of temper on Loki's part. Though, as he allows himself to remember, he again recalls Darcy's warnings about the younger boy, and how he hated to be pitied.

He also allows himself to remember that, despite really liking Loki, he doesn't really at all know the younger boy yet.

Doesn't really know anything about him, beyond a few, basic facts. And the slap in the face realization of how Loki's handicap limits him has similarly left Thor at a loss.

"No, I'm sorry." He says, finally regaining his composure. "I shouldn't... shouldn't make assumptions about you."

Loki sighs heavily, still looking away. He seems frustrated, still edgy, his hands fidgeting where they pet Michael.

"... I've got a temper." He says after a moment. And then he gives a laugh, derisive sounding. "It's ironic, right? Me, getting angry at anyone, with nothing to back it up. My... m-my father used warn me about that. Used to t-tell me it would get me in trouble. Used to sh... show me..."

The younger boy's voice trails off then, and he gives a weak shrug, turning away.

If Thor hadn't been certain before of an abusive background, he is now, with a likely source of blame to boot.

He feels sick.

He feels sick hearing Loki talking about himself the way he does. Like he... like he really believes all those horrible things about himself.

"Listen," he starts after a moment, wanting suddenly, desperately, to shift away from the negativity. To focus on something that might actually help Loki. Might actually show the other boy that Thor was sincere in wanting to be his friend. "how about after we eat breakfast, we go out and just hang out around town. Have you been to Rodeo Drive? We can go shopping around there."

Loki blinks back at him, for a moment looking utterly lost. It takes Thor only a moment longer to realize that he is.

"It's a, uh, an up scale shopping district in Beverly Hills. I just thought it might be fun to go for the afternoon. If you wanted to, I mean."

Loki continues to stare back at him for a seemingly long time, his expression almost uncomprehending, until finally he shakes his head, swallowing visibly.

"I... I w-wouldn't belong in a place like that." He finally stammers out, and Thor feels his heart sink.

"Don't be silly." He tries. "Of course you would."

But Loki only shakes his head again, looking away.

"No, I..." he hesitates, like he's searching for the right thing to say, not knowing what. "I don't have any money." He finally settles on, his face turning flushed with the confession.

"That's no problem. I'll just pay for you." Thor says, smiling, happy at the simple solution.

If he'd expected Loki to return his enthusiasm though, he's met with a blunt realty check a moment later, when the younger boy's face grows immediately irritated, even angry again.

"I don't need you to pay for me Thor." He says flatly, voice edged with displeasure, and Thor realizes his blunder quickly. Realizes that he's just insulted Loki, without even meaning to.

Jesus, he was such an idiot.

"I'm sorry." He quickly starts to apologize. "I didn't mean to imply..."

But Loki cuts him short, shaking his head again.

"Thor... look." He pauses, hands fidgeting at the plate of food in front of him, stabbing at his eggs, but not moving at all to eat them. "You've been really nice. I... don't know why. I'm just guessing you're a good guy. And I... I appreciate it. I really do. But..." again, he pauses, and a bitter half-laugh escapes his throat. "I'll just be an embarrassment to you."

"That's not true." Thor cuts in, horrified. "I wouldn't..."

"You don't think you would." Loki talks right over him this time. "That's because you've never been friends with someone like me, I'm guessing." He smiles at Thor, the expression almost sweet, and in an instant, Thor realizes Loki can see straight through him. That he can see exactly what kind of person Thor had been just a few months before, before he'd graduated high school. And he was right. He never had been friends with someone like Loki. With someone who wasn't already popular and well liked among their peers. And it was for exactly the reasons Loki had just said. Because Thor had been too embarrassed by the prospect of being seen with them to even consider it a possibility.

It shames him to think of it now. To think how shallow and pathetic that had been.

"Look," Loki starts again. "I don't want to make things hard for you Thor. You really have been nice to me, and I really do appreciate it. But what would happen if one of your other friends saw you going around with me? The gimp in the wheelchair. What would they think?"

Thor frowns, an abrupt shot of anger going through him.

"It doesn't matter what they'd think." He snaps, annoyed.

But Loki only continues to smile that same, knowing smile, and Thor knows he can see it in him. That it does matter. Thor's friends would never stop teasing him about it, would probably accuse him of taking Loki on as some sort of pet project, to get extra credits or just as some sort of fantasy fetish he wanted to try out. That wasn't... wasn't true, of course. At least... Thor didn't think it was true.

He genuinely liked Loki. Genuinely enjoyed his company. He was a great kid, who deserved to have a friend.

Again, the younger boy's voice cuts through his thoughts, all too knowing.

"I don't want your friendship Thor if you're only doing it because you feel sorry for me. I don't need your charity. I know it looks like I don't have much." Loki shrugs then, looking away, around at the tiny apartment. "I guess I don't. But... it's better than what I had. I came to this country on my own, with my own money, and I've gotten this far on my own. I just... I like you Thor. I do. I'd like to be your friend. But I don't want you dragging me round and showing me off like your personal good will project. Okay?"

Thor swallows, feeling a fresh wave of shame, biting his lip. He nods, embarrassed at how clumsily he's managed to handle everything, and even more so at how monumentally he seems to have misjudged the boy sitting across from him.

Certainly, Loki was someone who could use help. Was someone who was in need of help, even. But Thor was starting to see in that moment that those things didn't necessarily mean Loki was weak. Thor too was beginning to realize he knew very little about who Loki was or where he'd come from. He'd only had the scarcest information to work from, only vague comments which he himself was making assumptions off of.

He feels so abruptly stupid, and selfish, needing for a moment to look away.

Finally, after a moment, he nods.

"You're right." He manages, forcing his gaze back to Loki. Loki, he notices, looks slightly uneasy, and Thor realizes then how difficult that was just now, for Loki to confront him the way he did. He's worried looking, like he's afraid he's just given Thor an excuse to back out, to break off their friendship entirely. Looks like he even expects it now.

Thor shakes his head. Loki really does want to be his friend, and it makes both an incredible warmth and a deep melancholy wash through him to realize it.

"I mean it when I say I really like you too Loki." Thor pushes himself forward. "I don't just feel sorry for you. I... I do feel bad. I don't want to be dishonest. I do feel bad for you."

He watches Loki's frame visibly stiffen at the comment, but the younger boy doesn't disrupt or speak, and so Thor presses on, needing to explain, knowing Loki is giving him the chance to do so.

"But more than that, I think you're really great to be around. You're funny and incredibly smart and... and nice. And I know you wouldn't bullshit me. You tell me exactly what you're thinking. I don't really have any other friends like that. I love my friends, but I'm not completely stupid. I know they suck up to me a lot. And I'll admit I like it. But it's refreshing talking to you, because you don't. You don't kiss my ass, and I think that's really cool."

Thor can feel his face going red, even as the words leave his mouth, but he forces himself to keep his eyes on Loki, wanting the other boy to understand he means it.

It's a relief then, when Loki smiles back at him, the expression hesitant but somehow, also, relieved, and he nods, his rigid shoulders softening.

"Okay." He says, nodding again. "Okay. Let's be friends."

Thor can't help his own grin then.

Can't help the feeling of happiness which blooms in his chest.

And he doesn't even know why. Just knows Loki wants to be his friend, and it's one of the best feelings he's ever had in his life.

AN: Thanks as always guys for all your support! I hope you continue to enjoy the story, and I'm sorry for the short length of the chapter.