Chapter Ten!
On May 1st, a sunny Saturday morning, Steve Rogers woke up to the sound of Mrs. Barnes singing from the kitchen.
He sat up and stretched, taking a moment to look around the dimly lit basement. He had fallen asleep on the sofa in Bucky's basement at some point during poker night. Bucky was sprawled across the floor with a piece of pizza lying on his chest, while Peggy was curled up on the other side of the sofa. Steve smiled.
The peace only lasted for a few more seconds. Mrs. Barnes suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs with a wooden spoon and pot in hand and began banging the two together. Bucky and Peggy both sat up, clutching their heads and groaning in protest.
"Ma, we're up, we're up!" Bucky hollered, stuffing his face into a pillow.
"Good morning Mrs. Barnes!" Peggy added with a laugh.
"Oh, good, you're awake. James, could you please feed the cat? She has been pacing by the basement door for an hour now. Steve, honey, do you need a ride back to school?" Mrs. Barnes asked, bounding down the stairs and looking around at the occupants of the basement with a warm smile.
Steve nodded, grinning sheepishly. "That would be great, Mrs. Barnes, thanks."
"You're very welcome, sweetie! Breakfast is ready whenever you want it. James, I mean it about the cat. She's your responsibility." Mrs. Barnes said, pointing her wooden spoon in Bucky's direction before returning upstairs to the kitchen.
"Do you think I could get away with pretending not to remember the cat?" Bucky groaned, his voice muffled by his pillow.
Steve laughed. "No way; Beast was one of the first things you remembered on your own. Go feed your cat, Buck."
"Really, Bucky, you should be a more caring pet owner." Peggy agreed with an amused smile.
Bucky removed his face from the pillow in order to glare at Steve and Peggy through narrowed eyes. "You two just want to be alone in my basement."
Steve felt his face redden as he attempted to laugh off Bucky's comment. "Feed the cat."
"Mhm," Bucky muttered, tossing his pillow in Steve's direction and starting for the stairs, "I don't want anybody getting pregnant down here. That means keeping it in your pants, Rogers."
Steve and Peggy both laughed and blushed slightly as Bucky stomped up the stairs.
"I, uh, I'd apologize for him, but you knew what you were getting into when I invited you to poker night." Steve remarked, nodding in the direction of the stairs.
Peggy smiled and scooted closer to Steve on the couch. "I'm glad you invited me. Although...are you sure you don't mind me tagging along on all of your boys' nights? I'm sure Bucky wants to spend some one-on-one time with you before you go off and lead an army."
"I'm sure," Steve replied, wrapping an arm around Peggy's shoulder, "Bucky doesn't mind and neither do I."
"Are you positive?" Peggy questioned, still looking a bit uncertain.
"I am one-hundred percent positive," Steve answered with a grin, "and as much as I would love to tell you all of the ways that I do not mind your presence, I should probably go get dressed. I've got to get to graduation rehearsal before Fury throws my diploma in the shredder."
"That sounds like a decent enough plan. I think I'll go help Mrs. Barnes with breakfast while you change." Peggy responded, sliding off the couch.
"I'll meet you upstairs." Steve promised his girlfriend, ducking down for a brief peck on the lips before trudging in the direction of the clothes that had been allocated for his graduation rehearsal.
The auditorium was crowded and boiling hot as students began taking their seats for graduation rehearsal. Steve looked around for any sign of Natasha. They were supposed to sit together during graduation, after all. It was one of the perks of having a friend in the same alphabet range.
"Name?" One of the administrators running the check-in asked, staring at Steve expectantly.
"Oh, uh, Rogers. Steve Rogers." Steve replied, glancing at the administrator briefly before looking around for Natasha once more. She should have been seated by now; she had mentioned something about getting to the rehearsal early in order to avoid Sarah Seacrest. The girl had been tailing her for a few days, now.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Rogers. You're not on this list." The administrator said, immediately snapping Steve's attention away from scanning the crowds.
"What?" Steve questioned, his face paling.
"It looks like you are not on track to graduate," The administrator explained, flipping through a file, "it appears that your...ah...your calculus grade is holding you back. Here is your grade summary. I'm sorry, Mr. Rogers, you'll have to wait in the library."
Steve's shoulders slumped. He knew that he had not done well on his last calculus exam, but he had assumed that the grade had at least been high enough to maintain his 'C' in the class. Evidently, he had been wrong. His gut wretched at the thought of telling Peggy, Bucky, Mrs. Barnes, and Natasha that he would be stuck in high school for another year. He had actually failed.
"Alright, uh, thanks." He mumbled, slinking off in the direction of the library.
He had no idea what he was going to do. He was supposed to graduate and join the army. Fury had promised to get him a high position. He was going to make a difference in the world, maybe even take a step towards world peace. Was calculus even necessary for his particular line of work? Steve could not imagine a scenario in which he would need to sit down and take the partial derivative of a linear equation.
By the time he reached the library, he was overwrought with anger. He was going to have to get almost a perfect score on his final to get out of high school. That was impossible. He would be amazed if he got a B at this point. He pushed the door open with an unnecessary amount of force, accidentally knocking the left door off one of its hinges.
"Steve? What are you doing here?" Natasha questioned, looking away from a nauseous-looking Clint in order to cast Steve an inquisitive stare.
Steve shrugged, hanging his head. "I was too busy watching Buck earlier in the semester to keep up with my calc class. Unless I pull an A on the final, there's no way I can manage a passing grade," He paused, staring at her thoughtfully, "What are you doing here? I mean, I know what you're doing here, Clint, but Nat?"
Natasha quirked a smile. "Flunking my communications class. Apparently I need to work on my people skills."
Steve couldn't resist a small smile of agreement.
"Wait a damn minute. I'm surrounded by idiots who can't even pass their core classes? Ugh. I've officially hit rock bottom." Tony Stark groaned from the back of the room, where he was surrounded by Pepper and Bruce.
Pepper glowered at her boyfriend while Bruce rolled his eyes in exasperation.
Steve arched an eyebrow, surveying the room curiously. In addition to Natasha, Clint, Tony, Bruce, and Pepper, there were even more unexpected members of the 'not graduating' club. Jane Foster was sulking alongside of Thor, Loki was sprawled across the length of two chairs looking thoroughly unamused while Darcy Lewis was sitting nearby, apparently attempting to stack as many books on Loki's legs as she could before he noticed.
"What are you all here for?" Steve couldn't resist asking.
"I, too, am experiencing difficulties in my classes." Thor admitted, not looking nearly as upset as Steve felt. Steve supposed that was normal. He was an exchange student, after all. He could not be the first student to struggle with adjusting to a new culture on top of receiving a rigorous course load.
Loki snorted from across the room. "I, for one, am not entirely surprised."
"Well, what're you here for?" Steve demanded, unable to refrain from glaring at the smaller boy. He had never forgiven Loki for the accident that had knocked the memory right out of his best friend.
Besides, Loki had no room to judge. Clearly his school year hadn't gone off without a hitch if he was sitting in the same room as the rest of them. There was nothing the demi-god should have felt smug about.
Loki smirked back in response, evidently unbothered by Steve's anger. "It seems that one of my professors has gone a bit mad with power. By forcing his presence upon me for another year, he is hoping to control me. I fear that he may be in over his head."
"What the hell? Which professor would want you for another year?" Darcy questioned, plopping a heavy textbook on the pile accumulating across Loki's long legs.
The lanky boy withdrew his legs, sending the stack of books tumbling to the floor. He glared at Darcy.
"Professor Schmidt." He explained curtly.
Tony and Bruce both looked up curiously.
"Schmidt? Why the fuck did you take Schmidt? Everyone knows that he's batshit crazy, even Fury! Didn't he get linked to a murder during junior year?" Tony inquired, looking around the room wildly.
Bruce nodded in grim agreement. "Even my advisor told me not to take him. He's a little unprofessional when it comes to talented students."
"Pray tell, Stark; what brings you to this hall of champions? I thought that you were the school's most sought-after asset. Surely Fury would not have allowed this had he known." Loki drawled.
Tony scowled. "It's just a mistake. It'll be sorted out by graduation, no need to worry your pretty little mind over it." The billionaire growled.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "I don't think the school can legally overlook fifty absences in one semester."
Tony glowered at her. "Want to talk about legal troubles, Miss Potts?"
Pepper glared back at her fuming boyfriend.
Clint smiled slightly. "It's nice to know there's a fellow delinquent here."
"It's...it's not really like that. I might still graduate once they find out who really took the money. Phil just had to do something until I could prove that I didn't take anything."
Darcy snorted. "Who would honestly believe that you would steal anything? I wish that I could just hunt down someone to take the blame for me. I'm stuck here 'cause -"
"I'm sorry - Phil?" Tony interrupted, "Since when is he Phil? I thought his first name was 'mister'."
The room collectively rolled their eyes. Only Tony Stark would get jealous of Pepper's friendship with the school's vice principal.
"Why are you here, Darcy?" Steve asked, ignoring Tony.
Darcy shrugged with a small smile. She hadn't expected S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most popular student to realize that she had been overlooked mid-sentence. She could feel her cheeks reddening as he watched her with crystal eyes. Loki noticed and snorted. Jane pinched him before he could make a comment.
"I skipped too many detentions. Apparently they're mandatory." She explained, with an amused smile and shrug.
"Apparently getting 75 volunteer hours is mandatory, too." Jane sighed, leaning her head against Thor's shoulder in disappointment.
"You could do 75 volunteer hours before graduation. At least you've got something you can fix." Bruce stated with a sad smile.
"I think we've all got stuff we can fix," Steve speculated, beginning to smile, "Nat, you said that you were failing your communications class, right? With Mrs. Mandarin? She always gives a huge speech assignment at the end of the semester to boost grades. I got an A on my speech last year; I could probably help you write yours. You get an A on that, you'll pass, easy."
Natasha nodded, beginning to understand her best friend's thought process. "Right, yeah, and I'm pretty good with computers. I could probably find the person who actually stole the money from the treasury."
Pepper's eyes lit up. "And I still have access to all of the school's records. I could probably eliminate some of Tony's absences."
Tony glanced around the room dismally. At length, he shrugged. "I guess I could teach Rogers some basic calculus."
The room was silent for a moment before Clint glanced around and spoke up. "I, uh, I could probably sneak into Coulson's office and get Darcy off the hook for a few of her missed detentions. I've done it a few times for myself." He offered with a sheepish smile.
"I could probably impersonate an attorney and get you out of the trespassing charges." Darcy remarked brightly.
"I could get you a realistic license to practice law in New York," Clint responded with a chuckle, "I wouldn't be any worse off with one of the school attorneys."
"I could tutor Thor. I've taken most of the classes that he's having trouble with. I don't think it will take too much work. He learns pretty fast." Jane commented, smiling at her boyfriend affectionately.
"And I would be more than happy to assist you with your volunteer work. Perhaps I would be able to attain signatures in your name." Thor offered with a broad smile.
Everyone was quiet for a minute or two. They were all looking at Loki and Bruce, wondering just how they could possibly alleviate their respective issues. There was no telling how Professor Schmidt could be fended off, and everyone was relatively certain that Bruce's anger issues could not be fixed in the two weeks they each had before graduation.
"I believe I have the resources to quell the beast that resides within Bruce Banner," Loki stated at length, "but before I do so, he must torment Professor Schmidt into allowing me to graduate with a perfect grade point average."
Bruce sighed. He did not like the idea of releasing the Hulk for his own personal gains, but at this point, he didn't have much choice. He let out another loud sigh. "Fine."
"Alright, how are we going to pull this off? Fury isn't allowing any student gatherings surpassing four students after what happened with Bruce. I would suggest subcommittees, but from the sound of it, we're all too connected." Natasha sighed.
"She's right. Mr. Fury would give us separate detentions if we tried to meet every night. He'd think we were in a cult." Jane agreed, frowning at the ground while the rest of the group mulled over the topic at hand.
"Wait a minute. What's the closest thing this school has to a cult?" Steve asked, looking around the room with bright eyes.
"The Fellowship of Christian athletes club?" Tony offered.
Pepper shot her boyfriend a dirty look. "I don't think that's what Steve meant."
Tony shrugged sheepishly.
Steve shook his head, a grin spreading across his face. "Actually, that is sort of what I meant."
He received wide-eyed stares from around the room.
"I don't mean the religion part, of course. I'm fine with religion," He amended, his ears reddening slightly, "I was talking about the club part."
Pepper's eyes lit up at Steve's explanation. "Of course! No groups larger than four persons are allowed to assemble, with the sole exception of teams and clubs. That's genius, Steve!"
Tony laughed, rolling his eyes. "Those are words I never thought I'd hear anyone say."
Steve's eyes narrowed.
Bruce quickly interjected. "What if someone tried to join our club? We couldn't risk the time it would take to throw everyone off of our trail."
Steve nodded, pointing to Bruce as though he had answered his own question. "You're right. We would have to make a club that no one else would want to join. What are some things everyone hates around here?"
"Tony." Darcy offered.
"Darcy." Tony countered.
Pepper rolled her eyes. "We could say it's a book club."
Natasha shook her head. "No, there would be a few students looking to join. The world isn't illiterate yet."
"Archery?" Thor suggested with a playful grin in Clint's direction.
"Hammers?" Clint grumbled good-naturedly, pretending to glare at Thor.
"How about proper grammar? You all seem void of it." Loki drawled, his cat-like eyes studying the room.
There was a pause.
"That's actually a really good idea. Nobody at this school will want to pick apart entire novels just for the sake of finding grammatical errors for fun. This could work." Jane commented, staring at Loki in surprise.
"So, what, we're just going to go to Fury and tell him that we've all bonded over our love of participial phrases and have decided to spend our spare time creating a club instead of fighting for graduation?" Tony demanded, looking around in disbelief.
Steve shrugged. "As far as Mr. Fury knows, we've all accepted our fates. He could just perceive this as our way of coping."
Bruce nodded, chewing his thumb nail thoughtfully. "It's the best shot we have, Stark. So, who should pitch the idea for the club?"
"Mr. Fury, can we speak to you for a moment?" Jane inquired in the most polite voice she could muster. Loki nodded at her in an almost-effort to reassure her that the plan would work out.
Nick Fury turned to give the pair a dispassionate glare before allowing them to continue.
"We want to start a club." Jane blurted out.
Fury's eye shifted to Loki, gleaming with curiosity. The demi-god squirmed under the dean's stare, but forced himself to employ the most sincere smile he could manage.
"You two?" Fury asked, his eye flicking from Loki, to Jane, and back to Loki once more, "What kind of club?"
"A, um, a grammar club. It's just that, well, I'm really bad at grammar, and Loki is so great at it. We thought it would be selfish to keep the tutoring sessions to ourselves, so here we are." Jane rambled anxiously, casting Loki nervous glances as she spoke.
"A grammar club? You two want to start a grammar club?" The dean clarified, his eyebrows furrowing in disbelief.
"That is correct. Are we not coinciding with the proper rules of this establishment?" Loki questioned, locking eyes with the dean in a challenging manner.
Fury glared back. "No, I think that's well within the rules, I'm just not sure it's in either of your best interests. Don't you have bigger problems than learning grammar right now?"
Jane shrugged with a small smile. "I think that learning grammar is a little bit more attainable. So, what do you say, Mr. Fury? Do you think we can start holding meetings?"
Fury blinked before waving off Jane's question carelessly. "Sure, go ahead. I don't really care what you do so long as the school is still standing when you're done. Fill out the club application sheet in the office and return it to Coulson by the end of the week."
Jane grinned openly while Loki opted to remain cool and aloof. Before the girl had the opportunity to say something careless or obvious, Loki managed to shepherd her out of the hallways and towards the dorms once again. Nick Fury watched the interaction with a great deal of interest.
With one last glance at the two fleeing students, the dean approached the vice principal's door and knocked abruptly, not waiting for an answer before opening the door and gliding into the neat little office.
"Director Fury, what can I do for you?" Coulson asked eagerly, immediately pushing aside the paperwork he had been sifting through.
Fury scowled. "Coulson, I told you not to call me that here. I'm just the dean in this school. Don't want to scare the kids more than I already do."
Coulson nodded vigorously, to the point where Fury wondered how his head stayed attached to his shoulders.
"Anyway," Fury murmured, tossing a glance at Coulson's closed door, as though he expected someone to be waiting on the other side of it, "I have a task for you, Coulson."
The vice principal sat up immediately. "What is it?"
"I want you to keep an eye on the grammar club."
"The grammar club, sir?"
Fury quirked a smile. "Jane Foster and Loki Odinson just approached me with the idea. Apparently Jane needs help with her grammar. This is it."
Coulson's eyebrows shot up. "Jane and Loki? But director," He coughed nervously, "dean, they're not involved in-"
Fury held up a hand, effectively silencing the vice principal, "They are now."
"Alright, the first official grammar club meeting is in order. So, what's new with you guys? Did anybody read any particularly inspiring quotes off of pinterest today?" Tony joked as the rest of the group found seats on empty desks scattered around the deserted classroom.
Steve rolled his eyes. "Save it, Stark. We've got a lot to do and not a lot of time. Uh, okay, where should we start?"
"We should start with those who need tutoring. Finals are only two weeks away and learning entire subjects is not going to be easy." Bruce replied, casting a nervous glance around the room.
Tony rolled his eyes. "That means you, Cap. C'mon, might as well get started. Who knows how long it's going to take you to get integrals."
Steve scowled. "I don't know Stark, it might be too overwhelming for me. Hang on, don't get up to walk away. I don't know how I'll be able to find you. Cluttered rooms confuse me."
Tony's eyes narrowed. "Leave the sarcasm to me. You're not doing it any favors."
Steve shrugged, following the genius to the corner of the room, where they wouldn't be distracted by the rest of the group. "Says the guy who only uses sarcasm as a defense mechanism."
"Big words; I'm impressed." Tony bit back.
The rest of the group spared the boys exasperated stares before continuing with their respective projects.
"What am I supposed to do? Steve said he'd help me with my communications class." Natasha demanded, glancing at Bruce critically, as though he were personally responsible for Steve's current occupation.
"Help Pepper convince the student body that she didn't steal anything." The curly-haired boy replied, nodded towards Pepper, who smiled awkwardly.
"Great. Okay, Potts, let's go talk to the student body. I have a feeling that there are going to be more than a few stubborn cases. Do you have any idea who started the rumors about you?" Natasha asked, slinging her book bag over her shoulder and glancing at Pepper inquisitively.
Pepper shook her head, gathering up her belongings before following the redhead out of the classroom nervously.
"I'll start tutoring Thor. What subject do you want to start with first?" Jane asked, sparing her beau a quick glance before guiding him to the other corner of the room, where Thor wouldn't be distracted by the biting comments that Steve and Tony were flinging at each other.
The four remaining students looked at each other curiously.
"What time is it?" Clint inquired, breaking the silence.
Bruce looked down at his watch automatically. "Five o'clock."
Clint frowned. "Damn it. Coulson won't be out of his office until seven. Looks like you're stuck helping me out, Darcy."
Darcy snapped her finger in mock disappointment before snatching the manila folder that had been resting on Clint's desk. "This is the information for the court case? Holy shit, where did half of these statements even come from? Is this a fake alias? That means I get to impeach a witness! This is going to be fun!"
Bruce smiled slightly before turning to look at Loki nervously. He hadn't been entirely thrilled about receiving the god of mischief as a partner in their quirky project. Still, Loki was the only one even remotely capable of stopping the other guy. It was at least worth a shot.
"Well, Banner," The demi-god started, sparing the anxious boy an insincere smile, "while I am looking forward to your end of our deal, I am disposed to believe that taking actions against Professor Schmidt at this time would only injure your chances of graduating further. Instead, I believe that our current time should be spent researching spells that could assist you."
Bruce swallowed hard, nodding. As he got up to follow the lanky boy to the library, his mind flashed a warning: this was the same student whose plan had put Steve Rogers' best friend in the hospital. This was the guy who had thrown Tony out of a window with a smile on his face. This was who he was trusting with his future. This was a terrible idea.
"Stark, this isn't helping." Steve muttered, running a hand through his hair as he stared down at the paper Tony had handed him.
"How is it not helping? Everything you need to know is right there! Do you need me to solve the equation for you again?" Tony demanded thickly, snatching the piece of paper from Steve so quickly that the corner ripped.
Steve shook his head. "No, I don't want to watch you sit here and solve every problem in the book. That's not going to help me learn! I need you to explain why the variable is shifted from the numerator to the denominator. I need to at least try to do this myself, unless you're planning on taking my calc final for me."
Tony groaned, slamming his head on the desk in frustration. "How the hell do you not understand why the variable shifted? That's basic algebra."
"This is not algebra," Steve responded, glowering at Tony before shifting his dark gaze to the textbook sitting in front of the pair, "this is a nervous breakdown waiting to happen. Why do you want to do this stuff for the rest of your life?"
Tony's eyes narrowed. "I think it might be just a little more gratifying than running around in some uniform preaching the virtues of a government that only tells you the truth about ten percent of the time."
"Oh, you're all about the truth, aren't you, Stark? Have you told Pepper about Peggy?" Steve snarled, his upper lip curling in disgust.
Tony glowered back at Steve. "Pepper knows enough about my history to know it isn't perfect. She knows that I've dated a lot of girls. Their names aren't important to her."
"You don't know that," Steve challenged, "Pepper may have forgiven you for all of the other girls, but that was only because you dehumanized them when you talked about them. She knows Peggy. She met her at the games. She likes Peggy. Maybe she'd be just as disgusted with you as I am."
"You're crazy if you think that I'm going to let you ruin my relationship with Pepper. I would kill you before I would give you even the smallest chance to take her from me." The billionaire replied through gritted teeth.
Steve glared back at Tony. "I'm not trying to take your girlfriend. Although, she could do a lot better."
Tony let out a humorless laugh. "Oh, what, like you? Yeah, right. You're a joke, Rogers. The only reason Peggy agreed to go out with you is because I didn't want her. I hope you're enjoying my leftovers."
Without thinking, Steve launched himself at the shorter boy. He only got a few fair punches in before Thor and Clint intervened and separated the two. Steve didn't struggle against Thor's tight grip; he simply continued to glare at Tony while attempting to regulate his breathing once more. Tony, on the other hand, was struggling and bickering with Clint to no avail. The billionaire didn't seem to notice that his nose was bleeding.
"You guys have got to be joking. We're two weeks away from graduation and you're fighting? Y'know, maybe Fury is right about the both of you. Steve, with the way you're acting, I wouldn't put you in charge of an army of eight year-olds with water guns. Stark, I wouldn't let you run a company if you paid me a million dollars. I wouldn't even let the two of you loose on society. Not for all the money in the world." Clint snapped, casting both of the boys a dark look.
Steve hung his head while Tony scowled. Neither objected to the lecture. Neither moved to make amends with each other, either.
"You don't have to like each other to work this out," Clint continued when he realized that neither of the boys were going to fix the situation if he didn't, "hell, you can dream about killing each other each and every night if you really want to. But until each and every one of us walk across that damn stage, you're not going to do anything about it. Now, Stark, you're going to sit your ass down and explain why you moved the variable. Steve, you're not going to turn into a sarcastic son of a bitch whenever Tony gets on your nerves. And for Christ's sake, neither of you are ever going to put me in a position where I have to be the responsible one again. Got it?"
Both boys nodded sullenly, staring at each other with sulky scowls before picking up the desks they had knocked over and returning to their seats. Tony murmured a half-hearted explanation equipped with drawings and notes, while Steve stared down at the paper with furrowed brows.
After he was done the explanation and after Steve had proved that he at least understood the concept well enough to imitate it on a mock exam, Tony scribbled something in Steve's notebook, not meeting the football player's eyes as he did so.
Steve glanced down inquisitively, wondering if Tony was going to attempt to teach him two chapters of calculus in one afternoon. He wasn't entirely surprised when the handwriting indicated that the genius was doing something completely different.
I still hate you.
The corner of Steve's mouth twitched into a smile at the written words. It was almost comical how immature Tony Stark could be. Still, Steve couldn't deny himself a similar lack of maturity.
I hate you too.
"What exactly are we trying to do?" Pepper asked, glancing around anxiously as Natasha guided her through the deserted hallways of S.H.I.E.L.D. High.
Natasha rolled her eyes. "We're trying to figure out who spread the rumors about you. Once we do that, we can use our culprits to track down the money and return it to the school. Fury can't stop you from graduating once you prove that you haven't done anything wrong."
"Right," Pepper agreed, quickening her pace to keep up with Natasha's long strides, "but what if we can't find who did it? I've already checked all of the databases and I've asked everyone in the student government to find out everything they can. Whoever stole the money was really thorough."
"Of course they were thorough. This isn't your run-of-the-mill public high school. Half of the students here are trained to be able to make their movements virtually untraceable. How did you get into this school again?" The redhead asked with an exasperated sigh, making a sharp turn down the hallway towards the boys' dorm room.
"Tony." Pepper replied reluctantly.
"Oh, right, the whole be-his-secretary deal. Why'd you agree to that, anyway?"
"It really wasn't that bad. Besides, it was my only way into this school. What else was I supposed to do?"
"You would have been alright in public school."
Pepper rolled her eyes. "No, I really wouldn't have. I couldn't have gotten into Yale if I went to just any old school."
"Yes you could. You're Pepper Potts: president of every club and straight A student. What do you want to study in Yale, anyway? Secretary training?"
"Business administration."
"Same thing."
Pepper scowled. "So who are we talking to first?"
Natasha smirked as they entered the freshman hallway of the boys' dorm. "Him."
Pepper followed Natasha's gaze to a scrawny boy who was sitting all by himself. The rest of the occupants of the common room seemed unaware of his existence. Pepper arched an eyebrow, wondering if she had made the right decision in trusting Natasha.
"Him?" Pepper asked skeptically.
"Of course," Natasha hissed back as they crossed the room towards the boy, "the popular ones never know what's going on; they're too self-absorbed to worry about anyone else. The shy ones always know everything that happens in this school. They're the only ones who bother to listen."
Pepper nodded her head thoughtfully as the girls came to a halt in front of the lanky boy. He peered up at them incredulously through oversized glasses. Pepper could not imagine that this boy knew anything about the stolen money.
"Parker," Natasha greeted the boy suspiciously, "you know Pepper Potts."
"No, I don't think we've -" Pepper was silenced by Natasha, who held up a hand.
"Right, yeah, uh, hi, Pepper." The boy stammered, squirming in his seat miserably.
"And you know about the missing money." Natasha prompted, leaning closer to him.
The boy looked as though he was already on the brink of tears. "Yeah, I-I read it in the school newspaper. M-Mr. Jameson w-wouldn't stop talking about it."
Natasha folded her arms across her chest and raised her eyebrows. "Is he the only person who was talking about it?"
"I have to do my homework." The boy squeaked, his eyes widening in panic.
"Oh, no you don't. Your only class tomorrow is photography. Mrs. Jackson never assigns homework. I'm going to find out who took the money one way or the other, Peter. Do you want to be on my good side or my bad side when I do?" Natasha asked in a dangerously soft tone.
The boy - Peter - looked from Pepper to Natasha before sagging his shoulders and taking a few big, shaky breaths. Pepper looked at Natasha in surprise. Natasha didn't bat an eyelash as she continued to stare at the nervous boy sitting before them.
"I-I-I really don't know who has the money," Peter mumbled, toying with his phone in an effort to avoid Natasha's stare, "but I heard that some of the computer science kids got involved. They were talking about how weak the bank's firewall is during lunch on Thursday."
"The computer science kids," Natasha mused with a nod, apparently satisfied with the information, "It's a start."
"See? They can't take away your diploma if you haven't been indicted yet. That means you have some options left. You could either beg the judge to schedule your court date later - which probably wouldn't be too hard to do - or you could show up with your fabulous legal advisor and walk away free the very same day." Darcy said, pointing to a small section of the massive S.H.I.E.L.D. student handbook.
Clint ran a hand through his hair. "Will you be offended if I postpone the court date?"
"100%, I will never look at you as a friend again." Darcy replied automatically.
"Fine," Clint sighed, leaning back in his chair, "I guess you'd better get me out of this, then. I don't know if there's a way to do that. I was trespassing and there's a lot of evidence that proves it."
Darcy shrugged with a smile. "Barely. They have footprints and a security camera with shitty quality. I don't think the owner of the property will even mention the security footage, considering it also shows how he shot at you and Nat before identifying you."
"He says it was self-defense. Judges still go for that kind of thing." Clint argued, his brows furrowing slightly.
Darcy rolled her eyes and shook her head. "International Claims judges don't. Even if they did; it's perfectly clear that you weren't anywhere near him. Your back was completely turned. Now we just have to work on proving your innocence."
"You want me to lie to a jury? Darcy Lewis, are you sure that you should be saying this out loud?" Clint asked, raising his eyebrows and smiling slightly.
"Not at all," Darcy replied with a wide smile, "we don't have to prove that you were anywhere else, we just have to make sure that the prosecutor can't prove that you were on his property. Innocent until proven guilty, right?"
Clint nodded, still looking rather confused. "How are we going to do that?"
"Well, first and importantly; I get to impeach some serious witnesses." Darcy grinned.
Bruce couldn't shake the nerves coursing through his veins as he walked alongside of Loki, silently reminding himself that trusting the god of mischief to help him with his little problem was likely not the wisest decision that he had ever made. Granted, it was not the dumbest decision either, but it was certainly in the top 10.
"I am not here to harm you, Banner." Loki sighed as though reading the mop-headed boy's mind.
Bruce glanced at him in surprise. He hadn't said anything, had he? He had made an active effort to avoid showing how uncomfortable he was around the demi-god. Loki rolled his eyes and sneered.
"You look as though you are about to jump straight out of your skin. I do not have ill will towards you, nor would I consider it in my best interest to provoke the mindless beast residing within you. I want nothing more than to escape this hell that you Midgardians refer to ask 'high school'." Loki asserted, still sneering.
Bruce smiled half-heartedly. "I think we all do."
Loki nodded slightly, but remained silent.
Unable to sit with the stifling silence for too long, Bruce spoke up once again. "Do you really think that you can reverse this? I mean, the other guy, would you just...?"
Loki's eyebrows knit together. "I do not know if I could do away with your demon altogether. That would involve very advanced magic, as well as breaking a number of laws, Asgardian and Midgardian alike. I may, however, be able to modify the conditions of the beast's appearance."
"What do you mean? It has to do with my heart rate. Are you going to find a way to raise the thresh hold?" Bruce questioned, his nerves replaced by curiosity. He was always eager to hear and witness the advanced discoveries of Asgardians. It seemed like they were centuries ahead of the human race.
Loki glanced at Bruce, sparing him a patronizing smile. "In so many words, yes. Unless your life is endangered, the monster will remain in its cage. You will still remain impossible to kill - the only way to modify that would be to kill the beast itself - but you will have much more control over yourself. That is what you want, is it not?"
"I'd like the option of dying, but this is the next best thing," Bruce nodded with a shrug, "Do you think that Fury would let me graduate if I could just prove that I'm more stable?"
"I cannot pretend to understand the way the dean's mind operates. He is a strange man with even stranger protocols." Loki answered with a glance at the doors of the library, which immediately flicked open.
Bruce pretended that he was perfectly acclimated with magic like Loki's, but couldn't help wondering about the physics behind it all. Was it a constant force? What if the door had been opened just seconds before he had opened it? Would the person standing behind the door get knocked down by the inevitable force?
"Hi guys," Sarah Seacrest said as Loki and Bruce started for the section on magic, "you're here late."
"Oh, uh, hey, Sarah. We're just, uh, we're in the grammar club, so we're picking up a few books to go over. You know, boring stuff." Bruce explained hastily, his face reddening as both Sarah and Loki watched him with blank expressions.
Loki cleared his throat and gave a slight nod. "Yes, we are searching for a mistake-riddled book, as Banner has so eloquently explained. I seem to recall a few books in particular that I was forced to read for my studies. We do not need your assistance. Excuse us."
"Oh. Um, yeah, okay. Hey, you know, I like grammar too. Is the club open for anyone to join?" Sarah asked hopefully, casting the warmest smile she could muster in Loki's direction.
"No." Loki responded immediately, not bothering to turn around as he guided Bruce towards the magic section.
"You could have been nicer to her. I think she likes you." Bruce murmured as the pair scoured the numerous aisles for whatever book it was that Loki needed.
Loki snorted and rolled his eyes. "Yes, I am perfectly aware. She follows me through the halls of S.H.I.E.L.D. as though she were my shadow. I have neither the interest nor the time to pursue her further."
Bruce opened his mouth to object, but promptly shut it once again. He would feel guilty pushing Loki towards poor, unsuspecting Sarah. She was likely looking for an attentive and charming date. Loki would undoubtedly go out of his way to be neither of those things. Thinking better of meddling in the demi-god's romantic affairs, he began to look at the book titles more closely.
"The Virtues of a Burning Witch..." The mop-headed boy read under his breath, his eyebrows furrowing as his brain worked to process the meaning behind the simple string of words, "Loki, are you sure that we should be -"
"Ah, here it is," The demi-god interrupted, oblivious to Bruce's concerns, "I read this over winter break; Darcy was being particularly irritating that evening, so I cannot recall the exact details of the spell, nor can I warn you of the side-effects at present, but if my memory serves as I know it shall, this will assist you in controlling the mindless beast. It was created by my mother, Frigga. I trust it implicitly."
"Your mom can do, uh, that stuff too?" Bruce asked. He had not heard much about the Odinson's parents through the grapevine of the school, but had always been curious to hear about the foreign king and queen. From what he had heard from Darcy, Loki's father was sort of a dick. Bruce could sympathize with that.
Loki nodded, not looking away from the yellowed pages of the book. "She had to sedate a beast that could not be held by any chains or cages - Fenrir. Thor nearly drove himself mad working night and day to build the perfect set of chains. Leave it to Thor to use brute force instead of rational decision-making."
"Fenrir...I think Darcy might have mentioned that name before." Bruce speculated.
Loki rolled his eyes, still not looking away from the book. "That would not surprise me in the least. She is very preoccupied with Asgardian tales and rumors."
"I think she said that you...gave...birth...to a, uh, well, a wolf named Fenrir..." Bruce stammered awkwardly, feeling his face redden as he realized how ridiculous he sounded.
Loki clenched his jaw, snapping the book shut abruptly.
"I am going to slaughter Sif." He growled, striding past Bruce in the direction of the exit.
Hey, look, another chapter! I'm probably much more excited about it than anybody else. I just took my exam this afternoon and now I've got about a week to write and post as many chapters as I can. We'll see how well that turns out! Anyway, a huge thanks to everyone who has read thus far and has left reviews, favorites, and follows. Any reviews that you have to give on this chapter would be much appreciated. I swear, I take them into account while writing!
ALSO, for any Clintasha lovers: I'm posting a mini-fic revolving around Natasha and Clint right after posting this. It was a gift for a friend that was written super fast, but hey, it's there if you want to read it! :) Anyways, I hope you're all enjoying the story thus far!