After a few hours Natasha left. She promised to look out for James on the way and send him home if she found him. She texted Loki once she got back to her dorm letting him know she hadn't run into James on the way. Loki was reluctant to send James another text. If he wanted to talk, he would've replied. Clearly he had things to work out on his own. So Loki waited.
Eventually the door opened, revealing James. It was clear he had recently been crying, but Loki knew better than to bring that up. Despite the tears, he didn't look all that sad. Instead he looked relieved. For a few second James just stood there staring at Loki before rushing across the living room and pulling him into a hug.
Relief washed over Loki. He had worked himself into thinking James was mad at him for some reason, so the hug was extra comforting. He also hadn't seen James that happy in about three weeks, so it was nice to see such a wonderful smile plastered across his friends face.
"Loki I did it." James told him, sitting down next to Loki on the couch. "I talked to Sam!"
"Marvelous!" It caught him by surprise, but he was happy nonetheless. Loki had been waiting three weeks for James to talk to Sam. "How did it go?"
"Bad at first. Steve wasn't there, so he was going to tell me to find him somewhere else, but then I kinda just blurted out that I was there to ask him on a date," James paused, reliving the memory. "And you should've seen the look on his face. But he said YES. Can you believe it?"
"Of course I can. Who wouldn't say yes to you?" Loki meant it with all his heart. While he didn't condone the violence Natasha threatened on Anthony, there was no doubt in his mind that he would've gone after Sam for James if he needed too. Even if it was a fight he might lose. "Is that why you took off so suddenly?"
He could see the blush grow across James' face. James explained to him what had been going on the last few weeks. Growing up, he had certain feelings for Steve. When his Father found out, he was furious. It was one of the reasons he didn't want James hanging out with Steve anymore. His Father was one of those extreme religious people that believed a man should be with a woman, not another man. Sending James to an all boy boarding school didn't help with that at all though. It just helped James experiment with other boys. Apparently he had gotten into a lot of trouble several times.
They drilled it into his head that men should be with women, and while James still liked other men, he kept it hidden deep down. For his won safety. As the years went by, his feelings for Steve faded, as childhood crushes do. But being here, James didn't know if he would be accepted or not. The thought was half ridiculous, half heart wrenching to Loki.
How could James not think Loki would be accepting of everything, let alone something as small as liking other men? But he understood staying in the closet out of necessity. Loki's family didn't know he liked men along with women. He figured maybe his Mother suspected, but she never said anything, and neither did he. They would find out the day he was brave enough to bring a boy home for dinner.
So for weeks James just tried to keep everything in, worried about what his new roommate might think. Worried what Steve would think. They were his two best friems, and he didn't want to do anything to compromise that. But what Loki told him about his feelings for Anthony, it made James think. So he wandered off, somehow landing in front of Steve and Sam's dorm. He hadn't talked to Steve yet, but he was just so happy about Sam that he was going to worry about that conversation later.
"So what are you two doing for a date?" Loki asked, as happy for James as he would be for himself.
"Oh." The smile fell from James' face, only slightly. " I don't know. I didn't even think about it. I guess I got caught up in the moment. I have until Friday though. How hard can it be?"