Luck, fickle being that she is, seemed to be on Loki's side Friday afternoon. Thor had been kind enough to offer him a ride home since tonight's game would be away and Helbindi had elected to hang out with the team instead of coming home. Which left Les riding the bus home and Loki with a few moments of normalcy with his best friend before facing his father. The real luck had been walking into the house and discovering that said father wasn't at home.
Sure he'd had that incident with Hammer and the others in the locker room, but it was worth the experience if it meant the powers that be spared him a few moments respite from his father's presence for his troubles. A respites which he planned to take full advantage. So after quickly tackling the exhaustive list of ridiculous chores his father had set aside for him - he'd been surprised his father actually knew what baseboards were, let alone notice that they'd needed a good scrubbing for the past several years - he praised his good fortune that Laufey still had yet to return. Pushing his luck just a little further he sought out Les, in hopes of escaping the house for the evening.
His younger brother lay sprawled across his twin bed in the room he shared with Bindi, headphones stuck in his ears and a less than reputable magazine in hand. Loki rolled his eyes before knocking on the door frame. When that didn't pull Les's attention away from his magazine, Loki kicked his brother's bed frame.
"Loki!" Les said, shoving the magazine under his pillow in the most obvious way possible.
"You could at least attempt to be discreet you know," Loki smirked.
He leaned casually against the door frame watching the blush spread across Les's face. He desperately needed to teach his younger brother subtlety. But who knew if he'd get the chance after this year.
Guilt roiled through his stomach at that thought. The long standing internal battle had been waging within him for quite some time now. Loki refused to stay in Marvel after graduation. He'd applied to as many colleges as he could afford many on the opposite side of the country. Anything he could do to get as far away from this reprehensible town as possible. To get as far away from his father as possible.
But with that plan, he'd be leaving his little brothers to face his father alone. Bindi would be fine. He'd graduate next year anyway and he'd faced their father's ire before. But Les…
"Are you going to stand there staring or did you have a reason for scaring the crap out of me?" Les barked in a tone far more authoritative than Loki was accustomed to.
Then again, maybe the little berk would be alright.
"Well I was going to see if you wanted to sneak out and enjoy your birthday tonight, but now…" Loki let the thought trail between them.
Les's eyes widened with eagerness and a bit of fear. "But...aren't you still in trouble?"
"I'm always in trouble Les."
A slow smile spread across Les's face. One that held far too much mischief for Loki's liking. "So, what did you have in mind?"
Loki pulled an identical grin. "Well for starters I'm taking a shower and changing into some clothes Thor brought me. Then you and I are sneaking out, grabbing my bike, and heading to Galaxy".
"You think taking me to a bar's the best idea right now?"
"Absolutely not, but I need a stiff drink or four and it's about time I introduced you to a few bad decisions."
Warm water cascaded around him refreshing Loki for the first time in several days, the incident in the locker room from earlier certainly didn't count. Loki allowed himself a few moments and deep breaths enjoying the peace of the quiet steam as it washed away the grime and sweat of far too many days. The water stung along his back, but provided some much needed relief to sore and bruised muscles. The sheer joy of being clean led him to linger for longer than strictly necessary.
By the time he made it out of the bathroom, dressed in a plain black, long sleeve t-shirt and ratty jeans, Les had apparently gotten bored enough to turn the tv on to some trashy reality show. His little brother had dawned an under armour hoodie - which had apparently become Les's favorite article of clothing - along with basketball shorts, long socks, and slides. Loki shook his head.
"Les," Loki began in the most condescending voice he could muster, "you do realize that we'll be riding my motorcycle to the bar, right?"
Les looked surprised at that revelation but his words didn't match his face. "Well yeah, what else would we take?"
Loki arched his brow. "So, just for clarification, you knew that we'd be riding a motorcycle - a vehicle open to the elements and hazards of the road - and you determined that shorts and slides would be the best outfit for you to wear?"
"Well...Yeah."
He obviously didn't understand the problem. "You obviously don't understand the problem here."
Les gave him a very confused nod and waited for Loki to continue. Loki rubbed his face in both hands wondering where he'd gone so wrong.
"You can't wear shorts on a motorcycle, Les. If something were to happen you'd have next to no protection."
"Like a wreck or something?"
"Yeah, like a wreck or something." Loki tried to keep himself in check but couldn't quite reign in his condescension and disbelief. "Go put on some jeans and sneakers before you make us any later. And make sure that you wear nice jeans that don't make you look like a middle schooler!"
"But I am a middle schooler."
"Change. Now."
Les jumped quickly to his feet and darted back to his room, returning a few minutes later in clothing far more suited to riding a motorcycle and which had the added benefit of not screaming illegal, underage drinker. With all other issues behind them, the two made to leave. Unfortunately, another problem awaited them on the front steps