"My father owns this University, bro; I can do as I please. Did you forget? He owns this school and Stark Industries, I can have you fired with a blink of my eye," The younger man sneered, acting like he ruled the world.
James just shook his head and sighed softly, ignoring the arrogant Stark, who proceeded to take a seat right next to Loki. Loki looked him over now that he was closer, noting every scar, worn looking eyes, scratch, freshly stained clothing, and a desire to be something more. He wasn't what he pretended to be, Loki could see straight through his little facade. Loki could feel Stark's eyes boring into his skin as he stared, making the black haired one curl his lip. Why was that man staring? What does he want? Ugh, this is going to be a long day. He sighed, trying to ignore him, as he watched the professor talk about what they were going to do today. His long fingers went up to rub his temples in aggravation, that damned Stark kid would not leave him be, would not stop staring. It was testing Loki's patience, and he was about to scream, hands now clenching the sides of the desk. A few moments later, his eyes travelled to his hands to notice the knuckles turned white and blood was straining to get to his fingers. Quickly, he released the desk, flexing his hands as they now ached, flipping them around to stare at his palms, which showed an indent from the sides of the desk.
"So, you're the new kid, eh?" Stark said to him, acting like they were in primary school again.
Loki just rolled his eyes, not bothering to respond, furthering his irritation. He heard him laugh lowly, sending shivers up Loki's body, which caused him to let out a shaky breath. He tried focusing on James again, who was at the chalk board drawing out the key points of something or another. He couldn't keep his attention on what was going on, for probably the first time in his life. That being next to him was just keeping his thoughts clouded and stuck somewhere else. He tilted his head to the side ever so slightly to listen to Stark try to get his attention again, and get him to speak to him. You already have my full attention, you treholt. Please just shut your stupid American mouth and let me get back to what I was intending on listening to. He mentally cursed himself for using the word "treholt" to throw at the other, never proud of such, and it not making enough sense to him why he called him a traitor in his head. One last time, he pestered Loki for him to speak, in which Loki responded by getting up and leaving the room without a word.
He was sick of it, sick of the people who harassed him, sick of people like Stark. Tired of the Americans already, even though he had only been here a week, tired of the way he was treated, and wishing he had never thought America would be as great as he first perceived. They have so much pride and thinking they are the best country in the world, and they spit out people like Stark. They spit him out like he is someone who will bring them great fame and fortune, a son of a possible billionaire. Well, Loki was as well but, he wasn't as cocky and self absorbed. He didn't bother people to get information out of them, he didn't interrupt classes, he didn't mouth off to others because his dad owned something, and he was completely opposite, the yin in the midst of a yang. That is exactly how he saw it, the good in the evil. He shook his head as he left the hall and went into a courtyard that was in the centre of the school. Fresh air filled his lungs and he took that chance to cool down so he could return to class, not like he was really thrilled on being annoyed to death by that...child. He would probably pick a different spot to sit in so he could actually get his college education and not lose this rare opportunity to be taught by Alistair James. The sun baked into his skin so he backed up into the shadows, staring at some people who were walking around in front of him. In the second he finally calmed down, a giant booming voice echoed through the yard.
"Brother!" Thor. Thor Odinson, on his way over to his younger brother. "What are you doing out of class?"
Loki turned around in time to see him walk up behind him, eyeing the bigger man up and down, noting that he still had extremely large muscles, blond hair that went to his shoulders like he had when he was a kid, dressed as casual as possible, and a giant smile he always wore stretching across his face. His blue eyes only revealed joy and happiness as they rested on him, hiding a bit of pain but, not too much like what Stark's did. The skinnier of the two cocked an eyebrow as he saw Thor outstretch his arms and engulf him in a monstrous hug, like he hadn't seen him in a million years. As he was picked up and squeezed, he felt air rush out of his lungs, followed by a noise of protest and a laugh. Thor held onto him like he was his favourite teddy bear, not letting go for quite some time. He laughed louder as his brother buried his face into Loki's hair that was draped across his shoulders, something he always did since they were little. He figured it was Thor's way of being comforted, seeing as how he did it quite often and it was something he was familiar with.
"You always smell wonderful, brother," He commented softly, setting him back down on his feet.
Loki brushed himself off and fixed his vest, ignoring the people watching the two Norwegian brothers bonding through a hug. He had a smile on his face that threatened to outstretch Thor's, who when noticed, let out a roar of laughter. Thor was always happy and he loved it, and when he wasn't, Loki was always there for him. Be it girl troubles, issues with their father, something to do with the car industry losing some stocks one year, or anything that seemed trivial. They would always be okay if they had each other, and as far as Loki knew, that would be forever. Not like he planned on living with Thor or anything crazy like that, he just was comforted by the idea that he would always be around when he needed him. Their moment was interrupted by someone running out into yard from the classroom he was just in, grabbing onto a column to support himself as he breathed heavily and made whimpering noises. Loki's attention was drawn to the person seeming to have a massive anxiety attack less than a few feet away. Stark. He was the one having the attack, and Loki intended to find out why, or at least calm him down. It was in his nature to be caring and helpful to those who needed it, even thinking on changing, or adding therapy to his career path. He shot Thor an apologetic look as he went over to Stark who was lost in his anxiety. He could have sworn he saw a tear slide down the tan cheek of the man who was now in front of him, and it nearly broke his heart. Nearly.
"Stark? Stark, look at me. Hey, you there? Look at me," He calmly spoke in his Norwegian voice, hoping it would bring him out of what he was fighting.
He watched him jump and look up with "deer in the headlights" eyes, much like he was being hunted, and Loki was the hunter. Loki could hear his breathing pick up more, to the point where he was hyperventilating as he stared, still lost in whatever he was freaking out about. PTSD, Loki confirmed, knowing he had to take this slow and easy. He reached out his hand slowly and rested it on Stark's shoulder, who nearly leaped out of his skin, and shook like a leaf. He rubbed his shoulder in a soothing way, noting that people had gathered around to watch the two, including his brother, who already knew Loki's ways. At this moment, it was only Stark and him, and he was going to make sure he was okay. Fuck having such a compelling need to be there for everyone, fuck Stark for being obnoxious earlier, and fuck everything. He felt the fear coursing through his body as he rubbed his shoulder, not saying a word until the fear started to subside. He seemed like he was starting to come out of it, until someone made a loud bang sound, shoving him right back into it, recoiling from Loki's touch, and punching him straight in the nose. Shit, that hurt. He hissed in pain and held his face for a moment, watching how no one dared move in to restrain him, figuring that he had done this before and he would get worse. It wasn't enough power to break his nose but, it sure did bring blood.
"Listen to my voice, just breathe. Inhale, exhale. It's just you and me right now; we are the only things in this universe, just us. It's okay, nothing here will hurt you," He expertly explained, eyes focused on him.
It was working, because he was now controlling his breathing, and beginning to calm down. It felt like hours before he got him to relax enough that he was back to reality, even though it was about seven minutes. He nodded to Thor who began ushering everyone away, and was even helped by Professor James to get everyone back to class or whatever they were doing before. Once they all were gone, even Thor, Loki wrapped his arms around Stark who collapsed in them, a sobbing and shaking mess. He comforted automatically, rubbing his back and hushing him, much like his mother used to do when he was upset. They were now sitting on the ground with Stark in his lap, clinging to him, and Loki rocking the crying man. He ran his hand soothingly through his hair, reminding him that he was here, and nothing was going to happen. It wasn't the first time he had comforted a random stranger, he held a crying woman after she watched her husband leap to his death off a bank building back in Norway.
Loki was walking aimlessly around the town after a particularly nasty fight with father about him needing to get his head out of the clouds and work toward being a business owner. He knew full well that Thor was going to take over the car business after Odin retired, so he decided to go his own way. It felt kind of like they were royalty, gods even, and Thor was going to be the heir to the throne, the ruler over the heavens, the leader to all. He snarled to himself as he punched the air in a mid jump, it forcing his body to spin around 180 degrees. He sighed, pushing the air upward into his hair, before turning back around and walking the way he was going in the first place. Rounding a corner, he came across a scene of a body lying in a pool of blood with a white sheet over it in front of a bank, mangled and contorted in only a way a body could look that hit the ground from falling. He deduced that he had ran across a suicide, and right when he squeezed between the row of people surrounded by flashing police lights and ambulances, he spotted a woman with her hands over her mouth, eyes squeezed shut, and sobbing. Looking her over, he realised she must have been that person's wife, sibling, or parent but, judging by the ring on her finger, he had to go with wife. He ducked under the police line stating he was the brother to the deceased, and got over to the woman.
He watched her cry for a little bit longer before wrapping his arms around her, and holding her. She looked down at him through blurry tear filled eyes in a bit of shock, before crying onto the fifteen year old boy who had a hold of her. He whispered comforting words to her in their native language, rubbing her back gently until the tears subsided and she was okay enough to stand on her own and wipe her eyes. They stared at each other for a bit longer, before the cops figured out he wasn't related and ushered him away. She shot a word of thanks to him, smiling through her pain, and Loki nodded. He was happy he was able to calm someone down like that outside of his family, especially a random stranger, and knew that was what he wanted to do. He wanted to be there for people who just needed someone, needed someone to cry on, and to comfort them. He headed away from the scene and down to the docks at the ocean they lived by, going to watch the waves.
He was brought out of the memory by a whimpering Stark, who was done crying and just sitting there in his lap. Loki looked down at him with sympathy, still holding onto him to make sure he was okay. He decided he wouldn't make this a habit of his, he just wanted to make sure Stark knew he had someone who cared, someone to go to. Stark looked up at him with pained eyes, attempting to say something but, nothing was coming out, so he sighed instead. Loki couldn't help but chuckle at how pitiful he was and looked, and raised his eyebrow at him. Stark tried giving him a glare and when that didn't work well either, he grunted and got comfortable in the lap he had taken over. Loki shook his head a moment, figuring they weren't going anywhere any time soon. First day of class at a new university, all wasted because of this damned person on his legs, all gone because of Stark. His chance to work under Alistair James, one of his major idols as he has stated a few times before, removed. Well, only one day was lost but, it still stung, he wanted to make an impression other than his voice. He kept his gaze on Stark, pushing his own hair out of his face so it wasn't bothering him. A glow coming from the man's chest caught his interest, now staring at the blue light trying to push through the dark shirt he was wearing. It was barely visible but, Loki could see it, especially since he is keen to that kind of stuff. He desperately wanted to touch it, figure out what it was, and why it was emitting such a soft mechanical hum. Was it in his chest? Was it outside of it? He didn't know but, he held himself back from touching it and asking, it wasn't his place to do so.
Roughly ten minutes had past of them just sitting like that until Thor came over and sat next to him, eyes on Stark who was just staring off into the distance with his head below Loki's chest. Loki nodded to his brother, acknowledging his presence, since his eyes were still focused on Stark. He felt a giant arm be thrown across his shoulders and a hug administered to him, as they both watched the guy who now managed to wiggle himself off of Loki's legs and in between them. He decided Stark wasn't so bad, and now was curious as to what his first name was, so he didn't always have to refer to him by his last. No words were exchanged between the three of them but, he knew Thor was dying to say something. He shook his head, making sure Thor realised that they had to stay silent at this time.