A new chapter. Smiley faces all round. I hope.

Don't let 'em see you cryin,
no matter how it hurts.
and nobody ever got laid,
cuz they were wearin' a Rush t-shirt

Lyrics -Nerf Herder

Loki spent the rest of the day tuning Kurt out and focusing on Loki-internal-radio. Tony liked him. He said he was Gorgeous. Every time Loki though of it, warmth flooded through his chest. But what if they knew Loki was listening, and it was all a cruel joke? No, nobody knew Loki liked Tony, except for Raven. Unless it was really her talking about him and not Tony. No, she wouldn't do that. Natasha would see through her anyway. Unless they were both in on it. So what would Loki do? The answer was simple. Nothing.

"loki? Loki are you even listenning to a vord I've been saying? " Loki looked up to see a blue face looking at him expectantly.

"What? Of course I have."

"So? Vhat do you sink?"

"What?"

Kurt sighed and rolled his eyes dramatically. "Ororo. Do you sink I have a chance?"

"Ororo? Ororo Munroe? As in Storm?"

"Yeah."

Loki laughed, a mean grin spreading across his face. Kurt stood up from their spot beneath their usual tree and grabbed his backpack, swinging it over his shoulder. " You don't 'ave to be so mean Loki. I 'ave to listen to all your problems."

"Hey, Kurt I didn't mean-" Loki reached after him, but he was already marching off across the field and back to the main building.

Loki sighed and leaned back against the tree.

Kurt rarely got angry, especially with Loki for whom he had a rather large soft spot. Loki was his friend, the only one to put up with his constant ramblings, the only one to stick up for him when people pushed him around. Kurt knew he never had a chance with Ororo. She was smart, popular, cool. She was nice to Kurt, but she rarely actually spoke to him, not really. Kurt was about to turn around and walk back to Loki, apologise and then offer to carry Loki's bag round for the rest of the day, when a shoulder knocked into him and he lost his balance, falling hard to the floor. When Kurt looked up he saw whom the shoulder belonged to. Clint Barton. "Hey, watch it kid."

Two figures appeared behind him and then now stood in a tight semicircle around Kurt.

"Better watch where you're going Blue man."

"Not allowed to use your creepy mutant powers in school huh? Freak."

"Freak" One of them prodded Kurt with his foot while the others drew closer. Kurt turned his head and seriously considered teleporting, even though the people at the orphanage forbade it, trying to hide the mutant in him. Kurt closed his eyes shut and waited for the pain.

But the pain didn't come.

Kurt opened one eye to see Loki looking down at him, an arm outstretched and an impatient look on his face. "Hurry up, before they realize Logan's not coming and come back."

Kurt grinned and took the hand pulling himself up. "You told zem Logan was coming to beat zem up?"

"Usually works, they're all afraid of Logan."

"But Logan would never come."

"They don't know that." Loki winked at his friend.

Doctor Maz, Over and Out