Sorry this update took so long-my best friend and I don't get to talk very often right now and when we do I'm too distracted to do anything else (mostly because we rp Steve/Loki lol). Everything is sort of building up now and I'll try to get the next update up as soon as I can.

(And thanks for all the reviews guys :))

Disclaimer: Don't own Marvel Universe

Warning: Eh. Mostly language.

Comments/critiques are welcomed!

(OH! One more thing...I figured Thor and Loki would be taught multiple languages when they were growing up and I don't speak Italian, I just used Google translate, so if any of the translations seem weird, just ask. :))

"Darcy still missing in action?"

Loki snorts, looking up at Steve from his book. "If you're asking whether or not she's still on her period then yes, she is." He turns the page. "Really, Rogers, if you're so curious why don't you just text her? I'm sure she'd be thrilled to go off on someone."

"Are you not talking to her?"

"She becomes unnaturally aggressive during her time of the month—I prefer to talk through her cousin."

Steve smiles to himself, picking at his food. He felt conflicted not sitting with his friends again but Loki was his friend now too and at least Loki talked about more…sophisticated things. Usually. Darcy and her lady troubles were simply a by-product of timing and since Loki was naturally blunt and gave few details Steve didn't mind. Today however he seemed a bit distracted and kept texting someone on his phone while also keeping his nose buried in a book. Steve didn't really mind all that much especially since he didn't talk a lot and Loki was letting him sit with him…but Loki seemed irritated with whoever he was conversing with.

"Do you not like chicken?" he asks, watching Loki pick apart the breaded tenders on his tray.

"I'm trying to be a vegetarian."

"Then," Steve forces down a grin. "Why did you get the chicken?"

Loki sighs, nodding towards Steve's friends. Thor was bellowing cheerfully about something, the other guys laughing. "The oaf buys my lunch."

Steve looks over at his friends, Thor's laughter echoing throughout the whole lunchroom. He smiles and rolls his eyes. "Can't you get your own?" He instantly regrets the wording of that phrase as Loki lowers his book to scowl at him.

"Of course I can!" Loki snaps. Steve quickly mumbles an apology and Loki calms himself before answering again. "He's worried I won't eat."

"Why's that?"

"Because I won't," he replies blandly, turning a page. "Not unless Darcy and I sneak out but as you can see, Darcy is not here and I have no intention of eating any of the so-called meat products that exit the school kitchen." He turns another page. "Besides it always smells like fish."

Steve sniffs his own chicken and wrinkles his nose. It did smell like fish…his stomach gurgles though and he did have practice today…what he wouldn't give for a burger and fries. He starts to pick at the chicken himself, glancing up at Loki. After observing him these past few weeks, Steve had to conclude that he loved watching Loki read. The way his face was so relaxed, the tiny smirk that teased the corner of his mouth whenever he particularly enjoyed a passage, and his eyes…the way they would spark that magnificent green color only to return to the dulled out green Loki so religiously kept. Steve couldn't help but wonder if the green he would observe were how Loki's eyes normally were without all of his shields up. He quickly looks away when Loki notices him, quirking a brow and returning to his reading. Steve wasn't very good at spying…

"Ciao, all," Christine Everhart and her friend Carol Danvers approach their table, both in their cheer uniforms and Carol carrying a plastic bucket with bright pink duct tape wrapped around it. $$DONATE$$ was scrawled on the front. Steve looks up and smiles, Loki grumbling and setting his book down.

"Cosa vuoi, cagna?" Loki sighs, staring dully at them.

Christine makes a face at him—not understanding what he'd said—and smiles sweetly at Steve. "Would you like to make a donation, Steve? We're collecting for the American Cancer Society today."

"Solo oggi?"

Steve holds back a laugh, grinning. Christine shoots Loki a look and looks back to Steve, the special mask she had for him back on. He digs around in his pockets. "One sec, I think I have some change from lunch…" He holds out his fist, Christine elbowing Carol sharply who squeaks and holds the bucket out for Steve, blushing lightly.

"Gratzi, Steve."

"Basta cosí, maiale," Loki sighs.

"Stop it," she hisses at him. Christine glances at Steve and grumbles, grabbing the bucket from Carol and shoving it towards Loki. "You wanna donate too?" Loki forces a smile, pulling his wallet out of his bag. Christine pulls the bucket away and scowls. "First I want my mother's rings back!"

"E vorrei impostare la gente in fiamme, ma non tutti possiamo ottenere ciò che vogliamo, possiamo?"

Christine sighs, holding the bucket back out to him. "Fine." Loki digs through his wallet and pulls out a fifty, dropping it into the bucket. All three of them stare at him. "I don't have change for that-"

Loki shrugs. "I'd write a check but my parents cut me off." He puts his wallet away and picks his book back up, continuing where he left off. Christine rolls her eyes and mumbles a 'whatever' before turning back to Steve.

"Thank you for your generous contribution, Steve. Ciao, ciao."

"Arrivederci, Christine."

She scowls at Loki, moving on to the next table, dragging Carol with her. Carol blushes, giving Steve a little wave. "Bye, Steve."

Steve watches her go, looking back down at his tray and not noticing Loki watching him curiously. He glances over at his friends, his stomach twisting slightly, part of him wanting to rejoin their antics but not wanting to be rude. Part of him also wanted to sneak out and grab an edible lunch. Loki marks his place, setting his book aside and pushing his tray away from him. Steve does the same. Neither of them was very good with conversation, they usually got lucky, and Steve didn't want to annoy Loki by pointing out every interesting thing that he did—like how he spoke Italian. Steve was pretty sure it was Italian. His stomach growls.

"Hungry?" Loki asks, scrolling through his phone.

"Well, I don't think my stomach is giving me much of a choice."

Loki snorts. "Yes, well, nine freshmen went home sick after eating the chicken at lunch so…I wouldn't risk it." He gives Steve a smile. "Although…Mr. Logan is apparently so hungover that he's still drunk—we could always go to that diner on Milton Street, skip art class…what do you think?"

Steve mulls over the was a good chance for them to hang out without all the…distractions. He glances over at his friends and Christine, relentlessly flirting with all of them. "You know…that sounds pretty good. Some milkshakes, a couple of burgers…"

"Vegetarian, Steven."

"Fine…" he laughs. "Some milkshakes, a burger, and a salad."

Loki stands, slinging his bag over his shoulder and motioning for Steve to follow. He sticks to one side of the hallway and Steve was surprised at how calm he was. Loki always kept his head so high, Steve couldn't comprehend confidence like that. He follows him but still felt on edge, as though someone was going to catch them even though the teachers that passed them by weren't even paying them any mind.

"So uhh—how do we get out without anyone noticing?"

"Steve, you're an honor student, quarterback of the football team, and all around goody-goody, you could walk out the front door and no one would pay you any mind," Loki runs a hand through his hair. "Me, on the other hand, they'd call the police and a parental meeting to further understand why I'm so troubled. Unfortunately we're going to have to do this my way." He pushes open the door to the girls' bathroom and holds it for Steve, who hesitates. Loki nods towards the bathroom. "Go on, then." Two girls were standing at the mirrors and both of them squeal—obviously younger—and stupidly remind them that it was the girls' bathroom but then swoon at the sight of a blushing Steve Rogers waving shyly at the pair of them. "Oh, stop it, your stalls have doors, no one can see if your panties are down. Now don't tell anyone we were here, I know Darcy Lewis." The girls both squeal and run out the door, Loki rolling his eyes.

"Is Darcy your trump card?" Steve looks around, rather embarrassed by being in there.

"Usually. Thor I use for drastic measures." Loki jumps up onto the small shelf bolted into the wall, holding onto the stall frame for balance. He uses the heel of his hand to force the narrow window open, pushing it until it latches itself open. "Darcy's breasts can fit through here so I'm sure you will too." He tosses his bag out first, Steve watching as Loki starts to pull himself through, standing below him just in case. Loki's sweater catches in the window and pulls up slightly and Steve hadn't noticed how tight his jeans were or maybe how filled out his butt was and…why was he thinking about this? Steve starts climbing up after Loki's through, ignoring how mesmerizing Loki's butt was and how wrong it was that he noticed, and barely squeezes himself through. He pulls himself to his feet, laughing and brushing the grass off his jeans.

"Well…that was fun."

Loki grins. "Yeah, well, it was more fun freshmen year when Darcy got stuck and the firemen had to come grease her out."

Steve laughs, pulling out his keys. "Holy shit, that was because of her? Everyone told me it was because Thor got his head stuck."

"Oh, no, I just made that up so no one would make fun of Darcy." He hooks his bag over his shoulder and nods towards the parking lot. "You're the black truck right? Because I didn't steal Thor's keys, so you're driving."

The waitress looks over at her table with the two attractive young men, feeling butterflies in her stomach. They'd been going over their menus for a good ten minutes now and the darker of the two seemed irritated; he'd been playing with the sugar for a good while. She approaches them with a nervous smile, her stomach twisting when they look up at her. The one with the broad shoulders gives her a smile and the other stares into her—not at her, into her. He was cute but…who could resist a guy with shoulders and eyes like his friend had? Anxiously, she opens her ticket book and gets out her pen and like clockwork she asks: "What can I get you?"

Loki gives their waitress a small smile, flicking his eyes to her nametag and back up to her. He pretends to browse over his choices again before looking back up at her, resting his chin on his hands. "Well, Janie…I'll have a bacon cheeseburger, extra cheese, extra bacon, hold the tomato with a side of fries and a vanilla cola." Loki smiles sweetly at her and hands her his menu.

"A-a-and for you?"

Steve smiles at Janie as well but naturally, not out of charm. "The same; bacon cheeseburger with everything, a side of fries, and a regular cola for me, please. Thanks." He hands her his menu and she bites her lip, grinning.

"I'll have that r-r-right out to you."

She walks away and Steve grins at Loki. "Extra bacon?"

"Shut up, I suck at being a vegetarian. Especially with all your American junk food…"

"I always forget you're not American," Steve looks through the tiny menus on the stands at the side of the table. "I guess Thor just blends in here really well."

"And I don't?" Loki quirks a brow.

"No…I just—haven't seen you around enough, I guess…you don't exactly let yourself stand out." Loki shrugs, grabbing the milkshake menu and looking it over. Steve laughs to himself. "You both still have accents though so I suppose that would give you away."

"I think that's more of a home influence than anything," Loki smirks, their waitress approaching with a basket of fries and their drinks. She sets the glasses down in front of them reciting what they ordered and sets the fries down as well. "A basket of cheddar bacon fries—on the house." Janie tucks her hair behind her ear, smiling. "Can I get you anything else?" They both look at one another, Steve motioning for Loki to go first.

"I'll have a chocolate malt."

"And I'll have a vanilla milkshake."

Janie writes their orders down, glancing bashfully at Steve. "Alright—I'll have those out with your food." She tugs at her hair and takes a few steps away, grinning at Steve. "Enjoy your fries…"

Steve smiles, looking down at the table and Loki rolls his eyes. He picks at the fries, not wanting to pass up a free meal. It was a little annoying that Steve flirted with everyone but Loki figured if he flirted a little too their dopey waitress would give them something for free. Steve sips his soda and Loki stirs his, continuing to eat the fries. It was a bit strange that Loki found himself so comfortable with Steve. He posed no real threat at the moment and was always polite, courteous, which Loki wasn't sure what to do with and he had no ill-quarrel with Steve other than being close friends with Thor so he figured a state of toleration was the only reasonable conclusion. Loki wouldn't say they were friends—of course not—he'd simply say they were friendly. He didn't really have any friends other than Darcy and no one would believe Steve Rogers to be friends with the likes of him. As for Steve, well, Loki wasn't really sure what he'd say…about himself that is. Would he say they were friends? Loki frowns. All this thinking was making him hungry. His phone goes off in his pocket and Loki contorts himself in the booth to pull it out, the message only making him more irritated but he answers it quickly.

Loki continues to eat the fries, pulling them apart and dipping them in the ranch before stuffing them into his mouth rather crudely. He scowls at the table, his brows knit together. Steve slides a penny towards him and Loki looks up. "Penny for your thoughts?"

He stares at the copper coin before shaking his head. "You are the most incessant flirt. You do realize this, don't you?"

"Huh?" Steve furrows his brow.

"Here we go!" Janie announces, setting their food down. "Two bacon cheeseburger platters, one with extra bacon and cheese, one with everything, a chocolate malt and a vanilla milkshake. Did I get that right?" Steve smiles, giving her a nod. "Okay…well…just—ask if you need anything, anything at all..." she laughs, blushing as she trips on her way back to the kitchen.

Loki pulls a slice of bacon out of his burger and starts to nibble on it. He looks off towards the direction their waitress went, more than likely giggling to the other waitresses about how attractive Steven was; he rolls his eyes. "Is that the kind of girl you're interested in?" Loki sips his malt. His phone goes off.

Steve chews his food and looks over towards Janie. He blinks. "What do you mean?" He takes another bite of his burger, Loki nibbling slowly at his own. Loki's phone goes off again and they both look at it. "She's cute but…I don't know her."

"Like how you know Christine?"

"Huh?" Steve smirks. "Why the sudden interest in my dating life?"

"Simply curious. As I said, you have a tendency to flirt with everyone…including myself," Loki stirs his malt, his chin resting in his hand and watching his companion. Steve swallows his food and quirks a brow. He didn't quite understand—Loki could tell from the look on his face. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

Steve shrugs, licking his fingers. "I don't know what you mean by flirting…I'm just trying to be nice to everyone." His sips his shake. "As for Christine…I'd never go out with her. She's…" he makes a face, "she's really a bitch. I don't like the way she talks down to people…"

"Then why don't you say something?" he looks down at his phone.

"Well…uhh…" Steve blinks. "I don't know…I guess because a lot of us just ignore her. And you said I shouldn't stick up for you." He bites into his burger.

Loki rolls his eyes, looking around. "Have you ever even asked a girl out before?" His phone goes off once more and he ignores it, tossing it aside with a scowl. He digs his hand into his hair and sets his elbow on the table. He glares at nothing, his arms trembling. Loki rubs his eye with the heel of his hand and looks back up at Steve who's staring rather concerned at him. He looks down. "That was rude…I didn't mean to emasculate you in any way." Loki glances at his phone when it goes off again. "I have a lot on my mind."

Steve frowns, looking at Loki's phone. "Are people still bothering you?"

"In a way…" he sighs, picking at his food. Loki chews his lip. "I prefer not to talk about such personal matters and I will give you the same courtesy. It is your business who you spend your time and money on and it isn't my place to question your affairs especially since we barely know one another and have yet to become…" his mouth twitches, "friends." Steve nods and goes back to eating his lunch, smiling to himself. He was starting to pick up little quirks and things Loki did just from what he'd observed and talking to him now. When Loki was nervous he had a habit of stammering, like many people do, but rather politely and to Steve it gave him a glimpse of who Loki really was instead of the walls he consistently put up around himself.

And when it came to Loki, Steve figured "an eye for an eye" was the best method of communication.

He looks up when Loki slides something towards him, lifting his hand to reveal a penny. Steve didn't realize how hard he was concentrating on his food. "Penny for your thoughts?" Loki teases, smirking. They both laugh, Steve's nose blushing a deep red. Loki finally turns off his phone and sets it back in his bag, continuing to eat his food slowly.

"Peggy Carter." Loki looks up, quirking his brow. "She was the only person I've ever asked out—everyone else I've ever dated asked me."

Steve shares a small smile with him, Loki pushing his hair back behind his ear and looking back down at his food. Time got away from them as they spent the good rest of their lunch eating and talking about nothing personal at all. They both bust out laughing when their waitress leaves the bill with her phone number scrawled across the bottom.