Face it...you guys missed Darcy. (God I missed writing her she's such a relief...) And the fun part is that I base their relationship off what me and my best friend would be like if I hadn't moved in 7th grade. Ugh.
Anyways~ some little bits of fluffiness here and there. Definitely building up to somewhere, right? Hopefully it seems that way. I swear I wasn't prolonging this story on purpose it just sort of happened.
((WTF I can hear a train horn where the hell is there a train near my house?))
I hope you guys enjoy! You all deserve it you precious little jiggly watermelons you.
Disclaimer: Does not own Marvel Universe
Warning: Language (Darcy)
Comments/critiques are welcomed! And I love them!
Steve was happy to be back in school. His friends were pleased to see him, everyone seemed drowsy but relaxed, and not having to deal with his mother all day was definitely a bonus. He could focus on school and work and any projects and activities that required his time. The best part was school and work were legitimate excuses to avoid his mother hovering over him about everything. Plus he could hang out with his friends during class, catch up with what they did over break, and of course they'd end up exchanging the few straggler Christmas gifts.
Unfortunately not being on break meant he had to juggle his time to find days to spend with Loki. Weekends were a hit and miss most of the time. Either work would call him in or he'd be so behind on homework he'd need to catch up. Then again…Loki never seemed to mind working with him. He'd even helped him with his English essay for Maximoff over break.
Football practice was going to start up again soon though which meant he'd have to get in as much time with Loki as he could. Practice after school meant work on the weekends.
"STEVE!"
Clint Barton jumps onto his back, nearly knocking him over as he walks into the building. He grins, ruffling Steve's hair as Steve scowls at him.
"Barton, what the hell-?"
"Steve! Guess what? It's the end of the world, Steve, you'll never believe-"
"Gentlemen."
Principal Fury raises a brow at the pair of them. Clint quickly maneuvers himself off of Steve and gives Fury a bashful grin, Steve smiling respectfully. "I trust the last few weeks have given you plenty of time to get all of the rowdiness out of your systems, yes?"
They both nod. "Yes, sir."
"Very good," Fury narrows his eye. They quickly walk past him, heads bowed and eyes on the floor. "Oh, and Barton…" Clint turns to him, gulping down some air. "The school nurse would appreciate it if you could last twenty four hours without her assistance."
"Y-yes, sir."
He walks back towards the school office, both of them letting out the breath they'd been holding in. Steve punches Clint's arm and frowns. "Come on, man, why do you have to drag me into your bullshit the minute we walk in the door?"
"Ow! Hey, that's considered-" Natasha appears out of nowhere and pinches Clint's arm, making him yelp. "Stop hurting me, I'm just a boy! Why do I hang with you guys? I hate both of you…"
She gives Steve a cool smile. "Good break?"
"Yeah, it was fine," Steve chuckles, ignoring Barton repeatedly chanting his name. "You?"
"Could have been better. I could've gone somewhere cool but instead I went to Vermont."
"Yeah, I was stuck in Hicksville, Pennsylvania so…"
She smirks. "At least you have that quaint little German village nearby, right? Wasn't that riveting enough for you? Or did your mother not get drunk during breakfast every day?"
"Mother was surprisingly sober," Steve hums. "And I did finally get that easel from the craft store I've had my eyes on."
"Really? You finally afford it or did someone finally wrap it up for you?"
He glances over towards his locker where Loki and Darcy were already chatting, smiling lightly. "I uhh—got it as a present."
Things between them seemed okay now. Steve was a little embarrassed that Loki was…a virgin but he did feel a little relieved knowing. He was never sure if he was moving too fast or not. With Stark he just sort of jumped right in, with Bucky they really just experimented, and with all the girls he'd dated they'd been the ones to initiate the first move. Steve was never sure what kind of signals Loki was giving off so now he'd just have to sit back and be patient. His body was definitely irritated with him about it but Loki was worth it.
He'd have to come up with cooler date ideas though. After their big talk they seemed to be past the mushy awkward starting out phase. Steve needed to turn it up a notch.
"STEVE!"
Barton claps, making him blink.
"Huh? What do you want?"
"Natasha's having a party!"
Steve furrows his brow. "Wait—for what?"
"Ummm, duh," Barton snorts. "For her birthday?"
"Oh, hey, cool," he smiles at Nat, leaning against the lockers. "When is it?"
"Did you not hear me?" Barton exclaims. "This gross disgusting gorgeous piece of female trash is throwing a birthday party with fucking booze and drugs and naked girls for herself for the first time of like ever."
Natasha raises her brow. "Will there really be naked girls or were you exaggerating?" She grins.
"Will we be sticking to a guest list and afternoon tea?" Steve teases.
"Nah," she waves her hand nonchalantly. "Just make a bunch of fliers so that people show up. It's not a party until I wake up with a trashed house and total regret, right?"
"You're having a party?" Bucky leans against Steve and gives him a wink, turning his attention back to Natasha. "Congrats. You're finally not going to be an anti-social, sociopathic, women's studies major slash in-the-closet lesbian. I'm so proud."
She crosses her arms. "Excuse me? Who the hell says I'm anti-social?"
Natasha and Bucky both laugh, Clint making a face and glancing at Steve. He shrugs. They'd both been acting a little weird with one another. Most likely they were waiting for the other to ask them out again. Steve knew Natasha wanted to it was just that she was so stubborn that she was waiting for Bucky to make the first move and Bucky didn't want to ask because he could never tell what was going on inside her "twisted, unsanitary mind."
It was unusual for Natasha to want to throw a party—especially for her birthday—but she seemed set enough with the idea that she'd told Clint already. Steve figured it wasn't his place as her friend to judge. Besides he liked parties just fine. Natasha's were just—a little extreme sometimes. She made history in their high school by being the first freshmen to ever throw a killer party and for being the first person to ever throw a party where seven people ended up in the hospital not for alcohol poisoning. Although she did have an unnaturally large stash of hard grain liquor.
"So you really want to have a party for your birthday?" Steve asks.
"Yeah," Natasha shrugs. "As long as no one throws up on my cake it could be cool."
"That would—be ideal for any birthday party."
The warning bell rings, Steve sighing and giving them all a smile. He had Banner's class first thing and being late was something Dr. Banner didn't particularly enjoy. "I'll see you guys later." Steve makes his way towards his locker where Loki was already walking away with Darcy, shooting Steve a small smile over his shoulder.
"So…let me get this straight…" Darcy frowns, staring down at the index card Loki had handed her not moments before. "Instead of getting me a super cool awesome gift, you decide it would be best to cherish our friendship rather than commemorating it with a physical object for the very awesome me."
"Yes."
She looks over the card, leaning on her armrest to look at Loki, furrowing her brow. "You know…I've never said this to you before—but do you ever look at yourself in the mirror and think 'wow I'm super gay today?'"
"No," Loki snorts. "Do you?" Darcy gives him a look. "Darcy, if you need to tell me something, I'll support you no matter what. Unless you tell me that you're a lesbian then I'm out of this friendship."
"God, I hate you, you fucking gaylord…" she looks him over again as he scrolls through his phone. "Really though, what did you get me?"
Loki shrugs.
"Umm…" one of the boys approaches them from the stage, Darcy groaning. "Darcy…shouldn't you be giving us something to do?"
"Parker! I'm in the middle of a conversation of vital importance. Go back to pretending you were an animal, you were a very convincing spider."
"But—this is debate club, not drama club."
"PARKER!"
He groans, slumping back towards the stage and struggling to climb up, two of the girls eventually pulling him up together. Darcy rolls her eyes. She'd been bothering Loki all day about her Christmas present. In fact Loki would've forgotten if she hadn't called him at 2am to ask what he'd gotten her. Not that he didn't have something for her, he just needed to remember to actually bring it to school and hide it for her to find.
Loki always hid it in one of two places though—her locker or her backpack. And she always forgot because she never checked either of those places ever. She pokes his face, Loki swatting her away. It was always fun to watch her squirm.
"Just tell me where my fucking present is before I beat the shit out of you-"
Darcy shakes him, Loki smacking her arms with a book. She whines. Loki rolls his eyes. "Did you check your backpack?" He lights up, checking his phone when he gets a new message.
"No," she scoffs. "Why would I-" she pauses, her eyes widening, "-oh my God you sneaky bastard. The one place I wouldn't check." Darcy pulls her bag towards her and digs, exclaiming in triumph when she pulls out a neatly wrapped package and tears into it.
Steve had been messaging with Loki all day. It was cute really and Loki enjoyed the unwarranted attention. They seemed okay now. Steve was flirting with him again and Loki didn't feel mad for any reason, rational or irrational. He didn't like that they'd have to cut back the amount of time they spent together now that school had started up again but Steve seemed determined not to let that stop them. Of course…Loki would have to deal with Romanoff again. And he'd have to remind Steve at one point that he wasn't allowed to just kiss and touch whenever he wanted. Other than that Loki's heart felt a little more relaxed.
"A camcorder?" Darcy grins, shoving him. "Dammit, you know me all too well."
"Now you can poke your nose into other people's lives by documenting them."
"It's true…this camcorder will be used for evil. And a documentary about all the really sexy butts in this school. And yes, that includes teachers."
"I'm sure they'll be thrilled," Loki hums not looking up from his phone. He scrolls through his messages, biting his lip.
STEVE: One more 2:17 pm
LOKI: No 2:32 pm
LOKI: Stop drawing me 2:32 pm
STEVE: Please? :( 2:46 pm
LOKI: Not happening Rogers 2:47 pm
STEVE: What about a nude drawing? 3:02 pm
STEVE: I'll draw you like one of my French girls 3:06 pm
LOKI: I don't like boats :) 3:40 pm
STEVE: No boat required 3:42 pm
"Loki?"
"Hmm?" He looks up, turning to Darcy who was giving him a weird look. Loki blinks. He hadn't realized he'd been smiling at his phone.
"I said did you like the book I got you? Have you started it yet?"
STEVE: I'll get naked too ;) 3:47 pm
Loki covers his mouth and hisses out a small laugh, trying to keep from smiling any wider. Darcy punches him in the arm and Loki makes a noise. He glares at her. "What was that for?"
"For freaking me out!" she laughs dryly. "What the hell is up with you?"
"Nothing, nothing," Loki sighs, Darcy giving him another look. "Seriously, I'm fine. What—what were you saying? About…about a book?"
Gwen Stacy taps Darcy's shoulder. She waits patiently for Darcy to give her her attention, Darcy and Loki both giving her a small smile. Gwen clears her throat. "Um…Darcy, we need to practice some kind of debate techniques today? I just don't want a teacher to walk in and think we're just goofing off."
"Of course, Ms. Stacy, anything for a BAMF like yourself."
"Why are you nice to her?"
"Shove it, Parker, I'm talking to Gwen," Darcy rolls her eyes. "I give you honorary rights to split the group into two teams and carry on a debate."
She nods, heading back towards the stage. Gwen pauses once she's climbed up, turning on her heel. "What should we debate about?"
"Uhhh…" Darcy scratches her head. "How about—the importance of a…sheep vs. a snake? Go." Gwen furrows her brow and shrugs, motioning for the group to stop what they were doing. Darcy sighs, turning her attention back to Loki who sets his phone aside. "Sorry…so did you like your book or not?"
"What was it again? It was uhh-"
"Oh umm…Atonement? Ewan McGregor?"
"Ian McEwan. McGregor's an actor."
"Yeah, but he was in the movie."
"No, that was-" Loki frowns. "It wasn't McGregor."
"Kiera Knightly was in it though."
Loki makes a face. "God, I hate her…"
Darcy snorts and goes off on a tangent. His phone vibrates, Loki reaching for it and having to bite back a laugh.
STEVE: Your silence speaks 1000 words.. 3:56 pm
STEVE: I'll get naked 3:58 pm
STEVE: Meet me in the art room 3:58 pm
Loki grins. This conversation was made infinitely better knowing Steve was hanging out with Thor and Jane in the library. Loki types a quick response and sighs.
LOKI: Send pics instead ;) 4:00 pm
He was still a little confused though. Loki wasn't sure if he liked Steve or if he just liked the attention Steve gave him. Either way Steve was a dork and Loki knew he liked having him as a friend. It had been a while before Loki had found someone other than Darcy to spend one-on-one time with. They got along and Loki didn't have to hide him from Thor or Darcy because they both liked him too. He…still didn't want to tell them they were dating though. Darcy would freak and the whole school would laugh at them. Loki didn't want that drama for Steve.
Steve was nice and he was nice to other people even if they didn't really deserve it. Loki especially didn't deserve it.
"That's it!" Darcy yells, grabbing at Loki. "Gimme your phone! Who the hell are you smiling at?" She climbs over him, Loki raising his phone out of her reach with a scowl and pushing her back. "I'm the coolest person you know and it sure as hell isn't me!"
"None of your business, Darcy!" Loki grunts when her knee jabs his stomach. "Släpp mig, ko!"
"Your multilingual bullshit can't help you now!"
He shoves her as hard as he can with one arm and she squeals, falling on to the floor. Loki hides his phone in his bag and scoots to the edge of his seat to look at her. Darcy groans. The younger ones on the stage stop their debating and murmur amongst themselves, a few walking up to peer over the edge.
"I'm okay," she sighs, sitting up. "Go back to sheep vs. snakes, I'm good, I landed on my butt." Loki rolls his eyes. Darcy climbs back into her seat and snorts, grinning at him. "So…who are you talking to?"
"None of your business."
"Oh, come on," she groans. "You never keep secrets from me! Something's obviously wrong with you, okay? You've had really weird mood swings, you seem happier, you're on your phone literally all the time, half the time you aren't listening to me, you zone out about everything, you-" She stops, her mouth widening into a grin. "Oh my God."
Loki's stomach turns. "Darcy-"
"You're getting porked!"
"What?" he makes a face, some of the freshmen on the stage laughing. "Darcy!"
"What? It was an honest guess-"
He hides his face with his hands. "What is wrong with you?"
"Okay, okay, fine." She takes a moment, her eyes lightly up with a gasp. "You have a BOYFRIEND!"
Loki forces out a laugh and part of a smile. "What? Darcy, you're—being stupid and…dumb…"
Darcy shrieks, Loki jumping and struggling to pull away when she grabs him for a hug. "OhmyGod! OhmyGod! Ohmy GOOODDD!" Loki grumbles and gives up his escape. She releases him and grips his shoulders, staring at him. "What's his name? Where does he live? Is he cute? Why haven't I met him? Does he go to this school? TELL MEEEEE!" She shakes him, Loki mumbling something incoherent about whiplash. "Wait-" she stops and pulls away from him as if he'd turned into a bug, her lip curling slightly. "Please tell me it isn't Stark." He opens his mouth to respond. "Because, Loki, I know he's kinda fine and super smart and mature but he's not good for you, okay? I don't want you getting hurt again-"
"Darcy," Loki smiles reassuringly. "It's not Stark, I promise."
"Oh thank God," Darcy laughs. She gives him a sheepish grin. "Not—that—it wouldn't still be totally awesome…I just can't handle that again." Loki raises a brow. "The constant fighting, the bitching, the moping, the late night phone calls about him talking to some girl and telling her she looked this way or that way and what does it mean, the whole is he cheating on me-"
"Thank you…for that."
"You can totally call me if you need to though. You know I will drop literally everything to help you with your guy trouble, I'm actually surprised you hadn't told me! Loki…you're growing up, I can't believe it!" Darcy grins, leaning closer to him. "Sooooo…where did you meet?"
Loki stares at her, drawing away out of concern. "Uhh-" He met Steve at school but he couldn't say that then she'd go through all the guys at school. "A party…in the city."
"God, you're lucky…" she sighs. "You can just—meet people. I actually have to work to get guys' attention, it's fucking ridiculous…" Darcy runs a hand through her hair and slouches into her seat. "So…where does he go to school? Here? Is he from out of town? Why haven't I met him yet? Tell me literally everything!"
"W-well, he's-" Loki trails off and smiles to himself. "He's nice. We get along I guess."
She watches him, leaning on his armrest and propping her chin in her hand. "Wow…so this guy's not a sleaze or anything, huh?"
"N-no, he—he doesn't do drugs," Loki clears his throat. "He drinks but he doesn't usually get drunk. And he's our age—give or take."
"Fuck, Loki, you really like this guy…"
He shrugs, looking away. Darcy grins, squealing and pulling him into another hug. Loki struggles against her as he's smothered by her breasts. "Loookkkkiiiii! I can't believe you got yourself a boo!" She gasps, Loki gasping as well when he's able to pull away. "You can help hook me up with that cute German from work! Since you have a boyfriend I can trust you won't accidentally seduce him!"
Loki blinks. "Accidentally seduce him? You're making me the hotter girl in this situation?"
"Please? Please, oh, please, oh, please?" Darcy begs. "I would love you forever, Loki, he's so cute but he's way too shy to make the first move!"
"Why don't you ask him out then?"
Darcy scowls at him, crossing her arms. "I'm not desperate I just want to know if he likes me or not!" She smiles and claps her hands. "OHHHHHHH! And once I get a boyfriend we can double date and do cute couples' things together!" Darcy squeals.
All of that sounded awful but Loki wasn't about to tell her that. This was the liveliest she'd been since Loki kissed Steve at homecoming. Besides…it was inevitable that Darcy was going to find out Loki was with Steve and when she did it would be nice to have something to dull the blow. Her having someone of her own would give her a reason to move on and she probably wouldn't be too mad at Loki for lying. He just didn't like helping set her up. Last time he tried he ended up with Steve.
"Fine," Loki sighs. "I'll help you with your…German."
She hugs him again, shaking him around. "THANK YOU! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Loki, I love you, thank you!"
Steve and Thor both laugh, Steve setting his controller down with a sigh. He checks his watch. It was getting late. His mother would kill him if he was past curfew…assuming his mother was even awake.
"This was fun."
Thor grumbles, switching off the game. "You really have to leave already?"
"Yeah, it's getting late," Steve smiles. "I have homework and midterms are soon so…you know."
"You just don't want me to kick your ass again," Thor grins.
He laughs and glances towards the stairs. Steve was hoping Loki would've come out of his room. It was weird going over to the Odinson house and only seeing one of them now. Of course it also meant he had to act like he was there for either one or the other.
Steve's stomach growls. That's right he had to go food shopping.
"Hey, uhh…" Steve clears his throat. "Do you mind if I grab something to eat before I go?" He holds his breath.
Thor looks up from where he was putting away the games and controllers. "Yeah, help yourself, my friend. What's yours is ours. Although if you want to stay a little longer I could order us a pizza."
He shakes his head, smiling apologetically. "No, I'm sorry. I think I'll just make a sandwich or something."
"Suit yourself. I think I'll go call Jane awhile then."
Steve nods, raising his cup to him and finishing it off. Normally he tried not to mooch off his friends for food—since he was afraid they'd think he was rude—but Thor was the only one who didn't know he was basically white trash. Steve runs a hand through his hair. His other friends didn't actually think of him like that it was just—Natasha was quick to figure things out and Bucky's known him for so long…him and his mother…Steve preferred not to ask them for anything. He digs through the fridge, picking out a few meats and cheeses and closing the door, nearly jumping out of his skin.
Loki smirks, popping a candy into his mouth. "Hey."
"Jesus, babe, you scared the hell out of me—mmmmphh-" Loki kisses him, Steve stumbling back into the counter. His eyes widen when Loki pushes his hand up under his shirt and brushes over his abdomen. Steve makes a noise, Loki humming back at him. He manages to keep his food in one hand and uses the other to separate himself and Loki, gasping for breath. "What are you doing? Your brother could be literally right around the corner-"
"Oh, please," Loki rolls his eyes. "He's on the phone with the future Dr. Foster; he'd walk into walls if he couldn't just barrel straight through them." Thor walks into the kitchen with his phone, Loki smirking and looking at Steve. "Watch this." Loki presses himself seductively up against Steve, pushing his knee between his legs and wrapping an arm under his arm to tease his hair. Steve blushes all the way to his chest. Thor grabs a bag of chips from the cupboard, turning so that his eyes literally pass over the pair of them. Loki clears his throat. "Hey, Thor."
"No, you are beautiful no matter what," Thor grins. He half-waves at the both of them, not paying either any mind as he disappears from the kitchen. "You know I don't care what you wear…"
Steve lets out the breath he'd been holding in. Loki stays pressed against him and hums, kissing his neck. "You almost gave me a heart attack you know."
"Well…from the amount of blood rushing to your face I was more concerned with your head exploding."
He laughs lightly, scooping Loki up and setting him on the counter. "You're terrible…I ought to punish you." Steve grabs the bread out of the cabinet. "I was going to invite you out this weekend but…I don't think you deserve it."
Loki pouts, nudging him with his foot. "You don't mean that…"
"And what if I do?"
"I'll cry. I'll cry a thousand tears and drown you in them."
Steve grins, taking a bite of his sandwich. "That would be rather inconvenient don't you think?"
"I don't care. You deserve it for not taking me out."
He hums and places a hand on the back of Loki's neck, pulling him down to peck his lips. Steve didn't actually have a plan for the weekend yet. He wanted to step their dates up a bit. Bookstores and libraries were a little obvious as was the art museum. Steve didn't want obvious he wanted—exciting. Sort of. Stargazing was a step in the right direction but impossible because of the smog. Right now he needed to figure out more stuff that Loki liked that didn't involve, well, books.
Steve finishes his sandwich and sighs. Loki runs a hand over his hair and Steve smiles, placing a hand on his knee, his thumb rubbing small circles. "So…Natasha's going to have a party. I don't know when yet but—will you come?"
Loki shrugs. "I don't know…it'll mess up my image." He grins when Steve raises a brow.
"I know you two don't get along, but-"
"Steve…" he sighs. "I literally don't get along with any of your friends. It's not just Romanoff."
"I know, I know-"
"And I don't want to just show up at a party where you're my only source of entertainment that'll look way too suspicious."
"I know, Loki," Steve smiles, taking his hand. "But…she said she was inviting literally anyone who wanted to come, so…please? We can keep things on the down low, I promise." Loki sighs and rolls his eyes. Steve pulls him closer by his waist, his thumbs rubbing his sides. "Please? I'll be lonely without you…"
Loki snorts, giving him a look. "You and I both know that's not true."
Steve pulls him closer, burying his face into Loki's abdomen. "Yes it is! I'll be bored out of my mind and it'll be all your fault and I'll never forgive you!"
"Hmmm. What a shame."
He laughs and bites him gently through his shirt. Loki squeals and tugs at Steve's hair, Steve tickling his sides as Loki squirms. "No, ehehe, no, Steve, don't-!" Loki wriggles and twists to kick Steve's side, Steve grunting and letting out a laugh. "Alright! Alright, alright, I'll go with you!"
"Really?" Steve grins. He picks Loki up off the counter and sets him down on the floor.
"Yes, really," he pants. "I'll go with you to Romanoff's stupid party if you want me to. Just don't expect me to be social or nice to you."
"Okay, that's fair enough." Steve pecks Loki's lips and sighs. "I have to go…my mom will throw a fit if she wakes up and I'm not home."
Loki nods. He loops his arm with Steve's and follows him around as he gathers his books and shoes and bag, holding his hand patiently as he pulls on his coat. Steve gives his hand a squeeze. He slings his bag over his shoulder and sighs, Loki opening the door for him. They kiss, Steve running a hand over his hair and smiling.
"I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Of course."
Steve raises his voice. "See yah, Thor!"
"Bye, Steve!"
He steps outside into the cold and turns to face Loki, grinning. "Good night! Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow…something, something about tomorrow-"
"No," Loki scowls, closing the door. Steve catches it and pokes his head back inside.
"So…" Steve bites his lip to contain his grin. "May I court you this weekend, sir?"
Loki rolls his eyes and pushes Steve's face out the door. "Good night, Rogers."
He smiles to himself and steps off the porch, minding the ice. Steve reaches his truck when the front door opens again, Loki walking outside with a blanket wrapped around him. He surprise kisses Steve before he has a chance to ask what he was doing. Steve kisses him back, digging his fingers into his hair. Loki's thumb brushes over his jaw as he holds his head in place. Their chests press together, their hearts pounding against one another.
They break the kiss, Loki smiling.
"Yes. Yes, you may."
Loki pulls away from him and gives him a small wave, smiling over his shoulder. He steps back into the house and gives him another smile. The door closes. His heart flips in his chest. And Steve swore that for a moment it was a real, genuine smile, eyes bright and all…but he could've been mistaken. Like always the instant he noticed was the instant it disappeared.