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“This is going to be great,” said Loki, smiling down at his six-year-old.
This is going to be torture, thought Loki, taking a step forward, his son following along shyly.
The Single Dads play group was something recommended to him by his therapist. She thought that he could benefit from having other humans in his corner who were in similar situations and that his son would enjoy meeting new people. Loki thought it was pointless, they were just going to be a bunch of judging, bitter men who would think he was stupid for his situation but if it could help his kid he was willing to give it a try.
Ever since Hela had left them Thor had stopped being so excited and outspoken. As exhausting as that could be, Loki missed his son’s disposition and maybe meeting some kids being raised by one dad wouldn’t be so bad.
The meeting room was split into two clear sections. The back portion was bright, colorful, and full of various toys to play with. The front of the room, on the other hand, had folding chairs, snacks, and coffee. That seemed to be the place the men were congregating, where they could easily see their offspring but also chat with each other.
“Hello,” said one man, peeling away from the crowd of about 4 men and coming to greet the newcomers. “I’m Phil. Welcome to the Single Dads group.”
“I’m Loki,” said Loki stiffly. “And this is my son Thor.”
“It’s nice to meet you both,” said Phil with a calming smile. “My two are the ones currently devising a plan to give me a heart attack by jumping from the top of the tower and so help me - Natasha! Clint! I love you both. Jump off of there and I will have you both sit with the adults while we talk. Do you understand?”
A short red-headed girl and sandy haired boy both gave equally dramatic sighs and slid back to the floor.
“Sorry about that,” said Phil, turning back to Loki. “Here, let me introduce you to the others. This is Bruce, Steve, and Tony.”
“Hi!” said Natasha, the little red head, running up to Thor. “I’m Natasha. Want to come play with me and my brother?”
Thor nodded and walked slowly after the girl. Loki watched, surprised but pleased that already his son was trying.
“Kids are resilient,” said Steve, leaning back and folding his arms. “My daughters certainly are. They are great now that we are all in counseling. My wife passed away last year.”
“I’m sorry,” said Loki, more out of obligation than actually feeling sorry for the man. It was difficult to feel sorry for a man he didn’t know.
“My girlfriend ran off with another man,” said Bruce with a shrug. “We all have sob stories. You don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”
“Divorced,” said Phil, sitting down at the table with snacks. “I have custody, but my ex gets them every other weekend and a month in the summer.”
“That’s unusual,” said Loki. “Usually full custody is awarded to the mother.”
“She’s an ER doctor with an unusual schedule so it works out better for everyone that I have them,” said Phil easily.
“I suppose this is the moment I share why I am at this single fathers club,” said Loki.
“Only if you want,” said Phil. “We spend a lot of time together, not just here, because our kids go to the same school and like to play together. Kids aren’t all that secretive so odds are we’ll find out from the kids eventually anyway.”
“My wife left in spectacular fashion,” said Loki. “She was emotionally abusive to me, never to our son, but when it came down to it and I threatened to leave she decided to leave me instead. It makes a better story I guess, the crazy ex husband leaving with the child. Much better then having to admit to being emotionally abusive.”
“That sucks,” said Tony, who so far had been nursing a cup of coffee. “I’ve got a similar story.”
Loki looked the shorter man up and down. He was objectively attractive, messy brown hair, fit, and with an attitude of one ready for fun while his tone seemed to always border on the edge of laughter, as if life were a big joke to him. It was difficult for Loki to picture this man being in an abusive relationship but he was sure people would say the same about him.
“But the first rule of anything to d with me and my kid is that you absolutely never take any pictures, never post any pictures, and never mention us to any strangers,” said Tony, his laughing tone dropping. “My ex-husband is a piece of work and dangerous.”
“Understood,” said Loki with a nod.
“Peter is mine, he’s four and perfect,” said Tony proudly. “I would do anything to protect him, including running away from my crazy husband and hiding in a middle-of-nowhere town. We are relatively safe here, so do not spoil that for us.”
“I’m not here to cause trouble, I’m here to get my son to socialize and hopefully not turn out as grumpy as me,” said Loki. “And my ex-wife threatened to sue for full custody just to spite me, not because she wanted what was best for Thor.”
Tony walked back to the coffee machine and poured another cup.
“My ex said he’d take all my money and leave me homeless on the streets, unable to provide for Peter so the authorities would take him away,” said Tony challengingly.
“My ex threw an iron at me when she was leaving,” shot back Loki.
“My ex tried to murder me the night I left,” said Tony, standing up straight.
The two men looked at each other for quite a while, sizing each other up, faces blank, then, at the same time, they nodded and Tony handed him a fresh cup of coffee.
“What just happened?” asked Steve, looking between the two of them.
“I think they just became best friends,” whispered Bruce. “By bonding over shitty exes.”