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There had always been that feeling of being left out.
Of being alone—not fitting in—being an outcast.
There were times when he wondered if maybe they did this on purpose, toyed with his feelings like that with the intention of making him feel better afterwards—although that last part never happened.
That was before he learned the truth.
It hadn’t been the same after that.
The small, little raven haired boy had been jumping between classes for a good portion of the week. He was much too smart for kindergarten, excelled past the limits of first grade, and crushed all second grade problems. At five years old, the raven haired child had excelled far past what someone his age should be able to. They had decided to put him into third grade, into his older brother’s class. It was exciting, to be able to go to school with your brother, be in his grade. They had been inseparable since he had been born.
“Loki, come down and eat your breakfast!” came the call from downstairs and the small five year-old boy tugged his plain black hooded sweater over his head. It was big for his small five year old body, but it had been his older brother’s, so he treasured it. The door opened and there stood his older brother, a grin on his face as he ran into the room and swept his brother up against his eight year old body and hugged him tightly.
“This day couldn’t have come any faster!” Thor laughed, looking down at his small brother who was looking up at him with such large emerald orbs, a smile painted across his face.
“Boys, hurry up! The bus will be here in fifteen minutes,” their dad spoke from just outside the door, looking pointedly at both of them. Thor laughed sheepishly, taking Loki’s hand in his own and tugging him out of the room and to the dining room where Frigga, their mom, stood with a bright smile and hairbrush. Thor went to Frigga first to get his hair brushed while Loki walked his way to the table and pulled himself up onto the seat with some effort before crawling onto the table to reach the box of cereal and pour himself a bowl. Shaking the milk wildly, he then poured in a generous amount of milk before setting that aside. Sitting on the tabletop in his large sweater with sleeves that easily covered his hands, Loki pulled his bowl closer, grabbing his spoon and beginning to eat silently.
Thor was babbling excitedly to his mom, about how thrilled he was to have his little brother in his class and what they were doing and how his teacher was shocked to be getting a new student and so on and so forth. His blue eyes were shining brightly in joy and he looked over to his little brother who was finishing up his cereal silently, small body barely taking up any space on the table.
The bowl was pushed away and Loki slowly wriggled his way back to his chair, slipping off the table and onto the chair before jumping off the chair and walking to his mom to get his hair brushed. The soft raven locks were easy to ease the knots out of and Loki was soon walking to the bathroom to brush his teeth. His small toothbrush fit snugly in his palm and his teeth were brushed as well as the small five year-old could brush them.
Soon, he was standing next to Thor in front of his mom and dad. Odin had an arm wrapped around Frigga’s shoulders was looking at them with a small smile. “Stay out of trouble, both of you, and have fun. Love you, Thor,” Odin rumbled out and Thor grinned brightly, his hand gripping his brother’s smaller one.
“We will, don’t worry.”
“Here’s your student ID, Loki, just in case the bus driver or the teacher asks, okay? Don’t lose it,” Frigga instructed warmly as she held out the small plastic card. Loki reached up and grabbed it, smiling his thanks. “Have a nice day, Thor,” his mom added before Loki was then promptly dragged out the door by his overly happy oaf of an older brother.
Standing at the bus stop was when Loki first felt it. That bitter feeling that made his chest tighten and his body tingle uncomfortably, making his toes curl in distress of the uncomfortable feeling. They were waiting for the roaring yellow blob to show up to take them to school and Thor had quickly left his side in favor of his friends who were standing at the bus stop as well. Their conversation was loud and resulted in various peals of laughter from all of them.
Loki took no part in it, though. He merely stood off to the side and looked down at his feet in discomfort, twirling his student ID in between in fingers silently. The sound of an engine in the distance caused him to look up and there was the distant blob of the horrendous yellow monster roaring down the street.
Thor’s friends had noticed the bus as well and the eight year olds were already getting ready to board as it drew nearer. Following their lead, Loki stood behind them, scuffing his foot against the ground slightly. The bus drew to a halt in front of them. The four in front of him boarded and Loki hurried on after them. The bus driver looked at him in confusion, looking to be about to say something, but the five year old held up his student ID silently as proof that he was supposed to be there. She didn’t say anything after that and he walked in, plopping himself in the first seat at the front of the bus. Thor was sitting far in the back, eagerly chatting with his friends, his younger brother forgotten.
Five year old Loki wanted to curl in on himself as his brother stared him with such intensity in those blue eyes that the small boy thought it was a miracle he was still standing. The blonde haired male’s three friends stood behind him, looking at Loki with the same amount of intensity while Frigga and Odin watched on in concern.
“Thor, you have to remember that Loki is younger than you guys. We can’t do such a summer trip until he’s older,” Frigga tried to soothe her first born silently, but Thor was having none of it.
“If he’s smart enough to be in my class, then I’m sure he’s able enough to go on a simple trip like this.”
“This is not simple for him, Thor!” Frigga tried again, his expression drawn tight as if telling Thor no was extremely hard, and Loki looked down, slowly easing himself to his mom’s side, reaching out a hand and tugging on her skirts gently to garner her attention.
“I can stay here,” Loki said quietly and Frigga’s mouth dropped open and Loki hurried to continue, five year old mind scrambling for an excuse quickly. He didn’t want his brother to suffer not being able to do something because of him. “I won’t mind a-and I got invited by a friend to go over to their house anyway and I-I could stay with them for the week you guys are gone,” Loki mumbled, voice falling silent and he pulled his hand back, hands gripping the hem of his shirt slightly as he looked up at his mom who was staring down at him with an unreadable expression. Odin’s expression was one of surprise, as if he couldn’t believe that Loki had made a friend.
“If their parents say it’s okay, then alright,” Odin spoke, startling Frigga out of whatever trance she had been in.
“Odin, I don’t think—”
“I’m trying to please them, Frigga. They’re young, let them live their childhood.”
“And you want Loki to just throw his away?”
“That’s not what I said. If he says he’s okay with it, then it’s fine. There’s not much he’s be able to do, anyway—not at this age,” Odin reasoned gently and Frigga still looked faintly distressed, but agreed softly, casting a look at Loki who quickly plastered a smile on his face. It was forced, but no one noticed. That had been the first time he had lied.
“Who’s this friend of yours?” Odin questioned, looking down at Loki who had taken several steps away from them during their little argument.
Searching his memory for a name, Loki said the first one he remembered from their class. “Tony,” he mumbled. “I can call him right now, if you’d like,” Loki added, fidgeting a bit as he caught sight of the shocked expressions on his brother’s face along with his brother’s friends and his parents. Odin numbly handed him his cell phone and small hands reached up and grabbed it before Loki scurried to his coat that lay over the arm of the couch. There had been an incident in third grade where Tony had accidentally hit Loki on the head with his bat and had given him his number just in case it proved to be a serious injury.
Loki had never gotten it checked. His parents didn’t know it happened.
Pulling out the slip of paper with the number scrawled on it, Loki dialed it into the phone. It rang once before it was picked up and a hoarse voice answered the phone.
“Hey, Tony, it’s Loki.”
“Loki?” There was silence on the other end before there was a thump and the sound of a muffled yelp, the sound of rustling fabric mixing in. “Is your head okay? Was it serious? Please tell me I didn’t screw up your brain. I don’t know how I’ll explain it to Jarvis.”
“I’m fine. Um, I-I was wondering if it would be fine if I stayed at your house for a week.” Loki mumbled, twirling a lock of black hair absently around his small finger for something to do while he internally prayed silently for Tony to say yes. The two hadn’t talked other than that one time and Loki wasn’t sure how the brunette would take having a five year old in his house.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you need. Oh god, I think I’m going to pass out. Um, just drop by with your stuff and—Jarvis, open the windows or something!” Tony cried out and there was more rustling before Tony released a deep breath after a few moments of gasping. “Okay, I’m good, I think.”
“So,” his voice was soft and small, eyes cast downwards as he tugged on the strand of hair he had been twirling, “it’s alright?” the small raven asked, cheeks flushing as Tony let out a breathy little laugh.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Do you want me to pick you up? I just realized you don’t know where I live.”
“Um, let me ask,” Loki mumbled before looking up to his father, jumping slightly as he realized everyone had gotten rather close without him noticing. “He, uh, he asked if you guys wanted him to, um, pick me up,” Loki squeaked out.
“That would be most appreciated since we have to get ready to leave as soon as possible.” Odin shot a look over his shoulder and the four eight year olds whooped and hollered in joy. His parents were wearing matching grins and were cheering with the eight year olds when they thought Loki had looked away.
“Did you hear him?” Loki asked, easing his small body away from his parents.
“Yeah, I heard him. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.” Loki gave a small hum in response, breath hitched slightly. “By the way, Loki, not to sound mean or anything—but is it just me or do those people sound a bit too happy to be rid of you?”
Loki’s chest tightened and he felt his toes curl once more, the feeling starting in his chest and spreading through his body at an unbearably rapid pace. “No—um, bye.” The call ended there and Loki handed the phone back to his father with a soft smile. Not saying anything, Loki turned to walk to his room to pack quickly. His book bag was quickly packed with his entire closet, nine shirts and three pairs of pants, all folded neatly, and his pajamas. Loki added his toothbrush, toothpaste, and a blanket before he finally felt good enough to go. Grabbing a hairbrush as an after-thought, Loki dropped that into the bag as well before dragging it behind him along with a pillow.
Stopping by his mom, Loki gave her a soft kiss before going by the door to wait. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t returned it. It didn’t matter… She rarely remembered to return them anyway. So what if she remembered with Thor? Frigga was a busy lady; she probably just had a lot on her mind. Yeah, that was it. A limo soon pulled up and without alerting anyone else, Loki slipped out through the door and hurried his way to the car. Tony Stark opened the door and took Loki’s bag and pillow gently, setting them to the side before helping the five year old clamber on. Loki found himself rather surprised as Tony closed the door, told the driver to drive, and then pulled him into a hug.
“We’re going to have a lot of fun, I swear. At the Stark household, no one gets left out or left behind,” Tony reassured and Loki felt his eyes water and he was soon clinging to the older male, fat tears rolling down his cheeks as his five year old mind processed those words and their meanings. The ride was quiet, except for Loki’s quiet sniffling and when the raven finally felt calm enough to pull away, he found out Tony had been crying, too.
Eighth grade came.
“Hey, Loki, I have a question for you,” Tony murmured as they sat outside the school during lunch time, their books propping the school door open so that they wouldn’t get locked out.
“It’s going to cost you,” Loki responded easily as he popped another piece of the tangerine chicken in his mouth. It was one of the few school entrees that he liked. Normally Tony just brought food for them—mainly because after the first year of being friends, Tony found out that Thor constantly forgot to give Loki his half of their lunch money.
“Come on,” Tony whined and Loki couldn’t help but laugh softly, leaning closer and resting his head on Tony’s shoulder, holding a piece of the tangerine chicken up to the brunette’s lips who ate it happily.
“Okay, shoot,” Loki mumbled.
“I don’t want to be rude, but do you think you’re adopted?” Tony mumbled, fidgeting in his spot as he felt the raven next to him tense. “Like, it’s just, when I look at your family and you, you don’t look like any of them and going based off of science and the dominance of certain genes…”
“I think so, but when I asked my mom once, she said I wasn’t.” Loki straightened, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. “Now, I have a question for you.” Tony made a noise to show he was listening as he pulled out a container of grapes to share between the two of them. “Would you be able to find out for me?”
The words were softly spoken and Tony froze for a moment before continuing opening the container. “I would tell you that I’m in no position to do that, I’m not a professional—that is if I cared,” Tony cackled and Loki laughed at it too. “Do you want me to find out for you if you’re adopted?”
Loki turned to look at Tony quickly, eyes wide. “Can you do that?”
“Yeah, just get me a DNA sample of your parents and your brother and I can check. So like, a piece of hair should do,” Tony responded and Loki launched himself at the child prodigy, tackling him to the ground in a ferocious hug that had Tony laughing. Loki pulled back, sitting down correctly once again. “But won’t Jarvis get mad?”
“Nah, he won’t. I’ll just do what I always do: listen, smile, agree, and then do whatever the fuck I was going to do anyway.” The brunette flashed him a winning smile that had the younger male erupting into fits of laughter.
“I feel bad for Jarvis.”
“Don’t worry, he’s used to it.”
They spent lunch like that, laughing and talking; Tony was making witty comments about nearly everything and Loki found himself laughing at them as he always did or making some of his own back which would get them both laughing.
“Come on, we should head inside. Lunch is almost over,” Tony said, absently playing with a piece of Loki’s hair while the raven haired male lied on his side, head in the other’s lap. They gathered up their stuff and headed to Tony’s locker so that the brunette could put his lunch bag away and gather his stuff. “Have fun in math,” Tony teased as they walked towards the room, Loki shooting his friend a death glare as he followed after the brunette.
“You would be going to math, too, if you didn’t have a dentist appointment,” Loki bit back and the brunette merely laughed, wrapping an arm around his friend’s waist and pulling his close.
“Hygiene is very important.”
“Shut it, Stark.”
Another bout of laughter followed that eloquent statement and Loki flushed a light shade of red.
“I can’t believe you’re leaving me behind because of hygiene,” Loki pouted and Tony butted his head against the others good-naturedly. Tony left him at the math room and walked away with his things to go get picked up for his appointment. Loki watched him go, smile falling as the brunette moved further and further away until it was gone, before entering the classroom, silently making his way to his seat. Thor walked in and sat down next to him, shooting his younger brother a grin. Loki returned it with a sheepish one of his own before his attention was on the teacher. They were taking a test today Loki noted numbly as he set his books aside, leaving only his calculator on his desk.
“Hey, Thor, can I—”
“Give me a second Loki, Sif was telling me something,” Thor interrupted, not even sparing his little brother a glance.
“—borrow a pencil?” Loki finished softly. The feeling was back as he looked at his older brother, the tingle spreading from his head to his toes, making them curl. He shrunk back in his seat as if it would help him get rid of the feeling.
“Hey, you’re Tony’s friend, right?” A male asked from in front of him. Loki gave a short nod and he really wished Tony were here because he felt on the verge of tears now. His brother, who he looked up to, who he cherished, brushed him off even when Loki wanted to ask him the simplest of questions. “Steve Rogers, Tony’s other friend.” The male, a small scrawny looking blonde, held out his hand and Loki hesitantly took it, shaking it gently. “Want to walk with me and Bruce to Tony’s house after we’re done with the test?”
“I have to ask my brother. Just give me a sec,” Loki mumbled, turning and reaching out to tap Thor’s shoulder.
“Loki, I asked you to wait,” Thor grunted with a slight frown as he finally turned to face him. His blue eyes were staring down at Loki, looking annoyed and Loki’s eyes widened slightly. His older brother had never looked at him like that before. Thor had been getting more wound up lately and when Loki had asked Frigga what was wrong with him, she had told him it was just puberty.
“It’s really quick, I swear.”
“If you need to use the bathroom, you tell the teacher. We went over this already. You’re not five,” Thor grumbled and there were a series of spread out snickers throughout the classroom. Loki bit the inside of his cheek as he tried to remind himself that it was just puberty, that Thor just couldn’t reign in his emotions and was blowing things out of proportion. But why did it hurt so much?
“He just wanted to ask if he was allowed to go to a friend’s house tonight,” Steve butted in quickly and Loki looked down at his lap, hands gripping each other tightly.
“That’s fine by me, but if this friend harms him, he will have me to answer with.”
“I think you’re the one causing him harm,” Steve bit out, icy blue staring into the twin ocean gems that were Thor’s eyes. They widened in bewilderment and Steve turned to look at Loki. There was another male, next to Steve, that was now looking at him while his brother stared at them, mouth slightly open.
“Bruce Banner,” the male introduced himself, small like Steve and Loki but he had a brown mess of hair on his head, to Loki, letting a small smile play along his lips. “You wanted to ask him for a pencil, right?” Bruce asked, motioning to Thor on the word ‘him’. Loki just nodded mutely, unable to do much else. “Here, you can use one of mine.” The pencil handed to him was a mechanical one, dark green with some black and Bruce motioned to the small piece of paper tucked against its side before turning back to face the front of the room along with Steve.
The teacher was handing out the tests now.
Opening the folded piece of paper, he looked at the words scribbled down before he looked up at the two males in front of him, giving them a grateful smile.
Come to us if you need anything.
Their shared birthday in twelfth grade was like the last nail on the coffin.
Loki and Thor were born on the same day, but different years. His birthday was supposed to be about a month after Thor’s. Loki was born early, though. It was the day of the birthday party, the day they shared and Loki always got indescribably happy on this day. However, as the celebrations commenced in their backyard, Loki glanced out the window and suddenly didn’t feel like going to join them anymore. There on a large banner hung up on the tree in their backyard, it read ‘happy birthday, Thor’.
Only Thor…
There was the sound of footsteps and his bedroom door slammed open, revealing the large, muscled figure of his said older brother. Thor grinned at him, long blonde hair haphazardly pulled into a bun at the base of his neck. Loki looked at him and quickly put on a smile in front of his dearest older brother.
“Loki, come and join in the celebration!” Thor called out with a grin.
Loki’s chest tightened and he felt the tears burn behind his eyes, but he didn’t let them show. “I’ll be down momentarily, Thor. Happy birthday, by the way,” Loki murmured, the words falling from his lips easily, his smile relaxed as well as his posture. He’d gotten disturbingly good at lying.
“Thank you. I will see you downstairs!” Thor shot him another warm grin before running back down the stairs to join in the festivities. Loki felt a broken gasp leave him once his brother was gone. His own brother had forgotten. Sure, they weren’t related by blood, Tony had figured that out for him in eighth grade, but still. How did you just forget something like that? Pushing himself away from the window, Loki scrambled to grab his phone, blindly calling one of his contacts, eyes spilling over with tears.
“Hello?”
“Bruce, w-what are you doing?”
“I’m at Tony’s with Steve. Why? What’s wrong?”
There was some shouting on the other line before he heard Bruce yell at Tony to give him his phone back.
“Loki, what happened?”
“U-um,” Loki took a shuddering breath, his hands shaking, “well—”
“Never mind, don’t answer. Go outside, we’re picking you up,” Tony urged, his voice sounding alarmed and he yelled to Jarvis that they were going out before yelling at Steve and Bruce to get their coats.
“Loki, are you still there?” It was Bruce again and he could hear him as he told Steve to hurry up along with their hurried footsteps and the slamming of car doors.
“Y-yeah,” Loki gasped out brokenly, curling up on the floor.
“Okay, listen to me, alright? Pack a bag with some clothes for tomorrow and whatever you need. You’re sleeping with us at Tony’s today, okay?” Bruce instructed and Loki mumbled out an okay as he picked himself up from the floor and began moving around the room, gathering his clothes to sleep in and a change of clothes for tomorrow.
“I’m done,” Loki mumbled as he wiped at his eyes so that he could see more clearly, but more tears fell, obscuring his vision even more.
“Okay, here’s Steve.” There was some rustling and the distinct honk of Tony swearing for people not going fast enough. It was only six o’clock at night, so there was still some traffic. “Loki, listen to me, listen to my voice, okay? Don’t think of anything else right now, just listen to my voice. Listen to my voice,” Steve urged and Loki was nodding his head along with Steve’s instructions, eyes still wet with tears, but his breathing was more under control now than before. “Okay, we’re here now. Come outside, I’m waiting next to your door.”
Loki picked up his bag with his clothing and necessities for the night before stumbling out of his room, barely managing not to fall down the stairs. Opening the front door, Loki ran straight into a wall of warmth and muscle. Looking up with wet eyes, Loki barely managed to make out Steve’s face before his arms were wrapping themselves around the other male, hugging him tightly and Steve quickly embraced him back. The blonde had shot up in high school and gained quite a lot of muscle.
“Come on,” Steve murmured quietly and Loki followed him. He heard Odin call his name, but he ignored it. Steve ushered him into the limo that Tony always liked to use whenever he was picking Loki up. He had a designated car for each person he picked up that he considered in the Stark family. Bruce, Steve, and Loki were all part of the Stark family, a pretty screwed up family, but still family. “Where’s Tony?”
“He went inside to check what the ruckus was about,” Bruce answered Steve, giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. Steve massaged his temples, motioning for Bruce to move closer and they held Loki in between them. Tony was better at comforting Loki. He could make the raven cheer up almost instantly with a correctly placed comment. God, where was he when they needed him?
“—have it done by the time we get back, alright? Please? Thank you.” That was Tony’s voice. Bruce looked at the car door, watching it open and Tony slipped into the car, looking ten different levels of pissed. “Drive. Take us to the café.” Steve gave Tony a quizzical look, but didn’t question it. Bruce moved aside, motioning for Tony to sit where he had been sitting. The brunette moved next to Loki without a second thought, relieving Steve of his job of comforting the raven.
Thin arms immediately wrapped around Tony’s neck as Loki sobbed quietly, his whole body shaking.
“What happened?” Bruce inquired softly, his brow furrowed in concern. Tony said nothing, simply took out his phone and showed the two males the picture he had managed to snag of the banner. They both stiffened almost immediately. “Where’s—”
Tony put his finger to his lips and Bruce silenced, the question of ‘where’s Loki’s name’ left unsaid. They all knew the answer. It wasn’t there. The ride to the café consisted of Loki’s sobs and Tony’s repeated soothing noises.
“Hey, Loki, do you remember that day when I hit you with a baseball bat?” Tony asked suddenly and Loki looked up at Tony with wet eyes, his face red and Steve nearly choked on air from the heartbreaking expression on the male’s face. There was a nod in response. “I remember you were walking along the balancing beam in the playground and I had been coming down the slide. You were really small back then, still are.” Bruce cocked an eyebrow, completely confused as to where this story was going, wondering how this was supposed to make Loki feel better. “I was so mad at what the teacher told me in class that I had taken my baseball bat from my locker and I was practicing swings and then I hit you because you were so small, only five years old. Do you remember what you told me when I hit you?”
“N-no,” Loki mumbled, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his long sleeved shirt, his mind slowly moving away from his current heart ache as he tried to remember what he had said.
“You told me,” Tony cleared his throat, before mocking a babyish voice; “you’re not going to hit anything like that.” Loki’s green eyes were wide, like he didn’t remember saying this. “So, I told you: I managed to hit you.” Steve was already cracking a small grin and Bruce suddenly understood the purpose of this story. “You just glared at me and I think it took me a good bit to realize you were crying.” Tony watched as Loki laughed a bit, a broken sound, but still light in a way.
“Yeah, you kind of just stared at me for a bit, but then you suddenly started panicking, running around like a chicken without its head. It was amusing, until the headache won over.”
Tony grinned before his expression turned sober. “That day, though, I told myself that I would try my absolute hardest to never be the one causing you cry ever again. But, when I think about that now, that seems a bit mean. I don’t want you to ever have to cry again because you’re hurting and I know Bruce and Steve agree.” Tony looked at the other two and they nodded in response, Steve coming up behind Loki and wrapping his arms around a slim waist and giving it a gentle squeeze.
“We don’t like seeing you hurting, Loki,” Bruce murmured, reaching out and holding Loki’s hand. Tony’s hand rested over Loki’s other hand. “Do me a favor, Loki,” Loki looked at Bruce quizzically, “show me your arms,” Bruce instructed, his voice soft and concerned, but Loki went tense immediately. Steve stiffened and Tony looked at Bruce with wide eyes, confusion clear on both of their faces. “We’re not going to hurt you, Loki. Trust us, we’re your friends.”
Loki’s jade green eyes were wide, but he slowly tugged up the sleeves of his shirt and Steve’s arms tightened around his waist as the blonde let out a soft noise, resting his forehead against Loki’s shoulder. The scars running up the delicate pale skin marred the perfect canvas and Loki bit his bottom lip, eyes squeezing shut.
“Hey, Loki, look at me. Look at me,” Bruce urged, his hand on Tony’s thigh, squeezing it almost painfully and Tony put his hand on top of Bruce’s in an attempt to calm the male despite his own inner turmoil at the sight of the thin white scars lining the arms. Loki slowly looked up at Bruce who was gazing at him with warm eyes. “Don’t do this again, alright? Promise me. We’re going to help you through this. We’re going to be there for you.”
“We’re not going to leave you, Loki,” Steve whispered softly to the raven and Loki’s eyes watered.
“At the Stark household, no one gets left behind or forgotten.” Tony said, voice firm and Loki’s tears ran anew, but this time in happiness and the feeling of overwhelming love and emotion.
They arrived to the café moments later and they all clambered out, Tony asking the driver if he wanted anything, who politely declined. They headed inside and Steve immediately dragged Loki to where the napkins were, gently wiping Loki’s face free of tears, emerald eyes watching him with a wide eyed sort of awe that Steve could feel his face burning to. “There you go. All pretty again,” Steve teased playfully, earning himself a gentle hit from Loki who was pouting at him. Laughing softly, Steve wrapped an arm around Loki’s shoulders, pulling him along gently.
Bruce and Tony were already in line and Steve and Loki quickly moved to stand next to them. “What are you guys getting?” Steve asked as his hand ran up and down Loki’s bicep in a reassuring manner to keep the raven calm. Bruce looked at the options once more while Tony grinned.
“I’m getting the Mocha Frappe. Someone recommended it to me, so I’m going to try it,” Tony stated and his grin was infectious, a small smile appearing on Loki’s lips. “Brucie here is getting a Chai Latte. What do you guys want?”
Steve looked over the menu for a moment, clearly contemplating his decision before he answered simply with a shrug, “a regular coffee, I guess. I don’t really like the others too much.” Tony grimaced. “What?”
“Regular coffee is for when you’re at home, Steve, not when you’re at a café.”
“Fine, then what do you suggest I take?” Steve bit back, leaving Loki’s side to get into Tony’s personal space. The raven immediately shifted to Bruce’s side as the little power play between the two continued.
“When do you think they’ll get together?” Loki asked softly into Bruce’s ear and the male merely cracked a grin, shrugging his shoulders.
“When they finally figure out who is going to have the pants in the relationship, I suppose,” he responded and Loki laughed softly, sniffling slightly at the end as he wiped his nose with his sleeve. “Who do you think will have them?”
“I think they’ll end up tearing them at this rate.”
“Fine, if you want me to get something other than regular coffee; then tell me what to get!” Steve growled, towering over Tony, but the small billionaire wasn’t intimidated in the slightest, merely glaring up at the blonde, hands on his hips.
“Fine, get the damn White Chocolate Mocha.”
“I won’t like it.”
“Don’t be so sure.”
“Don’t get cocky, Stark.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, Rogers.”
Bruce sighed next to him and Loki could only laugh helplessly, leaning against the male as he giggled, shoulders shaking as he tried to keep his laughter quiet, but the two had heard and immediately rounded on them.
“What are you guys laughing at?”
The perfect unison in which Steve and Tony spoke was enough to make Loki burst into unrestrained laughter, sliding down onto his knees on the floor, unable to continue standing with the force of his laughs and he struggled to rein it in.
Tony had a small grin on his lips as he watched Loki and Bruce laugh helplessly and he unconsciously leaned a bit against Steve where their arms touched, completely missing the way the blonde’s cheeks flared red at the action. Bruce and Loki, however, saw this and they laughed harder and Loki’s eyes were wet, but this time with tears of mirth.
“Promise me that you’ll invite me,” Loki gasped out, slowly gathering his wits and he was helped to his feet by a still blushing Steve. Unnaturally green eyes focused on the brunette genius inventor and the sweet blonde with the best pair of puppy dog eyes ever.
“Sure?” Tony’s tone was questioning, but he readily agreed when he saw the bright grin that split the raven’s face. It was beautiful.
They got their drinks and sat down at a booth in the back. Steve begrudgingly admitted that the White Chocolate Mocha was indeed good. Tony had done a little victory dance and Steve had struggled to keep the glower on his face at the sight and eventually, he ended up laughing a bit as Tony wriggled around in the seat right across from Steve.
They spent about an hour there before Tony glanced at his phone and declared it to be time to head back to his house. All four rose and Steve curled an arm around Loki’s shoulders as they walked back to the limo and clambered in.
The ride was filled with Tony bouncing animatedly to his playlist of songs, ranging from Shakira to AC/DC. Eventually Bruce loosened up enough to join in and Steve merely pulled Loki closer as the raven curled up against his side.
“Some days,” Loki whispered, looking up at Steve with green eyes that seemed so dulled from their usual vibrancy, “I kind of wish you guys were my family.”
The blonde smiled sadly down at the raven, pressing a soft, lingering kiss to the pale forehead as Loki’s eyes slipped closed, enjoying the excited shrieking of Tony and Bruce to Hips Don’t Lie. “Family isn’t decided solely on blood,” Steve whispered back to the male as Loki nuzzled even closer.
“Hey, Loki, get up!” Tony cried as they pulled up at the Stark Mansion, shaking his friend and then gripping a pale hand tightly, but gently as he led the raven out of the limo. Brue and Steve were already at the doors, bouncing on their heels as they talked between each other.
As they neared the door, they swung it open and Tony pushed Loki in front of him as they crowded behind the raven.
“Happy birthday!” they yelled as the lights turned on to reveal a lavishly decorated room, with a large banner decorated with only Loki’s name after the ‘happy birthday’. His eyes welled with tears, his lungs constricting at the sudden sharp breath he took in before hurriedly letting it out, turning and pulling all three friends into a tight hug.
“Thank you,” he whispered brokenly into Tony’s shirt, clinging to it as all three of them cuddled around the raven, “thank you.”
“Hey, what did I tell you when I picked you up the first time?” Tony murmured, brushing a soft kiss to Loki’s temple, running his fingers through smooth raven locks.
“At the Stark household, no one gets left behind or left out.”
“Lilo and Stitch, baby, all the way. Ohana and all that comes with it,” Tony breathed, grinning and dragging Loki further into the room, Steve and Bruce following behind with equally large grins as Jarvis walked over, bowing his head a bit at Loki and patting his shoulder gently.
“Happy birthday, Mr. Loki,” the elderly British man said, his voice soft and soothing, his smile warm, and Loki couldn’t help but tear up anew because he was in a room filled with people that loved him and never forgot about him and that was all he could have ever wanted.