Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes the cold was something he wished he could shut out. But in this moment, it was the only thing he found himself enjoying.

Peter climbed up to the top of an apartment complex by the fire escape, sitting on the edge of the roof. He looked out at the dark city, the sun having set a while ago. He could hear people walking and talking on the pavement below. He knew he had to go back soon, otherwise he'd get slaughtered for breaking curfew. He'd gotten a new roommate recently and he didn't really want to talk to anyone right now.

He had a small bag of food and drinks, having bought them earlier. He got a text from one of the other kids, telling him that he might want to start heading back now. He stood up, stretching before he grabbed his bag and started to go back. The orphanage wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the best either. The other kids were nice enough, some being kind while the others acted like he didn't even exist.

He climbed his way back down from the roof, jumping down the last tiny bit. He wanted to run back to get back quicker, but he wasn't dumb enough to run in a binder. Not like anyone would pay for his broken ribs to be fixed. The city was dark, barely illuminated by street lights and the light from people's open windows. He kept his head down, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself.

He made it back on time, arriving at 9:30 on the dot. When he climbed up the fire escape and stuck his head into his room, the first thing he noticed was that the room was empty. His roommate was going to get in trouble then. He dumped the bag onto his bed, rustling filling the room as the plastic shifted as his stuff moved in the bag. The room was rather small, containing two single beds next to the walls, opposite to each other. They both had a small set of drawers and a tiny cupboard.

He changed quickly, stuffing his binder into a bag that he hid in the far corner under his bed. After he'd put the bag back, the door burst open, accompanied by people yelling and arguing. In a flurry of blond hair, his roommate stormed in, slamming the door shut behind him. The guy didn't acknowledge his presence as he snatched his school bag off of the floor and headed for the window.

He climbed out onto the fire escape, sitting down on one of the metal steps. He dug a pack of cigarettes out of his bag, accompanied by a lighter that looked like it had been run over. In a spark of fire, the cigarette was lit and the lighter was sat on the step next to the guy's legs. He shared a room with a smoker. That was great.

He had light blonde hair, clearly dyed as his brown roots were poking out from the top of his head. That was all Peter could really see as he was turned away from him, facing away from the room. He contemplated locking the window but he decided against it. Not exactly a great first impression.

After a few seconds of silence, he grabbed two cans of Diet Coke from the bag on his bed. Peter stepped out onto the fire escape, standing beside him. It was cold, the wind biting at his face and exposed arms.
"Didn't know you smoked. Want one?" He held the can out to his roommate, his roommate looking up at him as he did.

The boy looked thoroughly confused but accepted the drink with a mumbled 'Thanks'.
"What? You gonna report me or something?" He didn't look happy. He opened the drink, taking a sip before placing it next to his beat up lighter.

"No." Peter scoffed, opening his own drink and fiddling with the can tab.
"Why would I?"
"Because it's bad?" The guy suggested as Peter sat down on the step above his, legs placed on his roommate's step.
"Loki, the kid across the hall, smokes. I'm the reason he hasn't been caught yet." Peter explained, shuffling a bit on the cold metal.

The guy picked up on this, gave him a weird look and asked,
"Do you want one?" Peter nodded and the guy gave him one with his lighter. He held his hand in front of the end that wasn't between his lips, not wanting it to blow out immediately. He didn't smoke a lot, but it was still a habit he indulged in from time to time.

He took a drag and held the smoke in his lungs for a second before letting it curl out of his mouth. His legs shuffled on the green metal step and he leaned back a bit.
"Didn't know you smoked." The guy hummed in a tone that suggested approval.
"I don't think you even know my actual name." Peter responded, twiddling the cigarette in his fingers.

"I have a good idea." He spoke surprisingly softly, looking back up at Peter again.
"It's Peter." Peter took another drag, holding it before letting the smoke go again.
"Hm. Name's Harley." The guy smiled a bit and Peter felt like Harley knew what his name meant quicker than any other person he'd met.

Despite this, he knew they weren't friends. Just two guys who both had a bad habit they indulged in on the rare occasion. That was it. But it was nice to have someone else who understood him even the slightest bit.

Despite the cold, they sat out there for over an hour. There wasn't any actual conversation, just talking on occasion about anything seemingly interesting. That included the cat that appeared from the room above theirs, the drunk man vomiting in the alley's bin below them, and the music coming from the building opposite theirs.

"You're cute." Harley says out out of fucking nowhere. Peter pauses, looking down at him weirdly.
"Huh?" The guy stood up, flicking the cigarette butt off the fire escape, the dim glow falling and hitting the dirty pavement. He picked his lighter up, holding tightly as though he was afraid Peter would take it from him.

"I said you're cute." He repeated.
"I heard you." Peter snapped, a bit annoyed. He didn't know why, but he was.
"Then don't act dumb." Harley shrugged, climbing back into the actual building.

Peter frowned, kicking Harley's abandoned can off the metal. It hit the floor below him with a clatter. He finished his cigarette and followed Harley, shutting the window when he made it back into the room.

Harley was sat on his bed, and held his hand out for Peter to shake. It was weird that he was doing this now instead of back out on the fire escape. It was weird that he shook hands at all. Peter shook his hand gently. He was kind of afraid that he'd hurt him if he was too rough.

Harley was thin. Almost scarily so. He caught me looking at him and pulled his hand away quickly.
"Are you new here?" He asked and Peter shook his head.
"A bit. Nearly a year here. You?"
"Since I was 12." Shit. That's young. How old is this guy anyways? "I'm 16, if you're wondering."
"Me too."

Peter sat on his bed, watching the ceiling as he did.
"Why did you get put in here?" He asked, then panicked when he realised what that sounded like. "I mean, put in this room. Not in here, in here."

Harley nodded.
"Yeah. I kinda guessed that. My last roommate hated me. Thought it was better to move me instead of kicking him out." He explained
"Who was he?"
"That angry guy. The blondie with the broken leg." That cleared things up.

"I can imagine why he hated you." Harley nodded and reached under his bed. He grabbed a box and emptied it onto the floor. A bunch of paper fell out, all written on. Peter looked closer and figured out that they were all old tests. Harley was apparently really smart for those scores.

"Why do you have these?" He asked, watching in utter confusion as Harley pulled a small plank of wood out of the box, about the exact size of the box's bottom.
"It's a good hiding place." Harley commented, shoving his lighter and cigarette pack into the box. He put the wood back inside the box and picked up some of the papers from the floor. Peter watched awkwardly, not sure what else to do to help.

"Do you go to the nearby high school?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah." That was a shock.
"Really? I've never seen you in class."
"Just because I got to school, doesn't mean I go to the lessons."

Harley didn't seem bothered as he finished picking up the papers,, shutting the box and putting it back.
"So where do you go?" Peter asked.
"Just hide from the teachers and other students."
"Yeah, but where? I always get caught."

"In the abandoned toilets, there's a window you can climb out of. It's kind of hidden by the school's walls." Peter made a mental note to check if that was true soon. "Students think there's asbestos or something there. There isn't. It's a lie to keep the kids from hiding there."
"That's cool." The door opened and a guy with short black hair poked his head in.

"Hey, anything you shouldn't have has gotta go. Like, now. Room checks." Harley swore and kicked the box back into the corner under his bed. He started moving stuff around in his drawers and cupboard, Peter turning to the kid in the doorway. Loki stepped into the room, shutting the door behind himself and leaning back on it.

"You're acting like I have stuff to hide." Loki rolled his eyes.
"So you're gonna lie to my face and tell me that you don't have anything questionable?"
"What does questionable entail?" Peter asked, Loki adjusting how he was standing.

"Oh, the usual. Plus energy drinks or weird looking notes."
"Why is that included this time?" He got up, checking his drawers for anything. Loki shrugged.
"Fucked if I know." He paused and continued speaking. "It might be because that 14 year boy old from down the hall got caught with an, apparently, really gross amount of photos."

"Like, actual printed out photos?" Harley asked, face a surprised replica of how Peter guessed his currently looked.
"Yep! His girlfriend must really love him to get those printed out." Loki joked. "I don't really care. I just got grounded, again, for having a box of matches in my bag."
"Shit." Peter whistled and Loki nodded.

"Yeah. Want me to take anything for you?" Peter handed him a lighter and he pocketed it. "Knew it."
"Fuck off." Harley was still moving stuff around, clearly a bit panicked.
"What are you hiding?" Loki asked, clearly intrigued.

"Nothing."
"You're running around like a crazed mouse. You're clearly hiding at least a month of grounding here." Harley flipped him off, shoving something behind his set of drawers.

"Nothing that involves you." Loki raised his hands in mock surrender.
"Just saying. I can take the fall for you if you need me to." Harley nodded and finished hurrying about.
"Cool." A knock on the door disrupted Loki from speaking again.

The Handler walked in, clearly annoyed as she spotted Loki standing near the door.
"Good evening." Peter waved awkwardly, Harley not even bothering with a simple hello gesture. Loki just flipped her off behind her back.

She started checking around Harley's side of the room, the door swinging a bit. Peter spotted a singular cigarette on the floor and felt his stomach sink to his feet. He couldn't grab it, it would look suspicious. Loki followed his gaze and realised what he was looking at. He mouthed the word 'Shit!' and glanced at The Handler's turned back.

He grabbed the cigarette and turned to face the door, putting the cigarette somewhere Peter couldn't see. Peter didn't have a clue what he did, but he did pull out his phone and start texting someone. Harley was glaring at The Handler as she searched through his school bag. She finished searching through his stuff and looked over at Peter's side of the room.

She scanned it quickly and deduced that it didn't look worth searching. Either that or she just didn't care. She took notice of how Loki had turned to face away from her and gave him a weird look.
"What are you doing?" Loki looked back at her with a smile on his face.
"Just talking to someone." He said in a fake-cheery voice.

"Hm." She hummed, clearly not believing him.
"I mean, I can show you who I'm texting if you want, but I can't guarantee that it's all child-friendly." He turned his phone to her and she looked away. Peter tried to stop himself from laughing, Harley having his hand over his mouth in shock too.

"It's quite alright. Have a good night, boys and girls." Peter glared at her as she left, shutting the door behind her. The three waited until they heard her knock on the door of the room next to theirs.

Loki looked back at them, an evil smile on his face.
"I cannot believe you just did that!" Harley laughed, an incredulous smile on his face. He had a nice smile. Peter kind of wanted to take a photo of him and keep it locked away and safe. He then realised how weird that was and focused back on Loki.

"Where did you put my cigarette?" Peter asked, clearly confused. Loki pulled it out of his waistband, chucking it over to Peter. "Seriously? The waistband?" He raised an eyebrow but shoved the cigarette into his middle drawer anyway.
"Hey, I just stopped you from getting caught!" Was the jokingly offended reply. Loki flopped onto Peter's bed, watching as Harley digging a tiny bottle from inside his mattress, the side that was almost touching the wall.

"Yes, and I applaud you for that." Peter rolled his eyes, shoving Loki's feet off his bed. "Can you come to school tomorrow?"
"Sure. Don't have any shifts tomorrow. I think." Then he shrugged. "Not like they can fire me for missing a single shift anyway."

Harley looked back up at Loki.
"I don't mean to sound rude, but what gender are you?" Loki didn't seem bothered at all.
"Gender fluid. He/Him today." Harley nodded, Loki continuing to speak. "What about you, huh? You one of us?"

"Trans? No. I'm a cis guy. But queer? Yes. Bisexual to be exact." Loki seemed to light up, clearly interested.
"Really? Got anyone you're fucking?" Harley seemed a bit shocked at how forward Loki was. Peter would never admit it, but he was kind of hoping Harley didn't.

"Oh no. I'm single." Loki smiled evilly, sitting up properly on Peter's bed. Peter was currently trying to find one of his notebooks in his school bag. "But I do have someone that I've got my eye on." That caused Loki to physically deflate.
"Well, that's a bummer."

Then he got up from the bed, seeming a bit calmer than before. "I've got to go. Grounded, aren't I?" He left and the door was shut again.

"Well, he seems nice." Harley commented and Peter rolled his eyes.
"He's just trying to get into your pants."
"Understandable, honestly." Harley smirked and Peter threw one of his broken pencils from his bag at him.

"He's in one of those off and on relationships. Currently in an off phase right now." Peter explained, abandoning his bag and grabbing his phone. He turned it on and started to play one of those bad mobile games.
"He's cool. Who's his boyfriend?" Harley asked.

"Y'know the student council?" Harley's eyes widened and Peter smiled.
"No!"
"Yeah! It's Mobius. That one with the early grey hairs."

"Does he even know who his partner is?"
"Yeah! He's surprisingly chill about it though. Drinking and smoking, I mean." Harley looked downright offended.
"Bullshit! He busted me for smoking in the toilets last year!"

Peter laughed aloud and Harley threw a pillow at him. Peter caught it, dumping it on the floor.
"It wasn't personal. He has to report something at least once a month otherwise it'll get suspicious. You were just the first unlucky person that he caught." Harley rolled his eyes heavily. "Listen, if he isn't a student council rep, someone else will take his place. Someone who actually looks to report everyone."

Harley seemed to consider this before he agreed reluctantly. "Also, the tired look is kind of cute, honestly." Peter had to dodge anther pillow, laughing hysterically.
"No! Ew!" Harley fake-gagged.
"What?" Peter laughed, throwing one of the pillows back at Harley.
"He looks like a corpse! And old!"

"Rude!" Peter made a panicked shout and dodged the pillow he'd just thrown back. He froze when he heard a knock on the door. The Handler poked her head into the room.
"Sleep. Now." As soon as the door shut again, the two burst into uncontrolled laughter. After a while, they calmed down and Harley got up for a before bed smoke. He couldn't be bothered to get out a new packet, so Peter just gave him the one from earlier.

He sat in the windowsill, cigarette between his fingers. Peter had gone to brush his teeth before, mouth now tasting like bad mints. When he'd gotten back, Harley was still in the windowsill, smoking his second cigarette. That was obvious from the burned finished one at his feet. The room was cold from the open window and Peter wondered how Harley wasn't literally shaking. His tiny body probably didn't hold heat properly. Peter resisted the urge to grab one of his spare blankets and give it to Harley.

Peter climbed back into his bed, the smell of burning tobacco filling the air. Harley was looking out of the glass, holding his second cigarette between his red lips. The orange glow from the street lights outside was the only way Peter could tell Harley had been crying. Or rather, he was crying.

He rolled over, struggling to sleep as he lay still. Eventually, the smell of smoke and the gentle sound of Harley's sobs lulled him into a restless sleep.

Usually, the sound of people speaking so loudly would make Harley grin, knowing alcohol would probably be involved. But it didn't now. The school parking lot smelled of car gas and smoke. It clung to the inside of Harley's throat, making it hard to breathe properly.

He had a lighter in his hand, Loki having given it back a second ago. Loki took a drag and checked her phone, Peter reading over her shoulder.
"Seriously? Again? I thought you guys weren't speaking to each other."
"I'm gonna let it simmer for a bit. So I don't seem too excited."

Harley rolled his eyes. He knew who they were on about. He couldn't care less, if he was honest. They'd be back together within a week or so. Peter snatched Loki's cigarette, taking a drag before handing it back to a scowling Loki.

Harley watched as the smoke curled out of Peter's mouth. The way his lips parted to let the smoke out, the way his tongue shifted as he made smoke rings. Then he caught himself and looked back down at his feet, face beet red. This wasn't good. He could not have a crush on Peter. Ew.

He checked the time and frowned when he realised they only had 10 minutes until they had to be inside the school building. Loki gave him a confused look and Peter nudged his shoulder.
"You okay?" He nodded, taking Loki's offered cigarette. He took a drag before handing it back, blowing smoke into the air. That was so much better.

Students that drove were either pulling into the parking lot or leaving to get into the school. There were groups of stereotypical nerds, jocks, and drama kids. There was also a group of kids who didn't fit into any of those groups. That was the three sat smoking in the school parking lot's graffitied wall.

After a heavy debate over pizza toppings, the bell rang and the three separated. Loki went to find her soon-to-be-boyfriend, Peter went to find his other friends. And Harley went to skive his first lesson, too stressed to math at 8:30 in the morning. The toilets might be taken by Loki and Mobius and there was an assembly so he couldn't hide in the hall.

He decided on the roof, using the parking lot wall to climb his way to the top of the science building. He could hear people speaking in the classroom below his feet, but he couldn't care. He sat down, pulling out his phone and opening his messages. He had a new one from a guy he'd been speaking to recently. He read them all and turned his phone off. Fuck.

Despite the regular occurrence of him seeing someone, it never went well. He either spoke too much or too little, was too wild for partying or too boring for not wanting to fuck in someone's kitchen before he had to go home. It was stupid.

She flushed the used tissues down the toilet, pulling her underwear and jeans back up as he fixed his trousers. The loud bang of the toilet room's door opening disturbed them, freezing in place as the familiar tap of heeled shoes on the tile floor echoed in the small room.

The taps got louder and closer until they stopped. Right outside their stall. A rap on the door exhibited a scowl from Loki.
"Who's in there?" Fuck, she knew that voice.
"It's just me." Mobius lied, ignoring how his palm was currently covering his now girlfriend's mouth.

"There's a student council meeting in room 07 instead of the next period."
"Okay." Loki noted how weird it was that they were talking casually while one of them was literally in a toilet stall.

The guy left and Loki bit down on his hand, laughing when Mobius gasped in pain.
"Ow! Why do you have to bite me?" He complained, pulling his hand away.
"You deserve it." She said plainly, adjusting her clothing as he checked the time.

"You wanna go out later?" He asked and she shrugged.
"Still pissed off about the weekend." Loki said simply, buttoning her shirt back up.
"Of course you are." He muttered and she pretended she didn't hear that.

Loki left the stall, leaving him behind as her trainers scuffed on the floor. The room was empty, the dirty beige tiles the only colour on the walls. She was probably going to be back here in the next week or so, but it was fine.

She left, the door swinging shut behind her. As soon as she left, she wanted to go back in. Go back to him and ask him to go with her. She didn't. She just walked away, the quiet sound of other students that were also skipping echoing through the empty corridors.

Getting told stuff you already know is horrible. He already knew everything the teacher was telling him, but it wasn't like he was going to say that. He got to spend an hour writing down stuff he already understood instead of struggling to learn something new.

He'd learned ages ago to block out unwanted noises, the teacher's voice included. Second period English was the one thing he actually understood easily. His eyes closed a bit before he jolted himself back awake. He hadn't really slept that night, Harley's sobs keeping him from sleeping properly.

He had wanted to ask him what was wrong, comfort him. But he didn't think that Harley had known he was awake. He guessed that if he'd known that Peter had been awake, he wouldn't have cried audibly in the first place. It made Peter's heart ache at the idea of Harley swallowing down his sobs to make sure that no one else knew they existed but himself.

His pen was tapping on the table, a quiet repetitive noise in the almost silent room. A tennis ball went flying past his face, hitting the wall beside him. He knew who had thrown it but he looked up to check anyway. Lo and behold, Flash and his friends were laughing. Quietly, so not to draw the teacher's attention to them too much.

Peter grabbed the ball, opened the window and dropped it out when the teacher looked away. He closed the window, picked his pen back up and continued tapping it on the desk.

The outrage that followed was hilarious. The others started complaining to the teacher as he sat boredly, his pen tapping and tapping on the table. Eventually, the lesson ended and he was free to leave the classroom. The halls were crowded, full of people running around and shoving each other. He ducked under a flying apple, spotting Harley leaving the toilets.

He walked over to him, ignoring how badly he wanted to just leave. Harley gave him a look and nodded at him.
"Hello there." He said simply.
"Hey." He smiled a bit. Harley stood awkwardly before asking,
"Wanna go smoke behind the science block?" Peter laughed a bit and agreed, adjusting how his bag's strap sat on his shoulder.

They headed over to the science building, glad that the people thinned out a bit the longer they walked. The sound of rapidly approaching scuffed trainers and an arm over his shoulders caught his attention.
"Hey, Pete." He rolled his eyes with a fake sigh.

"Hello, Loki." She smiled, leaning on his shoulder a bit before he pushed her off of him gently.
"Where are we going?" She asked, patting around her pockets.
"You're in a good mood." Harley noted, giving Loki an 'Explain' look. "Did you make up with Mobius?" She rolled her eyes, walking so she was facing them and walking backwards.

"Yep. We met up about an hour ago and we-" Peter cut her off.
"Don't need to hear that!" He pretended to block his ears.
"Ew. You seriously fucked in the toilets?" Harley looked, rightfully, disgusted. Loki seemed offended.

"No! It only counts as fucking if someone goes inside of someone else." Peter fake-gagged heavily, glaring at Loki as he did. "He had to go to a student council meeting."
"So he left you for a stupid meeting?" Loki shrugged.
"I mean, technically, I left him. I left the stall so I guess-" She didn't finish speaking as she was shoved forwards into Harley and Peter.

Peter looked over her shoulder as she spun around and he felt his stomach drop.

It was a group of guys, Flash stood to the side, looking uncharacteristically uncomfortable. Loki regained her balance and scowled, adjusting her bag. The guys seemed to be amused at this, one of them looking at Peter, uncomfortably so. Peter shifted a bit on his feet, glancing down at them.

"What the fuck was that for?" Loki asked, her voice bitter and almost scary. It was a stark contrast to how happy and laid-back it had been a second ago. The guys just laughed again, Harley glaring at them from behind Loki. She scoffed, turning to leave.

"Aw, does the little queer want his mum?" They burst out laughing when Loki froze, hands clenched at her sides.
"Is the big baby gonna go cry for his little girlfriend?" Loki snapped back and Peter gave her a small thumbs up. That was how Loki fought. She found something and picked at it until it was useless to her, then found another thing to use against them.

The guy shut up quickly, the one she'd insulted looking almost murderous. He stepped forwards and so did Peter, subconsciously going to defend her. The guy seemed to find this amusing, laughing a bit.

"Is the little faggot going to defend her little friend now?" Peter didn't respond, just giving him a dirty look. The guy didn't accept that and continued speaking. "Y'know, I'd fight you if you were a real guy."
"Fuck you." Peter snapped.

As soon as he'd said that, he'd been shoved into the wall. As soon as hands had touched him he'd hit out.

His fist collided with the guy's face. There was a second-long pause before everything went to shit. He didn't hesitate to continue hitting the guy with surprisingly strong blows. The guy hit back and it turned into more of a bloody wrestle instead of a fight.

When a hit cracked his nose, the noise was sickening, Peter drove his knee into the guy's crotch. He regrettably loved how the guy yelled in pain and hit him again. Adrenaline fueled him as he tried to inflict as much pain as he could to this asshole. The guy wasn't hitting him anymore and he could see literal blood on his knuckles.

He could taste his own blood in his mouth, heavy and gross on his tongue. He ignored it, anger overtaking any of his common sense.

Someone grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him away, still kicking as much as he could. He recognised the person as Loki when she kicked him in the back of the knees a bit, making him lose his balance and practically fold into her.

He was still a bit riled up, wanting to tear the guy's face off. Harley was helping Loki, grabbing his wrists and holding them still. A teacher helped the guy up, who looked fairly hurt.

The rest was a blur of yelling and doors shutting. He was sat with an ice pack on his face as Harley wiped blood off of his now purple knuckles. Pain throbbed through his nose, which Loki had ever so gracefully snapped back into place earlier. It had hurt more than the actual break had. Probably because the adrenaline had already worn off by then.

Peter was looking up at the ceiling, an ice pack resting on his slowly numbing nose. Harley put a bloodied tissue in the bin, Loki patting Peter's shoulder as he did. The door opened and Mobius walked in, seemingly pissed off.

He sat down next to Loki, who didn't even acknowledge his presence. Peter lifted his head, looking over to Mobius as he held the ice pack in place.
"Why are you here?" He asked, sounding a tiny bit more bitter than he would've preferred. Mobius didn't respond. He just got his phone out and started texting someone who Peter guessed was Loki. That proved true when he hit send and she almost immediately got her phone out. They texted back and forth for a while.

Harley sighed, burying his head in his hands.
"We are so fucked." The other three agreed.

The headteacher's office door opened and the four were let into the room as the other guy left with his mother. Peter sat in the middle chair, Loki and Harley on either side of him. Mobius stood to the side of Loki. Peter was still confused about why he was here. The headteacher was a stern man who looked like his kids didn't speak to him after they turned 18.

"Do you understand the severity of your actions?" He asked Peter. Peter nodded a bit, wincing as his neck creaked as he moved it from being leaned back to facing forwards. "Do you have any proof that this wasn't your fault? This time?"

Peter didn't get to respond before Mobius stepped forwards.
"I was there, sir. Peter didn't start it." The headteacher looked up at the student council rep. "Jake antagonised Loki first, which is how Peter got involved. Peter stepped forwards to defend his friend and Jake hit him." The headteacher nodded.

Peter almost celebrated the fact that his punishment wouldn't be too severe until the headteacher spoke.
"Seeing as both Loki and Peter were involved in this fight, they can both receive a week's suspension." Peter physically deflated, Loki immediately arguing about how stupid that was.

"That's bullshit! He literally called Peter a fucking slur! How is that fair?" Loki yelled.
"Would you like your suspension to become an expulsion?" The headteacher asked, Loki shutting up. She got up and left, slamming the door shut behind herself. Mobius followed her, leaving Harley and Peter in the office.

Harley gently took Peter's hand, helping him to his feet. As they went to leave, they heard,
"Peter?" Peter turned around, holding the ice pack at his side now. He nodded.
"Yes?"

"If anything else like this happens again, just come tell me. I'll deal with it." Harley seemed annoyed at his words. "I understand why you do this, but please, tone down on the violence. Any other school and you would've been expelled by now." Peter nodded, smiling a bit. "Now, off you go. I trust you'll use your time off wisely."
"Thank you, sir." Peter said quietly, leaving with Harley.

Out in the corridor, Mobius was trying to calm down a yelling Loki, to no avail. Loki spotted Peter and Harley and stopped yelling. Mobius sighed when Loki flopped onto one of the bad chairs again. He gave a reassuring smile to Peter and nodded at Harley before leaving. Supposedly to his next lesson. Peter dumped his now warm ice pack in the bin, falling onto the bloody tissues from earlier.

A teacher came to escort Loki and Peter off of the school grounds, sending Harley to his science lesson. As soon as the school's door shut behind them, leaving them standing on the pavement silently, Loki turned to Peter.

"Want to go grab food and get you patched up in the park?" Peter smiled, nodding in relief.
"Absolutely."

Chapter Text

School suspending Loki was actually a really good thing for her. But she knew it was the complete opposite for Peter. It would go on his school record and he was hoping to get into a top tier college. Preferably on scholarship.

Currently, Loki could feel a branch poking her arse as she sat on the park's grass. Peter was sat in front of her, cross-legged as she put a small Hello Kitty plaster on one of his cheekbones. He was tapping his hands together, physically incapable of sitting still for more than five seconds in a row.

"It's a convenience store! We're in America!" Peter argued, clearly exasperated.
"It's a shop on the corner! It's a corner shop!" Loki argued back, Peter making a comment about her being too British for her own good. She pressed the plaster on with more force then was really necessary.

She grabbed another plaster out of the box that was sat next to the two. She picked up his left hand, putting the plaster on his middle finger. It had gotten caught on his zipper earlier. Apparently, he hadn't noticed in the heat of the moment. She hadn't noticed earlier, so she couldn't fault him for that. Peter looked around boredly.

"Do you think Harley actually went to his next lesson?" Peter asked and Loki raised an eyebrow at him, her lips quirking a bit.
"You seem awfully worried about him." She noted, pulling a packet of paracetamol out of her pocket.

"I'm just looking out for him. It's not like that." Peter said firmly, but she could tell her wasn't actually all that bothered. She popped two of the paracetamols out of the foil and handed them to him with a bottle of water. She watched as he opened it and swallowed the pills with great difficulty. He made a face when he swallowed, Loki patting his back when he coughed.

"Fuck, that's horrible." He coughed out, drinking more water to wash it all down easier. Loki leaned back on her bag, pulling out her phone. She checked the time, ignoring the little warmth in her heart when she saw a familiar contact messaging her.

Mobius
Is Peter okay?

She reread it a few times, typing out a response. Her thumb hovered over the send button, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip nervously. Should she respond or just ignore him for the day? Peter glanced up at her before he leaned over to read what was emblazoned on her cracked phone screen. His nose scrunched in clear disgust or annoyance, falling back to sit normally again.

"Why are you still seeing him?" She gave him an annoyed look at his clearly unhappy tone. She deleted her message, turning her phone off.
"You know why." She saw him roll his eyes, dropping her phone back. She laid back on the grass, feeling the grass tickle her head as her dark hair spread like rot through the green. "He's a really nice guy."

"You fucked in a toilet stall! Not exactly perfect gentleman's etiquette." Loki scoffed.
"Like, you'd know anything about being a gentleman." Peter made an offended noise, flicking Loki on the knee. She kicked out playfully, her trainers hitting his stomach lightly.

"Ew! Don't get your muddy trainers on my shirt! I like this one!" He flipped her off, brushing mud off of his shirt. She laughed a bit, knowing that he didn't even like that shirt even the tiniest bit. She dug a can of Fanta, specifically a lemon one, out of her bag. She opened it and removed the can tab, handing it over to Peter before he could even ask. He smiled and tucked it into his bag's small front pocket.

"Thank you." He hummed.
"It's alright. How's your little collection going?" Peter shrugged, shutting the pocket again. A woman with two big dogs walked past and their conversation paused in favour of Peter asking to pet them. Loki even had a nice conversation about her old Labradors before the lady had to go, wishing both the teens a good day.

The dogs were very energetic and Peter ended up having to wipe the dog spit off of his hand on the grass. He went to poke Loki and she recoiled.
"You are not touching me with that manky hand!" She ducked away again, knocking her bag over. She fell over it with an oomph, a new rip appearing on her jeans.

A small bottle rolled out and Loki grabbed it before Peter could, seeing the mischievous look in his eyes.
"Did you seriously bring wine to school?"
"Of course not!" Loki argued. "You think I've got the money to waste good wine in school?"

"So, it's cheap vodka than?" She shrugged, shutting her bag again, leaving the bottle on the grass with their snacks.
"Basically. Paid one of the younger kids to look after it for a while." It was because the younger kids didn't get a room check, which Loki found ridiculous. Actually, she found the whole room checks as a whole ridiculous. Only convicts should be able to have their rooms checked whenever. "They don't want to anymore. Their loss."

Peter nodded, sitting back down.
"Anyway, back to our earlier conversation." Loki groaned in annoyance.
"Do we have to? Seriously?"
"Yes! You've been on and off for ages! Why don't you just ask him out and stay together?"

"And if that doesn't work?" Loki snapped back.
"Then dump him!" She complained as soon as he said this.

"I can't!" She flopped back again, laying down with her knees up.
"Can't? Or just don't want to?" Loki frowned as the branch from earlier poked her and she sat up just to move it away.

"He's really nice!" Loki argued, looking up at the sky. It was cloudy and miserable, kind of like back home.
"Just not to you?" Peter poked her in the shin, earning a little misdirected hit to the hand.

"He is nice to me! I just... oh, for fucks sake!" She snatched her phone up, opening her messages and typing out a response. It was completely different to what she had wanted to send him earlier.

You
Texting during school?
Scandalous!

The student council leader droned on and on about new rules and that they were now allowed to dress code other students and that drinking soda was highly discouraged in school. Apparently, he should go out of his way to stop his peers from drinking soda now? Piss off.

Mobius' phone went off, buzzing in his pocket. He checked it, expecting an email about his next class' homework but instead seeing an answer to his previous extremely worried text.

Loki <3
Texting during school?
Scandalous!

He glanced up at the student council leader, who was just a senior who reported everything to a teacher. God forbid a teacher actually engage with the conversations about how shitty their school was. He hid his phone under the table as the other students conversed about stupid work book and how 'dangerous' the school cafeteria's plastic cutlery was.

You
Is he okay though?

Loki <3
He's fine.

A photo of Peter was attached. It depicted him pouring what looked like alcohol into a bottle of Sprite. Mobius smiled a bit as Loki was giving Peter a thumbs up in the photo, her chipped black nail polish on show.

You
You're not getting drunk at 12:30 in the afternoon.

Loki <3
It's for later.

You
Later?

A tap on his desk caught Mobius' attention, head lifting up quickly. The senior stood in front of him, looking fairly pissed off. Mobius apologised and put his phone away. That was when Mobius realised he didn't even know the guy's name.

A bright-eyed kid from the year below leaned over and asked,
"Who were you texting?" He gave them a semi-annoyed, semi-tired look, not bothering with an actual response. He couldn't deal with people today. He was still upset that Loki hadn't forgiven him for the weekend and that he'd been a dickhead when she told his this.

"Probably his boyfriend." Another boy filled in, ignoring the senior when they told him to politely shut the fuck up.
"Girlfriend today." Mobius snapped, glaring at the kid. He was just waiting for the meeting to end.

Time ticked by slowly, Mobius tapping his foot on the floor continuously. He ignored all the weird looks, focusing on the time. What did later mean? Was Loki going to go out and find someone as revenge for the weekend? Fuck, this was driving him insane.

Mobius hadn't meant to kiss that girl. It had just kind of happened. He had been drunk and had confused her as a certain someone. Turns out, drunkenly kissing your on-and-off partner's worst enemy is not a good thing to do if you're trying to get back with them. Again. Would not recommend. -10/10.

As soon as the meeting ended, Mobius had already packed up and been ready to go. He left quickly, getting his phone out immediately. He hurried to check to see if Loki had responded, heart going a million miles an hour. He sighed when he saw the newest messages, kind of wishing he hadn't even asked in the first place.

Loki <3
Picked up extra shifts.
Gotta get more money!
=)

As soon as the clock hit 3:15, she was expected to stay at the front desk.

The flashing lights in the room were driving her slowly insane. They buzzed and flickered continuously, not loud but not quiet enough to be able to black out. Loki was tempted to break the light completely herself to get it to shut up already.

Peter was sat in a corner booth, having been sat there with Loki until 5 minutes ago. They'd been sat in the booth for about 2 hours, having abandoned the park when a group of skiving middle schoolers on scooters with vapes showed up. They reminded Loki of the year 7's from back when she was a kid.

She'd always wanted to be like them. But only the girl ones. The 'Chavs.' They all wore puffy coats with furred hoods and skirts that they rolled up past the mid thigh. They all wore branded trainers and had cheap makeup that they made look the same as the expensive stuff the richer kids. They all looked almost identical. Almost.

She hadn't exactly wanted to be one of them. She just found it amazing how so many different people could fit in so easily. She'd never really fit in. It wasn't like she had been one of those girls. She'd just always been a bit too boyish for the girls but a bit too girlish for the boys.

That didn't matter for long because as soon as she turned 11, having been in year 7 for less than two months, she had to move out of Britain. They all moved to America, just as Loki had reached the age to finally fit in at school when she wore a skirt.

As soon as her mum had died and her father realised that he didn't have to have her around anymore, he sent her back into the foster. She'd always known she had been adopted, that she wasn't really her mum's kid. But it still hurt when she died. It was made worse when she also lost almost all contact with her non-biological brother when she'd been sent away.

Sure, she saw him in school but it barely counted when they rarely spoke during school. He was a popular football senior and she was the queer weirdo from junior year. It was fine.

The door to the shop opened and Harley walked in. He should've just gotten out of school and headed straight here. That was if he'd left at 3 when everyone else had. He walked up to the front desk, looking incredibly annoyed about something. 
"What's got you in a mood?" Loki asked, putting her phone in her back pocket to make it look like he was actually doing her job. Harley didn't respond, just put his phone down on the counter-top, face up and unlocked.

Loki read through the words on the screen, completely baffled.
"Seriously?" He nodded a bit, burying his head in his hands.
"I'm so fucked." His words were muffled by his hands. Loki almost felt horrible for him.

"Why are they even doing this?" She asked, standing up a bit taller. Harley lifted his head up, clearly angry.
"They think I'm falling behind."
"But you're not?"

"Apparently skipping classes affects how smart I am. Somehow. I don't even know anymore." Loki patted his back a bit, handing his phone back.
"Want a smoothie? You will have to pay half though." He nodded, smiling a bit.
"Can you add some actual drink into it?" She agreed and he went to go sit with a curled up Peter in the booth. Peter looked like he'd fallen asleep and Loki couldn't fault him for that. It was incredibly boring without her there. Or so she guessed.

She busied herself with making the smoothie, having successfully mastered blocking out the sound of the broken lights. She grabbed her water bottle that had been sat next to the coffee machine, opening it and putting a decent amount into the bad disposable cup. She put the cup on the counter, not even bothering to call out Harley's name as he'd already taken the cup. He didn't even get a straw!

She watched in confusion as he just took off the lid and sipped it plain. How do you drink a fucking smoothie like it's just water?

Loki didn't get long to think about that as the door opened and a group of kids her age walked in. They were being stupidly loud, some hitting each other or pushing each other around. She internally slapped herself for taking this shift. They arrived at the front and put their order in surprisingly easily, only being a tiny bit confusing. As she was making the food, the door to the staff room opened and she glanced up when her boss walked out.

Her boss was a thirty-something lady who was an absolute fucking icon. She had dyed dark blue hair that actually suited her and a good amount of piercings.
"Thanks for taking this shift. The other guy apparently vomited. I personally don't believe a word of it, but I legally can't bring him in to work. Health and safety regulations and all." Loki nodded along, finishing up the food and letting the group over whos food was whos.

"Can I take a smoke break in a bit?" She asked, hoping she'd say yes.
"Sure. Can't really stop you, can I?" Her boss smiled. See? Icon.

"Not really." Loki smiled back at her, almost going to take her break right then and there when more people started filing into the shop. "Of for fucks sake."

Harley watched as Loki dumped her apron on a hook, loudly announcing that she was going for her break and leaving the main room. Her new coworker was left to deal with all the new customers, looking thoroughly panicked and close to passing out. Loki did not look happy whatsoever.

He had finished his smoothie already, now sipping from a questionable bottle of Sprite.

It smelled like it had been poisoned. Rank and completely untrustworthy. But he still drank it anyways.

The groups of people eventually diffused and unsurprisingly, this was when Loki decided to appear. She did not look any happier now then when she'd left as she pulled her apron back on and took over at the front desk. Her coworker hurried to clean the now empty tables, too energetic for anyone who works in a rundown fast food restaurant.

Harley didn't really care, not seeing it as his problem. But she had got him a half-off smoothie. He ended up talking with Peter about his newly forced-to-join club.
"They put you in Curriculum Support? Really?"
"Yep. Every Tuesday afternoon, 3 to 5." Harley filled in, tapping his fingers on the decent looking table.

"That's just stupid." Peter said, utterly surprised by this new information.
"I know! But if I don't go, I get detention."

After a few hours, Loki's shift had ended and she could leave the greasy shop. The three hung around for a bit, ending up smoking round the side of the building.

"Do you think anyone would notice if I just didn't show up to school tomorrow?" Peter asked, flicking a lighter on and off, occasionally grabbing leaves that had fallen from the surrounding bushes and setting them alight. Harley shrugged.
"Probably not."

A tiny pile of ash had formed at his feet, getting a bit bigger every time a small, shriveled up leaf caught fire and died again. Harley was just scrolling through his phone, blowing smoke into the darkening sky. Peter was playing a quiet song from his phone. It was something by an artist called Mitski, a slow song that did not sound all that happy. Loki was texting someone with one hand, the smoke rising from her mouth practically blurring her face view.

No one spoke, just standing around silently. A few minutes later, they left, leaving a now dead lighter and a few cigarette butts behind.

The orphanage building was quiet when they got back. Harley could faintly hear a few little kids speaking through the thin walls. He climbed up onto the fire escape, helping Loki too. Peter had already made his way back into the building, being a naturally excellent climber.

The window clicked shut when all three made it back in, locking the cold out. Loki dumped her bag on the floor, tugging her trainers off.
"Those shoes have been killing my feet for the whole day!" She complained, sitting down on Harley's bed.
"You chose to wear them." Harley said simply. Why wear shoes that you know are gonna hurt you?
"Yeah, and I regret that! Clearly!"

"Please don't start arguing." Peter's words awarded him matching annoyed glares.
"She started it." Harley said indignantly, ducking under a flying shoe that was headed straight for his face.
"I didn't do shit, you liar!"

Before the argument could escalate, Loki's phone rang and she hurried to answer it. Harley watched in confusion as she spoke uncharacteristically quietly. She eventually started yelling into the phone, words jumbling together a bit with how fast she was speaking.

Harley and Peter were both clearly confused, glancing at each other as Loki eventually spoke normally. She hung up aggressively and threw her phone onto the nearest bed, which happened to be Peter's as she'd started pacing as she screamed at the mystery caller.

"Why the fuck does he have to call now? Of all times?" She asked no one in particular. Harley was the first one out of the other two to speak.
"Who?" Loki sighed, glancing at her phone in very obvious hatred.
"My fucking brother." She said the word like it was equally insulting as calling someone every name under the sun.

"Wait, you have a brother?" Peter asked, giving Loki her phone back.

"Yep. We're completely different though."
"So you're the disappointment?" Peter asked, Harley half expected Loki to him for that. To his complete surprise, she just nodded.
"Technically, yes. That's why I was put here." She gestured around a bit.

"So you were so bad that they put you up for adoption?"
"That's about it, yeah."
"Wow. That's incredibly fucked up." Peter said plainly as he dumped out his bag's contents onto the floor.

"Not like my father cares, is it?" Loki asked.
"What about your mother?" Harley asked, but quickly abandoned that question when Peter shot him a 'Don't!' look.

Loki pretended Harley hadn't even spoke.
"He wants to meet up. Says it's important."
"I, personally, call utter bullshit." Peter spoke up.
"He doesn't call unless it's important." Loki got up, pacing around the room.

Harley took notice of Peter instead. He'd abandoned his bag in the middle of the room, empty and laying next to its contents. He was now sitting on his set of drawers. He had taken off his jumper, sitting in a dark grey tank top and baggy jeans. Harley could see his binder strap but didn't point it out, not wanting to make Peter uncomfortable. He didn't know if Peter was open about it or not.

His Converse had been dumped with his bag, taking up the space in the middle of the floor. He was watching Loki, seemingly very interested in what she'd been saying.
"It can't be about his father. He couldn't care less about me." Loki said to either both of them or neither of them. Peter jumped down from the drawers, walking over to the door.

He opened it and Harley could see a shoe go hurtling down the hallway.
"Just those girls from the room on the corner. Or so I'm guessing." Peter said, glancing down the hallway properly now that the risk of shoes was apparently over.

He glanced back at Harley and Loki, Loki having stopped walking to look at him in similar confusion to Harley's.
"Gonna go grab a cup of tea. You coming?" Peter asked, giving them a little look that said that he wanted them to follow him.

The three made their way to the kitchen, quiet as the little kids would be settling down for bed at this time. Or they at least should be. Probably not.

They ended up spread around the kitchen. Loki was sat on the kitchen table, Peter on the counter beside the kettle and Harley was actually sat on a chair. The kettle was boiling quietly, a cup with a tea bag and a bit of sugar in it sitting beside it. Loki was on her phone, the dull grey light making her grim expression seem even sadder then it was. Peter was humming as he waited for the kettle to finish.

Harley was, well, watching the other two. He was also picking at a piece of toast. It didn't look that appetising, or smell all that nice. It smelled burned, the corners scorched by the old metal of the toaster. Loki had made it for him, deciding that he should at least eat that if he didn't want what the other kids had had. He didn't think even she would've eaten it. It had been a horrible looking pasta. The sauce had looked watery but coagulated at the same time. Gross.

The kettle finished and Peter made his drink quietly. They didn't speak a lot when they weren't in their rooms. The Handler would either be there or one of the snitching younger ones would be.

Steam filled the air around the cup, pouring out of the kettle like the water. Peter carried the tea bag on a spoon over to the bin, dropping it in and grabbing the milk from the fridge. Loki turned her phone off, placing it down on the table. Harley looked back at the toast, the strawberry jam making it look pretty decent. It didn't look like shit, at the very least. He picked it up and took a bite, smiling a bit at the sweet taste of the topping.

He ate quickly, putting his plate back in the sink when Peter had put the spoon in it too. The spoon was still hot from the tea, the metal a bit foggy.

Loki hopped down from the table, grabbing her phone and nudging Harley's shoulder.
"Want to play 21 questions?" Peter jumped into the conversation, holding the steaming cup.
"I do!" Loki rolled her eyes.
"You always do." She got nudged and Harley sighed as they headed back to his and Peter's room.

The room was dark, Harley flicking on the lights to make sure they could see as they piled into the small room. Loki laid on Peter's bed, Peter sitting on the floor with the cup beside him. Harley sat on his own bed, the door kicked shut behind them.

Loki asked the first question.
"Have you ever regretted a kiss?"
"Yes." Harley said almost immediately. Peter looked confused when Loki agreed with Harley.

"I never have." He said, sounding almost like a question.
"Lucky you." Loki patted his head a bit, ignoring how annoyed it made him.

Harley remembered the one he regretted the most very well. He'd just come out and a guy from the year above had found out. They'd become friends, mainly because Harley didn't have any other ones. After a few weeks, the guy had kissed him and made out that he'd always been madly in love with Harley. Harley knew it wasn't true. They weren't friends anymore now.

He thought of a question, asking it with a smile.
"Have you ever been handcuffed?" Peter perked up at this, clearly enjoying this more than the last question.
"Yes! Twice, actually!" He proudly declared.

"Nope." Harley shook his head, glancing down at Peter as he sipped his hot drink.
"Seven times." Loki said plainly. This caught Peter's attention, horror painted on his face.
"I know three times by the police. What about the other four times?"

Loki went to speak but Peter cut her off by putting a pillow over her face. She hit at him, laughing as she did.
"What about the other four?" Harley parroted.
"Do you really want to know?" Loki asked, an evil grin on her face.
"On second thought, no." Peter pretended to vomit.

A few minutes later, the game ended and it had just hit midnight. The three eventually agreed that they had to sleep. Harley had finished brushing his teeth, spitting into the sink and making a noise of annoyance at how bad the toothpaste tasted.

He walked back into his room, Loki having left while he'd been gone. Peter was already hidden under his own duvet, eyes peeking out over the top. Harley drew the curtains, blocking out the small amount of orange light that had made its way into the alley outside and then into the room.

"You okay?" Peter asked and Harley was honestly a bit startled by the question.
"I'm fine." He answered simply, turning off the main light and using his phone's torch to make sure he didn't trip over anything on his way to his bed. Peter didn't speak again, turning to face the wall.

Harley climbed into his bed, ignoring the messages he received. He turned his phone off, putting it on charge on the floor beside his bed. He ignored it when his phone screen lit up with message notifications. He ignored the buzzing as the phone rang. He ignored it when the noises stopped altogether, an unsettling silence hanging in the air.

He only checked his phone when it had been silent for a few minutes, regrettably grabbing it and reading the messages. He knew he'd regret it, but he did it anyway. He practically threw it back down, rolling over and ignoring how he knew the guy could see he'd read the messages. He forced himself not to cry. Peter could still be awake. The silence was unsettling as he faced the plain wall, eyes shut as he forced himself to sleep.

Bastard
I know you're reading these.
Bitch.
See you tomorrow.

Chapter Text

Have you ever seen someone vomit, kiss a guy, then vomit again? Peter now has. It's truly a miracle that Loki hasn't died by now.

They've got their arm around some boy Peter doesn't recognise, makeup still flawless despite saying hi to their dinner and their drinks on two separate trips to the garden. There was now a bush in this poor kid's back garden that some guy was probably peeing in or also throwing up in. Not Peter's problem.

Any other night Peter would've been worried about school or homework or even about the kids back at home. Tonight, he wasn't. All he was worried about now was letting Loki have a fun night and getting out here by themselves. That meant that he'd probably have to separate a wasted Loki from whoever they got off with next. He was also strangely worried about Monster High.

Right as he started following Loki around earlier, he had had at least three cups of creepy drinks shoved at him. He declined them all, choosing instead to take a drunk guy's pair of shitty 1 dollar sunglasses. They even had the price tag on for fuck's sake. He'd barely drunk anything, taking the occasional offered joint but staying sober otherwise.

A bad speaker was playing something by Lady Gaga and he swore he'd heard the name Alejandro at least three times in the song. While he was trying to figure out the name of it, he heard Loki taking shots at the kitchen table. How does he know this? The boasts and cheers from his drunk friend made it very clear. He swore and got up from the rich looking couch which left a wet mark on his ass when he did.

Trying to wipe himself clean, he fought his way through the crowd. People were pushing and shoving, spilling whatever drinks they'd acquired on each other. After he'd barely survived the surprisingly capable wasted people, Peter could see Mobius helping a close to crying and already complaining Loki away,. He was still trying to drink what looked like Cherryade and Kopparberg mixed into one too. Peter shivered at the very thought of putting that bottle anywhere near his mouth.

That didn't matter as Mobius looked strangely dishevelled, dark brown hair with way too early grey hairs messed up. He was wearing a pair of black smart trousers and a messed up hoodie. Loki's arm was over his shoulder, practically being carried away from the kitchen.

Peter walked over quickly, dodging a smoke cloud that smelled of very strong weed.
"What are you doing here?" Peter could hear Loki slur, carrying out the third word.
"You're drunk. You're leaving." Mobius said back, a bit too harsh with it. Peter jumped in to speak now.

"Don't be a dick to them when they're this drunk. Emotions get all out of wack." He glared at Mobius who looked him up and down.
"I wasn't being a dick."
"Sure as shit sounds like it." Peter freed Mobius of Loki, helping them to stand up. "Why are you even here?"
"Was making sure they're okay. They today, right? Didn't speak to me today so I wouldn't know." Peter kind of felt bad for him but ignored that in favour of Loki vomiting in a vase. The poor kid who lived here.

"I'm sorry." Loki mumbled, breath smelling like a corpse. Or how Peter guessed a corpse would smell.
"It's fine." He assured them. "Let's just get you out of here, yeah?" Loki nodded a bit, reminding Peter of a sad kitten.

The three eventually got out of the house, despite how hard it was to even move. Peter could hear a couple moaning next to the stairs and he felt disgust mixed with envy boil inside of him. He could feel as Mobius glanced down beside the stairs and back up to him.
"You got someone you're seeing?" He asked and Peter shook his head.
"Nope." Mobius nodded and Peter felt a bit bad.

He had been a bit rude to Mobius, who had just been trying to make sure his partner- ex- Peter didn't know anymore!- was okay. "I'm not a virgin either. So don't you dare start thinking I'm some sweet summer child."
"I wouldn't. I've seen you beat a guy black and blue. Also, really?" Peter nodded, humming a bit as he did.

"Yep. All thanks to," He shook Loki's arm a bit, who just leaned on him as he helped them down the steps, "Drunkarella here." Mobius seemed a bit grossed out and Peter knew why. He spoke before Mobius could ask the usual question. "No, we haven't slept together. Cuddled, yeah but that's just because we're both cuddlers and lonely." Then Mobius looked downright offended.

Peter avoided yelling at him to just pick something and stick to it instead of emotionally jumping around like a fucking grasshopper.

"They do have someone." Mobius scowled, Loki laughing a bit at something the sober two knew. What was this dickhead on about now?
"Do they?" Peter snapped, holding Loki a bit tighter when they nearly face-planted the pee-smelling grass. "Not like you're there for them." He scoffed, making his frustration as clear as he could without just telling him to go fuck himself fifty times over.

"Last I checked, you didn't want to even miss one day of school to take care of them." A few weeks ago, Loki had come down with a really bad stomach bug. They'd called Mobius, who just hung up and ignored them until after the weekend. They'd gotten ill on a Wednesday.

"I was busy." That just pissed Peter off. He was busy! He had to do more than Mobius did if he even had a tiny chance of getting a scholarship at a good school!
"So was I." He snapped, adjusting how Loki was standing, making sure they didn't topple over when they pulled off their boots.

It was silent as they walked, no destination in Peter's mind.
"Where are we going?" He asked. They couldn't go back home, Loki was probably too out of it to safely climb up the fire escape. Peter also didn't want to disturb Harley if he was at home.
"Back to my place. I've got water and painkillers there too." Peter nodded

"Do you even like them?" He asked, Mobius pausing in his steps a bit.
"Of course I do." He started walking again so he didn't fall behind Peter and Loki.
"Then why don't you act like it?" Peter sounded rude. He wanted to be rude. He wanted to make Mobius as sad and sorry as he was when Loki cried to him about the old-looking guy.

Mobius didn't answer, just putting his hands in his pocketi and looking down at his feet. Peter rolled his eyes, wondering why Loki hadn't spoken out yet. They were also ridiculously heavy and un-moving. He heard light snoring and knew. They had fallen asleep on his shoulder. Mobius noticed this and took them from him, carrying him easily. Peter stretched his arms a bit, hearing his fingers crack a bit. The smell of expensive booze had faded away as they walked further from the house. Loki stank of cheap vodka, gross and heavy. Mobius didn't seem phased by this at all. He just kept on walking.

Peter was making a mental map of the way to Mobius' house, combining the way to the previous house and where they were walking now. They probably didn't live that far apart. So why didn't Mobius ever visit Loki?

The walk came to a close when Mobius led them into another rich looking house, still being in the rich neighbourhood. Peter envied the spacious, spotless house, decorated by fancy porcelain and expensive glass. It was incredibly empty though. It looked sad. The living room didn't even look homely. It looked like a fancy office in Peter's opinion.

"Can I stay the night or not?" Peter asked, helping Mobius lay Loki's limp body on the white, plush couch.
"You're welcome here anytime." Mobius placed a light grey blanket over Loki, Peter noting his little smile. There were many reasons why he hated Mobius, but there was one reason why he'd put up with him for this long.

He may not be around a lot, but when he was, he was completely soft for Loki.
"Where am I sleeping then?" He asked, taking in how miserable Mobius' house looked.
"Blankets under the coffee table and the armchair expands into a collapsible bed. Do whatever. Raid the fridge, break an expensive glass, I don't care." Mobius disappeared into the kitchen.

"Y'know, they really do like you." Peter mused, hearing the tap run in the kitchen as he tapped his hands on his legs in his pockets. Mobius didn't speak. Peter had had a very quick phone call on Loki's phone with Harley before Mobius came back into the room. He eventually walked back in and placed a cup of water and a packet of painkillers on the coffee table, ready for when Loki woke up.

"Good night." The grey-haired guy, dissapeared, leaving Peter to figure out how the armchair worked. After he'd eventually figured it and piled it high full of blankets, he walked into the kitchen. Good news, Mobius had given him free reign over the kitchen and food. Bad news, Peter didn't know where anything was.

The buzz of MDMA had worn off, leaving Harley with an overwhelming mind and a cracked phone that buzzed on the roof tiles next to his head.

He had been up here for an unknown amount of time. He would've liked to say he was looking up at the stars, like he was in a movie. But he wasn't. Because the stars weren't visible, hidden from view. He instead looked up at the cloudy sky, the blank inky colour in front of him. He had a joint between his middle and pointer fingers on his right hand. He was trying to regain the buzz the pill had given him, needing something to clear his mind. He wanted to sleep, he wanted to eat a bagel, he wanted to fuck someone.

He wanted to tumble into bed with someone, he wanted to be kissed. He wanted someone to hold him. He wanted to be held. He wanted to be loved. He wanted... Peter.

He wanted Peter to hold him. Love him. Stay with him. Choose him. He wanted this, he had wanted this. For ages.

Ever since last year. When he saw Peter help calm down a crying baby because the mother was stressed and tired. Peter had made friends with a puppy in the shelter on a field trip. Harley loved him. He had loved him for so long. But Peter didn't like him like back. At least he didn't think so.

Harley could hear people speaking on the ground below him. He liked sitting on roofs, he liked being able to see over the other buildings, and felt big for once. He didn't like hearing drunk people tell him not to fall off or to get down before they called the cops. No one had actually called them yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

He got up, grabbing his phone and turning it off as he did. He took the last hit from the nearly gone joint, savouring it as best as he could. After reluctantly letting the smoke go, he shoved his phone in his pocket. His back cracked when he stood up, loud and annoying.

He hadn't eaten for a while, about half of the day. He wasn't that hungry, but he was craving Oreos and Mountain Dew. Not together.
Maybe together.
Depends on how he's feeling.

Harley made his way back down from the roof, eventually letting his feet hit the cracked pavement. People had kind of thinned out after a while, going to get another drink from inside or got bored of talking to the others. There were fewer groups of drunk teens, less drinks and more empty cups, cans and bottles.

He knew where Loki and Peter had been but when he checked inside the living room, they weren't there. He checked the kitchen, empty shot glasses letting him know that they had at least been there. The hallway was devoid of nearly anyone, people either leaving or going out back. Harley didn't dare to check the toilet.

He started asking around, getting a bit panicked when literally no one knew where they were. He asked a girl with dyed cherry red hair who was helping her seemingly wasted friend.

"Hey, have you seen a person with short black hair? Dressed in mainly green and black, hanging around with a brown-haired boy? Looks like they're not friends but they are?" The girl nodded, pointing to the front door. He watched her move her friend so she could use her hands. She placed her friend on the couch, who just slurred out complaints and questions. Harley then realised that she was trying to use sign language when she signed out,
Saw them leave earlier. Harley nodded, signing back at her.

Where and who? The girl's friend went to get up again, flopping back onto the couch.
Grey haired guy. Down to the rich houses. Harley nodded, smiling a bit. He patted his pockets and pulled out two ten dollar bills. He handed them to her, thanking her.
Get home safe. He was given a thumbs up and he left, leaving the smell of alcohol and smoke behind.

He pulled out his phone, pulling up Loki's contact as he looked around at the dark street. He shivered a bit as he clicked the ring button, holding the phone to his ear. He walked down the path quickly, hand in his pocket. He wasn't going to get hurt. He was prepared. His finger pressed into the small blade's side, holding it like it was his lifeline.

The phone rang. Once. Twice.
"Come on, pick up." He mumbled to the phone in some delusion that it would make Loki actually pick the phone up quicker.

It picked up and-
"Hello?"
"Peter? Why are you on Loki's phone?" Harley asked, glancing around himself.

"They're passed out on Mobius' couch right now." Peter answered. "Just had to dig it from their back pocket."
"Where are you?" Harley asked, passing overpriced house after overpriced house.
"Um, hold on." Peter mumbled. He then yelled to someone on the other end of the phone. "What's the address for this place?" Peter went silent before giving Harley the address that supposedly Mobius had called back to him.

"i'll be there in five." Harley said, holding the phone tight as he said bye to Peter and put his location on. He hated how he was walking alone in the dark. He wasn't afraid of the dark, he just didn't trust it. Never had and probably never would.

He hung up and was left in the dark, on an unknown street, with only unknown people to call for if something happened to him. He didn't trust it. Not at all. He walked fast, head down with his pocket knife in his hand inside his hoodie's pocket.

He eventually made it to Mobius' house, a big boring house that looked plainer that a bucket's worth of white paint. He knocked on the door, standing awkwardly as he waited for it to open. When it did, Peter opened the door. He looked relieved when he noticed him. "Nice sunglasses." Harley smiled.
"Holy fuck! I thought you'd died!" Harley walked in, the inside as big as the outside. He walked into the kitchen, cringing at the plain tile floor.

"This is so dull. Is Mobius sad or something?" Harley asked plainly, light snoring coming from the living room. That was Loki then. Peter shrugged, walking into the kitchen. "Anything we can eat?" Harley opened the overly big fridge. He saw a bunch of packaged sandwiches and rich foods. "This guy is sad as fuck and rich as fuck." He deduced, shutting the fridge and turning to look at Peter, who had climbed on top of the kitchen counter and grabbed a box of cereal.

"All they have is cornflakes and- fuck yeah! Honeynut crunchy flakes!" Peter put the cornflakes back, grabbing a cereal box of Honeynut flakes. He dropped them on the side, jumping down as Harley grabbed the milk. Harley found two bowls in a bottom cupboard and grabbed them, putting them on the counter.

Glass clinked on marble, Peter tearing open the cereal box. Harley poured the cereal into the bowls, watching as Peter grabbed two silver spoons.

When they had their cereal, they went into the living room, eating happily. Harley listened as Peter ranted about anything he could think of. Peter's new sunglasses, how trippy a movie called Sharkboy and Lavagirl is, Monster High.
"You back in school tomorrow?" Harley asked, through a mouthful of cereal. He would've said the day after the next but it was currently 2 in the morning.
"I kinda have to be in tomorrow. My suspension is over, isn't it?" Harley shrugged, going to scoop up more flakes but nothing came up.

He looked down and- wow. He'd really finished a whole considerably big bowl of cereal. All by himself and in one sitting. Loki would've been proud.

Peter noticed him staring at the bowl and asked, "Do you want to grab some more?" Harley contemplated for a second, hesitating before looking back up and Peter and nodding.
"Yeah. Fuck it, let's go raid Mobius' cupboards!"

Loki had never been happier for paracetamol and water. They- no. He. Definitely he -took the pills quickly, chugging the rest of the water after he had.

He forced himself to sit up properly, seeing Peter and Harley asleep on a collapsible bed together. Cute. The two boys were also surrounded by food wrappers and washing up. He smiled. Harley ate something tasty and filling. Good for him.

With an incredible amount of willpower, he looked around. Whose house was this? Also, why the fuck was it so empty? He felt terribly for whatever poor sod lived here. Loki forced himself off the sofa he'd woken up on, surprisingly not needing to vomit. Probably because he'd done it all last night.

The kitchen was as dull as the living room, if not worse. He did spot a packet of plain black tea bags in one of the many open cupboards though. At least the 'poor sod' drank tea. The kettle was incredibly fancy. So he was in a rich kid's house. Fan-fucking-tastic.

A creak on the stairs alerted him that someone was there. Please don't let it be this kid's dad or something. The footsteps got closer and closer and Loki turned to face the person. Shit. It wasn't the kid's dad. Even worse. So much worse.

"Fuck." Loki muttered, staring in shock at Mobius. Mobius who was dressed in a dressing gown that was loosely tied and had a bit more than just his collarbones showing.
"Loki." Mobius said, seemingly not even bothered. "How are the other two?" He asked, opening his fridge and grabbing the milk.
"Asleep." Loki acted uninterested, even though he wanted Mobius to kiss him senseless. "I think they might've eaten half your supply of sugar though."

Mobius didn't seem to care at all, shrugging as Loki poured hot water into his cup. It was plain grey, just like every other piece of cutlery and plate or bowl in this ugly house.
"You okay? You were really fucked up last night." Mobius hummed, Loki putting milk in his tea after removing the teabag.
"I don't remember anything." He lied. He remembered it all. He'd been taking shots with some wannabe frat boys when Mobius had appeared. Loki had called him names, literally calling him a fucking meanie, and had threatened to start crying.

He wasn't going to admit that though. Especially not to Mobius. They stood in silence.
"Did you vomit again?" Mobius asked, sounding genuinely caring. Loki almost melted on the spot. He shook his head.
"Turns out, chucking my guts up earlier actually helped the hangover. Strange." He said quietly.

"Anything in here to eat?" Loki asked, glancing up at Mobius, who was watching him with a weird, soft-eyed look. He didn't want Mobius to look at him like that. He knew that it would only make him love Mobius more. If that was even physically possible.

"There should be some sandwiches in the fridge, bottom shelf." Loki nodded, checking the fridge. Sure enough, there were sandwiches. He grabbed one of them, the packaging proving that it was a chicken mayo sandwich. His favorite.

Mobius was speaking about Loki's now ended suspension and all Loki wanted to do was have Mobius' lips on his own. Mobius' hands on his. Mobius' body pressed against his. He stopped there because he didn't think he could handle a quick wank or fuck in Mobius' toilet room while hungover. It would not be practical at all.

"What time is it?" He asked, Mobius pointing at the clock above the kitchen door. Why? Did there need to be a clock above the kitchen door? It was 11:32. He was meeting his brother at 12.

For fucks sake.

Chapter Text

Cafe's are not romantic. That's all Loki could think as he stood in the crowded shop.

People were pushing and shoving and he was so close to hitting the next middle aged woman who told him to 'Stop glaring at her kid.' It wasn't his fault that the kid was staring at him like a fucking idiot. One of the little shits had even called him a weirdo. He was too hungover for this right now.

He'd ended up in some of Mobius' clothes, a pair of smart trousers and an old jumper. The grandpa sweater ones that sometimes tickled your skin if they had been washed wrong. He had his shirt from the night before under it, but he enjoyed the feel of the weight it had. It smelled like Mobius and he knew as soon as he put it on that Mobius was never having it back.

He'd also taken Peter's sunglasses too. Peter didn't even notice as he had still been cuddled up with Harley.Thor hadn't showed up and he hated sitting in places alone. It made him feel strangely alone. Not lonely, just alone.

The cafe door opened for the fifth time in a 30 second time span and Loki didn't even bother looking up as it shut. A bag being dumped onto the seat in front of his caught his attention and he frowned when he recognised the bag's patch. It had the logo for their school's football team. Loki didn't even know why Thor even played football. It wasn't even actual football. It was the American version where you don't even use your feet to play. He was definitely America's number one hater.

"Sorry I'm late." Thor said, sitting down in the seat he'd just put his bag on. His bag was now on the floor, making a presumably loud thud in the overfilled shop.
"It's fine." Loki waved it off, his coffee having gone cold a while ago.

Thor sat awkwardly as he twiddled with his thumbs. Loki took a secret pride in how nervous Thor seemed. He'd always had a stupidly heavy dislike for Thor. Loki did know that it wasn't Thor's fault that he'd been sent away, but Thor hadn't seemed to care when he'd left.

Thor had seen Loki pack his whole room up into one small suitcase, tears stuck to his face as he lost his last reminder of his childhood. Thor hadn't even asked Odin if Loki could stay. Loki knew that Thor didn't really understand what had been happening, despite being a good amount of years older than Loki at the time, but it still hurt watching Thor being completely stone faced as Loki was driven away from the house alone.

Thor didn't speak, just looking down at his hands as he shuffled in his seat.
"Do you... want a drink?" Thor asked awkwardly. Loki nodded, swirling his cold drink a bit in its disposable cup.
"Yes." Loki hummed. He dug his receipt from earlier out of his trouser pocket, placing it on the table in front of Thor.

He waited until Thor had gone to stand in the now thinning queue before he pulled out his phone and texted Peter.

You
In a cafe with someone
Dont text for a while


He also texted his boss, letting her know that he wouldn't be able to work the extra shifts because he was going back to school the next day. Thor came back holding a cup. Loki noted that he didn't have a drink of his own. Probably didn't drink it because it was 'bad for him.' Maybe. How else did you expect Loki to survive when he worked from 3:30 to 9 at night some days?

It was weird that Thor hadn't lectured him about being very hungover yet, but he supposed that was the bare minimum. If you abandon your sibling in an orphanage and don't reach out for over three years, Loki thought you could at least spare them the 'drinking is bad' speech.

Thor sat down, still awkward. Loki was tired of this. He had better things to do.
"What did you want then?" He asked, sipping his drink. Thor hesitated, clearly not wanting to speak. "Spit it o-" Loki added irritably.

"Dad wants to re-adopt you." He blurted out and Loki paused, cutting himself off as he exclaimed,
"What the actual fuck?"

"What do you think Loki's doing?" Harley asked, though he knew it didn't sound like he actually cared all that much. He did care. After being around Loki for a while, he'd grown to like him and actually care about him.
"Said he was meeting someone at a nearby cafe. That's all he told me." Peter shrugged, stepping on a leaf that had fallen from a nearby tree. It didn't crunch sadly.

They'd left Mobius' house almost immediately when they woke up, getting painkillers and cleaning up before they left the miserable building. Peter had been mourning the loss of his cheap sunglasses that weren't even technically his to Harley when he'd woken up and realised Loki had disappeared. With his sunglasses. "He'll probably be at his job by 3:30 anyways." Peter added, putting his phone away as they wandered in the park.

"Probably. Did he say what the person needed from him or what?" Peter shook his head.
"I don't know anything." He paused. "Do you think school's gonna be good tomorrow?" He asked.
"Depends. People are either gonna want to hate you more or completely avoid you out of pure fear." Harley thought for a second. "I vote for the second option."
"Really?" Peter questioned.

"You almost sent that guy to the hospital! Don't think anyone in their right mind would come after you after that." Harley said in disbelief. He spotted a bird and waved at it before remembering that he was in fact a 16 year old by who just waved at a fucking bird.

"Did you just seriously wave at a bird?" Peter asked, looking at him in utter confusion. Harley nodded, putting his hand back down. "Why?
"I don't know!"
"You waved at a fucking bird!" Peter laughed and ended up getting hit upside the head for it.

"It's not like I meant to!"
"So you just casually say hi to animals?"
"No!"
"Then why now?"
"I just said I don't know!" Harley sighed, ignoring how Peter was obnoxiously laughing at him now.

"Want to go get snacks and talk at the park?" Harley asked, the perfect embodiment of a hangout in his opinion. Peter lit up, stopping his laughter just to respond.
"Abso-fucking-lutely!"

Fifteen minutes later, they're sprawled over a park bench and they've just established which teacher died over the previous summer.

"Wait, he actually taught students? Really?" Harley asked, surprised. "I thought he just stayed in the nurse's office 24/7."
"No!" Peter gave him a disbelieving look. "Anyways, apparently he died and they're making a garden in his memory. Even though he hated gardening and being outside." He shrugged, putting another Tangfastic into his mouth.

It left a bit of sour powder on his lips that Harley wanted to kiss away, be able to taste the difference of his lips. Then he paused and shook his head a bit. He should not be thinking about this stuff. Especially not about Peter, of all people. Peter gave him a weird look and licked his lips clean, leaving them red in the citric acid's wake.

"I have an idea." Peter said out of nowhere. Harley watched as Peter poured all the remaining sour powder into a small packet and shit it quickly.
"Why does it look like you're hoarding cocaine right now?" Harley asked and Peter shoved the empty rubbish into the bin beside the bench.

"What if we get slushies and put this in them?" Peter asked energetically, smiling like a kid in a candy store.
"That... sounds good." Harley agreed and Peter cheered a bit.
"Yes! Let's go!" Peter grabbed Harley's hand and practically dragged Harley out of the park and over to the nearest convenience store.

Harley got a blue raspberry slushie while Peter got a mix of the two flavours, blue raspberry and strawberry. They grabbed a bag of sour gummy worms for a new snack and 'sour powder.' Harley preferred calling it that as citric acid sounded torturous. But sour powder sounded like a very bad drug to make you trip. Like magic mushrooms or Angel Dust.

They stood on the corner outside of the store, Peter opening his packet of sour powder. Harley watched as Peter poured a fair amount into his blue slushie and dumped the rest in his own red and blue one. Harley took a sip, liking the sour flavour almost more than the original taste. A hit upside his head made Harley choke on his straw, shoving at a cackling Loki as he pulled the straw out of his mouth.

"You two look like you're getting high!" Loki pointed out, Harley flicking him in the hand when Loki tried to take his drink. "What was that powder anyway?"
"Citric acid!" Peter said happily, sipping his slushie plainly. Peter offered Loki his slushie and Loki took an eager sip. His nose scrunched a bit as he did.
"Fuck, that's sour." Loki took another sip regardless.

"That tastes like it's been drugged." Loki handed Peter his drink back.
"So who and what happened earlier?" Harley asked and got a bit concerned when Loki's usually flawless smirk faltered a tiny bit.
"So, it turns out... I'm getting adopted..?" Loki practically squeaked.
"What?" Peter and Harley exclaimed in surprised unison.

Loki proceeded to explain the whole situation. How he had been adopted then unadopted as a kid, and that now the guy was taking him back for a publicity move. The public had started wondering where Odin's second kid had gone a few years ago and Odin realised he couldn't lie his way out of that one. So, he was apparently re-adopting Loki. Loki explained all this while they got onto a bus and sat at the back, Harley sitting opposite Peter and Loki.

Harley's brain hurt listening to this, then he realised something important.
"Wait, you won't be living with us anymore?" He asked, heart sinking a bit as he sipped the last dregs of his slushie.
"It'll be fine. Nothing will change that badly." Loki reassured, patting Harley's back from his seat in front of him.

"It had better not." Peter frowned.
"Want to help me pack tonight?" Loki offered, clearly trying to lift Peter's spirits. Peter nodded, hugging Loki as he did. Harley could see a few tears in his eye and he couldn't blame him. Harley also felt close to crying.

Loki was a liar. Telling a little white lie to make this seem better than it was. Could ever be. He also wanted to cry, hug Loki with Peter and hope that if he held on tight enough, he wouldn't leave. Nothing would change. That was the biggest lie ever. It was all going to change. He knew this as well as Peter and Loki did,. Peter hated change, the other two knew this. How would this affect him? It shouldn't be too bad. Hopefully.

It wasn't too bad. But it was still bad.

The three's whole dynamics and routines were thrown off now that one of them was gone.

There wasn't the loud wake-up barge in the room at 7:45 in the morning, followed by pre-made cups of tea or hot chocolate. There wasn't the ever-energetic gossip on the walks to and from school. There wasn't their usual late night talks or games or movies.

Currently, Peter and Harley are sat on the school's parking lot wall. Peter was holding a pack of cigarettes, fiddling with one as people came and went around the two. Harley was actually smoking one, not speaking as Peter checked his phone for the seventh time in less than two minutes.

"Don't worry, Pete." Harley assured, offering him his cigarette. "Loki will be here soon." Peter took a drag, handing it back to Harley as he let the smoke out. An expensive looking car pulled into the parking lot, standing out in the run down, graffitied space. The backseat's left door opened, a miserable-looking Loki climbing out of the backseat. She clearly went to storm away, but Harley saw her stop as the driver's seat door opened and a tall, blonde guy got out.

The guy could act as a polar bear on a wildlife documentary with how pale he was. He clearly hadn't been in the sun for a while. Harley wouldn't say that though as the guy also looked like he could kill Harley with one finger.

The guy and Loki looked like they were having a very unpleasant conversation. It ended with Loki being handed a few bills and what looked like a wallet. Before Harley could question this, Loki practically ran over to him and Peter, ignoring the yells from the car behind her.
"Sorry about the delay. Someone wanted to take hours getting ready." Harley offered Loki his cigarette, looking her up and down as she took a drag and handed it back to Harley. She looked like she'd been crying. Peter had the same thought as he asked,

"Are you okay? Also, why are you wearing baggy jeans." Harley agreed with Peter's confusion. For as long as he'd known Loki, she'd always worn skinny jeans, never baggy jeans. And she was in a long-sleeved shirt. Not undershirt, the actual shirt itself.

Loki gave a heavy, complaining sigh.
"Just had a rough night. And I'm not allowed to dress 'provocatively' anymore." She took a breath before continuing. "So no skin-tight clothes, no miniskirts, no short shorts, and no crop tops. Also, no tank tops or vest." Peter looked literally outraged and Harley could feel anger boiling up inside of him. What the fuck was wrong with this Odin guy?

"Blink twice if you need help." Peter said seriously and Harley watched as Loki proceeded to blink like crazy before laughing a bit and stealing another drag of Harley's cigarette.
"No, but seriously though, I fucking hate it there."
"Are you even allowed to breathe without getting judged?" Harley asked, taking his now finished cigarette back.

He stubbed out the butt on the wall and flicked it away.
"No. Anyways, walk to the toilets with me?" She asked, dumping her bag on the wall and unzipping it.

It had clothes in it. No wonder it looked bigger than usual. Usually, all Loki carried was a pen, some other broken pieces of stationery, a lighter and a crumpled pack of cigarettes. Maybe a pack of paracetamol and some pads if someone needed them, but that was it. Peter hopped down from the wall, nodding at Loki.

Harley watched as he grabbed his bag from the floor and stretched his arms a bit. Harley shifted his bag on his back and Loki nudged him a bit as she closed her bag again.
"Are you coming with us or what?" Harley smiled and rolled his eyes.
"Of course?"

Oh my god, shut the fuck up! That was all Loki could think as she woke up to a loud knocking on her bedroom door. It looked nothing like her old room. It was plain, sad and ridiculously beige. Kind of like Mobius' house in its entirety.

She groaned and rolled over, picking her phone up from her new bedside table. The screen lit up and she could see that the time was only 8:15. She rolled her eyes, putting her phone back down and burying her head under the blanket again. Loki hadn't even shut her eyes before the knocking continued. She snatched a boot from the floor near her bed and hurled it at the door. It made a loud bang and she could see a black skid mark on the white wood.

Safe to say, Loki hated this new change.

She hadn't gone quietly. Absolutely not. She had made sure to complain and swear and yell as much as she could've. Didn't do anything. Well, except for giving her the luxury of seeing how much Peter and Harley had been laughing when she called Odin an 'old, bald prick' while his bodyguards dragged her away to the car.

She knew it was Thor knocking on the door when he knocked again, fairly gentler this time and called out to her.
"Loki! It's time to get up!" Loki groaned but threw off her blanket, dragging herself to her bedroom door. She opened it and glared up at Thor.

"Do you have a death wish?" She snapped, patting her hair down. Thor gave her a funny look, but spoke anyway.
"You need to get ready for school." She shut the door in his face.

Loki got back into her bed, but didn't bother sleeping this time. Over the weekends, she'd threatened to run away if Odin hadn't let her buy some stuff for her room and had gotten a CD player. It was an old version, like the one her mother had bought her when she was ten. Her one had been green, this one was black and silver. She had also bought an abundance of CDs from a charity shop where she used to always go with Peter and Harley.

She had the Mean Girl's soundtrack, the 2014 Heather's soundtrack, the Hamilton soundtrack and a bunch of CDs people left in the shop when they outgrew them. She picked one that had a bunch of Lady Gaga, Hayley Kiyoko and Mitski on it. Whichever kid made that was sad and she internally thanked them for it.

She put the CD in, turning on the player and clicking the play button. 'Poker Face' started playing and she got up from her bed. Loki sang along as she grabbed some clothes from her wardrobe, putting them on and grabbing a hairbrush from a random shelf. She got ready quickly, wearing black skinny jeans and a pale grey crop top. Loki grabbed one of her boots, pulling it over some random red socks and getting her other boot from near the door. She grabbed her phone and texted Peter and Harley a quick update on pronouns and her life.

A bit of dark eyeliner and eye-shadow were applied and she snatched her bag off the back of her bedroom door. She made sure to leave her CD on, on mute as she left. 1. to run up the power bill, even just the tiniest bit and 2. so she could see if someone had been in her room during school if it was turned off when she got back. The hallway was empty but she could hear light chatter from downstairs. Walking down the stairs, the talking stopped and she waved at Thor and Odin, who were currently sat at the dining room table.

Thor's eyes widened in shock, Odin's hardening as he spoke up.
"Go change." Loki ignored him, grabbing the kettle that was now empty because of Thor and Odin's drinks on the table in front of them. Odin repeated himself, a bit more aggressive this time. "I said, go change."

"I heard you." Loki hissed back at him, not looking at him through the doorway separating the kitchen and the dining room. Despite her talking back to him, Loki felt queasy with fear as she spoke.

She heard a chair move and her stomach dropped into her feet. Fight, flight, freeze. Her brain chose to freeze and she stood stock still, facing the kitchen counter. Her eyes were screwed shut as she could feel her insides churning with how panicked she was.

"Loki." Loki's eyes opened as she heard Thor's voice instead of Odin's. He was standing in the kitchen now. Loki's unease boiled inside of her like the water in the kettle. "Just go change." She didn't budge, feeling Odin's gaze on her. "Please."

Loki moved, running out of the kitchen and up the stairs with her bag. She heard Odin call out to her about taking off her makeup too and she fought back tears. She stormed into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She hated this house and all its stupid rules. She hated how she was secretly terrified of Odin. She knew that he didn't love her which meant that he could hit her and not care less.

She couldn't even remember the last time she'd been that scared.

Her phone was blowing up with messages from Peter and Harley but she ignored them as she tore off her clothes. She didn't want to dress up now. She didn't want to get dressed at all. She wanted to burrow under her blanket and sob until she could feel her mother's arms around her once again. She realised how stupid it sounded but she didn't care. She just wanted her mother to hold her one more time.

When she finally got the smallest bit of motivation to get up, she forced herself into some baggy jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She stuffed her previous clothes into her bag with her tiny makeup bag. Loki had never been more relieved to have a spare pack of fags in her bag.

She grabbed one of her smaller packed bags and opened it quickly. Her old teddy was in there. It was a stuffed alligator that her mother had bought her when she was six. She had asked for it at the shopping center in town and her mother hadn't even hesitated to walk into the shop and buy that exact teddy for her. Loki cherished it and had hidden from Odin when she was sent away. He would've burned it if she hadn't.

She was sitting cross-legged on her bed as she scrubbed off her makeup, her eyes red and puffy and her eyelid skin raw as she did. The teddy was sat on her lap as she tried not to hold it close and cry herself to sleep. A knock on her bedroom door made her neck snap to turn and look, Thor stood in the open doorway.

"What the fuck do you want?" Loki snarled, Thor flinching at her harsh tone. Good. He deserved it.
"I told Dad I'm driving you to school instead of him. I didn't think you'd want to be around either of us after just now, but I didn't want to leave you with him."

Loki took note of how softly he spoke. Soft, gentle, and caring. It reminded her of their mother. She had been the only one capable of comforting her when she'd gotten angry, stressed out or cried. Loki missed her. A lot.

Loki didn't speak as she zipped up her bag. She shoved the alligator teddy under her pillow, ignoring Thor completely. She wiped her face with tissue from her desk and left her room, walking silently back down the stairs and out of the house. She waited outside for a while, finding a small amount of enjoyment in the rumble of passing cars and slight chatter of people near the garden. Thor eventually came out of the house, ready for school but lacking a bag.

Loki didn't ask, but Thor answered.
"It's in my car." She didn't give a response, physical or not. She followed him to his car, sitting in the left back seat, hugging her bag like she had her teddy.

Thor started driving quickly, going steady on the roads.
"Can you pass me my bag? Should be on the floor underneath the seats." Loki glared at him over the top of her bag. She reluctantly put her bag to the side, grabbing Thor's and shoved into into the passengers seat.

She was confused when he pulled over, parking on the sidewalk and opening his bag. He pulled out a few things and handed them back to Loki. There were mini worksheets, the titles all reading stuff like 'Favorite Foods/Drinks', 'Favorite Music Artists, and 'Favorite Colours.' There were also a few things of makeup and accessories.

Despite how nice this was, she felt anger burn up in her. She clenched her fists and she shoved the stuff back at Thor.
"I don't want it." Thor tried to give it back to her, clearly a bit upset and desperate.
"Loki-"
"I said I don't fucking want it!" She snapped, voice harsh.

Thor went silent but he put the stuff back in his bag regardless. "I'm just trying to look out for you." He spoke with a quiet voice.
"I don't care." Loki hissed, pulling her knees to her chest as she tried to sink into the corner of her seat.
"Loki, I'm trying to be nice." Thor protested. That pissed her off. Her anger came back, hot and nauseating deep in her stomach

"Why do care?" She snarled, looking out of the window.
"I care about you, Loki! You're my sister!" Thor responded, firm but still quiet. Loki despised it.
"I am not your sister!" Loki yelled, kicking the passenger seat on reflex. "Just stop already!"

"No!"
"Why?"
"I watched you leave once and I don't want it happening again!" Thor snapped back at her, seemingly shocked by himself as his mouth snapped shut.

Loki recoiled, frozen as Thor looked back out the front window. She didn't speak as he started driving again, the car was the only sound between them. The rest of the drive was silent.

They eventually pulled into the school parking lot and Loki saw Peter and Harley waiting for her. Peter looked incredibly worried and Harley looked his usual bored. She almost smiled when she saw how normal they looked. Loki got out of the car, bringing her bag with her. Thor stopped her, handing her a handful of money and a small black wallet.

"Go out after school. Dad thinks you'll be with me. A spare one of my credit cards are in there. Should be a decent amount of money on it." Loki didn't react. She didn't even take the money and wallet until Thor put it in her hands and gave her a weak smile. She almost felt bad for him. She could tell he was really trying. But that didn't make her happier. It didn't make up for even the smallest amount of it.

"Have a good day at school." He said, Loki turned and walked over to Peter and Harley quicker than she ever had before.

Ten minutes later, the three were all in the abandoned boys toilets. Loki was changing into her previous outfit, Peter and Harley waiting for her outside of the stalls. She liked her clothes now, the jeans hugging her legs right and her crop top was airy and soft. She tugged her boots back on, getting her makeup bag out as she left the stall.

She dumped her actual bag on the floor, opening her makeup bag and pulling out her eyeliner first. She leaned over the sink and used the mirror to apply her eyeliner carefully, framing her green eyes well. The eye-shadow came next and she could feel Peter and Harley's eyes on her she applied it.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Peter asked. Loki knew what he was referring to. That had always been Peter's talent. He could read Loki like an open children's book.
"Not right now. Maybe later." She smiled, packing her stuff up. This was going to be fun.

She was going to find Mobius. She needed a distraction and he had texted her earlier too. Fuck it.

Chapter Text

The bell rang and Peter almost ran out of his classroom. He had never been happier to leave an English lesson.

The noise of people and a few teachers was loud and annoying, the sounds drilling into his skull. He didn't know where he was going, but he didn't want to stop walking. He hadn't slept properly that night and everything around him seemed to be amplified by literal thousands.

Despite the noise and the want to block it out and leave the school, he pushed through the crowds of people to find Loki. She'd disappeared earlier and hadn't been seen by Peter or anyone he'd asked about since. Fuck.

He needed to find her. He was overwhelmed and he knew what that nearly always led to and he couldn't breakdown here. Not alone. Not surrounded by people. Shit. It was loud, everything was loud and overwhelming and bad.

He felt sweaty. Why was he sweaty? He was cold. His limbs were shaking. He felt gross. Someone was saying his name. Who was it? Why was there so much happening all at once?

It hurt. It hurt his head and he felt shaky. Were those tears? Please don't let them be tears.

A hand clamped down on his forearm and he was yanked to the side. A door shut behind him as he was pulled into a room.

Arms were wrapped around him and Peter stood frozen in place.

"Hey, you're okay." He recognised that voice and he clung to that, his arms wrapping around Loki's torso. "You're fine. We're fine." Peter nodded, the buzzing of the school's toilet lights a quiet continuous noise.

The two didn't move for what felt like hours, just holding each other close. Loki repeated comforts and assurances to him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

A creak echoed in the small room and Peter lifted his head up. Lo and behold, Mobius stood in front of a stall door. He looked incredibly uncomfortable and awkward, standing with his eyes locked onto them.

"What is he doing here?" Peter asked quietly, glaring at Mobius over Loki's shoulder.
"Not important right now. Are you okay?" Loki asked, pulling back slowly. She was giving Peter the chance to cling to her again if he wanted to.

"I'm fine. Now, at least." Peter nodded. He watched as Loki told Mobius to leave, completely ignoring him as he left. So they weren't together. Yay.

Peter dumped his bag underneath the sinks and hopped up to sit on one of them. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes as Loki pulled out a lighter from what Peter guessed was her bra or whatever she'd worn today. She chucked it at Peter, who caught it with a heavy roll of his eyes.

"Seriously?" Loki smirked. "In the bra? Why am I not surprised?" Peter joked, lighting a cigarette and handing Loki's lighter back to her.

She stood next to the sink Peter was currently using as a seat, taking out her own cigarette from under her jean cuff. Peter gave her an approving nod. "You are like a professional at hiding stuff on your person." Peter complimented, noting Loki's proud smile.
"One of my many talents." She exclaimed, hurrying to light up her cigarette and take a very heavy drag.

They stood in silence, the sounds of people outside eventually dimming into nothing.

"I know you fancy Harley." Loki said out of nowhere. Peter didn't freak out. Externally, at least.
"How?" He asked, blowing smoke into the air.
"I'm not dumb, Pete. And despite popular belief, I also get crushes and know what one looks like. Especially with you. You're very obvious." Loki explained, fiddling with her cigarette between two fingers.

"Want to see a cool trick that I use on Mobius sometimes?" Peter raised an eyebrow but nodded.
"Sure. But nothing dirty." Loki smirked, telling Peter to exhale out the remaining smoke and put his cigarette down. Peter did what she said obediently, knowing that this 'trick' was probably going to need both of their mouths.

This was normal for them to do. Loki taught him how to kiss. Only because they'd been high once and got bored.

He watched as Loki took a drag of hers before putting it down beside his. He watched her hold in the smoke and moved to stand between his legs that dangled off the sink. She tapped her lips and Peter got the hint, separating his lips a bit. Loki put her hands on either side of his face, holding him gently.

Her lips were close to his, getting closer and closer until hers almost met his. Hers parted and smoke ebbed out of her mouth.

Peter parted his lips and he saw Loki's lips curl into a smile next to his. He wanted to laugh a bit. Smug bitch. Smoke poured into his mouth and Peter made sure not to mess this up. Everything was hot, overwhelming and dizzying. The kiss was amazing. It was ashy, burning hot and-

Loki pulled back and smiled with her usual cockiness and smug pride.
"How was that for you?" She spoke softly, moving out from between his legs and to stand next to him.

Peter didn't answer. He was sat with his mouth shut but loose, legs still open and frozen in place. That was good. He had never done that before. "Well?" Loki gave him a look, picking her cigarette back up and re-lighting it. Peter hurried to answer her this time.

"Yeah! It was good." He nodded, snapping his legs shut again and picking his defused cigarette up from the sink beside his current seat. "It was amazing actually." He added, smiling a bit. Loki's smug grin grew and Peter rolled his eyes in annoyance.

She did not need an ego boost today.

Either way, she'd been right. Peter did like Harley.

After a while, Loki seemed to get a message as she checked her phone and cheered.
"Fuck yeah!" She yelled a bit.
"What? What's happening?" Peter asked, making sure to give her a funny look. She shoved her phone in his face.

"The old fucker's leaving for at least two weeks!" Loki exclaimed and Peter lit up too. That was awesome.
"That's amazing! And how shall you spend the next two weeks then?" Peter asked, smiling as Loki gathered up her stuff.

"I'm going over there right now and I'm gonna get as much ready as I can by tonight. Hopefully, a party will not only be fun as fuck but make a few hundred dollars worth of stuff go missing!" She explained evilly, glancing at him. "You in or what?"

Peter had already typed out a message to Harley who would most definitely tell everyone else at every school within a fifteen mile radius in the next ten to fifteen minutes.
"Yes!"

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Loki slung her bag on, Peter jumping off the sink and grabbing his bag. they flushed their cigarette butts down the toilet and Peter held the door open for Loki.
"After you, m'lady." Loki laughed and walked out, flicking him in the forehead as he followed her down the now empty hallway.

Mobius hated dinners. More specifically, dinner with his father.

He didn't trust him. The man was unpredictable. A deep, clinging fear was always there. Mobius didn't know what he would do or say next and that was frankly terrifying.

He had his eyes planted firmly on the ground. The clock ticked off in the kitchen and Mobius was almost grateful for the noise. Something to focus on other then the man sat across from him.

"So. How was school?" His dad asked, clearly just wanting to break the silence.
"Oh. It was good. One of my friends asked out his crush today." Mobius lied through his teeth. No one had asked out anyone else today.
"Oh? Is she a nice young lady?" His father questioned him like this a lot. Almost like he was testing Mobius. Waiting for him to slip up.

Mobius nodded but his father continued speaking, "Do you have a girlfriend?" Mobius shook his head, picking up a forkful of his food. "You should really find yourself a nice girl, Mobius."
"Okay, Dad." He mumbled. He felt sick. He didn't want to eat. At least not here and now. His appetite had completely disappeared.

Mobius got up from his seat, taking his plate with him to the kitchen.
"I'm going to my room, Dad." He called out.
"Okay. Goodbye." His father called back to him.

Mobius quickly scaled the stairs and made his way to his room. It was nicer than the rest of his shitty house. He had a few posters, some other decorations and collectibles. He had a few photos of himself and his friends.

The most special one was a photo he kept hidden in his pillowcase. It was of him and Loki when they'd first gotten together for the first time. Both of their hairs were shorter and they looked like polar opposites. He loved that photo more than anything else.

Mobius looked like a young school principal and Loki looked like someone who hated school and broke toilet doors for fun. She looked good, nails painted black to match her dark eye makeup. Peter had taken the photo, made clear by the fact that he was up high while Mobius and Loki were standing on a slowly spinning park roundabout. Mobius treasured that photo as though it were made of gold.

His room was big, at least three times bigger than the one Loki once showed him a photo of. It was spacey and all the decorations made it look like a cleaned out thrift store. If you asked Mobius if he liked it more than the house in general, it would be a definite yes.

Believe it or not, Mobius didn't like how empty his room or house was. He loved the idea of a little flat or house on the outskirts of the city. A cosy one that had old armchairs and fuzzy blankets on a soft brown sofa. With a friendly ginger cat that got along with a dog. A Golden Retriever or a Border Collie.

A flat that gave off a comforting vibe, filled with shades of orange, brown and dusty yellow. Maybe some green and black. A jacket adorned in pins hanging by a trench coat at the front door. A pair of boots or heels beside worn down Converse and smart shoes. Greens and black that infested the flat like a welcomed fungi or mold.

Maybe Loki would be there.

Maybe she'd stick around, despite how shitty he was. Maybe she'd bring an upbeat, dark touch to that little flat beside the big city. Maybe a black cat would befriend his ginger one. Maybe they'd both get along with the dog. No. She wouldn't do that.

It was wishful thinking but it was a nice fantasy to have after a rough day or to lull him into a gentle sleep.

Mobius grabbed his DVD box from his desk, flicking through some of the action ones. The ones about alien invasions and all of that. He'd watched at least three of them for about thirty minutes before giving up. They were just there on display anyways. At the bottom of the box, there were a few rom-coms and high school dramas.

He kept these ones hidden, away from any curious eyes. Specifically his fathers. He didn't even know what would happen if he found out about them. He didn't necessarily want to. It was like a dirty little secret. Mobius knew that it shouldn't have to be. But it was.

Mobius clicked open one of the cases, checking the DVD wasn't harmed. He was a bit of a stickler about that. It kind of made sense as he'd gone through a vast amount of effort to acquire them in perfect conditions. Safe to say he was a regular at the local thrift and DVD shops in town. Or the mall. Whatever the Americans called it.

He started up the movie on his TV, an early 2000's cheerleader and jock love story. It was either the plot line or the cool group of loners who spent the whole movie gossiping, getting high or fighting that made it such a good movie. Probably the latter, but he did like the actual plot too. Just not as much as the loner group.

Mobius liked to believe he would be one of the loners but he knew he'd be one of those stereotypical nerds or teachers' pets. The one who hung out in the library and broke up fights badly. Either that or he was one of the background characters who cheered on the fights and ran the school newspaper which was secretly slagging students off under the teacher's noses. Now that sounded cool.

The movie played as background noise as he cleaned up his room. He had never had anyone in his room but it still bothered him. The movie got to the classic party scene and Mobius danced along a bit, as though he was in the movie himself.

His phone went off and he checked it, only to realise that Loki had had the bright idea to throw a rager at his now legal guardian's house. Mobius didn't know a lot about the man, but he knew enough to deduce that he did not like him and would definitely want to vomit into his expensive decorations.

Forwarded Message:
Harley
Housewrecker @ the Odin's at 9:30!!
BYOB!

The old man probably had good, expensive alcohol too. Maybe some nice glasses and bottles he could take home with him. He was a collector of sorts. He had a cleaned out, specifically glass, bottle collection, a DVD collection and a bunch of actual collectibles. They were Disney characters. Mainly the non-human ones. They were cooler than the human characters.

He also had a mini fridge which he kept stocked at all times. He didn't like going downstairs for food or drinks, more of a chance of running into his father or one of his father's guests. They always wanted to know how he was doing in school.

The movie had hit the ever iconic football game scene and the match was halfway done. Mobius had watched this movie at least 30 times and it was a hit every time. His room was clear of trash pretty quickly, all the rubbish going in a bin near his desk. Because of how spacious his room was, the mess didn't look that bad until it got gross which Mobius never let it.

After he'd cleaned up his scattered clothes, he sat on the edge of his bed and watched the end of the movie properly. The couple went on a nice prom date and it ended with a mid-dance kiss. After that, there was a short scene of their future. They got married and had four kids. One boy, three girls.

Mobius wanted that. Not all the kids necessarily. But to settle down with someone, get that cosy flat and maybe a kid or two to play with the dog and cat.

He shook his head, wiping the image from his mind. He checked the time, realising he had an hour or before Loki's 'housewrecker' party started. He'd probably wear his usual smart trousers and grandpa jumper or grey hoodie. He didn't really own anything other than that.

Except, maybe he did have something to wear.

He got up, stopping the credits as he rushed over to his wardrobe. Last time he'd gone out with Loki properly, he'd bought him a black tank top and leather jacket. He hadn't worn either of them yet. He found them buried in the corner and grabbed them.
"Aha!" He exclaimed, pulling them out and holding them up like a trophy.

He changed into them quickly, styling some black trousers to match them. He had already got dressed when he received a text. It was Harley asking for him to go over there a bit earlier than he needed to.

Harley
Get ur ass over here.
Now.

You
K.

Mobius put his phone back down on his bed, looking at himself in the mirror. He looked decent. Not weird but not exactly spectacular either. His stomach was a bit bulgy but he didn't care. He had a slow metabolism so fat clung to him like a bitch. That didn't affect his eating habits. He liked food and was chubby with love handles. Who cares?

The only person who did had already seen him near-to-naked and knew about his stomach. She also, quite frankly, didn't give a shit about that. If anything, she liked them. Assured her that he was healthy apparently. Mobius smiled and searched for some of his shoes.

He crept out of his room and down the stairs. his father was on the phone and he used this to leave through the front door silently. The sun had started to set as it was close to 9 o'clock now.

Mobius lived close to Odin's house and he knew the way there fairly well. He set off to the house, the glow of the dark orange sky following him when he walked, his boots thudding on the floor lightly as he did.

Odin's car pulled out of the driveway, Loki flipping it off as it went. It had just hit 7:13 and she had time and money. Time to throw a party.

There was barely anything nice in the cupboards, the kitchen scarily empty. Peter and Harley would take too long to get to her house and she needed to get food and supplies quickly. Fuck. She had to speak to Thor.

Loki begrudgingly walked up to Thor's room. Thor had brought someone round and Loki honestly hadn't been arsed to care. Until now. As she knocked on the door, she covered her eyes and opened it.
"Anyone kissing had better stop in three, two, one." She pulled her hand back to her side.

Thor was sat with Bruce in his bed, both looking strangely disheveled. "First off, you're both vile creatures. Second off, your shirt's really fucking ugly." She listed off, giving Bruce a very targeted look. "Third off, I need one of you to drive me to the shops."
"What, why?" Thor asked, despite the fact that he was already walking over to his wardrobe.

"I'm throwing a party and I need alcohol. Mass amounts of alcohol." That seemed to surprise both of them as they spoke at the same time.
"Sure."
"No!" Bruce gave Thor an incredulous look who just shrugged.

"She'll get it anyways. Better if we know about it instead of having to bail her out of jail for failing to shoplift it." Thor explained as Loki made an offended sound.
"Fail? I never fail! At anything!"

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that." Bruce gave her a look as he spoke calmly, putting his abandoned glasses back on.
"Oh, give me a break! You try living in an orphanage and multiple foster homes for years and survive without intoxication why don't you?" Loki snapped, glaring at him. Bruce gave her another look.

"Haven't done that but I got pretty damn close a good amount of times." Loki liked this one. He was acceptable.
"Thor, he's a keeper." She said towards Thor who was currently grabbing a jacket and some trainers.

After the other two boys had gotten ready, the three piled into Thor's car. Loki was sat in the back left seat, Bruce and Thor sat in the driver's and passenger's seats. Thor checked they were all buckled in before he started up the car and drove them to the shops.

Loki had brought an old pack of cigarettes and a nearly empty lighter with her just in case she wanted a smoke while they were out.

Bruce started playing some calm, piano music and Loki rolled her eyes. She reached into the front seat, grabbing the cord and plugging it into her phone. Bruce protested but she just started blasting Candy Store from the Heathers musical.

"Shut up. Heathers has all the best songs, fuck you." Loki flipped Bruce off who just rolled his eyes a bit. Thor surprisingly started singing along to the music and Loki only gave him one weird look before joining in. At one point, she was pretty Bruce had gotten a video of Thor and her singing. She didn't care.

When the song ended, she shoved Thor a bit while they were sat at a red light.
"What the fuck? I didn't know you liked the Heathers musical!" Thor just smiled as the light switched to green.
"Bet you didn't know I'm with Bruce either."

Loki's jaw dropped and she proceeded to freak out about that. Bruce just laughed as Loki questioned him heavily and scolded Thor a bit. She was only half-joking. After a bit, she calmed down and leaned between the two front seats again.

"Yo, is it cool if I smoke in your car?" Loki asked Thor who just shrugged.
"Do whatever." Loki knew that anyone else would've been given a lecture about how bad it was to smoke, especially in a moving vehicle, but she guessed he didn't lecture her because he still felt bad for her.

She happily lit a cigarette, taking a drag and blowing smoke out of the open window beside her seat.

The shops were fairly empty when they got there. Loki had demanded that Thor push her around in a trolley she'd spotted outside the big building containing all the different shops. Bruce didn't mind it as he followed them as they shopped.

All of it was put on Thor's card, who Loki knew would just get more from his father if he asked later. Bruce had had to buy the alcohol as Thor had left his ID at home. During the trip, Thor had almost fallen into a tub of teddies, Bruce had knocked over a whole display of fizzy drinks and Loki had almost flown out of the trolley a minimum of four times. The trunk of the car ended up filled with food and drinks, some alcoholic, some not.

An hour and a half later, the three had set up a party. Peter and Harley had showed up a while ago and Loki kept on giving Peter looks whenever he was speaking to Harley. Harley seemed completely oblivious to this and Loki smiled to herself about.

Harley disappeared into another room while Thor and Bruce went to go get changed and invite some of their own friends over. Thor had said that it was only fair for Loki to have the party if he could bring some people of his own over.

Peter sat on the sofa awkwardly, checking his phone over and over. Loki flopped down beside him, stretching her legs to rest he ankles and booted feet on the coffee table.
"You and Harley make me sick." She said teasingly. Peter just gave her a nudge and a little laugh. "Puppy love." She said in a terribly fake wistful tone.

"Oh, fuck off, Loki." Peter laughed. They ended up in a little brawl after Loki nudged him back. Harley came back a minute later, casting them both weird glances.
"I'm not gonna judge." He said, either bored or tired as he sat down on an armchair.

"Mobius is on his way." Harley announced like it was nothing. Loki felt her stomach drop.
"Harley. I am going to end you."

Chapter Text

Lights. Lights are all she could process at the moment.

That and the unbearable sounds of people talking made sure she couldn't just fall asleep here on the sofa. She also didn't trust the people around her when she was unconscious. She shivered a bit at the mere thought of that.

Loki kind of regretted throwing this party. It was even worse when she found out that Odin locked up his alcohol cabinet. Loki didn't have a clue why. Maybe because of her. Probably not because of Thor. She hadn't ever seen him drink, not even tonight. Then again, she hadn't seen him at all.

Where were Peter and Harley? Never mind that. She needed a drink or a smoke. Fuck, she left all her stuff up in her room. She snatched a bottle of beer from the coffee table, giving it a quick sniff test before shrugging and taking a long drink from the glass bottle.

A loud smash of breaking glass echoed through the house and she could now hear yelling from the kitchen. She deduced that it wasn't her problem, the others could deal with it this time. Oh, and Mobius was here. And he was hot. He'd showed up in the back tank top and jacket she'd bought him, combined with black trousers and boots. He looked like an emo kid from a 2010 teen movie. That was probably what he'd been going for in the first place.

That didn't matter as last she'd seen him, he'd been chugging a bottle of cheap beer. He had disappeared since. Some of Odin's decorations had been ruined and/or covered in various bodily fluids. Gross. But also yay! Loki didn't know at this point. She could see Thor and his friends going upstairs to his room.

Peter and Harley had disappeared earlier and Loki thought she saw Peter take a cigarette with him. She had given him a thumbs up and a wink, being rewarded with a middle finger and a scowl. Betrayal at it's finest, people.

Another crash sounded from the kitchen and Loki sighed and her head snapped up to try and see who had broken something. A crowd had gathered and it was basically impossible to see around all the people from where she was sat. She forced herself to her feet and was for once glad she was tall as she could see a bit better now. And she immediately wished she hadn't checked.

Broken glass was covering the floor and some dumbass was hunched over on the glass, threatening to spew their guts up. Wait. Grey hair and a leather jacket. Fucks sake.

Loki made her way through the crowd, people parting for her. The glass had been broken by a guy she thinks was called Brian. Who named their kid Brian anymore? He stood over Mobius, looking positively furious. Loki reluctantly got in between them, hating how he was a bit taller than her. It made her feel small. She hated that and she already hated this guy enough.

"Piss off, Brian." She spat out, the name vile on her tongue. She'd known this guy since her first years in America. He was the same age as her and Mobius but looked like he was 24 with a kid.
"Fuck you, the dickhead called me a prick." Loki rolled her eyes at him. This guy was so fucking annoying.

"And now you're proving his point. Piss off." Brian stormed off and Loki lowered her guard. "Piss off, you lot. Show's over." The crowd quickly departed and she helped Mobius to his feet. He leaned on her heavily and she cursed a bit. She was not strong enough for this. Was this how Peter felt carrying her back every night?

"You fucking dumbass." She swore at Mobius, who just focused on not vomiting. She held his arm over he shoulders and helped him to walk out of the kitchen. Where could she put him for the night? They didn't have any spare bedrooms ready, and the ones that were probably had couples doing dirty stuff in them.

She could leave him on the sofa but didn't think he'd be happy with that and she just felt like something bad would happen if she did. Screw it, to her room it was.

Fuck, they had to conquer the stairs. Loki slowly helped Mobius up the stairs, taking it one at a time.
"He called you a bad word." Mobius slurred out, hand waving in the general direction of the stairs as Loki practically carried her down the landing.

"Oh yeah? And what was so bad that you had to antagonise him?" Loki asked, mainly joking and uninterested in getting an actual answer. She kicked her bedroom door open and dragged him over to her bed. She sat him down and sighed when he sprawled back uselessly on the messed up blanket.

"He said you were a slut." That made Loki pause, quickly regaining herself. That prick.
"Oh. Well thank you for defending my honour." She congratulated him plainly, ignoring the little smile he gave her.

Loki removed her heels, dumping them on the floor near her bed. Mobius was staring up at the ceiling, face blank and empty. He looked surreal, drunk but surreal. Despite this, he still looked good. Not in a fuckable good, but a cuddly sweet good.

She went to leave but Mobius protested, trying and failing to sit up and falling back.
"No! Stay, please." Loki had never seen him like this. Emotional, needy, dependant. She sighed, shook her head, but sat next to him on the bed anyways.

She had literally no clue why she did. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was something deeper in her. Something more personal.

Mobius shifted closer to her, laying his head on her lap. He was looking at the door on Loki's right, which was shut when they'd gotten in the room.
"Do you believe in love?" Mobius asked, words stringing together a bit too much.

Loki was shocked to say the least. She ran a hand through his hair, soft and a bit tangled. She nodded the slightest bit.
"I think so." Mobius curled up a bit, still looking away.

"I don't think my dad likes me." Mobius mumbled, making Loki's heart ache a bit. "He don't like the gays. Or you. Or me." Loki listened silently, despite how much she wanted to deny that. How could the man hate Mobius? How could anyone hate Mobius? Apart from Peter. Especially his own dad.

They sat in silence until Mobius spoke again, "Do you love people?" Loki hummed a bit, still playing with his hair.
"You should sleep. You're drunk." She just wanted this conversation to be over. He wouldn't do this sober, and she didn't want to talk about this while he was intoxicated.

"But do you?" He sounded a bit let down and Loki decided that she might as well have this conversation now.
"I loved my mother." Mobius nodded, probably not listening but she continued speaking regardless. "She was nice. You would've liked her." She swore she felt Mobius smile on her leg.

"Was she good to you?" Loki felt a small, hidden tear as she answered him gently. Curse being an emotional drunk.
"Yeah." Loki hadn't talked about her in years. "Yeah, she was."

The silence came back, but this time it was warmer and softer around them.

"i love you." Mobius confessed quietly, head falling to the side to look up at Loki. He had a strange look in his eyes. "Do you love me too?"

She could see his face properly now and she wished she couldn't. It made this seem so much worse. He had his heart on his sleeve, bearing himself open for her. It hurt to see him like this.

Vulnerable. Exposed. In love.


She wanted to say yes so badly. She wanted to admit her feelings for him and be genuinely happy with her decision. But she knew that wouldn't happen. It couldn't happen.

"Maybe." She paused for a shaky breath as she held back a tear. It didn't work and it rolled from her eye and down her face. Mobius raised a shaky hand to her face, wiping the tear away and causing another to fall in it's place.

"Maybe... I could learn to." She whispered, voice soft and accepting, almost heartbreakingly so. Loki gave him a weak smile, physically straining herself to do so.

"I could teach you?" Mobius suggested, so sweet when he's shitfaced. Loki laughed a bit, an unusual sound for her when she was this sad.
"It's not that simple. But I wish it were." She said, laying back as he shifted his head to lay on her belly instead of her lap.

"You're really skinny." Mobius commented, poking her belly gently.
"Really?" Loki looked down at him.
"Yeah. My tummy's like a pillow." He said pillow like pi-woah, clearly more than a bit out of it.

"Damn." Mobius moved around, shifting up to lay beside Loki. "What are you doing?" Loki asked, but Mobius just patted his stomach.
"Look, I'm a pillow!" He smiled and she gave him a look. "You can lay on me!" He declared, slurring a bit.

Loki nodded, considering this before saying fuck it and moving to lay her head on his stomach.
"You are soft." Loki agreed, smiling a bit. Her legs felt numb, either from the weed she'd accepted earlier or the way they hadn't been used for a while. Either way, she wasn't going to use them. She was going to lay here and sleep.

She wasn't tired. She wanted to be with Mobius. Have one of those poster perfect romances. But she wasn't going to get that. Maybe later on in life. But not now. She had other shit to deal with. More important shit than silly ideas of love.

She forced her eyes shut, lulled to sleep by Mobius' slowly rising and falling belly beneath her head.

Cold porcelain made his bare feet feel like they were being poked by non-threatening needles. Peter and Harley were now sat in a toilet room, the only room that hadn't been inhabited by drunks or horny couples. Some weren't even couples either.

Peter was sat on the shut toilet lid, taking occasional drags of a new cigarette, the other dead three sitting on the corner of the sink's rim. Harley was setting up his phone on the closed door for a photo. He started the countdown and hopped back into the empty bath.

He'd been sat in it with his legs wide and hanging over the side as his shoulders touched the back wall. His back curved in a way Peter thought would've been very uncomfortable. But Harley seemed fine with it. Harley took a big swing of his nearly empty bottle as Peter took yet another steady drag.

Harley hadn't bothered to grab his phone after the photo had been taken. He just left it there on the door, camera pointing into the room pointlessly. Peter didn't mind as he crossed one leg over the other and hunched over to rest his left elbow on his higher knee.

There was some smoke that hung in the air, clouding the ceiling a bit. The room's light was very dim, enough to see but not enough to make his head hurt.

Peter watched Harley with glazed over eyes. He should not have taken that joint earlier. It hit with the force of a double decker bus. He really wanted to kiss Harley now. He should just ask and get it over and done with already. Fuck it.

"Hey, Harley. Can I kiss you?" Harley looked very shocked but nodded and sat up quickly. "Nope, sit back how you were." Peter instructed. He felt a bit of pride when Harley listened immediately, putting his bottle to the side.

Peter copied Loki and took a drag, holding the smoke in his lungs. He put the cigarette down near the dead ones, climbing into the bath too. He straddled Harley's thighs, kneeling over him as he leaned close to the other boy's face. Harley looked a bit confused but let Peter do what he wanted.

Peter's lips touched Harley's and he nibbled on Harley's bottom lip gently until Harley opened his mouth and the smoke in Peter's mouth blew into Harley's.

Harley leaned in more and Peter pulled away, letting the smoke rise to the ceiling above them. Peter smiled at Harley's slightly dazed expression.
"Wow." Harley looked a bit shocked. "Where'd you learn to do that?" Peter shrugged, still smiling.

"Can I kiss you again?" Harley asked and Peter answered him by leaning down and connecting their lips again. They moved around in the bath, causing a few bottles of hair products to fall from the sides, both sat up now. Peter felt a poke at his thigh and pulled back to check what it was. Had a bottle ended up between them or something? He looked and went red. That was not a bottle.

"Do you um... want to do this?" Harley asked, clearly very nervous. Peter was too, thoughts running wild through his head. He nodded, shifting a bit.
"Yes. Do you?" Harley nodded, followed up by an audible conformation.
"Me too. I kinda came prepared." Harley gave Peter a small smile and pulled a shiny silver packet out of his back jean pocket.

"Oh my god." Peter laughed, ignoring when Harley rolled his eyes with a smile on his face. "You really did come prepared."
"Don't laugh at me!" Harley flushed and Peter calmed himself down.

"You're so stupid." Peter said affectionately and kissed Harley again.

The sun was breaking through the curtains, shining into Loki's eyes and making him complain.

He was laying on his bed, head rested on a fluffed up pillow. He patted around for his blanket, finding it and pulling it over his face. Wait. He was laying on a pillow. Where was Mobius?

He sat bolt upright, scanning his room quickly. The movement made him feel dizzy and he groaned a bit, lurching forwards a bit.
"Urgh." He rolled off of his bed, not seeing Mobius in his surprisingly clean room.

He dragged himself towards the bathroom, opening the door. Loki paused when he saw Peter and Harley in the bath tub, both passed out on each other and unconscious. He went to leave before feeling vomit threaten to spew and hurrying to open the toilet lid.

He hated the sound and smell as he threw up into the toilet bowl, making his stomach ache as it emptied. A ruffle to his side made him lift his head and look to the bath again. Peter was waking up now, probably to the sound of Loki vomiting.

"Morning." He mumbled, rubbing sleep from his eyes. Loki would've replied but had to duck down to the toilet again. After his stomach had been fully cleaned out of anything he could've eaten or drank last night, he lifted his hand to grab some toilet roll. He used it to wipe his mouth before flushing it down the toilet.

"Morning." He said back to Peter, who had made his way out of the bath. Loki noticed how disheveled he looked and hummed a bit. "So you finally did it then?" He asked and Peter slapped his arm a bit.

"Piss off." Peter made his way out of the room, Loki following him downstairs. It was fully devoid of people downstairs, everyone seemingly left the night before. The front door was locked with all the windows and Loki guessed that Thor had locked them after he'd gone upstairs.

It stunk but he could only see vomit in a plant pot and a shoe. Not his shoe so he didn't care.

Loki made his way into the kitchen, pausing at the sight of Mobius standing at the sink. Mobius was missing his jacket and a boot, and was drinking a cup of water. Loki made his way to the fridge, opening it and checking for something nice to eat. He could only see expensive water and milk.

He ignored Mobius, who ignored him until Peter stuck his head in and asked,
"Do you have any painkillers? I couldn't find any." Loki gave him a weird look.

"Where were you looking?" He asked, flicking on the full kettle and going to investigate.
"Well, I checked the cupboards in that big larder looking room but I couldn't find anything."
"Yeah, Odin might not keep painkillers in the house." Loki joked.

"That's dumb. What if someone hits their period or something?" Peter asked, and went back into the kitchen.
"Less than a week ago, there was only Thor and Odin in this house." Peter considered this and nodded a bit.
"Fair point, but what if one of Thor's friends needed them?" Loki thought about an answer as he started checking cupboards.

"Well, they'd probably have to bring their own." He gave up his search and grabbed a tea bag and a cup.
"That's dumb." Peter frowned, hopping up to sit on the side.
"Odin's dumb." Loki responded, ignoring Mobius when he grabbed his own cup and a pot of coffee granules.

Mobius was silent as he made a cup of coffee, put a bit of milk in it and walked out of the kitchen. Loki watched him go from the corner of his eye.
"Wow. That was incredibly awkward." Peter helpfully said. "Did you two sleep together or something?"
"Shut the fuck up, Peter."

Chapter Text

Over time, Loki got used to living with Odin and Thor.

No, they still didn't like to be around Odin. They still avoided him like the plague and called him by his last name. Thor had apparently been very happy when Loki had started speaking to him more even when they didn't need to.

They had started asking him for help with stuff such as putting their door back on after Odin had taken it off the hinges during an argument or cooking her noodles when they quite frankly couldn't be bothered to.

Odin still didn't like them but had only made them go to one event so far. They had hated it. It had been a big gathering with a bunch of old men and women who just judged them the whole time and called them a nice young lady despite their constant corrections. They reminded Loki of Odin.

Loki was currently getting ready for another one of the stupid events. They couldn't decide between a skirt or trousers and was close to locking their door and not going. Wait, no. Odin would just take it again and make them go anyway. Fuck.

Their phone rang and they saw that it was Peter. They gave up on the clothes and grabbed their phone from off their bed, flopping onto it as they kicked the skirt and trousers to the floor.

"Pete! How you doing?" They switched to video call and were deeply shocked to see Peter looking panicked.
"Hey, can I come over?" He asked quickly, eyes darting around on his end of the call.

"Sure." Loki dragged it out curiously. "But only later because I've got to go to an event. Are you okay?" Peter nodded and promptly ended the call. Loki gave their phone a weird look before someone knocked on the door and she yelled back at them. "I'm almost ready!"

They forced their body off the bed, climbing to their feet and deciding for the skirt. They pulled it on over some shorts and grabbed the closet pair of heels that they could find. They grabbed their phone and rushed out of the room.

Loki found Thor and Odin stood in the hallway waiting for them. They were both in suits and Odin gave Loki a disapproving look while Thor gave them a smile and a pat on the shoulder.

The car ride was quick and Loki immediately wanted to bury themselves in a dark hole when they arrived.
"Oh for fucks sake." They complained, seeing how many people were in the expensive hall. They turned to Thor who was stood at their side. "How the fuck did you survive these for so long?"

Thor shrugged. "I just spent the whole time on my phone or trying to find someone closer in age to me to talk to." He explained and Loki nodded.

They split up, Loki going to sit near the snacks while Thor went to find someone who would listen to his endless rambling. Loki had nicked a glass of champagne from a woman earlier when she'd set it down on the table. They sipped it slowly, scrolling through their phone as they did.

Their phone started ringing, a loud noise in the chat filled hall. Loki hurried to turn it down and answered, glaring at a woman who glared at them for a bit too long.
"Hi, why are you calling me again?"

"Loki, I need you to get back to yours. Now. Please." Loki looked around a bit, putting the glass down and getting to their feet. Peter sounded distressed, greatly so, and Loki could tell he really needed them. Loki needed Thor as they didn't have any money to get an Uber back.

"I'm getting Thor now. But why? What is it?" Loki heard breathe shakily before mumbling something into the mic. "Sorry, you gotta speak up a bit. I can't hear you." Loki spotted Thor leaning against the opposite wall and headed over to him.

"Loki, I missed my period. I think the condom me and Harley used broke." Loki's stomach sunk to past their feet and paused.
"What?" was all they could say.
"I don't know! Just please get here!" Peter hung up on them.

Loki didn't hesitate to shove past some middle-aged lady who scowled at them. They grabbed Thor's arm and yanked him away from his current conversation.
"We need to get home. Now."

"What? Why?" Loki didn't answer him, dragging Thor through the crowds with them. "Loki, what's going on?"
"Doesn't matter. Can you get us an Uber?" Loki asked, practically pushing Thor out of the building.
"Yes. But not until you tell me why." Thor crossed his arms and Loki rolled their eyes. They forgot how stubborn he could be.

"One of my friends might be pregnant." Thor's face fell as his arms dropped to his sides.
"Shit. Really?"
"Yes! Now can you call the fucking Uber?" Loki was incredibly irritated, close to just running back to Odin's house.

Loki texted Peter as Thor called an Uber, trying to get the closest one to them to be a bit quicker.
"It'll be here in a minute." Thor announced as he shoved his phone into his pocket. Loki nodded absentmindedly, biting their nails a bit.

When the Uber arrived and the two were driving back, Loki made them stop at the pharmacy.
"Grab a test and one of those abortion pills. I don't know what they're called. Just grab them and be quick about it." Loki watched Thor go and the lady driving the car gave them a look.

"You alright, Love?" Oh, she was either British or weird. Loki nodded, tapping their foot on the floor as they watched Thor disappear into the shop.
"Yeah. It's not for me." The woman tapped her fingers on the steering wheel.
"Well, get painkillers too. It's not a nice experience."

Loki made a mental note of that, eyes darting out of the car window again. Thor left the shop and got back into the car quickly, hiding the test in his fancy suit jacket pocket. When he got back in, Loki took them both from him, calling him a drama queen with how worried he was about being seen with a pregnancy test.

"It's not like anyone would think you're the one using it anyway." Loki said harshly as the car started up again. Thor protested a bit but gave the driver directions back as Loki read the instructions on the pill box. Loki's head was filled with panicked thoughts as the drive seemed to take forever.

When the car stopped, Loki could see Peter sat on the house's front door step, looking horrible. They left Thor to pay the driver as they climbed out of the car and practically ran over to Peter.

"Holy shit, are you okay?" Loki asked, helping him to his feet. Peter didn't speak as Thor came back and used his keys to get into the house, the two teens walking in quickly. "Does Harley know?" Peter shook his head, looking close to crying. Why didn't he know? The two had been going steady since the party now. Was Peter ashamed or something? Loki didn't judge. It was probably hell for Peter's mind right now.

"Did you get a test?" Loki nodded, watching as Peter put down what looked like a packed bag on the floor and hugged them.
"Hey, you're gonna be okay Peter. You'll be fine."

Loki helped him into the bathroom, handing him the test. Peter gave them a weak smile as he took the test in the room with him, locking the door behind him. Loki stood on the opposite wall, freaking out and worried all at once.

The toilet flushed, washing away the tissue and remaining liquid. Peter placed the now used test on the counter, hands shaking a bit as he did. His tears were held heavy in his eyes, forcing himself not to cry.

How would he tell Harley? Would he even tell him in the first place? No. He couldn't.

A gentle knock on the door caught his attention and he looked up at it.
"Pete, are you okay?" Loki asked for what felt like the eleventh time in the last hour.

Peter opened the door, bottom lip wobbling as Loki looked at him sadly.
"Can you hug me?" He asked, and Loki did without hesitation. Peter couldn't hold it back anymore and a sob wrenched itself from his gut and out of his mouth. He cried. Loud and ugly, tears streaming down his face as Loki held him tight.

They ended up sitting on the floor, Peter laying his head on Loki's shoulder as they comforted him. They rubbed his back gently, letting his tears dry into their expensive looking shirt.
"I'm sorry." Peter whispered and Loki gave him a look.

"Don't be sorry." Loki said firmly, still rubbing his back. Peter nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. He hated this. Why did this have to happen to him of all people? He felt like he was going to cry again but no tears threatened to spill. "Do you want me to check?" The black-haired one asked quietly.

Peter nodded the slightest bit, moving to lay his head on Loki's lap as they reached up to grab the test from the counter. Loki looked at it and the box's sheet and Peter watched as they bit the inside of their bottom lip.

"I'm sorry, Pete." They whispered, handing the test to him. Peter waited before looking at it. Two lines. Two fucking lines.

That was it. He cried again. Loki didn't judge him as he did. Every aggressive sob made him shake, Loki running their hands through his hair and repeating comforts to him. The same ones they used when he got overwhelmed or stressed. But this wasn't him being overwhelmed.

He was panicked. He was worried. He was scared.

A door shut downstairs and Loki's head shot up. "Shit. Odin's home." Loki called Thor and Peter stayed curled on the floor with his head in Loki's lap as they told Thor to keep Odin away from the bathroom. At all costs and until they had left.

It was silent as Peter stopped crying. Loki had long since put the pregnancy test and its box in the bin, not bothering to bury it under some other trash or anything like that. Peter fiddled with the end of his hoodie's sleeve, face feeling gross from where his tears had dried onto his skin.

"Can we go to bed?" Peter kept his gaze on his sleeve as he spoke quietly.
"Of course." Loki gave him a smile as he climbed to shaky feet.

Loki checked the landing was empty before leading Peter to their bedroom. Peter hadn't been in it yet and he had to say that it looked nothing like their old room at the orphanage. That didn't stop him from removing his torn up Converse and laying down the massive bed.

Loki sat down beside him, stroking his back a bit.
"Want me to grab you something to eat or drink?" Loki asked, and Peter nodded.

"Yes, please." Loki got up, the bed barely adjusting when they did.
"Do you want to take the first pill tonight or tomorrow?" They were gentle with their words, reminding Peter of when his aunt used to console when he cried as a little girl.

"Today. Get it over and done with." Peter deduced. He just wanted this to be over. This constant sinking feeling in his stomach. He hated it. He hated this. He hated his body for being made this way. This would've never happened if he'd just been born a boy.

Loki left the room, and Peter crawled under their blanket. He curled into a ball, feeling like a small child as he did.

He hadn't felt this bad about his own body in ages. Why now? His hands dug into his hips as he wrapped his arms around himself. His nails poked his hips, digging into the flesh that stuck out too much. It hurt and he happily welcomed it.

He screwed his eyes shut, not even bothering to open them when the bedroom door opened again. A clink on the bedside table made him roll over and look at Loki.
"I made you hot chocolate. I know you like them." They offered him a small smile and he returned it weakly.

Sitting up somehow made him feel even worse. Loki sat down near him again, holding the pill box. They had grabbed him a hot chocolate and he watched as they opened a mini fridge he hadn't seen earlier from near the bedside table. They pulled out a little chocolate bar and placed it next to the steaming cup.

"Do you want me to break the pill in half for you?" Peter shook his head, grabbing the cup with achy hands, glad for something warm to hold onto. Loki opened the box and handed him the first pill. "This one's called mifepristone." Peter nodded, taking it shoving it in his mouth quickly.

"I just want to get this over and done with." He mumbled, swallowing it down with hot chocolate. It hurt his throat as he swallowed, struggling to swallow the actual pill and the burning liquid. Loki watched him carefully as he took the pill, probably expecting him to choke.

Peter wanted to sleep. Loki read out the instructions for when he had to take the next pill, that one being called misoprostol, and setting an alarm for 38 hours later.

"Can we sleep now?" Peter asked quietly, practically whispering. Loki set their phone down as they kicked off their heels.
"Of course Pete." Peter opened his arms for a hug and Loki hugged him.

He laid down with them, relishing in the comfort of their arms around him. They laid in silence for a while.
"Will it hurt?" He mumbled.
"It will." Loki said softly, not being one to lie about stuff this serious. "But I'll be there for you. And you'll be okay."

Peter nodded, curling up more as Loki hummed to a quiet song.
"I hate this." He mumbled, Loki pausing in their movements before continuing gently.
"I know. But you'll be okay."

Peter knew that they were just saying it over and over, but every time added a tiny bit of reassurance that he would genuinely be okay. He smiled, something that seemed impossible with his current situation.
"Can I stay here for a bit?" Peter asked, using one hand to gesture to around the room.

"Do you even have to ask?" Loki joked and Peter laughed a tiny bit.

What if the pill didn't work? They'd googled it for comfort but it didn't help at all.

There was a 10% chance it wouldn't work. What if it didn't work for Peter specifically?

Loki put their phone down, elbows resting on the kitchen side as they buried their head in their hands. Peter was asleep on their bed upstairs, curled up like a little child. It hurt Loki seeing him like that again.

They sighed, rubbing their eyes a bit. They needed to go to sleep already. It was 1:00 o'clock in the morning and they hadn't been to sleep in what felt like ages. The kitchen was dark, illuminated by a motion sensor light on the underside of the cupboard above the kettle. Loki had to move their hand near it over and over to be able to see when it turned off.

They'd been stood there for what felt like hours but they knew it had only been 10 minutes or so. Their head hurt and Loki was convinced something was going to go wrong. What if it didn't work? What if it was too late? Loki knew that logically it most likely would, but the worry was still there. It was a constant nagging at the back of their mind.

Loki couldn't sleep but needed to do something other than just stand here alone. There was only one person they could speak to but they didn't necessarily want to talk to him. Should they? Ah, screw it.

Loki grabbed their phone, leaving the kitchen and walking up the stairs quietly. The landing was empty, only disturbed by the occasional creak of a floorboard under their feet. They ducked into their room to grab some stuff, feeling even miserable at the sight of Peter looking like a scared kid. The door they eventually stopped at had a little thunderbolt beside a red name sign. Loki considered just going back downstairs and grabbing a cup of coffee.

Three tiny knocks resounded through the empty house, a bit too loud for Loki's comfort. When there wasn't an immediate answer, they knocked again, a bit more forceful this time.
"Come on, Thor." Loki mumbled, shuffling on their feet.

The door opened and Thor was standing in his pajamas.
"What is it?" He asked, either having just woken up or having not even gone to sleep yet.

Loki didn't speak as they walked past him, biting on one of their fingernails. Thor didn't seem to mind, though he did repeat his last question.
"I just needed to be around someone. And we both know how Odin would've responded if I'd woken him up this late." Loki explained, standing in the middle of the room awkwardly.

"Oh, okay." Thor gave them a weird look, flicking the light on so they could see properly. He noticed what they were holding and sighed. "You're seriously going to smoke in my room?" Loki glared at him but he rolled his eyes. "Go ahead. Just open the window. Dad will lose it if he smells smoke here."

Loki gave a half-assed nod before sitting in the windowsill and unlatching the actual window. They opened it and pulled a cigarette out of the packet, lighting it quickly. Their foot tapped on the windowsill's wood as they took a drag. They held it before letting it go out the window, smoke disappearing into the night sky.

Thor had sat on his bed awkwardly, seemingly searching for something to say. When he did speak, it was surprisingly nice.
"I hope your friend's okay." Loki looked over to him, tapping ash off the end of their cigarette.

"I hope he will be." Loki said in return.
"Has he told the other guy?" Thor asked. Loki rolled their eyes, but they weren't particularly annoyed at him.
"His name's Harley. And no. I don't think him tell him even after it's done." Loki was glad Thor was being gentle about this topic.

He wasn't pretending like it wasn't happening but he also didn't avoid it like it was weird or gross. That was nice of him.

They sat in silence before Thor spoke again.
"Who's the guy you were with the morning after the party?" Loki rolled their eyes with a little laugh.
"Why do you want to know?"

"I want to know who's going out with my little... brother? Sister?" Thor asked, clearly unsure of himself.
"Sibling." Loki nodded. They were happy that Thor still saw him as his sibling.
"My younger sibling! What if I don't approve of him?"

"I don't need you to approve of my partners!" Loki exclaimed, a small smile on their lips.
"What if he's an asshole?" Thor asked. "I'll kill him if he's bad to you!" He joked and Loki did laugh. Just a little bit though.

"He's nice, promise!" They responded happily, glad this conversation wasn't as awkward as their chats usually were.
"He better be!" Thor nodded.

They ended up talking for a few hours, eventually hearing Odin's alarm going off through the walls, signalling that it was now 8:05 in the morning. Loki left, going to put the kettle on so they could both get some more coffee. Peter hadn't gotten up yet, or he hadn't left Loki's room yet. Either way, he was nowhere to be seen.

Loki stood in the kitchen and was waiting for the kettle to finish when a loud yell of their name from upstairs caught their attention. They ignored it, recognising the voice as Odin's. It wasn't until he yelled for the third time that Loki got a bit concerned.

They put their phone down and headed up the stairs, confused and now pissed off. Odin was clearly in the bathroom and Loki felt a bit disgusted now. They stuck their head into the bathroom's doorway.

"What is it?" They asked, monotone. Odin stood at the sink and stepped back to gesture to something on the side. Loki felt panic fill them as they checked what was on the marble. Fuck, it was the test.
"Mind explaining this?" Odin said distastefully.

Shit, shit, shit, shit!

Chapter Text

Running away. It's something he's convinced every kid considers at least once.

He had wanted to run away a lot in his life. When his dad got drunk and angry. When the car crashed and he awoke to his little sister's lifeless eyes staring at him from the front window, her unbuckled seat belt dangled beside his face. When the ambulance showed up and they had made him talk to a police officer about who he was and if he had anyone else he could live with.

Harley has wanted to run his entire life. He had wanted to run when he was put into yet another foster home, He had wanted to run when the bastard that cornered him the locker room kissed him. He had wanted to run when he had been outed by a girl a year younger than him.

Harley felt all he did was run. From people, life, himself. And everything took chase.

He was running. Again.

His bones ached, shaky and sore. God, PE sucked. Harley was in the middle of a mandatory bleep test. He hadn't even been running for that log but he could feel a stitch on it's way.

He just wanted this to be over so that he could hide behind the science building, take a smoke break and text Peter. He gave up on his 9th round back, walking off to the side. He'd brought his phone with him, tucked into his trouser pocket which could thankfully be zipped shut. He checked it and frowned when he realised that no one had messaged him yet. Where were Peter and Loki? It was a Monday, why weren't they in school?

One of the teachers yelled at him to put his phone away and he rolled his eyes heavily.

"Give me a minute! Jesus Christ..." Harley put his phone away, looking over at the miraculously still running kids. "This is gonna kill me." He muttered, rolling his eyes again and jumping over the low wall separating the sports hall and the corridor that had the locker room doors in.

Harley walked into the boys locker room, grabbing his bag from the corner. He didn't see the point in hiding it in a locker as there wasn't anything valuable in it. Just some cigarettes, a rusty lighter and his school books. His earphones were in there and he needed to listen to music before he died. They were noise-cancelling anyways and added with music, it made the perfect combination for blocking people out.

He clicked call on Peter's contact, laying across one of the benches as he did. The phone picked up and Peter's face filled the screen. Peter looked rough and Harley was positively shocked.
"Shit, hi Pete."
"Hey, Harls." He even sounded bad, words crackly and broken. That might actually be due to Harley's old phone speaker.

A glitchy crash came from the other end of the phone and Peter's head snapped up to look at something on his side of the phone. Harley sat up quickly, a bit off-put by the noise.
"Shit! I've gotta go!" Peter hurried out and he hung up, leaving Harley looking at his contact as his status went from online to last online at 8:15. He tried to call back, the phone ringing and ringing before going straight to voicemail over and over again.

After 10 minutes of that, he put his phone down, giving up completely. Harley waited for a call back, wasting the last part of his PE lesson. He only actually got his bag off of the floor to change in a stall when people started filing into the gross room. The stalls were like toilet ones. Dirty, breaking and useless apart from hiding or getting high in.

He changed out of his PE kit and into his normal outfit, hiding in the stall for a bit longer than necessary, leaving when it was eventually empty. As he went to grab his spare shoes from the locker he'd nabbed earlier, he heard shoes scuffling behind him and he froze up. Shit. Why now? Why couldn't he just get the message and stay away?

"Heard you got yourself a little fuck-buddy. Or girlfriend, was it?" It sounded like the annoying revving of a motorbike. Loud, ignorant and insistent.
"His name's Peter." Harley chewed back the array of insults that he wanted to scream at the guy, shutting the tiny locker and sitting down to pull on his socks.

"Oh, so she's a guy now? What? She wants to fuck gay guys now too?" Harley buried the urge to punch Marcus, shut him up for good. "Silent treatment? Really?" Marcus tried to sound hurt, like he genuinely felt sad. Harley knew he wasn't, it was all a facade. A thin veil over the blatantly obvious truth. Marcus was a bastard. One that was relentless and acted like a parasite, clinging to him and making him want to scratch his own skin off his bones.

"Right. So she explains why you haven't been texting me back."
"No, I haven't been texting you back because you're a toxic asshole."
"Oh, bullshit!" Marcus laughed, bitter and cruel. Harley rolled his eyes, tying his first shoe up and going to pull on the second one.
"Just fuck off already."

He didn't get to react before his back was flat against the wood of the bench and pain was thumping through his skull. The hand on his throat was tight, choking him as he let out a little grunt of surprise. His arm lashed out but did no damage to the fucking brick wall that was Marcus.

"Listen here, you little shit. We're not done because you think we're done." He was jostled around as he glared up at the older guy. Fear made him nauseous, freezing up in response. "I don't give a fuck if I'm just a distraction for you, but that doesn't mean that you can just get up and leave whenever your scrawny ass wants to." Harley Forced himself to nod, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying.

"There's a party later tonight. Be there." Marcus gave him one last squeeze around the neck before leaving him there, shaking and sick. Harley could feel bile rise in his throat and he got up to spit it into one of the toilets. It hit the porcelain with a gross slapping sound and that was what made him vomit. It only happened once but it made him want to let the rest of it out.

Scratch that, it did make the rest come out.

He clung to the bowl's rim as he guts spilled into the toilet. He shook with every violent heave.

When he was done, he groaned and sat back against the stall wall. The main door opened again, symbolising that another class was coming in now. He got to his feet and flushed his own vomit away, quickly grabbing his bag from the main locker room. He was still missing a shoe, having come out of his hands in his panic to get to a stall to avoid losing his late night snack on the floors.

One of the newly entered seniors gave him a look, tapping his shoulder once.
"Hey, you okay?" Harley nodded but the guy persisted in speaking to him. "You got a purple neck and you look really pale. Like, sickly."

"I'm fine." Harley said firmly, tugging on his shoe.
"Make sure that you eat something." The guy said helpfully, reminding Harley that he had to wash the taste of vomit out of his mouth. He nodded, finished tying his shoe and left, grabbing his bag from its abandoned place on the bench. The corridors had emptied by now and he still had to go to Health class next.

He sat through a rant about how bad cigarettes were, even added his own input to prove how bad they actually were before hiding behind the science building and smoking half a pack.

The tiny plastic object sat on the marble, the two lines an almost blinding red compared to the faded colour from the night before.

"Care to explain yourself?" Odin asked, voice blank but firm. One wrong word would set him off.
"That's not mine." Loki said dumbly, internally kicking themselves for being that stupid.
"Well, whose is it then? Can't be your brother's."
"He's not my brother. And it's not mine." They repeated, deciding to stand their ground. Bad idea.


"I'm dealing with it." Loki said firmly. Maybe if Odin knew that there wasn't going to be a new kid he had to put up with, he'd let it go. It wasn't like it affect him even if it was theirs.

"Was it that grey-haired guy from before?" Loki's heart froze in their chest, blood running cold. Of course, they got defensive.
"How do you know about that?"
"I saw him and you leaving school a week ago." Odin said like it was a completely normal thing to say.

"What the fuck? You're watching me at school?" Loki snapped, horror running through them.
"That's not the point. Whose test is it or I swear to God I'll-"
"You'll what? Disown me? Again?" Loki regretted speaking immediately.

"You better stop the attitude before I knock your lights out, you little shit." Loki looked up at the ceiling, not wanting to look at the bastard at the moment.

That was a bad idea. They didn't see the hit coming, they didn't see him walking closer to them. He was tall, always had been despite shrinking a bit as he got older, and he towered over them as their brain registered the impact. The stinging was what made tears well up in their eyes. They hit out on reflex, doing nothing to the hand that had just hit them.

Before they could even register it, they'd been thrown backwards. Their head slammed into the wall as they fell onto the landing floor with a crash. A choked out cry of pain sounded in the house, loud in the overbearing silence. Like the yowl of a cat that had just had it's tail stepped on.

Hair fell in their face as they hunched over, coughing a bit. Thuds of heavy footsteps are what kicked them into movement, quite literally, a rib feeling close to breaking under the pressure of the man's boots. Thor was yelling at his father to stop but none of it registered in Loki's brain. It all blurred out of focus. Move.

Loki ran to their room, slamming the door shut and holding their flimsy weight against it in a vain attempt to keep it shut. The door was shoved by hits from Odin, Loki clamping a hand down over their mouth to block their sobs from making their way into the air.

Odin was screaming threats, making Loki want to cry more.

"I swear, I'll kill that fucking baby!"

"You fucking bitch!"

Thor was yelling at his dad, seemingly trying to pull him away from the door. The yelling didn't cease as it headed away from Loki and down the stairs. Loki moved their hand away just so that they could bite into their forearm instead. Their knees pulled to their chest, just like when they were a kid.

They were suddenly back to the age of 7, listening to Odin argue about whether or not he was useful enough to keep around with his mother.

Gently footsteps made their way over to them but they pulled their mouth back again.
"Don't." Was all they could force out, trying to take deep breaths as they shook with their own shuddering breaths. "Don't touch me." Peter pulled back, nodding a bit. He sat in front of them on the floor, silent as he waited for them.

The two sat like that for a while, Loki eventually stabilising their breathing as they hugged themselves. When they'd calmed down, Loki climbed to their feet, digging a pack of tissues out of one of their drawers.

They cleaned their face up quickly, their mouth tasting bad due to the morning breath and salty tears. No one knocked on the door. No apologising, patronising Odin. No pitying, kind Thor. Not even a warning to apologise before the door got taken away as a whole.

Peter didn't speak as they moved around, rooting around for a cigarette or a bit of spare alcohol. Anything to make them feel better quicker.

After they'd found a pack of cigarettes, Loki changed into more comfy clothes, a hoodie and joggers that were fluffy inside.
"Are you okay?" Peter asked, now sitting on the edge of the bed, making the mattress dip underneath his weight. Loki was in the window, sat on the windowsill as they blew smoke into the air.

"Probably not." Loki croaked out, clearing their throat and speaking again. "It's fine, honestly." They lied. Why did they do so much to Peter? He could always tell when they were lying. But he didn't push it further, nodding and moving to sit closer to Loki at the top of the bed. "Is Harley going to get told about your little friend?" Peter gave them a look.

"Obviously not." It was their turn to judge now, passing the cigarette down to him. Peter took it gladly, taking a drag and handing it back to Loki. The smoke hung in the air, unable to go anywhere due to the closed window. The front door slammed and Loki could see Odin get into his car and drive away through the window.

A soft knock on the door made Loki turn their head to look.
"Loki? Loki's friend? I got food." Loki didn't make a move to let Thor in, Peter taking it upon himself to let him in. The door opened to reveal Thor.

He stood with a small box, closed and a mug balanced on top of it.
"In case of, y'know." Thor mumbled, Peter took the box and mug from him. Loki knew what he meant.

When they were a kid and they got this upset, they'd lock themselves in their room and not come out for 2 days, not even for food. Only to go to the toilet and even then they made sure no one else would be there while they crept in and out. Their mother had had to slide them food under the door to make sure they ate anything.

They'd done it more than once too, once staying hidden for nearly a week straight. They had stunk but it got the message across clearly enough. Loki would rather rot and starve in their room than speak to them.

"You're over-dramatic." Loki rolled their eyes, despite planning on doing just that.
"And you're a drama queen." Thor said back to them, ignoring the middle finger he was given. "I wouldn't normally say this, but I think it would be better if you did hide this time." Loki gave him a weird look.

"What?"
"He's not happy at all. He's called you a lot of things that I don't want to repeat for mine and your sake." Thor explained.
"Please tell me that you packed some fags in there." Loki complained and Thor shook his head.

"Nope. You're not hot-boxing your room while your friend's... y'know."
"Having an abortion?" Peter filled in, rolling his eyes.

"There's painkillers in there too." Thor added, nodding towards the box. "Just in case it gets bad."
"Thanks." Peter nodded in return. Loki hopped down from the windowsill, leaving her cigarette to burn a black mark on the polished white wood.
"Do you want anything else or should I go?" Thor said, shuffling awkwardly.

Loki rolled their eyes affectionately, raising their hand for a high five. Thor accepted happily, leaving a mild sting behind on Loki's palm. "Leaving now." Loki nodded.
"Yep."
"Just ask if you need anything." And he left, leaving Loki and Peter to wait until Loki's timer ran out.

They sat around until Loki got an idea.
"Wanna learn BSL?" Peter lit up.
"Absolutely."

Loki got up, Peter sitting down on the bed beside them.
"Do you know any BSL already?" Peter shook his head.
"Nope."

Steam and the overbearing smell of coffee intruded his senses, making it hard to breath without risk of getting a caffeine hit strong enough to kill a family of elephants.

Despite this, Harley felt so fucking tired. After he'd pulled through his third period lesson, he'd decided against the last two lessons and left, making a beeline to a little hole in the wall near school.

It was called 'The worst coffee shop' but it also had the best coffee Harley had ever tasted. Literally no drink was too weird for them to make. They also sold other hot drinks and canned drinks, food and had a vending machine in the corner. It was where Harley went if he was already late and decided that he might as well get a drink since he was late.

Right now, he was waiting for a waffle and berries, partnered with a black coffee. It wasn't a lot, but it worked. His appetite had risen fairly since he'd emptied his stomach, feeling like it was caving inwards. He'd washed out the taste with school fountain water, replacing it with the taste of bitter, moldy water. Drinking it had almost made him puke again.

His food arrived and he thanked the lady who put it on his table. It looked good, plain but good. He took a quick photo of his plate and sent it to Loki, getting an immediate thumbs up from them. As he ate, he wondered about stuff. If he was even actually awake, about how they make the waffles and if Peter liked, or knew about, this place. He picked up his phone back up, opening Loki's contact.

You
Have you seen Peter??
Can't find him in school

Loki >=D
You're not even in school
Dumbass

You
How do you know that?

Loki >=D
You literally sent me a photo of you in that coffee place-
And your locations on
=D

You
Shit
Have you seen him though??

Loki >=D
Nope!!

Then they went offline, leaving Harley to eat his waffle and continue wondering about his boyfriend's whereabouts.

After eating, paying and leaving a tip, he left the shop, walking around mindlessly. It had started to get busy, more people out and about past mid-day. There was a few kids his age, clearly skipping school too. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he could see a message notification.

Bastard
New plan, my house.
Now.

Harley wanted to say fuck that and ignore him like those badasses in media, but he couldn't. He was genuinely afraid for his life with that guy. He didn't fancy a broken nose anytime soon. He started running. Again.

His surroundings blurred into one as he did, ignoring the sounds of annoyed middle-aged women and old men. He waited a second before going to tun across the road, lights flashing.

Suddenly, he was pulled back and a truck thundered past where he would've been a second ago.

A hand was on his right arm, having yanked him backwards prior. Who was holding him? His head snapped up and all he could coherently see was a suit and sunglasses. Harley shoved the guy away, seeing that it was a fairly tall guy with dark brown hair and sunglasses. Why was he so familiar?
Wait. Oh for-

"Are you alright?" The Tony fucking Stark asks, looking genuinely very concerned. Harley scowled, fixing his sleeve.
"Fine." He supposed his collar must have moved a bit as Tony's eyes widened in horror.
"Holy shit! Are you actually okay?"

"I'm fine." Harley repeated. The guy clearly didn't believe him. This is why Harley hated adults. Always sticking their noses where they shouldn't be. He didn't even bother waiting for a response as he crossed the road, more carefully this time, turning into a small alleyway on his left.

Despite being in the student council, Mobius hated snitching on people.

He also hated being ignored but that was unimportant because for now, he'd like to be ignored. No one wanted to say why they think one of their favourite things about their partner should be banned. The ability to dress freely in school.

Mobius just wanted to go home, put in some noise-cancelling earplugs and take a long nap until his father left for yet another business trip. It probably wasn't even a trip for business, just an excuse to go out and sleep with other women to replace his mother. He was a sad man, but that didn't make Mobius like him anymore.

"Mobius? Do you have something to add?" The senior asked, standing at the front of the room as per usual. Mobius looked up from him desk, shaking his head. "Come on, everyone has spoken up. You have to have something to say." Mobius swore internally as he spoke plainly.
"I think we should be able to dress freely. With equal rules on the dress code." He added that last part out of necessity.

"And what would that include?" He wanted to leave.
"Making it where everyone can wear vests, shorts and stuff like that without being dress-coded. Regardless of gender." And then one of the little annoying freshmen spoke up, a literal stereotype for 14 year old boys.
"But they already are fair?"

"No, they're not." Mobius glared at the kid, speaking more of his mind now. "I've seen tons of girls get dress-coded for wearing more than you are right now." He gestured to the guy who was in football shorts and a tank top. The kid scoffed.
"Yeah, of course you have."

"Oh, fuck you." Mobius snapped, remaining falsely calm as he fought back the urge to hit a kid.
"What?" You wanna see a woman's body that badly?" The kid snarked, took cocky for how small and weak he was.
"I've got a partner."

"Partner? What, one of those gay freaks?" Mobius got up, grabbing his bag and leaving.

The door swung shut behind him, echoing in the corridor. He'd probably just lost his place in the student council but it was okay. He hated them all anyways. He didn't know what to do now, bored and only having his phone and school stuff.

Loki hadn't shown up to school either so he couldn't even go find them. Fuck. He was gonna go get coffee. Fuck that. He could be interesting alone.

Hard. That hurt.

Everything was hard. Just not what probably should be. The mattress, the wall that the shitty bed-frame hit with every hard movement. The body above him and the part inside him matched the rest of it. Hard, loud and gross. Even the stone of hatred in his stomach was the same.

Harley hated this. He preferred it when everything was soft. Not just him and his stupid body and brain.

A groan later and he was freed, the body above him rolling away from his. The plastic was tied off and binned, no longer his problem.

Marcus was panting as he got up, pulling his boxers back on. Harley laid still, feeling sticky and gross from someone else's sweat. He didn't react when Marcus opened the window, taking a hit from a vape and blowing out the flavoured smoke.

Harley sat up, refusing to look down at himself or the bed around him. He wasn't religious, but they all felt like sins. If he had to recount every sin he'd committed, even just recently, he'd lose space on the paper to write. It all felt wrong. Every hard thrust, burning drip of alcohol, and fake pleasure act. All wrong.

As he opened his bag and grabbed his nearly empty pack of his ever closer death and its fuse, his brain trailed to every right thing he'd had. It wasn't a lot but it was enough for him.

The gentle touch of his hand on Peter's accompanied by the look in his eyes when he hit the point of bliss he'd seemingly ever swung at before. The crinkle of his brows and the little 'hngh' sound as he shook. Harley remembered it all, despite being drunk at the time.

Harley pulled his knee to his chest, hating how badly moving his legs hurt. He took a heavy drag, smoke inhabiting his lungs.
"My mum's home soon so you've got to go." Harley didn't even care at the point. He got dressed, grabbed his bag and left, stubbing his cigarette out on the rich fucker's doorbell.

It was getting dark out now and the lights from the surrounding houses were bright on the grey, cracked pavement. He might still go to that party later. Actually, no, he wasn't. He was going to find Peter, buy some shitty alcohol and get fucking wasted. Good plan.

The closest store was open but there was a high chance of running into someone from school or a creepy old man. He'd take that risk.

He had enough for two bottles but that was it. Lord knows he needed it after the day he's had.

It was cold inside and he walked with his hood down to avoid suspicion. He waved at himself in the camera, not caring how weird it was to do that. The shopkeeper basically never ID'd people, only if they looked under 14.

It was also where him, Peter and Loki got their cigarettes from. But they rarely bought alcohol here as there was a different store that sold it for less. The 10 minute walk was worth it for cheap cigarettes and booze. That didn't matter as Harley was absolutely not doing that walk just to get shitfaced. And he, quite frankly, couldn't be assed to walk more than necessary as his whole lower body hurt.

The white shop lights were like bleach to the eyes, obnoxiously bright for such a small building. Harley ignored that as he grabbed two bottles, checking his current cigarette pack before deciding on just one bottle and a new pack over two.

He put the bottle on the front counter and pulled his wallet out of his front pocket.
"And a pack of Marlboros, please." He paid for his stuff, dumping it in his bag and leaving.

It was cold outside and he smiled at the chill it sent down his spine.

Lovely.

Chapter Text

38. Thirty-eight. Hours.

Thirty-eight fucking hours.

It was close to over, almost time to take the last pill and rid himself of the parasite in his stomach.

The box Thor had given them had proved to be very helpful, containing food, drinks and entertainment. Which only had some CDs and DVDs. The TV was currently switched off, CD player blasting the Heathers soundtrack at a fair volume. Peter's ears were close to bleeding.

Loki seemed to be okay with the blaring music, painting their nails a nice shade of emerald green. Harley hadn't contacted him since earlier, but had been online less then half an hour ago.

Peter knew he was kind of avoiding Harley too but he hadn't even tried to reach out and it honestly hurt a little bit. He put his phone down, face-planting the bed he was laid on. He screamed into the blanket, punching the mattress as he did.

"You good?" Loki asked, pausing singing a song called Candy Store to speak. "Is he not texting you?"
"No. What if he's getting shitfaced? What if he's cheating on me?"
"Nope, he wouldn't do that. Get drunk? Most likely. Cheat? Absolutely not. He isn't that type of guy." Loki put their nail polish back into the small pot.

"But-"
"No. No worrying about him while we're dealing with this." Loki pointed to Peter's stomach with a freshly painted nail.
"Fine." Loki perked up randomly.

"You still haven't told me about what happened that night!" Peter felt himself flush.
"it's embarrassing!" Peter exclaimed.
"You know about literally every escapade I've had but you can't even tell me about your first time?" Loki raised an eyebrow, putting the nail polish pot to the side.

"Not like I wanted to know about that stuff!" Peter retorted, slapping Loki's leg a bit. They made a noise of mock offense and kicked his hand away.
"Rude! You did ask! You've asked many times to hear about mine and Mobius' little meetups."

"Yeah, for the cute stuff! Not the sex stuff!"
"They're the same thing!" Loki laughed when Peter made a loud gagging sound.

"You're so childish!" Loki laughed, laying back on their bed.
"And you're gross!" Peter complained. His phone buzzed and he almost snapped his neck turning to face it so quickly. He snatched it up, almost rejoicing when he saw that Harley was the one messaging him.

Harls <3
im cold
Where r u??.

You
Are you at the home?

Harls <3
Nooooo
im in a bed!? not mine
Yor bed!

Peter smiled, telling him to go to bed and wishing him goodnight. Harley went offline again, leaving Peter to talk Loki again.

A loud alarm rang through the room, disturbing the music as Loki's alarm finished. Loki shut it off, digging the box that held the second pill in it. Peter gave it a funny look, not wanting to go through the pain of it but also not wanting a kid. He decided the abortion was the best option, easier and quicker to do.

Fuck, it was gonna hurt.

Loki handed him the pill packet and a prepackaged water bottle. Thank you, Thor. Peter didn't think about it as he popped the pill out and forced it down with a gulp of water. He coughed, obviously, but other than that, it went down well.
"It'll kick in in about half an hour." Loki informed him, scrumpling the rubbish before rethinking it and grabbing the box.

Peter watched as they grabbed an abandoned pen from the floor and used it to scrawl something onto the paper. They put a rough full stop, tearing the paper as they did.

Loki didn't speak until Peter asked,
"What are you doing?"
"He wanted it dealt with, so there." They showed him what was written on the paper. It had Dealt with scrawled on it in blue felt tip. "Dealt with." Loki quoted, giving Peter one of their signature evil smiles.

The two crept down the stairs and into the kitchen, Peter carrying the old box that had their trash in it. The house was empty, Thor having left a note on the kitchen counter that he'd gone to someone's house. Peter guessed his boyfriend's and knew Loki did too as they fake-vomited and dumped his note in the bin.

Peter put the box beside it, Loki putting the paper on the counter underneath the empty pill box. Peter hummed in approval.
"Bold move. You sure he won't go all... violent again?" He asked, concern clear in his tone.

"I don't care if he does. I'll go to the police and report him. They'll put me back in the home with you and Harley. He knows this. It's why he'll probably just give me some money, call me a slut and be down with it."
"The cops will believe you?"

"Definitely! The kid who just got back from a mysterious years long disappearance reports that the man covering up their sudden disappearance is hitting them? All the reasons are there!" Peter considered their explanation before nodding.

"Fair point." He agreed. Loki grabbed a Pot Noodle from the cupboard.
"Want one?" They asked, already putting on the kettle.
"Sure. The spicy one though." Peter said firmly, causing Loki to roll their eyes and complain.

"But it's the last one!"
"I'm the one having an abortion, not you. Deal with it." Peter joked and Loki scowled. Regardless, they handed him he'd requested ever so politely.

The kettle boiled slowly, steam coming from the little opening at the top where the water came from. Peter had been left in the kitchen while Loki disappeared to brush their teeth. He knew that meant they were also going to be fixing their appearance and what not. Peter didn't know why they did that, especially around him. They'd been there when he turned 13 and he had seen them after their foster home that he'd been there for.

Loki tried to overshadow it like it was nothing, but it wasn't easy for Peter to do. He didn't think he'd ever forget how horrible they had looked when they'd gotten back to that home. Battered and bruised. They hadn't spoken to anyone until the marks had disappeared. Even then, the circle burn on their collarbone haunted him to this day.

Peter had never experienced anything like that, but that was because Loki had warned him about how to spot it and the warning flags before it actually happened. He'd only been to four homes so far and they ended with him going back to the home less than two months later.

One had been weird kids who asked him to buy them stuff too much, another had been a couple who always got mad over the smallest things. One had been a psychotic girl who had a strange obsession with knives. Peter hadn't hated her or the home. He hated the constant fear of something happening and getting violent. The most recent one had been relatively okay. The parents were nice but always covered up their actual kid's mistakes. Peter kind of guessed that was gonna happen when he was first informed that they already had biological kids.

The problem was that they excused everything their eldest son did. He had been an older boy who had always walked in on him changing. He always said it was an accident but always stared when he did.

Peter shivered just thinking about it. He'd lied and said it was because of the constant smell of weed instead of the watching because no twelve year old kid wanted to make a report about sexual harassment in the police station. It was also because he was sure Loki would've been put into jail for murder if they'd found out the truth. Loki seriously didn't need a police warning for Peter again.

Peter was okay staying at home until he was 18 and then made his own way in life. But he was not okay when Loki left. It had flipped everything upside down and he'd forced himself away from a depressive episode by going to more parties and being hungover practically every other morning. It had worked but barely. He felt like another week of that would've given him liver poisoning.

That was yet another secret that neither Loki nor Harley knew about. It was shoved into the back of his mind with the rest of them, locked away to never be opened again.

The kettle finished and Peter jumped down from the counter to pour hot water into the cups, putting the lids back on and letting them sit for a while. Loki came back, looking miles better with some eye makeup and tied back and brushed hair. They lit up when they saw that Peter had already made their Pot Noodle for them.

"You're a legend, Pete!" He shrugged with a smile.
"Yeah, what's new?" Loki got two forks out, putting them in the pots. The two abandoned the kitchen to head upstairs again, Loki berating Peter into doing his teeth before eating. Peter hated the taste of mints in his mouth, wanting to bleach his taste buds with various cleaning products.

They were back in Loki's room, Loki on their floor with Peter taking up the whole bed as he sat starfish on their bed with his food. Loki was playing the Hamilton soundtrack now and singing Guns and Ships word for word flawlessly. Their special skill was karaoke and memorising every lyric to songs they liked.

Peter couldn't do that but he could recognise certain songs by the first few seconds. The songs ended and Loki picked a song from the CD to play. It played and Peter swallowed a mouthful of noodles to speak.
"That's Helpless! Too easy!" Loki rolled their eyes and proceeded to sing along dramatically.

"The sky's the limit, I'm helpless!" Peter rolled his eyes, eating happily. "What? You're not gonna sing along?" Loki questioned, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I'm just a bit worried. Is it gonna feel like period cramps or something?" Loki considered this and nodded.

"Probably. I mean, the uterus insides both die during this and your period, so I'm guessing yes." Peter nodded, silent. Loki sat down on the bed beside him.

"You'll be okay. We've got painkillers and anything else that you'll need for this to go smoothly." They reassured, giving him the kindest smile that they could. Peter nodded, fear settling deep into his stomach. He finished his food and dumped the container on the floor. "Don't you think Harley will need to know?" They asked and Peter shook his head.

"He'll feel bad about it and I don't want him to feel bad about something we both chose to take part in." He explained and Loki nodded.

"Just tell me if you want to call him, kay?" Peter nodded, leaving his head on their shoulder.
"Kay."

The crisis was horrible. Bloody and full of tears.

Loki was glad they'd never seen it before and never would again. Hopefully. It was over now. And Peter was sleeping like a baby on their bed, face tear-stained and red.

After it was over, Peter demanded that Harley be there. Loki had immediately called him, Harley listening closely as Loki explained the situation hurriedly. Harley had already been on a bus there before they'd even got halfway through their explanation.

When he'd arrived, Peter had been helped into the bathtub and sat there for nearly an hour. Loki had been sat on the toilet lid, Harley holding Peter's hand from where he had been sat on the floor, leaning back against the bath.

Now, he was asleep, having cried when he'd been drying his hair. Harley was with him, Loki wasn't.

They were sat at the dining room table, scrolling through their phone endlessly as they waited for Thor to get home. They were surprisingly hoping he would be back, wanting to speak to someone about this who wasn't currently asleep.

The front door opened and Loki lifted their head up. Gentle thuds that were replaced by pats as shoes were removed at the door. It was Thor. They deflated again, getting up from their chair and heading to the hallway.

"How was Bruce's?" They asked and Thor gave him a small smile.
"Good. I ended up with braided hair." Thor said happily, putting his shoes down beside the door.
"Picture or it didn't happen." Loki smiled, leaning on the kitchen door frame.

"Of course." Thor walked into the kitchen, looking over the box and paper on the side. "Lovely message. Speaking of, is your friend okay?"
"Yeah. He's got his boyfriend with him right now."
"Good. I know he's probably in pain right now."

Loki stilled.
"How did you know?" Thor didn't look back as he grabbed a cartoon of juice, the expensive kind, from the fridge.
"How did I know what?"

"That it hurts."
"Bruce told me." 
"And how did he know?" Loki asked, confused as all hell.
"Because he's had one before?" Thor answered like it was a question but also like it was a given.

It clicked in Loki's brain and he nodded. "Tell him that he's earned my undying respect. That shit does not look nice at all." Thor smiled and nodded.
"Will do."

Loki was eventually rewarded with the photos of Thor with poorly braided hair, saving them immediately. Bruce was in the background, notably wearing a binder and doing a peace sign as held up one of the plaits.
"He's absolutely shit at doing plaits, but he looks really proud of himself."

"He was trying for half an hour." Thor smiled and Loki could see the lovesick look in his eyes. Loki put a hand over his face with an eye roll.
"Ew." Then they pulled their hand back and asked him, "How did you two... get together? And stay together?" They were quiet and Thor was thoroughly shocked by it.

"Oh. That's a hard question." Thor said in shock.
"Forget it. It was stupid." Loki went to leave.

"No, it's not a bad question." Thor insisted. "Just strange from people like you." What? Loki steeled their nerves.
"What's that supposed to mean?" They snapped.
"Not bad, just... you're the type of person to have everything figured out." Loki scoffed.

"Have you even met me? I am the embodiment of a human disaster." Thor laughed.
"You act to put together though."
"It's an act." Loki smirked, rolling their eyes again.
"And I know that now."

"The answer to your question. Do you still wanna know?" Loki nodded, Thor nodding back. "It's just trust."
"Really?" Loki asked disbelievingly.
"Yep."

"How?" Thor explained it to them simply.
"You have to trust them to not break your heart. To see you and all your flaws and trust them to love you regardless."
"But what if they don't?" Loki asked, sounding bitter despite actually wanting to know.

"Then they're not worth it. If they can't have your trust, then they can't have your heart." Loki was actually speechless. Since when did Thor know stuff like that. "Bruce told me that before we got together." Thor admitted, looking a bit embarrassed.

"You fell in love with a poet?" Loki joked, despite how close to home his words had been. Thor made a comment about Bruce's looks and Loki pretended to vomit. "Gross!"
"Did you end up hot-boxing your room anyways?" Thor asked in a jokey tone, which made Loki pause.

"No, I haven't had a cigarette in a while." They spoke in utter shock. Thor seemed equally shocked.
"Well, want to have one in the garden? I can get some drinks out or something. Have a real sibling chat?"
"Still not siblings." Thor didn't respond to that, looking through the fridge again.

Loki grabbed their pack of cigarettes from their room, taking care not to wake up Peter or Harley. Them and Thor ended up sat out the back, sipping from their bottles of beer.

"This tastes like shit." Loki grimaced but took another swig anyways.
"Then stop drinking." Thor commented. Loki gave him a small sarcastic laugh.
"No." Loki leaned back in their garden chair. "I need to get shitfaced. As soon as physically possible."

Thor laughed, sipping from his own bottle.
"This reminds me of when we were kids."

Loki gave him a look. "Remind me again?"
"When I was in like, year 9 and you used to cause scenes so I could sneak alcohol from the cupboards!" It hit Loki and they laughed.

"I remember that! Remember that one time that Mum almost caught you?" Thor nodded, sitting up a bit more.
"Oh my god, yes! You pretended to vomit to get her attention!" Loki laughed a bit more, tapping ash off the end of their cigarette.
"I was off school for a week!"

"That was hilarious! You literally hated school but still wanted to go!" Thor smiled and Loki's head tipped back as they laughed.
"I hated being home though! Hela had just moved out and you were out with your friends!"

"It was fun to torment her before that." Thor agreed. Loki nodded, taking a drag and holding it in his lungs. It was only when he needed air that he let it go.
"Think she's got a good life now?" They asked.

Thor seemed to wait before nodding.
"Maybe. Think she finally got all the cats that she wanted?" Loki leaned back on their chair.

"She used to always complain about Odin being allergic to them. Didn't she hide a cat in her room for like, 8 months before he found out?" Loki looked out over the unnecessarily big garden. It had always pissed Loki off with how much Odin bought with no real need for it. Why have such a big garden if you don't need to?

"Wasn't its name like, Surtur or something like that?" Thor noted, grabbing another bottle from the small glass table separating their chairs.
"Yeah. It was probably because of her obsession with mythology. And it kind of made sense since it was a black and ginger cat." Loki shrugged, sipping from their bottle.

The metal lid from Thor's bottle fell onto the table with a little clink and Loki's bottle followed it. It was a bit over three quarters empty and Loki crossed one leg over the other. Their thoughts were running around in their head, all random and nonsensical.

They took out their phone, setting it up against the case of bottles on the table. They looked over to Thor and opened their camera app.
"Photo?" Loki half-asked, half-exclaimed.

Thor seemed to light up and Loki set a timer on their phone, making sure the flash was on. It started counting down and they did a quick hair check before sticking their tongue out as Thor did a peace sign.

The flash went off and Loki laughed as Thor recoiled, clearly not expecting the sudden light. The photo turned out with a posing Loki and a blurry Thor who had moved to cover his eyes at the flash.

Loki rolled their eyes when Thor complained about not warning him. They looked at the photo and smiled a bit. It was put into their favorites album in their gallery, along with all the other stupid photos of them and their friends. It had Harley, Peter and Mobius.

They clicked their phone off as Thor opened another bottle for them, having knocked theirs over in his shock.

This was nice.

Loki smiled a bit more.

The house's parties were really bad. Usually.

This one wasn't. Someone had funded it because they were looking to adopt a kid. It was bribery.

Harley knew this.

His shirt wasn't enough to keep him warm in the early March weather. he had no fucking idea how Loki could wear skirts in this weather. Loki himself was currently sat in a shaded corner one an old garden chair, sipping a can of Coke that had something other than sugar and caffeine in it.

The younger kids were playing and drinking juice while Harley could see Loki sneakily pouring alcohol into the older kid's drinks when they asked. Classic Loki. Harley decided against waiting for the rich asshole who funded this to show up, going back into the building. It was empty inside, almost everyone hanging out outside.

Harley checked the fridge, grabbing an old can of Fanta. He didn't like it all that much but it was all he had. He kind of wanted to go get Peter and ask him to sit outside with him but decided against it. Peter had gone to bed late last night, still in their room. He was either still asleep or hiding. Probably both.

The door was held open by a box so anyone could see in or out easily. It kinda freaked Harley out a bit, knowing everyone outside was able to see inside freely. Loki walked in and had a little chat with him before taking off with his severely alcoholic Coke with them. He went to leave when one of the little kids rammed into his legs. His drink almost fell out of his hands and he grabbed the kid's arm before they fell over.

"What did I tell you about running around indoors, Jamie?" He scolded and the little ginger boy apologised, signing quickly. Harley went to say more but was interrupted by a knock on the kitchen table. He looked over and saw the asshole from before stood there, in a suit and sunglasses. Tacky. As expected from Tony Stark.

Harley gave him a weird look, going back to Jamie.
"What's he doing here?" Jamie signed out a quick answer.

Paid for the party. Wanted an 'adult' drink. Harley nodded and the little boy ran off, going back outside to play with the others. Harley ignored Stark until he cleared his throat and spoke.
"Hi there."

"What are you doing here?" Harley asked bitterly, glaring at Stark as he did.
"Isn't that much obvious?"
"No. Could be a popularity move, a thing of boredom or you just wanting attention." Harley listed off, sipping from his can of Fanta.

"I'm here to foster." Stark said plainly and Harley hesitated.
"Why here?" He asked warily.

"What?" The man looked dumbfounded and Harley glared at him over the rim of his can.
"If you're looking for a kid, why here?" Harley gestured around him.

"Why wouldn't I come here?" Stark asked, taking off his obnoxious sunglasses.
"This is literally a home for 'troubled kids.'" Harley said, evidently confused. "Why did you come here?" He opened the fridge, grabbing one of the Fantas and putting it on the table for the man.

"The kids here deserve a shot at a good life too, don't they?" Stark ignored the drink, instead rooting through the higher up cupboards. Harley hated how he spoke. He spoke like he knew everything. Like he knew everything about everyone around him. He was a confident bastard.

"You won't find anything in there." Harley said, bored and still a bit confused. He rolled his eyes as Stark also ignored that.

"How are you feeling? Last I saw you, you almost killed yourself while beaten black and bruised." Tony said simply and Harley paused. "Who is it? The older kids here? Old foster home? A shitty school life?" Talk about blunt. Harley didn't answer for a second. What the fuck?

"Nothing that concerns you? Anyways, all the kids worth fostering are out there. Only the guests and high ones are here." Harley really just said that to get the man to leave, even though it did have some truth to it. Stark gave him a look, taking the Fanta off the table.

"And which one of those are you?" He asked and Harley shrugged.
"Neither so far." Stark nodded, giving Harley a look before looking around the home.

"See you later." He said, which caused Harley to grimace.
"That sounds very wrong." Harley spoke as he sipped his drink.
"Really?"
"Yep." Harley got up and left, heading back up the stairs.

The landing was empty and he made his way to his and Peter's room. He knocked before walking in, seeing Peter on the fire escape. It was cold, the window opened and Peter's shadow covered most of the open floor. Harley climbed out to sit beside Peter, offering his drink to him.

"Some rich guy's here. Looking to foster." Harley said simply and Peter accepted his drink as he moved to sit on the step above Harley's.
"You gonna ask to go with him?" Peter asked jokingly.
"Nah. Seems too pretentious for me."

"Really? How so?"
"He wears sunglasses indoors." Harley said it like it was the most offensive crime ever.
"So do I." Peter smirked a bit.
"But you're cute when you do it. He just looks weird and tacky."

Peter hummed a bit, putting his phone down on one of the steps. "He asked about me. Which was weird." Peter gave Harley a look.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."

"Think he'll foster you?" Harley tilted his head a bit.
"Probably not. I basically called him a pedo a minute ago." Peter laughed a bit and Harley smiled at the sound.

"No way!" Peter exclaimed, nudging Harley's shoulder a bit.
"Yep. Not exactly a great impression." Harley laughed, laying his head on Peter's leg. "I couldn't leave you anyway."
"If he asks, go with it. I don't wanna be the reason why you end up stuck here until we turn 18." Peter said quietly.

"I'll see." Harley nodded, patting Peter's leg a bit.
"Promise me that?" Peter lifted his pinky and Harley locked his pinky with Peter's.
"Promise."

The lights were low, being that way to avoid a headache.

There was a new pot of coffee made, the first having been drained a while ago. Tony was still looking through some files, ignoring how painfully the computer screen was.

"Fuck. Jarvis, pull up the file for the home I visited earlier today." The AI complied quickly and Tony sifted through. There were old photos of every 'resident', none of them updated from when they were taken. He was looking for a certain one. A blond kid with a scowly face.

He didn't find that. What he did find was a familiar face but years younger. Despite being around 13 in the picture, he looked utterly miserable. Dark blonde hair, blue eyes that weren't even looking at the camera.

Tony checked the name, reading through the kid's files. Harley Keener. Age sixteen, put into the foster system at the age of ten. Moved to his current home after violent tendencies that harmed an older kid at the age of twelve. He had sent a fifteen year old to the hospital at twelve? Hell.

"Jarvis, run a facial scan. Pull up everything you can on this kid, even on social media. Any sixteen year old is online nowadays." More things popped up, a few catching his eyes. A record of being suspended in middle school over ten times, more foster homes that he'd been to and an Instagram under his name. Jesus Christ.

The kid smoked and drank, that was bad. And would probably be a massive annoyance. He was friends with two other kids, one of the Odins and a Parker. At least he wasn't a complete loner. He seemed nice enough, despite the bad habits.

"It is 3:45 am, Sir. Time to go to bed." Tony ignored Jarvis, staying at the desk as he read through multiple files. After a while, he spoke to his AI again. "Jarvis. Set up a meeting with the owner of the home regarding a Harley Keener."

He eventually fell asleep, head now sporting a red mark from where he'd knocked it on the keyboard.

Tapping pens and feet. Ticking clock. Dull topics.

School was a living hell, literally.

Geography was one of the most boring lessons imaginable. Mr Wilson droning on and on about East European countries and their most common rocks was horrible. Who honestly cared?

Loki's boots were digging into her ankles and she could see Mobius in the front corner, on his phone under the desk. She got an idea and got her phone out, pulling up hers and Mobius' messages. She sent him a cowboy emoji, followed by the word yeehaw. Mobius lifted his head up, looking back at her in confusion. He mouthed What the fuck? at her and she gave him a smile and a wave.

Mobius
Hey there, cowgirl.

You
Hey there.
Got any guns for me to see?
;)

Mobius
Bit forward, don't you think?

She waited as he typed something, pausing when Mr Wilson almost caught him on his phone. She kept her laughter contained as he convinced he wasn't on it. He had to turn out his pockets to prove it. If you looked close enough, you could see it hidden under his left thigh. As the teacher spoke to a teacher in the doorway, Mobius got his message back up.

Mobius
Toilets in 15?

You
Delightful.
;)

30 minutes later, Loki was skipping fourth period as she fiddled with her skirt's waistband. Mobius was pulling his jumper back on, fixing his hair boredly. Loki sat in silence on the toilet's lid, having already fixed herself up.
"Do you want to come round mine later?" Loki asked and Mobius gave her a surprised look.

"Yeah. You're at the Odin's, right?" He asked and she nodded.
"We could get some food and watch shitty romance movies?" She offered, standing up, taller than Mobius even if she didn't have her boots on.

"Sounds amazing. What time do I show up?" Mobius asked, brushing his sleeve and grabbing his water bottle from his bag on the floor.
"About 6 should do." Loki watched as Mobius washed the taste of her out of his mouth. "Taste that bad, do I?"

"Nah, just not a nice flavour to have stuck in your mouth."
"I don't do that with you." Loki pointed out with a smirk as she picked her bag up.

Mobius went red, rolling his eyes a bit.
"That's your preference. And you apparently like to swallow. Or is that some devious lie to make me feel better?" Loki laughed, opening the stall door and stepping out into the main room.

"Maybe. But it sounds like you don't mind all that much."
"Can't stop you, can I?" Mobius shrugged, following her out of the stall.

"Are the other two gonna be there?" He asked and Loki shook her head.
"Said they were 'having an early night.' So they're basically gonna fuck."
"Good for them?" Mobius said with a confused nod.

"It is! Peter's been avoiding sex for a while out of fear so it's good that he's getting over his fears." Loki explained.
"You care for him a lot." Mobius noted.

"He's a close friend. Course I care about him." Loki said simply.
"Yeah." Mobius seemed to be thinking but Loki didn't question it as she opened her bag.

A pack of cigarettes made it to her hands quickly, paired with a lighter that she'd gotten a week ago. She lit one up, offering the pack to Mobius.
"Want a fag?" Loki asked and Mobius shook his head.
"Bad for you." Loki scoffed, taking a drag and giving him a look.

"What? Won't smoke but you'll give yourself liver poisoning instead?"
"Yep."
"Dumb logic." Loki sat on one of the sinks, legs swinging a bit.

"It's not that dumb."
"It kinda is." Mobius rolled his eyes, standing on her side, leaning back on the wall.

"Alright, you win." Loki offered the pack out again. "But I'm still not gonna smoke."
"You're no fun."
"Then why on Earth are you still seeing me?" Mobius smirked and Loki rolled her eyes.

"Because you like how my legs look in tights?" She offered and he laughed a bit.
"True, but it's not just that." Mobius exclaimed and Loki blew smoke in his face. Mobius cringed, waving his hand to get rid of the smoke. "Ew." Loki rolled her eyes again, taking another heavy drag.

"You're a really funny guy." Loki commented and Mobius nodded.
"A funny guy that you fancy." He said with a smirk.

"Who said that?" She teased but she didn't say more than that. There was a little change in his expression when she said that. He looked almost hurt and she didn't like seeing it. So instead, she gave him a little kiss and shoved her cigarette in the drain of the sink she was sat on.

"See you later, then?" Loki put the pack away and Mobius nodded.
"See you later."

And she left.

The clinging thoughts of his reaction to her joke didn't leave.

Chapter Text

Loki couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so giddy.

Mobius was here. Stood in her room, looking around as she fidgeted with her hands. What could she say? Hi? A joke? Fuck!

Mobius nodded, taking his hands out of his pockets.
"It's nice in here. Very... you." Loki nodded in response awkwardly. "So, what do you want to do?" He asked and she shrugged.

"I would suggest a movie but I don't really have any." Mobius gave her a look. "Well, usually I would. But Odin kicked me off of the Netflix account and changed the password. Again." Loki explained and Mobius laughed a bit.
"Sorry. It's just funny that this isn't even the first time this has happened." She rolled her eyes and swatted his arm.

"Do you want to annoy my brother?" Loki offered and Mobius shuffled on his feet a bit.
"Won't he get mad?"
"No. He's not bad or anything." Loki hurried out. "He's nice. Just a bit weird. Doesn't really know how to act around me anymore." Mobius didn't ask questions and she hoped he'd take her word for it.

The house was desolate. Thor was meant to be in the living room, but he wasn't when they checked, and Odin wasn't home again.

That didn't bother Loki as she'd gotten used to him by now. Used to the fact that he would show up, get angry and leave again. Perfect routine for a man. Appear, be a prick, leave.

Loki showed Mobius to the kitchen, putting the kettle on. She was craving a cup of tea at the moment. Mobius walked around, inspecting basically everything about the room. It made Loki feel weirdly vulnerable. This wasn't the first time someone had come over but this time felt different. It felt more personal. Neither of them were drunk or high an it made this all feel more special.

It wasn't a bad feeling. Just weird.

Mobius went to say something but was cut off by the front door opening loudly.
"Yo, Loki! I got those weird waffles that you like!" Thor's voice echoed around the house.
"I'm down here! And they're called Stroopwafels!" She yelled back at him.

Thor walked into the kitchen, a carrier bag in hand. Bruce was also trailing behind him, being noticeably quieter. Loki grabbed a cup as the kettle finished.
"Hi." Mobius said awkwardly, waving at Thor and his boyfriend.

"Who's this?" Thor asked, looking between Mobius and Loki.
"This is Mobius. Mobius, Thor. Thor, Mobius." She introduced them but that did nothing to stop the glare that Mobius currently looked scared shitless by.

"What's he doing here?" Behind him, Bruce poked him in the shoulder.
"Be nice. He hasn't done anything wrong." Pause. "Yet."
"I don't trust him." Thor said as he put his carrier bag on the kitchen side.

Loki rolled her eyes, putting a teabag and water into her cup. Teabag first because she's not a fucking criminal or something. "Want your waffles or not?" She nodded, leaving her cup alone to grab the packaging from the table.

After an hour or so of going up and down the stairs for no reason at all, they stopped to sit down in the living room. It was empty and plain, like the rest of the house. Loki had dragged one of her blankets down from her room and they ended up sitting together on the sofa.

Two mugs of tea sat on the coffee table, new ones as Loki's had gone cold earlier. One thing they both agreed on is that cold tea is vile. The blanket was shared between them, the only one Loki owned that didn't belong specifically on her bed and nowhere else.

There was no one speaking as Mobius flicked through a book he'd found under the table and Loki scrolled through her phone. Sound after sound played from her phone, quiet to avoid annoying any of the three others in the house.

Her brother had disappeared upstairs, taking Bruce with him. Loki was eating a Stroopwafel, glad Thor had bought two packs. There wasn't a lot in each packet, as they were harder to make than normal waffels. They were still ultimately better than normal ones though.

Mobius did have one, but the packet said that if you put it on top of a hot drink, it would taste better because the syrup inside melted. There was the risk of it breaking and falling in your cup though. Hadn't happened yet, but it could happen.

The silence was nice. But Loki wouldn't mind if a conversation started.

"Is anyone else gonna show up today?" Mobius asked and Loki shook her head.
"Nope. Odin's out of the city and you already know what the other two are supposedly doing." She spoke plainly, turning her phone off.

"Your brother's scary." She scoffed, shuffling a bit.
"He's like a puppy the rest of the time. He just doesn't trust you because of how much shit Peter and Harley talk about you." Mobius nodded. Loki then realised her leg felt funny and fuzzy.
"I mean, I know most of it's true."

"Yeah. He just needs to warm up to you." Loki explained, kicking his leg a bit when she moved how she was sat. "Sorry. My leg got pins and needles.
"It's fine." Mobius waved it off and jostled his own leg. "Mine went numb like half an hour ago." Loki laughed a bit and picked up her mug, sipping her tea a bit. It was still hot and burned her upper lip. Mobius took his waffel off his cup and took a bite, seemingly happy with it "Wow. This is really sweet."

Loki nodded, taking another waffel from the packet. Despite how familiar Loki was with Mobius physically, she didn't really know about him mentally. Weird.

"it's really quiet." Mobius noted.
"Yeah. Now that Thor's upstairs, it's just us down here." Loki stated, shuffling on the sofa.

"Got anything you wanna talk about?" She asked and Mobius nodded.
"I quit the Student Council." Mobius said and Loki's eyes went wide.
"Really?"

"Yeah. I got tired of all the stuck-up assholes that go there." Mobius explained, taking another bite of his waffel. Loki nodded.
"Good. Now I don't have to listen to people complain about you reporting them." She joked, nudging his leg a bit.
"Yeah." They fall into silence again. A comfortable one.

Loki didn't ask what Mobius was looking at when his brows furrowed and his lips were pursed. It clearly wasn't very pleasant. She didn't ask. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

She wouldn't tell him to.

Soft. He smiled.

It was the soft feeling he craved. Finally, it was all soft. Even after it had just been quite the opposite.

Peter's head was on his chest, warm and soft. Harley found it wild how he could be so soft and gentle. Especially with someone as rough and rigid as himself.

Peter's face was soft. Round and young, mimicking that of a young boy. His hands were gentle, smooth as hey ran over Harley's own tough skin. He was warm, in more than just flesh. In the way he spoke. In the way he moved. In the way he looked.

Warm. Welcoming. Soft.

Harley was not soft. Or warm. Or gentle.

He was ridged and cold.

Harley was cold. From his gaze, to his words and to his skin. He was rigid in how he stood, felt and thought.

His skin was tough, cracked if you dared to put your hands on it. His ridged bones that stuck out of his chest, visible to put your gaze on and eat each rib. He was hard with each swing of his fist. With each shove and pull in an even tougher man's bed.

How? How could Peter still be with him despite all this?

Peter nuzzled into him more and Harley looked down at him.
"Your skin is really cold." Peter mentioned, splaying one of his hands over the bleached blonde's chest.

"And you're really warm. And sweaty." Harley smirked at him and Peter poked his shoulder a bit.
"You don't get to complain about me being sweaty when you just finished fucking me." Peter said as he sat up.

"No, I guess I don't." Harley got up too, grabbing his shirt from the floor. Peter had gotten off the bed, covering their condom's mess in more rubbish from in the bin. His skin was pale and unmarked, still soft and free of damage. It made Harley smile as Peter searched for a shirt to wear.

Eventually, Harley got dressed too. His usual sweatpants and a plain shirt were tugged on and he matched them with some Docs he'd found in a thrift store. Peter was drowned in one of Harley's hoodies and baggy jeans, his binder tucked into his drawers.

The two went to leave the home, deciding on milkshakes. They made it to the door before The Handler called out for Harley.
"Keener! Get in here!" She was in her office, the one room that none of the kids were allowed in without her present.

Harley shot Peter an apologetic look and walked to her office, stopping in the doorway.
"What is it?" He asked and looked in, eyes widening in shock. You've got to be joking. Was all he thought as Stark smiled from his seat in front of the Handler's desk.

"Hey Kid." Harley stood up a bit straighter and The Handler spoke.
"You're going to be spending some time with Mr Stark here."
"I can see that." Harley nodded.

"You might want to pack some stuff to take with you." The woman nodded at him and Harley left the doorway. Peter stood in the hallway, eyes comically wide.

"Tony Stark is fostering you?" He asked incredulously and Harley nodded"Guessing you heard all of that." Harley grimaced, heading back up to his and Peter's room.

"That's fucking incredible!" Peter exclaimed, hurrying after him. Harley begrudgingly grabbed an empty bag and started shoveling stuff into it.

His phone charger, his clothes, his photos and school stuff. He had a full backpack and a half full plastic bag when he finished. He'd left some stuff behind, deciding it wasn't important enough to take with him. Peter watched the whole time, talking about how happy he was for Harley.

Harley ended up standing outside of a fancy black car, holding his bags awkwardly.
"That all, Kid?" Tony asked, gesturing for Harley to hand his bag over to his chauffeur who had just opened the boot.

Harley handed his bags over, telling the guy to be gentle with them. To his credit, he was, putting them in the boot carefully. Harley say in the back, pressing himself into the left window seat.

Tony sat at the front, if anything, he was driving. Why get a chauffeur that you don't let drive you around? It made zero sense to Harley.  Before the car could start, Harley saw Peter leave the home.

Harley rolled down the window and stuck his head out, calling out for Peter.
"Pete!" Peter looked over to him and speed-walked to the car. Harley waited until he was near the window to speak. "Text me later, okay?" Peter nodded and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

The car left and Harley put his seat belt on, watching as the car pulled away from the home. It felt oddly nice. To watch it get further and further away from him. He pulled out his phone, connecting his headphones and playing music.

Harley expected to get driven straight to his new foster home. He was genuinely surprised when the car stopped outside of the mall. He was even more shocked when Stark got out of the car and gestured for Harley to follow.

"What?" He questioned, but got out of the car anyways.
"Thought you might want to grab some stuff." Stark said like it was basic knowledge.
"Don't worry, it's all on me." Stark passed before adding, "And I won't hear any of the 'paying me back' bullshit."

That was how Harley ended up in a clothing store with a shopping basket that had barely anything in it.

There was a pair of sweatpants, a cap and a dark grey shirt. Stark was currently looking at some band shirts while Harley pretended to inspect some hoodies. He was on  his phone as he thumbed through some of his options. He was waiting for a text from Marcus. It was almost 6 pm on a Friday. Marcus almost exclusively texted past 6 pm near the weekends and he expected an immediate response.

If he thought Harley was ignoring him for even a second, he'd get pissy and be even rougher when he saw him next. Harley couldn't withstand another heavily bruised throat while living with Stark. The man was already nosy enough.

Harley moved on from the hoodies, actually checking out the tank tops. He grabbed a light grey one and a black one, putting them in the basket to appease to Stark. Also because his last one still had grass stains on it. Damn it, Loki.

"You done, Kid?" Harley nodded, putting his phone away. Stark went to the checkout and paid, Harley trailing behind him absentmindedly. That might have been the most awkward shopping trip of Harley's entire life.

The Stark tower was devoid of people as they went up the elevator. A British AI-sounding voice spoke and Harley gave a weird look in no general direction.

"Hello, Sir. Welcome back from your trip to collect Harley Keener." Stark nodded.
"This is my AI, JARVIS. Say hi, he can hear you." Harley gave a little awkward wave.
"Hello to you too, Harley Keener." Harley could've sworn it sounded like the AI was smiling.

"It's just Harley, please." Harley filled in and the AI made a little beeping sound.
"Okay, Harley." Then a beep went off and Stark rolled his eyes. "Sir, are you aware that Harley currently carries cigarettes and a lighter on him?" Stark gave Harley a look of  Seriously? but nodded.

"Yes. He's allowed them. Despite the fact that he shouldn't even be able to but them at all because he's sixteen." Harley made a point of rolling his eyes as he adjusted how he held his bags.

"It could be worse. Considerably so." He shrugged. "I could be doing coke or crack."
"Doesn't mean it's not bad for you." Harley bit the inside of his cheek. That was true, but he wasn't going to stop just because one man told him to.

The tower was exactly how he guessed it to be. Spacious, plain and horribly pale. Stark seemed to notice this and spoke before Harley could complain. "I know it's bland but it's like this until further notice. Your room's down the hall, first left door." Harley nodded, walking out of the room that had a kitchen and living room combined. Weird.

His room was fairly empty, probably because no one used to use it. Leave it to Stark to have a bunch of empty rooms.

Harley put his bags down, opening one and pulling out a pack of cigarettes. It was old and battered, one that he had lost and found in a sock when he was packing. That didn't matter as he pulled one out and went to light it. He was disrupted by Stark's AI, JARVIS.

"I would not recommend that. Due to this building's policies, cigarettes are not allowed to be smoked indoors." Harley rolled his eyes, walking over to the big door that led out to a balcony.

"Can you see me all the time?" Harley asked, opening the door and stepping out.
"In the tower, yes." The terribly dull voice said.
"Do you tell Stark what I'm doing all the time?" Harley lit a cigarette and took a drag.

"Only if the footage is concerning or Mr Stark deems it as useful. Otherwise, it is all deleted." The kid nodded, looking at his ceiling like it was the one that was speaking to him. Probably was.
"So you'll only report it if I'm dying or breaking a rule?"

"Correct." Again, it sounded like the AI was smiling as it spoke.
"Brilliant."

It was then that he got a message. Finally.

Bastard
22 Acher street.
20 minutes.

That was over 30 minutes away. Well, it's not like Marcus can't wait a while. The sun was close to setting, the sky shades of orange and pink. Harley took a photo before he took a last drag and stubbed out his cigarette. It wasn't even half done.

Shit, would Stark even let him out? Didn't think of that. Harley could just ignore him and go even if he said no. He kind of had to. He felt bad about this. Even though he and Peter weren't even dating properly, it felt traitorous. Because it was.

It was wrong. It was bad.

Before he could submerge deeper into thought, his phone buzzed and he released the smoke he forgot he'd been holding. It was Marcus again, checking if he was actually going to make his way over or not. He sent a thumbs up and walked back into his room, shutting the balcony door behind him.

Harley left his stuff on the floor, only taking his pack, lighter and phone with him. The kitchen was sadly not empty, Stark sitting at the kitchen counter while he scrolled through something. The man looked up when Harley walked in, silently heading to the elevator.

"What are you doing?" Dumb question. Obviously, he's leaving. Was that not made clear by the way he walked in and immediately headed for the exit?
"Leaving?" Harley said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

"Why?" Jesus Christ, this guy was curious.
"None of your business, is it?" Harley went to leave again, guessing the conversation was over.

"It is my business because you're in my care." Stark said firmly and Harley swears he has never rolled his eyes more since he met this man.
"I don't care." He went to leave but was stopped again.

"Look, I can see that I don't have any control over what you do, but please be safe." And that was that. The man went back to his scrolling and Harley left.

It was cold out and Harley almost regretted not bringing a jacket with him. Logically, he knew should've brought one. Realistically, he knew it would get left behind or vomited on if he did bring one. So he didn't bother to go back and grab one.

There was a strange happiness to walking alone at this time. Being able to watch people go past and not have to worry if they're judging you and your friend, not have to talk or even listen to anything. He just needed to look around to know what he was doing with one of his senses.

That didn't mean the others weren't used, not at all. They just weren't focused on. He didn't focus on how he could hear younger kids talking about how shitty their families were in a passing alleyway. He didn't focus on how his mouth tasted of smoke, smoke having been the only thing able to touch it in a while. He didn't focus on the overwhelming smell of car fuel and smoke, clogging his lungs when he breathed. He didn't focus on the feeling of glass breaking under his shoe's heel.

It was a few minutes before dark when he arrived at the apartment block near school. There was a definitely not allowed dog yapping at him from one of the lower windows, a cat hissing at what he guessed was a rat under one of those big green dumpsters and muffled music coming from one of the apartments on the third floor. That was probably where he was meant to be.

He pressed the buzzer for 22, waiting before hearing the speaker crackle to life.
"Hello?" He leaned into the mic.
"Hey, it's Harley."
"Huh?"

Harley rolled his eyes, speaking into the mic again.
"Harley Keener. Marcus told me to come here." There was a pause and he could hear quiet, distorted speech from the speaker. The voice spoke again.
"Alright, come on up."

The door was released and Harley walked through as he checked his phone. It was 7:45. He was fifteen minutes late. Wonderful.

The apartment door was opened for him before he even made it there, one of Marcus' friends stood in the doorway. The guy's eyes widened when he saw Harley, an almost concerned look crossing his face.
"Shit, you're young." Harley went to walk in but the guy didn't move. "You sure you're meant to be here? You're like, what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

"I'm sixteen, asshole." That didn't help. The guy yelled into the apartment.
"Yo, Mark Is your boy meant to be so young?" There was a confirmation from inside and Harley raised an eyebrow. Marcus came to the door and smiled grossly, clearly on something.

"There he is!" Marcus' friend gave him the same look he had just given Harley, if not angrier.

"This is gonna be a statutory charge." He said to Marcus who just laughed and slapped his arm a bit.
"Oh, don't be dramatic! It's not like I'm preying on little girls." Marcus joked and Harley had to physically stop himself from saying something.
"It isn't different with little boys either." His friend said quiet enough that Harley could barely pick up on it from over the music.

The guy walked back into the apartment and Marcus dragged Harley in so he could shut the door.
"You're late." He didn't sound as jokey this time.
"Be glad I even came. I got moved further away." Harley gave a half-assed explanation, just waiting to get fucked already so he could leave.

"You said that last year, and the years before that." Harley pretended that it didn't piss him off. He'd known Marcus since he was put in the first home. The guy had been about to leave middle school and encouraged Harley to fight back against the guy who had tried kissing him that time.

Harley didn't know that Marcus had been doing the exact thing to him.

After that, they'd gotten closer and started doing stuff together. It had slowly gotten worse and worse as they got older, Marcus hitting sixteen and starting to get more sexual with his actions. Harley had just hit fourteen.

Long story short, Harley had gotten aware of the issues it had legally but was literally terrified of the older guy. He'd tried ignoring him but only got rewarded with a couple dozen threats and insults and a drugged-out night at Marcus' house. Harley didn't know what happened that night and he didn't want to.

The apartment was quite frankly scary. It would be if Harley didn't know that the guys in it were the dumbest men he'd ever met. All they cared about was getting intoxicated and getting their dicks wet.

Forgive him for not shaking in fear.

There were three other guys in the main room, two sat on the couch as the other one sat on the floor. One of the couch guys wolf-whistled at Harley and he glared at the guy. It was the most he could do without angering the rest of them.

Harley was a good fighter, but even he knew he couldn't win against five guys in a fist fight.

"You brought a friend!" The second couch guy said when he finally spotted Harley.
"Marcus! Didn't know you like 'em younger!" Harley rolled his eyes, but stayed close to Marcus just in case.

Marcus placed a pill in his hand and Harley put it on his tongue, hesitating before swallowing it.

Down. Done. What was that pill again?

Damn it.

Chapter Text

Usually, if you woke up to someone yelling at you, you'd be surprised. Shocked or even angry.

Harley wasn't.

Wait, why was he waking up? It was the middle of the day, not morning and his alarm hadn't gone off. Had it?

His head was cradled in something soft, but not his pillow. He opened his eyes, light practically blinding him when he did. His head was spinning and he felt dizzy.

"He's awake!" Someone yelled. Who? They were the one he was laid on, so they had to be someone close to him to let him do that. They helped him lay more comfortably, head resting on their lap. A blue bracelet caught Harley's attention. Peter.

"Harley! Shit, are you okay?" Peter asked and Harley sat up quickly.
"Yeah, fuck. What happened?" Harley shook his head, ignoring how heavy his skull felt.
"You fainted. In class." Harley looked around, realising he was eye level with a table leg. Shit.

There were only two other people in the room though. A teacher and Peter. Harley used a nearby table to stand up, knowing it was his because the ever iconic 'Mr Stone is a pedo!' that someone had engraved right before he got fired. Guess why he got fired?

Turns out, school graffiti can hold some truth.

Harley's head hurt, his vision dizzy and vomit-inducing. His hand covered his mouth. Don't vomit. He didn't have enough to vomit up anyways. It would just be bile and stomach acid.

Peter held Harley steady with a hand on the hip, skin warm. "You okay?"
"Yeah. Just a bit woozy." Harley waved him off, spotting his bag on his chair.

He went to leave, but the teacher, Ms Brown, stopped him.
"I can't let you go to your next lesson, Mr Keener." She sounded understanding but strict. "You have to go home now."

Before he could protest, Peter had his hand on Harley's arm.
"Harley. Seriously. You have to go home." Harley gave in and let Peter lead him to the front office.

The office was empty, the same bad wooden chairs in the bland room. The usual posters about how bad certain things like drugs and that were, the bored receptionist who definitely got paid more than what was legal and one of the kids who was always fighting. Harley sat in the corner, alone as Peter had gone to his next lesson.

The school had phoned Tony and he was apparently on his way. Harley wouldn't be too surprised if he was left to wait until school ended and take himself home. Safe to say that he was that shocked when a familiar plain black car pulled up outside the school and a worried Tony walked out. The man hurried into the office, spotting Harley and giving him a thumbs up.

Tony signed the forms and walked over to Harley, standing in front of him. Harley glanced at the other kid in the office and flipped him off when he gaped at him like a fish.
"Are you ready to go, Kid?" Harley nodded, standing up and noting how Tony looked ready to catch him. Harley made sure not to trip or wobble on the walk to the car.

Tony had come without his driver, Happy Hogan, and Harley sat behind Tony's seat so he couldn't see him properly. Harley shoved his earbuds in, blasting a song so loud he was sure Tony could hear it. He couldn't speak to anyone right now. Especially not Tony.

He was vaguely aware that he had to speak to someone soon, the social worker he'd known since he was ten. He had a meeting with her later, where he was asked about how he was finding the foster home. She always asked the same questions. Are you safe? Are you being hurt? Are you happy? He always gave the same answers. Yes, I'm safe. No, I'm not being hurt. But he never answered the last one.

He knew that Tony was probably picking up on what was happening. Why he left the house so much. Why he always came back late, covered in dark marks and sickly yellowly-green wrists. If Tony asked, he'd probably tell him. Not everything. He'd tell him about the relationship. Nothing else.

Not the age gap. Not the violence. Not the drugs. Not the trapped feeling that haunted his every moment. Not about that.

The car pulled up and Harley climbed out of it, making his way to his room at record speed. JARVIS kicked into speech as soon as he stepped foot into his room.
"Good afternoon, Harley. How was your day?" Harley shrugged, putting his bag down on his bed.
"Not too bad." He didn't actually feel that bad today, even despite the fainting incident. "Will Tony be home for long?"

"Mr Stark is heading back to a meeting now. He left earlier to collect you." The AI spoke simply and Harley nodded, putting his phone on his bed with his earbuds. "Mr Stark has also told me to ask if you wanted to bring a friend over." Harley raised an eyebrow.
"What the fuck? Why?"

"Language, Harley. He feels as though you shouldn't be by yourself in the tower so much." Harley nodded, checking his phone for the time. It was currently 1:34 and Peter was going to be in Chemistry. He texted Peter asking if he wanted to stay over on Friday as it was a Tuesday and he hated sleepovers during week days. Peter agreed with a quick thumbs up.

"Done. Is Tony going to bring anyone over? Or is it just Rhodes again?" JARVIS answered with the usual answer.
"Colonel Rhodes is at the meeting with him but will be coming back here after."

"Really? Sick." Rhodes was a cool guy. Apparently, he'd known Tony for years and he spent a good amount of his supposed free time at the tower. At the start, he didn't really speak to Harley, deciding to let Harley decide when they should speak.

Now they spoke more, getting to know each other better without Tony's help.

Harley stayed in his room for about an hour and half in his room, scrolling online, before he got up and walked over to the balcony. Instead of carrying his cigarettes around the tower all the time, he started keeping them sheltered under a plastic box on the balcony. At the home, there was always the risk that one of the other kids would steal them if left them laying around, but he knew that no one at the tower would take them.

He smoked one before heading into the main room. He texted Loki that he was bored and they texted him a recipe for brownies that seemed good enough. "Hey, JARVIS?"
"Yes, Harley?"
"Would Tony get mad if I made brownies?" JARVIS confirmed that Tony wouldn't and Harley decided to make them.

When Rhodes and Tony arrived at the tower, there was flour dusting the floor and counter and Harley was wondering why the fuck his brownie mix was so runny. The elevator opened and Harley looked up from his bowl. Tony and Rhodes were wearing suits which were expected from Tony and whoever he dragged to his meetings.

Rhodes was the first to ask about the baking mess.
"What are you trying to make?"
"Brownies." Harley said as he gave his mix another whisk.
"Well, you're really shit at it."

Tony slapped Rhodes' arm.
"Language in front of the kids." Harley flipped him off and Rhodes took the mixing bowl from Harley.

Rhodes inspected the mix and asked,
"Did you put three eggs in this?" Harley nodded. "That's where it went wrong. You put too much liquids and not enough solids."

"But the recipe said to put three eggs in?" Harley checked his phone again. Yeah, it said three.
"Sometimes the recipes are wrong." Rhodes shrugged and grabbed the bag of flour.

While he put flour gradually in the mix, Harley spoke to Tony.
"Did you know he could bake?" Tony nodded.
"Course I did. He makes amazing peanut butter cookies." Harley gave him a nod and Tony continued speaking.

"He used to make them all the time when we were younger, but he never has time to now." Harley noted how Tony looked a bit sad and made a mental note to ask for the recipe later. Tony waved himself off, speaking again. "Anyway, are you ready for your meeting?" Harley nodded, hearing the oven open and shut behind him.

"They're in now. Gotta wait for at least 25 minutes." Rhodes put the washing up in the sink and Harley helped him clean up the flour mess. Harley shoved the egg shells in the bin and Rhodes put the flour away, Tony telling JARVIS to set a timer.

Twenty minutes later, Harley was brushing flour off his sleeves and sitting opposite an old lady at a desk. The room was empty otherwise and she had a clipboard and pen. He was bored already.

"You know the routine by now." She said and Harley nodded.
"I'm doing okay. I'm not being hurt. I don't want to be moved to the home again." She wrote his down and looked up at him.

"Still avoiding the last one?" He nodded, picking at his nails.
"I think you know the answer by now." He smiled and she sighed.
"We will need an answer soon. If this fostering becomes something more, I will need to know if you're happy in your current home."

Harley paused for a second. What?
"What do you mean by something more?" He sat up a bit straighter.
"I mean adoption, Harley." The lady gave him a smile and rolled his eyes. Bullshit.

"I'm gonna tell you now. That will never happen." He said plainly.
"I think you're wrong." He glared at her. "This is the longest you've stayed in a foster home in years. And Mr Stark seems to be the only one who has actively vouched for you being a good kid."

Harley's eyes widened. He distantly heard Rhodes yell that the brownies were done at Tony.
"What?"
"On the forms, foster parents also get to decide if they enjoy having the child around. Stark had gone out of his way saying how good a kid you are."

"Oh." Harley looked back down at his hands, the lady starting to pack her stuff away.
"We're done here. And I think you have brownies waiting for you." She smiled and left, Harley following her out of the room.

She left and he walked into the main room. Rhodes was putting sprinkles on one of the brownie slices, seemingly making a design with them. Harley looked over his shoulder and saw a bad mix of white, black and dark brown.

"What the fuck is that meant to be?" He asked, looking at it in confusion. It looked like an emoji or a bad stick-man zoomed in.
"It's meant to be Tony. Can't you see the resemblance?" The man joked and Harley laughed as he nodded.

"Looks exactly like him. You're an artist, Rhodes." Rhodes raised an eyebrow.
"How many times have I said to call me James?"
"I think 31 by now." Harley smiled.

"So why don't you?" Rhodes handed him the sprinkles pot.
"No clue." Harley shrugged and put a bit of sprinkles on a brownie slice. Rhodes sighed and Tony came into the room, smiling when he saw the brownies.

Harley held up Rhodes' one with a smirk.
"It's you." Tony gasped in offense.
"Homophobia!" He said dramatically.

Rhodes laughed and Harley took a bite of his brownie. He thought he saw Tony smile a bit more, but ignored that.
"You're queer?" He questioned and Tony shrugged.
"Don't know what I am, don't care. I like guys too. Who gives a shit?"

Harley nodded, eating his brownie happily. Damn. "Did you not know?" Tony asked and Harley shook his head.
"Not like I care that much." He said, boredom clear in his voice.
"So you don't know who my husband is either?" Tony smirked and Harley gaped.

"You're married?" Rhodes answered by lifting his and Tony's left hands simply, showing off matching gold rings. "No fucking way! How long?" Tony thought for a second.
"About eight years now?" Rhodes nodded, handing his husband the brownie that was supposed to show himself.
"Yeah. Anniversary's in a month or so."

"How did I not know this? I literally live here!" Harley said in confusion.
"Rhodes isn't a bag PDA guy but also because we were worried you wouldn't approve." Harley rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Your gaydars are failing you." He said solemnly, getting handed a new brownie.

After a while, he ran off to his room. He had unpacked some of his stuff, some still sitting in a bag. He had stuck up some of his photos, with blue tack as it was easier to take down and pack away. He didn't expect to stay for too much longer.

Despite that, he kinda did want to stay. It was nice here. Tony treated him like he would his own kid and if that didn't set off Harley's daddy issues, he didn't know what could.

It was early when he decided to take a nap, phone turned off and put to the side.

This was nice. He didn't want to leave.

Something was wrong with the kid. Seriously.

Tony had brushed off how twiggy Harley was when he first met him, deciding it was just high metabolism or whatever, but had gotten more concerned the longer he'd been around the kid.

The boy barely ate around him, and when he did it wasn't a lot. Tony had thought that Harley had been late at night when he was asleep at the beginning but JARVIS had confirmed otherwise. He had also informed Tony that Harley's physical state was bad, bad circulation and being cold nearly all the time. Tony had just thought that it was nothing until he researched and started taking note of Harley's eating habits more often.

He felt guilty about it but needed to know if Harley was alright.

And he wasn't.

Tony was sat on the couch, debating if he should go ask to speak to Harley or wait for Harley to speak to him. According to Tony's research, this could be either Anorexia or something called OSFED. Other specified feeding or eating disorder. It even sounded bad.

Rhodes had gone to bed earlier, telling Tony not to stay up too late worrying. Tony had nodded and waited until past dark before Harley had walked into the room.
"Oh. Hey, Tony." Tony looked up at him, Harley standing awkwardly.

"Kid. We need to talk." Harley nodded and stayed by the counter. Tony got up and walked over, sitting on one of the bar stools. He gestured for Harley to sit down and the kid did, giving Tony a weird look.

Tony sighed, debating on how to word this. He didn't want to upset Harley and needed to word this carefully. That's what Rhodes had done with him when they were younger.
"Are you okay, Tony?" Harley asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I know you're not eating properly." Tony blurted out and Harley seemed to freeze. It was silent.
"What?" The kid asked quietly.

"I don't want to upset you, but this is really important." Tony said carefully. "I've noticed that you don't eat a lot, or at all. And it's not just around me either." His words were put together carefully, but he was worried he was doing this badly. Fuck, he should've asked Rhodes for help.

No. He can do this. Harley didn't need to be crowded through this conversation.

"It's concerning and I know you're going to hate this, but JARVIS has been watching over you for a while." Harley hadn't spoken and didn't look like he would. Tony sighed again and continued speaking. "I don't want to be overbearing, but I'm worried. You might have an eating disorder. And I want to help you."

Harley looked down at his thin hand on the counter and Tony considered holding it. He decided that if Harley wanted the comfort of it, he would decide that. "Harley, I need you to speak." He said gently.

"I'm fine." Harley said quietly and Tony frowned a bit. Harley reminded himself of when he was his age.
"Harley. You're not okay and I can tell you're not. And I want to help." Tony said softly. Harley looked away, out of the wide glass that spanned around the building. "Harley, please listen to me." Tony paused for a second, making sure Harley wouldn't get upset if he spoke more

"You're not okay. I want to help you before it gets even worse." Tony took a breath, noting how Harley's bottom lip trembled and his hand became a fist on the counter. "Will you let me help you?" He sounded almost pleading.

Harley didn't speak again, tears pricking his eyes. Tony's heart broke a bit.
"Okay." Harley nodded, still avoiding Tony's eyes. Tony nodded back.
"Okay. Good."

Harley seemed to hesitate before arms were around Tony. Harley was hugging him. What should he do? Tony hugged him back, feeling a few drops of water on his shirt. Harley was crying on him. Tony didn't care.

"Do I have to get diagnosed?" Harley asked quietly, pulling back and going back to his stool. Tony shook his head.
"No. It would be useful but no." Tony said with a nod.
"I don't want to. I know it's harder for people with diagnosed disorders to get jobs. I don't want that." Harley spoke barely above a whisper.

"And that's okay." Tony nodded again, keeping his voice calm despite wanting to cry out of joy. The kid was accepting help. Good.

"We can take this one day at a time." Harley nodded this time, wiping his eyes on the back of his sleeves. "You don't have to get better immediately and it can be hard, but I'll help you as much as I can. Okay?" Harley looked up at Tony properly.

"One day at a time?" He asked and Tony gave him a small smile.
"One day at a time." He confirmed and got up from his seat.

"Do you want some dinner?" Tony asked with a smile, patting Harley's shoulder as he walked around the counter to the cupboards. Harley nodded and made a little laughing sound. "What? What's funny?" Tony asked jokingly.

"Nothing. And yes, I'd like some dinner." Tony nodded and got some instant Mac and Cheese out of the cupboards, filling a pan with water and pouring the pasta in. When it was done, he and Harley sat and ate together at the counter. Harley didn't finish it all and Tony found that fair. He had put a lot on the kid's plate and Harley did grab two brownie slices after.

One day at a time.

Dates were hard in a city like this. Especially non-crowded dates.

So Loki and Mobius had their dates at each other's houses. Sleepovers, dinners, video game tournaments and movie marathons. Currently, they were on their way to Mobius' house, his father coming back home late that night.

It was right after school, the sun was high and bright in the sky. It was still a bit cold but it was fine. There was also a hint of celebration. It was Mobius' birthday. He was now officially an adult. Eight-fucking-teen.

It had been fun embarrassing Mobius during school. Loki had gotten Thor to lend him his car, picking Mobius up with almost a ton of confetti and balloons. Then Loki, Peter and Harley had dragged Mobius out of his second period Math class to sing Happy Birthday loudly in the hallway.

They'd brought in snacks and Loki retrieved the balloons from the car to tape onto the bench they sat at at lunch, eating a small cake Harley had brought in with the school's plastic knives and forks. The presents were done and Mobius had struggled to put the box of CDs and DVDs Loki got him into his school bag. Loki had been very happy with that.

It had been a fun day and Mobius had wanted Loki over to have a small moment of just them before heading over to Loki's. Just in case.

Of course, Loki had made various pedophilia jokes to Mobius, who had just accepted the with little to no complaints.

They were walking as Thor had taken the car to drive home and set up a party with Peter, Harley and his friends. Loki had warned Mobius about how loud it was gonna be, but he seemed fine with it. If anything, he'd said it sounded like good fun.

Mobius' hand grazed Loki's and Loki felt his breathing stop. Mobius looked away a bit and then they were holding hands. It was fine. Loki definitely wasn't freaking the fuck out. Externally, at least.

When they got to Mobius' house, he let them in and the two headed up to his room. Loki sat down on his bed almost immediately, Mobius searching for clothes to wear at the party. Mobius' panic was also really funny.
"Love, you don't need to dress up fancy. I can guarantee that over three people will be in joggers."

Mobius gave Loki a look but grabbed a new shirt and trousers anyway. He changed while Loki checked his messages. This felt nice. Just them being close without anyone to disturb them.

Mobius caught Loki's attention again by pushing the phone away and getting close to him. But he didn't kiss him. Loki had to start the kiss, pressing his lips to Mobius' gently. They kissed, holding each other close. Mobius was holding Loki's face gently with Loki's hands on his hips.

Then the door opened.

And everything went wrong.

Mobius' father stood in the doorway, fury painted on his face. Mobius could barely pull back before the man was yelling. None of it was nice. All slurs and insults and threats. Loki felt frozen. No fucking way this was who Mobius' father was.

"I want you out of my house." That was when Loki felt hatred, not anger.
"Dad!" Mobius exclaimed, looking at his father in horror.
"I don't care! I will not have a fag living under my roof!"

Mobius had tears in his eyes and Loki watched as Mobius grabbed some stuff and shoved it into a bag. He grabbed Loki's hand, dragging him out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house.

The yelling followed them, fading as they walked. Loki was only let go when they had made it 2 blocks away from his house. The sun was still out and bright and Loki hated it.

Loki spoke quietly,
"Holy shit. Why didn't you tell me about him? Are you okay?" Mobius seemed to stop holding the tears back. He cried and leaned on Loki as he did. His bag hung loosely on his shoulder and Loki put his down to wrap his arms around Mobius.

They stood like that for a while, Loki holding Mobius until the tears stopped and Mobius had almost made himself vomit with his violent sobs. Loki rubbed his back and Mobius pulled back, wiping at his face.

"I'm sorry." Loki furrowed his brow.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. It's his fault, not yours." Mobius nodded, picking up Loki's bag and handing it to him. "You're staying at mine tonight."

The walk to Loki's was silent, the two holding hands as they walked. They had already decided not to tell anyone for the day, not wanting to ruin the celebrations.

Loki's thoughts ran as they walked, dreading for Mobius. Could he even legally get a place to live? Mobius stopped at a bank, digging his wallet out of his bag.
"What are you doing?" Loki asked.
"He'll stop my card soon. I need to take it all out before he does."

There were four ATMs in the building and they snagged one quickly. Mobius was quick to put in his card and empty it, having to put the card in and take it out and restart the process a good amount of times to fully rinse it. As soon as he had, they shoved all of it into Mobius' bag, putting a surprising amount of paper in it.

"I've been saving. Mobius explained when Loki explained. That made Loki's heart sink. He'd been prepared for this. He had been expecting this. That was horrible.
"How much is it?" Loki asked incredulously. Mobius shifted on his feet a bit as he put his wallet away. He then snapped his card in half, shoving the broken halves into a nearby bin.

"It's about $10,000. I've been saving for a long time now. It's good that my father's such a rich asshole that would rather throw money at me then speak to me. Anyways, the average rent is about $1,500 and I was going for at least a year's worth of rent. The rest is in my room."
"That's okay." Loki smiled and they left, close to his home now.

They paused outside of Loki's house, Mobius preparing himself for everything. Loki held both their bags as he did, watching Mobius adjust his clothes. The front door was opened and they could hear chatter from the living room. They took off their shoes and walked into the living room, Mobius immediately being bombarded by people.

The party was fun, but Loki spent it worrying about Mobius. He smiled and laughed with people. Hid his face when they all sang and recorded him blowing out his candles. But Loki knew something was wrong. How was Mobius this good at lying?

People started leaving, heading back to their homes. That was when Loki spoke to Mobius properly. Loki walked over as Mobius was putting rubbish in a black bag.
"Was that okay for you?" He asked and Mobius nodded.
"Yeah. Don't worry about that." He smiled but it did little to calm Loki's nerves.

"Mobius, I'm going to worry about you. You're my boyfriend, I'm meant to worry about you." Loki said firmly.
"Loki." Mobius said back, tying the full bag.
"Mobius!" Loki sighed.

"Do you want to ask Thor for help?" Mobius nodded.
"He's the only adult I can ask anyways." He laughed but Loki stayed quiet.

Loki called Thor down to the living room, sitting on the sofa with Mobius. It was quiet, no one was speaking. Thor broke that silence.
"So. What's going on?" Loki glanced at Mobius, who looked back up at him, a worried look on his face.

Loki didn't make him say anything.

Mobius told him everything.

Chapter Text

Moving out is supposedly scary. Mobius wouldn't know.

All he knew was that he was scared.

He hadn't slept that night, poking at the remains of the party food in the kitchen. It didn't feel real.

Everything felt like it was on pause. Everything felt frozen and fake. He shoved a bit of cake into his mouth, focusing on that instead anything else.

The kitchen light flicked on and he lifted his head from the table.
"Mobius?" Loki's sleep thick voice was quiet in the kitchen, rubbing his eyes as he stepped towards Mobius. His footsteps were muffled by his fluffy socks, matching the black band shirt and grey shorts he wore as pajamas.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" He asked and Loki yawned.
"Looking for you. Why are you up?" Loki asked back, sitting down next to Mobius.

"Just... couldn't sleep." Mobius lied, ignoring the look Loki gave him.
"It's okay if you're feeling down." Loki assured. "Shit has just gone to, well, shit. It's okay if you're stressed." Mobius nodded, sliding the plate of cake over to Loki.
"Don't want it anymore." He mumbled and Loki sighed.

"Just did my teeth but okay." Loki got up from his seat, opening the cutlery drawer and getting two forks out. He sat back down next to Mobius who shook his head when Loki offered him one of the forks.
"I'm not hungry."

"Well, I'm not gonna eat all this by myself." Loki put the fork down in front of him and Mobius sighed. He picked up the fork and ate a tiny bit, Loki watching as he did. He nodded and ate some himself. "My birthday's soon." Loki said quietly and Mobius gave him a side-wards glance. "And I can get a job too."
"What are you saying?" Mobius asked with a small sigh, completely not in the mood for riddles.

"I'm saying I could move in with you." His heart missed a beat and he gaped a bit.
"What? He spluttered out and Loki sighed, shaking his head with a small smile.

"I can move out and we could have a flat together. I know you've always dreamed of one." Before Mobius could ask, Loki spoke again. "Drunk chats. But anyway, we could move in together. Finish school and make our own ways in life." Mobius nodded, putting his fork down. "Will you?" Mobius nodded again.

"Will Thor let you?" The small nod was enough for Mobius to let out a tear, breath hitching a bit on his next words. "Okay. We can do it."
"Let's do it." Loki smiled.

Then he looked down at the plate between them. "Now. Are we finishing this or are we getting our asses to bed?" Mobius let out a small laugh. Leave it to Loki to lighten any mood.
"Preferably both." He nudged Loki's fork with his and they ate in silence. Despite the little fight over the last bit, which Loki obviously won, it was calm and quiet.

Just the two of them, sat together.

Then, on the way back to Loki's room, Mobius spoke. "Do you think anyone else in school is dealing with this?" Loki gave him a look.
"Maybe. But that doesn't matter for now. Because my main focus is you and making the last," Loki checked his phone, "twenty seven minutes of your eighteenth birthday the best they possibly can be."

Mobius laughed again, quiet to avoid bugging Thor.
"Thanks for this. All of it." Loki rolled his eyes with a smile.
"I'm Loki. Helping people is what I do." Mobius nodded, stepping into Loki's room with him.

The two ended up laying on Loki's bed, Mobius fully clothed and Loki in just a bra as he'd overheated in the shirt, sipping from a bottle of cheap wine together. Loki's head was laid on Mobius' stomach, Mobius' head resting on one of Loki's pillows.

"I hate this." Mobius slurred. "When I was younger, I thought my eighteenth birthday would be a big party that bested all the previous ones." He scoffed, handing the bottle to Loki. "Nope. I'm kicked out and getting drunk at nearly midnight."

Loki lifted his head, taking a sip before shaking his head.
"If your eighteenth is shit, we'll make sure your twenty-first is one to remember."
"Yeah? And how will we do that?" Mobius smiled.

"We'll get fireworks. All our friends and good family members. Food that everyone likes and we'll have a barbecue." Loki paused a bit, looking up at Mobius. "Do you like barbecues?" Mobius laughed a bit, nodding.
"I love 'em."
"Good!"

Mobius nodded along as Loki spoke, a big smile painted on the black haired boy's face. His heart felt warm as he listened as Loki recounted the imaginary party for Mobius' twenty-first.

He loved Loki so much.

The image of the little flat came back, blacks and greens infesting and covering parts of the oranges.

It's a Sunday afternoon, the sun's high in the sky and Harley's smoking a cigarette on the balcony of one of the tallest buildings in New York City. If he squinted hard enough, he could distantly see school.

It was hot. Not hot enough to make his skin crawl but hot enough for him to wear a tank top. He was wearing a dark grey tank top and black shorts, wanting to get a bit of a tan. His hair was brushed out and a bit deflated compared to how he usually had it styled. Peter had called it unusual and ruffled it a bit, the only reason it was decent at the moment.

Peter was making food with Tony in the kitchen, no doubt something Harley would like and want to eat. All Harley was that it would definitely require tomatoes as he could smell them through the floor he was on.

Harley smiled. It had been a week since Mobius' birthday and nearly four since his and Tony's chat about the eating disorder thing. Harley had seen how he had meant it when he said he'd help.

He'd only made food Harley had specifically stated he liked, gone out of his way to try new recipes and given Harley access to the kitchen whenever. JARVIS had been programmed to help Harley when he made his own food, saving recipe after recipe to his database.

Harley was there at every grocery shop, helping pick out actual foods and snacks for the month. James even helped when he could. They all cooked together, ate together and cleared up the mess together.

Obviously, there had been days where it all felt impossible. Everything looked slimy and the mere thought of eating any of it made him vomit. Where he'd expected Tony to be mad, he was met with a smile and an offer to make something different until the man found something Harley would eat even a small amount of.

Peter had spent more time at the tower, having started to be more friendly to Tony. He had joined in on Tony's plan to help Harley get better. It was nice that everyone was helping. They cared enough to.

His lungs emptied of smoke as he breathed out, his phone screen being blurred out before the smoke disappeared in the slight breeze. Harley felt a small shiver down his spine and relished the momentarily cold air. His last drag was quick, cut short by a knock on his bedroom door.

"Harley? Lunch is done!" Tony called through the door. Harley stubbed out his cigarette butt, flicking it off the balcony. He watched it fall, adjusting the straps of his tank top before stepping back into his room. The balcony door was left open to cool his room out and he opened his bedroom door.

Tony stood outside, hands in his pockets.
"What's dinner then?" He asked and Tony led him into the main room.
"It's this salad thing for the side. Extra tomatoes because I know you like that stuff."

"The whole building stinks of it." Harley joked and the two walked in to see Peter stirring something a metal bowl aggressively.
"There's chicken and mayo sandwiches for the main. Drinks in the fridge and coffee is fresh in the pot." Tony listed off as he grabbed plates from the higher cupboards.

"Do we have cheese?" Harley asked, grabbing a glass from the draining rack. He filled it with water and chugged it quickly. He refilled it and was handed a plate of food, accompanied by a carefully balanced fork.
"We have got cheese. Freshly grated." Tony put the small bag on the table. "Rhodey!" He called out, Harley sitting down with Peter at the table. "If you don't get out here, I'm putting your food in the bin!"

As soon as Tony sat down, James walked in and took his seat beside the man.
"You wouldn't dare." He joked.
"You wanna test that theory?" Tony put cheese on his own plate before Harley grabbed a handful and dumped it on his food.

They ate and talked about basically everything, including whether or not the famous reporter Eddie Brock was queer or not.

"He literally a whole-ass documentary on that Venom guy! Speaking of, who the fuck calls their kid that?" Tony poked at the air with his fork which had a bit of lettuce stuck on it.
"But he literally dated Anne Weying! Really nice lady by the way." Peter said as he ate more.

"He's bisexual. Discussion over." Harley shrugged, chewing his food. "Also, they were flirting a lot during that documentary."
"See! The kid agrees with me!" Tony exclaimed.

"That doesn't mean he's bisexual!" James exclaimed, almost done with his food. Harley noticed that he always ate really quickly but made sure everyone else was done before leaving the table. Harley thought he was just trying to be nice. It was nice.

After lunch, Peter headed out to the go back to the home. Harley helped clean up, scrubbing the dishes and putting them on the draining rack. He hadn't finished all of it but it was just a few crusts and cheese left over.

Tony had looked thoroughly proud at that but didn't point it out.

Harley disappeared into his room for an hour or so, finishing some homework as he had two due the next day. He proceeded to go on a walk with his headphones so he had a reason to ignore anyone he saw from school. He got to pet a stray cat, a really friendly Doberman and had a younger teen boy ask where he got the stickers on his headphones from.

When he got back, dinner had been done and the three ate while deciding on who chose the film for the night. James won the privilege over a game of rock-paper-scissors with Harley. Tony and Harley had agreed as long as it was something semi-sad and a teen drama.

James set up the film while Tony made popcorn. Harley on the other hand was making what James called a nest of blankets on the couch. Harley hid inside of it, texting Peter about the homework.

One of the top blankets was removed and Harley looked over the top.
"Do you want popcorn or am I eating it all?" Tony joked and Harley sat up properly.
"Don't you dare!"

James had chosen a tragic love story, something Harley didn't recognise. The bowl of popcorn was empty by the halfway mark, the main culprit being Tony.

It ended with the funeral of the main character's love interest and James trying to stop Tony from bawling his eyes out. Harley had teared up a bit but he hadn't cried properly.
"They were so in love!" Tony complained and James nodded with a sigh.

"Yeah, and you need sleep." James got up, dragging Tony up as the man clung to him like a koala. "Harley?" The boy stuck his head out of the blankets.
"Yeah?"
"Arcade after school tomorrow?" James said as he made sure Tony didn't fall out of his arms. "There's a new shooting game there."

Harley nodded, lighting up a bit.
"Definitely! And I'll still beat you!" Harley smiled wide and James nodded.
"Sure you will. Goodnight." Harley rolled his eyes and said goodnight back.

Harley loved it here. He had freedom, help, someone he loved with him. Marcus had mysteriously stopped bugging him as much but he suspected it had something to do with the friend from the doorway. That was because the boy had texted him that Marcus had been jumped the next day. The message had been anonymous with the sign off of the name 'Door 22.' That guy deserved way better friends.

He liked this home. That was when it hit him.

That if they asked if he was okay with adoption, he'd say yes in a fucking heartbeat.

A bead rolled away and Peter grabbed it before it could get hidden under the cabinet.

He was making bracelets with one of the kids from the home, a small Black boy named Chris. Chris liked the colour blue and wanted a new bracelet but ran out of blue beads. Luckily, Peter had some spares.

"Do you want a charm? There's a whale or a cat." Peter showed Chris the beads, holding them in his palm.
"Cat, please." Peter smiled and nodded, Chris taking the cat bead and putting it on his string.

"No problem." Peter helped Chris tie his bracelet on his wrist, held firmly in place by a double knot.

"Is high school scary?" Chris asked and Peter shook his head.
"Sometimes. But that's if you're alone. I think you'll find a lot of friends when you get to high school." Peter smiled, patting Chris' wrist when he finished tying the string.

"Really?" Chris' eyes were wide and Peter nodded again.
"Of course. Who wouldn't wanna be friends with you?" Peter smiled and Chris did it back, throwing his arms around the teen's shoulders.

"Thank you, Pete." Peter was shocked to say the least. He hugged him back, patting his back as he did. Chris pulled away and scurried off to show the other his new bracelet, blue like the other but with a silver cat on it unlike the other ones.

That was how Peter ended up making bracelets for the next two hours, nearly all his beads disappearing in that time. It was fun, being able to be involved in something other than teen drama or foster kid struggles.

Peter got a bracelet too, an orange and purple one that had no proper pattern but looked good regardless. He smiled and started packing his stuff away, head and strings that had escaped the plastic container. The bracelet was loose and slid down his arm when lifted it too high.

He kept it on as he took his bracelet pot back to his room. The door was open. Why was it open? He'd shut it before he left.

A tall guy with bleached hair stood in the middle of the room.
"Who the fuck are you?" Peter asked firmly.
"Oh, Jayden." Peter glared at him, putting the beads away in a box under his bed.

"You my new roommate?" He asked skeptically. Jayden nodded, gesturing to the bags on Harley's old bed.
"Yeah. Don't wanna intrude or anything. I can move rooms if you want?" Jayden offered and Peter shook his head.

"It's cool." Peter sat on his bed.
"So, you must be Pe-"
"Peter." Peter said firmly. "You smoke?" Jayden looked offended.

"No! It's horrid!" Peter laughed. "But I won't snitch if you do. My girlfriend does so I'm cool with it." The nod Peter gave was automatic, not actually focusing on Jayden.

Peter struggled to sleep that night.

A lingering feeling of distrust hugged his stomach, keeping him frozen on his bed. He knew it was insane but he was worried that Jayden might do something. Something bad.

He didn't sleep until three.

The next day, Jayden was still nice. All smiles and encouragement. It freaked Peter the fuck out.

Double English is horrible. They were studying Shakespeare and Peter was pretty sure Macbeth married a gay woman.

Harley was sat at the back, behind Peter's row. The teacher was droning on and on about who everyone should think the villain is. Obviously the witches. Who else?

A kick at his chair made Peter jolt, head lifting from his table. His head turned to look Harley dead in the eyes. What did Harley want?
"You okay?" Peter nodded.
"Just tired. You?"

"I'm good. Wanna get some food before I head home after school?" Peter considered it before nodding.
"Yeah. Got no plans." That was a lie. Peter was planning on doing him homework and trying to make a sweet treat for the other kids at the home. But he didn't want to be around Jayden. The dumb distrust of the guy lingered and he was grateful for a delay to avoid going to the home.

English passed quickly and Peter was packing his stuff away. A tap on his back caught his attention and Harley smiled at him.
"Ready to go?" Peter nodded, slinging his bag on his back.
"Of course I am."

The supermarket had rows of instant coffee and Peter stood to the side of Harley as he debated which one to buy for his foster father.
"Which one, Pete?" Harley asked and Peter gave him a look.
"I don't drink coffee."

"Why not?"
"I'm allergic to it." Peter admitted.
"Shit." Harley exclaimed, grabbing a box from the shelf, inspecting it before shrugging and putting it in his hand-held basket.

"Yep. Makes my throat all swollen and itchy." Peter explained and Harley nodded.
"That's why you turned me down for coffee last year."
"You asked me for coffee last year?" Harley gave him a weird look, leaving the aisle with Peter trailing behind him.

"Yeah? After we went to the shelter and you befriended that puppy Labrador."
"Oh, yeah?" Harley put a Twix in the basket, Peter choosing one for himself. "I thought you were joking."
"Huh? How?" Harley questioned.

"You how I'd basically just come out?" Peter said quietly, flicking through the bars of chocolate on the shelves.
"Yeah?"
"I thought you were joking because I felt too feminine for you to like me as a guy." Peter admitted, grabbing a Kit-Kat.

"Bullshit." Harley said plainly.
"Huh?"
"No way you're too feminine. You basically never have been." Peter's eyes widened a bit.
"How do you know I wasn't as a kid?" He teased.

"You sent me a photo of your old class and I spotted you. Your hair was short and messed up. You were even wearing trousers, not a skirt like every other girl." Harley said with a small smile.
"How did you know which was me?" Peter asked with a tilt of his head.

"This." Harley poked at a mole on the inside of Peter's left wrist, right over the vein. "You had your hand up in a peace sign in the photo." Harley did it and gestured to his own wrist. "Could see it in the photo." Peter nodded. "Even then, you were a masculine lad."

"Lad?" Peter raised an eyebrow at Harley who shrugged.
"Eh. Boy, lad, whatever."
"You sounded like Loki ad Mobius now. All British and shit." Peter laughed a bit.

"Don't mock me!" Harley nudged him a bit as they headed to the checkout.
"I'm not!" Peter laughed.
"Really?"
"Promise!"

Harley paid quickly, handing Peter his stuff. Peter dumped it in his bag, sipping from a bottle of Gatorade. Blue, obviously.

"I'm gonna head back in a bit. Going out with my Da- Tony." Harley covered himself and Peter's eyes widened. No fucking way!
"You just called him Dad!" Peter exclaimed.

"I did not!" Harley went a bit red.
"You did! Oh my god, this is huge!" Peter smiled. "You really see him as a father?" Harley nodded once.
"Don't tell him!" Harley protested. Peter nodded.

"I won't." He promised. He knew this would be great for Tony. He shouldn't tell Harley, but he'd seen a not about getting the adoptions papers on the fridge, gone before Harley woke up. But he wouldn't ruin it by telling Harley and spoiling it. Peter smiled. "Don't worry."

Harley rolled his eyes with a small smile.
"Thanks. I don't want to make it weird at home. I've only just got properly friendly with James." Peter nodded along and they walked into the park.

They sat on a set of swings, Peter seeing how high he could go while Harley moved slowly back and forth. They talked about anything and everything, time ticking away. It was 3:40 when Harley needed to leave. Peter was given a kiss when Harley left, leaving him in a small jog.

Peter smiled.

Aw.