𝔸𝕤 𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕤 𝕀 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦

Chapter 8

A/N: This chapter got dark real quick I'm sorry

Tw: Self harm, strong language, self hatred, angst, hurt

Late again.

Cursing, Loki ran upstairs to get his bag, stuffing a piece of toast in his mouth as he sprinted out the door. Thor was close on his heels, his long blond hair dripping and tangled from the cup of water Loki had thrown on his face to get him up.

"Why must you always be so slow?" Loki swore at Thor as they passed the bus stop, a stitch already appearing in his side. Thor looked mildly offended.

"You were the one who was taking forever in the bathroom."

Loki bit his lip at Thor's words, raising a hand to his throat. He'd locked himself up in the bathroom to screen the clearly visible bruises on his neck and almost crushed vocal cords. Stephen had helped heal the bleeding imprint on his throat, but the scarring was still visible.

Searching in his mind for something to say before Thor got suspicious, Loki sniped back at him. "Yeah, but when I came out, you were still in bed."

"I need my beauty rest, brother. You don't get this- " he gestured to his face and hair " -from waking up early."

"Just means you sleep late," Loki muttered under his breath, almost running directly into oncoming traffic in his distracted state before Thor grabbed the hood of his coat and yanked him backwards, away from the passing cars.

Thor grinned angelically as Loki lost his balance and fell on his butt, eyes flying wide. "Watch where you're going, brother. You could have stopped traffic with your face just then."

Scowling at Thor, Loki got to his feet. "We're still late."

"Always the pessimist, Loki." Thor's lips bent into a crooked smile, not even breaking a sweat as he lazily jogged backwards with his hands on his hips.

"Showoff," Loki grinned, running after his brother.

–

'Eight o'clock on the dot. Don't you dare be late. Understood?'

Steve fiddled with straps of his bag anxiously, gaze flickering up to check the gates of the academy every few seconds. The last time he'd seen Peggy, she'd been boarding a flight to England, her voice steely calm as she said her goodbyes, although her eyes were bright and hard, as if she was trying not to cry.

He hadn't forgotten the way she'd thrown her arms around his neck, or the way she'd shot him that pretty smile practically everyone had fallen in love with before she left.

But this didn't matter because of two things.

One, Bucky had reluctantly admitted to him that Peggy had a boyfriend in England. And that was totally fine. Peggy was entitled to her own relationships away from America. She and Steve had never been official anyway.

And two, Sharon had kissed him. Steve couldn't help thinking he was betraying her, even though he'd never consented or enjoyed the duration of the kiss, pushing her away as soon as she'd relaxed her hold on him. He doubted Peggy would appreciate it if he broke something, cousin or not.

Biting the inside of his cheek nervously, Steve glanced up at the gates once more, only to see Bucky standing in front of him with raised eyebrows and his hands on his hips, head cocked to the side curiously.

"I've been standing here for the past five minutes," Bucky deadpanned, eyes sparkling with amusement.

Steve sighed and released his death hold on his backpack straps. "Sorry, Bucky. I'm a little distracted today."