Avengers High school Chapter Five

Loki was not a patient person.

He could be, sometimes. When it came to revenge or a prank, he had been known to wait months for the perfect moment. But if it involved something he wanted, then Loki was about as patient as a child on Christmas morning.

He shouldn't have given her until tomorrow. He hadn't expected it would take her this long. Honestly he had thought that within the hour they would be having the make out session of a lifetime, but as the the hours past he knew it was less and less likely he would see her again tonight.

"I shocked her, that's all. She just needs time." Loki thought to himself, but in the pit of his stomach he was worried the real reason she was taking so long was because she was planning on saying no.

Loki turned over on his bed and stared at the door; willing Penelope to show up and knock. Unfortunately for him, the next person though that door was not Penny, but instead Loki's idiot brother.

"Ah! Brother!" He bellowed in his annoyingly cheery way "It has been a while since I have seen you here before curfew."

There is a reason for that, Loki thought to himself, but said nothing. Generally Loki avoided his brothers company as much as possible, which when they shared a room, meant that Loki often chose to sneak in when his brother was asleep, and out again before he awoke. If he timed it right, Loki could sometimes go for days without seeing his brother. Those were good days.

Rolling himself over, Loki planed on ignoring his brother presence until one of them fell asleep. Unfortunately his brother had other ideas.

"Brother? Is something wrong?" Thor asked, concerned.

"No!" Loki snapped. "I just felt like an early night is all. I'd like a few hours before I get woken up by your snoring."

"I see." Thor replied, obviously unconvinced. He knew better than to push when his brother was in a mood, so said nothing more. When it comes to Loki, it was best to just let him sulk until he was ready to talk, or until Thor could work out what was wrong on his own. He hoped it was not something to do with Penelope, he knew how stubborn his brother could be, and Penelope would not be the first friend he had lost due to a refusal to apologise.

Loki waited for his brother to enter their shared bathroom, then climbed under his covers, pulling the quilt over his head. If he slept, then tomorrow would come sooner.

And tomorrow, one way or another, he would have an answer.

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Loki was not the only one who was waiting for an answer.

As she scrolled down the list of names on her phone, a million questions went through Penny's mind. Was Howard Stark her Dad? Had her Parents lied to her, or was Tony the one telling lies? Did Aunt may know? Had Aunt May lied? Aunt May doesn't lie, but what if she did? And what did this mean for Penny if she was Penelope Stark instead of Penelope Parker?

Penny tapped her phone against her forehead. It had to be a lie. Tony just wanted to mess with her, though she wasn't really sure why he would. They might not have exactly been close friends, but they got on well enough. Then again, the idea that Tony Stark was a giant jerk rang much more true to Penny than the idea that her family had been lying to her for years.

Taking a deep breath, Penny pushed the call button on her phone. She wouldn't get anywhere just sitting and worrying, she needed answers. Aunt May would set thing straight. She confirm this was all a lie and then Penny could go punch Tony in his big rich boy face.

"Hello" Aunt May said, her voice springing cheerily from the other end of the phone line.

"Hi Aunt May." Penny replied. Her voice sounding flat in comparison.

"Penny? You sound a little down dear, is something wrong?" Aunt May asked, her tone instantly changing to concerned.

"Aunt May, I need to ask you something and...it might seem a little weird."

"Penny you know you can ask me anything."

"Okay. Aunt May...Is my Dad my real Dad? Or is...Howard Stark my Dad?" Penny asked. She felt silly, saying it out loud. Of course it was a lie. Her Dad was Richard Parker. This was all just a stupid joke.

So why was it taking Aunt May so long to reply?

"Oh Penny..." Aunt May said finally. Penny's stomach sank.

"How did you find out? Did he tell you?"

"No...his son goes here...he mentioned it." Penny said, pulling her knees into her chest. "So it is true then?"

"Yes" Aunt May replied sadly. "Oh darling I'm so sorry. I didn't think he knew...Oh we should have had this talk long ago but..."

"You've been lying to me. All this time!" Penny spat. Tear stinging her eyes.

"Yes...I suppose we have." Aunt May replied. "But Penelope, we were't doing it to be cruel. When you parents...you mother and Step Dad..."

The word Step Dad stung like a slap to the face.

"When they died...well you were just this little thing and you were so scared and...your Father, well he was a stranger to you. He came to visit after the funeral and you just spent the whole time hiding behind Uncle Ben...We couldn't let you go with him. He was barely a Father anyway, I mean we knew his son was off in some boarding school and the thought of you being all alone in some strange school, well I wouldn't have it. So me and your Uncle Ben offered to look after you instead." Aunt May explained.

"But why didn't you tell me the truth?! Why keep letting me believe Richard Parker was my father?" Penny asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Darling...we thought about telling you but...oh I hate to say this but...Howard...he didn't care about you. To him...you were just an inconvenience he was glad to have off his hands. He knew you were his child ever since you were a baby, but he never visited. He just tried to throw money at your Mother and hoped she'd forget. Richard loved you! He knew you weren't his, but he loved you. And your Uncle Ben loved you and I love you darling! You are my little girl, I don't care what anyone says!" Aunt May said getting upset.

"I was the one who looked after you when you were sick, and stayed up with you when you had a nightmare! Your Father...your biological father, well he might as well has been some sperm donor half way across the country for all he did for you! So yes. We lied to you, but only because we didn't want you to ever think you were unwanted, because you listen to my Penelope May Parker, nothing in this world could be farther from the truth than that!"

Penny wiped her eyes. Aunt May was right, nothing had changed, not really. Richard Parker may not be her biological Father, but Penny knew who her real family were.

"Okay..." She said softly. "I love you too Aunt May."

"Good." Aunt May replied, sounding relieved. "We were going to tell you when you 18, but I suppose I should have spoken to you before you went to that school. I'm sorry, I really didn't think he had told his Son about you. Do you want me to come visit? You sound like you could do with a hug and some home made cookies."

"Heh...thanks Aunt May but it is pretty far for you to travel, and we've got the parents weekend in a couple weeks. I'll see you then?"

"Ofcourse! I can't wait to see your school, and I want to meet this Loki you keep talking about."

"Ah right. So I'll see you then then." Penny replied, feeling herself blush.

"See you then. Love you Penny."

"Love you too Aunt May. Bye." Penny replied, pressing the call end button. She leaned back and rested her head against the wall. Nothing had really changed, at least when it came to her Parker side. She might not have known who here father was, but the rest of her family did, and they still loved her. It didn't make a difference to them, so why should it to Penny?

But she couldn't pretend things weren't completely the same. There was a Stark side now, with a Father who didn't care and a Brother who was kind of a jerk. She might be able to ignore her Dad for a while, but she couldn't avoid her brother forever. At least not while they were at the same school. Sooner or later she'd have to deal with him.

"Eugh this is too many revelations for one day! I'm going to bed!" Penny said. Sighing to herself.

Climbing into her bed, Penny tried to put the days event out of her head. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, and if she was going to deal with it, she needed her sleep.

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"Why did you let me go alone!?" Tony said, walking through the door of his dorm room and flopping on to his bed.

"It didn't go well?" Steve asked from the desk chair, putting down the text book he'd been looking through while he waited for Tony to returned.

"No. No it went badly Steve, so so very badly." He replied, burring his face in the pillow. "This is your fault! You know I can't do delicate! Why didn't you stop me!?"

"I offered to come with you. Now what happened?" Steve asked, sitting next to Tony on the bed.

"Loki happened." Tony snarled.

"He was there?" Steve asked.

"No..he'd left. But not before sticking his tongue down my sisters throat." Tony replied. "They are dating...or will be..I'm not sure it is all kind of an angry blur."

"Oh...well I knew they were close." Steve said "but what does this have to do with her being you sister?"

"Well...I might have forbidden her from seeing him, and when she got mad and asked me who I was to stop her doing anything, that might have been when I said we were related." Tony explained sheepishly.

"Oh Tony..."

"It was an accident! I just saw red when I found out she was dating that creep." Tony said, sitting up.

"Tony, I know you have issues with Loki, but if Penny likes him you can't stop them being together." Steve replied.

"The hell I can't! That guy is bad news, you remember all that stuff he did to me!"

"Yes, but I remember you giving just as good as you got."

"Maybe..." Tony replied, sulking. "I've really messed this up haven't I?"

"A little." Steve replied gently. "but I'm sure if you give her a little time to calm down, she'll come round. Try taking to her again in a few days."

"Maybe you are right..." Tony said. "But I still don't like Loki. He is bad news!"

"But he is her choice, just like I'm yours, You have to respect that." Steve replied.

"Oh sure...throw that in my face..." Tony replied, pouting. Steve couldn't help but find it cute, but knew that saying so would only anger the shorter man.

"Look, maybe you should just..ignore the Loki thing until you two are closer. Then you can tell her why you think he is bad news, or at least be there for her if he shows it himself."

"I guess you are right." Tony said sighing. "But I need to convince her to talk to me again first. She is pretty mad."

"Want me to talk to her?" Steve asked.

"No...thanks but I should handle this. I'll just give her a few days...I'm sure she'll talk to me again eventually.. even if it is just out of curiosity." Tony said, but wasn't sure how much he believed himself. She couldn't just ignore him forever could she? They were family after all. But then again his Dad had been pretty good at ignoring him for 17 years.

Tony would just have to hope that wasn't a trait Penny inherited.

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Morning came, but Penny had hardly slept. It was hard too, with so much going through her mind, and in the end Penny had given up and did what she always did when she couldn't sleep. She read.

She'd read until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer, but even then it was a while until she finally drifted off to sleep.

When her alarm clock went off, Penny hit it with more force than was probably needed. She didn't want to wake up, she didn't want to face the day yet. The day was going to be hard, and complicated, and her bed was so warm. It wasn't fair to have to leave it. But she knew the day wouldn't be any less challenging after an hours extra rest, so she got up and headed to class

She decided to try to get to her classroom as quickly and carefully as possible, checking around every corner for certain sunglasses wearing jerks.

"Penelope." A voice said from behind her, making her jump as she was peering around the last corner before her classroom.

"Oh Loki! You scared me." Penny said, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"I've come for an answer." Loki said, straight to the point.

"Oh right..." Penny replied, feeling her cheeks start to turn red. "Could we maybe go somewhere a bit more private?"

Loki's face darkened.

"If you are going to say no, just do it here. Don't waste my time. " He said, turning his back on her and starting to walk away.

"Wait a second, who said I was going to say no?" Penny said, moving forward and grabbing Loki's hand to stop him from leaving Loki turned back and looked at her face, as if searching if for any forms of insincerity.

"All right, somewhere private, come on!" He said, pulling her along the corridor.

"Oh wait! I have class!" Penny said.

"Skip it." Loki replied, keeping his pace steady.

The two travelled down the corridor and into the Library, Loki pulling Penelope all the way into the far corner, of the second floor of the large room.

"Where are we?" Penelope asked, looking at the strange books with title she could barely read.

"The Russian literature section. No one ever comes here." Loki replied, finally letting go of her hand.

"So.." He said, looking down at her expectedly.

"Ah right um..." Penelope replied nervously. It was at this point that Penny realised that although she knew she was going accept Loki's confession, she hadn't thought about what on earth she was going to say to him.

"I um...would like to be you girlfriend..if that is okay.." She said after a moment, looking down at her feet.

Stupid stupid stupid, she thought to herself. She looked up at Loki to see him smirking.

"You are adorable." He said, kissing her forehead and wrapping his arms around her. Penny smiled.

"Sorry, I'd have come up with a better response, but yesterday was kind of a long day" Penny said.

"Oh?" Loki asked.

"Yeah..." Penny began. Should she tell him? It would be nice to have someone to talk to about the whole Tony situation, and he was her boyfriend now. Wasn't that what they were for?

"You know that Tony stark guy?" Penny asked.

"Unfortunately." Loki replied.

"Well he came to see me after you left. Turns out we are sort of...half siblings." Penny said.

"What?" Loki asked, confused.

"He told me last night. Turns out my Mom slept with his Dad and got pregnant. She kept it a secret for a while, and just pretended my Step Dad was the Dad. Then when they died, I guess it came out and my real Dad basically decided he didn't want me and left me with Aunt May and Uncle Ben. It is a lot to process." Penny explained.

"I see." Loki said. "Well he is a fool. Who wouldn't want you?"

"Heh, Thanks."

"So what about the Younger Stark? You two going to start making up for lost time, because I should warn you I doubt he would approve of me as a suitor."

"Ah yeah..he kind of mentioned that. I yelled at him and kicked him out my room."

"Good girl." Loki said. "You don't need him, or your sorry excuse for a Father."

"Yeah...but it is a lot to process. It doesn't really change much with Aunt May, but I do sort of feel like my life has been turned upside down..."

"I can understand that." Loki said thoughtfully. "Penelope, have you ever wondered why I came to a school in America? After all there are plenty of fine schools in Asgard."

"I never really thought about it." Penny replied, honestly.

"Well, the reason I left Asgard... It was because I found out I was adopted." Loki explained. "Tell me, have you ever heard of a country called Jotunheim?"

"No, sorry."

"It is all right, I didn't expect you to. It is part as Asgard now, has been since we were babies." Loki explained. "The two countries were often at war, until finally Asgard conquered and absorbed the country into its self. During the final conflict, whether by accident or on purpose, the royal family was killed, all except for the young Prince."

"Who was you?"

"Who was me, correct. Odin found me, alone in my cot. He could have sent me away, put in some far off orphanage or found some distant relatives to take me in, but he decided it was too much of a risk. Even now there are many in Jotunheim who are oppose Asgard's rule. If the former prince was to return...well it could start a revolution." Loki explained. "So Odin adopted me, pretended his wife had been pregnant during the war and that they'd hidden it for security reasons. It was bound to come out eventually of course, but by then no one would follow a Jotunheim Prince raised by Asgardian, I would have been seen as a traitor."

"Did you want to start a revolution?" Penny asked.

"Ofcourse not, Asgard was..is my home. Another part of Odin's plan I suppose, make me loyal to them rather than Jotunheim.." Loki said. "But in the end he really made it so I didn't belong anywhere. Too Asgardian for Johtunheim, too Johtun for Asgard. So I decided to leave, go somewhere it wouldn't matter where I was from, somewhere far away."

"America seemed like as good a place as any, and when I found this place it seemed perfect. One of the best schools in the country, and more than happy to take in foreign students. I suggested it to my Father, and he was willing to let me go. Glad to be rid of me I suppose." Loki said, leaning his head against the all of books behind him.

"I had planned to come alone, but my bumbling fool of a brother followed me. He said he wanted me to know were we still brother, even now the truth was out, and that he wouldn't abandon me. Idiot never realised I'd left in part to get away from him."

"I've noticed you two don't get on, but Thor seems nice enough..." Penny began.

"Oh he is! And handsome and athletic and..." Loki said angrily. "I have always been in his shadow. He is the perfect Asgardian male and I am...the runt. Our parents always preferred him, and now I know it was because he was the real son. I'd hoped...i'd hoped by coming here I would finally escape all that. But he followed along and things..things became much the same..."

Penny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight. Having grown up believing she was an only child, she couldn't imagine what it was like to be constantly compared to an older siblings. She wondered if Howard would have had a favourite had her and Tony grown up together, but seeing as he was only ever is one of his children's lives, it was pretty clear who was the favourite.

"The point I was trying to make.." Loki said, lifting Penny head by the chin. "Is that I understand what it is like to have a Father who isn't really interested in you, who is there out of some kind of duty rather than love, And if I've learnt anything from living with that, it is that you shouldn't waste your time on someone who doesn't truly care for you. Seek out those who do care, like your aunt..or me."

"Well my Aunt isn't here, so I guess you'll do for now." Penny joked, smirking.

"I suppose I'll have to." Loki replied, leaning down and kissing her. Penny kissed back, not taking off guard like the last time. The kiss was gently, but sent the same electric spark through her body as before. It was going to take a while for her to get used to that.

"I'm glad you are here." Loki said, leaning his forehead against hers. "Stark's Father is a fool for not wanting you in his life, but if doing so brought you here then I'm glad he doesn't. His loss is my gain."

"Right." Penny replied. "And I'm glad you came to America, and decided to use my room as your personal library."

Loki chuckled.

"I assume I still retain that privilege now our deal is void?" He asked.

"Well...okay, but that better not be why you asked me out." Penny replied.

"Please, if that is all I cared about I would have just tricked you into making another deal." Loki said smirking.

"You didn't trick me into making the first deal."

"Penelope, I convinced you to allow me use of your room under the condition that I help you win Rodger's heart. Something I made no effort to do, and only gave advice that resulted in you doing nothing."

"Well yes but...oh you are a jerk."

"Correction, I am your jerk." Loki said, kissing her again. "It all worked out for the best in the end no?"

"I guess." Penny replied, pouting. She felt stupid for being tricked, but when he kissed her any anger seemed to dissolve.

She was going to have to watch that.

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The next few days passed quietly, without incident. Penny managed to avoid Tony between classes and at meals, or at least she thought she did. In reality, Tony had spotted the short haired girl a few times, but she had always had Loki by her side, and Tony had decided if he was going to ignore the whole Loki thing, it would be easier when Penny was without him.

During her science lessons, Steve had held his tongue. Which was harder than he had anticipated. He hated seeing his boyfriend upset, and being unable to help him made it all the worse. Still Tony was adamant he would handle this himself, and so Steve stayed quiet.

All in all Penny had done pretty well in ignoring the whole 'other family thing', but she knew today it wouldn't be so easy to forget. It was the day each week that Penny went to work on the robot arm, which meant being in a room with Tony. She had thought about skipping this week, but that hadn't seemed fair on Bruce. Anyway if she wasn't there, Tony might try and add a tazer again when Bruce wasn't looking.

So she headed to the lab, hoping that maybe Tony wouldn't show for whatever reason. Unfortunately she wasn't that lucky.

"Hey kid." Tony said as she entered the room.

"Where is Bruce?" Penny asked, noticing the other boys absence immediately.

"Ill, he has the flu or something." Tony said. "Just me and you today."

"Funny that." Penny replied, not believing that Bruce was ill for a second. She knew the two boys were friends, and she doubted that it would have taken much for Tony to convince Bruce not to come this week.

"Well maybe we should reschedule for when he feels better." Penny said

"Seems silly when we are both here. Anyway, we need to talk." Tony replied

Penny sighed. She considered turning around and walking straight out of the lab, but she knew they had to talk sooner or later, so might as well get it over with.

"Fine, but I have a condition." Penny said, taking a seat. "We aren't talking about Loki. You don't get to tell me who I can and can't date, and you don't get to bad mouth him, not to me."

"All right deal. I won't mention Loki or the fact he is a smug ass hole, and quite possibly the worst choice for a boyfriend in the school, if not the entire state." Tony said.

"I can still walk out you know." Penny replied.

"Hey I held back, I was planning on saying worst in the country." Tony said, smirking. Penny rolled her eyes.

"Lets just move on." She said.

"Agreed. So...we are related."

"Apparently."

"Pretty weird huh?"

"That it is."

"But you know...kind cool too. Never really enjoyed the whole only child thing."

"Really? You don't strike me as someone who'd be happy to share attention." Penny said, raising an eyebrow.

"What little there was." Tony mumbled. "Kid...Penny, I know you might think you got the raw deal with Dad not being around, but trust me you were better off. Dad spent my whole childhood shipping me off to any boarding school he could find. He'd work every moment of Summer to avoid seeing me, and honestly unless we were in public, he'd do his very best to pretend I didn't exist."

"Guess we have something in common then." Penny said, playing with one of the screwdrivers.

"Yeah...just don't take it personal all right? Dad...well he is an ass hole." Tony replied.

"Ah so it is genetic." Penny joked, jabbing him gently with the screwdriver. Tony swated at her in return.

"Oh har har. You know I was only trying to look out for you."

"In a really dumb and pigheaded way? Yes. But listen, you can't just come into my life and start ordering me about, this is my life and I'm the one who knows what is best for me, not some long lost brother who barely knows me outside my ability to construct robot arms."

"Fine. All right. Noted." Tony said, leaning back in his chair.

"But that doesn't mean...we can't form some kind of relationship. Given time. Lets just start slow" Penny replied.

"Slow. I can do that. So how do we start?" Tony asked.

"I have no idea." Penny said honestly. "And I don't think this is exactly something you can Google."

"Well maybe we just hang out a little, like friends...go from there." Tony replied.

"Okay...I'd like that."

"But no Loki!"

"Fiiiine." Penny groans, rolling her eyes. "But I'm not ditching him in favour of you. You have to work around me dating him."

"Eugh fine. Now hand me that screwdriver. We better get a little work done on this thing or Bruce will throw a fit about being behind schedule." Tony said. Penny nodded and handed him the screwdriver.

After that the conversation changed to robot related topics, which actually felt a little comforting to Penny. It was something familiar, consistent with the time before Penny knew Tony was her brother. It made her realise that things might have changed, but that didn't mean they had changed for the worse. Underneath the arrogance and bullheadedness, Tony wasn't a bad guy. She could see the two of them becoming close in time, and that didn't seem like a bad thing.

Penny had lost a lot of family members in her life, her parents, her uncle, so gaining one was a nice change. But in the back of her mind a little voice pointed out that really she should have gained two.

Her Father had made no effort to contact her since Tony had told her the truth, and Penny had no doubt that her Brother had informed him of their conversation. It wouldn't have been hard to get her phone number, but yet no call. Even if he couldn't get hold of her number, her Father could have easily sent a letter to the school but..nothing. Penny told herself that she was relived by this, but really she couldn't help feeling rejected.

Howard Stark had made no effort for years to get to know Penny, and from what Tony had told her. It sounded like he never would.

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Parents weekend was a tradition at Midtown High. Once a year, the parents of all the students were invited to visit the school grounds. They would have the opportunity to talk to teachers, look around the school and generally find out how their kids were getting on.

"Or rather how their money is being spent." Tony had told her. The two had had dinner together the Thursday before the weekend, something they planned to make a regular event.

"I see..." Penny had replied. "So um...do you think your Dad will come?"

It didn't feel right to refer to him as 'their' Dad when they hadn't even met yet.

"Pfft unlikely. He hasn't shown up yet." Tony replied. "Honestly my plans for the weekend are to hide out in the library and catch up on a few things. Isn't like I can hang out with Steve anyway, not with his Grandparents around."

"Oh I guess he still isn't out to them then?" Penny asked. After Steve had come out to his friends, the circle of people who knew had slowly grown bigger and bigger. Over half the school knew now, and besides a few heart broken girls, no one really seemed to care. There were couple jerks of course, but no one was dumb enough to say anything to Steve's face, not if they valued their teeth.

"Nope, and it is stressing him out that someone might say something. So I'll be keeping my distance while they are around, no good making it any harder for the guy."

"Poor Steve...It must be horrible." Penny said sadly.

"Hey he is a big boy, he'll come out when he is ready. And if they throw him out...well the Stark's have no shortage of beach houses he can live in a while. Oh that reminds me, I'll get you a copy of the key for the Florida place, you might as well visit it when you stay with your Aunt over summer."

"Would your Dad be okay with that?"

"Pfft who cares, not like he takes any time to relax anyway, it is barely used. You and your Aunt might as well get the most out of it. Speaking of, is she coming to the weekend?"

"Yeah, she'll be flying in Saturday Morning. I can't wait to show her around, I know she worries, it'll help for her to see how nice the place is."

"Well it has got to be an improvement over where you went before, I mean we have running water here and everything." Tony teased. Penny kicked him gently under the table. Since they had started hanging out, Tony's favourite past time had become teasing Penny about how she had grown up 'poor'. Honestly, Penny wasn't sure how much he made up and how much he really believed, but either way it would normally end with her kicking him.

Two days later, Penny was outside waiting for her Aunt to show up. A lot had changed since she had last seen Aunt May, she had gained not only a Boyfriend but also a Brother, it seemed odd to think that was less than a year ago.

"Penny!" Aunt May said, walking over and taking her in a hug.

"Hi Aunt May." Penny said, hugging her back.

"Look at you! I barely recognised you. You look much older with short hair. In a good way of course, and have you gotten taller? I think you've gotten taller. I told you you were due for a growth spurt! Oh come here!" Aunt May babbled, hugging her tighter.

"It is great to see you too Aunt May." Penny replied. "Shall we go inside?"

"Oh ofcourse. I can't wait to see." Aunt May said, following her inside.

The tour was pretty standard. They started with her dorm room, cleaned especially and from which Loki had been banned until Aunt May was gone, just in case she got the wrong idea about how far their relationship had progressed. Then she showed her the classrooms, and the gym, before taking her to the canteen, where Aunt May insisted on having a thorough look at the menu.

"My they have a lot of variety...you are making sure to have a balanced diet right? Not just Pizza and burgers?"

"Well pizza is considered a vegetable now." Penny joked, which caused her to receive one of May's patented 'don't-joke-with-me-young-lady' glares. Penny just smiled innocently in return, when suddenly she heard familiar voice behind her.

"Mother please don't fuss." Loki groaned.

"I just want to see the menu. Are you sure you are eating enough? I'm sure you've gotten thinner." a female voice Penny didn't recognise replied.

"I'm the same weight I've always been. I'm just naturally thin.."

"Well then there is no problem if I check the Menu is there?"

Penny turned and saw a exasperated Loki places his hand to his forehead, as though he was beginning to get a headache. She caught his eye and gave him a small encouraging smile. She knew this weekend would probably be hard for him, considering the circumstances of him leaving Asgard, but at least his Mother seemed happy to see her adopted son, though Penny did notice there was no sign of a man who could be Loki's father.

"How is it going?" Penny asked, walking over to him as his Mother moved to inspect the menu.

"She is convinced I'm skipping meals, and as I never eat a meal with Thor, my brother can offer no proof that I am not. She has always worried about my weight, just because I am not a glutton like Thor..." Loki explained, sighing. Penny placed an arm around him.

"Well for the record I think you look fine, and if you want I can tell her I've seen you eat, and that you constant steal my peanut butter cups." Penny said

"Thank you, but she'll just complain about the high amount of sugar." Loki replied, rolling his eyes. Penny giggled.

"Hello there, Penny who is this?" Aunt May asked smirking.

"Ah this is Loki..." Penny said, blushing and moving her arm away.

"Oooh so this is the famous Loki hmm?" Aunt May asked.

'Famous?' Loki mouthed to Penny, smirking. Penny looked away embarrassed.

It was routine for Penny to call Aunt May at least once a week, to give her all the news from school. Even before they were a couple, Penny spent most days with Loki, and so more often than not, any news she had to tell would involve him.

"It is nice to meet you Ma'am" Loki said, shaking May's hand. "I trust what your Niece has told you is all good?"

"Oh yes, she is very fond of you." Aunt May replied smiling.

"Well I'm very fond of her too." Loki replied. Penny just silently glowered at them both, praying for something to end her embarrassment.

"Good. You seem like a sweet boy, please take care of her for me. And well...I know it must be tempting having a room with a bed so near to campus, but if you do anything, make sure you use protecting." Aunt May said, suddenly turning serious.

"Aunt May!" Penny shrieked, her face completely red. Even Loki was taken a back. He started racking his brain for the correct thing to reply in this circumstance.

"Oh darling, I was young once. I know how kids are." Aunt May said, waving her off like it was no big deal. Penny wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"Um..well I um.." Loki said, still trying to find the right thing to say. Luckily for him, at that moment his Mother walked back over and brought the conversation to a halt.

"Hello there. Loki, are you going to introduce me to your friend?" Frigga said smiling.

"Right! Mother, this is Penelope and her Aunt May. Penelope, this is my Mother, Queen Frigga." Loki said, still trying to regain his composure.

"Oh ah hello...um should I bow or something.." Penny said, looking at Loki. Frigga just smiled.

"That won't be necessary dear." She said. "So you and Loki are...friends?"

"Oh um...yeah well actually I'm his girlfriend." Penny said. The words don't roll out as naturally as she would have hoped, and a part of her feels a little awkward for calling herself Loki's girlfriend in front of his Mother, but a moment later Penny felt Loki take her hand in his and give it a reassuring squeeze, and the discomfort faded away.

"Girlfriend?! Oh! Loki you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!" His Mother exclaimed, the tone gently scolding.

"I would have thought Thor would have mentioned it in one of his weekly reports." Loki replied.

"Loki I've told you, I don't use Thor to spy. I only ask him how you are because you call us so infrequently."

"I call when I have things to say. I see no reason to fill you in with every detail of my life."

"A girlfriend is a pretty big detail dear." Loki's Mother replied, sighing in exasperation. Penny had to agree. It hurt a little that he hadn't mentioned her to his Mother, but from the sounds of things it didn't seem like Loki told his Mother much about what went on at Midgard High, so perhaps it was to be expected.

"It is nice to meet you dear." Frigga said, place a hand on Penny's shoulder.

"Oh likewise." Penny replied.

"Perhaps you and your Aunt would like to join us on the rest of the tour." Frigga said, in a way that gave Penny the sense it wasn't a request.

"That won't be necessary Mother!" Loki said. "Come along, I'm sure Penelope would like to spend some quality time with her Aunt, and there is much more of the school to see." he added, pushing her towards the door of the canteen.

"Oh Loki don't be so rude." Frigga scolded, but allowed her son to move her away. "Good bye Penelope, May. I do hope to see you again before the weekend is over."

"Of course, we look forward to it." Aunt May replied, smiling and waving her off.

"She is adorable.." Penny heard Frigga say as she was shooed through the door "But such short hair."

"Mother!" Loki warned following her outside, ending the conversation as far as Penny could hear it.

"Well, he was very hansom." Aunt May said "If I were 50 years younger..." she added wishfully.

"Aunt May!" Penny cried, her cheeks burning red again. "Look, lets just get on with the rest of the tour okay. You haven't seen the Library yet, it is huge!"

"Oh? And here I thought most of it was residing in your room." Aunt may teased, following her out of the canteen.

As they headed to the library, Penny noticed Steve also crossing the courtyard, with two elderly people who she assumed were Steve's Grandparents. She'd waved to him, but he didn't seem to notice, a worried look covering his face. Penny wondered if he was all right, but decided now wasn't the time to ask. She'd have to make sure to check on him later when she could, but for now it was best to leave him alone. After all she didn't want to be the one to accidentally blow his secret.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So many stairs. You'd think this fancy school would have a few more elevators to take the kid up and down." Steve's Grandfather complained, as they headed up the stairs to his dorm room.

"Oh Walter shh! We both know even if there was a one you wouldn't take it." His Grandmother replied.

"No reason to! My bones may be old, but they can still get me about no trouble." His Grandfather said proudly.

"The Cane says differently dear." His Grandmother replied, her husband just huffing in reply.

"It isn't much further." Steve said, scaling the last few steps to his floor. "My room mate will probably be out. I think he said he was going to start his tour there."

"Oh that is a shame, I'd like to meet him while we are here." Steve's Grandmother said, smiling. When she said that, Steve knew she genuinely meant it. His Grandmother had always been a people person, and knew every single neighbour in their street by name. Whenever Steve called home, she'd always give him an update on how everyone was doing, often completely forgetting to talk about her own life.

"Oh you don't want to hear some boring old lady talk about herself." She'd say, whenever Steve asked how she was.

"Still pottering about, that's the important thing, now how are you doing?" She'd ask, and Steve would answer, knowing it was pointless to push for more information.

Steve led his Grandparents down the hallway to his room. He always kept the place tidy, so there had been no special cleaning job done before his grandparents arrived (though he had had a talk with Sam about him maybe not leaving his clothes all over the floor for once).

"Awfully small for two grown boys." His Grandfather said, entering the room. "You must be tripping over each other."

"It is fine Grandfather, we each have our own space." Steve said, pulling out one of the desk chairs for his Grandmother.

"Oh don't mind him Steve, he can find fault with anything." She said, sitting down and patting Steve's hand in thanks. "Now, why don't you sit down and tell us why you've been looking like you sucked on a lemon all day."

"I—I'm not sure what you mean.." Steve replied.

"No good fighting it boy." Steve's Grandfather said. "Once she has a bee in her bonnet there is no letting up. You might as well tell us what's wrong."

"It...it's complicated..." Steve said.

He glanced over at his desk, where there would normally be a picture of him and Tony from a picnic they went on a few months back. The picture was in his drawer right now, hidden away so his Grandparents didn't see it. It wasn't even like the picture was that intimate, it was just the two boys sitting together and making faces at the camera. His Grandparents would probably assume they were just good friends, and it occurred to Steve in that moment that that was probably how his parents would always think of Tony. If Steve never revealed that he was gay, then Tony would always be his good friend, his close friend, his best friend.

But never his Boyfriend, and never his Husband.

"There is something I need to tell you..." Steve started, taking a deep breath.

"Alright...well you know you can tell us anything dear." Steve's Grandmother said, the concern apparent in her voice.

"I...look you know how I've never really had a girlfriend? Well there is a reason for that..."

"Oh I don't know what it could be. You are such a sweet boy, and so handsome, I don't know what is wrong with girls these days! I mean-"

"Elizabeth! Let the boy talk." His Grandfather snapped, but there was no anger in his voice. Just a tinge of exhaustion.

"Yes yes, I'm sorry dear. Go ahead." Elizabeth said.

"Okay...so the reason I've never had a girlfriend...well it is because...because..I don't want one...I mean I'm not attracted to girls...I'm attracted to boys. I'm gay." Steve said, unable to look either of his Grandparents in the face.

The words sat heavily in the air for a moment, until finally his Grandfather broke the silence.

"You're a queer?" He said matter of factly. Steve felt his stomach drop.

"Walter!" His Grandmother snapped. "You aren't supposed to use that word any more."

"Well that is what he is ain't he?! It is these tiny room! Teenage boys all full of hormones, shoved too tightly together, no wonder they are having unnatural thoughts." His Grandfather said.

"That is enough now! Steve, you know that no mater what, we love you." His Grandmother said gently. Steve gave her a weak smile. Out of the two, she had always been the more accepting. It was probably due to her making friends where ever she went. Eventually she had to meet someone who was gay, and Steve was almost certain that his Grandmother could not physically be nasty to anyone.

"Don't encourage him Elizabeth! He is a teenager, he doesn't know what he wants! Look Son, maybe you should think about coming home. You remember that neighbour girl Peggy? The Carter's girl? Well she grown up into a fine young thing, you should think about asking her out."

"I'm not leaving!" Steve said looking his Grandfather in the face. He wouldn't allow the old man to take him away from this place, away from Tony.

"Well...then maybe we can get you one of those single room, till you get your head straight." His Grandfather replied.

"Walter, we couldn't afford that." Steve's Grandmother said. "And you know what teenagers are like, do you really think four walls are gonna stop them?"

"Shouldn't the school be policing this? I'm going to talk to the Principle." His Grandfather said, moving towards the door.

"Grandfather stop it." Steve said, blocking his way. "This is who I am. Trust me, I've tried to fight it and it doesn't work. It has nothing to do with having a male room mate, and for the record Sam isn't gay. He isn't the one...I like...And moving me or taking me home isn't going to make me stop wanting to be with that person."

"Oh there is a boy?" His Grandmother asked. "Well...what is he like?" There was a slight caution in her voice, that showed Steve that even if she was trying, she was still uncomfortable with this.

If Steve had been dating a girl, he would have had 50 questions and a demand to invite her to dinner. But Steve couldn't worry about that right now. Right now he was staring down his Grandfather and seeing who would blink first.

"...I don't like it." His Grandfather said after a moment, looking away. "But I don't turn my back on family, you know that. Didn't when you lost you parent, won't now you're a queer. And I'll help. Find you a nice girl, knock some sense into you."

"It doesn't work like that Grandfather." Steve sighed.

"Maybe not, but I ain't a quitter." His Grandfather replied. Steve shock his head, but he knew that this was the best he was going to get for now. His Grandfather might not accept him, but he wouldn't abandon him either. If he had time, he might eventually come around, there was no point in pushing just yet.

"Well...I think perhaps we could all use a cup of tea to calm us down." Steve's Grandmother said after a moment. "Why don't you show us that fancy canteen you've been telling us about. I'm sure we'll all feel better after a bit of food too."

"All right." Steve said, moving out of his Grandfather's way to help his Grandmother up from the chair.

Behind him he heard his Grandfather mumble something about taking stairs again, but all things considered, if that was the thing annoying him the most then Steve was doing pretty good.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"And then there is a second floor, which holds all the fiction books. I spend a lot of time up there between classes." Penny said, rounding the corner of one of the many bookcases in the library and gesturing towards the staircase that lead to the higher floor.

"I can imagine." Aunt May said. "You know with so many books here, maybe I should take some of the ones in your room back with me. They are just taking up space."

"But I haven't read all yet!" Penny replied, in horror.

"Well...what about the ones you have read?" Aunt May asked.

"What if I want to read them again?" Penny replied. Aunt May smirked and rolled her eyes.

"All right, all right. So where to next?" She asked, turning towards the door.

"Oh well I was thinking-" Penny began until something, or rather someone caught her eye.

"Um...just give me a sec." Penny said, before walking over to the corner of the room.

"Hey Tony." Penny said, causing the older boy to look up.

"Hey kid." Tony replied, taking a quit glance behind her, to make sure she was sans Loki. "What's up?"

"Oh not much, just showing My Aunt around. What are you up to?" Penny asked.

"Just some work. I'm not allowed in the labs while the tours are going on, because apparently I'm a 'fire hazard'" Tony replied, making air quotes and pulling a face.

"Ah I see." Penny said smiling. "So um...no Dad then?"

"Pfft, no. I told you he never comes to these things." Tony said. "...Look I don't know if you were hoping for some nice little reunion scene, but it won't happen. In the end, my Father just sees family as a burden, and you knowing now, just makes things more complicated for him. I don't think he'll be able to face you, not for a long time anyway, and honestly kid? You are better off without him."

"Right...I guess if he wanted to see me...he would have made contact my now..." Penny replied. Penny had thought that maybe his lack of contact had been due to him wanting to talk to her in person, but with his no show at the parents weekend, Penny now knew that he just wasn't interested in meeting her. It shouldn't have been surprising really, after all, Penny thought, he'd had years before this to come see her, and had never chosen to.

"Don't worry all right, he is a jerk. It isn't about you or me, it is about him being an ass hole." Tony said, standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Sure.." Penny replied, though the rejection still stung deep. As it hit her, Penny looked at her brother and thought about how many times he must have felt this way. How many parent events Howard must have not shown up to? How often did the man even call his son to see how he was?

How ever bad Penny felt right now, Tony had felt it a lot longer.

"Hey so um, me and Aunt may were going to go get some dinner, after the tour. You should come!" Penny said.

"Heh, that's all right kid. I'm fine."

"Aww come on pleeeeease. She wants to meet you, and anyway if you leave me alone she'll try and give me a sex talk...she already told Loki he shouldn't be tempted by having easy access to a room with a bed..."

"Pfft really? What the hell did Rock of ages say to that?" Tony asked, not suppressing his laughter.

"Nothing! We both just stood their embarrassed! Please, I really don't want a lecture about proper condom use." Penny said, giving her best puppy dog eyes.

"All right all right, I'll come. Just stop with the sad eyes." Tony said, closing one of his many text books.

"Great, come say hi." Penny said, grabbing his arm and puling him over to Aunt May.

"Aunt May, this is my brother Tony. Tony, this is Aunt May."

"Hello Ma'am." Tony said, offering his hand.

"Hello dear." Aunt May replied, shaking his hand. "Is your Father not visiting?"

"No...he had other business to attend to." Tony replied.

"Shame, I would have liked to give that man a piece of my mind. Hopefully he would have chocked on it." Aunt may said, grumpily. Tony laughed.

"I think I would have liked to see that." He said, smiling.

"Perhaps next time. For now, you should join us. Penelope has been telling me you've been working on a robot arm for a contest. How exciting." Aunt May said, taking his arm.

"Oh, yeah. Would you like to see? We moved it to one of the store rooms so it wouldn't get damaged, but I know where we can get a key."

"I'd love to dear. Just don't expect me to understand all the science, I can barely work my phone these days."

"Don't worry Ma'am, I'll go slow."

"Oh call me Aunt May, you are family now."

"Oh. Okay...Aunt May." Tony replied, a little flustered. Aunt May smiled and patted his arm gently.

Behind them, Penny smiled too. Howard may not want to be part of her life, but were lots of people who did. She had her Aunt May, and now she had Tony. Loki was right, there was not point wasting time on someone who doesn't truly care, so if Howard wasn't interested then that was his problem.

Penelope had her family, and may a little different than most, but it was still good..

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So...she is made of bubble gum?" Loki asked, gesturing towards the TV in Penny's room.

It had been two months since the parents weekend, and couple had taken to watching cartoons between classes. Loki didn't care much for the cartoons, but while they watched Penny would sit with him on her bed. Her head on his chest, and his arms around her waist. That he enjoyed very much.

"Yes, hence the name Princess Bubble Gum." Penny replied. "She rules the Candy Kingdom."

"Right...and the other hundred princesses in this show? Where do they rule?"

"Um...we don't always know...are you pointing out plot holes again?"

"Just pointing out the absurdity of this world monarchy. Somehow royal titles seem less impressive when they are handed out like tissues."

"Ah. Well for the record I still find royal titles very impressive."

"As you should." Loki said, kissing her. Penelope began to kiss back, but was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Ignore it." Loki said, holding her tight.

"Hmm...no." Penny said, hitting him with her pillow. "Come in!"

"Hey Kid guess—oh he is here." Tony said, entering the room. Steve followed in behind.

"Stark." Loki said, glaring.

"Be nice you two." Penny warned, looking from one to the other. "What's up Tony?"

"Mail call!" Tony said smiling, in his hands held up two boxes and a couple of envelopes. "I got a package and since you had a very similarly shaped one from the same place, I managed to convince the Receptionist to let me drop it off to you."

"Oh? Aunt May must have sent cookies." Penny said, standing to take one of the boxes.

"She did? Excellent." Loki said happily.

"No Cookies for you, family only." Tony said, sticking out his tongue.

"That's true, he won't even give me some." Steve said signing.

"Aww, well you can have some of mine Steve."

"No he can't! That's less for us." Loki complained. "And what on earth is in your hand Rogers?"

"Ah um...My Grandmother has taken to mailing me...Pamphlets." Steve said, trying to shove the pieces of paper into his too shallow pockets, obviously embarrassed.

"Yes, Steve's Grandmother seems to think that when the time comes, we'll need some kind of manual in order to properly have gay sex." Tony said, rolling his eyes.

"She just wants us to be safe...and it is her way of showing support." Steve said.

"Well I guess I prefer that to you Grandfather's constant attempts to set you up with your neighbour." Tony replied, a note of annoyance in his voice.

"Actually, last time I called he didn't mention her. Maybe he is finally coming around." Steve said, smiling gently. Tony gave him a cynical look, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to squash his boyfriends hope, and anyway who knows, maybe it was true.

"That's great Steve." Penny said smiling. She sat back on the bed and Loki pulled her into him possessively.

"Well if you want to hear something really great, I ran into Bruce in the hall, who just been talking to Principle Coulson." Tony said, playing with two envelopes that had been resting on top of the packages.

"Guess who won the Robot contest?" He said, smirking. Penny's eyes widened.

"We won?" Penny asked, half in shock.

"Like it was ever in doubt." Tony replied, handing her one of the envelopes. Hurriedly, Penny opened it and pulled the contents out. Inside was a letter of congratulations and, more importantly, a check for $333.34.

"You'd have thought they'd have made it a amount divisible by three." Loki said, as Penny squealed in joy.

"We won we won...ah it is so much money!" She squeaked happily.

"Congratulations Penny,What are you going to buy?" Steve asked.

"May a suggest a book case?" Loki said.

"Or some books without pages falling out." Tony said.

"Don't give her ideas, she'll end up not being able to fit in the room." Loki said, sighing.

"Well I can think of one thing she can get rid of to make space."

"Shut it Stark!"

"Make me Princess!"

"Enough you two! This is supposed to be a happy moment." Steve said, positioning himself between the two. He glanced at Penny who seemed to have become oblivious to the fight going on. She was too busy looking at the cheque in her hand. It was more money than she'd ever had, and not only that, she'd won it doing something she loved.

"Lets go get ice cream!" She said suddenly, looking up at the boys in her room. "To celebrate."

"Ice cream sounds good." Steve said smiling "Especially when I'm not allowed cookies."

"If it'll stop you complaining, I'll buy you some cookie dough ice cream." Tony said.

"How generous." Steve replied, rolling his eyes. He opened the dorm room door and ushered his boyfriend outside, Penny and Loki following shortly behind.

In the cool afternoon air, the couples walked together through the courtyard towards the canteen. Penny smiled as she saw Steve take Tony hand, not caring who saw them, and reached out to take Loki's in hers.

Her first semester at Midgard High would be over soon, and she couldn't wait to start the next one.

-End-

Author's Note: So remember when I said Chapter five out would be done by Christmas?

Easter...Easter is what I meant...

So that's it, the end of the Story. I hope you guys enjoyed it and liked how I resolved everything. Considering I pretty much had no idea how I was going to end this story when I started, I think it went pretty well, so I hope no one is disappointed.

I did consider having a confrontation between Howard and Penny at the end, but considering how long he had ignored her, I think he'd just carry on.

I imagine they will meet properly one day, but not now, so I don't have to worry about writing it :P

Will there ever be a sequel to Avengers Highschool? Maybe... In the original RP that this was based on, there was a sub plot where Penny went to Asgard with Loki over the summer, but that occurred before they got together so who knows? If I do ever write one, I'll give it a more imaginative title than 'Avengers High School'. If I could go back and change it I'd probably call it something like 'Scholarships Don't Get Single Rooms' since that was kind of the catchphrase of the first couple chapters.

I think I'll be leaving the Avengers High School world for a while though. I have a couple other fic ideas that I'd like to get out of the way, but barely any time to write nowadays (Hence why this took so long).

Maybe I'll try shorter for now.