Asshole Father Anonymous

Tests results that save a life

He walked inside and sat down on the examination table. A last nervous glance was sent Coulson's way as the door was closed and Pepper got started.

Pepper Potts was a skilled nurse.
She had worked for the university for years now. And she had seen many things in her days.

The day Coulson dragged Barton along, she carefully cleaned his cuts, bound them up, and sent him back to Phil with a scribbled note.
Romanov practically did her own physical exam, leaving only half an hour later with a few pictures and a few notes on the back of them.
Banner left with a diet plan to gain some weight.
Stark had injuries he never bothered to check and left with a description for antibiotics.
Rogers for vitamin pills due to a lack of eating enough meat and vegetables.

But this...
Loki Odinson.
The worst case of abuse she had every seen or heard of.
It was as if every single thing she ever encountered was applied to this single person. She could not imagine how anyone would have been through that without going insane.

The list she had made was seemingly endless.
First of all, there was the obvious malnutrition. The kid looked like a walking skeleton. The normally calm and collected nurse couldn't contain a small shocked gasp when he took his many layers of shirts off.
Besides the ribs poking out in a rather disturbing manner, his skin on itself was a battlefield of cuts and bruises. Old scars mingling with new injuries. Spots faded that showed this abuse must have been going on since he was a very young child.
After making some x-rays, it became obvious the boy had many untreated broken bones. It was a miracle he was still able to use his arms with all the injuries on and in them. And another gasp escaped her when she saw his ankles. They were big swollen and dark blue, obviously cracked and untreated. How the boy could walk despite the pain he must feel was a mystery.

The nurse came into action after neatly cataloguing every injury, and set to making Loki as comfortable as she could. She started with putting his ankles into tight supportive bandages, he wouldn't be allowed to walk for a few days, until the swelling went down far enough so she could make proper x-rays and see what the bone was like.
Then his arms, the shallow straight cuts were cleaned carefully and covered with soft clean bandages. "I have to ask." She said softly. "Did you do these yourself?" Pepper hated the fact she had to ask, but she needed to know.
There was visible moisture gathering in Loki's eyes, but he didn't let a single tear go. Finally, there was a soft shake of his head. "No. He did." The student whispered barely audible.
Pepper had no trouble believing him.

His back was next. The fresh welts could easily be cleaned, the older ones were already infected. His entire back was covered in a soothing ointment that would take the edge off the pain.

The boy left her office in a wheelchair with a folder of pictures and notes, and at least five bottles of medication. From antibiotics for his back, to painkillers for his ankles, to different vitamin pills. Until his blood work would be done, miss Potts had simply guessed what he would be missing, and given him the stuff that wouldn't harm anyone.

And so an exhausted looking Loki was rolled into Coulson's office by the nurse's assistant, Darcy.
Loki felt wrung out, empty. They knew. There were even pictures of how disgusting he was. Now everyone would see what a gross freak he was.

The cheerful assistant left at a nod of Coulson, and the councillor sat down in a chair opposite of the abused student.
For a moment, he simply looked at Loki, taking in the hunched and scared demeanour.
"Loki, I want to tell you what will happen now." Phil said softly and calmly, not wanting to scare the dark haired student even more.
Loki's eyes briefly flickered up to Coulson's face, showing the terror in them, before quickly looking down again.
"It's alright to be afraid." Phil continued. "But you no longer have to be afraid of him. With everything we have, you will never return to that house again."
Technically they could easily have Odin arrested, but that would mean that Loki had to give a testimony. And Phil wouldn't ask that of him yet. Healing first, everything else could wait.
"Are there any possessions there that-" Phil wanted to ask but he got interrupted by Loki.
"No please... I don't have anywhere else to go. Please let me talk to him. I can be good. I can! Please I will apologise. I will behave. I can be good. I promise. I didn't mean to be bad." Loki rambled in obvious panic. "Please allow me to go back. Please..." The student trailed off as he realised... There was nothing Phil could do if Odin said he didn't want Loki anymore.
Coulson was shocked by the quick changes in Loki's mood, they pointed to a depression that was naturally expected. Perhaps even PTSD...
The student went from scared to panicked, to a sick form of calm.
"I'm sorry." Loki suddenly whispered. "I realise it is not of your concern, Sir. I should not have bothered you with my emotional outburst. I will find a way. I will s-stay at some f-friend's house until I've found something..." The student whispered softer and softer. He was officially kicked out. The threat spewed daily finally made true. He was homeless.
He wouldn't be able to afford his school, nor get a loan. Odin would take care of that.
Loki knew he couldn't get a job. He had tried that multiple times. Odin always found out. And always made sure he both didn't get the job, and was thoroughly punished.
Phil's calm voice poked through Loki's dark inner monologue. "Loki..? Loki. You are not kicked out." Phil said softly, causing Loki to be confused. "You don't have to go back. We will find you a place to live, we will arrange your college bills. I want you to take some tests, make them as good as you can. Because I believe you can easily get an academic scholarship." Coulson quickly reassured the scared kid.
Loki's first instinct was one of terror, again. He couldn't get an academic scholarship! Odin would break him if he somehow seemed better than Thor!
But then it slowly dawned upon the young man that, if he lived somewhere else, Odin could no longer harm him.
He still felt scared though.
"I... I can't..." He whispered shocked, scared, terrified. "Where would I live?"

Coulson smiled a little as he listened to the question. There were many things he couldn't answer, but that he could do.
"Somewhere safe."

-:•:-

It turned out that "somewhere safe" was Coulson's own home. It would only be temporary. Until they found him another place to stay.
But for now, he would have a roof above his head.

Loki was still in the wheelchair, not being allowed to walk until the swelling of his ankles went away. And the only things he had were the supplies in his schoolbag and locker.
As Phil finished explaining the situation to Loki, the student frowned slightly. Aside from the obvious concerns about never being able to pay back his debt to Coulson, Loki was worried about something else. "W-What about T-Thor? He'll... He'll tell O-Odin. He'll... Be so angry."

And again, the terror was obvious in the student his eyes. And Phil's heart ached. Had there been anything else in this boy's life but fear and pain? Coulson would change that. He would.

"How about this." The counsellor started after thinking for a moment. "We let Thor come here, we will make sure he cannot harm you, and we explain the situation. If he wants to leave his home, we can help him. And else we can make sure he will never harms you. He will be removed from this institution if needed."

Loki stayed silent for a long time, and just as Phil wanted to open his mouth to say something else, he spoke up. "Okay.
Yes... Okay."