Asshole Father Anonymous

Epilogue: two years later

Loki could hardly believe it, he stared down at the paper in his hands with tears in his bright green eyes.
He made it.
Within record time he had gotten his first PGD, in Scientific Engineering.

He looked up and smiled brightly at his friends in the audience. Clint was cheering loudly, an arm wrapped around a smiling and clapping Natasha. Stark was grinning like an idiot and joking against Steve that now Loki was officially a nerd.
Loki couldn't help but chuckle.
Bruce was standing just a few students further on the line of graduates. He had finished his medical degree that year as well.

But the green eyes lingered longest at the elder man in the suit.
Coulson stood there and clapped. He didn't care that people stared. He was proud of the young adult he had taken in two years ago.

Loki took a moment to look back at those very eventful years.

Sitwell had delivered and simply walked into the Borson home to find Loki's room still untouched. Pictures were taken of the dark and cold basement. Enough blood was found on the floor and bed to paint a gore picture. Combined with a bloody belt and knife, both with Odin's fingerprints, it was already enough for an arrest. The medical rapport Pepper had set up was merely a bonus.

Odin Borson, the most powerful man in town, was locked away for abuse and neglect.
Since Frigga was aware of what was happening to some extent, she was charged with neglect as well, getting a few years in prison combined with quite a longer period of mandatory therapy.

Thor was found unaware of everything and had not gotten charged. He moved away to a small town with a small school where he continued his business degree. It took him a long period of time and therapy to be able to face the truth. Only a year after the lawsuit he had first contacted Loki with the wish to apologise.

It took another half year for Loki to agree without fear of going in a panic attack at just the sight of his once brother.

They were on very shaky ground at the moment. Both still had trouble accepting the past. And there were often times where Loki simply refused to contact with Thor in any way. They mostly ended by Phil convincing him to call.

Even now, after two years of intense therapy and help from his friends, Loki still had enough triggers to go around.
Weeks went by in which he refused to believe he was wanted.
Days in which he was still convinced he would be beaten if he made a mistake.

The need to earn his keep was set so deeply in his mind that his shrink simply set to changing it a bit instead of removing it.
The student had gotten a job as soon as he could bare to do so. His classes were paid by the scholarship he had gotten with just three panic attacks, but he insisted on paying Phil rent.
Phil accepted only because the shrink thought it was a good idea. After all, other students also paid rent for a room.

The lawsuit against the Odinsons did leave Loki with a small fortune, he could live like a prince the rest of his life. One small problem being that he hated the money.

Until this day he had only used it to anonymously pay Steve's mother's bills. The woman prayed her thanks to the secret donations and for some reason always baked something for Loki whenever she had the time.

Basically, after two long years, Loki was still a mess.

He had panic attacks and flashbacks and nightmares and complete weeks of Bad Days.

But he was getting better.

With each passing month the Bad Days became rarer.

He had friends. He had built his own family. There were people who cared. People who invited him for dinner or dropped by unannounced with bags of Chinese food.
Stark dragged him and Bruce into his workshop often enough for insane projects. As a distraction or just amusement, it always left Loki pleasantly exhausted with another patent to his name.
Steve took care of their weird group, gave a listening ear or a comforting embrace.
Loki got along really well with Natasha, which scared the hell out of Clint.
And he always had Phil's kind smile and support to come home to.

On top of that all, there was Bruce. Amazing fantastic kind caring Bruce, who took Loki under his wing and was there for every panic attack with a new book or story Tony had told him.
They were both damaged, but not broken no matter how badly the world had tried. They came out alive and kicking. It would probably be years before Loki could have any normal relationship, but until that day, Bruce would be by his side.

One day in the future he would wake up curled around the shorter scientist and wonder how this perfect life came to be.

A bright future was waiting for him. But first he would study some more.

Learn some more.

Grow and heal some more.

He didn't quite know where his choices would bring him yet.
But, as he stood there with a proud smile with his degree in hand, he realised, life wasn't so bad after all. There were good and bad moments.

And for the first time since he was born, the good moments were winning from the bad.