AN: Hello again!

My school just started, which means that I have just a month left before the first finals. Which means that I have to study a lot, and I fear that my updates won't be very regular any time soon. But I'll continue whenever I can. Also, this definitely is not one of my favourite chapters, please don't judge it too harshly. Or do. Just tell me if you think it's rubbish and I promise to apologize.

Loki woke up after what felt like a few hours. He felt definitely better than before, although his stomach still felt sore. It took a lot to hurt an Aesir, and probably even more to hurt a Jotun, but the Chitauri had learned much. Thinking of the Chitauri however made him feel disgusted and he decided to focus on something else.

Loki turned his head so that his eyes met the ceiling. Dim artificial light brightened as he moved and he squinted. He had indeed managed to land in the wrong place. Loki had known that his destination would most likely be Midgard, but why Thor? He could try and stay positive; at least it would take longer for the Chitauri to find him now. It was a weak excuse, but somewhere very deep inside he was half glad to see him. Then Loki decided that that one, too, was a displeasing thought. He wasn't in need of company, Chitauri or anybody else. And above all else, he had ended up in his enemies' tower. Why? Wasn't the humiliation of being weak in front of Thor enough? He had to face his brother's idiotic friends as well?

Loki hadn't been surprised by Stark's reaction. He hated the man and was certainly sure that the feeling was mutual. What had surprised him, was Banner. The man had to be aware that he had basically used him as a weapon against his friends. He had destroyed his city and exposed him to the world in a way he knew the man abhorred. And still he showed me kindness like no one has done in years.

It made him feel uneasy.

But for now, Loki was in the Tower. Even though he could escape easily, he knew that he needed rest. And – damn it – he didn't want to leave Thor just yet.

After a long time he stretched and carefully stood up. It hurt more than it should. He should be healing faster than this. Perhaps it was the Chitauri blade. Loki looked around him in the small room and sighed. Then he opened the door and stepped out, bare feet meeting the cold floor.

Quietly Loki navigated through the space which was clearly used in scientific purposes and reached the stairs. He didn't take the lift. It felt safer to explore his new environment in peace, without machines at first. It would be most harmful if he the lift doors would open just to reveal some of the actual residents standing in front of him.

The lights in the ceiling lit up as he took the first steps. Just walking the stairs down turned out to be more difficult than he had expected, as his weary body tried to warn him not to use it. Naturally, Loki didn't care.

Couple of floors down he heard voices and realized too late that the wall turned into a glass wall and he wasn't alone.

"Loki!" Thor jumped up from the sofa and ran forward, opening the door. Rogers had been sitting next to him and was looking at Loki suspiciously.

"Loki you shouldn't be up! What are you doing here?" Loki frowned.

"I got bored. Do you truly think that I can entertain myself forever in that room?"

"But you should rest!"

"I just did. Thor, I am fine." He looked at his brother in the eyes and tilted his head forward. Thor placed his hand on Loki's shoulder, in the crook of his neck. Loki swallowed. It was surprisingly nostalgic.

"Well at least we have to find you a proper bedroom. Steve, do you know where Stark is?" He turned to the soldier.

"No, I… JARVIS? Where is Tony?"

"He is currently on the floor below, shall I tell him that you are looking for him?" came the neutral voice from somewhere. Loki raised his head and looked at the ceiling surprised.

"That, my brother, is one of Stark's inventions, it is not a real person", said Thor smiling. Loki lowered his gaze.

"Hm, most interesting indeed", he said with a tone that implied that he wasn't interested at all.

"Would you ask him if there's a room somewhere for Loki?" Steve asked and after a moment the AI spoke again.

"Mr Stark kindly informs that Mr Loki can have any room he wants as long as he doesn't need to meet him himself. I may also tell you that I left out a generous amount of profanities."

"Thanks, JARVIS", Steve said and nodded to Thor. "I think the problem's solved."

... ... ...

After a while Thor and Steve returned to the sofa. Loki had stayed in his new room and Steve took the opportunity to discuss with Thor.

"Do you really trust him?" he asked and waited for an angry reply, but Thor just smiled.

"There is no trusting in my brother. But I do not believe he's going to be any threat right now. Otherwise he would have done it already."

"Maybe." Thor glanced at Steve and he continued quickly.

"I mean no harm for him, I promise. But you have to understand why I'm… suspicious."

"Of course!" Thor nodded. "Of course I understand your reasons. You don't know him like I do. Sometimes I too am confused, he is so very different from me. Has always been." He paused and looked out of the window.

"You should have known him before… before everything went wrong." There was a sad smile playing on Thor's lips as he went on. "He was amazing. Always keeping me out of trouble… I would have died many times if it wasn't for him. And I do not mean that he couldn't be amazing now, it's just… he has changed. And so have I."

Steve looked at Thor and understood that there probably was a lot more to tell than what he had just said, but Steve kept quiet. It wasn't his business.

"You know, for the first time I can actually picture you two as brothers", he said and smiled.

"Aye", Thor said softly. "I just hope that Loki can see it too."

... ... ...

Nine o'clock Bruce finished with his tests and cleaned the table. Well not all of it, but just that it looked like he had tried. He was surprised that he had managed to concentrate so well considering the new circumstances but on the other hand, he had had a lot of practice in controlling himself. Still, he was pleased.

Stark really hadn't lied when he had once said that the place was a candy land, because it was. The latest technology covered every spot of the floor, as well as many other floors. Bruce suspected that being a millionaire had something to do with it. The lights turned off as he waved his hand, leaving the space dark. Only a soft blue glow was left to guide the man out of the room and into the staircase. There was a lift, of course, but Bruce preferred using his own legs. Small spaces and all that, he thought he had a good reason to avoid those.

He had done well today. He was currently working with a small research SHIELD had given to him, the fourth one. It was funny to have a sort-of-official job again. But then again, he got money from that and he had never been rich, so it wasn't particularly a bad thing.

He needed something to drink.

Bruce went to the nearest fridge (which was closer than you would think), took a glass and filled it with orange juice he found. Alcohol was definitely not his thing. He supposed he could drink beer sometimes, but after all he'd been through before, and the fear that the Hulk would come out had made him avoid anything that had amount of intoxicating ingredients in it. Bruce put the juice back in the fridge and closed the door. Then he opened it again and took another glass, filled it and closed the door once more. He could as well check on their guest.

Loki had surprised him, in a good way. A bag full of cats, he had said. He wouldn't say it now. Although he hadn't seen the god since the first time, so he couldn't be sure. Still, it was worth a try.

The room they had given to Loki was quiet when he arrived, but the light coming from under the door proved that he was awake. He had stayed inside the whole day and hadn't even showed up to eat or drink. Bruce lifted his hand and awkwardly managed to knock without dropping the glasses. After a quiet "You may enter", he pushed the door open and stepped in.

The room was modern and stylish. There was one huge bed, a sofa and a desk in the corner. Big windows were covered with curtains and the door leading to the washing room was closed. All the colours were either some shade of white or dark, save for a couple of golden cushions and a wooden wall. The lightning was soft and pleasant and warm. Loki himself was sitting on the sofa in a relaxed position, his legs lifted from the floor and stretched them in front of him on the soft couch. He had a book in his hands and Bruce had no idea where he had gotten that from. The pale eyes looked at him questioningly.

"I… I was thinking if you'd like to drink something", Bruce said and nodded at the glasses he was holding. Loki frowned and put the book away, moved his legs and stood up. Bruce had to marvel how gracefully he walked despite the fact that his body was probably aching pretty badly at the moment.

"Thank you", he said and took a glass. Then he returned on the sofa and stared at Bruce.

"You are being so kind", he finally said. The words held no emotion.

"I, um, I don't know, exactly – "

"But you are. And it is most confusing." Loki's eyes scanned him and Bruce felt uncomfortable.

"Anyone would do it", he muttered, but Loki disagreed again.

"No they wouldn't", he said and tilted his head. "Stark and Rogers are a perfect example of that, especially Stark." Bruce eyed Loki and saw again the change in him. Loki's tone wasn't accusing, nor was his position. The man in front of him was simply calm and curious, without any malignancy. Bruce walked closer and seated himself on the other end of the sofa, mainly because he felt like an idiot standing in the doorway and holding a glass of orange juice. He glanced at Loki warily, but the man didn't show any signs of irritation.

"I think they are wrong", Bruce said slowly, keeping his eyes on the glass in his hands.

"I do not understand." Loki's voice truly sounded like he didn't.

"Look", Bruce started, "Last time you were here it was all killing and threatening and blowing things up. Now you're being all nice and calm. You haven't threatened anyone or done anything wrong, and it seems that you're…" Bruce paused to look for the right word, "You're sort of… okay. I mean that you're not so…"

"Mad?" Loki offered.

"Yes… sorry." Bruce felt awkward.

"It is true. I wasn't quite myself then." Loki's gaze turned absent for a moment. "The previous months were not particularly pleasant." Bruce was having a hard time in believing that he was actually having a normal (sort of) conversation with Loki. Then he continued.

"I believe that you're not so bad, really." He intended to glance at Loki quickly but the expression on the god's face made him maintain his look. For a fleeting moment he actually thought that next to him was sitting a small, confused child despite his height.

The moment was quickly over. He turned his eyes away from Bruce, who decided it best to keep quiet. This totally wasn't something he had expected, he hadn't said anything that shocking, had he?

After a moment he decided that he couldn't take it anymore and opened his mouth just to break the silence.

"Hmm, you're okay then…? I mean are the injuries getting better?"

"What? Oh yes. Yes, thank you", came Loki's absent reply.

"I'd better go", Bruce said and stood up. When he was at the door, he heard Loki's voice once more.

"Doctor Banner… Thank you for the juice." With that Bruce left and closed the door after him.

... ... ...

Loki watched as the Doctor left and turned his eyes to the glass in his hands. It was actually quite good.

He cursed himself for letting the emotions show on his face a minute ago. Was that truly all it took, a small mortal man telling him he wasn't quite as bad as a year ago? He had to get himself under control. But what that small, mortal man had said had sounded like he wasn't holding a grudge against Loki. Of course, he had voluntarily come into his room, but those words had made him feel almost like the small, mortal man was expecting to see him again. It was far from forgiveness, but still…

The room they had given him was quite acceptable too, although Loki was quite sure he wouldn't be here if it weren't for Thor. Stupid oaf. Like he couldn't care for himself. Well, look where that got you, a small voice inside his head said and made Loki feel very annoyed.

Otherwise than the previous discussion, his day had been a complete waste of time. He had chosen a room for himself – he had demanded that it was on a different floor from the other bedrooms – and stayed there. For his delight, nobody had disturbed him and he had had time to organize his thoughts.

After that Loki had took a shower, which had been more enjoyable than what he wanted to admit. To be honest, he had been filthy, and even if the water made his wounds sting, the relaxed feeling afterwards was worth it. He didn't have any clothes for himself, so he had had to wear his old ones. At least he was able to clean them and not wear the bloodstains. After that, he had just read.

Loki drank the rest of his juice and placed the empty glass on a table. Then he got up and walked to the window. By moving the curtain aside, he could see the city opening beneath him. The city that never sleeps, he thought and frowned. Didn't these people know how to be silent? For a minute he amused himself by imagining what they would say if they knew, who was watching them at the moment. Then he closed the curtain, walked to the bed and sat on its edge.

Well, it is nice to have a proper bed at least, he thought as he took his shirt off.