Chapter 1

Sick

AN: Let's see how this goes... I need to try and get some ideas flowing so... new story it is. Shouldn't be to long of a fic... few chapters.

Disclaimer: I own nothing; this is the standard line so some idiot doesn't sue me for using stuff in a work of fiction.

Hannah POV

I loved this time of year, fall. Cool enough to need a jacket most days but not so cold you HAD to bundle up all the time. The only BAD thing about this time of year... Flu Season. Half of the residents of Avengers Tower were down with it, curled up in bed, whining for soup or ice packs or any number of other remedies and fixes from the few of us that were still healthy. Of course I had to deal with the most childish of the bunch, Loki Laufeyson. WHY did he have to be such a child? He had to be a few thousand years old and yet give him a runny nose and fever and he acted like he was a toddler. I sigh as I finish the tea and toast for him, putting everything on the tray sitting on the counter of the apartment Loki used while on Earth and that I was using while he was sick.

"Ok, pot of tea, mug and saucer, toast, extra butter, honey, cough drops, tissues... why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?" I mumble to myself as I finish the tray. Knowing Loki he'd figure out SOMETHING to whine about. I shrug and pick up the tray, heading down the hall to his room, knocking before elbowing the door open, setting the tray on the side table as I open the drapes to let some light in.

"Come on Loki, time to wake up. If you want to get better you HAVE to eat something. Come on I made tea and toast, just like you told me to." I say as I nudge him. He whines and rolls over, pulling the blankets over his head more, sniveling and sniffing.

"Go 'way agent, I wish to die alone in peace. How suck a weak race as yours can survive when you get so ill... amazed me." He whines. I roll my eyes and pull the blankets off his head, placing the back of my hand to his forehead, trying to get a read on his temperature. I shake my head and move the tea and toast and extras to the bed side table, rolling my eyes as Loki pulls the blankets back up.

"JARVIS? Can you have Pepper get me a thermometer, something highly sensitive but easy to use and understand? Oh and can you compile a report on Loki's bio stat's from all the time he's visited the tower? And send it to my tablet?" I ask, heading to the bathroom to gather up the measure cups and medicine bottles; checking to see how much was left of everything.

"Yes Agent, I will inform Miss. Potts of your request. Is there anything else you need at this time?" The automated voice of Starks helper computer tells me.

"No I think I'm good for everything else for a bit longer, I stocked up on soup and tea and med's when I went out the other day. I just can't seem to get a handle on how hot or cold he's supposed to be normally. It makes figuring out if he's getting better or not very difficult." I tell him... it... whichever.

"Very well Miss. The complied information is being transferred to your tablet. Do ask if you think of anything else." JARVIS tells me. I nod and measure up the medicine for Loki, going back to him.

"Come on, up and eat and take the med's then you can go back to sleep and whine at me when you're hungry again." I say, sitting beside the lump under the blankets.

"GO AWAY, I wish to die in peace." He snaps, burrowing deeper. I sigh and shake my head, here we go.

"Loki, you've been sick for two days already, you are not going to die. Now crawl out of your cocoon for five minutes so you can take the medicine, it WILL help. Look if you behave I'll leave you alone to die in peace until the next dose is due." I say with a sigh, pouring his cup of tea, adding the honey, stirring it softly. He sniffles and huffs, digging himself out, pulling himself into a sitting position, taking his tea. I smile tightly at him and let him drink a bit before taking the mug back and handing him a measure cup of medicine.

"It's just a swallow; well a few considering you insist on taking every kind of medication there is for the flu. Just take them and be done with it." I tell him, sipping from my own mug of tea. He sulks and takes them, dropping the cups onto the tray after he's done, letting the left over ooze out onto the tray. I roll my eyes in silence, I already tried to get him to just put them back, I didn't need him sniffing and hacking at me again over something as simple as a messy tray and medicine cups. I hand him back his tea, trading him for the tray of cups and head to the bathroom to rinse the cups and tray.

"Eat the toast as well, it's either that or I bring in dry crackers and feed them to you one by one till I say you've had enough." I say from the bathroom, running hot water over the tray and cups to wash off the medication syrup. I hear him grumble and eat, the tea cup clinking on the saucer as he sets it down, picking up the plate of toast. I drain the cups and tray, letting them dry on the counter as I go back to Loki, checking his stats on my tablet.

"How are you feeling? Until I get the thermometer I have to go by how you feel... next time we'll be more prepared." I ask as I look over his stats. I look up after a moment of him not moving.

"Next time?" he says weakly, his eyes wide and glassy. I nod slowly; did he really understand humans so little...?

"Yes... flu season happens every year. Along with all sorts of other illnesses you could catch. I'm surprised you got sick, shouldn't Asguardians have better immune systems?" I say with a sigh. He sulks and munches his toast, grumbling about stupid midguard, stupid germs. I shake my head and clean up his room, sipping my tea as I work, getting a new box of tissues and a new bottle of sanitizer from the hall closet.

"When did you last have a shower Loki? It might help if you haven't since you've gotten sick. Get all the germs and what not off you, clear out your sinuses." I ask, leaning back into the bedroom as I clean and restock the bathroom. He shrugs, sipping his tea, wheezing a little before he answers.

"Night before I fell ill I suppose. My usual routine... dinner, relax a bit with everyone, try to be social, then a bath before I go to bed. I'm not an animal... though at the moment I feel like one. Perhaps a bath is in order or a shower at least." He says, pouring more tea, sniffling.

"Would you mind staying... just in case. I did some reading last night while I couldn't sleep, balance issues is something that happens during your... what did you call it? The flu? Odd name for an illness. Of course the one site I went to made me believing I was dying of some horrible flesh eating thing for a bit. But I came to the conclusion you wouldn't allow me to stay out of the infirmary if I was that ill." He says. I nod as I clean up the bathroom sink, drying off the tray and setting the cups to dry, heading back out to sit with him, sipping my tea.

"If you die on my watch it wouldn't be good for me... no. I'll stay; make sure you don't take a tumble... get back into bed alright once you're finished. Can you manage to get to the bathroom while I go check on everything, get you new pj's?" I ask him. He nods softly and finishes his tea, crawling out of his blankets slowly, shuffling towards the bathroom. I smile, stripping the bed of the sheets and blankets, tossing them into the washer before I head out to the main room.

"Jarvis, has Pepper found a thermometer yet?" I call out as I sort through the laundry basket, pulling out a clean set of Pajamas for Loki.

"Yes miss, she is bringing it up now. How is our guest today?" he responds.

"Oh... as well as you can imagine. He thinks he's dying and continues to whine. I don't think he's getting any worse though... just not sure if he's getting any better either." I tell him as I sort out the laundry and wait for Pepper. There's a knock at the door after a few minutes, I call out to whoever it is, likely Pepper, that it's unlocked and to come in. Who was gonna knock before attacking? I smile as Pepper comes in, sitting beside me, helping me sort out the laundry.

"So... how's your invalid then? At least Tony didn't get sick this year... it's horrible... the whimpering and clinginess." She tsks and shakes her head. I chuckle and shrug.

"He thinks he's dying... wants his tea just so... demands I give him every remedy I can. Did you get the thermometer?" I ask, putting my laundry back into the basket to take care of later. She nods and hands me the box.

"Yeah, Tony modified it for more sensitive readings; some of his work is really very sensitive. Figured he might as well make some money off it and mass produce it. He'll want a review of course. Either tell Jarvis or me and we'll write it up for him. You want some company or anything? Most of them are sleeping all day long, gets very boring." She says hopefully, craving some girl time. I chuckle and nod.

"How about after lunch... Loki's a little... worried about falling over with his head all stuffed up so I promised I'd stay close while he showered just in case. I'm sure someone else can watch our charges while we go out for an hour or two." I grin. She laughs and nods, hugging me.

"I'll see you... at one then?" she asks.

"Yeah... one sounds perfect. Give me time to get him fed and then cleaned up and down to the lobby." I say with a grin, hugging her back before waving goodbye to her and head back to Loki's room with his laundry, putting the stuff away, leaving out a new set of PJ's, remaking his bed with new sheets. I knock softly on the bathroom door.

"How you doing in there?" I ask, listening at the door. He sounds better as he answers.

"As well as expected I assume. Better even, I believe I can breathe correctly again. Only time will tell if I do this well once I leave the shower. Thank you for your suggestion, were you making plans with Miss Potts?" he asks me. Damn his hearing. I sigh and lean against the door jam.

"Yes, I was. I'm going to lunch with her at one o'clock. You'll either be back to sleep or well enough to deal with someone else for a few hours while I get out of the apartment and have adult time with a friend." I huff, crossing my arms over my chest, going on the defense. I hear him sigh from the shower.

"I didn't mean it like that Agent... you just haven't seemed to go out much. I was simply wondering why you decided to start now. When I could possibly be deathly ill." He says. I roll my eyes.

"You are not deathly ill Loki; the flu doesn't kill people, not any more. Not the strain you have anyway. You can move, you're not in a coma... you are not going to die unless someone kills you in your sleep. You can last a few hours on your own while I go have adult time. For Odin's sake you'll probably sleep the entire time anyway." I say with a sigh, shaking my head.

"That is beside the point, you are currently my helper monkey and you are leaving me to go spend time with Stark's... nanny. I just... don't understand why you're leaving me when I'm ill." He snaps at me. I blink a few times, processing what he just said.

"OH MY GOD! For one I am NOT your helper monkey, and for two I am not leaving you. I am going to lunch with a friend; I will be back before you need more medication, you will likely stay in the exact same spot as you were going to if I was here. Stop being such a drama queen, god above!" I yell through the door at him. He snorts.

"I believe Thor is housed below us and the only other God in residence is I, and if you're going to be praying to me I prefer nude worship." He tells me. I roll my eyes.

"You are feeling better aren't you? I figured a shower would do you good, if nothing else it got you out of your filthy jammies and gave me time to change your sheets. And before you snap at me about them yes, they are the high count cotton, until your back to full health I am not going to have you slipping and sliding around in your preferred silk. If you want to push it I'll find you a new helper and not have to worry about coming back from lunch with Pepper." I say. He tsks and goes silent, enjoying the shower. I roll my eyes and finish my tea, sitting on the floor near the bathroom door, playing on my tablet while I wait for Loki to finish his shower and need me to get him something. I hear the water turn off after a bit, listening for him to get out and begin to dry off, making sure he's not falling over.

"May I have my sleep clothing and a pair of boxers, Agent? I believe I am dry enough to dress." He asks through the door, for my sake rather than his. He seemed to have no issue walking around undressed at all hours. I get up and get him a pair of boxers and his new PJ's, holding them out to him around the door.

"Any new issues? Mucus draining or anything?" I ask as he dresses.

"Not that I am aware of yet, though it is still warm in here so mucus, such a disgusting word, is still fluid and not yet... condensing into chunks. I believe I may be ready for something more substantial then tea and toast. Do you think I could have something to eat?" he asks, I check my watch and nod. Something light wouldn't be horrible or ruin his lunch; he hadn't eaten much since he got sick.

"I don't see anything wrong with some soup or something light. I'll go see what I can get you after your back in bed." I tell him as he opens the door and shuffles back to his bed, sliding back under the blankets, looking better then he has been. I hand him his box of tissues and cough drops as I pick up the breakfast tray and head out.

"I'll see what I can get you to eat. Stay in bed." I call back as I head to the kitchen, depositing our dishes in the sink before I look for something he can eat that won't take too much time or be a huge waste if he can't eat it. I settle on a can of noodle soup, making it up quickly and putting it in the microwave while I take care of our dishes and what not, putting them in the dishwasher. I dish out Loki's soup, grabbing a sleeve of crackers and head back to his room, toeing the laundry basket in front of me to take care of after I give him his soup. I set the tray on the side table as I dig out the lap tray and put it across his legs, tugging a blanket off him to let it sit right, sitting the bowl of soup and crackers on the tray.

"Now, I have some things to do in my room, can you be alone for a while?" I ask him. He nods and adds some crackers to his soup.

"I will be fine, thank you. I will put my tray back on the side table when I am finished." He says as he plays with his soup. I shrug and head out, closing the door half way to give him some privacy, heading to my room to relax and put my laundry away. Who was I to say what was normal for an ailing Asguardian... Jotun... whatever the hell he was. I strip my bed and remake it, putting my laundry away, enjoying an easy morning of housework.

AN: ok... so this is just an off the wall imagine that has been eating at my brain. What do you think? PLEASE review. Please? I LOVE reviews.