A/N: Sorry for the delay, guys! My muse for Unto Death decided to grab me by the throat and shake for a little while, but here's a short chapter to tide you over.
Calm
Tony supposed it was almost sweet – in a nauseating sort of way – how Thor doted on his ill brother. He prowled the room like a caged and restless tiger, pausing now and again to sit by Loki and to wipe the droplets of sweat that glistened on his brow. He kept his movements slow and almost timid, as though Loki were some fragile creature he was afraid of hurting, like a baby bird so small that he could see its heartbeat fluttering in its chest.
Loki probably deserved what he had gotten, but Tony found it hard to be vindictive when he noticed how pale and small Loki looked, curled up and shivering under the blankets. Without his helmet, cape, and trademark snark the Trickster seemed diminished somehow. Vulnerable.
Approachable.
"You'll take care of him while I'm gone?" Thor asked from the doorway, trying too hard to sound casual, like he wasn't worried.
Tony hummed an affirmative, blinked, and then asked, "Wait, where are you going?"
The now-empty doorway offered no answer.
Tony pursed his lips and sighed, watching Loki for a long, still moment, half expecting the Trickster to spring up and yell, "Surprise!" to indicate that the whole thing was just one of his more harmless pranks. Loki twitched in his sleep, eyes moving rapidly under closed eyelids, but otherwise did not move, breathing in shallow, shuddering breaths.
Tony willed the muscles in his shoulders to unclench and slid into the chair Thor had shuffled close to the bed. He drummed his fingers on his knee, aware of each second as it crawled by, and stared at Loki's face, studying the familiar features for lack of anything else to do. He had rather pleasing features, he supposed, with large eyes, fine cheekbones, and dark hair that complemented pale skin and what he knew to be green, green eyes.
By all rights, he should be a hit with the ladies, Tony mused, if he just stopped trying to destroy things every once in a while. Being crazy and wearing a cape tended to offset one's attractiveness.
Though Tony thought he could probably pull off a cape. Green would clash with the armor, and red was just overused, but gold would be rather striking, he supposed. He would just have to be careful around automatic doors.
"Thor?"
Tony's gaze had wandered alongside his mind, and when he looked away from the window, it was to see Loki's eyes open, glassy with fever but staring right at him. His voice was little more than a whisper, but Tony heard it well enough.
"Oh," Tony said, fumbling for words. "Hello."
Loki blinked slowly, dazedly, and slurred something that sounded like, "Agggabaaadaghjgasd."
Tony blinked. "Come again?"
He leaned closer, eyeing the Trickster warily. Loki murmured something else that Tony doubted was English, hand twitching up as though reaching for him before flopping back onto the bed.
"Yes, fascinating," Tony muttered, rolling his eyes.
Loki's eyes slid closed, but he continued mumbling incoherently in his sleep.
Tony decided to text Pepper to order a pizza.
Across the city, Thor was diligently cleaning the remnants of snake guts from his hammer and armor, satisfied with a job well done.
