Tony was woken up by JARVIS at 4am. "Sir, your guest seems to have a nightmare or an anxiety attack, he is screaming and thrashing around in bed. He already has hit his head at the headboard and his bandaged forearm against the nightstand."

Tony bounced out of bed. He could hear Loki crying out as soon as he opened the door. Hey, this is the first night without painkillers. The first night of sleep without drugs or being unconscious. Fuck. Should have seen this coming. He hurried to get to Loki`s room. As he opened the door and JARVIS turned the lights on Loki woke up in blind panic, disoriented, soaked in sweat. His heart was pounding in his chest like it was going to explode and crash him from the inside out. He screamed, cries of anguish. But as soon as Loki recognized Tony he started cursing at him. Then he just kept on repeating "Go away. Go away!" Until Tony did so. Tony wasn`t good dealing with panic attacks. Not his own and not of others. And sure as hell he wouldn`t force Loki to share this moment with him.

When Tony had left Loki cursed, he swore like a trooper for several minutes. He was angry. It was enough. He had enough of fear and pain, didn`t need more of it. That was more important than sleep, because he needed silence in his head to prepare a plan. Panic wouldn`t help but make everything worse. And he was fed up with getting help from this mortal. Or he wasn`t. It was all to mixed up, twisted, chaotic. Earth, the Chitauri and then waking up out of darkness into this. Whatever this is. He needed an emergency plan, something which would keep him safe, when everything here would turn against him. Too much possibilities how staying here could destroy him.

He didn`t fall asleep again.

At noon Tony knocked at Loki`s door. But his guest refused to get out of his room or talk about his night. The only thing he said through the closed door was: "You will not use this against me."

"You are not very trusting, Loki."
"Why should I be?"

And Tony didn`t knew the answer. But he wondered what have to happen to someone to mistrust everything and everyone like Loki did. He was mistrusting and paranoid himself, but Loki set new standards for it. Loki seemed to feel like every moment everyone around him could stab him in the back without any prior warning and without a second thought. And he acted like it wouldn`t be the first time someone did exactly that, stabbing him in the back and leaving him behind, bleeding. His current situation didn`t made things better, he couldn`t know for sure that Tony didn`t had ulterior motives, that the tower was safe, that he was safe now. He must feel like he was left to fight against an unstable and overwhelmingly hostile universe, alone.

After filling one cup with delicious coffee and another one with more or less delicious tea, Tony went down to Bruce Banner who was working in his laboratory.

"Isn`t it a beautiful day? I brought you tea!"

"You flute. You`re going to say something I won`t like, am I right?"

"Might be... Bruce? I think I invited Loki to stay at the tower, like moving in, I mean."

"You did what?"

"He can go nowhere. What shall I do? He'd die. S.H.I.E.L.D. would torture him, use him as a laboratory rat or kill him. The citizens of New York would lynch him. And he sure as hell would find a way to kill himself before he would go back to Asgard. Believe me, I talked with him. So what would you do?"

"You know, that you don`t owe him something?" Bruce looked thoughtful. "But you see a twisted reflection of yourself in him, aren`t you?"

"Perhaps. There are same parallels. But I got a second chance one day. I was an asshole at that time, really, but I got my chance. So perhaps I owe it to the universe to give some other asshole that possibility, too. "

"You haven't killed dozens of people."

"Not with my own hands but with weapons I invented and build. Hell, yes. Hundreds? Thousands? There was no one keeping track of. And if you count terrorists and other human scum, I've killed my fair share with my own hands, too."

"New York's citizens aren't terrorists."

"Some of them might have been. Or killers or rapists or eating little kittens. I don't know. I don't say he's a saint, Bruce. He isn`t. Oh, he definitely isn`t. I just think he has atoned for that with what he's been through. He even lost his magic. Believe me, I know how it feels when everything is taken away from you. It`s a point where you have to decide in which direction you will go. I had someone point me in the right direction, perhaps he deserves the same chance. And a chance is better than the alternative, letting him die the one or the other way. What good would that do?"

"Do you have a plan B? What will you do, if he goes crazy and tries to conquer the world again?"

"I'm Iron Man. Without his magic he wouldn't stand a chance against my weapons. Even with his magic I could get him. I support second chances but if he would go on a killing spree, you can be sure, I will stop him."

"You know that you are not very good in the whole stress free environment thing?"

"I'm sorry, Bruce, really."

"And how shall this shared apartment or tower, whatever, how shall this work? What are the rules? Are there rules?"

"Not yet. Didn`t think about house regulations. Meet him. Talk to him. Make rules. You were here first. What do you say? Would that be ok for you?"

"Sounds like fun." Bruce sighed. "Perhaps you should give him a warning before."

"JARVIS, please tell Loki that Bruce and I will visit him in five minutes. Would be nice if he'd wear some trousers."

"Have I already missed something I should know?"

"Hospital gown. He wasn't exactly happy to discover he's wearing one." Tony giggled.

Another sigh. "I`ll share a building with a mad god and a goofy but brilliant kid. They could kill each other with ease. And the other guy would still like to break his puny god in at least two parts. Great. Tony, you are my friend but for that you owe me."

"I do, Bruce, I know, I do."

"Sir?"

"Yes, JARVIS?"

"Dr. Bruce Banner and Mr. Tony Stark will visit you in approximately five minutes. I should make sure, that you wear trousers."

"Banner? The Hulk?"

"The scientist, Sir. The Hulk just appears in very stressful situations. Dr. Banner controls him most of the time."

"I am a stressful situation! I am quasi the definition of a stressful situation. And I highly doubt that being slammed at the floor without magic to shield me, will end well."

"I can assure you, Dr. Banner is no threat."

Loki laughed. "I really hope so JARVIS. I would prefer to survive this in one piece. I am tired of repeatedly almost dying."

He walked out of the door into the huge living room. If this chamber should be his for the next days or weeks or whatever, he would at least decide who`s allowed in there. Even if it would be no more than lying to himself, because he was all too well aware that it was Stark`s room and tower. But sometimes an illusion would have to be enough. Loki ensconced himself in one of the armchairs in the middle of the room, with his arms on the armrests and his feet on the ground. He sat up straight and would have looked like a king granting an audience wouldn`t he have looked like death warmed up. Black trousers combined with a black tunic with long sleeves and black embroidery around the neckline didn`t exactly help masking his tired lividity and still visible marks of his injuries. When the elevator doors opened Tony made a beeline for the couch beside Loki`s seat, Bruce followed a little bit slower and they both sat down.

"Curling horns! Nice to see you." Tony grinned. "How are you?"

"Superb. To what do I owe the honor of this visit?" Loki smiled vaguely. He spoke with a steady voice and kept his face motionless.

Tony answered him. "I`m not the only one living in this tower. Bruce lives here, too. So we should all get along somehow. Might need some rules, didn`t it? Besides the nobody dies rule, I mean. Bruce?"

"Please just stay away from my floor and my lab for a while. I`m sorry, but I don`t know how the other guy will react if you just show up there out of the blue."
"That shouldn`t be a problem, Dr. Banner."

"You`re not healed completely. Take care of yourself. I worked as a doctor, if you have a problem, I might be able to help you or least know who could. And you have to eat to get well. There`s a lot of stuff in the kitchen, take and eat what you want, please. I also convinced Tony of eating dinner together. I cook four days a week, he orders three days a week. Don`t let him cook. I speak from personal experience. Burned, smoked and bad tasting experience." Bruce shared a small smile.

"It wasn`t that bad! It was edible. Mostly. And I`m a genius, not a cook." Tony sulked just a little bit.

Loki would have laughed had he not felt so tensed up, so he just smiled. He wanted to go back in this room and lock the door. "So I have to join you?"

"We`re not going to force you, if that`s what you mean. You can join, if you want to."

"Thank you very much. Is there anything else?"

"Are you in a hurry? Anywhere important to be? You look like you`re bored to death, Spock."

Somehow Tony`s audible annoyance pleased Loki. Looking bored was definitely better than looking hurt and vulnerable. At least he was in control of his appearance. That was better than nothing. And so his smile was a little bit more genuine than before when he said: "I don`t know what a Spock might be but I apologize. I`m tired. Are there any other rules I have to know about?"

"No killing, no maiming, no destroying of my property."

"And I assume, I`m not allowed to defenestrate you again, too."

"Right. Smart cookie!"

"It is too bad."

"So, how are you? What are you planning? Anything you want to talk about?"

"No, Stark."

"We had a deal, remember?"

"I do remember. I agreed to tell you about what happened in New York in exchange for shelter. But you don`t ask about New York. You ask about me. And I haven`t agreed to tell you anything more about me than you needed to know to understand what happened in New York. I stand to the agreement. If you want anything else - make me do it or leave me alone." His mask slipped for a moment and anger shined through. Anger that covered turmoil.

Bruce was the one to stop the two others. "There`s nothing more. Tony, I could need your help in the lab. Loki, I cook dinner tonight, you`re invited to join us. If you need anything, just tell JARVIS." And he stood up and pulled Tony gently up. On the way to the elevator Tony turned his head to the god on his armchair: "I understand that you don't want to discuss yourself, but when you decide you are ready to, I'll listen. Now excuse me, I have work to do."

When the elevator doors closed Bruce sighed: "You always want the last word."

"Yes, when my counterpart is an annoying, bored god, I want to."
"He`s not bored, he`s scared and terrified. I`m surprised he didn`t break a bone or torn a muscle so tense was his whole body."

"I know. I just don`t like it. And bored sounded much better."