Thanks for your continued reading and reviewing, guys! Okay, so here's the deal: I'm going on another trip next week (the second of three this summer-my family travels A LOT, lol!). We are leaving Monday at about noon. I will probably have limited internet access on Tuesday, so I will post Chapter 9 on Monday morning. We are staying at a very fancy hotel (yay, excitement!), so I should be able to find internet somewhere to post the second chapter of the week! I'm not sure what my schedule will be, so keep checking. It will probably be either Thursday or Friday. Thanks for your continued patience and feedback-I really appreciate it! I love the conversations I've been having with some of my readers. You guys are awesome. :)

Tony found Bruce in the medical diagnostics lab late the next morning. The doctor was sitting in a chair pulled up to the blood analyzer, staring at a printout. One elbow was propped on the table, and Bruce was resting his head in his hand, his fingers run halfway through his ruffled hair.

"So this is where you've been all morning," Tony opened, pretending that he hadn't known all along. He nodded to the paper in front of his friend. "Is that what I think it is?"

Bruce nodded his head against his hand and sighed tiredly. "Yeah. I don't get it."

"What do you mean? You almost made it through medical school-not that you couldn't have made it if you'd chosen to. And the machine gives you the normal ranges for the values. Can't you just see which numbers are outliers?" Medicine wasn't too high on Tony's list of interests, but with his own rather specific health problem, he knew how to use his blood analyzer.

"That's not the problem," said Bruce wearily. "Everything's completely normal."

"Huh? Even though he's a snowman?" Tony had at least expected some value differences resulting from the fact that Loki wasn't human, but Bruce shook his head.

"Don't let Thor hear you calling him that. And I thought for sure there would be at least some differences, but everything is practically exactly in the middle of normal range. Apparently Jotun biology isn't very different at all from human biology."

"So you can't find anything wrong?"

"He has slight anemia and vitamin deficiencies. But I mean slight, and it's probably from not eating properly. Other than that, everything is so normal it's almost scary. ALT, kidneys, platelet count, glucose, thyroid. And the most infuriating part is there isn't even the smallest elevation in white blood cell count."

"So no infection? Then what was with all the griping about the temperature yesterday?"

"What I don't understand is the drastic drop in body temperature. That's not good for him, and it's not normal." Bruce shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this before, Tony. It's really weird. And I'm not really sure where to go next."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "Who says you have to go anywhere?"

Bruce looked genuinely offended. "Look, I know he's done some bad things and our original decision to let him stay didn't involve medical care, but I can't let him suffer. You should have seen him yesterday, Tony-he was shaking like a leaf. And he let me do stuff to him without putting up any kind of fight. It's obvious he's not feeling well at all."

Tony raised both hands, palms facing outward. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up. That's not what I meant. I was just saying that maybe you won't have to do anything else for diagnostics. After Thor brought Loki his breakfast this morning, he said that his temperature felt normal. Maybe whatever was making him sick has already worked itself out."

"Oh. I...sorry."

"No, it's okay. Hey, you're pretty into this doctor stuff, aren't you? Like, doctor-doctor stuff. How come you didn't stay in medical school?"

Bruce chuckled dryly. "I've always been pretty nerdy and quiet. It's not that I can't handle stress-I just couldn't take it radiating off of other people. Medical students are so intense. And I discovered I really loved nuclear physics. There was a professor who took an interest in me, and it all kind of changed direction from there."

Tony nodded, listening. "It takes guts to completely switch courses like that so late in your education. Guts and a lot of conviction."

"And the funny part is, after everything that happened in my career as a nuclear physicist, I somehow ended up practicing medicine anyway-unofficially, of course." Bruce gave a small snort at the irony.

"Somehow I doubt the people whose lives you saved in Calcutta care whether you're an official medical practitioner or not," replied Tony warmly. His tone held no hint of a tease, a rarity for him, and he was rewarded with a small smile from Bruce. Neither spoke for several seconds. Bruce fidgeted and Tony regarded him curiously, wondering what was going on in that wrinkly brain of his. Finally, the doctor spoke.

"Look Tony, I owe you some thanks. Not just for letting me stay in the tower, either." He paused, apparently thinking about exactly how to word what he wanted to say. Socially Awkward Bruce was almost as amusing as Deeply Thinking Bruce. "You're the first person who hasn't found it necessary to skirt around the elephant that follows me into every room I walk into. At first it made me uncomfortable, but now I've come to realize that it's helped me come to terms with the Other Guy always being there. It was you who showed me I could control him. Now he's less of something to run from and more just a part of me that I have to learn to deal with."

It was all Tony could do not to beam and grin as widely as he could, but he managed to keep his reaction to a small smile.

"I'm flattered, truly. I don't honestly say that to many people. Like, at all. So consider yourself privileged. Anyway, you just seemed like the kinda guy who was just waiting for something in his world to break open-tiptoeing when you needed to strut, like I said. You were on the edge of strutting. I knew that when it all came to a head, you wouldn't just be sitting back and watching it from the sidelines. Because that was your moment. And you're strutting now."

Now it was Bruce's turn to smile, in a sort of truly grateful manner that made Tony feel simultaneously happy for his friend and incredibly proud of himself. Bruce spoke again.

"So, we've been doing all this talking about me. Can we talk about you now?" He sounded slightly cautious, but at the same time, determined. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, sure. I love talking about me. Me is my favorite subject. Let's talk about me."

"All of this, everything you do-the Iron Man suit, the clean energy, quitting the weapons industry-it was all because of one event in your life. I know what happened, or at least what the news stories said. And I can pretty much guess why you never talk about it, because it's the same reason why I don't like talking about my accident. You don't like thinking about it, and I get that. But it's something you have to live with every day, just like I have to live with the Hulk. But they-the Hulk and what happened to you in Afghanistan-they're a part of us. They make us who we are. You showed me that, and so I thought I'd show you back. Sorry if I'm being a little forward. I guess I just...if you ever want to...you know...talk about it..." Bruce trailed off, his burst of eloquence reverting back to his normal awkwardness.

That was not what Tony had expected. He should have guessed, but he hadn't thought Bruce was into feelings talk. It was one of the things that made him seem so approachable to Tony, who loved to talk but only about things that didn't matter. Now his safety net was gone-here was Bruce, bringing up that. He was totally not prepared to deal with this.

Bruce obviously noticed the discomfort on his face. "Look, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. I just wanted to put it out there. I don't want things to be weird between us. You can just forget I said it if you want." He wrung his hands worriedly, obviously fearing he had sullied the best friendship he'd had in a long time.

"No...no, we don't have to be weird. We're not weird." Tony shook his head, not really sure where to go next. He didn't want to tell Bruce outright that he had absolutely no desire whatsoever to discuss his being blown up and captured and tortured by terrorists being manipulated by his own mentor with him. Even he wasn't that tactless.

Luckily for Tony, JARVIS's monotonic voice suddenly became audible.

Dr. Banner, your presence has been requested in Mr. Loki's room by Mr. Thor.

Bruce sighed. "This can't be good."

"What's up with them, JARVIS?" asked Tony.

Mr. Thor has indicated that Mr. Loki is running a fever and needs medical attention. Mr. Loki insists that he needs no such thing. They are currently arguing about this matter.

"Well, he can't be just too sick, if he's arguing with Thor," said Tony, rolling his eyes.

"All the same, I'd really hoped this had blown over." Bruce sighed frustratedly. "Well, I guess I'd better grab the thermometer."

Dr. Banner, may I make a suggestion?

"Sure, JARVIS."

Tony grinned. Obviously Bruce had figured out just how helpful the AI could be. Tony often relied on it to help work out complex engineering or critical thinking problems-the computer helped him organize his thoughts. It was ironic, because Tony had at one point needed to organize his thoughts to invent JARVIS. Which means that he had engineered the AI to be helpful to himself. Yeah. Not paradoxical at all.

Sir, if it is possible that Mr. Loki will be ill for an extended period of time, perhaps it would be wise to install a temperature sensor. I will be able to monitor his temperature at all times and alert you of any concerns.

Bruce's eyebrows went up. "Hey, that's actually a really good idea. Tony, could you...hook me up?"

"Sure thing! I'll get it ready-won't take me long. You'd better go take care of Frosty before he melts."

"Tony..."

"Yeah?"

"Never mind."

"What?"

"Nothing, just don't come crying to me when you're sporting a Mjolnir-shaped indentation in your head."

Tony just grinned.

~~~The Door That Shouldn't Be In Front Of Me~~~

Given what JARVIS had said, when Bruce entered Loki's room he had expected to walk straight into a firefight between the two brothers. Apparently sibling rivalries were even more intense when the parties involved were gods (case in point: the battle a few days prior). But he opened the bedroom door to silence. Loki sat, uncovered, atop his blankets, dressed in his pajamas and resting with his back against a wall of Stark's fine silk pillows. There were the same spots of pink on his cheekbones as there had been the previous day, but the effect was more enhanced this time. The remainder of his face was even paler than normal, and beads of sweat glistened on his forehead. It was quite a contrast from how Bruce had last seen him, shivering beneath layers and layers of blankets, desperate for even a breath of warmth.

Thor stood beside his brother's bed, looking painfully awkward-more awkward than Bruce generally felt, which was quite a feat, especially for someone as charismatic as the god of thunder. Thor was looking at Loki as though he desperately wanted to reach out to his brother-more than likely to hold him, Bruce expected, as Thor seemed like the physical contact type of comforter-but he did not move toward the figure on the bed, obviously not wishing to upset the volatile Loki. When he heard Bruce enter, he turned to regard him with worry etched on his face. Bruce wondered if Thor worried enough, his face would stay that way. It would be a pity, although he suspected that as an immortal, Thor's face was probably more resistant to the general wear and tear of emotions than, say, his own.

"Hey," said Bruce, not really knowing what else to say. "You two are awfully quiet. JARVIS said you guys were...having it out." He winced slightly as he listened to his own words. Maybe he should think twice before bringing up the tension between these two in front of them.

"My brother is very unwell. We did have a brief quarrel, but he tired too quickly to sustain it. He is not himself at all." Thor's tone was grave.

"I merely grew weary of listening to you, you insufferable oaf," spat Loki.

"I don't know, I think he sounds like himself to me," said Bruce with a small shrug. Thor shot him a warning glance, but Bruce ignored him. What could even the mighty god of thunder possibly do to him? He went to stand next to Thor beside the bed and held up the thermometer. Loki took it from him with a resigned sigh and placed the instrument beneath his tongue, by now familiar with the process. Bruce laid the back of his hand against the sweaty forehead and frowned. Scratch what he'd said before, Thor did have a reason to worry-Loki felt decidedly warmer than he had the previous day in the lounge. But when he said this aloud, he did not miss the scathing look Loki gave Thor when the latter expressed his concern.

"He is getting worse, then?"

"Let's not jump to any conclusions here. It could just be whatever this is running its course." Bruce almost said something like "bug" or "infection", but then he remembered the disappointing blood test results and stopped himself. But Thor, his worry for his brother obviously making him more observant than normal, did not miss the uncertainty in his voice.

"What is it that you are not saying, Dr. Banner?" His voice held no threat, but it was stern. Bruce sighed. It was not right for him to keep this information from his patient, or from Thor, who obviously cared very much for his brother.

"I finished running the blood tests. Other than some very slight lowering of his iron and vitamin values, which are more than likely from not eating properly, there is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary about his test results."

"What does that mean?" Thor's eyes searched Bruce's face desperately. Bruce was saved from having to answer immediately by the beeping of the thermometer, which Loki silently removed from his mouth and handed to Bruce.

"One-oh-one point six. That's three degrees above normal. I didn't get a reading when you were running a fever yesterday, but I'd say that's definitely higher. Do you feel worse than than you did then?"

Loki nodded, closing his eyes and sinking further into his pillows.

"Okay buddy, you've gotta talk to me here. Tell me what's going on that doesn't feel right."

Loki sighed, sounding slightly annoyed, and slid one eye open irritably. "I am terribly sleepy, and I am fairly convinced that I am melting. And there is a large, infuriating oaf in my bedchamber who refuses to leave me alone. Other than that, I am perfectly well, thank you." He closed his eye once more. Bruce noted how much more sarcastic and caustic Loki was being than he had the previous day, although he could not really have been feeling much better now than he had then-his temperature was even further away from normal, though in the opposite direction. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe Loki's acidic manner and insults toward Thor were actually his obtuse way of shielding his brother from the reality of his condition. Bruce recalled his conversation with Loki when he had brought him breakfast that first morning, and how Loki had not denied that he did not hate his brother after all. How he had said that he did not wish to burden Thor with his pain. Although it was clear just how much Loki disliked his brother's presence, maybe his sarcasm was also designed to show Thor that he still had some fight left in him.

As he usually did, Thor ignored Loki's jab at him. "Dr. Banner, you had not finished explaining the results of Loki's blood tests."

Damn. He had known that would come back up. "Yeah. Umm...as far as they're concerned, there's absolutely nothing wrong with Loki. There's no source of infection, either bacterial or viral, that's causing his fever. And I have no explanation for him running cold yesterday, either."

"So you are no closer to discovering the source of his illness?" Thor clarified, his worry obviously growing. Loki remained silent, but his brow was furrowed with worry. When Thor turned to look at him, however, Loki's facial expression immediately became one of annoyance.

"As of now, no," replied Bruce honestly. "But I'm not going to stop trying, not by any means. I'll get another blood sample and rerun the tests, just to make sure it wasn't a fluke. Tony's also preparing a device that will allow JARVIS to constantly monitor Loki's temperature. It's possible the fluctuation patterns will tell us more."

Thor nodded, his silence a rarity. It was obvious he had understood very little of what Bruce had just said, but this was not a new sensation for Bruce. Nor was it for Thor, probably, he thought, chuckling dryly in his mind. But his humor was quickly dulled when he caught Thor's pained glance in Loki's direction. It was obvious the thunder god was worried sick about his little brother, and Loki was no doubt making it all the worse by continually pushing him away.

"What can I do in the meantime, to make him more comfortable?" Thor inquired, redirecting his gaze toward Bruce.

Before Bruce could respond, Loki growled, "You can leave."

Thor appeared to shatter before Bruce's eyes, unable to take the rejection any longer. "Loki, you are my brother and you are unwell. It is my duty to look after you."

Loki's eyes widened, and Bruce winced, bracing himself for what was coming. Thor was even worse than Tony when it came to thinking before he spoke.

"Your duty? Is that what this is all about? You feel the need to spend all of your time with me because it is your duty? Of course! That's what it has always been about for you, hasn't it? The perfect, golden prince, so loyal to his king and his realm. Everything else falls by the wayside in the face of duty. Do you know what duty is? It is something required of you, not something you want to do. An obligation."

"Loki, I..." Thor began desperately, but Loki was not finished.

"But how foolish of me to ever think I was anything more to you than that. A burden, to the king and queen, to you. A puny little Frost Giant who no one wanted. Cast out, rescued only because of pity!"

"Loki, you are feverish, you mustn't upset yourself so..." Thor, ever determined, reached out to try to take his brother's hand, but Loki pushed him away with surprising force.

"How dare you? How dare you put on the facade of caring? You act as though my welfare means something to you, but you lie!"

"Loki, I would never lie to you, you know that..."

"GET OUT!" Loki screamed, and Bruce even took an instinctive step backward at the volume and force of hatred in his voice. "Leave my chambers! I never want to see your face again!"

For a moment, the two gods just looked at each other. Loki's chest heaved with the exertion of his diatribe, and Thor's with emotion as his tears finally took over. Bruce expected him to try once more to reach out to Loki, but it appeared that the mighty god of thunder had finally been doled out more than he could take. Thor turned and fled the room without even shutting the door behind him.

Bruce remained where he stood up against the wall for several long moments. Though he tried not to stare, he could see the silent tears rolling down Loki's face, his feelings of betrayal evident. Finally, Loki closed his eyes, leaned back against the pillows, and said, his voice perfectly steady and calm,

"I believe you planned to extract more of my blood for testing, did you not, Dr. Banner?"

"Um, yeah." A bit startled by Loki's sudden change in demeanor, the flustered Bruce dug around in his bag for the proper tubes, syringe, needle, and tourniquet. Loki did not so much as flinch when the needle entered his skin this time, and his eyes remained closed throughout the entire procedure. Bruce was not sure if this was because Loki now trusted him with his welfare, or he simply felt too ill to pay him any mind. It was probably neither, he thought. It was probably because Loki's emotions were at the moment even more tumultuous than his temperature, and he did not want Bruce to see the havoc they were wreaking. Studying his patient's face, Bruce could see that fresh tears occasionally leaked from below his eyelids.

After he had squirted the blood into the tubes, Bruce brought a glass of water from the bathroom and placed it on the nightstand, along with two Tylenol.

"Hey," he said softly. Loki opened his eyes to regard him dully. "I want to go ahead and get these tests up and running. Will you be okay here by yourself?"

Loki chuckled ironically. "I have been functioning perfectly well on my own for centuries, Dr. Banner. A slight fever will not change that." His tone was bitter, but it held a bit of uncertainty. Bruce, though, knew better than to push the matter.

"Okay. You should take this Tylenol." Loki regarded him with confusion. "Have you ever swallowed pills before?" A head shake. "Okay, just put them on top of your tongue, take a sip of water, and then swallow the water and the pills together. They should help bring down your fever a little. You need to drink the entire glass of water-it'll help the pills go down properly, and you need to stay hydrated. It also might not be a bad idea to take another shower-cool, maybe not ice-cold. Okay?"

Loki nodded and swallowed the pills without difficulty. Then he settled back against his pillows and closed his eyes again. "I will try to stand beneath the water a little later. I am very tired at the moment."

"Okay, you can rest now. I'll be back when Tony has the temperature sensor ready."

Loki did not respond, so Bruce let him be. He was glad to do so, he had to admit. Every second he stayed in that room, things seemed to get more and more awkward. He honestly wasn't sure who he felt worse for at the moment-Loki or Thor. Granted, Thor hadn't used his very best judgment when he had spoken, but surely Loki was used to that? Bungling his words seemed to be a common occurrence for the god of thunder, which was one of the many things that made him contrast so fiercely with his silver-tongued brother. But sometimes poorly thought-out statements could make a graver impact than other times, and this was certainly one of those times. Bruce did not think for a second that Thor had meant by his words what Loki had interpreted. It was incredibly clear that Thor stayed by his brother's side despite being pushed away continually (and with increasing vehemence) out of love far more than out of any sense of obligation. One look into those clear blue eyes would tell anyone that Thor's pale, scrawny, grouchy, hurtful little brother was the most important thing in his life.

But it wasn't like this was an easy time for Loki, either, between his illness and his punishment, not to mention everything that had led up to it-specifically the revelation of his heritage. Bruce knew that it was possible that Loki's outburst had at least partially been him taking advantage of Thor's unfortunate word choice to finally push his brother away for good in order to protect Thor from the quicksand of Loki's nightmares and helplessness. But at the same time, Bruce could tell that Loki had been genuinely hurt by his brother's words. They had called back painful memories of his past, of being pushed into the shadows in the way Thor had described during their first night in the tower.

"A burden, to the king and queen, to you. A puny little Frost Giant who no one wanted." Bruce winced, recalling Loki's shaking voice and embittered words. He could relate. After all, no one wanted in their town a man who could, in the time it took to snap one's fingers, become a twenty-foot tall beast who did nothing but destroy. Bruce had spent so many years running, fearing for his life, unwilling to spend the rest of his days locked up in a cage in some research facility. No, he would rather die than be locked up. One terrible night he had tried to act on that choice. The voices in his head had taunted him as he had aimed that pistol, biting down on the barrel so that it remained in his mouth despite his shaking hands. Amidst the hardness of the gun between his teeth and the metallic taste mingling with his saliva, the voice had chanted one word, over and over: monster.

He leaned against the wall of the hallway, his eyes shut. For a moment, he was back there, shaking with nauseous anticipation and yet ready for the deed to be over. It was a moment he had relived every day since then...except for the past few days. Somehow, being here had distracted him, made him forget. He supposed it was Tony, for the most part-he had meant every word of his heartfelt thanks to the billionaire earlier. He did not doubt that Stark had had a reason for focusing their conversation on Bruce's work as a quasi-physician. He was showing him that he was someone, not just something. A person who did good things, not just the monster waiting to be let out of its cage. The beast was a part of him, and not the other way around.

He wasn't sure exactly what lay beneath Loki's bitterness and brokenness and hatred, but there was a part of him that said it was similar to what lay beneath his own shell of awkwardness and quiet efficiency. A unique brand of humanity that took a special push to really shine through. He kind of hoped he would get to see exactly what that entailed for Loki.