Steve sat at the kitchen island next to Tony who was, once again, drinking. He'd give Tony credit though, he hadn't even finished a bottle yet. He envied the man's ability to dull the feelings of helplessness, of regret. Steve had no such luck. He was stuck with his guilt pressing down on him. He had only been gone for ten minutes before the thing had attacked. If he hadn't gone running, he could've helped Nora. He hadn't known the woman for more than an hour, but there was something oddly endearing about her. And she hadn't mocked him over the toaster incident, unlike the man sitting next to him.

The elevator dinged, revealing Loki. Steve worried slightly at the small glint in his eyes. He knew Loki wasn't evil anymore, but Steve just never really knew what was going on inside Loki's head. "Did you watch it?" Steve asked, trying to fill the stifling silence with conversation.

"Yes," Loki replied. "I left the device downstairs."

Steve nodded once when Loki didn't continue. So much for conversation, he thought. He wondered what the demi-god thought about it, but knew better than to ask.

"So what's happening on Asgard?" Tony suddenly asked, changing the topic. "Anything exciting?"

"If you call potential war looming over it, then yes," Loki replied sarcastically. "Exciting."

Tony raised his arms in surrender. "No need for the sarcasm Lokster. We haven't talked in months, there's no way I'd know. I'm good, but I'm not psychic."

An odd look passed over Loki's face at "Lokster", but then he exhaled slowly. "Forgive me, I am irritable. Is your offer for a place to stay still available to me? It appears I will be remaining here indefinitely."

Tony straightened and pursed his lips. "Did Odin banish you again?" There was a moment of silence before Tony muttered, "Harsh."

"It appears that the Asgardian people believe me responsible for the creature's attack," Loki commented off-handedly.

"But weren't you attacked, too?" Tony asked.

"Yes. That doesn't seem to be an issue." Loki then looked at Tony closely. "How did you know of the attack?"

"Jane told me when they arrived from the rainbow bridge, and Nora filled in some extra details," Tony explained, taking the final drink from his glass. Then he raised it towards Loki. "Want one?"

Loki shook his head, eyeing the glass.

"Aww, don't make me drink alone," Tony pouted.

"Hasn't stopped you before," Steve muttered under his breath, shaking his head slightly.

Steve watched as Tony walked over towards Loki. "Come on, the good ol' Captain won't drink with me, and neither will Bruce." Tony went to nudge Loki with his elbow, trying to goad him into drinking, when Loki suddenly sidestepped away. Tony gave Loki a suspicious and quick once over. "Catch!" Tony called as he suddenly threw his empty glass at the man.

Surprise flitted across Loki's face as he caught the glass reflexively. That's when Steve noticed the gloves. He knew Loki only wore gloves when he had been blue and unintentionally freezing everything he touched. Steve hadn't paid much attention before when he saw Loki for the few moments downstairs. He appeared normal though…

Tony openly gaped at Loki, piecing together the same information, and Steve shook his head at Tony once more. Sometimes Tony wouldn't know tact if he created himself in his workshops.

Loki instantly put the glass down on the table and clenched his fists, looking away angrily. It seemed he still didn't like that part of himself. Steve felt bad for the guy.

"Did you go all Avatar again?" Tony asked, cocking his head. "But you look normal. Well, normal-ish," he amended with a shrug of his shoulder and a roll of his eyes.

"Avatar?" Loki asked, confused at Tony's phrase. For once, Steve knew what Tony was trying to say. Tony had made him watch that movie a couple months ago. Why the man couldn't just say what he meant, Steve would never know. "I thought the mortals told you what had transpired?"

"Nora explained that you two got attacked. She didn't say you went Smurf again." Then Tony smirked. "So Nora knows you're blue and kept it a secret, how cute!" Loki's eyes flashed dangerously, and Steve put his head in his hand. Apparently, any shred of tact was being thrown out the window.

"Oh, don't look so murderous!" Tony smirked still. "You have another friend. Now you can leave Pepper alone."

"And where is Pepper, Stark? Doing your work for you still? What kind of mortal man let's his woman do all the work for him?" Loki smarted back. Steve didn't miss the glimmer of enjoyment in Loki's eyes as the two argued back and forth. Tony even seemed to be enjoying himself, too. Heck, even Steve was momentarily (and happily) distracted from the tense situation, if even for a few minutes.

Loki watched the bright city below him through the large window. Once again, he was left alone while the others rested, but he wasn't as restless as he was on Asgard. He was allowed the freedom to roam Stark's fortress as he wanted. Midgard was very different than Asgard. The heroes knew what he was, and what he had done, and they didn't seem to mind. Stark even teased him about it from time to time. The man had a certain way of annoying Loki to no end, yet part of him was glad that someone wasn't afraid to argue with him. The Asgardians never took the time to do anything but glare in his direction or ignore him entirely. At least, when they weren't spouting rumors.

He had already tried calling for Heimdall, to tell him of the creature's capture, but he received no answer. Not that he expected any less from the Gatekeeper. Loki only hoped the man would inform the Allfather of the situation, then maybe he could return to the realm. It may not be his favorite place to be, but it was his home.

"Jarvis?" Loki tested, looking up at the ceiling.

"Yes, Loki?"

"Where is the human woman?"

"Are you referring to Nora?"

"Yes," Loki answered.

"She is in one of the labs that S.H.I.E.L.D. has transformed into a hospital room. Would you like to visit her?"

Loki nodded, then headed towards the elevator as it opened across the room. He didn't particularly care for the woman, nor did he dislike her. Which, for him, was quite a feat. He held a general dislike for people. Most who knew him, judged him immediately, yet the woman had not. Then again, she didn't know the depths of all his mistakes. But she had asked him of his past. He couldn't recall the last person who asked him his side of things. He supposed that at least warranted a quick visit.

The elevator descended once again, opening on a level near the middle of the tower. Thankfully, this hallway was not overly lit with unnecessary lights. While he had somewhat adjusted to his sharper eyesight, bright lights still hurt his eyes. The short hallway lead to another large empty room, filled only with a bed with tiny walls on the side, a few chairs, a nightstand, and some beeping machines. A small lamp was lit on the nightstand, giving him a clear view of the unconscious figure in the bed.

The woman was abnormally pale and rasping for each breath. He could see parts of the bandages wrapped around her underneath the dark tank top she was in.

"What are you doing here?" a voice asked from behind him.

He wanted to curse his form once again. With his limited magic, he was still finding it difficult to sense others like he was used to. Turning, he saw Thor's woman and another mortal woman next to her. He didn't see a need to explain his presence, so he didn't.

"Why aren't you on Asgard, Loki?" Thor's woman asked again, only a mild distaste for him in her voice.

"Wait, that is Loki? The deranged psychopath who tried to take over New York?" the other woman asked, squinting at him through her glasses. Darcy, he believed her name was.

Loki looked at the woman, grinning slightly maniacally.

She walked up to him and looked him up and down, before looking at him square in the eyes. "So you saved her in Asgard?"

Loki lost the grin he had. He wasn't expecting that. Threats, accusations, anything else really. He had even come up with a variety of snarky comebacks to a number of things she could've said. "Yes…" he responded, almost sounding like a question.

Darcy looked to her cousin and sighed heavily. "Not that it did much good in the end, thank you for helping her."

Loki looked at the woman in confusion. She was thanking him? He wasn't used to getting thanked for anything. Darcy made her way towards one of the chairs and sat down, while he just stood there momentarily unsure what to do.

"Did Thor come with you?" Jane asked him, oddly normal sounding.

He saw none of the usual scathing looks he got from her, and he got suspicious. "No," he answered, wondering what caused her shift in attitude. She looked mildly disappointed, but she nodded like she had expected the answer. Then she walked past him to the other woman, putting a hand on her shoulder. Loki knew when he wasn't wanted around, so he turned and walked back towards the elevator.

Tony rolled to his side, stretching his muscles. He had Jarvis block any sunlight from filtering into the room. Tentatively, he reached out to his right, feeling for Pepper. He didn't want to wake her, but he needed to feel her next to him as he curled himself around all her covers. She mumbled something in her sleep, but instantly snuggled against him.

He tightened his arms around her fractionally. It could've been her that had been attacked that day. It could've been her screams that haunted his mind. He wasn't glad Nora had got attacked, not at all. He had liked the girl when she had talked to Bruce like Tony did; like Bruce was any other person. She seemed nice enough all around. But he was still glad it wasn't Pepper laying in that makeshift hospital room right then.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had been able to patch Nora up the best they could, which was a damn good job in Tony's opinion. She had lost dangerous amounts of blood, and for the past couple days, she had been fighting a dangerously high fever.

It hadn't been pleasant, breaking the news to Jane, Darcy, and Erik when they had arrived. Darcy was the worst to face. She had gone still, then almost scary quiet, and then she had exploded. Immediately she demanded to see Nora and the doctors. Tony had showed her the way and tried to explain (surprisingly tactful) what happened, but he refused to show her the video footage. No matter how many times Darcy threatened his genitals.

Bruce sighed in frustration as he stood in Nora's would-be hospital room. Of course, some of his frustration came from Tony, who was pacing behind him relentlessly. Maybe he could teach Tony some mediation techniques so the man wouldn't drive Bruce into insanity.

The S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors were checking on Nora again. They were trying to cool Nora's body down. While her near life threatening fever had broke, her body was still clinging to a medium grade fever that wouldn't seem to break. Tony had the air conditioning in the room lowered, but it hadn't seemed to be doing anything for her. The doctors were fussing over the unconscious woman, checking her vitals. Personally, Bruce thought they were moving at an infuriatingly slow rate. He had done blood work and searched for a cure, while on the run, quicker than the two doctors seemed to be moving.

Listening to Tony's shuffling footsteps quickly ate up what little patience Bruce had, so he turned and headed back towards the elevator. Unfortunately, Tony followed him.

"Seriously, can't they just put her in an ice bath or something?" Tony complained, crossing his arms as the elevator shut.

"No, Tony," Bruce told him, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was starting to get a headache. Tony made a harsh noise of frustration as he ran a hand through his hair. Bruce understood that Tony was stressed and felt useless. He did too. Jane and Darcy had been pushed away from Nora's room by the S.H.I.E.L.D. doctors enough times, that they knew they wouldn't get to see Nora until later in the night, when the doctors would leave.

Which should be…

The elevator door opened, revealing Darcy standing there

…Right about now.

"The doctors still down there?" she demanded.

Bruce nodded. "They're still trying to cool her down. She's still got a fever, even if it is a low one."

Darcy nodded, and moved out of the way so Tony and him could leave the elevator. Tony made a beeline for Pepper, who was talking to Jane on the couch.

"Tony, when were you going to tell me Loki was here?" Jane asked, turning to look at him as he sat on the arm of the chair Pepper was sitting in.

"Loki's here?" Pepper asked, scrunching her face slightly.

Tony looked a little caught off guard as both women looked at him. "Well, he got here last night. Pep, you were already asleep. Jane, you and Darcy hadn't left Nora to see him when he got here," Tony explained. "How did you find out?"

Bruce pulled a stool out from under the counter and sat down.

"We saw him last night when we went to check on Nora," Jane told him. Darcy nodded her agreement as she sat down on the couch next to Jane. Bruce looked around, but he didn't know where Erik went. Maybe he heard Loki was there and decided to stay away for a bit. Bruce wouldn't blame him.

Tony raised an eyebrow slowly, a smirk pulling at his face. "Oh really?" Bruce knew that look; it was a look of impending taunts and teasing. He wasn't sure why Tony enjoyed taunting those he shouldn't (like Bruce himself, or the Other Guy), but he was just grateful it wasn't him for once.

Pepper went to ask Tony something when the elevator opened, revealing the Asgardian in question. Bruce watched Loki's eyes take count of everyone in the room quickly. He stood in the elevator for a few seconds, a debate clearly raging in his head. Leave or stay. Bruce knew the look well.

Loki steeled himself, walking across the room purposefully to the kitchen portion of the room. Keeping his back turned, he opened the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. "Must you all continue to stare?" he demanded after a few quiet seconds, while turning on everyone in the room. Bruce immediately looked away politely.

Pepper stood up and walked over. "Do you want anything to eat, Loki?" Bruce watched as Tony pouted as he watched Pepper.

"No, thank you, Pepper. I am fine for now," Loki replied politely.

Pepper smiled and went to give him a pat on the arm. "Welcome back."

Crap, she didn't know that he was freezing cold again! Tony stood from the chair quickly, making Jane and Darcy watch him with confused faces. Thankfully, Pepper had only touched his coat, but by the look on her face, and the sudden chill in the air, Bruce could tell she knew. She just smiled and gave Loki a quick reassuring pat and walked back to Tony, tsking at him. "Home many times do I have to tell you not to worry, Tony?" she rolled her eyes.

"Worry about what?" Jane and Darcy chorused.

"The fact that Loki basically freezes anything he touches," Tony told her like she was slow. "He's a… What did you call it?" he asked Loki.

Damn, Tony, Bruce thought in sympathy for Loki. He truly had no class about talking about personal matters. Tony just didn't know what it was like to despise a part of yourself that couldn't be changed. Tony was just a (semi) normal person, with an ego the size of a planet. Bruce could relate to the Asgardian; he had truly hated what he was for a long time. But he supposed he had his experiences and his new makeshift family to thank for his new outlook on himself. He didn't think Loki had that often. Bruce shivered as a wave of cold air brushed over him.

"Tony!" Pepper snapped, putting her hands on her hips.

"What did I-" Tony started to ask.

Loki placed the fully frozen water bottle on the counter forcefully and vanished.

Darcy and Jane looked back and forth, still confused. "What's going on? What is he?" Darcy asked. Well, the cat was out of the bag now. Pepper sat down and explained what Loki was while Bruce watched the frozen water bottle sweat, an idea forming.

Loki appeared in the large, dark work place that was filled with several machines. He made his way back to the freezer he had discovered Stark still had from his previous time on Midgard.

Loki found it astonishing, the rate in which the mortals figured him out so easily. It always seemed like someone new found out about his Jotun heritage by the day. Yet the Asgardians still had yet to piece together the information. He scoffed at himself as he opened the doors to the inside of the freezer.

Was this to be his fate? To be discovered and end up alone in the dark and cold? He was starting to think so.

Loki left the door open a few inches and made his way to the back of the freezer. The very dim lights from the lab gave him enough light to make his way around. He would've shut the door but then he felt caged again. Trapped. He didn't want that again.

He plopped onto the chair Stark had placed inside for him. He took off his gloves slowly, half expecting to see his blue skin. He only saw the normal skin color of the Asgardians. But it was just an illusion. He was never truly an Asgardian. Just a fake, like one of his summoned copies.

"Loki?"

Loki turned to look at the freezer door as a light flicked on. Squinting to help adjust his eyes, he watched as Bruce peaked his head inside. "I thought I'd find you here," the man said, smiling tentatively. "You alright? You know Tony doesn't have a filter."

"What do you want Dr. Banner?"

The man rubbed the back of his neck. "I need a favor."

Loki's brows furrowed. What could the man possibly want with him?

"I was going to see if you'd sit with Nora for a while," the man told him awkwardly.

"For what purpose?" Loki asked, still confused.

Banner shrugged and gestured to the freezer around him. "She has a fever that keeps coming back. I thought maybe you could help cool the room down for a while, hopefully her fever will break finally."

"And what makes you think I care one way or another about the human woman?" Loki asked, falling into his façade again. He found it much easier to fall into such a mask of indifference than to care.

Bruce gave him a pitying look. "Jane said she saw you upstairs when her and Darcy went to check on her last night. Which means, you care, at least a little bit."

"Is that so?" Loki asked somewhat harshly. "You presume to know how I feel then?" Bruce just stood there and watched Loki, a hopeful expression in his eyes. "Well, I hate to shatter your illusions," Loki continued sarcastically, "but I don't care one way or another about that woman. Now, if you'd please leave, I'd like to rest."

Bruce heaved a sigh, and left him alone. Loki hadn't missed the unveiled disappointment in the man's eyes. It seemed he was always disappointing someone. Loki looked at his hands once more, the bracelets clasped to his wrists. Taking them off momentarily, he flexed his hands as they blurred into the deep blue that was his natural form. The doctor was foolish. He couldn't help anyone like this.

Loki looked around carefully, making sure there were no lingering humans. Thor's woman and her friend had already left about thirty minutes ago, and he had asked Jarvis is anyone else was awake. There wasn't.

He teleported inside the room, reluctantly watching as the woman rasped for even breaths while shivering with a fever. He looked around, unsure of what to do, and he wondered what had possessed him to try and help.

Maybe it was the disappointment in the doctor's eyes. Maybe he just wanted to be able to do something good in his hated form; to prove he wasn't a monster like the other Jotuns. Or maybe it was because it's what Thor or his mother would've done had they been on Midgard. They were always almost sickeningly kind. He tried not to think about it too deeply.

Grabbing a nearby chair, he sat next to the nightstand. The doctor had only said to sit with her, so that's all he would do.

He sat there for a while, lost inside his thoughts, before the woman started to mumble incoherent things in her sleep. In his boredom, Loki yawned and stretched out his legs.

This is the epitome of dull, he thought. He couldn't even read a book to pass the time. He needed it dark so no one discovered him. He certainly didn't need Stark's endless taunts if he ever found out.

"Loki?"

He jolted upwards quickly, gaze snapping to the woman. Busted.

"You're not… blue anymore…" she said quietly, yawning as her half open eyes closed again. She shivered a little, wrapping the thin sheet around herself with her good arm. Her breathing evening out.

Why did she sound disappointed?

"…Glad you're okay though…Not injured…" she continued to ramble, eyes still closed. Loki watched her oddly embarrassed and tense. She became quiet, snuggling into the pillow. "Now give me back my bag," she demanded quietly, sleep talking again.

Loki growled under his breath, irritated. Why did he think this was a good idea again? Even in her sleep, she annoyed him.

Ta-dah! Chapter 10. I can't believe I've gotten 10 chapters up, I didn't think I'd get past Asgard, honestly. I thought the story would just sit in the back of my mind, or be written down in my binders like a million others. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks again for reading and liking my story. It's a good creative outlet for myself. Leave a review and tell me whatcha think! Reviews help immensely!

Also, I feel this story needs a cover. Anyone artistically inclined that can help out? Or any suggestions on a picture? Anyway, until next time Loki lovers! -K