Dear Readers, should anyone find my muse please return it as soon as humanly or inhumanly possible. Writing has been rather hard without her. Thank you.

But seriously, I can not apologize enough for the month that I have spent doing absolutely nothing but reading and neglecting all of you people who care enough to read this story. Spring Break is almost upon us though and if I don't have time o write then then I guess I never will. My goal is to write three of more chapters over the break, wish me luck.
I hope everyone enjoys this short and horribly late chapter! Just remember that this is a WIP and be gentle with me.

Not mine, never mine, usual disclaimers

"Saving me."

"Being saved."

o~*+*~o

Silence.

Loki had really been expecting more smashing by this point.

Instead, there was a silence that remained unbroken even as Tony and Banner turned to face him. Banner's face was in such a perfect state of neutrality that even Loki had a hard time distinguishing the battle inside from behind the mask, but it was Stark that caught Loki's attention. Tony Stark was wearing a facade that was so paper thin it was almost as if it wasn't there. Genuine surprise showed on his face and that quickly transformed into genuine concern when Tony's eyes alighted upon Loki, who knew his face revealed his confusion at Tony's words.

The entire time Loki had spent waiting for Stark to return was spent with his attention divided between the security footage of Tony and Banner and imagining increasingly bleak scenarios of this exact situation. Concealment was quickly deemed the best option and Loki had taken up a position behind some peculiar looking robots that consisted of merely an arm with a claw attached to the end.

Loki considered himself lucky that the video hologram of Tony and Banner moved with him as he sat quietly behind the unmoving robot and that JARVIS did not reveal his position to Tony when the man entered the room. In retrospect, it was also fortunate that Tony was considerate enough not to ask JARVIS but instead to ask Loki, politely, to come out.

It had been the lack of green in Banner's eyes when his name had been mentioned that had motivated Loki to step out into the light. He had already removed his shirt, per Stark's request, but had only gathered enough courage to reveal himself, not to create a perfect facade of vulnerability. The truth was what he spoke when he stepped towards Tony but the words the engineer spoke were confounding.

It was Loki's belief that Stark wanted to portray him as vulnerable and helpless, not as a helpful individual but as one who needed help. The words Stark spoke were also false; there was no way that he could be helping the other man but thinking back there was. Tony was always so adamant that Loki was his salvation in the form of information and understanding from the nightmares that Loki understood more than anyone else because he had lived it, just like Tony had.

Confusion quickly transformed into realization and Loki understood, quickly shifting his expression into something more meek before Banner found anything of of it. It was no use concealing it from Tony, though; the man was too sharp to miss it.

Banner's initial reaction to him, indifference, changed as the man shifted not into the beast as he had imagined but into a concerned doctor; the man's brown eyes no longer saw Loki, the insane madman who attacked New York, but Loki, an injured and magicless god that needed medical attention.

The doctor brushed right past Tony, taking slow and deliberate steps as if approaching an animal ready to bolt. Loki both appreciated and despised the consideration Banner was giving him because he was a god with magic and did not want to be treated like a scared child, but a scared child was essentially all that he was now that his magic reserves were depleted, his body injured, and with no weapon other than words as he stood stiffly in front of the creature that could debilitate him when he retained his magic.

Loki was mildly surprised when Banner did not touch him, did not poke or prod at the wounds that were immediately visible. In fact the doctor didn't touch him at all, only ghosted his palms over his skin, hummed quietly, and then inspected the wrapping of the bandage around his torso before taking a step back. Placing his hands on his hips, Banner twisted back towards Tony and have the engineer a small smile and an approving nod.

"So how'd I do, Doc?" Tony asked with a grin that was only half faked as he slyly slid between Loki and Banner, giving the raven haired man room to breath easily. With Tony between them, Loki could finally assess Banner like he had wanted to, needed to, before because this was the man that had gained even a tiny sliver of Tony's trust and that was quite a difficult thing to do.

The doctor rolled his eyes and dropped his arms back to his side as he turned back to Loki and replied. "From what I can tell you did a fantastic job."

Loki watched as Tony began to preen like a peacock under the complement, and the surprising thing was how genuine it looked, and likely was. Either Tony had been playing the narcissist far longer than Loki had thought or the man had been starved for attention early in in his life.

"A fantastic job for a civilian," Banner added cheekily as he turned to face the engineer, a ploy to cut down Tony's ego, but Loki noticed the deliberate way that the doctor reached out to Tony, as simple as placing a hand on the man's shoulder, after his remark and how the man's eyes deliberately softened.

In response, Tony's smile was less strained but the small remnants of a chipped mask hardened over and seemed to sink into Stark's skin to where the mask and man were indistinguishable Loki had to wonder what parts of himself Tony had chosen to hide from Banner. Likely the same part that made the man crave affection so.

"Now you're just pulling my leg. I know for a fact that that bandage is nigh on perfect!" Tony exclaimed, a bright, slightly strained, smile stretching across his face but Loki knew he was the only one who saw the less genuine side of the smirk. Tony Stark was the master at this game but he was the god.

"Okay, Tony. I will admit that the bandage would be perfect if Loki hadn't been moving so much throughout the day but what I meant by fantastic job was these bruises." Bruce moved next to Stark, still not touching Loki but again ghosting his palms over the marred skin.

"The normal heat that would be radiating from these wounds is absent and there is little to no swelling on the injuries that should be twice the size they are now." Bruce took his hands away and looked questioningly at Tony. "Was this his magic or was it you?"

Loki quickly, but indiscreetly, ducked his head down to avoid both Banner's gaze and to avoid having to answer such a question. Such things were best left for Tony Stark to explain and subsequently brag about.

The path of silence was quickly overrun by an even larger silence that filled the room, creating a tension that Loki itched to break. The raven haired man wanted dearly to be able to glare at the enigmatic inventor that now stood beside him as both of the men patiently, or not in Stark's case, for his answer.

With a soft sigh of defeat that only Stark would have caught, the god relented. "While my magic may have some influence on the injuries, a significant portion of the healing process has been accelerated by the concoction that Stark had available."

Loki paused a moment to observe Tony is his moment of celebration, a quiet fist pump in the air accompanied by a sharp "I told you so!". Banner merely raised an eyebrow that clearly said that Stark had said nothing of the sort but shrugged it off with a practiced ease of a man who holds no grudges.

"However," Loki began, a small smirk tugging at his lips, "my core temperature is significantly lower than a humans so the heat that normally accompanies such wounds would not occur with me. My body naturally get colder when injured so it is not the lack of heat but the lack of cold emanating from the tender skin that is so valuable."

Banner nodded once in acknowledgement, adjusting the glasses perched on his nose, before slowly scanning the room and dragging a wheeled chair from a corner to slouch in. Tony, Loki noticed, glanced quickly from the cushioned chair to Loki and back to the chair before hopping up onto the cluttered work table behind him, swinging his legs like the child he was.

Loki quickly claimed a mostly empty spot on the same table and resisted the urge to slouch next to Tony, the dull throbbing of his injuries now making themselves known after the adrenaline from meeting Banner wore off.

The silence that now reigned was not filled with tension but rather held the weight of a soft cloud, lulling the men to sleep in its gentle caress.

Of course, the only man that was not affected was Stark, who remained kicking aimlessly at the closest leg of the table, rarely hitting it. Just when the temptation of sleep seemed too much for both Banner and Loki, Tony broke the sweet silence with a grin that was obscenely large and far too happy as he ripped the other two men away from sleep..

"Hey Lokes, Brucie. Did I ever introduce either of you to my kids?"

Now they were awake.

Sorry for the horrible lateness of this chapter! I plan on writing three or more chapters during spring beak that will be here in just a weeks time. Hold out for those, I beg of you!
Also, remember that I am always looking for inspiration and will reward the person that returns my muse to me greatly!

Please review!