There was a sharp rapping at his door. Bruce groaned, turning over in bed so his back was to it, but he'd be damned if Tony wasn't persistent. The knocking continued for several minutes, changing tempo and rhythm several times, until it seemed his friend had admitted defeat.

"Bruce, I know you're in there."

Stubbornly, he remained quiet, knowing Tony was likely thinking he was behaving like an angry teenage boy.

"Can I come in?"

"You're going to anyway."

"Yeah, but it's less rude if I pretend to ask your permission first."

"What do you want?"

"Can you keep an eye on Thor for a few hours?"

"What? Why?" Bruce sat up and threw off the covers, leaning against the wall with a sigh. He rubbed at his mouth and frowned, glaring at the door. He really didn't want to get up today. It was a bad week - he had enough of them that, by now, the others generally knew to leave him well enough alone.

"Steve and Clint are in Somalia or something, Pepper and I have a Christmas function to attend, and Tasha is sulking in her room, so I'm leaving her alone."

"I'm sulking in my room."

"You don't scare me as much as she does." It was an honest answer and made Bruce chuckle. He sighed again before standing. Unsteady on his feet, he crossed the room and opened the door. Tony was standing there with a grin on his face that quickly dropped into a concerned frown once he saw his friend. "Jesus, Bruce, are you okay?"

"Yeah," Bruce laughed it off, blinking and wiping at one eye so he wouldn't have to look at Tony. "Just tired. Where's Thor?"

Tony lead him to the elevator, talking (complaining) at about four hundred words per minute. It was mostly about Thor, and the unfortunate mishaps they'd had that morning, including why the power had cut out at 8 o'clock and hadn't come back on until 9. (It had to do with Mjolnir and a power point.) By the time they got down to the lounge, some two and a half minutes later, Tony had him thoroughly concerned about what the rest of the day had in store. With a cheerful wave as he left Bruce at the door, Tony vanished, yelling back that he was not to call if anything went wrong.

"I mean it Bruce, I really don't care if the building burns down or anything - the only situation in which you are to call is if Clint gets back, and that's only if you tell Tasha first!"

Bruce cared a little if the building burned down. His stuff was in it.

"Banner!" He was quickly bear-hugged by the delighted Asgardian. "I have not seen you in many days!"

"Yeah, sorry. I haven't been well."

"That is a shame. Are you better now?"

Bruce smiled and didn't offer a reply. Instead he threw himself down onto the couch, joined moments later by Thor. He brought his knees to his chest and looked over at the god. He still hadn't quite worked out why he'd decided to leave Asgard and come down for Christmas. And as much as it pained him to admit it, something about Thor didn't look quite right. There was something distant in his eyes, even as he grinned and asked if they could watch a movie, saying Tony had forbidden him from using any technology without supervision due to a problem had with the laptop charger. As he nodded, Bruce idly thought he was going to have to have a chat with Tony about Thor - namely, that treating him like a child wasn't going to help them; while coming from a realm where the technology they used was more or less obsolete, Thor was definitely not stupid, and would probably be able to pick it all up quite quickly if everyone stopped thinking of him as an idiot.

"What movie do you want to watch?" Bruce surveyed the collection they'd amassed over the past six months. Tony's spy movies, Natasha's dramas, a good number of animated Disney films, and the series of chick flicks and sappy romances Clint swore up and down were Natasha's, even though they all knew otherwise. He glanced back at the other man, who shrugged.

"Which is your favourite?" Thor asked, stumping Bruce. He wasn't sure which was his favourite - or even if he'd watched enough to have a favourite. Hiding out in third world countries didn't really give him much opportunity to watch films. He glanced over them again before selecting one at random out of Clint's movies. Love Actually. He vaguely remembered watching this once, years ago, and he was pretty sure it had a Christmas theme. Putting it on, he settled back into the couch beside Thor, and pressed play.

As Bill Nighy began singing on screen, he looked back over to his companion. Thor appeared rapt, but there was still that subtle hint of a frown as he watched. Bruce decided to leave it. Either he wanted to talk about it or didn't, and was quite capable of bringing it up when the time came.

The movie continued on and Thor looked no better. Neither did Bruce, really; the movie was good, funny even, but it couldn't really make him feel better when he didn't even know why he felt bad to begin with. He sighed and shifted uncomfortably with a thoughtful twist of his mouth.

"Is there something wrong, Banner?" Thor looked concerned. Bruce shook his head.

"What about you?"

Thor shrugged and shook his head as well, glancing back to the television screen. The movie had finished. Bruce grabbed the remote and turned it off before facing him again

"Why'd you come here instead of staying in Asgard?"

Thor looked surprised by the question and regarded him with a frown. "The Bifrost was repaired...I had not seen you all in months. I thought it would be best for a visit."

Bruce looked at him expectantly. With a sigh, Thor continued on. "...and, I admit, things have not been...easy, lately."

"Loki?" He prompted cautiously. Thor didn't look angry, just sad. Sad and disappointed.

"Loki is unwell. I know this. But it is hard to make people understand...he isn't mad, but there is something not right with his mind. As he has not descended into raving lunacy, most cannot see the problem. They think he is power-hungry, jealous, as he has proved himself to be in the past. I fear for my brother, I do."

"And you couldn't handle it anymore?"

"Precisely. Had I stayed any longer I believe I would have gone mad myself. It pained me to leave him with them, but he is in safe hands...his own." Thor chuckled, but it had no humour in it. "They have placed him in a cell and left him there to rot."

Bruce was unsure as to what he could say. What was there to say - sorry about your crazy brother? All that really came to mind was damn, that sucks, which he meant, but didn't think it was the appropriate reply. He reached out and patted Thor's shoulder comfortingly. The gesture was returned with a smile, and the two men remained in a companionable silence for the rest of the evening, television droning on in the background.