The world was spinning.

Steve wasn't sure if it was because he had a hard time sleeping lately or because he was just finished fighting off hoards of aliens and stopping an alien invasion. Maybe it was a mixture of both. Steve tried hard to keep his head from falling first into the table, tried hard not to fall asleep right there and then. He couldn't even entertain the thought of eating the shawarma Stark had ordered for them all, feeling like he would throw up if he tried to eat. Instead, he kept ordering coffee and ended up with several cups of it in front of him.

The aliens just had to attack when he was on his down days, when the nightmares were frequent. It was just…a lot of anniversaries happened in the last two months. Bucky's death, his own 'death', and just several days ago was one year after he got thawed. It was a lot for him to handle even though he tried to. Maybe if he was not so down, if he had enough sleep, he would act better. He didn't think he did badly in leading the others, though his fighting could definitely improve, but the one thing he really should have been better was at treating his teammates.

He regretted being so harsh on Stark, saying things he wouldn't say on other occasions. He knew the tesseract affected his mind, he should have handled himself better. He really should apologize to Stark later, when he had more energy. And Thor—Steve was watching Thor ever since they sat down, watching Thor eating the shawarma with gusto. He must be hungry and Steve had pushed his uneaten Shawarma towards him without him realizing because he already had several plates of it.

Steve was not surprised when Thor showed up, knowing his relationship with Loki. On the forest, at first, Thor didn't seem to recognize him. But after everyone calmed down, Thor finally recognized him and smiled a little at him, not even surprised to know who Steve actually was. Steve didn't even have the time to question that, they were too occupied. They ended up accidentally ignoring each other most of the time. Steve wished they talked more because he did miss Thor a lot, despite only knowing him for several days. There are times when he was lonely, he accidentally though of Thor along with his old friends.

"Why aren't you eating, Steve?" Dr. Banner asked. It took a while for Steve to realize that he was asking him—everyone had called him Captain, even Thor, for the last few days. Dr. Banner was the only one who called him by his name, so he was a little startled.

He smiled at the doctor and answered, "I am not really hungry."

Dr. Banner didn't seem to believe him, but he himself was too tired to question Steve's answer. Thor frowned and looked at Steve's empty cups and then to the shawarmas in front of himself, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he slowly pushed one plate towards Steve—the plate that Steve discreetly moved towards Thor earlier. Steve looked at Thor and raised his eyebrow, Thor made his face stern and continued to push the plate. Steve slowly shook his head, and pushed the plate back, causing Thor to push the plate harder, almost knocking the empty cups.

The others either didn't realize what they were doing or were too out of it to notice.

After several times back and forth, Steve finally surrendered and took the plate. Thor still looked at him, as if expecting him to eat the shawarma right away. Steve sighed, and for the first time finally touched it. He sniffed at it and when he didn't feel nauseous, he dared himself to take a bite.

Thor really tried not to look at the devastation in the city down there, but it was hard not to. He needed to do that, anyway, to remind himself of his failure of protecting Midgard, to remind himself that he had a part in this destruction. He couldn't even feel happy that Loki turned out to be alive, knowing what his brother did. He thought there was something he could do to prevent Loki trying to devastate Midgard for the second time. He didn't know what, but he thought there was something. He loved Loki, still thought of him as a brother, perhaps he should have paid more attention to him. He regretted being so oblivious, he wasn't so oblivious, perhaps Loki wouldn't hate him. Perhaps Midgardians wouldn't have gotten involved in their affair.

He sighed—he had too many regrets, now. He was devastated.

He had to force himself to turn away and came back to S.H.I.E.L.D's place, planning to clean himself from the battle filth. The agents guided him to a cleaning room that had been secured for him and his fellow warriors. Once he entered, he wasn't sure what to do because it was a big room with a lot of wardrobes. It was quite different from Asgard, though he could smell water and soaps. Once he was inside, there was only one other person there and Thor could recognize him right away. He was half-naked and looked fresh from a bath.

"Captain?" Thor called out, though Steven wasn't responding. He was looking at the mirror, at the ugly bruise on his body. He didn't look like he was fully there though, his mind seemed to be traveling somewhere. Thor noticed how exhausted he was earlier, and he almost didn't eat anything if not for Thor's intervention. Even after they took Loki to lock him up, he still insisted to volunteer in the city. It was only after Director Fury forced him to come back that he gave up.

Steven Rogers was a nobleman, but one without self-preservation, which was dangerous. Thor experienced it himself when he saved him from getting burned by a fire from the Destroyer. At least, now that he could see Steven's back, Thor knew that the burn had healed completely. Heimdall and the internet said that Captain was different from other Midgardians. He was stronger and healed much faster—Heimdall said that he was almost like a demigod. During his time on Midgard, Thor had learned a little about Captain America, respected him for his caveats. He didn't expect that turned out he had been talking to the man himself. After knowing what he went through, it finally made sense for Thor how grieved he looked when he talked about his life.

"Captain," he called out again, walking closer to Steven. Steven didn't respond, so Thor tapped him on his shoulder.

In one swift move, Steven caught his hand and Thor let out a yelp when he was suddenly flipped to the floor, with the Captain on top of him, pinning him. Steven's raised his hand and this time Thor was prepared enough to catch his hand, yelling, "Captain, this is Thor!"

Steven looked at him, eyes widen as he recognized Thor. He scurried back, letting Thor go. In an instant, he looked ashamed at what he did to Thor, "Oh, I'm—I'm sorry!"

"I am sorry for surprising you," Thor said, sitting up, "I called but you were not responding."

Truthfully, Thor was impressed that Steven managed to do that, even when Thor was not prepared at all. It was not an easy caveat to do, it was different hearing about how strong Captain America could be to experiencing it firsthand. On top of his leadership today, Thor thought that he had started to admire the Captain.

"It's okay," Steven said, grimacing, "I am just…really tired. Today is a really tiring day."

That was understandable. Even Thor felt quite tired, though he felt more tired emotionally than physically. He studied Steven and saw the various cuts that were healing. Now that he could see Steven clearer, the bruise on his body looked uglier. There was a wound in the middle of it, dark and healing. Thor remembered that Steven was hit by a Chitauri weapon. Normal Midgardians would break and die if they were hit.

"Captain, you are hurt," Thor pointed out, even though Steven probably already knew. He was staring at that before, after all.

"Oh, it's already healing, I have cleaned it up, I just needed to bandage it," Steven said, dismissive. He cocked his head and wondered out loud, "Why are you calling me Captain now?"

"It's your righteous title, is it not?" Thor wondered. He wanted to show his respect, so it was the right way, wasn't it? He hoped he did it right because he was still unfamiliar with the Midgardian culture. He asked again, "Are you sure you don't need a healer?"

"Well, yeah, but you don't need to call me that, you can call me by my name, you know?" Steven said. He didn't say it, but it seemed that he wished that he was called by his name instead of his title. He remembered that Steven looked surprised but pleased when the Hulk called him by his name. Steven looked down to check his wound and then shrugged, "I heal quickly. There are more people in need of the medics."

That was true. There were lots of people hurt—and it was Thor's fault.

"Steven, then," Thor decided, "Do you mind if I call you that?"

He liked the name ever since he found out Steven's full name. It sounded grander than 'Steven', more fitting for a warrior like him. He was afraid that Steven would be angry when he said the name, but Steven looked pleased. Even more pleased than when the Hulk called him.

"I…don't mind," Steven said, seemingly surprised by himself, he added, a little somberly, "It has been a long time since someone calls me that. Well, actually, my mother was the only one who called me by my full name."

"It's a beautiful name. Fitting, for you."

Steven smiled, a little bashful. Thor thought that it was a good look for him. It was much better than his tired or grieving face and suddenly he found himself wanting to make Steven smile more.

"You didn't seem surprised to see me," Steven said, changing the conversation. It was a little awkward, the both of them sitting on a floor. But there was no one else, so they were quite comfortable talking to each other. Thor didn't have a chance to talk to Steven one on one before this, he was glad that he found a chance now.

"I knew about you," Thor told him, "I didn't know back then when I was with you. There was a man in Asgard—Heimdall, he can see and know everything no matter how far it was, he told me about you."

Heimdall went through a whole story of Steven's life just to tell him, that no, Steven was not really doing well. Though after making Thor felt concerned, Heimdall also said that Steven was incredibly strong so he would be able to prosper despite the tragedies in his life. Thor hoped that Heimdall was right.

Thor expected Steven to have a question about that, but he only said, "I see."

Thor wondered if he should be concerned at how easily accepting Steven was of everything. But perhaps waking up after 70 years of sleep—which Thor found out to be a really long time for Midgardians—made him unfazed by everything.

"You are the greatest warrior I have ever heard of," Thor said, it was something that he had been wanting to say.

But Steven just laughed hearing that, "No, I am not, you saw me today."

For a hero, he seemed to be unable to accept compliments.

"You did well today, leading all of us. It was not an easy task," Thor said. Even he couldn't be sure if he would be able to handle Iron Man or The Hulk. And yet, Steven managed to do it.

"I wasn't at my best behavior, I wish I did better."

Thor wanted to argue, but his body started to ache from sitting on the floor. He tried to stand up and flinched when the muscle Loki stabbed strained. It was not painful, but it was enough to surprise him. Unfortunately, Steven saw the flinch and saw it when his hand moved on its own to his stab wound.

"You are hurt," Steven said, following his suit by standing up. He himself flinched when he stood up, so it made their situation a little funny.

"It's mere stab wound," Thor said. He wondered if Loki would grow out of this habit someday…considering how much he hated Thor, that didn't seem possible.

"A stab wound?" Steven repeated, horrified, "That's dangerous, you should go to medical."

Thor laughed, why did it seem like they were taking turns being concerned for each other?

"Nay, Loki stabbed me often. This was just a scratch for me, it will heal soon. I just need to clean up."

Steven still looked unconvinced. He ordered, "Take off your clothes. I need to see it."

"That sounds quite suggestive," Thor said, joking. He did start to take off his clothes since he was going to take a bath anyway.

"You are a pervert," Steven said, rolling his eyes. After Thor was done taking his top off, he took Thor's hand to a bench and again, ordered, "Sit down here."

Thor obeyed, feeling amused. Steven walked away and took a towel, making it wet with water, and then came back to Thor. He kneeled in front of Thor and started to wash the wound slowly as if he was afraid to hurt Thor. Thor wondered if he should be offended that Steven might think that he was a weakling, but instead, he felt pleased with Steven's attention.

"Oh, it has stopped bleeding, at least," Steven said, looking at the clean wound. It was closing up and soon it would heal completely.

"As I say, I only need to clean it."

"If you say so," Steven shrugged, finally satisfied, "Go shower, then."

Thor laughed.

"How was Asgard, anyway? I didn't hear anything about you after you were gone, until now."

Thor smiled a little. He was not sure if Steven was truly curious or if he was searching for something to talk about. Either way, Thor was grateful that he had someone with him here, someone who could talk to him. Steven had ended up following him to watch over Loki, who was put in a room and restrained. He had asked to be let go to the streets to help again, and the agents refused to let him go which frustrated him. Thor watched the entire thing with amusement, slowly getting familiar with how stubborn the man could be. Thor would love to help amend the broken buildings and streets, too, but he thought he should watch over Loki in case he tried to do bad things again.

Steven followed him even though the one thing he really should do was resting. Thor could see that Steven was sleepy, and yet he refused to cave in.

"We were still rebuilding the bridge that connected our worlds, I had to find other means to come here," Thor told him, "I had to destroy the bridge so no beasts could approach Midgard, it seems that I still failed to protect Midgard."

Steven, who was sitting next Thor in the exact same position as he was before in the Shawarma place, shook his head. He changed his position, his hand moved to squeeze Thor's shoulder as he said, "It's not your fault."

"It's my brother's, I know, but I think I have a part of it," Thor tried to explain, though he wondered if he did that clearly. His thoughts and feelings are a mess, he felt betrayal, sadness, and regrets all at once. He looked at Loki in the room they were watching, restrained and so still, eyes empty and mouth covered, "I have been an ignorant and it caused him great misery. I didn't know he was jealous, didn't know that he hated me."

"It's his choice to do all of this," Steven said, looking at Loki as well. Thor tried to decipher what kind of look he was giving—it was hard to do, but Thor concluded that it was probably abhorrence. Thor couldn't blame him for that. Steven continued, "Not yours. It's his responsibility to control himself, you can't control how far his hatred takes him."

Thor nodded. He was still very much conflicted and Steven might not understand this at all, but he appreciated what Steven was trying to do.

"I swear I will protect Midgard as well as I can," Thor said, determined to atone for his sins.

"Well, I will, too, maybe we can protect it together," Steven proposed, sounding like a man who found a purpose again. That sounded swell, for Thor. Thor found that he liked fighting alongside Steven and they fought together really well. Along with their fellow warrior, they would make an unstoppable team.

"How about you? How are you adapting to this world?" Thor asked, having enough talking about him and Loki.

"I am doing well, I think," Steven said, hesitating, though he started to talk more, "The world is a better place than it was, so I am glad to discover a lot of things. Thanks to you, I have some people to talk to. I talk to Darcy and Jane sometimes—oh yeah, do you want to call Jane? You can use my phone—wait, where is my phone? I will get it, I think I left it in the lockers."

Steven stood up and Thor had to catch his hand in a hurry to stop him from going away, "No, stay, I will contact her later,"

Steven frowned, "Are you sure?"

"I am sure," Thor assured him, pulling Steven down to sit again, "How about you tell me more about Midgard? The good things about it?"

Steven contemplated for a while, before taking a breath and continued.

"Well, back in the day, it's hard to have food, but in today's world there is an abundance of it, there were so many kinds and we even have food from other countries sold in the city. I haven't explored much, my tongue is still adjusting to various tastes, but once I get used to it I think I want to try lots of foods," Steven said and Thor thought that this was the longest he had heard Steven speak, which was a nice change. Perhaps his exhausted state affected him like this, "There are a lot of cures found, I used to be ill a lot, you know, but even if my illnesses come back, I think I will manage with today's medicines."

Steven took a pause, but Thor didn't say anything, knowing that Steven was digging things on his mind to say. Perhaps, this talk could be a good distraction for both of them—for Steven, to remember the good things about the word, for Thor, as a distraction for his misery.

"I like traveling to places I have never visited before, exploring unknown places, meeting new people. I want to travel to a lot of places, learn from other people," Steven said, eyes looking like he was looking at a distance, "When I was younger, I used to wonder if there are other worlds out there, if there are people on other planets. I didn't expect to live long enough to find out the answer. It's both fascinating and scary."

Was it scary because all that Asgard brought to Midgard was destructions? He wondered if Steven despised Asgard, now. "Do you find me scary?" Thor wondered, couldn't stop himself from asking. He didn't want to be someone people feared.

"No," Steven answered right away, without any conflictions. Thor felt relieved hearing the answer, so managed to joke around.

"I think I should be insulted by that. I am a God, you know. Your people used to worship me."

Steven let out a laugh and said, "And I have seen you trying to inhale several pounds of meat in one go."

Well, that really didn't end well for Thor. He had overestimated how much meat he could eat in one gulp. He ended up choked and Steven had to help him. That was a nice memory, even though he embarrassed himself in front of Jane.

"I think I can do that successfully now that I am back in my top shape, perhaps I shall come here again one day to prove it to you."

"When the bridge is fixed?"

"Yes," Thor said, though he was still curious and finally asked again, "But truly, you do not hate Asgard? Even though we had brought destructions to your realm?"

"Every place had bad people and good people, Midgard has its own evil people, I have seen them," Steven explained, "I can't hate a group of people just because a few of them are bad. I believe for one bad man, there will several good men who were willing to stand up and fight back."

Thor thought about it a little and realized perhaps that was a lot of people's mistakes. Their own judgment of other creatures caused one of Loki's miseries.

"You are a good man."

"You are, too, if you are not, you wouldn't aid us," Steven said, smiling at him. They looked at each for a while until Steven's smile started to falter and he tore his gaze away from Thor, choosing to say instead, "It must be fun to explore the other planets, I wonder if I can go to space one day. It used to be only a dream, but now that I know it's possible, I want to do it. I need to start saving some money."

"Perhaps I can help you with that, someday," Thor offered, though he was not sure how.

"Really? Hmm, tell me about Asgard. Or the places you have visited. Are they beautiful?"

"I found your realm to be more confusing than Asgard," That was a given, but Thor really found out that a lot of things were really different to how it was in Asgard, "Though I have seen a more advanced and complex civilization than Midgard. I and the warrior three was put in prison in that one."

Steven was shocked and let out a, "What?!"

Thor grinned and then told him of his tales with the warrior three and Lady Sif, he told a story about how they unknowingly breached a forbidden area to chase a dragon-like creature and ended up getting captured themselves, that time they fought against giants, and some other tales. Steven listened to him with full attention—at least, until his head started to drop and his eyes fluttered closed. Thor had to catch Steven's head so he wouldn't knock his head on the table. Even then, Steven didn't move.

"Seems like you're the one getting sleepy," Thor chuckled, "Steven?"

Steven didn't respond, had fallen asleep in the middle of listening to Thor's tales. Slowly, Thor put Steven's head on the table. After, he fetched his red cape that he brought along with his other armors here. He folded the cape into a small pillow, slowly and carefully raised Steven's head again to slip the cape under his head so he would be able to sleep more comfortably.

Thor crossed his hand on the table and put his head there, facing Steven's sleeping face.

He looked peaceful.

Steve felt much better the next morning. It turned out a night of sleep did well for him, despite he slept on a table and his position caused his neck to ache. Maybe it was because he was more used to sleep on a hard surface and felt more comfortable doing that—he didn't as many nightmares haunted him as usual. He should try sleeping on the floor more.

When he woke up he felt embarrassed that he fell asleep while listening to Thor, though Thor was understanding about it. He was planning to keep Thor company while avoiding falling asleep, but he had failed. Still, he felt quite good, much better than before. He had the energy to move around, so soon after he woke up he went to shower, got dressed, fetched his phone, and then brought breakfast for himself and Thor. He was glad that he brought his clothes here because apparently, the road to his apartment was still a mess.

He was back on S.H.I.E.L.D's interrogations room, finishing his food. Thor told him that he would bring Loki back to Asgard today, so it meant he had to say goodbye again to Thor soon.

"Do you want to call Jane?" Steve offered after they were done with their foods. He stood up and take his charged phone. He hadn't been holding his phone since he landed in the helicarrier, it was only now that he realized that he had a dozen calls from Jane and Darcy.

"Should I? It has been a long time…"

Steve looked at Thor funnily, wondering why he was hesitating. It felt out of character, Steve thought that Thor would be excited to hear Jane's voice again. After all, their progressing relationship was cut short and they still had a chance to amend it, unlike Steve's own cut short relationship.

"I think you should," Steve said, "I think she misses you. And I don't have many experiences in relationships, but I heard communication is a key."

Yes, along with reading books on history, he read books on relationships and people too just in case there was something new he had to learn. Better be safe than sorry, he didn't want his natural awkwardness got increased by a lack of knowledge.

Thor shook his head and stared at Steve, something that he seemed to be doing a lot since yesterday, "I find that hard to believe."

"No, really, she misses you," Steve insisted. He really wondered why Thor hesitated.

"No, I find it hard to believe that you don't have many experiences," Thor corrected him.

Steve almost dropped his phone, not expecting that. That's not the point of what he was saying, but he struggled to find a response to that, so he just said, "Well, I am not that attractive, you know."

Thor looked like he definitely didn't believe Steve at all.

"You don't know your own value, it seems. I find you very attractive, my friend, you will make a fine partner."

Steve faked a cough, feeling an itch in his chest suddenly. Was it normal in Asgard to compliment a friend like that? Or was it just him who found that weird? He didn't think someone would say something like that unless he was flirting, but he didn't think Thor was flirting with him at all.

"No—you are distracting me," Steve started to say, but suddenly realized that Thor was probably trying to distract him, "Are you afraid to call her?"

Thor scowled, offended, "No, I am not a coward."

Steve didn't even call him a coward, so he snorted and said, "Then just call her. Here, I am calling her."

He clicked the call button and put it on speaker, waiting for Jane to pick up the phone. Thor looked nervous, he was fidgeting. They waited but after a while, it went to voice-mail so Steve ended up leaving a voice message instead and ended the call. He sighed, "Well, that's anticlimactic."

"It's okay," Thor said, sounding relieved, "Perhaps she is busy."

"I sent her a message, I hope she will call back before you go," Steve said, he looked at Thor and wondered, "But you will visit, right? when you are able to do so?"

Truth to be told, Steve was not ready to let Thor go again. He was the only one Steve could confidently call a friend—he was going to miss him again. He found himself to be at ease when he was with Thor and if only they could spend more time together, Steve thought they could have an easy camaraderie.

"I think I will, if you ever need my help, you can call out for Heimdall, he will hear you and I will try my best to come here."

"Hopefully, there will be nothing that urgent," Steve said, he really wished any aliens that were planning to visit Earth would be friendly and non-malicious ones—like Thor. Steve looked at the mirror, where Loki was now glaring in their direction though Steve was sure that he couldn't see them from the other side. He really wished he could see the brother Thor loved, but all he could see was a selfish and hateful one, "I am sorry, about Loki, but I really hope you know that this is not your fault."

It pained Steve to see Thor blaming himself when he shouldn't have to. It was all Loki's choice to do this—Peggy had said that Steve needed to learn to accept other people's choices, to respect them. He tried to reiterate what Peggy said, though it was unfortunate he couldn't say that they should respect Loki's choices when they were bad choices. He was not very good at being comforting, Peggy was much better at this.

"Thank you."

"What will happen to him?" Steve asked, just to make sure that Loki wouldn't be able to wreak another havoc.

"He is going to be caged, put in a prison where he can't use his power," Thor sadly said, "I really wish it doesn't have to come down to this."

Thor looked so sad, Steve felt a sudden urge to hug him.

So, he did. He wrapped his arms around Thor's body and felt Thor stiffen, before finally relaxing again and hug him back. Thor pulled him tighter and Steve's face got half buried in Thor's shoulder blade. It made him remember their short hug before, but this one lasted much longer. Thor didn't let go of him, seemingly taking in as much comfort as he could. He patted Thor's back, unsure of what to do. Steve was not used to this, a gesture that felt a little too intimate. But he let Thor be in charge on when to let go because he needed it. Steve couldn't deny that the hug gave him comfort, too.

Thor didn't let go until Steve's phone rang, making them let go of each other.

"Oh, it's Jane," He said, answering the phone and then handing him to Thor right away, "Here."

Thor fumbled to take the phone but once he did, Steve decided to leave the room to give him privacy. He was not sure if he should be there. He waited right outside, watching the agents moving around, taking care of so many things. He really should start helping soon at least in the city, but he waited because Fury wanted to talk to him first and needed him to be here, for whatever reason.

He waited for a while before entering the room again. Thor was already sitting again, Steve's phone on the table. He took it and checked—they had a shorter call than Steve expected. He sat down and asked, "So…?"

"She was going to come here," Thor told her with a sad smile, "I told her she didn't need to and I am going away again. She is disappointed."

"Well, I can imagine this is very frustrating for her, it's the closest you will ever be to each other."

So close, yet so far. Steve thought that it was quite tragic. He just remembered that Jane was in Norway now, so if they did call her last night, she would have been sleeping, so it was good that they decided to call now.

"Take care of yourself, Steven," Thor suddenly said, out of nowhere. Steve just laughed. It seemed like it should be Thor who had to be reminded to take care of himself.

"I take care of myself well," Steve retorted. He did take care of himself better than he used to be, "I think I will have some works soon."

"Dangerous works?"

"I am not so sure," Steve said and then took a look at his watch, realizing only now that he should go to Director Fury's office soon, "I have to talk to Director Fury, I will see you again later?"

Well, that would be when Thor took off with Loki and the tesseract.

Thor nodded.

"Take care."