"So is it just me, or does any of this smell fishy to you?"

"To be quite honest, I smell nothing but the scent of rosemary. Ow!" Peri rubbed the spot on her nose that had just been hit with Jules' pillow. "I didn't know these things could actually cause physical pain."

"That's what you get for being a smart-ass, bitch."

"Jerk."

The two girls smiled at each other from their beds on opposite sides of the room. Jules had been sitting on the edge of her bed calmly, reading a book while Peri unpacked her suitcase. They had almost an entire half hour of silence before Jules had spoken and Peri had been greeted with a fluffy pink pillow to the face.

"So seriously, you're not getting any weird vibes from this?"

"Of course I am, Jules, but there is a slight chance there's nothing wrong."

"Peri, Fury didn't call us here because he was worried about our social lives. He's not like a regular parent. Something's up."

"Can you possibly not end your sentences in a preposition? Ow, where are you getting all these pillows? You only brought two suitcases, and one of them was filled with naught but shoes!"

"I could always throw a shoe at you if it makes you feel better."

"No thanks."

"Thought so."

Peri turned around again and began to unpack her already unpacked case. She kept up this pretence for a good ten minutes while Jules lay back on her bed with her eyes closed. After Peri had rearranged her socks in their drawer for the third time, she bit her lip and decided to voice the thought that had been eating away at her.

"Do you really think something is wrong?" she asked quietly. Jules sat up on her bed again.

"I don't see how there couldn't be. Like I said, Fury doesn't care if we're the only people we talk to."

"Oh well," Peri started, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "it's not like I was hoping to make friends with normal kids this year." The two girls burst out into laughter. When it subsided, they took a few moments to catch their breath before Jules spoke again.

"So what time is your appointment tomorrow?" she looked at Peri just in time to see her smile fade.

"…Ten-thirty."

"We should get some sleep then."

"…Yeah… We should."

They dressed themselves for bed in silence and didn't speak again until after they had brushed their teeth, just to say "good night."

In an unexpected twist, Peri woke up before Jules the next morning. She looked over to her friend and got out of bed as quietly as possible. She changed her clothes in the bathroom and brushed her teeth before going into the kitchen to get some breakfast.

She met Clint and Bruce in the kitchen. Clint was leaning against the counter, nursing a cup of coffee and blinking the sleep from his eyes while Bruce sat at the table with a newspaper and his cup of camomile tea. Bruce looked up when she entered.

"Good morning, Peri," he said.

"Morning, Dr Banner, Agent Barton," she said in response. Clint nodded in acknowledgement. He yawned and drained his cup in one long gulp. He then mumbled something incomprehensible and walked out. Peri looked at Bruce for clarification. He merely shrugged.

"I'd love to say I have a translator but I don't," he joked. Peri gave him a small smile and turned to the toaster to pop in some bread. While she waited for her bread to finish, she leaned against the counter and examined Bruce. There were circles under his eyes, his hair was a mess, and his shoulders seemed to sag with some unseen burden. Of course, his affliction was known to the world. There was hardly a soul he could hide from, a minimal amount of people he could pretend to be normal with. Peri's heart went out to him.

He can't even hide the fact that he's a freak, she thought, he has to live with it being in the open, and there's nothing he can do about it. I should consider myself lucky. At least I have a chance of cure.

The toaster took this opportunity to release its grainy prisoners into the wild. Peri, not expecting it, jumped. Bruce chuckled. Jules entered on the left, half way dressed with her hair tossed into a sloppy bun and a clean sock hanging from her teeth, trying to shimmy a shoe onto her right foot without falling. She stopped short when she saw Peri in the kitchen with food.

"Hey," Peri said casually, "want any food of some sort?"

There was a slightly awkward silence as Jules glared at her friend.

"Yesh," she answered eventually, and Peri was impressed she could speak so clearly with a sock dangling from her lips.

The two girls left for Peri's appointment at precisely 9:15 AM. They wouldn't have gone so early if they had already known the subway system.

"At least Fury got Doctor Perris to move all the way out here to New York. I'd hate to get familiar with a new doctor, besides, this way, we won't have to wait for anyone to get used to your case."

"Yeah, sure."

Jules sighed.

"Peri, I know you hate being sick, but at least you're not Hazel."

"Can we not discuss that book right now?"

"The world is not a wish-granting factory, Peri."

"Seriously, one more quote, and I might actually have to punch you."

"I will not deny myself the pleasure- ow!"

"I told you not to quote that book."

"Bitch."

"Jerk."

The girls smiled at their new reference and walked down the staircase to the subway. They caught the first possible train to Brooklyn (which left at precisely 9:53) and when they stopped, Peri walked off with that fast-walking gonna-throw-up gait she had learned to perfect in the past two years. Jules was waiting for her when she walked back out of the bathroom.

"You alright?" Peri simply nodded.

The visit to Doctor Perris was uneventful, although they did end up scheduling a session for chemotherapy. Peri couldn't hide the look on her face, and when they left, she had to complain about it.

"Do you even understand how grotesque chemo even is? They stick a needle in your arm and let it sit there for a ridiculous amount of time. Then of course it had the most ludicrous symptoms and absolutely no way to get your hair back-"

"Peri, the chemo is just until the doctors can find a more permanent solution, it's good for you."

Peri huffed and said nothing. There was a precisely five minute period of silence.

"So why were you so panicked this morning?" Peri asked.

"Um…" Jules sighed, "I was worried about you."

"Yeah?" Peri started suspiciously. "In what way, precisely?"

"I… I was worried you ran away again."

"Do you really think I'd do that after what happened last time?"

"No, but it was more likely than you waking up to go the doctor early." Peri huffed again and picked up the pace. Almost immediately she pitched forwards. Jules caught her around the waist. "Smooth."

Peri leaned her head against Jules shoulder and groaned.

"Nauseas?" Jules asked. Peri nodded.

"Maybe we should take a cab."

Peri scrunched her nose and shook her head gently.

"The subway?"

Peri repeated the nose-scrunching.

"I guess I just have to carry you back, then."

"I can walk," Peri mumbled, before attempting to do so. She took about half a step before losing her balance again. Jules caught her and simply scooped her up into her arms before continuing the voyage home.

She ended up carrying her blue-haired companion all the way up to what was referred to by Tony as the living room, and by Jules, the lobby. The redhead set Peri down on the soft couch as gently as possible, then went into the kitchen to get some water for the both of them.

"Oh, hi, Steve," she said as she entered. He looked up from his book as she spoke.

"Hi, Jules."

"Why are you reading in the kitchen?"

"Oh, um," he looked down at his book bashfully, "I guess I just got kind of side-tracked. I came in here for a soda pop, sat down for a second, and just…"

"Trailed off?"

"Yes," he looked up at Jules and gave her a hesitant smile. "So where were you and your 'twin' all day? Acquainting yourselves with the city?"

"Um… Yeah, totes."

Steve's face grew a confused expression, he seemed about to ask her what exactly she meant by "totes" when a shout was heard from Peri's general vicinity. Jules and Steve both ran in to see what was wrong, and were greeted by a sight neither would have thought they'd ever see.

Thor was crying on the couch next to Peri. The teenager had her arm wrapped around his shoulders in a vain attempt to comfort him from whatever was wrong, and she sent Steve and Jules a look that said very clearly "help me."

"Um, Thor?"

Thor looked up at the sound of his name.

"Steven," he said sombrely. He rose from his seat and walked to where Steve stood. He embraced him firmly with what Jules would refer to as a manly hug of manliness that left poor Steve hardly any room to breathe.

"What's the problem?" he gasped out.

Thor sobbed.

"Thor?"

Thor mumbled something incomprehensible into Steve's shoulder.

"Thor, speak, please."

Thor chose this moment to pull away.

"It's Loki," he said slowly, "he's dead."