A/N: Sorry for the wait, I've been busy, what with my 22nd birthday, Thanksgiving, and school projects to do.
For the medical attention bit of this chapter, I only know basic first aid, so I hope I didn't really get anything wrong.
Disclaimer: I do now own The Avengers.
The First to Forgive: Bruce
Loki didn't say a single word on the way to the infirmary; he simply let Bruce lead him and Thor along until they reached the small, sterile smelling room. He let Thor gently push him down onto one of the beds, and let Thor leave his hand on his shoulder while Bruce busied himself preparing the items he needed to tend to Loki's injuries.
When Bruce had finished everything, he came to Loki's bedside and placed everything he needed on a table. "Could you lift his shirt?" Bruce asked Thor.
Thor nodded and did so, while Loki just frowned.
Bruce picked up a cloth he had soaked with disinfectant, and gave Loki was he hoped was a comforting look. "I'm going to clean the wounds. It's going to sting, okay?"
Loki sighed and nodded.
Bruce then, as gently as possible, cleaned the infected gashes, and was exceedingly thankful that Loki merely hissed at the horrible stinging he was probably feeling, and didn't attempt to sit up or push Bruce away, as Bruce had half been expecting him to do.
Thor helped hold Loki up into a sitting position while Bruce bandaged Loki's torso, making the strips as loose as he possibly could and still have them do their job, and then the thunder god once again placed his hand on Loki's shoulder as Bruce hooked the trickster up to an IV, and gave him injections of antibiotics and painkillers.
"You should get some sleep, I'll be back in the morning to check on you." Bruce told the brothers after putting all the medical supplies away.
"Thank you." Thor replied, while Loki gave the slightest jerk of his head that may have been a nod, but it was so small that Bruce may have imagined it.
Bruce left the infirmary, turning the lights out, and heading for his room, but was not able to simply make it there to sleep, as he'd wanted.
"Doctor Banner, Mr. Stark requests your presence in the main conference room."
"Tell him I'm going to bed, we can talk in the morning." Bruce told the A.I. groggily.
"He is very insistent. I'm afraid he says that he has locked the codes to your room, and will not release them until you have fulfilled his request." JARVIS replied, sounding almost apologetic.
Bruce sighed, and rubbed his face. "Fine, fine, tell him I'm coming." He walked to the main conference room, where he found all the others still present, and wearing unreadable expressions, except for Clint, who was arguing with Tony.
"Don't give me that 'we owe Thor' shit! It's not a good enough reason to take in a murderous psychopath!" Clint yelled, obviously furious.
"That's the only reason you're going to get." Tony said firmly.
"As a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, the safety of any and all civilians is my first and foremost duty, and keeping that nutcase here is a hazard to everybody!"
"Fury said he could stay. I'll be monitoring him the whole time; he won't be able to make a move without me knowing about it. I already told JARVIS to track him, or didn't you hear me?"
"Are you forgetting what he did? People are dead! Coulson is dead!"
"Of course I remember-"
"Look, this isn't helping!" Steve interrupted, louder than usual to make himself heard. "We've all got our objections, but I agree that it's Tony's decision."
"It isn't. I can't believe Director Fury allowed this. I'm going to call him in the morning and ask him about it." Natasha said, seeming her usual cool self, but her fists were clenched tightly on the table.
"Yeah, do that would you?" Clint snapped.
"Clint, calm down, we'll have this settled in the morning. Why don't we all get some-" Bruce started to plead.
"We settle this now." The archer demanded. "What are everybody's views on this? Why is nobody else objecting?"
"I've seen the effects of torture, and it doesn't look all that overly terrible at first glance, Loki's basically a god. Imagine what kind of things must have been done to him to give him those injuries." Steve answered first, a frown forming on his face.
"Are you defending him?"
"I'm just saying he's been through a lot and we should show him some mercy."
"Bruce, how is he?" Tony interrupted the argument between Clint and Steve.
"Fairly bad. Those are some really deep wounds and some of them are badly infected. It's going to take a while for him to get to the point where I'll allow him out of the medical bay. He's handling it pretty well, or hiding it." Bruce answered.
"Good, fine, we'll keep the medical bay locked from the outside." Tony said, giving Clint a long glance.
"Thor won't let him out of his sight either, I'm sure of that." Bruce added, folding his arms. "He's not going to cause trouble, not for a while."
"The second he does, he's out of here." Tony said. "And another thing, I never said how long he could stay here."
Bruce's mouth dropped open, and he noticed Steve's eyes widen slightly. "Tony, you can't seriously kick him out while he's-"
"As long as he behaves himself, he can stay while he's healing up. After that, it's my call, anytime." Now there was a hint of annoyance and anger creeping into Tony's voice. "Clint, you don't like it, you can leave."
The archer said nothing.
"Okay, now, I'm off to bed, you all can do whatever you want." Tony stated, leaving the room quickly.
Bruce gave everyone in the room a sweeping gaze, before going to his own room, but finding himself unable to sleep much because his mind kept going over their current problem. How long would Loki stay in the tower? How long before Fury ended up intervening? Could Thor really keep Loki under control? And, did Loki deserve mercy? Did Loki deserve forgiveness?
Bruce went back to the medical bay in the morning as he'd promised, and found Thor sitting in a chair beside a sleeping Loki. "How is he? Did he make it through the night okay?"
Thor shook his head. "Almost as soon as you left, he revealed himself to be in pain."
"Why didn't you call me?" Bruce asked.
"I did not think it would be a good idea. Loki is afraid of showing weakness in front of all of you, I believe he thinks the others will take advantage of it." Thor answered.
Bruce nodded in understanding. Better not to provoke Loki's fears, which were not entirely unreasonable. "I gave him the highest dose of painkillers that was safe for a human, but I guess it might work differently for you guys. I'll increase the dose, but I'll have to do it slowly and carefully to make sure I don't give him too much."
"I would ask that you not tell him. He would be furious if he knew that I told you about it." Thor requested.
Bruce agreed, moving to the cupboards to gather supplies. "I'll need to change his bandages, but I'll wait until he's awake. We shouldn't wake him, he needs the rest."
"How are the others reacting to Loki's presence?"
"Clint was the only one who openly objected. The others disapprove, but I think they're accepting of it. Tony won't give us a straight answer as to why he's allowed this." Bruce paused, then turned to look at Thor. "Tony said that he never said how long Loki could stay. He said he'll allow it until Loki's healed, but after that…"
"He will turn us out anytime he wishes. It is his tower, I understand." Thor replied, looking down at Loki's deceptively peaceful face.
"Us?"
"I will go with Loki. I could not allow him to be cast out and not be there with him."
Bruce gave a flicker of a smile. "He's lucky to have you."
"Maybe so, but none of this would have happened if I had been less foolish."
Bruce raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Before all this happened, I made a foolish choice, and was banished to earth. During that time, Loki needed me, and I was not there. It may relate all back to the All-Father's unwise choice to make me king, but it was my decision that lead to all this happening." Thor's explanation was vague, and Bruce could tell there was something he was leaving out, but Bruce didn't ask about it.
"But you're here for him now. That's what's important right now." Bruce replied.
Thor looked back at Loki. "Perhaps so."
Loki stirred, turning his head towards Thor, before opening his eyes.
"Good morning brother." Thor said, putting a gentle smile on his face.
Loki's eyes scanned the room, before looking back at his brother. "We're in that tower."
"Yes, do you remember?"
Loki nodded. "Sleep confuses the thoughts."
"Loki, Banner is here to change your bandages and inspect your wounds. Will you let him?" Thor asked.
Loki glanced at Bruce before nodding.
Bruce came to the bedside, having Thor pull up Loki's tunic again, and unwrapping the bandages to reveal the scars and gashes again. The infections were far less severe already, but not completely gone, but they probably would be in about a week at this rate, Bruce guessed. "This is going to sting again." Bruce told the trickster, wetting a cloth with antiseptic.
When Loki said nothing, Bruce again, still as gentle as he could be, cleaned out the gashes, with Loki again giving slight hisses, and obediently sitting up so Bruce could wrap new bandages around his torso.
After finishing that task, Bruce put those supplies away, and came back with the painkiller, increasing the dosage, but not by too much, and giving Loki the injection.
"That's it for today. Call me if you need anything." Bruce gave the friendliest smile he could manage before leaving the room, pausing for a moment outside before he headed towards the lab where Tony was most likely working, to help him with what they had been working on yesterday when they had been interrupted.
Bruce went back to the infirmary every morning to tend to Loki. He seemed to have finally found the right dosage of painkillers, and Loki's wounds were healing fast. Usually when Bruce came, Loki was still asleep, so he and Thor could discuss the situation.
"He has been having nightmares." Thor told Bruce on the four day of Loki's stay.
"It might be the increased painkillers. Should I back off on the dose?"
Thor thought a moment and then shook his head. "No, being able to sleep, even with bad dreams, is better than lying awake due to the pain. He usually sleeps peacefully after some assurance from me."
"I'd say he'll be ready for leave in a few more days. I'll talk to Tony about getting him a proper room."
"Is that wise? To have Loki so near the others?" Thor asked.
"Tony's given us each our own floors in the tower. I'm sure he'll do the same for you, and Loki could stay there. Would you like to come with me and talk to him after I'm done here for today?"
"No, I dare not leave Loki's side."
"No one is going to hurt him Thor."
"I am admittedly worried about Barton. He is a good man, and I consider him a friend, but he was hurt greatly by all of this, and I worry that he may seek out revenge." Thor answered.
Bruce didn't answer, although he too had had the same thoughts about Clint. He didn't believe Clint would hurt anyone innocent and nonthreatening, but that was the problem, Clint didn't think Loki was innocent and that he was a threat. He left after performing his daily check up on Loki, and went back to the lab, where he and Tony were almost finished with the new suit.
""Hey, Bruce, perfect timing, could you get me that wrench from over there?" Tony said, not looking up from his workstation where he was tinkering with a new helmet.
Bruce brought the wrench over, and sat down on a stool across from Tony. "Loki's almost healed."
"Good."
"I think he'll be ready to leave the infirmary this weekend. I think he should be given a proper room."
"Medical bay not comfortable enough for him?"
"It'd probably be better for him to get out of that room, I think it reminds him of everything that happened to him. Thor says he's been having nightmares about his captivity."
"That room is one of the most secure in the tower."
"Isn't there another room you can make secure? You've got more bedrooms in this place than will ever be used, can't Loki have one of those?"
"You want him to just be able to walk around the tower?"
"I didn't say that. You're monitoring him, right? And Thor isn't going to let him out of his sight. He can stay on Thor's floor. You did give him a floor, right?"
Tony finally stopped what he was doing and looked across the table at Bruce. "Yeah, I did."
"Then what's the problem? I doubt Loki will want to be around us much anyway, he'll probably stay in his room. But it's still better than keeping him locked up in a small room that frankly doesn't look very inviting."
Tony was silent for a moment, before beginning to drum his fingers on the table. "All right. I'll talk to Thor later and get everything straightened out. Now, would you help me with this thing? I want to get it done by Sunday."
"Sure."
Bruce allowed Loki to leave the medical bay exactly a week after his arrival, but after that, he disappeared for five days, and Bruce wondered if Loki would ever leave his room at all. No one said anything on the matter, but Bruce, to his own surprise, began to almost worry about the trickster.
He was admittedly rather surprised when Thor and Loki came into the lounge he had been reading the newspaper in one morning, Loki looking more confident than Bruce had seen him in his entire time at the tower. "Thor, Loki." He greeted.
"Banner, I wonder if you might show us where the library is. I thought Loki would like to know where it is." Thor said, seeming strangely happy.
"Uh, sure, no problem." Bruce got up and the two gods followed him out of the room. He noticed that while Loki wasn't speaking, there was very little of the air of fear that had been around him when he had first arrived.
They arrived at the library, which wasn't very large, but was packed with books, some of them with a thin layer of dust covering them, and Loki went immediately to scanning the titles.
"Tony says he doesn't come here much. The only reason he had a library put in was because Pepper wanted one." Bruce said to explain the dust.
"Pepper?" Thor asked.
"Oh, right, I guess you haven't met her. She works for Tony, and is his girlfriend. She's very nice, really the only person who could ever possibly match Tony." Bruce answered. "So do you see anything you like Loki?" Bruce couldn't help but feel surprised to see that the dark haired god already had three books cradled to his chest, and was still looking for more.
"Mr. Odinson, Mr. Stark is requesting your presence in the main conference room." JARVIS's voice sounded.
Thor paused before answering, looking at Loki. "Will you be all right here brother?"
Loki stopped looking over the books, and turned to Thor. "Yes, I'll be fine brother." He assured, although Bruce caught a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Thor nodded. "I will return when my business with Stark is concluded. I will not be long." He gave a final small smile and left the room.
Bruce thought about leaving, but ultimately decided to stay, the thought of someone coming and finding Loki with the intent to hurt him, namely Clint. Thor would probably prefer that Loki not be left alone, and Bruce wondered if Thor had known he would stay without being asked.
Loki, with five books in his arms, went to a chair, set the books down beside it, picked up the first one, and began readying.
Bruce settled into a chair himself, and a silence fell.
"You don't have to do this." Loki said, not looking up for his book right as Bruce had begun to doze off.
"What?"
"Watch over me. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself if need be."
Bruce stiffened, but he knew he shouldn't have been surprised that Loki knew exactly why he was still there. "I'd rather stay. I know you can take care of yourself, but I'd rather we didn't have any skirmishes."
"Why have you been doing this? Being kind to me?" Loki asked, finally looking up from his book to meet Bruce's gaze.
"Because…" Bruce took a breath. "Because I know what's it's like to be forced to do something horrible."
"Your turning into the creature is entirely different. You are not aware of what you are doing, I was fully aware of my actions." Loki scoffed.
"Maybe so, but I still have the guilt afterwards, I still blame myself. I have no doubt you're feeling massive amounts of guilt right now."
"And do I not deserve that?"
"No, I don't believe you do. It was your only escape. Nobody deserves to suffer forever."
Loki stared at Bruce for a long half of a minute before he spoke again. "You are wrong to trust me."
"I didn't say I trust you. What I'm saying is I forgive you."
The book fell from Loki's hands. "What?"
"I forgive you." Bruce repeated.
"You are a fool. I didn't ask for your forgiveness."
Bruce shrugged. "I probably am."
There was a long pause, but Loki sighed. "I do… regret what happened. Everything that happened."
"Sounds like an apology to me. Or at least as close to an apology that you're going to make at the moment."
Loki was silent again before he shook his head, a disbelieving smile touching his lips. "Barton was right when he told me you were the softest one of this team."
Bruce gave a small laugh. "I've been called worse things."
And that was the beginning of Bruce and Loki's friendly truce.
End Chapter
A/N: I'm not sure when I'll have another update on this, since I have finals in less than a week. Not to mention that this is actually turning about to be a little trickier than I thought it would be to write… Hopefully I'll have another chapter for you before Christmas.
I should not have tumblr open while I'm writing…