A/N: Sorry, had some difficulty publishing this. Not sure if it's the site or my computer or what, so sorry if anything seems wrong or out of place! Thanks.

"Loki, for goodness sakes, put on some real clothes! Bruce is coming in a few hours and we don't want him to be nervous." Steve said, all authority in his voice. He stood with his feet between the chess set, officially bringing an end to the game of the day. He couldn't believe they spent all this time just playing board games! They had a week to prepare!

"I'm not wearing anything threatening," Loki reassured him. "I should stick to this attire so he will not 'hulk out'."

"Put on some pants! You shouldn't wear just boxers all day."

"Tony does it."

"You are acting like a child!" Steve took a moment to mentally calm himself down. "Tony is not the best role model-"

"Hey! I'm freakin' iron man-"

"-and you should not base any wardrobe decisions on him. An oversized t-shirt is not enough. Please respect yourself and cover up."

"I do what I want Steve," Loki sighed, standing up from the recent game. He and Steve had a staring match until finally the frost giant headed off to get some clothes on. Satisfied, the captain turned to Tony with his hands firmly on his hips.

"Tony," Steve began, only to get waved off.

"I know, I get it Spangles so untangle your panties. I'll put on a suit and get my ass out of here." Tony shrugged and headed on out too.

"Good." Steve muttered to himself. He felt like a babysitter.

"I do not trust him at all."

Bruce shifted in his wooden chair, careful not to knock over the blueberry muffin and camomile tea Tony had ordered for him. The lighting in the cafe was a little dim but he could still see the faint frown line the iron man had on his face. He watched Tony take a gulp of his black coffee, eyes shifting around the Starbucks, before he leaned forward. They sat seated in the corner of the room, so Bruce wasn't sure that look-over was necessary.

"Bruce-"

"Why does he have to get have his magic? I don't know about you, but that's pretty fishy to me."

"It's a part of him, Bruce. It's like my suits, Cap's shield, the hulk." Tony decided to ignore the fact that the other's gaze shifted downward. "I guess he can't find his groove without it, y'know?"

"Oh yes, he finds his 'groove' and continues his mission to slaughter the rest of New York-"

"He's changed. He's done with all that, I promise. You just have to look at him, trust me." Tony gripped the other man's hand tight, fixing his hard gaze at eye level. The iron man pushed aside the urge to bring up how he was acting like they were in a cliche movie. Things were too serious at the moment.

Bruce stared back, tired eyes searching. After a few beats of silence, Bruce finally exhaled, giving in. Not too many people got a chance to see what was under Tony's armor of snark and faked optimism. But Bruce had seen what the real man was many times, not as much as Pepper, but enough to draw his own conclusions. He knew of the man's potential, his intelligence, kindness, and sense of things. Tony had never proven wrong on hunches before (even when they performed a highly dangerous and questionably illegal experiment; in Tony's defense the law never stated anything against stuffing concentrated chemicals into socks while wearing them along with sandals) and Bruce was going to take his word, even though it sounded crazy.

"That man has a head full of cats," Bruce shook his head slowly and gave his friend a light smile. "It'd be nice to get some of them out."

"Spring cleaning! We already dusted the basement."

"It'd be nice to have a good night sleep with The Other Guy worrying about one less thing," Bruce took a bite out of his muffin and a swig of tea. "I'll try my best to keep him in, but no guarantees. If Loki tries to give another inferiority speech of his..."

"Fine. If you start turning green, our plan is to get you out of the room. But...I doubt he'll be doing that...at least directed towards any of us."

"What's he like now?" Bruce murmured, deciding to not ask the question that immediately spawned after Tony's last statement. What did he mean by not towards 'any of us', he thought. Was Loki...talking to inanimate objects now? He knew the 'god' was crazy, but damn, did he get worse? But judging by everything Tony told him about the situation, he bet Thor made things that way.

"He's nearly fine!" Tony chimed, leaning forward some in his chair. "I'd say he's pretty sane. Pretty nice now, funny at times, besides being the emo kid in the corner sometimes, he's recovering nicely."

"What have you been doing?" Bruce realized then that he had asked the type of question Tony would respond to for a couple of hours. Just like his rants on his suits, science, and different types of alcohol, the iron man spoke a million miles a second about it. He passionately described playing chess with Loki, paperclips, jokes, pancakes, and a strange taste in wardrobe to Bruce, waving his hands animately. Bruce was very confused on everything Tony described going on at his place, but he tried to keep up anyway. He nodded at the appropriate times, laughed at the hilarious moments the inventor described.

All while sipping on his tea, Bruce observed his friend. He didn't look heart broken anymore, in fact, a certain glow was in his eyes. Tony looked healthy. His skin was clear, his usual tan in place. He looked like he was finally eating food healthy for him and drinking something other than scotch.

Tony's smile was so wide and genuine every time he said Loki's name. It even brightened when he described a paperclip (Bruce was still confused about that one). And right then and there, Bruce solidified his choice in his mind. The man pushed The Other Guy away enough for comfort in his head. He was going to give this a genuine shot especially if it brought such energy back to Tony's face.

He would do anything that helped make his friend alive again, even if it involved a certain genocidal criminal. And, maybe while he was at it, he'd find Thor and personally solve the enigma of him throwing his brother into the towers. And then, he'd sit the two brothers down in an office.

For counseling and family bonding.