"It's looking really good. Just, seriously, take it easy," Bruce said. "You're not a hundred percent yet."

"It's been feeling much better," Loki replied. "Thank you, doctor." He sat on his bed with his shirt off and his wound uncovered. Bruce had removed the stiches, and it was healing well. It had been about two weeks since he had been injured.

"What's the news, doc? Will he live?" Tony stuck his head in the door.

"Unfortunately," Bruce said, with a crooked smile.

"Tragic." Tony grinned at Loki. "What about you, kid, glad to be stuck with us still?"

"Never better, Stark," Loki replied, smiling half-heartedly.

"Good." Tony left. The past week or so, Tony had become increasingly warmer to Loki. The jokes and friendly insults never stopped rolling, but they were no longer mean-spirited. The other Avengers had seemed to accept that Loki was just around, and not out for blood, and they treated him respectfully. That said, he still felt that there was an unspoken wall between him and the rest. Tony, however, had flipped and was clearly making an attempt at being his friend. Loki wasn't sure yet how he felt about this, but he allowed it and could at least return Tony's humor with ease.

A few weeks before, he had been Tony's least favorite person. Something had happened since then. Loki wondered if it had something to do with the morning they were both up, and Tony had seen . . .things. But that didn't make any sense, did it?

**********

Steve and Tony wandered across the compound, heading back to the main building from one of the outer hangers. They had been checking out a new jet that had been flown in from S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Barton's going to love that jet, we won't be able to keep him out of it once he's back on his feet," Tony grinned.

"Yeah. He's itching to work again, I think he hates how much Nat has been gone and he can't go with her."

"He'll survive. Good for the guy to take a break."

"Maybe. But he doesn't seem to like breaks. He gets too bored. Want's to be out there, doing something. I can understand that. By the way, how's our other patient?"

"I saw Loki this morning. Bruce took his stiches out and said he's doing really well, regrettably." Steve ignored the last comment.

"That's good. Loki told me that he'd heal faster than we're used to."

"True."

"You've been awfully friendly with him lately, Tony," Steve said after a pause.

"And you've never been?"

"Well, I didn't treat him like garbage and then switch moods over the course of a day. At least I was polite from the beginning."

"That's not saying much, Cap. You're a naturally very nice person."

"I'm just saying, Tony, you hated him and now you don't. Did he say something? What happened?" They stopped outside the main doors. Steve started to open it but let it close and turned back to Tony when the latter didn't follow.

"I realized something, Cap. He's a kid. And he's hurting. I was . . .up, the other morning. So was Loki. He'd left his room before I was awake and fell asleep again on the couches. I sat down; I didn't want to wander any more. A little while later Loki started flinching and then reacted to something so fast and dramatically that he fell off the couch. He woke up and hardly knew where he was. He was horrified when he saw I was there. He was dreaming something terrible, Cap. I know what that looks and feels like. He wouldn't tell me, of course." Steve was silent, his hands on his hips.

"I don't know what he's been through, other than what Thor has told us, adopted, disappeared, showed up on earth with an army, all that crap. Obviously he's been through some stuff and I don't know what, but something's haunting him and he has no idea how to react when the rest of us treat him nicely. But he's trying, Cap, and I don't think he knows how."

"That's a lot, Tony. So this is why you've changed your mind about him?"

"Cap, I realized how similar he and I are. I can't in good conscious treat him like shit when that's clearly all anyone has ever done. No one is born horrible, it's taught and acquired. I can't encourage it with my own behavior towards him."

"You're a good man, Tony," Steve sighed. "Better than anyone gives you credit for."

"Not better. We all have our strengths, Cap. We're just different. You were kind from the start remember? I couldn't see past my own goddamn anger and revenge."

"If anyone can get through to him, though, it'll be you," Steve replied.

"You've gotten more out of him than I probably ever will, at this point."

"Only little things. You get him, Tony."

"Maybe. Why me?" Tony pushed past Steve and opened the door. Steve moved quickly to get through and keep up with him.

"Because I would never have thought about him like that," Steve said, catching up. "Yeah, I'm polite to him, but in my mind he's still a dangerous alien criminal. I wouldn't have had the understanding or compassion to realize he's just a broken kid. Only you could see that."

"You flatter me, Cap," Tony said sarcastically. "I hope we're right about this, cause I'd hate to become his friend and it turns out he really is a dangerous alien criminal and he's actually inherently evil. That would really suck." Steve couldn't help but chuckle.

"Between what you and Thor said, I can believe that he can change. Thor doesn't seem to think there's much good in him, but he cares about Loki and I think that there once was a really good relationship there. He wouldn't care so much if Loki had been like this his whole life."

"Very true. See, different strengths, just like you said. Between us we might be able to work this kid out."

"That would be the hope." Tony turned down a flight of stairs heading to the labs. "See you later," Steve added, choosing not to follow.

"Later, Cap." Tony jogged down the stairs. "I'll probably be working late."

"What else is new, Tony?"

**********