tell me what you really want

a highly unlikely friendship

Bruce has been awake for the past hour, while it was still dark outside his window. As strange as it seems, Asgardian days are about the same as Earth ones, even with the whole flat planet thing, so Tony had put a new setting on all of the Avengers' phones so they could tell Asgardian time. 

It was about a quarter past five when Bruce woke up and knew he couldn't go back to sleep. He'd been tired last night, since Thor had kept them up late to keep talking to the warriors, so Bruce had just come into his room and fallen asleep the moment he lay down. Now that he's slept for the minimum amount, his body refused to shut down again. Everything was too much. It was too dark. Too quiet. Too soft. Too gold.

He'd gotten up, gotten dressed in normal day clothes, and was now standing in front of the door, ready to roam around aimlessly for an hour and a half until eight o'clock, which was breakfast.

If only he could open the damn door.

The ornate, crystal knob is hard under his hand. The lock is already open and the handle is twisted. All he needs to do is pull. 

But he can't.

Why can't I?

Oh come on, you little freak! You can create a gamma-fueled rage-monster but you can't open a door?

Bruce grits his teeth and keeps himself from flinching at the voice. He yanks the door open and steps out before he can change his mind. The door shuts behind him and he sighs.

Step one. Complete. And the crowd goes wild! Raaahhhhh!

Bruce smiles to himself and continues walking until he realizes that he has no idea where he's going.

Well... Step two was to wander aimlessly. The crowd isn't cheering as loudly though.

He continues walking. The halls are lit up with candles and faint light coming from outside as the sun rises slowly. It's peaceful. Quiet. But not too much. There are guards stationed at the end of most corridors, talking to each other in low voices as they glance at Bruce for half a second before returning to their conversations.

They don't act wary or cautious, scared of agitating him.

They don't know what happens if he loses control.

Bruce buries those thoughts as he walks, enjoying the calmness. He comes across a door. It isn't as big as the main entry to the castle, but he can tell it's an exit by the windows next to it. Curiosity gets the better of him and he steps through. 

There are a few stone steps leading down. The bottom is a big stone circle, as far as Bruce can tell. There are big beds of flowers along the edges and making a circle in the center. The plants are all vibrant colors, now properly visible as the sun begins to rise. Bright greens, reds, whites, and everything in between jump out at him.

Bruce wanders in between the rows, spotting a few cards that probably identify what they are but he can't read the language. In the center of the inner circle, there is a round marble table with chairs surrounding it. 

He stops in front of a green plant, big leaves formed into an upside down cup-like shape. The inside is painted pink and it smells like an unidentifiable fresh fruit. Bruce has the sudden urge to touch it.

"Careful. That one's carnivorous."

His hand snaps back and he whirls around to see Loki standing to his right, two guards behind him. The ravenette is holding several scrolls under one arm and a black box under the other.

"Oh-- I-- Am I not supposed to be here?"

"No, the gardens are open to anyone," Loki says, "But you should be careful. That one eats people."