Working Title : Loki & Annie

112 Kryptonite

The room Loki had been placed in was large enough to be filled with various pieces of medical equipment most located on wheels. One wall was solid, this was where the head of the bed was closest. The other three walls were glass, typical hospital curtains providing some privacy. The wall on the outer wall had a large sliding glass door that silently opened.

Having soundlessly slid the door open Bruce hesitated in the doorway when Annie never looked at him. She was sitting in a comfortable chair with wheels that allowed her to be close enough to grasp one of Loki's hands. Bruce watched as she absently used her thumb to rub against the back of the small hand while she stared at the face that appeared relaxed in sleep. He knew from talking with medical staff who had completed various tests on Loki that he wasn't in a natural sleep. No one could say why he wasn't waking even with painful stimuli. Walking in Bruce stopped on the other side of the bed where he quietly waited.

Annie saw movement and her eyes rose enough to see Bruce, Doctor Banner. She probably shouldn't think of him by his first name but then again, she figured they weren't exactly strangers. He had helped save Loki's life after all. Reading the expression on his face told her he didn't have any updates so she looked back down at Loki. His face was pale except for those little red dots that were fading much faster than she figured was normal. His skin was cool but even though it wasn't unnaturally cold she had pulled the blanket further up his chest. Just like a typical hospital, the room wasn't warm and even if he wasn't aware of what was going on she didn't want him to be cold.

"Iron Man PJs?" Bruce spoke quietly with a hint of amusement as he noticed what Loki had been dressed in.

Annie's mouth involuntarily lifted in a quick smile. "Yeah, I guess there's a gift shop somewhere here that sells them." She looked up at Bruce, "But I didn't let them change his socks."

Bruce felt his face tint pink, "Ah, um, yeah. I noticed that, them. I noticed the socks." He rubbed his fingers together, "Did he, uhm, pick them out himself?"

Annie nodded, "Yeah, he did." Leaning forward she brushed a long strand of black hair from where it had slipped against his cheek. His hair was so silky that it seemed to move on its own just from the motion of Loki's gentle breathing. She twisted the strand slightly then let it slither free from between her fingers. Softly she asked, "Have you ever heard of anything like this happening before?"

"What? His rapid growth?" In a force of habit, Bruce pulled out his glasses from a pocket and peered down at Loki even though he didn't need them to take in the changes he had witnessed himself. "Or the whole, situation?"

"Everything, I guess." Nodding she added, "It's magic, isn't it? That did this?" It was strange to see Loki with long hair that had waves that probably were curls in shorter hair. It was the most obvious change to her, so shiny and silky.

Bruce frowned slightly for just a second, he was much more willing to accept the concept of magic existing than Tony was but that still didn't mean he wouldn't consider other more probable possibilities. Still, he didn't have enough data so as of now he didn't have any other theories. "Uh, it looked that way. I would want to compare scans, run some tests, maybe consult with Str-" He stopped short, realizing he should probably not finish this sentence.

Annie looked up with anger, "That Doctor, Strange or whoever he was?" Looking back at Loki she shifted in her chair and then stood, "Yeah, that's not going to happen. I don't want him anywhere near Loki." Now she pushed his hair back even though it hadn't fallen on his face. Its texture was soothing against her skin and she needed the comfort it brought. She realized when his hair was shaved he had looked older. Now, despite having grown older he somehow looked younger. No, softer. And even though he was bigger now he looked small in the adult-sized bed.