Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bruce could practically feel his glands swelling. He touched his neck gingerly, but it didn't feel swollen. He dug around in his bag and pulled out some pain killers. As he straightened up again he felt the room spin.

“You alright?” Jude asked, looking concerned.

“I’ll be fine,” he said, downing the tablets, “now, can you get back to your station and tell me what you see.”

She gave him a dubious look and went back to the microscope. They went back to work but he could feel his concentration slipping. He was too hot but if he took off his jacket he was too cold. It was obvious now that a couple of tablets were not going to do the job but he had work to do, he couldn't just leave.

That is, of course, until Thor came up to visit. “You do not look well.”

“I’m fine,” Bruce insisted, not making eye contact.

“Bruce,” Thor said, and Bruce looked up guiltily, “you are ill.”

“I took some medicine, I’ll be fine,” he insisted, and he knew, he just knew that Jude was behind him, shaking her head.

Thor nodded at her, and then, without warning, he picked Bruce up and put him over his shoulder.

Bruce could feel his face heating up, from the fever, all the blood rushing to his head or something else, it was hard to tell.

“Jude,” Thor said, “you may take the rest of the day off.”

“No, Jude,” Bruce said, trying to get down, “I’ll be right back, I want you to compare today's readings with yesterdays-”

Thor gave Bruce a gentle nudge and Bruce turned limp. “You can have the rest of the day off,” he muttered, “but I’ll see you here tomorrow morning! Bright and early!”

“No,” Thor said, “I think you should both have tomorrow off- in fact, do not come back until Monday.”

“That’s- my work-” Bruce tried, but Thor was already making his way down the stairs again.

“I’ll see you on Monday boss!” Jude called after him.

“Make sure you pack up everything,” he called after her before dissolving into a fit of coughing.

Thor wouldn't let him down till they were in Bruce’s room. He set him down gently on the edge of the bed, pulled his shoes off, and tenderly undressed him.

“I can do this on my own, you know,” Bruce said, lifting his arms so Thor can take his shirt off.

Thor only smiled. “You need rest,” he said, “and I have Clint and Tony making soup.”

“That won’t end well,” Bruce said, lying down.

“Natasha is supervising,” Thor said, “have no worries.” He pulled away and sat down on the ground with what looked like a Stark Phone prototype.

“What are you doing?” Bruce asked, pushing himself up.

“Keeping watch,” Thor said, “you are just as manic as Tony when it comes to your work.”

“I’m not manic,” Bruce grumbled, “and you should keep watch from here, in bed, there’s no knowing what I might do.”

Thor pulled himself up and put the phone aside. Bruce will never get used to him in normal clothes, but today he was glad for the soft t-shirt. As noises started to emanate from the kitchen downstairs Bruce buried his face in the threadbare material.

“Told you,” he mumbled.

Thor placed a hand on the small of Bruce’s back. “They will manage,” he said.

Bruce sighed heavily, and sat up again. “My sinuses are blocking up,” he said, “I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep.” he reached for the tissue box next to his bed and blew his nose.

“Let me tell you about Alfheim,” Thor said, “home of the elves.”

Bruce pulled his pillows up to rest on the headboard and sank against them. “Tell me about the elves.”

As he listened to Thor talk, and tried to ignore the sounds of Clint and Tony arguing downstairs, he briefly wondered about the lab, but promptly pushed the thought aside. Work can wait, he needed to rest.