The Visit

Healing pt. 1

When Bruce told everyone what had happened, they all immediately agreed that Loki needed to see a psychiatrist. Tony had FRIDAY do background checks on all of the best psychiatrists in New York and they eventually settled on Dr.Emily Smith. Bruce called her clinic and made an unconventional appointment for her to come over the next day.

The next morning, Bucky helped Loki out of his room and into the common area as Loki pressed himself into Bucky's side. Bucky wrapped his arm around his friend, pulling him in closer. Loki tried to relax but found that he couldn't.

When Dr.Smith finally came, Loki gripped Bucky's leg and his breathing became a bit labored. Who are you? What do you want with me? She thinks I'm a monster! It feels so cramped in here. Why are there so many people? Please go away.

Loki's mind raced as Bucky continued to try and calm his friend down a bit. Eventually, Loki's breathing returned to normal as Bucky continued to rub his back in soothing circles.

Dr. Smith went over to the couch where Loki and Bucky sat and introduced herself. "I understand that this is hard for you right now, so I'm going to do my best to make this as least stressful as I can for you. Alright?" Loki just nodded his head.

Tony told her that she could use the game room for the appointment since it was clear of people at the moment. When they were about to go to the room to start her evaluation, Loki tensed. He tried to get off of the couch but he couldn't; every time he tried he felt like he was going to puke. It was like an invisible string was pulling him back to the comfort of his friend's arms. Bucky realised that Loki needed him right now and he held his hand and rubbed his knuckles. "Hey," he whispered, "it's okay, I'm right here, you're not alone."

Loki nodded and slowly stood up. Bucky stood with him and they went down to the game room together with Dr. Smith. When they got there, Dr. Smith said that she would like to do an individual evaluation with Loki before Bucky joined them. Bucky told Loki that he would be waiting right outside the door, which seemed to calm him down a lot. Bucky sat in the hallway right outside the door, listening for any signs of distress from his friend.

While Bucky sat outside he mentally slapped himself. Not a few weeks ago him and Loki would vehemently deny having any interest in each other from a relationship standpoint, but now... he wasn't so sure. Did he just see Loki as a really good friend, or was it something more? No, you can't think like that. Loki needs help right now, that's the only thing you should be focusing on.

About 45 minutes later, Dr. Smith opened the door and gestured for Bucky to come into the room. Bucky came in and sat on the black couch next to Loki. He looked a little worse for wear mentally, but he perked up a bit when he saw Bucky sit next to him.

Dr. Smith sat down opposite them in the large plush bean bag, the only other seating option in the room. "Mr. Barnes, if it is alright with you I would like to ask some questions regarding Loki's reaction to recent events?"

"Of course."

"Has Loki had any moments around you where he seemed anxious over what a lot of people would consider a small thing?"

"Yeah, ever since we first met he hasn't done well in enclosed spaces and..." he looked at Loki for approval, which Loki gave with a nod, "...and he hates restraints of any kind. Those are kindof the big two."

Dr. Smith wrote something on her notepad. "Do you know about Loki's sleeping habits perchance?"

This line of questioning went on for a while, with Bucky answering every question he was asked. Finally, after what seemed like hours but was probably only 15 minutes, she closed her folder and brought out a little notebook that she placed in her lap. Bucky tensed a bit, being reminded of the scientists at Hydra when they experimented on him, but quickly shook the thought away to focus on Loki.

"Alright, well from the answers that you have both gave and from the observations I made during the individual assessment, Loki is indeed suffering from a complex form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which has been compounded with a pre-existing depressive disorder, which is why it is starting to affect him recently, since his brain has only had time to really process the traumatic events for a couple of months."

She looked at Loki. "If it is alright with you I would like to try and get you on some medication that will hopefully lessen your symptoms. "

"That's fine." His voice was a bit softer than normal, but he still put on a strong front for Dr. Smith.

"Alright. It says in your medical file that you require a minimum of double the amount of any dosage of a normal human medication, so I am going to prescribe you 50mg of Zoloft, once a day, either morning or night, whichever you choose." She scribbled something on the notepad in her lap and looked back up. "And I would also like to refer you to a counselor to be able to begin the therapy we talked about earlier in the assessment. I know a wonderful therapist who is accepting new clients right now if you are interested?"

"That sounds great," Loki said with a hint of a smile on his face.

"Alright! Well then, I will send in the prescription and..." she ripped out the page of her notebook and handed it to Loki. "The first few lines are the contact information of the therapist I told you about and there are a few others at the bottom in case the first doesn't work out for you, alright?"

Loki nodded.

They all then walked back upstairs to the group. Dr. Smith, with Loki's permission, explained his diagnosis to the group. After that she wished Loki well and then left.

Bruce helped Loki set up an appointment with the therapist, and then Loki and Bucky retreated to Bucky's room.

When they got inside, Loki flopped on the bed and reached for the remote to turn the tv on. Bucky climbed in next to him, making sure to give Loki his space, knowing he would be feeling a bit claustrophobic and on edge after the assessment. Loki turned on their newest cinematic obesession (that being Hunter x Hunter) as Bucky dug through his secret candy stash in his bedside drawer. He tossed Loki a hershey bar and a pack of twizzlers (apparently Loki had quite the sweet tooth) and they settled in watching their two favorite 12 year olds play a VERY intense game of dodgeball.

"James?"

"Ya?"

"Thank you... for being here for me."

Bucky smiled. "Thank you for making my life a lot less boring."

Loki let out a soft chuckle at that as he snuggled into Bucky's side. After hours and hours, when they both started to drift off, FRIDAY changed the television to a show they had already watched so they wouldn't miss any of what they were currently watching. Loki shifted drowsily and wrapped his arm around Bucky's stomach. Bucky smiled a bit before drifting off as well to the sounds of waterbenders and Loki's soft breathing.

A/N: ...I did not intend for this to become a winterfrost fic. Buuuut I can't help myself. There is going to be MILD winterfrost because 1. there is literally 2-3 chapters left of this 2. I cannot write spicy to save my life 3. Frankly, I think Loki deserves it and so does Bucky, but I recognize (and they will recognize) that taking it VERY slow when one of the two is in a bad mental state is a good idea.
So... with that being said, please enjoy mild winterfrost fluff for the rest of the fic :):)