This story comes after Objects of Desire and Late Night Viewing.
The scream echoed through the apartment. Bruce was sitting before he even woke.
CLINT!
And then the green wave rose and Bruce was slipping down, back into sleep.
Hulk knuckled his way out into the lounge.
Clint was sat on the sofa, head in his hands, shaking. A blanket was tangled around his waist. He looked up as Hulk came in, dark circles under his eyes, and sweat soaking through his t-shirt.
"Puny god not here. Hulk here." Hulk rumbled.
Clint shuddered. "It's okay. I'm okay."
He pushed the blanket away pushing himself to standing and wandered into Bruce's kitchen area to get a glass of water. Standing in front of the refrigerator he downed the water in one and dumped the empty glass in the sink.
Hulk watched him from the lounge as he pulled off the soaked t-shirt and threw it in the sink with the glass. He pulled the sweat pants back up his hips.
"I'm okay, Hulk." Clint said, walking back in slowly. "I'll get a few more hours, it'll be fine. Couple of cups of coffee in the morning..."
"Clint not sleep good." Hulk interrupted. "Hulk watch. Hulk see. Clint not sleep today, Clint not sleep before."
And Hulk was up and moving again, moving straight over to Clint without pause and picking him up. Clint struggled, but whilst not tight, the green arms wrapped round him were immovable. Hulk settled himself cross legged in front of the sofa, sitting the archer in his lap and curling protectively about him.
"Clint not lie anymore." Hulk grumbled. "Clint sleep. Hulk watch."
He leaned back on the base of the sofa and shifted Clint so he was partly curled up, resting against Hulk's chest.
"Clint sleep." Hulk reiterated. "Safe here."
"You'll change back when you sleep." Clint muttered.
Hulk reached back, snagging the blanket and pillows from the sofa, which he dropped on Clint.
"Hulk watch films." He said firmly. "Clint sleep."
Clint looked up at him. Hulk's face was implacable.
"Clint nightmares. Clint scared. Should sleep. Hulk stay here."
There was no way he was going to win this argument. Clint gave up and let himself relax.
"Safest place on the planet." He muttered.
He curled himself up. It was warm in Hulk's lap, heat radiating out from the green body. He pulled the blanket around as Hulk clumsily tucked a pillow behind him. The blanket trapped the heat that Hulk gave off, creating a warm nest. Hulk's hand ran carefully over his hair. Clint let his eyes droop. It was warm and safe here.
"Sleep now." Hulk said, as quietly as Clint had ever heard him speak. The green giant looked up. "Jar-vis? Films?"
"Would you like me to start the episode from where you fell asleep Hulk? Or start it again." Jarvis asked.
"Start again."
The screen lit up. Hulk made a satisfied noise, arms settling around Clint, holding him securely in place.
Clint squinted sideways at the screen not really taking it in, until he realised...
"...for a crime they didn't commit. These men promptly escaped..."
A familiar van burst through a barricade onto the screen.
"You're watching The A Team?" He rolled his head to look up at the Hulk again.
Hulk grinned down at him.
"Jarvis say good." Hulk chuckled. "Film good."
Clint blinked at the screen. "I guess you can sympathise with the being pursued by the Army." He said.
"Hulk also appreciates the explosions, and likes the helping people and the fact that no-one ever dies." Jarvis added.
Hulk was mumbling along with the voice over.
"Never catch team." Hulk added with satisfaction. "Clint sleep now."
Clint settled back. On the screen the A-Team broke Murdoch out on the hospital and drove off to find another predictable plot device. Clint squinted up getting a good view of Hulk's chin, but Hulk was evidently transfixed. Clint turned back to the screen.
He didn't even notice the point at which he fell asleep.
xxxoooxxx
Clint woke. He looked around the room. Dawn was lightening the sky outside the window.
Hulk looked down at him.
"Clint okay?"
Clint nodded. "I'm okay."
He rubbed his eyes and shifted. He was curled in Hulk's lap, head resting against a green knee, back supported by the curve of Hulk's thighs. One of Hulk's hands was cradling his head, the other rested on Clint's hip holding the blanket in place.
Hulk turned back to the television. On the screen B.A. Baracus was welding something to his beloved van. Hulk was watching intently. Clint watched the rest of the episode with him before shifting and looking up again.
"Hulk?"
"Clint?" Hulk's fingers flexed gently over Clint's scalp.
"I'm good now." Clint said, blinking slowly at the soft rubbing of fingers over his scalp. "You can get some sleep if you want?"
Hulk gave him a considering look, then leaned down to give him a sniff. "Okay." He agreed finally.
Clint felt himself carefully manhandled as Hulk laid himself out on the floor. He curled on his side, still wrapped around Clint.
"No film now Jar-vis."
"Good night Hulk." Jarvis turned off the screen.
Clint closed his eyes. Against his back, Hulk sighed and relaxed. Sleep came quickly again.
xxxoooxxx
Bruce woke, wrapped in blankets and in Clint's limbs. He twitched and struggled momentarily before he was fully awake and Clint woke, eyes slamming open, before he relaxed.
"How come we're here again?" He asked Clint.
Clint contemplated lying but it was Bruce, whose body Hulk shared and that seemed like a dick move.
"I'm not sure how we ended up in this position but I had a Hulk shaped intervention about my nightmares and insomnia last night." He admitted, rolling onto his back.
"I've got a vague memory of being woken by you yelling." Bruce said.
"Yeah." Clint said, shifting uncomfortably. "I had a nightmare, so Hulk came in, dumped me in his lap and stayed up watching the television while I slept. From what he said he knows I've been having sleep problems."
Bruce frowned. Clint disentangled himself and sat up, then pushed himself to standing with the edge of the couch. "I can get you some pants?"
Bruce gave him a sheepish look. "Yeah, sorry about that."
Clint snorted. "No trouble."
He padded barefoot into Bruce's bedroom and snagged a tatty pair of jeans hanging over a chair. When he got back in the lounge, Bruce was standing up, blanket held round his waist. He took the jeans gratefully.
"Uh, shorts?" Clint asked.
"It's alright." Bruce said, turning and struggling into the jeans commando. "You want coffee?"
"Yeah. That would be good."
Bruce made a pot of tea and a french press of coffee. They sat across the kitchen table from each other in silence whilst the first cup was consumed.
"So. this seems to be turning into a..."
"Thing?" Clint asked.
"A regular occurrence at least." Bruce concluded.
Clint filled his mug full of coffee again.
"If it's a problem I can stop sleeping in here?" Clint offered.
Bruce shook his head. "It's just kinda weird that...the Other Guy...has this kind of...bromance with one of my...colleagues...we're colleagues? I guess?"
"He's easy company." Clint said. "It seems to make him happy."
Bruce shrugged. "I'm having less nightmares." He offered.
Clint looked at him over the rim of his mug. "I think that's 'cause Hulk wakes up and watches TV."
"I keep waking up in the lounge." Bruce said. "I wasn't sure if I was sleepwalking or it was him as there's never anything broken."
"No reason to break stuff." Clint shrugged.
What about the pyjamas? Clint thought suddenly. No ripped pyjamas...? He squashed the thought.
"I don't mind you sleeping in here." Bruce said. "I don't mind...I don't mind you falling asleep with him."
"Do you mind waking up with me?"
Bruce shrugged. "Not so much. It doesn't freak me out at all." He sipped his tea. "As long as you don't mind random naked scientist." Bruce flushed.
Clint shrugged. "No worse than random naked Hulk."
They were silent again for a minute or two.
"I know you said you watched movies but..." Bruce tailed off.
"He's watching an A-Team marathon." Clint said chuckling. "He's half way through series two."
Bruce froze and stared at him.
"Yeah." Clint said. "That really happened."
The look on Bruce's face was priceless.