Bruce shuffled into the kitchen with a towel over his head, drying the moisture from his hair while he fished a bottle of water out of the fridge. Natasha had been teaching him some more advanced, two person yoga moves, and he had worked up a sweat. He'd cracked the lid and was taking a long drink when he looked over and saw the living room was occupied. Clint was sitting cross legged on the longest sofa, a game controller in his hands, face set in silent concentration. The television was on mute, which explained why Bruce hadn't noticed sooner, so he wandered over to see Agent Phil Coulson, sleeping curled up with his head on the archer's lap.
Clint glanced up at him, then back to the screen, hitting the pause button. "Hey doc, Tasha trying to kill you with complicated stretching?"
Bruce smiled briefly and flopped onto the empty love seat. "Something like that. How's he doing?" he asked, nodding at the still sleeping Coulson.
The Hawk smiled and looked down, resting a hand on the other man's neck. "He's tired, sleeps a lot, and the pain meds don't help, but he's healing." His finger tips trailed down his back, thumb absently running over where he knew the scar from the entry wound was. "He gets impatient. I don't think he's ever gone so long without working. Stir crazy doesn't even begin to cover it."
Bruce nodded, pursing his lips. "He have any hobbies?"
Clint snorted. "Phil defines workaholism. Don't get me wrong, I don't doubt that he loves what he does, but he doesn't really show many interests outside of it. Aside from his Captain America collection at least. And no, it totally doesn't give me an inferiority complex," he finished with an eye roll.
"Of course," Bruce chuckled. "You could try getting him interested in something you like. Do you have hobbies?"
He hefted the controller. "I'm either working or doing things to turn my brain off. I'm pretty much just as bad."
"I think we're all guilty of that, honestly."
"Probably."
"But you should make the most of it. If you intend to be together for any length of time, which I'm sure you do, then you can both develop new interests together, things you share. You have a good foundation from your history, now you can build on it."
Clint blinked at him, then grinned. "Somehow I didn't expect you to give good relationship advice." Bruce frowned a little at that. "Not because of the other guy or anything," Clint amended, "but, and I say this will all the endearment I can manage, you're a nerd, I would just expect you to be awkward when it comes to dating. But thanks though, you're right. I'll think about it."
"Think about what?" Tony questioned, just having popped up at the top of the stairs, coated in grease, hair stuck up at odd angles.
They both gave him a slightly stupefied look. "Nothing important," Bruce answered. "Have you slept?" Tony hadn't come to bed last night, but he'd assured Bruce he'd a least nap in the available cot in his lab.
"Uuhhhm, maybe. I think. Certain hours I can't really remember, so I assume I slept then."
"Jarvis, has Tony slept at all?" Bruce asked ceiling.
"No, sir, he has not. He has, however, consumed several energy drinks, and pots of coffee."
Bruce sighed and stood. "Come on Tony, you need a shower, and a nap. Talk to you later Clint." The archer waved aimlessly, soothing a briefly disturbed Coulson before unpausing his game.
"I don't want to nap," Tony complained as Bruce steered him inside their bedroom and closed the door. "I'm in the middle of a massive brain storm. And sleeping is bad."
Bruce patiently ignored him. "I'll let you shower with me," he offered.
"Tease," Tony grumbled. "Getting me all worked up, then leaving me alone to sleep by myself."
"Unlike some people I actually got a decent nights sleep, so I don't need a nap. And if you wanted to sleep with me you could have come to bed last night."
"Spiteful."
"Maybe a little. Come on, take your clothes off and get in the water."
Tony continued to mumble things about teasing spiteful boyfriends, but did as he was told, stepping into the waterfall shower. Bruce just took off his gym clothes and tossed them in the hamper, following him into the tiled room. "How do you get this covered in grease?" he wondered out loud, trying to run his fingers through tangled hair and failing.
"I dunno," Tony said, grabbing onto Bruce's waist and nuzzling his shoulder, kissing the smooth skin. "Has something to do with the creative process."
The physicist just sighed and grabbed a palm full of shampoo from the automatic dispenser. "I'm surprised you don't have dread locks," he said, working his hair into a lather. He carefully undid as many tangles he could find, earning small pleased noises as Tony relaxed against him. "Lean back," Bruce instructed.
"No, comfortable," he resisted, wrapping his arms tighter and pressing closer, making it very obvious how happy he was to be there.
"You'll get shampoo in your eyes."
"Fine," he huffed, separating and quickly rinsing the suds out. "There, now come here."
They finished showering, Tony nearly falling asleep towards the end, and Bruce aimed the exhausted billionaire at their bed. "Stay with me," Tony asked once he was comfortably beneath the covers.
Bruce smiled. "I think I can do that. But you actually have to sleep," he said, sliding under the blanket next to his mostly naked boyfriend. He was already falling asleep and just wrapped an arm around Bruce's stomach in agreement.
They were woken later that day by Steve knocking on their door. "Fury called a meeting," he said when a disgruntled Stark answered the door. "Get dressed, we're waiting."
Twenty minutes later they were all congregated down on the tenth floor, in what had become the central conference room of Shield's ground division. And Thor was there.
They'd been sitting around the table in silence, waiting for Fury to just show up already, Tony with his hands clasped around a mug of steaming black liquid, Clint looking tense and impatient. He didn't like being away from Phil for too long, even though Jarvis was set to alert them if he had any needs while they were away. Natasha, Bruce, and Steve were all relatively patient though.
Then Thor burst into the room in his normal loud fashion, followed by Fury. Neither of them looked pleased.
"Something has come up," Fury said, skipping any preamble. Then he relinquished the floor to the god.
"My father has decided to banish Loki as punishment for his crimes," Thor said solemnly. "He will be stripped of his abilities and sent to reside on Midgard indefinitely, until he has learned the gravity of his actions."
Fury continued before the eruption could begin. "Obviously we can't allow a war criminal to run loose, no matter how devoid of power he may be. Loki will be kept in Shield's care, until such a time he's deemed fit for society."
Hawkeye spoke first. "Will he be mortal?"
Fury looked to Thor, who nodded. "My father felt it apt that he suffer the same trials of mortality as the humans he would subjugate."
Fury had his eye narrowed at Clint. "I hope you're not planning anything, Agent Barton," he said, tone menacing.
He just looked up at the director, expression unreadable. "No plans, sir."
"Good. Because I'd hate to think of the turmoil it would cause if a prince of Asgard were to come to harm while in Shield's hands." He glared around the group. "That goes for all of you."
"Ex-prince," Tony quipped. "I mean, I'm just assuming he's not really royalty any more."
"He is still my brother, and I will not have him harmed," the true prince said darkly.
Steve, ever their practical leader, spoke up. "When will he be here?"
Still standing with his arms crossed at the head of the table, Thor lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "As soon as preparations here are complete."
"The end of the week," Fury answered. "We'll have everything ready and meet you in New Mexico with a prisoner transport on Friday."
"What exactly needs to be done?" Tony asked. "I mean, without his powers, he's about as dangerous as a speak and spell."
"Anyone who's attempted world domination will be treated as a top threat, Stark. And Loki is still a master manipulator. We need to be cautious with him." No one missed the way his eye flicked to Bruce, however briefly it lingered.
"Now that's just not fair," Tony snapped. "That staff was messing with all of us. Somehow I doubt his powers of manipulation are really that good without it."
"Loki was born with a silver tongue," Thor said ominously. "Even as children he bent others to his will. The staff does not seed discord, it can only make the effects stronger." He took a breath then, melancholy pulling at every line of his form while he looked around at them. "But I feel I should warn you that my brother will likely not be himself for some time. His banishment is only a part of his retribution, for his actions on your world. But the All Father feels disgraced and has chosen to punish Loki for his crimes on Asgard. The means can only be described as torture, and while he has come out physically unscathed, I fear his mind is unbalanced. He is unpredictable, and must be treated with the utmost caution and care."
"Your dad drove him insane?" Tony frowned. "That's kind of harsh."
Clint scoffed. "Not harsh enough," he growled, refraining from saying exactly what he thought should have been done.
"I don't think insane is the correct word," Thor said slowly. "Anxious I think would be more fitting. With time he will regain his old behavior, but its unclear how soon, or by how much."
"Wouldn't him regaining his old behavior sort of be a bad thing? I mean, old Loki behavior made him try to enslave the human race."
"Shut up Stark," Fury snapped. "We'll make sure to keep this in mind Thor, thanks for the heads up." Then he looked around at the group. "You're all free to go, I'll let you know what your assignments are when I've thought of them, if anything."
"I'm afraid I must return to Asgard immediately," Thor said when they'd all shuffled out of the conference room.
"Well we've got a lot to tell you when you get back, buddy," Tony said, smacking him on the back on the way past. "We'll throw a party."
Thor nodded. "I'll bring the mead," he said, and none of them were sure if he was joking or not.
The five of them rode up in the private elevator, leaving Thor to take one of Shield's to ground level so he could fly away, and gathered in the communal living room. Clint went to his room and found Phil sitting up in bed reading through a stack of papers. "That's not work related is it?" Clint asked.
He smiled a little and set the papers on the nightstand, swinging his legs over and putting his feet on the floor. "It might look that way," he replied, smiling faintly.
He tisked a little, but held out his hand. "Come on, we've got some news," he said, pulling him to his feet.
Bruce put a casserole in the oven that he'd thrown together earlier and the six of them settled around the large glass dining table. Clint was clearly on edge, and none of them were sure how to broach the subject.
Finally Coulson just shook his head and gave that enigmatic smile. "This is about Loki, right?" They all blinked at him owlishly. "The director let me know before he called you down."
Tony gave an 'it figures' eye roll, but Steve spoke before he could get off his sarcastic remark. "You're okay with it? With Loki being in the tower?"
"He'll be under constant watch. And to be honest I didn't really take this," he gestured at his chest,"personally. I'm going to kick his ass when I'm able to. But in the mean time yes, I'm okay with it. I'd rather have him where he can be monitored." While speaking he had taken Clint's hand and was drawing small circles on the back with his thumb, and he glanced down at it with a smile. "I do appreciate everyones concern, but it is unwarranted."
"I still want to put an arrow through his eye," Clint grumbled. Natasha and Tony were both inclined to agree. Even Bruce had to agree a little, even though he kept it to himself. He hadn't been entirely pleased when he'd heard that Tony had been thrown out a window.
Phil managed to be the voice of reason. "We'll have plenty of time to get revenge with him indefinitely banished here," he said, earning a pleased smirk from Clint.
"As long as he doesn't die," Steve corrected.
There were hums, and eye rolls, but everyone consented, mostly. "We'll see," Clint grumbled.
Author's Note: :3 I have no idea what I'm doing.
