So, I really need to work on stuff other than this one fic, but this seems to be where my muse is stuck. For those waiting on the other fics, I haven't forgotten you, I promise!
Anyways, I don't own these wonderful characters. Warnings for language and for Clint being a troll.
For Science!
Fuming, Bruce stormed down the hall. It was one thing for them to go at it face-to-face, but to say something like that about Tony behind his back was another thing all together. Bruce realized how defensive he was being, but after seeing Tony so vulnerable the night before, he just couldn't help it. With team mates, friends like that it was no wonder Stark kept it all in, seeking solace at the bottom of a bottle rather than from another person.
Although anger was the key to keeping control of the big guy, the fire burning behind his eyes warned just how dangerously close Banner was to over doing it. Tony had plenty to keep him distracted, so Bruce decided to take an hour or two on the mat. Instead of taking the elevator back up to his lab, he rode down to the gym that had been designated for the yoga sessions he'd managed to get half of the team doing regularly. Stark had even sound proofed the room and cut it off from the rest of the tech that made up the tower's lifeblood. An hour of quiet yoga and he'd have it back under control.
He slammed the panel and the door whooshed open causing someone scrambled inside. Natasha had a hand on her gun and was ready to strike. Bruce startled enough to push down some of the anger fighting to get out and laughed a little. "Yoga only works if you relax Tasha."
She let out a breath and replied, "Sorry, Bruce. I'm on edge today." Although she eased somewhat, taking a more casual stance and sliding the gun back into the its nearly invisible holster, Romanov's vigilant green eyes still scanned the room with a sense of alarm. It reminded Bruce of that day so long ago on the helicarrier. Had it really been that long since she'd looked at him with genuine fear?
"You and me both," he managed. As casually as he could, Bruce walked into the room and laid out his mat. "Did your meeting with Fury go that bad?" he asked, realizing after he spoke that it probably wasn't the best approach.
Natasha remained tense and Bruce thought he heard her breath hitch before she responded in the cold tone that she always employed when speaking of Shield business, "No, that was standard procedure, as expected."
The doctor had doubted that the meeting was significant when Tony suggested it anyways, but he also didn't know that both Clint and Natasha were upset. As far as he knew, she had no reason to suspect anything about himself and Tony. Clint wouldn't have said anything with their relationship being on the rocks, right?
When she continued speaking, her tone softened. "Just ran into Clint earlier." She glanced his way, questioningly, but her lips remained pursed.
A wry grin crossed his face and Bruce replied, "Really you and me both. He's in rare form today, huh?"
She nodded slowly and shifted on her mat, gracefully taking a perfect natarajasana, her left foot, high above her head. Bruce envied her flexibility momentarily before returning his focus on his breathing.
Several minutes passed before either spoke again. "Don't be too angry with him. I put him in a bad mood." Natasha broke the silence.
Taking another deep breath, Bruce responded, "Bad mood doesn't excuse being an ass." His temper won out against his better judgment. He motions around him and asks, "I mean, who accepts all this, all the equipment and training space and tech, this home for our team and then turns around and trash talks the man who eagerly provided all of it?"
Bruce only half noticed Natasha gliding out of the natarajasana as he continued ranting, growing angrier with each word, "Tony would give us anything we wanted. He's always going over the top for the team, even when it means his company suffers and he gets crap from the board. Not to mention he's saved all our lives on the battlefield. Shit! There's no excuse to say he deserves the only serious girlfriend he's ever had cheating on him with one of his best friends and-" A deep throaty growl cut off that line of thought, his vision going green around the edges.
It was a rare day that Stark remembered to eat while engaged in the lab or garage. However, having skipped breakfast all together and Bruce -who made a habit of dragging him out of the lab for lunch and dinner- still gone, Tony's stomach made loud and uncomfortable demands. He checked the Shield bugs quickly, still finding nothing more than a note that Romanov had been there, and strut out of the lab, only to collide face first with Barton.
"Hey, Legolas, watch where you're going," Tony chided, barely regaining his footing.
Clint ignored the jab and asked, a touch of panic in his voice, "Hey, have you seen Banner? Did he come back up here?"
"Bruce?" As if that panic were contagious, Tony's whole body tensed. "No, what happened?"
"I don't know, man. We were talking, just shooting breeze and outta nowhere, he flipped the fuck out!" Barton insisted, defensively.
"What did you do?" The amount of rage that came out with that demand surprised Tony. He'd always been defensive of people who were important to him but this was sudden, unexpected and overwhelming.
"Me?" Clint scoffed. "I didn't do shit! All I said was he needed to calm down before her turned into that thing."
Tony wasn't certain that Clint had actually emphasized thing, but now Clint was clutching a bloodied nose. Shaking his balled up fist, Stark pushed past Barton and rushed down the hall. As soon as his private elevator door whooshed close, he demanded in a dark voice, "Jarvis, where is Bruce?"
"You're right. You're right," she insisted, trying to hide the panic in her voice. She was going to personally wring Clint's neck when she got out of here. What the hell had he been thinking?
Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep breath while Natasha continued. "He gets really stupid over me but I promise, he already regrets even thinking it, much less saying it." Although her hand was wrapped around the injector in her pocket, Natasha hoped it wouldn't come to that. She stepped a little closer and spoke as calmly as she could, "We all know the team wouldn't have lasted without Stark, if we could have even worked together in the first place.
"Fury didn't want to bring him in, you know? He was going to keep Stark as a consultant on the project but I told him that was a mistake, that the Avengers needed Tony as much as we needed Iron Man." She was bluffing but knew it was convincing. Everyone, Tony included, believed Fury barely tolerated the billionaire, so it made an easy lie. "Clint knows that. He always throws fits like this though. If you only heard some of the awful things he's said to my face when he was mad." She didn't have to force the dry laugh that escaped her throat. That last part had been true.
Her next words were cut off as the door slide open and Tony flew in, battle ready sans the suit. "Bruce?" he demanded. "Are you okay?" His dark brown eyes locked onto her, anger and fear radiating off his entire body.
Bruce let out a heavy sigh catching Natasha's attention. His whole body had relaxed again, her words, hopefully having reached him. "I'm fine, Tony. Just needed to not think for a little while." He looked up with that humoring smile and eyes devoid of green. "I know you can work three days straight in that lab without coming up for air, but the rest of us need a break every now and then."
"Three? I can do five straight on a good week." Tony loosened up but his gaze remained skeptical when he shrugged. "Yeah, yeah, the rest of the world doesn't run on batteries." He smiled wryly and reached out to Bruce. "Come on, break's over. I need your input on the next part."
Although Natasha certain Tony was still upset under the mask, Bruce had genuinely calmed down and that was enough for Natasha to regain her composure. She put on a smile and spoke, "It was a good session Bruce, but I need to get back to work anyway."
A quiet nod and a knowing look were the only response Natasha got, but she took that and left the room for the first time since her run in with Clint. He'd be able to find her now, which was exactly what she wanted.
