AN: Hello all! Again, sorry for the wait! This fic is wrapping up soon. If you have any ideas or situations you want me to incorporate, feel free to leave a comment and I'll see what I can do! Thank you all for reading and showing me you love this fic by favoriting/following/commenting. ~Heather
Thor, Steve, and Natasha trudged onto the thankfully unharmed fighter jet that they had flown in earlier. After locking the prisoner in a handy brig of sorts (sound proof, thankfully, since the alien wouldn't shut up), Natasha fastened herself into the pilot's seat and took off to pick up Clint. When they arrived, they again lowered a rope, which Clint climbed up with impressive ease.
As soon as the hatch door closed, Clint turned to the others.
"Did that seem weird to anybody else?"
"To what are you referring, son of Barton?" Thor said.
Natasha continued flying quietly. She rarely spoke unless it was important, otherwise she just lied in wait, listening.
Steve, who had just sat down in one of the seats, raised his head to look questioningly at Clint.
"Oh come on, I can't have been the only one to notice. What was up with the Hulk and Tony?" Clint loved figuring out other people's motives and habits, a hobby he picked up after spending so much time up in the nest.
Steve's look went from questioning to understanding. "Yeah, what was that about? The Hulk was shadowing Stark like an overprotective mother!"
"He was basically coddling him!" replied Clint animatedly, excited that somebody shared his observation.
"Indeed, I do recall there being a certain hesitancy in the Hulk to leave the man of Iron's side." Thor said.
In the cockpit out of sight from the others, Natasha smiled to herself. You could call it a woman's intuition, but she knew it was just her skills at reading people. Let the boys see if they could figure it out on their own, she thought.
"Does Dr. Banner know something we don't know about Stark's suit? Is there some kind of vulnerability?" Steve said.
"This is assuming the beast and son of Banner communicate. Perhaps it was merely coincidence?"
"No, I saw it all. The Hulk made his way straight to Tony and kept him within arm's reach at all times. Then he grabbed Tony and brought him forcefully to Steve's aid. No way in hell that's a coincidence," Clint said.
"Do you think it was just something specific to the Hulk? Maybe he likes fighting next to the guy who creates large explosions. Did Dr. Banner seem different as well?" Steve asked, genuinely curious at the Hulk's odd behavior.
"You did notice he jumped out of the fucking plane, right?" Clint said.
"Yes, that was rather alarming," Steve replied.
"The man of rage must have been eager to join the battle. I know I also desired greatly to join the fray, but I did not think it honorable to leave my friends!"
"I think there was more to it than that. He looked a little green around the edges. Did everyone hear what he said before he jumped?" Clint said.
Steve shook his head while Thor boomed out a "No, I did not."
"He said, 'I swear to God, Tony'. He sounded angry and scared." Clint thought for a moment and then his mouth twitched into a mischievous smile.
"Do you think…do you think they're together?" Clint said. Natasha smiled this time, proud of her partner for not being as dense as the rest of them. But then again, Clint did spend a great deal of time with her, even more so lately.
"You mean…fondue?" Steve asked.
Everyone turned to give Steve a strange look, even Natasha, who frankly didn't need to pay much attention to flying as she was a natural pilot. Steve merely shrugged. One day he'd learn the new lingo.
"They would be an excellent choice for each other," Thor beamed. He barely even gave it a thought. Lovers, mates, weddings, scandals, heterosexuality, homosexuality, bestiality, shape-shifting – it was all commonplace on Asgard. They are gods, you know. So naturally, his thoughts went straight to how they would react in his realm. "If it is true, we should throw a feast in celebration! Even so, we should throw a feast, for we prevailed in battle."
"Yes, food would be nice right about now," Steve said. His metabolism was four times faster than the average human, so food was one of the other predominant thoughts in his mind. For the matter at hand, he was surprised that Bruce and Tony were together, but only because he had not expected it. While bisexuality and homosexuality were not widely accepted in his time, he had always believed in equality for all. Steve didn't like bullies. People who discriminate based on sexual orientation are exactly that. Bullies.
Clint didn't pay any attention to sexual orientation either. He was in the circus and had been a SHIELD agent for years – he's seen everything. Everything. Nothing could faze Clint. Now that he thought about it, Clint realized he should've known all along that Bruce and Tony had something building between them. Though recently, Clint had been distracted. Ever since he was compromised, a certain breathtakingly gorgeous and deadly assassin had occupied his mind and time.
As if sensing his line of thought, Natasha turned her head to look at him. The expression on her face didn't change, but her eyes flashed at him in a way that only he could read. Oh boy, was he looking forward to later tonight! Unable to resist, Clint winked at her. In response, she raised her eyebrow just the slightest amount, letting him know he would be punished for that wink. Please punish me with the thigh choke, Clint thought. He always had admired that move far more than was healthy.
Natasha also couldn't be fazed by two seemingly heterosexual males entering into a sexual relationship with each other. She had been expecting their relationship to progress for quite some time. Though Natasha would never admit it, she had been rooting for them. It helped that Stark was much more bearable around the calm and collected doctor. Bruce could never bore Tony, especially since he had the perfect combination of genius science nerd and the capability to transform into pure rage and strength. Natasha had also never seen Bruce as happy as he was when Tony was around. The billionaire was just the right mix of flippancy, genius, humor, and absolute trust that Bruce so greatly needed. Tony and Bruce were much better men than other people believed. And even more importantly, they were much better men than they thought themselves to be.
As to the imprisoned alien's opinion on the matter, he couldn't hear a damn thing, so he just glared.
Waking came slowly to Bruce. The first thing he noticed in his haze was that he wasn't sprawled on top of rubble. He felt himself in a reclining position against a warm surface. A rather soft surface, save for the slight firmness he felt in between his shoulder blades. Bruce was very comfortable, which was a feeling he had never experienced after a transformation.
The second thing he noticed was he wasn't being blinded by red light streaming through his eyelids. Was it nighttime already? Or maybe he was inside or in the shade?
Finally, he gained enough energy to open his eyes. Raising his head slightly, Bruce saw a strong arm wrapped around his naked torso and one leg on either side of his body.
"Hey there," someone said behind Bruce. He could feel the rumble of the familiar voice and the rise and fall of the person's breathing.
"Tony?" Bruce asked, hoping it was Tony, not only because he had been lying unconscious on the person behind him, but also because it meant Tony survived the attack.
"Who else?" Tony said into Bruce's hair, before pressing a soft kiss to the man's head.
Bruce's face broke into a bright but exhausted smile which lit up his whole face. "Thank God," he breathed in relief.
Tony chuckled and the vibrations transferred into Bruce, making him relax a bit more into Tony's chest. "I told you I'd be fine. You have no faith in me," Tony said teasingly in mock outrage.
"Mmm," Bruce hummed as a vague response. Lifting his left arm, he placed his hand on Tony's left arm, which was still wrapped around him. "Well, I'm glad you're okay," he said as he absentmindedly rubbed his thumb along Tony's skin.
This time Tony bent down to kiss Bruce's neck, behind his right ear. "How are you feeling?" Tony asked against his neck.
"Surprisingly comfortable. I have you to thank for that it seems." Bruce couldn't stop smiling. Damn you, Tony! He was turning into a teenage girl. As Tony kissed his neck again, Bruce sighed internally. Oh well, I give up. Teenage girl it is, if this is what I get in return!
"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to wake up in a pile of rubble with the sun glaring down on me. Especially when feeling like I was hung-over. Been there, done that."
"You've woken up in rubble, hung-over?" Bruce asked, disbelievingly.
"Uh, former playboy, recovering alcoholic here. So, yeah," Tony said in his usual cocky manner. After a moment's pause, he continued softly . "Not one of my proudest moments."
"Former and recovering have never been such beautiful words to me before," Bruce teased gently, but with an edge of warmth that betrayed the sincerity of the statement.
"And I have you to thank for that," Tony said, being serious for a brief moment. Then, in true Tony style: "Now, let's find you a shirt. If you are shirtless for one more minute, I will ravage you, right here, right now. As much as I would like to do that, I'm sure you would disapprove."
Bruce sat up and turned his head to see Tony grinning at him, the skin around his eyes crinkling. "Yeah, exhibitionism isn't really my thing, so no getting any ideas!" Bruce smiled at Tony's sudden pleading puppy dog look before continuing. "So what's the plan? Helicarrier?"
"I contacted Fury when you de-Hulked. There should be a plane here shortly to take us to the helicarrier. You captured us an alien."
"The Hulk did?"
"You both did. You guys are a team! One in the same! Two peas in a pod! Two sides of the same coin! Thelma and Louise! Starsky and H-"
"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Help me up before I Hulk out again from annoyance," Bruce interrupted.
Tony stood up and reached his left hand down to pull Bruce up. He hadn't seen it before, but Tony was still wearing his gauntlet on his right arm.
Tony saw Bruce looking. "For protection. There were a few stragglers we didn't catch. I could've sworn we got everyone." He gestured to the three alien bodies Bruce hadn't observed before.
"Loki?" Bruce asked. He squeezed Tony's hand in unspoken thanks for protecting him in his vulnerable state, before letting go.
Tony shrugged. "I've got some ideas, but I'll wait until we are all together." Bruce nodded, thinking on the matter as well.
They waited in silence until about a minute later, the SHIELD jet arrived to take them to the helicarrier. Tony picked up the red and gold case next to him and they boarded the plane.
AN: Please review and leave any ideas you may have! I love you all :)