I am so sorry for the long delay! I feel awful and I hope this chapter will make up for it!
Chapter 14
Thor stood on the other side of the door, watching his younger brother cry through the one way glass on the wall. He ached to go to Loki, wrap his arms around him and take away his immense pain. His arms flexed in response to his wants and Thor shifted his feet. He didn't understand why Loki as on doing this, creating the beasts. Surely he knows what it did to Thor last time, having to watch as Loki groveled on his knees before their father. Thor watched as Loki lifted his head from the wolf-pups main and they yipped back and forth. He wished Loki wouldn't do this, get so attached to it. It will make Thor's job that much harder.
The pup whimpered, raising his long snout to Loki's chin and licked from the base of his throat to Loki's nose. A watery smile flashed across Loki's face and he ran his hands through its hair between its ears. Thor's lips tightened and he turned, leaving to go back downstairs.
The elevator doors opened and Thor stepped out into the hospital wing, where the agents in charge of the tests were eating and chatting to themselves. Unconsciously, he headed straight for Mjolnir, hand open and outstretched. He seemed to realize what he was doing as he stood over his hammer and he clenched his hand before folding his arms across his chest.
With a quick scan of the room, he saw a small group of agents watching him, mouth half full. He shifted his stance and raised his head, eyeing the small group, daring them to say something. Wisely, they remained silent.
"Where is Doctor Banner?" He finally asked, voice echoing with authority, sounding every bit the Asgardian prince he was.
"Kitchen," one responded after a moment's pause. Thor nodded in thanks and walked out. Once alone in the hall, his face crumpled. The combination of loosing Mjolnir and Loki weighted heavily on his chest. In a moment of weakness he looked up to the ceiling, wondering if Heimdall was watching him.
"What did I do?" he murmured, imagining he could see up and past the ceiling, past the blue sky of Midgard, through the Void and up to Heimdall's post. "Send me guidance."
"How may I be of assistance, sir?" JARVIS asked sounding slightly confused but eager to help. Thor jumped as the voice echoed down from the ceiling and he forced a smile onto his face.
"Ah, good JARVIS. I had forgotten of your continual watch. I was merely talking to-" Thor paused and gazed at the ceiling before continuing with an almost hesitant fashion. "Myself. Pay me no heed."
"Of course, sir. My mistake," JARVIS replied smoothly before falling silent. Thor stood in the hall for another moment before starting toward the second door, leading into the kitchen. He rounded the corner and saw Tony and Bruce sitting at the table with Pepper standing behind them. Tony's hand was resting on Bruce's and Pepper had one hand on Bruce's shoulder. Thor was hesitant to continue into the room, unwilling to interrupt the private moment, but Tony glanced up and met Thor's gaze. A grin wormed its way on Tony's face and he looked much like the business man that covered magazines. He withdrew his hand and rose from his seat, taking his plate and setting it on the counter by the stove.
"Hungry?" He asked, turning and leaning his hip against the counter. Pepper and Bruce both turned to look at him. Pepper smiled warmly at him and Bruce tried for a smile but something was upsetting the scientist and it came out looking more like a grimace.
"Thor," Pepper greeted happily and he nodded in her direction.
"Lady Pepper," he returned, voice low and heavy. Then he turned to Tony, "I am in no need of substances at this time. However, I would like to know if Doctor Banner is ready to resume testing?"
Tony's eyes flickered to Bruce and Bruce closed his eyes for a brief moment and took a deep breath before standing. Pepper looked over to Tony then to Bruce, who was walking toward Thor.
"Sure, sooner we find out what happened, the better," Bruce said with a soft smile. Pepper opened her mouth as if to protest- after all, what more could they possibly have to test with?- but Tony put a restricting hand on her arm. She bit her bottom lip, worrying it between her teeth and Tony's thumb began soothing circles on her arm. Bruce looked over his shoulder at them.
"You coming?" He asked, tone hesitant. What if they get in there and he's caged again? What if they decide that a monster with the most powerful hammer in the entire universe is too big of a liability and they take him away?
Bruce swallowed heavily as his heart pounded against his ribs. He was over thinking. He is an ally of S.H.I.E.L.D. He's done nothing to prove he needs to be caged. The other guy has been good; he has been good. He'll be fine. Of course he will be; blush covered his face as he recognized how childish he was acting.
"Yeah, right behind you," Tony responded and dropped Pepper's hand. Tony and Pepper shared a look that Bruce didn't understand before they walked out, leaving Pepper to stare after them.
Pepper watched the three men leave, biting her lip as she did so. Tony had told her about some of the things in Bruce's file and she felt and uncontrollable maternal pull toward him, despite knowing him for less than a year. There was so much sadness in his life; she only hoped that she and Tony, if not the rest of the Avengers, could help counteract it in his future.
She walked back to the table and lifted the files she'd brought in for Tony and tucked them against her chest. With one hand she touched her hair, making sure everything was in place before starting toward the door.
A pair of boots were standing in the doorway and Pepper jumped, hand going to the small bag on her hip where Tony insisted she carry pepper spray, but as she looked up a smile fell on her lips.
"Natasha," she said pleasantly. Her hand dropped to her side and Natasha's eyes caught the motion, calculating how she could stop the potential threat and what she could stop her with, before she blinked and stopped that train of thought. Natasha mimicked Pepper's smile and stepped into the room.
"Sorry I startled you."
"Oh, it's fine," Pepper chuckled. "Living with Tony has just made me paranoid." Natasha raised her eyebrow in sympathy, walking over to the cabinets, pulling out two plates and grabbing the loaf of bread. She pulled out enough slices for two sandwiches and went to the refrigerator, pulling out some sandwich meat and laying it on the bread.
"How's Clint?" Pepper asked softly, watching Natasha make the food expertly. Natasha glanced up.
"He'll be okay," she answered shortly and Pepper took a small breath before stepping closer to Natasha.
"How's he doing now?" Natasha hesitated. It wasn't her place to tell anyone how poorly Clint was coping.
"Is there anything I can do for either of you?" Pepper continued, seeing Natasha's pause.
"No, I think he'll be better once the hearing aid comes in. Fury said it'd be here later this evening. S.H.I.E.L.D. Express," Natasha said with a smirk. "Thank you though. It-" Natasha pause sharply and looked back down at the sandwiches. Pepper looked on in confusion, wanting to comfort Natasha but unsure of how.
"It means a lot to us, having people who care." Natasha stated. Pepper's face fell in sadness and she struggled to wipe it off her face when Natasha glanced up.
"You can always count on us to care after you two." Pepper replied softly. She hesitated, longing to physically try to comfort her but knowing it'd be unwelcome, so she turned and walked out of the room.
Natasha watched Pepper leave before a smile crossed her face. She really appreciated the other woman. Pepper seemed to understand, almost better than the others did, the importance of personal space and she never pushed for information, never tried to force her into a different mold than what fits. Not that Pepper would be able to, of course, but it's the point. It's the fact that she tried to hide her sadness, her pity, from Natasha. The fact that she wanted to wrap Natasha into a hug, but didn't. The fact that she tries to trust them, has given them a chance, means more than Natasha was willing to admit.
She finished the lunches and headed back upstairs to Clint's room. She nudged the door open with her foot and flickered the light switch, warning Clint to her arrival. She'd hate to have the plates drop and waste two decent sandwiches.
Clint was sitting on the dark leather couch staring out the window. He glanced in her direction before letting his eyes lazily focus back on the window.
Natasha walked forward and stopped in front of him. He looked up to her face and she raised her eyebrows, lifting the plates before thrusting one in his direction. He blinked then reached for it and sat it on the inn-table beside him. Natasha gritted her teeth and grabbed the plate and shoved it on his lap.
Eat.
Clint's mouth dropped into a frown and he shook his head.
"Not hungry!" He announced loudly. Natasha didn't bat an eye. For all she showed, he could have whispered the phrase and that's what made her a good spy; a good partner.
Natasha shifted her weight, cocking her hip out, and blinked.
Oh really? Her body asked for her. Clint nodded sharply, glaring at her, daring her to contradict him. She didn't need too. His stomach grumbled and Natasha let a triumphant smirk shine on her lips.
"Stop being stubborn," she said sharply. "Eat."
He glared at her before grudgingly taking a bite. Her smile softened and she sat next to him, pulling her legs up and tucking them underneath her. She took a bite out of her sandwich and looked out the window, watching him out of the corner of her eye.
His face was sallow, but still the same handsome face she was so familiar with. As much as she hated to think it, she owed Loki a debt. She shifted and nudged his leg with her foot. He looked over at her and her brows furrowed.
Are you okay?
It was a stupid question. Of course he wasn't and she felt stupid by asking. Clint's eyes searched her face and he shrugged, raising the sandwich to his mouth and taking another bite. Natasha watched him a moment longer before looking away. She knew she shouldn't feel pity for him, but he wasn't making it easy to not feel sorry for him. Losing his hearing, a valuable sense to an assassin, and then to find out his brother was alive and the cause of his hearing lose, well that was enough to throw anyone through a loop.
Natasha remembered listening to Clint talk about Barney. It was only ever a stray sentence or two but Natasha remembered it all. They'd run away together, joined the circus and became hot-shots under the big top. Clint would smile in fond memory as he recalled a joke his older brother had told him or, when he was feeling really sentimental, he's eat Barney's favorite food as a meager tribute to the boy who raised him.
Natasha was with him when he found out he went missing. She hadn't been his partner for very long but she was observant enough to notice something was wrong. She tried not to press him, but when he nearly got himself shot off a roof, she ordered him to focus and he'd broken down. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. Assassins didn't just cry. She'd learnt that lesson since she was a child, but here was a grown man, silently weeping into his hand. She squatted next to his position on the floor and tried to avoid looking at him.
When he managed to pull himself together, he mumbled an apology.
"It's, uh, fine?" She responded unsteadily. It was then that he told her about Barney's disappearance, about how positive Clint was that his older brother was dead.
And now, all these years later, the man had stood before him, shot at him even, but that didn't seem to matter to Clint. Natasha thought back to when Loki was in New York the first time and thought she could understand the sentiment.
Clint sat his plate down on the table and the movement drew Natasha out of her thoughts. She hurriedly finished the rest of her own sandwich and reached for Clint's plate.
"I'll be back," she said but her voice still wasn't loud enough and Clint's eyes darted to her lips to read what she was saying. He nodded once he recognized her words and she headed back down to the communal kitchen.
No one was in there this time and she sat the dishes in the sink. She wet her hands under the cool tap water and rinsed off the plates. She'd just turned off the sink when she heard a loud crash followed by the sound of breaking glass. She froze, nerves tingling and hearing sharp, before grabbing the hand towel hanging on the oven door and making her way toward the crash.
As she walked she realized how restricting her jeans were and she wished she'd kept her uniform on. She crept down the hall and her hand reached to her hip and pulled out the gun holstered there. With careful, deliberate movements, she walked toward the hospital wing, where she could hear the sound of raised voices.
She readjusted her grip before turning the corner and holding her gun firm. Thor and Bruce seemed to be arguing, Tony's voice joining in the fray of nonsense when Thor took a breath. She quickly re-holstered her gun and watched the scene with unease. Something wasn't right and she couldn't put her finger on it- No, there! Bruce was holding Mjolnir.
Bruce was holding Mjolnir? What on earth had she missed in the last 24 hours?
A breeze filtered through the room and she looked behind Thor where sure enough there was a broken window.
"I don't even want it!" Bruce growled and Natasha's attention was snapped back to the group. "Just take it back!"
Bruce tossed the hammer to Thor, who jumped out of the way, missing it by a hair.
"It does not work that way and take care of how you treat her!"
Bruce was breathing heavily and it was clear the junior agents had no idea how to take control of the situation, so Natasha stepped farther into the room.
"Boys!" She said sharply and their attention was immediately drawn to her. "Enough!"
Tony opened his mouth but Natasha shot him a glare. "Not another word. All of you can clean this glass up and behave like adults."
"But it was Thor-"
"Like adults!" Natasha was pleased to see that they at least had the decency to look abashed. She nodded to the other agents and turned to walk back to the elevator. She heard Tony grumbling behind her and Bruce ask an agent where a broom would be and as the elevator door closed, she could help but think of how well she controlled her boys.
So, that was my attempt at humor, pardon it if it's bad. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed and read and favorited this story!