Her mind is a horrible, buzzing mix of exhaustion and worry, and her words begin to mingle between Russian and English, so it is at this point Natasha excuses herself from dinner with her teammates and back to her apartment.
She knows she shouldn't, but she wants to be alone. It crosses her mind she should just push through, because they don't eat together like this often and the other Avengers are her family, but she can't make herself stay with them. The idol conversations just add to the noise in her mind. They all mean well, trying to joke with her and distract her, but it isn't helping in they way she needs.
She sits down on the floor at the foot of her bed, back against the foot-board and she stares ahead at the dresser. There is laundry piled up, needing to be sorted and put away- most of it Bruce's. Without giving it much thought, she stands with a sigh and starts to fold his clothes. She tries to allow her mind to shut down, to pretend that he's down in his lab at work, developing a medication or machine to help save the world; that he isn't stolen and hurt.
Normally, when they are both home, Natasha folds and Bruce puts away, for both of their clothes. It is a compromise they came to after a playful argument about her lack of organization. Bruce taught her space saving folding techniques and he stored them away neatly. This time, Natasha was going to try and put them away the way she always saw Bruce do. Once she has two solid stacks of his shirts, she opens the top drawer on his side.
In the back corner of the drawer is a crumpled up handkerchief. It looks extremely out of place among the other, neatly folded items, and the spy in her takes over. She reaches over into the laundry basket and takes out a sock, putting it over her hand like a makeshift glove. She then carefully cups the item wrapped in the handkerchief and places it on top of the dresser.
Natasha considers the weight of the item she's just moved, and she tilts her head as she thinks, her red hair spilling into her face. She pushes them away in frustration and using her sock-gloved hand she gently unfolds the item. Inside is a small, black velvet box. A small, black velvet jewelry box.
At this realization, she throws caution to the wind- along with the sock.
Her hands shake as she opens the box, knowing she shouldn't be going through Bruce's things at a time like this, and that this was hidden for a reason.
The box opens with a click, and Natasha gasps.
The ring inside is breathtaking, to say the least. It isn't traditional, per say, but it looks as if it were designed specifically for her. A fairly large ruby, cut into a tear drop shape, surrounded by diamonds sparkles in the light, perfectly accented by the white gold band it sits on. Before she can stop herself, Natasha has it out of the box and on her left ring finger.
It fits like a dream, and a tear slides down Natasha's face as a smile breaks through.
Everything about Bruce is like a dream to her.
He's soft and calculating, always doing his best to avoid the fight and heal others. When he does have to resort to calling on the Hulk, he always makes sure to stay the longest and help with clean up to atone for the damage he may do. He's gentle and sincere in everything he does, especially with her. She'd never known love before, and even when she had allowed herself to imagine someone loving a killer like her- it was never someone as purely good like Bruce Banner. He smile fades and more tears push through to thick, choking sobs. She wipes her face, places the ring back in its box, re-wraps the box the way it had been, and puts it back in the corner.
The rest of the laundry remains where it was and she falls face first onto the bed, where she cries herself to sleep.
Down at the other end of the hall, Steve Rogers and Tony Stark are the last two still in the commons area.
Steve sits quietly on the couch while Tony does something on his tablet, he assumes looking through tracking data from the video they received on Bruce. After nearly a half hour of silence between the two men, Steve clears his throat.
"Tony." He says in a quiet, firm voice.
"Yeah Cap?" Tony returns without looking up.
"What are we going to do about Romanoff?" He asks, arms crossed over his chest.
"What do you mean?" Tony asks, glancing over.
"She's not herself." Steve replies. This makes Tony snort.
"No, no she's not. She's hurting, man. Bruce is like... the love of her life. She's worried. Scared." Tony explains, then rolls his eyes.
"What?" The blond asks, offended at Tony's gesture.
"Just... Thought if anyone would understand her, it would be you. That's all." Tony says, turning away. The dishwasher alarm sounds and Tony rises to move into the kitchen to put away the items from dinner.
"What?" Steve says again, bracing against the counter right beside Tony, placing himself deliberately in the other man's way. Tony paused, looked Steve over a clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He shook his head and moved around Steve to put the stack of plates away in the cabinet. Steve reaches out and grabs Tony's arm. "What do you mean, Stark?"
The question hits Tony like a fist to the gut. 'Stark.' Steve said. It hurt Tony, to think they were reduced back to that.
"This shirt is worth more than that precious bike of yours, Rogers. Hands off." Tony says, jerking away. Rude quips were his best defense, and he felt now was a good time to put up a wall.
"Tell me what you meant." Steve insisted, still standing to block Tony's escape. Defeated, Tony sighed.
"Look, no need to get so defensive, Capsicle. All I meant was, since you know, your friend, Barnes... Since he was lost on a mission, and he's missing again. I thought maybe you'd be able to put yourself in her shoes, cut the kid some slack."
"That's different." Steve barked, his words clashing over Tony's before he'd even finished explaining himself. Tony couldn't help himself, or the knowing, mischievous grin that crept across his face.
"Right." He said, not really agreeing, but he was willing to let Steve off the hook since he was obviously angry.
"It was-" Steve pauses and shakes his head. "-is. It is different."
"Okay." Tony nods. "I believe you."
Steve narrows his eyes as he looks the shorter man over.
"No, you don't." His words come out like a challenge at Tony.
"Okay, you're right. I don't. Your behavior certainly suggests otherwise." Tony says, smiling again.
"He wasn't... We weren't... It isn't..." Steve stammers. Its not a common thing on the Captain, and Tony's smile fades.
"Hey." He says softly, this time placing his hand gently on Steve's shoulder- the polar opposite gesture than he had just endured. "Its okay. I shouldn't have pressed it. If you don't want to talk about it, its okay. I know its a tough and touchy subject. I'm sorry, Cap."
"Bucky is the only thing I have left from my life before. Not that I'm unhappy now- but being lost in time... It's a special kind of homesick. I can't ever get it all back." Steve explains, his head held low. "We weren't... We didn't court each other or anything. Its not that-" Steve squeezes his eyes shut tight and then looks up at Tony. Steve's sky blue eyes are awash of emotion waiting to fall, and Tony's catch them in a pillowy embrace of soft chocolate pools. Steve swallows, kicking himself for how beautiful he finds Tony's eyes.
"Hey. I get it." Tony says, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I'm seriously sorry, Cap. I was just defending Nat, and I took it too far."
Steve gives a half-hearted, close mouthed smile and Tony lets his shoulder go. "Thanks, Tones." Steve says quietly.
"Get some rest, Cap." Tony calls as he goes to leave the kitchen.
Steve hesitates for a moment as he watches Tony walking away, then he calls out, "He was the only one who knew, you know. About me." He says. Tony freezes in place for a moment, silently trying to piece together if he was saying what he thought Steve was saying.
"Come again." Tony says, turning around.
"He knew I- He knew I liked... Like... Men." Steve said. His eyes remain on the floor before him. Tony looked the tall, normally unrealistically strong blond before him over. He looked defeated, but he opened his mouth to keep speaking. "And until just this moment..." He looked back up into Tony's eyes, "He was the only person I ever trusted with that knowledge."
"Oh." Tony says softly. "Well, Steve, I have to say..."
"You don't have to say anything."
"I do. It's an absolute honor to be trusted on this level." Tony insists. "I know how hard that is for someone to do now- I can't even imagine how it was when you were growing up. My Lord..." He shook his head. "Believe me, Howard was still alive the first time the press caught me out with a guy-"
"What?" Steve says, suddenly very tensed.
"Oh, maybe I should've said 'me too', huh?" Tony laughs. "The term I prefer is 'pansexual', but lots of folks just call me a 'whore', honestly it all works."
"I- I did not know that." Steve admits.
"Well, you were on the ice when that interview came out. It was scathing. Shit, Howard hated me. 'Faggot disgrace.' He said." Tony shrugged and laughed. "Oh well. And then of course, I was with Pepper again when we met, so it never came up. But, yeah. Now you know. You're not alone, and there is nothing wrong with being who you are." Tony reassured him.
"Thank you, Tony, that means a lot. More than you know." Steve says quietly.
"Go get some rest, Cap." Tony repeats, heading out of the kitchen.
"You too." Steve calls after him as he heads down the hallway.
In the wee young hours of the morning, the alarms start to sound in every room of the compound.
Tony is on his feet and in a suit before he has even wiped the sleep from his eyes, and he enlists the help of his AI to get his barrings.
"FRIDAY, status report." He commands.
"Incoming transmission, boss." She replies. "All channels."
Another message.
Tony steps backward out of his suit, leaving it standing at his bedside. He races down the hall, where the rest of the team has started to gather. He moves between Sam and Wanda as he comes into the large common area, and scans the room. Everyone currently residing at the compound was accounted for, as Thor was off planet, Clint was at home with his family and Bruce was still missing.
"Accept transmission." Tony says, after making sure the entire team had arrived.
The hologram flickers on and again, the focus is on Bruce, still tied in the same chair, his clothes now more soiled with blood down the shirt. Tony hears Natasha choke back a sob, and Steve and Wanda both move to console her. Bruce's face is deathly pale, his breathes shallow and ragged.
"Hello Avengers." The mechanically altered voice sounds from off screen. "I apologize for the late transmission, but it is not quite the same time here as it is for you."
"FRIDAY, is there an open line? Can they hear us?" Steve asks.
"Negative, Captain Rogers." The AI replies.
"Are we tracing?" Tony asks.
"Trying to, Boss. Signal is still scrambled, but I'm doing my best to run it down." FRIDAY replies.
"That's my girl." Tony replies.
"Avengers. I'm sure you are wondering what we have planned for the good doctor. The answer is simple, really. We have small, simple demands. Three, to be exact." Out of the darkness behind Bruce, the same costumed figure appears. "Whatever it is exactly that gives Dr. Banner his power, it was an accident, and therefore cannot realistically be duplicated. However..." He moved closer to the camera. "There are those among you who we are most interested in. In trade for Dr. Banner's safe return, we humbly request that you send us a vile of Captain Rogers blood, a sample of the Vision's hybrid tissue, and an early version of the Iron Man suit. We do not require the latest model, just a basic suit will suffice. We do not find it fair that you have so many rare talents all on one team that is unavailable to the rest of the world. I'm sure you understand that the power balance in the world just because of your very existence is very off kilter. We will send another transmission with coordinates of the drop off location, and request your uncompromised cooperation."
The figure moved away from the camera and over to where Bruce sat, roughly grabbing his face.
"Doctor Banner, is there anything you want to say to your friends?" They ask.
Bruce struggles to open his eyes, and Natasha cries out again, falling into Wanda's comforting hug, Steve lays a hand on her back.
"Nat..." Bruce chokes out. "Ton-" He takes a deep, ragged breath, "Stay safe."
"How endearing." The figure says, throwing Bruce down again. "Expect our last transmission in ten hours."
The screen cut off and the light of the holographic projector faded out. The team sat in silence for a moment, the only sounds were Natasha's soft cries and the tick of the clock on the wall. then Colonel Rhodes cleared his throat.
"Well, we have to decide if we intend to give them their ransom." He says, calling everyone's attention to the subject that must be addressed.
"Well, I'm willing." Steve says immediately.
"I am as well. I highly doubt that they will have the capabilities needed to reverse engineer my complex anatomy. Without the cradle, there is no way to combine living tissue and vibranium, not that it is likely they have any. Not to mention the lack of this..." Vision gestures to the stone in his forehead.
The team turns to Tony, who pales.
"Look, I am more than willing to give whatever they want to get our Brucie Bear back. But do we really want to put one of those suits in their hands? We saw what Ultron did with my technology; how Hammer tried and failed to use it. I just... I'm apprehensive to say the least."
"What about a disarmed suit?" Sam suggested from the couch where he'd came to rest.
"Think they'd notice?" Wanda ask, "I mean, aren't the weapons what they'd be after?"
"Is it?" Natasha asks, wiping her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Wanda asks.
"I believe Agent Romanoff is onto something. The sample of the captains blood would have serious healing properties that if correctly deciphered could have a potential impact in the medical community, as could my tissue." Vision said.
"So why the suit?" Tony questioned.
"They said an early one would suffice." Rhodey reminded Tony. "You have Marks 10-14 that were never weaponized, two focused on flight and two on underwater endurance. We could send one of those?"
"Well..." Tony sighs, and locks eyes with Natasha. "Yeah. For Bruce." He agrees.
"For Bruce."
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