Thor had never met such a wide array of odd creatures as found in the Grand Master's capture. There were many creatures he'd never had the pleasure to meet, and few he'd only read about in school. One such creature, Korg, who Thor identified as a Kronan, was who greeted him when he entered the arena early the next morning. The night before he'd dined with the Grand Master, who provided a stately meal of many, many foods and the finest exotic wines, where he and the Grand Master had struck a deal to allow Thor a week to train and acclimate to the new environment. He'd argued his case to the Grand Master, that if given the proper time to season himself to the ways of Sakaar that it would be a better show for the many fans he'd seen at the last event.
The Grand Master had seemed pleased enough with this idea, especially since Thor had used a technique he'd used many times on his younger brother over the years- he simply played the idea off as if it had been the Grand Master's idea. It appealed to the obviously inflated nature of the Grand Master's ego, and still worked to Thor's benefit.
So here Thor found himself, being outfitted with armor by a sentient rock.
Thor had to admit he liked Korg, however odd the Kronan was. He had a good spirit, and a large working knowledge of not only the armory and the arena, but of the Hulk's fighting style as it had evolved since he'd been stranded on Sakaar.
Banner himself was not much for fighting, this Thor knew, but as he watched Hulk at his training through the window, he knew that Hulk had found a real rhythm here amongst the other contenders. He'd been allowed to truly stretch out and take control in a way Banner never allowed. It was almost sad, Thor couldn't help but think, how happy Hulk looked. Korg roughly fitted Thor with a helmet and brought his attention back to the moment at hand.
"Here, Thunder Lord. This should help protect your very small and breakable skull. It may not completely protect you though, so keep that in mind." Korg said. "Also, I see you brought your own hammer, and it is a nice one. However, we have a great many weapons here you may like, and Contest of Champion rules allow two weapons per contender. You, you may want to take anothe-"
"A shield." Thor interrupted. "I'd like a shield, please, Kronan."
"Really?" Korg seemed surprised. "Very well. This way then." Korg said, taking Thor to another side of the armory. There were a great many shields to choose from, and Thor tapped on a few with Mjölnir before choosing one.
"How long does Hulk normally train until?" Thor ask, his newly chosen shield in hand.
"Uh, usually until the staff in his suite has his breakfast ready, really." Korg said with a shrug. "Could be anytime."
"So, then Hulk is like... top of the food chain here?" Thor ask.
"Yeah, undefeated. I am nervous for you, Thunder Lord." Korg admitted.
"Why so?" Thor ask, a bit offended.
"Well, more often than not, the challengers for the champion do not survive the match. Chronos, he was lucky. He survived, and the healer team expect him to recover enough to fight again... Just probably not with Hulk." Korg explained. "Looks like he is headed in now. Tell me, Asgardian, never before has anyone actually wanted to fight the Hulk. Its, uh, not something a sane person would do."
"Well, let's just say he's an old friend of mine." Thor explained. "And Grand Master seems pretty keen on keeping him here. Captive. To fight."
"He's pretty happy here, man." Korg shrugged. "Penthouse sweet. Fights. Food, parties, you name it. Grand Master gets him whatever he wants."
"Well, he has children on the way, and I feel it is only right to tell him, give him the opportunity to get home to them. His partner never even got to tell him before he was taken and brought here." Thor explained. "I feel like he may want to go home if he knew that."
"This partner... I don't mean to be presumptuous, but it sure seems like missing her... she wasn't enough to make him unhappy here." Korg admits, picking his own weapon to spar with Thor.
"You do well to hold your tongue, Korg of Kronan." Thor threatened. "You know not of what you speak."
"Hey man, I'm sorry. I was just saying, he seems pretty pleased with his lot in life. Perhaps his mate isn't, you know, as priority." Korg shrugged and gestured toward the doorway leading out onto the battleground. "But you said they have young on the way, this may change things. I've never know another species like Hulk. Of what planet is he?"
"Earth." Thor answered simply. Korg hesitated back for a moment.
"Aren't humans the only sentient species on earth?" He ask.
"Underneath that, Hulk is a human." Thor said, placing his helmet back on his head as they stepped out onto the dirt floor of the battle arena. He jogged across the stadium and stood at the ready, not taking any time to allow Korg to answer any other questions. He hit Mjölnir against his shield and nodded to Korg, to signal he was ready.
Korg took a few steps back, then began to run full speed, a large maul in hand. He swung at Thor as he ran to him, and Thor ducked and came around behind the large stone creature, bracing himself again.
"The way I see it, the difference in height is going to be an ally in my combat with Hulk." Thor called. Korg readied himself again and began to run, but Thor quickly spun his hammer until he was lifted off the ground, and he came down onto Korg's back, hitting him square in between the shoulders with his elbow.
Korg went down like the rock he was made up of, hitting the ground causing a quake. Thor laughed deep in his chest and offered a hand, helping Korg to his feet.
"That is some hammer, Thunder Lord." Korg complimented. "I've never seen a weapon who could propel the wielder."
"Family heirloom." Thor smiled. "What do you saw we go again?"
"I say let me find you another sparing partner." Korg replied, waving Thor to follow him back to the armory.
Natasha sat in the corner, filling in the intake sheets for each of the compound staff as they came in, each being given their annual vaccines. Jennifer gave each staffer their shots in turn, by the end of the day, she'd given over three hundred shots.
The two Avengers began to clean up the clinic, putting away the days supplies, when Jennifer leaned over and nudged Natasha's shoulder gently.
"I can hear those gears turning. You've been quiet and broody all day. Want to tell me about it?" Jennifer ask gently. "You've been here all day and hardly said a word."
"I just-" Natasha put a hand over her eyes, took a deep breath and sighed. "I keep thinking... No offense, but you and Steve... You just make me sad."
Jennifer stopped what she was doing and looked her friend over. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head.
"Explain please?" She ask, her voice soft and concerned.
"I really don't mean anything bad. You and Steve are just... precious. I look very much forward to seeing your Good Morning America interview next week. I love to see you two so happy and in love..." Natasha's voice broke a bit, and she stopped and blinked up toward the ceiling as she fought back tears. "But I just, I can't help but be sad, and jealous."
Jennifer stepped over and gingerly took Natasha by the shoulder's and guided her to a seat. She then sat down across from her and held her friend's hand in support.
"What do you mean, Nat?" Jennifer ask softly.
"Bruce and I weren't even a couple." Natasha said, wrapping her arms around herself. "I mean, we slept together really often, obviously." She gestured to her stomach. "But I mean, we weren't... together."
"What do you mean?" Jennifer ask.
"Bruce is not an easy man. He's very closed and guarded. He was very slow to trust me at all, to be alone with me. Physically, we just clicked. I think we both liked having a safe place to just... get that..." Natasha hesitated for a moment, "Get that touch, that human contact."
"Okay." Jennifer nodded, urging Natasha to continue.
"I wanted to be with him, really. Like, eat dinner and hold hands... fall asleep on the couch in his lap watching movies..." Natasha listed, and Jennifer blushed, realizing what Natasha was alluding to. "I wanted a real relationship. But like I said, Bruce is so guarded. He said several times he was concerned about what the team would think. About what that would mean, publicly. It was-" Natasha shuttered and sobbed for a moment, and Jennifer gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "I love him, Doc. I really, really love him. I just- I don't know if he loves me... Or even likes me."
Tears rolled down the redhead's face, and Jennifer moved to grab a tissue from a nearby counter, and gave it to Natasha. She laid a hand on her shoulder and waited, letting Natasha let out her emotions. "I pushed him off a cliff, for fuck's sake!" She all but screamed, crying harder.
"Nat..." Jennifer tried to comfort. "I know this is hard, and this situation isn't... ideal? But y'all have these remarkable gifts growing. And from what you told me before, Bruce wanted to have a family. He now has that chance, right here. We will find a way to get him home, everything else will sort out. My Gramma always says 'It will all be alright in the end, and if it is not yet alright... Then it isn't yet the end.' I think that applies to most things."
"I really liked your Gramma, but I don't know if that applies to relationships." Natasha said with a choked smile.
"I don't want you thinking like this. As both your doctor and your friend... I forbid it. We just need to focus on keeping you three healthy and getting Bruce home. After that, we can work on everything else." Jennifer reassured her.
"Okay..." She nodded.
"Listen, I don't want you to keep things that are hurting you like that to yourself. It isn't good for any of you." Jennifer reminded her. "Come on, you can come with me to box with Sam. Be my sideline coach." Jennifer said, nodding to the door. Natasha wiped her eyes and smiled, following her friend, thankful for the distraction.
It was nearly midnight when Tony finally had time and called Jennifer back, and she answered as she was putting her ice cream bowl away in the cupboard.
"Hey Tony! Thanks for calling me back- No it's alright, it wasn't a rush..." She said, Steve coming over and propping against the counter, raising an eyebrow and pointing at the clock on the wall. Jennifer swatted at her boyfriend and stuck her tongue out. "No, I'm still here, Steve is just being a pest. He'll live. Okay, I'll tell him..." She held the phone away from her mouth and laughed "Tony says its past your bedtime..."
"Hmm." Steve rolled his eyes and walked off toward the living room.
"Listen, Tony... I need to ask you something, and we can keep it very confidential... like Doctor/Patient level... But... Did Bruce ever talk to you about Natasha? I won't tell her what was said, I am just trying to get the full picture while I take care of her." She explained.
'Uh, yeah.' Tony said on the other end of the phone. 'Occasionally.'
"How was that?" Jennifer ask.
'Well... I mean, Bruce is private. He ask me about how I thought two of the team being together would affect us, but I told him it really didn't matter. If feelings are there, I don't think actually being officially together would change that dynamic.' Tony explained.
"Oh, gotcha." Jennifer said, trying to keep her chipper tone.
'I think I know what this is about, Doc.' Tony said with a sigh, 'Bruce loved her. He has a hard time with things like that because of what happened with his mom and dad... you know...'
"Yeah, yeah I remember." Jennifer said, recalling the file and the story of Bruce's mother's murder at the hands of his father.
'He loved her, in his own way. He struggled a lot. But he's gonna be happy about the kids, so if she's worried, you can reassure her.' Tony said, his voice obviously concerned.
"Thanks Tony." Jennifer sighed. "Yeah, tell Pepper I said good night, too. Thanks Boss." She said, hanging up the phone. Steve came back into the kitchen.
"I guess I'm not allowed to ask." He said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close.
"Doctor/Patient confidentiality." Jennifer said, smiling up at him.
"Afraid you'd say that." Steve laughed. "Come to bed, I'm tired."
"Good lord, I have never slept so much in my life until I got with you..." Jennifer joked, and Steve laughed. She'd often stay up for days at a time before they'd gotten together, and Jennifer developed the habit of falling asleep in Steve's arm. She wasn't always tired, just happy and comfortable.
"Yeah, well, I'm old... and I got used to sleeping during my multi-decade long nap..." Steve joked, tugging her toward the bedroom. Jennifer allowed him to drag her back to his bedroom and she changed into one of his t-shirts to sleep in and crawled up onto the bed and into his side.
"Hey Steve?" She ask, and he answered with a yawn. "Do you think we'll be able to find Bruce?"
"I certainly hope we can." Steve said before kissing her forehead. "I think with Thor's help, we have a good chance."
"I hope so." Jennifer sighed. "I really do."
"Try to relax, Doc. You're too tense." Steve said, rubbing her back. "Do that glowy think and fix those muscles."
"I'm not hurt. I promise." She said, relaxing her shoulders. "I love you, Cap. Lets try to get to sleep."
"I love you too, Doll." Steve yawned, and he kissed her forehead. "I love you, too."
Brief hiatus for surgery, this is the last update I'll publish for a couple weeks. Please leave me reviews and let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading!