Bruce arrives at the theater room late on purpose, glasses on his face and takes an open chair in the back near Steve.

Not showing up seemed like a bad idea. Tony would've no doubt invited himself up to Bruce's room and dragged him out by the collar. With Bruce unable to control the flickering of his eye color, it wouldn't have ended well.

Rogers doesn't ask why the doctor is late to their team building, only offers an opened box of Junior Mints he's been nibbling on.

Bruce takes the box with a subtle nod and pours himself a couple, "Thanks."

Steve nudges his elbow, "What's with Stark picking all of these monster flicks lately?"

Bruce laughs forcibly, organizing his mints by size and the quality of the chocolate. Or least what he can see of them, "No idea."

Natasha is sitting in front of the twosome, her eyes poking through the space of the chair with a smirk;

"Come on Steve, watching you jump over a movie is too much fun. Between you and Tony it's like going to the movies with two teenage girls," she shrieks dramatically, louder than the theatrical speakers.

Steve jumps in a panic and Bruce immediately tenses, feeling a shade of green working up the back of his neck and over his fingers. He clutches the chair and tries to breathe.

Natasha laughs and reaches a hand behind her. Rogers takes a breath and dumps the rest of his mints into her palm, "Very funny Romanoff, you know the hulk is sitting right behind you."

"Bruce is behind me and he's fine," she corrects shamelessly.

Banner laughs and tugs at his hair, shrinking a bit in his chair with hands over his head, "My ears are still ringing. I think you popped an eardrum."

"Just wait until Tony screams in three, two…"

"Ahhh!" Stark's popcorn goes flying into the air over a jump scare on the screen, seated in the front row to avoid 'distraction.'

Natasha laughs and Clint leans forward to catch a few pieces of popcorn with his mouth.

Steve sighs disappointedly and Bruce sinks backwards into his chair, exhaling heavily with his arms crossed and a restlessly bouncing knee.

He's constant sifting is disrupting the in front of him, looking over her shoulder with a narrowed focus;

"You good back there?"

"Yeah,' he leans forward with a whisper in response, 'Why? Why'd you ask?"

Should she have anything enlightening to say, perhaps addressing a constant bursting green vein on his forearms he's working so hard to hide, he might open up. Maybe…

His typical rolled up sleeves look is outside of the realm of possibilities in his current unpredictable state. Maybe she's noticed.

"You're kicking my chair."

Her response is borderline disappointing but he panics nonetheless. She's too perfect to disrupt, too angelic to make uncomfortable. He moves a bit, "Sorry."

"You good?"

"Tired. Restless-."

"I can see that."

In an attempt to cross his knee he accidentally gives her chair one more kick. Bruce bites his tongue, disappointed in himself and the reflexes he can't control due to OCD and the hulk's more recent antics.

Romanoff shifts a bit and stands, a soda in her hand. She flicks her fingers and stands outside of Steve and Bruce's row with a flourish, "Move. I'll sit back here. That'll fix the problem."

"Will it," Bruce slips, dreading over the squirming that could happen with her taking the seat between Rogers and the physicist. She lays her soda in the cup holder and kicks her footrest out with a crossed ankle.

Her arms are crossed, clearly relaxed in her position no matter how far Banner clings to the opposite side and tries not to occupy her arm rest that's not in use. She deserves her space.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Where are your glasses? By the way…" Tony pauses in his rambles- two days after movie night.

Banner shrugs semi-honestly, "I'm trying contacts."

"Aha! Current! Getting with the times; I like it."

Bruce crossed his arms and forces a self conscious laugh. As long as Stark doesn't discover they're tinted brown he's in the clear, "What's on the schedule for the day?"

Tony sighs and slips a folder in his direction, "This is what I need. Figure that out and I'll cover your contact lens expenses plus rent."

"You already cover rent."

"I'm being so super generous here, and you're rejecting me with uncalled for sass. It's a great offer, you should take it."

"Uh huh."

"My friends! I wish to discuss the film we enjoyed the night prior! I have concerns," Thor invites himself into the lab and Tony rolls his eyes. Bruce laughs and nods toward his friend;

"What's your question, Thor?"

Tony groans, "Don't entertain him,' he rotates toward Thor, 'Adult business buddy, you gotta go."

"What adult business," Natasha deadpans and laps up a bit of whip cream spillage from one of the foam mugs she's holding, eyes focused on Banner.

"Oh GOD not you again,' Tony waves, 'Goodbye. Please go. Both of you. You're distracting my employee."

"He's a contractor, not an employee,' Natasha steps forward with a focused expression and offers Bruce one of her mugs, 'Decaf chai tea. Hot."

Bruce lifts the cup with a subtle tilt, unsure why she's gone out of her way to purchase him a warm drink. Why does she even know his order?

It's a thought he can't currently process, "Thanks?"

Tony points, "We can change that. Brucie boy! You wanna work for me permanently? I'll need to check with the CEO but I doubt she'll have a problem with that."

"Um,' Bruce squints, peeling at the coffee shop label on his drink, 'I like contract work."

Tony pouts initially and then addresses Romanoff, "See?! Happy customer."

Natasha rolls her eyes. Thor knocks a hand against the table and interrupts with a smile;

"So about the movie! I do not understand why the Alien was so set on revenge- its motives- so unclear."

"It was a monster,' Tony settles on the desk and crosses his fingers, latching his palms together, 'It was, what we Americans call; a monster movie! Mmkay? Sometimes the monster has motives, other times it's just savage and out of control for no reason!"

"Aha! Like the hulk."

Bruce tears the label a bit louder than initially intended, causing Thor, Tony and Natasha to give him a glance. The doctor is stuck on the choice of words...

Savage. That word hits him at his core. All things considering, the label would be currently describing how he's feeling- that out of control feuding with his other half.

He laughs, "Sorry. That was loud."

Thor retracts immediately, "Forgive me, I did not mean to portray your alter ego in a negative light."

"It's good, it's cool."

"-I meant no malicious intent."

"It's fine, Thor. We're good."

Tony is back to his rambling, a protective expression over Natasha's features while she quietly sips from her own drink and takes in the scene without uttering a word.