"Nat, you ready to go?" Clint asked from outside Natasha's door. It was an odd situation for Clint since Natasha was always the early riser of the two. He heard the door unlock and stepped back when it opened.
"I'll need about five minutes, you can wait inside or stand out here," Natasha responded. She then went back to sit on the bed, retrieving her tablet, and began typing again. Clint closed the door behind him and joined her.
"What's up?"
Natasha looked up and blew out an exasperated breath. "Chat with Banner and Rogers. I don't know who's worse with the technology. Banner keeps getting distracted with whatever he's working on and Rogers lags because he's waiting his turn or something. I'm sure he's probably raising his hand waiting for me to call on him."
"Mission stuff?" Clint slid closer trying to see onto Natasha's screen, instinctively she blocks his view.
"Not exactly. I'm trying to convince Rogers to request that Fury assign me to be Banner's security for his upcoming meetings."
A smile came across Clint's face, "So you agreed to be his…" The archer suddenly felt a forearm slam into his chest.
"You could've warned me ahead of time."
"Banner made me promise not to. He didn't want you making up your mind before he got a chance to plead his case."
"I'm your partner Clint."
"He has a Hulk."
Natasha conceded with a small quirk of her lips, "Point taken. Not forgiven though."
"I'm going to pay for this later, ain't I?" Natasha didn't answer but continued to type. Clint rubbed his slightly sore chest and contemplated how the assassin would get her revenge. A few minutes later Natasha put her tablet onto the nightstand and got up to leave. Clint followed close behind.
"You can start by going shopping with me later."
"Shopping? What are we getting?"
"A collar for Bruce."
"We can just do this later Bruce," Tony huffed as he wiped the precious spilled coffee off his hands and onto his shirt. "I haven't seen you this jumpy since, well not since I've known you."
"Sorry Tony just got a lot on my mind. Give me a minute and then we can continue."
"Look Bruce I told you, if you don't want to go to those stupid meetings, just tell them to stuff it. You don't need whatever pathetic consultant fee they're offering."
Bruce straightened up from his work and walked away from the table. "You know it's not about any fee Tony. It's a test, and if I don't want to end up in a cage or worse, I need to play nice."
"They aren't putting you anywhere Bruce, I'm not letting them." Tony drained his coffee cup then slammed it down on the table, "They'd have to go through Stark security first."
"So I just stay inside all the time? I don't want Stark Tower to become just another cage, Tony." Bruce put his arm around his best friend. It was kind of hard to believe. A few months ago he'd thought he never have anything close to a friend again and now he had five, including a best friend who would do anything for him. "It's a beautiful cage Tony and I like staying here but I still want to be free to leave as well."
"Of course it's beautiful I designed it." Tony patted Bruce's hand, "But I get your point." Tony went back to the screen of results he had been looking at before he startled Bruce by just calling his name. "Still, do you think you are ready? Can't you postpone them?"
"I have postponed them before, right after… you know. Fury was able to keep them off my back for a while but now they are becoming rather insistent. So next week I start playing nice. Maybe they'll get bored soon and leave me alone again. Doubt it but I can dream can't it?"
"Next week? You didn't tell me they were that soon." Actually Bruce had told him several times when the meetings would begin but Tony, like with most bad news, just ignored it. "We shouldn't be working on this. We need to come up with some tranquilizers, exercises, some kind of heavy duty Prozac to keep the mon… Hulk, to keep Hulk inside." Everyone had been making a concerted effort to not use the 'monster' word anymore. Bruce was part of the team. Referring to his alter ego as a monster just didn't seem right. Tony wiped the screen he was working on and started calling up reports on Hulk's reaction to different mood stabilizers.
"I'm not going to try and drug him Tony. It's always a disaster."
"But you can't go in there without anything," Tony replied, worry tingeing his voice. He was afraid of Bruce losing his freedom almost as much as Bruce was. "Let my lawyers look into it. There has got to be some way of postpone…"
"No, Tony. I appreciate it but no. It would just be delaying the inevitable and bringing lawyers into it would just a make a tense situation worse."
"Then what are we going to do?"
"We are going to do nothing Tony. But I have been working on things, some additional calming techniques for one. Also Steve is putting in a request that Natasha accompany me to these meetings as my security." Bruce chuckled, "More likely everyone else's security. Maybe her mere presence will make everyone play nice."
"Especially when she wears that leather catsuit she calls a uniform. If that doesn't distract them they have to be dead…"
"Tony," Bruce shook his head. "She's there for her skills not her looks."
"Part of her skills is her looks. I figure she'll put the fear of death in half of them and the other half will have their brains filled with fantasies of peeling that uniform off of her."
Bruce turned away, "So do we want to get back to this experiment?"
"Nah, I think we need nourishment. And you need out of the cage for a while."
"I didn't mean to call Stark Tower a cage Tony."
"It's okay, you've been in here so much it might as well be. So we are going out. You need the fresh air, the food," Tony walked up behind Bruce and stage whispered in his ear, "And time to get over blushing at the thought of Romanoff naked."
"I'm not…"
"You can't lie to your best friend Bruce." Tony turned and headed out of the lab, "There's this great place I want you to try. If we leave now, we can beat the lunch rush."
"Leaving work now Sir," Clint typed into his phone.
"Have a good evening; I should be back in town Friday. I'll need to let off some steam then," came the response.
"Yes Sir," Clint responded and closed his phone. He unlocked the doors of his car, a smile still on his lips.
"I don't even want to know do I?" Natasha says shaking her head, sliding into the passenger seat.
"Probably not, but who knows, you are changing on me Tasha. Pretty soon you and Fury will be comparing flogger techniques." The archer moved reflexively out of the way of the punch he knew was coming. It was probably still going to hurt but his mouth seemed have a mind of his own. When the punch didn't come he spared a glance toward Natasha who was just staring blankly ahead. "Nat…"
"Will I need to do that with Bruce as well? The having him text me I mean, not that he ever leaves Stark Tower..."
"It's just a security detail Nat, a little odd one but still… Did Banner tell you he was interested in more?" Bruce had finally confessed to Clint after several talks that security detail was not his first thoughts when he saw Natasha lead Clint in on the leash that night. But it wasn't for him to share that conversation.
"Not exactly, but I don't think he would tell me no if I suggested it. He let it slip that he gets more out of it than a greater control of Hulk."
"Do you plan on suggesting it?" There was no response. "Have you at least thought about it?" Still there was no response. Clint didn't want to push too hard. However, even though he didn't completely understand why, he just felt that Bruce and Natasha would work well together. Both could always use more opportunities to enjoy themselves and he knew how much Bruce liked Natasha. Once you get the scientist talking he was a bit of an open book. He would be really good to her and Clint could always get behind that.
He gave Natasha more time to answer, letting the traffic noise fill the car. She wasn't particularly comfortable talking about personal things in public, or ever. "You know I'm the best person, probably the only person to be able to talk about this with."
"I know."
Clint patted Natasha's leg reassuringly, "Maybe you'll have a better idea if you want more once you've actually put the collar and leash on him."
"I already have. He still had the one that asshole put on you."
"Oh," Clint winced remembering his night of complete stupidity. Shaking away the image, he asks, "How was it?"
"Well it did calm him down a lot. I think it's because it gave him something external to focus on. It could help with the meeting I suppose although I don't know how long the effects would last after the collar is taken off. If he needed that focus during the meeting or immediately after, I hope he has some other technique that will be good enough."
Clint nodded, "You know that's not what I was asking. Although good to know it may keep him from turning into the other guy in the middle of a meeting. How did it feel putting the collar on him, attaching the leash, leading him around? I'm assuming you did all that."
"Yes, we did that."
"How did you feel doing that?"
"I… I can't," Natasha was rarely at a loss for words, but this time they seemed to be eluding her.
"Of course you can. You know so much about my sessions with Fury and how they make me feel. You know I'm not going to laugh." He patted her leg again, "Or judge."
"You missed the turn."
"No I didn't. We aren't going back to the tower yet. You said you needed a collar for Banner so I'm taking you to get one. Figured we'd go now, the place gets busy at night."
"Okay."
"Now tell me Tasha, please."
"I can't," Natasha responded, exasperated with herself. "I wish I could, it's just so jumbled. You know I hate not being able to explain."
"Well, can you tell me if it felt good or not?"
"It felt good," She sighed, "Very good. It shouldn't have. It was just a simple thing, a couple minutes of stupid walking around the lab. But afterward, it just felt so…" Natasha didn't say any more.
Clint found a parking space and after sitting a few minutes in silence, got out and steered Natasha toward the alley entrance of the store. He was about to open the door and head in when Natasha grabbed his arm.
"Control."
"Huh?" Clint replied not quite hearing Natasha.
"I was in complete control. That's what made it feel so good."
"You're always in control Tasha."
"Not like this. I always have to fight for control, of my captives, of myself, of you."
"Me?"
"Who is the one in control during sex?" Natasha whispered.
Clint had to think about that. Although he was submissive in play, he was definitely more aggressive sexually. For him and his fellow assassin, love and war sometimes was the same thing, especially in the bedroom. He would like to say he got his way at least half of the time. But then he would be lying. Clint had to concede that even though it was Natasha most of the time, he made her earn it.
"Bruce is different. I didn't have to fight; I didn't even have to ask." Natasha was silent again, staring off at what Clint couldn't see. She got this way when she talked about things, usually her past or anything too emotional. So he didn't say anything, just gave her the silence she needed. After a couple of minutes he figured she was done talking and took a step towards the door. She stopped him again. "He did all I asked without question. I know he was doing it for himself, so he doesn't… transform during the meetings. But for that short period of time, it felt…it felt like he was doing it just for me."
"That's what submission is Nat. When I send my texts, when I sit at his feet, I don't just do it because he says, but I do it for him. Because I want to give him this gift of control over me. Because I know I'm safe with him. That I can let my guard down and just be his for a while."
"Bruce mentioned safe as well. Protected…" Natasha shook her head and preceded to the door, "This is just a security detail. I don't know why I'm even talking about this."
"It's only just a security detail if you want it to be. He did tell you about the last time he was collared, right?"
Natasha shook her head, "I wasn't in the mood for stories."
"You should ask sometime, you'll find it quite interesting I think," Clint responds.
"The first meeting is Monday," Natasha states, clearly wanting to change the subject.
"So four days to get him ready. I guess we should go in then." Natasha nods and follows Clint inside. It wasn't what Natasha expected. Although truth be told she really hadn't known what to expect. The few times she needed anything vaguely like this it had been for a mission and it was provided. This was pretty much like any small specialty shop except a different product being sold. It was empty except for a guy behind the counter. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt with some obscure band's name across it and a few more piercings than the average person. And he was way more interested in his magazine then serving customers.
"Ignore the first two racks," Clint advised as he guided Natasha over to the area that had collars, cuffs and leads. "They are more for show than function. Lots of cheap vinyl crap. What you want is back here."
"Dr. Banner, Ms. Romanoff would like access into the lab." JARVIS announced over the speakers.
"Can you tell her I'm in the middle of something hazardous and will be with her in five minutes?"
JARVIS delivered the message. Natasha wasn't too happy about it, but she texted Clint that she'd let him know when she was ready to leave and leaned against the wall to wait. Precisely five minutes later the door opened and Bruce ushered her into the lab.
"Sorry about that. I just couldn't stop what I was working on."
"It's okay," Natasha placed a canvas bag on one of the tables. "I won't take up much of your time. I just wanted to make sure the collar fit, if not I can exchange this afternoon."
Bruce managed to hide his look of surprise but not the catch in his breathing. He still was expecting that Natasha would somehow come to her senses and demand he figure another way to control the other guy. Bruce didn't trust his voice so he just nodded and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt to make it easier to try the collar on. He may have stopped breathing for a few seconds when Natasha took the collar and lead out of the canvas bag. He had just expected her to pick up a cheap pet store replacement, wanting to get rid of the other because of bad memories. What he hadn't expected was the deep reddish-black leather collar and lead she now held in his hands. The band was about an inch and a half wide, the buckle looked like burnished brass, and the lead was braided red and black laces, with a brass clip.
"I'll reimburse you for the cost," was all the Bruce could say when he managed to speak.
Natasha waved the comment away, "S.H.I.E.L.D. will reimburse me. They don't question when I say miscellaneous expenses." She walked around Bruce and put the collar on him, "It's not too tight is it?" Bruce shook his head. She then attached the lead and tugged a few times. "Still okay?" Bruce croaked out a yes. "Good, don't want to agitate Hulk over a simple issue of discomfort," Natasha continued as she unbuckled the collar.
"He, we, are more stable than that, but thanks for the concern."
Natasha placed the items back into the canvas bag but left it on the table. "I think we should use Tony's yoga studio to work. It's private and much better than trying to do this at headquarters. Seven o'clock should be plenty of time to run through this a couple of times. I want to brief you on the participants and gauge your reactions to …"
"I'm sorry, I can't do it tonight."
"Bruce we have four days before the first meeting."
"I know but I have to get these projects finished," Bruce replied apologetically. "I figured I'd push through and get them completed tonight and then I would be free for the next three days. I've already let it be known that I wouldn't be taking on any new work for immediate future."
"Understandable. Tomorrow night then," Natasha stated with a nod, then turned to leave. "Keep the bag for me, I don't have time to go back to my room, I'm running late already." She starts to text Clint to meet her at the car, "Oh and tell Tony we are going to be using his yoga studio. I'm sure there will be less of an argument if it's coming from you." She was halfway down the hall before Bruce responded.
"Yes, Ms. Romanoff." Bruce picked up the bag and locked it in one of the cabinets against the back wall. He resisted the urge to reach in and run his fingers along the leather; it was going to be occupying his thoughts enough today. He didn't need to make it worse.
"Are you going to help me with any of this?" Natasha muttered as she tried to move the top of the stack, a pile of file folders, away from her mouth. Between the folders and the boxes, there was little left of Natasha you could see head-on. However her piercing eyes were trying to bore a hole through Clint's smirking face.
"I offer you help you call me sexist, I don't offer to help and I get the look of death," Clint chuckles as he relieves Natasha of part of her burden. "Make up your mind woman."
"You can tell if a guy is going to run by how he blinks and yet you can't seem to figure out when I need you to carry something," Natasha answered in a huff walking past Clint towards the car.
"You're too close Nat, you know I see…"
"Better from a distance. Keep using that excuse, maybe someone will believe it. Now hurry up, I want to get this set up before meeting with Bruce."
Clint hurried forward, unlocking the truck of his car. "What is all this stuff anyway?"
"Files, photos, videos, I figure as much as I can feed to Bruce about the people who he'll be meeting with on Monday the better I can gauge his reaction to them. That way I'll know where to look for potential triggers."
"Hopefully you don't trigger him now. Maybe you should be in another room."
"The lead isn't that long Clint. Besides, if this collar thing is going to work like he thinks, I'll be fine. And," Natasha added with a smirk "you'll be there to help me."
"I what? You know I've got some place to go tonight."
"Your date isn't until later and I need a second set of eyes until I can comfortably interpret his body language. I will be behind him during these meetings; I won't be able to see his face."
Clint nodded, "So I'll be looking for facial clues while you look for the body language equivalent. Got it. Hopefully he has some."
"Everyone does, no matter how small, like how you tighten your neck whenever Fury's name is mentioned."
Clint's hand moved reflexively to his neck, "I do not."
"Don't worry, it's only slightly and I'm probably the only one who would ever notice it." Natasha was silent for a few moments before adding. "Is that… are things good with you two?"
Clint shrugged. "I don't see myself shooting him every time I look at him if that's what you mean. I still haven't been able to forgive myself for going to someone else for release… and other stuff. We are working through it I think. Play helps a lot. It's hard for baggage not to come up when you feel safe. Bruce may have that happen too. Especially the more safe he feels with you…"
"This is just a security detail Clint."
"Maybe for you Nat. But I can guarantee when you put that collar on Banner, he's not thinking security detail."
Natasha ran her hands down the length of her black pencil-straight skirt smoothing out the imaginary wrinkles. Always a clear sign that she was uncomfortable and in unfamiliar territory for those keen enough to notice. Clint chose his next words very carefully. "The reason Bruce wants, needs, to use this method is because of what it triggers for him; a sense of calm, safety, and of being controlled. It's got to be hard controlling Hulk all the time. With this he has someone helping shoulder the burden. It's similar with me, minus the other guy. I do most of what I do because I have to. I like being able to let go for a while, to serve, to be something else.
"I don't feel that way," Natasha responded smoothly.
Clint chuckled, "I wouldn't imagine you would. You're more like Fury. It's not a bad thing. It would suck if everyone was wired the same way."
"So what am I supposed to do about this?" Natasha asks as she continues to iron her skirt with her hands.
"Be yourself Natasha. That's why he wants you to do this. He could've asked anyone on the team but he didn't. He needs you to do this. Follow your instincts and observe." Clint reached out and stopped her moving hand. "Protect him like you would protect me."
Natasha turned and gave him a quick nod as they pulled into the parking garage of Stark Tower.
Bruce knocked on the door to the yoga studio five minutes ahead of time. He had a white-knuckle grip on the canvas bag and was working very hard at keeping Hulk safety inside his mental cage. He hoped that just being able to see her would help. His passing interest in the red headed assassin had definitely flamed up to near obsession over the last few days. If he didn't keep it in check it threatened to engulf him. If he was honest with himself what was fueling the fire was his doubt. He didn't expect her to be behind the door. She would come to her senses and send Rogers or Stark to deal with the Hulk problem, the monster in the body of the freak.
Natasha opened the door and immediately noticed the death grip Bruce had on the bag. "Don't worry Banner; we'll get through these meetings with no problems." And with that the flames were extinguished; only a slow cool burn remained.
The room was set up as it would be for the meeting on Monday. Fury had requested diagrams of the layout for security reasons. One small table with a single chair faced a much longer table with seating for six. Apparently they expected Romanoff to stand. Anyone could clearly see this was more set up for a tribunal than a consultation. There was a chair in the corner that wasn't on the diagram; it contained one slightly bored archer.
"Hey Clint," Bruce said nervously. "Wasn't expecting you to be here."
"Neither was I, but Tasha wants me to help observe you. Don't worry; I'll be gone before you two get to the kinky stuff."
Bruce blushed and Natasha glared at Clint while taking the canvas bag and sitting it on the floor. "Have a seat at the small table." Bruce did as she asked and sat nervously in the chair. The tie felt like a noose around his neck, his coat, a strait jacket. Now he understood why Natasha had him dress this way, it was just like it was going to be on Monday.
Natasha pressed a button and a projector lowered from the ceiling. "I'm going to treat this like a briefing. We are going to go over all the people that will be there on Monday. Get ourselves familiar with how they look, sound, and act. And most importantly your reactions to them." Natasha moved to where she expected that she would be at the meeting. Bruce noticed that the bag was still on the floor.
"What about the collar?" Bruce asked tentatively.
"Later. Right now I need to see what may happen." Natasha turned on the video and on the wall, appearing larger than life was Dr. Walter Dennis. The clip was from a physics conference were Dennis was speaking on ethics in experimentation. He was making Bruce the poster child for everything that could go wrong. Portraying Bruce as a loose cannon, a Dr. Jekyll who ran roughshod over proper procedure and techniques. Bruce knew it wasn't true, didn't mean it didn't make him angry, that it didn't hurt.
"Breathe Banner," Natasha said from behind him. Air rushed out of his mouth as he let go of the breath he didn't realize he was holding. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths then refocused on the screen. "Are you good?"
"Where did you find this?" Bruce asked, not really able to answer the question she posed.
"Stark. S.H.I.E.L.D. has a lot of information but this, they didn't feel was important. You're tensing up again."
Bruce nodded, "Sorry, I just haven't seen this before. I've read part of the transcripts, but it's not the same as seeing him, hearing it."
"It will be even worse in person," Clint chimed in from the corner.
Bruce took another deep breath, "Not helping."
"He's right though," Natasha added. "Dr. Dennis has been waiting for the opportunity to see you. He's been requesting this meeting almost daily since you resurfaced. I don't think it's because he wants to shake your hand."
Bruce chuckled nervously, "I don't suppose so. Is he friends with S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
"No. Fury's direct quote was, 'I'll be glad when this fucking psycho gets his meeting so I can tell him to leave me the fuck alone.' Apparently he has a friend on the council so he has Fury's personal phone number."
Bruce shook his head, "Well at least we are getting the worst guy out of the way first." There was no response from the room. Bruce swallowed hard and focused back on the screen. It had gotten to the part where Dr. Dennis started with visual aids. They were from the early days of Bruce's transformation, before he had even the barest of control over Hulk. Slide after slide revealed broken buildings, broken bodies. Bruce closed his eyes but he couldn't block out Dennis' voice reading the damage and fatality reports. Bruce's back ached as the muscles on either side of his spine tensed, his shoulders stiffened and pulled at the seams of his jacket. "Natasha please," came out as a strangled whisper. He was about to try louder but she was already there, pulling his tie apart, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt and lastly slipping the collar around his neck, pulling the strap through the buckle, locking it into place.
"Focus Bruce," Natasha commanded sternly as she placed her hand through the loop of the lead. "Look at me and focus."
Bruce opened his eyes and looked at Natasha. He could almost feel the individual muscles relaxing.
"I want you to watch this video to the end and then we will take a break if you need it." Bruce nodded numbly in response. Natasha adjusted the collar and walked back to her position behind Bruce, shooing Clint back to his corner in the process. She gently tugged on the lead and restarted the video.
For most of the video Bruce remained calm. There were a couple of times he got became very tense but a firm steady tug on the lead and everything was fine. When the video finally ended, everyone was tired. It had only been forty-five minutes but when you are waiting for the other shoe to drop it can feel like forever.
"Are you okay Bruce?" He just nodded in response. Natasha could tell he was still holding some tension but he was managing it, and that was the important part. "Need a break?"
"Please."
Clint appeared beside them with a cup of water for Bruce. "Then this is probably a good time for me to leave. I'm cutting it close as it is."
Bruce managed a smile, "Don't want you punished on my account. I'm assuming it's Fury."
"Yeah. Natasha, walk me to the elevator."
"I saw tension on his face a few times that you didn't respond to, but they weren't really that serious. Even with the collar I would expect that he would have some reaction to that video."
Natasha nodded, "Which is why I let some go. He's going to have to be present during the meeting. Felt like this was a safe place for him to practice calming himself… What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You are breathing fast."
Clint shook his head, "It's nothing, just some of the images. I'm glad Hulk is under control now." Natasha nodded in agreement. "I think you should give the poor guy a break, that's enough briefing for tonight."
"The meeting is Monday Clint."
"And it will be much easier after he's had time to digest tonight's session. I'm going to be seeing some of those images in my sleep, you know he is. After all, he caused them." Natasha relented with a nod as Clint stepped into the elevator. "Why don't you two have some fun? Could take his mind off it a bit."
"Fun?"
"The collar is already on and he would probably do whatever you want and…Do I have to draw you a map?"
"I'm not stupid."
"Afraid?"
"Aren't you running late?"
"You are an acceptable excuse. Now answer me," Clint replied as he pushed the open button.
"I'm not afraid Clint."
"Then do it."
"Why are you so invested in me and Bruce doing something?"
"I like my Tasha happy," Clint answered. He released the open button, "And maybe you won't need to try and boss me around so much." The doors closed before Natasha could form a response. She didn't quite storm back into the yoga studio. She opened the door to find Bruce sitting almost exactly how she left him. Her mind momentarily likened him to one of the bomb sniffing dogs she had worked with once, dutifully waiting for their master's command. She shook away the thought. "You should stretch your legs; you've being sitting a long time." Bruce stands up and just… he just stands there. "Problem?"
Bruce reaches up to touch his neck and then shakes his head, "No." Then he wanders over to the longer table. "What's in the file folders?"
"Information about the meeting's attendees."
Bruce spread the folders across the table, "I've met two of these people and I know the rest. Well except for this one guy, Eaton, name doesn't ring a bell."
Natasha came to stand beside Bruce; the slight hitch in his breath when he recognized she was there didn't go unnoticed. "You will know all about him and the rest before Monday. I don't want there to be any surprises."
"That would be nice."
"We have the weekend to prepare; I think we can be ready." Natasha grasped the top of the lead and let her hand run down it, her knuckles occasionally grazing Bruce's spine. "Are you ready for more Bruce?"
"If that's what you want Ms. Romanoff." Natasha could easily detect the slight far away quality to Bruce's voice and the elevation in his breath.
"Ms. Romanoff?"
"Ms. Alana didn't like to be called mistress. Said it sounded like she was a …" Bruce laughed nervously. "Sorry I slipped and didn't notice. Give me a moment and we can start again." Natasha's hand reached the end of the leash and she wrapped it around her hand twice, "Clint said I probably should give you a break on the briefing, that we should have some…fun instead." Natasha leaned closer putting her lips next to Bruce's ear, "Would you like that?"
Bruce closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, "If that is your desire, Ms. Romanoff."
A smile emerged on Natasha's lips, small and devious, "It is Bruce and Ms. Natasha is fine. Romanoff is too… business like."
"Yes Ms. Natasha."
"What shall I do with you?"
"Anything," Bruce stuttered out.
"Damn," Natasha thought. She really had hoped he would give her an idea because she didn't have the slightest clue what to do with him. She knew she loved his reactions when she tugged on the leash, and the reverence and slight need to his voice when he responded to her. But both would soon get boring if that was the only things done.
"I need to sit down," Natasha said clearly stalling. Pulling Bruce along she walked over and sat in the chair previously occupied by Clint. She looks up at Bruce who immediately kneeled in front of her, resting his butt on his feet, his hands placed in his lap, his head bowed.
"Did this Ms. Alana have you do this for her?" Natasha asked.
"Yes."
"Lift your head, I like to be able to see your face. The rest, I like. Now tell me what else she had you do. I can decide from there what we'll do next."
"Yes, Ms. Natasha." Natasha decided then she would never tire of hearing him say those three words. Most of what he described she dismissed immediately. It was public play and that wasn't going to, couldn't happen. There were a couple of things that were interesting but it didn't seem like a lot.
"You were with her for how long?"
"Six months."
"And this is all you two did?"
"Well…" Banner began that nervous chuckle he was known to do when he was truly afraid. He dropped his head.
"Head up," Natasha snapped before she realized the words were coming out of her mouth. She added more gently, "If you don't want to tell me now it's okay, I can be patient."
"Thank you, just after so long… I don't want to scare you off."
Natasha laughed for a solid minute. Bruce had never heard Natasha laugh before. It was beautiful. "I'm sorry Bruce, just the thought of someone scaring me. So many people are terrified of me."
Bruce dropped his head again, "I scared you once."
Natasha leaned forward, putting her hand under Bruce's chin and lifted it until his eyes met hers. "You were a different person then. Hulk was too." Bruce nodded. "So," Natasha eased back into a comfortable position, "It seemed like she liked you nude as much as possible. Is there something I'm missing?" She makes a point of scanning him up and down.
Bruce shook his head, "Ms. Alana believed that nudity brought truth, you have nothing to hide behind."
"How did you feel being paraded around all those strangers?"
"Embarrassed. You should've seen some of the other guys. Well you've seen Thor and Rogers. I've always been kind of scrawny. I rather work in the lab than a gym."
"Beauty is not all about muscles Bruce."
Bruce shrugged in response.
"Stand up." When Bruce complied Natasha rose from her chair and detached the lead from the collar. She makes a show of walking over and locking the door. There was little chance of anyone showing up but she figured it would make Bruce more comfortable. "I want to see what she saw," Natasha continues as she walks back to Bruce.
"There is nothing to see really. I mean you have Clint and if his arms are any indication…"
"Clint is Clint, you are you. Now what did you say you would do for me?"
"Anything." It was quickly becoming Natasha's favorite word.
"Then show me everything."
The room was quiet except for the rhythmic stutter slapping of fifty thin pieces of leather striking flesh.
Fury was not happy. He could clearly see his wild archer wasn't tensing up so he wasn't holding in the sound. It was worse, he was zoning out. Fury changed tactics and positions on the next swing, he brought the flogger up between Clint's legs. The ends of the flogger tails tapped his crotch. As pain went it was minimal, but it was enough to wake him out of his thoughts, unfortunately his mouth woke up first.
"What the fuck Fury?!" The response was harder this time, the tails slapping against his crotch hard enough to cause him to stumble forward, just barely keeping his hands on the wall. "Sir! I'm sorry Sir." Before Clint could move to his original position, Fury was at his back removing his hands from the wall.
"I don't know where your head is tonight, but obviously it's not here."
Clint nodded, frustrated, "Yes Sir."
Fury turned and walked away, "We'll talk about this in the kitchen."
Clint walks into the kitchen and sat on the floor by the kitchen chair. Fury soon joined him handing down a few chocolate chip cookies with his normal bottle of water. "Someone in accounting was having a baby, getting married, retiring, or something. All I needed to know was free cookies."
"Thank you, Sir."
"So," Fury continued after sitting down and finishing off one of the cookies he brought for himself. "What's going on?"
"Banner has a meeting next week, Monday."
"I know, assigned Romanoff as his personal security."
"What if it goes wrong? What if he turns into the other guy?"
"I think Banner has good control over the monster. Romanoff is there to make sure no one does anything stupid that may trigger him."
"But…" Clint stuffed the rest of his words down with another cookie. Fury absently ran his hand through the archer's hair waiting for him to continue. "You know what these meetings are about? Not what they are saying but the real reason."
"I'm not an idiot. I know they are trying to try Banner before charging him. I've always know that, just can't prove a damn thing yet."
"They'll come for all of us eventually, especially me. Well maybe not Rogers, he's the face of patriotism, and they probably don't have the money to take on Stark, but Natasha, me, definitely me."
"They aren't going to do anything to you. I won't allow it."
"I'm not worth your career Sir," Clint responded, losing his appetite and just staring down at the last couple of cookies in his hands. "I'm not worth…"
"Do I need to remind you how much you are worth, how important you are to me? That I'm not going to just throw you away when things get tough?" Clint wouldn't look at Fury. "Besides this isn't just about you," Fury added knowing that Clint was worried just as much if not more about Natasha. "The Avenger Initiative is my baby. Mine. And no one is going to fuck with it, the council, the government…"
A chuckled bubbled up and escaped from Clint's mouth that he quickly tried to silence. "I'm sorry Sir, just an odd thought popped into my head."
Fury arched an eyebrow at Clint, "Oh?"
Clint licked his lips nervously, holding back another fit of giggles. "If the Avenger Initiative is your baby, than Phil really was Super Nanny. No wonder he loved that show."
"He probably was looking for pointers on dealing with a certain archer with authority issues."
"I don't know what you are talking about," Clint tried to say with a straight face but another chuckle escaped, then another. Soon he was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. Unfortunately minutes later the laughter was quickly threatening to turn into the tears that where hiding not that far behind. "Sorry Sir," Clint said as he ran his hand over his face, managing to finally quell the laughter. "I don't know what that was about."
"Stress, grief, a little of both and probably a lot more. It's okay. You probably felt safe enough here to let it out."
"You make it safe Sir."
"Glad I could help. Are you up for more?"
Clint's eyes lit up, "Please, Sir."
"Sir? I thought my name was Fury, or more appropriately 'What the fuck Fury'."
Clint blew out a breath, "I'm so going to pay for that."
Fury put an arm around the archer as he guided him back to the wall, "Not as much, now that I know where your head was. But if I don't punish you that will just be another piece of guilt you'll hold on to."
"You know me too well."
"Of course, otherwise how could I help you?"
"Do you want me to help you?" Natasha was trying to sound nice but she was getting impatient. It was taking forever for Bruce to get his clothes off; it was the world's slowest striptease.
"No, I have it," Bruce replying as he placed his tie with his very carefully folded jacket on the floor then started the slow process of unbuttoning his shirt.
"I'm going to see everything eventually Bruce. Why are you stalling? You said…"
"I don't want to disappoint you," Bruce mumbled.
"You are not disappointing me Bruce. Beginning to annoy me, sure, but then I'm not particularly patient when I want something. Why was this so easy with Ms. Alana?"
"It wasn't, I kept doing it because I needed the control, the calm, which the collar brought. The other guy was so hard to control then that I would do anything. But now I have better control. Except for the upcoming meetings, I don't need this. What I'm doing now I want to do for you, which is why I don't want to disappoint you."
There was a slight smirk on Natasha's lips as her eyes lit up with understanding. "You're wrong Bruce. I think you do need this. Not for Hulk, we took care of that earlier. But this, you need this for you. You need me to control you, you need to please me. Otherwise you would've just asked Clint to help with earlier and we wouldn't be right here, right now. Any monkey can hold the leash." Natasha brought her face inches from his, catching his chin in her hand as he tried to turn away from her. "But I don't need the leash to control the man do I Bruce? Your need is so great, I could just…" Natasha pushed away the image of crushing him beneath her perfectly sensible heels. Black Widow's first urge was always to trample the weak, twist the trust of anyone she came in contact with. Bruce would never truly understand he wasn't the only one with a monster inside. "Say it again Bruce."
"What Ms. Natasha?"
"What will you do for me?"
"Anything."
"You have sixty seconds."
Bruce lost two buttons as he stripped off his shirt, his shoes hit the wall as he kicked them off, and his pants and underwear were tossed approximately on top of his other clothes. He had considered keeping his socks on but a pointed look from Natasha and they quickly joined the pile.
"I don't get much sun," Bruce chuckled nervously.
"I'm Russian; we are not known for our swarthy complexions," Natasha replied dismissively. "Besides," she ran a hand down Bruce's chest. "It contrasts nicely with the darkness of your hair." Her hand stops an inch below his waist then she quickly removes it and walks behind him, running both her hands across and down his back. "I don't know why you'd be embarrassed Bruce…" She steps back to get a better view, "Do you walk a lot?"
"Practically everywhere before," His words dropped off as his mind started to replay the highlights of the last few months.
Natasha hooked her finger into the ring attached to the collar, tugging it gently until she felt his shoulders relax. "It shows," she continued as if nothing had happened. "Nice, strong legs, how dare you hide them from me?" she teased.
"I won't ever again, Ms. Natasha," Bruce whispered.
Natasha continued to let her fingers explore Bruce's body. She delighted in every shiver, every quick intake of breath her touch elicited. She kept up a monologue of compliments for Bruce as she explored. He probably hadn't heard much good said about him in a long time she surmised. And even then it was probably just about his brain or the other guy. If he was willing to do this for her, the least she could do was to let him know she appreciated it.
Natasha's fingers were exploring the finer details of Bruce's collar bone so when he moved his arms suddenly she felt it before she saw it. "Hands back Bruce," Natasha orders evenly. Slowly, reluctantly Bruce moves his hands back to his sides. When Natasha glances down to see what Bruce was covering, a blush spreads across his face. "You are enjoying yourself. Good," she murmurs resisting the urge to encourage what is happening more directly. She didn't know how much it would affect Bruce's control over Hulk and she didn't want to ruin the moment by asking. So Natasha resisted, mostly. Just letting her fingers graze over, feeling as he twitched up to meet the tips of her fingers, a moan escaping from his lips.
"I…I could use a cup of water," Natasha announced, realizing that the room seemed suddenly warmer. As Bruce went to retrieve her drink, Natasha contemplated what to do next. She knew where she would normally go but even with Bruce's current level of excitement, sex just didn't appeal to her right now. With a sigh she once again had to accept this was something she knew little about. She hoped that some of the websites Clint had sent her long ago would have some non-pain inducing suggestions.
Bruce handed Natasha the water and moved quietly back into the position he had been standing in before. "Thank you…how did Ms. Alana address you?"
"Good boy mostly, on the rare occasion, bad boy."
"So she called you boy?" Natasha questioned.
Bruce shook his head and sighed, "She called me Beast. Ms. Alana thought it was funny, thought that I was over-exaggerating my anger issues and destructiveness. Truth was I didn't tell her a fraction of what was really going on. So it was good boy Beast, Beast bad boy."
"I will never call you Beast, it's as bad as monster and we know you are not that. What would you like to be called when we are like this?"
"It's your choice. Whatever you call me, I will answer to."
"I'll have to think about it then," Natasha responded as she finished the last of her water. She crumpled the paper cup and went to step toward the trash can when Bruce placed his hand out in front of her.
"I will dispose of that for you Ms. Natasha." Natasha let the cup drop into his hand and he quickly took it over to the trash and then returned again to his original position.
"Good boy," Natasha praised. A smile spread across Bruce's face… then there was a knock at the door.
"Hey, Bruce, I could use your help on something." There was another series of knocks and then the twisting of the door handle. "Why is this door locked?"
"Because I have Bruce naked in here and I knew you wouldn't respect a closed door Stark."
"Very funny Romanoff. Now do you want to tell me the real reason?"
"Sensitive information regarding some of the participants attending Monday's meeting," Natasha replied, her finger once again looped through the ring of the collar. Bruce's breathing was slowly returning to normal.
"Can you wrap this up for the night? I need Banner's brain, I guess he will need to come along with it."
"Are we done for tonight Bruce?" Natasha whispered as she trailed the fingers of her other hand down his chest. They were so close she swore she felt his shiver through her whole body.
"Only if that is your desire Ms. Natasha." She knew he meant it but she could also see the conflict on his face.
"We'll be wrapped up in fifteen minutes Stark," Natasha called out.
"I'll be up on the twentieth Bruce," Stark replied back.
"I knew he wouldn't believe the first thing I told him, never does. So why not lead with the truth?" Natasha explained as she removed the collar from Bruce's neck.
"I wasn't so sure," Bruce confessed.
"I have no desire for Tony to know my personal life."
"Me either," Bruce responded absently touching at his neck. "He's my best friend but he's lousy with secrets."
"Do you need anything? The collar wasn't too tight was it?"
"No it was fine, it's just," Bruce chuckled. "Now I really do feel naked. I should probably get dressed and head up before he comes back."
Natasha nodded, "I'd like to do this again. It was…nice."
"I enjoyed it too. Didn't know I missed it so much." Bruce picked up his clothes before turning to Natasha, "You are right Natasha any monkey can hold a leash, but I want, no I need it to be you."
Natasha smiled and tucked those words along with everything that was wonderful about that night in a box and placed it in the back of her mind to replay later. Natasha squared her shoulders, "We should meet tomorrow afternoon, early. We have a lot more information to cover, so it will be a long day. Don't let Stark keep you up too long. I need you rested."
"Of course."
Agent Romanoff turned and began gathering up the papers and folders to take them back to her room. Dr. Banner dressed in preparation of assisting Mr. Stark with his latest project.