Hulk stands up in shock. There is no blood. There are no bodies. Why is he here?
His heart beats super fast. He growls at being woken up. Whoever scared Banner, who ever made them mad, is gonna pay. It must be something bad.
For a minute, Hulk sees without seeing. He's too shocked to understand where he is and who he's with. Waking up always makes him feel funny, like he's not all there.
There's someone in front of him. The smell is familiar. When the haze of coming out is gone, he realizes that it's Clint. Clint with an eye-patch, his bad arm in a cast and with band-aids on his nose.
At his right, Thor is there. His stupid heavy hammer in hand. Hulk narrows his eyes at that. There's no one to fight. Is Thor planning on hitting him with his stupid hammer?
Hulk plants his feet into the floor, it cracks but does not break.
Cupid interrupts the silence.
"Thor, leave. There's no danger, alright?" He advances to Hulk and pats his arm. Hulk flinches from the touch. No one touches him when he comes out like this. Too afraid. Though Clint doesn't try to touch him again, he remains by Hulk's side.
Being closer to Clint he can smell the fear and anger on the man. Fearful and angry at Thor? Thor wouldn't hit Clint with the nasty hammer, would he?
"Nay Clint, I cannot. We both know that Hulk coming out unplanned is rarely good. I must stay until I am satisfied that you are safe." He shakes his head, blond hair moving.
Hulk growls. Clint safe. Clint always safe with Hulk. Clint presses into his body a little, as if trying to get away from Thor.
See! Hulk thinks triumphantly. Clint knows who's safe. Guess it's not you.
At the growl, Thor advances. His hammer is raised slightly. Hulk clenches his fists. When he advances, Clint tries to hide behind Hulk.
Which is just wrong. Cupid never hid from team before. Thor may be a pain but he's not a threat. Hulk puts an arm around his friend protectively.
"Clint. What is wrong?" Thor asks, not getting it.
"Clint wants Goldilocks gone! Cupid scared!" Hulk rumbles at him.
"Surely, Hulk, Clint has no reason to fear me.." He says. Hulk knows what he means. You are wrong, he's afraid of you, Hulk.
Which is a big fat lie. People who are afraid don't try to hide behind you. Don't touch you.
"Goldilocks make Clint afraid! You did something wrong!" He says, pointing a large finger at Thor.
Thor lets the hammer holding hand droop. He finally looks at what Clint's doing. "Is it true, are you afraid?" He asks, his voice soft.
"I'd just like some time alone with a friend, in my own room, if that's alright with you." Clint says, and moves away from Hulk a bit. To prove he's big and tough. Hulk understands, so he isn't upset.
Thor sighs. He looks up at Hulk with sadness in his face. It almost makes up for him being a jerk to Clint. Maybe he didn't mean it. Maybe he was bad accidentally. Hulk's done that before, especially when he was young.
When he looks back at Clint, he moves away from them, toward the door. "I do not quite know what has happened here, Clint. But I regret anything I have done here today that has put this fear between us. I do not wish it to be so."
Cupid shakes his head. "Please leave."
Thor nods and almost does it. His whole body seems to turn in on itself. He smells of shame and sadness. "What of the others? Surely this rift cannot be allowed to go on."
"I'll take care of them. In my own time" Clint says, voice low with anger.
Thor opens his mouth as if to speak, but the words get lost. Words usually go away when you need them most. Silently he leaves.
As soon as he's gone, Clint rushes to close the door. "JARVIS" He says at the ceiling.
The ceiling voice, the man without a body, speaks. "How may I be of service, Agent Barton?"
"Lock my floor down completely. No one gets in."
The ceiling voice sounds worried. "Are you quite sure that's wise? The others will be worried."
Looking at Hulk, Clint gives a wink. "Absolutely. Shut it down JARVIS."
There is a noise. That must be what the ceiling voice was doing. Hulk looks back at the door. No one can get in. Also means no one can get out. The trapped feeling rises in his chest. He doesn't like being trapped. Breathing starts to get hard. He has to force it.
Cupid steps toward him and rubs his arm. "No one can get in, Big guy, but you can still get out, if you wanna. Wouldn't do that to you."
"Good." Hulk says. Clint knows about being trapped now, how scary it is.
Eventually the breathing gets easier. Hulk is not trapped. Clint stops smelling like fear. All good things.
"Hey, you hungry?" Clint asks. He says nothing about what Thor did to him.
He shrugs. "Never say no to food." It's out before he knows what he's saying. Has he ever been asked that before?
Cupid actually laughs. "Never." He walks to the table and picks up a box of donuts. Hulk can smell them from here. He walks kinda funny. Like it's hard for him to walk.
As he hands the box to Hulk he says, "Here, you can have the rest. I'm not hungry anymore." There are a lot of donuts there. Hulk looks up at him to make sure. Cupid makes the 'go on' motion with his hand,but Hulk looks on in confusion.
He's never out when things are calm, not really. Hulk being around means fighting and pain. Not donuts.
"Eat. You do know how to eat, right?" Clint says, but with a smile. There's no meanness to it. Hulk's always looking for the meanness in words.
Carefully he takes a donut and eats it in one bite. He looks up and Clint just smiles. So he eats another. And another. They quickly disappear into his stomach.
The sugar catches in his throat. God, he's so thirsty.
As if reading his mind, Clint goes over to the bar. "Hulk don't like that stuff." He says, looking at the alcohol.
Alcohol reminds him of the bad man. He doesn't want to be like the bad man, so he doesn't drink it. Not ever.
But instead, Clint brings over apple juice and hands it over. "'Course not. You're a growin' boy and all. Very bad for your health."
He watches with a smile as Hulk finishes the juice.
Hulk looks around the room for a bit, empty bottle still in hand. He can't find words. Clint smiles at him, without fear, and gives him food.
Finally Hulk walks to the bar and gently puts the bottle down on the counter. There, that seems right.
"Was it good?" Clint asks
Hulk nods. He clenches and unclenches his fists. Looks out the window at the huge buildings. He wishes that he could see trees from here.
Is he supposed to say something? Do something?
"Why is Cupid doing this?" The words come out on their own.
"Doing what, buddy?" Clint asks, "Treatin' a friend to some breakfast? It's a little somethin' called hospitality, Big Guy."
Hospitality. Big word. Has hospital in it, a word Hulk hates. But it seems to mean something good, the way Clint says it. Hospitality means food and smiles, maybe.
Clint moves his good arm in a semi circle, showing the room off. "While you're out, anything you'd like to do? We've got time."
"Why is Hulk out?" Banner doesn't let him out for fun, for friends. He lets him out to fight.
Clint looks away. "There was an argument with the team. It got heated. Banner lost control." Only after the words are out can Clint look at his face.
"Banner wouldn't lose control," Hulk says, narrowing his eyes.
"Well he did, Big Fella. What, you don't wanna hang out with me?" Clint asks with pout.
He feels cold. He hurt his friend. "Like being with Clint. But want to know why. No lies." Hulk gives Clint one of his most serious looks.
"That wasn't a lie. There was a fight, a big one. And all of a sudden, there you were."
It feels right and wrong at the same time. He should believe Clint. But Clint is like Spider-Lady. They get paid to lie.
"Why fight?" Hulk asks. Clint steps back and Hulk knows he's asked the right question.
Clint rolls his good eye. "They wanted to know...well all that shit with Ross. As soon as I got home they attacked."
Hulk growls at that word.
"Not like that, though it felt that way. They picked at me with all these stupid questions until Bruce got fed up. And you know the rest."
"That all?" Hulk's pretty sure it isn't.
"Basically. Now let me throw this away and we can..." Clint says, moving toward the bar. He stumbles. Before he can fall, Hulk rushes forward and catches him in one big arm. He pulls Cupid to the floor. His hand around Clint's waist.
"Clint hurt?" He asks. Not again.
"Nah" Clint says, his voice sounding all weak. "Jus' a little tired is all." He rests his head on Hulk's shoulder.
Clint lays his whole body back against Hulk. He's close enough that Hulk can smell his shampoo, can sorta hear the beating of his heart. He makes no move to get away, just snuggles into Hulk's body, like he does this all the time.
No one ever lets Hulk get this close. Not even the other Avengers. Sure Tony might pat him on the arm after a fight, but this is different.
It hits him very hard, all of a sudden. Clint trusts him completely. More than the others ever could. He's letting Hulk hold him, in arms that could crush him to bits. And that makes him sleepy, not scared.
Hulk swallows hard. Won't let tears happen, even though they want to.
Hulk rubs Clint's stomach. It's all he can think to do. He hopes it makes Cupid feel better.
Into his neck Clint mumbles, "I was suppost to be takin' care of you."
"Take care of Hulk?" He asks, trying to make his voice soft. He's not very good at soft. "Why?"
"'Cause of how good you were to me, when Ross fucked me up." Cupid rubs the hand that's holding him. Back and forth, from fingernails to wrist.
Clint's hurt and upset, so Hulk shouldn't want to kiss him because of it. But he does.
Hulk makes a noise into his hair. "Friends take care of friends." Cupid's smart, smart enough to know that. Even Hulk knows that.
The man stumbles over his words, like when the bad man would drink way too much. But Clint doesn't smell like alcohol. Maybe he's too tired for words.
"Even after I...even when I thought you were gonna hurt me, you took care of me. You didn't haveta do that. Would've understood if you hated me."
Hulk shakes his head very fast. "Cupid was hurt. Hurt and scared. Hard to think like that." Something Hulk knows well.
Clint stops rubbing his hand, opting to squeeze his wrist instead. "But still. You went above and beyond, buddy. Never thought I could trust an alpha like that."
His body sags, just a little. Like sitting up in Hulk's lap is tiring. He should probably put Clint to bed. But he's learned not to move his friend without his permission. Even if he's dead on his feet.
Hulk squeezes Clint to him, just a little. "You can trust Hulk." He says in Cupid's ear.
The man in his arms nods. "I know. What's funny is that you're the only one I can trust now."
Hulk has no idea how that's funny.
"No trust for the rest of the team?" Hulk doesn't understand it. He's just got to where he knows the Avengers are good, are his team. And team is supposed to be trusted.
He and Tony were the first ones Hulk really trusted, really liked. And now...now the team is no longer good? How can they change that fast?
"No. I don't know. I just don't feel safe around them anymore. I can't even believe I'm tellin' you half this shit!" Cupid says, suddenly not tired anymore. The words give him energy, it seems. He slaps Hulk's arm with this new energy.
He twists in Hulk's arms, to look him in the eye. "You're the only alpha I ever met who didn't see me as...as a thing. Even when I was so deep in it, you didn't see an omega to use. I'm just not so sure about the rest of them."
Hulk tilts his head at that."Why are you not sure?"
Clint sighs. His whole body seems to get heavier.
"You know that fight I was talkin' about?"
Hulk nods.
"That's why. The way they kept pickin' at me. Cornering me, demanding answers. Like 'cause I'm an omega they get to boss me around. Then, when they found out Ross planned on you mating me, they got this look in their eyes. Like someone tried to take their toy away."
Hulk heats up with anger. He wants to tear Ross apart. And the team...he doesn't really understand that. Maybe he's just too stupid.
"Hulk...doesn't understand. Bout the team." He stammers out. If he could blush, he would. People already think he's dumb, he doesn't need Clint thinking it.
"'Course you don't. You're an alpha." Cupid shakes his head. "They ganged up on me and demanded things from me, answers, that I didn't want to give. Like they owned me."
"Hulk understands that. Ross says Hulk belongs in his cage. Wants to cut Hulk up and see what's inside." He shudders at the thought.
Clint looks at him with sadness. He almost wishes he hadn't said anything. "Well it was sorta like that. I don't like feelin' like I don't have a choice."
Would the team really do that? Try to own him? Hulk can't really believe that. But Clint does. And he wants to protect Clint so bad.
Hulk loves his team, though Trusts them beyond anything. But this person he's wants to protect doesn't. How can Hulk trust \ his team while protecting Cupid from them?
And how can Clint stay and fight, with people he doesn't trust?
"What's Clint gonna do?" Hulk asks. When he and Banner get scared, they run. Will Clint run?
"Honestly, I have no fuckin' idea. First thing I'm gonna do is get a new pump. Maybe once I stop putting out all those hormones I'll stop feelin' so damned weepy."
Hulk grits his teeth in frustration. Clint really does know how to talk and not talk about something at the same time.
"What about the team?" He asks.
Clint smiles an unhappy smile. "I've worked with people I don't trust before. Besides, S.H.I.E.L.D would get all antsy if I got up and ran. They like to know what's going on, at all times. And, frankly, don't want to have to explain this shit to Fury.
So Clint's just gonna be around these people that he's afraid of? Living with the fear of being used?
"No one will use Cupid. Not while Hulk breathes." It's the only thing he can say. The only way he can give Clint what he needs and not betray his team. And he means every word. Maybe Clint won't have to be afraid all the time, if he knows Hulk's watching out for him.
He can barely feel Banner, in the back of his head. There are no words, he can't hear Banner's words like Banner can hear his. Instead he gets an image of Banner nodding at him. Cupid has Banner looking out for him too.
Clint just smiles. When he finally tries to get up, Hulk doesn't stop him. He should, he thinks. But holding Clint down, after all of this, wouldn't be right.
His friend barely stumbles. "JARVIS," he says at the ceiling.
"Yes sir," the ceiling voice replies.
"Increase the lockdown measures on my floor. No one gets in for 24 hours, you got that?"
Somehow, the ceiling voice sounds sad at that. "...Yes sir."
Then he's gone.
Clint looks back at Hulk. "Dunno about you, but I'm tired. Wanna watch TV or somethin while I pass out?" He gestures to the couch.
Hulk looks at it a bit. Maybe if he's super gentle he won't break it. So Hulk nods. Clint wobbles to the couch, rubbing his hurt shoulder. Hulk follows. Before Clint can get on the couch, Hulk beats him to it and gently coaxes his friend to lay his head on one of Hulk's thighs.
Hulk touches Clint's hair, before he can think about it. Clint looks up at him and Hulk moves his hand away, as quick as he can.
"No I didn't...it's ok if you wanna, you know, pet me. I kinda like that." Clint grabs for Hulk's hand and puts it back on his head.
Hulk combs his fingers very softly through the gold/brown hair. His friend sighs, just a little. It's a happy sigh. Cupid breaks contact just a bit, to reach over and grab the remote.
The TV comes to life in a loud burst of sound. One of Hulk's hands is busy so he can't cover his ears. When Clint hands him the remote, Hulk gratefully turns the sound down.
As he messes with the TV just for something to do, he feels the weight on his leg get heavier.
Cupid is asleep. He snores softly. Despite this, Hulk continues to brush his hair. It's nice, getting to touch someone like this. To know someone trusts him enough to fall asleep with him like this.
Hulk makes a promise to himself, right then. He will protect Cupid, no matter what. Even if it's from the very people he trustsmore than anything.
Cupid's counting on him. On him and Banner both.