Chapter 11: The Way

Bruce looked at Natasha and smiled. He and the redheaded beauty were usually the more reserved ones of the Circle. As much as he found the rest of them fun, today was quite eventful enough. He didn't know what craziness Steve, Tony, Clint, Sam and Thor were up to, but Bruce honestly didn't really care. It was quiet and Bruce enjoyed that. At the moment, he and Natasha weren't doing more than sitting on the couch and sipping fruit punch. It was strange. Bruce was stuffed from the poolside barbecue and bake-off desserts, but he always had room for something more to drink. He took a few strong swigs and looked at Natasha. She sat with her legs curled under her, seeming deep in thought.

"You alright?" he asked.

She looked up and shrugged.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

Bruce shrugged as well.

"Just curious I guess. You think Clint's gonna be okay? You know, after the whole Barney thing?"

Natasha stroked at the curls behind her ear.

"Truth is, I don't know. Even after all the years I've known Clint, I still don't know if he and his brother will ever be one-hundred percent with each other. Clint's always had a bit of a rocky relationship with Barney, but today seemed to particularly sting."

"What's the deal with those two anyway? I don't mean any offense but they seem very alike. So why do they bicker?"

Natasha scoffed and set her glass of punch down.

"That's something you're gonna have to ask Clint about yourself, Bruce."

Bruce let his head hang low, staring at the carpet.

"Not so sure he'd tell me. Even if I wasn't afraid to ask him." he admitted.

Natasha scooted closer to Bruce. He couldn't see her with his hair obstructing his peripheral, but he could smell her vanilla scented body lotion. She always wore that certain brand.

"Afraid? Why would you be afraid to ask him?" she asked.

He fought not to roll his eyes. Bruce thought that might have been a rhetorical question, but she seemed serious.

"Shouldn't you already know? Clint's a cool guy and all but I figured anything personal he'd only tell either you or Tony."

"That's not true."

Bruce turned his head towards her and pushed his hair away from his eyes.

"Really?" he asked.

"I told you before, Bruce. Clint likes you. He likes all of us. If there was even one person in our Circle that Clint couldn't stand, he wouldn't hang out with us at all. Trust me on that. Besides, don't you remember the whole thing with him, Thor and Steve?"

Against his will a smile spread across Bruce's face and he laughed.

"Yeah. I wish I could've been there to see that. Still though, he only spilled his soul like that because he was loosey goosie that night."

"Haven't you heard the phrase 'drunken actions are sober truths'? If Steve and Thor would've pressed hard enough while he was sober, Clint would probably have told them what he did regardless."

Bruce scratched at the corner of his mouth. This was pleasant news.

"What about you?" he asked.

"What about me?" she asked back.

"If I wanted to know something about you, would you tell me?"

Bruce grew concerned when her eyebrows pulled together.

"Depends on the question. Despite his attitude, Clint is more willing to talk about personal stuff than me."

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle.

"I figured as much. I really am curious about something though."

Natasha leaned on her elbow.

"Fire away. I already had my own heart-to-heart with Thor yesterday."

Bruce took a deep breath and asked,

"Now that Clint is with Tony, do you think you could see yourself being with anybody?"

Natasha snorted, looking to the side and tugging at her jean pockets.

"I doubt it. If I was ever gonna date anyone, it would've been Clint a looong time ago, Bruce."

"Steve and Sam said the same thing last night. Why didn't you two ever,...you know...do it?"

Natasha smiled a sad looking smile that made Bruce shift uncomfortably. He hoped he hadn't prodded too much.

"You know not too long ago, I would say it's because Clint and I have never been 'boyfriend/girlfriend' type of people. Then we get invited to a certain birthday party and now,...I'm not so sure how to answer that question anymore."

Bruce wants to say something else, but suddenly he's at a loss for words. For just a moment, Natasha drops her mask. The one she wears almost all the time to hide her emotions unless she's with Clint. The expression on her face is a blend of sadness and relief. Bruce could tell it was because her partner had finally begun to move on. He gets lost in her eyes. Green. His favorite color. Two emerald pools of thoughts and feelings begging to be released. Her lips and her hair, red as cherries. He then began to envy Clint. He got to see this side of her on a regular basis. Bruce couldn't help himself. He was stuck staring at her. A minute or two went by before Natasha frowned slightly at him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"You are so beautiful."

Bruce's eyes went wide. The words escaped his mouth against his will. What scares him wasn't what he said; it was how he said it. Gentle and soft but laced with conviction. As if he needed her to feel his words. Bruce felt his ears grow hot and his cheeks start to blush.

"I'm...I'm s-sorry." he stammers.

Natasha continues to look back at him, her mask slipping back on. Bruce saddens on the inside. He wants to see her again. To see what her soul wants to say through her hypnotizing green eyes.

"It's okay." she says, her voice barely above a whisper.

Bruce didn't know what to say after that, so he looked away from her and didn't say anything else at all.

What's with you, Bruce? You love Betty. You love Betty.

Natasha just finished the rest of her punch. She didn't say anything else either. Bruce can't decide for himself whether or not, and that only serves to make him feel guilty. He knows how feels about Betty. He loves her. She's his Betty Boo. What bothers him is that he doesn't know how to feel about Natasha.

I shouldn't even be having these thoughts. What's up with me? Get yourself together, Bruce. You still gotta find out what the issue with Betty is.

If Natasha noticed Bruce's face while he's in thought, she doesn't comment on it. A big sigh of relief escapes his lips when half an hour later the familiar ding of the elevator sounds. He and Natasha got up from the couch to greet their friends. Bruce's relieved smile faltered when he saw them. Steve, Tony, Clint, Thor and Sam exit the elevator. All of them pissed off, looking like someone peed in their cereal. Tony and Clint have dirt on their shirts. Thor chewing on his knuckles. Steve's jaw clenched tight. Sam just looks fed up with it all.

"What happened?" Natasha asked right away.

"Loki happened. You were correct, Natasha. My brother remains an asshole." Thor grumbled.

Bruce's jaw dropped.

Holy cow. When does Thor swear?

"Loki? He-He's here?" asked Bruce.

"Yes, Bruce. It seems he arrived earlier this afternoon. I have received no messages about my family's return. I suppose father wanted it to be a surprise for when I came home later."

"Oh yeah. Big surprise. Big fucking surprise." Tony spat out.

Bruce walked over to his fellow egghead. He could practically see steam blowing from Tony's ears. His hand was clenching Clint's nice and tight. Clint was looking down at the floor with his signature blank face.

"I don't wanna know the details right now. I just wanna know if you're all okay." said Bruce.

It was a half-truth. He was actually itching to know what Loki did to get them so pissed off, but their body language screamed "I don't want to talk about it".

Tony took a deep breath and placed his other hand on Bruce's shoulder. The genius managed a half smile.

"Well we're all still in one piece and breathing so yes, Brucie Boy. We're okay."

"Relatively speaking." Steve deadpanned.

Sam nudged Steve and shook his head. His dark brown eyes saying "Not now" to the blond. Steve sighed irritated and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Clint, talk to me." Natasha ordered.

Clint looked up from the floor, slowly untangling his fingers from Tony's.

"I'm sorry you guys. It was my idea to play that game. If you're mad at me in any I can understand." he said before looking back down.

Tony lifted Clint's chin and smooched him.

"Clyde, nobody forces me to do anything I don't wanna do. The Loki thing was fucked up but that wasn't your fault."

"Aye, friend Clint. I already stated how I blame none of you for the actions that transpired." Thor added.

Sam cracked a genuine smile.

"Yeah man. Like Tony said, that wasn't your fault. Besides, I was actually having a lot of fun before Loki came along."

Clint looked up and smiled warmly at the Circle.

"Thanks. I still feel bad though. Sorry your last day was kinda ruined by me and my brother, Sam."

Sam rolled his eyes and slapped Clint's bicep.

"Oh please, home boy. Your brother was a wet blanket who left before he did any actual damage. As for what just happened, as far as I'm concerned it's one hell of a story for the future. Stop sweatin' it, Clyde. It's all good."

Clint chortled. Bruce knew that no one is immune to the way Sam, Tony and Thor are able to lighten a mood almost effortlessly. Steve doesn't look completely convinced that everything is okay, but his jaw unclenched and his shoulders relaxed. Clint shrugged and leaned on Tony's shoulder.

"I guess you're right, Birdie." he said.

Bruce couldn't help but chuckle when Tony kissed the top of Clint's hair. Of all the things Bruce thought he would see, a millionaire genius and a rebel ex-cirque becoming romantically involved was not one of them. But that's what made Tony and Clint an awesome pair. You wouldn't expect that.

Sam looked at the time on his cell phone and immediately his smile dropped.

"Aw crap. As much fun as this day has been, unfortunately it's about that time." he announced.

"Damn. It sucks how fast time flies by when you're having fun." Tony whined.

"Seconded. Sam, I wish you nothing but the best with your new life. I shall miss you greatly." said Thor, wrapping Sam in one of his famous bear hugs.

"Ahhhhh, I'll miss you too, Thor. Who else am I gonna get to crack my back like that?" Sam joked.

Clint chuckled and gave Sam a hug of his own.

"And who else is gonna be my Bird Bro? This sucks ass. The falcon and the hawk are splitting up."

Bruce laughed at that.

"Bird Bros? Good one, Clint."

Natasha was the next one to give Sam a goodbye hug.

"The next time you visit, you're showing me how to make a pie that good."

Sam laughed and patted her shoulder.

"Sorry Natasha, but nope. Big Mama Wilson's sweet potato pie secret is one only known amongst the rest of us Wilsons."

"That wasn't a question."

Sam looked nervous for a second before Natasha winked and grinned at him.

"Birdie my dear friend, you better not become a stranger. Remember I'm a millionaire. If you try and skip out on keeping contact with me, I'll make your life a living hell." said Tony.

"Tony I come from a 'hood where girls walk around with razor blades under their tongues. I can handle anything you throw my way."

Tony looked away and pouted.

"Well still, better not let it get to that point."

"I love you too, Tony."

Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Oh please. I don't love you."

"Right, cuz I'm sure the fact that you paid your help extra to work on a Sunday their day off just to make me happy shows how much of a cold bastard you are."

Tony dropped the act and threw his arms around his friend. He and Sam embraced long and tight then gave each other a fist bump. Steve smiled sadly at the group.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to go. C'mon, Bruce. We don't wanna be late dropping him off." he said.

"You should go too, Nat. Since Barney left you here you can go ahead and take my car." said Clint handing her his keys.

"You sure, Clint?" she asked him.

Bruce saw her mask fade somewhat. She was concerned for her partner who still looked a bit ruffled. Clint looked at Tony then back at her.

"Yeah. I'm gonna stick around here for a bit."

Natasha nodded and gave Clint a kiss on his cheek. Bruce bit his lip and looked away.

"Okay. I'll see you later." she replied.

"I must be off as well," said Thor with a deep frown,

"I would have words with Loki."

"Add a few for me, will ya? Bastard's got another thing coming if he thinks he'll be getting away with that crap." Tony threatened.

"I shall, friend Tony. But that is a different thing. Sam, you will be missed dearly. Everyone, farewell."

"Thanks for a kick ass going away party y'all." said Sam said as they all exited the living room.

"Good luck Sam! I'll see the rest of you tomorrow!" Tony called out.

Bruce, Thor, Sam, Steve and Natasha rode the elevator down to the ground floor and splintered off to their own cars. Thor gave Sam one last bear hug before getting in his silver Altima. Bruce found himself staring at Natasha again while she strolled over to Clint's purple Saturn. He wondered what she thought of him after their awkward moment on the couch.

I hope she doesn't think I'm a weirdo. Oh god, what if she tells Clint later? Wait why am I panicking? You're overthinking things again. All I did was call her beautiful. That's all that was.

Bruce sighed as he got in the backseat of Steve's convertible.

No it wasn't. Oh boy.

Five minutes later into their drive, Bruce had spaced out. Staring out the window not really listening or thinking about anything while Steve and Sam chatted. Until he heard something he couldn't ignore.

"That was some damn good food though, wasn't it?" asked Sam.

Steve licked his lips and nodded in agreement.

"Sure was. I liked the potato (po-tay-to) salad."

Bruce snapped his head towards Steve.

"What did you call it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Steve just shrugged.

"What?"

Sam covered his mouth with his hands, stifling a laugh.

"Steve,...po-tay-to salad?"

Steve, realizing how he said the word, chuckled and rolled his eyes.

"What is this, 'Pick on Steve Day'?"

Sam couldn't hold it in any longer. He snorted and howled with laughter. Bruce joined in, always finding shameless laughter at other people's expense contagious. Steve reddened in his face as he kept driving. For a moment, Bruce wasn't concerned about his relationship with Betty, his confusing thoughts about Natasha, or the pressure he was putting on himself concerning his future following graduation. All that mattered was having some fun last minutes with Sam before he moved away possibly forever. Birdie would indeed be missed.

This is what I love about our Circle. Despite Barney being a jerk and Loki doing whatever he did, at the end of the day we can all still have a big healthy laugh. Especially at the way Steve says 'potato'.

A/N: Short but sweet chapter. What's going with Brucie Boy?