Holly was waiting for them with her arms full when the elevator reached their floor minus Tony who had gone straight upstairs. As they walked past her she handed them a colored, lidded cup and a clean towel. She couldn't help but feel bad for them- they all looked dreadfully tired, especially Bruce who looked ready to just hit the pillow.
"What's this?" Steve asked with a raised eyebrow as he looked at his blue bottle.
"It's an after workout shake that is supposed to jumpstart your recovery. I know that's not what you guys were doing but I thought it might…help." the last word was almost inaudible as Holly looked at the two assassins who were looking at her like she was crazy. "If you don't like it you don't have to drink it. I just thought…Dinner is on the table. I called that Chinese place that was on the speed dial. Oh and Bruce-" the physicist looked up at her.
"There is a pot of hot water on the stove if you want tea. Jarvis said you usually make some after a mission." With that Holly retreated to her room as fast as her feet could carry her. The group watched her go before exchanging looks amongst themselves and heading into the common area. They were greeted with the smells of their favorite Chinese dishes from the kitchen but each broke away to change into more comfortable clothes before settling at the table. They exchanged boxes back and forth in an almost continuous rustle of cardboard and while most of them were focused on their food, Steve kept looking over his shoulder at Holly's closed door. Bruce looked up from his dinner and followed the good Captain's gaze.
"Should we go get her?" Steve said turning back to the table.
"Hmm?" Bruce murmured.
"I mean, she did all this for us and this is delicious." he said tapping his empty blue glass against the table. That had been the first thing the black hole of a man had finished. Bruce felt a small twinge of the guilt that Cap was expressing but the assassins rolled their eyes.
"If she wants to be by herself, let her be. No one asked her to leave." Natasha said and Clint kept his eyes on his food. She had a point too. As Steve was about to rise from his chair Holly walked out of her room with headphones and a laundry basket on her hip. She moved past the group without a passing glance and went about folding laundry in the laundry room and hanging things up.
"See. She's much too preoccupied with her job to join us." Nat continued taking another bite of food.
"Leave her be Cap." Bruce said reassuringly. "She'll come around."
It was about 3 p.m. the next day when Bruce finally managed to pull himself from his slumber and crawl out of bed. He had been so exhausted the night before after the fight that he had collapsed onto the bed after eating dinner and passed out as soon as he hit the blankets. He walked out to his kitchen in his tattered pants from the day before and looked into his fridge. It had just been restocked but nothing in there caught his fancy so he closed the fridge with a huff. He rubbed his eyes and ran a hand through his scruffy hair as be looked around his suite. His eyes stopped on the door. Maybe there was something in the fridge out there that would appeal to him more.
Bruce was surprised to find the common area quiet and empty. Usually at least one person was moving about or making noise but the room was pleasantly serene. Bruce padded quietly into the kitchen and was amazed to see a bowl of fresh fruit on the table. He was greeted by even more fruit when he opened the fridge along with some plain yogurt and an assortment of vegetables. He grabbed a thing of grapes and set a kettle of water on the stove so he could make some tea. As soon as it whistled he poured some of the hot water over the tea bag in his cup and replaced it on the stove top. He smiled to himself as he lifted the cup to his lips. Nothing like tea after a post-transformation pass out.
"Dr. Banner?" Bruce spun so fast that he lost his grip on his tea cup and it smashed against the tile floor sending china pieces in all directions. Holly stood a couple of feet from him in black yoga pants and a violet muscle shirt looking guilty as she stared at where the cup had just broken. As she looked up at Bruce, she could swear that his eyes flashed green just before he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Are you okay?" Holly asked.
"I'm fine" Bruce lied. "Where is everyone?"
" Natasha and Clint left this morning to report to Fury about yesterday's mission, Steve is in the gym, and Tony is in the lab…at least that was what Pepper said. I'm not allowed up there as part of Tony's campaign to get me fired." Holly chuckled a little to herself. She grabbed a broom and swept the obliterated cup into a little pile before grabbing another cup from him and pouring Bruce another cup. As she handed it to him she deposited the broken pieces into the trash.
"What are you doing?" Bruce asked.
"Just watching the news." Holly shrugged, inclining her head to the TV set behind her that was muted because of the commercials. "Did you want to join me?"
"I don't know. I think I might get showered and head up to my lab." Bruce said taking a drink of his tea.
"Oh…well." Holly started, a touch of disappointment in her voice. It was another one of those things that made Bruce's guilt bubble up in his throat. "I hope you have a good day then."
Holly sighed and turned back towards the living space where the couch was. She climbed onto the suede surface and nuzzled into the pillows to get comfortable. She unmuted the appliance as soon as the commercials were over but that in itself had given Bruce far too long to think to himself. Holly seemed innocent enough and, from what he gathered from other people, she was pretty talkative and extremely understanding. All she seemed to want was a friend in the house, someone to touch base with and bond with. Holly was surprised to see Bruce sit on the other side of the couch she was perching on and relax a little bit.
"I suppose I could stay for a while…if you don't mind of course." Bruce joked and Holly cracked a smile. Maybe they were getting somewhere finally.