Again, so sorry for the long, long time between updates. This one probably isn't as good as I would like it to be, but it was written in stolen moments while caring for my Mom in her last few weeks. Updates should be coming more frequently from now on.
Did someone mention a shitstorm last chapter?
The elevator ride was tense. Agent Coulson looked like he was barely able to stay on his feet, and Bruce was still wary of the man. He was leaning away from the newly un-dead agent, and Darcy stood between them, wondering if Tony Stark would really lose it when he realized how he'd been manipulated. She just couldn't imagine Tony with…feelings.
When they reached the appropriate floor, Jarvis politely directed them toward the large conference room that Tony had dubbed the Assembly Room, where the Avengers met prior to missions. Darcy could hear raised voices from several corridor turns away, and she shared a nervous look with Bruce.
Not just Tony, she realized as they got closer. Red, Arms, and Apple Pie were also agitated and vocal.
Coulson, who had been leading the way despite his haggard appearance, stopped and gestured them forward. "Try to soften the blow, please," he suggested calmly. "Mr. Stark will not be happy about this."
Darcy and Bruce shared a nervous look, but left the S.H.I.E.L.D agent behind and entered the Assembly room.
Nick Fury was standing inside a semi-circle of angry Avengers. Darcy couldn't tell what they were angry about, but she knew what they would be angry about shortly.
Arms acknowledge their arrival with a curt nod, then swiveled back to face Fury. "Explain it again, sir. Why it was absolutely necessary to have a tail follow Darcy and Bruce? Because to me, that just seems like the shittiest thank you ever for saving the world."
Fury raised one eyebrow. "Don't be naïve, Agent Barton. Dr. Banner has always been monitored closely. We also have an exceptionally close eye on you since the Chitauri invasion."
Beside her, Darcy heard Bruce (or was it Big Green?) growl low in his throat. She still hadn't found out what had happened to Arms during the invasion, but it was bad. And Fury probably couldn't have said anything to piss off the Avengers even more in that moment. Muscles tensed, and the semi-circle closed in as everyone took a collective half step forward. Even Rogers, normally very even tempered, looked like he was going to take a piece out of the director.
"That was uncalled for," Red hissed, voice low and very dangerous. Darcy felt a chill run through her, and figured Fury must have balls of steel to face down the nearly spitting Russian, and not run away screaming in terror. She wanted to run away screaming in terror, and Natasha wasn't angry at her!
Fury didn't even blink. "It's the truth. Just because your primary assignment has changed to the Avengers Initiative doesn't mean any of you are given a free pass. You are still a potential threat, and a weapon that can be used against the world."
The growls coming from Bruce's throat deepened, and Darcy noticed green flecks in his eyes.
"Hey everyone!" she greeted with forced cheer. She gulped as every eye in the room focused on her. They were not happy to see her, she noticed. They were really not going to be happy in a minute or two. "So, um, it looks tense in here."
"Now is not the time, Miss Lewis," Apple Pie told her.
"Well, I think it is," she corrected in a slightly wavering voice. "Cuz everyone is already a little tense, and maybe you all need some good news to lift a little tension, right?"
She took a few steps out of the Assembly room, and motioned Coulson in. She didn't wait for him. She stepped back inside the room, and offered a tremulous smile to the angry super heroes. "Bruce and I found this guy in the lobby. I think you all know him?"
Coulson stepped in and stopped right inside the room. For a second, it was so quiet that Darcy was sure she could have heard ants marching across the room. The other Avengers were frozen in place, emotions running rampant across their faces. It seemed like the moment would pass in silence, but then pandemonium erupted. Rogers turned an interesting shade of red, as did Barton and Romanoff. The two of them looked torn between hugging Coulson, or punching Fury. Tony Stark?
Tony Stark was always somewhat tense around Nick Fury. Darcy hadn't realized the reason for that until Bruce whispered his warning in her ear in the lobby of Stark Tower. Huh. Tony had feelings, and wasn't sure what to do with them. Right now, they seemed to be tearing him apart in a very angry way.
He got right up in Dread Pirate Roberts' face. "Why? Why did you tell us Coulson died?"
"It was necessary," Fury placated, with a sad, careworn expression that made Darcy want to hug him and then slug him.
The hot pot that was Tony Stark boiled over. Darcy watched it in slow motion. Tony's arm muscles coiled, and then exploded. His whole body pivoted, right fist snapping out and crashing into Nick Fury's face. Red and Arms flinched, but did not defend their boss. Fury tumbled to the ground, rolled, and came up on his feet. Another fist crashed into his face, and he tumbled again.
Tony punched the director four times, spewing incoherent rage as he did, and Fury never tried to defend himself. The man was smart, Darcy decided. He needed the Avengers, and if that meant taking lumps for the shitty lie he had told about Coulson's not-death, then he would do it.
She also noticed Arms and Red growing angrier by the moment. Not at Stark, as she first thought, but at the lie Fury had told. Apparently, they hadn't been in on it, and after the initial reaction of joy at Coulson's return, they now looked like they wanted to get a few punches in on Fury as well. Both were close to Coulson; that had been apparent as soon as they saw him. Finding out he was alive, that they had been lied to, wasn't sitting well.
Another growl beside her brought her attention to Bruce. "You okay, big guy?"
His fists were clenched, she saw. Seeing his teammates so angry was not helping his own control. "Doc Moppy?" she prompted, hoping the lighter nickname would help take the edge off.
Bruce shuddered, squeezing his eyes shut. He took a few deep, gulping breaths. Darcy wasn't sure, but she thought she heard stitches popping in his clothes, and his shoulders looked broader.
She reached out and stroked her hand down his arm. Yep, definitely a little bigger than usual. Darcy hip bumped him, bringing Bruce's eyes around to focus on her. "You should go," he growled, hands clenching and unclenching.
"Not a chance," she returned. "If Big Green comes out to play, I'll distract him." But first, it was time to settle down Stark. "Hey Tony!"
Stark, standing over a prone Fury with his fists raised, spun around to glare at her. "What?!" he snapped.
Darcy faced him as calmly as she faced the Hulk. She understood his anger, she really did. He was angry at being lied to, and angry for displaying emotions in front of other people. He was Tony Stark. He wasn't supposed to give a damn that some secret government agent that he knew was killed, and so he really shouldn't care that he'd been lied to about the man's death. All of those emotions were overloading his brain right now, and he needed someone to lash out at.
"It's okay to be pissed," she told him. "But you've expressed yourself now, and there's no lasting harm, right? It's a good thing! Agent Coulson is alive." She forced a smile and flashed her hands at Coulson like she was presenting a really awesome prize, or something.
Stark's eyes narrowed, then flicked down toward Fury. Darcy wasn't sure if Fury was gonna get it again or not, but Tony finally took a step back. At the same time, she felt Bruce relax minutely by her side, now that his 'bro' was calming down, or at least not shouting and punching the S.H.I.E.L.D director.
Coulson took that opportunity to slowly walk forward, drawing everyone's eyes. "I'm flattered, Mr. Stark. I didn't know you cared." He paused, with a serene little smile that was forced if Darcy was any judge. "Good job on the whole saving the world thing. Glad I could provide some motivation."
While Stark sputtered over that one, Coulson walked slowly to the front of the room, where Apple Pie stood tensely, looking down at Fury like he wanted to do some pounding too.
"Captain Rogers," the agent greeted.
Rogers nodded, then offered a bemused smile. "Agent Coulson. I never did get to sign those cards for you."
Darcy watched Coulson's face go through several different emotions. "That's okay, Captain. It seems like I have to rebuild my collection before that can happen."
Apple Pie frowned, and looked down at Fury, who was now sitting up on the floor, rotating his jaw. "That shouldn't be your responsibility. Director Fury will see that it gets done. Once he has those replacement cards, I'll be happy to sign them all."
Even Darcy flinched a little bit at that one. Rogers was certainly stepping up and making his own feelings clear.
"You'll have them within a week, right Director?" Natasha practically oozed menace as she glided up to Rogers and stared down at her boss. Her hands were clenched in white knuckled fists.
Fury rotated his jaw one more time, frowning at the clicking noise, and then rose smoothly to his feet. He seemed completely unaffected by everything that had just happened, and nodded curtly toward the captain and Natasha. "I'll have them in three days."
Coulson seemed a little shell shocked. Well, either that, or he was running out of steam. Darcy couldn't tell. He cleared his throat, looking around at the Avengers with something close to amazement, but then his mask fell back into place. "Thank you. All of you. It is not necessary, but thank you. Director Fury has assigned me as the S.H.I.E.L.D liaison to the team. I hope we can all work together."
Any response was interrupted by Thor's arrival. Where the big guy had been, Darcy didn't know. But his reaction upon entering the room and seeing Coulson was spectacular. He yelled loudly, went into a crouch, and held his hand out to call Mjolnir.
"Scatter, my friends!" he cried. "Do not let the shade of the Son of Coul touch you, lest it leech your own life away."
Beside Darcy, Bruce snorted out laughter as Mjolnir crashed through a wall into Thor's hands. "Thor…it's okay. It's not a shade. It's really Coulson."
Thor, in the act of winding up to smite the evil shade, paused. Darcy had to snicker as Coulson relaxed minutely. He'd been ready to move, just in case the hammer came his way. It looked like Thor was still considering, eyes narrowed at the S.H.I.E.L.D agent.
"Loki stabbed you," the god clarified. "I saw that with my own eyes. The man of fury said that you died."
Coulson nodded slowly. "I did. Several times. But ultimately, my journey wasn't done yet." He stared calmly up at the Asgardian, waiting for Thor's decision.
Thor's look was calculating, and the room remained tense for several moments. But finally the God of Thunder smiled, and allowed his hammer to dangle from his hand. "It is good to see you, Son of Coul." Then his head dipped, hair falling forward to partially obscure his face. "My deepest apologies for the actions of my brother."
Coulson almost (almost!) cracked a smile. "They say there's one in every family, Thor. No apology necessary. I knew the risk." He glanced around at the assembled team. "Since everyone is here now, let me repeat that I've been assigned as liaison to the team. I understand that there is some concern that Dr. Banner and Miss Lewis were shadowed while out in public."
An angry mutter went through the room. Coulson nodded an acknowledgement of their feelings. "I understand your concerns. I wish I could tell you that you are free to do as you wish with no interference from our agency, but that is not the case. The six of you have become very high profile since the Chitauri invasion. Any time you step foot out in public, it becomes S.H.I.E.L.D's concern. By association, anyone that you choose to spend time with publicly also becomes S.H.I.E.L.D's concern."
"Why?" Darcy snapped. "Who they choose to associate shouldn't be any concern of yours."
It was Fury who answered. "The easiest way to ensure that the Avengers are weakened is to strike at what they hold dear, whether that be family or friends. We've already had a tractor trailer full of Pop Tarts stolen because Miss Lewis got hurt. That kind of press needs to be avoided."
Beside Darcy, Bruce ducked his head, but she could see a little smile playing over his lips. He found it funny that Hulk had stolen the Pop Tarts for Darcy. She could totally appreciate that.
Fury nodded in their direction. "Yes, it was amusing, because no one was hurt. Imagine if the Hulk had gone on a complete rampage and civilians had been injured. A little prevention can go a long way."
Tony Stark held up his hand. "Yeah, totally not in the mood for government agency bullshit right now." He tilted his head toward Coulson. "Glad you've come back from the dead, Agent. Pepper will be happy." He whirled smartly and left the room.
Bruce twitched, like he wanted to go after the billionaire, then looked over at Darcy and decided not to follow Stark.
Red and Arms made their own decision. They turned away from Fury and walked up to Coulson. Darcy watched a little anxiously, but the three of them said nothing for the longest time, just stared at each other. Emotions flickered across their faces and through clenched hands and shifting muscles. She watched Clint's face twitch as if he really wanted to say something, but finally he shook his head. He reached out to grasp Coulson's shoulder, as Natasha did the same on the other side. Coulson's hands came up to rest on their shoulders briefly, and then the two assassins spun away and followed Tony Stark out the door. Not a word had been spoken, but it was one of the most emotional and powerful things Darcy had ever seen.
Steve Rogers looked after his teammates, and then at Bruce and Thor. A very cold look toward Fury almost made Darcy shiver. The captain was not pleased with the director.
"Agent Coulson – welcome back. I'm sure we'll be able to work with you just fine." With that, he left the room, not even acknowledging Fury on the way out.
Darcy shared a eyebrow raised look with Bruce, and then they both turned to Thor. The God of Thunder was unaffected by the negative emotions that had been flying around, and smiled widely at Coulson.
"I am very pleased, Son of Coul. It wounded my heart when my brother harmed you."
Coulson finally cracked a smile. "I'm pretty happy I didn't die too, Thor."
He looked like he was fading fast, and Thor saw it. "Rest, my friend. Your strength will be slow to return, and you will need it if you plan to work with us."
Darcy didn't miss the quick nod from Fury, and Coulson seemed to wilt when he saw it. "I believe I'll just rest here for a little," he advised, sinking down into a chair.
Thor gave a boisterous farewell, and herded Darcy and Bruce out of the Assembly Room. "How fairs your courtship?" he asked eagerly as they headed back toward the elevator.
Darcy yelped as Stark stepped out of a dark room with a hard grin. "I was wondering the same thing, Point Break." He did a long perusal of both Bruce and Darcy, making them both squirm a little. "Can't have gone that well, Goldilocks. Their clothing is intact."
Bruce flushed and heaved an exasperated sigh. "Tony. Clothing doesn't always need to come off for a good time, you know."
Stark shrugged. "No, but it helps."
Darcy wasn't so easily distracted, noticing the slightly pinched look on his face. "Are you okay, Tony?"
His eyebrows went up. "Why wouldn't I be?"
She shrugged. "You seemed a little upset at Fury."
"Oh you know. Letting all of us believe Coulson was dead, including our resident assassins, was really shitty." He didn't seem inclined to elaborate on how he felt about it, and Darcy didn't push.
Thor clapped him soundly on the shoulder. "There is no shame in expressing your anger, Stark. To allow us to believe that the Son of Coul had died by Loki's hand…it was wrong. Thankfully, all has been righted, and the Son of Coul will be working closely with us from now on."
Stark waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. I need to go put some ice on my hand now. Big man, Kick-Ass – go fool around for the rest of the night." He stalked off, cradling his right hand carefully, a laughing "get laid" floating over his shoulder.
Thor smiled. "His advice is sound, my friends. Put any troubles from your head and explore your physical connection." He clapped Bruce on the shoulder, nodded to Darcy, and walked after Stark, leaving Darcy and Bruce both gaping at his instructions. It wasn't quite 'get laid', but it apparently was the Asgardian equivalent.
Darcy stared up at Bruce with an open mouth. "Um…what just happened?"
He was blinking, and finally pulled his glasses off to rub at his eyes tiredly. "I think Tony and Thor both told us to fool around."
Darcy nodded. "That's what I thought. Um…Bruce?"
His answer was cautious. "Yes?"
She hated even admitting this. "I don't really think I'm in the mood anymore. Especially since Tony is expecting us to, now."
He sighed heavily, but there was a look of relief on his face instead of disappointment. "I'm glad you said that. I'm not really either, because it's a little too weird after what just happened." He smiled tentatively. "I would be happy to walk you to your door, though."
Darcy bit back a grin. "I would love that, Doc Moppy." She slung an arm through his, and they headed for the elevator. "So…do you think this is over?"
Bruce shook his head. "Did you see the expressions on Clint and Natasha's faces when Coulson walked in? It's possible their allegiance might have just swung to the Avengers, rather than S.H.I.E.L.D. And Steve is more disgusted with S.H.I.E.L.D then he was before. But I'm still worried about Tony."
Darcy nodded. "He still seems like a boiling pot."
"I'll keep an eye on him. I can just smell some kind of convoluted revenge/retribution plot against Fury, and that won't help."
"No," she agreed, although she could sympathize with Tony's emotions.
They talked of little things on the elevator ride and the walk to Darcy's apartment. At the door, Bruce turned to her, adorably awkward.
He reached out to take her hands. "I had a great time. I wish our night hadn't been interrupted. I would have enjoyed causing some damage for Tony to repair."
He said it with a completely straight face, and Darcy couldn't help laughing. "I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"Yeah." Bruce reached out to lay a hand on her cheek. "You kept me focused the whole night, prevented some outbreaks. That's something no one has ever been brave enough to try before."
"I have skills," she reminded, leaning into his hand. He was always a little warm, and the contact felt very good.
A thumb lazily stroked her jaw line. "So you keep telling me," Bruce reminded with a small smile. "I look forward to exploring those skills." His eyes trailed down and then back up, leaving shivers in their wake.
Darcy shuddered at the husky tone. Okay, it was completely unfair that the doc could turn her on that fast with just some naughty looks and a raspy voice. "You gonna kiss me good night, Doc?"
His answering smile set off tingles in her lady parts. "I think I am." He leaned forward.
It was slow, full of promise and hope, yet almost completely filthy at the same time. A far cry from the guy who shied away from anyone's touch. Bruce Banner was making progress.
She had to gasp for breath when he finally broke away from her mouth. "Holy shit, Bruce."
He leaned his forehead against hers, panting slightly. "Yeah. This might just kill me, you know."
Darcy had to take a couple of very deep breaths. "Maybe. But you'll die a happy man."
"No doubt," he agreed. He rested against her for a few more seconds, and then pulled back. His eyes were dark, and it made her very glad to see that he wanted this as much as she did. "I need to go, Darcy. We'll talk about a next date, or something, a little later, okay?"
She nodded wordlessly. Bruce swooped in for one more kiss and then pulled back and walked away. Darcy took a few moments to compose herself, but then finally straightened and managed to unlock her door.
Interesting times ahead, she figured.
Not the best I could do, but I didn't want you guys to have to wait any longer. The fallout from Coulson Lives is far from over, because one thing you just don't do is make a fool out of Tony Stark. Next chapter will be Bruce's POV, and things heat up.