Clint listened carefully as Natasha filled him in while Bruce was patching him up.
"His heart stopped?!" Clint interrupted Natasha, his outburst loud enough to wake Steve. Steve sat up and nodded at Clint by way of greeting.
"Yes, Clint. But he's going to be fine." Natasha said evenly, used to dealing with Clint's outbursts. Clint looked from Tony and then back to her.
"He doesn't look fine, Tash. He's got a fucking tube down his throat. He looks like shit." He hissed as Bruce touched a tender spot. Bruce paused and looked up at Clint.
"That's a precautionary measure, to make sure he's getting enough oxygen. He really is going to be fine, Clint." Bruce peeled Clint out of his vest as he spoke. He frowned at the state of Clint's back.
"How did this even happen?" He asked as he started cleaning out the large gashes on the archer's back.
"I fell down some stairs." He responded dismissively. Natasha stared at him and he could feel Bruce doing the same to his back.
"Ok, fine. Don't gang up on me. I fell down two flights of stairs and through a window. But the window was only a few feet off of the ground!" Natasha continued to stare at him. Damn her, Clint thought.
"After a bomb exploded." He finished lamely. She nodded at him. Bruce sighed and shook his head as he finished stitching up Clint's back.
"Nothing's broken, just some cuts and bruises." He informed the archer, moving back to face Clint. The other man gave Bruce a look, and it was all Bruce could do to keep a straight face. Clint could be so easy to read sometimes.
"Clint, Tony is going to be fine. I know it looks bad, but he really is getting better." He soothed the archer. He probed Clint's shoulder.
"This, however, is dislocated. You know the drill." Clint nodded, already gritting his teeth. Bruce knew without asking Clint would refuse anything for the pain, Bruce had managed to get away with local on his back only because Clint was preoccupied. With practiced ease Bruce popped Clint's shoulder back into the socket, a grunt being the only response from the archer. Bruce dug around and handed Clint a sling. Clint nearly refused it, but Bruce gave him a look so he complied. Bruce turned to Natasha.
"You should go get some breakfast." He said, returning to Tony's side.
"No need, friend Bruce." Thor boomed, still fairly quiet for him, pointing to the counter where he had laid snacks the night before. Bruce hadn't taken a closer look before but now he did, staring at the impossibly large amount and variety of pop tarts.
"Thor, pop tarts aren't exactly –" Bruce started.
"Pop tarts are perfect, big guy." Clint interrupted, hoping down and making his way to the counter. Natasha hid a small smile and followed behind him. Bruce shrugged, knowing a lost battle when he saw one. Instead, he turned to Tony and slipped on gloves. He did another cleanout of Tony's chest, Natasha popping up behind him part of the way finished.
"It's looking better." She said, and Bruce was once again grateful for his control. He nodded as he continued to work.
"It is. It's mostly under control now." He answered, pausing suddenly when Tony flinched slightly.
"Did he just?" She asked, looking from Tony to Bruce.
"He did. That's a good sign. It means he's waking up." Bruce probed deeper as he cleaned, eliciting a larger flinch from Tony. He finished up and repacked the cavity. Natasha smiled softly and turned to return to the rest of her team. They were home and relatively safe, she could relax and joke with them. She strolled over to where the rest of the guys were clustered around the pop tarts, in various stages of eating them. She laughed at Thor, he always managed to get crumbs in his beard. Clint turned to greet her.
"Coulson's coming over later. He's cleaning up the mess Sitwell made of my op. Sitwell's a good guy, but he can't manage me." Clint sighed around the pop tart, freely speaking with a mouthful.
"I'm sure you make it easy for him too, right, Barton?" She countered, picking up a package herself.
"He's not Coulson." Clint muttered, and Natasha shot him a look. She turned to Steve.
"I want to see the picture." She held her hand out and asked out of the blue. Steve paused, pop tart halfway to his mouth.
"I really shouldn't be surprised you could tell. I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist catching you asleep." Natasha gave him a soft smile.
"I said I wanted to see it, Steve. Not take it. I don't mind. Not with you guys." The last part was added softly, even as Steve handed over his sketchbook. Natasha flipped through it, gently. She enjoyed Steve's work, he had an eye for it. Another soft smile graced her lips as she found the pictures he had drawn the previous night. Clint peered over her shoulder and whistled.
"You don't often sleep like that, Tash. You must have been exhausted. Hey!" Clint shouted that last part as Natasha elbowed him in the gut. She closed the book and handed it back. She snagged a packet of pop tarts and headed back over to Bruce, the rest trailing behind her. She paused; pleased to see Tony was simply on an oxygen cannula. She handed off a packet of pop tarts to Bruce, seating herself beside him. The rest of the team took chairs around and sat down.
"He should wake up soon." Bruce said, absently tearing into the pop tarts. They sat in silence, Bruce and Natasha eating quietly. Steve, Clint and Thor soon struck up a conversation between themselves, Natasha didn't pay much attention. Natasha found she enjoyed Bruce's company, his quiet and calm demeanor. Despite the rocky start to their friendship, Natasha found herself more often than not in Bruce's company. He, ironically, had a very calming presence. Natasha's attention was on Bruce when Tony's hand moved, but Bruce had been watching. He instantly shot up and placed himself level with Tony's face.
"Tony, can you hear me?" He called out, and the conversation around them died down. Bruce slid his hand under Tony's.
"Guh?" Was Tony's intelligent response. He managed to drag his eyes open, coming eye to eye with Bruce.
"Th'fuck?" He slurred, his unoccupied hand reaching up to touch the arc reactor hanging from his chest.
"Easy, Tony." Bruce soothed, catching Tony's other hand in his grip. Tony blinked in response. He was confused and sore. He also couldn't figure out why Bruce was letting his arc reactor hang like it was.
"What happened?" His words were slow and deliberate.