Bruce knew he had no choice when Natasha Romanoff said she was from S.H.I.E.L.D, she could pretend all she liked that he had a choice but Bruce knew better. He wasn't an idiot after all, and he wasn't stupid enough to believe that they only wanted him for his mind—they wanted the other guy too.

The caution that shone in Romanoff's green eyes intrigued him. She held him in more caution—and hidden fear—than someone who had only read or watched a clip of what the other guy could do. Bruce wondered which loss of control she had been witness of, and if she had been hurt.

He decided no after studying her some more. She hadn't been hurt, and she knew that was lucky.

Still he didn't like being surrounded by military people that marched across this ship and glanced at him with wary eyes and tensed frames.

"Dr Banner." Romanoff called as she made her way with Captain America.

Something in his gut twisted unpleasantly at the sight of the tall and muscular blond. The other guy had happened because he had tried to make the serum that made him and some part of him would always resent the Captain because of that.

Still he ignored it as he greeted the Captain and exchanged words with him.

The fact that this ship could fly made him nervous, if he lost control—

His thoughts were cut off by a loud annoyed female shout;

"Oi, what are you doing with my stuff?"

Bruce was interested to note that Captain's face gained an embarrassed yet fond expression while Romanoff sighed in almost fondness before she gestured them to follow her towards the voice.

A petite woman was glaring at an agent with a scowl as they held a black metal case, puffing up in annoyance when they almost dropped it with a Yorkshire terrier sitting beside her sneaker-clad feet.

"Nate." Steve called out making the petite woman turn to them, short dark curls swirling around her face and brushing her shoulders.

He watched in interest as annoyance faded from the woman's face and a fond smile curled her lips as her dark gaze meet Steve's bright one. He also recognised the woman—Nate Howard—and wondered what she was doing here with S.H.I.E.L.D.

"Steve." She greeted, sparing a single glance of Bruce—a glance that showed she recognised him but had no fear or caution which surprised him—before pinning Romanoff with a glare. "Tell them to stop trying to take my stuff, Tasha."

Romanoff smirked before snapping at the man who dropped the case as gently as possible before almost rushing off.

"Over-protective much Nate?" Romanoff asked as Steve moved to grab the case for Nate.

Nate ignored the taunt as Steve easily picked up the case with one hand while held out his other arm for her to hold like they must have done when he was growing up.

"He shouldn't have touched my stuff." Nate said when the coupled joined them again, the little dog close on her heels.

"I didn't know we could bring pets." Bruce commented making amused dark eyes turn to him and a secret smile.

"Howie's special like that." Nate smirked before Romanoff led them into the ship.

"I don't see why you had me tell him off when you could do it yourself." Romanoff mused to Nate.

"Because you have the whole scary Russian assassin thing going on." Nate answered easily, she then turned to look at Bruce. "My brother loves read your papers, he'll mostly likely swoon if he meets you. And I totally respect your breath-taking anger-issues."

He blinked in shock and surprise;

"Mmm, thanks, I think?"

There was a dog in the lab—Nate Howard's dog to be exact—and it was staring at him with dark eyes as it sat on its haunches.

Bruce couldn't help keep glancing at it, animals didn't like him much. They could always sense the other guy and that made them keep a distance. So he was surprised that this dog—Howie—stayed in the lab with him, even when Bruce tried to shuffle him out (dodging his hands and moving further back into the lab) and didn't flinch when Bruce moved around him.

The dog was unsettling him. It was plain and simple, and rather stupid really.

He didn't even know why it was with him. Sure, Nate had gone off with Steve to Germany—and it had both been unsurprising and surprising at the same time that she was Valkyrie—and wasn't around for him to follow. Romanoff had gone as support—though Bruce didn't think she was needed, Captain America and Valkyrie going after one man? Simple. Even if said man was apparently a god—and Fury didn't seem like the man who would let a little dog follow him around, but wasn't there anyone else that it could follow?

Why did it follow him? He hadn't pet it, hadn't given it any special attention, and yet it had come padding in when Agent Coulson came to tell him that Romanoff, Steve and Nate had gone off to Germany to fight and bring back Loki, and it didn't leave.

Why couldn't it keep following after Coulson? Coulson probably wouldn't mind—Bruce ignored the glare that he could have sworn Coulson had sent the dog before he left. But still, why him?

He jumped as it brushed up against his leg, peering up at him with innocent dark eyes, and wondered if Nate had put it up to this. And if she did, he was getting her back for this—somehow or someway, he would get her back.

He shifted away from it, the dog followed, he asked it to sit and stay and then went to look at another screen—he could feel its dark eyes burning in his back—and tried to ignore it was there at all.

Its nails clicking on the floor made him close his eyes and sigh, he didn't even jump when it brushed against his legs again before curling up so it was basically laying on his feet.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to move without waking him.

He would definitely get Nate back for this.