Vital Communication Chapter 10
Disclaimer – the same as before!
A few hours into his work, Bruce was interrupted by JARVIS. "Dr Banner, Agents Romanov and Barton have arrived, and I must remind you that lunch is ready," the AI's crisp tone carried through the silence.
"Hm? Oh, all right. Where are they?", Bruce straightened from the desk he'd appropriated on the lowest lab level Tony had given him access to.
"They are on Level 96, the community space. Specifically the dining room," JARVIS responded. Bruce left the lab and took the winding stairs up 6 flights to reach the common floor.
"Doc!", Clint called, waving at him from his place at the large, 12 person, oval table. Natasha sat beside him, fussing over the take out boxes stacked there.
"Hi you two. How are you?", Bruce asked, moving over to check out the food Natasha uncovered. There was a mix of Asian and Indian dishes to pick from, making Bruce realize juts how long it had been since breakfast just from the smells alone.
"Just off babysitting duty," Clint said flippantly, tilting back his chair, so it rested on just 2 legs.
Natasha elaborated after seeing Bruce's confused look, "Overseeing final training. Then someone had a disagreement with the facility superintendent."
"He had it coming, Nat!", Clint exclaimed. She snorted good-naturedly, and put a heaping plate of food before him., mixed from several of the boxes.
"Don't even hide the fact that you got in a few licks of your own!", Clint said, pointing his index finger at her while bringing the chair level to more easily eat.
Bruce smiled at their banter, pleased they were comfortable enough with him to show this "down side" to themselves. He'd worried that Natasha would never get over being attacked by the Hulk, though they hadn't much chance to talk about it. Natasha shyly offered to make him a plate of food, which he agreed to. He missed the happy look Clint shot her when he reached for chopsticks. He thanked Natasha for the plate when she handed it over, and settled in to eat.
"So where are Stark and Rogers?", she asked, making her own plate.
Bruce chewed and swallowed a mouthful of food before answering, "Tony's dealing with a security problem. Haven't heard from Captain Rogers lately." He managed to keep his voice steady when mentioning the security issue.
"Ah, Pepper had sent a text this morning about that. Though we're also intrigued by this other idea of Stark's," Natasha confirmed, slurping noisily through some noodles.
"What idea?", Bruce was suddenly tense. What had Tony forgotten to mention this morning? The other two ignored him, even as Clint answered, "Something about alterations to his mansion for our use." The response was so off hand, Bruce could only guess that it might have been a cover reason to bring the team back together.
"Oh. He hasn't had a chance to mention it to me yet," Bruce quietly said, the tension leeching out of his shoulders.
Clint shrugged, as if saying, "It's Stark, what else?"
After they finished eating, Natasha and Clint left to find guest quarters, according to directions given to them by JARVIS. A discreet word with the AI, and a side look at Bruce had the arrangement shifted to just one room. Bruce just blinked, and gave them a soft smile at the news.
"Why should I care?", was all he said. Natasha nodded, taking more comfort in the doctor's normalness. Clint grinned, grateful he'd not have to hide this relationship while at the Tower.
"I'll even deal with Tony before tonight, all right?", Bruce offered.
"Hah!", Clint snorted, "If you can do that, we'll owe you."
"Hm", Natasha was not convinced, but a quirk of her lips belied that.
"You just have to know which buttons to push," Bruce evaded and promised in the same sentence. Clint outright laughed at the levels of innuendo, while Natasha's smirk bloomed into a full on smile. With that promise, and one to meet later to figure out dinner, they all parted ways.
Bruce returned to his purloined lab, to resume sketching ideas for the Hulk Room. He had chosen this lab because it appeared the least used, if perhaps by dint of being the furthest from the spaces Tony usually inhabited.
"JARVIS, could you get a message to Tony please? It's not urgent, so don't interrupt him if he's busy," Bruce asked the AI.
"What's the message, Doctor?" JARVIS replied.
"Tell him the agents are here, and to definitely thank Pepper for lunch, as it was delicious," he was needling Tony again. Perhaps they were at that stage where they could. It was something he'd think about.
"And also let him, and Pepper, know that we're getting together for dinner at 6:30, if they are done with work and would care to join us," he finishes his message and JARVIS sends it off.
He calls up the Autocad and holographic systems and went to work on the ideas and plans again. Occasionally he'd get an internal nudge from the Hulk to tweak something, leaving him to hold an apparently one sided conversation that JARVIS recorded.
"Huh, so, we need to put a what in the room?" started the ball rolling. "A pool? Wading? Deeper? Okay, it's your room. What else?" And there was a pause of a few minutes as it appeared Bruce was listening to 'something'.
"All right, we'll see about adding that. Not sure how to explain it though. Yes, honesty is the best policy," and here, the lab echoes to the sound of Bruce's deep, rolling laughter. He keeps fiddling with the holographic design program, moving bits from one area to another, writing notations and tracking the changing dimensions of overall size of the room.
Soon enough, 6:30 arrived and he had to stop his work to meet the others back upstairs.
Natasha and Clint spent their time unpacking and exploring the accessible levels of the Tower.
"What do you think about this security thing, Tash?", Clint asked her, as they stood admiring the home entertainment system available in the common area of their floor.
"Not sure, though I believe it has the good doctor spooked. If I can get computer access, I'll see what I can find out," she replied, confident in her abilities.
"Unnecessary, Ms Romanov," JARVIS said, "The security breach has to do with the unauthorized visits from several branches of the military. Mr Stark and Ms Potts are attempting to get to the bottom of it, as well as fix the leaks. They require assistance, if you think you can help."
Clint and Tasha shared a look, then Tasha addressed JARVIS for them both, "We're currently at loose ends until and unless SHIELD calls for us. If Stark and Ms Potts can come to dinner, we'll talk about it then."
"I will pass that along then, thank you," and JARVIS left them alone.
They retired to their room and relaxed, enjoying the respite and silence they so rarely got between missions.
"Nat?", Clint broke the silence after about 90 minutes.
"Yes, my Hawk?" They were stretched out on the California king bed, Clint using Tasha as a pillow. She carded the fingers of her right hand through his lengthening blond hair.
"Will we go back to the house?", he asked, his voice little boy small and lost.
"Only if we need to. Did you want something?" Tasha softly told him, her hand stilling for a moment. He shook his head. "No, not right now. Might need street clothes soon though," he said. She agreed, and her hand picked up again. They stayed that way until it was time to meet Bruce for dinner.
The trio met in the common area on 96, and took places on the semi-circular couch.
"So we're waiting for Stark?", Clint asked. Bruce and Tasha nod. Bruce finds a remote control that powers the entertainment unit and searches for the tv. He turns on the local news and they watched that til Tony and Pepper arrive. Those two made their appearance, loudly, about fifteen minutes later. JARVIS had warned them about the trio ensconced on the sectional and advised the pair to not move quietly into the room.
Bruce looked up and greeted the pair, "How'd it go?"
Pepper sat daintily on the edge of the couch, while Tony sprawled beside her. She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"The board, of course, thinks we're overreacting. Fortunately this was an 'advisory meeting'," Pepper made air quotes on those two words, "So we don't have to keep them informed. Just document everything."
"Days like today, I want to scrap that pile of useless mouthbreathers, Pep," grumbled Tony from beside her. She patted his knee in commiseration.
"What next?", Clint asked from where he'd been curled into the couch about midway into the arc.
"We solve it, close the holes, and keep the military from getting its greedy little paws on whatever it was after," Tony answered solemnly, looking at Bruce the entire time. Bruce wouldn't meet his hard, promising gaze. Tony gave a tiny sigh, he'd get through to Bruce, somehow.
Clint noticed the infinitesimally ratcheting of tension in the room, and broke it, "So, dinner?"
Tony gets a wolfish grin on his face, "Order in, go out or rattle around in the kitchen?"
"Out", Tasha and Clint both say.
"Kitchen" comes from Bruce, though he has a feeling...
"Don't care," says Pepper.
"Out it is then!" Tony practically crowed. Bruce's face closed off. Natasha and Clint both eyed each other, 'spy code' for "are you armed now" to which the answer was "yes". Pepper only requested an out of the way place and none of Tony's shenanigans.