Work Text:
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Tony settled down on the floor under the chosen air vent. “I get why you are scared of Bruce, but hiding isn’t going to make it better.”
From the vent came a sigh and then it popped out and Natasha was staring down at him. “What did you promise JARVIS to get him to tell you where I was?”
Tony stood up as she swung herself out of the vent. “Me? Bribe my own AI? No need.” He gestured to the air vent. “I just had this whole section of ducts reinforced.”
She nodded as though she believed him and crossed her arms. “What do you want, Stark?”
“You heard me.” Tony crossed his arms to match her. “I’ve never thought you a coward, since you aren’t, but you need to think about learning to spend time in the same room as Bruce.” He held up one hand with his forefinger and thumb slightly apart. “Short periods to start. Build up from there.”
“It isn’t an allergy I need to build resistance to.”
Tony nodded. “I know that. I’m just saying that he’ll never get to like you if you don’t interact. And if Bruce doesn’t like you neither will the Hulk.”
Natasha narrowed her eyes at him. “I don’t need the Hulk to like me.”
“It’d be easier on everyone if he did.”
She rolled her eyes. “There are a lot of things that would be easier that I’m not going to do, Stark.”
He grinned at her. “Figured you’d say that.” He dropped his arms and started to walk away.
She frowned at his back. “Is that it? You aren’t going to argue with me?”
He turned so he was walking backwards. “Why should I argue? No one can make you do anything, Agent Romanoff.” He turned back around and gave a little wave. “Have fun in the ducts.”
****
Bruce looked up as Steve stepped into his lab. “Captain, what do you need?”
Steve tapped his sketchbook on the edge of the table. “Steve, not Captain, please.”
“Alright.” Bruce went back to what he was working on. “You wanted something?”
“I, well, I sort of thought that everyone could start eating lunch together. It’d be a good way to get to know each other.”
Bruce smiled. “And to make sure Tony eats, right?”
“Well, you too, Doctor Banner.”
“Just call me Bruce.” With a sigh, Bruce took his glasses off and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I am capable of remembering to eat, unlike Tony.”
Steve flopped his sketchbook down. “I need to learn modern terms and the best way to get them is normal conversation. More people, the more talking that I can listen to. Noon sound okay?”
Bruce put his glasses back on and tapped a finger tip on Steve’s sketchbook. “You’ve been dragging this everywhere lately. Find anything interesting to draw?”
Steve shrugged. “They aren’t that good.”
With a flick, Bruce flipped open the book. The page he opened it to showed a intricate pencil drawing of Bruce and Tony asleep on the couch in Tony’s workshop. “So that’s how my shoes got off me.” He looked up at Steve as he ducked his head. “Hey, Cap, thanks for the blanket too.”
Steve grinned. “You’re welcome.” He turned the page to show the same scene, but shadowed behind Bruce was a sleeping Hulk and behind Tony the Iron Man powered down. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Bruce touched the picture on the hair of the Hulk. “No. Not really.” He looked up at Steve. “If you really want awkward lunches with the very real possibility of erupting into violence, fine. I’ll come. Noon in which kitchen?”
Steve blinked. “Uh...The one in the middle of the floors Tony has given us I suppose. The blue one.” He picked up his sketchbook and closed it. “I know we haven’t really talked much, but I wanted to make sure you knew that I admire you.”
“What?” Bruce stared at him.
“You came back to help when we needed you.” Steve smiled. “You could have kept away and you didn’t do that.”
Bruce watched him walk out. “Huh.” Looking up at the noise above him, Bruce threw a pen at the air vent cover. “Shut up, Barton.”
Clint pulled the vent loose and stuck his head out. “He’s right though. You chose to help.”
Bruce sighed. “I know. Doesn’t mean he should admire me for it.” He glanced up at Clint. “Get down from there. Lunch is in five minutes.”
****
Natasha stood just outside of the kitchen door of the kitchen Captain Rogers had asked her to report to at noon. She could get near Dr. Banner. It wasn’t a problem. Lunch would be a mass of Tony talking, then Tony and Captain Rogers arguing, then everyone fighting, and she’d be able to slip away in the chaos. She took a controlled breath and pushed the door open slightly.
“...And the way I see it is that Barton can be here...” There was a tap noise on tile. “...and no one will be able to see him with a single cloaking panel in place here...”
Natasha stepped inside and was pleased when Clint’s eyes flicked up to met hers. He was getting better about eye contact this week. They hadn’t yet heard what had been decided about him. Fury would have only gotten the reports this morning. It would take him some time to devise how to keep Clint in his position without Coulson to word the memo for him.
She slipped into the empty seat on the end away from Dr. Banner and looked their plans over. “Clint is stuck if they congregate outside the front doors afterwards, which will happen.”
Clint shrugged. “I can wait them out. I just want to be there.” He clenched and unclenched his hand.
She watched that carefully. He’d started doing that since she had freed him from Loki’s control. It was slightly worrying. “We’re all going.”
Banner looked up at her and watched her silently. She didn’t like it, but there wasn’t anything to be done about it right now.
Tony waved the wireframe layout away. “That’s settled then. We all go. Do we know yet if Thor’s going to be able to get back down here?”
They all looked to her. She tilted her head. “No idea.”
With a nod, Tony pushed a plate towards her. “Didn’t think so, myself. Here, food. Steve seems to think we’ll starve.”
Steve grimaced and Natasha kicked him lightly under the table. He looked at her and she leaned forward enough to show a hint of her cleavage. “He’s trying to learn, Stark. Even you can appreciate that.”
“Learn?” Tony blinked and looked around at them, then at Steve. “What? Slang? Or how people act nowadays? ‘Cause I’ve got to tell you this bunch...” He twirled his finger to include everyone, “Isn’t exactly normal.”
Steve’s lips thinned. “I wasn’t asking for normal. I just wanted a chance to talk to everyone. To adjust to...” He trailed off as his shoulders slumped.
Natasha forced herself not to roll her eyes and kicked Clint, who didn’t flinch, but started glaring at her. She waited a moment for him to catch up, but when he didn’t she sighed. “What about movies?”
They all stared at her. Then she did roll her eyes.
“They are a way to adjust to a culture you feel out of place in.”
Banner cocked his head and it was all Natasha could do not to track his movements more blatantly.
“Oh, my God.” Tony turned his head towards Steve. “You haven’t seen Star Wars, have you?”
****
Clint poked Natasha in the ribs. “Totally your fault.”
She surveyed the fallen. Bruce between Tony and Steve, all three snoring at various volumes. Popcorn spilled on the floor. Her and Clint sitting on the edge of the corner perch, pressed close to keep from pushing each other off. “I did good.”
He smiled down at their teammates. “Yeah.”
They watched the others snore until suddenly Bruce stiffened. Clint could see where it was headed in a split second. “Nat, in the vents. Now.”
She went as he dropped down from their perch. Clint had just enough time to pull Stark out from under Banner’s arm as Bruce woke screaming into a transformation.
Stark flailed and then blinked at the nosies from the couch. “Shit. Damn it.” Tony scrambled to his feet and pulled Clint along with him back against a wall. “Guess we get to test it after all.”
“Jesus, Stark.” Clint watched Steve scramble backwards across the floor away from the Hulk as he roared and panted. Then the Hulk was up and backing away from them towards the door.
“Hey, Hulk.”
The Hulk turned his head and roared at them. Stark smiled back and Clint wanted very badly to hit the man.
“Hi there, Big Guy. I’m Tony. I’m usually in the suit when you see me.”
“Spaceman.” The Hulk’s breathing started to slow down.
Tony practically beamed. “Yeah, well, not exactly...” Clint poked him and Tony absently batted at him. “Nevermind. Could you do something for me?”
The massive brow wrinkled and the Hulk blinked slow. “What?”
“The lady that upset you. The redhead. Could you be nice to her?” Tony paused as the Hulk shifted from foot to foot. “I mean, I know she lied to you and upset you with the surrounded by soldiers thing. Plus there was that big cage issue...”
Clint stared at the side of Tony’s head and willed him to shut up before the Hulk killed them both.
“She lied to me too. And poked me in the neck with a needle. It hurt.” Tony spread his hands as the Hulk started to ball up his fists. “But, see....Here’s the thing. She did everything because she was ordered to do it. She’s actually really cool. Her name is Natasha. You can call her Black Widow.”
The Hulk huffed and turned away. He ducked his head to get out of the door and turned left.
“You are insane.”
Tony turned towards him and smiled. “He likes me.”
Clint rolled his eyes. “Yeah, got that part.” He stuck his head out into the hallway. “Hulk! Tony made something for you!”
There was a crunching noise and from around the corner came the Hulk, rumbling low in his throat.
Clint moved fast and slapped the control Tony had showed him. “Look, all yours!”
The Hulk leaned out over the shaft to look down. Clint heard Steve say something about Tony not being the craziest one here just before the Hulk scooped Clint up and stepped off into the empty air of the elevator shaft.
****
Tony leaned out to look down the shaft with Steve holding onto the back of his shirt, the mother hen. “Blast doors closed properly. That’s good.”
“Do you think Agent Barton is alright?”
“Sure. Bruce likes him. It is just Natasha we need to work on. And maybe Thor. Depends on how much lightning Thor calls down on him, I think.”
“Right.” Steve pulled Tony back away from the shaft. “I thought the doors were supposed to close behind them and stay closed.”
“Test run. Have to be able to see that it actually will work.” Tony poked at a wall panel. “Let’s see...JARVIS? Pull up the video feed to the Hulk level, would you?”
“Of course, sir.”
The panel came to life, showing a crisp video of a hallway with the Hulk sitting and following Clint’s movements.
“Is that yoga?” Tony glanced at Steve, who shrugged.
“I don’t know what yoga is.”
Natasha appeared beside them and Tony forced himself not to jump. “That’s yoga. I taught Clint.”
“And now he’s teaching the Hulk.” Tony smiled. “JARVIS make sure to save this. I want to be able to show Bruce later.”
“Very well, sir.”
****
Clint flopped down onto Tony’s workshop couch. “He’s damn loud.”
Tony jumped and cursed. “Dammit, Barton. You are too damn quiet.” He turned and looked Clint over. “You don’t look flattened.”
He ran his fingers through his hair. “No. He was more scared than anything. I’m assuming nightmare since he was asleep as it started.”
“Uh huh.” Tony glanced at his work and then sighed. “You saw the escape holes, right?”
“I did. Nearly too small for Cap.” Clint leaned his head back against the couch. “When did you start building down there? It didn’t smell new.”
“Smell new?” Tony made a face and flicked a wireframe of the next suit into existence to fiddle with.
“New construction in enclosed spaces have a smell. This doesn’t.”
“New car smell for cement. Huh. Something to remember.” Tony twirled the suit design and noted a change to a leg panel. He watched the resulting calculations. “Right after I told General Ross he was a stupid scheming idiot who should have stayed in bed that morning.”
“This the same guy you are arguing with about Banner now?”
Tony shrugged. “Not just me. Ross’ daughter Betty is throwing a hissy fit right alongside Pepper.” He looked up again. “Where’d Bruce get to?”
Clint breathed out and closed his eyes. “Poured him into bed.” He fell asleep between one breath and then next.
Tony smiled softly and tried not to laugh out loud as Dum-E moved in with a blanket. He started looking for his phone. He totally needed a picture of this.
****