Bruce
"ngghh..."
"Bruce? Hey, I think he's waking up." Bruce's head was pounding and his ears were ringing. He didn't want to wake up. He wanted whoever was hitting the anvil inside his head to just stop.
"Doctor Banner? If you can understand this, I'm going to shine a light in your eyes." He felt his eyelid lifted and he blinked against the bright beam.
He lifted an arm to try to stop them but it was caught by a roughly calloused hand. "Bruce." That was Clint's voice. Must be Clint's hand. "Doc, they've got to check you out. Open your eyes. The Controller is in custody, we're off the clock." Bruce felt the hammer hit that anvil three more times and he groaned. "C'mon, C'mon, Bruce. Open your eyes right now."
"You can't tell me what to do," he croaked out, grumpy. He did what Clint asked, though.
He blinked several times, and made a face when an EMT or medic type person shone the light in his eyes again and then made him track the penlight.
"What happened to me?" The last thing he remembered was using the tech shield to protect himself from Thor's hammer and then...
"Oh, shit."
"Exactly," Clint said. Bruce looked up at him, and Clint was grinning.
"Cap broke the Controller's mind control in time to save your ass. Thor's hammer hit his shield instead of your head."
Bruce put his hands over his ears, replaying the last vague memory he had of the fight.
"Yeaah. You were knocked out from the sound. Everybody on the ground went down like bowling pins and it even swung me around on the rappelling line. I was still up in the air, nailing the Controller with those negator packs. Thor's really sorry, by the way. He swears on Odin's helm that he owes you a boon."
Bruce looked around. Huh. He was on a quinjet. He was really tired, and apparently not thinking very well, or he'd have noticed he wasn't on the ground a lot sooner.
Ah, hell, he probably had a concussion. He was lucky to be alive, though.
"We're going to the helicarrier to get that collar off you. And you've been out for a while. I think there's a CAT scan in your future." Clint sounded tired, but happy. "And how's Hulk? I bet he's pissed off that he couldn't come out and smash the Controller himself."
Bruce tried again to prod Hulk awake. "He's asleep. Really, really asleep from what Siryn did. He's not hurt though. Maybe when the collar comes off he'll wake up. Or maybe Siryn can wake him up. Is she back at the mansion, still?"
"Nah, she's coming with us to the helicarrier, too. She's not feeling good."
There was a round of questions from the EMT, which boiled down to yes, he was oriented to time, person, and place, he had a bad headache, his ears were ringing, and his thumb and splinted right ankle hurt. The medic left him alone then. Clint helped him sit up on the gurney and handed him a water bottle. Bruce could see Maria Hill talking to Siryn, who was lying down on another gurney. Up front, Bobbi Morse was piloting and Jan was in the co-pilots seat. A man, a medic, was checking Siryn's IV drip. Bruce watched them, worried that he'd hurt her when he'd hit her with the bio-electric bolts. Clint left him, saying he'd be right back. Bruce watched him as he went to the cockpit area and talked to Jan and Bobbi.
He remembered the bet that Hulk had made him take. He watched Bobbi and Clint talking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. It didn't look like they were flirting with each other, though, but he felt disgruntled that Clint even wanted to talk to her. He gave himself a lecture about that. He had no claim on Clint.
"Hello," said a pretty, black-haired medic. He hadn't noticed her coming up next to his gurney. She smiled at him and asked him the standard stuff again – his name, the date, made him count backwards by sevens from a hundred, the name of the president, and when Clint returned she pointed and asked if he knew the fellow in the purple outfit.
Clint gave him that wicked grin of his and said, "You'd better get it right, Doc. All of it."
Bruce rolled his eyes. "Clinton Francis Barton. Known as Hawkeye, and he's an Avenger. Oh, and he's a smartass."
She stuck a thermometer in his mouth and wrapped a blood pressure cuff around his bicep. Clint tsk'ed at him. "Better to be a smartass than a dumbass. You forgot to mention that I'm your boyfriend."
The medic looked from Clint to Bruce. "If he's right about that, nod your head, Doctor Banner."
Bruce was feeling rotten. As a matter of fact, he was feeling pretty much like Hulk would be feeling, if he was the one sitting on this gurney with a pounding headache and listening to Cupid, er, Clint, being goofy. In a word, cranky.
But... he and Clint hadn't had a chance to talk about what would happen now that they'd slept together. Did he want to be with Clint? Well, yes. He'd just never thought it would really happen. Clint wasn't one for a lot of hearts and flowers type of talking. But he'd just announced that he was Bruce's boyfriend, where anybody on the jet could have overheard him. Maria Hill certainly had, from the way she was staring at him and Clint.
He looked Clint in the eye, trying to communicate as well as he could with a thermometer stuck in his mouth that he was taking this seriously.
He nodded his head, and Clint grabbed his hand and squeezed it hard.
"Doc, how would you like to go fishing? After you're feeling better, that is. We haven't been back to your cabin for a while."
The EMT took away the thermometer, and Bruce looked dubiously at Clint. He thought it was a little odd that Clint would ask about the cabin right now.
"Did Hulk talk to you about me going back there? Because I don't want to impose on you."
"Nope, he didn't. I bet he'd like to go along though, and let off some steam. He doesn't get a chance to get out much in town. And I asked because I know you're a nature loving hippie, and the weather's better now for campfires and stuff and... wait. What do you mean, you don't want to impose on me?" Clint crossed his arms over his chest. "And just me? Or not imposing on the rest of the team?"
"Um." Clint had that persistent look in his eyes. He knew Clint wasn't going to let what Bruce had just said go.
He made an effort to sound reasonable and not petulant. "Well, the team is busy being Avengers and when you guys aren't, I don't want to take up your time with doing stuff with me, when you could be doing something you guys want to do." He cringed a little after he said it, because he thought he did sound more on the petulant side than the reasonable side.
"I always take you to your cabin, or out on one of your nature binges."
Bruce felt his crankiness take over, because Clint was missing the point!
He scowled at Clint. "Well, back then I thought it was sort of tit for tat, you know, since I thought I was an Avenger. I know better now, is all. Not asking anymore for you guys to go with me to do things was my way of helping contribute to the team. Of course, if the team would let me go off by myself, that would work for all of us, but for some reason, you guys don't trust me to be on my own. Either you think I need someone to watch me in case I get into trouble, or to watch Hulk, so that he doesn't cause trouble."
Clint stepped a lot closer to him and wrapped his arms around Bruce, and Bruce let his head fall against Clint's chest. God, his head hurt.
Clint said softly, "What if I want to spend some time with my boyfriend doing something he likes to do? Would that work?"
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have sounded off like-"
"And before you tell me about what a jerk I was about it before; I know. It wasn't that I hated going fishing with you, not exactly."
Bruce made a disbelieving sound, but he kept his head right where it was.
Clint said, "It was that you were wrapping all that serenity around yourself and hiding in it. I don't like it when you're hiding like that, Bruce. I want to see your real reactions to things, to me. Don't be the fake Zen master with me, okay?"
"I'm not any kind of a Zen master."
Clint tightened his arms around Bruce. "I promise I'll have a better attitude when we're in the boat this time. I'll read or play video games or just watch you and think about how I'm going to touch you later so that you scream the cabin down."
"I'm not a scream-"
"Oh, yes you are, honey. I like hearing you lose it. But if you want me to put a hand over your mouth, and hold you down when you come, we can do that, too."
"Oh, God." Bruce kept his forehead resting against Clint's chest. He could feel the blush racing across his face, and Clint would just be so smug if he saw it. Bruce decided that he needed to do some research on Clint Barton, on what might make him blush. He was a scientist; he could formulate some theories, set up some experiments. It would be fun.
Clint said, "You were right, though. Tony had said we'd take responsibility for Hulk and the team didn't want you to be unprotected – we all knew Ross was nuts about catching you."
Bruce took a deep breath, inhaled the comforting scent that said Clint to him. "Ross is more than nuts about capturing me."
"We know, Bruce. He's your own personal Captain Ahab. So yeah, we wanted somebody to stay with you, but I was the one who asked to be your bodyguard."
"You did? I thought you just always got the short end of the stick about it."
Clint chuckled. "I'd have kicked up a fuss about it if that had been true. No, I wanted to be with you. I just didn't get why it was so important to me back then. Doctor Strange confronted me about what I was feeling and then it all started making sense to me, why I had to keep pushing at you and why I couldn't leave you alone."
Bruce raised his head so he could see Clint's eyes. "Well, it doesn't make sense to me. I thought you didn't like me, just Hulk. That you resented me for taking a day away from Hulk each month and for having to babysit me."
"Nah. It's... it's hard to explain. Give me a minute here."
Bruce closed his eyes while Clint tried to figure out what to say. He wanted some aspirin, but he knew the EMTs wouldn't give him anything until he'd been evaluated. He wondered how long it would be until they arrived at the helicarrier.
"Okay," said Clint, and Bruce opened his eyes again. "When I was little, my mother used to make stuff with beads, and she would sort them into little piles on this plate. Each pile was the same color and shape and they didn't touch the other piles. And if she left that plate down where I could reach it, I'd take a finger and I'd push one pile into another, and I'd make swirls, and the colors and shapes would be mixed and it would be beautiful."
He tightened his arms around Bruce, holding him a little more snugly against his chest. "When I met you, and you snarked at me, I knew you were being real. But afterwards, whenever Hulk let you out, you were like those separate piles of beads. Nice enough, but boring by themselves, kind of static, isolated. You wouldn't let yourself express emotions, unless I pushed you into it. Most of the time, you resisted doing that, but it just made me want to see you really being you. Not fragmented, but with all your emotions pushed together, and you calling me on my bullshit, and laughing again. God, I want to hear you laugh. Not that I really thought this stuff out; it was more instinctual. Just like I knew pushing the beads together would make them be so much more interesting to see. So, I pushed at you. I'm not sorry. You're beautiful, Bruce."
Bruce didn't know what to say. So he put his own arms around Clint and kissed him instead. What Clint said made sense, sort of. Bruce had spent years locking himself down, afraid that his emotions would trigger the Hulk into coming out. It had become an ingrained habit, that control, and after he realized Hulk wasn't a monster and he could trust him to do the right thing - manipulations by immortals aside – he kept acting the same way. It hadn't even started with the gamma accident. He'd had to be so guarded as a child, because he never knew what would set his father off. He'd loosened up with Betty, but without her in his life to keep him honest, he'd fallen back on his old ways.
Clint had challenged his control, all the time. Bruce had been attracted to him but he'd tamped that emotion down hard. He had never flirted with Clint or let him know how much Bruce liked him.
Clint, on the other hand, had gotten Bruce annoyed, or frustrated or angry with him and sometimes made him want to laugh before the coma, and afterwards he'd flustered him, embarrassed him, aroused him, amused him, and caused Bruce to feel all sorts of turmoil. Bruce, not Hulk. Clint and Hulk, those two got along great. Well, Hulk had taken with him a large part of Bruce's feelings. Hulk was more primal, and being in his head had been hard, experiencing those emotions second-hand, when he didn't want to feel that strongly about anything. He'd wanted to be neutral.
He didn't think he'd ever again be neutral. Clint had shattered Bruce's illusions about himself. The calmness he strove for masked his feelings, he'd thought. It had been a shield. But Clint had seen through that shield like it was crystal clear.
It felt good now, not to have to be on guard with Clint. Bruce hadn't realized how tiring it had been to be that way with everybody. No wonder he'd finally given up and preferred to stay inside Hulk's head.
Hulk. They needed to talk about Hulk. The quinjet banked then, and Bruce looked at Clint.
Clint said, "I asked Bobbi about our ETA, and we'll be at the helicarrier in a few minutes."
"After I get this thing off me, we need to talk about Hulk. Talk to Hulk, hopefully. I guess I'll be sedated again when we leave, so maybe tomorrow?"
"I'm not having you stuffed into one of those gamma dampener transporters again, unconscious from drugs." Clint stepped away from him and beckoned Maria Hill to join them. "Let's get that cleared up right now."
Bruce
Listening to Clint and Maria Hill argue was only making Bruce's headache worse. Hill was adamant that Bruce would have to follow the safety protocols when he left the helicarrier, which meant he'd be dead asleep again, and Clint was going on and on about how Hulk was a hero and didn't deserve that kind of treatment, and how Bruce had saved their asses, including hers, and that he shouldn't be treated as a dangerous criminal.
Neither one was budging, and Bruce put his hand on Clint's arm.
"Let it go, Clint. You're not going to change her mind, and honestly, this time I don't care if the doctors put me under, if it will make my headache go away. Even if it doesn't, I don't see a way out here. I need them to take this thing," he touched the hated collar, "off me."
Bruce turned to Hill. "Will you give us your word that I'm just going to be there for medical treatment and to get the collar removed, and then I can leave again? That you're not going to keep me in a cell and do stuff to me?"
Hill looked evenly at him. "You trust my word, Doctor Banner?"
Bruce shrugged his shoulders. "I'm willing to give it a shot. Especially if it means you two will shut up."
"You have my word."
"Okay, I'm not going to resist then. Clint, let it go. I appreciate you sticking up for me, and Hulk will appreciate you sticking up for him, but she's got her orders." Clint set his mouth in a mulish line, but he nodded.
"I'd like to ask a favor, though." Bruce made eye contact with Hill and she narrowed her eyes at him.
"And what favor would that be, Doctor Banner?"
"Can we please skip the ninja part of jabbing me with a needle? I'm less likely to feel all PTSD'ed if the doctor tells me he's giving me a shot instead of surprising me."
Hill stared hard at him, and he wondered how he looked to her. Probably she saw what the Controller had seen— a barefoot ragamuffin.
"I'll agree to that, once you've been debriefed. I want to know exactly what you did to defeat the Controller."
Bruce felt his eyebrows go up in surprise. "Me? Clint defeated him, not me. And he used Tony's tech to do it."
Clint muttered, "Oh, for crying out loud." Then he said to Maria, "He honestly doesn't get it, you know. Everything he did, I guarantee he'll downplay and he'll give all the credit away."
Clint punched him very lightly on the arm. "I've already told her how you fixed it so Siryn couldn't control us, which I've got your earplugs, by the way. And I told her about all your genius moves. She just wants to corroborate it for her report. What I'd like to know is how you got out of my room after I locked you in."
Bruce felt the quinjet descending. If he hurried, maybe this would be the end of Hill's questions.
"I couldn't find anything to pick the handcuff lock with, so I dislocated my thumb and cut myself to make my skin more slippery. Once I was free I picked the lock on your weapons cabinet. I used your grappling arrow to anchor a line to the roof. After climbing up, I hid the rope, broke in from a place I found on the roof."
He shot a look at Hill, and then went on, not wanting to have to explain how he'd known about the place on the roof. "Then I hacked into JARVIS and rebooted him, but we arranged things so he was hidden from everybody else. We communicated with a laptop, and I went back to your room and we made a fake video of me sleeping, to buy time if anybody did a video check on me later."
Clint was grinning.
Bruce took a deep breath. "So, Clint told you that I messed around with Tony's tech, the negator packs. JARVIS started scanning the Controller once the Controller showed back up at the mansion. There were some differences in the Controller's armor, so I adapted the negator packs. Oh, and I made more tech, based again on Tony's research, that would adapt the mind control disks so that the victim wouldn't be compelled to obey the Controller, but the Controller would think they were still under his thumb."
Clint said, "Maria, you should have seen the moves Mata Hari Banner over here made to get mine on me. Very smooth."
Hill's eyes crinkled a tiny bit when Bruce hissed, "Shut up, Clint!"
"You only made the one?" Maria asked.
Bruce shrugged apologetically. "I wanted to make more, but there wasn't time. I put my prototype over Clint's disk, and he saved the day."
"What about the hologram of Vision?" Hill asked, "And how did you manage to evade capture, when everyone was looking for Vision's accomplice?"
"I sketched out a program and JARVIS finished it. He did great, didn't he? The hologram really looked like Vision and since Vision can go through walls, it was believable."
Clint and Hill were staring at him. He shifted uncomfortably. "Umm, is the real Vision back yet?
Clint said, "Vision showed up after you went down."
Bruce nodded. "I sent him a message. He was the only one out of all the superheroes I was sure hadn't been compromised."
Maria asked, "So you didn't think to contact the Army?"
Bruce did a so-so motion with his hand. "Sort of? But I was too chicken to call them."
Maria stared at him again.
"Sorry." He glanced away.
Clint muttered under his breath, "He climbed-"
"Bruce!" Clint raised his voice.
"Mmm?"
"Do you know how to rappel?
Bruce shook his head. "Not really."
"Because I've been trying to figure out how you got back in my bed, and I'm guessing you came down from the roof again."
"I wrapped the line from the arrow around a sturdy vent and climbed down holding both ends of it, and then I just pulled the rope free."
Clint shuddered. "Jesus. If you had fallen from that height..."
Bruce rubbed the side of his forehead. "Maybe you should give me some lessons."
Clint nodded. "You are definitely getting more training, but you did good, buddy."
Clint stepped close and hugged him, hard. "You did real good, on everything."
"How did you evade us? Did you invent tech that made you invisible, too?" Maria sounded curious, but Bruce didn't think he should explain the inner workings of the mansion to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Bruce shrugged. "No. I wasn't invisible. I'm just good at hiding."
Clint snorted. "He's good at a lot of things. Although following orders isn't particularly one of them."
Clint turned to Maria. "I told him to use his shield immediately after he first distracted the Controller, so he'd be safe, but did he?"
Bruce said, "Clint, I-"
Clint didn't let him finish. He pointed a finger at Bruce. "Nope, not until he had everybody on his ass and paying attention to him. Oh, and because he'd twisted his ankle and couldn't jump around like a jackrabbit anymore."
Bruce felt another wave of crankiness and he lifted his chin, frowning at Clint. "I may not be an Avenger, but I want to help, if I can. I'm sure one of you guys would have done it better, but it was me or nobod-."
Hill interrupted them. "You don't think you're an Avenger? Well, the rest of them think you are. Barton especially. He bent my ear about you while we waited for EMS to show up."
Bruce rubbed his temples, willing the headache to lesson a little bit. His ears must be fucking up more, the ringing in them distorting what he thought Hill had said.
"My ears are screwy right now. I actually thought you said Clint called me an Avenger. He knows I'm not. He knows I'm okay with that."
Annoyed, Bruce shot Clint a look. "I'm still going to help, if they need me."
Maria said, "Well, I want you to register with S.H.I.E.L.D. I want you under government supervision, Doctor Banner."
"I did talk to Hulk about it. He hasn't decided yet, but when he does, he'll tell you himself. Maybe on a video call. Did you keep your end of our deal?"
"I've acquired copies of the videos of you in custody. I haven't watched them yet. I've been a little busy. But, I will. I wasn't talking about Hulk. I said you, Doctor Banner. I want all the Avengers to sign up."
"But I just told you, I'm not an Avenger."
Clint put his arm around him. "I'm going to eat a big bite of crow now. I know I told you that you weren't an Avenger, but I was wrong. You're one of us, Bruce. You always were; I was just too blind to see that."
The quinjet bounced once as it landed on the helicarrier, and taxied slowly to a stop.
Bruce started to get up, still lost in thought about what Clint had said, but the black-haired medic was suddenly there. Clint stepped back and she took charge.
Hill waited until he was secured by safety restraints on the gurney, and then she put her hand on his shoulder.
"I still think you and the rest of the Avengers are a bunch of vigilantes that need to be under our, well, shield, but I want to thank you, Doctor Banner. Barton was right, you don't give yourself enough credit. If it wasn't for you, the Controller would still be making us dance to his tune. For that, you've earned yourself a lot of goodwill with S.H.I.E.L.D."
Bruce said, "Mmm, okay. And you're welcome?"
She said evenly, "I wish I could let you leave without being drugged, but you can't guarantee the Hulk's reaction. I owe it to the people under my command to think of their safety, but I'll tell the doctor not to spring the sedative shot on you. Think about what I asked, and you and Hulk let me know if you're going to do the responsible thing and register."
"I'm not going to register, Assistant Director Hill. Frankly, I don't trust what S.H.I.E.L.D. will do with the information. Although I know it's a moot point with me. You already know that I'm the Hulk and where I live. But that's how I feel. Sorry to disappoint you."
"Someday, Doctor, it won't be a personal choice. Superheroes will be registered and held accountable for their actions. And you're right, we do know who you are. I was hoping that your example would convince others— Tony Stark, for one— to also register. If you change your mind, let me know. Goodbye, Doctor Banner."
She walked off, nodding to Clint.
Bruce closed his eyes as the gurney was pushed off the quinjet and down the halls of the helicarrier because watching the ceiling while moving wasn't doing kind things to his stomach.
Clint waited until he'd been wheeled into a cell adapted into a medical examining room before saying anything to him, while he undid the straps.
"You're too quiet. You don't believe me and the others, do you? About being an Avenger."
Bruce opened his eyes. "When the Red Hulk had you, I couldn't stop him. He just threw me around like I was a doll. I had to watch him hurting you."
"Yeah. And I couldn't stop Red Hulk from taking you out of the mansion. He knocked me right out. And Ultron made Hulk shrink back down to you, and the Skrulls kidnapped Steve, and Tony was made the Purple Man's bitch, and all of us can name times when we were in trouble. All of us. Bruce, you saved the Avengers from being turned into gamma monsters by the Leader. You saved a lot of people that day."
"That was science. I'll always help you guys with science, if I can."
"So, science is good. But that's not all you're bringing to the Avengers. Bruce, you've got compassion, and a good heart. And sneakiness. You're tops at sneakiness. And you fought for us. You're an Avenger."
It should have made him feel happy, vindicated that Clint had changed his mind about him. But Bruce didn't feel like an Avenger. Not like he did when Hulk first joined the team. He just felt like himself, Bruce Banner. The guy who'd recklessly put his body on the line in an experiment and had it blow up on him. The guy who took way too long to accept Hulk. Hulk had been him, his anger and fear born in the flesh. He'd changed from Bruce as he experienced the years after the experiment differently than Bruce had. He was both his own person now and still in many ways, Bruce. Bruce Banner, screw up.
Bruce slid off the gurney and changed into the scrubs Clint handed him. He climbed into the hospital bed and shut his eyes. This headache, concussion, or whatever was wrong, was draining him of energy. He shifted until he was more comfortably arranged on his side. He could hear Clint taking off his quiver, and hanging it on the back of a chair. He listened to Clint walk over and stand by the bed, not surprised when Clint's fingers started trailing through his hair, lightly touching his head, bringing small currents of relief from the pain with his movements.
"What were you pondering about, Doc? I don't think it was anything very good. If you're thinking about how I fucked up with you, then I don't blame you one bit. If you're kicking yourself, ease up, all right? You were outstanding today."
Bruce gave a tiny shake of his head.
Clint sighed and dropped a kiss on his shoulder where his scrub top gaped open. "You know, Jan wanted to shoot me with her stingers when she found out I'd told you that you weren't an Avenger."
Bruce opened his eyes. "She did?"
That made him feel better. Huh. "Maybe I shouldn't get hung up on labels. I'll help the team how ever I can, and you can call me what you want."
"So, if I can get you to admit that you're part of the team, you're going to have to admit that you're an Avenger. Challenge accepted."
What? Clint had twisted that around somehow, but a doctor chose that moment to come in the room, and the conversation between them was dropped.
Bruce kept himself from pouting with an effort. He was a grown man; he was capable of handling frustration without resorting to acting childishly.
"Man, this sucks. I can't believe they're going to make you wait like this."
Clint, though, had been pouting ever since the doctor said he wouldn't authorize a sedative at this time. Bruce's CT scan didn't show any problems, but since he'd been unconscious longer than a few minutes, and his headache was so severe, he was stuck here while the docs kept him under observation. He was allowed Tylenol, and it was helping, but his headache was still a killer. So, no sedative to put him out so he could be taken back to the quinjet. The doctor had told him he could and should try to sleep naturally, but as soon as he'd drifted off, the nuero check had woken him back up.
He touched his neck, glad that the collar was gone. Hulk was still asleep, though, and that worried him.
"Clint?"
Clint had been lying down in the chair, legs draped over the side, head hanging down. Now he looked up. "Need something, Doc? Refill on your ice water?"
"Could you find out how Siryn is doing, and if she's okay, see if she'll come talk to me? Maybe she can wake Hulk up, since she put him to sleep."
"Sure. I can go pester somebody about her."
He got up from the chair and kissed Bruce goodby.
Bruce closed his eyes after Clint was gone, and hoped that without Clint's negative energy disturbing him, that maybe he could fall asleep for a while.
He had almost drifted off again, when he felt that somebody was in the room. Some small noise or movement had alerted him. He tensed, slitting his eyes open, ready to jump out of bed to protect himself, when he heard a soft voice say, "Bruce? Are you awake?"
It was Jan. He relaxed and opened his eyes the rest of the way. "Hi."
He scooted over on the bed so she could sit down. She obliged him and patted his shoulder."Clint said your headache is still pretty bad. I thought I'd come and keep you company while he talks to Terry."
"Terry? Oh, Siryn?"
Jan nodded.
"Is she okay?"
"She'll be fine."
"I hated having to blast her, but I had to so we could stop that maniac. I hope they do a better job of keeping the Controller in the Vault this time."
She narrowed her eyes. "If I ever see him again, I'm going to blast him with my stingers just on principle."
Bruce smiled at her, and her eyes widened. "You smiled. You have a very nice smile, Bruce Banner. We'd all like to see more smiling from you. Are you happy, Bruce?"
"I guess I am, pretty much. And now that I know what Clint wants with me-"
He stopped, knowing he'd put his foot in his mouth, and Jan giggled.
"Yeah, okay, I asked for that. It's just, I'm not confused anymore about Clint."
He smiled at her again. "I've been working on something for you."
"You have? Can I see it?"
"Um, not quite yet. But with Siryn's help, I can give you a demonstration. Are you really sure she's alright?"
"I won't lie, you blasting her knocked her for a loop, but thanks to that mind controlling prima donna she wasn't in good shape."
Bruce asked, alarmed, "What's wrong?"
Jan patted him again. "She was dehydrated and her blood sugar was low, and electrolytes were off. They put her on an IV drip."
"Oh."
"She's got a headache, too, not as bad as yours, though. How is yours? Any better?"
"Well..."
"I'll take that as a no."
"How did she get in such bad shape?"
Jan scowled. "She'd been under the Controller's thumb longer than the rest of us, and he didn't remember to tell her to eat and drink, or leave it up to her own judgment. And he liked to call himself a genius. Phooey on him. A six-year-old would have taken better care of a pet turtle than he did for us. She's going to be discharged in the morning and when you're released, we'll fly her back to Manhattan with us."
"Do you think she'd help wake up Hulk?" Bruce asked diffidently, quietly.
Jan looked at him, puzzled, and then her eyes widened. "Oh, Bruce, she's not upset with you. She understands. I'll bring her by in the morning, after the doctors let her go. You should try to get some sleep. I think Clint will be back soon."
"What about you? Today was no picnic for anybody."
She smiled. "I'm okay. I'm going to go hang out with Bobbi. We're going to have a girls night out – well in her quarters – and watch movies and um, just talk."
From her expression he just knew his new relationship with Clint was going to be one of the topics. He'd rather bite his tongue than ask her about it, though.
An involuntary yawn caught him by surprise and he used it to change the subject.
"Think I'll try to get some shut-eye. Thanks, Jan, for everything."
She smiled at him, and kissed his temple. "Sleep well, see you in the morning."
The door opened, light from the hallway spilling into the cell, and Clint walked quietly in. Janet headed to the door and they whispered together for a few moments before she left then alone.
"Hey." Clint knelt down next to his bed, their faces close together. "Terry said she'd help tomorrow. She's pretty nice; I think you'll like her."
Bruce reached out and touched Clint's face. "Don't try to sleep in that chair. You'll end up looking like a pretzel. Sleep with me; there's room."
"I should stay awake."
"If they want me, they'll gas the room. That's what they've done before, so you might as well get some sleep, too. Please?" Bruce hadn't meant to say "please." It made him sound too needy, but it had slipped out.
"Okay. I'm beat, too."
He stripped down to his boxers, and climbed in behind Bruce, tugging him closer so that they were spooning. Clint wrapped an arm around Bruce's chest, and Bruce fell asleep listening to Clint's soft, steady breathing.
Bruce's headache was a little better in the morning, but the doctor wouldn't okay him leaving just yet. He tried to lie about it, but the doctor just shook his head.
"Don't try to fib; I'll know if you try to snow me. From the way you're holding yourself and the look on your face, your headache is still significant. Go back to sleep, and get him," he pointed at Clint, "to give you a neck and back massage. Don't skip eating, and drink a lot of water. Stay off your feet and your ankle will be okay. If it's still bothering you when you leave, we'll get you a brace. Your thumb is going to be sore. Don't aggravate it. Or in other words, don't dislocate it again to get out of cuffs. I think that's it. Let's see how you are this afternoon."
Bruce slept again after Clint followed doctor's orders and gave him a massage that melted every little knot he had in his back and neck, although sometimes it was painful when a reluctant muscle relaxed.
After he woke up, he lay still, just quietly thinking about how to ask Tony if he had some projects Bruce could work on for Stark Industries.
When Jan and Siryn came in, Clint took the control and raised the head of his bed.
Bruce looked at Theresa O'Rouke apologetically when Jan introduced her. "I'm sorry about blasting you."
She shook her head, her long red hair dancing. "Ah, call me Terry," she said, the Irish lilt in her voice strong. "Doctor Banner, don't worry a bit about it. I was cheering you on, I was, because that bastard needed to be stopped."
"My name's Bruce, Terry. I'm really glad you're feeling better."
"I feel fantastic, thanks to you. Oh, that man. I wanted to make the Controller shut his gob so badly. On and on, he ranted. He wanted revenge on Iron Man, and S.H.I.E.L.D., and even A.I.M."
Clint said, interested,"AIM?"
She turned towards him, "I gathered he had a falling out with that lot."
She smiled at Bruce. "And you, acting like he was controlling you with just that fecking helmet of his, that was brilliant."
"Umm. Well."
"I couldn't free myself and I hated being made to help him. So thank you, Bruce."
"Ah, you're welcome. I'm just sorry-"
"Hush now about that. I'm fine."
Bruce closed his mouth on the apology he wanted to make again, and Clint poked him in the shoulder.
Terry rubbed her hands together. "Now, is it time to wake up that big green fella of yours?"
Bruce asked, "Before you sing to Hulk, would you help me show something to Jan?"
"Sure."
"All you need to do is sing with your special abilities and direct it at some material."
He held out his hand to Clint. "Can I have the earplugs?"
Clint dug in a pocket and dropped four small pieces of wadded up cloth into Bruce's hand.
He held them out to Terry, and said, "Go ahead, sing."
She did, with a curious look at him, and as the song gained in intensity all of a sudden the material shifted from white to every color in the rainbow, pulsating gently between hues for several minutes before returning to pristine white.
Bruce smiled, happy that his demonstration had worked so well. He had been sure that it would, when he'd worked out the equations, but it was nice to have the experiment confirm his theory.
"So, I was working on this for you, Jan, to adapt fabric so that it would, um," he floundered for a moment, not wanting to bore them with the physics of what he'd done, "well, kind of soak up sound waves and then when the material is saturated, then it releases the energy in the form of light. I, uh, fiddled with it so that it would absorb anything Terry sang at it, but the idea was that you could use the fabric to make clothes, and sound wave energy within human hearing parameters, 20 Hz to 20kHz, would constantly be converting to colors as it was absorbed and then released." He looked at Jan, hoping this was something she wanted. "I know you like to design clothing, so I, uh, thought..."
Jan beamed at him. "Bruce, this is so cool. Thank you. Oh my God, can you imagine wearing a dress or shirt made out of this fabric to a concert?" She hugged Bruce, and he smiled again, relieved that she liked his gift.
"I'll work more on it when we go home. I have to ask Tony if I can use his labs."
"So that's what protected you, back at Iron Man's grand house?" Terry asked.
Clint said, "Yep,"
"You're a very clever man, Bruce. So, shall I wake up Hulk? You can't change in here, Jan and Clint said." She was right; there were still gamma dampeners in here. "They said you can talk to him, though. Like a hallucination?"
Bruce nodded. "Yes, and I'll make sure he knows it wasn't your fault. Whenever you're ready, Terry."
She started out with a low hum that soon became a tune that made Bruce want to snap his fingers and jump, but he concentrated on staying still on the bed. Clint and Jan were doing some kind of swing dancing, and it looked like fun.
As the tempo increased to a faster speed, he let down the walls between them and felt Hulk rolling over in his mind, and then Hulk was no longer sleeping. He heard Hulk let out a roar of frustration when he realized he was trapped within Bruce.
"He's awake, thank you." She slowed the tune down to a pleasant hum, then stopped.
"Ah now, tell him no hard feelings, I hope, and that I'd be pleased to make his acquaintance someday."
She and Jan left then. Clint sat down in the chair, busying himself with checking over his arrowheads. Bruce knew he was doing it to give him and Hulk a little privacy to talk.
Bruce stared at the far wall, and suddenly the image of Hulk was there, stretching.
"Hi. You've been asleep for a while."
"Because of that girl."
"Mm-hm. Siryn sang you a powerful lullaby because she was being mind-controlled by the Controller. He got most of the Avengers, too, for a while, but Clint shot him with Tony's tech and took him down. The Controller's in custody now."
"The team?"
"Everybody is okay. Siryn just woke you up and she said to tell you no hard feelings. It wasn't her fault."
"Huh. Those roboids were too easy to smash. I should have been looking for a trick."
"I'll tell you a story sometime about how a great city was defeated in ancient times by a Trojan horse. The Controller borrowed the idea."
"Why are we in the helicarrier?"
"Because of the collar the Controller put on me, mostly. I have Maria Hill's word that we won't be bothered."
"I feel pain in your head."
"Thor's hammer smashed down on Cap's shield, and I was right under it. It gave me a concussion and knocked me out for a while. As soon as my headache is better, I can leave. But I have to be sedated again."
Hulk cocked his head. "Lie back down, go to sleep. We'll talk later."
Hulk disappeared, and Bruce waited until the next nuero and med check, and then he fell asleep. When he woke up, he felt almost normal. The doctor cleared him, and told him it was time for the sedative.
Clint sat down on the bed and put his arm around Bruce. Bruce let the doctor inject him, and when Clint helped ease him back down on the bed, he caught Clint's hand.
He didn't have to say, "Stay with me," as his sight dimmed. He knew that Clint would have his back.
Hulk
Hulk smashed another dead tree into campfire and woodstove sized pieces and gathered up a mighty armload to take and stack next to the cabin. Tomorrow it would be Bruce's turn to be on the outside, and Hulk thought he'd do him a favor and finish up the chores so Bruce could have more time for fishing and working on his experiments. And to have sex with Clint.
"Hey!" Hulk had let the wall down in his mind and teasing Bruce was a lot of fun. Bruce snorted.
"That's something you've got in common with our boyfriend, Hulk. Picking on me." Bruce's image smiled at him, though, so Hulk knew Bruce wasn't upset. Sometimes it was still difficult for Hulk to understand other people's emotions and body language. He and Bruce talked a lot about that.
They'd had a long talk about Clint, too. Hulk didn't feel quite the same way about Clint as Bruce did. Bruce was in love with Clint, although he wouldn't admit it yet. But Bruce felt happy now, and it made Hulk want to pat Clint on the head because of it.
Bruce had told him that he and Clint would be okay with whatever made Hulk happy, when it came to the three of them.
Hulk liked Cupid a lot, and enjoyed spending time with him. He liked putting his arms around Clint when Clint was sitting on his lap. He enjoyed letting Clint hang onto him when Hulk went jumping. He liked letting Clint cling to his back when he swam laps in the pool. He liked watching movies with Clint and sharing popcorn. They kissed, and Clint sometimes slept in Hulk's bed with him, or even on top of Hulk. All of that was nice, but being with Clint didn't set Hulk on fire, not like it did Bruce.
Bruce said that however Hulk felt about Clint was all right. That it was okay to just hug and kiss and spend time together. Clint said that Hulk was first of all, his friend. They'd been friends before Bruce and Clint had become friends. They could be friends with benefits, if Hulk wanted, and Bruce had explained what that meant. Clint had also told him that he was fine with just holding hands with Hulk and cuddling. He said to never tell Tony that he'd used the word "cuddling" or they'd never hear the end of it. He said Hulk was in charge about how much touching he wanted.
Hulk decided that until he felt like Bruce did when Clint put his arms around Bruce, that he and Clint would stick with cuddling.
Clint helped him stack the wood when he returned to the cabin. Then he and Hulk built a campfire and Clint cooked all the fish that he'd caught in the lake today.
Bruce was a little annoyed that Clint had become a much better fisherman than Bruce was since they'd been coming up here for the last few months. Hulk thought it was hilarious. Clint liked to tease Bruce about it, but then he liked to tease Bruce about a lot of things. Most of them made Bruce blush, which Hulk also thought was hilarious.
Hulk and Clint watched the fire burn down after it became dark, and watched the stars move across the sky. Hulk liked these times with Clint, when he would talk about being in the circus and becoming a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Hulk would tell him about some of the places – jungles and mountains and deserts - he and Bruce had hidden away in, when Ross and the Hulkbusters had tried to catch them.
Tonight, Clint had brought a bottle of whiskey to the campfire; he would sip from it occasionally and pass it over to Hulk. His body was too big to feel any effects from such a small amount of alcohol, but it was nice to share it back and forth. Clint never drank enough to get drunk, and he didn't do it when it was Bruce's turn to be at the campfire. Hulk knew why. Bruce had very bad memories about his father drinking, and Clint knew that. Clint didn't want to dredge up those bad times for Bruce with the smell of the whiskey.
Beer, though, Bruce would drink beer sometimes. Bruce had told Hulk that he'd gotten over the bad feelings about the smell of beer once he'd gone to college. He called it desensitization, being exposed to it in better circumstances and eventually it didn't bother him anymore, unless there was yelling at the same time.
Tomorrow, when Bruce was sitting at the campfire with Clint, they'd share a beer, Hulk knew. And then they'd start sharing other things and Hulk would yell at Bruce to put up the wall and for them to get a room.
Tony liked to tell Clint and Bruce to get a room, and Hulk had borrowed the phrase from him. When Tony said it, Clint would splutter and Bruce's face would turn red.
Hulk remembered when Bruce had asked Tony if he could work for him as a part-time employee. Bruce had been shocked when Tony had said, "Hell, no." Bruce had squared his shoulders, saying that he'd talk to Reed Richards instead. Tony had thrown his hands up in the air.
Hulk had a good memory and he'd paid attention, in case he needed to have a little talk with Tony about being nice to Bruce.
Tony had said, "Oh, hell, no. Richards would be a terrible boss. No, Bruce, let me explain. You'd be wasted as just one of the guys in the lab. How about we set you up with your own lab, and you do whatever research you want?"
Bruce's face had brightened, Hulk remembered.
Tony had said "If you come up with anymore cool things like Jan's sound-to-light fabric, or anything that has a commercial application, then you can patent it— ah, call it ah, Bannertech, maybe, and Stark Industries will manufacture it and we'll share fifty-fifty on the profits. That's fair, don't you think? For a fellow teammate?"
Bruce had agreed. Clint, who'd been tagging along, grabbed Bruce and said, "Ah ha! Caught you. You just admitted that you're on the team. So you have to admit that you're an Avenger. I'm right, aren't I, Tony?"
Bruce had opened his mouth and then closed it again. He looked at Clint and then he looked at Tony.
Tony punched Bruce on the arm. "Legolas is right. You are an Avenger, Bruce. All of us feel that way. As a matter of fact, it was only Birdbrain over here that felt otherwise, and he's back on the right track now."
"Admit it, admit it, admit it. You're an Avenger. Say it, Bruce. I can keep this up, you know."
Tony groaned. "For the love of Odin, just say it, will you, so he'll shut up. Then we can go and talk lab space and equipment. I'll have Pepper draw up a contract and we can go over it. Do you want a lawyer to take a look?"
"Lawyer, maybe? Clint, why is it so important to you that I say I'm an Avenger? I told you that you guys can call me whatever you want."
"I made you doubt yourself, and it's important to me, and I think to you, that you claim your place on the team. We need you, Bruce. Not just Hulk, but you. So say it and then when Tony's done with science stuff with you, I'll do that thing you like so much with my— "
Bruce had quickly put his hand over Clint's lips. "You've got a big mouth, Clinton Barton. Okay, okay. I'm an Avenger."
Bruce smiled then and pulled his hand away. He kissed Clint, and then told him softly, "I'm an Avenger; I'm on the team with you and the rest of our motley crew. Are you satisfied now?"
Just then, their cards all started making a racket. Bruce pulled his card from his pocket and Cap's face appeared on it.
"Doctor Doom is attacking the Baxter Building. Avengers assemble."
Tony said, "We'll finish this up later, Bruce. Is Hulk coming out to play?"
Bruce nodded and kicked his shoes off while Clint unbuttoned Bruce's shirt.
Hulk took over then, as soon as Bruce's shirt was in Clint's hands. Bruce went inside and Hulk went with his team to teach Doctor Doom a lesson.
Hulk stopped remembering how satisfying it had been to smash Doom's stupid robots when Clint picked up a pinecone and lobbed it at him. "Hey, Big Green, what'cha thinking about?"
Hulk reached over and hauled Clint onto his lap. "Me. You. Bruce. We're good."
Bruce - Epilogue
"Bruce, want another piece of pizza?" Steve asked.
It was Bruce's turn to be out, and it had been a quiet day for the Avengers. Bruce had done some training, and then worked in his lab for the rest of the afternoon. Clint had declared it should be a pizza and movie night, and they were all sitting in the kitchen.
"I'm full, thanks, Cap." Bruce drank the rest of his beer and put the bottle on the table. Clint nudged him and said, "So, how did Hulk's phone call yesterday to Hill go?"
Hulk had decided to let Assistant Director Hill know that he wouldn't support registering with S.H.I.E.L.D.
He had explained his reasoning, and Bruce had been very proud of him for using his research to explain his position.
"She wasn't surprised or anything. She and Hulk actually had a reasonable discussion about the issues. Maybe the next time somebody tries to blame Hulk for something he didn't do, she won't assume that Hulk was at fault. She also said she'd watched those films of me."
Clint scooted closer and put an arm around him.
"Well, did she think it was torture?"
Bruce took a deep breath. "Yes. She said what they did to me in the name of science or security was wrong. She said she was raising hell about it."
Clint said, "You know, Maria and I tend to argue a lot, but she's a decent person. She'll make sure those assholes pay for what they did to you." He hugged Bruce and Bruce let Clint distract him from those bad memories of his days as a prisoner and lab rat.
The talk between the team shifted to telling stories about each other, funny things that had happened during their missions, even when the mission itself had been dangerous.
The time Hulk had thrown Thor halfway across Central Park made Thor grin sheepishly. There were several about Jan and her favorite bad guy, Dave the Whirlwind, and they'd all laughed at how indignant Jan had gotten when he'd insulted her gender and size. The last laugh was definitely on him, since she'd put him down and sent him back to the Vault.
Then T'Challa had talked about the time that Clint had challenged him for his kingdom. T'Challa was usually quiet, but when he chose to tell a story, he did a great job with it. Bruce listened, a grin growing on his face as T'Challa and the other guys described how Clint had pushed at T'Challa, invoking the ancient tradition that Wakanda used to choose their king.
Just as Clint was saying how T'Challa had kicked his butt, Bruce started to chuckle. He kept looking between T'Challa, regal even in a pair of jeans and T-shirt, his face calm and serene, and Clint, who had his Hawkeye uniform on still and who was making faces as he described how T'Challa's people had looked at him like he was crazy for declaring he wanted to be king.
Bruce kept picturing the challenge and Clint's sheer bravado in thinking he could take over the kingdom. He wouldn't have been serious, Bruce knew. Well, he didn't think he would have been serious.
But, oh God, how he wished he'd been there to see that.
"King Clint," Bruce said, and then he just lost it. He started to laugh, really laugh, hold-your-belly-because-it hurt-but-you-couldn't-stop, kind of laughing. He was snorting and giggling and every time he tried to get some control back, he would look at Clint and picture him sitting on T'Challa's throne and then he would be lost again to another helpless fit of the giggles.
He laughed until he was crying, tears rolling down his face, Clint protesting that it wasn't that funny, that what? He could totally rule a kingdom, and Bruce just kept laughing.
Finally Clint put his hand over Bruce's mouth, and whispered something in his ear. Bruce's muffled howls slowed down until he was quiet. Clint took his hand away, grinning himself.
Bruce wiped his eyes and scrubbed his face, and looked at the team. They were all smiling at him. Clint put his hands back on Bruce's face and kissed him, long and hard.
"I love hearing you laugh, honey. Even if it's at me."
He stood up, dragging Bruce with him. "Okay, movie time, right? You know what, Bruce hasn't watched the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. How about we do a marathon?"
There was a general consensus and Thor called Jane. After a sketchy cleanup that was mostly just throwing away the empty pizza boxes, and shoving the three pizzas that were saved for Hulk in the fridge, they made popcorn and moved the party to the living room. They all flopped on couches or the floor as Tony set up the first movie.
Jan moved closer to Bruce where he was waiting on the couch for Clint to return from the bathroom. "What did Clint whisper in your ear? It sure got your attention away from your laughing fit."
Bruce just shook his head. "I'm not telling." He grinned at her, and she stuck out her tongue at him playfully.
Clint dropped next to Bruce on the couch and put his arm around him, "I'll tell you, Jan. See there's this-oof."
Bruce had elbowed him in the stomach. "If you know what's good for your love life, Clinton Francis Barton, you'll keep that to yourself."
Clint mimed locking his mouth and throwing away the key.
Jan laughed at them and went to sit by Tony.
The lights darkened in the room. Bruce put his head on Clint's shoulder, absently playing with Clint's hand, feeling the callouses he'd earned from being an archer.
He felt light. So light he could float away, except Clint was here with him, holding onto him, and his team was nearby and Hulk was rolling his eyes in the image he had briefly of him, but he was there with him, impatiently waiting for the movie to start.
"Clint?"
"Yeah?"
"This, all of this, it's really good, you know?"
Clint kissed him lightly on his temple, then said, "Yeah, Bruce, we're more than fine. Like Hulk said, you, me, and him, we're good. And we're going to keep being good."
They kissed, a sultry acknowledgment of their future together, and ignored the popcorn that Jan and Tony threw at them. As the movie started to play, Bruce smiled again. He felt... he felt at peace.
The End.