Steven
Bruce gets out of the elevator and yawns while walking in the direction of the laboratory rooms. He should go to sleep, but on the plane he got a new idea for a-
A delighted laugh comes from one of the laboratory rooms and the light that shimmers through the glass panes changes. It doesn't sound like Tony or any of the other residents. He doubts they are burglars because Jarvis and the security staff would not allow it.
As he gets closer, he realizes it's one of Tony's engineering labs. The light is dim and small dots dance around. When he reaches the room, he stops dead in his tracks. He doesn't know what he expected to see, but Clint, sitting on a table while another man looks in amazement at the holograms of planets and stars, wasn't on his list.
Clint has a gentle smile on his face and looks incredibly relaxed as he watches the man point to the stars and seemingly explain what they are seeing. He's seen Clint smile before. Especially when Natasha is around. But this is something new. Something he's sure he shouldn't see.
The light and the constellations change and the delighted laughter rings out again. Bruce remembers every description of the man he's heard over the past few weeks. He was there when Tony wormed his way into the Shield system and tried to find him. Without success. He heard about the situation in the bar which still has Steve suspicious and heard Thor's story.
With approval in his voice, Thor related how the warrior defended Hawkeye's honor.
Bruce doesn't think Clint is the kind of person whose honor needs to be defended because he can defend it himself, but what does he know about defending honor.
This man, however, doesn't seem like someone who slaps a god in the face or goes into a bar just to-
"Hey Doc," Clint suddenly greets him and Bruce flinches. He didn't notice Clint changing his position. "Sorry," Clint says in a sincere voice and takes a small step forward, but stops and looks uncertainly at Bruce. "It's okay," Bruce says, trying to calm his startled heart.
"I'd be bad company if something like that threw me off," explains Bruce, smiling reassuringly at Clint. With a final scrutiny, Clint nods. "I still shouldn't have surprised you like that. Nat says Stark always scares you, I didn't mean to," Clint says. Despite the potential danger, he doesn't seem tense or alarmed, and that fact alone calms Bruce down a bit.
"Oh yeah-" Bruce agrees. "Eventually, I'll just let the big one come out to scare Tony." He gets an amused laugh from Clint. "You should definitely do that," Clint affirms. A few seconds pass in an awkward silence, neither of them knowing what to say next.
Bruce should apologize for the staring.
He should-
"So...how was giving a lecture at a university?" asks Clint, in a friendly tone that makes it clear that he just wants to break the silence. "It was good. It feels good to do something I like,” Bruce explains, and then gestures toward the lab room. "And you...uh...universe," Bruce says, slightly uncertain. "Yes," Clint begins, and his gaze falls on the man in the room. "He's a nerd-"
He says it in such a soft and gentle voice. “He's been bugging me for weeks about smuggling him in here. But I don't want to expose him to Stark and after the situation with Thor... well I thought I'd just wait until no one was here."
Bruce makes eye contact with the man and exchanges two awkward winks.
"Thor doesn't blame him," "That's good to know, but he'd be freak out." Clint nods his head in the direction of his friend, who is slowly beginning to seem nervous. "I understand," Bruce says, though he doesn't really get it. The man doesn't match any description and he has a hard time believing that this nervous man slapped Thor in the face.
But Bruce has also learned that a person's appearance can be deceiving.
He's one of the best examples of that.
"Um well then...-" Bruce begins and gestures in the direction of the elevators. "I'll go to sleep then and won't bother you any longer." "You didn't disturb us. This is a public access area,” says Clint, sounding like he means it. He doesn't know what would happen if he went to one of the other labs. Maybe Clint and his friend would retreat. Maybe they would leave the Tower and go back to Clint's apartment, wherever that is.
All Bruce knows is that he wants Clint to be comfortable here. And that also includes being here undisturbed with his boyfriend. Bruce smiles kindly. "It's been a long flight and it's late." "I understand-" Clint smiles. "Good night then." "Thank you, I wish you the same."
There's another awkward wave between Bruce and the other man, and then Bruce turns away.
•:•:•:•:•☾☽•:•.•:•.•
"Okay-" Tony begins to say in a slightly annoyed tone, closing the fridge and looking around. One hand is stamped on the hip and the other is holding an empty plate with his name written on it. "I was gone for three days. Who the hell ate my cupcakes." Bruce looks up from his papers.
"I'm not mad-" Tony continues when no one speaks up. Bruce and Steve share an amused look. "I'm just incredibly disappointed. I labeled them." "Maybe you ate them yourself. Sleepwalking is-" "I don't sleepwalk. Jarvis would let me know”, Tony interrupts Steven and then looks at him suspiciously.
"Was that you?" Tony asks with a raised eyebrow. "What?" Steve says indignantly. "I came back from the mission six hours ago and besides, why would I eat your cupcakes?" Steve defends and Tony shrugs. "I don't know Steven. In the six hours, you had enough time to sneak into the kitchen and eat them without witnesses. They were damn delicious cupcakes. Everyone would like to eat them”
Steve sighs. "I didn't eat them." "Well, that's what any suspect would say." Tony places the plate on the table in front of Steven and crosses his arms. Bruce hides an amused smile behind his papers. "Tony, I bet if we asked Jarvis about the surveillance video, it would be clear it wasn't me."
"There's no surveillance video," Jarvis says. Bruce lets out a snort. "What a coincidence," Tony says and Steve rolls his eyes. "It wasn't Mister Rogers," says Jarvis, and Steve looks up in thanks. "If it wasn't Steve, then who was it?" asks Tony. "I can't say that because of privacy." Tony lets out a frustrated groan at Jarvis words.
"I don't want to say too much, but Clint had a guest here a few days ago," says Bruce, reaching for the coffee cup. Tony's stance immediately changes and sits right next to Bruce. "Interesting. What have you done? did you meet him? How did he make you feel?” Tony rattles off his questions and Steve now looks curious too.
"Well-" Bruce clears his throat and takes a sip of his coffee. He doesn't believe in gossip. Plus, Clint is definitely trying to keep it private. He feels a little bad being quizzed about something he's sure is none of their business. "Brucie," Tony wails pleadingly.
"He didn't seem like someone slapping a god in the face," says Bruce, recalling the man's amazed smile as he saw the hologram stars and planets. He remembers the nervous demeanor when he saw Bruce. "Although I think every Shield agent is capable of punching someone in the face," Tony replies thoughtfully. "Except he's not an agent," Steve reminds Tony of the fact that he didn't find anything in the Shield databases.
It got Tony quite frustrated. Bruce also knows that Tony sometimes asks people at Shield, but so far all has been to no avail.
"Are we actually sure that we always see him with the same man?" Steve asks and Tony's gaze immediately flies to him. "What do you mean?" Tony asks confused. "Well-" Steve begins to say. "Maybe he's just on different dates with different guys," he finishes with a shrug. "That would make sense," Bruce agrees, but adds, "if they didn't all look the same. From the external description, it always seems to be the same".
"Oh yeah," Steve says with a sigh. "Thor didn't describe him. According to Thor, he wore a white warrior costume-" Tony mentions. "Maybe he just has a type." Tony shrugs. "Okay, let's assume for a second that Clint has a typ. Even he wouldn't bring anyone into the lab just like that.” Bruce throws around and gets an approving nod from the other two men.
"Maybe we should just ask Clint," Steve says a little uncertainly and Tony snorts mockingly. "Oh yeah, great idea Cap. We'll just go up to him and say hey we've been watching you and your boyfriend for the last few weeks but we can't make it out so would you be so kind as to explain your relationship to us."
"Well maybe not with those words," Steve replies and Tony rolls his eyes. "Maybe we should just stay out of it," says Bruce.