Supportive Distractions
“Hey, Thor, would you mind helping me with something?” Sage turned her best puppy dog eyes one the god of thunder, silently willing him to agree.
“Of course, Sage! What is it?”
“So I’ve got these flashcards with my Spanish vocab words on them, and I was wondering if you’d help me study for my test?”
“I would love to! Though, I must warn you, I am not much one for vocabulary.”
“That’s okay.” She smiled brightly at him. “This’ll be super helpful.”
---
“I’m glad Sage asked Thor for help. I know the guy loves Bruce, but he could stand to give him some breathing room.” Tony and Loki were stood in the kitchen, observing the scene playing out before them. Yesterday there had been a Doombot attack, and there had been so many of them that they’d been forced to call in Bruce. It had been the first time they’d needed Hulk since Sage had moved in. Tony was ecstatic that when Clint and Natasha had landed the quinjet, Hulk following not far behind, Sage had grinned at him, striding right up to him and plopping herself down to sit in front of him and striking up a conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Tony had been hovering cautiously nearby, ready to jump in if anything went wrong, but really there hadn’t been any cause for concern. Hulk had seemed wary of the girl at first, but gradually, he’d sat down too, mirroring her position. He’d started making the odd agreeing noise or two, seemingly participating in the conversation. Tony had gaped as Hulk had shrunk down to Bruce before his eyes, still talking calmly with Saage, but beginning to shiver and look fatigued. Once all the green had left Bruce’s complexion, Sage had grinned again, gently draping a soft blanket over Bruce’s shoulder and taking him by the hand and leading him inside. She’d made him a mug of tea and left him to watch Discovery Channel with Thor. Thor hadn’t left Bruce’s side since, except for now, due to Sage’s intervention.
Loki hummed in agreement with Tony’s statement, watching them with a slight twinkle in his eye.
“What? That look means you know something I don’t. What is it?”
“Sage cannot learn from flashcards.”
“Okay, so?”
“So, she handed Thor a stack of flashcards. I also know for a fact that her Spanish test was last week.”
“That little minx!” Tony looked back to the three, Bruce leaning against Thor and working on something on a StarkPad while Thor held up the flashcards for Sage. “I’m so proud of her, looking out for Bruce.” Then he stopped and turned to Loki. “How did you know she can’t learn from flashcards?”
“She studies for Spanish in the study with me. She types the words into some website and swears at her laptop when she gets the words wrong. I asked her about it once, and she told me that she types the words out in order to memorize how the words are spelled for the test.”
“Ah. That’s smart.”
“I thought so. She is a Ravenclaw, darling.”
Tony smirked. “I knew you’d like Harry Potter.”
“Do be quiet, Anthony.”
Tony snorted into his coffee cup, singsonging softly, “I was ri-ight.”
“Anthony…” Loki Warned.
Tony cackled.
---
“Hey, Natasha?”
“Yes, милый?”
“How does Clint make his grilled cheese so damn good?”
“Are you sure you really want to know that?” Natasha arched a perfect brow at her. “You’re picky. You might not want to eat it anymore.”
Sage rolled her eyes. “Come on. Pleeeeeease? You’ll be my favourite personnnnn.”
“I couldn’t care less.”
“I know, that’s why it’s fun.”
Natasha snorted. “Okay, fine. You really wanna know?”
Sage nodded frantically.
“Mayonnaise.”
“Hold up. Come again? Mayonnaise?!”
“Yep. Instead of butter. Gross, huh?”
“Super gross. But… it tastes so good!”
“Exactly.”
“Ugh.” She laid her head on Natasha’s shoulder. “When’s he on rotation again?”
The spy laughed. “Tuesday. Why, you want grilled cheese now?”
“... Maybe.”
“You’re ridiculous. I want to watch something. What are you in the mood for?”
Sage shrugged. “Um, some obscure eighties tv show that no one from my generation knows?”
“So… Greatest American Hero is what I’m hearing.”
“Exactly.”