Moon River

The Understudy

Banner scrambles in his space, device under his cheek while he moves to button his top. Tony's rambling on the opposite end is enough to make him regret going to bed so late.

He moves for his desk in search of Stark's files, pushing letters and papers from off the space while he takes his notes.

With Tony and Pepper disappearing for a few days he's writing a few passwords, entry codes, and the emergency contact of James Rhodes.

Tony laughs on the opposite end, "Got all that?"

"Yep, have fun this weekend."

"Oh I will. No stress bro, you got this."

"Thanks for the confidence."

Tony's final words are muffled by a knock on the door Bruce lowers the phone to address;

"It's open."

No reply. He sighs, "Tony I gotta go."

"Yeah man. Don't burn the place down. And whatever you do, don't let Thor or that Darcy kid in the lab. They'll start touching things-."

He laughs, "More than Steve?"

"Shockingly, more annoying, I know!"

Bruce takes a breath, semi frustrated by another knock. He steps through the main area and turns the knob.

Natasha smiles, a hand raised against his door frame with a change of clothes and a towel in hand.

He raises an eyebrow and smirks, "How can I help you Miss Romanoff?"

Her eyes rove over his damp frame, ignoring an impulse to tussle his uncombed curls or adjust his unbuttoned top.

She tilts her head, "The water is down in my place. Mind if I use your shower? It's clearly working."

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose and invites her inside, "What happened?"

"I think Thor was throwing a party last night and short circuited my power-,' she points to a closed door, 'This one?"

"Yep. When you're turning on the water, the left knob is a bit sticky so, give it an extra pull."

She pauses, a fresh bead of sweat over her forehead from a wrestle with Clint. She nods toward the phone;

"Tony?"

He lifts it with a toss he nearly fails to catch, "Yep. They're away for the weekend to celebrate their engagement."

"I know, Pepper called me. Gave me access to some project files to help run things...How do you feel about, running this daycare while Tony's away?"

"It's...not my thing,' he addresses the knob she struggles with, 'You can pull Tasha. You won't break it."

She grits her teeth and gives a yank, removing the knob from the hinge and causes the water to go off.

"I stand corrected." He chuckles guiltily over the water spraying up toward her face and reaches for his hand towel, "I swear it's never done that."

Natasha grins raises the handle currently in her palm, her hair damp from standing underneath, "Well..."

He takes the knob, glancing at the switches, "I'll fix it when you're done- just try not to break anything else."

She holds the towel he's offered after wiping over her eyes, "I'd ask if you wanted to join me..."

He blushes lightly, taking a moment, "But?"

"Looks like you've already showered," she smirks almost seductively with a curved eyebrow and her eyes wide.

He leaves the broken handle over the sink and moves toward the door, "Let me know if you need anything."