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Bruce stumbled into the tower’s penthouse. His hair a mess, glasses in hand, and a big crook in his neck. He had fallen asleep at his lab table once again and he needed coffee. For some reason the doctor couldn’t stop working long enough to take the elevator up to his room. Maybe it was because he knew that when his brain finally stopped thinking and his body was relaxed enough, the nightmares would start. Nightmares of his father, face flushed in a drunken rage, or the blinding bright green rays of the gamma radiation hitting him, ruining any last bit of a normal life he had. Passing out from exhaustion seemed a lot easier to him…..
He shook his head to rid himself of his nightmares and headed towards the kitchen. It was five in the morning, so, he didn’t expect anyone to be awake with him. When the team didn’t have a mission to worry about they slept in late, unless they, like him, had demons that hunted their sleep. So, it didn’t surprise Bruce a lot when he found Clint perched on the counter top, eating a bagel.
”Good morning, Clint”, he greeted softly. Clint just nodded his head in acknowledgement, before reaching behind him to grab a coffee mug for Bruce. “T-Thanks”, he stuttered, pouring a cup of coffee before moving to sit at the bar. “Couldn’t sleep?”, he asked. He bit his lip and looked over a Clint from above his mug.
Clint was off in his own world, so, when he heard words being tossed towards him, his gaze was a little dazed. “I couldn’t sleep”, he replied simply. Nightmares of his past wasn’t something he liked to deal with. Also, insomnia was a bitch. That was another reason why he and Natasha got along so well. Staying up half the night talking because sleep wasn’t an option. “I basically never sleep. Between nightmares and insomnia I don’t know who’s the bigger ass,” he answered. He got up and threw his bagel in the trash, not hungry anymore.
The archer started walking towards the elevator that would take him to his floor. He stopped. “You know….if you ever can’t sleep. My floor is always available”, he offered offhandedly. Bruce wasn’t dumb. He knew Clint was private and this invite was special. “I’ll take you up on that offer one day”, Bruce verified, looking back down at his coffee.
Clint just walked to the elevator and pushed the button to his floor, not saying anything. If he saw Bruce smiling his small crooked smile, he ignored it. And if he gave a small grin of his own, they both ignored it. But it was obvious that something had changed.