𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕 || s. rogers & b. barnes

13||; 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒇𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 & 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒂

"Whoa! Whoa, whoa!" Thor stretches out a hand.

"Hey, hey. Buddy!" Tony says. "What do you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached."

The doors begin to close as Hulk lets out a growl. "Take the stairs," suggests Thor. Irina can see Loki waving goodbye wordlessly.

She smiles sheepishly at the green beast. "Sorry!" She calls.

"Yeah. Stop, stop —" Tony begins, and Irina blinks in surprise when the Hulk roars with anger and punches the elevator doors just as they shut.

She meets Tony's eyes with raised eyebrows. "It's somebody's time of the month," she murmurs.

Tony lets out a snicker.

When the elevator reaches the bottom, Irina files out along with the rest of the group, striding in between Thor and Tony as they make their way out into the lobby. She glances ahead, frowning when she notices a group of agents in suits approaching them, a man leading their way.

She leans slightly closer to Tony. "Who the hell is that guy?" She asks in a whisper.

"Pierce. Just try and keep your smile from straining too much," Tony mutters back, before flashing the group a smile and a wave as they slow to a stop.

"Uh, may I ask you where you're going?" Pierce asks.

"Bit of lunch and then Asgard. I'm sorry, you are..?" Thor asks, gesturing to Pierce.

"Alexander Pierce," answers Tony. "He's the man above the folks behind Nick Fury."

"Oh," Thor whispers.

"My friends call me Mr. Secretary," Pierce says with a smile. "I'm gonna have to ask you to turn that prisoner over to me."

"Uh, Loki will be answering to Odin himself," Thor says.

"No, he's going to answer to us," Pierce pushes. Irina feels a sense of unease, staring at him. "Odin can have what's left. And I'm going to need that case. That's been S.H.I.E.L.D. property for over 70 years."

An agent reaches for the case, but Tony pulls away. "Hand over the case, Stark," the agent says. Irina shares a quick glance with Thor, who puts his hand out to stop the agent.

Tony reaches out with his free hand. "I'm not gonna argue who's got the higher authority here...I'm just saying the big guy wants the case. Might as well give it to him."

"I need the case," Pierce pushes. Irina glowers at him from beside Tony.

"I know you got a lot of pull, I'm just saying, jurisdiction..."

"Okay, then give me the case."

"Well, jurisdiction..."

Pierce grabs the handle of the case, and Irina flinches at the action, as if by instinct. She stretches out a hand, pressing it against Pierce's chest and pushing him back. He grunts, eyes glancing at her hand before sliding up to her face.

Their eyes meet.

And for some reason, Irina wants to hide away in a ball.

She falters.

"Get your hands off me —" Tony begins to shout, before he lets out a choking gasp. He drops the case, and falls to the floor, the arc reactor in his chest stuttering, flickering on and off.

"Stark?" Thor calls.

"Shit —" Irina curses, kneeling beside him, "Tony!"

"He's convulsing," an agent states.