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“Take Sitwell,” you say immediately. Better for Steve to have someone along who specializes in hand-to-hand combat, and better for Natasha, too. You can sit this one out doing other things.

As soon as Steve and Sitwell leave, you get on the comms and radio Coulson, asking him to update you on any and every detail he gets on their activities. You might not be with them, but you definitely need to know what’s happening to Natasha. The bond between partners in any dangerous career is close, but at S.H.I.E.L.D. particularly, secrets are vital and death is a regular possibility and you and Natasha have grown close over years of working together.

You beckon the Hulk over, and he comes to sit heavily beside you. He’s another friend at S.H.I.E.L.D., because when nobody trusts you, it’s easy to bond, and you and the Hulk have both been in that situation before. You start to speak to him, softly, about nothing in particular, knowing it’ll calm him down and soon enough you’ll have Bruce Banner at your side instead.