Age of Ultron

[SerenaStark]

Serena walked with Natasha as she looked around at all the sights. She couldn't believe all the people and all the action that was going on around the city. "I've never travelled out of Russia before," she replied as she looked around, "This place is amazing."


~


Banner and the rest of the group began working on AI but they appeared to be getting nowhere. Bruce knew how Tony was though. He was used to working for days in his labs with little to no progress. It was like a drug to him, but Ana and he weren't like that. He heard Ana start to get tired of the idea.


"Tony I think she's right," he replied, "We're not like you who can work for hours at a time. Let's come back down tomorrow and see how it's looking."

 

[Cassandra]

"You've what?" Natasha could hardly believe what she was hearing. Russia was a big place, perhaps the biggest place on earth, but to never leave the country? "Well, stick with us and you'll definitely be seeing much more of the world. I can promise you that at least. If you don't kill Stark first, he's our prime benefactor. It's where all the money comes from".


She stopped outside a bar, booming with life and music. "This ones quite alright, if you want to skip the walk. A little loud, bright, and full of people, but they're all so busy that they don't even bother you once. No pervy old men and whatnot".


***


Ana smiled at Bruce graciously, it was nice to know that she always had someone on her team who supported her, no matter what. Nat and Clint had sort of stood in, taking the roles of mother and father in her life. Stark was the annoying shit of an uncle.


Banner was more of a friend, or maybe even a grandad. Not that he was old, because he wasn't, he was just always there for moral support. Of course, Cap was supportive too, but sometimes you couldn't help but feel like he was judging you. Bruce was so kind and considerate, he'd never think ill of anyone. That's why he was the only one on the team who actually, genuinely, liked Stark.


"No," Tony replied, "you two can go, I don't mind. You've helped a lot anyway, I can take the rest"


"You sure?" Ana asked, wiping her hands on her pants. "I mean are you sure you're alright. You look a bit stressed. Maybe you should-"


"Look, Ana. I'm not taking advice of a child. Go play, or something, I don't care. I'll hit the bar a little bit later, and you won't have to worry about any stress".


"That's not what I meant," she mumbled to herself, but shook her head in disappointment. There was no point in even trying. "Fine. Whatever. Do your own thing, because that's all you care about, right?" Anaiah made her way to the door, pausing in her tracks to see what Bruce was going. "Are you coming, Bruce?"

 

[SerenaStark]

Serena looked at Natasha and shrugged. "I don't know," she replied, "I don't want to keep seeing him around. I felt a connection with him and it just burns me when I realize that he didn't feel a connection with me at all. He just wanted to sleep with me. I should have guessed that though. That's how men are."


She sat down on the bar stool and ordered a drink and told the bartender to keep them coming.


~


Banner shook his head slightly. "Come on, Ana," he replied as he got up from his chair. He needed to get out of the lab for a little while. He couldn't hold his focus on science like Tony could. He had things he wanted to block out but found that it wasn't as easy as Tony made it look. "Tony be smart about going out on the town tonight," he said before leading Ana upstairs and back to the main floor.


"Don't take everything he says to heart, Anabear," Banner said, "He's just trying to shut his problems out again. Apparently he screwed up with one of the twins and now, he's in denial about it."

 

[Cassandra]

Anaiah felt a pang of guilt as her brain comprehended what Bruce had said. Apparently he screwed up with one of the twins and now, he's in denial about it. Yeah, well, she could relate to that. Rubbing her neck sheepishly, she shifted her weight from one foot to another, and flashed Banner a million dollar smile.


"I'm not worried. I've never been so carefree in my life," she lied fluently. "Although I could do with a drink after all that hard work," she glanced around the living quarters nervously, then relaxed seeing that Pietro was not around, "I think I'm gonna go for scotch. That's your favourite, right?"


*


Natasha gave Serena a sad smile, but couldn't exactly relate. She'd never slept with a man who could keep her interest. Then again, she'd also slept with Bruce. Even if she did, eventually, hopefully, some day in the future, she knew that he would be a git about it like Stark had been.


After addressing the barman, that she'll have what Serena was having. She turned to face Serena. "Have you tried talking to him about it? And I mean, before you say anything, not in the 'you're such a dick' kind of way?" She paused, downing her drink. "Tony has a hard time expressing his feelings. He just needs a little TLC sometimes. He's like a baby".


*


Ultron was nearly finished, it would only take a flicker of energy to boot the AI and then it would be ready to roll. Deciding it could wait, since it was only fair that they all got to see it, Tony guzzled the remnants of an old bottle of whiskey and sat down.


Having finished the bottle, he threw it half heartedly across the room, and smiled in satisfaction as it smashed. He needed another one. Maybe he would go out and relax, just like Anaiah had suggested. And, maybe just maybe, he could find an American beauty to take his mind of Serena. That girl was intoxicating, and it was no good for him.

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner watched as Ana became a little uneasy as they made their way into the living room. It was more of a floor than a room, but hey he wasn't going to be picky as to what to call it. He made his way to the bar to pour Ana a bit of scotch as he nodded. "When I choose to drink I guess it could be considered my favorite," Banner said gently as he poured another glass from himself. He placed the cup in front of the young woman and sat down next to her. Banner was careful never to drink to excess. Ever since the Hulk incident had occurred he made sure that no one would be hurt by his loss of control.


"You seem kind of uneasy," he noted as he looked at her gently, "You feeling ok? Anything you want to talk to me about?" It was in his nature to watch other people's expressions now and he could definitely tell when something was bothering his teammates.


~


Serena sighed and took a shot of whiskey as she looked down at the table. She really wasn't the type of person to sugar-coat things, especially not to men. She gave Natasha a shrug, knowing that she was right about the situation. She needed to learn how to control her tongue better. "No," she confessed as she turned her empty shot glass on its face, "I mainly just stuck with the 'You're an idiot' speech, but that obviously didn't get me anywhere. I'm not very good at expressing my feelings either but at least I know when and where they need to be talked about. I mean how many women has he done this to? Ya know what, don't answer that. I don't want to know."


She let out a huff as the bartender handed her another shot and she quickly threw it back against her throat. It burned slightly but she didn't care. Better than focusing on that pain rather than the one that was racking her brain.

 

[Cassandra]

Ana sunk into her chair, hoping that she could fade away from Bruce's observations. He read people like they were books, there was no hiding anything from him. Not that it would stop her from trying, of course.


"I'm fine, honestly. If anything a little tired, it's been a rough few days," she tried to smile, but it didn't meet her eye. "exhausted, even".


She sipped on the contents of her glass, not wanting to look to eager. Only when the drink hit her stomach did a genuine smile creep a little on her face. "How's it been all alone with Nat?" She diverted the topic. "Any improvement? I want to be a bridesmaid before I turn thirty, you know".


*


A genuine laugh tickled where had previously been burned with alcohol, in Natasha's throat. This girl was Tony's perfect match, if anything she was a bit more tolerable.


"Tony's had a lot of hook ups, sometimes he's even went back to them, but I don't know," She stirred her cocktail, "I've never seen him isolate himself so much. I think this is different. He definitely wouldn't usually act like it didn't happen, he'd be cocky about it and rub it in your face". Yeah, that was definitely the stark that she knew.


*


The world around Tony spun, as he hit it up in the club, three girls he didn't know grinding on him. One was a stripper, or so she looked like one. She was dressed in a purple and black leotard, with fishnet tights beneath. She held herself in a confident posture, showing off every curve in her body rightly. With her curled blond locks, and pale complexion, she reminded him a lot of Serena. The stripper was Tony's favourite, and he was definitely hers.


With his bottle in one hand, he wrapped his spare hand around her tiny waist and pulled her in. He nuzzled her neck slowly, and whispered an invite into her ear.

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner looked at her gently and smiled slightly. How come whenever he was trying to talk to someone about their problems they always brought up him and Natasha. He knew that what he was going to say wouldn't really make her too happy. "I just...I don't know. I don't want to get myself into something with her that I can't control. And relationships aren't about control they're about making the other person happy. I don't know. Don't want to disappoint her or worse...even hurt her."


He cared a lot for the young Russian woman, but he also cared enough to make sure to put her first. Unfortunately that meant that he needed to leave her alone, but he wasn't sure if he could do that.


~


Serena rubbed her face gently. "I'd rather him be rubbing it in my face," she admitted. It really did hurt to be with someone like that and then never get noticed after that. Huh maybe that's what those guys felt like that she slept with and never called back. It really stung. "Besides I don't want someone who acts like he's going to care about me one minute and then the rest of the day is calling me a pain in the ass. It's obnoxious, rude and completely out of line."

 

[Cassandra]

Relationships aren't about control, they're about making sure that the other person is happy. Ana allowed the words to linger in her head as she thought deep, for a moment. With Pietro there was no control. Both of them just seemed so passionately involved with the other that control was a word unknown to them. Yet, they had both been happy.


Bruce had a point. There was a comparison, between her own crisis and his. Both of them had feelings but no plans to act on them anymore, in fear of hurting the other person. It was a bit too late in Ana's case.


"Yeah..." Anaiah mumbled, refusing to think about the disappointment on the Russians face. "I know what you mean," she downed the remnants of her drink, no longer caring about looking weak. "I think you're doing the right thing, Bruce".


***


"You're right. Everything you're saying is right," Natasha consoled the upset girl, shaking her head. "Tony is obnoxious and rude. Everything he does is out of line," she paused to drink, "and I'm not just saying this because I've had a few drinks, but he's got a good heart underneath the mess of life. I know it".


She glanced at Serena, her eyes narrowed, and wondered if this could be the person to unravel the mess of Stark's life. It could be possible. She was everything needed to put him into place.


***


Tony had woken up with a banging, wretched headache. He was in an apartment somewhere, hopefully still New York City. Laying next to him was a trashy, dye box blonde, on top of a make up begrimed pillow. It was hard not to scrunch his face in disgust, having found that he slept with such a person, and ignored the fact that her hair was held in soft ringlets like Serena's.


The room spinning around him, Stark slipped out of the creaky bed with good stealth. He dressed himself, not caring to correctly button his clothes, and called for a limousine to come and collect him. He may have to do a walk of shame, but he would do it with some style.

 

[SerenaStark]

(Quick question: are you just going to wait during the site's downtime or are you going to try and rp somewhere else while its updating? )

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner sighed and nodded slightly. It was nice to hear that someone thought he was. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Natasha about their circumstances yet but he knew he should. But then again he knew it was going to be hard. Probably the hardest thing he ever had to do. He'd never really had a crush on anyone before he'd met Nat, but it was clear to him that he could definitely end up hurting her and that was the last thing he wanted to do?


"It actually means a lot that you're saying that," he said gently as he looked over at her, "At first I didn't really know if this was the right decision to make or if I was just being scared to let someone that close to me."


~


Serena took another shot and put the little cup back down as she listened to Tasha's words. Maybe she was right but she wasn't sure if she was willing to find out. She didn't want a broken heart, but then again she had never tried to love anyone before. Maybe it was time to try and take a leap of faith in someone else. "I mean...if you were in my shoes...what would you do?"

 

[Cassandra]

(Downtime? I haven't heard anything about it, what's happening?)

 

[SerenaStark]

(O! The site is going to be down for 2-7 days or so. Or so that's what I've heard. They're updating the site. I was just wondering if you wanted to continue our rp somewhere else until the site was back up and running )

 

[Cassandra]

Anaiah rubbed her neck sheepishly. The last thing she wanted to do was be a wedge between Bruce and Nat. They were her all time favourite people, she craved for them to be together. It was just the fact that she refused to be a hypocrite, when she had done the exact same thing herself. She would have to stick with her choices, and would advise others to do the same.


"I suppose it's easier to understand when you've been in them shoes yourself," she admitted, before realising. Internally she winced, but was saved by the door opening. Revealed and standing dizzily was a very strange looking Tony Stark. She hadn't even seen him leave, although he definitely had. By the looks of the love bites along his neck, he'd kept himself in fun company too.


"Tony!"


"Oh don't start, little miss perfection". He shook his head and stumbled forward. Realising that he didn't have enough balance, he leaned against the wall groggily. "I've had enough lectures to last me a life time. That goes to you too, Banner".


***


This was the worst part, Natasha hated giving advice to other people. Combat and fighting people, she could do. She just hadn't experienced enough relationships and mediocrity to know what to do.


"I don't quite know, truth be told," she admitted. "It's complicated. I'd say try with him, because it's not a lost cause, but there is definitely a high risk of being hurt, you know?"

 

[Cassandra]

(Oh dear, when? Where did you hear this? And I would but there isn't a lot of places to do so)

 

[SerenaStark]

(Here's the page I saw for it: Update - August 8th - Update Day


Also I have another private (no names and such given out) site that we could use if you wanted to. But it's totally up to you!)

 

[SerenaStark]

Banner nodded as she spoke before taking his glasses off and rubbing his face. Why did relationships have to be so complicated? Suddenly he peeled his hands away from his face as he heard the door open. He was rather shocked to find Tony standing there looking like a mess. His shirt was buttoned up wrong and his neck was red with quite a number of hickeys.


Banner just shook his head slightly as Tony stumbled over to the wall and leaned against it. "Somebody had an interesting night," he said partly ignoring Tony's comment, "Did you sleep with a werewolf or something? I mean someone tore up your neck pretty good."


~


Serena looked at her gently as Natasha spoke. "I guess you're right. I mean I guess I just have to be cautious moving forward with it. That could work out ok right?" she asked as she playing with her drink, swirling it around in her shot glass.