Fire for a Heart

Amanda Elizabeth Coulson, played by saraya-jade

The red haired woman pushed the glasses further up her nose with one finger, scrunching her nose at the files scattered across the desk. Benedicte was told she'd have some help on this little 'errand', by the one and only Bruce Banner. They'd been working on this thing for Nick Fury for little over a week now, and the two have made the occasional small talk here and there.

She was just thankful he didn't ask about her gloves.

The woman hadn't been at home last night, as she promised Bruce. Benedicte found herself to engaged in the task at hand to leave, after all - she barely slept at night. Her brain was always buzzing with ideas, and sometimes they weren't even her ideas.

If he asked, she'd just say she came in early. It always worked, mainly because Bruce is too much of a gentleman to persist and pester about it.

Benedicte wore a simple white button up blouse with the sleeves rolled up, and a simple pair of black suit trousers. Today was a day without her gloves, which was a first in ages. She felt like her hands needed to breathe every so often.

---

Tony sipped his coffee, looking out of his sunglasses at the hustle and bustle of the cafe. Luckily nobody noticed him - he really just wanted a day without the worries or fame of 'Iron Man'. Sure, Stark was a busy man - but he needed a break.

Everything was just getting too much, even for him. So, here he was - sipping a rather badly made cup of coffee with dark mirrored sunglasses over his eyes, and a baseball cap covering his face. Carefully observing the crowd, he decided to pick up his coffee and leave.

Upon walking out the door and hearing a buzz in his pocket, he reached for his phone - but, subsequently still walking, he bashed into someone. He paused, luckily he didn't spill his coffee over them (because his shirt was quite expensive). Upon seeing a woman, he offered a hand up. She looked awfully familiar...

Suddenly, it hit him.

"Amanda? Is that you?"

((omfg if this isn't okay ask and I'll change it!))

Amanda ventured out of her apartment for the first time in what felt like decades, but was likely only a few days. She was desperately hungry and the only thing that was in her fridge was a yogurt that had expired three months prior. So Amanda decided to head out to the little cafe by her house, grab a sandwich, and then retreat back to the safety of her home. Amanda had just turned to leave when she ran smack dab into someone and landed flat on her ass. She gratefully accepted his hand and stopped in her tracks when she realized who it was. Tony Stark. The last time she'd seen him was....she didn't want to think about it. It was the worst day of her life. "Hey, Tony..." Amanda whispered, waggling her fingers at him. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

--

Bruce smiled softly when Benedicte entered the room, raising a hand to say hello. "Hey, stranger." He teased, sipping his tea. No coffee, no caffeine. He didn't want to risk his heart rate getting up and turning him into the other guy. "I would've grabbed you something but I don't know what you like." Bruce spoke almost apologetically. He sat down at his desk, grabbing the files that had been placed there this morning.

Benedicte couldn't help but smile slightly, as she shrugged her shoulders slightly. "Hey, don't worry - if it's any consultation, the tea and coffee they do here is crap." With a small laugh, Benedicte sat down beside Bruce, yawning into the back of her un-gloved hand. "So... Did you, ur, have a good sleep last night?" Benedicte was never good at casual chit-chat, so she settled with this semi normal question. At least, she hoped he had a good sleep - hopefully a better sleep than hers.

---

Tony smiled, nodding his head. "Yep, it's been a while.." He took off his sunglasses, and tucked them into his shirt pocket. "How are you?" Tony barely had contact with the others after what happened in New York, after he felt the guilt of him destroying countless buildings because of his chase with the Chituari ship. "I... You going to the cafe? If you are - don't have the mocha, it's horrendous." He managed a slight laugh, hoping to lighten the mood... Well, mainly his mood .

Bruce shrugged. "Could have been worse," he spoke, scanning over the files. "I didn't wake up green with my apartment destroyed, so that's a plus." A dry chuckle left his lips as he read the information presented before him. "What about you? Any sleep at all?" Bruce looked up from his file and into the eyes of Benedicte, hoping that she at least got a few winks.

==

Amanda shrugged. "Ehh. I'm alright." She laughed when Tony talked about the mocha, because her father had said the same thing when he was alive. "Yeah, I'm absolutely starving so I was gonna grab a panini and a diet soda then go back to my room...My bereavement is almost up, though." The agent spoke, a soft sigh leaving her lips. She didn't want to go back to work.

~

Benedicte tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair, licking over her lips while looking at the various files scattered across the desk. "Well, with a mind like mine - sleep is hard to get. When the sun goes down, that's when my brain goes into overdrive, thinking about everything and anything." Benedicte didn't say the exact time she had slept for, because frankly - she didn't sleep at all last night. She was in this office all night, figuring out her next plan of action towards the various files.

---

Tony let out a small smile, but it soon dropped upon hearing her bereavement was almost up. He didn't understand how SHIELD could just make her rush into getting back on the job - it was almost like they didn't care about her emotions. "Screw them. Go back when you're ready. If they get all uptight about it? I'll just pull their head out of their ass and talk to them about empathy and emotions." He hated people having to go back to work the second their medical leave or their bereavement leave was up.

Bruce nodded his head. He could tell that Benedicte was lying, but he decided not to press the subject. She would come around when she was ready. "If I had a nickel for every time that happened to me, I would never need to work again." Bruce spoke, highlighting the last page of the files in his hands. The good doctor pushed his glasses back up the slope of his nose before closing the manila folder. He took a sip of his tea before clearing his throat, getting Benedicte's attention. "I'm done with this one if you want it," he offered.

--

Amanda chuckled softly. "I'm almost ready to go back. I mean, as much I don't want to, I need to. It isn't healthy to stay holed up in my apartment all the time." She said, leaning against the wall. "But I appreciate you looking out for me, Tony. It means a lot." Just then, a thought occurred to the blonde. "How's Pepper? I haven't seen much of her lately."