The man in front of me was Bob. The same Bob I'd helped by paying for his stuff at that convenience store weeks ago.
He looked just as surprised to see me as I was to see him.
"Lucien?" Bob blinked, his eyes widening slightly. "What are you doing here?"
Before I could answer, Natasha's voice cut in with a hint of amusement. "I guess I don't have to introduce the two of you, huh?" She glanced between us, curiosity evident in her expression. "Though I'm curious about how you two met."
Bob put his hand on the back of his head, looking uncomfortable with the sudden attention. His voice came out quiet, almost hesitant.
"He helped me out by paying for my stuff once."
That was it. No elaboration, no details. Just a simple statement delivered in that reserved way of his. It was very Bob—say the minimum necessary and nothing more.
I remembered that encounter clearly now. The guy at the convenience store who couldn't afford his instant noodles cause he forgot his wallet. I'd paid for them without thinking much of it, just a random act that had cost me maybe five bucks. Never expected to see him again, let alone in Hawaii at a secret SHIELD safe house.
Natasha nodded. Then she asked, "Is Bruce home?"
Bob nodded. Then nodded again.
Natasha and I both looked at him, waiting.
A few seconds of awkward silence passed.
Bob suddenly seemed to realize something, and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh... sorry." He immediately moved to the side, gesturing toward the interior. "Welcome in."
Right. He'd forgotten to actually invite us inside. That was also very Bob.
We stepped through the doorway into the villa's interior. The place was comfortable without being fancy—lived-in furniture, a few books scattered around, some scientific equipment visible through a doorway that probably led to a makeshift lab.
And standing in the living room, arms crossed and looking at Natasha with a tense expression, was Yelena.
"Hello, sister," she said, her accent carrying that familiar accent. "Since you are here, I don't think it's good news, huh?"
Natasha looked surprised to see her. Her whole body language shifted—not defensive exactly, but definitely caught off guard.
"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked, and I could hear the confusion in her voice. "I thought only the packages were supposed to be here."
I was watching this unfold with interest. Yelena and Natasha—the two ex-Black Widows, both former Red Room operatives. Their relationship was complicated, from what little I'd gathered during missions. Sisters, sort of. Rivals, sometimes. Allies when it mattered.
Just then, a voice came from behind us.
"I still don't like getting called that, Natasha."
Both Natasha and I turned. I'd already sensed him beforehand when we entered, but I'd simply thought he was another resident of the house. Now that he'd spoken up, though, identifying himself as one of the "packages"...
Wait. Is he the package?
The man standing there was in his forties, with dark hair starting to show some gray at the temples. He had the look of someone who spent more time in a lab than a gym.
Natasha's face broke into a small smile. "Bruce. Enjoying Hawaii?"
Bruce Banner—because of course that's who this was—gave a slight shrug. "I would have preferred a quiet island with just a lab. Though Robert's company is soothing, and Yelena visits us sometimes too, so it's all bearable."
Robert. He meant Bob.
I was starting to piece things together, but the picture still didn't make complete sense.
Yelena turned her attention to me, and a teasing smile spread across her face. "Hey there, Lucien. Tagging along with my sister, eh? You two having fun?"
I'd worked with Yelena on a few missions before. She was good—professional, focused, deadly when she needed to be. But she also had this weird obsession with making cheese jokes at the most inappropriate times. I'd honestly thought she was the more serious one compared to Natasha's constant theatrics and humor.
Apparently, I'd been wrong about that.
Before I could respond to her teasing, a question formed in my mind. Something wasn't adding up here.
"What's Bob doing here?" I asked, looking between Natasha and the others. "Isn't he supposed to be a civilian?" Then I turned my attention to Bruce Banner. "And why did you call him a package?"
Natasha's expression shifted into something more serious.
"Well, some introductions are in order." She gestured toward Bruce first. "Lucien, meet Bruce Banner. Also known as the Hulk." Then she turned to me. "Bruce, meet Lucien. Though you've probably read a file on him already."
Bruce gave me a slight nod of acknowledgment.
Then Natasha turned toward Bob, and her voice took on a different tone.
"And meet Bob. Also known as Robert Reynolds." She paused for effect. "Also known as the Sentry."
"Huh?"
The word came out of my mouth before I could stop it.
"Him?" I looked at Bob—quiet, nervous, instant-noodle-buying Bob. "Sentry?"
I said it verbally, unable to hide my shock. I did not expect this. Not at all.
The Sentry. The golden guardian. One of the most powerful beings on Earth, someone who could go toe-to-toe with Thor and win. A hero who'd saved the world multiple times over.
And he was... Bob. Shy, introverted, forgetting his wallet, Bob.
Bob gave me a nervous smile in response to my staring, looking uncomfortable with the attention.
"Wow," Bruce's voice cut through my thoughts, and there was an edge of mock offense in it. "I'm almost offended that you didn't act so surprised at the fact that I'm the Hulk. The Hulk is supposed to be more famous than Sentry, you know?"
I completely ignored him. My eyes were still on Bob, trying to reconcile the image of the powerful Sentry with the nervous guy who was currently avoiding eye contact and looking like he wanted to disappear into the floor.
Bob's nervous smile grew a bit more strained under my continued staring.
"And those two packages I told you about?" Natasha continued, pulling my attention back to her. "It's them. They're the packages."
That only made me more confused.
We were supposed to secure the packages. That's what Natasha had said.
But what was there to secure the Hulk and Sentry from? These were two of the most powerful beings on the planet. The Hulk was nearly indestructible, and Sentry was... well, Sentry. What threat could require us to "secure" them?
Before I could voice that question, Yelena's voice rang out with surprising intensity.
"Hey, hey, hey!" She stepped forward, positioning herself slightly in front of Bob. "Don't call my husband a package. Call that green guy a package if you want, but not my husband, okay?"
She said it with the protective fierceness of a cat guarding the last fish it was going to eat.
I processed her words.
Indeed. No wife could hear her husband being called a pack—
Wait.
Husband?!
Both Natasha and I turned to look at Yelena with wide eyes, shock evident on both our faces.
Yelena's expression shifted into something mischievous. That same teasing smile from before, but amplified. She held up her left hand and wiggled her fingers, showing off the ring that sat on her fourth finger.
A wedding ring.
Yelena was married. To Bob. To the Sentry.
Natasha found her voice first. "You're married?" There was disbelief in her tone, mixed with something that might have been hurt. "When did— Why didn't you—"
"Surprise," Yelena said, still smiling.
Yelena had a lot more than just cheese jokes in her wallet.
....
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