Lynn was awakened by the aroma of food. Not Tony's standard Stark breakfast of fried eggs, bacon, and coffee; he smelled something more familiar, with a caramelized and sauce-like scent. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling. Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains outside the French windows, casting a bright golden line on the wooden floor. He sat up and looked down at his chest. The dim replica of the Mind Stone was still embedded in the groove of his sternum, cool to the touch. He tried to move his shoulders; aside from muscle soreness and a feeling of utter exhaustion slowly recharging, he was fine.
He finished washing up and opened the bedroom door, then paused in surprise. Standing by the island in the open kitchen was a figure with her back to him, flipping something in a frying pan in front of the stove. Her short, wine-red hair was neat and capable, and even her ordinary dark casual clothes gave her the sharp look of a professional agent. Her left trouser leg was slightly rolled up, revealing a section of a freshly applied bandage.
He thought he wasn't fully awake yet. He walked over and gently hugged her waist from behind, the movement so natural, as if he had done it countless times before.
A fraction of a second later, his wrist was gripped by an iron clamp, his shoulder was twisted into an uncomfortable angle, and his cheek was pressed against the cold, matte stone countertop. The whole process happened so fast he didn't even have time to blink. He was stunned. His cheek was pressed tightly against the cold countertop, his eyes wide open, completely immobilized, staring at Natasha's face, so close to his, calm yet subtly menacing.
"... Is this not a dream?"
"So you can just hug me whenever you want in your dreams?" Natasha looked down at him.
"Um... look, can you let me get up first?" Lynn's voice was hoarse from just waking up and embarrassed from being strangled. Natasha glared at him warningly for a full two seconds, then released her and turned back to stirring the contents of the pot. Lynn obediently climbed onto the high stool next to the island counter and sat down, placing his hands properly on the counter. He grinned and said, "Is the butler at work? Coulson told me you had a lot of things to take care of before you could come."
"Someone was thrown onto the roof."
Natasha didn't turn her head, her voice calm but every word precise, "If I didn't care, the first thing you'd see when you wake up today would be the sky, not the roof."
Lynn continued to chuckle, making two silly noises, without refuting anything. After a moment, he tentatively asked again, "So when can you officially come over?" Natasha didn't answer.
She scooped the last fried egg from the pan onto a plate, turned around, and carried the two breakfasts to the island counter, sitting down opposite Lynn. Lynn looked down at the food on her plate, took a bite, then looked up and said seriously, without any hint of joking, "It's delicious."
Natasha paused for a moment with her fork, then continued cutting the fried egg without answering. After finishing her meal, she put the plates in the dishwasher, picked up her coat hanging on the back of her chair, changed her boots at the door, said "Don't get too cocky" without turning around, and then pushed open the door and walked into the elevator.
Lynn stared blankly at the empty doorway for a while, then stood up and stretched his twisted shoulder, deciding to go find Tony and ask him what had happened yesterday. The elevator took him to the top-floor laboratory. When he went in, Tony was leaning against the central workbench, holding a cup of coffee. The holographic screen was still looping yesterday's MK7 flight data and JARVIS's recorded physiological monitoring curves of Lynn. Ivan was sitting in the corner recalibrating his arc generator, a white parrot perched on his shoulder, dozing off.
"Our hero's awake." Tony looked up at him, a classic Stark smirk playing on his lips. "How are you feeling? Any discomfort? Is your mind still functioning properly?"
"Whether you're mentally sound or not depends on what you tell me next." Lynn threw herself into the chair next to the workbench, crossed her legs, and rested her hands on her knees. "What exactly happened yesterday? I have no memory of it."
He leaned forward, his tone laced with genuine curiosity and a hint of nervousness he was reluctant to admit, "I haven't done anything shameful, have I?"
"It wasn't embarrassing, just a little scary." Tony took a sip of coffee, his tone returning to its usual nonchalant tone. "You grew two pairs of giant particle wings in the sky, glowing all over, and dismantled all the Chitauri aircraft in two or three blocks of Midtown Manhattan into parts. By the time Thor and Hulk came back, you were already clearing the area, more efficient than all of us combined." Lynn opened his mouth.
"However, there's something I want to confirm." Tony placed his coffee cup on the workbench, narrowing his eyes slightly. "In your state, after activating the magic circle, you didn't even remember what you did, but throughout the entire battle, you didn't intentionally damage any buildings. Several times you sliced billboards in half, catching them with particle threads before they fell and placing them steadily on the rooftop next to you. How did you do that?"
Lynn looked down at his still-outstretched palm, remained silent for a moment, then looked up with a complex expression of confusion and sudden realization. "... I don't remember." He turned his hand over and over, examining it twice. "I can't remember anything specific, but I haven't forgotten not to touch the building, which is good." He lowered his hand, leaned back in his chair, and resumed his usual nonchalant demeanor.
Tony looked into his eyes but didn't press further. He picked up his coffee cup again and leaned against the counter in a more relaxed posture. "By the way, what were the last words you said before you passed out yesterday? Do you remember?"
Lynn's expression froze instantly. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them. "... I asked you if you gave me CPR."
"Yes. In front of the whole team, including Hulk, everyone saw it!"