Part 1

Remembering their Past, Living the Present, Sharing their Future. Together.

It had been about a month since the Manhattan incident. Though it really wasn't an incident since the other guy was needed. Bruce couldn't sleep, his thoughts floating to his past on their own. Betty. That brought back a lot. Since he went to India and came back, he didn't contact her, because he didn't want to involve in the whole "Avengers Initiative" thing. Bruce looked at the clock, 4:30. "Might as well get up." He murmured. Bruce went downstairs to the den to find Thor and Steve sitting on the couch watching TV. He turned to go back upstairs, but then "Bruce, come on in, you won't bother us." Ugh, Steve and his superhuman hearing. Humming along to the Friends theme song, he sat down.

After watching two episodes, Steve broke the silence, sounding a little frustrated, "Why?"

"Why what?" Thor asked.

"Why couldn't I have just died in the ice crash?" Steve replied back.

"You know why, the serum." Bruce said, laying a hand on Cap's arm.

"I miss Peggy, Howard, Bucky, and the rest of my team." Steve whined.

"Well, I miss Jane and Darcy." Thor retorted.

"I miss Betty." Bruce said with a sigh.

"Who's Betty?" Thor asked, intrigued.

"Betty's my..., well it's complicated." Bruce tried to explain.

"Oh, Bruce, you don't have to worry, I'm right here." A female voice came out of the darkness.

Steve, Thor, and Bruce jumped up and faced her. "Betty, how did you, when did you find out, who told you I was here?" Bruce fumbled with his words.

"I believe it was the one with the goatee, Tony, I think." Betty replied.

I'm going to blow Tony's eyebrows off his face. Bruce thought to himself.

"Um, I think we're going to leave you two alone to catch up" Steve said. On that note, he and Thor left for the kitchen to make breakfast.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" Betty asked.

"Yes, absolutely, I'm just a little surprised." Bruce explained.

"Hello, Betty, how nice to see you on such a fine morning." Tony said at the doorway, with Pepper at his side.

"Breakfast is ready, you freeloaders, come and get it." Steve called from the kitchen.

"Uh-oh, not them again." Pepper rushed to the kitchen.

It was a heartwarming sight, all of them eating and talking like civilized beings at the table. Look closer, and you see Clint had a spoon catapult aimed at Steve. Natasha kicked him in the shin.

"Ow, what did you do that for?" Clint whined.

Natasha shot him a look that said Be good, or I'll aim higher. That shut him up.

"So, Betty, what do you do for a living?" Natasha asked.

"I was Bruce's colleague, so a nuclear physicist." Betty answered. An awkward silence then prevailed.

"Bruce, how grateful are you to me since I got your girl back for you?" Tony whispered to Bruce.

Bruce angrily got up and stomped upstairs.

"I'll go up and calm him down." Tony said, rather unusually happy.

"No, you've caused enough trouble already, I'll go." Pepper retorted.

"No, wait; I'll go; besides I want to talk to him privately." Betty said.

"Hi, Bruce. I'm glad to see you." Betty said.

"Go away." Bruce's reply was muffled by his pillow.

"Now, Bruce, is that the way to act around your girlfriend?" Betty asked, going to his side and sitting on the bed.

"Girlfriend, eh?" Bruce replied, sitting up. "After everything we've been through?"

"Especially because of everything we've been through, that's why I love you." Betty replied.

"I love you too." Bruce reciprocated, pulling her in for a kiss.

The two lovenerds came down the stairs, holding hands, and talking up a storm.

"Well, well, well, I guess Betty has a way with words." Tony reflected with a grin.

"Ow, what did you do that for?" Echoing Clint's statement earlier, he rubbed his forearm.

"Shush, I want to hear what they're saying." Pepper whispered.

"Something about Brazil and General Ross." Steve whispered back.

"So, are you going to show her around my lab, Bruce?" Tony asked.

Obviously dazed by Betty, Bruce answered "Yeah, sure, whatever, later, I guess."

"Oh, great, the humanized Hulk is a sappy geek." Tony clarified.

"I think it's cute." Natasha countered.

"Me too." Pepper agreed. "Okay, I have to go to the store to pick up some things for dinner, and snacks, since some people have eaten the rest of us out of house and home."

"Since me and Thor are the some people, I think we should go with you." Steve replied.

"Fine, I'll go, but I won't like it." Thor griped.

"Well, Betty, Bruce, and I are going to be in the lab." Tony countered.

"I guess we'll work on some more paperwork, right, Clint?" Natasha said.

"Well, that's settled. Everybody has something to do. Bye, Pep." Saying his goodbye, Tony plopped a kiss on her cheek.

"Pepper, what are these things?" Thor asked, looking at the bikes in the toy section at Wal-Mart.

"Those are bicycles." Steve answered.

"What are they for?" Thor asked, curious.

"Well, they're for you to ride on, here, let me show you." Steve took a bigger bike down and sat upon the seat.

"See, like this."

"Like this, Steve, whoa, oomph." Thor landed on his side, his legs intertwined with the workings of the bike he had gotten down from the rack. "This Midgardian contraption is unstable; can I have one, though?"

"I don't know, we've got to ask Pepper first, hey, where is she?"

"VIRGINIA MARIE POTTS, COME TO THE BIKE SECTION IN THE TOY DEPARTMENT." Thor bellowed, while getting up. "I think she heard me, here she comes, uh-oh, she looks mad."

"Thor, I was just checking out my items, why did you yell?" Pepper hissed. "And don't ever use my full name again, got it?"

"I just ..., I wanted to get a bike." Thor fumbled.

"A bike, just a stupid toy, that's what made you yell across Wal-Mart, I don't believe it." Pepper said, dumbfounded at Thor.

"If I may, I think it would do Thor some good to have a bike, you know, release some of his energy." Steve calmly reasoned.

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess, it would be all right." Pepper pondered, then turning to Thor. "No riding in the mansion, though."

"Yea, let's see, I want a red one." Thor exclaimed, giddy as a little girl.

"How about this one?" Steve said, taking out a red adult-sized bike.

"Will you teach me to ride?" Thor inquired.

"Uh, sure, okay." Steve said, perplexed at the Asgardian.

"No, that doesn't seem right, ugh, I hate paperwork." Natasha exclaimed.

"Me, too, but you volunteered me to help you." Clint argued.

"Then help me, you numbskull." Natasha shot back.

"Fine, but what do you think about this Betty person?" Clint asked.

Shoving the papers away, Natasha looked at Hawkeye. "I think she is a very intelligent nuclear physicist, and a beautiful young lady, Bruce should count himself lucky, to have found such an understanding person to be loved by."

"I think that's the most you've said since we've gotten to stay at the Avengers Mansion." Clint said, looking very astonished.

"Hello my fellow misfits, how are doing on such a fine night?" Thor roared as the elevator door opened.

Looking to the window, Natasha and Clint indeed saw it had gone dark outside.

"Thor, will you stop bounding around, we are working on a cure for gamma radiation." Tony said, annoyed at the doorway, with Betty and Bruce still holding hands behind him.

"Bad enough I had to listen to the love monsters for 6 hours, now you're about to mess up one of my greatest creations."

"Sorry, Stark, he's just a little excited about the bike Pepper bought him." Steve said, trying to calm him down.

"A bike, of all the things in the world, I could have built Thor a bike with rockets, yes, everything's better with rockets."

"No, everything's not." Pepper chimed in. "Remember the nightstand."

Tony shuddered "Don't remind me, I still have the scars."

"Did you get the ingredients we needed?" Bruce asked. "Betty and I volunteered to make a little something I ate in India a lot."

"Yes, they're in the green bag." Pepper answered.

"This is surprisingly good." Tony complimented, with his mouth full. The conversation at the table was muted as everyone had skipped lunch.

"What's in this?" Clint asked.

"Some noodles, fish, vegetables, herbs, spices." Bruce answered.

More silence as everyone enjoyed their food.

"Since everybody has finished, I'd like to go into more detail describing the dish, the fish, it is squid.

"Aah, gross."

"I think I'm gonna puke."

"Very different from what I'm used to."

"Squid, why did it have to be squid?"

"Squid, what's squid, well, I don't care, it is a very delectable morsel."

These were the exclamations made his companions, Natasha, Clint, Steve, Tony, and Thor.

"I'm off to bed, come on, Pepper." Tony grabbed her by the hand while saying good night.

"Yeah, you guys go to the lair of Pepperony, me and Natasha will go to our own rooms." Clint commented.

"I'm off to my glorious bed; I have a rough day tomorrow, teaching Thor how to ride a bike, yeah." Steve retaliated.

"Yea, bike riding, I can't wait." Thor mumbled, already half asleep. "Good night, everyone."