Prologue
It was a quiet night, to be certain, but Bruce was much to accustom to the silent but deadly aspect of life to let that lull him into a sense of security. Still, there were no immediate signs of danger, so he had allowed himself to relax a bit. Since he had moved into the calm, hopefully quiet state of Arizona, things had been much calmer. He'd gotten a new lab set up, progress in his eyes, and established the image of a genius in the local college that had invited him to come and teach Physics for the more advanced students. It was a life that suited him, for sure, calm and collected as his life could ever really be, thanks to his new and constant companion.
Well, both of his new and constant companions.
But really, only one of them was a hardship. He turned reflectively towards the couch on the other side of the room where his newest and only friend was sure to be.
She was younger, though not quite under aged, soft blonde curls framing her heart-shaped face, mussed slightly by sleep. As though sensing his gaze, vibrant blue eyes opened to meet his. She grinned slightly, standing and sauntering in her graceful way over to investigate his current project.
"What're you doing, babe?" She bent over the opposite end of the counter, shirt dipping to give him a bit of a view. Modest as he was, he blushed slightly.
"At the moment, instant ramen."
"In the lab?"
"Why not?"
"Aren't you worried you'll get poisoned on accident?"
"Not particularly…."
"Well," She shrugged slightly. "YOLO, I guess."
He gave her a curious look. "What on earth does YOLO mean?"
"You only live once." She laughed. "You're behind, old man. Now, care to stop paying attention to food for a minute or two and do something else?"
"It would depend upon what I was focusing on," He was already pushing the cup of dehydrated noodles aside. "And how much better it tasted."
She climbed across the countertop with practiced ease, his arms catching around her waist as he pulled her close and into a warm, familiar kiss. She gasped softly as his hand slipped up her skirt, the couple blissfully unaware of the figure just outside of their window.