The Demon And The Angel

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This is the sequel to Guardian Angel so in case you don't want to read it there's a quick summary at the bottom of this chapter.

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"I think it may be appendicitis," Arella said as she flicked through the symptoms list of an example patient in the medicine book. "Or possibly gout. No, not gout, that was something different." She was sitting on the sofa; wings outstretched either side of her. Bruce lay with his head resting in her lap, staring at the underside of the book she was holding.

"Uhuh," he answered, twirling one of her long chocolate locks absently between his fingers.

"What about kidney stones?" she asked, searching through the index.

"Uhuh."

"No, definitely conjunctivitis."

"Uhuh." She batted his gently on the forehead with the book.

"You're not even listening! Conjunctivitis, an inflammation of the eye, as the diagnosis of a stomach ache?" He looked up at her face, eyes wide and innocent.

"I'm sure you're right," he said, just to wind her up. Playfully she stood up, half throwing him off the sofa. Bruce caught hold of her waist and with a twist ended up sitting up with the back of her head in just the right place for him to nuzzle her neck. It only lasted for a second before Arella fell of the sofa completely.

"You are insufferable," she told him.

"And you read the dictionary too much." It was true, she had nearly memorised the first ten letters and no one could tell she wasn't a native English speaker. The only slight problem was that the pronunciation guide Tony had given her was of JARVIS talking so she had a slightly warped British accent that was just as endearing as her mispronounced lilt had been. The cottage, it was no longer a shack, had long since been repaired. The first winter when they had arrived had been miserable but the summer was lovely and now their second spring in Montana had arrived. The two rooms and small bathroom were filled with evening sunlight and cold air as every available window and door had been opened wide.

"Did you feed the chickens?" Arella asked. They kept three hens and an uncooperative goat. The goat had been bought because it began to follow Bruce around the market and a cow really was too big when they hardly needed that much milk.

"And the beast. How would you like goat stew tomorrow?" Bruce did not appreciate the goat and the goat no longer appreciated Bruce. He often asked if Arella would like to eat the goat.

"No, I made enough soup for tomorrow as well." He let out a loud sigh.

"Well, I suppose it keeps the chickens company." Arella reappeared with two bowls of soup. This time they managed to sit on the sofa without falling off.

"I am getting better," she said when Bruce sniffed at it suspiciously. To begin with she had had no idea of how to cook, it was not something a princess needed to know and even in hiding Fran, her guardian, had cooked. "See, I can even tell you what is in it before you eat it. Leek and carrot."

"Just leek and carrot?" He winked and dug in. "S'goo."

"Don't do that, some of us have manners."

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Unlike Tony and Pepper, Bruce and Arella spent a lot of time in silence. It was a full silence, full of an understanding that nothing needed to be said at that particular moment. They did talk for hours on end, just not all the time.

Bruce was trying to fix the chicken coop and not get frustrated with the curious goat. Arella was sitting in the large wicker basket hanging from a tree in the shape of a teardrop chair, reading. Apart from Bruce's occasional comment about the benefits of eating goats and the odd cluck from a hen there was silence. Until Bruce gave up trying to hammer the wire grill back in place.

"You can sleep with the draft, I've had enough," he told the hens. "What book is that?" Arella looked up from the story.

"Enchanter's End Game. There is a girl called Arell," she answered.

"Arell, I guess that's a shortened version of your name. Did you have a nickname at home?" Bruce put down the hammer and squeezed onto the chair next to her.

"Not really. Father called me Button because my nose used to be upturned. We shortened Gab's name and Sera's because they really were a mouthful. I think Arell's pretty, even if the character dies."

"Yes, but she dies defending her Queen and unborn Prince," Bruce pointed out.

"True." Arella closed the book and snuggled down into the gap between the wicker and his side, her wings folded up deeper in the seat. She felt an arm slip around her hips and smiled.

"You really need to finish the chicken coop," she said. Bruce shrugged slightly.

"We could always just stay here and then nothing would eat the chickens." That did seem like a good idea as she leaned against the warmth of his side. She closed her eyes and imagined just staying there for ever, cocooned next to Bruce in their little haven. It was easier for him to forget the outside world; he was quite used to cutting people off and becoming invisible. Arella missed Pepper's endless chatter, Natasha's quiet humour, Tony's loud humour and Clint's training sessions. She also missed Steve. Sometimes, when Bruce was going on about something she didn't understand she would look around for the blond man to share in her confusion. She did love Bruce and if he felt safer away from people she would gladly never see anyone else again but that didn't mean she couldn't miss her friends. Occasionally she called Pepper who always had time to tell her everything but it wasn't the same as actually hugging her or providing the distraction when Tony tried to sneak up on Clint. She snuggled closer to Bruce and tried to forget about the Avengers.

The small, annoying mobile that Bruce kept solely so that she could keep in contact with Pepper went off. No one rang them; they respected their privacy and waited for them to call. That just proved that something was wrong. Bruce untangled himself from the chair and went indoors.

"Hello?" he asked, returning to the porch so that Arella could hear whatever was about to be said. He put the device on speakerphone.

"Bruce, it's Steve. Loki's back."

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Okay, I'm really bad at writing fluff so excuse that bit.

Recap: Bruce found Arella (normal looking, alien, big angel wings) after she accidentally came to earth (she was looking for Asgard) after trying to escape a dictator who killed her family (they used to be the ruling family). Steve began to like her, so did Bruce who got jealous. Steve and Arella then got kidnapped and she met Hulk during the rescue. Stuff happened (this is a really quick summary) and she and Steve decided that they didn't like each other really so she ended up with Bruce. They then left for the middle of nowhere so he wouldn't be a danger anymore. It ended with Tony telling Arella about Betty Ross after he sees on the news that she's dead. Arella hasn't told Bruce yet.

I'm almost as bad at summaries as I am at fluff.