Author's Note: Here is chapter two and it will be Bruce centric. It's kinda Science Boyfriends if you squint or GreenPepper if you like that pairing.
Chapter Two: Pumped Up Kicks
Between fighting off aliens, keeping up his relationship with Pepper, and simultaneously creating new ways to have clean energy, Tony Stark allows himself a moment of reflection in his lab. Next to him, reading a rather large tomb on radiation, is Bruce Banner. It's been a month since "Loki went crazy-holy hell what is attacking New York now? Avengers Assemble!" and Bruce took Tony up on his offer to come work for him. Privately, Tony never thought that Bruce would stay around as long as he has.
Bruce, by nature, is fidgety. He always looks for possible exits, all the different ways he can escape should the worst happen. Tony really doesn't want to think what Bruce has been through to make looking for exits a normal thing. He knows that he can easily hack into SHEILD's database and find out but Bruce trusts him and Tony doesn't want to lose that. So, he waits, patiently, for the day when Bruce is comfortable enough to tell him.
Anyway, there is Bruce in the lab with him, positively devouring the book. Tony is bored. Being in the lab is more fun when Bruce is talking to him. He picks up his screwdriver and, naturally, pokes Bruce in his side.
"Ow!" Bruce turns his head to see who is lovingly assaulting him. He sees Tony with his trusty screwdriver. He's not impressed. "We need to find an outlet for you."
"I'm booorrrrreeeed." He makes it last, enjoying the brief flash of annoyance that goes on Bruce's face.
"Is Ms. Potts back yet?" Bruce asks, hoping that his friend's girlfriend might make Tony less bored.
"She's not due back until tonight." Tony replies and then he adds, "And call her Pepper."
Bruce looks ashamed, something that he's quite good at doing, and he mumbles some nonsense about how he doesn't know her well enough to call her by her first name. It's been a month. He's got his own room in the Tower and Pepper, God bless her, she has taken the weirdness that is the Avengers Initiative in her stride. Everyone else calls Pepper by her first name. Bruce is the only person left to hesitate to be informal with her.
There it is again.
He looked for the possible exits again.
Pepper Potts is a miracle worker. She can do anything and she can handle anything. She has to be. She does work for Tony Stark after all. However, after an exhausting week in Miami, she is finally home and ready to put up her feet. As she sleepily makes her way up the Avengers Tower, so lovingly christened by Tony, she is greeted by JARVIS.
"Good evening Ms. Potts." JARVIS' cool tone is refreshing after putting out fires all week. "I trust that you had an excellent flight?"
"It was something else." She tiredly says, trying to stifle a yawn at the same time. "Where is Tony?"
"Mr. Stark is in his lab. He has been alerted to your arrival."
"Good. Can you let me off at the kitchen please?" She hadn't eaten anything since the plane left the tarmac.
"Of course, Ms. Potts."
The elevator slows to a stop. It is unnaturally dim in the kitchen and it sets off alarms. Her mind goes to the worst case scenario. The worst is that someone has broken into the Tower, Justin Hammer, or someone else that Tony or one of the Avengers has managed to piss off. The least worrisome thing she can think of is that the lights are going out. She scowls. It's never anything that innocent. When she reaches the counter, she's already tightened the grip on the heavy files.
This doesn't feel right.
And then something taps her shoulder and she reacts. She swings her files down on whoever was behind her. There is the sound of glass breaking and a whimper of pain. Her eyes adjust from the lack of light. It's not some burglar or a powered up person with a vendetta against Tony or the Avengers but a startled Bruce Banner who's glasses are now broken thanks to her.
"Oh Bruce!" She gasps and then notices the tiny bit of blood going down his cheek from the broken glass. "I'm sorry. I didn't-" Instinctively, he backs away from her touch.
"It's okay." He sounds just as guilty as she does. "I shouldn't have scared you. I'm sorry." He takes his broken glasses off.
"Are you alright?" Pepper asks. Her eyes keep on the cut on his cheek.
"Oh yeah, I'm okay." It's the nervous smile he gives her that manages to make her feel even more guilty. "It takes a lot to hurt me." He toys with his broken glasses and her heart breaks a bit. It's not right that he's so okay with being hurt.
"I'll get you a new pair." Pepper says immediately.
"Thank you but it's fine. I've got a backup pair incase…you know…" He avoids eye contact, "I Hulk out."
"Oh…" She wishes she could say something meaningful to him. Bruce nervously smiles again, welcomes her home, and then he quickly leaves to go get his backup pair from his room.
"JARVIS? What was Bruce doing in the dark?" She asks quietly.
"Dr. Banner was in the middle of cooking dinner when he felt unwell."
"Dinner?" That's when she sees the pot of boiling water with pasta in it.
"Yes, Dr. Banner thought that you might prefer to have a home cooked dinner instead of takeout. He was resting from a headache that he received early this evening, Ms. Potts." JARVIS politely informed her.
She feels very small as she picks up the fallen papers.
Dinner is an awkward affair. Bruce is quieter than he normally is and Pepper can barely look up from her plate. Tony is the only normal person, as far as normal goes, at the dinner table but he quickly picks up on everyone's general anxiety.
"Did I miss something here?" Subtly has never been of Tony's strong suits. "Is there a bomb underneath the table that I don't know about?" He checks underneath the table and the lack of bomb makes him think that there's something else going on.
"No Tony." Bruce says softly. "Everything's okay." He stands up and puts his plate in the dishwasher. "I'm feeling a little sick. I think I'll head to bed. Goodnight." And Bruce is gone. In five sentences, he is out of the dining room and in the elevator. Pepper lets out a sigh of relief which is then quickly replaced by guilt.
"Pep?" Tony's voice is uncharacteristically quiet. "Everything okay?"
"Huh? Yeah…"
"Was it the board again? Because if they were pushing about reinstating the-"
"I hit Bruce." She spills and she almost feels better. Tony, on the other hand, is shocked.
"What?" He rubs his ears, "Sorry, didn't catch that. What?"
"I came home and I didn't see Bruce…" She trails off uncomfortably. "I accidentally hit him and broke his glasses." Of course, Tony didn't see the cut at dinner. Bruce's healing factor is amazing. What one cut can take a week to heal, only takes Bruce a couple of minutes.
"Wow…"
"Tony don't…" She says in a warning tone. She doesn't want to hear a snarky remark but she falls silent. "He looked like a kicked puppy."
Tony runs a hand through his hair, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that it's Bruce's default expression."
The overall awkwardness has ebbed away when morning comes. Tony, ever the insomniac, has managed to fall asleep. He's still curled up in the bedroom by the time Pepper gets up and dressed.
"Good morning, Ms. Potts."
"Good morning, JARVIS."
"Dr. Banner is awake and in the kitchen."
"Oh, okay. Thank you, JARVIS."
"My pleasure, Ms. Potts. I live to serve."
Bruce is indeed awake but he looks horrible. He's hunched over at the counter, picking away at his toast. The dark circles under his eyes make it well known to her that Bruce has not slept at all last night.
"Good morning, Bruce." She smiles warmly at him.
"Morning." He mumbles tiredly. Bruce practically radiates sick and tired. She wonders how long he's been feeling like this.
"Did you sleep okay?" She asks tentatively.
He nods and goes back to picking apart his unappealing breakfast. She helps herself to a more appetizing breakfast of oatmeal and apple slices.
"Pepper?" Her heart soars. Bruce is finally calling her by her first name.
"Yes?" She tries not to sound too overjoyed. It shouldn't be such a big deal but it is. She's just so happy that he feels comfortable enough to refer to her by her first name.
"If I make you feel uncomfortable, I can leave."
Oh look, there's her heart! On the floor. In a million pieces. Maybe DUM-E can pick them up later with the vacuum.
"What?" She doesn't know what he's saying.
"If you don't feel safe, I can leave." He sounds so ashamed and guilty even though he has no reason to be. "It wouldn't be a problem." Pepper is stunned as Bruce continues, "Having the Other Guy here can't be easy for you. I can leave."
He was ready to go. He always had been. Being a fugitive for the past two years made him ready to pick up and leave at the first sign of danger or, in this case, when others were afraid of him. India was nice this time of the year. It wouldn't be too hard to get back into his previous lifestyle. Bruce did have to admit that he would miss having a bed to sleep in, running water, and great food but he couldn't continue living here if he kept the most important person in Tony's world afraid.
"If you leave, I'm having Tony track you down, and bring you back." Pepper says before she realizes that the words have left her mouth.
Bruce looks adorably confused. The idea that people want him around, that they aren't scared of him even when they know what he is, is unheard of. The only other person who wanted him around was…Betty…Oh, his heart aches thinking about her. Not a day goes by when he doesn't think about contacting her but after two years? Would she even want to see him? Who was he kidding? She probably hates him.
"I know that you haven't been Mr. Popular but this is your home." Bruce gets visibly misty eyed at the word "home." "You belong here."
"But, last night-"
She shook her head. "It was a rough night. It was a rough week, really. Tony's been closing down the last of the research and development for weapons. The board isn't too happy with the predicted loss of profit. We'll make it up in a year or so but no one wants to take a smaller paycheck." She shrugged her shoulders. "Bruce, please, don't leave."
"I…" He doesn't know what to say. "I've never been in one place for so long."
"Will you stay?"
Bruce meekly nods and Pepper puts this battle in the win column.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Have a lovely day.