This is mainly a filler to get the plot started a bit, but there is a bit of Alice and Bruce fluff and some of Tony's trolling. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing besides Alice, the plot, and the story itself; though I would love to have a Mark Ruffalo clone.

I felt a heat wave flush over my skin as it turned a light shade of red. The hue not only adorned my cheeks but my whole body. This was a side effect of the incident that happens with overwhelming emotions; I guess the 'are you blue?' saying really does apply to me.

After minutes of staring at the broken ceiling, I realized that I never opened the case to see the guitar. Sitting up, I snatched the case, flipped the silver locks up and opened the case.

The guitar's wood was shining back at me with all of its glory. It was an electric guitar, obviously, and it was a deep shade of crimson. Taking the guitar by the neck, I opened my door and headed towards the living room, the incident with Bruce forgotten.

As I approached the living room, I heard Tony laughing and a soft deep voice.

"Hey Tony, I'm going to order a stand and put the guitar on my wall, whe-" I halted when I saw Bruce. Deciding not to make this awkward, I would pull a Tony on him: Make dirty jokes and making him feel embarrassed opposed to me.

"Hello, Bruce." I said wiggling my eyebrows. He looked down in embarrassment, which made me smile.

"Did I miss something? Are you cheating on Hulk, Alice?" Tony smirked, but with confusion.

"I think I might have found someone better. Poor Hulk will be so heart broken." I teased winking at Bruce.

"So Alice, mind explaining your red skin?" I really hate myself.

"Oh, um," My confidence completely plummeted as my skin turned a deeper red.

"Smart-ass doesn't suit you, sister." My brother raised an eyebrow with a smug look on his face, "Nice guitar by the way."

"Thanks. By the way," I mimicked his voice, "for you reluctance in letting me drive the car, you are going to hang it once we have remodeled Stark Tower."

"Yeah no, you are going to design Stark Tower again since it is your job and it is mine to critique. Take Bruce with you and show him the offices and labs."

"Such a kind brother."

"And you love me for it, now shoo."

I sighed as I motioned Bruce to follow me to the elevator. He and I walked in when the door opened and I punched in the number for the floor.

"That really is a nice guitar." Bruce commented. My head snapped towards him, my skin still a bit red from the previous little moment.

"Do you play?" I asked.

"Oh lord no," he laughed, "My ex-wife used to-" His smile faded as he grew silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really." He said harshly. I felt an overwhelming feeling of surprise and I couldn't help but feel offended. Looking down at my feet, I saw my arms turning into a blue hue. I have noticed that my mood has affected my physically more than it has in a while.

"Hey, I'm sorry." Bruce pressed, but I said nothing.

The elevator stopped as we reached the floor and I walked quickly, guitar in hand, as soon as the doors opened with my office being the destination in mind.

"Hey Alice, I-I'm sorry about that, it's just that I have never talked about this to anyone, it is really personal." His voice was soft as it blanketed me with its warmth. I stopped and just stood looking forward.

"It's alright. I should be the one to talk, I haven't told my own brother about my wonderful high school experience. Nor does he know about everything that happened when I got abducted." We stood in silence as I heard his shoes clicking against the floor. He came into view when he stood in front of me.

"It doesn't matter, you didn't deserve to be spoken to like that. No one who has treated me with such kindness does. You have been nothing but kind and accepting and I threw it back in your face. I-" I didn't let him finish when I crashed my lips onto his, the guitar slipping out of my hands and clashing with the floor.

He tensed in surprise but relaxed into the touch. When his tongue brushed against my bottom lip, I pulled back.

"What am I doing? I am so sorry, Bruce, for being so forward. We don't even know each other very well and we are already kissing and-" I trailed on as he lifted his hand and rest it on my face. I leaned into his touch and gazed into his deep brown eyes.

"I don't know you very well, but I know that no one has ever treated me with such indifference as you along with your brother. Everyone has to tread carefully in my presence, but you don't worry about the other guy."

"Well, Hulk and I are kind of in a relationship so don't be so worried about him hurting me." I smiled at Bruce.

"Damn right you don't, Bruce." Tony's voice sounded in the intercom. I jumped in surprised and pulled away from Bruce, quite reluctantly.

"What the hell are you doing?" I screeched up at him.

"Eavesdropping, duh." His impersonation of a teenage girl was impeccable.

"Can you leave?"

"I'm not technically there. Besides, you haven't fulfilled your boss's orders. I might have to fire you."

"Shut up. We're here aren't we?"

"You are safe for now, but I'll be watching you. And Brucey dear, please work on your flirting skills. I'm not impressed. Tony out."

I sighed, my cheeks red from embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry about that. He does that quite often to startle people. I have lost count of the interns who have dropped my coffee because of Tony." He laughed.

"I guess that I will just have to get used to it." Bruce grinned. I loved the way his face transformed when he smiled. I picked up my guitar and walked forward.

"Well, I still have to show you the labs. Or what is left of them. I will redesign this whole floor, so this will obviously look very different." I motioned him to follow.

We made a right turn towards the labs.

"These are the main laboratories here at Stark Tower. There are many more labs down stairs, but these are for the department heads, for Tony, for me, and now for you."

I entered my keycard into the slot outside of Tony's favorite lab and the doors slid open.

"This is Tony's favorite lab for some reason." I looked at him and giggled. His look of amazement was somewhat comical as he looked at the large lab and the equipment.

"Look around if you want." I laughed as he instantly stalked towards the equipment and inspected it.

"This is very different from what I had worked with back when I worked as a scientist." He said in amazement as he touched a rather large machine that I had no idea what its purpose was, but Bruce seemed to know so I said nothing.

"Only the best for Tony, of course." I smiled.

"Well, I'll let you look around. I have to get started on Tony's blueprints." I told him as I started towards the door.

"Hey Alice?" he called.

"Yes?" I pivoted and stood facing him.

"Do you want to get some coffee sometime?" He asked nervously.

"Sure." I beamed, completely fan-girling on the inside. I walked out of the door with a spring in my step.


I finished my model of the tower after about three hours of work. Most was spent on the outside because I tweaked the inside just a little bit, not really changing it drastically.

Sending the blueprint to Tony I sat back in my chair and looked at the guitar that I had set on the floor. I decided to hang it up in the office, so I grabbed some screws and an electric screwdriver and set it on my desk with the guitar on the floor under them.

"JARVIS, would you order a device that holds guitars to the wall?"

"Yes, Ms. Stark. I will have it shipped in the fastest way possible."

"Thanks JARVIS. You're the man. Er, robot."


After a couple of weeks, the tower was back in its former glory and the exterior had a little makeover. The arc reactor was improved so Stark Tower would run itself for at least fifteen more years.

Tony had decided to leave all of the letters off and just keep the A for the Avengers. I had managed to convince him to replace the A because it was a bit strange just sitting out on its own.

Bruce has begun working as the Head of the Scientific Research and Development branch of Stark Industries. His lab/office was a few doors down from my office, which meant that I had paid him many 'surprise' visits.

I was currently sitting in my chair when Tony burst into my office and slammed the door shut.

"Tony, are you okay?" I asked concerned for my brother.

"I'm going to do it." He said determined.

"Do what?"

"I'm going to propose to Pepper." I sat silently for a moment, processing what he just informed me. A smile broke out on my face and I stood and attacked him with a bear hug.

"Oh my god, I am so happy for you! What are you going to do for the ring?"

"I have no idea, that is what I came to ask you about. What do you think she will like? How should I do it?"

"As a woman, I think it is really about two things: The ring and how you ask her. Take notes, child. Pepper is not a flashy person, so no big rocks. Something elegant yet understated, but beautiful enough to attract attention. Try Tiffany or Bulgari, I know she likes those."

"Can you come with me? I have no idea how to pick one, she's just so, well, her that I want the ring to be perfect.

"I'll go with you Tony, just don't stress yourself over it."

"Alright." He moaned as he whispered to himself on the way out.

"I mean it. And make sure you keep it a surprise." I said as he opened the door and shut it.

He is really stressed about this. I just hope he doesn't make her angry before popping the question, but knowing him, he might do just that.


I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in." I called. Looking up, I saw Bruce closing the door behind him.

"Hello, Bruce. What can I do for you?" I smiled.

"Um, Do you want to get some coffee?" He asked sheepishly. I giggled.

"Sure. I'm dying to get out, I'm so tired." I stood up and snatched my purse from my desk.

We walked towards the elevator and we headed down.

"How are you liking your job here in Stark Industries?" I asked him, leaning on the wall.

"I realize that I miss being a scientist more that I thought." Bruce said with a small smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile with him.

"Do you ever wonder how you life would be if everything was normal?" he asked me.

"Any chance of normalcy was ripped away from me when I was a child. I have never experienced anything that is normal."

"Oh, sorry." He mumbled.

"Everyday." I chuckled.

"What?"

"I wonder everyday. It would be wonderful, but I guess that life wasn't meant for me." I looked down.

"Being a Stark, I guess life couldn't ever be normal."

"No I guess not," I laughed. "How about you? Where would you be?"

"I think I would be still married with kids. Or dead." he threw me a smirk.

"Oh, so optimistic!" I teased.

"Of course," he laughed "But it is true. That much gamma radiation should have killed me."

I placed my hand on his face and made him look at me.

"Bruce, I know what you are thinking. Be thankful that you are alive and well because is you weren't alive, I would be Loki's slave."

He looked down once again and I leaned towards him, then the elevator dinged.

I jumped in surprise and stepped out into the lobby with Bruce in tow.

"Excuse me, Ms. Stark?" I turned to see a small redhead intern headed towards me.

"Hello, Vivian. What can I do for you?" I smiled at her.

"A man named Nick Fury asked me to get you on the phone with him." she said in a small voice, afraid to get me angry. I thought she was the cutest little thing.

"Now?"

"He said is was urgent."

"Alright, put him on line two." I told her with a smile and she scurried away.

"Sorry Bruce. I have a feeling this call isn't for the latest celebrity gossip. Maybe another time?" I asked with a sympathetic smile. I was really looking forward to coffee with Bruce.

"Sure. I will see you later, Alice." His face was downcast as he walked back towards the elevator.

I took out my cellphone and looked for where Director Fury was on hold. A soon as I found it, I tapped the square and hel the device to my ear.

"Hello, Director." I said into the phone.

"Ms. Stark, we have located the organization that abducted you in your childhood."

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