A/N: Really, really, really long chapter! I could have broken it up, but there weren't really any good points to do it, so you get an absurdly long chapter instead!
Quick warning: I have not read the comics, so I don't know how certain characters are in those. I have only watched the Incredible Hulk (2003) and the Avengers.
Am I to blame when the guilt and the shame
Hang over me
Like a dark cloud that chases you down In the pouring rain
It's so hard to find someone who
Cares about you
-Someone Who Cares; Three Days Grace
It seemed as though he was only asleep a few moments when Bruce was shaken awake.
"C'mon buddy, time to get up." Bruce opened his eyes to see Tony standing in front of him.
"Good, you're awake! We dropped Peter off at the hospital, and Steve stayed with him, but I figured you'd want to check on the kids." Bruce ran a hand through his hair, willing himself awake.
"Um, right. Okay. Thanks." It wasn't until he moved to stand and had to clutch at what was left of his pants that he realized a much greater need.
"Uh, do you know where-" Tony handed him a bundle of clothes and he smiled gratefully, momentarily forgetting his anger at the billionaire.
"Thanks." It didn't take long for him to change. Tony occupied himself with a whispered phone call in the front of the jet. Bruce quickly left the jet and made his way to the hut. He was relievd to see the three sleeping peacefully. It appeared that they were out of the woods. He lowered himself to sit on the ground, wincing when Abeni's eyes opened. However, she merely held out her arms in a mute plea. Bruce smiled and gently gathered her into his arms, stiffening a little when she snuggled against her chest, then quickly relaxing when her breaths turned deep and even. He was well on his way to joining her in slumber when the blanket/door moved.
Doctor Elizabeth "Betty" Ross really wasn't sure what to think when she got a call from the co-CEO of Stark Industries, politely requesting that she go to Africa for a special favor. She did know that a lowly college professor shouldn't turn down the opportunity to have someone that high up owe them a favor. So she went. As she surveyed the scene in front of her, she was glad that she did. Two boys were sleeping on a mat, but it was the man sitting cross-legged on the mat beside them that took her breath away. His hair had grown again, the curly locks messy, and there was a lot more gray and wrinkles than she remembered, but it was still him. It was still his brown eyes looking at her, tired with an edge of curiosity. It was still Bruce, a little girl cradled in his arms as he stroked her hair. There had been a look of peace on his face until he saw her. She lifted a hand.
"Hi Bruce."
Bruce often had hallucinations like this after he changed. He stared at his mind's reflection with a mixture of curiosity and pain. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. His mind had even aged her a little, there were laugh lines around her eyes now, and a few more wrinkles around her mouth. She had even spoken, her voice as musical as ever. He closed his eyes, hoping that she would be gone when he opened them. It was too painful for her to appear like this.
"Bruce? What's wrong?" Bruce took a slow, steadying breath, still stroking Abeni's hair absentmindedly.
"You're a figment of my mind." He reminded himself. Sometimes it helped to remind himself out loud. He heard movement and was about to open his eyes when he tasted her lips on his, a sweet brush that left his head lifting, searching for more. He opened his eyes to see her standing over him, a smile on her lips.
"I'm real Bruce. I'm here." She assured him. Bruce carefully put Abeni down before slowly standing and taking her in his arms, just holding her, burying his face in her hair and breathing in her scent, feeling her heartbeat in tandem with his. It didn't take long for him to decide that this was worth imprisonment and some discomfort. A few punches? Nothing. He would go through anything for this. However, he knew they had to separate sometime, so when she started to pull away, he allowed her, but only enough so that he could see her face. His arms were still looped around her neck though.
"How did you-When did you?" Bruce couldn't seem to form a full sentence. Betty smiled up at him and he had to resist the urge to kiss her again.
"I got a phone call. Yesterday, from Ms. Potts. She asked me to come here." She said, still somewhat breathless. Bruce had to admit, this was a pretty good technique in sucking up on Tony's part. He dipped down for another kiss, this one lasting much longer. Life was good.
It wasn't until they got back to the Tower that the vicious cycle of doubt started. Bruce took one look at May's face when she saw Peter and ran for his private lab. He couldn't handle the fact that Peter's injuries were his fault. If Peter had never known him, he would have never gotten hurt trying to help. It was all his fault, and he wanted to keep everyone else safe, especially Betty. If she got hurt because of him, he would never forgive himself.
"Bruce." Clint called his name from the doorway. The doctor didn't turn around, even when he heard the click thump that the archer made walking with his broken leg.
"Bruce, you can't hide forever. Betty's getting worried." The archer commented. Bruce shook his head.
"Clint, not now." He said. He really couldn't handle talking about this right now. Clint moved a little closer, hopping up to sit on the table in front of Bruce, studying the scientist for a few moments.
"You know, there was this job I had in Libya. A target needed to be taken out, so Natasha and I were both sent." Against his wishes, Bruce found himself listening to Clint's story.
"There was a slight problem though. You see, there was the son of a man there, a man who was a former target. The son recognized me, and decided to use his considerable resources to grab me. Unfortunately, Tasha got in the way, so he just took both of us." Clint ducked his head, looking down at his cast. "It didn't take long for the son to figure out what my weakness was, and Tasha was beaten in front of me." Bruce winced. He knew how much the two assassins cared for each other, and could just imagine how much that would torture the archer. Actually, he kind of knew. Only much of the time he was the one doing the beating.
"What happened?" Bruce questioned quietly. Clint looked up with a somewhat creepy smile.
"We beat the shit out of him, then I took Natasha back to medical, much to her protests." Bruce smiled, then raised an eyebrow.
"But see, there's a difference between our situations. I'm usually doing the beating." He said, looking back down at his notebook. Clint slapped him, the sound resonating in the room. Bruce could only stand there, shocked at the normally non-physical archer's action.
"W-what?" He stammered out. Clint shrugged, his face calm.
"I've decided that every time you refer to the Other Guy in a negative context, I'm going to slap you. He's obvious not going to hurt anyone, but maybe you should talk to Peter about that." Bruce was silent as he watched Clint limp out of the room, but his mind was anything but. What if the archer was right? What if the Other Guy really was good? And what did he mean about asking Peter? Bruce sighed and slipped off his glasses. He knew that he wouldn't be able to do anything without getting to the bottom of this.
Peter's room was empty besides the teenager, surprisingly enough. Actually, so were all of the hallways going there. Bruce felt that was kind of suspicious, but still grateful. He quietly slipped into the room.
"Hey Bruce." Peter greeted from the bed, putting aside his textbook with a look of relief. Bruce looked down at his feet.
"Hey Peter." His voice was quiet.
"What's up?" Peter asked. Bruce shrugged.
"Clint said I should talk to you about, what happened." He said, still not looking up.
"Oh yeah, sure, I guess." Peter replied, "Come sit down, you look weird standing by the door like that." Bruce went to the chair and sat obediently, glad that Peter still looked like he was in a good mood and comfortable around him.
"Let's see, I'm gonna skip the whole getting beat up part, 'cause I have a feeling that you don't really want to hear it. Um, I went unconscious for a little while, but maybe a half hour after I woke up, some guys came in and took me to this observation room. Ross was in there, and he was watching you. Well, watching the Hulk." Peter was smiling now, and Bruce had to wonder why.
"You were pretty mad, beating at the walls and roaring. Ross had come up with a brilliant idea for getting rid of me; throw me in there with you. According to him, you would then be devastated over smashing me." Bruce ran a hand through his hair. Even thinking about it made him feel horrible. Peter caught his eye, looking a little more serious.
"I gotta admit, I was a little nervous. I've never seen you that mad, and I was in pretty bad shape." Bruce looked down at his hands again, rubbing his knuckles.
"Turned out I didn't need to worry. Big Green recognized me, smashed where I told him to, then let me hitch a ride on his back, even protected me from bullets. I would have loved to see the look on Ross's face." Peter finished, grinning. Bruce was shocked. He hadn't though the Hulk could recognize people when he was that angry. Be talked down maybe, but not calm down on his own. He was a monster, unable to be controlled. Or at least, that's what he thought. And where did that put him with Betty, and leaving?
"You're wondering what to do about Betty, aren't you?" Peter was surprisingly perceptive for being a teenage boy. Apparently Bruce's face revealed his confusion, and Peter laughed.
"I did the same thing with Gwen. I had to promise her father to stay away, and protect her from my enemies. He didn't want her to get hurt because of me, and neither did I. So I promised him." Peter's smile had turned sad now. "It took me a couple days, but I figured out that it wasn't fair to do that to her. She has can make her own decisions. I can protect her from those who want to hurt her, but sometimes that's best done by her side." Bruce could only stare at Peter.
"How did you-I need to go find Betty." He got up, giving a wave before leaving, "Thanks Peter."
Bruce bypassed the elevators, feeling an urgency that the stairs seemed appropriate for, and went straight for the assembly floor where Tony was showing her the Loki-imprint. When Bruce burst out of the stairwell, they both turned in surprise, Betty's quickly fading to wariness. Bruce slowly walked forward, ignoring Tony's quick exit. Betty just kept looking at him, her blue(are they blue?) eyes filled with wariness and maybe a little excitement. Or maybe that was his imagination.
"Betty…I have to tell you something." He said, rubbing the back of his head. She nodded.
"I'm an idiot." She nodded again, apparently agreeing with him. He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at the floor. It was safer than her eyes.
"I-I've always tried to…protect you…ever since the accident. From myself, and those who would like to…use me…I didn't contact you, didn't even want SHIELD to know about you." Bruce paused, gathering his thoughts. "Then…Then you were in Africa, and you looked…well, like the best think I'd seen in seven years." Betty gave a breathless laugh at that. Bruce would have loved to just kiss her right then, but he had to get this out.
"Then we came home, and I wanted to protect you…protect everyone… I talked to Peter, which is actually kind of sad, that I'm taking advice from a 17 year old. I guess he's smarter than me though, since he told me something that I couldn't figure out with ten years." Bruce started rubbing his knuckles again, still not meeting her eyes.
"It's not fair for me to make this decision for you…Or anyone else for that matter…It's your decision, not mine, and I'm going to shut up and let you make it." Bruce couldn't remember ever being this nervous before, and he'd been running for his life for about seven years. It seemed like hours before she gave a small smile and spoke.
"Do you know what the first thing about you I fell in love with was?" Bruce really wasn't expecting that, and just shook his head. She reached out and took his hand, stroking it.
"Your hands. They were always moving, always doing something. They enchanted me, and when I looked into your eyes, I was gone." She lifted his hand to her lips, and he moved a little closer, waiting for that one sentence.
"Yes Bruce, I choose you." Her eyes were sparkling, but he barely noticed, quickly replacing his hand with his lips. He never, never wanted to let her go. They finally drew apart, foreheads touching.
"I love you." Bruce had never heard sweeter words.
" .You." He punctuated each word with a kiss. She looked ready to reciprocate, until an all too familiar tone rang out.
"Avengers Assemble. Avengers Assemble." Bruce had never hated a phrase so much.
"You need to go." Betty told him. Bruce shook his head, smiling.
"I still have a few minutes."
The End
(Maybe.)
And the prize for longest chapter in any of my fics goes to... Chapter 7 with 2,399 words! Good job! :P
