Bruce Confession Short Story P8:

"Your friend will be fine. Don't worry, I will come back later when you are feeling better for the rest of the questions." The nurse compromised, soothing you with her words as you tried to sooth the guilt settling in your chest. She got up and left and you walked over to Helen, still sleeping and smiled at her hoping she would wake up soon before collapsing in the chair nearer to her bed and flicked out your phone, turning it to be the right way round. You checked for messages and saw nothing, except tons of messages and missed calls from Liv and Mum alike. You sighed and slumped into the chair realising you were going to be there a long time.

At some point you must've dozed off as you woke up to a hand on your shoulder and a kind face smiling at you. You yawned and got up in the chair stretching your limbs to focus on the face of Bruce. "Hey (Y/N), tired?" He asked with a smile, bringing a chair to sit next to you.

"Yeah, it's been a long day for everyone." You sigh, smiling at him as you regain movement in your limbs. That chair wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep. Bruce only agreed before you both fell into comfortable silence, watching Helen as she slept. "So what happened?" You ask, turning to him, ripping your eyes away from Helen.

"Nothing much. Ultron got away. Everyone is packing up at the Tower and we're going now. He's beat us for now, but we'll get him." Bruce spoke, a determined look set on his face. "You should see what his minions did to us. Especially that mind controlling one." Bruce told you as you tilt your head wondering when this was because the last time you looked, she and her twin were changing sides. You were so sure they would. "She pissed me off." Bruce replied to your look making you purse your lips in thought.

"When was this? Because with Ultron earlier, they seemed very likely to change sides." You say, not wanting to jinx it and be certain but you were so sure.

"At the warehouse. He went to see Klaue and force him to deal vibranium. Obviously a fight broke out. That mind controller made everyone see stuff. Including me." Bruce told you, his face set in an unusually angry tone, making you wonder what she made him see. He was silent for a moment after that, leaving you an opening to talk.

"What did you see?" You ask, fully awake but still quietening your voice. It wasn't a loud conversation. This was not a loud topic, you weren't even sure this was a topic to be broached.

"Nothing, nothing it was nothing." Bruce dismissed, trying to move on. You let him, but with a mental note made in the back of your mind to broach the topic again later.

"So what happened today? With Helen and Ultron, did they get him?" You ask, wanting to get all the information you could.

"No, Ultron got away." Bruce tells you as you close your eyes for a moment to let the information seep in. He got away. After everything that happened, he got away. You let out a breath and try to remain calm and fight the tears. "Why would the Maximoffs switch sides though?"

"They saw what Ultron wanted to do. He deceived them into thinking that it was just the Avengers he wanted to destroy but she saw something else when they were uploading his base consciousness into the body. They only managed 50% though so the body hasn't been created yet." You say, recounting what happened speaking slowly to get all of the facts. "But if he manages to get his full consciousness into that body…" You trail off, the possibilities hitting you like a ton of bricks.

"He'll be indestructible." Bruce finished, lost in his thoughts as well. He spoke up a few moment later, his voice a bit lighter. "Good thing we've got it and not Ultron then right?" He spoke, smiling at you as you looked at him with confusion on your face. How did that happen? "Natasha managed to procure it while Steve was keeping Ultron occupied. It's back at the lab." Bruce tells you and you feel a million weights lifted off of your shoulders. At least you didn't mess everything up. You managed to help Helen and they didn't lose the cradle, so you hadn't messed it all up. In your excitement you leapt out of your chair to give Bruce a hug. It was so much easier to breathe when you didn't feel like a burden or crap for losing the cradle.

"Thank God." You breathed as you hugged Bruce, the tears finally falling but from joy instead. You pulled away and quickly wiped away the tears from you face, falling onto the armrest of the chair instead of going back to your seat. "At least I didn't mess everything up." You smiled, gesturing with your hands as Bruce sat up straighter and looked confused at your words.

"What are you talking about? You didn't mess anything up." Bruce asked, as you brushed the stray hair that had become extremely dishevelled from the day's events out of your face. You were suddenly grateful for the time you had, not dying and everything. You felt incredibly glad to be alive and a smile came onto your face as you stopped all thoughts and just appreciated life.

"Well, I didn't stop Ultron." You point out, before interrupting the oncoming flurry of compliments. "I know, it wasn't my fault but I can't help blaming myself. Just like you won't stop demeaning yourself." You gesture, catching him at a point where he couldn't argue.

"Ok, you got me there." Bruce admitted. "Maybe you should've been a lawyer?" Bruce suggested comically. You laugh at that, knowing he was trying to move the conversation away from anything serious like always despite your horrible connotations with the job.

"Hmm, do you think so? What could I specialise in?" You ask, wanting some laughter before everything became serious again. You wanted to escape from the situation like a child would, using imagination. This was what you loved about Bruce. You could be anything with him, you could imagine, rant, laugh and forget everything. The conversation went on like that for some time before they realised how dark it was getting but you were dozing off again. Your body was so exhausted.

You were malnourished and battered for the 2 days you'd been awake. The only way to get back to some energy was to sleep. You had no money to buy any food so the only other option was sleeping. The only thing was you'd fallen asleep in Bruce's chair as he went to get some water. You weren't sitting properly, you were on the floor and leaning your head on the chair, using one arm to support you and the other fractured one just rested in your lap.

"(Y/N)?" Bruce asked, wondering if something had happened before hearing your soft snores along with Helen who was still sleeping as well. You didn't respond, just shifted slightly before sleeping again. He walked over, putting the water on the side table for Helen instead and pulled out his phone, calling for a cab before pulling you up into the chair properly. He sat down in your previously occupied chair and waited for the call alerting him to the cab's arrival. It only took a few moments and he cursed, fumbling with the phone as it rang loudly. You murmured in your sleep and Bruce ran out of the room and answered with a strained voice. He managed to calm down and walked back in to wake you up.

"Please, don't. Don't go. Please." You whisper, a tear falling out of your eye and onto the floor. Bruce faltered in his steps and bent down to hear what you were saying. The scene must've changed because your words did. "My face, oh my god, my face." You start to murmur as the tears stop, only the horror in your face obvious. Then the scene changed again as you spoke again. "Liv, that's amazing. So happy, well done." You say sighing softly before carrying on, the time changing to later in the day. "I've got to go. Sorry, don't cry, don't cry." You soothe as tears fall down your cheeks.

You carry on repeating the words like a mantra, to soothe yourself as Bruce frowned at your words. Why were you saying that? He snapped out of it when Helen murmured and he realised how wrong his actions were. He shouldn't have done that, it was an invasion of privacy and he was just completely disregarding your friendship. He knew he couldn't wake you up, it was probably the first bit of decent sleep you'd gotten for a while and you were obviously tired. So he just picked you up instead, holding you tightly so as not to drop you.

You shifted slightly in his arms, holding onto his shirt as he carried you past everyone in the waiting room, hushing them all so as to not wake you and leaving them all in awed whispers, laughing and smiling coyly at each other. Bruce heard it and tried to control his smile but just forgot as he went to the cab waiting. His smile was barely controlled and the cab driver laughed at this before silencing himself as Bruce got into the cab after sliding you in, trying to balance you carefully. Your head was resting peacefully on the window as your legs curled up to cover you.

Bruce got in afterwards and spoke quietly to the driver, "Please can we get to Avengers Tower?" He just made an offhanded comment, still smiling at the two before driving carefully. He loved driving people because of what people he got in the car. There were so many, some were happy, others weren't and some were blissfully awkward like these two. It was these he loved the most as he could change situations to maybe give these two a little push. He didn't want to comment on the fact he knew exactly who Bruce was, but he was happy that the Hulk had found someone.

"Um, Sir? Just to warn you but the road is very bumpy and I wouldn't want Miss over there to hurt herself on the glass. If you could just hold her so she doesn't fall?" The driver asked, trailing off, leaving Bruce with his decision. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, not wanting to give an answer but knowing the correct answer. He didn't reply, just carefully took you in his arms, holding you as you shifted your position again, leaning on Bruce as you slept. The driver saw this and advanced, driving slowly down the bumpy road as you clung tight to Bruce subconsciously not wanting to let go after the challenge had been faced. Bruce stuck by his earlier decision and didn't wake up, instead letting you cling as he shifted you again to sit more comfortably so you could both sit.

He dozed off after a while, warmed by you and got lost in his thoughts of another life. One where he didn't have the Hulk as a burden. It wasn't uncommon for him to dream this but this time another thought startled him as he thought of a wife and children. He dreamed himself at home, cooking up an omelette as his children came running in, their features blurred as he couldn't decide. Then he heard the door click open as he plated up, the unmistakable sound of trainers hitting the brand new floor as you emerged.

The dream lasted a bit longer as his dream-self walked over to you and brought an omelette between you. You sighed softly, glad to be able to relax as you gave him a quick kiss before rushing upstairs to change. In the meantime, Bruce fed and clothed the children for bed, letting them watch their favourite cartoon before tucking them in. As he was doing so, you walked in from behind and gave him a hug before helping to tuck in your children. You both walked downstairs and flopped on the sofa, talking about your days and eating the food, before the scene changed evidently moving forwards a few hours before showing the pair asleep in the same position they were now, on the couch their arms wrapped around each other before Bruce woke up.

His eyes opened quickly and he didn't jolt, but he was still shocked at his dream. You were still asleep on his shoulder and murmured slightly before switching sides. Bruce stayed awake for the rest of the ride, you joined him about 10 minutes from Avengers Tower cleaning yourself up and waking up properly while Bruce stayed silent. You didn't question it but found it shifty all the same. But then again it was a bad time for everyone and you couldn't really blame him for being silent. But that didn't mean it didn't worry you. "Bruce?" You asked slowly. You didn't want to scare him, you just wanted to see if he was alright.

"Hmm?" Bruce replied, not really listening. You smiled at him and just slid over to him, having no seatbelt on in the first place. He was sat there with no seatbelt either and you just gave him a hug, smiling as he stiffened for a moment and then relaxed, pulling an arm free to wrap around you. No words were needed, you both just stayed like that, comforted by each other's presence. The Tower came into view and Bruce paid the cab as you had no money, both of you making your way into the Tower.

"Hey (Y/N), tired?" Tony greeted, walking down the hallway, seeing you holding your forehead as you tried to make your way to your room. Bruce was beside you for support but he was silent along with you. Neither could find the strength to say anything.

"Yeah, just, couldn't sleep properly." You say, pretending to make up an excuse but Tony and Bruce both knew the meaning behind your words. You all understood each other, being mad scientists.

"Know what that's like." He sympathised as he looked at Bruce. Something must've happened between the two.

"Anyway, I'm just going to get some sleep. You all better as well. We can tackle Ultron tomorrow. The idiot can wait." You finish in a murmur, trying to be strict with them and Tony just looked at Bruce weirdly and you caught a head shake between the two before they turned to you smiling sadly. You didn't want to ask, but you were interested. You entered your room, going to your bed, relishing the warm covers. This was good, but their weird looks and head shakes just wouldn't let you sleep. "JARVIS?" You ask, wanting to sort this out and go to sleep with somewhat of a clean conscience.

"Yes Miss (L/N)?" JARVIS replied, a hint of worry to his usually calm voice, expressing everyone's thoughts.

"Please can you tell me if something happens? I'm just going to get some sleep." You ask, knowing JARVIS would tell you. There came no reply and you realised that you had imagined it. He wasn't there, Ultron had taken him down. You had just imagined it. The realisation made you shudder as you got out of bed, not hiding the cold that bit at you the second you got out. Tears spiked at you but you didn't need your vision to change. You simply changed into your nightclothes and got under the covers after turning the light off manually. It felt like such a bitter reminder of what was happening as you closed your eyes, ignoring the tears falling out regardless, down the side of your eyes onto the pillow. Sleep pulled you in eventually as the darkness closed in. Fatigue warmed you as you lost all sense of time.

Everything you knew about who you were, anything you knew at all was gone. It was just darkness until you were pulled out of it by something you couldn't identify. You woke up with a gasp despite all you saw was darkness. Information came flooding back into your brain as you remembered what was happening. You flipped open the covers and got dressed in the same clothes from yesterday quicker than ever still tying your hair with your jacket and bag holding everything you needed. You kept getting dressed as you ran outside, trying to find anyone. You didn't know where they could be without JARVIS.

You ran back inside to the roof to see a Quinjet take off, blasting you back the second you got there. "No!" You shouted, screaming after them as the jet steadily kept going. You saw Clint in the driving seat and shared a look. You knew where they were going but you wanted to go as well. The screams didn't subside with the look, instead you only kept at the obscenities you shouted, getting more and angrier at them. When it was finally out of sight, you crumpled to the floor tears falling down relentlessly.

"Idiots." You muttered, wiping the tears away, sniffing as you went back into the Tower, downstairs until you got to the garage. It was unprotected after JARVIS and in your anger, you used a blowtorch to get in. You couldn't resist putting a message on the top while you could. You let the metal cool as you stepped in. You saw a multitude of cars, all more than capable of making the journey. You went back inside to your room and packed everything you thought you would need, your phone charging as you packed.

Everything was done and you made your way back out to the garage, using another car to ram the door and then parked it back with a huge dent in it. The other car was brand new and you dented it a little on purpose as a testament to Tony, showing how angry you were. Food was packed but it was mainly whatever you could get your hands on. Snacks and nothing substantial as you snacked constantly, setting off on the long journey you had to get to Clint's 'safehouse'.

You ranted to yourself as you let the window down on the motorway, going crazy and poking your head out every now and then. "How dare they leave me? And so blatantly as well! I almost want to scream to them about how stupid they are! No, wait. Scratch that. I will scream to them about how stupid they are! The bloody idiots! I will give them a slap as well. God knows they deserve it for leaving me. Idiots!" You shouted to yourself about how infuriating they all were and how you so wanted to slap them.

You turned on the music, plugging your phone in and blasting your favourite music, screaming along to it, barely keeping within the speed limits. Driving with one hand was a new experience but speeding with one hand was thrilling and you felt like the line between sanity was blurred beyond comprehension in your rage. But you didn't really care.

On the smaller, deserted country lanes you sped horribly. You went too fast and felt the car jump a bit a few times. "Argh!" You choked out, your voice sounding strangled and throaty as your voice was taken away by the thrill. The thrill both terrified and made you laugh at the top of your lungs with all the windows down. "Whoo!" You shouted, the adrenaline coursing through your veins. You slowed down when you saw some other cars, not wanting to be back in the hospital any time soon. You barely registered the hours passing by as you kept going, fuelled by your anger.

You pulled up at a motel and walked in, your money hopefully being sufficient enough for the fare. The bell tingled as you walked in and no one else was there, making you bristle with fear but you walked up to the counter and called out a hesitant "Hello?" To see if anyone was there.

"For god's sake woman, I told you to just walk up to the bedroom, you don't need to find me first! The voice called back, annoyance clear in his tones. He walked up to the counter and stopped in the middle of his sentence. "I mean honestly- Oh, hello pretty lady, what can I do for you?" He asked, leaning on the counter in what he probably thought was a seductive manner as you took a step back from the counter.

"Um, I'd like to rent a room for the night please." You asked politely, trying to make your voice heard and get this transaction over and done with quickly.

"Who's the lucky guy?" He asked, the seductive tone gone as he thought you were with someone.

"Oh no, I'm not with anyone." You corrected quickly, the words falling out of your mouth as you mentally cursed. "I mean, I'm not just with anyone, I'm on my way to visit my fiancée." You lie, the words sounding awkward and forced from your mouth.

"Where's the ring?" He asked, seeing right through your lie.

"In my bag, don't want it to get lost." You say, trying to get some emotion back into your voice.

"Right, give it to me." He said, the words sounding more like an order. You stood there with a frown until he repeated the words. "I said, give it to me." He ordered again, the words being accompanied by the cocking of a gun. It wasn't in sight but you heard it clear enough. "Do I make myself clear?" He asked, a low growl in his voice. You were frozen as your hand moved towards your bag and made it look like you were going to get the ring out before you ran for it out the doors.

A gunshot rang out as you screamed, bolting towards the car. Another rang out as you zoomed off and you could hear a yell of anger and despair as you zoomed off. You waited until you were in another part of the country before parking the car and sleeping in that instead for the night. When you got out in the morning to stretch your limbs, you saw the bullet had hit the car.

A small hole had lodged itself in the paintwork, not being able to go any further past the metal. The car looked a complete mess, clothes strewn everywhere, snack wrappers and bottles littering the inside. The outside was worse with the bullet hole barely making an impression against the rest of the dirt splattered across the dark paint and the dent becoming more obvious with how much you looked at it.

You were still shaking from the gun and felt cold in the small breeze. You quickly ran back to the car, knowing there wouldn't be much you could do for the car now and Tony was rich enough to buy another. Fear crept into you and you had no more speed brakes, simply going on autopilot as you tried to see through the tears.

The entire rest of that drive, you'd just wanted Bruce. You wanted him there to tell you everything was alright and to give you a hug. You wanted him to be there and for you be on some fun road trip instead. You just wanted him there and pulling up at the 'safehouse' was a breath of relief. Your car and loud parking brought everyone out to see who it was and you got out to the entire Avengers, Cooper, Lila and Laura watching. Cooper and Lila ran towards you, happy to see you and you gave them a huge hug picking them both up and twirling them like they always liked. "Why are you crying?" Cooper asked, observant as ever.

"I'm just happy to see you two of course!" You lie blatantly, giving him another hug as Lila asked for a piggyback. You obliged, picking her up and putting her on the hood of the car so she could jump on. You held on to her, making sure she was secure and did laps around the car whooping and cheering happily. It did improve your mood but you were still crying and you couldn't stop.

"You can stop crying now, we're here!" Lila shouted behind you, making your breath hitch as you tried to keep the tears from falling like she asked.

"I'll try." You promised, more to yourself than her. "Ok, I'm going to put you down now. Can you stand on the hood?" You ask, going back to the car as she moaned but complied all the same. "I'm sorry Lila, I'm just tired. It's been a long trip." You apologise, helping her down as you grabbed your stuff, making a beeline for Laura, ignoring the Avengers as they made their way to you, Fury at the house as you glare at him as well. Thor wasn't there, but you were too angry to ask. "Hey Laura." You breathe as the woman smiles at you. She was one of your best friends. She was so wise and kind and she gave the best advice.

"Hey (Y/N), what happened, you're going to tell me everything later right?" Laura whispered in her ear as you embraced careful of the growing bumps on her stomach.

"Of course." You whisper back before pulling away, Cooper and Lila at your side as they ran back to the garden to play calling for you to come with them. You laugh breathlessly and turn back to Laura. "Do you have a room for me to put my stuff in?" You ask as she nods, smiling and gives you direction for you to find the room.

"Wait, (Y/N)!" Clint called after you, seeing something was obviously wrong.

"You don't get to talk to me. None of you do." You say firmly, not looking back but simply holding a finger up as more tears fell down visible to only Laura and Fury. Laura looked on worriedly as Clint backed away, holding an arm out for the other Avengers to stop as well as they raced after you. Fury only watched, the slightest trace of worry on his face, barely noticeable.

You just walked past him and followed Laura's directions before leaving through the back door and finding Cooper and Lila playing in the back and spent the rest of the afternoon with them. You ended up, sitting on the grass with Lila who was making daisy chains as you took a break from 'It' with Cooper. He flopped next to you as well and you smiled at the 3 of you together.

"Auntie (Y/N)?" Lila asked, after having picked a sufficient amount of daisies to start some more threading. You'd always liked the whole Auntie thing but you insisted they just call you by your name if they wanted to. "Why is Daddy back? He normally calls. And what happened to your hand?" Lila observed with the same wit as her mother and you shift on the grass.

"Yeah, he does. What happened? Did something bad happen?" Cooper asked, chipping into the conversation.

"Yeah, something had happened. A huge robot, but don't worry we're going to take care of it." You reassure, confused at your honesty. What were you saying? At least you didn't say everything.

"How?" Lila asked, panic obvious in her voice and Cooper's expression.

"You've seen your Dad haven't you?" You ask, pretending not to know as they nod slowly a bit confused. "Well then you know that he's fully capable of taking down a robot. And if he can't, he's got us. Iron Man, Captain America, Auntie Nat, Thor and…" You swallow, trying to get the words out. "The Hulk." You finish. It was much easier to call them by their superhero names.

"Dr Banner looked a bit sad today." Lila stated, making you inhale sharply.

"Oh?" You ask, a bit miffed at this revelation. Why on earth would 'Dr Banner' be sad?

"Yeah, he was moping around in just his pyjamas." Cooper informed as he giggled a little obviously never having a grown man lounge around, moping in his pyjamas. You let out a little laugh before realising what you were doing. You carried on talking, but it was more automatic now and it was getting dark so you hurried the children inside to play in their rooms. You ignored everyone but Laura and the children. They were all talking about Ultron probably but you just forgot them, holding your head up proudly as you walked. You simply strode past them all, pretending they didn't exist as you asked Laura if you could have a shower.

"Of course, there's a towel on the radiator and you can use one of my dressing gowns." Laura offered, earning her a smile as you dragged your tired body upstairs to ease your muscles underneath the jets of hot water. You didn't take too long and just washed your hair quickly and got out of there, drying yourself off, preferring to let your hair air dry. The damp lock were brushed as you sat in your dressing gown, just taking a breath from everything that had happened the past few days.

"Hey." Bruce called, walking into your shared room with separate beds. You'd been conflicted over what to do when you recognised his stuff on the bed but just sucked it up and put your stuff down. You shouldn't have to move because of him. You felt even more conflicted now you knew he'd been moping around all day but just the thought of how he left you made your anger come rushing back. You didn't reply and he sighed, running a hand through his messy curls, sitting on his bed wondering what else to say as you fussed with your hair and ignored him.

You walked to your suitcases as you got out some nightclothes and other essentials bending down to get them all out. The bed was nearest as you laid them all on there and started to apply them. You got your phone and used it as a mirror, sitting down again as Bruce watched worriedly. "(Y/N), I, I'm so sorry," Bruce began, stumbling over his words but was interrupted by your sudden exit. You took the clothes with you in one hand, balancing them on one hip and rushed out of the room.

The bathroom was the closest and you changed, taking your time and walked back in to find Bruce still sitting there, waiting for you. Your breath hitched in your throat at the sight of him and you cursed under your breath before walking in. You simply grabbed your phone and jacket quickly and strode out again.

You were about to take a breath, still striding out of the room when your wrist brace was grabbed by Bruce who was still trying to make amends. You stopped at the contact, your breath getting heavier. "(Y/N), please let me explain." He pleaded to your back as you tried to keep the tears from falling. At his words, you whipped around looking him in the eyes.

"You think I want to listen? I know this is hard but you couldn't have waited for me? You were just going to leave me there. And I was what? Supposed to hide and wait until the Avengers came and saved the day? What about my friends? My family?" You question, bitterness seeping into every word. Your eyes were shining over, but you paid it no attention, just staring at Bruce.

"I'm so sorry about leaving you behind, but I couldn't control what Ultron did. I promise, I'll take you to see your friends-" Bruce spoke quickly, trying to make amends stopping as you scoffed. You'd turned away when he started talking, but flicked your head back when he said that.

"Not what I meant. My friends and family left me." You say, the words dripping venom. Bruce looked down shamefully as he tried to think of a suitable response. His head snapped back as you carried on talking. "They left me to deal with things on my own and make a trip myself, leaving me alone with the 'bad guys'." You say, your voice losing the venom and gaining more of the whisper. It wasn't as strong as it was, the experience had left you scarred as you tried to not cry.

"The bad guys?" He asked, looking into your shining eyes. He was confused and you breathed in through your nose quickly, trying to keep the tears at bay. It didn't work and your vision blurred, the pools widening in your eyes as you tried to blink them back. You saw Bruce raise a hand to hold you and you immediately pulled away. You don't know what made you have such a reaction, but you violently pulled your hand away, unhinging the bandages, walking downstairs faster to get away from Bruce. The tears fell and you sniffed, wiping them away as more fell.

You didn't know where they came from but you finally managed to get them somewhat under control. You entered the kitchen where Laura Barton was relaxing, making a cup of tea to drink on the couch when she saw you and your red, puffy eyes with the tear stains still on your face.

"(Y/N)? What happened?" She asked worriedly, rushing over to you as you lost your newfound control, melting again in Laura's arms. The tea was forgotten as she guided you over to the couch where you sat crying. She sat down carefully, holding her arms around you comfortingly. "(Y/N)? Calm down, just tell me what happened." Laura whispered soothingly as you leant into her warm embrace. You just sighed, feeling so emotionally drained, crying more into Laura's arms. Were you ready to confess everything that had happened? If you were honest, Laura was the only one you would confess everything to. It was now or never.

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