Hey ya'll, this chapter is in 3rd person from Bruce's POV, I hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: Oh screw it, I own Bruce Banner. You believe me? Yeah... Me either...
The next two days Bruce spent making sure Minnie was okay at home, apparently the place had been trashed by Norman's army looking for clues while Felipe called his lawyer and Dallas verbally abused every person to walk past the threshold, until he was actually arrested, and then bailed out an hour later by a very impressed Felipe, and Happy who couldn't stop sniggering.
They had put the house back together, and Amanda upon coming home had discovered her room was painted with a completely different color scheme- Blue and purple, her two favorite colors, which she loved.
The next day Bruce was dragged to the labs by Tony who sent Happy to pick him up, and even gave the man permission to drag Bruce from the house if he so needed. Bruce went begrudgingly leaving his wife alone with his daughters and okay in the knowledge that Felipe was right upstairs if Minnie needed him.
When Bruce got home that night he was amused to see Minnie, Felipe and Amanda asleep on the couch, the DVD menu for Meet Me in St. Louis playing on the TV. He chuckled at the sight of the three of them, and picked up the TV remote and turned it off. He went upstairs as he pulled his jacket off and rather than going to his bedroom he went down the hall to Kayla's bedroom, where he found the light on. He opened the door and found his little girl sitting at her table, papers sprawled out around her as she colored, her face set in deep concentration.
"Kayla, sweetheart, you should be asleep."
"I can't sleep." was the little girl's sullen reply.
"Why not?" he asked and she sighed deeply before looking up at him.
"Because of Mommy." she said and he sat down on the end of her bed. She put down her crayon and walked over to him, climbing into his lap. He wrapped his arm around her as she buried her face in his shirt and started to talk, he smiled as he softly stroked her hair, not hearing a word she was saying.
"Makayla," he said and she looked up at him. "You know I can't understand you when you talk to my shirt and not to me." he pointed out and she smiled.
"Mommy is sad." she said and he nodded.
"What about?"
"Because of how come she can't let her skin touch mine because my skin hurts her. I'm bad for Mommy, I make her hurt, and I'm sorry, I don't mean to." she said tearfully as she looked up at him.
"Oh, sweetheart," Bruce said softly as he wrapped his arms around her. She cried into his shirt and he damn well near felt his heart break, just like every time she cried. "Kayla, honey, you don't hurt mommy, it's Mommy who's scared of hurting you." He said as he rubbed her back.
"How?" she asked and he sighed.
"You know how Amanda is different?" he asked and she nodded. "Well, your mommy is different now too." Bruce said and Kayla frowned.
"How?"
"Remember when we were in Canada?" he asked and she nodded. "And how you and Amanda had to go to that safety room?"
"Yeah."
"Do you remember the night, before you went to the safety room when it was just you and Amanda in the house and those sirens started going off? When Mommy got sick?" she nodded. "A very bad person got to your mother and gave her a shot."
"A shot? Like at the doctors?"
"Kind of." he said realizing why she looked so horrified. "When your doctor gives you a shot it's to help you. This was a bad guy."
"Like Loki?"
"Who told you about Loki?"
"Uncle Tony said that Loki was Thor's brother, the god of really bad outfit choices." she said and Bruce chuckled. "And then Uncle Thor said that he didn't want to talk about it anymore."
"Well, this bad person was a lady, her name was Madame Hydra."
"Hydra are those people who tried to hurt Uncle Steve, right?" she asked and Bruce nodded, not knowing when she had taken to calling the rest of the team Uncle (Or in Natasha's case, Auntie), but he wasn't going to stop her.
"That's right kiddo."
"So the people who tried to hurt Uncle Steve hurt Mommy instead?" he nodded again. "Why?"
"Because sweetheart, sometimes people forget that we're all on the same planet, and we're all humans-"
"Even Uncle Tony?" she asked and he laughed and nodded.
"Yeah, even Uncle Tony is human." he said and she sighed, almost disappointed at that. "What about Uncle Thor?"
"Uh, well... Uncle Thor is technically from a different world." he agreed. "Regardless, we have to share this world with everyone, and some people think that because they're smarter, or because they feel differently they have the right to try to control other people." he explained. "Hydra is full of people who think that they have the right to try and control everyone." he continued.
"Does Uncle Steve know that?"
"He does." he nodded.
"So why did they hurt Mommy?" she asked and he sighed as he thought for a moment.
"Because Mommy knew that they were bullies, and bad people; and Mommy was trying to stop them from hurting people." he explained.
"So they hurt Mommy?"
"That's right."
"And they made her like Amanda?"
"Yes." he said and she thought for a moment, swinging her legs slightly before looking at him.
"So Mommy still loves me?" she asked in a small voice.
"Oh Kayla," he sighed. "Mommy loves you more than anything in the whole world. Just like I do." he said and she smiled. "But really now, it's past your bedtime." he said as he stood up, lifting her in his arms as he did. He pulled the blankets back and put her down on the bed before pulling them over her. "Did you get a drink?"
"Yeah."
"Did you go potty?"
"Yeah."
"You wearing a pull up?"
"Yeah."
"Did you… Draw me a picture?" he asked and she giggled before nodding. He moved over to the pile of pictures and she sat up in the bed.
"The yellow one Daddy." she instructed him and he picked up the yellow sheet of construction paper she had drawn a picture for him on. He smiled at it and walked over to the bed and sat down on it next to her. "That one's you," she said pointing to a person in the picture. "And that's Mommy, and that's Amanda, and that's me," she turned the picture over. "And that's Uncle Tony and Uncle Steve, and Uncle Clint and Uncle Thor and Auntie Natasha." she said pointing to each person on the picture. "Do you like it?"
"I love it. Thank you sweetheart." he said as he looked at it. She smiled and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he laughed before she let go of him.
"Good night Daddy."
"Good night Kayla." he replied, and then paused at the door. "Kayla, about Mommy," he said and she looked at him curiously. "She will get better."
"She will?"
"Yeah." he nodded. "I promise." the little girl smiled and he turned off the light and started to close the door.
"Daddy?" she asked from inside the room and he opened the door again. "My light." she said and he walked across the room and turned on her night light, then went to the door. "Thank you Daddy." she said and he smiled.
"You're welcome Princess. Sweet dreams." he softly shut the door as he spoke and stood outside his daughter's room for a moment before he sighed and walked to his bedroom.
He hung up his coat and then went back downstairs and gently woke up Amanda who sat up quickly, looking around wildly. "Hey, you're okay." Bruce calmed her and she sighed before holding her hands out to him. He took them and pulled her to her feet, she stood in front of him for a moment before wrapping her arms around his middle. "You alright?" he asked as he hugged her back, she nodded sleepily into his chest.
"Night Dad." she said and he kissed the top of her head.
"Night Sweetheart." he said as she let go of him and smiled sleepily before turning and walking to the stairs, pausing only to scratch the back of her left leg, and then going to the staircase. Next on his list of people to wake up were his wife and his wife's best friend's boyfriend who were both sleeping soundly. "Minnie." he whispered as he gently shook her. She opened her eyes and looked around, before looking at the watch on her wrist and raising her eyebrows.
"Wow." she mumbled, before looking up at Bruce and smiling at him. "Hey."
"Hey." he said and she sat up enough to grab the front of his shirt and pull him down so she could kiss his chin quickly, before looking at her pillow who was still covered in the throw blanket he had covered himself with before she fell asleep on top of him, thus protecting him from any accidental physical contact when they fell asleep.
"Felipe." she said right next to his ear. He groaned slightly and opened his eyes.
"I must have fallen asleep." he said as he sat up, running a hand through his usually perfect, but tonight it was kind of all over the place brown hair.
"Honey, we all fell asleep." Minnie sighed, and watched as Bruce started to check on her knee.
"Does it hurt?"
"It always hurts when I first wake up." she said and he sighed as Felipe stood up, and groaned again slightly as he stretched out his back.
"Ah that feels better." he sighed, before he smiled at Bruce. "Hello Bruce."
"Hey Felipe, have fun?"
"Oh yes, we watched many Judy Garland films, she was such a gem." he sighed. "I hope your work is going well."
"It's... Going slowly." he admitted after a moment of thought.
"Tomorrow we're still on for The Easter Parade, right?" Minnie asked and Felipe nodded.
"Of course little sister. But for now I think I'll be going home." Felipe said as he rubbed his eyes blearily. He yawned and then cleared his throat. "Good night," he said as he leaned down and quickly kissed Minnie's cheek. "I will let myself out." he said to Bruce who nodded before Felipe kissed his cheek and then turned and walked to the front door and left.
"Help me up Baby." Minnie said holding her hands out to Bruce not unlike how Amanda had done just minutes ago. He took her hands and helped her up, but quickly caught her waist and wrapped his arm around her to make sure she kept her weight off of her knee. He walked like that, helping her keep her weight off of her knee, knowing she hated using her crutches in the house, especially when she was going upstairs. When they got to the stairs however, he simply lifted her up, which surprised the hell out of her, making her grab and cling to his shoulders. "Bruce, put me down, I'm too heavy." she whined and he shook his head.
"Number one, no you're not, and number two, if it makes you feel better, I could always have the other guy carry you upstairs." he shrugged and she laughed.
"And have Kayla ask me why I didn't put a spell on you to make you change back, no thank you." she said and he laughed at that. They got to their room and he gently put her down on the bed.
"I'll be right back, I'm going to go turn off the lights downstairs." he said and she nodded before he went downstairs. After turning off the lights and checking the patio door and the front door to make sure they were locked he went back upstairs to see her changing into a pair of pyjamas. She pulled her hair out of the loose bun she usually kept it in these days until she could have a stylist look at it, and he watched as her hair tumbled down her bare back, he crossed the room, stepping up behind her and putting his hands on her bare waist, making her jump, she hadn't heard him walk in.
"Bruce," she breathed and he leaned down, pressing his lips to her shoulder. There was always something he loved about watching her; even the simplest movements made by her looked like the most seductive gestures. "Bruce, I don't want to hurt you." she said, her voice laced with fear.
He simply continued to move his lips across her shoulder, towards her neck as he wound one hair in her thick red hair, and the other he wrapped around her front, turning her slightly so she was facing him, so he could use the hand that was tangled in her hair to gently tilt her head up and he leaned down to kiss her. He could feel the burning in his lips and in the spot right behind his eyes when he started to feel the other guy threatening to come out.
He continued to kiss her, ignoring it for the moment, happy to try to pretend this wasn't happening, that everything was normal and that they would continue to kiss, he would lift her up onto the desk, and slide those silly underpants she was wearing off while her hands would be working frantically trying to unbutton his shirt and unbuckle his pants at the same time like she did sometimes.
In his mind their kisses would grow more passionate and he'd break away for half a second, to look over his shoulder and make sure the door to their bedroom was shut, and when he'd see it was she would have pulled his shirt down past his shoulders, and would be exploring his skin with her lips and hands. He would finish unbuckling his belt seeing as she had given that up for the blasted buttons that lined his shirt, but the moment he'd undo his belt her hands would run down his chest lightly, her fingertips barely brushing his skin in a way that both tickled and aroused him, before unzipping and unbuttoning his pants in an agonizingly slow manner.
She'd look up at him with her cheeky grin as she bit her bottom lip, sliding his pants down his hips, and then letting them go as she made her hands busy with other things. Their lips would meet again, both burning with more and more passion, his hands would slide up her knees, spreading them slightly, before one of his hands would slide up her thigh...
Bruce was brought crashing back to Earth and reality when he felt a sharp pain through his head, he pulled away from Minnie's kiss and she stared up at him anxiously, her eyes wide and apologetic as she guiltily watched him squeeze the bridge of his nose, battling internally with the Other guy about whether or not his presence was needed, which Bruce told him it more certainly was not, and the Other Guy would throw a fit, but go back to that part of Bruce's head where he would wait, and sometimes yell something out to Bruce about a situation he was in, making Bruce occasionally get this scowl on his face his friends had grown to understand what it meant but people who didn't know him would occasionally think he was just scowling.
Minnie was talking he realized and looked up as she turned her back to him, pulling on her pyjama top, a long sleeved shirt, and a pair of long sleeved loose sweat pants she had stolen from him once when she wasn't feeling well because she had no clean clothes and, in her words, she could say she got into his pants when she was sick which made him smile, happy she was still joking when she was sick.
"You know a long time ago you told me to stop apologizing about my condition." Bruce told her and she looked at him, before she nodded slowly. He walked over to her and very gently kissed her forehead. "It's time you take your own advice. You knew what it meant getting involved with me, and you chose to say, we've been together this long Minnie, do you honestly think I'm going to suddenly be unsupportive because this happened to you?" he questioned and she sighed as she lay back on her pillows.
"I have a meeting with Fury tomorrow." she said and he nodded. "Felipe is going to watch the girls for a little while." she told him as he undressed and pulled on a pair of pyjama pants and a tee shirt. He shut off the big light and walked over to the bed and climbed in, he turned off the lamp and wrapped his arm around her waist, making sure not to slide her shirt up slightly like he used to do so he could rest his hand on her bare waist. She sighed leaning into his embrace and soon she was asleep against him.
He lay there awake for awhile, not knowing whether he was going to tell her that they weren't having any luck with their experiments at the moment because they couldn't solve the equation without knowing all of the variables as Tony liked to say.
He also didn't know if he was going to tell her that he knew she was lying, that Fury had gone with Pepper to Washington D.C. Pepper had gone to go to a meeting, and Fury had gone to see the President about some things.
There was really only a few times Minnie lied to him, and they had always covered up something he would find he hated and wished he hadn't found out about, like when she went to New York to secure Spider-Man for the Avengers, but all the same he wished that she wouldn't lie. Sometimes he didn't know if it was what she had done, or the fact that she had covered it up that bothered him more.
He was deep in thought about that when she suddenly moved in closer to him, pressing her body against his and his thoughts instantly changed gears, turning back to the types of thoughts he had been having before, and suddenly wishing she hadn't pressed up against him like that.
He sighed and wished for the days when their only worry was if Kayla would stay asleep long enough for them to tear each other's clothes off and quite possibly make Kayla an older sister, but even as he thought about those days, he knew even without a physical relationship, he was still the luckiest person in the world to be laying in a bed next to this woman.
He settled for, brushing her hair from her face as he looked down at her, and let her sleep pressed up against him like that.
He fell asleep about an hour later.
Okay, next chapter should be a little more interesting I hope, as for this chapter, I felt like it had been awhile since I had written anything from Bruce's POV. I hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter will be out soon!
P.S. Please don't forget to review!
