Four months into communal living, Bruce really started to appreciate his team.
This happened because of a nightmare. Not that Bruce Banner was a stranger to nightmares- Rather, they were more common place in his life than normal, restful dreams. Usually he would simply wake with a jerk and silently roll over and drift back to sleep, but on some rare occasions his nightmares were far worse; he'd woke up to find his pillow ripped in half or something near the bed shattered.
He'd never turned into the Hulk due to one, and sometimes he wondered if that was part of the curse, that all the nightmares and fears that came with being the Hulk stayed his alone.
These nightmares had been a constant source of anxiety when he and Belle had been on the run, sleeping in cars or even on the street a couple times. Those were the worst nights; the nights he knew he really had no way to protect his child from the world or her own father. Isabelle knew about her father's bad dreams, and even as a tiny child had always tried to help any way should could. Shaking him awake, bringing him water, or even just sitting and hugging her father tight until the tears and shaking stopped. Sometimes it scared him to think where he'd be without her.
In the Avenger's tower, he at least knew she was safe, regardless of how bad a nightmare might get.
It became abundantly clear just how safe Belle was, however, when a particularly bad one hit.
In his dream, he was just an eight year old boy again, watching his father kill his mother, unable to help. It had been her birthday, and true to the anniversary every year, he relived her death. He screamed, cried, and tried to fight back in the dream, but nothing could ever change what had happened.
But rather than being gently shook awake from his screams and terror by Isabelle, Bruce opened his eyes to find Tony had him firmly by the shoulders, shaking him back to reality. Steve Rogers, who had moved in recently, was also in the room, pajama clad and obviously concerned. Bruce jerked away from Tony and scooted himself against his headboard, still groggy and disoriented.
"Wha's goin' on?" Bruce mumbled, rubbing his face with his hands. Tony sat on the edge of Bruce's bed and clicked on the lamp.
"You were screaming and crying. It made JARVIS concerned enough to alert us." Tony explained. "Are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah." Bruce said, his face and ears flushing with embarrassment.
"Are you sure, Dr. Banner?" Steve ask from his perch in the corner. Bruce looked over to the super solider and then back to Tony.
"I really didn't mean to wake everyone up. It was just a nightmare." Bruce said, placing one hand over his eyes and taking a deep breath. "I know it may be hard to believe, but they're not dangerous. I've never transformed because of one, I promise I'm not going to break the tower or hurt you guys."
"We weren't worried about us, Bruce." Tony scolded. "We were worried about you. And Isabelle."
"Oh fuck-" Bruce groaned. "If I woke you two up, she's definitely awake..." Bruce swung his feet over the side of the bed and made to stand up, but Tony gently sat him back down.
"She was already trying to wake you up when I we got here. She said you'd been fighting in your sleep for a while and she couldn't get you to wake up. She was pretty upset." Tony explained. "Natasha took her back to her apartment."
"Damn it." Bruce cursed, his face twisting in anger and pain at himself.
"Hey, shhh." Tony soothed, sitting right beside Bruce and wrapping one arm around him. "She's with Natasha, she's perfectly safe. It's okay. She wasn't hurt, just scared that she couldn't get you to wake up."
"I had been doing so good." Bruce spat in disgust, and Tony shushed him again. Steve also came over and sat beside the bed, back braced on the wall.
"We've all been there, Doc." Steve said. "I don't even sleep in my bed half the time. I see the faces of people I had to kill, and ones I couldn't save. The dreams happen."
"And you don't have to try and face them alone, man." Tony reminded him. "That's part of why I converted the tower to keep us together. We need each other."
"It's just..." Bruce sighed heavily.
"You don't have to tell us if you're not ready." Tony said quietly. "But if you do, well, Rogers and I here; and we will be here until you tell us to buzz off."
Bruce nodded and sat quietly for a long time. He closed his eyes and willed his heartrate to slow. He listened to the gentle tick of his clock on the wall, to the other two men in the room breathing, to the gentle rain hitting against his windows. After at least half an hour of silence, Bruce finally cleared his throat and opened his eyes.
"Yesterday would've been my mom's birthday." He started, speaking slowly. "She..." His voice cracked slightly, and he paused and took another slow, deep breath through his nose and blew it out. "My father killed her. I was... I was nine. She had us all packed, we were so close to getting away." Tears streaked down Bruce's face, and he simply ignored them.
"Shit man, I am so sorry." Tony breathed.
"We had made it to the car, she put me in and he caught her before she could make it into the driver's side. I tried to help her, to pull him off- he threw me aside like I was just... nothing. I couldn't stop him, I couldn't help her." Thick sobs shook Bruce's frame, and Tony gently laid his arm around his friend in support. Steve stood and silently went to the bathroom, bringing back a cool, damp washcloth. Tony took it and laid it across the back of Bruce's neck.
"Doctor Banner..." Steve said, sitting on the other side of Bruce.
"Bruce." Bruce corrected, a small amount of humor playing in his voice as he looked up to meet Steve's eye. "If you're going to watch me cry at 2 AM in my bedroom, we're going to be on first name bases."
This made Steve's eyes widen for a second, and Tony laugh.
"That's fair. Alright, Bruce... I don't even know where to begin to offer words of comfort... But none of that was your fault. I mean, I know you tried, but even then, you shouldn't have had to. That's something no kid should've had to endure. Frankly, I am amazed at what a nice, genuine and kind man you are, given what happened to you." Steve said with a shrug. "That's no easy feat. A lesser man would be an asshole and it would be justified."
"Cap just said 'asshole', holy hell." Tony laughed. Steve looked over and rolled his eyes, which made both Tony and Bruce laugh again.
"Thank you, Steve. It means a lot." Bruce said, drying his face on his pajama sleeve. "My mother always said that the most important thing you'd ever do was be kind. She always told me to 'do good recklessly', and I have always tried to live up to that. I hope I'm raising Isabelle in a way that would make her proud. Goodness knows what I wouldn't give for her to see Belle."
"I'm sure she'd be more than proud." Tony agreed.
"That's who Belle's named after. My mom, and hers. Since neither of them are with us anymore." Bruce said quietly. "My mom's middle name was Isabelle. Alice, that's Belle's middle name, it was her mother's name. We didn't even have a name picked out when she was born, and Alice had said that 'when we meet her, we'll know', but she never got to meet Belle. So I gave her the names of the two women I knew would've loved her more than anything."
"It suites her perfect." Tony said with a smile. "Do you feel better?"
"Yeah, thanks." Bruce nodded. "I should probably go get her, now."
"Well..." Tony said, raising an eyebrow. "Maybe, but she might be asleep."
"And?" Bruce questioned, returning the raised brow to his friend.
Tony shrugged and raised his hands in defeat. He followed Steve and Bruce out of the room and down toward the elevator in silence. Upon arriving in Natasha's apartment, they quickly discovered Tony's guess had been correct.
Natasha and Belle were both asleep when they came in, the television playing Cinderella with the volume down low in the background providing the only light to the room.
Natasha was stretched out on her large, overstuffed purple couch, Isabelle curled into her arms with her head on Natasha's chest. Tony gently took a blanket that was draped over a nearby chair and covered the sleeping girls, then took his phone out and snapped a picture of them. He turned around to check on Bruce, who had simply been staring at the sleeping pair since they came in.
"Hey, you good?" Tony whispered, trying to get Bruce's attention. Bruce looked over and nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.
Isabelle stirred slightly, and Bruce waited; the tiny girl simply stretched and then snuggled herself closer to the spy she was asleep on. Tony put his hand on Bruce's shoulder.
"Either kick back in Nat's recliner, or go back to your bed." Tony whispered. "But leave them be."
"Yeah." Bruce nodded, still watching them sleep. "Yeah I think she's good for the night."
"Come on, man. You know we wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary, but we really need to just go bust some stuff up. You haven't stretched those big green legs in months." Tony pleaded, the rest of the Avenger's team all looking at Bruce, awaiting an answer.
"You're telling me the government of the United States ask us," Bruce pointed at himself and then the rest of the team gathered around the table, "To roll up in this little town in the middle east and just..."
"Blow shit up." Clint finished. "Yes. Are you new to the US?"
"New to being ask to break things on purpose." Bruce mumbled.
"Oh, well it's one of my favorite parts of the job." Clint replied with a grin. "Come on, Doc. You know you want to get out of this tower, have a little fun?"
"Well..." Bruce hesitated. Tony and Clint were not completely off base with saying that he needed a break. He'd been working on dissecting and studying Chitauri make up for weeks, spending long hours in the lab or on a computer. It would be nice to get out for a bit, let the Hulk have some time to breath. "If it's for the good of the citizens of the area, and we're sure that this is needed..."
"This terrorist group has been destroying local schools and mosques, kidnapping women and young girls, they need to be stopped. Best way to do that is to go in and break all their toys." Tony replied with a shrug. "Besides, I'm pretty sure some of it has my name on it, and I simply cannot allow that. I won't rest until all the old Stark Weapons are dismantled."
"Well, what about Isabelle?" Bruce ask, wrapping his arms around his body. He could tell the other's would be disappointed if he did not go with them, but he needed to cover all his bases.
"I'm not going." Natasha replied, raising her hand like a student in class. "I'm more of a 'stick to the shadows and kill one at a time' kinda girl, so going to break large pieces of artillery isn't really my idea of a good time, nor my strong suit. I'd love to stay and hang out with Belle. We can work on her ballet positions and watch movies."
Bruce looked at the redhead, mouth open slightly like he might protest for a moment, but seeing that he was outnumbered in this, he finally nodded.
"Alright. I'll go." He finally agreed.
"Good man, Doctor Banner!" Steve cheered, and Tony and Clint laughed.
"He was afraid he was going to be stuck with us." Tony explained. "Too bad Thor is off on his home planet or whatever, I bet a lightening strike to a tank would be epic."
"That is another reason I'm sitting this out..." Natasha laughed as she got up from her seat to leave. "You boys go have fun, and I will have some much needed girl time. There is too much testosterone around here for my taste anyway."
Bruce rose from his seat as well, as the others were headed up to get ready to board the jet, Bruce raced to catch up with Natasha, who had taken the stairs.
"Agent Romanoff?" Bruce called, jogging down the stairs. "Agent Romanoff! Wait up a second!" He called, and Natasha paused on the stairs, looking up toward Bruce.
"Yeah Doc?" She said, watching him descend the steps after her.
"You're fast." He laughed, panting as he finally caught up to her. She smiled in reply.
"What's up?" She said, leaning against the stair railing.
"I just- Are you sure you want to spend time off babysitting?" He questioned. He looked a bit embarrassed, or unsure of himself as he ask her, and he scratched at the back of his head, tousling his untamed dark curls around his neck, and it made her smile again.
"Like I said, I need some girl time away from you boys." She reassured him. "Also, and I don't know if you know this yet- But we are all pretty darn fond of the kid, Doc." She gave him a wink and started to continue on her way. Bruce dove forward and grabbed her arm, an action which seemed to catch them both off guard, as he looked almost as surprised that he'd done it as she did to see it happen.
"Uh..." Bruce stammered a bit, letting her arm go as quickly as he'd caught her. "Sorry. I was just going to say... Thank you."
"Oh." Natasha raised an eyebrow. "What for?"
"You... You and Pepper... Isabelle hasn't ever had a female presence in her life before... Thanks, for that. For... for wanting to." Bruce explained, stumbling over his words. He wanted to say something about the night she'd taken Isabelle back to her apartment to care for her, because they'd yet to discuss it. Bruce felt awkward and held back any additional comment for the moment.
"Thanks for sharing her." Natasha replied with a small, gentle smile, leaving Bruce on the stairs. She exited on the floor of her apartment and Bruce heard the stairwell door open above him.
"Banner!" Clint called down. "Wheels up in five! Let's move!"
"Coming, I swear!" Bruce replied, heading back up toward the landing pad.
Their first field mission since the invasion was a huge success.
Bruce, when he finally came back to himself and transformed back, he didn't feel nearly as drained; he actually remembered having a blast. There were no civilian casualties, or enemy casualties, for that matter. When the terrorists had seen them coming into town, they ran, leaving the bulk of the machinery behind. Hulk had broken a tank into several pieces, and used the gun barrel off of it as a bat on a mounted rocket launcher.
Clint and Steve were tasked with the more 'fine motor' operations, while Bruce and Tony, in the Iron Man armor, took out the bigger targets.
By the time they were done, every single bullet casing and piece of weaponry had been destroyed or disabled, all the vehicles destroyed, nothing left for them to continue their raids with. The Army had taken care of the human aspect, catching the terrorists in order to treat them criminally, the Avengers had done their job.
Tony had planned ahead for everything, and when Bruce shrank back into himself, Tony was waiting with a heated blanket and a protein shake, which he'd assured Bruce had at least three thousand calories, a start to what Bruce would need to keep up metabolically with what he had just spent. It was a weird, Bruce thought, how much he'd just enjoyed the entire outing. To allow the Hulk to have time and not be wanted by the federal government.
"Alright, I'll admit, I'm glad you guys talked me into this." Bruce said, finishing the last of his thick protein shake off. Tony flicked something down on the auto pilot of the jet into gear, and he stood from his seat and came over to where Bruce was curled up. He took the bottle from his hand, and replaced it with another.
"Drink up." Tony said with a laugh. "We're glad you came, too."
"I can't believe we just got paid to go blow stuff up. That was probably the single most fun payday I've ever had." Clint said, as Tony put a protein shake in his hand as well.
"Heck of a team building exercise." Steve agreed, taking a shake from Tony. "No casualties, all targets destroyed, all in all a good day. And everything was from earth."
"Still hung up on the aliens, Cap?" Tony laughed. Steve looked over at Tony and raised and eyebrow.
"You're not?" Steve demanded. "Aliens, Tony."
"Yeah. You've met two gods, too." Tony reminded him.
"Yeah... But they're really just... Aliens, too." Steve replied. "They're not 'gods'."
"Eh, potato-tomato" Clint laughed. "I've seen tons of very bizarre stuff working for SHIELD, including a reanimated corpse, aliens isn't that weird. I mean, life found a way here, and there are how many other planets out there?"
"About a hundred billion in our galaxy alone." Bruce replied as an off-hand estimate without even thinking. Steve looked even more shocked.
"Okay, so for you guys, aliens isn't that weird." Steve defended. "But for me, it is pretty bizarre."
"I mean, to be fair, Cap was frozen before Roswell even happened..." Clint added, trying to help Steve's case.
"Roswell?" Steve questioned.
"Oh." Tony laughed. "Oh man. Cap. You aren't ready for this..."
"What's Roswell?" Steve ask again.
"What is the truth of Roswell, even?" Bruce pondered. "I mean- Was it a craft?"
"Oh yeah, it was. SHIELD has it. I've seen it." Clint replied casually. "Where ever it is from, it wasn't nearly as advanced as our friends Loki brought, but it's a pretty neat little ship."
"You are shitting me!" Tony bellowed, laughing. Bruce cracked up at Tony's explosion, and Clint just rolled his eyes.
"What is Roswell?!" Steve shouted again. The other three men stopped their laughter and looked over.
"It was a crash of an alien space craft from 1947." Clint explained. "It crashed in the desert of Roswell, New Mexico. They called it a UFO, then the government was basically like 'well shit, we can't tell the public, they'll never be able to handle this' and they said it was an experimental weather balloon. Except it was absolutely an alien craft. There was a body, too, but..." Clint shook his head.
"Oh no, you can't just stop there!" Tony pleaded. "Come on, Barton. Roswell. Spill it!"
"It's gone." Clint shrugged. "There are some pictures of it, but it... Disappeared. Or was taken. Or stolen. There is some debate on that."
"What?" Steve said, mouth agape.
"Wow." Bruce laughed. "Roswell happened. Aliens have invaded New York. If only someone had told me that when I was sixteen going into college."
"Agreed." Tony laughed. "Imagine knowing what you know now when you started your astrophysics thesis?"
"Aw come on, guys. We were having fun, don't dork it up!" Clint joked.
"True, gotta keep it dumbed down for these two..." Tony gestured to Clint and Steve with a wink before moving back over to the cockpit. "I cannot believe Roswell was a craft. Wow."
"Well, now..." Bruce said, thinking out loud, "Clint, its not like the Chitauri? So we have Asgard, the Chitauri, whatever those were..."
"I don't like where this is going..." Steve groaned, and he slid back into his seat.
"No he's right." Clint agreed. "We know now we aren't alone... How many more are there?"
"And how many of them plan to come here?" Bruce ask. A silence fell over the men as they seemed to be thinking about what that question meant for the Earth. He looked over at Tony, who looked back equally concerned. Bruce took a deep breath, because he could tell by the look on his friend's face there was another large project coming his way.
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