It was lunchtime by the time Darcy found Bruce again, having spent the morning with Natasha and Pepper. A morning where Darcy had felt extremely in over her head in comparison to the two larger than life older women, although accepted and welcomed by them at the same time. She spotted Bruce slouched in the shade in the courtyard with a book but from the way the book rested on his front, he looked to be asleep. Sure enough when she approached him it became clear that he was asleep. Unable to resist she quickly scouted the courtyard for an empty cup or glass to fill with water and snuck up to him. Making sure to carefully lift the book away first, she felt a grin stretch across her face as she tilted the glass over him.

In a heartbeat she felt water hit her as Bruce sat up, grabbing at her arm and flinging the glass of water over her, spilling it over himself also.

"No fair!" she laughed, shaking the water off of her arms. "I nearly had you."

"I knew you were there the first time you approached me." He chuckled. "You still soaked me."

"I think you'll find that I was innocently bringing you a glass of water and you soaked us both." She countered, flicking her hair carelessly.

"Nice try, you couldn't pull off innocent if you tried." He leant forward, practically leaping from his sun lounger as he dived for her. She darted away from him.

"Got to catch me first!" she shouted, yanking her sun dress over her head and throwing it before dive bombing into the pool.

Bruce froze for only a moment before tossing his shirt back towards his lounger and leapt in after her. When he could no longer see her he ducked under the water to find her trying to sneak up on him. The two burst to the surface laughing and splashing one another, although they were already soaked through.

"At least we didn't forget bathing suits." He chuckled, brushing his wet hair from his forehead. Darcy's eyes drifted to Bruce's bare arms and chest, at least the part that she could see. She didn't normally see him undressed like this, not without him turning back from the Hulk and being tired and sore anyway. "Darcy?" He drew her attention back from its little detour.

"How do you not have any scars?" she asked. "I've seen you get stabbed right…" Her finger pointed to his shoulder, hovering just above the skin but not touching.

"I uh…I got the knock off serum but it still sort of works." He explained. "I heal faster than a normal person as myself and…the other guy, it takes a lot to even pierce the skin and he heals almost instantly."

"So…there are good things?" she said softly.

"It's still not worth the bad." he shook his head.

"Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant filled with odd little waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like." She said, running her finger across his shoulder thoughtfully. "I've heard all the details, read all the details…you should be dead and you aren't. What you've been through sucks but…there has to be a reason for it. Everything that happened, the guy that came out the other side is one of the smartest and most heroic guys I know and one of the few people I would do anything for."

"Darcy…"

Darcy drew back, hearing the protest in his voice. She pulled back out of his space and tried not to look too defensive. Her eyes flickered around the courtyard, accepting that it wasn't exactly the most private place to try and broach the topic she wanted to. "Come for a walk with me."

"A walk?" he asked skeptically.

"Yes, a walk." She moved to the edge of the pool and pulled herself out onto the ledge. "A walk along the beach, away from prying eyes and without any expectations for anything other than walking and talking."

"Should I be worried by the fact that you had to tell me there isn't expectations?" he asked looking amused.

"Take it however you want." She shrugged, not wanting to put herself out there any more than she already had. If Bruce really wasn't ready then he wasn't ready, no amount of pushing would change that…problem was…he seemed like he wanted to be. "I'm going to dry off and wait out by the path to the beach in case you decide you do want to join me."

How could he not? Bruce watched her leave and head indoors, trying not to just focus on the sheer amount of skin he could see and instead try to think. Around Darcy he didn't seem to think much, it was the first time in years that he'd been able to be around someone and just completely live in the moment. That in itself was dangerous. He should always be aware and in control. Except that normally the other guy was at his most quiet in the back of his mind when Darcy was around. The other guy liked her, which was both reassuring and worrying at the same time.

Obviously he was going to go for a walk with her, walking that invisible line between whatever their relationship was…it was as addictive as it was terrifying.

"Hey Doc." Darcy grinned, as he approached her a short while later. She waited at the top of the path, Tony stood next to her, leant on the railing. He clearly said his goodbye to Darcy as he moved back towards the house, crossing Bruce's path as he did so.

"Hey Doc." Tony greeted, clapping him on the shoulder. "You remember the rules for the weekend right?"

"Wow." Bruce cringed. "Yeah Tony, I think I can somehow manage to keep my clothes on for the next six hours."

"Make sure you do." The billionaire called as he left them.

"Yeah, cause that isn't totally embarrassing." Darcy mumbled. "Is he seriously going to act like this every time I talk to a guy for more than two minutes for the rest of my life?"

"Probably." Bruce chuckled.

"Maybe becoming a lesbian is looking like a good plan after all." She grinned. "Come on Doc, let's head down to the beach. Unless you don't think you can control yourself!"

"I've lasted the last several years, I've lasted the past two days, I think I can last the next few hours until we fly back to the tower." He commented, following her.

"Years?!" Her eyes widened comically. "Seriously?!"

"Yeah well..." He shrugged uncomfortably. "I haven't been with anyone since before the accident."

"Oh shit, you mean you can't-"

"No, no." He said quickly cutting her off. "I can, I just... Emotions are messy. For a long time I was cutting off feeling pretty much anything while learning to control the other side of me. It was an unnecessary risk back then."

"And now?" She asked suddenly feeling a bit shy for being so blunt.

"I guess now that my control is better, I could. I just haven't." He shrugged. "It's still hard for me to remember that I don't have to hide anymore, letting people in is new."

"I know exactly how you feel." She agreed, bumping her shoulder against his as they walked. It was then that she decided she would never be able to outright ask him. No more directly than she already had anyway. She would never be able to confront him and get a straight answer about what their relationship actually was, not without him running away. Instead she decided she would just keep gently pushing him forwards, maybe as long as they never directly talked about it they could make it work.

"You seem happy though." Bruce spoke up a while later.

"Yeah." She agreed, sliding her arms around one of his as they made their way along the beach leading away from the mansion. "It's nice to actually be able to relax every now and then. I haven't been able to be this relaxed in years. It's still weird at times but I'm getting there."

"I'm glad." He nodded. "How was your girl time this morning, you didn't really know Natasha before right?"

"Yeah, it was good. She's kind of scary but seriously awesome." Darcy nodded. "And I think she likes Steve's friend...what's his name? The hot one from this morning, I've seen him on TV with robo-wings?"

"Sam?" He asked, laughing at her description.

"Yes! Sam! She seems to like Sam."

"I can't say I noticed." He frowned.

"You're a guy, guys don't notice things like that until it's obvious." She waved off. "Honestly, from what I've seen, most men don't even realise when a girl likes them until her tongue is in their mouth."

"I think you give us too little credit." He protested. "I think when there's something there, both ways, we do notice. Just because we might not always know what to do about it doesn't mean we don't know it's there."

"I don't think anyone really knows what to do about it Bruce." She said softly. She swallowed nervously before heading into slightly riskier waters. "It's all just guess work and taking chances. Like us for example, we're friends, we sort of flirt right? There's...something? But that doesn't mean we have to leap in with both feet or try to puzzle out every detail. We can just...keep moving."

"Keep moving?" He croaked out, unsure of how to respond.

"Yeah, just keep moving. We don't need to suddenly shift gears or anything, just keep moving in whichever direction we want as the turnings appear." She nodded, pausing in her steps to look up at him. "Neither of us are great at this. All I want from you is for you to not run away from me. If that means we stay like this and never make a move in a different direction then I'm OK with-mmfph-"

Darcy froze as her lips were stopped from moving suddenly. It seemed to take a few minutes to register what was happening but it was probably only a second in reality. She gasped, her lips brushing back against Bruce's warm ones. His fingers were threaded in her hair, holding her to him as his mouth moved repeatedly over hers. Her hands hovered in the air at her sides unsure what to do. This was it. Bruce Banner was kissing her. Kissing! She was having a kiss and not freaking out! OK she was freaking out a bit but not in the back way, just in the oh my god I can't believe it kind of way. He pulled away from her, one hand staying in her hair, stroking down to cup her jaw.

"That's a move right?" He asked after a moment.

"Good move." She nodded, her fingers reaching to the front of his shirt. "Can we try that again?"

This time she was ready for him, no longer a stunned recipient but an active and enthusiastic participant. She groaned as he tongue invaded her mouth, she'd never felt more alive with another person before. This moment was something she never thought she would have without fear and instead all she could think was "finally".

"I can't...I can't promise you anything. I'm not-" he mumbled half against her lips.

"You don't want to be a burden on anyone. I get it." She told him, feeling a content smile take over her face. "I don't want promises. I just want you, however we can figure it out."

"Alright, so…we keeping moving?" he asked uncertainly, taking one of her hands in his.

"Exactly that." She nodded. "I'm glad you came for a walk."

"As if I could tell you no about anything." He rolled his eyes. "I'm beginning to think you know exactly what you're doing."

"Nope, just clueless awesomeness." She beamed. "Sooo…this isn't going to be weird when we get back to the tower later right?"

"Oh it'll be weird." Darcy elbowed him. "I didn't say it would be bad."

"Yeah because weird is so often good." She snorted.