AN: Here's the second part of the last chapter! I realize that it seems like there wasn't a lot of time between breakfast and lunch, but I'm assuming that Angel woke up at around ten because of jetlag, so it actually makes sense when you look at it from that point of view.

"WRITING."

"SIGNING."

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"But…but we can't just stop there! He just died!" Darcy just grinned at me wickedly.

"Yup." She said, popping the 'p' at the end. "Now, it's time to go serve lunch to the SCIENCE! Triad." She said cheerfully as she dragged me away from my spot on her couch. I glared at her as we made our way down to the food emporium that Tony had built for both the Avengers and his employees. There was even a Subway, which was where we were headed.

"You are a cruel, cruel woman Darcy Lewis." She gave her best maniacal laugh as we got in line to order subs.

"Just you wait, it gets better. I can't wait until we get to season two and I get to introduce you to Hook." She pretended to swoon and I caught her, laughing. I had no idea who she was talking about, but considering the premise for the show, I would have to guess she was talking about Captain Hook. I wondered if we would also meet Peter Pan. When we got to the front of the line we ordered a sandwich for each of the three scientists, as well as one for ourselves. Juggling two of the five sandwiches I managed to write on my paper.

"So, how are we going to do this, since they all have separate labs?" Darcy somehow waved her hand in a dismissing gesture, despite the amount of sandwiches she held.

"Tony is always in Bruce's lab with him; he really only works in his lab after a mission or late at night when we're all in bed. Anything else he does is actually up in Bruce's lab because he's constantly there. Jane is the only one that we'll have to make an extra stop for, and she might just follow us to Bruce's lab when she finally gets out of her science haze to smell the food. Then we go deliver the boys' food." I followed Darcy to Jane's side and stifled my laughter when she balanced Jane's sandwich on top of Jane's head. Jane was so focused on her work that she didn't even realize it was there until she nodded at one of her equations and the sandwich fell onto her keyboard, causing her to yelp in surprise.

"Darcy! I've told you not to do that!" She chastised with a smile as she unwrapped her meal and began eating. Darcy pouted.

"Not following us to Bruce's lab today?" Jane shook her head as she turned back to her work, talking around the food in her mouth.

"No, I'm close to finding the last piece of the puzzle I need. I can't just stop now! It's right here, I know it!" Darcy gave me an exasperated look before walking away from her scatterbrained friend.

"Just don't forget to eat!" She shouted over her shoulder as she led me up the stairs to Bruce's lab. Bruce was looking at something in a microscope but stood up as Darcy and I entered, rubbing his tired eyes and giving us a small smile. Tony was lounging on a couch nearby, playing with some holograms coming from his phone. Seeing us enter, he banished the holograms and got up, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

"Yum. Lewis you're hired." She laughed and shook her head.

"I don't have your sandwich this time, Angel does." Tony looked from her to me and I waved slightly, holding out his sandwich for him to take.

"Fine then. Lewis, you're fired and Angel you're hired." He amended and I stuck my tongue out at Darcy in triumph. She just rolled her eyes. Tony laughed and shook his finger at me. "Now, now. Play nice. I need all my employees to get along."

"But she's not your employee anymore. You just fired her." I wrote with a grin.

"Good point. You may continue." I laughed as Tony wandered back over to the couch, munching on his sandwich.

"That's the last time I let you deliver Tony his sandwich." Darcy grumbled good-naturedly as she passed off Bruce's sandwich to him.

"Don't worry, I'll probably get fired for not having a Stark Phone."

"What?! That's it, Angel, you're fired!" Tony shouted, causing me giggle. Darcy winced in fake sympathy.

"I feel for you, Ange. I do. We can be fired together. Deal?" I nodded and we giggled as we watched Tony continue angrily chewing his sandwich.

"You're getting a Stark Phone. Made by me, personally. I'll have it ready for you by tomorrow." He grumbled, still keeping up the act of being mad.

"What, not by tonight?" I teased. He smirked and opened his mouth to reply when Bruce interrupted.

"Don't encourage him, Angel. Just eat." I went to protest but Bruce simply raised an eyebrow and I backed down, feeling like a kid that had been scolded.

That didn't stop Tony, Darcy and I from bantering back and forth the entire time we ate, Bruce watching on like an amused father. Eventually though, Darcy said she had to go check on Jane to make sure she had actually eaten more than just the bite we had seen her take. Soon I was left alone with Bruce and Tony. At first I felt a bit awkward, but Tony nipped that in the bud easily.

"So, I said I'd learn sign language. I did it. Are you impressed?" I stared at him, mouth open wide as Tony signed nearly perfectly, his fingers only fumbling a few times. He grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."

"How did you…it's only been a day!" I signed back at him, testing him. Sure enough, he signed back.

"I'm a genius, or did you forget?"

"That's…that just isn't possible!"

"It is for Tony Stark." I turned to Bruce, hoping to find some solid ground here. He gave me a small smile.

"Yes, he really is signing. He stayed up last night learning it. He really did just learn it in a night." Tony preened under the attention he was getting from me and his soulmate.

"Yep. Yesterday I learned a new language and today I will be building a phone for you from scratch. I even impress myself sometimes." He bragged, smirking. I huffed out a laugh.

"How do you fit that ego through the door?"

"Same way we fit the Hulk." He shot back instantly and I choked on a laugh as Bruce rolled his eyes heavenward. "Now, I need to go start on your phone. You and Brucie have a nice chat." He got up and exited the room, despite my assurances that I really didn't need a new phone. He just waved me off. After he left, it was quiet. I sighed. I really didn't know how to start up a conversation with Bruce. He was very reclusive and shy from what I was told, and really only interacted with Tony and, occasionally, Jane and Darcy.

"Don't worry about Tony. He does things like this for people he considers family. It's just how he shows his affection. It can be a bit much, but you get used to him." Bruce finally signed to me, as if he too were being suffocated by the dreaded silence that had surrounded us. Even though signing wasn't really taking up the silence, it still felt like it was. I smiled slightly.

"He thinks of me as family?"

"Of course. Not only are you Natasha and Clint's daughter but you're also…well…" He stopped signing and shifted uncomfortably. I nodded, encouraging him to continue with his thought. "Well, you're also not treating me any differently. That instantly gets you in Tony's good books. Not a lot of people can be in the same room as me and not be terrified of the other guy coming out…" He signed slowly, looking down at his fingers as he did so to avoid eye contact. I frowned, growing angry. Here was this sweet man that had been given a shitty hand in life, and because of it, people treated him like a monster. It just wasn't right! Swallowing down my anger at the world, I let my expression soften as I moved my head down to catch his eyes before I signed my reply.

"As long as you don't treat me differently, I won't treat you any differently either. We both have things that make us different from other people. I get treated like an outcast because I can't communicate in the usual way."

"It's not the same thing."

"Actually, it kind of is. We both get ostracized because of things we can't control and it isn't right. So, of course I'm not going to treat you badly." I paused, considering my words before I signed again with a bright smile directed at him. "Besides, if you're the Hulk and you're nice, then I just have to assume that the Hulk can be nice as well." I shrugged and relaxed back into the chair, feeling satisfied. I wanted Bruce to know that he wasn't a monster in my eyes, and by his expression I had succeeded. He stared at me with a tinge of awe creeping into his gaze.

"I…I think the Hulk just purred." I looked at him strangely. Of all the things he could have said next, I was not expecting that.

"What?"

"He…he purred. He only does that when he's happy, and so far Tony has been the only one he ever liked enough to purr for." Suddenly a blazing grin spread across Bruce's face. "I think he likes you, Angel."

"And…that's a good thing I'm guessing?"

"Good?! It's fantastic! That means he's accepting more people. That he's capable of accepting more people! This is a breakthrough! The Hulk can like people other than my soulmate! We thought the only reason he tolerated Tony was because of his connection to me, but now I can assume that that isn't true. Angel, this is huge!" I smiled at him, happy to see that he had momentarily shed his insecure shell. Bruce seemed like a really nice guy, and I was glad that I was getting to know the real him and not the mask he put on for other people. But, one thing bothered me.

"Surely there have been other people that just accepted you for who you are before me. I can't be the first person." I winced as I saw him deflate a bit.

"No, no you're not the first person. That would be Tony. Followed by Darcy, but I don't think the Hulk likes her because she is so…scattered. Everyone else has had a healthy dose of fear before they even met me." He brightened again and gave me a shy but gleeful smile. "You're one of the only ones that just immediately saw me for me, and not for the other guy." I grinned back at him.

"Glad I could help." Bruce began to calm down and blushed slightly.

"Sorry, I just got excited there for a moment."

"No, no! It's okay!" Bruce fidgeted with his lab coat before sending me a slightly pleading look.

"Would…would you mind coming back tomorrow? I want to see if this was just a fluke of if the Hulk really does like you. That and…well I honestly enjoy your company. You keep Tony out of my hair for a little while and also ask insightful questions. Not that Darcy isn't nice, but her presence isn't as…"

"Calming?" I suggested and he sent me another smile. I was pretty sure I had seen him smile more than most of the people in the building had.

"Yes, calming. Would you mind terribly?" I shook my head, grinning at the shy man in front of me.

"I don't mind at all, Dr. Banner."

"Please, call me Bruce."

"Bruce then. I suppose now would be a good time to point out that this might mean the Hulk can understand sign language as well as English?" I giggled as Bruce's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock. As Bruce then began frantically pacing the lab, muttering to himself about the implications of that, I quietly got up and left him to his pondering, happy to have made another new friend in the tower.

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AN: I just want to say, I absolutely love Bruce. He needs more love!