Bruce found himself standing amongst a small clutter of people as he descended the escalator. As his ride slowly took him to the first floor, Bruce watched a young man approach an elderly couple. He gave the grey-haired woman a kiss before embracing her, then let his old man pull him in with a playful slap on the back. Turning to his right, Bruce couldn't hide his smile as a rosy-cheeked little girl ran into her father's arms, squealing with glee as he lifted her into his arms and spun her around.
There wasn't going to be anything heartwarming about his pick-up. He had been informed that someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. would escort him to his apartment. As his step neared the ground, Bruce searched the faces of those waiting on arrivals. He noticed several signs, so far, none were for him. His brief escalator ride came to an end, leaving him frantically looking to his left and right while trying to avoid smacking into anyone.
"Dr. Banner!" a voice called out.
He perked up at his name and turned his head in the direction of a woman's voice.
"Sorry-Tony didn't feel like coming."
Bruce immediately recognized the woman's face from the day after the invasion. "Ms. Potts," he smiled. "That's alright," he assured her with a light chuckle. He recalled her dramatic way of bursting into Tony's lounge and shouting his name, along with several obscenities, as she ran into his arms for a kiss. What he'd give to have that be Betty charging at him like that… He was already having trouble remembering what her voice sounded like.
"Long flight?" Pepper assumed.
"Ah." Bruce began fidgeting with his hands as he returned to reality. "Yeah, it was."
"Was it a good trip?" she wondered as they began navigating through crowds to reach the exit.
"I…" Bruce ran a hand through his uncombed hair. "I'm not sure what to make of it." He forced a half-hearted smile that made Pepper stop.
"I'm sorry, Bruce," she sighed, meeting his saddened stare.
He saw his own pathetic stare being reflected right back at him. "Please don't be. This has been hard on everyone."
Pepper managed a weak grin. "I'm just glad you're back. Tony bragged about you for an hour straight."
"All good things, I hope."
"He wants the Loki craters made into a national monument."
Bruce couldn't remember the last time he laughed. "That sounds like Tony." He noticed Pepper's smile suddenly fall.
"He isn't sounding much like Tony now…"
Bruce is elbowed in the side and he knew that this wasn't the best place to stand still and carry a conversation. "Did something happen?" He began walking forward and Pepper followed.
"These nightmares just started coming out of nowhere," she breathed. "It's always something about a wormhole or dying…." Her voice caught in her throat. "He works late and barely sleeps. No 'good mornings…'" Pepper stopped and shook her head when her eyes began to sting. "I'm sorry, Bruce. I'm just-I'm a mess now."
"I'll talk to Tony," Bruce promised. "You said he missed me, right? What about the others? Steve and Natasha-are they around?" he wondered, quickly trying to change the subject.
"All on clean-up." She began to wave to her car's driver as they approached a line of waiting cars.
The warm air accompanied by a light breeze felt nice compared to the rainy skies he had started getting used to. "Are they holding up okay?"
A man with a round face dressed in a black suit held open the passenger door for the two.
"Fine," Pepper said as she slid into the back. "At least I think. Natasha's the only one I know personally."
"So we're all warming up to each other, then?" Bruce smiled and thanked the chauffer before he scooted in beside Pepper.
"We'll toast to new friends if we can gather everyone," she promised.
An uncomfortable silence formed and Bruce found himself absently staring out the car window. In his short absence, the city had made more progress than he dared to imagine. The streets were clean, traffic ran smoothly thanks to new stoplights, and the row of shops they were driving past all had new windows and signs installed.
Pepper noticed the awed look on the doctor's face. "Everyone wants to help," she commented. "It's all coming together again."
He nodded as he watched a group of uniformed children walking in a clutter. "Does everyone have shelter?"
"Yes. You'll be happy to know that Stark Tower assisted almost seventy families until their homes were deemed livable."
"Amazing," he murmured. The car slowed at a red light and his mouth hung open as he admired a wall of graffiti. Stars and stripes were painted across a concrete wall along with an array of colourful images and words. Bruce couldn't take time to focus on each and every thing on that wall. His eyes were particularly drawn to the phrase in dark green "Hulk=Hero." He clasped a hand over his mouth as a lump formed in his throat.
Pepper's heart ached as she watched the doctor. "You'll see kids running around as Avengers," she commented. "The Hulk's a hit with the kids."
"JARVIS," Pepper announced as they entered the tower. "Can you tell Tony Dr. Banner is here?"
Bruce followed her to the elevator that was previously out of business. The first floor of the tower was in pristine condition: no dust, and no fallen pipes hanging from a horribly mangled ceiling.
"He is currently in his workroom, Ms. Potts," JARVIS' voice resounded in the elevator's speaker system.
"Hey, JARVIS," Bruce said as he waved to the omnipresent program.
"Good to see you again, Dr. Banner," he answered as he sent the elevator down to the basement.
Tony had only showed him one of several labs. He was curious to see what the inventor's private workroom was like. The doors opened and he allowed Pepper out first. He stayed close, staring in all directions until his eyes focused on a wall at the end of Tony's office. A dozen Iron Man suits were all on display, each illuminated in their own private trophy case. Bruce began to approach the blue-lit floor as Pepper's demands for Tony grew angry.
"You should ask to wear one. They're a blast to fly in."
Bruce's heart jumped in his chest and his shoulders seized at the voice. He casually turned, lightly chuckling as he composed himself. "You scared me there."
"It's good to see you, Doc," Natasha smirked. "What brings you back here so soon?"
"A letter," he informed her. "Something tells me you know about it."
"Good to hear it made it to you." Her smile fell as she folded her arms. "We were all thinking of you, Bruce."
He nodded, keeping up his smile though his eyes didn't show it. "Thank you. I really appreciate that." Natasha remained in place as Pepper's muffled yelling was heard. "I didn't think you'd be here," Bruce continued. He could hear Tony shouting in the next room. "I did, I mean, but not here here."
Natasha turned on her heel and guided him over to a curved table topped with computer monitors and sheets of hand-drawn schematics. "I like to stop by." Tony could be heard screaming something about being left alone. Natasha observed Bruce as he rubbed his hands together and kept his eyes lowered in the opposite direction of the yelling. "Stark hasn't been himself," she quietly said. "Steve thinks it's PTSD," she continued. "Probably is, but Stark's too proud to do anything about it."
Bruce glanced up at her with a hopeful smile. "Maybe if I talk to him…"
Pepper's shouts grew louder and Natasha shook her head. "How about I show you around?"
"Let me pop in and say hi, first," Bruce decided.
"There's a new lab upstairs. I bet you'll love it."
Bruce began moving towards the sound of the resounding feud, but Natasha grabbed his wrist to stop him. He turned and noticed a hint of fear in her hardened stare.
"You should wait. Stark will come around," she warned, her voice hollow.
It took a good minute for Bruce to realize her cause for concern. The monster. She had every right to fret, even though his alter ego wasn't feeling threatened by the quarrel one room over. "You're right," he tiredly agreed.
She loosened her fingers and led Bruce back to the elevator. The doors closed and she ordered JARVIS to take them up to the third floor. "I'd rather you not take any chances with Stark while he's pissed," she admitted.
Bruce shook his head. "You have good reason, Natasha."
"Pepper sets him off, even his best friend."
"That bad?" Bruce frowned. Pepper seemed certain that he would help.
"He's pissed off Rogers to the point that he won't even bother visiting," she added.
"We'll give him time to cool down," he gently suggested.
The doors opened and Natasha sang a "ta-da!"
A stainless steel table was set up with shelves of beakers and test tubes. There was an overhanging touch screen, a 3D printer, even a cabinet of alphabetized chemicals. Bruce slowly paced around, breathing in the lemony scent courtesy of newly-cleaned beakers.
"You're a kid in a candy store," Natasha teased.
"Tony said something about this place being like Candyland," he laughed.
"I wanna say there're another three floors of this." She sauntered towards the touch screen and activated the time and weather. "I've been busy geeking out over the gym."
Bruce moved towards the opposite end of the see-through monitor and smiled. "That's your thing, huh?"
"I love a good shopping trip, but nothing beats beating the shit out of a six foot tall dummy."
"You really do have all the toys here…" His voice drifted off as he remembered her letter. "May I ask you something, Natasha?" he asked in a lowered voice.
She stepped away from the screen and focused on his deep brown orbs.
"Before we went our separate ways," he began, lowering his gaze to the stainless steel countertop. "There was something I meant to ask. It's actually part of the reason I came back here." He anxiously fumbled with his fingers, feeling her thoughtful gaze. "I know I scared you." He finally lifted his chin to meet her eyes. "You should be afraid."
Natasha shook her head. "I was intimidated," she divulged. "You're not a reasoning kind of guy when you're him. It threw me off, but when I first saw you turn, I saw you in his eyes. You're still in there, even when your control isn't."
She didn't know his other half the way he did. She knew nothing about him. "You must've been mistaken," he calmly mentioned as his fingers ran along the table's cold edge. "I'm never the man standing here right now when that guy takes over."
Natasha shrugged. "He sure seemed to have it together when we needed him."
"Honestly," Bruce let out a long sigh. "That was one of the few times I really felt like we were in sync."
She raised a brow in interest. "What made that happen?"
Bruce shook his head and lightly tapped his knuckles against the metal. "He must've known that I needed him to cooperate."
"For the common good," Natasha assumed. Bruce nodded. "Maybe you should think of him as an extension of yourself."
Bruce gave her a questioning stare.
"Barton will be better off explaining it," she began. "It's part of his archery training-he sees the bow as an extension of his arm."
"That sounds very Zen," Bruce commented.
"Ever tried yoga, Doc?" she playfully wondered.
He flashed her a weak smile. "A few times." Natasha watched him, waiting. "First time I tried was garbage day. It got a little loud. Second time… some dog across the street was on the verge of never barking again. From there on out, it was always something. I could never find a quiet place."
"Ever consider taking classes?"
He began shaking his head and laughing. "I-I don't think groups are my thing."
"What about self-guided? You can always pick an empty room here. Sound proof walls."
"Thank you, but…" He noticed her hopeful smile. She was only doing this so he wouldn't have another episode. He should've appreciated her advice, but he couldn't shake how adamant she was about this. "I don't think the Hulk is meant to be tamed."
"Not tamed," she corrected. "Yin and Yang."
"'Yin and Yang.'" The thought had never occurred to him before. He only ever fretted about keeping the monster at bay. Unless it needed to be used.
"First aliens-who knows what we'll be seeing next," Natasha drawled. "We've just gotta be ready and make do with what we've got."
"It this some kind of mission from Fury?" he warily asked.
Natasha looked him in the eyes, her mouth forming a hard line. "It will be if he requires your help again. I'm telling you this so you can be prepared, Doctor."
Bruce lowered his head as he began to pace. He barely knew the woman, but she wasn't lying to him when he brought her to S.H.I.E.L.D. to check for gamma activity. For now, he would trust her. "And Fury expects me to stay in touch?"
"He keeps an eye out for all of us. You leave, S.H.I.E.L.D. will find you. It's how I got that letter out," she admitted.
He turned to her and grinned. "I thought that was just a lucky guess."
"It was. But I needed to be sure."
"Tell me, Ms. Romanoff." He strode towards the table and stuffed his hands down his pockets. "Doesn't the privacy invasion bother you?"
She leaned forward over the table and nodded. "Yeah. But the number of times I've had my ass saved because of it is part of the reason I'm still here."
Bruce admired her loyalties, but he still felt uneasy knowing that he was under constant surveillance.
"Think of it this way," Natasha continued. "Something goes wrong when you're travelling and you have an incident. S.H.I.E.L.D. is monitoring this, so the agents closest to you are sent out to help you and take care of any damage. It helps lessen the casualties."
Casualties. He hated that word. More than anything, he hated when that word was being attached to his doings. His mind wandered back to Betty and all the crying children forced to mourn for their parents. Bruce wondered if Natasha was right about the yoga and the Yin and Yang. He needed to gain control over his other half so his name would no longer be attributed to any casualties. "I came here on a whim, you know," he chuckled. "But I think I'll be staying for the time being. At least if all the power's back at my apartment…"
"The whole city had power as of a week and a half ago," Natasha gladly answered.
"Tha-"
"Dr. Banner," JARVIS interrupted, "Mr. Stark is on his way up."
"Oh," he smiled eagerly. "That's great!"