A/N: Thank you soooo much for the favs and follows! I really do appreciate it and I am glad you all like my story :) I definitely could use some more feedback - seriously, I live for reviews! I am thinking about adding some Loki much later in the story, so what do you guys think? Should the God of Mischief make an appearance?
Being escorted up to the penthouse of Stark Tower by Captain America was not how Perry wanted to end her night out on the town. Heck, dragged was more like it. No amount of pleading or arguing could convince Steve to let her slink down to her quarters where she could wait until morning to talk to Tony. Her only saving grace was Darcy trailing behind her after they deposited Thor in Jane's rooms.
"Seriously, Steve, we don't have to do this," mumbled Perry, knowing that she was wasting her breath as he had been ignoring her since they got on the elevator.
Without knocking, he led Perry through the door, pulling her by her arm to stand in front of the couch that Tony and Pepper were sitting on. Bruce was still there, sitting off to the side idly playing Temple Run on his phone. The three of them looked up, surprised to find a very irritated Steve Rogers standing before them with a strangely quiet Perry attempting to hide behind him.
"Ah, I see Darcy and Perry didn't explain twerking to you before taking you out," said Tony, his favorite wicked grin creeping up on his face.
Steve's expression was stony as he reached behind his back and hauled Perry out of hiding. Despite being pulled to stand beside Steve, she kept her face turned away from Tony, hoping he wouldn't notice anything different.
But nothing got past Tony Stark and he promptly jumped to his feet, grasping Perry's chin and turning her head so that her face, and newly formed black eye, was in full view. Perry bit her lip when she saw Tony's face drain of color. This was exactly why she didn't want to come up here.
"Pepper, go get some ice," Tony ordered evenly, "Bruce, do your doctor magic and check for a concussion. Once we have established that you are fine, you will tell me how the fuck that happened and who I have to kill."
Perry rolled her eyes, wincing in pain when she remembered too late that her eye was very swollen. "I am fine, Tony. You are overreacting, as usual."
Tony's mouth straightened into a hard line. "I am perfectly calm right now. That will change if you do not sit yourself down and let Bruce look at you." His voice was dangerous, making Perry decide that now was not a good time to argue with him.
Biting back the retort that threatened to surface, Perry allowed Bruce to lead her by the hand to the chair he had just vacated. Crouching in front of her, he gave her an apologetic smile before gently running his fingers over her head to check for any obvious injuries.
"I didn't hit my head, I got a fist to the eye," Perry mumbled. She really wanted to snap at him, but Bruce's polite manner dispelled any irritation she had.
Pulling a pen light out of his pocket, Bruce moved to inspecting her pupils, making sure that they dilated accordingly. "It is just standard procedure," he replied. Turning her head slightly, he gently pressed his fingers to her brow bone, checking to make sure nothing was broken underneath. Perry let out a pained hiss when his fingers pushed lightly against the purple circle forming around her eye. "Sorry" he said, taking the ice from Pepper and pressing it to her eye. Perry nodded, giving him a faint, thankful smile.
"She is fine," Bruce said, turning to Tony. "She just has a black eye."
Giving the doctor a jerky nod, Tony flopped down on the couch, wearily rubbing his face. "Ok, now I am going to remain calm while you tell me what happened.
Perry started to roll her eyes, thought better of it, and sighed heavily instead. "Well, it really wasn't that bad. I was just breaking up this bar fight and –"
"Oh whatever!" snapped Darcy, who was still standing behind Steve. Perry gave her a dangerous glare, but she continued setting the story straight. "We were dancing and this creeper came up and wouldn't leave Perry alone. She told him to go away, but he wouldn't listen. And then he started getting grabby which pissed her off."
"Fucking octopus," muttered Perry, not looking up at the others in the room.
Suddenly, a shattering noise sounded behind Perry followed by a startled gasp. Turning around, they found Bruce staring down at the puddle full of glass shards that had been his glass of water. "Uh, sorry," he muttered. "Strong grip."
Tony raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing.
"Anyway, Perry pushed the guy away, but he still didn't get the hint." Continued Darcy. " Actually he kind of got worse since he was yelling at her too. So Thor decided to jump in and wrestle the guy away."
"How did she get a black eye then?" asked Tony.
"Well, Perry decided that Thor had had too much to drink and a bar fight with him could be disastrous, so she jumped in between them and proceeded to kick the guy's ass. Seriously, she has got some mad skills. And then she did that thigh thing she learned from Natasha…"
The story was interrupted once again, this time by Bruce's sudden choking cough.
"So this guy punched Perry?" asked Tony. His voice had returned to his deadly tone.
"Not exactly," answered Darcy. "At least not intentionally. That was about the time that Steve got there, and of course he couldn't let them keep fighting, so he intervened. The guy was trying to punch Steve, but his aim was terrible and Perry's face got in the way. After that, we all sobered up pretty quick. Thor head-butted the guy and knocked him out and Steve grabbed Perry and hauled her out. And I got the whole thing on camera," she added proudly.
Tony jumped up and made a grab for the camera, but Darcy kept it safely out his reach. "I need that!" He snapped. "I'm going to track that bastard down!"
Perry started to retaliate, but Bruce cut her off. "You will let it go, Tony," he said quietly. "I think the man has already paid for his crime by getting his ass handed to him by Perry and getting knocked unconscious by Thor. It sounds to me like she handled the situation admirably."
Everyone in the room stared at Bruce, completely dumbstruck. For a brief moment, he wondered if he had done the right thing speaking up for Perry, but when he felt her hand wrap around his and give a squeeze, he knew that she was appreciative.
Tony's face contorted into a variety of expressions, rotating from rage to shock to humor. Clearly he was absolutely baffled by Bruce's sudden backbone and he couldn't decide if he wanted to be angry or amused. Settling on the latter, he let out a loud laugh and clapped Bruce on the shoulder. "You are right, Big Guy," he said. "I am being overprotective."
Turning to Darcy, he added, "Now let us watch this video. I want to see my niece kicking ass and I am sure Bruce would like to see her newest thigh strangling technique."
Despite his red face as they all settled in to watch the video, Bruce couldn't help but to mentally agree with his friend.
That night in his room, Bruce was finding that the calm he maintained in the penthouse was quickly slipping away. When everyone was in the room with him, he was able to remain collected and ambivalent…for the most part. There was the slight lapse when he broke his glass of water, but considering the rage boiling inside, it was a miracle that more was not broken. The more he thought about the man punching Perry, the angrier he got.
It was true that the anger never left him and that he spent his days constantly fighting the beast that threatened to escape. Most days he was strong enough the keep the Other Guy at bay. Minor irritations were not enough to bother the Other Guy, no matter how annoyed Bruce actually was. But despite the control Bruce managed to have, once the Other Guy was pissed there was no stopping him.
Oddly enough, as he sat down and closed his eyes, breathing deeply through his nose to stop the pounding in his chest, Bruce wasn't sure if the rage was coming from him or the Other Guy. It was an unusual sensation. He didn't feel like he was going to come apart and wipe out entire neighborhoods, but he did feel a peculiar urge to smash things, particularly a certain asshole's face. For the first time since the accident, Bruce had a feeling that the Other Guy was working with him rather than against him.
Jane was enjoying momentary peace in her lab, with Thor snoring in the corner and Darcy preoccupied with teaching Steve how to use his new phone. As much as she loved having her own personal god at her beck and call, Jane was beginning to think that Thor needed to go back to Asgard for a bit. Sure she would miss him more than word could express, but he was just so damn restless. And to make matters worse, the delightfully muscular man was like a golden bull in a china cabinet when it came to her sterile lab. In some ways she hoped for something to happen, something to get the Avengers assembled and ready for battle. Something to give Thor an adventure and to get him out of her hair for a bit.
The clatter of the glass door opening, followed by an enthusiastic ,"Hello ladies, no need to put tops on for me," broke Jane's blissful concentration. Rolling her eyes, she turned to greet Tony Stark with a forced smile. If the pay wasn't so high and the facilities so phenomenal, she would definitely not be toiling her days away working for a corporation like Stark Industries. She was an academic; wealth was not her goal in life. An unlimited budget and equipment so advanced that it hadn't been released yet however was definitely a goal that she never dreamed of achieving.
"How can I help you, Tony?" She asked, glancing at Thor in the corner to make sure he was still asleep. The god let out a loud grunt, but resumed snoring right away.
"Have you heard about the atmospheric disturbances in Florida?" He asked, hand Jane his tablet, the article that Bruce had read a few days before on display. "That's up your alley, isn't it?"
Jane took the tablet from Tony and skimmed over the article. "I did see something about this the other day. There hasn't been much information on it though."
"Exactly," said Tony, giving her his most winning smile. Jane wasn't swayed. "That's what I need you to do. Find out what this disturbance is."
Jane furrowed her brow. Since when did Tony Stark care about minor disturbances? For all she knew, it could have simply been unusual currents of pressure or space debris. Why would he suddenly want her to take on a project like this?
"What do you think these disturbances are?" she asked.
"I don't know, that is why I am asking you," Tony smirked.
Jane sighed. "Ok, let's try this again. Why do you want me to look into these disturbances?"
Glancing over at Steve and Darcy, who were now listening intently to the conversation, Tony frowned. "This stays between us, understood?" The three listeners nodded. " S.H.I.E.L.D. is trying to keep things hush hush, but we have had two visits by extraterrestrials."
"I would imagine that we have had a lot more than two alien visits," said Darcy.
Tony shook his head. "These are different. The first one attacked Perry in her home in Florida. The second one made it to my house in Malibu."
"Why are aliens going after you and Perry," asked Jane. It was the craziest thing she had ever heard, yet after everything she experienced over the past couple years, nothing surprised her anymore. If Thor hadn't assured her that Loki was securely locked up in Asgard's prison, she would suspect him.
"Well, we have no idea," said Tony, his shoulders slumped. It was rare that Tony Stark didn't have all of the answers. "That's why I need your help. Bruce suggested that these disturbances could be linked to the aliens since they seem to be occurring over the Everglades, where Perry was working. I need you to identify the exact location and what the hell is actually happening. Do you think you can do that?" His brown eyes were pleading and Jane could feel her resolve weakening. Damn her soft heart.
"Of course I can do that," she said quietly. "I need to get whatever data has already been collected. Do you even know which organization is investigating this?"
"Not yet, but I will figure it out and get you what you need," said Tony, his charming smile returning. "Remember, none of this is to be discussed outside this lab."
Before leaving the lab, Tony pranced over to Thor and pecked him quickly on the lips. The blond god continued snoring, oblivious to his team mate's sudden affection and gasps of the others in the room.
"Huh," said Tony with a nonchalant shrug. "I guess I am not Prince Charming after all."
Bruce frowned as he pulled up the calendar on his computer. It was Tuesday morning, and was apparently another headache day for Perry. In fact, it was the fifth headache since she arrived. Looking over the previously marked dates, a pattern presented itself clear as day. There were exactly 12 days between each headache. With that kind of predictability, Bruce was sure that Perry knew when to expect them. But she never warned him, she just didn't come down to the lab that day and she skipped dinner too. The only exception was the first day she had a headache and he had to go talk her out of joyriding Tony's souped up motorcycle. Bruce also had a strong suspicion that the source of these headaches was related to Tony's odd mood swings and Perry's cryptic behavior. He hated not knowing the inside joke.
On Wednesday, Tony had a revelation, a major revelation, about his energy project. It was one of those moments of brilliance that struck like lightening and energized the playboy billionaire into demolishing his lab in the name of science. Needless to say, Perry had been booted from the lab while Tony worked, whereas Bruce was trapped in the middle of the chaos. She laughed at Bruce's face pressed up against the glass wall of the lab as she left, glaring at her with envy, while Tony shouted for him to hold the device that the he was preparing to swing a sledgehammer at.
With a day a freedom, Perry knew right away that she wanted to spend it hanging out with Darcy. Working with two men that were a decade older than her took its toll, making Perry long for girl chat more than she cared to admit. Without hesitation, Perry hopped on the elevator and headed two floors down to sneak her friend out of the astrophysics lab.
Darcy's escape was much easier than expected. Apparently Jane was fed up with babysitting Thor and Darcy, who had spent the morning flicking rubber bands across the room. She was more than happy to share her assistant with Perry, leaving Thor to help sift through thousands of photos of stars, looking for one with any sort of anomaly. Together, Perry and Darcy headed out of the tower and over a few blocks to their favorite burger joint to pick up lunch. Half an hour later the girls were back in Stark Tower, takeout bags bulging with burgers and fries, making their way to see Steve in the garage.
The captain was pleasantly surprised by their visit and was more than happy to stop working on his car for a bit to eat a burger or four. The girls sat down on the front seat that was not yet installed, and Steve pulled up a stool in front of them.
"So you are from Missouri, right?" asked Darcy, finally breaking the silence.
Perry nodded. "Yep, born and raised. Not much happens there, so I wouldn't recommend it as a vacation spot."
"Actually, I have been there," said Darcy. "And you are right, not much happens there. It's more interesting than New Mexico though, which is where I am from."
Perry chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose you are right. So what brought you to Ol' Missour-ah?" Steve raised an eyebrow at Perry's sudden twang, but said nothing.
"My brother was stationed at Fort Leonard Wood," She explained.
"Your brother is in the Army?" asked Steve, now interested in the conversation.
Darcy nodded. "Both of my brothers are. Dan is a Lt. Colonel and is stationed at Fort Hood. Jake is a Captain and was in Missouri, but he was deployed a few months ago. Now he is hunting for IEDs in Afghanistan." Her voice was tinged with sadness.
"How long will he be deployed?" Perry asked gently.
Darcy frowned. "Eighteen months this time. He has already done one tour in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. Same with Dan, but he is high enough rank now to have a shorter deployment."
"Your brothers are brave men," said Steve, giving Darcy a reassuring smile.
Darcy nodded. "Thank you, they are brave. I wish I could say the same about myself." Her voice was beginning to waver, and Perry gave her friend an uncomfortable glance. She never was good at saying the right things in these situations.
Kneeling in front of her, Steve grasped Darcy's hand in his and lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eyes. "You are far braver than you know. In fact, the bravest people are the ones who faithfully support their loved ones in war, encouraging them and giving them hope. It is easy to acknowledge that you may live or die when you are in battle, but it is not brave. It takes strength to believe that your brothers are going to come home safely, and only those who are truly brave will look them in the eye and tell them they will come home alive."
Darcy's lip quivered as she tried to think of what to say in response. Trying to give Steve a watery smile seemed to be the breaking point and she collapse against his hard chest, tears running openly down her cheeks. Steve quickly wrapped his arms around her in a comforting hug.
Perry suddenly felt like the unwanted audience that she was. Quietly, she got up from her seat, gave Steve a wink, and snuck out of the room. Darcy needed this alone time with Steve.
As she made her way to her apartment, Perry thought sadly over the state of things. She was never one to concern herself with relationships, in fact, she preferred being single. Sure, it was nice to go out once in a while, and Florida had provided more than enough beautiful men to warm her bed, but she never wanted to be tied down to anybody. But since moving to Stark Tower, her lack of meaningful relationships was becoming a recurring worry in the forefront of her mind. Jane and Thor were the sickeningly sweet and good looking couple. Tony and Pepper were the perfect couple. Even Darcy and Steve were pairing off nicely.
And then there was Perry…and Bruce? She was definitely attracted to the man, and she had already confessed to wanting to carry his science babies. But it was more than that, if such a thing was possible. She loved being around him and talking to him. She loved working alongside him. She loved the concern he had when she missed a day because of her infernal headaches. She loved the way he watched at her when he thought she wasn't looking. She even loved the god-awful ache she felt when they were apart, like she was feeling at that moment. But no matter how wonderful she felt around Bruce, she knew that it would never work out. Between his insecurity about the Hulk and her secrets that she was determined to keep from him at all costs, there was no way they could form any sort of healthy relationship.
Inside her apartment, Perry flopped herself down on the couch and pulled out her phone. Scrolling through her recent pictures, she found one that she had taken a week before. It was the night that she and Bruce ordered pizza for dinner and watched 40 Year Old Virgin (Bruce was a little behind on movies). For once, he had changed into a tee shirt and shorts. He was completely relaxed and was enjoying the movie much more than Perry had expected him too. When Bruce lost it at the chest waxing scene, and he threw his head back and let out a real laugh, Perry couldn't' resist taking a picture. Now as she looked at the very happy side of Bruce, and remembered how good it felt to see him not worrying about the Hulk for once, Perry made up her mind to make Bruce the happiest man alive. She may have her own issues preventing her from getting true relief, but nothing was going to stop her from making Bruce laugh like that every day.