Hey ya'll, just wanted to say, this is a short one, but I think you'll love it!
Disclaimer: Everything the light touches is ours- No wait, that's the Lion King... Uh, where was I? Oh, right, OC's are mine (Unless of course, Marvel is interested in using them in their movies...) and everything you recognize, not from my stories, belongs to Marvel.
I took Bruce's hand in mine and looked at him with a smile. He smiled back as he lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it sweetly. I was happy neither of us was driving, because it allowed us to lean over and kiss each other quickly. "God you guys, PDA much?" Tony asked and Pepper hit his arm.
"Ignore him, I think it's sweet." Pepper said before glaring at Tony who rubbed his shoulder, but winked at me all the same.
"You sure you want to do this?" I asked Amanda who looked at me and then nodded.
"I don't see it ending any other way." she paused. "Unless you don't want to, I mean, I- I understand-"
"Stop right there, you've picked up some of your father's traits, don't let the frequent pity parties be one of them." I said as I put my hand on Bruce's chest. He rolled his eyes before he wrapped his arm around Amanda's shoulder, he was sitting in the back seat of a van between both me and Amanda, Pepper and Bruce were sitting in the middle row, and Happy and one of his lawyers sat in the front.
"Face it kiddo." he said looking at Amanda who smiled. "After today, you're gonna be stuck with us."
"I can think of worse people to be stuck with." she said and he laughed before the car pulled to a stop.
"This it?" Happy turned around and looked at Amanda who nodded as she looked at where we had stopped.
"This is it." she sighed. Happy got out of the car and opened the door for Tony and Pepper; I slipped out next followed by Bruce and lastly Amanda. She stood in the front yard of her old home, the place she had grown up and smiled lightly. "It's so weird to think- After everything that's happened..." she looked at me and I nodded.
"I know." I said and she let out a small laugh before she ran a hand through her hair. "Nervous?" I asked and she nodded.
"We're right here." Bruce told her and she smiled before hugging me tightly, and then doing the same to Bruce.
"Hate to break it up, but we've been spotted by the locals." Tony said from behind his colored sunglasses. Amanda pulled away from Bruce and looked at the old couple next door who were watching us.
"What, you've never seen a girl hug the people who care about her before?" she asked and the old couple looked offended before closing their door.
"You've been spending too much time with your uncle Tony." Bruce muttered.
"I heard that!" Tony called. Amanda just grinned and walked up to the front door. She pushed the doorbell while I walked up behind her and everyone else walked over. The door opened a moment later and the man I assumed, by the way Amanda tensed up and stopped smiling, was Amanda's father looked down at us.
"What do you want?" he asked and Amanda straightened up.
"To talk." she said and he stared down at us.
"Who's all this?" he asked and she looked back at us before looking to him.
"My family." she replied before crossing her arms over her chest. "You gonna let us in?" she asked and he sighed before he pushed open the screen door. She took it and held it open, stepping into the house. We all followed after her and he looked over me and Bruce.
"You two the ones who took her in?" he asked and I walked over to him.
"My name's Simone Banner, this is my husband, Bruce." I said as I stuck my hand out. He stared at it for a moment, before he reluctantly shook my hand.
"You know how to deal with... Them?" he asked and I smiled tightly before looking at Bruce who cleared his throat.
"Well we already have one daughter, so we know how girls can be." Bruce nodded and I smiled as I touched his shoulder.
"She told you didn't she?"
"I knew about it before you found out." Bruce said to him and he frowned.
"You're that chemistry teacher, the one who lost it." he said and Bruce chuckled lightly.
"Why doesn't that surprise me?" he muttered to me and I nodded.
"Look, long story short, you kicked her out, we took her in, either way she's coming home with us today, but we'd prefer if when she did, legally, we had parental rights." I said and he frowned as the lawyer stepped forward and pulled the papers from his briefcase.
"Hi, Tony Stark, new uncle of this very lucky little girl," he introduced himself and Amanda Pepper and I rolled our eyes. "This is my lawyer, I call him lawyer, and he has written up the adoption papers. Basically, all you need to do is sign." Tony explained and the lawyer, Tom was his name, rolled his eyes as well before pulling a pen out.
"Why would I want to do that?" Amanda's father, Vincent, asked.
"Why wouldn't you?" Amanda asked.
"Lotta questions being asked. Mostly about where you are. People round here think I killed you."
"So, what, you'll make me stay here, make my life miserable by keeping me here? Now that you know what I am, do you really want me under your roof?" she asked and I put my hand on her shoulder.
"Better than folk askin' questions." he scowled.
"Look," I said and Vincent looked at me sharply. "She's happy with us, she's got a good life, she goes to a good school, she's happy. It's more than you can say for her."
"I'm her father." he said as he stepped up in front of me.
"Then why didn't you act like one?" I asked, not breaking eye contact with him.
"You gonna let your wife talk like that?" he looked at Bruce, looking semi amused, and really annoyed.
"See, that's the thing, I don't let my wife do anything. It's called free will, she's got it, Amanda's got it, we've all got it. And I love the fact that my wife exercises her right to it." he said. "That's a good think about living in America."
"That's another thing, I traveled, I saw things, I rode a horse!" Amanda said with a grin. "I've got grandparents in California, and a MeeMaw, and a sister." she said and he looked at her.
"You want these people to adopt you?"
"More than anything."
"What would you call 'em? They ain't your parents."
"Yes they are." she said and I smiled as I looked at Bruce. He gave my hand a slight squeeze and Vince sat down at the table.
"Lawyer," he beckoned him over. "Show me what I have to do again." he said and Tom walked over to him.
"Did you keep any of my stuff?" Amanda asked.
"In the room." he replied gruffly. I followed Amanda to her old bedroom, as did Pepper and she opened the door.
"God." she muttered. The room was trashed. She sighed and picked up a lamp and put it on the desk.
"What do you want to take?" I asked and she looked around the room, before she opened the desk drawer. She took everything out and pulled out a false bottom. "You've got to show me how to do that, and if you do that to the antique desk in your room, I am so grounding you." I told her and she laughed.
"Don't worry, I trust you more than I've ever trusted him." she said with a grin. She held up a journal and slipped it into a backpack. She took a small wooden box, and a small jewelry box, and a metal box full of pictures.
"That's it?" I asked and she nodded.
"That's it." she replied before we walked back to the kitchen. Vincent was singing papers, Tony was texting someone, probably the pilot, and Bruce was standing in the kitchen with Vincent and Tom.
"Happy, will you throw this into the car please?" Pepper asked as she handed the backpack to him.
"No problem." he said and Vincent stood up quickly.
"What do you think you're taking?" he asked quickly.
"Nothing of any importance to you." Amanda said as Bruce stepped in front of Vincent's path.
"You want to get out of my way?" Vincent asked Bruce lowly and Bruce smiled lightly.
"I know you hit your daughter before and I'm starting to really want you to make me." he said equally as lowly and Tony looked over.
"Yeah, gonna go on the record and say, as much as I love it when that happens, probably best if you just back down." Tony said to Vincent who was glaring at Bruce.
"It's not often I actually say this, but listen to Mr. Stark." Tom said to Vincent. "You really wouldn't like this guy when he's angry."
"I ain't never backed down from a fight." Vincent said to Bruce and I stepped forward.
"Vince, remember the alien that attacked the school? Reports said it was big and green, right?" I asked. "Think back a few years, aliens attack New York. There was footage of a big green creature destroying an entire leviathan with one punch."
"Hey, I helped!" Tony protested.
"My point is; you really want to start a fight with the big green guy?" I asked and Vincent looked Bruce over before he looked away.
"And you expect me to just give my daughter to that thing?" he asked.
"If you don't, Mrs. Banner is the head of a very powerful government organization, who works with people like Dr. Banner, like Iron Man, she's friends with gods, assassins, and mutants alike." Tom spoke up. "And all of them are friends with your daughter. You think there's questions about her now, just imagine the questions you'll get when they all come over for visits, because they will come to see her."
"That's the thing about families," I said and he looked at me. "We don't give up on each other." Vincent sighed deeply before he turned back to the table and finished signing.
"Okay, Dr. Banner, Mrs. Banner, I need you to sign these." Tom said and we went over and signed the copies where he told us. "Vince, your copies." Tom said as he handed the copies to Vincent. "And Mrs. Banner, these are for you, I'll hold onto them."
"Thank you Tom." I smiled.
"They'll go in front of a judge on Monday." Tom said and I smiled before looking at Amanda who hugged me tightly, and then hugged Bruce.
"We won't take up any more of your time." Pepper said to Vincent who nodded curtly. We walked out of the house and went to the car before Amanda stopped and looked at Happy who was still holding her backpack.
"Happy, can I see that for a sec?" she asked and he nodded, handing over the backpack. She opened it and pulled the box of pictures out before finding a particular picture. "Hey Tom, can I borrow your pen?" she asked and he handed it over. She wrote on the back of the picture before walking back over to Vincent and holding out the picture. He took it after a moment's hesitation. "I can't change who I am, and I can't change who you are, or how you feel about me, but if you ever decide you want to admit to having had a daughter, that's where you can reach me. Maybe I'll talk to you someday." she said simply before turning around and walking back to the car. She got in and I smiled at her.
Three days after our case went up to the judge, Amanda was legally ours. The day after that we sent her back to Xavier's, which she loved, she was dying to go back to school. "I always knew I'd have to send my daughter away to school, I just never thought it would be so soon." I sighed to Bruce as we lay in bed together the first night she was gone.
"Well, as I've told you before, you're not old enough to be the mother of an almost seventeen year old, but you're an amazing mother to that girl." he said and I smiled before I leaned in and kissed him. He responded by wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in closer. I cupped his face gently, opening my mouth slightly as he deepened our kiss, his other hand slowly started to slide up my pajama top, leaving a trail of goosebumps across my skin as it moved north.
"Mommy!" I heard Kayla shriek from the other side of the house. I sighed as we broke the kiss. He groaned as he dropped his head slightly, and then let go of me.
"Time to keep being that amazing mother you married." I smiled and he grinned as I got out of bed.
After soothing Kayla who was upset about Amanda leaving, I had to sing three Elvis songs, and a Muppets song and read her a book, and get her a glass of water before she finally fell asleep again. When she did I turned on her nightlight and shut the door before I went back to bed, I climbed into bed with Bruce who instantly pulled me over to him, making me laugh lightly, and rest my head on his shoulder.
"You work tomorrow?" I asked and he nodded.
"Yeah Tony needs help with his new design for his suit." he explained and I nodded, before looking up at him.
"I love you." I said softly and he smiled before kissing me again, and I laid back on his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him before falling asleep.
Things were finally starting to get back to- our definition of- normal. Even if "Normal" meant our adopted daughter was at a school for mutants, our biological daughter was most likely going to follow after her father in some way, her father was what people referred to as the Hulk, who worked with Tony Stark developing whatever it was Tony wanted to work on developing that day.
That was normal, and I was happy to have it back.
Just thought I should let you know, there are two more chapters to this story, then I'll get to posting my next story, still haven't decided if it'll be my Hawkeye story, or my Captain America story. Probably the Hawkeye one, I'll let you know by the last chapter of this story though, so, even though the phrase freaks me out, keep your eyes peeled for the next two chapters! (I only use that phrase because it's October and it's a creepy phrase)
Please don't forget to review!