Such Sweet Nothing

After two weeks of having my ass kicked by various agents and looking like a walking bruise I found myself looking up at Stark tower as I stepped out of the black sedan, Steve standing next to me. It was around midnight and no one was expecting us until late morning. I tried my best to hide my battle wounds but I knew that there wasn’t enough makeup in the freaking north east to cover me. I was granted permission to leave after making it through an ‘obstacle’ course made up of people with all kinds of weapons with the only objective of knocking me out. I had to make it through with literally nothing but myself.

“C’mon Doc, you deserve a good nights sleep.” I grabbed my bag off of Steve’s shoulder.

“I can carry it.” I looked over at him with a smile, the movement of my lips hurt my face but I didn’t let that stop me.

“I got it Cap.” My shoulder was aching but I felt after all I had been through that carrying a small bag was nothing at all. We came up to the front doors and I fumbled around in my pocket for my ID, it was a little more difficult than expected seeing as my knuckles had become swollen from earlier. I pulled it out with a happy ‘a-ha!’ and swiped it in the slot next to the door.

“Welcome home Doctor Munroe.” JARVIS greeted as I pulled the door open and stepped through with Steve right on my heels.

“Hey JARVIS, is anyone awake?” I pulled my bag higher up onto my shoulder and winced as it hit my collarbone.

“I believe everyone is ma’am, up in the penthouse. Ms. Potts might have fallen asleep on the couch.” I smiled at the information as our footsteps echoed on the tiled floor. My body was extremely tired but my mind was wide awake at the thought of seeing Bruce. I stopped as we came up to the elevator that would take us straight up to the penthouse, there seemed to be a new security measure. Tony had installed a pad that was meant to read fingerprints as well as the slot for my badge. I placed my finger on the screen and watched as it lit up a bright blue as it scanned. There were three short beeps in quick succession as the elevator doors opened.

“That’s new.” I commented as Steve and I stepped into the lift and the doors closed as we ascended into the building.

“More safety can’t hurt anything.” He said after a few moments, I could tell he was tired and wanted to go straight to bed when we arrived. It was his idea to not wait until morning, after seeing my last test I could tell he wasn’t too happy with how damaged I looked.

“Too true.” I said as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. Pepper was on the couch looking like she had tried hard to stay awake. She had a notebook clutched in her hands and her head resting on the back of the couch. I smiled at my cousin and shook my head as I took the steps down into the living area.

“You’re home!” I didn’t notice Tony in the kitchen but jumped when he shouted. My bag dropped to the floor and Pepper woke up with a start, her notebook was sent flying across the room. I heard a door open and quick footsteps come from the hallway.

“Oh my god!” Pepper took the few short strides to get to me and wrapped her arms around me tightly in a hug. I held back the gasp of pain but my eyes grew wide at the pressure on my bruises and cuts.

“Ms. Potts you might want to be more gentle.” Steve spoke up seeing my face filled with physical pain. Pepper pulled back and looked a little confused until she got a really good look at my face. She let go of me but still smiled even though I could tell she wasn’t expecting to see me in this state.

“I’m so happy you’re home, we weren’t expecting you until later in the morning.” I looked past her and saw Tony and Bruce waiting patiently behind her to greet me.

“Yeah, I finished training a couple of hours ago and Steve thought we should just come home.” Tony gestured for Bruce to go ahead of him as Pepper stepped back and wrapped her arm around his waist. I smiled at Bruce’s look of happiness. He had heard Steve from before and was careful about how hard he hugged me.

“I feel like that was the longest two weeks of my life, Munroe.” I laughed at his words and then felt sentimental at the fact that I could feel the ring through his shirt, he was wearing it around his neck much like I had done when I protected it.

“You have no idea, Banner.” He pulled back and put his hands on my shoulders to get a good look at me.

“You look like you’ve been in a barroom brawl.” Tony interjected as Bruce was studying my injuries. His face turned concerned as he gingerly grabbed my jaw and turned my head left and then right.

“You should see the other guys.” I joked, not wanting this situation to turn serious. It was a happy moment and I was going to hang onto it with all I had. I placed my hands on Bruce’s arms as he finally let his eyes meet mine.

“I’m fine, really. Nothing too terrible, I’ve actually already started healing.”

“So, you have that power as well?” I nodded.

“It’s not as fast as you or Steve but it’s pretty damn fast.” I moved my right hand and placed it on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned his head into my hand before turning slightly to lay a kiss on my palm.

“I missed you.” He said quietly as he opened his eyes. I smiled and ignored the pain in my split lip and the bruise on my cheekbone.

“I missed you too.” I could see Pepper, Tony, and Steve grinning at us like a bunch of idiots in the background.

“Let me hug her and then you can take her away from us.” Tony said as Pepper stood up straight so he could walk towards me. Bruce moved out of the way and allowed Tony to wrap his arms around me.

“We’ve missed you buttercup.” I rolled my eyes at the nickname as he pulled back so he could see my face.

“Missed you too, Tony.” He smiled and laughed through his nose as he looked behind his shoulder.

“Cap, your room is all set up. I’m heading off to bed, so she is all yours buddy.” Tony clapped Bruce on the shoulder a few times before he ruffled up my hair and then made his exit with Pepper leaning on his shoulder.

“Night Doc, Bruce.” Steve smiled as he too made his exit and headed down the hallway where Bruce had come from to greet us.

“Night Cap.” We both greeted at the same time before looking at each other and laughing.

“So now that I get to have you to myself I would like to check your injuries and then you’re going straight to bed.” He grabbed my bag off of the floor before I could protest and held his hand out to me. I grabbed his hand and he wrapped his fingers around my hand and gently pulled me towards the elevator and turned around to press the button.

“You don’t have to check my injuries, I’ll be fine.” We stepped into the elevator, his grip on my hand tightening as the doors closed and I pressed the button for the floor below us.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.” I looked up at him with a small smile.

“I’m not so fragile anymore, you know.” The elevator stopped and the doors slid open to reveal an empty hallway, this time I was pulling Bruce along until we got to my door.

“My keys are in my bag.” Bruce swung it around so I could unzip the main compartment.

“I know you aren’t fragile but I still would just like to take care of you. It’s kind of in the job description of a boyfriend.” I smiled at the word. That was the first time either one of us had really labeled the other.

“What?” He asked wondering what I found so entertaining.

“You’re just adorable, is all.” I answered as my hands found the cold metal in my bag. My keys jingled as I pulled them out and turned to unlock my door. I pushed it open and walked in as Bruce put his hand on the door to keep it from closing.

“So, I know you don’t need me but can I stay with you.” He said the first part of the sentence with a bit of a sarcastic tone and rolled his eyes but smiled as he put my bag on the floor.

“I always need you.” I answered as the full weight of the day seemed to finally hit me. I leaned against the back of my couch as I saw a weird expression cross his face.

“What?” He smiled at the floor as he stepped forward and grabbed both of my hands and intertwined our fingers before bringing my hands up and staring at them.

“I just don’t think I’ve ever had someone who needed me.” He put emphasis on the word ‘needed’ and looked in my eyes.

“I’ve always needed you, Bruce.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips against mine for a moment before leaning back and staring at me.

“I’ve always needed you too.”