Such Sweet Nothing

“Welcome back to your lab, try not to break this one.” Tony extended his arm in a sweeping motion as the elevator doors slid open. I made a quick movement and pushed him backwards as he began to laugh at me. I stepped out of the elevator with him close at my heels. He had rebuilt the entire floor, adding in new security measures and a whole new testing room. He had made a whole new system that had built in overrides so nothing like my accident would ever happen again.

“Thanks Tony.” I turned to look at him and found him smiling as he looked around. I had to admit that I was a little scared when Pepper told me they were official. Tony had always been sort of a loose cannon but after knowing him and seeing how right he was for her, I had come to think of him as family.

“You don’t have to thank me, I was happy to do it. I just wanted to make sure that you’re safe.” It almost sounded very un-Tony of him to speak those words to me. After almost losing Pepper he had changed and I guess almost losing me had a tiny effect on him as well.

“So, where’s your boyfriend?” I smiled as I stared down at the floor. Tony hit my shoulder playfully a few times as he laughed at my reaction to the question.

“Him and Cap were talking about watching the game today, so I think he is up in your place.” We entered the main area of my newly built lab and I couldn’t help but grin, I was back home.

“He let you out of his sight?” I folded my arms across my chest and smiled as I spotted the brand new set of machines.

“Yes, yes he did. Just so you could give me my tour and then he expects me back up there.” I spotted my lab coat draped over a chair that was in front of a brand new computer.

“You didn’t have to get me all brand new stuff.” Tony looked back at me and shrugged his shoulders.

“It’s not a big deal.” He answered as he motioned for me to follow him. He had kept the layout kind of the same, but added in a completely separate testing area just for radiation. He also had his own desk in my lab, where he was allowed to eat at (and nowhere else).

“Okay, so why don’t you head on up back to Banner, and I have some stuff I have to do.” I raised my eyebrows at the vagueness of his sentence.

“Stuff?” He cracked a very Stark-esque smile and I felt a little worried.

“Stuff. I’ll see you guys later though, Pepper should be home in about an hour.” He looked down at his watch as he spoke. I smiled as he looked up and nodded.

“And we’re all going out to celebrate your safe return and new superpowers. So I will see you all later. Have fun.” he pulled me in for a hug as he spoke and kissed the top of my head.
“See ya later.” He walked out of the lab, leaving me by myself for the first time since Steve and I arrived late last night. I walked over to my desk and saw that there was a frame on it with a piece of paper inside. I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop the smile that formed on my face. I guess Tony wasn’t joking about the HR paperwork, he had literally framed the paper that disclosed Bruce and I as a couple. I laughed as I headed out and back towards the elevator to head up to the penthouse. I found Bruce and Steve watching a baseball game as I entered the living room. Bruce looked over and smiled as he stood up. Steve held up his hand in a greeting before turning his attention back to the television.

“So, what do you think?”

“I really like that purple shirt on you.” I answered as I grabbed the collar and pulled him down to kiss him. He pulled back, a goofy grin on his face as he sighed.

“I meant about the lab.” I released his shirt and smoothed out the wrinkles I had just created.

“Oh, I like that too.” His hand went around my head to grip gently at the back of my neck as he placed a kiss on my forehead. It was amazing how easily he had slipped into the boyfriend role. It was as if one second he was awkward and was unsure of when to hug me and the next it was as if we had been together all this time.

“So I was looking through some of your research about me.” I nodded at his words.

“And I’m thinking maybe small doses of gamma radiation would be enough to suppress the other guy.” I bit my lip and I saw his face drop into a not-so-happy expression.

“What?” I ran a hand through my hair and watched as he shifted uneasily from one foot to the other, unsure of what I was going to say.

“Just, what exactly is the end goal here? Are you just hoping to suppress him, or to rip him out of you?” Bruce’s eyes did not meet mine as he looked to his right and then eventually down to the floor.

“I don’t know.” He mumbled towards his feet. I placed my right hand on his upper arm.

“I’m just sick of having no control over it. It’s like I’m trapped in there when he takes over. Half the time I can’t really remember what happened. I don’t want to accidentally turn one day and hurt you, I’m afraid that pure adrenaline might just set him off when I’m with you. I worked really hard to make sure it didn’t happen but it was very stupid of me to put you in harm’s way that night.” He couldn’t look me in the eye as he spoke but I know he could tell I was staring at him. I squeezed his arm and he finally looked up at me.

“We’ll figure it out, I mean I might be able to push calming feelings towards you when you think it’s going to get out of control. It could be enough.” His sad smile broke my heart as his gaze dropped to the floor again.

“I don’t want for you to have to work so hard just for me to be around you all the time, I want to be normal.” I knew he was strictly speaking about when things got heated between us. I wondered how hard it really was for him to not lose control whenever we kissed or touched.

“You are normal, just sometimes you turn a bit green.” He looked up at me with a real smile now and I felt something inside of me relax.

“A bit green?” I shrugged my shoulders as he grabbed my hand that was resting on his arm and moved it so it was around his neck. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me in tightly.

“Well yeah. You’re really going to try and say something about being normal when we are surrounded by a man in a metal suit, a soldier from world war 2, a girl with empathetic abilities, and a legion of people being led by a man with an eye patch?” He lifted me off my feet and kissed the side of my head.

“You may have a point there.” He set me back down and released me but grabbed my hand in his.

“We’ll figure it out, Bruce. We’ve always managed and between the three of us we can figure out a way to get you what you want.” He brought my hand up to his lips and kissed my palm.

“I already have you so I don’t have to worry about that anymore.” I rolled my eyes at the cheesiness but I felt myself blush all the same.

“Let’s go watch some baseball, Banner.” He grinned as I pulled him back over to sit on the couch.

“Whatever you say.” He muttered as we both fell back onto the couch. Steve was smiling as he looked over at us.

“Hey Doc.” I waved at him as I sunk down into the couch and Bruce put his arm around me.

“You two make a real good lookin’ couple.” I smiled at his words and felt Bruce pull me closer to him as he settled in to the seat.

“Thanks, Steve.”

“And we’re smart, we might be the power couple to beat.” Bruce spoke up as I laughed. Steve only nodded his head with a smile.

“Power couple?” I rested my head on his shoulder and folded my hands in my lap.

“Well, we have both been exposed to high doses of gamma radiation.”

“Oh my god. You just made a pun and I don’t know if I can ever look at you the same way again.” I tried to pull away from him but he was having none of it and held me tighter. He was laughing and I couldn't hold back the smile that formed on my face.

“You make terrible jokes all the time.” I held up a finger in his direction.

“Hey! You like my jokes.” He grabbed my hand and pulled it to rest on his chest.

“I do, now shut up and pretend like you’re enjoying the game.” I scoffed but placed my head back down on his shoulder and settled in for a lazy day of hanging out with two of my favorite people.