Special Needs: A Bruce and Natasha FanFic

Chapter 10: Stay Safe, Come Home Soon

It had only taken a few minutes for them to load the bags and get on the plane. For a small jet it was actually quite roomy. The seats were beige leather and reminded Bruce of Barcaloungers with full swivels. That was good because he was going to have to down a few sedatives. They had become less and less effective over the years—not from taking them too often (he only flew if he had no choice), but because they barely phased his system any longer. Now, it was more the ritual of taking them than anything they did after about a half hour. As he thought about it, Bruce decided he didn't need them, shoved the prescription bottle back in his pocket, and pulled out the apple Natasha had put there instead. Tony was still talking on the phone, probably to Mrs. G. if the serious tone was any indication. Bruce pulled out his phone and went through the TechUWear tutorial as he ate his apple. He was glad that he did review the information because getting out of the clothes was more tricky than putting them on. Apparently, he should have put on the leggings first. It was good to know you could swim in it, but as he dug further, he decided the last thing he wanted to do was keep it on twenty-four/seven. It collected way too much data, and he didn't want any more information available for the hacking. He suspected Natasha's hunch was probably going to be proven right if Tony's mercurial attention came back to the clothing. He had an extra pair of Under Armour in his bag and he was tempted to go change, but he just knew the tech app would rat him out.

Tony finally finished up with the call and took his seat across from Bruce and strapped himself in. "Mal says to tell you to relax. She's meeting us at Lunkin Field and taking us straight to see a family member who just happens to be a urologist. You don't have to put in an appearance at the conference till the opening festivities at 6:00pm, so there's plenty of time."

"Thank you," said Bruce. "It'll be nice not to have to worry about that. How did Mel sound?"

"As on top of things as any ringmaster can be. I've decided that she must have cousins, friends, or people who owe her a favor in every major city and port of call, including the International Space Station."

That got Bruce to smile. "You know she knows Elon Musk, right?"

"I know Elon Musk," said Tony.

"Yah, but he calls her—not the other way around."

Tony stuck his tongue out.

"I'm just giving you shit. Any protesters yet?"

"No, not in any numbers, but there are threats about the loonies from the church out in Kansas making the trip. Luckily, they tend to cancel pretty frequently, and the weather between Cincinnati and central Kansas is acting up."

"Yea, so we're literally heading into a storm."

"Or two or three storms, but it is late February in the middle of the country, so what's new about that?"

"Not a thing," said Bruce.

"Did you take your sedative yet?"

"No, I don't think I'm going to either. The most it would do is tip me into a nap."

"Well, take a nap then. God knows she had you up early and kept you busy this morning." Bruce glared at Tony; he knew this was off limits. "Hey, I'm just saying that I know you two well enough to, you know, recognize the 'glow'. You both look happy. There is nothing wrong with that. You're two healthy adults. I'm not reading anymore into it than that."

"Please don't."

"So go ahead and take a nap."

"Maybe after we take off." Bruce double-checked the seatbelt and then slumped a bit, looking out the window as the plane jolted slightly at the breaks' release as the aircraft started its taxi into position before takeoff.