Book Two - Part One: Spectre

Chapter Fourteen

April rolls around fast. Days spent together, Bruce 'working', Laurie helps around the Favelas where she can. At least her mother's money, her inheritance could do some good, right? So she buys food, water, she pays for repairs, clothing, anything she can to help, but she tries to do it on the down low, slipping cash into pockets, gift boxes left in front of doors. She may be a Stark, but she doesn't do the praise quite like Tony. Bruce knows she does it. Not where the money comes from, he doesn't ask but he does know she makes people smile. And mornings like this....oh does Bruce love waking first on these mornings, those mornings when Laurie is still so deep in sleep that there is no worry or concern on her face, the mornings in which she looks beautiful. He likes to lay and watch her till the last second, until he has to get up. Like now. Now he has to get up. And she's not awake yet. Bruce kisses her shoulder and then sits up disturbing Ricky at the end of the bed, he lifts his head and then lowers it again, Bruce shakes his head standing, a little amused, the dog is more attached to Laurel even though it was Bruce that brought him home and gave him a home. Laurel shifts slightly as she wakes, disturbed by the loss of his body at her side.

"Where are you going?" Laurie asks glancing to him.

"Work" he answers, she hums a little. "Sleep" he whispers and kisses her head. "Go back to sleep" he adds when she sighs a little reaching for him. "I have to go" he scolds weakly pulling away. He would love nothing more than to stay in bed with her all day, truly he would love it, but he has to work. He likes the work. He gets to spend all day concentrating on something other than his own issues, then he can also build up his excitement of returning home to a woman who loves him. He actually feels normal with it all. Laurie yawns shifting on the bed drawing his attention back to her, he smiles warmly. Because this is...this is as close to normal as he is going to get. And he's glad it's with her, of course, it was going to be with Laurel. But for normal, for true normal, he is going to have to get rid of one massive obstacle. The other guy. He's working on it though. He glances back to Laurie only to find her asleep again.

.........

It's just a small job, in the local soda bottling plant, carrying supplies of bottle caps or bottles to the workers who man the massive conveyor belts of bottles moving through the process: guarana soda flowing in from massive tanks, caps being sealed on, labels being applied: "Amazona - with Guarana Kick!".

.................

Later, during break time, Bruce talks with a supply driver. The driver has something wrapped in a tied-up leaf... he opens it to show Bruce, it doesn't seem like much but it seems to excite Bruce. He has his book...it's more worn than when he first received it... he opens to a marked page...compares something in the book to what's in the driver's leaf. He looks up with a hint of a smile and nods. He takes out money to pay the guy...he seems to be asking if the driver has more...but the guy shakes his head.

.................

Laurie hums moving around the apartment, Ricky follows her as she waters the few plants they do have. It's not much. But it's more homely since she arrived, she's added a few things, blankets, pillows, a proper dog bed that Ricky ignores. Teapot and cups. Flowers. Herbs. She prefers the more organic cooking, using fresh ingredients, it's better for her body and mind, meaning she gets better control on her powers. She sets the watering can down and grabs her book from the side moving to take a pew on the floor. Ricky curls up at her side and rests his head on her knees, comfy. She smiles and ruffles his fur as she opens the book to her marked page.

..................

Bruce works on a machine, opening the back of one of those 'on/off button' boxes, fixing frayed wires. The bottles flow beneath him on the conveyor belt.

"I keep telling you...let me put you on the payroll. I can pay you what you're worth!" Bruce looks up and smiles and shakes his head and in doing so he cuts his hand. Two drops of blood fall toward the moving bottles. Bruce seeing this...sudden intensity, tracking it... he must find where the blood went. Tracking the bottles he thinks were under him with his eyes...locked on them. He jumps down and starts moving along with the belt, trying hard to track them, yelling at the manager to stop the belt...The belt stops. Bruce moves along it searching. And he finds it: a blood spot on the conveyor belt. Relief. He wipes it off carefully. Not noticing...another bottle, with drops of blood dripping just inside the glass lip, down into the soda. He signals 'Okay' and the belt starts up again. Bruce takes out a tube of crazy glue again. Applying some to the cut on the edge of his hand.

............

Laurie looks up from where she reads sat on the floor when Bruce returns home. She moves to him, smiling before kissing him, he reaches up and wraps an arm around her waist to kiss her back. He cringes a little as he catches his hand on the back of her jeans, she notices, of course she does, she pulls back and looks to his wound, her lips purse and she grabs his wrist.

"Here" she scolds pulling him to him to his desk chair, she motions to it, ordering him to sleep before she moves to grab the first aid kit from under the bed.

"I can..." he starts. "I sorted it"

"Stop using crazy glue" she warns him as she kneels in front of him.

"Laurel" he starts, she shoots him a look and he quietens. She pulls an alcohol wipe from the kit and draws it over his cut, removing the glue, she'll fix it up properly. He remains silent as she works on his hand. A softness and warmness sweeping through him. This is how it could have been all those years ago. If they'd both pushed harder, if she wasn't married, if she'd left him. She gently wraps the large band-aid around his hand, his eyes watching her the whole time. His heart soaring a little watching her take care of him like this. She sighs a little setting the items down again. He draws his free fingers along her jaw and pulls her up to his height, she searches his eyes as he smiles at her.

"What?" she asks him.

"I could get used to you patching me up" he admits warmly. She rolls her eyes fondly at him.

"I would prefer you don't go around cutting yourself up" she complains a little, he kisses her forehead.

"I love you" he whispers against her skin before pulling away, she smiles to herself and stands cleaning up the kit. She pauses a little when she starts to walk away, she smiles and glances back at him over her shoulder.

"I love you too" she assures him, he nods. He knows this. She would never have come all this way if she didn't love him.