"Bruce Banner, the Hulk, the Avenger that no-one really understood... that's what I am" I thought as I walked into the Avengers Tower, formerly Stark Tower. It was 1 whole year after the New York "incident" and Tony was still waking up screaming from nightmares, Pepper was still comforting him, Clint and Natasha were still unseen by anyone but each other, and Steve was, "on leave" as he had put it, and Thor and Loki were on Asgard. Everyday since the "incident" I had helped Tony, put New York and Stark Tower back to rights. But I was holding something back from all of them, I just wasn't entirely sure what it was... I decided to focus on my project, to distract himself. My project, correction, my and Tony's project, they were working on it together. It was for Fury, primarily, but I hoped eventually that, the rest of the team would have one too. I reached the glass door to the lab and through it, I could see Tony, a smile came to my face, just another normal day in the lab. I knocked twice, but when Tony didn't come to open the door, I looked around, wondering whether I should call on JARVIS. I didn't like calling on JARVIS, because it made me feel silly, calling into the air for help from a robot. So, I knocked again, and when Tony still didn't open the door, I turned on my heel and went to look for Pepper.
I found Pepper in the kitchen, I stood in the doorway watching her for a while, I could see why Tony loved her. Her red-blonde hair, cut just below her shoulders, her clear skin, unmarked, she was very beautiful, Pepper had turned around, and almost dropped the coffee cup in her hands, "Bruce," she murmured, surprised, "how long have you been there? Would you like a cup of coffee?" Her eyes were red, she had obviously been crying, "Not long, umm yes please, I would love a cup." She turned back around to make the coffee, and I made his way across the kitchen to her. "Pepper," I said quietly, "have you been crying?" She sniffed, I took it for a yes. " It's Tony," she sobbed, I put my hand on her shoulder and lead her to the sofa, " It's Tony, he's been doing drunk science, late at night right on through to the early morning... " she put her head on my shoulder and wept for a while. When she sat up again, she continued. " His last experiment, it knocked him unconscious, I'm not sure how... but I can't wake him up and the phone lines are dead, so I had to wait for someone to come... Thank goodness you got here." I stood up, suddenly worried but I had to hide it so that I didn't worry Pepper more than necessary. I helped Pepper to her feet too. " Can you open the door to the lab for me, Pepper?" I asked, she nodded, and we walked swiftly to the lab.
Pepper opened the door from me, and then ran upstairs, I walked through the door and slowly made my way to Tony. Tony looked as though he had simply fallen asleep, surrounded by pieces of metal, and bottles of whiskey... And a box of poptarts, the thought of Thor quickly flew through my head... I stared at Tony's peaceful expression for a while, smiling to myself.