After everything, the almost dying and then surviving, the bruises and an almost twisted ankle Parker really wanted a break. She needed her wheelie chair in Calcutta, she wanted to spin around on it endlessly and try to beat Bruce for the place in front of the fan. She wanted it so badly.
But she couldn't, because the one piece of that puzzle crucially missing was Bruce. He was on the streets of New York, probably in a crater the more she thought about it. She hadn't stood still before and she wasn't going to start when she was only a couple of blocks away from Dr Banner.
Peter had left her after she insisted - multiple times - that the whole population of New York needed him more than his older sister. His webs were still an odd sight she would never become used to.
That left her and Loki. But he was unconscious and Parker really did not want to wake him. She kicked him with her good foot just to check, she did it slightly harder than she anticipated. Nothing. Thank God. She wasn't waiting around for him to remember how he never actually killed her.
She touched her neck and cheek, it wasn't bleeding at all now. But it was still a horrific sight, Peter made that clear before he left. She staggered to the kitchen and cleaned the dried blood until there was no more to come off. It was a long cut, it would scar probably but nothing serious.
Just like her ankle, it wasn't as bad as her adrenaline made her think. In fact it was nothing compared to the throbbing all down her right side. The building hurt, her fear of heights was rationale after all but somehow she believe she had conquered it now. If she didn't, well she never would.
Then she looked down the stairs, saw the distant bottom and almost threw up. She fell backwards onto the wall and slid down it. You can't conquer all your demons in one day.
"Next time." She told herself.
She hopped to the elevator, she prayed Tony Stark is one of those men who are prepared for anything.
He wasn't. The button did nothing.
Parker was forced to walk down the stairs. It felt petty, she guessed now she wasn't scared of a big green monster her mind still had to make her scared of something.
So she refused to look anywhere near the middle and tried to run down as many flights as she could. Which was three before she had to stop. Goodness. She had ran enough in the last week to fill her yearly quota. She hobbled down the rest of them until she reached the lobby although bomb site seemed to fit her surroundings better.
The outside world seemed to explode into the building and covered every inch of the room in dust, debris and god knows what else but Parker was used to this. Once you had seen Indian junkyards even this seemed tidy.
Outside debris filled the street with the occasional break and then she could see the burn marks which would remain on the road for years to come.
"Okay," She had to mentally prepare herself, "You can do this."
Her best bet was the surrounding streets so that is where she started. Bruce would have had a systematic approach, like when they hunted for specific medicine in warehouses. Parker would get lost until she heard Bruce's voice on the com system telling her to meet him in the aspirin isle. But protocol was out of the window today.
She ended up walking the streets alone with no destination in mind ,she wasn't lost this time though, a New Yorker couldn't forget the streets they grew up on.
As she crossed the block, the traffic lights flickered and street lamp balanced precariously over them succumbed to gravity. It fell and landed on a heap of bodies. Parker jumped out of her skin.
They were the first aliens she had seen properly and she wished she could have gone her whole life without seeing one.
With a newfound courage that even she couldn't explain she gently kicked one and prayed it wouldn't move. It didn't. She kneeled down, at least she could deal with aliens. That was something.
She was about to touch one out of morbid curiosity when yet again the smallest thing scared her, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Of course, she thought. Everything in her life had to be connected.
"I'm sorry about stabbing you." Parker told Clint, she wasn't sure if she should smile or not. He had a serious expression on his face that she decided to match as she stood up.
"You did a pretty good job actually." Clint smiled this time and winked. Parker mirrored his smile and goodness did it feel good.
"Really?" She asked laughing. This was absurd, completely mad. But she liked it, she liked it a lot.
"Really. Serves me right for chasing you," Clint was glad she was safe, not as much as some people were going to be, but glad. "Hawkeye."
He walked towards the women and outstretched his hand. Parker stared at in surprise as if it was the strangest thing she had seen today. The formality just seemed so out of place it was funny. She grinned further, "Cathy."
No more hiding from her past. She was going to embrace it.
"Nice to meet you." They shook for a second before Parker realised she was holding on for slightly too long.
"Sorry." She quickly withdrew her hand and wiped the sweat on her clothes.
"Looking for the big guy?"
It took Parker a second to remember who 'the big guy' was but then it dawned on her, "I'm looking for Bruce. Yes. I have been for a damn long time."
"Follow me."
---------
All Parker could think about as they picked their way through the street was how much Hawkeye had scared her the first time she saw him. Now he was probably the closest thing to normal she has seen in the last two hours.
"We call ourselves the Avengers." Clint said as he offered her a hand to maneuver around cars blocking the road.
Parker took it and heaved herself around it. Seems like whenever she vowed to stop doing physical exercise the universe just wanted her to do more.
"Avengers huh? Quite cool. You know the guy in the red and blue suit?" Parker asked as they continued walking.
"Yeah?" He replied, he saw the team up ahead and Cap waved. He looked back at the women who was very intent on where she was about to place her step.
He had seen Peter and admitted to himself that he was impressed, "He calls himself Spider-Man."
"Noted." Clint smiled to himself and broke into a small jog to reach the team.
Parker groaned at the sound of his footsteps and finally looked up. She stood shell shocked as the Avengers gathered in front of her.
They were huddled around Tony Stark as he struggled to remove his battered suit. Natasha leaned on the car behind them not helping at all before Captain America whipped off his chest plate like it was paper.
Parker was amazed that she recognised one of them, Thor stood staring intently at the clear sky.
"Sometimes all it needs is a little elbow grease Stark." Cap said and he winked at Parker, he recognises her the second he saw her. The nurse tentatively walked closer, she was glad she at least had one of them on her side.
"You all know who this is." Clint's introduction didn't put Parker's mind at any ease as she realised Bruce was nowhere in sight.
Thor then had his moment of recognition, "It is you!" And suddenly he wasn't as sad as he was before, it only took him four steps before he held Parker in his grasp, "I am glad you survived!"
Parker stammered trying to find the right words. Thor answered her thoughts before she even said them, "You," He chuckled and let her go, "Are not that good at hiding. That Web Man though... he is better."
Kindness wasn't something Parker expected from superheroes if she was honest. It wasn't something she expected in general. She was expecting seriousness and weaponry, both elements Black Widow was exhibiting nicely. Parker suddenly seemed to lose her confidence, "Nice to meet you." She told them.
Tony Stark found this quite novel, "You are going to wish you didn't."
Thor laughed at this and patted Parker on the back. She was involuntarily thrown forward a step, and her anxiety shot through the roof.
Natasha kicked his suit slightly with the tip of her black boots. She looked at the women, it was a different ball game seeing her in the flesh, it made her seem real. It made her feel worse about the orders they almost carried through, she put the gun away.
"He's over there." Natasha pointed to where Bruce had hid himself, behind another upturned car. The Avengers then went back to tending to Tony.
Parker felt like a deer in the headlights, she couldn't speak so she only nodded her head.
Her throat and lips had gone dry. She stroked her fingers against her lips instinctively. The thought of speaking to him, face to face, was daunting. It seemed that every time she thought she had seen everything, one little thing would throw her off balance. She hated the cliche that 'everything had changed' but it seemed to be the only explanation here.
"He cares for you," Tony informed him as he shed more of his suit with the aid of two of the strongest men Parker had ever seen. Parker didn't know what to say, "More than he knows."
Parker hoped that was the truth, she hoped with all her heart. She had never thought about the reality of finding Bruce, she only feared the reality of living without him.
Parker wiped her eyes with her sleeve and smiled softly, "If you say so."
"Oh, we know so." Thor smiled and that was the one thing any of the Avengers did that actually helped Parker.
Parker nodded to them and walked towards the car. This time she didn't dare look down, she was staring at the shred of material she could see beyond it.
She thought of what to say, what to do, but her time was running out as she neared him. This wasn't her, she had planned it in her head, so many times she had lost count and now the time had come to finally say it and she was lost.
Bruce moved and Parker stopped in her tracks. His head came out of his hands and he leaned it back onto the hood of the car, his eyes were closed and he was muttering something as Parker only just managed to keep herself breathing.
"Hey." She croaked out. She watched Bruce's eye flicker open, saw his eyebrows furrow and almost in a trance like state he lifted his head and slowly looked around. He hadn't believed the voice was real but when he caught sight of Parker it all changed.
She stood there, hands by her side, one scrunching up the sleeve of her top and her feet slightly turning into each other. But Bruce didn't look at any of these features because those came with Parker, they were parts of her. Bruce Banner only stared at her eyes as she stared at his.
Parker's life may have just become extraordinary but in that second she experienced the most simple, normal and pure human emotion possible; love.
An emotion that was conveyed completely in one beautiful moment where they realised that the other one loved them. A moment where everything they had been through was suddenly worth it.
"Hey." Bruce didn't want to be as strong as Parker, he let himself cry.
"Long time no see." Parker laughed but it came out as more of a sob. It had been too long.
Bruce replied by pushing himself off the car and running to Parker, he wrapped his arms around her and planned to never let go. He tangled his hands in her messy blonde hair and held on tighter.
"I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear. Parker choked and a tear ran down onto Bruce's shirt.
He held her so tightly he lifted her off her tiptoes and she landed back on his feet.
"You're here now." Parker knew she was home as she smelt his familiar aftershave. That was what she wanted to smell in the morning and in the evening, and every second in between.
Bruce placed her back on the ground and pulled away to look at her, he knew the face so well but seeing it this close was different. He could see the wrinkles recently formed from smiling too much, he could see the beauty marks and scars that littered her face like constellation of stars. He could see her. His finger traced the newly formed cut and he promised to himself he wouldn't not let anybody hurt her again.
They stood together for a moment as Parker brushed back strands of Bruce's hair. He was so handsome, his frown lines and sun freckles from Indian heat, all of it.
"Cathy," Parker told him and then sniffed to stop her nose running so she could confess. She wasn't going to keep secrets anymore, "Cathy Parker. That's my real name."
"Well if we're confessing secrets, I may or may not turn into a green monster." Bruce joked, he smiled for the first time in too long. It felt good to joke about the Hulk, to not have her run away in fear. He wiped his own nose as Parker broke away from the embrace.
"Really?" She laughed, her smile broad as always. Bruce thought it was like sunshine because he wanted it to last forever. She punched him slightly on the bicep, "With that muscle?"
"Alright alright." Bruce put up his hands in defence before gently moving Parker closer to him. Both of their voice had been hoarse but neither of them cared, they had been waiting too long for this moment.
"Have you been crying Bruce Banner?" She asked as she wiped under his eye with her thumb and watched another tear threaten to spill from his eye as one did from hers.
"It's been a long day...Cathy." He liked the way it sounded, it was strange and new but it fitted. And he liked the slight blush it brought to her cheeks because he had never seen it happen before.
"Tell me about it." She looked down and wrapped her hand around his. They both couldn't even begin to describe what had happened but for now they didn't need to.
"Did you..." Parker laughed lightly thinking about what she was going to ask. There was so many more questions she had for him, so many new things to learn about. But this was the question to start with, she looked up at him, "Did you get my voicemails?"
Bruce didn't say what he wanted to say. Because he wanted to tell her that they broke him, that they made him like the worst person in the world. But they also made him realise something he should have known a long time ago. That he didn't want a world without Parker Miller, or whoever she may be. Bruce nodded, "Sorry I didn't answer them sooner."
"It's okay," Parker replied as she traced circles on the back of his hand with her thumb, "You were busy saving the world."
"You're my world Parker. Now all I have to do is save you." And Catherine Parker kissed Bruce Banner like she had all the time in the world because that's exactly what they have.
THE END