"The biggest green diamond ever found was the Aurora Green Diamond and it was only 5.03 karats," I groaned. This was the fifth site that I'd found that hadn't been any help to me.
"5.03 karats is pretty big, Lucy," Banner said from off in the distance of my office. He had come up to the office to keep me company. I hadn't seen Happy in a few days, ever since the fight with Tony in his lab. In fact, I hadn't really seen anyone since the fight in the lab. They had all fallen off the planet. All except Tony, who was the only one that I was actively avoiding. Every hour I'd get a message from JARVIS telling me that 'Mr. Stark wants to talk to you. Would you like to hear from him?' and every time I would tell him no. And then as soon as I would decline JARVIS, my phone would ring with a call or a text from Tony. I was about ready to throw my phone from the top of the tower. I just needed space from Tony to think, and the only person who didn't seem to want to talk about what had happened was Banner.
I sighed and turned my head to look over at Banner who was standing near the window, "I know that. But in my vision, the diamond was the size of my palm. 5.03 karats is less than an ounce."
"Does it have to be that big? Because that 5 karat diamond went for $16.8 million. Where are we gonna get $17 million?" Banner asked. I burrowed my head back in my arms. $17 million made me want to throw up. But it was a good question. The only person with that kind of money was Tony and he was completely out of the question. I let out a defeated groan.
"I don't know Banner. I definitely don't have anything near $17 million, but the Asgardians have yet to show me something that I didn't need to follow to the letter," My voice was muted by my arms.
"I know you don't want to think about it, but what if we asked Tony. You don't have to talk to him, I can ask him. But he's the only one who has that kind of money," Banner said quickly. I was quiet for a second before pushing myself up from the desk and looked over at Banner.
"You know as well as I do that Tony already doesn't think I should be doing this. There's no way in hell that he's gonna shell out millions of dollars for something he doesn't support," I said. Banner was quiet for a second as he thought.
"He supports you, Lucy. And you know that," Banner said quietly. I let out a heavy sigh.
"Not you too Bruce," I said, dropping head to my hands and massaging my temples.
"I'm not going to hound you about it. I won't even bring it back up again if you don't want to talk about it. All I'm saying is I know Anthony Stark. And he cares about you. He loves you. And I know in your heart, you know that," Banner said. I stopped massaging my temples and looked over at him as he moved away from the window and sat in the chair across from me.
"Really, do I? Is it normal to tell someone you love that you think they are 'fucking annoying' and blame everything that's happened to me on me? Because that's not usually what I do to the people I love," I said. Banner crossed his leg and took a deep breath before answering me.
"I know this doesn't excuse what he said-because it was awful-but I think he's scared," Banner said carefully. The way he said it made me think that there was something about Tony that he wasn't telling me.
"Scared?" I said cautiously.
"He's so scared that something will happen to you and that he won't be able to do anything about it. This whole stone situation is making him feel out of control, and Tony doesn't like being out of control," Banner said; but he trailed off at the end, making me think that there was something else that he wanted to tell me.
"Bruce, what is it that you aren't telling me," I stated.
Banner shifted and took a deep breath before speaking, "Fury is starting to send the team out on different missions."
"So, Tony told me that already. That's why he had Happy following me," I shrugged, not understanding why this would make him on edge.
"The last time this happened, someone attacked where Tony lived," Banner said. When he said that, I felt like all the air had been sucked out of the room.
"What?" I breathed. Banner nodded slowly.
"Tony used to have a home in Malibu until it was destroyed, back in 2013. He almost died," Banner explained.
"Oh my god. That's insane, did they catch the guy," I asked.
"Oh yeah, Tony dealt with it. But that doesn't keep him from worrying that it might happen again, to the tower. And that he won't here when it happens to make sure that nothing happens to you," Banner explained.
"But why wouldn't he just tell me that he's scared instead of being a jackass in front of everyone," I asked.
"You know him, he's not very good with emotions. Especially fear," Banner said. I rolled my eyes and nodded. Banner was right. I know that Tony doesn't deal with his fear very well. He gets angry and anxious which makes him irrational. But that still didn't make me want to talk to him any more than I did before. I was still annoyed at him for what he'd said. I couldn't bring myself to be around him without being angry and I didn't need any spike in emotion after what happened last time on the roof.
Before I could say anything back to Banner, JARVIS spoke up, "Um, Miss, Mr. Stark w-"
"I told you before J, the answer is no," I miffed, annoyed at the constant question.
"I am sorry, miss. He overrode my ability to not ask you," JARVIS apologized. I rubbed my face violently and let out a strangled laugh.
"It's not your fault J. Please don't relay any messages from Mr. Stark unless it's absolutely necessary," I muttered.
"Yes ma'am," he said and then it was quiet.
"Is that really necessary?" Banner asked quietly. I looked up at him.
"Yeah, how else do you expect me to get any work done?" I said, trying not to break a smile. Banner rolled his eyes and shook his head as he laughed lightly.
Banner and I spent hours that afternoon trying to figure out where green diamonds were found. Turns out it's a lot harder to find where diamonds are mined that either of us had originally thought. Turns out, there's no easy way to find them. You just kind of find them.
"Even if we did find a diamond that would fit into your palm. How are we going to get it? This palm size normal diamond went for anywhere between $28 million to $35 million. These green ones are supposedly so much rarer. Based on the price per carat of the Aurora, a diamond this size-120 karat- would be somewhere around $396 million. It's gonna take a little more than a bake sale," Banner asked as we walked from the office. It was so late that every other person that was usually buzzing around the office had left already. I ran my fingers through my hair and closed my eyes against the staggering number that he had managed to come up with in his head.
"I don't know Bruce. Plus our best bet is in Brazil. How are we going to get there without being detected by Fury," I said, pressing the elevator button.
"Yeah, he's watching the jets more carefully now. He knows that you won't listen to him," Banner said. The elevator dinged in front of us and slid open. Banner pressed the button for his floor and went to press the number for the penthouse but before he could, I pressed the button with the number 37 on it. Banner looked over at me skeptically, confusion clear in his eyes.
"What's on 37?" he asked.
"Technically I'm still the occupant of the apartment Fury gave me so JARVIS still lets me in," I muttered. Banner's face fell as I said this.
"Lucy, you moved out?" he breathed.
"No. I mean, not really. All my stuff is still up there. I just don't go up there," I trailed off slowly. His eyebrows creased as he watched me carefully. "Look, I know. I know he freaks out about everything but I just can't bring myself to see him right now. I'll go up there eventually but just not right now," I explained. Before he could answer me the elevator doors slid open.
"Look," he said, drawing my attention back to him. He slid his foot in front of the door to keep it open and studied me carefully, "I know that he hurt your feels. What he said was awful. But he's Tony Stark. He's a genius but not with people. He says some stupid shit. Most of the time without really meaning it. So you can be annoyed and take as long as you need before you can see him again, but you can't hate him forever," Banner said softly. I swallowed hard before I nodded.
"I know. And I won't," I said stepping backward out of the elevator. "But don't think that him being socially awkward will get him out of me kicking his ass," I called out. Banner laughed as he stepped back into the elevator and the door started to close.
"Oh no, by all means, kick his ass," Banner laughed. He waved as the door closed between us. I laughed once before turning around and walking through the hallways to the room. Once I'd managed to find it again, I pressed my hand to the metal and the door clicked unlocked. The sound seemed to echo in the silent hallway, making me feel suddenly paranoid and very alone. I quickly slid inside and locked the door. The apartment was exactly how I'd left it this morning; still pristine enough for a magazine. I let out a heavy sigh before trudging back to the bedroom. I pushed the door open and turned the lights on without even looking. I didn't want to look at the big, empty bed that I was about to crawl into for the sixth day in a row. I dodged the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I managed to somehow take a ten-minute shower and be dressed and out in under 15 minutes. All I wanted to do was sleep and forget about everything that was happening. As I was about to crawl into bed, I noticed the glint of something resting on the edge of the bed. Nothing of mine-except clothes-was in the apartment so whatever this was, it wasn't mine and it hadn't been there when I'd left this morning. I reached out to pick it up from the bed and held it in my hand. I gasped and was completely lost for anything to say. Resting in my palm, perfectly sized, was the biggest green diamond I'd ever seen. It had to be at least 150 karats. It was perfect, almost like I'd plucked it straight out of my vision. I looked back at the bed, hoping for an explanation and found one. Under where the diamond had been resting was a note. In my free hand, I grabbed the note and brought it up to read it.
Lucy,
I know you don't want to see me or talk to me, but I found this and I know that you were looking for one like it. I hope that this helps you and Bruce.
I love you
Tony
I had to read the letter over four times before the meaning fully registered in my mind. Tony had given this to me. I don't know how he'd found it or known that I needed one this size but he'd found it! The most perfect one! This must have cost him at least $400 million! For something that he didn't even think I should be doing in the first place.
"J, where's Mr. Stark right now?" I asked. Without dropping the diamond or the note, I ran to the front door.
"The bar in the penthouse. Would you like me to contact him for you, Miss?" JARVIS asked. I was already in the hall, locking the apartment door and on my way toward the elevator. Before I pressed the call button, the doors slid open for me.
"No, I think I'll contact him myself J," I said and the elevator lurched up toward the penthouse.