#bruce banner x oc

[avengerscompound]

The Tower - Merchandise

The Tower - Merchandise

Series Masterlist

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 1394

Warnings:  none

Synopsis:  The kids have a lot of Avengers merchandise but there is one member of the family that's not represented.

Author’s Note: Requested by @thealfxmountains on Tumblr. You can send in your requests too.

Merchandise

Takes place between Unexpected and The Queen of Asgard.

Tony was the first one to buy any Avengers merchandise for the children.  He was always a fan of having Iron Man things around.  Framed Iron Man posters decorated both his lab and our home.  The day I’d found little Avengers onesies while out shopping with him had definitely stoked the fire when it came to dressing them in branding - specifically Iron Man branding.

So before the babies were even born, they had several Iron Man outfits, mobiles, and a couple of stuffed toys.

To balance it out, the others would all buy things for them too.  Some were keener on the concept than others but there was always Avengers merchandise around.  It was quite fun pointing out who each person was to the kids.  Thor loved that there were toys of him he could give the kids.  It made him feel less anxious about leaving and having them forget him.  There was always a plush toy of him they could cuddle in bed when they missed him.  Sam was quite into them too, and liked to get Falcon toys over clothing.  Clint loved Hawkeye merchandise that didn’t just feature his face, so the babies ended up with so many t-shirts with purple targets and chevrons on them.  Natasha had no strong feelings either way except that there should be products featuring everyone, so she’d make sure to try and balance it out by buying things representing all of the family.  Everyone else was different levels of neutral to uncomfortable with it, but even Bruce who found it embarrassing that there were even Bruce Banner toys in the first place, didn’t voice their concerns around the kids.

By the time Riley and Pietro were four they had a good collection of Avengers merchandise, mostly clothing, but also plush toys, Lego, and a full set of action figures that included both Hulk and Bruce.

The action figures became a firm favorite at that age.  The great thing about having Avengers as parents is the toys depicting them are equally at home playing fighting games as they were in the doll house playing family.

It was a delight seeing them play with them, whether it be taking them out to their slide and dropping them off the top or tucking them into bed in their doll house.  So many children play family with their toys.  Our kids got to play them with toys of their actual family.

Tony and I were playing with the kids when one very glaring issue was pointed out.

“Oh, Cap, give me so many kissies,” Tony said in a slightly high-pitched voice.  He pressed the heads of the Captain America toy and the Iron Man toy together and made kissing sounds.

“No, Daddy!” the twins yelled, and Riley pushed her hands between the two toys.  “No kissies,” she said.

Tony laughed. “What?!” he said, pretending to be surprised by the children’s reaction to making the toys kiss.  “But I love kissies.”  He leaned over and pepper wet kisses to my neck and cheek, making me squeal in surprise.  “See.  Kissy, kiss.”

“Too many kisses!” Riley squealed and pushed us apart again.

I lost it laughing and picked up Riley, kissing her face.  “Mommy!” she squealed.

“Daddy,” Pietro asked, in a soft little voice.

“Yeah, buddy?” Tony asked, picking him up and putting him into his lap.

“How come dares no mommy doll?” he asked.  “Dares all… the daddies.  Daddy Tony, daddy Bwuce, daddy Steeb, Daddy For, daddy…”

“Oh yeah, all of them.  And Mama, and Daj,” Tony agreed.

“Yeah!” Pietro said.  “But no Mommy!”

Tony clicked his tongue.  “That is an oversight,” he agreed.

“You could pretend that Barbie is mommy,” I suggested.

“No, Mommy!” Pietro laughed.  “You are Ewwy, not Barbie.”

Riley climbed off my lap and went to get one of the barbies.  She was completely naked and her hair was all over the place. “Barbie is too big.  See?” she said, holding her up beside the Iron Man figure.  When held side-by-side the Iron Man’s head was only at Barbie’s boobs.

“He’s not mad about that,” Tony joked.

I laughed and elbowed him.  “Behave yourself,” I scolded.  I reached over and ruffled Pietro’s hair.  “I’m not an Avenger, Piet,” I said.  “The others have toys because they’re all Avengers.”

“Only ‘vengers have toys?” he asked.

“That’s right,” I said. “Just the Avengers.”

“So Barbie is a ‘venger?” he asked.

Tony burst out laughing.  “She should be.”

“No,” I said to Pietro.  “There are toys of other things, but people want toys of the Avengers.  They don’t want toys of your mommy.”

“I want a toy of my mommy,” Pietro said, sticking his bottom lip out.

“Oh, no, Piet,” I said, giggling.  I squished his cheeks, leaned in, and kissed over his face.

Tony clicked his tongue, his foot tapping against his calf.  “You know what, Piet?  I’ll look into it.  Okay, kiddo?”

Pietro hugged him.  “Fank you, Daddy,” he said.

I all but forgot about that conversation not long after it happened.  The kids sometimes had funny ideas but they were little and didn’t usually hold onto them for long.  They certainly didn’t mention getting a mommy doll again.

A few months later, everyone was coming in for dinner when Tony came up with a package.  “Hey kiddos,” he came.  “Did your daddy Tony come through for you, or what?”

The twins looked up at him in unison. “Pwesent?”

“You spoiling them again, Tony?” Sam asked.

“We noticed a huge discrepancy a few months back while playing with the toys,” Tony said.  “I just made sure to rectify it.”

“Tony!  You didn’t!” I gasped.

He grinned at me.  “Oh, I sure did.”   He handed me the box with a flourish.  He’d already opened it so I pulled back the flaps and pulled out a square foam block.  Nestled inside was a little action figure, made in the same style as all the Avengers ones the kids owned.  The same size. The same points of articulation.  The same molded hair.  But this one had my wavy brunette hair and blue eyes, and it was wearing a Black Sabbath T-shirt and a skirt with a galaxy print.

My heart fluttered.  “Oh my god, Tony.  She’s wearing what I was wearing when I met you,” I said.  I honestly couldn’t believe he even remembered that.  It had only stuck in my head because of how woefully undressed I’d been for the Michelin Star restaurant he’d taken me to.

“Oh really?  I wonder how that happened?” he asked.  “I asked for an Iron Man T-shirt and red and gold booty shorts.”

I got up and sat in his lap, wrapping my arms around him and nuzzling his jaw.  “This is honestly one of the most romantic things you’ve ever done, and it is going to come back to you tenfold,” I whispered.

He patted my hip.  “Well, I do like the sound of that.”  He kissed my cheek and I hugged him a little tighter.  “But it’s not for you, dear.  That belongs to Riley and Pietro.”

I laughed and got off him, going over to the twins in their high chairs.

“What is it?” Steve asked as I showed the kids.

“The kids were wondering why there were toys of all their parents except for Elly.  So I commissioned Hasbro to make one of her,” Tony explained.

“Holy shit,” Sam said.  “That’s wild.  Nice work, Tony.”

Riley walked the toy across her tray to Pietro.  “Pied! Inside voices!” she said, pretending to make the toy talk.

Pietro started giggling. “Kay, mommy,” he whispered.

“Wow, she’s just like you,” Clint joked.  “What else does mommy say, Riley?”

“Ummm… she say,” she thought for a moment then held the doll out and rocked it back and forth.  “Wets go, beans.  Den we say, Mommy, we not beans - we’re kids!”

We all laughed.  “That is what happens,” Clint said.

“Can I see, Riley?” Wanda asked.

Riley held it up for the doll to show Wanda.  Wanda leaned in and took a close look.  “Wow, they did a good job.  That’s definitely you, Elly.” 

“Well, what do you think, kids?  Do you like her?” Tony asked.

Riley hugged the toy to her body.  “I wuv mommy!” she shouted.

Everyone laughed and Steve put his arm around my shoulders.  “We all love mommy too,” he said.

~ END ~

[cloverhasnobrain]

Guardian — Bruce Banner x oc

Hey nerds it's me, I made this!! No trigger warnings for this one I guess, just bad writing of southern accents lol. I found out about Guardian, the toy that Bruce's mom gave him when he was little, and that he lept him all throughout childhood and Ross tore him, and I couldn't resist writing on it😭

In which Miguel finds out Dr. Banner has a stuffed toy.

____________________________________

Los Diablos Missile Base, New Mexico

"I dunno, Sarge, this guy, he's just... weird. Talks to himself and all. Something uncanny about'im, I tell ya," grumbled Dickson, thumbing his moustache. It was a nice piece of facial hair, one must admit, auburn like his scarce curls, and thick, covering his whole upper lip.

"I agree, you know that he has all these purple suits he repeats all the time? Dude thinks he's Einstein, or something," a young private was eager to pipe in.

"Well, maybe he just seems weird to you 'cause your brain's smoother than a chicken breast," quipped Flores, hands in his uniform pockets.

"Either way, the man's still our superior, and Ross moreso. If he says for me to go fetch his pet scientist, I go fetch his pet scientist." His tone was final. He'd long past learned that speaking matter-of-factly seemed to be just the right amount of authority with the bunch of rednecks he had as fellow soldiers— not that he was much better either way. Wasn't too bossy, but not uncertain either; got you listened to.

He waved half-heartedly his goodbye to go get the damn scientist— Sgt. Flores didn't mind playing errand boy for the General, he was a soldier, after all.

His mates weren't too far off though, Banner was a bit of a weird dude. He could recall when he had been tasked with escorting him to the base upon his arrival; the doctor had been silent as a grave the entire time, stiff as a board, white as a ghost. Gave off the energy of a bit of a scaredy cat, in his opinion. The type that would bolt and bend over backwards to avoid conflict— the type that gave him trouble making sure no one walked all over.

"... you like music?", Miguel had even attempted at some conversation, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel of the camouflaged jeep.

"I suppose," had been the reluctant response.

"What kind?"

"I don't know."

Plain, much?, the sergeant thought, pursing his lips.

"You like country?"

"... not really."

Damn. He turned off the radio with a sigh, glaring out at the desert. Banner made no protest.

When the long trip had been finished, he'd uttered a quiet "thank you" and hurried off like he expected to get tripped on the way or something, Miggy rolled his eyes.

The memory didn't prompt any grudge, however, as he marched down the corridor, gave a charming smile and a little compliment to the new hairband on one of the communication officers responsible for intercepting the radio messages; they rarely got to go outside the base, so it was nice to comment when one of the ladies got a new piece of clothing— at least he thought so, and the flustered giggle seemed like enough confirmation.

"Yo Doc," he knocked on the door. No answer.

"Ayo Banner! Sergeant Flores!", he called again, and opened. Flores wasn't known for his patience. Or for being flowery.

Banner had been sat at the bed in his quarters, seemingly lost in thought, considering he jumped in his place and hid something behind himself.

"Sergeant Flores–"

Mig cocked an eyebrow.

"Whatchoo got there, doc?"

Banner blanched.

"Nothin'."

"It ain't nothin', now, since you're hidin' it."

"No, no, it's nothing," Banner shook his head emphatically, hiding the thing further. Miguel narrowed his eyes.

"Alright, can you at least tell me if it's a 'you are secretly a really bad spy and I gotta report you' thing or just a porn magazine?"

"God, it's not a porn magazine!", Bruce made a face, and sighed heavily. "It's just a dumb... stuffed toy. Stupid."

"I don't think it's stupid," the sergeant countered, frowning. "I like toys, too. Got a Captain America action figure in my stuff."

The physicist seemed to reluctantly mellow out a bit at the story, sighing and grudgingly sharing the ugly, mustard-yellow stuffed doll that looked like an alien, but its arm was ripped.

"His name is Guardian. I've had him since I was little."

"He's... cool..."

"Yeah, mock it already," Banner grumbled, but Mig protested.

"No, no, he really is, it's a cute lil' doll, just... d'you mean to have its arm be missin' like that?"

The question seemed to prompt a forlorn sigh— which seemed to be something Dr. Banner did often.

"No, no... General Ross ripped it accidentally, when he was going through my stuff..."

Miguel couldn't help the scowl.

"What a dick."

"It was an accident."

"Tell that to Guardian."

For some reason, Banner's face split into an odd little expression: his eyes crinkled, and mouth pulled back to show teeth, cheeks dimpling— so now the guy smiled?

Sam couldn't help but smile himself, at the oddly delightful chuckle the physicist seemed to conceal beneath the mild-mannered, awkward facade. It prompted an impulsive decision.

"Tell you what: I got needle and thread for mending my uniforms at the barracks. The General wanted you now, but when I get some free time, I'll meet up with you and sew your guardian's arm right up."

Another delightful little expression, those tired, paranoid eyes going big with surprise.

"You would do that for me?"

"Of course, I said so, didn't I?"

"... wow. Thank you, Sgt. Flores," Banner murmured, offering a bony hand as he made for the door.

"You can call me by my actual name, you know. Everyone calls me Miggy," he grinned as he took the hand.

_________________________________________

Fin!

If you would like to see another snippet, read more about Miggy or stick to canon just write me a request on the asks or direct message! I'd love to write any ideas y'all might have so don't be shy!

[neonshrike]

Thank you @carlosoliveiraa for tagging me for this amazing picrew! I got to make all of my OC ships with it.

Kurt x Lucille (MCU) - Bruce x Lucille (SITWW)

Dylan x Soleil (NYSM) - Lars x Jade (GB)

Tagging @captastra @inafieldofdaisies @socially-awkward-skeleton @imogenkol @rhettsabbott @marivenah @shellibisshe @cptcassian @thedeadthree @dickytwister @spaceratprodigy @cloudofbutterflies92 @teamhawkeye and anyone else who would like to make their own!

[dionysus-drabbles]

posting a Bruce Banner x reader smut tomorrow, absolutely BUZZING for you guys to see it! lmk if you want to be tagged 💋

[darsynia]

I Know No Other Way Than This | Ch 6

(Bruce Banner/OFC, Tony Stark & Bruce Banner Friendship, post-Avengers 1 Soulmate AU multichapter)

MCU Masterlist | Tony Stark Masterlist | Prev | Next

Summary: Bruce tried to forget he had soulmate words entirely, but on the day of the Chitauri attack, he returned from his stint as the Hulk to find that his black words had turned silver. His soulmate must have watched him shift from the Other Guy into himself and said them while he was unconscious… Length: 3.1k

No pressure tags: @themaradwrites @ronearoundblindly @stellar-solar-flare

Excerpt:

The sound of snapping fingers brought his eyes back to Tony. “Out with it. I can recognize a percolating idea when I see one, Brawn Valdez.”

“What?” Bruce couldn’t place the name.

“I forgot you’re a tea man. Juan Valdez. Colombian Coffee mascot. Stop trying to distract me from the idea you don’t want to tell me about. I’m dying on the vine, here.”

Chapter Six: A Sixth Sense

Bruce’s conscience bothered him more than he’d expected when he woke the next morning. Everything inside him told him that he had no right to get ahold of the surveillance footage of Cicely’s meeting with Natasha that morning, even if he was doing it for what he firmly believed was her benefit. He told JARVIS he didn’t want to watch, left Tony’s messages on read, and almost pretended he wasn’t home when Nat dropped by after lunch. That would be rude, though, so he split the difference and answered the door without moving aside to let her in.

“I don’t want to know,” he said, before she got a chance to say anything.

“Is that any way to greet a teammate?” she teased, leaning her body against the doorway. Her open, easy body language was a direct contrast to his (arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed, shoulders tense, legs close together). “You gonna ask me to come in, or are you planning to have this standoff in the hallway?”

“There’s… there’s no standoff. Thank you for doing what I think you did, maybe, this morning,” Bruce stammered. Being at odds with a woman as beautiful and deadly as Natasha did not make it easy to remain coherent. He wasn’t afraid of her, he just knew she had skills in manipulation he could only dream of. Unfortunately, she was also ridiculously perceptive.

“Wow, okay,” she said, grinning. “I see my choice to change out of the leather didn’t help much.”

“Could you cut me a break?” Bruce begged. “I’m trying to do the right thing. I can’t have anything to do with her--”

“--which is why you’re arguing about it in a residential hallway.”

Bruce couldn’t help smiling sheepishly at that. “Give me, I don’t know, a day?” he suggested, feeling like all his intelligence was null and void if he couldn’t apply it to deflect her mind games.

“Can I at least tell you what color her hair probably is by now?” Natasha asks with a glimmer of amusement in her eyes.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” he said, hoping his tone carried the right kind of polite finality. It wasn’t possible to tell from her reaction, because as Bruce shut the door, she actually waved her fingers at him in the gap.

He walked over to the wall beside the refrigerator and rested a hand on it, dipping his head down to settle his mind. Two sets of instincts warred in him-- one to learn everything possible about Cicely’s situation to better protect her, the other to disengage entirely from Cicely… to better protect her. The hidden third option was to disengage from the dilemma for a little while, and Bruce reached for that one.

He pushed off from the wall, then turned to smile at it. Bruce had lived so much of his life frugally, if not in dire financial straits, and it was nice to live in a space where every single possible square inch of the walls didn’t need to be in use.

If only Tony Stark’s generosity extended towards giving Bruce a break from all of the soulmate pressure.

“JARVIS?” Bruce said, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses.

“I am here at your service, Doctor Banner.”

“Is it possible for you to do some more intensive monitoring of Miss Besnard and only inform me if there’s something of concern? I’m trying to strike a balance here, and having access to all of the information is clearly not working,” Bruce confessed.

It was a good thing that Stark’s AI couldn’t access his dreams. Ironically, Bruce’s fixation on Cicely translated to guilt even in his own dreams, which often meant he woke up in the middle of them-- thus guaranteeing he’d remember their content. It was a frustrating, entrancing Catch-22.

“Yes, that is possible. Would you prefer to choose the parameters, or would you like me to calculate those myself and offer you several options to choose from?”

“Tony has you running the tower, his home back in Malibu, and his Iron Man suit, doesn’t he?” Bruce asked, chuckling a little. “I’m okay with trusting you. Just let me know if she’s in danger. From someone other than me, I mean.”

“To be clear, Doctor: are you asking me to avoid telling you when I believe that Miss Besnard is in danger from your own behavior?”

“Maybe that depends on whether your model for danger is Tony or not,” Bruce said, more to himself than the AI. “No,” he decided. “You’d better tell me then, too.”

“Very good, sir.”

That sounded a lot like a pat on the back for good behavior. Bruce wondered how long he’d have to stay here before the benefits of the extra space and amenities outweighed the drawbacks.

Now that he had set aside the sense of responsibility he had to watch out for her himself, Bruce could focus on the threat itself.

“JARVIS?” he said, heading for the computer. “Can you access any employment and enrollment records for jobs I’ve held and conferences I’ve attended or spoken at since the accident? I’m hoping we can cross-reference that with New York City residency as a starting point, and go from there. I want to find out who’s using Cicely as a pawn in their beef with me.”

“I will place the names in a new file on your desktop. The search should take a few hours, perhaps you should take a walk? I would suggest a visit to Mr. Stark’s lab, but as it happens, he’s just completed a conversation about soulmates with Ms. Potts. I expect you’d like to avoid being notified about the conditions you’ve just asked me to monitor so early in your day.”

It sounded an awful lot like JARVIS was deploying calming suggestions on the off chance he might be getting upset. Bruce didn’t know how to feel about that. “You are a mixed blessing, that’s for sure, JARVIS.”

“Thank you, Doctor Banner.”

It was almost ten at night when Tony walked into the lab wearing a fancy suit. Bruce was just finishing up a scan of an alien weapon. Technically, this was Tony’s space, but that was because Bruce had moved over after Tony got lazy about walking back and forth to discuss things with him. Tony had put aside the component he was working on to design an apparatus he said would serve as a high-res holographic video phone. When the eccentric billionaire started measuring him for something he called ‘the carapace,’ Bruce had just packed up and moved.

Now, it looked like Tony was shedding his own carapace. Every ten seconds, he took something else off, draping each piece (silk tie, belt, suit jacket, and so forth) on whatever surface was nearby. Bruce half expected that he’d see Pepper come by looking for him and start following the trail of discarded garments. Finally, down to a white wife beater and black, unbelted dress pants, Tony threw himself onto a chair and glared at his socks.

“Successful fundraiser, then?” Bruce asked, laying on the sarcasm.

“I should have paid Clint to wear the suit and pretend to have Laryngitis,” Tony groaned. “You don’t know how lucky you are. I am the last person you’d call tactful, and Pepper won’t let me drink at those things. Worst part? I don’t even think it’s working.”

‘Lucky’ was a stretch, but Bruce knew he had a certain anonymity in his current form. “You can’t wrangle a suit for Rogers and bring him next time?” The city was only willing to fund so much clean-up. Tony and Pepper had been holding dinner party meet and greets to ask some of the more prominent residents to help, above and beyond what he and the company had donated already.

Tony looked up, aghast.

“No, not an Iron Man suit, I meant a cloth one. You know, for schmoozing.”

“Are you kidding? He works ten hours a day out there. I’d have to pour him into it, and then he’d just make me look bad with the aw shucksing.” Tony threw his head back, letting his arms go limp beside him, hands dangling against the arms of the chair. “I can’t believe I used to be jazzed up after this kind of shit.”

Bruce thought his real luck was that almost everything he’d been involved with outside the tower, even regarding Cicely, had occurred in parts of the city that weren’t as damaged. It wasn’t like he could show up at a party as the Hulk and make nice, though, and they weren’t learning as much as he’d hoped from the Chitauri remnants left behind in the devastation. 

He ran a hand through his hair, pausing halfway through at a stinging thought: his life had been materially made better by the attack.

He had actual friends and a support system, now. A place to live. A place to retreat to if he hulked out. Numerous labs. Work that felt worthwhile (despite their lack of breakthroughs in understanding the alien technology), and a state-of-the-art place to do it in. He’d also found his soulmate, so that lingering uncertainty had also been removed, despite being replaced by a few others. Bruce was grateful-- but he also felt guilty.

Surely there was something he could do? Something that didn’t require him to solidify the public’s understanding that he was both scientist and monster? Sure, a simple Google search would reveal his ‘secret identity,’ he’d even watched Cicely perform one. But that was a far cry from stepping in front of a cadre of reporters and admitting it, like Tony had.

“You’re thinking so hard it’s making my head hurt,” Tony complained.

“I’m just trying to come up with something I can do to help besides hole up here and enjoy myself. Feels like cheating,” Bruce admitted.

“People give Cap shit for his excruciating morality, but you’re the dark horse, I think. What, were you raised Catholic? Pretty sure we’re supposed to enjoy life.”

Bruce laughed. “No way are you qualified to judge.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. There was a ghost of an idea he was mentally circling, but it was risky.

The sound of snapping fingers brought his eyes back to Tony. “Out with it. I can recognize a percolating idea when I see one, Brawn Valdez.”

“What?” Bruce couldn’t place the name.

“I forgot you’re a tea man. Juan Valdez. Colombian Coffee mascot. Stop trying to distract me from the idea you don’t want to tell me about. I’m dying on the vine, here.”

“Fine, fine,” Bruce said, grabbing his glasses from the desk to put them on. He always thought better while wearing them, a kind of Pavlovian reaction. “It’s not fully fledged, and it depends on what’s left to do, debris-wise.” He paused, trying to gather his thoughts. There was a glimmer of something useful that was dangling just out of his mental reach, caught on a previous train of thought as it chugged away. He’d been remembering how Cicely had looked him up-- there. “So, there’s a ton of footage of us fighting that day. Heroic fighting, maybe, but we destroyed a lot in the process.”

“Destruction I am now tasked with paying to fix, yes.”

“What if there was a way to do some Search Engine Optimization and grass-roots fundraising at the same time? Some of the large pieces of debris are still in place because it’s too dangerous to move them. They’ve got to get all of the smaller stuff first, right?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re probably going to have to rent a crane. Maybe two. Maybe two dozen.” Tony sighed.

“What if instead, we make a flashy webpage promising that for every funding goal reached, Iron Man and Hulk will show up at a clean-up site and do some of that work? It’ll save the cost of the machines, and who cares if it’s a little dangerous? What could happen to me? Nothing permanent.” Bruce said, actually getting excited.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Tony asked, his head practically sideways. There was an overlay of happiness on his face that hadn’t been there before, though. “I mean, can Hulk do PR junkets?”

“I don’t think you’d want him to. That’s why it should be both of us. You’re the bait for the techies, I’m bait for the Mythbusters crowd. You’re the voice, I’m the smash,” Bruce said. The more he thought about the idea, the more he thought it just might work. It was a shame it was already dark outside; he was full of energy, all of a sudden. He wanted to go look at some of the sites, pick out what chunks he could move with his alter ego. There was almost no chance he could get Hulk to drop chunks of building neatly enough into a heavy-duty vehicle, but there were a few options that might work.

For once, Tony was quiet. Bruce looked over, pulling his mind from the idea of running simulations that tested how much force some of the more sturdy transport trucks could withstand. “What?”

“I thought you hated being Hulk.”

“I do. But what I hate more is feeling responsible for some of that stuff without a way to make it right,” Bruce said quietly. “You and Fury, you’ve given me a new framing device. Hulk as a tool.”

Tony burst out laughing.

He really was a child, sometimes. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah.” Tony stretched and launched himself out of the chair as if that was the only way to get himself moving. “The SEO thing, that’s smart,” he said. “I’m all for filling the web with footage of us fixing shit instead of breaking it.” His gaze turned coy as he looked over at Bruce. “Think your girl might get curious and show up?”

Bruce pushed down the little surge of possessiveness that reared up on hearing his phrasing. “She’s not mine, Tony. I don’t even know what her words are.”

“Legally, there’s a claim there, Cold Feet. Generally doesn’t mean anything until it’s acknowledged, but take it from someone who knows: when my words turned silver, that went into my medical file. Pepper’s too. And once we knew whose they were, that became a fact of record.”

Bruce stared at him. “I… I didn’t know that,” he whispered, stunned.

“Yeah, be glad the ballot measure to make it illegal to lie about whose they are didn’t pass about ten years back,” Tony told him, draping various articles of clothing over an arm and toeing into his shoes. “It’s been national law for about twelve years that your soulmate has certain automatic rights, unless legally severed, including hospital and jail visitation.” He narrowed his eyes in confusion at Bruce, and Bruce felt his ears start to heat up in embarrassment. “You’re really surprised by this! You, the man who seems to have some inexplicable, arcane ruleset about even coming into contact with your soulmate? You never even looked into this? What, did you just stick your fingers in your ears and hum?”

“Basically,” Bruce admitted. He reached out for his rolling desk chair and sat down, hard. The chair rolled back a bit from the force of it.

“You really need to--”

“Yeah, getting that now,” he interrupted Tony. “Soulmates don’t get medical power of attorney, do they?” he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“No, but it’s fast-tracked for them.”

“Well, you’ve done it,” Bruce said. His heart was beating so quickly that he wondered if he should make his way down to the bunker, and his mind was similarly racing. The guilt he’d felt in regards to Cicely Besnard had doubled, something he hadn’t even expected to be possible.

She was absolutely in danger because of him. Because of his willful ignorance.

And you call yourself a scholar?

“What did I do? Perform the first verbal lobotomy? You look like you’re about to sneeze your brains all over my lab floor, Banner.”

“Changed my mind. We can’t let her stay at her apartment. If she’s being watched because someone wants to use her to force through some kind of medical power of attorney--” He broke off at the sound of Tony’s gasp.

“Shit. You’re right. JARVIS, is Clint Barton in position to watch Ms. Besnard?”

“He is indeed, sir.”

Tony’s hand was on the door to leave the lab. “She’s safe for now. I’ll set up a few options for housing, here and at a hotel I have pull at. Tomorrow we’ll figure out how to persuade her to accept a temporary move, and I’ll get on the fundraising idea you had. Try to get some sleep?”

For a second, Bruce didn’t even know what fundraising thing Tony was talking about. He was too worried about the amount of research into soulmates he needed to do ASAP. There was a little spark of excitement deep down inside him that threatened to spread. Tony’s meaning finally sank in as Bruce watched Tony trying to get his foot to slide properly into his shoe while balancing on one foot, half of his outfit precariously draped on his free arm.

“Tony, there’s no way I could possibly--”

“Are you still missing the cues, here?” Tony interrupted, his voice abrupt and combative but somehow still affectionate. He held out both hands like a scale, his still-draped silk tie swaying with the movement. “You dislike your alter ego, but Hulk helping out is one of the best ways to make up for the damage we caused. You stayed away from people for years to keep them safe, but you’re the happiest and most secure you’ve been for a long time in the middle of New York City. You run from your soulmate, but she’s safer here, where we can all protect her from whoever means her harm.” Tony let his hands drop, and the tie fluttered to the ground. “Did you ever consider that maybe your instincts are actually terrible?"

Bruce laughed helplessly. “That is one of the least encouraging things anyone’s ever told me, but somehow you come out looking like a great friend for saying it.”

“Sweet talker,” Tony said, blowing him an air kiss and heading out the door.

When he was alone, Bruce leaned over and rested his arms on his legs, letting out a long breath. His instincts were telling him that they shouldn’t wait, that someone should go right now and persuade Cicely to pack up a few days’ worth of clothes and get out of there. Then again, Tony’s words were pretty illustrative. He spun the chair around to the computer and logged out. On his way out the door, he picked up Tony’s red tie and wrapped it around his hand absently as he waited in the elevator. 'She’ll be fine,' he told himself.

Next chapter, Bruce is forced into the very situation he's always tried to avoid--speaking his Words to his soulmate.

to be continued...

[braveclementine]

Dates and Depression

Warnings: 18+readersonly, mentions of smut/sex, angst

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OCs, which consist of Penny Fury, Elizabeth Nelson, Elijah Chan, Katya Venice, Violetta Moscow, Lan Le, Josh, Trang Tien, Ahni Jallow, Mai Ito, and Ghaida Kashual as well as other OCs that will come up throughout the story.

Penny's date with Steve, Bucky, and Sam was not the only date that she ended up going on in the short time between the spy being found and Christmas. 

Steve, Bucky, and Sam took her to a gorgeous café restaurant. They stayed for almost two hours, before going through a strip mall that was putting up early Christmas decorations. Then they came home and went to bed together in hot, steamy sex. 

Natasha had been next to ask her on a date, but a few days before the actual date, she went into labor. It was a difficult one and Penny and Vision were very worried about her. They were also the only ones who were allowed to stay by her side. 

Natasha's body was not meant to be having children and it was only doing so because of magic. They ended up giving her a c-section, which meant a long time for recovery so they pushed the date backwards. 

Natasha and Visions' little girl was absolutely adorable. She had Natasha's flaming red hair, but had Visions eyes. Well, his human form eyes at the very least. She was named Anastasia Yelena Romanoff. 

Then Rhodey, who made good on his promise on giving her a wonderful date. They went to the movies which was doing old reruns and they watched The Wizard of Oz in the theaters. It was packed full of people who wanted to see the movie in the theaters for the first time. Since it was a cheap movie, they simply sold tickets and people sat in the aisles or on the stairs, anywhere there was space. 

The chairs were comfy though and Rhodey sat down, before pulling her in his lap and they cuddled the entire time. It was a movie experience that Penny had never been in before. People singing along to songs and cheering and yelling. 

Rhodey took her a restaurant afterwards where they just got dessert to split and share, cuddled up together on one side of the booth. Rhodey was even cheesy enough to feed her off of his spoon, but she loved it. Especially when she got to tease him, licking his finger as she did so and he turned red under his dark cheeks. 

When they got home, they went up to his room and spent the night together with almost no sleep, but a lot of satisfaction regardless. 

Loki took her up to Asgard for his one-on-one date. They strolled through the open markets while the normal citizens looked at Loki in awe and Penny in curiosity. Loki watched Penny and whatever she squealed over as beautiful or cute, he would either buy or sometimes haggle for. 

Penny would have scolded him for haggling, but realized that he haggled in normal things from Midgard, like Tony's tools, or Midgardian books. 

Loki explained as they walked, eating some sort of Asgardian dessert made of fruit and icing in a cone. "The people of Asgard long for things from Midgard. Odin may have lifted his rule of being in relationships with soulmates from Midgard and other realms, but there are still things that Midgardians have made that aren't allowed on Asgard." 

"Won't they get in trouble then?" Penny asked anxiously, looking over at two little girls that Loki had given barbie dolls to. They looked so happy to have them as well, running off with them into their house. 

"No." Loki said. "Odin is aware that we are visiting the markets. He will know that the Midgardian things came from us. Heimdall will also make sure that none of them suffer or are punished." 

With that comfort, Penny was able to relax more and even haggled some of her own possessions, which was actually quite fun. 

They did go back up to the castle for dinner, where she was able to see Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, and Sif again and the six of them ate together and talked. 

"Heimdall is miserable." Fandral complained. "He needs a good fuck." 

Hogun chuckled but Sif rolled her eyes. 

"Yes, well, let him be a dumbass." Loki replied dryly. 

Fandral gasped in mock shock. "My word. The prince has used foul language!" 

Penny started to giggle while Loki glared daggers at Fandral. 

"Fair lady, come away from the uncouth man." Fandral declared and Penny giggled harder. Sif even cracked a smile while both Volstagg and Hogun laughed loudly. 

"I hope you don't value your hands Fandral." Loki said in a bored tone. "You're very close to losing them." 

Despite the bantering, that was the date where Penny ended up in Fandrals' room on Asgard in an orgy with the rest of them, Loki orchestrating most of what everyone did. It was definitely a turn on, watching all of these mighty warriors listen and follow Lokis' orders. Especially when it was for giving her pleasure. 

She had a variety of other dates with Tony and Stephen, then Violetta, then Clint and Bruce did a double date with her and Natasha, the four of them together as a square date. Pietro did one and then Wanda and Vision together. 

Elijah took her on a date after he was sure that Elizabeth was stable on her feet. The ice superhero had taken to being very secluded afterwards. Penny didn't blame her in the slightest, nor did she blame Elijah for putting all of his focus on her. 

She also became a little surprised when repeat people came back for dates and soon she was going on dates three or four times a week. 

She realized soon that a lot of their time had been sex and worrying about the spies and keeping each other safe. Now that the spy and the enemy was dead, there was time for relaxation and there was time for things like this. Going out without an entire crowd. Private dates, small things. Really getting to know each other. 

She definitely felt much more prepared as they started going into the Christmas season and they had to start looking for presents for each other. They went to the same mall that they had gone the first round. 

Penny found her presents much quicker this year, including presents for Bucky and Steve through what she had learned about them during the dates. 

They slowly started to regroup after an hour or two. She saw that Violetta and Katya were in line for Auntie Annes. Natasha and Wanda were just coming out of Dillards', a baby carrier in Natasha's hands with the cover pulled down so her baby was protected from sight. She refused to let the child out of her sight, no matter what. 

Penny herself had Chamber with her, mostly because it was his first Christmas and she wanted to show the mall around to him, even if he wouldn't remember it in years to come. 

She found Elizabeth in another shop, with a few presents, but definitely not enough for everyone. She looked overwhelmed and Penny immediately felt guilty for leaving her by herself. 

"Hey, you doing okay?" 

"Yeah. I wrote a list, I just don't know what stores hold which items." Elizabeth said, fingers fumbling as she pulled out a neatly written down list. She had crossed off for people she had the presents for. Penny also couldn't help but notice that Steve and Bucky's spaces were empty. 

"What do you get Steve and Bucky?" Elizabeth asked desperately. 

Penny found the irony humorous. Last year she was standing here asking Elizabeth what to get Steve and Bucky. Now the circumstances had been flipped. 

"Well, you usually get them something from their time period. Like last year you got them records- which are like song discs. You could probably ask Viden if there's anything in particular they're hoping for though." Penny offered. 

"Mm, maybe." Elizabeth said hesitantly and they moved on through the stores. 

Clint and Bucky took Penny out on another date for the Christmas holiday. It was bitterly cold, but Bucky was warm and they were inside most of the time anyways. 

It was turning to be one of the best years of her life. 

🏧🚪 𝐏ｏV ς𝓱άＮ𝕘𝕖 💥 🔥

Elizabeth's depression had hit an all time low. She had been feeling off ever since Steve had left her room and she knew that she still had the babies. The problem was, there was a little baby that was teetering on the edge of death. 

She had secretly seen a doctor about it with Katya, because Katya was the one that could keep all of her secrets from anyone, including Elijah. The doctor said she needed to eat plenty of food, keep her fluids up, and not do any strenuous activity, including sex, until cleared by her. 

Well, the last part was easy. She hadn't even seen anyone in the past four days besides Katya. She was keeping solely to her room except early mornings when no one was awake, to cook breakfast, or when F.R.I.D.A.Y. gave her the all clear and she would go and see her kids. 

She wasn't sure why she had sunk so low into depression. It was a state of feeling like she was constantly on the edge of crying or feeling nothing at all. Days passed easily, mostly because she just slept through all of them. 

She felt isolated from the others. She wasn't sure if she blamed it on Penny or the spy. But it felt like ever since the spy and her mother had been killed, that the others sort've stopped rallying around her. They had put all of their attention towards Penny and she suddenly felt like. . . like. . . like she had been loved on just because she needed protection. Now that the threat was gone, they didn't need to protect her anymore. 

Even Elijah hadn't been around. He had taken Penny out on three dates so far though. Elizabeth wondered when the last time he took her on a date was. 

But then again, she had always figured ever since she learned about this sort've thing, that it was just sex. The love was one sided. Go figure. 

At the same time, she had also purposely stayed away from them to stop herself from giving in to sex, so really, the isolation was her fault. But the isolation was still giving her anxiety and making her doubt. Even if the doubts were because she was keeping them away and not necessarily because they wanted to stay away. But she also felt that they were staying away, because they hadn't tried to see why she'd locked them out, and it was a whole complex cycle of psychological feelings and emotions. 

She did start having morning sickness, which was super fun. It also worried her and she went to another meeting with the doctor. The baby was a little more stable, but not by much and Elizabeth's blood pressure needed to come down, but she didn't have a way of not stressing. 

She tried reading, which would sometimes work. Sometimes she could lose herself in a good book. Until she would hit the romance part and everything just sort've seemed to crumble again. 

She started to research other things. Specifically about Cryo. If it would freeze the babies growing as well so that they could find a safe way to save her baby without her risking its' life. But there wasn't sufficient information on it to begin with. 

She didn't know what she was going to do. 

🍿👆 ᵖᗝ𝓥 Č𝒽卂𝓝ģＥ 🖕🍩

Penny laughed with the others at the stupidity of the movie. Well, except Katya who seemed to be in a bad mood. She had a notebook in her lap and was making marks in it, looking frustrated. Clint had picked up on her mood and was trying to look at the book, but every time he looked over, she snapped it closed. 

"Mr. Stark, Director Fury is here." F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced. 

"Uh huh." Tony said uncaringly, his head in Pennys' lap. Penny was stroking his hair while relaxing against Pietro. 

It was only two minutes later when her father came striding into the Community room, "Where's Elizabeth?" 

"Hi Dad, nice to see you too." Penny joked, earning laughs from the others around her- except Katya. 

Fury rolled his eye. "Elizabeth hasn't answered my text and I sent it four hours ago. I just-" 

Katya started to laugh. Except it was more bitter than that. "God, Fury, I love you." 

Everyone looked at her. 

"Four hours and you come check on her. Meanwhile, the last time anyone here has seen her was five days ago." Katya continued to smirk, standing up and grabbing the notebook she's been writing in. "Considering that, you might actually be able to get to see her." 

Fury raised an eyebrow and looked at the rest of them, who looked rather frozen in their seats all of a sudden. 

"Really?" Fury asked. "You're telling me that she's gone through a third traumatic experience and they still haven't learned from the first two in thinking she doesn't need any help?" 

"She doesn't need help." Katya replied scathingly. "In fact, she just thinks she was right about the whole thing, in thinking she was just this damsel in distress and now that the threats gone, she's not needed anymore." 

"That's not-" Bucky started but Katya turned on him. 

"You haven't even seen her in nine days James so just don't." 

 "Hey." Clint said, sounding hurt. "I saw her today and yesterday and the day before. I've been checking on her every day but recently she's always been asleep so I haven't gotten to talk to her." 

"How have you even been seeing her?" Katya grilled. "She coded F.R.I.D.A.Y. so only those with a certain password can even get in." 

"The vents." Clint said softly. 

"F.R.I.D.A.Y.-" Tony started but Katya bit into him next. 

"No." Katya snapped. "You don't get to override Elizabeth's command on F.R.I.D.A.Y. now. You can't just force yourself into her life after being out of it for sixteen days Anthony. None of you do. Except maybe Clint at this point." She turned back to Fury. "I'll go up with you. You'll need me for the password." 

Her and Fury left. Elijah was the next to leave, just jumping out the window and taking to the skies. Trang slipped out of the room next, slamming the door behind her to go to the lab. Violetta and Ghaida left next and Penny noticed Loki was suddenly gone as well. 

"Can you feel her?" Steve asked Wanda. 

"Yes." Wanda said softly. "She's. . . sort've just numb. She's stressed about something as well." 

"I'm going down to the gym." Bucky grunted, heading for the elevators. Natasha and Steve got up and joined him. 

And the rest of them just sat there in guilty silence as the movie continued to play on the screen.

[eddysocs]

Feeling Flushed — Bruce Banner x OC

Summary: Naomi and Bruce are out getting lunch when Naomi gets it in mind to tease him a little. Just when she’s getting him all worked up, in walks a few of the Avengers.

Word Count: 480

Warnings: Fondling, foreplay, semi public groping

Bruce always gets anxious when he waits. The Avengers are notorious for being late when it’s not a world ending emergency. Naturally, these two things do not go together very well. However, Naomi —the calming force in Bruce's life— was now there to help ease these downtimes they had before the rest of the team would show. Only they didn’t always have the same idea of how to do that.

It had started out innocent enough. Naomi's hand had rested on his thigh in a present and reassuring manner. It gave him something to focus on, that and her light and distracting conversation. But somewhere in it all, the conversation turned to less mundane topics, and her hand began to move up his thigh.

Hidden below the booth, Naomi began to rub him through his pants, hoping to dispel his nervous tension, but it had only served to make Bruce squirm. Naomi rested her chin on Bruce's shoulder and whispered, "Do you want me to stop?"

Part of him was dying to say yes because doing this out in public was not something he’d ever imagined being into, but Naomi continued to rub as she waited for him to answer, and the sensation was just too good to resist. "N-no. Please don’t stop," he choked out.

So Naomi continued. Several minutes later and she could see it was getting more difficult for Bruce to keep a straight face. She considered stopping on her own but—

Before she could finish her thought, the cafe's bell rung and in walked Tony followed by Natasha and Clint. Both Naomi and Bruce noticed their arrival at the same time. Knowing they were about to be caught in the act, Bruce's cheeks flushed.

"Is that a blush I see," Tony asked, lowering his sunglasses and examining his friend's face. Then he took a moment to look him and Naomi over, piecing two and two together when noticed the placement of her arm as it disappeared below the table. Tony was no fool. He knew what they’d been up to. "I’m begging you two to get a room," he said, shaking his head with mock disapproval, though a knowing smile lingered on his face.

Bruce didn’t know how to reply, wasn’t even sure if he could, actually, if it came down to it. Luckily, Naomi had it all under control. "Let me take you home and worship you like you deserve," she whispered. There was a chance that Tony had overheard, but she didn’t care.

Bruce nodded in reply, and the two of them slid out of the booth and headed for the door. "You guys have got this, right," Naomi asked, calling back to the three remaining Avengers.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Natasha answered, trying to figure out the reason for their abrupt departure.

"Don’t ask," Tony told her, as the door closed behind them.

Forever Tag: @baubeautyandthegeek, @kmc1989, @curious-kittens-ocs, @fanficanatic-tw, @kissykissymouth, @gcthvile

Naomi Day: @adrianas-ocs-and-such, @dollvi3e

[elu-is-reading]

I haven't slept yet so it's still technically Valentine's Day. This took me the whole day but it was so worth it. I think this might even be my best work yet or at least one of the top ones. Personally, I love the background. Maybe practise really helps you get better, go figure.

[pine-needle1144]

Lab Beakers, Vines, and Vibranium

Temporary spot for this Marvel, Non-Canon, multi-chapter fic. If you know me in real life--no you don't. I'll deny it to the grave. No one will believe you.

Anyways.

Multi-chapter fic being posted with both an OC and as an X Reader, whatever floats your boat.

MCU Bruce Banner x OC x Steve Rogers

My poor excuse of a Summary: Bruce Banner and Tony's cousin are playing God with biological exploration at the Stark Tower. What could possibly go wrong. (Steve Rogers doesn't come into play until later so please hold on for his debut). Oh no, I hope no one falls in love with each other and creates drama. I sure hope individual trauma and miscommunications aren't afoot. I sure hope no random threats appear and make things chaotic. That would be sooo crazy.

Warnings: None yet (If you know me--which you don't--and I'm your boss, you're obligated to skip the smut chapters. I don't wanna hear no ifs ands or buts about it.)

Chapter Two

                                         

The lab was bright and full of natural light. Two out of the four walls were completely glass, the city on full display. It was even prettier at night when all the lights of the city twinkled. Being so high up in the tower made the view beautiful and the noise of the bustling streets almost non-existent. A perfect work environment in Ellie’s opinion. 

Ellie turned her back to the large wall of glass, breathing in the rest of the room. The lab was like a blank canvas. Tony had done a good job fixing things up for her, leaving the rest up to her. It was a separate lab from his own, her own space. Her own academic independence. 

There were four large white tables in the room, some basic tech for pulling up notes, diagrams, etc. Cabinets and a large counter on the farthest wall near the sliding door. She made note of the eyewash and emergency shower station, all brand new equipment. Tony truly outdid himself. He must be really confident in her. The thought made her stomach flip. She’s determined to make him proud–-proud to be her cousin. Proud to share a name. That's not to say he isn't proud already--but she wants there to be not a shadow of a doubt.  

The loud clatter of Ellie dropping her clipboard snapped her out of her thoughts. “Shit.” She hissed, quickly bending down and snatching it off the ground. She flattened out the now bent pages, glossing over her list of tools she’ll need from Tony to get the ball rolling as well as a short list of some supplies for the first phase of her experiments she wants to tackle. She was itching to get started. 

Tony had texted her last night saying that they had landed and would be meeting with her in the lab the next morning. She was practically bursting at the seams with excitement at the thought of being around someone so like-minded, someone she’d been practically begging her cousin to meet. 

Ellie had so many things to say, so many questions, and so many ideas drafted up for Doctor Banner to see. She couldn’t wait for him to pick them apart with her–if he agreed to be onboard, of course. She tried not to think about it too much, knowing the rejection would crush her–but how could it not take over every corner of her mind? These experiments are her first real steps into the science world outside of school. 

“Knock, knock,” Tony said as he walked through the automatic sliding doors of the lab, a big grin stretching across his face. 

Ellie spun around to face him, her dark curls whipping behind her as she lowered the clipboard to her side. “Took you long enough.” Her eyes fell on the man following behind her cousin into the room. 

“Ellie,” Tony gestured to the man who moved to stand beside him. “Doctor Banner, as requested.” He stepped aside so that the two could shake hands. 

“Wonderful to see you, Doctor Banner.” Eleanor smiled at him, allowing her eyes to graze over him as she extended her hand out to him. She soaked in his deep brown eyes and his soft features. He looked tired–yet intrigued and at attention. Her eyes traced over his curls, some with gray hairs peeking through. 

Bruce firmly held her hand, giving her a confident shake. “Likewise, Miss Stark.” He took note of how soft her hand was and how her fingertips lingered against his palm as she pulled away.

“I’ll let you two discuss, I’ll be with Pepper going over some blueprints. You know where to find me.” Tony spoke confidently as he turned on his heels, leaving the two alone.

Ellie leaned against one of the four large lab tables, setting her clipboard down. “I’ll admit it, Doctor Banner, I didn’t think you’d come all this way to meet with me.” Eleanor chuckled, looking over his purple button-down shirt, tucked into gray slacks. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, giving a clear view of his forearms and silver watch.

“Tony was definitely persuasive. He spoke very highly of you, I just simply had to speak with you myself.” Bruce gestured towards her clipboard. “Lemme see what you’ve got.”

Ellie flipped through the pages, stopping on one of the few experiments she was planning to explore. She handed it over, scanning his face and carefully analyzing his features as he read her bullet points.

Bruce hummed as he read down the page. He flipped through a few more pages, reading some ramblings, glancing over some diagrams, and glossing over a few blueprints. “My, quite some ambitious things on here, Miss Stark.” He flipped back to her most recent page. “And you want to source most of this from–”

“Plants.” Eleanor smiled, trying to contain her excitement. “I believe we can genetically modify the DNA of certain plants to execute what I’m looking to create.”

Bruce nodded, placing the clipboard down on the table. “If even one of these ideas in here work–more than just us or Stark Industries will want their hands on it. Shield will want this on their table if they get even a whiff of what we’ll have going on in this lab.” Bruce rubbed his chin as he went over the list again in his head. “Some of your potential methods are��insane, to put it simply. Insane with unpredictable outcomes.”

Ellie clicked her tongue, swiping the clipboard down the table and out of his line of sight. “I suppose I understand if this subject matter is bordering on concepts you don’t think you’ll be capable of–”

“Are you implying this is beyond my caliber?” Bruce raised a brow, taking a few steps towards her until their faces were mere inches apart. He hastily reached past her, sliding the clipboard back to himself.

“That depends.” Eleanor glanced over his face. Soaking in how his eyes crinkled at the corners, the bridge of his nose scrunched, his lips pressed into a thin line–how he looked so wound up and it only made her want to push his buttons even more. “Do I sense intimidation, Doctor Banner?”

Bruce fought back the smile punching and thrashing its way to the surface. “When do we start?” 

Ellie leaned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes at her new coworker. “Tomorrow morning at 9.”

“Deal.” He tapped his fingers on the clipboard before turning away from her and heading towards the door. 

Ellie raised a brow, letting her arms fall to her sides. “Where are you off to?”

Bruce peaked over his shoulder as he reached the sliding door. “Well, Tony needs to show me my room, doesn’t he? Besides, all my belongings are in the lounge down the hall. I should probably unpack since I’ll be living here for a while.” 

Ellie smiled and nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Doctor Banner.”

Bruce turned his back to her. “See you in the morning, Miss Stark.” He lifted a hand to wave goodbye as he turned out of sight. 

~*~

Tony grunted as he let Bruce’s last bag slam on the floor. “Jesus, Banner, what did you pack? A bunch of goddamn rocks?” He pressed his hands onto his lower back, bending backward to crack his spine. “What a damn workout.”

Bruce rolled his eyes as he kicked the living room door shut. “Tony, you fly around in a hunk of metal, don’t act like my luggage is heavy.”

Tony laughed. “I’m a little out of practice, I guess.” He stood up straight, giving Bruce a firm pat on the shoulder. “Communal lounge and kitchen are on floor twenty-three. If you can’t find me, just yell for FRIDAY.” Tony looked around the living room. “I know you’re probably not interested, but if you want to like…decorate or whatever–feel free.”

Bruce laughed as he stuck his hands in his pockets. “That won’t be necessary, you know I’m a minimalist.”

“Yeah, yeah–the offer still stands. Oh, and before I forget, there’s always food in the communal fridge.” He shot Bruce a smile before heading towards the door. “Get settled, she’s gonna have you running laps tomorrow. She already gave me a list of shit she needs.” Tony laughed. “You’re gonna love her.”

“If she’s anything like you, geez, I’m not so sure about that.” Bruce teased.

“Har har.” Tony deadpanned, swinging the door open. “I’ll check in on you later.” He gently swung the door shut behind him, leaving Bruce alone in the huge apartment.

He assumes that’s how he should refer to it, considering he practically had an entire floor to himself. The living room was nearly the size of four standard bedrooms, fully furnished. 

Bruce left his bags on the floor as he began to explore, wandering to the far side of the room where it broke off into a small right turn. The turn opened into a beautiful office space with a spiral staircase in the back left-hand corner. He trailed his fingers along the desk as he made his way to the stairs. 

It matched the rest of the Stark Tower, each step was a thick glass slate. Bruce kept his eyes up as he climbed the stairs, looking down through the glass would make him trip over his feet. 

The top of the stairs opened into a fully open bedroom, all glass walls–much like the lab. “FRIDAY, close the blinds.”

White blinds came out of seemingly nowhere, rippling down from the ceiling and covering every inch of glass. The room was quickly encased in complete darkness. 

“FRIDAY, lights, please.” 

The lights on the ceilings gradually bloomed, filling the room with light akin to the morning sun. 

Bruce shuffled over to the king-size bed, throwing himself back on it. He reached up for his glasses, peeling them off his face and tossing them to the side. “What the hell did I get myself into.” He grumbled, rubbing his hands over his face.

[avengerscompound]

The Tower - College

The Tower: College - One Shot

Series Masterlist

Pairing:  Avengers x OFC, Bruce Banner x Bucky Barnes x Clint Barton x Wanda Maximoff x Steve Rogers x Natasha Romanoff x Tony Stark x Thor x Sam Wilson x OFC (Elly Cooper)

Word Count: 2867

Warnings:  none

Synopsis:  Riley and Pietro are both preparing for college. Their parents all have ideas about where they should go.

Author’s Note: This is not a request but rather the first co-written piece with @fanficwriter013 since The Queen of Asgard. I do still have some requests to write and you can still send in your requests.

College

Set between The Queen of Asgard and Family

Nothing ever really prepares you to parent a teenager.  You can have all the love and all the money in the world and you’ll still feel blindsided by the challenges thrown up.  You’ll need to comfort them through fights with friends, drive them to extracurricular activities you’d never even thought of, grit your teeth while they date people you don’t like, and try to keep it together as their hormones go wild.  We’d been learning on the job and sometimes we struggled, but we were blessed with loving and affectionate kids, and we all wanted the absolute best for them.

We crossed each hurdle as we came to them, sometimes stumbling but always getting up and always supporting each other and them as we did.

Riley and Pietro were about to start applying to colleges, and we were helping them decide which ones they’d most like to attend.

Of course, Tony wanted them both to attend M.I.T.  He was very vocal about it.  Neither was particularly techy, but they humored him when he organized a private tour for them.  Riley, Pietro, Tony, Clint, Nat, Bruce, and I went to Boston to look around campus.

We spent the morning looking at lecture theaters and labs.  This afternoon we’d talk to professors about courses, majors, and what they’d need to get in.  For now, we were taking a break at a taco place just off campus.

When we were all seated with our chips, guac, and drinks, (I’d gotten a Paloma which I’d never had before and was already really enjoying) Tony looked at the kids.

“So?  What do we think so far? It’s good, huh?” he said. “There’s a lot of great stuff. There’s a study space that gives out free bananas.  How can you complain about that?”

"Bananas aren't a selling point," Clint said, shaking his head.

"I don't know, Dad, bananas sound good," Pietro said. "They're a good brain food."

"I think I'd like to see some other schools. Don't want to put all my eggs in one basket" Riley said, picking at her order of tacos.

“I mean, I’d also say that we can afford to buy bananas if we wanted them,” I added.  “That is not a thing that is outside our budget.”

Riley smothered laughter and Pietro shook his head.

“It’s more the principle of the thing,” Tony said.  “They care about their students and provide them with a calm study area with free brain food.”

“I think the main thing here is if they can study what they want to study, Tony,” I said, taking his hand.  “We’ll speak to the professors and figure it out.”

Tony huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.  We’ll see other schools.”

“We’re taking it all in though, Dad,” Riley assured him. “We just want to know what all our options are.”

"Yeah, Tony. All the options." Clint said, wagging a taco around in front of him.

"It's okay Tony. They'll figure out what they want. I'm sure MIT is a top contender out of the schools so far," Bruce said.  "Maybe they'd like my alma mater,” he added quietly.

"It's on the list, Dad, don't worry," Riley said. "We've even got clown college on the list for Papa Clint," she joked.

“Maybe they’d like to go to school at UCLA,” I added.  “That’s where I went.”

Riley’s eyes lit up. “Living in LA would be amazing!”

“No!” Tony said, quickly. “No way.  Nope.  You’re not going all the way across the country for college when all the good ones are over this side anyway.”

“And here I was thinking that I’d apply for Oxford,” Riley teased.

“Wash your mouth out with soap,” Tony said, pointing a fork filled with sizzling beef at his daughter.

She broke down into hysterical giggles and choked on her taco.  I reached over and patted her on the back as she grabbed her drink and tried to wash the food down.

“Well, there’s always Columbia.  That’s where I got my first job and it’s where I met your mama,” I said.

"Yeah, Columbia is an acceptable school," Nat said. "There aren't many that I approve of."

"Hey, I'd be happy with clown school if that's what you wanted," Clint said around a mouthful of tacos.

"I mean, Pietro did go through a magic phase," Bruce said.

“Oh yeah, the guy who has nightmares of clowns would be happy if his kids became clowns,” I teased.  “But yes, I agree, the most important thing is that you guys are happy.  Right, Tony?”

Tony sighed and rolled his eyes.  “Fine.  Yes.  The most important thing is that you’re both happy.”

“Gee thanks, Dad,” Riley teased.

“We are happy, mom.  And we’re happy to look at all your alma maters,” Pietro said.  “We’ll pick the best ones for us.  I promise.”

"Guess it's up to me to start planning all the visitations," Tony said, pulling out his phone. "All the alma maters, all the Ivy leagues. Anywhere else?" he asked.

Both Pietro and Riley had ideas of what they wanted to do with their lives.  In fact, what they really wanted to do was go to Asgard to learn about life there, as Riley was the heir to the throne.  There was plenty of time for that though.  They were both young even by mortal years, and Riley was no mortal.

Riley took after her biological father in a lot of ways.  She’d been offered athletic scholarships at several schools but there was a lot of debate about the ethicality of supers competing on sports teams.  Some schools had made leagues just for them.  She’d turned them down just to avoid the controversy.  She’d decided she wanted to learn political science.  She hoped it might help for her time as Queen.

Pietro, our little empath, was tossing up between art and psychology.  Much to Tony’s chagrin, that meant that Stanford was the top choice for both kids, and we did take a trip over to San Francisco to do a tour.  We also did Berkley while there, which was Pietro’s second choice and Riley’s fourth.  We did Harvard which Tony was a little more happy about due to being much closer.  Harvard was Riley’s number two, and Piet’s number three.  We did both Princeton and Yale, but both kids agreed that if they ended up at either of them, it was just because it was the only yes they got, and yeses weren’t as hard to get when you had money and brains, something the twins were both blessed with.  Finally, they checked out Grayburn College in Harlem because of Bruce, though everyone was a little worried about how Bruce’s legacy might end up affecting their time there, and Columbia for me.  Columbia was still fairly high up for both their subjects and had the benefit of being close to us.

We strolled along the campus, toward the library after having been taken around the law buildings and the psychology one.  Today it was me, Riley, Pietro, Tony, Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Tommy.  Tommy had not wanted to miss out on whatever fun his oldest siblings were having, but it was pretty obvious that he had big regrets about coming.  He was hanging off Tony’s arm and whining quite a bit.

I stopped on the lawn in front of the library and looked at my assembled family. “We can go in in a second.  But this spot here is very important.  You know why?”

Natasha smirked and moved in close, wrapping her arm around my waist.  “This is where your mother ran straight into me and we both went flying.”

“Oh my god, Mom,” Riley groaned, hiding her face.

"Yeah, it was on that day that your Ma almost killed your mother," Clint joked.

"And obviously the rest is history," Steve said.

"Yeah that's how we got you guys," Tony said, ruffling Tommy's hair.

“Yuck, Dad,” Riley said. “He’s too young to hear things like that.”

“Hear what?” Tommy asked.

“About how moms and dads are always smooching and making babies,” Pietro teased.

Tommy dramatically threw his head back.  “Eww…” he groaned and we all burst out laughing.

“Do you want to check out the library?” I asked, pointing to the building.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” Pietro agreed.

I led the way into the library.  I felt good.  The kids both seemed to like the University.  I wasn’t sure they’d pick Columbia, but it seemed like it was on the list.  Besides it was nice getting to be back on campus, it was a very special spot for me.

When the kids had checked out all the different university campuses and spoken to all kinds of people about the pros and cons of each school, they had put in their applications.  They both had their preferences.  Pietro wanted to stay close so even though Stanford was the better school for what he wanted to study, he picked Columbia as his first choice.  I was delighted to have one of the kids attending the school I’d worked at.  Especially given it was the place where I first met Natasha.  It felt like fate.

Riley was never going to be happy with just that though.  She wanted adventure more than she wanted an education.  I think if she’d thought about it in any real way, she might even push to go to college overseas and I was sure that if the option ever came up to do an exchange, she’d jump at it.  In the meantime, her top choice was Stanford - the top college for her chosen field and as far from us as she could get while still in the continental United States.

We weren’t too worried about them not getting in.  They were both smart kids and also - cards on the table - we were very rich.  An unfair privilege of being rich is that money can open doors that aren’t always open to everyone else.  It wasn’t an absolute definite, but with the two things together we were all confident they’d both be celebrating their acceptance into their chosen schools.

They had agreed to wait to log in and check their offers until we were all around.  It was killing them, especially Riley.  On the day, Tony had gotten out the champagne and had the cooks making their favorite meals. 

The twins sat at their laptops, fingers hovering over the enter keys as we gathered around them. 

“Are you all ready?” Pietro asked.  

"Oh my God. This is killing me!" Clint said, tapping his fingers against the side of his leg. 

"We know they're going to get in, you shouldn't be surprised," Nat said, patting Clint on the shoulder.

"But the suspense. You know I can't do the waiting," Clint whined. "Let's go."

The twins hit the buttons symultaneously, and for a moment the room was silent while they read the letters from their top choices.  At almost the exact same time, they jumped up.  Riley squealed with delight, a noise I don’t think I’d heard from her since she was little, while Pietro whooped and pumped his fist in the air.

“I’m going to Stanford!” Riley yelled.  “I’m going to Stanford!”

“I’m into Columbia!” Pietro added.

We all moved in, hugging them both.  “Yes!  Congratulations!” I said as I tried hugging both kids at once.

"One at a time, El," Nat said, hugging Riley.

"You both did it," Clint said.  “You got the schools you wanted. I'm so proud of you."

"This is great," Bruce said, nodding his head.

Tony got up and clapped his hands. “Mocktails,” he said.  “And food. It’s a party.”

I went with him to the bar and pulled out the mixers to make mocktails with.

“Can we get Ethiopian?” Riley called.

“No!  Pizza!” Pietro argued.

“We haven’t done a huge international feast for a while,” I said.  “We should do that.  Just order some of everything, like in the pre-kid days.”

“You used to have international feasts?”  Riley asked.

“Oh yeah,” Tony said. “We just ordered takeout from a dozen places.  We haven’t done that since we moved out to the compound.  We couldn’t get food delivered there, and when we moved back here, we just started eating the same thing.”

“Can we all pick what we want?” Billy asked.

“Yeah of course.  We’ll all order our favorite foods and then share them all,” Tony said.

The younger kids squealed excitedly and started jumping around.  “I’m gonna get pancakes,” Tommy yelled.  He ran over to Tony and slammed into him, hugging him around the waist and looking up at him.  “Can we get the choc-chip cheesecake pancakes from the Pancake Hut?”

Tony smoothed Tommy’s red hair back and squished his cheek.  “Of course you can.”

“Okay everyone,” Steve said.  “Let’s look at the apps and see what we can find.”

This was our biggest food order yet.  It took a lot to feed this family.  There were eighteen of us, and several had super-human appetites, but when we all ordered the same thing, we didn’t over-order.  This time we did.  It was like we were catering a party where we all wanted to share.  It would be eaten, Bruce alone could finish what the rest of us couldn’t, but it was still a shocking amount of food with an even more shocking bill.

Along with several stacks of various pancakes, a large platter of Ethiopian food, and a half dozen pizzas from Ray’s, we got eight different Indian Curries, a huge selection of Chinese dishes, sushi, fried chicken (Lousianna, Nashville, and Korean style), Korean toast, corn dogs, and tteokbokki, Brazilian, several dishes from the Cheese Cake Factory for some reason, a selection of things from Katz’s, several kinds of pasta including a three cheese gnocchi, fettuccine carbonara, and eggplant parmigiana, two different cheese fondues, two different hot pots, and a variety of dishes from an organic vegan place.

It was a lot and it didn’t fit on our table even in its fully extended state, and we had to bring up some tables and put them around the long table where we all sat.

The younger kids were so excited about all the different things they could try, and I was genuinely worried they would make themselves sick.  They couldn’t even sit still because if they were sitting, they weren’t trying anything new.  Tommy was a blur as he ran around and around the table nibbling at everything he could reach.

“Alright, alright,” Steve said.  “Let’s all take a seat.”

“This is a big special celebration,” Sam echoed.  “You’re gonna need to listen to a Steve dad speech.”

“No…” all the kids whined at once.

“Oh yes,” Natasha said.  “You know how it works.”

“Fine,” Riley said.  “Go on then, Dad.”

“Wow, thank you for the enthusiasm,” Steve joked.

“I love your speeches, Daddy,” Rose said, smiling at him.

“Suck up!” Sarah teased.

“Okay, okay, settle down everyone,” Steve said.

“Yeah, this is serious,” Clint teased.

Steve huffed and shook his head.  “Riley, Pietro, you two were such a blessing for us. I think we were all a little directionless before you came around.  We all had plenty of things we’d die for, but not so many to live for.  You give us that.  And I do realize that’s a lot to put on some kids, I hope you both haven’t felt that pressure growing up.  Suffice it to say, we all adore you and we have been thankful every day since you were both born.

“I know that us being your parents hasn’t always been easy.  You’ve had to grow up in the spotlight not just because we’re who we are, but because of how many of us there are.  I hope we did alright and didn’t mess you up too much.  I can tell you this for sure, we all love you so much and we are so proud of you,” he said.  “This is such a big turning point for you both.  You’re not our little kids anymore.  You’re adults.  You’re taking your first real steps into the world.  This is big.  You’re going to have the whole world's eyes on you.  And I can tell you that doesn’t matter.  It certainly doesn’t matter to us.  But I also know that that kind of pressure can affect you.  I want you both to know; you can never let us down, we always have your back, and we know you’ll do amazing.  We trust you.  We love you.  Congratulations.”

Riley and Pietro got up and came over to hug him, and Steve engulfed them both in his broad arms - quite the task considering they were both as tall as he was.

“Thank you, Dad,” Pietro said.

“See how much your kids love you,” Tony said. “They didn’t even say anything about how rambling you got on that one.”

Steve laughed. “Oh shush,” he said.  “You do better.”

Tony held up his hands in surrender.  “I would never,” he said.  “Come on everyone.  This is a party.  Let’s celebrate!”

With that, the lights dimmed and music started to play, and we spent the night celebrating the next big step in our oldest children’s lives.

~END~

[heroofslime]

Chapters: 3/40 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Bruce Banner/Original Female Character(s) Characters: Bruce Banner, Original Characters Additional Tags: Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn, Fluff and Angst, Eventual Smut, Movie: The Avengers (2012), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, bruce is my oc now, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Canon Divergence - Avengers (2012) Summary:

Dr. Anneliese Cliff has been running for a long time to protect what is most precious to her.

Dr. Bruce Banner has been running for even longer to protect everyone else.

But in each other's presence, all the noise of the world seems to come to a halt.

Brief promo while I do my best to muddle through the next chapter. I’m moving right now, apologies for the time it’s taking! Tis the season of indulgent OC x canon fits, cringe culture is dead and we are free, etc etc 

[neonshrike]

Missing these two…

Tag List (check my pinned to join!): @captastra @socially-awkward-skeleton @carlosoliveiraa @marivenah @corvosattano @nightbloodbix @superblizzardfire @the-laridian @the-lastcall @truly-very-british @sketchyblue123 @rainwingmarvel7 @cptcassian @shellibisshe @shegetsburned @thedeadthree @inafieldofdaisies @cloudofbutterflies92

[nobitchs-world]

Me after explaining the multiverse of different people and characters where I have different ocs in my head to my sisters

[darsynia]

I Know No Other Way Than This | Ch 5

(Bruce Banner/OFC, Tony Stark & Bruce Banner Friendship, post-Avengers 1 Soulmate AU multichapter)

gif by @scottxlogan

MCU Masterlist | Tony Stark Masterlist | Prev | Next

Summary: Bruce tried to forget he had soulmate words entirely, but on the day of the Chitauri attack, he returned from his stint as the Hulk to find that his black words had turned silver. His soulmate must have watched him shift from the Other Guy into himself and said them while he was unconscious… Length: 2,159 Note: if I’d have found this chapter title before I started this, the entire story would be named Parallel Postulate, instead. Basically, Euclid’s Fifth Postulate is describing a line that falls across two other lines. It says that if the angle created by each ‘corner’ that the joins make are less than 90%, then the other two lines will eventually meet at a single point. Tony is the line that falls, and Cicely and Bruce are the two lines that will eventually meet! Tags: @starryeyes2000 @arrthurpendragon @ronearoundblindly @themaradaniels

Excerpt:

“How’s it going, Aris-Toss-All? Whatcha thinking?”

“Hulk was trying to warn you I think. The thing that set me off was finding out her stalker wasn’t a stalker at all. He was being paid to watch her, referred to a ‘them’ that had missed a payment.” 

There was a minute or two delay in hearing Tony’s next response.

“All right, JARVIS is on the case, thanks to what you already told him and some enhanced directives from me. But Bruce? I think you’re going to have to really watch those videos and see what you can see. AI is one thing, but--”

“No, I agree,” Bruce sighed.

“Don’t fret. Your impulsive instinct got us the jump on the guy.”

“My existence is harmful to her, Tony.”

Chapter Five: Euclid’s Fifth Postulate

Bruce’s left side was still a bit bruised when he woke up, despite the healing factor of the Hulk. He could feel it, tender and unfamiliar, as he rolled over onto his back on the springy floor of the room Tony had built for him. It had been a long time since he had felt a true serious injury; Bruce wondered exactly how long. Years, that was for sure. All of those injuries, even the one where he’d actually shot himself, had resulted in the Other Guy taking over and his body repairing the damage. For it not to have been fully repaired by the time Bruce was back in control of himself must have meant an extensive injury.

He looked up at the ceiling above him and found the answer.

There was a circular metal collection of slabs, not quite over his head, but close. They were clustered and angled, looking a lot like something he’d seen in the science fiction show Stargate, called the Iris. There it had been used to cover up the titular gate to prevent anything from moving through it without permission. Had Tony built a shaft through his tower to this room? Had he dropped Bruce all that way?

“Dr. Banner, Sir has requested that I monitor your condition and inform him when you are prepared to speak with him over the comm. Shall I give you some more time to adjust or are you ready now?”

He was used to JARVIS, but there was something strange about hearing the AI speaking so casually here, of all places.

“Go on, but I’d like you to do a welfare check on Cicely Besnard. The information I learned that set me off directly relates to her safety.”

“Certainly, Dr. Banner.”

It stood to reason that Tony had a protocol in place to make sure that simply telling him what had brought forth the Hulk wouldn’t do it again, but Bruce remembered what it was, and that information was still relevant. At least, he hoped it was.

“If it isn’t the Jaw-y Green Giant! How much do you hate watching videos of yourself as your chartreuse creature?”

“It’s not my favorite thing, Tony. Why?”

“He was really chatty during the flight. Seemed like what he was trying to say was important, but I couldn’t figure it out.”

Bruce was genuinely surprised. He sat up, resting his forearms on his knees, frowning. “Is there audio?”

“Sure. Here, ignore the wind noise:”

He understood what Tony meant as an audio file started to play. The sound of the wind whipping was distracting, but then the Hulk started talking.

“BRUCE’S ANN. ANN DANGER. NEW ROSS HIRE NEW EMIL WATCH BRUCE’S ANN.”

He recognized some of the names, but not their context.

“Bruce?”

“Give me a few minutes!” Bruce yelled at Tony. He scrubbed a hand through his hair and added, “I’m not that angry, I just need to think, okay?” He was on edge, and if he wasn’t careful, he’d lose it again and Cicely would be in even more danger. Waiting to hear back from Stark’s AI was making him antsy.

“There’s clothes through a human-sized door activated by your fingerprint, light it up, will you JARVIS?”

Bruce stood and looked around until he saw a (green, of course) blinking light above a door-shaped indent in the padding of the walls. He walked over and activated the controls, opening it up to find a few outfits hanging on the wall. One of them was a t-shirt with Oscar the Grouch on it, which had Bruce laughing despite the serious moment.

“Dr. Banner? I can report that Cicely Besnard is currently at home. The man who has been seen following her around was not visible on any of the surveillance taken from her journey.”

“That’s less encouraging than it sounds, JARVIS. Someone’s hiring people to tail her, that’s what made me lose it. We need to tell her, and either move her somewhere safe or arrange for some kind of security until we can find out why. And it sure as hell better not be because of me.”

“Shall I inform Mr. Stark about this development?”

“Please.”

Bruce dressed quickly, his mind on the names that Hulk had used. He’d sounded upset, in as much as the Other Guy could have variations in demeanor. Ross was obvious, and so was Emil, for that matter, but calling them new was throwing Bruce. And ‘Ann?’ He couldn’t think of any--

Wait.

Betty had told him about a nurse who had been particularly kind to her in the hospital after his initial rampage as the Hulk. The woman had changed shifts, altered her schedule, so she could be there for Betty. That nurse’s name had been Ann.

He stumbled out of the changing room, finding the light switch and turning it off with a weak hand. Did Hulk remember that? The creature’s thought processes were primitive, he knew, but were they associative?

‘New’ Ross. ‘New’ Emil. ‘Bruce’s Ann.’ Bruce’s nurse. A bad guy called in an accomplice to watch Bruce’s nurse?

“How’s it going, Aris-Toss-All? Whatcha thinking?”

“Hulk was trying to warn you I think. The thing that set me off was finding out her stalker wasn’t a stalker at all. He was being paid to watch her, referred to a ‘them’ that had missed a payment.” 

There was a minute or two delay in hearing Tony’s next response.

“All right, JARVIS is on the case, thanks to what you already told him and some enhanced directives from me. But Bruce? I think you’re going to have to really watch those videos and see what you can see. AI is one thing, but--”

“No, I agree,” Bruce sighed.

“Don’t fret. Your impulsive instinct got us the jump on the guy.”

“My existence is harmful to her, Tony.”

Just saying it out loud hurt. He’d been looking forward to seeing her in person, after warning the stalker off, even though he wouldn’t have approached her. The Hulk’s determination to pass along Bruce’s message in the only way he could think of was very worrisome to Bruce. It meant that Cicely was more important to him than he’d thought she was, which was already too much.

“Seems to me it’s too late to worry about that. If there’s no way to avoid complicating her life, shouldn’t you both at least benefit from it?”

“You got an old laptop you can put on your internal network so I can watch from in here? I don’t think I’m ready to head out just yet,” Bruce asked, ignoring Tony’s question entirely.

“Man, you have no idea how tempted I am to try to set up something on one of those PlaySkool tablets. I won’t, though. I know you’re taking this seriously.”

“Yes, I am.”

Bruce had been looking through files and sorting them into various folders for about five hours when Tony showed up in his Iron Man suit with a person-sized cot, and some blankets. 

“Sorry, sorry,” Bruce said, standing up and holding his hands to the small of his back like a man thirty years his senior. “Got carried away.”

“Hey, I’m the last person to chastise a good work binge. Getting any headway?”

“There are at least two of them. The guy I scared away and another man,” Bruce said grimly. “JARVIS did some background, and I’d just like to say that if I weren’t pretty sure this was about the Hulk, I’d be seriously concerned about your access to resources that cross ethics boundaries.”

He was being mild. It seemed like JARVIS had the ability to do things that if the US Government did them, they’d be hearing about UN violations for spying on its own citizens. Intellectually, he knew that private citizens were held to a lesser standard, but when it came to some of the things that he’d been involved in over the course of his life, Bruce didn’t see much difference in the kinds of people who were willing to cross those lines. That Tony Stark was one of them was concerning. It wouldn’t take much to nudge him over into the category of people whose well-meaning concepts were twisted into something horrible.

Bruce would have hoped that the things he’d read about at the Stark Expo a few years back would have taught the man something.

“Bottom line?” Tony asked.

“You’re going to need to send someone to approach her. Maybe Romanoff?” he sighed and once again pushed back the protective urgency he’d been feeling all evening.

“Why wouldn’t you be the one--”

“Okay, you’re Cicely, you recognize me as the person you said something innocuous to only for it to turn out to be a soulmark on my body. You ran away, but I’ve found you, and uh oh, here I am to warn you that someone other than me is stalking you, and it’s probably my fault. How will you react? Favorably, do you think?” Bruce shook his head.

“You watched her do research on you, Bruce. She knows you’re a scientist. The woman’s smart, she can figure out that it’s only logical that you tracked her down. It’s not like you picked her out of a list of women.” Tony flew up to the iris-looking metal door in the ceiling. “JARVIS says you still have some bruising. Should I fit this with some sort of net?”

“Focus, Tony!” Bruce said, irritated. His own comfort was far from a priority right now. “Ideally we set up someone to speak to her as she leaves for work in the morning. Whoever is tracking her was almost certainly warned that we’re onto them.”

“I can send Clint to watch the entrance now, if it would make you feel better,” Tony said, flying back down and landing near Bruce.

“It would.”

“I’ve got at least five empty apartments here, you know. The commute wouldn’t be too bad, and--”

Bruce’s frustration exploded into a tirade. “I can’t get close to this woman, Stark! Look what happened when she vaguely said something in my direction!”

“Wow, you actually do get green around the ears. I thought that was a euphemism!”

Bruce leaned over with his palms on his knees and started doing his breathing. Whether or not there was some kind of genetic imperative to caring for and/or protecting one’s soulmate, he felt responsible for the woman’s safety. She’d come into contact with him, and shortly afterwards, she’d become a target. Tony’s insistence that he remain involved with trying to get her into a safer situation was quite literally driving him insane.

“I’d kick you out of the tower to put her in instead but you’re kind of the one guy who should stick around,” Tony pointed out.

“We neutralize the threat, let her get on with her life. It’s that simple,” Bruce said.

“That’s right up there with ‘create world peace, everyone is happy,’ but okay.” Tony was hovering over Bruce in a way that would look nonchalant except for the way he lifted higher every time Bruce looked up at him. “I’ll send Clint to watch out for her overnight, and in the morning, Nat will drop by for a friendly chat. She’s good at undercover bullshit. Maybe something like a routine sweep of suspicious persons caught two men that had been subsequently seen on surveillance footage following her.”

Bruce let out a breath. “That could work,” he allowed. “Especially if Natasha questions her gently about whether she knows the guys. It could come across like a sting on them, not an operation to protect her.”

“Okay, it’s settled. Do you want me to read you a bedtime story?” Tony asked, sounding entirely too excited at the prospect.

“I already know about the book Go The Fuck To Sleep, Tony, but nice try,” Bruce laughed.

“Damn. I bought it to swap out for one of the books Cap takes to Children’s to read to the sick kids every month, but it turns out he actually does his due diligence and checks the books before he leaves. Knew it was me, too,” Tony lamented.

“Get out of here before your soulmate blames me for your absence. Good night,” Bruce ordered.

“Yes, Dad,” Tony said.

“Wow, no snarky nickname?” Bruce couldn’t resist.

“All I came up with on the fly was ‘Father Throws Best,’” Tony shrugged.

Next chapter, Bruce does his best not to get attached as he seeks to make life better for his soulmate-- but comes to the realization that his life got better after the attack on New York.

[braveclementine]

Returning Home

Warnings: Angst and fluff

Copyright: I do not own any Marvel characters or locations. However, I do own my OCs, which consist of Penny Fury, Elizabeth Nelson, Elijah Chan, Katya Venice, Violetta Moscow, Lan Le, Josh, Trang Tien, Ahni Jallow, Mai Ito, and Ghaida Kashual as well as other OCs that will come up throughout the story.

This one was a little better. It's much darker blue than I was hoping and I would actually switch the colours. Replace the gold with ice blue and the dark blue with gold. But other than that, I mean it looks a lot better than the other one it originally made. 

🌝😯 𝐒𝓣ᵒ𝐑𝕐 🏇🌛

They stayed for a while, until Steve and Bucky walked in on Elizabeth and Loki sleeping in a bath of ice together to stay cold, and it was decided that they should return to the states and back to the Avengers Tower.

Besides the weird tracking dinosaurs, there was nothing else that had troubled them on their vacation and Penny was excited to get back to work. She had missed the Avengers that had stayed behind like Scott, Hope, and her parents. As well as T'Challa and the Asgardians.

She was also missing Heimdall, who hadn't been down to see them in a long while. Loki had explained privately that Heimdall didn't want to see Elizabeth, because he loved her to much to see her looking at him without love.

Penny wasn't sure that was the smartest move on the all-seeing Gods' part. She felt it would be better for him to establish a connection with her soon. Especially with Mateo growing up without his father.

But Penny didn't say anything. She remembered what Elijah had said about a powerful memory could bring Elizabeth's memories back. Maybe. . . just maybe, Heimdall knew something they didn't.

She collapsed on top of her bed on her face, groaning. She barely got two seconds of peace before Natasha had thrown the door wide open and was collapsing on her bed as well.

"Cuddle me." Natasha demanded, laying on her side, her stomach protruding largely.

Penny rolled over on her back and then let Natasha lay in her arms. "What's up sweetheart?"

"I have jet lag and I want you to hold me." Natasha demanded, not opening her eyes.

Penny chuckled at that. "Sleep tight. Don't let the bedbugs bite. I love you"

🧘‍♀️🫰 ＴⒾ𝓶ε ŜкⒾⓟ 🚿🤟

"Hey," Violetta said softly as Penny walked into the Italian Black Widow's bedroom. She was curled up on the bed, watching Bones on her laptop, eating Cherry Cordial Ice-cream. She was wearing a purple tube top so that nothing was covering her large baby bump, and her hair was pulled back in a loose bun. She looked tired as well.

Penny was holding Chamber in her arms and smiled at the girl, coming over and gently easing herself onto the bed. "Hey."

She felt Violetta rest her head on her shoulder, snuggling into the albino woman. Penny gently placed Chamber on the bed so that she could help Violetta get comfortable in her lap, and then picked Chamber up once more.

"How are you feeling sweetie?" Penny asked softly, using her free hand to rub soothing circles on Violetta's back.

"Mmm, okay." Violetta hummed, putting the ice-cream aside and snuggling into her more. "I'm a little worried though. There's still roughly three months, but I think I'm getting contractions. I- I don't. . ." Her voice wobbled. "I don't want to lose my baby."

"Vi. . ." Penny said softly, looking down to capture the worried, almost panicked look in her brown eyes.

"I mean. . . I don't know how to do this." Violetta's voice sounded choked. "Like, Bruce has never had a kid. We don't know what the Hulk gene is going to do. What if. . . I can't lose this baby Penny. I can't."

"It's okay." Penny said, letting her hand rub Vi's shoulders again. "They're just Braxton Hicks contractions. You can get them up to 20 weeks before you're due. You're okay Vi. And if you're still worried, let's go down to the lab and ask Stephen or Dr. Cho or Bruce to run tests. You don't have to be scared alone."

Vi nodded, fingers tightening a little on Penny's shirt. "I'm sorry."

Penny giggled, "There's nothing to be sorry for silly. I'm happy you confided in me. Now, what do you want to do?"

"Let's. . . I want a professional to tell me everythings okay." Violetta breathed out. "I just need to know for sure, one hundred percent, that I'm not losing this baby."

"Okay." Penny said softly, picking Chamber up in one arm again, sliding her fingers through Vi's. "Come on. I'll go with you."

"Thanks." Violetta said sniffing. "Give me a second."

Penny smiled endearingly, watching Violetta wiped under her eyes, checking her face in the mirror.

"You don't have to hide your emotions." Penny whispered softly.

"Natasha can." Violetta said simply, patting under her eyes with a tissue. "And I want to be just like her."

"She's your role model?" Penny asked softly.

"Always has been, even when I was in the red room. She was famous, amongst us. The best Black Widow that the KBG had. I dreamed that I could be just like her. I. . ." Violetta sighed. "I performed my missions perfectly, killed so easily, because I hoped they would put me on a team with her. I climbed ranks faster at the age of thirteen than anyone ever had in the Italian red room. I was the prized assassin."

Penny stood up now, coming up behind the Italian and hugging her from behind, resting her chin on her shoulder, letting her talk.

"I took countless lives and for what? Good people, bad people, it doesn't matter anymore. I've killed so many people. . ." Tears leaked from Violetta's eyes again and she buried her face in her hands. "For what? Simply so I could meet someone. For selfish gain. I don't know anything about the people. Wives, Husbands, soulmates, children, families, pets. . ."

"Vi." Penny said firmly, coming around to the front now, cupping her face with her free hand. "It's in the past now. All you can do now is continue to move forward. Just keep walking. Now, you work to save lives." Penny kissed her gently on the lips. "Now, come."

Penny took Violetta's hand once more, this time not waiting for her to dry her face. Violetta went with her easily and the two of them went down to the lab.

"Hey Penny, Vi." Tony greeted them, barely looking up for a second before back down on his robot. Trang was fast asleep on the couch in the corner of the room, a blanket over her body, her glasses on the side table. Bruce immediately looked up from where he was working, walking around the table to approach them.

"Vi?" Bruce asked in concern and Penny let Bruce fold Violetta into his arms, "What's wrong honey?"

Vi sniffed and Penny said, "We just want to check and make sure the baby is healthy. She said she's getting painful contractions and she's worried. I think their just Braxton Hicks, but we want a professional opinion."

Tony was paying attention now, leaning on the box, a wrench still in his hand. "Trangs got the same thing going on. I thought maybe it was a side-effect from the magical pregnancy stuff. I talked to Thor about it and he said they're Braxton Hicks. But I can still call Stephen up and he can give you a check up?"

Violetta just nodded and it didn't take long for the Wizard to show up and ease Violetta's concerns in under ten minutes.

Violetta surprised Penny by bursting into tears and immediately hiding her face in her hands, even turning her shoulders towards the guys as though to hide from them.

"Ah Vi." Bruce said softly, hugging her from behind, resting his lips on the top of her head. Trang was starting to stir on the couch now as well.

"Hey." Penny said softly, taking Vi's hand into her own.

"Sorry. Hold on. One second." Violetta muttered, mopping furiously at her face.

"Miele!" Natasha's voice suddenly sounded through the room and Penny looked up to see the red head near sprinting- as best she could while pregnant- over to Violetta's side. Penny smiled to herself, noting that Natasha had spoken Italian in her concern, not Russian.

"Wait, no." Violetta hiccupped, trying to hide her face from Natasha now, rubbing under her eyes furiously. "I'm sorry."

"Stupida." Natasha said fondly, sitting on the other side of Violetta. Tony and Stephen both retreated to Trang's side, whispering quietly to her. Penny sat at the foot of the examination table. "You don't have to hide your emotions."

"I'm not weak." Violetta muttered, wiping her eyes once more, looking frustrated.

Natasha brushed her fizzy brown hair back from Violetta's face. "No, you're not weak Мед." Nat slipped back into her Russian nickname fondly. "Showing emotions is never weak."

"You don't." Violetta huffed, covering her eyes with her hands now, since the tears wouldn't stop.

Natasha was silently for a long time and then finally whispered. "It's not a sign of strength that I don't show emotions. It's a sign of fear. Fear to show my emotions because. . . I mean I don't have to tell you what they do in the red room." Nat pulled Violetta into her arms.

Penny felt hands on her shoulders and looked up to see Stephen behind her. He kissed the top of her head. She tilted back a little to kiss his cheek and then motioned to Chamber, who he took silently in his arms.

"I want to show my emotions." The Russian said to the Italian. "You're so much stronger than me, to be able to do so."

Bruce very slowly wrapped Violetta in his arms, pulling her into him from behind, while Natasha hugged her from the front. Stephen slipped his hand into Penny's and she allowed him to lead her from the room, the two of them heading upstairs on the elevator.

"You okay?" Stephen asked softly, raising her hand to kiss the back of it.

Penny looked up at him and smiled gently. "I love watching everyone make progress. I don't know, something about seeing Violetta and Natasha open up to each other little by little excites me."

Stephen chuckled then as the doors opened. He lifted Chamber a little more in his other arm and then said jokingly. "No wonder you and Elijah get along so well."

Penny giggled, the two of them settling on the couch. She leaned on the arm of the couch and watched as Stephen cooed softly into Chamber's ear, making orange butterflies dance on his fingers while Chamber giggled.

Penny felt eyes and looked up to see the God of mischief leaning against the wall, a small, secret smile hidden behind his fingers as he watched his soulmate with the little boy. Loki looked up, meeting Penny's eyes and winked, but stayed quiet.

"Are you going to join us or watch from the kitchen?" Stephen chuckled without looking over. Penny glanced between the two, slightly surprised, as she hadn't seen Stephen look at Loki.

Loki sauntered over, rolling his eyes playfully, scooping Chamber out of Stephen's arms, settling on the floor by Stephens' feet with him. "One day I'll sneak up on you."

Stephen chuckled, reaching down so that he could place his hand on his head. He reached his other arm over, placing his hand on Penny's upper thigh. His fingers rubbed the inside of her thigh slowly. Penny shivered a little at the sensation.

Penny rested against the couch, watching Loki cradle Chamber in his arms. There was a tenderness to which he held the child and Penny tilted her head a little. "Lokes? Are you. . . okay?"

Loki sighed and Stephen ran his fingers through the long black locks again in a comforting way. "I had a daughter once."

Penny blinked in surprise, but said nothing. Loki got up off the floor, sitting down on the couch, keeping his eyes only on Chamber.

"It was many, many years ago. She would be. . . thirty-seven I believe in human years. She wasn't actually mine, but I raised her. I. . ." Loki drifted off again. "I never wanted to raise her. I just. . ." Loki shook his head, looking off at the wall.

Penny reached over, squeezing his hand, "It's okay Loki."

"I just wish I had done better." Loki sighed, now meeting her eyes. "I swear I will do right by all of our children Penny. I will be the best father possible, I promise."

Penny smiled and Stephen smiled affectionately at him. "Just be yourself with the kids Lokes." Penny whispered softly. "That's the best you and the best father version of you. Being yourself. You can't do anything about the past, but you can do right by the future."

She leaned up and kissed him on the lips.

"Now then," She whispered softly, wanting to help him forget. "How about we head on upstairs, lay Chamber down for a nap, and then fool around in the bed?"

Loki cupped her face softly, seeming to be looking into her soul. "I'm not saying no but. . . " He hesitated, looking anxious.

"Bubs." Stephen said softly, "What do you want?"

"I kind've. . ." Loki looked away, blushing furiously as though embarrassed, "Kind've just want to lay in bed with you two and Chamber. I kind've just want to watch him for a little bit. And just. . ."

"Cuddle." Stephen finished, kissing his cheek. "Then that's what we do. Penny?"

Penny smiled, kissing Loki again. "I love it." 

[missmarveledsblog]

It's just pretend right ? ( bucky barnes x reader ) part 7

summary : the team come to the ranch , bucky and kitty are realising some shared feeling , yelena is excited to meet more family ,kitty finally stands up to the family members that made her life hell . bucky tries to make his move only it doesn't go to plan or the reaction he was expecting.

warnings : none it's goofy and fluffy

previous part

The fickle bitch that was the universe seem to be out for her , from the revelations  of the century or in her opinion it was . New family members and slight identity crisis as well as the feeling of being so close and yet so far from what she done nothing but dream about since  the day she met Bucky barnes even the  part of  him being a dick at that time , she wanted him , since coming to the ranch when the hardest thing she had to face was to pretend to be his girl. Those small moment at first she thought it was in her head , a selfish conjure of her mind but it wasn’t  he wanted what she did and then it was making more things clear how close she’s  been all this time and yet so far .  she should of been greeting the team as they stood of the jet and yet she couldn’t  no she was thinking of every single minor interaction the two had wondering what else she missed .  she didn’t know which member of the team she was hugging too lost in her own mind little did she know  wanda was smirking seeing the two teammates almost thinking the same thing .  how their eyes kept finding each other  well that was til kitty was knocked on her ass and out of her own head staring up at the blonde widow smiling down at her . 

“ hiii little sister” she cooed . 

“ hey lena “ she groaned as nat pulled them apart laughing . 

“ hiii big brother “ she went to run at jessie only he moved and caught her instead. “ impressive ohh more of you” she turned to a now nervous izzy and jack . “ i always wanted big family “ she bounced around happily. 

“ lena down “ nat chuckled . “sorry “ she turned to kitty's parents . 

“ hey my children it’s papa “ the voice called as she turned to nat. 

“ what’s he doing here .. i told him to wait” the widow growled . 

“ he wouldn’t let go of the wheels on the jet” clint rolled his eyes . 

“ even when it was in the air i even tried to shoot him off” yelena nodded . 

“ she really did .. hi sorry name kate bishop nice to meet you all “ the girl stood nervously . 

With in a second she was pulled against a body stank of stale vodka and god knows what else . 

“ my little girl and strong boy” alexei gushed only for kitty to stomp on his foot to let her go. 

“Dude no “ she grimaced as she felt herself being pulled in the different direction more safe one.  

“ you look like a young me it’s like a mirror “ alexei pulled and pushed jessie's face . 

“ oh my god he does” izzy squinted . 

“ kate bishop this is my little sister look how cute she is “ yelena smiled honestly reeling it was best news she gotten in long time . 

“ we know each other yelena “ kate rolled her eyes , smile on her face. 

“ this is new sister izzy and jack but they are not adopted but still  , my new brother jessie and more parents  they smell better” she walked around . 

“ that’s not how that works but ok anyways shall we go inside and deal with the actually problem “ tony snorted .

“ wanna talk after” bucky smiled his eyes darting to her lips as he licks in own  as sam and steve share a glance . 

“ you can have her after we run the data help bring in equipment “ tony pulled her away . 

“ hey did something happen between you too” sam asked excited . 

“ not yet “ was all bucky said heading off the jet as two followed after. 

 She, bruce and tony worked in the living room  each set on their own task as fury sent the files once she never new existed  on herself while using what she could find to see what hydra wanted with her now  , why now of all times did they attack .  impeccable timing she would give them that when she heard the chaos filling the entrance of the ranch , the shrill shrieks and whining  grumbles. A part of her wanted to stay where she was not even indulge on what it was but again  it wasn’t on the cards as she watched her aunts and uncles  , terror twin all stormed into the room . 

“ of course our lives would be in danger because of you “ her aunt linda was first to speak as rest followed each telling her some of abuse spilling from her tongue and now she was done she wasn’t scared anymore. 

“ hey lady watch your tongue that is my little sister” yelena came barging in . 

“  i got this go mama has some mac and cheese in the fridge and hotsauce” she winked. 

“ i can kill in different ways “ she called as she headed  .

 “ look honestly i’m trying to work and ok you don’t like me i know that it used to bug me i used to care but now honestly it last on the list of shit so call me whatever you want  and scream til your blue in the face how much you hate me  cause even as fucked up as is i love you i mean i don’t like you people your horrible and self fish but  i still love you ,  whether blood or not  your my family so go hate me somewhere in the house so i can work in peace  and makes sure your safe “ she said completely silencing them  as each walked out of the room stunned . 

“ i’m not so nice next time one of you dipshit disturb my work i fire my repulser at her head “ tony looked up making them move quicker. “ good on you kid” he added before his eyes went back to the screen . 

“ proud of you kiddo “ bruce squeezed her shoulder. 

“ it was either kill em kindness or barbeque and i love my mama so kindness won” she shrugged. 

“ hey mr stark .. um could i go out to see the horse “ peter parker stood nervously .

“ parker your over twent… yeah go ahead feed the horse and touch grass “ he rolled his eyes . “ wear a jacket” he added .  

“ we’re gonna race them against quicksilver how cool is that” jack excitedly said . 

“ kids literal children “ tony scoffed . 

“ you wanna watch don’t you “ bruce smirked . 

“ i mean if you do ?” tony eyed up the fellow science brow . 

“ jesus christ both of you go i got this “ she laughed as the two genius almost flew out the room  setting on the work ahead . 

“ go she on her own “ sam nudged his head.  

“ we can guard the door “ steve added. 

“ have those two not made progress  i mean sargent if you won’t maybe i will “ loki smirked . 

“ i can do it .. without you guys guarding the door that’s weird i can lock or shoot the next person that interrupts” he walked off new found confidence as he headed to the  dinning room , closing the door the second he entered and locking it  honest in his words he would shoot the next person that interrupted at this stage so many missed opportunities over the span of the four year … four  that he didn’t do it . honestly how held him back all this time was a mystery barely even taking a chance any more  he sauntered over as  she stood her eyes wide as she saw him coming what he didn’t expect was her to dive to door unlocking it and running down the hall and puking her gut up loudly . 

“ so it went well?” steve grimaced. 

“ sorry “ she came out looking as they stood looking at her . “ i know why it’s happening now they wanna repeat history in more ways than one “ .

part 8

taglist: @vicmc624 @babble28 @scott-loki-barnes @ozwriterchick