Is Love Forever? [1]

Smart Hulk

Tony just stood there in shock. And he would've stayed that way, but then Pepper came in. 

"Has the great Tony Stark finally been shot down?" She gasped sarcastically. 

"Pepper, did you..." He started. "See you hitting on her, yes, yes I did." She said, raising her eyebrow judgementally. "I-I mean-" He stuttered. "I understand some habits die hard, and by the looks of what happened, I think you've been punished enough." She said understandingly. 

"What did she want?"  

"Nothing, but she gave me something to think about." 

Meanwhile, Hope was back in the car with Scott, Nat, and Steve. "What are we gonna do now?" She asked. 

"Well, there is one other person we can ask for help..." Natasha said, looking at Steve. "Do you really think he can help us?" Steve asked her. "It's worth a try." 

"Who are you talking about?" 

~~~15 minutes later~~~                                                                                                                    

"Here, have some eggs," Bruce said, pushing a bowl of scrambled eggs towards them. 

"I'm so confused," Scott said. They were all sitting at a table in a local diner with Bruce, but no one expected this. 

"These are confusing times." 

"Yeah, that's not what I meant." 

They were all looking for some answer as to why the Hulk was, well smart and, uh civilized. "I know it's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now," Bruce said. "Yeah, well, how?" Scott asked. 

"Two years ago, we got our asses beat, except it was worse for me because I lost twice. First Hulk lost, then Banner lost, and then we all lost." 

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Natasha said, looking at her old friend. "I did. For years I've been treating Hulk like he's some sort of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. After eighteen months in a gamma lab, I put the brains and the brawn together, and now look at me. Best of both worlds." Bruce or Smart Hulk explained. 

It still left them with plenty of questions, though. "Bruce, about what we were saying." Steve prompted. "Right, the whole time travel do-over, yeah guys, well that's outside my area of expertise."

 "Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too." Natasha said. "I guess I could try." He agreed. 

"Really, you'll help us?" Hope said in astonishment. "Yes, and can we start tomorrow because I have to get to a conference in a few minutes, okay?" He said. They all nodded. "Great. I'll text you the details." He said, and then they left. 

Natasha and Steve dropped Scott and Hope off at Scott's house, and then went back to the  Avengers compound. By the time they got home, it was already late. So they got ready for bed. 

Hope felt a little awkward because, well she was staying at his house and...it was just strange. She went to her room/storage room and changed into her pajamas. It was weird to think that Scott was just across the hall from her. She had spent two years trying to accept that he wasn't coming back, but then he did. He came back to her. 

She was about to turn off the lights when Scott knocked on the door. "Come in." She said. "Hey," He said opening the door. It might've been awkward for Hope, but Scott was relieved that she was with him, and he didn't have to mourn her as she had to mourn him. 

"You know, you don't have to knock. It is your house, after all."

 "Well, considering you've lived here the past two years, this house is as much yours as it's mine." Scott reasoned. 

                                                                        Author's Note 

Sorry, this chapter was so insanely short, but I needed to post something so you guys wouldn't get bored. I'll update soon, I promise.