Masquerade

Chapter 9

"Bruce!" I whine as I walk into the lab, a pout evident on my face. Bruce turns around and looks at me, glasses sliding down the bridge of his nose. A white lab coat accents his outfit, making the dark colors pop.

"What's up Ash?" Bruce asks as he turns back to the table. I walk up and pull a stool over, watching him. He glances at me, then goes back to work.

"I don't know. Bored, I guess."

"Well I'm not much for curing boredness. Sorry sweets." Bruce shrugs, moving to a microscope. We sit in silence for a while, me just watching him. A thought suddenly comes to mind, and I sit up, smirking at Bruce.

"Tomorrows Valentine's day Bruce."

"You are correct Ashlynn."

"Do you have work tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because it's important."

"More important than me?" I ask sadly, a whine in my tone. Bruce looks over, mouth agape.

"Did you really-"

"It's an honest question!" My eyes widen, head shaking.

Instead of answering, Bruce grabs my face, planting his lips on mine. We seperate a moment later, Bruce frowning.

"Shut up." He says, "I don't ever want to hear you say that."

"Sorry." I shrug, "Just wanted to see if you were paying attention."

"Really?"

"Really really!" I smile cheekily, "But I am truly sorry. I know works important to you, just as mine is to me."

"Okay." Bruce kisses my forehead, "Now get outta here. I've gotta finish this up before tomorrow night."

"Mm. Can't wait." I smile as I walk out. Bruce spends the next 28 hours in the lab, not coming out until 6 that evening. Bruce comes up, looking tired as hell. He showers and puts on a new set of clothes. He smiles as he walks in our room, watching me as I put my earrings in.

"Dressed up for me?" Bruce asks, walking towards me.

"You? Nah." I smirk, standing and walking past him, "This is for the pizza delivery guy. He's bringing me a heart shaped pizza."

"Oh really?'" Bruce turns and grabs my waist, pulling me back. I laugh as he picks me up, throwing me over his shoulder. He walks to the bed and drops me, making me bounce as I land. "I've got a surprise for you, but you're gonna need to pack a suitcase. For the next seven days."

"Oh, interesting. Guess I won't know where until we get there, right?" I ask as I jump down, crouching under the bed to grab two small suitcases.

"You are correct, my dear." he nods. With that, we start going to work, putting in necessary items for the trip. I watch as Bruce opens one of the drawers and pulls out our passports. I shrug, going back to the task at hand. An hour later, we're stepping off the elevator, hand in hand. We hop in Bruce's car and start heading west. Along the way, we stop in a little village, pulling in front of a little Italian restaurant.

"This is surprise, Doctor Banner. How'd you find this?" I smile as we walk in.

"I've been here a time or two, just while I took a little time off. They're really sweet, down to earth people." Bruce nods as we walk in. A small elderly couple greets us as the door closes, smiling big.

"Oh, Bruce! It's been so long!" The woman says in a thick Italian accent, waling up to him.

"Good evening Mrs. Manocchio, Mr. Manocchio. How are you two doing?" Bruce smiles, nodding at them.