I wave goodbye to Tony as he drives away, and I unlock the bar. He had insisted on driving me back, considering it was ten thirty and I didn't live in a very good area. All I really needed to do before heading home was clean up the glasses from earlier and grab my stuff. I was going to reopen next weekend, and I needed to make sure this place was up and running.
I quickly grab my things and lock up behind me, and start walking the half block to my cruddy apartment. Tony was right, I really need a new place, but I couldn't afford one at the moment and I wasn't going to take his money. I walk quickly, holding on to my bag tightly. I knew how to get through without trouble. Walk quietly, walk fast, and ignore everything else.
The drunk group has already situated themselves on their regular corner, and I hear catcalls and a whistle as I walk by, but I follow rule three. Ignore them. This happened most nights. The same guys every time. The first few time I ran, which was a mistake. It showed fear. Now I just walked by as if they didn't exist, and they somewhat left me alone.
"Hey Mrs. P." I say as I walk in the apartment complex. Mrs. Perry was my landlord, the owner of the building. She was about Seventy, and had the best shot I had seen in a long time.
"Hello Rose, dear. Just getting in?" She asks from her chair outside her apartment.
"Just had to finish a few things up at the bar." I reply with a smile. I go up the six flights of stairs to my apartment, balancing everything in one hand as I dug in my pocket for my key. The building didn't have an elevator, but I kept myself in pretty good shape, so it turned out alright. Though it was amusing whenever Tony came over.
I had shut the door behind me and set my stuff on the floor for two seconds, when I was thrown to the ground. "Owww." I looked up, and saw Molly's slobbery face over mine. "Do we have to do this every day, girl?" I ask, pushing her off and standing up. She looked up at me, cocking her head and waiting. I sigh and roll my eyes before reaching down and petting her.
Last time Tony had visited my apartment was a few months ago, someone living here had been robbed again, and when I had refused to move in with him and Pepper for the umpteenth time, he had simply stated that I needed protection then. He had disappeared for three hours and had shown up with a puppy.
The problem wasn't that I randomly had a living thing to take care of. That I could handle, I mean, I had to live with Tony for years for goodness sakes! The problem was, Tony hadn't seen what type of dog he had gotten me. Molly was a purebred Great Dane. It was her size and her appetite I wasn't prepared for.
I went into the kitchen and filled her bowl before heading into my room for the night. I leave my door cracked so Molly could get in later. I quickly change into my pajamas and walk over to the window. There was an even more run down apartment building. I look down at the window a floor down from mine. The lights are off, and I breathe a little easier.
I quickly climb into bed, getting under the thick covers, and quickly fall asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It's about two days before Tony comes to the bar again, and he always has the worst timing. I was carrying in a crate of beers to put in the back refrigerator for opening weekend. There is a knock on the front door while I'm crossing to the back, hands full. "One second!" I yell. The knocking gets louder. "I'll be there in a minuet!" I yell louder. The knocking continues getting louder, and I sigh, setting down the crate on an empty table. "I swear, if that is you Tony....." I say under my breath.
"I need a favor." Are the first words out of Tony's mouth the second I open the door. I roll my eyes and turn right back around. Tony follows me in, and I notice that Bruce and Steve are with him.
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Invisible To You (A Bruce Banner Love Story)
FanfictionOnly days after the chitari attack, the team is called together for one reason. Someone had helped them fight. The kicker? They were invisible. Meanwhile, Tony introduces the team to his best friend, his goddaughter, a firey redheaded bartender name...