Irreplaceable (Resiliance Book 3) (Avengers Fan-fic) [COMPLETED]

Chapter 24

Sam

‘Go get ‘em.’ I whispered to Steve, before pushing him away gently. I didn’t want him to leave, but they needed him on the bridge. There was no-one with quite as much experience as Steve. Not even Agent Mae, who had a colossal amount of experience. But they still needed Steve. He walked past Bruce, looking slightly confused, and lost. A thought occurred to me, and I called out to him before he was gone.

‘And don’t bother with Grant. I don’t need a babysitter.’ He glanced back, grinning, before he left, chuckling. Bruce shook his head, before moving from the doorway, towards me. I grinned at him, patting the bed, and bringing my knees to my chest. My side still blazed with pain, but I was doing my best to ignore it.

Bruce sat down in front of me, and I looked at him, actually looked at him. His hair was greasy, and his eyes tired and dull, the light of loneliness still shining in them, as it always did. I sighed, letting my knees fall, and crossing my legs. I leaned forward resting my elbows on my knees, and propping my chin up in my hands. I looked at Bruce curiously, watching him carefully, before speaking.

‘When are we going to get you back onto the dating scene?’ I asked.

The question seemed to surprise him, like it was a more foreign concept than aliens. I knew that he had left Betty, and had been afraid to get close to anyone since. Even getting close to us was pushing it for him, a man who had lived in solitude for the best part of recent years. I watched as he took a deep breath and sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat.

‘Sam, I can’t. It’s too dangerous for me to…’ he began. I knew what he was about to try to say, and, to be honest, I thought that it was complete bull. So instead of letting him indulge the idea that he was too dangerous, I interrupted him.

‘To get close to people?’ I asked, before sighing, looking at Bruce softly.

‘Bruce, I think that out of all of us, if anyone deserves to fall in love and be happy, it’s you. I know that you’re not exactly miserable, but I‘d still like you to have someone.’ I told him honestly. He had, in my opinion, had the hardest life out of us all, and he deserved love the most. I reached forward and took his hand.

‘You know that I think of you as a surrogate father, don’t you. You and Tony are probably the closest that I’ve had to that since Buress was killed.’ I told him honestly, hoping that playing the pity card would help to give him the little push he needed. ‘You have no idea how grateful I am for you guys, and I just want you to be happy.’ I told him honestly, turning on the waterworks so that small tears glistened in my eyes. Bruce sighed, squeezing my hand.

‘I’ll think about it, alright. Let me mull the idea over for a while. Don’t go… organising anything.’ He said carefully, and I fist-pumped internally, before we were interrupted by a small cough. I looked up, as Bruce turned around, to see Agent Ward standing in the doorway.