Invisible To You (A Bruce Banner Love Story)

Chapter Sixteen - Questions Unanswered

        I shuffled into the kitchen that morning, yawning with exhaustion. I normally slept in, but my sleep had been restless with worry, and after a few hours, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep anymore.I was going to sneak into the lab later to find my slippers before Bruce did. I would get them.... after I ate some breakfast. I was starving and needed some strength back after all the heavy lifting last night. Or was it really early this morning? Meh.

        I take some cereal off the shelf, and duck under the counter to grab a bowl, and finally getting the milk from the fridge. Everything was going great until the milk spilled all over the counter. I shut my eyes for two seconds and forget to put the bowl right side up. This has got to be karma or something.

        I groan and lean back against the opposite counter, running my fingers through my hair and shutting my eyes, blowing out a huff of air in frustration.

        "Do you have a  hangover or something?"I glare at Tony as he walks in. With Bruce behind him. Crap. "Because I haven't seen a mess like that since..."

        "I'm just tired. I..." Bruce connects eyes with me. "... couldn't sleep." Tony raises an eyebrow.

        "Well okay then. I just needed to tell you that I have to go over to Malibu to overview.... something or other." He says with a dismissive wave of his hand.  "I don't really know. Pepper knows. Anyway, she wanted to know if you wanted to take the quick trip down with us? Talk to some old friends?"

        "No!" If I wasn't awake before, I was now. they both look completely surprised. "I-I can't. I have to work, and you probably don't want me tagging along anyway." I grab a rag from the sink behind me to start cleaning the spill quickly.

        "Well, first of all," Tony says cautiously, coming up to the counter. "You own the place, I'm sure you could take a few days off, and second of all, when have I ever called you a bother?" I raise an eyebrow and open my mouth. "Wait. Don't answer that." He says, cutting me off before I can even say anything. I smile and roll my eyes. "But seriously. The second I step off that plane, I'm going to get attacked by your old friends. Just come down and say hi so I don't get nagged."

        "Tony.... I really....I can't." I say, turning away. "Malibu..... it's too far away. It's really not an option." He looks at me, concern written all over.

        "Rose...?" His phone goes off, and he answers. "Pepper? Yeah, I'm heading down right now........ Yeah I asked her........ She can't....." He looks at me when he says that. "Alright. I'll go now. See you there. Love you. Bye." He hangs up and looks at me. "Okay, you're off the hook this time, but I'm not forgetting this. We are talking about this." I shuffle my feet.

        "Okay. Fine." I say. "You better get going. Don't miss your plane." He gives me another look, but leaves anyway.

        "I'm not forgetting this!" He yells from the elevator. The doors ping shut.

        "He's going to forget it." I say. Bruce walks over.

        "I'm not sure about that. He's  been worrying about you."

        "He.... What?" I ask, confused.

        "Ever since his joke and you leaving suddenly, he's kind of realized something's wrong." He says.

        "Well, nothing's wrong." I snap. He raises his eyebrows. "Sorry. Can... can we just talk about something else? Please?"

        "Okay... Fine. We'll talk about something else." He says, sitting down. "How about why you're so tired?" I freeze. "Was it because you were in the lab last night?"

        "I.... have no idea what you're talking about." I say, turning so my back was towards him. "I wasn't in the labs. ask Jarvis."

        "Jarvis?" Bruce asks.

        "There is no record of Rose in the lab last night Dr. Banner." Jarvis replies. I smirk in victory.

        "Was Rose in her room all of last night?" He asks. There is a moment of pause before Jarvis answers again.

        "There was a period of time in which Rose was absent from her room." He says, and I'm tempted to swear under my breath. Of all the things I forgot. First the slippers, now this.

        "And where was she?" He asks. There's a longer pause this time.

        "There is no record of that, Dr. Banner." Bruce turns to me with a raised eyebrow. I mentally slap myself. I was normally so much more careful than this. But how did he know? Even if he had seen me last night, even if just for a moment, I knew for a fact that he thought he had been dreaming.

        "Interesting." Bruce says, heading towards the door. "Oh, and by the way," He tosses something on the floor down right next to me, and I see them. "Might not want to leave your slippers in the lab if you don't want it known you were in the lab."

        Bruce walks out, and I stare down at the fuzzy purple slippers lying on the floor, silently cursing at myself.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        Did Bruce know? Did Bruce know? Did Bruce know? Did Bruce know? Did Bruce know? Did Bru-

        I jump as my one continuous thought was interrupted as the shrill ring of my cellphone goes through the room. I grab it off the side table, and notice the caller ID. Pepper. Great. Should I answer this? I probably shouldn't, considering Tony probably told her how I reacted about going to Malibu. She already knew something was fishy about it, but stayed her distance most of the time. I'll just let it go to voice mail.

        "Yello?" Or not.

        "Hey Rose, it's Pepper." She says.

        "Hey. What's up?" I ask nervously.

        "Well, Tony told me you couldn't come to Malibu, and I called you now because he's up talking to the Captain in the cabin." She says. "Something about mechanics. Anyway, back to why I called. He told me about your little freak out." Definitely shouldn't have answered.

        "It was nothin-"

        "Don't you dare say it was nothing. We both know better."

        "Pepper-"

        "No. Ever since you ran from Malibu, and don't think I don't know it wasn't some last opportunity to buy the bar crap. I know better than that. You ran, but you won't tell me why. Rose, what is keeping you from Malibu?" She asks. I stay silent. Sometimes, I wish she was as oblivious as Tony. "Rose, I've kept it from Tony, but he's starting to notice too."

        "It's n-"

        "Rose." There's something in her voice this time. Something different.

        "I can't talk about it." I whisper. "I just... I can't. Sorry." I say after a moment. I quickly hang up, putting my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands.Why. Why was this happening? Why didn't I pay better attention in the labs? Why was everyone trying to bring up Malibu?

        Why was my life starting to fall apart?