Invisible To You (A Bruce Banner Love Story)

Chapter Thirty Six - Tony Knows

        "Rose?" I stay quiet. Maybe he'll just go away. "Rose, I know you're up there." I really couldn't face him right now. I couldn't face anyone actually. I feel another tear leak out of my eye, and I quickly wipe it away, hugging the blanket closer around me. I hear him sigh softly. "Rose..." I hear him softly plea. "Tony isn't here. He's convinced you're at the Empire state building or the bar."

        "I don't want to talk." I say quietly, knowing he couldn't hear me through the closed door.

        "Rose, I'm not leaving." What was he going to do? Just sit in my closet all night? I wasn't coming down. I needed to forget about what had happened with Bryant. A solid twelve hours of comfort food, Doctor Who, and Supernatural should do the trick. It's always worked before. "I heard the Doctor Who theme when I walked in." Or it will completely blow up in my face and show him that I was actually here.

        I hear him sigh again before a door opens and shuts. I frown. Didn't he just say he wasn't going to leave? I sniff, trying to keep my nose from running. When I cried, it was ugly. Runny nose, blotchy face, bloodshot eyes. The whole package. I wait a few seconds, and when I don't hear anything I press play. I'm halfway through my adventure with the Doctor and Amy Pond when I hear a loud thud startlingly close to me.

        "Jarvis?" I sniff. The security feed from the small camera I placed in my closet pops up, and I see Bruce. He had hauled a giant ladder into my closet. A bleeping ladder. He made sure it was stable before climbing up. He pressed his palms flat against the ceiling and pushed, trying to shift it so it open. He couldn't possibly-

        Crack!

        Okay, so maybe he could. He had to have funneled some of the Hulk's strength to do that. He pushed it all the way to the side and I looked over to where the panel was opening. I saw is head pop in first before he got his arms up inside and hauled himself up and inside. His brown eyes scanned the room until they landed on me wrapped up in my giant blanket. He shoved the panel closed with his foot and came over and sat next to me. It only took a few seconds before fresh tears started pouring from my eyes, and a choked sob pushes up out of my chest.

        Bruce quietly wraps me in his arms as I cry into his chest, effectively ruining his shirt. His hand starts to run through my hair as he rocks, trying to sooth me. I probably looked about three years old, but I didn't care. I'm not sure how long we sat there, me crying and him trying to comfort me, but it was a while.

        When the tears finally subsided, I didn't move out of his embrace, just wanting to stay next to him for a while. "They found it." He says quietly. "It was exactly where you said. Shoved inside the remote. They're going through it now." I nod, not trusting my voice. "Before we left, Fury told us that if all of what you said was on there, he wouldn't be coming out of a jail cell until he was dead or old enough to not leave a nursing home."

        "Don't go." I whisper. Bruce looks down at me, eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

        "I'm not going anywhere." He says. I shake my head.

        "To the trial. Bryant's." I tell him, looking straight ahead. "I don't want you to see it. Any of it." His face softens as he looks down at me, his chocolate brown eyes flashing with sadness. Not pity, but empathy.

        "I won't. Not if you don't want me too." He says, pressing his lips to my forehead. I sigh, curling into him more, enjoying the closeness of him to me. I a small, soft smile lifts the corners of his mouth as he continues to look down at me. "So what episode of Doctor Who are we watching?" He asks, clicking play.

        "The curse of the black spot." I say, moving to restart it for Bruce

Tony's POV~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        I land back on the balcony of the tower, letting the machines take my suit off as I walk. I get inside, seeing Nat and Clint sitting in the living room. "She wasn't at the bar or the Empire state building." I say with a frown. Nat rolls her eyes.

        "You should have listened to Bruce." She says. "He knew she'd be in her little closet hideaway."

        "He hasn't been able to get her to come down though. You might as well just sit and wait with the rest of us." Clint says. I frown.

        "I need to talk to her." I say, walking for the door to the elevator.       

        "The girls are coming over." Nat says quickly. "Steve went to get them. They'll have more luck getting her down. And they will probably want to see you. Just wait." I frown.

        "I'm going to go talk to her." I say with a slight glare. "Whether you want me to or not." Nat looks at Clint and I press the button for the elevator. When I get down to the right floor, I walk straight for Rose's room. I knock, but don't get an answer. I push the door open and go straight for the closet. I don't know what I expected. Bruce trying to talk Rose down I guess, but that wasn't what I saw. My eyes travel up the ladder that had been set in the middle of her closet up to the panel that was open just a hair. Bruce had brought up a ladder all the way from the garage.

        I frown before climbing it. What was this, Rapunzel? I open the panel, sliding it enough so that I could stick my head up inside. What I see makes me stop. Rose was curled up into Bruce's side, head on his chest, and Bruce was laying, arms around her. They were both asleep, probably the only reason they hadn't been alerted to my presence. They both looked so content, even though they were asleep. It was kind of startling clear now.

        I climb back down the ladder, sliding the panel closed again before going back to the living room. I walk straight for a chair and sit down, staring at nothing.

        "How long have my goddaughter and Bruce been in a relationship?" I ask, turning to Nat. She and Clint look at each other, and I groan. "I was the only one who didn't know, wasn't I?"

        "No." Clint says.

        "Pepper doesn't know either." Nat pipes up. "And Steve only figured it out a week ago when he saw them on a date during one of his late night runs."

        "The girls?"

        "They've known from the start." She says. I groan, putting my face in my hands.

        "Why on earth didn't any of you tell me?" I ask. Nat makes a face, looking at me pointedly. "Okay, I get it." I mutter. "But if Bruce hurts her I'm going to..."

        "To what?" Clint asks sarcastically. "Kick him out of the lab for a week? Ground them?"

        "I'll bring out the Hulkbuster." I mutter. Nat laughs.

        "I call bull." She says, pointing a finger. "You've been trying to get them out on as date longer than they have been dating."

        "How long have they been dating?!" I exclaim. Clint and Nat look at each other.

        "Two..."

        "Not I think it's closer to three."

        "Probably." Clint admits. "But around three months."

        "Three......" I trail off. Well now a few things make sense. I knew SHIELD didn't call Bruce in nearly that often. And Rose had been working at the bar a lot more often than normal. "How did I not see it?" Nat just shrugs and Clint makes a face.

        "You are pretty oblivious."

        Cue glare.