Beauty and The Beast ((Bruce Banner/Hulk love))

Chapter 14 (EDITED)

**Bruce's POV**

Aero sat in her chair watching me boredly with a silly smile on her beautiful face. Every time I glanced over, She made a funny face. I had to hold back my laughter, and try to focus on working. At some point, Aero had moved from her place beside me on the stool to a full desk chair on the other side of the room. I glanced over at some point and she had fallen asleep sideways in the chair. Her head rested against the back and her legs were draped over the arm. She seemed peaceful as she slept. To be honest, I hadn't seen her stop to rest at all since we had gotten to the helicarrier from Calcutta. I tried my best to focus on my work, and not the sleeping girl on the other side of the room. Tony and Steve were both too concerned about what Fury wanted to do with the tesseract. I just wanted to find it so I could get off of this flying holding cell. I moved around the lab towards one of the other computers. I put in a few calculations and waited for it to process. "That's the guy my dad never shut up about?" Tony grumbled under his breath as he started to get back to work. The tension died a bit after Steve left the room. "I'm wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice." Tony grumbled unhappily.

"The guys not wrong about Loki, He does have the jump on us." I said, continuing to mess with the computer. I wanted Tony off the hostel topic of Steve.

"What he's got is an Acme Dynamite kit. Its gonna blow up in his face." Tony said in his typical confident tone. He was back to his normal mood. He came over to the computer just diganal of the one I was working on. "And I'm going to be there when it does." I looked over at him. A small chuckle left my lips.

"I'll read all about it," I told him, sliding a bit of information from my screen to his. He looked at it for a moment. I turned away to check the rest of the writing on my clipboard. Tony pressed a few buttons on his own screen.

"Uh-huh, Or you'll be suiting up with the rest of us." Tony scoffed at me.

"Ah, You see..." I started to speak as I continued to mess with some of the calculations on my screen. "I don't get a suite of armor. I'm exposed... like a nerve." I stopped working on the computer and looked down. That was honestly how I felt, I was of no use to the team in any physical aspect. I wouldn't only put them in danger, my eyes bounced over to Aero's sleeping form. I would put her in danger, and I couldn't live with that thought. Thoughts of the Hulk got the better of me, putting my brain into one of its funks. I stared into empty space in front of me for a moment. "It's a nightmare...'' I shook away the thoughts going back to inputting information into the computer.

"I have a cluster of shrapnel trying each second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it." He turned to me pointing to the mini arc reactor in his chest. "This little circle of light, It's part of me now." He walked over to me looking through the glass like computer screen that hung from the roof. "Not just a suite of armor. It's a terrible privilege." He explained. I could see the compassion behind his eyes.

"But you can control it..." I pointed at him. All the trouble I've caused with the hulk rushed through my mind. That was the difference between me and the others on this helicarrier. We had all gone through something, but the rest of the team could control their abilities. They could help, where I only hurt.

"Cause I learned how..." Tony corrected me.

"It's different," I tried to end the conversation. I started to mess with the information on the computer trying my best to ignore him through the see through screen. Tony being Tony, did not give up so easily.

"Hey," He wiped away what I was working on forcing me to look at him. "I read all about your 'Accident', That much Gamma exposure should've killed you." Tony tried to make me understand.

"Oh, You're saying the hulk..." even his name tasted bad in my mouth. I looked down, shaking away the thoughts. "The other guy saved my life... That's nice. That's a nice sentiment..." I nodded in false agreement. My eyes were serious as I looked at Tony. "Saved it for... what?" I asked in an almost bitter tone. He paused before glancing over his shoulder to where Aero's sleeping form occupied the chair. He looked back at me with an equally serious expression.

"We'll have to see..." Tony looked at me with a knowing face. I pulled my research back up. I knitted my eyebrows together in a small confused frown. I glanced over at her and I felt my heart warm in my chest. Something about her, made me feel lighter.

"You might not like that," I answered pushing away the thoughts of Aero. I knew deep down no matter how much I might want it to, it would never work. I was dangerous, not only for her but everyone around me. I could never allow myself to have anything normal like that.

"You just might," Tony said as if reading my mind. We went back to working in silence. Not long after, I heard the sound of the chair squeaking from Aero's shifting weight. I glanced over my shoulder to see Aero waking up and moving in the chair. She stretched her arms up by her head and let out a long yawn. She blinked a few times looking around the room with a bit of confusion, probably trying to wipe the sleep from her mind. When she spotted me across the room, she smiled brightly at me, more awake now than a moment before. Her smile showed no trace of fear, or pity, or worry that I might flip out and hurt her. Aero lifted herself from where she was sitting and started over in my direction, coming to check on what I was working on. She lit up the room and I could bet she probably didn't even notice or know. Her long black hair flowing behind her like a curtain. Her ice blue eyes burning imprints into my soul. She had a very athletic build, but with nice curves. She wore a SHIELD agent shirt that showed off her small waist. A pair of black jogging pants held onto her legs. A utility belt hung loosely on her hips, It appeared to be barley used. She had on a pair of solid black converse. I shook my head before rubbing my eyes. I pushed away the thoughts of her. She hopped onto one of the tables. Her feet dangling about a foot and a half off the ground. She tilted her head and watched me in silence, like she did most of the time. It wasn't awkward silence like you would expect it to be, just comfortable silence where I enjoyed her company. 

(Word Count : 1,230 )