The first thing she thought when she woke up was that of all the evil lairs she had been in, this was the worst.

The second thing she thought was that the past week may have actually driven her insane.

In her defence though, the building was old and dank, the brick walls were dirty, and junk littered the small room she was in.

She was tied to a drainpipe that ran down a pillar, uncomfortable pressed against it and chilled from the cement floor.

As she twisted to look around her, she heard a low jangle.

"No fucking way," this was probably the best thing that had happened to her in, well, ever.

Tony had been kind of pissed off when he found out that the little blue circle of his arc reactor on the charm bracelet that Steve had given her for her birthday didn't do anything and, like always, he had gotten a bit carried away.

He had proudly presented the bracelet back to her, capable of new and exciting mischief, calling it her "Swiss Army bling."

Perhaps most importantly, none of the tools would work until she activated it by holding her thumb against the back of a roman looking shield. ("Get it? 'SHIELD'?" "Yes Tony, you're very clever.") And some idiot had left it on her when they tied her up.

The door opened, she looked up sharply. Ahhh, that idiot.

Jim Reynolds did not look as good in all black as his old man. He looked washed out and pasty. She told him so. He kicked her sharply in the ribs.

"You shut your mouth you little bitch," he hissed at her, "it is your fault that he's rotting away in jail, it's your fault that SHIELD is still running the country into the ground, and I am going to make you pay for it."

"So your evil organization funding got cut without daddy at the helm and all you have the resources for is petty revenge?" She guessed she hit pretty close to the mark, as his hand cracked across her face.

"You will shut your filthy little mouth, whore." he spat at her, "There is no escape for you. I don't need you alive for any information, the Avengers aren't going to get to you in time, and I will leave your broken corpse for them to find."

"You are seriously unbalanced." said Darcy, "You're really taking rejection poorly. Just because I wouldn't go out with you doesn't mean there isn't some evil she-lunatic out there for you."

He stiffened, then stepped back, "Making me angry won't make it easier," he said in a tight, calm voice, "you can sit here and think about the ruin I will make of you until I am ready."

That had actually gone quite well, Darcy thought to herself as he stormed out, slamming and bolting the heavy door behind him. She had been concerned for a minute that he wouldn't leave.

As she twisted her hand and held her thumb against the little shield she scanned the room carefully and was pleased and somehow not surprised to see no cameras.

Carefully running through the charms, she immediately pressed down on the centre of Cap's shield to send out her distress signal. She wasn't, however, going to sit around and wait to be rescued.

She found the tiny retractable blade hidden inside the arrow charm and started sawing at the rope between her wrists. It was a painful angle, and she ended up with a few slices, but she finally broke through the last loop holding her wrists together and made short work of the rest of the knots.

Rubbing her wrists, she crept to the door. She couldn't hear much outside, but she had to assume there was at least one guard out there. She found the tiny catch on the side of the arc reactor and flicked it on. It lit up, generating a tiny but powerful laser. She set to work cutting through the locks.

She took a breath then, preparing herself, clutching the green cartoon hulk head (Tony had thought it was hilarious) and prepared herself to count to three.

On the one, she slammed through the door, launching herself forward and turning back while squeezing the charm.

The directional concussive blast burst the eardrums of the two guards outside the door and she took off at a sprint.

She quickly realised that wherever she was, it was a bit of a maze.

An alarm of some kind had been tripped, and she was expecting the goon squad around any corner. There was a pretty constant stream of curses running through her head.

And then, as she looked around the next corner, she saw a small staircase, and daylight seeping around the door at the top of it. She took off at a sprint, her arc reactor laser at the ready.

She made quick work of the lock, pushed through the door, and immediately slammed painfully to the ground as someone grabbed her heel.

She kicked out, scrambling on the ground. It looked like she was in an alley, much good that did her, as Jim Reynolds was standing over her with a gun and a wild look in his eyes.

"You had to run, didn't you" he growled at her, reaching down and ripping the bracelet from her wrist. "I am going to see you crawl, you disgusting fucking cu..."

She must have been closer to the city that she thought, because apparently the Avengers had already arrived. The ear splitting roar of the Hulk shook the alley as he dropped down seemingly out of nowhere. She could see Tony's con trail approaching, but the Hulk was not known for patience.

He threw a giant hand around the now terrified man standing over her and squeezed. It was horrific to watch, but she couldn't look away.

At the end of it, she was spattered with things she didn't want to think about.

The Hulk was heaving, looking at her with tormented eyes. Did he know? What had passed between her and Bruce? She thought he might have some idea.

"Hulk?" she questioned carefully, scrambling to her feet, wincing at bruised ribs and knees.

His bellow blew her hair back, it might have been her name. He scooped her up, just like the last time, and started to run.

Darcy got it, she really did, What it was to want to just run away from it all, but even the Hulk couldn't run forever, and eventually he stopped near and abandoned barn and fell to his knees, letting her go as he began to shrink back into Bruce.

Darcy's stomach lurched. A confrontation with Bruce right now...

She walked into the barn, finding some standing water from last night's rain in an old trough, and washed away the worst of the mess with a detached thoroughness. There was nothing she could do about her clothes.

She sat there for a while, praying Tony or SHIELD would show up soon, but knowing it would be a while for them to shut down the location then find them without her beacon, especially considering she was safe.

It wasn't even ten minutes before she heard Bruce stirring, and then "Shit," in a dull, choked voice. "Shit, no. Oh god." the curses continued in an increasingly anguished tone. She carefully walked out of the barn toward his hunched figure. He was looking down at the blood on his hands and smeared across his torso.

"Bruce?" she asked in a cautious tone.

He sprung to his feet, "Darcy?" he looked disbelieving and then "Darcy," he strode to her, pulling her fiercely against him, his hands unable to be still on her, then he set her roughly back.

"You're bleeding," he said in a panicked tone, looking at her blouse, "where are you hurt?" his hands pushed her shirt up to her ribs, checking for injuries.

Bruce was frantic, but Darcy felt strangely calm. "It's not mine," she said in a small voice, "Bruce, I'm fine, I'm OK."

"You're ok?" he said like he didn't believe her. She nodded, "You're ok." like maybe it was getting through.

"Darcy," the anguish in his voice was threatening to pull her ribcage out by the hook he had put through her, and it wouldn't let go. "I thought you were..." his hands brushed her hair almost reverently

"I'm not," she said grasping his hands firmly and looking into his eyes, "I'm not."

And then he pulled her sharply against him, his hand threading into her hair, pulling her face to his and kissing her. That was almost too polite a term. Her mouth opened under his without even a conscious thought on her part, as he pulled at her bottom lip with his teeth and delved into her mouth like he was trying to bring her back to life. One hand was cupped under her ass, pressing her into him and she could feel him hard against her belly. And something in her just snapped.

A low keening noise that she almost didn't recognise as her own escaped her as she clung madly to his shoulders, her hips stuttering against his. She broke away from his mouth with a gasp, and he took the opportunity to attach himself to the smooth skin of her neck, sucking and pulling with his teeth in a way that was sure to leave a mark.

But Darcy did not care. Everywhere he was touching her was on fire and maybe it was because it had been a long time, and because the adrenaline of the situation was coursing through her but mostly because it was Bruce, she could not remember ever having wanted someone so badly. Right now.

"Not here," she whispered, her teeth worrying his earlobe. "Inside."

Afterwards, they collapsed against the rough wood of the barn, her head resting against his shoulder, both of them damp with sweat and breathing heavily.

After a moment, as the passion and panic and urgency settled and heart rates slowed, she pulled herself away and looked up at him. He was looking back at her with a closed off expression, so far from what it had been moments ago. She could almost hear him overthinking.

"Bruce..." she began softly.

"We should..." he gestured towards her scattered clothes, "someone could show up."

Because he wasn't wrong, and because Bruce wasn't exactly cornering the market on overthinking, she nodded, untangling her legs from him and rising with a little wince. I was an ache that she would probably be feeling for a few days, but it was the kind she would gladly take.

She gingerly slipped back into her clothes, leaving off her blouse in favor of just her tank top, as it was a little less...spattered.

When she turned back, she saw Bruce outside, as dressed as he could be in his shorts.

She bit her lip as the sight of his strong shoulders, the marks of her fingers visible even from here, shone in the afternoon light, her stomach doing a slow flip. Her body was apparently not satisfied now that she knew what she had been missing.

And he couldn't deny her now, not after that.

She walked up behind him, sliding her arms around his waist and pressing against his back. She felt him tense underneath her.

"Do you want to talk about this now?" she half mumbled against his skin, the salt of his sweat against her lips, "or just let it sit until later."

"Darcy," his voice was reverent and anguished as he turned, gently unclasping her arms and setting them at her side, "There's...there's nothing to talk about."

She had the feeling like she was standing at the edge of a cliff, but she couldn't turn back anymore.

"How can you say that?" she didn't even try to keep the hurt and anger from her voice, and she could see the pain it cause in Bruce's eyes. They just kept hurting each other. And it had to stop.

"This was...god, I can't regret this Darcy, even though I should. Even though I never should have let myself...Christ, Darcy I didn't even use protection."

"Don't you treat me like I wasn't involved in this decision Bruce, don't you dare. I was right there with you. Besides, I'm not stupid, I'm on the pill."

He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his already wild hair "It doesn't change anything," he said finally.

"You are the most incredibly stubborn man I have ever met," she said, crossing her arms. She was not about to go down without a fight, because no man that could look at her the way Bruce looked at her really wanted to be alone, and if he wasn't going to fight for his own happiness, she would just do it herself, goddammit.

"Why doesn't it change anything?"

"I won't put you in danger," he said firmly, "I won't be a target on your back."

"That ship has already sailed Bruce," she said in exasperation, "I've had a target on my back since New Mexico. And maybe I didn't choose to get drawn into this life, but I'm choosing to stay. I've got target for Clint and Natasha, and Tony and Steve and Thor and even Jane on me already. You don't get to decide if I wear yours."

Bruce looked uncertain for a moment, but not convinced. "If it was just that...but I can't Darcy, the way you make me feel, it's...it's out of control, which is..."

"How do you think that is a bad thing Bruce? I think we have just proved that out of control can be really really good." She stepped towards him, trying to remind him with the feeling of skin on skin. He let her press against him, an arm coming around her waist and one in her hair.

"But the other guy..."

"I've been handling him just fine for months now. Sometimes I think he likes me more than you do. It's a complication Bruce, nothing more."

He spoke quietly into her hair. "What if a friend of yours told you that there was this guy, and he was usually fine, but sometimes he lost control, and got violent. Would you tell her to stay? Would you tell her to fight for him?"

She felt like she had been physically punched in the gut. "Is that really what you think about yourself?" she pulled back and looked at him searchingly, "Is that who you think you are?"

"It's who my father was."

It made sense to her a bit more now, why he was so determined to keep himself away from her, if that was really how he saw himself. And she was suddenly so tired of pushing up against his walls. It was sort of an exquisite sadness.

"I think," she said pulling away from him, "That you don't really know yourself all that well Bruce. You don't know what everyone around you sees, what I see. You are worth all of the risks and complications that you bring with you, and I think they are a lot less dire than you do. But apparently what I think doesn't matter to you enough."

He started to protest, but she interrupted him

"I get that it's scary Bruce. You don't think that it scares me? The way I feel about you, how you have the power to hurt me like this? But it's scary, letting someone in like that. That's not about you or the other guy, that just is. And I don't see how we could hurt each other any more by being together than we have being apart." She struggled to continue through the lump rising in her throat and the tears welling up in her eyes, but she was going to finish this dammit.

"But I can't do this with you anymore. So you need to make a decision. I want to be with you, but if you don't want that, I need to walk away before I let you ruin me."

The look in his eyes was anguished as he watched the tears roll down her face.

"I just want you to be happy," he whispered.

"Well you're doing a bang up job," her voice was thick with tears.

He took a step towards her, but she held up her hand warding him off.

"Just, don't right now. Leave me alone. I need you to give me some space until you figure your shit out ok?"

He swallowed heavily, but nodded.

They sat outside, a few meters and a million miles apart, until the SHIELD helicopter showed up.

Natasha watched her and Bruce settle on opposite sides of the helicopter with sharp eyes. Darcy was sure she could see the marks on her neck and on Bruce's back, but she said nothing.

"Reynolds?" was all she shouted over the noise.

Darcy gestures to her blood spattered clothes and drew a line across her neck without remorse.

"You?" Natasha mouthed at her with raised eyebrow.

She gestured to Bruce with her thumb. He was watching her intently and didn't react to her gesture at all. Natasha looked at him curiously, but let it drop.

Darcy felt his eyes on her the whole way back, but she kept her gaze resolutely out the window.

She participated mechanically in the debrief, shrugging off suggestions that she head to medical or psych. When she was released, she went directly to Hill.

"Lewis," she said as Darcy walked in, "glad to see you back in one piece."

"More or less, " said Darcy sitting across from her, "I'm here to request a transfer."

She avoided going home, because she knew that everyone would be waiting for her, ready to make jokes about how maybe she should start taking a long hard look at her being kidnapped habit and crowing over the success of their gadgets and generally taking care of her. And she needed to be taking care of herself right now.

She walked out under the trees behind SHEILD until she came to Bruce's house in the woods. She knocked, and after a moment the door slid open. He looked surprised to see her.

"Darcy," he breathed, "what are you doing here?"

She handed him a folder. "This is my transfer package," she said as calmly as she could, "It's not far, just a state away. It's a good job, I'll visit everyone often, and I'll move on with my life. This isn't about giving you an ultimatum or forcing your hand, this is about what's best for me. Two days from now, either I stay or I go. So turn it in, and we don't have to have a messy goodbye, and we won't cause any rifts in the team, and we can just go on with our lives or," she took a breath, "you can tear it up and find me."

She paused, he was just looking at the folder with a bewildered expression.

"I hope this isn't goodbye," she said, and he looked up at her sharply, "but if it is..." she leaned in, gently pressing her lips against his, only for a moment. "I hope you find what you need someday."

She left before he could say anything, because she wanted him to take his time, to not just react to the thought of her leaving, because as hard as leaving would be, staying if he couldn't really give himself to her would be worse.

She finally made her way back to the tower late that night.

"Darcy," Jane jumped off the couch at the elevator opened "We were starting to worry," all of the tower residents were there, looking at her with concern. "You ok?"

"Yeah," she said, "Yeah I'm fine. I put in for a transfer." Well, she could have been a little more tactful about that.

"What?" Clint squawked, "why would you do that?"

"Yeah, I mean, you get kidnapped a measly three times and you're running for cover?" Tony chimed in.

She had to grin, "It's not about that," she said, 'I'm getting pretty good at these hostage situations," she took a breath, " this is about Bruce."

"Darcy," Steve said gently, "are you sure that running away is…"

"I am not running away," she interrupted sharply, "this is his call, I laid my cards on the table, but I'm not going to hang around here, being miserable, and messing with the team." She let out a dry little laugh, "case in point, do any of you realise how weird it is for me that Bruce felt the need to keep you guys up to date on our really very personal drama?"

"When did you become the rational adult in this situation?" Jane asked.

"Terrifying, isn't it." she said with a little grin.

"Well I for one am rooting for Bruce to pull his head out of his ass," said Clint grumpily.

"Here here," boomed Thor, "I believe this is the sort of situation that calls for ice cream and alcoholic beverages, yes?"

"Thor, you are really getting the hang of this whole Midgard thing," said Darcy gratefully, "that sounds just about right."

Natasha caught her alone in the kitchen later, because she was sneaky like that.

"How was it?" she nodded pointedly at the bite mark just visible under her collarbone. Darcy didn't see any point in prevaricating.

"Mind blowing," she said, "best sex ever."

Natasha smirked, "He'll come around," she said confidently, "and not just because of the sex."

Natasha, as always, was right.

She had hit the trails the next morning, needing to keep active even though she had been told to take the week off to work.

He was sitting there as she rounded the last turn, right where she had first met him. Thankfully, she didn't fall this time.

"Hi," he said as she approached.

"Hi," she responded, waiting to see what he would do.

"You were right," he said, a little smile playing at the corner of his lips.

"About what exactly?" because after all of this, he was going to have to be explicit.

"I'm terrified," he said, but he didn't look terrified, he looked freed, "and I'm an idiot."

"Yeah," she said, "you are." there was a nervous feeling churning in her stomach. She had practiced, what she would say if he found her to say goodbye, to tell her to go and be happy without him. She was prepared for that.

"I actually," he ducked his head nervously, "I talked to Betty last night."

"Oh?" because where was he going with this?

"Yeah," he smiled a little foolishly, "turns out she didn't break up with me because of the other guy, but because of me. Because I was..."

"An idiot?" Darcy suggested helpfully.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"And this is a good thing?"

"I've just," he bit his lip, "I've let the other guy keep me so separate from people. I've been so sure that no one deserved that in their life, that no one wanted it. Pushing people away became the easiest thing to do. But I don't want to push you away Darcy, I don't know if I can. The thought of not seeing you every day..." he paused, looking at her with such intensity and focus that it was a little bit scary, "and I guess talking to Betty made me realise that it's me standing in the way, not the other guy at all."

He pulled her transfer paper out of the folder. "And I am sick of walking away from things that I want." he ripped the packet in half. "Stay," he said, looking at her with wide and hopeful eyes. "Stay with me."

He was standing there, saying all the things she wanted him to say, he was making the big gesture, and all she could think was "you couldn't have figured this out months ago?" and she knew it was unfair, that he had years of habitual self-denial that he was trying to break through, for her. But the hurt feelings of being pushed aside for so long didn't just magically evaporate.

And the best she could do, rather than yelling at him, was say "Ok" in a clipped tone and "I'm going to take a shower."

He opened and closed his mouth once, and then just nodded as she walked past him into the building.

It really only took her ten minutes standing under the spray before it sunk in what had just happened.

"Shit," she said out loud, "oh shit goddam mother FUCK." she raced to dry off and get dressed, picked up her phone, and dialed the person most likely to be in the building.

Clint picked up after one ring. "Shit, Clint. SHIT."

"Context?" he asked bemusedly.

"I am an asshole, shit what do I do?"

"OK, not helping. Where are you, I'll come find you."

She was bouncing nervously on her toes when he found her in an empty board room.

"Sit," he said in a non-negotiable tone. She sat.

"What is your problem?"

"So I told Bruce I was leaving unless he got over himself, right?" Darcy began, nervously twisting her hands.

"So I hear."

"He came and found me this morning and tore up my transfer paper and asked me to stay."

One of Clint's rarely bestowed, genuinely happy smiles lit up his face. "That is amazing kid! I knew Bruce had it in him."

"Yeah, except I was still feeling hurt, because I can't turn my feelings off like a robot, so I said "ok" and left." She spilled in a rush.

"You said 'ok'?" Clint was incredulous,

"Yep," she confirmed in a morose tone.

"And walked away?"

"yep"

"After Mr. Tortured self-denial himself basically tore his heart out and presented it to you?" Clint was getting awfully high pitched.

"yep."

"You guys are idiots." Clint threw his hand up in disgust.

"I know Clint. How do I fix it?" She used her best wide eyed vulnerable look.

Clint sighed, she knew he was defenceless against that look. "Well, you could start by telling him what you told me. And I would quickly follow it by throwing yourself at him and doing things you are never to tell me about." He crossed his arms, looking at her sternly.

"That simple?" She asked.

"That simple." He paused, giving her a warm and patient look. "The man is in love with you kiddo, blind people three states over can see it. So just go already."

"You," she kissed him on the cheek, "are the best."

She found him in a seldom used lab up on the third floor. Thankfully, he was alone. She didn't think she would have cared though.

"Bruce," she was a little breathless, having essentially sprinted around to find him.

He turned to her in surprise. His eyes looked red and damp, like maybe he'd been crying, and all of her fine plans of saying words flew out of her head. She took three firm steps, put a hand on either side of his face, and kissed him.

It didn't take long to get him on board, pulling her sharply against him with a hand low on her back, fingers digging into her hip, the other hand on the back of her neck, tangled in her hair as he devoured her, his tongue fighting with hers for dominance, his teeth dragging against her lips, making low noises as her nails scratched against his scalp, her hips pressing against his until he positively growled at her, pushing her up against the lab bench.

"wait wait wait," she put her hands against his chest and pushed him back breathlessly, his hand gripping underneath her thigh, trying to pull her closer to where he wanted her.

"I have words," she said a little dazedly, because god dammit that man knew how to kiss her senseless.

The corner of his mouth turned up, "you have words?"

"Yes," she said firmly, "important ones." He released her leg, but refused to move away. She reached up and brushed her thumb along his cheek just under his eye, it was still damp. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry I just walked away."

He took her wrist and ducked his head, kissing her palm. "It's ok," he said, "I probably deserved it."

"No," she said firmly, "that is not how this works Bruce. I just, I was hurt when you pushed me away, and I was so prepared to do the hard thing and go, and then you were saying all these perfect and amazing things, but I couldn't just turn off my anger right away. You may have noticed," she smiled up at him, "that my first instincts are sometimes kind of terrible."

"You had every right to be angry," he said, his thumb rubbing circles against the back of her hand where he held it. "You still do. I thought maybe I'd waited too long, or that you'd come to your senses and were going to go anyways."

"Stop that," she said, "I am in full possession of my senses," she looked at him with all the intent she could muster, "I know what I'm getting into, Ok?"

"Ok," the slow sweet smile that spread over his face was doing funny melty things to her insides.

"The point is that Rule number one, from this day forward, is that I promise I will go against all my terrible instincts and say words first, walk away if I need to second."

He gave her a serious look, catching her other hand in his, "Then I get to make rule number two, right?"

"Yeah," said Darcy, "Fair's fair."

"No matter what, if I say you need to walk away, you have to walk away."

"Bruce, I..."

"I mean it, I promise you that the best thing you can do for me if I feel like I'm losing control is get out of the blast radius. You have to promise me that."

"I can do that," she said after a minute, "but I will hate every second of it, so try not to use rule number two very often ok?"

Bruce let out a sigh of relief, like he'd been holding his breath. "Deal." He leaned in and kissed her, sweet and soft and perfect.

When he pulled back, Darcy's eyes were still closed, because this was one of those moments she was trying to lock into the memory banks.

"Rule three," she said in a breathless sigh, "I never want to go another day without kissing you like that."

"Rule four," said Bruce, "I am so in love with you."

Her eyes popped open.

"I have been for so long, Darcy. And I'm so sorry I've been such an idiot, and I still think that you deserve more than this,"

She glared at him. He smiled at her, "Hey, I'm working on it, Ok? And I'm going to keep working on it, every day, as long as you'll have me."

She kissed him then, because what else could she do? His hand went back to her thigh, hitching her leg around his waist. Almost without noticing how he had done it, he had lifted her until she sat on the edge of the bench, one leg wrapped around his waist, a hand tucked into the back of his pants, the other pulling him into her, as close as she could get.

He broke away, teasing with teeth and tongue and lips down the column of her neck. "You know," he said in a tone that would have been almost conversational if his breath wasn't hitching against her collarbone, "I have imagined this before," she could feel his smile against her skin as he pressed his lips against the upper curve of her breast. "You right here, like this on a lab bench."

"Why Bruce Banner, are you talking dirty to me?"

"I have layers," he said, pulling back and looking at her with darkened eyes and a slow grin that should seriously just be illegally sexy.

And it wasn't the things he had said to her, or the way he kissed her, or the way his hands felt against her skin, but it was this, right here, this easy way that he had about him when he was just himself, that made all of the shit they had come through to end up right here worth every moment.

"Hey Bruce?" she said, looking at him as he ran her fingers over the curve of her calf and the bend of her knee.

"Hmm?" he looked pretty riveted by what he was doing.

"I Rule four you too."

EPILOGUE

A little while later, they emerged breathless and flushed from the lab, walking through the hallways of SHEILD, hands linked together, recklessly ignoring the fraternisation rules like there was no tomorrow.

"So," said Darcy as they reluctantly broke apart to slide into Bruce's car, "Want to bet that Tony was running a pool on whether or not we'd work this out?"

"Darcy," Bruce rolled his eyes with a grin, "I'm kind of a genius, what makes you think I'd be stupid enough to bet against that?"

"Well," said Darcy with a truly wicked smile as she crawled halfway across the car's console, dropping a hand to run down his thigh and whispering hotly into his ear, "Rule five, all bets are payable in sexual favors."

"Yeah, sounds good you're on." said Bruce immediately, his knuckles tightening on the wheel.

Darcy fell back into her seat with a laugh that was free and easy an unhindered. There was this well of joy inside her, and she took stock of her life, and maybe it wasn't the easiest life she could choose, but right now, and maybe for the first time in her life, she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

The Rules

Rule 1 - Darcy will say words first, walk away second.

Rule 2 - If Bruce calls it, Darcy will run the other direction, no matter what.

Rule 3 - Kiss me, every day.

Rule 4 - I love you.

Rule 5 - All bets can be paid in sexual favors

Rule 6 - Check the room for sneaky assassins before any clothing is removed

Rule 7 - Oh god, yes that, right there. Fuck.

Rule 8 - No distracting Bruce during delicate experiments. It's going to take weeks for the lab to stop smelling like that.

Rule 9 - I don't care how good my ass looks in running pants, I am not having outdoors sex with you where SHIELD is watching. Ok, maybe just this once.

Rule 10 - If we're going to fight about this, we are going to have to do this out at containment because you are seriously getting on my last nerve here.

Rule 11 - We should always shut off the video feed before having containment make-up sex

Rule 12 - I am never giving up on you, so I guess you're just stuck with me forever.

I can't quite believe it's over. To all of you who have reviewed, read, favorited, and followed, you totally kept me going on this one. I hope you liked this one! Also, you can find the unedited version of this chapter on tumblr where you can find me under Imogen penn.