After Bruce and Darcy's first kiss, not much changed. They still acted the same, they still awkwardly flirted and hesitated to move further forward and they didn't have any kind of label. It was good though, knowing that it wasn't just her that felt something. Even just a few stolen hugs and kisses in addition to their friendship was more than she hoped for from him. It was also more than she had ever thought that she'd be able to accept from anyone.

It wasn't until Darcy was ill that things changed.

At the beginning of the week she had felt the telltale first signs of a cold. By the end of it they had gone away and she thought she was lucky. The beginning of the next week had her head spinning, her nose blocked, throat stinging and stomach cramping. Not so lucky after all.

"Jarvis?" She mumbled from her position crouched near the toilet. "Can you tell everyone I'm sick today?"

"Of course Miss Lewis, I shall inform Doctor Foster at once." The A.I. Replied. "Would you like me to send for a Doctor to check on you?"

"Just a cold or possibly the flu, I'm fine." She replied, climbing to her feet and sitting on the closed toilet lid for a moment. She hadn't actually thrown up yet but she didn't want to go far, the way her stomach was churning told her that she would be needing that toilet one way or the other soon enough.

Tuesday morning she didn't bother leaving the bed unless it was to drink water or pee. Everything hurt and she could barely keep her eyes open.

"Miss Lewis, I must inform you that your body temperature is still climbing; if it continues to do so my protocols insist that I send medical attention."

Wednesday Darcy woke to knocking at her bedroom door. Bedroom door? Had Jarvis let someone in?

"Who is it? Unless the tower is on fire I'm not moving, possibly not even then." She called out.

Bruce opened the door slowly to find Darcy hugging the duvet to her, the bedside table and the floor surrounding it full of used tissues.

"You didn't reply to my message, I was worried." He said. "I didn't realise you were this sick."

"It's just a flu type thing." She mumbled, reaching for a tissue to make sure that her face was clear of any traces of snot.

"Yeah, when people have a bad cold and say it's the flu, it's never the flu." He told her, approaching the bed and leaning down to press a hand to her forehead. "True influenza isn't anywhere near as common as people think."

"I don't care what it is, I'm ill, I'm staying in bed until I die or get better." She sighed.

"How do you feel?" He asked patiently. "Do you need anything?"

"My plan is pretty much to sleep it off, since I can't seem to stay awake anyway." She shrugged. "Trust me you don't want to hang around my germs Doc, it's gross, like the most disgusting thing ever."

"Darcy, you're sick, people get sick." He said, smoothing some of her hair from her face. "How about I run you a bath? You could have a quick bath while I clean up in here and change the sheets for you, then you can have a drink and go back to sleep?"

"But I'm gross." She protested. "So gross! I mean it, I have Hulk coloured snot."

"Which won't last forever." He chuckled. "Trust me, I've seen worse."

"If you insist on hanging around my grossness then OK, a bath sounds good. I've been wearing the same pajamas and sleeping for the last two days." She cringed, plucking at her pajama top in disgust.

"Alright, give me a couple of minutes to start the bath." He told her, heading straight into her bathroom. She flopped back into the pillows as she heard running water and closed her eyes, what was it about being ill that meant that even if you did nothing but sleep you still felt tired? When she opened her eyes again it was to a cool hand on her face. Bruce looked down at her with concern. "You're running a fever, have you got any medicine?"

"Yeah in the bathroom cabinet." She replied, sitting up and reluctantly leaving the bed. Bruce left her heading into the bathroom while he went to the kitchen for a glass of water for her. By the time she heard him knocking on the bathroom door, she had flung her pajamas in the hamper and had sunk into the water. "It's safe."

"Here." He placed the glass on the corner of the bath and moved to the cabinet in search of some medicine. "These will do." He handed her a couple of tablets that she swallowed obediently with the water.

"Thank you." She said quietly, relaxing back into the bath. She expected him to be uncomfortable or awkward but he simply took a seat on the closed toilet lid and talked to her. Asking her how she was feeling and telling her about things she had missed over the past couple of days. "Can you pass me my toothbrush?" He chuckled as he did as requested and Darcy used the now empty glass to spit into before stretching an arm towards to sink to tip it away. "Sorry but oh my god that feels better."

"Do you want help with your hair?" He chuckled, reaching for the showerhead so that she wouldn't have to get up.

"You are a God among Bruce Banner, and I know Thor so that's saying something." She told him. Darcy paid no mind to the fact that Bruce was probably getting an eyeful of her breasts, if he was willing to see her snotty and sweaty then he deserved to at least get something good out of it. She stared up at him, knelt over the bathtub once he had finished rinsing the conditioner from her hair. Looking up at this man she decided that nothing about him would ever scare her. Here he was, sleeves rolled up helping her when she was sick. She was naked and he had barely spared two glances at her breasts which sat half in and half out of the water. Bruce would never, never intentionally hurt her.

"What?" He asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"I just can't wait until I'm better." She smirked. Both his brows rose at that but he said nothing. "I hope next time you see me naked it's going to be more fun." He chuckled at that and reached behind him for a towel.

"You won't be ill forever." He assured her. He stood and held the towel out for her, glancing to the side slightly to offer her at least the tiniest bit of privacy as she climbed out and wrapped the towel around her.

"Is that a yes?" She pressed, leaning forward to press her lips briefly against his.

"If that's what you want." He said quietly. He gave her a kiss in return before stepping back. "I'm going to change the sheets and make some sandwiches while you get dry and dressed."

Darcy followed him out of the bathroom to her room to fetch herself some pajamas before going back to the bathroom to dry herself and get dressed. She towel dried her hair as much as she could before blow drying it for a few minutes, not bothering to dry it completely she headed back into her room to find the sheets changed and the dirty tissues all gone. She couldn't remember the last time someone looked after her while she was ill. She her breath hitched when she did remember.

Suddenly all she could think about was the way her mum had always made a bed up on the sofa and turned their living room into a nest of food and drinks and medicine and television. She remembered her mum hugging her and stroking her hair.

A knock sounded on her bedroom door and Bruce stood hovering by the door.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Yeah." She croaked out with a small nod.

"Tony's here, I told him I'd see if you were decent." He said. "I can tell him to come back."

"No, send him in please." She said, suddenly feeling like there was only one person on the planet she'd rather see in that moment.

A few moments later she saw him appear in the doorway and that was all it took to burst into tears.

"Hey, I...I don't..." Tony shuffled on his feet awkwardly. He didn't do well with crying women. "Bruce said it was OK to visit."

"I miss mum." She sobbed out. "Bruce was being so nice and taking care of me and I just...now all I can think of is how mum always used to look after me when I was sick and that she isn't here."

Tony closed the door and moved over to the bed decisively then, climbing on the bed next to her and hugging her. Suddenly wishing that he had been there when she was ill, wishing that he knew what it was that her mother had done to soothe her when she was sick or upset.

"I'm sorry I'm not your mum Darce." He told her.

"It's OK, I'm fine about it most of the time it's just...I'm tired and ill and..." She sniffed and reached for a tissue to wipe her face. "God, I sound pathetic."

"You're allowed to fall apart sometimes Darce," he told her, squeezing his arm around her.

"I'm so glad I met you." She told him honestly.

"Yeah?" He asked looking surprised.

"Yeah," she nodded. "I thought I was pretty alone in the world you know? I mean, I had friends obviously but not family... No family to be there for the big things like graduation and weddings and grandkids and-"

"Whoa, I'm just starting to like being a dad here Darce, slow down on the Grandkids idea please." He cut her off. Darcy let out a delighted laugh and wiped her eyes.

"I'm in love with Bruce." She told him quietly a moment later. She confided in him because he was it, the reality was that right now she wished she could tell her mum all about Bruce but she couldn't. Tony was her dad, he cared about her and he would always be her dad. He didn't say anything at that, just waited for her to finish her thought. "It's just...I knew there were feelings but just now with him coming here and taking care of me I just realised that I love him. I never really pictured myself being able to meet someone and get married and live with them or anything, now I do."

"I think that's called growing up."

"Yeah?" She smirked. "Let me know when it happens to you then will you?"

"Hey! Whatever happened to respecting your elders?"

When Bruce reappeared with sandwiches the pair were in fits of laughter and he just shook his head.

"You need to eat something and then rest some more." He chided her passing her a plate and rolling his eyes.