So…Avengers. I am in love with that movie and its characters (I WANT A JARVIS DAMN IT) I am also A HUGE Protective! Injured! Poisoned! ALMOSTDIED! Team Bonding Whore. I admit this. I LOVE Whump! Bonding. I do. So…I decided I needed to contribute to the Avengers –are-protective-of-Bruce community. I am doing so now. This is set Post-Avengers after the Team has developed Family Bonds.

I DO NOT own the awesome that is Avengers. (I still want a JARVIS like no one's business though) The (…) are not A/Ns they are Bruce's thoughts on the matters.

Summary: Bruce had been on his own with the fear and the whispers for a very long time. He dealt with it. The Avengers will NOT deal with it. Especially when someone goes much too far. Now the Avengers will be living up to their name

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Bruce…wasn't used to this yet.

For much, much too long he had been running, from people, from himself, from bonds, and especially stress. Bruce had been running for a very long time.

He had gotten used to never staying in one place, never having anything he couldn't fit in one duffle, not always having running water, electricity, (Especially that- They could track him easier with that) an actual bed, actual sleep, (He wasn't safe, never ever safe) food, company (Want it want it so much want it, but not safe never safe)…all kinds of things everyone in the world seemed to take for granted.

He had gotten used to the fact that there would always, always, be someone the recognized him, there would always be someone trying to get him and kill or experiment on him, and there would always be whispers about 'Monster' and 'Dangerous' and 'Better off dead'.

He was used to that. He had even tried once to kill himself. The Other Guy did not like that.

What he was not used to was…This.

He wasn't used to Staying in one place, (Home, it was home) Tony showering him with things he "needed" to have, (He didn't need a cell phone, more clothes than he could shake a stick at-…well maybe that one, knick-knacks he had never been able to keep before…) he wasn't used to having running water, electricity, (Safe, Tony made it safe no one could track him here) an actual bed, actual sleep, (He could sleep here!) food (God he loved having three meals a day and as many Blueberries as he could get his hands on in between), company (Odd dysfunctional, insane, powerful company). He wasn't used to being able to "Speak Genius" with someone who could keep up and he most certainly wasn't used to being able to do what he wanted whenever he wanted to do it.

Bruce could adjust to all that, was adjusting to all that, but what still floored him was the fact that he and The Other Guy were accepted here, that he was Safe here, (When had he ever been able to use that word and mean it before?) that he wasn't feared (He thought they were insane, but he already knew that didn't he?).

He was adjusting. He was beginning to believe he was safe here with the rest of the team. He was relaxing for the first time in he didn't even know anymore.

With his track record he supposed he should have known something was going to happen.

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Deliberately short since that was set-up chapter. I should have the next chapter out later today or some time tomorrow though so breathe. ^^