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Bruce yawned, stretching in his bed. He scratched at his scraggly beard and forced himself to get dressed. He found himself down in his lab in a matter of moments, reading over some new articles about nuclear physics that he had missed out on reading when he was in hiding. Bruce noticed that Kate wasn't in her spot in the corner, but that wasn't too odd. It was still rather early in the morning.

Kate strolled in a few hours later, looking a little tired, but happy. She curled into a ball on her large bean bag chair, ready and content to go to sleep. Bruce liked that about her; she let him have his personal space. If he was reading or concentrating on something, Kate would stay away so he wouldn't lose his train of thought. But Bruce always noticed when she came into a room, and he would try to acknowledge her if he wasn't working with anything too dangerous.

"Good morning, Bambi." Bruce said, having come over to Kate's corner. The reindeer mutant smiled up at Bruce, sitting up to accept a soft kiss from Bruce. Kate grabbed his hand and squeezed it, rubbing her cheek against his rough hand.

"What has you so tired?" Bruce asked, sitting down beside his partner. Their relationship was still new, so Bruce sometimes found himself questioning if he was doing his part correctly.

"I was cooking and a certain super solider has the nose of a blood hound." Kate laughed, thinking of Steve's slightly nervous knock at her door. She had been making a steak and peppers omelet for herself, and Steve was a stickler for breakfast foods. She just couldn't send the war hero away when he asked her what she was making for breakfast.

"Did he eat you out of house and home?" Bruce laughed, tugging at the elastic band that Kate used to hold her hair in a knot. She shifted awkwardly as her hair came undone. Bruce had read a few articles on body language to try and understand his teammates better and he couldn't help but notice that certain things (like having her hair down), seemed to make Kate feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, no!" Kate laughed. "Steve's like a stray dog. Feed him and you won't be able to get rid of him!"

Bruce smiled, running his fingers through Kate's auburn hair. The scientist gathered the coppery strands into a single rope and began to twist it. Bruce wound it into a clean bun at the back of her head and tied it off with Kate's elastic. Kate smiled at Bruce, pressing a quick kiss against his lips.

"I'll let you get back to sleep." Bruce said softly, getting up off the bean bag. Kate smiled, curling into a ball and slowly slipped into a nap.

Bruce worked for a few hours, glancing over at the reindeer mutant every so often. She barely moved a muscle, she must have been exhausted. Bruce wondered why, until he pulled up the website for The Dailey Bugle.

'Dasher Fights Off Lower East Side Gang' was the title of today's first page news. Bruce smiled over at his partner, who was dead asleep. There wasn't a bruise or a scratch on her. Bruce never worried about Kate when she went off during the night. She had been handling herself far before he came into the picture, and she would continue to be able to take care of herself.

Besides, seeing Kate asleep and content made Bruce happy.

Kate

Max paced the floor of the kitchen, covered in flour and frosting. He was ticked, incredibly ticked. I had explained to him about me living in Stark Tower, and Max understood why it was a good idea for all of us "Avengers" to be together, but he really didn't like it.

"It's so quiet here." Max groaned, slapping his hand on the kitchen table.

"You see me every day for work." I said, sitting at the kitchen table. Max snorted, rolling his eyes. It was weird to see Max so irritated, because he was the most positive and happy person I know.

"It's not the same."

"…Are you saying that because you have to do all the dishes by yourself?" I asked, pushing my mug of tea away from me.

"No!" Max shouted, sounding insulted. "…it's the laundry, too."

"Max-"

Max cut me off, beginning to pace again. "It's not like you got your own place! You're moving in with these people instead of staying with me!"

Well, when he says it like that I feel like an asshole.

"I'm not leaving you, Maxie." I said, pushing away from the table. I hugged Max tightly, squeezing and rocking him from side to side. Max hugged back half-heartedly, sighing.

"I miss you all the time. We could have sleepovers if you want, you spend some nights with me at the Tower, and I'll spend some night with you here?" I asked, knowing that Max would love that idea. As suspected, Max started jumping around the kitchen, knocking over everything in his path.

"But…uh…Max." I grimaced. Max stopped cheering, turning to face me with a nervous look in his grey eyes. "Do you remember the man that came into the café?"

Max's eyes lit up. "You mean Iron Man!"

"No. The other man." I said, fighting my cheeks to stay pale. "Bruce."

"You mean the Hulk!" Max shouted eagerly, nodding his head. "I can't believe that guy is the Hulk!"

Instant anger flooded my mind. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Was that an insult? My antlers burst from my head, scraping the ceiling. Max laughed, undeterred by the slight damage to the ceiling, and slapped me on the back.

"Cool your jets. I was expecting a meat-head, not some smart guy, that's all."

When you say it like that…

Still a little insulted for Bruce, I sat back down at the table, dragging the bowl of doughnut holes towards me. I shoved a few cinnamon-sugar doughnut holes in my mouth, staring grumpily at Max.

"What were you gonna say?" Max asked, hoisting himself up onto the kitchen counter. "About Mister fancy and green?"

I paused mid-chew to try and gather my thoughts. How was I going to word this? Max has always been supportive of my very few relationships, there's no reason he wouldn't be now. Right? Even with my dumbest significant others, Max went out of his way to be friendly to them.

And I've had some dumb significant others.

"I'm…we're working on a…we're-"

"He's your boyfriend." Max finished for me with a laugh.

I shrugged sheepishly. "Good guess."

"Relationships are the one thing that you're not excruciatingly blunt about." Max laughed, running to the fridge for a soda. "Are you just telling me or is there a question somewhere in there for me?"

"Bruce is an introvert." I said, tapping my fingers on the table.

"As to be expected of a guy that can balloon up when he gets pissy." Max reasoned, popping the tab on his soda can.

"Yeah, but…I need some help coming up with date ideas." I groaned, resting my forehead against the table. "The usual date ideas are out the window: movies, dinner, dancing. Too many people. All I can think of is Netflix and stargazing, but that sounds so cliché. Do you have any ideas?"

Max frowned in thought, twisting his lips. Max was usually a well of knowledge about fun things to do. I'm damn sure he's the sole reason I didn't die of boredom as a kid. We sat in silence for a while, mulling over ideas.

"How about downstairs in the café?" Max asked. "You guys can have snacks and I'll lock the doors so it will only be you two. How late does he stay awake? Night owl?"

I laughed, rubbing at my eyes. "He's a nocturnal creature. Sometimes he works through the night. That's a good idea, maybe sometime in the early morning, around two?"

"You'll pull him away from his work for a late-night break." Max shrugged, going back to thinking.

"Tony is building a billiards room in the Tower. We could have a pool date, if he plays." I murmured, not sure if that was a good idea. I've never been too good about romance. I find jokes and humor romantic; not jewelry, flowers, and expensive dates.

Max nodded in agreement. "That sounds fun. Netflix is always good, and it will be amazing to look at the stars from the Tower. You guys could have a jeopardy date, which should put the smarty pants in his comfort zone."

"That's a great idea!" I sighed, feeling more relaxed. "I have this plan for today, but I'm not sure if it's too dopey."

Max frowned, looking out the window. The early morning sky was already darkening with impending rain. It was supposed to rain all day. "What could you do out today?"

I smiled. "Who goes to Coney Park when it's raining? I thought we could walk on the beach and maybe eat at one of those boardwalk restaurants if they're deserted enough."

"You have an idea like that and you come here saying you need help wooing your Hulk." Max sniggered, rolling his eyes. "Stop stressing, Kate. You're doing just fine."

I smiled, looking down at my empty cup. I needed to be told I was doing alright every once and a while. I thanked every God I could think of for having my brother.

Bruce

I stood over my work, eyes squinting at the miniscule numbers before me. I wasn't getting the results I wanted, and I was beginning to become frustrated. I pulled my glasses off of my eyes and took a refocusing breath.

"Chief?" A voice from the lab door cooed. I turned around, smiling at the small reindeer mutant that hung nervously by the door. Kate's hair was twisted into a knot at the back of her head and she was wearing jeans, her utility belt, and a black running jacket.

"Hey." Dasher said, looking uncharacteristically shy. Her booted toe was dragged across the floor and her nails tapped against the glass wall. "A-are you busy?"

"I was about to take a break." I said, feeling my tongue getting tied. Why did she have to be so sweet and happy? So open and carefree, so different from what I am?

"I wanted to know if you wanted to come with me…on…on a date." Kate said, her back becoming ramrod straight. I couldn't help but smile.

"Do you have something planned?" I couldn't help but ask. Kate's face lit up with a smile, her teal eyes practically glowing. She nodded, dragging me out onto the roof. I hoped this date didn't involve a lot of people. When we got to the roof, Kate turned her back to me and squatted.

"Get on!" Kate chimed, facing the next building.

Wait…what!?

"On your back?" I asked, nervously stepping back. "I don't want to snap you in pieces."

Kate turned back around to me, her eyes rolling playfully. "Mutant, remember?" Kate giggled, narrowing her eyes as the tips of her antlers poked out of her skull for a moment. "You won't break me, I know my limits."

"My scientific curiosity speaking, but what are your limits?" I asked. I knew she could leap long distances, glide, kind of fly, was durable, and her antlers of course. Kate hummed, her hands on her hips.

"I'm trying to think of something you don't already know." Kate tapped her foot. "I've never told anyone about my powers, the people asking are usually doing so, so that they can, ya'know, test me."

"I'm not testing you." I reprimanded myself. I knew how testy some mutants got about questions about their mutations. Not everyone was like me, who had become mutated from my own Experiments. Kate was an unwilling experiment.

"I know." Kate hummed. "Well, I can push and lift a lot of weight. Up to two-thousand pounds the last time I checked. SHIELD has clocked me at around ninety miles per-hour, but I can go faster running. C'mon, picking you up won't be a problem at all."

Kate crouched back down. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Kate's neck and settled myself against her back. Kate gripped my thighs and stood up smoothly, as if I weighed nothing. I felt the muscles in her legs coil before she leapt off the Avengers Tower.

The fall was exhilarating, the wind whipping past us. Kate landed atop the next skyscraper with ease, barley making a sound. Her muscles coiled again and we were leaping across the cloudy New York skyline.

"You don't feel weird, right?" Kate shouted over the rushing wind.

"Why would I? Are you alright?" I asked nervously.

"American societal gender roles dictate that the man should be the carrier." Kate said, leaping to another rooftop. "I don't really follow gender roles, and I just want to make sure you weren't getting upset."

I laughed. "You're looking too deep. Is it strange for me to be picked up? Sure. Does it make it wrong? No."

I caught a glimpse of Kate's smile, something that made my damn day, every day. I felt so grateful to Kate, she must have known that taking the subway wasn't the idea of relaxation for me. I watched the skyline disappear around us, and before long, I could see water.

"Coney Island?" I asked, hearing a giggle from Kate. She leapt off the final building towards a secluded corner of the beach, and landed in the sand with a dulled thump. She released me, and I slid off her back and stood in the sand. Even though it was a dreary day, people were at the shore. I felt my chest tighten.

The moment I was about to suggest going somewhere less populated, the clouds opened up and rain started to pour. People scurried off of the sand towards their cars. Kate smiled, pulling a collapsible umbrella from her utility belt. She sat down and stuck the umbrella into the sand, patting the sand beside her for me to sit down.

"Empty enough?" Kate smiled, leaning against me. The umbrella, though small, shielded us from the rain and kept the sand beneath us dry. That moment, I realized that this wasn't some spur of the moment date. Kate had timed the rain, and came with an umbrella, just so I would be comfortable.

"Perfect." I said, leaning closer and pressing a kiss against her cheek. "Thank you, Bambi."

"No problem, Chief. As long as you're happy." Kate hummed, leaning her head against my shoulder. After my mother, I never had anyone who was looking out for my happiness. It felt nice to have someone who cared if I was happy.

I leaned my head atop Kate's, breathing into her hair. The fellow mutant smiled, leaning further into me.

What did I do to deserve this?