Who: Brucelet and Darcy Where: Bruce and Darcy's apartment What: Things went bump in the night When: Saturday late late night Rating: Low Status: closed, complete, gdoc
Darcy woke up cold. She had gotten used to being tangled up with Bruce by the time she woke in the morning, whether he’d been there when she went to bed or not. But when she blinked awake she realized that not only wasn’t he draped over her like usual, he wasn’t in bed at all and it was already 6 a.m. She slid out of the bed and grabbed the first bit of clothing she could find, which happened to be a t-shirt lying on the floor and some cotton drawstring pants with obnoxious lightning bolts all over them, and pulled them on over her undies; she was pretty sure the shirt was Bruce’s at one point but she’d been wearing it to bed and around the house for weeks.
Quietly she padded out of the room, first checking Jacob’s room then moving toward the living rooms when she saw their son sleeping in his bed but still no sign of Bruce. She heard it before she saw it, the now-too-familiar sign of tinkering coming from near the TV. She got nervous for a few moments, Bruce never really tinkered unless he was with Jacob, but she trusted JARVIS enough by now to know he wouldn’t let someone dangerous in to their home.
Turning the corner she saw the little boy. Blinking a few times she thought again to Jacob’s room, he really had been in there, she was sure of it. Then as she looked closer she knew this little boy wasn’t him, his hair was too curly and he was too short, he held the screwdriver in a different way than her son did and besides, Jacob had lost interest in the remote control a long time ago. Was the island playing tricks on her again, bringing forward more of her kids to quiet the wonders she had about the baby she’d carried but never given birth to?
She stepped in to the room quietly and didn’t turn on any more lights than the table lamps the boy had already flicked on, biting her lip for a moment before she waved a little bit, “Hi.”
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Bruce wasn’t scared. Momma and Daddy were sleeping in their bedroom when he snuck to play with his Dad’s tools. No matter how angry he got, Bruce’s Daddy’s tools were too much fun not to play with. He only wanted to know how the remote control was wired up because it turned the television over without Bruce having to get up and turn it over like his Grandpa made him do.
He wasn’t sure when the world around him changed. His pajamas were a little big on his small frame but they were really his and he loved them beyond measure. The remote was a bulky thing but once he took it apart, he didn’t realise that the outer casing had changed from brown and bulky to sleek and black, something he wouldn’t even recognise as a remote control. Clicker. Whatever the proper name was.
Daddy had hit Momma again that night, after he was drinking that funny liquid. Bruce had tried some once when his Dad wasn’t looking but it tasted horrible and he spat it back out into the glass. But it made Daddy hurt him and Momma so Bruce had decided to tip it all down the sink so he would be nice to them again and love them. Boy, was he wrong. His arm still hurt a bit and he rubbed it to ease the ache, only looking up from his work when the strange voice came. Bruce froze and blinked up at the girl; she was real pretty but looked like his babysitter too. “Hi.” he muttered, realising that his surroundings were different when he looked up. “Where’s my Momma?”
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Darcy bit her lip as she looked at the little boy, he had to be related somehow, he looked just like her husband, but he looked so small and she swore she saw bruises where his arm poked out of the sleeve of is footed pjs. Then he asked that damn question, he was out to break her heart early.
“Well, I sorta have to ask you a question that’s gonna sound a little funny before I can answer that okay?” she told him, stepping a little bit closer and kneeling down on the floor facing him, “What’s your name?”
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He took an instinctive step back from her, pulling his sleeves over his hands and trying to hide his deconstructed clicker. Bruce knew she might tell his Daddy… wherever he was. He looked up at her, still shorter even though she was kneeling next to him. “Bruce.” he said softly, big brown eyes starting to glisten, “Where’s my Mommy? Who are you?”
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Darcy's eyes went wide and she had to keep herself from cursing. Then she noticed him trying to hide and his eyes on the verge of tears, "Shh, its okay. Its okay Bruce. My name is Darcy."
She bit her lip a little bit. This was...not what she'd been expecting to hear and she didn't know how to explain all of this to him, or if she even should. "I'm sorry, your mom isn't here." She told him gently.
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“That’s a weird name.” Bruce muttered. He rubbed his tired eyes with the ends of his sleeves, trying to be brave and not cry. He had to protect his Momma no matter what. “Will you help me find her?” he asked, going on trust with the strange lady.
He glanced down at the remote, “I’m sorry about the clicker. I can fix it.”
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Darcy sighed softly. "We're not going to find her Bruce, I'm sorry." she told him, tempted to reach out and rub his back but not sure how he'd react to being touched.
She shook her head a little bit, "It’s okay, we can fix it. Or get a new one. But we don't even really need it. Watch this." She put on a smile, thinking maybe she could distract him or get him excited enough that he wouldn't get too upset. "JARVIS, can you turn on the TV?" She spoke out loud, the polite voice giving her an 'of course' before the large TV flipped on, playing some cartoon movie.
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His eyes lit up at the cartoon suddenly appearing on the ginormous television screen. He’d never seen anything so cool and awesome and sciency in his little life; a giant TV was the most cool thing ever anyway and it was smart and had its own… butler?
“How’d you do that?” he bounced around suddenly, “JARVIS, TV OFF!” he yelled loud enough to wake the dead.
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Darcy couldn't help smile a little bit as the TV flipped off and JARVIS' cool voice answered 'yes Mr. Banner.', and be glad the walls were well-soundproofed or she'd have a very awake son right now. "I didn't do anything, JARVIS is just real cool about helping us out with all of the electronics around here." She told him, glad the distraction seemed to be working at least a little bit.
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“Who’s JARVIS?” he asked her, momentarily forgetting his panic at the sight and sounds of new technology and new things he could tinker with and take apart. “Is he a person? He sounds weird. What’s this?” Bruce asked, pointing to a Stark pad on the sofa. “Do you have any copper wire?”
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"JARVIS is our super awesome AI butler, slash assistant, slash friend extraordinare. He’s kinda like a really smart robot without the metal body.” She smiled, keeping her mood light even if she was completely panicked in her mind. This was her husband, sitting in front of her, no older than her son. And the fact he was covered in bruises and seemed more worried about fixing the remote than who she was didn’t help. She knew enough about his childhood to know what was going on. She reached up to the couch and unlocked the tablet before handing it to him, “It’s called a Stark Pad, it’s kinda like a computer but you touch the screen instead of using buttons and stuff, go ahead and try it.” She told him, not really sure how much he’d actually know about computers but figuring he’d get the idea playing with it much better than if she tried to explain it. “I think we do but it’s in my son’s room and he’s sleeping, is it okay if we wait til morning?”
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Bruce was open mouthed at the magic paper lit up and the pretty lady’s finger seemed to be able to control it. He tried pressing one of the square button thingies a little harder than normal and grinned when the screen changed. “What’s a computer?” he asked her, confused about the idea. His Daddy didn’t have a computer. Was this a computer?
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Darcy struggled for a minute, trying to think of a way to describe it without going over his head, “Well, it’s sort of a machine that helps us do things, like talk to each other and make pictures and movies and learn. They’re real neat.” she told him, moving a little bit so she was sitting next to him instead of facing him, glancing over his shoulder as he played with the tablet. “Here, let me show you something.” she offered, reaching over and poking a few things on the screen until a math game Jacob liked to play popped open, the instructions for how to play on the screen. “Do you know how to read?” she asked, knowing that he probably did but not wanting to expect something and have him feel bad if she was wrong.
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Of course he knew how to read. He had listened intently to her description whilst playing around on the pad thing and had soon figured out how it worked. It must be linked to the electrical impulses creating a connection in the fingertips. He thought.
Bruce looked up at the pretty lady - Darcy - again, “I knew how to read before I went to school. Momma was happy.” he beamed proudly, rubbing his fingers through his hair as he looked at the math problem. After a second, he had worked out the equations and solved them. “I won!” he grinned as the game played music.
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Darcy smiled, of course he knew more than any six year old needs to. "I bet you learned all by yourself too." She grinned, ruffling his hair a little bit, testing the waters for his touch reactions. "Great job!" She beamed, still anxious and unsure about what to do about all of this but she knew the island had done it before and tried not to let it overwhelm her. Bruce needed support, not Darcy running around nervous and panicky.
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Bruce felt pretty good about himself but re-ruffled his own hair after she did. At least he wasn’t in trouble for being a show off and getting picked on for being different. “I learned everything by myself. School is boring.” he groaned, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips, “What’s your son’s name?” he asked, suddenly remembering what Darcy had said.
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She grinned seeing him fuss with his hair, now she knew where Jacob got that habit. "His name is Jacob and he's very smart, like you." She told him, watching the telltale signs of sleepy set in. "Would you like to lay down for a bit? There's a few more hours before breakfast, you could play the games on there." She offered, knowing that if he was anything like Jacob he'd be asleep with the tablet on his chest within half an hour.
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He looked between Darcy and the tablet thingy and bit his lip. “I’m allowed?” he almost whispered, holding the tech carefully like it was a precious animal that was endangered by human presence. “For real?” Bruce felt tired and still wanted his Momma but Daddy wasn’t here it seemed so he wasn’t gonna get in trouble. Not when the lady was letting him hold cool things and play math games.
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Darcy's heart broke a little bit, seeing how much something so simple meant to him. She gave him a smile. "Yeah, of course. Jacob won't mind if you play with it a little longer and tomorrow I can ask Mr. Stark for one of your own. He loves giving his stuff to kids who like math and taking things apart." Of course Bruce already had a tablet, but she figured giving something like that to this little boy that he could really call his own would be worth the effort to get him one.
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Bruce put the tablet down gingerly before standing up on the couch to hug Darcy, sniffling a little bit, “You’re the coolest, Miss Darcy.” he said, before jumping down from the couch in a big boy jump. “Will the computer help me find my Mommy? She misses me when I’m gone and Daddy might be there.” he had already formed a plan to get his Momma back.
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Darcy hugged him tightly, "You're pretty cool too Bruce." she told him, letting him go a little bit reluctantly when she felt how skinny he really was under those PJs. She bit her lip again, "No, I don't think it will. Your momma isn't here, but I promise to take care of you. And she'll be waiting for you as soon as you get to go home." She told him gently, picking up the tablet and handing it to him again then offering her hand for him to take.
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His little face fell. How long would he be alone for? He didn’t like being alone because there were bad people and school was boring and easy and the only good thing was Momma and her hugs that made everything better and his science books. Bruce loved those.
“Okay.” he said dejectedly, “I need the bathroom.” he muttered.
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Darcy sighed softly, frowning to herself as she nodded, “Sure, I’ll show you where it is.” She took the tablet and led him toward the bathroom. She opened the door to let him in, chewing her lip again. “I’ll um, I’ll be right through there okay?” she told him, pointing to their-her-bedroom door. “And I’ll leave the door open so I can hear if you call me alright.” she hesitated a second, not really wanting to leave him alone, “And um, you can talk to JARVIS in there too, I promise he can’t see you but he’s nice to talk to sometimes, or ask questions.”
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Bruce followed her to the bathroom, his plan to run away through the window foiled as he saw how high up they were. Like he was in a tower or something. “Okay.” he said quietly again, going into the bathroom and looking around for clues whilst he ran the water. He could sneak out when she fell asleep and go find his Momma. She just had to be here somewhere. His Momma wouldn’t leave him all alone.
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Darcy stood outside the bathroom for a few moments. She had an idea as soon as he’d asked but when she heard him immediately turn on the water she knew he wasn’t really using the bathroom. She wrapped her arms around her middle and walked back into her bedroom, not wanting to lie to him. She sat on the edge of her bed and waited for him, toying with the hem of his t-shirt.
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When Bruce had round a weird electric toothbrush, he realised it was no good. He was truly stuck in a weird place and was tired and cold and wanted his blanket and Rexie to protect him. After turning off the water, he came out, looking down at his pyjama’d feet. “Where can I sleep, Mrs Darcy?” he asked softly.
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Darcy glanced up and put on a smile for Bruce. “You can sleep here.” she pulled down the blankets at the side of the bed he usually slept in. “And you can just call me Darcy, I’m your friend.”
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“Won’t your husband be mad?” He asked, having noticed the rings on her finger. They looked almost new and yet there was no Mr Darcy around. “My teacher says I’m a troublemaker.”
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Darcy faltered a little bit, “No, my husband isn’t here right now.” she murmured, not sure there was any other way to say it. He really wasn’t her husband yet. She slid off the bed and knelt down in front of him, “You’re not a troublemaker Bruce, you’re just smart, really really smart and the rest of your class is learning things you understand. It’s hard when you’re bored and your teacher doesn’t know how to help you.” she told him, her voice still gentle but with no doubt behind it.
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“I accidentally burned down the chemistry lab. I thought potassium was mercury and it went wrong.” He looked down still, shuffling his feet. “I know I wasn’t sposed to be there but the big kids get to do real science and the science we do is for babies.”
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“But that’s what I mean Bruce, you could be there learning that stuff with the big kids, you’re smart enough to do it but they make you stay where you are and that’s hard. You don’t do any of that type of stuff on purpose; you’re not a troublemaker, you’re just trying to keep a big brain busy.” she told him, tapping his temple gently. “But I’m glad you didn’t get hurt in that fire, science can be real dangerous sometimes.”
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“But dangerous is fun.” he yawned a little, “Science is about taking risks and proving you’re right even when everyone else is a poop head and says you’re wrong.” Bruce climbed up onto the bed. It was almost as tall as him. “I know I’m smart but I’m still little.”
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She gave him a little smile giggling at his choice of insult, “Yes, I guess you’re right there, but when you do dangerous things its always a good idea to have a grown up there who can watch out for you. You don’t want to get hurt.” She pulled the blankets up over him, handing him the tablet. "Its okay to be little too."
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Bruce yawned and snuggled into the blankets, playing with the tablet as easily as he found all technology. “I know but I can still hate being little.” he looked up at her, “Am I staying with you until my Momma comes and picks me up? She’ll miss me soon.”