*sighs* I'm sorry that I've taken so long to update guys. I've been very, very busy, if that makes a difference. Also trying to get my writing cap back on… can't seem to find it anywhere… AND MAYBE YOU ALL SHOULD KEEP REVIEWING JUST MAYBE OK BYE… -Meg

Chapter 5

Slowly, the two large, metal doors opened. She made her way in cautiously, her hands pushed into her pockets. She was greeted with what looked to be a lab. 'Back in Black' blasted through a small stereo in the corner, the music making the walls thump continuously. Her eyes wandered over an abundance of pieces and parts to things that looked almost foreign to her.

But then she spotted something hauntingly familiar sitting in the far corner of the lab; a 1974 Ford Bronco. The car looked to be falling apart, the engine taken out of the hood and tossed up onto the metal table. It was rusty and seemed to be in desperate need of a greasy-rub-down.

"It's just the breaks, Tony!"

"Really? Then why's the gas petal stuck, Banner?"

Delia slowly made her way over to the opposite side of the car, following deep and muffled arguing. Raising an eyebrow, she looked down to see two sets of legs popped out from underneath the lifted-up Ford. She just watched for a bit, then began to laugh as the two men continued to argue.

"MARIA! I told you three times to get the hell-" The first man rolled out from underneath the car, grease running down his shirt and up his hands. He began to wipe the grease off onto a rag drooped down over his shoulder as he stood up. "Looks like we have a guest, Bruce."

Hearing a painful ding of bone against metal, the second man quickly pulled himself out, holding onto his head as he pushed his glasses back up onto the bridge of his nose. Delia's eyebrow was still raised as the man with a smug smirk stepped forward and offered his hand. "Tony Stark, also known as Iron Man."

She took his hand cautiously, not really going out of her way to make herself seem friendly. "Delia Nathans. No official name yet."

Tony nodded as Delia pulled back, looking towards the other man awkwardly. Tony gave him a slight push, obviously knocking the man back into reality. "Oh-uh-right..." He put out his hand, taking hers in a loose grip. "Doctor Bruce Banner." The doctor gave a weary smile and pulled back before looking over at Tony.

"So-uh…" Looking over their shoulder, Delia smiled. "That's a nice car you've guys have got."

Tony turned around swiftly, his hands tucked behind his back. "I suppose it would be, if we could get the damn thing to work. I don't think it likes Banner very much."

Tony began walking back towards the car, Delia and Bruce in tow. Bruce rolled his eyes, turned towards Delia. "He's been pounding at this thing for about three day-"

"Only two and a half, Banner." Tony yelled over his shoulder, looking over the engine. After a while of staring at the damaged metal, Tony threw up his hands, turning towards the door Delia had come through just moments before. "I'm gonna go get some scotch. Maybe the thing'll look different if I'm less sober."

As Tony left through the door, Delia turned back towards Bruce. "He always been like that?"

Bruce looked up, a bit lost. "Always been like…?"

"Always been so smug and sure of himself? I can just sense these things about people…" Bruce began to laugh and shake his head. "Just let me know if I'm wrong, Doctor."

"Oh no, no. You're not wrong at all." He laughed out a bit. "I just find it very impressive that you've got Stark pinpointed after only two minutes and not even a full conversation with him. Impressive…"

Delia smiled and bowed her head a bit. "Well thank you, I try. Judging people, 'something I'm good at, I guess."

Bruce nodded awkwardly as he continued to work at the engine. Delia moved over towards him, looking over his shoulders as the doctor's fingers rubbed grease over a gear.

"So, it's just the gas petal then, Doctor?" She gave a small smirk as Bruce turned back, confused.

"Wh-oh! Yea… That's what I think, anyways. Tony thinks differently." Sighing, Del motioned for Bruce to sit down.

"Let me see if I can try and help you out. My brother and I always used to work on my step-dad's cars together."

Bruce nodded in agreement. He'd been yelled at the last few days by Tony, telling the other man, in a calming tone, that they could take a break from the project, that Bruce wasn't going to be driving anywhere anytime soon, etc. Tony didn't care. He wanted it to be fixed, and he wanted to be the one to fix it. Bruce cursed the man's pride in silence and would go back to work silently.

Her eyes grazing over the machine and gears, Bruce moved to look at her concentrated face. "It's Bruce by the way. If you're going to be joining the team-"

"Never said I was, Doctor." She didn't want to get attached. If she made friends in this place, she'd never want to leave. Bruce nodded awkwardly and looked towards his feet. "So… tell me about yourself, Ms. Nathans."

Shaking her head, Delia clicked one of the loose gears back into its place. "Not much to tell really. I work at a bar in Queens. My brother's the successful one in the family. Me… I've lit a few buildings on fire and apparently this Fury dude found out about it, came and got me." She shrugged and looked back towards Bruce.

Bruce pressed his lips together. "I'm sorry to hear that. Guess the same thing happened to me, really, but with Ms. Romanoff. You met her yet?"

"Red hair? Curvy as hell? Handshake can kill you?" Delia laughed a bit and looked down. "Uh… yeah. She's a little bit… intimidating. Told me she'd help me train, but I usually don't work out. Lighting things on fire doesn't really require much strength or agility."

He smiled at her description of Natasha, thinking of the beautiful woman. Delia spotted the small grin and smiled back. "So… maybe you should tell your buddy that I've semi-fixed your car."

Walking over towards the driver's side, Delia put the key in the ignition and started the car, the loud hum startling Bruce a bit.

Shaking his head, Bruce gave an uneasy smile. "Tony's going to hate you."

Author's Note

Yes. I freaking do ship Bruce/Nat. So… *shrugs*