"God it's hot." Peter seemed to have adopted a new catchphrase since stepping off the plane.

"We know Peter, it's India. Just be grateful it's not raining. When it rains, it rains." Cathy had answered at first. Now whenever he feels the need to comment Cathy simply replies, "Hot damn."

"Very funny." Peter rolled his eyes, although the heat wasn't very amusing to him as he tried to stop his long hair from sticking to the back of his neck and forehead.

It was bliss for her almost as if she never left the continent. She swore she could even feel the tan on her skin coming back.

"You should tie it up," She told her brother as she walked up the outside stairs to her old medical practise.

It was strange to come back to a place after you've changed, she had felt the same way coming back to New York. But this felt better as she knew who was waiting for her on the other side of the door, "Your hair that is," She opened it, "Trust me it's better."

"Or you could just cut it Peter. Works for me." Bruce Banner told the teen as he swivelled on his chair to face two of his favourite people in Calcutta.

That was it, Cathy thought, the sight in front of her was what had kept her going, Finally. This was home. Bruce took of his glasses and bit the end of them.

"No way..." Peter thought for a second and looked between the pair, "Sir."

Bruce laughed, it was deep and echoed around the room as Cathy sat on her desk and ran a finger along the wood.

"Sir? How old do you think I am?" Bruce asked.

Peter opened his mouth but Cathy beat him to it, "Don't answer that Peter," She stood up and walked up behind Bruce, "He doesn't have a filter." She told him as she leaned on the back of his chair.

"He's a lot like you then." Bruce looked behind him with a grin as he scratched the stubble on his cheeks. Cathy noticed the very first flecks of grey mixing with the black, stress, she thought. She wouldn't be surprised if she found some as well.

"Wrong answer." The women whispered and kicked his chair sending him spinning over the other side of the room.

Peter watched as Bruce glided towards him, "Did she ever do that to you?" The Doctor asked pointing over his shoulder, "Because she does that to me a lot."

"Well..." Peter grinned, as his sisters smile faded away, "Yes and no. I used to just get shoved on the sofa-"

"Once." Cathy interjected quickly as Bruce spun around to see her

"Occasionally on the trampoline," Peter continued, crossing his arms and liking watching the horror play out on Cathy's face, "Depends if it was a weekday or not."

"You absolute liar Peter Parker." She told him plainly and walked over to the pair.

"Don't know sounds quite truthful to me," Bruce contributed, "I mean I could imagine it." He added the wink for good measure.

"You just need to stop bouncing on sofas," She nodded at Peter, who gave a nod of affirmation, it was true (although he did stop after he broke it for the second time), "And you," She put one foot on the wheel of Bruce's chair, "Well, I don't want you to stop."

Cathy was hoping for Bruce to say something sweet but Bruce Banner replied in the only way he knew how.

"Good because I love this wheelie chair."

Peter only just avoided getting pinned to the wall by said wheelie chair carrying a very amused Bruce Banner.

"Wrong move Banner."

"Very. I could have smashed that plant pot."

"I have always hated that plant pot."  Cathy had to force her lips together to stop her from laughing at the sarcastic smirk on Bruce's lips.

"Yeah," He agreed, he was finding that he would do anything just to see her smile, "I really should have put a plant in it. It's a bit weird to have an empty pot."

"It's not the weirdest thing in here." Peter interjected, even though it was pretty weird. He stood on the threshold between outside and inside because he could tell he might need to leave them some privacy, despite how much that weirded him out. They were in their own world now.

"Yeah," Cathy agreed, "The weirdest thing is sitting in that godforsaken wheelie chair." She pointed to Bruce and walked back to her desk and sat in her own chair.

"Talk about a shot to the heart Catherine," Bruce clutched his hands over his heart, "I'm wounded."

"Good job I'm a nurse then."

"Oh come, we'll make you a doctor in no time. Dr Parker has a nice ring to it."

Catherine had to think twice about the weight behind those words as Bruce rose out of his chair and Peter slipped outside as he saw a game of street football below.

"I could never be a doctor Bruce." The words were heavy.

"Do you want to be?" Bruce asked, he was sitting on the desk. Usually he would fiddle with the Rubix cube strategically positioned for him to grab. He didn't flinch, he had even put his glasses down, his whole focus was on Cathy.

"I want to help people."

Cathy had been thinking about this ever since the Battle of New York. Ever since she watched Thor take Loki back to Asgard and Captain America skidaway on his motorbike and Clint Barton going back to his family.
She had thought about how she couldn't just go back to working in Calcutta, but she couldn't necessarily leave India. Wherever there were superheroes there had to be casualties, she had tried to minimise that in a New York hospital and it felt right. It was her calling.

That was her only answer at the moment but then she realised she was missing out the most crucial part of her future. Bruce Banner looked at her with a raised eyebrow, there had to be more.

"And...." He prompted.

"I want to do it with you, preferably."

"Well," He stood up and walked around Catherine's desk so he stood in front of her with one foot on a chair wheel, "Now you need to ask me what I want to do," He could see the amused look on the women's face, "It's only curtesy Miss Parker."

"Alright Dr Banner. What's your plan now you're an Avenger?"

Bruce put one hand on either side of Parker and leaned towards her. He stopped when he was inches away from her, "Oh, you know, the usual stuff... avenging, saving the world. It all sounds pretty boring to me."

"Boring? I think it makes you even more of a hero Bruce." She wanted him to kiss her now, kiss her in the heat of an Indian day as she felt the sun beating through the open window onto their sticky skin.

"Even more?" He questioned, his breath was cool against her burning cheeks.

"You never needed the other guy to be a hero," Catherine told him, she thought it would be too sappy to tell him that Bruce Banner was a hero because he had saved her a long time ago, "But you still haven't answered the million dollar question."

"Remind me what it was?"

"What is Bruce Banner going to do now? Besides avenge, of course."

Bruce moved to whisper in her ear, the stubble grazing her own cheek as she hung on his every word. She prayed it would be what she wanted to hear.

"I'm going to help people wherever Catherine Parker is helping people."

Cathy shivered as she felt his lips move onto her cheek and small kisses being planted on her jawline. She closed her eyes for one second before she placed a hand on his chin and pulled him around so she could face him.

"And..." She smirked mimicking his exact tone before.

"And....?" He repeated with a confused frown that turned into a grin. Catherine could never fail to surprise him.

"So, I needed an 'and' because my plan wasn't good enough, but you can get away with just one sentence. I don't think so Banner."

"Well what do you want me to say Cath?" He gently played with streaks of her blonde hair watching her lips for a reply. She bit her lip as she thought, "Do you want me to tell you how much I am looking forward to it?"

"Getting better."

"Or how about this," He stopped and gently pulled her to her feet and intertwined their hands, "My plan is to try and never suddenly leave Catherine Parker in a foreign country alone for over four days without at least a months notice. Is that the right level of detail you were looking for?"

"I'll hold you to that Bruce."

"I'm sure you will, I'm sure you will." Bruce could only mutter the last part of the sentence as Catherine leaned up to wrap her hand around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips before pulling away.

"Otherwise you'll come home to a full answer machine." She laughed and didn't stop herself as she pulled away from the embrace, messed up Bruce's hair and walked towards the door to their surgery. She beckoned Bruce to join her in the true Indian sun, "Also Bruce?"

"Yes?"

"I have one condition. I mean one condition if we're going to be sticking with each other for a while."

"What is it?"

"Next time you mysteriously go missing between waking up and going to work, just answer your damn phone."

"I won't need to," Bruce told her and Cathy opened her mouth to say something but before she could do it Bruce told her exactly what she needed to her, "Because from now I'm going to be waking up next to you."