Stanley's Pizza Parlor, Willowdale, Virginia-
-May 13, 2010, 2030h local-
"I can't believe this place isn't famous..." Erik exclaimed while eating a slice of Pepperoni Pizza. "It's better than some New York Pizzeria."
Stan released a hearty laugh before answering.
"Well, I'll take that as a compliment."
"You should, old man." Erik replied with a smile.
Bruce just listened in on the conversation while eating quietly. The pair have been bunkering down at some of Stan's free rooms. They're just waiting for Mr. Blue to contact them that he's ready. The current setup is making Erik a bit nervous since they have stayed in the same place for more than a night. Unknown to everyone, this night is about to get more interesting.
Elizabeth Ross or Betty is currently walking towards Stan's Pizzeria. However, she's not alone. She's with her date, Leonard Samson, a psychiatrist at Culver University.
Betty is a 5'6" caucasian woman with black hair and hazel green eyes. She's a medical doctor who primarily teaches and does research. It was in a hallucinogenic drug experiment that she and Bruce first met. There was an immediate attraction between them. It didn't take long before they become official.
After five years of a strong and healthy relationship, Betty fully expected for them to get married after they become financially stable. That's why she practically forced Bruce to accept her father's job offer to recreate the super-soldier serum. The end of contract payment for both of them would more than enough to allow them to pay for a wedding and a house with a lot more to spare.
With the benefit of hindsight, she should've known that her father would place a priority on 'national security' rather than family. He manipulated Bruce to do a dangerous experiment on himself as soon as he figured out that Bruce is hooked on the project.
That's when the incident happened. Bruce's rampage had caused her to enter into a coma. When she woke up, Bruce was already considered a fugitive. She tried to make contact with Bruce, but her father had always hindered her effort. It was only four years later that she decided to date again.
"I could say a pizza parlor is a great place to eat at night..." Leonard commented. "I order one in at least once a week."
"You never tasted Stan's pizza," Betty replied with a smile. Although, if one looks closely, one could see an undercurrent of pain in Betty's smile.
Leonard, being the gentlemen that he is, walked in, went ahead of Betty, and opened the door.
Erik is still eating his Pizza when he saw a couple approaching the store. Squinting his eyes a bit, he recognized the woman in Banner's dossier.
"Fuck. Is this how Naruto feels most of the time..." Erik mused to himself before looking towards Bruce. "No questions asked. Go towards the bathroom and don't look back."
Weeks of traveling with Erik had taught Bruce to follow his orders 'that starts with no questions asked' to a tee. The last time he tried to play nice and loose with the rules, they almost got into a shootout with the Mexican cartel. The situation had nearly made him turn green.
Bruce jumped up from his seat and marched to the bathroom. Erik, on the other hand, pulled out his phone and speed-dialed Naruto.
"We may have encountered a problem..." Erik said as soon as Naruto answered. "Ross's daughter is about to enter the pizzeria Bruce and I are staying in with a date."
"I'm coming..." Naruto replied without a second thought. "I want to see what's gonna happen next." He added before ending the call.
As soon as the call ended, the bell on the door rang, indicating that someone opened the door. Erik looked back at the door and saw the couple walking in.
"Betty!" Stan greeted one of his long time customers before looking at Leonard with an assessing eye. "I see you brought someone eh."
Betty walked towards Stan and gave him a firm hug.
"It's good to see you too..." Betty greeted back with a smile. "This is Leonard. He's a psychiatrist from Culver..." She then turned towards Leonard. "This is Stan. The best pizza maker in Virginia."
Leonard extended his hand towards Stan, who promptly shook it.
"Good evening." Leonard said.
"Good evening to you too..." Stan replied. "Let me whip you up something." He continued before walking towards the kitchen.
Erik moved Bruce's food and utensils behind the counter while the trio was greeting each other. He opted to stay seated at the counter to keep watch of the couple and if Bruce decided to do something stupid as peeking out the door.
The couple continued to talk to each other and Erik could see that Betty is just not into her date. He could also feel a few curious glances from Betty, probably because he's still there even after the pizzeria has supposedly closed up.
It was another 8 minutes later when Stan walked out of the kitchen with a pepperoni pizza in one hand and a pair of lasagna in the other. Erik stood up from his seat and went to the bathroom to check on Bruce.
"Here ya go." Stan said while putting the meals down.
"Thanks, Stan." Betty replied.
"No problem. I'll leave you two to it." Stan was about to walk back to the counter when she was stopped by Betty.
"Before you go..." Betty started. "Who's the military guy who was seating there?"
"Oh, don't worry about him..." Stan answered. "He's just a friend of a friend."
Erik entered the toilet and saw Bruce leaning on the wall. He made sure to lock the door behind him.
"Somebody found us?" Bruce asked while walking back and forth.
"Not exactly..." Erik replied while scratching the back of his head. "Your ex decided to stop by..." His statement effectively stopped Bruce in his tracks but it gets worse. "She's with a date. All I got is Leonard..." Bruce slowly walked back to the toilet seat and sat down. "Sorry, man."
Bruce remained silent for a few moments, trying to push through the unexpected heartache.
"It's okay..." Bruce whispered. "It's been five years, can't expect her to keep her life on hold."
While Erik and Bruce are having a conversation, Betty and Leonard went on with their meal.
"Wow. You're right. This is good." Leonard commented.
"Told you." Betty replied with a smirk.
Leonard was about to take another bite of his lasagna when his phone rang. He took out his phone and is going to put it on silent when he saw the name of the caller.
"It's from campus security..." Leonard informed Betty. Her face turned into a frown since there's no real reason for campus security to call Leonard that late at night. He answered the call and put it on speaker. "Hello?"
"Is this Dr. Samson?" The caller asked.
"Yes."
"This is Jason Rodgers, sir. Your office has been ransacked..." Rodgers replied, causing Leonard to panic. Being the school's resident psychiatrist meant that he has a lot of sensitive information. "We're already securing the office and already placed the building on lockdown. I would like to know if you would take a look right now or wait until the morning."
Leonard is having an internal debate. On the one hand, he had a moral and professional obligation to his patients to check on the records to make sure it's still secure. On the other hand, he was finally on a date with Betty Ross.
Betty could see Leonard struggling with indecision so she decided to help him out.
"Hey, Leonard..." Betty called out. "You should go and check it out. Maybe we could try another time..." Leonard released a disappointed sigh. It looks like the universe is working against him. He started to pull out his wallet when she stopped him. "Don't worry. I'll handle it."
Leonard gave a small nod before standing up from his seat.
"I hope we could do this again." Leonard replied.
"Maybe..." Betty answered with uncertainty but Leonard could hear her intentions loud and clear. "Go on."
Leonard released another sigh before leaving. As he was exiting the pizzeria, another man comes into the building. He would've questioned why someone entered the store when it was supposed to be close already.
The man sat on the seat that Leonard just left, making Betty nervous. Leonard leaving and this guy sitting in front of her is not a coincidence.
Stan obviously saw the man walked into his shop, so he approached him.
"Sorry young man we're closed." Stan informed him.
"Oh, I'm not a customer though I could be..." The man replied in a jovial tone. "I'm here for your guests. The other guy should know about me."
Stan nodded in understanding.
"Then I should get you something too. Will pizza do?"
"Pizza would be great. As much meat cheese as possible."
"Coming right up." Stan answered before walking back to the kitchen.
The man leaned back to his chair and just stared at Betty, purposely making her nervous.
"Elizabeth 'Betty' Ross..." The man drawled out. "I have to say. Your dad is one stupid guy. Patriotic but stupid..." Betty would've countered the statement if she didn't already know how true it was. "Saw him in Brazil a few months ago chasing down your ex."
Betty's eyes widened when she heard the man's statement. She can't believe that her father was still looking for Bruce.
"Bruce is still alive?" Betty asked in a whisper.
"Of course he is..." The man answered. "It's kinda hard to kill a man that could turn into a green rage monster..." Betty's cheek turned a little red from embarrassment. The man stood up and walked towards the bathroom. "He's a lot closer than you think."
Betty flashed a questioning look.
The man tried opening the door but noticed that it's locked, so he knocked. Erik cautiously opened the door and peeked through the crack. He was obviously surprised when he saw who it is.
"Naruto!?" Erik exclaimed.
"Told you I'm not going to miss this. Stop him from wallowing and bring him out." Naruto replied.
"Aren't we suppose to keep him hidden."
"What can I say. I love love."
"Who is it?" Bruce interjected.
"My boss." Erik answered.
Bruce quickly moved towards the door to take a look at his mysterious benefactor. So he could easily be forgiven to see that his benefactor is in his early twenties.
"Nice to officially meet you, Doctor." Naruto greeted before going back to his seat.
Betty was observing the situation intently so she was surprised when she saw the third guy walking out of the area. She rubbed her eyes and wiped off the tears forming on her eyes to make sure that what she's seeing is real.
"Bruce?" Betty asked cautiously.
Bruce fully expected for Betty to be gone already since he basically avoided everyone from his old life, and Betty is the ultimate nexus point for his past life.
"Betty?" Bruce called back.
Betty practically jumped out of her seat and sprinted towards Bruce. In a surprising fashion, Betty slapped Bruce.
"That's for suddenly leaving me..." Betty said passionately before giving him a deep kiss. "and that's for coming back."
"Uhmm. He's not back yet..." Naruto interjected awkwardly. "He's just visiting..." He added. "Your dad is still looking for him."
Erik placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, signaling for him to stop. Good thing, too, since Naruto was about to start with how Ross is about to do some questionable human experimentation on Banner.
"Right. Shutting up now."
Betty excitedly pulled Bruce towards 'their' spot, leaving her and Leonard's seat behind. Bruce gestured for Erik and Naruto to sit at the table next to them.
Naruto and Erik could feel the nervous energy being released in waves from the 'couple.' He would've ignored the completely normal reaction, but Bruce's increasing heart rate might cause some problems.
"Your heart rate, Doctor." Naruto reminded.
Naruto's statement pierced through Bruce's chaotic mind. He took a series of deep breaths while looking at his heart monitor.
"Thank you..." Bruce replied after he calmed himself down. "Who are you anyway? All I know is you're Erik's boss."
"I taught you heard me back when we're huddling in the bathroom..." Naruto purposely said with a tone that makes it dirtier than it should be. "Well, I'm Naruto Uzumaki if that's what you're asking."
"No. I mean I want to know that too but what I really want to know is why are you helping me?"
"Erik already answered that. I don't want to go over that again."
Naruto looked at the window and decided to flex a bit. Nine golden chains appeared from his back, surprising both Bruce and Betty. He extended it towards the window shades and closed it.
The chains disappeared right when Stan exited the kitchen with a family size meat and cheese lover's pizza. A smile immediately formed on his face when he saw Bruce and Betty sitting at their booth.
"And I thought you two would never neet again..." Stan let out while serving the pizza to Naruto. "It looks like you could eat so decided to give you a large pizza."
Naruto's eyes are practically shining when he saw how loaded was the pizza. He took one slice and slowly took one bite.
"Fucking hell old man! This is delicious!" Naruto exclaimed. "How much would you need to move to New York?"
Stan released a boisterous laugh before answering.
"I'm not moving, kid. I like it here."
"Damn, might as well bring some people here sometimes."
Bruce took his time but he finally gathered enough courage to finally start a conversation with Betty.
"So Samson, huh..." Bruce started awkwardly. "He's a nice guy. Smart too."
"Yeah." Betty anxiously replied.
Naruto was just eavesdropping on the couple's conversation while eating his pizza when he leaned closer to Erik.
"Why is it so awkward? Isn't there supposed to be more emotions?" Naruto asked in a whisper.
"Not everything is a movie." Erik deadpanned.
"You mean I ransacked a guy's office for this boring, awkward meetup?"
Betty quickly turned his head towards Naruto when she heard his statement.
"You ransacked Leonard's office!?" Betty exclaimed.
"Well, I have to get him out of here somehow, and killing him is most likely out of the options." Naruto answered with a shrug.
"Of course, that's out of the options!" Betty shouted.
"He's not serious, right?" Bruce asked Erik with an almost desperate looked.
"I once saw him kill a guy because he looked at him funny." Erik answered, causing Betty and Bruce's eyes to widen while Stan only gave Naruto an assessing look.
"In my defense, he's a Russian mob boss that we are going to kill later that night." Naruto countered.
"You did at his birthday party in front of almost one hundred witnesses!"
"To-meh-to, To-mah-to."
"Your boss has a few screws loose..." Bruce said to Erik. "and you told me he could go toe to toe with the other guy. That's a scary thought."
"You should worry about me less and think more about your crumbling love life." Naruto countered.
"What do you want me to say?" Bruce asked in a quiet voice before turning towards Betty and taking her hand. "As long as I'm not 'normal,' I'm not going to have a normal life. You deserve better than living your life as a fugitive being chased by your own father."
"Isn't it supposed to be my choice too? Not yours alone!?" Betty emphatically replied.
"You're not listening to me! There's no upside to this! No white picket fence! No two and a half bath home!"
"Fuck what I deserve! It's what I want that matters!"
"You're still as stubborn as before."
"Damn, right, I am!" Betty exclaimed before continuing in a quiet voice. "That's why you love me."
"That's why I love you."
Erik is starting to worry about Bruce since he might suddenly change with how charged his emotions are right now while Naruto is just enjoying the show he came for. As for Stan, he's just happy that Bruce and Betty are talking again.
"Now this is better than a movie." Naruto commented before eating his last slice of pizza.