Chapter Text
Bruce was in the lab, looking over some specs for a new arc reactor with Tony, when his phone chimed. Seeing the number had a New York area code, he cautiously picked it up.
“Hello?”
“Good morning. I’m Kathrine from New York child services department. Could I speak to Dr. Bruce Banner?”
“This is him.” Bruce replied nervously. What would child services want with him?
“Alright.” The woman on the other end had a falsely chipper voice “Like I said, I’m calling on behalf of child services. Were you aware that you have a sister?”
“What?” Bruce spluttered. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been that.
“Yes. We managed to track you down through the adoption records.” Katherine plowed on. “Now I know this must be a shock to you, but I’m afraid the news only gets worse. You sister is currently in a comatose state, along with her husband, and we need to place for her son to stay until the situation resolves itself.”
“Wait, hold on.” Bruce had to sit down while he tried to digest the news “So my sister is currently in a coma and her kid is staying at their home alone?’
“That is the current situation, yes.” Kathrine confirmed “He’s seventeen so concerns are at a minimum, but he is still technically a minor. We’ve been scouring our records for days, trying to find someone to take him in and we found you.”
“What happens to him if I don’t take him in?” Bruce asked.
“Well, since he’s a minor, he would be placed in the foster care system.” Katherine sighed.
“I-” Bruce had been about to refuse but cut himself off. Why shouldn’t he be able to take the kid in for a little while? All he needed to do was provide a place for him to stay. “Alright. I’ll take him in. What do I need to do from here?”
As Kathrine explained all of the steps, he would need to take in order to have his nephew come live with him while his mother was in the hospital, Bruce suddenly realized he had just agreed to take in a complete stranger while living at a place he didn’t even own.
“Okay, thank you.” Bruce said after Kathrine was done “I can arrange to pick him up at the hospital tomorrow afternoon.” He paused then asked, “By the way, what’s his name?”
“It’s Perseus.” Kathrine replied “Perseus Jackson.”
“So, what’s up?” Tony asked when he came back into the lab. “You look like you just saw someone get hit by a bus.”
“Yeah, and that person was me.” Bruce said, rubbing a hand down his face “Look, I need a favor.”
“Ask away.” Tony waved a hand “I am at your disposal.”
“Well, it turns out that I have a sister.” Bruce said “And she’s currently in a coma and they’re looking for someone to take her seventeen-year-old son in. And I kind of said that I would look after him.”
“Whoa, back up.” Tony said, “You have a sister?”
“Apparently.” Bruce replied, “She and I were split up as babies and adopted by different families.”
“So, what’s this about a kid?” Tony was poking at the arc reactor again.
“I told child services I’d take my nephew in for a while.” Bruce told him “He’s seventeen, so it’s not like he’ll need watching all the time, but he is still a minor.”
“He can stay here.” Tony assured him “We have plenty of spare rooms.”
“Thanks.” Bruce sighed in relief “I’m supposed to go pick him up at the hospital tomorrow.”
“I’ll let Happy know so he can drive you.” Tony said, “And trust me, you do not want to be behind the wheel in New York at rush hour.”