Bruce was sure everyone else knew; secrets tend not to stay secret when you lived with the people he lived with. But he wasn't worried about it, really, since nobody else was.

Kae wasn't worried about much of anything for the moment. Until she saw a little alert flashing across the bottom of the screen.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered, looking at the screen. "Really? A freak storm now?" She made a face.

That got Bruce's attention.

"That's strange," he murmured. After a moment, though, he turned his attention away again. "Well, do you want to head back to the tower early to beat the storm?"

"Not really. Still don't want to deal with Stark." Kae shrugged. "It'll probably only last a few hours. Storms on this coast aren't huge and long and evil."

"If you're sure," Bruce said. He didn't mind either way. He pulled her a bit closer as he kept an eye on the weather report.

Kae didn't regret her decision until a few hours later, when the TV flickered and died, hail hitting the house intermixed with the rain.

"Well," she said with forced cheer, "looks like we'll be here for a little while."

Bruce blinked when the power went out a few moments later.

"Seems like," he agreed. He glanced at her. "Is that alright with you?"

"Once we get some light," Kae said, stiffening a little next to him. But she didn't freak out this time, instead floating a few candles and a matchbook over to them. Because she had noticed these things earlier when she'd settled in, and she didn't want to get up just then.

Bruce reached up and pulled the matchbook and one of the candles out of the air. Once that one was lit, he set it down and lit the other three one by one until they had a little bubble of soft illumination around them.

"Better?" he asked softly, putting his arm back around her.

"Yeah." Kae relaxed a little at that, leaning back against him. "Did we put wood in the fireplace? It's probably going to get cold soon, so..." She trailed off, glancing at him. She could even light the fire without getting up.

"There's wood in the fireplace, and a little bit next to the fireplace," Bruce replied. "We'll be alright for a little while."

Kae nodded and settled in there for a bit.

"Okay so far?" she asked him quietly. She wasn't worried, but she knew that sometime the Other Guy didn't like being in enclosed spaces.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I could handle it," Bruce said, smiling at her a bit.

"Just making sure." Kae grinned and poked his stomach before settling in there, listening to the storm outside.

At least the house wasn't leaking.

After a while, Bruce noticed Kae snuggling closer and closer, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"Getting cold?" he asked quietly.

"A little," Kae admitted, shivering just a little. "I'm not as thick-skinned as you are, apparently."

"The Other Guy is indestructible," Bruce murmured as he pulled her closer. "It must bleed over some."

"Apparently." Kae cuddled closer happily, soaking up as much warmth as she could. After a moment, she floated one of the candles over to go start a fire in the fireplace, since it was only going to get colder.

Bruce watched the candle float over to the fireplace.

"You're getting good at that," he commented.

Kae smiled. "I've been practicing," she admitted. "I got more practice than I'd counted on when you all were little. Clint liked being thrown across the pool. Remember that?"

"Vaguely," Bruce replied, smiling a bit. "I also remember he had a slingshot and a bag of marshmallows."

"He still does," Kae said with a snicker, managing to squirm onto his lap instead. She was still cold.

Bruce grinned at that, and then pulled her closer. When he realized she was still cold, he tugged her to her feet.

"Come on," he said, "why don't we go and get a blanket or something? It'll be warmer than just the couch."

Kae nodded after a moment and followed him out of the main room and back to the bedroom, since that was where all the blankets were. But no fireplace. She made a face, trying to keep her feet off the floor as much as possible.

Bruce left her to her own devices for a few moments while he looked for spare blankets for the couch.