Bruce just held her, letting her settle. She seemed exhausted, and he didn't blame her.

Kae fell asleep less than half-way home, leaning on Bruce with one hand curled in his shirt.

"Looks like she's got a death grip on you, Brucie," Tony said with a teasing grin.

"I don't mind," Bruce replied quietly, so as not to wake Kae.

"So how much convincing do you think we'll have to do?" Tony asked quietly after several moments. "She looked like she was having fun."

"Tony..." Bruce looked at him. "If she wants to stay, it's her choice. Trying to stop her will only make her more stubborn and creative in getting what she wants."

"You can't tell me you want her to stay, I know you'll be lying," Tony said. "Neither of us want that. Besides, she doesn't belong with them, she belongs with us."

"You're right," Bruce replied simply. "I don't want her to stay. But if that's what she wants, I have to respect it. And who says she doesn't belong with them? If you want to be technical, she kind of does."

"If I want to be technical, which I have no interest doing, you belong with them too," Tony pointed out. "But you're still with us rather than them." He frowned a little.

"True," Bruce said. "But I also told Professor Xavier I wasn't interested in the X-Men. I'm still not. But Kae might be."

"You think that's a good idea?" Tony raised his eyebrows at Bruce. "You really think any of us would be okay with putting her in the line of fire even with whatever training they could give her?"

"What do you want me to say, Tony?" Bruce asked. "No, I don't want her to be in danger. But I don't think you're really hearing me when I say that it's her decision."

Tony huffed and looked away. Sometimes it was best to interfere, after all. But Bruce wasn't seeing that, so Tony wouldn't push until he knew what Kae was thinking.

Bruce closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to center himself again. Tony had really started to make him angry, and he couldn't afford that. The Hulk grumbled and seethed restlessly in his head, but Bruce's will was too strong for him to break for the moment.

Tony eyed him for a moment before turning on music for the rest of the drive, not even commenting on Kae's cuddling tendencies.

When they got back to the tower, Bruce gently nudged Kae.

"We're back," he said softly. "Time to wake up."

Kae grumbled as she woke up. "Still tired," she muttered, though she did manage to get out of the car without falling flat on her face.

"I know," Bruce said softly. "Come on, let's get you up and into bed so you can sleep a while longer."

Kae nodded and managed to stumble her way into the elevator, leaning on Bruce the whole way up to her floor. And then she stumbled over to her bed, still latched onto Bruce.

Bruce almost stumbled, himself, when she pulled him along.

"Kae--" he started, and then sighed. "Alright." Toeing off his shoes, he settled on the bed with her.

Kae immediately wormed over against him, settling in there to nap for a little while longer.

Tony, meanwhile, went to go see who else he could find in the kitchen, still looking thoughtful.

Elaine was in the kitchen making some tea when she heard him walk in.

"Welcome back, Tony," she said without turning around.

Tony grunted and moved over to the coffee machine.

"Kae's thinking about staying there," he said, drumming his fingers against his Arc.

"Staying... where? With the X-Men?" Elaine asked, turning to look at him.

"Yes." Tony poured himself a cup of coffee, his eyes narrowed as he drank.

"Interesting..." Elaine commented quietly. "I don't blame her for that, exactly, but it seems a little... I don't know. 'Sudden' isn't quite the word, since she's thought about visiting more often for a while now, but... Maybe 'unexpected' is more what I'm looking for."