hyperkinesia: (If I couldn't handle pointy things.)
Bruce Banner ([personal profile] hyperkinesia) wrote in [community profile] entrancelogs2014-05-18 11:49 am

((OPEN)) Have you hugged your physicist today?

Who: Bruce Banner and YOU
Where: Library, kitchen, dining room, gardens, basement lab, etc. ANYWHERE.
When: From the 16th to the 19th, state your date!
Rating: I don't expect anything past PG
Summary: Bruce is seeking the comfort of simple physical contact. Arms brushing, hands holding, hugging, anything. It doesn't even matter if he knows you or if he's never seen you before. He craves for it so much he might not even notice he's doing it at first.
Note: I'm alright with both brackets and prose, pick your poison.
The Story:

[ It starts with nothing but a feeling, something itching at the far back of his mind, something that's entirely different from the kind of clawing and scratching he's normally used to. But he brushes it aside, he doesn't think much of it - not until he starts crossing paths with random people on the hallways and the gardens and finds himself reaching to touch strangers he's never even seen before.

Most times, he manages to draw back and rush away before actually doing anything. Other times he finds himself detouring just so he can brush his fingers against someone else's, or feel his arm bump lightly against theirs. But somehow it's only when he's alone that he starts to fully realize that something's happening. The mind is quick to make the association, though knowing that this might very well be one of these events doesn't really help him in stopping this craving for touch from happening.

So instead he starts seeking solitude. He hides in corners of the library, and he uses the kitchen and the dining room when there's no one else around. The rest of the time, he retreats to the lab and stays there, surrounded by what's as close to familiarity as he can get, and at least there if someone approaches him, it's people he's more comfortable with. Relatively speaking. ]
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Secretive)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-05 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
"I've never liked that phrase," she comments as she starts assembling some sandwiches, her eyes on her work rather than on him, because he was talking and she liked encouraging that, especially because it always seemed to give her such fascinating insights into who he was.

"Being safe isn't always that great either. If you don't take risks here and there, it seems a pretty sorry state in itself."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Interested)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-09 10:15 pm (UTC)(link)
"That wasn't what I meant," She replies, shaking her head and giving him a sideways look as she puts a sandwich together for him.

"You are careful. You're always careful. I understand that, and I appreciate it - trust me, I'm in no hurry to play tag with the Other Guy again ever. But at the same time... None of us are exactly safe, either. Not to mention..." She pauses, trying to choose the right words to voice the concept she's been idly pondering since New York. "I'm not sure it would be the same, a second time around. With the Other Guy, I mean."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Determination)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-12 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)
"But you are still there, in glimpses," she counters, sliding one of the finished sandwiches towards him and turning to lean her hip against the counter. It made the reach to her shoulder a little far so she reaches up for his hand, bringing it down between them to cup in both of hers. Maybe the skin contact will help.

She's still choosing her words carefully, because this is a touchy subject for him and with good reason. And they don't know each other well enough for her to press too far without a little caution. He doesn't trust her, but that's something she's used to working around all the same. She can't help but observe the details that spill out around her - nuances, personalities, reactions. All of it gets cataloged and remembered, factored into the growing picture of the people around her she builds on with every little conversation or chance moment. And it hadn't been only Bruce she'd watched. Not to mention she didn't know how much he remembered when he transformed back, how much filter there was between Bruce and the Hulk. The Other Guy. Whatever he preferred to call his other half.

"The first time you turned on me, Bruce, you'd had Loki's scepter playing with you. You didn't trust me - didn't trust any of us, really, and that's understandable. That made us possible threats, and when you changed, you struck out. It was terrifying, yes, but I can also understand it. New York was different, though. I don't know if because there's a hint of you still conscious when the Other Guy comes out to play or if maybe he... maybe he gets filtered moments of what happens when he's not, like you've said you do. Trust might be stretching things there - we were all new to each other, but we were still functioning as a team. Even you. The Other Guy - you - didn't see us as threats. Three different times you dropped down and drew off squadrons advancing on my position. You took Steve's orders. You saved Tony. I understand that there's always a chance for an accident, that it's not always a matter of choice for you. But I also think the Other Guy is more aware of what goes on around him than you might think."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Default)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-14 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
"I know," she answers quietly when he meets her gaze in one of those brief moments, because she does. She understands all too well. He's not the only one of the group that feels like a monster because of who and what he is, what he's done. She's perhaps not the best comparison, but she can still understand.

She hesitates, her thumb brushing light circles against the back of his hand, all to aware of the way his fingers have curved against her own. For a moment, she's not sure how much to say, but since they've started this conversation...

"I was there," she admits after a moment, glancing over the meet his gaze again. She wasn't sure how her honesty in this situation would be met, so she was carefully watching his reaction. "At Culver."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Default)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-16 02:50 pm (UTC)(link)
"Fury didn't want Ross to get his hands on you. He didn't think that would turn out well for anyone," she confesses, watching him, watching his reactions, her own voice quiet. "Then again, I'd happily keep Ross from getting his hands on anyone or anything he's after. The man's a menace and an asshole and that's on his good days."

Natasha's not a fan.

"But I wanted you to know... I've been watching the Other Guy longer than you think. Although some of it didn't make sense until after New York. I had some free time on my hands just after that. It gave me a lot of time to think. And even back then... Well. I find it interesting that even when you lost your control in one of the most violent ways possible, you ignored all the innocent people that could have been caught in the crossfire and went specifically after the aggressors. Who'd, granted, picked the fight with you first. I don't believe that was accidental."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Pondering)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-19 01:30 pm (UTC)(link)
She's already shaking her head before he finishes his sentence. "No, it wasn't, but I doubt many of Ross's people could be termed innocent. And they had a choice to follow those orders or not. Considering everything they brought to fight on a college campus..." She made an inarticulate sound of disgust, shaking her head before hopping up on the counter beside him. "It was insanity. And yes, Ross is ultimately to blame, but they helped start that fight and placed it somewhere they never should have. If you're going to absolve them of blame because you think they had no choice, how is it any different for you, when they gave you no choice either?"

"Not to mention," she points out, sliding her hand against his arm lightly. "If you were just unstoppable rage, there would have been nothing keeping you from continuing to rampage once the specific aggressor was taken care of. Except you didn't finish that fight either. Made a mess, yes, but you left early. To protect another innocent."

Because yeah. She'd caught his abrupt departure too, even if she'd been unable to follow.
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Default)

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-20 07:05 pm (UTC)(link)
He doesn't give much of a noticeable reaction to that, but she can still sense the flinch all the same. Some things are easier than others for her to read, interpret. Natasha reaches out, sliding her hand up his arm to rub lightly against his shoulder, her expression apologetic.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."
widows_kiss: serious, curious (Calm)

That works! Although now she's going to have to poke him again sometime soon to make up for it...

[personal profile] widows_kiss 2014-06-24 02:28 am (UTC)(link)
She ducks her head in agreement, letting the subject drop without argument as she takes a bite of her sandwich again. But just because she's let the topic drop doesn't mean she doesn't still stick close, offering the comfort and contact he craves for as long as he wants it.