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Things have changed a lot at SHIELD the last few weeks. This, of course has included the prison, containment of gamma radiation, and Bruce's strange newfound freedom in SHIELD. Well, freedom-ish. The need to resolve the issues associated with Governor's Island, and the prisoner Sam Sterns' gamma radiation exposure required specialized help.
Which is why Bruce is out and about now. Well, kind of.
Theoretically, in the lab, he and Betty are supposed to be looking at Sterns' blood under a microscope, but instead, Betty insisted on getting down to other business.
Like… HAIRCUTS.
Betty had already draped a long sheet around Bruce's neck and she's spent time studying his too-long rather-shaggy hair rather silently… smiling like a fool the whole time. It's only after her fingers loop through a single curl that she realizes she's being too quiet, and clears her throat as a sort of reboot of her thoughts and the conversation. "I thiiiiink I can make it work for you again," she says maybe a bit too confidently. "And I'll make sure it's better than last time." Her cheeks redden further as she runs her fingers through his hair to inspect the length further. There's a long pause, "I promise it'll be better than last time. I swear I learned more since then." How probably begs questions.
*
"That a standard part of SHIELD training these days? Or just preparing for life after the dismantling of the military industrial complex?" Bruce asks as he plays along. For him, he just enjoys the moment of being outside the solitude. He really doesn't care if it's too quiet, or care if it's not too quiet. He's just, as they say, happy to be there. "I trust you," he says offhandedly.
*
"That's more terrifying than not being trusted," Betty's tone takes on a nearly cheeky edge. Carefully, she makes the first cut. "Clearly," she offers offhandedly, "it's something they teach in med school." Her lips curve upwards. She always feels most herself i moments like these; moments when she doesn't feel under anyone's scrutiny with Bruce.
Her tone quiets some, "I… visited the General." Her lips twist to the side thoughtfully. It had been literal years since she'd seen General Ross. The snip snip of the scissors suggest she's already going about her work. "I made my mother's cookies and took them. To ask for a favour."
*
"Yeah?" Bruce asks as he sits there quietly. "And how was his mustache?"
The joke is a way for him to deflect all of the hurt and the anger that Ross has caused him in the past. Bruce is doing his best to be zen, afterall, and his morning doses of drugs are still coursing through his veins.
*
Betty swallows hard. Her father has been troubling across the board. She remains behind Bruce as she continues to study his hair. "Unchanged," she deadpans easily. "As always." The years had worn on him. "Greyer, maybe." Her lips twitch, and she freezes, slowly lowering her hands to her sides only to rather impulsively, wrap her arms around his neck. Her eyes lid. She inhales a sharp breath.
And then, unlike with her father, she manages two words: "I'm sorry."
*
"For speaking to your father? And, it's not even June. How could you?" Bruce's smile grows. Getting more serious he shakes his head, "I'm not sure what you're sorry about, Betty, but you don't have to be."
*
"For being a traitor," Betty offers in reply. Her arms remain firmly around his neck. "I… I'd been trying to go for months. My mother…" her eyebrows draw together sharply. "Negotiating ghosts's expectations doesn't even make sense. Not logically. Not… in any way."
She sighs softly. "I know how he is. I haven't forgotten… any of it. I couldn't." She presses a light kiss to his neck. "Just. Sorry."
*
"He's your father, Betty," Bruce replies. His eyes trail up to her and he gives her a resigned smile. "I understand." He looks back, forward now, and gets a smirk on his face. "Did he talk about me? I always was his favorite topic."
*
"He's the General. He…" Betty doesn't finish the thought. "General first. Everything else later. Including human being. And parent." She slowly releases Bruce's neck, "He always talks about you." Her lips curve downwards slightly. "He'd heard you were at SHIELD." He'd referred to Bruce as that monster. Betty hadn't been impressed. "I told him.. that I asked you to move in with me. Whenever you're done here." She manages a ghost of a smile. The scissors snip again. "He didn't seem to like the idea of his only daughter 'living in sin.'" She forces a tight smile.
*
"Living in sin?" Bruce asks, pretending to be shocked. "I thought you were just asking me to be a roommate. I didn't know there would be any of that horseplay going around. Oh! The horror!"
*
The mock shock earns a cheshire smile. The scissors are set down on a a nearby lab bench and she, very coyly with a single hand draped over his neck, strolls around in front of him. Slowly, she slides onto his lap. "Why Doctor Banner, as I live and breathe!" Her lips curve into a sly smile, "Well, I understand if you can't have me sully your reputation. Or scandalize your very fragile constitution."
*
"I do admit that I am a glutton for my emotions. I remain unsure if I will be able to handle myself. Clearly we must rely upon the General for his sage advice," Bruce says with a chuckle. "I worry. I worry for his Christmas Card list."
*
"You're awfully considerate of the General," Betty's lips edge further upwards as she remains firmly planted on Bruce's lap. "I currently have a roommate in the guest room. Mind, I fully intended on," she manages a small nod, "staying in one bed. With you. I know, you're probably exasperated by the thought." She chuckles lightly. "I suppose I should clarify something: my intentions towards you are entirely disreputable."
*
"Well he is a duly selected member of the American Armed Forces. He clearly deserves not only my consideration but my respect," Bruce says sarcastically. Banner bites his lip just a bit as she shifts. "Well, we can't all be perfect, Ms. Ross."
*
"No, clearly we can't. I had the audacity to be born a girl. To look like my mother. To fall in love with the lead scientist on my father's project." Her smile falters slightly. "Perfection is well out of reach. But I like my life the way it is." Betty's chin lifts to catch Bruce's gaze. "I love you," she murmurs softly before leaning forward to lightly brush her lips against his.
*
Bruce kisses her back once, slowly. He opens his eyes again and smiles sadly. "Thanks. Thanks for sticking by me through all of this."
*
"I've said it before," Betty offers quietly as she inhales a slow breath, "there's no one I'd rather be anywhere with." Her fingertips graze his cheek and she very slowly stands back on her feet. "I'm just… I'm… thankful you're in my life again." Her expression falters momentarily, and for a second it's unmistakable: the hint of worry that rests just behind her eyes. And all too aware that she hasn't a poker face, she whispers, "Please… don't leave me again." But before Bruce can respond, Betty rights her expression, she plucks the scissors from the bench and goes back about her machinations.
And she attempts to sound casual. "The prisoner I told you about, the one that was exposed to gamma radiation… I caught him reading a book on nuclear physics. And then articles on gamma radiation." There's a pause. "I wish people wouldn't access my patients without talking to me first…" She tries to focus on the problem at hand rather than her all-too-concerned request.
*
"I won't. And if the green guy takes me away, I'll find my way back as soon as I'm able," Bruce adds, ignoring her change of topic at first. "Who accessed him?" he asks, quizzically.
*
The reassurance has Betty leaning forward and pressing a light kiss to Bruce's forehead before she goes back to cutting his hair. The question merits a vague frown, "That's the thing, they didn't even sign the log book." She shrugs slightly, "It's like there's no respect for what I do. I know he committed a crime. I know a lot of people got hurt by what he did, but we have processes for a reason." Her voice takes on an irritable edge.
*
"Respect aside," Bruce says raising an eyebrow, "It sounds very curious. Why would someone visit him? And then refrain from signing the log book? Have you asked Sterns point blank?"
*
"He's not exactly forthcoming. And he complained mercilessly about the novels I brought him. Novels are one thing. Nuclear physics?" Betty arches an eyebrow. "As near as I can tell before he was in here he had no capacity to understand that." Her lips hitch up on one side. "There was a thought piece you and I coauthored… years ago. Published years ago. It was in there, and then," her eyebrows knit together, "he wanted to talk about it. And asked at least one intelligible question before I confiscated the reading material and told him he could be causing himself brain damage. Until we understand his condition, I'm not indulging that."
*
"The radiation had an effect upon his mind, much in the same way that it effected my body. Almost me in reverse." Bruce sighs, "Betty, I don't want to tell you how to proceed, but I recommend you go back and check any security feeds and talk to anyone who would have seen Stern without your knowledge. Frankly, I don't like the mixture of an incredibly smart person and secret visitors."
*
"You're not alone," Betty murmurs softly. "I just… I don't even know why someone would think to give him that. Unless he specifically asked for it? But how would he even know to ask for it." She frowns lightly. "I filed a report with Coulson, and I hope that will be that." THere's a pause. "I suppose I could look at the feed. Just so I know. I mean, just in case." Her lips twist to the side thoughtfully.
*
"More questions than answers at this point. I don't want to alarm you, but we store all sorts of information in our subconscious. If my fears are right, and that the gamma radiation has altered his brain, it could be that he has accessed the information that he put together passingly…just as a human being in this nuclear age…and put much of it together on his own. I have no idea, of course, but those are my fears."
*
Betty's hands drop to her sides again and she shoots Bruce an uncertain look. "That's concerning." Her jaw tightens and her head shakes. "How do I even treat someone like that?" she offers in turn. "Physically he seems fine rather than this voracious appetite for knowledge and sheer determination to understand, well, anything and everything." Her lips purse. "Maybe there's nothing to treat and it's time I wash my hands of him." She sets the scissors down again and reaches for a hand mirror that she holds in front of Bruce. "Verdict? Any places that need more of a trim? Any unevenness? I don't see anything…"
*
Bruce turns and looks in the mirror, "Looks good to me. All the boys in the jail cells are going to be wolf whistlin' to be sure." He cracks a smile, "Thanks."
"Keep me posted about Sterns. If you get any information about what he was like before this, I'd be interested to hear more about his change."
*
"Well, I can guarantee you're the prettiest in the cell block," Betty replies easily. She carefully tugs the sheet from his neck so as not to get any stray hairs caught anywhere irritating. "And you're welcome." She studies his face a moment before shyly dropping her chin to lose the eye contact for a moment. "You look like yourself again," she observes. "I mean… it's still a little longer than it used to be, but I like the curls." There's a pause. "Do you remember," her smile turns fond and reminiscent, "we were working on the project, and you couldn't figure out why I kept working overtime despite not being paid for it. And I flirted so madly with you… but we were weeks in the lab. Your hair got so long." Her lips twitch into a smile. "And then one day when I'd finally decided I didn't care what the General would say, after we'd both looked at a sample through the microscope… I kissed you." Her eyes look up at him tenderly. "That's what your hair reminds me of right now."
The comment about Sterns is finally acknowledged after the story is shared, and she nods faintly. "I'm still looking into it. From a medical perspective, I'm not sure I have much more to contribute. He's fine. He's stable. He doesn't want treatment, though I think blood transfusion has promise." She shrugs her shoulders. "I just… want to help. Maybe to a fault."
*
"Don't forget who he is. And what he tried to do." Bruce sighs and shake his head. "I realize who this is coming from, but that all came before his exposure to gamma radiation." As he thinks back on her words, he sighs sadly and leans forward to hug Betty around the middle. He doesn't say anything, but in his mind he's wondering how in the world they both got here.
*
The arms around her middle warrant a faint lean into the embrace. Betty's gaze softens and she nods. "I know. I know he's a criminal. I know what he did. What he tried to do to Peggy," her voice flattens with the last sentence. "But I also can't help but feel… I dunno. Something." Her lips twist to the side uncertainly, "And what makes it worse is he challenges things. He replies in questions that I don't answer. I'm not sure what heads to achieve, but he does it just the same." Her cheeks puff out. "Someone qualified should actually just question him. That might produce more forthcoming answers. Despite working at SHIELD I continue to not be a spy."
Whatever the thought was, she seems to let it go. Her fingertips trail to Bruce's cheek. "Last month, just after you'd come, you told me you thought you could be happy here." She swallows hard. "…are you?" her tone softens.
*
"Well, I'd be interested in talking to him if you could arrange that. I'm not sure what SHIELD would say, but I think it'd be entertaining to say the least," Bruce replies.
"I'm happy wherever you are."
"Sunshine is overrated."
*
Betty's head tilts to the side curiously. She watches Bruce with rapt attention a few beats and then nods, "I'll see what I can do. Coulson just seems happy we have you to help us right now." There's another pause. "I suspect I may be able to swing it." There's a pause as a quizzical smile pulls her lips upwards, "Just so I can make a defence as to why it's important… what would you talk about? Theoretical physics?"
The last earns a tighter smile. "Someday you and I will take a long walk along the coast. I will hold your hand proudly. And it will probably be raining because it's us, and nothing is ever as I picture it." There's a pause. "But somehow it still manages to be good."
*
"You can make up anything you want. Really I just want to talk to him. Wherever the conversation goes, it goes," Bruce says as he shrugs his shoulders cryptically. "Which coast? If we know it's going to rain maybe we'd better make it Oregon. Somewhere secluded. Somewhere where it's just us."
*
Betty hums quietly. She will think of something to help in her argument, and it will probably be thought-out. But the question about which coast has her eyebrows lifting. "Why secluded?" she asks quietly.
*
Bruce shrugs, "I just want you all to myself for a while. Not forever, just for a while."
*
"I all yours right now, Doctor Banner," very much by Betty's design. Eyes always seemed to be lingering, and in this space, it's quiet. "And I know it comes as something of a surprise, but my heart has been yours for a very long time." Her smile quirks upwards.
*
"Just you, me, and hundreds of our SHIELD friends all around," Bruce says with a laugh. "That's the only part I don't like about being in here."
*
A chuckle follows the observation. "Just a quiet rendezvous," she offers in reply. "Clearly." She nods slightly at the last. "I know this is ridiculous, but I long for a day when I can take you home with me, make you dinner in our kitchen. Fall asleep on the couch against you because, as usual, I didn't go to sleep when I'd felt tired, and had forced myself to stay awake only to drift off without warning while you take about something you're working on… I just… want that life with you. I know it's weirdly mundane." She shrugs.
*
"I think mundane would be nice just about now. We never really got to have that period in our relationship where we were just able to be infatuated with each other. Something, usually green, always got in the way. Some day. Someday when I figure this Hulk thing out."
*
"There's time," Betty assures. "I'm not going anywhere. And nearly a decade later and I'm still infatuated with you." She smiles thinly. "And it'll come; you'll figure it out. I have faith."
*
Bruce stands up slowly, "Well, here's hoping for another decade." He gives her a warm hug that he holds for a long time, swaying for a long moment. "I know you do. I think that's what gets me by a lot of the time."