Fandom(s): Animorphs and The Avengers
Rating: T (as according to ffnet)
Characters In Chapter: Tobias and Bruce Banner
Relationships:N/A
The events of the previous evening had shaken me to my core. I had nearly died far away from home. So far away that I'd have to travel to a different dimension to get back to my friends. To get back to my fight.
I didn't spend much time at Avengers Tower during the
following day. I needed time to think. Time to go over the events. I also
needed time to not think about anything. To fully escape into the mind of the
hawk. The hawk part of me that had no understanding of what had happened.
You could say that the hawk part of me thought that I had
been extremely stupid.
But eventually I had to return. I didn't want anyone to
panic about me and disturb their important work. I didn't want to cause too
many problems while I was here.
So tonight I was sitting on the couch by Bruce as the
evening news played. It was interesting to see what was happening on a day by
day basis in the Avengers universe. I could tell Rachel all about this
when...Rachel. If I ever got back home.
"You've been quiet." Bruce said with a voice
tinged slightly with shame.
Bruce was ashamed for what he had nearly done and I was
ashamed because of how stupid I had been. If I hadn't waited, if I hadn't
paused, then he wouldn't be ashamed. I would be slightly spooked and we
could've laughed about it.
Maybe.
I'm not usually
talkative. I said, a little afraid for this conversation to continue.
"Listen, I'm sor-" Bruce started.
It...it was my
mistake. I could've flown away and been safe. I could've prevented it. I
told him.
"But you were afraid."
I wished I could give Bruce a good answer. An answer that
would make him able to look at me. That would relieve him of all his faults.
You were...different
when you changed. I told him, telling a half truth. I'm used to morphing and how that looks. You were different when you
changed. I guess curiosity nearly killed the hawk.
Bruce looked at me. I felt his eyes seem to blame me of
lying. Like he knew that what I was telling him wasn't true. At least, not all
of it.
I flexed my talons, feeling them cut into the couch. My
feathers ruffled and I started to preen myself.
"Am I really that interesting?" Bruce asked with a
small smirk on his face.
Parts of you are.
I said and was glad I couldn't blush.
Why would I be blushing now?
"Parts of me." Bruce replied and turned his
attention back to the tv. "Tobias I..I think you're a good friend. You're
a kid and all, but you're good to have around. Great to keep Tony at bay."
He's not that bad.
I said as I finished preening.
"It feels like I get overloaded. With you, I see
myself. I guess it's just easier to talk to you."
As Bruce talked I noticed something strange about his face.
It kept moving in strange directions and then the man would take control again.
Was he trying to control the Hulk or was it something else?
I sort of feel that
way with Marco. He's a great guy, but sometimes you really just need a break
from him. I finally replied.
"Seems like they could get along great." Bruce
said and turned to me.
No. No. No. I
said, barely containing my laughter. Just
no.
With that, Bruce and I started laughing. It felt great to
hear him laughing. To not be in so much pain. It was almost like...like...like
I was just a normal boy hanging out with a friend. No aliens and I was in the
dimension I had been born in.
There was no war and I wasn't in danger of losing anyone.
"Pepper only districts him for so long." Bruce
said with a fake sigh. "Mostly it's him finding new ways to annoy everyone
else."
He slowly lifted his hand and touched my back. I stiffened
and then relaxed. It took great effort to calm the hawk mind, but I did so. It
was easier to keep that part of me calm when Bruce started scratching. It felt
like heaven.
It also felt odd. Hawks aren't used to being petted and I
had seen what Bruce could become at any moment. Any moment he could lose
control, maybe that made this petting even more exciting. The fact that I could
die at any moment.
"I'm sorry for what happened." Bruce said and
stopped. "I'm the adult. I should know better."
We all make mistakes.
I said, trying to calm him. We're only
human.
"Are we?"
Were we? Bruce and myself were in the same condition. I
didn't consider myself fully human anymore. There was a connection between us
that could have no substitute. A good friendship.
I...does it matter?
I asked. I'm half-boy and half-hawk. I
don't think I'd fit as either. And I'd be scared if I no longer had the hawk
mind beside me.
Bruce just nodded and I waited for him to say he was human
and that he was a monster.
"I'm going to bed." Bruce said as he stood up.
"More tests tomorrow and more Tony to deal with."
I nodded as he left. The tv still playing in the background.
I had stopped listening to the news of this dimension as I had realized
something about Bruce and myself.
I was lying to myself when I thought of Bruce as a friend. I
thought of him as much more than that. A friend was someone like Ax or Jake,
someone I could tell my troubles to and they wouldn't abandon me.
My feelings for Bruce were like my feelings for Rachel. Some
deep, unbreakable bond. Of course not as strong as with her, but still
extremely similar.
But Bruce was older, far older, and that was wrong. So
wrong. And I was dating Rachel and cheating on her was even worse. I shouldn't
do this and yet the thought of him as my lover kept persisting.
I was in another dimension and might never get back home.
Why should I be stuck to someone that I would never see again? I had to move
on, right?
As for Bruce's age...I didn't care. I loved him.
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