Hello there! I am not sure if I want to continue this story or make it part of a match-making series, so you better review or I won't...Thanks for reading all of my geek-induced creations!
I couldn't sleep. My relationship with Preston hadn't been going so great. I was up debating on whether we should end it. I decided to go downstairs and get a glass of milk. I silently padded into the kitchen, stopping in my tracks when I saw the hunched figure of Bruce sitting at the bar.
"Bruce? Are you okay?" I tentatively ask, walking over to face him. I saw his eyes had a green tint to them and he was shaking. Uh-oh.
"Go away Beth." he said through clenched teeth. "It's not safe."
"Pffffft. Yeah, yeah. Hey big guy, you in there?" I ask, putting a hand on Bruce's shoulder and looking into his now-green eyes. "Don't make an appearance. We just got the kitchen remodeled after the spider incident. Chill out." I say to the green monster within. Bruce's spasms begin to lessen and his shoulders relaxed. I rub his back, trying to calm him down.
After a minute, Bruce is completely in check. "How did you do that?" he asks in his ever-calm voice.
"I dunno really. I just thought talking to the angry guy myself would be faster. Why the rage Brucie?" I ask and grab the carton of milk from the fridge and pour myself a glass.
"Do you know the story of how I became the Hulk?" Bruce asked.
"Nope. Come to think of it, I don't really know anybody's back story. And I don't think y'all know mine." I reflect. "What's yours?"
"Many years ago, I was the head of a secret team created to develop weapons involving gamma radiation for the army under an officer named General Ross. He positively hated me, but his daughter Betty didn't. We eventually fell in love. When the testing of a gamma bomb went horribly wrong, I was turned into the Hulk by the uncontrolled radiation. Betty was terribly injured. The last thing I remember from that moment was seeing her mangled body on the ground before everything went green." he said with a sigh. "If only I had been more careful..." Bruce trailed off.
"Hey. It's not your fault. Everyone else on your team should have checked better too." I say. "You can't go back to the way you were before the car accident, okay?" I say, reminding us of the incident many months before.
"It just hurts to see everyone so in love all the time, you know? I had come down here because I had a nightmare about Betty. Everywhere I go, it's Jane and Thor, Tony and Pepper, Clint and Natasha. I mean, Steve hasn't found someone yet but he's Captain America, every girl in New York is probably pining after him. You have Preston..." He says in this achingly sad voice.
I sigh, reminded of why I came down here in the first place. "Probably not for long." I say.
Bruce turns to look at me. "I'm sorry. That kid grew on me." he says in his trademark dry sense of humor.
I chuckle. "He wasn't the one." I say, using air quotes. Bruce cracks a smile. "It just kind of fizzled out. I was up debating on whether I should end it."
"If you want some single 38-year-old's advice, I would." he offers. "No use being with someone you don't really love. I wouldn't worry though. You have your whole life ahead of you. Me on the other hand..." he says.
"Wait, you're thirty-eight? To tell you the truth, I thought you were older...My bad." I say with a sheepish look on my face.
"Eh, it's okay. Most people do. Constant anger and stress will put a few gray hairs on ya..." he says.
"Hehe. Just you wait, Bruce. One day, you will be running errands. You and this beautiful girl with flowing hair will reach for the same can of soup. You'll brush hands, stare into each other's eyes, and before you know it, you'll be getting married and having a family." I jokingly say, making Bruce laugh out loud.
"I'm glad you have more faith in me than I do myself." he says.
"Who wouldn't fall in love with a doctor/gamma physicist/superhero?" I ask and give him a hug. "Goodnight Bruce. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we need to go to the store. I noticed we are out of soup." I say and wink as I leave the kitchen.
"Oh no. You are not helping me pick up women!" Bruce whisper-yells down the hallway.
"Too late!" I call from the top of the stairs. The last thing I hear before I close my bedroom door is Bruce laughing from the kitchen.
Don't forget to give me your opinions on continuing this story! C'mon, the box is right below here! Just a sentence will do...:)