DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avengers or any other character or setting in the Marvel universe (cinematic or otherwise)!
Break
TBTBT
"Tony that is really bad idea." Bruce absently pushed up his glasses with his index finger as he leaned over his work area. He was taking notes on how the cells in a petri dish would react to a chemical compound he's been working on. Tony sat in a swivel chair on the opposite side of the table, spinning in slow circles.
Tony stopped spinning then turned to face Bruce. His arms lay loose on the armrests, his legs stretched out before him. "I think it's utterly genius. Cause you know, I am a genius therefore can only say genius things. And genius things are very good. Therefore again it is a very good idea."
Bruce shook his head, a slight smile on his face. Genius or not, Tony was insane. He dare suggest that Bruce should take a break. Walk with him to Central Park. No way was Bruce going to do something like that. He'd rather be safely surrounded by his chemicals tucked away in his lab.
Nearly two months have passed since the public found out that Bruce Banner was in fact the Hulk. That this little meek physics could turn into a giant green rage monster at any given moment. He worked very hard to stay out of the public scrutiny, even after the connection was made. He hadn't looked at the news or spoke to anyone about the reactions to expect or not to expect.
For all intents and purposes, Bruce was blissfully ignorant of how the public took the information. Really, what good would it do him if it turned out they want him locked away somewhere? Or (as ridiculous as it may be) just shoot him out into space so he wouldn't hurt anyone? Yeah, he much preferred hiding from the world at this point.
But still. Tony was very persistent on this issue.
"Come on." Tony whined, scooting his chair so he could lean on the table. He laid his chin on his folded arms, staring up at Bruce. "You're holed up in here all the time. It's time to go smell the roses—actual roses. Re-learn some human interaction. Maybe even get a little bit of a tan. You look nice with a tan."
"I'm not in here all the time. I do have to sleep at some point." Bruce said nonchalantly. He gestured to a glass bowl full of dried flower petals on another table. "Pepper's rose potpourri is made of actual roses. And I talk to you all the time when we're working. And too much UV exposure is bad for the skin."
Tony scrunched his nose in a frown at Bruce. Okay, maybe that last bit was irrelevant. All of his own cells were so saturated in gamma radiation; it was unlikely that UV rays would do much to him. But still, he had to try and persuade Tony from this silly idea of him going out into civilization.
Bruce sighed, exasperated. "I'm not going Tony."
Tony got up from his chair, palms braced on the table. Gaze intent on Bruce. "You are going and you are going to like it."
After a short staring contest and a game of keep away with a petri dish full of cells that ended with two scientists tangled on the floor and an angry red-head reprehending them as if they were children, Bruce found himself where he did not want to be; right in the middle of Central Park, surrounded by people.
Tony stood beside him, dark shades over his eyes. He grinned. "See? Isn't this just awesome?"
"Yeah, great." The sarcasm was so thick it could be spread over a piece of toast like butter.
Bruce felt horribly uncomfortable. The park wasn't all that crowded but he just had this feeling, like an itch he couldn't scratch, that someone, or many someones, was staring at him; talking about him. The bright, clear day and gentle breeze didn't help ease the tension in the slightest.
What if someone freaked out? Called the police? Who then called in the military to come take him away? Not only would his day be ruined, everyone out to have a nice day at the park would be ruined too. He didn't want another Harlem incident either. Sure he may have better control over the transformations since then, but he still didn't fully trust that control in high pressure situations like that.
Yeah, this "break" was a really bad idea.
"Aw come on." Tony clapped a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It'll be good for you. Hey look, roses! Let's go smell them." Tony let go of his shoulder, rushing over to a well-tended rose bush. Much like a kid with a few bucks in his pocket would run to an ice cream truck. Bruce shook his head. Smiling lightly, he followed after the overly energetic man. Tony had this weird way of making Bruce smile even when he was a persistent pain in the ass.
Maybe he could relent a little and try and enjoy himself.
The two walked through the park, stopping to look at flowers, animals, fountains, simply enjoying a day out and generally geeking out in their science-y, know-it-all ways. They had stopped to watch a mass of pigeons flock around an elderly woman tossing bits of bread onto the ground when he felt that itch again. Someone was watching him.
He looked around but didn't notice anyone staring at him too intently or any obviously out of place individuals trying too hard to blend in. As far as he could tell, there was nothing more than average New Yorkers here; Jogging, walking, families picnicking, children playing.
Then he heard the distinct sound of young female giggling.
It was coming from a pair of college age girls on a bench across the pathway from the elderly woman. One was blonde with stylish blue-green glasses, dressed in a bright orange sweater with the words PHYCHE WARD across the chest and dark blue jeans.
The other was a brunette, dressed in a blue tee shirt with Superman's symbol on it and light blue jeans and a beanie hat. He was pretty sure the hat was to look like the blue phone booth TARDIS in that popular British T.V. show Doctor Who.
They were whispering to each other. When they glanced up and saw him staring, they quickly looked away, giggling again.
Bruce relaxed, he didn't know why they were laughing at him but it was better than having them freak out and be scared that he'd Hulk-out on them. He didn't really want to be laughed at either, but still. Pick a lesser evil and all that.
He let it go, turning back to see Tony trying to catch one of the birds. Tony failed, making them all scatter. Bruce laughed, listening to the older woman berate Tony for disturbing her perfectly peaceful afternoon with his young person shenanigans. Bruce did absolutely nothing to help him out of it. He earned a dirty look for that. For a supposed genius, he could be quite childish.
Bruce felt a soft tapping on his shoulder. He tensed up, a tight knot of dread in his stomach. He took in a breath through his nose then let it out of his mouth, preparing for the worst before turning around. What met him wasn't some uniformed soldier pointing a gun at his face, like he imagined. Instead, it was those two girls.
"Dr. Banner?" The blonde asked hesitantly. She clutched something papery and green to her chest, biting her lip nervously. The brunette stood next to her with a roll of paper in her hands. Their eyes shown with something that looked awfully like adoration and excitement.
"Er... Yes. I'm Dr. Banner. May I help you?" Bruce winced, he sounded horribly awkward, like he didn't know how to greet another human being properly. No wonder Tony wanted him to re-learn some human interaction.
The blonde thrust the green papery thing out towards Bruce. "Can you sign my Hulk?"
The other girl followed suit, quickly unrolling her paper. "And sign my painting?"
"Sign your… what?" Bruce was struck speechless. He stared at the green thing in the girl's hands. It was a figure in the shape of the Hulk made of paper mache. The other girl held an acrylic painting. In the foreground he recognized a stylized monochromatic colored version of himself. In the background held an exaggerated depiction of the Hulk in an acidic green.
Someone actually made the Hulk into an art project. He could almost hear the other guy's indigent grunt in the back of his mind.
"She asked if you can sign her Hulk." Tony sidled up next to Bruce, a huge grin on his face. "Aww, looks like someone got their very first fangirls." He teased in a baby voice, trying to pinch Bruce's cheek. He just swatted the hand away.
"I'm sorry, I don't have a pen." He smiled at the girls apologetically.
Fangirls? Him? No way. That was crazy. Who would want to be a fan of someone that could transform into a gigantic green rage monster whenever he couldn't keep his emotions in check or a fan of something so dangerous and out of control? He turned to Tony, hoping for some kind of help.
But of course he wasn't going to get any help. Instead Tony simply kept grinning at him knowingly. "Here, I got one." The shmuck reached into his pocket then pulled out a Sharpie pen. He held it out to Bruce. "I always keep one handy for situations like this."
Of course he did.
Bruce sighed, taking the pen. He looked between the two girls, both looking excited, as if they were getting autographs from their favorite celebrities. Well, he supposed signing a couple things was a much better alternative to being chased through the park by armed men. It didn't end in anyone getting hurt, or worse, killed.
So he signed the paper mache figure and painting. He felt a little silly scribbling his name on them but it didn't matter when he saw the huge goofy grins on their faces. It filled his chest with a warm tingling feeling. Maybe he was wrong about hiding away, assuming the worst. And maybe taking a break wasn't so bad an idea after all.
TBTBT
A/N: This one-shot is kind of lame but I just had to write it. I like to imagine superheroes to be like celebrities in the Marvel universe(s). Especially Tony Stark. But how do they deal with fans, ya'know? Especially if they had a fan like me. ;D
Anyways…
The two girls are based off my fellow fic writer MacBethWannabe and me. I'm the one with the orange PHYCHWARD sweater and Mac is the one with the DoctorWho beanie. I highly recommend giving her a visit. She writes some awesome stuff and she's just the bee's knees.
Sadly neither of those art projects exists. Yet.
Yet.
A/N 2: The painting does exist now! Painted by me on Paint Tool Sai. oni-panda379 . deviantart art/Break-363948492 Make sure to take out the spaces if you want to see it.