I rearranged some things from the 2008 film. The scene in the Arctic was meant to be an alternate opening, but since it was discarded (I think) I'm setting the event after most of the movie, but before the very end. I kind of feel like since Bruce seemed to give up on the cure after the thing in Harlem, that it would have made sense that he gave up on living shortly afterward.


Chapter 2

Steve Rogers/Captain America

Bruce didn't learn until well after the battle that he was actually the main reason for Steve's discovery. He would have never guessed that his little trip to the Arctic would one day bring him face to face with an honest-to-God World War II comic book superhero. Steve's initial greeting, and his lack of caring about anything other than Bruce's ability to help them stop a threat had caused Bruce to like him more than any other military member he'd ever met. Of course, he turned out to be just as wary as the others almost immediately.

Steve, with his old fashioned sensibilities and mannerisms, seemed like a genuinely nice guy, and it had pained Bruce to let him in on that piece of information. Of course, Agent Coulson had just happened to mention it, and Steve, being such a nice guy, had felt obligated to thank Bruce. He'd tried to do so after the battle.

"You did good out there." He'd said, slapping Bruce on the back, just a little too hard. "You and the 'Other Guy'". Bruce accepted the compliment with a small smile.

"Well, we had a good leader." Bruce offered in return. He honestly didn't mind taking orders from someone who actually seemed concerned about all the 'little people' instead of only caring about his career and reputation. Steve grinned broadly at his compliment.

"Well, that's thanks to you for leading them to me so they could dig me up." Bruce stared at him, confused.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"Agent Coulson told me you were the reason they found me in the arctic." Steve explained. Bruce closed his eyes. The arctic. He'd forgotten that Steve had been found there. He knew he must have wreaked some kind of havoc in the frozen wasteland when his suicide attempt failed. He'd pissed the Hulk off big time with that stunt; when he woke up, he was in Canada with no idea how he got there or how long he'd been rampaging. Apparently the Other Guy didn't like the cold at all. He'd never considered that his trip there and Steve's presence were connected.

"I wasn't up there looking for you." He said quietly. Steve shrugged.

"Still, you found me. That matters a lot me. And to S.H.E.I.L.D."

"I wasn't up there working for S.H.E.I.L.D. And I didn't actually find you. I just did something that led them to you, and it wasn't even for a few more years." Bruce said, needing him to understand that he shouldn't be grateful to him. "I was up there because…you remember when I said I knew there was no way for them to kill me?" Bruce waited for it to sink in. When it did, Steve's eyes widened in a way that might have been comical if they hadn't been discussing such a grim subject.

"You…you were up there to…" Steve couldn't even finish his sentence.

"Yeah." Said Bruce. "After my latest failure to reverse the change caused me to assist in the creation of two super villains and actually destroy a city, I gave up. I went out into the arctic wilderness with a gun and shot myself. And that failed, just like everything else I'd tried to get rid of the Hulk." He was starting to wish he'd just accepted the thanks and left it alone.

"Well." Said Steve after careful consideration. "I'm still glad to be alive and awake again. If whatever happened to bring you up there led to that, then I'm grateful." Bruce just settled on shrugging.

"Okay then."

And that was that.


Steve hadn't known what to make of Doctor Bruce Banner when he first met him. He had first suspected from the footage he'd seen of the rampaging creature that the man was brilliant but power-hungry, with a will too weak to resist the allure of more power, just like Schmidt, but with far less control over what he'd made of himself. He wasn't sure how to react to the nervous, unassuming man that Agent Romanoff had introduced him to.

Bruce had been wary, expecting to be treated as a threat or a prisoner. Steve had almost immediately felt guilty for automatically suspecting him of having an unsavory nature. He even felt a little empathy. They were both chemically enhanced after all. But he knew that was where the resemblance between them ended. He had been a scrawny, asthmatic orphan with nothing to lose and everything to gain from the experiment. Bruce had been the opposite, a perfectly normal, albeit brilliant man whose whole life was turned upside-down by what he'd managed to accidently do for himself. He hadn't even been looking to use it as a weapon, only to try and make human beings live longer, healthier lives. While Steve's transformation had been embraced and celebrated, Bruce's had been cause for fear, and it wasn't fair. He was in no way the monster that Schmidt, or the soldier named Blonsky had become, craving more of the power they'd tasted. Steve resolved from the moment Bruce asked him just what the word was on him that he would do whatever he could to treat him like a normal civilian. He felt like he owed him that much, especially after learning from Coulson that they had found him in the ice because of the scientist turned monster. His gratitude had turned to horror later when he learned just how Bruce had contributed to his being found.

His resolve had crumbled almost from the start. Tony Stark had been cocky and teasing, immediately complimenting Bruce on his nightmarish trait, then later trying to get a rise out of him just to see how he would react. Steve would have been lying if he'd said it didn't bother him just a little to see the way the scientist bonded rapidly with Stark. Sure the two of them were geniuses, and Bruce did seem to share some of the biting, sarcastic wit that Tony dished out with every other sentence, but other than that, what could they possibly have in common? Steve couldn't help but be reminded of all the times people had favored Bucky over him, assuming the more attractive specimen was better in more than just appearance.

He'd snapped at Stark for his little attempts to provoke, showing Bruce that he was just as worried about a rampage from the Hulk as the others, and that Tony Stark actually had more faith in him than anyone else. Later on, when Stark had suggested that Bruce be allowed to 'let off some steam' he'd made the completely selfish reply that made it sound like he thought Bruce had no right to express himself or even feel negative emotions. He'd felt ashamed, especially when Bruce had blurted out to Fury that his struggles with the Hulk had driven him to attempt suicide. It had been enough to shock them all into silence for a moment before the fighting started up again. And then Bruce had come close to losing control, and then finally snapped when Loki's henchmen attacked, disappearing into the city after Fury had ordered him shot at.

And then he'd returned. Bruce had taken a beat up old motorbike of all things and made his way back to them just before the battle really heated up. Perhaps he'd been right to favor Stark. He was the only one who seemed certain that Bruce was, deep down, a true hero; that he would rise to the occasion and help them save the Earth. Stark had proven himself more deserving of Bruce's friendship. It was no surprise when Bruce left their farewell group to go and live and work in Stark's tower, and later on the Avenger Mansion.

Steve didn't really know how to speak to Bruce after he learned how he led SHIELD to his location. His horror at what Bruce had said on the Helicarrier had multiplied tenfold when he learned that Bruce had been in the Arctic to commit the aforementioned suicide attempt. How was he supposed to talk to the man, knowing that the only reason he was there was because an innocent man who had been tricked by the government into trying to create more supersoldiers like him, turning himself into a monster in the process, had been trying to kill himself because of it? Especially when he himself couldn't help but treat that man like a threat.

It had taken a while, but after the battle, when Steve had time to analyze it, he realized just why Bruce was more drawn to Stark. It was because while Steve had tried to treat Bruce like a normal person, it was all just a preventative measure. He had only been doing it to keep the beast at bay. Stark had embraced all of Bruce from the start, the good and the bad, and he had actually trusted the man enough to tease and poke without fear. What's more, he'd helped Bruce truly accept his condition instead of just being resigned to it.

If Steve prided himself on one thing, it was that he'd been found worthy of having his acquired power just by being himself. But at some point, he'd begun thinking just like the rest of the world's military strategists, focusing on containing the monster, only treating Bruce like a person to avoid an unpleasant outcome. Stark's acceptance had been immediate and unconditional, and he'd made Bruce feel more secure than anyone else had. Steve now knew that Stark was truly a good man, and that he'd been right in his approach to Bruce. Steve knew he was going to work hard to make him feel just as welcome on their team as Stark did.


I know this one didn't have any of Bruce's daddy issues, but they will be back. Still struggling with Love For Sale, unfortunately, but I promise I'm trying!