We Need to Quit Meeting like This
AN: Thanks to Maymayliu and Miko Hayashi for reviewing the last chapter!
This is set in MARVEL U. I got to thinking, "How would training go for them? And how would they try to train Hulk?"
It's one of my personal prompts, not a suggested one. I'm thinking of doing one where Cori goes to the zoo and Hulk is believed to be a rare species and is locked in captivity for study. Then he kind of just…wants her, so he gets her. It seems to cliché, though.
This one's going to be on the shorter side, and fluffy :D. To my knowledge, Burger Beast doesn't exist.
Catch!
Bruce groaned, frowning at the notice posted on the dormitory door. It was his day to train. Tony chuckled after a deep, sleepy inhale. His morning had barely started and it was already horrible. Stark returned with a cup of coffee for his friend.
MARVEL U insisted each student train three times a week, and set up a rotation to ensure that happened. Teachers were ordered to give assignments early to avoid schedule conflicts, and it was up to the students to finish them. Bruce had no problems on that end, and often found himself without homework. Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't use the excuse to weasel out of training. "Who's in your rotation?"
"Steve and Thor." mumbled Bruce.
"Oh." Tony puckered his lips sympathetically. That was both good and bad for Bruce. Hulk listened to Steve easier than Thor. Putting Thor and Hulk in the same room, however, was bad – like storing candles next to gas cans! "Well…at least you'll keep The Other Guy quiet for a few days!" offered Tony optimistically.
"Yay." mumbled Bruce sarcastically. He abandoned his coffee cup in favor of packing an extra set of clothes for training. When he returned from being The Other Guy his clothes were never whole. Bruce had learned to sew to offset the cost of replacing his pants, but running around in heavily stitched clothing was unsightly. They ultimately never held together, not with Thor's brother around.
Fury barely managed to make Burger Beast drop the lawsuit concerning public indecency. Bruce knew his roommate, and knew Tony was moving in on his abandoned coffee. Wanting revenge for Tony's mock sympathy, Bruce ducked behind the kitchen entrance. "You drinking my coffee?"
"Well, you're not doing it." chuckled Tony sleepily.
"Hope you like it! I spit in it!"
PFFFT! Bruce chuckled; he betted coffee was all over the counter and floor.
"You're an ass, Bruce!"
"Just practicing my subtlety and cleverness for training." he assured. Training involved fighting alongside the two chosen teammates. Fury, Maria, or Coulson logged the scenario electronically, watching from above in the control area. If they noticed an increase in the length of completion time, or weak area, the suffering student was subjected to further training. Students who didn't get along well were reprimanded and forcibly chained to one another for a day.
Loki and Thor had been the first example of that punishment. Bruce was mortified by the idea of being shackled to Thor, if only because of The Other Guy. Please be a doable task, prayed Bruce. Training was like playing Russian roulette; the scenario was chosen at random from a list of possible field incidents they may encounter one day. Each training session could be up to an hour long, and took place in the morning unless one of the other students had an issue outside the university.
Steve was wholly committed to MARVEL U in every way. There was hardly a club or sport he didn't try out for. He would have no issues with training; Steve lived for training. Thor liked to prove himself, as he was nothing but a burly, energetic male. Bruce saw no way out, and resorted to chewing the inside of his cheek as he reported to the training room in fresh clothes.
"Your objective today is to catch your designated partner." Fury said over the loudspeaker.
"Catch?" parroted Captain curiously. "Are they going to fall?"
"No, I mean catch as in detain, Captain." he explained. "When in the field you may need to catch an enemy to secure information or keep a panicking pedestrian from further harming themselves. These ladies have been instructed to provide varying degrees of resistance. How easy this is for you is up to them. You have ten minutes to catch your partner."
Bruce swallowed. He couldn't tell if Cori's smirk was a warning or a comfort. The training room was littered with equipment bourgeoning heroes needed to stay fit; there were weights, punching bags, benches, ladders that led to pockets in the wall, a network of pipes, air ducts, and dangling rings to practice aerial infiltration. This was a playground for someone lithe like her. A buzzer sounded.
Hulk emerged effortlessly, green eyes tracking Coriander as she jumped off Gersemi's powerful, interlaced hands and latched onto a ladder. Thor swung Mjölnir to propel himself forward, intent to take the half-Asgardian off her feet. She was better versed in Midgard than he, and they made a good pair, but they were rather chaotic. It came with having Asgardian blood (and raging hormones). Growling at them, tempted to kick the playfully rolling pair from underfoot, Hulk continued towards the pocket.
"This is supposed to be a challenge, Hulk! At least let me get to the other side!"
"Fine." Hulk grumbled, sitting down. He checked before sitting, of course. Liberty was already in Steve's arms. She'd tried to climb a punching bag and hide atop the mount, but Steve unhooked the bag and took her with it. The Other Guy was the only one still needing to catch his partner.
Hulk didn't mind. Watching Coriander move like something of a squirrel was funny. He enjoyed just being out of Bruce's mind for a change. Having Coriander around put him at ease, and Hulk regarded the training session lazily. It could end in seconds if he wanted, but he didn't want it to.
He liked spending time with Cori. She was halfway across the rings when Hulk decided he wanted to hold her. Hulk huffed lazily, blowing the rings upward like wind chimes to send her airborne. She yelped, flew into the air, and flapped her arms wildly on the way down. It made Hulk laugh; the noise rumbled through the training room like a gentle earthquake.
"Catch Cori!" Hulk grinned brightly, closing his fingers carefully around her. She puffed out a shaky breath, blowing hair from her eyes. He laughed. The buzzer sounded, indicating that the training session was over.
"Yes. Yes you did. Now put me down, please." Hulk gently set her down. Coriander straightened her shirt, fixed her hair, and looked up at him. Hulk's green eyes glittered excitedly. He looked like an eager child awaiting praise. "You did a really good job, Hulk. That was fast. Almost too fast!"
"Hulk very fast!" he gave a snorting laugh, lips twitching up and down with his chuckle. The green giant banged his chest proudly. "Look, Hulk catch again!" Hulk knew how to be careful, and was aware of his massive hand, but he still locked it down over Cori like a fleshy cage. It was kind of fun, actually. Cori always made funny noises when he surprised her.
Catching her and releasing her was a pleasure all its own. He could do it all day and exert little effort. It was like playing with a toy. A toy he cared about. Hulk chuckled as Cori tried to crawl between the spaces of his fingers, and clenched them softly to catch her in his fisting hand. "See?" he smiled, green lips closing over his teeth as he drank her in. "Catch." whispered Hulk, gazing at her like he'd never seen her before.
The intense, curious stare never failed to make Cori blush. Hulk was extremely primal, and his eyes were easy to read. She was always regarded with fascination. He was the only one to ever look at her like that. "Hulk catch. That mean Cori Hulk's. Cori pet Hulk's hair like Hulk like because Hulk catch." he instructed.
To him it was normal communication. It was the simplest he could muster. Most would take it with offense because of his gravelly tone, but Coriander didn't mind. Hulk was basically a large, needy child. Or an insistent cat.
She complied as he tucked her into his cheek and ear. Coriander was used to sitting up on his shoulder. "Dr. Banner, you can change back now." Fury had yet to leave the control room.
"NOT BANNER!" roared Hulk.
"I got him, Director." promised Cori. "He's going to be like this for a while."
"If you say so, Ms. Henson. I suppose I'll shut down the training room for the time being."
"That'd be best." Cori nodded. She imagined Hulk was feeling neglected as of late. Bruce had a tendency to fall into intense studying or working spells with Tony. It diminished his chances of coming out, and Bruce hated regarding Hulk as a separate entity. Hulk always came to Coriander for that because she acknowledged something Bruce wouldn't: the other side of him.
Hulk unleashed a gravelly mewl as she buried her fingers in his hair. He liked a good scratch. She brushed a finger teasingly down his ear. Grunting, Hulk buried his ear into his shoulder as he pouted at her. Cori laughed.
Like usual, they ended up on the floor. Hulk would lay on his right side while Coriander scratched and rubbed at the back of his neck. Once his eyelids began to flutter, or he grew bored with having her behind him, Hulk would pinch her little waist between two fingers and roll onto his back. She then perched atop his chest, content to lay there and listen to his heart. Tracing patterns across his heated green skin and the dark brown curls of chest hair usually did Hulk in.
It was no different this time.
"Got you." yawned Bruce lazily, draping an arm over her waist. She laughed.
"Fantastic. Catch yourself some clothes before Tony comes in here."
"Too late!" sang a voice over the speakers. They groaned.
"Did I tell you or didn't I tell you?" Tony's grin was audible. "She's a good catch!"
"Lame, Tony!"
"Paying you back for that lame coffee trick, Banner."
"Why don't you get clothes on and go catch him?" Cori suggested.
"Good idea."