Chapter 52: Downtime and Torch Songs
Summary: A guy has gotta eat and then he has to sleep. Adam has been a busy guy, but not as busy as some might think. Dream walking is a thing. Everyone loves old pictures. Fire up the torch songs.
Notes: Put the music on and order out for Indian. Despite a power outage and a hurricane, Autumn_Froste still managed to Beta me through this chapter! She's my hero!
Adam had craved the quiet of the empty bedroom after a morning filled with hours of sensory input, so he stood there with his eyes closed and his toes doing crunches in the soft carpet for several minutes. He opened his eyes slowly and caught sight of someone out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned he saw himself in the new full-length mirror on the wall. He'd forgotten it was there, so he padded across the carpet and stared at himself in the light from the window. Usually, when he touched Bruce as he had during the transition, he defaulted to looking just like him—a carbon copy, a doppelganger of sorts. However, this time, instead of automatically copying Bruce, he'd taken the adult form he'd tried to create for 'Tasha last night when she asked what he might have looked like if he'd been born a fraternal twin. He'd tried to extrapolate from his stem cells how he might have grown up to appear. Reading his genes had been simple enough, but holding that form had been a challenge, so he'd dialed it back to an adolescent version without the complications of adult urges, responses, and feelings. Adam knew hiding behind his younger selves and avoiding his feelings and responsibilities couldn't go on forever, no matter how much he wanted to be small and harmless and unthreatening. Like schadenfreude, here was his adult body now when he certainly hadn't consciously tried to manifest it, something strange and unbidden as if it had been slowly uploading in the background like an over-sized file for a necessary system upgrade.
Asked for or not, here was his adult self staring back at him from the mirror. Despite his feeling exhausted, Adam's curiosity quickly overrode the fatigue. He walked closer to the mirror and studied the changes time and maturity might have produced. "Who are you?" he asked just to try out his voice. "Do I know you?" He was surprised that it didn't sound like Bruce's tenor; instead, it was pitched deeper. "Where did you come from?" he murmured to himself, actually enjoying the sound of this new voice. If he wasn't so tired, he might have sat down at the piano and tried to sing some Bing Crosby or Harry Connick, Jr. He hummed an arpeggio and grudgingly admitted this might be a change he liked.
Feeling slightly less apprehensive, Adam continued with the inspection. As he expected, his hair was curly and almost black, and the slightly paler skin made his freckles stand out more than Bruce's did. He wondered if he would have tanned or burned in the sun. Adam turned and studied his frame and the proportions in the mirror. The shoulders seemed narrower than his brother's, but maybe that was because he was a bit taller. Adam touched his face: it was slightly narrower but had just as chiseled of a jawline, nose, and cheekbones as Bruce's did. The mouth was the same down to the fullness of his lips and the lopsidedness of his smile. He moved his mouth around, making faces and arching his eyebrows together and independently. That made him smile. He definitely liked that all three of them had the same goofy grin in common. Nice straight teeth, too, he thought as he continued to manipulate his jaw and facial muscles. Adam leaned closer to the mirror. His eyes were his own dark green with the gray band around the outer edge of the iris. How had Bruce put it? Familiar, yet alien, unknowable. Something like that. Bruce hadn't meant it in a bad way, so Adam hadn't felt the need to think about it till now.
He stretched his arms above his head. Then he ran his hands through his dark, thick hair and imagined it longer then shorter. Their father had had a mustache, so that pretty much soured Adam on that idea, but he could have grown a beard if he wanted though it would seem strange to him. He wasn't used to seeing or feeling the body hair either, but he guessed he was all right with it. Natasha liked Bruce's, so it must be okay. He ran his hands across his chest, rubbing the mauve nipples with his thumbs before tucking his flattened hands under the opposite armpits and stepping back to studying how he looked from a different angle. He noted he wasn't circumcised, and recalled a lewd joke about snakes wearing turtlenecks that now made sense, and he snickered aloud. The sound surprised him, so he laughed more. Adam liked that it was deep and reminded him of Hulk's low chuckle. He'd never thought of that as his, but Adam enjoyed the idea now. Also, he looked better, more familiar at least when he smiled, not so alien or odd.
Adam studied his hands and feet. They looked in perfect proportion to the rest of him; in fact, he was sure he could reach well over an octave now on the piano, maybe even C to F or G. This tempted him to go in the other room and play again, but a yawn overtook him and that was that. He rubbed his eyes and pulled back the bed covers before he climbed into bed. There would be time for piano and other things soon enough. He wrapped his arms around his middle and curled up on his side before he drifted off.
((o))
Tony helped Bruce start down the two flights of stairs from the roof, but the physicist was steady enough on his feet to wave him off about halfway down. Say what you want about Bruce being awkward or uncoordinated, the guy is tough, Tony though. He always bounced back after a Code Green or maybe he was just more stubborn and determined than most people. It was probably all of the above.
As they arrived at the door to the upper suites' hallway, Bruce turned to Tony, "Thanks for not saying anything about Adam."
Tony nodded, "Sorry I let it slip, but it just puts off the inevitable. I'm surprised you've gone this long without letting it get out."
"I've probably slipped up with someone already, but it's Adam's information to give out though, not mine." Bruce rubbed the back of his head, cringed at the dirty feel of it, and then looked at his grit-covered hand. "I'm going to have mercy on everyone and hit the shower first."
"Are you going to be okay? The last thing we need is for you to do a face-plant on the marble."
"I'll be fine, but you're welcome to keep me company if you want," Bruce said with a shrug.
Tony checked his texts. "Mal says they'll have the food sent up in the common area on our floor shortly, and your cousin Rich is bringing your stuff by in a bit, too."
"Then I better get cleaned up," Bruce said. Kayla met them in the hall and gave Bruce a new keycard, so they could get into his suite. Tony spotted the Girl Scout cookie box on the table as they walked into the bedroom. "No, there are no cookies in there to my knowledge," Bruce answered before Tony could ask. "It's some personal stuff Rich's mom saved that got misplaced then rediscovered."
"May I?" Tony asked, obviously quite curious.
"If you can limit yourself to just the stuff on top since I've only had time to look at a few pictures myself, okay?"
"You're killing me, but all right," Tony said as he pulled out a penknife from his pocket to help remove the packing tape.
Bruce knew his time was limited since Tony could only control himself for so long. He was without his phone, so he grabbed his iPod and slipped it into the correct slot on the speaker dock on the bathroom counter, so he could listen to his Maria Callas mix. Bruce walked straight into the shower and disengaged the TechUWear and stripped it off. After today, he was ready to give it a thumbs-up with some suggestions for improvements and modifications. Bruce turned on the shower and let it hit him in the face for a few minutes to help clear his head. Ave Maria was the first selection that came up. The dirt and grime came off in rivulets before he even applied any soap. It did take some scrubbing before he felt clean again and he considered sending Tony out for some detergent, but eventually he was done and grabbed a towel from the rack to dry off.
"That's a little dramatic," Tony called from the other room as the current operatic piece finished up.
"Adam likes it and so do I," Bruce said as he wrapped a towel round his waist and pulled out his shave kit.
"Ave Maria was my mom's favorite," Tony noted. "God, you were a cute kid."
Bruce looked up in the mirror, and he could see Tony was standing behind him in the doorway looking at the three photos in the triptych frame. "Yah, didn't last too long," Bruce said as he lathered up and started shaving.
Tony frowned in disagreement. "Well, you look a lot like your mom, and she was gorgeous. I know things didn't end well, but they took a good wedding photo."
"Yah," Bruce acknowledged as he pushed his cheek out with his tongue to get the corners around his mouth. "There may be a whole wedding album in the box. If you can wait, I'll get them out after lunch. I wanted Rich to be here for that part in case I don't know who some of the people are." Tony nodded and went back into the other room. Bruce wiped the remaining soap off his face and went into the bedroom to pull out his clothes and get dressed. He put on a new TechUWear combo before he pulled on jeans and a button-down shirt. Tony's phone chimed, and he came back into the bedroom as Bruce was putting on his shoes.
"At the risk of admitting I've been rather remiss in my duties as friend and coconspirator, how long have you had the tat?" the engineer asked.
"About four months," Bruce said with an amused smile. "To be fair, it's been under my watch and it disappears when I Hulk-out, so today would be the first chance you've had to see it."
"A gift from Nat?" Tony asked with an eyebrow arched.
"Yah," Bruce said with a nod.
"She picked it out?"
"No, I picked it out and I chose the location."
Tony nodded. Bruce knew his friend was dying to ask more questions, but he wasn't about to make it any easier. Damn, that was mean—he could be such a sadistic bastard. Bruce had finished tying his shoes, so he stood up and retrieved the keycard from the bureau top then rolled the cuffs of his blue dress shirt up to his forearms—admittedly so that Tony could see the Widow's mark. "Come on, Tony. I know you want to ask something. Spit it out."
Tony chewed his lips, but his eyes were glued to the small black hourglass. "Did it hurt a lot?"
"Yah, a bit," Bruce admitted. "They told me it would hurt more close to a bone than it would for someplace fleshier like a bicep, but I've felt a lot worse."
Tony nodded, "I'll bet you have. Would you mind if I, uh, felt it?"
Bruce did his best to keep a straight face and held out his wrist for inspection. "Go ahead."
"I can barely feel it," Tony said as he ran his thumb then his first two fingers over the tattoo. "So, did Nat get one, too?"
"Yes, but not till right before Christmas."
"Your present to her?"
"No, it was her Christmas present to me."
"Oh, something reciprocal?" Tony surmised.
"Yah, you could say that," Bruce confirmed.
Tony snorted, "I'm never gonna see it, am I?"
Bruce shook his head, "Nope, not in this lifetime."
"Banner, you are one of the cruelest people I know."
"Yep. Let's go have some lunch," Bruce said and opened the suite door for Tony. Bruce could hear Rich's voice down the hall. When Adam had last seen Rich, he was in a crowd that included protesters and Ross's troops near the north end of the Roebling Bridge, so Bruce felt a bit of worry and concern for his cousin's safety finally slip away. As Tony and Bruce neared the commons area, he could smell the warm spices and ghee he associated with Indian dishes, and his stomach growled quite audibly.
"Holy crap, Bruce," Tony half turned to look at him, "Is that a tiger in your tank?"
Bruce laughed, "That completely dates us, you know. Where's Rich? He's older than both of us, so he'll get it." As they rounded the corner, Rich was talking to Mal as they watched footage from the bridge rescue and a variety of talking heads commented live. The bearded priest turned when he heard Bruce's voice.
"Here he is! You were just unbelievable, Bru," Rich said as he threw his arms around Bruce in an eager hug that he returned. Rich finally let him go and fluffed his cousin's hair affectionately. Bruce blushed as he smiled at Rich. It was a nice feeling to be appreciated by someone he admired.
"It was Hulk and Tony and a bunch of other people," Bruce said. "Oh, Rich, this is Tony Stark, and Tony, here's my cousin Richard Walcott. You both know me about as well as I can be known." The two men shook hands.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Stark," Rich said, regaining a little of his decorum.
"It's a pleasure meeting you, Rev. Walcott. Just 'Tony' is fine. So, 'Bru', huh? I'll definitely remember that one."
"Call me 'Rich,' please."
Mal skillfully gripped Bruce's elbow and steered him toward the table with the fragrant, savory food. "You need to eat, dear. Load your plate and tuck in before you make yourself ill," she ordered. Bruce didn't even attempt to object. He grabbed a plate from the end of the table and loaded it with Batata Vada, samosas, and plenty of both types of naan since he needed the carbs most. Kayla already had glasses of water, juice, and sports drinks lined up for him as he sat down at one of the circular tables with chairs that had been moved into the room.
"Auntie Mal says I'm not to move until you've cleaned you plate and drunk at least two of these," Kayla said with a humorous glint in her eye.
"Well, then sit down and talk to me while I stuff my face," he said with a gesture to the seat next to him. Kayla laughed at him and sat down. "What are the commentators saying?"
"You, Tony, and the rest of the team are being heralded as heroes, especially by the local press. Nationally, the earthquake is a bigger story, but Auntie Mal says it's a media coup."
"Did the Big Guy behave?" Bruce asked seriously between bites.
"Nothing on television or the Internet to show he wasn't on his best behavior. My favorites are some of the videos showing up on social media of him giving a thumbs-up to the bystanders and waving to children on buses."
Bruce nodded. "Anything about Ross?" he asked.
"They're reporting he had a fainting spell, but there's no footage so far," she said. "He refused treatment at the scene."
"That's about as good as we could expect," he nodded. The fewer people who knew Hulk's range of talents, the better. Adam and he had theorized how much speed and focused concussive force he could generate with a finger snap, but Bruce hadn't expected Adam to try it, much less to apply it quite so effectively. It had only been a little over 24 hours since the mental wall had come down, and they were long overdue for a talk. Bruce could tell that right now his twin was disengaged and drifting, as close to sleeping as he came after a long, stressful transformation, so he left Adam alone for the time being and kept working on the food.
Mal dismissed Kayla from her wrangling duties and placed two plates with Saag paneer, tandoori baked chicken, and vegetable-stuffed paratha bread in front of Bruce, and he gave her a rueful look. He was already halfway through the first round of potato-stuffed samosas and naan, so it was clear she was pushing the protein with the carbs now. "Thank you," he said between bites, and she gave him a nod that dared him not to clean his plate and turned back to talk to some of the tech and media people monitoring the flood coverage.
"I seriously think Mal likes you better because she can stuff you full of home cooking," Tony surmised as he and Rich sat down with their own plates of food at the same table. Bruce just smiled and kept chewing. "Was he like this as a kid, Rich?"
"You mean, way too serious and in need of help to feed himself?" Rich joked as he reached over and ruffled Bruce's damp hair yet again. "My cousin has always been driven to the point of not taking care of himself."
"I'm not that bad," Bruce objected, "especially in comparison to other people at the table."
"The difference is in the magnitude of the consequences," Clint added as he joined them and shook Rich's hand. "Nice to meet you in person."
"Rich, this is Clint Barton," Bruce said by way of introduction.
"I'm the one who texted you earlier," Clint explained before addressing Bruce. "Me getting cranky because someone ate my pizza bagels is way different than you going into a crash because you didn't replace the energy you expended, Doc."
"I sit corrected," Bruce said with a chuckle, "but I did replace the pizza bagels."
"Hey, I'm glad you used them because you needed them. Now, Thor, on the other hand, just gets into them because he gets bored, but he never replaces them," Clint complained.
"Beware what you ask for, Barton. His mightiness is liable to bring you something more exotic than Pop-Tarts when he comes back to Midgard," Tony warned. The guy who paid to restock the larder in the tower knew this from personal experience.
"As long as it doesn't have antlers, tusks, and scales, I won't complain that much." That got a raised eyebrow out of Rich, but he didn't say anything. The archer quickly downed a warm bowl of dal soup as they all ate before coming back to another subject. "Hey, you guys never did tell me who Adam is."
Tony looked over at Bruce who was looking at the bottle of water in his hand before he looked up at Clint. "It's not really my information to share, but I'm sure you have a good guess."
Clint pursed his lips and nodded, but it was Rich who voiced his deduction: "It's Hulk's given name—isn't it?" Bruce stared at his cousin with a look of mild surprise since he'd not been privy to the earlier conversations. Clint and Tony both looked at the priest expectantly. "Well, I say that, Bruce, because your mother wanted to name you Adam Bruce, but your dad insisted on Robert Bruce, which I believe was your grandfather's name. At least that's what my mother told me."
"Wow, really? I didn't know that," Bruce said and chewed his lower lip, trying to incorporate the new information into what he remembered.
Clint nodded his head, "That would make sense." He then looked over at Rich, "Rev. Walcott, since you're a deacon and a blood relative, can you invoke the sanctity of the counseling session or confessional?" The request left Rich a little puzzled.
"Rich, he's asking if you can keep a secret," Tony explained.
"Oh, certainly. You don't have to say any more than you're Bruce's friend, and my mouth is shut," the deacon assured him.
Clint smiled. He also knew that Natasha had fully vetted Rich months before, so that didn't hurt. "Thanks, this is probably nothing, but one reason I'm asking about the name Adam is my daughter Lila's imaginary friend is named Adam, too. I kind of hope that's a coincidence, Bruce."
"I suspect it's not," Bruce replied.
"I don't know. She says her friend Adam is her age, but there isn't an Adam in her school in the second grade."
"Well, he often is about Lila's age, or at least he appears that way in my head. He doesn't look like the Hulk most of the time." Clint looked at Bruce skeptically. "It's sort of hard to explain without being able to show you, but at first that's how he thought of himself, so he's comfortable at that stage. It's almost a Peter Pan thing except that it's primarily because living in my head 99% of the time has kept him from maturing as if he was normal."
"Seriously, he's a little kid?" Clint asked. "I'm having a hard time imaging the Big Guy as a sprout."
"First, he's not green. Second, he's whatever he wants to be. It's in my imagination—a different plane of reality, so he's not tied to how he manifests in our reality," Bruce explained. He let that sink in for a minute. "Do you know when or where she has seen him?"
"She just talks about them playing and talking every so often."
"Is it when she's dreaming?" Bruce asked.
"I suppose it could be."
"That's really the only way I can think of that they'd be able to cross paths. How long has this been happening?"
Clint thought for a moment, "Since some time in October I believe."
"Well, that would be after she met Hulk when Natasha and I visited and the kids and Laura met him the first time. I'll ask him when he's out of his stupor, but I think I'm safe in saying he wouldn't have done anything aside from what you've described. He's a guardian at heart; in fact, that was his name and function for a long time when I was much younger. He kept me from being lonely and made sure I avoided trouble."
"You know, it could all just be her imagination, too," Rich suggested. "She's only six or seven, right? Kids do live in their heads a lot at that age. Sometimes it's just a stage kids go through."
"Yah, that's true," Clint said as he shook his head. "This may be nothing but a coincidence of names and timing. Look, Bruce, I trust him with Lila, but I want to know what's going on."
Bruce nodded, "Of course, and I'd like to know, too. I'll probably be able to talk to him when I get to sleep deep enough, and then I can ask him."
Tony hadn't said anything for several minutes as he ate and listened, but he slid his empty plate away and looked at Bruce thoughtfully. "Adam has only identified himself to a few people, right?"
"You and maybe Natasha and Lila are it except for the people here at this table, so I'd appreciate it if it went no further until he's okay with it," Bruce said quietly.
"Of course," Rich said and Clint nodded.
"My point is," Tony continued, "you've been saying you think there's a reason you two are suddenly in closer contact. Maybe he's come along far enough to work with you more equally, Bruce, and be out more. Have you looked at the footage from today yet?"
"No, Kayla said the press and media coverage was good, and I had a pretty decent seat in the peanut gallery, so I thought I'd wait till later for the spin," Bruce replied.
"Well, the Big Guy was functioning and communicating like a regular team member. Wouldn't you agree, Barton?"
"Yah, I would. He's even improved since we worked together in October. Considering where the two of you started, Bruce, the difference is night and day."
"He faced down Ross of all people without losing his composure, and he got you back to a safe spot before he transitioned. She may not look it, but Mal is sort of giddy right now about all the good press and so is Jenn."
At this point, Bruce had stuffed all the calories in that he could, so he stacked and pushed the last plate away. "Okay, so we're ready, Tony, but ready for what? As big as the earthquake and flood are, I don't think they're it. I don't begrudge Adam the face time, but as you can see, it takes its toll on me and Adam as well."
"Have you had any word come in from Strange at all?" Tony asked.
With an apologetic grin, Rich reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out Bruce's phone to hand back to him. "Sorry, I meant to return this to you sooner. I think Mal's assistant took the rest to your suite." Bruce chuckled and checked the messages and texts.
"No. Nothing except the text from Thursday. I don't even sense anything and neither has Adam that I can tell." Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, before Mal comes over here and sends me to bed like a kindergartener, let's go back to my suite and have a look at those wedding pictures before I pass out."
"The clock is ticking then," said Tony, and the four of them soon headed down the hall. What Bruce really wanted was for Rich to go through the wedding album and any other pictures there with him to identify people he didn't recognize himself. Tony had left the picture frame out on the table in the bedroom and the two albums were stacked beside it and the box. Bruce picked up the ivory-colored wedding album and pulled a pad of paper out of his briefcase to take notes. Rich and he sat down at the table and opened up the book. Bruce took a deep breath. The pictures in the frame had made him rather sad and wistful because they revealed the deterioration in his parents' relationship. These pictures, however, were all from a happier time and didn't hint so much at the tragedy to come. Everyone was laughing and smiling, including his father who looked adoringly at his bride or smiled at the camera. In a few he had the same grin Bruce knew he and Adam shared as well. He searched his memory but couldn't come up with a single time he'd seen the look in person.
Rich could see that Bruce was pausing over the candid shots and the posed portraits that had both his parents in them. He took the note pad from Bruce and started writing down names for the group shots and lineups while Bruce studied some of the images. Clint and Tony had been quietly looking over the two cousins' shoulders, but after a few minutes, Tony picked up the framed pictures and showed them to Clint.
"So that's Bruce, huh?" Clint said with a grin. "I know just who to send this to," he told Tony with a wink, and lay the pictures out flat on the bed before pulling out his cell phone and taking a picture of each.
"Cc them to me, too," Tony said.
"All right," Clint confirmed as he typed in "Guess who?" and sent them to Natasha and Laura as well. It took less than a minute for Laura to respond back.
"That's Bruce and his family, isn't it!?"
"Sure is."
"Kids are home early today. Btw, Lila tells me Bruce is Adam."
Clint showed Tony the screen with the conversation, and Tony rolled his eyes. "Dude, you better break out the shot gun and have a talk with the Big Guy."
The archer snorted, "I think I'll leave that up to Bruce. It's not like we're to Romeo and Juliette just yet." Clint's phone pinged again, but this time it was from Natasha.
"Are you trying to make me cry?"
"No. Thought you'd like seeing. Cousin brought them for B."
"Sorry. Felt ill and puked all morning. These are so sweet."
"R u okay now?"
"Fury making me eat crackers and go back to bed. Nurse Ratched threatening to take the phone now. Later."
Clint looked over at Bruce and realized the physicist looked like he was ready to pass out. Clint nudged Tony who was still staring at the pictures on the bed, and the engineer caught on immediately. He folded the frames back up and set them aside on a dresser to clear the bed. Tony put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "Hey, Bruce, you need to lay down."
Bruce looked like he was going to argue, but Clint shook his head. "Nope. Rich can finish making notes without you keeling over beside him. Bed. Now."
"See, you've made Barton use his dad voice," Tony said.
"All right," Bruce sighed, "but just for a little bit." He took off his shoes and his dress shirt before he flopped dramatically on the middle of the bed and rolled onto his stomach.
Rich moved into the suite's living room and finished the last of his notes for the wedding album while Clint and Tony turned off the lights and followed him out.
Bruce rolled onto his side and pulled a pillow closer, trying to get comfortable. His phone hummed, and he pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the screen. Nothing important, but he had a message from Nat that was a couple of hours old.
"Still sick. Still hate u. Miss u sooo much. 44 hours sucks."
He texted back: "42 hours. Still sucks. Want to touch you," before he laid the phone down and fell asleep.
((o))
Adam woke up with the nagging feeling he'd forgotten to do something or otherwise messed something up, but he wasn't sure what. He sat up and rubbed his face, thinking he was going to have to shower and shave, something he'd never done before, if he planned to stay in this adult body. "Okay, this is sucking," he said aloud. He wanted to retreat back into his familiar patterns and his younger body, but not just yet. He compromised and skipped the clean up by imagining himself already shaved, showered, and dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. It was sort of cheating, but he felt like he needed to get moving. Adam stood up and stretched, running his fingers through his hair. He walked over to the window and wondered what time it was in the real world. He reached out to Bruce to check and realized he was unconscious and out of reach unless Adam started looking for him specifically. Adam backed off on his scanning only to find someone else was very close. He hurried down the hall and knocked at Bruce and Natasha's bedroom door. He heard a moan from inside that expressed anything but pleasure. "'Tasha?" he asked as he pushed open the door. She lay on her side on their bed, curled up in as tight of a ball as she could manage. "Are you all right?" he asked as he slipped into the room and brought up the lights enough to see. He was completely surprised to find her here, but he'd worry about that after he was sure she was okay.
"No," she moaned. He sat down on the edge of the bed and stroked her back, reopening their connection. He immediately picked up on a few issues. She was coping with the sudden influx of hormones flooding into her because of the pregnancy; unfortunately, her body wasn't buffering them enough to settle the nausea. Adam rubbed his hands together to build up a bit of heat and placed them both on her back, tracing them down both sides of her spine. He wasn't exactly a healer, but Adam was in the place he most considered his home environment, and he could control it down to the fine details. While Natasha was in his home, Adam could influence her perceptions and dull the queasiness. He ran his thumbs down both sides of her spine and this time she relaxed and uncurled with a sigh. After taking a few minutes to recover, she turned over so she could better see him. "How did you get here, Adam?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing," he said. "I came into your dream last night and brought you here, but I didn't expect you back so soon without me bringing you."
"So I'm in your headspace, not mine?" she asked as she pushed herself up to sitting.
"Right," he said scooting over to give her space.
She looked around the room then focused her attention on him, "You look different from last night, Adam. You're less like Bruce, but you're the same age now." She could smell the apple and sage now.
"I think I 'updated'," he said. "This is the form I tried to find for you last time. It took a while, but I think this is how I would have looked." He could feel himself getting nervous and self-conscious. "We had a really busy morning 'Avenging'. We saved a bridge from a flood by building a cofferdam and keeping the debris in the floodwaters away from it. Uh, and I kind of told off Gen. Ross, so all in all, it was a pretty enjoyable morning. The water was pretty cold though. Um, anyway, when I turned control back over to Bruce, I touched him to default back to his form, but I manifested this one instead." He patted his hands down his front. "I hope it looks okay. So far, I can hold this form really well without it stressing me. I like the voice, and I think the smile is pretty good, too, right? What do you think?"
Natasha smiled warmly and took his right hand in both of hers, "Adam, you are a beautiful soul, inside and out. Yes, I love your voice and your smile. I'm so proud of you, and I know Bruce is, too." Natasha wanted to add that he'd turned out to be pretty damn hot, but she didn't want to confuse him.
He grinned back at her. "Are you feeling better now?"
"Yah, actually, I am. What did you do?" she asked.
"Because you're here, I can block some of the nausea. I'm hoping that will give your body a chance to catch up with the increased hormone levels. If you can keep some fluids down when you wake up, maybe you'll start feeling better," he explained. "We'll know when your appetite kicks back in."
"Thanks, Adam. Guess I really needed the break. I spent most of the morning running from the bedroom to the bathroom."
"If you're napping this deeply around noon, you're pretty exhausted," Adam said. "You're only the second person I've had dream walk here, so I guess it's our connection that's pulling you to this space. I'm sure the doctor told you it takes a lot of energy to gear up your body and get ready for a pregnancy. This is going to be for the long haul, but you're in tiptop shape and you want this baby, right?"
"More than almost anything. I'm still getting over the shock of it. It's hard to get my head around it happening, but we both want this child."
"We're going to get you through this. I promised you that I'd have your back, and I don't take that lightly."
She smiled and kissed his fingers before letting his hand go. "Hey, you promised me you'd play the piano."
"Did I?" he asked playfully. "Maybe that's a promise I should keep." He stood up and offered her his hand, which she took and held on to as he led her out of the room and back down the hall to the living room. He opened up the piano's keyboard, and they both sat down on the bench. "What do you want to hear?" he asked.
"Hmm . . . something old," she said.
"Like Mozart old or Rat Pack old?"
"Rat Pack old will do," she decided.
He thought for a moment, "You know that's a lot of torch songs. Do you think that's appropriate?"
"At least I stand a chance of knowing the words," she said.
"No actual love songs without Bruce here. I'm guessing he'll show up in about half an hour give or take ten minutes. Then, if you'll sing them, I'll play you all the love songs I can remember."
"Does he know I'm here?"
"I think it will be a surprise," he said with a grin. "What do you say? Deal?"
"Yes, but what are you going to play in the meantime?"
"Okay, here's a compromise," he said and played a few chords to get a feel for his new reach before he started playing a tune that seemed familiar, but she didn't know the lyrics.
"I know what this is, but I don't think there are lyrics."
"Basin Street Blues," he said as he continued to play through the verse. "Okay, let's try this," he said, as he switched to a different tune and sang:
Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans
And miss it each night and day?
I know I'm not wrong this feeling's gettin' stronger
The longer, I stay away.
Miss them moss covered vines the tall sugar pines
Where mockin' birds used to sing
And I'd like to see that lazy Mississippi hurryin' into spring.
"That's nice," she said as she listened to him. "I knew you were going to sing bass when I heard you speak. Is that Harry Connick, Jr.?"
"Yes, same album as the first one." He finished the song with just the piano and went through some chords and runs to work his fingers more. Maybe this adult body wasn't so bad.
"You said I was 'dream walking.' Is that a technical term or just a descriptive one?"
"Native Americans use it, and it is descriptive and poetic, too. You may not have physically walked here, but you've traveled from your normal place in your own head to here. I suppose it is a bit like sleep walking." He looked over at her for a reaction. "Does that make any sense?"
"About as much as any of this. It does beat the usual anxiety and surrealism," she said with a shrug. "You said someone else had found a way here."
He kept playing quietly, but looked at her again. "Please don't be mad. Back in October when we visited the Bartons, the same evening after you and Lila almost got smothered in the wet sand, Bruce had made a construct for me that day of the Bartons' house. I was exploring the inside rooms, but I was so tired I lay down on the couch because I was pretty trashed. She found me asleep there and woke me up. I looked like I was her age, so I stayed that way and we did kid things. We played and she showed me around, so I could add to the details. You know about the tunnels and the shelter, right?"
Natasha raised an eyebrow, "Yes, I do."
"I mean, she was a really thorough guide, and we had a good time playing, but I made it clear I couldn't really interact that way again. We said goodbye, and I thought I had sealed the place off. Bruce hasn't done many constructs, so I basically redid the foundation and thought it was fixed. She didn't show up there again, and everything seemed fine."
"However . . . ?" Natasha said. There was always a however or a but.
"However, right when the kids started their winter holiday, she had a disagreement with her two best friends and was really distressed. We sort of mutually connected again. Well, I could sense she was horribly upset, so I found her and we talked and played some more, like we had the first time, till she felt better. I probably shouldn't have done it, but it's not happened again since. I still feel connected. Not as closely as I'm connected to you, but if she called me, I'd feel obligated to answer and help her. All she wanted was someone to listen to her."
Natasha patted him on the shoulder. "Adam, I don't think you were wrong to comfort her. Everybody who cares about Lila would have done the same thing if they could. You're just able to reach her on a different . . . plane?" Natasha paused as a thought occurred to her, "The same thing happened to you and me when our pulses, our heartbeats matched up, didn't it?" she guessed.
"Yes, we already had a connection with the lullaby, but this builds on that foundation. I think this synchronicity—for lack of a better term—helps us home in on each other. I knew you were here before I heard you," he explained. "Are you okay with this link between us? It's more intrusive than I realized at first. It sort of clicked into place before I understood where the consequences would lead."
She reached over and touched his bare forearm as he played a few bars of a Gershwin tune. There was a bit of a zing that made the hairs on her arm stand up, but it settled down into a comfortable warmth. Again she could smell the apples like someone had bitten into a Jonathan or Granny Smith with their tartness and underneath that the earthiness of the sage as if its leaves were just now brushed by someone's passing hand. She studied his face as he applied more of his attention to playing the piece. Natasha could recognize her large, green colleague in him from the set of his jaw as he concentrated and repeated a couple of measures until he had smoothed them out to his satisfaction. There was some of Bruce there, but this wasn't a mask Adam was trying on or hiding behind. This face looked right and natural on him. Adam realized she was looking at him, "Well, I hope you're okay with it because I'm not sure how to disconnect. I'm afraid it might be very painful. At least I know it would be from my end. Say something, 'Tasha."
"Right! I'm sorry, Adam. It's just sort of mesmerizing to watch you play. No, I didn't know where this was going at first either, but I want this connection to you and to Bruce. I have no desire to break things off," she reassured him. Adam smiled and there was more than a little relief behind the grin. "Say, piano man," she said in a less serious tone, "do you know 'You Belong to Me'?"
He cocked an eyebrow, "Do I know it?" and he played the chorus through. "Is that it?" He could sense Bruce was close now, so bring on whatever the lady wanted to hear or sing.
"You've got it. Unhurried, but steady tempo," she said with a smile and sang the scat line as he finished the prelude's chords.
See the pyramids along the Nile
See the sunrise on a tropic isle
Just remember darlin' all the while
You belong to me.
See the market place in Old Algiers
Send me photographs and souvenirs
Just remember when a dream appears
You belong to me.
I'll be so alone without you
Maybe you'll be lonesome too, and blue.
Fly the ocean in a silver plane
See the jungle when it's wet with rain
Just remember 'til you're home again
You belong to me.
"It's too beautiful to interrupt," Bruce said as he stood in the foyer. Natasha jumped up and ran to meet him. He caught her in his arms and pulled her close. "I've been lonesome all right."
"Be quiet," she said and kissed him on the mouth. He felt solid and warm. Their lips and tongues sparred in their excitement, and they laughed and kissed at the same time. Bruce picked her up and Natasha wrapped her legs around his waist.
Adam finished up the last line of the song and closed the keyboard cover. He stood up and was getting ready to leave when Bruce momentarily pulled away from Natasha's embrace, "Don't go too far. We need to talk." Adam shook his head and waved to acknowledge him before stepping through the wall. He kept walking for a while in the nothingness until he felt the wind pick up and heard the waves on the stony beach. He kept the air warm around him to ward off the dampness. The fog lifted a bit after he arrived at the water's edge. He picked up a rock and hurled it as hard as he could across the water, but didn't hear it splash.
"Hey, be careful," squawked Raven as it landed on the beach at Adam's feet.
"Sorry," Adam said. "I didn't see you there."
"Word to the wise, when you're standing at the end of your world, it's not a good idea to throw stones off it. It can have unintended consequences."
Adam bent down so he was crouching on all fours, much like he did when he was Hulk. "So how have I fucked up? I hardly ever see you unless I've messed something up."
"Don't worry, Big Guy. This is mostly a social visit."
"Nice place for a party," Adam said looking around at all the grayness.
"Don't complain. You got what you thought you wanted."
Adam snorted and sat back on his heels, "It's exactly what I wanted."
"So why are you here throwing rocks off the end of the world?" Raven demanded.
"Because I think I know what has to come next," Adam said as he stared at the stones under their feet.
"Really?" Raven said with its head cocked to the side.
"You were with me, so you should know, bird. I don't have the false bliss of disassociation. It's just a matter of putting the pieces back together."
"Then relax. You've done your best. Got anything to eat around here?"
"Don't they feed you?" Adam snorted.
"Not often enough. Feasting and famine," it said shifting its feet nervously.
"Come on there's a tide pool a little further along." Adam stood up and started walking up the beach.
"Yum, seafood," Raven said as it flew to perch on Adam's shoulder. "What do you get when you puke up your lunch? Re-see food. Get it?"
"For an emissary, you're pretty uncouth."
"I'll have you know, that one kills back home. By the way, I like the new look. Work a little more on that smoldering, pissed-off stare and you'll have it down."
"Shut up and eat your escargot."
End Notes: This was a busy chapter even if there wasn't a bridge saved. I've wanted Nat to sing "You Belong to Me" to Bruce for a long time. I like the Jo Stafford version the best: watch?v=zQfF84ackMM
You asked for the tattoo; you got the tattoo. I'm not saying what or where just yet.
Lila has dream walked and nearly gotten Adam in hot water.
Thor is a bit of a mooch when it comes to pizza bagels.
Raven is back! Nat and Bruce get a little cuddle time together.
Your thoughts, comments, and questions are welcome.
Next time Bruce will get to talk to Adam and we'll go from there.
