Hulk Drabble Mark 2
For cygny who for some reason liked the inital drabble enough to request a sequel.
Here's hoping I don't disappoint...
Disclaimer: Marvel's not mine.
It's Ross.
Bruce is not surprised. Not really. It would have to be him of course and Bruce feels the anger swell strongly in the part of him that is his father. What is he doing here? What more does he want to try and take? Unspoken is the fear of the vendetta that laced every word he ever spoke to Bruce. Every look tainted by the hatred he bore Bruce's father. He was blinded by that hate and lashed out to destroy long before Bruce was any real threat.
The older man looks ...well. He chomps the end of his cigar between his teeth and looks up at Bruce. Funny how Bruce had never noticed that he was the taller before. He is wearing sunglasses which mirror Bruce's emerald eyes back at him. The grey in his hair is a stark contrast to the weathered tan of his skin and the dull beige of his khaki suit.
"Your rainforest?" The man snorts in amusement. "I think the Chilean government might disagree but you're probably right enough."
Something's not right. Ross sounds amused, relieved and almost....respectful. Bruce tips his head, watching the general warily. "What do you want, Ross?"
The words taste of his father. Defensive, threatened and smouldering with rage. Bruce's rasp makes them different, dangerous and he watches Ross tense with satisfaction.
"I want a lot of things, Doctor Banner. Or should that be Kr-"
"Banner is fine." Bruce interrupts, fearing the surge of jealous rage from his father will tip the precarious balance that keeps Hulk back.
Ross stares a him a moment before continuing. "I wanted to come here - privately - to see you for myself."
"And? You've seen me. Where are your soldiers, your scientists to lock me up and chop me into little pieces for study?" Bruce snarls back. Ross is being concillatory but he's going to have to do more to prove he's not a threat before Bruce will let him leave.
"No-one knows you're here. I'm following up another crackpot story that some drunk fool told us. Another bogeyman. Nothing more. But I was afraid."
"Of what?" Bruce leans back, reluctantly sympathetic but still waiting for the assault teams, the constricting restraints. Hulk snarls but waits for the right moment.
"That you'd want-that you would come back." Ross unhooks his sunglasses and Bruce looks into eyes that are painfully open and exposed. "Betty...she misses you."
"No." Bruce shakes his head. "She doesn't. She's just guilty that she couldn't keep pushing you away and that my old life was destroyed when you got involved. She'll get over it soon."
"She loved you."
"She loved what she thought I was. I'm not...normal, General." Bruce all but spits out the title. "I never was but at least out here I can do some good. I can make a difference without always watching every irritation, without being threatened by you and the brass and the need for a weapon that will never falter, never back fire. I'm happy here.
"Even if I did go back...what do I really have to go back to? Betty can say she loves me while she thinks I'm dead or gone. She wouldn't think so if I was there. Face it, General. If it came to a choice between me or you, she'd choose you every time."
Ross stared at him. Bruce's voice is steady, calm and only the faintest scrap of bitterness remains in the words. "You really think so?"
A statement, but Bruce elects to take it as a question. "She already did."
Ross looks away. Time trickles by as the tension thrums between them. The jungle is silent, expectant. Even the insects are quiet, waiting for this moment to end, to fall into the future. Then Ross clears his throat and hooks his sunglasses back over his ears. He nods to himself and turns back to Bruce.
"Well, I've got to get back and bawl out my intel officer for giving me another false lead." He looks up at Bruce who is still uncertain and holds out his hand. "You're a good man, Doctor Banner."
Bruce reaches out tentatively to grasp the calloused hand. "The path there will take you back to the village. Watch out for the snakes...and... Safe home, General."
The older man nods curtly and about-turns with a precision that would be admirable in a man half his age. Bruce watches him quick-march along the narrow path until the older man is lost in the green vibrancy of the jungle. The jungle explodes into raptourous life around as the weight of old obligations finally slide off his shoulders. He throws back his head and roars with the joy of it all.
He is free.
That was a little longer than I planned it to be. Right, one plot-tribble line now deceased.
Hope that wasn't too bad a disappointment, hon.
Here's hoping I don't disappoint...
Disclaimer: Marvel's not mine.
It's Ross.
Bruce is not surprised. Not really. It would have to be him of course and Bruce feels the anger swell strongly in the part of him that is his father. What is he doing here? What more does he want to try and take? Unspoken is the fear of the vendetta that laced every word he ever spoke to Bruce. Every look tainted by the hatred he bore Bruce's father. He was blinded by that hate and lashed out to destroy long before Bruce was any real threat.
The older man looks ...well. He chomps the end of his cigar between his teeth and looks up at Bruce. Funny how Bruce had never noticed that he was the taller before. He is wearing sunglasses which mirror Bruce's emerald eyes back at him. The grey in his hair is a stark contrast to the weathered tan of his skin and the dull beige of his khaki suit.
"Your rainforest?" The man snorts in amusement. "I think the Chilean government might disagree but you're probably right enough."
Something's not right. Ross sounds amused, relieved and almost....respectful. Bruce tips his head, watching the general warily. "What do you want, Ross?"
The words taste of his father. Defensive, threatened and smouldering with rage. Bruce's rasp makes them different, dangerous and he watches Ross tense with satisfaction.
"I want a lot of things, Doctor Banner. Or should that be Kr-"
"Banner is fine." Bruce interrupts, fearing the surge of jealous rage from his father will tip the precarious balance that keeps Hulk back.
Ross stares a him a moment before continuing. "I wanted to come here - privately - to see you for myself."
"And? You've seen me. Where are your soldiers, your scientists to lock me up and chop me into little pieces for study?" Bruce snarls back. Ross is being concillatory but he's going to have to do more to prove he's not a threat before Bruce will let him leave.
"No-one knows you're here. I'm following up another crackpot story that some drunk fool told us. Another bogeyman. Nothing more. But I was afraid."
"Of what?" Bruce leans back, reluctantly sympathetic but still waiting for the assault teams, the constricting restraints. Hulk snarls but waits for the right moment.
"That you'd want-that you would come back." Ross unhooks his sunglasses and Bruce looks into eyes that are painfully open and exposed. "Betty...she misses you."
"No." Bruce shakes his head. "She doesn't. She's just guilty that she couldn't keep pushing you away and that my old life was destroyed when you got involved. She'll get over it soon."
"She loved you."
"She loved what she thought I was. I'm not...normal, General." Bruce all but spits out the title. "I never was but at least out here I can do some good. I can make a difference without always watching every irritation, without being threatened by you and the brass and the need for a weapon that will never falter, never back fire. I'm happy here.
"Even if I did go back...what do I really have to go back to? Betty can say she loves me while she thinks I'm dead or gone. She wouldn't think so if I was there. Face it, General. If it came to a choice between me or you, she'd choose you every time."
Ross stared at him. Bruce's voice is steady, calm and only the faintest scrap of bitterness remains in the words. "You really think so?"
A statement, but Bruce elects to take it as a question. "She already did."
Ross looks away. Time trickles by as the tension thrums between them. The jungle is silent, expectant. Even the insects are quiet, waiting for this moment to end, to fall into the future. Then Ross clears his throat and hooks his sunglasses back over his ears. He nods to himself and turns back to Bruce.
"Well, I've got to get back and bawl out my intel officer for giving me another false lead." He looks up at Bruce who is still uncertain and holds out his hand. "You're a good man, Doctor Banner."
Bruce reaches out tentatively to grasp the calloused hand. "The path there will take you back to the village. Watch out for the snakes...and... Safe home, General."
The older man nods curtly and about-turns with a precision that would be admirable in a man half his age. Bruce watches him quick-march along the narrow path until the older man is lost in the green vibrancy of the jungle. The jungle explodes into raptourous life around as the weight of old obligations finally slide off his shoulders. He throws back his head and roars with the joy of it all.
He is free.
That was a little longer than I planned it to be. Right, one plot-tribble line now deceased.
Hope that wasn't too bad a disappointment, hon.