incrediblebanner | (no subject)

Although she has, technically, been in Stark Tower for a few weeks now, Bryce hasn't ventured outside a certain set of places: her room, the labs, and the path between them. Tony's basically given her carte blanche to research whatever she wants - when she asked if she was supposed to be working for him, he got JARVIS to put her on a call with the CEO of his company, Pepper Potts, who explained that, while Stark Industries would be thrilled to have her, no one felt it would be reasonable to force her to sign an employment contract right then, and she should consider Tony's offer as a kind of personal invitation.

Just a couple days ago, the military finally released their hold on the rest of the belongings she'd managed to amass while in their custody - mostly the notebooks she'd used for writing in. There's actual boxes of them now, scattered around her apartment of the Tower, and she's started going over them herself, tearing out the pages with worthwhile musings on them and tossing out the rest. There had been a habit she'd gotten into while she was in military custody of filling up the books with about 1/3 logical thought and research and 2/3 nonsense, so anyone looking at it would either find it indecipherable entirely or assume she'd been starting to lose her ability to focus.

She has a large section of the floor in her living room filled up with the pages she's painstakingly putting back into some semblance of order when JARVIS interrupts her. "Dr. Banner, Captain Rogers is requesting entry to your quarters."

Automatically, she starts gathering up pages, trying to figure out how to tuck them all out of sight before Steve makes it inside. "Thank you for warning me, JARVIS."

"Dr. Banner - " There's the slightest pause in his speech, like a person might get when trying to decide how to say something. Of course, because JARVIS is an AI who would likely be able to run through the best ways to approach a topic in a fraction of a fraction of a second, she assumes this is a trait he puts on to make the humans under his care more comfortable. The way she thinks his voice might soften a little is also probably either put on by him or something she imagines. "My privacy protocols are such that no one is allowed in your personal quarters without your express permission, with the exception of emergencies. If you would prefer, I will inform Captain Rogers that you would rather not be disturbed at this time."

She sits back, suddenly, a weird lump in her throat at the idea that she, that she has a say in who enters her room. "I don't - I mean, just ask him to wait a couple minutes, please?"

"Of course, Dr. Banner."

A few minutes later, she's managed to stack up the papers in such a way that they're more out of the way but she hasn't lost any of the work she's done in organizing them, and she feels... well, a little more suited for company. "Okay, JARVIS, let him in."

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Oh. He wants to - she can't help but wonder if this is a test of some sort, but what kind of test? Is she supposed to say no because it's not safe? Or yes because she should be able to go outside without it being a problem, because that's important if they ever need to fight again?

Her eyes flick towards the windows, which she'd had JARVIS darken out because it made her feel... uncomfortable, wrong, not just because it was almost dizzying to have a view like the Tower has after an underground base but because it made her feel exposed. Windows went two ways, after all.

She'd be a better asset if she can go outside without an incident, so that's the angle she tries to approach on. "I... okay."

Her eyes go to the windows, then back to him, and while she assents...

"Going outside isn't fun for you, I take it?" he says easily, as matter of fact as he can make himself. He knows trauma, and knows she's been through a lot. Doesn't want to make her feel bad about something that's perfectly understandable. "It's okay. Don't have to, or we can stay close, under shelter. Whatever suits you."

He's giving her an out. But... it is a liability to have someone in the Avengers initiative that doesn't like going outside. And that is the reason she's here, isn't it? Because she's useful to the team.

She forces a smile that comes nowhere near to reaching her eyes. "It's fine, Steve."

He snorts at her genially, and goes over to the windows, messing around carefully enough to allow only a sliver of natural light into the room. Not a lot. Baby steps are fine.

Then he sets out the picnic blanket from the basket right on her floor. "Sit?" he invites.

She tightens her arms around herself, uncertain how she's supposed to take this - he might be trying to be nice, but she can't quite shake the feeling that his offer includes a little subtle mockery.

Still. She follows him uncertainly and settles onto the ground, cross-legged.

He doesn't like intruding, doesn't want to push himself into her personal space or pull her out of it. But he knows her well enough to know that if he doesn't poke a little that she won't come out, at all, unless there's an emergency.

And that's no way to live.

He starts setting out food. A bowl, to pour chips into. Salad. Cold sausages. Pastries. Fruit. Napkins, and a plate for each of them.

"First few weeks after I was recovered from the ice, I couldn't stand the cold," he says conversationally. "I'm still not good with it."

She lays her hands flat on her legs and uses that as an excuse to stare down at them. "That's understandable. The cold is most likely what kept you alive as long as it did, but you were still in a severely hypothermic state for - "

He probably didn't mean for this to turn into an actual topic of conversation. " - It makes sense," she finishes quietly.

He honestly doesn't mind. Main thing is, he wants her to know that she's not wrong, or broken, or weak, for having issues with something. They've all got their issues.

"I still want to get over it. But I'm taking it slow."

He holds out two cans of soda, one diet, one regular, and raises his eyebrows. Which one does she want?

She accepts a can more or less at random and murmurs, "That seems reasonable." Even if she hasn't quite picked up on what he's trying to say.

She's gone so far inside herself. Steve sympathises; he needs his alone time too, and sometimes the best way to do that is inside his own head.

Maybe he's pushing her too much.

He gestures at the food. "Eat something, if you want? Bryce... I don't want to force you to do anything you're not ready for. Just want you to know that when you want company on fighting this, whether you take big steps or small ones, I'm here for you."

Bryce blinks at him, somewhat bewildered by what feels like (to her) a sudden change in the topic of conversation. Fighting... what? The Hulk? She had thought she'd been doing fairly well keeping it under control. Maybe he noticed something she didn't?

Regardless of whether or not she knows what he's talking about, some kind of response is asked for here, and it's easy enough to predict what she's supposed to say. "I... Thank you."

She's confused. He's confused her. Good job, Steve. Excellent job as team leader. He sighs under his breath, then shoots her a smile, because he's not frustrated at her in the slightest. "I'm sorry. Please eat."

She almost wants to ask him what he was trying to say, but if there's anything she's gotten good at over the years, it's following requests from people linked to the military without undue questioning.

"Did you, ah. Want anything? Aside from... asking me to have lunch."

No, she's too far out of reach. Well, it's frustrating, but it's not her fault, and Steve'll keep at it. They are a team. That's not going to change. So he'll keep working on ways to reach her.

"Wondering how you're doing with your work, and generally." Steve takes a mouthful of his drink, throat muscles working as he swallows. "I mean, I read the summaries. I know what you're reporting, and I know you're working hard, so don't worry about that. Just wondering how you're feeling about it all. What your gut's telling you."

She sticks to vague work-related chatter, since that seems the safest, and steers clear of what her gut is telling her, because truth be told, her instincts haven't been telling her anything good for years. "Tony's mostly asked me to help him with projects that he needs someone to bounce ideas off of for."

It's kind of nice, honestly. Aside from her work with the Hulk, she hasn't been doing much or had access to a proper lab for years. At least she knows, absolutely, that what she's working on is useful.