( open ) you are descended from animals

[hyperkinesia]

Who: Bruce Banner and anyone!
When: First half of March.
Where: Several places around the Moira.
What: A general catch-all if anyone wants to run into him on the ship since he won't be going down to the planet at all.
Warnings: None for the moment, will update if need be.
( a note: I'm good with both brackets and prose, so just pick whichever you prefer and I'll match! )

WORKING; SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.

Things seem a little calmer now, and while that leaves Bruce feeling wary of what might yet happen, it also offers him a semblance of peace and quiet. The planet seems interesting but not very welcoming, and for that reason he decides not to go down there and visit himself, opting for staying on the ship and spending a good amount of his time in the science department.

Especially as he starts getting data from the planet, helpfully provided by Clark, he dedicates himself to putting together a file with all the thorough information, as well as building a holographic projection of the surface, based on the images and sensors Clark got him. It's exciting work to him, even if it might not seem like much to some, and he can often be found at the department, poring over all the images and information collected.

TRAINING & MEDITATING; OBSERVATION DECK, GARDENS, RECREATION AREA.

It's not all work for him, though. He knows he can't push himself past a certain point of exhaustion, and even if things seem calm right now, it's always good to keep practicing a little, and keep himself well in check. His favorite meditation spot is the observation deck, and he's likely to be found there more often than not, sitting on a small blanket, legs crossed and hands resting over his knees. The gardens are also a close second, and he goes there a few times too, enjoying what little of nature they have on board.

At the recreation area, he makes use mostly of the pool about once a week, going for a few leisurely laps at odd hours, when the place happens to be empty - or close enough to it.

MEALS & DUTIES; MESS HALL.

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday afternoons are spent doing his duties at the mess hall, clearing out tables and making sure there's always food at the buffet for people to help themselves. Outside of that schedule, he can be found there during meal hours, sitting by himself and more often than not reading some file or, most likely, a book.

WILDCARD; ANYWHERE.

Run into him on a corridor, spot him at the library, what have you - Bruce regularly visits different areas of the ship so it's not unlikely for him to be spotted in a myriad of different places. Go wild!

Comments

[handing]

The difference between inexperience and expertise becomes all the more plain as they go on, but Pepper's not letting that deter her. She wants to do this right, and she will. It's a skill to be developed like any other, through practice and repetition, and with that constant reminder she can forgive whatever mistakes she makes along the way--although it's better that she doesn't realize Bruce is the one who shifts his breathing moreso than her. Novice or not, she doesn't want to be compensated for; she wants to do this right.

Which is why she only nods when he gives her instruction; speaking would break the precious rhythm she's established. And because this has all been such a simple thing so far, an easy task with no foreseeable risk, she slips her hands into Bruce's without hesitation despite not yet seeing the reason why he's instructed as much. Still, there's a purpose, and she presses her palms against his, her hands lightly grasping Bruce's as Pepper waits for what comes next.

[hyperkinesia]

She can't compare herself to him, he's been doing this for years, and from the point he decided he needed to do this to the point that it actually started to make a difference, it was months of training, of trial and error, of sessions ending in frustration after he sat for hours and got nowhere. It takes time and patience, and maybe Pepper will succeed even faster than Bruce has. Starting with the fact that she knows very well what she wants from this, whereas Bruce was still hoping to find a cure when he first started.

Slowly, he shifts their hands around, fingers sliding up to her wrists and feeling around a little, a touch more methodical than anything else. "I'm finding your pulse; you should try to find mine too," he instructs as he presses the pads of his index and middle finger against her skin, feeling the blood pulse underneath the touch. "It's a neat trick, and it worked with Trish: synchronizing heartbeats. So let's give it a try."

[handing]

Well, if he wanted to distract her from her own nervousness he's picked a good topic--unfortunately, it also works to distract her from what Bruce has asked her to do as well. Oh, Pepper does stretch out her fingers, lightly brushing them over Bruce's skin until she finds the proof of his steadily beating heart. But when he mentions that it had worked with Trish, well...

The grin she gives him has nothing to do with meditation.

"So you synchronized heartbeats with Trish, huh? That sounds romantic." Not when he's doing it with Pepper, mind, because she's with Tony and very happy to be friends with Bruce. But it's because they are friends that she feels such a need to point this out, even if it means her breathing slips for a few moments afterwards.

[hyperkinesia]

Somehow he has a feeling that mentioning Trish is a terrible idea, a realization that dawns on him the moment he says her name. His lips settle into a tense line when Pepper speaks up, and his exhale comes out as more of a sigh than anything else, though he makes a very pointed effort to keep his heartbeat steady and calm, thrumming away at the same even pace.

"Stop trying to distract me." Wait, saying that isn't a good idea either. Pepper's going to read into that, isn't she? Yep. He'll just gloss over that and hope she'll say nothing to it. (Honestly, Bruce.) "We're doing it now. Or I'm trying to do it, at least. It's not romantic now, is it?" Rhetorical question, obviously. He likes Pepper, but definitely as a friend and nothing more. Regardless of her being with Tony or not.

[handing]

Maybe it's terrible from his perspective; Pepper almost feels like she's been given a gift, with the sigh that follows being like the bow decorating the box.

"I'm sorry; I didn't realize you'd find that distracting." Although it's clearly gotten her off focus. Normally Pepper is much, much better about this sort of thing, but after seeing Bruce and Trish dance around each other? It's hard not to turn the topic towards the potential happiness of two of her friends.

"You and I haven't been flirting with each other since at least February." Oh, had that been rhetorical? Pepper hadn't noticed. She does manage to look a little contrite--very little--when he points out that she's all but abandoned the effort, however. "But you have to admit that being able to accomplish something like that could be seen as signifying a pretty profound bond."

[hyperkinesia]

"I don't," he answers almost too quickly, mouth hanging open for a second or two as he struggles on what to follow that up with. "I didn't— that's not what I meant."

Sure, he finds Trish pretty distracting, but he was talking about Pepper using that topic to steer him away from what they were trying to accomplish here. Not that he thinks she's trying to avoid it, not at all, but she clearly needs to take a good look at her priorities. Maybe teasing her friends about their crushes shouldn't be quite so high up on that list.

He doesn't even answer the first remark, knowing that whatever he said to it would only work against him. She's got a point, though, and he had thought as much himself when they managed to accomplish something like that so quickly, and so easily too.

"It could be seen as that, yes. Although to be fair I think it was mostly my heartbeat doing the adapting. I've had a lot of practice, and it's fairly easy to match it up to other people's."