thisavrou_log | ( open ) it's been so long since I've been gone

Entry tags:

( open ) it's been so long since I've been gone

Who: Bruce Banner and anyone
When: April 1st to 3rd, give or take
Where: All around the Moira
What: Bruce comes back after a 3-day nap on a cryo unit, but with over a year worth of memories. From his perspective, it's been a good while since he's been on the Moira.
Warnings: Nudity, an old man accidentally flashing a minor. (Whoops.) Also NSFW for sex in one thread.
( a note: I'm good with both brackets and prose, so just pick whichever you prefer and I'll match! )

WAKE UP; CLOSED TO ZATANNA.

He wakes up with a startle, but it doesn't show. He's just so used to controlling every aspect of himself that when the unit brings him back from his stasis with a jolt, he barely moves. His eyes open, there's a soft silent gasp, but he lies there for a while, letting the cold envelop him little by little, and the memories of his surroundings slowly trickle into his mind.

It takes him a while. It's been over a year since he's been here, and he didn't even remember any of his time here for all the while that he was back in his world. Not even a dream, a ghost of a recollection, just... a complete blank. As if his life had never really stopped, as if he'd never truly been kidnapped into a spaceship on an alternate universe to begin with.

He knew that it was highly likely this is how it would happen when someone goes back home, of course, but one thing is to know or theorize what happens, another thing entirely is to experience it firsthand.

Eventually, he climbs out of the unit, but he doesn't go too far. Still clinging to the edge, cold feet touch the hard metallic floor, his knees nearly giving in under the weight of his own body, and when he glances down, he realizes he's completely naked. Shivering from the cold, little droplets hanging from the tips of his short hair, he looks around, trying to spot some clothes or even just a towel to wrap himself up in.

WANDER; CLOSED TO OBI-WAN.

After the initial shock of waking up, and now wearing a pair of pants and shoes, he's slipped on a hospital gown from the medbay and stepped outside. The objective here is to find his way to his room as soon as possible, to try and figure out what's going on right now, how long he's been gone exactly— who even is around still. He's thinking of a particular someone, actually, but the fear that he won't find Trish's name on the directory is too great for him to even think of checking.

First things first, though: he needs to figure out which way his deck is. All it takes is a couple of wrong turns down a hallway and he realizes he completely lost his way. He's not usually the kind to get lost, but he's ascribing it to the haze in his mind, the disorientation from waking up just a few minutes ago.

He starts glancing around instead, trying to find someone. Hearing footsteps nearby, he walks towards them in hopes that whomever it is, they'll help him find his way again.

REUNITE; CLOSED TO TRISH.

With some details cleared out, some questions asked and answered, and a quick read over the MID and whatever information he can get his hands on, his mind focuses on the next thing to do. He needs to find Trish. He goes back to his room, takes a warm shower and puts on some fresh clothes, feeling marginally better when he steps back outside, short hair and beard both looking impeccable and far less messy than the tangle of curls Trish would normally be familiar with.

It's a strange thing, how this works. He didn't even remember meeting her for that whole year he was gone, but now that he's back here, he realizes just how terribly he missed her, and how scared he is that any memories he has of her can be erased from his mind so easily. It should scare him enough to not want to do anything about it, but it's the opposite, actually. Something about having love and lost, probably.

He distinctly remembers quoting a line from a movie at her that directly relates to the sentiment. The point is, he feels as if he's been given a second chance, and Bruce doesn't get those. Not ever.

The problem is in finding her, though. He goes to her room but it's empty, he tries the radio station but she's not there, he sticks to the most popular areas of the ship, such as the mess hall, the gardens, the recreation room, but she's nowhere to be found. His heart clenches a little in his chest; maybe there's an error in the directory. Maybe she's not really on board, or maybe it's a different Trish Walker. He pushes the crippling worry away, though, and instead starts tapping on his MID, not even looking ahead as he keeps walking down the hallway, much too focused on sending her a text instead.

REACCLIMATE; OPEN.

Bruce used to think getting brought to a spaceship in an alternate universe was the strangest thing to happen to him, but he's quickly revising his opinion. This whole cryostasis experience has been something else entirely, and the sleep part isn't even the weirdest. The weirdest is what's happened on a mental level, and how he experienced over a year of memories in the span of three days.

He has to catch up on some things now, or rather, he has to refresh his memory. He walks the hallways and drops by the most active areas of the ship with curiosity, watching places and people alike, spends hours in the science department rereading files and looking over the work he himself did, slowly filling in any gaps and holes he has in his memory.

Some might have known he was in stasis for the past few days and want to check up on him, some might find the short hair and beard a strange change, either way he looks very approachable no matter where one might find him. Probably even more approachable than he did before.

Or, if he's familiar enough with someone and recognizes their face easily, he might just be the one to go over to them, greeting them with a smile and a hello.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

See, she was right about him having surprises for her. She wasn't ready for such a smooth turn to the romantic, and she actually feels a bit of a lump form in her throat. She swallows around it, feeling like her voice will come out weird if she tries to speak, but she does anyway.

"No idea what you're talking about."

She knows exactly what he's talking about.

That's an even better reaction than what he was hoping for. There's a flicker in his gaze as he looks at her, lips curving just so, and he feels a pleasant kind of warmth spread all over his insides.

He drops his head a little lower, his lips ghosting hers, sliding over to her cheek to plant a soft kiss there.

"None at all?"

"Nope."

Yeah she's definitely sounding a little breathless, and her heart seems to want to go at double speed for some reason.

For the record, that whole pushing him up against the door has nothing on what he's doing now. At least that's what it feels like to him. The reactions he's getting out of her are all the proof he needs to be very sure that he's winning this round.

"Maybe I should just leave, then. If you really don't know how much I've missed you..."

He brushes his lips and nose along her jaw, breathing softly against her ear, lingering there for a moment before he pulls away again, just enough that their faces are no longer touching in any way.

She'll get even eventually, but the best thing about this game is that losing feels a whole lot like winning too.

"Or you could show me."

That's kind of the whole point, yes.

"I guess I could."

He tips his head down and slowly presses his lips to hers, his other hand moving up to cradle her face, fingers gently sifting through her hair.

"Okay, I'm starting to get the idea."

And she's feeling all warm and glowy, too.

"You're pretty good at surprises too."

"Sometimes I get... inspired."

He murmurs softly, smiling, planting a trail of soft kisses starting on her lips and going across her cheek, slowly moving towards her jaw and ear. The fingers of his other hand brush through her hair a few times, then he lets his fingertips ghost across her skin, tracing slow and gentle lines down her neck.

This is definitely a side of Bruce that Trish is counting herself very lucky that she gets to explore. For being so easily flustered he's pretty damn good at seduction.

She tilts her head a bit to give his lips better access, goosebumps flaring all over her body.

"Anything in particular that inspires you?"

Because she likes inspired Bruce a whole lot.

He's good at adapting, pretty much. It kind of extrapolates to this, at least with someone he's comfortable with, and Trish is definitely that. It doesn't mean he'll stop getting flustered altogether, though.

He pauses so he can kick off his own shoes and climb onto the bed more properly, lying down alongside her, elbows still propped to both her sides as he moves back up to kiss her on the lips.

"Nothing in particular right now."

Lips parting just so, he draws the tip of his tongue along her own lips, humming at the taste.

"But I'm open to suggestions."

Well that's good, because flustered Bruce is cute.

Her lips part under his, her tongue darting out to tease his while her toes curl with delight. Damn, she loves kissing this man.

"You seem to be doing fine without them right now."

"I'm glad to know."

His voice is warm, a soft hum against her lips, his eyelids weighing just so as he tips his head, shifts closer, dips his tongue more slowly between her lips when she parts them in all but an invitation.

A small sound of pleasure that she is barely even aware of making vibrates deep in her throat while one of her hand comes up to play with his hair, fingertips lightly scratching at his scalp while she gently caresses his tongue with her own. Why did they ever hesitate about getting to this part?

Yes, she still knows why, but right now her mind is going a bit fuzzy around the edges.

He presses into the kiss a little surer, a sigh spilling into her mouth in response to the sound that trembles its way up her throat, a hand moving down to curl on her side. His tongue brushes against hers in slow, gentle touches, feeling the texture of her mouth, tracing the edge of her teeth. He knows why this took so long, why it was important to give it some thought, but he too is wondering why they even decided that to begin with. (Well, mostly.)

Then again, that might be because to him, it took a lot longer than just some weeks, thanks to his impromptu trip back home. He hadn't really been planning on thinking for that long.

If he had actually taken a whole year to think things over on purpose, Trish might have just given up on the whole thing. She has a very loyal heart and isn't exactly the best at letting go, but she does have her limits and that would probably have tested them.

She definitely has no plans of letting go now though, metaphorically or literally. She would very much like Bruce to stay nice and close at the moment.

"I am so glad you have your own room."

He breaks the kiss with a soft gasp, his breath a little heavier, and his eyes just a hint darker. Her words draw a quiet chuckle from him, lips curving into an amused smile.

"God, me too. You have no idea."

Well, she has some idea, at least. Point is, even though he liked having his own room before going home, he never appreciated it like he does now.

She moves her hand from his hair to his cheek, thumb lightly stroking his lower lip.

"We could do this every night."

He turns his face to the side just so, as if wanting to chase the touch of her thumb with his lips. His eyelids lower a little, and he smiles softly before looking at her again, nodding.

"We could. I'd be okay with that."

"Um... Not sure how to ask this without completely killing the mood but... How much can you handle?"

Because he's sure getting her heart racing right now and she knows that isn't exactly the best thing for him.

Edited 2016-04-12 21:29 (UTC)

For what it's worth, it doesn't completely kill the mood, even if it turns Bruce into a flustering puddle of embarrassment. He tips his head and hides his lopsided grin into the curve of her shoulder and neck, letting out a soft chuckle that's more nervous than it is amused.

"I'm... not sure, actually."

He lifts his head back up just enough to look her in the eye, biting his lips a little.

"It's been a while for me. A very long while."

Years, actually— almost a decade. As she can likely imagine.

That is probably the most adorable reaction he could possibly have, and when he hides his face against her neck she hugs him close.

When he looks at her again, she gives his lips a feather-light kiss.

"We'll figure things out together then."

He nods lightly, the hand on her side moving up to her shoulder, fingers tracing up her neck and jaw as he returns that gentle kiss.

"Alright. Thank you."

For the patience, and for being willing to figure that out with him. Especially when she knows how peculiar a situation this is. Her question leaves him a little more thoughtful, though, and he searches her face for a moment, silent and contemplative, before he goes on to add in a bit of an awkward tone.

"I'm... I think there are some things I can do. I mean, I— I'm pretty sure I can... touch you?"

He's sure enough to bring it up, at least.

"Would you want to?"

Because she doesn't want him to push himself into anything just to make her happy.

She's getting a raised eyebrow at that, one corner of his lips twitching.

"You're kidding, right?"

He might have excellent self-control but he'd like to think he's obvious to some degree about how much he wants her.

"No, I want to be sure!"

Just because he's into her it doesn't mean he necessarily wants to go further than kissing after all. People are different.

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