003: Video

[hulkbusted]

[It's after the night siren and Bruce is looking frazzled, irritated, and... like he forgot that he'd been getting ready to sleep, since he's wearing boxers and glasses and apparently nothing else. As he settles his NV, a pair of mice skitter across the desk he's set it on. There are little movements in the background and Bruce has to stop and hop around, cursing under his breath as something apparently runs over his foot.]

Okay, look, the Darkness thing I'm up on, but is it common for random objects like, say, my pillow to turn into mice?

[ooc: Loki'd]

Comments

[hulkbusted]

[And she thinks she has no mercy....]

Compared to the past five years, I'm living it up, Scathach. I was ready to start thinking about a future where I wasn't constantly alone and constantly running before I was dropped here and this place feels like a holding pattern until I can get there.

[symmachy]

Then you should keep "living it up," as you say. Go out and have some fun.

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce's libido votes for "why not stay in and have some fun?" only to have him slam the lid on its box.]

Your idea of fun or mine? I'm not really a fighter.

[symmachy]

[Bruce this is why you're so angry all the time. Clearly you just need to get laid.]

What is your idea of fun?

[hulkbusted]

[If it were that simple, he would have slept his way through most of South and Central America and the Indian subcontinent.]

I... [...have kind of forgotten...]

...used to go to this pizza place with my friends, near the university where I worked. Most of my life revolved around science. Even my girlfriend was a colleague.

[He looks almost apologetic, because how boring must that be to someone like her?]

[symmachy]

[Bruce how could you.

And no she finds humans and their habits fascinating. Really.]

You should branch out. But pizza is a good place to start. Do you cook?

[hulkbusted]

I have a background in chemistry. Trust me, chemists can cook. I picked up an amazing recipe for Lau Khoshar Chhechki in Calcutta. It's vegetarian if you're interested.

[symmachy]

[Her smile is small, but genuine. And maybe her teeth don't seem so long as they actually are. Scatty unfolds her body from is curled position, stretching her legs and crunching her toes, and reaches over to gently touch his arm.]

I would like that. I'm sure it will be delicious and exact. [A little joke for herself, that bit at the end. But maybe he'll notice.]

[hulkbusted]

[The phrasing is a little odd, but she's smiling, and he's learning that the ones that show her teeth are both rarer and more telling... and she's touching him, which makes him wonder how dangerous kissing her would be, not just because of those sharp, sharp teeth.]

I'll cook a whole Indian meal for you. And I found a movie house that shows old rat pack movies, so that would cover dinner and a movie before I send you off with the other guy.

[symmachy]

[That is a gamble, Bruce. But one that might work out for you. Who knows. She grins, and stands again, starting to prowl around the room once more.]

Sounds like a plan. So, when is this cooking and movie-watching and such happening?

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce is slow to respond because he's just gotten a view that confirms that Scatty is no longer wearing the shorts she'd had on when he let her into the house. It... does things to him. Things that make him really wish his pillow wasn't scampering around the bedroom on hundreds of little mouse feet, because it would be better put to use across his lap.]

Friday. I'll need time to collect the ingredients.

[symmachy]

[Good thing she hasn't noticed--yet. Scathach is sometimes oblivious to things like attraction, mostly because she doesn't think of herself as one to inspire it. She isn't looking at him anyway, instead distracted by one of the errant mice. Quick as a whip, she's pounced and caught its tail between her finger and thumb. She pulls a face.]

Friday works. Are you going to get an exterminator for these things? [Scatty really hated mice and rats. And birds, and cats. There were a lot of animals she didn't get along with, to be honest.]

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce gets up with his back to her to grab a particularly oversized t-shirt out of a dresser and pull it on. One advantage to doing your clothing shopping out of donation baskets is the sizing or lack thereof.]

Kevin said he's going to borrow a cat, but I think I can rig something in the morning with high-frequency tones that the mice will find distressing. I just need to wait until I can open all the doors in the house.

[symmachy]

[She's actually a little surprised when he puts on a shirt, and maybe just the slightest bit disappointed. Why, she couldn't exactly say, so she filed it away in her mind for later. She lopes over to his bedroom door, opens it, and tosses the mouse out before closing it gently.]

I hope it works. I'm not a fan of rodents.

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce winces, since Kevin had been so angry about the mice.]

I'll get it worked out. It's unsanitary to say the least, but I think even if Loki turned my pillow back I'd throw it out too.

[symmachy]

[Kevin can deal with one lone mouse in the morning. If he can't... oh well. She drums her fingers on her thighs as she starts towards him again.]

Birds are worse than mice, believe me.

[hulkbusted]

[Maybe if he focuses on how very, very sharp her teeth are... Look at her teeth, Bruce. The teeth, the teeth!

It's not working.

He shifts from foot to foot and tries for deflection.]

It sounds like there's a story with the birds...?

[symmachy]

[She's ten thousand years old, Bruce. She knows when someone is uncomfortable. Body language. Her eyes flick from his feet to his face. She completely freezes where she is, just a few feet away.]

Several. What's the matter?

[hulkbusted]

[Oh crap.]

The last time I had a beautiful, half-dressed woman in my bedroom was... [A very long time ago.]

My self-control is a lot better than it used to be, but I haven't road-tested it, and Kevin's just downstairs, and I don't know if you've noticed, but you seem to be wearing... Not much.

[symmachy]

[If she hadn't promised to be quiet, she would have burst out laughing. But she keeps her chuckle quiet, even as a slight blush spreads over her freckled skin, from her head right down to her toes.]

Well, you could have just said so. I will leave if that would--make it easier for you. [Don't say masturbating, don't say masturbating.]

[hulkbusted]

[ohgodpleasedontsaymasturbating]

I think we can take it as given that I didn't ask you to leave because I don't want you to leave, but it might be a good idea. At least until you meet the Other Guy.

[symmachy]

[don'ttemptherbruce

She walks backwards towards the bedroom door and crouches to gather up her clothes.]

For fear of making it worse, I'll just borrow this shirt and return it to you another day.

[hulkbusted]

[He is forty-two years old, he's spent years learning to control his body, his reactions; he's too old to blush. He's... yeah, a little red in the face, especially his ears.]

Keep it as long as you need. [Because he won't be carrying that mental image with him for the rest of the night, nope.]

We're still on for Friday?

[symmachy]

[Gently opening the door. Still facing him.]

I promise not to kill anything while wearing it. [Maybe just beat them up. And she never said she wouldn't take it off to kill things.]

And we are. If you need me to pick anything up, let me know.

[hulkbusted]

[Sometimes it's easy to forget he's actually brilliant, but the lingering at the door seems familiar and kick starts a few neurons to spur him to close the distance between them.]

I'm not going to pick my shirt over your safety out there. I'd offer you my bed while I take the couch, but you don't... [Bruce, you are no good at this. At all. Betty must have done all the work.] Yeah, this is weird. Is it okay if I kiss you?