sixthiterationlogs | it's not you i don't trust

Entry tags:

it's not you i don't trust

WHO: Bruce Banner
WHERE: A walk to the greenhouse
WHEN: December 3rd
OPEN TO: Natasha Romanoff
WARNINGS: None, will update here if that changes, but it's probably warning for cute tbh

After everything they'd been through, and the fact he landed a first date successfully, Bruce was still full of nerves. He felt better with a plan, and Liv gave him a perfect plan. He'd pay it back in kind with a cure some day, he was determined. He couldn't find any purple to wear but she made it clear he shouldn't try too hard, but he still showed up in newly pressed clothes. No flowers to speak of, since they'd be walking to the greenhouse. He did have a packed picnic though as Liv promised, and he was beaming about that particular detail.

Bruce took her hand because they were doing that more often, scandalous for sure, and led her in the direction of the greenhouse with more confidence than usual. It was helpful when he had an exact vision in mind, and then he could execute it step by step. A little too logical for something as simple and personal as a date, but it was how he didn't end up a fit of nerves and anxieties all day.

"I wish I could take the credit, but someone may have helped significantly." It isn't like Bruce to take credit for anything that isn't his, but he did set up the nice picnic blanket at the greenhouse waiting for them, so he'll take credit for that part. If not the concept. He keeps shooting shy looks Natasha's way, giving his customary half-smile.

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She had told Tony she wouldn't let Bruce jump into anything. It's only been a month and change, and there were years of distance between those stolen moments at the farmhouse and now, years where she hadn't really let herself think about what-ifs and maybes and he'd been trapped inside the Hulk, a gladiator on an alien planet. There's a lot of space and time and a lot of things they haven't talked about that are still there, still needing to be addressed.

But he'd almost died last week. A lot of people had almost died, but she'd never had to deal with him being on that list. And if he'd died while she was out with the others collecting snakes, or in the midst of those fever-induced hallucinations...regrets aren't something Natasha Romanoff has, but there were more than a few things she would have regretted, more than regretted, after that. So, a date. Just a date, with no promises attached, just a date, as absurd as the word sounds in her head, considering their circumstances and history. They'd never had the chance for one of these before. If what they say about the future of their world is right, they might not have a chance in the future. So why not enjoy it now, in this impossible place, where he can just be Bruce and she can be Natasha and neither one of them has anyone or anywhere else to be?

She's wearing her clothes from the harvest gift, the warm burgundy sweater and black jeans and boots, under the black wool coat, and she's done her best to do something with her hair, though without a blow dryer or a better brush she can't do much besides just let the soft waves do what they will, and when Bruce shows up looking nicer than one might expect one could in a place like this, she's appreciative. Looks aren't everything, aren't nearly the most important parts of him, but he looks good. She isn't shy about holding his hand, even if this is practically public. She isn't ashamed of this.

He keeps giving her those little looks, and she keeps pretending not to notice, and all of this? It feels really, really nice. "Oh? I didn't know you were telling people about this," she says in response, but she's not upset about it. It's kind of sweet, that he'd looked for some help in making this a special night. "Anyone I know?"

Bruce physically was mostly recovered from his ordeal, but it had been a long time since his body was sick so it really took it out of him. He definitely was thinner than before and got in some extra hours of sleep when he normally would put it off, since he knew how to take the necessary steps to healing. So physically he was getting better, but mentally was an uphill battle. This was a happy distraction he was going to take. Because they were complicated people leading complicated lives, but they also were Bruce and Natasha, two people who against all odds managed to feel his way about one another.

He is really tired of adding to his regrets. He wants to go the opposite way. He wants to be happy about his life choices for once. Bruce has no idea how to woo the Black Widow or what she might expect of him, but Nat has been very clear with him (even when he wasn't listening) about liking him the way he is. That guy (who she chose for some reason) likes dating. Bruce likes to do little things to show his appreciation for someone, like knowing what kind of foods they enjoyed or putting in the effort to make a simple meal more special. He wants to impress her, sure, but most of all, Bruce wants to see what this is between them. There is something very genuine about their connection, but they didn't have the time to follow it. They still might not, but he's not letting it hold them back.

"Tony knows," he replies, because of course he does, "but I asked Liv for advice. She and Bucky have been dating for awhile here and I thought maybe she could give me tips on how to make the most of this place." Bruce wasn't going to ask Tony for date advice; it seemed too cruel with Pepper's status being a big question mark at the moment. "I have limited choices in advice here, but she turned out to be a really perfect option." He squeezes her hand and walks them up to the greenhouse, opening the door for her.

There is a nice blanket set up waiting for them in one of the prettier parts of the greenhouse with plates already set up for what is in the picnic basket. He may have moved the location inside three times before finally deciding. He sets the basket down carefully. "If I get too cheesy just let me know and I will try to tone it down, like thirty percent less cheese." Bruce feels like that is a promise he can make. "I'm glad that you said yes." Also terrified that she said yes. Also confused that she said yes.

It's those little things, honestly, that are part of the puzzle she likes. It doesn't matter how little he has, what the circumstances are, he's always making little efforts to do nice things for the people he cares about, takes the time to learn things they do or don't like. He remembers things like birthdays, little snippets of conversations shared. One might argue that of course a scientist like him might have a fantastic memory, but it isn't just about memory. She knows that better than most. You have to know how to listen, and watch, and he does both. They might have more in common than he'd think.

"Liv?" Well, that's a surprise, and maybe a rare thing for him to see, her looking surprised. "Well. I'll have to tell her thank you." So. She'd known about Liv and Barnes, of course, after the zombie thing, but that she'd be willing to help Bruce out with something like this--that he'd go to someone else, that he'd ask for advice for her, and that Liv would do something like this--it's unexpected. But then, she's still new here, isn't she? Bonds are formed under duress, and places like this are full of duress. Hell, they're here on an alien planet, or in a pocket dimension, or whatever this is, and they're having a picnic in a greenhouse, and it feels good. She's not going to question it. Not tonight. Even if Tony knowing might mean she needs to go have at least a conversation with him at some point in the next few days. He doesn't get to have a say in this, she isn't going to let someone else dictate what they do, but...there was that conversation to think of. She should consider that thing he'd talked about.

But for now, there's this, and Bruce, and she smiles slow and warm at him as she looks at the setup, his careful adjustment of the basket. "Didn't think we had the technology for cheese yet," she says, smile just a little teasing as she has a seat, waiting for him to join her. "But I think I'm okay with a little cheese tonight. This is actually really nice. Weirdly normal. But nice. I'm glad you asked." She is. It should show.

Bruce does have a fantastic memory, some might say a perfect memory when it came to projects that he was working on, but it's his sentimentality that makes him remember things about his friends. The same sentimentality that kept him with the Avengers entirely. Redemption was a good thing to strive for, but it was Tony's promise of a better life as a group that led him warily into the tower. For a long time he still saw himself as that quiet outsider who they could call on as the Other Guy, and Nat learning the lullaby with him was a means to an end. Eventually they got in. She got in. She was the most subtle of them all; underneath his defenses before he knew what was happening. Falling for her was so easy he didn't even realize it was already done.

"Yes. I think part of it is that she's grateful I'm going to help her with the cure, and part of it is that she might just be the kind of person who loves doing this for others." Bruce really likes her. He liked her from the moment they chatted on the network, and now he understands so much more about why. They have a lot in common, unfortunately. He could never cure himself, but maybe he can save her. He knows he might be taking it a little too personally because of how he relates, but it's how he is too. "This place keeps me on my toes, that's for sure. I didn't think I'd be trying to fix a zombie disease."

He sits down after she does and smiles back. "We do, actually, you missed the Stark Expo. Frank and Kamala brought us pizza, or an equivalent to it." Bruce starts pulling out food from the basket; it's all organized very closely, since he had to count everything a few times to be certain he didn't leave anything behind. "I'm all for weirdly normal, since typically we just stop at the weird." He tries to go over in his head the type of date questions people normally ask. The thing is, Bruce has dated two people, and both he already knew long before it happened. So there's no real point in following any 'dating rules.' "It's not the first date I imagined for us in our world, but I don't know if the details matter so much, as long as the two people involved are there."

Yes, he thought about their first date before. Everything with Ultron went horribly wrong, and when he thought they might not get to her in time, he thought all about how he should have done things differently. Better. How his fears kept him from something that could be amazing. An overthinker to extreme. "I was thinking, the other day, about the first time we met."

"There was pizza? Frank's been holding out on me," she says wryly, watching as Bruce sets everything out, legs curled under her and weight resting on one hand. "This all looks fantastic, though. You should work on curing zombie plagues more often, if this is the kind of thanks it gets." And hey, given the kind of weird they usually run into, there's nothing saying they won't need that knowledge back home, eventually. It's basically the only thing they haven't had to deal with yet. He's not wrong, about them usually just stopping at weird.

The second part of that catches her off-guard, though, and for the second time tonight her face shows surprise, something so rarely witnessed. "You'd imagined a first date for us? Now I'm curious," she says, and despite the teasing note in her voice it's genuine. "You have to tell me sometime."

The mention of their first meeting has her smile fading slightly, but she's not unhappy, just...thoughtful. A lot has changed since those early days. "What brought that up?"

"I'm not sure if they have the ingredients anymore, but you could ask him. He's one of those guys with a lot of random talents I wouldn't expect." Bruce really likes Frank, so his voice is full of genuine fondness. It's strange, having made new connections here so easily, but part of it is the lack of constant terror of the Hulk hurting them. He smiles about the cure. "I am looking forward to digging into the mystery. You know me, few things excite me more than a scientific puzzle. They came up with a cure back home, but don't have the same components here. Yet." But they also didn't have Bruce Banner on the case until now. He loves using his Banner gifts to help others and not relying on the Hulk.

He is amused at her surprise, lifting an eyebrow. "Yes. After we flirted at the bar and Steve said he thought you were being genuine with me, I started thinking about asking you out. I still wasn't sure if it was real though." Which meant he might have spent some time tip toeing around her and making little comments to test if she responded well. "And then Ultron." It ruined everything. He ruined it. But Bruce doesn't plan on letting that linger too long on this. He shrugs one shoulder. "I did sort of think of us running away together, remember? It would've been on the run dating though, not quite as romantic." And they couldn't be together in some ways that she made clear she wanted, so.

"Because you're good at calming me down." At the schoolhouse, when he was spiraling, she made it seem so easy. "And I thought that Fury was very, very smart for sending you instead of anyone else. I don't think they would have managed." Bruce really didn't want to get involved, but even then she did turn out to be as persuasive as she said.

"Steve said that, did he?" She hadn't known. She'd seen him coming up to the bar that night, but she hadn't stayed to hear their conversation. It was actually kind of sweet, Steve going to bat for her like that. The one person on the team who always took her at face value, besides Clint, who didn't count in most respects. Clint was a different category entirely. But Steve...well. Maybe she'd see about doing something for him, too. Discreetly.

"You do most of the work, there. I'm just good at keeping you focused." She understands what he means, though, about being able to calm him. About being able to walk that line, keep him centered and in control. But it's his words about before that have her thinking, about Ultron, about running away together. Maybe she shouldn't bring it up, because this is a date, because they've been doing so well, but she doesn't want anything to linger between them, nothing that might potentially cloud the air.

"I don't think we would have ever really run away," she says after a moment, looking down at the blanket between them. "I know we didn't really know each other that well. In some ways, yes, but not others. But I think we both always knew we couldn't run from what was coming. I just didn't want to run from this, either."

"He did. He told me I should go for it and that we deserved a win." Back when winning seemed like an option they could have. Bruce was often nervous around the others, especially Steve, who he had a personal history with outside of the man itself, but it was a kind act that he remembered well. It seemed so impossible at the time, that she could want that from him, but Steve confirming it made it real.

Bruce rolls his eyes at her with a fond half-smile. "You do more than keep me focused, Natasha. And the others too. You have a remarkable ability for seeing to the heart of people and bringing out their best qualities if they let you." The if they let you part was essential to that, because some people were easier to coax than others. He is not easy, but she still manages. "When you're surrounded by the people you care about, you just sort of glow. I spent a long time watching you before that, you know." He was always watching people. Then he pauses and his eyes widen a little. "Not in a creepy way. I didn't mean it in a creepy way."

He grows somber at the topic, but he also doesn't mind. The two of them are not really made for pretending everything's okay when there were still things to get through. He always wants her to speak her mind to him. "It was more of a dream than a reality. The romantic idea of running off with you and somehow it magically working out. But it really isn't what I wanted for you, or for us. We're both too responsible to feel comfortable walking away from a fight." Bruce reaches out to touch her cheek gently so she'll look at him. "But I don't want to run anymore. I want to us to get to know each other."

And considering that. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did at Clint's place. I'm glad you felt you could open up to me. I was caught up in my own head, I should have met you halfway."

All those things he's saying, and all Nat can do is wonder who this person is he thinks she might be. Seeing to the heart of people, bringing out their best qualities--she knows how to manipulate people, others might say, knows how to make them do what she wants, and if that happens to be what's best for them, then it's still suspicious but maybe okay. More often, there's suspicion anyway, and resentment. More often, people wonder what's in it for her. Wonder how she's using them. But here's Bruce, a surprise again, as he so often has been. Finding this tender, soft spot in a skill that she's always considered--if not cold, then just...efficient. It means she's looking at him for only a moment, surprise on her face, before she's looking down at the blanket again, at the space between them, and again she's wondering what it is they're doing here. Who he wants her to be. She'd asked Steve that, once. She'd never asked Bruce. Maybe she's afraid of the answer she'd get. What he says isn't creepy. It's...overwhelming, maybe, and a little terrifying. Being watched like that, like this, isn't something she's used to. It's a vulnerability she doesn't allow herself.

But she'd chosen this, hadn't she? She wanted to try. She'd wanted to try before. She'd wanted him to know her. Just...what if what he finds isn't what he was looking for? She doesn't do uncertainty. It's an unpleasant feeling. But when he touches her cheek like that, looks at her with those warm brown eyes...she'd chosen this. She should try. He's trying. She doesn't run, and she doesn't look away, just shakes her head gently.

"Don't. Neither one of us was in a good place, there. We'd just had our heads messed with, we were all coming off of an incredibly bad day, it was all just a mess. I wasn't exactly at my best, either. You know I make terrible jokes at the best of times. That wasn't the best of times. I wasn't at my best, either. I'm not mad about it. I never was. It was just a misunderstanding we never got to fix." She lifts a hand to her cheek, lacing her fingers through his. "I'm not a happy endings and picket fences kind of girl, Bruce. I have never been that. Maybe I would have been that person if I'd led a different life, but I haven't. I need to know you understand that. No matter where we are, I'm still the same me. And that's not all good things. You might not like everything you learn." It's a warning, in a way. A way for him to get out. Maybe it's a little late for that, but maybe it's better if she just says these things. Emotional honesty. Isn't that what Tony had said? Maybe it's worth a shot.

"I can normally take jokes, even at bad times, you were just trying to get into our rhythm again." They both had gallows humor and it wouldn't be the first time either of them tried to diffuse a tense conversation with a bad joke. "It was a bad situation. It was a misunderstanding, yes, and we didn't get to fix it there, yes, but if a misunderstanding happens again, here, maybe we can learn from it and ... fix it." Bruce is flat out not great at communication. He is good at thinking and theorizing and dealing with complex algorithms, but talking to other people is a huge weakness.

Bruce looks her in the eye, questioningly, listening to what she is saying and hearing that there's weight underneath it. She's worried about something(s). "Natasha." He squeezes her fingers. "I know you have a dark past. I know the Avengers means a lot to you on several levels, and one of them might be about redemption. Making as much right as you can because there are some things you can't make right." He wasn't the only monster, she said, and he understood that to his core. Redemption was part of his purpose too.

"I'm crazy about you for a lot of reasons, but being a happily ever after type of girl is ... definitely not on that list." Bruce takes her hand and kisses the back of it like he's done before, holding it. "I like your sense of humor. I promise. Most of the time it is an absolute hit with me." He smiles. "You're also insanely smart, you don't wear it on your sleeve the way Tony and I do, you use it with sharp focus and attention to detail. You're a brilliant strategist, you always know where people are on a battlefield, you're like this subtle team leader, not obvious the way Steve is, you do it on another level. Which is funny because I know you used to be a loner, but you are an incredible team player."

Bruce is really babbling at this point, but honestly he could talk about her all day, it is a problem. "You're a survivor, you're strong in a way that I'm not sure any of us are, and I worry sometimes, because I'm obviously breakable, but breaking sometimes is the only way for me to deal. And I worry that you won't have the support you need if you do break, because people don't pay as close attention as you do to each other. They think oh it's Nat, she can handle it always, but what if you can't? What about when you need someone?" He's gone off on a tangent and he blinks, flushing, because he thinks he's gone too far in a side direction. He does that sometimes.

"I don't think you're perfect, is what I'm saying. I think you're a lot of things and some of them aren't pretty, and if there comes a day that you feel safe enough with me to share them, I'm here. It's just ... I don't judge. I'm not that guy. Nothing I find out about you will change my mind."

It isn't the first part of what he says in response that surprises her. It doesn't take a genius to realize that part of what she was doing with SHIELD was in some part an attempt to make up for past actions. There's red in my ledger, she'd said once. Debts she owed that could never be paid but maybe if she did enough to make up for it it wouldn't matter. It's one of those ways she and Bruce have always understood each other. And they aren't the only ones, for this particular thing. The Avengers each had something they were trying to make up for. Not redemption, maybe, she wasn't naïve enough to believe in that, but a kind of balance. So it isn't that.

It isn't the parts in the middle, either, more listing of her skills through a very rose-colored lens, more of a picture painted of a Natasha she might be. This one, at least, is closer to the reality. Because for a while, they had been a good team. They'd worked well together. She knew how to help make them better. And she could survive. She'd always been good at surviving. A joke again, of a different sort. She'd laugh at it, maybe, if she could.

It's the rest of what he says that hits her like a bullet, like a knife, like something that lodges deep inside her, cutting straight through. He's breakable, he says, he says it like it's okay, and it is, of course, she knows that. Sometimes people need to break to stay whole. It's just, that's never been a thing that's applied to her. It's never been a thing that's allowed to apply to her. And here he is, worried that she's going to break, she's going to need to break, and nobody will notice, because they always expect her to be fine. Natasha looks at him like she's seeing him for the first time all over again, like he's a puzzle she's trying to figure out, like he's a stranger, like he's terrifying and dangerous but also fragile and beautiful and something to be kept safe. And he looks right back.

It's silly of him to worry about that, she thinks, watching him. Because after all, he's watching her. And he sees her better than anyone else, maybe more than anyone has.

She doesn't think about what she does next. She doesn't say anything at all. She just leans forward and kisses him, a hand sliding over his shoulder to hold him in place.

Bruce was never searching for the perfect girl. How could someone as flawed as him want that? He wasn't searching for anyone, really; he assumed that door was closed to him forever. He'd been fine with that. Until her. What he wanted was a partner. An equal. She was better at some things, he was better at some things. They complemented each other well, or at least he thought they could, given the chance. He really did think this through carefully. He broke it all down and made pros and cons list and all of it was just for show because he knew what he wanted. A chance. That's it. One chance.

He's watching her so closely so he knows what lands and that might have been the most honest part of what he said anyway. He worries about her. The others don't see what he sees. She deserves someone who she can lean on, the way everyone else leans on her. And he really wants to be that person. The message seems to get through, but he still is surprised when she kisses him. This is the second one, but the first was so quick and immediately led to a Hulk change. This is their first kiss when they have time and no war to fight.

He still is holding her other hand, but his free on lifts to cup her face, applying some pressure to keep her there. He kisses her back slowly, like he plans on savoring every second of this, his heart hammering in his chest. It changes after a beat or two, because he's thought a lot about this, and he wants her to know. He breaks their first kiss but goes back in, this time more passionately, his hand sliding into her hair. He talks too much, he could tell her all day how much he cares about her, wants her, but he'd rather show her that.

She isn't sure what exactly she's expecting. More words, maybe, a kiss like that first one, ended too soon. For Bruce to pull back after all, because he overthinks everything, especially the things that matter. So she's prepared when he breaks that first kiss, but she's less prepared for the way he immediately leans in to kiss her again, passionate in a way she didn't expect but...maybe, in a way, always knew he could be, if he stopped getting in his own way. There's nothing in the way, here. Just the two of them, and a dinner maybe getting just a little cold, but that's okay, too. She's not about to stop, and while the part of her mind that's always analyzing and considering and weighing choices is always on and going, for the moment it's perfectly content to just be quiet and let her have this.

She kisses him back, of course. The hand on his shoulder slides over the side of his neck, holding him as close as he's holding her, and she kisses him until one or both of them feel the need to breathe, and when they finally do, she doesn't go far, a slow smile spreading over her lips as her eyes remain closed.

Really breathing felt so overrated right then, when her lips were a lot better than oxygen, but it was necessary if he didn't want their first kisses to end in a black out. Bruce has only kissed two people in his life, and he's glad, so glad, that his second one is her. Natasha Romanoff. He doesn't overthink it for once, he doesn't get nervous that he's out of practice, he's letting his brain shut up and living in the moment.

He doesn't go far either, enjoying this closeness between them almost as much as the kissing itself. Almost. Bruce's eyes are only half open, and his smile mirrors hers. He kisses her gently again, like he really can't help it with her that close, and then leans his forehead against hers. "It's taken a lot of years to get a chance to kiss you properly, Ms. Romanoff." Bruce flirts a little better when he's feeling confident, leaning his head back so he could look at her, sliding a hand through her hair. "But it was all worth it."

Her smile widens at the gesture, the words, the entire experience. Her life is not one that has led to an abundance of moments like this. Softness was a luxury not often afforded her. There were more moments like it since she'd met Clint, been aggressively adopted; she'd learned to not view softness as weakness in herself, learned to value moments where she could be something other than just a weapon. In all honesty, it was actually really good that she and Bruce hadn't come together earlier. She's had time to learn, to know how to be someone who can do this sort of thing. How to just be Natasha Romanoff, instead of Black Widow.

"Dr. Banner, I do believe you're going to make me blush," she murmurs, and as he pulls back enough to look at her, her eyes open just enough to meet his, a softness in them that isn't often there. "But you're right. Worth it." And not worth thinking about the could haves or would haves. It's enough that they're here, together, now.

Bruce changed a great deal in the past few years too. He came into the Avengers at his most paranoid and anxious, detached from his own sense of humanity. It took time, trust, and most of all a want inside of him to choose a better life. For someone who had so few choices left, every one of them mattered. When they first met, they couldn't have had this. Now? Now he is really a believer. He smiles at her, so utterly smitten he's not certain this fluttery warm feeling in his heart will ever go away. Maybe it doesn't need to.

"I would do anything to make you blush just once," he says with a soft chuckle. He brushes his fingers against one of her cheeks, where the blush would be, if it ever happened. He leans in to kiss the cheek after, an affectionate peck. Bruce doesn't want to overstay his welcome, but taking a few seconds to enjoy being allowed to touch her is nice. He feels safe with her, he really does.

"Here's the thing." Bruce gazes at her, his eyes serious and earnest softened with unbearable fondness. "We're both smart people who are good at putting walls up. If we try this for real, and I want to but it's still up to you, let's try not to let miscommunications bog things down again." He finds her hand with one of his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You can always be honest with me, Natasha."

"You mean this isn't for real?" Her voice is amused, warm, affectionate, all things it can be when she's relaxed and comfortable. Sure, he's heard it in various shades, various places before, but here and now it still feels a little different. It feels like this could have been something they did back home, maybe. A picnic in a park, somewhere in a country where no one knows either of them, somewhere away from prying eyes. A picnic in a time before she went on the run and he was on an alien planet, trapped in the body of the Hulk. Maybe it couldn't have been this way, even if he'd stayed. But it's nice to think. To know that in some universe, they've had this chance.

She still won't use the word love. But the depths of her affection, the way he makes her feel, the way she feels towards him--all that's still there. And she's not afraid to pursue that. "I know what you mean," she clarifies, before he can backpedal or try and add more words on top of words, and she lifts the hand from his shoulder, moving back just enough to reach up and run a hand through the grey hair over his temple. There's so much more grey in there than there had been the last time she'd seen him, but it wasn't a bad look in the slightest.

"Like you said, we're both smart people. I think we can figure this out." Which would be a yes, Bruce. In case you were wondering.

Bruce thinks if he stayed, this might have still happened, but with the war that split the Avengers, too many choices could have gone wrong. The point is, he'd want to. She put it in his mind, the fact it was possible for him. He had so many hang ups though, and the Hulk would always be in the way there. He can't really get lost in the maybes, when there is a chance for something here. He loves when her voice gets like that. He loves when she's this open and at ease, when she trusts him. The first time he heard that particular tone aimed at him, years ago, he felt like it was a gift. It still is.

His smile is instant and warm, and it knocks some of the newer lines off his face, makes him feel younger again. He knows it's a yes, and all that means for them, and he feels a little out of breath, like the reality of that has knocked the wind out of him. Bruce leans in for another kiss, slow and grateful, thinking it is going to be easy to get used to this. "Thank you," he murmurs when it breaks. Thank you, for giving him a shot.

"We've known each other too long for typical first date questions." Of course that's where Bruce's logical mind goes. He knows it's pointless to act like this is a normal date though. They've known each other for years. There's a lot between them. So he's blowing by it. "So instead, what have you been up to in the village?" He checks in with her regularly, but it's mostly to flirt and moon at her. He knows they both are the kind to keep busy, so it's their version of 'tell me about your day.'

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