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03 | money making

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money making

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Avengers Tower felt crowded, even with only one addition. Bruce Banner had decided that the time was right to move back in with the rest of his friends again. He'd been worried that the other guy would come out to play, and he couldn't risk that, not when he didn't have control. So he had searched for shelter, finding it in a small apartment complex, where he spent a couple months waiting it out, expecting his angrier side to come out. When the huge, green rage monster stayed inside, Bruce decided that it was safe to go back to the tower where his friends waited.

And on the same day, in the same moment, he'd given away almost all of his savings.

How could you be so stupid? He asked himself angrily. She's just a teenager, and probably didn't deserve it, anyway.

But there was something in the way she carried herself, as if she was tired, but not physically. Not mentally, either. It had seemed as if her spirit was drained of all energy. And so he offered up his own personal money, feeling that it was the best thing he could do for her in the moment.

At least she hadn't been greedy about it, he told himself. She was still hesitant and polite.

While he made his way up to the level where all his friends were living, he took the time to think about her. I don't even know her name, he pondered, but I hope she finds her way. The more he thought about the situation, the more he wished he could have done. As a teenager, she couldn't have been more than...eighteen years old, maybe? And looking for an apartment? "What about college?" He wondered aloud, moving his bags into the room that had been his before he isolated himself from the group.

"What about college?"

Bruce turned around to see Nat in the doorway, a gentle smirk stretched across her face. "Don't tell me you're going to get an education. You're already smarter than all of us combined."

He blushed, accepting the compliment modestly. "Maybe not Tony, but..." He turned his back to her again, and tried to busy himself by organizing his clothes and other belongings, even though he knew it wouldn't last long. He was the messier member of the group.

"Seriously, Bruce," Nat persisted, and he looked back at her. She fixed him with a strong stare. "What were you talking about? You already hid away for a long time, we don't need you leaving again."

He shook his head wearily, smiling a little. "I wasn't considering going to college. It was just...I...never mind."

She nodded swiftly, and it seemed as if she was going to walk out of the room, but then took two fast steps and met Bruce in the middle. He was surprised, and took a step back, eyes wide at their close proximity. With one hand, Natasha pulled him back, leaving her hand on his shoulder, letting it fall down to his chest. "Please," she said, "stay here with us. You're important. We--I need you."

"I'm not leaving," he said again, and when she nodded, he took a shaky breath as he watched her leave the room.

But that girl, she looked as if she didn't know when or where her next home would be...

-

Cara turned the key in the lock, and pushed the creaky door open with strength. The room she stepped into was wide open, the only furniture being a standard couch, an old rickety television, and a small lamp that looked rather vintage.

Alright, time to make it my own, she said cheerfully to herself, and dropped her cinch sack on the floor, already imagining all the possibilities.

But wait.

To make it my own, I need to buy things.

And to buy things, I need money.

Which I don't have.

She looked at the measly dollar bills that were laid out on the table, sighing. This was going to be a bit harder than she originally anticipated.

Maybe she had to get a job. Then she'd have the money to pay for rent, and possibly some decorations. But the job would have to be her priority at the current moment.

I can wait for a few days, she leaned back on the couch, enjoying the cushion. Then I'll go looking for a job.

She waited, savoring the silence compared to the constant rumble of voices that she'd become accustomed to while living with Lauren and Nick. She sat, and sat, and sat.

But nothing came to her, nothing sparked her interest. There was nothing for her to do. Soon, she sighed, and got up. It was time for her to do something, she couldn't just wait for things to happen to her, she had to make it happen.

And so she took the key to her apartment, clipped it on the loop of her jeans, and left the building in search of...well, she didn't know, exactly.

But something, she hoped, that would get her life started again. Something that would help her achieve her goal of leading her own life. Just like what her birth mother had told her to do, when she was five years old and sitting alongside of her hospital bed.

Become someone, she'd said softly, whispering to her daughter. Don't fall into the crowd, stand out...

"I will, Mom," Cara declared under her breath. "I promise, I'll make a name for myself, just like you did."