Inside Voices ▷ Bruce Banner | ✓

10 - ASSIMILATING

"SO I EAT STRAIGHT OUT OF THE POT WHEN I MAKE MAC 'N CHEESE, BUT I GOOGLED HOW TO EAT WITH UTENSILS AGAIN TO HELP YOU, SO LISTEN CLOSE, I'M A MASTER."

She stared at Clint who was standing in front of the stove cooking macaroni and cheese, the man heavily emphasizing the importance of using the lucky wooden spoon, as well as having the oven mitts at the ready so as not to burn herself, though he did warn her that the oven mitts were notorious for failing.

"So we're gonna get ourselves a bowl," Clint said, reaching towards the pantry, nearly knocking the pot over and burning his hand, because he forgot to put the handle in, despite his shouting to do so when he first set her onto the counter and told her to pay attention.

After a lengthy bit of cursing, he grabbed two bowls, holding them up. "Then we're gonna put our mac 'n cheese in the bowl, but we gotta turn off the stove first or else you burn the place to the ground, and in this economy, we can't even afford hot water half the time, so we gotta be careful."

She nodded, propping her elbow up onto her thigh so she could rest her chin on her hand, leaning forward slightly as her stomach grumbled, her eyes wide as she watched him pour the golden pasta into the nice silverware.

"So this is really hot, so you're probably gonna want it to cool down first or else you're burn your tongue," Clint said, setting one bowl aside, "But I'm gonna show you how to use a fork, since they didn't teach you how to do that."

She watched with a furrowed brow as he pulled out a fork from one of the drawers, scooping up a bit of the pasta and putting it into his mouth, only to wince and let the pasta fall from his mouth and back into his bowl, hissing as he rushed to get himself some water because he had burned his tongue.

"You said to let it cool down," she pointed out, figuring that she should continue to exercise her vocal chords now that she was allowed to, and he nodded as he swallowed the glass, making a face at the pain.

She had found herself in this situation after she had showered, coming out soaking wet, trying her best to towel off after her hour long shower, standing under the fall of the water for longer than necessary, simply searching for the safe warmth that she had felt before at the facility.

When she came out, she tried to backtrack up to the common area that Clint had shown her, finally making it up to where everyone was gathered for dinner and they all realized she didn't know how to use utensils when Bruce set out the roast beef he had made.

Which meant the man had had to feed her.

"It's only weird if you make it weird," he had hissed, frowning at Arabella and Tony who were giggling to each other.

"It's cute," Arabella argued, though Tony didn't seem to share her sentiment, "Because you're opening your mouth as if she doesn't know how."

She did know how, but she would admit that she didn't it strange that he was feeding her. She wouldn't have found it strange on the serum, but a part of her that had been tucked away seemed to have its reasons as to why being a woman her age—not that she knew her age, but older than most there—was being fed like a child.

She didn't understand why she felt strange, and she didn't elect to tell anyone.

But when they all realized that she didn't know how to even so much as hold a fork, they all took it upon themselves to teach her all they knew, especially since she hadn't been able to wash her hair right because she didn't know how.

So that was how she wound up on the counter just past lunch time, she and Clint having woken up much later than the others, the man immediately picking her up and seating her onto the counter to teach her the magic of macaroni and cheese.