Invisible To You (A Bruce Banner Love Story)

Chapter Thirty Eight - Exercise

I wake up to the feeling of warm sunlight on my face, and I give a soft smile, curling into the warm lump beside me. I didn't really want to wake up yet. I could honestly lay here forever. I feel a pair of lips press against my forehead, and I let out a contented sigh. "Morning." I whisper.

"Morning." Bruce whispers back, his voice rough. I tilt my head up to look at him, and he smiles down at me. "Do you feel better?" I nod, stretching up and pressing my lips to his. I feel him smile, and he suddenly whispers "I love you." against my lips. I lean away with a small giggle.

"I love you too." I say softly. He lets out what sounds like a sigh of relief. "What?"

"I was terrified last night was a dream." He says softly, and I just shake my head.

"Nope. Completely one hundred percent real." I say softly, reaching up to kiss him again. He gladly accepts, his hand reaching up to cup my face, the other wrapping around my waist. He pulls me over the mattress towards him. I reach up, tangling my hands in his messy hair, and he pulls me as close as he can, his lips dancing with mine. His hand presses into the middle of my back, trying to keep me as close as possible, sending tingling vibrations up my spine. My legs tangled with his, and I hear a soft groan, and that's when it happens.

His watch begins to beep. Loudly. We had kissed before, just... not like this. Not that heated. I knew his watch doubled as a heart monitor. When his watch started to beep, he broke away quickly, basically pushing himself away from me.

"I'm sorry." He says quickly, making sure there was distance between us. "I-I can't. I can't do that. Ever. The Hulk... he'll come out. He'll hurt you." I bite my lip and nod, waiting for his heart monitor to stop beating. After a minute, it finally shut off. "I'm sorry." He says again, but I'm deep in thought.

"Bruce?" I ask quietly. He looks up at me. "Do you trust me?"

"I... yes. Of course." He says, looking confused.

"Can I.... I want to try something." I say, patting the place on the bed beside me as I sit against the headboard. He gives me an odd look before slowly sliding back over. He still stays a good six inches away though. I sigh at his cautiousness, and get on my knees, throwing my leg over his and straddling him. He tenses.

"Rose, I just told you I can't." He says, and I shake my head.

"No, I'm not doing that. I told you, I want to try something." I say quietly. I reach up to touch the side of his head, but hesitate. "Just... tell me if you want me to stop. Okay?" He nods, and I close the distance, touching my fingertips to his head and closing my eyes.

I hesitantly reach into his mind, trying to avoid anything important. I quickly look around, trying to find the Hulk inside his mind. I didn't want to be in there for long, I didn't want to invade his privacy in any way. I finally find him, hidden in a corner of his mind, trying to calm down. "Hi." My voice echos around his mind, and I feel Bruce's head jerk underneath my fingers. The Hulk's presence jerks around to look at me.

"Songbird." He huffs loudly. 

"That's right. Songbird." I say quietly. I feel the Hulk's presence surround me.

"Songbird." He huffs again. "Free." He wanted out. He wanted to be able to be free.

"I'll let you out." I say quietly. "But I need you to do me a favor." The Hulk huffs loudly. "I'll get Bruce to let you out more often, somewhere where you can't hurt anyone, if you can give us moments alone. If you let me put you in a box so that Bruce can do things without worrying about you." He huffs loudly. I knew he was smart, contrary to popular belief. He huffs again, the Hulk thinking.