angermanaging | IC contact (TuShanshu)

I need a favor.

What is it?

Wait a few days, then tell people I was arrested and plead guilty to the charges. Tell them I'm fine. 'A note in case anyone's worried' kind of thing. Will you do that for me?

Sure. Were you actually arrested? Is it a ruse?

Committed crime, prison tomorrow. Will explain when out- week or two.

[Well a week or two can't be that serious, if that's all it is, so Bruce isn't going to press over it. He can handle waiting that long to have his curiosity assuaged. This isn't about him and it's a simple enough request.]

Got it. Stay safe.

[It's a little weird, doing this. Not the applying for a tech-related entry level position in a corporate business on the back of a giant turtle part - though that's fifty shades of weird by itself already - but the talking to a guy he kind of sort of knows who could probably squish him in five seconds flat part.

Still, a job's a job and Scott's not gonna back out of anything without at least trying it first. He's obtained the appropriate names and console numbers, and now he's sitting in front of his console fiddling with a screwdriver in his hands.]

Hi, I'm looking for a Bruce Banner?

[The only good thing about using a console is that he can't become an ant pancake if things go hideously wrong.]

[Bruce doesn't turn anyone into pancakes, Scott, don't be silly. He works hard to prevent that.

And for now he isn't thinking anything suspicious in any case. There could be a million reasons someone would contact him, as much as he's unused to it; he's undeniably getting more well known around the turtle, and he isn't really sure how to prevent that.

He might sound slightly reluctant when he answers, but he does answer.] That's me. [And that's it. Waiting for this guy to explain what he wants.]

[The simplicity and shortness of Bruce's sentence is faintly unnerving, if only because Scott, by now, has gotten quite used to noise and raucous and lots of people talking a lot. But he continues on, more than equipped to fill the silence.

Scott's always been a chatterer by nature in any case.]

Hi, my name is Scott Lang. I was told to talk to either you or Annabeth Chase about possibly working for Wayne Enterprises? [Wryly:] My current job's pretty easy but not exactly stimulating.

[That's Bruce, unnerving people right and left. Though he's far less unnerving when he answers this time, after a beat, and promptly turns awkward.]

Uh, well, I guess I... partially own Stark Industries now. I don't have a lot to do with-- Wayne. [He's never even met him.] Annabeth and I run a hydroponic garden project together.

[Might as well clear up all the connections here.]

What kind of work were you looking for?

[Oh. Own. Thanks, Dick, for not mentioning that tiny detail. In the long run though, Scott supposes it doesn't matter. Work's work, and Bruce doesn't seem all too fussed about it.]

Something that doesn't involve trimming hedges and slapping paint on walls? [The smile on his face face suggests he's only half-kidding.] Anything, really, as long as it's not mind-numbing. I used to work with Stark Industries, if that means anything to you.

[ As usual when his mood is down, Jack sticks to a voice-only message, though he still sounds rather listless. ]

Hey Bruce... can I ask you a question?

[Bruce really doesn't want to own 20% of anything, much less a huge corporation. If he sounds reluctant to fess up to it, it's because he is. He's more relieved to move onto the nitty gritty of what he's actually looking for in a job, although this in itself is new.

Mentally he's wondering who thought it was a good idea to put him in charge of anything, much less something that came along with hiring people. He'd hired a couple lab assistants up until now, but it hadn't been nearly as formal as this.

Oh yeah. Tony Stark thought it was a good idea. That explained everything.]

We definitely don't do a lot of trimming or painting, [he says wryly, and maybe a little more naturally.] What did you used to do for them?

[That's a very uncharacteristic tone for Jack, and Bruce pauses for a beat before answering, registering it and wondering whether he has cause to worry.]

Sure. What is it?

Is it weird to get something you think you want, and then it turns out you didn't want it at all?

... No. [A wry note of understanding, even if Bruce doesn't know exactly what he's talking about.] I think that happens to everyone. It happens to me.

[And it's really a sign of how much more comfortable he is with Jack now, that he asks,] Want to talk about it?

It's about Tony.

[ He really doesn't need to add specifics here. ]

[No, he doesn't.] Ah. Then you're...

[Bruce readjusts what he was going to say, subtly sympathetic.] It's hard to see someone you've lost. I get it.

I talked to him for like ten seconds and made the biggest idiot of myself. You need to come and program my console with something that forces me to answer the "Jack did you think about this first?" question before it'll allow me to talk to other people.

Whoa, whoa. It's okay. If there's anyone that knows making an idiot of himself...

[Bruce doesn't feel like he knows Tony well enough to really speak for him here, but he knows he's not mean, and whatever had led to him being friends with Jack the first time around would probably hold true the second time. He realizes that might be a comforting point to mention.]

Something worked out last time, right? Give it a chance.

I, I know-- I'm sorry, this... is all really selfish of me. It's not fair to treat people like you just expect them to be, I know that, I've been on that receiving end.

[His voice softens. There's a tone to it that Jack hasn't heard before, because Bruce only uses it when he likes someone enough to actually try comforting them-- a very rare circumstance. It's quiet and considerate, patient like he usually is but more attentive, lined with empathy.]

Hey. Calm down. You're not being selfish. It's okay to take a while to adjust, Jack.

[ He's quiet for a moment, the lack of breathing making the line utterly silent until he speaks again. ]

Can... can I come over for a little while?

[He's surprised for half a second, but then he says,] Yeah, of course.

I'm at home. Water 1C... remember? [Since that was where they'd met.]

I remember. I'll see you soon.

IC contact (TuShanshu)

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