WARMACHINEROX (flyfightwin) wrote in thedisplaced, @ 2018-08-02 07:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | bruce banner / hulk (mcu), james rhodes / war machine (ph) |
WHO: Bruce Banner & James Rhodes
WHERE: Tumbleweed, TX: Malibu Mansion's Kitchen
WHEN: August 1st, 2018
WHAT: Rhodey can't sleep and Bruce gets a sandwich out of that deal.
WARNINGS: Brief mentions of nightmares and drugs.
STATUS: Complete
It was late at night and yet there was a light on in the kitchen. Given the people that lived at the mansion, it wasn't that unusual for someone to be up this late, but it usually wasn't Jim - the man who constantly harped on Tony Stark to go the fuck to sleep at a reasonable time. And yet, this was the second time in recent memory that he was up, bright eyed, yet tired. The last time, he had been working, but this time, it had been a nightmare that had forced him out of bed and shakily putting his leg braces on. He had spent long minutes just pacing the room, trying to get back into the right mindset to sleep, but eventually he threw in the towel and made his way to the kitchen. If memories of falling out of the sky were going to plague him, he was going to have a damn sandwich to enjoy in the meanwhile. And that's why he was in the kitchen at one in the morning, putting together a sandwich big enough to fill even the largest of appetites. He was so busy constructing his leafy masterpiece, that he didn't hear someone else entering the kitchen. What time was it, even? Bruce surprised himself by checking his watch - he was keeping Tony Hours tonight. No wonder his neck ached and his eyes were tired from staring at the computer screen. He sat up in his chair and arched his back, groaning as he stretched, then considered the data that had been keeping his attention for so long. Going to sleep would be the smart thing to do, but instead he got up out of his chair and shuffled into the kitchen after deciding he wanted something to drink. The lights were on in the kitchen? Bruce’s assumptions were proved wrong when he saw Rhodey there. They’d been living under the same roof since they’d arrived in Tumbleweed, but remarkably didn’t have many interactions - they mostly kept to themselves. “Heh,” Bruce chuckled as he passed Rhodey to get to the fridge, getting the man’s attention first so he wouldn’t be startled by his arrival. “I thought you were Tony at first. That’s some Dagwood sandwich you got there. Are you feeding the army, or just yourself?” Jim wasn’t exactly startled, but he was surprised by hearing Bruce that he paused in his sandwich building for a second. Looking up at Bruce and grinning, he said, “All I need is the olive and toothpick and it’d be complete.” Place the last piece of toast on top, he pressed down firmly to make sure it stayed stuck together and then picked up a huge cutting knife to halve it. “Grab a plate, I can afford to share this,” he said, tongue peeking out just barely as he concentrated on not destroying his masterpiece. “What are you doing up anyway?” Bruce was about to tell Rhodey that it wasn’t necessary to share, that he wasn’t that hungry… but the longer he looked at that sandwich, the hungrier he became. So he found himself going into the cupboard where he pulled out a small plate for himself, which he placed on the table near the sandwich. “What would you like to drink?” he asked, next opening the fridge to check out their options. “We have water, Coke, beer… is this iced tea?” There was a pitcher full of a brownish liquid, which Bruce sniffed to try and determine what it was. Before answering the question, Bruce paused and then tentatively said, “If I told you the truth, you might not like it.” Plating Bruce’s half of the sandwich on the plate that had been offered, Rhodey wiped his hands on the hand towel that was on the other side of his plate and peered over at the fridge that Bruce was standing in front of. “I’m pretty sure that’s one of Peter’s science projects. Might want to not drink that. But I’ll take a water.” Soda would keep him up all night and it just wasn’t a good idea to start drinking this late at night. His sleep schedule was already messed up, he didn’t need to add to it. When Bruce returned with their drinks, he waited until the other man was sitting down again, before tucking in. “What are you talking about?” He asked, in between bites. “Water it is.” Bruce took Rhodey’s advice by completely ignoring the brown liquid while muttering to himself, “I’m really going to need to talk to Peter about labeling his stuff.” Instead, he pulled out two bottles of water, handed one to Rhodey, then sat down opposite him at the table. He stretched out his hand to slide the plate his his portion on it toward him, and explained, “It’s not exactly legal.” Bruce shot a quick glance up to gage the other man’s reaction, lifting his eyebrows high. Raising an eyebrow at Bruce, Jim was amused as he asked, “Am I supposed to threaten to turn you into the government, Bruce? Cause I run a black ops group that technically isn't legal either. I think you're safe to go on.” Half the stuff they got into wasn't legal, so Jim knew better than to try and take some moral high ground here. Bruce’s smile widened and he then chuckled at the response. “Alright,” he began, in a tone that suggested, don’t say I didn’t warn you. “Uhhhh… I’m building a hydroponic gardening system…. with grow lights and temperature control, the whole shebang… so I can grow Hobbit weed.” He punctuated the end of his sentence with a big bite of sandwich. Almost choking on the water he had been sipping at, he coughed and cleared his throat with a few pounds to his chest. “Bruce Banner, are you going Breaking Bad on me?” There was disbelieving laughter in between his words because he could honestly say that he never would have expected this from the usually so mild mannered doctor. The way Rhodey said what he did, and the laughter that accompanied it, caused Bruce to crack a smile and then laugh himself - he needed to cover his mouth with his hand because he had a mouthful of sandwich and he nearly choked himself. When he finally swallowed his food, he washed it down with a swig of water and in a good humored way tried to justify himself. "There's a huge difference between meth and pot! I could break down the chemical reactions the drugs do to your brain," scientist that he was, "but the main difference is you don't need to wear a yellow hazmat suit to grow weed.” That was supposed to be a joke. “Anyway, I'm not planning on selling, though now that you mention it, I'd probably rake in the bucks if I did. No, it's for self medication." “I mean, I suppose I can overlook the weed garden and not turn you in, if it’s for just your personal use…” Jim still couldn’t believe that the good doctor was capable of this, but it figures. None of them were what was considered ‘normal.’ Why not have a weed garden? “Did you decide to do this because of the Hulk?” “Yeah,” Bruce nodded as he answered. “It helps out, though I don’t like to smoke it that often, since it slows me down and messes with my productivity. It does help, so thanks for not narcing on me.” Not that he ever really thought Rhodey would. Still, it was better to have the man’s acceptance on the matter instead of walking around with an air of disapproval, since Bruce was going to do this whether Rhodey was okay with it or not. He wondered if it was wise to bring up how Tony would sometimes join him, but instead, asked, “Have you? Smoked weed, I mean.” “I’m a Colonel in the United States Air Force and you’re asking me if I’ve smoked weed before?” Jim asked, eyebrows raised, looking utterly serious. That didn’t last long, as his face crumbled into a smile. “Yeah, man, of course I have. You don’t hang around with Tony Stark without having tried something or another.” Chomping away happily on his sandwich, he added, “But I swear if you get weird while high on it, I’m recording it for future blackmail.” “If I get weird while high, then I totally deserve it.” Bruce lifted his bottle of water in a toast to Rhodey before taking a swing. Sometimes he forgot that Rhodey and Tony were friends for a long time, and because Rhodey admitted that they’d smoked dope together, Bruce felt he was off the hook and didn’t need to let Rhodey know that Tony would also sometimes join him in a toke - Rhodey could make his own inferences. But it was also good to hear that Rhodey wasn’t being uptight about it, either. “You’ll always be welcome to some, if you want,” was his invitation. Bruce picked up his sandwich, but before taking a bite, he casually asked, “How’s that black-ops thing going for you?” Bruce was curious, but didn’t know how much Rhodey could talk about what he was doing. “I appreciate the offer, but I’ll relax when I’m retired,” Rhodey said, toasting Bruce with his own water, before finishing up the last of his sandwich. Ever since the black ops thing had taken off, his days had been busy and long. He had to make it a point to go and enjoy himself, to make sure he got a break. But his work-life balance was definitely skewed toward work and he couldn’t really afford to mess around with alcohol and weed. Not when he had people on missions. Maybe that was part of the reason why he couldn’t sleep that night, why he was having nightmares about his fall. What if something like that happened when he wasn’t monitoring the comms? But he didn’t talk about all of that, he was notorious for not delving into his own thoughts and feelings with other people. Instead, he played with a piece of lettuce that had escaped his sandwich and said, “It’s good, it’s been keeping me busy. Got a lot of good people doing some good work, so there’s that.” He peered over at the other man. “What about you, man? I know Betty getting sent back must have hurt.” “Don’t get like Tony,” Bruce warned, though a mouthful of sandwich. Their mutual friend was notorious for burning the candle at both ends and center. “Is that why you’re awake so late?” As soon as the name Betty was mentioned, Bruce’s expression fell, and he became sober. After a thoughtful pause, he sighed and said, “If this place has showed me anything, we’re all living on borrowed time. Any of us can disappear at any moment, so we need to make the most of it while we can. I was able to settle a few of my ghosts, and realize the mistake I made by not reaching out to her. I don’t know how our time here will affect what happens to us in our world… probably not at all… but I was lucky to have gotten to see Betty, even for the few weeks she was around.” He fell silent, then added with a nod, “It’s hard. But you move on.” He tried to be philosophical about it, and accepting, however internally, he was angry - angry at the Portal for cheating him of being able to get further in his relationship with Betty, angry at himself for his stupidity back home, angry for being brought to Tumbleweed in the first place only to be shown what he couldn’t have. Yet externally, none of that showed. “Yeah,” Jim agreed, “It’s hard and you need to move on because you never know if you’re going to go to bed and wake up back home with no memories of this place, but sometimes it’s not just that easy. I know how that is so if you ever just want to rage about it or talk about it without going big and green? I’m here for you, man.” Clapping Bruce on the shoulder, he stood to put his plate in the sink to wash in the morning. “But so long as you’re around, you got your friends here.” For a while, Bruce wasn’t sure where he stood with Rhodey. They were both friends with Tony, and he seemed friendly, but there were a couple of instances where Bruce felt like Rhodey was nervous about having him around… or rather his alter ego. Bruce watched Rhodey as a small smile quirked in the corner of his mouth. “Thanks man. That… that means a lot.” |