![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
Strange words (Narrative)
It had taken a complete stranger to open his eyes. Bruce hated it, but he knew the stranger had been right, and although it terrified him more than he wants anyone to know...he knew those words were the truth. It was odd and yet comforting, those words. They were simple and how he had missed it before he wasn't quite sure. For all of the intellect he posessed, for all of the great things he had done he was still just a man. A lonely man. A lonely man with a monster inside of him.
Bruce had been lingering in a book store, perusing the selections on science theory. A few selections later and the scientist had tucked himself firmly in to a couch in the corner furthest from any signs of life. He must have looked troubled or struggling as he sat there because otherwise he doubted the stranger would have approached him. But what struck him as peculiar was the way the stranger looked. How he carried himself, almost as if he knew the same pain and struggles. But that couldn't be right, could it? Bruce wasn't sure. He hadn't been sure until the man had left. The stranger had come and sat down beside him. A very large bird had rested on one of the man's shoulders until the stranger had sat down. He held no book, nothing of any interest to which Bruce could start up a conversation.
But somehow they had managed to start talking. The stranger was easy to talk to. At first Bruce had been hesitant to open up, reluctant to share. And then by some means they had trickled in to the subject of love, of being with someone.
"A woman is a good weakness to have," the stranger said to the scientist. "The moment you stop letting yourself love someone is the moment you're no longer human anymore. You really do become the monster you keep inside of yourself. Having someone to love means you've become willing to fight, and it means you're willing to allow yourself to be exposed."
Bruce sighed softly. His mouth had opened to argue, to protest....nobody could love a man with a monster. Nobody could understand. But the stranger with the bird was right. "There's nothing more human than admitting you have things to overcome, and if it was me I would pick love over anything. I would choose to have someone to protect, someone to support, even if it was a risk. Because you can't exist with regret in knowing that you could have been happy, and you chose not to be. No man deserves to be unhappy, we simply choose to be because we are afraid. That fear should compel us to overcome it, to deal with it. To have to be brave, and the first step in that journey is to admit you have a weakness just like all of the rest of us. Every person, creature, on this planet needs someone else. For procreation for their species, or simply just to be around. You can't escape it. And it's better to know that feeling than go without knowing it for your whole life."
The book Bruce had been holding had somehow managed to fall to the floor without him knowing.
"Why are you telling me this?" Bruce asked. The stranger just smiled a little bit and shrugged, "You looked like you could use it." And without another word the stranger got up and walked away. The scientist was left with the last moments of that haze and he knew the stranger was right.
Instantly Bruce got up. He didn't realize he was running until he reached the sidewalk outside and he found himself out of breath. He grabbed hold of his bike, mounted it and tore down the streets in the direction of Stark Tower.
He had a lot of work to do. A lot of making up to do.
He needed to reach out to Liv.
A stop at the Tower and he was in his lab almost instantly. He was afraid, deathly afraid, but it felt easier somehow to deal with than before. Sitting down at his desk, Bruce found some clean paper and a pen and began to write a letter. He would take it to Liv's apartment when he was done. But it had to be perfect. And he was almost always perfect when he set his mind to something.
Who knew the kindness of a stranger would have such a profound effect?
With a sigh of relief, Bruce settled and composed, knowing that when it was done he had to find the strength to follow through. He could do it. He would do it. He would take the next step.
Bruce had been lingering in a book store, perusing the selections on science theory. A few selections later and the scientist had tucked himself firmly in to a couch in the corner furthest from any signs of life. He must have looked troubled or struggling as he sat there because otherwise he doubted the stranger would have approached him. But what struck him as peculiar was the way the stranger looked. How he carried himself, almost as if he knew the same pain and struggles. But that couldn't be right, could it? Bruce wasn't sure. He hadn't been sure until the man had left. The stranger had come and sat down beside him. A very large bird had rested on one of the man's shoulders until the stranger had sat down. He held no book, nothing of any interest to which Bruce could start up a conversation.
But somehow they had managed to start talking. The stranger was easy to talk to. At first Bruce had been hesitant to open up, reluctant to share. And then by some means they had trickled in to the subject of love, of being with someone.
"A woman is a good weakness to have," the stranger said to the scientist. "The moment you stop letting yourself love someone is the moment you're no longer human anymore. You really do become the monster you keep inside of yourself. Having someone to love means you've become willing to fight, and it means you're willing to allow yourself to be exposed."
Bruce sighed softly. His mouth had opened to argue, to protest....nobody could love a man with a monster. Nobody could understand. But the stranger with the bird was right. "There's nothing more human than admitting you have things to overcome, and if it was me I would pick love over anything. I would choose to have someone to protect, someone to support, even if it was a risk. Because you can't exist with regret in knowing that you could have been happy, and you chose not to be. No man deserves to be unhappy, we simply choose to be because we are afraid. That fear should compel us to overcome it, to deal with it. To have to be brave, and the first step in that journey is to admit you have a weakness just like all of the rest of us. Every person, creature, on this planet needs someone else. For procreation for their species, or simply just to be around. You can't escape it. And it's better to know that feeling than go without knowing it for your whole life."
The book Bruce had been holding had somehow managed to fall to the floor without him knowing.
"Why are you telling me this?" Bruce asked. The stranger just smiled a little bit and shrugged, "You looked like you could use it." And without another word the stranger got up and walked away. The scientist was left with the last moments of that haze and he knew the stranger was right.
Instantly Bruce got up. He didn't realize he was running until he reached the sidewalk outside and he found himself out of breath. He grabbed hold of his bike, mounted it and tore down the streets in the direction of Stark Tower.
He had a lot of work to do. A lot of making up to do.
He needed to reach out to Liv.
A stop at the Tower and he was in his lab almost instantly. He was afraid, deathly afraid, but it felt easier somehow to deal with than before. Sitting down at his desk, Bruce found some clean paper and a pen and began to write a letter. He would take it to Liv's apartment when he was done. But it had to be perfect. And he was almost always perfect when he set his mind to something.
Who knew the kindness of a stranger would have such a profound effect?
With a sigh of relief, Bruce settled and composed, knowing that when it was done he had to find the strength to follow through. He could do it. He would do it. He would take the next step.