Control | S. Rogers [2]

TWENTY SEVEN

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

      REYNA'S FINGERTIPS GENTLY GRAZED OVER a bright purple and brown bruise that stretched across her back. She could only just see a little bit of it as she looked back in the mirror, wincing at the gentle touch she gave.
Sighing, her grip on her top loosened and the navy blue shirt, Laura allowed her to borrow, gracefully dropped down, covering it back up again. She knew it was from when Hulk threw her, so she really didn't want Bruce to see it, she didn't want him to feel guilty as it was Wanda's fault, not his.

She looked to the side, outside the room she stood in, where her and Melissa's makeshift room was, smiling softly as she saw Melissa's sleeping body through the small opening she left in the door. It kept a good airflow going, giving Melissa enough oxygen as she took a well deserved nap.

The sudden sound of the room's ensuite door opening startled her, making Reyna glance back to see Bruce exiting, dabbing a towel to his freshly shaved face.

He seemed surprised at the presence of the vigilante. "I-I didn't expect you to be waiting."

"I wanted to check on you..." Reyna responded, rubbing her arm nervously. She gave him a small smile. "Make sure you're alright, after..." the journalist trailed off, not wanting to say anything that could offend Bruce.

He nodded, beginning to walk across the room to find a shirt. "Apart from them using all the hot water..."

Reyna laughed gently. "Yeah, Melissa took a pretty long one, that's for sure..."

Bruce gave her a sweet smile, him being one of the people that truly admired the friendship that bloomed between the Vigilante and Superhuman. But it faded just as quick as it came, looking back to the plain shirt he had found, frowning at the thought of the town he destroyed whilst being the Hulk.

"The world just saw the Hulk... The real Hulk, for the first time..." Bruce turned back, making eye contact with Reyna for a short second before sliding the top over his head. "You know I have to leave-"

"And you assume that I must say?" Reyna blurted out, not wanting to hide her true feelings any longer.

Bruce looked back up at her with the shirt securely on, disbelief spreading across his features. He glanced to the wooden floorboards, biting gently on his tongue as he tried to process the information. He was shocked at the confession Reyna made that she'd go with him if he had to disappear, it warmed his heart but broke it at the same time.

Reyna had a life, a well put together life, with friends and family, a job that gives her a steady income, she had everything someone could ask for. And she was prepared to give it up?

"Reyna... You-you can't," Bruce began, still not making eye contact with the brunette. Her bare feet gently padded against the floorboards as she crossed the room, standing right in front of the scientist now.  He hesitantly looked up, afraid to meet her icy blue eyes, loving the gentle feel they had. He sighed quietly when he realised how close she really was. "What are you doing?" his voice was gentle, warm breath brushing against Reyna's pale face.

"I'm running with it..." Reyna confessed, gently lifting her hand to rest on his cheek. "But, I-I don't want to keep running in circles... I wanna go somewhere with it... With us..."

Reyna's lips parted slightly in surprised as Bruce gently moved her hand from his cheek, squeezing it lightly before letting go. He backed up from the brunette, sorrow covering his features. He remembered fragments of what he did as the Hulk, and hurting Reyna was one of the fragments that cut him deep.

"Are you crazy?" he muttered, unable to believe Reyna was willing to go with him. "I could-no... I did hurt you, Reyna. And I could do it again but on a more dangerous level. Why would you ever want to take that risk?"

Reyna inhaled sharply, eyes looking to the side before the floor and then back to Bruce. His stare was intense and burning with regret.

"Think Reyna, it's not just you. Where can I go that I'm not a threat?" He continued to question, making Reyna struggle even more to find words. But she did find a small one.

"You are not a threat to me, Bruce..." Reyna reasurred, stepping closer only to stop when Bruce held a hand up as if telling her to.

"Are you sure?" Bruce countered, making her frown deepen. "I already hurt you once, I'm not prepared to risk it-"

"Bruce, I don't run away because of one incident where I get injured," Reyna interrupted, folding her hands together and avoiding tentatively touching her side. "If I did, I wouldn't be here, but I fight for what I love..." She looked down, shaking her head lightly as she thought about the mental pain some news stories brought her, to the physical pain being Vigilante brought. "I get mentally injured being a journalist, I get hurt being a vigilante in Wakefield, heck! I get hurt by being friends with the great Superhuman! But, I'm still here, Melissa's still my best friend and I'm still here fighting for us because no one has ever managed to make me feel like this, Bruce."

"That's what I mean, Reyna," Bruce exclaimed, his voice raising before lowering when he noticed the sadness in Reyna's expression. "You have a life, one that is important to you and others-"

"And I'd give it up in a heartbeat if it meant I could spend my life with you..." Reyna stepped closer, hesitantly reaching out to grab Bruce's hand, giving him a sad smile.

"Even if you did," he moved his hand from her grasp, widening his arm to the room around them. Reyna sighed quietly as he stepped past her, motioning mainly to the children's paintings Clint and Laura had up on display. "I can't have any of this... Kids... do the math Rey, I physically can't-"

"So?" Reyna said abruptly, surprising him at the sharp tone.

Bruce stepped back towards her, watching as she spun to face him, brunette hair gently flying around and flopping onto her back. "You deserve to settle down... have a family and-"

"My family's Melissa..." She began, thinking of the people that made large impacts on her life. "My family's the Avengers, my family... my family's you..." the tears in Reyna's gorgeous eyes were evident, her getting worked up on the subject.

Bruce sighed gently, closing his eyes as Reyna reached up and rested her hand on his cheek. He leant into it, resting one of his hands on her wrist before opening his eyes to focus on the journalist.

He truly cared for her, and having Reyna be here, fighting for them so passionately and strongly, it made him give up arguing. "So we disappear..."