2880/A Quiet Place

A Quiet Place
Date of Scene:	11 August 2020
Location:	The Library Bar
Synopsis:	Bruce and Peggy meet, having a very profound conversation in the process.
Cast of Characters:	Peggy Carter, Bruce Banner

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Peggy Carter has posed:
Late afternoon wasn't exactly the busiest time for any bar, especially niche little cocktail places that look like Victorian bookshops and serve as much tea as they do gin and tonics. That means, The Library had become one of Peggy's favourite little bars the last time she was alive and well in New York City, and when she found out it was still there? It's become her go to refuge when the hallways of SHIELD are a little too chaotic for the semi-retired ex-director.

This afternoon, she's taken a seat a dozen or so feet from the bar, in a nook with a french window that over looks a little side street park that runs along the western side of the building. She's in a sun dress, though it's one with a far more 1940s cut than the modern scarfs or body wraps girls tend to wear. Navy and white stripes, little cap sleeves, she looks like she could have just walked off the square of VE day with her normal, vintage wave style curls. She's got a cup of partially neglected tea in front of her as well as a gin and tonic, well over half drank. An honest-to-god, real, leather bound book is in her hands, though her datapad rests on the table as well. She probably told herself she'd do some work while she was here.

Bruce Banner has posed:
It wasn't the busiest time at all for bars, which is chiefly the time when Dr. Banner decides to make his visits. He spent time with Ant-Man earlier and frankly, he just wanted a spot where he could just sit quietly and have nothing try and trigger his responses. He goes up to the bar and asks for...water.

Drunk Banner could possibly turn into the Hulk. Bruce hasn't tried this yet, nor is he ever going to. But when he looks around, many of the booths are filled with people just having quiet conversations in reading and the like. So he goes down the aisle until he finds Peggy just there by herself.

He notices the datapad but he clears his throat. "Excuse me miss, there isn't many places left to sit, would it be alright if I sit with you?"

Unlike Peggy, who looks like she could probably model what she's wearing, Bruce looks very....everyman. He wears a red flannel shirt with baggy jeans and running shoes, along with a beat up baseball cap on top of his head. He doesn't sit until given permission, apparently raised with a high regard for manners.

Peggy Carter has posed:
@emit Dark eyes flicker up from her book, about to possibly dismiss the person, but then she actually sees him. There's something in the back of Peggy's head that says she should know the man, but she's read so many files since coming back to SHIELD that his isn't quite on the top in her mind. Still, his likeness is familiar enough that her initial instinct to defend her quiet time has quickly gone away. She gives him a quiet, perfectly red-lipped smile. "Not at all. I can't promise I'll be excellent company but... probably better than hiding with a book."

She slips the ribbon into the text she's been consuming and sets it aside, on top of her datapad, partially concealing the SHIELD symbol on it, but not entirely. "You must forgive me. You... look familiar, and I can't tell if we've crossed paths at work before, or I'm just seeing things." She sits up straighter, her body language somehow all business despite the vintage dress and more casual atmosphere. She could make a swing skirt look professional. "Margaret Carter." She offers with her hand.

Bruce Banner has posed:
Brown eyes look at Peggy and their eyes end up locking, unless Peggy looks away. Unlike Peggy, Bruce feels no familiarity with Peggy Carter, though he may have heard her name mentioned by Captain America a few times, its been done so few that he likely has no idea who she is or her significance. Equally so, he does not seem to have knowledge of SHIELD history because he's spent so much time on the run before his time with the Avengers.

When she permisses him to sit, he smiles. "Thank you." and he does take his seat and sets his bag aside, the extension of the hand being offered, Bruce meets it with his own for a firm shake. "My name's Bruce. Bruce Banner." Something tells him that she's a trustworthy sort of individual, but he sits up very straight, like he's a professional or belonged once to a professional field.

If she's up to date on SHIELD files, she may recognize the name and perhaps connect the dots to his alter ego.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Ah! Dr. Banner. Steve has spoken well of you before, actually. I knew there was something..." Peggy relaxes a bit as she realizes the connection, glad her mind isn't going on her, or seeing shadows that aren't there. Also, it seems that while some might be quite intimidated by The Hulk, whatever Steve has said was reassuring over all. There's no fear in her eyes, just a touch more warmth there meeting someone who Steve considers a colleague, if not a friend.

"I... Steve Rogers and I go... a long ways back. I'm glad to meet those who watch his back nowadays." It's not like the Avengers are the Howling Commandos, but some days it feels like it. She arches a brow at the water he's brought with him, "...if you're not drinking, at least, get some tea. On me. For the company. And watching his back."

Bruce Banner has posed:
Oh, she knows him.

Oh! She's a friend of Steve's.

Suddenly, that seems to make Bruce far more amiable and outspoken than he was before. "You know Steve?" he asks curiously, but he seems far more impressed that she doesn't appear to be afraid of him. Perhaps, despite all of the chaos the Hulk has caused, his heroic acts has finally started to pay off. Very curious indeed.

"Oh." He states simply as he clears his throat. He can tell she is very fond of him. "How far are we talking about? Like...before he was frozen?" his mind is a sharp one indeed. But when she offers to get him a tea, he chuckles. "No please, I couldn't." when she pushes, he accepts his defeat. "Alright. Do you want anything from the bar, since you're buying?" a small pause. "Thank you, by the way. It wasn't so much me as...well, the other guy."

A hulk reference.

"But I'm always happy to help my friends."

Peggy Carter has posed:
As he warms, her own demeanor seems to reflect that. Sometimes, simply sharing a mutual, fond friend can go leaps and bounds to breaking down the mental walls people keep about themselves. And there aren't many people more walled off than these two, for their own reasons. Peggy's cool, British, distanced attitude has mostly melted now. His question about how far gets a small chuckle, "...Ah. Yes. From before he was frozen. It's a touch of a long story." But her smile says it's a good one. Other than the end.

"And I do insist. Just...more cream, especially if you need it. This American tea needs drown in something." She admits with a little laugh, patiently waiting for him to return. She studies him as he goes, the profiler drinking in every inch of his personality through his stance, the set of his shoulders, the tension he almost always seems to carry. It tells her a lot more than new reports ever could.

When he's returning, her smile returns just as warmly. "...From what I know, you and the other...Guy... quite share a body. And I've never known Steve to go into the field with someone he didn't trust. Even if that someone is rather large and not entirely... calm."

Bruce Banner has posed:
The fact that Bruce has lowered his walls -at all- is a tremendous leap of time that Peggy doesn't have to go through now. Bruce has always held a very high opinion of Captain America, so a trusted friend of his is a trusted ally of Bruce's, if he were to put things in his own words. The comment about it being a long story makes him smile. "Well, if it helps, I have a lot of time on my hands."

He does get up to go get his tea, and he does come back with probably more cream than Peggy would deem necessary, unless he uses a lot of cream in his perfect coffee. Her polite comments about the other guy is met with a small nod. "Yeah. He was an accident, but he's had his uses in the past. We uh, don't get along. I'm surprised he's been heroic lately. But...I'll have to thank Steve next time I see him. I didn't realize he gave me a shining review." this is a joke.

Even if his humor is really bad.

"I first met him in the Battle of New York...or at least in the aftermath. I won't forget the help he's done for me."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"I have more time on my hands than I know what to do with myself..." Peggy admits quietly, something heavier behind her eyes with that. She's not very good at being semi-retired. She's going a little stir crazy, really, but she's trying to keep a good attitude about it. She adds a touch more cream to the gunpowder black tea she's been drinking, sitting up a bit straighter so she's fully facing him. Clearly, she's content to give him all her attention instead of the book, perhaps too happy to have a good distraction of someone she knows is on Steve's trusted list.

"Steve is.... quite good at bringing the best out of the people he works with, whether they see it in themselves or not. He also wouldn't keep anyone at his side he didn't believe in, so it speaks well of... Both your sides, that Steve likes you on the team. We haven't discussed it at length but...I know how he works in the field." Peggy gives a little laugh, "Hell... I've watched him operate in the field since before he was Captain America. Five foot nothing and still determined to go out and fight for the right side. Whether it killed him or not."

Bruce Banner has posed:
"Another thing we have in common, it would seem." Bruce says as he stays seated, but he seems equally surprised that -- at least for the moment -- she finds him more interesting than her book or her datapad. Its humbling, in its own way. Also, the limiting amount of people you can actually trust in the world is so slim, that when you meet someone who you -can- trust, its like the world got a little bit brighter.

"He is. He always has been, in a way of speaking, he just has that way about him that when he talks to people, they listen. He's a good person for the sake of being a good person and it shows. I owe him everything." he smiles a little wider when she mentions a bit of who he was since before the Serum.

"But, we've talked a lot about Cap. Would you care to tell me a bit about you?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
That last question gets him a longer look. Not exactly distrustful, because her smile was still warm, but hesitant. The sort of look that says she's not much used to talking about herself, nor does she wish to bore him, but he seems earnestly interested. A low, husky sort of chuckle escapes her lips a heartbeat later as she realizes what they are both doing. "... Steve's safe. For both of us. Two people very used to... not showing themselves to society, still finding places we can hide. Even if it's someone we both clearly care about dearly." Yes, she will call them both out like that. Nothing like profiling yourself.

But he did ask, and she's no reason to dance around it. She takes a deep drink of her gin and tonic, a little liquid courage to at least make it more comfortable to just speak of herself. "My only request, Dr. Banner, is that you return the favor after." She watches him a moment, waiting for some sort of assent, before starting.

"I... joined the war effort when I was 18, originally as a Bletchley girl but quickly recruited to the SOE. From there, it was the SSR, and then jumped over her to America to help with recruitment for Project Rebirth which is how, well... we have the Steve we both know and love. Stayed on with the SSR through the end of the war and well after. Then when Howard said he'd rather break off to start something new... Something a bit more global, ready to deal with the very strange things that were routinely on our desks... I joined him. We founded SHIELD in 1952 and... most of the rest is history." Of course, it says something about Peggy when talking about herself is basically a CV of her military service.

Bruce Banner has posed:
Talking about oneself when you keep that self secret for so long is always a hard thing to talk about. Does Banner want to talk to her about his past? Not necessarily, but Banner feels like he can trust Peggy, like they're kindred spirits of a sort. They're mutual bond with Captain Steven Rogers allowed them to seriously break the ice with each other, but then he nods. "He is indeed....and I relate to that more than you know, maybe."

When she states that in recompense for her telling about herself, he must tell her about him. While this is something that Banner has no issue with, Peggy is already proving herself to be a wonderful woman and he has no desire to scare her away. She acts unafraid...but she hasn't seen the Hulk in person.

He doesn't want to put her in danger.

"Deal." he agrees, before he silences himself to listen to her tale. She was eighteen, just a child, to join one of the most horrible wars in human history. "Howard? As in Howard Stark?" he asks for clarification. Though he notices that she more gives him a sum-up. A bletchley girl? Ah, she was a codebreaker.

"You've led a very interesting life. Can't believe I'm talking with one of the original founders of an organization that hunted me down for a while." this is said in tease. "What was it like? You hear all these stories and tales about it from veterans and civilians who lived through it, but you were very young when you got into the mix. Were you frightened?"

Peggy Carter has posed:
A slight tilt comes to her head as he asks about Howard. No one really had since she came back, not even Tony. The array of emotions across her face when she thinks about the man is a bit more raw than Peg normally lets herself show, but there must be a well of complicated affection in her for the man. It's not an emotion she can really swallow back under British propriety. "Yes... Tony's father. He was my... best friend. Confidant. The biggest pain in my ass and a headache of epic porportions. I... I miss him every day." Peggy confesses softly. With those words, she switches out her gin for her tea instead. Perhaps something lighter for this conversation.

The question about the war is a good distraction from those old feelings. A small sound, almost a laugh, comes from her throat. "...I'm certain I was but it was... so long ago now. I don't know. It all moved very... Fast. No one slept. One month you were in England, then we were in France under cover for a few months, then back to the UK, then off to America... then back to Europe and Steve put the Howling Commandos together and then it was...somewhere different every week. I don't think we stopped long enough to be scared. When you stopped? You slept. You learn to sleep anywhere at war. In the back of a convoy, on a concrete kitchen floor... Anywhere." A ghost of a smile crosses her red painted mouth as she remembers something. "... I remember one day where Bucky and I shared a whole cigarette over five hours, managed not to drop, lose, or get it wet... That was the best bloody cigarette..."

Then something in her realizes she's gone on quite a while. Dark eyes blink back to him, a hint of heat coming to her cheeks. "Now I'm rambling. And other than the bit I've seen on the news and the basic file that SHIELD has... well, I know Steve speaks well of you. I know that's what matters. But I can't say I really know who *you* are..."

Bruce Banner has posed:
Bruce can tell there's a lot of emotional attachment in her words. He doesn't know if Howard was an ex or if it was just a really tight sibling relationship or if they really were just best friends. He can tell its a painful memory for her though, before he gives her a simple nod. "I'm sorry. Him not being around must be very difficult for you. Allow me to express the latest condolensces in history." he smiles a tad, before she talks more about the war.

"Can't exactly have a nice pillow and warm blanket in war. You find sleep where you can. You were needed, and thanks to you and people like you, you changed the world." Bruce says with a smile. "So from all of us who haven't thanked you yet: Thank you." he smiles then, before she claims to be rambling. "Not at all, Peggy." he tells her with a dismissive wave. "I asked you about yourself and you've told me. I asked to be rambled at."

A joke. Told you he was bad at joking.

Then she asks him about him. He coughs when she mentions things like the news and the like, he clears his throat. "Well...I was born in Ohio. I turned out to be a very smart kid, so I went to all these fancy schools to get me an education. I tried to do things for philanthropic reasons, but could never get the funding, so I ended up doing weapons testing for the government. General asked me to make a gamma bomb. I make him the bomb, and at the testing site, a kid got locked outside and found himself ground zero. I went and pushed him out of the way, and well..."

He sighs.

"Boom. The rest is pretty much history. Unfortunately, I'm not quite the charmer like Tony or universally amazing like Thor, so I didn't grow up with a ton of friends or live life with people I could trust. I've always been...scared of it, in a sense...so when that bomb turned me into the Hu-...the Other Guy, I just ran...and ran...and ran."

Peggy Carter has posed:
The bitter sweet smile that comes across her face as he mentions his condolences is earnest. He might actually be the first person who's said that to her, considering Howard wasn't all that well loved by Tony. "Thank you. He was trouble, but... he was my trouble." There isn't romantic love in her voice, probably closer to a sibling relationship, but one that spanned 40 years. She's blushing a bit more as he comments on her service, giving a slight shake of her head, but she doesn't interrupt again. He's finally telling his story. It's one she wants to hear.

When he's finally finished, she gives him a few moments to just sit with the story and the weight around it. She's not one who needs to fill a space with words. A slight gesture to the waiter, a motion for another round for each of them, but it was mainly so the waiter didn't come all the way over and disturb the conversation. When that's done, her small hand reaches up and stretches across the table. Unless he pulls back from her, she presses fingertips across the back of his palm, giving the quietest of little squeezes, but the touch is heartfelt. The sort of motion made to say that he wasn't alone, even if she knew those words sound hollow. "Running is... rarely an answer to such problems, but it certainly feels good at the time. While I don't know if I entirely approve of SHIELD hunting you down like that...I'm glad you're back here. You're a good man, Bruce. You don't deserve to outcast yourself for... forever... Because you make a choice to save someone's life."

She tilts her gaze upwards, searching for his eyes, genuinely trying to meet him, gaze to gaze. "I know he scares you. I can see it just...talking to you. But it's our choice to make if he scares *us*. Steve... Myself. Tony. Any of the other Avengers. And I've seen a lot of men with monsters in them in my life, Bruce... You aren't one of them."

Bruce Banner has posed:
Bruce gave her a gentle smile when she seems to be very appreciative about the condolensces. He notices the blush about her service, but he doesn't push.

But after he's told his story? He looks...nervous. He holds his hands together and he seems to be shivering a little bit. To say Bruce is terrified of the Hulk is an understatement. All of his problems are because he made a choice to do the right thing...and it bred something horrible.

Or good, depending on your point of view.

"Running just...felt right. I had to run. I had-" he takes a deep breath as his voice gets shaky. Its clear how broken and scarred he is. One of the greatest minds of his generation -- and he's suffered one of the greatest tragedies in his generation. When he suddenly feels a hint of warmth, he seems to almost cling to it like its the only one he's received in his entire life. she'll feel his fingertips wrap around hers perhaps in return, most likely in appreciation, before he straightens out a little bit.

"Thank you. Coming from you, it feels more genuine." kindred souls. His eyes find hers after a small moment, souls looking in reflection, as she speaks about the Hulk. When she tells him he's not a monster, there's an outburst of emotion in his eyes, before he takes a deep breath. "Thank you, Peggy. Its just....its been so long. Its like...when I turn into -him-, I have no control. Its like being thrown in the back seat while someone else takes the wheel. And I wake up to see how many people got hurt, even if it was for something good..." there's guilt there.

Peggy Carter has posed:
As he takes her hand, she doesn't shy away in the least. Peggy just smiles a bit softer, returning that gentle squeeze of his fingertips, the pad of her thumb and edge of her perfectly red, squared nail brushing against the outside edge of his hand. Just a touch of reassurance, that she wasn't going to up and disappear because he says the wrong thing or gets a look in his eyes. She's faced down far more frightening before.

His guilt laiden words actually get just a slight line of her lips. She stares up to him... "Bruce. I cannot say that I understand the Hulk or...what happens in your mind when he takes over. I haven't even been on scene. But what I have been on scene for? Is 30 years of SHIELD fights. Cleaning up the aftermath. And a long war before that. And the nasty truth of all the good work that we try to do? It's that people get hurt. Time and again... innocents are injured, buildings demolished, lives... forever changed. It doesn't make it better, but... It also doesn't make you a monster."

Bruce Banner has posed:
Bruce seems to be unknowing of how to act or what specifically to do when Peggy is just stroking his hand with her thumb, the touch as much thought-provoking as it is comforting. Though what is clear is that Bruce is at the end of his rope, or at least that's how he sees it. Sure, he had a great many friends to stop him from pursuing a cure that would probably kill him, but Banner doesn't know how to co-exist with the Hulk and it shows.

When Peggy tries to put her experience in Bruce's mind, Bruce seems to show a sense of understanding for her words. "But you were trying to help." He tells Peggy. "The Hulk just wants to...Smash." a reference to the Hulk's two favorite words, exclusivity in such words. "But...I'm told that the...other guy, wants to help too, in his own twisted way. But...I'm glad at least you don't think I'm a monster." he gives her hand a squeeze then.

Peggy Carter has posed:
The squeeze of her hand actually earns him a bit more of a smile. There's a touch of gratitude behind her eyes, the look of someone who gets just what a huge leap he is taking in daring to trust someone or even open up a few inches. Sometimes, being a professional profiler is as helpful as it is unnerving. It means Peggy sees between the layers a lot more often than others. She lets her hand linger, returning the squeeze after a heartbeat, a quiet affirmation that this is okay. She's not going anywhere.

"I mean, sometimes smashing...*can* be helpful. And I cannot imagine that a persona which still *comes out of your mind*. Which is a part of you, as uncomfortable as it is, turned completely evil or chaotically destructive. There is a difference between having no control and wanting to actively harm. Or do evil. There's still parts of your brain behind him. And even Steve has fought at his side. So... if the Hulk is trying to help, unfocused or not, it wouldn't surprise me." She tilts her head, sitting back a bit as she studies his eyes, "...have you ever actually... *Asked* the people who fight with him?"

Bruce Banner has posed:
Aside from the fact that anybody in the public eye would believe that these two were just lovebirds holding hands, nobody would dare begin to know the level of connectino that is happening between the two right now. The reaffirming squeeze to his hand seems to bring Banner back to reality after he takes a moment to seriously think, only to be revealed that the Hulk has his uses in the destruction and madness that he may cause. After all, The Hulk is an Avenger too.

The key part of all of this is that the Hulk actually -likes- Captain America and in his own words would 'Smash for him'. The question is a deep one. "I have...though there is a hesitation whenever I ask. They all try to make me feel better, but..." he sighs. "Maybe some of them do believe that I'm not who they say I am. For which I am forever grateful."

He smiles then, as one could tell its the first real, genuine smile that he's flashed in a very long time.

"You're a good woman, Peggy. Thank you for this."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"No one is who the papers say they are. Trust me, I've been fighting with the media far too long and the whole of the truth rarely sells. So, don't listen to that. Just...trust the people who are fighting at your side -- no matter what color that side is -- and most other things will fall into place." She finally gives his hand one last squeeze before gently letting go, so she can scoop up her drink again and sit back comfortably in her seat.

Her face has that drowsy, at ease look of someone who has spent a night talking to a dear old friend, even if he was a new one. "Thank *you*. It's been a long while since I just got to sit and talk. And... I don't know if I'd say good woman, but I try to do more good than bad. The papers wrote a lot of things about me back in the day too." She admits with a ghost of a bittersweet smile. "No one puts themselves out into the world without someone deciding they are doing it wrong. Or for the wrong reasons. And I still contemplate things to this day which many would say are... questionable, at best. Just try to put more good out there than I take away. That's all I can hope for."

Bruce Banner has posed:
"So I've come to understand. SHIELD wasn't what they said it was for a long time...and for a long time after, thanks to people like you and Fury." Banner replies to Peggy. "Trust carries a long way." he agrees, but when she lets go of his hand, he doesn't pursue it, rather keeping his hands rather firmly to himself.

But it does appear like Dr. Banner isn't keen on going anywhere anytime soon. "May I sit with you a little bit longer? You can get back to work if you want, but I just...really enjoy this conversation with you." he smiles widely and proudly, apparently deciding to trust the woman across from him."

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Until they kick us out, Bruce. Your company has been utterly lovely. Any time you feel like getting out, give me a call. It'll be nice to have an excuse to leave the tower for a while and..." Peggy admits the next bit with a more so bittersweet smile, "I haven't really found much in life beyond SHIELD. It was my... entire world for decades. Now that I'm not director, I don't... entirely know what to do with myself." She admits, trying not to sound as scared and a touch lost as she's feeling, but it's there beneath the surface.

Bruce Banner has posed:
Bruce looks at Peggy then with surprise. "But you're so friendly. I certainly don't understand how someone as kind as you doesn?t have much outside of SHIELD." His tone is genuine.

"But, you have a friend in me, no matter what. I'll definitely keep you on speed dial...though I Uh, don't have your number." he says with a shy chuckle.

Peggy Carter has posed:
"Oh! I..." Peggy laughs a bit, shaking her head quietly, "...this is horribly embarrassing. I'm used to just having a... Secretary and people call the office. I guess we all have our own little secretaries now." She pulls out a smart phone, still a thing she doesn't love but she's gotten with the times enough to have it. A few moments later, she's reading off her number for him, and taking his.

The rest of the night is spent in quiet companionship, both of them reading and working as much as they are occasionally talking. She asks him a few questions on technology. She happily serves as a bounce board for a new theory he's working on in the lab. They do, indeed, close out the cafe with a hearty tip to the bartender for how long they stayed. The night ends with a long, tight hug. Peg isn't much of a hugger but, for him, she makes an exception.