(NOT JUST A LOKI STORY - this story is about many marvel characters with Esther Mason and Loki Laufeyson as the main characters - and also includes a Steve Rogers romance side story with... well you'll have to see :))))
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Once upon a time, there was...
"Hey big guy..." I say cautiously as I step closer to him.
He is calmer now but his eyes catch mine as I stare right back and say to him with meaning... "The sun's gettin' real low..."
I can see Bruce's eyes... He's in there. And he heard me. Hulk's expression shifts a bit but he's still not giving in completely.
What else could I try?
I could try what his old girlfriend tried when he first became the Hulk. She and him stayed together for a while and had different ways of coping with Banner's condition. But he let her go so she could start a family and have a normal life.
I put my hand up slowly, showing my palm to him, my expression unsure if this will work.
He nears me hesitantly, Hulk fighting it almost but Banner recognizes what I am trying to do. So he steps to where I am, his large green hand lifted like mine before I let my palm face the sky, my hand at stomach level and he copies my motion. I take my finger and gently glide it down his wrist and across the center of his palm, gently trailing it down until it reaches the tip of his middle finger. I retrieve my hand, my eyes looking deep into his and seeing no more Hulk, only Bruce looking back at me, his eyes kind and mesmerized that I knew to do this. He always assumes people don't care about him. But I was listening.
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He breathes heavily and stumbles back, collapsing a bit and letting his hands catch him. He grunts in pain and groans, his enormous olive muscles shrinking to fit his normal size.
He is on the ground, heaving in pain and exhaustion as he begins to return to his normal shade and size, his baggy pants much too big for him now. I walk over and put a hand at his back, feeling sweat on my palm. "You okay?"
He doesn't answer as he tries to regain his breath and energy.
I crouch down with a concerned look on my face and help him as he gradually returns to normal breaths. "...Sometimes I forget what you have to go through to change form..." I say quietly.
He huffs for a long time, sweating as he holds his large pants up so they don't fall down, his knees on the ground now until he removes his palms from the concrete and sits up, still a bit hunched over. "I wish I could say I was used to it by now," he breathes. "...But it's still painful every time he shows up..."
"...We should hesitate more giving a code green... But if we didn't do it this time at least one of us would have died." I smile just a little at him. "You definitely got us through that alien blockade."
He returns my gaze with tired eyes... "Well... I was happy to help," he almost jokes, copying my tone.
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