>> Finally Bruce is starting to realize the Hulk can be gentle and now Hulk can start feeling some love. <<
It has taken them a while to get there, but this is a good breakthrough. It's going to take more time before Hulk gets anything approaching love from Bruce, though. Right now Clint and Phil are the ones providing most of the affection.
>> But I get the feeling Bruce isn't completely ready to trust him all that much around the team, and there's still a long road ahead of them... <<
Yes, that's true. At some point Bruce is going to need another clue-by-four along the lines of trusting the team to gauge and handle potential hazards, as well as trusting Hulk not to smash them. Bruce has an unfortunate amount of history with "People I love hurt me" and "People I love get hurt." Not easy to break, no.
>> love the team's unity here: not leaving Steve alone, and worrying over Bruce. <<
They are much more serious about aftercare than usual for superheroes. It's one of those things people usually overlook in comics/movies. If your body has super-healing, there's not a whole lot that doctors can do for you; mostly you're going to wind up spending a few hours lying down feeling like crap. Hiding alone in your room (which is what Bruce definitely did early on, and probably Steve did too) is not very good self-care.
So as the team meshes over time, they get more determined about taking care of each other, and willingly or grudgingly allow others to take care of them. You can see a big difference between Steve and everyone else because he has positive associations with someone looking after him. It doesn't take long for him to decide that the Avengers are good for that, and take advantage of it. Meanwhile Bruce is still tetchy about being coddled, but will put up with it, and is actively protective of his teammates.
And now I'm wondering if Steve had that as an ulterior motive for planting himself on the couch, as a way of keeping Bruce more within reach. Steve is sneakier than most people realize.
Yes...
It has taken them a while to get there, but this is a good breakthrough. It's going to take more time before Hulk gets anything approaching love from Bruce, though. Right now Clint and Phil are the ones providing most of the affection.
>> But I get the feeling Bruce isn't completely ready to trust him all that much around the team, and there's still a long road ahead of them... <<
Yes, that's true. At some point Bruce is going to need another clue-by-four along the lines of trusting the team to gauge and handle potential hazards, as well as trusting Hulk not to smash them. Bruce has an unfortunate amount of history with "People I love hurt me" and "People I love get hurt." Not easy to break, no.
>> love the team's unity here: not leaving Steve alone, and worrying over Bruce. <<
They are much more serious about aftercare than usual for superheroes. It's one of those things people usually overlook in comics/movies. If your body has super-healing, there's not a whole lot that doctors can do for you; mostly you're going to wind up spending a few hours lying down feeling like crap. Hiding alone in your room (which is what Bruce definitely did early on, and probably Steve did too) is not very good self-care.
So as the team meshes over time, they get more determined about taking care of each other, and willingly or grudgingly allow others to take care of them. You can see a big difference between Steve and everyone else because he has positive associations with someone looking after him. It doesn't take long for him to decide that the Avengers are good for that, and take advantage of it. Meanwhile Bruce is still tetchy about being coddled, but will put up with it, and is actively protective of his teammates.
And now I'm wondering if Steve had that as an ulterior motive for planting himself on the couch, as a way of keeping Bruce more within reach. Steve is sneakier than most people realize.
>> Great update, loving every one of them :) <<
Yay! I'm happy to hear that.