blaaaaaaa

Steve washed his face and hair, trying not to get the stinging mess on his eyes. He thought carefully oh what he was going to say. he wanted to know why Tony seemed to be two people, his unusual scars,or why Tony treated him like a piece of meat. as he scrubbed his three day old stubble, he blurted out the first thing he thought of. "What are you?"

Bruce chuckled sadly, pushing his wet fingers through his hair. "In simplest terms? A monster."

Steve's stomached flipped at Bruce's choice of words. "But your human now. I mean not that you are a-" Steve made a gesture of a raised fist. "Big green guy. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be bunt. I've just never seen anyone like you before." Steve asked and began rinsing his face. He scoped up the hot spring water and poured it over his head. He used the sudsy water to wash down his arms, and stopped abruptly. "You were shot! Right before you.. Changed... How bad was it?" Steve's stomached rolled freely now, still sickened that he had left an injured man behind.

Bruce leaned against the side of the pool, "It's alright, I've come to terms with it. I had an accident a few years ago and this was the result. I've found a way to control it over the years but every once in a while, Hulk needs to make an appearance. I'm sorry if I scared you."Bruce gave a small smile and rolled up his sleeve to expose the fading round scar. "One benefit of the hulk, I heal really quickly. See? No harm done?"

Steve reached out and hesitated before touching Bruce's arm. He saw the line where the bullet went through his arm, and followed it where it stopped. "That's actually something I can relate to." Steve murmured and gestured to small scars along his chest and arms. Steve leaned on the ledge and blushed as he cl...

... middle of paper ...

...he door, something twitched in his back. He held his back still, and began to move in tiny increments to try to pinpoint the location. Steve rolled his shoulders and gasped quietly as he felt a hitch between his shoulder blades. Steve removed his shirt carefully, and craned his neck against the sliver of mirror nailed to the wall. Sure enough, Steve noticed one of his old scars over his spine was inflamed, and he gingerly touched it. Something thin and hard had attached itself to his spine under his skin. As Steve probed the mark to determine the size, a bone-numbing electrical shock coursed through his body and he crashed to the dirt floor. Steve's body twitched against his will, and he screamed through clenched teeth. His body slumped uselessly when the pulse stopped and he rolled to his side. Panting, Steve crawled onto his cot, and collapsed into unconsciousness.