to be whole

“well, i am rather small compared to you, but i’m still quite tall.” a friendly smile found its’ way to her lips when the other noticed the difference. “no, i’m not. i’m a neyaphem, a mutant.”

❛  oh, mister holmes…as per usual, your deduction skills are on par with the best of them ! my courting plans have been exposed. i even had flowers in the back of my car for you, but you saw right through me.  ❜  his snicker is obnoxious, but he’s not moving from his spot against the wall ( bruce’s wall ) he’s leaning on. ❛  a rude way to welcome a friend. late night ? i was nice enough to grab us coffee, at least. and don’t act like me being here isn’t as fun for you as it is for me. our playdates are always something you look forward to.  ❜

‘i was working.’ he’s always working, always up till the wee hours of the morning tinkering in his lab. does he ever sleep? barely, the nightmares are still too much for him to handle. hell, he had a panic attack in the shower again. he’d fallen and bruised his ribs, clearly visible as he takes off his dirty button up in front of his friend. a soft sigh as he finishes taking his shirt off, ‘is it black?’ he’s referring to the coffee, as bad as it sounds. 

She has to walk a little faster than he does in order to keep him, to not be left behind. Laura doesn’t mind it horribly since it was the same thing she had to do with her own father. That was the curse of being a child: everyone was bigger and faster than you. Brows pinch together in confusion at his statement, head canting to the side to look at him properly.  ‘ What is a hot dog? ’

he has no idea how to explain it to her so he tried fumbling over his words as he did so. “uh, you know their kind of like small sausages but made with pork and chicken. they made beef ones too, for like kosher people.” he’d never been good at talking to anyone let alone children. looking down at her he kneels, “you want to keep walking or i mean i could give you a piggy back ride?”

      “That’s fair,” she smirks, shaking her head. :”Pym’s out of this lab and in a whole other state; I was hoping the shrinking belt wouldn’t have too much to do with particles. Maybe this is a good thing  You get to experiment with free samples, and I get to take a mini VACATION while my equipment is down.”

he laughs softly, shaking his head at her. “you planning on spending that mini vacation in my lab with me? or uh, would you like coffee? sometime.. with, uh, me?” god he’s so awkward, the gentle midwestern boy charm just oozing out of every anxiety ridden pore of his body.

❝ spare me the appall —— you and i both know where i got that tendency. ❞ she quips with a grin, tucking loose mahogany lock behind an ear. banner girl tucks legs beneath her, settles more comfortably against plush couch. she fusses with mug clasped between slender digits, bag of chai dunked thoughtfully.

❝ if i was cheating, i wouldn’t have upgraded your hotel. and it’s not my fault you lack the cold blooded strategy that uno demands. ❞

‘i love you, juli.’ he states simply, looking over at his daughter with a warm smile. she looks just like her mother, even if her mother had married some god damn psychotherapist instead of running with him. he didn’t hate them, he just felt ashamed for not being there for his daughter as she grew up.

        “Sit on it? What, are you calling me fat?” she teased while crossing her arms and leaning against the lab counter. “Obviously I damaged it in battle. But I guess you’re right; I should have gone to TONY instead—”