aubergines | ( #002 ) FAKE MARRIED AU

This is the first time I've had a bath in -- [he pauses, squints] -- maybe six years? And for the last two, it's mostly been either in and out of the shower, when I can afford the luxury, to save water, or kind of ... [sponge bathing, if clean water was in short supply]

[and yeah, okay, he's had showers at the Tower and all, but he's still in the habit of taking them quick. and they're definitely not this bath, my God]

[Wanda gives a faint tsk-ing noise under her breath, shaking her head.]

I certainly hope you don't intend it to be your last.

[Wanda happens to love baths. Bubbles, scents, candles, maybe even a little music. It's a perfect space to relax and unwind. And, when there's company, that's always something of an added bonus.]

I mean this tub aside, you should make a point of enjoying them back at the Tower too.

I might have to. [a beat] I just -- didn't really consider it, until now. The whole quick showers thing has kind of become force of habit. [one he will endeavor to break, however]

[Wanda can't know how things will be in the future, she won't make statements toward that end, though perhaps the natural thing would be to say that she'd help him break that habit. Not even in the bath yet, how can she know that she will again, or that he'd welcome her? Instead she smiles, head tilting to one side.]

Well now a whole new wide world has opened up to you.

[Standing then, because she's not about to sit outside the bath forever and risk the water cooling before she gets to enjoy it, Wanda tugs at the silk tie holding her robe closed. Bare beneath and entirely unselfconscious, she doesn't make a point of emphasizing it through body language or looks, but instead simply lays the robe over the back of the toilet and carefully steps into the bath opposite him. Wanda slowly sinks down into the bubbles, and with her legs tucked up close to her body, she closes her eyes and sighs.]

Perfect.

[despite where this is headed and her ease through it, Bruce isn't sure if he's supposed to be enjoying the view or not. which probably explains why he watches her from the corners of his eyes as she gets into the tub, enough to see (my God, she's beautiful) but hopefully not enough to be entirely obvious about it]

[only once she settles does he look up, a wry smile on his lips, feeling all at once like a lecherous old man, unattractive and out of his league again. not that he comments to that effect -- or on her and her body. instead, he just clears his throat lightly and, perhaps vaguely ineffectually, offers:] Welcome to the party?

[She probably ought to have averted her gaze more, perhaps to let him feel more comfortable about stealing looks. She can tell he grabs a few however, and while Wanda's curious what he thinks, she doesn't press the matter. Her goal is to make him more comfortable, not less. Well, at least until she wants to make him a certain kind of uncomfortable then things will change quickly.

Giving him an easy smile in return, Wanda opens her eyes. She looks pleased, comfortable, and scoots a little closer so that her legs brush up against his.]

Thanks, happy to be here.

[She emphasizes the point by laying a hand on his leg. The tub is big enough she could probably settle against him comfortable, faced the same way, but that kind of closeness might be too much too soon. Better to take things in slow steps a little while longer.]

[faced against him might have been a mistake, yes, but leaning against him now, like this, isn't so bad. it's not too far removed from their weekend hangouts in the common rooms. just her and him, sort of cuddling as they read. or bathe now, apparently. yeah, he can deal with this. absolutely]

[letting out a slow breath, he tries for another smile, this one less wry, more real. he manages, for the most part, though there's a touch of nervousness to it] I figured. [a beat -- a moment of hesitation, really] I should, uh -- I'm not ... I won't hurt you.

[which is to say he can, in fact, do this without involving the Other Guy. or so all evidence leads him to believe, anyway]

[Wanda relaxes a little more herself, seeing that smile on his face. She's spent enough time around him to recognize the real ones from the tense ones. To tell when he's more at ease.

Of course Bruce wouldn't be Bruce if some other worry came to light. Wanda tilts her head to one side, and then reaches out, laying a hand on his knee. He's concerned, she understands why, but the thing is that she doesn't have the same worries he does.]

I know you won't. And if by some chance you found yourself changing...

[She pauses, thinking.]

For a while now I've been thinking that I could use my probability magic to prevent your transformation. So I think...perhaps you have that much more reason to relax tonight?

[he arches his eyebrows, wondering idly how that would go. that -- might be handy. not that he's planning on freaking out, even with her hand on his leg, even as nervous as he is, but in the right situation ... ]

[he should probably shelve that thought for the time being, however, and so he does, flashing her another smile] I'll keep that in mind. [a beat] And uh, yeah. That helps. [with the whole relaxing thing]

[His smile brightens her own, and Wanda slides her hand down and up his leg in an affectionate sort of way.]

You know, I quite like your smile. Do you suppose there's something I could do to make you do that more?

[She might be flirting a little, but honest to goodness she's trying not to be too intense about it. Light flirting. She can't help herself and she's hoping it won't make him more nervous.]

Could wash your hair for you if you wanted?

[and that alone is enough to get him to smile again, albeit with a measure of embarrassment. he's flattered, even if he gets that she's just flirting with him -- maybe because she is flirting with him. it's been awhile since anyone has and meant it or was even good at faking it. it's been awhile, period]

Well, uh -- [oh. right. question beyond his embarrassment and nerves and her hand on his leg. he clears his throat a little] -- yeah, sure?

[Wanda expects that smile to slip away but it doesn't mean that she's going to let it happen so easily.]

I know it's not as much as I promised yet but I am trying to keep from giving you a heart attack.

[She may be playing off his lack of smile as disappointment that she isn't offering more, even if she knows better. Grabbing a bottle of shampoo, she rises up onto her knees as she shifts her position to settle down between his knees. It puts her close to him without being pressed up between his legs or against his body, which hopefully will give him a chance to get used to it. She drops a little of the liquid into her hand, sets the bottle aside, and lathers it up.]

Besides, if you've never had someone wash your hair for you, you're in for a treat.

I appreciate it. [and that earns her another smile, though this one is laced dry not-quite-humor. yeah, a heart attack would be bad and more for her than for him, regardless of her magic]

[but at any rate, he wets his lips with his tongue as she comes to rest between his knees, watching her, trying to decide what he wants to do with this, exactly, and then slowly and for lack of something better to do with his hands, he touches his fingers to her hip, lightly, almost steadyingly. it'd kind kill things if she slipped and fell back into the water or something, too. right. yeah. that's his excuse]

I think the closest I've ever come is letting someone else give me a haircut, so ...

[Wanda doesn't expect him to touch her, honestly, even though she's put herself well within reach. He's seemed a bit too skittish still, even with all of the warm, sudsy water to put him at ease. She smiles at the contact, however, leans into it a little to show it's welcome as she reaches up.]

Well then just tip your head back a bit and feel free to close your eyes if you like.

[Or he can keep them open. She's certain she makes quite the sight. Of course, her focus isn't on that, but on him. She spreads the shampoo into his hair and begins massaging it in, fingertips firm and tracing circles into his scalp with a smile light on her lips.]

[he just -- he doesn't want her to mistake his nerves for disinterest. he is interested, God, he is, even if he's still a little uncertain about the age gap, it's just been awhile. and he's not sure what constitutes too fast, if this is going to be a thing or a one night thing, or -- ]

[and there goes his train of thought, massaged away by her fingers. letting his eyes slide half-closed, he makes a small noise at the back of his throat, one he can't quite help, and leans into her fingers. yeah, okay, she wasn't kidding. that's nice]

[Ah, and there it is. That moment when she can actually see and feel some of the tension ease out of him. With a soft chuckle, she takes her time not only working the shampoo through his his hair but working her fingertips into his scalp. Her hands smooth over the side of his head, and one comes to rest at the top near his forehead as another moves behind his head. She even goes so far as to massage the nape of his neck between thumb and forefinger, slow and easy. All things considered, she'd like to see him melt a bit into it before making a move.

Of course that sound he makes at the back of his throat certainly warms her from the inside out.]

Good?

[his fingers curl against her hip, the tension bleeding out of him more and more with every passing second. to the point where he sinks under the release, to the point where, eventually, his face is almost buried in her chest. not that he seems to notice this or care, if he does]

Yeah. It's -- yeah.

[And there it is. The curl of his fingers, the way he leans in toward her...

It's rather humbling, all things considered. Bruce doesn't strike her as a man who trusts or lets his guard down easily. Leaning closer, she uses her hands to gently guide him closer, to see what he'll do if she draws him in so that they connect, even as her fingers continue to work their magic over his skin. It's careful, careful, even as her breathing begins to grow shallow.]

[oh. well. that's -- yeah, that's her chest his nose, his lips are brushing against, now. he inhales a little sharply, upon realizing that, but forces himself not to recoil. he does, however, tense again, faintly, before taking a moment, frozen there, to force himself to relax]

[this is alright. this was always where they were going with this. she's comfortable with it. she's more than comfortable if her breathing is any indication. they're both consenting adults. and so on and so forth]

[he exhales as he reaches the end of the little list he's composed in his head, breath warm and light on her skin, and forces himself to relax again -- the fact that she still hasn't stopped with playing with his hair helps. once he's managed and tentatively, almost questioningly (is this alright?), he slides the hand at her hip up her side to rest on the side of her breast. a moment after that and he's flicking lightly at her nipple with his tongue]

[Wanda understands how tonight is likely going to go. Slow, steady, and requiring a great deal of patience. Bruce tenses at more intimate touch, and for a moment she wonders if he'll back down, change his mind. It would be alright if he did, she would understand.

But she does want him, does want to see where things will go, and so she doesn't tell him that. She waits, lets him make his own decisions. As he does, as he makes himself relax, Wanda picks up a glass from the nearby counter and moves to fill it with water so she can rinse the shampoo out of Bruce's hair.

She doesn't expect him to make the first real move. Wanda pauses as his hand moves to the side of her breast, as his tongue touches her nipple. Shivering, her own hand tightens slightly in his hair before she drags them down the back of his neck. Yes, it's alright what he does. It's more than alright. The little humming noise at the back of her throat encourages him on.]

[he really wasn't expecting himself to make the first move, either, but with their proximity, with where he ended up, it was either do something or give up and stammer his way out of it. he chose the former, if only because, again, he doesn't want her to get the wrong impression as far as his interest is concerned]

[not that she's wrong about this requiring a fair bit of patience, illustrated by the fact that he backs off just a little, despite the sound and as her fingers drag down the back of his neck, before pushing forward again, pulling her nipple into his mouth properly, now, tongue teasing over it]

[It's perfect. Slow and steady, entirely unhurried. Wanda's breath hitches briefly in her throat, and she dips the cup into the bath beside them with a faint tremor. Wanda drags it up again, and hesitates as she looks down at him.

Her cheeks heat, watching Bruce at her breast, and while she doesn't want to distract him, she needs to at least get the soap from his hair. Wanda rises up slightly, forcing him to tilt his head back to stay with her, and with a hand at his forehead to shield his eyes, she pours the water over his head once, twice, three times to get it clean. After she makes no move to continue bathing, however. What's happening now has her full attention, and she slides her hands onto Bruce's shoulders to work her fingers lightly into the muscle.]

[he opens his eyes, as she moves, starts to pull away, thinking maybe she's changed her mind, that this is all too much, too fast, despite how slow his nerves are making him go. when he realizes what she's doing, however, that she's not trying to escape, and relaxes again, huffing out a breath, a little embarrassed by his over-thinking things, and closes his eyes against water and soap as he reattaches his mouth to her skin]

[this continues, tongue lightly playing at her, until she moves her hand to his shoulders. then he has to pause again, an undignified but approving noise slipping out of him, his other hand coming up, to wrap around her waist, to pull her closer]

[Wanda's hands slide up his neck, up the sides of his face and into his hair as she sinks down somewhat into the bath. He draws her closer, and Wanda's more than happy to accommodate him, aching to be closer to him. With little sounds sliding up her throat, she draws her fingers up and into his hair, hands smoothing over him, his ears. She doesn't want to shift him or stop him, not when what he's doing sends little shivers down her spine...

...and yet what it makes her want is to be closer to him. To connect with him more directly. Sinking lower into the bath, Wanda pulls her breast from his lips, but his hands are still on her, and she wraps her arms around behind his neck without hesitation. She nestles against him, her naked body pressing to his as she brushes her nose against his.]

I don't want to skip this...

[She presses her lips to his then, sweet and sensual, and it feels right to stop and take time to savor this. He worries that she might try to escape, but everything in her responses ought to make it clear that she just wants to sink deeper into this moment with him.]

[he makes a small noise of his own at hers, at her obvious pleasure -- a small, almost confused one follows, as she pulls away and for more than just an effort to get more comfortable. has she changed her mind? he doesn't think so, given how close she stays (though, it'll be pretty awkward if she has, considering he's half-hard already, just based on the noises she's been making and the heat of her skin under his mouth). has she -- ]

[oh. oh, well. he's a little embarrassed now, anyway, if only because yeah, they probably should have started there, but her breast was right there and he didn't want her to get the impression that he wasn't interested or was going to spend the evening playing dead fish or -- well. yeah. anyway. despite the heat in his cheeks, her kisses her back with a sigh, matching her in its cadence, even if there's an edge of something more, something almost hungry, underneath it]

[despite his outward bumbling, awkward professor demeanor, there's no shortage of passion to him. the Hulk should be evidence enough of that]

( #002 ) FAKE MARRIED AU

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...and now a new PB

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