"No, not teaching. It's... It's kinda silly, okay?" He sighs. "You know those old wartime ads? Captain America? I want... well, obviously not that, but I want to do something to help people. To, like, keep them safe. The FBI or CIA or something."
He shrugs. He doesn't really talk about this stuff much. Most of his friends want to do computer programming or just go to college to play more D&D. Phil has plans and he knows they're more lofty than a lot of his peers' goals.
"I might join the Army first, though. Do a tour so I can pay to go away to school. I don't really want to stay here and anyway, Captain Rogers was in the Army and I bet he would have wound up a government agent or something after the war if he'd survived." He focuses all of his attention on swirling the little beaker and not looking at Bruce. He knows what a loser he sounds like, but plenty of people go to Hollywood to be like famous actors. He's being at least somewhat more realistic than that. He doesn't want to sing and dance. He just wants to do good.
"Are you planning to be a scientist or something? My dad really likes what he does, but his school doesn't have much in the way of funding." He finally looks at Bruce.
As soon as Phil says it's kind of silly, Bruce perks right up. He's expecting something that, well, normal people think is silly, but what he gets is something actually silly, but only to a point. Bruce's eyes actually leave the beaker to light on Phil, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, half out of amusement over the inspiration, and half out of... this surge of awe. Phil wants to protect people, and has plans to go after it. Bruce couldn't say why -- well, no, he probably could -- but that's immediately something...
He wants to be Phil's friend. Badly. When Bruce feels something, he really feels it, and he gets hit with the sense that Phil's someone he should try to hold onto, especially since he rarely gets these kinds of friends moments. Hasn't, really, since... But he can't be getting a crush on Phil already, and anyway he'd be crazy to push all that on Phil now. Instead he turns his focus back on the beaker.
"That's not that silly. Doesn't everyone want to be a hero on some level?"
Well, not everyone.
He motions for Phil to stop with the beaker, and Bruce takes over, slowing the stopcock to a slow drip.
"Not a bad person to model your life after. Just try to skip the premature dying thing." He smiles, still somewhat hesitant and shy.
"I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. I can't even pick a field. But yeah, I want to be a scientist. I just really like... figuring things out. Things that could change the world, or at least how we see the world. I don't know." He shakes his head. "It sounds silly when I say it, but you're probably used to that kind of lofty academic fervor."
"Oh, yeah. My family's pretty academic-oriented. My dad kind of flipped when I mentioned the Army, so I just dropped it. He really wants me to stay home and go to his school." He smiles. "But, yeah, I totally get it. My dad's happy. It's just not for me. I bet you'd like it, though. You kind of seem at home in here."
He lets Bruce take over. He's only half-sure of what Bruce is even doing, so best to just do what he says, right?
"You're wrong, though. No one really wants to be a hero. Most people just want to be a Kardashian or something. We're the weird ones." He says it somewhat fondly, but there's a hint of something bitter behind it. Maybe when he's not in school anymore, he won't be weird for having goals or actually trying.
"If you wanted to, uh, meet my dad or something, you could come over for the writing parts of this. He wouldn't mind answering some questions. He loves teaching. He gets really excited when students care about this stuff." Phil's pretty sure his dad will try to trade him in for Bruce, actually.
He's surprised by how cool Bruce is. A lot of the science nerds around here are just smart and work hard to go to college. He hasn't met anyone who just seemed to take to it the way Bruce does. Bruce actually likes this stuff and that's kind of a lot cooler than just caring about a stupid GPA. It helps that he didn't laugh when Phil mentioned Cap. Even most of his friends roll their eyes at him. It sucks.
Bruce nudges Phil out of the way so he can lean down and watch the solution in the beaker; they might have actually missed the saturation point, which is what he's afraid of, but then he nudges one last drop into the beaker and it turns and stays a light pink. That's probably good. He squints at the burette, studies it carefully, and then writes down where the liquid sits now.
He kind of slipped right into science mode, and he's half forgotten about Phil until he stands up and gives him a smile. The idea of Phil's father flipping does actually... Well, if Bruce couldn't handle things like that, he wouldn't be able to function in the world, but it never gives him a warm feeling to hear that kind of thing. He mainly tries to ignore it. The academic side sounds cool, though; his aunt's nice, but she's no scientist.
"Anyway... I'd definitely like to meet your dad." It also saves him the awkwardness of having Phil over. Most people know he lives with his aunt, but not the full story, and inviting someone in just seems like inviting someone over to hang out with that elephant.
"Also, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm definitely not weird. I just don't have a good enough butt to be a Kardashian, so I have to fall back on science." He grins and starts cleaning up their bench. "Did you always want to go into the military?"
Phil moves out of Bruce's way and lets him do his thing. He seems to be really into it and Phil always likes watching people when they get this into something.
"Oh, no. Are you kidding? Look at me." He laughs. "It's going to kick my ass, but it's something I think I want to do now. I think it'll be good and it's going to pay for school." Really, he's a little apprehensive, but he figures everyone probably is about stuff like this. He hopes so, anyway. It's scary and it's a big decision, but it's also kind of exciting.
"You want to come by tomorrow, my mom's always fine with friends joining for dinner." Is that presumptuous? Calling him a friend? It's just that Bruce actually seems kind of cool and Phil would kind of like to hang out with him when there aren't beakers and shit.
The beaker in Bruce's hand clinks against the counter as he looks over his shoulder at Phil. Did he really drop the f-bomb and call Bruce a friend? Their interaction has gone well enough, way better than most interactions Bruce has as he often tries to be invisible and generally succeeds, and so his interactions are usually of the bullying kind. But still, to already be at apparent friend levels is new and unusual territory.
"I... Okay. Sure." He's startled enough that he turns around to actually put the beaker down instead of holding onto it at an awkward angle to the counter.
"Thanks," he adds hastily as he turns back around, sliding his hands into his pockets so he doesn't start holding them in front of himself. A nervous habit his aunt is trying to break him of.
"We can finish up with the lab report then too, if you want."
"Okay. Here, I'll just..." He tears off a piece of notebook paper and scribbles out his address and phone number. "Come by around five."
Once he's alone later, he kind of combs over his interactions with Bruce. It's a habit he has. He over-analyzes everything he does and everything people do and say to him. He's a little nervous about Bruce coming over. He's always nervous when he's not really sure how someone thinks about him, but he tries to ignore that.
After school the next day, he takes a shower before dinner. He even cleans his room up a little (Read: He shoves things into the closet or kicks them under the bed) and dinner goes well enough. His dad totally wants to replace him with Bruce, but he saw that coming from miles away.
Finally, they're finished eating and Phil leads Bruce up to his still-kind-of-messy room.
His aunt Ruth tries to talk him into bringing over a hostess gift or something, but Bruce is glad when Jennifer confirms that that is totally not a necessary thing anymore. Jennifer's almost more excited than Bruce is, underneath all his nerves, which is somewhat embarrassing, but she pre-picked out his clothes for him (over the phone, even). In his nerves, he over-gels his hair, but he hopes it's not too noticeable or... bizarre.
Actually that's his general life philosophy. He hopes he's not too noticeable or bizarre, and for some reason Phil's noticing him. His dad totally makes Bruce extremely nervous until they get to talking about science and which field Bruce should pursue in college. Science usually glazes over whatever Bruce is feeling.Still, he's relieved when it's over and they retreat upstairs.
"Your parents are really nice. Sorry that dinner turned into a TED Talk," he offers as they step into his room, unsure really of how to bridge the gap from then to now. Well, he's unsure of every kind of social interaction, and he hovers just inside Phil's room, unsure even of where to sit.
"I brought our lab book. It shouldn't take us too long." And what'll happen after? When will he get his cue to leave? What if Phil wants him to stick around and do normal teenage hangout stuff like... ... ... whatever that is, and what if Bruce wants that but Phil doesn't?
Slow down, Bruce. Science first. Cling to the science.
He shrugs. He doesn't really talk about this stuff much. Most of his friends want to do computer programming or just go to college to play more D&D. Phil has plans and he knows they're more lofty than a lot of his peers' goals.
"I might join the Army first, though. Do a tour so I can pay to go away to school. I don't really want to stay here and anyway, Captain Rogers was in the Army and I bet he would have wound up a government agent or something after the war if he'd survived." He focuses all of his attention on swirling the little beaker and not looking at Bruce. He knows what a loser he sounds like, but plenty of people go to Hollywood to be like famous actors. He's being at least somewhat more realistic than that. He doesn't want to sing and dance. He just wants to do good.
"Are you planning to be a scientist or something? My dad really likes what he does, but his school doesn't have much in the way of funding." He finally looks at Bruce.
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He wants to be Phil's friend. Badly. When Bruce feels something, he really feels it, and he gets hit with the sense that Phil's someone he should try to hold onto, especially since he rarely gets these kinds of friends moments. Hasn't, really, since... But he can't be getting a crush on Phil already, and anyway he'd be crazy to push all that on Phil now. Instead he turns his focus back on the beaker.
"That's not that silly. Doesn't everyone want to be a hero on some level?"
Well, not everyone.
He motions for Phil to stop with the beaker, and Bruce takes over, slowing the stopcock to a slow drip.
"Not a bad person to model your life after. Just try to skip the premature dying thing." He smiles, still somewhat hesitant and shy.
"I'm not really sure what I want to do yet. I can't even pick a field. But yeah, I want to be a scientist. I just really like... figuring things out. Things that could change the world, or at least how we see the world. I don't know." He shakes his head. "It sounds silly when I say it, but you're probably used to that kind of lofty academic fervor."
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He lets Bruce take over. He's only half-sure of what Bruce is even doing, so best to just do what he says, right?
"You're wrong, though. No one really wants to be a hero. Most people just want to be a Kardashian or something. We're the weird ones." He says it somewhat fondly, but there's a hint of something bitter behind it. Maybe when he's not in school anymore, he won't be weird for having goals or actually trying.
"If you wanted to, uh, meet my dad or something, you could come over for the writing parts of this. He wouldn't mind answering some questions. He loves teaching. He gets really excited when students care about this stuff." Phil's pretty sure his dad will try to trade him in for Bruce, actually.
He's surprised by how cool Bruce is. A lot of the science nerds around here are just smart and work hard to go to college. He hasn't met anyone who just seemed to take to it the way Bruce does. Bruce actually likes this stuff and that's kind of a lot cooler than just caring about a stupid GPA. It helps that he didn't laugh when Phil mentioned Cap. Even most of his friends roll their eyes at him. It sucks.
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Bruce nudges Phil out of the way so he can lean down and watch the solution in the beaker; they might have actually missed the saturation point, which is what he's afraid of, but then he nudges one last drop into the beaker and it turns and stays a light pink. That's probably good. He squints at the burette, studies it carefully, and then writes down where the liquid sits now.
He kind of slipped right into science mode, and he's half forgotten about Phil until he stands up and gives him a smile. The idea of Phil's father flipping does actually... Well, if Bruce couldn't handle things like that, he wouldn't be able to function in the world, but it never gives him a warm feeling to hear that kind of thing. He mainly tries to ignore it. The academic side sounds cool, though; his aunt's nice, but she's no scientist.
"Anyway... I'd definitely like to meet your dad." It also saves him the awkwardness of having Phil over. Most people know he lives with his aunt, but not the full story, and inviting someone in just seems like inviting someone over to hang out with that elephant.
"Also, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm definitely not weird. I just don't have a good enough butt to be a Kardashian, so I have to fall back on science." He grins and starts cleaning up their bench. "Did you always want to go into the military?"
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"Oh, no. Are you kidding? Look at me." He laughs. "It's going to kick my ass, but it's something I think I want to do now. I think it'll be good and it's going to pay for school." Really, he's a little apprehensive, but he figures everyone probably is about stuff like this. He hopes so, anyway. It's scary and it's a big decision, but it's also kind of exciting.
"You want to come by tomorrow, my mom's always fine with friends joining for dinner." Is that presumptuous? Calling him a friend? It's just that Bruce actually seems kind of cool and Phil would kind of like to hang out with him when there aren't beakers and shit.
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"I... Okay. Sure." He's startled enough that he turns around to actually put the beaker down instead of holding onto it at an awkward angle to the counter.
"Thanks," he adds hastily as he turns back around, sliding his hands into his pockets so he doesn't start holding them in front of himself. A nervous habit his aunt is trying to break him of.
"We can finish up with the lab report then too, if you want."
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Once he's alone later, he kind of combs over his interactions with Bruce. It's a habit he has. He over-analyzes everything he does and everything people do and say to him. He's a little nervous about Bruce coming over. He's always nervous when he's not really sure how someone thinks about him, but he tries to ignore that.
After school the next day, he takes a shower before dinner. He even cleans his room up a little (Read: He shoves things into the closet or kicks them under the bed) and dinner goes well enough. His dad totally wants to replace him with Bruce, but he saw that coming from miles away.
Finally, they're finished eating and Phil leads Bruce up to his still-kind-of-messy room.
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Actually that's his general life philosophy. He hopes he's not too noticeable or bizarre, and for some reason Phil's noticing him. His dad totally makes Bruce extremely nervous until they get to talking about science and which field Bruce should pursue in college. Science usually glazes over whatever Bruce is feeling.Still, he's relieved when it's over and they retreat upstairs.
"Your parents are really nice. Sorry that dinner turned into a TED Talk," he offers as they step into his room, unsure really of how to bridge the gap from then to now. Well, he's unsure of every kind of social interaction, and he hovers just inside Phil's room, unsure even of where to sit.
"I brought our lab book. It shouldn't take us too long." And what'll happen after? When will he get his cue to leave? What if Phil wants him to stick around and do normal teenage hangout stuff like... ... ... whatever that is, and what if Bruce wants that but Phil doesn't?
Slow down, Bruce. Science first. Cling to the science.
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