insurgents | OPEN POST.

[ Even though he knows why they're sneaking around like a pair of teenagers, it still catches him off-guard when she pushes him up against the door the moment they're inside the classroom. It takes him a few good seconds to catch on, during which his hands just hover awkwardly to his sides, eyes dropping when she untucks his shirt.

He doesn't even dream to tell her not to do that, though. His hands move finally, cupping the sides of her face, tipping it just enough that he can lean in and press his parted mouth to hers, teeth nipping lightly at her lower lip.

The background noise, whatever it is, buzzes in his ears, but he's more focused on the sound of her breathing, the fumbling of their clothes, their feet shuffling when they shift closer— the soft unbidden chuckle he lets out at the exciting secrecy of this little escapade. ]

Edited 2016-03-15 17:13 (UTC)

[What's the fun of a secret tryst if you don't play up to all the illicit elements? The door's not locked - she's not even sure it can be - but there might be some warning, like this.

She likes how she can surprise him, how he's only just reacting to her by the time she has enough access to slide her hands right up his shirt, like she could slip under his skin as easily as she slips between the front panels of his suit jacket and nestles her weight against him. Like he's a soft sweet thing who can't resist her, even when he's all cutting edges to the rest of the world. (Okay, so the conversation she overheard may have somewhat affected her plans for the evening. He's hot when he's mean.)

She leans up into his kiss, unable to stop smiling, and gropes gently at his chest in retaliation when he nibbles, when he laughs.]

What? Do you feel corrupted yet?

[ The thought of getting caught isn't so present on his mind right now, but that might just be because his mind's otherwise occupied. When he does catch up to that, though, he'll likely find it more exciting than anything else.

If only she understood how easily she can slip under his skin, how she doesn't even need to touch him to manage that. But her hand slipping underneath his shirt feels just as wonderful, and he sighs a little softly against her lips, his hands sliding down her neck, rounding her shoulders, trailing down her back.

It's true too: he can't resist her. But that's okay, he never minded that. How could he? ]

You do seem to always find new ways of corrupting me. [ [ He's smiling still, though, even when he squirms a little at the groping, his hands pressing into the small of her back and tugging her closer. ] ] Lucky you... I like it.

Lucky me. [It's saccharine and sincere, and she sinks into it, licks at his teeth and savors his squirming, feels precious in his arms. Feels fortunate.] I do like to keep my hand in.

[She waggles her eyebrows in case he missed it, but it's dark and their faces are close together and the effect might be lost - so she enforces her point by tweaking his nipples, then dropping her hands to hold him around his waist. She scratches at the sensitive skin at small of his back, above the line of his trousers, and then his lips are still right there so she has to have those too. As she leans in, she arches, pushing back against his hands, encouraging him to wrinkle her blouse.]

[ He can't see it too well, but he can almost hear that waggle in her voice, and he grins lopsidedly. Amusement that's soon replaced by surprise and a tinge of arousal, a soft gasp spilling from his lips when she plays with his nipples, his back and hips arching away from the door, closer to her. Her hands wander to the small of his back, the sensitive skin there reacting easily to the touch, a shiver rolling up his spine and keeping his body pressed flush against hers.

His fingers curl into the fabric of her blouse, hands fisting it lightly as he pulls her closer, mouth fitting against hers as he tugs her shirt up just so, and his touch slips easily underneath it, feeling the smooth and warm skin. Thumbs press, dig; trying to slide farther up her back and sides. ]

[She squeezes his ass through his pants, scratches at his shoulder-blades under his shirt, moans into his mouth with vicious aforethought. He's gratifyingly responsive to her touch. It's more like making out with heavy petting, more risque than anything young Betty might have gotten up to, but it's hard to resist pushing things further when she knows exactly how to do it, knows that he'll let her.]

I wonder how many people are still out there. [murmured hot against his cheek] I wonder if - mnnh - anyone else decided to skip and is just wandering around now. If we'd hear them coming if they were right. out. side.

[His hands on her skin make her wiggle her hips, chasing the feeling of him surrounding her, holding her, wanting her, and sweat prickles along the surface of her skin.]

[ It's definitely more than Bruce thought they were going to get up to in this classroom, and it probably shows in the surprise that each of his gasps carries, how his hands tense and curl tighter into her back. But he doesn't point it out, he doesn't complain, not when her hands feel so wonderful on him, when her voice lilts warmly against his skin.

His eyes flutter closed, his head tips, his ear closer to her lips. The awareness of their situation dawns on him with a wave of excitement, of dread, worry, all of it mixed together and washing over him, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. ]

Then, we— [ He croaks out, and pauses to clear his throat. His voice drops lower too, as if he's worried someone outside might hear them. ] We should... lock the door.

[ He doesn't reach for it, though. Just words, but he has a feeling she kind of likes how risky this all is. He'd be lying if he said it's not exciting to him too, arousing even. ]

[He's right, she does like it. She especially likes it because she thinks he likes it and she likes the way his breath catches and his voice tightens and how he doesn't make a move to stop any of this, but she also likes it because it's a new kind of risk. A very ordinary risk that they've never taken. Something they might have missed.

Laughing, a little breathless, also hushed.] I'm not sure it locks. We could always try. Are you okay? Is this okay? [She kisses his throat while she waits on his answer, doesn't feel him up quite so aggressively.

Really, the grand scale of questionable things they have done together, getting caught canoodling in semi-public wouldn't even make it on the list. Another unromantic thing to think loudly and not say. She's sure that in very specific (albeit unfriendly) circles, their relationship is already noteworthy, might as well exacerbate everything. It's not that she wants them to get walked in on. It just doesn't concern her like it should.]

[ Ordinary to other people, maybe— to Bruce it's still something unique and exciting, something new. A funny thing, finding such a thrill in this when they've done much kinkier and more daring things. Maybe it's just that he's not used to it, that he hasn't done anything like it. The novelty of it all. He'd never even thought about doing something like this before, and now he's starting to think that he was missing out.

Or not. It's probably more exciting that it comes out of nowhere like this. ]

It is. [ She barely has to wait for the answer, soft and warm and a little breathless. He nods and tips his head back for a moment, offering more of his neck to her, then drops it lower again so he can look into her eyes, hopefully clear enough even in the dark. ] It's very okay.

[ He kisses her briefly, then again, lingering, hands sliding up her back, bunching up the fabric of her blouse. Much like her, he can't even bother to think or worry about what would happen if someone did walk in on them, though he's still keenly aware of that possibility, and somehow it only turns keeping quiet into even more of a challenge. ]

[She sucks on his neck lightly when he offers it to her, nothing that will leave a mark. They're going to leave this room looking messy and rumpled as it is, and she plans on being unbearably smug all through dinner but no one needs more evidence as to why.

There's a moment when she considers pushing off his jacket, but then he kisses her once, and then again, and she just can't be bothered. Up on her toes, precarious, she pulls herself closer with arms hooked under his armpits and up around to hang off his shoulders. Her head tilts, hair spilling back to brush against his hand, and she leans in to suck on his ear lob, kiss the rim lightly, lick her way carefully inside. His shirt is a bunched disaster where her chest presses against him, and she sways, standing. It's as though if they weren't already against the wall, the door, if his arms weren't around her, the room would tilt right out from under them.

She moans again, right beside his ear, just to be a jerk.]

[ Her mouth on him feels too good for him not to comply, tilting his head to let her reach wherever she wants to, kiss and nibble at whatever she likes. His eyes slide closed, deep breaths turning more audible when she plays along the sensitive edge of his ear, tongue darting out to wet his lips.

But he's quiet, at least, which can't really be said for her. His first answer to that moan is nothing more than a surprised gasp, fingers digging into the flesh just below her shoulder blades, curling around the back of her bra. It shouldn't surprise him, though, he knows her and she can be such a terrible tease at the most unexpected and even inopportune of times, with her mouth that close to his ear and their hands vanishing halfway underneath their clothes, he should be expecting it. ]

I thought we were— [ He stops when his voice flees from him, lilts into a pitch a little too high, head turning so his breath and his words spread across her cheek and jaw. ] —going to keep quiet.

[What are you talking about, Bruce? This is a great time for teasing. Everyone is somewhere else listening to a speech or else already back in their rooms. The only reason anyone might try to enter this room at any point before morning is if they forgot something here (oh, maybe she should actually look around), if they were looking for a discreet location for clandestine snogging (dibs!), or if, say, they heard strange sounds while passing by and pulled a Nancy Drew on them.

Betty giggles like a girl half her age, breathless and flushed, purely and exclusively delighted by the break in his voice.] I thought we were going to lock the door. C'mon, Banner, let me hear you.

[As encouragement, she licks a hot line along the smoother skin along the hinge of his jaw encouragingly and blows air across the moist streak, before returning her attention to his ear.]

[ That last point is precisely the kind of situation Bruce is more worried about. Actually, 'worried' isn't a good word, because he's not really worried; he's too far into the realm of excited and aroused to be truly worried about someone trying to come inside just because they hear noises coming from the room. ]

I thought the door didn't lock. [ He offers with the same lilt of amusement, lips twitching into a grin when he hears her giggle. The sound alone makes his stomach flutter, like they're in their twenties and he can't even look up at Betty without feeling the metaphorical butterflies, and she's smiling at him and leaning close for their first kiss, and he gives her that like he has everything else since then.

Moments like this make him realize he never really moved past that phase where he just went around carrying an intense and hopeless crush for her, but he doesn't mind. It's kind of sweet, he thinks, even if a little silly.

He still bites back the sounds threatening to spill past his lips, though, biting his lower lip and pressing himself back against the door. But her warm breath hits his damp skin and he can't keep the soft gasp from coming out, not too loud but there nonetheless, his hands sliding to her armpits and his thumbs digging underneath the pad of her bra. Payback of sorts. ]

[Adults adulting very responsibly. His face is all shadows but she can picture it perfectly well, tilting towards her like he can't do anything else or can't help but look to her. Like she's arresting, magnetic, because that's how he's always been for her too. His hands where they are is just fine, maybe a little ticklish, but she curls in towards him anyway, scrunching up, anticipating but not prepared to release him or do anything else about it.]

Hmm. We should check.

But I don't think I'm ready to let you extract yourself yet. And I'm certainly not going to do it. [She squeezes his trapezii for emphasis, and then just because she wants to. Blame it on vertigo. Very convincing,] I guess it just can't be helped.

[He's still very quiet, not that she really expects him to stop resisting her on this point. She licks her lips, then licks his lips like if they were only further apart, if his mouth were only more open, he'd also be louder for her. Very subtle about what she wants out of him, sure.]

We should. [ But he doesn't. Because he can't be bothered to take his hands off her skin now, because he doesn't want to interrupt what they've got going on here, and last but definitely not the least, he's enjoying the thrill a little too much right now. He's wholly blaming her for that, by the way.

He leans his closer to her instead, head tipping and mouth chasing after hers when she licks his lips. A soft mewl slips past but that's about it for now— if she wants him panting and moaning right here and now then she'll have to do better than that. Which is something he thinks, somewhere vaguely at the back of his mind, but doesn't say out loud. She would take it as a challenge and... well, he knows how Betty is with challenges.

His thumbs slide a little farther underneath the padding of her bra, searching blindly for her nipples, but only briefly brushing over them before he draws away again. One hand pulls away entirely, even, to move down her back instead, settling just above the perfect curve of her ass, tugging her closer to him. ]

[The thought runs through her mind as well, but she likes him like this too, solid and subdued, patient and poised, manfully resisting her wiles. It's victory enough that he's in here with her now, whining inaudibly against her lips and playing along.

She squeaks a little when he grazes her nipples, curling in tighter even after his hands have moved away, lets one of her supporting hands drop when he presses her to him, uses it to trace abstract diagrams along his back.]

As long as... we're all clear on... which precautions we're not taking. [Kissing and conversation are probably more of an OR activity and she focuses a little more on the first for a while.] We should take off your jacket. [With all the free hands neither of them have to spare. This is a very hands-on make-out session. Is this what being blamed feels like? She's probably good for it.]

[ The reaction makes him want to do that again, to slide his thumbs farther underneath her bra and tease her nipples until they're hard against the pads, and she's panting more than squeaking or gasping. But he doesn't, at least not just yet. It also feels like it might be too much somehow, and Bruce isn't really sure where that line lies yet, how far she wants to go with this fooling around. ]

Right. [ Precautions are thrown into the wind, along with what he considers the words that wrap up that topic. He kisses her, slow, tasting, breaking the contact when she speaks up again.

He's not really feeling very much like letting go of her, but this time they're not talking about locking doors. This time she's talking about less clothes, and Bruce is a little more driven by that thought. Dropping his hands from her is a special kind of torture, but he does so anyway, shrugging off his jacket as quickly as possible and letting it drop to the floor, hands soon returning to her sides again, sliding down the small of her back and cupping her ass with a firm squeeze. ]

[She takes advantage of the extra elbow room to drag her hands back down to his waist and then back up along his spine, groaning a little when he touches her, when his fingers dig in and she's pressed to him. She's just beginning to mouth his other ear when there's an interruption.

Muffled through the wood of the door, there's some sort of echoing bang like a nearby desk falling over, or a more distant metal structure slamming into pavement, and the suddenness of the sound makes her jump and then freeze. She can't be sure - did the ground shake? Or did she imagine it? But then there's nothing.]

Bruce? [Her voice is small, and the room is dim, nearly dark now. The quiet from earlier is deafening, and the unidentified buzzing sound from earlier - she realizes that it's stopped.

Some kind of... electrical failure, maybe? She tugs him towards her; she doesn't want him against the door anymore.]

Edited (idk how that happened) 2016-03-23 18:18 (UTC)

[ Betty's very distracting. Her hands on him, her mouth, finding just the spots most sensitive in him and exploiting them the best she can in their current situation. And Bruce is just that willing to let himself be distracted like this, if only he gets to keep her this close.

Still, it's not difficult to get him to snap out of that state. He has too many mechanisms, too many internalized defenses and reactions that he's cultivated, trained into himself until they've become second nature to him. The sound coming from the distance does just that, and one moment he's all but ready to sink into her, the next he's tense again, breath deep, hands moving up to settle on her shoulders instead as he lifts his head.

The ground shakes. It's very faint, but it does, and he feels the vibration beneath his feet. He's already on high alert even before they know that's happening, already feels like whatever this is, it's dangerous. And if it's dangerous, he definitely shouldn't be here. ]

Something's going on. [ He doesn't bother fixing up his shirt as he turns around, pulling away from her now so he can cautiously open the door and peek outside. ] We should get out of here.

[She doesn't question him, just nods, realizes he can't see it, and lets it go. The first thing she does is check her phone hoping for some sort of alert or to use it as a light if nothing else - but it's completely bricked. So... not just an electrical failure. She keeps her voice low, automatically responding to his alertness with her own.] Whatever it was, there was an EMP; my phone's out.

[It takes a second to straighten out her own clothes, and then she does his automatically when she joins him at the door. The hallway is dark. Evening is fully setting in, and every electronic thing in the area must have taken the hit. But there's still some kind of energy out there, some sort of whine at a pitch she can barely feel and it sets her teeth on edge enough that she doesn't try to push ahead of him out the door and start investigating on her own.

She trusts his instincts in these things, but... ] The assembly room. We're not that far but I don't hear anything. Anyone. [Except that whining hum, but she can't be sure she's not imagining that. She pulls off her shoes and tuck them into her bag. The not-silence is eerie enough without clicking with every step. Are we gonna be Nancy Drew now, or what?]

[ He nods, a brief glance over his shoulder, but doesn't need to check his phone. The whole building is dark now— he hadn't noticed it inside the classroom when it was already mostly dipped in darkness before, but now it's definitely more obvious. He's careful, hesitant, but once she fixes their clothes and takes off her shoes, he steps outside, a hand reaching for her arm almost on instinct, like he's both trying to keep her safe and keep himself anchored to the here and now.

She knows him, and she knows his worries are well founded; he doesn't need to tell her what he's scared of right now. ]

No, but I can hear... something. Can you hear it? [ His voice is quiet, followed again by silence as he turns his attention back to the constant hum that's drilling straight into his ears. Long enough having to hear it and it would have his head throbbing in pain. He keeps close to the wall of the hallway, one careful step after the next, eyes focused on the dark that extends ahead of them as he slowly makes his way towards the assembly room.

He's not sure what's going on, but everyone has to be there still, right? Maybe going there first will answer some of the questions, clarify what's going on here, even if he's still very much reticent to get too close to wherever this buzzing sound is coming from. ]

I... maybe? Barely, and it's really... annoying.

[Purely from a day-to-day perspective, Betty lives an ordinary life; by her book, this is all pretty freaky and having to think things through before reacting isn't helping. She's grateful to have Bruce with her, but at the same time, there's a part of her that wishes she only had herself to risk, that his presence wasn't forcing her to think this through. Having the time to grow afraid isn't really something she's interested in, when, in the end, there's no way she isn't going to snoop. It just makes her antsy. (She may be holding on to Bruce's hand a little more tightly than she'll later admit.)

They don't meet anyone along the way, but that would have been expected a few minutes ago. A few minutes ago, they had been counting on it. What if, Betty's lizard brain offers up, someone else had been counting on it too? because it's too quiet - for a given value of quiet - for a blackout when someone should be panicking, and, when they reach the double doors, there's a warm yellowish glow coming through the cracks.]

... Ominous. Ten bucks, we missed the Rapture, and twenty on alien abduction in progress.

[She somehow gets her hands on the door handle first, but she looks to him instead of cracking it open, seeking his eyes in the dark. Better stop her now if ever, Banner.]

[ Bruce nods. That's definitely how it feels like to him, and he's glad to hear a confirmation. Even if he knows how different people can pick up on different sounds, and his own tends to be a little more sensitive now, it's good that he's not just imagining it. On the other hand, it's... a problem. Potentially. He knows just how much the other guy hates certain noises, and he has a feeling this constant low thrumming will be the kind that would drill into the beast's head and anger him even more.

The quiet is almost eerie. The closer they get to the room the more concerned he gets, when he can hear no one from inside, no one trying to get out or even calling for help. His eyes spot the yellow glow, his own voice distracted as he answers her words, not tearing his gaze away from the crack near the floor. ]

Those are some rosy predictions... Wait— [ He startles and all but jumps forward, reaching for her wrist and wrapping his hand around it before she can even touch the handle. ] It's a repelling energy field. [ If it isn't, it looks eerily close to one, to the same kind he's seen Tony working on, even. He has to wonder who, if anyone, could even get their hands on that kind of technology, or if this really is just some freaky coincidence, and someone unknowingly developed some kind of project similar enough to Tony's.

Or Bruce could be overreacting and that's just a yellow light, but he doubts it. The constant buzzing sound, the blackout, the complete silence... all those are telltale signs that something's very wrong, and he'd very much rather err on the side of caution, rather than have Betty thrown across the hallway. ]

[Betty doesn't resist when his hand pulls hers away, startled but already on high-alert.] A repelling energy field. [What on earth are you doing these days, Bruce? It's still his area, or at least she knows when he knows what he's talking about, so she doesn't doubt his assessment for a minute.] Jesus. That sounds unsafe.

Do you know how to disable it? This [gestures around, maybe he can tell] clearly wasn't supposed to happen. It was probably a freak accident. There isn't anyone at this conference who-

[Another cold shock of fear, and even with both her hands in his, she's moving, unconsciously angling her body like a shield between him and the eerily-lit darkness. This suddenly got much less fun. Because of course there is someone here with a profile high enough to be a target. Someone for whom whipping up something as implausibly energy-draining and sci-fi as an offensive force field might be worth it. They'd been safe for so long, she'd stopped worrying, and it could just be a terrible hunch... And he probably already thought of it.

She quietly curses at the nearsightedness which had caused her not to jump at first out he'd offered, at her concern and curiosity that had led them closer instead. Rerouting priorities,] You were right. Let's go. Let's go get help. [Their car isn't going to work after that pulse...] We can walk back down to town. Someone there might know what to do. We can call someone who knows what's going on. Please, Bruce. [Maybe I'm wrong, but I can't risk you.]

[ Look, Tony likes to come up with weird stuff, alright? Not all of it necessarily has practical applications— in fact, a good portion of his projects never leave the paper. Kind of reminds him of Da Vinci sometimes, if not for the inventions he does see through to their end, and rather successfully he might add.

Where her mind's going, Bruce's own is already there, a knowing look as he glances from the light and to Betty, watching her reach that same conclusion. But unlike her, he's not as quick to turn and get out of here; he hesitates, turning his attention to the door again, biting his lips in thought. ]

What about everyone in there? [ They're probably all locked up, and very likely getting threatened or even hurt. This, it's the kind of thing an Avenger deals with; he can't just walk away. And how long would it take them to get downtown? Besides, they might just get there to find the whole city's down, not just this area. Even if they could find a phone, the lines would be jammed, it'd be impossible to get in touch with the others, and panic would've likely settled in by the time they get there. ]

We should do something. [ A pause, the hesitance more for her sake than his own. ] I have to do something.

[ His tone probably makes it clear what kind of 'something' he's talking about. He doesn't like turning when he's on his own, but he doesn't have much of a choice right now. He can only hope that the rest of the team got pinged about what's happening (Tony must've picked up on the energy readings too, enough to know that there's a threat here), and that they're on their way. ]

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