I'll still these nervous feet and heart of stone

[riches]

When: Middayish.
Rating: PG
Characters: Asami and Bruce.
Summary: Bored to tears with nothing to do but fix up cars, Asami wants to revamp her education. Luckily, she finds an obliging tutor in Dr. Banner.
Log: 

[ After receiving an eagerly-awaited call from Bruce to meet up for her first prepping on some of the subjects she's been diligently trying to understand the last couple of weeks, Asami gathers up her new notebook and checks she has enough filters for a decent fountain pen before heading to the specified meeting point. It's a nice day, the weather shining on a new sundress where she sits under the shadow of an outdoor table's umbrella at the cafe, sunshine warming her bare arms as they rest against a trio of library books on physics. Requesting help from Bruce had always seemed like a long shot. He was from a different world and had a new life to deal with here, it wouldn't haven been surprising if he had turned her down and yet quite the opposite had happened, despite him going away for a break. He's affable and clever, good at making her feel like she isn't being a nuisance and that she can really learn from whatever he has to teach. Neither is he too old not to capture her interest otherwise, bright eyes and a hesitant smile holding her attention in a way only a handsome man can of an eighteen-year-old; it's a lovely bonus.

It's strange living with her friends when they aren't preparing either for civil unrest or back at Sato mansion. As much as she loves hanging out with them, she's a girl who grew up with a million things at her disposal to do if ever she found herself bored. Here, in this new city with so much enriching knowledge on offer, Asami finds herself giddy with the possibilities of furthering the studies put on hold by Amon's revolution. She hasn't mentioned her trips to the library in great detail to anyone, seen to be more bookish but never asked directly why; and is it so surprising when Mako is in such close proximity to Korra? A bitter part of the heiress refuses to include him on principle until her boyfriend shows some small degree of curiosity in her new studies.

It's a breath of fresh air to get out of the Avatar 2.0 household and do something solely for herself, leaving behind a fuss of emotions she can't be bothered stressing out over. Not today. Today will be a good one, she's sure.

The first few pages of her notes start off neatly enough, arrowed and underlined. They gradually descend into a confused bunch of cramped scribbles, so it's on a fresh page that she spends her time doodling with a smile playing on her lips. One might say she gets a little too into colouring in Bruce's fancy Science Shoes, chinning a hand. ] 
 

Comments

[riches]

Well ...

[ Oh, her drink has gone cold. Mm. Now she actually has to use the awkward pause to think of something that isn't depressing to say, or to at least answer him properly. She opts for the latter, not entirely skilled at lying convincingly on such short notice. ]

It wasn't easy. My mother was killed by a firebender, so dad's bias against them started there. I think.

[hulkbusted]

[He can't help but wince sympathetically.]

Yeah, I can see how that would happen. I'm sorry that happened to your family. It takes a lot of strength to rise above the anger that can come out of that kind of loss.

[He's not going to share his own lost mother story, but he knows how it feels, and he knows the anger.]

[riches]

I can talk about it without getting upset, as sad as it is. Thanks, Bruce.

[ Glancing around the street beyond the open cafe, she sighs and watches people milling back and forth, letting her attention slide back to him. ]

Family is who you love, so my own is still a nice size these days. I'm lucky to have the friends I do, before them I was usually on my own.

[hulkbusted]

Yeah. [He says it slowly, because by her definition, his only family is a woman who he hopes has moved on from him, in a world well out of his reach for now.

Then he draws a deep breath and shakes it out like he has many times before.]

Okay, this has gone far afield from physics.

[riches]

[ The sympathy she feels for whatever he's been through is evident up until her smile broadens, veiling anything but the gratitude for his help. ]

You're right! You've been so great. Shall we call it a day and catch up later?

[hulkbusted]

Yeah. I'll pull together some files for reading and some practical exercises you can do on your own, then I think the next time we get together, we can do it at City Solutions. I'll show you around and we can try some other practical work.

[riches]

I'd really like that.

[ Gathering her notes, she folds the doodles and hands them over as she rises. ]

Use this as a bookmark so you know what you're saving for me.

[hulkbusted]

[Bruce rises with her and takes the doodles with a raised eyebrow and surprised smile. Yes, that would be hard to forget.]

I'll do that. We'll see if you regret it when I come up with your first written exam.

[riches]

[ FFFF EXAMS. Whhhhy ... ]

Don't even start, you'll make me so nervous! [ Pushing him lightly on an arm, she passes by the table. ] I'll be waiting, so call me.

[hulkbusted]

[To see where his teaching methods are falling short. Obviously. It isn't as though she can flunk out.]

You'll be fine. [He watches her walk away and shakes his head at himself. Attractive young women young enough to be his daughter are not appropriate fodder for his imagination. At all.] And I will.

[riches]

[ Cute older guys that can talk science should not weigh on her mind either, and yet.

With a wave, she disappears into the crowd. ]