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For those who knew them: Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, Clark Kent, Scott Lang and Foggy Nelson are gone.

[ Bruce doesn't know whether or not to leave it at that. He wants to keep it a brief announcement, almost detached, but in the process he's making it fairly obvious that some of these people leaving has affected him a lot. But then again, that's why he went with text, so he can avoid any slip of his expression or tone of voice that might betray just how upset he is.

He doesn't really want to talk about it. Or maybe he does, but he doesn't know with whom, or how to bring it up. It's not like he's ever been the best at expressing himself.

Best to just leave it at that. Short and... not really sweet, no. ]

That's it.

(( ooc: forward-dated a couple of days just to avoid overlapping recent drop notices! ))

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[He took a beer as it was handed to him. Of any sort, he wasn't particularly choosy about it.]

Want to know something funny? In my homeland, it is an insult to toast something with beer. Like you're being sarcastic. So? What would you want to toast?

[Because sometimes people just needed to be a little bit of a jerk about something.]

Really? [ His eyebrows lifted a little, then he raised his drink. ]

Then here's to being stuck in outer space.

[ Considering their situation, they both likely had quite the lists of things to toast with beers to. ]

To being stuck in outer space without a ground control.

[He raised his own beer and took a drink.]

What things can you also not eat or drink, by the way? [So he knows not to offer them.]

[ Bruce took a slow and careful sip, barely getting a taste before lowering it again. That wasn't so bad, actually. ]

Coffee. Black tea isn't particularly nice either, but coffee gets me more on edge. Absolutely no energy drinks, obviously. I also like to avoid anything spicy or too sweet. And generally I've toned down a lot on my salt intake over the years.

[ Basically he approached his diet with the same rigorous attention he did everything else in his life. Anything that could help him keep control, he'd adjust accordingly. ]

I'm not one for spicy food either, but that is because it's not really preferred where I am from. [Everything tended towards mild, but it's a milder climate.]

Sounds like it is hell to keep up with but ah... maybe bigger hell to not keep up with.

[He takes a drink of the beer and shrugs.] You know, I have actually known two Tony Starks, and four Steve Rogers at this point.

Where's that? Where are you from? [ He's figured a vague location based on Niko's accent already, but he never really asked, and not because he wasn't curious. There just always seemed to be something else more important when you were stuck in outer space on an alternate dimension. ]

Yes, that's definitely true. It was worse, when I couldn't... it was worse. [ He smiles tensely, focuses on what Niko says next instead. That draws a more amused smile out of him. ]

Two Tony's? Anyone who can handle that has an amazing level of patience, if you ask me. [ He takes another careful sip from his beer. ] There was another one on board, when I first got here. But I never got to meet him or really talk to him, so I'm pretty sure it doesn't count.

Not at the same time. It's always pretty disappointing, because I make friends with them and then they forget. And sometimes I don't actually want to make friends with them anymore because I am tired of the forgetting, but it happens anyway.

I could handle Tony. He is no worse than my cousin. Just smarter. Which I cannot tell if is more or less trouble.

[He sneers over his beer.] Also I am from the Balkans. Or more accurately, Yugoslavia. Even if it stopped being that a long time ago.

[If there's anything that would explain why Niko is so troubled a man, it would be having lived through that war during his formative years.]

Yes, that... that kind of sucks.

[ 'Sucks' is one way to put it, but the forgetting is one part of why Bruce's upset right now. Sure, he and Tony were friends back home, so it's not like he'd forget about him, but he knows his relationships with the others were largely built while on board the Moira. And Pepper especially, he knows that even if she comes back, she won't know him nearly as well as he does her— or at all, even.

Then there's Clark, which is... something else entirely. ]

Tony being smart can be a little annoying sometimes. And a little more trouble when he gets bored. [ When trouble doesn't find him, he tends to go looking for trouble himself, and that's not really a good thing. ]

Ah. I'd figured someplace like that, yes. [ And it does explain some of what he knows about Niko, even if as far as Bruce's concerned, he's mostly a pretty calm and caring guy, helpful too. Troubles aside— everyone has troubles, after all. ]

It is... It wasn't exactly like what is on TV. Before the war? It was a very nice place.

Trouble seems to find all of us here, so at least he never has to try very hard when he's around. I've never met a version I couldn't talk to in some way, so hopefully if he comes back? The only shitty thing though is having the same conversation twenty times.

Like I must wear a name tag. "Hello. My name is Niko. I met you before." And then that is always creepy because you guys end up with fucked in the head people following you around trying to kill you.

[Which... happens to Niko, too, so he sort of gets it.]

I don't doubt it was. Wars tend to ruin nice places.

[ Worse and more importantly than that, they tend to ruin people's lives, but he figures Niko knows that better than anyone— better than he does, that's for sure. ]

For what it's worth, there's a lot here that's creepy when you first get here. [ He huffs out a chuckle at the mental image, though, tipping the bottle and taking another sip. ]

Besides we're all used to that, to varying degrees. Me, Tony, the others... comes with being— different. [ He was going to say 'a hero' but he still feels weird calling himself that. ] We get a lot of attention and it's not always the good kind.

I don't usually get the good type of attention at all. This place has given me more approval than I've ever gotten. Lower class Slavic illegal immigrant veteran criminal?

I think in every America, that means the same.

[But he does admit in all that, that people on the ship have been pretty good to him so far.]

I'd like to say you're not right, but... [ He shrugs. Bruce is hardly an idealist, nor is he ignorant or blind enough to not see that Niko's right. ]

Probably a good thing that most those things don't really matter much when you're in outer space. [ Said with a trace of sarcasm, because 'good' really isn't a word he'd often use to apply to their situation. And it sucks that it'd take an alternate universe for Niko to feel like he's not ostracized or even outright hated by most of the people around him. ]

That's true. I hate to admit anything good about this place, but this is the first time I have gotten as much respect as I have.

Is kind of nice. I am going to be disappointed when it goes away, but for now? Kind of nice. [Because as his luck would have it, lasting success or respect hasn't been in the cards for him.]

It is. There are some good things about this place, I'll admit.

[ Not that the reactions Bruce has gotten to the Hulk so far are that much different —some people are grateful, others are afraid or outright hate him for some of the things the monster did—, but at least no one's tried to hunt him down, lock him up or experiment with or on him so far. ]

The whole thing with people coming and going... well, I guess I can live with that. Just hoping they went to a better place. [ He winces at the poor choice of words. ] I mean home.

[And Niko blatantly laughs at that.]

You see? It is you who did it. Not me.

I almost did. But I caught myself. I win at English this time.

[Score so far: Niko 1. English 475.]

[ Bruce grins and chuckles, shaking his head. ]

Fine. This one time, you win. [ But it's really just the one time, Niko, don't pat yourself on the back too hard. ]

I am known to occasionally trip up over some awkward phrasing. It's one of my many charming qualities.

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I'm going to be super slow, sorry.

it's okay! seriously, take your time. i'll be here. <3

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