Archive of Our Own ^beta

At the very beginning, the moment of His birth, the change was in voluntary. In His first moments of awareness all he knew was that the man shooting at him was Enemy and the woman on the ground was Betty and He had to get away. So He had fled physically, and then slipped away to hide when the danger was passed.

In those days, He hadn't fully realized that His Safe Place was a mental state, and that Banner was the person He shared the space with. It was only after months and years of running, of Banner putting miles between them and the Enemy, when He began to realize they were two sides of the same creature.

And He realized that Banner hated them both in many ways.

Contrary to what Banner might think, He didn't hate his other half. He didn't really mind being called the Other Guy, as He'd been born without a name, but even though He only took control when there was a threat that set off Banner's rage, He still acted to protect them both. He always watched, careful to note any possible danger before it could attack them, and had acted quickly to protect Banner from any threat.

So naturally when Banner put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger, He took control and spit the bullet back out.

After that, their relationship to one another seemed to change. It wasn't that Banner warmed up to Him, not in the least; it was more that Banner accepted that He was neither going to leave nor let anything happen to either of them, and that he would just have to live with that truth. In exchange, Banner kept them hidden from the Enemy as much as he was able and moved them elsewhere any time it looked like the Enemy might find them.

It was very, very hard not to slip out and smash the Little Spider when she tricked Banner, but he asked that He wait and see how the situation would play out. So He let Banner handle the situation and settled back to watch quietly. That didn't mean He liked the situation, and He most definitely didn't like the flying boat that they wound up on, but He was willing to leave Banner in charge.

And when they were threatened, He ignored the Little Spider as she kept shouting at Banner to calm down; He was listening to Banner, and Banner was saying I can't do this, get us out of here.

So that was what He did. He got them off of the flying boat (even if he did some damage in the process, but Banner wouldn't fault him for that, he never did) and tried to make sure that they hit the ground in an area that wouldn't hurt any of the people below. Banner never really liked it when people got hurt, even Enemy people, so He at least made an effort where non-Enemy people were concerned. And once they were safely away from the flying boat and the arguing and the Little Lying Spider and the shiny Enemy stick that had made His head hurt, He gave control back to Banner and slept.

There would be time later to wake up and protect Banner again. For now, Banner could protect Him instead. Because while Banner hadn't wanted Him in the beginning of things, there was no way they could survive without one another now, and they both knew that this was the only truth worth carrying.

"That's my secret, Cap; I'm always angry." Not exactly the truth, not exactly a lie, but better than trying to explain it.