Archive of Our Own ^beta

Bruce was sitting on the roof, his favourite place to hide when the world felt too much. Today nothing special happened, he just couldn’t find his place. There were too many people around him, their presence felt suffocating, and a nasty interview about the Hulk’s past he caught on TV added a great amount of guilt to his discomfort. On top of it all, his head hurt like hell.

So he sneaked out to sit on the roof, despite the rapidly dropping temperature, watching in silence as the sky melted from fiery gold to endless blue. A nasty wind was picking up, making him shiver in his thin jumper.

He felt bitter and utterly miserable.

He was so deep in self-pity, it was in the last moment he noticed the presence behind him.

"Woah! Uhm...hi?" He said, looking at the red Cloak that belonged to the sorcerer. The relic didn’t reply- of course it didn’t, it has got no mouth, Banner!- just kept on levitating a few inches above the ground.

"Uhm... can I help you?"

When the Cloak moved, it scared the will out of the scientist. The relic surrounded him, and his heartbeat jumped to the skies, and he raised his hands in defence when he realized...

The Cloak wrapped itself around his body, in a manner which reminded him of...a hug?

"Uh... okay?"

The Cloak snuggled closer, covering his form with its rich, heavy, scarlet fabric. Bruce couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief as warmth returned to his freezing body. He lifted his hand and shyly caressed the relic, which waggled a bit as if it was ticklish. A smile appeared on the lips of the man, and he leaned back, and they cuddled and watched the shimmering stars till the dawn kissed rosy clouds on the sky.

The morning was no warmer than the night, but Bruce felt no cold in the embrace of the relic. This time he heard the footsteps, and he knew who was coming towards him of their rhythm.

"Good morning, Dr. Banner!" The sorcerer greeted him, a small cloud of air passed his lips as he spoke, and he rubbed his scarred hands together to warm them up a little.

"Good morning!" Bruce nodded. "I didn’t mean to steal your friend, just..."

Strange flashed him a reassuring smile.

"Oh, I’m not here to question you, doctor. The Cloak has a will of its own, and who am I to tie it to my side? I just simply wanted to say that breakfast is ready, and your friend is more than eager to discuss some of his new plans with you."

Bruce nodded and stood up, stretching his back a little. The Cloak slid off his shoulders and shook itself, then all in a swirl of scarlet, it bolted towards the door. Once it disappeared behind, it turned back, and peeked out a bit, like a playful invitation for a tig.

The men laughed and headed after the relic. Bruce felt the morning becoming colder as the summer melted into autumn, but now it was not like the cold he felt last night, just a refreshing chill.

Before they reached the stairs, the sorcerer turned to him to say goodbye, and he said with his iconic, just-a-little-too-smug smile.

"Oh and one more thing, doctor. The Cloak of Levitation is an ancient relic, powerful and strong and loyal. And it’s quite picky, and hard to please, so if it chose to stay by your side, I might add, then you are far from the horrible person sometimes you see yourself. You are a good man, doctor. I hope that one day you will believe."

And with a swirl of blue and gold and scarlet the sorcerer disappeared, leaving the stunned man behind, with butterflies in his stomach.