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Bruce stared at the images in front of him. The shapes were different; one was most definitely larger than the other, but the results were the same.
He gulped.
Tony slapped him on the back, causing him to lose his grasp on the images. “I think she’ll like it, Banner. You did good.”
Bruce glanced at both of them and then back up at Tony who was sporting a wicked looking shiner and a cut lip. “Yeah. Yeah. I think so too. Sorry for the . . .” Bruce trailed off as he gestured at Tony’s broken face.
The billionaire waved his hand in dismissal. “I’m sure you’ll make it up to me next time Pepper and I are having differences of opinion.”
Bruce smirked and then turned back to the images as his nerves grew as he thought about the plan for tonight.
You’d officially gotten the all clear to return to your shared rooms after Dr. Cho had thoroughly examined you for any ill effects of the cellular revivification experiment that Bruce had given you two weeks ago after your run in with the terrorists. The experiment had still been in the early stages and Bruce would admit that he'd been the primary driving force in keeping you under observation for as long as you had been. Call it paranoia, but he was terrified of the idea of another of his experiments wreaking havoc on your life the way his last had wreaked havoc on his. Finally though, even he couldn’t find anything else to worry over, and Dr. Cho signed off on your discharge papers.
Tonight would be the first time the two of you would be able to share a meal outside of medical ward and you were excited.
Bruce was too. Or at least he had been. Now, he wasn’t so sure.
Tony seemed to sense his nerves because he slapped Bruce on the shoulder again and gave him the thumbs up. “She’ll love it.” He repeated. “Don’t overthink it.”
Tony swaggered out of the lab, leaving Bruce with his brain scans. “I’ll try not to!” Bruce called back unconvincingly.
Tony nodded, totally convinced.
Bruce turned back to the scans and sighed, throwing his face in his hands. “This is going to be a disaster.” He groaned.
But it was too late to back out now.
Bruce finished lighting the last of the candles on the roof of the tower. He’d already had JARVIS turn on the outdoor fireplace to warm the space up and had laid a blanket down with a picnic basket of your favorite foods next to it on the ground. Bruce glanced around the display and tugged at his tie. The whole thing felt wrong somehow; but Tony, Pepper and even Steve and Natasha had all insisted that you deserved the romance of it all.
It felt like too much.
Bruce glanced over city as he waited for Pepper to bring you up. A small smile lit his face as he thought about you. The same warmth that always filled his soul filled him then, despite the late-night chill and for once, his demons were blissfully silent.
The whole world seemed to be waiting on bated breath as he waited for you to arrive.
A few minutes later, he heard the door swing open and a sharp gasp pierced the night. Bruce turned as a shiny-eyed Pepper leaned close and whispered; “Have fun.” Before she disappeared back through the doorway leaving you and Bruce alone.
You were standing in a floor length dress and swished around you as you moved towards him. Your wide eyes took everything in, but Bruce couldn’t, for the life of him, figure out what you were thinking as you moved towards him and wrapped your arms around his waist, leaning your head against his shoulder.
“What’s all this?” You asked, pulling yourself even closer to his body.
Bruce cleared his throat nervously. “It’s . . . uh . . . well . . . I thought we’d do something special for your first night out of medical.”
You glanced up at him then with a teasing smile on your face and Bruce let himself relax at the simple sight. “You mean after you made me stay an entire week longer than I needed to? This your way of trying to butter me back up, warden?”
Bruce chuckled and shook his head. “I just worry about you.” He said simply.
You leaned up and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “I know, sweetie. But you don’t need to.”
Bruce shook his head firmly. “I think I’ll be the judge of that.” He said.
You smiled at him for a moment before you turned your attention back to the romantic spread before you. "Well this is very sweet. Thank you.”
Bruce bit back a groan. “But?” He prompted.
You pulled away and looked at him with an expression that was all too innocent. “But?” You parroted.
“Buuuuut . . . it’s too much. Isn’t it?” Bruce asked gently, rubbing circles on your back.
You blushed and glanced away. When you glanced back up at him, you grimaced. “I don’t want to ruin the mood.” You said softly, tugging him towards you and standing on your tiptoes as you leaned towards his lips. “I like the mood very much.”
Bruce chuckled and resisted temptation as he pulled away. “I want tonight to be perfect.” He said. “What can I do?”
You sighed as you settled back on your feet and thought a moment. “Give me two minutes to change?” You asked hopefully. “This dress makes me feel beautiful, but I’d rather be in pajamas.”
Bruce let out a breath of relief. “Thank Thor. I was afraid I was going to go full code green if I had to stand here in this suit a second longer.”
You slapped his chest playfully as you pulled him towards the stairs. “Don’t say that! Hulk’s a teddy bear, and you know it.”
Bruce shook his head but let your words wash over him.
Maybe one day he’d believe them.
Five minutes later Bruce and you headed back towards the roof. You’d taken your makeup off and had thrown your hair in a messy bun on top of your head. You were dressed in your warmest pajamas as you took Bruce’s hand in yours and headed back up to his surprise.
As he opened the door and you settled down on the picnic blanket, you sighed in contentment. “Now, it’s perfect.” You said, smiling at him sweetly.
Bruce couldn’t help but agree as his eyes traced the features of your face, memorizing every last detail.
Bruce began pulling out dishes from the picnic basket and let you dish yourself up a plate as he poured the wine. Every now and again, he’d glance nervously to the left of the picnic basket where two posters were rolled up tightly together.
You didn’t seem to notice.
As the night wore on, his fingers itched closer and closer to them. At times, he felt like he was bursting at the seams in excitement and anticipation only to feel the cold sweat of panic wash over him moments later. It was a blissful kind of agony.
As the wine started to make the world seem a little more fuzzy and as your conversation started to lull, Bruce finally worked up the courage to talk.
You were laying back against the blanket, staring up at the night sky when he called your name softly.
You turned your head to meet his. He sat up nervously and you couldn’t help but mimic his movements as you saw the way his hands fiddled together.
“Are you okay?” You frowned, reaching over to place your hand over his.
Bruce shook your hand off to reach up and take his glasses off before he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yeah. Yeah. Of course.” He smiled over at you but you knew Bruce’s mind better than you knew your own most days.
A sense of panic filled you. “No. No, something’s wrong. What is it? Are you okay?” Your mind instantly started jumping to the worst possible conclusions and you jumped to your feet. “Are you dying?!” You demanded in absolute terror.
Bruce pushed to his feet too and took your shoulders in his. “No. No. I’m not dying and before you ask, you aren’t either. We’re both okay. Take a deep breath. Come on. That’s it. You’re okay.”
Bruce talked to you softly until you slowly sat back on the ground. You let out a shaky breath. “Okay. Okay. What’s going on?” You asked.
Bruce thought about postponing the gesture for another night, but he knew you wouldn’t be able to walk away from this without a solid answer now. So instead he reached out a shaking hand and picked up the two posters lying just out of your view.
“I wanted to surprise you with something.” He said softly as he handed you one. He gestured for you to unroll it as he unrolled the other.
His hands were shaking so hard, he was barely able to get the image of a brain scan open. He shuffled closer to you and held his up next to yours so you could see them both. “I wanted to do something special because . . .” He swallowed hard. “Because you’re so special to me.”
You glanced at him with tears already in your eyes. “Bruce . . .” You started.
He shook his head. “I just . . .” He let out another breath and pressed a quick kiss to your lips before he leaned his forehead against yours. “I just need to get this out there first, okay?”
You nodded slowly.
Bruce kissed your nose and then turned his attention back to the images you were both still holding. “I was thinking about this before you got . . . hurt. But then, when Tony called me and told me there was a chance you weren’t going to make it . . .”
Bruce let out another shaky breath and had to blink back the tears building in his eyes. You leaned your head against his shoulder, and he leaned down to kiss it; reassuring himself that you were still with him.
“You became the most important part of my world. You’ve accepted all the parts of me, the good, the bad and the ugly and I can’t imagine my life without you. I love you so damn much and I wanted to do something that would prove it to you beyond a shadow of a doubt.”
You glanced at the brain images in front of you with renewed interest as Bruce reached out a finger to point at the three highlighted parts on the image you held in front of you. “A lot of research has been done on love. What is it? What makes us feel the way we do? What makes it stop? These areas here? These areas only light up together when the person being scanned is feeling the sensation of love.”
You raised a shaking hand to your mouth as tears started streaming down your cheeks. Bruce reached out a gentle thumb and brushed them away as he gazed at you lovingly. “I was thinking about you when I scanned myself, Y/N.”
You shook your head as a smile lit up your face but there was one question left to be answered. “What’s that one?” You pointed at the one in Bruce’s hands and the smile he’d been growing wavered only slightly.
He glanced at the image in his hands and he swallowed hard before speaking. “That . . . that is a scan of Hulk’s brain when I had Tony show him a picture of you.”
Hulk himself wouldn’t have been able to stop you as the poster fell from your hands and you threw yourself at Bruce. You tackled the scientist to the ground and pressed your lips firmly to him, holding on to him for dear life as you poured every last thought and feeling you had about this grand romantic gesture into him.
Eventually, when you pulled away, gasping for air, you managed to say the three little words back. “I love you too, Bruce.”
But then it was his turn to pull you back and it was a long while before the two of you resurfaced again.
Later that night, wrapped in blankets and staring together up at the stars, another question occurred to you.
“You got Tony to scan Hulk’s brain?” You asked softly, drawing circles on Bruce’s chest.
Bruce hummed in agreement against you and you smiled softly. “That why Tony’s face looks like a Picasso painting?”
Bruce chortled. “Hulk doesn’t like Tony much.” He said.
You chuckled you leaned down to press a kiss to Bruce’s lips. “Maybe. But he sure loves me.”