Work Text:
2 A.M.
You looked at the clock and sighed in frustration. It seemed like this was one of those nights you just couldn't fall asleep. After cursing softly, you rolled off the bed and patted to the long corridors of the Avengers tower. Once you reached the kitchen, you started to wonder how you'd spend this night, as sleep avoided you. You made some toast and grabbed a cookie box. Adding a juice carton to your snacks, you walked to the living room and put your food on the table.
As you put a dvd in the player, you snuggled on a plush couch, which was your favourite. This wasn't the first time you'd been up all night, so you knew the best places and activities for the night time. It was actually pretty nice, to be the only one awake. Okay, Tony probably didn't sleep that much either, and you knew for a fact that Bruce had sleepless nights too. But right now you were the only one, at least you thought so.
From the moment you'd met Bruce, you had had a hopeless crush on him. He was gentle and kind, and so smart. Who could resist someone like that? Not you, that was certain. And it seemed like he liked you too, but you were convinced that his interest wasn't romantic in any way.
Just as you'd let go of that thought, Bruce walked in the room. You were surprised, but smiled at him nonetheless.
“Good evening, (Y/N).” Bruce greeted you.
“Speak of the devil, I guess.” you muttered.
“What?” Bruce asked, looking somewhat surprised himself. He stood near you, leaving the armchair between you two.
“Nothing. I just thought how I was the only one not sleeping, and how you may have sleepless nights as well.” You chuckled and looked at him questionly.
“Aren't you going to sit down?”
Bruce looked at the chair, as if he'd just noticed it.
“Oh, yeah. May I? I'm not interrupting your alone time, am I?”, he asked with a joking tone. You giggled lightly and shook your head.
“No. I'd actually like having some company, Dr. Banner:”
Something in his eyes changed when you called him by his title, but it was so fast that you didn't really pay attention to it. You nudged the cookies towards him.
“Want some cookies?”
Obediently he took a few, and while eating them, he asked:
“What are we watching?” Bruce asked, shifting his eyes to the tv.
“Oh, it's (favourite movie). A great one, I tell you.”
“Seems good.”
For a while, the two of you just sat in companionable silence, doing nothing else but watching the film that was beginning to end. After the screen went black, Bruce stretched and said:
“That was pretty interesting. I should probably see it in whole sometime.”
“You should.” you smiled at him, confirming his idea.
He stood up and went to the tv, eyeing the movies in the shelf.
“Would you like to watch something else?”
“Sure. What did you have in mind?”
“Nothing really. Should I pick something in random?” he chuckled calmly. You laughed a bit too, and nodded. In the end, his random pick was a documentary film about penguines. It was entertaining enough, but soon you started to talk about everything except the movie.
“Did you have a nightmare, or are you just having a sleepless night?” Bruce asked after a while, looking a bit concerned. You shrugged casually.
“I just can't sleep some nights, there's nothing behind it, really.” You shifted a bit, pulling your knees in front of you and hugged them.
“What about you, Dr. Banner?”
“Same here. I do have nightmares occasionally, but not today. I was just too engaged in my work and didn't notice how late it was.” Bruce smiled at you.
“Is that so...” You leaned your chin on your knees, watching him. He looked exhausted, dark circles under his eyes. His warm brown hair was messy, and his shirt was a bit crumpled. Eyeing him, you thought how you yourself must look like. Probably not that different from him, sitting there in your pajamas and feeling like you'd never slept in your life.
“...(Y/N), what is it?” Bruce's voice snapped you back to reality. You looked at him for a while, feeling confused. Then you realized you'd been staring at him for a while now. A small blush rose to your cheeks.
“Nothing.” you muttered and yawned.
“Dr. Banner, what are you currently doing in the lab?” you asked, trying to think of subjects to talk about. This time you could clearly see him frown. You thought that you'd asked something too private, maybe he was working on some really secret matter. You began to apologize, but Bruce interrupted you.
“No, it's okay. My work isn't that secret. I'm working on a serum that should help with extreme anxiety and anger issues.” he still didn't look completely happy.
“Oh.” You commented, wondering what it was that made him frown.
“Did I say something else bad?” you asked timidly. Bruce seemed a bit surprised at your question, but frowned still.
“No....It's just...” He struggled with his words and sighed.
“I'd just prefer if you didn't address me so formally all the time, (Y/N).” he finally said, looking at the floor.
“What?” you asked, taken by surprise. Bruce stirred uncomfortably in his chair.
“Yeah. It makes me feel so old...And you sound distant that way.” he blushed a bit when he said this, and looked in your eyes.
“That's not the case, Dr. Banner--” you said that again, before you could stop it. He sighed in frustration, which you could feel rising in your chest as well.
“(Y/N), would you please just call me Bruce!” he said, sounding upset. You were too tired to understand what was the big issue here, and your voice took an irritated edge when you retorted:
“Would you just kiss me!”
Right after having said that, you realized what you'd said. Now you could feel a blush all across your face, warming it up. Your words had frozen the both of you, and you could hear the blood rushing in your head.
“What?” he finally asked.
You couldn't say anything, you just sat there staring at him in horror. Oh no! No no no! This was NOT what you'd planned! Although...This could be your chance. You bit your lip, and looked him in the eyes.
“Y-you heard me.” you stuttered and blushed even more. A slight panic started to rise inside you, as Bruce didn't say or do anything in a few minutes. Finally he stood up and closed the distance between his chair and your sofa. By now, you thought your heart would burst out of your chest. He sat next to you.
“(Y/N)....” he said softly, cupped your cheeks, and pressed his lips against yours. For a moment you just sat there, blinking in surprise. What? He was actually kissing you? Finally you realized that you should probably kiss him back, and pressed your lips back against his. They were soft, and he tasted slightly like coffee. The kiss was soft, gentle, and over too soon. Your eyes didn't want to open after it. Maybe it was just a dream? You opened them slowly, nonetheless. Bruce was looking at you warmly.
“Uh..” was all you could say. He smiled.
“There, I kissed you. Will you now call me Bruce?” he asked chuckling, but unable to hide his blush. Your head was empty yet there were so many thoughts you didn't know how to start organizing them.
“Um....Okay. Bruce.” He smiled a warm smile when he heard that. You smiled a small, unsure smile back at him.
“So...Do you like me?” you asked timidly. 'Or was that just because you want me to call you Bruce?' You didn't dare to continue the sentence aloud. He took one of your shaky hands in his own.
“Yes. Do you like me?”
“Yeah.” you said and nodded to enhance your point. Bruce's smile grew wider and he hugged you.
You ended up cuddling with him on the sofa, and before you'd noticed it, you'd fallen asleep. Bruce smiled and brushed stray hair behind your ear. (Y/N) was so cute, leaning on his shoulder and sleeping peacefully. Soon Bruce started dozing off too, and you two slept like that rest of the night.