And Then I Wrote Marvel

Neighbors (Bruce Banner x Reader)

I'm writing this for a contest that DisneyWorldInfoQueen is putting on. (I won, by the way)

Train stations had always excited you. Sometimes your grandparents would come to visit via rails because they knew how much you loved waiting for the train to arrive. You'd never gone on a train yourself; your mother always told you that it was too expensive and that it took too long.

Until today.

In spite of all the common sense you had gained over the years, you still wanted to try out the Amtrak. The disappointment in your mother's voice when you asked her to pick you up at the station didn't deter you at all. You were just thrilled to finally experience the train.

You arranged for your friend to drop you off a little bit early. The train station was peaceful, somehow, despite the likely unhealthy noise levels and all the people rushing around. You liked this already.

The satisfaction was immediate the second you put your foot down on the first stair. From there, you found a seat next to a man with dark hair and glasses with his nose stuck in a scientific journal. You wanted to sit next to someone, but not anybody that would get annoying any time soon. You were going to be stuck next to them for more than a few hours.

"Do you mind if I sit next to you?" you asked him.

He looked up from his book and gave you a polite smile. "Not at all."

"Thanks," you replied, pulling out a book of your own. Something about that smile looked familiar, but you knew a lot of people. You might have seen him before, or maybe someone like him.

It was a few hours into the train ride before either of you spoke again. It was really just you yelling at a sudden plot twist in the book, a habit that you'd picked up whilst reading alone in your house. It was so quiet all by your lonesome that a little ranting didn't make you feel uncomfortable. You hadn't done anything embarrassing in public--yet.

You slammed your book shut on your hand as you read the words that changed everything. "What?" you growled in disbelief. "Brandon Sanderson, I swear that I will murder you in your sleep."

The man next to you looked up in surprise. "You alright there?"

Your cheeks flushed red when you realized that you had, in fact, said that out loud. "Oh, um, it's just a plot twist. I'll get over it. Probably."

He gave you another one of his smiles. "I can relate. What are you reading?"

"The Rithmatist. It's really good. It's just messing with my mind."

He chuckled softly. "That's how you know a book is worth the read."

"So true," you agreed, giggling a bit yourself. "I'm (Y/N), by the way. (Y/N) (L/N)."

"Bruce Banner," he replied, offering you his hand. You shook it.

"This'll probably sound a little weird, but you look familiar. I can't put my finger on it, but I'm pretty sure that I've seen you before."

"A lot of people say that. I have a pretty generic face," he responded cautiously. If you realized who he was, or more, what he turned into, you might not want to sit next to him any more. He was liking you already.

"If you say so," you shrugged. "Where are you from?"

"Dayton, Ohio. You?"

"How crazy!" you grinned. "That's where I grew up."

"Oh, really? Where?"

"A little neighborhood called Dove Creek. Kinda by an elementary school. You probably haven't heard--"

"No, no, I know exactly where that is. I lived there, too. Bismarck Street."

"What a coincidence. We lived on the same street. My house number was 486," you supplied.

"Mine was 488."

"We were next-door neighbors? I guess that's why you looked familiar."

He was more relieved than he thought that he'd be at the fact that you didn't recognize him for his green, angry side. "It just goes to show you how small this world really is. It is weird that we lived next to each other, but didn't even know the other's name."

"It's not like we were totally antisocial. Did that sweet Cambodian lady bring you the vegetables from her garden?"

His face brightened at one of the pleasant memories. "Every once in a while. How about the guy with the cherry tree in his backyard?"

"Best cherries ever," you commented, making the classic "okay" sign with your hand. "Did you ever see me and my brothers climbing the trees in our backyard?"

"That was you?" he asked incredulously. "Those trees were huge!"

"Tallest in the neighborhood," you bragged. "When we moved in, you couldn't even see them from the front yard."

The two of you didn't speak for a few moments, reminiscing solitarily.

"Gosh," Bruce broke the silence. "We were living right next to each other all that time, but never once spoke to each other."

"If it really bothers you, we still have quite a bit of time left until I'm getting off. And even after that, we could remain in contact."

"How would you like to go grab some food or something sometime?"

"I think that would be lovely."