Emily Thompson and the Beast // Bruce Banner

3

Emily felt like her head was spinning as she walked back into the pizzeria. She couldn't believe it. He had been standing right there and had even made eye contact with her. She had seen him. She had seen Bruce.

Bruce was back.

She walked into the dining area where Mr. Stanley was already waiting for her with a guilty smile and a plate of pizza in his hand. Mr. Stanley watched as the damp girl walked in, not even sparing him a glance as she went straight on with muttering something along the lines of, "He was there....I saw him.... Bruce."

Emily finally pried her eyes away from the floor when she had gotten back over to Mr. Stanley. "Just tell me if I saw what I think I saw," Emily muttered, her voice cracking in the process.

Mr. Stanley sighed and fumbled with his hands as he said, "I don't know what to say." Emily watched the old man for a second before taking his hands in her own. "Please," she whispered, desperation obviously hinted in her voice. "Just tell me the truth."

Mr. Stanley watched the girl and when he saw the hopefulness in her eyes, he couldn't help but think about all of those nights that she had come in crying over the fact that Bruce had left her. This was finally her chance to get back what she had been missing for years and Mr. Stanley knew that.

Emily waited in anticipation until finally Mr. Stanley nodded his head slightly. Emily gasped and without a seconds hesitation, she ran out of the pizzeria and straight to her car. She had to find him.

Emily might have let him walk out of her life five years ago, but she sure as hell wasn't going to let him walk away now.

---

"In other news, billionaire Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man, has successfully taken down the rouge droids that had once been a part of Justin Hammer's newest creation. Sadly the Stark Expo was destroyed in the process. But Mr. Stark and his daughter Maya Stark have both declared that the newly destroyed Expo will not stop them from-"

Emily groaned and quickly turned off the radio. Iron Man and his daughter were the last thing on her mind as she drove up and down the streets of the city. All that was on her mind was Bruce. Iron Man would be there tomorrow. If Emily didn't find Bruce tonight, then he would not.

The drive to find Bruce was taking longer than Emily expected. Soon the seconds had turned into minutes and the minutes had turned into an hour until eventually the roads had started to blend together into a dark wet mass of gravel. How far could Bruce have gotten?

Emily could already feel herself getting more upset by the second. She didn't even want to think of the possibility that Bruce had already left town. But as the moon fully appeared in the night sky and the rain started to pour down harder, that was the only thought on her mind.

Suddenly Emily slammed on the brakes. What if he was heading out of town? Emily started to get lost in her thoughts as she thought of all the possible places that Bruce would go if he wanted to get out of town. That was when she realized that he must be heading towards the bridge that led right out of town.

There was a honk from behind Emily that instantly made her jump. Emily looked in her rearview mirror to find a line of cars waiting behind her. There was another honk and Emily jumped again before letting off the brakes and making a quick u-turn.

The cars honked at her as she cut into the other lane, but Emily didn't care. It's not like those people hadn't done that to her or anyone else before.

So Emily ignored the honks and continued on her way towards the bridge. As Emily drove she couldn't help but start thinking about what she would do when she found Bruce. What would she even say?

But as Emily arrived at the bridge and her car lights shone on a soaked figure who was almost across the town line, she knew that the words would come to her when the time was right.

Emily quickly parked the car before turning it off. The figure froze at the noise and that was when Emily started to get out.

She wasn't even bothered by the fact that the rain was already started to soak her clothes. All that mattered in that moment was that Bruce was there, standing only a few feet away from her.

Emily watched as the figure turned around to reveal the one and only Bruce Banner. Without hesitation, Emily shut the car door and started running towards Bruce. As soon as Bruce saw the girl running towards him, he too started running so that he could meet her halfway. The two stopped only inches in front of each other, each of them instantly taking in the features of the other.

Emily noticed how much Bruce had grown in that moment. He was taller now with much longer hair than he used to have. He had definitely grown into his features too because he was handsomer as well. But as his chocolate brown eyes stared right into her own green ones, she knew that he was still her Bruce.

Emily slowly brought a hand up and despite the shakiness of her hand, she was able to gently rest it on Bruce's cheek. Bruce instantly reacted to her touch and leaned into her hand, his eyes closing in the process as he pressed a soft kiss to her arm.

Bruce couldn't believe it. Emily was finally here with him after five long years. Sure he had been trying to avoid seeing her, but Bruce knew even as he had been walking through the pouring rain to avoid her that he had wanted her to find him all along.

The two stood there in that position for a moment, Emily reveling at the fact that Bruce was here while Bruce took the moment to enjoy the soft touch of Emily's hand and the little shocks of electricity that seemed to run through his body as she held his face in her hand.

Bruce then opened his eyes and as soon as they met Emily's, a smile broke out on both of their faces. Surprisingly, Bruce was the first to react as he immediately wrapped his arms around Emily's waist before pulling her towards him for a hug. Emily quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and the two were able to hold on to each other for the first time in years.

Bruce gently picked Emily up and turned in a circle as he whispered softly, "Emily....My Emily." As Bruce whispered those words, he had thought that Emily didn't hear him. Little did he know that Emily had heard him, which had made her blush at the fact that he had called her his.

Bruce carefully put Emily back on the ground without breaking their embrace. The two hugged each for a moment longer before slightly pulling away. Emily cupped Bruce's face in her hands while Bruce kept his arms wrapped around her.

"Don't go," Emily whispered. "Please, don't go." Bruce could hear the sadness in her voice and could see the tears that started to fill her eyes at the thought of him leaving.

"I-I want you to come with me now. Please. Come with me," Emily pleaded, her voice slightly cracking as a tear danced down her cheek. Bruce quickly wiped it away before it could even blend in with the rain that had gathered on her face. This only made Emily cry more as she hugged Bruce once again.

"Please," Emily whispered as she dug her face into the crook of Bruce's neck.

Bruce slowly rubbed Emily's back with his hand before kissing her forehead. He knew now why he hadn't wanted to see Emily in the first place. Because he knew that if he had seen her and she had seen him, that he would eventually end up holding her in his arms again.

Because he knew that if he had so much as touched her, he wouldn't have let her go ever again. Yet here he was, doing exactly what he hadn't wanted to do. And saying exactly what he wanted to say but what he shouldn't have wanted to say.

"Okay."